Emerging Portable Consumer Devices Drive the Need for High Performance Power Management ICs (PMICs)

Dr. Jess Brown, Wolfson Microelectronics

The features integrated in mobile consumer devices continue to increase at a rate that far outpaces the development in battery technology and power delivery. Therefore, the power conversion methodology and architecture must evolve in such a way to keep the battery life of mobile devices at a reasonable level.

Application processors are increasingly becoming more complex, and system engineers are striving to optimize architectures to ensure the user experience is not damaged by power running out during user interaction. It is unacceptable for the device to power-down due to low battery levels during game play; for it to get too hot during charging; for it to freeze during multi-tasking; or simply for it to be unable to perform basic tasks due to internal power dissipation issues. This article explores some of the potential methods of improving battery lifetime with PMICs in order to improve the user experience.

Solving Verification Issues Facing Semiconductor Companies Pressured to Get Products to Market

Adnan Hamid, Chief Executive Officer, Breker Verification Systems

In the fast-paced world of consumer electronics, getting a competitive product to market quickly is the goal. Margins matter. Quality matters. A product that bombs in the market due to poor performance or quality can kill a small company and wound even the largest.

Enhanced features, functionality and performance are driving the next generation of system-on-chip (SOC) designs that now contain not just one, but multiple processors enabling almost every possible form of communication and computation. Verifying that these devices work as intended is hellish, leaving semiconductor companies strategizing about how to ensure sufficient product quality without incurring cost overruns or slowing down time to market. After all, it's all about making a profit and having a hit.

Often, this challenging burden falls on verification engineers who must resort to manually developing tests for these big, complex chips, an insufficient approach for designs with multiple embedded processors. Fortunately, new, cost-effective approaches in SOC verification are emerging to automate this process and provide more thorough verification without impacting time to market.

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SAMUEL H. FULLER
CTO and VP, Research and Development
Analog Devices Inc.

As the digital revolution continues to change the way we communicate, play, work and travel, semiconductor companies are faced with many challenges in satisfying consumer demand. In my interview with Samuel Fuller, chief technology officer and vice president, research and development at Analog Devices, we discussed the technology ADI has available to address these challenges; its recent product expansion and offerings; satisfying end-user demand with shorter time-to-market goals; and much more.

TYSON TUTTLE
President and CEO
Silicon Laboratories

As consumer demand for universal connectivity and portable electronics for every facet of our lives continues to increase, the challenges facing semiconductor companies are also increasing. In my interview with Tyson Tuttle, president and chief executive office of Silicon Laboratories, we discussed the demand for mixed-signal devices; some of Silicon Labs recent and exciting product offerings; the future of consumer electronics; and much more.

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