Zero-power chip architecture extends battery life by up to 7 hours.FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 1995--WSI, Inc. introduced a new power-saving memory architecture that consumes virtually no standby power Standby power, also called Vampire power, refers to the electric power consumed by electronic appliances in a standby mode. A very common "electricity vampire" is a power adaptor built on a plug with no power switch. (1 A) when implemented in a 2.7 volt semiconductor. One micro-ampere is the amount of power consumed by a battery on a store shelf. WSI See wafer scale integration. also introduced several zero-power ZPSD microcontroller-subsystem chips that incorporate the new architecture and will drastically increase battery-life in portable, battery operated systems such as cellular telephones, smart pagers, and GPS systems. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. David Fishman, Technical Manager, Cellular Terminal Development, AT&T, a 5-volt ZPSD could add 3 hours or more to the battery-life of a cellular phone. "Cellular telephones spend 95% of their time in standby mode, waiting to receive a call," Fishman explained. "We presently use the 3.3 volt PSD (tool) PSD - Portable Scheme Debugger. 313 in our Model 3770 analog cellular telephone. The extremely low standby power consumption of the ZPSD will cut current drain by as much as 10 mA or 20% of the total." The 2.7-volt ZPSD could add seven hours to cellular phone's battery-life. The new architecture utilizes address transition detection (ATD ATD Anthropomorphic Test Dummy ATD Attention to Detail ATD Advanced Technology Demonstration AtD Achieving the Dream ATD Atmospheric Technology Division (US National Center for Atmospheric Research) ATD Assistant Technical Director ); memory clocking; a new kind of differential decode logic and a differential sense amplifier to effect zero-power operation. WSI has plans to implement the new technology in other memory and microcontroller support chips as well as a family of flash memory products. The company plans to license this technology to other semiconductor companies. Four patents have been granted on the architecture. Four more have been applied for. (Detailed information and a video on the technology are available from Nancy B. Green, Palo Alto, CA, 415/856-6192.) WSI is the leading supplier of highly integrated solutions for high-speed embedded control designs. Its PSD families of field-programmable microcontroller sub-system peripherals chips off-load microcontroller functions so that MCUs operate faster and can do more. Since their introduction in 1992 PSDs have been designed into nearly 2,000 products including cellular telephones, smart pagers, portable instrumentation, networking products, and industrial controls. WSI customers include AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola, Allen-Bradley and Johnson Controls. Sales of PSDs are currently growing at a 250% compound annual rate. WSI's AMG AMG All Music Guide (music website) AMG All Media Guide (group of media websites) AMG All Movie Guide (Movie website) AMG Arzneimittelgesetz (German Law) EPROM EPROM in full erasable programmable read-only memory Form of computer memory that does not lose its content when the power supply is cut off and that can be erased and reused. cell architecture has been licensed to National Semiconductor and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. . CONTACT: WSI Inc. Dale Prull, 415/856-6192 or The William Baldwin Group Nancy B. Green, 510/498-1723 |
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