Electronics News June 2012

news Australia’s Premier Electronics Magazine

www.electronicsnews.com.au INSIDE

JUNE 12

News 4

Let there be sight A new facility will boost development of bionic eye prototypes Technology 8

Fantastic plastic Research collaboration cluster to look into flexible, low-cost optoelectronics Feature 10

Boosting battery life with power converters How improving the efficiency of power converters can offset the slow progress of battery longevity Feature 16

Sourcing obsolete components There are various possible approaches to the problem of obsolete components, some better than others

Fighting fakes Post Print Approved PP255003/00319

The market is ripe for counterfeits: what are the risks, and what can you do?

Feature 20

Maximising power from solar panels Maximum power point tracking minimises waste on the back end of solar generation systems

Page 14 Design Corner 24

PoE optimisation Design | Communications | Environmental | Industrial | Research | Medical | Consumer

How to find the actual power delivered by PoE, and minimise losses

NEWS

ne ws

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Fighting back against counterfeits

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Kevin Gomez Editor

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• Automotive/Transport • Power Supplies • EMI/RFI • Digital Home

IN March this year, the Electronics News website featured a news report on electronics manufacturer Codan and their battle with Chinese counterfeits.

Codan’s products were being blatantly copied – down to the look, feel, trademark – and then sold internationally.

At that time, the Adelaide-based company stated it was using legal action, lobbying and “other measures” to resolve the issue.

Well it’s the “other measures” that may well prove to be a great lesson for electronics designers and manufacturers in Australia.

To fight back, Codan embraced smart, Kanban-inspired manufacturing processes which it then transferred to its manufacturing plant in Malaysia.

Also drawing on assembly techniques implemented at Hungry Jacks, Codan has been able to boost efficiency and slash its costs to such an extent that the counterfeiters have all but given up.

Faced with a tight market, Australian entrepreneurs have to rely on ingenuity to survive. Perhaps they can even thrive, as Codan has shown.

In this issue we take a hard look at counterfeit components as these nefarious parts increasingly find their way into products and applications.

The scary part is that the supply of fake components are growing at a faster rate than the (genuine) electronics components industry.

According to iSuppli, counterfeit part reports have risen by a factor of 700 over

the last decade!

This post (http://goo.gl/SFLG5) makes for interesting and rather frightening reading. The report was written after the author visited the famed SEG Electronics Market in Shenzhen, China.

He describes the amazing variety of counterfeit components freely available – from standard memory devices and passives to rare ceramic capacitors, Micrel regulators and Blackfin DSP chips.

The recommended solution is to have a certified counterfeit component inspector on the payroll but this may not be feasible for all companies.

An option is to train procurement staff and help is at hand for Australian companies. Maybe.

A US-based consulting group is in talks with the SMCBA (Surface Mount and Circuit Board Association) to run a course on detecting counterfeit components. This could be held during the Electronex 2012 Expo in Sydney in September.

Also happening during this time are the 2102 Electronics News Future Awards. The eighth edition of this popular awards program is already gathering momentum. As always, we will see high quality entries and a keen tussle for top honours.

If you have not yet sent in your nomination, please do so at the earliest.

Details and nomination kits are on our website. We look forward to meeting the finalists and winners during Electronex. kevin.gomez@reedbusiness.com.au

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NEWS

IN BRIEF

CARNARVON SOLAR POWER STATION OPENS THE CARNARVON Solar Power Station has officially opened, after an 8-week construction period.

The $2.9 million project was built by Energy Made Clean, with $1.5 million contributed by the Federal Government. The falling costs of solar energy infrastructure meant the project was delivered $500,000 under budget.

The 290 kW station is the first PPA supported Solar Power Station in Western Australia, and will feed all its power into the Horizon Power network under a 15-year agreement.

It is expected to produce 600,000 kWh per year from the sun, offsetting 180,000 litres of diesel, representing a saving of 483 tonnes CO2.

The solar power station consists of 7 single axis tracking arrays and 48 seasonally adjusted fixed frame arrays.

It is engineered to withstand category D cyclonic conditions, and is modular and scalable.

Energy Made Clean is currently involved in a staged rollout of solar power stations in Western Australia.

The next project will be a 2MW facility in Moora.

CORNING OPENS NBN CABLE MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN MELBOURNE CORNING Cable Systems has started manufacturing ribbon cable at its Clayton facilities near Melbourne.

According to Corning, the localisation of its Altos Loose Tube Ribbon Cable is part of its commitment to expand its Australia-based manufacturing and assembly capacity so as to cater to the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout.

Corning Cable Systems says ribbon fibre cable technology is a key enabler of the NBN fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network architecture.

The compact nature of the product allows the maximum number of fibres to be pulled through a duct or pipe for speedy installation.

Corning says its Australian operations are creating three hundred to four hundred jobs.

As a primary NBN Co supplier of optical fibre cable and hardware for the National Broadband Network, the company plans to invest up to $40 million in its Clayton operations, related equipment, and personnel training.

4 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

MEDICAL

New bionic eye facility RESEARCH into bionic vision has gotten a boost with a new $2.5m facility allowing the University of New South Wales to produce its own medical implants.

The aim of the facility, according to Professor Gregg Suaning from the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering at UNSW, is to fabricate the first prototypes of a bionic eye to be tested in human recipients as soon as 2013.

Professor Suaning leads development of Bionic Vision Australia’s wide-view device, the first of two bionic eye prototypes aimed at restoring vision in people with degenerative retinal conditions.

The implant will have 98 electrodes made from biocompatible materials, which will work to stimulate surviving nerve cells in the retina of patients, allowing electrical signals to be sent along the optic nerve into the brain to be decoded as vision.

The bionic eye system consists of a camera which captures images, an external processing unit, and the implant within the eye.

The new facility will allow the university to fabricate prototypes of the bionic eye.

While not providing high fidelity photographic vision, the device will allow differentiation between light and dark and a degree of independent navigation.

Bionic Vision Australia is currently involved in an international race to develop a functional bionic eye, and the new facility is a much-needed boost.

RESEARCH

www.unsw.edu.au

AUTOMOTIVE

Nanotech cooperation AUSTRALIAN nanotechnology scientists will work with US Defence Force research agencies on nanoelectronics, smart sensing, data management and exotic materials.

More than 30 Australian nanotechnology researchers went to Washington D.C. for a week-long review program with US defence force research agencies, including the US Air Force, Navy, Army, NASA, National Institutes of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation.

The delegation were received by Kim Beazley, Australia’s ambassador to the US, who stressed the need for international cooperation between scientists of different countries, since both Australia and the US had unique capabilities..

The discussions were organised

The upgraded facility will include a clean room and an array of stateof-the-art equipment for building complex microscopic components and testing the performance of microelectronics.

It also allows the integration of implantable bionics with wearable sensors for telehealth monitoring. n

jointly between the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) and the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). The Australian contingent included representatives from 17 of Australia’s universities.

During the program both Australian and US researchers shared ideas and expertise on a wide range of nanotechnology topics. The program will continue later this year with further exchange of personnel, and focus on specific project areas.

The meeting was a follow up to an Australian event in July 2011 which established expressions of interest for cross-pacific collaborations by a US delegation.

The ANFF provides micro- and nano-fabrication facilities for Australian researchers. n www.anff.org.au

EMC Technologies test lab approved EMC Technologies’ Melbourne laboratory has been recognised by the Ford Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) group as the only Australian facility approved for testing to the EMC-CS2009 standard.

The test ensures the electromagnetic compatibility of vehicles’ electrical system and subsystems, and Ford only accepts data from approved test labs.

Australian automotive component manufacturers can now test at EMC Tech’s Keilor Park labs and avoid the costs associated with sending equipment and engineering personnel to labs in the USA. EMC Technologies said it invested a considerable amount of time and effort to demonstrate compliance of the ISO 17025 NATA accredited facilities to the stringent Ford technical requirements. n www.emctech.com.au

NEWS

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Top universities battle it out in NI robot competition

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NATIONAL Instruments Oceania has announced 24 teams will compete in its 2012 NI Autonomous Robotics competition.

The student robotics competition is designed to encourage development and innovation in robotics, and will see teams from the top universities of Australia and New Zealand battling it out.

The competition commences in April and concludes in a live competition on 21 September 2012.

Each team will work alongside NI engineers to develop an autonomous robot that will aim to autonomously complete a set of predefined tasks in the shortest amount of time in order to earn the most points.

Within the 2012 competition theme of ‘Search and Rescue’, the

robotics application areas of focus will be navigation, obstacle avoidance, and object handling.

Participating teams have each received a development kit featuring an NI CompactRIO embedded acquisition and control system and the NI LabVIEW 2011 Robotics Suite for the development of their autonomous robot.

Competition sponsor Maxon Motor has also provided each team with a gift voucher for purchase of motors to use with the robots.

The winning team at the live national competition on 21 September 2012 will receive $3,000 cash, and the runners up will be awarded $1,500 courtesy of National Instruments Oceania. n www.australia.ni.com/ni-arc

ENVIRONMENTAL

E-waste recycling scheme starts in ACT CANBERRA will be the first city in Australia to get the National Television and Computing Recycling Scheme.

From May 2012, DHL Supply Chain will pick up computers, hard drives, keyboards, printers and televisions for free. Other administrators include the Australia and New Zealand Recycling

Platform and E-Cycle Solutions, who will start e-recycling services in the ACT by the end of 2013.

Australia is expected to generate 181,000 tonnes of e-waste by 2028, but the government hopes to increase the percentage of televisions and computers recycled to 80 percent by 2021. n

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www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 5

NEWS

IN BRIEF

CHARGING STANDARD FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AUTOMOTIVE big-guns Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen are now supporting a new standard governing fast-charging technology for electric vehicles.

The DC Fast Charging with a Combined Charging System will enable most compatible electric vehicles to attain a full charge in 15 to 20 minutes, compared to the hours needed for current conventional electric vehicles.

The combined charging system integrates one-phase AC-charging, fast three-phase AC-charging, DC-charging at home and ultra-fast DC-charging at public stations into one vehicle inlet.

This will allow customers to charge at most existing charging stations regardless of power source and may speed more affordable adoption of a standardised infrastructure.

The International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has chosen the Combined Charging System as the fast-charging methodology for a standard that incrementally extends the existing Type 1-based AC charging.

ACEA, the European association of vehicle manufacturers has also selected the Combined Charging System as its charging interface for all new vehicle types in Europe beginning in 2017.

The uniform international standard dictates similar electrical systems, charge controllers, package dimensions and safety mechanisms.

6 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

RESEARCH

Optoelectronics research

C

SIRO and three Australian universities have come together to launch the Transparent Electrodes for Plastic Electronics Research Cluster.

The research cluster is a collaboration of experts who have come together develop lower-cost flexible optoelectronic solutions such as displays, OLED lighting, solar cells, plastic electronics and sensors.

The universities involved are The University of Queensland (UQ), the University of Technology Sydney and Flinders University.

With over $3 million in funding contributed to the research cluster

by CSIRO Flagship Collaboration Fund and a further $3 million from the partnering Universities, the project will run until June 2014.

The cluster consists of Australian scientists who specialise in nanoscience, thin film deposition and characterisation, chemical physics and electrical engineering.

According to Cluster Leader Professor Paul Burn, Director of the Centre for Organic Photonics and Electronics at UQ, organic (plastic) optoelectronics is a fast-growing area that has the potential to lead to a “multitude of commercialisation pathways”.

“Australia should play a leading

The cluster will investigate the potential of flexible optoelectronic solutions. role in plastic optoelectronics to give us the best chance for being a net exporter of technologies, rather than an importer.”

A major challenge will be to find a robust, processable, cost-effective electrode manufacturing material to replace indium tin dioxide.

Indium tin dioxide an expensive, inflexible and fragile material that is transparent and conducting, but

is projected to be in short supply in 20 years.

The cluster was created under the CSIRO Future Manufacturing National Research Flagship, which aims to lead the development of cleaner advanced materials and manufacturing technologies, in building Australia’s future productivity and prosperity. n www.csiro.au

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TECHNOLOGY

RESEARCH

Bee research breakthrough AUSTRALIAN and French researchers have made a breakthrough in research on the learning capabilities of bees, which may herald enhanced vision for machines.

Dr Adrian Dyer from RMIT University was part of the international research team, which found honeybees use multiple rules to solve visual problems.

Humans and some other animals use rule learning to operate in complex environments. When trained with experience, brains can derive the rules governing a situation, and make decisions based on these rules. However, such cognitive capabilities are currently not implemented in machine vision.

Dr Dyer said the research team lead author Dr Aurore AvarguesWeber from the Université de Toulouse trained individual honeybees to fly into a Y-shaped maze which presented different elements in specific relationships like above/ below, or left/right.

With extended training the bees learned that the elements had to have two sets of rules including being in a specific relationship like above/below, while also possessing elements differing from each other.

Bees can participate in rule learning even without a complex brain.

Thus, the researchers concluded that having a large and complex brain was not necessary for rule learning. Since the bee brain is simple and fairly accessible, it is

possible to break down the highlevel cognitive tasks into simpler steps, which may then be translated and used by machines to achieve a similar level of performance.

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. n www.rmit.edu.au

CONSUMER

Advanced touch sensing RESEARCHERS from Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have developed a new sensing technique which detects complex touch configurations.

While touchscreens are now common, the next level of haptic technology, called Touché, senses different types of touching.

Conventional capacitive touchscreen technology runs an electrical signal across a surface and monitors the single frequency for changes, indicating touch.

Touché is also capacitive, but senses electrical signals across multiple frequencies. This technology, called “Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing”, allows insight 8 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

into the complex configuration of the different bodily tissues of the touching entity. This requires intense computational power, which is supplied by modern microprocessors.

So instead of the state of touch being a simple yes-or-no boolean value, Touché can recognise configurations of the hand or body that is doing the touching.

A single sensing electrode can be used to make conductive objects such as metal doorknobs and water into complex touch sensors.

When combined with gesture recognition techniques, Touché researchers demonstrated recognition rates approaching 100 percent.n The new technology senses complex configurations of touch.

www.disneyresearch.com

FEATURE

POWER

Lithium-air battery research IBM is expanding its efforts to develop lithium-air batteries, and Asahi Kasei and Central Glass are jumping on the Battery 500 Project team with their materials expertise.

The Battery 500 Project an IBM Research initiative intended to accelerate the switch to electric vehicles, by developing lithium-air batteries.

However, multiple scientific and engineering challenges stand in the way of practical implementation of lithium-air battery technology. The two newcomers will contribute their expertise to simultaneously explore multiple chemistry possibilities.

Asahi Kasei is a leading chemical manufacturer in Japan, and supplies the separator membrane for lithiumion batteries. Membrane technology will be required to create a critical component for lithium-air batteries.

Central Glass is a leading global

The IBM Battery 500 Project aims to accelerate the switch to electric vehicles by using lithium-air batteries. electrolyte manufacturer for lithium-ion batteries. It will create

a new class of electrolytes and highperformance additives designed to

improve lithium-air batteries.

Battery technology, particularly the limitations of today’s lithium-ion batteries, are the main limitation for electric vehicles, constraining their mileage. This perceived limited range and life is a significant barrier to electric car adoption unless a new battery technology can be developed that is affordable, lightweight, compact and has the capacity extend the range on a single charge.

While it is possible to make lithium-ion batteries that match the range provided by a full tank of gasoline, such batteries would need to be very big and heavy. The answer is a battery technology with high energy density, and lighter components. Lithium-air batteries suit the bill, with its primary “fuel� being readily-available oxygen. n www.ibm.com

www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 9

FEATURE

POWER

Power converters stretch batter Consumers demand more functionality yet longer battery life from their portable products. Engineers are increasingly turning to highly efficient power converters to meet the challenge, Electronics News staff write

S

ilicon technology seemingly knows no bounds.

Processor chips, for instance, have improved in performance roughly as predicted by Gordon Moore in 1965 when he noted that the number of transistors on a device would double every 24 months.

(Computing performance has tended to rise even faster than that rate because not only are there more transistors being squeezed on the silicon, but they also switch faster.)

The advance of product employing the technology has been similarly disruptive. “Over the last 40 years the personal computing revolution has made a profound difference to our lives,” says Navin Shenoy, General Manager of Intel Asia Pacific. “But it is just beginning. Technologies like high-speed broadband are becoming part of the critical infrastructure of developed economies like Australia.”

That’s an exciting prospect. But a major speed bump looms large. The Internet has become perhaps the most important tool in consumers’ work and leisure life. And connectivity to this resource is increasingly reliant on portable electronics.

Smartphones, tablets and laptops offer incredible functionality and 24/7 communication, but they have an Achilles Heel – the batteries drain fast.

Lithium ion (Li-ion) cells, the mainstay power source for highdemand portable devices, have improved in energy density (energy capacity/volume) by only about seven percent per year since they were invented. Unlike silicon chips, batteries are reliant on fundamental chemical processes, and it’s tough to improve the performance of such devices in anything other than (very) small increments.

10 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

This presents engineers designing portable devices with a dilemma: They want to offer customers faster products with more functionality, brighter screens and continuous connectivity, yet need to deliver long battery life from the enhanced device. The two demands pull in opposite directions.

Clever silicon design has resulted in chips running at lower voltages and demanding less power while still offering high performance.

But it is still incumbent on the engineer to ensure that his design makes the most of the advantage endowed by low power consumption silicon by choosing the best power management chips.

Consumers demand long battery life from mobile devices.

SHORTCUTS: n n n

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It’s difficult to improve the performance of batteries in large increments Modular power management chips are a complete solution on a single device Linear converters are simple, cheap and compact, while switching modules promise higher efficiency Modern DC-to-DC regulators can stepdown, boost or invert voltages with ease, and there seems to be a solution for every eventuality

FEATURE

ry budget The basics of power conversion

“Engineers want to offer customers faster products with more functionality, brighter screens and continuous connectivity, yet need to deliver long battery life”

Batteries come in many forms, and, depending on the chemistry, will provide a certain voltage when fully charged. But that voltage isn’t constant, tending to fall off nonlinearly depending on the load and remaining capacity.

Figure 1, for example, shows typical voltage vs. capacity curves for a Li-ion battery. The “C” value is the discharge rate, with 1C equal to the capacity rating, which in this case is 8 Ahr. The voltage requirement of silicon chips hasn’t remained static.

As engineers have strived to reduce the power consumption of their circuitry chip, voltages have dropped from 3-, down to 1.8-, 1.5- and even 1.2-Volts. And a typical circuit can comprise a mix of chips demanding different voltages. Worse still, modern silicon is very intolerant of fluctuations in the voltage supply. A shifting voltage can cause malfunctions, system errors and even permanent damage.

The combination of variable battery voltage characteristics and the demand for three or four clean voltage levels in a single device has spawned an entire product sector: DC-to-DC converters (also know as DC-to-DC regulators).

A DC-to-DC converter takes the inconsistent battery voltage and converts it into a clean, stable output (or several outputs if required).

There are literally dozens of popular topologies, but they can be grouped under two main types: linear or switching. And within those main categories there are three subgroups, step-down (where the battery voltage is lowered by the regulator, also know as a “buck” converter), step-up (battery voltage raised, known as a “boost” converter) and buck-boost (where the regulator can

Sensitive silicon requires a stable voltage supply. raise or lower the battery current depending on operational demands).

An enterprising engineer can design a DC-to-DC converter from scratch using discrete components; there are plenty of texts that will guide him through the process.

This road can prove cheaper and produce a slightly more efficient power supply, but it’s not trivial and can take a long time to get right.

Perhaps a more pragmatic option is to consider one of literally hundreds of “modules” from major silicon vendors such as Texas Instruments, Linear Technology, Maxim, STMicroelectronics and dozens of others. For the rest of this article, we’ll limit the discussion to these modular DC-to-DC converters rather than bespoke designs.

Modular power management chips integrate virtually a complete solution on a single device. The design engineer will still be required to make a careful choice of some peripheral components such as capacitors, resistors, and in the case

of switching converters, inductors, but the data sheets that accompany the chosen device usually include reference designs that make life a lot easier.

So, it’s just a case of choosing a module from a favoured distributor, adding a few cheap passives, soldering the circuit together and then expecting the battery in the portable product to last an age. Job done. Well, not quite; the selection of choice of regulators is bewildering and depends not only on battery management, but budget, space constraints and thermal considerations among other criteria.

Simple regulation Let’s take a closer look at the two major categories of DC-to-DC converters. If the battery voltage has to be boosted the choice become simpler. In this case, linear converters are not an option as they only work in a buck configuration (and they are unable to change the polarity of the voltage which might

be a requirement for some analogue circuitry). However, if the application does solely require a steppeddown battery voltage, (not unusual if the primary power source is a nominally 3.7-V Li-ion cell) then a linear device becomes an alternative.

A linear converter is a relatively simple device that – in its most basic form – operates as a resistive divider. Power provided by the battery is dissipated across a resistor to reduce the voltage at the output.

Modern modules include control circuitry that varies the value of the resistor such that the output voltage remains constant even as the battery voltage declines.

There is a fairly obvious disadvantage; the power dissipated by the resistor is wasted – and produces heat that has to be extracted from the device – so is a major source of inefficiency. The problem is worse when the battery is fully charged, because the difference between input and output voltages will be greatest at that point, maximising power dissipation. There is another challenge; linear converters have a ‘drop out’ voltage whereby the circuit no longer regulates once the input voltage drops below a certain voltage level – and this voltage can be quite a bit higher than the battery’s final voltage before it’s exhausted. The result is that the product switches off while the battery has capacity remaining, www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 11

FEATURE

POWER

effectively shortening the time between recharges or changes.

Chipmakers have attempted to address this situation by manufacturing linear regulators with incrementally decreasing drop out voltages. Today’s so-called Low Drop Out (LDO) linear regulators have such a minimal drop out voltage that the difference between input and output can be as little as a few hundred millivolts. The key advantages are that almost all the battery energy can then be accessed, and the efficiency climbs because the power dissipation across the resistor is lowered. Typical average efficiencies with these regulators – remembering that the efficiency actually increases as the cell discharges – can reach 80-to-85 percent.

Linear regulators do have a number of other advantages over switching devices. They are simple to design-in, because the module requires very few additional components to get it working, they take up very little space, and they’re relatively inexpensive. In addition – as we’ll discuss below – there’s no problem with the electromagnetic

“The choice of regulator is bewildering and depends not only on battery management, but budget, space constraints and thermal considerations”

Figure 1: Voltage vs. capacity curves for a Li-ion battery.

interference (EMI) often experienced with switching devices.

Switching to high efficiency LDO linear regulators are impressive

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A switching DC-to-DC regulator employs a MOSFET in conjunction with a pulse width modulation (PWM) controller, and an inductor and output capacitor forming an L-C filter. The input voltage is connected to the MOSFET, which is switched according to the duty cycle (MOSFET ‘on’ time divided by total period) of the PWM controller.

Switching frequencies range from a few kilohertz to several megahertz.

The L-C circuit filters the square wave to produce a DC output voltage that’s equal to the peak pulse amplitude multiplied by the duty cycle.

The output current to the load doesn’t drop to zero during the ‘off’ period, because the inductor stores

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FEATURE

Figure 2: Simple buck switching regulator.

Current flow during ‘on’ and ‘off’ cycles energy during the ‘on’ cycle for release during the ‘off’ cycle. (Note that there is typically some output current and voltage ripple but manufacturers strive to minimise its peakto-peak value.) The output voltage is maintained at – or at least close too - the desired value by comparing it with a reference voltage and adjusting the duty cycle of the switching operation (see figure 2).

Switching DC-to-DC regulators dissipate very little power during operation. Consequently, efficiencies as high as 95 percent are feasible.

Inefficiencies are mainly down to the quality of the MOSFET, with devices exhibiting lower conduction losses coming out on top. It’s important to note, however, that efficiencies at low loads can be poor – which can cost battery life in portable applications that spend a lot of time in low power ‘standby’ modes.

There are a few other challenges. First, all that high frequency switching introduces rapidly changing currents that can manifest themselves as EMI if the circuit is not cleverly designed. Such expertise takes time and experience, both of which cost money.

Second, although there are many modules that incorporate the MOSFET and PWM controller, it’s very difficult to integrate the L-C filter circuit because the inductor

is typically quite large. That means the regulator typically takes up more space on the printed circuit board compared with a linear device. One solution is to choose a switching converter with a higher operating frequency because that shrinks the volume of the inductor; the trade-off is that higher frequencies tend to amplify EMI. Third, highly integrated silicon doesn’t come cheap, and switching DC-to-DC converters are no exception. Competition in the market has pushed down prices, but such power modules can still make a large contribution to the cost of the bill-ofmaterials (BOM).

The engineer isn’t necessarily limited to either linear or switching converter. There are an increasing number of devices that promise ‘the best of both worlds’; combining the high efficiency of a switching module, allied to a linear unit to smooth out the inevitable voltage ripples and mitigate any EMI. But these inevitably cost more, are larger and the design becomes more complex.

of nickel-zinc (NiZn) cells, it doesn’t look as if there will be a quantum leap in battery life any time soon.

Engineers have cleverly balanced the compromise between consumers’ battery life expectations and increasing portable electronics functionality by introducing ‘ultra low power’ versions of microcontrollers, processors and wireless chips among other products. But it’s still important to extract every last joule from the battery pack while supplying sensitive silicon with clean, regulated voltage.

Modern DC-to-DC regulators can step-down, boost or invert voltages with ease, and there’s seemingly a solution for every eventuality.

Linear devices are simple, cheap and compact, while switching modules promise higher efficiency.

Unfortunately, this wide choice can be baffling. And, in keeping with many component sectors in this increasingly competitive world, cutting through the marketing hype can be a chore. Moreover, these are sophisticated devices and can’t just be simply ‘dropped-in’ to a circuit.

Some peripheral circuitry design expertise is needed to ensure best performance. The good news is that Australia is blessed with several knowledgeable and approachable distribution firms who are willing to help an engineers get their project off the ground. n

Balance compromise Battery technology has moved on at a glacial pace compared with the electronics it powers. And although there are some exciting developments such as the commercialisation www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 13

FEATURE

COMPONENTS

Countering counterfeits As the electronics market picks up, supply chains are becoming more vulnerable to counterfeits. How can the risks from fakes be mitigated? Isaac Leung writes

T

HE ELECTRONICS industry breathed a sigh of relief at the end of 2011. It had weathered two natural disasters, and the wider macro-economic issues in Europe and the US were easing.

Demand was returning, excess inventories were being used up.

But analysts say this is a peak in the so-called silicon cycle, and the extended lead times and price rises for components are creating a fertile environment for counterfeiters.

The outsourcing trend has resulted in fragmented supply chains, with less end-to-end visibility.

There are now more vectors for counterfeits to get into the supply chain.

In November 2011, a US Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimonies from defence supply chain stakeholders claiming 1 million suspected counterfeit electronic parts were detected being sold to the Pentagon, of which 70 percent were traced to Chinese firms.

Statistics from the Semiconductor Industry Association show counterfeiting costs US industry more than $7.5 billion a year. IHS iSuppli claims up to 10 percent of worldwide technology products are counterfeit.

Strict new anti-counterfeit regulations were released with the 2012 US National Defence Authorisation Act, which specifies contractor responsibilities for counterfeit detection and avoidance measures. The effects are trickling down to affect global suppliers and manufacturers.

If counterfeits are affecting one of the world’s most powerful military forces, what can Australian companies do to safeguard themselves?

At stake The most immediate victims of the counterfeit industry are the original makers of the parts, who lose revenue from royalties.

But the problem also extends to firms who put the components in their products, which are then 14 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Having a certified and trained counterfeit component inspector on hand can be the absolute countermeasure to counterfeit material.

SHORTCUTS: passed on to their end-users.

According to element14 Australia and New Zealand regional director Peter Davis, component failure is always a risk with counterfeits.

“The consequences of system down-time or even system failure where counterfeit components are used in safety-critical applications... can be potentially catastrophic,” Davis told Electronics News.

Reputation loss, product recalls, law suits, and even death and injury can result.

Use of counterfeits may also violate international regulations, such as Restriction of Hazardous

Tracing the origins

n Counterfeit electronics components are a big problem, and are growing n Current market conditions provide many opportunities for counterfeiters n Use of counterfeit parts opens companies to risks of product failure and regulatory contravention n Having a clear chain of responsible suppliers can mitigate the risk of counterfeits n Trained component inspectors and inspection systems can also help n Being aware of market price and availability trends can help purchase staff avoid counterfeit hotspots

Not all counterfeit components are created equal; they fall into a number of general classes.

Reverse-engineered parts are inferior copycats, usually targeting

lower-tech, easily manufactured components like batteries, resistors, and capacitors. These have low profit

Substances (RoHS) directives.

“Component users may have unwittingly used non-RoHS compliant devices in a RoHS process,” Davis said. “More critically, safety-critical RoHS-exempt applications such as avionics may unwittingly use RoHS compliant devices in a non-RoHS process, contravening EC legislation.”

FEATURE

What purchasers can do

margins, but counterfeiters can quickly flood the market with these.

Some counterfeits are genuine but defective parts, scraps which were taken out due to problems detected during screening.

These deficient parts may become evident early in the production cycle if they fail quickly, but sometimes problems only emerge when the product is already with customers.

Bonus lots are genuine parts manufactured by the factory in excess of the amount required by the contract. It is standard procedure to manufacture more components than required in order to cover lost or damaged parts, but some firms retain these parts, or make more of them to sell for additional profit.

Counterfeiters also take lower cost parts (lower performance, nonlead-free, or by a different manufacturer), sand off their markings, re-mark them, and sell them as higher value parts.

Lim Cheng Mong, RS Components head of electronics marketing for Asia Pacific, says counterfeit components usually originate from countries with many outsourced factories from brand name electronic components or where there are big electronic waste processing capabilities.

China is an obvious example.

“However for simple re-marking of devices...the technology to do this is easily available and can happen anywhere,” Lim explained.

Suppliers do their part Suppliers like element14 and RS Components say the best way to avoid counterfeits is to buy from reputable vendors.

They have checks and measures in place to reduce risk, and buyers have a clear path of recourse.

Element14 is part of the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA), and supports a search site which lists only genuine and authorised inventory.

All packaging and labelling is

RS Components staff at the firm’s Shanghai warehouse check off some components.

subject to visual inspection, with date codes, logos and checked against purchase order information.

It may also measure box dimensions and look for evidence of physical alteration. Electrical function may be tested to ensure they match those of known-authentic parts.

RS Components says it maintains traceability by retaining purchase order and delivery records, in line with ISO 9001 procedures.

If it suspects a counterfeit, it will withdraw the part from sale, then conduct in-house testing, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) screening.

For companies which source their own components, it is important for procurement officers to be remain vigilant and disciplined.

Extending lead times, shortages and price adjustments are prime market conditions for counterfeiters, who keep a close watch on the market for supply opportunities.

While procurement staff strive to ensure the continuity of supply, they also need to undertake aggressive anti-counterfeit measures, says Rick Stanton, director of ProSkill Consulting and Training Group.

Stanton has spoken at the Surface Mount and Circuit Board Association (SMCBA) conference on counterfeits, and his company runs a certification course on the detection/prevention and risk mitigation of counterfeit electronic parts. He is negotiating with Electronex to bring the course to Sydney for the 2012 expo.

“Strengthen controls on internal purchasing procedures and supplier approval requirements...all processes related to suspect counterfeit material must be governed by a solid standard/guide such as the SAE AS5552,” Stanton suggests.

Other recommendations include using updated and thorough counterfeit component check point inspection systems, and, if possible, having a certified and trained counterfeit component inspector on hand as the “absolute countermeasure in the prevention of counterfeit material”.

AS9120 and ISO9001:2000 certifications, ESD S20.20 compliance and IDEA-3000 certified inspectors, supplier controls and flow-down clauses for counterfeit mitigation are indications of a quality supplier.

By having an updated continuity of supply plan, constantly watching the market, and being aware of fluctuation of prices, availability, part lifecycle and maturations, companies can ensure the continuity of their supply, while avoiding potential counterfeit pitfalls. n www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 15

FEATURE

COMPONENTS

Know your options when sourci How can companies continue to source obsolete components, while minimising the risk of buying counterfeits? Alain Ludva, general manager of Mondo Australia writes

“I

T’S obsolete” – a phrase to bring fear to any production buyer of electronic components. With the changing market in recent years and the pressure on profit margins at every level, larger component manufacturers have been keen to continue manufacturing only those products which are demonstrably profitable. Add to this the lifetime expectancy of some of the high value industrial, aerospace and military equipment and it is easy to see that the problem of component obsolescence can only get worse.

There are many pitfalls that can arise from hearing the word “obsolete” from your component supplier.

The first reaction may be to ask why you didn’t receive the end of life (EOL) or last time buy (LTB) notification. Your second reaction is probably to scour the franchise network to find residual stock or contact the OEM pleading for help locating an alternative product for fit, form, function (FFF) replacements.

When all these fail, the only option left is to try and obtain the product from the grey market. This can be a minefield leading to quality problems and production hold-ups.

Of course this does not need be the case, if your purchasing officers have done their homework, but it always seems to be the disreputable suppliers that have the stock…

Requalification You can minimise your risk and exposure to counterfeit components, by following a few basic steps, which are often overlooked when acting under budget and deadline constraints. Remember that counterfeit avoidance starts with your purchasing officer’s responsibility to do their homework prior to purchasing a component and them having a basic understanding that international purchases follow a 16 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Dealing with obsolete components opens a whole new can of worms.

completely different set of rules from domestic purchases. For instance, most international suppliers require pre-payment of parts, leaving you dangerously exposed if buying from an unknown source.

Just because one can find availability by doing a Google search, does not mean this is a supplier of genuine & original components!

It is imperative to understand that for any purchase done through a domestic supplier, local laws and regulations apply (Small Claims Tribunal and similar). The moment a purchase is done with an overseas supplier, unless the transaction is very large (in monetary value in excess of AUD 100,000), you enter the realms of the Far West. No lawyer will consider taking on your case, as the likelihood of having a positive outcome is as likely as seeing a “flying pig”.

And we’re not talking just about Asian countries: this goes for any claim/dispute you would have with a North American or European

company. The laws are just too complex to navigate through; the fees involved would be prohibitive.

Any new supplier to your company, especially of hard to get and obsolete components, must be scrutinised by you and asked to provide evidence of their track record. Some disreputable suppliers will shy away from a number of simple questions: if they claim to be an agent or distributor of a certain brand, have you checked that brand’s website to see if they are listed as such? What warranty period do they offer on the parts they intend to supply you? What are their return policies for failing parts? Etc. Grey market suppliers (called brokers or independent distributors) fill a vacuum now and will continue to do so, when official distributors can no longer supply your components (be it because the device has become obsolete or the manufacturing lead times are not allowing you to meet your deadlines).

There are several options for

“Just because one can find availability by doing a Google search, does not mean this is a supplier of genuine & original components” sourcing components which may be considered at this point: - buy stock without authenticity trace and hope it works (we strongly discourage this. Are you willing to put your company’s reputation at stake by buying something that may work for a bit but may fail once in the field?); - buy stock only from a qualified, reputable grey market supplier you personally know & trust, whom also has a long track history of supplying obsolete & hard to get parts to you and the Australian industry (ask them to lay some evidence on the table for you);

FEATURE

ing electronic components - buy stock without authenticity trace from a qualified, reputable grey market supplier you personally know & trust, but due to the lack of an authenticity trace, ask for the parts to be tested by a third party testing house, to get the re-assurance you are getting parts that perform as per the original manufacturer’s specifications; - buy a recommended alternative and hope it does work as per the original design & specifications of your product.

Commercial product users may find this slightly less stressful, since if it does work then the chances of it being OK over 0 to 70deg C are pretty well assured. Industrial and military users however, have the added problem that the part may well be operational at commercial temperatures but unless DC and functional testing is done over the minimum and maximum temperature range required for that specific application, there is no assurance of reliability or parametric compliance over the full temperature spectrum.

So what other options are there?

Find the money to redesign the entire circuit using new technology parts or find the money to buy your total stock requirements at the beginning of a production run plus any liberal spares.

stand customers’ needs and concerns regarding obsolescence.

Buying and storing OEM die or wafers, at the lowest possible price, for schedules of up to 20 years can provide a solution. They are stored in a controlled environment, assembled and tested to ensure reliability over the full schedule period – all as

able for remanufactured replacement, it is surprising how many basic devices can be tested to a specific OEM datasheet. Consultation with the customer at all stages from basic logic or linear devices to the most complex FPGAs helps generate 100% confidence that “what’s on the tin is in the tin”. n

Move Your Automated Test Beyond the Box

Remanufacture The final alternative is to get the obsolete product remanufactured.

There is no doubt that this is an expensive option if you consider it dollar for dollar against the cost of the original device, but when compared to the cost of circuit redesign, post production problems, reliability issues, peace of mind and the security of your job, then remanufacture becomes the right option.

Companies like Mondo Electronics 2000, a Defence Recognised Supplier (DRSS) and Force Technologies UK, have evolved from distribution to under-

part of the service.

Assembly and test are carried out under M38535 and DESC conditions with documentation to Mil-Std 883 with electrical and environmental test groups as required to backing up the procedures, if needed to military or space level.

Although not all parts are avail-

Engineers around the world are making the software-defined PXI platform the cornerstone of their test system architectures. With more than 1,500 modular instruments available from more than 70 vendors, PXI delivers the functionality and flexibility you need to build a better test system while reducing cost and size.

>>

Learn how PXI can help you at ni.com/beyond

Australia: 1800 300 800 New Zealand: 0800 553 322

©2011 National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, ni.com, and NI TestStand are trademarks of National Instruments.

Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 02251

www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 17

FEATURE

ENVIRONMENTAL

On track for efficient solar pow Photovoltaic panel back-end circuits are subject to much development to boost efficiency. But is the attention the technology receives misdirected? Isaac Leung writes

T

HE Kardashev scale, a theoretical system measuring a civilization’s level of technological advancement, specifies a Type 1 civilisation as one that’s mastered the energy resources of its home planet. Types 2 and 3 civilisations harness the energy of their stars and galaxies, respectively.

American theoretical physicist Dr Michio Kaku says humanity on this scale is a Type 0 civilisation. But in the next 100 years, our society will transition into a Type 1.

The shift away from finite fossil fuels will be a key part of this progression. Already, research is being done to harness the power of planetary resources like waves, wind and terrestrial solar power.

For solar power to be viable, it needs to be cost effective. And to attain energy cost parity with fossil fuels, the efficiency of the conversion from photons to electricity has to be maximised. While there is plenty of research and development work in commercial and academic spheres aimed at boosting the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels, the efficiency of the balance of system components such as the inverter is equally important.

There is no point in making gains in panel efficiency if power is lost in the conversion process from DC voltage to the AC required by the grid. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is one of the techniques used by inverter manufacturers to mitigate this problem.

Dealing with variability The output of PV systems can vary, depending on ambient conditions.

For example, shading parts of the panels can reduce output, and illumination varies accorind to the angle at which the light hits the panels, changing generated voltages.

Other factors which affect the performance of the panels includes natural manufacturing variations, 18 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Shortcuts: n

The output of PV systems can vary, depending on the ambient conditions n

and changes in temperatures.

Inverters are used to convert the panels’ variable DC voltage to the AC required for feeding into the grid. With non-MPPT inverters (such as older analogue type units), the panels are forced to operate at a constant voltage (set at an assumed “optimal” voltage which, in reality, is often far from the case), doesn’t take into account any variation in output and thus compromises efficiency.

MPPT is an algorithm-based method which is integrated into dedicated power optimisation modules or microcontroller-endowed inverters.

It seeks to optimise power output by polling the photovoltaic panels and calculating the load resistance at which maximum power can be harvested, before applying the changes to the DC-to-AC converters.

The rationale behind this approach is based on high-school circuit theory – power is optimised (or the maximum power point is reached) where the derivative dI/dV of the current-voltage (I-V) curve is equal in magnitude but with opposite signs to the I/V ratio.

As the name suggests, MPPT uses various control circuits and logic approaches to track the maximum power point of the panel as it varies throughout the day and over time, and sets the optimal resistance in order to extract the most power at any time from the panel.

MPPT methods As the voltage of a PV panel increases, the current decreases. But

n

n

While the efficiency of photovoltaic panels is important, balance-of-system efficiencies can have a big effect on final overall performance MPPT systems use algorithms to find the most efficient settings given variable output from solar panels Various algorithms and methods exist, and each have their own advantages and limitations While MPPT is important, it is not seen as the most critical factor when choosing solar power systems

this relationship is not linear, and the maximum power occurs at the ‘knee’ of the curve (see figure 1). To make things more complicated, the knee constantly moves depending on the variables discussed above.

The tracker hunts for the constantly varying maximum power point by using an algorithm to calculate or engaging in a brute-force search for it. The actual mechanics of

FEATURE

wer MPPT vary between manufacturers, but there are a number of general approaches to finding the maximum power point.

The first and most common method, known as “perturb-andobserve”, or the “hill-climbing” method, is based on trial and error.

The controller makes minute adjustments to the voltage, and measures the resulting power output.

Increases in power indicate that further adjustments in that direction will eventuate in power optimisation.

Accordingly, the system will make these adjustments until no more increases are observable.

While this method is the easiest to implement due to its simplicity, it can cause power oscillations, especially where irradiance levels change rapidly. In the default configuration, the algorithm cannot “know” when it has reached the actual maximum power point, so it will keep making changes around that point, even when it has found it, hunting forwards and backwards.

However, the main disadvantage of perturb-and-observe is that the efficiency of the tracking method itself declines as the amount of sunlight falling on the panels decreases - which causes the power/ voltage curve to flatten out.

With lower and more subtle changes in power resulting from perturbing the voltage, the algorithm is hard-pressed to determine the correct direction in which to make further tweaks.

There are of course variations in specific implementation considerations that affect the efficiency of the method. These include the use of predictive algorithms, varying the sizes of the adjustment steps, and introducing functions which use the pattern of oscillation to determine when the maximum power point has been reached, and thus suppress changes for a given period of time.

The second method is called “incremental conductance”. The

A local approach

Figure 1: The relationship between current and voltage of a solar cell when illuminated or in darkness. Pmax is the maximum power point. algorithm differentiates the photovoltaic array power with respect to voltage aiming to find the point at which the answer is zero – which would then be the point at which maximum power is generated.

Incremental conductance is more computationally-intensive, but entails less guesswork than perturband-observe.

If the efficiency of the photovoltaic system increases, either because of increased irradiance or variation in other conditions, the current rises, and the tracker will compensate to once again achieve dP/dV = 0 by increasing the operating voltage. The opposite is also true if the current drops due to decreased irradiance.

A third method, “constant voltage” peak power tracking is easier to implement with analogue hardware, but is not very efficient in tracking the maximum power point.

In fact, it is debatable if it does much tracking at all.

The algorithm is based on the observation that the ratio of the voltage at the maximum power point of an array to the open-circuit voltage is constant.

To measure the open-circuit voltage, the solar array is temporarily isolated from the trackers. The tracker then uses that measurement and a preset constant to calculate the “correct” operating voltage to give maximum power.

The problem is that the preset constant is itself subject to a host of different conditions so there is little guarantee that the set-up will actually generate maximum power.

Additionally, the algorithm requires the power from the panels to be interrupted.

The fourth algorithm, called “parasitic capacitance” is similar to incremental conductance, but takes into account the solar cells’ parasitic junction capacitance, which models charge storage in the p–n junctions of the solar cells. It is computationally more complex but is arguably more accurate.

One company that is transitioning from constant voltage inverters to a more intelligent MPPT-based approach is Australian Energy Research Laboratories (AERL).

According to Adrian Edmond, chief electronics engineer at AERL, the company’s original maximiser product was engineered in the 1980s, and took a purely analogue approach using the constant voltage method.

“In 2010, the product was modified to include a microcontroller, and the aim was to produce the same product, but have the controller do things like setting some of the open circuit points,” Edmond told Electronics News.

“We use a low-power Texas Instruments MCU, and that does all the sampling of the data, controlling the boost mode of the modulator, DC-to-DC converter, and the sampling operation. It also does some current limiting and is in charge of some safety mechanisms.”

The improved intelligence of the unit has allowed Edmond to start work on including MPPT in a future version of the inverter.

“We’re looking to use the constant voltage as a basis for finding our initial start point, and then using a modified incremental conductance method to optimise the output,” Edmond explains. “We are altering the size of the step based on how far away we are from the maximum power point, in other words, to try to find the point a little bit faster.”

According to Edmond, the applications of AERL’s inverter systems and the complexities of MPPT meant the company stayed with the constant voltage approach for a lot longer than many of its competitors.

“The AERL products are also used in solar pumping applications.

You can use them to run a pump directly without a battery. That’s why we’ve stuck with constant voltage, because a lot of our applicawww.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 19

FEATURE

ENVIRONMENTAL

“There is no point in making gains in panel efficiency if power is lost in the conversion process” tions are not charging a battery, but directly driving a pump,” he says.

While Edmond recognises the constant voltage method typically only achieves around 91 percent efficiency, he points out the other MPPT algorithms have their limitations.

“If there are rapid changes or a lot of noise in the system, methods like perturb-and-observe and incremental conductance tend to fall over and achieve below 90 percent efficiency,” Edmond says. “Many algorithms only get up to 99 percent efficiency under ideal conditions.”

Edmond is also cautious about the possible problems with oscillation during the incremental conductance method, but believes careful design of the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control loops and varying the sampling rates to make them longer could allow AERL to bypass the problem.

He is also looking into methods to improve the response times while keeping the control loop under management during step changes.

To accelerate testing of the company’s MPPT approach, Edmond is now designing a solar panel simulator, in order to recreate conditions in a controllable manner rather than doing slow and inconclusive tests with actual panels.

The simulator will allow the engineering team at AERL to compute and control the I-V curves and simulate a number of conditions that a solar array may be exposed to, so they can ensure the controller will respond to the conditions as needed.

Centralised/modular While most systems consist of the 20 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

panels connected to a centralised inverter with MPPT applied to the input, Solar Choice analyst James Martin says an alternative approach could boost the effectiveness of the entire assembly.

According to Martin, in a system with a centralised-MPPT, singleinput inverter, the panel that is producing the least amount of power will limit total solar system array output. The weakest link limits the ability of the entire chain.

Some inverters provide dualMPPT capabilities, which reduce losses by splitting the array into two “strings”, with separate inputs and MPPT on each of the inputs.

“With dual-MPPT tracking, if one of the strings is shaded, you won’t get much power out of it, but the other will still function at its maximum capacity,” Martin explains.

A US-based company, Solar Edge, is taking this breakdown even further, by bringing MPPT to individual panels.

The company claims up to a 25 percent increase in power output compared to single- and multi-input inverter system arrangements, and up to 98 percent inverter efficiency.

This is done by installing moduleembedded power optimisers on every solar module in an array to monitor and regulating their power output. This regulated input is then routed to the smart inverter where the DC power is inverted to gridcompliant AC, and the entire system is monitored.

Each power optimiser performs a DC-to-DC power conversion (with a top efficiency of 99.5 percent), boosting or reducing output voltage of each of the modules to ensure a fixed string-voltage.

Since the voltage of each string is held constant at the optimal point for DC-to-AC conversion, the weakest modules don’t limit the performance of the whole string or array. System design is made much easier, and the inverter is more efficient.

However, this approach may not appeal to many consumers of solar panel technology, since the improved efficiencies may not yield a fast enough return-on-investment to justify the increased hardware costs.

Being pragmatic In fact, the success of solar power generation may be more dependent on commercial considerations than any back-end efficiency boosts.

“We don’t see a lot of people going ahead with fancy technologies like [that made by] Solar Edge, as they tend to be much more expensive, and people would rather go with a good solid product and some decent panels than fork out the money for the ‘gadgety’ approach,” Martin told Electronics News.

While innovation within the backend of solar power systems should be applauded, ultimate efficiency is not the biggest barrier to solar adoption, especially in Australia. With the demise or dramatic lowering of state feed-in tariffs, there is now less incentive for people to splash out the initial investment and install solar panel systems on their roofs.

“What you’re trying to do with MPPT is to get the most power out of the panels, but if you don’t use the power, it goes to waste, unless you are in a state with a feed-in tariff.

If you feed your electricity into the grid in non-feed-in-tariff states, you are basically giving it away,” Martin says. “But if people can find an affordable way to store their solar power, it will revolutionise how they approach renewable energy.”

An effective battery system, or even using electric vehicles as depositories for power generated from solar energy, would allow people to bypass peak electricity rates, or use surplus energy from the solar panels to offset their fuel use.

On the utility scale level of solar energy generation systems, cost effectiveness and pragmatism also rules the day.

Control Techniques is an Emerson Industrial Automation business, which supplies power conversion equipment for commercial and industrial applications.

According to Isaac Morian, national sales manager at Control Techniques Australia, the company’s centralised grid-tie inverters utilise MPPT as part of their intelligent power management system.

The algorithm is optimised for both crystalline and thin-film panel technologies, and rapidly adapts to changing temperatures and weather.

To maximise efficiency, Control Techniques’ inverters not only employ MPPT, but can also scale capacity up and down to adapt to power output variations throughout the day, reducing power loss from inefficient conversions.

Morian says Control Techniques takes a centralised approach to its inverter systems, because it is the most practical. The hardware costs less, and because the overall system is less complex, commission is faster and there is less chance of failure.

“The whole aim of a solar inverter system, especially in the megawatt-plus scale, is to maximise power injection and save as much as possible in capital expenditure, and also to reduce overall power dissipation via heat,” Morian explains.

MPPT algorithms continue to be refined both by manufacturers and academic researchers, but it is important to keep a down-to-earth perspective on its role as part of the ‘bigger picture’. While highly innovative approaches to tracking the maximum power point of panels can yield advantages, it is not the be-alland-end-all of solar efficiency.

It can be more important to keep the cost of systems down and ensure that the power that is generated is gainfully employed rather than squandered.n www.aerl.com.au www.solarchoice.net.au www.emersonindustrial.com

FEATURE

DESIGN CORNER

COM standard targets ARM A new architecture for ARM and SOC based Computer-on-Modules offers scalable, long-term availability and robustness

Built for the future Development of the Low-power Embedded Architecture Platform is based on the 314-pin MXM 3.0 connector. The connector has already established itself as reliable on dedicated graphics cards in notebooks, and it is available from several manufacturers. It is a proven and cost-effective solution. There are two different module sizes: a short module measuring 82 by 50 mm and a full-sized one at 82 by 80 mm.

Compared to x86 platforms, ARM processors typically have fewer generic interfaces such as PCI Express, however, they offer other

Norbert Hauser from Kontron and Catherine Wu from ADLINK with the new standard for Low-Power Embedded Architecture Platform COMs. interfaces that are typically intended for a specific device category.

The definition of a new standard targeting ARM and SOC devices means developers can avoid using specifications that are an awkward balancing act between an x86 feature set and lean ARM or SOC I/Os. Two camera inputs conforming to the MIPI standard such as Camera Serial Interface (CSI) enable video based applications to be implemented without additional controller components. Products adhering to the standard can incorporate advanced features such as access rights via face recognition and contactless operation by means of gesture control.

The requirements of future applications will differ from today’s x86 implementations. For example, in the case of storage technology, SD media is overtaking classical hard drives and solid-state drive (SSDs).

To cater for this trend, the platform can include up to three SDIOs allowing up SD media to be attached directly to the carrier board.

SDIO also allows easy connection of Wi-Fi and 3G/4G modules. Further device class specific peripheral components such as Bluetooth and Zigbee for networking, as well as gyroscope and GPS sensors can be attached using I²C interfaces.

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) is also included for the connection of touch screens.

“The definition of a new standard means developers can avoid using specifications that are an awkward balancing act between x86 and ARM”

The unit also includes up to three USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit-Ethernet and up to three PCI Express lanes.

The latter are useful for efficiently designing LAN and/or WLAN

enhancements onto the carrier board or for FPGA implementations via software definable field bus connections. The modules also include LVDS, 24-bit RGB, and HDMI video connection. Future designs are covered with the inclusion of an embedded DisplayPort.

The Low-power Embedded Architecture Platform is able to support all ARM relevant operating systems: in addition to Windows CE 6 and Windows Embedded Compact 7 (WEC7), Linux-based operating systems on ARM products are also supported. VxWorks support is available for TI processors. n Further information: Kontron can be contacted on au.kontron.com.

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o date, ARM-based applications were usually associated with application specific development and full custom designs.

This is partly due to stringent requirements regarding the cost and energy efficiency of the finished product.

But now, a new Computer-onModule (COM) specification - from German embedded computer manufacturer Kontron - targets applications based on ARM and SOC technologies and promises to minimise the “realisation effort” for such embedded applications.

Named the Low-power Embedded Architecture Platform, the Computer-on-Module (COM) specification offers standardised building blocks that will also cover existing, often proprietary, applications that are specifically tailored to individual ARM processors.

A new standard is required specifically for these architectures, because the requirements of ARM applications are often different from that of x86 technology.

The platform has been developed for low-power mobile applications such as handheld devices and tablet computers as well as compact HMIs and Box-PCs with scalable, long-term availability and robustness.

www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 21

FEATURE

DESIGN CORNER

Accounting for losses in PoE sy Power-over-Ethernet allows up to 15.4 Watts through the network cable.

But how much of that power is actually available to connected devices?

P

ower-over-Ethernet (PoE) is a technology that uses CAT 5 Ethernet cable to provide power to equipment connected to an Ethernet network. A remote security camera, for example, communicating with a central supervisory centre via an Ethernet link, needs no additional cable to carry the current it needs to operate.

PoE - governed by an IEEE standard, 802.3af - allows for a maximum load of 15.4 W for connected equipment. (A more recent version, IEEE802.3at, provides higher power for applications such as security cameras that need to pan, tilt and zoom, but this article will consider just the former version of the standard.)

But for engineers looking to use PoE to power networked equipment it’s important to understand that not all of those valuable Watts are available to the device.

Minimising losses Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a powered device connected to PoE power-source equipment (PSE) through a DC-to-DC converter.

Assume that the PSE output is at the 44-V minimum determined by the specification, the PSE is connected to the powered device (PD) through a 20 Ohm cable, the PD front-end uses a transformer of 1 Ohm resistance, there is a further 1 Ohm series resistance from switching and the PD average current is 0.35 A (see Table 1). Calculating the power losses with such an arrangement results in the figures detailed in Table 2.

It can be seen that the wattage available to the PD has dropped from the original 15.4 W to 12.16 W. The majority of the losses are due to the distribution cable.

But that’s only part of the story.

The remaining power still has to pass through the DC-to-DC converter and as these devices aren’t 100 percent efficient there will be a 22 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

further drain. That makes it important to choose the correct converter topology to minimise the losses. A 90 percent efficient single-stage converter, for example, converting a 48-V input to a 3.3-V output suitable for the PD’s silicon would provide 0.9 x 12.16 W = 10.9 W. But today’s modern electronics often require multiple output voltages. The converter topology shown in figure 2 comprises a system of switching and linear DC-to-DC converters supplying four different output voltages. Let’s see what effect this topology has on the power available to the PD. To evaluate the model, start at the right-most regulator, calculate their loss and total input power, and then use these results to evaluate the next regulator to the left. For simpli-

Figure 1: PoE system schematic fication, it’s assumed the switching supply has an efficiency of 90 percent and there’s no bias current for the linear regulators.

If IOUT = application load current, and PIN_next_stage = power drawn by a

downstream converter, then the loss for a linear regulator is: POUT = (VOUT x IOUT) + PIN_next_stage PIN = VIN x (POUT/VOUT)

FEATURE

ystems

Figure 2: Example converter topology Table 1: Analysis of PoE distribution and front-end losses (part 1)

supplied by PoE will be sufficient. n Further information: This article is an extract from a white paper titled “Estimating available application power

for Power-over-Ethernet applications� written by Martin Patoka of Texas Instruments. www.ti.com

Table 2: Analysis of PoE distribution and front-end losses (part 2)

PLOSS = PIN - POUT And for a switching regulator: POUT = (VOUT x IOUT) + PIN_next_stage PIN = POUT/Efficiency PLOSS = PIN - POUT Table 2 summarises the calculations and shows that the total loss for the converter is 4.05 W. The resultant power supplied to the PD is just 8.11 W (from an original supply of 15.4 W).

In summary After the IEEE802.3af standard functions are considered, 12.16 W is the maximum power available for other electronics; the regulator losses then need to be taken into account before the power available to the powered device can be calculated.

The topology described is an example only, and there are more efficient alternative topologies that would provide a greater output for the PD. But the example demonstrates how the engineer can perform an accurate calculation to ensure the power available to his device www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 23

FEATURE

DESIGN CORNER

RF transceiver design Designing an RFID transceiver involves meeting a diverse set of goals before time and money run out, and competition is fierce. Shayan Farahvash, Yanxia Wang and Li Kang from RFMD write

W

E were tasked with creatinga a faster version of the our popular ML5800 transceiver, a high integration, 5.8GHz Frequency Shift Keyed (FSK) unit that combines all the frequency generation, receive, and transmit functions required to realise a digital cordless telephone or similar device.

The chip uses a two-port GFSK modulator, which, while complex, enables precise modulation without the power amplifier pulling effects that other designs suffer from.

For our new device, we needed to increase the GFSK data rate from 1.5 Mbit/s to 4 Mbit/s, but a complete chip redesign would cost millions.

We also had to deal with the highly complex foundry production processes, and modifying the multiple interacting layers would be costly. So the aim was to reuse as much as possible, with minimal changes to the mask set.

This meant no changes to transistors and limited changes to resistors, which translated to changing filter coefficients but not the types of filters or the number of coefficients: we wanted to change just the modulation path into our VCO (top row of the block diagram of Figure 1).

Thus, we had a highly constrained design problem. We could only alter very limited parameters, since changes to one part of the system affects the others.

Figure 1: a block diagram for the modulator part of the ML5800.

Figure 2: a Simulink model, with the Spectre co simulation coupler block.

Slow and traditional We faced additional challenges because we had optimised our design process for accuracy, not for quickly iterating through design alternatives.

Our traditional way of designing mixed-signal chips relied on very low-level and detailed device simulations using languages like Verilog (digital) and SPICE (analogue).

These simulations very accurately predict the behaviour of the device, but are very slow. The workflow was 24 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

further hindered by the amount of importing, verification and exporting needed between the simulation tools.

Facing a highly constrained design, we wanted to quickly evaluate multiple alternatives. This meant finding a quicker workflow for building and evaluating our mixedsignal choices.

System-level design seemed like a solution to this challenge. We had three basic requirements: analogue

and digital design abstractions, analogue and digital in the same model, and co simulation.

Design abstractions take digital engineers away from circuit elements and parasitics, into the abstract world of logical system description, allowing very efficient system building work. We wanted something similar for the analogue parts of our designs.

Of course, a more abstract

analogue model, while faster, also reduces simulation fidelity. We would ideally use abstract simulation to find a ballpark solution, and then use detailed low-level simulation to reach our final solution.

We also wanted to simulate our complete analogue-digital device in one environment, for a holistic view of the system, and avoid extensive inter-tool verification processes.

That said, we had invested a lot in the accurate Verilog and SPICE models for the ML5800 transceiver and we wanted the system-level design process to link into these existing tools and models and use them for our new device design.

Going faster through abstraction When we looked at ease of integration with our existing tools, there was one clear winner: MathWorks Simulink. It provided the systemlevel design features we needed and seamlessly integrated with Cadence Spectre. The link between the system happens via “couplers�,

FEATURE

Figure 3 – A typical set of results from Simulink, Spectre, and the chip itself.

Figure 4 – a die photograph of the new transceiver.

which appear as blocks within the two simulators. To use co simulation, we constructed a model and used these coupler blocks where we want to couple to the other simulator.

At the start of the design process, we didn’t know if we would have to change the analogue, digital, or both parts of the ML5800 design. We knew we wanted to keep the basic structure of the digital filter, multiplier, DAC, interpolation filter, and variable gain amplifier the same.

This just leaves the filter coefficients in the FIR filter, interpolation filter, and variable gain amplifier.

Design constraints meant we couldn’t change the clock frequency, so to achieve the higher data rate of 4 Mbit/s, we had to reduce the number of samples per symbol, making the task of the interpolation

filter much harder. Changing filter coefficients to increase the cut-off frequency introduces quantisation noise and distortion, but we had to stay within design specifications.

We went through many design iterations as we tried different filter settings and evaluated their performance. We built a rapid design process based on the assumption that changes would be mostly in the analogue filter settings.

We created a digital model of the system in Simulink and combined it with an analogue model in Spectre.

The Spectre model re-used our previous analogue designs for the ML5800. This gave us Simulink’s speed for the digital portion of the system, coupled with Spectre’s detailed analogue simulation.

Our design process was straight-

forward. We made changes to the analogue filter coefficients in Spectre and ran a Spectre-only simulation to verify that the analogue portion of the system gave the results we expected. Next, we ran an analogue-digital system-level simulation in Simulink, co simulating with Spectre. At the system level, we examined properties such as distortion to check that the system as a whole was within specification.

We also checked that the candidate design was realisable on silicon.

Our system-level approach meant we could look more closely at our failed iterations, providing insight into the analogue-digital interface and a deeper understanding of why the system as a whole behaved in the way that it did.

After several design iterations, we found a design that worked well within specification. About 80% of our effort had gone into changing the filter, and about 20% into changing the filter parameters of the variable gain amplifier, but we also found we needed to change the value of the multiplier in the digital part of the system. We just had to find the right analogue and digital gain settings.

In the end, we found that our Simulink-Spectre co simulation results were within our specifications. We were so confident that we skipped detailed low-level simulations and produced a test chip based on just the results of the SimulinkSpectre simulations. Bearing in mind

the cost of failure, this was a huge endorsement of our new system-level design process. We taped out our design in September 2009.

Better by design Through system-level design and co simulation, our team produced a working solution in a fraction of the time and cost it would have taken using our previous methodology. The redesign work took six weeks – a very short amount of time for such a highly constrained project.

While a lower-level methodology would require all alternatives to be hand-coded before evaluation, system-level design means we can make and evaluate design changes very rapidly. We’re able to locate and diagnose problems much faster than before, giving us a better chance of beating the competition to the marketplace.

The new chip was something of a proof of concept for us. We used this project to work out the kinks in our design process on a highly constrained problem. We’re very pleased with our results and we’re using our new methodology for more complex designs.

System-level design is now an integral part of our design flow. n RFMD was formed in 1991, and is a global company with over 4,000 employees, supplying RF components for a wide range of competitive markets, from cell phone handsets, to cable TV tuners, to wireless networks.

www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 25

PRODUCT FEATURE

DESIGN

Divide and conquer Multicore processors have become a common sight in the consumer and server market, but what about microcontrollers?

T

HE logic behind multicore technology is the ability to engage in multiple operations in parallel. With physics constraining the number of transistors that can be crammed onto microchips, manufacturers are adding on more cores in a bid to multiply performance.

While a multiple core approach has been present within the embedded sector for a some time, early versions tended to feature proprietary hardware and software, catering to very specific tasks.

With the current wave of multicore devices being released by vendors like NXP, Texas Instruments, Renesas, Freescale, Atmel and Broadcom, better documentation and development tools are available, allowing developers to leverage the architecture for their own applications.

Multicore approaches Of course, the adoption of multicore is not without its challenges. For developers, there is the difficulty of working with an architecture which demands strict synchronisation between multiple cores.

For a chip with multiple cores to be effective in delivering parallel processing benefits, each processor has to be able to work on the most up-to-date data.

While the cores share the L2 cache, it is important for changes in the dedicated L1 cache of each core to be properly synchronised – when one core updates its L1 cache, the others need to recognise a change has occurred and refresh their L1 caches with the new data from the L2 cache. Hardware implementations such as snoopers are designed to ensure this happens.

Adding to the complexity are the many ways of programming multicore microcontrollers.

Commonly deployed is symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), where the 26 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Many multicore MCUs take the asymmetric multiprocessing approach, allowing cores to undertake separate and specialised tasks.

multiple processors are connected to a single shared main memory and are controlled by a single operating system (OS) instance.

This spreads the processing load amongst the cores.

For applications requiring predictable responses and Real Time Operating System (RTOS) services, asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) is the alternative. This approach uses separate specialised processors for different processes. The processors may be similar or different in architectures and functionalities, and the tasks are assigned for optimal performance from each processor.

Such a distributed approach

means different processors can run different operating systems. For example, an RTOS may be used by one core, while another utilises Windows or a Linux-based application for general tasks.

Your mileage may vary While a lot of focus is placed on the architecture of multicore microcontrollers, performance gains with multiple cores are dependent on the code being run on them.

Multicore devices are now fairly common, and they are usually backed up by development and programming tools, the idea being that system integrators can develop

their own uses for the chips.

Of course, applications involving a lot of parallel tasks will benefit, but it is important to consider just how applicable multicore is to a particular task.

The embedded market is full of legacy applications. Keep in mind that some single-core applications may not gain enough performance from being ported to multicore to be worth the effort of doing so.

For example, some highly sequential tasks which will gain little when processed in a parallel manner, even though they might benefit from the error control afforded by homogenous multicore methods. n

PRODUCT FEATURE

Asymmetrical 2-core MCU

Three independent cores

NXP Semiconductors’ LCP4000 family is the world’s first asymmetrical dual-core digital signal controller architecture MCU with ARM Cortex-M4 processor and Cortex-M0 co-processor.

The LPC4000 allows developers to work on both digital signal processing (DSP) and MCU applications within a single architecture and development environment. A set of configurable peripherals allow users to reduce the need for external application-specific integrated circuit functionality.

The multi-core MCU range is suited for microcontroller designers who want more efficient ways to tackle math-intensive algorithms and DSP designers who feel constrained on peripheral availability.

The Cortex-M4 processor combines the benefits of a microcontroller – integrated interrupt control, low power modes, low cost debug and ease of use – with high-performance digital signal processing features such as single-cycle MAC, single instruction multiple data (SIMD) techniques, saturating arithmetic, and a floating point unit.

The MCU has an optimised 256-bit wide Flash memory architec-

INFINEON Technologies’ AURIX family of 32-bit multicore MCUs feature up to three independent 300MHz TriCore processor cores.

The MCUs are used for critical automotive control applications.

The AURIX architecture is said to accelerate development of safety systems compliant with the Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) D standard, while the multiple cores a performance boost.

Up to two TriCore CPUs are used in diverse lockstep architecture combined with safety technology such as safe internal communication buses and a distributed memory

The LPC4000 brings the advantage of developing DSP and MCU applications within a single architecture.

ture which reduces power consumption with minimum memory fetches while maximising the performance of the Cortex-M4 processor. The LPC4000 features a dual bank architecture that provides up to 1MB Flash for safe re-programming and flexible memory partitioning.

The Cortex-M0 co-processor handles the data movement and I/O handling duties. This allows the Cortex-M4 to concentrate fully on crunching numbers for digital signal control applications.

NXP Semiconductors (03) 9524 3170 www.nxp.com/microcontrollers

The multicore MCUs are used for critical automotive controls.

protection system.

Infineon 03 8878 0188 www.infineon.com/aurix

Single device, many uses TEXAS Instruments’ C2000 Concerto dual-core MCU series combines the C28x core and control peripherals with an ARM Cortex-M3 core and connectivity peripherals.

The 32-bit MCUs have a clearly partitioned architecture that allows both real-time control and advanced connectivity in a single device.

The first of the units, the Concerto F28M35x, has a real-time control subsystem based on the

C28x core with floating point and the Viterbi Complex Math Unit. The host communication subsystem is based on Cortex-M3, with connectivity peripherals such as Ethernet, USB On-The-Go, dual CAN, and multiple serial communication ports.

Speed performance can be tailored to different applications.

Texas Instruments 1800 999 084 www.ti.com/concerto-lp-pr

Available from Hi-Q Electronics Limited

SUNON FANS

sales@hiq.co.nz NZ 0800 800 293

www.hiq.co.nz

U Large stock range U AC and DC axial fans U DC brushless blowers

www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 27

NEW PRODUCTS

Optical modulation analyser AGILENT Technologies’s N4392A is the industry’s first fully integrated optical modulation analyser for testing 40/100G coherent transmitters and analysers.

Agilent says it used advanced integrated circuit technology to create the first optical modulation analyser with the form factor of amid-size oscilloscope, while having a laptop-size 15 inch analysis screen for clear display.

The instrument and allows engi-

neers to characterise components like in-phase quadrature modulators and integrated coherent receivers designed for 100G transmissions.

While offering the same features as other analysers, the N4392A offers four differential RF input channels to help engineers characterise integrated coherent optical receivers.

Other features of the Agilent N4392A optical modulation analyser include full support of 32-Gbaud modulation formats, 63-Gs/s real-time sampling and optical and differential RF inputs in one instrument.

Agilent Technologies 03 9210 5555 www.agilent.com/find/N4392A

New chassis improves uptime NATIONAL Instruments has introduced the NI PXIe-1066DC 18-slot chassis with added redundant, hotswap and front-access capabilities.

The high-availability features improve the system-level mean

time before failure (MTBF) and mean time to repair (MTTR) of PXI systems in demanding, mission-critical test and control applications.

The NI PXIe-1066DC chassis has redundant hot-swappable DC power supplies and fans facilitate maximum system uptime, front-accessible power supply and fan tray provide flexibility in position-restrictive applications and Ethernet ports for remote chassis health monitoring.

SATA Express combines the SATA (AHCI) software specification with the PCIe host interface, allowing new, faster devices which retain backwards compatibility.

CI Express is being rapidly adopted by technologies requiring greater I/O speed. The Summit analyser platforms now supports SSD decodes as standard features, ensuring quality and performance for PCIe-based SSD development.

National Instruments 1800 300 800 www.ni.com

SATA Express support on PCIe analysers

Vicom Australia 1300 360 251 www.vicom.com.au

Low PIM DIN connectors

LECROY says its PCI Express protocol analysers now support testing and debugging of recent PCIe solid state drive (SSD) host interfaces, including SATA Express’s SATA Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI).

ROJONE is now distributing Pasternack Enterprises’ 7/16 DIN low Passive Intermodulation Distortion (PIM) connectors.

The connectors are suited for applications where intermodulation distortion is a concern.

The connector body is brass with white bronze plating, providing

electronics design & assembly expo Design, Develop, Manufacture with the Latest Future Solutions!

Supporting Publication

In association with Register Online Now

www.electronex.com.au +61 3 9676 2133

Australian Technology Park Sydney 12 – 13 September 2012 28 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

greater durability and corrosion resistance. The contacts are goldplated with no nickel undercoat.

The low PIM 7/16 DIN connectors are fully interchangeable with all 7/16 DIN connectors designed to IEC 169-4, CECC 22-190, DIN 47223and VG 95250 specifications.

Rojone is the Australian distributor for Pasternack Enterprises.

Rojone 02 9829 1555 www.rojone.com.au

Electrical connector module for robotics TREOTHAM Automation has released the new MIXO electrical connector module for robotics.

The insert allows use of contacts for coaxial cables or fibre optic.

Optical fibre solutions are recommended as protection against electromagnetic interference and the realisation of galvanic separations on BUS applications of Profinet/ Ethernet fields.

The new connectors can be used in applications from -40°C up to +85°C even in case of frequent temperature variability. They are suited for industrial applications.

The inserts can be mounted in CX. TF/TM frames and in the relative enclosures for industrial applications to achieve IP65/66/68/69K degree of protection.

It is also possible to achieve mixed connectors, which use both electrical and optical connections.

The MIXO series is supplemented with a new, high density, 25 poles insert. It can be used simultaneously with other MIXO modules, due to the presence of lock tabs between the inserts, allowing easy installations..

Treotham Automation 02 9907 1778 www.treotham.com.au

Test platform for A/V interfaces ROHDE & Schwarz’s new video test centre (VTC) is a platform for testing audio and video interfaces during product development.

The modular platform provides real-time protocol testing of consumer electronics’ audio/visual interfaces, ensuring compliance with the relevant standards.

The solution provides realtime protocol and media content analysis and can be modified and upgraded at any time to meet the requirements of specific test environments.

The platform accommodates up to eight test modules. Separate options are available for the common high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) and for the mobile high-definition link (MHL) interface.

An analogue audio/video interface module and a modulator module for broadcasting standards are currently being developed.

Rohde & Schwarz 02 8874 5111 www.rohde-schwarz.com.au

AC yoke kits RUSSELL Fraser Sales has released the JAY-PAC and JAYSON-PAC mains-free AC yoke kits from Johnson & Allen.

The kits come with an electro-

Low-noise voltage regulators TEXAS Instruments has introduced a new class of voltage regulators which delivers very low noise 1-A switching power supply without sacrificing efficiency and power performance.

The TPS54120 QuietSupply regulator reduces switching noise by up to 99 percent, compared to other power conversion devices.

The regulator also helps maximise the performance of precision data converters and amplifiers and sensitive clock distribution circuits used in applications, such as telecommunications, test equipment, and high-end audio and video equipment.

Key features and benefits of TPS54120 include 99-percent noise reduction: 9 μVRMS at 100 Hz to 100 kHz, and 17 μVRMS at 100 Hz to 1 MHz; a high power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of 83 db at 10 kHz, 70 dB at 100 kHz; and deisgn flexibility, with synchronisation possible external clock from 200 kHz to 1.2 MHz. The units also take a wide input voltage range of 4.5 V to 17 V, adjustable output of 0.8 V to 6.0 V. Texas Instruments Australia 03 8540 5200 www.ti.com/mcu

magnet with coiled extendable flex leads, and 12V battery pack.

The AC yoke kits provide a fully self contained AC Field output, and offer an excellent “skin effect” which is superior to “pulsed DC”, and out-performs existing DC portable units in defect detection.

Both kits utilise the new AC-Eazy powerbelt, and a high powered lightweight lithium battery weighing 1.250kg is used to power the custombuilt design of wave form generator.

Russell Fraser Sales 02 9545 4433 www.rfsales.com.au

Mini-ITX SBC ICP Electronics has announced IEI Technology’s KINO-DH610, a miniITX single board computer with HD

graphics engine.

The unit has an LGA1155 socket for Intel Core i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron processors. It features up to 16GB of 1333/1066MHz dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM, with SO-DIMM support.

The KINO-DH610 has RS-232, RS-232/422/485, 10 x USB 2.0, a TPM pin-header, 4 x SATA 3Gb/s, 2 x SATAS power (5V) connector, a 6-pin header for PS/2 KB/MS, and PCI and PCIe x 1 expansion slots.

The SBC supports dual display by DVI/VGA/HDMI, and features the IEI One Key Recovery solution to allow rapid OS backup and recovery.

With low power consumption, it is an eco-friendly option when coupled with a fanless embedded system.

ICP Electronics Australia 02 9457 6011 www.icp-australia.com.au www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 29

NEW PRODUCTS

SPOTLIGHT

According to Tektronix, the new connection’s four channel 10.3 Gbps I/O architecture is the most significant advancement in PC I/O design ever introduced into the consumer level electronics industry.

The Tektronix test solution includes a 20GHz DSA70000 series oscilloscope, 12.5 Gb/s BSA series BERTScope, and a DSA8300 series sampling oscilloscope.

The solution serves the needs of Thunderbolt physical layer testing and spec conformance validation.

TekMark 02 9911 3888 www.tekmark.net.au

Budget-priced 32-bit MCUs STMICROELECTRONICS has announced the STM32 F0, a new family of microcontrollers combining enhanced features with the ultra-low-power ARM Cortex-M0 embedded processor.

The budget-priced MCU brings the powerful STM32 ARM architecture to applications which would traditionally utilise 8- or 16-bit solutions. It runs the Cortex-M0 core at 48MHz, alongside communication and control peripherals, enabling new functions and capabilities.

Up to seven timers are included, and the series also integrates a hardware kernel for Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) included in the HDMI interface. Additional on-chip features include an analogue block comprising a 12-bit 1Msample/s Analog/Digital Converter (ADC), a 12-bit Digital/Analogue Converter (DAC), and two programmable input/output analogue comparators tightly coupled with the DAC. STMicroelectronics 02 8338 1172 www.st.com

forms per second acquisition rate. In addition, DS4000 series can search and navigate within up to 200,000 triggered waveforms with mask tests.

Features include Rigol’s UltraVision technology and a 9 inch WVGA display with intensity grading and real-time waveform recording and waveform visualisation and replay.

Digital oscilloscopes EMONA is now distributing Rigol Technologies’ new DS4000 series digital oscilloscopes.

Available in 8 different models, the DS4000 series features bandwidths between 100MHz and 500MHz, sample rates up to 4GSa/s and 2 or 4 analogue channels.

The scopes can help find system glitches with 140 million pts of memory depth and 110,000 wave30 JUNE 2012 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Emona 1800 632 953 www.emona.com.au

Test solution for Thunderbolt TEKTRONIX, distributed by TekMark in Australia, has announced a comprehensive test solution for next-generation Thunderbolt connection technology.

Thunderbolt is a new high-speed, multi-protocol I/O technology which provides data and display transfer.

Terminal/conductor labeller PHOENIX Contact has released the Bluemark CLED to easily label standard UniCard materials which are used for marking terminals, conductors and devices.

The Bluemark CLED system uses UV technology which reduces power use by 90 percent, and features solvent-free fluid and low-noise operations; it is also fast, being able to print up to 10,000 labels per hour.

The printer fluid exposed to highintensity UV light generated by 24 LEDs located on a 1cm sq surface, allowing quick drying. The mark is high wipe- and abrasion-resistant.

The solvent-free labelling fluid makes the Bluemark system suitable for clean room applications and ensures that labelling is extremely scratch-resistant and smear-proof.

The range of UniCard materials is available in various versions, colours, and sizes for all applications involving labelling terminals, conductors, and devices.

Phoenix Contact 02 9524 4455 www.phoenixcontact.com.au

RF amplifier WESTEK Electronics is now distributing Teseq’s new Class A RF amplifier, the CBA 1G-275.

The broadband, 275W, 56dB gain amplifier operates in the bandwidth from 80MHz to 1GHz. It has 25W higher output compared to its predecessor, the CBA 1G-250, and is smaller, with a 6U 19 inch case.

The Teseq amplifier uses gallium arsenide semiconductor technology to provide low distortion linear performance across the frequency range. Typically harmonics are below 20 dBc. This is important because antennas generally have lower gains at low frequency, and thus require increased power.

The Teseq CBA 1G-275 amplifier is specifically designed for operation under mismatch conditions even when faced with open circuit or short circuit conditions.

The gallium arsenide technology overcomes the relatively low compression characteristics and low efficiency associated with silicon amplifier components.

Westek Electronics 1300 937 895 www.westek.com.au

Renewable power supply modules MORNSUN, distributed by DLPC in Australia, has released the PV series power supply modules for renewable energy sources.

The modules provide a stable DC voltage to the system, with undervoltage, over-current, over-voltage, short circuit protection.

They feature an input voltage of 200-1200 VDC, and operational temperatures of -40°C to +70°C. DLPC 07 3823 4844 www.dlpc.com.au

NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au

Industrial panel PC ADVANTECH has released the IPPC-8151S industrial panel PC with a 316L stainless steel front panel.

The unit has a 15 inch XGA TFT LCD, Intel Celeron M 1GHz CPU, 1MB L2 cache, 1GB DDR2 memory and chemical resistant touchscreen.

When modified with the fully sealed enclosure, the panel PC is completely protected against water damage and dust, achieving a NEMA4 (IP66) grade of protection.

To satisfy the stringent standards required in food, beverage, clinical, chemical or pharmaceutical applications, Advantech offers the IPPC8151S designed with 316L stainless steel, food-safe sealing materials and an anti-corrosive and chemical resistant touchscreen.

316L stainless steel is more resistant to corrosion than 304, and IP66 protection provides waterproof protection, making it easy to clean or disinfect even with high pressure water. Fanless design and NEMA4X/ IP66 waterproof and dustproof protection can ensure reliable operation in most hazardous environments.

Expansion is possible through one CompactFlash slot, one PCI expansion and one SATA HDD. Advantech 03 9797 0100 www.advantech.net.au

Lower distortion for IGBT modules SEMIKRON will be introducing 3-level topologies to its range of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT).

3-level technology boasts a lower distortion factor and reduced filtering requirements. This is important in applications where a very clear output voltage and output current waveform is needed, such as solar inverters and UPS. The technology will be in SEMIKRON’s, MiniSKiiP, SEMITOP

ASD Technology is a premier supplier of quality RF/ Microwave, Millimeterwave, Fiber Optics and Satcom components and subassemblies. Our products include Amplifiers, Antennas, Attenuators, Adapters, Cable Assemblies, Circulators, Coaxial Connectors, Directional Couplers, Filters, Fiber Optic Links, Isolators, Limiters, Mixers, Noise Sources, Oscillators, Phase Shifters, Power Dividers Combiners, Splitters, Synthesizers, Switches, Terminations, Waveguide Components and more.

KOLOONA INDUSTRIES www.koloona.com.au Koloona Industries is a wholly owned Australian Company who have been Importing and Distributing Electrical & Electronic Components for 30 years.

Koloona specialise in High Quality Switching and Protection Components with many supportive products to complete the range. We pride ourselves on our ability to offer quick service and full technical and application support.

SEMIKRON 03 8561 5600 www.semikron.com

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To advertise email sarah.bateman@reedbusiness.com.au

ASD TECHNOLOGY www.asdtech.com.au

and SKiM 4 IGBT modules, across a range of power classes.

The baseplate-free SKiM4 module features rated currents of between 200A and 600A. As much as 250kVA can be achieved without parallel connecting several modules together.

For smaller currents, baseplatefree, spring-contact, solder-free mounting IGBT MiniSKiiP modules are available. These modules are intended for rated currents of between 75A and 200A and reverse voltages of 650V, enabling powers of up to 85kVA. The SEMITOP module is 12mm high and soldered on to the Power Circuit Boards for use in applications with current ratings of 20A -150A.

http://au.element14.com FARADAY PTY. LTD. www.faradayshielding.biz Faraday Pty Ltd is a specialist electromagnetic shielding company, which provides design, installation, and testing of shielding systems for Industrial, Medical and Defence EMI requirements. Faraday represents pre-eminent international companies including ETS Lindgren (EMCO / RANTEC / Holaday), AR Worldwide (Amp Research / AR-modular rf), Solar Electronics and TESEO.

MORNSUN www.mornsun-power.com Australia & New Zealand Distributor DLPC Pty Ltd (07) 3823 4844 Email: keith@dlpc.com.au

Victorian Distributor Fairmont Marketing (03) 9878 3077 Email: nick@fairmontmarketing.com.au

New South Wales Distributor EMT Electronics (02) 9703 5425 Email: schubert.tan@emtelectronics.com.au

http://nz.element14.com element14 is a high-service distributor of technology products, services and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance and repair, supported by a global online engineering community to collaborate, research and keep projects on the fast track, right from the start.

LEMO www.lemo.com High quality circular connectors with the LEMO designed push pull mating.

Harsh environment connectors rated to IP68. Plastic connectors for the medical industry. Coaxial, triaxial, quadrax, multi contact and fibre optic connectors. LEMO is accredited with ISO9001:2000 and all connectors are RoHS compliant.

Soanar Plus www.soanarplus.com RS Components www.rsaustralia.com www.rsnewzealand.com Easy access to over 350,000 Electronic, Electrical and Industrial products from over 2,500 of the world's leading manufacturers. Online users have instant stock availability and access to over 100,000 free datasheets. Delivery is free for all orders over $125 in Australia and New Zealand.

Soanar Plus offers an on-line ordering service with more than 7,500 plus parts in stock and ready for next day delivery. Our site offers real-time pricing and availability, broken pack quantities, side by side comparison and datasheets. This website complements our FREE catalogue.

www.electronicsnews.com.au JUNE 2012 31

NOMINATIONS CLOSE ON 1 JULY 2012

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FUTURE AWARDS Electronics News 8th annual awards program.

The Electronics News Future Awards is the prestigious electronics industry awards program that recognises excellence in the Australian electronics industry. If you or your company have developed products that help enable modern lifestyles within the following categories, then be sure and nominate yourself today!

Be recognised for your contribution to the Australian electronics landscape

2012 CATEGORIES Enter online www.electronicsnews.com.au/awards

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