ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 109 of 227

Real time clock modules cut current consumption by 30 per cent

Mon, Jan 03, 2022

Compact real time clock (RTC) modules from Seiko Epson have current consumption that is reduced by 30 per cent compared to earlier modules from the company. They also have an increased number of events – 32 – that can be recorded by the time stamp function.

The RX8901CE and RX4901CE RTC modules for industrial applications feature a built-in digital temperature compensated crystal oscillator (DTCXO). Package dimensions are 3.2 x 2.5 x 1.0mm (max) which makes them the smallest RTC modules from the company.

The RX8901CE supports an I2C-bus interface and the RX4901CE supports an SPI-bus interface. They are designed for timekeeping in electronic systems which need a small form factor and low current consumption, for example, IoT devices, click-charge systems, security equipment, industrial systems.

Accurate tracking of time and date information is also needed in equipment that is installed in vehicles, outdoors, and other environments where systems are exposed to ambient temperature extremes. In addition, there is greater need for security to prevent information leaks caused by unauthorised product modification and tampering. Intrusions must be detected at all times despite the device’s low current consumption, advises Seiko Epson, which has increased demand for devices that consume less current and remain frequency-stable over a wider operating temperature range.

The RX8901CE and RX4901CE consume 0.24 microA (typical), which is 30 per cent less than the 0.35 microA (typical) consumed by the RX8804CE (an earlier equivalent Epson RTC module).

The number of time stamp records that can be kept has expanded from one to a maximum of 32. Epson also added an SPI-Bus interface, offered alongside the original I2C-Bus interface.

Epson individually adjusts and guarantees the timekeeping accuracy of modules at the factory. This renders adjustment of timekeeping accuracy unnecessary and helps to increase design efficiency and quality.

The RX8901CE and RX4901CE RTC modules are sampling now and are intended for use in smart meters and security equipment, as well as in factory automation equipment and other small electronic products.

https://www5.epsondevice.com/en

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Intel updates oneAPI tookits for cross-architecture capabilities

Thu, Dec 23, 2021

Enhanced oneAPI 2022 toolkits expand cross-architecture features to provide developers greater architectural choice to accelerate computing, says Intel.

New capabilities include what is claimed to be the world’s first unified compiler implementing C++, SYCL and Fortran, data parallel Python for CPUs and GPUs, advanced accelerator performance modelling and tuning, and performance acceleration for AI and ray tracing visualisation workloads.

The 2022 Intel oneAPI toolkits benefit from over 900 new and enhanced features, added over the course of this year. Included in the foundational and domain-specific toolkits are compilers, libraries, pre-optimised frameworks, analysers and debuggers.

One highlight is cross-architecture programming. Intel’s unified compiler implements C++, SYCL and Fortran for CPUs and GPUs utilising a common LLVM back end.

Another new feature is accelerated compute on CPUs and GPUs for the most popular programming language today, Python.

The Intel DPC++ compatibility tool has been improved to automatically migrate 90 to 95 per cent of CUDA code to SYCL/DPC++.

Intel oneAPI Toolkits are optimised to enable advanced features of the latest and upcoming new hardware, including 12th Gen Intel Core processors with AVX-VNNI, Next Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, codenamed Sapphire Rapids with Intel Advanced Matrix Extension (Intel AMX), and upcoming Xe client and data centre GPUs.

For AI, the deep learning framework performance has been accelerated up to 10 times over earlier versions with the latest Intel Optimization for TensorFlow and Intel Optimization for PyTorch.3

This edition also introduces the Intel Extension for Scikit-learn which speeds up machine learning algorithms more than 100 times on Intel CPUs over the stock open source version.

Another new feature is the Intel Neural Compressor which is designed to achieve increased inference performance through post-training optimisation techniques across multiple deep learning frameworks.

Advanced tools for development productivity include performance analysis for CPUs and accelerators. This includes Intel VTune Profiler’s flame graph display which helps improve the ability to visualise performance hot spots. Another tools is Intel Advisor’s accelerator performance modelling which allows developers to estimate performance benefits of offloading to a GPU before making code changes.

Advanced ray tracing has new features including cone telemetry, auxiliary feature denoising and FP16 support and there is also support future Intel Xe GPUs and real-time denoising to improve final frame, production-quality rendering.

Expanded development environment support includes deeper Microsoft Visual Studio Code integration, support for Microsoft Visual Studio 2022, and Microsoft WSL2 for Linux development on Windows.

Foundational and domain-specific toolkits are now available to download or use in the Intel DevCloud, free of charge.

The oneAPI cross-architecture programming model provides developers with tools to improve the productivity and velocity of code development when building cross-architecture applications.

An Evans Data survey reported that 40 per cent of developers target heterogeneous systems that use more than one type of processor, processor core or coprocessor. Developers can use oneAPI to choose the best hardware for a given solution without having to implement proprietary programming models, says Intel.

http://www.intel.com

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Actuator and sensor control MCUs bring automotive control to the edge

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

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

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Surface mount flyback converter ICs increase reliability says Rohm

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

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

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Real time clock modules cut current consumption by 30 per cent

Intel updates oneAPI tookits for cross-architecture capabilities

Actuator and sensor control MCUs bring automotive control to the edge

Surface mount flyback converter ICs increase reliability says Rohm

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