New products roundup: IP&E, memory, optoelectronics, and power

Here is this week’s roundup of new products and services, including a range of interconnect, passive, and electromechanical (IP&E) devices. Listed in alphabetical order by company name, this week’s new product roundup covers solid-state storage, switches, resistors, connectors, motors, MLAs, circuit protection, and power devices.

Alliance Memory has introduced two new industrial-grade embedded 4-GB and 8-GB multi-media card (eMMC) solutions. The 4-GB ASFC4G31M-51BIN and 8-GB ASFC8G31M-51BIN each integrate NAND flash memory with an eMMC controller and flash transition layer (FTL) management software in a single 11.5 × 13 mm 153-ball FBGA package. These devices are used for solid-state storage in consumer, industrial, and networking applications. They are compliant with the JEDEC eMMC v5.1 industry standard, supporting features such as boot operation, replay protected memory block (RPMB), device health report, field firmware updates, power-off notification, enhanced strobe features for faster and more reliable operation, write leveling, high-priority interrupt (HPI), secure trim/erase, and high-speed HS200 and HS400 modes. The devices are also backwards-compatible with eMMC v4.5 and v5.0. Samples and production quantities will be available in the first quarter of 2022, with lead times of 12 weeks. Pricing for U.S. delivery ranges from $4 to $5 for the 4-GB ASFC4G31M-51BIN and $8 to $9 for the 8-GB ASFC8G31M-51BIN.

Altium LLC and MacroFab, Inc. have claimed the electronics industry’s first “design WITH manufacturing” application with the introduction of Altimade for the Altium user community. Altimade enables customers to request an instant quote and place an order to produce their printed-circuit-board (PCB) assembly without leaving their design environment. It is available on the Altium 365 cloud platform and connected to MacroFab’s digital manufacturing platform. Altium users have access to continuously updated component and manufacturing prices and lead times and can place an order to produce their PCBs directly within the design environment, and all data required for manufacturing is shared via the secure, cloud-based Altium 365 platform, without file translations and exports. Orders are fulfilled by MacroFab’s network of manufacturers.

BrightView Technologies has launched a new series of  beam-shaping micro lens arrays (MLAs). The new T-Series Top Hat MLA products create optical profiles for LiDAR, 3D sensing, and display applications.  The T-Series products range from small to large angles with rectangular and circular profiles. They are specifically designed to meet the requirements of vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), edge emitting laser (EEL), and LED applications, including high-efficiency, compatibility with high-peak laser power and optical uniformity. They are available in a variety of substrate thickness and material options including polycarbonate, PET, and glass.

C&K has expanded its snap-switch product offering with the new sealed subminiature ZMT Series, an upgraded version of the ZMA switch. The customizable sealed subminiature snap switch is offered with IP67-rated encapsulated wires and customized levers. It also can be provided as part of a module. The ZMT Series is available in ultra-low to high-power current options, ranging from 0.1 A to 5 A, both in AC and DC. Applications range from automotive, such as automotive door latches, seat position detection, and EV charging, to industrial and medical applications.

Hirose Electric has announced that the ix Industrial connector series has been specified as a new standard interface connector for Ethernet applications by PROFINET (Process Field Network). The recent PROFINET Cabling and Interconnection Technology Guideline has designated the ix Industrial mating interface as a new standard for Ethernet applications. The ix Industrial series reduces functional space by up to 75% and footprint by two-thirds compared to RJ45 solutions. It supports CAT5e (1 Gbits/s) and CAT6A (10 Gbits/s) cabling, and features an optimized EMI/ESD shielding design for secure data transmission up to 10 Gbits/s. The ix Industrial series is compliant with the standard IEC 61076-3-124 . The range features three receptacle types and IDC and solder-type plugs with two keying codes, differentiating Ethernet according to IEEE 802.3 from other applications, said Hirose.

InnovationLab has unveiled its new battery management solution that uses ultra-thin printed pressure and temperature sensors to capture detailed battery data down to the cell level, which can be used to extend battery lifetime by up to 40%, said the company. The new BaMoS battery monitoring solution for automotive applications can provide insight into battery behavior and performance for electric vehicles, including how a battery system reacts to stress tests in terms of pressure and temperature or what happens during the charging cycle. The solution includes the sensor foils, electronics to gather and process the captured data, and software for live visualization, storage, and analysis of the data. Both the pressure and temperature sensors can be customized for size, resolution, and substrate material.

Littelfuse, Inc. has introduced a new compact cartridge fuse series that is rated at 500 Vac/Vdc with current ratings from 40 A to 63 A and a 10,000-A interrupting rating. The 607 Series of high-current, high-voltage cartridge fuses are designed for overcurrent protection applications. The 500-V fuse rating is suitable for both AC and DC inputs. The operating temperatures range is -55˚C to 125˚C . A single 607 fuse, housed in a 10 × 32-mm cartridge body requires less board space than previous designs that used multiple lower current rated fuses in parallel, enabling designers to reduce the board space they reserve for protection components when designing high wattage equipment, said the company. Applications include data centers, telecom, EV charging, HVAC systems, uninterruptable power supplies, and inverters and rectifiers. Samples are available.

ODU has extended its range of connector products that are available in 48 hours in the North American market. These include the ODU MINI-SNAP L, K and F Series available now with solder contacts and several keyway options as well as the ODU MEDI-SNAP plastic circular connector with a push-pull locking design for reusable and disposable medical applications. The range of connectors target a variety of applications including medical, industrial, test and measurement, military, security, and automotive applications.

P-Duke Technology Co., Ltd. has added a medical-grade 60-W DC/DC converter series to its range of 1-W to 60-W 2xMOPP medical DC/DC converter family. Providing 60-W output power in a quarter-brick package, the MPQ60W series has a patented transformer design, which allows the converters to perform with an efficiency of up to 92.5%. The series features a 4:1 input range of 9-36 VDC and 18-75 VDC and integrate over/under-voltage protection, over-current, and short-circuit and over-temperature protection. The series is certified according to IEC/EN/ANSI/AAMI ES 60601-1, IEC/EN 60601-1-2, 4th edition, and IEC/EN/UL 62368-1. It is designed with 5000 VAC reinforced 2 x MOPP insulation, 250 VAC working voltage, and 8-mm air clearance and creepage distance. Shock and vibration are compliant with MIL-STD-810F. These DC/DC converters can also be used for the most stringent classification of type-CF applied part (cardiac floating) equipment, due to its low leakage current less than 4.5 μA, said P-Duke. Applications include laser treatment, electrosurgical systems, physiotherapy chairs, medical aesthetic, endoscopic devices, patient monitoring, drug delivery, C-arms, defibrillation, and air ambulance.

Power Integrations has claimed the industry’s first automotive-qualified high-voltage switcher ICs with the introduction of the new 1700-V SiC MOSFET. The two new AEC-Q100 qualified switcher ICs added to the company’s InnoSwitch3-AQ family incorporate a silicon carbide (SiC) primary switching MOSFET. Delivering up to 70 watts of output power, the ICs can be designed into 600- and 800-volt battery and fuel-cell electric passenger vehicles, as well as electric buses, trucks and a range of industrial power applications. The highly integrated InnoSwitch ICs are said to reduce the number of component to implement a power supply by as much as 50%. The incorporated synchronous rectification and a quasi-resonant (QR)/CCM flyback controller achieves greater than 90% efficiency to meet the strictest OEM requirements, said Power Integrations. These parts consume less than 15 mW at no-load, which is suited for reducing self-discharge in battery management systems. Offered in a compact InSOP-24D package, the devices are priced at $5.64 for part number INN3947CQ-TL and $9.02 for part number INN3949CQ-TL in quantities of 1,000. A reference design, DER-913Q, and hardware kit RDK-919Q, are available.

Stackpole Electronics, Inc. has introduced a high-current, four-terminal shunt resistor for precision power monitoring and control. The HCSK1216, housed in a 1216 package size, provides a 3-W to 5-W four-terminal shunt, which takes up 75% less space than the 2725 size. The HCSK1216 is available in 0.5 and 1 milliohm resistance values in tolerances as low as 1% and 50-ppm TCR.  Applications include power management, power modules, battery charging, frequency converters, hybrid power current sensing, engine and motor controls, PC graphics, and motherboards. Pricing varies depending on size and tolerance. Example pricing: $0.28 each in 1% tolerances. Click here for the datasheet.

STMicroelectronics’ new dual gate drivers are designed to optimize and simplify SiC and IGBT switching circuits. The STGAP2HD for IGBTs and STGAP2SICD for SiC MOSFETs are built on ST’s latest galvanic-isolation technology to provide 6-kV transient-voltage capability in a SO-36W wide-body package, while the ±100 V/ns dv/dt transient immunity prevents spurious turn-on in electrically noisy operating conditions. The devices can deliver a gate-control signal of up to 4 A, with dual output pins for extra flexibility in gate driving, which enables independent adjustment of turn-on and turn-off times. The active Miller clamp prevents gate spikes during fast commutation in half-bridge topologies and circuit protection features include thermal protection, a watchdog for safe operation, and under-voltage lockout (UVLO) per channel. Available in production, the dual gate drivers are priced from $1.84 for orders of 1000 pieces. Demo boards also are available: EVALSTGAP2HDM and EVALSTGAP2SICD.

STXI Motion has expanded its family of integrated closed-loop servo stepper motors with the introduction of the stepIM NEMA 17 EtherCAT model. The IP65-rated stepIM NEMA 17 is said to deliver an economical solution for applications that require the performance of a servo at the price of a stepper. With a closed-loop servo control by Servotronix Motion Control, the integrated electronics control the stepper motor as a two-phase BLDC motor, implementing position servo loop, velocity loop, DQ current control, and additional algorithms. The closed-loop commutation, via an absolute singe-turn encoder, ensures optimal torque utilization at any speed, said STXI.

u-blox has introduced a new security service, IoT certificate manager, that continuously renews device credentials in a fully automated mode. The service provides a secure way to manage the X.509 certificates required for device authentication and is said to futureproof protection by increasing security levels over the entire device lifetime. Together with u-blox’s existing zero-touch provisioning service, it provides out-of-the-box on-boarding to IoT cloud platforms with total control of the device certificate lifecycle, said the company. Certificate lifecycle control targets IoT devices that integrate with leading IoT cloud platforms including the AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub, and DPS services. “Failure to meet renewal deadlines can expose devices to cyberthreats, disrupt service availability, and undermine business,” said u-blox. Zero-touch provisioning and IoT certificate manager services are available now.

XP Power has launched the FCB100 series of AC/DC power supplies for industrial, technology, and medical devices. The series is certified to medical (including BF), ITE, and household standards for Class I and II (no ground connection) operation. The open-frame modules (101.6 × 50.8 × 31.8 mm) support both convection and fan-cooled applications and are suited for medical, home health care, test & measurement, broadcast, networking, communications, and other industrial equipment. With external forced air cooling, the units deliver 100 W at up to 50°C, derating linearly to 50 W at 70°C. The units can be convection-cooled for low audible noise, delivering 80/85 W at up to 50°C, derating linearly to 40/45W at 70°C depending on the model. All models accept a wide operating input voltage range of 80 to 264 VAC, and have a no-load power consumption of less than 0.3 W. A choice of six standard output voltages is available: 12 V, 15 V, 19 V, 24 V, 36 V, and 48 VDC. Safety certifications include IEC/ES/EN 60601-1, IEC/UL/EN 62368-1, IEC 60950-1, and IEC 60335. The products also comply with EN55035 and IEC 60601-1-2 ed.4 EMC standards. The FCB100 series is priced at $29.64 for 500+ piece orders.

Other new products covered this week include the following:

Active resonators can replace quartz crystal devices

Digital oscilloscope combines spectrum analysis with 5-GHz bandwidth

N-Channel MOSFETs deliver ultra-low on-resistance

Step-down buck converter saves space in multi-cell battery applications