Wideband microwave synthesiser has VCO for ‘breakthrough’ performance

Claimed to deliver an industry leading phase noise, the ADF5620 is a wideband fractional-N synthesiser from Analog Devices.

It has an integrated voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and generates RF outputs from 55MHz to 15GHz and provides the industry’s lowest phase noise performance on a single chip, claims ADI.

The synthesiser is designed for markets as diverse as aerospace and defence, wireless infrastructure, microwave point-to-point links, electronic test and measurement, and satellite terminals.

When compared to alternative solutions that require multiple narrowband GaAs voltage controlled oscillators and phase-locked loops (PLLs), the ADF5610 offers 50 per cent less power dissipation, a smaller footprint and simpler architecture, says ADI, all of which translates into bill of materials cost savings and reduced time to market.

Developed on ADI’s proprietary SiGe BiCMOS process, the ADF5610 enables high modulation bandwidths and low BIT error rates. It features industry leading VCO phase noise (-114dBc/Hz at 100kHz offset and -165dBc/Hz at 100MHz offset both at 10GHz) and low normalised phase noise floor (FOM) of -229dBc/Hz. The integrated PLL function provides fast frequency hopping and lock times (less than 50 micro seconds with appropriate loop filter). The phase detector spurious levels are below -45dBc typical, and the RF output power level is 6dBm.

The ADF5610 wideband fractional-N synthesizer is supported by the ADIsimPLL, ADI’s PLL synthesiser design and simulation tool for assessing phase noise, lock time, jitter and other design considerations. It is also customer programmable through the use of integrated SPI and control software.

The ADF5610 is specified over the -40 to +85 degree C range. It operates from nominal 3.3V analogue and digital power supplies as well as 5V charge pump and VCO supplies, and features 1.8V logic-level compatibility. The synthesiser also contains hardware and software power down modes.

The ADF5610 is in production from next month and supplied in a 7.0 x 7.0mm LFCSP.

http://www.analog.com

> Read More

DRAM transitions to 10nm for 5G and AI-powered mobile applications

Claimed to be the first 8Gbit LPDDR5 DRAM for 5G and AI-powered mobile applications, Samsung has unveiled its 10nm class memory. Samsung says that since bringing the first 8Gbit LPDDR4 to mass production in 2014, the company has been setting the stage to transition to the LPDDR5 standard for use in 5G and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mobile applications.

The 8Gbit LPDDR5 has been added to Samsung’s premium DRAM lineup, which includes 10nm-class 16Gbit GDDR6 DRAM and 16Gbit DDR5 DRAM.

The 8Gbit LPDDR5 boasts a data rate of up to 6,400 Mbit per second, which is 1.5 times as fast as the mobile DRAM chips used in current flagship mobile devices (LPDDR4X, 4266 Mbits per second), says Samsung. With the increased transfer rate, the new LPDDR5 can send 51.2Gbytes of data, or approximately 14 full-HD video files (3.7Gbyte each), in a second.

The 10nm-class LPDDR5 DRAM will be available in two bandwidths – 6,400Mbits per second at a 1.1 operating voltage and 5,500Mbits per second at 1.05V. These options make the DRAM a versatile mobile memory for next-generation smartphones and automotive systems. To achieve this performance advance, Samsung doubled the number of memory ‘banks’ (sub divisions within a DRAM cell) from eight to 16. The LPDDR5 DRAM can attain a much higher speed while reducing power consumption, adds Samsung. The 8Gbit LPDDR5 also makes use of an advanced, speed-optimised circuit architecture that verifies and ensures the chip’s speed performance.

To maximise power savings, the 10nm-class LPDDR5 has been engineered to lower its voltage in accordance with the operating speed of the corresponding application processor, when in active mode. It also has been configured to avoid overwriting cells with ‘0’ values. There is also a ‘deep sleep mode’, which cuts the power usage to approximately half the ‘idle mode’ of the current LPDDR4X DRAM. As a result, the 8Gbit LPDDR5 DRAM will deliver power consumption reductions of up to 30 per cent, maximising mobile device performance and extending the battery life of smartphones.

Samsung says the LPDDR5 will be able to power AI and machine learning applications, and will be UHD-compatible for mobile devices worldwide.

Samsung, together with leading global chip vendors, has completed functional testing and validation of a prototype 8Gbyte LPDDR5 DRAM package, which is comprised of eight 8Gbit LPDDR5 chips.

http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor

> Read More

LED regulator can be configured in choice of operation modes

A DC/DC µModule regulator from Analog Devices is designed to drive LEDs. The Power by Linear LTM8005 regulator includes a DC/DC controller, power switch, Schottky diode and current sense resistor in a 9.0 x 11.25 x 2.22mm BGA package.

The LTM8005 operates from a 5.0 to 38V input voltage range and can deliver up to 1.6A of regulated current at an output voltage of up to 38V. An external inductor enables the LTM8005 to configure in different operation modes including boost, buck-boost, buck and SEPIC topologies, with a coupled inductor.

The high-reliability H-grade version guarantees operation from –40 to +150 degree C. The wide input voltage range and +150 degree C operation make this µModule LED driver suitable for use in automotive and industrial lighting applications.

The operating frequency is adjustable from 100kHz to 1MHz, while integral spread spectrum frequency modulation improves EMC performance, claims Analog Devices. LED brightness can be controlled by the analogue CTRL pin and by PWM dimming with a range up to 3,000:1. The LTM8005’s safety features include output disconnect short-circuit protection, open LED protection, programmable input current limit, as well as, input and output current reporting.

The E and I grades of the LTM8005 operate from –40 to +125 degree C.

The LTM8005 is in production now.

This news story is brought to you by softei.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news.

To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep informed of the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here:  softei.com

Readers can also register to receive the monthly newsletter from our sister site, weartechdesign.com. This is the only website dedicated to developers of wearable electronic products. Simply click this link to register: weartechdesign.com

http://www.analog.com/LTM8005

> Read More

Resonant controller IC is designed for power supply and lighting drivers

The second generation ICL5102 resonant controller IC has been designed by Infineon specifically for power supply and lighting drivers.

Main target applications are LED drivers for professional and industrial lighting, and street lighting. The controller IC can also be used for offline AC/DC power supplies and LCD TVs, adds Infineon.

The ICL5102 integrates power factor correction (PFC) and half-bridge (HB) controllers in a single DSO-16 package. It supports universal input voltages ranging from 70 to 325V AC.

Only a few external components are required to configure and support the controller IC, says Infineon, adding that all parameters are set by resistors. The ICL5012 supports fast start-up under 500 milliseconds at less than 100 microA. According to Infineon, the industry-leading PFC is greater than 99 per cent and total harmonic distortion (THD) is less than 3.5 per cent. The controller has up to 94 per cent efficiency by resonant topology, while the active burst mode for low standby consumes less than 30 mW. An enable/disable function supports dimming.

The PFC controller features brown-out detection, adjustable THD for light load operation, and high power factor correction. Due to the high accuracy of bus voltage sensing, only four pins are required for PFC. The resonant HB controller has an integrated 650V high-side driver using an internal coreless transformer with self-adaptive dead time ranging between 250 and 750 nanoseconds, and an operating frequency up to 500kHz. It can detect overload, short circuit, bus, HB or output under- and over-voltage as well as over-temperature. An integrated capacitive mode regulator prevents operation in capacitive mode. All protection features use auto restart (no latch).

Engineering samples and a reference design, REF-ICL5102-U130W-CC, are available now. Full production and shipment will start in Q2 2018.

This news story is brought to you by softei.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news.

To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep informed of the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here:  softei.com

http://www.infineon.com/icl5102

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration