Electronics Weekly – Texas Instruments MCUs, Maxim High Side Switches & More

WiGig Certification for 802.11ad Chipset

(Image courtesy of Qualcomm.)

The 802.11ad (WiGig) chipset market may reach a critical juncture in 2017 when the technology enters the computing space in smartphones, tablets and other connected home devices. With WiGig certification now underway, ABI Research forecasts more than one billion WiGig chipsets will ship in 2021.

ABI expects to see growing confidence in the standard as more WiGig chipsets come to market. This will build momentum and help cut costs with the first WiGig-enabled smartphones, anticipated to come to market in 2017, with greater adoption of tri-band products that incorporate 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 60GHz technologies.

ABI also predicts that 28 percent of smartphones will support WiGig by 2021.

WiGig can help to expand the total network speed and capacity by offloading data traffic from the crowded 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands onto the 60GHz band, selecting the most appropriate band depending on the environment. Due to range limitations of the technology, questions remain over how prolific WiGig will be for Internet access, particularly as new and faster Wi-Fi standards, such as 802.11ax, arrive to the market.

While WiGig will ultimately play a key role in the transition to completely cable-free computing, it will also drive new opportunities in AR/VR applications. In that sense, WiGig can remove a literal obstacle in the devices' path to adoption.

These findings are from ABI Research's Wi-Fi market analysis.

Fractal Redesigns Classic Antenna

For 60 years the log periodic dipole array (LPDA) antenna has been a backbone of radio, TV and wireless, with its advantages of wide bandwidth and directional gain. Now, Fractal Antenna Systems Inc. reports that it has found a way of shrinking the LPDA dramatically while maintaining virtually all of its gain and wide bandwidth.

Using an insight from physics called the HCR Principle, Fractal researchers developed fractal designs that obey physical laws while shrinking the size of LPDA’s.

Fractal anticipates the patent-pending antennas to be useful for applications that previously could not utilize the LPDA’s large size. The company anticipates its first product releases of the new antennas in early 2017.

Texas Instruments' New Unified Memory 16-bit Microcontrollers (MCUs)

(Image courtesy of TI.)

Texas Instruments (TI) has expanded its MSP430 FRAM microcontroller (MCU) portfolio with two new low-power families targeting sensing and measurement applications. The new families include:

MSP430FR5994 MCUs with 256KB FRAM and digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities with an integrated low energy accelerator (LEA).
MSP430FR2111 MCUs includes unified FRAM memory in a 3x3 mm QFN package.

The new MCUs extend the portfolio from 2KB to 256KB of integrated ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) technology.

MSP430 MCU-based development kits are available on the TI Store and through TI authorized distributors. The MSP430FR2x MCU LaunchPad development kit (MSP-EXP430FR2311) and the MSP430FR5994 MCU LaunchPad development kit (MSP-EXP430FR5994) are available for USD $15.99.

Pre-release samples of the MSP430FR5994 MCU can be ordered online. Additionally, the new MSP430FR2111 MCUs are available now in production quantities on the TI store or through authorized TI distributors.

Maxim's Octal High-Side Switch and Driver for Industry 4.0 Applications

(Image courtesy of Maxim.)

Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. has announced the MAX14913 octal high-side switch and driver to drive and demagnetize inductive loads for Industry 4.0 applications. With a safe-demagnetizing clamp on each output, the MAX14913 interfaces low-voltage digital signals to 24V output-control lines.

Using its safe-demagnetization feature, the MAX14913 can discharge and demagnetize inductive loads safely via its integrated clamps with open-wire and short-circuit diagnostics. It has eight 640mA high-side switches that can also be configured as push-pull drivers for high-speed switching. Applications include programmable logic controllers (PLCs), motion control units, drives, and other industrial and process automation applications.

For information about Maxim's digital IO solutions, visit the company website.

Silego Technology GPAK Family “Flexible Power Islands”

GreenPAK Development Board (Image courtesy of Silego Technology.)

Silego Technology announces the SLG46125, expanding the GreenPAK (GPAK) range of Programmable Mixed-signal ICs. This newest GPAK includes voltage monitoring, power sequencing, reset and power switches that are configurable in settings and interconnect. This device is the first in a series of parts designed to create "Flexible Power Islands" (FPI).

Using FPIs, designers can divide their power system into a number of local power regions (or islands), each of which includes the power control, power sequencing and power regulation needed to support loads in the immediate vicinity.

With the 1.6 x 2.0 mm 16-pin MSTQFN plastic package SLG46125, Silego has many of the necessary power system functions (power monitoring, sequencing, reset and power switching).

For pricing, samples, datasheets, and technical information about these devices and the GPAK Designer software visit the company website.

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