Wolfson Microelectronics plc:

WOLFSON LAUNCHES SECOND-GENERATION STEREO CODEC FOR ULTRA LOW-POWER PORTABLE AUDIO

Monday, February 24, 2003

EDINBURGH, UK, - 24 February, 2003 Wolfson Microelectronics today launched the second-generation of its high-quality portable audio device product line with the introduction of the ultra low-power and highly integrated WM8750L stereo codec.

The WM8750L provides all of the input interfacing, output drivers and audio signal processing needed to integrate high quality audio playback, recording and mixing into smartphones, PDAs and Digital Cameras in one package.

Operating from supply voltages between 1.8V and 3.6V, the WM8750L provides a power architecture that is optimized for hand-held and portable digital audio players/recorders, smartphones, and PDAs. The WM8750L also incorporates a power efficient design and allows all major functional blocks of the device to be powered down under software control.

Wolfsons WM8750L can generate up to 400mW directly into a speaker, as well as individually driving stereo headphone and line outputs. The presence of the headphone can be detected automatically, reducing hardware and software overhead. The audio outputs are also designed to interface to single ended or differential signal paths, making them ideal for smartphone applications. For additional flexibility, three separate audio input pairs can be configured as line inputs, single ended or differential microphones that can then be mixed with digital audio playback or routed to allow recording.

Advanced on-chip digital signal processing performs graphic equalization, including enhanced bass boost, 3-D sound enhancement and Automatic Level Control (ALC) for the microphone or line input. The fully integrated, high-quality DAC delivers a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 98dB with a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 95dB. The ADC is capable of providing an SNR performance of 95dB; THD of 90dB.

Wolfsons second-generation audio codecs are designed to achieve the three leading technical requirements of portable audio applications: reduced power consumption, high integration and superior audio performance, said David Milne, managing director of Wolfson Microelectronics, As the first codec in this new product family, the WM8750L distinguishes itself with excellent audio signal processing, very flexible mixing and efficient interfacing. No other codec available offers the same combination of low power, small size, signal-to-noise ratio and total harmonic distortion.

The WM8750L can operate as a master or a slave, with various master clock frequencies including 12 or 24MHz for USB devices, or standard 256fs (sampling frequency) such as 12.288MHz and 24.576MHz. Different audio sample rates such as 96kHz, 48kHz and 44.1kHz are generated from the master clock without the need for an external Phase Locked Loop (PLL) reducing cost and power consumption.

Price and Availability
The WM8750L is supplied in a leadless, chip-scale 5x5mm QFN package. It is available now and priced at $4.98/1000. Device drivers for selected platforms and operating systems are also available.

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