desigMarchn 2014 | Volume 4, Issue 3 www.electronicspecifier.com Could GFETs drive RF integration? News Advanced Power Development Tools All the news from Processes Semiconductors Embedded World 2014 The last piece of the Ultra-Thin is the New Let there be better LED puzzle Bulk light UNBEATABLE ON PRODUCTION ELECTRONICS Q Production ready packaging Q Great prices Q Enhanced product range now with greater depth Q Leading date and lot traceability Q FAST next day delivery CHALLENGE US TODAY SUPPORTING PRODUCTION WE ARE READY TO WIN YOUR NEXT ORDER Visit www.farnell.com/production 09:10 design Contents 06 News All the news from this year’s Embedded World 14 Markets & Trends 12 Smart Energy Systems The last piece of the puzzle 14 Could a new process for CMOS RF power match GaAs? Could GFETs drive RF integration? 18 The latest research around Graphene FETs Building better memories 20 Developments in Charge Trap engineering could challenge Flash 22 Ultra-Thin is the New Bulk 21 Smaller, faster, cheaper devices promised by a new SOI process Taking back the power 22 PMICs target the ultra-portable Raging trench warfare 26 While breakthroughs may be slowing, development continues Monitoring your health 29 Structural health monitoring on a big scale 29 Let there be better LED light 34 Thermal issues are key to LED efficiency It’s all in the timing 38 Manufacturers continue to deliver the tools needed by designers Try before you buy 42 Taking a look at the development kits launched at Embedded World The 3 flavours of Bluetooth 44 Making it simpler to get connected 44 Editor: Ad sales: Head Office: Copyright 2013 Electronic Specifier. Contents of Electronic Specifier, its publication, websites and Philip Ling Ben Price ElectronicSpecifier Ltd newsletters are the property of the publisher. The [email protected] [email protected] Comice Place, Woodfalls Farm publisher and the sponsors of this magazine are not responsible for the results of any actions or Gravelly Ways, Laddingford omissions taken on the basis of information inthis Designer: Publishing Director Kent. ME18 6DA publication. In particular, no liability can be ac - cepted in result ofany claim based on or in rela - Stuart Pritchard Steve Regnier Tel: 01622 871944 tion to material provided for inclusion. Electronic [email protected] [email protected] www.electronicspecifier.com Specifier is a controlled circulation journal. electronicspecifier.com 3 Editor’s Comment design Software Simplification Could interpreted languages provide expanding the -A range, this looks set to continue. the solution to a problem looming on Freescale is already talking about developing ‘bigLittle’ multicore devices targeting the embedded space. Of the IoT roadmap? course, all of this extra processing could just be used to run the ‘same old’ Linux/C software platforms, but it seems as if something more innovative is emerging. While a general buzz around the Internet of Things pervaded this year’s Embedded World Conference & Interpreted languages, such as Java, Python and Lua, Exhibition, there was an underlying indication that offer a level of portability not really seen compiled software may no longer reign as the most complex part of languages, and as such they are massively popular for embedded design. It almost felt like the industry as a developing applications running in the (admittedly, whole had decided that enough was enough; if software resource-rich) desktop domain. This hasn’t gone is that much of a problem, let’s do all we can to remove it unnoticed and as complexity continues to apply pressure from the equation. Whether that approach will really on embedded development, it seems leading deliver remains to be seen, but there were definite semiconductor vendors have (either collaboratively or indications that it stands a chance. If the IoT really is going independently) identified a need to port the benefits of to emerge as the biggest thing that’s ever happened to interpreted languages more concertedly to the the semiconductor industry, it relies heavily on embedded domain. Running interpreted languages encouraging more developers to develop ‘things’, which would need more processing resources, but today that’s in turn is largely dependent on making it easier to write almost a gimme. Using scripts to power the embedded applications. (IoT) world would significantly increase the number of potential developers, as well as lower the barriers to entry Raising the level of software abstraction is a subject that for people new to programming. has been debated for many years, yet for most of those years is has been generally acknowledged that C remains As usual, there’s no clear or obvious leader; Java the dominant language for embedded developers. The probably has a head start but others (such as subsequent ascendence of Linux and its embedded MicroPython, eLua) are hot on its heels and there’s a variants as the operating system most suited to new growing community of developers pushing for more. designs has probably only enforced that position; the proliferation of 32-bit Application Processors also Although it may sound like the solution, ARM has supports it. identified that interpreted languages can also suffer from portability issues (you need to be able to interpret the Just as the Cortex-M class cores have now successfully script, for one), which means IoT nodes may need to penetrated the embedded domain, the same is support multiple interpreted languages, but that’s not happening with application processors based on the necessarily as difficult as it would have been before Cortex-A cores. 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It may be too early to attribute this up-turn to the Internet of Things, as we’re yet to see the volumes predicted, but the foundations are certainly being put in place, as many of the announcements made during the event indicated. RTOS for IoT VxWorks 6 being available as little indication that self-powered Software development is now being ‘applications’, which will also create a nodes will be the norm yet, so seen as a major opportunity for many marketplace for additional battery-power will prevail for the time manufacturers focusing on the IoT. applications. Any overhead incurred being, making low power operation Dinyar Dastoor is the Vice President through adopting the packaging just as crucial. of Product Management, overseeing concept is expected to be mitigated all operating system platforms within through the ability to leave out large Targeting this kind of application, ST Wind River. As an introduction to the parts of the OS that aren’t needed for announced the latest addition to the announcement of VxWorks 7, he a given product. As such it could STM32 family, the L0x, which explained that the core attributes for become the RTOS of choice for features the ARM Cortex-M0+ core. any OS targeting the IoT would be resource-limited IoT nodes, as long at A major feature of this family is its security, safety and scalability, adding they employ one of the supported ability to run at full speed across all that the latest version of the the 32bit processors. supply voltages down to 1.71V and RTOS will focus on delivering these. at 125°C, while consuming a Ultra-low, ultra-small maximum of 139 μA/MHz. In Standby It will introduce the concept of Another key concept for the success (no RTC running) it consumes packaging; while the kernel will be of IoT, at least in the nodes, will be 270nA, while a True RNG function ‘frozen’ for three years, the ultra-low power operation. There’s means it can support secure functionality of the OS will be configurable through application The Kinetis KL03 from packages that can be added at build.