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Sondrel presents its second reference platforms for faster ASIC design

Mon, Apr 12, 2021

Sondrel has launched the second in its family of reference designs for ASICs that provide a framework to support a customer’s own IP. The SFA250A is aimed at functional safety (FuSa) applications such as advanced driver assistance systems and contains an independent FuSa monitor compliant to ISO 26262 ASIL D – ASIC safety subsystem. Individual subsystems are responsible for the detection and, where applicable, the correction of errors. The SFA 250A has been designed to be easy to adapt to suit the support needs of the customer’s IP as it is scalable, both in terms of function and performance, as well as modular as multiple versions can be combined to form larger solutions.

“So often a customer has created innovative IP but has no idea how to implement this in a chip which is a high-risk scenario,” explained Graham Curren, Sondrel’s CEO. “We are a very safe pair of hands as we have done this hundreds of times over the years for customers. We have drawn on this experience to create the Architecting the future family of IP platforms that are each targeted at specific application areas. Each platform has been designed so that the customer’s IP can easily be integrated into it giving up to 30 per cent reduction in costs, risk and time to market.”

Ben Fletcher, Sondrel’s director of engineering, added: “Reducing risk is massively important for any complex chip design. Sondrel is constantly refining and improving processes to keep increasing the reliability and predictability of the work that we do, and avoid costly delays to customer schedules. Our detailed design practices help us to more easily deliver demanding projects that require the added dimension of functional safety.”

Sondrel emphasises that for those that work in a functional safety environment, safety has to be a top priority. This philosophy has enabled the company to work on FuSa designs for many companies including automotive designs to the ISO 26262 standard.

To further reduce risk and time to market, Sondrel offers a full turnkey service that turns designs into fully tested, shipping silicon.

http://www.sondrel.com

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eSIM with boostrap profile provides immediate link in IoT Discovery kit

Mon, Apr 12, 2021

Developers of cellular IoT devices that connect to the internet through LTE-Cat M and NB-IoT networks can now call on STMIcroelectronics B-L462E-CELL1 Discovery kit which includes GSMA-certified embedded SIM (eSIM).

The kit features an ultra-small size all-in-one cellular module from Murata which, as well as the ST4SIM-200M GSMA-certified embedded eSIM, embeds ST’s ultra-low-power STM32L462 microcontroller and an LTE-M/NB-IOT chipset. The eSIM is pre-programmed with a bootstrap connectivity profile from Truphone, one of ST’s authorised partners. The kit leverages out-of-the-box data connectivity and enables remote SIM provisioning and SIM over-the-air updates. The user can immediately start the board by connecting to a power supply using a USB cable or inserting three AAA batteries in the connector provided before activating the eSIM to let the board connect to a cellular network to begin developing the application.

The B-L462E-CELL1 kit is designed to resist cellular connectivity attacks owing to the ST4SIM-200M eSIM solution based on the ST33 Arm SecurCore SC300 secure element, which is CC EAL5+ and GSMA SGP.02 v3.2 certified. The ST4SIM is ready to host a Root-of-Trust applet for enhanced protection against cyber-attacks.

A set of on-board sensors helps simplify development of motion- and environmental-monitoring solutions. They comprise ST’s LSM303AGR accelerometer-magnetometer, HTS221 relative humidity and temperature sensor, and LPS22HH pressure sensor. There is also a 0.96-inch OLED display, indicator LEDs and a USB connection.

The STM32Cube software expansion package, X-Cube-Cellular drives the Discovery kit and supports the Berkeley (BSD) sockets application programming interface. BSD’s standardised function-calls for Internet communication let users connect their prototypes to the internet without needing to develop an AT-command driver to control the modem. X-Cube-Cellular includes a demonstration application and cellular framework in source code, which ST says is easily imported and configured using the powerful, free STM32Cube software toolset.

With ST’s ultra-low-power technologies in the STM32L4, which draws about 2-microA in Stop 2 mode, and a cellular chipset drawing less than 1.4-microA in power saving mode, the B-L462E-CELL1 Discovery kit provides a platform to develop equipment with battery life of up to 10 years for smart-city, smart-industry, smart-agriculture, smart-metering, and wearable applications.

http://www.st.com/b-l462e-cell1

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75W AC-DC power supply module takes on the tough

Mon, Apr 12, 2021

XP Power has a new range of low profile, half brick, baseplate cooled AC-DC power supplies which require no external circuitry for operation or EMC compliance. Models in the ASB75 series offer compact, fanless power with baseplate cooling for applications such as information technology equipment, Internet of things, general industrial and harsh or rugged applications.

The complete AC-DC power supplies deliver up to 75W of power from a universal (90-264VAC) input and feature an integral AC fuse, EMC filter and hold-up capacitor which helps simplify integration and which targets space-critical applications.

ASB75 devices feature baseplate cooling, enabling operation in sealed metal enclosures using passive cold wall cooling to transfer any heat to the outside of the equipment. An optional heatsink is also available pre-mounted or separately allowing designers to use conventional convection or forced air cooling where preferred.

There are five models in the range, offering single output voltages of 12 V, 15 V, 24 V, 36V or 48V. Efficiency levels of up to 90 per cent minimise unwanted heat generation and contribute to a power density of 20W/in³ within an industry standard half-brick package measuring just 2.28-in x 2.40-in x 0.67-in (57.9mm x 61.0mm x 17.0mm).

With a no load current draw of less than 150mW of power, the ASB75 models reduce standby power needs of end equipment, allowing them to meet challenging modern efficiency standards.

The units offer EMC compliance as standard with no external components required to meet EN55032 Level B for conducted and radiated emissions, as well as offering immunity to meet EN61000-4. Safety compliance to UL/EN/IEC62368-1 also comes as standard.

The rugged, encapsulated devices have in-built protection for over temperature, overcurrent, overvoltage and output short-circuit built in, thereby protecting the device as well as any load that it is powering.

A baseplate operating temperature of -40 degrees C to +8 degrees C suit ASB75 devices to a range of application environments while full encapsulation increases reliability in harsh environments and applications that require rugged devices.

http://www.xppower.com

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WT5000 precision power analyser enhanced with current sensor element

Fri, Apr 09, 2021

Yokogawa has launched a current sensor element and upgraded the firmware for its WT5000 precision power analyser. The enhancements are designed to help companies improve performance when developing or evaluating electronic devices such as electric vehicle (EV) related equipment or systems for solar and wind power installations.

The new current sensor element runs off the WT5000’s internal DC power supply, so there is no need for external power supplies. This makes set up for measurements easier as only the current sensor and a connecting cable are required.

Three sensor connection cable lengths are available: 3m, 5m and 10m. This helps take account of varying test bench layouts where the power analyser may not be located right next to the device under test. The three different cable lengths allow users to select the one most suitable for their set up while keeping the leads as short as possible.

The new current sensor element also improves noise immunity with a low noise power supply and measurement circuit. Previously, reducing the signal to noise ratio required external shunt resistors. In the new modules, shunt resistors are built-in and are included in the shielding in the instrument, increasing noise immunity.

Current signals can be measured with a higher degree of precision, even if they are small, when using the current sensor element and dedicated cable, says Yokogawa. A step-by-step navigation menu simplifies the configuration and use of the current sensors.

Firmware has also been upgraded, with the data streaming function now supporting a 50ms to one second update rate. On the previous version, when using the data streaming function, the WT5000 only offered an update rate with a measurement interval of one second. This meant that all electrical parameters, such as power and Urms and Irms, were calculated over a period of one second. With the new upgrade, the WT5000 calculates all parameters over measurement periods of up to 50 ms, giving a better insight into the dynamic behaviour of the device under test. The upgraded firmware now also offers a 10 ms update rate.

Other upgrades include improvements to the menu such as current phase correction and amplitude correction, which makes setting up external sensors easier by compensating for the phase and gain error.

http://tmi.yokogawa.com/eu

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Sondrel presents its second reference platforms for faster ASIC design

eSIM with boostrap profile provides immediate link in IoT Discovery kit

75W AC-DC power supply module takes on the tough

WT5000 precision power analyser enhanced with current sensor element

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