Touchstone and Future Electronics announce ‘TS1001 Coolest Op Amp’ design competition winner

MILPITAS, USA: Touchstone Semiconductor Inc., a developer of high-performance analog integrated circuit solutions, and Future Electronics, a leader in the distribution and marketing of semiconductors and electronic components, announced the winner of their ‘TS1001 Coolest Op Amp’ Design Competition.

Eric John Holland, a senior electronics design engineer at Avery Weigh-Tronix, was awarded the top prize of $1,000 for his design of a working, low-power 555 timer using Touchstone’s TS1001 op amp. The TS1001 is the industry’s first 0.8V, 0.6µA op amp cutting power requirements at least in half compared to any other op amp.

“Eric’s entry shows remarkable creativity,” said Brett Fox, CEO, Touchstone Semiconductor. “His design proves that low power doesn’t necessarily translate to less functionality when using analog op amps. And it’s cool because he took an industry standard that has been around for 30+ years and reinvented it again. We want to thank all our entrants; it was a difficult process to choose a winner.”

The competition, which ended on July 29, asked entrants to design a working electronics device that (a) used a current budget of 5µA or less and (b) incorporated Touchstone’s TS1001 operational amplifier. Other notable designs entries included a low-power sound localization circuit and a temperature transistor skin.