EP announces 24 finalists for the 2019 Product of the Year Awards

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

Electronic Products has announced the finalists for the 2019 Product of the Year Awards. The annual awards, now in its 44^th  year, recognizes outstanding products that represent any or all of the following qualities: a significant advancement in a technology or its application, an exceptionally innovative design, a substantial achievement in price/performance, improvements in design performance, and the potential for new product designs/opportunities. EP editors evaluated nearly 150 products across 10 electronic component categories. Winners will be announced in EP’s January/February 2020 digital issue.

There are a few categories in which there are ties in the runner-up positions. Here are the 24 finalists:

Analog/Mixed-Signal ICs

Atmosic Technologies, M3 Battery-Free Bluetooth 5 SoC
Atmosic Technologies claims that the M3 Bluetooth 5 SoC platform offers the industry’s first fully standard compliant and battery-free Bluetooth 5 solution with multi-source energy-harvesting technology. Designed to reduce battery dependence for IoT applications, Atmosic developed three technologies — Lowest Power Radio, On-demand Wake-Up, and Managed Energy Harvesting — all of which are integrated into the M3 Series Bluetooth 5 SoC platform.

With the addition of Atmosic’s Managed Energy Harvesting technology, which can harvest power from different sources, the M3 can deliver forever battery life or battery-free operation in connected devices. The energy-harvesting technology enables the M3 to harvest power from multiple sources: radio frequency, photovoltaic, thermal, and motion.

Boréas Technologies, BOS1901 piezoelectric driver
Boréas Technologies claimed the lowest-power piezoelectric driver IC for high-definition (HD) haptic feedback in wearables and other battery-powered consumer devices with the launch of its BOS1901. The challenge for device designers lies in balancing the performance requirements of such devices with the hefty power demands of haptic technologies.

The BOS1901 delivers 10× power savings over its nearest piezoelectric competitor as well as 4× to 20× power savings over other incumbent technologies (LRA, ERM). Housed in a 2.1 × 2.2 × 0.6-mm package and consuming one-tenth the power of its nearest piezoelectric competitor, the latest addition to the family, the BOS1901CW, is suited for resource-constrained devices such as buttonless smartphones, smartwatches, game controllers, and other battery-powered devices.

Digital ICs

Microchip Technology, SMC 1000 8x25G serial memory controller
New memory interface technologies such as Open Memory Interface (OMI) enable a broad range of SoC applications to support the increasing memory requirements of high-performance data-center applications. Microchip claims that the SMC 1000 8x25G is the industry’s first commercially available serial memory controller. It enables CPUs and other compute-centric SoCs to use 4× the memory channels of parallel attached DDR4 DRAM within the same package footprint. Microchip’s serial memory controllers deliver higher memory bandwidth and media independence to these compute-intensive platforms with ultra-low latency.

SoC and CPU silicon devices using traditional parallel attached DRAM memory channels cannot continue adding more channels to meet their workload requirements, said Microchip. The SMC 1000 8x25G provides a standards-based serial interface so that silicon devices can add 4× the number of channels in the same package footprint as parallel DDR. Secondly, silicon devices with traditional parallel attached DRAM memory cannot support multiple types of memory media with different cost and performance metrics. OMI provides an abstraction layer so that silicon devices can attach different types of media, such as to DDR4 DRAM memory, in this case.

NXP Semiconductors , i.MX RT1170 Crossover MCUs
The i.MX RT1170 crossover microcontrollers (MCUs) from NXP Semiconductors mark a technology breakthrough with MCUs — breaking the gigahertz barrier by running up to 1 GHz while maintaining low-power efficiency. It delivers a record-setting performance, 6468 CoreMark score, and 2974 DMIPS while executing from on-chip memory. In addition, it uses advanced 28-nm FD-SOI technology, making NXP the first company to build MCUs in this advanced technology node.

Accelerating advanced machine-learning (ML) applications at the edge, NXP said that the new MCU family is redefining the “edge” and MCU landscape — bringing unprecedented performance and high levels of integration for industrial, IoT, and automotive industries. For edge compute applications, the GHz Cortex-M7 core significantly enhances performance for ML; edge inference for voice, vision, and gesture recognition; natural language understanding, data analytics, and digital signal processing (DSP) functions. The combination of GHz performance and high density of on-chip memory speeds up face recognition inference time by up to 5× compared to today’s fastest MCUs in the market, in addition to having processing bandwidth to improve accuracy and immunity against spoofing, said NXP.

Renesas Electronics, RE01 Group Embedded Controller w/ SOTB (Silicon on Thin Buried Oxide) Process Technology
Renesas claims that the RE01 embedded controller (introduced as R7F0E) is the industry’s first embedded 2T-MONOS (2 Transistors-Metal Oxide Nitride Oxide Silicon) flash memory based on 65-nm SOTB technology. The RE01 Group of embedded controllers is based on the Arm Cortex-M0+ core, which can operate at clock frequencies up to 64 MHz and provide up to 1.5 MB of low-power flash memory and 256 KB of SRAM. The RE01 can operate at voltages as low as 1.62 V, and the lineup includes three package versions: a 156-pin WLBGA package, a 144-pin LQFP package, and a 100-pin LQFP package. The controller also includes an energy-harvesting control circuit, an ultra-low-power 14-bit A/D converter, and a low-power circuit that can rotate, enlarge, or invert graphics data. The controller consumes just 20-μA/MHz active current and only 150-nA deep standby current — approximately one-tenth that of conventional low-power MCUs, according to the company.

Electromechanical

C&K, ZPA Series of SMT Subminiature Snap-Acting Switches
With very limited options for SMT subminiature snap-acting switches, C&K launched its ZPA series of subminiature snap-acting switches. The new switches feature surface-mount terminations, saving board space, and two actuator versions to better match specific customer requirements in a wide variety of applications, including as a PCB-mounted detector switch or in communication devices, test equipment, security/alarm systems, and consumer electronics.

The ZPA switches have a reliable snap-acting mechanism with a mechanical life rated at 1 million cycles and an electrical life of 1 million cycles, making them well-suited for long-life-cycle applications.

Fujitsu Components America, Inc., FTR-K5 Series Automotive Relay
Fujitsu Components America, Inc. offers a 6.6-kW (32-A to 250-VAC) switching automotive relay for on-board battery chargers in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (EVs/PHVs). The FTR-K5 1 Form A PCB relay assists with faster EV/PHV battery charging while also meeting automotive- vibration and shock-resistance specifications. It also provides a 105°C temperature rating and 8-mm insulation distance between coil and contact, which exceeds any currently available power relay in this class, according to the company.

Interconnects

C&K, Interposer
C&K’s Interposer provides a solderless and customizable way of connecting two PCBs, specifically for high-reliability aerospace applications. A key feature is the spring-load contacts that enable easy, solderless installation and removal. This provides a direct connection, which eliminates the need for a wired solution, easing design and integration.

For greater design flexibility, C&K has created an easy-to-use “build an interposer” concept. This enables customers to mix and match options to create the interposer they need for their particular application.

The interconnect uses the company’s Starclip contact technology. This means that the electrical contact function is decoupled from the pressure applied by the spring, which enables the connector to provide a stable, low-contact resistance, regardless of the force applied or distance moved, said C&K.

Schurter, 400-VDC connector system (GP21 rewireable plug and the GS21 panel-mount socket outlet)
Schurter claims that the GS21 socket-outlet and GP21 plug are the first 400-VDC connector system designed according to the IEC standard TS 62735-1 for a power level up to 2.6 kW, enabling a worldwide standardized approach to DC power distribution in data centers. Safety is key, said the company. The new IEC TS 62735-1 standard for DC power distribution requires a more complete design than traditional AC connector systems outlined in the IEC standard 60320. The DC connector systems must be designed while considering the increased potential for arcing when disconnecting the DC power supply under load.

The cost-intensive, failure-susceptible, and wasteful transforming of AC-to-AC or AC-to-DC conversion can be avoided with a complete DC power architecture, said Schurter. From source to load, a DC architecture improves the overall quality of the power being supplied by virtue of its design. Problems with harmonics and harmonic distortions are eliminated, and there is no longer the need for phase compensation or coupling synchronization to different sources and networks, thereby increasing operational reliability and improving efficiency.

TE Connectivity, sealed MCON Ethernet connector
TE said that its new sealed MCON Ethernet connector is the only Ethernet connector designed specifically for the challenges of the agricultural, construction, and truck/bus industries. Prior to the development and release of the new sealed MCON Ethernet connector, engineers needed to rely on technology designed specifically for automotive applications. “For the first time, commercial vehicle engineers have a reliable connector option for Ethernet applications that encounter high vibration, dust, dirt, and moisture,” said TE.

The rugged connector provides full duplex, wire-to-wire connections for multi-function displays, telematics, cameras, infotainment modules, and media access controllers. It is field-serviceable, compatible with IEEE 100BASE-T1 and BroadR-Reach, and allows for the use of unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables. Rated at IP67 and IP69, the sealed MCON Ethernet connector uses TE’s industry proven 1.2-mm MCON terminal system for high vibration and long-term reliability.

Optoelectronics

Osram Opto Semiconductors, Osconiq S 3030 QD mid-power LED
Quantum Dots (QD) tunable light conversion technology is being used for the first time in the Osconiq S 3030 QD mid-power LED from Osram Opto Semiconductors. The company said it marks the first step toward new LED components for the general lighting market. QDs are nanometer-sized semiconductor particles, about 10,000× smaller than the diameter of the human hair.

Designed to deliver high efficacy and excellent color rendering in area lighting and downlight applications, the mid-power LED includes a specially developed QD phosphor solution that enables CRI 90 to achieve an outstanding efficacy value of 173 lm/W at 3,000 K — a best-in-class value for 0.2-W high-performance LEDs. The LED is also available in various color temperatures from 2,700 to 6,500 K and is housed in a 3 × 3-mm package.

VCC, VentoFlex Modular LED Lighting System
Launched in 2019, VCC’s VentoFlex modular lighting system was created to provide a better way to deliver LED tiles. The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a true indicator of light quality, said VCC, and the VentoFlex tiles provide a CRI of 90, which is significantly higher than the competition’s CRI of 85. It also offers two tile options for a variety of configurations to enable even more creativity and flexibility, said the company. VentoFlex tiles are available in two options — one for square cutouts and one for horizontal cutouts. In terms of light output, VentoFlex also provides 691 lumens per sheet, which is 864 higher total light output than available alternatives, and tool-less installation — rivets allow for a tool-less, plug-and-play electrical connection, compared with similar products on the market that require wire installation with an insertion tool bit.

The tiles for square- and horizontal-cutout configurations eliminate constraints and ramp up how far designers can push their projects, said VCC. Designers can simply cut along the pre-indicated sections of each tile with shears, a box cutter, a knife, or scissors. And the online VentoFlex calculator tool makes it easy to help determine how many tiles of each type are needed. VentoFlex also makes it easy to connect up to 10 12 × 12-in. tiles on a single driver, dimmable to 1%. And because the cables don’t have to physically touch each other when connecting tiles, there’s even more design flexibility, said the company.

Passives

Cornell Dubilier Electronics, ULP Series of Ultra-Low-Profile Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
Cornell Dubilier Electronics (CDE) has developed an ultra-low-profile family of aluminum-electrolytic capacitors that can replace large arrays of surface-mount (SMT) capacitors. Called a “game-changer” for engineers designing compact electronic devices, the ULP series is designed specifically for applications requiring bulk capacitance and the lowest board profiles and offers considerably higher energy density than arrays of surface-mount capacitors. This design allows engineers to use a single component to save space, weight, and cost while improving reliability.

“With energy density exceeding 0.4 J/cc, a single ULP capacitor provides much greater bulk storage in a smaller footprint than a bank of low-profile SMT capacitors,” said the company, and “the technology is particularly effective at displacing parallel banks of SMT solid tantalum capacitors to achieve high capacitance on the board.”

Ohmite Mfg. Co., TRH Series of Thick-film Resistors With a Ceramic Heat Sink
Ohmite has combined its signature thick-film technology with a ceramic heat sink. Traditional designs using high power resistors and heatsink require multiple items to create a single assembly — a resistor, heat sink, thermal grease, and screw/nut. The TRH Series offers a single part solution to the common TO-247, screw, and heat sink. Traditionally, all three items are offered separately and require assembly to produce one resistive solution. The Ohmite TRH series fuses the resistor and ceramic heats ink into one unit. The solution not only eliminates multiple items; it eliminates the thermal calculations required in these assemblies along with the assembly times required for the total assembly. Using multiple thick-film techniques and patterns, the TRH Series can cover three primary applications: high energy, high voltage, and constant power.

Power

Maxim Integrated Products Inc., MAX17301/11 Fuel-Gauge ICs
Touting the most advanced battery protector with the highest level of safety and lowest quiescent current, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. claims that the MAX17301 and MAX17311 fuel-gauge ICs offer the most configurable settings for battery safety in the industry and uniquely allow fine-tuning of voltage and current thresholds based on various temperature zones.

In addition, Maxim said that these ICs also offer a first-of-its-kind secondary protection scheme in case the primary protection fails. This secondary protection scheme permanently disables the battery by overriding a secondary protector or blowing a fuse in severe fault conditions.

All ICs in the family use Maxim’s patented ModelGauge m5 EZ algorithm that delivers high state-of-charge (SOC) accuracy that, on average, offers 40% better accuracy than competitive offerings and eliminates the need for battery characterization, according to the company. These fuel gauges also claim the industry’s lowest quiescent current (IQ) — up to 80% lower than the nearest competitor — and feature SHA-256 authentication to protect the systems from counterfeit batteries.

Maxim Integrated Products Inc., MAX77827 buck-boost converter
Maxim said with the lowest quiescent current (IQ) in its class of 6 µA, as well as the highest peak efficiency of 96% in the market, designers can now maximize a portable device’s battery life with the MAX77827 buck-boost converter. The 1.5-A high-efficiency, compact converter allows 1.8-V to 5.5-V input and 2.3-V to 5.3-V output while providing the system stability needed to minimize abrupt or unexpected shutdowns. The MAX77827 addresses the power requirements of low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) applications, asset-tracking devices, and many IoT applications.

The MAX77827 is well-suited to support applications with low-power requirements because, regardless of the battery voltage variations, it can automatically transition between buck and boost modes to provide a consistent output power supply. Compared with the current means of utilizing a bypass boost converter followed by an LDO, the MAX77827 improves efficiency by up to 12%, said Maxim. Compared with utilizing a buck converter, it allows continuous system operation with lower voltage from the battery to further utilize the battery capacity.

Texas Instruments Inc., TPS62840 Switching Regulator
TI claims that the TPS62840 switching regulator offers the industry’s lowest quiescent current (IQ) of 60 nA — one-third of the nearest competitive device. This DC/DC converter’s wide input voltage (VIN) range of 1.8 V to 6.5 V supports a variety of battery chemistries and configurations. Engineers can use the new switching regulator to cut their battery count in half or use smaller batteries in their design. For example, designers can save up to 16,980 mm³ using four AAAs instead of four AAs.

The TPS62840 synchronous step-down converter also delivers very high light-load efficiency of 80% at 1-µA load, helping engineers solve critical design challenges in many battery-powered, always-on industrial and personal electronics applications — including narrow-band IoT, grid infrastructure equipment, and wearables — that require more flexibility, an extended wireless range, improved accuracy, and reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI), said TI. It also enables designers to extend the battery life of their systems or use fewer or smaller batteries to shrink their overall power supply solution size and reduce cost.

RF/Microwave

Insight SiP, ISP4520 Combo RF Module
Insight SiP launched the ISP4520, a combined Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and LoRa combo module with dual integrated antennas. By integrating the BLE and LoRa radio functionality, the module offers a unique solution, combining the short-range high-throughput capability and smartphone/PC access of BLE, together with the long-range features of LoRa technology.

While BLE gives a higher bandwidth channel for the device, which can be used for commissioning, software updates, maintenance, or to connect a set of local sensors to a central hub, LoRa technology offers a low-cost, wide-area networking solution for IoT applications, typically in use cases requiring a limited data rate and a long-term battery-powered operation, said the company. LoRa can operate via public networks and private networks.

The module uses Insight SiP’s patented “Antenna in Package” technology together with its advanced system-in-package design approach to embed both BLE and LoRa antennas into an ultra-small device measuring only 9.8 × 17.2 × 1.7 mm. The company said it is the smallest device of its type on the market.

Silicon Labs, Wireless Gecko, Series 2
Silicon Labs’ next generation of its Wireless Gecko platform, Series 2, builds on the RF and multiprotocol capabilities of the Wireless Gecko portfolio, with a flexible and scalable IoT connectivity platform. The initial Series 2 products include small-form-factor system-on-chip (SoC) devices with a dedicated security core and an on-chip radio delivering 2.5× the wireless range of competing solutions. Advantages range from best-in-class RF performance, robust wireless radio with improved blocking performance and low active current to the industry’s smallest multiprotocol SoCs in a 4 × 4-mm QFN, lower BOM count and system cost, and pre-certified modules.

“IoT developers routinely face product design tradeoffs around wireless range, power consumption, size, security, and cost,” said Silicon Labs. “The Series 2 wireless connectivity portfolio simplifies IoT product design with highly integrated SoC options and reusable software that make RF communication more dependable and energy-efficient. Series 2 helps developers optimize system cost and performance for a wide range of smart home, commercial, and industrial IoT applications.”

Sensors and Transducers

Aceinna, MCx1101 Current Sensors
Aceinna’s MCx1101 fully integrated, bidirectional current sensors claim much higher accuracy and dynamic range over the operating temperature compared with alternative solutions. For example, the ±20-A version offers a typical accuracy of ±0.6% and is guaranteed to achieve an accuracy of ±2.0% (max) at 85°C. These current sensors also guarantee an offset of ±60 mA, or ±0.3% of FSR (max) over temperature, which means that high accuracy can be achieved over a roughly 10:1 range of currents. This translates into roughly a 10× improvement in dynamic range versus leading Hall-sensor–based devices, said Aceinna.

The combination of high-accuracy, 1.5-MHz signal bandwidth with industry benchmark phase shift versus frequency, and 4.8-kV isolation make the devices suited for high- and low-side sensing in fast current control loops for high-performance power supplies and PFC, inverters, UPS, and motor control applications. The fast response and high bandwidth also make them suited for fast switching SiC- and GaN- based power stages, enabling power system designers to make use of the higher speeds and smaller components enabled by wide-bandgap (SiC and GaN) switches. Output step response time is 0.3 µs.

ams, TCS3408 color sensor
The new ams TCS3408 high-sensitivity flicker sensor allows smartphones to capture vibrant, detailed, and artifact-free images in all lighting conditions. The intelligent optical sensors designed for mobile phones offer ultra-high color and 10× ALS sensitivity and consume just half the operating power of competitive offerings, according to the company.

The TCS3408 features ambient light and color (RGB) sensing and selective flicker detection. The ambient light and color sensing function provide five concurrent ambient light sensing channels: red, green, blue, clear, and wideband. This architecture accurately measures ambient light and enables the calculation of illuminance, chromaticity, and color temperature to manage display appearance. The architecture of the engine features self-maximizing dynamic range, ambient light subtraction, data output, and an interrupt-driven 1.8-V I²C communications interface. The device flicker detection engine senses the presence or absence of 50-Hz or 60-Hz flicker typically generated from incandescent or fluorescent lights. Flicker detection is executed in parallel with ambient light and color sensing, has independent gain configuration, and also suppresses cross-coupling from any 940-nm IR, if generated by adjacent circuits (such as from a time-of-flight sensor).

ams, TMF8801 1D Time-of-Flight Sensor
ams claims that the TMF8801 is the industry’s smallest integrated module for direct time-of-flight (ToF) distance measurement providing accurate measurements from 2 cm up to 2.5 m. Measuring more than 30% smaller than competing ToF sensors, the sensor system is suited for compact, space-constrained designs and offers superior performance in important parameters including accuracy and usability in the presence of sunlight, said the company. The ams TMF8801 is a true direct ToF sensor system that enables laser detection auto-focus, so a smartphone camera can zero in on a target with accurate distance measurement — even when the cover glass is smudged or dirty. In a single modular package, the TMF8801 offers precise depth accuracy detection through a sub-nanosecond light pulse and an anti-aliasing “stopwatch” method to measure round-trip time of pulse. It provides single zone detection of an object regardless of the color, reflectivity, and texture of the object.

Test & Measurement

Tektronix, Inc., 4 Series Mixed-Signal Oscilloscope
Designed to meet a variety of workloads seen by embedded systems engineers, Tektronix designed the new scopes to be highly flexible and easy to use. Offering the largest HD touch display and highest available channel count — up to six flex channel inputs — in its class, the Tektronix 4 Series mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) features a 13.3-in. touch screen display with 1,920 × 1,080 HD resolution. It offers bandwidths up to 1.5 GHz and uses 12-bit ADCs for the highest vertical resolution in its class.

Tektronix claims that it is the first scope in this class to offer six input channels, and with the FlexChannel technology, any input channel can be converted from an analog to eight digital channels just by connecting a logic probe. Many applications, such as embedded systems, three-phase power electronics, automotive electronics, power supply design, and DC-to-DC power converters, require the observation of more than four analog signals to verify and characterize device performance and to debug challenging system issues, said the company.

RIGOL Technologies USA Inc., MSO8000 Oscilloscope
RIGOL Technologies has expanded its UltraVision II oscilloscope portfolio with the launch of the 2-GHz MSO8000 Series digital oscilloscope. The MSO8000 Series offers the same seven instruments in one capability as the other UltraVision scopes with the addition of new jitter and real-time eye analysis packages. It delivers integrated logic analysis, protocol analysis, spectrum analysis, and waveform generation with advanced analysis capabilities like zone triggering, histogram, enhanced FFT, precision measurements, and power analysis.

The new jitter and real-time eye analysis options enable engineers to accurately analyze serial transmissions for failures caused by timing, noise, bandwidth, and interference. These new options work with existing histogram and precision measurement functions to help characterize signal quality in real time. By adding the jitter and eye analysis packages, which historically have been available to more expensive oscilloscopes, the new series offers a more affordable tool for embedded engineers. It also extends RIGOL’s reach into serial data analysis and signal integrity applications.