PMICs monitor deep learning SoCs 

Two power management ICs (PMICs) from Maxim Integrated provide power management for deep-learning SoCs, FPGAs and multimedia application processors. The MAX77714 and MAX77752 can help mobile systems designers to maximise performance per watt while increasing system efficiency, says the company.

The MAX77714 and MAX77752 address a spectrum of applications ranging from augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), gaming, solid-state drives (SSDs), security and industrial internet of things (IIoT) to handheld devices such as cameras and home automation hubs. They have been developed with architecture that consumes 40 per cent less power than standard solutions, claims Maxim, to extend battery life and to provide a compact form factor.

The move towards higher performance application processors is increasing computational power in consumer electronics and mobile devices, which is at odds with user expectations that battery-operated, always-on electronics run cool and for long periods of time. Designers are faced with the challenge of reducing board space and component cost, while delivering high efficiency, high horsepower and flexible power sequencing.

The MAX77714 PMIC enables multi-core processor-based systems to operate at maximum performance with greater than 90 per cent efficiency at 3.6V in, 1.1V out. The 70-bump, 4.1 x 3.25 x 0.7mm WLP enables thinner, smaller devices and extends battery life up to 40 per cent compared to standaone solutions, claims Maxim. In addition, it reduces design cycle time, component count, and bill of material (BoM) costs compared to discrete solutions by integrating 13 regulators, including nine low-dropout linear regulators, real-time clock (RTC), back-up battery charger, watchdog timer, flexible power sequencing and eight general purpose input/outputs (GPIOs), adds the company.

The MAX77752 is a multi-channel PMIC designed for applications with multiple power rails and hot-plugging capabilities. It improves efficiency up to 90 per cent at 3.6Vin, 1.8V out for longer battery life and includes a flexible power sequencer (FPS) to allow hardware- or software-controlled power up. It reduces design cycle time, component count and BoM costs by integrating three buck regulators (with high-accuracy brown-out comparators), one low-dropout linear regulator, two dedicated load switch controllers, one in-rush current limiter, two external regulators to enable outputs, voltage monitor for back-up power control and a dedicated digital output resource for logic control. The MAX77752 comes in a compact 40-pin, 5.0 x 5.0 x 0.8mm, 0.4mm-pitch TQFN package.

http://www.maximintegrated.com

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MEN adds BC51M box PC for mobile communications

MEN adds the BC51M box PC to its modular family range. The fanless and maintenance-free device is used in graphics and memory-intensive applications in trains, buses or commercial vehicles. It offers a choice of communications interfaces and is scalable, adds the company.

The BC51M is based on the Intel Atom E3900 series processors, optionally with two or four cores, up to 1.6GHz. With 8Gbyte DDR3 SDRAM, a rear accessible SD card, an integrated eMMC memory and an optional SATA HDD/SSD, the BC51M box PC has sufficient storage capacity for entertainment servers or video surveillance systems.

The BC51M was designed for mobile use in trains, buses or commercial vehicles and manages wireless on-board functions such as internet on board, positioning via GNSS, entertainment or predictive maintenance. The box PC supports up to two DisplayPort interfaces with a maximum resolution of 4K, as well as two Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) interfaces, one USB 2.0, one HD audio and two variable connections for serial I/O, CAN bus, MVB or IBIS.

Two PCI Express Mini Card slots and two micro-SIM slots provide flexibility in implementing mobile service standards up to 4G LTE or WLAN.

The system is designed for fanless operation at temperatures from -40 to +85 degree C. The integrated 30W/24V DC power supply means the box PC complies with the railway standard EN 50155 and ISO 7637-2 for road vehicles.

MEN Mikro Elektronik was founded in 1982. The company has approximately 300 employees worldwide manufacturing embedded COTS boards and devices used in extreme environmental conditions found in mobile, industrial and safety-critical applications.

For individual requirements, starting with development through design-in and beyond, MEN provides its customers with advice and support as well as with system design, configuration and environmental qualification in accordance with industry standards.

The company’s core competencies encompass x86 and RISC processor architectures, development rules for safe applications, analogue I/O design, FPGA technology and Windows, Linux and real-time operating systems (RTOS). Additional expertise includes RAMS and obsolescence management as well as the development of computing hardware for operation in harsh and extreme environmental conditions.

http://www.men.de

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Single power monitoring IC is industry-first, claims Microchip

Claimed to be the industry’s first two-channel device with native 16bit resolution, the PAC1932, and the three-channel PAC1933 are single power monitoring ICs by Microchip.

The power monitoring devices measure from 0 to 32V on a single chip, enabling designers to improve power measurement accuracy. The two-channel device is believed to be the industry’s first with native 16bit resolution, providing leading flexibility across a wide measurement range.   

The PAC1932/33 devices include what is needed to measure power on a single IC, integrating multiple channels in a single package for applications such as point of sale (PoS) systems, ATMs and building automation. This reduces costs for system designers, consolidates the bill of materials (BoM) as the measurement of sub-1.0 to 20V voltage rails normally require separate components to measure each rail efficiently, points out Microchip. The PAC1932/33 measure voltage rails up to 32V and also relieves developers from having to reconfigure measurement resolution between low and high current load events.

As the industry’s only two-channel device with 16-bit power measurement, the PAC1932 can measure without host intervention for 17 minutes, relieving developers from adjusting voltage or current range to measure power and energy. The devices include two 16bit analogue to digital converters (ADCs) that can measure voltage and current simultaneously, enabling developers to extract a true power measurement. According to Microchip, developers can design systems to efficiently save power.

As applications continue to seek ways to reduce power consumption, precision DC power measurement has grown as a key element for energy savings.  Microchip also offers a four-channel PAC1934 for improved power measurement for Windows 10 devices; the PAC1932/33 two and three channel power monitoring ICs offer improved power measurement for low voltage, high power applications in markets such as embedded computing and networking.

The PAC1932/33 work in conjunction with Linux and Windows 10 software drivers. The ADM00805 register-compatible evaluation board can be used to start development with a graphical user interface reporting Vsense, Vbus, power and accumulated power.

The two-channel PAC1932 and three-channel PAC1933 power monitoring ICs are available now for sampling and in volume production.

http://www.microchip.com/PAC1932

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DRAM transitions to 10nm for 5G and AI-powered mobile applications

Claimed to be the first 8Gbit LPDDR5 DRAM for 5G and AI-powered mobile applications, Samsung has unveiled its 10nm class memory. Samsung says that since bringing the first 8Gbit LPDDR4 to mass production in 2014, the company has been setting the stage to transition to the LPDDR5 standard for use in 5G and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mobile applications.

The 8Gbit LPDDR5 has been added to Samsung’s premium DRAM lineup, which includes 10nm-class 16Gbit GDDR6 DRAM and 16Gbit DDR5 DRAM.

The 8Gbit LPDDR5 boasts a data rate of up to 6,400 Mbit per second, which is 1.5 times as fast as the mobile DRAM chips used in current flagship mobile devices (LPDDR4X, 4266 Mbits per second), says Samsung. With the increased transfer rate, the new LPDDR5 can send 51.2Gbytes of data, or approximately 14 full-HD video files (3.7Gbyte each), in a second.

The 10nm-class LPDDR5 DRAM will be available in two bandwidths – 6,400Mbits per second at a 1.1 operating voltage and 5,500Mbits per second at 1.05V. These options make the DRAM a versatile mobile memory for next-generation smartphones and automotive systems. To achieve this performance advance, Samsung doubled the number of memory ‘banks’ (sub divisions within a DRAM cell) from eight to 16. The LPDDR5 DRAM can attain a much higher speed while reducing power consumption, adds Samsung. The 8Gbit LPDDR5 also makes use of an advanced, speed-optimised circuit architecture that verifies and ensures the chip’s speed performance.

To maximise power savings, the 10nm-class LPDDR5 has been engineered to lower its voltage in accordance with the operating speed of the corresponding application processor, when in active mode. It also has been configured to avoid overwriting cells with ‘0’ values. There is also a ‘deep sleep mode’, which cuts the power usage to approximately half the ‘idle mode’ of the current LPDDR4X DRAM. As a result, the 8Gbit LPDDR5 DRAM will deliver power consumption reductions of up to 30 per cent, maximising mobile device performance and extending the battery life of smartphones.

Samsung says the LPDDR5 will be able to power AI and machine learning applications, and will be UHD-compatible for mobile devices worldwide.

Samsung, together with leading global chip vendors, has completed functional testing and validation of a prototype 8Gbyte LPDDR5 DRAM package, which is comprised of eight 8Gbit LPDDR5 chips.

http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor

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