ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 92 of 227

Rohm introduces small ICs for camera modules

Fri, Jun 24, 2022

Rohm has launched its BD868xxMUF-C (BD868C0MUF-C, BD868D0MUF-C) PMICs for automotive camera modules. The models are ISO 26262 and ASIL-B compliant.

In 2018, Rohm achieved ISO 26262 Development Process certification from German certification body TÜV Rheinland, and in 2021 launched the brand ComfySIL. As part of the ComfySIL series, these ICs are ‘FS (functional safety) process compliant’ products (the highest grade), indicating compliance with the ISO 26262 standard.

Meeting the strict requirements for functional safety allows these products to facilitate safety design in next-generation vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Moreover, the four power supply systems (three DC/DC + 1 LDO) necessary for automotive cameras are integrated into a 3.5 x 3.5mm package, and achieve what Rohm claimed is the industry’s smallest size in comparable camera power management ICs.

They are equipped with an anomaly status notification mechanism such as abnormal voltage detection and feedback via I2C. This reduces the number of components by three compared to former devices, which results in a 25 per cent smaller mounting area compared to conventional designs and contributes to smaller vehicle cameras, claimed the company. It said that further miniaturisation is possible.

A wide range of output voltage and sequence control settings can be configured to meet the varying requirements of CMOS image sensors from different manufacturers, which simplifies development.

In addition to the four models (BD868A0MUF-C, BD868B0MUF-C, BD868C0MUF-C and BD868D0MUF-C) that comply with both ISO 26262 and ASIL-B, the lineup will also include the non-ISO 26262-compliant BD868C1MUF-C for users that do not require ASIL compliance. Rohm can also offer products based on customer setup requirements such as output voltages, voltage tolerances, sequencing and functional safety requirements.

Derivative models (BD868A0MUF-C, BD868B0MUF-C and BD868C1MUF-C) are scheduled to be released in succession.

Applications for the models include rear view / perimeter cameras, drive recorders and driver monitoring systems.

Rohm launched the ComfySIL brand for customers involved in the design of functional safety to use products that support SIL (Safety Integrity Level) in a ‘Comfy’ (comfortable) manner, and for social systems’ greater safety, security, and convenience. ComfySIL is awarded to products that conform to the ComfySIL concept for functional safety in the industrial equipment and automotive markets.

Rohm Semiconductor develops and manufactures a product range from SiC diodes and MOSFETs, analogue ICs such as gate drivers and power management ICs to power transistors and diodes to passive components.

https://www.rohm.com

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Synthesiser enables performance in GSPS data converter solutions

Fri, Jun 24, 2022

Analog Devices (ADI) has introduced an 800MHz to 12.8GHz synthesiser for high performance wideband data converter and synchronisation applications.

The ADF4377 synthesiser offers signal-to-noise performance by providing a clean clock source to drive the signal sampling process. This allows next generation wideband receivers and transmitters to utilise higher levels of dynamic range, which leads to greater receiver sensitivity and transmitter spectral purity.

The performance is achieved by the ADF4377 synthesiser, which delivers jitter levels below 18fs rms because of the low normalised in-band phase noise at -239dBc/Hz, -147dBc/Hz normalised 1/f noise and a wideband voltage control oscillator (VCO) noise floor of -160dBc/Hz.

The ADF4377 synthesiser is suitable for applications such as radar, instrumentation, and wideband receivers requiring multiple data converters or mixed-signal front end (MxFE) digitisers that operate together. ADI claimed it simplifies the alignment and calibration routines by allowing groups of data converters to sample their signals in precise alignment with each other. This is fundamental to the operation of next generation wideband multi-channel systems and is achieved by implementing automatic reference to output synchronisation, well-matched reference to output delays across process (3ps part to part), voltage, and temperature (0.03ps/ degree C) and sub-ps, jitter- free reference to output delay adjustment capability (+/- 0.1ps).

These features allow precise multi-chip clock and SYSREF alignment. JESD204B and JESD204C subclass 1 solutions are supported by pairing the ADF4377 synthesiser with an IC that distributes pairs of reference and SYSREF signals. The ADF4377 integrates all necessary power supply bypass capacitors, saving board space on compact boards.

The ADF377 operates an output frequency range of 800MHz to 12.8GHz, jitter is 18fs rms (Integration bandwidth: 100Hz to 100MHz) and it has a wideband noise floor of -160dBc/Hz at 12GHz.

The PLL specifications are: -239dBc/Hz: normalised in-band phase noise floor; -147dBc/Hz: normalised in-band 1/f noise; and phase detector frequency up to 500MHz.

Output delay specifications are: part-to-part standard deviation of 3ps; temperature drift of 0.03ps/ degrees C; and multi-chip output phase alignment.

ADI offers analogue and mixed signal, power management, radio frequency (RF), and digital and sensor technologies. It serves 125,000 customers worldwide with more than 75,000 products in the industrial, communications, automotive and consumer markets. ADI is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA.

https://www.analog.com

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Eight-bit MCU development board connects to 5G LTE-M NB-IoT networks

Thu, Jun 23, 2022

Microchip Technology’s AVR-IoT cellular mini development board is the latest to join its ABR family. It is based on the AVR128DB48 eight-bit microcontroller (MCU). It provides a platform to start building sensor and actuator nodes on 5G narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) networks.

The small form factor board aimed at developers who want to connect IoT devices to an available 5G network. This is an essential feature for devices on the go or located in remote areas with limited availability of long range (LoRa) networks or other low power wide area networks (LPWAN).

The AVR128DB48 eight-bit MCU family includes security protection with Microchip’s ATECC608 CryptoAuthentication device. The ATECC608 can be configured to most major cloud service providers through Microchip’s IoT provisioning tool.

“Microchip continues to expand its family of AVR eight-bit MCUs for developers to implement a variety of embedded designs with ease and flexibility,” said Greg Robinson, vice president of marketing for Microchip’s eight-bit MCU business unit.

The ability to connect remote and mobile devices to a 5G narrowband network with an eight-bit MCU opens up new opportunities for battery-operated devices due to the low power combined with high-quality analogue peripherals, he added.

The AVR-IoT cellular mini development board comes pre-configured to send data from on-board light and temperature sensors to the cloud, viewable using Microchip’s sandbox portal. The sandbox portal lets customers track and monitor their device in real time from a remote location.

This functionality covers the core requirements of many applications in various industries including agriculture, industrial and energy, as well as consumer spaces such as transportation of goods, alarm systems, building automation and remote monitoring.

To provide an easier, more efficient and more cost-effective solution for connecting IoT devices to 5G using the AVR128DB48 MCU, Microchip has partnered with Sequans to include its Monarch 2 GM02S single-chip radio equipped with 5G LTE-M and narrowband IoT. Microchip also partnered with Truphone to provide the SIM card for cellular service that offers coverage worldwide.

The Monarch 2 GM02S is a 5G-ready LTE-M and NB-IoT solution on a single chip, designed specifically for NB-IoT applications, including sensors, wearables and other low data, low power devices. By partnering with Microchip on its AVR-IoT cellular board, Sequans claimed to simplify and lower the costs of IoT device design.

“Owning and operating all elements of the eSIM ecosystem in-house coupled with access to a large number of low-power cellular networks through a single SIM SKU, provides Microchip customers looking to connect IoT devices a future proof cellular service.” said Steve Alder, chief business development officer of Truphone.

The AVR-IoT cellular mini development board fits the Adafruit Feather form factor. It features a Qwiic/Stemma I2C connector for easy functionality extension, creating a clear path to production. It is also Arduino-compatible and is supported by Microchip’s Github Library, which provides functionality for HTTPS, MQ telemetry transport (MQTT), and low power.

Users can access the Microchip sandbox page for a tutorial on how to get up and running and establish a connection with the AVR-IoT cellular mini development board.

Microchip Technology provides smart, connected and secure embedded control, serving more than 120,000 customers across the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defence, communications and computing markets. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers technical support along with dependable delivery and quality.

https://www.microchip.com

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Renesas’ SmartBond DA1470x SoCs are integrated for wireless connectivity

Wed, Jun 22, 2022

Renesas Electronics has announced the SmartBond DA1470x family of Bluetooth low energy (LE) integrated SoCs for wireless connectivity.

Renesas claimed the DA1470x family to be the only device in the Bluetooth LE space to integrate a power management unit, a hardware voice activity detector (VAD), a graphics processing unit (GPU) and Bluetooth LE connectivity all into a single chip.

This combined functionality provides smart IoT devices with advanced sensor and graphical capabilities and seamless, low power, always-on audio processing. The SoCs are suitable for wearables, such as smart watches and fitness trackers, glucose monitor readers and other consumer medical and healthcare devices, home appliances with displays, industrial automation and security systems, and Bluetooth consoles such as e-bikes and gaming equipment.

“The DA1470x family … enables developers to push the boundaries of connected consumer and industrial applications and future-proof their IoT products to fit the needs of multiple applications, while optimising their bill of materials,” commented Sean McGrath, vice president of the connectivity and audio business division in Renesas’ IoT, Industrial and Infrastructure business unit.

The high level of integration results in “significant cost savings” on the bill of materials (BoM), enabling cost-effective system solutions, according to the company. It also reduces component count on the PCB, enabling smaller form factor designs and freeing up space for additional components or larger batteries. With fewer components on the PCB, the reliability of the system improves, it claimed, delivering a further reduction in the total cost of goods sold (COGS) of the end product.

The wireless SoCs feature a multi core system – with an Arm Cortex-M33 processor as the main application core and Cortex -M0+ as the sensor node controller.

An integrated 2D GPU and display controller supports DPI, JDI parallel, DBI and single / dual / quad serial peripheral interfaces (SPIs) and there is a configurable Mac supporting Bluetooth LE 5.2 and proprietary 2.4GHz protocols.

An integrated 720mA JEITA-compliant USB charger supports rechargeable Li-ion / Li-Po batteries, while an integrated low quiescent current SIMO DC/DC converter of the PMU supplies internal system and external components.

Low power hardware VAD enables seamless and always-on audio processing.

The DA1470x family consists of four new devices, all of which are in mass production and available now.

The DA14706 has already been used in the Xiaomi Mi band 7 wearable activity tracker with a 1.62-inch, 192×490 Amoled display, 120 sports modes and a 15-day battery life for typical use.

The DA1470x family will be demonstrated at Embedded World (21-23 June) in Nuremberg, Germany, at Booth Hall 1-234.

A provider of microcontrollers, Renesas combines its expertise in embedded processing, analogue, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions. These combinations accelerate time to market for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications.

http://www.renesas.com

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Rohm introduces small ICs for camera modules

Synthesiser enables performance in GSPS data converter solutions

Eight-bit MCU development board connects to 5G LTE-M NB-IoT networks

Renesas’ SmartBond DA1470x SoCs are integrated for wireless connectivity

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