EDITOR’S CHOICE PRODUCTS
THE FUTURE OF EMBEDDED DESIGN
The first decision an engineer has to make when looking at an embedded design is do I develop this myself, or is there an off the shelf solution available? Both have their pitfalls. The first comes down to engineering time and cost to engineer a bespoke platform that will do exactly what the customer wants, but this can take many man months of development. The second route is easier as you procure an off the shelf board, but you need to find something to fit within the design constraints of the product and ensure that you can continue to get the same board over the product lifetime, and in the world of single board computers the shelf life can be notoriously short. Arrival Electronics believe they have the perfect solution that
bridges this gap – the Mi Embedded series. This is a fully customisable embedded computing platform, based around a defined CPU core, the platform has a breadboard area which allows a customer to add their own peripherals and I/O functionality, Mi Embedded will then turn this “prototype” into a fully working custom board, that exactly meets the customers specification. The customer retains full rights and ownership and receives a
complete build pack allowing them to manufacture the board themselves, or if required Mi Embedded will provide this function for them. This is the best of both worlds for the customer, as they get many man months of embedded design in a neat package, without the headache of supply issues. Focussing on extended lifetime CPUs such as the Intel Dual
Core 1.5Ghz Baytrail processor, the Mi Embedded platform can support upto a 7 year life and is designed for industrial applications, operating from -40 to 110
0 C and is, in-vehicle
compliant, as well as supporting onboard graphics capability upto 3840x2160@30 displays, USB3.0, HDMI1.4a, dual eSATA 2.x/3.x and 10/100/1000 interfaces. As part of the unique approach to embedded design, the Mi
Embedded series has a 2nd smaller processor built into the system, this allows for improved efficiencies with the smaller processor managing the I/O functions and waking up the main CPU as necessary. With Raspberry PI and Arduino board compatability, this really
is the future of embedded design and gives the engineer their own bespoke embedded design at a fraction of the usual development cost
Arrival Electronics
www.arrivalelectronics.co.uk
DIGITALLY
ENHANCED Microchip has added more Digitally Enhanced Power Analogue controllers to its existing product line. The company's latest MCP19114 and MCP19115 devices, offer a step-up PWM-controller and low-side MOSFET driver architecture, with a mid-voltage LDO and fully- functional microcontroller all integrated into a small, high-density power package. These new analogue power- management devices, in combination with the fully-functional microcontroller (MCU), support configurable, high- efficiency power-conversion designs across a broad array of consumer and automotive applications and power conversion topologies. These hybrid digital-analogue control solutions offer the speed and responsiveness expected of a high- performance analogue control loop. They offer the flexibility expected of a digital MCU, operate across wide operating voltage ranges and support conventional 5, 12, and 24V rails, whilst meeting automotive load-dump requirements. The analogue-based controllers with
digital interface, offer cost-efficient adjustability in a high-performance power conversion solution. These devices support operation up to 42V, and have integrated MOSFET drivers configured for step-up applications. Microchip also announces its
MCP19114 Flyback Standalone Evaluation Board (ADM00578). This evaluation board is offered with a flyback design supporting 0V to 50V output from an 8V to 14V input.
Microchip
www.microchip.com
CONVERTER FOR POWER SOURCES
A new synchronous, current-mode buck-boost converter has been developed by Linear Technology Corporation that delivers up to 1A of continuous output current from a wide range of power sources. This includes single-cell Li-Ion, 24V/28V industrial rails and 40V automotive inputs. The LTC3114-1 has a 2.2V to 40V
input and 2.7V to 40V output range that provides a regulated output with inputs above, below or equal to the regulated output, maximising power source flexibility and extending battery run time over step-down only solutions. The low noise buck-boost topology incorporated in this device provides a continuous jitter-free transition between buck and boost modes, making it ideal for RF and other noise-sensitive applications. The selectable Automatic Burst
JOINT 14NM TRI-GATE PROCESS FPGAS
Altera and Intel have collaborated to develop an FPGA-based device using Intel’s process technology and Altera’s programmable logic technology.
Through the use of multiple
14nm devices, Altera advises it is continuing to see very positive results in the high-speed transceiver circuitry, digital logic and hard-IP blocks that will be used in its Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs. Intel claims to offer a true die shrink with its second-
generation 14nm Tri-Gate process, relative to alternative FinFET technologies. As a result, Altera will be able to deliver significant performance, power, density and cost advantages with its latest FPGAs and SoCs. Using this process and an
enhanced high-performance core fabric, supports the most advanced, highest performance applications in the communications, military, broadcast and compute and storage markets, while slashing
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system power. They are claimed to be able to deliver twice the core performance of current high-end FPGAs with an industry first Gigahertz-class FPGA featuring core operating performance up to 1GHz. For high-performance
systems that have the most strict power budgets, these devices have the potential to enable up to a 70 percent reduction in power consumption.
www.altera.com
Mode operation lowers quiescent current to only 30µA, improving light load efficiency and further extending battery run time. A constant 1.2MHz switching frequency is used along with pin-programmable average output current and current monitor. Buck- boost PWM circuitry ensures low noise and high efficiency while minimising the size of external components. The combination of tiny externals and a 3mm by 5mm DFN or TSSOP-16E package provides a compact footprint. Also incorporated are four internal low
RDS(ON) N-channel MOSFETs to deliver efficiencies of up to 96 percent. Automatic Burst Mode operation lowers quiescent current to only 30µA, improving light load efficiency and extending battery run time. For noise- sensitive applications, Burst Mode operation can be disabled. Current-mode control improves line and load transient responses while keeping compensation simple. Internal soft-start and inrush current limit is also included.
Linear Technology Corporation
www.linear.com
ELECTRONICS | MAY 2014 5
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