News

Digital Power Forum Day 2 - Analog Devices Makes Donation, Zilker Makes Asian Move

September 19, 2006 by Jeff Shepard

During the second day of the 2006 Digital Power Forum, Analog Devices Inc. introduced a new digital current sharing scheme and announced that it was making the technique freely available without license. Also during day 2, Zilker Labs, Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with technology distributor Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia, an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

The new digital current sharing scheme revealed by Analog Devices is claimed to provide advantages ove conventional analog techniques including: Improved noise immunity and easier layout. It uses fewer components. It provides fault immunity and improved transient performance. It improves the accuracy of the current-share bus.

"The transition to submicron geometries has resulted in the cost effectiveness of digital solutions," stated Anton Bakker, Senior Staff Engineer with Analog Devices, during the morning technical sessions. "Our new digital current sharing implementation offers several important advantages compared with traditional analog approaches. Our emphasis in this development has been on ease of use and the ability to share between power supply vendors and silicon vendors," Bakker concluded.

Also during the morning of day 2, it was announced that Avnet Electronics Marketing will support Zilker Labs' business throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including major markets such as Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. Zilker Labs also has an Asian subsidiary, Zilker Labs Asia, Ltd., based in Hong Kong, that supports customers throughout Asia.

"Zilker Labs is pleased to have Avnet as a key part of our supply chain because they have a world-class reputation and a strong expertise in supporting customer design and volume production requirements," said Mr. Sandy Chan, director of Asia-Pacific sales at Zilker Labs. "Avnet's capabilities and experience combined with Zilker Labs' innovative products create an unmatched source for power management solutions in Asia."

"Digital power is emerging as an important product category for the global electronics market," said Stephen Wong, president of Asia Pacific, Avnet Electronics Marketing. "We are delighted to partner with Zilker Labs, the industry leader in integrated digital power management and conversion solutions, to support the advancement of this technology throughout Asia. Zilker Labs well complements our product line card. Combining with our extensive product offerings, our local teams will be able to provide total solutions to customers and generate demand for Zilker Labs' products in the region."