No way back for the ‘smart’ microcontroller, says Microchip
Microcontrollers are becoming system-on-chip (SoC) devices and there is no way back for the ubiquitous controller device, says supplier Microchip. Even low cost 8-bit microcontrollers now integrate a large number of peripheral circuits ranging from timers to encryption circuits, which operate independently of the processor core. This not only increases the performance of the device, ...
Freescale IoT MCU has two radios
Freescale Semiconductor has introduced an IoT MCU with a multi-mode radio interfaces supporting concurrent operation of 802.15.4 Thread and the latest Bluetooth Smart specification v4.2. Part of the Kinetis range, the KW41Z will allow multiple networking stacks to run. This is essentially an MCU for home automation devices such as thermostats, security systems and door locks on a Thread network. ...
ARM offers licence-free processor for prototyping
Developers can now design, carry out simulation and testing of ARM Cortex-M0 based SoCs using a pre-configured processor from ARM without incurring the capital costs typically associated with up-front licensing. Developers wishing to enter full commercial production can then purchase a simplified and standardized $40,000 fast track licence. This includes commercial use of Cortex-M0 processor ...
Infineon to build $300m IoT wafer fab in China
Infineon Technologies sees China as a key growth market for the internet of things and is investing $300m in an Industry 4.0 smart factory for producing semiconductors in Wuxi. Wuxi has been designated as a pilot city for IoT technologies in China. Infineon already has one factory operating in the region and the new factory is ...
TI battery charger IC has low quiescent current
Texas Instruments has introduced a battery charger IC with a buck converter with its lowest quiescent current (Iq) specification. The bq25120 has an Iq of 700nA operating at 1.8V. The chip features a linear charger, configurable LDO, load switch along with the buck converter and battery voltage monitor. Battery voltages 3.6V to 4.65V are supported ...
Colour touch panels with vandal-resistant 15mm glass
Varitronix is offering touch panel TFT displays incorporating a vandal-resistant cover lens through which the capacitive touch screen can still be operated. To achieve touch-sensitivity through the 15mm thick glass cover the display incorporates mutual type projected capacitive technology with an associated software upgrade. For example, a 7-inch normally black, TN, transmissive TFT panel has ...
Gas discharge tube comes flat-packed
Bourns has introduced a gas discharge tube (GDT) in a novel flat package. The two-electrode GDT also uses a horizontal circuit design to meet overvoltage protection requirements in high density designs. The model 2017 series is an ITU K.12 Class III GDT device rated at 10kA on an 8/20μs waveform. The range features DC breakdown ...
Mobile small cells create new backhaul challenge
Joining the dots – the backhaul challenge behind next-generation mobile networks, writes Steve Greaves, CEO of CCS. Faced with unprecedented levels of network congestion in the not-too-distant future, mobile operators will be looking at ways of improving spectral efficiency through the deployment of multi-layered radio access networks. These new-look networks are comprised of macrocells to ...
How to assess real-world MCU energy efficiency
How do you assess the true energy efficiency of your microcontroller based design in a real application? Øivind Loe has a few pointers. Battery-powered or self-powered smart sensor devices require a design which cuts power consumption to the bone. These types of devices must appear to be “always on,” but in practice must be designed ...
Bosch adds Cortex-M0+ to 9-axis sensor
Bosch Sensortec has introduced a 9-axis motion sensor which incorporates an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer with an ARM Cortex M0+ processor, an Atmel SAMD20 microcontroller. The BMF055 is available in a 5.2 x 3.8 x 1.1mm package. There is a software development kit which includes a pre-compiled BSX Lite fusion library with integration ...
