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26 January 2016

PHOTONICS • BATTERY TECHNOLOGY • 8BIT MCUs • IoT COMMS TEST

The EMC Directive, fullyimplemented in the UK on 1 January 1996, has had apositive impact on electronicsdesign. But has it achievedeverything it set out to do?

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COVER STORY 12Do not disturb, do not be disturbedThe European EMC Directive was fullyimplemented in the UK on 1 January 1996. Hasit achieved what it set out to do? The shortanswer is ‘partially’

PHOTONICS 16Plotting a photonics futureA collaborative project – bringing togethercomplementary skills from Southampton andSheffield universities – is looking to boost thehealth of UK manufacturing industry

TECHNOLOGY WATCH 18Charging aheadResearch and development initiatives areaddressing the need for safer, more manageablelithium-ion batteries for a range of industrialapplications

EDA 20A time of transitionVerification techniques are now more focused onfinding the root causes of bugs and inremediation, so expect more software drivenhardware verification in 2016

MICROS 22More than a bit partTo paraphrase Mark Twain, rumours of the deathof the 8bit microcontroller have been greatlyexaggerated and the technology is still suited toa range of applications, including IoT devices

COMMUNICATIONS TEST 25Will LTE be the IoT’s mobile future?The IoT will only succeed if cost effectivecommunications networks and wireless devicesare available. And a range of test techniques willbe needed to support developments

DESIGN PLUS 29Take the creditIs your company one of the many which aren’ttaking advantage of the money being madeavailable through the R&D tax credit scheme?Find out what is and isn’t eligible for 125% relief

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CONTENTS VOL 49 NO 2

www.newelectronics.co.uk 26 January 2016

COMMENT 5School students are alwaysasked what they want tostudy at university. Should webe asking what problems theywant to solve?

NEWSMaterial whose phase ischanged by a small voltagecould have application inmemories and batteries 7

NXP used an event in Paris tooutline how it will be focusingon high growth opportunitiesgoing forward 8

Developments in industrialnetworking will be one of thebig trends to watch in 2016,says National Instruments 9

Photonics technology is set tounderpin BT’s future systems,including the development of‘elastic’ networks 10

12 18 29

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Illlustration: James Fryer

New Electronics’ weekly eZine featuresthe latest blogs, news, articles andmore. To register for your copy, go towww.newelectronics.co.uk

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It seems that everyone agrees the UK doesn’t have enough engineers tomeet industry’s current needs, let alone the needs for the coming years.

In case you haven’t been following the debate, EngineeringUK saysmanufacturing industry will need another 182,000 people per year withengineering skills in the next five years, but notes there is a current annualshortfall of 55,000 skilled workers. If these jobs were filled, it contends, theUK’s economy could benefit to the tune of £27billion per year.

The burning question is, of course, how to convince today’s school studentsthat a career in engineering is not only attractive professionally, but alsofinancially? It’s a problem which has yet to be solved satisfactorily andalthough recent statistics from UCAS – the Universities and CollegesAdmissions Service – show the number of students accepted on allengineering courses has grown substantially over the last decade, we stilldon’t have enough students in the system.

I was at an academic seminar the other day, where the topic of tomorrow’sengineers came up. It wasn’t an extended discussion by any means, but onecontribution stood out for me.

Carlos Lee, director general of the European Photonics IndustryConsortium, suggested a different approach. “Don’t ask students what theywant to study,” he said, “ask them what problems they want to solve.”

One of the benefits of taking this approach is that it removes the word‘engineering’ from the agenda. You might think this is avoiding the issue, butby not talking about engineering directly, it makes it a lot easier to engagewith young women, many of whom recoil with some degree of horror whenthe word is mentioned.

Dame Ann Dowling, the first female president of the Royal Academy ofEngineering, has said the profession is perfect for women, yet they stillrepresent a very small part of the engineering community – just 7% of theUK’s 2.3million engineers and the lowest in Europe.

Rather than talking overtly about engineering, why not ask young womenwhat problems they’d like to solve. Then you can start a dialogue – and bringin the fact that problem solving is what engineering is all about.

Graham Pitcher, Group Editor ([email protected])

Let’s changethe focus …

.. AND ASK STUDENTS WHATPROBLEMS THEY WANT TO SOLVE

COMMENT TOMORROW’S ENGINEERS


mailto:[email protected]


26 January 2016 www.newelectronics.co.uk6


NEWS PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS

Researchers at MIT have developed a thin filmmaterial whose phase and electrical properties canbe switched between metallic and semiconducting byapplying a small voltage. The material then stays inits new configuration until switched back by anothervoltage. According to the researchers, their discoverycould enable a new kind of non volatile memory.

Associate professor Bilge Yildiz said thestructural phase of a strontium cobaltite (SrCoOx) isusually controlled by its composition, temperature,and pressure. “We have demonstrated that electricalbias can induce a phase transition in the material.”

Researcher Qiyang Lu added: “It has two differentstructures that depend on how many oxygen atomsper unit cell it contains and these two structureshave quite different properties.”

When more oxygen is present, it forms aperovskite, whereas lower concentrations of oxygenproduce a brownmillerite and both forms havedifferent chemical, electrical, magnetic and physicalproperties. Lu and Yildiz found the material can beflipped between the two forms with the application of30mV. And, once changed, the new configurationremains stable until it is flipped back by a secondapplication of voltage.

In addition to memories, the material could alsofind application in fuel cells and electrodes forlithium ion batteries.

The team is now working to better understand theelectronic properties of the material in its differentstructures and to extend this approach to other oxidesof interest for memory and energy applications.

Changing voltage changes propertiesPHASE CHANGE MATERIAL COULD HAVE APPLICATION IN MEMORIES AND BATTERIES.GRAHAM PITCHER REPORTS.


Nanoparticle inks for reel to reelflexible electronics manufacture

Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for New Materials havedeveloped nanoparticle inks featuring transparent conductiveoxides (TCOs) and claim the lines and patterns which can becreated by direct gravure printing on thin plastic foils remainelectrically conductive, even after bending.

The transparent electronic inks are said to allowconductor tracks to be produced using a reel to reelprocess. The team says initial trials have been promising andit adds that the use of structured rollers will allow largerstructured conductive surfaces to be printed at highthroughput and low cost.

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Battery shuts down when too hotA lithium-ion battery that shuts down beforeoverheating, then restarts immediately when thetemperature cools has been developed byresearchers at Stanford University in the US. Thedevelopment could help to prevent accidental fires.

In their experiments, the researchers coatednickel particles with graphene, then embedded themin a thin elastic polyethylene film. In order to conductelectricity, the particles have to touch each other.However, when the temperature rises, expansioncauses the particles to spread out, cutting the flowof electricity. When the temperature drops, the filmshrinks and the particles re-establish contact.

According to the team, the cut off temperaturecan be tuned by varying the materials used.• For more on battery technology, see p18.

Large area plastic fingerprint sensor FlexEnable and ISORG have unveiled the first largearea flexible fingerprint sensor on plastic. Designedfor biometric applications, the 0.3mm thick sensorhas an active area of 8.6 x 8.6cm and a resolutionof 1024 x 1024 pixel. The sensor can also mapveins in the fingers.

The companies claim the sensing area can beapplied to most surfaces. Apart from biometricdetection in credit cards, the partners say thesensor can be wrapped around objects such as asteering wheel.

FlexEnable’s CEO Chuck Milligan said: “Imagine amobile device whose surface or edges know who isholding or touching the device. Such capabilities areviable because of the flexibility, thinness and lowercost per unit area compared to silicon area sensors.”















With NXP’s acquisition of Freescale now complete – a deal whichvalued the latter at $11.8billion – the new, enlarged company

disclosed at an event in Paris how it would be looking to address highgrowth opportunities in the ‘smarter world’, with target areas includingthe smart home, industry, healthcare and wearables.

The new company, which is now the fourth largest semiconductorbusiness in the world, will be focusing on high performance mixed signalsolutions and has been structured around five key business units:security and connectivity; automotive; RF; standard products; and digitalnetworking.

Speaking in Paris, Geoff Lees, general manager of NXP’s MCUbusiness, said there was ‘little overlap between the two companies’portfolios’, adding the new business was well placed to offerprocessors, security and software across the Internet of Things,‘whether for the consumer, industrial, medical or automotive sectors’.

Both companies have significant positions in the industrial andautomotive markets and will now, according to Lees, be better placedto develop their presence in the burgeoning market for IoT chips,where low margins mean that economies of scale will be essential ifcompanies are to compete effectively.

A key element of the merger is the strength both companies havetraditionally had in the automotive sector. “The connected car tookcentre stage at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show,” suggestedLees, “highlighting the importance of both security and connectivity

across the network. NXP can offer capabilities to this market fromdesign through to effective infrastructure management.”

Maurice Gereats, senior director, new business, agreed. “NXP isnumber one in terms of infotainment and security and in in-vehiclenetworks, while Freescale has been able to bring to the new companya strong presence in safety, such as ABS, and in body electronics.

“Our presence in body electronics, safety, infotainment, networkingand security means that NXP is now well placed in what is a fastdeveloping market for secure connected vehicles.”


Enlarged NXP to focuson opportunities inthe ‘smarter world’NXP USED AN EVENT IN PARIS TO OUTLINE HOW IT WILL BEFOCUSING ON HIGH GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES GOINGFORWARD. NEIL TYLER REPORTS.

Organic LEDs are attractive not only because theyemit light in all observation directions, but also fortheir colours and high contrast. It is also possibleto manufacture transparent and flexible OLEDs,enabling new applications.

OLEDs consist of ultra thin layers of organicmaterials – the emitter – between two electrodes.When a voltage is applied, electrons from thecathode and holes from the anode are injected intothe emitter, where they form electron-hole pairs, orexcitons, which release energy when they decay.

According to researchers from KarlsruheInstitute of Technology, OLED manufacturer Cynora

and the University of St Andrews, it is cheaper andmore environmentally friendly to use coppercomplexes as emitter materials, using thermallyactivated delayed fluorescence (TADF) for highlight yields and high efficiency.

TADF is based on the quantum mechanicsphenomenon of intersystem crossing (ISC) and, forthe first time, the speed of ISC has beenmeasured in a highly luminescent solid state TADFcopper(I) complex. The researchers say themeasurements should contribute to thedevelopment of TADF materials for use in energyefficient OLEDs.

Antiferromagneticmemory

Physicists at The University of Nottinghamsay the magnetic spins of antiferromagnetscan be controlled to make a completelydifferent form of digital memory.

Dr Peter Wadley said: “This could behugely significant, as antiferromagnetshave an intriguing set of properties,including a theoretical switching speedlimit approximately 1000 times faster thanthe best current memory technologies.”

Apart from supporting higher density.antiferromagnetic memory is alsoinsensitive to magnetic fields and radiation.

Bubble pen lithography

Researchers at the University of Texas atAustin have developed a technique calledbubble pen lithography, which can handlenanoparticles without damaging them,allowing tiny devices to be built more easily.

A laser focused underneath a sheet ofgold nanoislands generates a microbubblethat captures a nanoparticle. The laser canthen steer the microbubble, moving thenanoparticle. When the laser is turned off,the microbubble disappears and theparticle is left on the surface.

Better OLED performance from copper complexes


NEWS IoT TECHNOLOGY

www.newelectronics.co.uk 26 January 2016 9

Lees suggested the company would be working to bring newproduct to market more quickly and, when asked whether he felt thenew business would be focusing more on research than had been thecase in the past, he pointed to the company’s work with Samsungand the development of fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI)technology.

According to NXP, it expects to make savings of $200million in thefirst full year, rising to $500m over time. Whilst significant, they arebeing seen as relatively modest savings for a deal of this size.

Rumours are circulating suggesting possible layoffs. “These will mostlikely be in our respective back offices,” according to Lees, but it isunlikely the company will embark on significant job cuts.

Recently, Freescale closed its R&D centre in Israel, with the loss of200 engineers and there have been suggestions of layoffs in Malaysiaand Texas – but as yet nothing has been confirmed.

Lees said the newly combined company would have around 11,500engineers. “That is a significant engineering presence and they will bekey to unlocking the challenges we face and delivering solutions weneed going forward, whether in terms of security or connectivity.”

As part of the Paris event, a mobile truck loaded with displaysdemonstrating the new company’s technologies and capabilities wasparked outside the venue. Similar trucks are deployed in the US andChina. The vehicle will be used at events around Europe and, nextmonth, will be seen at Embedded World in Nuremberg.

Dissolvable wireless sensors createdNeurosurgeons at WashingtonUniversity School of Medicine andengineers at the University ofIllinois have developed wirelesssensors that monitor intracranialpressure and temperature, butwhich can be absorbed by the body,negating the need for surgery toremove them.

The devices, made mainly ofpolylactic-coglycolic acid and silicone, transmit accurate pressure and temperaturereadings, as well as other information.

Professor John Rogers from the University of Illinois noted: “It is possible to createelectronic implants that offer high performance and clinically relevant operation inhardware that completely resorbs into the body after the relevant functions are no longer needed.”

Li-air battery progress reportedLithium-air batteries are attractive because they could have up to five times theenergy density of lithium-ion batteries, but one of the by products is lithiumperoxide, which clogs the battery’s electrode.

Battery scientists at Argonne National Laboratory in the US have developed aprototype that, they claim, only produces lithium’s superoxide as the batterydischarges, not the peroxide. This breaks down easily into lithium and oxygen,holding the prospect of a battery with high efficiency and good cycle life.

A battery based on lithium superoxide also theoretically allows for the creationof a closed system, which avoids the need to use oxygen from the environment.

Networking is one trend to watchIn its annual Trend Watch, National Instruments is highlighting five areaswhich engineers should bear in mind for the coming year – prototyping;big analogue data; networking for the industrial Internet of Things; smartdevice testing; and the consumerisation of software.

The industrial IoT (IIoT) is the modern incarnation of M2Mcommunications, with machines being connected to boost efficiency.But, according to Aaron Edgecombe, Northern Europe marketingengineer with NI, the benefits will not accrue until a standardisedapproach is adopted down to the node. “Typically, this sector has usedEthernet,” he contended, “but this has limitations, including latency,bandwidth and prioritisation.”

NI believes the time is right for time sensitive networking (TSN) andpoints to its participation in the AVnu Alliance. The Alliance, which alsocounts companies like Cisco and Intel amongst its members, is planningto drive the creation of what it calls an interoperable ecosystem, withcertification procedures similar to those used by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

According to NI, the benefits of TSN will include full duplexcommunication at standard Ethernet rates, a security framework,interoperability with existing networks and time critical communications.

“We’ll see standards being published within the next year,”Edgecombe noted. “TSN won’t replace other standard overnight, but Ibelieve it will bring advantages to the IIoT.”

Meanwhile, NI also sees growing demand for rapid prototyping of 5Gcommunications systems. “These have to be tested to see if they work,”Edgecombe pointed out.

Already, 5G pioneers are working with NI to try out their ideas.Amongst them are: Samsung, which is working on 3D beamforming;Nokia, developing millimetre wave technology; and Lund University, whichis exploring a configurable MIMO system with 100 elements.

Loaded withtechnology displays,NXP used this truck todemonstrate thecapabilities of thenew business


Photonics – defined by some as anything todo with the creation, capture and

modification of light – is big business, eventhough it may not appear so on first sight.

The largest of the six key enablingtechnologies identified by the EuropeanCommission, photonics contributes more than€65billion a year to the European economy,whilst employing 377,000 people directly in5000 companies. In the UK, there are morethan 1000 photonics related companies,employing 70,000 people, with the technologyadding £10bn a year to the economy.

Despite the industry’s size, it is poised formore growth, with increased investment inR&D. While the recently announced FuturePhotonics Hub (see p16 in this issue) is oneexample, another is the UCL-Cambridge Centrefor Doctoral Training in Integrated Photonic andElectronic Systems (IPES)

IPES director Professor Alwyn Seeds told arecent seminar outlining its work that theCentre is looking to focus on real problems andto encourage its students to interact withindustry and other researchers. It receivesmore than 150 applications per year fromstudents and makes about 25 offers. “Werecruit from a range of technology backgroundsand this works well in terms of interdisciplinary research,” he said.

At the same event Andrew Lord, director ofoptical research with BT, gave the keynoteaddress describing how photonics is set toenable the next era of communications.

He said BT’s optical research was focusedin a number of areas, including: core

transport; backhaul; optical access; quantumcommunications; elastic optical networks; andsoftware defined networks.

“This work is being driven by huge growthin network demand – it’s grown by a factor of100 in the last 10 years,” he noted, “withcore broadband traffic growing at65% a year.”

One of the possible solutions isultra high bit rate transmission andBT is making progress in this area;Lord said demonstrations had

shown ‘real time’ data rates of 4Tbit/s couldbe maintained over several weeks, with socalled ‘superchannels’ carried over longdistances.

“While we’re trying to make sure thetechnology is robust,” he continued, “we alsoneed flexibility. There’s always been flexibility at

the IP level, but you can’t do that opticallyunless you try optical packet switching, whichhasn’t taken off.”

BT is looking to develop flexibility in opticalcommunications “For example,” he said,“dynamically adjustable transponders could

double the available bandwidth,whilst ‘playing’ with thespectrum to get rid of gapscould potentially add another30%. Combine these two andwe’ll get a lot more capacity,” headded, noting that prototypesare starting to be tested.

He compared the situationwith the radio industry makingthe best use of the spectrum.“Optical hasn’t had to worryabout this until recently.

Before, we just put in another fibre; now, wehave to control communications in real timeand we should be able to do this with softwaredefined networks.”

And this is the ‘elasticity’ concept whichLord trailed. “We’re looking at how softwarecomes together with the data plane, but thisneeds abstraction – I don’t want to understandeverything about how a multi Terabit routerworks, I just need to control the basics andthis could be part of a network.”

Meanwhile, BT continues to developquantum cryptography. Recently, it joined withToshiba Research Europe and ADVA OpticalNetworking to demonstrate quantumcryptography in use on a system with abandwidth of 200Gbit/s over a 100km fibre.

10

NEWS PHOTONICS RESEARCH

Flexibility from photonicsPHOTONICS RESEARCH TO UNDERPIN BT’S FUTURE SYSTEMS, INCLUDING ‘ELASTIC’ NETWORKS. GRAHAM PITCHER REPORTS.

26 January 2016 www.newelectronics.co.uk

“IPES ISLOOKING TOWORK ON REALPROBLEMS ANDTO INTERACTWITH INDUSTRYPARTNERS.”PROF ALWYNSEEDS



More changes came in December2004, after considerableconsultation. EMC Directive2004/108/EC came into force in July2007, with a transition period to July2009. The principal changes were toadministrative and attestationrequirements. The TCF was replacedwith ‘Technical Documentation’ thatno longer mandated the use of aCompetent Body. Instead, NotifiedBodies could be used on a voluntarybasis to provide additional verificationof compliance, effectively aninsurance policy.

In 2008, the EU introduced theNew Legislative Framework; apackage of measures designed toimprove market surveillance, to boostthe quality of conformityassessments and clarify the use ofCE Marking. As a result, the 2004Directive will be replaced in April2016 by Directive 2014/30/EU – andthese changes are likely to haveserious repercussions.

EnforcementThere were always concerns abouthow the EMC Directive would bepoliced and enforced. In the UK, it isoverseen by the Trading StandardsService and Ofcom. Penalties for noncompliance in the UK are severeenough: £5000 fine and/or threemonths imprisonment. More costly isthe requirement to recall or replaceany non-compliant apparatus and, of

The EMC Directive is all aboutelectrical interference –emissions and immunity. Astest house TUV puts it ‘Do not

disturb. Do not be disturbed’. When enacted in 1989, the

Directive was regarded by many withhorror and some degree of panic.Today, EMC is one of the constraintswhich designers deal with regularlyand which results in better products.

When first aired, it was one of thefirst ‘New Approach CE Marking’Directives. While it did not containtechnical limits, it established thelegal framework, referring all specificsto harmonised standards. Neither didit mandate that products had to betested in order to comply. Analternative route to compliance wasvia the Technical Construction File(TCF), demonstrating the design wasin accordance with the requirements.The TCF was verified by a CompetentBody; another departure fromestablished norms.

In preparation for its introduction,a five year transition period wasinstituted to address technical anddesign issues, as well as complianceand CE marking procedures. In theUK, the Department for Trade andIndustry (DTI) implemented – withhelp from New Electronics – anationwide EMC AwarenessCampaign, targeted especially atSMEs and companies which usedelectronics in their products. A range

of publications, articles and casestudies were created, a nationalnetwork of EMC Clubs wasestablished, Services Directorieswere compiled and the engineeringhigher education sector targeted.

The EMC Directive enacted in1989 – 89/336/EEC – came intoforce in January 1992, with atransition period until 1 January1996. Minor amendments were madeduring the transition period,principally to align the CE markingrequirements more closely with otherrelevant Directives. In 1999, furtheramendments covered sometelecommunications equipment.

EMC Directive in progressThe European EMC Directive was fully implemented in the UK on 1 January 1996. Has it achieved

what it set out to do? The short answer is ‘partially’. By Louise Joselyn.

Illus

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lamps’, power tools, consumerentertainment systems, LED lightingproducts and solar panel inverters. Inall cases, major shortfalls werefound, both in terms of technicalassessment (primarily emissions) andadministration. Interestingly, thehighest number of failures came fromLED lighting.

The reports recommended thatnational bodies and industry groupsaddress some of the worst offenders,should they so choose. Worryingly, ineach investigation, the origin ofproducts could not be determined. Incertain cases, it was recommendedthat harmonised standards should beupdated or created to encompassnew product developments.

It became clear that manycompanies were not getting to gripswith the administration involved in CEMarking. A significant percentage ofthe products inspected failed, orpartially failed to comply, notnecessarily for technical reasons, butbecause they had out of date,incomplete or missing Declarations ofConformance. Some had no CE markor it was incorrectly applied.

Wider ranging responsibilitiesThe incoming 2014 EMC Directivehas the potential to address anumber of the non-compliance andenforcement issues. For example, itnow specifies: ‘Procedure for dealingwith apparatus presenting a risk atnational level’, which should besufficient to tackle the power lineadaptor case outlined above andsimilar situations. Incidentally,EN50561-1 – the first in a new familyof CENELEC standards covering highfrequency products – has beenpublished and came into force inOctober 2015.

The impact of the 2014 EMCDirective on manufacturers is

course, the damage to the firm’sreputation.

Being largely complaints driven,enforcement was expected to be selfregulating, with competitors watchingeach other. “But this did not happen,”observes Nick Wainwright, chiefexecutive of York EMC Services.“Perhaps lack of confidence in theirown efforts meant manufacturerskept their heads down.”

Anecdotal information on offencesis rife, but prosecutions are extremelyrare. Consequently, there has beengrowing frustration that the Directivehas never been enforced properly.Indeed, at times, it has proved to beunenforceable.

One of the most controversialcases of non enforcement occurred in2008, with the launch of power lineadapters used in domestic broadbandinstallations. A large number ofcomplaints alleged these devicesblocked the high frequencycommunications used by taxicabcompanies and some emergencyservices, as well as military, marineand amateur enthusiasts. Despiteinvestigations by Ofcom and evidenceshowing that some devices farexceeded the emissions limits in therelevant standards, no prosecutionswere made. The problem was Ofcomhad no legal power to act onceproducts were in service – the EMCDirective only covers products placedon the market. As a result, workstarted to modify the EMC Directiveand the Wireless Telegraphy Act.

Market surveillanceIt is little known that, for more than adecade, cross border EMC MarketSurveillance investigations have beenundertaken by European authorities.They have tackled a range of productsknown to be sources of EMCproblems, including ‘energy saving

COVER STORY 20 YEARS OF THE EMC DIRECTIVE

DESIGNING FOR EMCOne of the major benefits of the EMC Directive,according to Elmac’s Tim Williams, is the positiveimpact on electronics design. “It’s the biggest deal;engineers won’t do something that costs time andmoney if they don’t have to.” And, as one of NickWainwright’s managers is fond of saying, ‘engineersdo what you inspect, not what you expect!’.

EMC still does not feature on the syllabus ofelectronics engineering courses, so engineers arelearning on the job. “Most medium to largecompanies have in house knowledge and expertiseand this ‘rule-of-thumb’ approach is passed on, withvarying degrees of success,” Williams explains.

York EMC’s Wainwright agrees. “Two decades on,we are still having the same conversations: what isEMC and what do we have to do? More than halfthe products that we see in our laboratories will failat least one of the tests.” He believes EMC simplyisn’t sufficiently embedded into the developmentcycle, resulting in uncertainty as to whether theproduct will pass the tests. “I often hear EMCreferred to as a ‘black art’; sentiments that don’treadily appeal to young engineers. It’s true that youcan’t see EMC and measuring it takes skill andexpertise but, in the end, it all comes down to goodengineering practices.”

But, while technology has marched forward, EMCbest practice remains largely the same, embeddedin the three maxims of filtering, shielding and PCBlayout, says Williams. Increases in CPU clock speedsto GHz levels have demanded considerably moreattention to high frequency design at the boardlevel. “Signal integrity and EMC have a naturalsynergy, they are the same sides of a coin anddesigning for one will help the other,” Williamsexplains.

Meanwhile, EMC training and consultancies andtest houses continue to thrive as new engineersneed to understand more about EMC and,especially, why their products fail.



is one of the most serious shortfallsin the Directive’s implementation.

“This has undermined the wholeeffort,” he claims, noting thereshould be considerably morepublicity of the cross border MarketSurveillance reports and, especially,their outcomes, such as productsbeing withdrawn from the market, aswell as complaints andprosecutions. “Improved awarenesswill help the industry self regulate,”he maintains.

There are exceptions, such as inautomotive, railways and othertransport sectors. Here, the‘customers’ – car makers and serviceproviders – are unofficial regulators,demanding compliance. Williamsconcurs: “Companies that complywith the EMC Directive do so notthrough fear of penalties, butbecause customers demand it.”

Author profileLouise Joselyn was editor of NewElectronics during the EMC AwarenessCampaign and when the EMCDirective was implemented.

described as ‘relatively slight’ by theCE Marking Association.

However, it does require allmanufacturers to act; for newproducts and those still on themarket, the Declaration of Conformity(DoC) must be reissued and, from 20April, refer to the new EMC Directive2014/30/EU.

“It is the administration thatcatches out most people,” Wainwrightwarns. “Engineers are often unawarethat the DoC is a living document. Itwill change during the product’s life,either because harmonised standardshave evolved or the product has.”

A crucial change is the wholesupply chain now has legalresponsibilities – including importersand distributors. “For example, it isthe importer’s responsibility toensure, not only that a CE mark isapplied to the product, but they arealso satisfied that proper conformity

assessment procedures have beenfollowed and that the DoC is readilyavailable and correct,” explainsWainwright.

“Under the new Directive, if a non-compliant product reaches the enduser, a number of offences will havebeen committed within the supplychain.”

Further, the 2014 Directive alsotackles rebranding. “If you rebrand aproduct, you are now deemed to bethe manufacturer, with all that entailsregarding CE marking,” Wainwrightwarns. The regulations on productlabelling and accompanyingdocumentation have also beentightened.

What’s next?There are still unknowns. TimWilliams, managing director of EMCconsultancy Elmac Services asks‘what about when the importer is theend user, buying directly from the FarEast? What about developmentboards that become the basis of endproducts?’. Wainwright is convincedthe lack of the threat of enforcement

COVER STORY 20 YEARS OF THE EMC DIRECTIVE

PROTECTING THE SPECTRUMThe proliferation of radar, radio communications, GHzICs, microwaves, mobile phones and, more recently,low power RF wireless devices means theelectromagnetic spectrum is under constant pressure.Efforts to limit and allocate frequency usage, as well asestablish standards and national regulations, have hadlimited success.

While the EMC Directive has looked to protect theelectromagnetic spectrum, it has been part of widermeasures to facilitate a single European market ofgoods and services.

Although safety was not the aim of the legislation, itwas recognised as an important issue that could beused to leverage better design practices and motivatecompanies to comply.

While there is no shortage of evidence of serioussafety issues arising from EMC interference, it has beenmore commonly experienced as a nuisance.

Engineers are often unaware that the DoC is aliving document. It will change during the product’slife, either because harmonised standards haveevolved or the product has.”Nick Wainwright



One of the themes beingpursued by the recentlyelected ConservativeGovernment is the revival of

manufacturing as one way to reducethe country’s dependence on thefinancial and services sectors. Whilethe UK’s manufacturing sector remainsin the world’s top 10, it has beendrifting down the league table sincethe 1970s.

In a move to underpin the UK’smanufacturing sector, the Engineeringand Physical Sciences ResearchCouncil (EPSRC) has launched theNational Hub in High Value PhotonicManufacturing. The Hub, which is beingfunded for the next seven years with£10million, is looking to accelerate thegrowth of the UK’s photonics industryand those manufacturing companieswhose output relies on the technology.According to EPRSC, although the UK’sphotonics industry generates revenuesof £10billion a year, it enables £600bnworth of manufacturing output. Themain aim of the Hub will be to help withthe commercialisation of photonicstechnologies, enabling manufacturersto access new products and services.

The Hub will bring togetherexpertise from two universities, as wellas from more than 40 industrialpartners. While the University ofSouthampton will lead the work, thecontribution of the University ofSheffield’s National III-V Centre will becrucial.

Dr Gilberto Brambilla fromSouthampton’s OptoelectronicsResearch Centre (ORC) will be one ofthe Hub’s leaders. He said there willbe two main areas of work: platformsand integration. “There are fourthemes within the platform area,” henoted. “High performance opticalfibres; light generation and delivery;

Plotting a photonics futureA collaborative project is looking to boost the health of UK manufacturing industry through the

development of photonics technology. By Graham Pitcher.



is industry informed. We will berunning industry collaborative projectsbecause industry doesn’t yet have thesolutions it needs.”

According to Dr Brambilla, fibre willbe one development area. “ORC has aportfolio of technologies, some ofwhich – like fibres – are well advanced.But we will be looking at hollow corefibre. Most of the time, this is made inshort lengths and the uniformity is notthat good. Not long ago, you couldn’ttransmit over 1km of hollow core fibrebecause different parts of the fibrehad different properties.

“Although we have scaled theprocess to enable lengths of up to10km to be made with goodtransmission properties, we want toscale the process for realapplications.”

Dr Brambilla is also interested innew ways to generate and deliver light.“Fibre lasers,” he noted, “are onlymade in short lengths, while telecomfibre is manufactured at rates of2km/minute.”

Prof Heffernan agreed with DrBrambilla that 2D materials will havean important role to play in the FuturePhotonics Hub’s work. “The mostimportant thing is for us to formulatecommon solutions to problems and it’slikely that 2D materials will beincorporated.”

Dr Brambilla pointed to thedevelopment opportunities. “Ourunderstanding of 2D materials is onlyat the early stage and the commonground between ORC and Sheffield isthat there is not really any processthat can scale.”

But it’s perhaps in the area of

silicon photonics; and materials. Thebottom line for these four platformprojects will be to develop processesthat allow photonics devices to bemanufactured on a larger scale.”

The second main area of work, saidDr Brambilla is a significant effort todevelop integration technologies.“Photonics today is like the electronicsworld was at its beginning. We want to‘wire’ components together; forexample, integrating optical fibre withIII-V technology.”

Professor Jon Heffernan, director ofthe III-V Centre, added: “Photonics is a50 year old industry, but there is somuch more to be explored, particularlyat a fundamental level. We’re lookingat new wavelengths, different powerlevels, different sensitivities. Photonicspower ranges from fW to MW, so it canbe applied widely, and each wavelengthhas different applications.”

Complementary expertiseThe two universities havecomplementary areas of expertise. DrBrambilla said ORC would bring a rangeof technologies to the Hub. “Some arewell advanced,” he noted, “such asfibres, and we have always been at theforefront of manufacturing.”

Prof Heffernan added: “Bothcentres have long standing activities indifferent parts of the photonics supplychain. What ORC doesn’t have isoptoelectronic sources; if it needs alaser, for example, it would get it as adiscrete component. We have lasersand detectors, but need to goelsewhere for fibre.

“Our consultations with industryhave shown the advantage of bringingthese things together. While we canbring them together effectively, our aimis to move towards integration. Thereare already good examples ofintegrated photonics technology andthe advantages are clear, includingcost, functionality and energyconsumption.”

Both partners were keen tohighlight the fact that the FuturePhotonics Hub will not be involved inscientific discovery. Rather, the workwill be on developing processes thatscale. Prof Heffernan said: “It’s aresearch project, but the work we’ll do

integration where the most excitingdevelopments will be seen. Under thegeneral heading of silicon photonics,the partners will be looking to developa range of new devices. “While it maybe a longer term activity,” Dr Brambillaaccepted, “silicon photonics is seenas the future. We already have threepartner companies working onpackaging issues and we’ll be liaisingwith them on optimum solutions,because packaging might be a criticalelement for integrating fibre andsilicon photonics. While theintegration of fibres and sources is aninteresting area for investigation,there is nothing set as yet.”

Solving problems through integrationProf Heffernan agreed. “The wholeidea here is to integrate photonics andelectronics and that should result inintegrated sensors. This is importantbecause industry uses a lot ofdistributed sensing, but there aremany challenges, including energyconsumption. Integration is likely to bea good way to solve these problems.”

As noted above, the FuturePhotonics Hub already has animpressive list of industrial partnerswhich, between them, have alreadypromised to contribute £12.5m. Andthe two partner universities will eachadd another £3m.

“This project has flexibility,” DrBrambilla claimed. “EPRSC has givenus extreme flexibility to probe theindustrial environment and for ourpartners to tell us where to go withour research. So, in three years’ time,if the telecom industry wants us tofocus more on ways to produce hollowcore fibre in lengths of more than1000km, we’ll go in that direction. Buta lot of things can happen in sevenyears and flexibility will be important.”

“We’re looking for sharedoutcomes,” Prof Heffernan concluded.“We are pursuing a faster route toexploitation, but need to find commonproblems and challenges. The FuturePhotonics Hub is what could be calleda ‘proper’ collaborative project andthe ideas it develops will bedistributed back into industry in orderto increase its competitiveness andimpact on the UK’s economy.”

SECTOR FOCUS PHOTONICS

“While it may bea longer termactivity, siliconphotonics is seenas the future.”Dr GilbertoBrambilla

Main image:Southampton’s ORChas been a longterm leader indeveloping novelopticalmanufacturingprocesses



and the battery quickly loses capacity.Nanostructures and mechanical

buffer materials may provide asolution by giving the silicon room toexpand and by controlling stresses.Calculations performed five years agoby a team from a variety of US andChinese labs indicated that lithiumtends to favour accumulation alongone face of the silicon crystal. Wirescan balloon outwards and form stressfractures close to where a siliconnanowire is anchored to theelectrode. Altering the orientation ofthe silicon crystal and the overallshape of the nanowires could helpprevent the stress fractures.

Researchers at Argonne NationalLaboratory in the US focused on an

The lithium-ion cell is a testamentto the problems of batterychemistry. Lithium-ion productsare prone to burst into flames

when they get too hot and, even undergood conditions, need carefulmanagement during charging, simply toavoid capacity-sapping damage.

First commercialised by Sony in1991, Li-ion has gradually eaten intothe market for high-densityrechargeables carved out by nickel-based chemistries. Although theypresent plenty of problems for batterymanufacturers and users, there arestrong reasons for using lithium-based batteries.

One key reason is lithium’s highelectrochemical potential. Although ithas only 75% of the electrochemicalpotential of cadmium or strontium, itsmuch lower weight enables very highenergy densities.

The problems start when trying tointegrate lithium into a safe, high-capacity battery that can handle thepeak demands of today’s electronicsystems, as well as the slowlygrowing fleet of electric and hybridvehicles. So, much of the work iscentred on materials that can goaround the core element to increasesafety and boost capacity.

Because the anode largelycontrols how much lithium inside thebattery can be used to store charge,developing anodes has become amajor focus in improving overallbattery capacity. Modern Li-ionbatteries for mobile phones andtablets mostly use a carbon anodeand a cobalt oxide cathode.

During charging, lithium ionscaptured at the anode formcomplexes with carbon atoms lying ingraphite sheets. The anode stores upto one lithium atom for eachhexagonal ring of carbon atoms in thegraphite sheet.

During discharge, each lithium atomloses an electron and migrates to thecathode to form part of a lithiumcobaltate molecule. Power tools andelectric traction batteries usealternatives to cobaltate for safetyreasons – manganese oxide or ironphosphate need to reach highertemperatures before they encounter

the thermal runaway that characterisesmost lithium-battery fires.

Although carbon is cheap andeffective, it only has an energy densityof 370mAh/g. Silicon offers a higherstorage efficiency – potentially up to4210mAh/g – and is being researchedby companies like Nexeon.

One silicon atom can form acomplex with more than four lithiumatoms, almost reversing the ratioencountered with carbon. But thatmuch improved ratio comes with amajor drawback: the lithium-siliconcomplex balloons and the increase involume can be as much as four-fold.The expansion and contraction cyclesshatter the electrodes, fragments ofsilicon break off from the cathode

Charging aheadLithium’s burning need for improvement is producing a wide range of

battery research and development initiatives. By Chris Edwards.

Prototype batteriesunder test at PacificNorthwest NationalLaboratory



Moving away from oxygen as themain element used in the cathodematerial provides another opportunityto improve density, as well as safety.Sulphur can perform a similar role tooxygen with, in principle, less dangerof bursting into flames.

Using sulphur as the cathodepartner and in the electrolyte makesit possible to have a battery thatcharges to the point where lithium

can plate the anode, instead of usingchemistries that avoid the elementfrom entering its highly reactive metalstate. Not only that, the batteriescould be operated at higher voltages:a potential five-fold boost in energydensity, compared to today’s lithium-ion chemistries, according to UKlithium-sulphur battery startup OxisEnergy.

Unfortunately, the sulphur cathodealso expands as it acquires lithiumions, almost doubling in volume, againcalling for nanostructural techniquesthat increase manufacturingcomplexity. Intermediate lithium-sulphur products also tend to reactwith the liquid organic solvents neededto allow free transfer of the lithium

electrolyte that can double up as ashock absorber. The team addedfluorine to ethylene carbonate to makeit behave more like rubber, stretchingas the electrode grows. Another optionis to make a sponge that allowslithium to be absorbed without forcingthe overall structure to grow. Oneexample was a mesoporous sponge –containing openings of the scale oftens of microns – in the silicon

structure developed by researchers atthe Pacific Northwest NationalLaboratory and the University ofCalifornia at San Diego. The structuredoubled the gravimetric storagecapability compared to graphite, butwith only a 30% expansion in size atfull charge.

Researchers at the University of StAndrews developed the concept ofletting lithium ions capture oxygenfrom the air as the battery discharges,filling pores in a mesh of mesoporouscarbon that forms the core part of thecathode. However, the lithium-airchemistry suffers from problemscaused by unwanted products, suchas lithium peroxide, blocking the poresand preventing full discharge.

ions between anode and cathode,which reduces the capacity of thebattery over time.

Although sulphur is an extremelypoor conductor by itself, one option isto add other elements. Rather thanthe usual liquid electrolyte, somecombinations have been used to forma solid version that should improvesafety and reliability. Five years ago, ateam from Toyota Research and agroup of research institutesdeveloped a solid electrolyte basedon the combination of lithium,germanium, phosphor and sulphur. Animmediately obvious problem was theavailability of germanium: there isenough Ge available to satisfy small-scale use in chip production, but notfor batteries, where the requirementsare much higher.

Materials databaseThe hunt for an alternative to Geprovided an application for theMaterials Project, founded by MITmaterials researcher ProfessorGerbrand Ceder and LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory staffscientist Kristin Persson. The project,an attempt to create a database akinto that built by the Human GenomeProject, contains material propertiesthat will let computer simulationsexplore the likely chemical andthermodynamic behaviour of differentcombinations, avoiding the need toperform trial and error experiments.Simulations performed by Prof Ceder’sgroup found possible alternatives toGe in tin and silicon – both of whichoccupy the same column in theperiodic table. A recent experiment bya team from Munich and Stuttgartindicated the silicon variant is likely toperform better than the tin version.

Although work continues on manyfronts, the fact that the same corematerials have remained at the heartof rechargeable batteries for 25 yearsshows how difficult it is tocommercialise new battery designs.But it seems likely that, with today’sgreater understanding of materialsproperties and the impetus from high-demand markets, such as transportand electricity-grid storage, changeswill come faster in the next 25 years.

TECHNOLOGY WATCH BATTERIES

Fig 1: ArgonneNational Laboratoryexplains theoperation of an Li-ion cell



The system and semiconductorworlds are in transition. In thepast, the focus in verificationused to be on bug

identification. Today, the electronicdesign industry is seeing a shifttowards greater efficiency in findingbug root causes and in bugremediation. To that end, SoCproviders have been looking to providesoftware with their products. Whilethis higher value speeds design intime, it has the tendency to increaseverification complexity and moves theresponsibility of hardware-softwareverification to the SoC provider. As aresult, in 2016, we can expect to seebroad application of software-drivenhardware verification methodologies.

Some system companies aredesigning their own semiconductors –in fact, all the leading smartphonecompanies design their ownapplication processors. At the sametime, semiconductor companies arehaving to create a large part of thesoftware stack for each SoC sincesoftware and silicon are relatedintimately. These trends mean thatsoftware and the SoC need to bedesigned in parallel.

But this is not the only change weare seeing. There is more parallelism– from the inter-relation of thermaland power to packaging and EMIRanalysis, system architecture and teststrategy and more.

This highly concurrent designprocess involves what Cadence callsSystem Design Enablement, or SDE.Ultimately, SDE is about theconvergence of the electrical, softwareand mechanical domains, resulting inan entire end product – the system.Taking such a holistic view accountsfor the fact that software nowrepresents the greatest cost and thebiggest bottleneck in SoC design. And,because SoCs play an increasinglyimportant role in many electronicsystems, it has become vital toensure that every part of the system,from chip to package to board, isoptimised and verified.

Embedded software developmentand hardware/software verificationmust begin earlier. An SDE toolsuiteand flow can support the increased

role of software by providing pre-silicon development platforms forhardware/software codesign andcoverification, virtual platforms,emulation, simulation and FPGA basedprototyping.

For example, an SoC intended for asmartphone has to run Android (withone obvious exception). It doesn’tmatter whether a smartphonecompany is designing its own chips oran SoC company which sells standardproducts. The requirements are verysimilar in either case and Androidsimply has to run on the chip. Nocompany designing such a chip isgoing to tape out the design without

first running a simulation of Androidon a model of the chip. This is not justto ensure the software runs – othercharacteristics, such as theeffectiveness of the SoC’s powerarchitecture or the thermal effects indifferent modes (making a call,listening to an MP3 file), also need tobe measured. This is software drivenhardware verification, but it is notspecific to the smartphone example.Chips for automotive, vision and manyIoT devices have large software stacksand provide the most basic function ofthe SoC. But before anything elseneeds to be considered, you need to‘run the software’.

Time oftransition

Expect broader application of software-driven hardwareverification in 2016. Chi-Ping Hsu explains why.

20

Process node

16/14nm20nm28nm45/40nm65nm

Architecture

90nm

Software

Verification and validation

Physical

IP qualification

Fig 1: Smallerprocesses result in

more complexverification tasks


It is not a surprise that systemcompanies which do their ownsemiconductor design have moresoftware engineers thansemiconductor designers. But thesame is true of semiconductorcompanies that do SoC designs.

Verification challengesVerification always requires a multi-faceted approach. Software-drivenhardware verification, in fact, can onlybe used relatively late in the designcycle, when enough of the design hasbeen completed for the software torun. Earlier, at the block level,verification can be done withsimulation and verification IP, or withformal techniques, or even with FPGAprototyping. But the software needs tobe run when the design isapproaching tapeout and most of theblocks exist.

However, there is a majorchallenge. Booting Android, let alonerunning any application software onceit is booted, requires billions ofvectors. The SoC on which thesoftware has to run may itself consistof billions of gates. This makesverification time-consuming andcomplex – but it has to be done. Thecost – in terms of time and money – is

far too great to risk taping out an SoCin which all blocks have been verified,but the ultimate system verification ofrunning the software has not beenperformed.

There are two key technologies forsoftware driven hardware verification.The first is emulation. Emulators arerelatively expensive, but provide valuein terms of efficient and effectivesoftware driven hardware verification.Over the years, emulation hassometimes been found to be the weaklink because of the lack of flexibilityand the difficulty of getting a designinto the system. A decade ago, thiscould have taken many months, butnow the landscape is different.Emulation tools can now acceptanything that RTL simulation canaccept and compile it in a matter ofhours.

The second key technology forsoftware based hardware verificationis virtual platform technology. Thisallows code written for onemicroprocessor to run on a normalarchitecture core. The binary of thesoftware load runs on a ‘model’ of theprocessor. The word ‘model’ is inquotes because, under the hood, themicroprocessor instructions arecompiled on the fly. This so called just

in time compilation is similar to theway in which Java interpreters work. Infact, the compilation processsometimes only takes place thesecond time an instruction sequenceis seen, since so much code duringsystem boot is executed only onceand doesn’t justify the cost ofcompilation versus simply interpretingthe instructions.

Virtual platforms are used becausethey are much faster and simpler thanrunning a full RTL model of theprocessor. Even if an RTL model of themicroprocessor is available, it may notneed all the detailed information toverify the software application – usingemulation may not be the bestapproach, even with the enormousthroughput of an emulator.These two approaches work hand inhand in what is sometimes calledhybrid verification. The code binary –Android, let’s say – runs on the virtualplatform, while the rest of the designcan be compiled from RTL and thenrun on the emulation platform. Thetwo parts are linked togetherautomatically so that, for example,when the code for a device driveraccesses its corresponding device,the RTL in the emulation platformsees the vectors.

More importantThe software development team for anSoC faces a similar problem –checking the software they write runson the SoC before it is available.Software-based verification gives thema platform on which to test that theircode runs correctly in parallel to SoCdevelopment and potentially co-optimise key performancebottlenecks.

Software based verification is notnew, of course. But 2016 is going tobe the year where it becomes moreimportant. Since the softwarecomponent of a system grows rapidly,so too does the requirement forensuring that the SoC runs preexisting software before it is available.

Author profile:Chi-Ping Hsu is chief strategy officerfor EDA products and technologies atCadence Design Systems.

2016 is going tobe the yearwhere softwarebased verificationwill become moreimportantChi-Ping Hsu


RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EDA

Software development

SoC hardware/software integration,verification and architecture analysis

SoC hardware/software use case verification

Plan

bas

ed v

erifi

catio

n

Gate levelverificationSoC IP integration verification

SoC interconnect UVM e/SV metric drivenverification and performance analysis

Subsytem UVM e/SV metric driven verification

IP UVM e/SV metric driven verification

SoC

Subsystem

IP

UVM: universal verification methodology. e/SV: Specman-e Verilog

Spec

Middleware(graphics, audio)

OS and drivers(Linux, Android)

Bare metalsoftware

Applications

Silicon

Fig 2: Verifying adesign now calls foran array oftechnologies coveringall aspects of the SoC


Fig 1: Microchip’sMCC allowsperipherals to beconfiguredgraphically


Pannell explained. “We like to showdesigners that if they are worriedabout 8bit performance, we can helpbecause 8bit MCUs are faster thanever before. Some customers areused to 8bit MCUs running at 8MHz,but we have an 8051 based devicethat runs at 100MHz and a 72MHzpart in our EFM8 range. These MCUshave high performance analogueblocks, including a 14bit A/Dconverter and a D/A converter thatruns at 12ksample/s.”

“We have to find out whatperformance they’re looking for andwhether we can meet thoseperformance needs – and a lot oftimes, we can. Our digital peripheralsare hardware blocks and don’t needto be emulated using the MCU. Butcost is often the most importantrequirement,” he said.

Steve Drehobl, vice president ofMicrochip’s 8bit MCU business, notedthat, in order to be competitive, hisproducts needed to support fastdevelopment cycles, to have highlyfunctional peripherals and to have agood balance between hardware andsoftware. “While 8bit devices don’tsolve all of a designer’s problems,”he said, “neither do 32bit parts.There is a clear market need for 8bitMCUs, but there has to be a balancebetween the hardware and softwareelements. That’s because customer

When it launched theCortex-M range in 2004,ARM brought 32bitprocessing to what had,

essentially, been an 8bit world. Thefirst core – the Cortex-M3 – wasadopted enthusiastically by a rangeof companies. ARM has since addedthe M0, M0+, M4 and, most recently,the M7.

The arrival of the Cortex-M familyprompted many people to predict theimminent demise of the 8bitmicrocontroller. And yet 8bit devicescontinue to be designed into a rangeof applications. In fact, marketresearcher Gartner found that, in2014, 8bit and 32bit MCUs heldalmost equal market shares when itcame to revenue.

So, despite the attractions of the32bit MCU – more processing power,more memory and so on – 8bit partsmust have something going for them:after all, some 32bit MCU developerscontinue to expand their 8bitportfolios. But what is it and how longwill the devices remain in favour?

According to Lucio di Jasio,strategic marketing manager with

Microchip: “With the right balancebetween hardware and software andnew tools that reduce developmenteffort and timescales, the place for8bit MCUs in a wide range ofapplications seems more assuredthan ever.”

Tom Pannell, MCU marketingmanager with Silicon Laboratories,said: “Not every app needs a lot ofI/O or high performance. Only a fewapps need GHz or even hundreds ofMHz. many things we interact with ona daily basis are simple; they mightjust turn an LED on or off or run asimple control algorithm. These appsdon’t need a lot of complexity or a lotof memory and are well suited to 8bitMCUs.”

Perhaps part of the problem – if itis a problem – is that designersassociate 8bit MCUs with 30 year oldtechnology, whereas 32bit devices areseen as being closer to the ‘cuttingedge’. But Microchip and Silicon Labsargue that 8bit MCUs have madesignificant steps forward over theyears and that the 8051 baseddevices of the past bear norelationship to today’s parts.

More than a bit partTo paraphrase Mark Twain, rumours of the death of the 8bit microcontroller have been greatly

exaggerated. By Graham Pitcher.

Sensor interface Signal generation

Central processing unit

Firmware

Power conversion* Comparator* Configurable logic cell* Hardware limit timer

* PWM* Complementary output generator* Angular timer* Zero cross detect

* PWM* Complementary output generator* High speed comparator* Operational amplifier

Start System supervisor

“The place for 8bitMCUs in a wide rangeof applications seemsmore assured thanever.”Lucio di Jasio



approach; we can deploy empoweredperipherals.”

Creating an MCU with suchperipherals can be a challenge,something which Microchip is lookingto handle with its MPLAB CodeConfigurator (MCC) tool. “Makingperipherals more intelligent might looksimple from the outside, but itbecomes more complex inside. Wehave to take that burden away from theuser,” Drehobl pointed out, “and we dothis using graphical configuration. Theydon’t have to read the datasheet tofind out how to hook up particularperipherals: the tool takes care of thatand can reduce what could be monthsof development to a matter of weeks.In fact, it brings a balance betweenhardware and software.”

According to Drehobl, MCC hasbeen available for about a year andMicrochip has seen around 25,000downloads of the tool per quarter.“People are now using it as a primary

profiles are changing; nowadays,there are a lot of software engineerson a team and maybe only oneperson doing hardware.”

Both companies point to theburgeoning community of makers. DiJasio said he was seeing moreentrepreneurs looking at 8bit parts.“While we’ve always seen that type ofcustomer, there are now more of themlooking to get into the market.”

Pannell said he sees makersstarting at a high level, usingsomething like a Raspberry Pi. “But,eventually, they will have to go toproduction with a reliable piece ofsilicon. They may have a simple idea,but they won’t be able to use Linux,like they did on the Pi. At that point,depending on the product, they maywell go to an 8bit MCU.”

Both companies also haveproductivity in mind, particularly whenit comes to configuring peripherals.“Tools are a key part of our 8bitoffering,” Pannell contended. “Wehave a modern 8bit developmentenvironment in Simplicity Studio andthis has a configuration tool to notonly handle peripherals, but also theirpin outs.”

Here, Pannell is referring to thecrossbar feature in some of SiliconLabs’ 8bit parts. “It provides flexibilityin how to use the available I/O andwhere to put analogue blocks. Thefeature also helps to optimise boarddesign.”

Drehobl pointed out that Microchiphas developed core independentperipherals and intelligent analogueblock for its 8bit parts. “Theseperipherals can operate withoutinterfacing to the core. This allowsmore time independent and flexibleperipherals to be integrated. This, inturn, has allowed us to change our

tool,” he claimed, “and we’ll bedeveloping it from configuration ofperipherals by adding libraries.”Microchip is planning to launch thelatest update to MCC shortly and it’slikely this will include libraries forsuch features as TCP/IP, LIN andtouch interfaces.

While 32bit MCUs have theattention of many designers, 8bitparts remain viable design choices.Pannell concluded: “For designerswho have to watch every penny andfor whom being able to squeeze andoptimise a design matters, if they canget it done with an 8bit MCU, they willprefer that because of cost.”

In di Jasio’s opinion: “With theright balance between hardware andsoftware, and new tools thatdramatically reduce developmenteffort and timescales, the place for8bit microcontrollers in a wide rangeof applications seems more assuredthan ever.”

Josh Norem, an MCU applicationsengineer with Silicon Labs, says thatasking whether a 32bit part or an 8bitpart is better is not a logicalquestion. “A much better question,”he contends, “is ‘which MCU will besthelp me solve the problem I’mworking on?’.” And, for a wide rangeof applications – including thosebeing targeted at the IoT – the answercould well be an 8bit part.

EMBEDDED DESIGN MICROS

SPI I2C

ADCGPIO PWM

CMP

CMP

“Not every app needs alot of I/O or highperformance. Only afew apps need GHz oreven hundreds ofMHz.”Tom Pannell

“Making peripheralsmore intelligent mightlook simple from theoutside, but it becomesmore complex inside.” Steve Drehobl

Fig 2: How SiliconLabs solves theproblem ofexposing theresources of a largedevice in a compactpackage


?? Month 2016 www.newelectronics.co.uk24



In the near future, several billiondevices will be connected to theInternet of Things (IoT). According toHarbour Research, 2billion IoT

devices were sold in 2014; in 2020, itwill be more than 7bn. But this willonly happen with cost effectivecommunications networks andwireless devices.

By using technologies such asBluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi or cellularnetworks, almost any device anywherein the world can be connected to theInternet quickly and reliably. The latestcellular technologies – LTE-M andnarrowband IoT (NB-IoT) – will play animportant role in the IoT’s success.

One of the main challenges isn’tposed by new communicationtechnologies; rather, it is the hugeamount of IoT devices that need to betested against regulator, standard andoperator requirements. Currently,mobile operators probably test a fewhundred mobile phones every year inorder to allow them to connect to theirnetwork. With the adoptiontechnologies like NB-IoT or LTE-M andthe approximated variation in thedevice behaviour against a network,operators need to be prepared to testthousands of devices every year. Thisrequires more efficient conformanceand carrier acceptance testing andhighly flexible and efficient testingsolutions. Overall test efficiency will bethe biggest topic in all phases of theproduct life cycle.

M2M and LTEBecause LTE is optimised for themobile broadband market, the IoT hasgenerated little demand for 4Gtechnology, so the costs for an LTEmodem are still relatively high incomparison to a GSM modem.However some aspects of LTE make itincreasingly attractive. One is globalaccessibility; according to GSMA, 422operators in 146 countries offeredcommercial LTE services as ofSeptember 2015. The long termavailability of LTE is anotherconsideration. More cellular operatorsare saying they will no longer support2G mobile networks, making itnecessary to convert to the latesttechnology. The first LTE chipsets

optimised for the M2M market interms of cost and power consumptionare already available, with LTE offeringadvantages with respect to spectralefficiency, latency and data throughput.

The need for optimised solutions

for the IoT market was recognised inthe early stages of defining the 3GPPstandard and specific improvementsfor machine type communication havebeen developed. For example, featuresdefined in Rel. 10/11 are intended to

COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN COMMUNICATIONS TEST

1 0 1 1 1

SIB14: eab–

Device undertest (UE)

UE dateavailable

UE dateavailable

UE RACHpreamble

Access class, one of 10 (0 to 9) randomly allocated mobile populations stored in the device

Pagingindication of eab parametermodification(SIB14) 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1

SIB14: eab–

1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1

SIB14: eab–

1 1 1 1 1

EAB check:AC3 = 1

t

EAB check:AC3 = 1

EAB check:AC3 = 1

AC: 3

Device is barred

Testing times forIoT devices

If the IoT is to succeed, end to end tests are essential for matching

application behaviour to network behaviour. By Joerg Koepp.

Fig 1: A barring bitmapidentifies which classesare denied access



Cost effective devices The introduction of category 0 was afirst attempt at permitting significantlyless expensive LTE modems for M2Mapplications. Ideally, category 0modems will use less power and, toachieve this, the complexity of themodem was reduced by lowering thesupported data rate to 1Mbit/s. Thisminimises processing power andmemory requirements. Manufacturerscan also eliminate full duplex modeand multiple antennas and, as aresult, the duplex filters that would benecessary to prevent interferencebetween the transmitter and receiverare not required.

Category 0 devices are still indevelopment and will probably beintroduced later in 2016.

Development of LTE-MLTE-M has taken the first steps; Rel.13 includes additional cost reductionmeasures, especially lower bandwidthsin the uplink and downlink, lower datarates and reduced transmit power.

In Rel. 14, automotive industryrequirements have prompted theinvestigation of options for reducingthe latency in communicationsbetween consumer devices, allowingreal time communication betweencars, for example.

End to end testingIn parallel with the standardisationactivity, there needs to be a newapproach to testing. In addition toverifying the compatibility of thedevice, there will be the need for moreend to end application testing in orderto understand how dependenciesbetween the different communicationlayers affect overall applicationperformance, including suchcharacteristics as power consumptionor delay. This will guarantee a properinterworking of all applications.Additionally, security aspects such asencrypted communication or resiliencein IoT end to end connections shouldnot be neglected and therefore needto be verified and tested.

Author profile:Joerg Koepp is head of the wirelessmarket segment at Rohde & Schwarz.

protect the mobile network againstoverload by IoT devices. Networkoperators need to be armed againstthe possibility of several thousanddevices trying to connect to thenetwork at the same time. This couldhappen after a sudden event – forexample, the power grid coming backonline after a power failure. Overloadmechanisms and options for reducingthe signalling traffic have beenintroduced to handle thesepossibilities.

Many IoT applications – sensornetworks, for example – only send datainfrequently and do not need to operatewith precise timing. These devices canreport to the network that they canaccept longer delays during theconnection setup (delay tolerantaccess). Rel. 10 includes a processthat permits the network to initiallyreject connection requests from thesedevices and delay them (extended waittime). With Rel. 11, access to thecellular network can be controlled bymeans of access classes. In this case,a device may set up a connection onlyif it is assigned a class that is currentlypermitted by the network. The networktransmits a bitmap (EAB barringbitmap) that identifies which classesare permitted access (see fig 1).

The processes introduced in Rel.10 and 11 ensure reliable and stableoperation of current and future IoTdevices within cellular networkswithout endangering the mobilebroadband service.

The only thing still missing issolutions optimised for IoT deviceswith low data traffic, low powerconsumption and low costs. Thecommittee started to address this in

Rel. 12 and it quickly became clearthere will be no single, simple solution;the requirements for applications suchas container tracking, smart meters,agricultural sensors and personalhealth trackers are too varied. Rel. 12therefore concentrates on powerconsumption and cost effectivemodems. The results are a powersaving mode (PSM) that is especiallyimportant for battery operated devicesand a new LTE device category 0,which should have only 50% of thecomplexity of a category 1 modem.

Power saving mode The PSM process starts after a datalink is terminated or after the periodictracking area update (TAU) procedurecompletes. The device first enters thenormal idle mode, in which it switchesperiodically to receive mode. As aresult, it remains available via paging.PSM is entered after timer T3324expires (see fig 2). In this mode, thedevice is always ready to sendmessages because it remainsregistered in the network. However thefront end is switched off, so thedevice is not accessible via paging.PSM is thus suited for sensornetworks that need to send data tothe device only rarely and in smallamounts. This process is not suitablefor applications where a quickresponse from the sensor or a time-critical reaction is expected.

Applications that use PSM musttolerate this behaviour and the designmust include the optimal timer valuesfor idle mode and power saving mode.End to end tests are essential formatching application behaviour to thebehaviour of the network.

COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN COMMUNICATIONS TEST

DRX

IdleIdle

TAU

Pow

er c

onsu

mpt

ion

TAU

Power saving mode (PSM)

T3324T3412

Data

“There will be theneed for more endto end applicationtesting.”Joerg Koepp

Fig 2: Power savingmode starts after atimer expires


Is your company one of the many which aren’t taking advantage of the money being made available toindustry through the R&D tax credit scheme? By Graham Pitcher.

Take the credit

29

DESIGN PLUS R&D TAX CREDITS

readily deducible by someone in thatfield. And if you have to overcome aproblem for which there’s not animmediate solution, the chances arethat’s advancing the science.”

Tear suspects this confusion aboutwhat is or isn’t eligible could beaffecting the readiness of companiesin the electronics sector to claim fortheir R&D work. “It’s quite probablethat electronics companies operateon the assumption that science isbeing done because they’re using it,rather than the fact that they’recreating it. But the definition used byHMRC is that if you come acrosswhat it calls technological uncertaintyand solve that problem, then you’redoing science.”

With the large number ofcompanies making claims and the

(www.ggtc.co.uk), which specialises inhelping companies to access R&D taxcredits. He notes the Government isincreasing its investment in thescheme. “When the scheme was firstintroduced, the Government gave you50% relief. Increases over the last sixyears have seen that rise to 125%.”

In Tear’s experience, the majorissue with R&D tax credits is thatcompanies don’t know what they canclaim for. “It is sometimes difficult tounderstand what the definition ofR&D is. One of the claims we havedone was for a horse saddle, but theclaim wasn’t for the saddle itself, itwas all about the science behind theproduct.

“Another useful definition,” hecontinued, “is that technologicaluncertainty is something that is not

The UK Government has, ineffect, been giving money awayto companies of all sizes since2000 through the R&D Tax

Credit scheme. But the surprisingthing is that although the Governmentbelieves around 150,000 companiesare eligible under the scheme,substantially fewer companies thanthat have taken advantage.

So what are R&D tax credits?According to HM Revenue andCustoms (HMRC), they are a tax reliefdesigned to encourage greaterspending by companies in R&D. Theywork by reducing a company’s tax billby an amount equal to a percentageof its allowable R&D expenditure. Theeffect, it is hoped, is the companieswill make a greater investment ininnovation.

Only 20,100 claims in 2013-2014Statistics recently released by HMRCshow the total number of claims forthe accounting period from 2013 to2014 rose to 20,100, driven primarilyby a 23% increase in the number ofclaims from small to mediumenterprises (SMEs). The amount ofsupport claimed was said to haverisen to £1.75billion – £380millionmore than in the previous year – ofwhich SMEs claimed £800m.

So what is eligible for R&D taxcredits? In order to claim, you mustbe seeking to achieve an advance inscience or technology. The issueyou’re working on must be subject towhat is called scientific ortechnological uncertainty and havebeen conducted in a systematic andthorough fashion. If you can tickthese boxes, you can claim for suchthings as staff costs and the cost ofmaterials.

Jeremy Tear is a director of GGTC


Although theGovernmentbelieves around150,000 companiesare eligible forR&D tax credits,substantially fewercompanies thanthat have takenadvantage

http://www.ggtc.co.uk


DESIGN PLUS R&D TAX CREDITS


sums of money involved, you mightexpect the R&D tax credit scheme tobe well staffed, but that’s not thecase. Tear says there are just ahandful of inspectors in HMRCdealing with this issue. Thoseinspectors will, however, examine allclaims, perform some risk evaluationand will probably take a closer look ataround 10% of them. “And theirenquiries will be thorough,” Tearpointed out.

Tear sees three broad areas ofconfusion when it comes to R&D taxcredits. “The main area focuses onan assumption of what R&D actuallyis. It’s not about features andbenefits. I have dealt with a clientwho couldn’t think beyond what hisproduct did, but he needed to thinkabout how it was made,” Tearrecalled. “We have a team of analystswho can ‘get behind’ a product andunderstand the science involved.

Not understanding the technology“We often have clients who come tous having been told by HMRC theirapplication was not accepted. One ofthe general issues here is thataccountants don’t always understandthe processes or the technologyinvolved.”

Another area where Tear seesissues is in understanding what canor can’t be claimed for – and howmuch. “There’s a dangerous practiceamongst someclaimants whichsuggests that if youdon’t claim for toomuch, you’ll ‘get awaywith it’. The problem hereis that HMRC expects youto claim for everything, aslong as it’s a legitimateclaim.”

Until recently, companiescould only claim for directactivities. “Now,” said Tear,“claims can be made forrelated activities, but HMRCexpects the documentation yousubmit will be thorough and willwant to see things like contractsto help it understand that it is forR&D.”

The third main area relates to

30

GGTC’s R&D tax credit checklist

If you can answer yes to any ofthese questions, there’s a goodchance you’ll be eligible.

• New product developmentDo you develop new products orchange the way you make them?

• Product improvementDo you seek to improve products,materials, processes or devicesthrough technological or scientificchange?

• Technical challengesHave you faced technical productor process challenges that you havetried to resolve?

• SoftwareDo you develop software, ITsolutions or products?

• Manufacturing and engineeringHave you sought to develop orimprove your manufacturing orengineering processes?

• EfficiencyHave you improved or sought toimprove your manufacturingprocess or costs?

• UncertaintyWhen starting a project, have youever been unsure of how to goabout it or uncertain about itssuccess?

• Testing and prototypesDo you undertake sampling,testing, trials or develop prototypesor tools?

• ServicesDo you undertake product orprocess development orimprovement services at your ownrisk?

how information is presented toHMRC. “It’s quite an importantaspect,” Tear stressed. “A lot ofcompanies believe that if they writethe equivalent of ‘War and Peace’,their claim will be approved. However,HMRC expects you to follow a tightbrief, outlining what you think iseligible and why and the relevantdates. So it’s important to outlineyour claim clearly.”

R&D tax credits are claimed usingthe CT600 tax return form. “This hasspace to fill in the amount you’reclaiming,” Tear pointed out. “Thereare also two reports: Table A, which isthe descriptive part, and Table B,which covers what you think can beclaimed.”

For some companies, R&D taxcredits can make the differencebetween them surviving or not. “It’sthe only scheme where you can getmoney from the Government, even ifyou haven’t paid anything in. All youneed to be is a limited liabilitycompany carrying out this type ofwork,” Tear noted.

“Start ups are often strapped forcash and I know of four or fivecompanies which would have goneout of business without our making aclaim on their behalf,” he continued.“It’s what the scheme is for: allowingcompanies to develop technology andto finance it. And that’s worthwhile.”


Overmoulded Electronic Assemblies

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m@: [email protected] �: +44 1256 461894

EC Electronics is one of the UK’s leading subcontract manufacturers of the Overmouldedelectronic assemblies.

We specialise in moulding directly on to electronic assemblies,including PCBs, cables, sensors and other sensitive components,providing a totally sealed and encapsulated product. Our overmouldingprocesses utilise the latest in thermoplastic hotmelt adhesives thatoffer good adhesion to materials like ABS, PVC and have good flexibility at low temperatures and a wideservice temperature range enabling sealing rated up to IP66 .

Overmoulding is an ideal substitute for conventional potting and has the added advantages ofeliminating the need for an enclosure. Additional features like strain relief and corporate branding can beincorporated with very little additional cost.

EC Electronics Overmoulding service offers complete tooling and mould design along with our in housecapability to manufacture the PCB and cable sub-assemblies therefore providing and total completesolution to our customers.

‘Spider’ fibre optic

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New ‘Spider’ fibre optic assembliesfrom OMC allow livght signals to besplit or combined

October 2015…OMC, the pioneer in optoelectronic solutions, isnow offering a range of ‘Spider’ fibre optic cable assemblieswhich can both split an optical signal from a single sourceinto several outputs as well as combine multiple inputs onto asingle output fibre. This can be useful for sensor applicationsand precise triggering, among other applications.

Previously, designers have been forced to use beam splitters for this purpose, but such devices can beexpensive as well as complex to set up. OMC’s new ‘Spider’ fibre optic assemblies, by contrast, arerugged, reliable and much more cost effective. Perhaps the most important feature is that the spiderassemblies can be manufactured to suit the customer’s application, with customer-specific lengths,connectors and numbers of input/output channels.

Calibration Services Expansion

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@: [email protected] �: +44 (0) 191 587 8736

Specialist UKAS accredited calibrationservice

A specialist UKAS accredited calibration service for electronic testequipment has expanded its operations.

CalibrationHouse has expand its activities into new electronicinstrumentation sectors to include the full range of oscilloscopesand high spec electronic instrumentation, multimeters, 17thedition test equipment, PAT testers, high voltage test equipment and production line testers.

The CalibrationHouse advanced workshop service is also complemented by the availability of a national teamof highly trained and qualified engineers providing specialist calibration services at customer premises.

CalibrationHouse is accredited to ISO9001:2008 and ISO17025:2005‚ with service, calibration and repairs ofall types of electronic equipment being undertaken with assured traceability to national UKAS standards.www.calibrationhouse.com

Salcomp’s USB Type-C Charger

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@: [email protected]�: 408-616-4017

Salcomp’s USB Type-C Charger with Power Delivery SupportIncorporates Lattice’s Flexible Port Controller

Lattice’s LIF-UC port controllers offer a seamless connection to the AC/DC controller within the charger toenable a simple and low cost design. Using an FPGA architecture, Lattice’s solution delivers the flexibilityneeded to enable customization to differentiate Salcomp’s products. Salcomp is the global market leaderfor mobile phone and tablet chargers and a leading manufacturer of external power adapters for othercommunications equipment.

USB Type-C is an attractive solution for Salcomp’s customers along the entire electronics spectrum frommobile phones to notebooks. Delivering up to 100W of power, USB Type-C is the new connector for manynext generation products that Salcomp’s customers are developing.

“We designed our LIF-UC family of port controllers to provide our customers with various design optionsto enable USB Type-C power delivery,” said C.H. Chee, senior director of consumer marketing for Lattice.“By leveraging Lattice’s flexible FPGA architecture, Salcomp was able to bring enhanced chargingcapabilities to its latest product offering.

Horizontal Gecko Connectors

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@: [email protected] �: +44-2392 314 532

Horizontal Gecko connectors fromHarwin reduce PCB stacking height;increase design flexibility

G125 series connectors offer high performance in a miniaturepackage. The 1.25mm pin spacing results in a 35% spacesaving over other high-performance connectors such asMicro-D. Connectors can handle 2A per contact and functionwithin a wide temperature range (-65 to +150degC) andunder extreme vibration (Z axis 100g 6m/s).

Other features common to the Gecko connector family include polarization points that prevent mis-mating, easy identification of the No 1 position for fast visual inspection and optional latches that allowsimple and fast de-latching. Optional special tooling is available for use in confined applications. Thehorizontal style connectors feature a new mechanical hold-down latching system for additionalconnection security.

IP66 DN Enclosure/Junction box

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l.com

@: [email protected] �: +44-1933 234400

Unique high quality design; solid ortransparent lids; available in five sizes

IP66 DN junction box enclosures are constructed in light greyRAL 7035 ABS and have a wall thickness of 3-4mm. They areflame retardant to UL-94HB. Five different sizes are available,with the option of solid or transparent tops:

125mm x 125mm x 75mm; 125mm x 125mm x 100mm;175mm x 125mm x 75mm; 175mm x 125mm x 100mm;175mm x 125mm x 125mm. A 175mm x 175mm x 125mmmodel will be available in the second half 2016. The robust DN Range is ideal for a wide variety of bothinternal and external applications.

Comments Mark Severn, Director of Sales for Hylec-APL: “Our new DN range is a very flexible solution forthe vast number of applications that require protection against water ingress, yet at the same timehouse components requiring frequent access.

Full Colour OLED Micro-Display

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@: [email protected] �: +44-1920-484838

9.65mm Diagonal Mdp01 Suits Head-Up Displays And More

MICROOLED is a pioneer in the field of small, high definition, low power OLED displays that target Near-Eye Display (NED) applications such as head-up displays, sports devices, camera viewfinders, medicalapplications and many other professional devices. The company’s low voltage device architecturefeatures a unique sub-pixel arrangement resulting in highest pixel density and lowest power.

The MDP01 micro-display measures just 12.44 x 11.97mm and has an active area of 8.73 x 5.00mm(9.65mm diagonal). Power consumption is just 25mW in video mode. Resolution is 873 x 500 pixels,contrast is typically 100,000:1 and luminance is full colour RGBB: up to 250cd/m²; 75fL. Response timeis under one microsecond.

Comments Mike Blee, Marketing Manager, Astute Electronics: “The MDP01 provides ultra-high contrast,ensuring ‘black is black’ which is essential for high image quality. No ‘grid matrix’ is visible, furtherimproving resolution, and the manufacturing technology enables a wide viewing angle with no loss incontrast or changes in colour.”

InnoSwitch-CP ICs

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@: [email protected] �: (408) 414-8573

Constant power profile pairs withQualcomm Quick Charge, USB-PD andother adaptive-voltage protocols

InnoSwitch-CP ICs use Power Integrations’ innovativeFluxLink™ technology which enables high-performancesecondary-side control to be implemented with the simplicityand low component count usually associated with primary-side regulation.

FluxLink technology also optimizes the effectiveness ofoutput synchronous rectification, resulting in extremely high efficiency across the full load range. Forexample, no-load consumption at 230 VAC is less than 10 mW, while full-load efficiency exceeds 90%.InnoSwitch-CP devices easily meet all global energy efficiency regulations.

Call Marc Young on 01322 221144

http://www.lowpressureovermoulding.com




http://www.omc-uk.com





http://www.calibrationhouse.com





http://www.latticesemi.com




http://www.harwin.com




http://www.hylec-apl.com





http://www.microoled.net




http://www.power.com




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