Topside cooling creates thinner, lighter 5G radio units

Topside cooled RF amplifier modules have been developed by NXP Semiconductors and based on packaging designed to enable thinner and lighter radios for 5G infrastructure. 

Smaller base stations can be more easily and cost-effectively installed, increasing network density, while being able to blend more discretely into their environment, said NXP. Its GaN multi-chip module series, combined with what is claimed to be the industry’s first topside cooling for RF power, helps to reduce not only the thickness and weight of the radio by more than 20 per cent, but also the carbon footprint for the manufacture and deployment of 5G base stations.

“Top-side cooling represents a significant opportunity for the wireless infrastructure industry, combining high power capabilities with advanced thermal performance to enable a smaller RF subsystem,” said Pierre Piel, vice president and general manager for radio power at NXP. 

Benefits afforded by NXP’s topside cooled devices are the removal of the dedicated RF shield, use of cost-effective and streamlined PCBs and separation of thermal management from RF design. These features help networking solution providers create slimmer and lighter 5G radios for mobile network operators, while reducing their overall design cycle, NXP added.

NXP’s first topside cooled RF power module series is designed for 32T32R, 200W radios covering 3.3 to 3.8GHz. The devices combine the company’s in-house LDMOS and GaN semiconductor technologies to enable high gain and efficiency with wideband performance, delivering 31dB gain and 46 per cent efficiency over 400MHz of instantaneous bandwidth.

The A5M34TG140-TC, A5M35TG140-TC and A5M36TG140-TC modules are available today. The A5M36TG140-TC will be supported by NXP’s RapidRF reference board series. 

NXP Semiconductors specialises in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications in the automotive, industrial and IoT, mobile and communications infrastructure markets while advancing a more sustainable future. The company has over 60 years of combined experience and expertise and operates in more than 30 countries.

http://www.nxp.com

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Infineon adds support for AutoSAR v4.4.0 to Aurix software

Support for AutoSARv4.4.0 extend the Aurix TC3xx MCAL support already available from Infineon Technologies. This expansion adds ASIL D and SIL-2 compliant drivers to support AUTOSARv4.4.0.

For ASIL D applications, the MC-ISAR TC3xx roadmap has been updated to also provide ASIL D compliant drivers. With the upcoming Maintenance Release 2.25.0, the driver will include ASIL D compliant software products. Support for IEC 61508 SIL-2 will be provided with Release 2.30.0. The latest release aims at AutoSAR applications in all automotive domains, including engine, chassis, safety, and body. It also applies to commercial agricultural vehicles (CAV), industrial and marine applications, Infineon noted.

According to the company, the biggest advantage of the MC-ISAR AS440 EXT TC3xx is its support for the latest standards, eliminating the need for additional drivers for ASIL D argumentation. It facilitates software partitioning and provides more flexibility by allowing the driver to run in an ASIL D domain, simplifying system-level security argumentation. Developers can therefore work with a production-ready driver with a qualification and safety certification that is ASIL D compliant, helping to avoid systematic failures. In addition, the driver offers ISO 21434 support for continuous monitoring. 

Infineon’s partners further assist developers with additional services and support.

The listed AutoSARv4.4.0 MCAL software packages is provided with MC-ISAR Basic drivers enabled (MCU,DIO, ICU, GPT, PWM , SPI , ADC, WDG, OCU, FLS, FEE, CAN, CanTrcv, LIN, BFX, CRC).

Another driver is the MC-ISAR Com Enhanced (FlexRay, Ethernet). Infineon also provides the MC-ISAR MCD MCAL complex driver – 11 complex drivers in addition to the standard AutoSAR drivers (DMA, FLSloader, UART, DS-ADC, SMU Safety Management Unit, DEMOCD: HSSL, SENT, I²C, IOM I/O Monitoring, STM System Timer, IRQ Interrupt Request).

In addition, the software packages include important features like AutoSAR BFX and CRC library, ASPICE L2, ASIL D process for FFI, MISRA 2012 change 1 (CERT-C) compliance (AUTOSARv4.4.0), and ISO 21434 support for continuous monitoring.

The key ASIL D compliant drivers with IEC 61508 SIL-2 support will be available from mid-2023. 

http://www.infineon.com

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u-blox and Tallysman Wireless collaborate on augmented smart antennas

As part of a design partnership between u-blox and Tallysman Wireless, the ZED-F9R GNSS and NEO-D9S L-band receivers will be integrated with Tallysman’s Accutenna technology in the next generation PointPerfect augmented smart GNSS PPP-RTK augmented smart antennas. 

The PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service is now available in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia Pacific.

“The TW5390 solution offers users high-precision with rapid convergence times, access to precise, reliable, and easy to use PointPerfect PPP-RTK GNSS augmentation data. The result is centimetre-level accuracy in seconds on a continental scale for exceptional precision,” said Christopher Russell, Tallysman’s vice president of sales. The design partners expect to integrate the antenna and receiver technologies 

The multi-band (L1/L2 or L1/L5) architecture removes ionospheric errors and the multi-stage enhanced XF filtering improves noise immunity while relying on the dual feed Tallysman Accutenna element mitigates multi-path signal interference rejection. Some versions of the smart antenna solutions include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for dead reckoning and an integrated L-band corrections receiver to ensure operation beyond terrestrial network reach.

“Tallysman and u-blox offer a turnkey silicon-to-cloud solution since PointPerfect is already pre-integrated with u-blox ZED-F9R and NEO-D9S high-precision GNSS modules. Our intuitive cloud platform provides a self-serve environment from which users have autonomy to manage IoT device fleets. This eliminates complexities and allows users to engage more efficiently and reduce time-to-market,” said Franco de Lorenzo, principal product owner, services at u-blox. 

u-blox provides positioning and wireless communication in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. Its services and products let people, vehicles, and machines determine their precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short range networks. The company has a broad portfolio of chips, modules and secure data services and connectivity to develop solutions for the IoT, quickly and cost-effectively. It has headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland with offices in Europe, Asia, and the USA. 

http://www.u-blox.com

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Cadence introduces tools for Arm TCS23 for a fast path to tapeout

Cadence has finetuned its RTL-to-GDS digital flow and delivered corresponding 3nm and 5nm rapid adoption kits (RAKs) for Arm Cortex-X4, Cortex-A720 and Cortex-A520 CPUs and Immortalis-G720, Mali-G720 and Mali-G620 GPUs.

This part of Cadence Design Systems’ expanding collaboration with Arm to advance mobile device silicon, providing customers with a faster path to tapeout through the use of Cadence digital and verification tools and the new Arm Total Compute Solutions 2023 (TCS23) for the cores and GPUs.

Cadence delivered comprehensive RTL-to-GDS digital flow RAKs for 3nm and 5nm nodes to help customers achieve power and performance goals using the new Arm TCS23. The Cadence tools optimised for the new Arm TCS23 include the Cadence Cerebrus Intelligent Chip Explorer, Genus Synthesis, Modus DFT software, Innovus implementation system, Quantus extraction, Tempus timing signoff and ECO Option, Voltus IC Power Integrity, conformal equivalence checking and conformal low power. Cadence Cerebrus provided Arm with AI-driven design optimisation capabilities that resulted in 50 per cent better timing, a 10 per cent reduction in cell area and 27 per cent improved leakage power on the Cortex-X4 CPU, empowering Arm to achieve power, performance and area (PPA) targets faster, reported Cadence.

The digital RAKs provide Arm TCS23 users with benefits, for example the AI-driven Cadence Cerebrus automates and scales digital chip design, providing customers with improved productivity versus a manual, iterative approach. Cadence iSpatial technology provides an integrated implementation flow, offering improved predictability and PPA, leading to faster design closure. The RAKs also incorporate a smart hierarchy flow that enables accelerated turnaround times on large, high-performance CPUs. The Tempus ECO Option, which provides path-based analysis, is integrated into the flow for signoff-accurate, final design closure. Finally, the RAKs use the GigaOpt activity-aware power optimisation engine, incorporated with the Innovus implementation system and the Genus Synthesis to dramatically reduce dynamic power consumption.

Arm used the Cadence verification flow to validate the Cortex-X4, Cortex-A720 and Cortex-A520 CPU-based and Immortalis-G720, Mali-G720 and Mali-G620 GPU-based mobile reference platforms. The Cadence verification flow supports Arm TCS23 and includes the Cadence Xcelium logic simulation platform, Palladium Z1 and Z2 Enterprise emulation platforms, Helium Virtual and Hybrid Studio, JasperÒ formal verification platform and Verisium Manager planning and coverage closure tools.

The Cadence verification flow lets Arm TCS23 users improve overall verification throughput and leverage advanced software debug capabilities. Cadence also validated that Cadence Perspec system verifier, VIP and System VIP tools all support TCS23-based designs to enable customers to accelerate time to market when assembling TCS23-based SoCs. The virtual and hybrid platform reference designs include the Arm Fast Models to enable early software development and verification through the Cadence Helium Studio as well as the Cadence Palladium and Protium platforms, also known as the dynamic duo.

The Cadence digital and verification flows support the Cadence Intelligent System Design strategy, which enables customers to achieve SoC design excellence. 

http://www.cadence.com 

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