Electronics Weekly – Maxim Fuel Gauge, Toshiba System Regulator & More

Fairview Microwave Coaxial Voltage Variable Attenuators

(Image courtesy of Fairview Microwave.)

Fairview Microwave has introduced a new line of voltage variable attenuators (VVAs) that offer up to 60 dB of attenuation across a broad range of frequencies from 400 MHz to 18 GHz. These voltage variable attenuators are frequently used in applications such as electronic warfare, instrumentation, radar and military radios.

RF components used in most communications systems require power levels to be precise in order to achieve peak performance and these power requirements can vary from one component to the next. This can result in the attenuation needing to be fine-tuned in order to make-up for fluctuations in received signal levels or to best match the input power into a sensitive circuit. Fairview’s PIN diode-based VVAs enable accurate control and broadband flatness, allowing the output level to be continuously adjusted by changing analog voltage on the input control line.

This product line is comprised of six models that support frequencies from 400 MHz to 18 GHz while providing low insertion loss and a wide dynamic range. Coaxial packaged assemblies are designed to meet MIL-STD-202 environmental test conditions that include humidity, shock, and vibration.

For more information, visit the company’s website.

Maxim Low Quiescent Current Fuel Gauge

(Image courtesy of Maxim.)

Traditionally, fuel gauges required extensive characterization of each battery type used in specific applications for attaining good performance. This fact added weeks of time and resources to the design cycle. Maxim’s ModelGauge m5 EZ configuration of the MAX17055 eliminates the battery characterization requirement, shortening the time to market.

The MAX17055 draws low quiescent current—7µA in the low power operating mode. It is available in a 1.4mm x 1.5mm WLP for space constrained applications. Unlike other gas gauges, the MAX17055 does not have a minimum battery size limit, making it ideal for wearables, smartwatches, smartphones, and other portable devices.

Key Features:

Within 1% SOC error in most scenarios for maximum run-time.
18/7µA low-power operation prevents excessive energy loss.
Easy to use and accurate time-to-empty and time-to-full information.

Visit Maxim’s website for more details and pricing information.

Microsemi Smart Storage I/O Controllers

(Image courtesy of Microsemi.)

Microsemi has announced the production release of a new generation of storage input/output (I/O) controller products, the SmartROC 3100 and SmartIOC 2100, working from the company's Unified Smart Storage Stack.

The Smart Storage Platform offers security features, such as maxCrypto controller-based encryption and enterprise-class data protection support, while providing high performance and a reduction in operating costs due to power savings compared to previous generations. The platform achieves up to 1.6 million random read I/O operations per second and delivers more than 35 percent power savings.

Microsemi's storage solutions can be used in any server storage application with 12 Gbps SAS or 6 Gbps SATA hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid state drives (SSDs). They are also performance-optimized around SSD performance and power-optimized for HDD-based cold storage. Features are available for both deployment extremes in addition to a myriad of hybrid SSD/HDD applications.

Additional Features:

Common firmware and software stack across all product variants.
Density optimized, with variants available in 8-, 16- and 24-port configurations for 12Gbps SAS and 6Gbps SATA.
Two additional dedicated boot drive ports available with the 16- and 24-port variants
PCIe Gen 3 x8 host interface compliant to base specification 3.1.
Enhanced hardware acceleration for RAID 0/1/10/5/6/50/60.

For more information, visit Microsemi’s website.

Pasternack IQ Mixers with RF and LO Frequency Bands

(Image courtesy of Pasternack.)

Pasternack has released six new IQ mixer models with RF and LO frequency bands ranging from 4 GHz to 38 GHz and In-Phase and Quadrature IF bandwidths ranging from DC to 4.5 GHz. Typical applications include satellite communications, sensors, and test and measurement equipment.

The IQ Mixer modules are composed of MMIC based assemblies which use GaAs MESFET semiconductor process that consists of a pair of matched double-balanced mixer cells, a 90-degree hybrid and a 0-degree splitter/combiner. With the addition of an external 90-degree IF hybrid module, these IQ Mixers can be configured as an Image Reject Mixer or Single Sideband Upconverter Mixer. Image rejection and sideband suppression can reduce overall system cost and complexity by removing the need for preselection filtering.

For a list of models and pricing, visit the company’s website.

Toshiba System Regulator IC

(Image courtesy of Toshiba.)

Toshiba has announced the launch of “TCB010FNG,” a system regulator IC designed to handle the increasing sophistication of car audio systems, and that incorporates the required power supply and all essential detection functions.

TCB010FNG provides a power supply for a microcontroller that retains power for any short loss of battery power, multiple variable power supplies, and a fixed power supply. It also includes a number of detection functions, such as ACC voltage detection and accessory power voltage detection.

The IC is configured with series regulators, allowing users to design a system with no concerns for the impact of unnecessary radiation. Sample shipments are now available with mass production scheduled for June 2017.

Detailed schematics are available on Toshiba’s website.

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