American Semiconductor has announced the FleX-MCU product family. The new FleX-MCU device is the world’s first physically flexible microcontroller fabricated using the manufacturer's FleX silicon-on-polymer process. It is an 8-bit RISC device with 8 KB embedded RAM operating at up to 20 MHz, with a 1.2 V core and 2.5 V I/O. It features several serial interface peripherals, including UART, I²C and SPI.   FleX-MCU is the initial product of a family of physically...

Microchip has launched a new family of serial EEPROM devices that feature a unique, pre-programmed 32-bit serial number for customers requiring unique IDs in their applications.  The 32-bit ID can be extended to 48-bit, 64-bit, 96-bit, 128-bit and other lengths by increasing the number of bytes read from memory.  Because the 32-bit ID is unique within these devices, any longer bit sequence is also unique.  These 2 Kb serial EEPROM devices are available in standard busses, such...

Silicon Labs has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Energy Micro AS. Based in Oslo, Norway, the late-stage privately held company offers the industry’s most power-efficient portfolio of 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) and is developing multi-protocol wireless RF solutions based on the ARM Cortex-M architecture.   This strategic acquisition accelerates Silicon Labs’ growth opportunities and positions the company as the foremost innovator in energy-friendly...

Infineon Technologies has released a family of 3D image sensor chips for touchless gesture recognition. Developed in cooperation with pmdtechnologies, the new chips are the first to combine a 3D image sensing pixel array with the digital conversion and control functions needed to develop very compact and accurate systems for gesture recognition applications in computers and consumer electronics devices.   The chips include a photosensitive pixel array, sophisticated control logic,...

STMicroelectronics has introduced its latest generation of energy-efficient power devices that reduce the environmental impact of equipment such as telecom or computing systems, solar inverters, industrial automation and automotive applications. The new STripFET VII DeepGATE MOSFETs deliver the best conducting efficiency among currently available 80V and 100V devices, while switching efficiency is also increased.   The critical advance in the new technology is an enhanced MOSFET gate...

Failure-prone opto-drivers are a weak link in motor controls and other industrial power systems that require long-term reliability, extended warranties and fail-safe operation for up to 20 years. Opto-drivers are inherently limited by their inferior LED-based technology, which is subject to large output variations over input current, temperature and age. These variations are eliminated when using the new digital CMOS-based  Si826x isolated gate drivers from Silicon Labs that support up...

TDK Corporation has expanded its portfolio of automotive-grade multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with new mid-voltage types featuring C0G temperature characteristics and rated voltages from 100 V to 630 V. The new components in the CGA series offer capacitance values that are very high for C0G components. In particular, the new 100 nF / 630 V device with dimensions of 5.7 mm x 5.0 mm (package size conform to IEC 5750 or...

According to its manufacturer Maxim, the MAX11156 is the industry’s smallest 12-pin, 18-bit successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Available in a tiny 3mm x 3mm TDFN package, the MAX11156 integrates an internal reference and reference buffer, saving cost and at least 70% board space over competing solutions. With 18-bit resolution and a 500ksps sampling rate, this high-performance ADC features Beyond-the-Rails technology, which supports a ±5V input from a...

The Chinese semi-conductor manufacturer Worldsemi has developed an RGB-LED that includes a driver chip with a serial interface that allows controlling strings of 1024 of these LEDs using only three wires. The color of each LED can be adjusted individually with a resolution of 24 bits.   The new LED WS2812 includes a WS2811 driver chip in a six-pin SMD5050 package. Three of the pins allow for the connection of the 5 V power supply for the LED and its driver, two other pins are...

Plessey has released samples of their new gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon LEDs. These entry level products, fabricated on 6-inch wafers, are the first LEDs manufactured using GaN on silicon technology to be commercially available anywhere in the world.   Manufactured using Plessy’s proprietary large diameter GaN on silicon process technology, the LEDs are fabricated on a 6-inch line at Plessy’s facility in Plymouth, England. According to Plessey, the combination of standard...

Verbatim is showing a broad spectrum of OLED and LED innovations at the Euroluce trade fair in April, including their latest OLED modules and new GaN-based LEDs featuring very high energy efficiency and brightness. This is the first public exhibition of the GaN-based LEDs, which are based on materials developed by Verbatim’s parent company Mitsubishi Chemicals and are claimed to exceed the luminosity of standard LEDs by a factor of up to 5. Their high efficiency enables significantly smaller...

Lattice Semiconductor has announced the iCE40 LP384 FPGA, the smallest member of its iCE40 family of ultra-low density FPGAs. The new device has room for 384 LUTs, consumes only 25 μW static core power, comes in packages as small as 2.5 x 2.5 mm with a migration path to 2.0 x 2.0 mm, and costs less than 50 cents per unit in large quantity. The programmable logic, flexible IO and on-chip memory can process data at speeds greater than ASSPs or...

The iC-TW8 signal processor from iC-Haus converts signals from sine/cosine position sensors to incremental digital signals, using automatic functions to minimize angular errors and jitter. It supports push-button sensor calibration and continuous adaptation of sensor parameters during operation. Angular position is calculated with a programmable resolution of up to 65,536 increments per input cycle and output as indexed incremental signals from an SPI port.   The iC-TW8 integrates two...

A joint research team at the University of Toronto and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has produced nanoscale silicon-based LEDs (SiLEDs). According to the researchers, these nanocrystals, consisting of only a few hundred to several thousand atoms, offer significant potential as highly efficient light emitters.   Standard LEDs are made from direct band gap materials, mainly gallium compounds. Up to now silicon has been regarded as unsuitable for use in LEDs because it can...

LEM has introduced the LA 130-150 series of current transducers for use in motor drives, inverters, power supplies and general industrial applications. These printed-circuit board (PCB) mounted devices share a common, compact case outline, and are available to measure nominal full-scale currents of 130 and 150 A RMS .   The new series measures DC, AC, and pulsed currents, providing an output in the form of a current signal proportional to the measured (primary) current. Two...