Edinburgh, UK, 15 October 2007 - Wolfson Microelectronics (LSE: WLF.L) today announces the launch of the first product in its AudioPlus™ Power Management product line.

Wolfson’s WM8350 features an integrated high fidelity audio CODEC and power management subsystem which delivers high performance audio, extended battery life and reduced system cost for portable audio and navigation applications.

The WM8350 is compatible with leading multimedia application processors, and provides a highly integrated solution without compromising audio performance. Compared to using separate CODEC and power management chips, which typically require two or more additional components, the WM8350 can save up to 25 percent on the device bill of materials (BOM) cost and 50 percent on the board footprint.

WM8350 functions include a high performance low power audio CODEC, on-chip clock generation, six DC-DC converters, four LDO regulators, a battery charger, two white LED drivers and an auxiliary analogue to digital converter (ADC), all inside a compact 7x7mm BGA package. As a result of this high-level of integration, the requirements for external components, and the overall bill of materials (BOM), are reduced.

 Dave Shrigley, CEO of Wolfson Microelectronics commented, “The Wolfson brand is known for high fidelity audio performance. Building upon this foundation, Wolfson is pursuing its AudioPlus™ growth strategy. Our strategy of integrating incremental mixed-signal technology and key elements of the audio signal chain enables new or improved end user experiences and more highly optimized - lower cost solutions. The AudioPlus™ Power Management product line is the first phase of the Wolfson AudioPlus™ growth strategy.”

The WM8350 is the first in a series of integrated sound and power solutions being developed by Wolfson as part of its AudioPlus™ strategy, which builds on Wolfson’s high performance audio signal processing excellence by integrating additional mixed-signal functionality.

Paul Wilson, Wolfson’s Power Management Product Line Manager comments, “The pressure is on for system designers to deliver high performance multimedia experiences and extended battery life into ever smaller devices, and get them to market fast. It’s a complex and highly competitive market and the WM8350 provides an integrated approach that enables system architects and designers to meet these often conflicting demands.”

The WM8350 features a high performance, high fidelity stereo CODEC with advanced mixing capability, delivering an excellent 98dB SNR performance. It supports six analogue inputs, two stereo analogue outputs and two mono line outputs, and can drive headphones directly.
The WM8350’s integrated power management functionality and power efficiency is on a par with competitive discrete solutions. A built-in power management controller is responsible for the output voltage settings, start-up sequence and low-power modes for all internal DC-DC converters and LDO regulators.

Four 2MHz DC-DC step-down (buck) converters, can be used to generate the supplies for CPU core, I/O, memory devices and other system peripherals. Each of these converters provides a programmable output voltage between 0.85V – 3.4V in 25mV steps with peak efficiencies of more than 90 percent using a small external inductor and capacitor. Two 1MHz DC-DC step-up (boost) converters with greater than 90 percent peak efficiencies can be used for backlight displays and generation of +5V supply for USB OTG.

Four 150mA low noise LDO voltage regulators can be used to generate the supplies for the audio CODEC, external PLL and other system functions. Each of these regulators provides a programmable output voltage between 0.9V – 3.3V in 50mV and 100mV steps.

A single-cell lithium battery charger is included which supports programmable target voltage, trickle and fast charge modes and various safety features for the end application. Autonomous power supply selection from USB and or a wall-adaptor enables “instant on” in any portable application even when the battery is dead.

The WM8350 incorporates thirteen GPIO pins which can be programmed for alternate system functions including system wakeups and enabling low-power operation.

The WM8350 is highly flexible and can be optimised to control power-up, power-down and low power sequences for different system requirements. For faster time-to-market Wolfson is working with the leading multimedia application processor vendors to develop WM8350 enabled reference platforms and software drivers.

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Contacts
Chris King
EML
Tel: +44 (0) 208 408 8000
Email: wolfson@eml.com

Anne Connolly
Wolfson Microelectronics plc
Tel: +44 (0) 131 272 7000
Email: anne.connolly@wolfsonmicro.com