TVS diodes protect in smaller packages

The latest generation of transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes from STMicroelectronics deliver higher protection in smaller packages, says the company.

The TVS diodes are claimed to deliver market-leading power density, handling 600W and 1500W transient power in SMB Flat, and 400W and 600W in SMA Flat packages that have a low profile of just 1.0mm.

In addition to the lower profile, ST’s 1500W SMB Flat package has transient-power capability equivalent to that of conventional devices in SMC packages, in a footprint more than 50 per cent smaller. The 400W and 600W SMA Flat and SMB Flat devices are footprint-compatible with alternatives in conventional SMA and SMB packages, adds ST. Leakage current is five times lower compared with other TVS diodes on the market, to minimise the impact on system operation and power consumption.

The low-profile, high-power protection diodes cover a range of standoff voltages from 5.0V to 188V, suitable for use in applications such as telecomms equipment, e-bikes, drones, robots, automotive electronics, consumer products and power tools.

Industrial-grade and AEC-Q101 automotive-qualified parts are available.

The 400W and 600W devices are in production now, 1500W diodes are available in sample quantities and will enter production in early 2020.

All packages feature wettable flanks that facilitate automatic optical inspection (AOI) for production quality control.

http://www.st.com/tvs

> Read More

Ready-to-use development kits jumpstart LPWAN connectivity

LoRa development packs from STMicroelectronics enable users, from large corporations to smaller companies, independent designers, hobbyists and schools, to use long-range, low power wireless IoT connectivity.

ST offers two packs to provide a LoRaWAN (LoRa wide area network) development chain including gateway and end-node boards, firmware and tools, and using ST’s STM32 Nucleo evaluation boards.

The packs cater for regions with 868, 915M or 923MHz and sub-550MHz industrial, scientific, medical (ISM) frequency bands. Each as proprietary gateway software and ST’s I-Cube-LRWAN end-node software. The node and gateway boards come with an antenna and on-board debugger.

The P-Nucleo-LRWAN2 pack is for high-frequency (868MHz/915MHz/923MHz) ISM bands. It comes with the I-Nucleo-LRWAN1 node expansion board designed by USI, which combines an STM32L0-powered module with ST’s sensor devices including the LSM303AGR MEMS e-compass (accelerometer/magnetometer), LPS22HB pressure sensor, and ST HTS221 temperature and humidity sensor.

The P-NUCLEO-LRWAN3 pack for low-frequency (433/470MHz) ISM regions comes with a node expansion board embedding the STM32L0-powered RisingHF module RHF0M003, together with an ST LSM6DS33D accelerometer, ST LPS22HB pressure sensor, and HTS221 temperature and humidity sensor.

Each pack has a gateway, built with an STM32 Nucleo-144 development board (Nucleo-F746ZG) which contains an STM32F746ZGT6 microcontroller. According to ST, this gateway has an advantage over a commercial version, because users can access device pins to assist development. The gateway acts as a basic packet forwarder to enable data coming from the development node to reach LoRaWAN network servers.

ST has established agreements with LoRaWAN network-server providers LORIOT, Actility, and The Things Network to let users connect gateways to basic network-server capabilities, free of charge. Users can also visualise sensor data and control devices with the myDevices Cayenne for LoRa IoT Builder dashboard.

Nodes are based on the Nucleo-L073RZ Nucleo-64 board that features the STM32L073RZT6 low power microcontroller. A battery socket is provided for mobility. Each pack includes a LoRa node expansion board, which contains a low-power STM32-powered module running an AT-command stack. There is also a selection of motion and environmental sensors provided on-board.

Both development packs are available now. ST’s ecosystem includes LoRaWAN protocol stacks, free integrated development environments (IDEs) such as Keil MDK-ARM and software toolsets, including the STM32CubeMX MCU initialiser and configurator.

http://www.st.com/stm32-lrwan

 

> Read More

Analog Devices at European Utility Week; Enabling the Smart-Energy Future

European Utility Week 2019 (Paris, 12–14 November) is the meeting point for key players in the Smart Energy sector, where the latest developments in the transition to a fully integrated, low-carbon energy ecosystem will be revealed and discussed.

Analog Devices (ADI), on stand Q130 in the Utility Week Exhibition, will showcase the special expertise its technologies can contribute in areas such as smart metering, power quality analysis, and energy storage.

Global issues of climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, and pollution, set against an ever-growing demand for energy, are rarely out of the news: the need to migrate to a low-carbon, intelligent energy infrastructure is pressing. Operating a truly “smart” energy grid will require new capabilities in measurement, monitoring and control at all scales, bridging the analogue world of the power grid itself and the digital domain of analysis and control – a key interface where ADI can offer an unrivalled wealth of experience.

ADI Energy Analytics Studio; Maximising the potential of the Smart Meter

A demonstration on the stand will feature Analog Devices’ cloud-based analytics service receiving periodic meter health data from mSure® enabled meters. The meters are based on an energy metering IC with mSure technology and licensed firmware to efficiently pack the data for network transmission. The analytics service monitors the accuracy of the meters, analyses drift, and predicts when meters will become out-of-spec enabling utilities to better plan meter asset replacement. In addition, the analytics service continuously detects meter tampering allowing utilities to prioritize investigations and protect revenue from electricity theft.

By combining cloud-based analytics with edge-based sensing and processing, the company delivers a powerful solution for electricity utilities to protect revenue and manage equipment cost-effectively.

Waveform analysis for power quality monitoring

A further demonstration highlights the issue of power quality and harmonic content. Renewable sources on the generation side of the network, and complex loads on the consuming side, can lead to high level of reactive loading and harmonic waveform content, both being inefficient and even hazardous to the infrastructure. Analog Devices’ fundamental capabilities, developed over decades, in the area of signal capture, analogue-to-digital conversion, and signal analysis, are an exact match for this problem. The demonstration is based around a high-integration multi-phase energy/power quality measurement IC that combines A/D conversion, digital signal processing and waveform buffering. Using the latter feature, the demonstration will show extraction of resampled waveform data plus basic harmonic analysis based on one line cycle of data for both the current and voltage channels, requiring only an Arduino Due card as a host and development platform.

Ecosystems for battery-based energy storage

As the balance of generation shifts towards renewable sources, energy storage assumes ever-greater importance. A series of demonstrations will feature the work of industrial partner companies who have selected Analog Devices technology to optimise battery-based designs. The semiconductor manufacturer offers a range of solutions that enable precise monitoring and control of battery systems from the individual cell level, up to the system level. Partners participating in this exhibit include Stercom Power Solutions, showing state of the art battery management systems, tailored for battery energy storage systems (ESS). The ESS specialist will also showcase a full set of products for energy storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, implementing ADI’s latest technology on isolated gate driver and power management ICs.

European Utility Week 2019 takes place from 12-14 November 2019, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Paris, France. (Event details here.)

About Analog Devices

Analog Devices (Nasdaq: ADI) is a leading global high-performance analogue technology company dedicated to solving the toughest engineering challenges. We enable our customers to interpret the world around us by intelligently bridging the physical and digital with unmatched technologies that sense, measure, power, connect and interpret. Visit http://www.analog.com.

> Read More

GaN-based FET supports lidar systems

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)’s campaign to introduce enhanced-mode gallium-nitride on silicon (eGaN) FETS as replacements for power MOSFETs continues with the announcement that its EPC2216 GaN transistor has been qualified to AEC Q101 for automotive use.

The 15V EPC2216 is designed for lidar applications in self-driving cars and other time-of-flight (ToF) applications including facial recognition, warehouse automation, drones and mapping.

It is a 26 mOhm eGaN FET with a 28A pulsed current rating. It is used for firing the lasers in lidar systems to improve positioning accuracy. The FET can be triggered to create high-current with extremely short pulse widths. According to EPC, the short pulse width leads to higher resolution. Its 1.02mm2 footprint is small and inexpensive, suitable for an array of ToF applications from automotive to industrial, healthcare to smart advertising, gaming and security, advises EPC.

The AEC Q101 testing involves rigorous environmental and bias-stress testing, including humidity testing with bias (H3TRB), high temperature reverse bias (HTRB), high temperature gate bias (HTGB) and temperature cycling (TC).

The WLCS package passed the same test standards created for conventional packaged parts, demonstrating that the chip-scale packaging does not compromise ruggedness or reliability, according to EPC.

The eGaN devices are produced in facilities certified to the Automotive Quality Management System Standard IATF 16949.

The automotive-qualified FET joins an expanding family of EPC transistors and ICs designed to enable autonomous driving, improve resolution and reduce cost in ToF applications, commented CEO, Alex Liddow.

The EPC2216 eGaN FET is available for immediate delivery from Digi-Key.

http://www.epc-co.com

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration