Actuator and sensor control MCUs bring automotive control to the edge 

Two microcontrollers (MCUs) released by Renesas Electronics are designed for automotive actuator and sensor control applications. The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 have been added to the RL78 family of low power, 16-bit MCUs. The company says that, with these additions, the automotive portfolio offers customers reliable, high-performance devices for systems ranging from actuators to zone control. 

Electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture is extending to include zone and domain control applications. This means control mechanisms have to evolve to accommodate body control for automotive systems such as lights, windows, and mirrors, motor control for engine pumps and fans and multiple sensor control. In future, high-speed and secure connectivity with zone and domain controllers will be mission critical for edge electronic control units (ECUs), advises Renesas. The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs support the CAN FD high speed communication protocol (RL78/F24) and EVITA-Light security. They are also optimised for systems targeting ASIL-B levels under the ISO 26262 functional safety standard.

Using the actuator and sensor control MCUs enables developers to reuse most of their existing software assets, says Reneas, which reduces costs, yet still advances E/E architecture.

The future of automotive systems design lies in a vehicle-centralised, zone-oriented E/E architecture, the company maintains. This trend is creating higher demand for more advanced functionality and better performance in actuator controller applications. The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs deliver up to approximately 70 per cent faster operating frequencies than the previous generation, which can more than double the performance in brushless DC (DLDC) motor control applications.

The hardware accelerator and timer functions for motor control have also been enhanced and a 12-bit ADC has been added.

The RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs have an operating frequency of 40MHz, on-chip flash memory capacity of 128 or 256kbytes and operate at temperatures up to 150 degrees C.

The MCUs support a selection of connectivity interfaces, including CAN FD (RL78/F24), LIN, SPI, and I2C. For security, there is support for EVITA-Light and for AES-128/192/256 encryption algorithms.

The additions to the RL78 family are pin-compatible and have the same energy efficiency.

Renesas also offers an RL78/F24 target board and is developing an RL78/F24 12V motor control evaluation system starter kit.

Sampling of the RL78/F24 and RL78/F23 MCUs will be available starting April 2022, with mass production scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023. 

https://www.renesas.com

> Read More

Surface mount flyback converter ICs increase reliability says Rohm

AC/DC flyback converter ICs with an integrated 730V breakdown MOSFET make up the BM2P06xMF-Z series by Rohm. The BM2P060MF-Z, BM2P061MF-Z and BM2P063MF-Z are suitable for auxiliary power supply and switch mode power supplies for industrial drives as well as home appliances (including air conditioners and white goods), as well as for factory automation equipment. The flyback ICs require no additional heatsinks and no discharge resistors and capacitors. According to Rohm, they help designers to shorten design time, simplify the circuitry, reduce costs and increase reliability by offering integrated designs.

AC/DC converters for home and industrial use must not only support 85 to 264V AC to accommodate different AC voltages around the world, but must also comply with international standards such as Energy Star and the IEC 62368 safety standard. It is also important for AC/DC converter ICs to be surface mount to reduce factory mounting costs. High heat / high loss DMOSFETs and planar MOSFETs are still widely used in AC/DC converter ICs, however, because it has been difficult to provide tens of Watts of output power in a surface mount package. Rohm has developed the compact, surface mount, high power 45W models with an original low-loss SJ (Super Junction) MOSFET and optimised PWM control circuitry. 

Adopting a surface mount package supports automatic board mounting (which was previously difficult to do in the past) and the implemented functions ensure compliance with the IEC62368 safety standard, even when the discharge resistor (a source of loss during standby) is removed. 

Original low standby power control technology is applied for extremely low standby power consumption, reports Rohm. Supply voltages up to 60V (VCC) are also supported which eliminates the need for an external step-down power supply circuit.

According to Rohm, the converters reduce standby power by over 90 per cent compared to general products with equivalent performance, and reduce the number of power supply circuit components by four, contributing to greater power savings and higher reliability.

Suitable applications are consumer electronics such as air conditioners, appliances, monitors, and hair dryers, industrial equipment including inverters, AC servos, routers and office automation devices and AC/DC converters up to 45W output in consumer and industrial applications.

The BM2P06xMF-Z AC/DC converters are sampling now, with mass production scheduled for January. There is also an evaluation board available. The converters and board are available for purchase through online distributors Digi-Key, Mouser, and Farnell.

http://www.rohm.com

> Read More

Relec adds two more medically approved open frame AC/DC converters

The LOF450 and LOF550 have been added to Mornsun’s LOF series of medical and industry standard power supplies. They are available from Relec Electronics in industry standard packages and on short lead times.  

The two medical approved models expand the LOF series of very high power density, open frame AC/DC converters by Mornsun. The whole series of low cost, reliable AC/DC converters is characterised by its thermal design, meeting the latest regulatory standards and availability on very short lead times.

The new LOF450 series has a universal AC input of 90 to 264V AC and accepts 127 to 373V DC input. Output ranges from 12 to 48V. 

The 450W AC/DC converters operate at -40 to +70 degrees C and measure 127 x 76.2 x 38.5mm (5.0 x 3.0 x 1.5 inches) making them suitable for use in confined spaces. 

Models in the 550W LOF550 series have the same universal input and output ranges and temperature range. Dimensions are 127 x 76.2 x 38.5mm (5.0 x 3.0 x 1.6 inch).

Both the LOF450 and LOF550 series have double or reinforced insulation, EMC and safety performance, says Relec. In addition to meeting IEC/EN/UL62368, GB4943, IEC/EN60335, IEC/EN61558, IEC/EN/ES60601, they are EN60601 2xMOPP and UL/EN62368-1-approved.

Target applications are industrial, LED, street lighting control, electricity, security, telecommunications, ‘smart home’ and medical environments.

The open frame models in both series are also available as perforated case (-C) or perforated case with integrated fan (-CF) models. 

Relec Electronics is a specialist in power conversion and display products, representing leading brand names including Mornsun in power conversion alongside Bel Power, Chinfa, Cotek and Premium with key display partners, Digiwise and RockTouch. 

For over 40 years, Relec Electronics has worked closely with key suppliers and specialises in a wide range of industry sectors, including automotive, industrial, transportation, instrumentation and defence. 

A team of dedicated engineers is ready to support customers throughout the design process. 

The company carries stock of all standard modules and accessories for next day delivery.

Relec’s team of specialist advisers can refine an initial specification for a given application to include bespoke features to meet the needs of a particular design or project.

In December 2020, Relec Electronics became been a UK subsidiary of Gresham Worldwide.

http://www.relec.co.uk

> Read More

ClockMatrix network synchroniser reduces jitter on optical networks 

The second generation of ClockMatrix devices from Renesas Electronics build on the earlier synchronisers and jitter attenuators released by the company for 5G wireless and 100/200Gbits per second wireline network applications. The ClockMatrix 2 family of high-performance, precision, multi-channel timing devices are intended for 400/800Gbits per second optical transport and wireline network applications. They also improve on performance with phase jitter as low as 88fs rms.

The integrated devices provide all the functionality needed to implement an IEEE1588 clock solution with jitter attenuation capabilities, says Renesas, resulting in low jitter clock outputs for synchronous Ethernet PHYs with data rates up to 112Gbps PAM-4. They are also claimed to reduce design complexity and bill of materials (BoM) requirements, while allowing customers to apply the timing devices to a wide variety of network applications. 

The industry’s move to 5G is pushing the limits of network speed and precision and raising the bar on clock jitter and synchronisation capabilities, observed Bobby Matinpour, vice president of the Timing Products division at Renesas. 

The integrated, six-channel precision timing source eliminates the need for additional jitter attenuators for high-speed interfaces. The 88fs-rms phase jitter on clock outputs supports low jitter clock outputs for high-speed serial links (up to 112Gbits per second PAM-4 PHYs). The ClockMatrix 2 also supports multiple standards and protocols including synchronous Ethernet (Sync-E), and IEEE1588 and adheres to G.8262.1 and G.8262 telecomms boundary clock requirements and G.8273.2 Class C and Class D time accuracy. 

The RC32614A ClockMatrix 2 system synchroniser is available now. Optional PTP Clock Manager software is also available free of charge under license for use with the RC32614. 

Renesas Electronics delivers embedded design with microcontrollers, analogue, power and SoC products for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications.

http://www.renesas.com

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration