Edinburgh, UK, 05 May 2002 - Wolfson Microelectronics has won £450,000 funding under the SPURplus programme organised by the Scottish Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department (SELLD).

The award will enable Wolfson, a fabless developer of audio semiconductors based in Edinburgh, Scotland, to create next generation audio components that integrate analog amplifiers onto a single chip alongside digital signal processing and digital-to-analog converter functions. The SPURplus funding will be spread over the 2 year programme, and will cover up to 35% of the total programme cost.

“This award is very important to Wolfson, as we devote around half our 70-strong workforce and £2 million per year to research and development. This funding will allow us to build on our established competencies in the audio field and thereby strengthen Scotland’s position as a centre of high technology enterprise,” said Julian Hayes, VP marketing at Wolfson Microelectronics. “We successfully completed a project in 1998 with £70,000 from SPURplus, and I am very pleased that the SELLD has again considered us to be a worthy recipient.”

SPURplus supports Scottish businesses undertaking innovative research and development programmes that involve significant commercial risk. Wolfson has also won research funding from the Small Firms Award for Research and Technology (SMART) in 1990, 1991 and 1997.

Wolfson’s current product range includes mixed signal chips that convert the raw digital output from the core processors in computers, MP3 players or DVD players into analog signals, before passing them to an external amplifier to be output to loudspeakers or headphones. The company’s latest project will integrate these output amplifiers into its mixed signal chips to reduce cost, system size and power consumption. Power consumption directly affects the battery life of portable audio equipment, which is a critical selling point. It is also an important parameter in home theatre applications, which require six audio amplifiers to create full surround sound.

Wolfson sold more than 15 million chips in 2001, and its products are specified by audio engineers world-wide, and designed into all kinds of consumer electronics products sold throughout international markets. Recent business successes include an agreement with Microsoft to supply audio components for the Xbox gaming system, as well as a major collaborative agreement with Sanyo Corporation.

About Wolfson Microelectronics
Wolfson Microelectronics plc is a privately held, award winning, fabless semiconductor company based in Edinburgh, UK.  Wolfson develops and markets high performance mixed signal semiconductors for multimedia and communications applications worldwide.  The company currently has sales offices in the USA, Japan and Taiwan.  For further information please contact: sales@wolfsonmicro.com