Zarlink Launches High Performance Surge Protection Chips for Pacemakers, Implanted Defibrillators, Neurostimulators

- Family of ASSPs (Application Specific Standard Products) marks new strategy for world's largest independent designer of chips for pacemakers and hearing aids

OTTAWA, CANADA, April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Zarlink Semiconductor (NYSE/TSE:ZL) today launched a new family of high performance surge protection integrated circuits that are used in sophisticated medical electronics implanted in the human body, such as neurostimulators, implantable defibrillators, and pacemakers.

Implantable medical equipment is increasingly used as a way to treat illnesses including cardiac rhythm disorders, Parkinson's disease, chronic pain, tremors, and muscle spasticity (severe stiffness) associated with cerebral palsy, brain and spinal cord injuries, and other conditions. However, implanted devices must be able to withstand sudden, intense electrical surges caused by emergency medical treatments like defibrillation or cauterization.

Zarlink's surge protection devices guard the sensitive circuitry in implantable equipment from potentially damaging electrical energy. For example, a pacemaker is designed to deliver mild, 3- to 8-volt electrical impulses to the heart, stimulating regular heartbeats. Should the patient require treatment with defibrillator paddles, the pacemaker must withstand a 900- to 1400-volt surge. Zarlink's surge protection chips detect the rising current level in under 100 nanoseconds (100 billionths of a second) and safely redirect the energy away from the pacemaker's other electronic components.

Demographics is fueling a growing market for implantable medical devices. For example, according to research commissioned by Zarlink, the market for cardiac pacemakers and implantable defibrillators in the US, Western Europe and Japan will reach US$4.5 billion in 2002, and is growing by about 12%-13% per year.

"Until now, we have designed our surge protection, pacemaker and hearing aid chips exclusively for individual customers," said Stephen Swift, Zarlink's vice president and general manager, Medical Products. "We're now broadening our reach and entering new markets by introducing these surge protection devices as off-the-shelf, high-quality ASSPs immediately available to customers world-wide."

• High performance surge protection devices enhance reliability, ease
• design
• Zarlink's ZL70002/8/9/10 is a four-chip family of transient surge

The terminals of the surge protection chip are connected in parallel to the pins of the device it protects. When voltage spikes to a dangerous level, the surge protector rapidly turns on and shunts the excess current through self-triggering thyristor-diodes, away from surrounding circuitry.

Designed for fast turn-on and extremely low leakage current, the ASSPs deliver high performance and reliability, and facilitate conformance to international standards EN-45502 for active implantable medical devices, and EN-50061 for implantable cardiac pacemakers. The ZL70002/8/9/10 family is supported by a team of application design engineers with extensive medical system design expertise.

• Product availability
• The ZL70002 is a seven-branch device ideal for triple-chamber pacemakers,

• About Zarlink Semiconductor
• Zarlink employs its formidable analog, digital and mixed-signal

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, among others, the risks discussed in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are encouraged to consider the risks detailed in those filings.

Zarlink and the Zarlink Semiconductor logo are trademarks of Zarlink Semiconductor Inc.

This fact file is background information for the Zarlink news release dated April 2, 2002 titled Zarlink Launches High Performance Surge Protection Chips for Pacemakers, Implanted Defibrillators, Neurostimulators.

• Zarlink silicon helps improve quality of life
• Zarlink is the (number sign)1 independent designer and supplier silicon

chips used in cardiac pacemakers, and (number sign)2 in hearing

aids.(x)

• Zarlink has developed over 30 custom pacemaker chips. The top five pacemaker manufacturers use Zarlink's chips. These ultra-low power chips help extend pacemaker battery life to up to 10 years.
• Zarlink supplies hearing aid chips to three of the top four hearing aid manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.zarlink.com and see the Nov. 13, 2001 news release titled Unique Microchip from Zarlink and Cochlear Delivers New Performance Levels in Speech Processors for the Hearing Impaired.
• Zarlink estimates that 35% of all hearing aids in the world contain Zarlink chips.
• Zarlink's medical products currently generate about 15% of company revenues.
• Ultra low-power, high-reliability silicon chips are essential components in implantable medical devices and hearing aids. Zarlink's medical silicon chips are made using the company's patent-pending, low- voltage, ultra low-power 0.35 micron ANV(TM) (Analog Non Volatile) manufacturing process.
• Pacemakers
• Pacemakers primarily detect heart rhythms that are too slow

• Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs)
• Implanted defibrillators can detect and treat fast heart rhythm

• Neurostimulators
• Implanted neurostimulators deliver low-voltage electrical stimulation to

    (x) Company research
    ANV is a trademark of Zarlink Semiconductor Inc.