Temperature sensors boast ‘smallest five-channel’ model

Five 1.8V temperature sensors released by Microchip include what the company claims is the industry’s smallest five-channel temperature sensor with standard lead spacing.

The EMC181x temperature sensor family also introduces system temperature rate-of-change reporting, a feature that provides advanced warning on how the temperature of a system is fluctuating.

The temperature sensors enable designers to reduce power consumption and lower system voltage in applications such as the internet of things (IoT) and personal computing devices in which temperature measurement is central to functionality.

The ability to monitor temperature at multiple locations with a single, integrated temperature sensor reduces board complexity and simplifies design. The EMC181x temperature sensor family offers a variety of remote channels at 1.8V operation to fit different design needs, ranging from two to five channels. The family is suitable for applications migrating from 3.3V systems to lower voltage rails, such as battery-operated IoT applications, personal computing devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and graphics processing units (GPUs). The EMC181x family is register- and voltage-compatible with Microchip’s popular 3.3V EMC14xx temperature sensors for migration to 1.8V. The three-channel sensor is available in an eight-pin 2.0 x 2.0mm footprint and the five-channel in a 10-pin 2.0 x 2.5mm footprint. The sensors can also reduce the number of devices needed for remote temperature monitoring.

The sensors can measure the system temperature rate-of-change, making the EMC181x devices the industry’s first to offer two-dimensional temperature sensing. As well as reporting on the regular temperature, 2D sensing notifies user of the rate of temperature change in a system and shares data that can help to better regulate applications.

The sensors are suitable for closed control loop systems and other applications that prioritise lower voltage rails. The system provides an early notification of rising or falling temperatures, protecting against potential system failure.

The ADM00773 evaluation board provides everything needed to demonstrate the 1.8V three-channel two-wire EMC1833 temperature sensor. The EMC181xx sensors evaluate programmable features such as rate-of-change, temperature alert limits and resistance error correction (REC), in addition to providing off-board temperature measurements and data logging. The evaluation board connects to a PC through a USB interface board and is supplied with the Microchip Thermal Management Software graphical user interface (GUI).

The five devices in the EMC181x family are all available today for sampling and volume production.

http://www.microchip.com

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Encapsulated simple digital power modules offer power density and efficiency

Renesas Electronics Corporation has launched a family of encapsulated digital DC/DC PMBus power modules.

The five RAA210xxx simple digital power modules offer advanced digital telemetry and performance, and are as easy to use as Renesas’ analogue power modules, says the company

The modules are complete step-down regulated power supplies that deliver 25A, 33A, dual 25A, 50A, and 70A of output current, while operating from industry-standard 12V or 5V input power rails.

The RAA210xxx family provides point-of-load conversion for advanced FPGAs, DSPs, ASICs and memory used in servers, storage, optical networking and telecom equipment.

Each device integrates a PWM controller, MOSFETs, inductor and passives inside a thermally optimised, high-density array (HDA) encapsulated module. All that is needed to complete the power supply are input and output bulk capacitors.

The RAA210xxx series is pin-to-pin compatible with Renesas’ full-featured digital ISL827xM series. The digital power modules offer run-time digital programmability to support configuration changes with a subset of PMBus commands, and full telemetry and system monitoring.

If more advanced digital control is later required, upgrading to the pin-compatible ISL827xM modules will enable current sharing with multiple modules connected in parallel, access to all PMBus commands using the PowerNavigator tool and non-volatile memory for configuration storage.

“Our simple digital power modules accelerate time to market for design teams that want an easier-to-use, lower-cost digital power solution,” said Philip Chesley, vice-president of industrial analogue and power business division, Renesas Electronics Corporation.

The proprietary HDA package offers electrical and thermal performance at full load through a single-layer conductive package substrate that efficiently transfers heat from the module to the system board, and dissipates it without requiring airflow or heatsinks.

Space-constrained boards take full advantage of the HDA’s high-power density, which is not achievable with discrete components.

The modules leverage Renesas’ ChargeMode control architecture that delivers up to 96 per cent peak efficiency and better than 90 percent efficiency under most conditions, says the company.

They also provide single-clock-cycle fast transient response to output current load steps, which reduces capacitance and helps save on board space.

http://renesas.com

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USB multi-function environmental sensor for the IoT

Omron Electronic Components Europe has launched a USB version of its multi-function environmental sensor that quickly allows designers to monitor seven parameters.

Like the previously available Omron 2JCIE-BL01 sensor, the new 2JCIE-BU01 offers multiple sensors in one unit that has built-in memory and connectivity through beacon communication.

Omron’s environmental sensor is available for the first time as a USB unit measuring just 14.9 x 29.1 x 7.0mm and can monitor temperature, humidity, light, UV, barometric pressure, noise, seismic and air quality (VOC gas).

The sensor can accumulate data for approxmately three months (based on a communication frequency of once every five minutes) and connect to multiple devices, such as smartphones, via Bluetooth 5.0.

Despite their compact size, the 2JCIE sensors feature their own embedded memory for data logging to keep track of the surroundings.  Potential applications include monitoring and controlling industrial and office environments to improve work space. It is also suitable for home and outdoor applications.

Data from the modules can be downloaded over Bluetooth (BTLE) allowing designers to easily access recorded data.  The 2JCIE environmental sensors are cloud compatible with no need for additional hardware.  Bespoke threshold values can be set to provide alerts that notify the user of any abnormal sensor readings.

“Our multi-purpose environmental sensors make it easy for the designer to deliver a range of measurement functions from just one small sensor,” said Gabriele Fulco, European product marketing manager, Omron Electronic Components Europe. “This will save development time by providing numerous options that can be tailored to the user’s needs.  he USB version offers even more convenience to suit every application.  Whether it’s a question of simply making sure the office environment is kept at the optimum working temperature or ensuring that say a museum has the correct humidity and lighting to protect the exhibits, these sensors offer easy to interpret data that can then be analysed, stored on the cloud and used to set parameters and make real-time adjustments.”

Certified for all required regulations/directives in the EU, US and Japan, the 2JCIE range is FCC approved and CE marked.

The BTLE link has a range of approximately 10m and the sensor has an operating temperature between -10 and 60 degrees Celsius.

http://components.omron.eu

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WAN nodes are rugged for intelligent industrial sensing

Two nodes from Advantech, the Wise-6610 LoRaWAN gateway and Wzzard LRPv2 LoRa WAN node have been designed to meet the increasing demand for intelligent monitoring and warning systems. Advantech says replacing or rewiring existing devices, which are often installed in remote areas or harsh environments, can be difficult and that it is critical that any wireless data communication solution has a rugged enclosure and flexible software design.

Wzzard LRPv2 Node is an integrated LoRaWAN sensing platform for applications ranging from I/O sensor data management to network protocol conversion. It can be used to form a private sensor network, and immediate reduces maintenance costs while increasing overall productivity, claims Advantech.

The Wise-6610 LoRaWAN gateway connects to a user’s application server or SCADA for data access using the MQTT protocol.

The Wzzard LRPvw node and WISE-6610 LoRa WAN gateway support long-range WAN communication, and there is no need to pay additional telecommunication costs, which can reduce costs considerably, adds Advantech.

The Wzzard LRPv2 node can connect up to four sensors simultaneously and is intended for production lines that have many sensors, or for applications where there is limited space for additional devices. The software is specifically designed to be customisable so as to accommodate the most sophisticated of monitoring plans, says the company.

The Wzzard LRPv2 node’s flexibility in both hardware and software frees users from having to deploy an infrastructure-heavy wireless network, meaning that resources can be allocated to other, more critical, investments.

The Wzzard LRPv2 node has two modes: sleep mode (for when the node is idle) and operation mode (for data transmission). It comes with an embedded alarm system to notify users when a threshold has been exceeded so that action can be taken.

Both devices have an IP66-rated enclosure and are protected against ingress from dust and powerful water jets. Their dual-power design (BC/battery for the Wzzard LRPv2 node) provides multiple deployment options, adds the company.

http://www.advantech.com

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