EP&Dee no 9 - November 2012

NOVEMBER, 2012 ­ ISSUE NO. 9, VOL. 10

DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

EP&Dee ELECTRONICS

PRODUCTS

Computer on-Modules' concepts to suit ARM SOC

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MEMS sensors Industrial applications requiring a fine touch

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DESIGN

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EASTERN

EUROPE

Microchip’s new GestIC® technology enables mobilefriendly 3D gesture interfaces Microchip announces its patented GestIC® technology, which enables the next dimension in intuitive, gesture-based, non-contact user interfaces for a broad range of end products. The MGC3130 is the world’s first electrical-field (E-field)-based, configurable 3D gesture controller, offering low-power, precise, fast and robust hand position tracking with freespace gesture recognition. With power consumption as low as 150 microwatts in its active sensing state, the MGC3130 enables always-on 3D gesture recognition, even for batterypowered products where power budgets are extremely tight. The MGC3130’s low-power design and variety of configurable power modes provide the lowest power consump-

tion of any 3D sensing technology, up to 90% lower than camera-based gesture systems.

GestIC technology achieves the exceptionally high gesture-recognition rates required by today’s consumer products through its onchip library, called the Colibri Suite, of intuitive and natural human gestures.

The Colibri Suite combines a stochastic Hidden Markov model and x/y/z hand position vectors to provide designers with a reliable set of recognised 3D hand and finger gestures that can be easily employed in their products. Examples include Wake-Up on Approach, Position Tracking, Flick Gestures, Circle Gestures and Symbol Gestures to perform functions such as

on/off, open application, point, click, zoom, scroll, free-space mouse-over and many others. Designers can use this library to get to market quickly and reduce development risks by simply matching their system commands to Microchip’s extensive set of predetermined and proven gestures.

Additionally, the chip provides developers the flexibility to use pre-filtered electrode signals for additional functionality in their applications.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/S238

IAR Systems introduces new product edition for the smaller memory versions of Renesas RX MCUs

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Remote Sensors Powered by RF Harvesting

IAR Systems® announced the availability of a new product edition tailored for small applications development using IAR Embedded Workbench® for RX. The Baseline edition is targeted at developers working with smaller memory Renesas RX MCUs and is offered at a price substantially reduced from that of the full edition. The Baseline edition is limited to a code size of 256 KB but provides full compiler and debugger functionality. IAR Systems is announcing the new edition alongside the latest version of IAR Embedded Workbench for RX, version 2.41.

Renesas Electronics’ RX family is available in a wide range of memory sizes. For developers working with many of the popular low-power RX200 MCUs, the new edition is a

perfect fit. More than half of the RX200 devices fit into the 256 KB limit of the Baseline edition of IAR Embedded Workbench, and in addition a number of the high-performance RX600 devices are covered. To see the memory size of specific devices, visit www.renesas.com/rx.

IAR Embedded Workbench for RX supports all RX devices. As previously announced by IAR Systems and Renesas Electronics, the highly optimized code created by version 2.41 together with the RX core achieve 3.12 CoreMarks®/ MHz, a world-record benchmark score. The new version also adds improved functionality, including an extended inline assembler and a

new Call Graph window displaying all calls made to and from each function from any source file in the active project.

“IAR Systems offer exceptionally powerful development tools for our RX series,” says Ritesh Tyagi, Senior Director, Microcontroller Products & Solutions Marketing, Renesas Electronics America.

IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com/ewrx

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T H E E A S T E U R O P E A N J O U R N A L F O R E M B E D D E D A P P L I C AT I O N S

NOVEMBER 2012 Table of Contents INDUSTRY NEWS COMPANIES COMMENTS INDUSTRY NEWS 5 The Path into the Post-PC E 5 WIN a Microchip XLP 8-Bit Development Board

INDUSTRY NEWS INTERVIEW 6 Interview with Mr. Tim Tatton, MD at Invotec Group Ltd.

DESIGN MCUs 8 Digital playback: Cutting cost not audio quality.

Cutting cost without cutting audio playback quality is a challenge faced by designers of most audio docking stations and other digital audio devices and accessories. But it is a challenge that can be overcome by using the processing power of a 32-bit MCU or 16-bit Digital Signal Controller (DSC) for sample-rate conversion, and a low-cost, high-quality DAC to tune the sample rate to minimise USB clock differences. This combination can help to cut costs whilst maintaining audio quality.

This combination can help to cut costs whilst maintaining audio quality.

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DESIGN EMBEDDED 12 Computer-on-Modules' concepts to suit ARM SOC Up to now, designs of ARM-based applications were primarily marked by their application-specific characteristics and - more often than not - their full-custom designs. Scalable, standardized building blocks especially for ARM- and SOC-based designs can dramatically reduce the development expenditure and speed up time-to-market of embedded applications even with production batches of >200.

A very effective platform for this is ULP-COM, a Computer-on-Module concept which embraces all the important aspects of efficient design-in for ARM-based applications.

INDUSTRY NEWS DISPLAY INDUSTRY NEWS TEST INDUSTRY NEWS EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INDUSTRY NEWS ACTIVE COMPONENTS INDUSTRY NEWS LEDs INDUSTRY NEWS PASSIVE COMPONENTS

A very effective platform for this is ULP-COM, a Computer-on-Module concept which embraces all the important aspects of efficient design-in for ARMPage 12 based applications.

INDUSTRY NEWS SMT DESIGN SENSORS 32 MEMS sensors - Industrial applications requiring a fine touch.

MEMS sensors have already established themselves in mobile phones, tablets and so on. But these tiny sensors can provide more safety, more security, more convenience, more comfort and less power consumption in industrial, medical and home appliance applications too.

35 Remote Sensors Powered by RF Harvesting.

36 Reliable Switching in Rough Environments.

INDUSTRY NEWS CONNECTORS INDUSTRY NEWS KITS 2

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

MEMS sensors have already established themselves in mobile phones, tablets and so on.

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COMPANIES INDUSTRY NEWS

Rutronik and Panasonic agree on pan-European cooperation Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH and Panasonic Industrial Devices Sales Europe (PIDSEU) have now extended their existing franchise agreement: With immediate effect, the distributor will market the manufacturer's passive and electro-mechanical components throughout Europe.

Until now, the franchise agreement has been restricted to Central Europe (D/A/CH). With this extension, Panasonic is pursuing its aim to increase its market share on the continent. “In this, we are relying on Rutronik's technical competence, which has allowed the distributor to undertake an unusual number of design-in activities and thereby achieve above average growth,” explains Christian Bail, Sales Manager Broadline Distribution Europe at Panasonic Industrial

Devices Sales Europe.

Rutronik markets all of PIDSEU's passive and electro-mechanical components (switches, potentiometers, encoders), especially to the Automotive, Industrial, Home Appliance, Lighting, Medical and Alternative Energy markets.

The flagship technologies are electrolytic capacitors, shunt resistors and batteries.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com

New top executive at the MSC Gleichmann-Group As the new CEO of the MSC Gleichmann-Group, Lothar Kümmerlin is taking over global business operations at the international technology enterprise based close by Karlsruhe (Germany). He will be supported in his new assignment by Johannes Alberti, who is responsible as the CFO for the Finance and Controlling Divisions.

Lothar Kümmerlin has worked at the company since 1987, most recently as director of the Embedded Computer Technology Division, which will undergo a significant international expansion in future.

He also has responsibility for the Distribution Division, which constitutes a pillar of strength within the MSC Gleichmann-Group.

Johannes Alberti previously worked at a listed medium-sized corporation and has been in charge of finance at the MSC Gleichmann-Group as director

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since 2011. In addition, he will also head the Human Resources and IT Division.

Company founder Manfred Schwarztrauber remains the majority shareholder and will continue to support the company in an advisory role in future. The transfer of operational management to his long-time deputy Lothar Kümmerlin ensures that clients can retain confidence in the tradition and continuity of this medium-sized enterprise. “We will to continue the successful work of Manfred Schwarztrauber and see potential in the synergies between our three business divisions - Distribution, Embedded Computer Technologies and Display Solutions division which we will expand significantly”, explains CEO Lothar Kümmerlin.

MSC-GLEICHMANN-GROUP www.msc-ge.com

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Future Power Solutions offers in-depth power technology expertise alongside the global supplychain capabilities of parent Future Electronics Technical distributor Future Electronics promised to bring new higher standards of technical and supply-chain service to OEM buyers of power components and modules with the launch of its latest specialist division, Future Power Solutions.

Future Power Solutions has been organised to offer in-depth, specialist technical and market understanding of power technology, while drawing on the global supply-chain capabilities of its parent business, Future Electronics. It will sell a broad range of discrete power components, power modules, and standard and configurable power supplies to customers, starting immediately in the EMEA region. It will also develop and produce custom power solutions via its System Design Centres.

Future Power Solutions employs dedicated applications engineers and business development staff serving key customers. These specialists, who can draw on many years of experience in applying advanced power technologies in electronics and electrical systems, are organised regionally.

Steve Carr, Technical and Vertical Markets Director at Future Electronics, said: ‘The market for OEM power supplies, both in terms of distributors and device

manufacturers, is highly fragmented. That means there is space for Future Electronics, a global distributor with world-class capabilities in applications engineering, inventory management and logistics, to match small specialist suppliers’ technical capabilities while providing superior supply-chain service and global reach.’

FUTURE ELECTRONICS www.FutureElectronics.com

Avnet Abacus seals pan-European franchise deal with Fischer Elektronik Avnet Abacus, one of Europe’s leading interconnect, passive, electro-mechanical and power distributors, and a business unit of Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA, a business region of Avnet, Inc., has signed a panEuropean distribution agreement with Fischer Elektronik.

Under the terms of the agreement, Avnet Abacus will represent Fischer Elektronik, a specialist in the design and manufacture of thermal management solutions, enclosures and connectors, as an authorised reseller and will supply customers throughout Europe with a broad array of components from the Fischer product portfolio. With 40 offices located in 18 countries, Avnet Abacus has a widespread presence across Europe and is well placed to access the extensive customer

base in the region, providing technical expertise in the local language. An important focus of the deal will be Fischer’s range of thermal management products, which

are designed to provide effective thermal cooling of a wide range of assemblies and semiconductor components, including those intended for the fast-growing LED market.

AVNET ABACUS www.avnet.com

WIN a Microchip XLP 8-Bit Development Board EP&Dee is giving you the chance to WIN a Microchip XLP 8-Bit Development Board (DM240313).

The XLP 8-bit Development Board provides a low-cost, highly configurable development system for Microchips new line of extreme-low-power

it supports a variety of common components that can be selective enabled. The board is also expandable through the onboard PICtail connector that permits the addition of capabilities such as RF connectivity.

The kit includes a USB cable, a Power Measurement cable, a

8-bit PIC18F or PIC16F Enhanced core microcontrollers that allow for design of sleep currents down to 20 nA. The board supports development for the PIC18F87K22 or PIC16LF1947 MCUs, which highlight the capabilities of each product family. The board can be powered by five different power sources including batteries or energy harvesting modules (sold separately), and

Quick Start guide and a PIC16LF1947 PIM. The board is suitable for prototyping many low power applications including RF, temperature sensors, electronic door locks, LCD , remote controls, security sensors, smart cards, and energy harvesting. The PICtail™ interface supports Microchip’s extensive line of daughter cards for easy evaluation of your next low power application.

The Path into the Post-PC Era The term “post-PC” is an official Apple corporate propaganda phrase, coined by Steve Jobs and promoted most of all by hardcore Apple loyalists ever since. In the near future, the concept of a personal computer may be radically different than it is today. Soon a phone could be smart enough to not just be a computer but it could be my computer.

It will be a world where the only computer you will ever need, is a mobile one. Call it a phone, call it a tablet, or just call it a computer. The next generation of computers is poised to enable truly personal computing experiences. These devices will be tuned to the specific needs of its owner with an unthinkable amount of computing resources at its disposal.

Computational resources will be harnessed locally through powerful 48 core CPUs combined with a near limitless supply of remotely accessible cloud computing capacity.

Powerful multi-core mobile PCs play a central role in both our personal and professional computing lives. The one mobile compute device of the future will be in the hand and will automatically and wireless connects to a 30-inch display when the owner walks into the office. He has a touch, a keyboard, a mouse and voice to interact with it. It changes the whole concept of what it is and what it can do. In 10 years, the devices we carry will be continually using any information available to them to make better decisions. A continuous stream of location, identity, addriven information and presence status will all continually be calculating to help us do the stuff we do better and faster.

To enable all these, 48-core chips for small mobile devices could hit the market “much sooner” than the researchers’ 10-year prediction. The industry is working on finding new ways to use and manage many cores in mobile devices. With many cores, someone could, for instance, be encrypting an email while also working on other power-intensive apps at the same time.

Industry pundits have faith that by the time this complex hardware is ready, the software will be, too. These days, 5 to 10 years is somewhat of an eternity in technology time. If we are going to have this technology in five to 10 years, the smart phone will not have just one camera. It would have two to three cameras that are always on. It could build a three-dimensional map of what it’s looking at and do object recognition. Users could finally do things that take way too much processing power today. n (inspired and adapted from Forbes) Radu Andrei www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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XLP 8-bit Development Board Features: • PIC18F87K22 (128KB Flash, 80-pin PIM) installed • Supports other PIC16LF1947 (28KB Flash, 64-pin PIM) Separate/Un-programmed • Current measurement terminals allow device or board level current measurements • Expansion connector accessing full device pin-out and breadboard prototype area • Convenient connections for MPLAB PICkit 3, ICD 3 or REAL ICE for in-circuit programming and debugging • USB interface for power and PC communication • 24AA256 Low Power (100nA Sleep, 1.7V Vdd) SPI serial-EEPROM • Potentiometer (connected to 10-bit A/D, analog input channel) • Analog output temperature sensor and CTMU based diode temperature sensor • LEDs for indication • Power Options: AAA, CR2032, Energy Harvesting, USB, External, or 9V power supply For the chance to win a Microchip XLP 8-Bit Development Board, please visit: www.microchip-comps.com/epdee-xlp

INTERVIEW INDUSTRY NEWS

Interview with Mr. Tim Tatton, MD at Invotec Group Ltd. The company’s sale output figures reached a record- high in July this year, reaching over 2.7 million Euros, what do you think this means for Invotec Group’s future?

We have demonstrated in a tough market place that we can continue to grow our market share & gain new customers. We have also demonstrated that our facilities can convert these opportunities into customer deliveries with ever increasing demands.

Invotec Group Ltd appointed a new MD, Tim Tatton in recently this year. What does Mr Tatton see as his main goal for Invotec Group Ltd and what changes will Mr Tatton be implementing in his new role?

Our primary goal is to continue to deliver the technology, quality & service that our customers demand.

From that perspective nothing changes. What we aim to do differently, is invest even more in our facilities & especially our people to make Invotec’s position even stronger moving forward. We are embarking on a much more focussed approach to recruitment, training & development & we are increasing capital investment levels also.

Invotec Group has recently acquired a shareholding in additive electronics and integration specialists, Printed Electronics Ltd (PEL). What does Invotec Group hope to gain from this partnership and how will this affect the company?

PE is a technology which is very much in its infancy. We see possibilities for putting electronics in applications where they don’t currently exist. Our interest would be in niche applications, in much the same way as our current PCB portfolio, we are not necessarily interested in high volume consumer packaging for example.

To this effect, we already have some Invotec customers who are interested in this technology through projects with PEL. The effect on Invotec in the short term will be relatively small until the technology develops further beyond the proof of concept stage.

Invotec Group has announced the development of its Student/Graduate Apprentice programme.

Why has Invotec decided to make this commitment to younger generations of Engineers and how will this benefit the company?

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We are based in the Midlands which has a thriving automotive & aerospace sector with some large players in close proximity. It is tough for SMEs such as Invotec to recruit experienced or graduate engineers when we have large corporations literally employing scores if not hundreds of graduate engineers each year.

For this reason we decided to take talent from local schools/colleges & develop them ourselves, with education & practical training tailored to our needs.

Why has Invotec Group decided to exhibit at Electronica this year and what does the company hope to achieve whilst they are at the event?

We have chosen to exhibit as we plan to be more European focussed. We already have significant exports to Europe, but our aim is to grow this proportion of our sales.

This applies in the military & civil aviation sectors & especially the space sector. This exhibition reaffirms our commitment to the European Market place.

Invotec Group won 4 customer awards this year, how does the company plan to build on this success and further strengthen its relationship with its customers?

We are committed to the SC21 process (Supply Chains 21st Century) which is driven by the major Aerospace OEMs. This process encompasses business & manufacturing excellence, underpinned by Lean Manufacturing & continuous improvement. Ultimately this delivers consistent cost, quality & delivery for our business and our customers. Over time we expect to continue this process & continue our improvement.

We are confident this will push us towards the top performers to our customers, not just within PCB suppliers but across all categories.

Invotec Group was recent bought by Rubicon partners, how has this changed the company?

Invotec has a good reputation for technology & quality in a very demanding sector.

However, we are seen as quite conservative given the talent & capabilities we have. With a larger, more financially powerful backer, we are open to grow more aggressively both organically and potentially through acquisition of companies with a similar profile in different territories. Our new shareholders wish to leverage our technology, quality & strong financial performance on a larger scale.

Will you be announcing any company news at the show?

We will be announcing further news ahead of the show regarding significant new capital investments & also news of a further customer

award. We can then share this news with our visitor at the show.

What do you see as the main current challenges in your sector?

As with most sectors, general economic uncertainty is always a concern. Clearly defence spending is under threat, but electronics is playing an increasing role in defence so this isn’t necessarily all bad news. Visibility is certainly shorter than it historically used to be in this sector.

We feel that our strategy will equip us well for the challenges that lie ahead. n

MCUs DESIGN

Digital playback: Cutting cost not audio quality

by Jayanth Madapura Senior Applications Engineer High-Performance Microcontroller Division Microchip Technology Inc.

Cutting cost without cutting audio playback quality is a challenge faced by designers of most audio docking stations and other digital audio devices and accessories. But it is a challenge that can be overcome by using the processing power of a 32-bit MCU or 16-bit Digital Signal Controller (DSC) for sample-rate conversion, and a low-cost, high-quality DAC to tune the sample rate to minimise USB clock differences.

This combination can help to cut costs whilst maintaining audio quality.

Digital audio systems consist of a docking station and an audio device: the serial stereo audio data, streamed from the digital audio source via the dock’s USB interface, is captured and routed to a Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC) at a set sample rate. Figure 1 details the components: a serial data-input channel; deserialiser;

Figure 1: Block diagram of a typical audio docking station or device accessory.

sample-rate adjustment circuit; DAC with output filtering; and audio power-output stage.

Not all of digital audio sources use the same sampling rate, so the dock typically adapts the sampling frequency to the source, or converts the sampled data stream into a common data rate. The first challenge, therefore, is to per-

form the sample-rate conversion at the lowest cost without degrading audio quality.

Typically, designers have used a dedicated sample-rate conversion circuit or a high-end audio DAC that incorporates complex phaselocked loops to ensure flexible sample rates for stable communication of the sampled audio data. However, whilst USB provides a convenient interface for transferring audio data, USB jitter produces a subtle loss of audio quality meaning that, in addition to converting sample rates, a sample-rate converter must also mitigate USB jitter.

Understanding digital audio Analogue audio is converted into digital format, by sampling the analogue signal at a frequency which is at least twice the highest-frequency component in the analogue signal, or the Nyquist rate. An audio signal of 0 to 20kHz can, therefore, be sampled at a data rate of 44.1kHz, which is the appropriate Nyquist rate, so that the signal can be reconstructed without aliasing when converted back to the analogue

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EMBEDDED DESIGN

domain. In addition to the sampling rate, designers have to decide whether the resolution of the conversion will be a 16-bit word or a 24-bit word. For compact disc (CD) audio files, the standard is 16-bit resolution with a 44.1kHz sample rate. However, there are higher-performance options for audiophiles, such as encoding the data at 24-bit resolution and increasing the sampling rate to 96kHz. For audio professionals, the audio files are encoded with a resolution of 24 bits per sample, which provides sufficient headroom when the audio is mixed and manipulated by the studios in preparation for creating the master.

The choice of resolution allows the designer to trade-off sound quality against the file size even when compression is applied. Larger resolutions provide higher audio quality, but mean that the storage file size will be larger.

For example, a 4-minute stereo audio file with a 44.1kHz sample rate and 16-bit resolution, requires a file size of about 42 Mbytes.

However, if the resolution is reduced, less storage would be required. With a resolution of 12 bits, the audio file size would drop to around 30 Mbytes, but at the expense of relatively lower audio quality.

The USB interface is capable of streaming high-quality audio and is popular among many audio users. With its universal ease-of-use, USB audio can transfer high-resolution and high-sample-rate audio with negligible jitter, when packaged with a flexible audio interface.

Isochronous data transfer is used to stream audio data to and from a source at a constant rate in real time. Stereo audio data packets, with size governed by the sample rate of the audio stream, are transferred as part of USB frames every 1 ms on the USB full-speed link.

USB audio also provides controls for features such as volume, tone, gain control, and equalisers, among many control and processing units.

Quality versus cost The difference between bit rates and sample rates means that the hardware in the playback system or dock must be able to handle the differing-rate data streams. To do this, the designer has three options: the system must either use a more complex, and therefore more expensive, DAC to phase-lock to each sample rate and adjust itself to each playback option; or use an external sample-rate converter IC with the low-cost DAC; or convert all the streams into a standard sample rate and bit rate using an algorithm running on a microcontroller (MCU) that a simple low-cost DAC can handle. Figure 2 shows these options.

These solutions are used by many playback system designers. In one scenario, a designer purchases an off-the-shelf SRC and DAC solution to do the sample-rate conversion and DAC playback. An alternative solution combines an SRC IC with a low-cost DAC. This solution is optimised for a high signal-to-noise

ratio, low power, and minimal jitter, however, the SRC chip adds to the total system cost.

Another alternative is to use a more expensive audio DAC that contains the phase-lock circuits and switched capacitor filters to handle the fractional clocks so that they can lock onto each of the different sample-rate data streams.

Although these approaches are all viable, they all either require an extra chip, or a higher-cost DAC. However, by using a relatively powerful 32-bit microcontroller or 16-bit Digital Signal Controller (Digital Signal Controller) which can deliver performance levels of 40 to 80 MIPS, designers can eliminate the need for an external rate-conversion chip. This is because the 32-bit MCU or 16-bit DSC is able to perform sample-rate conversion on-chip, without compromising audio quality. Since the SRC output sample rate is constant, a low-cost, high-quality 24-bit audio DAC can be used.

the SRC algorithm to convert real-time audio data sampled at 44.1kHz or 32kHz to a sampling rate of 48kHz. To accommodate the USB link frame rate, the size of the input audio data frame is an interval of 1 ms, with 64 stereo samples for 32kHz input, or 88 or 90 stereo samples for 44.1kHz input. The output consists of 96 stereo samples per 1ms.

In a typical SRC block, the incoming audio data passes through an up-sampler or an interpolation stage. The signal then passes through an anti-aliasing low-pass filter, followed by a downsampler or decimation stage.

A simplified sample-rate conversion circuit is shown in Figure 4. Assuming conversion from a 32kHz to a 48kHz sample rate where the conversion factor is 3:2, the input is up-sampled by a factor of 3, followed by a FIR filter with a steep roll-off to smooth the signal. A gain factor of 3 is applied to the smoothed signal to compensate

Figure 2: Playback options: cost versus performance trade-offs.

Many systems use an 8- or 16-bit embedded MCU to handle all the housekeeping functions, such as communicating over the USB interface; controlling the display; button control; volume control; and interface management. Microchip’s high performance PIC32 MCUs and dsPIC33E DSCs can be used to perform SRC on-chip and can also to perform all of the system interface and housekeeping functions. For example, by using a high-performance MCU, the sample-rate conversion can be performed whilst maintaining audio quality, since the intermediate calculations are 32 bits. Any deterioration due to truncation of the calculated values is therefore avoided.

The dsPIC33E DSCs and PIC32 MCUs, shown in Figure 3, provide a choice of on-chip resources, such as non-volatile Flash memory, static RAM, and peripherals, to enable designers to use the most suitable variant for their system. Some devices also offer low power consumption for use in power conscious applications.

Using an MCU for sample-rate conversion Sample-rate conversion can be achieved, for most common audio sampling rates, by using

for the loss caused by inserting the zeros. The resulting intermediate signal is down-sampled by a factor of 2 to obtain an output audio signal at a sampling rate of 48kHz. Since down-sampling creates redundancy in the filtering of the sample that is decimated, the filtering of this sample can be skipped. This simplified form of the polyphase filtering technique improves the speed of the SRC. For a 44.1kHz to 48kHz sample-rate conversion, where the conversion factor is 160:147, the processing block is as follows: The input is up-sampled by a factor of 2 by inserting a zero after every input sample and applying a FIR filter to smooth the signal.

A gain factor of 2 is applied to the smoothed signal to compensate for the loss caused by inserting the zeros. Polynomial interpolation is used to reduce every sequence of 147 samples at 88.2kHz, to 80 samples at 48kHz. This ensures that the sampling rate of the output audio data is 48kHz. Polyphase filtering is also employed in this mode to reduce redundancy.

The overall processing load is dominated by the filter, with a trade-off between filter length and the quality of the outputs. www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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EMBEDDED DESIGN

Microchip’s code library includes a free sample-rate conversion (SRC) algorithm which provides good SNR and requires around 30 MIPS of processor bandwidth, 6 KB of Flash and 1.5 KB of RAM.

audio data under-run or over-run is to use a good Asynchronous Sample Rate Converter (ASRC), where the input sample rate is estimated with jitter attenuation, and the internal filters are dynamically tuned for a new sample rate.

Figure 3: The PIC32 MCUs with a MIPS processor core handle sample-rate conversion and housekeeping functions.

Figure 4: Simplified sample-rate conversion circuit.

Mitigating USB clock mismatch A tolerance budget and a limit on the USB clock frequency are included in the USB specifications to achieve immunity to radio interference.

The USB clock with the allowed tolerance budget results in reduced audio quality if there is USB clock mismatch. The real-time streaming audio samples must arrive at precise and regular time intervals so that the DAC can convert the digital samples to an analogue signal with the expected constant rate at which it is configured. The DAC clock that expects and receives the audio samples at a particular sample rate must not miss a single sample. For the listener, a missing sample becomes a slight click, since the DAC fails to generate an accurate representation of the streamed audio signal. On a MCU or microprocessor with embedded USB module, the USB clock is sourced from an independent clock such as an on-chip PLL with an external crystal oscillator of a specific value. Since the clock is not sourced from the USB interface, the mismatch in clocks introduces buffer over-run or under-run, which causes clicks, as shown in Figure 5. An easy answer to the problem of

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The trade-off here is that a good ASRC is very expensive and the system will still need a DAC for analogue conversion.

The feedback mechanism monitors the buffer level and ensures that it stays within an acceptable range, while achieving at least the same, if not better, quality achieved by an expensive ASRC. One option is to use the DAC with a PLL that allows fractional tuning of the sample rate based upon buffer-level feedback. This solution is relatively less expensive than an ASRC chip. The PIC32 MCUs and dsPIC33E DSCs have a flexible independent system clock PLL, and a USB clock PLL with independent clock sources. The USB PLL can be clocked with an external crystal to achieve the exact 48 MHz USB clock required. The system clock can be sourced from the Fast RC (FRC) clock. On the PIC32 and dsPIC33E devices, the FRC clock is tunable and can be configured to tune the DAC clocks. This prevents buffer under-run and over-run while maintaining an acceptable DAC sample rate with a swing range of 0.2%. Of the three possible solutions, this is the lowest-cost solution whilst still achieving low power.

Summary The trade-off between cost and audio quality in docks or device accessories can be mitigated by adapting to the sample rate of the source or converting the sampled data stream into a common data rate. USB clock mismatch must also be addressed by tuning the sample rate to prevent buffer over-run and under-run.

By using a MCU for sample-rate conversion and sample-rate tuning, the external chip count can be reduced to minimise system cost and maintain high audio playback quality.

A 32-bit MCU or 16-bit DSC, such as the PIC32 and dsPIC33E, can perform sample-rate conversion as well as interfacing to a low-cost, high-quality DAC which can tune the sample rate to address the problem of USB clock mismatches. These MCUs and DSCs provide a range on on-chip features which provides the flexibility to manage the trade-offs which are

Figure 5: Clock jitter causes DAC under-run or over-run resulting in audible clicks.

An alternative solution, which is both effective and low cost, is to buffer the USB audio packets and tune the DAC clocks using a feedback mechanism to prevent under-run or over-run.

inherent in maintaining high audio quality combined with low power consumption and the lowest possible system cost. n www.microchip.com

EMBEDDED DESIGN

Computer-on-Modules' concepts to suit ARM SOC

by Gerhard Szczuka Product Manager for Computer-on-Modules Kontron Europe

Up to now, designs of ARM-based applications were primarily marked by their application-specific characteristics and - more often than not - their full-custom designs. Scalable, standardized building blocks especially for ARM- and SOC-based designs can dramatically reduce the development expenditure and speed up time-to-market of embedded applications even with production batches of >200.

A very effective platform for this is ULP-COM, a Computer-on-Module concept which embraces all the important aspects of efficient design-in for ARM-based applications.

For a long number of years, ARM technology has been the established technology for dedicated systems, whether in set-top boxes, receivers, switches or as simpler smart interfaces for higher-quality white goods. New applications, like smartphones and tablets, have emerged which bring ARM technology closer to the application areas of ×86 architecture. And with this, ARM technology – even just because of its enormous sales impact in the consumer market - has become very interesting for embedded designs. This mainstream success makes it possible to offer a powerful embedded roadmap. Often though, full-custom designs play an important role, as many of these solutions are sold in particularly large numbers.

Scalable building blocks are required What is however the case with embedded applications with quantities that make full-custom designs non-economical? Here, developers and OEMs need a solution which delivers a balance between development time and costs on the one hand and average costs on the other. This is where scalable building blocks are an ideal solution, as OEMs can quickly and simply design them into their applications and

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EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

they offer maximum flexibility and design security. It is also ideal if OEMs can integrate the ARM processors into their applications via building blocks which have already been vali-

dated. By doing this, OEMs can save significantly on resources, which in turn can considerably reduce the Total Cost of Ownership of the whole application.

Current ARM processors are on the same performance level as Intel Atom processor technology while offering significantly lower power consumption.

EMBEDDED DESIGN

ARM-COMs on the advance Computer-on-Modules are such building blocks and the COM concept with additionally purchased and integrated components and application-specific carrierboard is gaining popularity. Figures from IMS Research confirm this trend. In 2011 39% of all COM shipments were ARM-based modules, the majority of which were full-custom designs. Up to 2016 it is expected that they will account for a massive 59% of the module market. The market's need for ARM-based COMs is therefore gigantic and will experience a further sharp increase.

ARM-COMs will not however replace current ×86 designs but penetrate market segments in which ×86 technology to date – due to price, power and TDP restrictions - was not able to enter. Target applications are to be found predominantly in areas with graphical user interfaces featuring touch screen control, where upgrades from simple line displays to fullgraphic support with minimum power consumption are taking place or migration from ×86 platforms to ARM is required. Application scenarios are, for example, medical devices, handheld devices in harsh environments, solardriven outdoor devices, like ticketing machines for parking, electric pumps for e-cars or digital advertising at bus stops. Vehicle applications for fleet management or digital signage/infotainment in buses and trains and mobile testing equipment as well as kiosks, cash- and weighing systems are further examples.

High performance low consumption What though makes ARM processors on COMs so interesting? Current ARM processors in dual- or quad-core configurations deliver a performance on the level of Intel Atom processors. On average, the power consumption during operation is under 2 watt.

There are also many ARM-SoCs available for the extended temperature range. This means that, all in all, passive cooling solutions can be kept very simple and complete devices can be created which are compact and cost-efficient.

The demands of ARM SoC in terms of power supply are much lower than the voltage processing needed for ×86 platforms, which further reduces development effort and costs.

What's more, ARM processors boast a longterm availability of up to 15 years.

Still no uniform COM standard ARM processors, however, 'come by' their high energy efficiency through their designs which are tailored to meet specific application scenarios. Quite different from ×86 technology, which connects application-specific peripherals and interfaces via generic data buses like PCI, PCI Express or USB, ARM processors integrate dedicated controllers and interfaces.

This dedicated form of I/O of the different ARM SoCs has to date led to proprietary COM designs which usually were developed

on a specific ARM System-on-Chip. An additional issue is that ARM SoCs use different interfaces than ×86 technology does for similar tasks. An example are MIPI interfaces for small, inexpensive displays and cameras rather than DisplayPort or USB in the case of x86 designs. The SPI Serial Peripheral Interface instead of PCI or PCI Express is used in ARM designs much more frequently for connecting peripherals and data storage or extension modules are connected via SDIO and not frequently via SATA. So, all in all, COM concepts like Qseven or Core Express®, which were originally developed for ×86 processors are not ideal for ARM designs. If they have to remain within the specification, ARM variants can only have the smallest common denominator of interfaces implemented. That, however, limits the usability of such modules considerably, as the non-defined pins can be used by any manufacturer for different purposes. With that, one of the basic ideas of COM technology, different sources and reliable standard documentation, crumbles. To date there is no overall Computer-on-Module available which satis-

it possible for OEMs to reduce their development time for ARM-based applications by around nine months.

The ULP-COM specification The new specification for Ultra Low Power COMs has been designed to suit the typical demands of new mobile and – more often than not – battery-driven applications. Mobile devices, like embedded tablets, have to be slimly built while still offering room for additional components or coming higher performance SoCs. Therefore, ULP-COM specifies right from the start two different module sizes: a short module with 82 mm × 50 mm and a full-size module measuring 82 mm × 80 mm. The module 'width' of 82 mm is defined by the connector and with that cannot be altered. The short module is suitable for compact handheld devices, which fit into a closed hand. Full-size modules offer enough space i.e. for future, higher performance SoCs designs which need more space for heat dissipation. The standard offers great flexibility right from the start and enough room for up- and coming developments.

ULP-COM specification defines two different module sizes: 'short' and 'full size'. fies the expectations of a COM specification which is as universal as possible.

A new standard is required In order to be able to create such a multi-functional and long-term available COM standard – as has been successfully achieved in the ×86 with COM Express® - a new COM specification has to be created. A platform has to be developed which, based on its plug-in connector and the largest possible selection of usable ARM-specific interfaces, integrates several SoCs with different performance classes.

Together with other embedded firms which are globally successful, Kontron has therefore developed a Computer-on-Module standard especially designed for ARM and SoCs which offers the industry an optimized pin-out and the highest level of design safety: ULP-COM. With this new specification Kontron has made

Compact, flat designs One of the most important issues for these new applications is the flat build of the modules. The connector between the module and the carrierboard has the greatest influence. It dictates the minimum thickness which is possible. ULP-COM modules rely on the MXM 3.0 plug-in connector.

The plug is just 4.3 millimeters thick and thus allows for especially flat designs with a board to board distance of just 1.5mm. Applications with a total thickness of just under 9 mm are possible, this thickness is therefore only further influenced by the interfaces which the customers requires.

The plug-in connector has proved reliable in dedicated graphic cards in notebooks and is available from several manufacturers. So it is not just an established but an inexpensive and above all long-term available solution. www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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EMBEDDED DESIGN

HDMI. Further to this, the Kontron ULP-COMsAT30 supports camera connection via two dual-lane CSI camera ports.

The extremely thinly built MXM 3.0 connector (4.3 mm) allows for the development of compact handheld devices.

Owing to the 314 pins a large number of dedicated I/Os in current and future SoC and ARM processors can be assigned.

Numerous signaling lines On the electrical side, the connector offers a total of 314 pins. 33 are reserved for signaling lines for power supply and grounding, so effectively the ULP-COM offers 281 signaling lines. That means 50 more than, for example, the MXM 2.0 connector had, which amongst others is used on Qseven Computer-onModules. A high signal capacity is therefore an especially important issue, as the number of available signal pins is the basis for the most extensive and at the same time versatile pinout of the Computer-on-Modules. In this way, significantly more dedicated interfaces can be specified on the connector.

A special feature of ULP-COM is the so-called Alternate Function Block (AFB). This is a set of 20 signaling lines which are reserved in the current specification for application- and manufacturer-specific usage. In future versions of the specification new standard functions can therefore be assigned to these reserved signaling lines. This ensures that the specification can flexibly incorporate future technical developments which today are not even on the cards, while still upholding full compatibility with existing designs.

First modules available soon Already, Kontron is developing the first three Computer-on-Modules according to the new ULP-COM specification. The first module is the Kontron ULP-COM-sAT30.

According to the ULP-COM specification it measures just 82 × 50 mm and integrates Nvidia's Cortex A9 processor design Tegra 3 Quadcore with 800 MHz. The module is destined for graphic-orientated applications such as digital signage or media players. To fit this bill, it offers superior high-end graphics with dedicated interfaces for two independent displays including hardware-accelerated HD video decoding for MPEG2 and HD video encoding as well as 2D and 3D acceleration.

Flexible display connection is carried out via parallel LCD, LVDS 18 bit single channel and

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EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

The Kontron ULP-COM-sAT30 measures just 82 mm × 50 mm as defined in the ULP-COM specification and integrates Nvidia's Tegra 3 Quadcore processor with 800 MHz. The second new module is the highly scalable Kontron ULP-COM-sAMX6i with single, dual or quad core ARM® Cortex A9 technology. Based on Freescale’s i. MX6 Series processors, they cover an extremely wide performance range with a balanced processor and graphics performance. The Kontron ULP-COM-sAMX6i Computer-on-Modules exceed the traditional scale of longevity with their availability of at least ten years.

Furthermore they support the extended temperature range from -40°C to +85°C bydesign. Thus this new module family is ideal for market sectors demanding highest ruggedness and long-term availability, such as for example transportation, medical and military based on open standards software.

And a third ULP-COM module will be coming soon. It will be based on the Texas Instruments Sitara AM3874 with ARM® Cortex™-A8 microprocessor (MPU) and will provide a wide range of choices for integration onto industrial applications.

Those modules offer peripherals for high bandwidth connectivity such as SATA, Dual CAN, PCI Express (PCIe) and a Gigabit Ethernet switch.

Manufacturer-independent standard With all these technical advantages of the ULPCOM specification, the question of manufacturer-independent offerings of modules and services as well as the supervision of a manufacturer-independent panel arises. This is a major criterium to ensure that a standard actu-

ally becomes a standard. Kontron and Adlink rely on the newly founded manufacturer-independent Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies e.V (SGET). The SGET already has received the ULP-COM specification for ratification. The SGET work group plans to examine this specification at short notice and to approve it as an official SGET specification as soon as possible. With further embedded companies like ADLINK, Fortec and Greenbase more modules and carrierboards are being developed.

Kontron already has a carrierboard available and a starter-kit in the pipeline which will become available in Q4. This allows customers to immediately start testing their embedded target platforms. Apart from these standard products, Kontron also offers extended complementary services for its platforms to speed up hard- and software integration.

Software services In addition to obtaining the right hardware design, ARM requires substantial support on the software front. In order to pave the way for developers to enter this PC-like ARM technology as easily as possible, Kontron offers a wide range of software services. As ARM does not 'entertain' a BIOS as such, a bootloader is responsible for the start and the rest is taken care of by the operating system.

If the application is, for example, to be run on the Android operating system to profit from a uniform Look & Feel on all platforms, certain initial requirements have to be fulfilled for each ARM processor. An ARM-optimized Linux kernel has to be equipped with the drivers for the required peripherals and prepared for operation via several patches. This is the basis on which the application framework of Android can be superimposed. This has been designed as such, in order to create a uniform Look & Feel on different devices. Android achieves this by integrating a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) which presents the application framework with the interfaces to the hardware in the form of abstract modules.

This requires manufacturers of ARM-based hardware however to guarantee that all components are available respectively as HAL modules for the software level and are furthermore anchored in the application framework.

The effort therefore required in terms of operating system integration is considerable.

Kontron has a solution which saves customers carrying out this very time-consuming work, ARM hardware platforms are provided not just as barebones but increasingly equipped directly with the fitting software support and – if so required – with the necessary licenses. n www.kontron.com

DISPLAY INDUSTRY NEWS

Dotmatrix displays are dead - long live the Dotmatrix display

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY – Displays designed to make things easy

Electronic Assembly developed its EA DIP203-4 LCD module for applications that require exceptional readability and will be shown it at the electronica 2012.

The module features a high-contrast, alphanumeric LCD supertwist display for four rows of text at 20 characters per row.

The dot-matrix display comes in three variants. Users can choose from black text on a yellow/green background, white text on a blue background, and black text on a white background. An automatic temperature compensation facility eliminates the need to adjust the contrast. The display is driven by a built-in controller of type SSD1803, which is 90% compatible with the popular HD44780 controller. The character set that ships with the display supports 240 letters, numbers, and symbols; users can also define eight characters of their own. The controller receives its control commands via a fast SPI interface.

Electronic Assembly markets a broad spectrum of top-quality industrial displays to customers in a number of industries ranging from process automation and machinery manufacturing to IT. A high level of vertical integration enables the company to keep a large portion of the value-add chain in house. Because Electronic Assembly offers all the familiar advantages of a mid-tier company, it has the flexibility to accommodate the wide-ranging needs of its customers.

The product portfolio extends from simple seven-segment instrumentation displays to sophisticated color touchpanel displays for use at information booths or in complex system controllers. The wide-ranging portfolio includes for example products designed for extremely low power consumption as well as display modules for special markets and applications such as Cyrillic fonts.

The company philosophy at Electronic Assembly is based on a simple vision. The senior management team of Stefan Eber and Carola Wittmann along with the entire staff is fully focused on “making things easy”. This vision is reflected in the design of the company’s products. The displays have a built-in controller which makes things a lot easier for design engi-

A 4 and 8-bit databus interface is also available for the display. The EA DIP203-4 is particularly easy to install, since no mechanical assembly is required. Simply insert the module into the circuit board and

solder! Power is supplied via a single line carrying 3.3 volts. The LED illumination requires a constant 150 mA for the green/yellow variant and a constant 45mA for the blue/white and black/white variants. The wide range of operating temperatures (from - 20°C to + 70°C) makes the display the ideal candidate for applications in many industrial environments.

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY www.lcd-module.de

Brilliant and intelligent: 5.7" display for industrial and many other applications The EA eDIPTFT57-A intelligent display from Electronic Assembly is the ideal candidate for implementing interactive controls in mechanical engineering or industrial electronics applications. The screen, which measures 5.7" in the diagonal and has LED background illumination, offers a crisp, colorful resolution of 640 × 480 pixels. Its most important feature, however, is the built-in intelligence that greatly facilitates developers who want to integrate the display modules in their application. The device also provides acoustic feedback in addition to outputting information on screen, thanks to the integrated sound module that can play start-up tones, confirm keyboard inputs, and issue warning messages. A virtual on-screen keyboard rounds off the list of convenience features of the EA eDIPTFT57-A. The intelligence of the display unit makes it easy to program interactive user

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interfaces. In conjunction with the optional touch panel, developers can create a virtual keyboard in just a few steps. Keyboard inputs are processed directly on the display in an “edit box”. This allows operators to use standard text formatting commands without placing a large workload on the programmer. A high-level language macro programming facility is an important aspect of the integrated intelligence of this display and

represents an elegant way of developing applications.

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY www.lcd-module.de

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

neers. High-level language functions eliminate the need for system-level programming by the customer. The display controllers are shipped with an extensive set of sophisticated, pre-packaged graphic functions such as animation and bar graphs. Developers can access these features with simple function calls. There is no need

to write and test assembler programs for these functions. Many of the displays run right out of the box. The customer can get products to market much quicker and at lower cost. Electronic Assembly has its own engineering development group and helps shape the technological landscape. In-house production, which is not necessarily the norm in today’s market environment, puts the company in full control of quality and gives it that little bit of extra flexibility which from the customer perspective often makes the crucial difference.

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY www.lcd-module.de

Available starting immediately: starter kit with TFT EA EVALeDIPTFT43 and 480 × 272 Pixel Resolution At this year's electronica, Electronic Assembly will be show a starter kit that allows you to quickly explore and enter the world of intelligent displays. The kit comprises an evaluation board for the EA eDIPTFT43-ATP display type as well as a USB cable, touch panel, and mini DVD containing software, documentation, and sample macros.

The evaluation board contains a USB connection for communicating with the PC and additional, optional interfaces such as RS232, I²C, and SPI for networking with the host computer of the target application. An external power supply is not required. A series of LEDs provides informa-

tion about the data traffic and status of the eight digital outputs on the display. The evaluation board features two potentiometers and

eight buttons to simulate sensors, switches, or relay contacts in the target application.

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY www.lcd-module.de

TEST INDUSTRY NEWS

Aeroflex adds 4×2 MIMO support to 7100 Digital Radio Test Set Aeroflex Limited announced that it has added support for 4×2 multiinput multi-output (MIMO) to the 7100 Digital Radio Test Set for the R&D testing of LTE user equipment (UE) being designed with this feature.

4×2 MIMO is used adaptively to offer improved throughput in good signal conditions, and improved resilience in poor signal conditions. When the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the UE is good, the device can make use of spatial multiplexing, where multiple information streams are transmitted simultaneously to improve throughput.

When the SNR is poor then transmit diversity is employed. This is where a single information stream is distrib-

uted across separately-encoded antenna ports to reduce the variations in SNR experienced by the UE, thus

TME company has enriched its offer with Extech Instruments HDV600 boroscopes.

This is an inspection camera used to inspect difficult-to-access areas. improving the cell coverage.

Measurements are made both at the base station and at the UE and these are used to determine how many streams can be supported in the prevailing signal conditions. www.aeroflex.com AEROFLEX

Amplicon expand eShop portfolio with NexcomShop.com Amplicon have launched an exciting new eShop website, Nexcom Shop.com. This underlines the continuing and growing partnership with Taiwan’s leading embedded IPC manufacturer, Nexcom.

Nexcom were established in 1992 and have seen remarkable growth over the following years. They have a reputation for market leading innovative product design combined with outstanding attention to quality, and this has underpinned the partnership with Amplicon which has been in existence for some 15 years.

This new venture will give clients access to an unrivalled hardware portfolio; with options ranging from

small form factor motherboards, rail approved PCs, compact embedded PCs, closed or open frame panel PCs

and medically approved panel PCs. This can also be used for the outstanding post sales technical support that you would expect from a market leader like Amplicon. www.amplicon.com AMPLICON

Amplicon announce an exciting new Partnership with Teledyne LeCroy Amplicon is to broaden its Test & Measurement and Data Acquisition product portfolio with an exciting new partnership venture with Teledyne LeCroy. Amplicon are delighted to announce an exciting new partnership venture with Teledyne LeCroy, a global leader in the design, development and manufacture of high quality Oscilloscopes, Protocol Analyzers and complementary Test & Measurement solutions.

Amplicon’s excellent track record in providing high quality Test & Measurement and Data Acquisition products coupled with their extensive technical knowledge, has positioned Amplicon as the exclusive UK techni-

New Extech HDV600 now available in TME’s range of products

cal provider of Teledyne LeCroy range of products. This new partnership with Teledyne LeCroy will broad-

en the existing Amplicon Test & Measurement portfolio and provide customers with a wider spectrum of innovative Test & Measurement and Data Acquisition solutions. www.amplicon.com AMPLICON

Those instruments are highly resistant, shock-proof, as well as water-resistant. They provide high-sharpness and clarity of image and can be used in almost every working environment. Examples of HDV600 boroscopes applications include: in automotive industry-inspection of engine or gearbox elements; in sanitary engineering-inspection of channels and ducts or compressors; security and safety control; diagnostics of mechanical equipment (e.g. milling machines), and also household applications such as, for example, locating electrical cables or tubes in walls, detecting mould or insects. The equipment operates best in the temperature range from -10°C to 50°C. HV600 boroscope is equipped with colour 5,7” LCD that enables recording images in the resolution of 640 x 480.

It is connected with 4 LED’s illuminated digital camera located on a 1-metre conduit. Collected data is stored on the SD card added to the kit. The card allows storing almost 15 000 images. Apart from the SD card, USB interface is used to communicate with a PC. It is also possible to record up to 4 hours film with a sound. Since the HV600 boroscope is equipped with AV output, it is also possible to easily display collected images or films on the monitor.

This series includes four different product models: • HDV610 with 5,5 mm diameter camera head, • HDV620 with 5,8 mm diameter camera head, • HDV640 with 6,0 mm diameter camera head (camera is controlled by means of a manipulator), • HDV640W with a 6,0 mm diameter camera head and embedded transmitter for the wireless image transmission to the distance of up to 30 metres (camera is controlled by means of a manipulator).

The equipment weight is 3,94 kg, and its dimensions are: 70 x 241 × 178 mm. It is supplied with a 3,7V LithiumPolymer rechargeable battery. The manufacturer grants an annual warranty. The functionality of Extech Instruments HDV600 boroscope can be additionally extended thanks to the application of multiple optional accessories which are also available on TME’s offer.

More more information on HDV600 boroscopes at the manufacturer’s Website: http://www.extech.com/instruments/hdv600.asp Transfer Multisort Elektronik Tel.: +48 42 645 54 44 Fax: +48 42 645 54 70 export@tme.eu www.tme.eu www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INDUSTRY NEWS

Achieve PROFINET Net Load Class III Performance with Innovasic’s RapID Platform Innovasic announces that it has enhanced its RapID Platform Network Interface to achieve PROFINET Net Load Class III performance.

Achieving Net Load Class III means Innovasic’s solution conforms to the PROFINET standard even under the highest network load conditions. By using the RapID Platform in their field device designs, developers can expect to achieve these same results.

Innovasic achieves Net Load Class III performance with its patented PriorityChannel™ technology. PriorityChannel eliminates the effects of network traffic loading and ensures real-time PROFINET messages are always processed on-time, every time.

A field device incorporating Innovasic’s Network Interface

solution is protected from unpredictable packet delays, excessive latency, and connection failure without worrying about network segmentation or switch configuration. The RapID Platform

Network Interface is available as a module or an embedded design, and the transition can be made at any time.

INNOVASIC www.innovasic.com

Innovasic Launches First Ever 3-Port Industrial Ethernet Switch with Device Level Ring Innovasic announces it has launched the fido2100, a new Industrial Ethernet switch for high performance Device Level Ring (DLR) networks. DLR beacon rates down to 100 μs support fault recovery and ring restore times of less than 10 ms. A host processor connects to one of the three switch ports via MII for Ethernet communication and to a processor bus for configuration and status. A C library support package simplifies integration of the switch to any type of processor.

The fido2100 is an IEEE 802.3 standard compliant, Layer 2 switch that is compatible with the IEEE 802.1D standard. In addition to supporting rings, the switch also supports star, line, and tree topologies. It utilizes cut through forwarding to swiftly pass traffic from one port to the other port to minimize packet delay.

The fido2100 also supports IEEE 1588 v2 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and supports both ordinary and transparent clocks. Either

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ordinary master or slave clock can be implemented on an end device, and the transparent clock has a resolution of 5ns. Two inputs to the switch allow external events to be synchronized to system time, and one output provides a pulse-per-second time base.

Third-party PTP stacks can be used with the switch, and there is a C Library available that supports CIPSync. Engineering samples are

available now in both 128-pin LQFP and BGA packages INNOVASIC www.innovasic.com

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Microchip expands mTouch™ Sensing portfolio with turnkey controllers for Multi-touch, Proximity Detection and Haptic Feedback Microchip announces the expansion of its mTouch™ Sensing Solutions portfolio, with four turnkey controllers for multi-touch projected-capacitive touchscreens and touchpads, proximity detection, and haptic touch feedback.

The MTCH6301 is a turnkey projected-capacitive touch controller that makes it easy for designers to add popular multi-touch and gesture interfaces, eliminating the learning curve and time for creating a design from scratch. This controller’s sophisticated combination of Self and Mutual capacitive scanning for XY touchscreens and touchpads enables a host of features including: single and dual-touch drawing, the reporting of 11 single-finger gestures and the detection of up to 10 touches. The MTCH6301 supports sensor designs with up to 13 × 18 channels and cover lenses up to 5 mm. Additionally, Microchip offers its free “Projected

Capacitive Configuration Utility” with automatic tuning, enabling fast customisation for different screen sizes and top-layer thicknesses. Microchip also provides designers with the firmware library, so they can make further customisations.

The MTCH101 and MTCH112 are turnkey controllers in small packages that provide an easy way to add robust proximity detection with a range of up to 8 inches. Additionally, these lowcost controllers maximise battery life with power consumption as low as 5 microamps.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/LFNJ

Kontron’s new 3U CompactPCI Value Line SBC optimizes price/performance ratio of cost sensitive industrial applications Kontron announced the release of the Kontron CP3003-V, the latest extension to its popular CompactPCI Value Line Series.

The PICMG 2.0 compatible Kontron CP3003-V comes with the Intel Celeron processor 807UE. Kontron’s V (Value Line) boards offer customers a cost-optimized solution with a reasonable set of features and a less complex design. It delivers outstanding cost-effectiveness without compromising computing performance. This makes the Kontron CP3003-V an ideal fit for price-sensitive industrial applications, such as machine and factory control, visualization or inspection systems.

The Kontron CP3003-V includes a 1.0 GHz Intel Celeron processor 807UE in combination with the Intel® Platform Controller Hub

QM77. A Smart Cache of 1 MB and up to 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM memory with up to 1333 MHz guarantee high data throughput.

The new CompactPCI CPU board comes as a double slot version (8HP) that offers a comprehen-

sive set of interfaces such as 1× VGA, 2× DisplayPort, 1× USB 3.0, 2× USB 2.0, 3× Gigabit Ethernet ports and a Serial port on the front panel plus the option to hold a CFast module or up to 2× 2.5” HDD/SSD onboard.

KONTRON www.kontron.com

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INDUSTRY NEWS

MEN in Word, Sound and Vision: New Standard Catalog and Corporate Video For more than 30 years MEN Mikro Elektronik has been one of the leading manufacturers for rugged and safety-critical electronics in embedded applications. In its corporate video the constantly growing company explains its core competencies and the reasons for its success in its target markets. Apart from the video the revised standard catalog has been published showing how flexible the MEN product range is.

MEN Mikro Elektronik develops and produces failure-safe computer boards and systems for extremely safety-critical mobile markets like railway, buses, agricultural machines, commercial vehicles, avionics and shipbuilding as well as other mission-critical applications in industrial automation and medical engineering. In order to comply with the high and spe-

cific requirements of these markets, MEN has been the first German company to be certified to EN 9100 (avionics) as well as to

IRIS (railway). Only around ten companies worldwide have been certified to both standards. MEN is also certified to e1 (automotive), ISO 9001:2008 (quality management) and ISO 14001:2005 (environmental management). When it comes to product level, MEN already offers COTS computers certified to SIL 4.

MEN MIKRO ELEKTRONIK www.men.de

SIL 4-Ready Safety on CompactPCI® PlusIO - Dual Redundancy for Rail Applications The new F75P CompactPCI PlusIO SBC was specially designed for rail applications and brings functional safety to the board level, using redundant Intel Atom processors. While two redundant CPUs with independent RAM and Flash memory increase system safety, a third processor controls the I/O interfaces.

The safe F75P single-board computer unites the benefits of a 1oo2 multiprocessing system and the ruggedness and flexibility of the CompactPCI PlusIO standard on one single card.

Two of the total three Intel Atom E680T processors with 1.6 GHz and 512 MB DDR2 RAM are set up to be redundant, forming the safe control unit of F75P. The third Intel Atom with 1 GB DDR2 controls I/O. It passes on the commands to the interfaces

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that were sent by the two control CPUs across an FPGA-based communication interface.

Two supervisor units monitor the environmental conditions specified for the two control CPUs and put the system into a safe state, for instance if the maximum operating temperature was exceeded. The

output of a faulty processor is not passed through (fail-silent), or the complete system is shut down in case of an error and a train, for example, is stopped (fail-safe).

MEN MIKRO ELEKTRONIK www.men.de

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Kontron helps reduce costs of ultra-low power SFF systems with latest Texas Instruments-based ULPCOM Computer-on-Modules Kontron today introduced its latest ULP-COM standards-based Computer-on-Modules to help embedded OEMs drive down system costs for ultra-low power SFF (small form factor) solutions.

Kontron's expanded ULP-COM portfolio is designed as a highly scalable building block for the swift and cost-effective development of energy-efficient mobile devices. Featuring an extremely low TDP (Thermal Design Power), the Kontron ULP-COM-sA3874i is well-suited for space-constrained, fanless and harsh environment applications. Offering single core ARM Cortex A8 technology performance based on Texas Instrument's AM3874 Sitara ARM processors, Kontron's latest ULPCOM module delivers the computing power required by the diverse range of smart devices being designed today in an exceptionally small 82mm × 50mm footprint. The Kontron ULPCOM-sA3874i module supports

an extended operating temperature range of -40°C to +85°C and expands the scalable Computeron-Module building block model to a broader range of SFF systems

that must operate in harsh environmental conditions such as those in the military, industrial automation/HMI, digital signage and medical markets. Support for Android, Linux, WEC7, and additionally a variety of real-time operating systems on project request, enables embedded OEMs to leverage an active ecosystem of development partners.

KONTRON www.kontron.com

Atmel Expands into Rapidly Growing Ultrabook and Notebook Markets with New Windows 8 Certified mXT3432S Atmel® Corporation announced sampling of the maXTouch® S Series touchscreen controllers designed for the rapidly growing Ultrabook™ and notebook markets. Building upon the success of the maXTouch S Series, the new Windows 8 Certified Atmel mXT3432S is a touchscreen controller with a small footprint optimized for touchscreens up to 17.3 inches. As a co-engineering collaborator with Microsoft, Atmel has helped develop high performance touchscreen specifications to support prominent features of Windows 8. These include firsttouch latency, finger separation, and support for up to 10 simultaneous touches on the screen as well as edge gestures. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are demanding touch integration into Ultrabooks and notebooks. The move to thinner, lighter devices with larger touch-

screens requires higher noise immunity due to the adoption of shieldless sensors, as well as more data processing due to higher node count. The mXT3432S enables designers to develop a new class of touch-optimized products that meet their design requirements. The new controller is designed to meet the requirements of Windows 8, and also supports Linux and Android. The mXT3432S is Atmel’s first touch controller for Ultrabooks and notebooks featuring patented technologies. Atmel’s patented noise immunity technology ensures robust performance with various chargers in noisy environments.

ATMEL www.atmel.com

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INDUSTRY NEWS

Latest IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM offers new functionality and compiler optimizations IAR Systems® announced a new version of its world-leading development tool suite, IAR Embedded Workbench® for ARM® version 6.50. The new version adds expanded integration and new functionality. In addition, enhancements to the optimization technology in the powerful IAR C/C++ Compiler result in even faster code execution.

To make it easy for developers to use device configuration tools alongside IAR Embedded Workbench, IAR Systems has implemented new functionality for adding project connections. Automated integration with Freescale’s Processor Expert Software, Infineon’s DAVE™ code generator, and other device configuration tools enables developers to import files or file packages generated by the tools.

IAR Embedded Workbench automatically detects changes in

the generated file set.

Providing fast and compact code, the IAR C/C++ Compiler performs multiple levels of optimizations for code size and execution speed, such as loop unrolling and function inlining. The operations performed are global as well as core- and target-specific.

By further advancing its compiler

technology, IAR Systems has improved the already outstanding results of industry-standard benchmarks by more than 10 percent.

IAR SYSTEMS www.iar.com

Compact, robust DIN rail-mounted PC with 7.2 GB flash memory DSM Computer has augmented its compact DIN rail-mounted PC family H1-A with a further model with integrated 7.2 GB flash memory. The large flash memory permits the installation of sophisticated operating systems, such as standard Windows® and Linux, as well as the saving of comprehensive user data. The DIN rail-mounted PC variant with 7.2 GB flash memory is based on the energy-saving Intel® Atom™ processor Z530 (1.6 GHz) and the Intel® US15W SCH System Controller hub with the Intel® GMA 500 Graphics Media Accelerator. It also integrates a 1 GB DDR2 RAM in the Qseven™ module from MSC Vertriebs GmbH installed in the H1-A. To ensure optimum heat dissipation, the small 70 × 70 mm assembly unit is connected directly with the computer housing.

The application areas for the compact DIN railmounted PC are wide ranging.

The robust computer can be

deployed as gateway and communications system, Web server or distributed control unit in the process automation, plant control, power engineering, building automation, smart metering and electro-mobility. The standardized installation capabilities allow the system that is 90 mm high and only 41 mm (55 mm with cooling fins) deep to be installed very quickly in the electrical-equipment or switchgear cabinet.

With a width of 124 mm (7 U), the industrial PC in the robust, highquality aluminium housing can be installed under the rail-mounted standard cover.

DSM COMPUTER www.dsm-computer.com

Microchip’s new SMSC JukeBlox® 3.1 SDK and CX875 Wi-Fi® Network Media Module provide easiest and most cost-effective AirPlay® solution Microchip announces its latestgeneration SMSC JukeBlox® WiFi® connectivity platform, featuring the JukeBlox 3.1-AAP ( JB3.1AAP) Software Development Kit (SDK) in combination with the new CX875 Wi-Fi Network Media Module. This platform expansion delivers highly integrated and specialised connectivity software along with a costoptimised and fully certified CX875 WiFi module, featuring the new, low-cost DM875 Network Media Processor and 8MB of SDRAM to reduce BOM costs by up to 20%.

Through these cost reductions and ease of use, this latest-generation JukeBlox platform enables a new category of AirPlay®-compatible wireless audio streaming systems with retail pricing down to $149.

Enhancements to Microchip’s JB Connect simplified Wi-Fi network setup technology, along with the easy network setup features in Apple’s iOS, make this JukeBlox

technology expansion the easiest and most user-friendly solution for designing AirPlay products to date. This easy setup, in conjunction with improvements to Wi-Fi performance and system boot-up times, makes Wi-Fi streaming even more robust and improves the overall user experience.

Microchip’s latest-generation JukeBlox platform also provides

seamless support for the new iOS 6 and iPhone® 5, with their related AirPlay music streaming and control features. Microchip’s new CX875 Wi-Fi Network Media Module is based on its new, lowcost SMSC DM875 Wi-Fi Network Media Processor.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/SET4

Kontron reinvents its Panel PC lineup with two new multi-touch, scalable Panel PCs in a widescreen format At this year’s SPS IPC Drives in Nuremberg, Germany, Kontron (hall 7, stand 306) announced a comprehensive expansion of its current Panel PC range with the addition of two new product series. The first is the Kontron Micro Client 3 series for monitoring and controlling individual production lines. The second is the Kontron OmniClient series for supervising and managing complete manufacturing facilities. A major new feature added to these new Panel PC ranges is the multi-touch support, with touch-sensitive glass displays, making them intuitively easy to use. Another attractive feature is their updated industrial design in a widescreen format providing a smooth, edgeless display.

Kontron’s new Panel PCs will become employed as shop-floor

systems in processing industries such as the chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors, food and beverages, and the power sector, plus sophisticated machines and plants or factories and facility management. In short, they are

destined to be used whenever machine and plant operators feel the need to have convenient Panel PC systems to improve monitoring and managing all their production processes.

KONTRON www.kontron.com

www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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ACTIVE COMPONENTS INDUSTRY NEWS

Wireless modules provide five connectivity standards within a miniature single package Murata announced the LBEL6Z2TXC wireless combination module aimed at automotive applications and utilizing an AECQ100 compliant chipset.

Providing support for wireless LAN, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communications in addition to providing an FM radio receiver and GPS receiver the module measure just 24.6 × 18.0 × 3.0 mm.

The WLAN feature is IEEE 802.11 b, g and n compliant and also supports WiFi Direct. Bluetooth 4.0 class 2 compliant support and H4 protocol is standard. By combining the five wireless functions into a single package allow designers to simplify their enddesigns, save valuable board space in addition to easing the burden of procurement when compared to having to select

multiple modules from other suppliers. Also compared to considering developing their own wireless designs, the use of the LBEL6Z2TXC speeds time to market since the modules are

pre-qualified removing the need to time consuming design testing and evaluation.

Module interfaces include a UART, PCM, SDIO, I²S and audio.

Power requirements are +3.3 and +1.8 VDC. MURATA www.murata.eu

Fully Regulated Intermediate Bus Converters Incorporate Digital Control to Provide Industry Leading Performance CUI Inc has introduced a line of fully regulated intermediate bus dc-dc converters with advanced digital control from their Novum® Advanced Power product line.

The converters are CUI’s first product release based on the recently announced license agreement with Ericsson, the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators, for their Advanced Bus Converter portfolio based on the FRIDA II platform.

CUI’s NQB and NEB series are pin and function compatible with Ericsson’s BMR456 and BMR457 series respectively, enabling original equipment makers (OEMs) to address interoperability challenges, reduce time to market, and decrease supply chain risk for these leading-edge digital products. The NEB series, housed in an 1/8 brick package, and the NQB series, housed in a 1/4 brick package, incorporate a

32-bit ARM-based microcontroller with power-optimizing firmware designed to maximize and flatten the efficiency curve, providing peak performance across a much wider range of loading conditions when com-

pared to intermediate bus converters currently on the market.

With typical efficiencies as high as 96.4% and optimized efficiency from 20% to 100% load, the modules are ideal in applications where loading conditions can vary greatly, including next-generation Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment.

CUI www.cui.com

Atmel Delivers World’s First Single-chip Solution that Integrates Touch And Sensor Hub Functionality to Enhance Users’ Experience

Silicon Labs USB-to-I2S Audio Bridge Chip Brings Plug-and-Play Simplicity to Audio Design

Atmel® Corporation announced a range of microcontroller-based solutions that integrate touch and sensor hub functionality to enable superior user experience for a variety of mobile devices including smartphones, tablets, Ultrabooks and convertible PCs. The new solutions build on Atmel’s leading maXTouch® controllers and incorporate the company’s patented maXFusion™ sensor fusion technology to address the growing motion sensor market. Atmel maXFusion combines inputs from multiple sensors that detect motion, including accelerometers, magnetometers and gyroscopes, to provide realtime direction, orientation and inclination data bringing visibly superior performance to a range of applications including gaming, navigation and virtual reality. Atmel is also the first company in the industry to integrate sensor hub functionality into

Silicon Laboratories Inc. introduced the industry’s first crystalless USB-to-I²S audio bridge designed to support a wide range of codecs and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) used in USBbased audio applications.

The new CP2114 audio bridge chip simplifies the process of transferring audio data from USB to I²S without time-consuming code development, speeding time to market for USB audio accessories such as speakers, headphones, music boxes, point-of-sale terminals, navigation systems and VoIP systems. USB system development often involves significant expertise, design effort and cost to overcome implementation issues ranging from compatibility to poor performance. USB-to-I²S audio data transfer also requires sophisticated clock synchronization, which poses complex devel-

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touchscreen controllers extending human interface solutions beyond touch to deliver performance and power efficiency gains in a singlechip solution. The combination of multiple sensor systems enables the development of new functionality leveraging both touch and motion sensing, driving further innovation for user interface development. Atmel’s new solutions with maXFusion technology include advanced sensing algorithms that result in 3x the performance compared to managing sensors on the applications processor.

ATMEL www.atmel.com

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

opment challenges. To address these needs, Silicon Labs’ CP2114 audio bridge provides a highlyintegrated, plug-and-play solution for streaming audio between USB and I²S.

The CP2114 audio bridge integrates a USB 2.0 full-speed function controller, a USB transceiver, crystal-less oscillator, one-time programmable ROM, UART, IIC and I²S interface into a single-chip solution.

SILICON LABORATORIES www.silabs.com

ACTIVE COMPONENTS INDUSTRY NEWS

Rutronik presents the Lowest Consumption Comparator from ST ST released the TS881, a single comparator featuring nanopower consumption and a response time of 2μs. These performances

tures an ultra low current consumption of 210nA typ and an ESD tolerance of 4kV HBM/300V MM. Its propagation delay

allow this rail-to-rail comparator to be used in a wide range of portable applications and anywhere consumption matters.

TS881 is available in tiny SC-70 package at distributor Rutronik.

The TS881 minimizes the supply leakage and works down to 1.0V supply, thus enhancing battery lifetime of applications running on rechargeable batteries. It fea-

amounts to 2μs typ. It works in a wide temperature range from 40°C to +125°C. With these features the single comparator is ideally suitable for battery-powered products, portable systems, signal conditioning and medical instrumentation.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com

Microchip expands low-power Op Amps into higher voltages with three new 12V Families Microchip announces three new families of low-power, generalpurpose operational amplifiers (Op Amps) that expand the range to 12V supply voltages. Because the MCP6H7X/8X/9X maintain the same pin-outs and features as Microchip’s existing 6V and 16V families, designers can easily migrate to the ideal voltage rail, in addition to the new families’ higherspeed Gain Bandwidth Product (GBWP) range of 2.7-10 MHz. All nine members of the new families are available in single, dual and quad configurations. Designers often have to compensate for noise from transients in the power supply or the commonmode voltage. With high Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR), high Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR), unity-gain stable and railto-rail output, the new MCP6H7X/

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8X/9X Op Amps are ideal for applications that operate in noisy environments, such as current sensing and power supplies for the automotive and industrial markets. Additionally, wide operating-voltage and common-modevoltage ranges, in combination with small 2 × 3 mm package

options, make these Op Amps well suited for portable and battery-powered applications in the consumer and medical markets.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/G4TD

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Microchip introduces high-voltage analogue buck PWM controller with integrated MOSFET drivers, and high-speed, low-Figure of Merit MOSFET family Microchip announces a new family of power-conversion controllers and its first-ever family of power MOSFET devices. This new Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controller and complementary family of low-Figure of Merit (FOM) MOSFET products combine to support high-efficiency DC/DC power-conversion designs, covering a broad array of consumer and industrial applications.

Together, these two families demonstrate a significant expansion of Microchip’s commitment to enabling higher-voltages and higher efficiencies, as well as the industry trend toward smaller, power-conversion systems.

The MCP19035 is a small, analogue-based PWM controller family with integrated synchronous MOSFET drivers offering outstanding transient performance.

The MCP19035 devices operate over a wide 4.5-30Vdc range, have a 300kHz switching-frequency, and offer a factory-adjustable dead-time setting, allowing designers to optimise performance across a wide selection of MOSFET devices. The MCP19035 family, when combined with Microchip’s MCP87xxx MOSFETs,

or any low-FOM MOSFET, produces high-efficiency (>96%) DC/DC power-conversion solutions. The MCP87xxx family of high-speed MOSFETs offers very low FOMs and is packaged in industry-standard 5×6 mm and 3.3×3.3 mm PDFN packages.

The MCP87022, MCP87050, and MCP87055 devices offer onstate resistance of 2.2mΩ, 5.0mΩ, and 5.5mΩ, respectively

and enable high-efficiency power-conversion designs.

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY www.microchip.com/get/SET4

STMicroelectronics STM32 F3 Mixed-Signal MCUs Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now stocking STMicroelectronics’ STM32 F3 Series of MCUs that combines the 32-bit ARM CortexM4 core with a DSP, FPU instructions, and advanced analog peripherals. The STM32 F3 series innovates in embedded DSC design by combining a Cortex-M4 core with fast 12-bit 5 MSPS and precise 16-bit sigmadelta ADCs, programmable gain amplifiers (4 gains, 1% accuracy), fast 50 ns comparators and versatile time control units running at 144 MHz, giving optimum integration. The devices are optimized for efficient handling and processing of mixed signals in circuits such as 3-phase motor controllers, biometrics and industrial

sensor outputs or audio filters, allowing designers to tackle mixed-signal control applications.

These devices help simplify design, cut power consumption and reduce PCB size in consumer, medical, portable fitness, system monitoring and metering applications. STM32 F3 Series MixedSignal MCUs are pin compatible with the STM32 F1 series, and the new STM32 F3 series enlarges the STM32’s Cortex-M4 portfolio to now offer both entry-level cost with the F3 series and highest performance with the F4 series.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS www.mouser.com

ACTIVE COMPONENTS INDUSTRY NEWS

Renesas Electronics Introduces Low-power Industrial Ethernet Communication Chips with Integrated Real-Time OS Offload Engine

CML launches a new ACE Processor, the CMX188 Providing the Digital Advantage to Analogue Two-way Radios

Renesas Electronics, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the R-IN32M3 series of industrial Ethernet communication chips with support for multiple communication protocols in response to the rapid adoption of industrial Ethernet communication technology.

One of the most distinctive features of the R-IN32M3 is the high-speed operation with the basic function of the real-time OS in hardware to implement highspeed real-time response and high-precision communication control for industrial Ethernet communication. Because the hardware in the new R-IN32M3 series covers heavy load operations for the CPU, the combination of the CPU and integrated real-time OS offload engine (HW-RTOS [Note 1]) result in ultra-high-speed real-time responsiveness five to ten times that of a conventional software real-time OS. In addition, the fluctuation caused by inconsis-

CML Microcircuits, a leader in the design, development and supply of low-power analogue, digital and mixed-signal telecommunication semiconductors, has launched a new ACE (Analogue Communications Enhancements) Processor, the CMX188.

The CMX188 ACE Processor is specifically targeted at providing the digital advantage to analogue two-way radios and walkie-talkies, serving both licence-free and licensed two-way radio market sectors. The combination of an embedded low bit-rate vocoder, audio-band modem and digital voice features makes the CMX188 an outstanding product. The migration from analogue to digital two-way radio is proving to be very slow, with the majority of two-way radios in the field still being analogue. This slow transition is associated with the complexity and implementation

tencies in the operation time with conventional CPU processing is reduced substantially from onefifth to one-tenth of the previous

level. The new R-IN32M3 series include an integrated ARM Cortex-M3 CPU (100 MHz). The new Ethernet controllers accept protocols for industrial Ethernet communication such as CC-Link IE and EtherCAT and will accept the control area network (CAN) which is heavily used in industries and generic interface such as universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) RENESAS ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.renesas.eu

Avago Technologies Announces Extended Operating Temperature Digital Optocouplers with R2Coupler Isolation Avago Technologies announced its ACPL-M49U/K49U/M71U/M 72U digital optocouplers, which are new additions to its R2CouplerTM family. These optocouplers provide a wider offering of extended temperaturerange digital optocouplers to the exisiting family and are designed to meetcustomer needs for low power, low leakage, higher isolation voltage and higher commonmode rejection (CMR).

Avago Technologies’ extended operating temperature digital optocouplers are increasingly used in a wide variety of isolation applications ranging from power supply, computing, factory automation, data communications and digital logic interface circuits.

These new digital optocouplers, ACPL-M49U/K49U/M71U/M72U ensure the AC and DC performances over the extended temper-

ature range of –40°C to +125°C. The ACPL-M71U/M72U devices are high speed, low power digital optocouplers with R2CouplerTM isolation and a low power consumption of 1.5mA. The ACPLM71U uses a high-speed LED to achieve 35ns maximum propagation delay, while the ACPL-M72U uses a low current LED for lower power consumption. The ACPLM49U/K49U are low speed, high CMR digital optocouplers, both configurable as low power and low leakage optocouplers.

AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES www.avagotech.com

cost of modern digital radio systems together with the need to provide backward compatible operating modes, to enable communication with the wealth of legacy analogue systems already deployed today. The CMX188 ACE Processor solves these prob-

lems, bringing new life to analogue PMR radios by working alongside the radio’s existing analogue baseband processing and providing the digital advantage.

CML MICROCIRCUITS www.cmlmicro.com

Silicon Labs Introduces Low-Jitter Clock Buffers with Industry’s Highest Integration of Clock Tree Functions Silicon Laboratories Inc. introduced the industry’s first universal clock buffers capable of replacing LVPECL, LVDS, CML, HCSL and LVCMOS buffers with a single IC, eliminating the need for multiple fixed-format buffers. The new Si533xx family integrates common clock tree functions including clock distribution, clock muxing, clock division, format translation and level translation. Based on a patented low-phase-noise clock driver architecture, the Si533xx family features ultra-low additive jitter with guaranteed maximum jitter specifications, simplifying clock tree design and providing designers more jitter margin for other devices. The Si533xx clock buffers are purpose-built to address the demanding require-

ments of communications, data center, wireless infrastructure, broadcast video and embedded computing applications.

The Si533xx clock buffer family is

part of Silicon Labs’ comprehensive portfolio of timing devices, enabling customers to simplify both the design and procurement of complete clock tree solutions for virtually any high-performance application.

SILICON LABORATORIES www.silabs.com

www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

25

LEDs INDUSTRY NEWS

Everlight Electronics Presents New Top View LEDs with High Quality of Light for Midpower Applications Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry, presents highly efficient white mid power LED series 62-227B (0.4W) and 62-217B (0.5W). These top view LEDs (5630 Package) provide high efficacy, high CRI (min. 80 or min. 75), low power consumption, a high luminous flux output, high current capability, a wide viewing angle and a compact form factor.

These features make this package an ideal LED for all lighting applications. The design of Everlight’s 0.5W 62-217B LED provides a high lumen, high quality of light solution in particular for mid power applications. Due to its low power consumption and its ultrathin size of 5.6 mm x 3.0 mm x 0.9 mm (LxWxH), the 62-217B top view white LED is truly ideal for many lighting applications like decorative and entertainment lighting, light bars, light tubes, light pipes, indicators and backlights in

offices and family equipment as well as general lighting. 62-217B LEDs come in a PLCC-4 package, are Pb-free, RoHS compliant and match ANSI Binning.

Everlight’s 62-217B Mid Power LED is available in 13 versions in warm white (2700-3000 K), neutral white (4000 K) and cold white (5700-6500 K) with typical luminous fluxes ranging from 40 lm to 60 lm. Everlight is fostering closer working relationships between our R&D, Sales and Marketing teams to meet and exceed our customer’s expectations in both product offering and technology.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS www.everlight.com

Everlight Electronics Announces High Performance Customizable 4-Character 5×7 Dot Matrix ThroughHole Display ELMM-457 Everlight Electronics Co. announces the ELMM457SURCB/A3, a high performance, easy to use through-hole dot matrix display driven by packaged IC. Each display can be directly interfaced with a microprocessor. The serial IC interface allows the display of 104 built-in characters and 24 custom user-defined characters in a 5×7 pixel format.

The LED sources of this programmable, four digit alphanumeric module display with a flat height of 6.5mm and configured in a 140 dots 4×5×7 matrix feature latest solid state technology in light emitting diodes. The display in brilliant red is categorized for luminous intensity and provides excellent reliability and readability even in bright ambient light.

The ELMM-457SURCB/A3 features a custom design display for unique customized usage.

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Common denominators of all variants of customer-specific configurations include low power consumption, a 3.3V operating voltage, a serial input and its 128 character ASCII format that allows the display of upper and lower case characters. Additional characteris-

tics of this Pb free and RoHS compliant device include color selection variety, convenient brightness controls and software controlled features.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS www.everlight.com

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Everlight Electronics Extends Signage LED Portfolio Five new 3-in-1 full color LEDs and Lamp for indoor, semi-outdoor and outdoor applications combine performance with efficiency Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry, has extended its signage LED portfolio to offer five new products for indoor, semi-outdoor and outdoor applications.

Two new SMD Chip type LEDs, the 18-038 (1010 package) and the 19-037A (1616 package) are ideally suited for indoor LED applications with highly compact board sizes. Both the 18-038 (1.0×1.0×0.5 mm) and the 19037A (1.6×1.6×0.9 mm) LED Series are much smaller than lead frame type components, thus enabling smaller board sizes, reduced package and storage space and a higher packing density, resulting in finally smaller equipment. They represent the next level of SMD LED technology by implementing a black PCB which enhances the contrast and an advantageous solution for high contrast and high resolution indoor signage displays.

Two new SMD PLCC type LEDs add to Everlight’s Hong LED family, designed for advanced indoor (HN0325) or semi-outdoor (HN0507) LED signage display applications.

The Hong series LED package provides a perfect solution when a clear view of the signage display is

required on boards of any size.

Using 3-in-1 full color SMD PLCC LEDs offers a smaller pixel pitch between two LEDs to create a high resolution and better contrast with its black surface design.

The high performance 3474AH Series LED Lamp, a 3mm oval package, features an extensive wide viewing angle of 110° and UV curable epoxy with enhanced chemical resistance to best fit for outdoor applications, specifically designed for passenger information signs. The 3474AH LED Lamp has matched radiation patterns ensuring consistent color mixing in red, green and blue mixed-color applications.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS www.everlight.com

LEDs INDUSTRY NEWS

Kingbright commends Avnet Abacus for outstanding sales for third successive year

EVERVISION Presents Optical Angle Optimization for TFT Display Portfolio

Avnet Abacus, one of Europe’s leading interconnect, passive, electro-mechanical and power distributors and a business unit of Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA, a business region of Avnet, Inc. has been rewarded for outstanding sales growth in 2011/2012 by Kingbright, the Taiwan-based supplier of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and related products. This is the third con-

EVERVISION Electronics Europe introduces “Ultra Wide Viewing“ at electronica 2012, a new technology that upgrades the optical properties of all standard TFT displays up to a diagonal of 7,0“ in EVERVISION’s portfolio.

The new technology compensates the grey inversion of TFT displays and enlarges the viewing angle in all four viewing directions to values of 80° / 80° / 80° / 80°. A preferred viewing angle no longer needs to be considered.

Up to now, such a characteristic would not have been feasible without considerably more expensive display technologies.

Ultra Wide Viewing by EVERVISION enables to drive all displays in portrait-mode view (upright position) at an attractive price/performance ratio.

Especially wide format (16:9) TFT displays with diagonals of 4.3“ / 5.0“ / 7.0“ in portrait mode are well-suited for a range of new applications.

in increasing sales revenues of Kingbright’s product range throughout Europe.

With offices located in 18 countries, Avnet Abacus is Kingbright’s largest pan-European distributor, stocking a comprehensive selection of SMD LEDs, through-hole LED lamps, LED displays and other LED related products from the manufacturer for a broad array of industrial applications.

Photo caption (left to right): Alan Jermyn, Vice President Marketing, Avnet Abacus; Udo Reinhold, Managing Director Kingbright; Hagen Goetze, Marketing Manager IP&E, Avnet Abacus. secutive year that Avnet Abacus has been recognised for its success

AVNET ABACUS www.avnet-abacus.eu

Applications TFT displays in portrait format are increasingly applied in HMI environments (Human Machine Interface), measurement and medical technology, and also in studio technology.

Availability: now.

EVERVISION ELECTRONICS www.evervisionlcd.de

High performance SPECTRALUX® light engines from OMC deliver 130 lumens/watt

Multi-angle LED light tubes from OMC are bright, robust and long life

OMC, the pioneer in optoelectronics, have launched new light engines which offer very high luminous efficiencies of up to 30 per cent higher than alternatives currently available. 220-series SPECTRALUX® light engines deliver up to 130lm/W and feature life expectancies of up to 40 years. In the SPECTRALUX® light engine range, highly efficient, tightly-matched LED die material is bonded to a thermally conductive substrate and encapsulated with a precision-applied phosphor coating. OMC is able to achieve such high performance in the 220-series because the company uses a greater LED chip area which has been optimally distributed across the substrate surface to enhance optical efficacy and reduce current density. In addition, the electronic configuration of the die elements has been arranged to keep drive currents

OMC, the pioneer in optoelectronics, today announced a new version of their rugged, robust and high-brightness multi-angle LED light tube range which can be used to replace traditional light sources in hundreds of applications, saving power and lasting much longer than fluorescent products. These compact, low voltage linear LED lighting fixtures feature advanced lens/reflector assemblies that provide extremely bright and uniform illumination across a broad and well-defined target illumination area, with a power consumption of just 2.9W per foot of tube. With a slim profile and robust metal housing, the new light tubes are easy to install and require no additional fixtures or fittings – they are simply screw-mounted to the installation surface using the range of secure, multi-angle brackets provided. The adjustable mounting brackets allow the light to be directed to where it is needed,

low, thereby reducing the power dissipation further. Not only does this technique result in high luminous efficiency, it also ensures that heat is spread more effectively across the substrate surface resulting in lower junction temperatures and longer life

expectancy. In applications where very high efficiency is not the main consideration, the die area can be tailored to reduce power consumption or cost so as to meet the requirements of individual customer applications.

OMC www.omc-uk.com

and low voltage 24V DC operation means that they are safe and simple to power electrically.

Available in one-foot to five-foot tube lengths and dimmable using OMC’s range of controllers, the new LED light tubes are suitable for a wide range of applications in both the commercial and industrial sectors, such as food cabinets, vending machines, CNC machine lighting, POS displays, shelves and

cabinets, architectural lighting, freezers, refrigerators and chillers, vehicles, and office, factory, garage and shed illumination.

OMC www.omc-uk.com

www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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PASSIVE COMPONENTS INDUSTRY NEWS

AVX’s new MLC capacitor series provides superior protection against ESD strikes

Murata launches one of the world’s smallest HF-band RFID tags

AVX Corporation, a leading manufacturer of advanced passive components and interconnect solutions, has developed a new series of enhanced MLC capacitors specifically designed for general ESD protection. Available in standard 0603, 0805, and 1206 case sizes, the new ESD-Safe™ MLC Chip’s small footprint makes them ideal for high density electronic devices like automotive modules, which often use ESD caps on nearly every pin.

“The new ESD-Safe™ Series capacitors were made to withstand ESD strikes without failure, providing our automotive engineering partners with unparalleled performance,” said Ron Demcko, AVX Fellow.

ESD-Safe™ X7R Series capacitors are designed to protect generalpurpose I/O gates from ESD damage during the connector to wiring harness mating operation.

The AECQ200-qualified chips are available in 25, 50, and 100V, feature a +/-15% capacitance variation, and are rated for use in temperatures ranging from -55°C

Murata announced one of the world’s smallest HF-band RFID tags. Operating in the 13.56 MHz band also used by contactless IC cards, the LXMS33HCNG-134 tag measures just 3.2 × 3.2 × 0.7 mm. Compliant with ISO 15693 standard, the tag can be used with any reader / writer that conforms to the same standard.

The tag is suitable for use in most operating environments including high temperature and high humidity so it suits a wide range of appliance and object tracking, certification and authentication applications.

Normally, an RFID device requires an antenna and the IC tag and due to the frequencies involved the antenna tends to become

to +125°C. The series is also available with FLEXITERM® soft terminations, which allow for more than twice as much board flexure

as standard terminations and protect the electrical integrity from external forces. Lead time for the ESD-Safe™ MLC Chip series is 10 weeks.

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MURATA www.murata.eu

AVX www.avx.com

AVX exceeds 100V milestone with new high voltage tantalum polymer SMD capacitors AVX Corporation is now exceeding the 100V milestone - which is almost twice the rated voltage of similar products on the market today - with the introduction of its new high voltage TCJ series 6.8μF/100V (V case) and TCJ series 3.3μF/125V (D case) tantalum polymer SMD capacitors.

Following the award winning 50V TCJ series capacitor released in 2010 and the 63V and 75V versions launched only in spring 2012, the new components offer the benefits of great capacitance, high voltage, and low ESR technology in a small case size.

Maintaining 20% recommended voltage derating, TCJ series capacitors significantly extend the usable voltage range. This unique combination enables design engineers to replace up to two of the highest rated component values in this technology by just one component. AVX’s new

extremely large. However, by applying multi-layer circuit board and high-frequency module techniques, Murata has been able to incorporate the antenna within the ceramic substrate.

Using this approach, the LXMS33HCNG tag is extremely resistant to environmental conditional and is highly stable in operation. Read range, when used with a 200mW reader/ writer is typically 15 mm.

100V and 125V tantalum polymer capacitors will be available

from early 2013 with engineering samples already available upon request.

AVX www.avx.com

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Murata commences mass production of the world’s first 270 nH 0603 (EIA 0201) size chip inductor Murata today announced what is believed to be the world’s first 270nH chip inductor available in a 0603 (EIA 0201) sized package measuring 0.6 × 0.3 × 0.3 mm.

Extending the LQP series line-up

phones, cellular phones and other small portable wireless devices the production of such large inductor values have been possible by applying Murata’s unique microfabrication technol-

of ultra compact high frequency inductors that previously were available from 0.6 to 120 nH, the LQP03TN-02 series now adds inductance values from 150 to 270 nH. Specifically targeting high frequency circuits in smart

ogy and by revising the internal structure. Inductance deviation is within +/- 5% and the inductors have a high Q factor of 5.

MURATA www.murata.eu

PASSIVE COMPONENTS INDUSTRY NEWS

Rutronik presents: Littelfuse Varistor with UL1449 recognition TMOV34S Varistors from Littelfuse carry UL1449 recognition to 750VAC to protect circuits from abnormal overvoltage conditions. TMOV34S Varistor Series’ higher voltage range makes it an ideal solution for solar power inverter and high voltage

will open in the event of overheating due to abnormal overvoltage, limited current conditions. Some TMOV34S devices include a monitor lead, which may be connected to signaling circuitry to indicate if the MOV has been disconnected from the cir-

power supply applications. The Series is available at distributor Rutronik as of now.

Devices in the TMOV34S Varistor Series combine a 34mm-squareformat Varistor element (MOV) with high surge capability (up to 40kA) with an integrated thermally activated element. This element

cuit. Due to the close proximity of their integrated thermal element to the MOV body, they can offer quick thermal response in a far smaller component than solutions that rely on mechanical designs.

RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com

New generation of multi-anode and hermetically sealed SMD tantalum hi-rel capacitors from AVX enable payload reduction AVX Corporation has recently developed two new series of TES molded tantalum and TCH hermetically sealed SMD tantalum polymer hi-rel capacitors offering very low ESR, high capacitance and high voltage. The improved construction of the new capacitors allows the devices to be used for European aerospace applications and offers a significant payload reduction for power supplies.

Compared with existing tantalum devices for use in aerospace applications and manufactured in accordance with ESCC standards, new TES series SMD tantalum chip capacitors offer numerous downsizing options on the one hand and higher capacitance and lower ESR on the other hand. The devices have recently been EPPL2 listed according to the new ESCC specification ESCC3012/ 004. For E case sizes as per the ESCC specification a vertical multi-anode internal construction is being used to reduce the ESR down to 30mOhm. D case sizes use a ‘mir-

ror’ multianode design with the benefit of Equivalent Series Inductance (ESL) reduced to half.

TES series SMD tantalum chip capacitors are produced in AVX’s European Space Agency (ESA)

qualified manufacturing plant in Lanskroun, Czech Republic. Full QPL qualification is scheduled for the third quarter 2013.

AVX www.avx.com

NEW 183-219 MHz VCO FROM CRYSTEK CORPORATION

Murata extends line-up of high permissive current capacitor series aimed at automotive applications

Crystek's CVCO55FL-0183-0219 VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) operates from 183 MHz to 219 MHz with a control voltage range of 0.5V~4.5V. This VCO features a typical phase noise of -123 dBc/Hz @ 10KHz offset and has excellent linearity. Output power is typically +8.5 dBm. Engineered and manufactured in the USA, the model CVCO 55FL-0183-0219 is packaged in the industr y-standard 0.5-in. x 0.5-in. SMD package. Input voltage is 5 V, with a max. current consumption of 25 mA. Pulling and Pushing are minimized to 0.5 MHz and 0.5 MHz/V, respectively. Second harmonic suppression is -20 dBc typical.

Murata today announced line-up additions to its EVC series of high permissive current capacitors aimed at automotive applications. Three new multilayer monolithic ceramic capacitors products have been designed for the power electronics market.

These surface mounting capacitors, measuring 16 × 20 mm and having an EIA U2J temperature characteristic offering an operating temperature range from -55°C to +125°C. An absolute maximum case temperature of +150°C is permitted for a short duration.

The additions to the EVC series are 1.2uF / 500 VDC, 300 nF /

The CVCO55FL-0183-0219 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.

Family datasheets are available for download at the web page www.crystek.com CRYSTEK www.crystek.com

1kV and 100 nF / 1.4 kV. The maximum allowable current, at 100 kHz, is 30 Amps (RMS).

Typical applications for the EVC series include use as a smoothing

or snubber capacitor for inverter/converter applications or as a resonance capacitor for a wireless charging system.

MURATA www.murata.eu

www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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SMT INDUSTRY NEWS

Fully automated product changeovers In a joint project the Danish company Danfoss Power Electronics A/S, in Hasselager, Denmark, and SIPLACE realized fully automated product changeovers and nonstop setup changes on the company’s SMT lines. Groundbreaking: controlled by the barcodes on the PCBs moving through the line – consisting of five highflexibility SIPLACE SX2 placement machines – each machine switches placement programs and conveyor widths as needed. By combining SIPLACE software options with innovative setup concepts, a nonstop SMT production was created, featuring random feeder

setup. The Danish maker of frequency inverters and power electronics thus invests in process reliability, flexibility and speed in order to guarantee to customers

in the future delivery times lower than 24 hours – despite an everrising product range.

ASM ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS www.siplace.com

Nordson DAGE’s XD7500VR Jade FP Named Best Asian Product by Global Technology Award Program Nordson DAGE announces that it has been awarded a 2012 Global Technology Award in the category of Best Asian Product for its XD7500VR Jade FP X-ray Inspection System. The Nordson DAGE XD7500VR Jade FP X-ray inspection system uses the latest technology flat panel detector to provide the market-leading, cost effective approach where high quality real-time imaging is needed for production tasks. This outstanding system utilizes its superior Flat Panel detector to quickly capture images with low noise at high gray scale depth resulting in crisper, faster imaging so providing

the production operator with optimum throughput for decisions on acceptable product quality.

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CyberOptics Corporation announces that it has been awarded the Best Emerging Exhibit of the Year 2012 China East and China South

by SMTA China for its all-new advanced SPI system – the SE500ULTRA™. The awards recognize the best products at NEPCON China and NEPCON South China as judged by the highly regarded Technical Advisory Committee of SMTA China.

Experience a new dimension to Solder Paste Inspection with the SE500ULTRA™ system that has been designed to deliver the best of everything: high speed, more accurate and repeatable solder paste inspection results, and a revamped software user experience.

Through intensive research, CyberOptics has developed an all-new, improved ultra-fast sensor that, combined with a unique ‘all-in-one’ scan algorithm, makes the SE500ULTRA™ 30 percent

faster than any of its predecessor SPI systems.

Plus, with its optimized direction sense, scanning on the SE500ULTRA™ is more efficient with lesser number of swaths required, which also means much less board height tracking and

vibration effects. All these improvements mean that users now can achieve up to 210cm2/sec inspection speed at 30μm resolution.

CYBEROPTICS www.cyberoptics.com

The Daily Search for New Ideas and Solutions

NORDSON www.nordson.com

VisionMaster Changes the Game with New Benchtop SPI System VisionMaster, Inc. introduces A500, the best benchtop SPI system in world. Fully automatic, the system is set-and-forget SPI for monitoring and tweaking your solder paste printing process.

The A500 is unbelievably easyto-use. Simply open a Gerber file and select the components that need to be measured by dragging the mouse. With a single click, the system takes over, automatically finding fiducials, identifying pads and filing away height and volume data for each pad.

Color-coded pads on the Gerber

CyberOptics Bags the Best Emerging Exhibit of the Year 2012 Award for its SE500ULTRA™ SPI System

data show pads outside the thresholds in real-time.

VISIONMASTER www.visionmasterinc.com

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Within only a few years, PPElektronix has become one of the leading electronics manufacturers in Poland. Maintaining a continuous high quality level has made its name known throughout Europe, America and Asia. By using production machines from Essemtec, Switzerland, PPElektronix can provide a highly flexible full service.

Inventing new ideas and solutions to satisfy customer needs is a continuous challenge for technicians working for PPElektronix. The company, based in Lublin, Poland, offers custom, high-quality electronics manufacturing services, combined with comprehensive component management and testing. PP-Elektronix is a dynamic team of specialists, most of them educated at the Faculty of Electronics at the Technical University of Lublin and many of them working for the company since its founding nine years ago.

When Piotr Policha founded PPElektronix in 2003, he already

had many years of experience in electronics manufacturing. He focused on the assembly of products that other manufacturers could not or did not want to do. Manual productions of unusual or highly complex boards were his market niche. In the beginning, these services

were offered only to small- to mid-size enterprises in the Lublin region. But the quality of PPElektronix was outstanding compared to others and, as a result, the company grew quickly, winning customers from all over Poland, Germany, the United States and even Japan.

ESSEMTEC www.essemtec.com

SMT INDUSTRY NEWS

AIM Solder Products Now Available through Online Leader Stanley Supply and Services AIM Solder has teamed with the electronic manufacture supply leader Stanley Supply and Services to offer AIM’s advanced solder products online. The partnership provides solder customers greater capabilities than ever before due to Stanley’s online vendor managed inventory programs, nationwide supply capabilities, and an e-commerce procurement system that can simplify the supply chain. Stanley also provides knowledgeable customer support, easy ordering and account management, same day shipping, an online knowledge base, and also international and government sales. AIM’s solder line includes surface mount epoxy, SN100C lead-free bar solder, water-soluble and no-clean wire solder, water-soluble and noclean solder paste, flux, and more.

“The availability of AIM Solder products on Stanley’s Web site is a definite advantage for multi-site

customers offering material continuity with volume discounts,” said Tim O’Neill, Northeast Regional Manager.

Stanley Supply and Services has been a leading supplier of products for the electronic manufacture and assembly industry for more than 50 years and also is known for Jensen Tools. To view AIM’s solder line on Stanley Supply and Services site, visit www.stanleysupplyservices.com and type AIM in the search box.

AIM www.aimsolder.com

OK International Debuts Metcal’s MX-5200 Dual Simultaneous Rework Series International announced the launch of the new Metcal MX5200 Soldering, Desoldering and Rework Series, offering the same increased productivity and process control as the MX-5000 Series, now with dualsimultaneous ports.

The MX-5200 now features a dual simultaneous use option, meaning that two hand-pieces can work from one power supply at the same time. The dynamic option enables the two hand-pieces to share 80 watts output power based on demand, adding even more application flexibility and speed.

Supporting the MX-5200 Series simultaneous dual operation are four different hand-pieces and a

comprehensive range of soldering and rework cartridges.

These include the Metcal Advanced™ Hand-Piece for SMD rework, a Metcal Ultra-Fine™ Hand-Piece for fine access, a

Precision Tweezer capable of removing a range of components from 0201 chips to 28 mm SOICs, and a Desoldering Gun for safely removing through-hole components.

OK INTERNATIONAL www.okinternational.com

SENSORS DESIGN

MEMS sensors Industrial applications requiring a fine touch MEMS sensors have already established themselves in mobile phones, tablets and so on. But these tiny sensors can provide more safety, more security, more convenience, more comfort and less power consumption in industrial, medical and home appliance applications too.

Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) combine logic elements and micromechanical structure on a single chip. Tiny measurement sensors measuring thousandths of a millimetre such as springs, bars, weights or diaphragms are etched directly into the silicon layer and can detect linear acceleration, rotational speed, pressure or sound. The weak signals are processed or amplified by the integrated electronics and delivered via an analogue or digital interface. MEMS have made many innovative applications possible – as acceleration sensors, as gyroscopes and microphones with tiny dimensions. They were pioneered by the consumer, mobile communications and automotive markets. They were the first to recognise the uses of MEMS sensors, be it for consoles that allowed users to participate in the Olympic Games in the comfort of their living room, in mobile phones that react to movement, in cameras for image stabilisation, or in airbags and ESP in cars.

In light of this, the global market for MEMS is growing constantly, currently by around one billion dollars a year. Global MEMS market leader Bosch sold one billion units in the thirteen years between 1995 and 2008, with the second billion taking just three years.

STMicroelectronics is also pleased to have experienced such a sudden rise – in 2011, the company grew its MEMS sensor revenues by an enormous 80%, primarily in the consumer and mobile sector, and is thus now among the market leaders in this segment.

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EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

The experience gathered here is something that the company would now like to use in other markets. There's more than enough potential – MEMS sensors open up entirely new applications practically everywhere and can make existing applications more convenient, safer, more secure and more energy efficient, or even add new features to stand out from the competition. The revolution that occurred in the mobile phone market is yet to occur.

More operating comfort A promising field of use is that of humanmachine interfaces (HMI). This is where the experience from use in mobile phones can be exploited, with the tap and double-tap functions simply copied over. A type of HMI can also be implemented with voice control, with mobile phones demonstrating the opportunities – iPhone users can already use 'Siri' to man-

age their appointments or emails. Such voice recognition and control technology is also made possible using MEMS microphones in other devices, such as navigation systems. These combine small sizes with high audio quality and robustness. These benefits are also provided in hand-free kits or conferencing systems – without any additional costs. Omron, for example, offers MEMS microphones in the price bracket as traditional electret condenser microphones (ECM), but are more reliable and more robust.

ST designs its MEMS microphones with a unique plastic packaging that enables slender form factors and a longer life than conventional metal designs. The highest quality MEMS microphone from ST, the SNR model, is also suitable for applications with stricter requirements than consumer applications, for example in phonometers and sound-level meters, which require a high dynamic range.

Data from a Bosch Sensortec BMP085 / BMP180 pressure sensor during a lift transport

SENSORS DESIGN

More safety Rotational speed sensors are an example of how safety is being improved in drills. They detect the speed of the drill as soon as the drill

do not register movement within the certain time period. STMicroelectronics and Bosch Sensortec offer first-class products for applications such as these. The LIS3DH (STMicro-

Schematic diagram of a fill level gauge using an LPS331AP MEMS pressure sensor from STMicroelectronics gets stuck in concrete and ensure that it is shut down. Acceleration sensors make 'free-fall detection' possible, which is used predominantly at present in laptop hard disks. If the sensor registers that it is in free fall, it ensures that the write and read head does not crash into the disk, but rather is retracted in good time. This principle can be equally applied to a chainsaw or crane remote control, in order to make the device safe using an emergency shutoff system if it ends up in free fall.

The acceleration sensors detect even the smallest movements and vibrations, meaning that oil and gas pipelines or vending machines can be protected simply and effectively against vandalism and valuable items can be protected against theft. Machines can be checked to determine if they are working correctly by detecting their vibrations.

Barometrics MEMS pressure sensors are capable of measuring altitude differences to a precision of 25cm. Unless satellite-based tracking systems, which do not work in closed environments due to poor or no reception, these enable applications such as indoor navigation in shopping centres or car parks. These measure the air pressure, which can be used to determine the altitude and thus the storey.

They are also used in navigation systems, for example to locate a vehicle in a multi-storey car pack. During fire brigade and police operations, MEMS pressure sensors can even help to save lives by locating accident victims in buildings.

electronics) and BMA250 (Bosch Sensortec) triaxial MEMS acceleration sensors are primarily recommended for use in mobile devices, because both are very energy efficient and small.

The LIS3DH consumes only 2μA of power in ultra-low power mode, while the Bosch model requires less than 5μA in low-power mode. Its dimensions of 3 × 3 × 1mm (LIS3DH) or 2 × 2 × 0.95mm (BMA250) are ideal for applications where space is a commodity. Both sensors supply values to ± 2g, ± 4g, ± 8g and ±16g precision via programmable measurement ranges with a sensitivity of 1mg/digit with the LIS3DH and 256LSB/g with the BMA250 in the 2g range. Their digital resolution is 12-bit or 11bit respectively, the typical zero-g offset during the entire service life is ± 40mg for the ST model and ± 80mg for the Bosch model.

The BMA250 acceleration sensor from Bosch Sensortec uses little power and is small in size.

The LIS3DH acceleration sensor from ST consumes only 2 μA of power in ultra-low power mode.

More efficiency If a machine switches off immediately when it is not working properly, this also increases their energy efficiency. This can be further optimised by combining multiple sensors. In a washing machine, for example, pressure sensors can measure the fill level and acceleration sensors can detect vibrations, thus enabling the machine to be controlled optimally in accordance with needs. Motion sensors enable devices such as remote controls, lamps or audio systems to be switched off automatically if they www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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SENSORS DESIGN

For mobile devices, intelligent power management, free-fall recognition and the step counter function are also of interest. For HMI applications, the sensors provide the means to adapt the display and provide tap/double-tap control. They also support gaming and virtual reality functionality. Both manufacturers offer software and hardware tools for initial testing with a user-friendly GUI. These provide a clear means to adjust and test settings and copy them later one-to-one into the application.

Both ST and Bosch provide programming boards and software with application programming interfaces (API).

More mobility The various sensor types should not be considered in isolation, however. By combining them, they provide applications with a huge number of 'senses' that are almost identical to those of a human being. Acceleration sensors combined with gyroscopes, for example, are capable of generating complex movement profiles. Both sensors are also available in a single module, for example in the LSM303DLC from STMicroelectronics. In just 4 × 5 × 1mm, this module contains the LIS3DH tri-axial acceleration sensor and the L3GD20 tri-axial gyroscope. This offers a full measurement scale of ±250dps to ±2000dps and has a programmable interrupt.

MEMS sensors or modules enable remote monitoring of patients or elderly people without limiting their movement. For example, if they fall, a nurse can be alarmed immediately, and mentally handicapped people who have got lost can be found again. Occupational

therapy, training for sportspeople and medicine dosages can also be fine-tuned to a specific movement profile and thus be designed to achieve greater effect. In blood pressure gauges, the sensor can check the position of the arm, thereby ensuring that they provide a correct measurement when used at home. In stock breeding, the sensor can be used to specifically measure out the amount of feed concentrate depending on how much the animal moves.

More degrees of freedom Sensor modules that combine a larger number of sensor types offer even more degrees of freedom (DoF). With their comparatively low sizes, they are primarily suited to space-critical applications. The most popular combinations at present are acceleration, gyroscope and compass sensors. STMicroelectronics recently presented a multi-sensor module with nine degrees of freedom. The iNEMO M1 integrates a 6-axis geomagnetic field sensor, a tri-

axial gyroscope and the 32-bit STM32 microcontroller together with special software – and this with a compact size of just 13x13x2mm. It can be used to fully detect and process linear acceleration values, angular velocities, free-fall acceleration and direction, meaning that direction, position and movement can be detected precisely. The sensor fusion software combines the output signals of all sensors, while prediction algorithms and filter algorithms automatically correct distortions and inaccuracies in the measurements. This is how the module achieves a higher degree of realism in gaming application, humanmachine interfaces, robots and portable navigation devices, as well as patient monitoring.

Making use of the abundant opportunities The example show that the applications and opportunities provided by MEMS sensors are practically infinite. For developers that wish to use them for their application, however, they do also pose a challenge, because it is not always clear to begin with which sensor type would best serve their goals. A broad range of different models and manufacturers on offer ensures that your perspective is not obscured at the beginning of the development process.

Rutronik maintains the by far most extensive range of sensors and MEMS sensors with innovative products from renowned manufacturers. The right solution can be created for every requirement using this broad palette. n www.rutronik.com/sensors

PaPIRs – Another Eco Idea from Panasonic With its latest innovation in Panasonic Passive InfraRed sensors (PaPIRs), Panasonic Electric Works has realized yet another eco idea.

With a height of just 6mm (silicon lens type) or 9.7mm (polyethylene lens type) and power consumption as low as 1μA, PaPIRs can be mounted anywhere, inconspicuously controlling your motion sensing applications and saving energy. The unique, flat silicon lens has an aperture of just 3mm, yet motion can be sensed at angles of 58° horizontally and 34° vertically. The slightly larger polyethylene lens type can sense

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motion at angles of 94° horizontally and 80° vertically!

PaPIRs are available in three price classes: • the high-end A series with exceptional design and electrical

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

characteristics • the B series with slightly larger dimensions • the moderately priced C series You can select current consumption from 1μA, 2μA, 6μA or 170μA

depending on your application needs. The standard detection distance for the silicon lens model is 3m and for the polyethylene lens type 5m, but the sensing distance can be increased up to 12m using the long-distance lens!

Despite their miniature size and low profile, PaPIRs incorporate the best features of existing NaPiOn sensors such as an integrated amplifier and digital signal processing, which prevent erroneous switching caused by extraneous electromagnetic fields.

O’BOYLE www.oboyle.ro

SENSORS DESIGN

Remote Sensors Powered by RF Harvesting

by Jason Tollefson, Product Marketing Manager, Microchip Technology Energy Capture Sources of energy, such as light, wind, temperature, vibration, radio waves and even PH have been converted to usable energy but the challenge is how to convert the tiny amount of energy generated to perform a useful function, such as reliably powering an environmental sensor.

Figure 1 shows a variety of these energy harvesting methods.

An examination of the power

scheduled basis or on demand. A rechargeable battery or super capacitor can store the converted RF energy for operation during the peak periods.

Selecting a Low-Power Component A convenient and reliable power source is just the start; a proper system design is needed to maximize performance with the tiny amount of energy provided. This

Figure 1: Power Density of Energy Harvesting Methods Source: The Journal of Technology Studies

budget holds the key, together with the harvested source and the components. RF energy can be obtained from ambient energy or controlled by the use of a dedicated transmitter. Devices using RF harvesting can be untethered and work in almost any environment.

RF as a Power Source RF energy can be harvested from sources such as broadcast TV and radio stations, mobile phones and base stations, and transmitters in unlicensed bands including 915MHz, 868MHz or 2.4GHz, making it commercially viable worldwide. RF does not depend on the time of day or require exposure to heat or wind, and can be moved freely within the range of the transmission source. Energy can transmitted continuously, on a

can be addressed by either using extremely low power components or implementing power balancing.

The trend for lower-power electronic components is fueled by consumer demand for portable products, and has delivered new low power microcontrollers, analog, radios and communication protocols that complement RF harvesting. Low power consumption levels are standard on Microcontrollers. Microchip’s PIC24F with eXtreme Low Power (XLP) technology consumes only 20nA while sleeping, and can execute code with currents as low as 8μA. Analog components and a radio are required to complete an environmental sensor.

The radio stretches the powerbudget because of the protocol used and the Transmit/Receive

(Tx / Rx) current. New radios have started to address the issue, and now feature receive currents as low as 3mA, which helps to reduce power consumption, but the wireless communications protocol remains the driving factor.

Balancing Power Long execution times and bloated wireless protocols will consume the power budget when working with the tiny amounts of power generated by energy harvesting.

The key reduction is to select a protocol that allows for scaling functionality. Microchip’s MiWi™ protocol allows for minimalist implementation, with radio transmission times driven as low as 5 ms. Power management through charge-based execution and state-of-charge monitoring will deliver further improvements.

Power is cut off completely from the sensor system in charge-based execution. When the RF harvester has collected enough energy the device consumes zero power while replenishing the energy reservoir.

Figure 2: Advantages of RF Energy Harvesting The frequency of the sensor’s execution is dependent upon the rate of charge to the reservoir. This is impacted by distance to the RF source, the receiving antenna, and obstructions such as walls, which works well when the sensor is located such that the frequency of sensor operation is fitted to the needs of the overall system. To avoid flooding the network with unnecessary packets the RF har-

vester can also use the received signal strength (RSSI) as a mechanism for controlling the rate of data transmissions.

If the RF harvester is charging a battery, a microcontroller can be used to monitor the length of the charging cycle and estimate the state of charge. It can then calculate the run-time based on what sensor operations are performed by recording the current consumed during the various parts of the sensor operation. For example, the sensor node might consume 100μA when measuring the sensor’s output, and 20mA during the radio transmission of that data. The microcontroller can use this information to estimate the charge that will be depleted each time one of these functions is completed. The state of charge is thus found in the comparison between charging and depleting.

This method can taper off the frequency of sensor transmissions, based upon state of charge and can even call for help, by transmitting a message to the RF power source to send more power.

Energy Harvesting: The Practical Solution RF harvesting is a viable option for a wide range of applications with proven technology providing a platform for prototyping new products. Battery powered sensors can be replaced with a selection of components and power balancing.

RF harvesting is a practical option providing control of the source and the ability to operate in any environment, which may also drive RF harvesting to the mainstream.

RF harvesting is the first proven and reliable option; it meets environmental regulations and CSR requirements, makes economic sense and avoids being at the mercy of the sun, wind or unpredictable temperature conditions. n www.microchip.com

www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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SENSORS DESIGN

New Products - AUTOMATION TEST THE BEST - C44

RELIABLE SWITCHING IN ROUGH ENVIRONMENTS PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The new C44 from Contrinex offers enhanced performance, reliability and flexibility at an extraordinary price performance ratio. The active face is mountable in five directions, giving you the freedom to adapt the sensor to your application and not the other way round.

• Highly flexible sensor solution; • Suitable for rough environments, IP 69K impervious; • High switching frequencies; • Changeover outputs; • Rotatable active face; • 100 % compatibility with Pepperl + Fuchs mounting systems and easy interchangeability.

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY To reach the high automation degree needed in modern automotive factories, flowless processes are of utmost importance.

C44 offers enhanced sensing technology enclosed in a rugged industry standard housing that not only ensures process stability but also lasts in these rough conditions. Its flexibility helps you solve various applications.

• Reliable switching; • Quick and tool-free installation; • 4 indication LEDs; • Active face is mountable in five directions.

AUTOMATED MATERIALS HANDLING Automated materials handling systems improve efficiency, which enables logistics systems to respond quickly and efficiently to plant and customer requirements. To ensure all this, a reliable, robust and flexible sensing solution is needed.

• Reliable and cost-effective sensing solution; • Quick and tool-free installation; • Long operating distances.

AMUSEMENT RIDES Amusement rides make children’s dreams come true. To realize these dreams safely a lot of technology is needed. Reliable sensing devices play a major role in controlling positions and delivering accurate information to ensure safe operation.

Reliability, robustness and a long lifetime are required independently of the environmental influences.

• Resistant to environmental influences IP 69K; • Temperature range from -25°C to +85°C; • Active face mountable in five directions.

Tel. +40 256-201346 Fax +40 0256-221036

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Mail office@oboyle.ro Web www.oboyle.ro

SENSORS DESIGN

Leuze n n n

Optical sensors Sensors for logistic applications Safety at work

Contrinex n n

Optical Sensors Inductive Sensors

ASM n n n

Westec

Linear Sensors Angle Sensors Tilt Sensors

n n n

Selec n n n

HTP

PLCs Temperature Controller Timer

n n n n

Sensor Instruments n n n

Color Sensors True Color Sensors, Spectrometers Gloss Sensors

Kobold n n n

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 ww.oboyle.ro

Intertec

Flowmeters Level Indicators and Switches Pressure Sensors and Switches

n n

Linear Solenoids Permanent Electromagnets

AUTOMATION AEQ microswitches from Panasonic the most energy-efficient way to reliably switch low level loads Nowadays, energy efficiency and caring for our natural resources is on everyone's mind.

With the AEQ series switches, optimized specifically to handle low level loads in the ÎźA range, Panasonic Electric Works presents another trend-setting, environmentally friendly product.

A newly developed contact system primarily differentiates the Panasonic AEQ series from conventional ultraminiature switches.

Sliding contacts mean the contact force does not depend on the actuating path but rather ensure a stable and even contact force

across the entire actuating area.

This innovative sliding contact system also guarantees bounce less operation.

Over travel of 2.2mm on the NO

side and 2.5mm on the NC side enables a high degree of tolerance during the design phase and hence makes the switch attractive for a wide variety of applications.

In comparison to conventional microswitches, the AEQ series can reliably switch loads that are lower by a factor of 10.

A switching capacity range from 0.1mA/3V DC to 100mA/30V DC is guaranteed, opening up new dimensions for developing energy-efficient applications.

An IP40 degree of protection allows this switch to be implemented in all kinds of applications, from household appliances to safety applications to measurement technology.

O’BOYLE www.oboyle.ro

www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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CONNECTORS INDUSTRY NEWS

SUYIN's new HD D-Sub socket – appreciating the “little things” in life By employing sophisticated design and production techniques, SUYIN has again succeeded in further reducing the width and length of its female D-sub connectors. Its 070546XR015 XX69XX model is a 15-position, right-angle high-density (HD) Dsub socket with extremely compact dimensions of just 20.6 mm × 10.9 mm (L × D). This reversed-type three-row Dsub connector is designed for through-hole reflow (THR) mounting using a pin in paste soldering process. Two soldering tags attached to the sides provide extra stability for anchoring on the PCB; they ensure a sturdy hold, even when high insertion and removal forces are applied. The number of mating cycles is specified at 5,000.

Other technical specifications for this compact D-sub socket are a contact rating of 250VDC/0.5A per pin, a low contact resistance of 50mΩ (max.), an insulation

resistance of 1,000MΩ (min., initial) and an operating temperature range from –40°C to + 105°C. This lead-free, HD D-sub socket is specified in accordance with UL94V0 and is available in the colours black, blue and grey. They are supplied in reel packaging with placement caps. SUYIN offers

them beginning at order volumes of 80,000 pieces per year, and – of course – provides small batches to help you launch your project.

Customer-specific adaptations are available upon request.

SUYIN www.suyin-europe.com

SUYIN – Custom tailoring for connectors SUYIN’s primary strength lies in its ability to adapt connectors to meet its customers’ exact requirements as well as the needs of the given application in terms of form and function. To do this, SUYIN – as a Taiwanese company with production locations and development teams in China, but with technical support, service, sales and logistics teams based in Germany for its European customers – draws on both standardized subcomponents and on the tremendous expertise that it has developed in recent decades in areas such as industrial, automotive and communications applications.

A good example for the design rule that “form follows function” can be seen in a RJ45 jack with a housing that has been adapted to match the product design precisely. This right-angle, surfacemount RJ45 jack with high-quality 8P/8C contacts (S1 to S6 with 5 μm to 50 μm gold plating over 30 μm nickel) is housed in a shielded plastic housing that has been

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nicely rounded to match the design specifications. In accordance with another of the customer-specific specifications, mounting on the printed circuit board can be countersunk by 1.92 mm. Two side-mounted soldering tabs ensure an ideal fix on the PCB. All of the other technical specifications for the temperature range, dielectric strength,

number of mating cycles, insertion and removal forces, plating, and many other characteristics also match the requirements defined by the customer or by the relevant state-of-the-art standards.

SUYIN www.suyin-europe.com

EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

Convenient Combination Here is a solution that many of those who develop telecommunications and networking products for use in industrial and data processing technology as well as for a broad spectrum of other applications have been waiting for: In the form of its 030183MHFG4M565ZA product, SUYIN is offering a highly compact connector that brings together an RJ45 jack and two Type-A USB receptacles to meet the needs of complex applications. This female connector, which has been designed for through-hole mounting and offers a total of 18 + 14 terminals, is fitted with contacts featuring 10 μm to 50 μm gold plating over 50 μm nickel plating, and it has overall dimensions (L×W×H) of 27.30 mm × 18.80 mm × 30.96 mm. The RJ45 jack (8P/8C) is equipped with eight transmit/ receive filters (transformer modules) as well as two high-luminosity LEDs (green/ orange and yellow). During transmission of 10/100/ 1000 Base-T signals, the insertion loss is specif ied at between 1MHz to 125MHz at 1.2dB (min.) and the commonmode rejection as well as the crosstalk are specified as being

within the range of 1MHz to 100MHz, both at -30dB (min.).

The dual USB-A jack complies with the USB 3.0 standard and offers an insulation resistance of 1000MΩ (min.) with a dielectric strength of 750VAC. Sophisticated shielding measures protect this complex component against electromagnetic interference. Custom variants with or without filters and with modified wiring diagrams are available upon request – as well as custom specific platings.

SUYIN www.suyin-europe.com

QPL approved MIL-DTL-38999 Series III connectors from ITT ICS are assembled on short lead times At Electronica 2012 ITT Inter-connect Solutions presented its complete range of MIL-DTL-38999 series III connectors. ITT’s advances in design and engineering have enabled a redesign of its D38999 offering which introduces product improvements, achieves faster assembly times and reduces costs.

The established market leader in hi-rel D38999 specification military interconnects; ITT ICS is also the only connector company to have been awarded silver status in the ADS SC21 supply chain initiative for aerospace, defence and security companies. The QPL-approved MIL-DTL-38999 Series III connector range utilises new elastomer technologies for even greater reliability, ensuring environmental sealing throughout the entire connector system.

Cavity identifiers are black laser-

marked on the white grommets which provides easy identification for assembly accuracy and reduced assembly rework. Fewer internal parts and simplified connector construction have resulted in faster and easier final assembly.

As well as QPL-qualified Cadmium olive-drab and silver Nickel platings, ITT also offers RoHS-compliant platings specifically for the European market.

ITT INTERCONNECT SOLUTIONS www.ittcannon.com

CONNECTORS INDUSTRY NEWS

Keeping a low profile with SUYIN Mobile communications have evolved over the past 20 years and have led to new, complex applications. Initially, SIM cards were only used for security and identification on the network.

Today they perform many everyday tasks. Users can make payments with a SIM card or use it as a ticket. It is even possible to securely download multimedia files or perform online banking transactions. SUYIN is now presenting the 33ZL version from its 254070FB series, an 8-pin SIM card reader for mobile phones, notebook computers, navigation and other mobile applications.

This new card connector features a low mounting height of 1.73 mm and a push-push mechanism that makes it easy to use. It has a footprint of 19.3 mm × 26.65 mm (L × W) and a standard-mount design.

In addition, the connector is equipped with a switch that reliably detects whether or not a card is currently inserted. Four soldering tags attached to the sides ensure high stability for anchoring on the PCB. The card connector’s

operating life is specified at up to 5,000 mating cycles. Further technical specifications include an operating temperature range between –40°C and +85°C and a maximum initial contact resistance of 100mΩ at the connector contacts. This card connector is configured for a maximum of 10VDC and 0.5A per pin.

Key specifications at a glance: Connector type: Low-profile SIM card connector with user-friendly push-push mechanism Number of contacts: 8-pin Dimensions: 19.3×26.65×1.73 (L×W×H mm) Part number 254070FB009XX33ZL SUYIN www.suyin-europe.com

Hi-Rel just got smaller – new 1.25mm connectors from Harwin suit demanding applications Harwin has introduced a new high-reliability connector family based on a 1.25mm pitch. Named Gecko, the new connectors have benefited from Harwin’s exceptional track record of manufacturing high-reliability connectors for safety-critical applications.

Harwin’s low profile G125 series connectors are designed to offer high performance in a miniature package. The 1.25mm pin spacing results in a 35% space saving over other highperformance connectors such as Micro-D. The connectors are rated to handle 2A per contact.

Tested and proven to allow high performance in extreme conditions, the G125 family can operate within a wide temperature range (-65 to +150°C) and under extreme vibration (Z axis 100g 6m/s). This high performance is made possible by Harwin’s four-

finger patented Copper Alloy contact. Offering up to 50 contacts per connector and available in dual row cable-to-board and board-to-board configurations, Gecko family connectors include

a wealth of features including polarization points that prevent mis-mating, easy identification of the No 1 position for fast visual inspection and optional latches that allow simple and fast delatching that requires no special tooling.

HARWIN www.harwin.com

New Zero Insertion Force Quad Lock Connector for diagnostic and imaging medical equipment from ITT Cannon ITT Cannon has recently released a new Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) Quad Lock Connector (QLC) for use in medical imaging and diagnostic equipment. The device is an industry first which achieves a reduction in interconnect packaging whilst accommodating robust performance requirements and functional enhancements such as press-fit. Reducing the spacing from the standard DL line to 0.8mm made it possible for ITT ICS’ engineers to design the ZIF QLC portable connector system with a full 260 pin configuration and a reduced package size - it is up to 65% smaller than existing DL products and competitive QLC products currently on the market.

This enables customers to achieve a drastic reduction in the overall size of diagnostic equipment. The high pin count of 260 positions offers multiple channel options and makes improvements to

image resolution possible at the design stage, which will ultimately result in enhanced diagnostic functionality. The ZIF QLC connector system exceeds 20,000 mating cycles - an industry “best in class”. Utilizing two 130 pin PCB surface mount connectors makes the Zero Insertion Force Quad

Lock Connector more flexible in customer PCB designs. The component incorporates a patented and unique extended insulator to secure the four locking pins and more than double the connection retention force.

ITT INTERCONNECT SOLUTIONS www.ittcannon.com

New composite MIL-DTL-38999 series III connector from ITT Interconnect Solutions reduces aircraft weight ITT Interconnect Solutions has developed a new composite connector specifically for the aerospace market. Today’s military and commercial aerospace manufacturers are under continual pressure to reduce the weight of operational aircraft and lightweight components can play a key role in achieving this. Consequently, many OEM’s are migrating from aluminium to lightweight composite materials for all components. Suitable for both commercial and military aircraft, the new MILDTL 38999 series III composite connector is engineered using advanced materials and techniques coupled with ITT’s thirty years of proven interconnect design expertise.

Marketed under the ITT Cannon brand, the new MIL-DTL-38999 series III composite connector is on average 30% lighter than

equivalent standard aluminium interconnects. Full advantage has been taken of recent improvements in the qualified ‘KJB’ design, which include part standardisation plus faster and easier assembly.

Qualified operational temperature range for Class J is -65°C up to +175°C, and for Class M -65°C up

to +200°C. Suitable applications include commercial and military aircraft, avionics systems and unmanned aerospace vehicles.

ITT INTERCONNECT SOLUTIONS www.ittcannon.com

www.epd-ee.eu | November, 2012 | EP&Dee

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KITs INDUSTRY NEWS

Kemo Electronic can offer unassambled kits (the package contains: PCB, electronic parts, assembly instructions) and assambled modules (ready to use in its application) Gas Sensor - Spirits tester This instrument indicates gases such as alcohol, acetone, benzole, propane, carbon monoxide (contained in the smoke of fire). Perfect as alarm for gases and fire.

Ultrasonic proximity sensor An LED lights up if a body approaches the ultrasonic sensors at a distance of 10 - 80cm (depending on the size of the body). Use: parking-in assistance for cars in garages, alarm signal for persons or animals staying in a certain area. Operating voltage: 9 - 12 V/DC. The device works according to the same principle as the ultrasonic echo ranging of bats!

Temperature switch 12 V/DC Switches according to a preset temperature (-30°C to +150°C) a relay on or off. Ideal as thermostat, ice alarm, fire detector, etc

Infrared light barrier 4 m Ready assembled infrared light barrier with transmitter and receiver. Range: more than 4 metres. When people walk through the light barrier quickly, a relay switches on, in a time of 0,5 - 7 sec. It does not react on short interruption (example: insects) or on very long interruptions (example: slow walking). Thus it is possible to switch on a bell, counter or lamp or the like for this period.

PWM Power control 9-28 V/DC, max. 10 A Power control to control direct current loads (motors, lamps, heatings, LEDs with protective resistors, etc.). Electric motors start well also at low revolution speeds because of the employed PWM (pulse width) modulation

Stepper motor driver 6 Pin A stepper motor with 6 connections can be operated at this module. It is possible to change the direction of rotation of the motor. The number of revolutions of the motor can also be adjusted from ca. 2 - 1000Hz (impulse

O’BOYLE www.oboyle.ro

Group Publisher Director Gabriel Neagu Managing Director Ionela Ganea Accounting Ioana Paraschiv Advertisement Irina Ganea WEB Eugen Vărzaru © 2012 by Eurostandard Press 2000

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EP&Dee | November, 2012 | www.epd-ee.eu

sequence). For motors from 5 - 12Volt, max. 2A. The operating voltage of the module depends on the operating voltage of the motor (5 12Volt). Furthermore a potentiometer 1M linear and a switch 2 × change over are necessary for operation. These parts are not included.

The module works without computer and can only control the direction of rotation and the number of revolutions of the motor. A controlled program flow is not possible!

Contributing editors Robert Berger 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 8 times per year in 2012 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 2012 by Euro Standard Press 2000 s.r.l. All rights reserved.