Intersil Transceivers with Reinforced Isolation
Intersil has announced two high-speed, isolated RS-485 differential bus transceivers that provide 40Mbps bidirectional data communication for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) networks. The higher working voltage and reinforced isolation is required for today's medical and motor control applications.
The ISL3274xE transceivers provide low radiated emission and EMI susceptibility, support for up to 160 devices on the bus and a 125°C temperature range. These devices utilize giant magnetoresistance (GMR) technology that provides galvanic isolation to keep the communication bus free from common-mode noise generated in electrically noisy factory and building automation environments.
In addition, Intersil's GMR isolation does not require the elaborate encoding schemes found in capacitive and transformer-based isolators that use RF carriers or pulse-width modulation (PWM) to transfer DC and low frequency signals across the barrier.
Additional technical specifications can be found on Intersil’s website.
KLA-Tencor Reticle Blank Inspection
KLA-Tencor has released the FlashScan reticle blank inspection product line. Reticle blank inspection systems are purchased by blank manufacturers for defect control during process development and volume manufacturing, and by reticle manufacturers for incoming inspection, tool monitoring and process control. The FlashScan systems can inspect reticle blanks designed for optical or extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
Leveraging laser scattering technology from KLA-Tencor's wafer defect inspection line, the FlashScan systems meet sensitivity and speed requirements for all optical and EUV blanks currently in production or development. The three-channel collector is designed to detect, size and discriminate among various types of reticle blank defects, such as pinholes in photoresist and fall-on particles that may appear during blank manufacturing or shipping.
For more information, visit KLA-Tencor’s website.
NI Remote Control for PXI Systems with Thunderbolt 3
National Instruments (NI) has unveiled the PXIe-8301 remote control module, a solution for laptop control of PXI systems using Thunderbolt 3. The PXIe-8301 offers PCI Express Gen 3 connectivity through two Thunderbolt 3 ports to maximize performance, and delivers up to 2.3 GB/s of sustained data throughput.
Engineers can use the second port to daisy-chain additional Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C devices. With its connectivity and price point, the PXIe-8301 makes high-performance control of PXI systems more accessible and affordable to engineers performing benchtop characterization and validation or developing portable automated test systems.
The PXIe-8821 is optimized for test and measurement applications, featuring a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i3-4110E dual-core processor and providing up to 2 GB/s system bandwidth. With their industrial ratings, small physical footprint and managed life cycles, embedded controllers are ideal for long-life PXI deployments into harsh operating environments.
Information concerning pricing and availability can be found on NI’s website.
RS Components AC Inverter Drives and Accessories
RS Components is expanding its RS Pro series of products with a range of AC inverters. The RSAC, RSMK, RSMA and RSDA series of devices are ideal for AC motor-control applications required by maintenance engineers and machine builders in processing and infrastructure industries.
Designed for use with single-phase and three-phase AC induction motors across a spectrum of power ratings, the RS Pro series comprises 17 AC inverter drives with the majority being IP65 rated (wash down), and the two models in the RSMK series rated to IP50.
Available in epoxy die-cast-aluminium cases in two colours – rugged grey and a white version that is FDA approved for use in food processing – the units offer operation with either simple programming, or no programming required. The RSDA series inverters, for example, offer power ratings from 0.75 to 2.25kW and feature common sense programming (CSP) to organise parameters into intuitive groups.
For more information, visit RS Components’ website.
Synopsys DesignWare and PHY IP Achieve Bluetooth 5 Qualification
Synopsys has announced that the DesignWare Bluetooth Low Energy Link Layer IP and PHY IP in industry-standard 40-nanometer (nm) and 55-nm processes have achieved Bluetooth 5 qualification and have been declared compliant by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.
Achieving qualification ensures the robustness of the IP and that it functions as expected within a system-on-chip (SoC). The DesignWare Bluetooth IP product has been validated with third-party software stack providers, including SEARAN, to provide designers with a hardware and software solution.
Both IPs support Bluetooth mesh and enable secure wireless connectivity with extended reach, and data rates up to 2Mbps with an integrated on-chip transceiver matching network. The PHY also supports the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for connectivity over wireless networks such as Zigbee or Thread.
For more information, visit Synopsys’ website.
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