Freescale Semiconductor, Cirrus Logic Team to Develop Solutions for Growing Digital Utility Meter Market
September 22 2010 - 1:00AM
Business Wire
Freescale Semiconductor and Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS) are
working together to provide a proven, turnkey reference design for
the growing digital utility meter market. The reference design,
which is available today, pairs Cirrus Logic’s CS5463 analog front
end (AFE) chip with Freescale’s 8-bit AC60 microcontrollers (MCUs),
giving smart meter original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) a
superior solution that allows for increased performance, design
flexibility and lower system costs.
Smart power meters provide an economical way to measure energy
usage in residential settings, provide real-time pricing based on
demand and minimize energy consumption during peak periods. This
enables utilities to reduce their need to build more electrical
generation capacity.
A new report from Berg Insight concludes that the worldwide
deployment of smart electricity meters will reach 302.5 million at
the end of 2015, based on a compound annual growth rate of 31.1
percent between 2009 and 2015. During the next five years,
penetration rates for smart meter technology are projected to more
than double to nearly 50 percent in Europe and North America, while
Asia-Pacific is projected to reach 25 percent by 2015, from less
than one percent today. The report anticipates that growth will
continue into the second half of this decade, with many markets
approaching 100 percent penetration by 2020. Key market drivers
include global efforts to upgrade the electric grid, such as the
United States' $43 billion energy sector stimulus package that
includes $4.5 billion for intelligent grid projects like advanced
metering infrastructure (AMI).
Leveraging Cirrus Logic’s long history and expertise in
mixed-signal solutions for residential utility metering
applications, the CS546X family provides best-in-class energy
measurement accuracy for next-generation smart grid devices. As
power quality and grid efficiency efforts gain momentum, Cirrus
Logic energy measurement chips benefit utility industry customers
by generating the high-quality energy measurement data needed to
deliver on-demand energy usage information accurately.
“Across all markets, customers value the superior measurement
accuracy capabilities and cost effectiveness of our products,” said
Tom Stein, vice president and general manager, Cirrus Logic Energy,
Exploration and Lighting Division. “Teaming with Freescale to
develop smart meter reference designs will give OEMs a ready-to-use
system to complete designs quickly, with significant performance
enhancements, design flexibility, lower system costs and faster
calibration than SOCs can provide today.”
The Freescale Kinetis portfolio of MCUs gives OEMs the
flexibility to choose among a variety of MCUs that are ideal for
their system. Freescale’s MQX real-time operating software and
algorithms run on a dedicated digital signal processor and are
programmable to run on the MCU. Freescale and Cirrus Logic plan
additional single-phase meter reference designs in the future that
feature new AFE and MCU products.
"We believe Freescale’s extensive portfolio of processors with
the range of on-board flash memory size, 90 nanometer Thin Film
Storage technology and metering-specific features built in will
give our customers the ultimate flexibility to address various
meter types and topologies and provide them with a ready platform
for their smart energy products,” said Aiden Mitchell, director of
Industrial and Multi-market MCUs for Freescale’s Microcontroller
Solutions Group.
Pricing and Availability
Freescale Kinetis MCUs and Cirrus Logic CS546X energy
measurement ICs are available now. For more information, go to
www.freescale.com/smartmeter or www.cirrus.com.
About Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic develops high-precision, analog and mixed-signal
integrated circuits for a broad range of innovative customers.
Building on its diverse analog and signal-processing patent
portfolio, Cirrus Logic delivers highly optimized products for a
variety of audio and energy-related applications. The company
operates from headquarters in Austin, Texas, with offices in
Tucson, Ariz., Europe, Japan and Asia.
About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in the design and
manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive,
consumer, industrial and networking markets. The privately held
company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and
development, manufacturing or sales operations around the world.
http://www.freescale.com
Safe Harbor Statement
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters
set forth in this news release contain forward-looking statements,
including Freescale and Cirrus Logic’s future plans for additional
single-phase meter reference designs. In some cases,
forward-looking statements are identified by words such as
“expect,” “anticipate,” “target,” “project,” “believe,” “goals,”
“opportunity,” “estimates,” “intend,” and variations of these types
of words and similar expressions. In addition, any statements that
refer to our plans, expectations, strategies or other
characterizations of future events or circumstances are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
based on our current expectations, estimates and assumptions and
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, the overall conditions in the
semiconductor market and customer demand for these products, and
the risk factors listed in Cirrus Logic’s Form 10-K for the year
ended March 27, 2010, and in our other filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov.
Freescale, the Freescale logo, MQX are trademarks of Freescale
Semiconductor, Inc., Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Cirrus Logic and
Cirrus are trademarks of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product or
service names are the property of their respective owners.
© 2010 Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024