Thin magnetic sheets have high permability for NFC

Noise suppressing / magnetic sheets by TDK have high permeability and low magnetic loss for NFC (near field communication) applications. The IFQ06 thin magnetic sheets are flexible and can be easily formed to a desired shape, said the company.

The sheets are suitable for 13.56MHz NFC applications and protect the system from metal objects located directly behind coils.

The latest addition to the Flexield family of magnetic shielding materials, the IFQ06, has high permeability and low magnetic loss, said TDK and provides highly effective protection against performance-reducing design features that can complicate NFC designs, such as metal objects directly behind the antenna.

These hazards are becoming increasingly common as electronic devices evolve to be smaller and more multi-functional, making it increasingly difficult to keep advanced functionalities from interfering with each other. NFC uses electromagnetic induction where the antenna receiving a carrier wave from a reader / writer allows the on-board IC chip to perform signal processing.

Metal objects, in particular, can absorb or disturb the magnetic flux lines of the generated H field, creating eddy currents which reduce effective range. These disturbances can also shift the inductance value and self-resonance frequency, reducing performance because of tuning issues between the two antennas. In some cases, metal close to the antenna will carry an induced current that produces a countering magnetic field, shortening the communication distance and making communication impossible.

Placing the IFQ06 material between the antenna coil and any metal surface confines the magnetic flux within the magnetic shield generated by the reader / writer. As a result, the generation of an induced current on the metal surface is eliminated and optimum 13.56MHz communication conditions can be maintained.

TDK lists other benefits of the IFQ06 series as its ability to shape / direct the magnetic H field, influence the quality factor (Q) of the inductive antenna, increase the coupling factor (K) between two antennas, help set the inductance value (Ls) for resonant tuning, complete the magnetic field path and to improve security by encapsulating the magnetic field and its respective information.

TDK’s IFQ06 flexible magnetic sheet materials are offered in a choice of three formats: roll or sheet materials for prototyping, lower volumes or where large areas need to be covered and custom cut parts which exactly match design requirements for higher volume or automated assembly options.

Standard thicknesses available are 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2mm. Thicknesses of 0.065 and 0.075mm are available on request.  

High surface resistivity is above 10 MOhm allowing for direct contact to metal antennas.

The material is available with an optional high temperature resin [IFQ06S] that supports applications up to +125 degrees C.

http://www.tdk.com

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Chipset for 5G mobile devices is latest member of Semtech PerSe family

Semtech has expanded its PerSe product portfolio with the PerSe Connect SX9376 IC which is purpose built for 5G mobile devices. 

Semtech’s PerSe technology senses human proximity and enables end devices such as smartphones to implement radio frequency (RF) control. The PerSe Connect SX9376 enables designers to optimise RF performance, enhance connectivity and support elevated compliance with global specific absorption rate (SAR) standards for 5G-enabled consumer devices.

Semtech’s PerSe intelligent sensors are used in the connected device market. They enable automatic adjustment of system level RF emissions in connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, hotspots and laptops for them to operate at peak performance while maintaining compliance, explained Semtech. 

By 2030, the global 5G market is expected to grow at a 47.6 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) with a market valuation of $198.44 billion. To bring these 5G-enabled products to market, OEMs must add more RF antennas into the design to address the frequency increase. The additional antennas can make it challenging for OEMs to address global SAR compliance and accurately manage the device’s RF power, explained Semtech. The SX9376 has a maximum of eight sensor inputs to support multiple antennas and simplify the sensor design without compromising performance and regulation. The chipset is also compatible with various antenna designs, making it easy to integrate into the latest 5G mobile devices, explained Semtech. 

Semtech PerSe Connect 9376’s sensing performance is enabled by a high-resolution analogue front end (AFE) down to 0.74aF. It can support antenna designs with up to 600pF capacitance and is robust with advanced temperature correction to minimise false triggers caused by noise and temperature. 

http://www.Semtech.com 

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Rutronik offers Wi-Fi 6 seamless connectivity with Nordic’s nRF7002 

Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF7002 is a companion IC for integrating seamless Wi-Fi 6 connectivity into a range of applications. It is a cost-effective and power-saving option, said Rutronik, with high speed, improved range and the reliability of the latest Wi-Fi standard. 

The IC operates on both the 2.4 GHz and 5.0GHz Wi-Fi bands, offering a range of options for connecting to networks. The nRF7002 equips products with the latest Wi-Fi 6 technologies, making it suitable for use in medical or inventory tracking applications. Its low power consumption makes it particularly interesting for use in battery-powered wireless products, added Rutronik. 

The nRF7002 is designed to be used in conjunction with the nRF Connect software development kit (SDK). The platform has a number of tools and libraries for developing applications for which the nRF7002 is the optimal choice.

The nRF7002 complies with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax- and has a 20MHz channel bandwidth with 64 QAM (MCS7) and 86Mbits per second PHY throughput.

The companion IC is currently unique in this form in the Nordic portfolio and can be combined with the company’s ultra low power technologies. It is also compatible with Nordic’s existing nRF52 and nRF53 series Bluetooth SoCs and nRF91 series cellular IoT systems in package (SiPs). As a result, Nordic’s Wi-Fi 6 companion IC nRF7002 is suitable for a wide range of applications, for example in smart cities, smart agriculture, smart home, wearables and medical devices. 

The nRF7002 from Nordic Semiconductor is available from the distributor, Rutronik.

Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente was founded in 1973 and is an independent family-owned company based in Ispringen, Germany. It claims to be one of the world’s leading broadline distributors. It has more than 80 offices worldwide and logistics centres in Austin (Texas), Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong to offer comprehensive customer support in Europe, Asia, and North America.

The company focuses on advanced materials, advanced measurement, processing and analytics, advanced robotics, automation, biotechnology, energy and power, future mobility, IIoT and internet of everything, industry 4.0, medical and healthcare, and transportation, logistics and supply chain. 

The company also offers customised logistics systems, reliable supply chain management, and logistics centres worldwide to ensure on-time delivery. The Rutronik24 e-commerce platform completes Rutronik’s range of services. 

http://www.rutronik.com

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Nordic Semiconductor disrupts IoT with low power wireless SoCs

A fourth generation, low power wireless SoC has been introduced by Nordic Semiconductor. The first SoC in the nRF54 series is the nRF54H20 and suitable for disruptive IoT applications demanding high processing power, excellent energy efficiency and security, said Nordic Semiconductor.

The nRF54 series of Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) SoCs add to Nordic’s portfolio of the nRF51, nRF52, and nRF53 series. At the same time it introduces a new hardware architecture fabricated on the GlobalFoundries 22FDX process node. 

Capable of supporting Bluetooth 5.4 and future Bluetooth specifications, plus LE Audio, Bluetooth mesh and Thread, Matter, the nRF54H20 will be the foundation for a new wave of revolutionary IoT end products, promised Nordic Semiconductor. Its combination of advanced features will enable complex end products that have previously been unfeasible, claimed the company.

The nRF54H20 comprises multiple Arm Cortex-M33 processors and multiple RISC-V coprocessors. The processors are clocked at up to 320MHz and each processor is optimised for a specific type of workload.  

The dedicated application processor features double the processing power (2x CoreMark) of the application processor in the nRF5340 SoC. The nRF54H20’s computing resources are supported by integrated memory comprising 2Mbyte non-volatile memory and 1Mbyte of RAM. The SoC’s level of integration will enable developers to shrink designs by replacing multiple components, such as application microcontroller, external memory and wireless SoC, with a single, compact device. In addition to advanced wearables, smart home, medical and LE Audio applications, the nRF54H20 SoC can be used for applications demanding complex machine learning (ML) and support for sensor fusion at the edge.

The nRF54H20 features several new digital and analogue interfaces, including a high performance external memory interface (400Mbytes per second), high speed USB (480bits per second), two I3C peripherals, a CAN FD controller and a 14-bit ADC. These interfaces are in addition to analogue and digital interfaces integrated on the nRF54H20.

The multi-protocol 2.4GHz radio ensures the nRF54H20 SoC is the first in the world to offer -100dBm RX sensitivity when receiving a 1Mbit per second Bluetooth LE signal, according to Nordic Semiconductor. Combined with up to 10dBm TX power, the nRF54H20 offers an ample link budget for enhanced robustness and longer range. The radio RX current consumption is just half that of the nRF5340, said Nordic. For applications that are mainly receivers, such as earbuds and wearables, the low energy consumption allows for more compact batteries or extended battery life, explained Nordic Semiconductor.

The nRF54H20 is a secure low power, multi-protocol SoC and is designed for PSA Certified Level 3, the highest level in the Platform Security Architecture (PSA) Certified IoT security standard. The SoC supports security services such as secure boot, secure firmware update and secure storage. It has cryptographic accelerators that are hardened against side-channel attacks and tamper sensors that detect an attack in progress and take appropriate action.

The nRF54H20 SoC is available for sampling now to selected customers.

http://www.nordicsemic.com

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