Microelectronics world news

CrayoNano AS of Trondheim, Norway — which develops and manufactures semiconductor components based on patented and proprietary nanomaterials technology — has announced improvements to the performance of its CrayoLED H-series UV-C LEDs. Entering the 100mW and 5% wall-plug efficiency (WPE) class at a standard operating current of 350mA, the LED is targeting the disinfection market...

Power semiconductor designer and developer Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Ltd (AOS) of Sunnyvale, CA, USA is exhibiting its 650V and 750V silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET platform for industrial and automotive applications and its complete line of advanced power management solutions in booth #810 at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC 2023) in Orlando, FL, USA (20–22 March)...

Ahead of this week’s Embedded World event, STMicroelectronics has released new MCUs, MPUs, and security technology that provide developers new options.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Electric Corp is to double the investment plan (that it announced in 2021) from 130bn yen to about 260bn yen in the five-year period to March 2026, mainly for constructing a new wafer plant to increase production of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors...

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To enable the move from combustion engines to battery power for lawn equipment, e-mobility, and similar designs, Qorvo has released one-chip battery management ICs for 20-cell battery-powered systems.

For many computer scientists and EEs, Conway's textbook on VLSI design was one of the most influential books of its time. But Conway's story is far more expansive and influential than the textbook alone.

Engineers often consider thermal management and cooling as a two-part problem. First, there’s the global “macro” case where no individual component is excessively hot, but the aggregate heat buildup puts the board or chassis outside of acceptable limits. Second, is the localized “micro” case where one or more active or passive components (power devices, high-end processors, FPGAs, current-sense resistors) need to be cooled to avoid slow-clocking mode, burn-out, or excessive drift due to temperature coefficient. Often, the micro problem is a major contributor to the macro one, of course.

The solutions to thermal excess are well known in principle: just use some combination of convection, conduction, and radiation cooling, Figure 1.

Figure 1 The three modes of heat transfer are well understood and can be modeled and simulated as a first step in the cooling-plan analysis. Source: sciencenotes.org/

But that’s where the simplicity ends. You can model the thermal solution, but it often takes much more than a fan or a few add-on heat sinks to create a mechanically sound design which can convey your heat to that mystical place called “away” which is the thermal depository for that excess heat.

This is where the mechanical designers and production engineers earn some serious respect, as they must turn a thermal goal into a tangible, manufacturable reality. One such advanced cooling technique which has been field-proven over a decade is called a “hybrid” approach, represented by the patented RuggedCool℠ technology from General Micro Systems, Inc.

Unlike the conventional approach where the air or cooling liquid is focused on individual components and hot spots, here the heat is evacuated to an entire cold-plate assembly for the whole system, via a central “radiator” core plenum that’s essentially a whole-system cooling plate, Figure 2.

Figure 2 In the RuggedCool design, a central radiator-core plenum functions as a whole-system cooling plate. Source: General Micro Systems, Inc.

In this design, every component, board, or subsystem is conductively cooled using the cold-plate mechanism, with heat conducted away from their individual heat sinks to the combined heat-sink assembly of the entire system.

This all sounds like a simple-enough idea, but implementing it is a challenge. The GMS technology uses a corrugated alloy slug with an extremely low thermal resistance, acting as a heat spreader at the processor die (assuming that is the primary heat source). Once the heat is spread over a much larger area, a liquid silver compound in a sealed chamber is used to transfer the heat from the spreader to the system’s enclosure. There is one surface of copper, one surface of aluminum, and sandwiched in-between is a layer of silver.

This approach yields a temperature difference of less than 10°C from the CPU core to the cold plate, compared with over 25°C for conventional approaches, Figure 3.

Figure 3 The resulting arrangement has a low 10°C delta between the CPU core to the cold plate. Source: General Micro Systems, Inc.

It’s a form of liquid cooling but without the headaches or issues associated with moving fluid. Using materials like liquid silver makes it clear that the technology is expensive, but it is intended for applications for which no other viable solution is available.

This approach is in contrast to just adding cooling plates in order to produce conduction-cooled systems. That can result in inadequate cooling since the heat-producing devices, other than the CPU itself (or other primary heat source) are cooled by the CPU’s thermal-conduction path. This, of course, is contrary to the objective of drawing heat away from the CPU.

By directing all heat to central plenum, the effectiveness of blown air, if any, is maximized. It also allows for a sealed system where only the central plenum is open to the environment, thus making it easier to manage dust and moisture ingress while also easing the electrical challenge of EMI control.

This technique provides benefits related to shock and vibration—the silent and longer-term “killers” of many components. Here the CPU die does not make direct contact with the system enclosure, but instead connects via the liquid-silver chamber which acts as a shock absorber. This prevents shock from being transferred from the enclosure to the flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA), thus isolating the CPU from ongoing vibration-induced micro-fractures (which, in time, cause the CPU to fail).

There’s no question that this is a complex, costly mechanical design, but electronic engineers and their customers have only themselves to blame. After all, dissipation has gone from a hundred or so watts to beyond a kilowatt—a modest 19-inch-wide rack-unit (RU) in 1U-size (1¾ inches high) can now reach 1.5 kW and more, so innovative approaches and new idea are needed.

Not all of these require the complexity and sophistication of this technology. In some cases, just switching to card-cage guides and grips which offer a greatly enhanced thermal path can be a big help (see Related Content).

Have you ever been involved in a cooling scenario where the physical implementation of the needed strategy was a much bigger challenge than the thermal model suggested? Was the solution just a carefully considered application of existing components, or were custom component and specialized resources needed?

Bill Schweber is an EE who has written three textbooks, hundreds of technical articles, opinion columns, and product features.

Related Content

• Innovative guides and grips enhance card-cage/chassis cooling capabilities
• Misconception revealed: Can a heat sink be too big?
• My long-running affection for heat sinks
• Put a diamond topping on your die to avoid heat stroke

Reference

• Heat Transfer – Conduction, Convection, Radiation. https://sciencenotes.org/heat-transfer-conduction-convection-radiation/

The post Call on mechanical engineers to solve your tough thermal problems appeared first on EDN.

For fourth-quarter 2022, deposition equipment maker Aixtron SE of Herzogenrath, near Aachen, Germany has reported revenue of €183.2m, up slightly (by 1%) from the strong €180.9m a year ago and more than doubling from Q3/2022’s €88.9m (and the best fourth-quarter in terms of shipments since 2011). The growth is attributed to unabated strong demand and stable supply chains plus shipment push-outs from Q3/2022...

Hi all. It's my first post on this subreddit. Are you interested in stories about my experiences with researching and building electronic devices? Can I publish such posts on this subreddit? I am an engineer, and in the past, I worked with electromechanical systems. Now I disassemble and research different electronic devices and make some circuits myself. I also have help from my friends. Do you want dynamic LED turn signals for your bicycle? Do you also want a dynamic brake light? Or maybe you want an emergency signal? And all that WITHOUT a microcontroller? (only logic circuits) Multifunctional dynamic bicycle light WITHOUT a microcontroller (model) https://reddit.com/link/11q9kab/video/e245yqgp9ina1/player Part one. Basic functionality If you drive a car, it's very likely that you've come across an uncomfortable situation involving a cyclist at least once or twice in your life. Bikes can be quite unpredictable on the road and you often have to guess what maneuver they'll pull next. Electrically-powered bicycles and scooters are especially erratic when it comes to sharing the road. And once it gets dark out, the situation worsens twofold. Recently, I started dabbling in electric biking myself. However, I would say that factory reflectors on it aren't the best way to make your electric steed easily noticeable on a bike path. Therefore, it's time to unholster my trusty soldering iron and make this world brighter put together some LED turn signals. I really like the dynamic LED turn signals that come pre-installed on some modern cars. I wish I had something like that on my bike. The most obvious solution would be to use an Arduino and LEDs with a WS2812 chip. Nowadays you can find a microcontroller with its own firmware in something as mundane as a teapot and no one would be surprised by it. However, the fact that this can be realized by just using some "hard" logic and without a microcontroller can really leave some modern electronics engineers scratching their collective heads. Unsurprisingly, that's exactly what I found myself doing when I came across the "RF74xxID The Multifunction Passive 7400 RFID Tag" project on the interwebs. At the time I was so absorbed by microcontrollers that I didn't even think about the fact that just a couple of decades ago, electronics engineers somehow managed to get by without them, and even launched rockets into space. Anyway, at some point this became an obsession for me, and I decided to design a dynamic turn indicator circuit using only 7400-series integrated circuit. And with that, I welcome you to dive a little bit into retro electronics with me. The proposed dynamic turn indicator control circuit doesn't involve any expensive or scarce components. It's easy to reproduce and it works immediately after assembly (if everything is soldered properly). ​ https://preview.redd.it/wgsl46v4aina1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d5ac9db879ac40fa17f0fe4e4a4a6fac2c86795 The circuit lights the LEDs in a strip one by one immediately after the power supply voltage is applied to the J1 connector. Once all the LEDs are lit, they will continue to stay lit as long as the power supply voltage is present. If you power this circuit from a car turn signal relay, you get a dynamic turn signal effect as a result. The speed at which the LEDs in the strip gradually light up is set with the RV1 variable resistor at 50kΩ. Thus, you can pick a speed that's to your liking. At the maximum resistance of the variable resistor, all 8 LEDs will light up in about 0.6 seconds after power is applied. You can choose a position for the resistor that makes all the LEDs stay lit for a little bit after the strip is fully powered, but that's up to you. If your turn signal relay flashes once per second, you can replace the RV1 variable resistor with a regular 43kΩ resistor. The standards for rear turn signals are a bit of a mess right now. On some cars they're red, while others have yellow ones. Therefore, the selected R1-R8 resistors are for red and yellow LEDs with an operating voltage drop of about 2.2V. The operating current should be about 10mA. But remember that the maximum output current for the 74HC164 per output is 25mA. This value should not be exceeded. Choose whichever turn signal color you like more. If you believe that 8 LEDs are too many for your liking, you can reduce their number down from the bottom to the top, i.e. first remove D8, then D7, and so on until you have the desirable number of LEDs left. Conversely, if 8 LEDs aren't enough, you can safely scale this circuit without any problems or catastrophic price spikes. All you need to do is add the necessary number of shift registers, as shown in the following diagram. ​ https://preview.redd.it/l1xrs847aina1.png?width=813&format=png&auto=webp&s=5896a7f249efc3769ca29f199d8e49112dc4bd4a The high output of the first shift register is connected to the data input of the second register. You can also connect the data input of the third register from the high output of the second register. Then you can just keep going with this chain pretty much endlessly. When adding another circuit, you should immediately add a trim resistor with a lower resistance. I recommend using 20kΩ. Now let's talk a little bit about powering the circuit. The 7805 voltage regulator allows you to get +5V to power the circuit. The input voltage can vary from +7.5V to 15V. But don't forget that the 7805 can heat up quite a bit, in which case you should use it with a heat sink. The 7805, like any other radio component, also has an operating current limit. Take this into account when selecting the operating current for the LEDs. The total simultaneous current consumption of all the LEDs must not exceed the maximum operating current of the voltage regulator. It would be even better to have a safety margin of about 20 percent. Do not use this circuit to modify a car! Personally, I'm against modifying cars from their factory state. But you can very well implement this circuit on something like a children's electric car, for example. If you really want to use this circuit to modify a bicycle or kid's electric car, a turn signal relay is not an absolutely essential component. The circuit can flash on its own as long as there's a supply voltage. For this, all you need to do is connect a transistor instead of the D8 LED. The Q1 transistor will reset the outputs of the shift register after all the lights are activated. For this setup, I recommend using an RV1 variable resistor with a resistance of 100kΩ. ​ https://preview.redd.it/4ifelp0aaina1.png?width=1187&format=png&auto=webp&s=a053e19d586643832a5f7e8cebb15596143a0270 If you cross the first two circuits and replace the yellow LEDs with red ones, you get a dynamic brake light. You could simply connect the second strip of LEDs in parallel to the first one, but it is better to use a second circuit board. Firstly, it won't overload the current outputs of the shift registers, and secondly, it will be much easier to trace the board in the form of a narrow strip. ​ https://preview.redd.it/jk9wa8wbaina1.png?width=578&format=png&auto=webp&s=989006c7c704320f902e4b16d0574a6ca0f9d0c9 Part two. Cool device :) Even at the design phase of the previous dynamic turn indicator circuit, I realized that its functionality wasn't enough for me. I decided to pack both the right and left turn signal functions into a single strip of LEDs. The dynamic way in which LEDs light up is very good at indicating my intended turn direction. I also decided to add some functionality to the circuit to allow for a "sidelight/parking light" mode. I don't usually ride very fast, so I thought that having brake lights seemed excessive. Besides, it would mean that I have to add additional sensors and wires to the system. The "challenge" is also supplemented by some rather strict conditions. The device must be built around eight 5050 RGB LEDs which will dynamically light up to indicate right and left turns, and it has to include a parking light/sidelights mode. An important condition was that the circuit had to be made on a single-sided printed circuit board with the LEDs placed in the center of the board. In the end, I formulated the following requirements for the circuit's functionality: When power is supplied, the parking light/sidelight mode is immediately activated. The indication is performed by switching on the red LEDs. The switching intervals of the LEDs have equal values and the total repetition rate is about 1Hz. The turn signals are activated by closing the "Button_Left" and "Button_Right" contacts with the common wire, i.e. closing the common wire with the "Button_Left" contact for a left turn indication and with the "Button_Right" contact to indicate a right turn. The indication is performed by simultaneously switching on the red and green LEDs. The switching intervals of the LEDs also have equal values, with a total repetition rate of about 1Hz.Simultaneously closing the "Button_Left" and "Button_Right" contacts with the common wire is an unacceptable combination and is mechanically prohibited by the design of the bike's handlebar buttons. To prevent the blue diodes of the RGB LEDs from being neglected, I decided to add an emergency signal to the circuit. But that idea came to me a little later. I only implemented it in the second version of the board.The emergency signal mode is activated when the "Button_Strobe" contact is closed with the common wire of the circuit. The indication should be performed by alternately switching on the red and blue LEDs. The switching intervals should also be approximately 1Hz. ​ https://preview.redd.it/frfkbrifaina1.jpg?width=638&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79ec1bbfb2801f96ea568bb74c5146b229318f10 The previous turn signal circuit was realized using a shift register. It only had the function of indicating a turn in a single direction. But now I need to have the same dynamic lighting effect, but to show turns in either direction using the same strip of LEDs. However, doing this with shift registers and a diode matrix seemed like overkill even to me. But there had to be some kind of special feature in the circuit. The basis of the circuit is a block of comparators, which control a line of 8 LEDs. The comparator compares the linear rising voltage from the LRVG (Linear-Ramp Voltage Generator) with the reference voltage from the RVS (Reference Voltage Source) also known simply as a voltage reference. The RVS generates 8 trigger thresholds to control each individual LED. The LED control scenario depends on how the control logic switches the RVS. ​ https://preview.redd.it/i8kruz8iaina1.png?width=601&format=png&auto=webp&s=a653c2f79de042510d330a9151f1009643060c2b The RVS is a voltage divider made with resistors. There are voltage leads between the resistors that connect to the inverting inputs of the comparators. The voltage divider also has three special lines: "Up", "Center", and "Dwn". The reference voltages at the comparator inputs can change depending on how these lines are connected to the power circuits. The control logic can switch the RVS in the following ways: The "Center" line is disconnected from the power supply circuits, the "Up" line is connected to the positive power supply, and the "Dwn" line is connected to the common wire. With this switching scenario, the voltage at the outputs of the voltage divider increases from the lower "Dwn" lead to the upper "Up" lead. This corresponds to switching the LEDs to the left turn mode. The "Center" line is disconnected from the power supply circuits, the "Up" line is connected to the common wire, and the "Dwn" line is connected to the positive power supply. In this case the voltage at the outputs of the divider will be distributed in the opposite manner: maximum voltage on the lower "Dwn" lead, minimum voltage on the upper "Up" lead, and the voltage will decrease from the lower to the upper lead. This corresponds to switching the LEDs to the right turn mode. To control the LEDs so that they are in the parking light mode, the "Center" line connects the center of the voltage divider to the positive power supply, and the "Up" and "Down" lines are connected simultaneously to the common wire. This divides the voltage divider into two halves, and the reference voltage will decrease from the center to the upper and lower leads of the divider. In the emergency signal mode, the "Center" line is also disconnected. Meanwhile, the "Up" and "Down" lines are simultaneously connected to the positive power supply or to the common wire. If a connection is made to the positive power supply, the positive power appears on all the leads of the voltage divider at once, and the outputs of all the comparators will be open at the same time. If "Up" and "Dwn" lines are connected to the common wire, the outputs of all the comparators will be simultaneously closed. The first version of the circuit turned out to be even simpler than I could have imagined. I double- and triple-checked the circuit several times in the simulator and analyzed it empirically. According to my estimation, everything should work. However, this circuit didn't make it to the prototyping stage. ​ https://preview.redd.it/3f6aholkaina1.png?width=3500&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ab2ebfc517f2f4490b58dd54a5aeabd1e78b853 To facilitate installation to the bike, the right and left turn buttons are closed to ground. There is an OR circuit on the D9D10 diodes and the R21 resistor. The Q5 transistor inverts the button signal to control the Q7 transistor. The Q7 transistor closes when either button is closed and disconnects the "Center" lead from the positive power supply. At the same time, one of the half-bridges (Q1Q2 or Q9Q10) diverts its side of the voltage divider to the positive power supply. The other side remains diverted to ground. The NE555 timer generates the sawtooth pulses. The Q6 transistor provides a linear charge to the C2 capacitor. The C2 capacitor is charged to 2/3 of the supply voltage. Then the timer switches and the capacitor is discharged through the R19 resistor. The resistor limits the discharge current of the capacitor. This also allows the timer to trip when C2 discharges to 1/3 of the supply voltage. Thus, the sawtooth pulse has a range of 1/3 to 2/3 of the supply and has a rising shape. The R9, R17, and R36 resistors have a higher resistance than the other elements of the voltage divider reference. This is necessary so that the divider's voltages are in the same range as the sawtooth pulses. The complete circuit differs from the previous one in that it has slightly more complex logic for controlling the LEDs. I decided not to mess around and make it on CD4000 series logic chips. Compared to the 74NS00 series, the CD4000 has an extended supply voltage range. Thus, the circuit works from 2.7V to 9V. Another NE555 oscillator has been added to the circuit for the emergency signal mode. Its pulses determine the timing of the red and blue flashes. The rest of the circuit works in the same way as the previous one. ​ https://preview.redd.it/7t4vu38naina1.png?width=2500&format=png&auto=webp&s=138513ec6a7addea730be27ff4186a4716d158ff I once again double-checked everything. The circuit turned to be incredibly simple, which is probably why I continued to doubt up to the very last moment that it would work when put to the hardware. With the help of an iron, I quickly assembled the prototype and everything worked as it was supposed to on the first try. ​ https://preview.redd.it/z7nl1q2saina1.jpg?width=513&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bee7d9e991673af35d43d99de5e52f2c4e72cc7e ​ https://preview.redd.it/jysb9crsaina1.jpg?width=494&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d84ef3b743aa26aab3e421f7246e8e0b983b7c4 ​ https://preview.redd.it/5jyx3z0uaina1.jpg?width=910&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0bd3b2b19db64147dccbc4ccb6ec50776ab48d3 The board looked excellent when it was printed in green! All it took was six simple microchips and a handful of passive components, and there you go – another puzzle is solved. ​ https://preview.redd.it/oxaifc5waina1.jpg?width=763&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa67686d4fb85e898dc43d3ba1e5a379c3f07948 The results of the work can be found in the video. Multifunctional dynamic bicycle light WITHOUT a microcontroller (model) https://reddit.com/link/11q9kab/video/8jxe2jj0bina1/player Thank you for your attention, and I hope this post was helpful to you. ​ =- submitted by /u/KevinGibbsM [link] [comments]

The global automotive electronics market size is expected to reach USD 144.19 billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period. The market size stood at USD 91.06 billion in 2018. The growing technological advancement in automotive for enhanced safety, entertainment and comfort features will contribute positively to the automotive electronics market growth during the forecast period.

Moreover, the integration of Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and cloud computing in automobiles will spur opportunities for the automotive electronics revenue in the forthcoming years, mentioned in a report, titled “Automotive Electronics Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Application Type (Advanced Driver Assistance System [ADAS], Body Electronics, Power Electronics, and Infotainment), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, Light Commercial Vehicle, Heavy Commercial Vehicle, and Electric Vehicle) and Regional Forecasts, 2019-2026”.

In July 2021, Magna International Inc. and Veoneer announced that they had entered a merger agreement under which Magna will acquire Veoneer. The company will be combined with Magna’s ADAS business and its electronics operating units.

Market Drivers:

The shift from conventional cars to electric vehicles will subsequently aid the development of the market. The preference towards electric vehicles owing to its capabilities such as high battery life, energy-efficient, advanced electronic systems, zero direct carbon emission. The companies operating in the market are investing vastly in the development of high-end hybrid cars.

The growing government regulations to curb carbon emissions will positively promote the automotive electronics market share. Also, the consumer inclination towards electric vehicles equipped with parking assistance, head-up display, and powerful infotainment system will bolster the healthy growth of the market during the forecast period.

Market Restraints:

High-Price of Electronic Systems to Diminish Business Potential

The high production cost of electric vehicles will simultaneously escalate the overall cost of hybrid cars, which, in turn, will hamper the growth of the market during the forecast period. The rising popularity of electric vehicles (EV) has led to the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and infotainment systems. The massive investment in R&D activities by companies along with the high cost of lithium-ion batteries and software used in vehicles will consequently surge the manufacturing cost, thus, leading to costly EVs. Besides, the complexities of electric vehicles and high maintenance and replacement cost will dampen the automotive electronics market trends.

Regional Insights:

Presence of Major Automotive Giants to Augment Growth in Europe

Asia Pacific generated a revenue of USD 43.49 in 2018 and is predicted to grow profoundly during the forecast period owing to the flourishing automobile industry. The presence of various automotive manufacturers in India, China and Japan will aid the expansion of the market in Asia Pacific. The rising production capabilities of manufacturing facilities will propel the growth of the market in the forthcoming years. The increasing awareness about the advantages of EVs will contribute positively to the automotive electronics market growth. Europe is predicted to expand radically in the foreseeable future owing to the existence of automobile giants such as Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, BMW, Daimler. In addition, the rising focus of the European government to curb carbon emissions and ensure safety features in every vehicle will encourage the healthy growth of the market during the forecast period.

The post Automotive Electronics Market Size Expected to Rise USD 144.19 billion at CAGR 6.1% by 2026 appeared first on ELE Times.

Mouser Electronics provides a wealth of services and tools to help engineers and purchasing professionals find the right products for their designs, including a resource site for development kits and a page devoted to the latest engineering tools. The development kits resource site includes many articles, videos, and how-to guides, connecting engineers directly with the products and know-how necessary for developing new products. The engineering tools page offers an up-to-the-minute collection of new evaluation kits, reference designs, and more, allowing engineers to discover the latest products from leading manufacturers.

Mouser’s development kit resource site offers a diverse collection of resources to inform the development of applications ranging from Internet of Things (IoT) devices to Bluetooth mesh networks to wearable medical devices. The robust site also includes articles addressing challenges and use cases for specific components, such as home automation using the Microchip Technology SAM E51 Integrated Graphics and Touch (IGaT) Curiosity evaluation kit or device monitoring using the Arduino Portenta H7 development board. The resource site also includes convenient product information for a variety of evaluation boards and development kits, allowing engineers to find components for their new designs easily.

The engineering tools page features a constantly updating list of new tools for evaluating semiconductors and other electronic components. With tools for embedded processors, RF wireless, sensors, and more, the rolling catalog makes it possible for engineers to find the newest solution to their complex design challenges.

The post Mouser’s Resource Site for Development Kits and Engineering Tools Helps Jumpstart Product Design appeared first on ELE Times.

Renesas Electronics announced that it will present the first live demonstrations of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) implementations on an MCU based on the Arm Cortex-M85 processor. The demos will show the performance uplift in AI/ML applications made possible by the new Cortex-M85 core and Arm’s Helium technology.

Renesas became the first company to demonstrate working silicon based on the Arm Cortex-M85 processor. This year, Renesas is extending its leadership by showcasing the features of the new processor in demanding AI use cases. The first demonstration showcases a people detection application developed in collaboration with Plumerai, a leader in Vision AI, that identifies and tracks persons in the camera frame in varying lighting and environmental conditions. The compact and efficient TinyML models used in this application lead to low-cost and lower power AI solutions for a wide range of IoT implementations. The second demo showcases a motor control predictive maintenance use case with an AI-based unbalanced load detection application using Tensorflow Lite for Microcontrollers with CMSIS-NN.

Delivering over 6 CoreMark/MHz, Cortex-M85 enables demanding IoT use cases that require the highest compute performance and DSP or ML capability, realized on a single, simple-to-program Cortex-M processor. The Arm Cortex-M85 processor features Helium technology, Arm’s M-Profile Vector Extension, available as part of the Armv8.1M architecture. It delivers a significant performance uplift for machine learning (ML) and digital signal processing (DSP) applications, accelerating compute-intensive applications such as endpoint AI. Both demos will showcase the performance uplift made possible by the application of this technology in AI use cases. Cortex-M hallmarks such as deterministic operation, short interrupt response time, and state-of-the-art low-power support are uncompromised on Cortex-M85.

“We’re proud to again lead the industry in implementing the powerful new Arm Cortex-M85 processor with Helium technology,” said Roger Wendelken, Senior Vice President in Renesas’ IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit. “By showcasing the performance of AI on the new processor, we are highlighting technical advantages of the new platform and at the same time demonstrating Renesas’ strengths in providing solutions for emerging applications with our innovative ecosystem partners.”

“We’re excited to take part in this ground-breaking demonstration,” said Roeland Nusselder, CEO of Plumerai. “Arm’s Helium technology supported on the new RA MCUs with the Cortex-M85 core significantly accelerates the Plumerai inference engine. This performance uplift will enable our customers to use larger and more accurate versions of Plumerai’s People Detection AI, add additional product features, and extend battery life. Our customers have an insatiable appetite for adding new and more accurate AI features that run on a microcontroller. Together with Renesas, we are the first to fulfill this demand.”

Renesas will implement the new Arm processor within its RA (Renesas Advanced) Family of MCUs. Renesas has quickly become a leader in the Arm MCU market, offering a feature rich family of over 250 different MCUs. Renesas has developed a robust ecosystem of partners providing customers with comprehensive solutions for IoT, AI/ML, industrial automation, medical, building automation, home appliance and multiple other applications.

The new Cortex-M85 core supports Arm TrustZone technology for protection of secure assets. Combined with TrustZone, Renesas’ integrated cryptographic engine, immutable storage, key management, and tamper protection against DPA/SPA side-channel attacks will provide a comprehensive and fully integrated secure element functionality. The Armv8-M architecture also brings Pointer Authentication/Branch Target Identification (PAC/BTI) security extension, a new architectural feature that provides enhanced mitigation from software attack threats and helps achieve PSA Certified Level 2 certification.

The new RA MCUs based on the Cortex-M85 core will be supported by Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP). The FSP enables faster application development by providing all the infrastructure software needed, including multiple RTOS, BSP, peripheral drivers, middleware, connectivity, networking, and security stacks as well as reference software to build complex AI, motor control and graphics solutions. It allows customers to integrate their own legacy code and choice of RTOS with FSP, thus providing full flexibility in application development. Using the FSP will ease migration of existing designs to the new RA devices.

Winning Combinations

Renesas will combine the new RA MCUs with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer a wide array of Winning Combinations. These Winning Combinations are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market. Renesas offers more than 300 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly.

Renesas MCU Leadership

A world leader in MCUs, Renesas ships more than 3.5 billion units per year, with approximately 50% of shipments serving the automotive industry, and the remainder supporting industrial and Internet of Things applications as well as data center and communications infrastructure. Renesas has the broadest portfolio of 8-, 16- and 32-bit devices, and is the industry’s No. 1 supplier of both 16- and 32-bit MCUs, delivering unmatched quality and efficiency with exceptional performance. As a trusted supplier, Renesas has decades of experience designing smart, secure MCUs, backed by a dual-source production model, the industry’s most advanced MCU process technology and a vast network of more than 200 ecosystem partners.

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BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia – which manufactures gallium nitride (GaN) blue laser diodes based on its proprietary low-temperature, low-hydrogen remote-plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) technology – says that it continues to grow its customer base, receiving two additional purchase orders for both its single-mode and multi-mode violet 405nm and blue 450nm GaN lasers in flexible form factors...

Pushed by safety regulations, the adoption of ADAS is increasing rapidly – and this is driving multiple sensor adoption. The new Computing and AI for Automotive 2023 report covers processors for ADAS cameras, radars, LiDARs, and in-cabin sensing, as well as processors for ADAS domain controllers. Processors dedicated to the cockpit, including the in-vehicle infotainment main unit, instrument cluster, and telematics, are also discussed.

According to Adrien Sanchez, Technology & Market Analyst, Computing & Software, within the Semiconductor, Memory & Computing division at Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group: “Car architecture evolution is strongly impacting the processor market, in terms of both units and revenue. Even though automotive industry cycles are rather slow compared to other market segments such as consumer, centralization is expected to progress significantly in the next years”.

Indeed, as Yole Intelligence’s analysts affirm, this evolution has a strong impact on processor units and revenue, as well as on changing technology requirements and processor class breakdown. The software-defined vehicle is another key trend impacting automotive processors, as it is impacting hardware and software roadmaps with new requirements that are challenging traditional automotive companies.

In this context, Yole Intelligence releases its Computing report, Computing and AI for Automotive 2023. With this report, the company, part of Yole Group, gives an overview of computing for safety, ADAS & AD, in-cabin sensing, cockpit, and connectivity. It also provides a scenario for AI within the dynamics of the autonomous automotive market and presents an understanding of AI’s impact on the semiconductor industry.

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Mouser Electronics, is now stocking the Dynamic D8000 pluggable connectors from TE Connectivity. The Dynamic D8000 pluggable connectors feature high current capacity, including 1000 VDC rated voltage, 3000 VAC withstand voltage, and 100 A current per pin. These reliable, high-performance connectors support a range of applications, including battery management systems, battery test equipment, factory automation and robotics.

The TE Connectivity Dynamic D8000 Pluggable Connectors are available as both wire-to-wire (WTW) and wire-to-board (WTB) modules with two-position construction. The pluggable connectors employ an audible lock design to ensure safe and reliable locking, while crimping contacts save valuable assembly time for device designers.

Boasting 58 N per-pin mating and unmating forces, the Dynamic D8000 Pluggable Connectors feature silver plating on the mating surface with a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and high-temperature nylon housing. The robust connectors also offer >98 N contact retention force in the housing. TE Connectivity’s Dynamic Series is both vibration and shock proven, ensuring an extended service life.

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BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia – which manufactures gallium nitride (GaN) blue laser diodes based on its proprietary low-temperature, low-hydrogen remote-plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) technology – has secured $10.2m in commitments from international and Australian institutional and sophisticated investors via a strongly supported share placement at an issue price of $0.06 per share...

STMicroelectronics has introduced the ST-ONEHP integrated digital controller, the  world’s first IC certified by USB-IF according to the USB Power Delivery Extended Power Range (USB PD 3.1 EPR) specification.

As the third controller in the ST-ONE family, the ST-ONEHP has 28V output capability to simplify building chargers and power adapters rated up to 140W. Sharing the ST-ONE architecture, the converter is a non-complementary active-clamp-flyback zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) topology that ensures superior efficiency at high power output and switching frequency. Essential features including secondary regulation and the USB PD communication interface are integrated, saving bill-of-materials costs as well as PCB size and complexity. Built-in synchronous rectification helps maximize efficiency and reinforced galvanic isolation permits a solution that is both compact and safe.

Inside the ST-ONEHP, an Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller maintains overall control. The MCU is supplied pre-loaded with certified USB PD firmware, which eases end-product approval to qualify for the USB logo. With 64KByte of flash storage, the MCU provides room for customizing the power-conversion firmware.

The ST-ONEHP is well suited to use with ST’s MasterGaN single chip, integrating the Company’s third-generation gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors and optimized gate drivers. The SiP ease the adoption of GaN technology in energy-conscious applications to realize benefits including superior thermal performance and switching efficiency compared to conventional silicon transistors.

Complementing the properties of the ST-ONE converter, MasterGaN helps maximize performance and allows high switching frequencies that permit smaller passive components. By combining the ST-ONEHP controller and a 9mm x 9mm MasterGaN1 half-bridge device, ST has produced the EVLONE140W reference design smaller than a standard 65W laptop charger.

Its volume of 90cm3 equates to industry-leading power density of 25W/in3, while the peak efficiency reaches beyond 94%. From an environmental perspective, the charger can use just a quarter of the plastics and is 2% more efficient than average chargers. Using these products in all chargers produced worldwide would save 3.5 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Samples of the ST-ONEHP are already available for selected customers in a SSOP36 leaded package, priced from $3.90 for orders of 1000 pieces.

For further information please go to www.st.com/st-onehp

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India and the US signed a pact on setting up a semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership, and established a semiconductor sub-committee under the framework of the India-US Commercial Dialogue, revived after three years.

The sub-committee will be led by the US’s Department of Commerce and, on the Indian side, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The first engagement of the sub-committee is expected to take place before the end of 2023.

“Recognising the importance of US and Indian markets to the global electronics industry, Secretary (Gina) Raimondo and Minister (Piyush) Goyal intend to utilise the Commercial Dialogue to enhance public and private efforts to promote industry cooperation in the semiconductor sector. These efforts will identify opportunities for growth and challenges to address in order to ensure that US and Indian semiconductor industries develop stronger connections, complementary ecosystems, and a more diverse supply chain for semiconductors,” according to a joint statement.

Cooperation on semiconductors comes against the backdrop of the shortage of such chips, which had serious consequences such as supply disruption in automobile and electronics in both countries, particularly after the outbreak of Covid-19.

“The US would like to see India achieve its aspirations to play a larger role in the electronic supply chain. And the MoU (memorandum of understanding) we signed is designed to help achieve that goal. We’ve already begun action on the MoU, tasking both the Indian and American semiconductor industries to prepare an assessment of where they have gaps and lack of resilience in the supply chain and that will guide our work,” US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters in a joint briefing.

Co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Raimondo, the Commercial Dialogue is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

Goyal and Raimondo confirmed their intention to convene before the end of 2023 a mid-year review of the Commercial Dialogue, which will be led by senior government officials from both sides.

The key theme of the dialogue focused on resilient and secure supply chains; facilitating climate and clean technology cooperation; inclusive digital growth; talent development, including skilling; post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises and start-ups; and focus on cooperation on quality standards.

Raimondo led a high-level business delegation of American chief executive officers (CEOs) for the India-US CEO Forum, aiming to focus on shared strategic priorities on both sides.

Goyal said both countries launched the Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program, which would be carried out by the US’s American National Standard Institute and India’s Bureau of Indian Standards.

“India has recognised that we have to be quality suppliers and consumers in goods and services. We offer a large marketplace, and can capitalise on economies of scale to meet India’s and the world’s needs. We need to align in terms of international standards,” Goyal said.

The joint statement further said that both sides intended to continue engaging on cross-border data flows and other relevant issues, including in appropriate multilateral forums.

“Both ministers also expressed interest in working together in developing next-generation standards in telecommunications, including 6G. They anticipate efforts to include cooperation between relevant government agencies, standards organisations, and industry bodies. Both sides intend to further work together in validation and deployment of trusted and secure next-generation telecom network equipment, including Open RAN, as well as in subsequent generations of telecommunications infrastructure,” it said.

The US is also the third-biggest source of foreign direct investment for India, and is one of the top five investment destinations for India.

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