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March - 2015 - issue > 20 Most Promising Semiconductor Companies 2015
R2 Semiconductor Semiconductor Innovations for Better Power Management
SI Team
Thursday, March 5, 2015
"Today, mobiles are not just the devices to make calls. They have turned 'smarter' loaded with exciting features from the ability to access high speed internet to taking full HD videos," remarks Ravi Ramachandran, Senior Staff Scientist and Co-founder, R2 Semiconductor. However this technology leap in
mobiles has not happened in the case of batteries that power them.

Limited by its size to power ratio, these batteries require higher levels
of power optimization to achieve an optimal performance to address extreme requirements of today's mobile devices. R2 Semiconductor, a Sunnyvale, CA based company addresses this issue through its efficient power management chips.
As mobiles perform multiple operations from calls to internet access, the set of internal components' processors and transmitters and amplifiers' consume large amounts of power. R2 Semiconductor has developed a novel chip architecture called Fast Power which tweaks the power supply of the mobile's multicore processors and communication amplifiers depending on the
instantaneous workloads they are handling.

R2 bases all of its semiconductor offerings based on Fast Power.The company's offering R2 Envelope Tracking (ET), dynamically adjusts the power supply voltage applied to Radio Frequency (RF) Power Amplifiers (PA) to improve efficiency and reduce heat. For instance, 3G and 4G cellular mobiles operate on high frequencies (700-2500MHz) which drains the battery life."R2's ET saves about 35 percent of power consumption by managing the instantaneous power
supply of the RF Power Amplifiers," says Ramachandran. The company offers the FastTrack ET Modulator which simplifies ET implementation and adoption in the mobile devices.

FastTrack delivers ET with the supply chain flexibility to meet OEM's demand. R2 Semiconductor has been shipping[1] in the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini since July 2014. Similarly, another offering, R2 Core Poweroptimizes power management for today's multi-core application processors and digital SoCs (System on Chips), improving performance, lowering temperatures, and extending battery life with reduced form factors.

The chip enables fast DynamicVoltage Scaling, where the power supply of a microprocessor can be automatically adjusted "on the fly," to conserve power. "The result is that R2 Core Power for processors yields improved system performance, and reduced power consumption with a small footprint," says Ramachandran. Also, through its SoC Integration, R2 enables SoC developers to
integrate efficient power management. This technology turns out to be very
useful in IoT and wearable devices that require small form factors and wireless connectivity. "Conventional off-chip power management increases area, cost and electromagnetic noise interference. R2 Core Power for SoC integration simplifies product design, power savings, and eliminates noise interference that jams wireless connectivity," he adds.

R2 believes that improving power management while at the same time receiving optimal performance from the mobiles would spur innovation in system design. "Power management is no longer bound by outdated custom semiconductor processes. R2's technology proves power management can be fast and efficient without battery stress," says Ramachandran.

He further adds that, the company's power management solutions are changing the fundamentals of how consumer devices operate, enabling efficient energy management, less heat dissipation, and longer battery life. As consumers expect it all-space-saving design, increased functionality, and quicker access to data, R2's vision is a world where even the smallest devices remain cool and powered-all day.
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