ICs & Semiconductors

NFC reader IC delivers rapid car key response and extended range

Thu, May 28, 2020

STMicroelectronics says the latest addition to the ST25R NFC reader ICs deliver rapid car-key response and reliable connections over extended distances. The ST25R3920 complies to the recently published Digital Key Release 2.0 specification by the Car Connectivity Consortium and certified by NFC Forum.

Digital keys let drivers conveniently lock and unlock their cars using smartphones, and support added-value features including easy sharing and management of access privileges for other users. The keys could also enable new vehicle-ownership models, including car subscription services.

The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) Digital Key Release 2.0, relaying on NFC, offers the ability to use the key while the phone battery is so low that normal device operation is disabled.

The ST25R3920 uses Dynamic Power Output (DPO) and Noise-Suppression Receiver (NSR) technologies to increases RF output power and enhance input-circuit design for rapid car-key response, said STMicroelectronics.

With DPO, the device operates at up to 1.6W continuous RF output power and 2.5W short-term input peak, to maintain reliable NFC connections over distance with a small antenna. ST’s NSR technology increases immunity to interference from noise sources to simplify EMI and is also claimed to ease certification. Automatic antenna tuning compensates for changes in the RF environment to maintain the best possible connection to the user’s smartphone, while low-power key-signal detection with inductive wakeup minimises load on the battery when the key is not being used.

The ST25R3920 has been designed for space-constrained locations that severely limit the maximum antenna size, as a result in can be positioned in door handles, B-pillar, or centre console.

 The ST25R3920 supports the CCC Digital Key Standardization Release 2.0, the architecture endorsed by the world’s leading carmakers, smartphone manufacturers, and electronics suppliers. ST is a CCC member and plays a key role in setting NFC standards as a member of the NFC Forum board, various working groups, and ISO 14443 and ISO 15693 task forces.

The IC is also certified by NFC Forum and can work as an NFC reader or NFC universal device. Compliance with NFC Forum standards for pairing applications, as well as EMVCo 3.0 standards, allows its use as an in-car contactless-payment terminal for services such as electric-vehicle charging. In addition, a Qi wireless charging NFC-card protection algorithm enables safe wireless charging of portable devices.

The ST25R3920 is in production now.

http://www.st.com

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AI stack doubles performance for edge AI

Fri, May 22, 2020

For on-device AI processing at the edge, Lattice Semiconductor has introduced the sensAI 3.0, available on low power, 28nm FD-SOI-based Lattice CrossLink-NX FPGAs.

This latest version of the company’s stack features customised convolutional neural network (CNN) IP. This flexible accelerator IP simplifies the implementation of common CNN networks, explained Lattice, and is optimised to leverage the parallel processing capabilities of FPGAs. Adding support for CrossLink-NX FPGAs brings new levels of power and performance to smart vision applications in the surveillance/security, robotics, automotive and computing markets, said the company.

To address data security, latency and privacy issues, developers want to move the AI processing that powers their smart vision and other AI applications from the cloud to the edge. Most edge devices are battery-powered or sensitive to power consumption, so developers need hardware and software that deliver the processing capabilities needed for AI applications, while keeping power consumption as low as possible.

For applications like smart vision that require higher edge AI performance, CrossLink-NX FPGAs running sensAI software deliver twice the performance at half the power when compared to prior releases of the solutions stack, confirmed Lattice.

Updates to the NN compiler software tool let developers easily compile a trained NN model and download it to a CrossLink-NX FPGA.

A new feature for this version is a VGG-based object counting demo operating on a CrossLink-NX FPGA. It delivers 10 frames per second while consuming only 200mW. Object counting is used in smart vision applications that are used in the surveillance, security, industrial, automotive and robotics markets.

When running on a CrossLink-NX FPGA, the sensAI solutions stack offers up to 2.5Mbit of distributed memory and block RAM with additional DSP resources for efficient on-chip implementation of AI workloads, this reduces the need for cloud-based analytics.

Being manufactured in a 28nm FD-SOI process means that the CrossLink-NX FPGAs deliver a 75 per cent reduction in power, in comparison to similar, competing FPGAs, claims Lattice.

A target application for sensAI is smart vision, and CrossLink-NX devices are currently the only low-power FPGAs to deliver MIPI I/O speeds of up to 2.5Gbits per second to support components such as image sensors. This makes CrossLink-NX FPGAs a suitable hardware platform for sensAI applications requiring MIPI support. CrossLink-NX FPGA’s I/Os offer instant-on performance and are able to configure themselves in less than three milliseconds, with full-device configuration in as little as eight milliseconds.

There is also increased neural network architecture support in the form of support for the MobileNet v2, SSD, and ResNet models on the Lattice ECP5 family of general-purpose FPGAs.

Lattice Semiconductor specialises in low power programmable devices, working with customers across the network, from the edge to the cloud, in the communications, computing, industrial, automotive and consumer markets.

http://www.latticesemi.com

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DCM3717 targets data centres to deploy 48V for legacy 12V loads

Fri, May 22, 2020

Customers in data centre, automotive and industrial markets can quickly deploy high-performance 48V power delivery for legacy 12V loads while achieving significant power-system size, weight and efficiency benefits, using the DCM3717, says Vicor.

The regulated 48V to 12V converter operates from a 40 to 60V safety extra low voltage (SELV) input and is non-isolated. It provides a regulated output with a range of 10 to 13.5V, a continuous power rating of 750W and a peak efficiency of 97.3 per cent. It is provided in a surface mount converter in package (SM-ChiP) which measures 37 x 17 x 7.4mm.

The DCM3717 supports the recent Open Compute Project (OCP) Open Rack Standard V2.2 for distributed 48V server backplane architectures and the LV148 specification (48V automotive standard) for pure electric and hybrid vehicles. It also provides a regulated 48V to 12V option for downstream legacy 12V multiphase point of load (PoL) converters.

Customers who do not require regulation of the 12V supply can take advantage of the Vicor NBM2317, a 750W non-regulated 48V to 12V converter which is available in a smaller 23 x 17 x 7.4mm SM-ChiP. This has 40 per cent higher power density and higher efficiency at 97.5 per cent, said Vicor.

Vicor designs, develops, manufactures and markets modular power components and complete power systems based upon a portfolio of patented technologies.

Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, USA, Vicor sells its products to the power systems market, including enterprise and high-performance computing, industrial equipment and automation, telecommunications and network infrastructure, vehicles and transportation, aerospace and defence.

http://www.vicorpower.com

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NXP enhances Bluetooth microcontroller family

Tue, May 19, 2020

Bluetooth 5.0 long range capabilities and Bluetooth advertising channels have been added to NXP Semiconductors’ KW3x family of microcontrollers. The KW39, KW38 and KW37 microcontrollers extend the wireless microcontroller family.

They offer seamless migration with hardware, software and tools compatibility with the previous generation of devices, KW34, KW35 and KW36. The connectivity microcontrollers allow Bluetooth LE devices to communicate at distances of more than a mile and increase the amount of Bluetooth advertising channels and advertising data within the Bluetooth standard, says NXP.

The KW39, KW38 and KW37 wireless microcontrollers are designed with automotive and industry-grade hardware and software, along with robust serial communications with CAN-FD peripherals. They are suitable for automotive applications, such as keyless entry, sensors and wireless onboard diagnostic functions. They also enable industrial applications such as building control and monitoring, fire and safety, home and institutional healthcare, asset management and monitoring.

NXP claims that the KW39, KW38 and KW37 deliver best-in-class RF performance, with extreme RX sensitivity to allow for the long range Bluetooth LE connections. They achieve -105 dBM RX sensitivity with LE-coded 125kbits per second data rate, for example, allowing for connections in harsh environments and at extended distances. The radio supports up to eight simultaneous secure connections in any master/slave combination, allowing multiple authorised users to communicate with the device. The microcontroller’s data stream buffer allows the capture of radio parameters without stalling processor or DMA operations, enabling high-accuracy measurements needed for distance and angle approximations.

NXP’s MCUXpresso tool suite features a certified Bluetooth LE software stack with application programming interface calls. The KW39, KW38 and KW37 microcontrollers extend the previous generation of devices with hardware and software compatibilities for faster design cycles. In addition, the KW38 microcontroller integrated FlexCAN, enables seamless integration into an industrial CAN communication network or an automobile’s in-vehicles network. The FlexCAN module can support CAN’s flexible data rate (CAN FD) for increased bandwidth and lower latency. In addition, the KW38 integrated FlexCAN, enables seamless integration into an industrial CAN or an automobile’s in-vehicles network. The FlexCAN module can support CAN’s flexible data rate for increased bandwidth and lower latency.

The KW39, KW38 and KW37 wireless microcontrollers feature AEC-Q100 Grade 2 and industrial qualifications for exceptional durability and performance for safety-critical applications

RF transmit power and receive sensitivity enhancements, including -105dBm typical Bluetooth LE sensitivity in 125kbits per second, -98dBm typical Bluetooth LE sensitivity in 1Mbits per second, -101dBm typical generic FSK (at 250kbits per second) sensitivity and +5dBm maximum transmit output power provide an advanced link budget that helps ensure long range of communication and a high immunity to interference

The AES-128 accelerator is a true random number generator for fast encryption/decryption, using hardware security algorithms for network commissioning and transmission of supported protocols.

The microcontrollers are supplied in a 7.0 x 7.0mm wettable flanks 48HVQFN package with up to 512kbyte flash memory with ECC and 64kbyte SRAM, allowing space for protocol stacks, application profiles and custom user firmware.

http://www.nxp.com

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