AUSTIN, Texas, October 28, 2009 -
Silicon
Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance,
analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today announced its entry into the
human interface market with the introduction of the QuickSenseTM portfolio,
including the Si1102 proximity sensor and the Si1120 proximity and
ambient light sensor, the industry’s fastest infrared sensing solutions.
Optimized for power efficiency, the Si1102 and Si1120 enable touchless
human interface sensing and superior detection range. Ideal for a wide
variety of sensing applications, the Si1102/20 devices are well suited
for products that can benefit from system power savings, tamper
detection/proofing and gesture interpretation, such as portable
electronics, IP phones, displays, kiosks, dispensers, interactive toys,
clock radios, and other consumer and industrial products.
The QuickSense Si1102 sensor enables an electronic device to quickly
gauge its proximity to the user. For example, it can detect if a handset
is near a user’s face and adjusts the display and lighting accordingly.
The QuickSense Si1120 infrared proximity and ambient light sensor can
also detect the ambient light in the external environment, allowing
screen backlighting to be dimmed, for example, saving power. When paired
with the F700 and F800 touch sense microcontrollers (MCUs), the
QuickSense solution enables smart motion sensing, giving designers a
complete array of human interface technologies for their applications
and fundamentally improving the end-user experience.
Historically, designing advanced human interface features into end
products has been challenging and has introduced performance and power
trade offs. Silicon Labs’ patented technologies and decade of infrared
product design and manufacturing expertise has created a new method that
eliminates the tradeoffs. Unlike competing approaches that require the
infrared LED to be pulsed multiple times over a long period for accurate
measurements, the Si1102/20 devices use a patented single-pulse
proximity measurement technique to achieve up to a 4000x improvement in
power efficiency, resulting in longer battery life, a critical feature
in portable applications. With up to a 50 cm range (unaided by lenses),
the Si1102/20 can easily power down displays and other functions when
the user is not present. This power-saving capability is particularly
appropriate for products such as appliances, security panels and IP
phones.
The Si1120 device enables an innovative, patent-pending touchless
proximity slider for gesturing, allowing end users to navigate without a
physical touch but with simple gestures. The superior sensitivity that
enables this touchless control feature has the added benefit of offering
robust performance under a wide range of lighting conditions. It also
enables the use of low-cost or low-profile infrared LEDs, often
resulting in a significant system cost savings.
The Si1102 and Si1120 infrared sensor family is supported by the
QuickSense Studio, a common development framework for all of the
QuickSense devices including the F700 and F800 touch sense MCUs. The
QuickSense Studio configuration wizard allows designers, using an
intuitive software GUI, to select which functions they want implemented
such as capacitive touch sense buttons, sliders and wheels, and then
easily auto-generate the software to set up and calibrate these
functions. Designers can also test their implementation and review a
graphical display of the system performance.
“Silicon Labs’ QuickSense human interface portfolio gives developers a
robust, low-power human interface solution that’s easily configurable
with a straightforward development environment,” said Mark Thompson,
vice president and general manager of Silicon Laboratories. “No other
supplier is able to match the speed and accuracy of our sensors or to
combine intelligent optical sensing with touch sense MCUs, making
Silicon Labs a single source for advanced, easy-to-use human interface
technology.”
Pricing and Availability
The QuickSense Si1102 proximity detector and Si1120 proximity and
ambient light sensor are supported by reference designs and evaluation
boards available at www.silabs.com/pr/QuickSense.
The Si1102 and Si1120 devices are available now in an 8-pin ODFN package
and are priced at $0.90 and $1.05 (USD) respectively in 10k quantities.
For more information or to request samples, please visit www.silabs.com/pr/QuickSense.
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Silicon Laboratories is an industry leader in the innovation of
high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs. Developed by a
world-class engineering team with unsurpassed expertise in mixed-signal
design, Silicon Labs’ diverse portfolio of highly integrated,
easy-to-use products offers customers significant advantages in
performance, size and power consumption. These patented solutions serve
a broad set of markets and applications including consumer,
communications, computing, industrial and automotive.
Headquartered in Austin, TX, Silicon Labs is a global enterprise with
operations, sales and design activities worldwide. The company is
committed to contributing to our customers’ success by recruiting the
highest quality talent to create industry-changing innovations. For more
information about Silicon Labs, please visit www.silabs.com.
Cautionary Language
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on
Silicon Laboratories’ current expectations. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could
impact Silicon Laboratories' financial results and cause actual results
to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements,
please refer to Silicon Laboratories’ filings with the SEC. Silicon
Laboratories disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
Note to editors: QuickSense, Silicon Laboratories, Silicon Labs, the “S”
symbol, the Silicon Laboratories logo and the Silicon Labs logo are
trademarks of Silicon Laboratories Inc. All other product names noted
herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.
