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Ald energy harvesting modules gain momentum with technology adoption efforts
Zero-power circuits see increase in order activity as alternative power developers drive robust unit growth
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - November 13, 2007 - Advanced Linear Devices Inc., a design innovation leader in analog semiconductors, today announced that orders for its EPAD EH300 and EH301 energy harvesting modules increased by 78 percent since June. Fueled by strong demand from sectors ranging from industrial, aviation and automotive to transportation, wireless and power, ALD EPAD energy harvesting modules are gaining design momentum across several different application areas.

"We have more than 400 customers evaluating our EPAD energy harvesting modules in everything from piezoelectric power supplies to passenger controls in large airliners to wireless sensor arrays that monitor a bridge's structural integrity," said Bob Chao, CEO of ALD Inc. "Originally devised as a crucial link between energy harvesting sources and their applications, these modules bring unique power management capabilities to allow the accumulation and storage of trace levels of environmental energy to supply power for intermittent duty cycle operations. The demand for these modules across a wide range of industries demonstrates the robust interest to make these applications a more practical part of everyday life."

Strong demand for ALD's modules reflects a growing interest for energy harvesting related technology. Market researcher Darnell Group has projected that the worldwide unit market for energy harvesting technology will experience growth above 65 percent between 2008 and 2013, as developers bring systems to market and find healthy demand across a variety of segments ranging from industrial, electronics, transportation and research.

ALD's EH300 and EH301 EPAD® Energy Harvesting Modules™ can accept energy from an assortment of widely available ambient energy sources that operate from vibration, light, chemical reaction, fluid and air flow, environmental heat and others. The modules then store this energy to power conventional electrical circuits and systems such as wireless sensor networks or remote controls. Now in pilot production, ALD expects to reach full volume production of these modules by the first half of 2008.

"ALD's EPAD devices have been an important part of our energy harvesting solution designs for capturing ambient mechanical energy as electrical power, said Jerry Ruddle, Executive Vice President of Advanced Cerametrics, Inc. "Combined with our unique piezoelectric fiber composite products that convert vibration and other mechanical forces to useful levels of electrical energy, the ALD EPADs offer us important capabilities in power conditioning and management. We have worked with ALD components in a number of our breakthrough commercial solutions and appreciate their capabilities and support."

ALD EPAD Energy Harvesting Modules are completely self-powered, are always in the active mode, and always ready to harvest energy from sources that generate intermittent energy impulses with varying source impedances. The modules begin charging from 0.0V and operate at nano-power to ensure that even the most miniscule energy charges can be captured, stored and used for the application. Full operation of the module's cycle requires a minimum of four volts and 200 nanoamps from the energy source.

ALD Energy Harvesting Modules utilize the company's patented Electrically Programmable Analog Device (EPAD) technology to deliver zero power operation. This allows the power generated by energy harvesting sources to go almost entirely to the application. These characteristics make EPAD devices ideally suited for the circuits needed to serve as the link between energy harvesting sources and ultra-low power applications. This technology enables precision depletion and enhancement mode MOSFETs to be built with threshold voltages ranging from -3.60V to +3.30V with very low leakage currents, including Zero-Threshold MOSFETS and Zero-Power MOSFETs.

About Advanced Linear Devices, Inc. Advanced Linear Devices Inc. (ALD) is a design innovation leader in analog semiconductors specializing in the development and manufacture of precision CMOS linear integrated circuits, including EPAD energy harvesting modules, EPAD MOSFET transistors, analog switches, A/D converters and chipsets, voltage comparators, operational amplifiers, analog timers, and conventional MOSFET transistors.

ALD was founded in 1985 with a commitment to bridge technology gaps by providing analog semiconductor solutions to OEM design engineers facing challenges in energy harvesting, industrial control, military, automotive, security, and medical instrumentation markets. ALD is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., with distributors throughout the U.S. and Europe.