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CONTENTSPULSE

SPICE compact models are analytical, semi-numerical, or empirical representations of various active and passive devices (such as transistors, resistors, diodes etc) suitable for use in circuit simulations. Based on physical first principles and experimental measurements, compact models accurately describe the electrical characteristics (e.g. dc, ac, cv across temperature) of a particular fabrication technology, thereby providing an essential link between circuit and systems design on one hand, and foundries on the other hand.

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Sachin Seth, Suman Banerjee, Stefano Poli, Tracey Krakowski

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Hugo van NispenCOO of DNV KEMA

How this leading energy consulting company is facing complex challenges to ensure a clean

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Touchstone's New Boost Regulator

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Cutting Edge SPICE Modeling

With the proliferation of complex portable devices comes the need for more new methods

of modeling for analog technologies.

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Ultra Low-Power Wireless MicrocontrollerThe JN5168-001-Myy family from NXP is a range of ultra low power, high performance surface mount modules targeted at IEEE 802.15.4, JenNet-IP, ZigBee Light Link, ZigBee Smart Energy and RF4CE networking applications, enabling users to realise prod-ucts with minimum time to market and at the lowest cost. They remove the need for expensive and lengthy development of custom RF board designs and test suites. The modules use NXP’s JN5168 wireless microcontroller to provide a comprehensive solu-tion with large memory...Read More

High-Speed USB Peripheral ControllerThe R8A66593 is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Peripheral Controller that is compliant with USB Specification Revision 2.0 for Hi-Speed and Full-Speed transfer. This controller has a built-in USB transceiver and is compatible with all the transfer types defined in USB Specification Revision 2.0. The internal buffer memory is 8.5K, and a maximum ten pipes can be used for transferring data. For Pipe1 to Pipe9, any endpoint address can be assigned matching user system. Separate bus or multiplex bus can be select-ed for the CPU connection...Read More

High Brightness SMT Oval LED LampThe Avago ALMD-Lx36 oval LED series has the same or just slightly less luminous inten-sity than conventional high brightness, through-hole LEDs. The new oval LED lamps can be assembled using common SMT assembly processes and are compatible with indus- trial reflow soldering processes. The LEDs are made with an advanced opti-cal grade epoxy for superior performance in outdoor sign applications. The surface mount Oval LEDs are specifically designed for full color/video signs and indoor or outdoor passenger information sign applications...Read More

Low Power Multi-Rate RetimerThe DS110DF111 device is a dual channel (1-lane bidirectional) retimer with inte-grated signal conditioning. DS110DF111 includes an input Continuous-Time Linear Equalizer (CTLE), clock and data recovery (CDR) and transmit driver on each chan-nel. DS110DF111 with its on-chip Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) can enhance the reach and robustness of long, lossy, cross-talk-impaired high speed serial links to achieve BER < 1×10-15. For Less demanding applications/interconnects, the DFE can be switched off and achieve the same BER performance...Read More

Monolithic Six-Channel Digital Isolator The four unidirectional channels are each capable of DC to 50Mbps, with two of the four channels passing data across the isolation barrier in each direction. The two bidirectional channels are open drain and each is capable of data rates from DC to 2Mbps. Independent 3.0V to 5.5V supplies on each side of the isolator also make it suitable for use as a level translator. The MAX14850 can be used for isolating SPI busses, I²C busses with clock stretching, RS-232, RS-485/RS-422 busses, and general-purpose isolation...Read More

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Highly Integrated Analog PIC MCUsMicrochip Technology announced the release of a new family of microcontrollers — the PIC24FJ128GC010. This family is an analog system on a chip that integrates a full analog signal chain, including Microchip’s first ever on-chip precision 16-bit ADC and 10 Msps 12-bit ADC, plus a DAC and dual operational amplifiers, along with eXtreme Low Power (XLP) technology for extended battery life in portable medical and industrial applications. This combination of analog integration and low power consumption reduces system cost and noise and improves the signal throughput in applications...Read More

N-Channel EPAD MOSFET ArraysAdvanced Linear Devices ALD210800/ALD210800A Precision N-Channel EPAD MOSFET Arrays are precision matched at the factory using ALD’s proven EPAD CMOS technology. These quad monolithic devices are enhanced additions to the ALD110800A/ALD110800 EPAD MOSFET Family, with increased forward transconduct-ance and output conductance, particularly at very low supply voltages. Intended for low voltage, low power small signal applications, the ALD210800/ALD210800A fea-tures Zero-Threshold voltage, which enables circuit design...Read More

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DAC Type Electronic VolumeThe AK2331 is an Electronic volume into which 8-bit 4 channels of multiplication D/A converters are integrated on a single chip. The reference voltage of the D/A convert-er can be selected from one external path (Vref pin level) and internal three paths (Vss, AVdd, Avdd/2) for each channel and it can be used as a normal D/A converter or an electronic volume that attenuates signals from input pins Vin0 to Vin3. A buffer amplifier is incorporated as the subsequent stage of the D/A converter, which pro-vides rail-to-rail output and a signal with a distortion of -60dB...Read More

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AC/DC Driver ICs with Built-In MOSFETThe BM2P Series from ROHM was designed for use in AC adapters, home appliances, office equipment, and the like. A low ON resistance super junction MOSFET is built in for significantly improved efficiency, ensuring compliance with the latest Energy Star* standard. Delivers an optimized power supply system for sets of all types. For 25W adapters, simply replacing the IC itself will boost efficiency to over 87% (compared with sub-87% with conventional products). This can be increased to over 90% by opti-mizing the circuit (including selecting the right peripheral components)...Read More

Geophone Gain Differential AmplifierDelivering low noise, high performance, and a small footprint, the CS3301A seismic amplifiers is designed for use with geophone sensors. This highly integrated, program-mable gain differential amplifier is engineered for precise low frequency, high dy-namic range measurements. Based on Cirrus Logic’s patented Multipath amplifier architecture, this powerful amplifier provides unrivaled noise and drift performance. Low-power consumption combined with outstanding THD performance makes them ideal for today’s seismic applications...Read More

Switching High-Frequency Power InductorThe Murata Power Solutions 3000A and 3000B series of low profile power inductors are used in noise reduction circuits of high frequency and high current switching power supplies, DC-DC converters and voltage regulator modules. The 3000A series is avail-able with 80, 100, 150 or 200 nH inductance values. Maximum rated peak current is 57 Amps for the 80 nH device. Typical Rdc is only 0.20 mOhm across the series. The 3000B series has inductance values of 85, 100, 120, 150 or 200 nH and a maximum rated current of 78 A for the 85 nH inductor...Read More

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SPICE compact models are analytical, semi-numerical, or empirical representations of various active and passive devices (such as transistors, resistors, diodes etc) suitable for use in circuit simulations. Based on physical first principles and experimental measurements, compact models accurately describe the electrical characteristics (e.g. dc, ac, cv across temperature) of a particular fabrication technology, thereby providing an essential link between circuit and systems design on one hand, and foundries on the other hand.

for Analog Circuits

Cutting Edge

ModelingSPICE

Sachin Seth, Suman Banerjee, Stefano Poli, Tracey Krakowski

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TECH ARTICLE

SPICE compact models are analytical, semi-numerical, or empirical representations of various active and passive devices (such as transistors, resistors, diodes etc) suitable for use in circuit simulations. Based on physical first principles and experimental measurements, compact models accurately describe the electrical characteristics (e.g. dc, ac, cv across temperature) of a particular fabrication technology, thereby providing an essential link between circuit and systems design on one hand, and foundries on the other hand.

for Analog Circuits

Cutting Edge

ModelingSPICE

Sachin Seth, Suman Banerjee, Stefano Poli, Tracey Krakowski - Texas Instruments

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With the proliferation of portable electronics, “smart devices” and automotive electronics, modern analog process technologies must possess multi-dimensional requirements including ultra-low power, high precision, high-power, high speed, and high frequency capabilities. As a result, analog compact models are expected to represent complex parameters of interest such as noise, linearity, mismatch, distortion, efficiency, etc. across a large variety of active and passive devices in a wide range of geometries, biases, and frequencies to enable design optimization. These stringent requirements lend some unique and interesting challenges to compact modeling for analog technologies, some of which we explore in the following sections.

Analog CMOS Technologies

Analog CMOS designs range from low power micro-controllers to high precision parts for the industrial and automotive markets. Several of these parts include MEMS sensors and/or memory blocks. The compact modeling challenges differ for each product. As the name implies, analog CMOS designs use a large number of CMOS components along with high quality passives. Also, many of the designs include high-density CMOS logic.

For low-power microcontroller applications, CMOS components in the design are biased in the weak inversion or sub-threshold region of MOSFET operation. Since the biasing current in the circuits are quite small (typically in 10s or 100s of nA), the margin of error in the SPICE simulations is extremely tight. Further, the compact models have to accurately predict the effect of terminal bias and temperature on the subthreshold current across a large range of device sizes very accurately. Under such low current densities, characterizing and modeling flicker noise becomes very challenging. Moreover, as transistor lengths and gate-oxide thicknesses shrink, accurate modeling of gate current becomes critical.

In order to design high precision parts for the industrial and automotive markets, die-to-die mismatch has to be accurately modeled in CMOS components across terminal bias conditions and temperature. Under these circumstances, simple mismatch models based on the Pelgrom law [1] are no longer adequate. More sophisticated models that take into account the impact of channel length and pocket (halo) implants on CMOS mismatch are required [2,3]. Since these designs also involve high quality passives, compact models for these components must have accurate physical formulations for the temperature and voltage coefficients.

Analog designs involving MEMS sensors involve conversion of a non-electrical (temperature, pressure, magnetic field, etc.) input to an electrical output signal. Since the sensors are customized for each application, compact models for these components aren’t readily available in the simulation tools. Instead, these models have to be built using non-conventional characterization techniques. Developing such compact models require expertise in multiple engineering branches.

Many analog CMOS designs require custom memory modules - from small bit-sized registers to large memory arrays. Several types of memory components, such as Flash, One-Time Programmable (OTP) ROM, Electrically-Erasable PROM (EEPROM) (Fig. 1) etc. are widely used in analog products.

Figure 1: Schematic representation of the vertical cross section of a floating gate memory device

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TECH ARTICLECompact models that simulate full reading or programming cycles are needed for evaluating power consumption and read/write access times for memory blocks. Developing dynamical, full-analog compact models that overcome the limitations of finite state machine representation of memory blocks is challenging. Also, physics-based models for floating gate memory elements (e.g. OTP and EEPROM)[4], can suffer from poor convergence properties and aren’t easily portable across different simulation tools. Further, process variability (wafer-to-wafer and die-to-die) effects need to be implemented in the SPICE models to offer a predictive tool for analyzing and optimizing the design of memory blocks.

High-Speed BiCMOS Technologies

High-speed BiCMOS technologies are differentiated by the integration of high performance/high speed SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with advanced CMOS and high quality (HF) passives. While the HBTs are the foundation of the technology and accurate SPICE modeling of these devices is essential, equal attention must be paid to the accuracy of the modeling for the CMOS and HF passives.

There are many general SPICE modeling challenges which exist for the components in BiCMOS technologies. In addition to the accuracy requirements for baseline characteristics such as dc/cv modeling over a full range of bias and temperature, mismatch modeling, flicker noise and thermal noise modeling, model accuracy for small signal s-parameter (fT, fMAX, base/gate resistance) and HF linearity figures of merit such as the 1dB power compression, third order intercept, inter-modulation, and power added efficiency are critical as the frequency and data rates of HF/high speed products increase [5]. Simulating the HF figures of merit at device level and circuit level add complexity to the SPICE modeling approach, including the compact model selection.

Advanced CMC (Compact Model Coalition) standard compact models available in the public domain (HICUM, MEXTRAM for bipolar devices or BSIM6, PSP, HISIM for CMOS) are typically augmented with RF sub-circuit ‘wrappers’ (substrate networks, external gate/base resistances and diodes, etc.) as a means of modeling the HF figures of merit over

frequency. An example of the importance of compact model selection is highlighted for CMOS devices. For HF purposes, the CMOS compact model must have source and drain symmetry as a fundamental feature and guarantee symmetry around Vds=0V, providing correct slopes for harmonic balance simulations [6,7]. The lack of symmetry in a CMOS compact model (ie, BSIM3/4) will manifest itself in a discontinuity in the derivatives of Id(Vd) around Vds=0V and lead to issues with simulations of critical HF parameters, such as the slope of IIP3. Next generation models such as HiSIM, PSP and BSIM6 were developed to alleviate this effect.

Figure 2: CMOS model symmetry comparison; derivatives of Id(vd) illustrating discontinuity with symmetric and asymmetric model

Figure 3: Passive Ring Mixer validation test circuit and simulation results.

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For simulation accuracy in the design environment, parasitic extraction tools are essential in the HF design flow and are used in conjunction with the SPICE models. The link or boundary between the SPICE model and the parasitic extraction tools must be carefully and deliberately set to ensure that there is no overlap or gap between the parasitic elements included in the model versus those comprehended by the extraction tool. In order to achieve this, the metallization in the HF test structures used for model generation (de-embedding strategy), P-Cells/reference cells in the design environment, the SPICE models and the parasitic extraction tools need to be consistent in the treatment of metallization boundaries.

On-wafer test circuits serve to assess the quality of the compact model as well as validating the parasitic extraction tools. For CMOS, the “double balanced passive ring mixer” – a high-performance circuit used for frequency translation in RF transceivers [8] – can be used as a test circuit to evaluate the compact model and validate the symmetry at Vds=0V. The passive ring mixer confirms the deficiency in the asymmetric CMOS model in predicting the IIP3 slope (Fig. 3).

Power Technologies

Modern high-performance process tech-nologies not only include high-speed CMOS and highly-scaled bipolar components as outlined in the previous sections, but also power devices such as Drain Extended MOS-FETs (DEMOS), Laterally Diffused MOS (LDMOS) that are utilized under aggressive high-power conditions which are beyond the domain of usability of standard CMOS/BJTs. Such de-vices are expected to maintain robust tran-sistor operation under high voltages (up to hundreds of volts) and high currents (in the ampere range) across a wide range of tem-peratures. Power transistors find extensive us-age in switching power converter applications such as switched DC-DC converters where maximizing conversion efficiency and mini-mizing switching losses are paramount. Thus, the prime compact modeling challenges for power devices lie in identifying and modeling switching loss mechanisms such as [9]:

1. RDSON – To minimize the ON-state conduction losses, power devices possess low channel resistance RDSon which is characterized by the CMOS channel resistance, and the added resistance of drain/source drift regions and interconnects. Sub 1 percent model error margins are expected in the linear region (e.g. VGS=VGSmax, VDS=0.1 V) of operation.

2. QGD – Gate-Drain charge of power devices is a dominant switching power loss factor in power converters, thus QGD modeling allows circuit designers to accurately determine switching times and switching power losses [10, 11]. In fact, a product of QGD and RDSON is commonly used to quantify the switching performance of power devices.

3. QRR – Parasitic diodes (e.g. source-drain diode) within power devices may be responsible for 2-4 percent efficiency loss in power converters. Modeling the “reverse recovery charge” (QRR) when a forward-biased diode is turned off (dissipating all stored minority charges) allows circuit designers to accurately predict, and design around, all circuit switching losses [12].

Since power devices are designed to withstand high operating voltages, they usually have thick (>100 Å) gate oxides. A thicker gate oxide leads to suppressed gate currents

Figure 4: Simplified subcircuit based compact model for LDMOS transistors

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TECH ARTICLE(with an IG to ID ratio of 1E-19), and thin-gate effects may be neglected. In addition, the channel lengths in power devices are relatively long compared to advanced CMOS devices. Typically, compact models such as BSIM3, HiSIM-HV, or SP-HV, etc. are used to model the electrical characteristics of modern power devices. While BSIM3 model has certain shortcomings that affect power electronics design – such as lack of self-heating effects, lack of accurate formulation for resistance of source/drain drift regions, these issues can be overcome by employing a “subcircuit-based compact model” approach – which employs a CMOS model at its core wrapped around by additional passive components (resistors and diodes) thereby allowing model simulations to mimic the entirety of real-world transistor physics (Fig. 4). For power devices with thinner gate oxides (specially < 50Å), more recent versions of the BSIM compact model (such as BSIM4/6) may be employed.

Conclusion

Analog process technologies are getting extensive usage in the semiconductor industry due to the proliferation of “smart electronics”. As these products mature, the demands on the SPICE modeling methodology for all components, complexity of phenomenon included in the compact models, and tools integrated in the design flow will continue to evolve accordingly. In this article, we explored some of the unique and interesting challenges encountered during analog SPICE compact modeling, which is still considered as an ever evolving art in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

REFERENCES

[1] M. J. M. Pelgrom, A. C. J. Duinnaijer, and A. P. G. Welbers, “Matching properties of MOS transistors,” IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 24, no.5, pp. 1433–1440, Oct. 1989.

[2] Johnson, J. B., Hook, T.B., Lee, Y-M, “Analysis and Modeling of Threshold Voltage Mismatch for CMOS at 65 nm and Beyond,” IEEE EDL 29(7) 2008

[3] Rios, R, Shih, W-K, Shah A, Mudanai S, Packan P, Sandford T, Mistry K, “A Three-Transistor Threshold Voltage Model for Halo Processes,” IEEE IEDM’02 Tech Dig, pp 113.

[4] P. Pavan, L. Larcher, and A. Marmiroli, Floating Gate Devices: Operation and Compact Modeling, Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York, 2004.

[5] L.E.Larson: Techn. Digest I.E.E.E.- B.C.T.M, 142, Minneapolis (1996).

[6] Evaluation of the BSIM6 compact MOSFET model's scalability in 40nm CMOS technology. Chalkiadaki, M. ; Mangla, A. ; Enz, C.C. ; Chauhan, Y.S. ; Karim, M.A. ; Venugopalan, S. ; Niknejad, A.; Hu, C. , ESSCIRC, 2012.

[7] Y.S.Chauhan et al, Workshop on Compact Modeling, 2012.

[8] David Copeland, High Speed RF Group, Texas Instruments, 2012.

[9] Y. Xiong, X. Cheng, D. Okada, and Z. J. Shen, “Comparative Study of Lateral and Trench Power MOSFETs in Multi-MHz Buck Converter Applications,” IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, pp. 2175-2181, 2007.

[10] Vijay Krishnamurthy, Alex Gyure, and Pascale Francis, “Simple Gate Charge (Qg) Measurement Technique for On-Wafer Statistical Monitoring and Modeling of Power Semiconductor Devices”, IEEE International Conference on Microelectronic Test Structures, pp. 98-100, 2012.

[11] Weimin Wu, Uma Aghoram, Hsien-Chang Wu, Debarshi Basu, Adam Sanford, Su-man Banerjee, and Kuntal Joardar, “Cor-relation between Gate Charge and Gate Capacitances of Power MOSFETs and Extraction of Related BSIM3/4 Model Parameters”, IEEE International Confer-ence on Simulation of Semiconductor Processes and Devices, 2012.

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Touchstone's TS3310 Boost Regulator:

Extending battery life between charges is a major hurdle for designers of hand-held

and portable electronics, but Touchstone Semiconductor’s recent announcement of the

TS3310 dual output boost regulator offers a solution for extending battery life as well

as enhancing power management. The TS3310 is an important addition to a suite of

Touchstone Semiconductor products tailored to solving the critical problems faced by

developers. EEWeb had the opportunity to speak with Martin Tomasz, a senior scientist

and chip architect at Touchstone, about the TS3310 and why their latest development is

“big news” for designers of small

electronic devices.

Electronics DevelopersBIGNews for Small

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Touchstone's TS3310 Boost Regulator:

Extending battery life between charges is a major hurdle for designers of hand-held

and portable electronics, but Touchstone Semiconductor’s recent announcement of the

TS3310 dual output boost regulator offers a solution for extending battery life as well

as enhancing power management. The TS3310 is an important addition to a suite of

Touchstone Semiconductor products tailored to solving the critical problems faced by

developers. EEWeb had the opportunity to speak with Martin Tomasz, a senior scientist

and chip architect at Touchstone, about the TS3310 and why their latest development is

“big news” for designers of small

electronic devices.

Electronics DevelopersBIGNews for Small

18 Visit: eeweb.com

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The Big News Behind the TS3310

With the TS3310, Touchstone sought to develop a device that could both boost and regulate the voltage of small batteries like coin cells, AAA cells, and AAAA cells, without affecting the system. The TS3310 achieves this by minimizing the amount of quiescent current it consumes. Quiescent current is the amount of current consumed by a regulator when regulating the output voltage, but when no load has been applied. According to Tomasz, because the TS3310 only draws 150nA, “It’s almost like you haven’t connected anything to the battery at all.”

Boost regulators are typically “current hogs” and developers in the past have generally “designed their systems around not using regulators because of this problem,” Tomasz told us. But, because the TS3310 circumvents the major issues associated with power budgeting, Tomasz anticipates the product will play a transformative role in system design practices.

TS3310 Features

The feature rich TS3310 offers ample design options that enable its seamless integration with other components. The aptly named “dual output” of the TS3310 refers to an always-on primary output, and a load-switched, secondary instant-on output. According to Tomasz, both channels are configurable. "Basically, one is the main output of the regulator and the other one is a switched output.” The always-on output is best suited for powering a microcontroller which needs continuous, though miniscule, during sleep cycles. The switch-controlled, instant-on output is ideal for devices that require short-burst loads such as a Zigbee radio. Tomasz explained that, “A lot of radios have on-off switches where they are in standby mode. Even in standby mode they are drawing maybe 10µA, and that’s not good. It’s too much power if you want years of battery life.” The switch-controlled, instant-on output however extends battery life by “pulling the plug” on leaky peripherals that draw unwanted current.

The TS3310 steps up input voltages from 0.9V to 3.6V to eight selectable output voltages ranging from 1.8V to 5V to power an entire range of low-power analog circuits, microcontrollers, and low-energy Bluetooth™ radios simultaneously. While the TS3310 can deliver at least 50mA of continuous output current, the actual current delivered is determined by the input and output voltages, and a selectable inductor value . The ability to select an inductor value enables the user to set a current limit which is important for buffering load bursts. “If you are using a really small battery cell, like an LR44,” Tomasz explained, “The internal impedance of the battery is so high that

“Anytime you need a long battery life from a very small battery cell, the TS3310 is going to be of interest.”

- Martin Tomasz

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FEATURED ARTICLEif you try to draw 100 mA or some huge amount of current from the output, the boost regulator basically couldn’t support it. The battery would collapse.”

To accommodate load bursts, a capacitor can be placed at the output, which the TS3310 can then recharge at a current limit that maximizes battery life. This feature sets the TS3310 apart from ordinary boost regulators which after a big load try to draw as much current as nec-essary to recharge the capacitor. Ac-cording to Tomasz, “If the battery is very weak and you try to recharge the output cap all at once, it’s going to fail. And even if it doesn’t, it’s bad for the battery to draw big current bursts.”

Finally, the TS3310 also offers a fail-safe battery protection feature. If the battery voltage drops due to cold temperatures, or age, the battery’s internal impedance increases. An undervoltage lockout scheme “pauses” the switch activity in such instances, preventing the battery voltage from dropping below 900mV.

Applications

In addition to being feature rich, the TS3310 is extremely small. The 2 mm by 2 mm TDFN package combined with the ability to operate from very low power sources, such as coin cells, AAA cells, or AAAA cells, ensures its application in a multitude of products including wireless alarm systems, prosumer health products, and energy harvesting systems. Because they spend the majority of their time in the “off” state, wireless alarm systems could especially benefit from the ultra low quiescent current. Martin also sees promise in the “prosumer” health market. The term “prosumer” refers to those having a strong personal commitment to self-care and as Tomasz explained, the TS3310 is well suited for the “watch-sized devices that are becoming the heart of simple body monitoring systems.” Energy harvesting systems which operate continuously on intermittent energy reserves is another potential application Tomasz envisions. “Anytime you need a long battery life from a very small battery cell, the TS3310 is going to be of interest.”

The TS3310 is a unique addition to Touchstone’s expanding portfolio of analog IC products which includes amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters, comparators, current-sense amplifiers, simple-to-use timers, voltage detectors and precision voltage references. The TS3310 is available now from Touchstone’s authorized distributors, Digi-Key, WPGAmericas, and the WPI Group in Asia. Tomasz also indicated that demo boards and samples are available upon request. For designers of small electronic devices, the TS3310 “is a pretty big deal product.”

Key Specifications

• 150nA Quiescent Current (active mode, current consumed from input)

• Always-On Output• Instant-On Output• 92% Efficiency• 50mA Iout• Output Power Good Indicator• Pin-Selectable Output Voltages of 1.8V, 2.1V, 2.5V,

2.85V, 3.0V, 3.3V, 4.1V and 5.0V• Secondary Output Load On/Off Switch

PULSE

20 Visit: eeweb.com

DNV KEMA is a leading global consultancy and authority in testing, inspection and certi-fication. The company serves the entire energy value chain with strategic services and solutions to enable companies to meet new clean energy standards, while boosting productivity and profitability. With presence in over 30 countries around the world and over 10,000 profes-sionals offering consulting, DNV KEMA is poised to help lead the world towards a clean energy future.

As Chief Operating Officer of DNV KEMA, Hugo van Nispen provides leadership for the company's businesses and consultants who deliver insights and services to its energy advisory clients. EEWeb spoke with van Nispen about the company's core strategy, its relationship with energy policymakers, and some of the biggest chal-lenges in the future of energy in the United States.

E n s u r i n g

a Clean Energy

FUTUREHugo van Nispen —COO of DNV KEMA

21Visit: eeweb.com

INTERVIEW

DNV KEMA is a leading global consultancy and authority in testing, inspection and certi-fication. The company serves the entire energy value chain with strategic services and solutions to enable companies to meet new clean energy standards, while boosting productivity and profitability. With presence in over 30 countries around the world and over 10,000 profes-sionals offering consulting, DNV KEMA is poised to help lead the world towards a clean energy future.

As Chief Operating Officer of DNV KEMA, Hugo van Nispen provides leadership for the company's businesses and consultants who deliver insights and services to its energy advisory clients. EEWeb spoke with van Nispen about the company's core strategy, its relationship with energy policymakers, and some of the biggest chal-lenges in the future of energy in the United States.

E n s u r i n g

a Clean Energy

FUTUREHugo van Nispen —COO of DNV KEMA

PULSE

22 Visit: eeweb.com

Could you give us an overview of the main products and services that DNV KEMA offers? What is the core strategy of the company?

We offer our clients a spectrum of services that span the value chain from policy to end use. We do that in a couple of different domains. We have a very strong legacy and capability in testing and certification of high power and high voltage apparatus. In fact, we just announced a partnership with NY BEST to launch a new Testing and Commercialization Center to complement our established capabilities. Energy efficiency and helping our clients get their customers to achieve greater efficiency out of the energy they’re consuming is another key focus area.

As an example, we recently celebrated a 10-year partnership with NV Energy’s Sure Bet Commercial Incentive Program. Since launching the program in 2003, we have met or exceeded energy savings on cumulative program goals of more than one billion kWh. A third area of emphasis is on expert advisory, where we work with our clients to devise strategies and policies that enable them to anticipate and meet shareholder and stakeholder expectations. With transformation well underway in the energy markets globally, we team with our clients to ensure they can implement new business models, differentiated partnership

and other strategies so they can quickly get to market, leapfrog competitors, and effect change faster. For our energy clients, it’s all about safety, reliability, efficiency, productivity and profitability.

At DNV KEMA, we want to make our clients’ aspirations a reality. Our legacy of independence sets us apart in this journey, and enables us to assure customers that the insights and services we offer are not biased to a particular partner or product--rather they are just the best solution for their needs.

With regards to energy efficiency, what kind of technologies are you pushing to help your customers improve efficiency?

That’s a great question. DNV KEMA tends to be technology agnostic, in the sense that we don’t necessarily advance a particular technology. Rather, we provide a broad set of capabilities that address key client concerns -- from how to construct policy to best practices that encourage the greatest energy efficiency potential to be realized within a particular footprint. We have the capability to help our clients with project and program management and implementing those policies. We also have the ability to come in after the fact and evaluate whether the programs that clients have chosen were as effective as they could have been

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With energy efficiency at the forefront, DNV KEMA is working to cement environmental consciousness in the power industry, one kilowatt at a time.

23Visit: eeweb.com

INTERVIEWin meeting the policy goals and advise as to how they could be made even more effective. We work with a comprehensive range of activities from lighting retrofits to HVAC to variable speed motors to end-to-end industrial process redesign.

How does renewable energy play a role in your company’s strategy?

We have a very significant focus on renewables.Nicholas [Abi-Samra] has probably shared with you that our vision is to have a global impact for a safe, reliable and sustainable future, so in terms of sustainability, renewable energy is obviously a very significant piece of that. We have very strong capabilities in wind, solar and renewable power, helping clients with everything from site selection and determination of generation potential in a particular footprint all the way through providing assistance and gaining financing and helping to program manage the implementation of the facilities. We’ve set standards to help wind be a viable part of the energy portfolio, such as a standard for floating offshore wind turbine structures that will help ensure safety and reliability in floating wind turbines. And, we’ve studied the variances in actual vs. predicted wind performance to help investors in the area of project finance.

In solar, we do a lot of work—as we do in wind—with respect to the actual technology that underlies the resource. For example, we help clients optimize converter technology to look at different polymers that can more effectively convert energy; we provide expertise on things like snow studies and how solar panels perform and how they degrade. The solar business requires a lot of analytical work. Similarly on wind renewables, clients engage us often to help with optimizing turbine technology and understanding asset condition, as well as to optimize the duration of that asset life.

With regards to renewable energy, what’s your relationship with policymakers that are affecting renewable energy credits?

From a policy point of view, where we typically play a role is in providing analysis and formulating analysis that is the input to policy decisions. As DNV KEMA, we don’t have, for

example, a lobbying group that lobbies for a particular outcome. Rather, we use what we believe to be very independent and objective analyses to provide policymakers information that they can use to make decisions. In terms of the other question, which is how I see policy impacting the market, I think the biggest challenges that we have with policy today is that most of the policy decisions that are coming out tend to be very short-lived. We are dealing with, for the most part, assets that have relatively long lives. That disconnection between policy duration and asset horizon duration is quite mismatched at this moment in time. This causes people to take very short-term actions.

For example, leading up to the end of the original PTC policy term last year, the lack of visibility to whether congress was going renew the PTC production tax credit for wind assets caused that entire industry to experience a very volatile period of very rapid activity, primarily in the fourth quarter of 2012 followed by a virtual standstill coming into 2013. To me, that’s the biggest issue right now in terms of policy. I think the lack of reasonable certainty that transcends a short political horizon is just not being met right now. In fact, participants at our Utility of the Future Leadership Forum lamented the lack of regulatory uncertainty as an almost unilateral detractor to progress.

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"We’ve set standards to help wind be a viable part of the energy

portfolio, such as a standard for floating offshore wind turbine

structures that will help ensure safety and reliability in floating

wind turbines."

24 Visit: eeweb.com

PULSEWhere do you see the largest potential for growth in your sector?

I look at the market and say that if we explore the global market for electricity, it seems to be defined by a couple of consistent themes. One is underinvestment in existing assets. In many cases, we are relying upon assets—which is especially true in North America—that have exceeded their planning lifecycle. The degradation of those assets and the ability to continue to rely on them to provide safe and reliable service is a big issue. Others have speculated that the U.S. is probably looking at something like a 2 to 3 trillion dollar investment need, and so we see our services being equally applicable across that value chain. Our testing and inspection services can clearly grow in an era of greater build-out. Our advisory services will expand in terms of helping our clients understand where the investment should be made to create a balanced portfolio that mitigates risk while enhancing reliability, resiliency and profitability, what types of investments such as in renewables, distributed energy resources, energy storage etc. and to help with the implementation and the operation of those assets and models. In the interim, we need to find a way to manage our existing loads with the assets that we current have, and energy efficiency is obviously a very effective way to do that.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in the future of energy in the U.S.?

That is a question that has so many dimensions to it, so I’ll try to find a way to answer. It seems to me that we are at this inflection point in the evolution of electrical service. The question becomes one of whether or not we will continue on a path where we have large central station, economy of scale generation delivered over the traditional transmission and distribution infrastructure, or do we seek to transition to a more distributed environment and what I’d refer to as a “network of networks.” This will inherently lead to a much more resilient and reactive power system. I think that is a very significant question. From an end-user point of view, the biggest question is: what is a fair price for electrical service? Some may wonder why we have to go back and revisit this, but as we begin to transition to different types of generation systems and fuel, and as we rely upon assets that are more capital-intensive we must understand how we can strike a balance between resilience, reliability, and cost for the end-consumer.

Perhaps the closest metaphor I can provide for you is that of the Internet. If a particular computer on the Internet fails, the Internet itself is able to dynamically re-route and reassign and still deliver the content. Of course, that node can’t receive the content, but that’s understood. The challenge for the electrical power system is this: should we begin to migrate to a system that can self-diagnose and to a certain extent, self-heal, and if so, how can we manage the costs to making the transition to that system. When we built out the grid the first time, we were building into an ever-increasing demand profile. We had more customers who were willing to pay a moderate fixed charge in order to join the system, but as a result of the fact that there were more and more customers, we were able to spread the capital investment over a much broader base every time.

Now, we’re at a point where we’ve largely electrified 100% of the population (and in fact, are encouraging people to use less energy). If we make these large-scale capital improvements, the cost is going to be equally realized by everyone because there are no

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" Our clients benefit from business consultants who understand the technical implications of their decisions and technical consultants who understand the business implications of their decisions."

25Visit: eeweb.com

INTERVIEWnew takers. One of the things that will do, is it will call into question the basic regulatory compact that says that everybody receives the same quality and quantity of power. When we begin to segment quality, we could charge people who need greater quality a differential for receiving that. That way, the average person who wants to run their home appliances wouldn’t necessarily have to pay for it.

How is DNV KEMA staying competitive against other companies?

From my perspective, there are many consultancies that purport to serve this industry. It is an industry that has been helped by folks from very large companies to very small companies. DNV KEMA invests 6% of its revenue in research and innovation annually. Through this investment, and as a leader in industry standards development, we strive to bring a very balanced perspective between the need to make smart business decisions and to base those decisions on leading-edge managerial thinking. But, at the end of the day everything we do is subject to the laws of physics—more so than any other business that’s out there. Our clients benefit from business consultants who understand the technical implications of their decisions and technical consultants who understand the business implications of their decisions. That’s how we strive to differentiate and create competitive differentiation within our portfolio. In order to do that, we are hiring the best of both classes—folks who understand both sides of that equation very well.

As you grow your business, how are you expanding globally?

There are a couple of elements to this question. First, it is the case that the established, more developed world suffers from the relative shortage of qualified engineers graduating from school. Obviously, the percentage of those engineers who choose to become power systems experts is even smaller, so we do recognize that there are likely to be resource constraints as we move forward. As we mitigate that, we have a combination of internal training capabilities where we can begin with very talented engineers and we can shape their power systems knowledge. The other thing that we’ve done is establish relationships with universities around our

footprint to understand who their students are and where we can support them and involve them in the business. Globally, this is an interesting dynamic because obviously, we operate in regions like the United States, where there is relatively little engineering talent graduating and then we operate in regions like China and India, where the volumes of folks being trained and educated in the traditional engineering disciplines is much higher. Our challenge is how to balance that and take advantage of the exposure to both camps as it were.

Energy is high the agenda for countries worldwide, be it in Europe, Asia, the US or elsewhere. We establish offices in markets where we believe our knowledge adds most value. We have global teams of experts so we can easily transfer knowledge from one market to the other. Another key element in our global approach is establishing partnerships with leading players in local markets and to participate in joint industry innovation projects. For example, we just announced the completion of a 15-year study into how membrane technology can be used to extract water from plant chimneys. DNV KEMA chaired the 13-partner consortium that conducted this important energy industry research that enables power plants to become water producers, instead of consumers.

In short, by offering global services adapted to local needs, we believe we can make both a global and local impact and work on a safe, reliable and sustainable future for the power industry.

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Radiation Hardened Ultra Low Noise, Precision Voltage ReferenceISL71090SEH12The ISL71090SEH12 is an ultra low noise, high DC accuracy precision voltage reference with a wide input voltage range from 4V to 30V. The ISL71090SEH12 uses the Intersil Advanced Bipolar technology to achieve sub 2µVP-P noise at 0.1Hz with an accuracy over temperature and radiation of 0.15%.

The ISL71090SEH12 offers a 1.25V output voltage with 10ppm/°C temperature coefficient and also provides excellent line and load regulation. The device is offered in an 8 Ld Flatpack package.

The ISL71090SEH12 is ideal for high-end instrumentation, data acquisition and applications requiring high DC precision where low noise performance is critical.

Applications• RH voltage regulators precision outputs

• Precision voltage sources for data acquisition system for space applications

• Strain and pressure gauge for space applications

Features• Reference output voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.25V ±0.05%• Accuracy over temperature and radiation . . . . . . . . . .±0.15%

• Output voltage noise . . . . . . . . . . 1µVP-P Typ (0.1Hz to 10Hz)

• Supply current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930µA (Typ)

• Tempco (box method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10ppm/°C Max

• Output current capability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20mA

• Line regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8ppm/V

• Load regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35ppm/mA

• Operating temperature range. . . . . . . . . . . . -55°C to +125°C

• Radiation environment- High dose rate (50-300rad(Si)/s) . . . . . . . . . . . 100krad(Si)- Low dose rate (0.01rad(Si)/s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100krad(Si)*- SET/SEL/SEB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86MeV•cm2/mg

*Product capability established by initial characterization. The “EH” version is acceptance tested on a wafer by wafer basis to 50krad(Si) at low dose rate

• Electrically screened to SMD 5962-13211

Related Literature• AN1847, “ISL71090SEHXX Evaluation Board User’s Guide”

• AN1863, “SEE Testing of the ISL71090SEH12”

• AN1864, “Radiation Report of the ISL71090SEH12”

FIGURE 1. ISL71090SEH12 TYPICAL APPLICATION DIAGRAM FIGURE 2. VOUT vs TEMPERATURE

0.1µF

VEE

VDD

REFIN

VDD

BIPOFF

VEE

DACOUT

GND

VIN VREF

1µF

D0

HS-565BRH

1

2

3

4

6

8

7

5

ISL71090SEH12

D12

1.1k

C

NOTE: Select C to minimizesettling time.

DNC

VIN

COMP

GND

DNC

DNC

VOUT

TRIM

1.2500

1.2505

1.2510

1.2515

1.2520

1.2525

1.2530

-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

TEMPERATURE (°C)

UNIT2

UNIT3

UNIT4

UNIT5

V OU

T (V

) UNIT1

August 8, 2013FN8452.1

Intersil (and design) is a trademark owned by Intersil Americas LLC. Copyright Intersil Americas LLC 2013.All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Get the Datasheet and Order Samples

http://www.intersil.com

Copyright 2013, Silicon Frameworks, LLC PCBWeb.com

ep page master fp.indd 1 3/11/13 10:34:41 AM

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The ROHM 1200V SiC MOSFETs offer an attractive

alternative to Si MOSFETs and IGBTs in HV applications,

including power factor correction and offline power

converters.

MOSFET Technology: A More Efficient Alternative to Si MOSFETs and IGBTs

SiC 1200V

29Visit: eeweb.com

FEATURED ARTICLE

The ROHM 1200V SiC MOSFETs offer an attractive

alternative to Si MOSFETs and IGBTs in HV applications,

including power factor correction and offline power

converters.

MOSFET Technology: A More Efficient Alternative to Si MOSFETs and IGBTs

SiC 1200V

PULSE

30 Visit: eeweb.com

Efficiency and TemperatureCompared to Silicon IGBTs, turn-off loss is reduced by 90% and compared to silicon diodes turn-off loss is 73% lower. SiC SBDs in the ROHM SiC MOSFETs have markedly lower reverse recovery current, reverse recovery loss, and noise emission than the silicon FRD (fast recovery diodes) found in Si MOSFETs. Additionally, these superior characteristics do not change significantly over temperature. The ROHM integrated

SiC diode, having a reverse recovery time of approximately 30ns, is twenty times faster than the body diode of a typical Si MOSFET.

Applications LiteratureThe applicable ROHM datasheets are very detailed and in-clude a thermal model suitable for SPICE thermal modeling. For those wishing to learn more about these devices see the ROHM Application Note SiC Power Devices and Modules.

TechnologyCompared to Si, SiC has a higher breakdown field and higher carrier concentration leading to a device combining the three desirable characteristics of high voltage, low ON-resistance, and fast switching. Innovations such as gate oxidizing conditions enable an ON-resistance-per-unit area 29% lower than conventional products, resulting in the lowest ON-resistance at 1200V in the TO247 MOSFET class. ROHM is the first in the industry to integrate an SiC MOSFET with an SiC SDB (Schottky Barrier Diode) in the same package. This eliminates the need for additional free-wheeling diodes, saving cost and PCB area. Compared to silicon MOSFETs, ROHM Silicon Carbide MOSFETs offer lower ON-resistance. SiC MOSFET ON-resistance, unlike Si MOSFETs, increases only moderately with temperature. This favorable temperature characteristic leads to potentially higher permissible die temperatures and a more space efficient thermal design.

High ReliabilitySmaller die size combined with improved processes (related to crystal defects) and an optimized device structure ensure high reliability. Reduced Power Converter Size and Cost Combining lower forward voltage drop with an integrated fast SiC diode allows designers to design power converters having greater efficiency and higher switching frequency along with reduced magnetics, capacitor, EMI filter, and heatsink size.

ROHM is the first in the

industry to integrate an SiC

MOSFET with an SiC SDB

(Schottky Barrier Diode) in the

same package.

<Circuit Examples>

Step-Down Chopper Inverter

SiC-MOSFET

Motor

<Circuit Examples>

Step-Down Chopper Inverter

SiC-MOSFET

Motor

00

5

10

15

20

25

30VDS-ID (Ta=25 C)

VDS (V)

ID (A

)

1 2 3 4 50

5

10

15

20

25

30VDS-ID (Ta=150 C)

VDS (V)

ID (A

)

0 1 2 3 4 5

SIC-MOSFET (VGS=18V)SJ MOS (VGS=10V)IGBT (VGS=15V)SIC JFET (VGS=3V)

SIC-MOSFET (VGS=18V)SJ MOS (VGS=10V)IGBT (VGS=15V)SIC JFET (VGS=3V)

Si SJMOS900V

SiC-JFET1200V

Si IGBT1200V

SiC-MOSFET1200V

Si SJMOS900V

Si IGBT1200V

SiC-JFET1200V

SiC-MOSFET1200V

0Time (nsec)

Vdd=400VRg=5.6Ω

Cur

rent

(A)

Turn OFF Characteristics

0

-5

5

10

15

20

25

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Switching loss reduced 90%

SiC-MOSFET

Si-IGBT

0

20

40

60

80

100

120(at 30kHz drive)

Si-IGBT

Loss

(W)

SiC-MOSFET

Loss Comparison

73% lower loss vs. IGBT

ON LossOFF LossConduction Loss

31Visit: eeweb.com

FEATURED ARTICLE

Efficiency and TemperatureCompared to Silicon IGBTs, turn-off loss is reduced by 90% and compared to silicon diodes turn-off loss is 73% lower. SiC SBDs in the ROHM SiC MOSFETs have markedly lower reverse recovery current, reverse recovery loss, and noise emission than the silicon FRD (fast recovery diodes) found in Si MOSFETs. Additionally, these superior characteristics do not change significantly over temperature. The ROHM integrated

SiC diode, having a reverse recovery time of approximately 30ns, is twenty times faster than the body diode of a typical Si MOSFET.

Applications LiteratureThe applicable ROHM datasheets are very detailed and in-clude a thermal model suitable for SPICE thermal modeling. For those wishing to learn more about these devices see the ROHM Application Note SiC Power Devices and Modules.

TechnologyCompared to Si, SiC has a higher breakdown field and higher carrier concentration leading to a device combining the three desirable characteristics of high voltage, low ON-resistance, and fast switching. Innovations such as gate oxidizing conditions enable an ON-resistance-per-unit area 29% lower than conventional products, resulting in the lowest ON-resistance at 1200V in the TO247 MOSFET class. ROHM is the first in the industry to integrate an SiC MOSFET with an SiC SDB (Schottky Barrier Diode) in the same package. This eliminates the need for additional free-wheeling diodes, saving cost and PCB area. Compared to silicon MOSFETs, ROHM Silicon Carbide MOSFETs offer lower ON-resistance. SiC MOSFET ON-resistance, unlike Si MOSFETs, increases only moderately with temperature. This favorable temperature characteristic leads to potentially higher permissible die temperatures and a more space efficient thermal design.

High ReliabilitySmaller die size combined with improved processes (related to crystal defects) and an optimized device structure ensure high reliability. Reduced Power Converter Size and Cost Combining lower forward voltage drop with an integrated fast SiC diode allows designers to design power converters having greater efficiency and higher switching frequency along with reduced magnetics, capacitor, EMI filter, and heatsink size.

ROHM is the first in the

industry to integrate an SiC

MOSFET with an SiC SDB

(Schottky Barrier Diode) in the

same package.

<Circuit Examples>

Step-Down Chopper Inverter

SiC-MOSFET

Motor

<Circuit Examples>

Step-Down Chopper Inverter

SiC-MOSFET

Motor

00

5

10

15

20

25

30VDS-ID (Ta=25 C)

VDS (V)

ID (A

)

1 2 3 4 50

5

10

15

20

25

30VDS-ID (Ta=150 C)

VDS (V)

ID (A

)

0 1 2 3 4 5

SIC-MOSFET (VGS=18V)SJ MOS (VGS=10V)IGBT (VGS=15V)SIC JFET (VGS=3V)

SIC-MOSFET (VGS=18V)SJ MOS (VGS=10V)IGBT (VGS=15V)SIC JFET (VGS=3V)

Si SJMOS900V

SiC-JFET1200V

Si IGBT1200V

SiC-MOSFET1200V

Si SJMOS900V

Si IGBT1200V

SiC-JFET1200V

SiC-MOSFET1200V

0Time (nsec)

Vdd=400VRg=5.6Ω

Cur

rent

(A)

Turn OFF Characteristics

0

-5

5

10

15

20

25

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Switching loss reduced 90%

SiC-MOSFET

Si-IGBT

0

20

40

60

80

100

120(at 30kHz drive)

Si-IGBT

Loss

(W)

SiC-MOSFET

Loss Comparison

73% lower loss vs. IGBT

ON LossOFF LossConduction Loss

34 Visit: eeweb.com

PULSE

Overview of the

Murata SN8200 Network Controller Module

The SN8200 Wi-Fi Network Controller from Murata is an 802.11 BGN Wi-FI module that provides easy Internet connectivity for your serial devices. The SN8200 is a complete wireless solution on a module. It includes an ARM Cortex M3-based controller as well as the necessary tools to set up your own wireless network. The module comes with all of the necessary protocols for communicating and controlling the device over the Internet.

35Visit: eeweb.com

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Overview of the

Murata SN8200 Network Controller Module

The SN8200 Wi-Fi Network Controller from Murata is an 802.11 BGN Wi-FI module that provides easy Internet connectivity for your serial devices. The SN8200 is a complete wireless solution on a module. It includes an ARM Cortex M3-based controller as well as the necessary tools to set up your own wireless network. The module comes with all of the necessary protocols for communicating and controlling the device over the Internet.

36 Visit: eeweb.com

PULSE

Included Hardware SetupTo get the module set up, put the included CD into your optical drive. The CD will show

you a few options, but select the EZ Web Wizzard™, which is Murata’s custom software

that supports easy web-based control. Go through the quick start guide process and

install the Simple Network Interface Controller (SNIC). Once that’s done, you can install

the drivers and connect to the device.

The next thing you need to do is select the SNIC monitor and run a setup application

in the EZ Web Wizzard™ software. Once the SNIC monitor is installed, you can load

firmware onto the module. In order to connect to the module, go down to your Wi-Fi

connection and select the Murata WS41741C. When that is connected, open your web

browser of choice and in your address bar, type in SN8200.com, which is the local web

interface. This will connect you via Wi-Fi. You can now click through the different tabs in

the web interface and see the different functionalities of the module.

ConclusionAll in all, the SN8200 from Murata is a very capable system. The module is easy to

set up as an access point connected to another network in order to access all of the

serial communication and GPIO functionality. The module comes with a UART demo

to configure for a UART device, which can allow you to start exchanging data back

and forth with a serial device that’s connected to the dev board. The kit serves as a

complete wireless solution and supports a variety of standards for easy integration.

To purchase the SN8200 visit Mouser’s website.

Watch Video

Typical ApplicationsSince the SN8200 is a complete wireless solution on a module, it makes it perfect for

applications such as creating a standalone web server. Other examples could be smart

medical and fitness devices, home automation, and industrial control and monitoring.

SN8200 ModuleSerial Flash

Serial FlashInterface

UARTInterface

SHT21 Sensor

CN4 (VDD_3V6)CN3

Power IndicatorCN2

(VEXT on Right)

Mini-USBConnector

ResetButton

SN8200 EVK+Wi-Fi Module Evaluation Kit

37Visit: eeweb.com

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Included Hardware SetupTo get the module set up, put the included CD into your optical drive. The CD will show

you a few options, but select the EZ Web Wizzard™, which is Murata’s custom software

that supports easy web-based control. Go through the quick start guide process and

install the Simple Network Interface Controller (SNIC). Once that’s done, you can install

the drivers and connect to the device.

The next thing you need to do is select the SNIC monitor and run a setup application

in the EZ Web Wizzard™ software. Once the SNIC monitor is installed, you can load

firmware onto the module. In order to connect to the module, go down to your Wi-Fi

connection and select the Murata WS41741C. When that is connected, open your web

browser of choice and in your address bar, type in SN8200.com, which is the local web

interface. This will connect you via Wi-Fi. You can now click through the different tabs in

the web interface and see the different functionalities of the module.

ConclusionAll in all, the SN8200 from Murata is a very capable system. The module is easy to

set up as an access point connected to another network in order to access all of the

serial communication and GPIO functionality. The module comes with a UART demo

to configure for a UART device, which can allow you to start exchanging data back

and forth with a serial device that’s connected to the dev board. The kit serves as a

complete wireless solution and supports a variety of standards for easy integration.

To purchase the SN8200 visit Mouser’s website.

Watch Video

Typical ApplicationsSince the SN8200 is a complete wireless solution on a module, it makes it perfect for

applications such as creating a standalone web server. Other examples could be smart

medical and fitness devices, home automation, and industrial control and monitoring.

SN8200 ModuleSerial Flash

Serial FlashInterface

UARTInterface

SHT21 Sensor

CN4 (VDD_3V6)CN3

Power IndicatorCN2

(VEXT on Right)

Mini-USBConnector

ResetButton

SN8200 EVK+Wi-Fi Module Evaluation Kit

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