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2008 News Release

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November 20,

November 20, 2008
Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

Development of a New Ferrite Core

Tokyo, Japan November 20, 2008 — Hitachi Metals, Ltd. today announced the expansion of its product line with the development of a new ferrite core that increases initial inductance value by approximately 13% using unequal flange shapes.

1. Background

A ferrite core is a core material for coil-type inductors^*1 that are used for voltage conversion, noise reduction and other electrical applications. As the leading company in the manufacture of ferrite cores, Hitachi Metals contributes to electrical device performance improvement and miniaturization through high-performance materials that combine low power loss and high magnetic flux density.

Hitachi Metals developed the new ferrite core in response to demand for a thinner, more compact power inductor ferrite core with high inductance^*2 for use in compact digital devices.

2. Development Overview

Hitachi Metals developed the new ferrite core making full use of its proprietary manufacturing and materials technology. The flanges of the new ferrite core are square on one side and round on the other (hereafter "square and round flanges"). The new ferrite core offers increased useful volume and an approximately 13% increase in initial inductance value compared with Hitachi Metals' existing round-shaped flange (hereafter "round flange") product of the same size.


Photo and diagram of the ferrite core exterior with square and round flanges

3. Features

(1)	Increases initial inductance value by approximately 13% (compared to the existing 3mmΦ-sized round flange product)
(2)	Reduces coil-derived, direct-current (DC) resistance^*3 by approximately 15% (increase in initial inductance enables a reduction in the number of winding turns)
(3)	Improves DC superimposed characteristics^*4 by approximately 30% (when the core is designed with a wide diameter so that it possesses the same inductance as the round flange of our existing product as a result of initial inductance improvement)
(4)	The square flange makes core positioning and electrode formation simpler, thereby making it easier for customers to use

4. Application

For use in all power inductors used in electrical devices, including mobile phones and electronic music players

5. Production Capacity

100 million units per month (as of November 2008)

6. Manufacturing and Marketing

Manufacturing: Tottori Works (Tottori, Japan), Panyu Factory (Guang Zhou, Guang Dong, China)
Production: Information System Components Company, Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

Customer Inquiries:
		Yoshitaka Watanabe Information System Components Company, Hitachi Metals, Ltd. Telephone: +81-3-5765-4463
Press Inquiries:
		Toshinori Hata Corporate Communications, Hitachi Metals, Ltd. Telephone: +81-3-5765-4082

Reference: Explanation of Terms

*1	Inductor
	A component used to obtain the inductance of an electronic circuit. Possesses a central coil that incorporates an air-cored coil and magnetic body, but in this case serves as the central coil
*2	Inductance
	A unit that expresses the magnitude of electromagnetic induction. Also the proportional constant for the induced electromotive force is proportional to the speed of current change
*3	DC Resistance
	An element that inhibits the flow of electrical current to the coil. Because it includes the resistance within the copper wire used in the coil, the longer the copper wire, the greater the DC resistance
*4	DC Superimposed Characteristics
	A characteristic indicating the downward trend of inductance—how much electricity does it take to achieve saturation when DC electricity is superimposed in the coil.