Texas Instruments' research advancements build upon leadership in low power, energy efficiency and greener designs to help make the world a better place

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Feb 16, 2012, 02:43 ET

DALLAS, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Next week at the prestigious International Solid State Technology Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) is presenting several papers and participating in presentations to outline accomplishments and opportunities in areas of low power, energy management and improved energy efficiency.

"Across our innovative semiconductor product portfolio, TI is solving challenges related to low power and energy efficiency," said Gene Frantz, Principal Fellow at TI and creator of "Gene's Law" which states the power efficiency of integrated circuits (ICs) doubles every 18 months. "Applications like cloud computing, medical and consumer electronics will continue to require creative solutions for energy conversion, improved signal path functionality and energy transmission. At ISSCC, many of TI's brightest minds will outline ways the company is addressing these issues."

TI has driven advancements in low power for more than 20 years, starting with the company's early focus on battery life requirements for calculators, and continuing today based on demand for low power, energy efficient solutions for advanced smartphones and many other devices.

TI is transforming power through energy management innovation in areas such as energy generation, conversion, distribution and control of energy demand and resources. The company's dedicated energy lab is the focal point for intelligent energy conversion and management systems for accessible and cost-effective power delivery.

Projects in the labs have evaluated energy harvesting technology and energy conversion from solar to electricity, as well as bringing in new semiconductor materials technologies to achieve higher power densities, voltages and efficiency levels that will be needed in the future. Other research and development teams throughout TI's businesses also contribute to TI's commitment to meet customer needs. TI's work includes partnerships with universities and consortia to explore and incubate new ideas.

TI's ISSCC papers or presentations on low power and energy efficiency advancements include:

Sunday, 2/19: Session F2 at 4:35 p.m. – Dave Freeman, TI Fellow, will present how voltage regulator circuits and energy management supports sustainability for solid state circuit supported markets, using "the Cloud" as the example. As the Cloud grows, and businesses and consumers become more dependent upon it, power needs will limit sustainability. Dave will discuss the role of power and energy management in three power domains as the keys toward sustainable Cloud growth.
Monday, 2/20: Session 5.8 at 4:45 p.m. – TI's Karthik Kardivel will present a 330 nanoamp (nA) energy harvesting charger with battery management for solar and thermoelectric electric energy harvesting. The charger and battery management IC, called the bq25504, is designed to extract and store energy in rechargeable batteries or super capacitors for use in personal electronics.
Tuesday, 2/21: Session 8.7 at 11:45 a.m. – TI's Venkatesh Srinivasan will describe a wide bandwidth and power-efficient continuous time (CT) sigma delta analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for signal chain applications, including communications or ultrasonic imaging systems. It is the highest clocked CT ADC published to date, running at 6 gigahertz (GHz) with a very competitive area and power for bandwidth and dynamic range.
Tuesday, 2/21: Session 12.7 at 4:45 p.m. – Mahesh Mehendale, TI Fellow, will present a multi-standard, programmable, low-power, full HD video codec engine, used in TI's OMAP4 and OMAP5 system-on-chip (SoC) processors for mobile devices. This engine delivers the highest video quality and lower bit rate output, while offering the most extensive support for video codecs and profiles. Because its capabilities are integrated as part of the SoC, greater efficiencies are achieved over alternative approaches that run capabilities on a separate software programmable processor.
Tuesday, 2/21: Evening Panel at 8:00 p.m. – Ajith Amerasekera, TI Fellow and director of Kilby Labs, will participate in a panel discussion titled, "What is the next RF frontier." Discussions will include trends in low power RF and technology direction to improve applications such as home automation and lighting, smart metering, alarm and security and more.
Thursday, 2/23: Session F5 at 9:40 a.m. – In an invited talk, Gene Frantz will address electronic system challenges for healthcare and advancements in low power and energy efficiency that will continue to transform healthcare and deliver a healthcare revolution.

For more information about TI's focus in energy management and efficiency:

Read Gene Frantz's latest post about what's driving the future of low power on TI's PowerHouse blog
Download TI's energy harvesting white paper
Ask questions and share knowledge in the Power forum in TI's E2E™ Community:
Visit TI's innovation web page

About innovation at TI
Innovation is the technology thread that runs throughout TI's 80+ year history. Today, TI is driving game-changing technology roadmaps and products in the areas of ultra-low power processing and signal conditioning, energy management, cloud computing, safety and security, medical and more. In collaboration with our customers, industry consortia and universities, TI develops differentiated products that improve how we live, work and play, today and well into the future. Learn more at www.ti.com/innovation.

About TI
Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 90,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be – smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun. Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do – from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities. This is just the beginning of our story. Learn more at www.ti.com.

SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated