JULY 2014

p20
Also
In This ISSUE:
Top 6 reasons to use silicon
MEMS timing solutions...... p14
Designing a solar-powered
remote sensor ........................ p34

A Hearst Business Publication electronicproducts.com

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 2 Contents
Vol. 57, No.2 July 2014
Features
14 Crystals & Oscillators:
The top 6 reasons to use silicon MEMS timing solutions

18 Cooling Devices:
Thermoelectric generators power wireless and more

9 Cover Story
20 Integrated oscilloscopes move into the mainstream

Test & Measurement Special

24 Solving test problems with scope signal-processing tools

28 MEMS sensor solutions for IoT in transport and

buildings

24

Touch Points
4 Viewpoint: Do engineers need a toolbox?
6 The Story Behind the Story:
Precision MOSFETs enable new energy-harvesting
designs
38
9 Outlook (Technology News):
■ Harnessing the cool characteristics of polymer
Cover. Cover images courtesy of Tektronix and Fluke. Digital imagery by Don Wilber.

■ The 2014 Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara Only Online

33 Product Roundup: Power management ICs ElectronicProducts.com
What’s It Worth . . .
34 Energy-Saving Initiative: Designing a Learn about past electronics. Explore how
solar-powered remote sensor past electronic products used to function and
take a look into what their value is today.
38 Product Update: Transformers & Inductors • Recording Devices
• Set and Free-Point Testers
47 Nonvolatile Memory: Nanoparticles to the
• The Weston Electrical Instrument Company
rescue for handling zettabytes of data
• Early Headphones and Speakers

New Products
• Vintage Handheld Meters
• Early Components — Resistance
40 Packaging & Interconnections 45 Components & Subassemblies • Early Components — Rectifiers
• Supreme Instruments — Function Meets Art
43 Power Sources 46 Test & Measurement
• Power Supplies
45 Optoelectronics
Electronic Products Magazine (USPS 539490) (ISSN 0013-4953)—Published monthly by Hearst Business Communications Inc./UTP Division, 50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 100,
Uniondale, NY 11553. Periodicals postage paid Garden City, NY and additional mailing offices. Electronic Products is distributed at no charge to qualified persons actively engaged in
the authorization, recommendation or specification of electronic components, instruments, materials, systems and subsystems. The publisher reserves the right to reject any subscription
on the basis of information submitted in order to comply with audit regulations. Paid subscriptions available: U.S. subscriber rate $65 per year, 2 years $110. Single issue, $6.00. Informa-
tion contained herein is subject to change without notice. No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for its accuracy or completeness.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Electronic Products, PO Box 3012, Northbrook, Il 60065-3012. Phone 847-559-7317
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JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

EP0714p002_TOC.indd 2 7/7/14 2:08 PM

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 4 Viewpoint

Do engineers need a toolbox?

I
n any profession, having the right tools for the job is essential. In this month’s issue of Electronics Products, we offer several
So for many years, workers have been assembling tools and examples of how instrument makers are beginning to sup-
putting them in a box or chest so that they could have the ply not just instruments but toolboxes: a single unit with the
right tool close at hand when needed. essential functions needed for testing.
One of the more famous tool chests Tektronix’s cover story discusses
is that created by Henry O. Stud- how its new MDO3000 series
ley, a 19th century organ/piano integrated oscilloscopes
maker, carpenter, and mason combine scope functions
who managed to cram some with those of a spectrum
300 tools into a box that takes analyzer, digital voltme-
up about 40 x 20 in. of wall ter, function generator,
space when closed. logic analyzer, and pro-
Until recently, the elec- tocol analyzer. And this
tronics industry hasn’t given month, two new instru-
much consideration to the ment/toolbox products
tool-box concept. Rather, we are also being unveiled: the
think of having a rather large WaveSurfer 3000 series oscilloscopes
benchtop onto which we can stack from Teledyne LeCroy and the VirtualBench from
dozens of instrument, sorting through them National Instruments.
and wiring them up whenever we need to do some testing. But Will this be the way in which instrumentation will be devel-
like craftsmen of old, we may be coming to the realization that oped in the future? Is it the right approach for you as an engi-
spending less time searching for and setting up our tools pro- neer? We’d love to hear your opinion at http://bit.ly/1iaopPZ.
vides the efficiency we need to focus on the job and get it done. Richard Comerford

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 6 Story Behind the Story
Electronic
PRODUCTS
A look at the making of POY award winners

EDITORIAL STAFF
516-227-1300 FAX: 516-227-1901

Content Operations Director Bryan DeLuca

516-227-1379 • bdeluca@hearst.com
Managing Editor / Leonard Schiefer
Chief Copy Editor
516-227-1425 • lschiefer@hearst.com

Senior Editor Paul O’Shea

941-359-8684 • poshea@hearst.com
The precision n-channel
Technical Editor Jim Harrison
415-456-1404 • jpharrison@hearst.com MOSFETs feature zero-
Editor Richard Comerford threshold voltage and an
516-227-1433 • rcomerford@hearst.com industry best for forward
Editor Lauren Leetun transconductance.
516-455-8602 • lleetun@hearst.com

Digital Content Manager Jeffrey Bausch

Data Content Editor Nicolette Emmino

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Writers Breezy Smoak • Grace Noto

Precision MOSFETs enable

Coordinators Yolanda Sutherland
Daniella Garrisi

Art Director Don Wilber

Artist

Group Production Manager

Estelle Zagaria

Thomas Young
new energy-harvesting
Client Services Account Managers Amy Fischeri
Marisa Giordano
designs
A
Client Services Assistant Account Manager
KellyAnne Zarcone dvanced Linear Devices designs cutting-edge energy-harvesting devices,
Audience Development Director Carolyn Giroux but realized that if they wanted to push the limits for future designs, they
Subscriber Service 1-866-813-3752 would need to improve design precision even more for any new energy-har-
Group Publisher Steve Cholas
vesting designs. To test the limits of energy-harvesting technology, they created the
Electronics Group ALD210800/800A n-channel MOSFETs.
Director of Online Sales Robert McIntosh These precision n-channel MOSFET arrays are unique because they feature
and Operations
zero-threshold voltage and establish industry benchmarks for forward transcon-
Published by ductance and output conductance. The MOSFETs can be characterized with
Hearst Business Communications, Inc. different input and output requirements, and reduce footprint by up to 50%. The
UTP Division
A Unit of The Hearst Corporation matched-pair array gives circuit designers the flexibility to develop next-generation
50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., energy-harvesting systems and low-power mobile devices that were never before
Suite 100 Uniondale, NY 11553
possible. To develop this design, the company had to involve more personnel than
TEL: (516) 227-1300 • FAX: (516) 227-1901
Robert D. Wilbanks usual, including applications and testing departments. The company also had to
Treasurer develop new test hardware that would program and validate the devices. The new
Catherine Bostron programming systems had to be developed from scratch and required new circuit
Secretary
William Barron designs and with separate debugging from the new device designs.
Vice President, Publishing Director, The company was one of the first customers for the highly precise MOSFETs
Electronics Group
(for their energy-harvesting modules and circuits), because energy harvesting is
Adriana Marzovilla
Business Manager a booming yet young industry that is always pushing for smaller, more-precise
technology for a growing number of applications. The company was able to meet
THE HEARST CORPORATION
the challenges for better precision with what was a collaborative effort from a team
Steven R. Swartz
President & Chief Executive Officer of six individuals, plus support from other groups. But it didn’t happen overnight. It
William R. Hearst, III took approximately five years and several design iterations to get what they wanted.
Chairman
Paul O’Shea
Frank A. Bennack, Jr.
Executive Vice Chairman

HEARST BUSINESS MEDIA

Richard P. Malloch
President & Group Head

Robert D. Wilbanks
Group Controller

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

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 Outlook 9
Innovations impacting products, technology, and applications

Harnessing the cool

characteristics of polymer
Researchers create an interface material that conducts heat 20 times
better than the original polymer
Researchers at Georgia Tech have devel- Woodruff School, and Thomas Bougher, nm, depending on the pore template.
oped a polymer material that can reliably a Ph.D. student in the Woodruff School, After formation of the monomer chains,
conduct heat from electronic devices. are the paper’s co-first authors. the nanofibers are cross-linked with
They accomplish this by harnessing an The new interface material is produced an electropolymerization process, and
electropolymerization process to produce from a conjugated polymer, polythio- the template is removed. The resulting
aligned arrays of polymer nanofibers. phene, in which aligned polymer chains structure can be attached to electronic
The team developed a thermal interface in nanofibers facilitate the transfer of devices through the application of a
material that conducts heat 20 times phonons — but without the brittleness liquid such as water or a solvent, which
better than the original polymer. This associated with crystalline structures. spreads the fibers and creates adhesion
modified material can reliably operate at Formation of the nanofibers produces through capillary action and van der
200°C, a temperature that could make it an amorphous material with thermal Waals forces.
useful for applications in vehicles. conductivity of up to 4.4 W/m K at room The electrochemical polymeriza-
temperature. tion processing approach enabled the
The structures researchers to align the chains of the
are grown in a polymer. The template appears to prevent
multistep process the chains from folding into crystals so
that begins with the material remained amorphous.
an alumina tem- Though the technique still requires
plate containing further development and is not fully
tiny pores covered understood theoretically, the researchers
by an electrolyte think it could be scaled up for manufac-
containing mono- turing and commercialization. The new
material could
allow reliable
thermal
Research scientist Virendra Singh, from the George W. Woodruff interfaces as
School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, holds a test thin as 3 µm –
sample used to measure thermal conductance and thermal cycle
reliability of a new polymer material developed to remove heat
compared to
from electronic devices. (Credit: Candler Hobbs) as much as 50
to 75 µm with
The new thermal interface material mer precursors. conventional
could be used to draw heat away from When an elec- materials.
electronic devices in servers, automobiles, trical potential A patent
high-brightness LEDs and certain mobile is applied to the application
devices. The material is fabricated on heat template, elec- has been
sinks and heat spreaders and adheres well to trodes at the This image shows testing of a polythiophene nanofiber filed on the
devices, potentially avoiding the reliability base of each array grown on a copper heat sink and dried in contact material, and
challenges caused by differential expansion pore attract with a silicon carbide RF device simulator. a startup com-
in other thermally conducting materials. the monomers (Credit: Daniel P. Resler) pany, Carbice
The research, which was supported and begin forming hollow nanofibers. Nanotechnologies, to commercialize
by the National Science Foundation, The amount of current applied and the thermal interface technologies, has been
involved researchers from the Georgia growth time control the length of the formed.
Institute of Technology, University of fibers and the thickness of their walls, For more information, go to www.
Texas at Austin, and Raytheon. Viren- while the pore size controls the diameter. dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.44
dra Singh, a research scientist in the Fiber diameters range from 18 to 300 Paul O’Shea

Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014

10 Outlook
Innovations impacting products, technology, and applications

The 2014 Flash Memory at NetApp and Jim Elliott, vice president
of marketing plus Bob Brennan, senior

Summit in Santa Clara vice president, Memory Solutions Lab, at

From Tuesday, August 5, through Thurs-
day, August 7, the Flash Memory Summit
will be happening at the Santa Clara
Convention Center. Highlighting advance-
ments in solid-state disk drives, USB drives,
and NV memory interfaces and architec-
tures, The Summit will include keynote
speeches from Ty McConney vice pesident
Samsung Semiconductor on Tuesday.
In all there will be a whopping 12
keynote speeches from Dell, IBM, Micron,
Cadence, Marvell, PMC-Sierra, and San
Disk. But don’t worry; there will still be
time for one-hundred 40-minute technical
sessions and technical discussions during
those three days. Also, on Monday (pre-
conference) there will be a set of half-day
seminars on error-correcting codes, PCI
Express, NVMe, and introduction to SSDs.
The exhibits area is open Wednesday
from noon to 7 p.m. and Thursday from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. About
70 companies will be
exhibiting. Here are
just a few of them:
In booth 304 you
will discover the IBM FlashSystem V840
software-defined flash system. This system
accelerates critical business applications
with IBM MicroLatency and, with the use
of real-time compression, delivers flash for
less than the total
cost of disk.
The unit scales
to 1.6 PB of ef- The IBM FlashSystem V840
fective capacity and up to 2.5 million IOPS.

Powering your next design. Dell will be on hand in booth 606 to

show you their Fluid Cache for SAN that
Let us be your power expert. We understand that you don’t provides extraordinary I/O performance
have the time to master every aspect of electronic design. for applications such as OLTP and VDI.
As a leading manufacturer of power supplies we are here to Using a cache pool of servers with flash, it
collaborate with you to ensure your next project is a success. can scale up to meet workload demand.
NetApp in booth 217 will let you peek at
its NetApp EF550 all-flash array that helps
companies create a competitive edge by
delivering consistent, predictable, sub-milli-
second response times that accelerate the la-
tency-sensitive applications. The EF550 com-
bines extreme performance, enterprise-grade
reliability, and 99.9999% availability.
Novum® Ac-Dc Dc-Dc
Diablo Technologies will be in booth
Advanced Power Power Supplies Converters 110 explaining the virtues of Memo-
ry Channel Storage that out-performs
PCIe-based architectures by maximizing
parallelism and cutting complexity. The
memory system interface virtually elimi-
nates the latency overhead associated with
www.cui.com/PowerExpert data persistence allowing applications to
perform several million IOPS with ease.
Jim Harrison
JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products
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 12 Engineering Distribution
More Bandwidth Means Feeding
More Fiber to Industrial Networks
BY WARREN MILLER
T
he ever-increasing demand for more bandwidth is
not only transforming traditional communications
markets, it’s rapidly changing the nature of industrial
connectivity as well. Industrial environments have traditionally
used fiber-optical communications over traditional electrical
systems for a variety of reasons. Fiber-optic systems can
cover a long distance (9 km
isn’t unusual), don’t require
ground isolation (so differences
in source and destination
potential aren’t an issue), are
immune from electromagnetic
noise (even from lightning),
are intrinsically safe (and can
be used in chemical plants and
grain silos, where sparks could
Fig. 1: Automated factory ignite the atmosphere with
floor with high-bandwidth
disastrous results), are difficult
communications requirements
to tap (so they are considered
(Image credit: Siemens)
much more secure than
electrical systems), and are convenient to route due to their
small size. Traditionally these networks used small amounts of
bandwidth so fiber-optic solutions at Ethernet (10-Mbit/s) and
fast Ethernet (100-Mbit/s) speeds were common. Plastic fiber at
650-nm or glass fiber at 1,310-nm wavelengths with data rates
of 125 Mbaud were typically used in these systems.
Today we find fiber optics in industrial networks not
only for the many advantages listed above, but also to carry
the increasing amount of data found in today’s industrial
applications. One of the larger bandwidth increases for
industrial networking applications has been that associated
with the increase in the use of video systems in industrial
environments. The use of video surveillance systems, often with
high-definition and wide dynamic range to improve visibility,
has increased bandwidth requirements dramatically. These
systems often use Ethernet protocols to transfer video data and,
by using fiber-optic communications systems, multiple video
A DVE RT I SEM EN T
JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products
In Partnership with
streams can be accommodated over a single channel. High-
speed optical transceivers, like the AFBR-703SNZ from Avago
Technologies can carry 10-Gbit Ethernet traffic and operate
over a very wide temperature range (from -40⁰ to +100⁰C) to
cover even harsh industrial environments.
Security systems aren’t the only source of high-definition
video in industrial settings. More and more machine-vision-
and robotics-based manufacturing systems are key elements of
the factory automation movement. These systems can generate
significant real-time image and video traffic that needs to be
actively monitored, processed, archived, or transmitted outside
the factory floor. Additionally, some of these systems need very
low latency as well, so network performance can be critical
for closing those pesky control feedback loops or products (or
processed materials) may end up on the factory floor instead
of in the container. Ethernet traffic at 10 Gbits and centralized
Fig. 2: Avago Technologies fiber- processing facilities (that
optic transceiver for is, industrial strength
servers on the factory
10-gbit
ethernet floor) may be required for
the most automated and complex
environments. Typically, fiber-optic
connections will be found within the server as well, routing
high-speed data from storage modules to the server compute
engines, putting even more fiber into the factory floor “diet.”
Of course, fiber-optic cables are needed to connect all
these high-speed systems together. The wide range of physical
standards for connectivity is daunting with a variety of different
connector types, for mounting and connecting. Legacy
equipment may require older style connectors, so this means
that you need some flexibility in the cable specifications. A
fiber optics supplier like TE Connectivity, with an extensive
line-up of cabling options, can cover just about any cabling
requirement.
Fiber optics isn’t just for communications systems these
days. With the increasing need for high-bandwidth data
communications on the modern industrial factory floor,
industrial communications will continue to require a high-fiber
diet for the foreseeable future.
Learn more at
mouser.com/applications
In Partnership with
Engineering Distribution 13

Optical Fiber Communications

Drive Emerging Distributed Cloud
Computing Infrastructure
By Mouser Electronics, www.mouser.com centralized server installation where the baseband processing
is performed. Baseband processing can be done on standard

T
he ever-increasing demand for more communication server hardware, which cuts the development and deployment
bandwidth is driving the development of new network costs of the baseband functions. Standard server hardware
structures and creating new opportunities for deploying also makes it easier to deploy software updates and to more
cloud computing resources. easily scale capacity. The use
The emergence of distributed of standard servers makes it
cloud computing resources, possible for carriers to move
different from the traditional some cloud-computing-
monolithic server farm related processing and
implementations we are storage functions, to “follow”
familiar with today, will the consumer, providing new
create new opportunities for features and, of course, new
Fig. 1: Emerging heterogeneous wireless network architecture
delivering local resources to revenue sources.
connected users with dramatic efficiency improvements. Fiber- The centralized servers will need to connect to a fiber-optic
optic communications will provide the key connectivity required backbone to satisfy the communications requirements from
to create these new opportunities. multiple coverage areas and to connect to other server clusters.
High-speed communications between clusters will help to
The emerging heterogeneous network infrastructure balance processing and storage requirements, depending on the
The emerging heterogeneous network architecture is a response number of users in each area. Server-to-server connections will
to the need to push bandwidth, storage, and computing power allow load balancing so that deployed computing and storage
closer to the connected consumer. Wireless networks in resources, the more costly elements of the system, are used
particular are undergoing a key evolution from large integrated efficiently. The resulting overall network thus begins to look
implementations to much more distributed approaches (Fig. more like a mesh, with a large number of smaller servers at the
1). Small-cell architectures, made up of macro, micro, pico, and connection points to provide the baseband processing, data
femto cells, each with a different coverage area, will be deployed storage, cloud computing, and communications functions.
in a much more cost-efficient manner (since they can just be In this new system, resources will naturally follow the user
located on rooftops, or inside a building) instead of in costly throughout the network to optimize their bandwidth, storage,
large-cell tower deployments. The traditional cell tower, with power, cost, and convenience, probably depending on what level
its integrated hardware approach, is also evolving to separate of service plan the user has. Additionally, the communications
the front-end wireless radio processing, located in a remote grid becomes much like the smart power grid with “peak times,”
radio head, from the digital baseband processing. Front-end “off-times,” and “deals of the day” when resources can be had “on
processing data can be transmitted over an optical “front a budget.” The result will be more resources for more users with
haul” connection, perhaps over multiple kilometers using a improved efficiency that dramatically changes the connected
standard communications protocol (CPRI, for example), to a user’s experience for the better.
Primary Logo
A DVE RT I SEM EN T

Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014

14 Crystals & Oscillators

The top 6 reasons to use

silicon MEMS timing solutions
Timing devices - the heartbeat of digital
electronic systems – have generally been based
on quartz, but silicon MEMS has opened the
door for radical improvements
BY PIYUSH SEVALIA
Executive VP of Marketing
and DR. AARON PARTRIDGE
Founder and Chief Scientist
SiTime, www.sitime.com
oscillators (a resonator combined with
an electrical circuit). Quartz crystals for
timing circuits are made in specialized
factories by companies that are highly
focused to this task. The core compe-
tency of these quartz companies lies in
semiconductor industry in terms of
performance improvement and features,
nor are quartz companies well equipped
to provide the variety, fast turnaround,
and cost advantages inherent in the
semiconductor industry.
The emergence of silicon MEMS
(microelectromechanical systems) has
opened the door for radical improve-
ments in the once-staid timing industry.
MEMS timing solutions are rapidly re-
placing quartz products due to the many

T
iming devices are the heartbeat
of digital electronic systems, pro-
viding the clock signal to which
all other signals are synchronized. Over
the past several decades, these timing
devices have been based on quartz crys-
tals, available in the form of resonators
(a mechanical vibrating element) and
the precision manufacturing and cutting
of quartz crystals to ensure they operate
at the correct frequency and are stable
over temperature.
Quartz manufacturers have done
an excellent job in fulfilling these basic
and essential needs. However, quartz
companies have not kept pace with the
benefits of MEMS-based timing. Here
are the top six benefits of using MEMS
timing solutions.
1. Higher performance
Quartz crystal oscillators are limited in
accuracy to about ±20 ppm for noncom-
pensated devices, and their frequencies

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JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products
 Crystals & Oscillators 15
are limited to a range of 10 to 60 MHz
for small packages. Jitter is in the range
of 1 to 2 ps, integrated over 12 kHz to
20 MHz. These limitations are set by the
mechanical constraints of quartz devic-
es. While these limits can be exceeded
in special cases, the part cost increases
significantly. MEMS oscillators do
not have these limits, since they use
a programmable analog architecture.
For instance, the circuit-centric MEMS
oscillator architecture readily supports
frequencies from 1 to 625 MHz.
There are also subtle problems in
quartz not found in silicon MEMS. A
phenomenon called “activity dips” is a
good example. They cause a resonator’s
frequency to sharply jump tens of parts
per billion (ppb) as the part is swept
over temperature. (In low-cost crystals
it can be much worse, with jumps of
1 ppm.) The reason for activity dips is
related to how waves propagate laterally
through quartz; they are extremely dif-
ficult to remove and, for practical pur-
poses, one must assume that all quartz
resonators have them. Activity dips
generally set the lower limit on crystal
stability at about 0.1 ppm, or about 100
ppb. Activity dips are not present in
correctly designed silicon MEMS and
thus they can provide higher perfor-
mance.
2. Better features
Quartz companies typically outsource
their oscillator circuit development and
production to semiconductor compa-
nies and focus their resources on man-
ufacturing the quartz crystals. In con-
trast, silicon MEMS timing companies
follow the fabless semiconductor model
and have deep expertise in designing
the MEMS resonator as well as the
analog oscillator circuit. This in-house
intelligence results in the availability of
unique features that are not available
from quartz oscillators. MEMS timing
features include:
• Customizable frequency from 1 Hz
to 625 MHz with up to six decimal
places of accuracy
• Spread-spectrum capability for EMI
reduction
• Programmable drive strength control
Meet your system’s
tight jitter budget
for better signal integrity and EMI
reduction
with Pletronics
• 1.8-V operation over the entire low-jitter oscillators!
frequency range and 1.2 to 4.5-V
(continuous) operation for bat-
tery-powered applications Using fundamental and 3rd
• Programmable pull range from overtone crystals, Pletronics
±25 to ±1,600 ppm in VCXOs, CMOS, PECL, LVDS and HCSL
VCTCXOs, and DCXOs oscillators outperform PLL-based
These features are available in MEMS and MEMS oscillators - as shown
devices over a variety of operating in the Phase Noise Chart below.
temperatures. The devices also come in
50
a wide range of industry standard SMD
Pletronics
packages that can be used as drop-in
Competitors Integer PLL-1
Competitors Fractional PLL-2
replacement for quartz devices. Special 0
Competitors Fractional PLL-3
packages are also available, such as ul-
MEMs-1
tra-small 1.5 x 0.8-mm chip-scale pack-
40
ages or SOT23-5 for higher board-level
-50
reliability in harsh environments.
20
3. Better resiliency and reliability 0
Silicon MEMS timing solutions exhibit -100
better reliability (operating life) com- -20
pared to quartz. MEMS-based oscillators
have a <2 FIT rate which translates to -150 -40
500 million hours MTBF (mean time be-
tween failure). This is approximately 15 -60
times better than typical quartz devices.
In terms of robustness and immunity -200 0 -80 2 4 6 8
to noise, SiTime MEMS oscillators 10 10 10 10 10
-100 L(f)[dBc/Hz] vs f[Hz]
demonstrate the following test results
compared to comparable common
-120
quartz-based oscillators.
• 54 times better electromagnetic
-140
susceptibility (EMS) measured in
average spurs (dB) -160 0 2 4 6 8
• 3 times better power supply noise 10 10 10 10 10
rejection (PSNR) measured in inte- L(f)[dBc/Hz] vs f[Hz]
grated phase jitter per mVp-p
• Up to 30 times better vibration Visit our website today for
sensitivity measured in ppb/g across low-jitter solutions or to find
various vibration frequencies out more about our innovative
• Up to 25 times better immunity to frequency control solutions –
shock measured in peak frequency faster, smaller, cooler, often
deviation in PPM cheaper, always better.
These benefits stem from the size and www.pletronics.com/pdfs/Jitter.pdf
structure of the resonators. The resona- or call 425-776-1880
tors in quartz oscillators are millime-
ter-scale cantilevered structures that are
sensitive to acceleration. While a crystal
may have megahertz electrical reso-
nances, it has kHz structural resonanc-
es. These kHz frequencies can be excited
by external vibration or shock. And
this shows up as vibration sensitivity or
Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014
PLE-EPM-Ad-2-07_v7.indd 1 1/31/14 9:51 AM
 16 Crystals & Oscillators
failures. MEMS resonators on the other 4. Better availability When a production-quantity order is
hand, are about 10 times smaller with up Because MEMS oscillators have a pro- placed, devices are packaged, tested,
to 3,000 times smaller moving mass and grammable architecture, most features can programmed, and shipped with a 3 to
have about 10 times higher mechanical be customized using a programmer, such 5-week lead time. This is much shorter
than the typical 8 to 16-week manufac-
turing lead time of quartz device makers
that follow a material-intense manufac-
turing flow. The short lead times offered
by MEMS timing vendors result in better
inventory control, as well as the ability to
meet upside demand more quickly and
cost-effectively.

5. Better price
Because MEMS devices are manufactured
in silicon and packaged in low-cost stan-
dard plastic packaging, they offer a lower
price trajectory. MEMS timing compa-
nies, which use a fabless model, leverage
the infrastructure of the semiconductor
industry and are therefore better equipped
to offer competitive pricing. In addition,
the short lead times, increased features,
and higher reliability of MEMS timing
solutions translate to a lower total cost of
ownership for electronics manufacturers.
modes, and are thus less sensitive to ex- as SiTime’s Time Machine II. This small
ternal vibration and shock. It is a matter programmer can create instant samples 6. SoC integration
of simple scaling. in any frequency, any stability, and any SiTime offers kilohertz and megahertz
Additionally, packaging and oscilla- supply voltage. This gives system design- resonators for customer that want to
tor circuit design, such as those used in ers the capability to program and test a integrate MEMS resonators into their own
SiTime oscillators, make MEMS-based vast array of timing-related features in products. The kilohertz resonators are
devices more immune to electrical noise. their own lab and accelerate development suited to timekeeping applications where
For example, the MEMS resonators are time without needing to search, source, one would use a 32-kHz quartz tuning
mounted close to the drive circuitry, giv- and wait for samples. fork, and the megahertz resonators are
ing less antenna area for electrical noise Silicon MEMS timing devices are suitable for reference applications such as
pickup compared to quartz packaging. manufactured in semiconductor fabs clocking and RF. It is difficult to embed
Multilevel on-chip regulators make the and assembly houses, and MEMS quartz crystals inside plastic packages as
oscillator more resilient against power oscillators are held in inventory in the the over-molding causes significant per-
supply noise. form of programmable die on wafers. formance and reliability issues. ■

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18 Cooling Devices

Thermoelectric generators
power wireless and more
Using waste heat gets you power for (almost) nothing
assembly can fit into about a twentieth of materials have had their characteristics
BY JIM HARRISON
Technical Editor the space required for an equivalent solar and performance well documented and
array. And, its output is 24 hours per day, have been used extensively.

A
number of thermoelectric (or
thermal-electric) devices readily
are available for your designs.
They fall into two categories. First,
there are cooling devices; often used for
fiber-optic modules or stabilized oscilla-
tors. These use the Peltier effect to cool
things via energy being put into the
unit. For this article we are inter-
ested in the opposite — modules
that make use of the Seebeck effect,
where electricity is generated across
two plates due to their temperature
differences. These devices have
great potential for energy savings
and for powering portable wireless
IoT devices.
What is needed for this technol-
ogy to be effective is waste heat —
available in many industrial plants,
automobiles, and power generation
plants as well as in smaller amounts
in many everyday items, including
the human body. In a typical auto- Fig. 1: The Tecteg TEG1-12610-5.1 thermoelectric
mobile over 65% of the fuel’s energy generator module.
content escapes in the form of waste
heat. The most concentrated portion exits
via the exhaust system, where tempera-
tures can reach 500° to 600°C. Thermo-
electric technology can convert the wasted
thermal energy into useful electrical
energy. This recovered energy can be used Ontario, Canada, has a number of ther-
to minimize electrical loads by partially
replacing the vehicle’s alternator, making a For example, the 1.58-in.-square TEG1-
5% boost in MPG feasible.
Low-temperature and low-tempera-
ture-differential TEG devices, such as
those for use on the human body, are
possible but difficult. There have been
demonstrations of thermoelectric mi-
cro-devices capable of providing 15 μW/
cm3 from 10°C temperature gradients.
On the high-power side, small
thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems
can be made. For example a 300-W TEG
as long as there is a heat source and a
cold removal side. For best efficiency, us-
ing the present state-of-the-art semicon-
ductor materials, it is advisable to have
a temperature of 150° to 250°C (302° to
482°F) hot side, with a delta temperature
(DT) of at least 100°C. Some materials
work at lower temperatures. Currently,
Bi2Te3 is probably the most efficient at
room temperature.
Tecteg Manufacturing (http://ther-
moelectric-generator.com) of Aurora,
moelectric generator modules available.
12610-5.1 has a hot-side temperature of
50 to 300°C. It has a matched load output
power of 5.1 W with an output voltage
of 3.9 V at a TH of 300°C and a cold-side
temperature (TC) of 30°C. The unit costs
$30 ea/100.
Materials such as PbTe (lead and tel-
lurium), and CMO (calcium manganese
hot side with bismuth tellurium cold
side) have been used with temperatures
of 350 to 600°C (702° to 1,112°F). Both
Tecteg has recently started offering
PbTe as a hybrid thermoelectric module
combining BiTe p-type and PbTe n-type
material. PbTe properties are better
suited to temperatures above 300°C so
the combination works well in the 300°
to 360°C range. The company also offers
CMOs, which work at very high
temperatures 500° to 800°C. Tecteg
offers four classes of thermoelectric
modules:
• Bi2Te3 (bismuth tellurium)
Series 1. Up To 320°C.
• PbTe-BiTe (lead tellurium/bis-
muth tellurium) Hybrid Series 1
PB. Up to 360°C.
• Calcium manganese (hot side)
with bismuth tellurium (cold
side) CMO cascade. Up to
600°C.
• Calcium manganese oxide
(CMO). Up to 800°C.
Their low-temperature modules
(TEG2) are high-current devices
with contacts that are soldered
using AgTn on both sides. Although
the solder has a 240°C melting point, it
begins to degrade at about 190° to 200°C
and they recommend the hot side stay
below 190°C.
For all TEGs, two critical factors
dictate power output:
1. The amount of heat flux that can
successfully move through the
module.
2. The temperature of the hot side less
the temperature of the cold side -
delta temperature (DT).
Great effort must be placed on the
heat input design, and especially the heat
removal design (cold side). The better
the TEG Generator construction is at
moving heat from the hot side to the cold
side and dissipating that heat as it moves
thru the module array the more power

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products


will be generated. The best
efficiency that can be achieved
with the standard BiTe material
is approximately 6%. But once
the material is constructed into
a module, efficiency drops to
3% to 4% because of thermal
and electrical impedance. No
other standard semiconductor
material can perform as well
as BiTe as far as efficiency is
concerned.
Tecteg provides an interest-
ing example design case:
You want to produce a 100-
W thermoelectric generator and
this is based on a DT of 100°C.
Therefore:
Fig. 2: The Laird WPG-1 is a self-contained thin-film thermoelectric
1. You need at least 2,000 W of power generator.
heat on the hot side given a
5% efficiency conversion to produce
100 W of power.
2. To produce 100 W you are required
to dissipate 1,900 W of heat on the
cold side continuously as only 100 W of load resistances. Its ultra-low-voltage
is being converted to power.
How critical is DT? The same 100-W
TEG above will produce:
• 200 W: If DT is increased to 150°C.
• 350 W: If DT is increased again to
200°C.
But you must have the mechanical
provisions to support the heat transfer.
TEGs expand a lot with temperature and
repeated heating and cooling can affect
their lifetime dramatically. Different de-
vices have different mounting specifica-
tions that must be paid attention to.
Laird Technologies (www.lairdtech.
com) designs and manufactures TEG
modules with three types of embedded
thin-film designs. Each product in the
series offers a unique output power based
on footprint availability. The power gen-
erating product portfolio also includes
the Thermobility Series wireless power
generators. In these products, standard
heat exchangers are provided to absorb
and dissipate heat and output power can
be regulated to a specific dc voltage set
point. Options are available to store ener-
gy harvested from heat into a battery or
integrate a sensor with communication
via wireless M2M.
The 1.55 x 1.37 x 1.11-in. WPG-1
Cooling Devices 19
power at low temperature dif-
ferentials, < 20°K. The output
voltage can be regulated to 3.3,
4.1, or 5.0 V.
Marlow industries (www.
marlow.com) of Dallas TX,
makes a number of ther-
moelectric generators. The
1.58-in.-square TG12-6 is a
good example. This 0.15-in.-
thick unit will provide about
3.2 W at 3.7 V when the
cold side is kept at 50°C
and the hot side is at 170°C.
Recommended compression
mounting pressure is 200 psi
with thermal grease or flexi-
ble graphite pads. This device
can be used at up to 230°C.
The Marlow EHA-
module from Laird outputs dc power and L37L37-R01-L1 is a module that attaches
is suitable for powering wireless sensors to a pipe and has a DT startup of only
and sensor networks. It can produce up 1°C and a power out of 0.8 mW at only
to 1.5 mW and can handle a wide range 10°C DT. It costs $195 in single quantity
and includes a dc/dc converter in its 2.13
step-up converter provides usable output x 1.50 x 1.35-in. outline. ■
Passive Aggressive
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IMS Power series Sizes from 0402 to 2512 or 1225
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Thick and thin film attenuators Thick film broadband power splitters Precision thin film resistors
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IAX series thick film 3 way splitters to 2512
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Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014
20 Cover Story
Integrated oscilloscopes move
into the mainstream
The latest innovation in mid-range oscilloscopes, which combine affordable
pricing with a rich feature set and solid performance, lets them act as
other instruments, too
BY GINA BONINI
Technical Marketing Manager
Tektronix, www.tek.com
T
he largest and perhaps most
dynamic market for oscilloscopes
is the midrange: scopes that slot be-
tween basic models that support education,
budget-constrained hobbyists, and service
applications, in addition to performance
models used for high-speed research and
development. Midrange oscilloscopes com-
bine affordable pricing with a rich feature
set and solid performance, helping to make
them a mainstay on design engineers’ test
benches around the world.
Over the past two decades, the mid-
range scope market has seen a tremendous
amount of innovation, driven by changing
market requirements. As the timeline in
Fig. 1 makes clear, oscilloscope innovation
maps closely to embedded design and
technology trends.
The ‘90s were characterized by the shift
from analog to digital scopes, along with
the move to faster microprocessors. As the
market moved from parallel bus tech-
nologies to more streamlined, lower-cost
serial solutions, mixed signal oscilloscopes
(MSO) became the instrument of choice
for debugging system level issues. Then
two years ago, Tektronix pioneered the
mixed-domain oscilloscope (MDO) that
adds advanced spectrum analysis in re-
sponse to the explosive growth of wireless
in embedded system designs.
Since their introduction, the MDO4000
series oscilloscopes have started to move
solidly into the mainstream. So much
so that the RF-capable oscilloscopes are
now replacing mixed-signal oscilloscopes
in the midrange product lineup, just as
the mixed-signal oscilloscopes replaced
analog-only oscilloscopes. The reason is
simple: From input devices like mice and
JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products
keyboards to smart
homes and streaming
media boxes, consum-
ers demand the con-
venience of wireless.
In response, designers
need improved RF test
support from their
test equipment. Even
for designs without
wireless technologies,
Fig. 1: This timeline shows how technology trends have been
engineers are facing
driving innovation in midrange oscilloscopes over the past two
EMI and noise issues decades. The latest innovation maps to the need for integrated
requiring frequency instrumentation to support system-level debugging of highly
domain analysis. With integrated, wireless-enabled designs.
MDOs now priced
comparably to MSOs
with similar perfor-
mance, it’s not hard
to understand the
growing popularity of
MDOs.
A scope and
much more
But wireless integration
isn’t the only thing
that’s changing. With
Fig. 2: While still performing the full functions of an oscilloscope,
complexity on the rise, the MDO3000 series adds the functionality of numerous
modern mixed-signal instruments to simplify engineering measurement for the
designs are proving to majority of designs seen today.
be a worthy adversary
to designers. Embedded-system design en- • Function generator, 68%
gineers are having to wear multiple hats in • Spectrum analyzer, 45%
order to efficiently troubleshoot and debug • Logic analyzer, 33%
the latest designs. This means tackling such • Protocol analyzer, 15%
activities as designing power supplies and What this indicates is that there is a
measuring power efficiency, or having to need for the oscilloscope to give designers
track down sources of noise. a more comprehensive set of functions and
In a survey of oscilloscope users, features to support efficient verification and
Tektronix found that in addition to their debugging of embedded system designs.
oscilloscopes, engineers reported that they To meet this need, Tektronix recently
turned to the following instruments several introduced the MDO3000 series integrated
times per month: oscilloscopes. These instruments combine
• Digital voltmeter, 87% six instruments in a single small, portable
 Cover Story 21
package able to provide insights in both the

Well
time and frequency domains (Fig. 2). The
series provides two or four analog input
channels with bandwidth ranging from 100

Connected
MHz to 1 GHz, 16 digital channels, and
one RF input channel matching the band-
width of the oscilloscope (9 kHz up to an-
alog bandwidth). The RF input frequency
on any model can be extended to 3 GHz.
The scopes also provide extensive debug DLI ● N O VA C A P ● SYFER ● V O LT R O N I C S
functionality; along with Wave Inspector
controls and more than 125 available
trigger combinations, the scopes’ FastAcq
feature can capture 280,000 waveforms With a combined history exceeding 175 years, some of
the world’s leading specialty capacitor manufacturers
per second to assist in finding infrequent
have come together as one team.
anomalies in a signal.
Further, starting from the entry-level
Dielectric Laboratories, Novacap, Syfer Technology
and Voltronics have merged into a single organization,
scope, users can upgrade their instrument Knowles, to share a common vision:
to the analog bandwidth and spectrum an-
alyzer input frequency of the highest-per- To be a premier global source.
formance scope in the line. Functional
upgrades include the addition of 16 digital
channels, protocol analysis, arbitrary
function generation, or digital voltmeter
measurements.
The integration of additional instru-
ment capabilities into the scope results
in automated serial and parallel bus
analysis as well as optional automated
power measurements. Also available are
optional serial protocol analysis packag-
es including I2C, SPI, RS-232, USB 2.0,
CAN, LIN, FlexRay, MIL-STD-1553,
and Audio. The integrated, optional
50-MHz arbitrary function generator
(AFG) functionality is more than two
times faster than competitive offerings
with eight times the arbitrary waveform
record length. The integrated digital
voltmeter (DVM) provides four-digit AC
RMS, DC, or AC+DC RMS voltage mea-
surements, as well as five-digit frequency
measurements. It is available for free
when the product is registered.

FFT vs. spectrum analyzer

It should be acknowledged that many
mid-range oscilloscopes have the capability
of calculating and displaying a fast Fourier
transform (FFT) of an acquired time-do-
• Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors
main signal. On the surface, this would • Single Layer Capacitors
seem to provide adequate frequency-do- • EMI Suppression Filters
main analysis capabilities for many users. • Trimmer Capacitors
However, the typical oscilloscope, even • Thin Film Devices www.knowlescapacitors.com
with FFT capability, is at best a poor substi-

ElEctronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JulY 2014

 22 Cover Story
tute for a spectrum analyzer for looking at
spectral information.
One significant challenge is bandwidth
limitation: The spectrum of the signal can
only be acquired up to the bandwidth of
the oscilloscope. To see a full 3-GHz spec-
trum, for instance, requires an expensive
3-GHz-or-higher-bandwidth oscilloscope.
Other issues include low signal fidelity
(making it difficult to measure small
signals in the presence of larger ones),
limited spectral analysis capabilities, and
a user interface designed for time-domain
measurements.
As is the case for MDO3000 oscillo-
scope, the limitations can be avoided by
incorporating a dedicated spectrum ana-
lyzer into the scope, thus providing much
improved spectral fidelity and usability. At
the same time, by leveraging oscilloscope
acquisition technology, the scope can pro-
vide very wide capture bandwidths.
Spectral analysis in the scope
When using the spectrum analyzer input,
the scope display becomes a full-screen
frequency domain view. Key spectral
parameters such as center frequency, span,
reference level, and resolution bandwidth
are adjusted using the dedicated front-pan-
el menus and keypad. The instrument
also includes a spectrogram display for
monitoring slowly changing RF phenome-
na. The x axis represents frequency, just like
a typical spectrum display. However, the y
axis represents time, and color is used to
indicate amplitude.
Modern wireless communications vary
significantly with time, using sophisticated
digital modulation schemes and, often,
transmission techniques that involve
bursting the output. These modulation
schemes can have very wide bandwidth as
well. By providing up to 3 GHz of capture
bandwidth, the scope can generate the
spectrum display from a single acquisition,
thus guaranteeing the user will see targeted
events in the frequency domain.
Signal input methods on spectrum
analyzers are typically limited to cabled
connections or antennas. But with the
optional TPA-N-VPI adapter, any active
50-Ω TekVPI probe can be used with
the MDO3000’s spectrum analyzer. This
enables additional flexibility when hunting
JulY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • ElEctronic Products
for noise sources and enables easier spec-
tral analysis by using true signal browsing
on a spectrum analyzer input. In addition,
an optional preamplifier accessory, which
provides 10-dB nominal gain across the
9-kHz to 3-GHz range, assists in the inves-
tigation of lower-amplitude signals.
Scope-based AFG
The scope’s optional integrated arbitrary
function generator can be used for sim-
ulating sensor signals within a design, or
adding noise to signals to perform margin
testing. The integrated function generator
provides output of predefined waveforms
up to 50 MHz for sine, square, pulse,
ramp/triangle, DC, noise, sin(x)/x (Sinc),
Gaussian, Lorentz, exponential rise/fall,
Haversine, and cardiac.
The arbitrary waveform generator
includes 128 kpoints of record for storing
waveforms from the analog input, a saved
internal file location, a USB mass storage
device, or from an external PC. Once a
waveform is in the edit memory of the
arbitrary waveform generator, it can be
modified via an on-screen editor and then
replicated out of the generator.
DVM, and frequency counter.
Another new feature is an integrated
4-digit digital voltmeter (DVM) and 5-digit
frequency counter. Any of the analog
inputs can be a source for the voltmeter,
using the same probes already attached for
general scope usage. The display provides
both numeric and graphical representa-
tions of changing measurement values. The
display also shows minimum, maximum,
and average values of the measurement as
well as the range of values measured over
the previous five second interval.
The future of scopes?
Is an integrated oscilloscope right for you?
As always, your mileage may vary accord-
ing to your needs and requirements; be
sure to take a close look at spec sheets in
comparison to your intended applications.
But with prices coming down to match
“standard” digital oscilloscopes and wire-
less becoming commonplace in embed-
ded systems, it’s safe to say that integrated
oscilloscopes are here to stay, and indicate
where oscilloscopes are headed. ■
A new wave
of thinking

WaveSurfer 3000
with MAUI

teledynelecroy.com/newwave
24 Special

Solving test problems with scope

signal-processing tools
The real world of electronic measurements is not a nice place,
but the tools built into today’s scopes can tidy it up a bit
BY ARTHUR PINI
Consultant, Teledyne LeCroy
arthurapini@gmail.com

T
he real world of electronic mea-
surements is not a nice place.
Noise, interference, and unex-
plained offsets wreak havoc with you data
acquisition. Take for example the mea-
surement of an ultrasonic range finder
shown in Fig. 1.
The range finder emits a 40-kHz burst
and senses a reflection of that emitted
pulse. The oscilloscope screen in Fig. 1
shows a 10-segment acquisition recorded
using an instrumentation microphone
with a bandwidth of 100 kHz. There
are 10 repeated measurements included Fig. 1: The acquired acoustic signal from a 40-kHz ultrasonic range finder. Ambient noise
in that trace each taking one horizontal overrides most of the echoes and interferes with the ability to make a measurement.

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products

 Special 25
division of the display. It’s pretty easy to
see the transmitted pulses but the location
of most of the echoes are buried in the
ambient noise.
This is not an atypical measurement
problem, extracting the desired signal
from background interference. Luckily,
many midrange oscilloscopes — like the
Teledyne LeCroy HDO series — provide
all the tools necessary to clean up this
signal and make useable measurements.
Here are the five steps used to solve the
problem:

1. Limit the acquired bandwidth

to match that of the signal you are
interested in
The device uses a ceramic transducer
that as a relatively narrow bandwidth.
The microphone has a 100-kHz band-
width and is ‘wide open’ to picking up
ambient room noise like air conditioners,
conversation, and copy machines. Lucki-
ly, you don’t have to shut down these
office necessities to make you measure-
ment. You can filter the acquired signal
and reduce the measurement bandwidth
Fig. 2: By applying band pass filtering, averaging, and AM detection it is possible to improve
measurement reliability and accuracy. Parameter math helps measure the delay between
pulses and rescale delay to distance.
to that of the device being measured. In we originally acquired. The transmitted
this case the signal was band pass filtered burst and the echoes are easily seen.
with a lower cutoff frequency of 35 kHz
and an upper cutoff frequency of 45 kHz. 2. Use averaging to help eliminate
The result is shown in the second trace uncorrelated noise.
from the top, F1, in Fig. 2. The filtered The ten acquired segments of the
trace is quite a bit ‘cleaner than the one sequence mode acquisition are from an

Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014

26 Special
identical source. We can further reduce
noise by averaging those acquisitions.
When averaging is turned on the scope is
smart enough to average all ten seg-
ments. The resulting waveform, in trace
F2 (second from the bottom), clearly
shows not only the transmitted pulse but
also multiple echoes as the signal base-
line is quite clean.
3. Demodulate the AM signal to
make measurements more accurate
Verifying that range measurement of
the device involves measuring the time
delay between the transmitted pulse and
the echoes. It is difficult to make that
measurement on the amplitude modulat-
ed waveforms we have acquired. The best
approach is to demodulate the waveform
and extract the modulation envelope.
Trace F3 in Fig. 2 is the demodulated
envelope of the signal in F2. This was cal-
culated by taking the absolute value of the
trace in F2 (full-wave rectification) and
then low pass filtering the result with a
cutoff frequency of 10 kHz. The resultant
waveform is the modulation envelope that
exactly tracks the peaks of the original 40-
kHz carrier. We can easily make timing
measurements on this waveform.

4. Use parameter math to create a

custom measurement
Measuring the time delay between two
pulses on the same trace can be done
with cursors but measurement param-
eters are generally much more accu-
rate. There is not a parameter that will
measure the time delay between these

“Measurement
TTL Level Inputs Control ±320V Signals (VDD=3.3V) parameters are
Nominal On-Resistance 14.5, Pairs Matched to 0.8 generally much
VDD=3.3V more accurate than
CPC7514 measuring time delay
S1

Matched Pair 1-2

with cursors.”
S2

pulses directly but we can create one with

S3 parameter math. First measure the delay
from trigger to the mid-amplitude point
IS VM VM IS S4 Matched Pair 3-4
:
of the transmitted pulse envelop (P1) .
Then, using parameter gates isolate the
Switch State Control & Latch primary reflection, measure the time
Two-Stage Current Limit delay from the trigger to the primary
Thermal Shutdown
echo (P2). Parameter math in P3 takes
the difference which is the delay between
GND the transmitted and reflected pulse.
TTL Level Control
Switch HV ATE Instrumentation Pb e3 5. Use parameter math to rescale
delay into distance
Control 110VAC power to small AC loads The distance between the range finder and
Switch two telephony lines with dual, matched relay pairs its target is computed by multiplying one
Make BITE smaller, more robust, more reliable, and less expensive half the time delay we have measured, by
the velocity of sound. Parameter math
Three Levels of Built-In Protection includes a rescale function which is used
• Initial Current Limit in P4 to multiply the measured delay time
• Secondary Current Limit by 562.5 to obtain the range in feet.
• Thermal Shutdown There you have a simple case of a mea-
IXYS Integrated Circuits Division (Formerly Clare, Inc.)
surement based on the application of the
78 Cherry Hill Drive, Beverly, MA 01915, 978-524-6768 signal processing and measurement tools
available in an oscilloscope. ■

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products

 2 GHz Clock Generator
· Square wave clocks from DC to 2.05 GHz
· Random jitter <1 ps (rms)
· 80 ps rise and fall times
· 16-digit frequency resolution
· CMOS, LVDS, ECL, PECL, RS-485
· Phase adjustment & time modulation
Plot shows complementary clocks and PRBS (opt. 01)
outputs at 622.08 Mb/s with LVDS levels. Traces have
transition times of 80 ps and jitter less than 1 ps (rms).
Stanford Research Systems
Phone: (408) 744-9040 · Fax: (408) 744-9049 · info@thinkSRS.com · www.thinkSRS.com
CG635...$2995 (U.S. list)
The CG635 generates clock signals ¾ flawlessly.
The clock signals are fast, clean and accurate,
and can be set to standard logic levels.
How fast? Frequency to 2.05 GHz with rise and
fall times as short as 80 ps.
How clean? Jitter is less than 1 ps and phase
noise is better than -90 dBc/Hz (100 Hz offset)
at 622.08 MHz.
How accurate? Using the optional rubidium
timebase, aging is better than 0.0005 ppm/year,
and temperature stability is better than
0.0001 ppm.
You would expect an instrument this good to be
expensive, but it isn't. You no longer have to
buy an rf synthesizer to generate clock signals.
The CG635 does the job better¾at a fraction of
the cost.
28 Special

MEMS sensor solutions for IoT

in transport and buildings
MEMS-based system solutions are ready to address the Internet of Things'
major opportunities: so-called Smart Transport and Smart Buildings
By ROGER H. GRACE, President The good news is
Roger Grace Associates that all of the hardware
www.rogergrace.com for the realization

M
of MBSS to support
EMS-based systems solutions Internet-of-Things
(MBSS) are systems that use (IoT) applications is
sensor-based measurements to virtually off the shelf,
provide actionable data to autonomously with the exception of
control real-world conditions. The major the package and an en-
functions needed to realize MBSS in- ergy system (batteries
clude a sensor front end, low-power sig- are frequently being
nal conditioning electronics (typically an used for this purpose,
ASIC including a microcontroller with sometimes in con-
Fig. 1: MEMS-based systems solutions (MBSS) integrate
embedded algorithms), power supply/ junction with energy critical elements of the Internet of Things (IoT) including
storage/management, back-end wireless harvesting). sensing, computing and communications to provide valuable
communications, and antennas. All of However, the measurements capability for Smart Building/Smart Transport
this is enclosed in a package (Fig. 1). challenge to create a monitoring and control applications.

8 Channel
12-Bit High Definition
Oscilloscopes

Who’s doin’ that!

teledynelecroy.com/hd4096

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • ELEctronic ProdUcts ELEctronic ProdUcts • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014
30 Special
commercializable solution lies in the
ability to realize an MBSS solution that
meets the application’s requirements in
a robust, cost- effective manner. System
integration and the ability to create ef-
fective algorithms that produce required
functionalities are the key.
I am one of many who believe that
JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products
one of the major opportunities
associated with IoT is in so
called Smart Buildings and
Smart Transport. Here we will
address several of the more
interesting Smart Buildings/
Smart Roads implementations.
The focus will be on the front
Fig. 2: Smart Transport applications
include traffic lane monitoring, intersection
monitoring for vehicles and bike lane/
intersection monitoring as well as parking
space occupancy status. Magnetic sensors
are the sensor of choice for vehicle detection
and radar sensors for pedestrian and bicycle
detection. (Graphic courtesy of Sensys
Networks)
-end sensors since, without them, the
ability to measure vital parameters (in-
cluding strain and vibration) needed for
data acquisition and control would not
be possible.
Smart transport
Smart transport is another major IoT
opportunity for MBSS. Major drivers for
the adoption of these systems are vehicle,
passenger and pedestrian safety; con-
venience; fuel efficiency and reduction
of environmental pollution. Not only
are sensors being implemented in large
numbers for vehicles (not to be covered in
this article)…but in the roadways, tunnels,
bridges and train tracks that are ubiquitous
in our overall transport infrastructure.
Libelium (www.libelium.com) has
designed and installed a system of sensor
platforms that will measure the presence
or absense of parked vehicles. As part
of the European Framework 7 Program,
the company has instrumented a 1,000
node system in Santandar Spain that uses
their Waspmote open system architecture
platform.
The 400 node parking monitoring
system includes magnetic sensors, signal
conditioning electronics, 7-10 year life
battery and a radio in a 12 cm. diameter
package. The measured information
is transmitted to an access point on a
nearby lamp post and the data then gets
transmitted to the cloud and processed.
The processed data is sent to the parking
department headquarters where it gets
analyzed and then sent to displays on the
 Special 31
street as well as to mobile phones/tab- accelerometers, strain gages, wind tive deployment and robustness of the
lets/computers to direct vehicles to the velocity, temperature and potentiometer Narada sensor nodes and their remote
appropriate available parking spots. displacement sensors are measured using sensors.” Data taken by the system will
Additionally, another 600 node sys- his proprietary Narada 4 x 4 inch pc be used to validate the models developed
tem is mounted on lamp posts and uses board platform, which can accept up to by the WIMSS team and will be used to
CO2 sensors to measure air quality, as four channels of sensor data (Fig. 3). The better understand the response of the
well as light level sensors to measure the purpose of the deployment, states Prof. bridge under conditions including high
ambient light that will control the street Lynch, “was to determine the cost-effec- wind loading and earthquakes.
light illumination.
Sensys Networks (www.sensysnet-
works.com) has developed a similar
magnetic sensor based system for use in
DATA A CQ U I S I T I O N F R O M M E A S U R E M E N T CO M P U T I N G
traffic intersections. The system consists
of a three-axis magnetometer, signal
conditioning electronics with embedded
software, and a radio, all in a 3 x 3x 3-in.
Great Products
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roadways and intersections (Fig.2). They Great Prices • Great Support
are a lower cost solution than the large,
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about vehicle presence is transmitted to
a collecting platform and transmitted to
the cloud for processing and traffic light
management and control.
Prof. Jerry Lynch, University of
Michigan has used “Narada” sensor
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nodes to determine a bridge’s structural
status under dynamic conditions on two mccdaq.com
bridges: the Monroe Michigan Telegraph
Road Bridge and the New Carquinez
California Bridge. In 2011, the New Car- Contact us
quinez Bridge (which is on Route I-80 The Value Leader in Data Acquisition 1.800.234.4232
in Vallejo, CA) had 31 wireless sensor
©2014 Measurement Computing Corporation, 10 Commerce Way, Norton, MA 02766 • info@mccdaq.com
nodes deployed on its 1056-meter struc-
ture. A total of 87 channels of tri-axis

Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014

32 Special
Additionally, Prof. Bill Spencer of the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne
(www.shm.cs.illinois.edu) and his team
have instrumented the Jindo Island Bridge
in Korea. Here 113 nodes (reported to
be the largest deployment of its type for
bridge monitoring) have been deployed
over the 344 meter span.
Smart buildings
Smart Buildings provide their occu-
pants with a quality and comfortable
work environment, increased safety and
security while operating in an ener-
gy efficient fashion. One of the more
interesting applications for home use is
the Nest “learning” thermostat (www.
nest.com). The “learning” thermostat
consists of seven sensors (none of which
are MEMS-based) including ones that
measure temperature and humidity as
well as presence sensors that determine
the status of occupancy of the home.
The unique feature of the $249 product
is its ability to intelligently program the
heating/cooling system of a home based
on occupant usage history. With the shortfalls of municipal, state,
The Bob and Betty Beyster Comput- and federal highway budgets, it will be
er Science Building at the University of difficult to realize widespread adoption of
Michigan has recently been instrumented smart transport systems without strong
by Prof. Jerry Lynch of the Center for financial justification. For smart buildings,
Wireless MicroSensing and Systems again the question is who will pay for
(www.wims2.org) with 15 “Martlet” wire- smart sensor-based systems…the building
less sensor nodes consisting of a total of owners? What motivations exist? Cer-
45 channels of temperature, humidity, and tainly reducing energy cost and carbon
CO2 sensors. The objective of the project footprint are two important factors. ■
is to “deploy a sensor network and model
the environmental conditions as they re- About the author
late to HVAC performance. The next steps Roger H. Grace is president of Roger
include monitoring occupant’s behavior/ Grace Associates, a Naples Florida -based
presence and connecting the network di- strategic marketing consulting firm
rectly to the control system of the HVAC specializing in high technology, which
system to achieve optimum performance he founded in 1982. His background
versus cost” stated Prof. Lynch. includes over 45 years in high-frequency
The preceding interesting implemen- analog circuit design, application engi-
tation of MBSS have been in operation neering, project management, product
and demonstrated their viability over the marketing, and technology consulting.
past several years. Based on the research Mr. Grace has specialized in sensors and
I’ve conducted on the adoption of these ICs for over 35 years is a pioneer in the
IoT solutions, it is apparent that funding field of MEMS. His clients include the in-
for these projects appears to be the major ternational “Who’s Who” of corporations,
barrier to their widespread adoption.
7-14 federal
Elect Products-IO labs, and government
2794.qxp_Layout agencies.
1 6/6/14 2:51 PM Page 1

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JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • ELEctronic ProdUcts

 Product Roundup 33
Power Management ICs

P
ower management ICs continue to range and over 10 A of applications processors. It targets pow-
make inroads in all designs, espe- charge/backup current er-sensitive platforms including portable
cially for battery-operated devices capability. medical devices, IP headphones, home
in automobiles, consumer electronics, www.linear.com security systems, IPTV controllers, tablets
industrial, and military applications. The Freescale and home energy management solutions.
Some of the newest products include the Semiconductor It is designed to be auto AEC-Q100 Grade
STMicroelectronics STPM3x, which help MMPF0200 programmable PMIC, part 3 compliant for automotive applications.
prevent errors below 50 mA in energy of the PF series, is optimized for i.MX www.freescale.com
meters and can prevent up to MWh of 6Solo, i.MX 6SoloLite and i.MX 6DualLite Paul O’Shea
lost billings for customers. They help keep
meter accuracy to a few mA and perform
power-quality calculations on-chip, includ-
ing rms voltage and current measurements,
apparent energy computations, and under/
over voltage detection. www.st.com
The ON Semiconductor LC709201F,
LC709202F, and LC709203F family of
CMOS battery fuel gauge ICs provide
measurements of the remaining power
level of one-cell Li-ion batteries common-
ly used in smart-
phones, tablets, and
digital cameras. These
devices also reduce
component count and
system cost, because they do not require a
current sensing resistor as part of the solu-
tion. www.onsemi.com
The Texas Instruments LMR22007 is
the industry’s smallest 12-V, 750-mA dc/
dc power regulator. It integrates a synchro-
nous MOSFET that delivers peak efficiency
of 94.6%. The switching regulator provides
a complete 12-V, Vin to Vout power supply
design that measures <30 mm2 with as few
as three external components. The device
targets space-constrained and power dense
applications in a variety of markets, includ-
ing consumer, industrial and automotive.
It operates from 2.7 to 20 Vin and delivers
an output voltage from 0.9 to 5.5 V and
survives VIN transients to 24 V. www.ti.com
The Linear Technology LTC3350
is a supercapacitor charger and backup
controller IC that provides a standalone
capacitor-based backup power solution.
Examples include data backup for solid
state drives and nonvolatile dual in-line
memory modules, power fail alarms in
medical and industrial applications, as well
as other dying gasp power fail indicators.
The chip provides all PowerPath control,
capacitor stack charging and balancing, and
capacitor health monitoring for backup
operation. It has a 4.5 to 35-V input voltage
Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014
3øMotorHybrids.AI GD05101MSK P/U021085&021001
34 Energy-Saving Initiative
an electronic products special series

Designing a solar-powered
remote sensor
Optimizing a rechargeable-battery-powered system with solar recharging
can be done in five easy steps
simplified block diagram of data to/from the host for 100 ms every
BY JEFF FALLIN, Applications Engineer
Texas Instruments, www.ti.com Fig. 1. The most critical step in design- 60 s. The processor enters a low-power
ing an energy-harvesting system is to sleep-mode while the transceiver and

W
ith the growing Internet minimize the system’s load profile by (1) measurement devices are turned off
of Things (IoT), remote choosing ICs with the lowest power con- when not in use. The load current pro-
sensors that monitor the sumption and (2) operating those ICs in a file for the system is shown in Fig. 2.
environment and transmit the data back low-duty-cycle burst mode.
to an Internet-connected host system
are becoming common. Designing
such a sensor to be powered from
an energy-harvesting power source
(for example, solar panel, thermo- or
piezo-electric generator, to name a few)
requires more design time and planning
than designing a system with a standard
power source (such as a battery or wall
adapter). This article provides a step-
by-step procedure of how to optimally Fig. 1: Remote sensor
design an energy harvester-powered application
remote sensor with transceiver, with Li-
ion rechargeable battery so that the energy
harvester and battery are sized properly
to meet the end application load without
overdesigning or adding excess cost. By
starting at the system load and working
back to the input source, a cost-efficient
system with optimally sized components
can be designed.

Step 1: Harvester selection Fig. 2: Load current profiles

The first step is to choose the appropriate
type, but not size, of energy harvester(s)
for the application environment in order
to maximize the amount of energy actually
harvested during nondark times. The
example system we will use for purposes of
illustration is a low-power, minimally sized
outdoor sensor driven by a solar panel.
Other types of harvesters can be used, if the
appropriate excitation source (thermal gra-
dients or mechanical vibration) is available.
Step 2: Load minimizing
Consider the solar-powered outdoor re-
mote temperature sensor as shown in the
To simplify the calculations, we
will assume that the sensor itself, I/O
peripherals and RF transceiver are
powered directory from a Li-ion battery
with 3.6-V average “HI” rail, while the
processor core is powered from a sepa-
rate 1.8-V “LO” rail.
To reduce total power consumption,
the system has two periodic active
modes and sleep mode. Measure mode
is where temperature measurements are
taken for 0.5 s. Immediately following
measure mode, transmit and receive
mode (TXRX mode) sends and receives
Step 3: Power management IC selection
From the load profile we chose the dc/
dc converter and/or battery charger
with specifications capable of operating
within these voltage and current levels,
as well as some other key features.
Ideally, the power IC’s quiescent cur-
rent is well below the system’s current
consumption in sleep mode. Because
an energy-harvesting source has a
much higher impedance output than a
typical lower impedance battery or wall
adapter, it behaves more like a current
source instead of a voltage source. This

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products

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22 21 20 19 18 17 140
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THE POWER MANAGEMENT LEADER
36 Energy-Saving Initiative
an electronic products special series
results in its output voltage collapsing at
much lower output currents than would
the voltage of a low-impedance (low-Z)
source. Therefore, the dc/dc converter
that immediately follows the harvester
must manage (limit) its own input cur-
rent draw so that the harvester’s output
voltage does not collapse.
A minimally sized system, including
solar panel area, will have as few solar
panel cells as possible, outputting 0.6
to 0.7 V each, in series or parallel. Fully
charging a 4.2-V Li-ion battery from
a buck-based battery charger requires
more than 7to 8 cells in series. A boost-
based charger allows more flexibility in
solar panel configuration and, poten-
tially, fewer solar panels. We choose the
bq25570 boost-based battery charger
with integrated buck converter because
of its maximum power point tracking
(MPPT) and input voltage regulation
features as well as power levels. The
MPPT feature samples the solar panel’s
open-circuit (unloaded) voltage and
stores a user selected fraction of that
voltage on a capacitor every 16 s. The
input voltage regulation circuit allows
the boost converter to pull current from
the source until the source voltage drops
to that sampled voltage.
Step 4: Compute minimum battery
size from load currents
Battery capacity is measured in milli-
ampere-hours (mAh). Sizing the battery
to ensure full operation during up to
two days of extended darkness (such
as cloud cover), we first compute the
total current sourced by the battery (IHI1
+ IHI2). Using the measured efficiency
values for the buck converter from the
bq25570 datasheet, we reflect the buck
converter load current (ILO) back to the
high rail current (IHI2) by solving the
efficiency balance equation =POUT/PIN
= (VOUT x IOUT) / (VIN x IIN). Because the
solar panel’s operating time is measured
in days, we multiply by each mode’s
duty cycle and then 24 hours / day to get
mAh / day consumed. Table 1 summa-
rizes these computations.
The bq25570 is a good fit, given its
combination boost charger and buck
JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products
Table 1. Computation of mAh / day
Mode Ilo η of Ihi2 (mA) =
(mA) buck (1.8 V x Ilo)
/ (η *3.6 V)
Measure 5 0.87 2.87
Sleep 2.5 0.87 1.44
TXRX 0.001 0.82 0.001
Ileak + Io
Current Totals 5 4.31
1.
Includes battery leakage current and bq25570 quiescent current
converter. Also, ILO = 5 mA is well below the
100-mA max buck converter output current
and 3.6 V * (IHI1+IHI2)TXRX / 0.80 = 86.9
mW is well below the 510-mW max input
power for the boost converter.
With 2 dark days, the absolute min-
imum battery capacity required for the
remote sensor to continuously operate
is 2 days x 2.10 mAh /day = 4.20 mAh.
A battery with slightly higher capacity
is recommended for some safety margin
so the battery does not completely dis-
charge at the end of the dark time.
SIDENOTE:
If we want to use a supercapacitor that is
fully charged to 4.2 V, but not allowed to
drain below 2.5 V, we solve the equation
below for CSUPER:
3.57 mAh / 1,000 x 3,600 s/hr x 3.6 V =
1/2 x CSUPER x (4.2 V2 – 2.5 V2)
And get CSUPER = 11.2 F.
Step 5: Determine solar panel size
Multiplying the 2.10 mAh / day by the
3.6-V average battery voltage gives a sys-
tem need of 7.56 mWh / day. If the solar
panel provides power to the bq25570
boost charger 24-7, then with its 80%
average efficiency, the system could run
from the boost charger output, without
a battery – if the solar cell provided 7.56
mAh / day / 0.8 = 9.45 mWh /day.
However, we are only charging 5 out
of 7 operating days a week and only for
4 h/day, with the battery providing pow-
er during the 2 dark days and during
the noncharging hours. This means the
solar panel must provide extra power
Ihi1 (mA) Duty Cycles mAh / day =
(D) D x (Ihi1 + Ihi2)
x 24 hrs / day
5 0.5 / 60 1.58
10 0.1 / 60 0.46
(60-0.6) / 60 0.043
0.0011 1 0.024
15
Total 2.10
mAh / day
to charge the battery for a total of 9.45
mWh/day x 7 days / 5 days / 4 h/ day =
2.65 mW. Assuming a small solar panel
that provides 0.025 W/cm2 at minimal
lux is available, then we only need 2.65
mW / 0.025 mW/cm2 = 132 cm2 of solar
panel area.
SIDENOTE:
Remembering secondary school’s “can-
cel the unit’s” trick really helps.
Optimizing a rechargeable battery-pow-
ered system with solar re-charging can be
accomplished in five easy steps:
1. Harvester selection for the applica-
tion environment
2. Minimizing the load by running the
system at a reduced duty cycle
3. Selecting an optimal power manage-
ment IC
4. Sizing the battery to provide power
during the dark times
5. Determining the minimum solar
panel size needed
By starting with the system load
and reflecting the output system power
backwards to the harvester output using
efficiency power balances, we can deter-
mine the optimal size for the batteries
and solar panel - thereby reducing total
cost and solution size. ■
References
Download the bq25570 datasheet: www.
ti.com/product/bq25570?DCMP=pwr-
bms-wlpc&HQS=pwr-bms-wlpc-eh-
bq25570-contrib-014-pf-en.
For more on the Internet of Things: www.
ti.com/pwr-bms-wlpc-iot-contrib-014-lp-en
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 38 Product Update
Transformers & Inductors

Antenna coils optimized for near 125 MHz

The KT11835T SMT receiving transponder coils for low frequency antennas feature
tolerances of ±2%, 3%, or 5%, inductance at 125 kHz
of between 1 and 12 mH, and an operating tempera-
ture range of -40° to 125°C. The transponder coil
offers high Q and excellent sensitivity.
The 0.465 x 0.142 x 0.118-in. transponder coils
sensitivity is up to 75 mV/µT in low frequencies
around 125 kHz. The parts construction features four
metal plate terminals that provide strong PC board
fixation and help ensure neither the electrode nor the land pattern disturb the coil
flux. The similar KTZ1030T has 1 to 7.6-mH inductance and comes in a round, flat
configuration.
KOA Speer Electronics: www.koaspeer.com

Compact metal power inductors handle up to 6 A

The VLS201610HBX and VLS252010HBX metal power inductors feature a very low
profile of just 1.0 mm and rated currents of up to 6.0
A. They have footprints of 2.0 x 1.6 mm and 2.5 x 2.0
mm and offer rated currents of up to 6.0 A dc.
The inductors use a magnetic metal core material
with a high saturation flux density to obtain up to 80%
higher-current capability than standard parts. They
operate over -40° to 105°C. An example 201610 device
at 1.0 µH has 0.053 Ω max DCR and handles 2.8 A with a 30% drop. Operating
frequency is 30 to over 100 MHz.
TDK America: www.tdk.com

Wireless-charging coils offer low DCR, high Q

The AWCCA series of wireless-charging coils offer eleven
standard sizes from 38.5 x 32.5 x 0.9 mm and 50 x 50 x
5.0 mm, to 107 x 52 x 4.0 mm. They have coil induc-
tances from 6.3 to 24 µH.
The AWCCA-50N50H40-C01 version is 24 µH with
a Q of 165 and a current rating of 5.7 A. For this model,
saturation I is 27 A and DCR is 72 mΩ, with a 2.9-MHz
SRF. Operating temperature is -25º to 85ºC.
Abracon: www.abracon.com

Coupled inductor targets switching regulators

The WE-CFWI coupled flatwire inductor (74485540220)
feature stable inductance and soft saturation. Targeting
high-performance SEPIC, CUK, or buck/boost switch-
ing regulators, the inductors two 1:1 ratio coils handle
from 12 to 28 A with an operating temperature of -40°
to 150°C.
The device comes in a 1310 SMT case with seven
versions with each winding having an inductance of 0.8
to 4.4 µH and a DCR of 1.6 to 9.6 mΩ. The units feature
a leakage inductance of less than 0.5%. It costs $6.09 ea/300.
Wurth Electronics Midcom: www.we-online.com

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products

 40 New Products
Packaging & Interconnections
Connector system offers 150% speed improvement
The Plateau HS Dock+ Connector System was
designed for networks that require higher
data rates with superior signal integrity to
meet the growth in networking and wireless
data, telecom, aerospace/defense, and industrial device
markets. The connectors achieve up to 25-Gbit/s data rates, a 150% im-
provement over the existing Plateau HS Dock connectors.
The connectors use a gold-plated plastic housing to maintain signal integrity for
differential and single-ended applications. Contact design allows four levels of mating
(first-mate/last-break) in a standard coplanar or inverted coplanar position with a
compliant pin for the PCB interface. Other performance-improving features include a
smaller press-fit pin on the PCB terminal and shorter terminal stub in mating interface
to tighten impedance. In addition, slots and ribs added to the shroud and the plug hous-
ing improve insertion and return loss by 50% at 10 GHz, while additional ground pins
and standoffs on lower housing reduce crosstalk and return loss by 30% at 10 GHz.
Molex: www.molex.com/product/circular

High-density card-edge connectors suit thin boards

The FMBx high-density (1.27-mm contact center) card-edge connector series provides
high-temperature, ultra-thin devices that accommodated board thicknesses of 0.80,
1.60, and 2.40 mm. Available with a profile of only 0.488 in., the connectors support an
operating temperature range of −65° to 200°C.
The connectors are offered in an array of terminations, including stag-
gered-dip-solder, right-angle, card-extender, through-hole (PTH), and surface-mount

A lot more
of what you need...

MORE PERFORMANCE
High frequency (>40 GHz) sockets
come in various materials to meet
your diverse testing requirements.
From Bench Characterization to fully
Automatic Handlers (>500k cycles). A lot less
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MORE CHOICES
The industry’s widest available DUT interfaces – Spring Probes, Microstrip™
Contacts, and two types of Conductive Elastomers.
LESS COST
All of these DUT interface materials are
available in off-the-shelf molded plastic
for a fraction of the cost of others’
machined housings. Bristol, PA 19007-6810
Tel 215-781-9956
LESS WAIT Fax 215-781-9845
We can deliver the sockets you need in Email: info@arieselec.com
four weeks or less! Why settle for less? www.AriesElec.com

The Evolution of
Interconnect Innovation

JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products

 New Products 41
Packaging & Interconnections
(SMT). Mounting style choices consist of flush
mounting, flush mounting with threaded inserts, no
mounting ears, and metal board-lock. The new card
edge connectors are available with varied head- and
tail-length options to facilitate custom and standard
applications. Materials are UL 94V-0-rated and
withstand reflow processes up to 260°C peak for 20 s
max. In production quantities, prices for low profile
ultra-thin parts start at $4 each. Delivery is from
stock to 5 days ARO, and samples are available on request.
Sullins Connector Solutions: www.sullinscorp.com

Multiconductor assemblies minimize

impedance mismatches
Mictor series multiconductor cable assemblies are precisely imped-
ance-matched to 50 Ω (100 Ω in differential pairs) to achieve tight-
ly controlled, consistent impedance throughout the connectors,
cables, and interconnections, resulting in excellent signal-integrity
(SI) characteristics and optimum bit-error-rate (BER) performance. They are offered
in lengths and configurations to match a customer’s requirements.
The ribbonized cables are based on 34-AWG through 38-AWG wire and available
in 0.5- and 0.8-mm pitch versions. They employ advanced VP90 expanded polytetra-
fluoroethylene (ePTFE) dielectric materials and can be formed with plug- or recepta-
cle-type connectors, in right-angle or vertical-mount configurations.
High Speed Interconnects: www.highspeedint.com

flying
high
Ultra High Tg Epoxy
UV Curable System UV25
• Tg >180°C
• Cures in 20-30 seconds
• Serviceable from -60°F
to 500°F

Hackensack, NJ 07601 USA

+1.201.343.8983 • main@masterbond.com

www.masterbond.com

Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014

1040LK_3.25x4.5_UV25.indd 1 5/5/14 10:35 PM
 E W E v o l u t i on
N

DC/DC Power Block

up to 240 Watt

TEQ Series
For highest performance
in harsh environment –
fit and forget

• Increased EMC immunity against surge, burst, and radiated &

conducted disturbances in accordance to EN50155
• Shock and vibration and thermal shock resistance in accordance
to EN61373 and MIL-STD-810F
• Wide 4:1 input voltage ranges: 9–36, 18–75 and 43–160 VDC
• Operating temperature -40°C up to +85°C in still air with 100 Watt
and up to 55°C with 200 Watt
• Protection against over-temperature, overload, short circuit
and over-voltage
• Excellent efficiency up to 93%
• Optional rugged DIN-Rail mount adaptor

POWERGATE LLC 866-588-1750 www.powergatellc.com

www.tracopower.com
Power Sources Unlimited 800-966-7784 www.psui.com/traco
 New Products 43
Power Sources
HigHligHt of tHe MontH
PSUs offer highest power density in 1U pkg
The XSolo family of 40 mm(1U) x 238 x 128-
mm, single-output switching power supply
units (PSUs) provide a market-leading 6.8 W/ Transformers
in.3, convection-cooled 504-W open-frame
U-channel form-factor model, and an enclosed,
and Inductors
small !
fan-cooled chassis model that delivers 1,008
I C O
...think P
W (13.6 W/in.3). Capable of achieving 92%
efficiency, the PSUs meet the requirements
of medical, industrial, IT, and military COTs
applications. Both models carry a five-year warranty. think...
The PSUs feature dual safety agency certification: EN60950-1 for industrial ap- low profile
plications and EN60601-1, 2nd and 3rd edition for medical applications. They meet from
.18"
the stringent creepage and clearance, 4-kVac isolation and <300-µA leakage current
requirements. The supplies also meet the voltage dip and interruption requirements of Over 5000 Std.
SEMI F47, the environmental conditions of MIL-STD-810, and comply with the EMC Ultra Miniature ht.
emission / immunity standards. The platform offers variable fan speed, a 12 V/300
mA isolated bias supply, remote on/off, output voltage control and parallel operation Surface Mount
capability. Prices in OEM quantities are $254 for the 500-W version and $299 for the (and Plug-In) Models
1-kW version.
Excelsys: www.excelsys.com
Audio / 400Hz / Pulse
Multiplex Data Bus /
Thermoelectric algorithm offers precise control
The 5R7-573A is an open board temperature controller DC-DC Converter
designed with a proportional integral control algo- Transformers / Power
rithm to provide precise control to thermoelectric & EMI Inductors
(Peltier effect) modules. The H-bridge control
provides a seamless transition between heating ed ia te ly
ta lo g im m
and cooling, eliminating dead spots. fu ll C a m
cs.co
See P ic o ’s
ctroni
The controller offers a red LED to indicate a coele
w w w. p i
heating mode and green to indicate a cooling mode.
Pulse width modulation controls the power level in the ther-
moelectric module at a base frequency of 900 Hz. Power resolution
is one of ±255 steps in the load circuit control. The input voltage extends from 6 to 28
Vdc and the output voltage ranges from 0 to 36 Vdc. The temperature extends from PICO units manufactured
-40 to 250°C with a resolution of 0.1°C. and tested to MIL-PRF-27
Oven Industries: www.ovenind.com requirements. QPL units
are available. Delivery stock
to one week for sample
Converter series targets railway applications quantities.
The PMDS / PCMDS30 primary switched dc/dc converters series is designed for
automotive and railway applications. The converters operate PICO Electronics Inc.
according to the current source push-pull principle and 143 Sparks Ave, Pelham, NY 10803
work with a frequency of 70 and 140 kHz. Call Toll Free: 800-431-1064
The dc/dc converters use input voltages of 14.1 to 154 E Mail: Info@picoelectronics.com
Vdc and output voltages of 5.1, 12, 24 or 48 Vdc. The con- FAX: 914-738-8225
verters need no ground load and are short-circuit protected
by primary and secondary power limitation. Additional
features include reverse polarity protection and active input current limiting. The
converters are maintenance free and vacuum encapsulated. MILITARY•COTS•INDUSTRIAL
TRANSFORMERS & INDUCTORS
MTM Power: www.mtm-power.com

Electronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JULY 2014

44 New Products
Power Sources
Intelligent 60-A PoL
converter offers PMBus
The 60 A iJB series of PoL dc/dc con-
verters feature intelligent auto-tuning
technology and PMBus capabilities. The
converters operate from an 8 to 14-Vdc
input, and provide output voltages of 0.6
to 2 V, with a set point accuracy of 0.5%.
JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • Electronic Products
The series meets applications including
servers, routers and other Information
and communication technology equip-
ment, semiconductor manufacturing
equipment, measuring equipment and
general industrial equipment.
The surface mount converters
occupy 1 in.2 board space. The PMBus
functionality of the converter provides
real-time monitoring of voltage, current
and temperature, and allows full pro-
grammability of the device parameters.
A GUI is available for development
support.
TDK-Lambda Americas:
www.us.tdk-lambda.com/lp
Sine wave inverters deliver
1 kVA, low noise
The CSI 1K-3U3LN series of low noise
dc/ac inverter systems generate up to 1
kVA output power with pure sine wave
output voltage. The input and output are
filtered for low noise. The output has a
second-stage filter which
reduces the
residual
output
ripple
to <100
mVrms
and
delivers a
smooth pure sine
wave output.
The inverters provide a single,
regulated output of 115 Vac continuous
at 60 Hz or 400 Hz, or 230 Vac contin-
uous at 50 Hz. They operate from 48,
110, 125 Vdc or custom voltages. The
series employs field proven micropro-
cessor controlled high frequency PWM
technology. The chassis-mount units
measure 5.2 x 7.4 x 16-in. and are also
available in 19-in. rack–mount format.
Operating temperature from 0° to
+50°C without de-rating.
Absopulse Electronics:
www.absopulse.com
 New Products
Optoelectronics Components & Subassemblies
3.5-in. LCD module viewable in SMT 2010 current-sense resistor rated for 1 W
bright sunlight The SLW07 SMT current-sense resis-
The LQ035Q3DY01 is a 3.5-in. TFT LCD mod-
ule that features the proprietary progressive
super view technology. It enables viewability in
direct sunlight with brightness settings as low
as 100 nits. This low brightness setting helps
save power and lowers heat from the backlight.
The display module technology eliminates sur-
face and internal reflections in the LCD to create
higher contrast in high ambient light conditions.
Additionally, internal reflection from the metal
layers inside the module enhances the brightness of the LCD.
Sharp Microelectronics: www.sharpsma.com
LED high bay certified for hazardous
locations
The SafeSite LED high bay pro-
vides 125 lm/W and up to 26,500
fixture lumens and is backed by a
10-year warranty. It is UL 844 certified for Class I, Division 2, Class
II, Division 2 and Class III hazardous location applications.
At 18 lbs, the 100 to 277-Vac LED High Bay is rated to op-
erate in ambient temperatures from -40° to +65°C and features
a T5 temperature rating at 50°C. The unit ships standard with
6-kV surge protection and is IP66/NEMA4X certified. It is
also available with custom in-house designed optics including
medium and wide distribution types.
Dialight: www.dialight.com
Light guides increase flexibility of designs
A nonlinear curved light extraction technology enables the de-
sign of more complex light guides. These nonlinear light guides
can be integrated into a variety of products, from overhead
lighting and wall sconces to automotive interior/exterior light-
ing such as dome lights, passenger compartment lighting, and
daytime running lights, as well as white goods and consumer
electronics devices.
The light guide capability was
made possible by the development of
a thin film embossing process allow-
ing light guides to be manufactured
with 0.25 to 4-mm thickness and by a
change to the manufacturing process
of the optical extraction features
embedded in the light guides. The
changes allow for thicker lightguides
to be injection-molded and have
curved emission surfaces. These flexible parts can be used in ap-
plications requiring flexible or mechanically curved products. The
light guides can be created in sizes greater than 24-in. diagonal.
Global Lighting Technologies: www.glthome.com
New Products 45
tor has an enhanced power rating of
1 W (derated from 70°C) in a small
2010 package. It features a wide tem-
perature range of -55° to +180°C.
The resistor is available values
of 5 to 100 mΩ, in both 1% and 5%
tolerances, and TCR is 150 or 200 ppm/°C. Also available is the
zero-ohm jumper SLZ1, which offers a rated current of 44 A in a
2512 size. Both parts are AEC-Q2000 qualified.
KOA Speer Electronics: www.koaspeer.com
Planar SMT transformers handle 160 or 300 W
The PL160 and PL300 series of surface-mount planar transform-
ers target power over Ethernet (PoE) and -48-V network power
applications with ratings of 160 and 300 W. The devices are rated
for between 200 and 700 kHz with a nominal 48-V input.
The transformers offer excellent DCR, very low leakage in-
ductance, and have 1,500 Vrms one minute primary to secondary
isolation. An example PL160-102L transformer with a dual 5-turn
primary, primary inductance of 240 µH, and low 0.45-µH leakage
inductance comes in a 0.82 x 0.80 x 0.36-in. package. The primaries
have 18.2 and 21.5 mΩ DCR and the three-tap secondary is 6.8 mΩ.
Coilcraft: www.coilcraft-cps.com
SMT long-life electrolytic
cap handles 105°C
The AVD series of SMT electrolytic
capacitors features 5,000 hours load
life (2,000 for D=4, 5, 6.3 mm) at
105°C with rated WVDC. Values
range from 1 to 1,000 µF at 6.3 to 50
V and operating temperature is -55° to 105°C.
An example part, the 107AVD016MER 100-µF device, has a
16-V rating and 2.65-Ω ESR at 120 Hz. It comes in a 6.3 x 5.4-
mm package and has a 230 ma maximum ripple current rating.
Prices start at $0.023 ea/OEM qty.
Illinois Capacitor: www.illcap.com
Thru-hole HV resistors handle 1.6 to 7 kV
MG Series thru-hole metal glaze high
voltage resistors have an expanded range
from 1 kΩ to 1 GΩ. Working voltages
range from 1.6 kV for the ¼-W size to 7
kV for the 2-W and mini 3-W sizes.
The series handles 0.25 to 3 W and has a 100-ppm TCR with
1%, 5%, or 10% tolerance. Body length varies from 0.248 to 0.610
in. An example part number, MG12JT100K, is 0.5 W, 5%, 100 kΩ.
Prices range from $0.056 to $0.45 ea/full-reel quantities.
Stackpole Electronics: www.seielect.com
ElEctronic Products • electronicproducts.com • JulY 2014
46 Product Mart New Products
Electronic Products Presented by the Manufacturer Test & Measurement
Turbo Miniature Piezoelectric Alarms
®

Tiny (approx.1”x1”) piezoelectric alarms provide LOUD output

with a super-sleek design. Available in variety of voltages and
output up to 103dB! Rugged, tamper-proof, lo-profile panel
mount design is IP68 and NEMA 4X. Optional manual volume
control offers increased attenuation. ISO 9001:2000 registered
company – all products made in the USA.
Floyd Bell Inc.
Tel: (614) 294-4000
Fax: (614) 291-0823
sales@floydbell.com
www.floydbell.com
Smallest Size and Excellent Frequency
Stability Feature Raltron’s New OCXO Family
Raltron has just released its very small size OCXO Series OX1000,
which provides ideal miniature dimensions of 9 mm x 14 mm
and excellent temperature stability making it suitable for many
applications such as wireless infrastructure, transmission, precision
instrumentation, broadcasting, utility metering, etc. The units
have frequency range of 10MHz- 40MHz and temperature stability
down to 10ppb from -40° to +85° C.
Raltron Electronics
Corporation
305-593-6033
sales@raltron.com
www.raltron.com
advErtisEr indEx
this index is provided as an additional service.
the publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.
Agilent Technologies, Inc. ………………………………………………………………… Cover 2, 3, 17
Allied Electronics Inc. ………………………………………………………………………… Cover 3
Aries Electronics, Inc. ………………………………………………………………………………… 40
CIT Relay & Switch …………………………………………………………………………………… 38
Coilcraft, Inc. …………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
CUI Inc. ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10
Datatronics Distribution Inc. ………………………………………………………………………… 32
Digi-Key Corporation ……………………………………………………………………… Cover 1, 1
Floyd Bell Inc. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 46
FOX Electronics ………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
GlobTek, Inc. …………………………………………………………………………………… Cover 1
Hammond Manufacturing Company Inc. …………………………………………………………… 41
Harting ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Hioki USA Corporation ……………………………………………………………………………… 29
International Manufacturing Services Inc. …………………………………………………………… 19
International Rectifier ………………………………………………………………………………… 35
IXYS Integrated Circuits Division …………………………………………………………………… 26
Linear Technology Corporation ……………………………………………………………………… 11
Master Bond Inc. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 41
Measurement Computing Corporation ……………………………………………………………… 31
Micro Crystal AG ……………………………………………………………………………………… 16
Microchip ……………………………………………………………………………………… Cover 4
Minmax Technology Co., Ltd. ………………………………………………………………………… 44
Mouser Electronics ……………………………………………………………………………… 12, 13
MS Kennedy Corporation …………………………………………………………………………… 33
National Instruments ………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Newark/element 14 …………………………………………………………………………………… 7
OKW Enclosures, Inc. ………………………………………………………………………………… 40
Pico Electronics, Inc. …………………………………………………………………………………… 43
Pletronics, Inc. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
Raltron Electronics Corporation ……………………………………………………………………… 46
Renco Electronics, Inc. ………………………………………………………………………………… 39
Rigol Technologies ……………………………………………………………………………… 24, 25
Saelig Co. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 32
Stanford Research Systems, Inc. ……………………………………………………………………… 27
Statek Corporation …………………………………………………………………………………… 22
Syfer Technology Ltd. ………………………………………………………………………………… 21
Tadiran ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 37
TDK Coproration ……………………………………………………………………………………… 30
Teledyne LeCroy ………………………………………………………………………………… 23, 28
TRACOPOWER ……………………………………………………………………………………… 42
JULY 2014 • electronicproducts.com • ELEctronic ProdUcts
HigHLigHt of tHE MontH
Scope with touch user interface
acts as multiple instruments
With multi-instrument capa-
bilities, WaveSurfer 3000 series
oscilloscopes claim to offer the
deepest measurement toolset yet
seen, and do so at prices ranging
from $3,200 to $6,950. Further,
the scopes provide an advanced
user interface dubbed MAUI and a 10.1-in. touchscreen — the largest
display and only touchscreen in this class of oscilloscopes — to let
users make full use of the tools. Beyond traditional oscilloscope
functionality, the WaveSurfer 3000 provides waveform generation with
a built-in function generator, protocol analysis with serial data trigger
and decode, and logic analysis with a 16-channel mixed-signal option.
The scopes are available in models whose bandwidths range from
200 to 500 MHz, with 10-Mpoints/ch memory and up to 4-Gsample/s
sampling rate. Combining a fast waveform update rate of 130,000 wave-
forms/s with History mode waveform playback and WaveScan Search-
and-Find makes waveform anomaly detection a snap. An advanced
active probe interface provides for rapid measurment.
The MAUI user interface puts all the scope’s capabilities literally at
the user’s fingertips: It was designed for touch, so all important oscil-
loscope controls, as well as positioning /zooming waveforms, moving
cursors, configuring measurements, and interacting with results, are
done with touchscreen controls.
Teledyne LeCroy: www.teledynelecroy.com
All-in-one instrument uses iPad,
laptop for user interface
The first unit designed by its
manufacturer to serve as a
monolithic benchtop instrument,
VirtualBench VB-8012 from National Instruments is an all-in-one
tool that integrates a mixed-signal oscilloscope, function generator,
digital multimeter, programmable dc power supply, and digital I/O.
Users interact with the box using software apps that run on laptop
PCs or iPads, which allows them to take advantage of their advanced
interface and control technologies, such as multitouch displays, mul-
ticore processors, wireless connectivity, and intuitive interfaces.
The 100-MHz dual-channel scope has a 1-Gsample/s rate when
both channels are used as one, or 500 Msamples/s used individually.
As a logic analyzer, the MSO offers 34 100-MHz channels (32 data,
2 clock) for 0 to 5-V logic. The function generator provides standard
and arbitrary waveforms with 14-bit resolution at 125 Msamples/s.
The DMM measures ac/dc voltage and current, resistance, and more
with 5 ½-digit resolution. The dc supply has three outputs (6, 25, and
-25 V), and the 8 LVTTL digital I/O lines come in handy for control
functions.The unit can connect to the laptop/iPad either wirelessly
or via USB 2.0, and works with LabVIEW system design software.
$1,999; PC software is available now; iPad app later this summer.
National Instruments: www.ni.com/
For Reprints contact Wright’s Media 877-652-5295
 CATALOGS LITERATURE &
www.electronicproducts.com/Catalogs_And_Literature.aspx
Nanoparticles to the rescue for
handling zettabytes of data
A look at RRAM technology
T
BY SYLVAIN DUBOIS he first wave of digital
Senior Director, Strategic Marketing data growth is coming
from user-generated
and Business Development
content made up of images and
Crossbar, www.crossbar-inc.com
videos recorded by mobile de-
vices and uploaded almost in-
stantly onto social networks. The rise of cloud-
based media storage services for private or
shared usage has removed the limitation of
electronic device storage capabilities. The fron-
tier is limited only by the available capacity of
cloud storage providers.
As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to
gain momentum, digital data stores will be fed
by billions of connected and smart devices.
Sensors are acquiring information which is be-
ing processed by ultra-low power MCUs and
uploaded via low-power wireless communica-
tion protocols and the Internet in an extremely
integrated and cost-efficient manner. An IDC Fig. 1: RRAM Technology – simple integration
report published in Dec. 2012 projected that the for low cost manufacturing.
digital data universe will reach 40 zettabytes
(ZB) in 2020, a 50-fold growth over a 10-year period. This exponential
increase requires massive investments in enterprise IT infrastructures
and innovative solutions in hardware and soft ware.
The challenges of technology scaling
Moore’s Law has been the guiding rule of the semiconductor industry
for almost half of a century, and the steady growth of transistor density
enabled improved processing capabilities. The memory industry wasn’t
able to keep pace and memory and storage became the performance
electromechanical components
Turbo MiniaTure Piezoelectric alarms
® Magnetic Shielding for Electronics
Tiny (approx.1”x1”) piezoelectric alarms provide LOUD output with
a super-sleek design. Available in variety of voltages and output up to
103dB! Rugged, tamper-proof, lo-profile panel mount design is IP68
and NEMA 4X. Optional manual volume control
offers increased attenuation. ISO 9001:2000
registered company – all products made
in the USA.
Floyd Bell Inc.
614-294-4000 fAX: 614-291-0823
sales@floydbell.com
www.floydbell.com
july 2014
bottleneck of advanced architectures.
Flash technology is based on storing and measuring numbers of
electrons in the gate of a MOS transistor. At each new technology pro-
cess node, the transistor and memory cell shrinks, resulting in fewer
electrons. In today’s current technology process nodes, there are barely
enough electrons to maintain a sufficient charge sensing level to meet
performance and reliability requirements.
To work around these limitations, complex
algorithms have been integrated into memory
controllers. In the nanoscale of flash technolo-
gy, an increasing number of failed bits need to
be corrected to avoid missing pixels or, worse,
missing a byte of code. The implementation of
such sophisticated logic requires fast comput-
ing logic and DRAM buffering that introduce
latencies and additional power consumption.
Flash-based technology may have hit its scal-
ing limit, while the demand for storage contin-
ues to grow exponentially.
Resistive RAM
Resistive RAM technology is based on the mo-
tion of discrete nanoparticles under the influence of an electric field or
heat, and the ability of the switching material to store these nanoparti-
cles’ distribution. The combination of the movement of nanoparticles,
along with local structural changes in the switching material, changes
resistance in a measurable way.
The simplicity of the RRAM memory cell generally allows advanced
scaling paths beyond flash memory’s scaling limitations. The resistance
switching mechanism actually improves when the technology scales. The
continued on page 48
electromechanical components
Cable & Wiring
Catalog WC-4 offers electromagnetic shielding of cable & wiring, and
Inter-8® looped cable replaces twisted-pair.
• Made of Co-Netic® shielding alloy, field-proven
to shield against unwanted pickup of external
H-fields.
• Braided Sleeving is a flexible & continuous
wire-braid that out-performs foil wraps.
• Spira-Shield is a flexible conduit that shields
conductors and cables.
Magnetic Shield Corporation
630-766-7800
shields@magnetic-shield.com
www.magnetic-shield.com
Nanoparticles to the rescue for handling zettabytes of data continued from page 47
ratio between the memory cell’s resistance in its on-state and its off-state
increases while the memory cell shrinks, giving strong promises about
the longevity of such memory technology along the scaling path. RRAM
memory cell characteristics enable interconnections in a crossbar array,
providing ultra-high density storage in a cost-competitive form factor.
RRAM technology can be based on three simple layers: a nonmetal-
lic bottom electrode, an amorphous silicon switching medium, and a
metallic top electrode. The resistance switching mechanism is based
on the formation of a filament in the switching material when a voltage
is applied between the two electrodes. The RAM can be manufactured
at the back-end-of-line of any standard CMOS foundry with very lim-
ited additional costs.
packaging & hardware
2014 Washer Catalog
Boker’s complimentary 2014 Washer Catalog illustrates the company’s
28,000 non-standard flat washer sizes, wide range of outside
diameters, variety of inside diameters and thicknesses as well as more
than 2,000 material options. With high volume
capabilities and fast delivery, Boker’s provides
endless washer possibilities and manufactures
solutions to your exact specifications.
AS9100C and ISO 9001:2008
Boker’s, Inc.
Sales@bokers.com
www.bokers.com/arm
packaging & hardware
New Second Edition – Keystone Catalog M60.2
152-page, multi-color version features many new products & updates:
• Battery Clips, Contacts & Holders
• Fuse Clips & Holders • Terminals & Test Points
• Spacers & Standoffs • Panel Hardware
• Pins, Plugs, Jacks & Sockets
• PC Board & Multi-Purpose Hardware
A great resource for designers, engineers and
buying personnel. Request your free copy
www.keyelco.com.
Keystone Electronics Corp.
Astoria, NY 11105
718-956-8900 or 800-221-5510
www.keyelco.com
passive components
I.C. Super Capacitor Modules now offer
more choices and lower prices!
New Custom Supercapacitor (EDLC) Modules blow the lid off
traditional capacitance and voltage limits, with networked leading-
edge caps and balancing circuitry. For top
performance and long life, supercap modules
must be carefully designed and balanced. We
design to your application, with active or passive
balancing. IC has the expertise & technology to
save you design time and expense.
Illinois Capacitor, Inc.
847-675-1760
sales@illcap.com
www.illinoiscapacitor.com
48 july 2014
An example RRAM
Crossbar’s RRAM technology has been highlighted as a potential candi-
date for next generation storage technology. We have successfully devel-
oped a demonstration product in a commercial fab by manufacturing a
fully integrated monolithic CMOS controller and RRAM array.
The steps we are taking right now lead toward mainstream adop-
tion, including bringing our existing technology to a fab and migrat-
ing it to 55- and 40-nm nodes, which we are doing right now. Once
that’s completed we will start the embedded licensing business, as
well as the standalone code and data business. In the next nine
months we’ll be ready for a qualification cycle and for accessing cus-
tomer requirements. ■
packaging & hardware
New 250-Page Equipto Electronics Catalog
New Equipto Electronics Catalog has been expanded over previous
editions to include the company’s latest EMI/RFI shielded rack
enclosures, as well as custom NEMA enclosures. This 250-page catalog
presents detailed specifications on the company’s
modular rack enclosures, work stations,
instrument enclosures and the new NEMA boxes.
This selection of enclosures will suit most new
design & replacement-part electronic
circuitry needs.
Equipto Electronics Corp.
800-204-7225 Ext. 9
sales@equiptoelec.com,
www.equiptoelec.com/contact/
request-literature.aspx
passive components
RF Magnetics, Power Magnetics,
Filter Networks
Communication Coil Inc. designs and manufactures high
reliability products to your exacting specifications
for signal communications and power supplies
in medical, military, avionics, satellite, telemetry,
instrumentation, marine, GPS and commercial
applications.
Communication Coil, Inc.
Schiller Park, IL 60176
847.671.1333
www.communicationcoil.com
test & measurement
New OSI Catalog of Power Measurement
Products
Ohio Semitronics, the leader in power measurement solutions for
industrial and military customers worldwide, announces its new
product catalog with over 8,000 standard,
in-stock items designed and manufactured in
Hilliard, Ohio. New additions to the catalog
include: current switches, precision current
sensors and din-rail DC voltage transducers.
Request the new OSI catalog on the website at
www.ohiosemitronics.com or call 800-537-6732.
Ohio Semitronics, Inc.
Hilliard, OH 43026
sales@ohiosemitronics.com
www.ohiosemitronics.com
 Nobody Beats Allied
for Automation and Control

Keep Your Conveyors Up and Running with:

• Circuit Protection • Sensors
• Variable Frequency Drives • Safety Products
• Starters/Contactors • Lighting & Signaling

Use Our Interactive Product Finder to Discover Your Ultimate Solution

for Conveyors! alliedelec.com/industrialautomation

1.800.433.5700

© Allied Electronics, Inc 2014. ‘Allied Electronics’ and the Allied Electronics logo are trademarks of Allied Electronics, Inc. An Electrocomponents Company.
Free Your Creativity
with Core Independent Peripherals

PIC® Microcontrollers with Core Independent Peripherals take

8-bit MCU performance to a new level. With a number of on-board
modules designed to increase capability in any control system,
these MCUs represent the best value in embedded design.
Core Independent Peripherals are designed to handle their tasks
with no code or intervention from the CPU to maintain operation.
As a result, they both simplify the implementation and boost the
performance of complex control systems while giving designers the
flexibility to innovate.

Flexible Functional Building Blocks

■ Power Conversion ■ Signal Generation
■ Motor Drive ■ Sensor Interface

microchip.com/cip
The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their registered owners. © 2014 Microchip Technology Inc. All rights reserved. 5/14
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