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

“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.