Iodine serves to propel satellite in space

For the first time, a telecommunications satellite has used an iodine propellant to change its orbit around Earth, reports the European Space Agency (ESA). Specifically, it has been used in an electric thruster that controls the satellite’s height above Earth. Iodine is described as being less expensive and simpler to use than traditional propellants. This ...

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ASPs on the up

Renesas, NXP, and ST are among semiconductor manufacturers which have hiked prices by between 10 and 20%, reports the Nikkei, while Toshiba has entered into negotiations with customers about settling higher prices. Soaring demand and lack of capacity are likely to drive prices higher for the rest of the year. The car industry is in particularly bad ...

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Whitepaper: ON Semi – IoT and Energy Harvesting Zigbee Green Power Switches

A new whitepaper available on Electronics Weekly details energy harvesting for remote switches using Zigbee, for example for use in Smart Homes and Buildings. Download the whitepaper » Written by On Semiconductor, with an IoT focus, it covers how best to achieve the benefits of wireless, battery-free switches. It writes: “These devices offer unparalleled flexibility for deployment within buildings ...

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Arduino builds on the Raspberry Pi RP2040

Raspberry Pi launched its first microcontroller-class product yesterday – the RP2040 – and Arduino have now announced they are working with it for their own board, which will be the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect. The RP2040 (right) was newly developed at the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the Pi Pico builds on it as a standalone ...

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Samsung plans $10bn 3nm Texas fsb

Samsung is planning to build a $10 billion 3nm fab alongside its existing fab in Austin Texas, reports Bloomberg. The plan involves financial help from the new US administration which is said to be currently under negotiation. The plan is to start building this year with manufacturing equipment to be installed in 2022 and first ...

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Polymer as strong as polyamide with 15x its bending fatigue limit.

Toray Industries has created a polymer that retains the outstanding thermal resistance, rigidity, and strength of polyamide 6 (PA6) while delivering a bending fatigue limit that is 15-fold that of conventional polymers. Prospective applications for such exceptional durability include automobiles, appliances, and sporting goods. Toray looks to initiate full-fledged sample work in fiscal year 2021 ...

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UK gets a Space Sector Landscape Map

The Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and Uk Space Agency (UKSA) have mapped out a Space Sector Landscape for the UK. The tool outlines the universities, companies, funding bodies and networks that collectively form the nation’s space industry. You can view the interactive map online, to drill down into the data by various categorises – see ...

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Ultra-wide DC-DC converters have 91%+ efficiency

Murata has brought out  two new ultra-wide 10:1 ratio DC-DC converters, the 250W IRH-W80 half-brick and the 150W IRQ-W80 quarter-brick from Murata Power Solutions. Both high power density modules feature efficiency levels above 91% with a 16 – 160 Vdc input voltage range. The 250W IRH-W80 and 150W IRQ-W80 modules are designed for embedded applications ...

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GNSS front end integrates impedance matching and ESD circuitry

ST’s BPF8089-01SC6 RF front-end for GNSS integrates the impedance-matching and ESD protection circuitry typically implemented using discrete components. The device provides a 50Ω matched interface between the receiver’s antenna and low-noise amplifier (LNA), and is ready to plug-and-play with ST’s STA8089 and STA8090 LNAs. The chip typically replaces a matching network containing up to five capacitors, ...

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Raspberry Pi Pico

Farnell has today announced availability of the first product built on Raspberry Pi-designed silicon: Raspberry Pi Pico. It brings Raspberry Pi’s signature values of high performance, low cost, and ease of use to the microcontroller market, in a game-changing $4 development kit. Farnell customers will be able to purchase the Raspberry Pi Pico from the Farnell ...

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