EP&Dee no 4

EP&DeeDESIGN & MANUFACTURING APRIL, 2014 ISSUE NO. 4, VOL. 12

E L E C T R O N I C S P R O D U C T S & D E S I G N E A S T E R N E U R O P E

THE EAST EUROPEAN RESOURCEFOR EMBEDDED APPLICATIONS

EP&Dee | April, 2014 | www.epd-ee.eu2

Table of Contents

APRIL 2014

EUROSTANDARD PRESS 2000

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EP&Dee is offering you the chance to win a Low Pin CountUSB Dev kit (#DM164127). The Low Pin Count USBDevelopment Kit provides an easy, low cost way to evalu-ate the functionality of Microchip’s PIC18F14K50 andPIC18F13K50 20-pin USB microcontrollers.

The all-inclusive kit contains the hardware, software, andcode examples necessary to bring a USB design from con-cept to prototype. Created with the USB novice in mind,the kit includes “Getting Started with Microchip’s Low PinCount USB Solutions”, a self-directed course and lab mate-rial designed to ease the learning curve associated withadding USB connectivity to embedded systems.

The kit contains one fully populated low pin count USBDevelopment Board, one unpopulated spare develop-ment board, one PIC18F14K50 Debug Header, and a CDcontaining the user guide, course materials, and productdocumentation.

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DESIGN FEATURES

8 Digital Power Makes Complexity SimpleThe number of mobile broadband subscriptions has grown by around 45% year-on-year reaching 1.7 billion in 2012, according to data released in the latest Ericsson Mobility Report. Additionally, there also is steady progress in the amount of data usage per subscription.

14 Aurocon COMPEC always offers new products

16 Should I Make The Switch? The 8 vs 32-bit Migration DecisionAt element14 we’ve been supporting design engineers through the element 14 Community for 8 years. During this time we’ve witnessed first hand the shift in the microcontroller market, as advances in technology and the launch of 32-bit architecture offers engineers the power to take their designs further than ever before.

20 Balancing the tradeoffs in 3-Phase BLDC motor-control designsBrian Chu of Microchip Technology Inc., compares the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to BLDC motor control.

22 45 seconds to drive your own AC Brushless motorThe dream of any engineer designing a 3-phase inverter for an AC Brushless motor is to quickly get a running solution, tuned to his specific motor. But it is a painful experience to extract the intrinsic parameters of a new custom AC Brushless motor.

26 How Software Enhanced Piezo (SEP) promises more attractive, reliable and effective user interfacesThis article gives an overview of the main factors that need to be considered in selecting a touch solution and highlights some of the most recent technical developments,including the growing interest in how haptic feedback can be incorporated into touch controls

30 Multirate techniques fuel advances in digital power conversionFor decades, analogue technology has formed the cornerstone of power converter topologies. Although most converters use switching techniques and pulsewidth modulation, the implementation circuitry has been predominantly analogue for compatibility at a process level for power semiconductors as well as cost-effectiveness.

32 Expanded dynamic range current measurement

36 Leuze BPS 348i - Bar code positioning system for positioning with millimeter accuracy over distances of up to 10 km.

PRODUCT NEWS

Embedded Systems(p 4 - 7)(p 13, 19, 25, 29)(p 34, 35)

Lighting Solutins /Display(p 38, 39)

Active Components(p 40 - 43)

4038

25

5


Harmonic Chooses AlteraSolution for H.265 4Kp60

Video EncodingAltera's H.265 Enhanced MotionEstimation Engine Paired with ServerSoftware Enables 4Kp60 Performancewith Up To 60% Efficiency Gain vs. x.264

Altera Corporation announced that Harmonic,the worldwide leader in video delivery infra-structure, has chosen Altera's new 4Kp60-capa-ble H.265 enhanced motion estimation engine(EME), a server co-processing solution based onthe company's Stratix® V FPGAs to dramaticallyimprove efficiency and performance ofHarmonic's PURE Compression Engine for thedelivery of 4Kp60 content.

Altera's Stratix V FPGAs, optimized with IP fromAltera and its partners, enable Harmonic's mar-ket-leading encoding technology to deliver4Kp60 real-time performance, while requiringsubstantially less power, rack space and CPUprocessing power than other solutions preva-lent in the industry today. Altera's EME savesprecious CPU cycles by offloading Server-classCPUs, reserving more processing power todeliver industry-leading efficiency and videoquality today, with spare capacity for even moreimprovements tomorrow.

A demonstration of the products delivering4Kp60 real-time performance has been fea-tured in the Harmonic booth # SU1210 andAltera booth # SU11110 during the 2014 NABShow in Las Vegas, April 7-10. The offering uti-lizes Altera's Advanced System DevelopmentKit, built for demanding 4K and even 8K videotransport and processing needs.

ALTERA www.altera.com

Continuing to expand one of the industry’sbroadest portfolios of ARM-based micro-controllers (MCUs), Freescale Semiconductorintroduces the lead families of the new KinetisV series, optimized for motor control anddigital power conversion applications. Tocomplement the Kinetis V series, Freescalealso introduces the Kinetis Motor Suite, abundled enablement tool that helps to maxi-mize motor efficiency while reducing devel-opment cost and time to market. The Kinetis V series’ fast signalacquisition and processingcapabilities, combined with theintuitive Kinetis Motor Suite,provide a unified hardwareand software platform fordeveloping scalable, cost-effective motor control sys-tems. With the Kinetis V series,designers of products rangingfrom low-end pool pumps toadvanced robotics can nowleverage the increased efficien-cy, quieter operation, and improved reliabili-ty benefits of the latest motor technologies.

Kinetis KV4x, KV3x and KV1x MCUsThe KV4x family is the flagship of the existingV series, targeting digital power conversiondesigns, as well as PMSM and ACIM applica-tions requiring high dynamic control.Engineered for optimal performance, KV4xMCUs incorporate a 150 MHz ARM Cortex-M4 processor with floating-point unit execut-ing from up to 256 KB of Flash memory via a128-bit wide interface that minimizes CPUwait states. With up to 30 timer channels –twelve provided by the highly flexibleeFlexPWM – KV4x family devices providemultiple three-phase motor drive capabilitiessupporting dead time insertion, complemen-tary pairing of PWMs, half cycle reload andfault detection. For sensorless motor controlspeed/position detection, two 12-bit ADCssupport sample rates of up to 1.9 Msps andcan be triggered by any module connectedto the MCU’s internal peripheral crossbar,including timers, analog comparators orGPIO. For switched mode power supplyapplications, an eFlexPWM module provides300 picosecond resolution, while the ADCssample at 4.1Msps. This improves real-timecontrol, ensuring that critical timing windowsfor data gathering and system updates aremet. In addition, the KV4x family’s highdegree of feature integration enables up to30 PWM outputs, 38 ADC channel inputs, aswell as CAN, UART and SPI interfaces to behoused in a 100-pin LQFP package. The KV3x family, also Cortex-M4 based, tar-

gets intermediate PMSM applications withCPU frequencies of 100-120 MHz, up to512/96 KB of Flash/SRAM and an optionalexternal bus interface for off-chip systemexpansion. The KV1x family represents the entry-levelof the series and integrates the industry’sfastest Cortex-M0+ MCU core. With a CPUfrequency of 75 MHz, plus hardware divideand square root block, KV1x devices offer aperformance increase of more than 25 per-

cent in math-intensive applications com-pared to other MCUs in the family’s class.Packing this high processing efficiency into asmall, 32 KB solution positions KV1x MCUsas cost-effective options for BLDC andPMSM designs that currently rely on larger,more expensive 32-bit MCUs.

Kinetis Motor Suite and additionalmotor control enablementTraditionally, PID loop tuning is trial and errorbased, requires in-depth motor controlexpertise and results in non-optimal systemperformance that can degrade over time.Kinetis Motor Suite addresses these issues,simplifying the development cycle, deliver-ing more predictable system response andreducing time to market.The Kinetis Motor Suite consists of three soft-ware components for tuning, observing andmanaging motor control system operation:the Kinetis Motor Tuner, a GUI for motorparameter configuration that enables fast,precise PID loop tuning in minutes ratherthan months; Kinetis Motor Observer,advanced software pre-programmed intothe MCU that enables tuning of control loopsand estimation blocks to regulate motor andinverter efficiency, power factor, current/torque ripple and noise, and; the KinetisMotor Manager, which provides a real-time,non-intrusive display of system variables andthe MCU memory map. The motor managerincludes a software oscilloscope with debug-ging and data logging capability. FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTORwww.freescale.com/Kinetis/vseries

INDUSTRY NEWS EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Freescale Kinetis V series MCUs streamline next-generationmotor control and digital power conversion applications

www.epd-ee.eu | April, 2014 | EP&Dee 5

Key Facts:• Cost-effective MCP8063 is

world’s first 1.5A, three-phase brushless DC, sinusoidal motor driver in a 4×4 mm package with the AEC-Q100 quality certification

• Complete single-chip solution for three-phase, brushless DC applications

• High efficiency, low acoustic noiseand low mechanical vibration offerenergy savings and quiet operation

• Safety features include thermal shutdown, over-current limiting and lock-up protection

Microchip announces theMCP8063 - a highly integrated,cost-effective, automotive AEC-Q100-qualified motor driver thatdelivers superior performance in asmall, 8-pin, 4×4 mm DFN package.It is also the world’s first to combineall of those features with 1.5A peakphase current for the 180-degreesinusoidal drive of a variety ofthree-phase brushless DC motorand fan applications. This integra-tion reduces cost and PCB area,and the high sinusoidal-drive per-formance provides high efficiency,low acoustic noise and lowmechanical vibration for energysavings and quiet operation.Additionally, the MCP8063includes safety features such asthermal shutdown, over-currentlimiting and lock-up protection.The designers of a broad range ofmotor applications in markets suchas the automotive, IT, industrial andhome-appliances are faced with

increasing regulatory and consumerdemands for continued reductionsin cost, space, noise and power con-sumption, with better performanceand safety. The integrated featuresof the MCP8063 motor driver solvethese problems cost-effectively,while providing a wide operatingtemperature range of -40 to+125°Celsius. Additionally, it sup-ports the sensorless driving ofBLDC motors, which eliminates thecost and space of a Hall sensor.The compact MCP8063 is a high-performance motor driver which

offers high current and a wide tem-perature range to provide a com-plete single-chip solution for awide variety of three-phase, brush-less DC applications at attractiveprice points.The MCP8063 motor driver worksstand-alone or in conjunction withMicrochip’s large portfolio of PIC®microcontrollers and dsPIC® digi-tal signal controllers. This offers ahigh degree of flexibility foreverything from simple voltagecontrol to closed-loop motorspeed control using high-perform-ance algorithms, such as sinusoidalsensorless drive.To enable development with thenew MCP8063 motor driver,Microchip also announced theMCP8063 12V 3-Phase BLDCSensorless Fan Controller Demo Kit(ADM00575), which is availabletoday, priced at $49.99 each. MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/JMXV

Motor Driver from Microchip is automotive AEC-Q100 qualified, highly integrated and compact;provides high performance and high current

Silicon Labs introduced a new 32-bit hardware and firmwaredevelopment kit designed to accelerate the design of Made foriPod/iPhone/iPad (MFi) accessories and help product manufactur-ers get to market quickly. Leveraging Silicon Labs’ ARM® Cortex®-M3-based SiM3U microcontroller (MCU), the MFI-SIM3U1XX-DKdevelopment kit supports the all-digital Lightning connector andprotocol stack. The new development kit targets a wide range ofaccessories for iOS devices including entertainment accessories,device-powered dongles, game controllers and docking stations.Silicon Labs designed the MFI-SIM3U1XX-DK kit as a turnkey solu-tion to help developers simplify their Lightning-based accessorydevelopment projects and speed time to market while meetingthe MFi program requirements with ease. Silicon Labs’ 32-bit development kit provides an exceptionallycost-effective and comprehensive solution for accessory develop-ers. The kit includes everything engineers need to begin develop-ing Lightning-based accessories right away, including a hardwaredevelopment board, firmware libraries and an example iOS App,which supports Appcessory-style communication between theiOS device and development board. By simplifying the develop-ment process, the new 32-bit kit enables MFi licensees to focus onwhat matters most – the accessory application itself.

The MFI-SIM3U1XX-DK kit enables developers to reduce thecost, complexity and power consumption of accessoriesdesigned for iOS devices. The SiM3U MCU features fully-spec-ified analog peripherals, an integrated capacitive touch sensecontroller, an internal 5V regulator and crystal-less USB sup-port, which eliminates the need for discrete crystal oscillatorsand reduces bill of materials (BOM) cost, component count andboard space. Device-powered accessory applications benefitfrom the SiM3U MCU’s best-in-class power efficiency. TheSiM3U MCU offers ultra-low power consumption with full ana-log operation down to 1.8 V, achieving a 33 percent loweractive current than in-class competitors and a 5-100x lowersleep current, while a low-current USB idle mode ensures theviability of device-powered accessories.SILICON LABS www.silabs.com/mcu

Silicon Labs StreamlinesiOS Accessory Designs with

Comprehensive 32-bitDevelopment Kit



Reduce Cost and Weight ofCabling in Advanced Driver

Assistance Systems withSerializer/Deserializer

(SerDes) ChipsetsEngineers can now design high-resolutionadvanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)with either traditional STP or lighter, lessexpensive coax cables using new GigabitMultimedia Serial Link (GMSL) SerDes chipsetsfrom Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.

Current vehicle designs use STP cables to drivedata to automotive infotainment displays andcameras. However, OEMs are beginning to turnto coax cabling instead, as it lowers cable costand weight by up to 50%. With Maxim’s SerDeschipsets, OEMs can continue using STP cablesin their designs, and seamlessly transition tocoax cabling in future models using the samechipset. The chipsets drive 15 meters of coaxor STP cabling, providing the margin requiredfor robust and versatile designs. The spread-spectrum capability built into each serializerand deserializer improves EMI performance inthe link, without the need for an externalspread-spectrum clock. Each serializer canoperate with any deserializer in the family,allowing the use of dif ferent interfaces at eachend of the link. In addition to driving ADASapplications, these chipsets can also be used inhigh-resolution central- and rear-seat displays.

Key Advantages• Reduced cable cost and weight: each

SerDes chipset allows the use of coax cables, which reduce cable cost and weight each by up to 50%.

• High-resolution displays: drive 1920×720 pixel displays with 24-bit color, enhancing visuals in both safety and entertainment applications.

• Longer cable lengths: the robust chipsets drive 15 meters of cable, up to 50% longer than competitive solutions.

• Minimized EMI: the serializer has spread-spectrum capability, reducing EMI without additional components.

MAXIM INTEGRATED www.maximintegrated.com


Atollic® announced that its award-winningIDE, Atollic TrueSTUDIO®, has been select-ed by Freescale as one of only 4 profes-sional embedded development tools des-ignated as a featured IDE forKinetis MCUs.By virtue of being based onEclipse and using the GNU col-lection of development tools,Atollic TrueSTUDIO is believedto offer the easiest migrationpath for customers who wish toupgrade from their legacyEclipse/GNU tools such asCodeWarrior Developer Studiofor Microcontrollers to something morepowerful and modern. Also, ProcessorExpert software, Freescale’s software con-figuration tool, is an Eclipse plug-in that willeasily install and run within AtollicTrueSTUDIO.Providing the widest feature set of any pro-fessional embedded integrated develop-ment environment (IDE) available on themarket, Atollic TrueSTUDIO has manypowerful features such as parallel compila-

tion, RTOS aware debugger with a built-incrash analyzer, and support for multicoreand multiprocessor debugging. Event, dataand instruction tracing, real-time variable

watch view, MISRA-C checking, code com-plexity analysis and source code review fea-tures are also included as standard. Targetsupport is provided for Freescale’s compre-hensive portfolio of ARM-based solutionsincluding Kinetis MCUs based on ARMCortex®-M cores, Vybrid controller solu-tions built on Cortex-M and Cortex-A coresand i.MX applications processors based onCortex-A cores.ATOLLIC www.atollic.com

Atollic appointed by Freescale as a founding partner ofnew Kinetis featured IDE initiative

Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now shipping thenew MAXREFDES16 Novato ReferenceDesign board from Maxim Integrated. Thisreference design provides a complete sig-nal chain solution for wirelessly transmittingremote temperature information.The new maxim MAXREFDES16 NovatoReference Design board available fromMouser Electronics is a highly accurate 16-bittemperature transducer system that wireless-ly transmits remote temperature informationto a central control unit over a 4 to 20mA cur-rent loop. Data is transmitted by a loop pow-ered HART® (Highway Addressable RemoteTransducer) enabled smart transmitter. TheNovato reference design uses the MaximMAX11213 16-bit ADC to measure theresistance of the 2-, 3-, or 4-wire ResistanceTemperature Detector (RTD) sensor. Thecurrent loop transmitter is built on theMAX5216 14-/16 bit DAC and the MaximMAX9620 High-Efficiency 1.5MHz Op Amp.Calibration is easy by using the free Novatocalibration software and the included USB-to-UART programming adapter.The Maxim DS8500 HART modem chipmeets HART Protocol Compatible physicallayer requirements by providing theboard's digital interface to the HART pro-tocol with a 4-20mA current loop. The

Maxim MAX15006 40V Ultra-LowQuiescent-Current Linear Regulator andMaxim MAX6133 3ppm/°C, Low-DropoutVoltage Reference provide power and ref-

erence voltage to the entire circuitry.The Novato reference design board pro-vides a low-power, easy-to-use, reliabletemperature measurement solution with ameasured temperature range of -200°C to+850°C. Accuracy is better than 0.1% or1.0°C, whichever is more accurate, over theentire operating range.MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.comMAXIM INTEGRATED www.maximintegrated.com

Expose Temperatures Wirelessly with the Maxim NovatoReference Design from Mouser


• Enhanced 50W ultra-wide-input power module in sixteenth-brick footprint simplifies Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) applications

• Ultra-wide input voltage from 18V to 75V means new module accommodates 24V and 48V systems, reduces inventories and is also suitable for remote power feed applications

• Enhanced thermal layout improves power-dissipation in low-airflow applications

• 2250Vdc isolation matches Power-over-Ethernet specifications

Ericsson has introduced a new50W DC/DC converter modulethat targets Power-over-Ethernet(PoE) applications. Very impor-tantly, the new Ericsson PKU5510Econverter features an ultra-wideinput range of 18V to 75V, whichmeans that the device is also suit-able for 24V or 48V telecom sys-tems. The module is the latest evo-lution of Ericsson’s PKU family andcombines the thermal enhance-ments integrated in the recentlyannounced PKU4116C moduletogether with an optimized fly-forward topology, which was firstintroduced by Ericsson in 2008.The PKU5510E delivers an outputcurrent of 15A at 3.3V output andhas a built-in functional isolation of2250Vdc that meets the require-ments specified by the IEEE802.3Ethernet networking standard,and also meets Basic Insulationrequirements according toIEC/EN/UL60950.

“The growing market for Power-over-Ethernet based applications isa highly demanding one,” saidPatrick Le Fèvre, Marketing andCommunication Director, EricssonPower Modules. “It requires cost-efficient and high-efficiency powerproducts such as the PKU5510E,which benefits from Ericssonadvanced R&D and integrates abest-in-class thermal layout with anadvanced power topology to deliv-er industry-leading performance.”The PKU5510E has been designedfor applications that have to accom-

modate both telecom system busvoltages of 24V and 48V, while alsobeing a best-in-class product tosupply voltages to Power-over-Ethernet based applications such asremote antennas, WIFI repeaters,basestation microcells, CCTV/cam-era monitoring systems and a vari-ety of different sensors.Due to its ultra-wide input andhigh efficiency, the PKU5510E isalso an ideal solution to powerindustrial applications and manyothers that use remote powerfeeds, where a module is requiredto operate irrespective where it isconnected or indeed of the lengthof the line cable. In addition, thewide input range of PKU5510Eoffers another benefit for applica-tions that require a hold-up capac-itor to prevent the loss of vital datain the case of line disruption.

ERICSSON POWER MODULESwww.ericsson.com/powermodules

New Ericsson power module integrates ultra-wide voltage input for telecom andPower-over-Ethernet applications


Kontron introduced its brand new, ultra low-power SMARCComputer-on-Modules with Intel Atom processor E3800 series- the world's first x86 SoC processor to become available on thislow-profile mini-computer form factor (82 mm x 50 mm). Thenew Kontron SMARC-sXBTi Computer-on-Modules offer excel-lent graphics, high processor performance and x86 compatibil-ity on the smallest SMARC footprint combined with very lowpower consumption (5 to 10 watts). Both the flat profile of themodule and its mobile feature set are tailored for smallestportable handheld devices. The modules can, however, bedeployed in any application where power consumption has tobe kept at just a few watts but high-level computing and graph-ics performance are required.

For the SMARC Computer-on-Module standard, which was pri-marily developed for performance and interfaces of the newtablet PC processors, to date only ARM processors could bemade available, so this launch opens up completely new per-spectives for developers in terms of the form factor's scalabilityas well as in terms of software re-use and compatibility. The Kontron SMARC-sXBTi The new Kontron SMARC-sXBTi Computer-on-Modules havebeen developed to comply with the SGET specification and areequipped with Intel Atom processor E3800 series and up to 8 GBRAM, optional with ECC. They support the extended tempera-ture range of -40°C to +85°C, measure only 82mm x 50mm andhave an especially low-profile design thanks to the use of edgecard connectors. Nevertheless, there is still enough space for upa 64GB on-board SSD to store OS and application data. A high-light of the pin-out is the mobile feature set with 3 UARTs withcomplete function range also for, e.g., GPS as well as support ofthe MIPI-compliant serial camera interface (MIPI CSI = MobileIndustry Processor Interface Camera Serial Interface). The power-ful Intel Gen 7 Graphics are carried out via HDMI 1.4 and LVDS(optional eDP) with up to 2560x1600 and 60 Hz to the display.Further interfaces include 1x GbE LAN via Intel EthernetController I210, 1x USB 3.0 and 2x USB 2.0, amongst others.Customer-specific extensions can be implemented via 2 SDIOand 3 PCIe x1 lanes with 5GT/s. For further features and interfacedetails as well as information on availability see the KontronSMARC-sXBTi product website.

KONTRON www.kontron.com

Kontron's first SMARCComputer-on-Modules with

an x86 processor


Author: Patrick Le Fèvre, Marketing and Communication Director at Ericsson Power Modules

DESIGN DIGITAL POWER

Pushing the limitsThe challenge for the board power systemdesigner is to predict what will be requiredin terms of increasing power, decreasingboard-space, higher flexibility and lowerpower consumption by the final end-appli-cation network data processor. Leading-edge equipment designed to handle highlevels of data traffic is often based on multi-ple cores or processors that are not alwaysfully available at the time of system develop-ment. And this equipment requires highlysophisticated power management withpower sequencing, monitoring and thecapability to dynamically modify an elementof the power scheme to adjust to traffic con-ditions and thereby enable a reduction in

energy consumption. An example of thistype of complex equipment – an Ericssonhigh-end subscriber management and rout-ing board – is shown in Figure 1.In the high-end data processing world, thedivergence in terms of power demand andflexibility is reaching an unprecedentedlevel. The time-to-market to support net-work expansion is becoming ever shorter,while the increase of computing power pernetwork controller is running at a similarrate. Board system architects therefore oftenfind ‘moving goalposts’ when estimatingpower demand via simulation to match thepower required by the actual end applica-tion when the system processors reach pro-duction maturity.

Complex sequencing is funBecause network-processors are very com-plex – and each new evolution integratesmore functionality – the current required bythe processor could increase by up to 60%from the preliminary specification of theprocessor to the mature version. Clearly, anevolving processor makes it difficult forboard power designers to define the mostefficient power architecture for the applica-tion. In addition to the increase of powerrequired by the processor, revision afterrevision, the voltage sequencing is crucialand also has to evolve in step with the devel-opment of the processor. This means thatdesigners will have to reset the voltage-sequencing scheme with each new revision.

Digital Power MakesComplexity SimpleThe number of mobile broadband subscriptions has grown by around 45% year-on-year reaching 1.7 billion in 2012, according to data released in the latest EricssonMobility Report1). Additionally, there also is steady progress in the amount of datausage per subscription. This increase in mobile data combined with the growingdeployment of the high-speed internet infrastructure via fiber-to-home means thatmanufacturers in ICT applications are being required to develop ever higher performingand higher capacity equipment in a shorter time-to-market, while also implementingthe latest hardware and software technologies to ensure low energy consumption. This is a challenging situation, but it does generate many opportunities to develop newways of managing board power. For example, moving from passive ‘Board MountedPower Sources’ (BMPS) that only supply power to loads, to very advanced combinationsof hardware and software that make a contribution towards the full integration of boardpower within the digital chain.

1) Ericsson Mobility Report: www.ericsson.com/ericsson-mobility-report



Furthermore, as well as the power andsequencing plan, when the board is finallyreleased, during the lifetime of the equip-ment, network processors will be subject tofirmware upgrades that may require differ-ent sequencing values to optimize operationand reduce energy consumption. In this typeof application it is problematic in theextreme to use conventional power architec-tures, such as implementing analog point-of-load (POL) regulators with a sequencingsetup via physical resistors, which will requirehardware modifications and make lifetimeupgrades almost impossible.

To solve the complex equation of settingthe power architecture in parallel with theapplication development, and to guaranteefull lifetime optimization, board powerdesigners are increasingly implementingdigitally controlled power architectures thatcombine digital POL regulators. These canbe paralleled to achieve the level of powerrequired by the processor (see figure 2), inconjunction with the flexibility offered byprogramming the setup sequencing usingsoftware such as Ericsson Power Designer(see figure 3), which makes it possible to cre-

ate specific configurations for power railsand to modify configuration at any timewithout requiring hardware changes.

Because varying type of processors andother strategic components such as memo-ries require different types of sequencingon the same board, power architects haveoften to set up different sequencingschemes, such as Time Based, Event Based,Group Communication Bus Based andVoltage Tracking. As shown in figure 3, set-ting parameters for any type of sequencingis very simple and can be achieved via soft-ware. The example presented in figure 4shows time-based sequencing in whichdelays, rise-time and fall-time are based onprocessor specifications.

In this configuration, the 1.0V core voltagemust ramp slowly over 30 milliseconds,while the auxiliary voltages ramp up earlier –within 10 milliseconds – to power supervi-sory functions, ensuring they are operatingbefore the core turns on. During the shut-down, all voltages are switched off at thesame time, within 10 milliseconds; however,the fall-time is adjusted to guarantee

smooth transition until all functions areswitched off.As shown in figure 5, systems using digitalpower architecture are extremely flexibleand the site manager can access any part ofthe board, down to a single POL throughthe digital interface.

Powering the core while saving energyOver many years the semiconductor indus-try has drastically optimized energy usagewith built-in processor energy managementthat has significantly improved performanceand reduced energy consumption. Thehigh-end processors used in data network-ing have a greater number of cores perprocessor and more power requires ever-shrinking process technologies, resulting inlower voltages and higher currents.

Core voltage is now in the range of 1V andbelow, with current up to 90A per processoroperating at full capacity, but at 10A andbelow, when operating in a lower utilizationmode. To power processors efficiently,power designers are exploiting another ben-efit offered by digital power, which is to con-nect a number of digital POLs in parallel.

Figure 1: Ericsson’s high-end subscriber management and routing board.



Figure 2: A digital POL regulator in single in-line packaging saving board space and improving cooling.

Figure 3: Ericsson Power Designer sequencing.


For example, implementing three 40A POLsto guarantee 100A across all conditions andusing the benefits of phase spreading todecrease ripple and noise at full power andphase shading to reduce the number of POLsin operation when not required. Although

usually complex to manage, the implementa-tion of this type of functionality with digitalPOLs makes it very simple in practice.Figure 6 shows how phases can be adjustedwhen using Ericsson Power Designer. As forthe sequencing shown previously, phase

spreading and phase shading can be simplyprogrammed. In addition, systems architectcan develop multiple configuration files tomeet certain profiles that can be called upby the board power manager from localstorage.


Figure 4: Time-based sequencing – Rise-time and fall-time.

Figure 5: System overview.



In some applications, the processor directlycommunicates with the board power manag-er to set the number of phases required foroptimized performances and how thosephases should be shifted or synchronized.This simple example provides an idea of thehuge potential offered by digital POLs direct-ly communicating with the master processor.

Monitoring and energy reportingEnergy regulations and the growing impor-tance for network operators to reduce ener-gy consumption are adding to the demandsupon board power designers to report thepower consumption of each board, whichrequires additional current sensing and othercircuitry. Systems architects working onAdvanced Telecom Computing Architecture(ATCA) applications are implementing PowerInterface Modules (PIMs) with a built-inPMBus controller that is able to monitor cur-rent consumption at any time of operationand to report accurate power measurement.Current monitoring via the PMBus is availablevia any digital power module, isolated ornon-isolated, simplifying energy monitoringand offering the possibility to supervise theoverall system. Digital power modules alsoinclude a large number of alarms that can beprogrammed to report deviation from anydefault, in addition to temperature monitor-

ing. While it is a clear advantage to know thetemperature of the Advanced Bus Converteror POL regulator, the real benefit is to helpsystems managers to diagnose any abnormaldeviation before reaching alarm level.Abnormal deviation from calibrated configu-ration could easily be the sign of forthcomingfailure, trigging a request for preventivemaintenance and therefore avoiding trafficdisruption and loss of revenues.

Board space saving and temperaturemappingIn addition to reducing time-to-market andenergy consumption, saving board space toaccommodate additional data processingcapability is another challenge faced by sys-tems designers. This often comes withanother challenge: that of limiting the air-flow bottleneck and optimizing cooling toachieve the highest performance from thenetwork processor without overheating.Saving board space is often achieved byimplementing vertically mounted single in-line POLs. In addition to highly efficientpower conversion, additional monitoring fea-tures built into digital POLs, such as current,voltage, temperature, alarms, parameter set-tings and many others that are therefore nolonger required as separate functions, repre-sent a significant board saving, thereby free-

ing space for additional computing power.Gathering temperature information from alarge number of points within a board canalso be used by systems managers to create athermal picture of the complete board, whichbesides detecting early failure is also used toadjust cooling to what is required by the sys-tem. In previous generation of systems, ther-mal mapping relied upon a network of ther-mocouples requiring additional circuitry, cali-bration and complexity, which can highly besimplified when implementing digital POLswith this built-in functionality. Thermal datacollected by each POL represents valuableinformation for systems architects looking tooptimize overall board cooling.

ConclusionThis article briefly reviewed a few possibili-ties of digital power technology and howpower systems architects are implementingthis technology. It also looked at how appli-cations such as dynamic bus voltage technol-ogy can adjust the intermediate bus to meetthe required load, or how fragmented dis-tributed power combining multipleAdvanced Bus Converters can on requestbecome master, slave or sleep devices. Toconclude, digital power is fun and alsomakes complexity simple. nwww.ericsson.com

Figure 6: Phase spreading.


The IPETRONIK business divisionIPEmotion – Software presents anew version of its high-perform-ance configuration and data acqui-sition software: IPEmotion 2014 R1.This software version presentsnew features like CAN traffic ana-lyzer, graphical filling level indica-tion at A2L file import, new tabledisplay instrument and audio play-back in analysis.Among all new features, the CANtraffic analyzer is a highlight.The new table display elementsupports CAN message display astraffic data (hexadecimal and deci-mal) besides common signal meas-urements. In traffic measurement,users can online view and analyzeCAN messages (data frames), aswell as related CAN bus informa-tion like status frames, remoteframes, error frames, statistic framesand transmit frames. Relevant infor-mation is displayed in a clearlyarranged table in the columns rela-tive time (beginning at measure-ment start), CAN ID, name of mes-sage, message type, data lengthcode (DLC), data content. CANtraffic data acquisition is supportedby the CAN Acquisition PlugInV1.05 or the Logger PlugIn V03.52.

Import of A2L files – graphicalfilling level indicationThis function relates to the importof description files at ECU signalmeasurements. Electronic controlunits can contain several 10,000signals. Depending on device per-formance and design only adefined number of DAQ lists areavailable for data acquisition. Thegraphical filling level indicationallows users to clearly recognizehow much capacity has been usedup. Further, IPEmotion features an

optimization algorithm filling DAQlists in an optimal way so that themost possible amount of signalscan be collected from the ECU.

Map – database managementThe database management func-tion allows users to efficientlymanage custom map data (tiles) ofparticular regions. Instead of hav-ing to store map tiles in one largefile, users now can store relevantmap sections, reload them andshare them with colleagues. In thisway, data are more easy to handle.Further, information on coveredregions and resolution of map tilesin the database are available.

Table display of several channelsThe new table display instrumentcompactly presents many meas-urement channels in a table.Compared with alphanumericinstruments, the table instrumentallows compact display of manyclearly arranged channels. Thetable view is particularly beneficialfor test bench systems or climateapplications.

Audio playbackThe new audio playback function

supports integration ofdata acquisition fromvehicle can bus andmeasuring modules incombination withacoustic measurements.Acoustic signals, i.e.vehicle sounds, arerecorded using a micro-phone either in combi-nation with a data log-ger or with IPEmotion

and the Sound PlugIn on a PC.Recordings are stored as WAV file.These WAV files can be playedback by IPEmotion and users cancorrelate sounds with other meas-ured signals in order to determinethe causes. The major advantageof this solution is that acousticinvestigations can now be incor-porated into the early phases ofvehicle development and manu-facturers can analyze noise prob-lems much earlier.IPETRONIK www.ipetronik.com

IPEmotion 2014 R1 includes several new fea-tures for CAN traffic analysis, A2L import, mapdatabase management and audio playback


Microchip announces, from EE Live! and the Embedded SystemsConference in San Jose, the PIC16(L)F170X and PIC16(L)F171Xfamily of 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), which combines a richset of intelligent analogue and core independent peripherals,with cost-effective pricing and eXtreme Low Power (XLP) tech-nology. Available in 14-, 20-, 28-, and 40/44-pin packages, the11-member PIC16F170X/171X family of MCUs integrates twoOp Amps to drive analogue control loops, sensor amplificationand basic signal conditioning, whilst reducing system cost andboard space. These new devices also offer built-in Zero CrossDetect (ZCD) to simplify TRIAC control and minimise the EMIcaused by switching transients. Additionally, these are the firstPIC16 MCUs with Peripheral Pin Select, a pin-mapping featurethat gives designers the flexibility to designate the pin-out ofmany peripheral functions. The PIC16F170X/171X are general-purpose MCUs that are ideal for a broad range of applications,such as consumer home appliances, power tools and electricrazors; portable medical products including blood-pressuremeters, blood-glucose meters and pedometers; as well as LEDlighting; battery charging; power supplies and motor control.

The PIC16F170X/171X family features Core IndependentPeripherals (CIP), such as the Configurable Logic Cell (CLC),Complementary Output Generator (COG) and NumericallyControlled Oscillator (NCO). These “self-sustaining” peripher-als take 8-bit PIC® MCU performance to a new level, as they aredesigned to handle tasks with no code or supervision from theCPU to maintain operation. As a result, they simplify the imple-mentation of complex control systems and give designers theflexibility to innovate.The CLC peripheral allows designers to create custom logic andinterconnections specific to their application, thereby reducingexternal components, saving code space and adding functionali-ty. The COG peripheral is a powerful waveform generator thatcan generate complementary waveforms with fine control of keyparameters, such as phase, dead-band, blanking, emergencyshut-down states and error-recovery strategies. It provides acost-effective solution saving both board space and componentcost when, for example, driving FETs in half- and full-bridge driv-ers for control and power-conversion applications.MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/H4FJ www.microchip.com/get/4FJP

Microchip introduces cost-effective 8-bitPIC® microcontroller family with intelligentanalogue and core independent peripherals



DELTA VFD-EL 230V 1 PHASE 11A 2.2kW INVERTERSThe inverter VFD-EL series is a multiplefunction new generation micro type ACdrive. It has built in EMI filter, RFI switch,easy DC bus sharing for side-by-side instal-lation, high precision current detection,overload protection, and a built In keypad.

• Single phase input• Output frequency 0.1 to 600 Hz• 3 points adjustable V / f curve• Built-in PID feedback control• Use RS-485 communication interface

(RJ-45) with Modbus protocol

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS CC3000 BOOSTERPACKThe CC3000 BoosterPack showcases the SimpleLink™ Wi-FiCC3000 module, a self-contained wireless network processor thatsimplifies the process of implementing Internet connectivity.SimpleLink Wi-Fi minimises host microcontroller (MCU) softwarerequirements making it the ideal solution for embedded applica-tions using any low-cost and low-power MCU.

• IEEE 802.11 b/g • Embedded IPv4 TCP/IP Stack • Tx Power: +18 dBm

at 11Mbps, CCK • Rx sensitivity: -86 dBm,

8% PER, 11 Mbps

LUXEON UV LEDSLUXEON UV is 1/5 the size of other ultraviolet and viole LEDs and isthe industry’s smallest footprint, high-power emitter. LUXEON UVLEDs can be assembled in tight arrays with spacing of only 200microns, which enables highestpower density (W / cm²) systems.The product delivers superiorefficiency, undomed for preciseoptical control and a portfoliocovering ultraviolet (380- 400 nm)and violet (400-430 nm) light.

• 2.2 mm² micro footprint for industry’s highest array W / cm²• 1 A max drive current for more flux per LED• AIN substrate with Rth as low as 3.5 K / W• Less heat to manage with up to 45+ % wall plug efficiency• Precise optical control from an undomed emitter

CROUZET MTP8/50 PROGRAMMABLE TOUCH PANELSProgrammable touch panel series MTP for the Millenium 3 micro-PLC. Features include a fan-less cooling system, 128 MB flash mem-

ory storage, text, data, graphic, animationdisplay and a wide viewing angle of 70°horizontally and vertically.

• 65536 colors, LED backlight• Graphical resolution is 480 × 272 pixels• RS232/RS485 serial port• MTP6/50: USB 2.0 port for

programming• MTP8/50: Ethernet port for programming

and communication

STM32 MICROCONTROLLERS, F4 SERIESThe STM32 F4 family of 32 bit Flash micro-controllers based on the ARM Cortex™ Mprocessor is designed to offer new degreesof freedom to MCU users. It offers a 32 bitproduct range that combines high per-formance, real-time capabilities, digital sig-nal processing, and low power, low voltageoperation, while maintaining full integrationand ease of development.

• 225 DMIPS/608 CoreMark at 180 MHz from Flash• Up to 2-Mbyte dual-bank Flash, 256-Kbyte SRAM• TFT LCD Controller with ST Chrom-ART Accelerator™• Longer battery life: 100 μA typical in Stop mode• STM32F429 discovery kit with free STemWin professional

graphical library

ARDUINO ROBOTThe Arduino Robot is the first official Arduino on wheels. TheRobot has two processors, one on each of its two boards. The Motor Board controls the motors, and the Control Board readsthe sensors and decides howto operate. Each of the boards is a fullArduino board programma-ble using the Arduino IDE.

• Microcontroller ATmega32u4

• Operating voltage 5V• Clock Speed 16 MHz• Full colour LCD• SD card reader

Aurocon Compecwww.compec.rowww.designspark.com

Aurocon COMPEC alwaysoffers new products

RS code: 785-8534

RS code: 789-2815

RS code: 779-7079

RS code: 782-4581

RS code: 786-5750

RS code: 789-2809


With every new project, thereare ever growing questions:What am I missing out on bystaying with 8-bit? What does a32-bit architecture really giveme? And with 32-bit devicesnow taking the lead in embed-ded MCU sales, is it time to makethe move before I get leftbehind? Fortunately, the exciting thingabout our industry is that wenever stop innovating. And withcores like the ARM® Cortex®-

M0+, which can be found indevices from Freescale®, Atmel®,NXP®, and others, 32-bit proces-sors have arrived at the pointwhere they can match the legacy8/16-bit MCU strengths, plusprovide a multitude of advan-tages that make upgrading verycompelling. The Cortex-M0+core was designed specifically tomake the switch more attractivethan ever before, letting youtake your projects to the nextlevel with 32-bits of power.

Should I MakeThe Switch?The 8 vs 32-bitMigration Decision

DESIGN MCUs

At element14 we’ve been supporting design engineersthrough the element 14Community for 8 years. During this time we’ve witnessed first hand the shift inthe microcontroller market, asadvances in technology and thelaunch of 32-bit architectureoffers engineers the power totake their designs further thanever before. Of the billions of embeddeddevices the world uses everyday, a large number of them arepowered by legacy 8 and 16 bitmicrocontrollers. Many embed-ded engineers grew up withthese older architectures andtheir low cost, low power, andsimple architecture has keptthem popular even as 32-bitdevices have taken off. As pop-ularity for 32-bit devices grows,so does the need for educationabout the differences, benefitsand opportunities newer archi-tectures can offer.

Authors: Ankur Tomar, Farnell element14Anthony Huereca, Freescale Semiconductor


DESIGN MCUs

Why 32-bit?If you asked a new engineering student whymigrate from 8-bit to 32-bit, you might getthe obvious answer: There are 4 times asmany bits, and more is always better! Inreality it’s not quite that simple, but there’s alot of compelling reasons why 32-bit MCUsmake sense, even for “traditional” 8 and 16-bit projects.

• Higher Performance: Moving to a 32-bit core can provide from 2 to 40 times the performance per MHz of the 8 and 16-bit architectures in use today. You’ll get much faster 32-bit math processing, and single cycle 32-bit multiplication. And there’s single cycle IO for bit banging and software protocol emulation.

All that power opens up a new world ofpossibilities with software stacks (USB,Bluetooth, etc), RTOSs, advanced UI’s, andmuch more, with ample processing powerleftover for the defining features of yourapplication.

• More energy efficient: The Cortex-M0+ core is also incredibly efficient, getting almost 2x the Coremark®/mA of other 16-bit competitors. Combined with that more powerful Cortex-M0+ core, your embedded system can use less energy by finishing its tasks much quicker and getting back into sleep mode.

Even sleep modes have impressive lowpower credentials, down to <500nA whenin the deepest of the 9 power modes foundon the Freescale Kinetis® L family. And thanks to intelligently designed periph-eral modules as found on the Kinetis fami-lies, you can now do far more without wak-ing the core, saving even more power.

• Increased Code Density: It might seem counter-intuitive that using a 32-bit processor would lead to smaller code size. However the Cortex-M0+ core uses Thumb-2 instructions, many of which only take up 16 bits in Flash. And keep in mind that many instructions on 8-bit processors are actually longer than 8-bits. Also depending on the application, several bytes of 8-bit instructions can be replaced by a single instruction on a 32-bit MCU, as in the case of the 16-bit multiplication below.

The result is that code density can be signif-icantly improved by moving to a 32-bitarchitecture using Thumb-2.

• Scalable: No longer will assembly, tied to one specific architecture from one specific manufacturer in the 8-bit world, hold you back as project and performance needs change. The emphasis on C code for 32-bit devices instead of assembly reduces development and debug time, and makes porting code to new devices ever easier. And with all the 32-bit ARM MCUs spreading across the world, the software ecosystem is huge and growing.

But…This all sounds great you think, but I needthe small size, low price, and ease of use that8/16 bits MCUs give me for my application.Luckily it’s a whole new world for 32-bitMCUs these days:

• Size: With sizes as small as 1.6×2.0mm, as found on the Freescale Kinetis KL03 family making it the world’s smallest ARM MCU, 32-bit performance can be found in some very small places.

• Cost: With devices starting at only $0.49 cents, 32-bit MCUs can make sense in previously cost prohibitive applications. And because of higher code density, less flash memory may be needed.

• Complexity: Surprisingly 32-bit architecture can actually be simpler in some aspects. With 32-bits of address space, there’s no need for paging and memory locations can be accessed directly. The Cortex-M0+ core architecture has a full-featured interrupt controller, simplifying interrupt handling. Throw in a trace buffer for easier debugging, and only 56 instructions for those who want to keep using assembly, the “leap” to 32-bit complexity is more like a small hop.

Developing with 32-bitsOne the major advantages of using a 32-bitARM core is the staggering amount of soft-ware and hardware enablement that’s avail-able for it, which includes a plethora of com-patible compilers and debuggers. Hardwareand software re-use becomes easier as proj-ects scale between cores like the Cortex-M0+ and the more powerful Cortex-M4.

And with the Freescale Kinetis MCU pin andmodule compatibility, with hundreds ofdevices across the families, moving up anddown the performance/flash curve becomesmuch easier.


Freescale takes 32-bit enablement even fur-ther with Processor Expert® software model-ing tool and MQX™-Lite Real-TimeOperating System (RTOS) to get you up andgoing quickly with new 32-bit projects. TheProcessor Expert software modeling tool is acomplementary GUI tool that for code gen-eration, creating customized drivers and sig-nificantly shortens development time. MQX-Lite RTOS is a simplified version of thepopular MQX RTOS and was specificallydesigned for microcontrollers with under4KB of memory. The RTOS drivers comefrom the Processor Expert software model-ing tool, and it’s a subset of MQX RTOS,making future upgrades to more powerfuldevices easy. It comes complementary withProcessor Expert software modeling tool,and for those devices with USB, there’s acomplementary USB stack available as well.

The Next StepNow that you want to try out what 32-bithas to offer, where do you start? Fortunately there are a number of boardsout there that provide a great 32-bit evalua-tion platform, and you can get them for less

than the cost of a pizza. The FRDM-KL05Z isperfect for dipping your toe into the 32-bitworld and is pin-compatible with Freescale’s8-bit S08 devices. The FRDM-KL26Z addsUSB and more advanced peripheral mod-ules, and the FRDM-KL46Z takes it even fur-ther with both USB and segment LCD sup-port. Or if 5V IO and electrical robustnessare critical to your application, the FRDM-KE02 will be exactly what you’re looking for. All 4 of these mint tin sized boards featureCortex-M0+ cores and are enabled with theProcessor Expert software modeling tool,MQX-Lite RTOS, complimentary USB stacks,and more. And with a debug circuit calledOpenSDA built right into the board, a sim-ple USB cable provides all the debugging,serial communication and flash program-ming capabilities you’ll need.Plus all of those boards, along with the entireFreescale Freedom development platformlineup, are Arduino™ shield compatible andprovide easy access to digital and analog IOpins. The MEMS Sensors Evaluation Kit is agood example of the possibilities thisenables, as it pairs a FRDM-KL25Z FreescaleFreedom development platform with a

MEMS Sensor Evaluation shield on top, givingthe Kinetis L MCU access to an array of cut-ting edge sensors to explore the worldaround it. All the way through the learningexperience it’s important to keep in touchwith other engineers and that’s where theelement14 Community can provide support.There’s often another engineer who hasalready found a solution to the problemyou’re facing, and that’s where online com-munities can be an excellent resource.

A 32-bit FutureTechnology never stops moving forward,and the trend of seeing 32-bit MCUs inmore and more embedded applications willonly accelerate. At element14 we’re sup-porting engineers through each stage of thedesign process, from development kits toprototype and manufacture, to ensure thatengineers feel confident when choosing tomigrate to a newer 32-bit architecture. Withtheir higher performance, impressive powerefficiency, and better code density, now isthe time to make that first step to a betterand brighter 32-bit future. nwww.freescale.com

DESIGN MCUs


Engineers can now achieve highperformance in optical moduleswith low power consumptionusing the highly integratedMAX3956 10GBASE-LR SFP+optical transceiver IC from Maxim

Integrated Products, Inc. Optical module designers musttypically trade high performancefor power consumption in theirapplications. The MAX3956 SFP+laser transceiver IC solves thatproblem. It delivers better than50% transmit mask margin per-formance (1k waveforms, zero maskhits) with < 0.8 W total SFP+ mod-ule power dissipation. Thisreduced power dissipation lowersoperational expenditures (OPEX)and improves thermal reliability indata centers. Additionally, thedevice integrates highly accurateanalog monitors for digital diagnos-tics monitoring (DDM), includingtemperature, VCC, and RSSI sen-sors, to ensure a compact design

and save bill-of-material (BOM)cost. By integrating analog monitorsand a 12-bit analog-to-digital con-verter (ADC), the MAX3956enables the use of a low-cost, “all-digital” external microcontroller.

Key Advantages• High integration: integrates pro-grammable transmit input equaliza-tion, receive output deemphasis,DDM, and highly accurate analogmonitors (including temperature,VCC, and RSSI sensors) to reducecost of external components• Low power: the device’s propri-etary DC-coupled laser interfaceenables < 0.8 W total SFP+ modulepower dissipation and 380 mW ICpower dissipation at 3.3V (typ)• High performance: theMAX3956 results in 4.6psP-P deter-ministic jitter (receiver) and 5psP-Pdeterministic jitter (transmitter)

MAXIM INTEGRATEDwww.maximintegrated.com

Achieve High Performance and Low Power withHighly Integrated 11.3Gbps Ethernet OpticalTransceiver IC for Data Centers


The new form factor for Cortex-A CPUs by F&S ElektronikSysteme, efus, measures only 47 × 62mm. efus stands for easy,functional, universal, small: It comes with various interfaces, isexpandable with wireless modules and suitable for universaluse, e.g. for visualization, communication, control in industrialand medical applications. The first module of this new productfamily, efusA9, is available for development at distributorRutronik by April 2014, mass production starts by the end ofquarter 2/14. Further modules will follow within 2014.The latest form factor from F&S, the efus product family, uses acommon 230 pin MXM2 edge connector. The signals on thebase board leading to the plug connector were routed byEasyLayout standard, the concept of no crossing lines or avoid-able through holes. A 4-layer circuit board is already sufficientfor a base board; the schematic data for developing a baseboard under EAGLE is available for free. For the mechanicalattachment of efus on the base board, the locking mechanism

EASYMOUNTis used. Noscrews areneeded toattach efussafely and reli-ably on thebase board. Aneasy, inexpen-sive and low-risk redesignoffers further

functions on the mod-ule. Expansions forWLAN (with chip anten-na or socket), ZigBee,Z-Wave or EnOceanare available.The first module of thisnew product family,efusA9, comes with aFreescale i.MX6 Cortex-A9 CPU. This high-per-formance CPU offers3D graphics (100MTri/s,1000Mpx/s), HardwareDecoder / Encoder witha resolution up to1080p, H.264 HP, HDMI v1.4., ARMv7(TM), NEON and VFPv3for multimedia applications. Other important features are thelong-time availability of up to 15 years and the temperaturerange of -40°C - +85°C. The memory is up to 1GByte RAM and 32GByte Flash. The 230pin finger-type contact hosts interfaces like Gigabit-Ethernet,USB Host, USB Device, 2 CAN, 2 I2C, 2 SPI, 4 Serial, GPIOs, 1+1uSD-Card, I2S, SATA, PCIe and camera. Display connections indigital RGB and 1 + 2 channel LVDS (up to FullHD, JILI30 com-patible), as well as DVI are available simultaneously. RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com

RUTRONIK EMBEDDED presents efus, the newCOM form factor by F&S


Brushless DC (BLDC) motors are gainingincreased market share over other motortechnologies, particularly in the automotiveand medical markets, and this has promptedthe development of new approaches tomotor-control design. Now, designers haveto decide which approach is best for eachapplication.The traditional approach is to develop themotor-control circuit from discrete compo-nents, but more recent developments offersingle-chip solutions, based on a System onChip (SoC) or an Application-SpecificStandard Product (ASSP), as well as a two-chipapproach. Whilst all of the more recent one-and two-chip solutions offer a reduction inthe number of components and in designcomplexity, each approach has specific advan-tages and disadvantages. It is these that thedesigner must understand so that it is possibleto make the best possible trade-off betweenflexibility and space-saving integration.Regardless of which approach is used, a typ-ical motor system is comprised of three mainelements: the power supply section, themotor driver, and the control unit. A tradi-tional, discrete-based circuit, as shown inFigure 1, uses a simple RISC processor withon-chip Flash to control the gate driverswhich, in turn, drive the external MOSFETs.An alternative method is to drive the motordirectly from a processor, with integratedMOSFETs and a voltage regulator to powerthe processor and the driver.All of these elements are typically integratedinto a SoC motor driver. In addition, a SoCoffers the benefit of programmability, whichenables it to be used across different applica-tions. As a single-chip approach, a SoC is also

suitable for applications which have limitedboard-space. The drawback of using a SoC-based design is that its lower processing per-formance and limited internal memory meanthat it cannot meet the demands of applica-tions which need advanced motor control. Afurther drawback is that, compared to thebroad development toolsets provided bymicrocontroller manufacturers, there is signifi-cantly less support for firmware developmentin SoC motor drivers. The alternative single-chip approach is to use an Application-Specific Standard Product (ASSP) motor driv-er, designed specifically for each application.

The advantages of using an ASSP are that theyoccupy minimum space on the board whichmakes them ideal for space-constrained appli-cations. A 10-pin DFN standalone fan motor-driver is shown Figure 2. ASSPs also eliminatethe need for software tuning whilst offering anexcellent price-performance ratio in high-vol-ume applications and performance which canmatch that of a high-end microcontroller. AnASSP motor driver can, for example, be usedto drive a BLDC motor using sensorless andsinusoidal algorithms. Despite these advan-tages, ASSPs lack the programmability whichwould enable them to be scaled up to higher

Brian Chu of Microchip Technology Inc., compares the advantages anddisadvantages of different approaches to BLDC motor control.

DESIGN EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Balancing the tradeoffs in 3-PhaseBLDC motor-control designs

Figure 1: Block diagram of a traditional, discrete-based BLDC motor.

Author: Brian Chu, Product Line Marketing Manager, Analog and Interface Products Division

drive strengths and the flexibility to adapt tofuture changes in the market.Whilst the design strategies based on a SoCor an ASSP can help designers to meet the

continual trend towards miniaturisation,other applications are using the two-chipapproach combining a microcontroller opti-mised for intelligent analogue in conjunc-tion with an external driver. This approach

allows the designer to choose from a broadrange of microcontrollers optimised for sen-sor or sensorless commutation using trape-zoidal or sinusoidal drive techniques.

When choosing the companion driver chipfor the microcontroller, it is essential that thedriver should do more than provide suitablepower-ratings for the MOSFET or BLDCmotor. It should also integrate a high-effi-

ciency, adjustable voltage regulator capableof minimising power dissipation whilst pow-ering a wide range of microcontrollers.Monitoring and housekeeping blocks arealso essential to ensure the safe operation ofthe motor and to enable bi-directional com-munication between the host and the driver.Selectable parameters will enable the per-formance of the driver to be optimisedwithout any additional programming.A typical two-chip solution is shown in Figure3. This approach combines a feature-rich, 3-phase motor driver, such as Microchip’sMCP8024, with a high-performance dsPIC33EP MC digital signal controller (DSC) todrive six N-channel MOSFETs for the field-oriented control of a Permanent-MagnetSynchronous Motor (PMSM). A lower-cost,baseline 8-bit microcontroller can be used inplace of the DSC when using a simple, six-step control architecture. The change from a DSC to an 8-bit microcon-troller can be implemented without alteringthe drive circuit if a BLDC motor with a simi-lar power rating is used.The relative advantages of single-chip BLDCmotor-control designs, based on a SoC orASSP, and the two-chip approach using amicrocontroller or DSC and a companiondriver, are shown in Table 1. This shows that,whilst a SoC or ASSP will meet the needs ofa space-constrained application, their fixedfeature-sets combined with limited memoryand processing power significantly reducethe flexibility and scalability of the design.The emergence of single-chip and two-chipapproaches to BLDC motor control enabledesigners to reduce component cost andboard-space compared to traditional dis-crete-based circuits. The hardware andfirmware reference designs and libraries, sup-plied by manufacturers such as Microchip,also significantly reduce the developmenttime for bringing an advanced motor-controland drive designs to market. n

www.microchip.com



Figure 2: Block diagram of a standalone fan motor driver.

Figure 3: Two-chip BLDC design with external MOSFETs.

SoC ASSP Two-Chip SolutionProgrammability Limited No YesFlash Memory 32 KB or less No 16 KB to 256 KBPCB Space Medium Small MediumPin Count Medium Low HighController Selection None None BroadReusability Across Power Ratings Medium Small HighFirmware Development Tools Limited Not Required Standard from SupplierTable 1: Comparison of single-chip and two-chip BLDC motor-control designs



Renesas are now offering such a dream toolas an enhancement to their existing RX62TMotor Control Reference Kit (part-name:YROTATE-IT-RX62T) and recently offer iton the latest RX220 Motor ControlReference Kit (part-name: YROTATE-IT-RX220). Both kits are designed to drive anyAC Permanent Magnet motors using sensor-less Field Oriented Control algorithm. Thesoftware running on the RX62T is using floatarithmetic and on the RX220, it is usingfixed-point arithmetic.Each kit is based on a single printed circuitusing a 32-bit MCU (RX62T or RX220), apower stage using MOSFETs and sensingshunts used to manage sensorless control.The embedded software is royalty free anduses a small flash footprint and minimumCPU resources.Interfacing to the hardware and developingwith a motor is made easy using the highlyfeatured PC Graphical User Interface (GUI).Finally, the PC GUI enables automatic meas-urement of the Brushless motor parameters,calibrate the coefficients of the Proportional/Integral current regulation block and guaran-tee a safe and reliable start-up process.However, let’s try to understand why the kitsand the associated PC GUI may fulfil thedream of any engineer developing newinverter electronics. In the embedded con-trol software and the PC User Interface havetwo key benefits in mind:

1) Current Proportional-Integral (PI)Coefficients Tuning: Tuning the currentPI controls normally requires the use of anoscilloscope and the system performing acurrent step in order to analyse the stepresponse. Such a feature was designed a fewyears ago for the Renesas kits, but it a manu-al and time-consuming process. Renesas’motor design tool allows PI controls to be

tuned easily and quickly, using simply theinverter board connected to the motortogether with the PC. Firstly, automaticdetection of the correct PI gain values is pro-vided. This delivers the user working valuesfor the proportional and the integral con-stants for the current. Secondly, the user canrefine the tuning by imposing a desired cur-rent step and then analyse the step

45 seconds to drive your ownAC Brushless motorThe dream of any engineer designing a 3-phase inverter for an AC Brushless motor isto quickly get a running solution, tuned to his specific motor.But it is a painful experience to extract the intrinsic parameters of a new custom ACBrushless motor. Furthermore, the calibration of the coefficients embedded in the soft-ware requires expertise and efforts to reach the expected system behaviour. Eachmotor and equipment have their own specifications in terms of speed, torque, reactiontime and efficiency, nowadays engineers have to struggle to incorporate new motorsand electronics in their equipment.

Author: Vincent Mignard, Renesas

Figure 1: PC GUI Auto-tuning screens.



response directly in the User Interface with-out the need for any expensive oscilloscope,trace debugger and insulation transformer.

2) Motor Parameters Auto-detection:By default, mathematical model parametersof the motor need to be defined in order tostart and run the sinusoidal sensorless algo-rithm. The most important parameters are:the stator resistance; the synchronous induc-tance and the permanent magnet flux link-ages (e.g. the back Electromotive Force con-stant). The measurement of these parame-ters is complex and usually requires a fullyequipped laboratory with specific instru-mentation. Using the new Renesas motordesign tool the values of these parametersare automatically identified by the 3-phaseinverter itself. The PC User Interface displaysthe measured values in a few mouse clicks.

Note: In the case of non-isotropic motors,the medium value of the two axes Ld and Lqinductance is provided.

The RX62T and RX220 reference platformsprovide a fully isolated USB connection tothe PC, so at this point no isolation trans-former is needed. The PC Graphical UserInterface is able to display all the internalvalues of the algorithm and it is possible tovisualize the step response of the current PI,the phase of the system and the sinusoidalcurrent waveforms as shown on the Figure 1.The PC GUI offers three main functionsenabling the full calibration with 45 seconds.

The first one is the auto-tuning of the cur-rent PI, the second is the Motor parametersidentification and the third one is theOscilloscope window as shown on theFigure 2. The five parameters extracted dur-ing the process can be stored in EEPROM bya simple mouse-click.Let’s now dive into the technical mechanismsdesigned to discover the five main parame-ters. The blocks structure shown on theFigure 3 is made with an external speed loopthat produces the torque reference. Two internal current loops produce the volt-age references, which are applied by the 3-phase inverter.

Using reference systems transformations,the torque and flux controls are decoupled.

A large part of the algorithm consists of thereference systems transformations. In partic-ular the transformation between the two-dimensional system reference linked to thestator and the two-dimensional systemlinked to the rotor. The first is standing, thesecond is usually rotating, the transforma-tion is called PARK transform and it requiresthe angular position of the rotor as regardsthe stator. This position is the position of thepermanent magnets flux vector. To calculate it in a sensorless system, severalcalculations are performed using the motormodel equations. The control loops are per-formed using standard Proportional Integral

(PI) control, which regulates the currents. It isa fundamental part of the motor controlalgorithm used to control the current deliv-ered to the motor phase. The PI controller isdesigned to produce a composite output tocompensate the error. The two terms of thecontrollers depends on the Proportionalcoefficients Kp and Integral coefficients Ki.The PI is creating a voltage waveform in sucha way that the resulting current is followingthe desired waveform. This is obtained com-paring the actual system output with thedesired one, and building an opportunesystem input based on the error itself. Theinput to feed the system is composed bytwo terms, one proportional to the error,and the second proportional to the integralof the error.To tune any AC Brushless motors, Kp and Kineed to be extracted. In this case, the con-trolled system can be seen as an RL circuit.That’s why, the motor model of the Figure 4made with v(t) generated by the PI con-troller, an inductance and a resistanceenable the indirect measurements of themysterious coefficients.

Figure 2: Three auto-tuning buttons of the PC GUI.

Figure 3: Sensorless vector control algorithm blocks diagram.


The step response of the circuit is the repre-sented on the left hand side. The two quotients “L/R” and “1/R” need tobe measured in order to find out the Kp andKi coefficients.

The expected step response of the system iswell known. So, it becomes possible to getfrom the closed loop system the two coeffi-cients: Kp and Ki by measuring: the steadystate gain and the time constant of the RLequivalent circuit.

Figure 5 is showing the steps used to meas-ures the two quotients and calculate theunknown PI coefficients.

Such approach is fast and implemented onboth microcontroller families: RX62T andRX220. It avoids any time consuming manu-al work and try and error process.The second benefits of the newest embed-ded software are the automatic identifica-tion of the Brushless motor parameters. In

the control algorithm block scheme, thePhase Estimation Block is using the motormodel parameters to run properly. Thethree parameters are: the stator resistanceRs, the synchronous inductance Ls, and the

permanent magnets flux amplitude Lm.The Figure 6 displays the motor equationsused in the embedded software in the fluxestimation block. The model used here isreferred to the stator. After several simplifi-

cations, in the final vector equation, itappears the unknown parameters.If the embedded software delivers a sinu-soidal voltage at a certain frequency, andmeasure the obtained current, all the quan-

tities in the equation are known, except thethree mysterious coefficients.So the procedure implemented is stimulat-ing the motor phases with different voltagewaveforms and measuring the correspon-ding currents. The final step is to solve analgebraic system of three equations of threeunknowns as shown on the Figure 7.Thanks to the powerful PC GUI, the processtakes 45 seconds to extract the five parame-ters: Kp, Ki, Rs, Ls and Lm and finally run anunknown 3-phase AC Brushless motor. Suchprocedure needs no specific equipment orexpensive tools. No specific insulation trans-former is required and such auto-tuning isworking for low and high voltage motors.It becomes easy to evaluate different motorsin a few minutes for each equipmentrequirements. There is no fear to have whenstarting a design of a 3-phase inverter assuch tool enable any engineer to drive hisown motor in less than a minute and he canspend time on application development.No deep know-how is anymore needed

which shorten the overall learning curve andtime to market for the first prototype.Finally, the procedure is done off-line andrequires only a few MIPS from the MCU andlittle memory footprint.Up to thirty AC Brushless motors weretuned using the powerful auto-tuning offthe shelf solution running either on RX220or RX62T microcontroller families. Both ref-erence platforms are able to drive 24VDCmotors and can control several Kilowattsmotors using an external power stage.Now, it is your opportunity to try the latestRenesas solution by ordering the kits:• For the RX62T embedding Floating

point Unit: YROTATE-IT-RX62T• For the RX220 using fixed-point

arithmetic: YROTATE-IT-RX220


Figure 4: Motor model of a single phase.

Figure 6: Equations used in the Flux estimation block.

Figure 5: Three steps to automatically measure the PI coefficients.



Both kits delivered by Renesas are offered ata cost below €200 per kit and answer theneed of a reference design able to drivevery quickly a Brushless motors. nKeywords: auto-calibration, auto-tuning,easy, simple, fast, quick, PC GUI, mouse-clicks, Brushless motors, Permanent MagnetMotors, custom motors, sensorless, parame-ters identifications, royalty-free FOC soft-ware, FOC, vector control, intuitive PC GUI,RX220, RX62T, stator resistance, synchro-nous inductance, permanent magnet flux.www.renesas.com

Figure 7: Three steps to automatically identify the motor parameters.

URLs related to the article:RX62T/63T Motor control Reference Kit: www.renesas.eu/applications/key_technology/motor_control/reference/rx/index.jspRenesas RX MCU Family: http://www.rxmcu.com/RX62T Group: http://www.renesas.eu/products/mpumcu/rx/rx600/rx62t/index.jspRX63T Group: http://www.renesas.eu/products/mpumcu/rx/rx600/rx63t/index.jspRX220 Group: http://www.renesas.eu/products/mpumcu/rx/rx200/rx220/index.jsp

MSC Technologies presented theBMSKTOPASM369BT develop-ment kit from Toshiba at itsBooth 2 130 in Hall 2 at embed-ded world 2014, February 25 27,2014 in Nuremberg, Germany.The BMSKTOPASM369BT is acompletely new developmentplatform for Panasonic’sPAN1026 embedded BluetoothSmart Ready module that recent-ly turned into series production. Panasonic’s PAN1026 module,

which is based on Toshiba’sTC35661 Chiron Bluetooth LSI,features include an output powerof +4 dBm and a high receiver sen-sitivity of -87 dBm. In addition tothe Serial Port Profile (SPP) func-tions and Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE) GATT profiles already avail-able in the Flash of the PAN1026, awide variety of additional soft-

ware packets, which run on aTMPM396 CortexM3 MCUequipped with 512 KB Flash andsupport interfaces such asEthernet, CAN, USB, serial andUART, are offered with the BMSK-TOPASM369BT starter kit. Instead of Toshiba Control Unit(TCU) commands supported onthe PAN1026 module, a com-plete high-level SPP API withvery easy-to-use instruction setsis available to developers for sim-

ple Bluetooth integra-tion, for example, forSPP applications. Inaddition, a completeBluetooth Low EnergyAPI based on the GATTprofile was implement-ed for fast BLE profileand application integra-tion. Numerous pro-

posed solutions such as, e.g. aheart-rate demo, enable a signifi-cant reduction in developmenttime. Furthermore, developershave access to a large number ofBLE profiles via this API. Thedevelopment of individual BLEprofiles is also possible. MSC TECHNOLOGIESwww.msc-technologies.eu

BMSKTOPASM369BT development kit simplifies implementation of the PAN1026Bluetooth module Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now

stocking and shipping the newNucleo Development Boardsfrom STMicroelectronics. Thesedevelopment boards target any-one that wants to get startedusing ST's STM32 product fami-lies featuring ARM Cortex M0,Cortex M3, and Cortex M4 micro-controllers, and are compatiblewith a wide range of expansionboards. The new STMicroelectronicsNucleo development boardsavailable from Mouser Electronicssupport development and evalu-ation of ST's 32-bit STM32 micro-controllers. These new boardsprovide many advanced featuresnot found in other microcon-troller development ecosystems.Besides the usual assortment ofpush buttons, LEDs, and a USBdebug interface, Nucleo boardsfeature two unique sets of expan-sion headers. The first set ofexpansion headers sit on the out-side edges of the board, and arestandard headers on all Nucleoboards. These headers allow foreasy access to all peripherals ofthe target microcontroller duringtest and development. The sec-ond set of expansion headers arenestled inside the first set and areArduino™ shield compatible.

These headers support the use ofArduino Uno v3 expansionboards, called "Arduino shields",allowing ST's Nucleo boardsexpanded access to dozens ofArduino compatible expansionboards. Arduino shields support awide variety of applications,including Ethernet, LCD displays,GSM voice and data communica-tions, ZigBee communications,

WiFi networking, motor control,music and sound synthesizers, andmore. Nucleo developmentboards are compatible with sever-al development tool vendors,including C compilers from IARSystems and Keil Tools. FreeGNU-based IDEs are also sup-ported. The free mbed IDE is alsosupported, allowing quick andeasy drag n drop programming ofthe target microcontroller.MOUSER ELECTRONICSwww.mouser.com

STMicroelectronics Nucleo development boardsfrom Mouser Get to the Heart of Development


DESIGN SEP TECHNOLOGY

Why touch?The main reasons for adapting any kind oftouch technology for a man-machine inter-face (MMI) are design freedom, to improvethe user experience, and to achieve costssavings.Conventional electromechanical switchesare a poor option in every respect. Thereare thousands of different types but com-bining them in an attractive way in an MMI isdifficult and time consuming. Oncedesigned, it’s then difficult to create controlpanel variants, or to change the design.They often prove to be the most unreliablecomponent of electronic/electrical systems,particularly where such systems operate inless than benign environments. And electro-mechanical switches are an expensive andinelegant solution to switching an electricalcircuit. Holes need to be drilled, manualassembly is often required, and there aresignificant design challenges in sealing pan-els against the ingress of moisture or othercontaminants.

An early low-cost alternative: resistive membrane switchesResistive touch switches comprise two layersof conductive tracks separated by an insulat-ing spacer. Individual switches are defined by

holes in the spacer, which allow the conduc-tive layers to come into contact when a fingeror stylus pushes them together. Because amechanical movement of between 0.1mmand 0.5mm is required to make a contact, thegraphical panel overlay for the switches hasto be quite flexible, limiting the choice ofmaterials. Plastic or metal domes may be usedto provide tactile feedback but this canincrease the required movement up to 1mm,further adding to the problems of mechanicalwear that causes the ‘feel’ of these switches tochange over time.

Capacitive touch: no mechanicalmovement but other limitationsIn recent years, cellphones and tablet com-puters have created a revolution in MMIs,with various forms of capacitive touchunderpinning the operation of touchscreensand panels. Switch positions are definedeither by a custom pattern or an X-Y matrixof conducting traces on the inner surface ofthe panel. In the case of a glass-fronted dis-play, transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) isused. Touch is detected when the user’s fin-ger disturbs the electrostatic field generat-ed by a drive signal, creating a capacitivecoupling to the receive electrodes or toground. Sensitivity, speed, accuracy and res-

olution in registering the intended touch arethe trade-offs in design and operation.These factors are affected by moisture orother contaminants on the touch surfaceand operation can be impaired or prevent-ed if a user is wearing gloves. Metallic over-lays can’t be used, so really rugged touchpanels are not possible, while inconsistentresponsiveness can make it difficult to pro-vide timely visual or audio feedback to theuser.

Piezoelectric buttons bring designflexibility and ruggedness to touchpanelsDiscovered by Pierre and Jacques Curie inthe early 1880s, the piezoelectric (meaningpressure electric) effect can be used toovercome the limitations of both resistiveand capacitive touch technologies. Equallyimportant, the technology can be imple-mented at lower cost than capacitive touch.Natural crystals of quartz, Rochelle salt,tourmaline and manufactured ceramics suchas Barium Titanate and Lead ZirconateTitanates (PZT) produce electricity whenmechanical pressure is applied by a finger orstylus. There is some mechanical movementbut it’s less than 1μm – orders of magnitudeless than that of resistive touch panels.

How Software Enhanced Piezo (SEP)promises more attractive, reliableand effective user interfaces

In recent years, we've all become familiar with touch buttons, particularly on consumerelectronic devices such as cellphones and tablet computers. Most of these adopt capacitivetouch technologies. However, resistive and piezoelectric touch technologies can be betteroptions in many applications. Furthermore, recent developments in software enhancedpiezoelectric (SEP) touch will see this flexible, low-cost approach to designing rugged touchcontrols gain more widespread adoption. This article gives an overview of the main factorsthat need to be considered in selecting a touch solution and highlights some of the mostrecent technical developments, including the growing interest in how haptic feedback canbe incorporated into touch controls.



The layered construction of a piezo touchswitch is shown in figure 1. Pressure appliedto the panel overlay is transmitted throughto the piezoelectric disc, or ‘pill’, which sitsbetween a conductive foil and the coppercontacts on the PCB.

The top overlay – the part that the user sees– is printed, stamped or embossed with therequired information and the RoHS-compli-ant, piezoelectric pills slot into holes in aninsulating spacer. The layer stack, which isusually just added on top of a PCB, can be as

little as 0.3mm in depth. In early implemen-tations, piezoelectric buttons suffered frominconsistent operation caused by variationsin applied pressure, variations in the com-position of piezoelectric materials and tem-perature-related changes.

Figure 1: The piezoelectric material is sandwiched between conducting layers in the construction of a piezo touch switch allowing it to flex when pressure is applied.

Figure 2: The Aito Chip provides a complete interface between a piezo touch switch panel with its indicators and other feedback devices and the host system.



Using devices such as the Aito Chip com-pensates for these variables to enable thecreation of piezoelectric touch panels thatare stable and reliable, even in demandingenvironments where other touch technolo-gies may not function at all.

The controller chip, shown in figure 2, per-forms the following functions:

1. Captures the analogue signal generated by pressure on piezoelectric pill, with sensitivity adjustment achieved by varying the input switching point.

2. Communicates with a host processor via an I2C or SPI interface.

3. Produces a number of outputs to create user feedback, which can be sound (a buzzer), visual (LED indicator) or haptic (a physical sensation).

By detecting both the push and releaseactions, touch duration can also be meas-ured. This means that each button can per-form two distinct functions because ‘touchand hold’ enables a different response.

Note also that haptic feedback is localisedto the individual button on the controlpanel and the vibration experience can betailored to one of several distinct responses.

This Aito technology has been dubbed‘Software Enhanced Piezo’ (SEP) and a con-sortium of companies has established a website at www.sep-touch.org to promote it.

One of the principle advantages of piezo-electric switches is freedom for productdesigners to use virtually any material,whether an electrical conductor or an insula-tor, as the panel overlay. Switch assembliescan be flat or curved, and of varying thick-

nesses. This design flexibility enables engi-neers and designers to create panels thatare not only technically suited to the appli-cation but which also add user appeal to theend product. The choice of overlay materialcan be optimized for the operating environ-ment, perhaps providing protection frommoisture, chemicals or even radiation. Figure3 shows an application example.

Piezoelectric switches are also easilydesigned to cope with electrostatic dis-charge (ESD) and to operate reliably in thepresence of radio frequency interference,both of which can cause significant prob-lems with capacitive touch panels. Piezo isalso an energy efficient solution; capacitivepanels have to continually generate an elec-trostatic field whereas piezo switches gener-ate their own signal when activated, with thechip powered down until an input isreceived.

SEP development tools, which enable thesensitivity and user-feedback to be tailoredfor individual touch buttons, include hard-ware demonstration and evaluation kits, aPC software design suite and softwarelibrary, and comprehensive documentation.The software library supports the Arduinocomputer platform, enabling developers to

demonstrate hardware prototypes beforedesigning their own embedded hardware.

SummaryEvery touch technology has its sweet spot –applications for which it provides the most

suitable solution at the lowest cost. Recentadvances in piezoelectric touch buttons,particularly SEP with the additional benefitof haptic feedback, are likely to see thistechnology adopted much more widely dueto the freedom it offers designers to differ-entiate their products through creative aes-thetics, the robustness achievable, and thecost-savings that can be realised. n

Links:

This video demonstrates the robustness of apiezoelectric control panel with Aito’s SEPtechnology.

http://aito-touch.com

Figure 3: The overlay of a piezoelectric touch panel can be any material, including stainless steel, as used for the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ waterproof controls on this mixer tap.


As of now, customers can acquireTelit m2mAIR M2M SIM cards andchips through Rutronik ElektronischeBauelemente GmbH. With exten-sive roaming options even withinthe host country, SIM manage-ment, security features as well astechnical support and a trou-bleshooting service, these SIMsprovide a complete, secure andcost-effective solution for all typesof M2M applications while main-taining absolute control overcosts. In addition to the standardSIM cards, models with larger tem-perature ranges as well as sol-dered SIM chips are also availablethrough Rutronik.

The M2M SIM cards from Telitm2mAIR offer a whole range ofoptions and services that arespecifically designed for M2Mapplications and all types of solu-tions. The real-time managementof usage policies, the definition ofalarms, customisable limits for net-work traffic and cost warnings allowfor absolute control over costsincurred by end users. All SIMcards can be managed with ease viaa web-based portal. The SIM man-agement system covers the entireSIM card life cycle, from the pro-curement of the SIM card, trou-bleshooting and diagnostics, man-agement of consumption and userprofiles as well as network-basedusage policies with many flexibleroaming profiles and extensive APIfunctionality. The lifecycle manage-ment system lets you establish pre-

cisely under which circumstanceswhich billing mode should apply("test ready" or "active"). Over-the-air services enable module proper-ties and services to be modifiedafter installation (post-production).Active remote troubleshootingensures that the SIM cards workfree of errors and interruptionsthanks to remote monitoring, real-time alarms, remote diagnosticsand remote error fixing as well assupport for remote AT commands.Among the features provided bythe module management systemare network diagnostics, remoteresets, and IP and hardware tests. The integrated, multi-layered secu-

rity structure is made up of numer-ous solutions aimed at ensuringidentity protection as well as pro-viding protection against commu-nications interception and datatheft. The unique roaming optionsalso provide security against net-work failures, even when within thehost country – if a network fails, theSIM card will seamlessly switch toanother network. Thanks to a partnership withTelefónica, the user has a choice ofattractive rates around the world;even medium-sized and smallerprojects can benefit from ratesthat would otherwise normally bereserved for larger projects. These SIM cards are available as astandard model with a tempera-ture range of -25°C to 85°C andalso as an industrial-grade modelwith an expanded temperaturerange of -40°C to 105°C. They arealso ETSI TS 102.671-compliant.SIM chips, which are soldereddirectly onto the board, also offersignificantly higher resistance tovibrations and shock. RUTRONIKwww.rutronik.com

Rutronik offers M2M SIM cards and chips fromTelit m2mAIR


Microchip announces a new family of projected-capacitivetouch controllers, the MTCH6102 with industry-leading low-power performance. These turnkey projected-capacitive con-trollers make it easy for designers to add contemporary touchand gesture interface designs to cost-sensitive applications.This MTCH6102 facilitates design integration of capacitivescanning for touchscreens and touchpads including 11 single-finger gestures to swipe, scroll or double tap. The MTCH6102enables flexible, scalable solutions to support PCB, ITO or FPCsensors up to 15 channels. It supports cover lenses up to 3 mmplastic and 5 mm glass and configurable sleep/idle frame ratesto optimise for most power budgets with active mode as low as12 μA. Microchip offers its free Configuration Utility to allowdesigners to make fast customisations. Microchip also providesdesigners with the firmware library for further optimisation andcontrol if needed.

The MTCH6102 provides developers with a flexible touch-sensing solution for smaller touch areas to optimise commonconstraints of size, power and cost.The MTCH6102 family serves a wide range of applications inthe consumer electronic market, such as remote controls, gam-ing devices, wearable devices including headphones, watches,fitness wristbands, and track pads; and in the automotive mar-ket for automotive interior controls and control panels; as wellas other applications.

Key Facts:• MTCH6102 enables fast, cost-effective, low-power

designs for modern human interface• Turnkey projected-capacitive controllers for

cost-sensitive applications• Simplifies the addition of contemporary touch and

gesture interface designs• Flexible, scalable solutions can be optimised for most

power budgets• Supported by free Configuration Utility, firmware

library and low-cost development kit

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/TU7M

Microchip announces industry’s lowestpower projected-capacitive touch controllers


DESIGN DIGITAL POWER CONVERSION

Digital power management andcontrol provide real-time intelli-gence that enables system devel-opers to build power systemsthat automatically adapt to theirenvironment and provide opti-mised efficiency for each specificuse-case. The use of intelligentdigital power ICs allows automat-ic compensation for changes inload and system temperatureand enables energy savingsthrough the use of adaptivedead-time control, dynamic volt-age scaling, frequency shifting,phase dropping and discontinu-ous switching modes. One obstacle to the rapid adop-tion of digital power has beenits perceived expense, but anydifferential between analogueand digital control is fast disap-pearing with the introduction ofthe latest components, such asIntersil’s ZL8800. Digital powerefficiency and cost is nowequalling or bettering compara-ble analogue power-conversionsolutions, while providing moreadvanced features. Most importantly, the pulse widthmodulation (PWM), loop controland feedback are implementeddigitally. Analogue signals areconverted to digital using ana-logue-to-digital converters (ADCs)and once the signals are digital,

microcontrollers, digital-signalprocessors or computationalstate machines control the digitalPWM and the feedback loop.This has important advantages interms of maintaining stabilitywithout the compromises onresponsiveness from which ana-logue control often suffers. Although digital control offersadvantages, many manufactur-ers are not taking full advantageof what the technology offersand have, in many cases, simplyimplemented in digital form thecore analogue PWM techniques.Digital control makes it possibleto build far more flexible controlloops and take advantage ofmultirate control in which indi-vidual algorithms are tuned tohandle events that happen atdifferent speeds.Traditional digital PWM con-trollers are uniformly sampled.The controller samples the errorin output voltage and from thatcomputes the required dutycycle for the next switching cycle.The downside of uniformly sam-pled controller is the latency orgroup delay from sampling theerror to when the PWM con-troller is able to switch thepower-supply circuitry appropri-ately. The group delay translatesto phase lag, which increases with

frequency and places an upperbound on the achievable closed-loop bandwidth. Multirate control makes it possi-ble to provide stable power butreact almost instantaneously tosudden changes in voltage, pro-viding an appropriate responsewithin a single PWM switchingcycle. The only way to achievewith this conventional architec-tures is to employ variable-fre-quency switching techniques,using higher frequency sam-pling and control when the volt-age is changing rapidly. But thisis not a useful approach formany systems. Modern telecom-munications equipment andother applications with stringentelectromagnetic compatibility(EMC) demands require fixed-frequency operation so that

they can maintain tight controlof the noise spectrum.Another approach is to apply aproportionate gain that is linearto the error voltage deviation.Using only a proportionate gainit is possible to achieve singlecycle reaction using fixed-fre-quency switching but a fast-response loop gain can lead toinstability.The ChargeMode technologydeveloped by Intersil and usedin the ZL8800 dual-channel/dual-phase DC/DC controlleruses a mixture of uniform andmulti-rate sampling techniques,which samples the error andcomputes the modulation signalmultiple times during a switchingperiod. This technique signifi-cantly reduces group delay andtherefore supports very high

Figure 1: ZL8800 Digital PWM Modulation.

Multirate techniques fueladvances in digital powerconversionFor decades, analogue technology has formed the cornerstone of power converter topolo-gies. Although most converters use switching techniques and pulsewidth modulation, theimplementation circuitry has been predominantly analogue for compatibility at a processlevel for power semiconductors as well as cost-effectiveness. But the situation is changing.The drive for greater efficiency in data centres and telecommunication systems is exposingthe shortcomings of analogue technology and its derivatives.


DESIGN DIGITAL POWER CONVERSION

bandwidth operation. The phaselag is significantly reduced due tothe reduction of group delay.The ZL8800 also uses a dual-edge modulator, which outper-forms competitive and so-called‘leading-edge’ modulators interms of total group delay. Figure 1 shows ZL8800’s dual-sampling technique. The totaldelay (tdelay) is the sum of ADCconversion delay and computa-tion delay (including pipeline/ fil-ter delays) using either of thesample rates. By using the higher-frequency NxFsw clock in Figure1, the ZL8800 clearly demon-strates a reduction of tdelay com-pared to a conventional, uniform-ly sampled PWM modulator.

Armed with an error signal fromhigh-frequency sampling, theChargeMode controller uses anovel strategy to overcome theinstability of using just high loopgain. This is performed by localis-ing the effect of a change to oneor a few cycles. If the duty-cycleeffect propagates to the next fewcycles, then it may lead to thepoint of instability. Using digitalcontrol it is possible to ensurethat what is done to the dutycycle to cope with a sudden volt-age deviation in one switchingcycle is undone within the nextswitching cycle or next fewcycles. This technique is knownas “a single-cycle response”(ASCR) digital compensation.The compensator block dia-gram, shown in Figure 2, hasmany similarities to a traditionaldigital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller archi-tecture used in conventionalPWM control strategies. But ithas significant differences. Thediagram indicates how the multi-rate sampling technique is inte-grated within the compensator.The compensator has two paral-

lel paths for processing thequantised error voltage. One iscalled the ‘fast path,’ which sam-ples error voltage more fre-quently than the ‘slow path.’Using this novel compensatorstructure, the duty-cycle com-mand is fed back to determinethe effect of the fast path and tonullify the fast path effect in thefollowing cycles. The ZL8800 compensator struc-ture has reduced delays betweenthe error sampling instant and theduty-cycle decision. This trans-lates to a natural phase boost athigh frequencies, which providesstability and makes it possible forhigh-bandwidth designs, asshown in Figure 3.

Through the use of multi-ratesampling and control, the ASCRcompensator can achieve aninherently stable control loop,which only needs to be tuned forbandwidth specification. In awide range of output filter con-figurations, only ASCR gain needsto be varied to reach the desiredclosed-loop bandwidth opera-tion. To allow higher perform-ance, there is a second parameterthat can be user controlled: theresidual. This is a dampening fac-tor, essentially setting theresponse rate of the loop.

A potential drawback of con-ventional multi-rate samplingtechnique is the injection ofswitching frequency harmonicsinto the feedback loop due tooversampling of the error. TheZL8800 overcomes this problemthrough the use of a low-latencyripple filter in the fast path – allrepetitive elements of ripple aretotally rejected. All that remainsare the non-periodic elementsin the waveform including tran-sient steps with little or no delay,resulting in more than 20dB ofripple reduction without a sig-nificant time delay allowing highgains and higher bandwidths. PWM control is only part of theoverall solution. Having the dig-ital controller in a highly inte-grated mixed-signal silicon tech-nology process allows the inte-gration of power managementwith power conversion.The advanced power systemsfound in the latest generation ofbase-stations, routers and otherdata-communications infrastruc-

ture designs use digital signallingover the serial PowerManagement Bus (PMBus). ThePMbus has become the standardprotocol for communicating withpower conversion systems usinga digital communications bus.Using PMBus and PMBus-enabled devices for power con-version provides flexibility andcontrol that is not possible withtraditional analogue power sys-tems. Even adding a new poweris simplified using the PMBus.The digital power IC for the newrail is provided with its own

SMBus address and is added tothe system and there is no needto reprogram or add more stand-alone power-management ICsbecause of the additional volt-age rail. As it is supported byPMBus, the new rail is automati-cally integrated into the standardmonitoring, sequencing, margin-ing and fault detection schemes.Digital control can go further. Forexample, Intersil’s single-wireDigital-DC (DDC) serial busallows power ICs to communi-cate with each other, supportingcomplex distributed functionssuch as inter-IC phase-currentbalancing, sequencing and faultspreading, eliminating therequirement for complicatedpower supply managers that areoften accompanied by numerousexternal discrete components.The use of software also pro-vides the ability to programdevice behavior even after PCBassembly, allowing easier proto-typing as well as system tuningfor semicustom subsystems.Although some advanced powersystems may require extensiveprogramming and coding experi-ence from users to set up thecommands and functionalityrequired to access the capabili-ties of digital power manage-ment devices, the PowerNavigator software written byIntersil for the ChargeMode-technology devices enables thesimple configuration and moni-toring of multiple DDC devicesvia the USB interface. The toolmakes it easy to change all fea-tures and functions of a digitalpower supply design using a sim-ple graphical user interface.Through simple drag-and-dropgraphics users can simplify andcreate an entire power manage-ment environment without hav-ing to write a single line of code.

As a result, through the combi-nation of more advanced digitalprocessing, communicationsand software control, digitalpower can provide higher effi-ciency power delivery withlower design cycle times. nwww.intersil.com

Figure 3:Phase boost at high frequencies.

Figure 2: ASCR Digital Compensator.


DESIGN CURRENT TRANSDUCERS

IntroductionElectrical current measurement in powerelectronics applications involves more thanjust the transducer selection. The path fromthe transducer to the micro-controllercould involve several stages. Each of thesestages has an impact on the accuracy of themeasurement. • Offset and gain uncertainties may be

added by an intermediate scaling and level shifting stage

• The use of a burden resistor in closed loopapplications injects accuracy modifiers

• The final stage of converting the analog current information into a digital format involves the effective number of bits and a final resolution of the current measured

Many power electronic applications requirean expanded range for the current measur-ing device. This expanded range covers thenormal operating range (80%-125% nomi-nal current) and coverage for protection(300%). This can have a limiting effect on thedynamic range available control operation.

Over Current DetectionWith the advent of ASIC based currentdetection, options to include other featuresbecame available. The ASIC is placed in thegap of the core (see Figure 1). In addition tooffset lowering technologies such as Hall cellspinning (see Figure 2.) or programmablesensitivity, the option to include over cur-rent detection (OCD) as a separate, pro-

grammable output became possible. TheOCD changes states, perhaps as an open-collector style output when a trip thresholdis exceeded. With an externalized OCD pin,the measuring range of the transducer nolonger must include the protection peaks.The entire measuring range can be focusedon the dynamic operating range of theapplication.The OCD can be programmed for differenttrip thresholds. This allows for thresholds tobe set at 250% or 300%. In the case of theLEM HO series, the programmabilityextends to 570% nominal rating of the trans-ducer. The over current being detected isbeyond the rated measuring range of thetransducer.

Expanded dynamic rangecurrent measurementby Erik Lange, Marketing & Applications Engineer, LEM USA, Inc.

Figure 1ASIC Based Current Transducer.



An 8 amp rated transducer can be pro-grammed for a 45.6A OCD threshold.The OCD allows for the elimination of adedicated over current detection crowbarcircuit or similar requirement. This frees upboard space and reduces the componentcount. A crowbar circuit may consist of acomparator and several resistors; perhaps 5discrete components could be eliminated.

Focused Dynamic RangeWith the protection function covered bythe OCD output, the measuring range is leftto focus on the dynamic control range. Thetransducer is fundamentally going to inter-act with a 5V or 3.3V device for the analogto digital conversion. If the current magni-tude information can be delivered in the 5Vor 3.3V range, less intermediate circuitry

such as level shifters and scaling will beneeded. Most ASIC based transducers are5V, with 3.3V becoming more available.Historically, the dynamic range has beendefined as 0.625V/nominal current for the5V devices. This allows for a bidirectional device (ACmeasurement) to have a zero current pointdefined as 2.5V out. Current in either direc-tion of flow increases or decreases the out-put voltage of the transducer from the 2.5Vstart point (zero primary current). For example, in the case of a 10A applica-tion (10A equals 100% load), the transducerwould have a nominal rating of 10A with a30A peak rating to provide for protection.The sensitivity of 0.625V/10A (LEM HXS 10-

NP/SP4 for example) allows for 300% read-ing (30A or 4.375V output) for protection.The Volts/Amps are 0.625V/10A or62.5mV/Amp.

Magnetic MultiplicationThe method of multiple wraps of conductorin serial through a transducer is a knowntechnique and is often referred to as

‘Magnetic Multiplication’. This is useful whena current transducers rating is above that ofthe applications primary current. It is impor-tant to utilize as much of the transducersdynamic range as possible to minimize off-set and linearity errors. The conductorsmagnetic fields sum to a multiple defined bythe number of wraps in serial. This will beshown in the following AC & DC applicationexamples.

AC ApplicationWith the OCD monitoring for protection,the entire dynamic range can be utilized forcontrol. The above 10A example applica-tion can be applied to a 15A transducer(LEM HO 15-NP).

Figure 2 Hall Cell Spinning Concept.

Figure 3 Over Current Detection Pin.

Figure 4 Example of Transducer with Multiple Bus Bars for Magnetic Multiplication and OCD Pin.



The current is wrapped through three timesin serial on the three separate bus bars. With125% of the nominal rating of the applica-tion as the upper range, the current willappear to be as high as 37.5A for a maxi-mum. At 100% duty (10A), the transducersees 30A. An original sensitivity of 53.33mV/A (HO 15-NP) will correspond to aresulting sensitivity of 160mV/A. This com-pares to the 62.5mV/A of a standard 10Anominal transducer by a factor of 2.56. The lower currents are lifted higher out ofthe noise floor and the available dynamicrange is more utilized. That is an example ofan AC application where both sides of the2.5V zero current point need to be utilizedby the application.

Unidirectional DC ApplicationIn a DC example that is unidirectional innature, the Vref can be utilized to dramati-cally expand the dynamic measuring range.Starting with a LEM HO 8-NP and wrappingthe primary current three times in serial, amaximum (125%) current of the applicationis achieved of 37.5A. With the Vref pulledor programmed to 0.5V representing 0A,the 100mV/A sensitivity of the transducercan be fully realized. The peak voltage out-put at 37.5A is 4.250V, a breadth of 3.75Vfor a change of 12.5A or 300mV/A. A DCapplication that in the past would operate at62.5mV/A can now operate at 300mV/A. Ina 5V/12bit application, a bit represents1.22mV. The output voltage would range

between 0.50V and 4.250V representing acurrent of 0A to 12.5A and a range of 3072bits. In a traditional 10A application withoutVref shifting and no OCD, the 0 to 12.5Aoperating range would be represented by avoltage of 2.5V to 3.28V. This range of 0.781V represents 640 bits.The bit resolution is 4.1mA for the Vrefshifted/OCD method or 19.5mA withoutthe ASIC based features. The Vref shifted/OCD combination will givemuch finer control of the current. Not all ASIC based transducers allow for themaximum range of currents. The LEM HO 8-NP allows for the increased dynamic range.However, the LEM HO 25-NP does notallow for such a broad multiple of measuringrange when the Vref is pulled to 0.50V. Typically the lower current range transduc-ers in a series will have a broader rangeavailable than the higher current membersof a transducer family.

Heat DissipationIn smaller transducers, when the dynamicrange is fully exploited, the conductors willgenerate heat in the single digit Watt range.Integral bus bars will have sub milli-Ohmresistance. But with currents in the 150Arange, even the 200μOhms of the LEMHLSR 50-P will begin to generate 4.5 watts. Modern ASIC based transducers will typi-cally allow operation in the 105°C to 125°Crange. In the case of ASIC based transducerswith bus bars there may be maximum bus

bar temperature limitations (120°C being atypical value). Thus higher heat generationwill not be an issue if heat dissipation istaken into account. PCB traces and coppersurrounding the transducer pins should bemaximized, not minimized, to assist in heatdissipation. Air movement will play animportant role. A challenge is sizing thetraces to the transducer to the minimum dic-tated by the design current. Minimally sizedtraces will not sufficiently wick away heatand even a high ambient (85°C) could possi-bly result in de-soldering of the transducer. A thorough check of the final designs oper-ating temperatures should include core, sol-der joint and bus bar temperatures.

ConclusionThe implementation of an expandeddynamic range through use of ASIC basedtransducers with OCD capability has severalbenefits:• Reduced component count and

increased reliability as the number of discrete components decreases

• Better resolution from the analog to digital converter

• Increased sensitivity being the best gain overall as the amount of volts per amps increases

• Improved signal to noise ratioAn ASIC based current transducer with OCDcapability takes current measurement a leapforward in resolution, sensitivity, reliabilityand noise immunity. n

Micrium, represented in Germany byEmbedded Office GmbH & Co. KG,Wangen, announces the release ofμC/Probe, Graphical Live Watch™ v3.2.μC/Probe is a Windows-based applicationthat allows engineers to graphically visualizeand change the behavior of embedded sys-tems at run-time. μC/Probe can read fromand write to the memory (or I/O) of justabout any embedded processor during run-time, and represent those values as a graphi-cal objects: gauges, meters, numeric indica-tors, LEDs, sliders, graphs, and many more. “We added exciting new features, including aMicrosoft Excel interface allowing additionalcomputation to be performed on live dataand to further display the data graphicallyusing Excel’s built-in charting tool, the ability to

write scripts to configure your target, and a ter-minal window that can use a wide range ofcommunication interfaces including the recent

addition of USB”, said Jean Labrosse, Micriumfounder, president and CEO. “µC/Probeshould be thought of as your go-to tool thatreplaces 'printf()' and brings your debug/testenvironment into the twenty first century.”μC/Probe is a tool that a great number ofembedded developers have and use on adaily basis. You can now select the licensingmodel and features that best fit your needsand budget through the following licensingmodels: Educational/Evaluation (free), Basic,and Professional. The paid versions are avail-able in several convenient licensing levelsallowing customers to pay monthly, yearly or,move all the way up to a perpetual license.

MICRIUM www.micrium.comEMBEDDED OFFICE www.embedded-office.de

Micrium’s New µC/Probe v3.2 Brings Debug and Test into the 21st CenturyMicrium and Embedded Office offer new monitoring tool for embedded systems



IAR Systems® released a majorenhanced version of its completeand high-performance develop-ment toolchain IAR EmbeddedWorkbench® for ARM®. Highlightsare multicore debugging function-

ality and support for automaticNEON™ vectorization which sig-nificantly strengthens develop-ment of complex applications.Multicore applications often inter-act in complex ways and are there-fore challenging to debug. Withsupport for multicore debugging inthe comprehensive C-SPY®Debugger in IAR EmbeddedWorkbench for ARM, developers

are able to simultaneously debugtwo or more identical cores, sym-metric multicore processing (SMP),or two cores with different archi-tectures, asymmetric multicoreprocessing (AMP), in one single

development envi-ronment. This makesit considerably easi-er to find programerrors during devel-opment. For devel-opers working withapplications basedon ARM Cortex®-Aprocessors, espe-cially with multime-dia and signal pro-cessing applications,

the support for NEON vectoriza-tion is crucial for top performance.ARM NEON is a Single InstructionMultiple Data (SIMD) architectureextension developed by ARM andis implemented as part of the ARMprocessor, but has its own execu-tion pipelines and a register bankthat is distinct from the ARM regis-ter bank. IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com

IAR Systems adds multicore debugging andautomatic NEON vectorization to world-leadingdevelopment tools for ARM

Mouser Electronics, Inc. now hasstock available to ship of Intel's pop-ular Galileo Arduino® CertifiedDevelopment Board, powered bythe newest Intel® Quark X1000 SoC.

The Intel® Galileo DevelopmentBoard available from MouserElectronics is designed around the32 bit Intel Quark X1000, aPentium-class system on a chip(SoC) and is the first product in anew family of Arduino Certifiedboards based on an Intel processor.Galileo is hardware and softwarecompatible with most Arduino

shields designed for the Uno R3.Shields are accessory boards thatplug into an Arduino board toextend its capabilities. The Intel Galileo has several PCindustry standard I/O ports andfeatures that expand its capabili-ties beyond the Arduino ecosys-tem. A mini-PCI Express slot,100Mb Ethernet port, microSD™slot, RS-232 serial port, USB Hostport, USB Client Port, and 8 MByteNOR flash memory are also avail-able on the board. Galileo uses theArduino Integrated DevelopmentEnvironment (IDE) interface tocreate programs for the Galileocalled “sketches.” To run a sketchon the board, first connect apower supply, then connectGalileo's USB Client port to a PC,and then upload the sketch fromthe IDE interface.MOUSER ELECTRONICSwww.mouser.com

Mouser Stocking Intel Galileo Arduino CertifiedDevelopment Board For Same-Day Shipping

SWINDON will be showcasing its automotive productrange at Sensor + Test, Hall 12, Stand No 12-529. As partof Schrader International, SWINDON has a long historyin Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) and you’llbe able to see for yourself SWINDON’s latest develop-ments in this field on their stand. Automobile tyre pres-sure is critical to safety - a recent NHTSA study foundthat tyres under-inflated by more than 25% are threetimes more likely to be involved in an accident relatedto tyre problems. In addition, an under-inflated tyreincreases fuel cost by up to 4% and reduces tyre life by30% by comparison with correctly inflated tyres.

Driver safety is of paramount importance and ASICsare now core to motorist aids, monitoring variablessuch as coolant and oil levels, vehicle speed, light out-ages and crank and throttle positions. By giving realtime accurate information SWINDON ASICs are amajor contributor to safety, enabling the driver to befully aware of all aspects of the vehicle’s performance.But it’s not just the automotive sector that can improvesafety with SWINDON ASICs. Industrial control applica-tions where safety critical (IEC 61508) standards arerequired, is very much part of the SWINDON portfolio.These ASICs operate in the most challenging of environ-ments and along with offering a high level of reliability,the performance and flexibility of the devices offer ourcustomers an unprecedented market advantage. Withthe ability to have embedded processors alongside theadvanced analogue circuitry, SWINDON’s mixed signalASICs are proving a market leading cost effective solu-tion across a variety of industries. They are used in suchdiverse applications as monitoring vital signs in health-care, optimising process operating conditions in real timeand controlling precision manufacturing plant. In fact anyapplication that requires sensor interfaces with the addi-tional safety and security that only ASICs can bring.SWINDON SILICON SYSTEMS (SWINDON) www.swindonsilicon.co.uk

ASICs Make a MajorContribution to Safety


BAR CODE POSITIONING WAS NEVER THIS GOOD!Ten years of practical experiencehas been incorporated in the sec-ond generation of our bar codepositioning systems. The result is aproduct that sets standards both inperformance characteristics as wellas in ease of handling. Mountingand operation are now even sim-pler, faster and more reliable.

THE WHOLE IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS.Your benefit lies in the combination of the many advantages offeredby the BPS 300i systems. What they all have in common is focus onsimple usability with maximum possible performance reserves forfault-free function of the devices. Highly resistant bar code tape,available in lengths of up to 10 km, facilitates precise and continuousposition determination, even over extremely long paths.

Integrated connectivity • Completely configurable from the control, data transmission

to the control. • Diagnosis with Profinet or web browser (webConfig).• Low installation costs with integrated switch.• Parameter memory in the connection hood.

Benefit: time savings during configuration, diagnosis

Diagnosis: Availability control• Monitoring of availability via Profinet, webConfig, display or

binary output.• Data monitored: quality, distance to tape, speed.• Simultaneously to the Profinet-Host communication the

measurement and diagnostic values can be monitored by a Service-PC.

Large working range• Working range 50-170 mm, 200% larger

than competitors.• Tolerant at distance fluctuations.• Flexible mechanical installation of BPS348i

allows easy installation in different designs.

Benefit: increased system availability

Barcode tape - kilometers long and accurate to the millimeter• Film setting printing

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Leuze BPS 348i - Bar code positioningsystem for positioning with millimeteraccuracy over distances of up to 10 km.

DESIGN SENSORS

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DESIGN SENSORS


The new QFHD LCD monitorfrom Sharp forms an entirely newgeneration of displays thanks tothe cutting edge IGZO (Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide) technologythat provides very high resolu-tion and energy efficiency. TheLCD monitor is available at dis-tributor Rutronik as of now. At 3,840 × 2,160 pixels, this80.1cm diagonal (32") class moni-tor boasts four times the resolu-tion of 1080p full HD. It allows thelandscape and portrait installation.The content of four HD screenscan be viewed on a single, seam-less display. Thanks to the verygood resolution, the monitor isideal for a wide range of profes-sional applications in settingswhere detailed information needsto be displayed with tremendousprecision. The moni-tor comeswith anEdge LEDbacklighttechnolo-gy and a multi-stream transport(MST). It provides a contrast ratioof 800:1 at a brightness of

350cd/m². Concerning the con-nectivity, it offers one DisplayPort,one Audio 3.5mm Jack and one

RS232C IN. A Plug and PlayComputer input and built inspeakers with 2× 2W are also instock. With a power consumptionof 93W (operating MAX), theQFHD LCD monitor is very energyefficient. RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/news+M5b7fc9184f0.html

RUTRONIK EMBEDDED: New QFHD LCD Monitor con-nects High Resolution and Energy Efficiency

MSC Technologies is presenting aparticularly high-quality 6.5 inch(16.5 cm) WVGA Rugged+ dis-play from KOE Europe. The new6.5 inch display (part nameTX17D200VM0BAA) isdesigned to function reli-ably under rigorous operat-ing conditions found, forexample, in industrial,marine, aerospace andmedical applications withdemanding optical andmechanical requirements.The TX17D200VM0BAA, which isbased on KOE’s innovative in-plane-switching (IPS) technology,has a 16:9 wide aspect ratio and isthe newest member of KOE’sRugged+ display lineup. Its fea-tures include wide viewing anglesof 85 degrees in all directions (up,down, left, right). A WVGA (800 x480 pixels) resolution, a 700 cd/m²brightness and a contrast ratio of

600:1 ensure that display imagesare bright, clear and uniform. As with all members of theRugged+ display lineup the

TX17D200VM0BAA is, to a largeextent, resistant to extrememechanical shock and intensivevibration. The 6.5-inch displaymodule has mechanical outlinedimensions of 154.8 mm (w) ×92.7 mm (h) × 10.2 mm (d) and theoperating temperature range isfrom -30°C to +80°C.MSC TECHNOLOGIESwww.msc-technologies.eu

High-quality 6.5-inch (16.5 cm) WVGA Rugged+display for use in harsh environments The LMH2 modules from Cree

now succeeded to simulate theatmospheric light of a sunset usinga new technology which is called“Sunset Dimming”.The new mod-ule enables a natural dimming pro-file that was previously unachiev-able with any other energy-savingtechnology. "Sunset Dimmimg" isideal for use in homes,hotels and restaurants.Cree’s sunset dimmingtechnology dims smoothlyfrom 2700K to 1800K,delivering rich, warm lightfor applications requiringa traditional style of dim-ming, such as hospitalityand residential settings,while still achieving over80-percent energy reduc-tion compared to energy-ineffi-cient incandescent. Available in a range of lumens (850to 3000) at 2700K and multipledriver options, LMH2 modules

with sunset-dimming technologycan plug in seamlessly to existingLMH2 module drivers and reflec-tors, and are also compatible withTRIAC dimmers - meaning thehigh-performance module can beeasily retrofitted in any room withtraditional dimming technologiesor used in new installations with

0–10V or digital addressable light-ing interface (DALI) dimming tech-nologies. MSC TECHNOLOGIESwww.msc-technologies.eu

The new XLamp XQ-E LED familyof Cree combines the excellentperformance of the XP-E2 in asmaller form factor by 78 percentand is now avail-able from MSCTechnologies.It opens up newdesign possibili-ties for a widespectrum oflighting applica-tions, such asportable, indoord i r e c t i o n a l ,architectural andvehicle lighting.The new XQ-ELEDs have a tiny1.6-mm × 1.6-mm footprint andare available in both white andcolor configurations. The XQ-E’scombination of optical symmetry,consistent design across all con-figurations and its small sizeenables improved color mixingand optical control compared tothe larger XP-E2 LED. Built on Cree’s revolutionary SC3Technology™ Platform and char-acterized at 85°C, the XQ-EWhite LED is available in 2700-K

to 6200-K color temperaturesand offers minimum CRI optionsof 70 and 80. The XQ-E WhiteLED delivers up to 287 lumens at

3W, 85°C. XQ-E Color LEDs areavailable in red, green and blue. With the XQ-E LEDs it is possibleto make smaller and cheaperlighting without sacrificing lightyield, efficiency, and lifetime. It istherefore ideally suited for use inlighting applications such as flash-lights, building and vehicle interi-or lighting and spotlights in theinterior.MSC TECHNOLOGIESwww.msc-technologies.eu

XLamp XQ-E LEDs Deliver Big Performancein a Tiny Package

LMH2 module of Cree simulated sunset

PRODUCT NEWS Lighting Solutins / Display

The new EA 9780-3USB testboard allows a rapid start to bemade on development projectsinvolving displays of the EA DOGand EA eLABEL20 lines fromGilching manufacturer ElectronicAssembly. The PCB drives all dis-play modules of these productlines and, when combined withthe free PC software StartDog.exe,enables all dis-plays and illumina-tion schemes ofthe DOG series tobe tested rapidly.Commiss ioningdoes not requireany proprietaryhardware or soft-ware develop-ment at all, whichmeans that high-level decisions canbe reached extremely quickly andat minimum expense.The board comes with an arrange-ment of plug contacts to suit all theabove display modules. The PCBalso contains the driver circuit forthe LED backlighting of the displayas well as two banks of DIP switch-es that allow even multicolor back-lighting right through to full-color

RGB illumination to be realized. Noother hardware components –such as adapters, driver boards,power supplies or the like – arerequired. Connection to the mas-ter PC is by means of a suppliedUSB cable. Once the test board isconnected to the PC, the displaysimmediately show the screen con-tent developed with StartDog.exe.

This software is available free ofcharge on the home page and canbe used even without a test board,which means that text and bitmapgraphics for the display modulescan be displayed directly. Thisscreen content is loaded onto thetest board and displayed. ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY www.lcd-module.com

Developing and testing displays in the blink of an eye

MSC Technologies presented theinnovative projective capacitive(PCAP) touch panel technologyfrom NLT Technologies atembedded world 2014,February 25 27, 2014 inNuremberg, Germany.More than 30 different dis-play versions with NLT’sPCAP touch panel technol-ogy are already available.In addition to inexpensivestandard versions, differentversions with ultra-wideviewing angle, extreme brightnessand extended temperature rangeas well as versions with opticalbonded touchscreens are avail-able for demanding applications.The displays range from 6.5-inchto 15.6-inch in size and are, with-out exception, long-term avail-able and subject to strict qualitycriteria.

NLT’s advanced PCAP touchpanel technology is also used inapplications where the use of

touchscreens was previously pre-cluded, for example due to safe-ty reasons. Among others, animportant feature is that thetouch surface is flush with theouter edges of the display. Inmany cases, this simplifies installa-tion into the finished equipment. MSC TECHNOLOGIESwww.msc-technologies.eu

NLT Technologies projective capacitive (PCAP)touch panel displays now available in more than30 different versions MSC Technologies, an Avnet

Company, announced the avail-ability of Avalue’s AID-173 seriesof medical PCs that combines amedical monitoring and diagnos-tic solution with infotainment forpatients. It enables authorisedmedical staff to view electronicpatient records and retrieve med-ical information, X-rays or otherdocuments. It also incorporatesinfotainment functions, allowingthe patient to use a wide range ofmultimedia such as entertainment,telephone, games and the inter-net. As it comes with a camera anda handset, the AID-173 series canalso be used to alert medical staff,ask for medical advice or call forassistance. This series is designedfor flexibility of expansion andincludes multiple interfaces, suchas Mini PCI, COM and USB. Tofacilitate visualisation, the AID-173series has a 17.3” wide panel with

full HD 1920 × 1080 resolutionand an LED backlight. It also fea-tures a smart card reader, RFID,MSR and barcode scanner to facil-itate data capture, user identifica-tion and security. The AID-173

series incorporates an audio inter-face, various display ports andweb access to provide patientswith a wide range of entertain-ment options. MSC TECHNOLOGIESwww.msc-technologies.eu

The Oslon Compact SFH 4710infrared light-emitting diode(IRED) from Osram OptoSemiconductors closes the gapbetween high- and low-powerIREDs. Despite the very small pack-age it offers highly ver-satile output thanks tostate-of-the-art thin-film chip technology. Itis available at distribu-tor Rutronik as of now.As a mid-power LEDwith a typical outputof 270mW from anoperating current of500mA, it occupiesthe output rangebetween Power TopLED andOslon Black. The SFH 4710 accom-modates a small powerful chipwith an edge length of 750μm andhalf the footprint of standard chipsin the Oslon Black. With packagedimensions of 1.6mm x 1.2mm x0.8mm, the Oslon Compact ishardly larger than the chip itselfand is therefore one of the smallestin its output class. The high outputcombined with the small package,opens up new applications, partic-ularly where there is little available

space but performance demandsare high. If required, componentscan be packed very close together,to increase the optical output.The SFH 4710 has an emissionangle of +/-65° and does not need

internal optics or reflectors. Butthe light can be injected into nar-row-angle external optics. Withexternal optics it is ideal for illumi-nation in surveillance applicationsand for machine vision tasks suchas pattern recognition and 3Dmeasurement. This is because thewavelength of 850nm is barelyperceptible to the human eye butcan be easily detected by camerasystems.RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/8aa0104b.l

Now at Rutronik: Super small and highly versatileInfrared LED from Osram

MSC Technologies announces Avalue AID-173 Series ofMedical PCs for everyday medical practice


PRODUCT NEWS Lighting Solutins / Display


Avnet Abacus, one of Europe’sleading interconnect, passive,electro-mechanical and powerdistributors and a business unit ofAvnet Electronics MarketingEMEA, a business region ofAvnet, Inc., is carrying a substan-tially augmented range of passiveand electro-mechanical devicesfrom leading global electroniccomponent vendor, KEMET.The KEMET product line, whichpreviously focused on capacitortechnologies, now includes abroad selection of supercapaci-tors, miniature signal relays, ACline filters and metal compositeinductors, gained through thecompany’s joint venture withJapanese component manufac-turer NEC TOKIN, announcedlast year. The ability to source thisvastly extended KEMET portfoliofrom Avnet Abacus means thatEurope-based electronics designengineers can benefit from a

much broader selection ofdevices for their projects, withthe additional bonus of localtechnical support from the dis-tributor’s skilled and experiencedproduct specialists.These products target a widevariety of applications includingsmall cell supercapacitorsdesigned for board-mountedapplications such as RAM backupand small motor assist. The intro-duction of supercapacitors andinductors in particular to therange provides designers with acomprehensive assortment ofboard-level passive components.The complete extended KEMETproduct portfolio is available topurchase from Avnet Abacuswith short lead times. Technicalsupport is offered via the distrib-utor’s 40 offices located acrossEurope.AVNET ABACUSwww.avnet-abacus.eu

KEMET’s extended component portfolio availablefrom Avnet Abacus boosts passive and electro-mechanical product options for customers in Europe

Distributor Rutronik offers thetwo new photocouplers TLP2361and TLP2161 that combine high-speed communication with trans-fer rates up to 15Mbps and lowpower consumption. They findapplication in factory networking,high-speed digital inter-facing for instrumenta-tion and control devices,as well as in I/O interfaceboards.By employing Toshiba'shigh-output GaAIAs(MQW) infrared LEDs,operation is ensuredfrom -40° up to +125°C.The LED's high outputand reliability enables low thresh-old input current of just 1.6mA(max.), a reduction of 54% in com-parison with equivalent products.As the supply current per channelis reduced to 1mA, the TLP2361and TLP2161 have a lower charg-

ing rate of up to 66% comparedto conventional products.Thanks to the lower input currentrating, the photocouplers can bedriven directly by the micro-processor without requiring abuffer, contributing to lower

power consumption, lower com-ponent count and reduced costs.The receiver IC characteristics areguaranteed over a power voltagerange from 2.7 to 5.5V.RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/8951100c.l

Rutronik presents new High-Speed Logic IC Couplerwith Low-Power Consumption from Toshiba Murata announced that it has com-

menced mass production of theLXMS2HACNF-165 RFID devicethat features a wired I2C interface.Conforming to the RFID standardsISO/IEC 18000-6C, EPC globalC1G2 and operating in the 900MHz frequency band, this deviceis the latest addition to the surfacemount MAGICSTRAP® RFID familyof devices.The addition of an I2C interface tothe UHF RFID device means thatthe data of an IC mounted on thecustomer’s equipment and con-nected to it can be read using anUHF RFID-Reader/Writer. Likewisethe data in the RFID device can beread by an IC. Using an I2C MAG-ICSTRAP® device makes it possibleto achieve lower power consump-tion compared to other RF-tech-nologies since power necessary forthe communication is supplied bythe reader/writer. Access to theRFID device is even possible when

the power of the device equippedwith the MAGICSTRAP® is turnedoff. In addition, with the I2C MAG-ICSTRAP® a wireless interface canbe implemented at a lower costthan Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, andZigBee® as use of UHF RFID doesnot require certification on tagside. The I2C interface extends the

possible applications far beyondthe use of previous MAGIC-STRAP® RFID tags which havebeen in the areas of process man-agement, commodity manage-ment or traceability.MURATAwww.murata.eu

Murata announced the MTU2series of ultra miniature surfacemounted 2 W DC-DC convertersfrom Murata Power Solutions.Believed tobe the indus-try’s smallest2W convert-er and meas-uring just 8.2× 8.4 × 8.5mm with a0.69 cm2

footprint, it is50% smallerthan the cur-rent 1.67 cm2

industry stan-dard. With atypical con-version efficiency of 85% acrossthe full load range and a powerdensity of 3.403 Watts/cm3, theMTU2 series is available witheither a single or dual outputvoltage. Input voltages cover thepopular nominal inputs from 3.3to 24 VDC. Output voltageoptions include 5, 12, or 24 VDC.Dual output models provide ±5or ±12 VDC. Load regulation istypically 5% better than other

products available on the market,reducing the need for any addi-tional regulation components.The MTU2 has a 1kVDC

input/output galvanic isolationthat helps to reduce switchingnoise and allows the converter tobe configured to provide an iso-lated negative rail in systemswhere only positive rails exist.The MTU2 can operate over thefull industrial temperature rangefrom -40 to +85°C.

MURATAwww.murata.eu

Murata 2 Watt DC-DC converter shrinks footprintby 50% of industry norm

Murata adds I2C interface to MAGICSTRAP® RFID device

PRODUCT NEWS ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Intersil Corporation announcedthe industry’s first small form fac-tor half-/full-bridge drivers thatsignificantly extend power usageand overall product life of multi-cell lithium ion(Li) batterydevices oper-ating from 5Vto 50V. Thenew HIP2103and HIP2104bridge drivershave a config-urable topolo-gy to enableh a l f - b r i d g e,full-bridge and three phasemotor-driven applications. Theyprovide an innovative safety fea-ture that prevents voltage kick-back, which is the leading cause ofdamage and deterioration of Libatteries. The HIP2103/04 bridgedrivers extend battery life througha unique power managementmethod enabling the industry’slowest sleep mode current to min-imize power consumption whenthe device is not in use or in stand-by mode. In addition, the

HIP2104 includes integratedLinear Regulator LDOs to enabledirect bias from the battery andan integrated bootstrap FET,which eliminates the need for

external diodes. From portablemedical equipment to hand-heldpower tools to home automationproducts, end users demandproducts that have a long batterylife, are reliable and last a longtime. The new HIP2103/04 bridgedrivers were specifically designedfor these types of battery pow-ered applications in which batterylife, longevity and high reliabilityare required.INTERSILwww.intersil.com

New HIP2103/04 devices are a highly integrated andsimple-to-use power management solution for 5V to50V motor-driven applications

Intersil announced the industry’sfirst high-current buck-boost andboost switching regulator family ina tiny, integrat-ed CSP pack-age, enablingimproved effi-ciency for highcurrent designsin a small formfactor. Intersil isextending itsleadership inDC/DC switch-ing regulatortechnology forbattery-powered mobile devicesand consumer electronics with theintroduction of the ISL91110,ISL91108 and ISL91117 powermanagement solutions. TheISL911xx switching regulators’innovative architecture offers upto 96 percent efficiency to extend

battery life and reduce overheat-ing in high-current handhelddevices. The proprietary architec-

ture allows for smooth transitionsfrom buck to boost to preventglitches and noise in smartphones,tablets and other single-cell lithi-um ion (Li) battery-based systems.

INTERSILwww.intersil.com

Intersil’s New High Efficiency Buck-Boost/Boost SwitchingRegulators Increase Battery Life in Mobile Devices

Intersil Corporation announcedthe ISL8270M/71M family of digi-tal power modules that dramati-cally reduce customer designcomplexity and accelerate time tomarket. Designedfor 25/33 Ampapplications, theISL8270M/71Mproduct family isbased on Intersil’sfourth generationdigital power con-troller, reflectingthe company’scontinued leader-ship and expertise in advanceddigital power technology.Experts estimate that for everydollar spent on data center hard-ware, another $0.66 is spent onelectricity to power and coolthese systems. Advanced powermanagement can have a signifi-

cant impact on these costs,enabling greater power densityand reduced power dissipationfor improved efficiency. In addi-tion, equipment makers have his-

torically had to design discretepower management solutionsthat require expensive heat sinksand fans and take up valuableboard space while adding risk tothe system. INTERSILwww.intersil.com

The new embedded NAND flashmemory modules from Toshibaintegrate NAND chips fabricatedwith 19nm second generationprocess technology. They are fullycompliant with the lateste.MMC(TM) standardand are designed forapplications in a widerange of digital con-sumer products,including smart-phones, tablet PCsand digital video cam-eras. The NAND flashmemory modules areavailable at distributorRutronik as of now.The memory modules are avail-able in a 16GB-version (THGBM-BG7D2KBAIL), housed in a 153BallFBGA 11.5 x 13 x 0.8mm package,and a 32GB-version (THGBM-BG8D4KBAIR), housed in a 11.5 x13 x 1.0mm package. Moduleswith storage capacities of 4GB,8GB, 64GB and 128GB will follow.All memories integrate a controllerto manage basic control functionsfor NAND applications.The 32GB embedded device con-tains four 64Gbit (equal to 8GB)

NAND chips. The memory mod-ules are compliant with JEDECe.MCC(TM) Version 5.0. The cor-responding interface handlesessential functions, including writ-ing block management, error cor-

rection and driver software. It sim-plifies the system development,allowing manufacturers to mini-mize development costs andspeed up time to market for newupgraded products. By applyingthe new HS400 high speed inter-face standard, a high read/writeperformance (270MB/s / 90MB/sat 32GB, 270MB/s / 50MB/s at16GB) is achieved. The operatingtemperature ranges between -25°and +85°C.RUTRONIK http://www.rutronik.com/d9901115.l

Embedded NAND Flash Memory Modules with 19nmProcess Technology from Toshiba

Intersil Introduces Digital Power Modules That SpeedTime to Market and Eliminate Need for ComplexPower Circuit Design





Digi-Key Debuts Innovative MobileApp for FreescaleFreescale customers can now access valu-able product news and resources, as wellas easily place orders for Freescale prod-uct, all in one easy-to-use mobile appGlobal electronic components distributor Digi-KeyCorporation, the industry leader in electronic compo-nent selection, availability and delivery, has collaborat-ed with Freescale® Semiconductor, a global leader inembedded processing solutions, to create the electron-ic component industry’s first distributor/supplier col-laborative mobile application. In response to the ever-increasing adoption of mobile devices, Digi-Keydesigned this new app to enhance the user experiencefor Freescale customers by giving them access to all rel-evant product information and online orderingresources in an easy-to-use mobile format.

A recent report by Forrester research entitled “Onlineand Mobile are Transforming B2B Commerce” makesthe strongest case possible for B2B e-commerce. Thestudy reveals that 52 percent of B2B customers areusing smartphones and/or tablets to buy products and62 percent are using tablets to do their research beforebuying. According to Forrester, both procurement anddesign engineers are accessing ecommerce websites viaa variety of mediums, anticipating responsive designand expanded mobile device functionality.

The Freescale & Digi-Key ON-THE-GO!℠ application isavailable free of charge via the Apple iTunes store, andfeatures valuable content, easy access to componentavailability information, and ecommerce functionalityfor all Freescale products available from Digi-Key. Keyfeatures of the application include:

• An Interactive and touch environment• Detailed device and development tool information• Links to myriad resources including block diagrams

and training videos, as well as Digi-Key’s eewiki online community and 24/7 technical support

• A direct link to www.digikey.com to purchase Freescale product right from the app

“As one of the first to create a mobile app, Digi-Key iscontinually working to innovate within the mobile space,”said Tony Harris, Digi-Key CMO.“As customers shift toward doingmore business on their mobilephones, tablets and other devices,demand for mobile apps is increas-ing. This new app literally breaksnew ground as a distributor andsupplier collaboration that seam-lessly allows interested customers to research, compare,and purchase Freescale products, all in one place.”

The Freescale App is available today via the Apple iTunesstore, or visit www.digikey.com/freescaleapp to download.

DIGI-KEY CORPORATIONwww.digikey.com

IQD’s new IQCM-100 GPS advancedOCXO module for use in LTE and 4Gbase stations achieves a holdover speci-fication of 1.5 microseconds over a peri-od of 24 hours when locked to a 1PPS(Pulse Per Second) input from an exter-nal GPS receiver, easily meeting indus-try standard holdover requirements.Incorporating an adaptive algorithmwhich has the ability to ‘learn’ from a sta-ble GPS signal over a period of 2 days,the algorithm can be adjusted to allowfor errors. Frequency is accurate to with-in ±1E-12 when locked to a 1PPS GPS sig-nal and can compete with the perform-ance of many atomic clock references.Housed in a 65 × 65mm hermeticallysealed thru-hole package, the IQCM-100 offers an HCMOS output, operat-ing temperature range of –10 to 60degrees C, 5V supply voltage and a cur-rent input of 2mA during warm up.The module incorporates a low drop

out voltage regulator coupled to a high-ly stable internal OCXO which is condi-tioned by a digital-to-analogue con-verter which in turn is fed from an ARMmicrocontroller. This controls an FPGAwhich provides the 1PPS output and isfed from the accurate GPS signal. Aninteresting feature of this product is the

availability to the user of some 21 inter-nal algorithm parameters. IQD www.iqdfrequencyproducts.com

New GPS advanced OCXO module from IQD designedfor LTE & 4G base stations

XP Power announced the ITXseries of 6 Watt DC/DC convertersencapsulated in an industry stan-dard SIP 8-pin package measuringjust 21.85 × 11.1 × 9.2 mm (0.86 ×0.44 × 0.36 inches). Believed to beone of the highest power ratingsavailable in a SIP format and deliv-ering a power density of up to 46Watts per cubic inch, the ITXseries occupies much less boardspace than competing devices.The converter also is highly effi-cient, typically 86%, and meets thedesign requirements for modernenergy efficient and space con-strained applications. No forcedair flow or additional heatsinking isrequired.The single and dual regulated out-put ITX series comprises four 2:1input voltage ranges of 4.5-9VDC, 9-18 VDC, 18-36 VDC and36-75 VDC. Single output modelsprovide +3.3, +5, +12, +15 or +24VDC and duals ±5, ±12 or ±15VDC.Standard input/output isolation israted at 1.5 kVDC but a 3 kVDCisolation option is available toorder by quoting model suffix –H.Another option (-R) provides aremote on/off input for external

control of the converter such asfor sequencing start up or auto-matic on/off switching.The ITX series can be used in mostenvironments and has an extend-ed operating temperature rangefrom -40 to +90°C. Full outputpower can be delivered up to+65°C without derating.

The ITX series is available fromFarnell, element14, Digi-Key,approved regional distributors, ordirect from XP Power and comewith a 3 year warranty.XP POWER www.xppower.com

XP Power launches 6 Watt DC/DC converter in ultracompact SIP-8 package

Mouser Electronics, Inc. is nowshipping the new M24SR DynamicRFID Tags from STMicroelectronicswith enhanced security featuresfor RFID and NFC applications,and up to 8KBytes of internal EEP-ROM. The STMicroelectronicsM24SR Dynamic RFID Tag avail-able from Mouser Electronics isNFC Forum Type 4 Tag compati-ble and supports tag functionsfor both RFID and NFC applica-tions, operating in any of threemodes. In I2C Mode, configura-tion data is transferred to thedevice by the I2C interface. In TagMode, the I2C interface is discon-nected and RFID or NFC data istransferred over the external RFfield. In Dual Interface Mode,both the I2C interface and the RFinterface are functional. In allthree modes the M24SR acts as a

slave on both the I2C interfaceand the RF channel. Up to8KBytes of internal EEPROM isavailable for storing system con-figuration data with data reten-tion of up to 200 years. Toenhance system security, a dedi-cated pin is available to disable

all RF communications. A CRCmodule automatically calculatesthe CRC of received transmis-sions and verifies data accuracy.MOUSER ELECTRONICSwww.mouser.com

Go Wireless with the STMicroelectronics M24SRDynamic RFID/NFC Tag from Mouser Power Integrations announced a

new reference design for an 8 W,universal-input auxiliary powersupply that achieves zero standbypower consumption** for appli-ance applications. Basedon a member of PowerIntegrations’ LinkZero™-LP family of ICs, DER-417 describes a univer-sal-input, 5 V, 1600 mAflyback power supplythat consumes less than4 mW at 230 VAC andprovides 1 mW of power in stand-by mode. Products such as TVs,appliances, security and monitor-ing systems and HVAC equipmentuse power while waiting to beused or while monitoring sensorinputs prior to executing theirproper functions. This wastedpower amounts to both an envi-ronmental cost and an economiccost to households and business-

es; in fact, Lawrence BerkeleyNational Laboratory has estimatedthat standby power accounts for5-10% of residential electricity usein developed countries, and is

responsible for approximately400 million tons of global CO2emissions each year. DER-417 isdownloadable for free from thePower Integrations website atwww.powerint.com/sites/default/files/PDFFiles/der417.pdf. **IEC 62301 Clause 4.5 describes zero stand-by as ‘power dissipation below 5 mW’.

POWER INTEGRATIONS www.powerint.com

The dual phase synchronous rec-tified buck controller AP3595from Diodes is designed to pro-vide a high integrity supply fordistributed high power architec-tures. The AP3595, ideally suitedfor high current applications likedesktop graphic cards, IPC, MBand workstations, is available atdistributor Rutronik as of now.With an operating frequencyadjustable over therange of 50Hz to1MHz per phase,the buck controllercan deliver an out-put current of up to60A and suits thepower needs of highend GPU and mem-ory cores. The AP3595, avail-able in the standardQFN4x4-24 pack-age, integrates 12V+12V bootstrapped MOSFETdrivers to ensure highest efficien-cy power conversion. In addition,the bootstrap diode is itself builtinto the device, simplifying circuitdesign and reducing the external

part count and PCB size. To opti-mize system performance, theAP3595's gate drive voltage isfully configurable, regulated via areference input set using externalvoltage divider.By tuning the duty cycle of eachchannel in response to internalMOSFET on-resistance sensing,the controller ensures phase cur-rents are always balanced. With a

power saving interface (PSI), thecontroller can switch betweensingle and dual mode to helpreduce losses. RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com/86d70fea.l

Rutronik: Dual Phase Buck Controller from Diodesfor High Current Applications

Power Integrations Announces ‘Ultimate in Standby Performance’



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