ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 147 of 230

Bluetooth 5.0 for RE microcontroller uses SOTB for energy harvesting

Fri, Mar 26, 2021

The latest member of Renesas Electronics’ RE family of microcontroller is the RE01B, which has Bluetooth 5.0 support. The 32-bit low power microcontroller was developed using Renesas’ SOTB (Silicon on Thin Buried Oxide) process technology.

The Bluetooth-capable RE01B is suitable for energy harvesting systems and intelligent IoT devices that operate constantly at extremely low power levels without having to replace or recharge batteries. The RE01B microcontroller makes it easier to implement regular data management and firmware updates over Bluetooth while maintaining low power consumption, which extends the battery life.

The on-chip energy harvesting control circuit (rapid start up capacitor charging and secondary battery charge protection functionality) allows users to achieve battery-less Bluetooth communication. Energy harvesting and power storage can be directly connected to the RE01B.

The microcontroller is suitable for compact healthcare devices such as pulse oximeters and biomedical sensor patches, remote controls with voice recognition capabilities and smart meter modules. RE01B can also be used for IoT devices that require constant operation, period data collection and updates, such as devices for monitoring the elderly, children or assets in transit.

The RE01B is built around the Arm Cortex-M0+ core and Renesas’ proprietary SOTB process technology. It operates at a maximum operating frequency of 64MHz and achieves current consumption as low as 35 microA/MHz during operation and 600nA during standby; this is among the lowest in the industry for a Bluetooth-capable microcontroller, says Renesas. It can also be combined with Renesas’ ISL9123 ultra-low Iq DC/DC converter, configured as an external step-down regulator, to reduce current consumption during operation down to 15 microA/MHz to improve power efficiency.

It has 1.5Mbyte flash memory and 256Kbyte SRAM with Bluetooth functionality, suitable for over the air (OTA) firmware updating.

The RE01B is in a 64-pin QFN package measuring 8.0 x 8.0mm.

Security function include Trusted Secure IP and Renesas offers application programming interfaces (APIs) conforming to standard protocols, such as heart rate profile (HRP), environment sensing profile (ESP), and automation I/O profile (AIOP), in addition to Bluetooth 5.0 protocol stack.

Development tools for the RE family, include a QE for Bluetooth Low Energy, which generates programs for custom Bluetooth profiles that can then be integrated into the user’s own application programs, and a Bluetooth test tool suite, which provides a graphical user interface that allows users to perform initial wireless characteristics evaluations and Bluetooth functionality verification.

The RE01B is available now. The EB-RE01B evaluation kit from Tessera Technology is also available now.

http://www.renesas.com

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u-blox increases accessibility with L1/L5 timing modules and antenna

Fri, Mar 26, 2021

Multi-band, timing modules which concurrently support the L1 and L5 GNSS (global navigation satellite system) signals have been released by u-blox. The ZED-F9T-10B and LEA-F9T-10B timing modules, and the RCB-F9T-1 timing card deliver the nanosecond-level timing accuracy required to synchronise cellular network base stations and smart power grids.

Furthermore, the ANN MB1 L1/L5 multi-band antenna can be used to evaluate the performance of the timing modules and develop high precision for heavy machinery, ground robotics, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The timing modules’ multi-band capability allows them to compensate the ionosphere error from all GNSS satellite constellations and reduce the timing error under clear skies to less than five nanoseconds without the need for an external GNSS correction service. To achieve maximum performance, the modules track signals from as many satellites as possible.

The L1/L5 signal combination complements u-blox’s existing portfolio based on L1 and L2 signals, and are timely as satellite constellations transmitting signals on the L5 band near completion. Modernised L5 signals are expected to deliver improved performance, especially in difficult urban conditions. The L5 signals fall within the protected aeronautical radio navigation service (ARNS) frequency band and are also less subject to RF interference.

The LEA-F9T-10B module has an extended -40 to +105 degree C temperature range. U-blox says it will enable robust products that leverage these new signals in the L5 frequency band to be developed.

In addition to offering a differential timing mode for highly accurate local timing, the modules include improved anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technologies to detect and flag malicious RF interference. There is also a secure boot function and secure interfaces which prevent intruders from tampering with the messages between the receiver and the host system. There is also time-receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (T-RAIM) which provides highest-level timing integrity, says u-blox.

The u-blox ANN-MB1 L1/L5 multi-band antenna supports the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou GNSS constellations. It simplifies the testing and deployment of L1/L5 multi-band GNSS solutions, says u-blox. It is available in magnetic and fixed mounting options.

In addition to tracking GNSS signals in the L1 and L5 bands, ANN-MB1 targets developers in industrial navigation and robotics developing precision technology to locate UAVs, ground robots, and agricultural equipment accurately and in real time.

Engineering samples of the u-blox ZED-F9T-10B, RCB-F9T-1, and ANN-MB1 will be available in May 2021, followed by the LEA-F9T-10B.

http://www.u-blox.com

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Renesas addresses network synchronisation for 4G/5G radio

Wed, Mar 24, 2021

Communication timing options from Renesas Electronics now include three low phase noise, high frequency RF timing devices for 4G and 5G radio. The 8V19N850 radio synchroniser and 8V19N880, 8V19N882 JESD204B/C clock jitter attenuators deliver ITU-T-compliant network clock synchronisation. They are also claimed to have best-in-class phase noise and high clock frequency.

The 8V19N850 radio synchroniser is claimed to be the industry’s first integrated 5G radio synchronisation device. It is equipped with a complete set of features for radio synchronisation on a single chip, including full ITU-T G.8273.2 T-BC/T-TSC Class C, ITU-T G.8262.1 enhanced SyncE, and JESD204B/C compliance. The 8V19N850 also takes care of recovering the clock from CPRI/eCPRI, per IEEE 802.1cm front haul synchronisation requirements, making it suitable for use in emerging 5G O-RAN networks for radio units (O-RU).

The 8V19N880 and 8V19N882 JESD204B/C clock jitter attenuators deliver low phase noise. They offer jitter performance as low as 74fs RMS and -90dB spurious attenuation for mission-critical industrial data converter applications in wireless radio, test and measurement, instrumentation, and high performance imaging. They support frequencies up to 3932.16MHz (up to 6GHz with an external VCO) and feature 16 and 18 integrated differential outputs with low power consumption and 1.8V support.

The devices are also featured in Renesas’ two Winning Combinations, designed to address increasing demand for higher bandwidth for cellular services. The Small Cell Radio and MIMO Radio Combinations use mutually compatible devices for lower risk and faster time to market. They also showcase the combined benefits of the new RF timing ICs paired with Renesas’ complementary microcontroller and power management offerings to accelerate solution design.

The 8V19N850, 8V19N880 and 8V19N882 RF timing ICs are available now.

Renesas Electronics delivers semiconductors that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. Its portfolio includes microcontrollers, analogue, power, and SoC products, for a broad range of automotive, industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT applications.

http://www.renesas.com

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Laser driver IC family is optimised for AR

Wed, Mar 24, 2021

Augmented reality (AR), robotics, drones, 3D sensing, gaming and autonomous vehicles uses time of flight (ToF) lidar systems. Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) latest GaN IC is the EPC21603 laser driver which has been added to the eToF laser driver IC family.

The GaN IC laser driver integrates a 40V, 10A FET with a gate driver and low-voltage differential signalling (LVDS) logic level input in a single chip for time-of-flight lidar systems.

The EPC21603 laser driver is controlled using LVDS logic and is capable of very high frequencies exceeding 100MHz and super short pulses (less than two nanoseconds) to modulate laser driving currents up to 10A. The bus is rated at 30V. The EPC21603 is a single-chip driver plus eGaN FET. Based on EPC’s proprietary GaN IC technology, it is delivered in a chip-scale BGA form factor that measures just 1.5 x 1.0mm. The LVDS logic control allows the eToF laser driver IC to be controlled from an FPGA for applications where noise immunity is critical, such as AR, pointed out EPC.

Among the benefits of integrated devices packaged in a single chip are ease of design, ease of layout and assembly as well as space savings and increased efficiency, while costs are reduced, advised EPC.

The EPC21603 and the previously announced EPC21601 make up EPC’s family of GaN ICs. Commenting on the potential for the GaN ICs in ToF lidar systems, Alex Lidow, CEO, and co-founder of EPC, said: “This new family of GaN integrated circuits will continue to expand to higher currents, higher voltages, as well as furthering integration of additional control and logic features on a single chip.”

The EPC9156 development board features the EPC21603 eToF laser driver IC. It is primarily intended to drive laser diodes with short, high current pulses.

The EPC21603 eToF laser drive IC and the accompanying EPC9156 development board are available now for immediate delivery from Digi-Key.

http://www.epc-co.com

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Bluetooth 5.0 for RE microcontroller uses SOTB for energy harvesting

u-blox increases accessibility with L1/L5 timing modules and antenna

Renesas addresses network synchronisation for 4G/5G radio

Laser driver IC family is optimised for AR

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