May 2016
41
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roduct
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ews
Toshiba: ARM Cortex -M3-based MCUs
for motor control and consumer devices
Toshiba Electronics Europe has announced a
range of new microcontrollers based on the
ARM Cortex-M3 core. The M3H microcon-
trollers are the first product group from the
new TXZ family and are the first Toshiba
MCUs to be fabricated with an embedded
flash memory process based on the 65nm
logic process. Products in this group are well
suited for use in a variety of consumer and
industrial applications, such as motor control,
consumer AV devices and office automation
equipment.
ATP furthers supports Micron
legacy DRAM modules
ATP has expanded support of Micron SDR/
DDR1 modules by adding further selected
legacy DRAM modules specifically for cus-
tomers using AMD Embedded/Geode plat-
forms. This shows ATP’s continued efforts
from the partnership with Micron, including
the license agreement instituted in August
2015. Micron published the EOL of all SDR/
DDR modules last year, and closed the Last
Time Ship in January 2016. As Micron’s stra-
tegic partner, ATP has worked closely and
exclusively with Micron to transfer module
designs and put utmost effort into the support
to offer such modules in selected form fac-
tors (SODIMM, UDIMM and RDIMM) and
densities with extended longevity and ATP’s
services and features for industrial customers.
Silicon Labs: low-power Bluetooth
module and development tools
Silicon Labs has introduced a fully integrated,
pre-certified Bluetooth module that gives
developers an optimal combination of small
footprint, ease of use and low-energy tech-
nology for short-range wireless applications.
Based on Silicon Labs’ Blue Gecko wireless
SoC device with energy-friendly Gecko MCU
technology, the new Blue Gecko BGM113
module provides a small-form-factor Blue-
tooth 4.1-compliant connectivity solution
with 3 dBm output power for applications
typically requiring up to a 50 meter range.
Backed by Silicon Labs’ best-in-class develop-
ment software including the battery-extend-
ing Energy Profiler tool, the BGM113 module
is an ideal choice for space- and energy-sen-
sitive RF applications such as smartphone
accessories, wearable sports and fitness prod-
ucts, wireless locks and point-of-sale devices.
Renesas: RX24T MCUs target motor
control for improved energy efficiency
Renesas Electronics expanded its robust
lineup of 32-bit microcontrollers with the
RX24T Group. Using the RXv2 CPU core, the
new MCUs deliver double the performance
from the RX23T, 30 percent reduced devel-
opment time, and features additional instruc-
tions designed to accelerate performance and
energy efficiency in industrial equipment,
office equipment, and household appliances.
The new product lineup comprises a total of
six new devices with pin counts from 80- to
100-pin and on-chip flash memory capaci-
ties from 128 to 256 KB. The RX24T Group
enables simultaneous inverter control of mul-
tiple motors with a single chip and are ideally
suited for permanent magnet AC motor con-
trol in a variety of applications. In addition,
Renesas plans to deliver a 24 V motor control
evaluation kit, that can support both the sin-
gle-motor control RX23T and the multi-mo-
tor control RX24T.
Socionext develops and demonstrates
single-chip 8K video decoder
Socionext introduced a first single-chip SoC
that can process decoding of 8K resolution
HEVC video. Hardware makers will be able to
utilize their existing digital TV SoCs in com-
bination with the SCH801A to quickly and
easily develop 8K TV sets and significantly
accelerate the move of 8K TVs into the market.
“8K” means an ultra-high definition format of
digital video with 33 million pixels, 16 times
as many as that of “Full HD” which is widely
available today. In Japan, test broadcasting of
8K is scheduled to be launched in 2016, and
the start of the full service will follow by 2018,
delivering a super-realistic image enabling a
completely new viewing experience.
DDC: acquisition of Maxwell to
expand space solutions capabilities
Data Device Corporation has entered into
an agreement to expand its space market
capabilities and product offering with the
planned acquisition of the microelectronics
group from Maxwell Technologies. Maxwell
is a leading developer and manufacturer of
innovative, cost-effective, space-qualified
microelectronics solutions for satellites and
spacecraft.
Arrow introduces ARIS IoT
development platform
Arrow Electronics has announced the intro-
duction of ARIS, a ready-to-use Internet of
Things hardware and software platform that
enables users to get their IoT applications up
and running quickly with the Renesas Syn-
ergy development framework. Arrow devel-
oped the ARIS board in conjunction with the
Italian design house Reloc.
The Renesas Synergy Platform helps accel-
erate IoT designs by making it easier and
quicker to start development with a fully qual-
ified and optimized combination of hardware
and software that encourages innovation and
product differentiation. The combination of
the Arrow ARIS board and Renesas Synergy
software platform elements enables develop-
ers to reduce time to market and decrease the
total cost of ownership of a product over its
lifetime.
Maxim: transceiver IC keeps
heat away from lasers
Manufacturers of SFP28 modules for data
center and radio fronthaul applications can
now use TO-cans enabled by the industry’s
first transceiver IC, which is shipping now
from Maxim Integrated Products. Maxim’s
SFP28 transceiver allows module manufac-
turers to avoid a driver inside the transmit
optical subassembly (TOSA). This keeps heat
away from the sensitive laser, simplifies pro-
duction, and improves yield. Maxim’s SFP28
transceiver also includes advanced digital
eye tuning capabilities that enable use of low-
cost TO-can based optics. The SFP28 module
can simply be designed in the same way as
an SFP+ module using TO optics, one trans-
ceiver IC, and one controller IC.
ADLINK: new open modular archi-
tecture for industrial cloud computing
ADLINK introduced Modular Industrial
Cloud Architecture (MICA), a new industrial
IOT architecture for commercial off-the-shelf
platforms featuring a design aimed at optimiz-
ing performance, cost and space requirements
for the next generation of industrial IOT
solutions. ADLINK’s MICA industrial-grade
platform is designed to support the native vir-
tualization requirements for software-defined
networking and network function virtualiza-
tion, while integrating a wide range of the
latest hardware acceleration technologies to
boost the processing of network packets and
video streams. All this functionality is offered
on an open, modular computing architecture,
allowing users to redefine resource allocation
for cloud computing applications.
TI: wideband RF phase-locked loops with
integrated voltage-controlled oscillators
Texas Instruments introduced the industry’s
highest-performance phase-locked loops
with integrated voltage-controlled oscilla-
tors. Delivering the lowest phase-noise per-
formance in the industry, the LMX2582 and
LMX2592’s single-chip architecture helps
designers achieve a level of performance pre-
viously possible only through several discrete
devices. These new wideband devices support
output frequencies of up to 9.8 GHz, allowing
a single device to support various frequency
