IoT & Smart Cities

March 2016
Traco TMPS 03 series compact AC/DC supplies come fully encapsulated

Traco TMPS-03

The TMPS-05 series comprises miniaturized 5 Watt AC/DC power supply modules from Traco Power come in lightweight fully-encapsulated 1” x 1” plastic casings for PCB mounting. Besides their safety approvals for industrial and IT solutions, the supplies are also certified to EN 60335 for household appliance. These 5-Watt mod
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Date:
03/31/2016
GreenPeak Technologies, a leading low-power RF semiconductor company, announced that People Power, an award-winning software company offering cloud and mobile services, has launched Presence Security, built on GreenPeak technology. Both companies are important drivers in developing future proof, high quality Sm
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Date:
03/31/2016
Molex has joined the EnOcean Alliance, and will integrate EnOcean energy-harvesting technology into the Molex Transcend Network-Connected Lighting system. The EnOcean Alliance is sponsored by EnOcean, inventor of patented energy harvest wireless technology for use in building automation, smart home applications an
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Date:
03/31/2016
Renesas showcased their latest power solutions at APEC 2016

8th-generation G8H Series of IGBTs

Renesas Electronics America, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, showcased several of its analog and power technologies at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), which took place at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif. Renesas also had the new 8th-generation G8
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Date:
03/24/2016
GLF Integrated Power, an emerging leader in efficient power switch technology, announces mass market release of the first product in its IQSmart line of high-performance load switches. The GLF71311 load switch offers these best-in-class features: an off-state leakage current (ISD) of 5 nA, typ., at 3.3 VIN; a
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Date:
03/24/2016
GaN Systems showing Little Box winning design at APEC

GaN Systems' GS66508P transistor

For the past 10 years it has been considered noteworthy when two power devices were combined in one package, saving 5% power or decreasing size by 10%. Now all that's changed! Google's $1,000,000 Little Box Challenge resulted in taking a 2 kW inverter and decreasing its size 10 times! The contest dre
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Date:
03/21/2016
Altera, now a part of Intel, will demonstrate a portfolio of innovative power and industrial solutions at the Applied Power and Electronics Conference (Booth #2253) being held from March 21-24, 2015, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. Altera will demonstrate how its field programmable ga
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Date:
03/21/2016
Navitas Semiconductor announced the first Gallium Nitride (GaN) Power ICs, using its proprietary AllGaN monolithically-integrated 650V platform. Combining GaN power FETs with GaN logic and drive circuits enables 10x-100x higher switching frequency than existing silicon circuits, making power electronics smaller, li
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Date:
03/21/2016
Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) today announced the acquisition of SNAP Sensor SA, a privately held company based in Switzerland that specializes in highly innovative vision sensing technologies. The acquisition will advance Analog Devices’ leadership position in sensing and signal processing and build up
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Date:
03/17/2016
Laird's BT900 Bluetooth Smart Ready modules reduce the burden and design risk of integrating Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy into any OEM device

BT900 Bluetooth Smart Ready module

LSR was recently acquired by Laird, giving them the ability to provide customers with an expanded breadth of certified RF Modules. The first modules introduced are Laird's BT900 Bluetooth Smart Ready modules. These modules reduce the burden and design risk of integrating Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy into any
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Date:
03/17/2016
Germany’s digitization, an integral part of the national High-Tech strategy, was given a huge boost on Thursday with the announcement of a three-year $500m investment into the country by Cisco. The money, which backs a program called ‘Deutschland Digital’ will be invested primarily in innovation, security an
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Date:
03/17/2016
The proliferation of wireless sensors supporting the Internet of Things (IoT) has increased the demand for small, compact and efficient power converters tailored to un-tethered lower power devices. One of the more recent emerging market segments covered under the IoT that is particularly interesting from an en
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Date:
03/14/2016
IoT is perfectly suited for smart grid roll-out, thanks to the long range requirements and the small data size needed for transmission. Using narrow-band RF, the standard for long-range communication, an innovative remote energy monitoring solution is now possible. The solution consists of wireless energy me
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Date:
03/14/2016
In the race towards the Internet of Things, some businesses are being left behind.  In particular, companies that focus on critical supply chains have too much to risk by opening up their systems to the Internet.  For them, one compromised machine could mean that the food, pharmaceuticals, energy, wa
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Date:
03/14/2016
Amantys' Power Insight Configurator speeds up converter power stack test

Power Insight Configurator

Amantys Power Electronics has launched the Power Insight Configurator, a software tool that provides an easy to use interface to configure, down load data and generate test pulses for Amantys gate drives that have been built into a converter power stack. Power Insight is a communications protocol that enables tw
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Date:
03/14/2016
element14 and NXP announced the launch of NXP’s new Freedom Development Platform K66F for Kinetis K66, K65 and K26 MCUs, which offers optimized performance, scalable integration and low power capabilities. The NXP Freedom Development Platform K66F is ideal for developing low cost, low power applications to re
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Date:
03/14/2016
STMicro's new IPMs help low-power electric motors dissipate less power

Small Low-Loss Intelligent Molded Module

STMicroelectronics has expanded its Intelligent Power Module portfolio with the introduction of the SLLIMM (Small Low-Loss Intelligent Molded Module) -nano 2nd series, adding higher power levels and new package options that are especially suited to increasing the efficiency and reducing cost. The new SLLIMM-nano de
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Date:
03/14/2016
Lattice and MediaTek claim the most power-efficient 4K video over USB Type-C

SiI7033 port controller

Lattice Semiconductor, a leading provider of customizable smart connectivity solutions, and MediaTek announced the joint release of power-efficient reference designs that drive 4K UHD over a USB Type-C connector. Lattice’s USB Type-C port controllers and MHL transceivers can easily be paired with MediaTek’s He
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Date:
03/14/2016
It is a fascinating time to be in the electronic engineering industry, especially in the power sector, as society moves forward into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This promises to be the last, barring the takeover of industry by intelligent robots, as all of the parts are in place and the core technologies ha
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Date:
03/13/2016
IoT wearables and power electronics

Kevin Parmenter, Power Systems Design Contributor

If you attended CES 2016, you were told that everything there was the most important thing available in the universe.  Every product introduced collects data about your car, your house, your appliances, your life, your pets, and all the things and people around you and, most importantly, you. A subset of th
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Date:
03/13/2016
As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, (or Industry 4.0 as it is often called), it is worth taking a moment to reflect upon where we are and how we got here. The integration of intelligent systems via the cloud infrastructure to support both design and manufacturing supply chains of both intellectual an
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Date:
03/13/2016
Electronic devices have been ubiquitous in modern life for some time. So it is perhaps easy to assume that everything necessary has already been accomplished in the world of passive components. As consumers, we are all well aware of faster computers, smaller and smarter phones, brighter and flatter TV screens, an
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Date:
03/13/2016
The Internet-of-Things (IoT) is simply the concept of connecting any device with a sensor or controller to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cell phones, appliances, cars machines, components of machines, wearable devices and anything else you can think of.  But the principle of
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Date:
03/13/2016
Although efficiency has been replaced by effectiveness as favorite criterion in the business world, it still dominates the world of engineers and technicians. The hunt for improved utilization of electricity permeates every level in the electronics industry, from individual semiconductor components over circuits an
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Date:
03/13/2016
Requirements to optimize efficiency and to address the complex power requirements of CPUs, ASICs and other sophisticated ICs are making active power management a critical design requirement in applications such as datacenter servers, embedded telecoms systems and networking equipment. At the same time, engineers ta
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Date:
03/13/2016
TDK's new compact SMT current-sense transformers suit power apps

EPCOS SMT current sense transformer

TDK Corporation presents two new series of EPCOS SMT current sense transformers for power electronics. The various types in the B78417A* series are based on EP7 ferrite cores, have compact dimensions of just 10.6 mm x 12.2 mm x 11.0 mm and are designed to measure pulse currents of up to 20 A. The maximum DC re
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Date:
03/12/2016
The ZigBee Alliance, a non-profit association of companies creating, maintaining and delivering open, global standards for the low-power wireless Internet of Things (IoT), today announced it will be joined by 60 member companies at the Light + Building 2016 conference. In both the ZigBee Alliance booth (Hall 9.
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Date:
03/10/2016
ROHM’s compact, high-efficiency, high-power, synchronous-boost DC/DC converter IC can improve performance and extend battery life in portables

BD1865GWL synchronous-boost DC/DC converter IC

ROHM has recently announced the availability of a compact, high-efficiency, high-power synchronous-boost DC/DC converter IC optimized for single-cell battery applications. Many of today’s portable devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets) are driven by single-cell li-ion batteries that deliver an output of
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Date:
03/10/2016
 Avnet, a leading technology distributor, introduced the new MicroZed Industry 4.0 Ethernet Kit (I4EK), enabling multi-protocol Industrial Ethernet solutions based on the Xilinx Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC and Anybus technology from HMS Industrial Networks. Offering seamless hardware and software integration ac
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Date:
03/10/2016
Linear's 42V latest triple synchronous step-down converter delivers 93% efficiency

LT8601 42V input capable high-efficiency triple-output synchronous monolithic step-down switching regulator

Linear Technology announced the LT8601, a 42V-input capable, high-efficiency triple-output synchronous monolithic step-down switching regulator. Its triple-channel design combines two high voltage 2.5A and 1.5A channels with a lower voltage 1.8A channel to deliver three independent voltage outputs as low as 0.
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Date:
03/09/2016
Wuerth Elektronik eiSos presents updated power module catalog

Wuerth Electronic 2016 Power Module Catalog

The new, expanded and improved 2016 Power Module Catalog from Wuerth Electronik is now available. Selecting the right step-down converters and LED drivers you need has become even more convenient. A selection tool depicts a clear overview of the various product groups, including pictograms to show all of their im
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Date:
03/09/2016
Allegro unveils LED driver with integrated hall-effect switch

The A1569 LED driver IC integrates a Hall-effect switch

Allegro MicroSystems presented the first LED driver IC that integrates a Hall-effect switch. The A1569 enables compact, elegant, reliable, and fault-tolerant LED lighting with minimal electrical engineering and low component-count and cost. A single silicon chip integrates: a Hall plate, a small-signal amplifier, ch
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Date:
03/09/2016
Leading electronic components distributor Digi-Key Electronics announced a distribution agreement with Knowles (Syfer) (formerly Syfer Technology). The Knowles Capacitors (Syfer) brand is considered to be a premier source for application-specific multilayer ceramic capacitors and EMI suppression filters. The Kn
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Date:
03/07/2016
NXP Semiconductors introduced the AXP family of logic translators, designed for low-power, low-voltage, and high-performance applications. The family of AXP translators is the lowest power and voltage translator solution in the market while also offering the widest range of voltage translation from 0.7 volts to
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Date:
03/07/2016
AVX to launch new products at APEC 2016

AVX will be exhibiting at booth #1536 at APEC

AVX, a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions, will launch two new capacitor series, showcase its expansive portfolio of advanced passive solutions — including several new and significant series extensions, and contribute to the technical conference program at this year’s Applied Po
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Date:
03/04/2016
IDTechEx Launchpad will showcase innovations from 10 start-up companies at the IDTechEx Show! in Berlin, Germany on 27-28th April 2016. The IDTechEx Launchpad initiative features early-stage start-ups, universities, newly spun-out companies, and research or government labs who will demonstrate a working prototype or
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Date:
03/03/2016
Engineers create stretchable liquid metal circuit

EPFL has developed a fully-flexible polymer that’s imbued with liquid metal

With an eye on next-generation wearable technology and even artificial skin, researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a fully-flexible polymer that’s imbued with liquid metal — a groundbreaking new material that can be used to create stretchable electronic circuits. Th
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Date:
03/02/2016
When design engineers, purchasing professionals and policy makers gather at this year’s ELEXCON, one of China's largest and most important electronic exhibitions, a wide range of topics critical to the continuing progress of the industry will be featured: • Start-ups: hardware, software & the supply ch
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Date:
03/02/2016
ams, a leading provider of high performance sensor and analog solutions, appointed Alexander Everke as CEO of ams. Bringing more than 24 years of semiconductor industry experience to the company, Alexander Everke joined ams’ management board as CEO designate in October 2015. Alexander Everke has held senio
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Date:
03/01/2016
EPC will exhibit more than 20 demonstrations showing how GaN technology's superior performance is changing the way we live, and company experts will deliver six technical presentations on GaN FET technology, at APEC 2016, the premier global event in applied power electronics. The EPC team will be presenting
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Date:
03/01/2016
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