Looking to expand the applicability of its direct-digital-synthesis technology into battery-powered industrial, communications, and defence electronics applications, Analog Devices developed a complete low-power, low-cost direct digital synthesiser (DDS) designed for wireless, handheld equipment.
Unlike competing approaches that synthesise a digitally controlled frequency, the AD9913 delivers a 250-MHz clock rate while consuming as little as 50 mW of power. In addition, it settles in nanoseconds with granularity well below 10MHz.
The AD9913 is earmarked for portable barcode scanners, radar detectors, remote radio controls, and other products that require a cost-effective combination of performance and low-power operation. It costs less than $5 in volume quantities and comes in a compact chip-scale package.
MCUs Stretch Energy-Efficiency Boundaries
As the consumer electronics industry evolves toward ultra-mobile portable designs, enhanced power efficiency and extended battery life have become essential design requirements. In response, Freescale Semiconductor introduced ultra-low-power 8-bit microcontrollers designed to enhance portable performance, extend battery life and improve energy efficiency for a wide range of embedded applications.
The MC9S08QE8 (QE8) MCUs, members of Freescale’s ultra-low-power QE family, have a stop current of less than 300nA and run current as low as 7µA. With such low-power operation, the QE8 devices will find homes in a number of low-end medical devices, such as blood-pressure monitors and at-home pregnancy tests, as well as portable devices like PDAs and cell-phone accessories.
The QE8 can run off of an ultra-low-power 32kHz oscillator that consumes less than 1µA of current.
Controllers Offer Automatic Power Source Selection
The MCP73837 and MCP73838 dual-input, high-current, Li-Ion/Li-Polymer charge-management controllers, developed by Microchip, feature automatic USB or AC adapter power-source selection. The advantage of auto power-source selection from either a USB port or an ac adapter is that it provides the user with increased flexibility for rechargeable battery applications.
The USB charge currents (100mA or 500mA) are regulated to comply with USB power specifications, while the higher charge current (up to 1A) from an ac power source enables the MCP73837/8 devices to provide faster charging cycles. On-chip safety features, such as thermal regulation, cell-temperature monitoring, and charge-timers, result in safer, smarter, and more efficient charger designs.
Standard parameter options available on the MCP73837/8 devices include VREG outputs and safety timeout periods, as well as preconditioning current thresholds and current ratios, charge termination thresholds, and recharge threshold ratios.
EDGE Solution Targets Mini-Card Platform
Renesas Technology’s Draco EDGE solution will support Icera’s Espresso Cellular WWAN mini-card platform. The Icera Espresso is an optimised Cellular WWAN mini-card reference platform that can handle the next generation of broadband cellular integration to laptop PCs.
The platform fully supports 3GPP release 5 multimode HSDPA, which delivers peak data rates of 3.6Mbps. It’s fully scalable to 7.2Mbps and HSUPA—without hardware change.
Access Device Adds A GPON Interface
The latest gigabit-speed, multi-service fibre access gateway device from PMC-Sierra comes replete with an integrated ITU-T G.984 GPON interface. The MSP7160 integrates all of the functionality for a GPON residential gateway and leverages PMC-Sierra’s GPON interoperability and software layers.
The MSP7160 delivers gigabit-per-second IPv4 or IPv6 routing, network address translation, and quality-of-service features. It includes integrated, multichannel VoIP terminal adapter capabilities; GPON MAC; and SERDES functions with proven interoperability. The MSP7160 is also software-compatible with PMC-Sierra’s other MSP7100 family devices.
Schottky Platform Can Take The Heat
Vishay Intertechnology has created a high-performance, Schottky-diode, Gen 5.0 silicon platform with eight new devices that offer low forward voltage drop, low reverse leakage, and a high maximum junction temperature for high-temperature applications.
Featuring submicron trench technology, Vishay’s new family of Schottky diodes provides a maximum junction temperature of +175°C, suiting them for automotive and other high-temperature applications.
The devices are offered in small RoHS-compliant packages for improved cost-to-power ratios, with a reverse-biased safe operating area (RBSOA) available for tighter and more cost-effective designs. A high and stable breakdown voltage (>115V) accommodates voltage spikes and optimises power density, which is increased in the diodes by 30% compared with previous-generation products.