San Mateo, Calif. - Texas Instruments Inc. is throwing down the gauntlet in 14-bit A/D converters by unveiling a device it says will set new benchmarks for performance and power consumption.

The ADS5500, which debuts today, consumes 750 mW at 125 Msamples/second. TI says that's half the power at 25 percent higher speed than parts offered by Analog Devices Inc., the reigning king of data converters.

"This is the first time Analog Devices will be chasing anyone at this node," said Gregg Lowe, senior vice president of the High Performance Analog division of TI (Dallas).

The product-the flagship for a planned family of 14-bit data converters-is the first CMOS part to come from a collaboration by design teams from TI and Burr-Brown, which TI acquired in 2000. The design employs a new architecture that departs from traditional bipolar techniques.

TI will make the devices in-house. By contrast, ADI outsources production of its CMOS parts, which will leave it at a disadvantage for producing similar or leapfrogging parts, Lowe said.

TI has much to prove. While it leads the high-performance analog market in revenue, its 14 percent share of the data converter segment runs a distant second to ADI's 40 percent share, said DataBeans Inc. (Reno, Nev.).

With high-speed data converters moving beyond industrial applications into areas like cellular basestations and medical imaging, the opportunity is ripe for suppliers to challenge ADI, said DataBeans analyst Susie Inouye, who estimates the high-speed converter segment will grow from $340 million in 2002 to $380 million this year.

The ADS5500 will begin customer qualifications and volume shipments in the first quarter of 2004. In a 64-pin TQFP PowerPad package, pricing is $95 each in 1,000s. Evaluation modules are available.

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