First silicon for Adiabatic Logic's IOD shows over 50% power savings in chip I/O

CAMBRIDGE, England, October 13, 2003 - Adiabatic Logic Limited

(www.adiabaticlogic.com), a Cambridge-based company focused on creating and

licensing intellectual property (IP) in the low power technology arena, has

completed the first silicon implementation of its low power Intelligent

Output Driver (IOD) technology - and tests show power savings of more than

50% in chip I/O for portable electronic devices.



"This is a major milestone for Adiabatic Logic as it is the first proof that

our patented IOD technology delivers the power savings on silicon that our

early simulated tests suggested," said Geoff Harvey, Adiabatic Logic's chief

technology officer. "Achieving over 50% power savings with our first test

chip is a significant achievement and we will improve this through a program

of incremental development, which will include a further tape out with

refinements before the year-end."



The IOD IP cell is designed to replace the conventional pad drivers in an

integrated circuit (IC) and uses a patented energy recycling technique,

which in simulated tests delivered 50-75% power savings in chip I/O for

portable devices such as laptops, smartphones, handheld computers, digital

cameras and MP3 players.



The Intelligent Output Driver (IOD) uses the speed of submicron CMOS

(complementary metal oxide semiconductor) to actively mimic the

voltage-current drive characteristics of a classic driver with a source (or

series) terminator resistor. It does this in such a way that the bulk of the

current is delivered to the load capacitance non-resistively from a

reservoir capacitance maintained at a mid rail voltage, assisted by the

inherent inductance of the load. The on-chip reservoir capacitance delivers

charge on rising edges and recovers charge on falling edges thereby

recycling energy, which is conventionally wasted.



"We have had a lot of interest in IOD in recent months from right across the

electronics industry - a clear indication of just how important conserving

power has become, particularly for those developing portable battery powered

electronic devices," said Simon Payne, Adiabatic Logic's chief executive

officer. "However, now that we have working test chips that prove out the

technology at IC level we hope to be having more serious discussions with

potential partners about licensing our IOD technology."



Adiabatic Logic's IOD solution offers a multitude of other potential

benefits to IC and system developers in addition to power saving. For

example, it can reduce the overall component count and bill of material

(BOM) cost by minimising battery size, cutting DC-DC converter/thermal

management costs and eliminating the requirement for terminating resistors.



About Adiabatic Logic Limited (www.adiabaticlogic.com)



Founded in 2002, Adiabatic Logic Limited is part of the Cambridge Technology

Group and was set up to exploit a portfolio of secured patents in the low

power technology arena. Adiabatic Logic has a patented technique with the

potential to significantly reduce the power consumption of digital computer

chips, such as those found in today's laptop computers, personal digital

assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones.


The design team's focus is on creating and applying intellectual property

(IP) to exploit the concept of 'loss-less' processes. An adiabatic process

is one in which no heat is gained or lost. It is a concept normally

associated with the behaviour of gases but can be applied in other physical

domains, such as electronics. The company is based at Dry Drayton, on the

outskirts of Cambridge, England.



About the Cambridge Technology Group (www.cambridgetechgroup.com)


Cambridge Technology Group is a holding company with three wholly owned

subsidiaries - Adiabatic Logic Limited, Cambridge Technology Consultants

Limited and XJTAG Limited. Cambridge Technology Consultants

(www.camtechconsultants.com) offers its clients a broad range of services

from high-end applications to innovative product development and technical

consultancy skills. For ten years, its multi disciplinary team of hardware

and software engineers have provided cost-effective solutions from concept

through to pre-production. XJTAG Limited (www.xjtag.com) is a specialist

design and test tool developer. Its JTAG (Joint Test Action Group)

development system offers a competitive solution for designers and

developers of electronic circuits.



Media contact (to arrange interviews or for additional material, white paper

and photography):


Martin Brooke

Martin Brooke Associates

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 264050

Email: martin.brooke@mba-pr.com