ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 94 of 230

Power amplifier does not need DFD, CFR or ET, says Guerilla RF

Tue, Jun 28, 2022

Guerilla RF has developed its latest InGaP HBT power amplifier for wideband linear output power in 5G applications that cannot employ digital pre-distortion (DPD), crest factor reduction (CFR) or envelope tracking (ET). The GRF5317 power amplifier delivers 18dBm of wideband linear power and is the first of a series of 0.1W linear power amplifiers being developed by the company.

The InGaP HBT amplifiers were designed specifically for 5G wireless infrastructure applications requiring exceptional native linearity over large 500MHz bandwidths and temperature extremes of -40 to +85 degrees C.

Spanning a frequency range of 1.5 to 2.0GHz, the GRF5317 is tuned to operate within the n1, n2, n3, n25, n34, n39, n65, n66, n70, n80, n84, and n86 5G new radio (NR) bands. The devices typically deliver 18dBm of linear power over the entire operating temperature range while maintaining adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) levels of better than -45dBc and IMD3 levels less than -25dBm are achievable without the aid of supplemental linearisation schemes like DPD.

The ability to beat the -45dBc ACLR performance metric without DPD is critical for cellular applications like home and commercial repeaters / boosters, femto cells, and pico cells, as well as cable loss compensators which are used in conjunction with automotive ‘shark fin’ antennas. Typically, sensitivity to cost, power and size constraints prohibits the use of elaborate linearisation techniques, meaning designers must rely on the power amplifier’s native linearity to meet the stringent emissions mask requirements imposed by the latest 5G standards.

The GRF53xx series was developed by Guerrilla RF, blending power and linearity to maximise the effective range and throughput for cellular systems. It was also designed to be footprint-compatible, enabling customers to rapidly customise designs for many cellular frequencies.

Ryan Pratt, CEO and founder of Guerrilla RF, commented: “GRF now provides pin-pin compatible linear [power amplifiers] PAs that can cover the 0.1W, 0.25W and 0.5W power spectrum, giving customers the ability to simply swap in different devices to address a variety of output power scenarios. The GRF53xx series can also work in conjunction with its 0.5W cousins, serving as linear drivers for the higher power cores.”

The GRF5317 comes in a 3.0 x 3.0mm, 16-pin QFN package. The power amplifier is sampling now. Evaluation boards for the GRF5317 are also available.

https://guerrilla-rf.com/

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Allegro integrates TMR and vertical Hall elements in position sensors for ADAS

Tue, Jun 28, 2022

At this week’s Sensors Converge Conference in San Jose, California, USA, Allegro MicroSystems has launched the A33110 and A33115 magnetic position sensors.

Designed for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) applications that require high levels of accuracy and heterogeneous signal redundancy, the sensors combine the company’s vertical Hall technology (VHT) with tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) technology in a single sensor package. The angle sensors are claimed to be the first of their kind to feature this technology combination in a single package. VHT and TMR is a heterogeneous redundant sensor for automation in vehicles.

The A33110 and A33115 sensors provide magnetic angle sensing via both the primary (TMR) and secondary (vertical Hall) transducers, each of which are processed by two independent channels, each with independent regulators and temperature sensors. This configuration enables the high levels of safety and diagnostic coverage needed for automated driving, including on-chip channel-to-channel angle comparison and independent processing in digital signal paths, with no shared digital resources. Advanced algorithms in both sensors deliver the fast response time, independent gain/offset correction, angle calculation, and linearisation capabilities demanded by safety-critical ADAS applications.

The A33115 also includes a turns counter that tracks motion in 90 degree increments and a low power mode with a user-programmable duty cycle that reduces power consumption when the IC is in a key-off position.

Future automated and autonomous vehicles require advanced electric power steering (EPS) systems with precise motor control capabilities, as well as brake-by-wire or electromechanical braking systems with fast response time. Present day systems commonly use giant magnetoresistance (GMR) or Hall-effect sensors. Compared to the GMR equivalents, Allegro’s TMR on silicon technology offers improved resolution and accuracy, said the company, providing up to eight times greater sensitivity. Measured against traditional Hall-effect sensors, the improvement in resolution is even more pronounced, added the company.

The safe operation of a vehicle requires the highest level of diagnostic coverage in safety-critical systems. Allegro’s VHT enables accurate safety checks, including low-field and missing-magnet detection. The high-resolution sensors are ASIL D-compliant, with heterogeneous redundancy reducing the likelihood of dependent failures, claimed Allegro.

Car manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers are looking for position sensors that provide the greatest accuracy and safety while reducing system footprint and cost, said Scott Milne, business line director for position sensors at Allegro. Integrating both vertical Hall and TMR elements in a single package, enables the customers to meet those needs with a sensor that provides high resolution and heterogeneous redundancy along with integrated diagnostics, he added.

http://www.allegromicro.com

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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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Power amplifier does not need DFD, CFR or ET, says Guerilla RF

Allegro integrates TMR and vertical Hall elements in position sensors for ADAS

Rohm introduces small ICs for camera modules

Synthesiser enables performance in GSPS data converter solutions

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