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Graphics chip designer Imagination Technologies is up for grabs again. A Bloomberg report claims that Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, the private equity firm with ties to Chinese state investors, has hired Lazard Inc. to seek a buyer for the Hertfordshire, U.K.-based chip designer.

Imagination, once a promising graphics technology outfit, could never recover after the Apple fiasco and the perception of Chinese ownership. According to media reports, Apple, which owned an 8.1% stake in Imagination, considered buying the British chip designer in 2016. However, after failing to agree on Imagination’s valuation, Apple left the negotiating table and announced that it would start developing its own graphics IP.

Apple contributed to nearly half of Imagination’s sale, sending shock waves at the British chip company at that time. The company’s stock fell by 70%, and in 2017, Canyon Bridge, backed by state-owned China Reform, acquired Imagination for $686 million. Soon after, Imagination began shedding its non-core businesses; for instance, it sold its connectivity business Ensigma comprising Wi-Fi and Bluetooth silicon to Nordic Semiconductor.

Next came the issue of China gaining access to key semiconductor technology. The effort to appoint new board members and Imagination’s listing in Shanghai proved hot potatoes, leading to intervention from the U.K. regulators to ensure that Imagination remains a U.K.-headquartered business. The company has been in distress since then.

Figure 1 Imagination has more than 3,500 patents related to graphics and related technologies.

Its CEO, Simon Beresford-Wylie, has denied a recent Daily Telegraph report that he’s stepping down. He also rejected some reports about the company engaging in illicit transfers of technology to China. Earlier, in November 2023, Reuters reported that Imagination was laying off 20% of its staff.

With this backdrop, let’s go back to Imagination on the selling block. The Bloomberg report has named Alphabet Inc.’s Google, MediaTek, Renesas, and Texas Instruments as Imagination’s key clients. But no suitors have been reported in trade media yet.

Imagination owners are pinning their hopes on two major factors. First, they draw their hopes from Nvidia’s runaway success in the graphics realm. Though Nvidia’s GPUs are targeted at entirely different markets such as data centers and scientific computing. Imagination, on the other hand, mainly offers graphic solutions for lower-power markets such as automotive, PC cards, drones, robotics, and smartphones.

Second, like Nvidia, Imagination aims to bolster its standing by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) content in its graphics IP offerings. The British chip firm plans to turn its graphics IP into AI accelerators for low-power training and inference applications.

Figure 2 Imagination is aiming to bring graphics-centric AI to battery-powered devices like drones and smartphones.

Imagination, founded in 1985, has come a long way in its 40-year long technology journey. Once seen as a jewel in Britain’s technology crown, it’s now facing the paradox of a struggling company with a highly promising technology. Perhaps its new owner could address that paradox and put the graphics design house in order.

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• GPU specialist Imagination to create 250 engineering jobs in 2022
• Imagination Sells Ensigma Wi-Fi Business to Nordic Semiconductor

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Made during challenge "12hours to 200kv". It's not safe, it's not wise but looks kind of cool. submitted by /u/Alexandria_Cinis [link] [comments]

Edwin Henry Colpitts (January 19, 1872 – March 6, 1949)
James Kilton Clapp (December 03, 1897 – 1965)

The two persons above are the geniuses who gave us two classic oscillator circuits as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 The two classic oscillators circuits: Colpitts (left) and Clapp (right).

We’ve looked at these two oscillators individually before in “The Colpitts oscillator” and “Clapp oscillator”.

However, a side-by-side examination of the two oscillators is additional time well spent.

The Clapp oscillator was devised as an improvement over the Colpitts oscillator by virtue of adding one capacitor, C3, in the above image.

The amplifier “A” is nominally at a gain value of unity, but as a matter of practicality, the gain value is slightly lower than that because the amplifier is really a “follower”. If made with a vacuum tube, then “A” is a cathode follower. If made with a bipolar transistor, then “A” is an emitter follower. If made with a field effect transistor, then “A” is a source follower. The concept itself remains the same.

Each oscillator works because the RLC network develops a voltage step-up at the frequency of oscillation. The “R” is not an incorporated component though. The “R” (R1 or R2) simply represents an output impedance of the follower. The 10 ohms that we see here is purely an arbitrary value guess on my part. The other components are also of arbitrary value choices, but they are convenient values for illustrating just how these little beasties work.

We use SPICE simulations to examine the transfer functions of the two RLC networks as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Colpitts versus Clapp spice simulations using the transfer functions of the two RLC networks.

Each RLC network has a peak in its frequency response which will result in oscillation at that peak frequency. However, the peak of the Clapp circuit is much sharper and narrower than that of the Colpitts circuit. This narrowing has the beneficial effect of suppressing spectral noise centered around the oscillation frequency.

Note in the examples above that the oscillation peaks differ by 0.16% and that the reactance of the L1 inductor and the reactance of the L2 C3 pair differ by 1.12%. That’s just a matter of my having chosen some convenient numbers with the intent of having the two curves match in that regard at the same peak frequency. (I almost succeeded.)

The Clapp oscillator has several advantages over the Colpitts oscillator. The transfer function peak of the Clapp circuit is narrower than that of the Colpitts which tends to yield an oscillator output with less spurious off-frequency energy meaning a “cleaner” signal.

Another advantage of the Clapp circuit is that capacitors C4 and C5 can be made very large as the L2 C3 combination is made to look like a very small inductance value at the oscillation frequency. The larger C4 and C5 values mean that any variations of those capacitance values brought about by variations of the input capacitance of the “A” stage have a minimal effect on the oscillation frequency.

That’s because frequency control of the Clapp circuit is primarily set by the series resonance of the L2 C3 pair rather than the parallel resonance of L1 versus the C1 C2 pair in the Colpitts circuit. If the “A” input capacitance tends to vary for this reason or that, the Clapp circuit is far less prone to an unwanted frequency shift as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 A Clapp versus Colpitts frequency shift comparison showing how the Clapp circuit (right) is far less prone to this unwanted shift in frequency.

John Dunn is an electronics consultant, and a graduate of The Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (BSEE) and of New York University (MSEE).

Related Content

• The Colpitts oscillator
• Clapp oscillator
• Emitter followers as Colpitts oscillators
• Oscillator has voltage-controlled duty cycle

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Polar Light Technologies (PLT) — which stems from research by founder professor Per-Olof Holtz and his team at Linköping University (with support from Sweden’s innovation agency Vinnova) — has fabricated 625nm-wavelength red-light-emitting pyramidal micro-LED based on its non-etching bottom-up concept. The firm has hence achieved red, green and blue pyramidal micro-LEDs using the same material compound...

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DigiKey, a leading global commerce distributor offering the largest selection of technical components and automation products in stock for immediate shipment, is proud to sponsor the Eleckart competition during the 2025 Shaastra Technical Festival in Chennai, India, from Jan. 3-7, 2025.

The Eleckart event will test students’ understanding of digital electronics and their problem-solving capabilities using a minimal set of resources. The event consists of two rounds. The first round will test participants’ knowledge of creating electronic circuit diagrams using DigiKey’s Scheme-it platform. The final round will be on circuit building using actual components while managing the points that are deducted through components taken. Winners will receive prizes up to ₹50,000.

The festival is hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) and showcases engineering, science and technology with competitions, lectures, exhibitions, demonstrations and workshops. Students can register for technology-related workshops focusing on the Internet of Things (IoT), rocket propulsion, Arduino, CAD for industrial designs, AI and machine learning, and quantum computing.

“DigiKey is excited to sponsor the Eleckart competition during IITM’s Shaastra Technical Festival and have a chance to connect with the 60,000 attendees that will visit the summit,” said Y.C. Wang, director of global academic programs at DigiKey. “India is one of DigiKey’s top markets and this opportunity allows us to interact with students, engineers and designers who will foster future innovations in India and around the world.”

On Jan. 4, DigiKey representatives will showcase Sparkfun’s Experiential Robotics Platform (XRP) at the Eleckart event. Students can visit the DigiKey table to learn about the organization’s largest selection of technical components and about DigiKey’s tech resources such as online conversion calculators, PCB builders and design tools. Students can also receive free DigiKey PCB rulers.

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GigaDevice has introduced the GD32H75E 32-bit MCU, featuring an integrated GDSCN832 EtherCAT subdevice controller, which is also available as a standalone device. Both components target industrial automation applications, including servo control, variable frequency drives, industrial PLCs, and communication modules.

Powered by an Arm Cortex-M7 core running at up to 600 MHz, the GD32H75E microcontroller includes a DSP hardware accelerator, double-precision floating-point unit, hardware trigonometric accelerator, and filter algorithm accelerator. It also comes with 1024 KB of SRAM, up to 3840 KB of flash memory with security protection, and a 64-KB cache to enhance CPU efficiency and real-time performance.

The MCU’s integrated EtherCAT subdevice controller, licensed from Beckhoff Automation, manages EtherCAT communication, acting as an interface between the EtherCAT fieldbus and the sub-application. It includes two internal PHY ports and an external MII. With 64-bit distributed clock support, it enables synchronization with other EtherCAT devices, achieving DC synchronization accuracy to within 1 µs.

The GD32H75E MCU is available in two variants: one with two internal Ethernet PHYs and another that supports bypass mode, both housed in BGA240 packages. Samples and development boards are available now, with mass production planned for Q2 2025.

GD32H75E product page

GigaDevice 

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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Airoha Technology’s AB1595 Bluetooth audio chip features a 6-core architecture and a built-in AI hardware accelerator. It consolidates functions typically spread across multiple chips into a single SoC and achieves Microsoft Teams Open Office certification.

The AB1595 uses AI algorithms and input from up to 10 microphones to improve speech clarity by reducing background noise. This collaboration allows it to accurately distinguish between the user’s voice and environmental sounds, achieving professional-grade speech quality. In noisy environments like offices and cafes, it enhances voice noise suppression from 10 dB up to 40 dB, optimizing speech quality and elevating consumer headsets to professional teleconference standards.

Real-time adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) in the AB1595 boosts environmental noise attenuation across a wide frequency range. It detects the user’s wearing condition (e.g., fit or leakage) and adjusts compensation accordingly. Internal filters automatically adapt to both the fit and surrounding noise, balancing effective noise cancellation with comfort for a superior wearing and listening experience.

Airoha reports that the AB1595 has been adopted by customers, with products expected to be available in Q1 2025. A datasheet was not available at the time of this announcement. Contact Airoha Technology here.

Airoha Technology 

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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Designed for automotive LED lighting systems, Diodes’ AL8866Q driver supports buck, boost, buck-boost, and single-ended primary-inductance converter (SEPIC) topologies. This DC-switching LED driver-controller operates over an input voltage range of 4.7 V to 85 V, accommodating 12-V, 24-V, and 48-V battery power rails. It is suitable for applications such as daytime running lights, high/low beams, fog lights, turn signals, and brake lights.

The AL8866Q employs a 400-kHz fixed-frequency peak current-mode control architecture. Spread spectrum frequency modulation enhances EMI performance and aids compliance with the CISPR 25 Class 5 standard.

The device enables analog or PWM dimming via its DIM pin. A 1% reference tolerance ensures better brightness control and matching between lamps. With an analog dimming range of 1% to 100%, the AL8866Q maintains ±12% output current accuracy at 20% dimming. Alternatively, PWM dimming, ranging from 0.1 kHz to 1 kHz, provides a 100:1 dynamic range.

An integrated soft-start function gradually increases the inductor and switch current, minimizing potential overvoltage and overcurrent at the output. The driver also includes an open-drain fault output to signal various fault conditions.

Prices for the AEC-Q100 Grade 1 qualified AL8866Q driver start at $0.48 each in lots of 1000 units.

AL8866Q product page

Diodes

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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The P400 V4 from Patriot Memory is a PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 SSD, offering read speeds up to 6200 MB/s and write speeds up to 5200 MB/s. Optimized for PC and PS5 compatibility, it provides gamers and content creators with high-speed performance and enhanced thermal management. Its compact M.2 2280 form factor makes it well-suited for space-constrained systems, including thin laptops and small form-factor PCs.

With a read speed of 6200 MB/s, the P400 V4 achieves a total bytes written (TBW) rating of 1280 TB. Available in storage capacities ranging from 500 GB to 4 TB, the drive features SmartECC technology for improved reliability. To maintain consistent peak performance during intensive operations, the P400 V4 incorporates a graphene heatshield that helps prevent thermal throttling and efficiently manages thermal output.

The P400 V4’s PCIe Gen 4 x4 controller is NVMe 2.0 compliant, offering improved performance and support for the latest features. The SSD comes with a 5-year warranty and supports Windows 7, 8.0, 8.1, 10, and 11 (drivers may be required for older versions).

P400 V4 product page

Patriot Memory 

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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