mWSaver™ Technology from Fairchild Semiconductor Offers Best-in-Class Power Savings for Power Supplies

As electronic applications gain in popularity, the demand for AC-DC external power supplies is also occurring. The volume of external power supplies is expected to increase more than 11 percent between 2009 and 2013. Today, there are between 6 and 10 billion power supplies in use worldwide which are typically plugged in and unused for 20 hours a day, while constantly drawing power. These numbers illustrate the growing concern of energy waste and illustrate the profound possible impact of reducing standby power.

While the best power supplies are more than 90 percent efficient, some are only 20 to 40 percent efficient, wasting the majority of electricity that passes through them. Power supplies can account for nearly 10 percent of the total residential electricity used yearly. Regulations and technology help to reduce standby power, but the increase in the number of appliances and equipment that consumes power continues to grow, especially in developing countries.

Fairchild Semiconductor’s (NYSE: FCS) new mWSaver™ technology offers the best-in-class power savings for power supplies, with the fewest possible components. Devices in the mWSaver series integrate five patented technologies: off time modulation, JFET HV start-up and circuit, feedback impedance switch, HV discharge, and PSR control to drop out voltage; as well as burst mode operation and low operation current techniques. It is only by the unique integration of these technologies, leveraged together, that the most stringent standby specifications can be met.

Features of the mWSaver technology are:

Best-in-class standby/no-load power consumption per component;
The ability to lower standby power for external components, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors and rectifiers;
Excellent efficiency ratings at full load;
The ability to exceed all no-load regulatory requirements worldwide;
A reduced Bill-of-Material (BOM) and lower overall system costs by eliminating the need for additional circuits and components, while integrating protection functions like brownout, under-voltage lockout (UVLO), over-voltage protection (OVP), open-loop protection (OLP) and over-temperature protections (OTP).

Power supply manufacturers can now achieve the ultra-low standby power performance their customers want, while eliminating components and lowering BOM costs with mWSaver technology.

Consider the potential impact if the United States converted to Energy Star rated battery chargers, which are 35 percent more efficient than conventional models. That one change would save more than 1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy and $100 million annually while preventing the release of more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions - equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off the road. Every mW saved further reduces the unnecessary consumption of natural resources, enabling a cleaner environment.

Contact Information:

For information on products, design tools and sales contacts, please visit: http://www.fairchildsemi.com.

For more information on power supplies: http://www.fairchildsemi.com/powersupply

About Fairchild Semiconductor:

Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) – global presence, local support, smart ideas. Fairchild delivers energy-efficient, easy-to-use and value-added semiconductor solutions for power and mobile designs. We help our customers differentiate their products and solve difficult technical challenges with our expertise in power and signal path products. Please contact us on the web at www.fairchildsemi.com.

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