EP&Dee no 2, 2015

MARCH, 2015 足 ISSUE NO. 2, VOL. 13

DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

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MARCH 2015 Table of Contents

DESIGN FEATURES 8 Creating designs that measure impact Inspired by element14’s ‘Sudden Impact’ Wearable Design Challenge, this is the second in a series of exclusive blog posts for MDT that will explore the challenges of creating wearable medical devices.

10 Opportunities for device differentiation Internet of Things

16 The Latest HMI Solutions from 1D to 3D Just a few years ago Touch revolutionized input: mechanical buttons, keyboards and sliders were replaced by static plastic or metal surfaces. It meant that operator interfaces could be incorporated into a device, and unobtrusive and modern design became increasingly common on the factory floor.

20 Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP) This document contains generic information that encompasses Wafer Level Chip Scale Packages (WLCSP). It should be noted that device specific information is contained in Datasheet. This document serves only as a guideline to help develop a user specific solution. Actual experience and development efforts are still required to optimize the process per individual device requirements and practices.

25 Maxim Integrated Demonstrated Highly Integrated Analog Solutions at Embedded World 2015 Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. demonstrated highly integrated analog solutions for embedded applications at the Embedded World 2015 Exhibition and Conference in Nuremberg, Germany (February 24–26, 2015). Organized in three demo areas for Industrial Power, Industrial Interface, and Signal Chain, Maxim’s solutions showed systems engineers how to simplify designs and get to market faster.

26 Kinetis Mini MCUs Wafer-Level Chip-Scale Package Portfolio 28 Developing advanced packaging to meet increased needs for higher power density in power modules Increased processing density in high-end data server designs with the cramming of more and more silicon on to PCBs continues to have an impact on power supply systems.

32 Power Modules Win Out, but Choose Wisely Power modules are the way to go when it comes to leveraging the expertise of power experts and getting your design to market quickly, but choose wisely.

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Athena Technologies Relies on VectorCAST for DO-178B Level B Certification ŠKODA ELECTRIC Achieves EN 50128 Compliance with VectorCAST New PowerVR G6020 GPU targets ultra-affordable mobile and IoT devices Light color control and management made easy NEW PRODUCTS from Aurocon COMPEC Aurocon Compec has a portfolio of over 500.000 products from over 2,500 trusted global brands and in every month it adds over 5.000 new products for the whole range. Choosing the right distributor is as important as choosing the right technical components for your business.

PRODUCT NEWS 43

7 Embedded Systems (p 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 19, 40, 41) Sensors (p 42) Active Components (p 44 - 47) Passive Components (p 52)

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Group Publishing Director Gabriel Neagu Managing Director Ionela Ganea Accounting Ioana Paraschiv Advertisement Irina Ganea WEB Eugen Vărzaru © 2015 by Eurostandard Press 2000

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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 10 times per year in 2015 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 Lattice Semiconductor Enables Faster IEC61508 Certification with FPGA Functional Safety Design Flow Lattice Semiconductor Corporation the leader in ultra-low power, small form factor, customizable solutions, announced the availability of the Functional Safety Design Flow solution based on the Lattice Diamond® Design Tools. Certified by TÜV-Rheinland, an independent organization globally recognized for safety and quality testing, the package enables users to bring their product to market faster by simplifying and speeding up the IEC61508 safety certification process for applications using Lattice FPGAs.

“By using Lattice’s qualified Functional Safety Design Flow, designers can adhere to the latest safety design methodology when developing safety-critical designs, accelerate their certification process and reduce design costs”, said Jim Tavacoli, Sr. Director, Product and Segment Marketing, Lattice.

IEC61508 has become the global standard for functional safety certification, and many industry specific standards are derived from it. The Lattice solution comprises a design flow and the development tools necessary to ensure that applications comply up to Safety Integrity level 3 (SIL3) certification.

The Functional Safety Design Flow solution includes: Lattice Diamond Design Tools suite (a complete design and verification flow including Lattice Synthesis Engine and incorporating third party tools such as Aldec Active-HDL™ simulator and Synopsys Synplify Pro® synthesis) and Safety User Manual. Lattice FPGA families covered include both non-volatile (MachXO™, MachXO2™, LatticeXP2™) and SRAM-based (LatticeECP2™, LatticeECP2M™ & LatticeECP3™) products.

LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR www.latticesemi.com 4

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Microchip LoRa™ technology wireless module enables IoT: First module for ultra long-range and low-power network standard Microchip announces the first in a series of modules for the LoRa™ technology lowdata-rate wireless networking standard, which enables Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) wireless communication with a range of more than 10 miles (suburban), a battery life of greater than 10 years, and the ability to connect millions of wireless sensor nodes to LoRa technology gateways. The 433/868 MHz RN2483 is a European R&TTE Directive Assessed Radio Module, accelerating development time while reducing development costs.

Additionally, it combines a small module form factor of 17.8 × 26.3 × 3 mm with 14 GPIOs, providing the flexibility to connect and control a large number of sensors and actuators while taking up very little space.

Gartner predicts that there will be 25 billion connected things in use by 2020. While the IoT market is explosively growing, developers are challenged to establish a simple, robust infrastructure with their limited resources. They are demanding a solution that requires a minimum total cost of ownership and is easy to design, with short time to market, great interoperability and nationwide deployment.

The RN2483 comes with the LoRaWAN™ protocol stack, so it can easily connect with the established and rapidly expanding LoRa Alliance infrastructure, including both privately managed local area networks (LANs) and telecom-operated public networks, to create Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) with nationwide coverage. This stack integration also enables the module to be used with any microcontroller that has a UART interface, including hundreds of Microchip’s PIC® MCUs. Additionally, the RN2483 features Microchip’s simple ASCII command interface for easy configuration and control.

LoRa technology has several advantages over other wireless systems. It utilises a spreadspectrum base modulation that is capable of demodulation with a 20 dB below noise level. This enables high sensitivity with robust network links, improves network efficiency and eliminates interference. The LoRaWAN protocol’s star topology eliminates synchronisation overhead and hops, compared to mesh networks, which reduces power consumption and enables multiple concurrent applications to run on the network. LoRa technology also has a much longer range than other wireless protocols, which enables the RN2483 to operate without repeaters, reducing the total cost of ownership. In comparison to 3G and 4G cellular networks, LoRa technology is far more scalable and cost effective for embedded applications. The RN2483 module resolves the age-old wireless developer’s dilemma, where they had to choose between longer range and lower power consumption. By employing LoRa technology, designers can now maximise both while reducing the cost of additional repeaters. Additionally, the RN2483 provides them with the ability to secure their network communication using AES-128 encryption.

With its scalability, robust communication, mobility and the ability to operate in harsh outdoor environments, the RN2483 is well suited for a broad range of low-data-rate wireless monitoring and control designs. Example IoT and M2M applications include: Smart Cities, such as street lights, parking and traffic sensors; Energy Measurement smart meters for electricity, water and gas; and Industrial/Commercial/Home Automation applications such as HVAC controls, smart appliances, security systems and lighting.

Samples of the RN2483 are available now and it is expected to be widely available for purchase in May. MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY

www.microchip.com/LoRa-Module-030215a

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Altera Ships 20 nm SoCs Altera’s 2nd Generation Arria 10 SoC is Industry’s Only 20 nm SoC FPGA Altera Corporation strengthened its leadership position in SoC FPGA products by shipping its second-generation SoC family. Arria® 10 SoCs are the industry’s only programmable devices that combine ARM® processors with a 20 nm FPGA fabric. Arria 10 SoCs bring across-the-board improvements to enable higher performing, lower power, and more feature rich embedded systems compared to previous generation SoC FPGAs. Altera showcased its SoC-based solutions, including the industry’s only 20 nm SoC FPGA, to attendees of Embedded World 2015 in Nurnberg, Germany.

“The extraordinary customer interest in our 28nm SoC family led Altera to commit to a comprehensive roadmap for SoC FPGA devices and we are now delivering on that promise with our 2nd generation 20nm SoC FPGAs,” said Chris Balough, senior director of marketing, SoC products at Altera. “We are delighted to put initial samples into the hands of early customers who are counting on Altera’s total commitment and leadership in this emerging device category.”

Embedded developers who have already realized the value of SoC FPGAs have a clear migration path with Altera for enhancing their next-generation systems. Arria 10 SoCs are fully software compatible with Altera’s previous 28 nm SoC product family for seamless software migration between generations. Arria 10 SoCs provide up to 50 percent higher performance and up to 40 percent lower power than the previous generation. Altera’s SoC portfolio also includes a 3rdgeneration 14 nm Stratix® 10 SoC with a 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor for embedded developers that demand the highest performance and power efficiency.

Altera SoC FPGAs enable smarter embedded systems by enabling single-chip product differentiation in both hardware and software.

Combining ARM processors with FPGA fabric provides greater system value through reductions in power, costs and board space. Arria 10 SoCs are optimized to deliver the performance, power, security and cost requirements for next-generation embedded applications within wireless infrastructure, wireline communications, computer and storage, and broadcast equipment.

Availability Arria 10 SoC samples are currently shipping to select early access customers. To inquire on lead times or pricing information, contact your local Altera sales representatives. Customers can begin their Arria 10 SoC designs by using Quartus II software and the Altera SoC Embedded Design Suite featuring the ARM Development Studio (DS-5™) Altera Edition toolkit.

ALTERA

Freescale drives for a secure Internet of Things As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to gain momentum, Freescale Semiconductor and its partners are tackling the most dire challenge the young movement has faced to date – the alarming lack of unified guidelines for ensuring the security of IoT applications.

Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 4.9 billion connected things will be in use in 2015, up 30 per cent from 2014, and the figure will reach 25 billion by 2020. The analyst firm also projects that by 2017, 50 percent of IoT solutions will originate in startups that are less than three years old.

Meanwhile, the specter of an insecure and dangerous IoT is becoming increasingly worrisome: last month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission publicly raised concerns of security risks associated with the rising number of interconnected systems and devices, and a top U.S. news organization reported that DARPA had wirelessly hacked into a major automotive OEM’s braking system. Additionally, a recent report from tech giant HP found that many IoT end-nodes are inherently insecure, with 70 percent of evaluated devices transmitting data via unencrypted network services.

Intent on applying its extensive expertise and proven technologies to address these trends, Freescale announced several landmark programs intended to help establish standards and drive industry metrics for IoT security assurance. These initiatives include: • Teaming with the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmarking Consortium (EEMBC) to identify critical embedded security gaps, and collaborate with other consortium members to establish guidelines that help IoT OEMs and system designers better secure IoT transactions and endpoints. Founding members of this coalition will convene in May at the second annual IoT Developers Conference in Santa Clara, California.

• Establishing Freescale Security Labs – Centers of Excellence at Freescale’s headquarters and other locations worldwide, where the company, its partners and customers will focus on enhancement of IoT security technologies spanning from the cloud to the end-node.

• Creating a program dedicated to educating startups on IoT security best practices and providing access to Freescale’s partner ecosystem.

• Committing to allocate up to 10 percent of the company’s annual R&D budget on IoT security technologies.

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR www.freescale.com

www.altera.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Freescale expands system power management portfolio to support portable Internet of Things devices and systems Freescale Semiconductor introduced an analog dual-path battery charger for wearable and portable Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

The single-cell, Li-Ion and Li-Polymer BC3770 charger is fully programmable, features a small form factor and supports fast charging for portable embedded systems like those based on Freescale’s popular i.MX applications processors and Kinetis microcontroller (MCU) products.

The new BC3770 addresses market demand for rapid charging, long battery life and uninterrupted portable operation, while incorporating features that help OEMs and system designers avoid device overcharge and overheating.

The BC3770 charger and boost regulator circuits switch at 1.5 MHz to minimize the size of external passive components, thus improving efficiency, saving space and reducing cost.

In addition, the product’s charging parameters and operating modes are fully programmable over an I²C interface that operates up to 400 kHz, allowing for highly optimized solutions.

Freescale’s new battery charger features a 20V tolerant single input, and charges the battery with a current up to 2.0A, supporting simultaneous charging and application use. To help streamline system development, a BC3770 Freescale Freedom board is available featuring a Kinetis KL25Z microcontroller with example interface software and GUI. Additional features include: • Dual -path output powers system while charging the battery • 25-bump 2.27mm×2.17mm wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) • 900mA boost mode charging for USB OTG • Supports single cell Li-ion and Li-polymer batteries • High-efficiency synchronous switching regulator • 1.5 MHz switching frequency • Programmable interface to monitor different charging modes FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR 6

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

www.freescale.com/Battery

Microchip’s new motion module makes motion monitoring easy Microchip announces from the Embedded World 2015 Exhibition & conference in Germany the MM7150 Motion Module which combines Microchip’s SSC7150 motion coprocessor with 9-axis sensors, including accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope in a small, easy-to-use form factor.

With a simple I2C™ connection to most MCUs/MPUs, embedded/IoT applications can easily tap into the module’s advanced motion and position data. The motion module contains Microchip’s SSC7150 motion co-processor which is pre-programmed with sophisticated sensor fusion algorithms which intelligently filter, compensate and combine the raw sensor data to provide highly accurate position and orientation information. The small form factor module is self-calibrating during operation utilising data from the pre-populated sensors: the Bosch BMC150 6-axis digital compass; and the BMG160 3-axis gyroscope. The MM7150 motion module is single-sided to be easily soldered down during the manufacturing process. Microchip makes it easy to develop motion applications for a variety of products using their MM7150 PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board. The MM7150 Motion Module is well suited for a wide range of embedded applications such as portable devices and robotics; industrial applications such as commercial trucks, industrial automation, patient tracking and smart farming; and consumer electronics such as the Internet of Things (IoT), remote controls, gaming devices, toys and wearable devices; among other applications.

The MM7150 is supported by the MM7150 PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board (AC243007) priced at $50.00, which plugs directly into Microchip’s Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001) priced at $129.99, to enable quick and easy prototyping utilising Microchip’s extensive installed base of PIC® microcontrollers.

Microchip’s MM7150 is available now in a 17mm×17mm body.

• • • • •

Key Facts: MM7150 Motion Module combines motion co-processor with motion sensors SSC7150 motion co-processor is pre-programmed with the key sensor fusion algorithms Integrates a 6-axis digital compass, 3-axis gyroscope and a magnetometer Simple connection to MCUs and MPUs via I2C™ Offers easy solderability and self-calibration during operation

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/MM7150-Page-022415a

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

New PowerVR video IP family from Imagination combines highest quality H.265/H.264 encoding with optimized low latency streaming Imagination Technologies (IMG.L) announces a new PowerVR High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) IP family designed to provide the highest quality H.265 encoding, while optimizing silicon area and bandwidth usage. This multi standard encoder also offers high-quality H.264 encoding for compatibility with the huge range of AVC (Advanced Video Coding) decoders available today.

PowerVR Series5 video encoders are ideal for applications requiring a flexible encoder able to offer a choice of resolution and bitrate support at the highest quality, covering markets from 720p @ 30fps to 4K @ 60fps and beyond. The first three IP cores in the new series include encoders optimized for high-efficiency mass market, highperformance mainstream mobile and ultra-high definition (UHD) content creation.

HEVC/H.265 video compression technology is designed to deliver video quality comparable to content encoded in the current AVC/H.264 standard, at approximately half the bitrate – critical for transmission of HD and UHD video content over today’s limited bandwidth connections.

The new Series5 encoders are designed to deliver all the key benefits of HEVC in terms of quality and bitrate reduction relative to H264. In addition, the architecture features advanced search algorithms, a full toolset implementation and optimized rate control algorithms which enable the PowerVR solution to require typically 30% fewer bits than competing solutions to achieve the same quality. The new encoders are capable of high frame rate encoding up to 1080p @ 240fps, enabling faster than real-time transcoding, slow motion recording and multi-stream encoding. The flexibility of the new encoders can translate to numerous application-specific benefits: • Save costs with the ability to record and store more video content in less memory space • Reduce upload bandwidth and power required to access cloud video hosting services • Deliver the highest possible quality for prosumer video and entry-level broadcast recording • Minimize the required transmission bandwidth for video conferencing / streaming on a mobile device • Enable high-quality, low-latency mirroring for video games on a TV from a mobile device or tablet in real time • Ensure the low latency needed for safety critical applications like advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) IMAGINATION TECHNOLOGIES

www.imgtec.com

Toshiba Introduces Smartwatch Reference Model with Integrated Motion and Activity Sensors New TZ1001 Smartwatch Reference Model features Bluetooth® Low Energy connectivity and Qi Wireless Charging Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has launched a new Smartwatch Reference Model, with enhanced sport, activity and lifestyle features. Built around the TZ1001MBG ApP LiteTM application processor, it provides developers with an ideal starting point for designing future smartwatches for sport watch applications.

The TZ1001 Smartwatch Reference Model enables designers to evaluate the function and performance of advanced software and technologies developed for wearable devices.

Fitted with an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and optical pulse sensor, to measure motion, movement and heartbeat, the Reference Model provides an ideal structure for prototyping devices aimed at the active-lifestyle and wellbeing sectors.

The Reference Model follows the launch of the TZ1001MBG, a single package application processor with integrated accelerometer sensor for data collecting, a processor for data processing, flash memory for data storage, and a Bluetooth® Low Energy controller for data communication. Integration of these features makes it possible to create compact, lightweight wearable devices that do not require any additional components.

Battery life being crucial to wearable devices, the TZ1001 Smartwatch Reference Model has been specifically designed for low power performance and is fitted with a Bluetooth Low Energy controller to ensure effective communication with smartphones and tablets. The smartwatch reference model is equipped with a Toshiba Wireless Power Receiver IC TC7764WBG and Toshiba Fast Charger IC TC7710AWBG for quick and simple WPC Qi wireless charging in addition to a micro USB port. * ApP LiteTM is a trademark of Toshiba Corporation. * Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Toshiba uses them under license.

TOSHIBA ELECTRONICS EUROPE

www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com

www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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‘SUDDEN IMPACT’

Creating designs that measure impact Author: Christian DeFeo, eSupplier and Innovation Manager, Newark element14

Inspired by element14’s ‘Sudden Impact’ Wearable Design Challenge, this is the second in a series of exclusive blog posts for MDT that will explore the challenges of creating wearable medical devices.

The Sudden Impact challenge is in full swing and our participants are continuing to support a multitude of different sports through a number of innovative device designs. Head injuries and internal trauma remain two of the most widely discussed topics amongst researchers and medical personnel, but how can design engineers measure the ‘impact’ of these injuries? How can ‘impact’ be defined and what are its limits? These are just some of the questions that our participants will need to answer before they even start trying to make their designs a reality.

Our Sudden Impact finalists come from all corners of the world and as such, one of their key tasks has been to ensure their designs meet their countries’ respective standards in defining and measuring injuries.

Challengers are quickly realising that before they can bring their ideas to life, their designs must be in line with scientific and medical regulations that ensure that all relayed diagnostics are accurate and 8

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unchanging – the latter being extremely important for the trainers and athletes who will be relying on the data from these handmade devices.

In other words, our design engineers need to make sure their solutions cannot provide users with false injury information; this information could lead to potentially serious consequences, particularly if an existing injury is not detected accurately.

Head Injury Criterion: Footballers and Skiers German-born Hendrik Lipka’s design is targeted at skiers and footballers and has two key functions: monitoring an athlete’s heart rate during training and acting as a helmetmounted impact monitor during competitions. Hendrik’s research for the device focused on the biological and medical sciences, and this is where he discovered the ‘Head Injury Criterion’, or ‘HIC’ as it is more

DESIGN

commonly known. HIC is used to detect the effect and duration of acceleration and deceleration at the moment of impact with the head, and has become a popular way to test the durability and security of sports equipment and safety gear.

The HIC formula uses an acceleration curve to calculate an average acceleration during a specific period of time – this is usually 15ms but can range from as little as 3ms, all the way up to 36ms. A maximum value is then calculated using the overall time frame, in order to determine the impact of the force of acceleration to the head. Interestingly, different variables can be substituted into the formula to make it applicable to other parts of the body too. An example of a real life situation where the HIC formula could be used is to detect the sharp drop in acceleration when a footballer collides with a team player on the pitch.

However, while the HIC formula seems like a perfect fit for his design, Hendrik has admitted some difficulties with the theory.

Analog Devices’ ADXL series accelerometer only captures 800 or 1600 measurements per second, making his preferred accuracy much more difficult to obtain. Ideally these measurements would occur every millisecond to better calculate sum totals in a specific time frame through simple multiplication and division.

As such, Hendrik’s main challenge is in programming his helmet to calculate acceleration fast and efficiently enough, without compromising on battery life.

Cumulative concussions and contact sports Kas Lewis from Canada is another one of element14’s Sudden Impact finalists and proposed the idea of a multi-sport helmet that can monitor for heat strokes, heart attacks and concussions. While many helmets were suggested throughout the challenge, Kas’ stood out because of its ability to measure repeat injuries to the head, or ‘cumulative concussions’.

Although single impact injuries are thought to have a long lasting effect on the brain, it is generally agreed that cumulative concussions are far more dangerous as they do not allow the brain enough time to recover from one impact, before another follows. As such, the helmet Kas has designed is best suited to contact sports such as football,

‘SUDDEN IMPACT’

where injuries are rife and can have significant long-term consequences for the player.

Kas’ design will incorporate a temperature sensor to detect abnormal body temperatures, as well as two separate accelerometers to monitor the severity of individual concussions with a high degree of accuracy.

The device will also be fully equipped with monitoring and reporting capabilities, using the CC3100 in conjunction with the MSP430F5529 to collect and upload realtime information to a cloud-based system such as Plot.ly.

However, like Hendrik, Kas faces a number of challenges as it is ‘still not fully clear in the scientific community how [the impact of cumulative concussions] should be measured’. Medical professionals have acknowledged that research is still ongoing in to how these traumas should be diagnosed and monitored.

When dealing with traditional concussions, we are aware of the main symptoms - such as memory loss, headaches - and the tools that can aid diagnostic testing - such as MRIs and X-rays. But there is not as of yet a clear set of characteristics of a cumulative concussion, therefore Kas needs to carefully consider whether simply monitoring the injury is sufficient.

The need for flexible designs Designing technologies to meet the medical and health sectors’ criteria for impact and injury is an ongoing discussion amongst professionals and has been for many years. The challenges that Hendrik and Kas face are real examples of how these discussions need to happen if we are to enable engineers to tackle real-life problems with new and innovative designs.

However, until a universal medical consensus on a condition is reached, engineers’ designs need to be flexible and fluid, anticipating changes to medical standards that are as of yet unconfirmed. This is one of the difficult challenges that our Sudden Impact finalists’ designs will need to address and, in the next blog post, we will be exploring just how much this compromise is affecting the functionality of their devices. ￭

INDUSTRY NEWS IAR Systems adds static code analysis to leading development tools for ARM IAR Systems®, the leading vendor of embedded development tools, proudly present its latest product innovation CSTAT®. The new tool provides powerful static analysis fully integrated with the high-performance development toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench® for ARM®.

Static analysis finds potential issues in code by doing an analysis on the source code level. The analysis helps prevents application failure by detecting potential code errors including for example memory leaks, access violations, arithmetic errors and array and string overruns.

Because such errors can affect the quality of products as well as cause security issues, it is crucial to find them early in the development cycle and minimize the impact on the finished product as well as on the project timeline. In addition to raising the code quality, the analysis also aids alignment with industry coding standards.

C-STAT is a powerful static analysis tool that executes fast and provides analysis results directly in the IAR Embedded Workbench IDE. It checks compliance with rules as defined by coding standards including MISRA C:2004, MISRA C++:2008 and MISRA C:2012, as well as hundreds of rules based on for example CWE (the Common Weakness Enumeration) and CERT C/C++. Users can easily select which rule-set and which individual rules to check the code against. To take full control of their code, developers can utilize C-STAT complemented by IAR Systems’ tool C-RUN® that checks for actual heap and bounds issues at runtime.

C-STAT is now available as an add-on product for IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM, version 7.40 or later.

MISRA C www.misra.org.uk IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com/cstat www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

IOT

Internet of Things

Opportunities for device differentiation

medical information which needs to be protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) laws in the United States Most IoT applications will be supported by wireless LANs – Wi-Fi (802.11n or 802.11ac) by 802.15.4 (Zigbee) and by Bluetooth.

What is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging market trend impacting semiconductor devices, system OEMs, cloud service providers, and internet infrastructure companies. The trade press, accompanied by the types of companies mentioned above, has spilled a lot of ink on the subject, but this is typical in an emerging market with evolving requirements. For the purpose of this white paper, an IoT device or related service applies to the following characteristics.

• The device is connected via LAN, WLAN or WPAN. • The device communicates certain localized information or requests for service to a network hub or through the network hub to a cloud-based service.

• The cloud accumulates data from the networked device or provides a service or capability to the networked device.

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An IoT device can cover a great deal of capabilities and be part of a wide range of vertical markets. To break down the market segments of the Internet of Things, one can look at the requirements of the device in terms of: • Sustained transmit and receive data rate required for the IoT device • Type of data the IoT device is handling; for example, the IoT device can be generating or receiving video, audio or other content/data • The level of processing at the edge of the network; for example, an accelerometer can measure acceleration and velocity, but local sensor data processing may convert that data into distance or energy • The type of transactions between the device and the cloud; for example, whether the device provides any type of proprietary or sensitive data such as

Classes of IoT devices IoT devices can be classified based on the type of data handled. It is useful to view the requirements for IoT devices in this way as a way of determining the device requirements from a power, connectivity and security perspective. We can classify the devices as follows based on the types of data handled: • Machine to machine data • Audio • Audio/video Table 1 shows the requirements of the IoT device based on the type of data handled.

This table is for illustrative purposes and specific IoT device requirements may vary.

A continuum of capabilities An IoT device connects a physical device to the cloud for services or further data processing. The device requires certain functional capabilities, and these capabilities will vary based on the application. There are a set of requirements that are needed by IoT devices, but the scope and the performance of those features will vary based on the application requirements. These feature set requirements are shown in Figure 1.

DESIGN

Power management Power management is most important for mobile and other battery backed up devices. In a battery powered device, optimizing dynamic as well as static power is imperative. Power optimization is addressed in three different ways: • • • • • • • •

Power management control IP implemented for low power Power aware software Power requirements and power management Processing power – both CPU and GPU Connectivity requirements Security requirements Cloud interface

Power management control should address the inclusion of voltage and frequency scaling. In order to integrate power management control into an IoT device, the system designer needs to identify the known power states for each of the major functional blocks within the device. Table 2 provides an example of power states that the blocks within an SoC that are valid.

IP blocks for IoT should be designed to include power control wrappers for power

IOT

and frequency scaling as shown in Figure 2. IP providers, such as Imagination Technologies, can provide power control wrappers that will enable a functional IP block to be set to a

valid power state within the device.

To implement IP for low power, the system designer must first identify the power management objectives. In the case of an IoT

Table 2: Valid power states

Figure 2: Power management control for IoT device, where the device is turned off for significantly longer time periods than it is turned on, leakage power will dominate the power consumption of the device. In the example of leakage power domination process selection, ie., where choosing a process technology with low leakage is an imperative, leaking can be further reduced by implementing the chip with high Vt devices and using power gating where ever possible.

Table 1: IoT device classification

Figure 1: IoT continuum of capabilities

If the device is turned on for the majority of time, as in IoT devices such as sensor hubs, dynamic power will dominate. To reduce the dynamic power, voltage and frequency scaling should be implemented as a part of the power management function. In addition, choosing processes and memory IP that can operate over low voltages, such as operating in the 0.7 V to 0.8 V regime in a 40nm process is highly desirable. A useful scheme to reduce power for a CPU is to close timing based on reduced values of supply voltage.

This is commonly referred to as voltage scaling. For example, by operating a MIPS MClass processor such as the M5150 CPU through voltage scaling at 0.95 V as opposed to the minimum voltage of 1.08 V results in a power reduction of 23%. www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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However, a lot of the dynamic power savings would be lost if the wireless communications systems operate inefficiently.

Bluetooth Smart (also known as Bluetooth Low Energy or BTLE) is positioned for very low power wireless communications, but the power reduction comes at the cost of reduced range point-to-point communications, and low data rates. For applications requiring higher data rates (see Figure 1), Wi-Fi would be a suitable solution.

Imagination has developed a low power WiFi offering including baseband called Ensigma ‘Whisper’. Low-power Wi-Fi is possible in Whisper by exploiting the lowpower aspects within the 802.11 specification. Whisper can operate 802.11n over a single 2.4GHz band radio.

Security A key requirement for IoT applications is security. IoT opens up networks to a variety of threats as more and more devices are connected to a network and eventually to the cloud. Figure 3 shows an example of an IoT device being used for home automation that is connected to a home network with possible threats to the network security.

At the edge of the network, as multiple IoT devices are added, the potential threats are greatly increased. The threats to networks with connected devices are documented and are newsworthy. The LifX brand of connected LED bulbs have been reported as being able to leak wireless security information.1) IoT devices must be capable of providing a robustly secure environment. Security is achieved in the following ways:

IOT

• • • • • •

Secure boot Secure code update Key protection Tamper resistance Access control of secure resources Secure DMA (Direct Memory Access) with data encryption for critical functions • Session authentication Secure boot When the IoT device is powered up and begins execution, the system must start execution with trusted code at boot time. In an IoT system, the trusted execution can be accomplished by having a secure CPU run trusted code on-chip. This trusted code must have its credentials secured from the time the credentials leave the secured credentialled vault to the time the code is implemented on the IoT device. The secure boot code must not be capable of being tampered. Imagination has developed and licenses IP that provides the secure boot feature required in IoT systems.

Secure code update An IoT device can be hacked by corrupting the embedded software with malware. To protect against this type of attack requires the firmware to be properly credentialled and downloaded to the IoT device in a secure manner. The secure update, which is available as an intellectual property block from Imagination, is accomplished by means of including the hardware required on the IoT device to be encapsulated within a cryptographic boundary. The updated firmware is encrypted and downloaded to the IoT device where it is decrypted and the cre-

Figure 3: Threats to networked devices 1)

For more information, see the article on www.forbes.com/sites/leoking/2014/07/09/ smart-home-these-connected-led-light-bulbs-could-leak-your-wi-fi-password/

2)

For more information, see http://www.cryptography.com/public/pdf/DPA.pdf

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dentials are checked. This is an important use case in consumer devices where software updates are provided for bug fixes (including security improvements) as well as adding additional functional capabilities to the IoT device.

Key protection Private keys consist of a set of addresses of OTP (One Time Programmable) memory which can be programmed with keys for encryption, authentication and device identifier. The memory needs to be configured on-chip so that: • OTP is not accessible via external pins of the IoT SoC device • OTP memory contents may be encrypted • OTP memory contents are accessible only by ‘trusted processes’ running on the application processor Tamper resistance Simple Power Analysis (SPA), Differential Power Analysis 2) (DPA), and High Order Differential Power Analysis are techniques whereby analysis of the power and other electrical emissions from a semiconductor device can provide information about the encryption techniques and codes used.

These emitted signals are a point of attack that require countermeasures. These attacks are addressed to the CPU and associated hardware that runs encryption and decryption. MIPS M-Class CPUs are tamper resistant by implementing the following countermeasures including user-defined scrambling of the cache memory address and data and injection of random pipeline stalls.

Access control of secure resources In an IoT system where a device is sending proprietary data or is engaged in commerce, the software processes running on the device are required to have secure access to peripherals and memory. This is needed to maintain security and to ensure malware cannot access the same information in memory or on peripherals as may be required by the secure processes. Consider the following example where a medical device may measure certain data on an individual, where such data is controlled by the HIPAA laws in the United States.

Also this example assumes that a second process is running that is communicating with a medical insurance company to validate insurance. In this case there may be multiple processes running on the CPU, but there are two processes running that are required to

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be secure and isolated. In this type of situation, virtualization is required in order to isolate the hardware resources committed to each of the secured processes running on the CPU, as illustrated in Figure 4. MIPS processors support hardware virtualization.

IOT

sor interpretation code, the Wi-Fi stack, and internet communications with a clock speed of about 100 MHz. Most IoT devices will be designed with additional CPU capability to support additional features to be added via software upgrades. As a result, the perform-

is also beneficial for the CPU to support hardware multi-threading, as in CPUs such as the MIPS I-Class processors.

Wireless communication Typical wireless IoT devices will be enabled by specific standards. The standards deployed will depend on (1) the security requirements needed, (2) the type of network topology to be supported (eg., IP, mesh), and (3) the data rates to be supported. The diagram below provides a classification of IoT network requirements based on sustained data rates. Since Wi-Fi is pervasively deployed today, most IoT applications will support Wi-Fi. Also, for LED lighting and applications that may span large geographic areas, ZigBee networks are used and may be present in IoT systems alongside Wi-Fi. Aside from HD video streaming applications such as those used in home entertainment or security video monitoring, 802.11n and 1x1 would provide sufficient bandwidth. The 802.11 networks will use dual band 2.4 GHz and 5.5 GHz frequencies.

For lower power and lower cost implementations, 802.11n can be supported by a single band 2.4 GHz radio. The lower frequency bands are more desirable since the RF transmission provides a greater range for a given power level output. By 2016, 802.11ah will become available for low data rate/low power IoT systems with Wi-Fi. This standard will be based on the 930 MHz frequency band.

Figure 4: Benefi ts of virtualization Secure DMA DMA transfers to memory in a secure IoT device must be encrypted. The DMA engine and associated peripherals and memory should be encapsulated with in an encryption boundary so that any transfers into or out of the memory boundary will be encrypted or decrypted respectively.

CPU processing performance requirements Architectural considerations for the CPU performance for an IoT device will depend on the scope of what the CPU needs to do, as well as hardware security provisions contained within the hardware of the CPU. For example, for an embedded controller IoT sensor hub system, the following performance requirements would be required.

In Table 3, a MIPS M5150 CPU, which includes hardware virtualization, is capable and provides 70 DMIPS/MHz to run the sen-

ance of the CPU will need to be scalable, and may also include special pipeline stages to include special purpose processing that is deemed necessary in order to be done locally. The CPU chosen for a specific IoT application must not only support the security features as explained earlier, but must also be implemented in a way so that it is scalable in performance to support higher clock frequencies. For certain applications, it

Cloud interface In an IoT system, the provision of services by the cloud will depend on several conditions.

Security is a concern for device-to-cloud data transactions. An IoT device will need to support data encryption to the cloud via TLS or HTTPS. The software stack in the IoT device will need to support these security components.

Table 3: Performance budgeting for a sensor hub application www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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In addition, cloud based communication can use more lightweight signalling such as COAP 3) (RFC-7252) and MQTT 4).

Compared to HTTP, these lightweight signalling standards are desirable since they will (1) provide a reduced overhead for communicating to the cloud and (2) as the data communicated is reduced, data traffic on the internet will be reduced compared to using HTTP.

IOT

A key benefit of a mesh network is that if any device on the network fails, the network can continue to connect and communicate to other devices on the network.

Alljoyn The Allseen Alliance (www.allseenalliance.org) is a nonprofit consortium that is dedicated to driving the widespread adoption of products, systems and services that support

Cloud client software elements such as those supporting Imagination’s FlowCloud device-to-cloud technology, are added to the IoT device software stack. These elements support specifi c cloud communications requirements as may be required by the cloud service provider.

Figure 6 is an example of a software stack required to support an IoT device.

Summary As IoT devices become ubiquitous in networked systems, the SoC providers for these systems will differentiate their products based on security, power management, scalable computational performance and compliance to industry driven standards.

Figure 5: IoT applications vs. data rate requirements In addition, the different standards bodies have emerged to support IoT are aiming to develop software stacks that can be used across platforms.

Thread The Thread Group (www.threadgroup.org) has emerged in the development of a software stack that focuses on networks that are using 802.15.4 wireless mesh networks.

the IoT with an open, universal development framework, initially based on the AllJoyn open source project.

Software requirements for IoT Standards bodies, communications standards and security requirements all impact the elements that are needed for an IoT software stack contained in an IoT device SoC.

Wireless communications will become integrated into the main SoC not only to reduce cost, but also to reduce power consumption and improve system performance. The inclusion of wireless connectivity and its associated software stacks, integrated capabilities to do some local analytics, and security will increase the demand for computational power within the SoC device.

Security at the device and cloud level is required for IoT devices, especially those that are handling sensitive data such as medical data as these devices are communicating sensitive data to the cloud.

Power management is a significant issue for IoT devices that are mobile or are required to be powered by small batteries for an extended period of time. The IP used in such devices must be designed for low power and be easily integrated into SoC level power management schemes.

Imagination’s CPU, GPU, communications, video and imaging IPs are designed to meet the most aggressive requirements and opportunities for device differentiation in IoT applications. ￭ Imagination Technologies Limited enquiries@imgtec.com www.imgtec.com

Figure 6: IoT software stack example 3)

For more information, see http://coap.technology/

4)

For more information, see http://mqtt.org/

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UK t: +44 1923 260511 US t: +1 408 530 5000

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HMI

Please Do Not Touch

The Latest HMI Solutions from 1D to 3D

Just a few years ago Touch revolutionized input: mechanical buttons, keyboards and sliders were replaced by static plastic or metal surfaces. It meant that operator interfaces could be incorporated into a device, and unobtrusive and modern design became increasingly common on the factory floor. The technology - capacitive touch - is based on a capacitor whereby the human finger acts as the actuator for the capacitor. Ingenious designs also enable proximity switches to be implemented as well. In this case the control system is only active shortly before it is activated, thus reducing energy consumption. This is known as “1D” input.

Then, with the arrival of projective touch and resistive touch technology, the Multi-Touch was born. Here, users touch a touchscreen fitted in front of the monitor screen. Touch screen controllers calculate the touch point coordinates and transmit the data for processing. This is how “2D” input technology works.

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Touchless control Now there is “3D” input - gesture control “Our customers often ask for this,” reports Ileana Keges, Product Sales Manager for Microcontrollers at Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH. “It has quite a few advantages over standard touch technologies.

Sensitive surfaces last longer, sterile surfaces remain sterile. Operators no longer need to wear gloves to operate machines from which oil or corrosive liquids might flow. Microchip has developed a solution for the purpose which we are pleased to recommend - the GesticIC MGC3130.”

The near-field 3D tracking and motion controller is based on patented GestIC® technology from Microchip, which offers highly sensitive detection without blind spots and with a range of up to 15 cm. The input field is created from an electrode field, the efield sensor, and the MGC3130 microcontroller analyses the signals.

The sensor panel consists of at least four electrodes, positioned at right angles to one another. They develop an electrical field of 3V and maximum 100kHz, which is spread

HMI

evenly. If changes occur in the field, caused by hand movements, the sensor will detect these tiny signal changes. The MGC3130 processes the results in real time thanks to its 32 bit digital signal processor. The four electrodes can register movement in X, Y and Z directions. From these the MGC3130 calculates the hand movements. “It could be not

only simple movements such as up and down, right and left, but also circular movements and symbolic gestures, a total of eight different gestures,” explained Ileana Keges. This enables the machine operator, for example, to open or close a valve by turning an imaginary button or to increase or decrease a fill level by making up and down movements.

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The distance of maximum 15 cm ensures that only the intended motions are processed. “Since a conductive object needs to change the electrical fields in order for gesture recognition to take place using this technology, ‘false inputs’ caused by light or sound cannot occur”, explained Keges. Automatic self-calibration eliminates potential errors in the system and ensures consistent precision throughout the product's entire life.

Any solid, conductive materials can be used for the electrodes, for example boards, PCBs or conductive film. “That makes GestIC technology from Microchip a very cost-effective solution,” said Ileana Keges. Thin materials allow the solution to be integrated invisibly behind a housing without affecting the entire design of the device. The sensor can be installed behind non-conductive materials, e.g. 1 cm thick glass, plastic or ceramic.

The area of the sensor is minimun 25 × 25 cm, maximum 140 × 140 cm. This means it can adjust to existing applications and an upgrade from 1D or 2D to 3D is easy to do.

“These different technologies can also be combined if the electrodes are installed as a frame around a display that is also used as a touch interface. A practical application for this is a control panel with a display and buttons,” continued Ileana Keges.

Power uptake in active detection mode and continuous operation is just 150μW. Moreover the MGC3130 is fitted with a few

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HMI

energy-saving features. The ‘approach detection’ facility provides a proximity switch. ‘Self-wake-up from sleep’ keeps the chip in self-wake up mode until the proximity sensor recognizes a movement by the user. Whereupon the system automatically switches into full sensor mode. If the user’s hand leaves the detection area, it switches back to energy-saving mode.

Suite. The latter is used to set customer-specific parameters. This provides high-resolution X/Y/Z hand position tracking data such as stroke, circular and symbolic gestures at the digital output of the MCG3130.

At entry level Microchip offers a number of demo-kits, such as a light control system. In stand-alone mode the MGC3130 controls a bar of LEDs by hand movement.

“The sensor’s electrode design requires a certain amount of care, otherwise gestures will not be clearly recognized. To make developers’ work easier, Microchip supplies the Hillstar Development Kit as a reference,” explained Ileana Keges. The Hillstar contains not only the GestIC® technology but also the Colibri

The individual LEDs can be switched on and off in sequence. A circular hand movement controls light intensity. This is made possible with feature-rich ‘Aurea’ GUI software. Not only does this enable the MGC3130’s parameters to be set; it also simplifies the updating and saving process.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

MikroElektronika & FTDI Chip Introduce Multi-Faceted FT90X MCU Development Platform “Customers to whom we have presented this system were very enthusiastic. Particularly for applications where machine operators wear gloves, whether during a medical intervention or on the factory floor, it is the ideal solution,” said Keges.

Optical solutions Aside from the GestIC® technology from Microchip, Rutronik also offers gesture control systems by Vishay and Osram. “However it is not possible to compare them because they are based on an entirely different principle”, clarified Ileana Keges. Vishay and Osram opted for an optical solution. The proximity sensor / gesture control board by Vishay is based on the VCNL4020 proximity and ambient light sensor. With a radiance intensity of typically 80mW/sr at 200mA, it enables hand gestures to be detected up to 15cm above the sensor board. The movement is recognized by comparing the infrared signals on every transmitter. If the infrared light transmitted from an object, such as a hand, reflects, the VCNL4020 proximity sensor captures the reflection. To enable the signals from the different transmitters to be identified, they are multiplexed, i.e. they are cycled in rapid succession, one after the other. The proximity signal is output via the I2C interface between pulses. If a hand is located close to the board, it throws back a stronger signal from the transmitter above which it is situated. If the hand moves over and along the board, the signals from the other transmitters rise accordingly. This time difference in signal strength can now be analyzed in order to detect a movement and its direction.

GestIC® technology by Microchip is a unit consisting of a sensor surface and the MGC3130 Gestic IC. The maximum distance at which a gesture is recognized is 15cm.

In comparison, the optical version also requires a microcontroller to analyze the outgoing signals via the I2C interface.

An advantage of the optical solution is the larger distance (25cm) at which hand movements can be detected.

“Since gestures are the most natural movement, 3D control will start to be used in even more ways, from applications inside domestic living spaces, and inside the car, to care and residential homes, hospitals and many more.” ￭ Rutronik www.rutronik.com

FTDI Chip technology partner MikroElektronika has announced the release of a complete ecosystem of development products to support the FT90X series of 32-bit applicationoptimized microcontroller units (MCUs). Through these products, which incorporate both hardware and software elements, engineers will be able to harness the full potential of FT90X MCU devices and make more inspiring embedded system designs.

MikroElektronika’s comprehensive FT90X ecosystem consists of:

• The 266mm x 220mm format EasyFT90X development board, which has an FT900 MCU, on-board CMOS camera, 3.5-inch 320x240 pixel resolution TFT display with touch screen, a microSD card slot and a vast array of I/O options, allowing it to interface with a variety of different external sensors and other items of hardware. Also included on this board are a mikroProg Fast USB 2.0 programmer and an in-circuit debugger, plus a range of simple MikroElektronika compiler examples. The board has a power consumption of less than 80mA if peripheral modules are not connected.

• The credit card-sized Clicker 2 board which can connect to an ever-expanding variety of different add-on modules called click™ boards (with over 100 to choose from currently) via its two mikroBUS™ sockets. As well as an FT90X MCU (preprogrammed with a USB-HID bootloader), a USB Mini-B connector, 2 LED indicators, 2 configurable pushbuttons, plus 32kHz and 12MHz oscillators are featured.

• Covering all three main programming languages, the mikroC, mikroBasic and mikroPascal compilers fully support the FT90X and are suitable for use with both the EasyFT90X and Clicker 2 boards, as well as for standalone FT90X system designs. These are the first dedicated FT90X compilers on the market. They support more than 500 functions and have more than 150 examples out of the box, making them easy to use.

FTDI CHIP www.ftdichip.com MIKROELEKTRONIKA www.mikroe.com

embedded world 2015: Kontron presents a new IoT capable member of the KBox family Kontron introduced the latest member of the KBox series at embedded world 2015, the KBox A-103. The design of the embedded box PC is very compact and, due to the powerful hardware, ideal for use in factory automation systems. The robust construction also means it is also suitable for use in the harshest industrial environments. The fan- and cablefree box PCs stand out due to a long service life and low power consumption. Long-term availability, no maintenance and a comprehensive service round off the product. What’s more, the box can be equipped with industrial I/Os, field buses and/or industrial Ethernet interfaces. With the tried-and-tested “maintenance-free” design, the KBox A-103 does not require any additional batteries for operation, it is very reliable (high MTBF), easily adapts to customer requirements, and comes with extensive diagnosis functions such as Kontron’s Embedded Application Programming Interface (KEAPI) 3.5. Developers benefit from a library of API functions, which provide hardware information on all new Kontron embedded platforms. These functions ensure the total cost of ownership (TCO) is kept to a minimum.

The new KBox A-103 is equipped with scalable SMARC modules, which have the latest Intel® Embedded-Power-Atom™ processors, up to E3845.

KONTRON www.kontron.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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MCUs

Wafer Level Chip Scale Package

(WLCSP)

Freescale Semiconductor Application Note

This document provides guidelines to use the Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP) to ensure consistent Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly necessary to achieve high yield and reliability. However, variances in manufacturing equipment, processes, and circuit board design for a specific application may lead to a combination where other process parameters yield a superior performance. Guidelines for package performance information such as Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL) rating, board level reliability, and thermal resistance data are included as reference.

This document contains generic information that encompasses Wafer Level Chip Scale Packages (WLCSP). It should be noted that device specific information is contained in Datasheet. This document serves only as a guideline to help develop a user specific solution. Actual experience and development efforts are still required to optimize the process per individual device requirements and practices.

Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP) Package Description Wafer Level Chip Scale Package refers to the technology of packaging an integrated circuit at the wafer level, instead of the traditional process of assembling individual units in packages after dicing them from a wafer. This process is an extension of the wafer Fab processes, where the device interconnects and protection are accomplished using the traditional fab processes and tools. In the final form, the device is a die with an array pattern of bumps or solder balls attached at an I/O pitch that is compatible with traditional circuit board assembly processes. WLCSP is a true chip-scale packaging (CSP) technology, since the resulting package is of the same size of the die (Figure 1). WLCSP technology differs from other ball-grid

Figure 1: WLCSP Packages Available from Freescale 20

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array (BGA) and laminate-based CSPs in that no bond wires or interposer connections are required. The key advantages of the WLCSP is the die to PCB inductance is minimized, reduced package size, and enhanced thermal conduction characteristics.

Typical WLCSP Configurations and Dimensions Available WLCSP packages from Freescale range from 2.0 Ă— 2.0 mm to 5.29 Ă— 5.28 mm in size, with a standard pitch of 0.40mm and a standard solder ball diameter of 0.250mm. The physical outlines of

Table 1: Die size for WLCSP Arrays at 0.40mm Pitch

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WLCSP packages are dynamic since those depend on actual die size. Therefore, users of devices in these packages must exercise greater care in utilization than with more standardized packages.

Refer to Table 1 for details regarding die sizes for standard solder ball arrays at 0.40mm pitch, which complies to JEDEC Publication 95, Design Guide 4.18 [1] and JEDEC Standard MO-211. [2] The PCB layout and stencil designs are critical to ensure sufficient solder coverage between the package and the Printed Circuit Board (PCB). When designing the PCB layout, refer to the Freescale case outline drawing to obtain the package dimensions and tolerances.

WLCSP

solder mask is smaller than the underlying copper area for soldering to the associated bump. A Non-Solder Mask Defined (NSMD) pad has a solder mask opening larger than the copper pad. There are many factors influencing whether the PCB designer uses SMD or NSMD pads. Either type can successfully be used with WLCSP packages.

Freescale recommends using NSMD pads for thermal fatigue and SMD pads for drop test performance. Fillets where the trace connects to the Cu pad are recommended, especially with NSMD pads.

WLCSP Construction Refer to Figure 2 for a representation of a typical WLCSP package with a RDL layer between two dielectric layers. A WLCSP die has a first layer of dielectric, a Copper metal redistribution layer (RDL) to re-route the signal path from the die peripheral to a solder ball pad, and a second dielectric layer to cover the RDL metal, which in turn is patterned into the solder ball array. The solder ball is a lead-free alloy.

Table 2: Recommended PCB Pad and Stencil Parameters

Figure 2: Typical Polymer-RDL WLCSP Construction Process Flow A typical WLCSP process flow is illustrated Figure 3. The illustration displays the process for a two-layer RDL process, with the RDL metal layer between two dielectric layers.

Figure 4: NSMD and SMD Designs for WLCSP PCB Terminal Via-In-Pad Structures The need for via-in-pad structures will generally be determined by the design. Via-in-pad designs typically result in voids and inconsistent solder joints after reflow, leading to early failures. These voids are due to trapped air in the via. If via-in-pad structures must be used, it is recommended to use filled vias. As with any PCB, the quality and experience of the vendor is very important with via-in-pad designs.

Stencil Design Guideline Due to the fine pitch and small terminal geometry used on WLCSP, particular attention must be paid to the paste printing process. In process inspection for paste height, percent pad coverage, and registration accuracy to solderable land patterns is highly recommended.

Figure 3: Typical WLCSP Process Flow Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Level Guidelines PCB Design Guideline PCB design requirements are based on IPC-A-600 [3] standards. For optimum electrical performance and highly reliable solder joints, Freescale recommends the PCB and stencil design guidelines listed in Table 2.

PCB Land Design Guidelines Solder Mask Defined (SMD) pads are defined by the solder mask opening on the board pad as shown in Figure 4. The opening of the

Solder Stencil Design and Fabrication Stencils should be laser cut stainless steel with Nickel plating or electroformed Cobalt or Chromium hardened Nickel for repeatable solder paste deposition from ultra small apertures required by small pitch packages. It is recommended to inspect the stencil openings for burrs and other quality issues prior to use. Both square and round shaped apertures have been used successfully, however square shaped aperture openings provide more consistent paste printing and transfer efficiency when compared to round openings.

Corners may be rounded to prevent clogging. 1:1 aperture to pad ratio is recommended for SnAgCu alloys. www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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For 0.40mm pitch WLCSP devices, use aperture aspect ratio of > = 0.66, with 0.25mm × 0.25mm square openings (25 micron corner radius) for improved solder paste deposition repeatability.

Aperture aspect ratio is defined as the aperture opening area divided by the aperture side wall surface area.

A 0.100mm (4-mil) thick stainless steel stencil is recommended.

When these stencil design requirements conflict with other required SMT components in a mixed technology PCB assembly, a step-down stencil process may be utilized in compliance with IPC7525 [4] design standards.

PCB Assembly Assembly Process Flow A typical Surface Mount Technology (SMT) process flow is depicted in Figure 5.

Figure 5: SMT Process Flow WLCSP PCB Assembly Guideline Screen Printing: Solder Paste Material Use of Type 4 (25 to 36 micron solder sphere particle size) or finer solder paste is recommended and a low halide (< 100ppm halides) No-Clean rosin/resin flux system be used to eliminate post-reflow assembly cleaning operations.

Component Placement The WLCSP package is comparatively small in size. For better accuracy, it is recommended to use automated fine-pitch placement machines with vision alignment instead of chip-shooters to place the parts. Local fiducials are required on the board to support the vision systems.

Pick and Place systems using mechanical centering are not recommended due to the high potential for mechanical damage to the WLCSP device. Ensure minimal pick-and-place force is used to avoid damage, with all vertical compression forces controlled and monitored. Z-height control methods are recommended over force control. Freescale recommends the use of low-force nozzle options and compliant tip materials to further avoid any physical damage to the WLCSP device.

Use only vacuum pencil with compliant tip material whenever manual handling is required.

All assemblers of WLCSP components are encouraged to conduct placement accuracy studies to provide factual local knowledge about compensations needed for this package type. Freescale cannot anticipate the range of placement equipment and settings possible for package placement and therefore cannot make a generic recommendation on how to compensate for WLCSP interchangeability.

Reflow Soldering Temperature profile is the most important control in reflow soldering and it must be fine tuned to establish a robust process. The actual profile depends on several factors, including complexity or products, oven type, solder type, temperature difference across the PCB, oven and thermocouple tolerances, etc. All of Freescale's WLCSP devices are qualified at Moisture Sensitivity Level 1 at 260°C. The maximum temperature at the component body should not exceed this level. Actual reflow temperature settings need to be determined by the end-user, based on thermal loading effects and on solder paste vendor recommendations.

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MCUs

Rework Procedure WLCSP components removed during PCB rework should not be reused for final assemblies. Freescale follows standard component level qualifications for packages/components and these include three solder reflows survivability. A package that has been attached to a PCB and then removed has seen two solder reflows and if the PCB is double sided, the package has seen three solder reflows.

Thus the package is at or near the end of the tested and qualified range of known survivability. These removed WLCSP components should be properly disposed of so that they will not mix in with known good WLCSP components.

The rework process for WLCSP devices is similar for typical BGA and CSP packages: • To remove the faulty component from the board, hot air should be applied from the top and bottom heaters. An air nozzle of correct size should be used to conduct the heat to the WLCSP component such that the vacuum pick up tool can properly remove the component. It is recommended to apply top and bottom heaters simultaneously for 30 seconds at 300°C and 150°C, respectively.

Many assembly sites have extensive in-house knowledge on rework and their experts should be consulted for further guidance.

• Once the WLCSP component is removed, the site is cleaned and dressed to prepare for the new component placement.

A de-soldering station can be used for solder dressing. It should be noted that the applied temperature should not be > 245°C, otherwise the copper pad on the PCB may peel off.

• A mini-stencil with the same stencil thickness, aperture opening and pattern as the normal stencil should be used. Apply a gel or tacky flux using a mini-metal squeegee blade. The printed pads should be inspected to ensure even and sufficient solder paste before component placement.

• A vacuum nozzle is used to pick the new package up, and accurately place it using a vision alignment placement tool. A split light system that displays images of both the WLCSP leads and the footprint on the PCB is recommended.

The replaced component is then soldered to the PCB using a temperature profile similar to the normal reflow soldering process.

Moisture Sensitivity Level Rating The Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL) indicates the floor life of the component and its storage conditions after the original container has been opened. The lower the MSL value, the less care is needed to store the components. Table 3 depicts the best case MSL for each package size. All WLCSP devices at Freescale Semiconductor are MSL1, testing in accordance with IPC/JEDEC J-STD-020D. [5]

Table 3: WLCSP MSL Capability * Note: Please refer to Freescale Semiconductor web site for specific product MSL and package information, including JEDEC MSL.

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WLCSP

Board Level Reliability The board level reliability is usually presented in terms of solder joint life. The solder joint results in this section utilized the board layout guidelines from Section (PCB Design Guideline).

Table 5: WLCSP Solder Joint Reliability (0 / 100 °C) Testing Details Samples of WLCSP in daisy chain format were used to study the solder joint reliability. BGA pairs were routed together in the WLCSP RDL layer, with a complementary pattern designed on the test PCB to provide one electrical circuit (net) through the package when the package is attached to the test PCB, as illustrated in Figure 6.

Underfill

Figure 7: Underfill Selection Data on underfill was collected on a 5.29 × 5.28mm die size with SAC1205 0.25mm diameter solder spheres. Careful selection of underfill material is critical for enhancing BLR performance of WLCSP packages. Selecting an underfill with too high a CTE can result in worse BLR performance than no underfill. Underfilling can significantly increase the solder joint reliability of WLCSP packages. A comparison of non-underfill vs underfilled results for a 5.29 × 5.28mm die size shows a 7X improvement in cycles to 1st failure (201 vs 1421).

Figure 6: Example WLCSP / PCB Daisy Chain Routing (Not to Scale) Solder Joint Reliability (SJR) Results Assembled PCBs can be temperature cycled at a variety of temperature ranges. The most common test condition for small devices such as these at Freescale is JEDEC Condition 'G' [6] (-40°C/+125°C), with 15 minute dwell times for a typical frequency of one cycle per hour.

Freescale has the capability of continuously monitoring the resistance through a daisy chain package and its complementary test PCB. Failure is defined as resistance through the daisy chain net of 300 Ohms or greater. Daisy chain nets are tested (time zero testing) prior to temperature cycling.

Mechanical Drop Test WLCSP parts were tested per JEDEC's JESD22-B111 Drop Test Specification [7]. The drop test set-up, board layout, fixtures, and criteria are all based on the JESD22-B111. All drops are carried out in the -Z direction (package down). The peak acceleration is 1500g for 0.5 ms (half-sine pulse). The resistance at time zero and still state after the drop are recorded. Resistance data was collected in-situ throughout the dropping process, with maximum resistance data recorded during the drop. The failure criteria is 100 Ohms for 200 nano-seconds, recorded 3 times during 5 consecutive drops.

From the various experiments, the drop test performances for the different package sizes and lead counts are shown in Table 6.

Freescale continues to work on understanding and improving the solder joint reliability of WLCSP packages. From the various experiments, the solder joint reliability performances for the different package size, lead count, die thickness, and solder material are shown in Table 4. All experiments were performed using similar size test boards.

Table 6: WLCSP Drop Test Results Package Thermal Resistances The thermal performance of WLCSP is characterized using two thermal board types and three boundary conditions: Board Types: 1. Single Signal Layer - 1s (designed per JEDEC EIA / JESD51-3 [8].

2. Two Signal Layers, Two Internal Planes - 2s2p (designed per JEDEC EIA / JESD51-5 [9] and JEDEC EIA / JESD51-7 [10]

Table 4: WLCSP Solder Joint Reliability (-40°C / +125°C) An alternate condition (0/100 °C) was also evaluated. This condition employed 10 min ramp and dwell times, providing 1.5 cycles per hour. Results for this condition are shown in Table 5.

Thermal Resistance Boundary Conditions: 1. Junction-to Ambient (Theta-JA) 2. Junction-to-Board (Theta-JB) 3. Junction-to-Case (Theta-JC) These thermal resistances help bound the thermal problem under distinct environments. www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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Junction-to Ambient (Theta-JA) Junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (Theta-JA JEDEC EIA/JESD51-2 [11]) is a one-dimensional value that measures the conduction of heat from the junction (hottest temperature on die) to the environment near the package. The heat that is generated on the die surface reaches the immediate environment along two paths: (1) convection and radiation off the exposed surface of the package and (2) conduction into and through the test board followed by convection and radiation off the exposed board surfaces.

Theta-JA is reported with two parameters, depending on the board type used: R JA and R JMA. R JA and R JMA help bound the thermal performance of the WLCSP package in a customer's application.

• R JA measures the thermal performance of the package on a low conductivity test board (single signal layer - 1s) in a natural convection environment. The 1s test board is designed per JEDEC EIA/JESD51-3 and JEDEC EIA/JESD51-5. R JA helps estimate the thermal performance of the WLCSP when it is mounted in two distinct configurations: (1) a board with no internal thermal planes (i.e., low conductivity board) or (2) when a multi-layer board is tightly populated with similar components.

• R JMA measures the thermal performance of the package on a board with two signal layers and two internal planes (2s2p). The 2s2p test board is designed per JEDEC EIA/JESD51-5 and JEDEC EIA/JESD51-7. R JMA provides the thermal performance of the package when there are no nearby components dissipating significant amounts of heat on a multi-layer board.

Junction-to-Board (Theta-JB) Junction-to-board thermal resistance (Theta-JB or R JB per JEDEC EIA/JESD51-8 [12]) is also provided for the WLCSP. R JB measures the horizontal spreading of heat between the junction and the board. The board temperature is taken 1 mm from the package on a board trace located on the top surface of the board.

MCUs

of the WLCSP package when the board is adhered to a metal housing or heat sink and a complete thermal analysis is done.

Table 7 has some thermal information for certain WLCSP packages [13]. All of the data was generated using Silicon (Si) die. There is an inverse relationship between the body size of the package and the thermal resistances. Large packages have lower R JMA values. The greater the body size the more PTH vias will fit under the package.

Table 7: WLCSP Thermal Performance Notes: 1. Junction temperature is a function of die size, on-chip power dissipation, package thermal resistance, mounting site (board) temperature, ambient temperature, power dissipation of other components on the board, and board thermal resistance.

2. JEDEC EIA/JESD51-2 with the single layer board horizontal.

Board conforms to JEDEC EIA/JESD51-3 and JEDEC EIA/JESD51-5.

3. Per JEDEC JESD51-6 [14] with the board horizontal.

Board conforms to JEDEC EIA/JESD51-5 and JEDEC EIA/JESD51-7.

4. Thermal resistance between the die and the printed circuit board per JEDEC EIA/JESD51-8. Board temperature is measured on the top surface of the board near the package. ￭ www.freescale.com

Junction-to-Case (Theta-JC) Another thermal resistance that is provided is junction-to-case thermal resistance (Theta-JC or R JC). The case is defined at the exposed pad surface. R JC can be used to estimate the thermal performance

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] 24

References JEDEC Publication 95, Design Guide 4.18, Wafer Level Ball Grid Arrays (WLBGA), Issue. A, September, 20004.

JEDEC MO211, “Die Size Ball Grid Array, Fine Pitch, Thin/Very Thin/Extremely Thin Profile”, June 2004.

ANSI/IPC-A-600G, “Acceptability of Printed Boards”, July 2004.

IPC-7525, “Stencil Design Guidelines”, May 2007.

IPC/JEDEC J-STD-020D.1, “Moisture/Reflow Sensitivity Classification for Nonhermetic Solid State Surface Mount Devices”, May 2008.

JEDEC JESD-A104C, “Temperature Cycling”, May 2005.

JEDEC JESD-B111, “Board Level Drop Test Method of Components For Handheld Electronic Products”, July 2003.

EIA/JESD51-3, “Low Effective Thermal Conductivity Test Board for Leaded Surface Mount Packages,” August 1996.

EIA/JESD51-5, “Extension of Thermal Test Board Standards for Packages with Direct Thermal Attachment Mechanisms,” February 1999.

EIA/JESD51-7, “High Effective Thermal Conductivity Test Board for Leaded Surface Mount Packages,” February 1999.

EIA/JESD51-2, “Integrated Circuits Thermal Test Method Environment Conditions - Natural Convection (Still Air)”, December 1995.

EIA/JESD51-8, “Integrated Circuit Thermal Test Method Environmental Conditions - Junction-to-Board”, October 1999.

V. Chiriac, “Wafer Level CSP Thermal Performance Evaluation”, Freescale Semiconductor, August 2008.

EIA/JESD 51-6, “Integrated Circuits Thermal Test Method Environment Conditions - Forced Convection (Moving Air),” March 1999.

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Maxim Integrated Demonstrated Highly Integrated Analog Solutions at Embedded World 2015 Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. demonstrated highly integrated analog solutions for embedded applications at the Embedded World 2015 Exhibition and Conference in Nuremberg, Germany (February 24–26, 2015). Organized in three demo areas for Industrial Power, Industrial Interface, and Signal Chain, Maxim’s solutions showed systems engineers how to simplify designs and get to market faster.

Industrial Power • Step-down DC-DC converters eliminate external components and reduce total cost.

A “demo in a box” features Maxim’s Himalaya series of highly efficient, 4.5V to 60V, synchronous DC-DC buck regulators from 25mA to 3.5A: MAX17552, MAX15062, and MAX17501 / MAX17502 / MAX17503 / MAX17504 / MAX17505.

• Cooler, smaller, and simpler DC-DC stepdown power modules reduce design complexity, manufacturing risks, and time to market. The Himalaya series pin-to-pincompatible power modules, MAXM17503 / MAXM17504 / MAXM17505, integrate inductors, resistors, capacitors, and highefficiency DC-DC step-down buck regulators. They operate over a 4.5V to 60V range. Customers can start with modules and migrate to ICs for volume production.

Industrial Interface • Symmetric key-based secure authenticator provides the most secure key storage possible. The MAX66242 DeepCover® SHA-256 secure authenticator configures and collects data from any embedded system through its NFC/RFID ISO/IEC 15693 and/or I²C (master/slave) interfaces.

• Contactless communication secures sensitive data with the power of SHA-256 authentication. The MAX66300 is the industry's first HF RFID transceiver with integrated SHA-256 engine for secure challenge-and-response authentication.

• Highly configurable IO-Link® transceiver ensures robust communications with IOLink sensors and actuators. The MAX14826

IO-Link transceiver supports all specified IO-Link data rates, integrates multiple protection solutions, and is ideal for Industry 4.0 applications.

Signal Chain • Programmable analog offers more versatility for industrial control and automation, IoT, base-station RF controllers, and powersupply monitoring applications. The awardwinning MAX11300 mixed-signal PIXI™ input/output (I/O) brings programmability to high-integration analog applications. It is the industry's first configurable, 20-channel, -10V to +10V high-voltage mixed-signal IC. • High 20-bit accuracy ensures confidence in measurement results. The MAX11905 is the fastest 20-bit, 1.6Msps successive approximation register (SAR) analog-todigital converter (ADC). It saves up to 91% power and up to 50% space, with the best THD of -123dB at 10kHz. • Low-noise, low-distortion drivers optimize the high speed, high accuracy of SAR ADCs. The MAX44205/MAX44206 lownoise and low-power op amps drive highspeed SAR ADCs. Their wide supply range and wide bandwidth are ideal for lowpower, high-performance data acquisition systems (DAS).

• High resolution ADC is ideal for instrumentation applications that require ultralow noise. The MAX11270 is an easy-to-use, 24-bit, 10mW, 64ksps delta-sigma ADC with integrated programmable gain amplifier (PGA); it offers the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and lowest power in its class.

• Get high-resolution, 24-bit accuracy for weighing mass in a wide range of industrial applications. The MAXREFDES75#, a 24-bit weigh scale reference design, features the 24-bit MAX11270 delta-sigma ADC. The MAX11270 is ideal for process control, automatic test equipment (ATE), medical instrumentation, and battery-powered devices.

• Ultra-robust, 5KVrms, 4-channel digital isolators transfer digital signals between circuits with different power and ground domains, where noise isolation, ground loop mitigation, and/or safety are of concern. Industry’s only 1.8V supply capable isolators, the MAX14930 /MAX14931/ MAX14932 / MAX14934 / MAX14935 / MAX14936 deliver best-in-class propagation delay of up to 30% better and pulse width distortion of up to 50% better than competitors.

MAXIM INTEGRATED www.maximintegrated.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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Kinetis Mini MCUs Wafer-Level Chip-Scale Package Portfolio 32-bit Microcontrollers

Driving innovation with tiny, industry-leading packages.

Overview Kinetis mini MCUs are Freescale’s smallest, ARM Powered® devices, being shipped in a variety of wafer-level chip-scale packages (WLCSPs). These MCUs are offered in industry-leading miniature packages, providing massive design potential for today’s embedded designers. Freescale’s WLCSP technology development has enabled smaller packages, with greater functionality, than previously seen in the market.

The Kinetis mini portfolio, which to-date has globally shipped in the millions, now include the Kinetis KL03 CSP—the world’s smallest ARM-based MCU—shrinking its predecessor by 15%, further enabling customers to reduce the size of their embedded applications.

Kinetis Wafer-Level Chip-Scale MCUs

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Target Applications • Intelligent wearables • Portable medical monitoring • Remote monitoring • Tablet and phone accessories Did You Know?

• 19,000 Kinetis mini MCUs fit on a piece of paper (U.S. letter size).

• 23,000 Kinetis mini MCUs fill a golf ball.

• 3.2 million Kinetis mini MCUs fill a soccer ball.

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WLCSP

ARM® Cortex®- M0+ - based Kinetis Mini MCUs

ARM® Cortex® - M4 - based Kinetis Mini MCUs

Please note: This table is for reference only. Please refer to technical documentation for official package dimensions and product features. * WLCSP pitch is 0.35mm, versus the standard WLCSP pitch of 0.40mm

Technical Features The Kinetis mini portfolio of products are assembled at the wafer level, creating the smallest form-factor package possible. They require no wire bonds or substrate interposers and use solder balls, directly attached to the silicon, to make the PCB connection.

Please refer to our Wafer-level Chipscale Package (AN3846) Application Note on freescale.com for more detailed technical information.

Software and Tools Integrated Development Environments (IDE) • Kinetis Design Studio IDE • IAR Embedded Workbench, Keil MDK, Atollic, GCC • Online enablement with ARM mbed™ development platform

Kinetis Software Development Kit (SDK) • Extensive suite of robust HAL, peripheral drivers, stacks and middleware, with supporting software examples • Operating system abstraction (OSA) for Freescale MQX™ RTOS, FreeRTOS, and

Micrium uC/OS kernels and baremetal (no RTOS) applications • Complimentary Processor expert software configuration tool providing IO allocation, pin initialization and configuration of hardware abstraction and peripheral drivers • Full ARM ecosystem support

Tower System Development Platforms The Tower System is a modular, opensourced development platform with reusable peripheral modules, offering connectivity, analog, graphics LCD and motor control functionality. Featuring more than 50 modules, the Tower System provides designers with building blocks for their MCU development.

• Tower plug-in (TWRPI) socket • OpenSDA debug circuit with virtual serial port • Tower System elevator modules and Tower System peripheral modules available for additional system capability Learn more at freescale.com/Tower.

Freescale Freedom Development Platforms

evaluation and development system. The platform offers an easy-to-use mass-storage device mode flash programmer, a virtual serial port and classic programming and run control capabilities.

• Designed in an industry-standard compact form factor, with select boards compatible with Arduino R3, as well as third-party expansion boards.

• Easy access to the MCU I/O pins • Integrated open standard serial and debug interface (OpenSDA) Learn more at freescale.com/Freedom.

For more information about Kinetis mini MCUs, please visit: freescale.com/Kinetisminis Freescale, the Freescale logo, CodeWarrior, Kinetis and Processor Expert are trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Tower is a trademark of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. ARM is the registered trademark of ARM Limited. ARM Powered, Cortex-M0+ and CortexM4 are trademarks of ARM Limited. © 2013, 2014 Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.

The Freescale Freedom development platform is a small, low-power, cost-effective www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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Developing advanced packaging to meet increased needs for higher power density in power modules Author: Patrick Le Fèvre,

Marketing and Communication Director at Ericsson Power Modules

Increased processing density in high-end data server designs with the cramming of more and more silicon on to PCBs continues to have an impact on power supply systems. For example, power per board demand from ICT (Information and Communications Technology) servers has increased from 300W in the early 1980s to more than 1kW today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it is expected that power per board of 3 to 5kW will be required by the end of this decade. In addition, equipment will be required to occupy less space, implying a higher overall power density.

Current DC/DC power converter technologies are not adequate at these levels of power and although a 1kW converter can be accommodated in a quarter-brick format today, the deployment of 3D packaging, the highly integrated embedding of components and enhanced thermal management technologies will be needed to produce, for example, a 1kW converter in an eighth-brick format.

Three Dimensions Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DC/DC power converter bricks still widely use a planar and two-dimensional PCB construction, but applications that require smaller footprints, lower profiles and reduced parasitic impedances are driving demands for high-density 3D packaging.

While its use is limited in high-power bricks today, there are many possibilities in embedding both active and passive components via methods such as chip stacking, package stacking and component embedding through over-moulding. These can offer significant gains in footprint reduction, enhanced cooling possibilities and the positioning of drivers in close proximity to switching devices. This will enable improvements in performance and efficiency by minimization and the precise control of interconnect parasitic impedances in high-frequency switching circuit designs. Subsequent 3D 28

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assembly of additional components will further contribute to reducing footprint and also the size of magnetic components.

reduced parasitic components, which can be achieved using 3D integration techniques.

Components Switching frequencies for high-power converters are generally optimized for operation of approximately 500kHz or below, but to enable size reduction and an increase in power density, a switching frequency of 2MHz and above will be necessary to minimize the magnetic physical volume. The recent availability of wide-band-gap (WBG) semiconductor components such as GaN and GaAs based switching FETs, ideally operating at higher frequencies in excess of 5MHz, is certainly an enabler for higher switching frequencies. In fact, new topologies may even increase switching frequencies well into the 10MHz range, thereby driving requirements for packaging with

However, higher switching speed is dependant on the availability of low-loss high-frequency magnetic materials, leading to power transformer and inductor solutions that are suitable for high-volume production. There are several viable technology paths to higher-frequency miniaturized and integrated magnetic components including advanced magnetic-core designs and core materials, as well as air-core designs that are not dependent on core material characteristics. This means that there is also flexibility in production methods and the possibility to use different 3D integration techniques such as embedded windings in multi-layer PCB and multi-layer ferrite substrate with integrated active Cu layers (see figure 1).

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Figure 1: Embedded windings in multi-layer PCB and multi-layer ferrite substrate with integrated active Cu layers While these techniques are largely limited to lower power converters, further improvements in core materials and expansion into products with increasing output current will be enabled by improved processes for magnetic materials. In addition, the ultimate goal of integrating the magnetics within the semiconductor wafer is possible in the future.

Advanced cooling technologies and techniques that improve the thermal performance of new and emerging 3D packaging assemblies that aim to double power density (to 75W/cm3 or 1200W/in3) are absolutely crucial and ultimately will determine the feasibility of higher power densities.

However, many standard components are

not suitable for high-density or 3D designs due to insufficient thermal performance.

And other thermal design challenges will include high-current distribution, assembly on 45-layer boards for example, and the inadequacy of even greatly enhanced traditional cooling techniques such as existing air-blown convection.

Thermal Management Power density, in terms of watts per cm3, is now an order of magnitude higher than it was 15 years ago. And the latest power bricks (see figure 2, as an example) can place some very high demands on efficient internal thermal management.

Clearly, it is essential to ensure components in high-power-density bricks are cooled – usually via mechanisms such as conduction and convection – for operation at reasonable temperatures, otherwise semiconductor device performance and system reliability may be compromised. Component power dissipation (Pd, comp) and component junction to case thermal resistance (Rth, J-C) for each critical component becomes extremely important as they determine the actual junction temperature that limits the DC/DC converter’s thermal performance. The temperature difference between the component junction (or core) and case can be calculated using: ΔTJ-C = Pd, comp × Rth, J-C

Telecom, wide input range (36V - 75V)

Figure 2: Ericsson’s 864W high-power-density quarter-brick modules offer 37W/cm3 (600W/in3) www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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Over-moulding is likely to continue as a technology used for improving thermal performance, but it is also clear that thermally enhanced packaging for all power components, including magnetic components and capacitors, will be required to allow cooling from at least two opposite surfaces, together with the use of improved thermal materials, processes and cooling techniques.

As shown in figure 3, instead of mounting power components on a PCB with die attach or thermal interface material, the components are held on a temporary carrier and a heat sink is electroformed around them.

Components of various sizes and thicknesses can be integrated on the same board, called an Integrated Thermal Array Plate (ITAP).

When the carrier is removed, the bottom and top surfaces of the components are co-planar and facilitate a defined and optimised thermal connection. Improvements in thermal resistance of up to 50%, (i.e. 50% higher power dissipation for a fixed TJ) can be achieved compared with conventionally packaged components with epoxy or solder attach.

Through-Silicon-Vias (TSV) will also be a

POWER

potential solution in stacked chip solutions in combination with liquid cooling techniques, and experimental results have indicated the potential of a 50% improvement in thermal performance.

The replacement of solder and thermal grease with sintering in assemblies using Direct Bond Copper (DBC) technology is another technique that could significantly improve thermal performance. Other potential cooling techniques include both liquid conductive cooling of certain highpower components and forced-air convection cooling of medium- and low-power dissipating components.

And the use of passive liquid cooling technologies such as heat pipes is likely to become more widespread to deal with local hotspots.

Doubling Power Density New developments in 3D packaging and chip-scale IC will continue on, but will also include the integration of power magnetics that will increase the power levels far beyond todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s non-isolated converters.

The use of planar magnetics is already wide-

spread and the power converter assemblies will probably be over-moulded to improve thermal performance.

However, these developments cannot be driven by the DC/DC power converter industry alone, and support from makers of semiconductors and other power components will be essential with a supply chain that offers standardized requirements and qualification tests.

Experimental results and full-scale production show the potential of achieving double the power density combined with thermal management solutions for keeping the component core temperatures within specified levels for reliable operation, making it easily possible to foresee a 1kW eighth-brick in the near future n Ericsson Power Modules www.ericsson.com/powermodules

Figure 3: Electroformed heatsink over components on a temporary carrier for increased thermal performance 30

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Power Modules Win Out, but Choose Wisely

By Jian Yin, Intersil Corporation

Power modules are the way to go when it comes to leveraging the expertise of power experts and getting your design to market quickly, but choose wisely. Power-module architecture choices can greatly affect your power supply’s performance.

Introduction Whether evaluating step-down switching regulators at the silicon-level (controller with FET), or power modules where the integration, and ease of use of a more complete power supply subsystem may be preferred, system designers everywhere are under enormous pressure. They’re being tasked with integrating more power and features in ever-shrinking form factors, and thus adversely affecting the system’s electrical and thermal characteristics.

There are various obstacles system designers must overcome on the path to integration nirvana. These include the increased likelihood of noise coupling as components are in closer proximity, as well as heat dissipation, given that the power-handling capabilities continue to increase along with smaller footprint areas.

Fortunately, power module designers continue to innovate to meet these demanding

requirements through various architectural and topological design approaches that extract the maximum performance from the smallest package. Yet, these innovations put the burden upon system designers in need of the optimum power module to be careful in their choice of solutions. The techniques used by different power module solutions can greatly affect overall system cost, as well as key performance parameters such as heat dissipation, transient response, ripple voltage, and even ease of use. It’s very much a case of ‘buyer beware’.

The Case for Modular versus Discrete For system designers, there are many reasons to opt for a power module versus designing a power converter from the component level, not least of which are ease of use and timeto-market. By adding only input and output capacitors, these power customers can finish their designs relatively easily and quickly, with

Figure 1: Highly integrated power modules require only input and output capacitors, and maybe a few additional external components to meet a system designer’s needs 32

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confidence that their basic performance and space requirements have been met. The power module is a complete power converter system in an encapsulated package that includes a PWM controller, synchronous switching MOSFETs, inductors and passive components, see Figure 1.

For example, Intersil’s ISL8203M power module has an extremely low profile package at 1.83mm, which is similar to a 1206 capacitor’s height. Also, it delivers the excellent electrical and thermal performance to meet all customer requirements. Normally that knowledge would be sufficient, but how that module was designed can greatly affect more nuanced parameters, features and capabilities.

ISL8203M Deep Dive ISL8203M is a complete DC-DC power module that has been optimized to generate low output voltages ranging from 0.8V to 5V, making it ideal for any low-power, low-voltage applications. The supply voltage input range is from 2.85V to 6V. The two channels are 180° out-of-phase for input RMS current and EMI reductions. Each channel is capable of 3A output current.

These channels can be combined to form a single 6A output in current-sharing mode.

While in current-sharing mode, the interleaving of the two channels reduces input and output voltage ripple.

ISL8203M is only 1.83mm thick with a footprint of 6.5mm × 9mm, as shown in Figure 2.

It has the most compact package profile for a given input and output voltage/current

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range, see Table 1, and its overall package volume is only 106mm3, which is dramatically smaller than all other power module solutions. Although the ISL8203M package is very compact, it is still delivers very good efficiency, as shown in Figure 3.

nections to the lead-frame. Then the molding can be filled in to form a complete encapsulated package.

This structure allows the heat generated by the internal components to be dissipated directly by the copper in the lead frame

Also, since the copper lead frame can be six times thicker than the 1oz copper on a typical PCB, the module lead frame can help spread the heat over a large area, thus accelerating the effective heat transfer area to the system board.

Overall, the module’s thermal performance can be better than a discrete solution where the component is soldered directly to the PCB system board.

Figure 4: ISL8203M internal structure

Figure 2: The ISL8203M power-module package measures 6.5mm × 9mm × 1.85mm Parts Competitor 1

Current Dual 4A/ Single 8A Single 6A

Input 2.375V to 5.5V 2.375V to 6.6V 2.95V to 6V

Output 0.8V to 5V

Overall size 15×15×2.82mm 635mm3 Competitor 2 0.6V to 5V 11×8×1.85mm 163mm3 Competitor 3 Single 6A 0.8V to 3.6V 11×9×2.8mm 277mm3 ISL8203M Dual 3A/ 2.8V to 6V 0.8V to 5V 9x6.5x1.85mm Single 6A 106mm3 Table 1 The ISL8203M is the industry’s most compact 6A encapsulated power module

a) One 3A output at 5Vin b). Paralleled 6A output at 5Vin Figure 3: Efficiency of ISL8203M under various output voltage and current conditions Small Module Package Offers Excellent Thermal Performance The ISL8203M uses a QFN (quad-flat, noleads) copper lead-frame package, where the internal component is soldered directly to the copper lead frame, see Figure 4. Also, the wire bonds can be applied to the top of the internal component for electrical con-

which has a thermal conductivity of ~385 W/mK. This is about 1000 times the thermal conductivity of the printed circuit board (PCB) which has a typical thermal conductivity of ~0.343 W/mK. As a result, the copper-based lead frame can help the heat dissipate much more efficiently than a PCB-based module.

It’s important to note that the molding material in the structure can have a similar heat-spreading effect to the copper lead frame. Although the molding material has a lower thermal conductivity, the heat can still transfer through the molding horizontally and then dissipate into the copper lead frame. The molding also increases the effective heat transfer area from the internal power component, and thus decreases the thermal resistance from the internal part to

Figure 5: In a worst-case scenario, converting 5Vin to 3.3Vout at 6A -with no air flow and an ambient temperature of 25°C -- the ISL8203M reached a maximum temperature of only 66.8°C ambient. This is another important comparison benefit of power modules – the ability to handle high power in a small package versus discrete solutions. www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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Let’s take a closer look at the thermal performance of an ISL8203M mounted on a standard four-layer evaluation board with 2oz. copper on the top and bottom layers, and 1oz. copper in the middle layers, see Figure 5. Running a worst-case scenario of 5Vin to 3.3Vout/6A with no airflow and an ambient temperature of 25°C, the module’s maximum temperature is only 66.8°C. For Transients, Current-Mode Power Module Achieves Better Performance There are generally two types of control schemes used in module applications: current-mode and voltage-mode. To ensure a fast transient response under various load conditions, the ISL8203M uses a currentmode control scheme to regulate the output voltage, see Figure 6. The scheme’s currentsensing signal is derived from the voltage across the top FET’s conducting resistance (Rdson) of the synchronized buck converter.

This is then fed into the current amplifier, the output of which undergoes slope compensation before being compared to the output error amplifier to generate what now becomes the pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal. Through the driver, the PWM signal can control the synchronized buck converter to achieve the required voltage regulation. The compensation on the error amplifier is needed to boost the loop gain and phase margin to achieve better performance and stability.

(a) ISL8203 Simplified current-mode control diagram

(b) A typical voltage-mode control diagram Figure 6: Current- and voltage-mode control diagram 34

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POWER

The structure of the voltage-mode control is simpler than current-mode control. It replaces the dashed block area in Figure 6 (a) with a saw-tooth ramp at a fixed frequency shown in (b). This saw-tooth ramp, instead of the current-mode design’s current-sensing signal, is then compared with the error amplifier’s output to generate the required PWM signal.

The voltage mode control is also easy to understand. As shown in the figure 7, its open-loop system is a two-order system, with the inductor and output cap forming the complex poles. Clearly, its normalized phase Tv(s), shown in Figure 7 (b) drops very fast by 180° across the 20kHz resonant frequency of the complex poles. This system depends upon the compensation components to improve the phase margin to achieve stability. Otherwise, it only has 10° phase margin with the crossover frequency at 50kHz, as shown in Figure 7 (b). Large phase margin (typically higher than 40°) is a necessity for the loop stability.

compensation is added to improve the lowfrequency gain and push the crossover frequency to about 50KHz, the current-mode control phase margin can still be about 80°, which is sufficient for stability. So, for currentmode control, the compensation is relatively simple, versus voltage mode, and can cover a wide range of different output capacitors due to the large phase boost in open loop.

For power-module applications, the com-

(a) One 3A output of ISL8203M

(b) A competitor’s voltage-mode module (a) Open-loop gain of voltage and current modes

(b) Open-loop phase of voltage and current modes Figure 7: Open-loop Bode plots of voltage- and current-mode controls If we use this same voltage-mode control system in (a) and modify it to the current loop shown in Figure 6 (a), it becomes a currentmode control system. The system open-loop Bode plot is shown in Figure 7 as Tc(s). This system is close to a single-order system at the low frequency range, so the phase is boosted dramatically from 20kHz to 500KHz, shown in Figure 7 (b).

Even without the compensation components, this is still a stable system. If a simple type II

Figure 8: Closed-loop Bode plots of current-mode and voltage-mode controls on module applications (5Vin to 1Vout/3A, with the same COUT=2×10µF ceramic + 47µF tantalum capacitor) pensation is fixed inside the package, so if the output capacitors are changed with different customers’ applications, the complex poles in the voltage-mode control can be shifted significantly. The fixed compensation may not cover the wide range of output-capacitor changes since its open-loop phase is too low once over the LC resonant frequency. So in many cases, it can cause insufficient phase margins if the load conditions are changed.

To avoid this, the voltage-mode module must lower the loop bandwidth (cross-over frequency) to ensure enough phase margin for stability at various load conditions compared to current-mode control. The penalty for lowering this bandwidth is poor transient response performance. To show this critical difference in transient performance, we selected one competitor’s 4A power module with voltage-mode control to compare with ISL8203M. The final loop Bode plots of these

DESIGN

two power modules are shown in Figure 8.

If we select the same output capacitors for the test, with the phase margins both at ~60°, the ISL8203M loop bandwidth of one 3A output was much higher than the voltage-mode module, leading to the ISL8203M

POWER

Paralleled Operation Provides Low Output Ripple Finally, the ISL8203M can operate with dual 3A outputs or a single 6A output. When it runs at 6A, the two 3A outputs can be paralleled as shown in Figure 10. With the phase interleaving between two outputs at 180°, the input and output ripples can be reduced dramatically. As shown in Figure 11, the paralleled output ripple is only 11mV, while the competitor’s single-phase module ripple goes as high as 36mV, under the same

(a) One 3A output of ISL8203M

(a) ISL8203M ripple at 4A with two outputs in parallel

(b) A competitor’s voltage mode control power module Figure 9: Output load transient response with the same output capacitors (5Vin to 1Vout 0 to 3A, COUT= 2×10µF ceramic + 47µF tantalum capacitor; load-current step slew rate at 1A/µs) having much better transient performance, see Figure 9. Under the same testing conditions, the ISL8203M has a peak-to-peak variation of 240mV and a recovery time of only 25μS, while the voltage-mode module has a peak-to-peak variation at 275mV and large recovery time of 70μS.

(b) Ripple for a competitor’s 4A single-output module Figure 11: Output ripple performance with the same output capacitors (5Vin to 1Vout 4A, COUT= 2×4.7µF ceramic + 68µF POSCAP capacitor; load-current step slew rate of 1A/µs)

Figure 10: ISL8203M can be quickly and easily programmed to parallel operation.

test conditions. More importantly, for a given output ripple, the ISL8203M needs less than half of the output capacitors compared to the single-phase module, thus providing significant cost savings.

Conclusion The ISL8203M comes in a compact package yet still meets customers’ electrical and thermal performance requirements. The module’s standard evaluation requires no heat sink and no airflow, delivers a total power of 20W to the load, with the module reaching a maximum temperature of only 66.8°C. Its current-mode control scheme allows the ISL8203M to achieve good transient performance with excellent peak-to-peak variation and a recovery time that is one-third that of competitive power modules. The ISL8203M’s special parallel mode also enables it to deliver 6A, with extremely low output ripple, and two outputs interleaved at 180°. This feature also comes with significant component cost savings for a given ripple limit. With all of these superior performance characteristics, the ISL8203M is a good candidate for any lowpower, low-voltage application, such as test and measurement, communication infrastructure and industrial control systems, all requiring high density and good performance.

To meet the challenges of designing the power subsystem for these systems, many designers are using power modules instead of traditional discrete point-of-load designs, when time-to-market, size constraints, reliability and design capabilities are the motivating factors. Find out more about Intersil’s ISL203M power module at the web page: www.intersil.com/products/ISL8203M n About the Author: Jian Yin is the Applications Engineering Manager for Industrial and Infrastructure Products at Intersil Corporation. He is responsible for analog and digital power module design and development, and all power module related customer applications support. Mr. Yin is the recipient of eight U.S. patents (including pending patents), and has published over 50 journal articles and technical papers. Prior to joining Intersil, Mr. Yin was a Senior Engineer at Monolithic Power Systems and a Module Design Engineer at Linear Technology Corporation, where he designed and released more than nine power module products. Mr. Yin holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Intersil Corporation www.intersil.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

CASE STUDY

Athena Technologies Relies on VectorCAST for DO-178B Level B Certification Athena Technologies, Inc., provides advanced hardware, software, and controls solutions for military and civilian unmanned and manned vehicle applications that demand the highest degree of reliability and robustness. Their flight control and navigation systems feature fully integrated flight control systems and sensor suites that provide more performance, reliability, and capability in a smaller, lower power, and lower cost product. Their flight control and navigation systems feature fully integrated flight control systems and sensor suites that provide more performance, reliability, and capability in a smaller, lower power, and lower cost product. Athena is quickly becoming the standard in flight control and navigation across the aviation industry.

Challenge Athena Technologies was faced with a compressed schedule for certification testing of their Micro INSTM and SensorPac® Air Data, Attitude, and Heading Reference System (ADAHRS) project and needed DO-178B tools that provided the highest level of automation.

Solution By adopting VectorCAST, Athena Technologies was able to capture structural coverage during unit, integration, and system testing seamlessly. Athena chose Vector CAST/C++ together with the VectorCAST/ RSP for the Green Hills tool chain to support their unit and integration testing. They also used VectorCAST/Cover to collect structural coverage during system testing.

Results Athena Technologies increased efficiency through automation and successfully met their certification milestones on time.

ADAHRS Certification Project Athena Technologies is ISO 9001 certified, CMMI-III compliant, and follows the recommended procedures outlined by the Radio Technical Commission on Aeronautics (RTCA) in the development of their flight 36

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

control and navigation products: DO-178B (software development), DO-160 (electrical system testing) and DO-254 (hardware design).

In 2007, Athena began certification of their commercial products, the Micro INSTM and SensorPac® Air Data, Attitude, and Heading Reference System (ADAHRS). ADAHRS serves as a baseline for added features and functionality for next generation applications. Because the ADAHRS is required to be developed according to DO-178B Level B standards, the entire application had to be tested and proof had to be supplied that 100% structural coverage was achieved.

Vector Software Solutions for Avionics Athena determined that automation was critical to the project and felt that an automated unit-level testing solution would be a time saver for creating tests. “We gathered information from outside sources, received recommendations from the Green Hills web site as to tool partners, and had suggestions from our DERs. We also searched the web for DO178B Code Coverage tool sets.” said Chris Brown, Vice President of Engineering for Athena Technologies.

Athena performed a survey of test tools in support of their requirements. They evaluated several tools, including VectorCAST, which was recommended by Green Hills Software Engineers. VectorCAST was chosen for unit, integration, and system testing of the ADAHRS. According to Mr. Brown, there were three key factors which led Athena to choose VectorCAST.

“VectorCAST’s integration with the Green Hills environment; Not only was there a long history of tight integration, but Vector Software’s support and engineering personnel were very experienced with the Green Hills environment and had a good working relationship with the Green Hills support team in the event that issues needed to be resolved.” “USA-based development and support was very important due to the tight schedule and the need to get timely responses to issues that arose.”

“VectorCAST support for Athena’s software environment meant Athena could test their code on either their host or target environment as needed.”

VectorCAST was used at every level of testing (unit, integration and system) for the entire application.

Mr. Brown continues “The training was critical and consequently made the team immediately productive using the tool. They also were able to procure VectorCAST three months before testing was to begin, allowing the team to learn the tool, get it configured properly to run on their target, and set up some procedures that would make the testing run as smoothly as possible.” “We were impressed with Vector Software from the outset.

VectorCAST provided excellent ease of use and functionality; tight integration with the Green Hills MULTI environment; and there was an extensive network of embedded system developers using the VectorCAST test environment” added Mr. Brown.

VECTOR SOFTWARE www.vectorcast.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

CASE STUDY

ŠKODA ELECTRIC Achieves EN 50128 Compliance with VectorCAST ŠKODA ELECTRIC A.S. is a leading international manufacturer of traction electronic propulsion sources and electric traction motors for trolley buses, tram cars, locomotives, suburban railway units, underground, mining vehicles, and the like using the IRIS and other railway standards and procedures. ŠKODA ELECTRIC has over 750 employees and posts annual revenue of more than €125 million with continuous growth.

Challenge In an effort to streamline the Verification and Validation process, ŠKODA ELECTRIC was faced with the challenge of replacing their internally developed test framework.

The framework was used during the unit test phase in conjunction with several free code coverage tools that proved to be unsuitable for embedded software testing.

The solution needed to fully support and be integrated with their existing embedded development environment.

Solution Following an extensive evaluation process, ŠKODA ELECTRIC determined that Vector Software’s VectorCAST embedded software testing solution not only supported their embedded development environment, but offered a complete solution for unit/integration testing, system test, code coverage, and regression testing.

Results By employing VectorCAST, software defects are now detected faster, leading to greater productivity and quality. ŠKODA ELECTRIC is now able to quickly deliver results in a form suitable for auditors during the process of validation.

Increasing Productivity and Software Quality through Continuous Integration To achieve their goal of safety-critical software Verification and Validation, ŠKODA ELECTRIC needed an automated solution that could evaluate their entire code base and seamlessly integrate into their existing embedded software development environment. ŠKODA ELECTRIC engineers devel-

op applications using Keil™ for the ARM® processor and TI Code Composer Studio™ for the F28xx and C64xx processors.

“Before we began our evaluation, we initially thought that a full-featured test tool for our embedded environment was not commercially available”, remarked Stanislav Fligl, Core Team Leader at ŠKODA ELECTRIC. “We were pleased to learn otherwise.”

After a rigorous evaluation, using their existing code, ŠKODA ELECTRIC chose to implement the VectorCAST automated test solution from Vector Software. As a result, software defects are now detected earlier in the development process leading to greater productivity and quality.

“The VectorCAST tools have greatly reduced the time it takes to fully test our code”, continued Mr. Fligl. “ROI is often difficult to determine, but it did not take long to see the benefits from implementing this automated verification and validation strategy.”

By employing VectorCAST, ŠKODA ELECTRIC's engineers not only have a better understanding of module testing but have standardized on a process to automate the tasks associated with this kind of low-level testing. In addition to identifying defects more quickly, ŠKODA ELECTRIC now has the ability to perform daily regression testing enabling developers to easily deliver results suitable for auditors focused on verification and validation.

Using VectorCAST/Manage for automated regression testing, ŠKODA ELECTRIC's

engineers now have the ability to test often and are immediately alerted when code modifications impact application behavior allowing them to catch regression errors as soon as they are introduced. This continuous quality practice provides a safety net that reduces the risk of change.

“Using manual methods of testing source code was time consuming and often difficult to predict software outcomes”, said Fligl.

“VectorCAST/Manage allows us to import previously developed test environments into regression test suites, providing a single point-of-control for all unit and integration test activities.”

Tool of Choice Additional increases in ŠKODA ELECTRIC’s productivity, stem from VectorCAST’s ease of use and Vector Software’s collaborative approach to customer support.

“VectorCAST/C++ is a tool the testers do not hesitate to use. It is very important that the tool is easy to use and positively accepted by the end users. This helps to get their job done and to deliver results in the form suitable for auditors during the process of validation”, continues Fligl. “The support we have received from Vector Software has been outstanding. Vector Software’s trainers and support staff consist of highly experienced people, which deliver an extra added value to the product.”

VECTOR SOFTWARE www.vectorcast.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

New PowerVR G6020 GPU targets ultra-affordable mobile and IoT devices

By Alexandru Voica March 2, 2015 in Multimedia, PowerVR Developers, PowerVR Graphics

Even though most headlines at MWC 2015 will tend to focus on flagship devices, a lot of the growth in mobile at the moment is coming from emerging markets where sub-$100 smartphones are selling in large volume.

Today we are introducing PowerVR G6020, a new and highly efficient Rogue GPU that provides an ideal solution for the ultraaffordable mobile market as well as embedded and IoT applications; think trip computers for affordable cars, smart appliances inside the home, multi-purpose printers and scanners â&#x20AC;&#x201C; anything that needs a screen.

Reduce the clock rate to a few hundred MHz, and you might find it is also a suitable graphics processor for next generation high-end wearables. While the previously announced Series5XE-based GX5300 GPU focused on mainstream wearables, PowerVR G6020 goes for premium smartwatches and glasses, offering up to 2x more performance at a similar process node while also improving battery life.

PowerVR G6020 can be used for a wide variety of high-resolution devices

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EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

PowerVR G6020: a tiny OpenGL® ES 3.0-capable GPU PowerVR G6020 is the smallest graphics processor from our Series6XE family and has been designed to deliver a smooth user experience for high-definition displays (720p at 60 fps); here are the key highlights: • Performance: 400-500 Mpixels/second and 12.8-16 FP16 GFLOPS at 400-500MHz • Silicon area: 2.2 mm2 at 400-500MHz (28 nm) • APIs: OpenGL ES 2.0/3.0 (including new features like instancing for reduced CPU overhead) • Operating systems: Android, Android Wear, Linux, RTOS (real time operating systems), etc. ,

Chips for ultra-affordable mobile and IoT devices Chip makers can now deploy our PowerVR Rogue architecture across multiple markets (mobile, IoT, automotive, home entertainment, etc.), targeting every category of devices from entry-level to high-end.

The diagram below presents an example of a chip designed for ultraaffordable mobile devices, including a multicore MIPS I6400 64-bit CPU, high-performance multimedia (PowerVR G6020 GPU, PowerVR D5300/E5300 VPU and PowerVR V2500 ISP) and a low-power Ensigma C4521 RPU for multi-standard connectivity.

PowerVR G6020 is our smallest OpenGL ES 3.0-capable Rogue GPU Balanced fillrate and GFLOPS performance PowerVR G6020 also features a carefully designed microarchitecture optimized for cost-sensitive devices where area efficiency and a balanced feature set are the main driving factors; the diagram below offers an overview of the area optimizations we’ve made to the USC (unified shading cluster) architecture for this GPU:

The architecture of an ultra-affordable mobile chip

PowerVR G6020 features an area-optimized Series6XE USC Since user interfaces do not require a lot of geometry, we’ve focused on implementing FP16 ALU pipes that deliver high-quality image processing at significantly lower area instead of wasting valuable resources on FP32 precision.

In addition, we’ve ensured that G6020 delivers a sustained pixel fillrate to match our GFLOPS performance; this balanced approach is critical for entry-level applications like fluid 3D user interfaces or casual gaming.

You can see how our PowerVR G6020 GPU fares versus the competition in terms GFLOPS per mm2 in the chart below:

About Alexandru Voica After having experienced the fast-paced world of the IP business as a junior engineer at various companies around Europe, Alexandru Voica has decided to pursue his dream of working in technology marketing and PR for Imagination Technologies. His background includes research in computer graphics at the School of Advanced Studies Sant'Anna in Pisa and a brief stint as a CPU engineer. When not planted firmly in front of his laptop, Alexandru can be found hitting the basketball court, singing along at a rock n' roll concert, enjoying art cinema or reading his favorite American authors.

IMAGINATION TECHNOLOGIES www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

39

PRODUCT NEWS Digi International Launches the XBee® ZigBee Cloud Kit Easiest and Fastest Way for Product Developers and Makers to Create cloudconnected prototypes using XBee ZigBee technology Digi International announced the launch of the XBee® ZigBee Cloud Kit, a new all-in-one kit that allows anyone with an interest in M2M and the Internet of Things to quickly build a wireless hardware prototype, connect it to the Internet, and control it from the cloud.

The XBee ZigBee Cloud Kit is simple enough to help non-engineers get their creations connected to the cloud in 30 minutes and flexible enough for professionals to build rapid prototypes with advanced programming and cloud-based data sets.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Lattice Semiconductor Expedites & Simplifies USB Type-C Implementation in Consumer and Industrial Devices Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, the leader in ultra-low power, small form factor, customizable solutions, today announced three new, freelydownloadable reference designs that enable designers working in consumer, industrial and other sectors to quickly implement the cable detect and power delivery functions required to unlock the new capabilities of Type-C including 100W power, 20Gbps bandwidth, reversibility and flexibility.

“Leaders in this market will launch USB Type-C products by the middle of this year,” said Gordon Hands, Director New Initiatives at Lattice. “We are providing ready-to-use, low power, miniature, cost-effective solutions that slash time-to-market and mitigate development risk.”

The three solutions offered by Lattice address both Cable Detect (CD) and Power Delivery (PD) functions and deliver:

• CD/PD targeting chargers • CD/PD for devices such as laptops, docks, dongles hand-held industrial • CD/PD-Phy for devices such as smart phones and tablets

The downloadable reference designs include: Schematic; BOM; Pin-list; Bitstream; and Code to allow Policy Engine customization. The designs are based on Lattice’s iCE40™ ultra-low power, miniature and low cost FPGA families.

LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR www.latticesemi.com

New Digi ConnectCore 6 Module Adds Wireless M2M Connectivity to Devices Built around Digi’s XBee ZigBee Gateway, the XBee ZigBee Cloud Kit includes code examples and powerful tools to easily create cloud-connected projects. It includes access to the Internet which enables remote control of the device and data through a customizable application.

Each kit contains: • 1 XBee Gateway – ZigBee to Ethernet/Wi-Fi • 1 XBee-PRO ZigBee 2.4GHz module • 1 Development board with breadboard • Basic prototyping components – Wires, LEDs, Relay, Resistors, Temp Sensor • Sample Web Application (Runs on Heroku) – Open Source – Configurable Widgets – Integrated with Device Cloud The XBee ZigBee Cloud Kit’s low price point makes it a perfect choice for professional and student prototypers and for product developers interested in quickly creating cloud-connected solutions. The XBee ZigBee Cloud Kit is available for $199 MSRP. DIGI INTERNATIONAL www.digi.com 40

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

Digi International announced ConnectCore® 6, the world’s first surface mount multi-chip module with built-in wireless connectivity. The ConnectCore 6 provides access to all of the features of the Freescale® i.MX 6 Quad, i.MX 6 Dual and i.MX 6 Solo processors, making it the ideal solution for M2M applications. The module’s small form factor and design, which requires no connectors, reduces manufacturing costs and makes it easier than ever to add wireless capabilities to portable devices.

The product was created to reduce design risk, complexity and time to market for those developing products for transportation, security and other industrial applications.

The ConnectCore 6 module’s built-in ability to connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy and Device Cloud by Etherios can save product designers hundreds of hours of time and expense in designing wireless devices—including the pain of passing and maintaining global certifications.

Complete software development tools

are provided to build application software to help get products to market faster. The module has a 5-year warranty and is designed for long-term availability, ensuring that it will be available for the lifecycle of developed products.

Digi has a longstanding track record in delivering embedded core modules based on Freescale i.MX processors.

Other offerings include ConnectCore®

modules based on the i.MX53 and i.MX51 processor families, and the ConnectCard module-based on the i.MX28 processor. Scalable and energy -efficient, the ConnectCore family is ideal for a variety of applications.

DIGI INTERNATIONAL www.digi.com

PRODUCT NEWS Microchip announces microcontroller family providing multiple independent, closed-loop power channels and system management Microchip announces from the Embedded World conference in Germany a new family of 8-bit PIC® Microcontrollers (MCUs) with the PIC16(L)F1769 family. This is the first PIC MCU family to offer up to two independent closed-loop channels. This is achieved with the addition of the Programmable Ramp Generator (PRG), which automates slope and ramp compensation, and increases stability and efficiencies in hybrid power conversion applications. The PRG provides real-time, down to the nanosecond, responses to a system change without CPU interaction for multiple independent power channels. This gives customers the ability to reduce latency and component counts while improving system efficiency.

Watch a short product/demo video: www.microchip.com/PIC16L_F1769-Product-Video-022415a The PIC16(L)F1769 family includes intelligent analogue and digital peripherals, including tri-state op amps, 10-bit Analogue-toDigital Converters (ADCs), 5- & 10-bit Digital-to-Analogue Converters (DACs), 10- and 16-bit PWMs, and high-speed comparators, in addition to two 100 mA high-current I/Os. The combination of these integrated peripherals helps to support the demands of multiple independent closed-loop power channels and system management, while providing an 8-bit platform that simplifies design, enables higher efficiency and increased performance while helping to eliminate many discrete components in power-conversion systems. In addition to power-conversion peripherals, these PIC MCUs have a unique hardware-based LED dimming control function enabled by the interconnections of the Data Signal Modulator (DSM), op amp and 16-bit PWM. The combination of these peripherals creates a LED-dimming engine synchronising switching control and eliminating LED current overshoot and decay. The synchronisation of the output switching helps to smooth dimming, minimise colour shifting, increase LED life and reduce heat. This family also includes Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) such as the Configurable Logic Cell (CLC), Complementary Output Generator (COG) and Zero Cross Detect (ZCD). These CIPs take 8-bit PIC MCU performance to a new level, as they are designed to handle tasks with no code or supervision from the CPU to maintain operation, after initial configuration.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/PIC16L_F1769-Page-022415a

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Toshiba Announces European Launch of TransferJet™ Adapter for iPhone, iPad and iPod High speed data transfer adaptor for iOS devices joins TransferJet™ products for Windows® and AndroidTM Toshiba Electronics Europe has announced the European launch of the first TransferJetTM adapter for iOS devices. The new TJEU00LTB adaptor is compatible with iOS 7.1 / 8.1 devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod fitted with a Lightning connector port and enables close proximity wireless data transfer.

TransferJet technology enables simple ultra-high speed data transfers with low power consumption, and works by simply bringing the two devices together. Maximum data throughput is 375 Mbps, and 100 MBytes of data can be transmitted in approximately three seconds.

All users need to do is attach the TransferJet adapter to an iPhone, iPad or iPod and download the iOS app from the App Store. Users simply select the data file to be transferred on the screen of a mobile device and then touch the device against the receiving device. The TJEU00LTB adaptor is compliant with Lightning iAP2 and provides high speed file transfer throughput for large data sources, including movies and pictures.

Toshiba has also recently launched a USB2.0 adapter, the TJEU00AUXB, for Windows® devices, and the TJEU00AMUB MicroUSB adapter module for devices running AndroidTM 4.0 onwards. These new adapters for Android and Windows offer a transfer rate 1.7 times faster, with 30% lower power consumption and 30% less volume than Toshiba’s previous models, the TJM35420UX and TJM35420MU, helping to preserve the battery life of mobile devices. * TransferJet and TransferJet logos are licensed by the TransferJet Consortium. * iPhone, iPad, iPod, App Store and Lightning are trademarks of Apple Inc. * IOS is a trademark or a registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license. * Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. * Android is a trademark of Google Inc. TOSHIBA ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.toshiba-transferjet.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

SENSORS

Light color control and management made easy MAZeT GmbH presents their newest JENCOLOR® products for measurement tasks in the fields of color measurement and LED light.

The new products include the True Color sensor MTCSiCF for color and light measurement, the sensor signal amplifier MCDC04 with I²C interface as well as the sensor board MTCS-INT-AB4 and the Evaluation Kit MTCS-C3 (Colorimeter 3) for lighting applications. The JENCOLOR® sensors in combination with the signal ICs are an ideal match for applications with high requirement of temperature and long-term stability - such as LED lighting, color measurement tasks, industrial, medical or beauty applications as well as metrology.

True Color Sensor MTCSiCF The JENCOLOR® MTCSiCF color sensor with space-saving QFN16 housing (4 x 4 x 0.9 mm) is the latest addition to the range of True Color sensors with XYZ filters. Thanks to their defined filter characteristics (standard spectral value function), these are ideal for ‘eye precise’ absolute color measurement, and can be used to accurately measure the colors of materials, liquids or light based on the CIE 1931/DIN 5033 industry standard. This makes measurement systems possible which can replicate human color perception and produce results which represent XYZ points in the LAB (LUV) color space. The sensor is suitable for all applications that require an optimum balance between price, size and colorimetric precision. Quality standards for color measurement and identification precision are always defined by the human eye.

True Color Sensor IC MTCSiCF with CIE 1931 filter function in a QFN16 Signal Conditioner MCDC04 Input signal levels for light measurement need a wide dynamic range capable of covering several sizes. With its internal signal 42

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

processing concept, the MCDC04 fulfills these requirements.

The programmable signal processing IC allows an input signal resolution up to 16 Bit and ensures a high degree of channel synchronization across the operating temperature range. The MCDC04 digital 4channel current-to-charge signal converter is specially adapted to the requirements of the tristimulus JENCOLOR® color sensors.

The MTCSiCF color sensor combined with the MCDC04 is ideally suited to a variety of light measurement and control applications.

Digital current-to-charge converter MCDC04 OEM Sensor Board MTCS-INT-AB4 The sensor board MTCS-INT-AB4 is based on two new IC solutions, which are specially developed to solve tasks in LED lighting control - for example: feedback color control of LED light sources. The True Color sensors IC in implemented on the board performs

The OEM sensor board MTCS-INT-AB4 with I2C interface for color measurements based on CIE 1931 and direct integration into controller-based measurement or control systems.

color measurements based on the standard CIE 1931 - the human eye perception.

The signal converter MCDC04 is an analogdigital-converter (16 bit) with current-input, high dynamic range (1:1,000,000) and I2C output for direct implementation into controller-based systems. The board is an ideal OEM color sensor solution within the Luv/Lab color space with simple implementation based on the two modules on the board and an I2C interface. Therefore the OEM sensor is an ideal addition to all applications that require a high accuracy and stability of colors, even in harsh environmental conditions like temperature shifts. Examples are the calibration of cabin lights in airplanes, or the color management of backlights in displays or video walls.

OEM Sensor Board MTCS-C3 The sensor board MTCS-C3 includes the same basic components as the MTCS-INTAB4 and furthermore includes a micro controller and USB interface. This allows the sensor board to be used as OEM sensor unit, which can directly be implemented into customer-applications - as USB plugand-play color sensor. Example applications are calibration of displays or backlight systems, or applications such as LED tests or common light measurement tasks.

The OEM sensor board MTCS-C3 with USB interface for color measurement based on CIE 1931.

Can be directly implemented into a customer-specific casing and used as USB colorimeter for test systems.

Customer-specific pre-calibration can be performed by MAZeT. MAZET www.mazet.de

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AUTOMATION New Digital Controllers Provide Auto-Tuning & Fast Transient Response for Gaming & High-Performance Motherboards Powervation Ltd., the Intelligent Digital Power™ company, today announced its latest series of digital DC/DC controllers for gaming & high-performance motherboards, embedded computing, networking, and telecom applications. The PV3203 & PV3205 digital dual-phase controllers provide fast transient response and new features to improve power supply & system performance, while reducing overall bill of material component cost.

This new series of digital controllers provides higher switching frequency, new configurable alert functionality, phase loss fault detection, and many other new features.

Additionally, these controllers provide Powervation’s unique Auto-Control®, the auto-tuning mode of Powervation’s leading xTune™ adaptive compensation architecture, which simplifies the design process and improves transient performance.

Designed to deliver optimized performance while interfacing with most leading MOSFET driver and DrMOS solutions, the new controllers are highly flexible and configurable, and have been optimized to power DDR memory, PCH, and other point-of-load rails in computing & communications applications. The RoHS compli-

ant devices are available now for sample and production orders.

The PowerSMART™ design tool is offered at no charge, and is available for download from the Powervation website.

POWERVATION www.powervation.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

IDT Wireless Power Transmitter Adopted for Samsung Galaxy Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT®) announced that Samsung adopted an IDT wireless power transmitter to enable wireless charging for its Galaxy smart phone. With the integration of IDT’s P92xx magnetic induction transmitter in the Galaxy charging pad, Samsung joins the list of leading innovators deploying IDT wireless power technology into cutting-edge products. In addition to smart phones and accessories, IDT’s wireless power transmitters and receivers have been designed into wearables, charging stations, remote controls, and furniture. The IDT transmitter supports the Wireless Power Consortium’s Qi standard, and offers a high level of programmability while consuming ultra-low standby power, meeting Energy Star requirements.

IDT develops wireless power semiconductors for magnetic induction and magnetic resonance charging, supporting the three major standards groups: the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), and Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP).

IDT www.idt.com

IDT Introduces ‘Wireless PowerShare’ Technology Integrated Device Technology, Inc. introduced its “Wireless Power Share™” technology, a cutting-edge innovation that will enable consumers to wirelessly charge a mobile device from another device. The semiconductor is a multi-mode, multi-function chip—receiver and transmitter—that supports all major wireless power standards for magnetic resonance and magnetic induction charging.

With IDT’s Wireless PowerShare technology, consumers will be able to charge their wearable devices by simply setting them atop or near an enabled smart phone. The new wireless power solution, a member of IDT’s P9700 series of semiconductors, enables a seamless transition between the three leading standards: the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) standard for magnetic resonance and the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) standards for magnetic induction. The chip delivers 5 W to 10 W of output power and offers a proprietary mode that provides greater flexibility to OEMs. IDT www.idt.com 44

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

ACTIVE COMPONENTS Analog Devices ADuCRF101 Wireless Data Acquisition System Now at Mouser Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now stocking the ADuCRF101 Precision Analog Microcontroller with RF Transceiver from Analog Devices. The ADuCRF101 is a fully integrated data acquisition system on a chip designed for low power wireless applications. It features a 6 channel 12 bit analog to digital converter (ADC) built around a 16MHz ARM Cortex M3 core, as well as a complete wireless RF transceiver. On chip memory includes 128KBytes of Flash part of which can be partitioned to be used like EEPROM, and 16KBytes of SRAM, all in a package just 9mm × 9mm. This new microcontroller targets Internet of Things as well as smart meters, home automation, process and building control, wireless mesh networks, and the latest IEEE 802.15 Smart Utility Networks (SUN) applications.

The Analog Devices ADuCRF101 Precision Analog Microcontroller with RF Transceiver, available from Mouser Electronics, contains everything needed to implement a wireless data acquisition system, including analog and digital sensor inputs and an RF transceiver.

The data acquisition section consists of a high resolution 12 bit ADC with a programmable data rate of up to 167kSPS. MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

Mouser Launches New Robotics Technology Site Mouser Electronics, Inc. announced their new Robotics Technology site. Mouser’s new technology site provides developers with the resources they need to learn about the latest advances in robotics technologies, and the newest components from Mouser Electronics for building robotics systems.

The new Robotics Technology site, available on Mouser.com, contains valuable information for developers interested in expanding their knowledge about robotics systems. The Technology section is segmented into four main categories. Overview discusses robotics in general and briefly discusses the main subsystems.

Motor Control reviews the importance of how motors allow robots to perform physical tasks or travel.

Sensors are used by robots to perceive the world around it and its own status. And MCU Control examines how microcontrollers run the robot and the importance of peripherals for management and communication.

The Articles section discusses topics such as the future of robotics, distributed control systems in robotics, and robots that very closely resemble humans. All articles offer an area to post comments and questions to facilitate further discussions on the topic.

The Featured Products section focuses on key products available from Mouser that speed and enhance the development of robotics systems. Products include the Texas Instruments Piccolo MCUs and Kits, Panasonic AN44183A Motor Driver, and the Molex Micro Lock™ 1.25mm pitch wire-to-board connectors.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Freescale i.MX 6SoloX takes applications processor security to new levels Freescale Semiconductor announces volume availability of i.MX 6SoloX, a highly integrated, multi-market applications processor enabling secure connected home, connected vehicles and Internet of Things applications.

Robust security is a hallmark of the i.MX 6SoloX. The SoC incorporates cryptographic cipher engines and a configurable resource domain controller that allows peripherals to be locked or shared by the CPU cores. Augmenting the domain controller is a secure messaging semaphore unit that enables cooperative, multi-OS software to safely access shared peripherals. The processor also features robust physical security, including advanced secure boot and protected data storage.

These advanced hardware capabilities enable users to architect custom security solutions based on unique market requirements. Integrating ARM® Cortex®-M4 and Cortex-A9 cores on the same chip allows deployment of a user interface-rich operating system on the Cortex-A9 core while benefiting from the deterministic, real-time responsiveness of the Cortex-M4 core. Discrete CPU core power domains allow for independent power state control and low current draw with fast wakeup times from sleep modes. The SoC’s system-aware architecture supports additional power efficiency by enabling complete shutdown of the Cortex-A9 core, even as the Cortex-M4 continues performing low-level system monitoring tasks. This benefit can be further enhanced by leveraging the extended light load efficiency of Freescale’s proven PF0200 power management companion IC that has been optimized for i.MX processor system platforms.

The i.MX 6SoloX is well-suited for a range of display-centric automotive applications, and can also be used in lower cost, smaller packaging options with no displays, including automotive telematics and modules in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications. The device additionally supports a range of non-automotive products such as home automation, building control and healthcare applications. i.MX 6SoloX applications processor is now shipping in volume production. The device is available with a comprehensive set of development tools and software support including Android and Linux operating systems for the Cortex-A9 core, the MQX™ OS for the CortexM4 core and the broad ARM community of support. The SABRE Board for Smart Devices based on the i.MX 6SoloX and featuring the PF0200 PMIC is available for customers today.

Freescale’s Kinetis KV5x MCU with ARM® Cortex®-M7 core drives motor control into the IoT era Kinetis V series MCU family enables a new generation of secure, connected, high efficiency motor control applications Freescale Semiconductor’s new Kinetis KV5x MCU family is harnessing the full performance potential of the ARM Cortex-M7 core to enable far-reaching design enhancements in the expansive and rapidly evolving digital motor control market.

Motor control remains the number one consumer of electricity globally. With the vast majority of deployed motors commonly based on outdated, inefficient technologies, the migration toward digital-based control systems with secure networking capabilities presents a significant opportunity for both energy conservation and end-product feature innovation.

The Kinetis KV5x MCU addresses this dynamic need by combining leading-edge processing power, sophisticated analog and timing peripherals, and new connectivity, security and safety features. In doing so, it brings increased motor efficiency, remote system management and end-node interoperability, via the IoT, to a vast range of applications, from home appliances to complex industrial drives. The Kinetis KV5x MCU incorporates an IEEE® 1588 Ethernet controller, a cryptographic acceleration unit with random number generator, and a memory protection unit. With motors often employed in safety-critical environments such as manufacturing process control, these features allow developers to implement new services via the IoT infrastructure while protecting against erroneous inputs that could lead to an undesired operating condition. The KV5x features a 240 MHz ARM CortexM7 core with single precision floating-point unit. This executes program code from up to 1 MB of on-chip flash memory via a 256-bit wide interface that minimizes CPU wait states. 128 KB of data tightly coupled memory (DTCM) and 64 KB of instruction TCM (ITCM) maximize high performance deterministic processing, ensuring optimum response for real-time motor speed and position detection. And with four high-speed 12-bit ADCs, each capable of 5 Msps, the Kinetis KV5x MCU family can support fully asynchronous dual 3-phase motor control with two dedicated ADCs and 8 channel PWMs per motor. Dual 12-channel eFlex PWMs also support 312 picosecond resolution for driving up to 8 half-bridge power stages in power conversion applications.

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR

www.freescale.com/Kinetis/Vseries

www.freescale.com/iMX6SoloX www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS Murata’s ultra-high density power converters are market leading in efficiency and form factor Murata announced the launch of the D1U86P Series of ultra-high density power converters from Murata Power Solutions. The 1600 watt rated D1U86 features AC-input and DC-input models. The power supplies are designed to fit 1U enclosures, and measure a mere 86 mm wide and 197.7 mm deep.

High density packaging techniques provide a market leading 38W per cubic inch power density.

Each D1U86P power supply generates a main output of 12VDC. There is also a 12VDC standby output for power management circuitry. The main DC output delivers up to 133.3 A, with droop current sharing when paralleling multiple power supplies. Up to 8 power supplies may be used in parallel for very high current applications up to and beyond 1,000A. With output ratings of 1600W for 180-264Vac inputs, 1350W for 108-264Vac, and 1200W for 90-264Vac inputs, the converters provide higher power at low line levels when compared to competitors’ similar power supplies. The D1U86 series achieves 94% efficiency at 50% load.

Again improving on competitors units, the converters’ offer a hold up time of 12ms, compared to competitors’ 10ms. Simplifying design, the D1U86P series uses the same form factor for AC or DC inputs, and both models are available for any airflow type. Exhibiting high reliability, the converters MTBF exceeds 540khr as per Telcordia SR322 M1C1 at 40°C, and for convenience and familiarity they use a standard C14 AC-input connector and a terminal block for DC-input.

Targeted for networking applications, storage, high performance computing and data centers, Murata’s D1U86P series uses the very latest power switching technology and high density component packaging techniques to provide a truly market leading product.

MURATA www.murata.com 46

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

ACTIVE COMPONENTS Texas Instruments 16-bit ADS8339 Low Power ADC Now at Mouser Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now stocking the ADS8339 Low Power ADCs from Texas Instruments. Optimized for low power operation, where power consumption scales directly with speed, the ADS8339 is a miniature, micro-power, 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that dissipates only 17.5mW at a sampling rate of 250KHz, and only 0.25μW in powerdown state. The ADS8339 is a successive-approximation register (SAR) ADC with an integrated sample-and-hold. The high performance and low power dissipation of these devices makes them ideal for lowpower ADC applications.

The Texas Instruments ADS8339 Low Power ADC, available from Mouser Electronics, is a single-channel ADC that operates with a 2.25V to 5.5V external reference.

The ADS8339 provides a unipolar single-ended input range from 0V to VREF. The device offers zero latency at full speed, and uses an internal clock for conversion. The capacitor-based

SAR ADC on the ADS8339 is based on a charge redistribution architecture, which inherently includes a sampleand-hold function. To obtain the best SAR performance, the reference driver and the input driver circuit must be

optimized. Fully optimized, the ADS8339 is capable of 93.6 dB SNR (typ) and –106 dB THD (typ) at a 10kHz input, with ±2.0 LSB INL (max) and ±1.0 LSB DNL (max). Low power dissipation of the devices is rated at 17.5 mW (typ) at 250 kSPS. MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

XP Power launch 30 Watt medical power supply in industry’s smallest footprint XP Power announced the EML30 series of 30 Watt single output ultra compact AC-DC power supplies designed for use in medical applications. The EML30 series has the smallest footprint and the highest power density in the industry when compared to other similar 30 Watt power supplies with medical safety approvals. Competitively priced, the versatile EML30 series also offers more mechanical formats and mounting options than the competition.

Factors driving the demand for this type of unit are the desire for, and the development of, smaller portable medical equipment. Accordingly, the EML30 will find favour with customers requiring medical safety approvals and where the power source needs to occupy minimal space. The EML30 is also ideal where the requirement is for a Class II input type power supply and where no ground / earth connection is needed.

The ultra compact EML30 is the smallest 30W medical power supply in the industry. The open frame PCB mount

version measures a diminutive 75.2 × 34.6 × 26.7mm (2.96 × 1.36 × 1.05 inches), offering a power density of 7.1 W per cubic inch. Exhibiting versatility, the EML30 is available in a range of mechanical formats. There are open frame versions with either PCB mount or with connectors, encapsulated mod-

els with either PCB mount or screw terminals, and a DIN rail mount option.

These make life easier for designers by providing multiple mounting options to best fit their end system.

XP POWER www.xppower.com

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Digital-to-analogue converters with nonvolatile memory and I2C™ from Microchip feature 8-, 10- and 12-bit resolution

Murata’s eighth brick DC/DC modules have ultra wide Vin range for improved system availability

Microchip announces the expansion of its non-volatile Digital-toAnalogue Converter (DAC) product line with the MCP47FEBXX devices. The low-power, single- and dual-channel DACs feature 8-, 10- and 12-bit resolution, integrated EEPROM and an I2C™ interface, and are offered in 8-pin TSSOP packages. The DACs are ideal for applications in the consumer and industrial markets, such as wireless microphones, MP3 player accessories and blood glucose test devices and applications such as motor control, instrumentation, sensor calibration, set point/offset trimming, among others.

Murata Power Solutions’ UWE eighth brick DC/DC power modules are the industry’s first 1/8 brick to deliver 12Vout at 120W from a nominal 12V, 24V or 28VDC source. The UWE-12/10Q12xx-C series’ 4:1 Vin range of 9-36V, industry standard DOSA compliant form-factor, optional integrated baseplate and high efficiency makes it ideal for high reliability systems & systems requiring battery back up. The UWE-12/10-Q12xx-C will operate down to 9Vin allowing longer battery discharge times in the event of a source failure. The 91+% efficiency rating of these modules also means that they will operate in harsh environments and require less cooling hardware compared to equivalent (larger) power modules. Significant overall system cost reductions can be achieved when employing this eighth brick solution compared to equivalent quarter or half brick solutions.

The integrated EEPROM enables DAC settings to be recalled at power-up, for added system flexibility. The choice of 8-, 10- and 12-bit resolution provides flexibility with design requirements and cost. The various shutdown modes significantly reduce the device current consumption for power critical applications.

These devices offer customers the ability to utilise the internal bandgap for device voltage reference, simplifying development and lowering system cost, or use an external voltage reference source in order to optimise their design.

The MCP47FEBXX is supported by Microchip’s 20-Pin TSSOP and SSOP Evaluation Board (TSSOP20EV) priced at $9.99.

The MCP47FEBXX is available now for sampling and volume production in 8-pin TSSOP packages.

• • • • •

Key Facts: MCP47FEBXX family provides low-power, single and dualchannel DACs and integrated EEPROM in 8-pin TSSOP packages Shutdown modes significantly reduce current consumption for power-critical applications Enhances flexibility with choice of resolution and cost/ performance optimisation Integrated EEPROM enables DAC settings to be recalled at power-up Offers choice of using internal or external voltage reference

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/MCP47FEBXX-Page-022315a

The UWE-12/10-Q12xx-C is an ideal choice for high reliability industrial, transportation and telecommunications equipment requiring 12Vdc from a source of 12V, 24V or 28VDC. Murata developed the UWE-12/10-Q12xx-C to address the need for a 12Vout DC/DC converter able to deliver 120W and provide 2250Vdc input to output isolation from a 9-36V source. Designed to offer the power systems architect options that include an optional baseplate for conduction cooling applications, positive or negative logic control and features, 2250Vdc I/O isolation, output over voltage protection, thermal shutdown, current limit / short circuit protection and Vout adjust (±10%).

The UWE-12/10-Q12-C isolated DC/DC power converter represents the next generation converters in the industry standard eighth brick package with up to 120W of available output power.

These DC/DC converters are designed for systems employing distributed power architectures or intermediate bus architectures in applications that include but not limited to battery charging/backup systems, telecommunications, lighting applications, motor control, robotics and anywhere that 12V @ 120W is required from a 9-36Vdc source including applications where extreme operating temperatures will be required The modules feature an operating temperature range of -40 to 85°C. MURATA

www.murata.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS

NEW PRODUCTS from Aurocon COMPEC Aurocon Compec has a portfolio of over 500.000 products from over 2,500 trusted global brands and in every month it adds over 5.000 new products for the whole range. Choosing the right distributor is as important as choosing the right technical components for your business.

We offer you continuous improved services that can help you with your production facilities. An important part of our services refers to delivery. Now the lead time has become lower thus the delivery faster as in you can have now the products you need in 24 hours delivered directly to your door. No order is too small or less important for us!

You can find in the following a selection of new available products .

ELECTRONICS DESIGN ENGINEERS l

RASPBERRY PI 2 MODEL B RS Stock No.: 832-6274

The Raspberry Pi 2 Model B represents a major performance increase over its single-core based predecessors: up to six times faster in fact. As well as a new quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B now features 1GB of RAM memory. The operating system kernel has been upgraded to take full advantage of the latest ARM Cortex-A7 technology and is available with the new version 1.4 of NOOBS software (See Note below). Backward application hardware and software compatibility has been maintained with the Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+/B+.

Chip Procesor CPU GPU

Memory Power Ethernet Video Output Audio Output GPIO Connector Camera Connector Display Connector Memory Card Slot

Broadcom BCM2836 SoC 900 MHz Quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 Dual Core VideoCore IV® Multimedia Co-Processor Provides Open GL ES 2.0, hardware-accelerated OpenVG, and 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode Capable of 1Gpixel/s, 1.5Gtexel/s or 24GFLOPs with texture filtering and DMA infrastructure 1GB LPDDR2 Micro USB socket 5V, 2A 10/100 BaseT Ethernet socket HDMI (rev 1.3 & 1.4) Composite RCA (PAL and NTSC) 3.5mm jack, HDMI 40-pin 2.54 mm (100 mil) expansion header: 2×20 strip Providing 27 GPIO pins as well as +3.3 V, +5 V and GND supply lines 15-pin MIPI Camera Serial Interface (CSI-2) Display Serial Interface (DSI) 15 way flat flex cable connector with two data lanes and a clock lane Micro SDIO

Note: Previous versions of NOOBS software (1.3.x) are NOT compatible with Raspberry Pi 2 Model B. You may purchase a ready-programmed MicroSD memory card with NOOBS 1.4 software: 849-2012 or program your own after downloading NOOBS 1.4 from: http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/ Few accessories: you can need for Raspberry Pi 2: approved power supply, RS Stock No: 822-6373, Raspberry Pi 2 Model B cases, RS Stock No: 819-3646, 819-3655 and 819-3658, Raspberry Pi 2 Model B is also available in boxes of 150, RS Stock No: 847-2816 48

EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS l

ANALOG DEVICES: ADSP-BF707 BLACKFIN® PROCESSOR EVALUATION EZ- KIT RS Stock No.: 836-8733

Analog Devices offer the evaluation hardware Kit ADZS-BF707-EZLITE. This EZ KIT is for use with the BlackFin®ADSP-BF70x Digital Signal Processor series and it is supplied with an ICE-1000 emulator.

The Evaluation Board/Kit will provide a solution for evaluating the ADSP-BF70x Blackfin Digital Signal Processor (DSP) product family. The hardware is for use with the CrossCore® Embedded Studio (CCES) software and this development tool will test the ability of the ADSP-BF70x Blackfin Processors. It will support applications where you may need to debug and develop your design. The ADSP-BF707 Board Design Database contains all the necessary information for the design, layout, fabrication and assembly of the ADSP-BF707 EZ-Board.

Procesor Supervisor Regulator Memory Flash Memory Wireless Connector Converter Interface

l

ADSP-BF707 Blackfin ADM6315 ADP5024 Dual buck, plus LDO Micron MT47H128M16 2G bit DDR2 32M bit Quad SPI RF FTDI FT232RQ USB to UART CAN Interface / Expansion Interface III

ST MICROELECTRONICS: TSX634IPT RS Stock No.: 829-1620

STMicroelectronics offer a range of Quad Operational Amplifiers (Op Amp). The amplifiers cover a span of types such as general purpose, enhanced, low power, low noise, high speed to CMOS versions. They can be operated in single or dual power supply that has several voltage ranges. The four Independent op amps are designed to suit Industrial control systems and automotive applications.

Ultra low current consumption makes ideal for designing into end devices such as power metering, electrochemical/gas sensors, medical instrumentation among others.

Amplifier Type Power Supply Type Typical Single Supply Voltage Typical Voltage Gain Typical Gain Bandwidth Product Typical Slew Rate Number of Channels per Chip Output Type Mounting Type Package Type Pin Count Typical Input Voltage Noise Density Maximum Operating Frequency Operating Temperature Dimensions

Micropower CMOS Single 3.3 → 16 V 1GB LPDDR2 Micro USB socket 5V, 2A 10/100 BaseT Ethernet socket HDMI (rev 1.3 & 1.4) Composite RCA (PAL and NTSC) 3.5mm jack, HDMI 40-pin 2.54 mm (100 mil) expansion header: 2×20 strip Providing 27 GPIO pins as well as +3.3 V, +5 V and GND supply lines 15-pin MIPI Camera Serial Interface (CSI-2) Display Serial Interface (DSI) 15 way flat flex cable connector with two data lanes and a clock lane Micro SDIO 10 kHz -40 °C → +125 °C 5.1 × 4.5 × 1.05mm www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS ELECTRONICS DESIGN ENGINEERS l

EATON: DE1 VARIABLE SPEED STARTERS RS Stock No.: 820-3550

Offering precise control of AC motors with a simple initial setup, Fit & Forget design makes this starter perfect for less complicated installations.

For use in any manufacturing industry requiring speed control of AC motors - Pre-wired as a motor starter for out of the box commissioning, no specialist drive knowledge required. Keeps installation errors to a minimum and saves cost - Ideal for fan speed control, conveyor speed control, packaging machinery, centrifuges / mixers, automatic barriers.

Output Frequency Field Bus Communication Type Filter Included Current Rating Supply Voltage Power Rating Ambient Temperature IP Rating Overall Length

l

1 ModBus RTU, OP-Bus (RS485) Yes 2.3 A 230 V ac 0.37 kW Maximum of +50°C IP20 45mm × 45mm × 231mm

RS BRAND: PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS AND TRANSMITTERS RS Stock No.: 828-5729

Pressure sensors for oil/water or alternatively for grey water. Offer a high-performance, value alternative to pressure sensors from more established brands, such as Druck or Gems. Ideal for flow control in Food and Beverage / Pharmaceutical / Paper Industry or Utilities.

Pressure Reading Type Pressure Reading Accuracy Media Measured Analogue Output Supply Voltage Housing Material IP Rating Operating Temperature

l

Gauge 0mbar → 500mbar < ±0.25 % Oil, Water 4 → 20 mA 9 →32 V dc Stainless Steel IP65 -20°C →+125°C

TELEMECANIQUE: PREVENTA XY2CJ GRAB WIRE SWITCHES AND ROPE PULL KITS RS Stock No.: 837-1161

The Preventa XY2CJ emergency stop rope pull switches from Telemecanique are designed to prevent injury to people or damage to machinery when a normal emergency stop function is not available. They are easy to install and offer a quick visual check of the switch status for machine restart.

Typical applications include woodworking machines, shears, conveyor systems, printing machines, textile machines, rolling mills, test laboratories, paint shops and surface treatment works.

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EP&Dee | March, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS

Pole Configuration Normal State Configuration Maximum Rope Span Maximum Current Number of Cable Entries Size of Cable Entries IP Rating Operating Temperature Dimensions

3P NO/2NC 30m 0.1 A@ 250 V dc, 1.5 A@ 240 V ac 1 M20 IP66, IP67 -25°C → +70°C 158 mm × 64.2 mm × 109 mm

MAINTENANCE AND INSTALLATION ENGINEERS l

HELLERMANNTYTON: HEGWS BURST PROTECTION BRAIDED SLEEVING RS Stock No.: 829-9905

HEGWS range of sleeving can be used to protect hydraulic hoses, preventing injuries due to leaks emitting high pressure liquid jets. Also excellent tear resistance, abrasion protection, hydraulic hose optimum protection, liquid jet injuries minimised.

Meets EN ISO 3457 standard for Earth Moving Machinery and EN 1299 for Mechanical Vibration and Shock, making them ideal for protecting exposed pipework heavy-duty moving equipment (earth-moving), conveyors, large machinery.

Sleeve Diameter Material Sleeve Length Operating Temperature Wall Thickness

l

20mm Polyamide 50m -60°C →+125°C 1.1mm

MOTOROLA T80 TWO-WAY RADIO WITH LCD DISPLAY RS Stock No.: 819-9127

Ultimate specification, rugged and all-weather proof, the TLKR T80Extreme is ready for adventures in the harshest of environments. A tough water resistant design and essential accessories, the TLKR T80Extreme will keep you in touch on the wildest tracks and highest peaks.

Radio Style Number of Channels Number of Sub-Codes Operating Frequency Battery Life

Handheld, Headset 8 121 12.5kHz 16h

For more information about the products please access http://ro.rsdelivers.com Aurocon Compec www.compec.ro www.designspark.com www.epd-ee.eu | March, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

PASSIVE COMPONENTS

RUTRONIK SMART: Integrated RGBW Color Sensor from Vishay for High Spectral Sensitivity

AVX extends the lifespan of its THH 230°C hermetic series tantalum capacitors

Vishay Intertechnology launches a new digital RGBW sensor featuring Filtron™ technology for accurate RGBW spectral sensitivity, while providing ambient light spectral sensitivity with responses close to that of the

AVX Corporation has extended the lifespan of its THH 230ºC hermetic series high temperature SMD tantalum capacitors to 10,000 hours at 200ºC and 50% derating.

Available in two large case sizes (9/CTC-21D and I) that provide high capacitance values spanning 22μF to 100μF, THH series capacitors feature the highest temperature ratings of any SMD tantalum capacitor series available on the market: -55°C to +230°C for 9/CTC-21D case components and 55°C to +215°C for I case components. Encased in hermetically sealed ceramic packages, THH series capacitors also exhibit superior stability when exposed to high temperatures, high humidity, and ambient atmosphere, and are impervious to the capacitance drop common to high temperature operation, enabling significant size reductions, lower component counts, and reliability improvements in extremely high temperature applications, such as down-hole oil drilling.

AVX www.avx.com

human eye. The digital RGBW sensor VEML6040 is available at distributor Rutronik as of now. The new VEML6040 color sensor incorporates photo-pin-diodes (RGBW) and a signal processing IC in a compact 2.0

×1.25 × 1.0mm surface-mount, 4-pin OPLGA package, while offering an I2C bus interface for simple operation. It senses red, green, blue as well as white light and offers 16-bit resolution for each color channel. The sensor makes LCD and LED panels more comfortable for end users’ eyes and provides fluorescent light flicker immunity. With an operating voltage and I2C bus voltage range of 2.5V to 3.6V, a low power in shutdown mode of < 1μA and an excellent temperature compensation stability from -40° to +85°C, the VEML6040 sensor is ideal for a wide range of applications, e.g. color balancing, backlight control, and color temperature measurement in consumer devices such as smartphones, digital camera, and televisions.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com

Extensive Weidmüller OMNIMATE® device connection and housing technology now available at TTI TTI, Inc. is now offering device connectivity specialist Weidmüller’s OMNIMATE® technology in Europe, including OMNIMATE® Signal, OMNIMATE® Power and OMNIMATE® Housings. This wide product range is modular and flexible, suits diverse applications in many product sectors, and offers ease of design-in as well as manufacturing. OMNIMATE Signal’s wide range includes extremely compact PCB terminals and plug-in connectors and is optimised for space-saving application-oriented design and efficient time-saving SMT production.

Intelligent locking concepts combined with high performance enable application-specific solutions to be created. THR and SMD components ensure high productivity levels during the reflow soldering process. Power electronics applications evolve constantly and quickly, which increases the demands on connection systems. Weidmüller OMNIMATE high-performance Power PCB connectors, terminals and feed-through terminals are standard-compliant to IEC 61800 for speed-controlled drive technology.

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www.ttieurope.com