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STMicroelectronics reveals single-chip antenna-matching ICs for easier, faster design with Bluetooth LE SoCs and microcontrollers

Tue, Feb 07, 2023

STMicroelectronics has extended its range of single-chip antenna-matching ICs that simplify RF-circuit design with two new devices optimised for BlueNRG-LPS system-on-chip ICs (SoCs) and STM32WB1x and STM32WB5x wireless microcontrollers.

The MLPF-NRG-01D3 for BlueNRG-LPS and MLPF-WB-02D3 for STM32WB integrate the complete filtering and impedance-matching network needed for best RF output power and receiver sensitivity with an external antenna. Each has 50Ohm nominal impedance on the antenna side. The chip-scale package has a minuscule footprint, 0.4mm bump pitch and a profile of only 630micro after reflow soldering. Also featuring a 2.4GHz low-pass filter, ST’s antenna-matching ICs ease compliance with worldwide radio regulations, including FCC, ETSI, and ARIB specifications.

The circuit elements are fabricated on a glass substrate leveraging ST’s integrated passive device (IPD) technology, which, the company claimed, minimises insertion losses and outperforms circuits built with discrete components. Integration on the same die is said to ensure consistent component parameters for end-product quality. In addition, ST’s IPDs help accelerate time to market, reduce bill-of-materials costs and miniaturise circuit dimensions.

The BlueNRG-LP and Blue NRG-LPS SoCs and STM32WB1x and STM32WB5x contain ST’s energy-efficient 2.4GHz radio IP and come with royalty-free protocol stacks and dedicated software tools. They help developers quickly design state-of-the-art wireless products, even without having extensive RF-design skills. Both provide on-chip features such as memory, peripherals, communication interfaces, power regulation and advanced hardware security including encryption, memory protection and public key acceleration (PKA).

BlueNRG-LPx SoCs can be used in standalone or network processor applications and support Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 features including point-to-point and mesh communications, advertising extensions and direction finding.

The MLPF-NRG-01D3 IPD is compatible with all variants, comprising the BLUENRG-3x5Vx, BLUENRG-3x5Ax and BLUENRG-332xx in UFQFPN and WLCSP packages.

The STM32WB5x and STM32WB1x MCUs are Bluetooth 5.3, Zigbee 3.0 and OpenThread certified and feature an Arm Cortex-M4 core for application processing with a Cortex-M0+ dedicated to managing the radio. They are available in WLCSP and UFBGA packages that connect directly to the MLPF-WB-02D3 IPD. A different IPD is available for other MCU variants in UQFN and VQFN packages.

The MLPF-NRG-01D3 and MLPF-WB-02D3 single-chip antenna-matching ICs are available from $0.14 for orders of 1,000 pieces.

https://www.st.com/

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Display Technology offers Cervoz’s Power Guard SSDs

Mon, Feb 06, 2023

Four solid state devices (SSDs) manufactured by Cervoz are now available form Display Technology. The storage devices provide extra power protection during sudden outages, making them suitable for a range of applications such as industrial automation, transportation, edge computing and data centres.

The Power Guard SSDs have a power protection system (Power Guard) which ensures data integrity and continuity of operation even in the event of power loss.

They are available with a range of capacities and form factors and are easy to integrate into existing systems, said Display Technology. The models available are the R336, M336, T376 and T436. The R336, M336 and T376 are equipped with a SATA III interface. The T436 has an additional PCIe Gen 3×4 interface which provides even faster data transfer speeds.

Form factors are 2.5-inch SATA and mSATA for the R336, 2.5-inch SATA, mSATA and M.2 2280 for the M336, and T376 and M.2 2280 for the T436 model.

Display Technology specialises in displays and embedded computing. Established in 2001, Display Technology became part of the Fortec Elektronik AG Group in 2016. The group acquired Components Bureau in 2018.

The Fortec Group has an R&D department developing new products in Germany, and an engineering team at four production facilities, adding value to TFTs whether it’s by simply adding a touch screen, to building a complete finished monitor.

http://www.displaytechnology.co.uk

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Moxa releases MIL3 with IEC 62443-4-2 certified host device

Mon, Feb 06, 2023

An industrial computer from Moxa, the MIL3 (Moxa Industrial Linux 3) has what is claimed to be the first IEC 62443-4-2 certified host device, the UC-8200 series Arm-based computers.

IEC 62443-4-2 certification ensures that the 40mm thin UC-8200 industrial computers provide a secure Linux platform that integrates a suite of secure-by-design hardware and software features to protect IIoT data and infrastructure against cyberthreats.

“Moxa’s UC-8200 Series, running on the MIL3 platform, is the world’s first host device to attain ISA/IEC 62442-4-2 certification,” said Pascal LeRay, head of cybersecurity at Bureau Veritas (BV), the certification body that issued the ISASecure CSA Security Level 2 certification for the UC-8200 Series.

IEC 62443 universal standards for industrial control and information security have become mandatory technical requirements in many countries, he added. Many customers require proof of security level from manufacturers for their industrial IoT equipment and the IEC 62443-4-2 certified UC-8200 computers makes it easier for asset owners and system integrators to integrate IIoT applications by providing a secure platform that has already been tested and validated, observed George Y Hsiao, product manager of Moxa IPC Business. The certification saves asset owners and system integrators spending time testing and validating the security of the computing platform and its components before integrating their applications. While this process is necessary to ensure the overall security of the IIoT system, it can be time-consuming, Hsiao continued.

The UC-8200 Series computer comes with a security-hardening guide to help maintain the security of the computer throughout its entire lifecycle, from integration and installation to operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. It also includes a security diagnostics utility, which allows customers to confirm that the UC-8200 Series computer remains compliant with IEC 62443-4-2 during the integration stage.

The UC-8200 Series computer incorporates a one-time programmable (OTP) fuse and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 technology to establish a hardware-based chain of trust that safeguards the secure boot process and software updates. This blocks hackers from taking control of the device during boot time and prevents malicious updates from being used for malware exploitation.

Device availability is critical in industrial automation and control systems (IACS). The MIL3 is equipped with quick backup and restore utilities, as well as automated system recovery features based on an overlay file system architecture. This helps to reduce downtime in the event of a security breach, process failure, and file corruption, such as a power outage during a critical update, explained Moxa.

MCM (Moxa Connect Manager) optimises local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) availability by automatically switching between Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and LTE connections. This can minimise downtime caused by network unavailability or DOS attacks.

Moxa provides long-term after-sales support and Debian-based distributions with 10-year life cycles to support UC-8200-equipped systems, including security patches, bug fixes, and access to its Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT), which protects Moxa products from cybersecurity vulnerabilities and effectively mitigate and manage security risks.

Other features include host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) and network security monitoring, optional built-in cellular and additional Mini PCI Express (mPCIe) slot for Wi-Fi modules.

http://www.moxa-europe.com

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Multi-channel LED driver addresses RGB and single colour solid state lighting

Fri, Feb 03, 2023

A linear current LED driver, the AL5887, offers a simple way of driving numerous LEDs to enable complex colour mixing and different lighting patterns, said Diodes. It integrates two interface options (I2C and SPI) for system design flexibility. It delivers a wide colour range and an extensive dynamic range of brightness levels, making it suitable for use in smart home appliances, electric vehicle charging stations, infotainment displays, IoT information indicators, and computing hardware.

The AL5887 has 36 independent programmable channels and can drive up to 12 RGB LED modules or 36 single-colour emitters. It features an internal 12-bit pulse-width modulation (PWM) for colour and 6-bit analogue brightness control, which can be accessed through either the SPI or I2C interface.

There are three programmable banks for software control of each colour for ease of programming and setting lighting module patterns. An independent colour-mixing and brightness register per channel enables better colour-mixing schemes, said Diodes. The dimming function relies on a PWM duty cycle from three to 100 per cent. Once the duty cycle goes below three per cent, internal circuitry converts the output to analogue dimming, maintaining linearity. By combining PWM and analogue dimming functions, a dimming ratio greater than 100K to 1 can be achieved.

The AL5887’s diagnostics with fault-reporting functions are combined with built-in protection capabilities, which include short-circuit and open-LED protection, as well as over-temperature shutdown. The pre-event over-temperature shutdown warning also results in earlier system protection.

Using the two external hardware address pins, up to four of these devices can be connected together in I2C mode. An internal 16MHz oscillator avoids the need for an external high-precision clock and therefore reduces the bill of materials (BoM) cost.

The AL5887 LED driver is supplied in a 52-pin wettable QFN package, with exposed pad for better heat dissipation.

http://www.diodes.com

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STMicroelectronics reveals single-chip antenna-matching ICs for easier, faster design with Bluetooth LE SoCs and microcontrollers

Display Technology offers Cervoz’s Power Guard SSDs

Moxa releases MIL3 with IEC 62443-4-2 certified host device

Multi-channel LED driver addresses RGB and single colour solid state lighting

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