EP&Dee no 5 - May, 2013

MAY, 2013 足 ISSUE NO. 5, VOL. 11

DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

EP&Dee ELECTRONICS

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EASTERN

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MAY 2013 Table of Contents EDITORIAL 3 Achieving Growth Without a Killer Application

by Steve Sanghi, President and CEO Microchip Technology Inc.

EMBEDDED WORLD 2013 - INTERVIEW

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Interview on the use of automated vs. manual code inspection.

Frans Nomden, Eastern Europe Territory Manager for PRQA - talks to Gabriel Neagu about the importance of static analysis and why to choose automated solutions over manual inspection methods.

COVER STORY Digitally Enhanced Power Analog DC/DC Controllers for sophisticated Point-Of-Load applications In many systems microcontrollers are used to control multiple Point-Of-Load (POL) DC/DC converters forming a hybrid control system to manage system start-up behavior, monitor electrical parameters and manage the power consumption of peripheral sub-systems.

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Win a Microchip PICkit™ 3 Debug Express!

EP&Dee is offering its readers the chance to win the new MPLAB PICkit 3 Debug Express kit from Microchip. The PICkit 3 Debug Express allows debugging and programming of PIC® and dsPIC® Flash microcontrollers at a low price point using the powerful graphical user interface of the MPLAB Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

DESIGN FEATURES 4 Fast visualization of images using OpenCL 14 Kontron moves into the CompactPCI Serial business At Embedded World 2013, Kontron will be strongly reaffirming its intentions to be part of the further advances of CompactPCI Serial. The company will be exhibiting five new boards and several already pre-integrated sample configurations for this relatively new standard.

20 FuturoLighting develops automated LED lamps in partnership with Rutronik - Adieu, light switch “Let there be light” said God in the Story of Creation, and there was light.

These days, you don't even need to say anything for there to be light – automated lamps control the light automatically as it is needed.

22 Ledil Oy - an overview of LED lenses and projectors A Finnish company - Ledil Oy is a world famous expert in design and sales of components for lighting systems based on the state-of the art LED technology.

Its products include: innovative lenses and projectors offering optimum life and efficiency, mating with brand-name LED’s that are widely recognized by specialists.

32 Beyond Standard 34 Greater reliability for electronic components Keep it clean, keep it working.

PRODUCT NEWS Embedded Systems (p 7 - 29) Display (p 37) LEDs (p 38) Wireless (p 39) Active Components (p 24 - 44)

19 Group Publisher Director Gabriel Neagu Managing Director Ionela Ganea Accounting Ioana Paraschiv Advertisement Irina Ganea WEB Eugen Vărzaru

© 2013 by Eurostandard Press 2000

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The PICkit 3 Debug Express works with 8- and 16-bit PIC® MCUs and dsPIC® digital signal controllers (DSCs), and will support 32-bit PIC MCUs at a later date.

The PICkit 3 Debug Express kit includes PICkit 3 debugger and programmer probe, 44-pin demo board populated with a PIC18F45K20 MCU, free MPLAB® IDE and free version of the MPLAB C Compiler for PIC18 MCUs. All this is supported by easy-to-understand lessons and tutorials, and a host of other software utilities, examples with source code and full documentation.

For your chance to win a Microchip PICkit 3 Debug Express kit, visit www.microchip-comps.com/epdee-pickit-3 and enter your details in the online entry form.

24 Contributing editors Radu Andrei Ross Bannatyne Consulting Marian Blejan Bogdan Grămescu Mihai Savu

Asian Reprezentative Taiwan Charles Yang Tel: +886­4­3223633 charles@medianet.com.tw

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

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

EP&Dee (Electronics Products & Design ­ Eastern Europe) is published 10 times per year in 2013 by Euro Standard Press 2000 s.r.l.

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

Copyright 2013 by Euro Standard Press 2000 s.r.l. All rights reserved.

EDITORIAL

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Achieving Growth Without a Killer Application

By Steve Sanghi President and CEO Microchip Technology Inc.

I’m often asked by investors and suppliers to describe “the killer application” for our microcontrollers and analog products.

The simple answer is, there isn’t one. Yet, Microchip continues to grow organically as well as through carefully chosen acquisitions.

Instead of pursuing the elusive one or two very high volume applications, Microchip’s business model embraces diversification, including products, applications, customer base, markets served and geographic locations. If employed correctly, this diversification strategy could very well help many other embedded manufacturers, big and small, enhance their business models.

Many semiconductor manufacturers invest millions of R&D dollars to create a highly specialized IC competing for “the killer application.” But, at best, this can be a risky proposition requiring suppliers to navigate volatile market conditions with no guarantee of being designed in - and no ROI. Bleeding-edge process technologies, IC performance, capacity, price, the appropriate end-product feature set and, ultimately, consumer demand must all converge at the right time.

A horizontal product strategy, on the other hand, enables market growth with minimal exposure. For example, our PIC® microcontrollers provide the right combination of performance, peripherals and price to appeal to a broad range of applications and OEM customers.

Our products can be found in thousands of unglamorous applications, such as thermostats, smoke detectors and coffee makers - staples of everyday life where sales opportunities are more consistent. Diversification better insulates Microchip from the ups and downs of any one application, market or economy.

Customers requiring small quantities of silicon devices can number in the tens of thousands, worldwide, representing a huge market opportunity. This group is often ignored by the semiconductor giants, who spend their time and resources chasing after “the killer application.” While distribution partners can play a significant role in servicing these smaller customers, the winning manufacturer must provide a “whole product solution,” including the silicon, sophisticated development tools, technical documentation and application notes, and dedicated technical field support.

In many cases, today’s low-volume application can turn into a high-volume cash cow within years. Microchip has more than 70,000 customers - a diverse group that includes small customers as well as Fortune 500 companies that dominate their markets.

Commodity memory suppliers and chips that serve only a single “killer application” can be designed out based on a penny cost reduction from the competition.

By providing an embedded development platform based on a proprietary architecture, seamless code migration and a vast range of device offerings, OEMs have little incentive to change silicon solutions from one design cycle to another.

Instead of designing with a new architecture each time, they retain their code investment and can easily specify the appropriate silicon device based on the changing performance needs of the end product.

By providing a solution that meets the needs of many, chip makers could build diversification into their business models while creating a compelling competitive advantage. Additionally, a shift in focus to unglamorous markets instead of high-profile “killer applications” could provide many embedded suppliers with predictable sales growth. n (Note: The Microchip name and logo, and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.)

Microchip expands 8-bit PIC® MCU family with intelligent analogue integration Key Facts: • New MCUs feature on-chip 12-bit ADC, Op Amps, high-performance 16-bit PWMs and high-speed comparators • Advanced analogue and digital integration is combined with low power consumption • Enable self-sustaining smart control loops with minimal CPU intervention • For LED and other lighting applications, battery management, digital power supplies, motor control and general-purpose applications Microchip announces an expansion of its 8-bit PIC16F178X enhanced Mid-Range core microcontroller (MCU) family with increased Flash memory densities; intelligent analogue and digital peripherals, such as onchip 12-bit Analogue-toDigital Converters (ADCs), 16-bit PWMs, 8-bit and 5bit Digital-to-Analogue Converters (DACs), operational amplifiers, and high-speed comparators with 50 ns response time; in addition to EUSART (including LIN), I2C™ and SPI interface peripherals.

The new MCUs also feature eXtreme Low Power (XLP) technology for active and sleep currents of just 32 μA/MHz and 50 nA, respectively, helping to extend battery life and reduce standby current consumption. Low power consumption, in combination with advanced analogue and digital integration, make the PIC16F178X MCUs ideal for LED and other lighting applications, battery management, digital power supplies, motor control and general-purpose applications.

The PIC16F178X are the first PIC® MCUs to implement the new Programmable Switch Mode Controller (PSMC), which is an advanced 16bit Pulse-Width Modulator (PWM) with 64 MHz operation and high-performance capabilities. This combination of features enables higher efficiency and performance, combined with cost and space reductions.

Available in 28- and 40pin packages, the MCUs’ intelligent analogue integration paired with Core Independent Peripherals, inclusive of the PSMC, DACs, Op Amps, highspeed comparators and 12-bit ADC, enable selfsustaining smart control loops with minimal CPU intervention.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/T2VS

www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Fast visualization of images using OpenCL Complex tasks in medical image processing are more and more frequently carried out by standardized processor modules that support Open Computing Language (OpenCL).

OpenCL offers the capability to accelerate compute intensive algorithms, completely hardware independent.

MSC C6C-A7 MSC Vertriebs GmbH’s highperformance MSC C6C-A7 COM Express module family, based on AMD’s Embedded R-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) with quad-core or dual-core processors, is ideally suited for these applications.

The average amount of data required for highdefinition image capture and processing applications in the health care sector is continually increasing. Furthermore the algorithms used are becoming more complex and compute-intensive. Typically high-performance hardware solutions—such as multi-core processors, Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)—are used in order to deal with this increased computing load. These devices offer high computing performance, but hardware-specific code or manufacturerdependent extensions were needed. Today, the solution is Open Computing Language (OpenCL 1.0 was released in late 2008).

OpenCL enables uniform programming for various high-performance hardware architectures.

OpenCL is an open and royalty-free programming standard for general-purpose computing on heterogeneous systems. The OpenCL stan-

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dard was developed by software specialists from leading industrial concerns, who then submitted a draft to the Khronos Group for standardization. The Khronos Group (www.khronos.org/about/), founded in January 2000, is a non-profit, member-funded consortium focused on the creation of royalty-free open standards for parallel computing, graphics and dynamic media for a wide variety of platforms and devices. AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, SGI, Google and Oracle are just a few of the over 100 members.

Today, OpenCL is maintained and further developed by Khronos. The OpenCL specification is now available in versions 1.1 and 1.2 (www.khronos.org/opencl/).

The goal of OpenCL is to provide a standardized programming interface for efficient and portable programs. Users can thus get what they have long been asking for: a vendor-inde-

pendent, non-proprietary solution for accelerating their applications on the basis of their selected multi-core CPU, APU and GPU cores.

The OpenCL specification consists of the language specification as well as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for the platform layer and the runtime. The language specification describes the syntax and the programming interface for writing compute kernels, which can be executed on multi-core CPUs or GPUs. A compute kernel is the basic unit of executable code. The language used is based on a subset of ISO C99, which is a popular programming language among developers.

OpenCL’s platform model consists of a host, which establishes the connection to one or more OpenCL devices. Host and device are logically separated from each other, which ensures portability. The access to routines is obtained via the platform layer API, which

INDUSTRY NEWS

queries the number and the types of devices existing in the system. The developer can select and initialize the desired compute devices in order to execute the tasks. Compute contexts as well as queues for job submission and data transfer requests are created in this layer. The runtime API offers the possibility to queue up compute kernels for execution. It is also responsible for managing the computing and memory resources in the OpenCL system.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

MSC Vertriebs GmbH’s high-performance MSC C6C-A7 module family also supports OpenCL and is ideally suited for demanding image processing tasks. This high-end platform is implemented using the well established

displays for imaging applications. HDMI, MPEG-2 decoding, H.264 and VCE (video compression engine) support is also included.

The MSC C6C-A7 COM Express module family offers six PCI Express™ x 1 channels and a PCI

OpenCL defines a multi-level memory model consisting of four memory spaces: 'Private Memory' (visible only to individual compute units of the device), 'Local Memory', 'Constant Memory' and 'Global Memory'. Global Memory can be used by all compute units in the device. Depending on the actual memory subsystem, different memory spaces can be merged together. The host processor is responsible for allocating and initializing the memory objects that reside in this memory space. The memory model is also based on the separation of host and device.

COM Express™ form factor. With the new Type 6 pin-out, there are two significant improvements compared with the predecessor Type 2 pin-out: Type 6 pin-out can support up to three independent Digital Display Interfaces (DDIs) and also adds support for USB 3.0. The MSC C6C-A7 embedded platform in compact form factor (95x95mm) is based on AMD’s Embedded R-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) and features very powerful graphics and excellent parallel computing performance with low power dissipation.

Express graphics (PEG) x 8 interface. In addition, all modules feature four USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, LPC, Gbit Ethernet, HD audio and four SATA interfaces at up to 300 MB/s.

Featuring DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI interfaces (3x digital display interface) supporting resolutions up to 4096 x 2160 (DP) and 1920 x 1200 (HDMI), along with LCD and VGA interfaces, the MSC C6C-A7 modules offer comprehensive display support.

Thanks to the hardware-independence and easy portability of OpenCL, companies can reuse their significant investment in source code.

Hence greatly reducing the development time for today’s complex image processing systems.

Further optimization of the design cycle is possible by making use of standard PC building blocks such as a high-performance processor module. Such a Computer-On-Module (COM) can be easily mounted onto a baseboard via a standardized connector, whereby the baseboard implements the application-specific functions. Computer-On-Modules are available in a range of different versions offering scalable processor power and a choice of interfaces.

The MSC C6C-A7 module integrates the AMD R-460L 2.0 GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo) or AMD R452L 1.6 GHz (2.4 GHz Turbo) quad-core processors. The thermal design power (TDP) levels are 25 W and 19 W, respectively. The two dual-core module versions can be populated with the AMD R-260H 2.1 GHz (2.6 GHz Turbo) processor or the AMD R-252F 1.7 GHz (2.3 GHz Turbo) processor – each featuring 17 W TDP. All processors support the AMD64 technology and the AMD-V™ Virtualization Technology. The AMD Fusion Controller Hub (FCH) A75 chipset is used in combination with all CPU versions. The main memory can be expanded to 16 GB DDR3-1600 dual-channel SDRAM via two SO DIMM sockets.

The execution model describes the types of the compute kernels. Since OpenCL is designed for multi-core CPUs and GPUs, compute kernels can be created either as data-parallel, which fits well to the architecture of GPUs, or task-parallel, which matches better to the architecture of CPUs. When a kernel is submitted for execution on an OpenCL device by the host program, an index space is defined. An instance of the kernel executes for each point in this index space. Each element in the execution domain is a work-item, whereby OpenCL allows to group together work-items to form work-groups for synchronization and communication purposes.

This module based technology thus provides a simple upgrade path for higher performance.

Because the modules offered all meet defined standard specifications regarding form factor and connectivity, they are easily interchangeable with products from different vendors.

The Radeon HD7000G-Series graphics engine integrated into the AMD R-Series APU, with its excellent graphics capabilities, offers support for OpenCL 1.1, OpenGL 4.2 and DirectX 11.

The modules support up to four independent

This high-performance platform can run Microsoft Windows® Embedded Standard 7 operating system, as well as Linux. The AMI based BIOS includes UEFI support. In addition to the Computer-On-Modules, MSC offers Starter Kits and suitable carrier boards, as well as cooling solutions and memory modules.

Thanks to the powerful computing and graphics capabilities, the platform is especially suited for demanding applications where 3D graphics, high-definition videos or the control of large displays are required.

Typically such applications can be found in the fields of medical technology, infotainment, digital signage and gaming. n Authors: Wolfgang Eisenbarth, VP Embedded Computer Technology, MSC Vertriebs GmbH Philipp Zieboll, FAE Embedded Computer Technology, MSC Vertriebs GmbH MSC Vertriebs www.msc-ge.com www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

INTERVIEW

Founded in 1985 and head-quartered in the UK, PRQA specialises in defect prevention and promoting safe code practices to ensure reliability for safety-critical, mission-critical and commercial systems. PRQA maintains full voting representation on the ISO working groups for C and C++, is a founding member of the MISRA C Working Group (producers of C and C++ coding standards) and the originator of the High Integrity C++ Coding Standard (HICPP).

Frans Nomden, Eastern Europe Territory Manager for PRQA - talks to Gabriel Neagu about the importance of static analysis and why to choose automated solutions over manual inspection methods.

Interview on the use of automated vs. manual

code inspection What are your views on manual code inspection?

PRQA advocates the use of automated code inspection process simply due to the exponential growth in the amount of code that is getting developed and in its complexity.

For example, a simple washing machine can now contain in excess of one million lines of embedded code and it would be a gargantuan task to manually detect issues in this maze of code. The other factor is that every time fresh code is added to the existing code base, the entire code has to be re-inspected wasting valuable time and effort when this task can be automated. We however recognise that in order for this automated process to work, human intervention is still necessary to control deviations and exceptions to certain non-compliancies.

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What is the difference between bug catching and coding standard compliance?

Basically bug catching uses dataflow orientated run-time simulation to identify defects, whereas coding standard compliance is adhering to best practice and therefore preventing the introduction the defects in the first instance. There are some static tools available in the market which only look at finding defects and do not aid in process improvement. Whereas we enable our clients to improve their coding process and develop high quality code by finding and fixing issues early and often during the development phase, prior to testing. We believe in the principle “prevention is better than cure.�

Hence we enforce a coding standard and help our customers to develop robust and high integrity code.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS How important are static analysis tools?

Static analysis tools are a very important means to catch bugs and identify coding issues extremely early in the development cycle, passing better code into the latter stages of the development process. At PRQA we recommend the use of a static analysis tool in conjunction with a coding standard – this solution enables developers to catch defects, comply to best practice and prevents the introduction of bugs.

How do static analysis tools assist a developer in improving the quality of the code?

Static analysis is a crucial element of the highquality software development processes, enabling developers to identify defects in the code very early in the development process.

By ensuring compliance to a coding standard, static analysis not only identifies the defects that can cause program crashes, but also provides best practice guidance, enables the developer to produce higher quality code and therefore prevents the introduction of defects.

Static analysis helps to automate code reviews, removing the opportunity for human error in the process, providing objective results that removes the emotion often associated with individuals reviewing another developers’ code.

QA•C and QA•C++ tools offer developers immediate feedback on code they have written, allowing them to address issues

INTERVIEW before committing changes to the organisation’s code repository. The tools can also be used to provide a measure of overall project quality when used in conjunction with a software quality management system.

What kind of coding standards do your products enforce?

Historically several industries have created specific coding standards that are adopted by manufacturers throughout the supply chain.

Some of the key standards that we support are: MISRA C MISRA C++ JSF AV C++ High Integrity C++ In-House / Internal Coding Standards Who uses your tools?

Mentor Graphics’ Automotive Networking Business Unit, located in Hungary, Budapest, used PRQA’s QA∙C in the development of Volcano; an in-vehicle network design tool.

Thales Rail Signalling Part Security Solutions and Continental are both users of our tools based in Romania. Other international automotive clients are BMW, Toyota, Delphi, and Autoliv. Defence and Aerospace includes SELEX Galileo, Thales, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Medical devices are also getting a lot of traction these days and amongst our clients, we can name Abiomed, Novo Nordisk and Gambro. n

EMBEDDED NEWS Protean Electric set to achieve ISO 26262 certification to ASIL Level D using PRQA’s QA∙C and MISRA C PRQA | Programming Research, a global leader in static analysis, announces QA∙C and MISRA C compliance module will be used by Protean Electric, a leading clean technology automotive manufacturer. Protean Electric is looking to develop high integrity software, adhere to the MISRA Coding Standard and to achieve ISO 26262 certification to Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) Level D which has the most safety critical processes and the strictest testing regulations. Protean Electric has developed an inwheel electric drive system for hybrid, plugin hybrid and battery electric light-duty vehicles and is helping to reduce the carbon footprint in the automotive industry.

After exhaustive evaluation between Polyspace and QA∙C, PRQA’s solutions were chosen because of the low number of false positives in diagnostic summaries.

Huw Jones, Senior Software Test Engineer mentioned that “at Protean Electric, I am part of the software team which comprises of 10 software developers testing the Protean Drive embedded software. As we develop safety-critical applications, it’s vital that our software is of high integrity and QA∙C with its MISRA C compliance module enables us to ensure high quality software.

We also strongly believe that having a certified tool such as QA∙C, is the most cost effective & quickest route and reduces the risk to obtaining ISO 26262 compliance.”

The implementation of the tool has started immediately and Protean Electric used the setup created by PRQA during the evaluation of the tool which meant that the installation was quick, smooth and painless.

Paul Blundell, CEO of PRQA said: “We’re delighted that QA∙C and its MISRA C compliance module are playing such an important role in helping Protean Electric achieve ISO 26262 certification.”

PRQA | PROGRAMMING RESEARCH www.programmingresearch.com www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

First device passed CANopen interoperability test at CiA CAN in Automation (CiA), the international user’ and manufacturers’ group, tests the interoperability of CANopen devices.

Faulhaber’s MCBL300 motion controller is the first CANopen device, which has passed this test. In opposite to the CANopen conformance test, the interoperability test is a system approach.

The device-under-test (DUT) is proofed in the “golden” CANopen network installed in the association’s laboratory. The test procedure assures that CANopen devices are capable of interacting with a variety of other products from different manufacturers, all integrated into the same test stand (see photo). It also includes some stress tests in order to proof that the DUT runs even at high busloads or with long bus-lines, for example.

CiA also organizes so-called plugfests, during which manufacturers

connects ad-hoc there CANopen devices to test interoperability between different products. The next CANopen plug-fest will be dedicated for CANopen Safety

products. The interoperability of CANopen Safety devices is not in the scope of the functional safety testing and certification by national authorities.

CAN IN AUTOMATION (CIA) www.can-cia.org/index.php?id=1517

Maxim’s 12/16-Channel Analog Front-Ends (AFEs) Double Accuracy While Reducing BatteryManagement Systems Cost by up to 35% Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. announced it is sampling the MAX14920/MAX14921, highaccuracy, 12/16-channel cell-measurement analog front-ends (AFEs) that lower battery-management electronics costs by up to 35%.

These devices double the accuracy of cell voltage readings through the use of high-accuracy commonmode level shifting and an integrated high-precision amplifier that simplifies ADC data conversion. Higher accuracy improves state-of-charge determination and cell balancing that in turn lengthen the life of rechargeable Lithiumion (Li+) battery packs and maximize available energy, especially important for modern battery chemistries that exhibit flat voltage discharge curves, such as those with LiFePO4 cathodes. The MAX 14920/MAX14921 enable the industry’s highest accuracy cell voltage measurements (±0.5mV, max). Ideal for 48V to 65V pack voltages required in uninterruptible power-supply (UPS) systems, smart grid energy-storage packs, and telecom power backup-bat-

tery packs, the MAX14921 eliminates up to two 6-channel AFEs required for 13S-16S channel battery packs.

Key Features • Highest accuracy: increases individual cell accuracy; improves cell balancing.

• Lower cost: one chip supports battery management of up to 16 cell packs.

• Flexible solution: suitable for use in both lower cost applications (using the ADC integrated in a microcontroller) and higher accuracy applications (utilizing an external ADC).

MAXIM INTEGRATED www.maximintegrated.com

GreenPeak Releases New Internet of Things White Paper GreenPeak Technologies, a leading low power RF-semiconductor company, today posted a new White Paper called “Sentrollers and the Internet of Things”. In this paper Sentrollers are defined as a new, all-encompassing term for

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sensors, actuators and controllers – the various devices that make up the new Internet of Things. The white paper also describes the important role of ZigBee, the technology of choice for the Smart Home, as the crucial enabler for the development of the Internet of Things.

Most of the end-nodes on the internet today are people using PCs, laptops and smart phones. However this is rapidly changing as more devices in the home are connecting to the internet, building the Smart Home, and starting to shift the balance away from people towards connected things.

These devices are usually sensors, controllers, actuators or

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combinations that together, can be considered as “Sentrollers”.

For instance: a thermostat senses the temperature, compares this with a desired temperature and activates a heater or air conditioner, controlling, essentially “sentrolling”, the temperature. The Smart Home will also accelerate the use of sentrollers beyond the home: in building automation, for the smart grid, and from there in logistical, industrial and agricultural applications.

Multi-Service Operators (MSOs) are driving the Smart Home applications already through their service offerings, like security, energy management and home care.

The number of devices connecting to the internet is steadily growing by several millions per

week – a quiet revolution going on. The wireless access technology for the Smart Home is ZigBee, the open worldwide IEEE standard, equivalent to WiFi. WiFi guarantees reliable high data rate connectivity for content sharing and distribution. ZigBee, with its low power and meshing capabilities is ideally suited as access technology for “sentrollers” processing low data rate communication packets from these wireless devices on life-long batteries. Just like WiFi was a real milestone starting the use of internet at home, the Internet of Things with ZigBee has started at home as well, enabling the next wave in the technology revolution.

GREENPEAK TECHNOLOGIES www.greenpeak.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

Renesas Electronics Europe and SEGGER Microcontroller offer Commercial Software Packages Free of Charge for RX MCU Designs Renesas Electronics Europe, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions and its Platinum Partner SEGGER Microcontroller, a market-leading provider for high quality embedded software, have teamed up to offer an innovative software support program to European customers. Customers can qualify for a free-of-charge commercial software package

by SEGGER Microcontroller up to the value of 20,000 euros by using the 32-bit RX MCU microcontroller family in their designs. This innovation support program adds maximum value to the RX MCU range, providing qualifying customers with free development boards and free market-leading software.

Renesas’ 32-bit RX microcontroller platform offers customers a broad product spectrum, with 32K-2MB on-chip Flash memory and 8256KB on-chip SRAM in 48-177 pin packages.

Maximum compatibility across the range is guaranteed by a common core, common IP and common development tools.

With SEGGER’s software, the offering to RX customers includes one of the most reliable and proven software solutions on the market with an excellent track record on Renesas platforms.

Customers can build their application software solution on the zero latency RTOS embOS, the high quality graphical solution emWin, the failsafe embedded file system emFile, the highperformance IP stack embOS/IP and the flexible USB solutions emUSB-Device and emUSB-Host.

“The Renesas RX is a highly optimized CPU core which boasts Renesas' industry leading flash technology. This is the perfect platform for SEGGER's proven commercial middleware solutions. The developer benefits from the RX Max program as Renesas licenses the SEGGER middleware to permit the developer to take full advantage of their RX based platform,” states Ivo Geilenbruegge, CEO of SEGGER Microcontroller.

“We are glad to be teaming up with SEGGER Microcontroller as a software alliance partner for this innovative ecosystem support program,” said Bernd Westhoff, RX Product Manager at Renesas Electronics Europe. “The software package provided by SEGGER Microcontroller is a well-accepted middleware solution in the industry with a wide range of variations and customisation possibilities. The SEGGER Microcontroller software package, combined with the widely scalable 32-bit RX MCU platform, is the ideal base for any customer application.”

SEGGER RENESAS ELECTRONICS EUROPE

www.segger.com www.renesas.eu

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS IAR Systems now shipping I-scope probe for real-time current and voltage measurements IAR Systems® starts shipping the latest addition to its innovative Power Debugging technology. The I-scope™ probe extends the power optimization possibilities available in IAR Embedded Workbench®. Used together with IAR Systems’ incircuit debugging probe I-jet™, I-scope lets developers optimize their applications for power consumption and possibly extend battery lifetime by offering them knowledge of the power consumed by individual modules and detect if design flaws in the code are causing unnecessary power consumption. Power Debugging is a methodology that provides developers with information about how the software implementation of an embedded system affects the system’s power consumption. The technology is incorporated in the CSPY® Debugger included with IAR Embedded Workbench and is available when using I-jet. At any designated point on the target board, I-scope can measure current and voltage with 12-bit resolution at a sampling rate of up to 200 kHz. Through I-jet, the data is synchronized with the running program counter, and can be graphed in real time and analyzed using the C-SPY Debugger.

The power analysis can for example be used to reveal the power consumption of individual functions and peripherals, identify I/O activities that cause current spikes, diagnose low power mode, investigate microcontroller frequency and core voltage power savings and find conflicting hardware setup. It can also be used to reduce radio frequency (RF) emissions by identifying and eliminating unwanted current spikes and to measure and compare battery consumption in various microcontroller sleep modes.

IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com

High-performance Wandboard community embedded development board now available from Future Electronics Future Electronics announced that it is stocking the Wandboard, a community-sponsored embedded development board offering a rich set of multimedia features. Customers can buy the Wandboard at the Future Electronics Web Store, or through any branch of Future Electronics. The Wandboard, which is based on Freescale Semiconductor’s powerful i.MX 6 series multimedia processor, is available in single-core (Wandboard Solo) and dual-core (Wandboard Dual) versions. The Wandboard Solo is priced at $73.95 and the Wandboard Dual at $93.95.

The Wandboard is the product of a not-for-profit initiative that, like the Raspberry Pi, is aimed at providing a low-cost embedded development platform for students and hobbyists, as well as professional users. The advantage of the Wandboard, however, is that it has adopted a system-onmodule architecture, using the open EDM standard to connect the module to a simple carrier interface board that provides common system functions such as power and communications interfaces.

This means that developers who need different hardware resources from those available in an off-the-shelf Wandboard module can easily and cheaply modify it, and create a new carrier board to fit their specific application. In doing so, they can draw on the wide choice of open-source community software already available, and so reduce the risk normally associated with customisation and development engineering.

The Wandboard provides a high-performance hardware platform, capable of running complex applications and demanding functions such as rendering high-definition graphics.

The Freescale i.MX 6 series processor, which features ARM Cortex-A9 technology, supports Ubuntu and Android™, and the Wandboard itself supports mainline u-boot and Linux®.

FUTURE ELECTRONICS www.FutureElectronics.com www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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COVER STORY

POINT-OF-LOAD

Digitally Enhanced Power Analog DC/DC Controllers for sophisticated Point-Of-Load applications In many systems microcontrollers are used to control multiple Point-Of-Load (POL) DC/DC converters forming a hybrid control system to manage system start-up behavior, monitor electrical parameters and manage the power consumption of peripheral sub-systems. The most sophisticated solutions, however, can be found on motherboards of computers, graphic cards or on CPU blades of servers, where Voltage Regulator Modules (VRM) directly communicate with their load to adjust supply voltages and/or even adapt their control characteristic to temporary operation conditions. This kind of “intelligent� power conversion management and control offers significant advantages in terms of total system efficiency, performance and reliability – in short: preferences which are dominant in industrial, medical, automotive and consumer market segments as well.

by Andy Reiter Microchip Technology Inc. Since almost one decade Microchip Technology Inc. focuses on so-called intelligent resp. smart power conversion (IPC/SPC) applications to bring more features and enhanced capabilities to all sorts of power conversion applications.

One main focus has been, and still is, the fully digital control of power converters/inverters using DSP-based, high performance microcontrollers with highly dedicated high-speed, high resolution peripherals as well as dedicated controller families for hybrid control systems combining microcontrollers with fully analog based control loops. Looking into the particular solutions more closely, it becomes obvious, that neither the analog-based hybrids nor the fully digi-

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tal solutions are 100% analog or 100% digital.

Both urgently need their analog and digital counterpart to overcome certain limitations and therefore offer specific strength for their specific target applications. The latest product family of smart power conversion controllers MCP191xx marks a new technological step in making power converters more intelligent and focuses on dedicated power converter topologies and applications.

The first members of this family of products MCP19111 are merging an analog high-performance synchronous buck converter controller and an 8-bit MCU into one monolithic IC, offering enhanced, flexible configuration, con-

trol and monitoring capabilities as well as they allow the integration of standardized or proprietary communication to align multiple converters within a higher power management structure. In contrast to other existing hybrid POL controllers, the MCP19111 are fully programmable in C-language. This advantage offers full flexibility to adjust the device to many different application requirements, to adapt to certain operating conditions, to implement generic monitoring tasks and customized features. The wide input voltage range of 4.5V to 32V DC and output voltages as low as 0.5V together with drivers supporting up to 2A source/4A sink opens a wide variety of applications to be supported.

COVER STORY Digital Enhancements Having a digital controller on the same die as the analog switching regulator makes it possible to dovetail analog functions and digital control very tightly enabling direct manipulation of the compensation circuit, switching frequency, dead-time control, system level thresholds and many other features during runtime. Furthermore, as the MCU itself is encapsulated in the analog switching regulator architecture, the need for additional auxiliary power supplies or external MOSFET drivers has been eliminated.

Figure 1 shows a high-level block diagram of the MCP19111 Digitally Enhanced Power Analog Controller together with a typical application circuit. The analog switching regulator section fully covers all components of the analog control loop including the MOSFET drivers and also contains the auxiliary supply for the MCU.

POINT-OF-LOAD Adjustable Dead-Bands In synchronous buck converters the dead-time setting between high- and low-side switch has significant influence on the total efficiency of the system.

Figure 2: Basic equations of the Automated Dead-Time Adjustment (ADTA) technique Figure 1: MCP19111 High-Level Application Block Diagram

If analog controllers offer any adjustable deadtime settings at all, the designer has to refer to some sort of worst case scenario considering the highest temperatures and load conditions, where the dead-time typically needs to be at maximum, and “program” this value in hardware e.g. by placing capacitors and/or resistors.

This inevitably results in increased core and diode losses as the converter will most probably be never exposed to these assumed worst case conditions.

One proper solution would be to automatically adapt the dead-time to certain load and temperature conditions. Unfortunately using an on-board zero-crossing detector to always drive the switches with an optimum dead-time has certain serious limitations for two reasons.

First, all kinds of analog zero crossing detectors are based on comparators. The fastest (affordable) analog comparators have typical propagation delays of 15-20ns, which is, given the results shown in figure 3, too slow to reach the optimum level. Second, this zero-crossing detector would have to operate in the switching node of the half-bridge where the high frequency switching noise would require filters, which would slow down the trigger even more, eventually making this feature effectless.

However, where the analog domain fails, the digital domain offers a solution. The most common technique used to accomplish this optimization is to monitor and analyze the converter’s outer conditions until they become stable.

As soon as a steady state operation is detected, the dead-time is modified and the duty ratio of the high-side switch is monitored.

The digital section consists of an 8-bit PIC12F mid-range MCU core with 8 kB of Flash and 256 byte of RAM. It further offers up to 15 GPIOs, of which eight are additional analog inputs, an I²C/SMbus based serial communication interface, external interrupts and three free timers.

Many internal signals like the input voltage, output voltage or the inductor current can be monitored directly on-chip without need for external sensing. The digital implementation even allows reading the current duty ratio, a very useful feature which was, up to now and for many technical reasons, reserved to fully digital controllers only.

Maximizing Efficiency Besides the enhanced monitoring capabilities the monolithic integration of a digital core also gives direct access to many parameters, which are typically fixed in hardware or inaccessible in silicon. The most remarkable ones are the adjustable dead-time, the programmable compensators, internal feedback calibration, programmable protection thresholds and even the capability to switch over between current and voltage mode control during runtime.

Figure 3: Measurement results of one sweep over different dead-time settings during steady state operation www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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COVER STORY The theory of this technique for constant voltage converters is that under steady state conditions, the shortest relative on-time of the highside switch determines the point of highest efficiency, as in this point the least amount of power has to be drawn from the bus to provide a certain, constant output power (see Figure 2).

Figure 3 shows results of one single sweep over a defined range of dead-time settings during steady state operation, measured on a test bench. The green line shows the deadtime applied to the rising edge of the highside switch (DTR). The red curve gives the development of the on-time of the high-side switch over the different dead-time settings, the dotted black line shows its 3rd order approximation.

The given range for the dead-time sweep was determined by characterizing the system and defining a best-case scenario (shortest deadtime) and a worst-case scenario (longest deadtime). The sweep was performed with the

POINT-OF-LOAD maximum resolution of 4ns at 90% load (Vin = 12V, Vout = 3.3V, Iout = 9A). On the left side of the chart, the duty-cycle starts with values of around 1.394 μsec and rapidly drops as soon as the dead-time is increased. In this area the high- and low-side switch already show some overlap and some of the power drawn from the input is directly shorted to ground.

At dead-times around 25ns the on-time reaches its minimum of 1.384 μsec and starts to rise again when the dead-time is further increased.

In a non-adjustable design, the dead-time would have been adjusted to at least 70ns for the switches used, so the typical on-time for this operating condition would have been 1.395 μsec. In accordance with equation III of figure 2, the difference between the original and optimized high-side on-time is 11ns wide.

On the first glimpse this doesn’t sound much, but in this high frequency converter it stands for ~0.9% increase in efficiency resp. an in increase in total efficiency from ~92% to 93%.

Figure 5: MCP19111 PMbusTM Test Interface

Adjustable Switching Frequency and Compensation Network One additional very nice feature is the capability to adjust the compensation network and switching frequency by software. This not only eases the basic adjustment during setup configuration, it also allows to make adjustments during runtime. This, so far, has been the unreachable core domain of fully digital controllers. In hard-switching topologies like synchronous buck converters, the switching losses are dominantly responsible for the majority of power losses. To improve the efficiency especially at light loads, reduction of the switching frequency can significantly help to improve the total efficiency of the converter. However, when the switching frequency is being reduced while the compensation network is fixed in hardware, commonly the gains start to drop and might result in a loss of phase and gain margin. To compensate this effect, an adjustment of the system’s gains is required.

Figure 4: Graphical User Configuration Interface

Microchip expands LIN 2.1/ SAE J2602-2 portfolio with new transceiver, system basis chip and System-in-Package devices Microchip announces the expansion of its LIN portfolio with the LIN 2.1 and SAE J2602-2 compliant and low-power MCP2003A transceiver, MCP2021A, MCP2022A, MCP2025 and MCP2050 LIN System Basis Chips (SBCs), and PIC16F1829LIN System in Package (SiP). These devices include high-integration options, such as a voltage regulator, windowed watchdog timer, battery-monitor output and a MCU. Additionally, they feature high robustness, including high Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) levels of more than 15 kV on the LIN bus and batteryvoltage pins, meeting or exceeding automotive manufacturer requirements such as Version 1.3 of the “OEM Hardware Requirements for LIN, CAN and FlexRay Interfaces in Automotive

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Applications.” The voltage regulator that is integrated on some of the devices has also been specifically designed to operate in the automotive environment, and can withstand reverse battery conditions, +43V load dump transients and double-battery jump starts. This robustness enables reliable communication in harsh environments, and the high level of integration lowers cost and complexity while saving space.

The new PIC16F1829LIN SiP incorporates an 8bit Flash MCU, a voltage regulator and a LIN transceiver, in addition to peripherals such as a 10-bit ADC, comparators and timers; all in a 20pin SSOP package. This adds to Microchip’s wide range of eXtreme Low Power (XLP) 8and 16-bit PIC® microcontrollers with integrated enhanced USART peripherals.

The enhanced USART peripheral enables easy connectivity to LIN physical layer transceivers and SBCs. Whether SiP or standalone solutions, Microchip’s XLP MCU sleep currents, which are as low as 9 nA, make them well suited to direct-battery applications and enable less drain on vehicle batteries.

www.microchip.com/get/STR3

COVER STORY The MCP19111 offers registers to adjust the ramp voltage of the PWM generator, the zero frequency (resonance frequency at the origin, defining the first pole), the total gain and slope gain as well as the slope itself. Further there are register sets to adjust the amplifier offset and current sense gain. Although this technique might require a process of extensive system characterization, it bares the chance for significant improvements in terms of efficiency and stability.

Very Light Load Efficiency Optimization In asynchronous buck converters the power losses in the freewheeling diode are determined by the forward voltage drop times the current. As the significant forward voltage drop across the diode is present permanently and cannot be minimized, an additional switch with significantly lower forward voltage drops is commonly used to bypass/replace the diode eventually forming a synchronous rectifier.

This technique is commonly used when load currents above 1A are required. However, during light load conditions, when there is very little current flowing through the low-side switch, the power required to drive its gate exceeds the savings gained by bypassing the freewheeling diode with a switch. To support further efficiency enhancements under this particular conditions, the MCP19111 offers the so-called diode-emulation mode, where, when enabled, the low-side driver is turned off. With a disabled driver, the gate is not biased anymore and the MOSFET’s body diode will become the rectifier, minimizing the power losses.

This kind of measure to minimize partial power losses and increase the total overall efficiency can additionally be backed-up by using Microchip’s new family of power MOSFETs MCP870xx. This family of low RDS(on), well balanced Figure-Of-Merit (FOM) fast PowerMOSFETs offer a range of different On-

POINT-OF-LOAD Resistance vs. Total Gate Charge (QT) combinations to optimize the total FOM of the halfbridge. The higher QT of the low side switch, the more effective becomes the diode emulation mode of the MCP19111.

GUI is working with Microchip’s PICkit Serial Analyzer (Part-Number DV164122), which is a generic low-cost USB-to-UART/SPI/I²C interface and can be directly used to monitor and debug the device during operation. n

Optimizing No-Load Operation The MCP19111 are current mode controllers to offer best performance during normal operation. However, a current mode controller needs to have at least some current flowing to function properly. When load switch into low-power standby operation, the output of the converter still has to provide the nominal output voltage, but the output power might almost be zero. Commonly current mode controllers switch into some sort of hickup or Pulse-Frequency-Mode (PFM) operation with higher output ripples, violating line regulation tolerances and often also causing serious EMI issues. To overcome this limitation of typical current mode controllers, the MCP19111 can be switched into pseudo voltage mode control by disabling the current loop resulting in a improvement of the output voltage and system stability.

Resume Although most of the techniques are known and some features can also be found on already existing parts, the MCP19111 family of devices opens a new chapter in the history of intelligent switching regulators. The density of dedicated features together with the free programmability makes the powerful difference.

In the world of smart power controllers, the MCP19111 brings analog and digital control schemes closer together and removes existing limitations by making all features available and accessible to engineer and therefore forms the base of innovative, efficient and reliable high performance POL converters.

Usability and Tool Chain The impressive list of enhanced features of the MCP19111 offers an overwhelming number of options to configure and optimize the system.

The open programmability of the MCU adds even more degrees of freedom. Therefore Microchip offers the Graphical User Interface (GUI) shown in Figure 4, which can be used to make certain adjustments and configurations without the need to write code. This GUI works with an open-source firmware, which can be modified and be used as a template to develop individual, more advanced features. In addition to the configuration interface, Microchip offers a second GUI for test purposes, enabling the user to directly communicate with the device using the PMbus protocol (see Figure 5). This

Author Information

Andreas Reiter Technical Business Development Manager for Power Electronics, Europe at Microchip Technology Short Biography: Andreas Reiter, born in 1973, studied medical engineering and physics at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. From 2000 he worked as developing engineer and later as director of R&D in the automation industry, before he focused on power electronics applications as senior applications engineer in 2007. Since 2010 he is responsible for application-oriented R&D of fully digital control methods and solutions in power electronics applications at Microchip Technology Inc. www.microchip.com

Microchip brings integrated op amps to low-cost 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers Microchip announces two new 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers, the PIC16F527 and PIC16F570, which combine the ease-of-use of a PIC MCU with low-cost analogue peripherals to create a well-integrated, cost-effective family suitable for a wide range of applications.

With an on-chip dual Op Amp module, 8-bit ADC and two comparators, these MCUs are ideal for systems that require signal conditioning and amplification to interpret analogue inputs.

The PIC16F527 and PIC16F570 employ a small and highly efficient 8-bit architecture, and add several features to support ease of use and system robustness. The all-new hardware interrupt capability gives designers the freedom to implement more complex functions without adding software overhead, while an integrated Brown-Out Reset (BOR) can detect faults in system power and safely reset the MCU to avoid memory corruption. The two MCUs also feature

self-read/write programme Flash memory, which allows for high-use data EEPROM functionality. These key features, in addition to the integration of commonly used analogue peripherals, make the PIC16F527 and PIC16F570 well suited to a number of low-cost sensor products, such as smoke detectors, carbon-monoxide detectors, photo sensors and automotive sensor-interface modules.

The PIC16F527 MCU is offered in 20-pin PDIP, SOIC, SSOP and QFN packages and is available today for sampling and volume production.

The PIC16F570 is offered in 28-pin PDIP, SOIC, SSOP and QFN packages and is expected to be available in June for sampling and volume production.

www.microchip.com/get/JB5A www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Kontron moves into the CompactPCI Serial business

CPCI-S.0 - Specification takes off At Embedded World 2013, Kontron will be strongly reaffirming its intentions to be part of the further advances of CompactPCI Serial. The company will be exhibiting five new boards and several already pre-integrated sample configurations for this relatively new standard. Services for system-integration and migration will complete its range of exhibits.

The CPCI-S.0 specification, which was officially adopted nearly two years ago, has aroused considerable interest in the industry. This is in particular because of the fact that CompactPCI has the highest acceptance of all of the market segments for industrial computers. However, larger OEM customers have delayed risking making the change-over. Support from global manufacturers of embedded computer technology has actually been lacking up until recently. Kontron is now changing this with the official announcement on supporting the PICMG specification CPCI-S.0.

The CompactPCI Serial standard is a further development of the existing PICMG 2.0-specifikation, which is characterized by serial communication over the backplane. Amongst item supported our extension cards which can be connected either via Ethernet, PCI Express, SATA or USB. Any combinations of such cards are pluggable into specification-conforming system housings, whereby up to 8 of these can be supported. Solutions with a significantly greater number of extension cards are also realizable using matching bridges.

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Figure 1: Performance chart Since the initial specification came out in 1999 up to the latest version, the bandwidth of CompactPCI has expanded very considerably with CompactPCI Serial.

DESIGN Focusing on high-performance systems This high degree of design flexibility enables significantly differing system-configurations to be realized such as: • Scalable multi-processor systems and CPU-clusters via PCIe or Ethernet, • RAID systems, with up to 8 SATA lanes for SATA-hard disk-shuttles, for example for data recording of video monitoring systems, • NAS-systems for data access from Cloud, which are realized via a mix of Ethernet-networked CPO units and SATA-hard disk shuttles, • Multi-monitoring systems for controlling up to 32 displays e.g. for Infotainment, Digital Signage and control rooms, • Flexible wireless configurations with WLAN, UMTS, HDSPA, LTE and GSM on up to 8 carrier cards, each having two radio modules.

Even mixed solutions which also furthermore support PCI are possible. All system designs are characterized by a particularly high performance capability in a modular construction without cables. It is for example possible with CPCI-S.0 to transfer several gigabytes per second of data. By way of comparison: the highest possible data throughput via a parallel 32 bit/66 MHz PCI-interface in CompactPCI is 0.264 GB/s. This enormous increase in bandwidths therefore opens new possibilities which can also be immediately exploited.

Standardized module OEM and end-users can take advantage of the modular approach: an individual high-performance system is composed of a large fund of standardized modules.

Even with a good overall system further integration themes, in so doing, the development time is comparatively short and the reliability and quality extremely high. In addition, the support of Hot-Swap and redundancy is advantageous for system availability.

Thanks to a sturdy mechanical system, CompactPCI Serial is also suitable for industrial applications as well as for use in railway, air travel and military applications. Central systems capable of the highest performance become possible and these can, for example, as need be, takeover the control of complete production lines. The high flexibility in system design enables systems, once they have been set up to be upgraded later in more or less any conceivable direction which makes the investments particularly future-proof.

Single source mechanism The migration from CompactPCI over to CompactPCI Serial is in no way a piece of witchcraft from the mechanical point of view as apart from the new connector on the backplane and the boards the fully proven mechanics of CompactPCI are retained.

Existing system installations can be retained within the same space and received an enormous boost in performance.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Kontron to promote openness Developers of CompactPCI Serial-based systems benefit in addition from the optimization of the interoperability of the standard: there should be significantly more pins with fixed assignments for the serial connections than is

the case in the existing standard with just 12 usable connectors. For this reason Kontron has decided to further promote openness and with that exchange ability among different manufacturers with the support of the CPCIS.0-specification.

Figure 2: CPCI Serial system design The backplane with CompactPCI Serial is clearly more flexibly designed. The CPU-slot functions as the central star point for PCI Express, SATA and USB. Ethernet can be implemented as single star or full mesh on the backplane.

Figure 3: Products Five all at one go. With a processor board, two network controllers an XMC carrier and a SATA hard disk carrier, Kontron is already offering the most important components for CompactPCI Serial. These are also supplied fully pre-integrated in system configurations. www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

What is more, Kontron will be actively involved in the future in further rounding-off of the specification within the PICMG Group.

First customers ready for the migration The first customers from the field of production machines in the metal-processing industry and in the sector of image-processing have already announced that they wish to migrate their systems over to the new specification.

Further conceivable application fields are in the Infotainment and train safety fields.

Boards or systems?

In parallel with the announcement of the support of CPCI-S.0, Kontron is also introducing several boards Amongst these are the CPS3003-SA processor board, the CPS3101 hard disk carrier, the CPS3105 XMC-carrier and theCPS53402 network cards with two GbE interfaces and CPS3410 with four 1 GbE interfaces. But Kontron is not only making these boards available as standard products.

There are complete system integrations that can be supplied. This enables the application developer‘s activities to be limited to the specification of the hardware requirements.

The modular system will be supplied if need be fully integrated – including all of the necessary drivers. As far as the chassis is concerned, Kontron uses for example systems supplied by Schroff or it develops tailor-made individual designs.

CompactPCI Serial new releases No matter whether the performance package consists of boards or systems, the functions and interfaces of the CompactPCI Serial designs will be characterized by the functions of the individual boards.

In addition to hard disk carrier's and network cards, note should above all, be taken of Kontron’s first processor board. The CPS3003SA processor board is equipped with the highest performance-capable Intel core i7 processors of the third-generation as well as the Mobile Intel® QM77 Express PCH. Customers and make use of different versions from the power loss-optimized 1.7GHz DualCore version of the 2.1GHz Quad-Core for the highest performance requirements.

The CPS3003-SA offers in addition, an even wider advantage as it enables hybrid system designs to be implemented together with the

classic CompactPCI. Users can relatively easily transfer their systems into a serial world without having to take existing CompactPCI peripheral cards out of service.

Equally attractive is the new CompactPCI Serial carrier for XMC modules, which enables developers to fall back on the complete range of industrial XMC-cards. There is an XMC Module for graphic or image processing, applications, various Legacy I/Os, field buses and specific industrial Ethernet versions or even FPGA-based solutions. This diversity and flexibility also makes possible the highest application-specific high-performance systems by implementing standard components that are already on the market. n www.kontron.com

Author: Peter Ahne is Product Marketing Manager for Kontron and based in Kaufbeuren.

Kontron 6U CompactPCI® with 10 GbE system throughput Performance increases for data-intensive, high-performance applications.

As part of its 'High-Speed CompactPCI® Initiative', Kontron launched also the world’s first 6U CompactPCI® Serial Mesh 10 Gigabit Ethernet processor board together with a compliant chassis. For the first time, a CompactPCI® system supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet and PCIe over backplane in addition to the common interfaces such as PICMG® 2.16, SATA and HDMI.

carriers and also with government and security companies.

Applications include secure wireless systems, radar and sonar applications, and complex com-

The Kontron CompactPCI® processor board CP6004X-SA is based on the latest generation Quad-Core Intel® Core™ processor and offers high computing power and performance-perwatt, which really comes into its own in the CP-RAPID3 chassis with full-mesh fabric configuration. Some applications for the new modular CompactPCI® Serial Mesh (based on PICMG® 2.20) systems are in high availability telecommunications and datacommunications systems for

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putational algorithms such as imaging processing. Now, even with smaller space requirements, existing system installations are provided with a significant

increase in data throughput when new long-term generation systems are being developed which, in the future, could be scaled up to 40 GbE.

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

AMD Targets High-Growth, Embedded Markets with New AMD Embedded G-Series System-on-Chip AMD announced the new AMD Embedded G-Series System-onChip (SOC) platform, a singlechip solution based on the AMD next-generation Jaguar CPU architecture and AMD Radeon™ 8000 Series graphics. The new AMD Embedded G-Series SOC platform further signifies a strategic push to focus on high-growth markets outside the PC industry, with an emphasis on embedded systems. The announcement was made at this year's DESIGN West expo. Embedded systems are increasingly driving intelligence into new areas of our lives, from smart TVs and set-top boxes to interactive digital signage and informational kiosks. This supports greater productivity and connectivity and is expected to be a strong driver for Surround Computing, an area of substantial growth in the computing industry.

Among the forces that are enabling this next-generation computing era are single-chip, SOC solutions that offer smaller size, higher performance and more energy-efficient processors.

The AMD Embedded G-Series SOC platform sets the new bar

for SOC design, offering up to 113 percent improved CPU performance compared to the prior generation AMD Embedded GSeries APU, and up to a 125 percent advantage compared to the Intel Atom when running multiple industry-standard compute intensive benchmarks1. For embedded applications, the new platform also includes support for DirectX® 11.1, OpenGL 4.2x and OpenCL™ 1.22 that enables parallel processing and high-performance graphics processing, yielding up to a 20

percent graphics improvement over the previous AMD Embedded G-Series APU and greater than 5x advantage over Intel Atom when running multiple industry-standard graphics-intensive benchmarks3.

AMD www.amd.com

Robust industrial server with dual Intel® Xeon® E5 An industrial ATX mainboard with the Intel® C602 chipset and two Intel® Xeon® E5-2418L processors (2.0 GHz, 10 MB cache, four cores) has been integrated in the extremely powerful 4-U 19-inch industrial server Infinity® S4 from DSM Computer. There are six DIMM slots available on the board for up to 96GB per CPU. DDR3 memory modules with a capacity of 16 GB are equipped as standard. The main memory can be expanded up to 192GB. For highdemanding applications, a server based on two Intel® Xeon® E5-2448L processors (1.8GHz, 20MB cache, eight cores) can be supplied. Processors from the Intel® Embedded Roadmap with an availability of seven years ensure long-term supply of the server. The S4 industrial server designed for use in harsh environments can be supplied in a solid, high-quality rack for installation in 19-inch cabinets or as a stand-alone unit. All operator control elements such as the power switch, reset, control LEDs, 2 × USB and the drives, are on the front, protected by metal doors.

The dust protection mat can be changed from the front. A customer-specific company logo can be inscribed on the rugged housing. 19-inch angles and handles are available on request in any color. A redundant 2 × 500 W power supply (100 – 240 VAC) is part of the scope of delivery or optionally a 600 W power supply

the terminal devices to the cloud applications and the Internet-ofThings. A part of Deutsche

Telekom's developer propositions is the Kontron M2M Smart Services Developer Kit: It offers scalable processor performance and includes all the required drivers and protocols and highly flexible configuration options in terms of applications and operating systems. Beside this flexibility the platform convinces R&D engineers with its pre-qualified set-up for mobile network operators. The system has a PTCRB certification and is approved for use in cellular networks. This saves customer's R&D time as well as costs because it streamlines the process of carrier approval and their own certifications before the application can be launched on a carrier network.

(115 – 230VAC), or on request, a DC power supply (12V / 24V / 48V) are offered.

As standard, the Infinity® S4 is equipped with four 500 GB large 2.5 inch SATA II 300 quality hard disks (or larger) in the RAID system which are mounted in 5.25 inch removable racks for 4 × 2.5 inch HDDs. The industrial computer has two 5.25 inch plug-in units and one internal 2.5 inch plug-in unit.

DSM COMPUTER www.dsm-computer.com

Kontron is M2M partner of Deutsche Telekom Kontron announced its cooperation with Deutsche Telekom. The goal of this partnership is the promotion of Kontron's M2M solutions. The M2M partnership with one of the world's leading network operators and service providers extends Kontron's marketing and distribution channels, and underlines its strategic investment to provide embedded computer-based solutions for the huge multiplicity of industrial grade M2M applications.

Fleet management and video surveillance, as well as distributed outdoor digital signage systems and NFC advertising boards, are only a few of the numerous vertical markets towards which our industrial grade M2M solutions are targeted. Being a cooperation partner of the Deutsche Telekom will

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help us to get accelerated access to OEMs from these various vertical markets," said Claus Giebert, Kontron's Product Manager for M2M solutions in Europe. "A close partnership with the network operators is also important for improving our own M2M services: The 'Internet-of-Things'- or telemetry in other words - needs a high-availability infrastructure and an appropriate quality of services.

Think about distributed energy management systems, for example.

Only in partnership with worldwide leading network operators and service providers for telecommunication such as Deutsche Telekom we can ensure this for our customers. For distributed systems requiring cellular network connection, Kontron offers the matching industrial grade nodes to connect

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

KONTRON www.kontron.com

INDUSTRY NEWS GreenPeak Announces The Year of ZigBee GreenPeak Technologies, a leading low power RF-communication semiconductor company, today announced the year of ZigBee. Worldwide, GreenPeak and other ZigBee semiconductor suppliers are now shipping millions of ZigBee chips every week, making ZigBee the only credible open worldwide standard for the smart home supported by cable and satellite operators and other companies playing in the smart home space.

“ZigBee has been recognized as the connected and smart home technology of choice, due to its worldwide standardization and acceptance via the cable TV and service provider industries,” says Greg Potter of Multimedia Research Group. “Once the cable companies have taken the first step of providing ZigBee networks in the majority of new set-top boxes, it helps create a thriving industry of ZigBee add-on devices for the home - making it easy for installers, system integrators, and home do-ityourselfers to install a wide range of ZigBee devices onto the cable companies’ ZigBee backbone within the home. Revenues from services derived from ZigBee backbones within the home are set to skyrocket from $80 million in 2012 to over $1.7 billion in 2017.

According to IMS Research – now part of IHS – one of the key trends driving the use of ZigBee in the ‘smart home’ is the adoption of the technology by managed service providers in the U.S. and Europe, offering home monitoring and energy management systems via cloud-based home management platforms. The growing traction of ZigBee RF4CE in home entertainment devices is set to continue. IHS projects that shipments of ZigBee RF4CE ICs will grow with a CAGR of 29.1% in the period 2012 to 2018 as ZigBee RF4CE is increasingly incorporated in a range of devices such as set-top boxes, television sets and the accompanying remote controls as an IR replacement technology, enabling more sophisticated interaction with home entertainment devices.

“There are approximately 600 million homes connected to the internet – each of these is a potential customer for a ZigBee home network, with over a hundred possible devices in each home talking to the network: from thermostats, lights and switches, security sensors, door locks, appliances, remote controls, etc.” says Cees Links, Founder and CEO of GreenPeak Technologies, the market leader for ZigBee silicon. “GreenPeak’s Open Smart Home Framework provides a context in which all these devices seamlessly connect to each other and to the internet via the low power ZigBee standard, complementary to WiFi for data sharing and content distribution.”

GREENPEAK TECHNOLOGIES www.greenpeak.com

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS First MOST150 INIC supporting USB 2.0 high-speed device interface and coaxial physical layer Microchip announces the OS81118, the first MOST150 Intelligent Network Interface Controller (INIC) with a USB 2.0 highspeed device port and an integrated coax transceiver.

The MOST150 technology was successfully deployed in the first car models in 2012.

Now, Microchip announces the latest member of its MOST150 INIC family to continue the success story of MOST® in the future. With its USB 2.0 port, including USB PHY and High-Speed Inter-Chip interface (HSIC), the OS81118 allows designers to create in-car mobile and Wi-Fi® connectivity applications on the MOST150 network by connecting a standard Wi-Fi/3G/LTE module via USB. This simple solution reflects today’s market demands for consumer applications within the automotive environment, such as Internet access, e-mail, social networking and local services.

Furthermore, the OS81118 enables automotive engineers to connect the most up-

to-date multi-core consumer Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs) to in-vehicle MOST networks. Besides the optical physical layer (oPHY) interface, the OS81118 integrates a coax transceiver, which opens a cost-reduction path on the MOST physical layer. Additionally, this coaxial physical layer (cPHY) could be used for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

The OS81118 supports the trend in the infotainment market to use high-end SoCs, developed for consumer and mobile devices, within automotive applications.

However, those SoCs have no automotivespecific interfaces, such as CAN, LIN, MediaLB® or MOST. The high-speed USB port on the OS81118 makes it easy to connect SoCs to any MOST150 automotive network, with the added flexibility provided by the coax transceiver.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/472T

Innovasic Adds PROFIBUS to its RapID Platform Family of Industrial Communication Solutions Innovasic announces a new version of its RapID Platform Network Interface for PROFIBUS connectivity. The RapID Platform - PROFIBUS Network Interface supports all data rates up to 12 Mbits/sec and is DP-V1 certified by PROFIBUS & PROFINET International according to the latest test specification for PROFIBUS DP slaves.

The PROFIBUS Network Interface is delivered as a module or embedded design containing everything needed to participate in a PROFIBUS serial network including the communications controller, protocol stack, Flash, RAM, and physical interface. A host processor connects to the Network Interface via a UART or 16-bit Parallel Interface. At the software layer, the host connects to the Unified Interface so other protocols can be used without changing the host processor hardware or software. Since the Unified

Interface is exactly the same as the Industrial Ethernet versions of the RapID Platform, customers developing a PROFIBUS product with the RapID Platform can easily convert

to an Industrial Ethernet version of the product. Similarly, existing RapID Platform customers can now easily add PROFIBUS to their products.

INNOVASIC www.innovasic.com www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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FuturoLighting develops automated LED lamps in partnership with Rutronik

Adieu, light switch "Let there be light," said God in the Story of Creation, and there was light. These days, you don't even need to say anything for there to be light – automated lamps control the light automatically as it is needed.

A particularly efficient and compact lamp without a light switch has been developed by lighting specialist FuturoLighting with the support of Rutronik.

“We wish to leverage the very latest advantages of LED technology for our new, autonomous lamps” said Valentin Kulikov, FuturoLighting. “The efficiency and even light distribution were particularly important to us, and the lamp should ideally have a modern design, be compact and convenient to fit." He turned to the Rutronik branch in the Slovakian city of Banská Bystrica for the selection of the components, not far from the headquarters of FuturoLighting in Piestany. The lighting specialist not only found a broad selection of high-quality LEDs here, but also all of the other required components. For automated lamps, these were mainly movement sensors and ambient light sensors as well as microcontrollers, LDOs, voltage controllers and CCRs (constant current regulators). The selection criteria were not the same for all of the parts. For the microcontrollers, LDOs and CCRs, the value-for-money was the most critical factor, while in the case in the LEDs and sensors, it was

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deemed that the best was just about good enough.

In light of the requirements, Rutronik performed the pre-selection process and supplied samples for tests and evaluations. “The Support team was extremely helpful, Rutronik quickly provided us with all of the required samples and connected us with the right specialists at the manufacturers,” said Valentin Kulikov, thinking back. “Rutronik's Country Manager in Slovakia, Miroslava Gaziova, supported the entire development process and was always ready to lend a hand as needed.”

Best light quality The LED ultimately chosen was the new Duris E5 from Osram Opto Semiconductors. At over 110lm/W, it is highly efficient while remaining low-cost, and offers the most lumen per euro.

In the neutral white version with 4,000K at 120mA, the LED reaches over 42lm. Thanks to the small size of the lumen packages, there are

no hotspots and each of the LEDs can be positioned so close together that the result is a very homogenous illumination. As it was possible to connect the FR4 board to the LED housing, it was able to conduct the heat away, thus rendering an additional cooling unit superfluous. Thanks to the good thermal management, the Duris E5 has a long life of over 50,000 hours, which in ordinary household usage represents a life of over ten years. And with the autonomous solution from FuturoLighting, this life is not reduced by switching either. “In addition to the high lumen output and the good colour rendering index (CRI) of over 80, we recommended the Duris E5 from Osram because we are impressed by its high quality,” explains Miroslava Gaziova.

Sensors instead of light switches The automated light control should be as precise and simple for the user as possible. The idea – if the brightness drops below a certain

DESIGN

level and if there is movement within a certain range, the lamp switches on automatically and becomes progressively brighter until it is fully on after a while. If no movement is detected for a while, the light is dimmed more and more and eventually switches off entirely. Two sensors were required for this – an ambient light sensor and a motion sensor. FuturoLighting selected the BH1621 from Rohm as an ambient light sensor. Its main advantage is its excellent light detection performance. It also has a low temperature coefficient and a linear output intensity.

The PIR motion sensor from Panasonic handles the movement detection. This passive infrared (PIR) sensor detects changes in the infrared beam light that arise when something moves that has a different temperature than the environment. This makes it superbly suited to detecting human motion. PIR sensors also have a large detection field, which at a range of 5 m measures 94° horizontally and 82° vertically.

Another advantage was the low power consumption of the lamps with less than 500 μA during sleep mode. “For us, the small sizes were also important, as the lamp needed to be as compact as possible. Added to this was the reliability – we believe the Panasonic PIR sensor to be simply the best in its class,” added Valentin Kulikov of FuturoLighting.

The PIC12F683 from Microchip was selected as a microcontroller, as it is capable of controlling the light output with great precision. It monitors the threshold value for the ambient light, the dimmer function and performs gamma corrections to keep the visual effect during dimming as perfect as possible. It has a very good compiler and has a 10-bit PWM.

LEDs

“Microchip complements the first-class product features with first-class support,” added Rutronik Country Manager Miroslava Gaziova.

“The project went superbly thanks to the commitment of the specialists from the manufacturers and from Rutronik,” said Kulikov, thinking back. “It only became a little difficult when there was a delivery delay of several months with the Rohm sensors, because their factory was affected by the catastrophic floods in Thailand. Paid-for samples from Rutronik helped us to get through the bottleneck for the first batch of lamps.”

The new lamp recently became available on the market. Thanks to its fully autonomous control, modern designs, compact form and outstanding light quality, the CatherinaS lends itself to floor cupboard lighting in the kitchen or in bookshelves, and is ideal for all types of indirect lighting in living spaces or stairwells, galleries or museums. It can also be installed at any dry location with a low-voltage power grid or wall socket. 3M adhesive tape, which was also supplied by FuturoLighting, was sufficient for the fixtures. The threshold value for the brightness at which the CatherinaS automatically switches on can be set by each customer in accordance with their specific needs. After that no further manual intervention is required. Compared to halogen lamps and fluorescent tubes, the CatherinaS can be used to more than halve power consumption – even though the light is better and free of flicker.

“We are already so enthusiastic about the demand that we are planning other models and configuration of CatherinaS to address different customer needs,” said Valentin Kulikov on his satisfaction. n www.rutronik.com

www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

LEDs

Ledil Oy an overview of LED lenses and projectors A Finnish company - Ledil Oy is a world famous expert in design and sales of components for lighting systems based on the state-of the art LED technology.

Its products include: innovative lenses and projectors offering optimum life and efficiency, mating with brand-name LED’s that are widely recognized by specialists. Thanks to the cooperation with the best LED manufacturers such as Citizen, Osram, Philips, CREE and many others, Ledil offers its customers products meeting all expectations of the world’s lighting market. The key motto of the Ledil Oy engineers is: “If this can be done – we will do it!”.

Company designers follow this principle supporting technical side of the quality department. Customer-focus approach helps to provide customer with competitive solutions and in-depth knowledge about products applications.

What is essential, the company holds a number of certificates, among which, ISO 9001:2008 is the most important. The requirements of this norm can be fulfilled by all organizations regardless of their size and industry.

ISO sets high standards for companies supported by multiple documents, focused on understanding and meeting needs and demands of customers. ISO certificates are world-wide recognized, they reflect products and services top quality, thanks to which they inspire trust of customers.

Customer first Just like in case of many modern, emerging technologies, LED technology also focuses on needs, functionality and performance of designed applications. It can be a mammoth task and great challenge to determine specific requirements. The main reason is that there are no specific, available standards. Lack of standards often leads to over-interpretation of results which, in turn, causes that components

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which do not fully meet designers’ needs, are chosen. Facing this problem, the company provides customers with optical value information of real value for designers, e.g. information on FWHM (full width half maximum), efficiency, used materials and life. It helps potential customers better understand optical features, whose familiarity is crucial while making proper choices of products.

Lenses or projectors Ledil Oy offers its customers a wide range of top quality products. Lenses and projectors manufactured by the Finnish company, are made in the injection molding technology that ensures high optical quality, performance, life and functionality.

All these constituents improve light quality, at the same time reducing electrical energy consumption, which, as a result, reduces the price of the final product. The assortment of this Finnish manufacturer is dedicated to LED’s of the biggest world’s manufacturers. Lenses are

available in the range of angles from 5° - in case of oval lenses, to almost 180° for asymmetric lenses, and projectors from 6° to almost 90°, with lens stops (mat and transparent) or without them. Lenses (Figure 1 and Figure 2)

Figure 1: Oval lens.

DESIGN

LEDs

as well as projectors (Figure 3 and Figure 4) are available in oval and asymmetric versions, thanks to which they are used even in the most complex applications or projects.

Figure 5: Street field lighted by means of STRADA family lenses.

• General lighting (household). Lenses designed to this group are characterized with wide luminescence angle, thanks to which the possibility of existence of unlit areas is virtually impossible (Figure 6). The best families for this group of applications include: EMERALD and Julia. In order to achieve a pointwise light, an ideal proposition is Tina.

Figure 2: Asymmetric lens.

Figure 9: Area illuminated among shelves.

Details and exposition illumination. Such applications usually require a narrow light beam.

The TINA and LEN families and many others would be an ideal solution.

• Office lighting. In this case, a connection of wide “illumination” angle lenses with lenses imitating pointwise illumination. In this group, there are families such as: Julia, Tina and STRADA. • Public utility areas. Two, three and four-module STRADA family lenses will fully illuminate whole area or a car park (Figure 10).

Figure 6: Spectrum of an illuminated room.

• Outside lighting. There is nothing better to illuminate e.g. a wall (Figure 7) than sources of light using EMILY lenses that are set in a row.

Figure 3: Oval projector.

Figure 4: Asymmetric projector.

Figure 10: Spectrum of an illuminated area with the use of light equipped with two, three and fourmodule lenses.

Figure 7: Illuminated wall by a row of light sources with EMILY lenses.

The Ledil family The offer of Ledil company is divided into families (e.g. Angie, Barbara and many others), however, the offer can be best presented by splitting products according to their applications – into 8 main groups: • Street lighting. STRADA single and multi-segment lenses are widely used in this segment.

These lenses allow perfect modeling of street area lighting (Figure 5).

• Industrial lighting. Multi-segment STRADA family lenses will ideally illuminate a manufacturing shop floor (Figure 8).

HIGHBAY products are used in areas where a narrow light flux is required, e.g. among warehouse shelves (Figure9).

Figure 8: Spectrum of an area e.g. a shop floor.

• Security systems illumination. The IRENE family has been specially designed for CCTV (closed-circuit television) systems – rectangular beam is adjusted to rectangular field of sensor’s vision, and the width of beam is optimized for various lenses focal lengths.

Quality, reliability, resistance Top quality of Ledil lenses is directly related to top class materials e.g. sprayed plexiglass.

It is characterized with high mechanical resistance, hardness and resistance to surface abrasion, high light permeability and very good resistance to atmospheric conditions thanks to which the lens does not yellow even after many years of use.

Another material worth attention is acrylate, a specific member of polymer class called PMMA. www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

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It is characterized with exceptional optical sharpness and resistance to atmospheric conditions, and at the same time, it does not pose any mechanical threat.

A very important phase of creating an ideal pair: LED – lens is proper mounting of a lens to the base that must meet required conditions: it must be even, clean, dry and free of grease and dirt. Only upon meeting those conditions, two-sided adhesive tapes or glues can be used. It should be remembered that humidity and temperature fluctuations attenuate adhesion of tape or glue.

Optical elements offered by the Finnish Leidl Oy company, play an important role in the success of striving for creating a perfect light source.

A true challenge for every designer is how to maximize properties of an equipment and at the same time keep costs as low as possible. Ledil Oy engineers can do this by creating optical standards for the lighting market of today. n www.tme.eu

Why Ledil A wide assortment of Ledil company includes over 1300 standard products: lenses, projectors and their combinations are designed for different LED sources of light. These are the most important ones: Cree CXA15 CXA2011 MC-E MC E RGB MP-L MT G MT – G2 MX 3 MX – 6 XB – D XM – L XM M EZW XM L2 XP – E XP E HEW XP – E2 XP G XP – G2 XR – E XT E XT- E WVW MK – R CXA25 XM – L RGB OSRAM DDr GDr GDr+ IR Dragon

OslSq EC OslSq PC OslSSL150 OslSSL80 SFH-4751 Ostar L Ostar L+ Ostar – SMT RGB PDr SFH 475S (IR) Soleriq E30 Nichia 153 219B 757 COB L110 COB204 N383 NCS19 NCSU033A NJSx036 NS3x83 N56x83 NSBLL110 NVS19 LG Cer 3535 COB 4W COB - 10W

Bridgelux BXRA ES R BXRA ES S BXRA LS BXRA RS SM4 Citizen CL-L230 CL-L233 CL-L251 CL-L330 CL-L340 CL-L400 CLL010 CLL020 CLL030 CLL040

LUXEON LX A LX K12 LX K16 LX K2 LX M LX R LX REBEL LX REBEL ES LX S LZ4 RGB Sharp Double Dome Mega Zenigata Mini Zenigata Pico Zenigata Samsung 3535H Sunnix5

Seoul AX3221 P4 P5 P7 Z5

Optogan OLM - x3535L2M OLP – x5050F6L

LedEngin LE 10W LE 5W LE 5W UV (365nm) LE 5W UV (400nm)

Luminus CSM – 360 - W SSM - 80 SST - 50 SST 90

EVERLIGHT Expands 5630 Mid-Power LED Portfolio for Light Bar and Bulb Retrofits EVERLIGHT Electronics CO., LTD. introduces the ultra-thin 5630D mid power LED series (part number 62-217D) especially suited for LED light bars, standard and omni-directional LED light bulbs and LED high power bulbs.

EVERLIGHT’s 62-217D is a standard 5630 package in a 0.5W (150mA) version for 40/60W bulb retrofits and a 0.2W (60mA) version that is suited for light bars. Both white top-view LEDs are compact and ultra-thin (5.6*3.0*0.65 mm LxWxH) and available across a complete ANSI CCT range of 2700K (warm white) to 6500K (cool white).

These mid-power LEDs offer a CRI of min. 80Ra and a lumens output of 50lm (WW) and 55lm (CW). The cool white 0.5W version is offered up to 9000K CCT and achieves an efficiency of 115lm/W at 5700K.

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EVERLIGHT’s 62-217D (5630D) LED has a capacity of more than 200 million pieces per month.

This high capacity and throughput allow for strong cost competitiveness, consistent availability and short lead times. The 62217D (5630D) series is Pb-free, RoHS compliant, matches ANSI binning and is currently undergoing LM80 testing to demonstrate

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

its stable lumen maintenance (already tested successfully to 3,000 hours).

The Right LED for the Right Application A dedicated application-based marketing approach supports the idea that every application is to be paired with “The Right LED” to provide the best performance and

quality. EVERLIGHT has one of the largest lighting LED portfolios in the industry, ranging from 0.06W to 25W and from 3.0 × 2.0mm to 20 × 24mm packages, and can thus cater to every need. Based on the same foundation, every package design presents its own advantages in certain applications.

EVERLIGHT is fostering close relationships between their R&D, Sales and Marketing teams to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations in both product offering and technology.

EVERLIGHT provides a great variety of customers with total solutions for their different applications and is incessantly committed to satisfy the strongly growing global market for LED solutions.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS www.everlight.com

PRODUCT NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

IPETRONIK offers new Plug-in for controlling the Pollin-AVR-NET-IO-Boards and Atmel-Processors for its measurement software IPEmotion IPETRONIK has enhanced the application scope of its measurement and data acquisition software IPEmotion by new AVRNET-IO- and Atmel-Plug-in of Technikmedia. Hence, IPEmotion can also be deployed in other areas beyond the typical measurement data acquisition. The new Plug-in once again emphasizes on the hardware independence of measurement software. AVR-NET-IOPlug-in grants the simple controlling of Pollin-AVR-NET-IOBoards via analogous and digital I/Os through IPEmotion. The new Plug-in supports not only the configuration of input and output channels and user interfaces via Ethernet interface of the board, but also saves and analyses the data. It is an advantage for the user that he can operate the AVR-NET-IO-Board with the free IPEmotion-BasicEdition amongst others with the

eight-channel relay card K8IO. AVR-NET-IO is an economic Ethernet hardware platform with ATMega32-micro controller and ENC28J60-netzwork controller.

The board is equipped with eight digital outputs, four digital and four ADC-inputs. All this can

be accessed or connected through network connection (TCP/IP). The board is widespread in universities and training facilities. It is deployed in multifaceted applications for learning tasks in field of research and test. AVR-NET-IO-Board is available as finished module or as assembly kit.

IPETRONIK www.ipetronik.com

New generation SSD SM843T from Samsung The new generation SSD SM843 from Samsung is characterized by a high capacity of up to 120 GB of 960 GB and a long life and is immediately available via MSC. The innovative power loss feature due to power outages are a thing of the past. This SSD is suitable for almost all server applications, particularly for predefined Read-/Write caching to data warehousing.

The SM843T is available from 120 GB to 960 GB. The sophisticated version with 960 GB SSD Power Loss function is placed on the market for the first time. It also impresses with enormous TBW (Total Written byte) values: 2PByte to 120GB, up to 240GB 4PByte, 480GB and 960GB up to 8PByte 16PByte. These high TBW values Samsung reaches by a separate flash, a dedicated DRAM as a cache and its own controller and an optimized firmware is used. All factors combine pro-

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duce an optimum and produce these high TBW values.

The new SM843T MDX is equipped with a controller and firmware that has been specifically tuned to this SSD and programmed for it. The controller is an 8-channel with 3 ARM Codex R4 and runs at 300MHz.

Thus, the SSD reaches a speed of 520MB / s read and 400MB / s write, and a value of 96k IOPS (@ 64KB).

MSC VERTRIEBS www.msc-ge.com

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

PLS’ Universal Debug Engine now also available for Texas Instruments’ Hercules™ security MCU platform With their Universal Debug Engine (UDE) 4.0.4, PLS Programmierbare Logik & Systeme have introduced an optimized test and debug solution for Texas Instruments‘ Hercules™ microcontroller platform which has been developed especially for security-critical applications in compliance with IEC 61508 SIL-3 or ISO 26262 ASIL D. The Hercules™ TMS570LS and RM4x product families, which are both optimized for applications in the automotive, railway and aviation fields and also for industrial automation and medical and energy technology, not only feature distinctive integrated security functions but also scalable performance, connectivity and storage options. The core in each case is formed by two ARM® Cortex™ R4 CPUs working in lockstep mode, of which the TMS570LS series can be clocked with up to 180 MHz and the RM4x components with up to 220 MHz. Users additionally have up to 3 MByte FLASH, up to 256 KByte RAM, high-performance PWM and timer modules, analogdigital converters and also numerous communication inter-

faces available depending on the component variant and the target application. The lockstep mode, intelligent memory protection and further security properties permit compliance with the IEC 61508 SIL-3 and ISO 26262 ASILD security standards with the Hercules™ microcontrollers Together with the UAD2 and UAD3 Universal Access Devices, UDE 4.0.4 guarantees a fast and stable JTAG connection to the

respective Hercules™ MCUs and detailed support for the comprehensive on-chip debug resources and peripheral units of the respective product families.

Prepared target configurations for the various Hercules™ - components guarantee a smooth start to development. The UDE supports all current compilers with DWARF2/3 debug information.

PLS www.pls-mc.com

IAR Systems boosts capabilities for designing and verifyi IAR Systems® launches a new version of its state machine tool suite IAR visualSTATE®. The version adds several new features and integrations to simplify development of complex stateor event-driven embedded systems. IAR visualSTATE allows users to build their design from a high level, structure complex applications, step by step add functions in detail, and automatically generate code that is 100 percent consistent with the design. It also provides advanced formal verification, analysis and validation that can be used to make sure the applications behave as intended.

To simplify the design process,

Submachine states and Design stereotypes are introduced.

Submachine states are reusable state machine fragments, similar to a subroutine or function in a programming language.

Common patterns can be created once and reused across a design or between designs, and the events and actions can be remapped to suit the point of use. Design stereotypes are named templates that specify the visual appearance of states.

These new features greatly speed up the design of complex systems.

Several new possibilities for integrations are added. An open StateChartModel API provides

PRODUCT NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

New Kontron starter kit for embedded high-end graphics based on COM Express Type 6 Computer-on-Modules Kontron announced the new COM Express Starterkit Reference T6 for the accelerated development of a broad range of Small Form Factor (SFF) multimedia applications, providing a rich user experience ranging from battery-powered portable solutions up to stationary multi-display installations. Following the launch of the Kontron COM Express Starterkit Eval T6, the new Reference T6 Starterkit was compiled specifically for OEMs which need to design fully featured SFF applications using COM Express.

The starter kit provides a space efficient Mini-ITX sized carrier board that can host any COM Express pin-out Type 6 Computer-on-Modules in the basic (125 x 95 mm) and compact (95 x 95 mm) form factors for most flexible performance scalability. The starter kit is specifically configured to enable the quick evaluation and development of graphics-intensive solutions using the latest interfaces such as: DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI or LVDS in Mini-ITX sized designs. With SIM card support, it also enables always-connected and constantly updated ubiquitous distributed solutions. Target application areas are digital signage systems, POS/POI terminals, professional gaming machines, professional AV equipment, passenger infotainment systems, shop floor systems and man-machine interfaces in automation, as well as, medical com-

puters and devices. Enabling OEMs to start right away with the development of state-of-the-art multi-display applications and utilize the entire COM Express and Mini-ITX ecosystem is a significant aid in reducing development efforts and timeto-market. To further accelerate the design of customer-specific carrierboards, on request Kontron can provide the cor-

responding carrierboard schematics, so OEMs have a blue print of a solution which has already been evaluated, so they do not have to design everything from scratch. The new Kontron COM Express Starterkit unleashes its full potential when combined with the latest technology modules such as the Kontron COMe-bIP6 with 3rd generation Intel Core processors or the Kontron COMecTH6 based on the AMD Embedded RSeries accelerated processing unit (APU).

KONTRON www.kontron.com

Rutronik presents the i.MX6 based industrial CPU module from emtrion emtrion extends its DIMM family by the new industrial processor module DIMM-MX6, which is based on the multicore Cortex-A9 i.MX6 SoC family from Freescale. The module offers a full electrical and mechanical compatibility with the other modules of the emtrion DIMM series. It is available at the distributor Rutronik as of now.

The i.MX6 processor from Freescale brings high computing capabilities with up to 10.000 DMIPS, multiple NEON and VPFU co-processors at a low power level, without requiring any active cooling system. This module is ideal for industrial applications as well as multimedia applications using its powerful GPU.

ng embedded applications based on state machines everything needed for users to build their own tools that can manipulate models in IAR visualSTATE. This for example includes tools that check adherence to naming conventions and specialized code generators. It is now

also possible for external clients to remotely control the state machine simulator and designer through TCP/IP. This interface provides an automated integration with Fujitsu CGI Studio, which is a software development platform for creating 2D and 3D graphical user interfaces. In addition to creating state machine models and embedded applications, IAR visualSTATE lets users explore them through formal verification to make sure they do not contain design inconsistencies or logical gaps.

IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com/vs

The DIMM-MX6 is available in several versions, with either i.MX6 Solo (1 core), Dual (2 cores) or Quad (4 cores) and on-board memories ranging from 512MB up to 8GB for the Flash (SLC NAND) and from 512MB up to 2GB RAM (DDR3). It is also qualified for an extended temperature range of -40째C to +85째C. emtrion guarantees the availability of its new module for at least 10 years.

With board support packages (BSP) and engineering services, emtrion supports a broad range of operating systems. The DIMM-MX6 is obtainable with BSP for Linux, that will be followed by BSP for Windows Embedded Compact 7 (WEC7), for GNX 6.5 and for Android 4.0.4. The BSP are available together with a developer kit, that includes a DIMM-MX6 industrial module, a base board, a display and a development environment.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Impressively fast and reliable: Swissbit X-500 Series Industrial SATA II SSD at Rutronik

Kontron enhances 40G platform portfolio with 40G ATCA processor blade

The X 500 Series Industrial SATA II SSD (solid state drive) from Swissbit achieves a data rate on SATA II of up to 240MB/sec and an impressive 15,000 IOPS with 4k random accesses. It is available at distributor Rutronik.

To ensure the absolute reliability of the power fail protected X 500 Series, Swissbit combines sophisticated mechanisms and augments these with the S.M.A.R.T. (selfmonitoring, analysis and reporting technology) protocol, the lifetime monitoring tool or SDK and an efficient BCH-ECC (error correction code) unit. Added to this are such features as NCQ, TRIM, the ATA security set and in-field update. With these features, the X-500 Series is ideal for demanding applications, e.g. for Aerospace, Medical, Communications, Transportation, Automotive, Industrial Automation as well as in the governmental field. The X-500 Series is available in storage densities from 16GB to 512GB as SLC (single level cell) SSD. It will also be available as optimized EM-MLC

Kontron introduced the Kontron AT8070, a 40G ATCA Dual Intel Xeon processor blade with the highest performance and flexibility to address the high traffic and delivery costs of fixed broadband and wireless network applications managed by budget-constrained service providers. As a complement to the Kontron OM9141-40G ATCA platform which consists of a 40G chassis with advanced cooling, 40G switching, 40G packet processing - the Kontron AT8070 now adds 40G general purpose multicore processing capabilities to the mix. This provides TEMs additional configuration options and the opportunity to further reduce overall system costs while increasing throughput.

In the 4G mobile backhaul space, network applications in the LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC) are leading the way to help service providers deploy the best infrastructure to accommodate growing bandwidth and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for streaming mobile video, content-aware deep packet inspection (DPI),

(Endurance Managed Multi Level Cell) version from summer 2013.

EM-MLC achieves higher TBW (Tera Bytes Written) than conventional MLC SSDs. The X-500 SSDs afford a high level of shock and vibration resistance and can be used in a temperature range from

-40°C to 85°C, versions for commercial applications have a temperature range from 0°C to 70°C. As for all Swissbit storage solutions, the long-term availability and a fixed BOM also apply for the X-500 Series.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com

IPETRONIK offers CAN-measuring module for the temperature measurement with Pt100 With the M-RTD2, IPETRONIK, world’s leading manufacturer of mobile measurement technology in the automotive industry, has expanded its proven CAN-measuring modules of the M-Series to include a module for temperature measurement with platinum elements. The M-RTD2 has four electrically isolated measurement inputs.

Pt100-sensors supporting 4-wire-technique can be used to acquire temperatures in a range of –50°C to +450°C. Each channel can be separately activated and scaled. The channel sampling rate is adjustable from one measured value per minute to 100Hz. The measuring range is digitised using a 16-Bit-Analog/Digital-converter.

Since the Pt-sensor characteristic curve is exactly proportional only to a partial area, the entire meas-

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uring range is linearized via an internal polynomial calculation.

An 8th order Butterworth-Filter with 150 Hz is integrated as hardware filter. The accuracy at 25°C is ±0.10°C. The measuring mod-

ule has one sepa rate constant current output per input channel (Pt-sensor) and an electrically isolated CAN-output 2.0B according to ISO 11898-2 with up to 1 Mbit/s transmission speed. All measuring configuration settings can be made easily using the measurement data acquisition software IPEmotion.

IPETRONIK www.ipetronik.com

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

and other content delivery applications. The commercialoff-the-shelf (COTS) approach of designing LTE network elements with application-ready 40G ATCA platforms is the ideal and economical path to further reduce design costs and get to market faster. For superior processing and I/O performance, the Kontron AT8070 is designed with the 8-core Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family, a larger storage capacity, virtualization

technology, and will support next generation Intel processors.

Key benefits of the Kontron AT8070 include: • Massive I/O bandwidth increase • Faster memory bandwidth • Large inter-processor connection • More cores, same power budget.

KONTRON www.kontron.com

Eurotech Announces CPU-301-16, the new ARM-Based Em Eurotech, a leading supplier of embedded technologies, products and systems, today announces the launch of the CPU-301-16, an ARM-based embedded platform that extends the Eurotech family of products enabling the Internet of Things and Machine-toMachine applications. The CPU-301-16, based on the Freescale i.MX 6 processor series, uses ARM Cortex-9 technology to pack high performance capabilities into a 67×85mm form factor.

With leading edge Eurotech power management technology, the Freescale i.MX6 processor, reduced sleep current and

DDR3L memory, the CPU-30116 delivers up to 1.2 GHz performance and can bring power consumption down to 1-2 Watt or less in many applications,

PRODUCT NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Eurotech Extends Proven DynaPCN Passenger Counting Family DynaPCN 10-20 with Ethernet Uses More Precise Algorithms for Counting Passengers Eurotech, a leading supplier of embedded technologies, products and systems, today announces the launch of the DynaPCN 10-20, a compact and fully integrated passenger counter with Ethernet communications specifically designed for public vehicles. The DynaPCN 10-20 extends the proven family of DynaPCN products that are certified for railway applications, adding more precise algorithms for counting passengers as they enter and depart while easing integration with other onboard systems.

The DynaPCN 10-20, based on noncontact stereoscopic vision technology coupled with sophisticated real-time image analysis, results in the ability to count train, tram or bus passengers with high accuracy levels without the need for elaboration by other systems. The passenger counter provides reliable and dependable performance in a railway environment with a protected IP65 aluminumalloy case, EN51055 T1 certification, and Ethernet communication channel to other systems and isolated power supply ports. The device is designed to be inconspicuous, with flush mounting near the entrance of the vehicle.

Eurotech’s on-board computer product portfolio lets transportation customers

link several passenger counters on one single vehicle, and using Everyware Cloud technology, make real-time decisions about usage and schedules. The DynaPCN 10-20 can also be combined with Eurotech’s mobile computing systems to create a complete, intelligent and fully customizable network with advanced surveillance, communication

and infotainment capabilities. Benefits of deploying a passenger counting system based on the DynaPCN family include: • Comparing and verifying fare collection figures with passenger counts • Validating passenger counts to justify payments due to transportation companies • Scheduling maintenance and cleaning based on vehicle usage • Optimizing vehicle load across regions, time periods, or other factors • Monitoring service quality EUROTECH www.eurotech.com

mbedded Platform making it ideal for battery-operated devices and power-constrained uses. A distinguishing feature of the board is that it is available as a stand-alone Single Board Computer (SBC) and as a Computer on Module (CoM).

When used in SBC mode, creating a system with the CPU-301-16 is as simple as adding a power supply, appropriate cables and an enclosure, since no carrier board is needed.

On the other hand, when coupled to a carrier board in

CoM mode, the CPU-301-16 platform exposes an even richer set of native peripherals and further capabilities.

The CPU-301-16 also supports Eurotech’s Everyware Software Framework (ESF) and Everyware Device Cloud (EDC) services, making it an embedded platform that is scalable, connected and easy to deploy.

Eurotech’s CPU-301-16 offers the following benefits: • Flexible Deployment – CoM or SBC (with no need for carrier board) • Multi-Core Configurations for High Performance • Ultra Low Power Design • HD Multimedia Playback Support • Feature-Rich in Compact Footprint EUROTECH www.eurotech.com

IAR Systems makes major updates to leading tools for low-power Renesas MCUs IAR Systems® releases a new version of its development tool suite IAR Embedded Workbench for Renesas RL78. The new version 1.30 adds a large amount of new functionality for code writing and debugging.

For simplified code writing, the new version uses IAR Systems’ new text editor and source browser, which includes user-friendly features such as auto-completion, parameter hints, code folding, block select and indent, bracket matching, zooming and word/paragraph navigation. Also added is project connections functionality for automated integration with device configuration tools. This makes it possible to import files or file packages generated by such external code generation tools and enables IAR Embedded Workbench to automatically detect changes in the generated file set.

New in the comprehensive C-SPY® Debugger is the possibility to connect an E1 or E20 emulator to a running system to inspect it without interrupting program execution. Also introduced are Sampled Graphs and several new windows. The Sampled Graphs allow you to specify variables for which you want to collect data samples. You can view the sampled data either in table format in the Data Sample window or as graphs in the Sampled Graphs window. A new Custom SFR window lets you define custom special function registers (SFRs) in C-SPY with selectable access size and type, while the Call Graph window displays all calls made to and from each function from any source file in the active project.

The new Macro Quicklaunch window makes it possible to evaluate expressions and to launch C-SPY macros.

Thanks to the longstanding close relationship between IAR Systems and Renesas Electronics, IAR Embedded Workbench was the first set of tools available for developing the low-power RL78-based microcontrollers. Since the first release in March of 2011, IAR Systems has made several updates and improvements to the tools, including extraordinary optimizations for code size and speed.

IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com/ewrl78 www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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ELECTRONICS TAPE EXTENSION SENSOR FOR COST-SENSITIVE APPLICATIONS ASM Sensor Specialists launch the NEW WB61 Tape Extension Sensor providing up to 4000mm measuring length in a compact housing. All ASM Tape Extension Sensors have been designed to operate in harsh conditions which make them a perfect choice for the Mobile Working Machine Market as well as other harsh demanding applications.

Due to the design of the sensor and the inherent strength of the stainless steel tape they can be found in environments and areas where other sensors struggle to survive such as hard to reach areas where directional changing pulleys are used or where temperature extremes cause problems such as icing. The life of our range of Tape Extension Sensors is totally unaffected by the use of pulleys which makes them the perfect choice for safety critical areas often found in crane operation or the Mobile Working Market in general.

The NEW Model WB61 is made from a quality moulded housing which enables lower construction costs for a rugged sensor that meets a high sealing level of IP67/69K (operational) making it an affordable choice for today’s demanding markets. The WB61 is also available with a choice of three analogue and three digital outputs (SSI, CANopen or CAN J1939) a linearity of ±0.10% with the option of redundant outputs. The WB61 is perfectly suited for installation on cranes, excavators, forklift trucks, hoists and access platforms.

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EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

The “converter-platform” of the HAHN GmbH & Co. KG The HAHN GmbH & Co. KG offers solutions for product developers of switching power supplies.

In response to the variety of designs which are available on the market, HAHN GmbH & Co. KG combines demands and wishes of the developers to quick solutions.

Our “converter-platform” supplies switching power supply transformers up to 50 W according to the current requirements of IEC / EN 61558-216:2009 for double/reinforced insulation.

advance the possibility to pattern your converters perfectly.

The use of the same components (covered by our insulation system UL 1446 for insulation class B and F) and same structures in the development and production provides rationalization that will pay off for you. This stands for a quick and economical solution.

With constructive suggestions and readily available components for creepage distance requirements > 5.5 mm, our “converter-platform” provides solutions for your power supply developments, regardless of your chosen and used switching regulator topology.

The implementation of component tests, such as the additional requirements for insulation materials such as the coil former, according to EN 60335-1, paragraph 30, provide significantly more time- and cost savings for the certification of your application.

With your design proposals or our available simulation and calculation programs, our R&D department realizes and delivers quick solutions.

The “converter-platform” additionally accelerates the preparation of documents for quotes, design and manufacturing.

Our self-developed measuring devices offer in

Rapid delivery by parallel manufacturing and advantageous assembly conditions are favorable for fast delivery in the pre-and series production.

Tel. +40 256-201346 Mail office@oboyle.ro Web www.oboyle.ro

Leuze n n n

Optical sensors Sensors for logistic applications Safety at work

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Optical Sensors Inductive Sensors

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PLCs Temperature Controller Timer

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Color Sensors True Color Sensors, Spectrometers Gloss Sensors

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Flowmeters Level Indicators and Switches Pressure Sensors and Switches

Heavy Duty Industrial Connectors Power and Data Transmission Connectors Aluminium Junction Boxes

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

Visit our online shop www.oboyle.ro

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Linear Solenoids Permanent Electromagnets

AUTOMATION Paralan Now Offers LAM Technologies Product Lines to US Manufacturers and System Developers Paralan is now the official USA distributor for LAM Technologies, the well-known Italian manufacturer of components for industrial automation and motion control systems including stepper motors, stepper drives, controllers, and power supplies. LAM components are utilized in many different industries including packaging, woodworking, food processing, paper and CNC machine, textile manufacturing, etc.

“A world leader in the motion control market, LAM Technologies has been producing highly innovative and competitive drives for stepper motors for over 20 years,” explains Marc Brooks, CEO of Paralan. “Our knowledge of overseas export rules and regulations enables us to simplify and facilitate the ordering and delivery process of LAM products for US based companies without adding any cost.”

According to Marc, “The care taken in every phase of LAM’s product creation, from its initial concept to shipment to the customer, ensures quality and reliability of each item sold.”

LAM Technologies offers control by traditional step and direction signals, programmable and managed by the Fieldbus control system. The use of the latest digital technology has allowed LAM Technologies to significantly reduce the overall dimensions and to intro-

duce many advanced features. The high-efficiency power stage limits losses and heating.

With LAM’s free software, developers can configure the drives and execute diagnostics in a simple and effective manner.

PARALAN www.paralan.com www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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AUTOMATION Beyond Standard

Sensors from the Contrinex “Extra Distance” family (500 series) have extremely long operating distances that help minimize downtime and machine failure costs. They also deliver excellent results in difficult sensing applications.

Contrinex laid the foundation for improved sensor technology many years ago with the Extra Distance family (500 series). Thanks to the patented Condist® oscillator, these inductive sensors offer exceptional operating distances up to 4 times the normal limit.

Compared to conventional oscillator circuits, the Condist® oscillator has significantly greater stability against environmental influences, especially temperature. The switching point can therefore be moved to allow longer operating distances.

By integrating ASIC technology (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Contrinex has again achieved a significant improvement in sensor performance. The reduction in the number of components also minimizes the risk of component failure.

In addition, EMC stability and vibration resistance are improved.

well. Nonferromagnetic metals can also be detected at long distances, which is a great advantage in applications with varying targets.

Extra Distance family sensors can even detect carbon fiber with ease.

This is a basic requirement for an automated process, so achieving it represents a first step towards the commercial use of this material of the future.

60 to 80% of all failures of inductive sensors are the result of mechanical damage. The simplest and most efficient way to reduce this potential failure rate is to increase the distance between the sensor and the source of any danger. By using Extra Distance family sensors, downtime can therefore be cut by up to 60%.

All these outstanding features have already convinced many sensor users in a wide range of fields, such as mechanical engineering, internal With the help of this technology, sens- logistics and wind turbine operation. ing is practically independent of target size for Extra Distance family senTel. +40 256-201346 sors. Long thin targets, such as rods or Mail office@oboyle.ro Web www.oboyle.ro wires, can be detected particularly 32

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

Sensors from the Extra Distance family can also detect long thin targets, such as wires, without difficulty.

Mechanical damage causes 60 to 80% of all failures of inductive sensors. Increasing the distance between the sensor and any source of danger is an effective way of reducing downtime.

DESIGN

CLEANING PROCESS

Greater reliability for electronic components

Keep it clean, keep it working Ever-increasing demand for reliability, continuing miniaturization, and not least the growing number of faults in electronic components manufactured in no-clean processes, all combine to put the focus back on cleaning in electronics manufacturing.

The industry offers a variety of solutions to finding the optimal cleaning process.

Cleaning with water-based media is generally done in dipping systems with multiple cleaning and rinsing baths.

Amsonic

by Doris Schulz, parts2clean The development of no-clean fluxes and soldering pastes has done much to turn attention away from the need to clean components in electronics manufacturing. For many components that are only used in non-critical atmos-

pheric environments, this mostly poses no problem. However, where they are utilized in adverse environments (such as humid or fluctuating temperatures), the protective layer applied in the no-clean process can be gradu-

Weber Ultrasonics

Ultrasound has a wide range of cleaning applications in the electronics and semiconductor industry.

The cleansing sound waves are used in conjunction with solvents and water-based media.

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EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

ally eroded, releasing ionizing substances that promote electro-migration and dendritic growth. This occurs chiefly in narrow spaces beneath components and between their connections or other contact surfaces.

Increased requirement for surface cleanliness In addition, protective coatings (conformal coatings), progressive miniaturization, wire bonding and the increased use high voltage components, all call for a high level of surface cleanliness. A further aspect is the use of leadfree solders, containing a higher proportion of fluxes and more aggressive activators that can cause problems. Cleaning of electronic components also involves removing potentially hazardous impurities such as fluxes, residues of soldering agents and adhesives, and such contaminants as dust and residue from previous manufacturing stages.

Choosing the right cleansing agent A key factor in achieving economy and efficiency in the cleaning process is the selection of a suitable cleansing agent. Selection criteria include the nature and quantity of the impuri-

DESIGN ties to be removed, and the subject material.

Cleaning agents currently used in electronics manufacturing include solvents, water-based media containing alkaline surfactants, and water-based tenside-free cleaning agents.

The electronics industry mainly uses solvents containing non-halogenated hydrocarbons, modified alcohols or hydrofluorethers (HFEs).

HFEs were developed as an alternative to the previously preferred chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), after CFC manufacture was stopped about 20 years ago due to their high potential for breaking down ozone. Non-inflammable HFEs have similar properties to CFCs, but pose no danger to ozone, do not persist in the atmosphere and have low greenhouse potential.

At the same they offer physical properties that are in demand for cleaning of electronics, such as relatively high density, low viscosity and low surface tension. These solvents are used in monosolvent, cosolvent and bisolvent systems.

A monosolvent system usually uses a pure HFE or an azeotrope – a mixture of two or more components that vaporizes without changing its chemical composition. It is used to remove slight impurities such as light oils, halogen compounds, residue of easyclean solvent, particles and dust.

The cosolvent system consists of an HFE combined with a low-volatility organic solvent as solubility promoter. The solubility promoter removes impurities from the surface of the workpiece, and the HFE rinses away the solvent and the impurities from the components.

Cleaning by cosolvent procedure is extremely versatile and also gives good results with the most stubborn impurities such as heavy oils, grease, waxes, NC-flux residues, adhesives and hot-melt glues. Choice of a low-volatility organic solvent allows material compatibility to be tested.

Cosolvent and bisolvent systems differ mainly in that, for the cosolvent system, the solvent and the rinsing agent are mixed together, whilst in the bisolvent process they are kept separate.

Optimizing a process by adapting the plant technology To ensure efficient and reproducible cleaning, it is essential to match the cleaning agent to the plant technology. That is why so many different cleaning systems are available, such as dipping plants with ultrasound or pressure flooding and spray cleaning plants. Solvents are used today in totally enclosed cleaning units.

Ultrasound cleaning with solvents or waterbased media offers a wide range of applications in electronics manufacturing. Another factor that influences the cleaning action, in addition to the cleansing agent, is the frequency of the electrical signals from the ultrasound generator, which converts the oscillating system to sound waves in the fluid bath. In general, the lower the electrical signal frequency the greater the energy released by the sound

CLEANING PROCESS waves. There are multi-frequency systems that permit acoustic irradiation of the goods to be cleaned at different frequencies; the optimum combination of cleansing agent and ultrasound frequency can be determined from cleaning tests, carried out by the suppliers of the equipment or the cleaning agent. In selecting the type of cleaning equipment to use, key questions are: What throughput must be handled?

complete PCBs and assemblies, removing flux residues and cleaning away oils and grease from metallic components such as contacts. It meets the requirement for an environmentally friendly, dry and residue-free procedure.

Liquid carbon dioxide is also used as the medium in CO2 snow-jet cleaning – in this case in the form of minute snow crystals. With its combination of chemical, thermal and mechanical

acp

CO2 snow-jet cleaning permits dry and gentle removal of films and particle impurities, for instance around wire bonds. The ease of automating this cleaning process allows it to be integrated as part of the bonding system.

Plasma cleaning permits efficient surface treatment of electronic parts and components of different materials.

Diener electronic What space is available in which to set up the equipment? How can the cleaning process be integrated into the manufacturing chain?

Dry alternatives with carbon dioxide Cleaning with compressed carbon dioxide provides an extension to the wet-chemical process.

The term “compressed carbon dioxide” indicates CO2 that has been converted to liquid form (that is, into its supercritical phase) under pressure; in this form, it possesses excellent properties as a solvent upon a range of nonpolar impurities such as grease and oils.

Supercritical CO2 has low viscosity and low interfacial tension, resulting in improved ability to penetrate crevices. This enables cleaning of components with highly complex geometries such as tiny drilled holes and the narrowest of cracks. In electronics manufacturing this technology offers the ability to clean such items as

properties, the non-poisonous and noninflammable CO2 snow removes surface films and particulate contamination leaving no residue, and can also be used selectively on functional areas such as contact points.

Since the cleaning is itself a dry process, there is no need for an energy-intensive subsequent drying procedure.

The procedure is employed in the most diverse of applications in electronics manufacturing, such as in preparation for bonding processes, equipping PCBs and foil-PCBs, and in the manufacture of metal-insulator semiconductors (MISs), to allow custom-tailored and reliable manual or fully automated cleaning.

Plasma: cleaning in the 4th state of aggregation Plasma, a gaseous mixture of atoms, molecules, ions and free electrons, allows efficient surface treatment of electronic parts and components of different materials, simultaneously cleaning away organic impurities such as oils and grease and activating the surface. This double function is based on a physical and chemical reaction during the procedure.

Depending on the application in question, lowpressure plasmas or inline-capable atmospheric pressure plasmas can be used. With lowpressure plasmas, both oxidizing and reducing processes can be carried out. An oxidizing plasma can clean away organic contaminants such as grease, oil and adhesive residue prior to soldering or bonding. www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

CLEANING PROCESS

Puretecs

Ever-increasing demand for reliability and longer life span of electronic components put the focus back on cleaning in electronics manufacturing.

A reducing plasma process can be used for example to improve bonded connections by reduction of electro-plated metallic layers.

Surface cleaning and activation by atmospheric pressure plasmas is used in the electronics industry in such tasks as pre-printing, bonding or casting of electronics boards and semiconductors, manufacture of opto-electronic components, and prior to wire-bonding.

efficiently for a specific electronic product?

What are the possibilities offered by special procedures for cleaning and activation?

Are there ways to carry out cleaning and conformal coating in a single process?

Answers to these and many other questions connected with cleaning of components and surfaces in electronics manufacturing are on offer at “parts2clean�.

Infobox parts2clean, leading international trade fair for industrial parts and surface cleaning What cleaning procedures will achieve the required degree of cleanliness repeatably and

The leading international trade fair for industrial parts and surface cleaning will be held from 22 to 24 October 2013 at the exhibition center in Stuttgart (Germany), providing comprehensive details of cleaning systems, alterna-

tive cleaning technologies, cleaning media, quality assurance and test procedures, cleaning and transport containers, disposal and processing of process media, handling and automation, service provision, consulting, research and technical literature. In addition, the simultaneous German-English/EnglishGerman translation of lectures at the parts2clean technical forums provides a fund of knowledge about the industrial cleaning of components and surfaces. n www.parts2clean.com

Puretecs

Non-inflammable HFEs allow for reliable removal of flux residues with good results.

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EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

PRODUCT NEWS

DISPLAY

Technology similar to IPS helps achieve optimal readability of innovative 5.7-inch (14 cm) and 6.5inch (17 cm) TFT displays Gleichmann Electronics now offers two innovative 5.7-inch (14 cm) and 6.5-inch (17 cm) TFT displays from KOE Europe.

Conventional TN-TFTs always guarantee good optical results from only three viewing directions. With the 5.7-inch (14 cm) TX14D23VM5BAA TFT display and the 6.5-inch (17 cm) TX17D01VM5BAA TFT display, this disadvantage is overcome through special optical layers.

The technology, which is similar to in-plane switching (IPS) technology, enables the realization of comparatively cost-effective LCD modules having the same optical performance of conventional displays that are manufactured using VA and IPS technologies.

Both TFT-LCDs feature, among

other things, a high brightness of 800 cd/m² and a good contrast ratio of 400:1 with the 5.7-inch TX14D23VM5BAA and 350:1 with the 6.5-inch (17 cm) TX17D01VM5BAA. The white

LED backlight provides a minimum of 40,000 hours half brightness lifetime for the TX14D23VM5BAA and a minimum of 70,000 hours half brightness lifetime for the TX17D01VM5BAA. GLEICHMANN & CO. ELECTRONICS www.msc-ge.com

Ambedded Technology launch ARM-Based open frame Human Machine Interface In the past, most embedded applications were using industrial computers (IPC) or single board computers (SBC) as the hardware platform. This is mainly due to the easy to get resource from operating systems and software engineers. But, more and more solutions from ARM based platform and development environment has broken the x86 advantage. However, with the escalation of hardware technology, ARM-based SoC can easily adopt the original IPC SBC applications.

Thanks to the new IC integrating technologies, the major hardware components of x86 platform are shrimped to a single chip ARM based SoC. This provides the much higher cost performance ratio of embedded system.

Embedded systems are majorly used in industrial applications in the past decades. With the low cost advantage and performance improvement, the ARM based platform now gradually turned to life and general commercial use.

More and more diversified appli-

cations are applied to industrial, medical, gaming, intelligent traffic system, machine to machine (M2M), Internet of Things (IoT) and in vehicle applications.

Ambedded Technology currently launches a series of open frame Human Machine Interface (HMI), Jupiter. It integrated an ARM11 based single board

computer with different sizes of LCD panels. It provides a very low cost hardware with free, open source and ready to use operation system. Ambedded Technology has successfully developed full SDK to support Linux, Android and Windows CE for the Jupiter series.

AMBEDDED TECHNOLOGY www.ambedded.com.tw

NLT Technologies Enhances Lineup of Touch Technology Family with Nine New Projected Capacitive Touch Panels NLT Technologies (NLT), together with its sales and marketing channels in the Americas and Europe, Renesas Electronics America, Inc. and Renesas Electronics Europe GmbH, today announced the successful development of nine new midsize color LCD modules with factory installed projected capacitive (PCAP) touch panel technology.

The new LCD modules offer the increased durability, smooth operator interface, multi-touch functionality and clear image quality required for use in touchpanel displays designed for industrial applications, such as factory automation, test and measurement, as well as medical equipment. The nine new models are detailed here: http://www.renesas.eu/press/new s/2013/news20130426.jsp NLT offers total PCAP solutions,

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

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

RENESAS ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.renesas.eu/display

Cost-effective 15-inch (38 cm) Lite+ TFT display with a brightness of 1200 cd/m2 Gleichmann Electronics now offers a high performance 15inch TFT display, part name TX38D18VM2BAA, from KOE Europe’s range of Lite+ display modules. The TX38D18VM2BAA is a cost-effective, transmissive mode display solution with XGA

cations and typical outdoor applications such as kiosks, digital signage and point-of-sale (POS) terminals. The white LED backlight provides a guaranteed 50,000 hours half brightness lifetime. The TX38D18VM2BAA, which is specified for an extend-

(1024 × 768 pixels) resolution.

The 15-inch display has a high brightness rating of 1200cd/m² and a contrast ratio of 700:1 ensuring clear, concise image reproduction even in high ambient light environments. The TX38D18VM2BAA is suitable for both demanding industrial appli-

ed operating temperature range of 30°C to +80°C, has mechanical outline dimensions of 326.5 mm × 253.5 mm × 11.5 mm and has a 20-pin single channel LVDS interface that supports a color palette of up to 16.7 million colors.

GLEICHMANN & CO. ELECTRONICS www.msc-ge.com

www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

LEDs

Mouser Stocks Cree’s New Smallest Lighting-Class XLamp® XQ-B & XQ-D LEDs Mouser Electronics, Inc. announced it is stocking the new XLamp® XQ-B and XQ-D LEDs from Cree, their smallest lightingclass LEDs, offering breakthrough size and light distribution. Cree XLamp® XQ-B and XQ-D LEDs deliver lighting-class reliability and a wider spread of light than typical plastic packages. Built on Cree's revolutionary SC3 Technology Platform, the XLamp XQ LEDs deliver the unique combination of small size, reliability, and novel light distribution. This combination of features enables the next generation of designs for applications that require broader light distribution, such as omni-directional lamps and fixtures. The XQ LEDs are Cree's smallest lighting-class LEDs at just 1.6 x 1.6mm, 57% smaller than Cree's XLamp XB package. The ceramic-based XQ LEDs deliver reliability comparable to Cree's other ceramic highpower LEDs, such as the high-per-

forming XP or XT LEDs. The XQ LED also features an innovative light-emission pattern where more light is directed to the sides than straight out of the package.

Compared to standard LEDs, XQ LEDs allow the use of fewer LEDs

to achieve a wide, distributed light pattern. Together, these innovations enable manufacturers to increase the light output, reliability, and omni-directionality of their designs.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

OMC launches new range of SPECTRALUX® LED arrays for high illumination applications.

OMC, the pioneer in optoelectronics - LED lighting, backlighting and industrial fibre optic transmission components – has launched its 550 series SPECTRALUX® Light Engines targeting applications that require high levels of light output, such as rail signalling, runway lights or architectural spotlighting. SPECTRALUX® Light Engines are arrays of highly efficient, tightly-matched LEDs. They are the preferred light source in a wide variety of luminaire applications because they enable lighting designers to quickly, reliably and easily take advantage of LED technology. OMC’s 550 series SPECTRALUX® Light Engines range in light output from 2205 to 6635 lumens.

Luminous efficiency ranges from 85.75 to110.5 lumens/watt.

Other SPECTRALUX® Light Engines perform up to 130 lumens/watt and higher. In com-

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mon with all OMC’s light engines, 550 series products have an extremely long lifetime. More, they are very simple to use, requiring only a constant-current supply to drive them.

Comments OMC’s commercial

director, William Heath. “Our light engines are designed to simplify the process of developing effective and efficient LED lighting systems. We have optimised optical efficacy, addressed the thermal issues and performed hundreds of thousands of tests to ensure that we are delivering a high quality and reliable product.”

OMC www.omc-uk.com

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

Everlight has obtained 1,000 granted patents Pursuit of excellence and innovation—establishment of strong patent portfolio As one of the world’s leading LED package manufacturers, Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., now holds more than 1,600 patents and patent applications.

Moreover, Everlight obtained its 1,000th granted patent in March this year. Everlight’s patent portfolio covers LED chips, phosphors, LED package design, LED luminaires, and many other diverse LED applications. Everlight believes that only with constant dedication in technical development, product innovation, and establishing a strong patent portfolio, can Everlight become one of the top players in the LED industry. Everlight has continu-

ously shown respect towards the competitor’s intellectual properties. Throughout the years, Everlight entered into mutually beneficial licensing agreements with many top-of-the-line LED providers so as to ensure the interests for both Everlight and

its customers, while providing more competitive products and services to its clients.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS www.everlight.com

EVERLIGHT Unveils Ultra-small Outline ITR Photo Interrupter for Optical Switches, Digital Cameras and Printers EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry with three decades of experience, has introduced the latest member of its ITR series of photo interrupters for use in optical switches, digital cameras and printers, the ultra small outline slotted type ITR1205ST11A/TR. A slotted type opto interrupter detects an object when it enters the gap of the slotted switch and blocks the light path between the emitter and detector.

EVERLIGHT’s ITR Products consist of an infrared emitting diode and an NPN silicon phototransistor, integrated by a double molding process.

This unique process reduces 74% volume in dimension as compared with conventional photo interrupter product in the market. The phototransistor detector receives light from the IR LED only, and avoids the noise

from ambient light.

With a low profile of only 2.7mm, the new ITR1205ST11A/TR has an even more compact size than conventional parts. By using an advanced packaging technology, EVERLIGHT's ITR1205ST11A/TR can be designed to have a gap and slit width of 1.1mm and 0.3mm respectively, thus enabling it to have a higher degree of

accuracy or detection sensitivity.

This high degree of accuracy is especially needed for digital camera applications. EVERLIGHT’s ITR photo interrupters are Pb/Halogens-free and RoHS compliant.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS www.everlight.com

PRODUCT NEWS

WIRELESS

Circuit Design, Inc. Announces the Release of the New CDP-TX-02F-R / CDP-RX-02F-R RoHS Compliant Embedded Industrial Radio Transmitter Circuit Design, Inc., the leading supplier of narrowband radio modules, has developed an RoHS compliant embedded industrial radio transmitter, the CDP-TX-02F-R and receiver, the CDP-RX-02F-R. The products are available from February.

The CDP-TX-02F-R / CDP-RX-02F-R radio modules, which use narrowband FSK, were developed for industrial applications where high performance and reliability are required.

Nearly the entire field of the European ISM band from 433.1875 MHz to 434.7750 MHz is covered by the 128 channels, preprogrammed in 12.5 kHz steps. In order to enable 1 mW/10 mW output switching, the modules support all fields where a 1 mW 100%

duty cycle is permitted, as well as the sub band where a 10 mW 100% duty cycle is allowed.

As with the CDP-TX-02E-R / CDP-RX-02E-R which has already won praise for its superior relia-

bility and ease of use, the CDPTX-02F-R / CDP-RX-02F-R offers a simple interface that enables users to develop radio equipment in a short time, with a high degree of confidence.

CIRCUIT DESIGN www.cdt21.com/products/tx_rx/cdp02f/

Microchip expands Embedded Wireless Portfolio with new Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi® and ZigBee® products Microchip announces a major expansion of its embedded wireless portfolio, the Bluetooth® additions include the PIC32 Bluetooth Audio Development Kit, featuring modules, stacks and CODECs, and XBee® footprint-compatible socket modules with integrated stacks.

The new Wi-Fi® offerings comprise IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi modules with Microchip’s featurerich and free sourcecode TCP/IP stack running on a PIC® microcontroller for greater configurability, as well as XBee footprint-compatible socket modules with integrated stacks for ease of use. Microchip is also adding a low-power 2.4GHz radio that supports, for the first time in one chip, both the IEEE 802.15.4 and proprietary data rates (from 125kbps to 2Mbps), including the ZigBee®, MiWi™ and other proprietary protocols. There are

many wireless-network designs that need to operate with very low power consumption.

Examples include battery-powered home and industrial automation wireless-sensor mesh

networks, as well as ZigBee RF4CE-standard-based remote controls. Microchip’s next-generation, 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 MRF24XA transceiver radio provides a very low operating voltage range of 1.5 to 3.6V and receive power consumption of only 13mA, which enables years of battery life.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/J2XU

Laird Technologies to Exhibit Antenna Solutions at Critical Communications World 2013

Laird Technologies to Spotlight Safety Solutions, Cruise-Control

Laird Technologies, Inc. will showcase a variety of antenna solutions designed for the public safety market at Critical Communications World 2013 later this month. As an industry leader in the design and manufacture of antennas, Laird offers solutions which enable wireless two-way communication using the TETRA standard for civil service and public safety applications.

Critical Communications World will be held at the Paris Nord Villepinte in Paris, France, May 22-24. Laird will exhibit at booth #E311. Laird will display Public Safety and Land Mobile Radio, base station and vehicular antenna solutions.

LMR portable antennas from Laird are available in various form factors with a variety of connectors for virtually any need. LMR base station antennas feature a

Laird Technologies, Inc. showcased its industry-leading remote controls last month. These products are designed to enhance railroad safety and efficiency for locomotives and can be used in railcar movers, over-head cranes, and a variety of material handling, mobile and agricultural equipment.

Laird’s Wireless Automation and Control (WACS) division showcased several products for the rail and locomotive industry including Accuspeed™, the company’s most advanced technology for safe and efficient speedbased remote control locomotive operation. The system allows the operator to set the desired direction and speed, while the advanced on-board Locomotive Control Unit applies the right amount of throttle or brake to maintain speed. Accuspeed™ also features CattronConnect, web-

special UV treated fiberglass radome and easy installation.

Custom tuning is also available.

The M8 Vehicular Base for TETRA whip antennas will also be featured. The M8 is designed

for rugged environments with stainless steel whips and a modular design for interchangeability.

Critical Communications World 2013, which incorporates TETRA World Conference, focuses on the evolution of critical communications.

LAIRD TECHNOLOGIES www.lairdtech.com

based monitoring and diagnostics software for locomotives.

Laird also displayed the QC – Quick Connect system, a standardized interchangeable portable control system,

designed to interface with locomotives equipped with American Association of Railroads (AAR) standard Multiple Unit (MU) connections, to control more than one locomotive at an operating facility.

LAIRD TECHNOLOGIES www.lairdtech.com

www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Atmel Introduces Industry’s First Ultra-low Power Single-Chip Touch Controller for Touchscreens Up to 15.6” Atmel Corporation announced the maXTouch® T Series, its nextgeneration family supporting touchscreens up to 23 inches for applications such as handsets, tablets, Ultrabooks, notebooks and all-in-one computers.

The first device in the family, the mXT2952T, is the world’s first ultra-low power single-chip device that supports Windows®

Mutual capacitance enables true multitouch tracking while self capacitance offers benefits including idle power consumption, moisture immunity, glove tracking, and hover capability which detects a finger or an object not in contact with the screen. The new maXTouch T Series enhances noise immunity with an industry-first capacitive

8-certified touchscreens up to 15.6 inches and optimized to support touchscreen cover glass as thin as 0.4mm.

The new T Series delivers a revolutionary adaptive-sensing architecture featuring both mutual and self capacitance to optimize performance. The maXTouch T Series automatically selects the best sensing architecture, seamlessly switching to enable higher performance and lower power consumption.

touch dual analog and digital filtering architecture to deliver the best signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio and power consumption. The new features in the maXTouch T Series deliver improved responsiveness and a more intuitive user interface with additions such as hover that allow users to pre-select icons, letters, links and other images without physically touching the screen.

ATMEL www.atmel.com/maxtouchtseries

New 6000 MHz VCO from Crystek Corporation Crystek's CVCO33BE-60006000 VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) operates at 6000 MHz with a control voltage range of 0.5V~4.5 V. This VCO features a typical phase noise of -85 dBc/Hz @ 10KHz offset and has excellent linearity. Output power is typically +5 dBm. Engineered and manufactured in the USA, the model CVCO33BE6000-6000 is packaged in the industry-standard 0.5-in. × 0.5-in.

SMD package. Input voltage is 5V, with a max. current consumption of 40mA. Pulling and Pushing are minimized to 8.0MHz and 5.0MHz/V, respectively.

Second harmonic suppression is 20dBc typical.

40

The CVCO33BE-6000-6000 is ideal for use in applications such as digital radio equipment, fixed wireless access, satellite communications systems, and base stations.

For pricing details, contact Crystek Corporation.

CRYSTEK CORPORATION www.crystek.com

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

XP Power launch versatile 80 Plus certified 150 W AC-DC power supply XP Power announced the GCS150 series of IT and medically approved 150 Watt single output AC-DC power supplies that meet the stringent internationally recognised 80 Plus Silver energy efficiency specifications. With active power factor correction (PFC), the series have a typical efficiency of 93% and a no load input power consumption of less than 0.5 W. The 80 Plus Silver certification applies to power supplies specified for enterprise computing and data centre applications.

The GCS150 is available with a +12, +15, +24, +28 or +48 VDC single output voltage, an additional 12V fan output is also available. Using convection cooling alone the GCS150 can deliver up to 110 Watts. When using only 7 CFM of forced air flow, or by specifying an optional fan model, the full output power of 150 Watts is available. Multiple mechanical formats give the design engineer plenty of choice when incorporating into the endapplication. A standard 3 x 5 inch (127 x 76.2 mm) open frame or enclosed cover options are available as convection cooled formats. Top mounted or end mounted fan formats are also available.

Operating temperature range of – 40 to + 70 degrees C will suit most environments and there is no derating until +50 degrees C. Accommodating both Class I and Class II input construction gives the designer the choice of using an earth connection or not. The

series meets the Class B limits of both EN55011 and EN55022 for conducted and radiated emissions without the need of additional filtering components.

An optional remove on/off version is available by specifying –R at the end of the part number.

XP POWER www.xppower.com

Ericsson Commemorates Thirty Years of DC/DC Power Tech Last month Ericsson commemorates thirty years of being at the forefront of developing DC/DC power technology: from the development of its first on-board DC/DC modules to the FRIDA II platform based BMR456 and BMR 457 Advanced Bus Converters that are ideal for implementing the Dynamic Bus Voltage technology in advanced power systems architectures. It was in late April 1983 that Ericsson launched the world's first high-frequency switching DC/DC power modules, called the PKA family. Designed to power ‘distributed power architecture’ systems, the PKA family was five times smaller and

offered 20 times higher reliability compared to competitive devices, with an MTBF of two million hours.

While the formal establishment of the Ericsson Power Modules operation was in 1981, the Power Division within Ericsson was actually started in 1977 beginning with research into high-frequency switching DC/DC converters and the establishment in Sweden of the company’s first advanced design facility for miniaturized DC/DC converters.

Many award-winning introductions from Ericsson have followed the launch of the PKA family in 1983, including the PKC series introduced in 1987, which was

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

BeagleBone Black Now Available to Order at Mouser Mouser Electronics, Inc. announced it is accepting orders for the new highly anticipated BeagleBone Black from BeagleBoard by CircuitCo, a lower-cost, high-expansion focused BeagleBone featuring a Sitara AM335x Cortex A8 ARM processor from Texas Instruments.

BeagleBone Black is the newest member of the BeagleBoard family, taking popular features from the original BeagleBone, and adding excellent additional features and performance with a faster processor, onboard HDMI and double the memory.

The BeagleBoard.org platform has a proven track record of facilitating innovation from concept to market and BeagleBone Black's enhanced feature set enables developers to turn ideas into prototypes more easily than ever. Whether operating stand-alone or in conjunction with another computer, BeagleBone Black will provide developers, hobbyists and enthusiasts with easy access to industry standard interfaces and a well-developed ecosystem of software and tools. The original BeagleBone's cape plug-in boards are also compatible with the BeagleBone Black, making easy integration with previous projects yet another advantage.

“Mouser Electronics is delighted to partner with BeagleBoard.org and offer the new BeagleBone Black,” states Russell Rasor, Mouser Electronics’ Vice President of Advanced Technology. “With the new enhanced features, the BeagleBone Black represents an excellent value and further accelerates the design engineer’s job of developing hardware and software applications for embedded systems

quickly and cost effectively. As the trend moves toward more highly integrated systems on a chip, having readily available, cost-effective tools to develop, prototype and test are crucial.”

To learn more, visit http://www.mouser.com/new/beagleboardorg/beagleboneblack/.

Silicon Labs introduced the industry’s first digital CMOS-based drop-in replacement solution for optocoupler-isolated gate drivers (opto-drivers).

Supporting up to 5 kV isolation ratings and up to 10 kV surge protection, the new Si826x isolated gate drivers provide an ideal configuration, package and footprint fit for a wide range of opto-drivers used in high-power motor control, industrial drives, solar power and EV/HEV inverters, and switched mode and uninterruptible power supplies.

Failure-prone opto-drivers are a weak link in motor controls and other industrial power systems that require long-term reliability, extended warranties and fail-safe operation for up to 20 years. Opto-drivers are inherently limited by their inferior LED-based technology, which is subject to large output variations over input current, temperature and age. These variations are eliminated by using Si826x isolated gate drivers. Less variability, especially in input turn-on current, simplifies system design since developers no longer need to anticipate aging effects. Higher reliability and longer device lifetime also allow system manufacturers to support longer warranties and reduce costs associated with product repair or replacement.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

nology Leadership the first high-density low-profile DC/DC power module that was only one-half the size of conventional products and offered up to three regulated outputs. This was also the age of the space-saving half-brick design, followed by the quarter brick and the eighth brick – units offering smaller and more compact possibilities in design.

Silicon Labs Digital Isolation Solution Enhances Long-term Reliability of Motor Controls

In the 1990s, the first miniaturized DC/DC converters became available, the PKF MacroDens family, and by the mid1990s, the industry saw the first DC/DC converters offering more than 90 percent efficiency. And in 2001, the company was first into the market with lead-free products such as the PKD series of DC/DC converters. These products introduced new and advanced assembly technologies such as lead-frame welding.

Emergence of the Intermediate Bus Architecture Early in the decade, 2003 saw the introduction of the Ericsson PKMC series, responding to new high-current demand in seen in distributed power architectures, still the pervasive architecture in the industry at the time.

ERICSSON POWER MODULES www.ericsson.com/powermodules

Based on Silicon Labs’ proven digital isolation technology, the Si826x family is a pin- and footprint-compatible functional upgrade solution for commonly used opto-driver products. Si826x isolated gate drivers emulate the behavior of opto-drivers by modulating a high-frequency carrier instead of light from an LED. This simpler digital architecture provides a robust isolated data path that requires no special considerations or initialization at start-up. While the input circuit mimics the characteristics of an LED, the Si826x devices require less drive current, resulting in higher efficiency. The propagation delay time of Si826x devices is independent of the input drive current, resulting in consistently short propagation times (25ns), smaller unit-to-unit variation and greater input circuit design flexibility.

The propagation delay and skew of Si826x isolated gate drivers is ten-times lower than opto-drivers, which improves response time for feedback loops and enhances system efficiency.

SILICON LABS

www.silabs.com/isolation www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Mouser Offers Industry-Leading Cyclone® V Low-Power FPGAs from Altera Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now stocking Altera‘s industry-leading 28-nm Cyclone® V FPGAs. Cyclone V FPGAs combine high performance with the industry’s lowest operational power and system cost, making them ideal for use in industrial, wireless, wireline, broadcast, and automotive applications. The low-cost Cyclone V platform provides engineers with an unprecedented level of integration and performance to significantly reduce overall system costs. With integrated hard memory controllers, PCIe hard IP blocks, and variable precision DSP blocks, Cyclone V FPGAs enable engineers to rapidly develop differentiated designs for a wide range of markets.

The family includes the GX variant with 3.125-Gbps transceivers and the GT variant with 5-Gbps transceivers.

Additionally, the family comes in three SoC variants, all of which include an

ARM-based hard processor system.

Learn more about Cyclone V devices and the Cyclone V GX FPGA development kit at: http://www.mouser.com/ altera-cyclonev.

To learn more about the entire Altera Cyclone family, visit www.mouser.com/ new/altera/altera-cyclone.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

Silicon Labs Introduces the First Single-Chip Digital Radio Receivers for Consumer Electronics New Si468x FM Receivers Leverage Software-Defined Radio to Support HD Radio™ and DAB/DAB+ for Portable and Home Audio Products Silicon Labs introduced the industry’s first single-die antenna-input-to-audio-output digital radio receiver solution developed for the global portable and consumer electronics markets. Leveraging software-defined radio technology, the new monolithic Si468x receiver ICs bring FM, HD Radio™ and DAB/DAB+ broadcast capabilities to a wide range of audio applications, from price-sensitive clock and tabletop radios to mainstream mini/micro audio systems and CD boomboxes to high-end multimedia devices with displays such as mobile phones, tablets and personal navigation devices.

Digital radio technology is the next generation of radio broadcasting. In addition to providing better audio quality than traditional AM/FM radio, digital radio can transmit program information, weather forecasts, news headlines, music artist and track names, traffic information and other data. Digital radio adoption has been slow due in part to the high cost of delivering a high-performance yet powerefficient RF solution for the consumer electronics market.

Silicon Labs’ Si468x family directly addresses the consumer digital radio market by providing an advanced, single-die solution that reduces system complexity, bill of materials (BOM) count and power consumption without compromising RF performance.

Leveraging Silicon Labs’ proven low-IF digital receiver architecture, the Si468x family delivers superior RF performance compared to existing consumer-grade digital radio solutions. The Si468x receivers support auto-calibrated digital tuning and FM seek functionality based on multiple signal quality and band parameters and provide flexible audio processing features including noise blanking, configurable FM soft mute, FM de-emphasis and FM hi-cut filtering. The Si468x family enables developers to reduce system cost, size and complexity by integrating most of the external components needed to build a digital radio receiver system including the RF tuner, baseband and stereo audio DACs. SILICON LABS www.silabs.com

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EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Mouser Now Stocking Wurth WE-PP Mini Push-Pull Transformers for Texas Instruments SN6501 Chipset

Power Supply Selector guide provides quick and easy method for specifying power supplies

Mouser Electronics, Inc. is stocking new miniature push-pull transformers from Wurth Electronics that are designed for use with the Texas Instruments SN6501 transformer driver.

WE-PP push-pull transformers are miniature, high-performance devices with a high isolation voltage of 2.5kV. These Wurth devices can be matched with a TI SN6501 transformer driver to create a space-saving, cost-effective solution. SN6501 drives a low-profile, center-tapped transformer primary from a 3.3V or 5V DC power supply. This push-pull monolithic oscillator/power-driver is ideal for small transformers used in a variety of applications, such as RS-485, RS-232, RS-422, I²C, or low power LAN. Learn more about SN6501 transformer driver at www.mouser.com/new/texasinstruments/ti-sn6501 Visit www.mouser.com/new/ wurth/wurth-we-pp-transformers to learn more about Wurth WE-

XP Power launched the first edition of its new style short form product catalogue. The full colour 56 page Power Supply Selector guide uses an extremely informative yet visually pleasing method of presenting XP Power’s comprehensive line-up of AC-DC power supplies and DC-DC converters.

Key specifications for each product range is provided in an easy to follow layout, and the task of initial range selection is simplified by the use of index pages containing thumbnail images of each series organized by type and output power rating. The complete range of XP Power’s portfolio is represented with AC-DC units covering the output range of 5 to 3000 Watts, and DC-DC converters from 0.25 to 600 Watts. Recent product additions covered in the guide include, what is believed to be, the world’s smallest 5 W and 10 W AC-DC encapsulated PCB mounted modules, open-frame power supplies with efficiencies up to 95%, and convection cooled power supplies providing

PP push-pull transformers.

With its broad product line and unsurpassed customer service, Mouser caters to design engineers and buyers by delivering What’s Next in advanced technologies.

Mouser offers customers 19 global support locations and stocks the world’s widest selection of the

latest semiconductors and electronic components for the newest design projects. Mouser Electronics’ website is updated daily and searches more than 10 million products to locate over 3 million orderable part numbers available for easy online purchase.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

IQD launch ±0.05ppb Rubidium Oscillator IQD’s latest high performance oscillator, the IQRB-1, offers a stability around a 1,000 times more accurate than a typical Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO). This means it can be used as a free run frequency source in applications such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) systems that require exceptional timing accuracy. It can also be used for UTMS as well as extended holdover for CDMA and WiMax. Based around an atomic clock, the IQRB-1 delivers an accuracy of ±5E10-11 irrespective of temperature fluctuations. This compares to IQD highest performance OCXO (IQOV-70 series) which offers a stabilities down to <±3E10-9 (<±3ppb).

This new Sub Miniature Atomic Clock (SMAC) is housed in a 5pin 51mm square package making it compatible with many existing OCXO footprints whilst offering considerably improved performance. Operating at a stan-

dard frequency of 10MHz, the IQRB-1 can accept supply voltages of between 12 and 18 Volts.

Power consumption is up to 6W maximum with a warm up time of typically 5 minutes, again making it comparable with many

OCXO’s. The device can be operated over an operating temperature range of -30 to +65°C and Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) is approximately 100,000 hours. Storage Temperature is rated at -55 to 85 degrees C and it is EMI compliant to FCC Part 15, Class B. IQD FREQUENCY PRODUCTS www.iqdfrequencyproducts.com

up to 200 Watts output from an industry standard 3 x 5 inch package. Also detailed are power supplies having medical safety approvals, available in the range from 15 W to 2500 W. Another

recent product development included in the guide are DC-DC converter ranges that can accommodate the extremely wide range of input voltages commonly encountered in rail transportation applications.

XP POWER www.xppower.com

1 Watt DC-DC converter achieves 88% efficiency and has MSL 1 moisture sensitivity rating Murata announced the Murata Power Solutions MTE1 series of isolated 1 Watt single output DC-DC converters. Suitable for a broad range of industrial and automation applications, these highly efficient units, up to 88%, offer much better efficiency across the full load range than competitor models currently available, resulting in less waste heat to be dissipated. The MTE1 series consume less power and achieve higher reliability rates, contributing to better overall product and system reliability. The MTE1 series also has a load regulation that is typically 5% better than similar models available in the industry. Input voltage options are the 5 most popular nominal input voltages of 3.3, 5, 12, 15, or 24 VDC input. Output voltages include 3.3, 5, 9, 12, or 15 VDC. Full load capability is provided across the full industrial

temperature range of -40°C to +85°C. The MTE1 series has the highest moisture sensitivity level rating, MSL 1, and is compatible with a peak reflow solder temperature of 245°C as per J-STD-

020D. Moisture absorption and retention can be a major issue for many surface-mount devices with lesser MSL rating, as large stresses can be generated when the part is subjected to a rapid and very large temperature rise, such as during lead-free reflow processing.

MURATA www.murata.eu

www.epd-ee.eu | May, 2013 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Advanced Power Electronics Corp. launches new dual n- and p-channel MOSFETs for battery management applications Advanced Power Electronics Corp. (USA), a leading Taiwanese manufacturer of MOS power semiconductors for DC-DC power conversion applications, has announced two new power MOSFETs well-suited for battery management and protection applications, the AP9922GEOHF-3 and AP9923GEO-HF-3, dual n- and dual pchannel enhancement-mode products respectively.

Both products feature low onresistance, 16mΩ for the AP9922GEO-HF-3 and 25mΩ for the AP9923GEO-HF-3, and both devices are capable of operating with gate drive down to 1.8V. RoHS-compliant and halogenfree, the devices are available in the small, thin TSSOP-8 package.

Comments Ralph Waggitt,

President/CEO, Advanced Power Electronics Corp. (USA): “We specialise in providing the designer with the best combination of fast switching, ruggedness, ultra low on-resistance and cost-effective-

ness. As designers of batterypowered applications continue to focus on battery life, it becomes increasingly more important to address the need to manage the battery efficiently, and provide appropriate components for efficient protection.”

ADVANCED POWER ELECTRONICS CORP. www.a-powerusa.com

Renesas Electronics Adds Miniaturization, PowerSavings Enhancements to the RL78 Family of Ultra Low Power Microcontrollers Renesas Electronics has developed the RL78/G10 Group as low pin count versions of the RL78/G1x Series of microcontrollers (MCUs) that feature excellent low-power operation as well as superb processing performance with on-chip flash memory capacities from 1 to 4 KB in 10-pin SSOP (Shrink Small Outline Package) and 16-pin SSOP packages. These MCUs are optimal for consumer products such as small appliances.

The new products inherit the superlative features of the RL78 Family, which include the industry's lowest level of power consumption and the ability to reduce total system costs by taking advantage of the peripheral functions integrated with the MCU itself.

Furthermore, the new products feature reduced operating cur-

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rent (46uA/MHz – 20MHz basic operation) by about 30 percent compared with existing Renesas’ RL78/G13 Group of MCUs (66 uA/MHz – 32 MHz basic operation), by improvements such as optimization of the inner wiring.

Since consumers are now

demanding high functionality in miniature devices, such as electric toothbrushes and electric razors, that were previously controlled by simple mechanical switches or logic circuit, finer control is now required in these products.

RENESAS ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.renesas.eu

EP&Dee | May, 2013 | www.epd-ee.eu

CML Release a New RF Building Block the CMX972 Quadrature Demodulator with PLL/VCO The CMX972 Quadrature Modulator/Demodulator is the latest RF building block from CML Microcircuits, following on from the popular CMX970, CMX971 and CMX973 devices.

The new device features a low-power IF/RF Quadrature Demodulator with PLL/VCO, a wide operating frequency range and optimised power consumption.

The demodulator is suitable for superheterodyne architectures with IF frequencies up to 300MHz and the device may be used in low IF systems or in those converting down to baseband.

An on-chip PLL and VCO, together with uncommitted baseband differential amplifiers, provide additional flexibility.

Control of the CMX972 is by

serial bus. The small, RF-optimised 32-pin VQFN package and minimal external components make the device ideal for spaceconstrained applications.

Features • 20 to 300MHz IF/RF Demodulator • On-chip PLL and VCO • 10MHz Rx I/Q Bandwidth • < 1 degree I/Q Phase Matching • < 0.5 dB I/Q Gain Matching CML MICROCIRCUITS www.cmlmicro.com

Renesas Electronics Introduces Microcontrollers with Ultra Low Power and USB Connectivity Renesas Electronics, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, has introduced the first in its RX100 Series of powerful 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) – the new RX111 Group.

The RX111 is produced on an ultra low power zero wait state flash process supporting market leading 32-bit power consumption / performance levels as well as supporting fast wake-up, with a wide range of standard peripherals and multiple safety functions as well as an integrated USB 2.0 peripheral supporting host, device and onthe-go (OTG) functionality. This new device group brings the ultra low power features of the Renesas 8-/16-bit RL78 MCU Series to the 32-bit RX product lineup, offering a greater range of device scalability and functionality. The new RX111 devices

are designed to support a broad range of low-end 32-bit embedded applications including mobile healthcare, smart meters, sensors/detectors, and industrial and building automation.

Renesas’ True Low-Power capability offers designers the lowest possible power consumption across a vast range of tempera-

tures and voltages, including all peripherals and Flash memory, while also providing maximum flexibility with multiple operational and sleep modes.

RENESAS ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.renesas.eu