Elantec Semiconductor announced a new high speed laser driver IC designed specifically to enable optical disk drive manufacturers to meet the demand for faster CD-R/RW drives. The new EL6146C is a four-channel current output laser driver with one read channel and three write channels, which exceeds the Orange Specification Standard for CD-R and CD-R/W write strategy formats. To improve read-accuracy, the EL6146C integrates a 500MHz high frequency modulator (HFM) oscillator that reduces laser noise in the optical pick-up unit (OPU) virtually eliminating data drop off during that cycle. This type of functional integration saves design time and board space, which significantly reduces total system costs and facilitates the design of the more compact OPUs required in the newest slim-line CD-R/W drives.

According to Stephen P. Sacarisen, Director of Strategic Marketing for Elantec's Optical Products Group, "Elantec's strategy of providing functional upgrades from our legacy laser driver products helps customers get to market quickly with higher performance and more competitive designs. The EL6146C, with higher current output, provides a pin-compatible and function-compatible upgrade from Elantec's EL6246C to 32X CD-R and 20X CD-R/W performance."

Samples are available now; production lead times are eight to ten weeks. To receive further information, please contact Stephen P. Sacarisen at Elantec Corporate Headquarters in Milpitas, California, at (408) 945-1323 x 345.