Lab-based Course Focuses on Hands-On Learning from Simple to Advanced Designs Using Cypress’s PSoC® Programmable System-on-Chip

SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 26, 2009 – Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) today announced a new embedded design course offered by the UCSD Extension. The course, open to interested students and practicing engineers with a basic knowledge of C programming and electronics, has no prerequisite coursework. It is part of a broader program at UCSD to offer computer science and engineering students experience programming systems with real-life interfaces using platforms such as Cypress’s PSoC® programmable system-on-chip devices.

“Practical Embedded Design with PSoC” is a lab-based embedded design course focused on learning through a progression of exercises. Students will start with a simple design demonstrating basic I/O control, and progress through designs such as chip-level communication, data acquisition, touch-sensing and USB. The final design will demonstrate wireless control of a remote analog data acquisition and/or accelerometer position sensor using Cypress’s PSoC-based CyFi™ low-power RF solution. Registration for the course is available at https://www.cypress.com/go/pr/UCSDPSoC.

“We are excited to offer this important course that reaches out to practicing engineers to provide hands-on experience in creating embedded designs,” said Dr. Rajesh Gupta, professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UCSD. “The course bridges the gap between computer science and electrical engineering, and is an important part of the emerging curriculum in training computer engineering talent in future.”

The course will be taught by Dr. Choon Kim, Senior Development Engineer at the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (CalIT2) at UCSD, with prior experience at QUALCOMM Inc. Students in the course will use the Cypress CY3214-PSoCEvalUSB evaluation board, which includes both USB and capacitive touch sense development and debugging support. It also offers an LCD module, potentiometer, joystick, LEDs, an enunciator, and plenty of “bread-boarding” space for custom projects. The PSoCEvalUSB board also features an on-chip debugger. Included in the kit is a MiniProg programming unit (CY3210-MiniProg1) that programs PSoC devices directly on the evaluation board.

“The Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego is the fastest rising among the nation's top 15 engineering schools, and the largest engineering school in the University of California system. We are pleased to be a part of this new course,” said Patrick Kane, Cypress’s director of University Relations. “PSoC is the perfect platform to bridge the digital world with the analog world, and this course takes advantage of those qualities. We look forward to continued and more extensive collaborations with UCSD in this area.”

About UC San Diego Extension

As the professional education and public service division of UC San Diego, Extension is focused on being a major catalyst for the continued economic, intellectual, and cultural growth of the San Diego and Baja California region. Core offerings include professional education and training, cultural enrichment, and regional economic solutions. More information is available at http://extension.ucsd.edu.

About Cypress

Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that provide customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value. Cypress offerings include the PSoC® programmable system-on-chip, USB controllers, general-purpose programmable clocks and memories. Cypress also offers wired and wireless connectivity technologies ranging from its CyFi™ Low-Power RF solution, to West Bridge® and EZ-USB® FX2LP controllers that enhance connectivity and performance in multimedia handsets. Cypress serves numerous markets including consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, and industrial. Cypress trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at https://www.cypress.com.

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Cypress, the Cypress logo, PSoC, EZ-USB and West Bridge are registered trademarks and CyFi is a trademark of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. All other trademarks are property of their owners.