Advertorial Divine development EBVchips: from concept to sales driver W


hen EBV first presented its EBVchips concept, it encountered some scepticism. Can a distributor define components that the market needs, as well as taking the wishes and sensitivities of its customers and suppliers into account, in such a way that everyone profits? Experience shows that this model is a success.


Distributors' marketing their own brands is a well-established model, yet no one else is offering their own semiconductors like EBV offers the industry with its EBVchips programme. For the first time someone was offering their own components and EBV engineers started undertaking product definition jointly with customers and suppliers. "We use more of an ASSP model than a classic ASIC development," explains Dr. Eckart Voskamp. Naturally, if just one customer needs a component they can make good use of the classic ASIC development order. But EBV prefers to rely on bundling the shared requirements of numerous customers and jointly defining new components. Contrary to the name of the programme, this is yielding not only chips but also modules, including software and development kits.


Since November 2013 the director of


the programme, Dr. Voskamp, has headed the EBVchips programme and in the four and a half years since its launch the EBVchips programme has already yielded seven components. Dr. Voskamp defines the strategic objectives for further projects, "We must bring new products into the market quickly and be able to earn stable sales and profits." As an engineer and manager he knows the technical and economic basics, "As a rule we will work with well-engineered semiconductor technologies and build on existing IP," which keeps NRE costs within limits. As a distributor, EBV can also evaluate the market opportunities extremely well and therefore the risks remain manageable. EBV holds the exclusive sales rights to EBVchips; nevertheless manufacturers can also list these products in their catalogues with corresponding part numbers. In some cases manufacturers are supplying their A- customers with EBVchips via EBV, the distributor thereby gains access to companies which would otherwise only work directly with the semiconductor manufacturer. This also boosts the chance that customers procure not only the EBVchips from EBV but also other components from the BOM list. Since EBV itself only covers EMEA, the


Avnet subsidiary cooperates with other Avnet group companies in the Asian and American regions.


When it comes to naming the products the distributor has now settled on a common theme, "We use the names of Greek and Roman gods – there are no trademark problems and there are plenty of names for the next five to ten years." Components which were already known


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by other names have been renamed by EBV: `SolexDrive' became Minerva and `vTARIC' is now Epona. Hermes and Titan bore their divine names right from the start.


Minerva was developed jointly with


Freescale and is an AEC-Q-certified IC for the control of MOSFET pairs with versatile control options and optimised latency time. Four programmable sequencers including RAM are responsible for Gate control, diagnosis and protection against external faults. Charge pump and pre-driver stages complement the range of functions.


support for IP500 modules with a new EBVchip product - Vesta. Behind the IP500 network is a proprietary protocol stack, which is so efficient that it can securely connect smoke detectors with other appliances like emergency window controls, exist doors, thermostats and smart-meters. "With our investments in Vesta we are building on another milestone in the EBVchips programme," according to Dr. Voskamp. The module together with its software-stack should receive VDS certification by the end of 2014.


Other EBVchips projects are in the


product definition phase for applications in Smart Metering, Wireless Communication or Hardware-Software-Codesign. EBV has installed planning software


where customers and suppliers can login directly on to the EBVchips microsite (www.ebv.com/chips). The software also provides the interfaces necessary for linking the planning programmes of the semiconductor manufacturers and EBV's customers.


After a good four years the EBVchips The Epona chip is a configurable piece


of hardware for all kinds of automotive alternator. The programmable System-in- Package (ASIC+MCU) supplied by ST Microelectronics for the control of 12-V and 24-V alternators supports various communication protocols and offers interfaces such as RVC, PWM, C-Term, Bit- Serial and LIN 2.1. A special feature of this component is its flexibility, explains Dr. Voskamp, with its control loop, control of load behaviour, battery charging, fault diagnosis and the topology of the field coil. EBV delivers complete development tools including comprehensive software, GUI applications and development boards. The component is already available in sample batches of 1000 and will soon be starting volume production.


"For training we have built our own testbed, on which an electric motor powers the alternator. There is a quasi- identical testbed set-up in Asia too, where we supply automobile manufacturers through our Avnet partners. The only difference is the alternator used, which comes from a local supplier," explains Dr. Voskamp. With this testbed the EBV specialists in Poing can replicate the identical situation any time if there are questions from Asia.


Modern messenger of the gods Hermes is a high-performance M-Bus Slave Transceiver, optimised for low energy consumption for networked meter readings. The chip, supplied by ON Semiconductor, complies with EN 13757-2 and EN 1434-3 standards, communicates at up to 38,400 baud and powers six M- Bus loads. Thanks to optimised low-power- modes the component can also connect to wireless modules. The flexible system indicates power failures and can draw power from the Bus or an external current supply. EBV is already mass producing this product.


Integration density, programmability and extensive diagnostic functions make Minerva the perfect solution for solenoids and automotive engine injection systems. Based on automotive quality standards, EBV and Sensata have developed a family of high-performance pressure sensors for industrial use with 4 to 20-mA output, named after the god Titan. The ceramic sensor technology is sealed in Delphi Metri- pack connectors and terminals of galvanised steel. The sensor module is suitable for pressure ranges of 0 to 46 bar and for various pressure media (gas, liquid). Titan also demonstrates how EBV continues projects that might be regarded as completed, "We are currently working


programme is really underway. Together with various semiconductor manufacturers the company has now developed seven components ready for the production stage or soon to be launched onto the market, and new products are in the pipeline.


Design competition


Anyone with their own ideas for new components, but no time or budget for complete development, should take a look at the current EBVchips innovation competition. EBV is looking for the most innovative chip idea which focuses on unsolved problems. What is unusual about this is, that alongside the technical idea, that the participants must also give a


on a second variant with reverse-pinning, which is compatible with competitive products," reports Dr. Voskamp. Demand for this came directly from customers – just like completely new products.


At home with IP500 Together with its partners in the IP500 alliance EBV is also working on a series of products for building management. The company is handling worldwide sales and


rough assessment of the potential market for their innovation.


The deadline is 5th October, as EBV wants to present the award to the winners at Electronica 2014 in Munich. But don't worry, they are only looking for the idea, not a complete solution. The winners will receive a Pedelec plus other prizes worth a total EUR 10,000. For more information visit www.


ebv.com/chips Components in Electronics October 2014 5


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