ICs & Semiconductors

Microchip integrates buck converters, LDOs and a controller

Thu, Apr 10, 2025

The rapid integration of AI into industrial, computing and data centre applications is fuelling a growing demand for more efficient and advanced power management solutions. Microchip has announced the MCP16701, a Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) designed to meet the needs of high-performance MPU and FPGA designers. The MCP16701 integrates eight 1.5A buck converters that can be paralleled, four 300 mA internal Low Dropout Voltage Regulators (LDOs) and a controller to drive external MOSFETs.

This highly integrated device can result in a 48% area reduction with less than 60% of the component count of a discrete solution. The MCP16701 is in a small-form-factor 8 mm × 8 mm VQFN package to offer a compact and flexible power management solution for space-constrained applications. The MCP16701 meets diverse power needs and supports Microchip’s PIC64-GX MPU and PolarFire® FPGAs with a configurable feature set.

The MCP16701 features an I2C communication interface to simply and enhance communication efficiency between the PMIC and other system components. The device operates within a temperature range of TJ −40°C to +105°C for reliable performance in diverse environmental conditions.

A key feature of the MCP16701 is its ability to dynamically change Vout levels for all converters in 12.5 mV/25 mV increments. This maximum flexibility allows designers to fine-tune power delivery to meet specific application requirements, helping enhance overall system efficiency and performance.

The MCP16701 joins a family of Microchip PMIC products, including the MCP16502, MCP16501 and others—that are used to power high-performance MPU applications targeting industrial computing, data centres, IoT and edge AI.

https://www.microchip.com

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u-blox introduces ANNA-B5 a compact, powerful and secure Bluetooth LE module

Thu, Apr 10, 2025

u-blox has announced the launch of the ANNA-B5 Bluetooth LE module. Built on Nordic Semiconductor’s next-generation wireless SoC, the nRF54L15 chipset is an ultra-compact module (6.5 × 6.5 mm) featuring a fully integrated antenna on the module, high security, a powerful MCU as well as distance measurements capabilities.

Designed with a new antenna solution for size-constrained, battery-powered applications, the ANNA-B5 delivers robust performance across industrial automation, smart home/smart building, healthcare, asset tracking and a broad range of other segments. Supporting Bluetooth LE, 802.15.4 with Thread, Zigbee, and Matter, ANNA-B5 ensures seamless connectivity. Qualified against Bluetooth® Core 6.0, the System in Package (SiP) module includes Bluetooth® Channel Sounding, providing more accurate range measurements.

With its next-generation security features, including physical tamper detection, secure boot, secure storage, and a crypto accelerator, it is designed to meet PSA Certified Level 3. This makes it an ideal choice for applications that require advanced security and compliance with the latest regulatory requirements, ensuring long-term viability in the evolving IoT landscape.

The ANNA-B5 module is powered by the Nordic Semiconductor nRF54L15 ultra-low power wireless SoC, featuring an Arm Cortex-M33 MCU running at 128 MHz, 256 kB of RAM, and 1.5 MB of non-volatile memory. Optimised for ultra-low power consumption, it is ideal for applications demanding extended battery life.

The module’s compact size (6.5 × 6.5 × 1.2 mm) with a fully integrated antenna makes it suitable for a wide range of IoT devices. Its compatibility with other u-blox ANNA modules is key to effortless technology migration, such as transitioning to the latest generation of Bluetooth LE modules.

With its professional-grade u-connectXpress software, ANNA-B5 ensures reduced compliance costs, faster time to market, and seamless international deployment.

https://www.u-blox.com

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ST releases microprocessors featured for performance and economy

Mon, Apr 07, 2025

STMicroelectronics has announced mass-market availability of new STM32MP23 general-purpose microprocessors (MPUs), combining high-temperature operation up to 125°C with the speed and efficiency of dual Arm Cortex-A35 cores, for performance and ruggedness in industrial and Internet-of-Things (IoT) edge compute, advanced HMI, and machine-learning applications.

Joining the STM32MP25 series launched in 2024, the new MPUs contain dual 1.5GHz Arm Cortex-A35 cores, a 400MHz Cortex-M33 for real-time applications, and a neural network accelerator with 0.6 TOPS performance. There is also a 3D graphics processor, H.264 decoder, MIPI CSI-2 camera interface with raw data support, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports with time-sensitive networking (TSN), and two CAN-FD interfaces.

Combining diverse processing resources and optimised on-chip features, the STM32MP23 series fulfils numerous sensing, processing, and data-handling roles throughout smart factories, smart cities, and smart homes. With the neural engine, bringing AI and machine-learning capabilities, these MPUs handle intuitive and adaptive HMIs, vision-based interaction, and predictive maintenance. The H.264 decoder supports up to 1080p60 video resolution and the 3D GPU handles high-performance, real-time graphics with support for open-source frameworks including OpenGL, OpenCL, and Vulkan.

The STM32MP23 series targets SESIP3 (already achieved for STM32MP25 MPUs) and PSA Level 1 certifications. Protection features include secure boot, Arm TrustZone architecture, secure key storage, and tamper detection, with hardware cryptographic accelerators.

Coinciding with the STM32MP23 release, ST is also extending support for each release of the OpenSTLinux distribution from two years to five years. The enhanced support ensures stability for customers throughout development and extends access to the latest security patches easing compliance with the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). ST’s commitment to mainlining OpenSTLinux lets developers work comfortably with popular frameworks including Yocto, Buildroot, OpenWRT, and OpenSTDroid, and helps accelerate time to market.

Additional benefits for developers include three BGA package options that offer the choice of high-density 0.5mm interconnect pitch or 0.8mm pitch that allows simplified 4-layer PCBs with plated-through holes. The three packages are all pin-to-pin compatible with STM32MP25 MPUs. The devices operate over the industrial temperature range, from -40°C to 125°C maximum junction temperature.

https://www.st.com

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TI introduces new line of functionally isolated modulators

Thu, Mar 27, 2025

Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced the industry’s first functionally isolated modulators, helping designers achieve more precise motor control in compact robot designs. The new AMC0106M05, AMC0136 and AMC0106M25 isolated modulators enable increased precision and higher resolution of 12 to 14 effective number of bits (ENOB) for accurate and reliable phase current sensing and DC voltage sensing measurements. Offered in a small lead-less package, the new products in TI’s isolated analog-to-digital converter (ADC) portfolio help designers achieve smooth torque operation and fine motor control, while decreasing size and cost in low-voltage (<60V) robotics designs.

Engineers today are challenged to design smarter robots to perform more detailed tasks. The galvanically isolated modulators enable robotics engineers to achieve precise motor control and system protection in smaller, more sophisticated designs. This precision makes it possible for robots to complete a variety of complex tasks, such as threading a needle or handling small nuts and bolts. In addition, the small size of the new modulators—measuring just 3.5mm x 2.7mm—requires 50% less board space than competing reinforced isolation solutions. With this decrease in size, designers have more space to incorporate additional features that support precise control and reliable operation in compact robot applications.

“These modulators from TI enable designers to increase robotics accuracy and productivity in new use cases and smaller form factors, from the factory floor to the operating room,” said Karthik Vasanth, vice president and general manager of Data Converters and Clocks at TI. “For example, where humanoid robots could previously only complete simple tasks, our new functionally isolated modulators now allow them to carry out more dexterous and precise jobs.”

Production quantities of the new functionally isolated modulators are available now on TI.com in an 8-pin very thin small-outline (VSON) package. To support designers, evaluation modules for all three modulators are available, as well as reference designs and simulation models.

https://www.TI.com

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