ICs & Semiconductors

Rutronik UK adds Minew’s MS88SF2 multi-protocol module

Fri, Jan 24, 2020

Based on Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840 SoC, the MS88SF2 multi-protocol module can be operated with Bluetooth 5.0, ZigBee 3.0, Thread and ANT wireless protocols, as well as with proprietary 2.4GHz stacks. The module is the latest module from Minew and is available at Rutronik UK.

The integrated module measures just 23.2 x 17.4 x 2.0mm and contains all necessary components from radio to different antennae (PCB and ceramic) and the antenna-matching network, or a U.FL/IPEX antenna plug, for external antenna connection, says Rutronik UK. The metal cover protects against unwanted radiation and electromagnetic waves.

It has an Arm Cortex-M4F processor with a core speed of 64MHz, delivering sufficient computing power for highly complex algorithms and also for floating-point calculations, confirms Rutronik UK. The 1Mbyte flash memory can hold several radio stacks and also larger customer applications and offers enough space for data logger tasks. Power management includes an on-chip DC/DC converter and low-dropout (LDO) controller as well as automated power-saving mode.

The MS88SF2 is CE, FCC, IC, TELEC and BQB-certified. It is intended for cost-effective building of network nodes in applications such as cycling computers, heart rate and blood pressure monitoring, blood glucose meters, scales, thermometers, mobile accessories, sports and fitness sensors, remote controls and toys, key fobs and wrist bands, 3D glasses and gaming controllers.

Rutronik UK operates as an independent company. Its parent company, Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente, is the third largest distributor in Europe and ranked number 11 worldwide. The broadline distributor supplies semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components as well as boards, storage, displays & wireless products. The company‘s primary target markets are the automotive, medical, industrial, home appliance, energy and lighting industries. Rutronik’s brands for product lines are Rutronik Embedded, Rutronik Smart, Rutronik Power and Rutronik Automotive, providing specific products and services in groups tailored to the applications. Rutronik also offers technical support for product development and design-in, individual logistics and supply chain management.

http://www.rutronik.com

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MAC-SA5X rubidium atomic clock locks quicker for atomic stability

Thu, Jan 23, 2020

Miniature Atomic Clock (MAC) technology by Microchip has been enhanced to deliver wider temperature range and rapid warm-up time, says the company, as it introduces the MAC-SA5X miniaturised rubidium atomic clock

To meet demand for a small footprint atomic clock, Microchip Technology claims to have developed the industry’s highest performance atomic clock for its size and power. The MAC-SA5X miniaturised rubidium atomic clock also delivers a wider thermal range, critical performance improvements and other enhancements over previously available technology, says Microchip.

The MAC-SA5X produces a stable time and frequency reference that maintains a high degree of synchronisation to a reference clock, such as a GNSS-derived signal. Its combination of low monthly drift rate, short-term stability and stability during temperature changes allow the device to maintain precise frequency and timing requirements during extended periods of holdover during GNSS outages or for applications where large rack-mount clocks are not possible.

It operates over a wide temperature range of -40 to +75 degrees C and has been designed to achieve atomic stability performance by taking less time to lock compared to some of the existing clock technology. In an aircraft application, for example, these attributes enable faster power up of critical communication and navigation systems in extreme climates, Microchip says.

The MAC-SA5X allows system developers to avoid the need for extra circuitry by integrating a one pulse per second (1PPS) input pin for fast frequency calibration, saving time and development cost. The MAC-SA5X has the same footprint as previous MAC-SA.3X miniature atomic clock technology for ease of transition to the newer, higher performance device.

Designed and manufactured in the USA, the MAC-SA5X operates to less than 5.0E-11 frequency stability over operating temperature; less than 5.0E-11 per month aging rate, 6.3W consumption and is 47 cc in volume. It is supplied in an ovenised crystal oscillator (OCXO)-sized package measuring 50.8 x 50.8mm.

The MAC-SA5x family of atomic clocks is supported by evaluation kit 090-44500-000. The MAC-SA5x atomic clock is available now for pre-sampling and will be available for deliveries in February 2020, with technical support services and an extended warranty from Microchip.

http://www.microchip.com

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Microchip introduces MPLAB TÜV SÜD-certified tools

Thu, Jan 16, 2020

Functional safety certifications can be time-consuming and expensive, so Microchip has announced TÜV SÜD certification of its MPLAB XC compilers for functional safety. The tools significantly simplify the functional safety qualification process for Microchip’s PIC, AVR and SAM microcontrollers and dsPIC Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs), claims the company.

To further simplify testing and diagnostics, Microchip also introduced MPLAB Code Coverage license, which determines parts of software that have or have not been executed with minimal impact to the application.

The MPLAB XC functional compilers certified by TÜV SÜD contribute to satisfying the verification and validation requirements specified in the ISO 26262 standard for automotive safety, IEC 61508 for industrial applications, IEC 62304 for medical software and IEC60730 for automatic electric controls. The MPLAB XC Compilers for Functional Safety will be packaged with additional documentation for qualification of the MPLAB X integrated development environment (IDE) and MPLAB debuggers and programmers. With no annual renewal fees, the licenses are the lowest-cost solution on the market. Using Microchip’s microcontrollers with the functional safety licenses will reduce application costs and time to market, the company advises.

Ensuring high test coverage of embedded software using code coverage tools often requires a large amount of hardware modification, expensive software and significant effort searching large data files for pertinent information. MPLAB Code Coverage has less than one per cent impact to test time. Through a patented process, code can be tested in a single pass without breaking the code into blocks. This saves time and eliminates sifting through large data files.

In addition to offering development tools that make it easier, faster and more affordable to comply to functional safety standards, Microchip also offers many PIC, AVR, dsPIC and SAM microcontrollers that are functional safety-ready. For all functional safety ready microcontrollers, Microchip provides Failure Mode Effect and Diagnostics Analysis (FMEDA) reports and safety manuals targeting ISO 26262 up to ASIL-B safety levels, with some products achieving ASIL-D.

MPLAB X IDE version 5.25 is available for free on Microchip’s website. The MPLAB Code Coverage workstation license and MPLAB XC8, XC16 and XC32++ functional safety workstation licenses are available today.

http://www.microchip.com

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Snapdragon Ridge hails autonomous vehicles with customisable SoC

Mon, Jan 13, 2020

Scalable and open autonomous driving solutions from Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, consist of the family of Snapdragon Ride Safety system on chips (SoCs), Snapdragon Ride Safety Accelerator and Snapdragon Ride autonomous stack.

Snapdragon Ride aims to address the complexity of autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) by leveraging power-efficient hardware, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and what Qualcomm describes as a pioneering autonomous driving stack. The combination of Snapdragon Ride SoCs, accelerator and autonomous stack offers vehicle manufacturers a scalable solution designed to support three industry segments, namely: L1/L2 active safety ADAS for vehicles that include automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition and lane keeping assist functions, L2+ convenience ADAS for vehicles featuring automated highway driving, self-parking and urban driving in stop-and-go traffic and L4/L5 fully autonomous driving for urban driving, robo-taxis and robo-logistics.

The Snapdragon Ride platform is based on the Snapdragon family of automotive SoCs and accelerator. It is built on scalable and modular heterogenous high-performance multi-core CPUs, energy efficient AI and computer vision (CV) engines, and a graphics processing unit (GPU). It offers 30 Tera operations per second (TOPS) for L1/L2 applications to over 700 TOPS at 130W for L4/L5 driving. This enables it to be used in designs that can be passively or air-cooled to reduce cost and increase reliability by avoiding the use of expensive liquid cooled systems. It also allows for simpler vehicle designs and extends the driving range for electric vehicles (EVs), says Qualcomm. The Snapdragon Ride SoCs and accelerator are designed for functional safety ASIL-D systems.

The Snapdragon Ride autonomous stack is modular and scalable for automotive manufacturers to use optimised software and applications for complex use cases, such as self-navigating human-like highway driving as well as modular options like perception, localisation, sensor fusion and behaviour planning. This software infrastructure for Snapdragon Ride supports customer-specific stack components to be co-hosted with the Snapdragon Ride autonomous stack components.

The Snapdragon Ride integrated safety board support package has safe OS and hypervisors and operates within safety frameworks from automotive industry leaders, including Adaptive AutoSAR. It has optimised foundational function libraries for computer vision, sensor signal processing, and standard arithmetic libraries

AI tools for improving model efficiencies, as well as optimising runtime on heterogeneous compute units

Snapdragon Ride is expected to be available for pre-development to automakers and tier-1 suppliers in the first half of 2020 and the company anticipates Snapdragon Ride-enabled vehicles to be in production in 2023.

http://www.qualcomm.com

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