Exhibit 10.1

December 19, 2008

Mr. Paul
Pickering

[Address]

Dear Paul:

This letter sets forth the terms of your continued employment with Exar Corporation (Exar) as Senior Vice President, Marketing,
reporting to Pete Rodriguez, President and Chief Executive Officer, and amends and restates in its entirety the letter agreement between you and Exar dated May 19, 2008. Your annual salary will continue to be $230,000 paid bi-weekly in
accordance with Exars standard payroll practices.

As a hiring incentive, you were paid a signing bonus of $10,000. If your employment
with Exar and its subsidiaries terminates for any reason (other than a reduction-in-force initiated by Exar) prior to the first anniversary of your hire date, you must repay the full amount of the signing bonus to Exar within 60 days following your
termination.

You have been included in the FY2009 Executive Incentive Compensation Program, effective from April 1, 2008 to
March 31, 2009. Your target award is 40% of your annual base salary. Your actual bonus will be determined and paid in accordance with the terms of the program.

In connection with your commencing employment with Exar, you were granted an option to purchase 100,000 shares of Exar common stock and 9,000 restricted
stock units. These awards are subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable award agreements.

In the event there is a
Change of Control and your employment is terminated within twelve (12) months following the Change of Control date either by Exar without Cause or by you for Good Reason, (i) all options, restricted stock unit awards and other equity-based
awards granted to you by Exar, to the extent then outstanding and otherwise unvested, will immediately vest, and (ii) you will be entitled to receive, within sixty (60) days following your termination and subject to all applicable
withholdings, a lump sum severance payment equal to three months base salary plus one month base salary for each year of completed service with Exar, to a maximum aggregate severance payment equal to six months base salary; provided, however, that
Exars obligation to provide such accelerated vesting and such severance payment shall be contingent upon your providing to Exar, upon or promptly following your last day of employment with Exar, a valid, executed general release agreement in a
form acceptable to Exar, and such release agreement not having been revoked by you pursuant to any revocation rights afforded by applicable law.

As used herein, the term Cause means (i) your conviction of any felony or conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude or
dishonesty; (ii) participation in a fraud or act of dishonesty against Exar; (iii) conduct by you which, based upon a good faith and reasonable factual investigation and determination by Exar, demonstrates gross incompetence; or
(iv) intentional, material violation by you of any contract between you and Exar or any statutory duty of you to Exar that is not corrected within thirty (30) days after written notice to you thereof. Physical or mental disability shall
not constitute Cause.



---

As used herein, the term Good Reason means, without your express written consent, (i) a
material diminution in your authority, duties or responsibilities or (ii) a material diminution in your base compensation, provided that any such diminution shall not constitute Good Reason unless both (x) you provide written
notice to Exar of the condition claimed to constitute Good Reason within ninety (90) days of the initial existence of such condition, and (y) Exar fails to remedy such condition within thirty (30) days of receiving such written notice
thereof; and provided, further, that in all events the termination of your employment with Exar shall not be treated as a termination for Good Reason unless such termination occurs not more than six (6) months following the initial
existence of the condition claimed to constitute Good Reason.

As used herein, the term Change of Control means
(i) a dissolution or liquidation of Exar; (ii) a merger or consolidation in which Exar is not the surviving corporation; (iii) a reverse merger in which Exar is the surviving corporation but the shares of Exars common stock
outstanding immediately preceding the merger are converted by virtue of the merger into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise; (iv) any other capital reorganization in which more than thirty-five percent
(35%) of the shares of Exar entitled to vote are exchanged, excluding in each case a capital reorganization in which the sole purpose is to change the state of incorporation of Exar; (v) a transaction or group of related transactions
involving the sale of all or substantially all of Exars assets; or (vi) the acquisition by any person, entity or group (excluding any employee benefit plan, or related trust, sponsored or maintained by Exar or any Exar subsidiary) of the
beneficial ownership, directly or indirectly, of securities of Exar representing more than thirty-five percent (35%) of the combined voting power in the election of directors. For purposes of this paragraph, acquisition of ownership interests
by any employee of Exar or its subsidiaries, whether through a management buy-out or otherwise, shall not constitute a Change of Control.

Please sign and date in the space provided below to indicate your acceptance of the terms set forth herein and return one copy to Diane Hill, fax
(510) 668-7011.



|                                          |  |                      |  |         
|----------------------------------------- |  | -------------------- |  | --------
|Sincerely,                                |  | Agreed and Accepted: |  |         
|                                          |  |                     
|/s/ Diane Hill                            |  | /s/ Paul Pickering   |  | 12/22/08
|Diane Hill Vice
President Human Resources |  | Paul Pickering       |  | Date    
|                                          |  | 6/9/08              
|                                          |  | Start Date           |  |