Features

Xilinx has announced the tape-out of the first Virtex UltraScale device. Based on the UltraScale architecture, and the industry’s only high-end 20nm offering, the Virtex UltraScale family combines improved levels of performance, system integration, and bandwidth for a wide range of applications. The architecture delivers customers an ASIC-class advantage by deploying multiple ASIC techniques and a new routing architecture to remove next generation interconnect and scalability bottlenecks.

The new A1304 from Allegro MicroSystems Europe is a linear Hall-effect sensor IC specifically designed for applications that require medium accuracy in a very small package. The device is designed for applications in consumer and industrial markets, and supports an industrial temperature range of -40°C to 85°C.

Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced a next-generation wireless power transfer circuit with foreign object detection that will allow designers to bring to market 3-coil, 5-V and 12-V A6 charging stations compliant with the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) 1.1 specification. The bq500412 controller, which is shipping in volume production, requires half the components compared to other solutions.

Exar Corporation has introduced a new high-power switching controller in its line of DC-DC power conversion products. The XRP6141 Synchronous Step Down Controller supports point-of-load (POL) supplies up to 35A and is designed to achieve excellent transient response and output accuracy using Exar"s proprietary emulated current mode Constant On-Time (COT) control loop.

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has introduced a new starter kit to help users of its TC35661SBG-501 (“Chiron-501”) Dual Mode Bluetooth IC (BT 4.0) to get up and running with their designs quickly. The starter kit (BMSKTOPASM369BT) is based around a Panasonic PAN1026 module featuring an embedded “Chiron-501” IC with a dual mode Bluetooth protocol stack and profiles and includes a Toshiba TMPM369 ARM Cortex-M3 based MCU with 512KB flash memory.

RS Components (RS) has unveiled the latest release of DesignSpark PCB. Version 6.0 adds three of the most popular requests for new features including: Simplified export to DesignSpark Mechanical, Cross Probe and Custom Shortcuts, making the tool easier to use and navigate around designs.

NXP Semiconductors is making available the LPC11U6x – its newest family of easy-to-use, USB-IF certified USB microcontrollers. The LPC11U6x family builds on the design flexibility of NXP’s LPC11Uxx portfolio with a range of enhanced features, including a more energy-efficient ARM Cortex-M0+ processor, significantly more flash and SRAM, more serial communications, a new 2-Msps ADC and more versatile timers.

Molex Incorporated has released the Impact 100-Ohm backplane connector which has been designed to combine speed and density in a modular package designed for high speed applications. The scalable Impact connector technology provides data rates up to 25 Gbps with excellent signal density up to 80 differential pairs per linear inch when using a 6-pair configuration.

Rutronik is now stocking the SOM-6894, a new COM Express 2.1 Compact Module in Type 6 pin-out module board from Advantech. It has been designed with the latest 4th generation Intel Core i7-4650U vPro, i5-4300U vPro, i3-4010U processors, the Intel Celeron processor 2980U which integrates the CPU and PCH onto one single chip, resulting in lower power consumption but better CPU and GT3, GT2 and GT1 graphics performance.

Dialog Semiconductor has unveiled a high efficiency AC/DC adapter interface IC for Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 power supplies. The new iW620 rapid charge interface IC resides on the secondary side of the AC/DC charger power supply and works with Dialog’s iW1760 PrimAccurate primary-side digital pulse width modulation (PWM) controller.