Most things around us, including light, sound, heat and motion can be represented as continuously varying “analog” signals. Before an analog signal can be efficiently processed by modern electronics, it must be converted to a “digital” format. Circuits that transform analog signals into digital information are used in a broad spectrum of applications – from automobiles and airplanes to industrial machinery, from medical devices and sensors to satellites, from CD players and scanners to cell phones. These “converters” also consume a lot of power.
The explosive growth of computing and consumer electronics over the past several decades has resulted in major innovations in digital technology. These must be matched by corresponding advances in the analog domain. Companies that can drive key innovations in analog technology can thus capitalize on newly emerging growth areas, including energy conserving “green” applications.
ZeroWatt Technologies has developed a powerful technology called Analog Compression Engine (ACETM) that forms an essential building block for a broad range of applications. This patent pending, breakthrough technology, when applied to converter circuits, dramatically reduces power consumption, not just at the component level, but system-wide. ACE incorporates sophisticated techniques to extract critical signal information that is used to lower the power consumption based on the level of signal activity. This signal intelligence is shared with other system components such as micro-controllers and Digital Signal Processors (DSP), further reducing system-level power consumption.
ZeroWatt has built three generations of analog-to-digital converter silicon devices using the ACE technology. These devices consume up to 5x lower power at the component level and up to 7x lower power at the system-level. ZeroWatt is forming partnerships with key industry leaders that already have a strong presence in high volume markets addressing a broad range of applications. Partner companies will integrate ACE as a building block within their System-on-Chip (SoC), Microcontroller, DSP, FPGA or Analog Front-End solutions.
About Us
Based in Aliso Viejo, California, ZeroWatt Technologies is a privately held provider of analog and mixed signal solutions featuring the industry’s lowest power consumption. The company was co-founded by two well respected research scientists from University of California, Irvine in 2009. Early development of the core technology took place at the prestigious Nanoscale Communications Integrated Circuits (NCIC) laboratory at UC Irvine.
This core technology has evolved into patent-pending Analog Compression Engine (ACETM) that serves as a building block for a number of applications including data converters, amplifiers, micro-controllers and sensors. Products incorporating ACE technology address diverse markets such as medical and health monitoring, micro-controllers for industrial, automotive & consumer markets, sensor-based monitoring systems, including those used for military applications and power monitoring & metering.
