Although white LEDs are common in a variety of lighting applications, their 3 to 4 V forward-voltage drop makes low-voltage applications challenging. Charge pumps and other ICs are available for driving white LEDs, but they generally don’t work with the low supply voltage of 1.5 V in single-cell-battery applications.
The low-voltage circuit of Figure 1 provides a current-regulated output suitable for driving white LEDs. The boost converter, IC1, can supply load currents to 62 mA with input voltages as low as 1.2 V, making it suitable for use with a 1.5 V, single-cell battery. Because a white LED draws negligible load current until the output voltage rises above 3 V, the boost converter can start with input voltages as low as 0.8 V.
Figure 1
By deriving feedback from a high-side current-sense amplifier, IC2, the circuit allows current regulation without sacrificing efficiency. IC2‘s 1.8-MHz bandwidth also eliminates instability in the feedback loop. IC2 amplifies the voltage across R1 with a gain of 20. This high gain boosts efficiency by enabling use of a small-valued current-sensing resistor. You can calculate the value of R1 from the desired output current:
For 1.5 V input and 62-mA output, the circuit efficiency of Figure 1 is approximately 80%. Zener diode D1 provides overvoltage protection at the output. When the output voltage rises above the sum of the zener voltage (VZ) and IC1‘s 1.235 V feedback voltage (VFB), the feedback voltage (Pin 3) rises and causes IC1 to stop switching. Thus, for an open-circuit output, the output voltage is regulated at VZ + VFB.
ASRock Industrial has announced four new products based on Intel’s 8th Gen Whiskey Lake-U: a thin Mini-ITX “IMB-1216” board, a 3.5-inch “SBC-350,” a NUC 4×4 form-factor “iBox-8365U” mini-PC and NUC-8365U mainboard. The IMB-1216 thin Mini-ITX board and the 3.5-inch SBC-350 boards run the quad-core, dual-threaded Core i5-8365U, clocking at 1.6GHz (4.1GHz Turbo). The iBox-8365U mini-PC and the NUC-8365U board that enables it, features the i5-8365U in a BGA 1528 package and also supports the 1.8GHz (4.6GHz Turbo), quad-core Core i7-8565U and the dual-core, 1.8GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) Core i3-8145U. Similar to the i5 model, these are both dual-threaded and enables Intel Gen9 UHD Graphics 620 with 24 EUs and a 15-25W TDP.
IMB-1216 portside view
ASRock’s announcement mentions only Windows 10 support, but other sites list Linux support. The iBox-8365U runs Linux 2.6. The four products offer up to up to 32GB of dual-channel, 2400MHz DDR4, including ECC RAM. The IMB-1216 offers a 170 x 170mm Mini-ITX design with a low profile, with support for industrial applications with a semi-extended 0 to 60°C range and offers a choice of 12V or 19-28V DC inputs with an AT/ATX switch. The IMB-1216 is fitted with 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (Intel and Realtek) and 2x SATA III ports, and also a SATA power output. It utilizes the Whiskey Lake support for USB 3.1, and offers 4x USB 3.1 host ports and a fifth internal 3.1 interface. Available also, are three USB 2.0 headers, with 2x RS232/422/485, 3x RS-232, and 8x GPIO interfaces. Its triple display feature is supported via 4K-ready HDMI and DP++ 1.2 ports and internal VGA and LVDS (or eDP) headers.
iBox-8365U, front
Other features include dual audio jacks, a speaker header, watchdog and TPM security, triple M.2 slots are available, a Key-M (2242/2260/2280) socket with PCIe x4 or SATA III, and a Key-B (3042) with USB 2.0 for 4G, which is accompanied by a SIM slot. The SBC- 350 board offers a 0 to 60°C range and enables either a 12V or 12-36V input with an AT/ATX switch.
The SBC-350 is also equipped with 2x Intel-based GbE ports, 2x DisplayPort, and 4x USB 3.1 ports on the coastline. It also includes an LVDS interface, which enables triple simultaneous displays, and a SATA III port. 4x USB 2.0, 4x RS232/422/485, and 4x in/4xout GPIO are available. The SBC-350 is equipped with a Key-M (2242/2260/2280) socket for storage and a Key-E (2230) for wireless. Available also is a speaker, TPM, and SATA power headers.
There are no details on the separately available NUC-8365U, but it seems to be the board inside the iBox-8365U. The iBox-8365U mini-PC is similar to Ryzen’s R1000 based iBox-R1000, which similarly adopts the 4×4 NUC form-factor. The 171.8 x 150 x 71.5mm, 2.2 kg PC ships with an active heatsink referred to as “fansink.” The skin supports 0 to 50℃ temperatures. Available also is a standard 12V DC input and Kensington Lock support. The iBox-8365U is further equipped with a 2.5-inch SATA III bay, and 2x GbE ports (Intel and Realtek). Triple display feature is enabled via 2x DP and a single HDMI port. Other features include 3x USB 3.1 ports and a DB9 port with RS232/422/485. Internal interfaces features include a second USB 2.0, 2x RS-232, and an audio header, with watchdog being on board. There is no pricing or availability information provided for the “preliminary” IMB-1216, iBox-8365U, and NUC-8365U or the “coming soon” SBC-350.
e-con Systems is a leading camera solutions provider making state of the art camera modules, and also have recently added a new camera module to their collection called Conversa. e-con system’s cameras include standalone MIPI camera modules, USB cameras, and stereo cameras.
The Conversa also known with the code name See3CAM_CU38 is a USB 3.1 Gen 1 based Camera with an inbuilt stereo microphone and supports low light environment. The camera module is a 3.4 MP custom lens fixed focus camera, and the built-in stereo microphone can provide 16bit audio @48KHz. Supplied with the camera is an S-mount (M12) lens holder that is expected to allow users to choose what sort of lens they choose to use with it.
Conversa – A USB 3.1 Camera with Microphone and supports Low Light
The Conversa camera module is based on its predecessor, the See3CAM_CU30, which is a similar low light USB camera but doesn’t feature a microphone. The camera is based on the AR0330 sensor from ON Semiconductor which gives it the superbly low light performance. The camera can stream FHD (1920 x 1080) at 60 fps and HD (1280 x 720) at 60 fps in both Uncompressed UYVY and Compressed MJPEG formats.
Conversa – A USB 3.1 Camera with Microphone and supports Low Light
With a dedicated ISP (Image Signal Processor) chip, the camera can perform all the Auto functions (Auto White Balance, Auto Exposure Control) with support for a processing pipeline which helps in providing video and MJPEG compressions. It is a plug-and-play (UVC and UAC) compliant USB 3.1 Gen1 SuperSpeed camera and is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 host ports.
Main Benefits
Main benefits of this camera are the high resolution along with the USB3.1 interface support which enables the user to capture details of the filming field without any lag or delay on the connection to your PC. The USB3.1 interface and the accompanying Windows and Linux software (e-CAMView and QtCAM) let you preview video and capture still photos with ease. Still images have a resolution of 3.4 MP (both MJPEG and BMP) and all parameters are automatically configured from the UVC control to enable you capture the best available image. Additionally there is a stereo microphone on board that help you record clear and vivid sound without much effort.
Device Specifications
Camera Module Features
Sensor: AR0330 from ON Semiconductors
Sensor Resolution and Optical Format: 4 MP CMOS Image Sensor. 1/3″ Optical format
Sensor type: 4 MP CMOS Electronic Rolling Shutter Sensor
Image Signal Processor: External ISP
Output Format: Uncompressed UYVY format and Compressed MJPEG format
Sensor Features
Pixel size:2μm x 2.2μm pixel
Sensor Active Area:2304(H) x 1536(V)
Responsivity:0 V/lux-sec (550 nm)
SNR:39 dB
Dynamic Range:5 dB
Shutter type: Electronic Rolling Shutter
Focus Type: Fixed focus
DFOV: 4MP – 120° (with the lens provided by e-con)
Microphone Features
Channels: 2 (Stereo)
Bit depth:16 bit
Sampling Frequency:48 KHz
Targeted Applications
Door bell camera
In-car security
Rescue AGV camera
Microscope Camera
Video conference
Badge camera
Others
OS Support: Windows, Linux, and MAC (requires talking with support)
Image Resolutions: 3.4MP (Both MJPEG and BMP)
Operating Voltage: 5V +/- 5%, Current – 512mA
Operating Temperature Range: -30°C to 70°C
Power requirements: Max – 2.55W & Min – 1.20W
Capture Mode: External trigger signal control & Software application control
Zero Shutter Lag: 3.4 MP still capture with zero-lag-shutter
UVC Controls: Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation Control, Gamma Control, Pan-tilt zoom, Digital zoom (up to 8x), and many more.
UAC Controls: Volume, and mute.
Extras: Face detection, Smile detection, Orientation controls, Frame rate control, and Image capture -burst mode.
Dimension – 30 x 30 x 30.2 mm (without lens & with M12 holder)
e-Con System has also released sample applications for use with the camera:
e-CAMView – A Windows camera application for video preview and still capture.
QtCAM – Linux Camera application for Video Preview and Still Capture.
Conversa Evaluation Kit
In addition to Conversa, an evaluation kit is available and comes with e-CAMView (Windows) / QtCAM (Linux) – Sample application for Video Preview and Still Capture along with the UVC Extension features (for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Linux and MAC *).
Introduction Video
The Conversa camera is available for purchase as sample in two options: The camera with lens is available for $169 here, and the camera without lens is available for $139 here. More information about the product is available on the product page, and the datasheet is available here.
Boosting DAC’s output to drive larger voltage tackled in this app note from MAXIM Integrated.
Many modern systems have the majority of their electronics powered by 3.3V or lower, but must drive external loads with ±10V, a range that is still very common in industrial applications. There are digital to analog converters (DACs) available that can drive loads with ±10V swings, but there are reasons to use a 3.3V DAC and amplify the output voltage up to ±10V.
Asrock introduced their “4X4-R1000” SBC along with some preliminary specifications and features. There is not much information available nor pricing, so we will limited on the the features and specifications provided. This SBC is based on AMD RYZEN embedded CPU, accompanied with up to 32GB DDR4 memory and various peripherals as seen below.
Spotlight Features
AMD RYZEN embedded CPU
Supports Dual Channel DDR4 SO DIMM 2400 MHz, up to 32GB
The new Siglent SDL1000X/X-E Series Programmable DC Loads, which can be set to simulate a wide range of load characteristics. Four models offer two different resolutions and two power capacity choices with an input range of 150V/30A. The SDL1020X/SDL1020X-E versions are 200W models, while the SDL1030X/SDL1030X-E versions have a 300W capability. The ‘X’ versions have a measurement resolution of 0.1mV/0.1mA, and the ‘X-E’ versions offer a resolution of 1mV/1mA . Both series have adjustable current rise times from 1mA/us to 2.5A/us.
The SDL1000X/X-E Programmable DC Electronic Loads offer advanced performance specifications and user-friendly control featuring a 3.5” TFT-LCD display, capable of displaying multiple parameters and states simultaneously. All models support four types of static/dynamic modes: constant current, constant voltage, constant resistance, and constant power. Remarkable for their high-speed response performance, these electronic loads offer a dynamic test mode, periodically switching between two preset levels at up to 25kHz.
Built-in additional features in the SDL1000X/X-E series help with numerous testing situations. For example, these loads have a CR-LED mode designed specifically for LED driver experiments. This can emulate an LED’s actual electrical characteristics. Also, a 4-wire sense compensation mode has been included in the design, which can effectively remove any errors due to the voltage drop in the connection wires. In addition, an operator can use the Program function (with up to 50 groups) and a List function (with up to 100 steps) to simplify even complex experiments. This can be especially useful when designing battery charging circuits.
These loads can be externally controlled by analog input or via the USB/LAN interfaces with the provided PC software. Comprehensive protection modes include adjustable over-current protection, over-voltage protection, over-power protection, over-temperature protection, and reverse voltage protection. When any of these occur, the loads will immediately turn input circuitry off and stop current sinking in order to keep equipment safe from damage.
The SDL1000X series delivers a stable load testing device for a wide range of testing requirements, including: power experiments, battery and handheld device design, LED lighting, automotive electronics, and aerospace and industrial applications. These electronic loads are made by Siglent Technologies, a leading high quality test equipment manufacturer, with a growing worldwide reputation. The SDL1000X/X-E Programmable DC Electronic Loads are available now from Saelig, their USA technical distributor.
u-blox (SIX:UBXN), a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies, has announced the u‑blox ZED-F9K high precision multi-band GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) module with built-in inertial sensors. The module combines the latest generation of GNSS receiver technology, signal processing algorithms, and correction services to deliver down to decimeter-level accuracy within seconds, addressing the evolving needs of ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) and automated driving markets.
The ZED-F9K high precision dead reckoning module builds on the u‑blox F9 technology platform. Compatibility with modern GNSS correction services further improves positioning accuracy by compensating ionospheric and other errors. The multi-band, multi-constellation RTK (Real Time Kinematics) receiver module receives GNSS signals from all orbiting GNSS constellations. A greater number of visible satellites improves positioning performance in partially obstructed conditions, while increased satellite signal diversity delivers faster convergence times when signals are interrupted.
Inertial sensors integrated into the module constantly monitor changes in the moving vehicle’s trajectory and continue to deliver lane accurate positioning when satellite signals are partially or completely obstructed as is the case when the vehicle is in parking garages, tunnels, urban canyons, or forested areas. When satellite signals become available again, the module combines inertial sensor data with GNSS signals to deliver fast convergence times and high availability of the decimeter-level solution.
The result of this combination of the latest developments in GNSS technology, correction services, and inertial sensing is a tenfold increase in positioning performance over standard precision solutions.
By robustly providing lane accurate position information, the ZED‑F9K meets the needs of ADAS and autonomous driving applications, as well as head units and advanced navigation systems. The module’s accuracy and low latency also makes it ideal for automotive OEMs and Tier 1s developing V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) communication systems. By continuously sharing their location with other traffic participants, these V2X systems contribute to increasing overall road safety and reducing traffic congestion.
We designed the ZED-F9K to be a turnkey high precision GNSS solution that caters to the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s connected cars,” says Alex Ngi, Product Manager, Product Strategy for Dead Reckoning, u‑blox. “The ZED-F9K is unique in that it integrates a multitude of technologies, from the GNSS receiver to the inertial measurement unit and relevant dead reckoning algorithms into a single device for which we can ensure performance throughout the customer product development cycle.
CISSOID, the leader in high temperature semiconductors for the most demanding markets, will present new High Temperature Gate Drivers, SiC MOSFET’s and IGBT Power Modules at PCIM 2019, the world’s leading exhibition and conference for power electronics, intelligent motion, renewable energy, and energy management.
The company is introducing a new Gate Driver board optimized for 62mm Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET Power Modules rated at 125°C (Ta). This board, based on CISSOID HADES gate driver chipset, can also drive IGBT Power Modules whilst offering thermal headroom for the design of high density power converters in automotive and industrial applications. It enables high frequency (>100KHz) and fast SiC MOSFET’s switching (dV/dt>50KV/µs), improving efficiency and reducing size and weight of the power converters. The board is designed for harsh voltage environments supporting the drive of 1200V and 1700V power modules with isolation voltages up to 3600V (50Hz, 1min) and creepage distances of 14mm. Protection functions such as undervoltage lockout (UVLO), Active Miller Clamping (AMC) and Desaturation detection ensure the safe drive and reliable protection of the power module in case of fault events. “This new SiC Gate Driver board is the outcome of several years of developpement working with industry leaders in Automotive, Transportation and Aerospace markets. It combines CISSOID expertise in SiC Devices with our long experience in designing chips and electronic systems for harsh environments” says Etienne Vanzieleghem, CISSOID VP of Engineering.
In Nuremberg, CISSOID will also present new SiC MOSFET’s and IGBT Power Modules. A new discrete 1200V/40mOhms SiC MOSFET transistor is available in a TO-247 package and fully characterized from -55°C up to 175°C. This MOSFET features a drain-to-source On Resistance of 40mOhmsat 25°C (Tj) and 75mOhms at 175°C (Tj). Low switching turn-on and turn-off energies, respectively 1mJ and 0.4mJ, are making this device ideal for efficient and compact DC-DC converters, power inverters and battery chargers. The company will also present two 62mm 1200V IGBT Power Modules with 200A and 300A current rating.
CISSOID is also working on SiC MOSFET Power Modules that will be introduced in the coming months.
These new products show CISSOID commitment in providing a comprehensive offering of SiC-based solutions including transistors, modules and gate drivers to support industry transition towards highly efficient, lightweight and compact power conversion for use in new electric vehicles and renewable energies
says Dave Hutton, CISSOID CEO.
We are closely working with automotive OEM and Tier suppliers to customise our gate drivers for new SiC-based power inverters.
STMicroelectronics STEVAL-ESC002V1 Electronic Speed Controller Board is a very compact and ready to use Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) reference design. The board fits any small and light drone for racing or surveying purposes. It’s also highly suitable for any three-phase BLDC application requiring a small form factor, minimal BoM, and high-speed rotation performance. Together with the companion firmware package (STSW-ESC002V1), it represents a solution for sensorless voltage mode six-step driving.
The board includes the STSPIN32F0A advanced 3-phase brushless motor controller that embeds an STM32 Cortex®-M0® microcontroller, voltage regulators, signal conditioning circuitry and gate drivers in a small 7x7mm² QFN package. The power stage is based on the 2.8mΩ low resistance, high-speed TL140N6F7 MOSFETs, designed with STripFET™ F7 technology and able to deliver up to 20A of continuous current.
Key Features
Very compact and light design
Designed for sensorless six-step driving
2S to 6S LiPo battery pack
Output current up to 20 ARMS
Pre-configured firmware package (STSW-ESC002V1)
BEMF sensing through OpAmps embedded in STSPIN32F0A
Digi-Key Electronics has announced the release of a new secondary KiCad library, known as the Digi-Key Partner Library, on GitHub. This is intended to be a supplement to the existing Digi-Key KiCad library released last year.
Whereas the previous library was developed and curated by Digi-Key’s Applications Engineering team, the Partner Library was created to allow manufacturers to submit their own symbols and footprints to be compiled into the Digi-Key format.
KiCad continues to grow in popularity as the open source alternative of robust EDA tools,
said Randall Restle, VP, Applications Engineering.
“The user community’s endorsement of Digi-Key’s atomic part library, which binds parts’ symbols to their correct printed circuit board footprints, datasheets, part numbers, and more, motivated us to develop the software tools to enable and motivate suppliers to develop their own KiCad design assets. Thereby, becoming a gold standard for such assets.
The initial rollout contains 45 parts submitted by TRINAMIC Motion Control GmbH and is set to expand as more suppliers engage in the program.
For more information about KiCad as well as the company’s full portfolio of EDA and design tools, visit https://www.digikey.com
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