Space-qualified quad core processor enhances imaging

Qualified flight models of Teledyne e2v’s LS1046-Space processor, based on Arm’s Cortex-A72. It targets compute-intensive space applications, including high throughput satellites and data compression, as well as artificial intelligence and imaging. According to the company, it outperforms existing alternatives by a factor of 30. 

The LS1046-Space processor has minimal power consumption with a data processing performance that makes it suitable for deployment in power constrained Cubesat and Microsatellite platforms where an advanced data path design and access to multiple integrated peripherals are required. 

“With its advanced processing capabilities, powerful feature set, and ease of use and implementation in space systems – it is an important enabler for artificial intelligence and machine learning. It especially suits future, low earth orbit (LEO) operations,” commented Thomas Guillemain, marketing and business development manager for digital products at Teledyne e2V.

Clocked at up to 1.8GHz, the 64bit LS1046-Space processor delivers 30k DMIPs and has a fast, 2.1Gtransfers per second, 64bit DDR4 SDRAM controller with embedded eight-bit error corrected code (ECC). There is also a 2Mbyte L2 cache shared across the four Arm cores. L1 and L2 caches also benefit from ECC-protection, providing a high degree of in-flight immunity to data corruption, said the company. 

A range of embedded interfaces include 10Gbit Ethernet, three PCI-Express (PCIe) v.3.0 lanes, SPI, I2C and multiple UARTs. The device is supplied in a compact 23 x 23mm, 780-ball BGA package.

The LS1046-Space has a wide operating temperature range (-55 to 125 degrees C) and achieves 100krad total ionising dose tolerance. Immunity to single event latch-up (SEL) and upsets (SEU) is being validated in qualification. The processor is qualified up to NASA level 1.

Teledyne e2v’s supplies standard, semi-custom or full custom devices to customers in healthcare, life sciences, space, transportation, defence and security and industrial markets. 

The company will be exhibiting at electronica in Munich (15 to 18 November) with a stand in Hall C4-215; and at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen (15 to 17 November) stand number M52 in Bremen, Germany. 

http://www.teledyne.com

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Low power cascadable gain blocks can be used in 4G/5G infrastructure

The CMX90G301 and CMX90G302 low power cascadable gain blocks have positive gain-slopes of +1dB and +2dB respectively and an operating frequency range of 1.4 to 7.1GHz. Both devices are suitable for a range of RF applications, including 4G/5G infrastructure and devices operating in unlicensed frequency bands, advised CML Microcircuits.

The CMX90G301 and CMX90G302 positive gain slope amplifiers were developed using CML’s SµRF RFIC / MMIC design capability. These general-purpose gain blocks use GaAs pHEMT technology to achieve an optimal combination of low DC power, low noise, and high gain. 

The CMX90G301 has +1dB positive gain slope, while the CMX90G302 offers a +2dB gain slope for applications requiring more gain slope compensation. Both devices deliver a small signal gain of 14.8 to 16.0dB, a P1dB output rating of +11.5dBm at 3.5 GHz and a low noise figure of 2dB.

As is the case with other devices in the SµRF family, the CMX90G301 and CMX90G302 gain blocks have a high level of integration and support minimised component counts and reduced PCB footprints, said CML. The two cascadable, gain blocks eliminate the need for passive equalisation circuits within the system design. An on-board active bias circuit allows the devices to operate over a wide supply voltage of 2.7 to 5V, with a typical current of 22mA. The RF ports of each device are matched to 50 Ohm, which supports rapid product development cycles, particularly for mass-market applications, said the company.

The CMX90G301 and CMX90G302 address the growing market requirement for high-performing mmWave devices, said Matthew White, marketing manager, RF and mmWave. 

CML Microcircuits is a world-leader in the design, development and supply of low power analogue, digital and mixed-signal semiconductors for telecommunications systems globally.

The company’s varied portfolio means that CML devices are used in an extensive range of industrial and commercial products for licensed and unlicensed wireless voice and data systems.

SµRF is a CML Microcircuits product portfolio of RF front end components with design capability from 1.0 to 100GHz.

In addition to a range of devices, the company is able to offer bespoke solutions to customers. This service includes design assistance, advice, and first-class technical support.

http://www.cmlmicro.com 

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NXP releases RFCMOS radar transceivers for ADAS and AD

Second generation radar transceivers from NXP are now available for ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) and AD (autonomous driving). The TEF82xx series of 77GHz RFCMOS radar transceivers is optimised for fast chirp modulation, and supports short-, medium- and long-range radar applications, including cascaded high-resolution imaging radar. 

It enables 360 degree sensing for critical safety applications, including automated emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert and automated parking.

Radar is used for sensing in passenger vehicles’ ADAS but also in MaaS (mobility as a service) applications, says NXP. Fully autonomous driving will demand higher RF performance for distances beyond 300m, as well as at finer resolutions down to sub-degree level to accurately detect, separate and classify smaller objects. Used with NXP’s scalable family of S32R radar processors, NXP said the TEF82xx RFCMOS radar transceivers are able to deliver the fine angular resolution, processing power, and ranges, required for production-ready imaging radar solutions.

The RFCMOS transceivers have three transmitters, four receivers, ADC conversion, phase rotator and low phase noise VCOs (voltage controlled oscillators). It also includes built-in safety monitors and external interface capability for MIPI-CSI2 and LVDS and complies with ISO26262 and ASIL Level B standards.

NXP has doubled RF performance compared with the first generation devices, with improvements such as a +6dB phase noise improvement, output power of 14dBm at phase noise of -95dBc/Hz and a receiver noise figure of 11.5dB. TEF82xx transceivers use a compact eWLB package with exposed die, which optimises heat transfer to meet demanding thermal conditions, even at elevated ambient temperatures. A particularly short chirp return time of just four microseconds reduces power on time to reduce sensor power consumption. It also allows chirps to be spaced more closely in time which increases speed estimation capabilities.

Developers can easily build and optimise applications using the radar algorithm library offered by the automotive-grade radar software development kit (RSDK) without having to spend time manually fine-tuning accelerator software. There is also a large ecosystem of compilers, development environments, MCALs, and both free and commercial RTOS support.

http://www.nxp.com

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ClockMatrix delivers Class D compliance for O-RAN S-plane Requirements

The 8A34001 system synchroniser is part of Renesas’ ClockMatrix family of precision timing. It is used in AMD’s Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC DFE ZCU670 evaluation kit and reference design for 5G New Radio (5G NR) and generates low jitter, precision timing signals based on the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol (PTP) and synchronous Ethernet (SyncE).

It exceeds next-generation 5G radio requirements including synchronisation and offers full ITU-T G.8273.2 T-BC/T-TSC class C and D compliance. Renesas offers open source SYNCE4L and PCM4L, that is built on open source PTP4L, and device drivers already in a Linux kernel for the 8A34001. Alternative solutions rely on proprietary software that can be difficult for end customers to integrate and customise on to their software platforms.

The AMD ZCU670 is an evaluation and development platform based on Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC DFE, the latest AMD silicon for 5G NR targeting both FR1 and FR2 (mmWave) O-RAN applications. 

The 8A34001 performance has been verified on the ZCU670 evaluation platform and has been shown to exceed the 5G system requirements, reported Renesas. The relevant compliance reports and test results are available from Renesas on request. The 8A34001 system synchroniser will be made available as part of the AMD O-RAN reference design where it is used to implement the S-plane functionality in an O-RU reference design. 

Renesas offers a broad silicon timing portfolio in the industry, including a wide range of buffers, oscillators and clock synthesiser products, to resolve timing challenges in wireless infrastructure, networking, data centres and consumer applications. 

The AMD Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC DFE ZCU670 evaluation kit is available today for qualified customers. The entire ClockMatrix family of timing devices is available from Renesas and its authorised distributors. 

http://www.renesas.com 

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