Microelectronics world news

At the heart of Supermicro’s AI development platform are four NVIDIA A100 80-GB GPUs to accelerate a wide range of AI and HPC workloads. The system also leverages two 4th Gen Intel Xeon Gold 6444Y processors running at a base clock rate of 3.6 GHz. Self-contained liquid cooling for all CPUs and GPUs offers whisper-quiet operation (approximately 30 dB) in office and data center environments.

Designated the SYS-751GE-TNRT-NV1, the deskside system delivers over 2 petaflops of AI performance. It comes preloaded with the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS operating system and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software suite. Also included are 512 GB of DDR5 memory, six 1.9-TB drives providing a total of 11.4 TB of storage, and an NVIDIA ConnectX-6 DX network adapter.

The SYS-751GE-TNRT-NV1 platform comes with a three-year subscription license for NVIDIA AI Enterprise. This support and service subscription provides access to an extensive library of full-stack software, including AI workflows, frameworks, and over 50 NVIDIA pre-trained models.

SYS-751GE-TNRT-NV1 product page

Supermicro

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Component-level and field test tools join Keysight’s e-mobility test portfolio to support the entire electric vehicle charging development cycle. These tools improve interoperability between electric vehicle (EV) and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) products through conformance testing and type approvals by focusing on the complete range of communication protocols employed by the Combined Charging System (CCS) standards.

The new e-mobility charging test solutions include:

• SL1550A EV/EVSE charging communication interface tester for performing component-level testing of electric vehicle and supply equipment communication controllers
• SL1556A CCS charging protocol tracer for seamless observation of the CCS communication channel between EV and EVSE in the lab or in the field
• SL156xA EV/EVSE charging test robot series to automate the HMI interactions between the charging test system and the system under test

The company also offers smart charging emulation software. This customizable and configurable emulation environment enables scenario- and functional-driven EV and EVSE tests based on CCS Basic, CCS Extended, and CCS Advanced profiles supporting DIN 70121, ISO 15118-2/-3, and ISO 15118-20/-3.

For more information about Keysight’s e-mobility test systems and software, click here.

Keysight Technologies

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NVIDIA debuted the DGX Quantum, a system for researchers working in high-performance, low-latency quantum-classical computing, at its GTC 2023 developers conference. The GPU-accelerated system blends NVIDIA’s Grace Hopper Superchip and CUDA Quantum open-source programming model with the OPX+ quantum controller from Quantum Machines.

The hardware/software platform allows developers to build powerful applications that combine quantum computing with state-of-the-art classical computing, while adding capabilities for calibration, control, quantum error correction, and hybrid algorithms. Connected via a PCIe cable, the Grace Hopper system and OPX+ enable sub-microsecond latency between GPUs and quantum processing units (QPUs).

NVIDIA’s Grace Hopper integrates the Hopper architecture GPU with the new Grace CPU. It delivers up to 10X higher performance for applications running terabytes of data. OPX+ brings real-time classical compute engines into the heart of the quantum control stack to maximize any QPU and open new possibilities in quantum algorithms. Both Grace Hopper and OPX+ can be scaled to fit the size of the system, from a few-qubit QPU to a quantum-accelerated supercomputer.

DGX Quantum also equips developers with CUDA Quantum, a hybrid quantum-classical computing software stack that enables integration and programming of QPUs, GPUs, and CPUs in one system.

NVIDIA

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Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult is celebrating its five-year anniversary with the publication of an overview of its impact and achievements to date...

Cookiecad is a tool that allows you to create custom cookie cutters that can be printed in 3D. It’s an easy way to create personalized cookie cutters with your own designs. You can upload your own image, clipart or sketch drawn on paper into Cookiecad Designer and it will turn your 2D design into a […]

The post Cookiecad, the easiest way to create custom cookie cutters to print in 3D appeared first on Open Electronics. The author is Boris Landoni

Due to their superior high-speed switching characteristics the adoption of GaN devices has expanded in recent years. However, the speed of control ICs (for directing the driving of these devices) has become challenging...

Enhanced Connectivity Portfolio to Capture Growing Market Opportunities for Fintech, IoT, Asset Tracking, and Wireless Charging 

Renesas Electronics, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced its wholly owned subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Panthronics AG (“Panthronics”), a fabless semiconductor company specializing in high-performance wireless products, under which Renesas will acquire Panthronics in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition will enrich Renesas’ portfolio of connectivity technology, extending its reach into high-demand Near-Field Communication (NFC) applications in fintech, IoT, asset tracking, wireless charging, and automotive applications.

NFC has emerged as a de facto standard in the digital economy and touches many aspects of daily life. Fintech, such as mobile point-of-sale (mPoS) terminals and contactless payment, IoT, asset tracking, and wireless charging are highlights of NFC’s increasing presence. Headquartered in Graz, Austria, Panthronics has been offering advanced NFC chipsets and software that are easy to apply, innovative, small-in-size, and highly efficient for payment, IoT, and NFC wireless charging. Renesas and Panthronics have been addressing the rising demand of NFC as partners since 2018. Acquiring Panthronics’ competitive NFC technology will provide Renesas with in-house capability to instantly capture growing and emerging market opportunities for NFC.

Combining Panthronics’ NFC technology with Renesas’ broad product portfolio and security functions in microcontrollers (MCU) / microprocessors (MPU) will provide Renesas’ wide customer base with a multitude of options to create innovative, ready-to-market NFC system solutions. Renesas and Panthronics have already launched four joint designs of NFC system solutions to date. These include solutions catering for mPoS terminals, wireless charging, and wall box smart metering platforms. The companies have also developed an NFC connectivity board that is fully integrated into the Renesas Quick-Connect Studio ecosystem, which allows customers to add features quickly and easily to MCU development boards. This enables a “plug and play” addition of full-featured, high-end NFC connectivity. Several more systems for PoS, IoT, wireless charging, and mobile are in development. Furthermore, the merits of Panthronics’ technology are also expected to be leveraged for Renesas’ automotive solutions, such as digital key management.

“Connectivity has been a priority area of ours, expanding and differentiating the realm of solutions we offer,” said Hidetoshi Shibata, President and CEO of Renesas. “We see tremendous opportunities for Panthronics’ NFC connectivity technology to benefit our customers in growing areas that span across fintech, IoT, and automotive spheres.”

The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of Renesas and is expected to close by the end of the calendar year 2023, subject to required regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

The post Renesas to Acquire Panthronics to Extend Connectivity Portfolio with Near-Field Communication Technology appeared first on ELE Times.

Infineon Technologies, global leader in automotive semiconductors, and Delta Electronics, Inc., the world-leading power and energy management company based in Taiwan, are expanding their long-term cooperation from industrial to automotive applications. Both companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will deepen their joint innovation activities to provide more efficient and higher-density solutions for the fast-growing market of electric vehicles (EV). The agreement covers a wide range of components such as high-voltage and low-voltage discretes and modules as well as microcontrollers to be used in EV drivetrain applications such as traction inverters, DC-DC converters and on-board chargers.

In addition, both parties agreed to set up a joint innovation lab for automotive applications. The Delta-Infineon Automotive Innovation Center will be co-managed by both companies. It is scheduled to be set up in Pingzhen, Taiwan in the second half of 2023.

“Infineon and Delta share the common goal of developing increasingly energy-efficient and CO2-saving solutions that support global decarbonization efforts,” said Peter Schiefer, President of Infineon’s Automotive division. “We want to further advance the energy efficiency of electromobility together by combining Infineon’s comprehensive automotive product portfolio and application know-how with Delta’s expertise in integration and system optimization. Ensuring the energy efficiency of automotive applications is of paramount importance in our time and we are committed to further improving it.”

“Infineon is a trusted partner of Delta. Over the past 25 years we have successfully collaborated in the area of industrial products. We are now looking forward to extending this partnership to electromobility,” said James Tang, Corporate Vice President of Delta Electronics. “We see a growing demand in the automotive industry for innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions. Together with Infineon, we are committed to support the global transition to electromobility with our products and solutions and to bring electromobility to a whole new level.”

The post Infineon and Delta Electronics to collaborate on electromobility; MoU extends long-term partnership from industrial to automotive applications appeared first on ELE Times.

Over four decades old, Videotex International, India’s leading ODM/OEM for manufacturing Smart TVs and the first licensed webOS Hub Smart TVs manufacturer in India, to participate and exhibit in India’s largest Tech and Infra expo to be held from 27th March to 29th March 2023, Pragati Maidan, Delhi. Shri. Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Govt of India to grace the occasion with his presence as the Chief Guest.

Videotex has consistently working to bring cutting-edge solutions to the Indian smart TV industry, and will showcase the entire range of 32 to 75-inch smart TVs available in HD, Full HD, and 4K. The company will focus on the webOS TV solutions, which already has more than 15 leading TV brands onboarded for manufacturing. Videotex booth will bring an experiential experience to the visitors.

“We are thrilled to participate in the 30th edition of the Convergence India expo. It is the perfect place to discover, connect and explore. We are looking forward to network with the industry players and give them a first-hand experience of Videotex technologies and offerings.” says Arjun Bajaj, Director, Videotex International.

The Convergence India 2023 expo expects 1,000 participants from 40 countries, over 200 start-ups from across India, 100 senior speakers from government and industry, and 50,000 visitors over a period of three days. The expo will also be graced by the presence of Ministers and senior dignitaries from the Government of India, along with industry leaders, Smart City CEOs, city planners, Mayors, Ambassadors and stakeholders from India and around the globe.

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New ICs from Texas Instruments use active filtering to mitigate the impact of switched-mode power supply EMI.

Gallium nitride (GaN) power IC and silicon carbide (SiC) technology firm Navitas Semiconductor of Torrance, CA, USA has launched a family of GaNSense Control ICs that deliver what it claims are unprecedented levels of performance and integration...

STMicroelectronics of Geneva, Switzerland has extended its high-voltage wide-bandgap power converter family by adding the VIPerGaN100 and VIPerGaN65 for single-switch quasi-resonant (QR) flyback converters up to 100W and 65W. The compact and highly integrated design targets switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) for USB-PD chargers, home appliances, smart-building controllers, lighting, air conditioning, smart metering, and other industrial applications...

At NVIDIA’s GTC this week, the company lifted the curtain on a software suite that may drastically improve the resolution of existing lithographic systems.

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The need for cost-effective solutions to improve power factor correction (PFC) at light loads and with peak efficiency while shrinking passive components is becoming difficult with conventional continuous conduction mode (CCM) control. Engineers are conducting significant research into complex multimode solutions to address these concerns [1], [2], and these approaches are attractive in that they enable you to shrink the size of the inductor while simultaneously improving efficiency with soft switching at lighter loads.

But in this power tip, I will present a new approach to achieving high efficiency and low total harmonic distortion (THD) that does not require the use of a complex multimode control algorithm and achieves zero switching losses under all operating conditions. This approach uses a high-performance gallium-nitride (GaN) switch with an integrated flag that indicates whether the switch turns on with zero voltage switching (ZVS). This approach enables high-efficiency ZVS under all operating conditions while simultaneously forcing the THD very low.

Topology

The topology used for this system is the integrated triangular current mode (iTCM) totem-pole PFC [3]. For high-power and high-efficiency systems, the totem-pole PFC offers a distinct advantage for conduction losses. The TCM version of this topology enforces ZVS by making sure that the inductor current always goes sufficiently negative before the switch turns on [4]. Figure 1 illustrates the iTCM version of totem-pole PFC.

Figure 1 The iTCM topology, showing AC line frequency current envelopes.

The difference between the TCM converter and the iTCM converter is the presence of Lb1, Lb2 and Cb. During normal operation, the voltage across Cb is equal to the input voltage Vac. Two phases operating 180 degrees out of phase take advantage of ripple current cancellation and reduce the root-mean-square current stress in Cb. Lb1 and Lb2 are sized to only process the high-frequency AC ripple current necessary for TCM operation. This removes the DC bias required for the inductor used in TCM, as defined in [4]. Ferrite cores for Lb1 and Lb2 help ensure low losses in the presence of the high flux swings necessary for ZVS. Lg1 and Lg2 are larger in value (as much as 10 times larger) than Lb1 and Lb2, which prevents most of the high-frequency current from flowing into the input source and subsequently reduces electromagnetic interference (EMI). In addition, the reduced ripple current in Lg1 and Lg2 enables the possible use of lower-cost core materials. Figure 1 also illustrates the ripple current envelopes for several key branches.

Control

Control is facilitated by the Texas Instruments (TI) TMS320F280049C microcontroller and LMG3526R030 GaN field-effect transistors (FETs). These FETs have an integrated zero-voltage-detection (ZVD) signal that is asserted anytime the switch turns on with ZVS. The microcontroller uses the ZVD information to adjust the switch timing parameters to turn the switch on with just enough current to achieve ZVS. For simplicity, Figure 2 illustrates a one-phase iTCM PFC converter. Table 1 defines the key variables used in this figure. The microcontroller uses an algorithm that solves the exact set of differential equations for the system. These equations use conditions that enforce ZVS on both switches and force the current to be equal to the current command. The equations are accurate, provided that the system is operating with the right amount of ZVS for both switches. When operating correctly, the algorithm yields the timing parameters for 0% THD and an optimal amount of ZVS. To facilitate the ZVS condition, each switch (S1 and S2) reports their respective ZVS turnon status on a cycle-by-cycle basis back to the microcontroller. In Figure 2, Vhs,zvd and Vls,zvd denote the ZVD reporting.

Figure 2 A single-phase iTCM schematic with control signals.

Table 1 Switch timing parameters and definitions.

Figure 3 illustrates the ZVD timing adjustment process. During every switching cycle, the microcontroller calculates the switch timing parameters (ton, toff, trp, and trv) based on the ZVD signal’s cumulative history. Figure 3b shows the system operating at the ideal frequency. By ideal, I mean that the THD is 0%, and you have the perfect amount of ZVS for the high- and low-side FETs. Figure 3a shows what happens when the operating frequency is 50 kHz lower than the ideal. Notice that the high-side FET loses ZVS (as indicated by the loss of the high-side ZVD signal), while the low-side FET has more negative current than is necessary to achieve ZVS. The result is a loss of efficiency and a distorted power factor. Figure 3c occurs when the operating frequency is 50 kHz higher than the ideal. In this case, the high-side FET has ZVS but the low-side FET loses ZVS. Again, there is a clear loss of efficiency and distortion.

Figure 3 ZVD behavior with low fs (a); ideal fs (b); and high fs (c).

Based on the presence or absence of the ZVD signal, the controller can increase or decrease the frequency to push the system to the optimum operating point. In this way, the control effort acts like an integrator that attempts to find the best operating frequency. The optimum will occur when the system is hovering right on the threshold of just barely getting ZVS every cycle.

Prototype performance

Figure 4 shows a prototype built with the topology and algorithm I’ve discussed so far.

Figure 4 A 400-V, 5-kW prototype with a power density of 120 W/in3.

Table 2 summarizes the specifications and important component values for the prototype.

Table 2 System specifications and important components

Figure 5 shows the prototype’s measurement nodes and Figure 6 illustrates the system waveforms of the prototype operating under full power (5 kW). The switch-node currents, IL,A and IL,B, are the sum of the current in Lg and Lb for their respective branch. The zoom section of the plot shows the waveform detail during the positive half cycle. The current waveforms have an ideal triangular shape, with just enough negative current to achieve ZVS as demonstrated by switch-node voltages VA and VB. Furthermore, the sinusoidal envelope of the current waveform suggests a low THD.

Figure 5 Prototype measurement nodes

Figure 6 System waveforms of the prototype operating under full power (Vin = Vout/2, load = 5 kW, Vin = 230 Vac, Vout = 400 V).

Figure 7 shows the measured efficiency and THD across the load range. The efficiency peaks above 99% and is above 98.5% for almost the entire load range. The THD has a maximum of 10% and is below 5% for most of the load range. In order to optimize performance, the unit phase sheds or adds phases at approximately 2 kW.

Figure 7 The prototype efficiency and THD across the load range.

Achieving a high efficiency and low THD for a totem-pole PFC

You can use the ZVD signal to control the operating frequency of a totem-pole PFC converter to achieve high efficiency and low THD. For more information about this approach, as well as a simulation model for the system, see the Variable-Frequency, ZVS, 5-kW, GaN-Based, Two-Phase Totem-Pole PFC Reference Design.

Brent McDonald is system engineer for the Texas Instruments Power Supply Design Services team. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a master’s degree, also in electrical engineering, from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Related Content

• Power Tips #114: A potential firmware mistake may lead to control instability
• Power Tips #113: Two simple isolated power options for 8 W or less
• Power Tips #112: Onboard fixtures for fault testing
• Power Tips #111: Why current sensing is a must in collaborative, mobile robots
• PFC totem pole architecture and GaN combine for high power and efficiency
• GaN transistors for efficient power conversion: buck converters

References

1. Fernandes, Ryan, and Olivier Trescases. “A Multimode 1-MHz PFC Front End with Digital Peak Current Modulation.” Published in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 31, no. 8 (August 2016): pp. 5694-5708. doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2015.2499194.
2. Lim, Shu Fan, and Ashwin M. Khambadkone. “A Multimode Digital Control Scheme for Boost PFC with Higher Efficiency and Power Factor at Light Load.” Published in 2012 Twenty-Seventh Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), Feb. 5-9, 2012, pp. 291-298. doi: 10.1109/APEC.2012.6165833.
3. Rothmund, Daniel, Dominik Bortis, Jonas Huber, Davide Biadene, and Johann W. Kolar. “10kV SiC-Based Bidirectional Soft-Switching Single-Phase AC/DC Converter Concept for Medium-Voltage Solid-State Transformers.” Published in 2017 IEEE 8th International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG), April 17-20, 2017, pp. 1-8. doi: 10.1109/PEDG.2017.7972488.
4. Liu, Zhengyang. 2017. “Characterization and Application of Wide-Band-Gap Devices for High Frequency Power Conversion.” Ph.D. dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/77959.

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ams OSRAM GmbH of Premstätten, Austria and Munich, Germany has introduced the OSLON UV 3535 series of mid-power UV-C LEDs, meeting customers’ requirements for longer lifetime, higher output power and easier system integration...

Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei and its subsidiary Crystal IS Inc of Green Island, NY, USA, which makes proprietary ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UVC LEDs), have demonstrated their next-generation Klaran single-chip UVC LED which emits at 160mW in the ideal germicidal range of 260–270nm. Setting a new record for single-chip device output in a commercial device, this marks a 60% increase over prior Crystal IS devices while retaining the optimal wavelength for germicidal efficiency...

NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA says that, for full-year 2023, it expects revenue to more than double year-on-year to over $3m...