March 2022

Hardware

TDK announces new ultra-low profile µPOL™ DC-DC converters

The FS1412 is an easy-to-use, fully integrated and highly efficient micro-point-of-load (μPOLTM) voltage regulator. The on-chip pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller and integrated MOSFETs, plus incorporated inductor and capacitors, resulting in an extremely compact and accurate regulator. The low-profile package is suitable for automated assembly using standard surface-mount equipment.

The package size is 5.8mm x 4.9mm x 1.6mm. Wide input voltage range: 4.5–16V. Adjustable output voltage: 0.6–1.8V.

DIGI ConnectCore® 8M Nano SoM

Some time ago I realized that if I would going to use a Linux running platform it should be a well-supported and Yocto-supported platform. For example the NXP® i.MX8 Nano platform. And then I found the Digi ConnectCore® SoM modules with solid parameters: Up to 8GB eMMC, up to 1GB of LPDDR4 (16-bit), 1x 10/100/1000M Ethernet + AVB, -40°C to 85°C industrial operating temperature range.

Nothing that can be called overkill but a solid and in my opinion well-designed platform to start with. One can then focus on the application than how to fanout the LPDDR4 memory chips, right? The price tag is about 150 USD a piece.

Reference design kit for 60W SiC power supply

The Power Integrations company released their Reference design kit RDK-919Q for 60 W Power Supply for 800 V Bus with 50-1000 VDC Input Using InnoSwitch3-AQ (1700 V SiC Switch). Its output power rating is scaled according to the input voltage:

• 50 – 1000 VDC Input;
• 50 VDC: 4 W
• 100 VDC: 35 W
• 200 VDC: 48 W
• 300 VDC – 1000 VDC: 60 W

TI Current sense amplifier for 2.7 to 120 V CM voltage

Texas Instruments INAx290/INAx290-Q1 Ultra-Precise Current Sense Amplifiers can measure voltage drops across shunt resistors over a wide common-mode range from 2.7V to 120V. The amplifier operates from a single 2.7V to 20V supply and draws a 370µA supply current (typical). The INAx290/INAx290-Q1 is available with five gain options: 20V/V, 50V/V, 100V/V, 200V/V, and 500V/V.

The INAxxx current sense amplifiers are well-known but the common-mode range up to 120 VDC is a quite useful feature.

TI INA350 Low-Power Instrumentation Amplifier

Another amplifier from the INAxxx family but this one offers a nice feature of choosing between two factory set gains with an input pin. The gain option is either G = 10 or G = 20 for INA350ABS or G = 30 or G = 50 for INA350CDS.

Sometimes it can be useful to have the possibility to tune the gain of an amplifier in the application without any issues and additional components directly from the MCU.

Infineon OPTIREG™ Switcher Simulation Tool (PLECS)

Description of the models:

• Stability Calculation: A small-signal linearized model of the converter to predict the loop gain under varying conditions. Such as input voltage, output current and external components.
• Efficiency (for OPTIREG™ Switcher) and Power Dissipation Calculation (for OPTIREG™ PMICs): A thermal simulation based on a large signal transient switching model. It predicts the efficiency and the self-heating for different thermal interfaces and parts.

Let us dig into the USB Type-C®

The Diodes Inc. company released a complete portfolio of their USB Type-C® solution in a very readable package. Along the USB Type-C® there are sections for

• DDR memories
• Ethernet
• Fibre channel
• PCI/PCIe/PCI-X
• and much more

MicroHAWK® Industrial Fixed-Mount Barcode Scanners

Sensor resolutions ranging from 0.3 MP to 5 MP, multiple optics, lighting options, and the ability to use the same hardware platform for barcode reading and vision inspection make the MicroHAWK an extremely flexible industrial smart camera. The rugged, ultra-compact housing with double front window construction to help avoid moisture condensing inside the window, as well as IP65/67 protection, assure performance in the harshest environments.

Infineon EtherCAT® implementation

The Infineon company announced that the XMC4800 and the new XMC4300 are the industry’s first-ever microcontrollers with integrated EtherCAT® node on an ARM® Cortex®-M processor with on-chip flash and analog/mixed signal capabilities. Evaluation kits available.

Würth Elektronik M12 Circular Connectors with Integrated Magnetics

Würth Elektronik M12 Circular Connectors with Integrated Magnetics are robust and IP67 compliant, making them ideal for harsh environments. These WE-LANMX filtered M12 connectors feature high mechanical stability via through-hole reflow (THR) soldering while integrated magnetics to save space on the PCB. Würth Elektronik M12 Circular Connectors with Integrated Magnetics are ideal for Ethernet-based protocols, factory automation, and transportation applications.

KiCAD

KiCAD 6.0.4 was released today

Engineers who run the KiCAD 6.0.2 tools at macOS (and most likely the other too) experience still stability issues especially when editing footprint libraries. To me, the most dangerous job is to make a copy of the footprint and edit its 3D model. It is about 50% change to severe crash.

I have been waiting for the next release 6.0.3 about a month but to my surprise, the 6.0.4 was released yesterday the 18th of March. The official announcement told about skipping the 6.0.3 version because of the issue reports from the majority of testers.

So🤞to the 6.0.4 and let us download and install it soon.

Importing .DXF files to PCBNew

I have found this very useful article about the DXF file importing job into the PCBNew tool of the KiCAD package.

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