EP&Dee no 6

JUNE, 2014 足 ISSUE NO. 6, VOL. 12

DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

EP&Dee ELECTRONICS

PRODUCTS

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DESIGN

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EASTERN

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THE EAST EUROPEAN RESOURCE FOR EMBEDDED APPLICATIONS

JUNE 2014 Table of Contents

WIN a Microchip dsPICDEM™ SMPS Buck Board!

DESIGN FEATURES 10 Technical Introduction to the RZ/A family This article is a technical introduction to the RZ/A family, the new embedded processor from Renesas.

The device is available in a number of options and a number of configurations designed to give designers a broad choice when designing their TFT drive or GUI application. The article will go into some detail on the features of the RZ/A family, including a technical overview of the memory architecture that includes the world’s largest embedded RAM (up to 10MB) as well as a specially designed bus architecture to ensure fast bus throughput to the memory.

15 Digital power – a faster pick for mining crypto-currencies Time-to-market has always been important in our industry. And for the mining of crypto-currencies, it is even more so the case.

16 RED Pitaya is available at Aurocon COMPEC Red Pitaya is a innovative single-board, open instrumentation and control platform which replaces many expensive laboratory and field instruments at a much lower price.

EP&Dee is giving you the chance to win a dsPICDEM™ SMPS Buck Board. This development board provides an easy and economical way to evaluate the dsPIC30F202x/1010 SMPS & Digital Power Conversion family of components and provides an educational and prototyping platform to investigate digital power conversion and digital Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) design. The board includes a socketed dsPIC30F2020 device connected to power devices and circuitry for controlling dual independent low power DC to DC Synchronous Buck Converter circuits as well as support, debug, and communication circuitry.

18 Making the right connections Wireless connectivity is rapidly becoming a ‘must-have’ feature across all sectors, providing everything from cable replacement to internet connectivity; even turning everyday objects in to full-function web-servers.

20 Scan System Teaches Robots How to Take Aim High-power welding with online seam tracking proves its mettle in the automotive industry.

22 Universally representing embedded systems Until now, Rutronik has only been seen as an embedded specialist distributor to a limited extent.

Unjustly so, in fact, because the broadliner carries all the required components for complete, specific embedded systems in its portfolio.

26 Innovative Encoders Deliver Durability and Precision Without Tradeoffs Capacitive-based encoders offer a combination of performance, reliability, and accuracy not available with traditional encoder technologies.

30 Light-band detects object presence 32 Extended mains choke Series One of the most important environmental conditions for the smooth operation of electrical equipment is a reliable quality of supply networks.

PRODUCT NEWS 9

Embedded Systems (p 4 - 9) (p 14, 21, 25, 29, 35) Sensors (p 30, 31, 33)

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Lighting Solutions / Display (p 34)

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For your chance to win a dsPICDEM SMPS Buck Board from Microchip, please visit: http://www.microchip-comps.com/epdee-buck and enter your details in the entry form.

Active Components (p 36 - 39)

Group Publishing Director Gabriel Neagu Managing Director Ionela Ganea Accounting Ioana Paraschiv Advertisement Irina Ganea WEB Eugen Vărzaru © 2014 by Eurostandard Press 2000

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Key features of the dsPICDEM™ SMPS Buck Development Board include: • Socketed dsPIC30F2020 on board connected to power devices and circuitry for controlling dual independent low power DC to DC Synchronous Buck Converter circuits • Buck converters can operate in Synchronous or Asynchronous modes • Input voltage range 7V to 15V (nominal 9V) • User can enable a dynamic output load to investigate transient response • User potentiometers to simulate application features such as voltage trim, remote voltage sense, voltage tracking, current sharing, etc.

• MPLAB® ICD 2 or REAL ICE support ready • RS-232 serial channel • Example software.

EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

Contributing editors Radu Andrei Ross Bannatyne Consulting Marian Blejan Bogdan Grămescu Mihai Savu Asian Reprezentative Taiwan Charles Yang Tel: +886­4­3223633 charles@medianet.com.tw

EP&Dee Web page: www.epd­ee.eu EP&Dee Subscriptions: office@epd­ee.eu

EUROSTANDARD PRESS 2000 Tel.: +40 31 805 9955 Tel: +40 31 805 9887 office@esp2000.ro www.esp2000.ro VAT Registration: RO3998003 Company number: J03/1371/1993

EP&Dee (Electronics Products & Design ­ Eastern Europe) is published 11 times per year in 2014 by Euro Standard Press 2000 s.r.l.

It is a free to qualified electronics engineers and managers involved in engineering decisions. Starting on 2010, this magazine is published only in digital format.

Copyright 2014 by Euro Standard Press 2000 s.r.l. All rights reserved.

INDUSTRY NEWS Replace 20 Discrete Chips with One Configurable Data Converter Maxim Integrated’s flexible data converter is ideal for base stations, industrial control and automation.

Now engineers can mix and match 20 ADCs, 20 DACs or 20 High voltage digital I/O pins in any order using the MAX11300, the new mixedsignal PIXI™ technology from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. Designers often work with application-specific devices that are neither flexible nor easy to program. The MAX11300 PIXI is the industry’s first configurable 20-channel, -10V to +10V high-voltage mixed-signal data converter. It is ideally suited for complex applications requiring multiple mixed-signal operations like base

stations and industrial control and automation.

Graphical user interface software that comes with the MAX11300 PIXI allows rapid drag and drop configuration of the device. Any function can be assigned to any pin. Select an ADC and connect it to any of 20 pins, select a DAC and connect it to any pin or assign a digital I/O to any pin. Unlike traditional multichannel data converters, the MAX11300 data converter lets engineers configure the 20 mixed signal input/outputs (I/Os) to optimize a design. It gives engineers the flexibility to be creative.

High integration provides a smaller size, lower cost, and simplified bill of materials (BOM).

The flexibility of the MAX11300PIXI significantly shortens design time and time to market.

The MAX11300 PIXI data converter integrates a 12-bit, multichannel, analog-to-digital converter (ADC); a 12-bit, multichannel, buffered digital-to-analog converter (DAC); and highvoltage analog switches and digital I/Os. With its wide -10V to +10V, high-voltage range, the MAX11300 PIXI enables high-voltage bipolar signals. It provides more design flexibility than any competing data converter. Each of the 20 mixed-signal I/Os can be uniquely configured for the application, so designers can optimize PCB layout. Configuration software enables simple “drag and drop” setup of the 20 ports.

Files can be exported for coding and easily reconfigured as requirements change.

MAXIM INTEGRATED www.maximintegrated.com

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EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Altera and Lime Microsystems Team Up to Accelerate and Simplify the Development of Wireless Networks Altera Corporation and Lime Microsystems, a leading provider of field programmable RF (radio frequency) transceivers headquartered in the UK, have entered into a Strategic Cooperation Agreement focused on jointly developing and promoting pro-

grammable solutions for a diverse range of broadband wireless markets. The agreement will result in the development of optimized field programmable radio frequency (FPRF) transceivers, digital RF and baseband solutions that will enable system designers to reduce their overall costs, lower power, shorten time-to-market, and customize designs for key wireless infra-

structure, enterprise, military, industrial, test and medical applications. As part of the agreement, Altera has also made an equity investment in Lime Microsystems.

As demand for mobile data traffic continues to increase, small cell wireless backhaul systems are projected to handle a quarter of mobile traffic by 2016, according to analyst firm Infonetics. This trend is reshaping mobile networks and carriers are looking for ways to simplify complexity and costs of small cell deployment.

Altera’s high performance FPGAs, coupled with single-chip RF transceiver technology from Line Microsystems supporting all mainstream global wireless communication standards, will simplify small cell deployment and enable the creation of low- cost mobile networks.

Additionally, Myriad-RF, which was founded by Lime Microsystems and is a family of open source hardware projects for the prototyping and creation of fully configurable wireless platforms, also will give developers easy access to Altera-Lime optimized reference designs, boards, and software stacks and drivers to quickly, easily and affordably build next-generation wireless systems.

ALTERA www.altera.com LIME MICROSYSTEMS www.limemicro.com

Altera Programmable Logic is Critical DNA in Software Defined Data Centers Altera Corporation announced that its FPGAs are central to software defined data center (SSDC) development, and that Altera is working with Microsoft Research and Bing to accelerate portions of the web search engine. Altera's field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) can accelerate the processing of large amounts of data on servers, which helps address big data challenges and massive distributed workloads. Microsoft shared key developments in a research paper titled, “A Reconfigurable Fabric for Accelerating Large-Scale Data Center Services” that was presented at the 41st International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA) in Minneapolis. The paper details how Altera's technologies are used to increase performance.

Distributed reconfigurable fabrics have the potential to be a viable path forward as server performance increases continue to level off and will be crucial at the end of Moore's Law for continued cost and capability improvements.

Based on the results, Bing plans to roll out FPGA-accelerated servers to process cus-

tomer searches in one of its data centers starting in early 2015.

FPGAs Enable the Software Defined Data Center Altera's view of the software defined data center is that programmable logic, and FPGAs, in particular, are helping drive the transformation of the modern data center. Data centers are increasingly

addressing challenging big data analytics and HPC requirements with tight coupling and sharing of computing, networking, and storage resources. A data center's infrastructure can be virtualized and delivered as a service over commodity servers.

ALTERA www.altera.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Daimler Implements MOST150 in Flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class; Presents Insights on Next-Gen Infotainment System at MOST® Forum Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, announced that Daimler AG is the latest automotive company to adopt the latest-generation MOST150 standard, using Microchip’s Intelligent Network Interface Controllers (INICs), as presented by Daimler’s Dr. Jan

MOST150’s elimination of addressing control or overhead. He also cited the standard’s ability to efficiently route data to the appropriate interfaces, such as I2S for audio and I2C™ for control, which eliminates interrupts to the host processor for streaming, freeing it to perform other tasks or enabling the use of a less-expensive MPU.

Bauer at the recent MOST® Forum in Germany. Dr. Bauer explained why Daimler chose MOST150 for its flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan’s next-generation infotainment system. He also provided insights on how they easily moved from a legacy MOST25 system to gain performance improvements of 150 Mbit/s, while utilizing MOST150’s many new features, including isochronous video streaming and the new MOST Ethernet Protocol (MEP), which is a dedicated channel that was added to the many transport mechanisms already supported by MOST technology.

Regarding MOST150’s new MEP, Dr. Bauer said in his accompanying paper, “The MOST Ethernet channel can transport unmodified Ethernet frames, according to IEEE 802.3. This permits software stacks and applications from the consumer and IT domain to be seamlessly migrated into the car. TCP/IP stacks, or protocols utilizing TCP/IP, can communicate via the MOST bus without any modification. Thus the new generation of MOST technology provides the automotive-ready physical layer for Ethernet in the car.”

Dr. Bauer explained how Daimler was able to take advantage of the high streaming-data transfer speeds to achieve the simultaneous playback of four HD videos, due to

Dan Termer, vice president of Microchip’s Automotive Information Systems Division, commented after Dr. Bauer’s presentation, “MOST technology is the de-facto industry standard that carmakers use to create a high-speed networking backbone within their vehicles.”

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY To view Dr. Bauer’s MOST Forum presentation, visit www.microchip.com/get/GQJ2 For more information on Microchip’s MOST technology solutions, visit www.microchip.com/get/LWSU

Freescale Simplifies RF Power Application Development First integrated RF power development system reduces complexity of RF application creation with portable, multi-functional instrumentation capabilities.

Freescale Semiconductor, the leading provider of RF power technology, introduced the RF Power Tool system, which is designed to simplify the development of RF power applications and help customers create new and differentiated RF power solutions. The only comprehensively integrated RF power application development system on the market, Freescale’s RF Power Tool system minimizes the size, cost and complexity of RF lab equipment needed for application development by integrating multiple RF bench tool capabilities into a single box, reducing the need for a full bench of RF evaluation equipment.

Including critical components needed to design innovative RF power applications into a modular portable unit, and fully compatible with a range of Freescale RF power evaluation boards and reference designs, the new Freescale RF Power Tool system simplifies the design process, reduces development costs and speeds time-to-market. The system runs directly from a PC or front panel, and can be initiated in only minutes at a cost significantly lower than a traditional RF bench setup.

The Freescale RF Power Tool system allows users to define RF conditions for their applications and provides easy system validation and real-time performance monitoring and data logging to allow customers to evaluate application tradeoffs. This helps developers reduce the time needed to design, develop, evaluate and update their RF power applications such as heating, mobile radio, ISM and broadcast products.

The tool offers temperature sensing, voltage sensing and power detection. An integrated Kinetis microcontroller capitalizes on Freescale’s leadership in control solutions, while compatibility with Freescale RF evaluation boards from 5W to 1.25 kW and from 10 MHz to 2.5 GHz allows customers to benefit from Freescale’s long history of RF power expertise.

Additional Features • RF generator - 1 MHz to 2.5 GHz - 1 Hz steps - Level adjustable in 0.5 dB steps - Pulse modulation - 0.1% to 99.9% duty cycle - 1 us resolution • RF power measurement - 1 mW to 2 kW range FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR

- Forward power - Reflected power • Bias voltage supply - 4 channels - 0-5 V, 10 mV steps • DC measurements - Voltage - Current • All connected to a PC with a unified interface www.freescale.com

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS Renesas Electronics Expands Development Platform for R-IN32M3 Series of Industrial Network SoCs Renesas Electronics announced the expansion of its R-IN32M3 series platform solution for industrial Ethernet protocols with an IAR Systems® development kit and multiple Industrial Ethernet protocol stacks support.

IAR Systems eases device evaluation with the release of its low-cost hardware starter kit, IAR KickStart Kit™ for R-IN32M3 SoCs. The kit includes an R-IN board, an I-jet Lite debug probe and evaluation versions of IAR Embedded Workbench® for ARM, as well as lots of protocol stacks on Renesas’ website.

The solution enables simplified development and contributes to reduced development time for industrial networking applications.

As industry moves towards the Smart Factory, communication networks have become a critical component in improving production efficiency and real-time processing. Nowadays, the number and complexity of industrial protocols like CCLink IE®, EtherCAT®, PROFINET®, etc., as well as a variety of applications, has led to long and complex development cycles.

Renesas’ R-IN32M3 series of devices significantly improves industrial Ethernet network performance with optimized hardware accelerators, while reducing costs by supporting multiple protocols such as EtherCAT®, CC-Link® IE, EtherNet/IP®, PROFINET®, CANopen® and others, from a single device. It can be used for realtime network communication in gateways, I/O controllers, PLCs/PACs, embedded controllers, industrial drives and countless other networked applications. Its exceptional design flexibility allows one system design to serve a diversity of networks and applications.

To further ease the development, a new platform for this R-IN32M3 is now available in collaboration with IAR Systems, a leader in embedded software tools. This new platform consists of the new IAR KickStart Kit for R-IN32M3, which contains the necessary hardware and tools to quickly evaluate the features of the R-IN32M3 and leverage the hardware RTOS feature, and the support of leading Industrial Ethernet protocol stacks. The platform solution is complemented by a broad set of industrial Ethernet protocol samples available on the Renesas website. This allows customers to easily set up the environment for protocols, such as EtherCAT®, EtherNet/IP® or PROFINET®, on the R-IN32M3.

This combination delivers a complete and powerful, yet simple and cost effective platform for setting up Ethernet-based industrial networks.

Renesas’ R-IN32M3 platform solution serves as a key enabler to fulfill the Internet-of-Things (IoT) requirements in an industrial environment.

RENESAS ELECTRONICS www.renesas.eu

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EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Cost-Efficient COM Express Modules with Celeron CPUs MSC Technologies has expanded its MSC C6B-8S COM Express™ Type 6 module family based on fourth generation Intel® Core™ processors (code name Haswell) with two cost-efficient Celeron® variants.

The powerful computer-on-modules are suitable for sophisticated applications in imaging, medical, digital signage and gaming systems.

The new high-end modules integrate the 2000E (2.2GHz) or 2002E (1.5GHz) Intel® Celeron® processors with two CPU cores and 2MB cache.

The thermal dissipation power (TDP) is 437W (2000E) or 25W. The Intel® HD graphics (GT1) implemented into the processor offers accelerated video coding and decoding functions and supports DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL™ 1.2.

The MSC C6B-8S module family has three comprehensive Digital Display Interfaces (DDIs) for the connection of three independent displays. The DDIs can be used as DisplayPort 1.2 with multi-stream support or HDMI with a resolution of up to 3800 x 2400 pixels. Furthermore the modules have two embedded DisplayPort interfaces,

along with a dual-channel LVDS and CRT interface.

The COM Express™ modules are based on the powerful Intel® 8-Series platform Controller Hubs (PCHs) QM87 (for i5 and i7 processors) or HM86 (i3 and Celeron).

The rich set of I/O capabilities features four

fast USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, seven PCI Express™ x1 channels, a PCI Express™ graphics (PEG) x16 interface for powerful external graphics cards and an LPC bus for legacy I/O interfaces. In addition, Gbit Ethernet, HD audio and four SATA interfaces at up to 6Gb/s are available.

MSC TECHNOLOGIES www.msc-technologies.eu

NLT Technologies Enhances Lineup of Touch Technology Family NLT Technologies (NLT), together with its sales and marketing channels in the Americas, Tianma NLT America, and in Europe, Renesas Electronics Europe GmbH, has announced the successful development of a new 19.0-inch color LCD module with factory installed projected capacitive (PCAP) touch panel technology.

ideal for use in professional display applications such as medical equipment.

Total touch solution NLT offers total PCAP solutions, that include the LCD, touch panel and controller board, direct from NLT’s factory. This is important for customers since the PCAP displays are covered by the same factory warranty NLT offers on all of their industrial LCD products.

NLT also offers support for drivers and tuning software of touch panel, allowing customers to easily design NLT’s touch panel displays into their end products.

Long-term support same as Industrial LCD NLT’s PCAP products offer the same longterm support program, high quality and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) benefits as offered for their industrial LCD products.

The newly developed 19.0-inch model is the currently largest size in NLT’s PCAP family, which adapts PCAP touch panel in LCD module, both developed and produced by NLT Technologies. It incorporates NLT’s proprietary Super Fine TFT technology (SFT) that achieves high luminance, wide color gamut and ultra-wide viewing angles and is

Various PCAP Options NLT’s PCAP touch panels offer valuable component and structural options such as bonding, surface treatment, or cover glass.

This allows end product designers greater flexibility and more display options depending on the end use of the display.

RENESAS ELECTRONICS www.renesas.eu/display

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Microchip announces new family of USB Power Delivery controllers Microchip announces, from Computex Taipei, a new family of USB Power Delivery (UPD) controllers - the UPD100X with an industry-standard power delivery and battery charging protocol. A single USB cable can be used for

pins on the UPD1001.

A multitude of configurations are available to provide utmost flexibility. Integrated quad-banks of onetime programmable memory allow for further system customisation without the need for any external

Kontron designs versatile AdvancedMC module for carrier grade COTS high performance systems Kontron announced the launch of the AM4024 AdvancedMC module featuring the 4th generation Intel Core i5 / i7 processor series, ideal for high-performance computing and general multi-processor systems. Compliant to MicroTCA and AdvancedTCA commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware designs, the AM4024 perfectly serves the network requirements for media server and gateway applications, as well as test and measurement solutions. In particular, the Kontron AM4024 also offers a faster go-to-market strategy for the burgeoning mobile and broadband content delivery segment.

data and simultaneously deliver up to 100W of power from a single standard USB port which is 40 times the power compared to USB 2.0. With up to 100W of available power, designers can dynamically allocate this power to fast battery charging and system power.

The UPD1001 is the first of the family and is a highly flexible and configurable solution that supports the five USB-IF standard UPD power profiles plus an additional 25 UPD-compliant profiles for a total of 30 profiles supported by a single chip. This will allow designers to select the optimum power profiles in order to meet their specific application requirements. Simple configuration is achieved by strapping the two configuration select

memory components.

The UPD100X family serves a wide range of applications such as consumer notebooks, printers and accessories, docking stations, mobile devices and battery chargers; industrial computers and handheld devices; and automotive products including head units, break-out boxes and USB battery chargers, among other applications.

The UPD1001 is supported by Microchip’s UPD1001 Evaluation Kit (EVB-UPD1001) price at $299.00 and is available today.

The UPD1001 devices are available now for sampling in 32-pin QFN and 28-pin TSSOP. Volume production for these devices is expected in July.

Key Facts: • UPD100X features industry-standard power delivery and battery charging protocol increasing overall system performance capabilities • Enables delivery of 100W of power, whilst transmitting USB data, to create a single cable for connectivity of all consumer products • Supports a total of 30 UPD profiles with a single chip • Integrated quad-banks of one-time programmable memory enable customisation without external memory • Applications include consumer, industrial, automotive and other products MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/6FH0

From a 1U MicroTCA platform with six AdvancedMC slots to a 13U AdvancedTCA platform with up to 12 ATCA carrier card slots, the Kontron AdvancedMC module AM4024 is an integral component to support the various streaming, live and off-line video transcoding. The delivery of video requires significant compute resources which, in the case of the Kontron AM4024, can be efficiently offloaded to the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 engine incorporated into the 4th generation Intel Core i7 processor. Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can take advantage of the Intel Media SDK 2014 to utilize the Intel Iris Pro and Intel HD Graphics hardware acceleration capabilities.

The design process is significantly shortened to easily develop optimized media applications - for Linux and Windows server operating systems - that encode, decode, and transcode for real-time streaming, teleconferencing, and video analytics.

Relying on the graphics engines for media optimization opens the door for other high-perfomance computing applications to run on the general purpose quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, itself. The AM4024 supports multiple Intel Core processor SKUs, including the: quad-core Intel Core i7-4860EQ GT3 processor (1.8 GHz, 6 MB Cache), the quad-core Intel Core i7-4700EQ GT2 processor (2.4 (1.7) GHz, 6 MB Cache), and the dual-core Intel Core i5-4402E GT2 processor (1.6GHz or GT2 3 MB Cache).

KONTRON Kontron AdvancedMC module AM4024 page

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Renesas Electronics Europe Releases Free VDE Certified Self-Test MCU Routines for IEC60730/60335 Safety Compliance Renesas Electronics Europe, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced that it has received VDE certification for its IEC60335-compliant self-test software for the RX100 family of microcontrollers.

This software, which is available for download free of charge from Renesas’ website, is fully compliant with IEC60730-1 regulations and has now been certified by VDE (the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies). The VDE Institute is recognized worldwide for its work on safety standards and approvals.

In addition to the on-chip hardware safety features, the self-test CPU software makes it easier for manufacturers of industrial, motor control and home appliances to meet IEC60730-1 (IEC60335) class B safety requirements. The safety standard requires software running on an MCU to be able to detect any safety critical failures according to specific fault models.

The RX100 MCU family integrates on-chip key advanced peripherals like the cyclic redundancy check engine (CRC) and a hardware clock monitoring function to detect erroneous clock frequencies. Finally, the RX100 offers the unique Data Operating Circuit (DOC) module, which reduces the RAM March X algorithms testing time and frees up the overall CPU load.

Renesas’ self-test software has been successfully certified for its periodic test routines for CPU registers and program counter tests, stack tests, RAM tests (using March X & C algorithms), Flash check (using cyclic redundancy check engines) and clock monitoring tests. These routines are easy to integrate in any existing software and can be called after reset and periodically during runtime. The software enables developers to easily design safety related software and to meet certification requirements quickly and with less effort.

It can reduce development time and the test harness process by up to 3 months, and the cost of certification by 15%.

The complete software source codes in C and ASM for RX100, designed with the E² studio tool chain, is now available on the Renesas website at: www.renesas.eu/support/downloads/download_ results/C1000000-C9999999/mpumcu/rx/an_ r01an2061ed_rx100_apl.jsp The package includes the official VDE certificate as well as the Application Note with the detailed timing of each routine and how to incorporate it into an existing project.

RENESAS ELECTRONICS

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www.renesas.eu

EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

Fujitsu Industrial Mainboard with Intel Q87 Express Chipset MSC Technologies has expanded its Fujitsu Industrial Series product portfolio with the D3243-S Mini-ITX mainboard. The mainboard integrates the Intel® Q87 Express chipset and offers two sockets for a max. of 16GB DDR3-1333/1600 memory modules.

Fourth generation Intel® Core™ i3 / i5 / i7 processors with LGA1150 sockets feature for high computing and graphics performance.

The robust industrial mainboard with long product lifecycle is designed for 24/7 continuous operation in an extended temperature range of 0 to 60 °C. The industrial requirements in terms of CE (EMV and security), burst, climate, shock and vibration are fulfilled.

The D3243-S mainboard supports 1 x DVI-I, two DisplayPorts V1.2 and Dual Channel LVDS (shared with one DisplayPort) for the connection of three independent displays. Onboard, a PCI Express™ x16 Gen3 connector, a Mini PCI Express™ slot, 8 Bit GPIO, multichannel audio, a mSATA (SATA III) socket for the embedded operating system, two Intel® GbE LAN interfaces, 8 × USB 2.0 and 4 × USB 3.0 are available. The mainboard has an USB 3.0 interface to internally connect an USB stick

e.g. for an embedded operating system. The D3243-S Mini-ITX board can be supplied by a standard 20/24 pin ATX power supply or a 12V only DC power supply. The onboard Infineon Trusted Platform Module TPM V1.2 offers hardware based Trusted Computing Group (TCG) security functionality. Fujitsu’s

password security protects BIOS and hard disks from unauthorized access. The Recovery BIOS function ensures the recovery of defective firmware. The integrated 3phase (BIOS-POST, Boot, operating system) hardware watchdog guarantees a stable system operation.

MSC TECHNOLOGIES www.msc-technologies.eu

Kontron launches TRACe, an EN50155-certified fanless transportation computer product line Kontron launched TRACe, its new family of operational computers designed specifically for the transportation market. The TRACe transportation computer family delivers proven, rugged and feature-rich building blocks that allow design flexibility. The first

platform in the Kontron family is the TRACe B304-TR, which is an EN50155-certified fanless transportation computer designed to make customization extremely easy to meet application-specific requirements. The TRACe family benefits from the inherent flexibility advantages of Kontron's COM Express Computer-on-Module (COM) that features the Intel Atom E3845 processor with up to quad core 1.91 GHz perform-

ance. Its rugged design ensures stable operation in harsh environments and is ideal for any rolling stock application such as passenger information systems, video streaming and storage servers, security surveillance and train management systems.

The Kontron TRACe product line features high performance density and low power consumption in a small footprint, low profile design that offers integrators higher flexibility in terms of the number of available I/O. The family also provides long-term support by design based on its modularity and seamless technology insertion of the processor, storage, I/O and power supply unit. These innovative TRACe capabilities allow transportation OEMs to significantly decrease development efforts for faster time-to-market, while also reducing maintenance costs and the total cost of ownership. The second member of the family is the Kontron TRACe V304-TR, which is an EN50155-certified and tested fanless Network Video Recorder (NVR) that can record and transmit H.264 video streams making it ideally suited for rolling stock IP video surveillance.

KONTRON www.kontron.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Microchip expands SPI Serial Flash Memory portfolio with new 1.8V low-power devices Microchip announces an expansion to its SPI Serial Flash Memory portfolio, with the introduction of the SST25WF020A, SST25WF040B and SST25WF080B devices.

These devices offer 2-, 4- and 8Mbit of memory and are manufactured with Microchip’s high-per-

and reduces overall power consumption, making these Flash memory devices especially suitable for battery-operated accessories, portable medical devices, and Bluetooth®/Wi-Fi®-enabled devices such as remotes, headsets and hearing aids.

Ericsson Power Modules New hybrid regulated ratio quarter-brick delivers up to 600W in powering advanced telecoms applications Ericsson has introduced the third version of its high-powerdensity quarter-brick power module based on the company’s innovative Hybrid Regulated Ratio (HRR) topology. The PKM4613NH is designed to power applications that require stable voltage and offers available power up to 600W across a wide input voltage range of 36V to 75V and an operating temperature range of –30°C to +90°C. Combining voltage and duty-cycle regulation, the HRR technology makes it possible to operate high-power conversion across a wide input voltage range, while keeping power losses low, resulting in an efficiency power conversion of up to 96%.

formance SuperFlash® technology and NOR Flash cell architecture for superior quality and reliability.

With a low-operating voltage range from 1.65 to 1.95V, extremely lowpower consumption, small-footprint, and low-profile packaging, these SPI Flash memory devices excel in a variety of applications.

The memory is partitioned into uniform 4 Kbyte sectors and 64Kbyte blocks, offering flexible erase capabilities and seamless partitioning for programme and data code in the same memory block. These devices enable designers to improve product performance and lower system cost during the design cycle and manufacturing. The range provides designers with a low-voltage option on the power-supply voltage for their chipsets and board designs,

SST25WF020A, SST25WF040B and SST25WF080B SPI Flash memory devices offer flexible erase and programme performance, including erasing 4Kbyte sectors as fast as 40ms, erasing 64 Kbyte blocks as fast as 80 ms, erasing the entire Flash memory chip in 300ms, and a programming time of 3ms for a 256-byte page using Page Programme. The devices also offer Fast-Read Dual I/O and superior typical reliability of 100,000 endurance cycles, and greater than 20 years of data retention. The active read current of these devices is typically only 4mA at 40 MHz, and typical standby current is only 4μA. Package options include an 8pin USON (2 × 3 mm) that uses one-fifth of the board space of the traditional 8-pin SOIC.

Key Facts: • Flash memory devices offer a low-operating voltage range of 1.65 to 1.95V • Fast Page Programme time, flexible erase and seamless partitioning • Smaller footprint, low-profile packaging and low-power consumption • Economical and innovative Flash memory for Bluetooth® & Wi-Fi®-enabled devices • Extends battery-life for consumer, medical & industrial devices MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/1NHK

The PKM4613NH comes in an industry-standard quarter-brick footprint and is designed to power ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) applications. The new DC/DC converter delivers 600W over the 42V to 75V range and matches a large variety of system bus voltages that are powered by multi-cell batteries or rectifiers commonly used in the ICT industry. Complying with the European Standard ETSI EN 300 132-2 for both 48V and 60V systems, slight derating of the product applies below 42V. However, a power of 580W remains available when reaching the low limit of the service voltage of 40.5V, as specified by the standard. In addition to providing 43% more available power than previous generations of intermediate bus converters, the HRR technology guarantees tightly regulated output voltage over the overall operational range, meaning that the voltage remains stable and safe for the target load in the case of line disturbance. Addressing the market for high-power-density boards and powering the intermediate bus, while supplying currents as high as 50A, the PKM4613NH delivers power through four power-pins, which means the reduction of power losses and improved thermal conduction across the motherboard.

ERICSSON POWER MODULES www.ericsson.com/powermodules

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Technical Introduction to the RZ/A family This article is a technical introduction to the RZ/A family, the new embedded processor from Renesas. The device is available in a number of options and a number of configurations designed to give designers a broad choice when designing their TFT drive or GUI application. The article will go into some detail on the features of the RZ/A family, including a technical overview of the memory architecture that includes the world’s largest embedded RAM (up to 10MB) as well as a specially designed bus architecture to ensure fast bus throughput to the memory.

The device also features the 5th generation Video Display Controller from Renesas, which is not only capable of driving a screen up to WXGA size but also of supporting multiple additional functions in hardware which would often be executed in software, so as to allow for full operation at a lower clock speed. The device also features on OpenVG 1.1 compliant block and the article will go on to show how this can be used to improve performance and reduce memory overhead.

Author: Robert Kalman,

Product Marketing Manager Industrial Communications Business Group Renesas Electronics Europe GmbH

The RZ/A family from Renesas is an all new series of embedded MPUs aimed at the Human Machine Interface market. The RZ lineup from Renesas is a new direction taken in the embedded processing arena, based on the Cortex A9 core from ARM running at 400MHz and including all the right IP for creating a high end HMI application without involving the costs, effort and compromises involved in the current HMI application development.

Embedded MPU? As well one may ask, what does the term “embedded MPU” actually mean? In order to answer this question, we have to have a brief look at the current offering across the MPU / MCU spectrum. Today, an MCU typically contains embedded flash and RAM, running code from the flash but somewhat 10

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limited in terms of performance, particularly when it comes to the area we are talking about – the performance level needed for a Human Machine Interface. The alternative

today is the classical MPU or microprocessor system which achieves the performance level needed and can significantly exceed it; however, it typically will not have any internal flash and only a small amount of internal RAM. Typical MPUs have their place in the market as do MCUs, of this there is no debate. However, there is certainly a significant gap between the two areas.

Filling the gap is where the eMPU can be useful. The eMPU, like an MPU, does not contain any embedded Flash and has a CPU core running at a performance that would not be possible with a typical MCU. This performance level can (as with the MPU) only be achieved by running from RAM. In contrast to the microprocessor system, which will use external RAM, the eMPU contains all the RAM that it will need for the application.

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The eMPU has enough RAM internally that it does not need to use external RAM, compared to an MPU which will typically use external DDR or SDRAM. This can have several advantages: • The application is decoupled from the RAM market. Although this is not likely to be seen as a positive point for the average hardware designer, any purchasing team will breathe a sigh of relief to be free of this.

• It requires less PCB space and also fewer pins on the eMPU, and coupled with the use of a serial flash can allow designers to use a much smaller QFP package, allowing for a 2 layer PCB instead of a multi-layer PCB. • It eliminates the requirement for an additional power supply of 1.8V for the DDR supply.

As can be seen in the system diagrams below, the MCU is obviously the most simple, but the eMPU offers a compromise offering the performance of an MPU without the complexity associated with it.

The eMPU typically will boot from an external serial flash, compared to an MPU, which will typically use external NOR flash. This can have several advantages: • It is possible to use the QSPI serial flash block which can achieve even faster performance than the standard NOR flash.

• It requires less PCB space and fewer pins on the eMPU than a 32-bit parallel NOR flash.

MCU system diagram

MPU system diagram

eMPU system diagram

Now clearly there is a line whereby the performance of an eMPU is not going to reach that of the quad core multi-gigahertz system residing in a desktop PC, but not every HMI system today needs to be built like a PC. There is another way!

The features of the RZ/A devices The RZ/A features a Cortex A9 core which is clocked at 400MHz and includes the optional IEEE754 compliant double precision floating point unit architecture (VFP) and the optional general purpose 128bit single instruction multiple data (SIMD) NEON extension. These extensions accelerate typical operations in DSP, multimedia and visualisation applications. The core, as is standard on Cortex A9 cores, has 32kB of instruction cache and 32kB of data cache. Additionally it includes 128kB of L2 cache to ensure that even if code is running from external non-volatile memory it can be executed at maximum performance.

The core alone is nothing unusual. The unique feature of this device is the inclusion of 10MB of internal RAM. This RAM is split into 4 separate blocks. Each block is 2MB in size and has a dedicated 128-bit wide bus running at 133MHz. This means that each block can be addressed concurrently by the different peripherals on the chip. At the same time as the CPU can be running code from one block, it can be writing data to a second block, whilst the third block can contain the picture data to be written to the TFT screen and the final block can be used for some DMA access or as the communications buffer for a TCP/IP stack; all of these with no bus collisions. www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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This is of course another major benefit of the eMPU architecture. Whilst an MPU has typically a fast bus to the external RAM, there is also only one of them. Thus the likelihood of a bus collision is high.

ance (approximately 3%) than when accessing parallel external NOR flash, for example.

This has the upshot of allowing for a fast boot time without needing to connect a 32bit bus to a device. The other feature of the

designers to design a system with a low bill of materials cost without compromising performance. All of this is nice, but it doesn’t get to the real crux of the target application yet. How do you drive the screen?

Diagram of the RAM blocks and the internal bus A feature of the 10MB of SRAM in the RZ/A family is the low-power RAM. In block zero of the RAM there is 128kB of “data-retention” RAM, which is also split down further into smaller blocks. These blocks can remain powered in low power modes and allow for a significantly faster wake up from these modes. The startup code and even the first screen to be driven to the TFT can be saved, thus as soon as the user presses a button or starts the system, it is as near as possible to a live state immediately. This is clearly another major advantage over MPU systems today which in order to achieve the lowest possible power consumption will remove power to the RAM and thus need to boot completely again from scratch.

Another unique feature of the RZ/A family is the SPI Multi-I/O. This peripheral can be thought of as a simple serial SPI block with a few extra enhancements. The first such improvement to the block is that it not only supports standard serial mode but also the new QSPI mode. This mode uses four parallel data lines as opposed to the standard 3 wire serial bus. With the new improved speed of this connection, initial benchmarks are showing a performance improvement in excess of 9 times when compared to the previous SPI modules. It also shows that it is possible to achieve even better perform12

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SPI Multi-I/O block is the “execute in place” functionality. The block allows the CPU to access the QSPI serial flash as if it were an external linear address space. This feature is also supported by the L2 cache, such that code can be run directly from this external flash. The upshot of this feature is that any critical code that needs to be run fast and regularly can be run from the internal RAM, and then code that does not need to be run regularly can be run from external flash. So although designers are limited to only 10MB of RAM, the amount of code that can be written is limited only to the size of the available external SPI flash.

Finally, from a communications point of view, the device comes with everything that you would expect. There is an Ethernet MAC, two USB 2.0 interfaces supporting both host and device functionality, as well as up to 5 CAN channels.

An overview of the Graphics IP (Video Display Controller and OpenVG) So now we have learned that the RZ/A family is a fast processor which achieves high performance based on the 10MB of internal memory, and a wide bus avoiding collisions.

It also supports a number of peripherals supporting all the standard interfaces one would expect while also allowing system

The RZ/A has two features which make driving a screen very simple and allow for an impressive GUI. The first of these features is the VDC5. The VDC5 is the 5th generation of the video display controller from Renesas and is able to drive screens up to a maximum size of 1999 pixels × 2035 lines, making it the most impressive of its kind. The VDC5 actually supports up to 2 channels meaning that two screens can be driven concurrently. The VDC5 also supports standard digital interfaces as well as LVDS, such that the trend in larger screens to use the LVDS interface can also be supported.

The first portion of the VDC is the input controller, which can receive up to two video input signals up to a maximum size of 1440 × 1024. The input controller supports phase compensation as well as horizontal noise correction and contrast correction.

The input signals are then passed to the scaler block.

The scaler block (of which there are two per VDC5 channel) can be used to scale the two video inputs either up or down to create the correct size image for the screen. The images can also be rotated and the two video inputs can even be overlaid using alpha blending and a colour look-up table (CLUT). The final images (if both inputs are treated separately) or image (if only one

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input is used or the two inputs are overlaid) are then stored in a frame buffer in the RAM and passed to the image synthesiser.

The image synthesiser combines up to 4 individual layers to create a single image.

When the either only one or no video inputs are being used, these layers are free to be used for other parts of the GUI as separate overlay layer or icons. Through a process of alpha blending and the CLUT, the final single image is created for the screen, and driven to the output controller.

one of many supported formats: RGB888 (24-bit parallel output), RGB666 (18-bit parallel output), RGB565 (16-bit parallel output) or RGB888 (8-bit serial output).

The operation of the alpha blending and the combination of the multiple layers means that the CPU can be offloaded of this functionality.

The second peripheral of the RZ/A devices that is useful for HMI development is the OpenVG-compliant graphics engine, which is a 2D vector graphics accelerator. The IP

The OpenVG engine can be used to fill the frame buffers and the VDC5 can then be used to drive the image data to the screen.

Finally, the output controller takes the generated image and drives it to the TFT screen, either via the LVDS or the digital output, in

accelerates stages 2 to 8 of the OpenVG pipeline by using dedicated hardware and a compliance tested library.

image 360 times, each rotated by 1 degree, and then simply show each picture one after the other.

The advantage of using openVG is that it allows for the use of vector graphics, which can greatly improve the efficiency as well as the “look and feel� of a GUI. Two simple examples can be used: where an image has to be rotated, the easiest way to do this with a bitmap image is to save the

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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This is clearly a significant overhead in terms of memory usage and also in terms of bandwidth of the device, while a vector implementation of the same picture can simply be rotated and the support for this rotation is included in hardware in the RZ device. The

features up to 10MB of embedded SRAM, and supports a fast wake up from lower power modes. The device only needs a simple and low cost serial flash from which it can boot directly. The 10MB of memory is enough to store both the front and the back

external RAM and has a low number of pins, available in QFP packages such that designers are able to use a 2 layer PCB.

second example is that of scaling, and in this case a picture paints a thousand words, so I will leave the picture below uncommented.

buffer for a double buffered HMI application. The RZ’s 10MB of internal RAM is connected to a multi-layered bus and is separated into 2MB blocks, such that the RAM can be both read from and written to by multiple sources concurrently. This enables a high performance Human Machine interface application to run on a system that needs no

ever achieve the performance of a quadcore 2GHz Processor, but Renesas believes that your next Human Machine Interface application needs just a little bit more performance than a standard MCU can offer, but without making that big jump to a microprocessor architecture. n www.renesas.com

Putting it all together The RZ/A, Renesas’ new eMPU, is designed to fill the gap between the traditional MPU and the traditional MCU market spaces. It

The RZ/A will never achieve the simplicity of an 8 bit MCU with 16k of ROM, nor will it

IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM Now Supports Renesas Starter Kit for the RZ/A1 Microprocessor Renesas Electronics Europe, a leading supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, officially announced that IAR Systems® industry-leading toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM® has full support for the RZ/A1 “Renesas Starter Kit” (RSK) development suite.

A key differentiator of the RZ/A1 MPU is the abundance of up to 10MB of embedded SRAM. This is sufficient to remove the need for external RAM. Numerous customer benefits stem from this: hardware costs are reduced by moving from a 3-chip solution (CPU, Flash, RAM) to a 2-chip solution (CPU, Flash); software performance is increased because the RAM is connected directly to 14

the internal bus, so there is no external interface delay; and designs can be simpler, more compact, and therefore get faster to market. Time-to-market can also be significantly improved by selecting the right tool chain and software partners. Renesas is proud to announce that its RZ/A1 series of MPUs is fully supported by IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM, and an evaluation version of IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM can be downloaded at www.iar.com/ewarm. The RZ/A1 series of embedded microprocessors is a Cortex®-A9 based microprocessor, optimized for the Human Machine Interface (HMI) market. It supports up to WXGA (1280 × 800) displays, is

EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

able to drive two screens concurrently, and includes up to two camera inputs. RZ/A1 series MPUs also include all the connectivity for a standard application: for instance, 10/100 Ethernet,

two channels of USB 2.0, and up to five channels of CAN. IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com RENESAS ELECTRONICS www.renesas.eu

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Digital power – a faster pick for mining crypto-currencies Time-to-market has always been important in our industry. And for the mining of crypto-currencies, it is even more so the case. Skipping around the question of whether a mathematically protected digital currency outside of any governmental or institutional control may or may not be a good thing, in addition to the uncertainty over both its immediate and long-term future, mining for Bitcoin – the best known virtual currency available today – is certainly highly demanding in terms of computational power and getting it an efficient manner and getting there fast.

Author: Patrick Le Fèvre,

We know the theory that in the specific case of Bitcoin, it will become increasingly difficult to mine – there is an upper limit set on the number available, or at least at the moment – and therefore an increasingly amount of energy will be required to solve these mathematical problems to maintain the transaction ‘block chain’. The cooling required for all this high-end computing power is another issue, in addition to getting access to renewable and safe forms of energy such as hydropower – hence the attraction of placing ultra-highcapacity mining datacenters in far northern regions of the globe. There are an increasing number of companies setting up datacenters to offer high-performance mining services at locations near the Artic Circle in countries such as Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Mining for digital currency has created the latest race for computing power and this new con-

Marketing and Communication Director at Ericsson Power Modules

test will ask much of microprocessor and ASIC designers and power system architects.

Powering custom-designed multicore processor based ASICs in an energy-efficient way is a huge challenge and particularly so if one considers that the time-tomarket in this field is absolutely critical – as soon as you have your machine you can start mining.

This means that board power designers will have absolutely no room for complexity in their system design – and this is where ‘digital power’ can make a significant contribution. While uptake

for the technology has generally been firm rather than explosive thus far, digital currency mining is just the sort of application that can really highlight its value.

Within a remarkably short period of time, digital power enables power system architects to manage complex power schemes, optimizing energy utilization and lowering voltage ripple. Digital power delivers excellent management and control abilities via the PMBus and can quickly handle changes in load and system temperature, enabling significant energy savings. Some of largest

benefits reside in the simplicity of the orchestration of different power sequences (demonstrated here on Ericsson's YouTube channel) to optimize energy utilization and reduce ripple and noise, while also retaining a very high level of flexibility such as the ability to change any parameter and at any time without hardware changes.

Highly demanding applications such as crypto-currency mining that employ substantial technical know-how and expertise in the field, and fully leverage technologies such as digital power to their utmost, can deliver a five-fold reduction in time-to-market.

Companies operating in the more traditional fields of datacom and telecom – some of which thus far have remained highly conservative toward the possibilities of digital power – should take note of what is happening in this revolutionary field of computing endeavor… n www.ericsson.com/powermodules

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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RED Pitaya is available at Red Pitaya is a innovative single-board, open instrumentation and control platform which replaces many expensive laboratory and field instruments at a much lower price.

RS stock no: 800-7403 FUNCTIONALITY Red Pitaya is a low cost but high spec, palm sized, PCB based electronic device which provides the following functionality: Oscilloscope 2 channels @ 125 MS/s 14 bit digital with external or signal based triggering capability.

Spectrum Analyser 2 channels with 50 MHz bandwidth signal with waterfall diagram capability.

Arbitrary Waveform Generator 2 channels @ 125 MHz 14 bit arbitrary waveform generation with external triggering capability.

Frequency Response Analyser 2 channels with 60 MHz bandwidth.

The HDMI (screen) for the device can be connected to most existing devices in the field today E.g. Laptop, Smartphone, Tablet, etc.

2×2 MIMO PID Programmable Controller

FUNCTIONALITY HARDWARE Key Benefits •

Low cost;

•

Compact size;

•

Can be coded for bespoke applications;

•

A growing open source development community;

•

Flexibility to connect to a range of existing devices for display;

•

Board can be housed in a standard or customised (possibly 3D printed case) or incorporated into a larger instrument as part of its functionality.

Aurocon Compec www.compec.ro www.designspark.com 16

EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

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Making the right connections Wireless connectivity is rapidly becoming a ‘must-have’ feature across all sectors, providing everything from cable replacement to internet connectivity; even turning everyday objects in to full-function web-servers.

Wireless connectivity is truly ubiquitous and it is due in no small part to the continued efforts of working groups and industry associations, dedicated to developing standards.

Through the adoption of standards, semiconductor manufacturers can build convincing business cases for investing in the development of integrated solutions; the availability of those solutions seeds the market and if the technology is right - as is the case with many forms of wireless connectivity other manufacturers soon follow, creating a competitive market and driving down the Figure 1

unit price. This, of course, tends to increase demand and in some rare cases the result is what has become known as a ‘mega-trend’.

The mega-trend for wireless connectivity shows no sign of abating, in fact it is getting stronger; the Internet of Things (IoT) will be fundamentally enabled by low power wireless solutions and industry forecasters are predicting there will be in excess of 30 billion new devices connected to the IoT by the year 2020. The vast majority of those devices will use low power wireless as their primary source of connectivity, as it fits the

use-case of the IoT; distributed intelligence working together to make life ‘simpler’.

Low power, standards-based wireless technologies, therefore, are currently seeing strong growth; Bluetooth, ZigBee (in its many profiles) and WiFi are all now commonly integrated - often in combination - in to embedded systems that, until recently, may not have offered any kind of connectivity at all.

Bluetooth Perhaps the most ubiquitous wireless technology now deployed in consumer devices is Bluetooth; a robust short-range protocol that offers relatively high bandwidths for demanding data. One of the most demanding is audio, which is uniquely susceptible to quality due to the ear’s ability to detect even small fluctuations and variations. The use of Bluetooth in audio applications, therefore, such as hands-free devices and more recently streaming audio, is directly thanks to its inherent strengths.

Demand for Bluetooth-enabled audio playback is increasing, along with the desire to provide value-added features such as digital signal processing and support for multiple codecs. In consumer devices, it is also important to provide engaging user-interfaces and to this end Microchip has recently introduced a Bluetooth Audio Development Kit based on its PIC32 MCU (Figure 1).

WiFi When considering the deployment of Internet-enabled devices, one wireless technology stands ahead of all others; WiFi. Adding WiFi connectivity can empower almost any device to become part of a larger network, extending its capabilities far beyond that of a standalone device.

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Manufacturers across all sectors are now adding WiFi connectivity for a range of reasons; remote access, diagnostic and logistic control are all examples of why WiFi is now being used to bring the benefits of the Internet to everyday objects.

Adding WiFi is also becoming simpler, thanks to highly integrated devices and ‘ready-made’ protocol stacks that support a range of networking modes, security features and internet services such as FTP, SMTP and HTTP. Is now possible to integrate a complete web server in a single, powerful microcontroller, for example, allowing almost any device to serve up data to anywhere in the connected world.

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existing within a crowded spectrum, whether they be standards-based or proprietary. Microchip offers a number of protocol stacks in this space, including the ZigBee PRO, RF4CE and its own MiWi wireless mesh protocol. It now also offers the MRF24XA; a single-chip radio transceiver that for the first time supports all these protocols, at data rates from 125kbit/s to 2Mbit/s Modular solutions While operating in the license-free spectrum makes commercialising wireless technology simpler, there is still a need to certify radios. An increasingly popular and viable solution to simplifying this stage of design is

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the MRF24WG0MA/MB modules, which integrate an IEEE 802.11 b/g radio supporting data rates up to 54Mbit/s while achieving just 100μA power consumption when in hibernation mode.

The feature-rich TCP/IP stack is provided in source code for developers, while demonstration boards are available for hardware engineers.

Microchip is also offering developers a migration path between WiFi and Bluetooth, by making available a range of modules compatible with the industry-standard XBee footprint. With both WiFi and Bluetooth through-hole plug-in modules

Figure 2 ZigBee vs Proprietary For short-range, low bandwidth connectivity, a single technology underpins a widening array of standard and bespoke solutions.

The IEEE 802.15.4 physical interface, and its standardised MAC (through the ZigBee Alliance), uses the same radio technology as other 2.4GHz low-power solutions, which are free to employ a range of proprietary protocols and bit-rates. This popular license-free bandwidth supports a number of wireless technologies, making it important to choose a protocol capable of co-

to use pre-configured modules.

Modules have the benefit of being ‘compliant by design’ and as such make certification much less arduous. Microchip has recently announced a range of new wireless modules targeting Bluetooth, WiFi, ZigBee and proprietary connectivity.

The new range includes the MRF WiFi range of modules that are designed to work closely with an MCU running the TCP/IP stack, as well as the RN XV series of WiFi and Bluetooth modules that integrate the TCP/IP stack on the module.

available it makes it even easier to add wireless connectivity to new or existing designs.

The Internet of Things will be enabled by low-power wireless connectivity, with billions of devices joining together in ad-hoc and peer-to-peer networks, as well as forming personal-, home-, metro and wide-area networks. This seamless aggregation and delivery of data will rely on simple and robust wireless connections enabled by a growing number of highly integrated, low power and modular solutions. n www.microchip.com www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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Scan System Teaches Robots How to Take Aim High-power welding with online seam tracking proves its mettle in the automotive industry.

At LASYS in Stuttgart, laser positioning and deflection technology leader SCANLAB AG presents together with its subsidiary Blackbird Robotersysteme GmbH an industry-proven system solution for robot-assisted 3D scanner welding.

The system's key advantage lies in how it combines flexible industrial robots with high-dynamics scanners.

This combination enables complex onthe-fly welding operations - which means welding during robotic motion - now for the first time with online tracking of position-critical seams. The system has already proven its impressive capabilities in the automotive industry.

Process technology's speed and precision requirements continue to press ahead, particularly in the area of automation. Across numerous sectors, the response is increased reliance on industrial robots for specific operations. Precisely to better harness the strengths of such robots - six degrees of freedom and a large working field of several meters - SCANLAB and Blackbird have developed a system solution that gives robots speed and highest accuracy in welding. With the intelliWELD high-power scan head and the RobotSyncUnit controller as its main components, the system will be presented at Lasys in Stuttgart on June 2426, 2014. In cooperation with BMW, the

system was enhanced for position-critical seams via a coaxial illumination unit and a camera system by Lessmüller Lasertechnik GmbH, and successfully placed into series production.

SCANLAB intelliWELD Practical Test: Fillet Welding of Car Doors Remote laser welding of galvanized steel surfaces (e.g. car doors) has required creation of a defined gap between the surfaces for degassing zinc. This time-intensive and costly preparatory step can be avoided by switching to alternative joint geometries, such as fillet seams. However, they require a level of precision during laser beam positioning that is unattainable without real-time sensors and control.

SCANLAB intelliWELD Blackbird RobotSyncUnit 20

EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

“This is precisely where our system solution comes in. We wanted robot-based scanner welding's advantages - high flexibility with maximum efficiency - to also be made available for position-critical seams,” is how Dr. Wolfgang Vogl, CEO of Blackbird Robotersysteme GmbH, explains the concept.

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Carefully-Conceived and Focused Down to the Last Detail The intelliWELD scan system's optical design is an essential prerequisite for this achievement. The head offers two ports that can serve as separate inputs and outputs for coaxial sensors - camera monitoring and illumination in this case.

Moreover, a prefocus optic is used in place of an objective to attain sharp camera imaging free of chromatic aberration throughout the entire working volume. And maximum transmission of sensor wavelengths is guaranteed.

SCANLAB Blackbird Dr Wolfgang Vogl “The system's intelligent control technology considers the robot's motion path and positions the scan mirrors in accordance with sensor data to enable not only complex welding operations, but also simultaneous correction of positioning inaccuracies during the motion

sequence.” For the first time, this technology can meet fillet welding's precision requirements in a remote process. Here, the significant advantage of short process times is further enhanced by intelligent, easily programmable control.

BMW's industrial application of scanner technology for Mini door fabrication drastically reduced process times, while seam tracking ensured robust and precise welding of front fillet seams. For sure, other auto manufacturing applications can profit from this integrated system solution, too, as can automotive suppliers and any high volume industry requiring precisely-aimed welding of defined seams. n Blackbird Robotersysteme www.scanlab.de

Future Electronics helps developers of touch-sensing designs with free Cypress CapSense® evaluation kits Broadline technical distributor Future Electronics announced that it is making the latest capacitive sensing evaluation kit from Cypress Semiconductor available free to design engineers on its ‘My Board Club’ website.

The CY3280-MBR3 CapSense® MBR3 Evaluation Kit helps designers to evaluate the third generation of Cypress Semiconductor’s capacitive-sensing technology. It can be used to develop CapSense button designs, and to implement proximity sensing.

The CapSense MBR3 devices are register-configurable, and require no firmware development on the part of the system designer. The devices and the kit use the EZ-Click™ software tool to configure capacitive sensing features.

The CapSense MBR3 solution also supports Cypress’s industryleading SmartSense™ Auto-tuning technology, which reduces design effort by eliminating manual tuning for variations in PCB, overlay, paint and manufacturing. The kit can be used to easily evaluate the advantages of SmartSense Auto-tuning.

The kit also demonstrates the water tolerance of the CapSense MBR3 devices. The MBR3 ICs retain CapSense functionality in the presence of water droplets, streaming water and mist. Included in each MBR3 Evaluation Kit is a dropper for users to place water on the plastic overlays, enabling them to evaluate the water tolerance of the MBR3 device.

The kit’s board also includes a proximity loop which can detect the presence of a finger or hand up to 30cm away.

The kit works as a stand-alone unit and as an Arduino-compatible shield. It can be used to add a capacitive-button user interface to

Arduino projects. Arduino-based example projects for the kit are available at www.cypress.com

The new MBR3 kit is available to members of the FTM Board Club (at www.my-boardclub.com), a website provided by Future Electronics (EMEA) to offer OEM engineers easy access to free evaluation, development and prototyping boards. Any OEM engineer starting development of a new or substantially enhanced product design may apply for a free development board at the FTM Board Club.

FUTURE ELECTRONICS

www.FutureElectronics.com

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Universally representing embedded systems Until now, Rutronik has only been seen as an embedded specialist distributor to a limited extent. Unjustly so, in fact, because the broadliner carries all the required components for complete, specific embedded systems in its portfolio. Rutronik accompanies the development with specific expertise in each product area as well as consideration of the customer's entire system – making it a broadliner and specialist in one. With the perfect combination of embedded technologies, a truly smart design is possible.

Author: Andreas Mangler,

The greatest motivating force for embedded systems is currently solutions relating to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Services. Unlike the conventional Internet, the IoT is not limited to the exchange of data, but also networks objects.

The cyber physical systems (CPS) go one step further: Here processing and communications systems are closely interwoven with physical or natural systems including mechanics or mechatronics at all levels. This requires the information processing to be deeply embedded in machines and objects.

A number of systems in different spheres of life, ranging from Smart Home and Smart Mobility via Smart Grid, Smart Logistics to Smart Factory, currently fall within the scope of this. The technological basis for this delivers ever smaller, ultra-efficient components which are all available in the Rutronik linecard. Over recent years, the broadliner has focused on developing a portfolio that enables customers to completely and consistently implement their specific embedded systems, from data recording and processing to distribution as well as the control 22

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Director Strategic Marketing and Communications at Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH

and regulation of machines.

Big data The heart of every embedded system comprises a board, storage component and display. Contemporary systems require small, extremely low-power components in order to guarantee the fast and reliable recording and processing of the huge data volumes involved. Frequently, already integrated connectivity is desired for networking via the Internet. Rutronik bundles these three components into a single product area 'Embedded Boards, Storage and Displays'.

Here appropriate experts work closely together to produce solutions from one source. On request, they can also compile individual kits which precisely meet the specifics of the customer application. In addition to the primary components, these also include all necessary inverters, cables, connection solutions and power supplies.

The boards available range from industrial main boards via single board computers, computer on modules (COM), PC104, blade computer, PICMG and backplanes,

IPC and servers to box and panel PCs and HMI. Although the focus here is on RISCbased solutions, the product range also includes boards containing the latest Intel processors.

'Big data', i.e. the enormous volume of data, is also the greatest challenge in terms of storage. Technologies such as MLC (Multi Level Cell) flash allow for small sizes with high storage densities – but at the expense of data reliability. A few manufacturers are now offering an interesting variant – the Endurance Managed MLC (EM-MLC) flash memories – which fall between the highquality, expensive SLC and more unreliable, cheaper MLC flash memories. In addition to flash memories, hard disks continue to be an outstanding medium for storing data reli-

DESIGN

ably and in the long term for many embedded applications. The Rutronik memory portfolio comprises all memory technologies and sizes, with all products intended specifically for industrial applications.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

All Rutronik partners have comprehensive, firmly defined PCN (Product Change Notification) / EOL (End of Life) processes and universal RMA (Return Material Authorisation) handling.

From smartphone to machine control User friendliness is paramount with HMI solutions. Even in an industrial environment, users are looking for a visually attractive, intuitive means of managing and controlling their systems using touch operation, gestures or voice control in the same way as they do with their smartphone or other

devices at home. Customers will find what they need at Rutronik Displays in all current technologies, with diagonals from 2.4" to 70" in the high-end and low-level segment with and without integrated touch function in capacitive, projected-capacitive (PCAP), SAW, infrared and resistive technology.

Specific requirements are fulfilled by models for indoor or outdoor use, with an expanded temperature range, increased robustness or clarity of display even in direct sunlight. Voice controls can be efficiently realised using MEMS sensors as very small microphones.

This ensures that customers receive components available in the long term with a fixed bill of materials (BOM), if required with increased robustness, an expanded temperature range, 24/7 continuous operation or protection against aggressive gases or other external influences. www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

As a rule, MEMS sensors are used as moisture, pressure or light gauges, gyroscopes or Hall sensors, yaw or acceleration sensors; the actuators are intelligently switched circuit breakers. The use of auto ID components in RFID or NFC technology enables product data, for instance, to be automatically read into the system.

From sensor to the Internet The Rutronik portfolio also contains other components which can be used to expand these core parts into a smart factory solution.

For instance, intelligent sensors or actuators including power electronics function as an interface between the virtual world of cyber systems and the real world.

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The components are networked together via cable or wirelessly as with other systems and subsystems, particularly the Internet or cloud.

Certified wireless modules with integrated protocols on the 3G and 4G standard can be used cost-effectively and without specific HF equipment and expertise.

These are available in different technologies

from GNS/UMTS/LTE via GNSS/GPS to shortrange technologies such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, WLAN/WiFi. In addition, Rutronik offers special M2M SIM cards aimed specifically at embedded customers. In contrast to SIM cards for end customers, these contain a complex M2M management system with which the user can manage all the SIM cards in use.

DESIGN

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

New for Rutronik24: Registration-free access Due to the increasing degree of networking, the number of interfaces is rising, and leaving the door open for more and more malware and spyware. Data security measures are therefore absolutely crucial to every embedded system.

These needs can be met by the hardware and software-based encryption systems, encrypted wireless protocols, sufficient working memory to ensure real-time processing, larger memories for distributed intelligence as well as robust hardware and software systems in accordance with the SIL (security integrity level) standard, all of which are available from Rutronik. In order to ensure a truly secure system, all these levels must be taken into account when selecting the components.

Vertically integrated, specific embedded solutions According to the V model, the distributor compiles all required components from the respective horizontal product areas in vertically integrated, complete embedded solutions. In addition to the specified primary components, these include special plug-in connectors, thermo management solutions, open frame power supplies and backup batteries. When doing this, the respective specialists work closely together, always with the integrated view of the customer's production.

Thanks to the high degree of diversification in the product portfolio, they are able to realise the customer's specific system at the required depth of integration. In doing so, as a supplier of components and solutions at board and module level, Rutronik does not compete with the end market of its customers. Engineering support and diverse services with a wide partner network provide all-round support within the system from development service provider, contract manufacturer and end customer. n www.rutronik.com

As of now, interested parties can also use the Rutronik24 e-commerce platform without registration. This will only become necessary when an order is placed.

This registration-free access now also gives new customers the opportunity to view the entire Rutronik24 product range comprising more than one million items from all product areas. Thanks to the intelligent search options, developers and buyers can quickly and easily find the desired item, whether via parameters, part numbers or full text. The item comparison makes it possible to search for cheaper or more readily available alternative items. Differing parameters are specifically marked. Further details on each product are available under the link ‘More information’. If the user has any questions, they can enter them in the corresponding field below each product in their own language. The questions are then sent directly to the product manager who will respond via e-mail.

In this way, Rutronik24 combines personal customer advice and support with the advantages of fast and convenient online purchasing, now making this available to new customers as well.

Only when the interested party wishes to make a binding purchase of the item in their shopping basket does registration become necessary. In order to receive their personal access to rutronik24.com, the user just needs to enter their contact details and some information about and the company. After registration, they will receive their own individual, customer-specific prices. This prices are identical to those they would receive via any other ordering method. Personal enquiries are also possible directly via rutronik24.com. There is no minimum order value, and customers can also order samples via rutronik24.com. In addition, registered users can benefit from the other helpful Rutronik24 features: They can use the mass quotation tool to upload their individual item list unchanged, thus enabling them to receive all relevant information about the products in a matter of seconds, e.g. prices, stock levels, delivery times, packaging units, etc.. In the Procurement area, they see an overview of all offers, orders, item lists, stock levels, delivery times and traceability information. Under ‘Print media’, a number of brochures and manuals are available for download. Its optimised display means that rutronik24.com can also be used on all mobile terminals such as smartphones or tablets.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com

Rutronik presents Low Voltage, Low Current Op-Amp from Diodes The TLV271 single channel, rail-to-rail output op-amp from Diodes is a drop-in replacement for alternative industry standard parts. It enables designers to make full use of the entire supply voltage operating range. The op-amp is available at distributor Rutronik as of now.

The device’s wide operating range of 2.7V to 16V enables the TLV271 to support an array of battery- and low-powered consumer and industrial products. A quiescent current of only 550μA helps minimize device power consumption over a gain bandwidth of 2MHz and slew rate of only 1.4V/μs. The TLV271 offers an improved level of stability and phase margin, enabling capacitive loads of up to 100pF to be driven without the need of a nulling resistor. The high input impedance and minimal bias current of this CMOS device also make it suitable for use with a wide range of signal sensors. To help meet a wider range of system requirements, the op-amp is provided in a choice of SOT23-5 or SO8 packaging, as well as with commercial (0 to +75°C) or industrial (-40° to +125°C) temperature ranges.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/891a0ffd.l www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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ENCODERS

Innovative Encoders Deliver Durability and Precision Without Tradeoffs Capacitive-based encoders offer a combination of performance, reliability, and accuracy not available with traditional encoder technologies.

Author: Jeff Smoot, VP of Motion Control, CUI

Background Rotary encoders provide critical information about the position of motor shafts and thus also their rotational direction, velocity, and acceleration. They are vital components in the motion-control feedback loop of industrial, robotic, aerospace, energy, and automation applications. In these installations, encoders are asked to provide longterm reliability, durability, and high performance despite often working in severe conditions that include dust, dirt, grease, fluctuating temperatures, and heavy vibration. The need for encoders has been increasing dramatically with the rise in applications requiring precise motion control.

The challenge for design engineers has been to choose between the tradeoffs of the two most-common encoder technologies: optical and magnetic. The optical approach offers the best accuracy but with reduced reliability; the magnetic approach provides greater durability but less accuracy. While some designs can avoid using encoders entirely, the reality is that encoders are a vital link in the overwhelming majority of control/feedback loops (see Sidebar #1, “What about sensorless designs?�).

Encoder technologies require tradeoffs Standard encoders typically provide between 48 and 2048 pulses per revolution (ppr), with most applications requiring between 800 to 1024 ppr. While higher ppr 26

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may seem to offer greater apparent precision, it is both more costly and more complex, placing additional calculation and processing burdens on the system controller or digital processor that is closing the loop. In addition to being unnecessary, excess precision can actually be detrimental due to noise, vibration, and jitter in shaft position.

Most shaft encoders are based on optical or magnetic principles. The optical method uses a glass or plastic disk with two sets of windows around the periphery, Figure 1. A LED light source and photodetectors are located on opposing sides of the disk; as the disk turns, the on/off passing of light

While used successfully, this optical approach has several drawbacks. With respect to ruggedness, factors such as dirt, oil and other containments, all of which occur both during assembly and also over time in the field, can easily interfere with the disk and slots, and thus the encoder output.

The traditional approach to mitigate exposure to contaminants is to place the encoder in a bell housing. Unfortunately, this approach does not completely eliminate exposure to environmental contaminants.

Additionally, it introduces new factors to the equation including elevated temperatures and higher application costs.

Figure 1: Generic, simplified drawing of an optical encoder. through the windows provides the typical square wave A & B quadrature pulses.

Further, the LEDs in optical encoders have a limited lifetime and their brightness can dim

DESIGN

ENCODERS

by half within 10,000 to 20,000 hours (roughly one to two years), and they eventually burn out. If the disk is made of plastic as a cost reduction measure, it will a have limited temperature range, and any distortions or warping will affect accuracy.

The magnetic encoder's construction is similar to the optical encoder, except that it uses a magnetic field rather than beam of light. In place of the slotted optical wheel, it has a magnetized disk which spins over an array of magneto-resistive sensors. Any rotation of the wheel produces a response in these sensors, which goes to a signal-conditioning front-end circuit to determine shaft position. While it offers a high level of durability, the magnetic encoder is not as accurate and is highly susceptible to magnetic interference produced by electric motors, most notably stepper motors.

In addition to optical and magnetic encoders, Hall-effect sensors can be used for position encoding. While effective and reliable, they are suitable only for relatively low-accuracy/resolution determination of shaft position.

• It is less susceptible to vibration than a glass disk.

• There is no LED to dim or burn out.

• The encoder needs only 6 to 10mA of operating current, far less than the 20 to 50mA of the optical units; this makes it an efficient component for mobile and battery-operated applications.

An innovative approach based on a proven design Given the need for accurate, precise, and rugged rotary-position encoding, CUI looked for other electronic techniques which could be used. Their solution was to adapt the capacitive-sensing operating principles of a standard linear-position encoder, as developed for vernier calipers over 30 years ago (see Sidebar #2, “From caliper to encoder”). The result is a highly durable and accurate rotary encoder platform known as AMT. Capacitive sensing uses patterns of bars or lines, with one set on the fixed element and the other set on the moving element, to form a variable capacitor configured as a transmitter/receiver pairing, Figure 2. As the encoder rotates, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) counts the line changes and also interpolates to find the precise position of the encoder and direction of rotation.

By design, the encoder ASIC's electrical output is 100% compatible with optical and magnetic encoders. This non-contact encoder implementation has several significant user benefits: • It is not affected by dust, dirt, or oil, and so is inherently more reliable than the optical approach.

• It is less sensitive to heat and cold; again, thus more reliable and consistent.

Because the AMT encoder family has no need for LEDs or line of sight, it has been called upon in applications where existing encoders often fall short. In one case, a manufacturer of baking automation equipment was having repeated and frequent

downtime at customer sites due to flour dust and other contaminants affecting the optical encoder on a key production unit, requiring monthly shutdown, replacement, and re-zeroing. When the optical unit was replaced with a capacitive one, this problem disappeared. In another case, a manufacturer of off-shore drilling equipment required

Figure 2: Principle of capacitive sensing - quadrature rows of bars, and output waveforms. that the entire motor assembly be submerged in oil due to the high pressures associated with the application. A capacitive encoder was selected because of its ability to operate without interruption in nonconductive fluids such as oil.

Figure 3: Exploded view showing assembly of AMT encoder on motor shaft.

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There is another benefit, although a lessobvious one, for designers fine tuning the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control loop: the ability to adjust the encoder's ppr count to optimize performance without need to change encoders. This ability to dynamically modify the resolution greatly simplifies the system optimization process, which is usually done via adjustments to the code, or by changing the encoder's line count (resolution). With an optical encoder, this latter process requires different encoders to be purchased and installed, increasing overall cost and lengthening the design cycle. With the capacitive-based encoder, the control engineer simply instructs a change in the line count parameter of the encoder, until the desired controlloop result is obtained.

Even in installation and production, the capacitive encoder brings other benefits.

Mechanically, its mounting holes are also matched to the other encoder types, mak-

ENCODERS

ing it a fit-and-function compatible unit, Figure 3. Thus, a single encoder can be fitted to different diameter shafts simply by using adapter sleeves, which reduces the number of SKUs (stock-keeping units) in production and repair stock.

The versatility of an encoder built from a capacitive transducer and custom ASIC electrical interface is illustrated by the AMT11 from CUI, Inc (Figure 4). The small unit, with a 37-mm diameter and a 10.34mm thick profile, operates from a single +5V supply. It provides both single-ended CMOS incremental-position quadrature (90째) and differential line driver outputs that are electrically compatible with conventional optical- or magnetic-encoder signals. It provides a wide range of programmable resolution choices ranging from 48 to 4096 ppr, plus a once-per-revolution indexing pulse. Axial and radial connection orientations are available depending on the application requirement, along with a operating

Figure 4: Photo of AMT11 and actual installation.

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temperate range of -40째C to 105째C for added durability.

There is a possible concern with the capacitive-based encoder, as there is with any electronic transducer and associated circuitry, namely, susceptibility to electrical noise and interference (EMI). Careful design of the ASIC interface circuitry as well as fine-tuning of the encoder demodulation algorithms has mitigated these issues. The ASIC also offers future opportunities for designs to also include embedded, on-board diagnostics to verify the performance of the encoder mechanism and ASIC itself, as part of a moreintelligent encoder and subsystem.

With the availability of the field-tested encoders based on capacitive-sensing principles, there's no longer a need for the design engineer to make the difficult choice between the attributes that optical and magnetic encoders force: short and longtime reliability versus output accuracy. The capacitive encoder excels at both, and also

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brings additional benefits in mechanical mounting, inventory, ppr selection, readout zeroing, and power consumption, all with full compatibility to standard outputs.

Sidebar #1: What about sensorless designs?

Along with using BLDC motors, there's another, smaller trend as well: the use of sensorless designs which have no need for an encoder indicating shaft position. These

ENCODERS

worthwhile, compared to the performance requirements.

Sidebar #2: From caliper to rotary encoder Capacitive sensing is commonly used for touch switches, where the user's finger acts as the second plate of a capacitor. Any change in capacitance is sensed by interface circuit, thus emulating the function of a traditional electromechanical pushbutton; they

resistive technology, but Andermo thought that approach was too complicated and decided to use his experience with capacitive sensing.

The first Johansson Caliper, or Jocal, debuted at a 1980 exhibition in Chicago.

Johansson later licensed the technology to Mitutoyo in Japan which introduced their first digital caliper using this technology some years later. Since then, millions of such calipers have been sold worldwide, Figure 5.

Figure 5: Mitutoyo digital caliper.

motors are controlled by a variety of algorithms including field-oriented control (FOC - also called vector control).

While eliminating the need for an encoder is certainly attractive in theory, the FOC method has several drawbacks: it is not as precise as a sensor-based design, it can lose position and require a re-set, there are control issues at some points in the torque range, and it requires considerable computational effort by the system processor. As a result, it is mostly used in applications where higher precision and consistency in shaft position and speed are not critical, such as consumer appliances (washers, dryers). For most industrial applications, though, the apparent “cost” of the encoder is more than

are often used in “open” or public applications such as elevators and crosswalks. Touch switches are known for their resistance to dirt, water, and overall abuse, since they have no moving parts internally and the only exposed part is a small metal tab which is flush with the mounting surface.

The uses of capacitive sensing go beyond basic on/off switches (either as single units or in an array), with the ubiquitous digital caliper as a mass-market example. Ingvar Andermo, an electrical engineer at the IM Research Institute in Stockholm, was working on a bill-reading application using capacitive technology over 30 years ago. C.E. Johansson approached Andermo about developing a digital caliper using magneto-

Andermo eventually worked with CUI Inc., based in Tualatin, Oregon, to develop the AMT Series capacitive encoder using the same technology, this time applied to highspeed rotational measurement. Three elements are present: a high-frequency transmitter, a rotor etched with a sinusoidalmetal pattern, and a receiver board. The rotor sits between the transmitter and receiver boards. As the rotor turns, its sinusoidal-metal pattern modulates the high-frequency signal in a predictable fashion. The receiver board reads these modulations and a proprietary ASIC translates them into increments of rotary motion at encoder resolutions of up to 4,096 steps/turn. n www.cui.com

Ac-Dc Power Supplies Ensure Continuous Operation with Addition of Battery Charging and Back-Up Features CUI Inc announced the release of a new acdc power supply family targeting applications that demand 100% uptime. Available in 75 W, 100 W and 155 W configurations, the PSF series is designed with built-in battery charging and back-up functionality. Under normal operating conditions, the units are able to charge the stand-by battery and also supply direct power to the load. In the event of electrical power (AC) failure, the PSF series automatically switches to DC power from the battery source to ensure continuous operation of the system. The PSF series accommo-

dates a universal input voltage of 90~264 Vac and is available in two different output formats. The dual output version features 13.8V and 27.6V – one output goes towards powering the load, while the other output is

available to charge the battery. The triple output models include an additional 5V, 3A regulated output. The PSF series comes with built-in protections that add a great deal of flexibility and decrease complexity for the system designer.

Protections include brownout (due to low AC input voltage), battery low cut-off, and battery polarity by resettable fuse. These features are in addition to over-load, output over-voltage, constant current limit, and short circuit protections.

CUI www.cui.com www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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SENSORS

Light-band detects object presence RK46C-VarOS variable object sensor scores with two adjustable sensitivity levels levels and automatic sensitivity readjustment.

The RK46C-VarOS object sensor is a retro-reflective photoelectric sensor which, unlike normal sensors that detect selectively, detects objects over a 50 mm band area. In packaging systems and intralogistics, the object sensor detects objects in the light-band with various sizes and shapes as well as surfaces with openings. In the past, multiple sensors and consid-erable work was necessary for this purpose.

Adjustable sensitivity levels and automatic sensitivity readjustment (ALC) support high system availa-bility in the event of soiling and changing environmental conditions – even stretch-wrapped or shrink-wrapped objects are reliably detected.

The special lens enables reliable detection over the entire light-band width in two adjustable sensitivity levels (8 and 12 mm).

Common parts from standard sensor technology and compatibility with established mounting systems considerably simplify mounting of the variable object sensor and bring a noticeable price advantage.

SMARTER PRODUCT USABILITY SMARTER APPLICATION KNOW-HOW SMARTER CUSTOMER SERVICE

• Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro 30

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Leuze n n n

Optical sensors Sensors for logistic applications Safety at work

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Optical Sensors Inductive Sensors

ASM n n n

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Linear Sensors Angle Sensors Tilt Sensors

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PLCs Temperature Controller Timer

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Color Sensors True Color Sensors, Spectrometers Gloss Sensors

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Heavy Duty Industrial Connectors Power and Data Transmission Connectors

Circular connectors M8; M12; M23 Cable and Connectors for Sensors Valve Connectors Distribution Blocks

Visit our online shop www.oboyle.ro

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Flowmeters Level Indicators and Switches Pressure Sensors and Switches

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AUTOMATION Sensirion again among the 100 most popular employers Universum, the research institute for HR marketing, conducts an annual representative survey of 10,000 Swiss students on their most desired employers and career plans. According to the latest results, Sensirion remains one of the most popular employers for engineers (38th place) and graduates of other natural sciences and IT disciplines. The popularity of the leading manufacturer of sensor and software solutions is based in part on its strong corporate culture, in which fair and honest cooperation, social cohesion and promotion of exceptional performance are core val-

ues. Another key factor is Sensirion’s worldwide reputation for innovation and continuous development: Its products and technologies are protected by more than 100 patents.

According to the European Patent Office (EPO), the company is one of the top 20 patent filers in Switzerland and one of the top 3 in the canton of Zurich.

These figures are compelling

evidence of the friendly, yet demanding work environment.

They also show that Sensirion is able to recruit the top graduates from each class.

Another sign of Sensirion’s innovative force is its transition from a pure hardware component manufacturer into a comprehensive solution and software provider. This innovative drive gives rise to an endless pipeline of new and diverse fields of activity for engineers and natural scientists from different disciplines, including sensor technology, physics, technology and software development.

SENSIRION AG www.sensirion.com

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ELECTRONICS

Extended mains choke Series One of the most important environmental conditions for the smooth operation of electrical equipment is a reliable quality of supply networks. Disturbances and influ-ences caused by power-ups, switching power supplies, frequency controllers, etc., endanger equipment and systems in their operational safety.

A significant area of the disturbances and influences on the mains voltage set phase effects; they do arise when resources are operated with a nonlinear current - volt-

grid-connected emissions, HAHN provides you already an extended mains choke series, which allows you within very short time to optimize the EMC-features

of your device, compliant to the new standard location.

With a power range up to 10A as well as a wide range of inductance values, this series covers completely the range of common household appliances using their typical plug connected load.

Through compliance with the standards in relation to the relevant standards EN 61558-2-20 for chokes , EN 62041, as well as the compliance with the glow wire tests of all materials used in accordance with EN 60335-1 and the use of insulation to the insulation class B and F UL 1446, the integration of these components is quick and easy.

Investments in new measurement techniques also allow customized solutions.

Our HAHN development team and our technical support team will be happy to an-swer your questions. n

age characteristic or with non-stationary operating behavior of a power grid. This problem of network perturbations gains through the increased use of power electronics with increased emission increasingly important.

In view of the increasing network pollution and the necessary reduction to comply with the power network stability, the requirements are to be adapted to device manufacturers to comply with the electromagnetic compatibility. With the harmonization of EU Directive 2004/108/EC towards the new version 2014/30/EG with effect from 20th April 2016, new guidelines have been applied for the marketing of new devices in Europe. In order to meet these future requirements on the Tel. +40 256-201346 • Mail office@oboyle.ro • Web www.oboyle.ro 32

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PRODUCT NEWS

SENSORS

Impressive precision At Sensor+Test 2014, Sensirion presented its latest temperature sensor, the STSC1, proving once again that high measurement accuracy can be combined with an extremely attractive price-performance ratio. The latest generation of temperature sensors features high accuracy, low power consumption and minimal size.

Sensirion’s sensor family is growing. The STSC1 temperature sensor will be available from summer 2014 and has the potential to build on the success of the SHTC1 humidity and temperature sensor, which has impressed the market a million times over. Its successor will inherit in particular its high-precision temperature measurement and remarkable value for money. The STSC1 focuses on applications that require very precise temperature measurement. It is suitable for consumer electronics, Internet of Things and smart home applications, as well as for data loggers and thermostats. With compact dimensions of just 2 mm × 2 mm × 0.8 mm, low power consumption and supply voltage of 1.8V, it clearly fulfills industry

requirements. In addition to its easy handling, the STSC1 provides a fully calibrated and linearized digital signal to a microcontroller.

Its good genes are also apparent in its application: the STSC1 measures temperatures from -40 °C to 125°C with a typical accuracy of ±0.3°C. The fully calibrated sensor

features an I2C interface and is reflow-solderable. It is suitable for standardized industrial series production of electronic devices and can be successfully integrated into complex applications.

Sensirion supports its customers with application expertise gained from many years of experience with millions of sensors.

SENSIRION www.sensirion.com

Sensor + Test: Rutronik distributes first ISO 26262 compliant Hall Switch Family from Micronas Micronas extends its Hall-effect sensor portfolio by the new HAL 15xy switch family, successor of the HAL 5xy family. The new sensors provide highest quality and reliability for a broad variety of automotive applications.

Distributor Rutronik presented the sensor innovations at the Sensor + Test from June 3 to 5, 2014, at Nuernberg.

The new sensor family was developed for harshest environmental conditions from -40°C up to 150°C ambient temperature. As the first generation of ASIL A ready Halleffect switches with a single-point fault metric greater than 60% according to the latest ISO 26262 standard, the HAL 15xy sensors fulfill enhanced functional safety requirements. They provide

many new diagnostic features, allowing a deployment in ASIL A, B and higher classified automotive applications.

For even more stringent security requirements, the HAL 15xy features an additional, unique power-on self-test. It can optionally be enabled for a full functional test of the sensors’ signal processing path and output before starting standard operation.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/8b2e1050.l

Versatile mass flow controller with ultra fast settling time The Swiss sensor manufacturer Sensirion is showing its new digital mass flow controller, suitable for diverse applications in the industrial and medical technology sectors, at the Semicon West trade show in the USA. The new SFC5000 Series leverages Sensirion’s CMOSens® Technology to provide extremely high accuracy, repeatability and reliability at a very attractive price. The SFC5000 Series with its excellent long-term stability enables precise control over a wide control range of 1000:1. Its ultra-fast settling time is 50 milliseconds. The excellent performance of the mass flow controller is based on Sensirion’s innovative CMOSens® Technology, which combines the high-precision sensor element and the analog and digital signal processing circuitry on a single tiny CMOS silicon chip.

The sensor signal is converted into a fully calibrated and temperature compensated digital signal directly on the chip. The new mass flow controller features both analog and digital interfaces, enabling

new features such as optional multigas, gas recognition and selftest capability. The SFC5000 Series mass flow controller operates from a standard supply voltage of 14–24 VDC. It can be used with input pressures up to 10 bar (145 psi), and it is resistant to electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Due to exceptionally fast reaction time of the flow chip combined

with fast control algorithm and valve, inlet pressure fluctuations can be regulated in real time providing stable output flow profile.

The mass flow controller features a vacuum-tight stainless steel package of the flow chip which is mounted on a sturdy aluminum or stainless steel flow body.

SENSIRION www.sensirion.com

Sensor + Test: Rutronik presented World’s First Surface Mount Ultrasonic Sensor from Murata Murata has developed a surfacemount device (SMD)-type ultrasonic sensor whose production starts in summer 2014. It is designed for applications like distance measurement, position detection and 3D gesture detec-

tion in portable equipment.

Distributor Rutronik presented the new sensors at the Sensor + Test from June 3 to 5, 2014, at Nuernberg (hall 12, booth 466).

Constructed in an ultra low profile

package measuring only 5.2 × 5.2 × 1.15mm, Murata’s MA40H1S-R series of SMD ultrasonic sensors is capable of delivering up to 100dB sound pressure at 40kHz. Its operating voltage is 6Vp-p.

The sensor comes with a -6dB full angle beam of 80°.

Utilising an exclusive structural design, including the ceramic element, Murata M a n u fa c t u r i n g managed to develop world’s first SMD-type ultrasonic sensor.

It requires minimal mounting space and enables improved functionality for distance measurement and position detection through the use of ultrasonic waves.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/8ded107e.l

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

Lighting Solutions / Display

26-inch (66 cm) SMVA TFT display with WUXGA resolution and at least five years‘ availability

OLED displays with SPI interface run on simple 3.3V supply

Innolux guarantees at least five years‘ availability for its G260JJEL07 26-inch (66 cm) SMVA TFT display, available immediately from MSC Technologies, a business group of Avnet Electronics

The highly popular Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) is now available on Electronic Assembly OLED text displays. The deployment of serial data transmission continues to increase and SPI expands the application range of the displays. A broad and ever expanding range of SPI-enabled components and microcontrollers is available on the market and the SPI bus is now being designed into many applications.

In theory, there is no limit to the number of displays and nodes that can be attached to the SPI bus. The bus has three shared bus lines (MOSI, MISO and CLK) as well as a CS (Chip Select) line.

Previously, the advanced text displays which are available in ice white and yellow/green were only supplied with a 4/8 bit data bus.

All displays have a built-in controller similar to the HD44780 and run on a single 3.3V or 5V supply. Current consumption is

Marketing EMEA, a business region of Avnet Inc. Apart from its high resolution of 1920 × 1200 pixels, the 16:10 format panel also features an especially wide vertical and horizontal viewing angle of 88° in each direction. 1000:1 contrast and 300 cd/m² brightness provide good display clarity even in unfavorable lighting conditions.

The indoor display, equipped with an integrated LED driver and a twin-channel 30-pin LVDS interface, is specified for an operating temperature range of 0 to 50°C. The service life of the high-quality

white LED background lighting before it reaches 50 percent of the specified light density is at least 50,000 hours.

Typical applications for the G260JJE-L07 are medical equipment, slot machines and also nautical applications.

MSC TECHNOLOGIES www.msc-technologies.eu

very low with 15 ~ 50mA. Four character sets including special characters are already stored in the character ROM:

English/Japanese, English/Russian (Cyrillic) and 2 different Western European character sets. Users can also define up to 8 of their own characters. Different functions can easily be programmed with a single command: Clear Display, Cursor Home, Cursor on/off, Cursor blink and Shift Display. Example code is available on the homepage.

All OLED displays will run over a wide operating temperature range (-40°C ~ +80°C).

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY www.lcd-module.com

Everlight Electronics is Launching New Fog Light - Argus LED

Rutronik introduces first flush-mountable infrared LED from Osram

Everlight Electronics puts its three decades of experience in optoelectronics in developing LED components into the new Argus series fog light source. This product is capable of providing a clear forward visibility when driving in dense fog or heavy downpour.

Combined with the color temperature of sunlight (5600K), the LED front fog light increases the driver’s ability to perceive contrasts.

The Argus series combined fog light and daytime running light module will be showcased in the 2014 Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition. LED car light sources featuring high lighting efficiency and uniformity give you infinite horizons. Similar to general lighting, car lighting has a long history from the earliest kerosene lamps to halogen light to the most popular HIDs of today. Alongside with the popular applications in

Osram Opto Semiconductors adds the particularly low, highcapacity T-Midled SFH 4140 to its portfolio of remote control transmitters. Thanks to this first flushmountable infrared LED, remote control functionality can now be incorporated in a lower profile than ever before. The infrared transmitter can be integrated in very thin smartphones and tablet computers. It is available at distributor Rutronik as of now. With the T-Midled SFH 4140, a surfacemountable infrared LED can be sunk in a pc board for the first time. Only 0.6mm of the T-shaped transmitter extend above and below the board. Besides, the component size is only 3.1mm × 1.5mm × 1.5mm, thus it takes up only 4.6mm² of board space.

Thanks to an integrated reflector, a powerful focused beam is emitted to the side in a beam angle of

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lighting, LED is making its way into car products. As the “eye” of a car, car lights are the most important contributors to driving safety and evolved from satisfying nighttime lighting needs to taking care of driving safety 24-7. The LED head

lamps and adaptive front lighting system, such as those installed on Audi A7, A8 and BMW M3, M4, as well as commonly seen LED brake lights and indicator lights not only show the unequaled ability of LEDs in energy saving and environmental protection, but also suggest that the use of LEDs improves the selling point and value of products themselves.

EVERLIGHT www.EVERLIGHT.com

EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

±25°. With a typical radiant intensity of 100mA, the SFH 4140 produces 50mW/sr (per steradiant) and achieves a wavelength of 940nm. The T-Midled SFH 4140 was designed for home entertainment electronics: If a smartphone or tablet is equipped with the

appropriate infrared transmitter diode, the diode can be controlled via suitable app and thus be turned into an universal remote control.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/c73210b9.l

PRODUCT NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Intel Atom based COM Express Type 2 modules as replacement

Industry’s first 5 kohm digital potentiometers with specified 36V operating voltage

MSC Technologies has presented its MSC CXC-BT COM Express™ Type 2 module family based on latest Intel® Atom™ E3800 processors (code named “Bay Trail“).

With Type 2.0 pin-out of the COM Express™ specification, the modules offer “legacy” interfaces like PATA and PCI bus and thus can replace products with processors and chipsets which are being discontinued by Intel.

These are modules with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors and Intel® Atom™ N270 processors with Intel® 945 chipset or with Intel® Atom™ Z Series processors with US15W chipset.

The MSC CXC-BT module family in the compact form factor of 95 × 95mm offers a broad range of interfaces like PCI bus (32 bit), up to eight USB 2.0, LPC, 4 × PCI Express™ x1 Lanes Gen. 2.0 and Gbit Ethernet. There are two SATA (up to 3Gb/s) ports or alternatively one PATA and one SATA interface. Furthermore, a socket for a microSD card is available.

Two independent displays can be connected via LCD (LVDS 24 bit, dual-channel) and VGA. Dualchannel DDR3L (1333, low volt-

Microchip announces the expansion of its 36V digital potentiometer (digipot) portfolio with two new volatile, I2C™ devices: the MCP45HV31 and MCP45HV51 (MCP45HV31-51). These are the industry’s first digipots to offer a 5 kohm resistance with a specified operating voltage of 36V. In addition, they provide 10V to 36V analogue operation and 1.8V to 5.5V digital operation, for systems requiring wide signal swings or high power-supply voltages.

The MCP45HV31-51 digipots support both 7-bit and 8-bit resistor configurations, and a high terminal/wiper current, including the ability to sink/source up to 25 mA on all terminal pins for driving larger loads. These features, combined with an extended temperature range of -40°C to +125°C, make the MCP45HV31-51 well suited for a broad range of highvoltage and high-temperature applications, including those in the industrial, automotive and audio markets. The MCP45HV31’s 7-bit

age) SDRAM modules with a maximum storage capacity of altogether 8GB can be plugged into the boards. Today, the MSC CXCBT COM Express™ Type 2 platform is offered in seven variants.

The module based on the quad-

core Intel® Atom™ processor E3845 (1.91GHz, 10W TDP) offers highest performance. The boards with dual-core Intel® Atom™ processors E3827 (1.75GHz, 8W TDP), E3826 (1.45GHz, 7W TDP) and E3825 (1.33GHz, 6W TDP) and with single-core Intel® Atom™ E3815 processor (1.46GHz, 5W TDP) for less demanding applications are fully compatible.

MSC TECHNOLOGIES www.msc-technologies.eu

Mouser Announces New Instrumentation Application Site Mouser Electronics, Inc. has just launched a new Instrumentation Applications Site. The new Instrumentation Applications Site, available on Mouser.com has several sections designed to help developers build instrumentation systems. The Applications section provides articles, resources and videos on building instrumentation and data acquisition systems including design guidelines for high performance data acquisition systems, input protection for analog to digital converters (ADCs), what typical values in a datasheet really mean, and when to use a high precision programmable current source. The Articles section provides reference information on the design challenges and solutions when building instrumentation projects. The Resources section con-

tains many useful videos, articles, and white papers to assist developers in solving instrumentation design challenges. Last, the Featured Products section offers

direct links to products useful in designing instrumentation and data acquisition systems including Analog Devices AD7176-2 Sigma Delta ADCs, Freescale Kinetis K Series Cortex-M0+ microcontrollers, and Molex EdgeLine High Speed Connectors.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

resistor network resolution enables 127 resistors and 128 taps, while the MCP45HV51’s 8-bit configuration supports 255 resistors and 256 taps. Additionally, both digipots provide RAB resistance

options of 5, 10, 50 and 100 kohms. Both devices also feature a 1μA typical serial-interface inactive current, and a 2MHz typical bandwidth operation (-3dB) at the 5 kohm resistance level.

Microchip’s 20-Pin TSSOP and SSOP Evaluation Board (TSSOP20EV) allows system designers to quickly evaluate the operation of the new MCP45HV31-51 digipots, in the 14-pin TSSOP package option.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/FAHU

Open Frame Power Supplies Ranging from 30~85 W are Efficient and Economical CUI Inc launched four new series of compact, open frame ac-dc power supplies, which range from 30 W to 85 W – The VOF Series.

The single-output supplies advance the company’s existing offering, delivering higher efficiencies, improved no-load performances, and a boost in power versus the previous generation. The power supplies can accommodate a wide universal input voltage of 90~277 Vac at 47-63 Hz input, offering global compatibility for OEM manufacturers. It has been created to provide an industry leading combination of efficiency and competitive pricing, making the series ideally suited for use in ITE, industrial, and consumer electronics applications.

Available in 30, 50, 70, and 85 W versions, the power supplies offer output voltage options of 5, 12, 15, 18, 24, 28 and 48 Vdc depending on the series. All models include output voltage adjustability of ±5% via an onboard

potentiometer.

The VOF-30, VOF-50, and VOF70 models are rated for operation at 100% load from -20°C to 50°C, derating to 50% load at 60°C. The VOF-85 operates at 100% load from -20°C to 40°C, also derating to 50% load at 60°C. CUI www.cui.com

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Intersil Announces Industry’s Most Efficient, Reliable and Easy-to-Use 3 Amp Synchronous Buck Regulators

Murata announces highly efficient combined 3-phase PFC and DC-DC converter for data centre applications

Intersil Corporation announced the ISL85003 and ISL85003A 3 Amp synchronous buck regulators with integrated high side and low side MOSFETs. The new ISL85003/3A buck regulators support an input voltage range of

Murata today announced two products that are designed to improve power conversion efficiency in large data centre environments. These complementar y products are a 5 kW PFC converter with 3-phase AC input and a matching high input voltage 1,200 Watt DC-DC converter.

High voltage direct current (HVDC) power supply solutions are increasingly becoming popular as a way to power large server racks and datastorage equipment in the most energy efficient means possible. These two new products achieve this while meeting the restrictions placed on reducing higher harmonics to a minimum.

The PFC converter, model number MPA9535, operates from a high-line 3-phase 480 VAC input and provides a 380 VDC output.

The converter ensures that the power factor correction is a close as possible to unity thus ensuring

4.5V to 18V while delivering very efficient and continuous 3A current for the latest generation of FPGAs from leading manufacturers for high-end server, network communication and industrial process control applications. The ISL85003/3A buck regulators are the most efficient regulators of

their kind, reducing power loss, eliminating the need for fans or other cooling systems, improving reliability and extending the life of end products.

The ISL85003/3A buck regulators are designed to deliver a very low

resistance in a triode region RDS(ON) with an optimized current mode controller to further improve efficiency and reduce die temperatures, keeping complex systems cooler and preventing product failures.

INTERSIL www.intersil.com

that efficiency is as high as possible. Typical power conversion efficiency of the MPA9535 is up to 96%. The matching MPA9512

DC-DC converter is fed directly from the MPA9535 and has two DC outputs. The main output is 12.12 VDC and a standby +5 VDC output is also provided.

This stage of power conversion achieves a typical efficiency of 95.2%.

Designed for use in standard 19inch server racks, the two units combined occupy a 4U footprint.

Mass production will commence during 2015.

MURATA www.murata.eu

Diamond Microwave launches ultra-compact 2 – 6GHz GaN SSPA

Radiocrafts announces narrowband RF modules for industrial market

Diamond Microwave, a specialist in high performance microwave power amplifiers, is extending its range of GaN-based solid-state power amplifiers (SSPA) to include a 2 - 6GHz model that can be operated in either pulsed or CW mode.

Announced at this week’s International Microwave Symposium (IMS) in Tampa, the DM SC50 01 is an ultra-compact broadband amplifier that complements Diamond Microwave’s existing SSPAs in X-Band and KuBand. All of Diamond Microwave’s amplifiers are ideal for use in demanding defence, aerospace and communications applications.

The amplifier designs are flexible in layout and architecture, and are fully customisable to meet

Radiocrafts AS, a leading provider of RF modules announced today a new radio module series for the industrial radio market. The RC17xxHP-RC232 module series provides narrowband radio performance combined with high output power for long range industrial applications.

The new module series covers all ISM bands below 1GHz, including 169, 433 and 868MHz, as well as some national bands used for application specific radio communication (444, 458, 465MHz, etc.). The embedded RC232 radio protocol provide point-to-point and point-to-multipoint communication over an encrypted data link, and is very easy to use.

The narrowband modules operate in bandwidths down to 12.5kHz,

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individual specifications for electrical, mechanical and environmental parameters. Amplifiers with pulsed power outputs in excess of 1kW, and with multioctave performance are also under development.

Diamond Microwave is exhibiting on Booth 1651 at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium in Tampa.

DIAMOND MICROWAVE www.diamondmw.com

EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

with temperature stabilized crystal oscillators to ensure reliable operation over the full industrial temperature range, -40 to +85°C. The RF output power is configurable up to 500 mW.

The combination of superior sensitivity of the narrowband radio, and high RF output power gives a very long communication range.

The selectivity and blocking properties of these radios makes them ideal for use in critical applications and environments with radio noise from industrial equipment.

RADIOCRAFTS AS www.radiocrafts.com

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Intersil Announces Its First Digitally Programmable Multiphase Intel® VR12/12.5 Compliant Controller for Server and High-End Desktop Applications Intersil Corporation announced the ISL6388, a 6-phase pulsewidth modulation (PWM) controller with non-volatile memory (NVM) that is compliant with Intel’s VR12/12.5 specification.

Designed for server and high-end desktop applications, the ISL6388 digitally programmable multiphase controller features multiple time programmable NVM that allows for the creation of custom configurations during the design process, eliminating the need for a soldering iron to make adjustments. The new multiphase controller is supported by the company’s latest release of the PowerNavigator™ graphical user interface, which allows designers to easily use Intersil’s digital power products without writing a line of code. The ISL6388’s patented enhanced adaptive pulse positioning (EAPP) architecture provides outstanding

transient response using a linear control loop, avoiding beat frequency issues, and improving transient response over competitive solutions. Designers today are

looking for power management solutions that can exceed the power delivery requirements of modern processors, with all of the programming and monitoring capabilities of digital control.

Intersil’s new ISL6388 provides the best of both worlds with a fast control loop combined with full digital communication and telemetry options to enable ultimate flexibility and customization.

INTERSIL www.intersil.com

Mouser First to Ship Maxim MAX11905, Industry's Fastest 20 bit ADC Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now the first to ship the new MAX11905 Single Channel SAR Analog to Digital Converter from Maxim Integrated. The MAX11905 is a single-channel 20 bit Successive Approximation Register (SAR) Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). At 1.6 million samples per second (MSPS) it is the industry's fastest 20 bit ADC. It is designed to provide excellent static and dynamic performance with best in class power consumption.

The new Maxim MAX11905 Single Channel Analog to Digital Converter, available from Mouser Electronics, is a single channel, fully differential input ADC that achieves 20 bit resolution with no missing codes. This ADC achieves a high sampling rate and resolution while consuming very little power and conserving board

space. Board space is saved by including an internal oscillator and internal reference buffers.

The MAX11905 has dedicated input clamps to provide ESD protection as well as protect

the ADC input from overranging. The device achieves an excellent 98.3dB Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and 123dB Total Harmonic distortion (THD).

MOUSER www.mouser.com MAXIM INTEGRATED maximintegrated.com

Intersil’s Latest Power Module offers Industry-leading Power Density, Efficiency and Thermal Performance Intersil Corporation announced the ISL8240M, a dual 20A/single 40A step-down power module that sets a new standard for efficiency and power density in infrastructure and embedded computing applications.

Capable of delivering up to 100W of output power in a 2.9cm2 footprint, greater than 90% power efficiency, and industry-leading thermal performance, the ISL8240M provides designers with a turnkey DC/DC converter solution for high current applications. Today’s power systems for communications and computing infrastructure support high current loads from increasingly power hungry FPGAs, ASICs, and microprocessors. To supply these high current circuits, equipment makers often rely on discrete power solutions that are complicated, take up valuable real-estate and may have significant power output limitations. Intersil’s power module family reduces design complexity and creates headroom

in the power system, increasing flexibility while improving efficiency and thermal performance. The latest addition to Intersil’s complete family of power modules, the ISL8240M is pin-to-pin com-

patible with the company’s popular ISL8225M 30A power module, expanding the output current to 40A and delivering up to 100W output power.

This offers designers a high level of flexibility, enabling a single PCB design across platforms. The ISL8240M is also capable of delivering up to 240A output when six modules in parallel operation are current shared, enabling the industry’s highest total output current.

INTERSIL www.intersil.com

Intersil’s Market-Proven, Highly Integrated LCD Controller Technology Improves Vehicle Safety Intersil Corporation announced its latest generation LCD video processor - the TW8836 - with both analog and digital video inputs, a built-in scaler and deinterlacer, as well as image enhancement and On Screen Display capabilities in a single-chip, hardware-based solution. Intersil’s LCD controller family is the most mature and marketproven product of its type. Designed for ultimate flexibility and quality, the TW8836 can be used to display rear camera video with graphic overlay in less than 500 milliseconds from the start of a vehicle, exceeding government safety regulations. This versatile device can be used in a wide array of infotainment system applications and is optimized for use with

today’s most popular SoCs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced in March 2014 that "rear-visibility technology" must be implemented as standard equipment in all

vehicles under 10,000 pounds starting in 2018, as part of the Kids Transportation Safety Act. The move aims to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused every year by backup accidents, most involving children or seniors.

INTERSIL www.intersil.com

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

IQD’s launches new ±0.2ppb OCXO at IMS 2014 IQD’s new IQOV-164 series oven controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) delivers exceptional frequency stability performance at ±0.2ppb over an operating temperature range of -20 to 70°C. This new ultra high stability model can also be specified to operate over a wider 30 to 75°C temperature range with only a minor drop in temperature stability performance at ±0.5ppb.

Available over a frequency range from 10 to 40MHz, this OCXO consumes a maximum of 7.0 Watts during warm up time which takes only 3 minutes.

Frequencies are available up to 100MHz with a lower stability of ±10ppb over -30 to 75°C. Designed to operate from a 3.3V supply, the IQOV-164 is housed in an industry standard 5-pin euro package measuring 36 × 27mm and 13.5mm high.

Output can be specified as either HCMOS, 15pF load or Sinewave, into 50 Ohms load. Phase noise performance is typically -158dBc/Hz at 100kHz

offset and the IQOV-164 can be specified with different frequency pulling options in order to offset the impact of ageing. Typically ageing is ±0.2ppb per day, ±10ppb per year depending on the required specification. With the IQOV-164 offering such exceptional frequency temperature stability combined with a short term stability of 1E-

Chassis mount supply provides programmable voltage and current down to zero XP Power announced the HDS3000 series of 3000 Watt programmable AC/DC power supplies. The series compliments the existing 800 Watt and 1500 Watt versions and comprises seven single output models providing all the popular nominal output voltages from + 12 to + 60 VDC. These highly efficient supplies, up to 93%, allow the output voltage or output current to be programmed from 0 to 105% of nominal output by a variety of means.

Digital communication can be made via I2C or RS232 serial interfaces and analog controls include using a 0 to +5VDC input voltage or by using an external resistor.

11/S it is particularly suitable for a range of applications including: 4G and LTE base stations, test & measurement, GPS, radar, communications, point to point communications and Sonet/SDH. IQD www.iqdfrequencyproducts.com

An output trim adjustment of ±5% of stated nominal via a potentiometer is also provided in order to compensate of wiring losses, or to accommodate a non-standard voltage requirement. An always-on standby output is also available and is user selectable between either 5VDC / 0.5A or 9VDC / 0.3A. Despite its high output power, the HDS3000 has a high power density and is packaged in a chassis mount format measuring only 360.0 × 127.0 × 127.0 mm (14.7 × 5.0 × 5.0 inches) including the bus bar output connectors and the variable speed fan. Using a variable speed fan helps keep energy consumption to a minimum, reduces acoustic noise when operating at low load conditions, and extends the lifetime of the fan.

Signal and other control functions include Remote On/Off, AC OK, remote sense and overtemperature shutdown. Up to five supplies can be configured in parallel to provide a current share capability for increasing available power output or to build in redundancy into the end-system. A multicolour LED is used to indicate power supply operational status through a combination of colour and flashing or constant illumination.

XP POWER

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EP&Dee | June, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu

www.xppower.com

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Power Integrations Introduces Driver Reference Designs for CREE LED Bulbs Power Integrations announced four reference designs describing drivers for dimmable PAR 30 and PAR 38 LED light bulbs. Jointly developed by Power Integrations and CREE, the designs showcase the combination of Power Integrations’ LYTSwitch™-4 driver ICs and CREE MT-G2 EasyWhite LEDs. DER-364 and DER-365 detail low- and high-line PAR 30 LED bulb drivers, respectively, while DER-350 and DER-396 address low- and high-line PAR 38 bulbs. These and other reference designs are hosted at www.powerint.com/ledrivers/cree LYTSwitch-4 ICs are highly efficient and deliver accurate output current regulation in bulb and tube replacement applications and high-bay lighting. The devices simplify design and reduce cost while ensuring that lamps deliver uniform light output and provide exceptional performance in TRIAC-dimmable

applications. LYTSwitch-4 ICs combine PFC and constant current in a single-stage topology, resulting in power factor greater than 0.95 and typical efficiencies of better than 90%. The single-

stage approach also eliminates temperature-sensitive electrolytic bulk capacitors, greatly increasing the bulbs’ reliability and lifetime. LYTSwitch-4 ICs also operate at a high switching frequency (132-kHz), enabling smaller, lower-cost magnetics to be used, while frequency jittering reduces the need for EMI filtering.

POWER INTEGRATIONS www.powerint.com

Exar Expands Low Voltage Single Supply LDO Portfolio Exar Corporation announced the expansion of its low voltage, lowdropout (LDO) regulators with the new XR71211. This LDO provides 1.5A from voltages as low as 1.4V and a guaranteed dropout voltage of 250mV at maximum junction temperature.

The XR71211 is targeted at 1.5V to 1.2V and 1.8V to 1.5V conversions.

The new LDO is targeted at a wide range of markets including communications, enterprise solutions, industrial systems and space constrained consumer devices.

Exar achieves the low dropout performance of the XR71211 regulator without requiring either an external bias voltage or an internal charge pump, which can often generate unwanted noise and affect system operation. The new LDO uses a single supply which reduces board lay-

out complexity by avoiding the need to route a secondary bias rail to the LDO. Operating input voltage range is 1.4V to 2.625V and the device provides output voltages down to 0.6V with an accuracy of 0.5% using ceramic capacitors. In addition, precision

enable and power good functions allow for easy sequencing and control.

The XR71211 is available now in RoHS compliant, green/halogen free space-saving 10-pin 3×3mm DFN package and is priced from $1.59 in 1000 piece quantities.

EXAR www.exar.com

Aito Controller Enables Touch Keys on Metal Surfaces Aito BV, the leader in software enhanced piezo (SEP) touch control technology, introduced its ATB250 AitoTouch Controller, which provides a highly configurable user interface for up to 11 touch buttons. Aito’s SEP technology allows the creation of seamless touch keys on any surface, replacing traditional mechanical switches and overcoming the problems of capacitive and other touch technologies that either require significant button travel or will not operate with gloved hands or through metal panel overlays. Target markets are those where this capability adds value in design aesthetics and functionality to provide a quality user experience. Applications include: kitchen appliances, such as ovens, hobs, hoods, refrigerators, coffee machines, toasters, as well as consumer audio / video and home automation products, but also medical equipment and industrial controls, where the benefits of sealed panels and robust, reliable operation are vital.

The ATB250 controller provides a combination of input and output channels to support up to 11 piezo touch buttons, each with drivers for LED indicators to provide visual feedback, along with a single buzzer output for audible feedback. The piezo sensing parameters for each key can be individually configured for sensitivity, detection area and to cope with different overlay stiffness or mechanical integration conditions.

The LED and buzzer feedback patterns can be customized for each key. For easy integration into exist-

ing hardware, the device offers SPI, I2C and DEO (Digital Encoded Output) mode interfaces for communication with the host processor.

Aito is the leading solution

provider in the SEP consortium of companies, which promotes ‘best practice’ for SEP touch technology software. Other partners include approved MCU platform and component suppliers.

The ATB250 represents the latest development of SEP, bringing the technology to a whole new level of software configurability by increasing the scalability of SEP touch modules and, in turn, reducing product development cycles and the cost of manufacturing.

AITO www.aitochip.com

www.epd-ee.eu | June, 2014 | EP&Dee

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