Biosensors are target of UK organic chip licence deal

CPINeuDrive, the bidding to commercial organic electronics production technology in the UK, has completed the acquisition of a portfolio of organic semiconducting material patents and the FlexOS trade mark from CPI Innovation Services (CPIIS), the commercial arm of the government-funded Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).

As part of the deal NeuDrive has taken licences relating to organic thin-film transistor technology developed by CPIIS.

Ray Fisher, founder & CSO, NeuDrive said the deal builds upon “a successful eight year relationship and consolidates our position at the forefront of the commercialisation of this exciting area of technology.”

NeuDrive said it will develop the FlexOS technology, which is used in the manufacture of  HD displays on flexible plastic substrates for smartphones, tablets and wearable devices,  and will develop biosensors for lifesciences applications.

Diagnostic Capital has acted as advisors to NeuDrive’s shareholders for this transaction and has taken a 5% shareholding in NeuDrive.

Nigel Perry, CEO, CPI said: “This transaction represents a successful development through the challenging technology readiness level chain TRL 5 to TRL8 where it is now ready for commercialisation.”

Perry added that this was “an excellent example of how an entrepreneurial UK company bid its way into a technology space and used its skills and people to add value and out-innovate global companies to develop a viable new product.”

 

Richard Wilson

Biosensors are target of UK organic chip licence deal

CPINeuDrive, the bidding to commercial organic electronics production technology in the UK, has completed the acquisition of a portfolio of organic semiconducting material patents and the FlexOS trade mark from CPI Innovation Services (CPIIS), the commercial arm of the government-funded Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).

As part of the deal NeuDrive has taken licences relating to organic thin-film transistor technology developed by CPIIS.

Ray Fisher, founder & CSO, NeuDrive said the deal builds upon “a successful eight year relationship and consolidates our position at the forefront of the commercialisation of this exciting area of technology.”

NeuDrive said it will develop the FlexOS technology, which is used in the manufacture of  HD displays on flexible plastic substrates for smartphones, tablets and wearable devices,  and will develop biosensors for lifesciences applications.

Diagnostic Capital has acted as advisors to NeuDrive’s shareholders for this transaction and has taken a 5% shareholding in NeuDrive.

Nigel Perry, CEO, CPI said: “This transaction represents a successful development through the challenging technology readiness level chain TRL 5 to TRL8 where it is now ready for commercialisation.”

Perry added that this was “an excellent example of how an entrepreneurial UK company bid its way into a technology space and used its skills and people to add value and out-innovate global companies to develop a viable new product.”

 

Richard Wilson

Comment:IoT business is services not things

John Bowman

John Bowman

Among all the internet of things (IoT) designs that we’ve been working on, some clear patterns are starting to emerge. Customers start by looking at point-point M2M (machine-to-machine)connections and move to full IoT implementations.

The driver for adopting M2M is the opportunity to eliminate the user interface, and many customers are replacing it with a smartphone app.

This not only reduces the cost, but also removes a number of potential points of failure. The display can be eliminated, and the number of mechanical switches and buttons can be reduced.

This reduces the need to cut apertures in the casing, further reducing cost and improving reliability. It also makes it easier to ‘seal’ the unit.

Of course, a point to point M2M connection via Bluetooth Low Energy or NFC does not really count as an IoT design, but normally removing the UI is the first step.

Having taken the User Interface off the device, it can as easily be managed via an Internet connection as via a local tablet.

An Internet connection opens up the issue of security. Vendors have seen the opportunity to provide white label solutions that take care of all of the connectivity issues including security.

How many of the designs that we’re working on class as wearable? Truthfully, not that many.

We are currently seeing M2M technology being introduced into sportswear like trainers, but it is too early to say if other markets will open up.

I see M2M as both a subset of, and a driver for, the Internet of Things. It is frequently a stepping stone to the adoption of mass networking.

Having introduced connectivity and remote management, customers find whole new worlds of functionality open up. They start offering new services, which quite often bring new revenue streams. So the business opportunities are in the services that are enabled by the internet of things rather than the devices (or things) themselves.

Writer is John Bowman, marketing director (Semiconductors) at Anglia Components

 

 

 

Richard Wilson

Comment:IoT business is services not things

John Bowman

John Bowman

Among all the internet of things (IoT) designs that we’ve been working on, some clear patterns are starting to emerge. Customers start by looking at point-point M2M (machine-to-machine)connections and move to full IoT implementations.

The driver for adopting M2M is the opportunity to eliminate the user interface, and many customers are replacing it with a smartphone app.

This not only reduces the cost, but also removes a number of potential points of failure. The display can be eliminated, and the number of mechanical switches and buttons can be reduced.

This reduces the need to cut apertures in the casing, further reducing cost and improving reliability. It also makes it easier to ‘seal’ the unit.

Of course, a point to point M2M connection via Bluetooth Low Energy or NFC does not really count as an IoT design, but normally removing the UI is the first step.

Having taken the User Interface off the device, it can as easily be managed via an Internet connection as via a local tablet.

An Internet connection opens up the issue of security. Vendors have seen the opportunity to provide white label solutions that take care of all of the connectivity issues including security.

How many of the designs that we’re working on class as wearable? Truthfully, not that many.

We are currently seeing M2M technology being introduced into sportswear like trainers, but it is too early to say if other markets will open up.

I see M2M as both a subset of, and a driver for, the Internet of Things. It is frequently a stepping stone to the adoption of mass networking.

Having introduced connectivity and remote management, customers find whole new worlds of functionality open up. They start offering new services, which quite often bring new revenue streams. So the business opportunities are in the services that are enabled by the internet of things rather than the devices (or things) themselves.

Writer is John Bowman, marketing director (Semiconductors) at Anglia Components

 

 

 

Richard Wilson

Easy-mount discharge resistors, made in the UK

Arcol RW discharge resistorCornwall-based Arcol Resistors has released a wirewound discharge resistor for large capacitors.

Shaped to screw straight onto the capacitor, there are three power ratings in the RW series: 10W (1-15kΩ), 13W(1-2kΩ) and 22W (1-33kΩ), all with ten times overload or over-voltage for 5 seconds.

Operation is over -55 to +200°C, de-rating 80 to 175°C linearly.

Tolerance is ±1% (code F) or ±5% (J), and temperature coefficient is 30 or 100ppm/°C.

Discharge resistors are routinely connected across large value output capacitors found in electrical and electronic equipment which may store dangerous levels of energy after the equipment has been turned off.

“Providing a safe discharge avoids any hazardous conditions when connecting other equipment or during service or repair,” said Arcol.

A second application is for use as balancing resistors to control voltage across series-connected capacitors.

Arcol designs and manufactures its resistors in Cornwall, and has been business since 1952.

steve bush

Easy-mount discharge resistors, made in the UK

Arcol RW discharge resistorCornwall-based Arcol Resistors has released a wirewound discharge resistor for large capacitors.

Shaped to screw straight onto the capacitor, there are three power ratings in the RW series: 10W (1-15kΩ), 13W(1-2kΩ) and 22W (1-33kΩ), all with ten times overload or over-voltage for 5 seconds.

Operation is over -55 to +200°C, de-rating 80 to 175°C linearly.

Tolerance is ±1% (code F) or ±5% (J), and temperature coefficient is 30 or 100ppm/°C.

Discharge resistors are routinely connected across large value output capacitors found in electrical and electronic equipment which may store dangerous levels of energy after the equipment has been turned off.

“Providing a safe discharge avoids any hazardous conditions when connecting other equipment or during service or repair,” said Arcol.

A second application is for use as balancing resistors to control voltage across series-connected capacitors.

Arcol designs and manufactures its resistors in Cornwall, and has been business since 1952.

steve bush

Fujitsu starts mass GaN production

Fujitsu’s 150mm wafer fab in Aizu-Wakamatsu has started mass production of GaN power devices for Transphorm’s power modules.

Transphorm has a 600V GaN device platform which delivers photovoltaic power conditioners, AC adapters, power supplies for PCs, servers and telecom equipment, and motion control systems.

“The start of mass production in a CMOS-compatible fab is a significant step forward toward achieving the widespread use of GaN power devices,” says Haruki Okada, President of Fujitsu Semiconductor.

“Manufacturing Transphorm’s GaN power devices at Aizu-Wakamatsu will assure our customers a scalable, stable supply of products with the stamp of Fujitsu’s standards in mass manufacturing,” says Transphorm CEO Fumihide Esaka.

david manners

In-car semiconductors on the gas

Bosch electric vehicles

Bosch electric vehicles

The automotive semiconductor market has bounced back very strongly in 2014 with 10% growth year over year to reach $29bn, according to market analysis IHS.

The fastest growing segment for automotive semiconductors is hybrid electric vehicles, and IHS estimates that semiconductor revenue in this application could  achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2013–2018) of 20%.

Other product segments to watch are telematics and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) with predicted CAGRs 2013–2018 of 19% and 18% respectively.

The outlook for 2015 is also promising and the automotive semiconductor market is forecast to reach $31B, a strong 7.5% improvement over 2014, says IHS.

Main growth drivers

Emissions legislations are leading semiconductor take rates in powertrain applications in regions around the world.

“The new concepts in emissions mitigation in the engine and in exhaust aftertreatment systems require advance sensors for their operation, said Ahad Buksh, analyst, automotive semiconductors, at IHS. “For example, a hybrid electric vehicle demands ten times more semiconductor content in powertrain,” he said.

Some of the key semiconductor applications for these vehicles include: a motor inverter is needed to convert the direct current to alternating current and vice versa, DC/DC converter is needed for bidirectional voltage control, battery management system is needed to monitor the state of the battery and plug-in charger required for charging the battery.

All these applications require high-power management which will be achieved mainly with analogue ICs and discrete components. After 24 percent growth in 2014, this segment is forecast to increase 22% in 2015, the highest of any automotive application.

Safety mandates and guidelines are driving the adoption of ADAS technology, another big application for semiconductors such as imagers, video processors and memory.

The semiconductor market for ADAS technology is expected to reach $1.8B in 2015, a 21% increase over 2014.

The next five years are extremely important for telematics and broadband technology as well, predicts the analyst. 4G LTE technology will continue to grow in 2015, marking an inflection point toward sunset on 2G and 2.5G solutions in years to come.

 

Richard Wilson

Keysight PCIe data acquisition card has OCT capability

image001_lowKeysight Technologies has announced that the U5303A high-speed data acquisition 12-bit PCIe card, in collaboration with firmware firm YellowSys is  available with an option dedicated to the optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology.

The data acquisition card uses signal resampling to give stable ADC signal sampling with clock stability while acquiring the signal in order to avoid sampling cadence changes, which can occur when an external k-clock is used.

The signal processing is done in real-time directly on the data acquisition card and not on the host PC.

“OCT technology is evolving at a fast pace and we strongly believe in supporting developers to push the limits in real-time imaging and quality,” said Didier Lavanchy, operations manager of Keysight’s high-speed digitisers division.

A U5340A FPGA development kit was used to allow portability of the OCT signal processing IP to other Keysight data acquisition cards, including future releases.

“Partnering with YellowSys enables us to meet the application demands using our FPGA development kit,” said Lavanchy.

Richard Wilson

Test expo to take-off at national space centre

JTAG productronica 2013 (15)_0The UK’s exhibition dedicated to test and measure, ElectroTestExpo will take place in March at the National Space Centre in Leicester.

This free-to-attend event, which includes an exhibition and seminar programme, will take place on 25th March at the National Space Centre, Leicester.

Exhibitors currently include:

  • Tektronix
  • AmFax
  • JTAG Technologies
  • Aeroflex (Cobham Wireless)
  • TestWorks
  • Prism Sound
  • Aster
  • Test Solutions Limited (TSL)
  • MAC Panel
  • Pico Technology
  • TTi
  • Pickering Interfaces

According to James Stanbridge from JTAG Technologies: “Following a great tradition we have chosen a scientific venue that is worth a visit in its own right. Coupled with an enthralling agenda of presentations and an exhibition of the latest test technologies, we hope to welcome design, production and test engineers from far and wide”.

A schedule for the seminar programme will be posted on the event web-site

Richard Wilson