Every week over the past five years, EEPN’s
Products of the Week e-newsletter has been sent
to over 70,000 subscribers. Covering notable
products and technologies in the semiconductor,
components and assemblies, computer
board/module, and design/test sectors, this
concise offering generates significant interest
in each product category via direct links to
the manufacturer’s datasheets or product information.
The components that appear in each issue (here we’re referring
to products like LEDs, pushbutton switches, pressure sensors, etc.)
are by far the most diverse in the industry, while of course being
indispensible to designers. On that note, we thought it would be
interesting to find out which components in our newsletters generated
the most interest, via online clicks, for approximately the past
12 months. You can find the complete list of 101 products broken
down by categories in the tables that follow. But for now, we’ll turn
the spotlight on the top 10 overall.
DISPLAYS & INDICATORS TAKE THE TOP SPOTS
Displays and indicators, which range from LEDs and organic
LEDs (OLEDs) to small and large LCDs and touchscreens, is
one of the hottest markets now with no slowdown in sight. Electronic
displays of one sort or another appear almost everywhere,
and the technologies behind them are constantly evolving.
Sparking significant interest, Osram Opto Semiconductors
unveiled the Diamond Dragon as the market’s brightest singlechip,
surface-mount LED in December 2007 (Fig. 1). Hitting
production in January 2008, it specifies a brightness level up to 250
lumens and comes in whites ranging from 2700K through 6500K,
as well as all monochromatic colors.
With an input power of 5 to 8 W, drive current is 1.4 A with a
maximum current of 2 A. Typical lifespan is 50,000 hours. Other
features include a thermal resistance of 2.5 K/W and a maximum
junction temperature of 175°C, which makes possible applications
that otherwise have a tough time keeping the LED cool.
According to Joerg Schmidt, product manager, the Diamond
Dragon is still the brightest single-chip, surface-mount LED
and ramping up nicely. The line is complete with color ranges
from 2005K to 7000K.
Also embarking in December 2007 and catching considerable
attention, AZ Displays raised resolution bars with the PD057VT1
5.7-in. digital active-matrix thin-film transistor
(TFT) LCD panel (Fig. 2). Claiming a leap over
QVGA (320 by 240) resolution, which is common
among similar displays, the panel displays graphics
in full VGA (640 by 480) resolution.
The component measures 144 by 104.6 by 13
mm with a 5.7-in. (118.4- by 89.6-mm) viewing
area. It includes a stripe pixel configuration,
T-CON timing chip, white LED backlight, and
transistor-transistor logic (TTL) interface. It
also can display 262,144 colors. The T-CON
timer IC lets users display lower-resolution content
on the higher VGA resolution while minimizing
image distortion when scaling from one
dot matrix resolution to another.
In November 2007, Aveso made its Primero
6|7 flexible numeric display module commercially
available (Fig. 3). Along with a battery
and other circuitry, it fits on a plastic structure
measuring about one-half the thickness of a standard credit card.
Inlays are available in standard formats and custom sheet layouts,
allowing users to produce display cards with industry-standard
hot lamination manufacturing processes and existing equipment.
A POWERFUL MOVE TO THE TOP 10
In March of this year, supercapacitors found their way into the
portable and handheld markets via the CAP-XX ultra-thin G
series from Tecate Industries (Fig. 4). Consisting of the GS and
GW series single- and dual-cell supercapacitors, these components
offer an alternative to the power limitations of batteries.
Providing up to 2.3 V in single-cell and 4.5 V in dual-cell configurations
with two cells connected in series, both versions operate
from –40°C to 75°C. The GW series sports a 28.5- by 17-mm
footprint, capacitance values up to 0.4 F at 4.5 V, and equivalent
series resistances (ESRs) as low as 60 mO. Measuring 39 by 17
mm, the GS series offers values up to 0.7 F at 4.5 V and ESRs as
low as 34 mO.
See related table (Top 10 Sensors)
PASSIVE COMPONENTS HIT THE TOP 10
With the escalation of on-chip integration, we don’t see as many
new offerings in the passive-components community
compared to, say, five years ago. Nonetheless, there’s still much innovation in the
market garnering interest and momentum.
Laird Technologies’ Activv antenna caught
our readers’ eyes in September 2007 with a
5-dB better sensitivity and a 25% smaller
footprint than the company’s RadioAnt (Fig.
5). The Activv antenna integrates directly
inside a handset and provides a combination
of FM reception, impedance matching, and
signal amplification. In addition, it performs
reliably when in close proximity to a human
body and provides enhanced reception performance
in free space.
Rallying in March 2008, the HM69S
series current-detecting power inductors
from Bi Technologies address the needs of
those involved in voltage-regulator designs
(Fig. 6). The components maintain a constant
dc resistance value with a shift of ±2%
at room temperature and 7% over a 100°C
temperature range.
Suited for multiphase voltage-regulator
applications including powering CPUs,
inductance values range from 90 to 200
nH with a maximum dc current of 75 A
and temperature coefficients of resistance
(TCRs) of 700 ppm/°C. Typical directcurrent
resistances (DCRs) are 0.950 mO.
See Related Table (Top 100 Components, 1-51)
See Related Table (Top 100 Components, 52-101)
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