Збирач потоків

Want to network-connect your gear using prevalent wired Ethernet? Or interference-impervious optical fiber? How about a bandwidth boost? Or a range extension? SFP and its siblings do it all.

One recent sequential-coverage cadence of mine just wrapped up, with part 4 of the “Debugging intermittent Comcast” run done. Another, my longstanding TP-Link smart plug teardown series, is nearing the finish line, with its next entry queued up to appear on EDN a week from next Monday and its final entry scheduled for next-month publication.

But if indeed all good things must sooner or later come to an end, other good things can also emerge in their stead. That’s what I hope will be the case for the small form-factor pluggable (SFP) module teardown series set to start next Monday. I first learned of SFP through my efforts to galvanically isolate my various LAN devices from lightning EMI-prone Ethernet and coax cables running outside of my residence.

Multi-gig gains ascendancy

I’ve subsequently become intrigued (also with pending editorial-coverage consequences) with the increasing (and dramatically so) cost-effectiveness of mainstream network switches, routers, and other devices based on 2.5 GbE technology. Take a look, for example, at this enterprise managed switch from the late 2000s, which cost several thousand dollars when brand new.

Granted, it has 24 primary Ethernet ports, but they “only” offer 10/100 Mbps. At far left are two more GbE Ethernet ports. And in-between the two RJ-45 arrays are two 1 Gbit SFP ports.

Fast-forward to today. This switch is admittedly unmanaged and has only eight RJ-45 ports.

But those RJ-45 ports are 2.5 GbE. The SFP ports are next-gen SFP+, 10 GbE. And the price tag? $41.39 at Amazon as I write these words.

Or this one:

Four fewer RJ-45s, albeit still 2.5 GbE. Once again, two 10 GbE SFP+ ports. And the price? $31.99. One of them is on an Amazon delivery truck headed to me later today as we speak, in fact. And in a near-future planned post, I’ll even detail how it’s possible to (and I in fact did) transform one into a fully user-managed variant using hacked factory firmware and/or open-source software.

Why 2.5 GbE (along with, to a lesser extent, 5 GbE) has become mainstream is a topic for another post another day (soon). Similarly, I’ll save for the near future more discussion on why 10 GbE SFP+ ports are appearing on mainstream gear like this. Today, in advance of a plethora of teardowns to come on a diversity of module variants I’ve been collecting in recent weeks, I just want to focus on what SFP is, along with its predecessor and siblings.

Without further ado, and focusing predominantly on the “flavors” most commonly used in consumer and workgroup settings, therefore in highest production volume, which typically translates to lowest cost (if you feel like your head’s about to explode after absorbing the full suite of SFP implementation options documented on Wikipedia, it’s perfectly understandable!)…

Mechanical form factors

Before SFP, there was GBIC, the gigabit interface converter, initially defined in 1995 and used with Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel. As Wikipedia notes, “By standardizing on a hot swappable electrical interface, a single gigabit port can support a wide range of physical media, from copper to long-wave single-mode optical fiber, at lengths of hundreds of kilometers.”

Keeping in mind inevitable bandwidth extrapolation, thanks to further technology evolution, the same basic definition applies to 20-pin SFP, therefore explaining its alternative name, mini-GBIC.

Quad SFP (QSFP), as the name implies, supports four simultaneous bidirectional data lanes (therefore the 38-pin connector). The first picture above is of a standalone transceiver; the second shows an active optical cable (AOC) version conceptually like, albeit of course more complex than, the SFP-based ones I’m currently using in my network for galvanic isolation purposes.

The module is of the same height (8.5 mm/0.33 in.) as SFP, as is the XFP module I’ll discuss next. But it’s wider than SFP (18.35 mm/0.722 in. vs 13.4 mm/0.53 in.), although adapters can allow SFP modules to fit in QSFP sockets. And it’s also deeper than SFP; 72.4 mm/2.85 in. vs 56.5 mm/2.22 in.

Last, and least common nowadays, is another SFP precursor, aforementioned 30-pin XFP, dating from 2002. It’s even deeper than QSFP, 78.0 mm/3.07 in. The above photo is of it alongside SFP.

System interfaces

Commonplace SFP interfaces run at 100 Mbps and 1, 2.5 and 5 Gbps. The bitrate similarly to Ethernet counterparts is not accidental SFP+ leverages the same SFP mechanical form factor discussed earlier but runs at 10 Gbps and 25 Gbps, the latter alternatively known as SFP28. Less common 50 and 100 Mbps SFFP+ variants (SFP56 and SFP112) are also available, as are “DD” double density flavors which leverage up to 8 data lanes. Higher speed SFP+ versions migrate from non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulation to four-level pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM-4).

Interconnect options

SFP modules connect to each other, as well as directly to system in some cases, via three main cable material and associated transceiver options: fiber optics in conjunction with electro-optical converters, RJ-45 Ethernet, and basic copper wire.

I’ll discuss fiber optics in more detail in the next section; for now, I’ll note the following:

• Both plastic and glass cable construction material options are available. Plastic characteristics include (with glass characteristics essentially the exact opposite):
  • Lower cost
  • Greater flexibility and overall handling safety
  • But much shorter usable distance due to high attenuation loss
  • Low tolerance of temperature extremes
• When the cable is permanently installed to SFP modules on both ends, it’s referred to (as alluded to earlier) as an active optical cable (AOC).

RJ-45 modules mate the SFP or SFP+ circuitry to an Ethernet transceiver. Speeds up to 10 GbE, such as with the module shown at the top of this section, are widely available. These modules tend to run “hotter” than fiber optical or basic wire alternatives, all other factors being equal.

Passive direct-attached-cable (DAC) wire harness-based cables are the most elementary version of this particular form factor, with the shortest effective range. Active copper cables (ACC), as a helpful white paper from NADDOD explains, “use a redriver chip architecture, employing continuous time linear equalization (CTLE) to boost signals on the receiver (Rx) side, acting as analog signal amplifiers.” And active electrical cables (AECs) “are more advanced, using a retimer chip architecture to amplify and equalize signals at both transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) ends, with added clock data recovery (CDR) to reduce jitter, offering higher signal integrity and clearer data transmission.”

Wavelengths

SFP modules most commonly run at the following wavelengths (all are center frequencies):

• 850 nm (“multimode”)
• 1300 nm (“multimode”)/1310 nm (“single-mode”)
• 1550 nm (“single-mode”)

The distinction between multimode and single-mode fiber optics is important to comprehend and keep in mind, as the two technologies are not interchangeable (although some modules will work with both associated cable material types).

Multimode was historically much less expensive to implement, at the tradeoff of lower usable transmission distance. It features a comparatively larger cable core (50 to 62.5 microns) that lets multiple light signals travel down different paths at the same time, and it usually uses lower-cost LEDs or vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs).

Single-mode features a comparatively tiny core (about 8 to 10 microns), which allows only a single ray of light to pass straight through without bouncing off the edges, and it uses focused lasers as a light source. Its historical cost disadvantage versus “multimode” has more recently decreased, due in part to the availability of non-proprietary, widely compatible modules. And as noted earlier, it generally specifies much longer usable transmission distances.

Cable tiers

We’ve already discussed fiber optic cable materials and construction options, along with associated light source and reception approaches. Each combination also has multiple quality tiers, which are commonly color-coded for ease of user recognition and interpretation.

Multimode cable comes in OM1 through OM5 options, with OM1 and OM2 now in legacy status and OM3 and OM4 most common nowadays. The fundamental tradeoffs between them involve lower cost (OM3) versus higher modal bandwidth and longer transmission spans (OM4).

For single-mode fiber optics, it’s simpler—OS1 and OS2—although the two types are incompatible in that they cannot be directly connected to each other. Cost, bandwidth and transmission distance are again the predominant evaluation criteria between them, although construction variances also tend to favor OS1 for indoor use and OS2 for outdoor applications.

Fiber connectors

Legacy GBIC deployments used the Standard (or Subscriber) Connector (SC) to mate cables to modules. Newer SFP-based implementations have switched to the much smaller Lucent Connector (LC). AOC fiber interconnect with SC plugs on one end and LC plugs on the other is also commonly available to bridge legacy and newer networking hardware.

Module flavors

As mentioned earlier, I’ve got a bunch of modules in hand, which I plan to tear down and internals-share with you in the coming months. As you can likely already imagine, the implementation diversity inherent in combining the numerous technology variables discussed in the previous sections results in oft-“interesting” module results. Here’s what I’ll be dissecting:

• 1 Gbit SR (short range, multimode) SFP module
• 1 Gbit LX (long range, usable with both single-mode and multimode cable at differing distances) SFP+ module
• 1 Gbit SFP to RJ45 transceiver module
• 5 Gbit ZX+ (extended long-haul range, single-mode) SFP module
• 10 Gbit IR (intermediate range, single-mode) SFP+ module
• 10 Gbit 0.3 meter/1 foot DAC cable
• 25 Gbit SR (short range, multimode) SFP+ (SFP28) module
• 40 Gbit SR QSFP+ module

The last one, whose image is at the top of this section, is particularly interesting (at least to me). It’s a 1 Gbit “BX” SFP module, with BX standing for bidirectional. Compared to the prior fiber-based modules, which use one strand for transmission and the other for reception (so you need to be sure when you hook them up that each strand’s transmission connection on one module end mates up with the other module’s receiver connection at the other end, and vice versa!), a BX module both transmits and receives across a common single cable strand.

The wavelengths employed by each module are vendor-specific, so you need to be careful in reading the specifications to ensure that you’ll end up with a transmit-and-receive wavelength matched pairing on both ends of the cable. Or just play it safe and buy all your modules from a single supplier, using a common model number.

And here’s a further “wrinkle” on the concept; in the above picture, since only a single strand is in use, there’s only one exposed optical connector site necessary. cSFP modules instead continue to use both fiber cable connectors, combining two bidirectional electro-optical subsystems in one module for doubled per-cable transfer rates. Tricky, eh?

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Look for my initial module teardown in the series, of the aforementioned 10 Gbit LX SFP+ module, to come early next week. And until then, I as always welcome your series-so-far thoughts in the comments!

—Brian Dipert is the associate editor, as well as a contributing editor, at EDN.

Related Content

• TP-Link MC220L: Media conversion keeps the network well
• The whole-house LAN: Achilles-heel alternatives, tradeoffs, and plans
• Design considerations in high-speed fiber networks

The post SFP: Add-in module delivers diminutive performance, flexibility appeared first on EDN.

ROHM Semiconductor says that its silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor chips are being used in the electric powertrain architecture of BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’ Gen 6 electric vehicle platform...

A development board costing a few euros can become a complete i386 PC. That is what the Tiny386 emulator, ported to RP2350 boards by Mikhail Matveev, achieves: the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 emulates an i386 CPU, talks to an SD card, drives a VGA or HDMI output and accepts keyboard, mouse and gamepad. The firmware boots DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Linux, so it behaves like a real Nineties PC, only much smaller.

At its heart is Chunhui He’s Tiny386 core, which emulates a complete i386 CPU with partial i486 and i586 instructions and an optional x87 FPU. The integration on the RP2350 platform is called Pico-286 and borrows the hardware patterns of QuakeGeneric. The PC peripherals code comes from QEMU, while the BIOS is SeaBIOS with its VGA BIOS. Everything runs on Raspberry Pi Pico SDK version 2.0 or later.

8MB PSRAM, SPI SD and a 378 MHz clock

Memory is the main constraint for an x86 emulator on a microcontroller, and here it is solved with the 8MB PSRAM mounted on the board. The emulator uses up to 8MB of RAM, while the settings menu lets you configure from 1 to 8 MB. The default CPU frequency in the build is 378 MHz, with a 504 MHz option, and the PSRAM runs at 133 MHz with a 166 MHz option. These are numbers to keep an eye on, because pushing the clock helps emulation but runs hotter and draws more power.

Storage goes through the SD card in SPI mode, managed by the FatFs module for the FAT filesystem. Disk images are read at runtime through a disk manager opened with Win+F12: from there you choose floppy, hard disk and CD-ROM. The maximum supported hard disk image size is 2GB, while standard floppies are 1.44MB, that is 1474560 bytes. The settings menu, on the other hand, opens with Win+F11 and changes the emulator configuration on the fly, without rebooting.

VGA or HDMI, PS/2, USB Host and I2S audio

Video output comes on a VGA or HDMI connector and covers text and graphics modes up to 640×480. For input there are two routes. The first is classic PS/2, with dedicated keyboard and mouse. The second uses the RP2350’s native USB Host, so USB keyboards and mice can be connected. On top of that there is support for the NES gamepad, which can work in mouse emulation mode. Audio comes out of an I2S DAC and the FM synthesis for AdLib comes from the MAME FM Sound Generator, the fmopl module.

• Raspberry Pi Pico 2 with RP2350 as the base board
• 8MB PSRAM to reach 8MB of emulated RAM
• SD card in SPI mode for floppy, hard disk and CD-ROM
• PS/2 keyboard and mouse, or USB keyboard and mouse via native USB Host
• NES or SNES gamepad with mouse emulation mode
• I2S DAC for audio output
• VGA or HDMI connector for video

Anyone who wants to rebuild the project will find the code to compile in Mikhail Matveev’s repository, with the Pico-286 integration for RP2350 and the third-party modules already wired in. The INI file parser is inih, the filesystem is FatFs, and the BIOS and VGA BIOS must be supplied as bios.bin and vgabios.bin. The build is done with Raspberry Pi Pico SDK 2.0 or later, so you need an up-to-date ARM toolchain and a bit of patience with clock configuration.

Assembly does not require exotic components: the board, the PSRAM, the SD slot, the connectors and the DAC. For the storage side, a MicroSD Card Reader module with SPI interface replicates the SPI read scheme used by the firmware for floppy, hard disk and CD-ROM. For audio output, a DAC audio converter with I2S interface covers the same function as the DAC described in the project.

The result is an i386 PC with complete peripherals at the cost of an inexpensive development board. DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Linux run on pocket-sized hardware, with 8MB of RAM, 640×480 graphics and SD storage. For anyone who wants to understand how an x86 machine is emulated on a microcontroller, or simply wants a portable bench DOS machine, this is a concrete starting point.

Source: https://github.com/rh1tech/frank-386

Related products

• MicroSD Card Reader module with SPI interface
• DAC Audio Converter with I2S Interface

The post An i386 PC on the Raspberry Pi Pico 2: Tiny386 Emulator Runs on RP2350 appeared first on Open Electronics.

Koode Bot is a hospital reception system that works without internet. An AI-powered kiosk interviews patients in Malayalam, assigns a department, and generates a clinical summary for the doctor. An ESP32 robot then physically escorts the patient to the department. The project is designed to respect privacy and reduce staff workload.

The core of the system is a Raspberry Pi 5 with 8 GB of RAM. The patient selects a language on the touchscreen—Malayalam, Hindi, or English—and speaks into a USB microphone. The audio is converted to text by faster-whisper and sent to the Gemma 4 E2B model running on Ollama. The model conducts a structured clinical interview, asking follow-up questions based on reported symptoms.

Data flow and clinical report generation

At the end of the interview, the model generates a clinical report in JSON with department, urgency, and summary. The report is saved in SQLite. The kiosk displays the token and assigned department, and sends an MQTT message on the topic koode/bot/navigate. The token has the format K0419001: the initial K, month and day, and a daily counter.

Report generation takes 60–120 seconds. The system handles up to 12 question-and-answer exchanges in the interview. Model response latency is 10–30 seconds, while speech recognition takes 2–6 seconds. Model loading time is about 35 seconds. RAM usage is about 9 GB.

The Koode Bot robot and ultrasonic navigation

The Koode Bot robot uses an ESP32-S3 and receives the MQTT message with the assigned department. MQTT latency is 1 second. The robot escorts the patient using ultrasonic sensors for navigation. An HC-SR04 sensor detects obstacles, while an L298 driver controls the 12 V DC motors.

The department misclassification rate is about 15%. The system has significant potential for epidemic detection by analyzing symptoms collected from interviews. Additionally, the offline nature protects sensitive patient data.

The project is documented in the shan repository. Those who want to replicate it will find code for the Raspberry Pi and the ESP32, plus the configuration for Ollama and the models.

What you need to rebuild the project

The main components include a Raspberry Pi 5, an official touchscreen, a USB microphone, and a Hailo-8 AI HAT accelerator. For the robot, you need an ESP32-S3, an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor, an L298 driver, and 12 V DC motors.

The software runs on Ollama with the Gemma 4 E2B model (Q4_K_M). The backend uses Flask, SQLite, and MQTT (mosquitto). On the robot, PubSubClient and ArduinoJson handle communication. For those starting from scratch, the Raspberry Pi 5 is the recommended base for the kiosk.

• Raspberry Pi 5 with 8 GB of RAM
• Raspberry Pi Touch Display
• USB microphone
• Hailo-8 AI HAT
• DFRobot FireBeetle ESP32 IOT Microcontroller
• HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
• L298 motor driver
• 12 V DC motors

The system is designed for hospitals with reduced staff or areas with limited connectivity. Privacy is guaranteed by the fact that no data leaves the device. The project demonstrates how edge AI can bring intelligence to critical contexts without depending on the cloud.

Source: https://github.com/lil-shan/Koode

The post Koode Bot: Offline Hospital Triage with Edge AI on Raspberry Pi 5 appeared first on Open Electronics.

The ST SafeSense VD56GA 1.1-Mpixel automotive image sensor enables infrared in-cabin sensing for driver and occupant monitoring applications. Based on ST’s DeepNIR BSI pixel architecture, the sensor delivers 35% higher modulation transfer function (MTF) and nearly 60% higher quantum efficiency (QE) than the previous generation. The higher MTF and infrared sensitivity result in sharper images, while the sensor’s small CSP allows discreet in-cabin camera designs for space-constrained installations.

With 2.43×2.43-µm pixels, the global-shutter sensor’s 1.1-Mpixel architecture achieves virtual 2-Mpixel performance. According to ST, the VDA56GA can reduce overall camera-module costs through lower-cost optics, simplified infrared illumination, and less demanding optical filtering. Embedded image-processing functions, including mirror, crop, dark calibration, auto exposure, and piecewise-linear processing, eliminate the need for external image processing. Together, these features can help designers deploy driver and occupant monitoring across a broader range of vehicle models.

The sensor is undergoing AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualification, with a −40°C to +125°C operating junction-temperature range. It is compliant with ISO 26262 for ASIL B system integration and ISO/SAE 21434 for automotive cybersecurity.

Samples are available now. Pricing information and sample requests are available from local ST sales offices.

VD56GA product page 

STMicroelectronics

The post Sensor sharpens infrared in-cabin imaging appeared first on EDN.

Vishay’s XFD11KxxCA flat-clamping transient voltage suppression (TVS) devices provide 11 kW of peak pulse power dissipation at 10/1000 µs. Offered in surface-mount DO-218AC packages, the bidirectional devices maintain a low clamping ratio (VC/VBR) close to 1.0, supporting high power density.

The XFD11KxxCA series comprises 15 devices, each available in commercial and AEC-Q101 qualified grades. They have clamping voltages of 40.6 V to 104.0 V, breakdown voltages from 36.7 V to 104 V, and standoff voltages from 33 V to 85 V, making them suitable for 12-V, 24-V, and 48-V automotive powertrains. At the same standoff voltage, they have lower clamping voltage than conventional TVS products in DO-218 packages and deliver approximately 1.6 times higher peak pulse current, up to 207.1 A at 10/1000 µs.

Additional key specifications include an 8/20-µs surge capability of up to 2140 A and maximum leakage current of 10 µA at the standoff voltage (VWM) to minimize power loss. The series’ low, stable clamping and breakdown voltages over a wide temperature range of -55°C to +175°C allow the use of lower-voltage downstream components, reducing voltage overshoot and enabling smaller design guard bands.

Samples and production quantities of the XFD11KxxCA series are available now, with lead times of 12 weeks.

XFD11KxxCA product page

Vishay Intertechnology

The post Transient voltage suppression devices reach 11 kW with flat clamping appeared first on EDN.

Singular Photonics’ Litavis is a CMOS single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) image sensor with integrated digital photon processing on-chip and in-pixel. By processing photon events directly on-chip, it reduces the volume of raw data that must be transferred and processed externally.  According to the company, Litavis enables scalable real-time imaging systems with lower latency and improved power efficiency.

The 3D-stacked, back-side-illuminated (BSI) sensor captures spatial and temporal information while extracting scene information such as depth and event characteristics. Its software-configurable architecture combines photon-counting imaging, programmable time gating, and photon timing within a scalable SPAD array. Litavis supports intensity, timing, and histogramming modes concurrently, allowing users to dynamically adjust sensor parameters in software without requiring a new hardware design.

Litavis provides continuous 256×256-pixel photon-counting imaging under low-light conditions and simultaneously generates time-stamped photon events across a 64×64-macropixel timing grid. It delivers 47% photon detection efficiency (PDE) at 785 nm, 37-ps timing resolution, and 4.3-ns dead time, with a 100% fill factor enabled by microlenses.

The SPAD-based sensor targets applications including machine vision, physical AI, robotics, depth sensing, and scientific imaging. A timeline for sensor availability was not provided at the time of this announcement.

Litavis product page  

Singular Photonics  

The post SPAD sensor processes photon events on-chip appeared first on EDN.

Anti-surge chip resistors in Rohm’s SDR01 series deliver a rated power of 0.33 W in the 0402 (1005 metric) package. The devices save board space and lower component count by replacing larger-size resistors in automotive, industrial, and AI server applications that require increased mounting density.

With optimized resistive element and electrode designs, the SDR01 series achieves a high rated power in the 0402 size while maintaining the reliability expected of high anti-surge chip resistors. The devices maintain their 0.33-W rating at terminal temperatures up to 125°C, making them suitable for demanding thermal environments.

Qualified to AEC-Q200, the chip resistors operate over a temperature range of -55°C to +155°C. The SDR01MZPF has a resistance tolerance of ±1% and a resistance range of 1 Ω to 2.2 MΩ, with a TCR of ±100 ppm/°C from 10 Ω to 2.2 MΩ. The corresponding ratings for the SDR01MZPJ are ±5%, 1 Ω to 10 MΩ, and a TCR of ±200 ppm/°C from 10 Ω to 10 MΩ, respectively.

The SDR01 series is now in mass production.

Rohm Semiconductor 

The post Anti-surge resistors reduce component count appeared first on EDN.

Renesas offers the RZ/G3L and RZ/G3SE series of 64-bit general-purpose microprocessors for consumer and industrial HMI and IoT edge systems. Expanding the company’s RZ/G portfolio, the pin-compatible MPUs allow developers to reuse a PCB design for multiple products.

Targeting HMI devices that require rich graphics and video capabilities, the RZ/G3L integrates a GPU for 3D graphics rendering and an H.264 video codec. The RZ/G3SE targets edge devices with basic display requirements, such as EV chargers and industrial gateways with status indicators and configuration screens.

Both series use dual or quad Arm Cortex-A55 cores running at 1.2 GHz and a Cortex-M33 coprocessor at 200 MHz. The MPUs can reduce standby power to 1 mW in deep standby mode and support fast Linux wakeup for always-connected applications. High-speed interfaces, including PCIe, TSN-capable Gigabit Ethernet, and USB, enable application-specific connectivity options such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6 modules.

The RZ/G3L and RZ/G3SE MPUs are available now in 14-mm², 400-pin LFBGA and 17-mm², 368-pin LFBGA packages.

RZ/G3L product page

RZ/G3SE product page

Renesas Electronics

The post Pin-compatible MPUs simplify product variants appeared first on EDN.

Hello, This is my first project in electronics. The concept is that one of 8 Leds will fade in/out at random and that the ornament will have a usable life of approximately 20 days with a fresh CR-2032 battery. So far it has more than exceeded that limit, it's on a 2 month streak though the light has diminished. I have the project files and code on my github here: https://github.com/AvariCe-git/Christmas_Ornaments, if anyone wants to take a look or make some for themselves. For the code I used the platformio plugin for vscodium. Forgive the solder blobs on the battery terminals, my soldering iron sucks. submitted by /u/Menacing_Mosquito [link] [comments]

NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA (a dual-use defense & security integrated platform company) says that its shares have resumed trading on the NYSE American exchange. Executive chairman & co-CEO Alessandro Zamboni has consequently issued a letter to shareholders, outlining the following points...

Mouser Electronics has expanded its stock of Nordic Semiconductor products with development and evaluation kits for the nRF54L15 and nRF54LM20 Bluetooth Low Energy SoCs, the nRF9151 cellular IoT system-in-package, and the nPM2100 power management IC. Mouser has distributed Nordic products since 2011.

nRF54L15 development kit

The nRF54L15 DK is an evaluation and prototyping platform for the nRF54L Series of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless SoCs. It supports the full BLE feature set as well as other common communication protocols, and is intended for applications such as Industrial IoT (IIoT), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), asset tracking, and smart home products.

nRF54LM20 development kit

The nRF54LM20 DK supports application development for the nRF54LM20A and nRF54LM20B wireless SoCs. It is a low-cost, single-board kit that gives access to all SoC features, backed by the software examples, modules, and libraries in the nRF Connect SDK.

Both SoCs support Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth Mesh, Matter, Aliro, Thread, Zigbee, and proprietary 2.4 GHz protocols (up to 4 Mbps), plus High-Speed USB. The nRF54LM20B also integrates an Axon neural processing unit (NPU) that accelerates edge AI workloads such as health, biometric and activity monitoring, voice control, audio classification, and low-fidelity vision.

nRF9151 SMA development kit

The nRF9151 SMA DK is designed for in-depth evaluation of the nRF9151 LTE-M/NB-IoT system-in-package (SiP), which also supports DECT NR+ and GNSS. Its SMA connectors allow direct connection to lab instruments for conducted measurements, or to external antennas for field testing. A beta modem firmware adds support for NB-IoT NTN (satellite communication).

The kit includes antennas from Taoglas (cellular/NTN) and Kyocera (GNSS), and IoT SIM cards from Deutsche Telekom, Onomondo, and Monogoto.

nPM2100 evaluation kit

The nPM2100 EK allows no-code configuration of the nPM2100 PMIC, which is designed for low-power devices running on non-rechargeable (primary) batteries. The PMIC includes a boost regulator with automatic pass-through mode, allowing batteries to be used down to their functional end point.

With the EK connected to a PC, all PMIC settings can be configured and exported as code for direct integration into the host microcontroller application. The kit comes with six interchangeable battery holders covering a wide range of primary cell configurations.

Availability

The kits are available from Mouser. The Nordic Semiconductor products stocked by Mouser are listed on the Nordic Semiconductor manufacturer page.

The post Mouser stocks Nordic nRF54L, nRF9151, and nPM2100 development kits appeared first on Open Electronics.

ROHM has developed a fourth generation of 650 V IGBTs for automotive electric compressors and HV heaters, and for inverters in industrial equipment. The devices reach a collector-emitter saturation voltage of VCE(sat) = 1.55 V, which ROHM reports as the lowest conduction loss among 650 V automotive devices*, while offering high short-circuit tolerance and qualification to the AEC-Q101 automotive reliability standard (Fig. 1).

Application context

As electric vehicles move to higher voltages, SiC devices are increasingly used in high-power applications such as traction inverters. 650 V IGBTs, meanwhile, remain widely used as switching devices in lower-power auxiliary systems, including automotive electric compressors and HV heaters. Silicon IGBTs are also common in industrial equipment, particularly in motors and compressors, and demand is expected to keep growing.

These applications call for energy savings and smaller equipment, and therefore for power devices with higher reliability, smaller size, and higher efficiency. Heater and inverter circuits in particular need enough short-circuit tolerance to withstand a fault for the time required to detect and interrupt the overcurrent.

Device design

ROHM revised the device structure, including the manufacturing process and the edge termination structure, to combine low loss with high short-circuit tolerance while meeting higher voltage requirements. The new structure increases current density and reduces both conduction and switching losses. Despite the trade-off between lower loss and short-circuit tolerance, the devices guarantee a short-circuit withstand time of 7 µs at Tj = 25 °C.

Lineup and availability

The lineup includes 12 products in the TO-247N package, the RGAxxTS65HR and RGAxxTS65EHR, and 10 bare-die products, the SG83xxWN series. ROHM is also developing 12 products in the TO-247-4L package, the RGAxxTR65HR/RGAxxTR65EHR series.

All packaged devices share a collector-emitter voltage of 650 V, a short-circuit withstand time of 7 µs at Tj = 25 °C, an operating junction temperature of -40 °C to +175 °C, and AEC-Q101 qualification. The -HR versions have no built-in diode; the -EHR versions integrate a fast recovery diode. The TO-247N package measures 16.0 × 21.0 × 5.0 mm, the TO-247-4L 16.0 × 23.45 × 5.0 mm.

TO-247N (available)TO-247-4L (under development)IC (TC = 100 °C)VCE(sat) typ.

RGA60TS65HR / RGA60TS65EHR	RGA60TR65HR / RGA60TR65EHR	35 A	1.55 V
RGA80TS65HR / RGA80TS65EHR	RGA80TR65HR / RGA80TR65EHR	44 A	1.55 V
RGA00TS65HR / RGA00TS65EHR	RGA00TR65HR / RGA00TR65EHR	52 A	1.55 V
RGAX2TS65HR / RGAX2TS65EHR	RGAX2TR65HR / RGAX2TR65EHR	62 A	1.55 V
RGAX5TS65HR / RGAX5TS65EHR	RGAX5TR65HR / RGAX5TR65EHR	74 A	1.60 V
RGAY0TS65HR / RGAY0TS65EHR	RGAY0TR65HR / RGAY0TR65EHR	88 A	1.65 V

Packaged 650 V IGBTs: -HR without diode, -EHR with built-in fast recovery diode.

The bare-die devices are rated at 650 V with a typical VCE(sat) of 1.55 V and a short-circuit withstand time of 7 µs; all chips are 75 µm thick.

Bare dieIC (TC = 100 °C)Chip size X × Y (mm)

SG8351WN	20 A	3.08 × 3.08
SG8352WN	25 A	3.10 × 3.48
SG8353WN	30 A	3.52 × 3.52
SG8359WN	40 A	3.74 × 4.10
SG8355WN	50 A	4.20 × 4.39
SG8356WN	60 A	3.90 × 5.48
SG8358WN	75 A	4.50 × 5.70
SG8357WN	100 A	5.70 × 5.70
SG8360WN*	150 A	6.82 × 6.82
SG8361WN*	200 A	7.75 × 7.75

* Under development.

The TO-247N products and some of the bare-die products are available now, and the TO-247N parts are sold through online distributors including DigiKey and Farnell. ROHM plans to add more products in the same packages and to develop compact surface-mount IGBTs in the TO-263L package and in top-side cooled (TSC) packages.

Applications

• Automotive electric compressors
• Automotive HV heaters (PTC heaters, coolant heaters)
• Inverters for industrial equipment

Design support

ROHM’s website provides SPICE models that reproduce the electrical characteristics of the devices in simulation, PLECS models for circuit simulation, and other circuit design material. More information is available on the field-stop trench IGBT product page.

EcoIGBT is ROHM’s IGBT brand for devices and modules aimed at high-voltage power applications. EcoIGBT is a trademark or registered trademark of ROHM Co., Ltd.

*ROHM research, August 2026.

The post ROHM fourth-generation 650 V IGBTs with 1.55 V VCE(sat) and AEC-Q101 appeared first on Open Electronics.

Cambium Networks has introduced cnMaestro MarketApps Hub, an open marketplace of web apps built to extend cnMaestro, the company’s centralized network management system. The hub turns a Cambium ONE network into an application platform: network operators, MSPs, site managers, and end users can run the workflows they need, and anyone able to call the cnMaestro APIs can develop and publish apps. According to Cambium, AI coding tools and an AI-ready development platform make it possible to build custom apps in hours or days.

An open marketplace with defined responsibilities

MarketApps Hub extends Cambium’s existing MarketApps framework into a governed app ecosystem, with a public catalog, a developer SDK, single sign-on (SSO), app hosting, and platform-level security. It is built on the public cnMaestro APIs and on a developer experience designed for AI coding agents. Apps are hosted and secured on the platform, and can be written by anyone from Cambium engineers to the customers who operate the network every day.

Bruce Miller, VP of Enterprise Marketing at Cambium Networks, said that AI has turned domain experts into developers, and that a purpose-built app that once took an engineering team a quarter to build can now be created in hours or days. In his view, the hub gives these developers a marketplace and gives customers functions tailored to their vertical market and workflow.

Five app classes

Every app in MarketApps Hub belongs to one of five classes, which tell customers where it comes from and how it is supported:

• Certified: production-grade apps developed, tested, hosted, and fully supported by Cambium.
• Labs: the fast track. Apps are released quickly and shaped by customer feedback, and those that prove themselves move to Certified.
• Partner: apps developed and supported by Cambium partners.
• Community: open contributions from the developer community.
• Private: apps exclusive to a single customer account, with that customer’s data and network.

Apps can move up to a higher class as adoption shows demand, so a community idea can become a Certified app or a native cnMaestro feature.

Development and distribution

Cambium’s position is that AI has made writing apps easier, and that the harder part is now hosting, securing, and distributing them to the right audience with adequate support. MarketApps Hub addresses this with platform hosting, SSO, a public catalog, and controlled distribution through the five app classes.

The MarketApps developer platform is designed for AI coding agents. A quick-start guide provides boilerplate code, an SDK, and a live cnMaestro development environment with a single command, and a single pull request publishes an app globally.

Because apps are delivered as plain web applications that run on mobile devices or in any browser, they can serve users outside the network team, such as a resident configuring personal Wi-Fi, a site manager overseeing a location, or a technician installing equipment, without requiring a cnMaestro account.

The post Cambium Networks launches MarketApps Hub, an app marketplace for cnMaestro appeared first on Open Electronics.

Mouser Electronics has launched a digital resource center dedicated to consumer technology. It collects material on emerging technologies, reference designs, and implementation guidelines for engineers developing connected consumer products.

Design topics

As consumer devices become more portable, intelligent, and interconnected, designers have to provide seamless connectivity and adaptive user experiences. The resource center covers several of these design priorities:

• USB Type-C® charging and power management systems, which enable faster charging and simpler connectivity
• AI-based ambient systems built on sensors and contextual processing, which make devices more adaptive and responsive
• Physical buttons, which are seeing renewed interest for tactile, distraction-free interaction, while touch and voice interfaces continue to spread

Content

The center was curated by Mouser’s technical team and its manufacturer partners, and includes articles, blogs, eBooks, and new products for consumer technology design. It also features the latest episode of Mouser’s Empowering Innovation Together (EIT) series, Engineering AI for Daily Life, which looks at emerging AI technologies and their practical uses in consumer products, including voice assistants, AI-based travel planning tools, and wearables that provide more detailed health information.

Featured products

The new consumer-oriented products stocked by Mouser include:

• STMicroelectronics LSM6DSV320X: a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) that combines an accelerometer and a gyroscope in a compact, low-power package. It integrates activity tracking, gesture recognition, and context detection, and targets wearables, AR/VR systems, and smart devices.
• Molex Premo-Flex SlimStack jumpers: flexible flat cable (FFC) and flexible printed circuit (FPC) jumpers that provide high-density, flexible interconnects for compact, lightweight consumer electronics. Their thin profile helps optimize the internal layout of smartphones, tablets, wearables, and portable devices, and simplifies wiring in tight spaces while preserving signal integrity.
• Littelfuse SC3402-02ETG: an ESD protection diode that protects sensitive consumer electronics from electrostatic discharge and transient voltage events. It is designed for high-speed interfaces and compact applications, and its small footprint suits mobile devices, wearables, and other space-constrained equipment.
• TE Connectivity 0.8 mm low-profile IDC connector system: compact, high-density board-to-board and wire-to-board connections for consumer electronics. The low profile helps reduce device thickness while carrying data and power, and the system is designed for automated assembly.

The post Mouser opens a consumer technology resource center appeared first on Open Electronics.

Taoglas, a supplier of antennas and RF solutions, has completed the acquisition of Wireless Instruments Sp. z o.o. (“QuWireless”), a company that designs antennas and antenna-enclosure systems for wireless communication devices. The deal extends Taoglas’s capabilities in outdoor and industrial connectivity, where demand for rugged solutions for harsh environments is growing.

Router inside the antenna enclosure

Based in Poland, QuWireless develops integrated “all-in-one” products in which the router is installed directly inside the antenna enclosure. Enclosures are available for all major brands of industrial routers: the installer inserts and secures the router in the enclosure, leaving a single unit to mount.

With significantly less RF cabling, this type of installation can also improve signal strength and reliability in settings such as:

• industrial sites
• telecom network infrastructure
• smart grids
• transport systems
• building rooftops
• remote locations and areas with limited network coverage

Combined portfolio

Taoglas says that adding QuWireless’s antenna and enclosure expertise to its own RF and antenna design, engineering, global testing, and certification capabilities will shorten development cycles and make field performance more predictable. The combined portfolio covers a wider range of supported devices, frequency bands, and form factors.

The acquisition comes as demand for wireless connectivity in outdoor, industrial, and remote environments grows with the expansion of 5G, private networks, and IoT deployments.

“Much of the challenge today isn’t just RF performance; it’s getting reliable, robust connectivity deployed quickly, with controlled installation costs, especially outdoors,” said Dermot O’Shea, CEO of Taoglas. “Their antenna enclosures remove much of that complexity and significantly reduce installation time.”

Deal terms

QuWireless will operate as “QuWireless, a Taoglas company”, and its product portfolio will initially continue under the QuWireless brand. The team will remain in Poland as a center of excellence for antenna-enclosure design, working with Taoglas’s global engineering teams.

According to Michal Gorzad, CEO of QuWireless, joining Taoglas will allow the company to bring its designs to a much wider market and integrate them with a broader range of RF technologies.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The post Taoglas acquires QuWireless, maker of outdoor antenna enclosures appeared first on Open Electronics.

Mouser Electronics now stocks the ESP32-P4X-EYE, a vision development kit from Espressif Systems designed for camera-based applications such as smart surveillance cameras, detection with vision models, and edge computing in IoT systems.

A development kit shaped like a small camera

The ESP32-P4X-EYE comes in a mini digital camera form factor: a compact camera-style enclosure houses the camera module, with a 1.54-inch SPI LCD on the back, a digital microphone, a rotary encoder, and a push button. The kit is intended for real-time image processing in AI, edge computing, human-machine interface (HMI), and camera applications.

With the camera, display, microphone, and microSD card on board, the kit can monitor its surroundings in real time and collect image and audio data.

Main features

• SoC: Espressif ESP32-P4 with a 400 MHz dual-core RISC-V processor
• Memory: support for up to 32 MB of PSRAM
• Interfaces: USB 2.0, MIPI-CSI/DSI, and several other peripherals
• Video: H.264 encoder
• Display: 1.54-inch SPI LCD on the back of the enclosure
• Audio: digital microphone
• Controls: rotary encoder and push button
• Storage: microSD card
• Wireless: ESP32-C6-MINI-1 module with Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.15.4, and Bluetooth LE

Wireless module

Wireless communication is handled by Espressif’s ESP32-C6-MINI-1 module, which supports Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.15.4, and Bluetooth LE and is designed for applications including smart home, industrial automation, healthcare, and consumer electronics. The module has an on-board PCB antenna.

Developers can also connect external peripherals to the ESP32-P4X-EYE using jumper wires.

The post Mouser now stocks Espressif ESP32-P4X-EYE vision development kit appeared first on Open Electronics.

Inspired by PocketPD, I created a pocket-sized programmable power supply built on the USB Power Delivery (PD) standard and the USB Programmable Power Supply (PPS) feature. The main goal was to learn new skills while working on something that can be useful in the future. Key features: Single firmware supports AP33772 and AP33772S PD sink ICs Support for fixed PDO and PPS profiles Operating voltage range: 3.3V to 21V Output current up to 5A (charger and cable dependent) User-switchable output Programmable current limit: 250mA/Step with AP33772S 100mA/Step with AP33772 Programmable condtant voltage: 100mV/Step with AP33772S 20mV/Step with AP33772 Short-circuit protection Input/output TVS protection OVP, OCP and OTP 3D printed case More details: Project logs Github repo submitted by /u/denikty [link] [comments]

Vertiv, a critical digital infrastructure company, plans to expand its manufacturing and testing operations in Ireland and the North West. The company cites growing global demand for infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence (AI), colocation, and hyperscale data center deployments.

Planning application in Letterkenny

Vertiv will submit a planning application to Donegal County Council for an additional 7,000 m² at its Letterkenny site, supporting the planned creation of up to 300 new jobs in the region.

The company’s existing presence in Ireland and the North West includes manufacturing facilities in Letterkenny, Burnfoot, and Campsie (Derry), a Central Procurement Office in Limerick, and a sales and service office in Dublin. Vertiv is currently hiring at these locations to support ongoing organic growth.

Hiring and technical scope

Since the beginning of 2026, Vertiv has added more than 500 employees at its local sites and continues to recruit for engineering and operations roles. According to the company, the new staff will increase production capacity and expand its technical expertise in power, cooling, and industrialized infrastructure solutions, supporting faster deployment of AI, data center, and critical industrial infrastructure worldwide.

“As demand for critical digital infrastructure continues to rise, we are supporting customers as they deploy AI and data center capacity around the world,” said Paul Ryan, president of Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Government support

The proposed project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the decision as good news for the region and for Ireland, while Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, said the project underlines the role of the Irish facilities in Vertiv’s global manufacturing network.

Michael Lohan, CEO of IDA Ireland, pointed to the expansion as an example of global companies growing high-value operations from regional locations in Ireland.

The post Vertiv plans 7,000 m² expansion at Letterkenny with up to 300 new jobs appeared first on Open Electronics.

In a case study, Yokogawa describes how Integrated Optics, a Lithuanian manufacturer of lasers and photonics products, uses the AQ6373E optical spectrum analyzer to characterize its ultra-compact visible lasers during development and in production.

Visible lasers are used where spectral quality, stability, and repeatability matter: microscopy, spectroscopy, flow cytometry, quantum technologies, and LiDAR. In these applications even low-level unwanted spectral components can affect measurement accuracy and system performance, so accurate spectral characterization is needed throughout development and manufacturing.

MatchBox laser platform

Integrated Optics builds ultra-compact laser sources for scientific and industrial customers. Its MatchBox platform is a configurable family of continuous-wave, multi-wavelength, and pulsed lasers designed for integration, combining optics, control electronics, and thermal stabilization in a matchbox-sized housing.

The challenge: detecting weak spectral modes

A key problem for the company is detecting weak spectral modes and other low-level components close to the main laser line. Although much weaker than the dominant emission peak, these components can indicate unwanted laser behavior or reduced spectral purity. For both product development and production quality control, Integrated Optics needed an optical spectrum analyzer with wide wavelength coverage, high wavelength resolution, good sensitivity, and good close-in dynamic range, together with fast and repeatable measurements.

The AQ6373E optical spectrum analyzer

The company chose the Yokogawa AQ6373E optical spectrum analyzer, which covers wavelengths from 350 nm to 1200 nm. The instrument is used in single-mode laser production, spectral filtering, component characterization, quality checks, and new product development. Its close-in dynamic range of about 60 dB lets engineers separate weak spectral modes from the dominant laser peak and assess spectral purity, and so verify that each laser meets the requirements of its scientific or industrial application.

The analyzer’s sensitivity also allows measurements at relatively low optical input levels, which simplifies test setups in production. Because Integrated Optics’ lasers include control electronics and thermal stabilization, precise spectral calibration is needed to maintain performance and stability over a wide temperature range. The AQ6373E’s connectivity options support automated calibration and validation workflows, and its wavelength range lets the company use a single instrument platform across its portfolio of visible and near-infrared lasers.

The customer’s view

Evaldas Pebreza, CEO of Integrated Optics, describes the AQ6373E as a telecom-grade instrument whose performance suits laboratory laser measurements: the company gets the reliability typical of telecom equipment together with the resolution and sensitivity needed to characterize more demanding laser sources.

Results

With the AQ6373E, Integrated Optics performs fast, accurate, and repeatable measurements, identifies weak spectral components, verifies spectral purity, and evaluates new laser designs. The main benefit for the company is greater confidence that each laser meets customer requirements, both in production quality control and in the development of compact laser sources for medical, scientific, industrial, and quantum applications.

The full Integrated Optics case study is available from Yokogawa.

The post Yokogawa AQ6373E validates Integrated Optics’ ultra-compact visible lasers appeared first on Open Electronics.