TimesTech June 2019

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ROBOTICS

&Automation A Combined Concept to Reality

The promise of

Gallium Nitride (GaN) in

Power Electronics

Micromodules Redefine DC/DC Power Regulators The Basics of

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@JitendraSagar15

Automating India 'To a mind of what human has created to what the mind a possibility can augment' these words while evolving the world of Robotics & Automation needs a mull. Before designing and compiling stories we at Times Tech did give a vivid research on what is possibility of Robotics & Automation and future embedding the Indian ESDM sector and technology corridors. This time the stories have been kept at sheer prominent dedicating to Robotics & Automation. We believe that fate of less human intervention and critical growing manufacturing business processes need the 'metal hand' to forge the future.

Service robots for professional use are experiencing a technological revolution. A rapid proliferation in robot capabilities – driven by innovations in machine learning, artificial intelligence, adaptive computing and vision systems – is causing the market to nearly triple in value. The combined market value for 2019 through 2021 for professional service robots is estimated to be worth $37 Billion, according to the International Federation of Robotics World Robotics 2018 Service Robots report.

A major factor in the strong future of service robots for professional use is the introduction of the Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model of ownership. By leasing either the cloud computing capabilities or the robot itself, the capital barriers to adoption are effectively minimized. As investment increases and technology advances, ample opportunity awaits those interested in finding success in this dynamic, emerging industry.

A collaborative robot, or cobot is a type of robot intended to physically interact with humans in a shared workspace.

Collaborative robots are experiencing rapid market growth in this sector of the robotics industry. According to Markets and Markets research, the collaborative robots market is expected to reach a value of $4.28 billion by 2023, growing at an astounding 56.94% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The primary driving force behind this growth is a consistently decreasing price. Many collaborative robots are available for under $45K, making them a viable solution in a wide range of applications, inside and outside of the factory setting, for companies big and small.

For Robotics & Automation industry we have an extraordinary situation that has to be dealt extraordinarily.

We sincerely hope you enjoy reading the June issue of TimesTech.

Jitendra K Sagar Editor jitendra@timestech.in

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June 2019

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Editor Jitendra K Sagar Director Marketing Ashok Kumar Manager Corporate Communication Arun Gautam Sub Editor Palak Kalra Silpi Sarkar Sales & Marketing Imran Saifi Design & Print Production Shailender Kumar Web Development Kashish Kalra

ROBOTICS

&Automation A Combined Concept to Reality

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08 Tech News 10 Power

Amit Sethi

NFC for energy management

STMicroelectronics

Regd. Office: #24, 1st Floor, City Plaza, Railway Road, Hapur (Delhi-NCR)-245101 Editorial enquiries E: edit@timestech.in

The Basics of

Embedded Design

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for Rapid Microcontroller-Based Prototyping and Development

Rich Miron, Digi-Key Electronics

Events/Media Partnership Ashok Kumar E: ashok@timestech.in

20 Embedded Embedded 'Electronics of Future'

22 Power Micromodules Redefine DC/DC Power Regulators

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Bill Schweber, Mouser Electronics

27 Case Study

Contributing Authors Amit Sethi | STMicroelectronics Rich Miron | Digi-Key Electronics Bill Schweber | Mouser Electronics Wei Deng | Infineon Technologies AG Andrea Bricconi | Infineon Technologies AG

A Manufacturing firm in Kutch Eliminates Data Spoofing with Matrix Weighbridge Integration Solution

28 Power The promise of Gallium Nitride (GaN) in Power Electronics Enhanced efficiency and power density at a lower cost point

Wei Deng Infineon Technologies AG

Andrea Bricconi Infineon Technologies AG

31 Power Design Build High Energy Density Power Supplies with Integrated eGaN Power Stages

35 Test & Measurement Anritsu make GCF Test Platform Approval Criteria with 5G RF Conformance Test Next Generation Integrated Network Analyzers Launched by Keysight

37 New Products

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Meetings International

3rd International Conference on

Applied Physics and Mathematics July 29-30, 2019 | Bangkok, Thailand v About Applied Physics 2019:

Organizing Committee Members

Applied Physics 2019 which is scheduled during July 29-30, 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand addresses key issues that is the spine of technology and innovations impacting our lifestyle.

Physics Meetings aims to improve the cognizance by claiming world through perception, experimentation and hypothesis and solves engineering and medicine problems through exploratory standards. Similarly, Mathematics proves the description of nature and universe done on the basis of the principle of physics.

Mathematics Conference aims to apply the mathematical models to different fields such as science, engineering, business, computer science and industry.

Dariusz Jacek Jaobczak Koszalin University of Technology, Poland

S Arungalai Vendan Dayananda Sagar University, Bangalore, India

Osman Adiguzel Ankara University, Turkey

Ozen OZER

Conference Highlights • Asymptotic Techniques • Polymer Synthesis

kirklareli University, Turkey

• Dark Matter Physics

• Quantum Technology • Applied Physics and

Important Dates:

• Energy • Statistical Physics

Mathematical analysis

• Superconductivity

• Incompressible Navier-

• Harmonic Analysis

Stokes Equations

Early Bird: April 15, 2019 Registration Open: February 25, 2019 Abstract Submission Open: February 25, 2019 On Spot Registration: July 29, 2019

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Gaia’s Smart Feedback System takes user input and sends it to the cloud through the cellular network. A secure cloud application collects and analyzes this feedback to produce statistics for each node on the network. This data can identify problems in real time and be used for incentive-based payment schemes based on user feedback. The system is designed around ST’s STM32 microcontroller technology that acts as the brain of the system and uses a range of other ST components for power management, battery charging, and data storage.

“Our mission at ST is to encourage and support the start-up ecosystem and this collaboration with Gaia is an example of fostering innovation to create real value,” said Vivek Sharma, Managing Director India, STMicroelectronics. “Gaia’s Smart Feedback System is one result of ST India’s initiative to provide both the right environment and the technical know-how to promote start-ups in the Electronic Design domain.”

“With Gaia’s hardware design team working tightly with ST engineers, we have had a deep, enriching, innovation-led collaboration with ST India,” said Sumit Chowdhury, CEO, Gaia Smart Cities India. “In developing the Smart Feedback System, we have leveraged the STartUP Lab at ST Noida and guidance from local and visiting ST technical teams, including access to and connections with European markets, clients, and channel partners through ST.” Gaia has already supplied 4000 Smart Feedback System nodes, including more than 300 at airports across India, as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The product powered by ST technologies is manufactured and sold directly by Gaia.

STMicroelectronics Collaborates with Gaia to Advance ‘Clean India’ Mission Launches Citizen Smart Feedback System to assess effectiveness of public utilities at Smart Cities India 2019 Noida, India STMicroelectronics announces its collaboration with Gaia Smart Cities Solutions to develop a citizen smart feedback system for the Swachh Bharat Mission. The joint effort aims to enable the smart transformation of enterprises and cities through real-time feedback collected at multiple points in the product and service delivery chain.

The initial collaboration between ST and Gaia focuses on collecting feedback from users about the cleanliness of the public utilities offered by the government. The versatile solution can also be adapted to gather feedback from users at transport hubs (airports, railways, metro stations), facilities (warehouses, hospitals, retail stores), and in public spaces, shopping malls, and restaurants.

Sk Telecom And Microsoft Sign Deal To Focus On 5g, Ai And Cloud SK Telecom and Microsoft signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in areas such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud. Park Jung-ho, president and CEO of SK Telecom and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella signed the agreement. SK Telecom and Microsoft will combine their technological capabilities in areas such as 5G, AI and cloud to jointly promote Internet of Things (IoT) business including smart factory; AI technologies and services; media and entertainment services.

Microsoft and SK Telecom established a partnership in February 2019 to launch Microsoft Azure with Metatron, SK Telecom’s self-developed big data solution. SK Telecom and Microsoft will work together to further upgrade the service and implement joint marketing activities.

Microsoft and SK Telecom will offer AI-powered products and services, including consumer solutions such as smart speakers and other offerings for the enterprise by putting together the capabilities of SK Telecom’s AI platform NUGU

08 June 2019

with Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant.

SK Telecom will adopt Microsoft 365 to empower employees, to create a modern workplace and promote a new way of working among employees. SK Telecom will expand Microsoft 365 to other ICT companies under the SK Group umbrella.

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with an initial amount of Rs 1,000 crore.

The dedicated fund, proposed in the department’s 100-day Action Plan, is separate from the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), which was set up in 2016 under the Small Industries Development Bank of India. The Rs 10,000 crore fund of funds makes downstream investments in venture capital and alternative investment funds that in turn invest in startups.

GOVT Plans Rs.1,000 Crore Fund for STARTUPS in Priority Areas To boost startups, DPIIT has recommended regulatory changes aimed at promoting venture capital and angel investments, especially from Indian investors. The government proposes to introduce a slew of reforms and another fund to boost startups that are focussed on priority areas such as rural healthcare, water and waste management, clean energy solutions, cybersecurity and drones. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) plans to set up an India Startup Fund

Array Networks to Supply Networking Hardware for Agra

Smart City

The US-based Array Networks has bagged the Agra smart city project to supply networking hardware solutions and would work in a consortium with state-run Bharat Electronics Limited and IL&FS for the historical city’s surveillance.

In September 2016, Agra has been selected for the smart city with Rs 2,133 crore makeover spend. Michael Zhao, Array Networks global chief executive informed that adding that the company is bidding for more smart city projects countrywide, and working with front-runner partners.

The company, however, has entered into an alliance with the two— BEL and IL&FS for the Master System Integrator (MSS) deployment for Integrated Control System (ICCC), for a total of Rs 282.65 crore worth of initiative. Array’s pie is estimated to be close to $5 lakh (Rs 3.5 crore).

Array intends to work with telecom service providers in the country, and already has a partnership with Reliance Jio Infocomm.

Zhao said that India’s business contributes to nearly 20% to the firm’s overall business, and is also looking to increase the country’s headcount by fivefold largely in the R&D domain.

Array Networks has been majorly banking on the Narendra Modi government-led ambitious smart city initiative in addition to telco business in the country and has recently invested $2 million for setting up an Array Centre for Technology and Innovation (ACTI) in Bengaluru.

The new centre would enable Array Networks to create custom-made solutions for Indian enterprise customers as well as to launch newer products in a shorter time span.

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Startups focussed on other technologies like the IoT and AI will also be included gradually, the official added.

To boost startups, DPIIT has recommended regulatory changes aimed at promoting venture capital and angel investments, especially from Indian investors.

The likely changes would be in addition to those announced in February aimed at freeing investors and entrepreneurs from the so-called angel tax. The government increased the exemption threshold and kept investments by listed companies of certain minimum size, venture capital funds and non-residents in startups outside the ambit of the tax to bring relief to companies registered as startups with the department.

Panasonic Partners with Tesla; To Install 1 Lakh EV Charging Stations By 2024 In a big move towards tackling vehicular pollution, the Japanese electronics giant Panasonic is planning to install over one lakh charging stations across 25 cities in India. The charging stations will be set up by 2024 to power over 10 lakh vehicles.

The charging stations will be installed at places like malls, parking areas, petrol pumps and other specially developed zones. Panasonic has partnered with American electric vehicles maker Tesla for the project.

Some of the cities where the charging stations will be built include Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Amravati.

The company maintains that it wants to connect with an individual electric car owner, logistics companies and fleet owners to function in a green way. The move is expected to cut vehicular pollution in a drastic way.

While Panasonic will control the core network and technologies, the expansion will be made operational through the franchise model.

The company also said that it will pitch telematics solution to utility providers as well as manufacturers of vehicles, equipment to better understand user pattern. It will also help them to calibrate products and services accordingly.

June 2019

09

Power

NFCFor

Energy Management Amit Sethi Technical Marketing Manager, MDG Group, STMicroelectronics

Natural Gas, Water and the Electricity are the prominent resource of energy which is used for domestic, commercial and industrial purpose in the whole world. As the resources are limited, a precaution should be taken to minimize misuses and wastage. A contactless NFC standard based prepaid metering could be the solution to overcome these situations.

This prepayment system can control efficiently the supply of energy in meters installed in the client's site. The basic and common principle of prepayment in energy meters is to buy energy credit in advance and to inform the prepaid meter in some manner. This allows the consumer to decide on how much energy they want and how much to consume. These types of meters give the consumer a greater control over

10 June 2019

their electricity bills. After the prepaid energy is consumed, the meter gets disconnected automatically, until the energy balance is re-loaded through the NFC functioning.

The main parts of this NFC prepaid system are the payment infrastructure like the vending stations, a meter to measure the accumulated energy and the NFC element, which is used for loading the energy balance. Vending stations, having the NFC compatible vending units or the smart phones, connected to the utility server, can refresh the energy credits into the NFC card of corresponding amount paid by the consumer. Then, the user must approach the card to the energy meter. These energy meters have the NFC module to read and write the data from the NFC card. At that moment, the meter’s NFC interface recognizes a new balance request

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Power

and after doing a mutual authentication it starts transferring the new energy credit from the smart card to the meter. The received credit is deducted depending on energy usage and when this credit reaches zero, the meter disconnects the load from the mains. If the user wants to use further energy from the mains, they must carry out a further prepayment.

The NFC interface, inside the meter, has the NFC reader/writer, which operates at 13.56Mhz frequency and supports the ISO15693 & ISO14443 protocols.

Depending on the proximity requirement, different NFC cards could be used. Systems with the long range/low data-rate requirements can use ISO15693 cards or IS014443 for the short range/high datarate requirements.

One of the pioneers of RFID and NFC technology, ST offers a comprehensive range, covering all NFC application needs, supported by a rich ecosystem. The devices include NFC / RFID tags, Dynamic NFC tags, NFC / RFID readers & NFC controllers including secure element for secure NFC applications and turnkey solutions. With the ST25 product family, ST offers a complete portfolio of NFC and RFID tag and reader ICs for a wide variety of NFC-enabled solutions. Currently found in contactless payment, access control and public transport ticketing systems, NFC technology is a convenient, alwayson low power short-range wireless link that is driving the growth for convenient pairing, diagnostic readout, data tracking, and parameter setting use cases in Consumer, Industrial, Automotive and Medical applications.

Please visit www.st.com/nfc for more information.

TRAI to go after Fiber Enhancement to aid 5G Rollout The government aims to increase fibre footprint to fivefold by 2022, from the current 1.5 million route kilometers.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is readying to consult industry stakeholders on enhancing the country’s fibre footprint on the backdrop of Narendra Modi government’s ambitious fifth generation or 5G technology push.

Trai secretary Sunil K Gupta told that they are preparing a consultation paper on how to enhance fiberisation to help implementation of 5G in the country.

Gupta added that the regulator would be taking an initial step that includes setting up an agenda for the broader consultation, and that would include current footprint status, existing bottlenecks, and ways and means to increase fiber penetration.

India’s fibre penetration, according to industry estimates is extremely low, and despite 5G technology around the corner, only 25%of the 5 lakh telecom towers in India are fiberised— an essential backhaul requirement for highspeed data network deployments.

The government, as a part of the recently-unveiled national policy, also aims to establish the National Fibre Authority (NFA) but, however, the department of telecom (DoT) is yet to take further steps.

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The government aims to increase fibre footprint to fivefold by 2022, from the current 1.5 million route kilometers.

Trai is expected to come out with a new paper on fiberisation in the next quarter.

With immense data demand and 5G which is expected to arrive by 2020, the need for fiberisation in India has increased manifold. Telecom service providers are now also turning to local cable operators.

June 2019

11

Cover Story

ROBOTICS

&Automation A Combined Concept to Reality

A

utomation is real and the technology with it which is shimmering across the industry is Robotics.

Robotics is an extension of technology dealing with the design, construction, operation and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing.

Robotics Technologies cater to the automated machines, which can take place of the humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans in appearance, behavior and cognition.

12 June 2019

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Cover Story

The Robotics Trends in 2019 Here are five trends Micropsi Industries believe will make a difference in 2019: 1. Adoption of artificial intelligence in factories and manufacturing will accelerate. The industry has invested in sensor and data technology over the past years, and now it is time to apply advanced analytics and AI to factories. Another development is the application of AI for self-driving cars and other autonomous devices. AI will be applied to drones, boats or other ground-moving vehicles -- in agriculture, mining, exploration, or places where autonomous vehicles can add value.

2. New companies will enter the robotics market resulting in more robots, cheaper machines and larger variety. The number of companies developing and marketing robots will increase significantly in 2019, especially in Germany, China and the U.S. In 2019 industrial manufacturers will have a wide choice of machines -- some will be taskspecific and others will be generalist robots. Key factors will continue to be reliability, safety, speed, precision and ease of use. As with the early personal computer market, robots will be used for applications the manufacturers did not imagine. There will not be a common API for robots as was the case for early PCs, at least not in 2019 or 2020. However, robots today are seen as a programmable platform, and the key to new applications is the growing third-party robotic software market that is comparable to the PC sector 20-30 years ago.

3. Demand for sensors will increase. There is growing recognition that companies will be investing in a new type of infrastructure. For example, driverless cars will need more laser scanners as sensors to navigate streets and roads, particularly in snow that may cover lane markings as well as in industrial settings, offices and homes. Some of these sensors will help use electricity more efficiently, while others will help robots navigate and get the information it needs to help humans. Cameras will support precision and control tasks. Sensors such as laser scanners can also be used as virtual cages that can shut down robots before encountering humans. And capacitive skins that are touch sensitive can be wrapped around robots and stop robotic movement around humans, should that be necessary.

4. Logistics will continue to be a hot space. Many companies are developing promising products across all parts of the logistics value chain, including self-driving trucks, intelligent warehouses and service robots. Robots used for packaging and pick-and-place robotics are pushing automation further. The combination of sensors to capture data and to help robots and self-driving vehicles navigate a factory floor will ultimately bring down costs, while improving quality as repetitive processes are automated. Study suggests that with more data, executives can find new ways to make workflow improvements and reduce as much of 68 percent of errors caused by humans. Automating factories has led to new jobs in German factories, and Micropsi expects that to be the case in other countries.

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5. Vertical robots will be on the rise. Evidence of robots building houses and designing rocket parts to robot chefs that are cooking dinner and making pizzas are on the rise. In 2019, we will be entering the age of automated kitchens and unmanned robots, all designed to improve efficiency and real-time customer experience -- changing the future of industrial automation.

Opportunities, Challenges, and the Future of Robotics in India

Robots are quickly moving out of controlled environments into homes and public spaces. In fact, researchers are also developing artificial intelligence systems that will allow robots to make decisions autonomously.

With the advancement of science and technology in India, robotics is entering the industrial space rapidly. As entrepreneurship opportunities and employment are opening up for tech enthusiasts who desire to enter this growing and exciting field, future of robotics in India seems bright and promising. India, like the rest of the world, has understood that skill, speed, accuracy, and consistency of robots are unmatched by humans.

Opportunities: Robotic technologies are extensively used across a range of sectors such as atomic energy, space, metals, textiles, automotive, and manufacturing industries. Besides, health sector in India has also initiated the use of robotic technology widely in operation theatres and even in rehabilitation centers to augment the quality of life.

Robotics has proved to be a growing field and many avenues have opened in recent past. Many experts believe that robotics is best suited for industrial automation which includes manufacturing, packaging, and assembling. In fact, robotics and automation have the potential to revolutionize the industrial scenario by promising to bring the same result as computer systems have brought in services and other sectors.

Robotics in automation sector has proved to improve productivity, safety as well as the quality of the end product while allowing the human operators to take up more valueadded roles. In fact, the effects of robots replacing jobs in large numbers are already felt. Over a period of three years,

June 2019

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Cover Story

14 June 2019

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Cover Story

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June 2019

15

Embedded Design

The Basics of

for Rapid Microcontroller-Based Prototyping and Development Rich Miron, Applications Engineer Digi-Key Electronics

W

hile the Python language has made programming more accessible, it was designed to run on PCs and other machines with plenty of processing, memory, and peripheral resources. For embedded systems that face tighter resource and interface constraints, an optimized version for microcontrollers, called MicroPython, has become popular. So much so that the open source community has been adapting MicroPython to specific microcontrollers and dev boards to support serious microcontroller development.

This article will introduce one such adaptation, Adafruit’s CircuitPython. After a brief discussion of Python, as it compares to the classic embedded development language C++, the article will discuss how Python has evolved to MicroPython and now CircuitPython. It will then describe the process of writing software using CircuitPython before introducing several dev boards from Adafruit and other vendors that support the CircuitPython environment.

The reason for Python The original Arduino dev board and its many successors have been very popular microcontroller dev boards for maker, hobby, and student projects, as well as for embedded prototypes. However, the Arduino IDE and programming language are based on C++, a

16 June 2019

powerful but complex compiled language with an odd-looking syntax and rigid punctuation rules that novice programmers find off-putting.

Python is a newer programming language. It is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented language that combines remarkable programming power with a very clear syntax. It is known for its writability and readability, as well as for its simpler syntax. These characteristics combine to reduce the number of programming errors and make code reuse easier, and so speed software development.

The language’s interpretive nature provides immediate programmer feedback that encourages experimentation and rapid learning.

For these reasons, Python is now the first programming language that many students and makers learn.

One drawback is that Python was designed to run on PCs and larger machines with plenty of RAM, large amounts of mass storage, and a comprehensive user interface with a keyboard, a large display, and a mouse. It was not designed to be an embedded programming language.

However, a lean, efficient implementation of the Python 3 programming language, called MicroPython, has emerged that was specifically created and optimized to run within a microcontroller’s constrained resources.

Recognizing MicroPython’s promise as an

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Embedded Design

embedded programming language, the open source community has been adapting it to certain microcontrollers and dev boards to support serious microcontroller development. For example, Adafruit has developed its own flavor of MicroPython, called CircuitPython. Designed to simplify experimentation and learning to program on low-cost microcontroller boards, it is tailored for the microcontrollers and the hardware resources available on Adafruit’s dev boards. CircuitPython comes pre-installed on several of Adafruit’s dev boards and is installable on others.

Differences between C++ and Python Given the momentum and presence of the Arduino IDE and the many Arduino dev boards now available, it’s reasonable to ask why a version of Python might be needed for embedded development. A comparison of the languages provides the answer.

C++ is an extension of the older C language with objectoriented extensions. Even with these extensions, C++ code is somewhat cryptic because it retains the C syntax that was originally created by Kernigan and Ritchie at Bell Labs during the late 1960s and early 1970s. C was intentionally designed to be mapped easily into machine instructions for a target processor. This bias towards the needs of the machine over those of the programmer is apparent in the language’s syntax. Because commercial microprocessors didn’t appear until 1971, C was originally developed for minicomputers. C compilers for microprocessors gradually evolved into useful tools during the 1980s. C has always been a compiled language, as has C++.

Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup started developing C++ in 1979. His first textbook on the language appeared in 1985. C++ did not become a standard programming language until 1998. Like C, Stroustrup’s C++ language originally targeted larger computers. The Arduino IDE (integrated development environment), developed in 2003, made C++ useful for microcontrollers.

Python is also an object-oriented language. It was developed

by Dutch programmer Guido van Rossumin and first released in 1991. Python’s syntactical design emphasizes code readability—for humans—which is one key difference between Python and C++. Writability, closely associated with readability, is another trait in Python’s favor. Writability means that Python is generally credited with allowing programmers to write applications more quickly, which encourages experimentation and can shorten prototyping and development cycles.

A second major difference is that Python is an interpreted language, much like the Basic programming language that first appeared for minicomputers in the 1960s and truly blossomed in the 1970s with the introduction of microcomputers. Like Basic, the interpretive nature of Python encourages experimentation, and therefore learning by dispensing with the edit/compile/download/run development cycle used for compiled programming languages. However, unlike Basic, Python is a modern, higher level, objectoriented language that incorporates half a century’s worth of advances in computer science that have appeared since Basic was first developed.

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For example, Python’s variables need not be declared or typed before use. Programmers need not worry whether a variable should be an integer or a floating-point number. The Python interpreter figures it all out and makes the appropriate choices at run time.

Two more differences between C++ and Python are string handling and punctuation. Many programmers find string handling in C++ to be obtuse and confusing. Python’s string handling is much simpler and very reminiscent of Basic’s simple and well-liked string handling capabilities, long considered a strong point for Basic.

Similarly, C and C++ punctuation—especially curly braces ({})—are another frequent stumbling block for new and even experienced programmers. It feels like there are always an odd number of curly braces in a program, which means the programmer must dig into the code to find where the missing curly brace should go. Python has no such finicky punctuation, but it does use indentation, which gives Python code its readability.

The origins of MicroPython Like C and C++, Python was originally designed to run on larger computers. Consequently, the language required too many resources to be used for programming microcontrollers. Australian programmer and physicist Damien George therefore developed a version of Python called MicroPython that could run on a microcontroller’s more limited resources. Arduino dev boards were early hardware targets for MicroPython.

MicroPython’s interactive nature centers on its command interface, formally called the REPL (read-eval-print-loop) window, which usually operates over a serial connection that connects a host PC to a microcontroller dev board. The REPL interface strongly resembles the Basic command line interfaces of the 1970s and 1980s. It accepts user inputs (single expressions or statements), evaluates them, and then either returns results to the user through the REPL window or performs the command embedded in the statement.

Using the REPL interface, it’s possible to query a variable, toggle an I/O line, or send a string of characters to an attached peripheral. The line is interpreted and immediately executed as soon as the enter key is pressed. That’s the nature of an interpreted language.

This MicroPython feature facilitates exploratory programming and debugging and is one of the aspects of MicroPython that make the language easy to use for both beginners and experienced programmers. The REPL user interface supports faster development cycles compared to the Arduino IDE’s classic edit-compile-run-debug cycle. Even experienced programmers benefit from being able to experiment with new peripheral types interactively using MicroPython’s REPL user interface.

CircuitPython support for dev boards Each microcontroller has a unique set of peripherals, and each dev board adds to that list. These peripherals require support libraries. This is true for both the Arduino IDE and for MicroPython. In addition, there are many add-on peripheral devices, like Adafruit’s 1655 NeoPixel addressable RGB LED,

June 2019

17

Embedded Design

that also require library support.

•

To provide a higher degree of support, Adafruit has developed its own version of MicroPython, called CircuitPython, to meet the specific requirements of several of the company’s inexpensive microcontroller dev boards. The company has also converted many peripheral libraries from its immense Arduino collection to CircuitPython libraries, already providing a large and growing number of peripheral support libraries for CircuitPython.

3501 Gemma M0 is about the size of a US 25 cent piece (a quarter) and can be powered from its USB port or a separate battery port (Figure 3)

Adafruit designed a line of microcontroller dev boards explicitly to support CircuitPython. These include: •

3333 Circuit Playground Express with ten addressable, controllable RGB LEDs (Figure 1)

Figure 3: Adafruit’s 3501 Gemma M0 is about the size of a US 25 cent piece and can be powered from its USB port or a separate battery port. (Image source: Adafruit)

•

3403 Feather M0 Express is a dev board that features a small breadboard area for custom circuitry (Figure 4)

Figure 1: Adafruit’s 3333 Circuit Playground Express features ten addressable, controllable RGB LEDs. (Image source: Adafruit)

•

3500 Trinket M0 dev board that measures only 27 mm x 15.3 mm x 2.75 mm (Figure 2)

Figure 4: Adafruit’s 3403 Feather M0 Express dev board has a small breadboard area for custom circuitry. (Image source: Adafruit)

Figure 2: Adafruit’s 3500 Trinket M0 dev board measures only 27 mm x 15.3 mm x 2 mm. (Image source: Adafruit)

18 June 2019

These four Adafruit microcontroller dev boards are all based on Microchip Technology‘s (formerly Atmel‘s) SAMD21 microcontrollers with native USB support. However, CircuitPython supports more than Adafruit’s dev boards and the SAMD21 microcontroller. Versions of CircuitPython for other dev boards with other microcontrollers are also starting to appear, including Adafruit’s 3406 Feather NRF52 and Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52-DK dev boards, both based on Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52832 microcontroller.

Additionally, Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840-DK dev board (Figure 5), based on the company’s nRF52840 microcontroller, is also supported by CircuitPython. Both of

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Embedded Design

the microcontrollers upon which these three boards are based have Bluetooth low energy (BLE) integrated on chip, with appropriate software support.

Figure 6: Adafruit recommends the use of an open source programming interface called Mu. The Mu screen is split into a code window where editing takes place, and the REPL control and monitor window where the programmer controls the dev board’s CircuitPython interpreter. (Image source: codewith.mu/en/tutorials/1.0/adafruit)

Figure 5: Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840-DK dev board has integrated BLE support. (Image source: Nordic Semiconductor)

Developing with CircuitPython Adafruit has taken a unique approach to putting CircuitPython on dev boards designed to directly support the language. Plug one of these boards into a host PC’s USB port and the board appears as a disk drive to the PC. This disk drive’s root directory shows the critical CircuitPython files including the interpreter, the user program, and a folder containing the library files. This arrangement makes it easy for the host PC to access the dev board using its existing file system and drivers.

The CircuitPython user interface on the host PC requires a free, downloadable, open source editor and REPL interface.

Adafruit recommends an open source application called Mu shown in Figure 6. The Mu screen is split into a code window where editing takes place, and the REPL control and monitor window where the programmer controls the dev board’s CircuitPython interpreter.

By typing a program into the code window and clicking on Mu’s “Save” button, the code is saved on Adafruit’s CircuitPython dev boards in the SAMD21 microcontroller’s large, on-chip flash memory. All of the CircuitPython code resides on the dev board in the microcontroller’s flash memory. Remember, the CircuitPython board looks like a disk drive to the PC, so this is not an unnatural act from an operating system perspective.

Conclusion The Python language offers programmers many benefits including interactive programming, experimentation, and debugging. It has a simplified, more human-like language syntax, with no need for variable declarations or typing, and no finicky punctuation. MicroPython is a variation of Python 3 that makes microcontroller programming in Python possible.

As shown, Adafruit has adapted MicroPython to derive CircuitPython for direct hardware support to further simplify experimentation and learning and accelerate software development. CircuitPython already supports several lowcost microcontroller dev boards based on Microchip’s SAMD21 microcontrollers, as well as other dev boards based on Nordic Semiconductor’s BLE-enabled nRF microcontrollers.

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EMBEDDED

'Electronics of Future' A fairy-tale somewhat stated in 1950s feeding more electronics is today underlined as Industrial Revolution stating Automation and Digitization as more than just a perspective. With content wooing the Young Minds, does those non-theoretical electronics design schematics can still be fallen in love with?

From being a gig to develop usual circuits using breadboard to the world of migrating and simulating in the world of cloud.

Traditionally, an assembled PCB was needed to run the hardware design to test it for reliability, to program it, and to verify it works as desired. While Moore’s Law might fade away, experts think that silicon will still play a prominent role well into the foreseeable future.

Less Power and More Love Researchers alongside semiconductor companies are looking for new ways of achieving higher performance in computers while using less power. Power consumption has emerged as the prime directive in chip and system design.

Be it any smart devices intending to automate or be hybrid

20 June 2019

and resilient, chips and electronic designers are paving new milestones in producing. IBM, Google, Intel, and others are in a race to create quantum computers with enormous processing power that would dwarf silicon transistors, using quantum bits. Just hope giving more power to human intelligence and their capabilities to explore the computer world we keep power as more love than friendly. So while this is still about power, performance and area, the balance has shifted.

M&A – Metaphor & Affair in a Rapid World The microelectronics industry will continue to advance in providing solutions for embryonic smart-electronic products for self-driving or driverless cars, smart city infrastructure, Internet of Things, and related products. These products will require essential competencies in manufacturing smart and durable electronic systems, advanced packaging materials, and packaging technology for extreme environmental and high performance conditions.

Accenture last year reported, Traditional organic growth is

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June 2019

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Power

Micromodules Redefine DC/DC Power Regulators Bill Schweber Mouser Electronics

Designing a basic, fairly good direct current to direct current (DC/DC) power regulator, sometimes called a power converter or supply, is not hard using today’s components, reference designs, tools, and resources. The designer simply has to combine a suitable controller integrated circuit (IC), metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and their drivers, and some passives, and the design is all done, in theory, to convert and regulate a DC input voltage while also providing DC output voltage (Figure 1).

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Power

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Power

Figure 3: Each

ÎźModule includes the necessary inductor, MOSFET, regulator

IC, and all supporting components in a highly integrated, fully specified package.

(Source: Linear Technology)

24 June 2019

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Power

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June 2019

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Power

each μModule device comes with an LTspice® model (Figures 9 and 10) and detailed support documentation.

Finally, each μModule is fully qualified via Linear Technology’s stringent electrical package and thermal reliability tests.

Redefining the Decision Framework For DC/DC regulators under 2A, the MIY choice is sensible: Use available LDO, switcher ICs, and reference designs.

However, above that threshold, MIY is risky, time-consuming, and hard to assess, especially with the stringent regulatory mandates on efficiency and EMI/RFI. Above that range, there is a better solution that is easily justifiable. The LTC/ADI μModule series—with 15 product families, 100 power products, and 30 package options—allows the Design team to cross a “design and qualify a power regulator” task off the “To-Do” list. Using one or more of these units simplifies implementation, verification, and manufacturing by integrating a high-performance regulator function in a compact package that is fully specified, validated, and certified. The result is a BOM and time-to-market savings, plus a risk-free peace of mind.

As the fate of the world are in the labs of the designers!

Figure 8: Each μModule has an available demo board, user manual, layout guidelines, and additional documentation. (Source: Linear Technology)

Figure 9: Modeling of the regulator as part of a system is critical, so LTSpice models and simulations are available for designs such as this dual 13A/single 26A regular design. (Source: Linear Technology)

Figure 10: The simulation of the model shows key characteristics, such as efficiency and power loss analysis over the entire operating range. (Source: Linear Technology)

26 June 2019

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Case Study

A Manufacturing firm in Kutch Eliminates Data Spoofing with

Matrix Weighbridge Integration Solution A multi-division and multi-location conglomerate in Kutch (Gujarat, India), engaged in manufacturing, trading, exporting and supplying a finest assortment of Roofing Accessories Roofing Sheets, Metal Coils, Roofing Accessories, Metal Roofing Sheets, Coated Roofing Sheets and Tiled Sheets for Roofing has trusted Matrix for providing security solutions Project Highlights: Ÿ VMS Software with Inbuilt Weighbridge Application

Module: SATATYA SAMAS PLT Ÿ IPC Channel Wise ANPR/LPR License (ANPR1)

Cameras used: Ÿ 2 MP Varifocal IR Bullet Camera with 2.8-12 mm Lens-

SATATYA CIBR20VL12CWS Ÿ 2 MP Fixed Lens IR Bullet Camera with 3.6 mm LensSATATYA CIBR20FL36CWS

Business Scenario and Challenges The Company was using conventional Weighbridge system which performed basic functionalities. This tradition system had certain limitation:

Integration. Matrix Weighbridge Integration solution provides the following functionalities: Snapshots Ÿ Vehicle Number Snapshot (ANPR) Ÿ Driver Snapshot (Evidence)

Challenges:

Ÿ Material Snapshot (Auditing)

Ÿ Data spoofing due to manual system

Ÿ Weighbridge Snapshot (Avoid Data Spoofing)

Ÿ Lack of centralized solution for multiple branches

Evidence Record

Ÿ Dependency on more than one system

Ÿ Safeguard Evidence

Ÿ Lack of evidence for auditing purpose

Ÿ Bookmark Video Recordings

Solution Offered

Evidence Receipt

Looking at all the challenges that the company was facing, Matrix offered an optimized solution with Weighbridge

Ÿ Periodic Report Generation

Ÿ Print Evidence Record

Benefit Ÿ Client will be able to track in-

bound and out-bound material movement by capturing the details of respective material weight. Ÿ Enables the client to make

easy comparison of weights between supplying plant and receiving plant with the help of captured screenshots. Ÿ Record weight of the material

and then use the data to post good's receipts, production bookings and dispatch documents, etc. Ÿ Limits Weighbridge Vendor dependency by providing interoperability without depending much on other APIs.

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June 2019

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Power

The promise of

Gallium Nitride (GaN) in Power Electronics Enhanced efficiency and power density at a lower cost point

Andrea Bricconi Head of Business Development Automotive GaN Infineon Technologies AG v

v

v

As energy costs rise and consumers demand ever more efficient technology, the power electronics sector is constantly challenging the way things are done and seeking new solutions that will meet the very challenging needs of future designs.

While advanced topologies and circuit configurations have delivered some benefit, returns from this activity are diminishing and leading manufacturers are looking to make advances in the fundamental materials that are used to create semiconductor devices.

In this technical article, Infineon Technologies will look at the new wide bandgap (WBG) materials – in particular

28 June 2019

Wei Deng Senior Product Marketing Manager, High Voltage GaN, Infineon Technologies AG GaN – and discuss how they will fundamentally change power electronics.

The need for WBG materials in power electronics There is hardly an area of power electronics that is not touched by the need for greater power efficiency, smaller size, lighter weight, lower cost – or all of these together.

Rising energy costs have been one key driver in this area and regulations and standards have required higher efficiency, especially at lower power levels. As more applications become battery-powered, encompassing everything from portable devices to vehicles, consumers have demanded greater run-time necessitating greater efficiency to make the

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Power

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Power

With this highly detailed modelling based upon proven models, product specific input and a detailed understanding of the customer quality goals and application environment, Infineon can confidently offer its CoolGaN portfolio with product lifetimes that exceed the expected lifespan of semiconductor devices in a variety of industrial and consumer applications.

GaN Applications CoolGaN will find its way into numerous applications where power management or conversion are needed. However, the greatest benefits will be achieved in applications that require operation at the leading edge of performance, or where Si and/or SiC are simply unable to do the job, for technical or cost reasons.

In data centers, space is always at a premium and as operators try to wring more performance out of every cubic inch, CoolGaN comes to the fore delivering the highest performance with low losses. As cooling measures are reduced, both within the system and within the building, higher power density achieved by GaN-based power supplies allows more computing power to be installed within the same volume of space. In the telecom world, where remote station maintenance makes the size and weight of power units a critical factor, CoolGaN is the natural choice for this sector.

But GaN will also find its way into lower power applications.

Wireless charging is one such application, requiring high power densities and cool operation to allow the charging transmitter to be conveniently embedded in small spaces.

Laptop and notebook manufacturers are continually developing smaller, more portable models and the same goal is being applied to the adapter / charger which can appear large in comparison. Again, CoolGaN helps designers to meet their goals in this demanding application.

In future, CoolGaN will certainly migrate to more applications.

Infineon is exploring multiple areas where the benefits of CoolGaN will create a competitive advantage including solar energy, industrial power, computing and domestic appliances. In the rapidly growing automotive market, electric vehicles will see GaN adoption over time in key functions such as on-board chargers (OBC), HV and 48V DCDC. GaN will also enable key functions for autonomous cars (e.g. lidar). Infineon is looking into this segment deeply, focusing on the key work packages to close the quality gap towards automotive grade devices and solutions.

The future for CoolGaN Looking to the future, many GaN based devices are expected to enter the market. Infineon will reinforce their market leading position with the broad launch of 400 V and 600 V enhancement-mode CoolGaN™ high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) and a Si-based gate driver IC. The initial portfolio will include switches offering RDS(on) values as low as 70 mΊ and feature thermally-advanced packaging including Infineon's TO-LeadLess (TOLL) packaging, as well as DSO-20 packages with top- and bottom-side cooling.

Summary Significant future advancement in the performance of power systems will only be delivered by a fundamental change in approach. The gains to be derived from circuit design with conventional Silicon based technologies are limited. GaN technology will clearly help to resolve the often-conflicting goals of high-speed, low loss performance at an acceptable price point, with potential system cost reduction.

Infineon is uniquely positioned in the power semiconductor market, offering Si, SiC and GaN technology and their forthcoming announcement of market leading 400 V and 600 V CoolGaN devices will significantly enhance designer's ability to deliver the compact, high performance power systems of the future.

Figure 3: GaN technology will be adopted first in the applications that will benefit most from its advantages

30 June 2019

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Power Design

High Energy Density Power Supplies with Integrated eGaN Power Stages

Build

Rich Miron Applications Engineer Digi-Key Electronics

H

igh energy density switch-mode power supplies (SMPSs) can accelerate battery charging, reduce the size of solar micro-inverters, and meet the demand of server farm power requirements, all without generating excessive heat. However, engineers are now reaching the performance limits of the silicon MOSFETs and IGBTs that form the primary switching elements of conventional SMPSs. Instead, transistors constructed from enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN)—a wide bandgap semiconductor—can now be used to overcome the switching speed and efficiency limitations of silicon devices.

Previously, the cost and availability of eGaN transistors precluded their use in anything but the most esoteric power supply applications, but wider commercialization has resolved those challenges. eGaN transistors are now an option for a much wider range of applications.

This article describes the advantages of high frequency power supplies based on eGaN switching components compared to those based on conventional silicon (Si) MOSFETs or IGBTs. It then presents guidelines on how to build SMPS designs suitable for applications such as battery charging or server farms using eGaN power stages from EPC, Texas Instruments, and Navitas Semiconductor.

High frequency benefits Conventional SMPSs typically employ switching frequencies ranging from tens to hundreds of kilohertz (kHz). The duty cycle of the pulse width modulation (PWM) of the base frequency determines the power supply’s voltage output.

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The key benefit of a higher switching frequency is a reduction in the size of peripheral components such as inductors, transformers, and resistors. This allows a designer to shrink designs for the same output power, increasing the energy density. In addition, current and voltage ripple at the SMPS output is reduced, lowering the risk of electromagnetic interference (EMI) as well as the cost and size of filter circuits.

However, conventional silicon power MOSFETs and IGBTs switch relatively slowly and dissipate significant power each time the devices switch on and off. Those losses multiply as the frequency increases, reducing efficiency and raising chip temperatures. The combination of slow switching and high switching losses puts a ceiling on the practical switching frequency of today’s SMPSs. Designers can break this ceiling by turning to wide bandgap semiconductors. Of these, GaN is currently the most proven and accessible technology for this application, with eGaN being a more refined version of GaN.

Comparing silicon with GaN GaN offers several advantages over silicon, including several related to the material’s higher electron mobility. Increased electron mobility bestows the semiconductor with a higher breakdown voltage (above 600 volts) and superior “current density” (amperes/centimeter2 (A/cm2)). Another advantage of GaN is that transistors constructed from the material don’t exhibit reverse recovery charge, a phenomenon that can lead to high switch current overshoot (ringing).

But while these characteristics are important to the power

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Power Design

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Power Design

Where: CMIN is the minimum required ceramic input capacitance in microfarads (μF) fSW is the switching frequency in kHz VP(max) is the maximum allowed peak-to-peak ripple voltage IOUT is the steady state output load current dc is the duty cycle (as defined above)

Figure 4: The Navitas NV6113 can be deployed in parallel for half-bridge topologies as shown here. (Image source: Navitas Semiconductor)

EPC, for example, recently introduced its EPC2115, an

(From Reference 1) Performing the calculation with some typical operational values for a high-end silicon-based power stage yields: VIN = 12 volts

integrated driver IC that comprises two monolithic 88 mΩ, 150 volt eGaN power transistors, each with an optimized gate driver (Figure 5). The EPC2115 comes in a low inductance, 2.9 x 1.1 mm BGA package and can run at up to 7 MHz.

VOUT = 3.3 volts IOUT = 10 A η = 93 percent fSW = 300 kHz dc = 0.296 VP(max) = 75 mV Calculated CMIN = 92 µF Repeating the calculation for an eGaN power stage, such as the Navitas device operating at 2 MHz, with slightly improved efficiency and otherwise similar operating conditions, yields: VIN = 12 volts VOUT = 3.3 volts

Figure 5: EPC’s eGaN integrated driver IC includes two power transistors, each with its own optimized gate driver. (Image source: EPC)

IOUT = 10 A η = 95 percent

Designing a power supply using eGaN HEMTs generally follows the same principles as a design using silicon MOSFETs, but the higher operating frequency impacts peripheral component selection.

fSW = 2000 kHz dc = 0.289 VP(max) = 75 mV

Peripheral component selection

Calculated CMIN = 13 µF

To illustrate the impact of frequency on component selection, consider the input capacitor for a simple DC-to-DC SMPS step-down (“buck”) topology.

The reduction in CMIN allows for the use of a smaller component.

Input capacitors reduce input ripple voltage amplitude, and in turn dampen ripple current to a level that can be handled by relatively inexpensive bulk capacitors without excessive power dissipation. Reducing peak-to-peak voltage ripple amplitude to below 75 millivolts (mV) is a good rule of thumb for keeping the currents in the bulk capacitors within acceptable limits. The input capacitor is typically a ceramic device because they have the extremely low equivalent series resistance (ESR) needed to effectively reduce voltage ripple.

To determine the value of the ceramic input capacitor needed to reduce peak-to-peak voltage ripple amplitude to a given magnitude, Equation 1 can be used:

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While rapid switching of eGaN HEMTs is generally advantageous, it also introduces some unique design challenges. Chief among these are issues associated with the very steep slew rate.

Controlling slew rate Rapid slew rate (dV/dt) can introduce problems such as: •

Increased switching loss

•

Radiated and conducted EMI

•

Interference elsewhere in the circuit coupled from the switch node

•

Voltage overshoot and ringing on the switch node due to power loop inductance and other parasitics

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Power Design

34 June 2019

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Test & Measurement

Anritsu make GCF Test Platform Spirent announced TestCenter IQ Monitoring and Analytics Approval Criteria with 5G RF Capabilities end-to-end Solution Conformance Test New Radio RF Conformance Test System ME7873NR Leads World in GCF 5G Compliance Tests Anritsu announce that its New Radio RF Conformance Test System ME7873NR has reached the GCF 5G terminal Test Platform Approval Criteria (TPAC) for the New Radio RF conformance test. GCF defines the reference compliance test required for commercial release of mobile terminals, and Anritsu’s ME7873NR won GCF certification on May 22, 2019 for test cases defined by GCF as a condition for starting approval of 5G terminals using the 5G NR Sub-6 GHz non-standalone (NSA) mode RF conformance test. The test target frequency band is expected to be used in Japan, S. Korea, and China.

The RF conformance tests achieving the criteria are fundamental tests for measuring terminal RF TRx functions and are key items in bringing 5G terminals early to market.

As a result of winning this GCF approval for 5G RF tests, the ME7873NR will help with early rollout of commercial 5G services.

In addition to supporting the 5G NR Sub-6 GHz NSA mode, Anritsu is working on acquiring more certifications for all 5G NR Sub-6 GHz tests, including the standalone (SA) mode.

Moreover, the company has also won approval for tests in the mmWave band expected to enter use soon, assisting both deployment of commercial 5G mobile network services starting later this year, as well as early market entry of 5G mobile terminals.

Product Outline The NR RF Conformance Test System ME7873NR is an automated system for 3GPP TS38.521/TS38.533-defined 5G NR RF/RRM tests. It supports both planned 5G NR Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) modes, while combination with Anritsu’s 5G over-the-air (OTA) chamber (CATR) covers all 5G frequency bands, including not only Sub-6 GHz but also mmWave. The flexible system configuration can be customized easily for the measurement conditions while also supporting LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-A Pro, and W-CDMA RF tests as well as carrier acceptance tests (CAT); an upgrade from the LTE-Advanced RF Conformance Test System ME7873LA to add 5G support offers customers a cost-effective RF test system meeting required test conditions.

Contact: Madhukar.Tripathi@anritsu.com

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Spirent TestCenter IQ – a significant expansion of its end-toend solution for testing, measuring and validating networks and service deployments. The TestCenter IQ platform provides accelerated troubleshooting, reporting and testing cycles through a powerful set of customizable searching, charting, reporting, and event-monitoring tools, all controlled through a new, easy-to-navigate web graphical user interface.

Spirent TestCenter is widely used by the world’s leading organizations and labs to help reduce complexity of network testing through the quick isolation and presentation of issues, saving test engineers valuable support time and costs. With the new TestCenter IQ platform, the integration of error events and results data is an industry first, providing valuable additional insights through consolidated, real-time monitoring and correlation for in-depth analysis of system behavior. The intuitive reporting and fault isolation capabilities help answer questions quickly to accelerate development of new products and services.

The unique, user-editable Health Indicator views show at a glance if error events are encountered during a test.

Combined with powerful and context-sensitive drill-down views, Health Indicators enable users to navigate to specific ports or streams that are exhibiting errors. In large and extremely complex test configurations with potentially thousands of streams, engineers can identify a handful of problem streams or ports in a matter of seconds, to find and resolve issues promptly.

The new IQ platform also enables analysis of historical test data, allowing users to apply new Health Indicators even after a test is completed, thereby providing new insight and analysis of any specific moment. In addition, Spirent has augmented the result reporting capabilities by providing customizable templates for common test reports – another industry first. Engineers can specify which metrics to include and display in their customized layout, or select from intelligent templates based on test type.

“Spirent’s industry-leading test capabilities at extremely high port speeds and scale allow our customers to create test configurations with ever increasing complexity, resulting in significant amounts of dynamic test results data,” said Spirent’s Director of Marketing and Products, Malathi Malla.

“With the addition of IQ, Spirent TestCenter has got even smarter, dramatically enhancing our customers’ ability to visualize and understand the dynamic behavior of their systems under test.”

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Test & Measurement

Next Generation Integrated Network Analyzers Launched

by Keysight New offering delivers reliability and repeatability with bestin-class dynamic range, trace noise and temperature stability Next generation of network analyzers which deliver reliability and repeatability with best-in-class dynamic range, trace noise and temperature stability, as well as a wide range of software applications, enabling engineers to consistently achieve comprehensive device characterization

by Keysight.

High-speed digital, wireless, aerospace and defense, and automotive companies need integrated active and passive components for devices such as cell phones, satellite communications, and 5G base stations, to increase performance and reduce size of end products. These highly integrated devices require highly integrated test solutions that address radio frequency (RF) test challenges while providing advanced functionality and performance.

Keysight’s new E5080B, P50xxA Series, and M980xA Series network analyzers deliver next generation features and performance in benchtop, USB, and PXI form factors. These new analyzers combine built-in pulse generators and modulators, spectrum analysis, and time domain analysis in a single instrument to save time by fully characterizing modern devices without the need for additional test hardware.

Keysight’s new E5080B, P50xxA Series, and M980xA Series network analyzers, which are available now, enable customers to: Ÿ simplify test setups that can be quickly reconfigured and calibrated Ÿ reduce number of parts in a test setup, minimizing maintenance and downtime costs Ÿ accelerate test times and improve throughput with a simple, easily automated setup Ÿ enhance accuracy by eliminating loss from extra connections and external switches Ÿ customize hardware to easily adapt to future test requirements Keysight’s new network analyzers include the following measurement application software: Ÿ automatic fixture removal Ÿ time domain analysis Ÿ basic pulsed-RF measurements Ÿ scalar mixer/converter measurements Ÿ gain compression measurements Ÿ spectrum analysis

36 June 2019

ETS-Lindgren integrates the R&S CMX500 for 5G wireless device test requirements The R&S CMX500 radio communication tester from R&S brings extensive device testing capabilities to the market, covering standalone (SA), non-standalone (NSA), TDD, FDD, FR1 and FR2.

ETS-Lindgren is integrating the R&S CMX500 radio communication tester to offer turnkey 5G test solutions to its customers.

Pairing the R&S CMX500 with ETS-Lindgren’s CTIAcompliant EMQuest Antenna Measurement software and regulatory-compliant TILE!™ emissions and immunity software will provide comprehensive 5G OTA and EMC/EMI test capabilities.

The R&S CMX500 provides support for all 5G NR modes including FR1 (sub6 GHz) and FR2 (mmW), non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA), for both FDD and TDD. The R&S CMX500 works seamlessly with the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester, the industry standard for cellular (LTE, C-IoT, 3G, 2G) and connectivity (WLAN, Bluetooth) testing. The combination of the R&S CMX500 with the R&S CMW500 provides complete coverage of all major commercial wireless technologies.

“5G NR is one of many radio access technologies that needs to be tested on the next generation of wireless devices,” says Jari Vikstedt, Director Wireless Solutions with ETSLindgren. “The ability to upgrade an existing ETS-Lindgren Wireless OTA and EMC/EMI test system to support 5G NR with the simple addition of a R&S CMX500 gives our customers the easiest and most cost-effective way to enable 5G testing.”

“Different from other solutions on the market, the R&S CMX500 was designed from the ground-up to meet all of the diverse testing needs of 5G with a single solution,” says Michael Thorpe, Product Manager, Rohde & Schwarz. ”We are excited to be partnering with ETS-Lindgren to bring 5G NR OTA and EMC testing capabilities to the market.”

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New Products

Laser Positioning with Nanometre Precision

With the AGV-SPO galvo scanner, Aerotech sets standards in the area of high-precision laser technology. Combined with Aerotech’s Integrated Granite Motion (IGM) positioning system, the laser scanner fully demonstrates its strengths.

The higher rigidity also affects the laser positioning accuracy. Since the dynamics are removed from the laser and transferred to the axes of the IGM, the scan clock rates and throughput increase significantly.

If an AGV scanner is integrated into the linear axes of an IGM, this will be done in the A3200 automation platform used as a plugand-play extension of the XR3 highperformance controller and GL4 galvo controller. The coordinates can then be easily programmed. The advantage of this combination is that it can be programmed in XY, and the controller then automatically synchronises with the laser scanner, i.e. the image which the scanner travels through is split into scanner and XY movement. This improves the performance in the structure, errors are avoided and there is no stitching.

Here, the so-called IFOV (Infinite Field of View) function comes into play, so that linear or rotational servo axes are synchronised with the laser scanner.

For more info: aerotech.com

New Software S93070xB Modulation Distortion Launched by Keysight

compromise signal fidelity and reduce the accuracy and repeatability of measurements.

The new S93070xB Modulation Distortion application, which is fully integrated with Keysight’s PNA-X Vector Network Analyzer, enables designers to accurately, repeatably and quickly characterize the behavior of a device under modulated wideband signal stimulus. It leverages state of the art calibration for the best accuracy, offers single connection and single touch for existing vector network analyzer measurements, and provides the lowest possible residual EVM available in the market today.

For more information: www.keysight.com

Renesas Launches RX72T Group to Expand MCUs Options for Servo Control in Industrial Robots

Renesas introduced the RX72T Group of 32bit motor control microcontrollers (MCUs) with dedicated hardware accelerator IP to perform the complex, high-speed computations required for motor control in robots and other industrial equipment. The RX72T Group delivers superior performance, aachieving an 1160 CoreMark score as measured by EEMBC Benchmarks – the highest level for a 5V MCU operating at 200 MHZ. For more information: www.renesas.com.

Rohde & Schwarz to present solutions for sovereign digital airborne communications

Keysight optional S93070xB Modulation Distortion application for the company’s PNA-X Vector Network Analyzer, which delivers a wide system dynamic range resulting in the lowest possible residual error vector magnitude (EVM) on the market today.

Traditional test setups, especially for 5G power amplifiers and beamformer integrated circuit design, verification and production, are complex and can introduce a wide range of sources for potential errors. These include mismatch and cable loss, which

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SOVERON AR and network-capable broadband waveform applications, by Rohde & Schwarz for various deployment requirements is especially important in this regard. The SOVERON WAVE family transmits data and up to two voice channels in parallel, at high speed and with different priorities and secure encryption algorithms.

Within the SOVERON WAVE family, users can choose waveforms that best meet their requirements for range, data rate and

jamming resistance.

Based on the internationally standardized Software Communications Architecture (SCA), SOVERON AR has been developed with strict separation between the device platform and the software. This makes it possible to port waveform applications from other manufacturers and existing waveforms to the radio, providing backward compatibility with legacy radio systems, thus securing future investments.

A big operational advantage of the airborne solution is certification compliance with both military and civil airborne communications standards. This makes SOVERON AR the only SCA based radio that meets the civil certification regulations of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

For more information: www.drohnenabwehr.de/en

Maxim DS28E39 and DS28E84 DeepCover Authenticators for Medical Device Protection Now Stocking by Mouser

DS28E39 and DS28E84 DeepCover authenticators from Maxim Integrated. The secure authenticators enable engineers to add an extra layer of protection to applications such as Internet of Things (IoT) nodes, device management, secure peripherals, and medical sensors now at mouser. The devices provide a core set of cryptographic tools derived from integrated blocks, including an asymmetric ECC-P256 hardware engine (plus a symmetric SHA256 compute engine in the DS28E84), a FIPS-compliant (FIPS/NIST-compliant for the DS28E39) true random number generator, and a decrement-only counter. The devices also include onboard nonvolatile memory (2 Kbits of secured EEPROM on the DS28E39, and 15 Kbits of FRAM on the DS28E84) and offer a unique 64-bit ROM identification number, which is used as a fundamental input parameter for cryptographic operations and serves as an electronic serial number within the application.

The DS28E84 is a radiation-resistant secure authenticator designed for medical devices.

High radiation exposure used in sterilization processes can disrupt and damage the standard nonvolatile memory (NVM) that electronic medical devices use for auto identification, as well as calibration and manufacturing data. The DS28E84 IC’s high

June 2019

37

New Products

radiation resistance up to 50 kilograys allows user-programmable manufacturing or calibration data before medical sterilization, protecting against unauthorized reuse and enhancing patient safety.

For more information: mouser.in

Latest CoolSiC Schottky Diode 1200 V G5 Portfolio from Infineon

Infineon extends CoolSiC Schottky 1200 V G5 diode portfolio. Infineon has announced the release of a TO247-2 package.

The company says it can easily replace silicon diodes for higher efficiency.

The expanded 8.7 mm creepage and clearance distances offer extra safety in high-pollution environments. Forward currents up to 40 A are available to address EV DC charging, solar energy systems, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and other industrial applications.

Used in combination with silicon IGBT or super-junction MOSFET, the CoolSiC Schottky 1200 V G5 diode raises efficiency up to one percent compared to when a silicon diode is used.

For example, for a Vienna rectifier stage or PFC boost stage used in 3-phase conversion systems. The output power of the PFC and DC-DC stages can thus be substantially increased by 40 percent or more.

Other than negligible reverse recovery losses – the signature feature of SiC Schottkys –, the CoolSiC Schottky 1200 V G5 diode portfolio comes with best-in-class forward voltage (V F) as well as the slightest increase of V F with temperature and highest surge current capability.

For more information: infineon.com

New Yorker Electronics Releases UltraMiniature KXF Capacitor Series with Long Life

New Yorker Electronics has released the

38 June 2019

United Chemi-Con (UCC) KXF Series of Long-Life Ultra-Miniature Aluminum Electrolytic Through-Hole Capacitors.

This series is guaranteed at 15,000~20,000 hours of operation for LED Lighting Circuits and other long-life, high-voltage power applications. The KXF Series is rated at a voltage range of 160Vdc to 450Vdc and a capacitance range of 5.6uF to 68µF. It is a polarized, non-solvent resistant type capacitor that is RoHS2 Compliant. The 10mm – 18mm diameter long life, high voltage capacitor (450Vdc) is perfect for areas where more endurance life is needed.

UCC KXF AECs offer a longer life than its predecessor, the barrier-breaking KXJ series. The KXJ was the industry leading family of radial leaded input filters that are used in many high reliability applications such as LED lighting, chargers, buck-boost converters and miniature switching power supplies.The new KXF series endurance is boosted by using a proprietary electrolyte and aluminum foils – optimizing their internal structure. They are ideal for high-reliability applications such as LEDs, chargers, buckboost converters, and miniature switching power supplies.

8-Port Managed Gigabit PoE Switched to G3210P launched by IP-COM

performance network to meet the requirement of Gigabit wireless cabling and HD monitor network for large and medium enterprise, star hotel and large shopping mall.

For more information: ip-com.com.cn

Delta 12V and 48V 600W PMC Series With IEC/en/UL 62368-1 Approvals

Delta Electronics is extending the popular 600W PMC series of panel mount power supply with output voltage 12V and 48V, namely, PMC-12V600W1BA and PMC48V600W1BA. The products come with universal AC input at 85Vac to 264Vac and have built-in active PFC circuit. Both models also have feature Power Boost of 200% (peak load 12V 100A, 48V 25A) for 3 seconds, included the built-in fan speed control and fan lock protections.

The products are certified with IEC/EN/UL 62368-1 approval that will replace IEC/EN/UL 60950-1 for ITE which expires on December 20, 2020. EMI according to EN 55011 (Industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio-frequency equipment) and EMS according to EN 61000-6-2 (Immunity for industrial environments).

For more information: DeltaPSU.com

IP-COM, a global manufacturer and supplier of enterprises networking products and commercial networking solution launched the G3210P, an 8-Port Gigabit Managed PoE Switch with 2-Port SFP. The G3210P has been developed independently to fulfil the requirement of building a high-performance Gigabit Ethernet network. It is good for remote Gigabit wireless cabling and HD monitoring network.

With 8 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet ports and 2 extra independent 1000Base-X Gigabit SFP ports, the G3210P makes users networking more flexible. RJ45 ports 1~8 support IEEE 802.3af PoE (15.4W) or 802.3at PoE+ (30W) standard. It can supply electricity to high-power PDs such as dual band/11AC devices and also can supply electricity and transmit data at the same time to AP, IP Camera or IP Phone via Cat.5e twisted-pair cables.

In addition to these, it provides stronger safety protection system, improved QoS policy, multiple VLAN features and higher availability of maintenance. As an enhanced safety feature, all of the products of this series support IP-MAC-Port-VLAN binding, IP/MAC/ARP filtering, can filter related data which assist to build reliable and high-

Littelfuse TVS Diode Arrays Provide Ultimate Ultra-Low Capacitance Protection

Littelfuse, bidirectional TVS Diode Arrays (SPA Diodes) designed to protect ultra high speed consumer electronics interfaces from damaging electrostatic discharge (ESD) in applications where PCB layout is especially challenging. The SP3208-01UTG, the first TVS Diode Array in the SP3208 Series, is mechanically optimized to deliver consistently ultra-low capacitance (nominally 0.08 pF). The SP3213-01UTG, the first SP3213 Series device, offers an option for highly cost-conscious ESD protection solutions.

Both of these devices are AEC-Q101qualified, employ the same base die, and can safely absorb repetitive ESD strikes at ±12 kV without performance degradation and dissipate 2 A of 8/20 μs surge current.

For more information: DeltaPSU.com

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