News Article June 15, 2005

Catalyst Continues Expansion of its Supervisory Product Family with CAT1232LP and CAT1832 Release

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--June 15, 2005--Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATS), a leading supplier of high performance analog/mixed-signal solutions and nonvolatile memory, today continued expansion of its Supervisory product family of analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits with the industry standard, low power CAT1232LP and CAT1832 Watchdog Supervisors. The CAT1232LP and CAT1832 are pin compatible and each perform three vital system functions - power on reset, software watchdog, and manual reset. The combination of these functions in a single device allows system manufacturers to provide customers with superior system operation and reliability with minimal expense and design effort.

The CAT1232LP performs the reset and monitoring functions for a 5 volt powered system, while the CAT1832 performs the reset and monitoring functions for a 3 volt powered system. The devices will hold a microprocessor, microcontroller or system chipset in reset until the supply reaches the specified in-tolerance condition; and then maintains the reset condition for a minimum of 250ms before releasing the reset outputs providing time for the power supply to completely stabilize. Once the reset outputs are released, the device immediately starts a watchdog count down clock that is reset each time the watchdog input is strobed. If the watchdog clock should time out, the device will immediately cycle the reset outputs; restarting the system. A debounced manual reset input also allows the device to be connected to an external pushbutton, or other signal, for system restart.

These devices are found in virtually all types of applications, but most extensively in industrial/commercial control and monitoring applications, especially those using the 8051 family of processors.

"The CAT1232LP and CAT1832 expand Catalyst Semiconductor's supervisory product breadth with two of the most popular products of this type. These supervisors provide a complete supervisory monitoring system on a single chip. They not only monitor the power supply to maintain reliable and consistent operating conditions, but also automatically restart the processor if it hangs for any reason without external intervention," said Jerry Miller, Product Marketing Manager. "Additionally, the watchdog function provides an exceptional benefit in systems that are remote or not easily accessible, reducing potential maintenance costs by automating the system restart process," he concluded.

Product Features
• 5V Power-on reset (CAT1232LP)
• 3V or 3.3V Power-on reset (CAT1832)
• Manual Reset input
• Watchdog processor operation monitor input
• Low power operation: 35µA typical (CAT1232LP) and 20µA typical (CAT1832)
• Operating temperature range from -40º to +85ºC

Price and Green Package Availability
The CAT1232LP and CAT1832 are available in 8-lead SOIC, MSOP, DIP packages; the CAT1232LP is also available in a 16-lead SOIC package; price in 1,000 piece quantities for the CAT1232LP and the CAT1832 is $0.54. Both devices are available in environment friendly "green" packages that are halogen and lead free with full RoHS compliance. Samples and production quantities are available now.

About Catalyst Semiconductor
Founded in 1985, Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The Company is a leading supplier of high performance analog/mixed-signal solutions and nonvolatile memory products used in automotive, aircraft, telecommunications, computation, industrial and consumer markets. The Company designs and markets a broad range of analog/mixed-signal products such as LED Drivers, DC-DC Converters, GPI/O Expanders, Digitally Programmable Potentiometers (DPP™), Microcontroller Supervisory circuits and other analog/mixed-signal products. Programmable products include Serial and Parallel EEPROMs with I²C, SPI and Microwire interfaces, as well as NVRAM and low density Flash Memories. Typical applications include LCD displays, digital cameras, cell phones, automotive instrumentation, modems, wireless LANs, network cards, DIMM modules, digital satellite box receivers, set-top boxes and Internet routers. Catalyst's Quality Management System is ISO 9001:2000 certified. For additional information about Catalyst Semiconductor, visit our web site at www.catalyst-semiconductor.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for those statements that report the Company's historical results, the statements being made are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained under the heading "Certain Factors That May Affect the Company's Future Results of Operations" listed from time-to-time in Catalyst's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the report on the Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2004, and more recent Forms 10-Q.

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Editor Notes:

1. Trademark notices: DPP is a trademark of Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. I²C is a registered trademark of Philips Corporation. SPI is a trademark of Motorola, Inc. Microwire is a trademark of National Semiconductor Corporation.
2. The “2” in I2C is superscriptt.
3. Electronic images are available at: www.catalyst-semiconductor.com/editor.