Electronics Weekly – ADLINK Processor Blades, TI Data Converters & More

ADLINK CompactPCI Processor Blades

CompactPCI processor blades. (Image courtesy of ADLINK.)

ADLINK has released two CompactPCI 2.0 processor blades, the cPCI-3630 and cPCI-6636. The cPCI-3630 is a 3U CompactPCI processor blade featuring the 64-bit Intel AtomX Processor Series SoC (formerly Apollo Lake-I) and up to 8GB soldered DDR3L-1600 MHz ECC memory.

Available in single-slot (4HP) or dual-slot (8HP) width form factors, the cPCI-3630 utilizes various daughter boards to provide a range of I/O functionality. Additionally, one of the dual-slot variants supports an XMC site on layer 2.

For more information, visit ADLINK’s website.

Renesas USB-C Combo Buck-Boost Battery Charger

ISL9241 buck-boost battery charger. (Image courtesy of Renesas Electronics.)

Renesas Electronics has introduced a USB-C buck-boost battery charger to support both Narrow Voltage Direct Charging (NVDC) and Hybrid Power Buck-Boost (HPBB) charging for notebooks, ultrabooks, tablets and power banks using the reversible USB Type-C connector cable.

Through firmware control, the ISL9241 can switch between NVDC and HPBB modes, providing a low-cost and small device that is capable of efficiently processing a variety of power levels. It utilizes Renesas R3 modulation technology for improved light-load efficiency and rapid transient response to extend battery runtime.

For more information, visit Renesas’ website.

RS Components Neural Compute Stick for IoT Development

Neural Compute Stick 2. (Image courtesy of RS Components.)

RS Components has launched the Intel Neural Compute Stick 2 (NCS 2)—a small and fanless computer vision and deep neural network (DNN) accelerator.Available in the USB form factor, the stick enables deep-learning prototyping on a laptop or device with a USB interface.

In addition, the combination of the Intel NCS 2 and the Intel Distribution of OpenVINO toolkit allows for a fast development-to-deployment cycle—from prototyping trained DNNs on the compute stick to the easy porting of DNNs to an Intel Movidius VPU-based embedded device or system, with minimal (if any) code changes required.

For more information, visit RS Components’ website.

Synopsys Accelerated Modeling of CFET Technology

QuickCap NX. (Image courtesy of Synopsys.)

Synopsys and imec have completed their sub-3nm parasitic variation modeling and delay sensitivity study of complementary FET (CFET) architectures. With the potential to reduce area compared to traditional FinFETs, CFET is a promising option to maintain area scaling beyond 3nm technology.

In 3nm and 2nm process technologies, the magnitude of variation increases significantly for middle of line parameters, as well as interconnect, due to the high resistance of metal lines, vias and surface scattering. Therefore, modeling parasitic variation and sensitivity is an important factor in bringing CFET to mainstream production.

For more information, visit Synopsys’ website.

TI Data Converters

ADS122C04 data converter. (Image courtesy of Texas Instruments.)

Texas Instruments (TI) has unveiled four tiny precision data converters, which enable designers to reduce system board space. The DAC80508 and DAC70508 are eight-channel precision digital-to-analog converters (DACs) that provide true 16- and 14-bit resolution, respectively. The ADS122C04 and ADS122U04 are 24-bit precision analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that feature a two-wire, I2C-compatible interface and a two-wire, UART-compatible interface, respectively.

For more information, visit TI’s website.

Missed last week’s Electronics Weekly? Click here.