ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 76 of 235

Wireless modules combine Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth and IEEE 802.15.4 LR-WPAN

Fri, Mar 17, 2023

Exploring new opportunities in wireless communication, Murata has developed the LBES5PL2EL module. It is, said the company, optimised to the demands of IoT hardware and anticipates the demand for Matter connectivity.

The LBES5PL2EL is based on a highly-integrated IW612 single chip 2.4 / 5.0GHz device from NXP, which covers a broad array of wireless protocols, allowing Murata to incorporate 1×1 dual-band Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), Bluetooth 5.3 and IEEE 802.15.4 into the Murata tri-radio module.

Bluetooth Low Energy Audio functionality has also been included with a view to its use in voice-controlled products. This latest generation of Bluetooth technology delivers heightened performance, while drawing less power, and is predicted to replace many of the current BR / EDR (basic rate / enhanced data rate) Bluetooth-based audio connections.

Murata has also introduced the LBEE5PL2DL module, based on the NXP IW611 device. It also features both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 support.

The wireless combination modules can be used in home automation equipment, digital assistants, smart domestic appliances, lighting gateways, climate control systems and EV charging points. FCC/IC and TELEC certification plus conductive tests for CE are all available, to assist in accelerating time to market, while keeping product development costs down.

The Murata LBES5PL2EL and LBEE5PL2DL wireless combo modules are each supplied in compact surface-mount packages, with dimensions of just 8.8 x 7.7 x 1.3mm.

“There are still only a few Matter-compliant solutions on the market, yet the potential for it to deliver convenience and comfort to the places in which we live is huge,” states Akira Sasaki, director of the communication module division at Murata. “Thanks to the introduction of the LBES5PL2EL, we are now able to provide full support for Matter, including Thread, alongside Wi-Fi 6. This will be a real value to engineers developing hardware for home/building automation, as well as for numerous other purposes.”

http://www.murata.com

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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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Wireless modules combine Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth and IEEE 802.15.4 LR-WPAN

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

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