National Semiconductor optimizes energy efficiency in handheld multimedia devices

National Semiconductor has made energy-efficient breakthroughs that enable video in new converged devices that feature phone and multimedia functions. Seven products have been introduced that enable high-resolution displays and sound quality, power large amounts of memory and higher bandwidth wireless links, and minimize power consumption of the increasingly higher-speed applications processors. These products are:
§ The low-power Mobile Pixel Link (MPL) family of products that stream large quantities of data (seen by the user as images, video and graphics) to the display while maximizing battery life. MPL’s power consumption is roughly half that of competing products.
§ Red, green, blue light-emitting diode (RGB LED) drivers for backlighting which provide better colors on the display and lower power consumption compared to white LEDs. These are an industry first.
§ The LM49100 audio subsystem that allows routing of mono voice or stereo music signals to a mono speaker driver or stereo ground-referenced headphone amplifiers (or both) through simple selection of pre-set modes. Maximizing battery life, it consumes the industry’s lowest quiescent current of devices in its class.
§ PowerWise technology enabling intelligent energy management of the processor using adaptive voltage scaling (AVS). Using National’s PowerWise intellectual property integrated onto the processor along with compatible power management ICs such as National’s new LP5552 reduces energy consumption up to 70%, extending the life of the battery.
§ To power a micro-hard drive, the LM3668 buck-boost regulator provides a 3.3V output voltage to power the driver motor, offering greater than 90% efficiency. It also creates a seamless transition between buck and boost operation to provide a stable output for error-free operation.
§ The LM3207 dc-dc power supply which reduces energy consumption of the power amplifier by tightly regulating the RF power amplifier supply voltage to the lowest possible level while maintaining linearity in the power amplifier.
National Semiconductor, www.national.com