ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 69 of 227

Two IC families are for small form factor IoT devices

Wed, Mar 15, 2023

The xG27 family of Bluetooth SoCs and the BB50 microcontroller are designed for the smallest IoT devices, said Silicon Labs.

The xG27 and BB50 families range in size from 2mm² up to 5 mm². They offer IoT device designers energy efficiency, performance and security, and in the case of the xG27 family, wireless connectivity. Both families are suitable for tiny, battery-optimised devices like connected medical devices, wearables, asset monitoring tags, smart sensors, simple consumer electronics like toothbrushes and toys.

The ICs are intended to help developers build exciting new devices while also simplifying their development processes, all while maintaining the low-power and small form-factor requirements for extremely small devices,” said Matt Johnson, CEO.

The xG27 family of SoCs comprises the BG27, for Bluetooth connectivity, and the MG27, supporting Zigbee and other proprietary protocols. Built around the Arm Cortex M33 processor, the BG27 and MG27 are supplied in wafer-level chip scale packaging, down to 2.3 x 2.6mm, suitable for compact and unobtrusive devices like medical patches, continuous glucose monitors, wearable electrocardiograms, and asset tags in retail and agriculture.

The integrated DC/DC boost allows the devices to operate on batteries as low as 0.8V and the integrated coulomb counter is for battery level monitoring to avoid battery depletion during use.

Silicon Labs’ Secure Vault with virtual security engine (VSE) ensures secure boot and debug which are hardened against glitch attacks, tamper protection. There are also features designed to protect the device and its users’ data from local and remote cyber threats, said Silicon Labs.

They also have shelf mode, which reduces energy use to less than 20 nanoA so that devices can be transported and stocked on shelves while maintaining nearly full battery life for the end-user.

The BB50 8-bit microcontrollers have a high performance core, optimised for a large number of single cycle instructions to improve operating efficiency. They also have wide operating voltage ranges and low power modes to improve energy efficiency.

They operate with Silicon Labs’ Simplicity Studio and a fully-featured 8-bit compiler.

http://www.silabs.com

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Aurix and Traveo MCUs support IEC 61508 for SIL-3 safety

Tue, Mar 14, 2023

Industrial control systems must have a minimal error rate even in harsh environments. Infineon has announced that its Aurix TC3x and Traveo T2G microcontroller families address these requirements with a wide range of integrated hardware functional safety and cybersecurity features. Infineon has extended support from ISO26262 to IEC61508 hardware and software metrics, including all documentation required for functional safety certification, for both microcontroller families. In addition, Infineon’s AutoSAR Microcontroller Abstraction Layer (MCAL) low level driver software product supports the IEC 61508 metrics.

The driver software has been deployed in the mobility market and now enables other functional safety applications including medical devices, industrial drives, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), robotics together with indoor applications such as lifts/elevators or machinery.

Ralf Koedel, vice president, microcontrollers, at Infineon, commented: “The demand for minimal errors in harsh environments has tightened up the requirements for industrial control systems. With the . . . extended support for IEC 61508 metrics, however, developers can count on a series of proven microcontrollers to design safety-critical applications and rely on the available diagnostic analysis documentation (FMEDA and safety manual).”

The failure modes effects and FMEDA documentation shows IEC 61508 failure rates and safety metrics calculated at both MCU and basic function levels. By extending the support of the Aurix TC3x and Traveo T2G microcontrollers from ISO26262 to IEC61508 metrics, developers can achieve SIL-1-3 for industrial applications.

Infineon added that it has created a strong ecosystem of design partners to pave the way for safety-critical designs up to SIL-4 and offers reliable support for functional-safety certification.

The Aurix TC3x and Traveo T2G microcontrollers will be exhibited at Embedded World 2023 (14 to 16 March 2023) in Nuremberg, Germany at the Infineon stand Hall 4A – 138.

http://www.infineon.com

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Socionext Introduces New 7nm ADC and DAC for 5G Direct RF Transmitters and Receivers

Fri, Mar 10, 2023

Socionext, a global leader in providing innovative custom System-on-Chip solutions for various applications including data center and networking,

launches a new high-speed Direct RF data converter PHY solution. This is the latest in a series of IP offerings driving advanced transceiver systems for 3GPP 5GNR/LTE and Wi-Fi network infrastructure in the FR1 and FR2 (mmWave with external mixers) bands.

The IPs were developed in TSMC 7nm FinFET (N7) process technology to allow straightforward integration for 32TRX and 64TRX single-die solutions and lower power consumption compared to discrete solutions currently available in the market.

Both ADC and DAC have 12-bit resolution and analog bandwidth up to 7.2GHz. The ADC sampling rate is 24GS/s and 32GS/s for the DAC, enabling 5GNR FR1 frequency in the first Nyquist data converter frequency range.

This Direct RF IP product family delivers the full sub-6GHz instantaneous band with an internal capability to allocate up to 1.6GHz of channel bandwidth featuring carrier aggregation. The maximum is 16 channels of 100MHz (FR1) each or 4 channels of 400MHz (FR2). Furthermore, by using the multiple DDC/DUC available in the macros, it is possible to target low-, mid- and high-range bands (e.g., n28, n40 and n78) simultaneously, without dedicated external filtering components. The result is a significantly reduced BOM.

Yutaka Hayashi, Corporate Senior Vice President and Head of BU (Data Center & Networking Business Unit) said: “Socionext’s new 7nm Direct RF silicon IPs are available for new product designs and mass production with a guaranteed short time-to-market made possible by Socionext’s global solid post-silicon supply chain. The Direct RF test chip and evaluation board are now sampling to select customers. A dedicated application board with full ADC/DAC and real-time streaming will be available in Q3, 2023”.

SoC Integration

The complete Socionext SoC solution includes a foundation of IP building blocks such as short, medium and long reach SerDes up to 112/224Gbps, PCIe Gen4/5/6 PHY, eFPGA, DDR and several standards-based, die-to-die interconnect technologies for managing data flow across the data infrastructure and chiplets on MCM.

This 7nm data-converter development follows numerous successful 16nm and 28nm designs using Socionext’s high-performance ADC and DAC design expertise for networking applications.

Socionext integrates these IPs into other solutions such as 5G CPE, satellite communications, software-defined radio, microwave radio, test & measurement equipment and early 6G research. In a market that requires high levels of system integration, small package size and low power design, Socionext’s Solutions are key differentiators for telecommunication and connectivity customers and for the most demanding environments utilizing expertise in leading-edge silicon technology and design methodology.

A Paper on the Direct RF ADC (Analog-to-Digital) converter was presented at the ISSCC in San Francisco. https://www.isscc.org – “A 750mW 24GS/s 12b Time-interleaved ADC for Direct RF Sampling in Modern Wireless Systems”.

About Socionext Europe GmbH

Socionext Europe (SNEU) plays a major role in the worldwide activities of Socionext Inc., one of the world’s leading fabless SoC suppliers. Its Headquarters is in Frankfurt, Germany with offices in Munich, Germany and Maidenhead, UK. The Munich Design and Support Center, a leader in embedded graphic solutions, specializes in hardware and software product development for the automotive sector. Maidenhead supports Socionext’s IP Development & Engineering Center with a focus on ultra-high speed data conversion IP. Socionext Europe offers customers a range of innovative Custom SoC solutions for today’s state-of-the-art applications with total support from start to finish. For more information please visit our website, email: info@eu.socionext.com or connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

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STM32H5 microcontroller is designed with security in mind

Wed, Mar 08, 2023

Combining an Arm Cortex-M33 and Trust EE Secure Manager, the STM32H5 microcontroller has been designed by STMicroelectronics to make security simpler and to boost performance and security for smart applications.
The STM32H5 microcontrollers contain the Arm Cortex-M33 embedded core, which blends performance with security, energy efficiency and affordability, said ST to address the mid-range class of MCU-based applications. According to the company, the STM32H5 is the world’s highest performing Cortex-M33 implementation, running at 250MHz and 375 DMIPS for an EEMBC CoreMark industry reference score of 1023.

The STM32H5 series is designed to accelerate innovation at scale for the coming generations of smart, connected devices, which provide more intelligence “in the edge” and also strengthens defence against attacks on IoT assets. The Cortex-M33 core brings Arm’s TrustZone architecture. ST adds a range of its own security features, including some developed with ST Authorized Partner, ProvenRun.
The STM32H5 is believed to be the first MCU series to come with SoC security services accessed via an industry-standard application programming interface (API). This is called the STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager which saves developers writing their own code while providing security services developed according to known best practice. It simplifies development while ensuring effective protection.
Ricardo De Sa Earp, executive vice president general purpose microcontroller sub-group, microcontrollers and digital ICs group expects the STM32H5 microcontrollers to be used in smart homes, factories and cities making them intelligent, safe, and sustainable.
The STM32H5 MCUs also improve energy efficiency by leveraging ST’s advanced 40nm CMOS process technology and improved on-chip power conversion circuits. Power dissipation is no longer a constraint when using a 250MHz device in harsh environments where the ambient temperature can reach 125 degrees C, added ST. The STM32H5 microcontrollers are SIL-ready for products that must meet an appropriate safety integrity level (SIL), thanks to native hardware features that address a wide range of industrial and medical applications.
Typical applications include air conditioning systems, appliances, and alarm systems, industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs), motor controls, industrial pumps, communication gateways, lighting controls, and energy conversion. They are also used in consumer products such as PC peripherals, smartphones, and accessories.
ST has been a lead development partner with Arm, supporting development of the Cortex-M33 core to comply with the PSA Certified Level 3 and GlobalPlatform SESIP3 security specifications. ST has collaborated with Microsoft Azure on middleware with strong security.

The STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager is developed with ProvenRun and powered by ProvenCore-M to ensure today’s highest security-assurance levels. The SoC security services provided include isolation, cryptography, key storage, and initial attestation.
To help users maximise its potential, ST has created dedicated development kits NUCLEO-H503RB, NUCLEO-H563ZI and STM32H573I-DK with examples showing how to use the security services and integrated all the necessary software tools and support in the STM32Cube development ecosystem.
The new devices also provide in-ST factory pre-provisioning credentials for seamless registration to various cloud and OEM servers, multi-tenant IP protection, and remote pre-integrated 3rd party public key infrastructure (PKI) lifecycle management.
The Kudelski IoT keyStream root of trust, from ST authorised partner Kudelski IoT, was pre-qualified on the STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager to allow remote credential lifecycle management services.
The STM32H5 MCUs raise dynamic efficiency to 61 microA per MHz in switched mode (SMPS) and 120 microA per MHz running off the linear (LDO) converter (at VDD = 3.3V and 25 degrees C) in run mode with peripherals off.
The product lines initially available include the STM32H503 product line with128kbyte flash, allowing 250MHz computing capability in space- and cost-constrained applications. The STM32H562 and STM32H563 product lines have up to 2Mbyte flash, rich connectivity, and deliver 250MHz over the extended temperature range up to 125 degrees C. The STM32H573 includes AES cryptographic acceleration and security services.
Mass production is beginning now, starting with the STM32H503 and STM32H563.

http://www.st.com

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Two IC families are for small form factor IoT devices

Aurix and Traveo MCUs support IEC 61508 for SIL-3 safety

Socionext Introduces New 7nm ADC and DAC for 5G Direct RF Transmitters and Receivers

STM32H5 microcontroller is designed with security in mind

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