Photorelay targets industrial use with 40 to 100V control range

Toshiba Electronics Europe has added the TLP241B high-current photorelay to its optoelectronics portfolio. The 100V rated device comes in a compact DIP4 package and covers a wide control range. It is intended for use in industrial equipment, such as programmable logic controllers and I/O interfaces, as well as building automation systems such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Toshiba says the TLP241B, which incorporates Toshiba’s U-MOS mosfets, is the first photorelay device to have an off-state output terminal voltage spanning from 40V to 100V which means it can replace larger scale electro-mechanical relays. A non-contact optical arrangement, rather than moving parts, helps to extend operational lifespan, reduce system complexity and provide a more rapid response.

The device has an on-state current rating of 2A (continuous) and 6A (pulsed). It also offers 5kV isolation capabilities, making them suitable for applications that require reinforced insulation, with an operating temperature range between -40 degrees C and 110 degrees C. Housed in a DIP4 package, gull wing options are available to aid surface mounting.

Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH (TEE) is the European electronic components business of Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation (Toshiba). TEE offers European consumers and businesses a variety of hard disk drive products plus semiconductor solutions for automotive, industrial, Internet of Things, motion control, telecoms, networking, consumer and white goods applications.

Along with hard disk drive products, the company provides power semiconductors and other discrete devices ranging from diodes to logic ICs, optical semiconductors, as well as microcontrollers and application specific standard products.

http://www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com

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Renesas RF microcontrollers are supported by Segger

Development tools, embedded software and production tools for the entire Renesas RE microcontroller family are available from Segger Microcontroller.

According to the company, the support makes firmware development for the Arm-based Renesas RE microcontrollers fast and easy.

Segger’s Embedded Studio integrated development environment (IDE) includes an optimised run-time library and the company’s own compiler and linker to generate small and efficient application code.

The J-Link debug probe offers the fastest flash download, including an unlimited number of breakpoints in flash memory, claims the company.

Application software includes an RTOS and communication, security, GUI and IoT software designed in-house, specifically for embedded systems. Segger’s system verification tool, SystemView, reveals the true runtime behaviour of the application. On completion of development, Segger’s Flasher series of production programmers can be used for mass production.

Trial versions of the software are available. Segger’s technical team and ecosystem offer support throughout the development process.

The power efficient Renesas RE family microcontrollers, combined with the low resource usage of Segger software, minimises – and sometimes even removes  – the need to recharge or replace batteries. This efficiency is particularly useful for home and building automation, smart farming and factory applications as well as for a range of medical devices and wearable applications.

Segger Microcontroller has over 25 years’ experience in embedded computer systems, and produces software libraries, and offers software tools and hardware tools for development and production.

Its software libraries include communication, security, data compression and storage and user interface software.

The company’s range of software libraries and tools for embedded system development are optimised for the requirements imposed by resource-constrained embedded systems.

The company was founded by Rolf Segger in 1992. It is privately held and has a US office in the Boston area, branch operations in Silicon Valley and the UK, and distributors on most continents.

Segger software is not covered by an open-source or required-attribution license and can be integrated in any commercial or proprietary product, without the obligation to disclose the combined source.

http://www.segger.com

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DRAM modules for FPGAs are first industrial grade versions

Innodisk claims that its industrial-grade DRAM modules are the first available in the industry. The rugged modules are for FPGAs and provide wide temperature support for artificial intelligence and IoT applications.

FPGAs can be used for inference in embedded, edge computing, AI, and IoT applications. Customisable FPGAs offer greater performance with lower power consumption than general purpose graphics processing units (GPUs) and are more flexible for adjustment in the field than ASICs, explains Innodisk.

“We expect this to be a game-changer that can roll with the tide of AI,” said Samson Chang, global DRAM vice president of Innodisk. “Industrial-grade DRAM is key to the integration of FPGAs in applications like AI and [industrial IoT] IIoT,” he added.

The $5.9 billion FPGA market is expected to see a 7.6 per cent average annual growth rate over the next five years, fuelled primarily by increased AI and IoT adoption, Innodisk reports.

Chang said the Innodisk‘s DRAM modules provide “large capacity, low-latency memory access for FPGAs”. The industrial-grade DRAM modules for FPGAs include single or dual rank formats for high capacity applications. The DRAM modules has a -40 to +85 degrees C temperature tolerance, to surpass JEDEC standards. They also feature anti-sulphuration to guard silver alloys against sulphur corrosion and HumiSeal conformal coating to protect from dust, dirt, and corrosion. They also have side fill technology to bolster chip-to-PCB solder joints.

Innodisk provides flash memory, DRAM modules, and embedded peripheral products for industrial and enterprise applications.

https://www.innodisk.com

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Fujitsu 5G radio units use Xilinx UltraScale+

Fujitsu has developed its O-RAN 5G radio units (O-RUs) using UltraScale+ technology by Xilinx. Fujitsu O-RUs will be deployed in the first O-RAN-compliant 5G green field networks in the US.

Fujitsu O-RUs are suitable for a range of spectrum and multi-band applications for 5G O-RAN networks. The Xilinx UltraScale+ devices used in Fujitsu O-RUs were selected for a balance of cost economies as well as the adaptability and scalability required for the evolving needs of 5G O-RAN network requirements, says Xilinx. The adapting computing company will work with other O-RAN ecosystem partners to ensure continued validation of the hardware and software necessary for 5G networks.

“Our design team worked closely with Xilinx on our O-RAN radio units to enable greater flexibility and cost savings while also delivering greater innovation as well as new capabilities for 5G networks,” said Masaki Taniguchi, senior vice president and head of the Mobile System Business Unit at Fujitsu.

The first greenfield 5G O-RAN systems will be deployed this year.

Fujitsu is also evaluating Xilinx RFSoC technology to further reduce cost and power consumption for additional future site deployments.

Xilinx develops flexible and adaptive processing platforms that enable rapid innovation across a variety of technologies – from the cloud, to the edge, to the endpoint.

It is the inventor of the FPGA and Adaptive SoCs (including the Adaptive Compute Acceleration Platform, or ACAP), designed to deliver the dynamic computing technology. Xilinx collaborates with customers to create scalable, differentiated and intelligent solutions that enable the adaptable, intelligent and connected world of the future.

http://www.xilinx.com

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