Shining a Light on Smart City Infrastructure 170201 FUEL EET EU.Indd 1 2/1/17 10:54 AM CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2017

european www.electronics-eetimes.com business press February 2017

Shining a light on smart city infrastructure 170201_FUEL_EET_EU.indd 1 2/1/17 10:54 AM CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2017

4 & 50: OPINION 6 - 29: NEWS & TECHNOLOGY

Uncommon Market: Spectrometer-on-a-chip Ramping up thermoelectric energy harvesting Egyptian startup Si-Ware Systems has shrunk its Last Word: We are hiring! The European MEMS-based instrument to a single chip, slim manufacturing industry looks for STEM graduates enough to be integrated into smartphones.

30 - 35: WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 36 - 38: MULTICORE DESIGN

Leti will deploy a 5G framework on the MINATEC Using GPUs to develop the world’s fastest campus in Grenoble to demonstrate a new database-analytics platform, able to query and map post-OFDM multicarrier waveform. billions of data points in milliseconds.

39 - 41: MEMS TECHNOLOGIES 46: READER OFFER This month, German startup Toposens is Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems giving away an evaluation kit built around its (IPMS) has developed a new class of MEMS ground-breaking ultrasound-based 3D mapping actuator that it claims enables large vertical or technology. lateral deflections with low voltages and energy consumption. 49: DISTRIBUTION CORNER

3 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com UNCOMMON MARKET ENERGY HARVESTING Danish startup ramps up thermoelectrics

By Julien Happich

fter years of product development in stealth mode, Danish startup TEGnology ApS is hoping to change ThermoElectric Generators (TEG) market dynamics, Aramping up the production of energy harvesting modules by the tens of thousands at a competitive price. Its first product, the FLIPTEM 36 (a 6x6 array of intertwined N & P legs) is a 21.8x18mm unit about 4mm thick, able to deliver up to 1.2mW from a 40º temperature gradient across its hot and cold sides, taken at 60 and 20ºC respectively. This device is rated for operation up to 125ºC. Now, most competing TEG solutions today target higher temperature brackets, in the hundreds of degrees Celsius and are clearly addressed at industrial markets where they can A sliced ingot of the thermoelectric materials. power several Watts worth of wireless sensors mounted on hot pipes, engines or heat-dissipating process tanks. fashion to form the n-type legs of the TEG modules. Nevertheless, TEGnology claims it made a materials break- Hansen became a member of the Centre for Energy Materi- through which could potentially expand the market well beyond als from Aarhus University and secured exclusive rights to four industrial use cases. initial material patents. In exchange, the Danish university re- Thermoelectric generators based on the Seebeck effect are ceived shares in the company. It took a few years to transfer the nothing new and there is abundant literature about the materials technology from university to industry and it was not until the that qualify for energy harvesting based on temperature dif- processes were mature and stable that the company decided ferentials, admits TEGnology’s CEO Paul N. Egginton, but when come out of stealth mode with a first product. trying to apply them in the real world, most people fail either for “We’ve already had an order for 50,000 modules which we lack of understanding of the physics or for economic reasons, hope to deliver within the next six months” commented Eggin- due to the materials’ high cost, he says. ton. “Most TEG modules today are based on a scarce mate- As it will be shipping its first orders, Hansen expects the rial, Tellurium, and this is a fundamental limitation. Go to our company to break-even by the end of 2017. competition and ask them for 100,000 parts, I don’t think they’ll Because it uses raw materials several orders of magnitude be able to produce them”, the CEO told EE Times Europe in a cheaper than telluride-based compounds, TEGnology is con- telephone interview. fident it will be able to seize a large market share of the TEG “In contrast, we manufacture our modules with readily avail- modules market while expanding it to many industrial applica- able materials, Silicon, Zinc, Magnesium and Antimony so we tions that may be battery-powered so far. Indeed, the FLIPTEM can source high volumes easily” Egginton continued. 36 is presented as a very competitively-priced battery-replace- The company was founded in 2010 by TEGnology’s Chair- ment solution. #redCUBE man Flemming Bjørn Hansen when he came across some “Competing technologies are unable to deliver in high vol- interesting research results from Aarhus University (Denmark) ume due to the inherent unavailability of tellurium”, emphasized regarding novel thermoelectric materials and their manufacture. the CEO, expecting TEGnology’s solution to address energy Seminal papers published by Dr Hao Yin who later joined the harvesting in fields so far unexplored by today’s expensive embedded world Hall 3 Booth 359 company as its materials expert hint at the use of a β-phase of TEGs.

Zn4Sb3 directly and homogeneously synthesized through the The company is also working on improving the temperature compression of a metal powder mix under high current (spark stability of its alloys in order to compete head-on with today’s plasma sintering). The papers report the β-Zn4Sb3 as being an telluride-based TEGs and displace them too. “We have solved excellent p-type thermoelectric semiconductor. The Silicon that issue up to 450ºC. There are other issues within the module REDCUBE Terminals are the most reliable high-power contacts on the PCB level. Low con-  Flexibility in processing and and Magnesium mentioned by Egginton may be in the form of assembly we need to address. We intend to present the results tact resistance guarantees minimum self-heating. Four different designs cover all leading connection technologies a solid magnesium silicide (Mg2Si) phase obtained in a similar in May at IDTechEx Show and Energy Harvesting Europe conference in Berlin”, the CEO concluded. processing technologies and offer a wide range of applications.  Highest current ratings up to 500 A  Board-to-Board and www.we-online.com/redcube Wire-to-Board solutions  Extremely low self-heating  Robust mechanical connection

TEGnology’s FLIPTEM 36 TEG module. Diced legs before their assembly into a TEG module. REDCUBE PRESS-FIT REDCUBE PLUG REDCUBE SMD REDCUBE THR

4 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com #redCUBE

embedded world Hall 3 Booth 359

REDCUBE Terminals are the most reliable high-power contacts on the PCB level. Low con-  Flexibility in processing and tact resistance guarantees minimum self-heating. Four different designs cover all leading connection technologies processing technologies and offer a wide range of applications.  Highest current ratings up to 500 A  Board-to-Board and www.we-online.com/redcube Wire-to-Board solutions  Extremely low self-heating  Robust mechanical connection

REDCUBE PRESS-FIT REDCUBE PLUG REDCUBE SMD REDCUBE THR NEWS & TECHNOLOGY SPONSORED ARTICLE Shining a light on smart city infrastructure Infineon teams up with Intel and eluminocity to enable secure, globally connected city streets Rosina Kreutzer, Head of System-to-Market and Stephan Schoenfeldt, System Architect, Infineon Technologies

s more people migrate to cities, public administration tromagnetic wave which can be modulated in different ways. bodies are looking for ways to make these cities, their FMCW radar (frequency modulated continuous wave) can infrastructure and energy systems smarter, more secure detect both stationary and moving objects by transmitting a Aand more power-efficient. Alongside this, as vehicles become ‘chirp’ that is mixed with the received signal. The low frequency connected, cities now have more opportunities to interact with FMCW (Frequency Modulation Continuous Wave) Use For stationary and moving objects For moving objects only drivers to bring convenience and efficiency with intelligent traffic Modulation fp management. Yet, as more systems are connected to the cloud, f f

Ta Tb thereby forming the “Internet of Things” , more opportunities to f fa fM b maliciously access sensitive data are created. fb This article will highlight some of Infineon’s fundamental TM technologies that are enabling the smart cities of the future and txa txb txa txb txa txb fRx fTx t t examine an innovative lighting solution created through collabo- Formula c0 fb TM c0 · ∆φ R =· · R = π ration with eluminocity and Intel that could become a vital and 2 fM 2 4 · (fa - fb) intelligent part of every globally connected city. Resolution 1 m, limited by K-band bandwidth 250 MHz1–100 cm, depending on signal processing Increasing urbanization and access to technology is raising Figure 1: Continuous wave radar can detect the position of consumer expectations of how convenient our future lives will stationary and moving objects be. While much of the focus, until now, has been on mobile devices and products, it is now obvious that enhanced infrastruc- output represents distance and speed. FSK (Frequency Shift ture has a significant role to play in defining and developing the Keying) is used to detect the distance of moving objects. Here, world we live in. two frequencies are sent sequentially and the phase shifted This increased expectation comes with challenges; public Doppler signals represent the distance. administration bodies must develop migration plans while still As detection of objects becomes increasingly important to taking important economic and social issues, such as privacy many smart systems and devices, 24 GHz radar technology is concerns of citizens and security, into consideration. Designers found in multiple applications including multicopters / drones, face increasingly complex challenges with requirements that intelligent door openers, home and factory automation, speed sometimes compete. On one hand, they are rapidly embrac- meters, robotics and many other IoT - based applications. ing new technologies to add greater functionality to previously mundane applications such as the humble streetlight while, on Smart street lighting the other hand, they are trying to minimize energy consumption Recently, Infineon partnered with eluminocity and Intel on a in the face of ever-rising energy costs. project to enable tomorrow’s smart, globally connected cities. In this brave new world, the streetlight is no longer just a By combining their know-how and technologies the three com- light, but is rapidly migrating to become a highly functional and panies have developed an advanced and highly efficient LED connected portal that forms a key part of smart city infrastruc- street lighting application that includes precise sensing capabili- ture. However, in order to provide essential functionality and ties and secure data transmission. The jointly developed smart connectivity, lighting designers are now working with cellular street light solution is based upon an eluminocity-designed connectivity and multiple sensing technologies, both active and street light that acts as a hub for smart applications. Infineon passive as well as security solutions. technology is at the heart of the advanced electronic systems and includes 24 GHz radar, efficient power semiconductors, 24 GHz Radar Technology XMC™ microcontrollers and security solutions from Infineon’s Radar is an object-detection method that uses radio waves highly advanced OPTIGATM series. to determine the range, angle or velocity of objects through Intel’s technology enables the connectivity, based upon a electromagnetic waves. Typical radar systems consist of several modem incorporating their Cellular Connectivity that supports elements including a transmitter that produces electromagnetic low power, high coverage through LTE Cat.1 / LTE Cat.M1 / Cat. pulses or waves in the radio or microwave frequency range, a NM1 / LTE-NB / 5G-IoT modules. Combined with the Infineon transmitting antenna, a separate receiving antenna and a receiv- OPTIGATM technology, the standardized cellular technology pro- er that includes the ability to process received signals. vides an open system that is both highly scalable and fully inde- Pulse radar measures the distance of static or moving ob- pendent of existing infrastructure and, at the same time, highly jects by sending a short, powerful pulse that bounces off the secure. The street light operator (often the public administration object. The time between the pulse being sent and the received body) simply needs to ensure the lighting hubs are connected pulse being received is directly proportional to the distance of to the already-provided infrastructure. the object from the radar system. While the lights themselves are inherently efficient through Continuous wave methods transmit continuously an elec- the application of Infineon’s power management and switching

6 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com SPONSORED ARTICLE

devices, the ability of the 24 GHz radar to detect the pres- VCC IFI IFQ ence of objects allows light intensity to be increased only when 90°

MPA Balu n LNA 2.4 mm VEE VEE Tx RFIN needed, thus providing a far more efficient solution than the filter Balu n Balu n Balun Balu n

VEE olyphas e VEE P most efficient ‘always-on’ lighting solutions. Tx_ON 0° Balu n 2.4 mm Yet, these eluminocity smart lights are much more than just f-div PTAT highly efficient lighting solutions. The proximity detection allows VCC_DIV DIV VTUNE R_TUNE V_PTATVCC_PTAT them to detect empty parking spaces nearby which, coupled with the Intel-based connectivity, allows the available space to Figure 2: Block diagram and package size of the BGT24LTR11 be communicated instantly to drivers in the vicinity - one element of truly intelligent traffic management. Through monitor- Sense2GoL demoboard. Alongside the BGT24LTR11 itself, this ing the local traffic conditions, valuable data is available to city fully-featured board comes with a XMC1302 ARM® Cortex® planners and shop owners in the surrounding area. The data M032-bit industrial microcontroller in a compact 25 mm square allows drivers to be guided around areas of congestion, either PCB that also includes dedicated patch antennas for the re- via control of traffic signals and signs, or through the provision ceive and transmit path. The demoboard is connected to a Seg- of instantaneous data to on-board satellite navigation systems. ger debugger breakoff board for reprogramming and evaluation. Modern smart lights can also be equipped with electric ve- The comprehensive kit also includes firmware for motion hicle charging stations, a key prerequisite to successful electric detection and a software GUI for radar signal observation as mobility without occupying additional space. well as a user manual and full PCB schematics and gerber files for rapidly moving designs into production. Infineon intends to Smart Lighting: Technology Overview enhance the support for 24 GHz design with the release of ref- OPTIGATM Security Solutions: While these hubs bring highly erence designs and software configurations in the near future. advanced capabilities to form the backbone of smart cities, Additional sensing: Almost any sensor can be incorporated the very connectivity that enables the benefits brings potential into these smart lighting hubs. Gas sensors can monitor air security weaknesses. In order to address this threat and secure quality and audio sensors can recognize noise pollution levels. the networks upon which smart cities rely, the lighting hub Specific use cases could include audio-based vehicle accident implements technology from Infineon’s OPTIGATM family of reli- or gunshot detection. Although at one level very simple, light able security solutions. These standardized security controllers sensors play a very important role in making street lighting more provide a wide range of security functions for embedded plat- intelligent. By detecting ambient light, they can turn the lights forms. All OPTIGATM products are based on Infineon’s advanced on during periods of inclement weather. By monitoring the ac- hardware security technology giving designers and users high tual light output, they can provide feedback to the controller to levels of confidence in the security. Embedded security func- ensure correct light levels are always achieved, irrespective of tions include system and data integrity, authentication, secured the aging of the lamp. Wearout data can be provided remotely communication, secured data storage and secured updates - all to technicians to allow better planning of maintenance and of which are essential to protecting the integrity of future smart alarms can flag any premature failure. cities. Lighting Controller: The XDPL8220 contains a digital core that The OPTIGATM range has a 16-bit state-of-the-art security enables a variety of systems to be based on the same device. controller at its heart and can easily be integrated into a wide Its advanced control algorithms enable the realization of both range of IoT systems. To provide designers full flexibility, the constant current, constant voltage and limited power control family supports Microsoft Windows, Linux and derivatives as schemes within the same circuit and it is adaptable to target ap- well as providing the integration support for proprietary sys- plications through the adjustment of a comprehensive param- tems. The OPTIGATM family also contains TPM devices that are eter set. the first to support the very latest TPM 2.0 standard from the Compatible with the high expectations of modern power TCG, enabling easy implementation of the very latest security systems, the device offers an input voltage range of 90-305 V protocols. AC, an efficiency > 90% and THD < 15%, ensuring compliance Smart proximity sensing: The proximity detection within the with IEC 61000-3-2 class C. An active PFC and harmonic con- smart lighting hubs is based upon the market’s smallest 24 GHz trol that functions across a wide output current range ensures industrial radar chip solution, the BGT24LTR11. This versatile a power factor greater than 0.9 in all operating conditions and device enables the measurement of multiple parameters includ- ensures that additional supply losses due to reactive power and ing Doppler based object speed / velocity, electromagnetic harmonics are minimized. wave based distance measurements. Additional receive channels also allow detection of angle / direction based upon phase Summary detection at the antennas. Together, Infineon, eluminocity and Intel have turned the humble 24 GHz offers a high object detection range, up to 50 m streetlight into a smart and secure hub that will be at the heart for pedestrians and 150 m for vehicles. It is also much more of smart city infrastructure. The jointly developed end-to-end sensitive that the passive infrared (PIR) technology that it will solution includes streetlights developed by eluminocity and eventually replace in many applications, offering the ability to communications solutions from Intel. The broad range of Infi- detect (for example) respiratory movement down to the mm- neon solutions includes 24 GHz radar sensors, power semicon- range. The 24 GHz technology is also able to be operated in ductors, microcontrollers and security chips; all elements that a wide range of atmospheric conditions, including significant make these hubs very versatile. temperature changes, high levels of humidity and dust thereby The open platform enables other stakeholders to make use making it suitable for outdoor use in even the most inhospitable of the broad sensor networks and innovators are invited to connected global cities. develop new and innovative applications on these systems to For designers that are not yet fully familiar with 24 GHz support and enhance the globally connected cities of the future. technology, Infineon offers a set of demokits such as the www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 7 NEWS & TECHNOLOGY MATERIAL SCIENCES New materials carry current without heating up

By Nick Flaherty esearchers have discovered two very different new materi- can be used to help scavenge or dissipate the heat in engines, or als that can handle current without heating up, enabling be developed into a window coating that improves the efficient advances in power system, sensor and lighting design. use of energy in buildings, the researchers said. RResearchers at Duke and the University “This material could be used to help of California, Berkeley, have found that stabilize temperature,” said Fan Yang, a vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley Lab’s without heating up, allowing significant Molecular Foundry. “By tuning its thermal advances in heat pump and power supply conductivity, the material can efficiently component design. and automatically dissipate heat in the hot Other electrical engineers at Duke summer because it will have high thermal University have created the world’s first conductivity, but prevent heat loss in the electromagnetic metamaterial made with- cold winter because of its low thermal out any metal using boron-doped silicon. conductivity at lower temperatures.” The device’s ability to absorb electro- For the metamaterial, the Duke re- magnetic energy without heating up has searchers created a surface dimpled direct applications in imaging, sensing and with cylinders (below) to absorb terahertz lighting. waves. While this specific frequency range For most metals, the Wiedemann-Franz sits between infrared waves and micro- Law states that good conductors of elec- waves, the approach should be applicable tricity are also good conductors of heat. The researchers at Duke for almost any frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum. and Berkeley used simulations and X-ray scattering experiments “People have created these types of devices before, but previ- on VO2 nanobeams (shown above) to show the proportion of ous attempts with dielectrics have always been paired with at thermal conductivity attributable to the vibration of the material’s least some metal,” said Willie Padilla, professor of electrical and crystal lattice, called phonons, and to the movement of electrons computer engineering at Duke University. “We still need to opti- Enter for a chance to win one of was ten times smaller than what would be expected from the mize the technology, but the path forward to several applications Wiedemann-Franz Law. is much easier than with metal-based approaches.” the innovative, high-end Dev Kits “This was a totally unexpected finding,” The researchers built a prototype con- said Junqiao Wu, a physicist at Berkeley sisting of hundreds of these optimized from our leading manufacturers. Lab’s Materials Sciences Division and a cylinders aligned in rows on a flat sur- UC Berkeley professor of materials science face. Physical tests showed that the new and engineering, working with Olivier De- “metasurface” absorbed 97.5 percent of laire at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Labora- the energy produced by waves at 1.011 tory and an associate professor at Duke terahertz. University. “It shows a drastic breakdown The technology could be used for of a textbook law that has been known more efficient lighting. “We can produce to be robust for conventional conduc- a dielectric metasurface designed to emit tors. This discovery is of fundamental light, without producing waste heat,” said importance for understanding the basic Padilla. “Although we’ve already been electronic behaviour of novel conductors. able to do this with metal-based meta- “The electrons were moving in unison with materials, you need to operate at high each other, much like a fluid, instead of as temperature for the whole thing to work. individual particles like in normal metals,” Dielectric materials have melting points he said. A closer look at one of the cylinders much higher than metals, and we’re now The amount of electricity and heat that comprising a new non-metal metamaterial. quickly trying to move this technology vanadium dioxide can conduct is tunable The arrows depict how different aspects of into the infrared to demonstrate a lighting by mixing it with other materials. When the an electromagnetic field interact with the system.” researchers doped single crystal vanadium Efficiently absorbing energy from cylinder. Credit Willie Padilla, Duke University dioxide samples with the metal tungsten, electromagnetic waves is an important they lowered the phase transition temperature at which vanadium property for other applications such as thermal imaging devices dioxide becomes metallic. At the same time, the electrons in the operating in the terahertz range. “Heat propagates fast in met- metallic phase became better heat conductors. This enabled the als, which is problematic for thermal imagers,” said Xinyu Liu, a researchers to control the amount of heat that vanadium dioxide doctoral student in Padilla’s laboratory. “There are tricks to isolate can dissipate by switching its phase from insulator to metal and the metal during fabrication, but that becomes cumbersome and vice versa, at tunable temperatures around 67 ºC rather than sev- costly.” eral hundred degrees for other exotic materials. Such materials

8 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com

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Embedded print A4.indd 1 1/24/17 10:04 AM NEWS & TECHNOLOGY EFFICIENCY Sheer numbers defeat all efficiency gains, says MIT

By Julien Happich ack of efficiency in the use of natural resources is not the world’s use of materials has been swayed by an effect known only culprit for many of the Earth’s environmental issues; as Jevons’ Paradox. In 1865, the English economist William a new study from MIT hints that the unbalance mostly Stanley Jevons observed that as improvements to coal-fired Lcomes from the sheer number of products being produced, not steam engines reduced the price of coal, England’s consump- necessarily the poor efficiency put into producing them. tion of coal actually increased. All things being finite on Earth (including populations), there While experts believed technological improvements would no such a thing as a “sustainable growth”, although this is reduce coal consumption, Jevons countered the opposite was probably the most widespread oxymoron found in optimistic true: Improving coal-fired power’s efficiency would only in- companies’ annual reports. crease consumer demand for electricity and further deplete coal The researchers asked themselves if humans would be able, reserves. through technological advances, to refrain from taking more Magee and Devezas looked to see whether Jevons’ Paradox, resources from the Earth than the planet can safely produce. and consumer demand in general, has prevented dematerializa- MIT scientists found that technological advances alone will tion of today’s goods and services. They sought to identify a not bring about dematerialization and, ultimately, a sustainable world. Worse, they concluded that no matter how much more efficient and compact a product is made, consumers will only demand more of that product and in the long run increase the total amount of materials used in making that product. Taking one of the world’s fastest-improving technologies as an example, silicon-based semiconductors, anyone can see that although the technological improvements in the efficiency of semiconductors have greatly reduced the amount of material needed to make a single transistor, but at the same time consumers’ demand for silicon has outpaced the rate of its technological change. The world’s consumption of silicon has grown by 345 percent over the last four de- cades, with today’s smartphones, tablets, and computers packing far more transistors than computers built in the 1970s. “Despite how fast technology is racing, there’s actually more general relationship between dematerialization, technological silicon used today, because we now just put more stuff on, like change, and Jevons’s Paradox — also referred to as a rebound movies, and photos, and things we couldn’t even think of 20 effect. years ago,” says Christopher Magee, a professor of the practice The team developed a simple model, or equation, to cal- of engineering systems in MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and culate whether dematerialization is taking place for a given Society. “So we’re still using a little more material all the time.” product. The model considers a number of variables, including The researchers found similar trends in 56 other materials, population and economic growth, a product’s yearly increase in goods, and services, from basic resources such as aluminium technological performance, and demand elasticity — the degree and formaldehyde to hardware and energy technologies such to which demand for a product varies with its price. as hard disk drives, transistors, wind energy, and photovoltaics. Not surprisingly, the researchers’ model indicates that dema- In all cases, they found no evidence of dematerialization, or an terialization is more likely when demand elasticity for a product overall reduction in their use, despite technological improve- is relatively low and the rate of its technological improvement ments to their performance. is high. But when they applied the equation to common goods “There is a techno-optimist’s position that says technological and services used today, they found that demand elasticity and change will fix the environment,” Magee observes. “This says, technological change worked against each other — the better a probably not” product was made to perform, the more consumers wanted it. Magee and his co-author, Tessaleno Devezas, a professor at “It seems we haven’t seen a saturation in demand,” Magee the University of Beira Interior, in Portugal, published their find- says. “People haven’t said, ‘That’s enough,’ at least in anything ings recently in the journal Technological Forecasting and Social that we can get data to test for.” Change. Magee and Devezas gathered data for 57 common goods In their research, Magee and Devezas examined whether the and services, including widely used chemical components

10 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com ELECTROMOBILITY

such as ammonia, formaldehyde, polyester fiber, and styrene, technological change alone. along with hardware and energy technologies such as transis- “Social and cultural change, people talking to each other, co- tors, laser diodes, crude oil, photovoltaics, and wind energy. operating, might do it. That’s not the way we’re going right now, They worked the data for each product into their equation, and, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it” he concluded. despite seeing technological improvements in almost all cases, Of course, efficiency gains make it easier to produce more they failed to find a single case in which dematerialization — an and faster, which lures manufacturers to tap into larger markets overall reduction in materials — was taking place. (with cheaper products), and it is the sheer numbers involved In follow-up work, the researchers were eventually able to that defeat these efficiency gains from a global resources per- identify six cases in which an absolute decline in materials us- spective. age has occurred. However, these cases mostly include toxic Sadly, despite of their technological prowess, it doesn’t look chemicals such as asbestos and thallium, whose dematerializa- like humans are capable of restraining themselves from wanting tion was due not to technological advances, but to government more year on year, only economics, competition and eventu- intervention. ally conflicts seem able to temper “the hard way” our collective According to Magee, sustainability won’t be reached through greed and force us into a reasonable equilibrium. Electromobility: The big leap has yet to come By Christoph Hammerschmidt

he annual Electromobility Index from consultancy has announced a legislative measure to establish a quota sys- Roland Berger and the fka automotive technology tem for electric vehicles. Norway is discussing a complete ban research institute (Aachen, Germany) certifies Germany on combustion engines from 2025. andT France the leading positions in terms of technology. Though A problem for car manufacturers is the dependence of the the market shows growth in all regions, the market share for battery technology on certain raw materials (such as lithium, electric vehicles is still very low. nickel, manganese, cobalt The Electromobility Index pe- and graphite) and their supply riodically compares the competi- countries. For example, 95% of tive positions of the seven most the reserves of natural graphite important automotive geogra- are in China and almost 50% of phies China, France, Germany the world’s demand on cobalt Italy, Japan South Korea and is served by the Congo. Lithium USA in terms of technology, is extracted mostly in Chile industrialization and market. and Australia; two thirds of the According to the study, world’s supply come from these Germany currently holds the two countries. technology pole position in the The supply of raw material race for electromobility – a little and the production of battery bit surprising, given the suc- cells therefore are factors that cess of Tesla in the US and the underlie certain political risks. relatively high market penetration For instance, the electromobil- of electric vehicles in France. ity market in China is served to Wolfgang Bernhardt, Roland Berger Partner and expert for more than 90% by lithium-ion batteries from local production. automobile markets, explains why. “Germany’s jump to the For this reason, Chinese manufacturers are ranking high in the leading position is owed to the increased product supply and study, including their share of the global cell production. As the extended battery capacity.” The product spectrum in partly a consequence, China holds the top spot in industrialization, and full-electric vehicles has been “significantly expanded”, he ahead of the US and Japan. added. The product portfolio of the French OEMs is smaller and In China, sales of electric vehicles have more than doubled covers the market for cost-affordable compact cars in the first over the past year. Therefore, the country has jumped to the place. For this reason, the French EV vendors are second to second spot in the market category – behind France where the none with regards to price-performance ratio. market share of electric vehicles continues to be higher than “The study shows that all geographies are working inten- in China. Also the growth in France is high at 50% per year (in sively on the electrification of the automobile, however their Germany it is the same, the study says). respective focuses are different”, commented Alexander Busse, Under the bottom line however, the market share of hybrid Consultant for fka. The price reductions for lithium ion batteries and battery electric vehicles exceeded only in France and China and the introduction of new cell generations enables carmak- the 1% mark – still a rather unsatisfying percentage, finds Ro- ers to complement their product range with models that have a land Berger expert Thomas Schlick. To meet the fleet emission higher driving range. limits that will be applied across Europe from 2021 onwards, The experts anticipate that regulatory interventions in met- this market share needs to be significantly increased. To in- ropolitan areas to reduce exhaust emissions will give a strong crease the customer acceptance, the consultancy suggests that impulse to establish electromobility in the international markets. OEMs now put the emphasis on better comfort when charging In cities like London, Paris or Mexico City, gasoline and even by reducing charging time. “To this end, we need full coverage more so diesel engine will likely be banned. In addition, China for the fast-charging infrastructure”, Schlick said. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 11 NEWS & TECHNOLOGY AUTOMOTIVE Higher. Wider. Faster. Visit us at Mobile World Congress Test solutions for 5G. in Barcelona, February 27 to March 02 3D Lidar generates environmental model from ToF measurement The next major step beyond LTE/LTE-Advanced (4G) sets hall 6, booth 6B50 and 6C40 By Christoph Hammerschmidt challenging requirements. Rohde & Schwarz is a world leader in all areas of RF and microwave test and measure- urrently Lidar seems to be one of Lidar sensors, Continen- ment equipment. As a technology expert, we have been the hottest sensor technologies for tal’s 3D Flash Lidar utili- actively involved in mobile communications since the first automated driving. Continental is zes a pulsed laser source workingC on such a sensor without mechani- that works much like the generation. We are committed to supporting the wireless cal parts. flash of a photographic communications industry with the solutions needed to A basic requirement for sophisticated camera. The associated investigate, develop and standardize 5G. advanced driver assistance systems and sensor circuitry measures automated driving is the ability to reliably not only the intensity of Check out our test solutions at www.rohde-schwarz.com/ad/5G perceive vehicle surroundings and evaluate reflected pulses in a 2D them accurately and on-the-fly. pixel array (like in a photo Automotive electronica supplier Conti- camera), but in addition nental AG is working on the next generation it measures the time-of- of an environment model that will deliver flight of the light reflected a seamless 360-degree view of the entire and thus can generate a vehicle’s surroundings. To allow automated three-dimensional, spatial vehicles to assume control from drivers, the environment model with vehicle must continuously acquire, process, and interpret data, an accuracy of a few centimetres. while also acquiring and building up contextual knowledge. In It “sees” any objects at distances up to 200 meters; with a such a context, Lidar systems are playing a pivotal role. Since flash duration of 1.32 microseconds it can update its environ- such systems are known mental model 30 times per second. “The low complexity and to be rather costly, many high industrial feasibility mean that we can efficiently install companies are currently multiple sensors all around the vehicle, thereby enabling us to seeking for ways to develop generate complete, real-time, 360 degrees images of the vehicle cost-effective Lidar sys- surrounding,” explained Arnaud Lagandré, Head of Continen- tems. At CES in Las Vegas, tal’s High Resolution 3D Flash LIDAR segment. Continental showed its The environmental model is a software layer between the High-Resolution 3D Flash various sensors of the vehicle and automated driving applica- Lidar system that meets the tions. All these data are processed in Continental’s Assisted & The omission of any moving automotive requirements of Automated Driving Control Unit, a kind of central instance in the parts makes the 3D Flash Lidar high reliability and cost- vehicle for the implementation of a functional safety architecture sensor sturdy and at the same effectiveness in that it does and driving functions. time cost-effective. not need any moving parts. Both the 3D Lidar and the Driving Control unit will be ready Unlike today’s scanning for series production in 2019, Continental said. E-trucks with overhead power lines to be tested on Autobahn By Christoph Hammerschmidt he idea of overhead power lines for electric vehicles is not transported on roads. Electrified trucks could be a solution that new – after all, in the railway industry it is rather com- meets both the requirement for mass transport capability and mon. For electric trucks, it also has been considered for environmental friendliness, at least as the electric energy used aT while. Now the German govern- is generated by renewable sources. ment plans to test the technology In contrast to batteries, overhead on public highways. power lines allow driving long dis- The project, to be managed tances in electric mode. To this end, by innovation agency VDI/VDE the routes need to be equipped with Innovation + Technik, aims to test overhead power lines. For sections the technology in a real-world en- that do not have this kind of infra- vironment with real traffic. Starting structure, the trucks are equipped point of the considerations around with a conventional diesel engine. this technology is the question The system has been developed how the growing road-bound by Siemens; the company is testing freight transport can be coped it for several years in a remote test with without unreasonable impact area in the northeast of Germany, to the environment. The German in Sweden and in California. The federal government estimates that tests on public highways will now by 2030 the railway system can transport only about 20% of take the technology to the next level. So far it is known that the the additional goods that need to be carted. Which in turn al- test routes will have an extension of 12 kilometres and will be lows the conclusion that the lion’s share of these goods will be located in the states of Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein.

12 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com

21046.001_5G_EETimesEurope-Feb17_210x297_e.indd 1 19.01.17 15:13 Uhr Higher. Wider. Faster. Visit us at Mobile World Congress Test solutions for 5G. in Barcelona, February 27 to March 02 The next major step beyond LTE/LTE-Advanced (4G) sets hall 6, booth 6B50 and 6C40 challenging requirements. Rohde & Schwarz is a world leader in all areas of RF and microwave test and measurement equipment. As a technology expert, we have been actively involved in mobile communications since the first generation. We are committed to supporting the wireless communications industry with the solutions needed to investigate, develop and standardize 5G.

Check out our test solutions at www.rohde-schwarz.com/ad/5G

21046.001_5G_EETimesEurope-Feb17_210x297_e.indd 1 19.01.17 15:13 Uhr NEWS & TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW Car electrification calls for more standardization, says Silicon Mobility

By Julien Happich ounded in December 2015, French start- “If you look at the incumbent players, Infineon, up Silicon Mobility was born strong from NXP, Renesas are all trying to solve functional all the assets it acquired from fabless safety the same way, with bigger and faster Fsemiconductor company Scaleo Chip liquidat- processors. But they all do it sequentially taking ed the same year (originally founded in 1996 to the information and events from sensors around develop ICs for automotive electro-nics). the car and processing it sequentially. We do it Fresh with 10 million euros worth of new in parallel and 30 times faster. We are about four funding from Capital-E and Cipio Partners years in advance” he said, arguing that while one as well as from the French government, the of the main reasons for Intel to buy Altera was to company is now expanding on Scaleo Chip’s solve its software bottlenecks through hardware original ARM-based re-configurable OLEA acceleration, the automotive industry would seek automotive MCU, hoping to announce its first Silicon Mobility’s embedded FPGA fabric for ef- design wins by the third quarter of 2017. ficient hardware acceleration. Announced back in 2014, the OLEA mi- “What’s more, while our competitors all have crocontroller family integrates the company’s excellent products, those are proprietary. We AMEC (Advanced Motor Events Control) Bruno Paucard, Silicon believe that what’s happening to the EV and HEV technology, a hard real-time, deterministic and Mobility’s President and CEO market is very close to what happened 5 years parallel signal processing unit directly control- ago to the cell phone market, there is a need to ling and interfacing actuators and sensors. go open source. When we go to see tier-one customers, they Its core technology relies on the unique combination of a want the choice and the benefits of a full open seamless design Flexible Logic Unit (FLU) and Powertrain-ready Peripherals flow” Paucard said. set (PrP). The OLEA T222 promoted by Silicon Mobility also “We are on three continents at proof of concept stage and features Scaleo’s SILant (Safety Integrity Level agent) techno- without making any announcements, our technology is under logy incorporating hardware safety mechanisms built around a evaluation in Germany, France, Japan and in the U.S in Detroit”, multi-core architecture. It boasts fully deterministic accelerated the CEO boasted. algorithms, guaranteeing faults detection and containment time “There is a lot of traction from OEMs, we see a need of under 1us. ownership. If you look at the Nvidia, Mobileye or Qualcomm of “We are probably the only company who can claim this kind this world, car OEMs seek their close collaboration to adapt of performance and bring down functional safety at the level of solutions to their needs and once a concept car is done, the realtime”, told us Bruno Paucard, formerly Scaleo Chip’s CEO OEMs can use the technology under different flavours and dif- and now Silicon Mobility’s President and CEO during a phone ferent business models. Among our competition, STmicro will interview. open its architecture with ARM, we suppose Renesas will start a program soon, Infineon we know they won’t switch any time soon”. Paucard bets that what Qualcomm did to the mobile industry, it will do to the automotive industry, opening and standardizing architectures. At Embedded World next

The OLEA App will help customize control algorithms Comparing Silicon Mobility’s OLEA architecture with traditional solutions. running on the chip.

14 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

The OLEA T222 chip with its AMEC reconfigurable block and SILant implementation. March, the company will announce OLEA App, an application Close up on the Advanced Motor Events Control (AMEC) that will help designers make the most of Silicon Mobility’s technology and its Flexible Logic Unit. library of algorithms for powertrain electric control with energy consumption reduction and pollutant emission reduction in the control algorithms to e-motor, DC/DC converters and AC/ mind. DC chargers. The company is confident its solutions can extend The OLEA App will include a customization service to adapt an electric motor’s operating range by a minimum of 30%. AI, MEMS and sensors are tech to watch, says IBM By Peter Clarke

rtificial intelligence, MEMS and sensors will be the key The sort of conditions such cognitive analysis could highlight sectors where innovation will have impact on our lives include Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease, Post- within five years, according to IBM research. traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or even neurodevelopmental AIBM has produced a glossy multimedia website to expound conditions such as autism and Attention deficit hyperactivity the possibilities under the label “IBM 5 in 5: five innovations that disorder (ADHD). will help change our lives within five years.” And analog, MEMS Hyperspectral imaging is the sensing in multiple bands of and sensors are prominent. the electromagnetic But digital electronics will spectrum in a correlated also have its say in the form way. By working with of big data and artificial the visible spectrum and intelligence. beyond it is possible to The full list is artificial spot hidden dangers intelligence; hyperspectral such as contaminated imaging; microfluidic lab- food or black ice and on-chips, networks of novel obstacles shrouded sensors and something IBM in fog. IBM research- calls “macroscoping.” ers predict that in the Amongst the develop- next five years what ments IBM researchers are is already technically predicting – and a slightly possible will come down disconcerting prediction at dramatically in size and that – is that what we say price, making “super- and write could be moni- hero vision” part of tored and used as indica- everyday experience. tors of our mental health and physical well-being. Patterns of As to macroscoping: IBM predicts that in a similar way to hy- speech and writing and how they change over time, analysed perspectral imaging there are tremendous gains to be achieved by cognitive systems, could provide tell-tale signs of early-stage by aligning, correlating and using the exabytes of data that are developmental disorders, mental illness and degenerative neu- already captured for discrete purposes. At the moment, IBM rological diseases. states, most data collected is “unorganized.” There are already “You are losing it. The way you wrote/said that last sentence more than six billion connected devices generating tens of means you could have a mental of physical health problem. Go exabytes of data per month, with a growth rate of more than 30 see a doctor.” Big brother indeed. percent per year. However, IBM reports that the global cost of mental health is If multiple sources of data could be aggregating, organized projected to hit US$6.0 trillion by 2030 and early treatment may and analyzed it would be possible to find new optimal practises well be the best way to ameliorate that bill and keep people fit- in such areas as water-efficient agriculture and in science from ter and happier for longer. microscopes to telescopes. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 15 NEWS & TECHNOLOGY HOLOGRAPHIC DISPLAY LCD-based holographic displays in the making

By Julien Happich group of researchers from 1000nm. The size of each pixel Soochow University, China, in the phase plate was 50×65μm, assisted by nano optics slightly smaller than the 95μm pixel Afabrication equipment provider size of the LCD so it would provide SVG Optronics is hoping to bring an alignment tolerance between holographic video displays one the phase plate and the LCD. With step closer to consumers. each of the nanograting sub-pixels Their approach to portable matching one pixel of the LCD, the holography is to drastically reduce 4-view phase plate had a total of the computational requirements 1280×720 pixels and the resolution of refreshing 3D video data by of each view was 640×360. separating the phase information In effect, each image trans- of a lightfield from the amplitude mitted through the stack using information. Instead of relying on Schematic of the holography based multi-view 3D a collimated incident beam was parallax barriers or thin film micro display. The 4-pixel nanogratings on the phase plate sit modulated by the phase plate, with lenses to create stereoscopic between the LCD used as a spatial light modulator and the nanogratings re-directing the multi-views, the researchers rely the incoming light beam. emergent beam to the four viewing on a fixed array of voxel-forming points as initially computed. In prin- nanogratings coupled to an LCD ciple, the same concept could be plane used as the light amplitude applied with many more views (sub- modulator. pixels) all fixed as nanogratings Published in the Optics whose periods and orientations are Express journal, their paper “Mul- carefully computed once for all to tiview holographic 3D dynamic generate a fixed number of views. display by combining a nanograt- Here the phase plate acts opti- ing patterned phase plate and cally as a computational shortcut LCD” proves the concept with for all subsequent views that could a 640×360 resolution four-view be computer-generated (only with display. the light modulation information Here, each addressable pixel needed to drive the LCD display). of the 5.5 inch TFT-LCD used to The researchers measured an modulate the amplitude informa- angular divergence of only 1.02 tion of a lightfield is matched (a) Photograph of the LCD. (b) Photograph of the 5.5 inch degrees on average, slightly larger with a nanograting from the fixed 4-view phase plate. (c) The SEM photo of the 5.5 inch than the diffraction limit of 0.94 de- 4-view phase plate affixed to the phase plate with nano-gratings. (d) The blow-up SEM grees. In their experiments, the re- LCD. photo of nano-grating. searchers used a green collimated With the help of SVG Optronics laser as their light source and were and a specially devised lithography able to display real-time 3D video system, the researchers were able without ghost image or crosstalk. to manufacture diffractive gratings In the same paper, the researchers with a period tuneable in steps also reported 64-view 3D static im- as small as 1nm. The period and ages with 50º of field of view (FOV) orientation of the nanograting in by only using a binary mask. each of the 4-pixel nanogratings They expect to be able to were carefully calculated following increase the resolution of the ste- holographic recording and readout reoscopic images and the refresh- theory, so that the transmitted light ing rate through the use of a higher beam converged to four viewing performance spatial light modulator. points. As future work, the researchers Made out of glass, the phase also envisage the use of collimated plate was patterned using a illumination through a waveguide homemade lithography sys- (which could more easily transfer to tem and positive photoresist. It (a) The 3D images of a rotating automobile. (b) The 3D mobile integration), and the integra- consisted of nanogratings with images of a running car through the trees. tion of RGB colour filters to achieve a period varied from 550nm to full colour holographic video.

16 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com SENSING

FEV launches global R&D center for Smart Vehicles By Christoph Hammerschmidt

ngineering services provider FEV GmbH powerful tools”. From the perspec- (Aachen, Germany) has launched a Center of tive of development, the increas- Excellence that ties together interdisciplinary ing vehicle connectivity translates Edevelopments related to connectivity and automated into countless new functions and driving. Besides integrating driver assistance systems, features, providers and development automation of driving functions, the center will take tasks are created. care of infotainment and telematics, V2X and vehicle-to-cloud Integrating more and more cloud-based features into ve- connectivity and cyber security. hicles also makes cyber security an increasingly important as- Stephan Tarnutzer, hitherto Vice Presicent Electronics at pect. The more interfaces a vehicle is equipped with, the more FEV North America, has been appointed director of the Center vulnerable it will be. FEV therefore develops specific Cyber of Excellence. “Through the integration of new functionalities, Security Gateways. These devices will be connected to the ve- interfaces and components, development tasks for OEMs and hicle’s internal communications bus and can detect and prevent service providers are becoming increasingly complex,” said FEV malicious attacks. In addition, they can assume the function of Group CEO Stefan Pischinger. “This requires not only setting up a firewall between external interfaces and the in-vehicle data focused expert teams but also benchmarking data bases and bus and prevent cyber attacks.

Spectrometer-on-a-chip slim enough for smartphones By Julien Happich

bout a year after it was announcing its first up new types of usage. I like to compare this commercial near infra-red (NIR) spec- breakthrough to inertial sensors ten years ago. trometer, roughly the size of a card deck, Once it became possible to integrate them into AEgyptian startup Si-Ware Systems has shrunk its smartphones, many new applications came up MEMS-based instrument to a single chip, slim that had never been thought about”, said Smyser, enough to be integrated into smartphones and confident the new sensor could spread into con- wearables. sumer devices like wildfire. Operating in the NIR spectral range between 1,100nm and The Executive VP quoted Paris-based market research firm 2,500nm, the NeoSpectra Micro comes in a self-contained Tematys which estimated the market size for compact spec- package measuring 18x18mm and only 4mm thick. trometers at $655 million for 2016, expecting it to grow to While both instruments rely on the same MEMS monolithic almost $1B in 2021. According to the research firm, consumer Michelson interferometer, the chip version went through a thor- applications will experience the largest growth at a 54% Com- ough mechanical and optical optimisation process, explained pounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2015 to 2021. Scott Smyser, Si-Ware’s Executive Vice President. With the NeoSpectra Micro, Smyser expects his company to “When our first model went to market, we used optical fibers more than double its revenues within the next few years, hoping to guide an external light source to the MEMS. We’ve replaced to ship hundreds of thousands micro spectrometers while the that with a couple of microlenses directly integrated with the bulkier version had already shipped in tens of thousands within photodetector and light source integrated onboard” he told the last twelve months. EE Times Europe. Price wise, the chip-sized spectrometer could sell for about The readout ASIC and processor chip are stacked just below USD 100 in volume. the MEMS unit, so what designers get is a ready-to-use spec- “This is an estimate, but I am sure we could do better than trometer whose results can be directly sent out to the cloud to that with good volumes, because our processes are easily scal- match and identify any spectral signatures. able in volume, we use a MEMS chip and two CMOS ASICs, Clearly Si-Ware hopes to enter the all can be manufactured in high consumer market, opening spec- volumes if need be”. troscopy to a plethora of health and Showcasing the NeoSpectra Mi- safety applications where consumers cro at Photonics West, the company could directly scan their food for the has designed it into an iPhone case presence of allergens, for freshness, and developed a demonstration identify pharmaceuticals, analyse the iPhone app which can scan and air quality or even their own breath for measure food and coffee to accu- health monitoring. rately detect and quantify such ele- The startup will provide the low- ments as gluten and caffeine levels. cost modules, the analytics and end The iPhone case was developed by applications are expected to be pro- XPNDBLS, and the spectral analysis vided by device and app makers, as a The die-sized spectrometer algorithms were developed by Exploded view of the B-to-C service. in a 18x18x4mm package. GreenTropism. “The chip scale version really opens package. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 17 NEWS & TECHNOLOGY WAFER PROCESSING

Startup offers carbon-on-Si wafers for RF By Peter Clarke arbonics Inc. (Marina del Ray, Calif.), a startup founded Zebra Sprint. Carbonics ultimately expects to enter the market in 2014, is offering first access to its carbon nanotube as a vendor of RF ICs based on CNTs. (CNT) technology in the form of carbon-on-silicon and It has plans to launch a product line of RF devices and inte- carbon-on-quartzC wafers that the company claims will allow grated amplifiers in 2017 under the name Viper with a product RF performance beyond that of gallium arsenide. Carbonics line of RFICs and MMICs called Stingray that will include high claims that CNT devices can be 30x more linear and 1000x performance millimeter wave LNA, PAs, mixers, switches and more power efficient than gallium arsenide. The front-end modules (FEMs) in 2018. so-called ‘zebra’ wafers are 100mm in diameter “Carbonics intends to shake up the billion- and include a 1nm monolayer of self-aligned dollar compound semiconductor market with CNT material. However, active usable area is just our superior disruptive carbon technology that 20mm by 30mm at the center of the wafer. is fully CMOS compatible and able to perform Making circuits using CNTs can exploit in the millimeter wave spectrum – representing the quasi-ballistic one-dimensional electronic perfect timing for the 5G and Internet of Things transport and achieve superior RF performance (IoT) revolution,” said Carbonics CEO Kos Unfair in terms of efficiency and linearity while retain- Galatsis, in a statement. ing CMOS compatibility, the company claims. In the case of “Carbonics has achieved a unique milestone in the evolution the zebra wafers in silicon substrates the CNT is on top of of carbon electronics,” said Ken Hansen, CEO of Semiconduc- either 1500nm (Zebra Dash) or 15nm (Zebra Bolt) deep layers of tor Research Corp. (SRC). “This is a crucial first step from Car- silicon dioxide. bonics toward high performance, next-generation RF electron- Advantage. The thicker insulating substrate is used for top-gated devices ics using next-generation nanotechnology for high performance such as memory, switch, logic and RF applications covering millimeter wave RF and CMOS compatibility. It’s exciting to see L-Band to millimeter wave and 3G, 4G, 4G, WiFi, 802.11ad and the progress from the fundamental material and device research WiGig spectrums. The thinner insulating layer is used for back- sponsored by SRC and DARPA develop into the launch of a gated device applications such as sensors and detectors. The ground-breaking product technology.” 2X HIGHER performance 4X FASTER development quartz substrate wafers, known as Zebra Sprint, are aimed at Carbonics was founded in 2014 and has been backed with RF applications up to 100GHz. $5.5 million investment from Taqnia International, a venture Wafer prices are $875 for Zebra Bolt and Dash and $975 for capital fund based in Saudi Arabia. Introducing Jade™ architecture and Navigator™ Design Suite, the next 1.8µm pitch overlay accuracy opens up automated wafer-level 3D stacking evolutionary standards in digital Kintex Ultrascale FPGA By Julien Happich signal processing. Pentek’s new Jade architecture, based on the latest generation esearch centre imec and wafer-bonding equipment is significantly better compared to recently published results Xilinx® Kintex® Ultrascale™ FPGA, doubles the performance provider EV Group have joined forces on wafer-to-wafer at recognized conferences such as ECTC and 3DIC reporting stacking for wafer-level 3D IC integration. Both compa- 3.6µm pad size. levels of previous products. Plus, Pentek’s next generation niesR announced their wafer-to-wafer overlay accuracy results Secondly, the dielectric (via-last) wafer-to-wafer bonding Navigator FPGA Design Kit and BSP tool suite unleashes these in both hybrid bonding and dielectric bonding, at the 2017 Euro- technique was tackled. This technique requires extremely good resources to speed IP development and optimize applications. pean 3D Summit in Grenoble. overlay accuracy to align the copper pads from both wafers, • Streamlined Jade architecture boosts performance, Following up on their recent progress, EVG is to become a which are then contacted by through-silicon vias (TSVs). In this partner in imec’s 3D integration program through a joint devel- case, 300nm overlay across the wafer was achieved. reduces power and lowers cost opment agreement to further improve overlay “By joining forces, we achieved these excel- • Superior analog and digital I/O handle multi-channel accuracy in wafer-to-wafer bonding. lent results on overlay accuracy,” explains Eric wideband signals with highest dynamic range Wafer-to-wafer bonding is achieved by Beyne, fellow at imec. “We are excited that we • Built-in IP functions for DDCs, DUCs, triggering, Jade Model 71861 XMC aligning top and bottom wafers that are then can expand our collaboration with EVG with a module, also available in bonded to form the stacked ICs which can mix JDP and the installation of EVG’s GEMINI FB synchronization, DMA engines and more VPX, PCIe, cPCI and AMC with rugged options. heterogeneous technologies (memory, proces- XT wafer bonder in our cleanroom. The GEMINI • Board resources include PCIe Gen3 x8 interface, sample Navigator FDK shown in IP Integrator. sor ICs etc…) FB XT has the potential to further reduce the clock synthesizer and 5 GB DDR4 SDRAM Many of the alignment techniques and wafer-to-wafer overlay errors and therefore • bonding methods for 3D integration have allow for the development of sub-micron wafer- Navigator Design Suite BSP and FPGA Design Kit (FDK) ® evolved from microelectromechanical system to-wafer interconnects technologies.” for Xilinx Vivado IP Integrator expedite development (MEMS) fabrication methods, but for stacked “Further improving the overlay accuracy for • Applications include wideband phased array systems, ICs, the alignment or overlay accuracy has to wafer-to-wafer bonding into the sub-200nm communications transceivers, radar transponders, SIGINT See the Video! be drastically improved. Accurate overlay is needed to align range requires optimization of the interaction between the wafer and ELINT monitoring and EW countermeasures www.pentek.com/go/eetejade or call the bonding pads of the stacked wafers and it is essential to bonding tool and processes as well as pre-and post-processing 201-818-5900 for more information achieving a high yield with wafer-to-wafer bonding. and the wafer material,” explains Markus Wimplinger, corporate All this plus FREE lifetime applications support! Firstly, the hybrid (via-middle) wafer-to-wafer bonding technology development & IP director at EVG. “We are excited technique was improved by using EVG’s high quality bonding to partner with imec in an effort to advance overlay accuracies system with beyond state-of-the-art integration definition of for wafer-to-wafer bonding to meet the needs of future 3D IC bonding pads, resulting in a high yield and a 1.8µm pitch, which designs that rely on high density interconnects”. Pentek, Inc., One Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Phone: 201-818-5900 • Fax: 201-818-5904 • email: [email protected] • www.pentek.com Worldwide Distribution & Support, Copyright © 2016 Pentek, Inc. Pentek, Jade and Navigator are trademarks of Pentek, Inc. Other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. 18 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com

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• Streamlined Jade architecture boosts performance, reduces power and lowers cost • Superior analog and digital I/O handle multi-channel wideband signals with highest dynamic range • Built-in IP functions for DDCs, DUCs, triggering, Jade Model 71861 XMC module, also available in synchronization, DMA engines and more VPX, PCIe, cPCI and AMC with rugged options. • Board resources include PCIe Gen3 x8 interface, sample Navigator FDK shown in IP Integrator. clock synthesizer and 5 GB DDR4 SDRAM • Navigator Design Suite BSP and FPGA Design Kit (FDK) for Xilinx Vivado® IP Integrator expedite development • Applications include wideband phased array systems, communications transceivers, radar transponders, SIGINT See the Video! and ELINT monitoring and EW countermeasures www.pentek.com/go/eetejade or call 201-818-5900 for more information All this plus FREE lifetime applications support!

Pentek, Inc., One Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Phone: 201-818-5900 • Fax: 201-818-5904 • email: [email protected] • www.pentek.com Worldwide Distribution & Support, Copyright © 2016 Pentek, Inc. Pentek, Jade and Navigator are trademarks of Pentek, Inc. Other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

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NEWS & TECHNOLOGY ROBOTICS

Man/machine team era beginning sees computing tech roadmap By Peter Clarke he European Network on High Performance and Embed- monitoring of medical conditions, are bringing us into the age of ded Architecture and Compilation (HiPEAC) has produced artificial intelligence. This does not mean man-sized robots, but its biennial technology roadmap that cov- smart devices that we program and then interact ersT the breadth of electronic, semiconductor, and with, such as intelligent personal assistants and software developments across almost all sectors self-driving vehicles.” of application. Marc Duranton, of CEA France, the lead editor The 139-page report, commissioned by the of the Vision 2017 report, said: “We find ourselves European Commission, discusses how com- at a crossroads, as our current way of mak- puters are taking new forms, interacting more ing computers and their associated software is naturally with humans and augmenting reality. It reaching the limitations of what they can achieve is available for free download. in an ever-changing environment.” The authors describe a world entering the Some of the key developments are seen to “centaur era” where the traditionally distinct roles be computers capable of machine learning, of humans and computers will start to be eroded. computer vision systems and analog, quantum “Computers as we know them are disappear- and sensory computing for reasons of energy ing from view,” said Koen De Bosschere, Professor at the engi- efficiency as well as 5G and the Internet of Things. Ensuring neering faculty of Ghent University, Belgium, and coordinator of security, privacy and energy efficiency at a sustainable price is the HiPEAC network, in a statement. fundamental to future developments, the report argues. “The evolution from desktop PC will not stop at smartphone Vision 2017 lays out recommendations for Europe to use and tablet: the devices and systems that will allow us to auto- technology to its advantage, including in the creation of skilled mate key infrastructures, such as transport, power grids and employment. AI ethics under scrutiny By Julien Happich

he newly launched Ethics and Governance of Artificial July 10 at the MIT Media Lab. Intelligence Fund aims to foster global research that ad- The fund will also oversee an AI fellowship program, identify vances AI for the public interest, a focus that in itself will and provide support for collaborative projects, build networks probablyT be subject to debate. out of the people and organizations currently working to steer AI Initially funded with $27 million from the Knight Foundation; in directions that help society, and also convene a “brain trust” LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman; the Omidyar Network; the of experts in the field. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; and Jim Pallotta, founder The Media Lab and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet of the Raptor Group, the new fund will also and Society will leverage a network of fac- seek to advance public understanding of AI. ulty, fellows, staff, and affiliates to address The MIT Media Lab and the Berkman society’s ethical expectations of AI, using Klein Center for Internet and Society at machine learning to learn ethical and legal Harvard University will serve as the found- norms from data, and using data-driven ing anchor institutions and are expected techniques to quantify the potential impact to reinforce cross-disciplinary work and of AI, for example, on the labour market. encourage intersectional peer dialogue and Work of this nature is already being collaboration. undertaken at both institutions. The Media “AI’s rapid development brings along a Lab has been exploring some of the moral lot of tough challenges,” explains Joi Ito, complexities associated with autonomous director of the MIT Media Lab. “For example, one of the most vehicles in the Scalable Cooperation group, led by Iyad Rah- critical challenges is how do we make sure that the machines wan. And the Personal Robots group, led by Cynthia Breazeal, we ‘train’ don’t perpetuate and amplify the same human biases is investigating the ethics of human-robot interaction. that plague society? “The thread running through these otherwise disparate How can we best initiate a broader, in-depth discussion phenomena is a shift of reasoning and judgment away from about how society will co-evolve with this technology, and people,” says Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Berkman connect computer science and social sciences to develop Klein Center and professor of law and computer science at intelligent machines that are not only ‘smart,’ but also socially Harvard University. Order now at responsible?” “Sometimes that’s good, as it can free us up for other pur- Rather than focusing on niche AI applications, the new initia- suits and for deeper undertakings. And sometimes it’s pro- tive aims to breaking down silos among disciplines and take foundly worrisome, as it decouples big decisions from human an informative role for society as a whole, complementing and understanding and accountability. A lot of our work in this area ouser and ouser Electronics are registered trademars of collaborating with existing efforts and communities, such as the will be to identify and cultivate technologies and practices that ouser Electronics, nc. ther roducts, logos, and coman names upcoming public symposium “AI Now,” which is scheduled for promote human autonomy and dignity rather than diminish it.” mentioned herein, ma e trademars of their resective owners.

20 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com More New Products A4-EMEA-EUR.pdf 1 2/3/17 8:51 AM

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Fingerprint sensors under price pressure, says Yole By Julien Happich

n its Fingerprint Sensor Applica- Authentec a year earlier. Since then, tion & Technologies report, market fingerprint sensors have been massive- research firm Yole Développement ly adopted, and the volumes of sensors (Yole)I is expecting the fingerprint sen- shipped into the consumer market sor market to keep growing steeply have grown incredibly. at a Compound Annual Growth Rate “At first, the sensors were a con- (CAGR) of 19% between 2016 and venience and protection feature for 2022 in volume into the consumer unlocking phones”, explains Guillaume field. Girardin. “However, they are now shift- But this success is double edged, ing into a security feature for online warns Yole, as it coincides with a fast decreasing average identification and mobile payment in an increasing number of selling price due to a strong competitive landscape, process smartphones.” optimization and numerous emerging technologies. Fingerprint sensing is becoming a mandatory feature on The fingerprint market is exploding notably within the smart- every smartphone, adding a lot of value. However such an phone market where it is expected to increase from US$2.8 increase in volume is always followed by strong cost pressure, billion in 2016 to US$3.4 billion in 2022. From 23 million units in and this is what has happened over the last three years. 2013, 689 million fingerprint sensors for smartphones were sold The average cost of a fingerprint sensor has decreased from in 2016. This is an incredible 210% CAGR between 2013 and around US$5 in 2013 to US$3 in 2016, and even less for low- 2016. The 2016-2022 timeframe will see a more reasonable, but end technologies. And the pressure hasn’t gone away. “Current still impressive growth. technologies have now reached maturity, and are threatened by According to technology & market analyst Guillaume Girar- new technologies, which need lower cost to gain momentum”, din, the fingerprint market is today pushed by OEMs requiring analyzes Guillaume Girardin. And this is the case for ultrasonic all-glass design and waterproofing. detection, for instance. “This will lead to the emergence of new technologies like Over the past four years, consumer fingerprint sensor market CMOS TFT and ultrasonic detection as new ways to detect evolution has been driven by the introduction of the biometry in fingerprint with a high level of integration”, notes Girardin. the smartphone business. Revenues were a few tens of millions ”These new technologies will clearly reshape the competitive of dollars in 2010, mainly from the laptop business. Then, the landscape.” overall consumer market skyrocketed, shipping 800 million units Apple introduced the iPhone 5s in 2013, after acquiring in 2016, worth US$2.9 billion. Samsung identifies battery failures in Galaxy Note 7 By Nick Flaherty

wo types of battery failure were responsible for overheat- The independent investigation by test houses TUV Rhineland ing batteries in Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and UL identified short circuits in the battery packs rather than according to a report released by problems with the charging hardware or software theT South Korean company. algorithms. Samsung voluntarily recalled its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after a series of battery fires in 2016. This was followed by an official recall in the US, and the phones were remotely restricted on the amount of charge they would hold. The batteries came from two suppliers: Sam- sung subsidiary SDI and Amperex Technology, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of TDK. The failures identified in one battery saw the negative electrodes being too long and bending, increasing the risk of a short circuit (see above). In the other battery, an insulation layer was missing (see below). Samsung has not specified which faults occured in which battery, but acknowledged that they resulted Thin insulation tape and welding from the design specification. The company has added new tests to its qual- burrs caused failures in some of the ity assurance programme and enhanced existing batteries used in Samsung’s Galaxy tests. Negative electrode positioning. Note 7 smartphones

22 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

Data standard for autonomous navigation wanted By Christoph Hammerschmidt

everal carmakers and suppliers have joined forces to game, Sasse explained, but talks between stakeholders are standardize the data formats used in vehicle navigation. underway. In Japan, a service called DMP (Dynamic Map Plan- After a failed attempt to establish an ISO standard several ning) is currently under development that will support autono- yearsS ago, the development towards autonomous driving brings mous driving; the service is scheduled to be available during the the matter to the table again. Olympic Games in 2020. In the NDS (Navigation Data Standards) association, automo- NDS’ latest offering is Open Lane Model, a subsystem of tive OEMs including BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, Volvo and Nissan the full NDS format. “We released it now to offload developers have gathered with suppliers to from reinventing the wheel for their do away with the hodgepodge of respective projects”, Sasse said. The proprietary navigation data stan- full specs however cannot be released dards. The long list of suppliers since it is property of the NDS mem- includes map services provider bers. Here as well as navigation system Smartphone apps are less exact vendor TomTom, software company and inferior to embedded navigation Elektrobit and infotainment system systems, because the latter have ac- vendors Harman and Clarion. Also, cess to more sensors and thus can Chinese companies such as Baidu make more reliable and more exact and Neusoft are with the party. driving decisions. “We see that there Standardizing navigation and is some competition between smart- map data formats has returned to phone and embedded navigation”, become a relevant matter for the Sasse said, but for autonomous driving automotive ecosystem, because autonomous cars need very the sensor data from the vehicle itself are indispensable.” For exact map data, explains Volker Sasse, chairman of the NDS example, GPS data are exact to a deviation of 5 to 10 meters. If association. Such a generally accepted data standard would the GPS data are enhanced by vehicle data, an accuracy of 10 greatly facilitate the roll-out of traffic and routing related data cm can be achieved, Sasse explained. services for autonomous vehicles. “For new technology devel- Currently the association is focused on European and Asian opments, proprietary data formats may often be more efficient”, companies, but the group is in the process of establishing con- Sasse said. “But as soon as a certain market acceptance has tacts to North American suppliers and system vendors as well. been reached, it becomes an advantage to rely on a broadly “We are in talks with the Silicon Valley”, Sasse claimed. accepted standard”. In the interview with EE Times Europe, Sasse shared some “Currently there are many traffic information services under insights to the American market. EV vendor Tesla, for instance development which are frequently utilizing data from vehicle- is already using the standardized in parts and indirectly through based sensors”, Sasse said. “It makes a lot of sense to stan- suppliers. However, Tesla is not a member of the group. “More dardize these data that are typically exchanged and processed than other OEMs, Tesla relies on their internal sensors for au- in the cloud.” The vehicle-to-x mechanism is not yet part of the tonomous driving”, Sasse said. Nanowire silver ink: highly conductive right out of the printer By Julien Happich n a recent study, researchers from Duke University experi- on paper, the silver nanowire-based inks were not only much mented with different types of pure silver-based conductive more conductive than comparable inks with a similar weigh- inks to assess how the shape of the silver nanoparticles they ratio of round silver nanoparticles or flat silver microflakes, they dispersedI in water would impact the conductivity of dried up didn’t even require a high temperature sintering step to beat all inked patterns. benchmarks. Their findings published in the ACS Ap- Sintering the film of long Ag NWs at plied Materials and Interfaces journal in a only 70°C (a temperature compatible paper titled “The Effect of Morphology on with regular paper and plastic substrates) the Electrical Resistivity of Silver Nanostruc- yielded a resistivity of 1.8×10–5 Ω cm, mak- ture Films” are unambiguous. ing those films 4000 times more conduc- To compare the different ink-jet printer- tive than films made from Ag NPs and still ready “inks”, the researchers sintered thick more conductive than those same films films of silver nanowires (Ag NWs) of two sintered at 300ºC. different lengths, nanoparticles (Ag NPs) What they also found out is that adding and microflakes (Ag MFs) at temperatures ranging from 70 to 10 wt % of silver nanowires to a film of silver nanoparticles was 400°C. enough to improve conductivity 400 folds. Although, the nanowires were expected to be more conduc- This would make such inks readily usable on most sub- tive due to their shape more readily intertwined when printed strates, without any post-processing. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 23 NEWS & TECHNOLOGY MATERIALS ENGINEERING

UK electronics must prep for post-Brexit era, says ESCO By Peter Clarke ony King-Smith, the recently-appointed CEO of ESCO – a port, and King-Smith said he is determined that electronics, UK think-tank on electronics – wants the electronics sec- embedded software and technology generally are championed. tor to make a push to gain the recognition and support it “It is heartening to see that R&D is recognised as a core pillar deserves.T – something the electronic and electrical systems businesses ESCO (the Electronics and Electrical Systems Council) has typically invest heavily in,” said King-Smith. said the UK’s electronics firms must grab the opportunity of a The debate will also likely touch on such issues as education just-published green paper on industrial strategy from the UK and training, immigration, productivity, inward investment and government to create an environment that can support bigger exports, all key areas as the UK heads towards a post-Brexit tech companies and make the UK more attractive for startups future. to form and scale up. Brian Holliday, chairman of ESCO and managing director of King-Smith, an electronics industry veteran and past ex- Siemens Digital Factory in the UK said: “The UK electronics, ecutive vice president of marketing at processor IP licensor electrical and electro-technical sector is a strong and growing Imagination Technologies Group plc, was appointed to head up contributor to the economy. ESCO intends to positively em- ESCO late in 2016 and told EE Times Europe, that electronics is brace Industrial Strategy, and harness the collective energy of an under-represented discipline in government policy discus- all parts of our industry. Together we can collaborate to build sions partly because it underpins so much of modern society. on our innovation and infrastructure base to help create new King-Smith said electronics and software are behind almost startups, engender new technology skills, to encourage new every innovation in the automotive, communications, consumer regional investments and to ensure rewarding technology jobs goods, industrial and aerospace sectors. And yet it is so obvi- are created across the UK.” ous and ubiquitous that it can get forgotten and the companies The ESCO Council includes representatives from such com- that do the fundamental work are often eclipsed by the market panies as Rolls Royce, Siemens, ARM, Schneider Electric and leaders in those application sectors. many UK industry trade bodies and associations. “When you add it all together electronics and technology ESCO was formed in 2013 as Electronics Systems Chal- companies employ a million people in the UK and there are lenges and Opportunities when the UK government commis- about 45,000 companies. We’ve got to pull together as one sioned a report to produce recommendations on growing the industry,” King-Smith said. UK’s electronics systems business. At the time one of ESCO’s The publishing of the Industrial Strategy Green Paper is an goals was grow the annual sales value of the UK’s electronics invitation for interested parties to engage with the UK govern- systems industry from £78 billion (about US$100 billion) in 2012 ment and help determine priorities for investment and sup- to £120 billion (about $150 billion) by 2020. Sub-electrode grid boosts OLEDs’ EQE by 50% By Julien Happich

eeking a way to improve OLEDs’ light avoid angle- and wavelength-dependent ef- extraction efficiency, researchers from fects. A dielectric spacer fills in the depres- the University of Michigan investi- sions and extends above the rectangular gatedS the use of a reflective and scattering grid, providing a planar surface for the sub- sub-electrode grid to reduce light losses sequent deposition of the electrodes and through waveguide and surface plasmon organic layers. The thick and thin spacer polariton (SPP) modes. regions couple differently to the microcav- In a paper published in the ACS Photon- ity modes by locally creating both thick and ics journal under the title “Top-Emitting Or- thin cavity regions beneath the electrode” ganic Light-Emitting Devices Using a Reflec- Schematic cut away view of top-emitting explains the paper. tive Subelectrode Grid”, they detail a novel organic light emitting devices with With this approach and using green outcoupling scheme for top-emitting OLEDs, indium zinc oxide (IZO)/MoO3 electrodes phosphorescent organic light-emitting replacing both the anode and cathode with and a metal-coated sub-electrode grid. devices, the researchers increased the indium zinc oxide (IZO)/ molybdenum triox- external quantum efficiency from 20 ± 1% ide (MoO3) transparent contacts and placing a reflective and to 30 ± 2%, a 50% increase no less for structures without and scattering corrugated metal-coated dielectric mirror beneath the with the reflecting grid. electrically active organic region. They completed their design The beauty of this light extraction improvement method is optimization with a low refractive index antireflection (AR) layer that the metallic scattering grid is fabricated within the sub- on top of the stack to reduce microcavity effects. strate, completely separately from the organic active layers. “The design spaces the active region away from the metal re- This leaves designers a lot of freedom for both OLED stack and flector to minimize coupling to SPP modes while scattering out grid optical designs. the waveguided optical power without disturbing the planarity Another interesting aspect of this design highlighted in the of the device itself” they write in the article. paper: the insulating spacer layer could be replaced with a low- “The silver reflector is a patterned grid of raised rectangles resistance transparent metal oxide to be used as a conductive whose periodicity is on the order of several wavelengths to layer for addressing OLED pixels in an active matrix display.

24 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com MATERIALS ENGINEERING

Heat-driven transistor could benefit IR cameras By Peter Clarke esearchers at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, organic supercapacitor that was reported a year ago. In the Linköping University, Sweden, have created a thermo- capacitor heat, potentially from direct sunlight, is converted electric organic transistor that demonstrates a strong to electricity that can then be stored in the capacitor until it is dependenceR on temperature. needed. The function is based on the use of poly(3-hexylthio- The liquid electrolyte consists of ions and conducting poly- phene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) as the active semi- mer molecules. The positively charged ions conducting layer and poly(vinylphosphonic are small and move rapidly, while the nega- acid- co-acrylic acid) (P(VPA-AA)) as the tively charged polymer molecules are large polyanionic electrolyte insulator. and heavy. When one side is heated, the The high sensitivity to heat of this elec- small ions move rapidly towards the cold trolyte, more than 100 times greater than side and a voltage difference arises. This traditional thermoelectric materials allows large Soret-induced open voltage gates the small areas of electrolyte, which acts as transistor. Hence, this ionic thermoelectric- sensor, to be connected to the transistor cir- gated transistor converts a change in tem- cuit to create a “smart pixel,” the research- perature to a change in the drain current. ers said. “When we had shown that the capaci- The researchers expectation is that ionic thermoelectric sen- tor worked, we started to look for other applications of the new sors could go beyond the limitations of traditional thermopiles electrolyte,” said researcher Xavier Crispin, in a statement. and pyroelectric detectors and that their work paves the way for The work was reported in a paper titled ‘Ionic thermoelectric new infrared-gated electronic circuits with potential applications gating organic transistors,” authored by Dan Zhao, Simone Fa- in IR cameras, medical electronics and electronic-skins. biano, Magnus Berggren and Xavier Crispin, Linköping Univer- The heat-driven transistor builds on research that led to an sity, Campus Norrköping, in Nature Communications 2017. Polarons open up new type of perovskite solar cell By Nick Flaherty erman researchers have developed a new type of solar ing Scientist at DESY, Professor at the University of Göttingen cell that uses infrared energy to generate polaron excita- and head of a research group at the Max Planck Institute for tions in perovskite materials. biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, GThe researchers from the University of Göttingen, DESY, the Material physicists at Göttingen are trying to modify and opti- Max Planck Institute for biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen mise the material in order to achieve a higher operating temper- and the Technical University of Clausthal- ature. “Also, we might be able to achieve Zellerfeld, have shown that polarons - the the cooperative state temporarily through coupled excitation of electrons and a the use of additional light to produce the crystal lattice - can be used to generate excitation,” said Techert. current. “Developing high efficiency and simply “In conventional solar cells, the interac- constructed solid-state solar cells is still tion between the electrons and the lattice a scientific challenge which many teams vibrations can lead to unwanted losses, around the world are working on,” said causing substantial problems, whereas the research director Prof Christian Jooss at polaron excitations in the perovskite solar the University of Göttingen. “In addition cell can be created with a fractal structure to optimising the material and the design at certain operating temperatures and last of existing solar cells, this also involves long enough for a pronounced photovoltaic exploring new, fundamental mechanisms effect to occur,” said Dirk Raiser from the of light-induced charge transport and con- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chem- version into electrical energy. This should istry in Göttingen and DESY. “This requires allow us to develop solar cells based on the charges to be in an ordered ground new operating principles.” state, however, corresponding to a sort of A key factor in studying the operation crystallisation of the charges, which there- of the new cell was fast X-ray analysis. fore allows strong cooperative interactions “Measuring dynamic processes in molecu- to occur between the polarons.” lar units calls for ultra-fast X-ray sources such as PETRA III at The perovskite solar cells developed by the team had to DESY or the European Free-Electron Laser, European XFEL, be cooled in the laboratory to around -35ºC for the effect to which goes into operation this year,” said Prof Techert. take place. “The measurements so far were made in a care- “Examinations like these, some of which were already used in fully characterised reference material, in order to demonstrate the current study, lead to a new level of understanding of charge the principle of the effect. For this purpose, the low transition transfer processes, which in turn makes possible new solar cell temperature was accepted,” said Prof Simone Techert, Lead- functions.” www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 25 NEWS & TECHNOLOGY EFFICIENCY

Single-cable motor interface goes open-source By Julien Happich he open BiSS Line protocol (Bidirectional, Serial and Syn- cation and supply is available. chronous) aims to provide a universal, robust, and effec- The optional Forward Error Correction (FEC) provides even tive solution for all manufacturers and users of electrical more robust data transmission. In addition, the open BiSS Line driveT systems. Since its launch in 2002, BiSS has established protocol provides higher noise immunity when transmitting the itself worldwide as an open, standardized sensor interface. The position capture time, which is encoded and includes error cor- BiSS user community has been working on single-cable tech- rection. nology since 2014 and presented the BiSS Line protocol as the Furthermore, the BiSS Line protocol is 100% compatible with first open interface for single-cable technology at the 2016 SPS BiSS C. This means that all existing BiSS definitions such as IPC Drives exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany. electronic data sheets (EDS), user data memory (USERDATA), Digital feedback in the same cable and using the same con- BiSS profile definitions, ID and serial numbers, etc. can be nectors as motor power is a current re-used, accelerating integration of BiSS trend in electrical drive systems. This Line in both sensors and drives. Even single-cable approach simplifies system BiSS Safety solutions can be imple- wiring and makes installation and main- mented directly using BiSS Line. All BiSS tenance easier. These advantages have Safety contents are covered by the BiSS already attracted the interest of both protocol and are transferable via BiSS users and manufacturers. The technical Line. challenges of single-cable technology The modular approach and the pres- have been solved and proprietary prod- ervation of all sensor definitions and pro- ucts are already available in the market. However, proprietary tocol contents enable sensor manufacturers to easily convert protocols limit the diversity of manufacturers and solutions by existing BiSS C systems to BiSS Line. Conversion of existing making interconnectability difficult or impossible. Thus, compet- sensor systems to BiSS Line can be done either in the sensor itive products from different manufacturers are slow to appear. housing, the connectors, or the system wiring. As well as being open-source, a decisive advantage of BiSS Due to the popularity and availability of RS-485 transmis- Line is its full compatibility with the existing single-cable infra- sion technology, hardware modification on the drive side is not structure, including cables, connectors, and transmission tech- necessary. The drive can be expanded to be BiSS Line compat- nology. Using the well-established RS-485 half-duplex physical ible by reconfiguring hardware (FPGA or CPLD) or software, layer, the BiSS Line protocol provides robust digital feedback therefore only a firmware change is required. The cables and with low jitter. A 4-wire solution with separate communication connectors already available for single-cable use from many and supply lines or a 2-wire solution with combined communi- manufacturers can be used without modifications for BiSS Line. Nanostructures double solar cell efficiency to 40% By Nick Flaherty esearchers at Kyoto University in Japan have built nanostructures in silicon that could potentially double the efficiency of solar cells. R“Current solar cells are not good at converting visible light to electrical power. The best efficiency is only around 20%,” said Kyoto University researcher Takashi Asano, who uses optical technologies to improve energy production. Higher temperatures emit light at shorter wavelengths, making short wavelengths an important target in the design of solar cells. “The problem is that heat dissipates light of all wavelengths, but a solar cell will only work in a narrow range,” said Asano. “To solve this, we built a new nano-sized semiconductor that narrows the wavelength bandwidth to concentrate the energy.” Previously, Asano and colleagues at the Susumu Noda lab had taken a different approach. “Our first device worked at high wavelengths, but to narrow output for visible light required Using this material, the team has shown that their nanoscale a new strategy, which is why we shifted to intrinsic silicon in this semiconductor raises the energy conversion rate of solar cells current collaboration with Osaka Gas,” says Asano. to at least 40%. To emit visible wavelengths, a temperature of 1000°C was “Our technology has two important benefits,” adds lab head needed, but conveniently silicon has a melting temperature Noda. “First is energy efficiency: we can convert heat into elec- of over 1400°C. The scientists etched silicon plates to have a tricity much more efficiently than before. Second is the design. large number of identical and equidistantly-spaced rods, the We can now create much smaller and more robust transducers, height, radii, and spacing of which was optimized for the target which will be beneficial in a wide range of applications.” bandwidth.

26 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com OLEDS

International Conference and Exhibition Conductive transparent on Integration Issues of Miniaturized Systems fabrics: an ITO alternative

wiss research centre CSEM and precision fabrics special- Cork, Ireland, ist Sefar have joined their forces to design novel fabric- 8 – 9 March 2017 based flexible and transparent electrodes that could be producedS cheaply, in a roll-to-roll process. smartsystemsintegration.com By weaving metal wires about 40µm in diameter with semi-transparent polymer fibres into Join the community! a precision mesh Knowledge exchange filled with an opti- Trends and innovations cally clear polymer, then coating this Networking substrate with a thin The conductive fabric substrate SEFAR® layer of a solution- TCS Planar. processed organic conductor such as Main conference topics: PEDOT:PSS, the • System integration and packaging research partners were able to obtain • Design of smart integrated systems ITO-free flexible • Smart medtech systems electrodes which they used to dem- • Smart systems applications onstrate large area OLEDs. The high electrical conduc- Special topic: Micrometer-size conductive metal tivity of the metal Emerging technologies for IoT and Industry 4.0 wires in the fabric wires and transparent polymer fibres substrate ensures are woven together and embedded into that the electrode Exhibition: an optically clear filling polymer. The displays high con- The accompanying exhibition displays a wide substrate coated with the conductive ductivity over large polymer forms the electrode upon which distances, even with range of innovative products and solutions from the light-emitted polymer and the top an ultra-thin, and research institutes and international companies. electrode are processed to complete the hence highly trans- OLED device. Not to scale. parent, layer of the conductive polymer. According to Sefar’s literature, the conductive fabric now commercialized under the name SEFAR® TCS Planar exhibits a light transmittance of around 90% throughout the visible and near infrared spectrum, a sheet resistance under 0.1Ω/sq, and can be flexed to a bending radius of 6mm with barely any decrease in conductivity. This makes it an interesting alternative to more expensive and brittle ITO layers typically used as transparent electrodes in many electronic applications, from displays to solar cells and OLEDs. The fabrics can be further coated with a transparent polymer to make them impermeable to liquids and gases while remaining conductive from one side, providing a barrier for humidity and oxygen without altering noticeably their transmittance characteristics. As a demonstration, CSEM used the new fabric to build a large area flexible OLED. Be part of Europe’s leading event on “The use of Sefar fabric-based electrodes significantly smart systems integration! simplifies the production of large-area OLEDs by eliminating the Co-organizer: evaporation, photolithography, and electrical insulation of the supporting metal tracks,” said Peter Chabrecek, R&D manager at Sefar in a company statement. Further information: Part of the activities of: +49 711 61946-292 [email protected] www.electronics-eetimes.com NEWS & TECHNOLOGY PHOTONICS

Monolithic LEDs tunable from 460 to 650nm By Julien Happich ptoelectronics startup Ostendo the current-densities running throughout the Technologies has on its roadmap device. portable light-field displays able The monolithic InGaN-based LED they toO project full 3D holograms out of tiny designed is able to achieve three primary chips built using standard semiconductor colours of light from one device at selected processing equipment. Of course, in order current densities, starting at 650nm and to deliver the right level of resolution, the then decreasing to 460nm or lower as the individual voxels and micro-optics of such a injection current increases. projector chip ought to be drastically shrunk A simplified schematic cross-sectional The epitaxial structures of these mono- so the whole chip may easily fit within to- view of a monolithic tricolour multi-layer lithic LEDs were grown on c-plane (0001) day’s slim smartphones. InGaN-based LED structure. sapphire substrates and in the MQW active One step in that direction comes in the region, a variety of AlGaN-based alloy shape of monolithically integrated full colour LED arrays, where layers were incorporated to control carrier distribution as well each individual LED can be driven to output just any colour in- as improving material quality. The ICBL between the blue and cluding a full white mix. This is no small feat in the world of LED green wells was composed of 10nm Al0.07Ga0.93N sandwiched design was achieved by researchers at Ostendo Technologies between 5nm GaN layers. The ICBL between the green and red and was the topic of a recent publication in AIP Advances under wells was composed of 10nm Al0.20Ga0.80N sandwiched between the title “Growth of monolithic full-color GaN-based LED with 5nm GaN layers. intermediate carrier blocking layers”. Under varying injection currents the light In this paper, lead author Dr. Hussein S. emission changed from red (650nm) to El-Ghoroury who also happens to be Osten- green (530nm) and then to blue (460nm) at do Technologies’ Founder and CEO shares 15, 200 and 400mA, respectively. a novel tricolour InGaN-based LED design At low currents (around 5mA), the device obtained through a common metal-organic first emits a red light and then the colour chemical deposition (MOCVD) process. shifts to amber, yellow, green and blue as His team relied on specially designed currents are increased. All colours can be intermediate carrier blocking layers (ICBLs) combined and mixed by using different to control the carrier injection distribu- combinations of current pulse intensity and tion across the active regions of multiple width, write the researchers in their paper quantum wells stacked one upon another, and Ostendo Technologies is now busy effectively guiding the majority of carriers refining such colour mixing techniques to into the designed quantum wells so they achieve other colours, including white light, would recombine and generate light at the (a)-(f). Images of full colour emissions with correlated colour temperature across QW’s specific wavelengths depending on under different injection currents. adjacent different pixels. Nanoparticles lase through plasmonic resonance By Julien Happich

ublishing their work “Lasing in dark and bright modes of array lased both in dark and bright modes, with narrow line- a finite-sized plasmonic lattice” in Nature Communica- widths of 0.2nm and an increase of four orders of magnitude tions, researchers from Aalto University in emission intensity above threshold. The haveP leveraged nanoparticle plasmonic with researchers observed a low beam diver- dye molecules to achieve optically pumped gence of 0.3° and spatial coherence lengths lasing at the nanometre scale.Using electron of 100μm, which would be enough to devise beam lithography, they’ve built 100x100μm2 out-coupling mechanisms for integration arrays of silver nanoparticles (60nm in into photonic devices. “The dark-mode out- diameter and 30nm high) on a borosilicate coupling mechanism that we introduce is glass, with the nanoparticles spaced about not simple scattering or leakage from sharp 400nm from each other. The added solution edges of the system, rather, it is gradual, of Rhodamine 6G dye molecules modifies the Lasing occurs in a dark mode and the coherent build-up of dipole moments and refractive index of the surrounding the struc- laser light leaks out from the edges of radiation intensity. This inspires ideas for the ture, shifting the surface lattice resonances of the array. Courtesy of Antti Paraoanu design of not only out-coupling schemes but the metal nanoparticles. The dye molecules also beam guiding, trap potentials, topologi- were then excited with a 100fs laser pulse (at a 500nm centre cally non-trivial lattices and edge modes, for instance by gradu- wavelength) and lasing of the nanoparticles was observed at ally changing the pitch and by particle shapes supporting higher visible wavelengths and at room temperature.The nanoparticle order multipoles”, the researchers concluded.

28 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com Harwin Gecko SL EETimes Europe Jan 17.qxp_Layout

PHOTONICS

Snowflake-shaped electrodes boost graphene’s photoabsorption

hanks to a novel gold fractal metasurface design, an international team of scientists from Purdue University and the Technical University of Denmark have managed to tune graphene’s natural wideband optical absorption by over an order of magni- Ttude. Published in Nano Letters, their article “Enhanced Graphene Photodetector with Frac- tal Metasurface” describes how the naturally poor photoabsorption of graphene (merely 2.3% of incident light) can be largely enhanced thanks to the metasurface’s role in facili- tating the generation of electron−hole pairs. The new approach beats other plasmonic nanostructure-based solutions which tend to be narrowband and polarization dependent, wrote the researchers, noting that their Higher proposed gold fractal metasurface design has a relatively flat optical absorption in the visible part of the spectrum and is polariza- Reliability tion insensitive. The metasurface consists of 40nm thick and wide gold lines patterned smaller footprint Conceptual illustration of the graphene- into a densified fractal snowflake geometry based fractal photodetector. through electron beam lithography, out of a Ti (3nm)/Au (40nm) metallization layer. New Screw-Lok About 10μm in diameter, the tree-like structure incorporated six new branches spread- for tougher demands ing out from each new root points to four levels, and an additional three-level fractal structure densifying the original fractal concentrically. In their experiment, the fractal metasurface was connected to the drain of a graphene - Metal back-shells for field effect transistor (with a graphene layer grown on a highly p-doped silicon substrate), maximum strain relief circled out by a circular gold pattern extending out from the source. For reference, the researchers also fabricated a tip-and-ring structure (without fractal and RF shielding metasurface) in parallel to the fractal metasurface-enhanced FET. In agreement with their numerical simulations, they observed that when visible light hits - Up to 45% smaller and up the fractal metasurface, it excites plasmon to 75% lighter than Micro-D oscillation in the gold fractal structure, which in turn confines and enhances the electric field of the incident electromagnetic - Resists extremes of shock, wave within nanometers of the structure. vibration and temperature This, they write, contributes to an extensive electron−hole pair generation and elevates - Excellent out-gassing the electron temperature through electron− electron interactions in graphene. properties The generated carriers are then spatially separated/driven via the built-in electric field Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of (PV) and thermoelectric power differential the graphene photodetector with the (PTE) at gold−graphene interface, giving rise fractal metasurface and tip-and-ring to a detectable photovoltage. structure (the white scale bar is 10μm); Using lasers as a light source focused inset image shows the zoomed-in view on the snowflake electrode, they measured of gold fractal metasurface (the white the photovoltaic output at different wavelengths, zero gate voltage and source−drain scale bar is 1 μm). Source Purdue bias. The gold snowflake electrode yielded University. 10 to 16 better performance than the reference tip-and-ring electrodes. The researchers also observed that the amplitude of the photovoltage increased monotonically with increasing source−drain bias and the photovoltage could be tuned up to three times of that at zero bias. Although all the experiments were done with one particular snowflake design, the researchers note that the simple and inward scalability of fractal metasurfaces makes them well suited for further densification www.harwin.com/ as well as easily adapted to various geometries (the overall coverage area is unchanged gecko-sl with increasing fractal levels, thus the design can be further optimized and still well contained). They also suggest that such fractal metasurfaces could also be integrated with photovoltaic or photothermoelectric devices made of other materials than graphene. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 29 DESIGN & PRODUCTS WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

Powering wireless medical instrumentation requires the right approach

By Tony Armstrong

s with many applications, low power precision components have enabled rapid growth of portable and wireless medical instruments. However, unlike many other ap- Aplications, many medical products typically have much higher standards for reliability, run-time and robustness. As you would expect, much of this burden falls on the power system and its associated support components. Medical products must operate properly and switch seamlessly between a variety of power sources such as an AC mains outlet, battery backup and even harvested ambient energy sources. Furthermore, great lengths must be taken to protect against and tolerate faults, maximize operating time when pow- Fig. 1: LTC3335 Buck-Boost converter with integrated ered from batteries and ensure that normal system operation is Coulomb counter. reliable whenever a valid power source is present. One of the current key trends fueling growth in the potable capacitors, both input and output voltage ripple can be mini- and wireless medical instrumentation is patient care. Specifi- mized, which are additional sources of noise in the system. cally, this is the increased use of remote monitoring systems The main input power to today’s feature-rich medical devices within the patient’s own home. The key reason for this is trend is is usually a 24V or 12V DC source from an external AC/DC purely one of economics and that is the continuous increasing adapter. This voltage it then further reduced to either 5V and/or costs of keeping a patient in a hospital are simply too prohibi- 3.xV rails using synchronous buck converters. Nevertheless, the tive. As a result, many of these portable electronic monitoring number of internal post-regulated power rails in these medical systems must incorporate RF transmitters so that any data devices has increased while operating voltages have continued gathered from the patient can be sent directly back to a super- to decrease. Thus, many of these systems still require 3.xV, 2.xV visory system within the hospital for both immediate or later or 1.xV rails for powering low power sensors, memory, micro- review and analysis by the governing physician. controller cores, I/O and logic circuitry. Furthermore, since the Given this typical scenario, it is reasonable to assume that medical device operation is often critical, many of them often the cost of supplying the appropriate medical instrumentation incorporate a battery back-up system to guarantee operation to the patient for in-home use is more than offset by the cost should the main power supply to the unit fail for some reason. of keeping the patient at the hospital of observation purposes. Traditionally, the lower voltage rails have been supplied by Nevertheless, it is of paramount importance that the equipment step-down switching regulators or low-dropout regulators. used by the patient be reliable and fool-proof. As a result, the However, these types of ICs do not capitalize on the battery manufactures and designers of such products must ensure that cell’s full operating range, thereby shortening the device’s po- they can run seamlessly from multiple power sources while also tential battery run time. Therefore, when a buck-boost converter ensuring the high reliability of their wireless data transmissions is used (it can step voltages up or down from a variable input back to the hospital. This requires that the system designer source) it will allow the battery’s full operating range to be uti- takes great care when designing the power management archi- lized. This increases the operating margin and extends the bat- tecture. It must be robust, flexible, compact and efficient. tery run time as more of the battery’s useful capacity is attained, especially as it nears the lower end of its discharge profile. Potential pitfalls & solutions It is clear that a DC/DC converter solution that solves the It is not unusual for a system designer to use linear regulators in primary cell system application requirements, as well as the a system that incorporates wireless transmission capability. The associated issues already discussed, should have the following primary reason being that it minimizes EMI and noise emissions. attributes: Nevertheless, although switching regulators generate more • A buck-boost power conversion architecture with wide input noise than linear regulators, their efficiency is far superior. Noise voltage range to regulate the output voltage through a variety and EMI levels have proven to be manageable in many sensitive of battery-powered sources and their associated voltage applications as long as the switcher behaves predictably. If a ranges switching regulator switches at a constant frequency in normal • Ultralow quiescent current, both in operating mode and shut- mode, and the switching edges are clean and predictable with down, to increase battery run time no overshoot or high frequency ringing, then EMI is minimized. • The ability to efficiently power system rails Moreover, a small package size and high operating frequency • Capably count Coulombs accurately without significantly can provide a small tight layout, which minimizes EMI radiation. affecting IC quiescent current (battery consumption), to de- Furthermore, if the regulator can be used with low ESR ceramic termine remaining battery state of charge • Current limiting for attenuating inrush currents thus protect- Tony Armstrong is Director of Product Marketing for Power ing the cells Products at Linear Technology Corporation – www.linear.com • Small, lightweight and low profile solution footprints

30 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

sizes. The LTC3335 is available with an • Advanced packaging for improved operating junction temperature range thermal performance and space from -40°C to +125°C in a thermally efficiency enhanced, 20-lead 3x4mm QFN pack- A recent product introduction from age. Linear Technology, the nanopower Another way to get a combination LTC3335 buck-boost converter with of low voltages rails from a DC input of integrated Coulomb counter, has all 24V or 12V is to use a high voltage DC/ of these attributes already. The device DC converter with multiple output ca- was designed for primary battery appli- pabilities. Therefore, Linear Technology cations that need really low quiescent developed its 4 output monolithic syn- current and also need to know some- chronous buck converter, the LT8602. thing about remaining battery capacity. Its 3V to 42V input voltage range make Or, where potential battery component it ideal for medical applications. As can or load leakage may be detected by be seen in Figure 2, its quad chan- the coulomb counter as a check for nel design combines two high voltage system faults. See Figure 1. 2.5A and 1.5A channels with two lower The LTC3335 is a nanopower high voltage 1.8A channels to deliver four efficiency synchronous buck-boost Fig. 3: LT8602 quad output solution footprint. independent outputs delivering volt- converter with an onboard precision ages as low as 0.8V, enabling it to drive Coulomb counter that delivers up to the lowest voltage microprocessor 50mA of continuous output current. With only 680nA of quies- cores currently available. Its synchronous rectification topol- cent current and programmable peak input currents from as low ogy delivers up to 94% efficiency while Burst Mode® operation as 5mA up to 250mA, the device is ideally suited for a wide va- keeps quiescent current under 30µA (all channels on) in no-load riety of low power battery applications, such as those found in standby conditions making it ideal for battery operated sys- battery backed up portable health monitoring systems. Its 1.8V tems. to 5.5V input range and 8 user-selectable outputs between 1.8V For noise-sensitive applications, the LT8602, with a small and 5V provide a regulated output supply with an input voltage external filter, can utilize its pulse-skipping mode to minimize above, below or equal to the output. switching noise and can meet the CISPR25, Class 5 EMI re- In addition, the device’s integrated precision (±5% battery quirements. This enables it to be used readily in systems that discharge measurement accuracy) coulomb counter provides incorporate wireless transmission of data. accurate monitoring of accumulated battery discharge in long- The LT8602’s switching frequency can be programmed from life non-rechargeable battery-powered applications which in 250kHz to 2MHz and can be synchronized throughout this many cases have extremely flat battery discharge curves. The range. Its 60ns minimum on-time enables 16VIN to 2.0VOUT LTC3335 includes four internal low RDSON MOSFETs and step-down conversions on the high voltage channels with a can deliver efficiencies of up to 90%. Other features include a 2MHz switching frequency. As the high voltage VOUT2 chan- programmable discharge alarm threshold, an I2C interface for nel feeds the two low voltage channels (VOUT3 and VOUT4), accessing coulomb count and device programming, a Power these can deliver outputs as low as 0.8V while also switching at Good output, and 8 selectable peak input currents from 5mA up 2MHz, offering a very compact (~25mm x 25mm single sided) to 250mA to accommodate a wide range of battery types and quad output solution as shown in Figure 3. In addition the minimizing the solution footprint, the LT8602’s 2MHz switching frequency enables designers to avoid critical noise-sensitive frequency bands. Each channel of the LT8602 maintains a minimum dropout voltage of only 200mV (at 1A) under all conditions, enabling it to excel in scenarios such as automotive cold-crank. Programmable power-on reset and power good indicators for each channel helps to ensure overall system reliability. The LT8602’s 40-lead thermally enhanced 6x6mm QFN package and high switching frequency keeps external inductors and capacitors small, providing a compact, thermally efficient footprint. In addition, unique design techniques and a new high speed process enable high efficiency over a wide input voltage range and the LT8602’s current-mode topology enables fast transient response and excellent loop stability. Conclusion It is clear that a system architect of wireless medical instrumentation faces many technical hurdles when designing a medical system for in-home patient care. The issue of potential noise interference must be mitigated, a battery backup operational capability in case the main power source fails and the size and Fig. 2: LT8602 schematic delivers 5V, 3.3V, 1.8V & 1.2V cost have to be kept under control. Fortunately, there are plenty outputs. of appropriate solutions available from Linear to meet these design requirements. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 31 DESIGN & PRODUCTS WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

Cellular V2X set to challenge IEEE 802.11p/DSRC standard By Jean-Pierre Joosting

ow that the LTE-V2X (LTE vehicle-to-everything) stan- onslaught of the cellular ecosystem or continue to coexist with dard has been finalized and 5G standardization im- future cellular alternatives.” pending, the use of cellular technology for low-latency The legacy IEEE 802.11p DSRC standard allows reliable low Vehicle-to-VehicleN (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) appli- latency communication of basic safety messages between ve- cations is becoming a realistic prospect—one that will challenge hicles and between vehicles and roadside infrastructure. While the legacy IEEE 802.11p Dedicated Short- a DSRC mandate seems imminent in the Range Communications (DSRC) standard. U.S., ABI Research expects cellular V2X to ABI Research finds autonomous level show steady growth, initially through LTE- 4 and driverless level 5 vehicles will re- V2X, reaching 300 million global subscrip- quire V2V and V2I capabilities to achieve tions by 2030. At that point, 5G V2X will ultra-high reliability levels with carriers like surpass it. Longer term, automotive OEMs Deutsche Telekom, Orange, SK Telecom, will start to offer network-based low-laten- Telefonica, and Vodafone already perform- cy, end-to-end automotive services. ing trials on automotive 4G and/or 5G use “The main challenge for cellular V2X is cases. to get hold of dedicated spectrum needed “The evolutionary path offered by cel- for the Device-to-Device, or D2D, V2V lular technologies and their large support- protocol,” concludes Bonte. “While the ing mobile ecosystem is an attractive option for automotive intelligent transportation systems spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band suppliers and OEMs eager to execute early implementations was made available in the U.S., Europe, and other regions more of autonomous functionality,” says Dominique Bonte, Manag- than a decade ago, it remains reserved for DSRC. ing Director and Vice President at ABI Research. “While cellular But this could change if, or more likely when, cellular giants antagonists claim DSRC is more mature, reliable, secure, and like Ericsson, Qualcomm, and Samsung, unite and fight for lob- ready to deploy, it remains to be seen whether it will survive the bying power.” Reseachers suggest 4G infrastructure to cut vehicle accidents By Jean-Pierre Joosting

ecent research suggests that a pre-existing 4G network bounds on the outage probability would need to be developed infrastructure could help drivers make safe decisions in when the SFN is overlaid on an existing cellular network. or near accidents. The researchers also present an extremely efficient transmis- RWinning the ‘Best Paper Award’, the research carried out by sion power allocation algorithm that, for the situations outlined, the University of Bristol Communication Systems & Networks can reduce the total immediate SFN transmission power by up (CSN) Group, in collaboration with the Université Blaise Pas- to 20 times compared to a static uniform power allocation solu- cal in France, was presented at the international conference tion. This is particularly important when base stations rely on Signal Processing, Telecommunica- an off-grid power source, such as tions & Computing (SigTelCom) 2017, batteries. supported by IEEE, Newton Fund and Dr Andrea Tassi, Senior Re- British Council. search Associate in Wireless Con- A key factor in vehicle-related ac- nectivity for Autonomous Vehicles cidents is the lack of information and if from the Department of Electrical drivers are aware of their surroundings and Electronic Engineering and and road conditions, many accidents CSN Group, who led the research, could be avoided. A key question is said: “Obtaining high-quality sen- how high-quality data can be shared sor information is critical in vehicle by an Intelligent Transportation Sys- emergencies. We have shown that tem (ITS) to help drivers in emergency our proposed power allocation situations. Further, as driverless cars (PA) model can help to significant- begin to gain momentum, improve- ly reduce the transmission power ments will be needed to ensure ve- of the proposed network while hicles receive the correct information. target signal-to-noise and interfer- The researchers suggest a cost-effective solution to this ence ratio (SINR) outage constraints are met. With cars receiv- problem is for city-owned base stations to form a single fre- ing reliable information, our research could improve road safety quency network (SFN), which will enable drivers to have the in future intelligent transportation systems.” information they need to make safe decisions in or near ac- The University’s CSN Group is part of the Innovate UK- cidents. funded projects, VENTURER and FLOURISH, and is playing a In order to ensure that transmissions are reliable, tight leading role in connectivity for automotive applications.

32 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com A19E_EET_2_37x10_87NEWWEB_A19E.qxd 12/21/1

WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

UNT CE MO LETI to demo new SURFA hole) d thru- s (an rmer multicarrier waveform for 5G nsfo s Tra uctor By Jean-Pierre Joosting & Ind eti will deploy a 5G framework on the MINATEC campus in Grenoble to demonstrate a new post-OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) multicar- Size rier waveform. LThe new post-OFDM multicarrier waveform, a block filtered-OFDM (BF-OFDM), is does backward compatible with existing LTE receivers. An innovative medium access control (MAC) layer will demonstrate multiservice and coexistence with primary systems. matter! More advanced features of future 5G networks will also be investigated, such as in- band full-duplex (IBFD). The results of these field trials will enhance Leti’s technology- to-system offer for its industrial partners in the context of 5G telecom applications and ad-hoc proprietary radio solutions for vertical sectors. To this end, Leti recently was granted a six-month license from Arcep, France’s telecommunications regulatory agency, to run a field trial with multiservice transmission at 3.5 GHz TDD band with 40 MHz bandwidth. This frequency was chosen as 3.5 GHz might be the first carrier frequency that will be released for 5G. “4G networks are quickly reaching their limits from in capacity and capabilities to address new low- profile classes of services, such as massive machine- .18"ht. type connectivity and ultra-low-latency and ultra-reliable communications,” said Dimitri Ktenas, Leti wireless lab manager. “Anticipating • Audio Transformers these challenges, the 3rd Generation Partnership • Pulse Transformers Project (3GPP) began discussing radio access network (RAN) requirements in the fall of 2015 • DC-DC Converter and further discussions produced a consensus Transformers that there would be a new, non-backward compatible, radio access technology as part of 5G, targeting a first release in mid-2018.” • MultiPlex Data Bus The new air interface called new radio (NR) targets a single technical framework addressing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type commu- Transformers nications (mMTC) and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC). NR • Power & also is expected to offer additional support for very high velocities, and these diverse services support a highly flexible waveform allowing very different configurations. EMI Inductors The new post-OFDM multicarrier waveform can overcome all shortcomings inherent in classical LTE waveforms, such as out-of-band emission and weakness when VISIT OUR EXCITING exposed to asynchronous communications. It is designed to achieve good frequency NEW WEBSITE localization and support simultaneous single-carrier and multicarrier modulations, www.picoelectronics.com along with classical multi-antenna, multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Featuring our easy-to-use The duration of the elementary communication slot is configurable and can be product Search Wizard! tely adapted for low-latency requirements. g immedia full Catalo See Pico’s m Built on top of the proposed waveform, an access technique has been developed ronics.co picoelect in order to exploit its promising characteristics of frequency localization and agility. www. This medium access control (MAC) layer also has the ability to adapt so that the channel can be shared with a coexisting system and provide a means to enable enhanced dynamic spectrum access (eDSA). PICO Electronics,Inc. The field trials also will investigate advanced 5G features including the in-band 143 Sparks Ave. Pelham, N.Y. 10803 full-duplex (IBFD) technique that comprises transmitting and receiving in the same E Mail: [email protected] frequency band at the same time, theoretically doubling the data rate. However, prac- Pico Representatives tical implementations show fewer gains with this technique due to self-interference Germany between signals. Leti’s approach merges three technical aspects to successfully ELBV/Electronische Bauelemente Vertrieb mitigate self-interference: antenna isolation, RF cancellation circuits and non-linear E-mail: [email protected] digital filtering. Phone: 0049 89 4602852 The six-month Arcep license will allow Leti to validate its innovative concepts Fax: 0049 89 46205442 through 5G experiments in a real-life situation. The over-the-air Leti test platform England based on FPGA, ARM processors and agile RF front-end will be used to demonstrate Ginsbury Electronics Ltd. 5G multiservice transmission. The demonstration will mix mobile broadband, cellular E-mail: [email protected] Internet of Things (IoT) and low latency transmission for critical applications, and also Phone: 0044 1634 298900 include multi-user access for investigating eDSA options, and high spectral efficiency Fax: 0044 1634 290904 gains in-band full duplex (IBFD). www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 33 DESIGN & PRODUCTS WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

Liquid antennas for IoT, 5G to be developed By Jean-Pierre Joosting

esearchers at the University of Liverpool have been The liquids will be tested for low loss, thermal and mechani- awarded £578k funding from the Engineering and Physi- cal stability, whether they can work in temperatures ranging cal Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to develop from -30 to +60ºC, if they transmit the correct frequency range liquidR antennas which have the potential to transform modern (from kHz to GHz) and have RF and microwave power range up radio communications and radar. to 100 kW. As the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G The project will also investigate how to become more of a reality, there is a need design and make compact and efficient liq- to develop a new type of antenna which is uid antennas which are flexible or reconfigu- small, transparent and has better reconfigurable in terms of the main antenna param- rability than conventional metal antennas. eters (such as the operational frequency, Though traditional antennas made out radiation pattern, and size) and suitable for of materials such as copper have good a wide range of real world applications. conductive properties, they are also large, Professor Yi Huang, an international heavy and expensive and can be hard to expert in radio engineering who is lead- reconfigure with limited bandwidth. ing the research, said: “This original and While it is known that water can be used transformative approach is able to meet the as an antenna, and has potential to over- demands of the next generation of mobile come many of the problems facing tradi- devices, and the opportunities afforded by tional metal antenna, it becomes ice once the Internet of Things”. the temperature goes below 0ºC. “This research project aims to go one The research project will bring together step towards developing a novel type of radio engineering experts from the Department of Electrical antenna by bringing together new knowledge in material sci- Engineering & Electronics (Professor Huang’s team) with Mate- ence with radio engineering expertise in order to provide an rial Scientists in the Department of Chemistry (Professor Xiao’s alternative compact reconfigurable and/or flexible device to the team), to identify the most suitable liquid materials which can wireless world and meet the demands from the telecommunica- be used as antenna. tions industry.” Bolt-on industrial IoT gateway Z-Wave network diagnostic tool shortens installation time

combines Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Z-Wave Products has released the first commercially available troubleshooting The Anybus Wireless Bolt is a simple to install, tool for Z-Wave networks. The Z-Wave Toolbox allows Z-Wave network install- rugged IP67 wireless module which connects ers to quickly and easily troubleshoot common issues such as interference, range issues, weak links, and connected- device placement. The toolbox also allows stress testing of Z-Wave networks – both residential and commercial – and produces easy-to-decipher, colored Network Health Symbols (NHS) that indicate current performance. This results in shorter installation time of Z-Wave networks, as well as enhanced network reliability and increased customer satisfaction. It also means that potential issues can be identified and remedied industrial equipment to the cloud. before they occur, eliminating costly, time-consuming repairs. A flexible and It mounts onto existing industrial equipment, inexpensive web-based device, the self-contained Z-Wave Toolbox will work similar to a mechanical bolt and features an with any operating system in addition to smart phones and tablets. It is simple 18-pin internal connector compatible with enough for the new installer, yet it has the power to remediate the most puzzling industry standard protocols operating over issues for the experienced professional. serial, CAN, or Ethernet interfaces. Via its wire- The Z-Wave Toolbox contains 3 major applications: the Network Health Tester less connectivity (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi), it offers can determine link stability, quality of service, latencies and helps the user trou- the possibility to manage machine configura- bleshoot, optimize and deploy Z-Wave networks with confidence; the Z-Wave tion via a standard tablet or smartphone as Packet Analyzer allows the user to see Z-Wave traffic. It helps troubleshoot well as to connect to a cloud service realizing connections, identify abnormal device operation, and pinpoint weak spots; Industrial IoT. The unit is built around u-blox’ and the Spectrum Analyzer allows users to scan frequencies close to Z-Wave stand-alone IoT gateway module ODIN-W2 frequencies for any interference. with an open CPU architecture and offering This tool is also valuable for Z-Wave “superusers” and network owners who support for ARM mbed. would like to gain some basic insight into how Z-Wave networks perform. HMS Industrial Networks Z-Wave www.hms-networks.com www.zwaveproducts.com

34 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

All RFID measurements from one box Power amplifiers deliver high output

Leveraging its UHF RFID test and measurement expertise, from 18 Ghz to 110 GHz CISC enhanced its RFID Xplorer with latest SDR (software Millitech, a microwave brand of Smiths Interconnect, has defined radio) technology and software to a new level of UHF released a series of power amplifiers leveraging advanced RFID / RAIN RFID / EPC Gen2 / ISO/ PHEMT MMICs and transistors IEC 18000-63 measurement capa- which yield millimeter-wave bilities. Tag performance and confor- saturated power as high as mance tests, reader performance and 38 dBm at 35.5 GHz and 15.5 conformance tests, and sniffer with tag dBm at 110 GHz. Frequency emulator now works in a single com- ranges for the company’s AMP patible hardware device. One single devices extend from 18 GHz up device with the highest measurement through 110 GHz with corresponding and standard waveguide sensitivity solves all the RFID chal- or coaxial connector interfaces. The AMP series of amplifiers lenges pertaining to performance, conformance and verification offers internal bias circuitry that generates gate control volt- of application setups. In addition to enabling all functionality ages, provides proper voltage sequencing, and incorporates in one device, CISC has also launched new features for its reverse voltage protection from a single positive external bias. software to enhance the usability of Xplorer. The instrument Enhancing the flexibility of the AMP series, Millitech is able to can emulate multiple tags, the sniffer now supports a high-level offer multiple MMIC amplifier chips combined or cascaded in a analysis of air interface communication. single device for applications that require higher gain or greater CISC output power. The broadband features of these amplifiers www.cisc.at makes them ideal for a myriad of applications including transceivers, upconverters, EW, instrumentation, and radar systems. The AMP product lines are produced for both commercial and TI’s Bluetooth chip range adds Bluetooth 5, military applications, adhering to all applicable standards. Typical applications include millimeter-wave transmitters, for & automotive qualification LO amplification, and in radar front-ends. With more available memory, Bluetooth 5-ready hardware, Millitech automotive qualification and an ultra-small wafer-chip-scale www.millitech.com package (WCSP) option, Texas Instruments has added two devices to its scalable SimpleLink Bluetooth Intel 5G modem announced low energy wireless microcontroller (MCU) family. The devices offer Intel (Santa Clara, CA) has announced a 5G modem comprising a complete single-chip hardware a baseband chip and transceiver IC that supports low gigahertz and unified software solution with frequencies and millimeter-wavelength bands. The Intel 5G an ARM Cortex-M3 based MCU, modem – code- automatic power management, named Goldridge flexible full-featured Bluetooth-compliant radio and a low- – is its attempt to power sensor controller. The SimpleLink CC2640R2F wireless compete with the MCU offers more available memory in a 2.7x2.7mm chip-scale Snapdragon X50 package (WCSP) option that is less than half the size of TI’s from Qualcomm smallest 4 x 4 mm QFN package. The CC2640R2F is ready for announced in the Bluetooth 5 core specification which offers longer range, 2016. Intel’s 5G higher speed and more data. SimpleLink CC2640R2F-Q1 is modem chipset a wireless MCU that enables smartphone connectivity for car pairs with Intel’s access including passive entry passive start (PEPS) and remote sub-6GHz 5G RFIC and its 28GHz 5G RFIC and supports keyless entry (RKE), as well as emerging automotive use cases ultrawideband operation. The chipset is expected to be used with AEC-Q100 qualification and Grade 2 temperature rat- in applications including automotive, home broadband and ing. The CC2640R2F-Q1 device is the first to be offered in a mobile devices. The 5G modem is compliant with multiple wettable flank QFN package which helps reduce production industry forum specifications for 5G, Intel said in a statement. It line cost and increases reliability enabled by optical inspection supports 5G New Radio spectrum requirements including low of solder points. The CC264x family is supported by a unified latency frame structure, advanced channel coding, 2 by 2 and software and application development environment, royalty- 4 by 4 MIMO and beamforming and is expected to be capable free BLE-Stack software, Code Composer Studio integrated of data rates exceeding 5Gbps. It also pairs with LTE modems development environment (IDE), system software and interac- such as Intel’s XMM7360 to provide 4G fallback and 4G/5G tive training materials. The SimpleLink CC2640R2F wireless interworking. The one RFIC supports the 3.3 to 4.2GHz band MCUs’ highly flexible radio fully supports thenew Bluetooth 5 with flexible sub-channelization making it suitable for trials in specifications and the accompanying software stacks will be China and Europe. The other supports a 28GHz carrier en- available in the first half of 2017, making it – TI says – among abling deployments in the United States, Korea and Japan. The the first devices in mass production with Bluetooth 5 capability. Intel 5G RFIC is expected to sample in the first half of 2017. TI Intel www.ti.com www.intel.com

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 35 DESIGN & PRODUCTS MULTICORE DESIGN GPU-based database analytics platform maps data in milliseconds

By Graham Prophet former researcher at MIT’s Computer Science and thousands of energy-efficient cores that can, for example, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (Cambridge, MA), Todd simultaneously determine the colour of each pixel on a com- Mostak, is using graphical computing units (GPUs) to puter screen to render an image. GPUs also use high bandwidth Adevelop an analytic database and visualization platform called memory (RAM) that’s about an order of magnitude faster than MapD, which lays claim to being the fastest of its kind in the CPUs. world, a new type of database-analytics platform that queries Today, some databases are being powered by GPUs. But and maps billions of data points in milliseconds. these systems suffer from a major design flaw, Mostak says: GPUs were, and are, primarily designed for image process- “In most implementations, the data is initially stored on a CPU, ing. Developed for video games in the 1990s, modern GPUs are moved to the GPU for a query, and results are moved back to specialized circuits with thousands of small, efficient process- the CPU for storage. Even if you speed up the computation ing units, or “cores,” that work simultaneously to rapidly render time of a query [by using a GPU, you lose most of the speed by graphics on screen. They are perhaps the most widespread transferring from CPU to GPU and back.” application of parallel processing, with arrays of (usually) identi- But with MapD, Mostak says, the goal “is making GPUs first- cal processing units applying the same transformations to many class citizens.” elements or blocks of elements, simultaneously. Instead of storing the data on CPUs, MapD caches as much Dating from the late 1990s, data as possible on multiple engineers and researchers noted GPUs, so there’s no moving that GPUs could also be viewed back and forth between the dif- as highly-parallel general com- ferent circuits and pulling from puting unit – the term GPGPU, the hard drive, which saves a lot general purpose computing with of time. GPUs – appeared and led to a The trick, Mostak says, is variety of derivatives, not least giving each GPU its own buffer programming language variants pool — portions of a database such as OpenCL. Not entirely memory that temporarily caches fanciful, proponents used de- the most recent data pulled from scriptions such as “a supercom- the hard drive. If a database then puter on a desktop”. Because of needs to query the same data their parallel-computing speeds point over and over, which is and high-performance memory, quite common, it accesses that GPUs are today used for advanced lab simulations and deep- data point in the GPU’s ultrafast RAM, instead of pulling from learning programming, among other things. the CPU or hard drive. Mostak is now Founder and CEO of “data exploration” By carefully managing the memory on the GPU, MapD can company MapD ( www.mapd.com) , whose main product has deliver performance that is two to three orders of magnitude the same name. MapD is essentially a form of a commonly used faster than CPU-powered database systems, Mostak says. database-management system that’s modified to run on GPUs In one example of what MapD can do, the system analyzed a instead of the central processing units (CPUs) that power most dataset that’s considered the benchmark for large-scale analyt- traditional database-management systems. ics — a 1.2 billion-record By doing so, MapD can process billions of data points in mil- New York City taxi dataset. In a test by an independent liseconds, making it 100 times faster than traditional systems. big-data consultant, MapD ran 74 times faster than numerous Moreover, MapD visualizes all processed data points nearly advanced CPU database systems, completing several queries instantaneously — such as, say, plotting tweets on a world in milliseconds. map — and parameters can be modified on the fly to adjust the A further example is that] Verizon used MapD to analyze the visualized display. activity of updating SIM cards on each of its 85 million subscrib- With its first product launched last March, MapD’s clients ers’ phones on a weekly basis. With other database systems, already include Verizon and other big-name telecommunications the query would take hours to run and hours to evaluate, so the companies, a social media giant, and financial and advertis- company only did so periodically. Using MapD, Verizon found ing firms. In October, the investment arm of the U.S. Central a glitch in its system that led to SIM card updates upward of a Intelligence Agency, In-Q-Tel, announced that it had invested in million times per year, which used a lot of server power and was MapD’s latest funding round to accelerate the development of a nuisance for subscribers. certain features for the U.S. intelligence community. The idea for MapD came to Mostak when he was at Harvard “The CIA has a lot of geospatial data, and they need to be University in 2012, writing his political-science master’s thesis able to form, visualize, and query that data in real-time. It’s a on the Arab Spring, and analyzing hundreds of millions of Egyp- real need across the intelligence community,” Mostak says. tian tweets sent out during the uprisings. GPUs are designed specifically for parallel computing, with Using CPU-based database-management systems to ana-

36 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com MULTICORE DESIGN

lyze the data was a time-waster. Often he would run queries an academic project,” Mostak says. “But it got me thinking that overnight and wake up to find an error, meaning the long pro- this was a widespread problem — getting real-time insights out cess would need to be repeated. “It was a frustrating experi- of big data.” ence,” Mostak says. In January 2014, Mostak officially launched MapD. Joining At the time, Mostak was also taking a CSAIL database ILP’s Startup Exchange, an online community for MIT-affiliated course taught by the co-directors of the MIT Database Group: startups to connect with each other and with other companies, Michael Stonebraker, an adjunct professor in computer science “put [MapD] on the map with commercial entities,” Mostak who founded the pioneering database-management company says. Vertica; and Sam Madden, a professor of electrical engineering From there, the startup, then headquartered in Cambridge, and computer science who serves as a MapD advisor. Massachusetts, hit the ground running. In March 2014, it won a As a personal project to speed up his thesis research, Mo- $100,000 prize from an early startup contest put on by Nvidia, stak invented an early MapD prototype. The professors were a prominent GPU manufacturer and current MapD partner. That impressed. After Mostak completed his thesis, they asked him fall, the startup landed $2 million in seed funding from Nvidia to join CSAIL as a researcher and build out the prototype, which and Google, followed by a $10 million Series A funding round he did in 2013. the following year. With Madden’s encouragement, Mostak also began show- Today, MapD is expanding in its new San Francisco head- casing the speedy system around MIT’s Industrial Liaison quarters. It’s also looking to capitalize on an increased user Program (ILP), which connects MIT community members with base, as more companies start launching GPU programming corporations around the world. Companies started asking platforms in the cloud. “That’ll give us more access to custom- Mostak where they could buy it. “At the time, I said it was purely ers,” Mostak says, adding, “I feel like we’re just getting started.” Memory compressor IP can save time, energy By Peter Clarke

eroPoint Technologies AB (Goteborg, Sweden) is devel- Because of our very fast algorithms/implementations we man- oping a hardware-based approach to data compression age to compress very effectively at memory speed.” He added: called MaxiMem that could be useful for both servers and “For active data, the compression has to work at the ‘speed of Zleaf node equipment. memory’ with nanosecond or even without latency in order not The company is a 2015 spin-off from research conducted at to reduce performance. Adding compression without adding Chalmers University and from participation in the EuroServer latency might seem contradictory but since MaxiMem reduces collaborative research project partially funded by the European the actual data written to memory, while we add latency of the Union. ZeroPoint claims it can produce memory savings of a order of nanoseconds when compressing/decompressing we factor of three or greater on real-life data. This in turn means reduce the transfer time to memory.” Lindeberg said the net less data is transferred from processor to memory and back, result is parity or even reduced latency compared with the na- which saves time, and also saves energy in the communications tive system. and in the storage of that data. Lindeberg is not saying much Typically compression systems are about how MaxiMem operates but designed to work with inactive data, said the term describes a prod- such as compressing files for storage uct family that in general is based or for transmission, compressing inac- on statistical compression and tive information/programs and with analyzes the statistical properties the option of more aggressive lossy of memory data to select optimal compression versus milder loss-less encodings. compression. However a hint of the thinking Instead ZeroPpont has chosen to behind MaxiMem may be found in attack the larger problem of active a technical paper published in 2015 data and multiple data types, which might include music, video, describing HyComp, a hybrid cache compression method for photography, text files and the multiple formats that they use selection of data-type-specific compression methods. HyComp and where the data may be changing. This makes it applicable takes a heuristic approach to determining the data type and both in server computers but also, potentially on smartphones employs multiple compression/decompression engines. In the and Internet of Things nodes. HyComp approach the type of compression algorithm used is The company does this via a lossless approach and an encoded as a tag that accompanies the compressed memory analysis of multiple data types. The fact that it addresses active blocks. This allows a return call to pick the right decompres- data means that minimizing the latency is vital and requires a sor for that data. The same paper also discusses the synthesis hardware based approach. As a result the company is taking a of the engines and the heuristic analyser in VHDL targeting a hardware IP licensing approach, similar to ARM. 32nm process and verifying that HyComp could work a clock “Our business model is to license IP blocks for inclusion in frequency of 3GHz. FPGAs as well as in SoC/processor chips,” Stefan Lindeberg, “For confidentiality reasons we cannot tell you exactly CEO of ZeroPoint, told EE Times Europe in email correspon- what is in our current product but we have patented a host of dence. algorithms and their implementations including what is in the Lindeberg said: “Software solutions would be way too slow. HyComp paper,” Lindeberg said. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 37 DESIGN & PRODUCTS MULTICORE DESIGN

AMD’s Vega graphics architecture takes “virtually unlimited” workloads By Graham Prophet isclosing a completely new, high performance GPU previous generation HBM technology. HBM2 also enables much architecture that is designed to remove many traditional greater capacity at less than half the footprint of GDDR5 memory. constraints from gaming, VR, professional design and Vega architecture is optimized for streaming very large datasets machineD intelligence arenas, AMD has issued preliminary details and can work with a variety of memory types with up to 512TB of of its forthcoming GPU architecture, Vega. virtual address space. The Vega architecture enables new possibilities in PC gam- Today’s games and professional applications make use of in- ing, professional design and machine intelligence that traditional credibly complex geometry enabled by the extraordinary increase GPU architectures have not been able to address effectively, in the resolutions of data acquisition devices. The hundreds of AMD asserts. Data-intensive workloads are becoming the new millions of polygons in any given frame have meshes so dense normal, and the parallel nature of the GPU lends itself ideally to that there are often many polygons being rendered per pixel. Ve- tackling them. However, processing these huge new datasets ga’s next-generation geometry pipeline enables the programmer requires fast access to massive amounts of memory. The Vega to extract great efficiency in processing this complex geometry, architecture’s memory subsystem enables GPUs to address very while also delivering more than 200% of the throughput-per-clock large data sets spread across a mix of memory types. The high- over previous Radeon architectures. It also features improved bandwidth cache controller in Vega-based GPUs can access on- load-balancing with an intelligent workload distributor to deliver package cache and off-package memories in a flexible, program- consistent performance. mable fashion using fine-grained data movement. At the core of the Vega architecture is a new, next-generation “...to solve gigabyte-scale data problems in gaming to exa- compute engine built on flexible compute units that can natively byte-scale data problems in machine intelligence... we designed process 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit or 64-bit operations in each clock the Vega architecture to build on this ability, with the flexibility cycle. These compute units are optimized to attain significantly to address the extraordinary breadth of problems GPUs will be higher frequencies than previous generations and their support of solving not only today but also five years from now. Our high- variable datatypes makes the architecture highly versatile across bandwidth cache is a pivotal disruption that has the potential workloads. to impact the whole GPU market,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice The Vega pixel engine employs a Draw Stream Binning Raster- president and chief architect, Radeon Technologies Group, AMD. izer, designed to improve performance and power efficiency. It The Vega architecture enables a new memory hierarchy for allows for “fetch once, shade once” of pixels through the use of GPUs. This approach comes in the form of a new high-band- a smart on-chip bin cache and early culling of pixels invisible in width cache and its controller. The cache features leading-edge a final scene. Vega’s pixel engine is now a client of the onboard HBM2 technology which is capable of transferring terabytes of L2 cache, enabling considerable overhead reduction for graphics data every second, doubling the bandwidth-per-pin over the workloads which perform frequent read-after-write operations. Artificial Intelligence arrives at ECU level By Christoph Hammerschmidt

utomotive supplier ZF is teaming up with graphics chips stand” all relevant events around it in real-time. It can localize manufacturer Nvidia to develop a system that will make the vehicle on high-definition navigation maps and plan a safe Artificial Intelligence available to the automotive industry trajectory. A– not at research or prototype level, but as a series ECU. At the ZF believes that AI and Deep Learning capabilities will CES in Las Vegas, ZF introduced such a system drastically speed the development of autonomous based on Nvidia’s AI Drive PX 2 platform. driving. The company plans to offer its ProAI The ZF ProAI, scheduled for series produc- system as a vehicle-integrated platform that will tion in 2018, will help cars to “understand” their be constantly updated via the cloud; throughout environment by processing and interpreting sensor its entire service life in the car it can be equipped data by means of Deep Learning Technologies. with additional functions and capabilities. It is Current series-production Electronic Control Units also designed to handle V2X applications which (ECUs) for automotive deployment typically em- means it can automatically communicate with brace multiple computing units, of which each one other vehicles and with the infrastructure. Its con- is responsible for a dedicated function. Experts nectivity and capability to learn during its service however are convinced that the computing power life enables to participate in swarm intelligence of such approaches won’t be enough for highly complex tasks schemes, helping to make driving safer and more efficient not like automated driving. This is why ZF chose Nvidia’s AI plat- only for the individual vehicle but for entire fleets. form – according to ZF CEO Stefan Sommer, the system offers “We regard Nvidia’s Deep Learing platform as the basis for the number crunching capacity of a supercomputer. future AI-enabled software which we plan to make available Being a scalable system, the Drive PX 2 is capable of pro- for third parties as well”, explained Thorsten Gollewski who cessing the signals of multiple cameras, plus radar, lidar and oversees the Advanced Development activities for ZF. Besides ultrasound sensor signals in parallel. ZFs autonomous driving automated driving, ZF sees usage possibilities also in many computing platform ZF ProAI will enable the vehicle to “under- industrial application fields.

38 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com MEMS TECHNOLOGIES

MEMS microphone technology matches volume market performance requirements

By Masahito Kanaya wners of devices such as smartphones and tablets continually want to be able to use their gadgets in new ways, and at the sameO time expect extremely high performance. On-board audio functionality is a prime example. People want to be able to record social events, music performance and expect accurate, lifelike playback, or to enjoy high voice-call quality free of background noise even when outside or travel- ling in a car. There is also demand for high audio quality when capturing sounds further from the microphone. Fig. 1: Showing noise immunity improvement with digital. These trends call for higher-performing microphones, and some handsets also feature noise cancellation or ferred in equipment such as PCs or high-end smartphones. 3D sound in video modes by using two or more microphones. Digital technology enables greater audio performance by taking In addition, the advent of intelligent digital assistants that re- advantage of inherently higher RF and electromagnetic interfer- spond to the user’s voice is changing the ways in which people ence (EMI) immunity, as illustrated in figure 1. In addition, circuit interact with computers, and could drive high-performing audio design and board layout can be simplified, and design changes subsystems into more products like wearables and IoT devices made easier by avoiding the need to adapt resistor and capaci- in the future. tor values. As a result, there is rising demand for MEMS (Micro Electro- Most digital microphones also have inputs for a clock and a Mechanical Systems) microphones, which deliver high perfor- L/R control. The clock input is used to control the delta-sigma mance and fidelity with reliability, within compact dimensions modulator that converts the analog signal from the sensor into a suitable for use in portable devices. The market for MEMS digital Pulse-Density Modulated (PDM) signal. Typical clock fre- microphones is expected to rise from 3.6 billion units in 2015 quencies range from about 1MHz to 3.5MHz. The microphone’s to over 6 billion units in 2019, according to market research output is driven to the proper level on the selected clock edge company IHS Technology. and then enters a high-impedance state for the other half of the clock cycle. This allows two digital microphone outputs to share Recap on MEMS microphone architecture a single data line (figure 2). The L/R input determines the clock and operation edge for valid data. The MEMS microphone contains a moveable diaphragm and static backplate fabricated on a silicon-wafer substrate using familiar processes including deposition and selective etching. The backplate has perforations that allow air to pass through without causing deflection. The diaphragm is designed to flex in response to changes in air pressure caused by sound waves. Fig. 2: Digital microphone allows a reduction in number of transmission lines. This flexing causes the diaphragm to move relative to the backplate, producing a proportionate change With the advantages of high noise immunity and simplified in capacitance. A companion IC co-packaged with the MEMS circuit design, digital MEMS microphones lend themselves well transducer translates this capacitance change into an electrical to use in multi-microphone arrays for echo and noise cancella- signal in either analog or digital format. tion, as well as beamforming to achieve directional sensitivity. There are markets for MEMS microphones with analog or To implement noise cancellation in a smartphone, a common digital output. Analog microphones, which essentially contain approach is to position one or more extra microphones away the MEMS transducer and companion analog-amplifier IC, are from the main voice microphone, such as in the upper edge or a popular solution for small handheld devices such as feature the back of the case, to detect noise from the surrounding en- phones and entry to mid-level smartphones. vironment. This can be subtracted from the output of the voice microphone to help improve call quality. The noise-reduction Going digital microphones are often also used in video-recording modes. Digital microphones that integrate analog signal-conditioning Beamforming, also, uses an array of two or more micro- and an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) are typically pre- phones. Although most microphones have omnidirectional sensitivity, some applications can benefit from increased sensi- Masahito Kanaya is Product Marketer at ON Semiconductor - tivity in a particular direction or reduced sensitivity in others; for www.onsemi.com example to improve audio quality and intelligibility in situations www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 39 DESIGN & PRODUCTS MEMS TECHNOLOGIES

such as audioconferencing or in-car calling. Beamforming makes this possible by applying digital algorithms to the outputs of microphones in the array, based on the phase differences of sounds arriving from various directions. It is also possible to identify the direction a particular sound is coming from. ASIC design in detail Microphone module makers differentiate their products by choosing a suitable MEMS microphone kit, in which an optimized pair of MEMS sensor and ASIC is already combined. ON Semiconductor has focused on developing highly integrated ASICs for digital MEMS microphones, ready to be combined with any of a variety of MEMS transducers made by independent MEMS suppliers. An example is the LC706200 digital IC family, which integrates a feed-for- Fig. 4: A feed-forward delta-sigma ADC enables a small-footprint ward delta-sigma ADC in addition to an analog amplifier microphone with digital output. and low-pass filter, as shown in figure 4. There is also a charge pump that provides the operating voltage for the MEMS As end users seek better results from devices like smart- transducer. phones in an increasing variety of use cases, there is demand ON Semiconductor’s digital ASICs can help overcome the for microphones that can operate without distortion up to high challenges facing today’s MEMS microphone designers by Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) as encountered in loud environ- satisfying key performance criteria. Among these, a high SNR ments. One example is to allow high-quality recording for social is required to allow clear performance when microphones are users to capture their experiences at music festivals. used at greater distances, as well as for cleaner audio capture generally. In particular, automatic speech recognition algorithms Digital MEMS microphone for future depend on high SNR to achieve good word accuracy rates. standalone voice command ASICs with SNR greater than 64dB are expected today, comple- There is high demand for voice command functions in IoT and menting advances achieved by MEMS engineers to optimise portable device sectors thanks to speech recognition engines the characteristics of the transducer. and powerful voice assistants like Siri®, ”OK Google”, and Amazon Echo. Current speech recognition systems are typically executing all of the time as they consume quite a lot of power listening and recognizing speech. Future voice command function will be expected to be operated standalone and will be turn on when it is activated by voice. Low power digital MEMS microphone technology will be suitable for future standalone voice trigger solutions – it will perform very well, extremely low power, and they can be added to an existing design relatively easily. Algorithms such as noise cancellation and beam forming, which analyse signals from multiple microphones, need to rely on close matching of the sensitivity of individual microphones in the array, ideally to within +/- 1dB. Although screening, or binning, is one potential solution, microphone designers are looking for ASICs to provide adjustable gain that enables tuning out of process-related variations in MEMS fabrication. The LC706200 product family provides high performance solution. It has several other features that ensure enhanced linear performance over a wide operating range, including low input-referred noise of -106dBFS with the advantage of an 8kHz low-pass filter for peaking compensation, and a low noise internal bias and regulator circuit that leverages ON Semicon- ductor’s giga-ohm resistor process. The device also has a high Power-Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR) that prevents unwanted noise entering the signal chain, and power management including sleep mode and a low-power mode that remains responsive to voice commands. Conclusion Changes in the way people use computers and smart devices are driving demand for reliable and high-performing MEMS Fig. 3: Microphone specialists choose a suitable MEMS microphones. Digital ASICs now in the marketplace maximise microphone kit. freedom for microphone developers to deliver best-in-class products to satisfy these demands.

40 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com MEMS TECHNOLOGIES

Bullseye-shaped MEMS couples light and mechanical modes By Julien Happich

esearchers from the University of Campinas (Brazil) have developed a new type of optomechanical device able to confine both optical and mechanical waves. RThe CMOS-compatible device obtained through conventional lithography consists of a silicon microdisk on a pillar, with a circular mechanical grating. While the optical waves are confined at the disk edge in whispering gallery-like modes due to total internal reflection, mechanical modes are confined as an edge state lying within a phononic bandgap of the circular grating. Publishing their results in the Optics Express journal under the title “Hybrid confinement of optical and mechanical modes in a bullseye optomechanical resonator”, the research- a) Scanning electron microscope (false color) images of ers explain how the two unrelated confining mechanisms relax typical bullseye cavities from side b) and top. the need for simultaneous optical and mechanical bandgaps, easing design rules across numerous materials while minimizing both optical and mechanical losses. The tiny MEMS, about 24 microns wide, can be easily mass-produced and their particular opto-mechanical properties could turn them into highly sensitive force and motion sensors, beyond the capabilities of today’s accelerometers and gyro- scopes. The radial groves effectively couple mechanical and optical waves, meaning that mechanical motion can be detected through the changes in optical modes. Reversely, if the disk was made out of a lasing material, the changes in mechanical modes could alter the laser pulses, the whole mechanical structure acting as an optical modulator. Schematic of a bullseye optomechanical cavity (green) Next, the researchers hope to combine the optomechanical supported by a central pedestal (blue). The inset illustrates disk with an integrated optical waveguide that would bring light the mechanical motion localized at the disk’s edge. to and from the device, all in one package.

Fraunhofer to report novel electrostatic MEMS actuator By Peter Clarke

raunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) has within a bending beam, which can be substantially larger than developed a new class of MEMS actuator that it claims the electrode spacing. As a result, our actuators provide higher enables large vertical or performance while using much Flateral deflections with low voltages less energy.” and energy consumption. Fraunhofer has not revealed the The nanoscopic electrostatic material system in use or the volt- drive (NED) actuators reduce the ages required. However it has said electrode spacing needed to gener- that the MEMS-based bending ate electrostatic forces to a few actuators are made with surface hundred nanometers while achiev- micromachining (V-NED) or bulk ing deflection movements of more micromachining (L-NED) on or than 100 micrometers. within silicon wafer substrates and “Large deflections are normally that they work similarly to bimorph only possible with larger electrode actuators such as those based on distances and, therefore, with very piezoelectric or thermomechanical high drive voltages,” said Profes- effects. NED actuators are CMOS sor Harald Schenk, director of compatible, Fraunhofer said. Ap- the Fraunhofer IPMS, in a state- plications could include optical ment. “In NED actuators, how- zoom lens systems, micropumps, ever, electrostatic forces are diverted into lateral forces. These microvalves for microfluidics and loudspeakers for earphones transformed lateral forces produce a quasi-static deflection and hearing aids. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 41 DESIGN & PRODUCTS MISCELLANEOUS

4A PWM step-down converter 14-bit digitizer boasts 10GS/s sampling rate

for automotive and industrial environments SP Devices’ ADQ7 is what the company claims to be the first Power supplies or point-of-load converters for microprocessors, digitizer to offer an unrivalled combination of 14-bits vertical FPGAs or DSPs are the environments Ricoh Europe has designed resolution and a sampling rate of up to 10 GS/s. The ADQ7 its new RP510 DC/DC con- has been optimised verter for. The device will serve to provide a high the needs of applications in sampling rate, a large automotive, industrial and con- Field Programmable sumer environments with an Gate Array (FPGA), input voltage range up to 5.5V increased memory and and an optional fixed or adjust- data transfer rate and able output voltage range from a higher bandwidth 0.8V to 3.3V. Point-of-load analog front-end, power supplies solve the challenge of high peak current demands making the board suitable for demanding applications such as and low noise margins, required by high-performance processors, Lidar, radar, mass spectrometry, radio frequency sampling and by placing individual power supply regulators close to their point recording and Automated Test Equipment (ATE). The ADQ7 of use. The RP510 features a range of protection circuits contrib- hosts a Xilinx Ultrascale XCKU060 FPGA made available to uting to the safe operation of the application. A Power-Good (PG) the user through a firmware development kit. To help shorten output provides a fault signal to the system when the device is not design time, a number of optional stand-alone firmware pack- ready for regular operation or when any of the protection circuits ages are available, containing application specific, real time or states are active. An Under Voltage Lock Out (UVLO) function signal processing functions. The ADQ7 will be available in a disables the chip below a minimum input voltage level. The Ther- multitude of form factors including MTCA.4, USB3, PCIe, PXIe, mal Shutdown function protects the device during an overload and 10 Gbit Ethernet and it supports sustained data transfer condition and disables it when exceeding a temperature thresh- rates of up to 5 GB/s. A software development kit is included old. The Output Over Voltage Detection (OVD) and Under Voltage free of charge and supports multiple languages including, but Detection (UVD) indicate a fault signal when the output voltage is not limited to, C++, C#, Matlab, Python, LabVIEW. The board 20% above or below the regular setting value. can be operated under both Windows and Linux. The adjustable Soft Start Time provides a smooth output voltage SP Devices ramp up , by using an external capacitor. The oscillator frequency www.spdevices.com is internally fixed at 2.3MHz and the RP510 requires a small induc- tor of 1mH. RP510 is available in a compact 3 x 3mm DFN3030- 12 package, convenient to be used on high density boards. Single axis MEMS VC accelerometers Ricoh www.e-devices.ricoh.co.jp Low-noise single axis Model 2210 accelerometer modules from Silicon Designs integrate a MEMS VC accelerometer chip with high-drive, low-impedance buffering for reliable, repeatable Arduino-based liquid level sensing measurements. When used with a Silicon The sensor board includes an Optomax Digital liquid level Designs mounting block, switch connected to an Arduino board via the TTL output and such as the Model 2330- powered by its 5V source. LEDs on the Arduino can be easily BLK, the Model 2210 can programmed to indicate if effectively measure on ei- the sensor is/isn’t immersed ther one, two, or three axes, by the liquid (and thus de- allowing for the specifica- termine if liquid level is too tion of a single part number high/low). Using this hard- for multiple requirements, thereby reducing in-house inventory ware, hobbyists are provided counts. Offered in ranges from ±2 to ±400 g, the Silicon De- with plenty of scope to ex- signs Model 2210 Series generates two analog voltage outputs periment, while professional which vary in response to applied acceleration. Customers engineers have the opportu- can utilize either single-ended or differential output, the latter nity to evaluate their prototype before moving on to a full scale of which doubles accelerometer sensitivity over single-ended design. The Optomax devices have compact dimensions that versions. The sensitive axis of the Model 2210 is perpendicular allow them to be deployed within environments where there is to the package bottom, with positive acceleration defined as only limited available space. As relatively long cabling can be a force pushing on the bottom of that package. Output scale supported, the sensor can be placed in close proximity to a factor is independent from the supply voltage of +8 to +32V. liquid without any risk of the accompanying electronics on the At zero acceleration, differential output voltage is nominally Arduino being damaged. The liquid level switch can be sup- 0 VDC; at full scale, ±4 VDC. Sensing elements of the Model plied by SST in a robust housing with either a Polysulfone or 2210 are packaged within a compact, lightweight, anodized Trogamid construction. The complete solution has an opera- epoxy sealed aluminum housing, occupying a total footprint of tional temperature range that covers -25°C to +80°C. just one square inch. Sparkfun Silicon Designs www.sparkfun.com www.silicondesigns.com

42 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com MISCELLANEOUS

5.5-inch Full-HD flexible display on plastic Multicell battery monitor offers high accuracy

Japan Display has developed a 5.5-inch Full-HD LCD display Linear Technology’s LTC2944 is a high voltage battery monitor relying on a plastic substrate for both sides of the liquid crystal SoC that measures charge, voltage, current and temperature layer, making it fully flexible. to 1% accuracy, the essential parameters required to accu- The Full Active Flex as it is called, conforms rately assess battery state of to curved shapes, opening up smartphone charge. The LTC2944 multi- design to new form factors. The use of cell battery monitor makes plastic substrates instead of glass also direct measurements of 3.6V prevents cracking upon impact (from be- to 60V battery stacks. No ing dropped for example). The company level shifting circuitry on the incorporated its low-frequency driving tech- supply and measurement nology to support not only a normal 60Hz pins is required to interface driving scheme but also lower frequency with multicell voltages. driving scheme as low as 15Hz, significantly decreasing power Applications including electric vehicles, ebikes/motorcycles/ consumption. Mass production of the display is expected for scooters, wheelchairs, golf carts and battery backup systems. 2018. Other characteristics of the 1080(xRGB)×1920 Full-HD The battery current is measured by monitoring the voltage display include a 401ppi pixel density, a surface luminance across an external, high side sense resistor and integrating this of 500cd/m2 (Typ.) and a contrast ratio of 1500:1 (Typ.). The information to infer charge. A bidirectional analog integrator rugged and flexible display could find applications in smart- accommodates either current polarity (battery charge or dis- phones but also in notebook PCs, automotive applications and charge), and a programmable prescaler supports a wide range wearables. of battery capacities. Charge, voltage, current and temperature Japan Display information are communicated to the host system over an I 2C/ www.j-display.com/english/ SMBus-compatible 2-wire interface that is also used to con- figure the battery monitor. The host can program high and low thresholds for all measured parameters, which if tripped, signal Dual-channel function/arbitrary waveform an alert using either the SMBus alert protocol or by setting a register flag. The chip supports operating temperature ranges generators up to 60MHz from 0°C to 70°C and –40°C to 85°C. It is available in a small Launching its 4050B Series dual-channel function/arbitrary wave- RoHS-compliant, 8-pin 3x3mm DFN package. form generators, B&K Precision replaces its former models 4053, Linear Technology 4054, and 4055 with en- www.linear.com hanced specs and functions. The new design improves every aspect of the instru- 12.3-inch rugged display with ment, offering better square wave performance and many an 8:3 aspect ratio other features at no additional cost. The 4050B Series can gener- Industrial display manufacturer, KOE has introduced the TX- ate waveforms up to 60 MHz for use in education and other ap- 31D203VM0EAB 12.3-inch Rugged+ TFT display module, with plications requiring stable and precise sine, square, triangle, and a 1920x720 resolution pulse waveforms, modulation and arbitrary waveform capabilities. built in a 8:3 wide Notable improvements include increases in both sine and square aspect ratio. frequency ranges to 30 MHz and 60 MHz for models 4054B and The 12.3-inch display 4055B, respectively. The upgrade allows each model to generate features a contrast square waves with faster rise times and low jitter. Additionally, the ratio of 1300:1 and a secondary output now provides the same output voltage range white LED backlight as the main output. New channel tracking and combine functions dimmable from 100% have been added. Each channel can be varied from 0 to 10 Vpp to 5% with PWM into 50 ohms and is fully independent with individual output On/ control, providing a brightness rating of 1000cd/m². These Off buttons. The front panel UI has been enhanced with a large features ensure that display images are bright, colourful and 4.3” color LCD display along with dedicated channel selection concise. Designed for use in HMI and digital signage applica- keys and output buttons. The USB host port on the front panel tions, the display’s IPS technology delivers excellent colour can be used to save and recall instrument settings and waveforms saturation and image stability, high contrast and deep black to a flash drive. Equipped with a high performance 14-bit, 150 levels with 176° wide viewing angles (vertical and horizontal). MSa/s, 16k-point arbitrary waveform generator, the 4050B Series The 50-pin LVDS interface supports 8-bit RGB and provides provides users even greater value with up to 196 built-in arbitrary a colour palette of up to 16.7m colours. Featuring a fully waveforms and the ability to create and load more than 1,000 enclosed metal bezel with integrated mounting fixtures, the dis- custom 16-kpt waveforms using the included waveform editing play module measures 333.1x150.5x20.6mm for an active area software. A new harmonics function also enables the instrument of 292.0x109.5mm. Highly resistant to electro-static discharge, to generate harmonics up to the 10 th order with independent mechanical shock and vibration, the unit operates in the -40 to amplitude and phase settings. +85°C temperature range. B&K Precision KOE www.bkprecision.com www.koe.j-display.com

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 43 DESIGN & PRODUCTS MISCELLANEOUS

Reflector-type 1.8x1.6mm 3-colour LED Crimp sealed bayonet circular connectors targets wearable matrix displays offer protection to IP68 The MSL0402RGBU reflector-type 3-colour LED achieves Samtec has expanded its line of standard and custom Accli- what Rohm claims to be the smallest size in the industry, with Mate sealed cable plugs and receptacles, including new crimp a 1.8x1.6mm footprint. By sealed bayonet latching reducing the mounting area circulars. by 70% compared to the These systems meet company’s conventional IP67/IP68 require- LEDs, the new device en- ments for dustproof and ables high-density mount- waterproof sealing and ing and provides excellent are designed for indus- colour mixing characteris- trial, outdoor, under- tics for the design of high water and other harsh resolution LED matrices. Normally, Zener diodes are used as a environments. The new countermeasure to static electricity in LEDs. However, in matrix AccliMate Crimp Sealed Bayonet Circulars (CCP-12/CCR-12/ circuits this can cause current to flow to other LEDs, resulting CCRB-12 Series) were developed as cost effective solutions in unwanted light emission. In contrast, the MSL0402RGBU with optional metal shielding for cable-to-cable and cable-to- employs a high ESD resistance element that eliminates the panel applications. They are available in standard size 12 shells need for a Zener protection diode, ensuring superior display with metal or plastic housings. They also feature bayonet style performance in matrix circuits. The six-pin device can output latches to ensure proper mating with quick connection and up to 400mcd in red, up to 550mcd in green and up to 180mcd disconnection. The CCP-12/CCR-12/CCRB-12 series provided in blue. The MSL0402RGBU uses a gold plated substrate that design flexibility with socket and terminal end options, cable prevents sulfuration even when silicon resin packages are lengths up to 50 meters and kitted components to facilitate used. This minimizes brightness degradations and contributes efficient field assembly. Dust caps are also available. Panel to greater long-term application reliability. receptacles can be terminated with Samtec’s 2.00 mm pitch Rohm Tiger Eye discrete wire socket connector, or can be supplied www.rohm.com with blunt cut cable for field termination. Samtec www.samtec.com/acclimate Machine vision camera and boards boost system integration Multispectral sensor developer kit debuts ADLINK Technology announced the release of NEON-1021 Intel Atom E3845 processor-based smart camera, EOS-1300 Espros Photonics together with Viavi Solutions have jointly 4CH PoE Compact developed a miniaturized spectral sensing system-on-a-chip Vision System, and and a multispectral sensor developer kit. The spectral sen- PCIe-GIE72/74 2/4CH sor combines VIAVI’s GigE Vision PoE+ 64-channel micro-pat- frame grabbers, de- terned bandpass filter livering precise image array and Espros’ hybrid acquisition with high CCD-CMOS imager to integration, effectively make a miniature device reducing TCO. The NEON-1021, the first in ADLINK’s new measuring less than value line of smart cameras, features high performancequad 2.7x2.7x1.1mm. Two core Intel Atom processors, speedy Multi-ROI image capture, versions of the sensor and FPGA-accelerated image pre-processing. Middleware sup- will be offered – one for the visible range (385-900 nm) and one port for the NEON-1021 is complete and verified, accommo- for the near infrared (NIR, 775-1065nm). The size and projected dating 90% of popularly utilized machine vision software and cost of the sensor should bring sophisticated wavelength providing high-speed multi-ROI capture, presenting significant analysis and shortwave NIR spectroscopy within reach of competitive advantage over conventional smart camera and consumer mobile devices such as smartphones. In the mobile compact vision systems. The EOS-1300 compact GigE vision space, the sensor has the potential to help consumers analyze system is equipped with 6th Generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3 the composition of food, beverages and medications. The processors and four independent PoE (power over Ethernet) SPM64 developer kit launched by the two companies includes ports. FPGA-based function allows the EOS-1300 to provide a prototype sensor mounted on a USB dongle-style circuit programmable de-bounce filtering, on-the-fly triggering, and board with a microcontroller and several various light sources. advanced encoder functions for real-time precision control The board, when connected via USB to a computer running the with no CPU loading or requirement for additional devices. supplied software, sends pre-processed spectral information Advanced I/O deployment, wide operating temperature support to the GUI and optionally a data file. A supplied API allows cus- and onboard license protection all enable the EOS-1300 to tomers to write their own software to control the light sources increase reliability while reducing TCO and TTM. and sensor, and to acquire and analyze data. ADLINK Technology Espros Photonics www.adlinktech.com www.espros.com

44 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com MISCELLANEOUS

Cooling aggregates pack axian fan motors LCOS-based spatial light modulator

Targeting multi-kilowatts applications, Fischer Elektronik’s delivers λ/40 flatness expanded range of high-performance cooling aggregates LA(V) Based on an LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) device, Santec’s 28-33 series is based on extruded sections that are soldered SLM-100 spatial light modulator boasts a super-flatness of together. λ/40 at 633nm, using wavefront correction The flow-optimized geom- technology. etry with hollow ribs form The SLM’s advanced high resolution of a heat exchange structure 10-bits (1024 gray level) is applied to further optimized with the compensate for the intrinsic spatial opti- integration of powerful cal distortion and aberration in the LCOS axial fan motors. Double- device using a LUT (Look-up-Table). sided, precisely face- The wavefront correction technology is milled base plates ensure available for several SLM-100 models in a good heat splay, as well as offering a mounting surface for optional visible wavelength. Super-flatness is a very important the electronic components to be cooled. The new cooling ag- feature in various industrial applications such as astrophysics, gregates are available with or without air-flow chamber, in two precision holography and laser processing to achieve ideal different heights, and six different widths. Additional mechani- optical performance on the image plane. cal finishes, surface coatings and other fan cooler types and Santec voltages can be realized in keeping with customer-specific www.santec.com requirements. Fischer Elektronik www.fischerelektronik.de TI props coding and engineering teaching tools 6GHz lab oscilloscope wants to do it all Built around the TI LaunchPad Board, Texas Instruments’ TI- Innovator Hub offers a classroom tool that introduces students Rohde & Schwarz’ R&S RTO2000 model with 6 GHz bandwidth to coding and engineering allows developers to test the radio interfaces of 802.11ac design. WLAN components for IoT modules in the 5 GHz band as well The palm-sized box with a as fast communications inter- built-in microcontroller, plugs faces such as USB 3.1 Gen 1 into the graphing calcula- with data rates of 5 Gbit/s. tor many secondary school Thanks to its multi-domain students already own, a TI-84 functionality, only a single Plus CET or a TI-Nspire CX compact instrument is needed and TI-Nspire CX CAS, and to analyze power supplies, allows them to analyze and processors and sensors explain the world around with up to 6 GHz bandwidth. Synchronized time, frequency, them. For example, students protocol and logic analyses results allow users to debug at the can start by learning to write a program to play a single note, system level. Up to 16-bit vertical resolution in high definition and then put together sounds at different frequencies to play mode enables developers to detect even the smallest of signal a song. “Coding has become one of the essential literacies in details. The R&S RTO2000 is the only oscilloscope to offer one the 21st century education and there is a growing demand now million waveforms per second, allowing fast identification of for teaching students how to code. The TI-Innovator allows even the most sporadic signal faults. The integrated spectrum students to get hands-on with technology and not even realize analysis and spectrogram display make it possible to observe they are learning important STEM principles, like coding, that the signal path in the frequency domain as well as over time. they need to be successful in the classroom today, in college The zone trigger for the time and frequency domain supports tomorrow and in their careers in the future”, said Alexandre developers in their day-to-day tasks. This unique function Titin-Snaider, Director of TI Education Technology for Europe. lets them isolate events graphically in the time and frequency “The TI-Innovator replaces complicated electronic circuit domain, for example in order to separate read and write mes- construction with a few lines of simple computer code,” said sages from memory interfaces. The R&S RTO2000 offers an Ian Galloway, an international education consultant and former unmatched 2 Gsample memory, so users can analyze even physics teacher from the UK. “Students can explore the real long pulse and protocol sequences. They can also use the world using feedback and control by connecting their graph- history function to retrieve previously acquired waveforms. The ing calculator to the Innovator and using 10 minutes of code. high-resolution, 12.1” touchscreen and the color-coded con- The power of having control over lights, speakers and motors trols make the R&S RTO2000 especially intuitive to use. The is both stimulating and motivating and can be accessed by all app cockpit provides direct access to all available applications, students using the TI Innovator.” The TI-Innovator Hub was such as trigger and decoding functions, conformance and built specifically for use in the classroom and is enclosed in a signal integrity tests, I/Q analysis and even customer-specific durable case to protect against dings and drops. One system development tools. can be shared among several students. Rohde & Schwarz Texas Instruments www.rohde-schwarz.com www.education.ti.com

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 45 Reader DESIGN & PRODUCTS MISCELLANEOUS Offer

Fluorescence sensor collects image data Ultrasound-based 3D mapping: across the 670-780nm range this kit is yours Headwall’s Hyperspec Chlorophyll Fluorescence sensor col- This month, German startup Toposens is giving away one lects image data across the chlorophyll fluorescence emis- pricey evaluation kit built around its ground-breaking ultra- sion spectrum from 670 to sound-based 3D map- 780nm. This allows both ping technology, with a the important ‘Oxygen-A’ 12-month license to use and ‘Oxygen-B’ bands Toposens’ proprietary

(O2-A and O2-B) to be algorithms. The Evalu- exploited for more accurate ation Kit V1.0 includes insight into photosynthetic Toposens’ 3D ultrasound processes. The sensor uses sensor V 1.0 operating an all-reflective approach in the 40kHz frequency and Headwall’s own precise diffraction gratings, meaning high range, which will allow signal-to-noise performance vital to capturing scientific-grade you to precisely detect data across this critical spectral range. The new sensor is small the 3D position of ob- and light enough for use aboard many of today’s commercially jects and people with an available UAVs, and it can also be used aboard aircraft and accuracy ranging from 1 satellites. The 300x200x200mm sensor weighs about 6kg. to 10cm, at an acquisi- Headwall Photonics tion speed from 10 to 60 frames/s. Toposens’ Visualization www.headwallphotonics.com Software Tool helps users understand the data output and see the environment through 3D ultrasonic machine vision, various readout parameters can be adjusted for fast and easy AMS launches multispectral sensor pair prototyping. As well as the 100x45x21mm sensor unit, the kit includes a Bluetooth module and battery pack, a USB cable, a AMS AG (Premstaetten, Austria) has announced volume pro- power supply, a serial adapter and a Bluetooth Dongle. Adjust- duction of two digital multispectral sensors that use near infra- able filter options and pre-set scenario settings are available red visible light and can be used for consumer and industrial through the Visualization Software Tool. A Plug&Play API is spectral analysis. The provided together with extensive technical documentation. AS7262 and AS7263 use wafer-level filter Check the reader offer online at technology to provide visible and near infrared www.electronics-eetimes.com sensing, respectively. The ability to identify characteristic profiles Ready to run 1D/2D stationary code scanners of materials across such channels allows for use in material and product authen- Wenglor’s new series C5KC and C5PC 1D/2D stationary code tication and content analysis. The sensors employ a fabrica- scanners make time-consuming software installation and tion technique which enables the deposition of nano-optical configuration superfluous. Auto-setup, auto-focus and newly interference filters directly on the CMOS die. This interference developed decoding algorithms automatically provide for filter is stable over both time and temperature and are smaller excellent reading perfor- and more cost-effective than the components typically used mance against almost any in spectral analysis instruments. The AS7262 six-channel background. Scan set- visible light sensor measures visible light intensity at optical tings can be accessed via wavelengths of 450nm, 500nm, 550nm, 570nm, 600nm and the intuitively laid out user 650nm. The output can be over I2C or UART digital interface. interface of the wenglor The AS7263 operates in the NIR spectrum detecting 610nm, WebLink for optimized 680nm, 730nm, 760nm, 810nm and 860nm infrared signatures. reading of damaged and Both devices include an electronic shutter with LED drive cir- high-resolution codes. They cuitry, which means that designers can control the light source boast the smallest available format for 1D/2D code scanners and the spectral sensing functions with a single chip. “The which makes them suitable for use in extremely compact ma- dramatic reduction in the size and cost of spectral analysis chines and, thanks to a reading speed of 60 scans per second, enabled by our new spectral sensing solutions brings the lab to they’re well-suited for applications with high throughput rates the sample for an incredible variety of applications from food too. The Industry 4.0-ready sensors come in a 25×45×38mm safety and product authentication, to routine testing that can and a 25×45×45mm housing, respectively and perform up to better protect both our health and our environment,” said Jean 60 scans per second, reading all common 1D/2D codes before Francois Durix, marketing director for emerging sensor systems communicating the results via various interfaces including RS- at AMS.The AS7262 and AS7263 are in volume production 232, USB 2.0 or Ethernet via USB for the C5KC and via RS- now. Unit pricing is $4.00 in order quantities of 1,000. 232, Ethernet TCP/IP, PROFINET or EtherNet/IP for the C5PC. AMS AG Wenglor Sensoric www.ams.com www.wenglor.com

46 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com MISCELLANEOUS

16-bit MCU packs on-chip Flash memory, 8kV ESD protection IC crystal unit and RTC in a 2.55x1.05x0.55mm footprint The XBP14E5UFN from Torex Semiconductor is a new series Seiko Epson has begun shipping samples of the S7C17M11, of transient voltage suppressors (TVS) small enough to be a low-power 16-bit microcontroller packing 128kB of on-chip mounted adjacent to an exter- Flash memory, a nal interface so it can protect crystal unit, and a downstream ICs from electro- highly accurate real- static discharges. Supporting time clock (RTC) high-speed signal lines with a with a temperature low pin capacitance, the XB- compensation P14E5UFN is well suited for the function all in a protection of USB 3.0, HDMI 16x16mm footprint. and other lines. Delivered in a Epson integrated a 2.55x1.05x0.55mm package, the chip has a terminal capaci- crystal unit into the tance of 0.8pF (Line-to-GND) and offers an ESD protection to S7C17M11 micro- 8kV Contact (IEC61000-4-2). The parts are EU RoHS compliant controller package and lead-free. and developed Torex technology for www.torexsemi.com detecting and cor- recting frequency deviations caused by temperature changes. The S7C17M11 is accurate to within 10 seconds per month at New NOR Flash memory densities temperatures between 0 and 50°C, 13.2 seconds per month between -30 and 70C, and 26.4 seconds per month between for ADAS and the like -40C and 85C. Moreover, this integrated, single-chip solution Nor Flash, in contrast to NAND Flash, is typically used to store eliminates the need for adjustments, thus reducing custom- program code and parametric data. Cypress Semiconductor’s ers’ development time and reducing the number of discrete new NOR Flash components. chips are designed The S7C17M11 has a number of other integrated peripheral for this kind of appli- circuits including Flash memory, a 12-bit AD converter, and cations. The devices an LCD driver with a built-in liquid crystal power supply for a with densities of 64 240-segment display. Power consumption in RTC mode is 2.25 and 128 Mb meet µA (typical). automotive require- Epson Europe Electronics ment in accordance www.epson-electronics.de with AEC-Q100 and operate at extended temperatures. These new densities complement the vendor’s Narrow aspherical glass lens existing 256Mb product lineup. Cypress’ new FL-L devices also offer low power consumption with high read bandwidth has chucking area and fast program time. With their small uniform 4KB physi- Alps Electric has developed the “FLGPJ Series” Narrow cal memory sectors, these devices are suited for applications Aspherical Glass Lens for compact, high-density optical like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), automotive transceivers. The square aspherical FLGPJ Series has a narrow instrument clusters and infotainment systems, industrial control width of 0.6mm and smart factory equipment, networking equipment, IoT across and a applications, video game consoles and set-top boxes. High- chucking area at performance system designs require high read bandwidth for the top improves program execution, small, low-pin-count packages, and fast ease of han- program and erase times. Cypress’ 128Mb and 256Mb FL-L dling during end Quad SPI NOR Flash devices are each capable of 133-MHz product assem- Single Data Rate (SDR) and 66-MHz Double Data Rate (DDR) bly, contributing for bandwidth of 67 Mbps, and the 64Mb devices leverage to higher-density a 54-MHz DDR mode to deliver read bandwidth of 54 Mbps. assemblies. The memories provide low standby current and a deep-power- Despite its com- down mode that extends battery life for battery powered pact dimensions applications. The 128Mb and 256Mb devices can increase (0.6x0.8x1.5mm), customers’ manufacturing throughput with a fast 0.30-ms the lens achieves an effective numerical aperture (NA) of 0.5. program time per 256 bytes, and they offer a 50-ms erase time It employs lead-free glass compliant with both RoHS 6 and that enables new data to be written quickly. The devices are REACH regulations. Transmittance is 98% at 1310nm and available in industry-standard packages including the USON 1550nm, focal length is 0.45mm at 1310nm. (4x4mm) package that saves board space and simplifies layout. Alps Electric Cypress Semiconductor www.alps.com www.cypress.com

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 47 DESIGN & PRODUCTS MISCELLANEOUS

ADI rolls new generation of Audio Bus 1200V converter + inverter + brake power transceivers module Analog Devices (ADI) has introduced three transceivers sup- Vincotech’s flowIPM 1C CIB 1200V is a deeply integrated Intel- porting the company’s Audio Bus (A2B) technology for dis- ligent Power Module for 1200V applications. Based on a CIB topology (converter + inverter + brake), the unit features three inverter gate drives, including a bootstrap circuit for high-side power supply. Each leg of the inverter provides current-limiting for circuit protection. The current rating of this new intelligent power module housed in the new flow 1C housing is 14A at 80°C or 30A at 25°C heat sink temperature. The deeply integrated flowIPM 1C CIB 1200 tributing audio and control data plus clock and power over a V module enables manufacturers to slash their overall system’s single, unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cable. The AD242x series size, cost, and time to market. It also features a brake chopper of A 2B transceivers offers a flexible slave-to-slave communi- with integrated gate drive as well as emitter shunts (30 m‎Ω) for cation capability as well as support for reduced data-sampling vastly improved motion control. rates. Both features are said to significantly improve overall Vincotech bus-bandwidth utilization and are key differentiators for emerg- www.vincotech.com ing applications such as in-car communications and active noise cancellation. The new devices are pin-compatible with existing series members. The transceivers include new features Uncooled infrared detector operates designed to increase system-level performance and ease of use. All new AD242x devices include an improved pulse den- in 3 to 11μm range sity modulation (PDM) block that is critical for next-generation Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. has developed an uncooled In- microphone connectivity applications. The AD242x devices AsSb (indium arsenide antimonide) photovoltaic detector that also incorporate enhanced GPIO, I 2C, and clocking capability offers high-speed and high-sen- to further increase system-level flexibility. Further extending the sitivity detection of infrared light A 2B technology’s reach to super-premium systems, AD242x in the 3 to 11 micron wavelength devices can now support daisy-chain configurations for up range. The part number P13894- to 11 total nodes, while increasing the maximum internode 011MA extends the upper limit distance to 15m. Available in 32-lead LFCSP packages, the of sensitivity of the company’s AD2421, AD2422, and AD2425 transceivers are compliant with InAsSb detectors from 8 microns all relevant automotive EMC, EMI, and ESD requirements, are to 11 microns. This allows users fully AEC-Q100 qualified, and operate over the extended auto- to design spectrometers with the motive temperature range (-40⁰C to +105⁰C). Master and slave capacity to measure molecules that absorb longer wavelengths evaluation boards, as well as local- and phantom-powered of light, hence analysing more compounds with a single device. evaluation boards are currently available. Hamamatsu Analog Devices www.hamamatsu.com http://www.analog.com Solderable finish allows sub 20µm features Small OLED display targets wearables Atotech’s solderable finish PallaBond is a nickel free final finish Winstar’s WEO012832F is a small OLED display featuring described as truly fine line capable and high frequency friendly. 128x32 pixels in a 0.91 inch diagonal screen, suitable for wear- Due to the omission of phosphor, PallaBond is also claimed to able devices. The WEO012832F module comes with a built-in be bio-compatible. The direct electroless SSD1306BZ controller IC, it sup- palladium / autocatalytic gold surface ports an I 2C interface and a 14-pin finish allows the direct deposition of pal- FPC pinout. Standard emitting co- ladium on copper. It has been designed lours for the WEO012832F are avail- to achieve maximum fine feature resolu- able in white, sky blue and yellow. tion and definition whilst enabling high The WEO012832F features a COG frequency design. The phosphor and nickel free final finish is structure OLED display, the built-in optimized to operate at an overall thickness of approximately voltage generation only requires a 200 nm, ideal for very fine lines and spaces. The process en- single 3V power supply. This light- ables wire bonding with Cu, Cu Pd, Au and Ag. It is compatible weight 30.0×11.5×1.45mm OLED with many new base materials and soldermask types owing to module can operate at temperatures from -40℃ to +80℃. its short deposit time and low temperature needs. Winstar Atotech www.winstar.com.tw www.atotech.com

48 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com DISTRIBUTION CORNER

Trading relationship easy to assess Hundreds of thousands of product datasheets with Anglia at a Mouser click Anglia is adding a new level of customer information on its In addition to browsing and searching parts by product website Anglia Live, with the launch of Anglia Sigma a compre- category, customers can now click the Datasheets tab on hensive, free dashboard which provides Mouser.com to review the distributor’s analysis of forward, current and historical extensive library containing hundreds orders and enquiries, as well as a vendor of thousands of datasheets. The new rating feature showing Anglia’s delivery datasheet feature allows customers performance. “Our aim with Anglia Sigma to browse datasheets by using any is to give customers complete transpar- search or navigation function. “These ency in their trading relationship with new features are designed to help us. Customers are used to coming to customers who don’t already have a Anglia Live to research availability and to part number or product in mind,” said place orders. Now we’re putting full and comprehensive informa- Hayne Shumate, Mouser’s Senior Vice President of Internet tion about our business relationship with them in the same place, Business. “It is now possible for datasheets to be grouped and including metrics of our service and performance. We believe we browsed fluidly using the search and filter methods that cus- are the first electronics distributor to offer this level of informa- tomers already know.” The Datasheets tab makes it easy to go tion free of charge to all our customers in an instantly accessible, from a product list to a datasheet, enabling customers to filter online portal. We challenge other distributors to follow suit”, said a specific product group and browse the relevant datasheets Anglia’s CEO Steve Rawlins. On Anglia Sigma, customers have a by product category. With one click, customers can open any complete overview of their business with Anglia in one convenient datasheet in an integrated PDF viewer and see availability dashboard. It will include all transactions, regardless of whether and pricing for all parts that reference the sheet. Moving from they were placed by phone, email, EDI, fax or through Anglia Live. one datasheet to the next is like flipping pages, the company They can also see how Anglia has performed over the last twelve claims. Among 15 other parts categories, the “Semiconduc- months, with information like the number of converted lines and tors” category alone hosts 100,509 individual datasheet en- their value, a breakdown of enquiries, billings over the last twelve tries. Simple tabs at the bottom of each datasheet allow users months by month and last five years by year, and a breakdown of to quickly enlarge or download that datasheet. purchase orders by product type. Mouser Anglia www.mouser.com www.anglia.com 7th generation Intel Core processors get onto Raspberry Pi easy-to-solder COM Express modules prototyping board Avnet Embedded just announced the MSC C6C-KLU and MSC Distributor RS Components has launched a 40-pin solder-tag C6B-KLH Type 6 COM Express module families based on the board for the highly popular Raspberry Pi credit-card sized 7th generation Intel Core computer board. The processors (codenamed RS Pro solder-tag board “Kaby Lake”). The new Kaby is aimed at electronics Lake processors are manu- engineers developing factured in 14nm technology, prototypes based around as the former 6 th genera- the Raspberry Pi board, tion Intel Core processors, but is also well suited for and have a similar architec- education and the training ture but are optimised for of students and electron- higher performance at the same level of power dissipation. ics beginners. The solder-tag board is the same size and offers The MSC C6C-KLU and MSC C6B-KLH module families are a total of 40 solder-tag terminals, matching the 40 pins on the partly available with Intel Celeron and Xeon processors as well. Raspberry Pi. Connecting via the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO header Designed and manufactured by MSC Technologies (an Avnet connector, essentially the RS Pro board offers users and devel- Company) in Germany, these COM Express modules offer opers flexible prototyping abilities by providing a simple means at least a 7-year lifecycle from the date of introduction. The of soldering and de-soldering electronic components via easy 95x95mm unit draw between 17W and 19W, typical and are to make and break solder connections. The very low cost of suited for compact high-end embedded systems. The oper- the high-quality SRBP board also means it can be replaced ating temperature ranges from 0° to 60°C. Four variants are cheaply. The holes in the tag board align with the mounting available with the dual-core processors Intel Core i7-7600U, holes in the Raspberry Pi, which enables the tag board to be i5-7300U, i3-7100U, and Intel Celeron 3965U. The on-chip Intel mounted beneath the Raspberry Pi board using an additional HD Graphics Gen. 9 supports DirectX® 12, OpenGL 4.4., and mounting kit that consists of four legs and eight screws. In OpenCL 2x. Hardware-based graphics acceleration and video addition, the central slot in the solder-tag board allows a ribbon encoding/decoding complete the feature list. Three indepen- cable to pass through it. dent displays with up to 4k x 2k resolution can be connected. RS Components Avnet Embedded www.rs-online.com www.avnet-embedded.eu

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 49 LAST WORD

PUBLISHER We are hiring! The European manufacturing André Rousselot +32 27400053 industry looks for STEM graduates [email protected]

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF By Dr. John Mitchell Julien Happich anufacturing gets a bad rap. education; STEM education; and appren- +33 169819476 Today’s advanced manufacturing ticeships. [email protected] companies require engaged, intel- STEM topics and career opportunities ligentM and highly-trained workers. Those fail to attract enough young people. They EDITORS working at these cutting-edge facilities suffer from an image deficit which is deeply Christoph Hammerschmidt +49 8944450209 would scarcely recognize the old assembly rooted in our cultures. We need early child- [email protected] lines from the 1950s. hood education to better inspire youth, get- And yet, manufacturers today cannot ting them interested in and excited about Peter Clarke +44 776 786 55 93 find enough trained workers to fill their STEM topics in elementary and lower [email protected] open positions, with estimates that 2 mil- secondary education. lion manufacturing jobs will remain vacant Going further, educators, business Nick Flaherty +44 7710 236368 over the next decade. leaders and parents should embrace and [email protected] As President and CEO of IPC, an as- destigmatize apprentice and vocational sociation that represents training programs in fields Jean-Pierre Joosting +44 7800548133 the global electronics such as advanced manufac- [email protected] manufacturing industry, I turing, robotics, and comput- have seen first-hand the er programming. Too often, CIRCULATION & FINANCE struggles our member vocational training is seen Luc Desimpel companies are having in as the “second-best” option [email protected] recruiting and retaining when students are not well talent as they navigate the suited for university. Even in ADVERTISING PRODUCTION & complex manufacturing countries where the voca- REPRINTS of things like aerospace tional training infrastructure Lydia Gijsegom [email protected] materials, biomedical is of top-quality, this stigma technology and flexible remains. ART MANAGER microchips, not to mention IPC’s President and CEO, We command the EU Jean-Paul Speliers operating and maintain- Dr. John W. Mitchell Alliance on Apprenticeships ing increasingly complex as we believe that quality ACCOUNTING machines and systems used to produce apprenticeship scheme can make manu- Ricardo Pinto Ferreira their goods. facturing careers more attractive to young REGIONAL ADVERTISING A survey of our member companies in people while enabling the industry to train REPRESENTATIVES 2015 found that 72 percent of electronics their workforces to their specific needs. Contact information at: manufacturers believed there was a labor Technology is changing faster than http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/ shortage in the industry, and two-thirds had university curricula. The skills necessary for content/sales-contacts. difficulty recruiting production workers and tomorrow’s most in-demand jobs are often engineers over the past two years. A more not taught in college. recent survey of our European members According to CEDEFOP, 43 percent ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMES EUROPE this year showed similar trends. of EU employees experienced a recent is published 11 times in 2017 According to the European Commis- change in the technologies they use at EUROPEAN BUSINESS PRESS SA by sion’s estimates, 40 percent of European work. For them to adapt to a fast-changing Chaussée de Louvain 533, employers report that they cannot find work environment, our education systems 1380 Lasne, Belgium people with the right skills to grow and must lay the intellectual foundation today Tel: +32-2-740 00 50 innovate. Science, technology, enginee- for them to grow and pivot – to acquire Fax: +32-2-740 00 59 european ring and mathematics professionals – the new skills as technology continues to shift. email: [email protected]. business press so-called STEM professionals -- are among Flexibility and fluidity of skills will be the www.electronics-eetimes.com the top five skill shortage occupations new currency of the future worker. Busi- VAT Registration: BE 461.357.437. in the EU, along with ICT professionals, nesses have their role to play, be it by medical doctors, nurses and midwives, proposing attractive apprenticeship oppor- Company Number: 0461357437 and teachers, according to the European tunities or by continuously upgrading their RPM: Nivelles. Centre for the Development of Vocational workforces with short-training programs. Volume 19, Issue 2 EE Times P 304128 Training (CEDEFOP). This skills shortage is But only if we see this as a societal issue It is free to qualified engineers and managers a major concern for our industry in Europe which concerns us all – decision-makers, involved in engineering decisions – see: and globally. Closing this STEM skills gap education institutes, trade unions, stu- http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/subscribe requires a new approach to education with dents’ organizations, industry, and parents © 2017 E.B.P. SA an emphasis on three components: early -- only then we will be able to ensure we All rights reserved. P 304128 are producing the type of skilled workforce Dr. John W. Mitchell is IPC President and that will maintain the competitiveness of CEO - www.IPC.org the EU manufacturing industry.

50 Electronic Engineering Times Europe February 2017 www.electronics-eetimes.com Your Global Link to the Electronics World

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HOUSE AD SITES.indd 27 28/10/15 11:40 Industrial robotics A new level of collaboration

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