OmniVision Technologies, a developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, has announced the immediate availability of its OV9715 CMOS image sensor for use in 360 degree view and other stand-alone or multi camera automotive vision systems. The 1-megapixel OV9715 is a fully AEC-Q100 qualified CMOS image sensor optimized for advanced driver assistance systems. It is currently shipping to multiple Tier-1 automotive suppliers.

Aerco is offering a complete supply and kitting service to installers of obstruction light systems that are required by FAA and ICAO regulations on structures that exceed 45 metres in height and are mandatory at airfields, refineries, offshore oil and gas rigs, chemical plants and construction sites.

Using a combination of LED beacons and other products from world leading manufacturers the experienced, in-house design team at Aerco ensures the correct components are selected for each installation and that they are delivered on time.

Orion Fans, a Dallas-based division of Knight Electronics and a manufacturer of standard and custom AC and DC fans, fan trays and accessories, has reported significant demand for its
10-inch AC fans designed specifically to move a large amount of air through confined spaces. Designated the OA254 Series these fans measure 254mm x 89mm (10" x 3.5") and feature airflow of 547 CFM on the standard model, and up to 850 CFM on the XC high performance model.

Sharp has developed a new series of high-power LED modules. The six new models of the 'MiniZeni' series, part of the Zenigata series, represent another addition to the Sharp LED portfolio. The product variants are characterised by four special features: they have compact outer dimensions and are extremely flat, economical and bright.

Sharp’s 'MiniZeni' LED modules are substantially smaller than the models of the Zenigata LED modules; with dimensions of 15 x 12 x 1.6 millimetres, they only require 56% of the volume of their parent with approximately the same light output. An ceramic plate is also used as the carrier material. With a light output of up to 410 lumens (depending on the module), a substantially improved CRI value of at least 87 at all colour temperatures , Sharp sets new standards in light technology.

The diversified technology company 3M has announced that it will present the new true multi-touch standard to a European audience for the first time at CeBIT 2010 in Hannover, Germany, 2-6 March. 3M will exhibit its 22-inch Multi-Touch LCD desktop displays designed for professional and ‘prosumer’ (that is professional consumer) applications that need up to 10-finger touch input or multi-user interactivity with a very fast response time.

With the gradual fading out of incandescent bulbs, which started back in September 2009, a part of our lighting history is gradually coming to an end. LEDs as a new alternative are rapidly gaining ground and market share. With features such as power-saving, being environmentally friendly, longer-life, being more compact and above all most cost-effective, LEDs have created an entirely new generation of lamps and devices.

Murata has unveiled ultra-tight tolerance versions of its chip NTC (negative temperature coefficient) thermistor series, the NCP series. ±0.5% tolerance versions are now available with consumer, industrial and automotive temperature ranges. These ±0.5% tolerance chip NTC thermistors are the first of their kind to be developed and offer a low-cost alternative to IC-based sensing solutions when high sensing accuracy is required.

The ABB University in Telford is benefiting from improved building control, significant energy cost reductions and improved functionality following the installation of ABB’s i-bus KNX intelligent building control equipment. The technology, which has been fitted into three classrooms and two reception areas, was installed by EnTech Ltd, one of ABB’s accredited KNX installers.

Antenova has announced the expansion of its antenna design services to include antenna integration, matching service and antenna test and measure services. Antenova further announced the launch of their Pre-Compliance Over-The-Air (OTA) Antenna Performance Testing service for handset manufacturers, module manufacturers and integrators and chipset suppliers.

Hitachi Display Products Group (DPG) has announced the availability of a trio of letterbox format 8:3 aspect ratio TFT display modules. Two 6.2” TFT displays are available: the TX16D18VM2CAB features a resolution of HSVGA (800 x 300 pixels) while the TX16D11VM2CAC features a resolution of HVGA (640 x 240 pixels). Hitachi has also  introduced a 10.2” TFT display featuring a resolution of HSVGA (800 x 256 pixels).

Cypress Semiconductor has unveiled a highly accurate passive stylus support for capacitive touchscreen technology. With a 1-mm accurate tip, Cypress’s TrueTouch touchscreen solution could transform the stylus market for the next generation of capacitive touchscreen phones, allowing users additional levels of accuracy and control for text entry, keyboard, handwriting recognition and other productive functions for mobile applications.

The TempTrackr multipoint wireless temperature measurement kit, now being stocked by Aspen Electronics, is suitable for monitoring the temperature on equipment and installations in remote locations or where power and communication to the sensor is restricted. Designed for systems integrators and OEMs, the system is easy to install and use, highly portable and robust, with superior performance for real-time in-process temperature sensing.

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has launched three new high-brightness, miniature white LEDs. These new LEDs have been developed to allow designers to deliver high-efficiency solid-state solutions for a wide range of commercial, residential and industrial lighting.

With a drive current of 350mA, the new TL12W03-D white, TL12W03-L warm white and TL12W03-N neutral white LEDs deliver high typical luminous flux ratings of 90 lumens, 75 lumens and 100 lumens respectively. As a result they are able to offer high-efficiency, high-reliability alternatives to incandescent, fluorescent and halogen bulb technologies in general lighting designs.

ROHM Semiconductor has announced the development of two types of high-bright RGB LEDs: SMLV56RGB1W1, featuring a height of only 0.6mm, and the standard-type SMLW56RGB1W1, featuring a height of 1.1mm. Both units are capable of 1.8cd (white).

RGB LEDs can emit virtually any colour, including white, while taking up very little space since the three elements are integrated into a single, compact form factor without reducing reliability. This makes them suitable to be used in portable gaming devices and applications requiring high brightness and multiple colours in a small area (display blocks, LED spotlights, illumination devices, and more).

GTK has launched an 8 colour field sequential LCD technology for 7 segment + icons TN custom modules. This product will provide OEM’s with the opportunity for easy transition from monochrome to colour displays, at a significantly lower cost than would be incurred using traditional TFT technology.

Providing medical design engineers with a cost-effective alternative to ultrasonic sensors, TT electronics OPTEK Technology's OCB350 fluid sensor features automatic calibration circuitry
and is available with multiple output states including "fluid present," "no fluid present," and "no tube present." The sensor has been designed for medical applications including monitoring fluid or air presence in tubing for infusion and transfusion pumps where fluids of different optical densities are used.

Link Microtek, a manufacturer and supplier of RF and microwave components and subsystems, has expanded its portfolio of LYNX non-ITAR components with a new range of
low-cost 50-ohm coaxial attenuators covering the frequency range DC to 6GHz.

Manufactured in the Far East the attenuators are available with SMA or N-type connectors and offer power ratings from 2W to 100W. Apart from the 2W versions, all devices in the range incorporate cooling fins to provide optimum heat dissipation.

Design LED Products and IGT Industries are to provide AMI Marine with illuminated capacitive switch technology for a new marine Watch Alarm. The alarms will be fitted to a ship’s bridge to ensure the Officer of the Watch is present as required.

The high quality illuminated capacitive switch panel on each alarm provides bright uniform lighting to ensure it is highly visible in all environmental conditions. The secret until lit graphics and scratch resistant surface give the unit a high quality appearance.

Electronics packaging specialist Schroff has been appointed as the UK technical representative for McLean Cooling Technology, the Minnesota-based manufacturer of products designed for cooling electronic systems.

The move will enable Schroff to offer customers McLean’s comprehensive line-up of indoor and outdoor air conditioners, heat exchangers and fans. Both companies are part of the Pentair Technical Products Group.

Samsung Electronics has announced that it has become the first company to commence mass production of panels for 3D LED TVs and 3D LCD TVs.

"Recently, 3D displays have captured the industry spotlight," said Wonkie Chang, president of the LCD Business at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung Electronics aims to lead the global 3D TV panel market in pioneering panel mass production for 3D LED and LCD TVs."

The company began producing LED and LCD compatible panels for 40-inch, 46-inch and 55-inch full-HD 3D TVs using '3D Active Glasses' this month, employing Samsung's exclusive true 240Hz technology.

e2v, the designer, developer and manufacturer of CCD and CMOS imaging sensors and cameras, and Bayspec, Inc., a developer of advanced spectroscopy solutions, have announced that their partnership has delivered a new Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) spectral engine.

e2v’s new Aviiva EM4 linescan camera, incorporating an imaging sensor optimised for OCT, enables Bayspec’s DeepView spectrograph to perform at up to three times greater collection efficiency than standard Czerny-Turner spectrographs, while offering a 10 times improvement in the detector sensitivity signal/noise ratio.

Ismosys has released details of the highest performance CMOS hybrid TV tuner for worldwide analog and digital terrestrial and cable TV reception.

Developed by ESS Technology, a specialist provider of high performance audio/video solutions, the RadiX TV Tuner is the industry’s lowest power and highest performance CMOS-based multi-standard silicon TV tuner. Designed to replace and outperform conventional Can tuners, the RadiX exceeds the A/74 specification by a wide margin. Featuring built-in LNA and SAW filters, the new tuner supports digital TV standards such as ATSC (8-VSB), QAM, DVB-T and DVB-C, together with analog TV standards such as NTSC, PAL and SECAM and FM radio formats.

ADLINK Technology has announced the release of the GIE62+, the industry's first Power over Ethernet (PoE) frame grabber which supports two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports for multiple Gigabit Ethernet Vision device connections with data transfer rates up to 1000 Mb/s.

By supporting the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), the two Gigabit Ethernet ports of the GIE62+ can be configured as a Link Aggregation Group (LAG), and provide a sustained maximum data rate of 2 Gb/s.

Nextreme Thermal Solutions, a supplier of microscale thermal and power management products for the electronics industry, has announced the cooling of a laser diode in a TO-8 package using an embedded thin-film thermoelectric OptoCooler HV14 module. Cooling the laser improves the output performance and reliability of the device.

Orion Fans, a division of Knight Electronics and a manufacturer of standard and custom AC and DC fans, fan trays and accessories, has developed sealed sleeve DC fans that cost 30-50% lower than comparable ball-bearing fans. The Challenger Series fans also feature an L10 life expectancy of more than 50,000 hours, equating to nearly twice the life expectancy of standard sleeve bearing products.

Brainboxes has launched its new range of Industrial USB to Serial connectivity devices, releasing four new products. These products follow the recent release of the 1 port desktop options, US-101 and US-324. The RS232 and RS422/485 serial devices provide an efficient and robust serial port extension suitable for the industrial commercial and test & measurement sectors. This will ensure that PCs, laptops, Servers and industrial computers supplied with limited or no serial ports continue to have connectivity to a wide range of RS 232 and RS422/ 485 devices via USB.

ZF Electronics has launched four new ranges of Cherry magnetic position sensors – the MP1014 series; MP1001 series, MP1005 – MP1007 series and the MP1013 series. With a variety of different housings, features and electrical specifications, these new Cherry position sensors are designed to suit a wide range of applications, including door position sensing, flow sensing and pedal switches, and provide reliable operation and long product life across diverse operating environments.

Anders Electronics has announced the availability of its newest sunlight readable 2.8” TMR TFT display. Specially designed for portable applications like mobile handsets, remote monitoring systems, industrial and metering products, portable measuring devices, and medical devices, the Anders 2.8” TMR TFT offers impressive indoor and outdoor optical specifications, guaranteed availability and cost-performance advantages.

Fairchild Semiconductor has been selected by one of the world’s largest lighting manufacturers, OSRAM, to supply LED driver solutions. The FSEZ1016A was developed by Fairchild to meet and exceed the stringent performance benchmarks set by OSRAM.

Fairchild’s FSEZ1016A fits OSRAM’s 1W-4W LED products. OSRAM is also considering deploying Fairchild’s FAN6300 LED driver for its 12W to 60W products. The new FSEZ1016A and FAN6300 are designed for lighting manufacturers seeking energy-efficient LED driver solutions.

As portable products shrink in size and tend towards higher clock speeds, pressure on designers to prevent emission of EMI and to protect the equipment from external interference is increasing. Regulations concerning EMI include the European EMC directive covering all types of products, as well as product-specific legislation such as the Medical Device Directive (MDD). There is also a growing customer demand for products that perform reliably regardless of EMI present in the surrounding environment.

Effective management of EMI begins early in the product design stage, including careful board layout as well as the use of shielding to protect sensitive circuitry. Shielding can be applied from the board level upwards, and is frequently incorporated in the enclosure to prevent EMI from penetrating. Using a metallic casing or metallised plastic mouldings, for example, can be effective in blocking radiation. Conductive gaskets are often used to create an EMI-tight seal where parts of the enclosure are joined. A separate environmental seal may be fitted outside the EMI gasket, if necessary.

Diversified technology company 3M has launched the M2256PW, a 22-inch high-definition, multi-touch LCD display for professional and prosumer (professional consumer) applications that need up to 10-finger touch input or multi-user interactivity with a very fast response time. While most multi-touch technologies support two-finger touch and gestures, 3M’s multi-touch technology supports 10-finger touch input and advanced gesture capability.

Last year the 19-inch 3M Multi-touch Developer Kit offered software developers a ‘full multi-touch’ hardware platform for the first time. “We have received enormous interest in our multi-touch platform from software developers creating the next generation of games, systems and user applications,” commented Paolo Pedrazzoli, marketing operations manager, 3M Touch Systems.

New from Carlo Gavazzi is a diffuse photoelectric sensor extending the company’s background suppression technology out to long-range operation. The new PD112 offers one-touch switching between door mode for entrance control applications and industrial mode for standard applications like packaging, wrapping and material handling and timber processing.

Best-of-breed sensing distances are achieved through Carlo-Gavazzi’s advanced triangulation technology: the sensor can detect black objects at distances up to 2m away, and white or grey objects at up to 2.5m. Adjustment is fast and precise using the 28-turn potentiometer on the device’s front panel and users can fine-tune the sensor to detect targets at the desired distance, distinguishing them from reflective objects just a few millimetres beyond.

OmniVision Technologies is adding a new, feature-rich OVM7692 VGA CameraCube solution to its portfolio of ultra-compact reflowable camera modules. The OVM7692 is a complete VGA camera solution including DVP parallel and MIPI serial output interface support, automatic luminance detection and an integrated EMI solution. It is designed to meet the performance and manufacturing requirements of tier-one handset manufacturers and it has already secured a number of design wins for the OVM7692.

City Technology, a company that designs and manufactures gas sensors for use in fixed and portable life safety monitoring equipment, has enhanced and extended its premium Sensoric family of hydride exotic gas sensors. Certain hydride gases, notably arsine, silane, phosphine, diborane and hydrogen selenide, play a critical part in semiconductor, photovoltaic material and metal leaching manufacturing processes, but, given their highly toxic, corrosive and explosive nature, exhaustive monitoring is essential to ensure safe work environments and properly functioning processes.

Schneider Electric has introduced a new range of floor-standing enclosures designed to offer a combination of space saving, flexibility and ease of installation. The Spacial SF/SM range offers an innovative design which helps reduce the time and cost of putting together a solution.

A key feature of the new design is its inset door that reduces the footprint of each enclosure offering significant space savings.  Enclosures can be coupled in any direction, which enables multiple configurations, with integrated panels optimising available space.  With just eight captive screws per panel, installation time is minimised and doors and panels can be mounted by one person.

The oil and gas industry has developed to such a point that it now has a business-critical need for electronics that can work reliably in harsher environments at much higher temperatures than were previously required. These environments have a clear synergy with other sectors, including aerospace and automotive, which have been using hybrid microelectronics systems and solutions for many years to operate in some of the most extreme conditions on the planet and beyond.

Over the past decade, drilling for hydrocarbon fuels has become increasingly challenging and is being driven by the fact that the more readily accessible oil and gas reserves have already been tapped. Consequently the industry is being forced to drill in harsher environments, along horizontal paths (rather than conventional vertical drilling) at ever increasing depths. This means that the cost of exploring and extracting reserves is growing at an exponential rate and the value and volume of oil and gas in these challenging locations is much harder to evaluate. 

Densitron  has introduced a new display technology that will allow custom colour LCDs to be produced at a fraction of the cost of a typical colour LCD module.

Densitron is launching the technology onto the industrial marketplace after its successful launch into consumer applications. The new technology has been successfully utilised in the white goods industry and also into large digital information boards for public information. This advancement in LCD technology offers an extended operating temperature range of -20°C to 70°C and a high contrast ratio (>300:1), ensuring greater visibility in all conditions.

Marl has launched new MR11 and MR16 LED downlights that use up to 80% less electricity than the halogen equivalents – and in most instances are a direct plug-in replacement. These new products are part of a major expansion of Marl’s range of architectural LED lights, which also includes panel lamps, fluorescent tube replacements and highly controllable effect lighting solutions.

According to Marl, replacing standard dichroic halogen lights with its LED products will pay for themselves within a year when operated for 18-24 hours a day, and will last for nearly six years (50,000 hours) continuous illumination.

ZF Electronics has launched a new range of Cherry magnetic proximity sensors which combine performance, robustness and affordability. Developed specifically to meet the requirements of a broad range of OEM products from heavy trucks to medical devices, these Cherry magnetic proximity sensors are suitable for the most rigorous environments, including extremes of temperature, humidity, thermal shock and vibration.

Nextreme Thermal Solutions is offering an updated version of the OptoCooler HV14 that enables assembly temperatures as high as 320°C. These assembly temperatures make the HV14 compatible with eutectic gold-tin (AuSn) solder - the industry standard process for packaging optoelectronic devices that require tight tolerances. Specific applications include laser diodes, semiconductor optical amplifiers and sensors.

The promised energy efficiency and savings of LED based lighting solutions is proving a reality at Morrisons’ Illingworth gasoline station and convenience market in the United Kingdom. The solution, created by Philips Lighting for the UK supermarket chain, is being used to demonstrate the benefits of LUXEON Rebel based luminaires for both internal and external applications.

More importantly, the LUXEON based solutions from Philips have enabled Morrisons to make substantial energy efficient gains but without compromising performance.

The new Anly multi-function timers from specialist distributor Switchtec have been designed to combine a compact size with an impressive level of functionality, providing smarter control for a host of applications.

Panel builders, equipment manufacturers, H&V applications and system designers are all looking for smaller, more compact, more 'intelligent' control panels, and the Anly timer’s compact design has been designed with those needs in mind.

The DIN mounting, Anly H3D-M timer has seven output modes and these are: on delay, on pulse, delay off (trailing edge, signal start), off pulse (trailing edge, signal start), on pulse (leading edge, signal start), cyclic pause start, and cyclic pulse start.

The next steps in improving driving vision at night in the shape of the first light based driver assistance systems include infrared night vision, high beam assist, full adaptive front lighting systems (AFS) and the ILS (Intelligent Light System) as seen on the Mercedes E-Class.

These systems automatically adapt the light distribution to the driving conditions but also adapt to the actual traffic situation. They do this by drawing on the interaction of CMOS image sensors, an image processing unit and state-of-the-art lighting technology.

The Adaptive Cut-Off Line System will be the first series production camera and light based driver assistance system. It controls the vehicle light allowing the maximum possible range of visibility to the driver. This is achieved with the adaptation of the low beam so that it doesn't end at approximately 65 meters like today but increases up to a range of a couple of hundred meters without any dazzle to other traffic participants, because the beam always ends at their vehicles.

Everlight Electronics has introduced a new family of long-body, low-profile 4-Pin SOP phototransistor optocouplers offering the best combination of key specifications sought after by designers looking to optimise high-temperature performance in feedback loop and microprocessor system interface in power supplies as well as other applications requiring isolation.

Electronics packaging specialist Schroff has introduced a new hybrid system that combines established bus formats such as VME or CompactPCI with the emerging technology of MicroTCA in a single 3U-high 19in. subrack.

Many industrial computing applications benefit from the compact size and high performance offered by MicroTCA, but some potential users have been reluctant to adopt the standard because they are wary of the costs of migrating from existing technology to a new platform. The hybrid system enables firms in this situation to work with two technologies in parallel.

Laird Technologies has released its newly modified Tunnel Series Thermoelectric Assemblies (TEAs). The Tunnel Series TEAs are designed with a patented, high-performance cross flow technology maximising heat transfer when pulling air through a heat exchanger. Heat is absorbed and dissipated through a high density heat sink equipped with sheet metal shrouds and fans. 

The number of airflow paths required is minimised when compared to traditional impingement flow TEAs. The Thermoelectric Modules (TEMs) are custom designed to achieve a high coefficient of performance (COP) to minimise power consumption with reliable solid-state operation that does not use a compressor or CFC refrigerants.

Aerco has unveiled a new range of Delta low-vibration fans designed specifically for cooling 19”, 1U, rack-mounted servers addressing the three common problems associated with cooling modern, high-performance boards: air flow, vibration and energy consumption.

Board fans usually have to run at high speed to provide sufficient cooling for densely packed enclosures and the resultant increase in vibration can prove problematic for sensitive equipment such as hard drives. These new Delta fans vibrate up to 50% less than traditional fans in the critical speed areas because standard fans are usually only centrally balanced whereas these new Delta fans have the propellers balanced on both the outer and inner edges, similar to a car wheel.

The Bergquist Company has made it easier to use phase-change thermal materials, increasing both convenience and speed, by introducing Hi-Flow 330P which features one dry side and one naturally tacky side enabling efficient handling and dispensing. The new material delivers high thermal performance in addition to productivity benefits, achieving thermal impedance of only 0.17ºC-in2/W at 50 psi.

The need for a quick and accurate measurement method for viscosity has been the target for engineers for over 100 years.  Viscosity values have typically been measured using a range of methods, some very simple and others more complex, but all Electro-Mechanical.  For years, attempts have been made to use electronic sensors but these have failed, in part, due to the inability to isolate the sensitive electronic components from their hostile surrounding conditions - until now.

One of the earliest methods of measuring viscosity was the ‘Falling Sphere Viscometer’, no more than a test tube arrangement filled with the liquid you wish to test.   A “ball bearing” is dropped into it and the time taken (typically using a stopwatch) for the ball bearing to reach the bottom of the tube is measured, this being proportional to the viscosity of the liquid. Fine if the liquid is relatively clear, but overall a bit basic.

Touch controls have been around for decades but have only become commonplace in the last few years, mainly because of issues with cost and robustness. Early technology approaches range from infra-red scanning systems to surface-acoustic-wave devices, but capacitive techniques have always held the best promise for low cost and low power consumption. The basic concept of detecting a change of capacitance, or of charge on a capacitor, is simple—but achieving a robust circuit at competitive cost presents significant challenges, when the underlying technology becomes crucial to success.

Cambridge Consultants has launched Suma, an intuitive, very low-cost squeezable user-interface technology that creates a whole new way of interacting with computers. With nearly 60% of US households predicted to own 3D displays within 5 years, Suma offers a full 3D highly sensitive control experience for gamers and others who expect a high degree of interaction.

GlacialTech has launched a new series of grow light products - the GL-SP15 LED Grow Light, the GL-SP27 LED Grow Light and the GL-BR8W LED Grow light series. Each uses 15W, 27W and 8W of power respectively, and can be used to supplement plant growth in hydroponic agriculture, Green-house lighting, herb gardens, home gardens and any situation where plants don’t get enough light in which to thrive. The low power LED solution brings a perfect balance of light to supplement and enhance the plants photosynthesis.

Anders Electronics has announced the integration of the Controller–Area Network (CAN) bus into all of its new UMR Intelligent Display products.

The CAN bus interface, now interfaced with Anders’ UMR products via SPI, supports the CAN 2.0B protocol, and allows transmission and reception of extended and standard CAN frames at up to 1MB/second. The CAN driver is available under WIN CE 5.0, enabling applications to configure the CAN controller and communicate using the CAN bus.

Rittal has added a new 2kW cool efficiency unit to its current portfolio. The cool efficiency products are up to 45% more economical than conventional cooling units of the same cooling output in both running costs and CO2 emissions. The units have been developed using the latest EC fan technology and incorporate the Rittal nano-coated condenser and condensate management as standard.

Multi-Contact has developed a new type of junction box that will enable manufacturers of solar panel modules to increase their productivity. Called the Foxbox, the compact box has been designed for use in the automated assembly of polycrystalline photovoltaic (PV) arrays.

The junction box consists of two parts, with interchangeable cables and diodes fitted into the cover. The backplate is mounted on the PV module and the cover simply clips on, with spring pressure ensuring a high quality, reliable, long term connection.

JAOtech has announced a new range of patient bedside Smart Terminals for 2010, combining the latest high performance Intel processors with cutting edge styling and a host of product improvements and features.

The 2010 range Zivo, Jima, Obie and Arie terminals offer new low voltage Intel Atom processors, developed with ground breaking power management techniques and software scalability in mind. A wide temperature range and small form factor make them ideal for fanless, quiet operation, critical in the medical environment.

New from Rittal is the Toptec CR, a twin-walled outdoor enclosure system that offers all-round protection for highly sensitive electronics systems such as those needed for mobile telephony, data transmission or instrumentation.

GlacialTech is launching a new high brightness globe for AC light sockets - the GlacialLight GL-BR20 (5W)AC-LED. The long life LED bulb (20,000hrs) has a high luminous efficacy and reduces environmental degradation through cost effective energy savings and CO2 reductions. The BR20 lights use standard E26/E27 type, GU10 type and B22 type sockets. There are two version of models released one for 110V AC and the other one for 220V AC. The sockets are specially designed so the LED can fit any lamp fixture.

A new 3.5” TFT module with a high-reflectance ratio of more than 6% has been released by EPSON Imaging Devices. As a result it is possible to dim or even switch off the LED-backlight at room lighting conditions. Hereby the power consumption of the display will be reduced significantly.

CoolLED, a supplier of high-performance LED products, has introduced its new pE-100 light source for use with fluorescence microscopes.

STMicroelectronics, in collaboration with LG Display, have submitted a proposed iDP (Internal DisplayPort) interface standard aimed at replacing the current LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) standard to the VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) TV Panel Task Group.

TEKO has launched a new range of enclosures. The 'TEKAL 3SP' enclosures have been designed for desktop and wall mounted keypad devices. Typical applications will include test and measurement equipment, communications, peripherals, security systems and medical and wellness technology.

RF and microwave component specialist Link Microtek has added a range of general-purpose 90-degree hybrid devices to its LYNX portfolio of microwave components, which provide a reliable yet low-cost non-ITAR alternative to more established product lines.

Intended for use in automotive applications such as daytime running lamps, position lamps, backup lamps and interior lighting, these LUXEON Rebel parts provide increased design flexibility and are engineered and tested to exceed automotive requirements for reliability, performance, and lifetime.

Electronics packaging specialist Schroff has appointed Rochdale-based Bus Solutions as its first value-added reseller for the UK market.

2001 Electronic Components has released an enhanced range of High Power LED development boards known as ‘Starboards’ , to enable designers to easily evaluate and develop products using Seoul Semiconductors leadership P5 and P7 devices.

Rittal has significantly extended its Ri4Power range for low-voltage switchgear, with the development of new isolator sections. The isolator section layout is based on the familiar components of the Ri4Power system.

Cool Innovations has introduced a new line of exceptionally powerful integrated fansinks. Available in copper and aluminum, integrated fansinks are composed of a pin fin heat sink and a fan that is embedded into the heat sink’s pin array.

Toshiba Corporation has launched a new CMOS image sensor that will bring 14.6 million pixels to digital still cameras and to mobile phones supporting video imaging.

Anders Electronics has announced the launching of its new line of TFT display enhancements.

The G070Y2-L01 provides a high quality image display up to 16.2 million colours at a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels making it a compelling solution for most industrial applications. 

3M Touch Systems, a division of diversified technology company 3M, has announced that its Projected Capacitive and Surface Capacitive touch screen products have achieved the “Compatible with Windows 7” logo.

Acceleration sensor measures movement with high accuracy over the whole automotive temperature range to enable vehicle self-adjusting features, advanced safety and security, and enhanced GPS.

Everlight Electronics Co. Ltd.  introduces the ‘Shuen’ Series – the company’s most powerful and brightest LED series in a slim ceramic package.

Avago Technologies has announced it has developed an innovative new touch screen interface that greatly enhances the operation and navigation of Smart Phones, portable media players, and a wide range of other portable electronic communications devices.

Orion Fans is now offering a family of high performance DC fans for electronic enclosures, telecommunications and networking equipment. The VA Series fans maximizes airflow in nearly sealed, exceptionally high static pressure environments.

Enclosure specialist Schroff has launched a new dehumidifier system that is designed to remove moisture from the air within an enclosure, providing an inexpensive yet highly effective way to protect electronic and electrical components from condensation.

Carlo Gavazzi has introduced a range of sensors to measure environmental variables including CO₂ levels, humidity, temperature and airflow.

New XMC card eases ability of system designers to enhance situational awareness with portable computing.

Monitran's Group I intrinsically safe accelerometers and velocity transducers have been approved by certification body Simtars to ANZEx for use in mining applications throughout Australia and New Zealand. This certification is in addition to the (EU) ATEX and (International) IECEx approvals Monitran's Group I sensors already possess.

ML Electronics has announced a new low cost 2-wire LED lighting control system design that can be managed from an iPhone as well as a PC or other computing device.

DEM Manufacturing has upgraded its Roxburgh three phase filter range with the addition of the 420A, 620A and 820A busbar filters.  Available up to 690V version, the filters are suitable for all industrial and commercial applications, including machine-tools, drives automation and controls, welding equipment and other high current three phase applications.

COM Express is the most important Computer-On-Module standard. Since its introduction in 2005 countless applications have already taken advantage of this modular approach.

In theory, the separation of customised functions on the carrier board and the standard PC features integrated in the COM Express modules gives designers a free choice of computing performance class as well as vendor independence. Practical experience however shows that this is not always true. In some cases, malfunctions occur when using COMs from different vendors on the same carrier board. The root cause usually can be found in the implementation of the customised carrier board itself.

Sharp has prototyped a five-primary-colour display that faithfully reproduces the real surface colours that humans are capable of perceiving. The pixel structure of the new type of panel is based on five-colours adding the colours C (cyan) and Y (yellow) to the three standard R (red), G (green), and B (blue) colour set. This combination expands the colour gamut that can be rendered within the colour spectrum that humans can discern with the unaided eye, and enables the new display type to reproduce more than 99 percent of real surface colours.

Omeg has added 12mm rotary encoders to its portfolio to supplement its range of 16 and 20mm potentiometers. Acknowledging the market for standard encoders is already well served, Omeg is targeting the niche market for illuminated spindle encoders.

Specifying the right enclosure for the right application can depend on a number of variables such as size, environment and material used. Accessories however, which are used to customise an enclosure, can also play a strategic part in determining its performance. Rittal now offer special interior installation rails for the fast configuration of its AE compact enclosures. Using this new mounting technique ensures the protection category of the enclosure remains unaffected due to the absence of any drilling.

A new series of aluminium enclosures from DEM Manufacturing provide a high standard of protection against dust and water, and can withstand prolonged immersion in water. They are suitable for systems exposed to the most demanding environmental conditions in marine, industrial, food preparation, transportation, leisure and other applications.

Finder has announced a complete redesign of its 11 Series of modular light dependent relays. For automatic control of lighting according to ambient light levels detected by an external photoelectric sensor, the 11 Series now comprises four compact rail mounted relays designed to optimise control schemes and boost energy saving.

Photonic Products has launched a new range of 405nm wavelength stabilised laser diodes from ONDAX for applications which include Raman spectroscopy, flow cytometry and metrology/interferometry.

Splitted-Desktop Systems (SDS) has signed a Joint technology Agreement (JTA) with Thermacore and Alcore Brigantine to jointly develop advanced core material for cooling and work on the latest state of the art of passive cooling solutions for the x-86 based Internet Appliances and other electronic devices.

Zytronic's PCT has gained a significant OEM endorsement. The company's integrated flexible rear projection touch foil, ZYPROFILM, has been chosen by Taiwanese user interface developer Sunvision Technology to provide the touch sensing functionality for its latest interactive through-glass digital signage solution.

Power management companies are already supplying multi voltage rail solutions in one package. Many of the existing solutions tend to be product type limited, packaging multiple dual and triple LDO regulators or dual buck switching regulators in one module. Although these modules offer significant space savings, the required level of design flexibility for engineers has been somewhat lacking.

Omeg Ltd has added 12 mm rotary encoders to its portfolio to supplement its range of 16 and 20 mm potentiometers. While acknowledging that the market for standard encoders is already well served, Omeg is targeting the niche market for illuminated spindle encoders. Designated the E12 Series, they are incremental, digital, 24 pulse, rotary types with conductive tracks and clear plastic 18 T splined spindles with LED illumination. Units without switches have a single LED of either red, green or blue. Units with switches have two LEDs of either blue and green, blue and orange or red and green. The encoders are rated at DC5V, 0.5mA and can be supplied with an optional switch that is momentary action, single pole, push to make, rated at DC5V, 10mA.

Laird Technologies has announced a new dual-band 5 GHz antenna.

This new antenna system integrates the two frequency bands of 2400-2850 MHz 12dBi and 4900-5850 MHz 16dBi, the company's patented RJ45-ECS field replaceable feed-through Ethernet connector, as well as UV-resistant radomes that are made of ASA plastic and stainless steel hardware. Additionally, seven antenna connector options are available to adapt to any user's equipment.

New from the AMP NETCONNECT Business Unit of Tyco Electronics is the Lightrax fibre-optic raceway system, a fully enclosed ducting system that segregates, routes, and protects fibre-optic cables and jumpers from building entry point to fibre termination and distribution equipment.

Using the raceway system, fibre is easily traced and accessed through its convenient fully wrap-around, lay-in design. It also maintains complete separation from twisted-pair and coaxial cable, as well as providing protection from being snagged, crimped or overstressed. Straight channels and curved fittings are specifically designed to prevent fibres from exceeding the minimum bend-radius requirement.

TT Electronics OPTEK Technology has developed a family of single and duel channel incremental encoders. Designated the OPE1275 single-channel (Tachometer) and OPE2275 dual-channel encoders, the analogue output encoders have been designed for small shaft motors with a diameter of 2mm and a minimal length of 3.8mm. The encoders feature 256 pulses per revolution with a maximum of 5,000 RPM.

TT electronics IRC has developed a new series of high temperature thick film chip resistors. Designated the HTC Series, the chip resistors feature an operating temperature to 200°C and are available in standard chip sizes including 1206, 2010 and 2512 packages.

"These resistors exhibit excellent stability at extremely high temperatures, as well as superior power handling capabilities and an extended resistance range and working voltage ratings," said Gary Bleasdell, director of IRC's thick film business unit. "These electrical characteristics make the HTC Series resistors ideal for a variety of harsh environments including automotive underhood, aerospace, down-hole instrumentation, oil and gas equipment, motor controls, power supply and circuit-protection applications."

AVX Corporation is providing designers with the option to clamp transients and filter EMI in one ultra compact device with the expansion of its Transguard multilayer varistor series. Designed for all small handheld devices, the miniature 0201 bi-directional transient voltage suppressor provides minimal signal distortion and low insertion loss.

 "In addition to developing an advanced MLV that is miniature in size, the Transguard 0201 will decrease chip count, reducing the amount of PCB real estate needed", said Sonja Brown, global product manager for circuit protection products. "The MLV is a cost-effective solution that meets our customers' increasing needs for a circuit protection device that meets space constraints yet provides superior protection versus larger components."

Philips Lumileds has announced the immediate availability of its breakthrough LUXEON Rebel phosphor converted amber (PC Amber) LED. Users will see 2-5 times more light output and dramatically less colour  shift compared to typical amber LEDs.  LUXEON Rebel PC Amber delivers typical flux  of 70 lumens at 350mA. This performance enables solution and application providers  to reduce the number of LEDs used, the cost per lumen, overall system costs, and simplify  the solution manufacturing process. 

Alongside the growing popularity of LEDs in general lighting applications, LEDs are quickly going mainstream in TFT-LCD backlighting applications. LEDs are now considered the best solution for replacing CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps) in LCD backlighting, offering benefits as, Pb-free and RoHs compliant, lower package profiles, smaller package footprints, long lifetime, high NTSC ( National Television System Committee), and energy savings.

The latest advances in Murata's filter technology have led to development of a new SAW filter whose high power capability means it can be used as a top filter, replacing two interstage filters with a single component. In addition, the filter's external matching circuit requires just two inductors. This overall reduction in component count minimises a design's bill of materials and will be of particular benefit to OEMs making wireless consumer devices such as mobile phones.

Anders Electronics has announced the availability of new multicolour Field Sequential (FS) LCD modules. Designed to facilitate rapid migration to colour LCD displays, the extremely cost-effective FS LCD modules are ideal for white goods, consumer and gaming devices, and medical or industrial instrumentation.

3M, the diversified technology company, has responded to health and safety concerns surrounding the use of high gloss laptop screens by recommending a removable alternative for users. Vikuiti Privacy Filters from 3M not only offer instant on-screen data security for laptop users while in public places but they also help increase user comfort by minimising reflections and glare.