Author Archives: david manners

Plessey bags up £6.7m grant

Plessey has been given £6.7m by the Regional Growth Fund

Plessey has been given £6.7m by the Regional Growth Fund

Plessey has been given £6.7m by the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) towards the expansion of its LED manufacturing facility in Plymouth.

Solid state lighting forms a significant part of global efforts to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

According to a new market research report (1), the solid state lighting market size is projected to reach $22.2bn by 2020, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 7.31% from 2015 to 2020.

The report says that the market will be driven by high brightness LEDs delivering higher energy efficiency in all lighting applications.

According to a new report: ‘Lighting the Clean Revolution: The rise of LED street lighting and what it means for cities’, lighting is responsible for 19% of global electricity use and around 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Doubling lighting efficiency globally through LEDs would have a climate impact equivalent to eliminating half the emissions of all electricity and heat production in the EU.

And, like many other energy-efficient technologies, efficient lighting will boost global prosperity. In the UK alone, cutting the energy used by lighting by 40% would save £6.5bn in annual energy costs, and reduce energy demand equivalent to 33 mid-size power stations.

Chris Bailey, Plessey’s finance director, said:

“We are very proud of our local heritage and the RGF funding will contribute to our expansion plans for the Plymouth facility. The expansion will bring additional well paid technical jobs to the site, and strengthen our long term future by providing the base for new lighting technologies and products to be manufactured in the UK. The project also aligns very well with national strategies, such as the Growth Review and it aims to increase and support manufacturing in the UK to make the UK Europe’s leading exporter of high value goods and services.”

Plessey will increase its manufacturing capacity from over 100 million square millimetres of Gallium Nitride material per year to more than 3 billion square millimetres. The facility modifications will take place during 2015, with additional manufacturing tools and supporting equipment coming on stream from 2015 through to 2017.

1) Source: “Solid State Lighting & Fluorescent Lighting Market by Technology – Forecast to 2020″, published by MarketsandMarkets.

david manners

Highly integrated power supply from LTC

imageLinear Technology has brought out a high voltage, highly integrated, low noise dual output power supply which takes a single positive input supply (VIN_P) and generates low noise bipolar rails up to ±2•VIN_P without any inductors.

The device, LTC3265, includes a boost doubling charge pump, an inverting charge pump and two low dropout (LDO) regulators. The boost charge pump has a wide 4.5V to 16V input range and powers the positive LDO post regulator from its output, VOUT+.

The inverting charge pump has an even wider input range (4.5V to 32V) which may be connected to either the boost input or output. The negative LDO post regulator is powered from the output of the inverting charge pump, VOUT-.

The Device is suitable for a variety of applications that require low noise bipolar supplies from a high voltage input, such as industrial/instrumentation low noise bias generators, portable medical equipment and automotive infotainment systems.

The positive and negative LDO regulators can source up to 50mA of output current each with 100µVRMS output noise, and their output voltages can be independently adjusted from ±1.2V to ±32V using external resistor dividers to generate symmetric or asymmetric output supply rails.

The internal charge pumps of the LTC3265 function in either low quiescent current Burst Mode operation for highest efficiency, or constant frequency mode for lowest noise. In Burst Mode operation, the LTC3265 draws only 135µA of quiescent current with both LDO regulators on at no load.

In constant frequency mode the part operates at a fixed 500kHz, or at a programmed value between 50kHz and 500kHz using an external resistor. Other IC features include low external parts count, stability with ceramic capacitors, soft-start circuitry to prevent excessive current flow during start-up, plus short-circuit and thermal protection.

The LTC3265 is available in a low profile (0.75mm) 3mm x 5mm 18-lead DFN package and a 20-lead TSSOP package, both with a backside thermal pad. The E- and I-grade operating junction temperature range is -40°C to 125°C regardless of package. The H grade operates from -40°C to 150°C, while the MP grade operates from -55°C to 150°C. Devices are in stock, and pricing starts at $3.80 each for the E grade in each package type.

 

david manners

Melexis introduces elevated current version of its Hall-effect sensors

Melexis introduces elevated current version of its Hall-effect sensors

Melexis introduces elevated current version of its Hall-effect sensors

Melexis has an elevated current version of its MLX91208 series of programmable Hall-effect current sensors.

Optimised for the very high fields of hybrid and electric vehicle (HEV) applications, the MLX91208CAV can cope with up to 1000A of primary current. This device complements the existing MLX91208 products which cover low field and high field functions.

Thanks to the proprietary integrated magnetic concentrator (IMC) technology employed, the sensors in the AEC-Q100-qualified MLX91208 series can accurately measure current without the need for inclusion of the bulky external ferromagnetic cores that are required for conventional Hall-effect current sensors.

The IMC structure concentrates the magnetic flux and thereby enhances sensor performance. Melexis’ IMC-Hall devices thus enable significant savings in board real estate and simplify the assembly process as they are housed in compact surface mount standard SOIC8 packages.

Based on the Hall-effect, the MLX91208CAV provides a contactless current sensing mechanism that meets required performance benchmarks. This device intrinsically delivers the galvanic isolation mandated by high voltage applications, while simultaneously eliminating the additional sources of power loss that are found with shunt technology.

david manners

Melexis introduces elevated current version of its Hall-effect sensors

Melexis has an elevated current version of its MLX91208 series of programmable Hall-effect current sensors.imageT

Optimised for the very high fields of hybrid and electric vehicle (HEV) applications, the MLX91208CAV can cope with up to 1000A of primary current. This device complements the existing MLX91208 products which cover low field and high field functions.

Thanks to the proprietary integrated magnetic concentrator (IMC) technology employed, the sensors in the AEC-Q100-qualified MLX91208 series can accurately measure current without the need for inclusion of the bulky external ferromagnetic cores that are required for conventional Hall-effect current sensors.

The IMC structure concentrates the magnetic flux and thereby enhances sensor performance. Melexis’ IMC-Hall devices thus enable significant savings in board real estate and simplify the assembly process as they are housed in compact surface mount standard SOIC8 packages.

Based on the Hall-effect, the MLX91208CAV provides a contactless current sensing mechanism that meets required performance benchmarks. This device intrinsically delivers the galvanic isolation mandated by high voltage applications, while simultaneously eliminating the additional sources of power loss that are found with shunt technology.

david manners

AVX moves into implantable capacitors

AVX has brought out thin film chip capacitors for implantable medical devices.

AVX has brought out thin film chip capacitors for implantable medical devices.

AVX has brought out thin film chip capacitors for implantable medical devices.

Delivering extremely tight capacitive tolerances, repeatable performance, low ESR and high Q at high frequencies – including VHF, UHF, and RF bands – AVX’s Accu-P MP Series capacitors are stable with respect to temperature, time, frequency, and voltage variation.

They are based on thin film technology and materials, and subjected to on-line process control procedures, in addition to accelerated life, damp, and heat testing and final quality inspections for capacitance, proof voltage, IR and breakdown voltage distribution, temperature coefficient, solderability, and dimensional, mechanical, and temperature stability.

The capacitors are for use in medical RF signal and power applications that require high accuracy, such as embedded medical systems and implantable medical devices.

Accu-P MP Series medical grade capacitors are currently available in three standard case sizes (0201, 0402, and 0603), five rated voltages (10V, 16V, 25V, 50V, and 100V), two dielectric temperature coefficients (0±30ppm/°C and 0±60ppm/°C), and with capacitive tolerances spanning ±0.01pF to ±5%.

Rated for use in operating temperatures spanning -55°C to +125°C, the series is also available with tin/lead (Sn/Pb) terminations or RoHS compliant and lead-free compatible 100% tin terminations.

Designed for soldering onto flexible or alumina circuit boards, Accu-P MP Series capacitors can withstand the time and temperature profiles used in both wave and reflow soldering methods. Shipped in bulk or on 7-inch or 13-inch reels, the components should be handled with plastic-tipped tweezers, vacuum pick-ups, and other pick-and-place machinery.

Lead time for the series is nine weeks for production quantities.

david manners

AVX moves into implantable capacitors

AVX has brought out thin film chip capacitors for implantable medical devices.

AVX has brought out thin film chip capacitors for implantable medical devices.

AVX has brought out thin film chip capacitors for implantable medical devices.

Delivering extremely tight capacitive tolerances, repeatable performance, low ESR and high Q at high frequencies – including VHF, UHF, and RF bands – AVX’s Accu-P MP Series capacitors are stable with respect to temperature, time, frequency, and voltage variation.

They are based on thin film technology and materials, and subjected to on-line process control procedures, in addition to accelerated life, damp, and heat testing and final quality inspections for capacitance, proof voltage, IR and breakdown voltage distribution, temperature coefficient, solderability, and dimensional, mechanical, and temperature stability.

The capacitors are for use in medical RF signal and power applications that require high accuracy, such as embedded medical systems and implantable medical devices.

Accu-P MP Series medical grade capacitors are currently available in three standard case sizes (0201, 0402, and 0603), five rated voltages (10V, 16V, 25V, 50V, and 100V), two dielectric temperature coefficients (0±30ppm/°C and 0±60ppm/°C), and with capacitive tolerances spanning ±0.01pF to ±5%.

Rated for use in operating temperatures spanning -55°C to +125°C, the series is also available with tin/lead (Sn/Pb) terminations or RoHS compliant and lead-free compatible 100% tin terminations.

Designed for soldering onto flexible or alumina circuit boards, Accu-P MP Series capacitors can withstand the time and temperature profiles used in both wave and reflow soldering methods. Shipped in bulk or on 7-inch or 13-inch reels, the components should be handled with plastic-tipped tweezers, vacuum pick-ups, and other pick-and-place machinery.

Lead time for the series is nine weeks for production quantities.

david manners

Robust growth for server revenues

Google-Server-farm

Google server farm

Q2 server shipments grew 8% year-on-year, while revenue increased 7.2% from Q1 2014, says Gartner.

“X86 server shipments increased 8.3% in the second quarter of 2015 and revenue grew 9%,” says Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice-president at Gartner. “RISC/Itanium Unix server shipments declined 18.7% globally for the period, while RISC/Itanium revenue declined 9.7% compared with the same quarter last year. The ‘other’ CPU category, which is primarily mainframes, showed an increase of 7.8%.”

Regionally, the US grew most with a 14.8% increase. The region also posted the highest vendor revenue growth at 14.7% for the period.

HP maintained its No.1 ranking in the worldwide server market based on revenue with a 25.2% market share.

Lenovo had the largest increase in Q2 with 526.5% growth in revenue.

All of the top five global vendors had revenue increases for the second quarter of 2015 except IBM.

The top five Q2 2015 vendors in terms of revenue were with their % market share were:

  • HP 3,428,089,692 – 25.2%
  • Dell 2,361,553,746. – 17.4%
  • IBM. 1,869,261,145. – 13.7%
  • Lenovo. 949,775,89 – 7.0%
  • Cisco 866,700,000. – 6.4%
  • Others. 4,133,875,723. 30.4

The leaders in In terms of unit shipments with their market share were:

  • HP. 583,790. 21.7%
  • Dell. 485,745. 18.0%
  • Lenovo. 222,206. 8.3%
  • Huawei. 122,565. 4.6%
  • Cisco. 82,473. 3.1%
  • Others. 1,194,464. 44.4%
  • Total Market. 2,691,244

david manners

Robust growth for server revenues

Google-Server-farm

Google server farm

Q2 server shipments grew 8% year-on-year, while revenue increased 7.2% from Q1 2014, says Gartner.

“X86 server shipments increased 8.3% in the second quarter of 2015 and revenue grew 9%,” says Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice-president at Gartner. “RISC/Itanium Unix server shipments declined 18.7% globally for the period, while RISC/Itanium revenue declined 9.7% compared with the same quarter last year. The ‘other’ CPU category, which is primarily mainframes, showed an increase of 7.8%.”

Regionally, the US grew most with a 14.8% increase. The region also posted the highest vendor revenue growth at 14.7% for the period.

HP maintained its No.1 ranking in the worldwide server market based on revenue with a 25.2% market share.

Lenovo had the largest increase in Q2 with 526.5% growth in revenue.

All of the top five global vendors had revenue increases for the second quarter of 2015 except IBM.

The top five Q2 2015 vendors in terms of revenue were with their % market share were:

  • HP 3,428,089,692 – 25.2%
  • Dell 2,361,553,746. – 17.4%
  • IBM. 1,869,261,145. – 13.7%
  • Lenovo. 949,775,89 – 7.0%
  • Cisco 866,700,000. – 6.4%
  • Others. 4,133,875,723. 30.4

The leaders in In terms of unit shipments with their market share were:

  • HP. 583,790. 21.7%
  • Dell. 485,745. 18.0%
  • Lenovo. 222,206. 8.3%
  • Huawei. 122,565. 4.6%
  • Cisco. 82,473. 3.1%
  • Others. 1,194,464. 44.4%
  • Total Market. 2,691,244

david manners

Crystek VCXO with low phase noise

Crystek VCXO with low phase noise

Crystek VCXO with low phase noise

Crystek has brought out an ultra-low phase noise HCMOS VCXO with standby mode, featuring a close-in phase noise of -90dBc/Hz @ 10Hz offset and a typical noise floor of -168dBc/Hz @ 100kHz offset.

The CVHD-957 is suitable for applications such as: Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Professional CD audio equipment DACs and ADCs for HD audio.

Developed frequencies are: 22.5792 MHz 24.576 MHz

The company writes:

Crystek’s Model CVHD-957 HCMOS VCXO family has been designed specifically for High Definition Audio (HD Audio). It features a typical low close-in phase noise of -90 dBc/Hz @ 10 Hz offset, and a noise floor of -168 dBc/Hz. With this extreme low phase noise performance, you will “Hear the Difference”.

It also features a “Standby Function”, that is, when placed in disable mode, the internal oscillator is completely shut down in addition to its output buffer being placed in Tri-State. This family is housed in a 9×14 mm SMT package and operates with a +3.3V power supply.

See also: Crystek’s 3500MHz VCO

See also: Crystek launches 2.5GHz phase locked clock source

david manners

Crystek VCXO with low phase noise

Crystek VCXO with low phase noise

Crystek VCXO with low phase noise

Crystek has brought out an ultra-low phase noise HCMOS VCXO with standby mode, featuring a close-in phase noise of -90dBc/Hz @ 10Hz offset and a typical noise floor of -168dBc/Hz @ 100kHz offset.

The CVHD-957 is suitable for applications such as: Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Professional CD audio equipment DACs and ADCs for HD audio.

Developed frequencies are: 22.5792 MHz 24.576 MHz

The company writes:

Crystek’s Model CVHD-957 HCMOS VCXO family has been designed specifically for High Definition Audio (HD Audio). It features a typical low close-in phase noise of -90 dBc/Hz @ 10 Hz offset, and a noise floor of -168 dBc/Hz. With this extreme low phase noise performance, you will “Hear the Difference”.

It also features a “Standby Function”, that is, when placed in disable mode, the internal oscillator is completely shut down in addition to its output buffer being placed in Tri-State. This family is housed in a 9×14 mm SMT package and operates with a +3.3V power supply.

See also: Crystek’s 3500MHz VCO

See also: Crystek launches 2.5GHz phase locked clock source

david manners