New-Tech Europe Magazine | May 2019

May 2019

16 AI takes the guesswork out of being human 20 Selecting an ASIC package 24 System-Level LO Phase Noise Model for Phased Arrays with Distributed Phase-Locked Loops 30 Bringing human- like reasoning to driverless car navigation

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Contents

14 LATEST NEWS 16 AI takes the guesswork out of being human 20 Selecting an ASIC package 24 System-Level LO Phase Noise Model for Phased Arrays with Distributed Phase-Locked Loops 30 Bringing human-like reasoning to driverless car navigation

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32 OUT OF THE BOX 34 NEW PRODUCTS 42 INDEX

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24

30

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New-Tech Magazine Europe l 9

Latest News

ams, Ibeo and ZF partner to deliver industry-first solid- state LiDAR systems for the automotive industry

AMS, a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, announces that it has signed an agreement to team with Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH, the German specialist for automotive LiDAR sensor technology, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG, one of the leading technology companies for mobility worldwide to

weight, and cost. Due to the high reliability and small form factor, solid-state LiDAR paves the way for massive LiDAR deployment in the automotive segment. “LiDAR is already a key technology in the automotive sector, and to date our leading products are used with automotive companies in Europe and worldwide. The combination of our solution

advance solid-state LiDAR technology for use in autonomous driving and other applications. The three companies will partner on joint R&D efforts to ensure that this exciting technology can be quickly and safely adopted by 2021. LiDAR is an optical sensing technology that measures distance and direction of the surrounding objects by illuminating them with a laser beam and detecting the reflection of the object. Its unique range and resolution properties complement radar and camera solutions to enable the ‘Holy Grail’ of the self-driving car industry – SAE level 5* or fully autonomous driving. ams will provide automotive-grade VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) arrays and drivers which provide superior reliability and stability compared to competing light sources, such as edge emitters and LED. ams is the first to market with solid-state LiDAR illumination solutions, meaning no mechanical parts are needed to steer the light beam direction, improving reliability while reducing complexity, size,

know-how with ams’ VCSEL technology will create a tipping point for solid-state LiDAR in the automotive sector,” said Dr. Ulrich Lages, CEO, Ibeo Automotive Systems. “As a world leader in electric mobility and autonomous driving solutions for the automotive industry, our global capabilities and deep knowledge of integrated safety, motion control and digitalization bring a unique aspect in taking LiDAR to the next level on a global scale. This joint activity will help make autonomous driving a safe and secure reality globally,” said Aine Denari, Senior Vice President, Global Electronics ADAS, ZF. “Being the first to market with solid-state LiDAR means ams brings a unique capability to Ibeo and ZF,” said Alexander Everke, CEO, ams. “Together with Ibeo’s leading solutions and integration capability, coupled with its deep experience in LiDAR we will provide an unmatched solution for automotive manufacturers in their quest to create the mission-critical reliability required for autonomous driving.”

Autotalks Accelerates C-V2X Readiness Following Interoperability Testing and Successful Bench Tests

“OmniAir Plugfest testing events are designed to drive V2X technology forward, both for DSRC and C-V2X, in a cooperative environment,” said Jason Conley, Executive Director for OmniAir. “We had two major C-V2X chipset providers successfully test for interoperability, and we encourage other C-V2X device makers to participate in our fall 2019 edition.” OmniAir Consortium ® develops testing and certification programs for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-

infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) devices. OmniAir Consortium’s members work together to promote the deployment of safe, secure, and interoperable, connected vehicle technologies. As an OmniAir Consortium member, Autotalks works closely with OmniAir and other stakeholders on the C-V2X certification effort. In addition, after passing all relevant bench tests of leading test equipment providers, Autotalks continues to work closely with this sector in order to further define and develop C-V2X test suites.

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V2X combined with Autotalks’ recognized cybersecurity leadership enables a truly secure platform. Amos Freund, Autotalks Vice President for R&D, said: “Achieving this significant milestone shows the maturity of our C-V2X technology towards commercial deployments. Our close collaborations with the

Autotalks’ deployment- ready, 2nd generation V2X chipset is the world’s first available solution which supports both DSRC based on 802.11p/ITS-G5 standards and C-V2X based on 3GPP release 14 and 15 specifications with embedded V2X cybersecurity functionality. The chipset

allows customers to easily toggle between DSRC and C-V2X communications. The chipset isolates V2X from the non-safety domains, thus providing domain separation & security, scalability, and potential cost-optimizations of Telematic Control Unit (TCU) deployments. The isolation of

ecosystem combined with our deep V2X expertise and know- how is shortening our development time on our automotive qualified chipset, which is already leveraged by many tier1 automotive companies.”

Ericsson and Vodafone link gamers in Portugal and Spain via 5G global roaming

The technical demonstration took place on May 22, 2019 from two moving vehicles traveling the three-kilometer distance between Tui in Vigo (Spain) and Valença do Minho in Porto (Portugal). Esport gamers, Fox and Tojor, played together in real time as they crossed the border taking advantage of 5G capabilities

Portugal, says: “5G will serve consumers, enterprises and take the internet of things to a next level, where superior connectivity is a prerequisite. Ericsson and Vodafone have a strong partnership for innovation, and with this important milestone are for the first time connecting two countries over 5G in mobility and contributing to make 5G a success.” The seamless connectivity between the two countries allows for maintenance of the service when crossing the border. In the case of mobile gaming, one of the areas that will benefit more from 5G ultra-low latency and high-speed capabilities, this means that gamers can play without disconnection or ‘lags’ of the game in which they could be eliminated or lose important records. Ericsson works closely with telecom operators across the world and are continuously testing, learning and pushing the boundaries of how 5G can meet the diverse needs now and of the future.

and infrastructure. In addition to mobility gaming, an immersive multimedia experience, showing tourist points of interest in Valença was also demonstrated using the 5G network. As part of the global roaming demonstration, Ericsson provided virtualized 5Gcore network functions for both Vodafone Spain and Vodafone Portugal networks along with 5G Radio gnodeBs. This technology allowed for roaming call mobility from one country to the other. Both networks are connected through the Vodafone roaming services network. In addition, two radio locations have been deployed in both Tui and Valença do Minho with 5G Massive MIMO AIR 6488 technology. José Antonio López, Head of Ericsson Spain and

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 11

Latest News NXP and FatPipe Networks Collaborate to Deliver SD-WAN Solution

NXP Semiconductors N.V. and FatPipe Networks, the inventor and multiple patents holder of software-defined wide area networking (SD- WAN) technology, announced that FatPipe’s SD-WAN client for branch routers has been ported to NXP’s Layerscape family of 64-bit network processors. This means that

of customer premise solutions supporting our Arm-based Layerscape multi-core processor family,” commented Noy Kucuk, Vice President, Digital Networking at NXP. “We are excited to be working with FatPipe to deliver an expanded value proposition to customers.” “We are excited to partner enterprise

with NXP to offer the first SD-WAN solution available on an Arm-based processor. This demonstrates the flexibility and processor independence of FatPipe technology,” added Dr. Ragula Bhaskar, CEO, FatPipe Networks. “Our cooperation with NXP will enable a greater choice of solutions for our customers addressing the multi-function uCPE solutions for providers, enterprises and retail. The integrated platform offers improved performance for intelligent edge at remote offices and branch offices.” NXP’s Layerscape series processors built on Arm ® core technology extends performance to the smallest form factor— from power-constrained single-core networking all the way up to high-performance 16-core devices supporting 100Gbps throughput. samples are expected to enter the market in 2020, is designed to save lives on the roads. The camera will allow Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles to achieve flawless vision capabilities under common adverse weather and low-light conditions such as fog, dust or night-time. Other approaches to solve this low visibility challenge have not been successful. Even when combining several sensing solutions such as radar, lidar and a camera, it is impossible to accurately detect and identify objects such as a cyclist at night under common adverse conditions. This limitation is impeding the wide-scale deployment and adoption of ADAS and autonomous vehicles. The defense and

operators and enterprise customers now have a broader range of price, power and performance points to choose from when selecting branch router hardware for their SD- WAN requirements. SD-WAN is a specific application of software-defined networking (SDN) technology applied to WAN connections such as broadband internet, 4G, LTE, or MPLS. It connects enterprise networks — including branch offices and data centers —over large geographic distances. SD-WAN enables enterprises to reduce their dependence on proprietary hardware and balance their use of less expensive internet connectivity with more expensive, fixed access circuits such as MPLS. “This announcement underscores the growing ecosystem Israeli startup TriEye, whose innovative Short-Wave-Infra- Red (SWIR) sensing technology is able to see in adverse weather and night-time conditions, announced a $17M Series A funding round, led by Intel Capital. Other investors include Marius Nacht, co-founder of Check Point Software Technologies, and TriEye’s existing investor Grove Ventures, headed by TriEye chairman Dov Moran, the inventor of the USB flash drive and co-founder of M-Systems. Since inception, TriEye has raised over $20M, including a seed investment of $3M led by Grove Ventures in November 2017. TriEye’s breakthrough HD SWIR camera, whose initial

TriEye Secures $17M in Series A Financing Led by Intel Capital to Solve the Automotive LowVisibility Challenge

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Latest News

aerospace industries have already solved the low visibility challenge by using InGaAs-based SWIR cameras. However, up until now, these cameras have been too expensive for mass-market applications. Similar to a common digital camera, TriEye’s SWIR technology is CMOS-based,

proprietary sensing algorithms. We are humbled by the trust shown by the investors in our series A round, and we remain mission-focused on this opportunity.” Intel Capital Israel’s Managing Director Yair Shoham, who joined TriEye’s board, added: “As the automotive industry transitions to autonomous

enabling the scalable mass-production of SWIR sensors and reducing the cost by a factor of 1,000 compared to current InGaAs-based technology. As a result, the company can produce an affordable HD SWIR camera in a miniaturized format, supporting easy in-vehicle mounting behind the car’s windshield. TriEye was founded in 2016 by Avi Bakal (CEO), Omer Kapach (VP R&D) and Prof. Uriel Levy (CTO), after nearly a decade of advanced nano-photonics research by Prof. Levy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Avi Bakal, CEO and co-founder of TriEye, noted that the company’s Raven camera has already drawn the attention of global vehicle manufacturers. He added: “Low visibility conditions such as fog, darkness and dust, and hazards such as black ice on the road, are some of the main contributors to injuries and fatalities in car crashes. In the US alone, around 21% of all vehicle crashes – nearly 1.2 million annually – are weather related and often involve low visibility. Our mission is to save lives, reduce risks of accidents in these kind of safety critical conditions and do this in a very cost efficient way.” Bakal added: “The funding will be used to execute on our product roadmap for HD SWIR solutions, including our

driving, demand for sensor technologies is expected to grow rapidly. TriEye technology has the potential to enhance traditional camera functionalities by increasing performance in low visibility conditions in a way that complements vision- based camera sensor technologies. Intel Capital is delighted to support the TriEye team as it works to deliver on its vision.” Also joining the company’s board are Ophir Shoham, former Rear Admiral and former Director of Defense R&D Directorate in the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MAFAT), and Ido Yablonka, former VP and General Manager of Yahoo Israel. “I am proud of TriEye’s team for delivering superb results so far and remaining adamant about their vision. The opportunity is huge, and Grove Ventures is happy to continue fostering TriEye’s remarkable journey,” said Dov Moran, the company’s first investor and chairman of the board. While TriEye’s primary target market is the automotive industry, its technology is highly applicable to a wide range of other sectors, including mobile, industrial, security and optical inspection. The company intends to address challenges and opportunities in these fields in the upcoming future.

New holographic technique opens the way for quantum computation

is the basis of optical holography, popularized by fancy holograms in sci-fi movies like Star Wars. But the problem is that the spatial resolution of the photo/ hologram is limited by the wavelength of light, around or just-below 1 μm (0.001 mm). That’s fine for macroscopic objects, but it starts to fail when entering the realm of nanotechnology.

Photography measures how much light of different color hits the photographic film. However, light is also a wave, and is therefore characterized by the phase. Phase specifies the position of a point within the wave cycle and correlates to depth of information, meaning that recording the phase of light scattered by an object can retrieve its full 3D shape, which cannot be obtained with a simple photograph. This

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Latest News

Now researchers from Fabrizio Carbone’s

to manipulate the quantum properties of free electrons. “Conventional holography can extract 3D information by measuring the difference in distance that light travels from different parts of the object,” says Carbone. “But this needs an additional reference beam from a different direction to measure the interference

lab at EPFL have developed a method to see how light behaves on tiniest scale, well beyond wavelength limitations. The researchers used the most unusual photographic media: freely propagating electrons. Used in their ultrafast electron microscope, the method can

encode quantum information in a holographic light pattern trapped in a nanostructure, and is based on an exotic aspect of electron and light interaction. The scientists used the quantum nature of the electron-light interaction to separate the electron-reference and electron- imaging beams in energy instead of space. This makes it now possible to use light pulses to encrypt information on the electron wave function, which can be mapped with ultra-fast transmission electron microscopy. The newmethod can provide us with two important benefits: First, information on light itself, making it a powerful tool for imaging electromagnetic fields with attosecond and nanometer precision in time and space. Second, the method can be used in quantum computing applications

between the two. The concept is the same with electrons, but we can now get higher spatial resolution due to their much shorter wavelength. For example, we were able to record holographic movies of quickly moving objects by using ultrashort electron pulses to form the holograms.” Beyond quantum computations, the technique has the highest spatial resolution compared to alternatives, and could shift the way we think about light in everyday life. “So far, science and technology have been limited to freely propagating photons, used in macroscopic optical devices,” says Carbone. “Our new technique allows us to see what happens with light at the nanoscale, the first step for miniaturization and integration of light devices onto integrated circuits.”

“Cooperation with strong partners is a key factor for the success of our electric offensive,” said Michael Baecker, Head of Procurement Connectivity, eMobility and Driver Assistance at the Volkswagen Group. “Our e-models feature technologies and ideas from the most innovative companies in our industry.” The Volkswagen Group has announced that it intends to launch almost 70 new e-models and build 22 million e-vehicles over the next ten years. Most of them will be based on the MEB, including the new ID. family from the Volkswagen brand, as well as models from Audi, Seat and Škoda. Infineon is the market and technology leader in power semiconductors for electro-mobility. In 2018, 15 of the 20 top-selling electric models and plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide used its components. The chip manufacturer has the broadest range of semiconductors for electro-mobility: from the bare die, discrete components, chips embedded in printed circuit boards, to power modules; the portfolio Volkswagen relies on Infineon for its electric future Infineon Technologies AG is a new partner in the Volkswagen Group’s strategic supplier network FAST (Future Automotive Supply Tracks). This program stands for close cooperation in key future fields. As the market leader in semiconductors for electro-mobility, Infineon contributes significantly to the move toward electric drivetrains by the world’s largest car maker. Infineon’s power modules control the electric drive in Volkswagen’s modular electric drive matrix MEB, which is the industry’s largest electrification platform. As part of FAST, Infineon and Volkswagen will also discuss future semiconductor requirements. “Together with our customers, we want to ensure that electro-mobility becomes part of people’s everyday life,” said Peter Schiefer, President of the Automotive Division of Infineon. “Together with Volkswagen, we can identify requirements early on and create innovations that increase the range of electric vehicles or reduce charging times, for example.”

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Latest News

The new factory is scheduled to go into operation in 2021. Chips are a key component in sustainable mobility. Innovative power semiconductors, for example, reduce energy losses when electricity is converted between the charging station, battery and electric motor. Moreover, they help the car recover more energy when

includes products based on silicon as

well as on silicon carbide. Therefore, Infineon is able to address a customer’s specific requirements very flexibly. In order to cater for growing demand for power electronics in the automotive industry as well as other sectors, Infineon is expanding its production

it brakes. Sensors monitor the status of the battery cells, for instance. And microcontrollers control charging and discharging in order to maximize the battery’s performance and service life.

capacities at its existing plants in Dresden (Germany) and Kulim (Malaysia). Over the coming years, the company is also investing 1.6 billion euros in a new and highly efficient factory to produce power semiconductors in Villach (Austria).

ERM Partners with Altair to Dramatically Improve Business Models for Deploying Vehicle Telematics and Asset Tracking

Altair Semiconductor, a leading provider of cellular IoT chipsets, announced it is partnering with ERM Advanced Telematics, a global provider of automotive technology and IoT solutions, to develop a new range of low- powered and installation-free automotive IoT solutions. ERM’s new set of IoT and asset management solutions

“This will usher in a new dawn for IoT and asset management, opening up a whole new market of applications for a wide range of automotive IoT scenarios.” Altair’s optimized cellular IoT chipsets are the industry’s most advanced, providing the market’s lowest power

leverages Altair’s optimized cellular IoT chipsets to provide installation-free solutions for IoT, asset management, stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) and vehicle financial services. These will include event-based platforms for automatic vehicle location and asset management applications using various sensors. The ultra-low power consumption of Altair’s chipsets allows the device to be connected without having to be powered by the vehicle’s battery, significantly reducing installation costs. “As installation costs continue to rise in comparison to hardware prices, Altair’s unparalleled low power figures and extended battery life means we can provide on-board solutions with minimal installation requirements that are able to remain in the field for up to two years,” said Kfir Lavi, Senior VP and Deputy CEO at ERM Advanced Telematics.

consumption and enabling the longest battery life for IoT. Commercially available, they feature a hardware-based security framework and a rich set of host, peripheral and sensor interfaces, ideal for integration in a range of industrial and consumer IoT applications. “Low power consumption is essential for the efficient and long-term growth of the automotive IoT space,” said Gili Friedman, Director of Business Management for Altair Semiconductor. “We are delighted that ERM Advanced Telematics has selected Altair’s cellular IoT technology to provide the low cost and power-efficient connectivity necessary to enable new markets and use cases.”

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AI takes the guesswork out of being human

Rudy Lauwereins, Imec

In 2035, artificial intelligence will be everywhere, but it will be invis-ible. Behind the scenes, it will help steer the choices we make, offer-ing us the best options to lead a good, healthy life. It will help cus-tomize the services and products we buy to best match our prefer-ences. All this by its lightning-fast ability to process huge swaths of data and extract knowledge. And we might hope: also adding some creativity and wisdom, says Rudy Lauwereins, VP digital and user-centric solutions at imec. Using the world as knowledge base Imagine, one day in 2035, you

are taken down to the hospital. Some rare, complex condition, it seems. Immediately, the doctors run your personal history and medical parameters through their AI system, searching for identical patterns in a worldwide database of anonymized patient data. They find a dozen matches and see poten- tial treatments and their effects. So there is less guessing, relying solely on human experience, and luck to be in the right hospital: wherever you live, and whomever you are, you’ll get the best avail- able diagnosis. But wait … chances are that you’re not going to get to the hospital. Because with your physical parameters that are con- stantly monitored, you’ll be offered intelligent choices at every step in your life. Whether it’s about the

food you eat, the workout you do, your career choices... And all this will keep you healthy much longer. One of the most successful branches of AI is machine learning. Ma-chine learning algorithms allow computers to learn and detect pat-terns in huge amounts of data, establishes the relation between in-puts and outputs, between huge swaths of data and meaningful conclusions. They can e.g. learn to identify individuals in camera footage, steer cars away from moving objects, detect planets around distant stars, or recognize clusters of health parameters that predict a disease. And once they have learned their trick, they can apply it at lightning speed, without pause or getting tired.

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Spreading insights instantaneously, worldwide

Another 2035 scene. You’ve just been picked up by a self-driving car that covers part of your trajectory to the AI conference. It’s raining heavily and while the car picks up speed on the highway, it suddenly has to swerve to avoid a tree branch that has blown into its track. The vehicles next to and behind your car have to break and there is a short moment of chaos. A near miss. Very rare, but possible. Overnight, the data of the vehicles involved are analyzed and an update is sent to all cars worldwide on how to handle this situation in the future. Of course, by then you’ve long reached your destina-tion – unaware of how your journey influenced, even improved the driving behavior of all cars worldwide. “Humans can change their mind, adapt their behavior to new circumstances and new learning. So can intelligent agents, such as cars. And because the world of 2035 is tightly interconnected, the new knowledge can be spread to all intelligent agents almost simultaneously. So there’s no risk of colliding with a car that’s running on last year’s intel-ligence.” As was to be expected with such a pervasive technology, there are technical and ethical caveats. One is the issue of explainable AI: if a critical system takes a decision, we humans should be able to track down its reasoning, to understand why the system did what it did. Another issue is that machine learning is only as good the data it is fed. Therefore, technologists are continuously on the lookout for bi-

Figure 1 - NASA used artificial intelligence to discover planets outside our solar system, such as a recently discovered eight planet circling Kepler-90, a Sun-like star 2,545 light-years from Earth (courtesy NASA)

clothes are made to fit to perfec- tion. When you need a new pair, your local shoe factory consults your digital twin, derives all possible parameters and produces a pair of shoes that’s unique in the world – costing no more than you used to pay for the average Joe’s size 11 shoes which left your left ankle always hurting. But there’s more: you just bought and at-tached a sport’s sensor that’s now breaking in. Give it a few more hours with you, learning the very intimate relation between your blood pressure, heart beat, temperature and many more… and it will have

ases that may pop up in behavior of smart systems. Or biases that are added with malicious intent. Examples are recognition or profil- ing on the basis of ethnicity or gender, or seeing as global what in effect are only local customs or behaviors, or even just temporary, commercial hypes. And last there’s the concern that people should remain free in their choice to contribute or retract personal data, or to act upon the suggestions of AI systems. Global but individualized Of course: in 2035 your shoes and

Figure 2 - Changing weather patterns and other data are used to better model climate change and e.g. predict floods or storms. (courtesy NASA)

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become part of you, a sensor that matches up with no other person in the world but you. The industry is no longer making a small range of average products. Instead, they are able to make separate, individual products for everyone. Like the good, old cobbler used to do, individual but at the cost and speed of mass- manufacturing. And some products even keep on changing and learning after you bought them. It’s machine learning but no longer trained at the manufacturer’s with labeled input, but on your body with unlabeled data. Budding AI wisdom You’ve arrived at your holiday destination to find that your luggage has gone missing. You call the airline’s helpdesk and are put through to a competent operator, whose voice and body language are im-mediately comforting and reassuring. Within minutes, even while you are speaking, your luggage is located and an appointment is scheduled to have it delivered at your hotel the same evening. You full heartedly thank the operator, who smiles and wishes you a good holiday. For a split second, the thought registers that this was prob-ably a bot, but by now you’ve become so used to being helped by imaginative, empathic bots that you’re rather pleased. Machine learning, you might have guessed by now, is only apparent intelligence. ML systems still have to be trained by humans, who supply it with the training data and determine the question to be solved. That makes for hugely useful systems, but not really intelli-

In the fall, Flanders has earmarked a considerable sum to AI re-search, industrial application, and polici. And imec signed a collabo-ration agreement with the French R&D center CEA-LETI to advance AI and quantum computing.

gent ones. But by 2035, we’re also seeing a first budding of really intelligent systems, systems that show some measure of reasoning, creativity, imagination, common sense, and above all empathy. How is imec contributing to this future? Leveraging its expertise in hard- and software, imec is setting up an ambitious AI program – together with industrial partners that are active in domains as diverse as personalized healthcare, smart mo-bility, the new manufacturing industry, smart cities and smart ener-gy. Our approach? Bringing AI to the sensors at the edge of the Internet of Things (IoT) by introducing a pipeline of innovative hardware and software that – instead of hundreds of watts – consume less than a watt, or even mere milliwatts. And by developing machine learning applications that get customized for specific uses and for individual people – on the spot, instead of with pre-learned parameters.

Biography Rudy Lauwereins

Rudy Lauwereins is vice president at imec responsible for the digital and user-centric solutions unit, which focuses on security, connectivi-ty, image processing, sensor fusion, machine learning, data analytics and on making technology society proof. He is also director of the imec. academy, coordinating external and internal technical training curricula. Rudy is a part-time professor at the KU Leuven (Belgium) and has authored and co-authored more than 400 peer reviewed publications in international journals, books and conference proceed-ings. He is a fellow of the IEEE.

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MMICSPLITTER / COMBINERS Ultra- Ultra-Wideband

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Our new EP-series ultra-wideband MMIC splitter/combiners are perfect for wide- band systems like defense, instrumentation, and all cellular bands through LTE and WiFi. These models deliver consistent performance across the whole range, so you can reduce component counts on your bill of materials by using one part instead of many! They utilize GaAs IPD technology to achieve industry-leading performance, high power handling capability and efficient heat dissipation in a tiny device size, giving you a new level of capability and the flexibility to use them almost anywhere on your PCB! They’re available off the shelf, so place your order on minicircuits.com today, and have them in hand as soon as tomorrow! Mini-Circuits ® www.minicircuits.com P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, NY 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 sales@minicircuits.com THE WIDEST BANDWIDTH IN THE INDUSTRY IN A SINGLE MODEL! $ 5 56 Models from ea.(qty.1000) 2to26.5GHz Single Unit Coverage as Wide as • Series coverage from 0.5 to 26.5 GHz • Power handling up to 2.5W • Insertion loss, 1.1 dB typ. • Isolation, 20 dB typ. • Low phase and amplitude unbalance • DC passing up to 1.2A EP2K-Series, 4x4x1mm EP2W-Series, 5x5x1mm

549 Rev B

Selecting an ASIC package

Sharon Akler , DELTA

Semiconductor package technologies have evolved throughout the years to the point where hundreds of package types are available today. Most applications will require the more general, single-element packaging for integrated circuits and the other components such as resistors, capacitators, antenna etc. However, as the semiconductor industry develops smaller and more powerful devices, a ‘system in package’ (SiP) type of solution is becoming the preferred choice, where all elements are placed into a single package or module. While package types can be easily categorized into lead-frame, substrate or wafer-level packages, selecting a package that will suit all your requirements is a bit more complex and requires evaluating and balancing the application needs. To make the right choice, you must understand the effects of multiple parameters like thermal chip

requirements, power, connectivity, environmental conditions, PCB assembly capability and of course, cost. Here are some key requirements that you should evaluate to select a suitable packaging technology. For the full- length discussion of requirements, please see our white paper, The Ultimate Guide for Selecting an ASIC Package. Application Category Your target application is the primary driver dictating your package selection. Is your application a low-cost consumer device or a high-cost industrial ASIC? Will it be running in a hot environment? Will you develop a System on Chip or will your ASIC be a key component within the system? Such questions will help you decide on the type of packaging – whether you can you use wafer-level or chip-size package, or can

standard, more readily available BGA or QFN type packaging be more relevant. Application performance requirements and the corresponding packaging options can be broadly categorized into three groups: High-end application requirements are often related to high-speed, high- power chips that have a large number of connections (high pin-out). These devices will require advanced packaging requirements to match the needs of small pad pitch, high-speed signals and decoupling, that can be achieved with the FC-BGA (flip chip BGA), or newer packaging like embedded Wafer Level Ball Grid Array (eWLB). The Mid-range group typically require packaging that can address thermal enhancements and employ cost-effective plastic packaging technologies – often in the BGA and QFN type approach. At the higher end of this group are chip level and wafer

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Intelligent Condition Monitoring Box – an open development platform for Condition Based Monitoring (CBM) of industrial equipment, assets and structures. ICOMOX monitors operating conditions from the surface of the equipment to identify potential faults and reduce risks associated with equipment operation and maintenance. This extends the lifetime of the equipment, reduces unplanned downtime, cuts maintenance costs and unlocks potential for energy savings. ICOMOX KEY FEATURES • Multi-sensing: vibration, magnetic field, temperature and sound sensors • High dynamic range and exceptional SNR for vibration analysis • High performance acoustic emission detection

• Non-invasive current sensing for motor current signature analysis • Ultra-low power consumption with SensorStrobe™ technology • Highly reliablewireless SmartMesh™ IP2.4GHz 802.15.4e communication for tough industrial environments • Open embedded sensor-to-cloud platform • Embedded SW and analytics for early detection of machine failures in CBM applications • Ability to configure warning and alarm levels and timestamp events for each sensor • CE and FCC certified with IP66 enclosure • Very compact form factor for external and under hood mounting • Various mounting adapters to accommodate a wide range of monitored equipment • Easy to install, use and maintain platform concept

58 Amal St, Kiryat Arie, POB 3272, Petach Tikva 4951358, Israel Tel: +972 3 943-5050 | Fax: +972 3 943 5055 E-mail: info@shiratech-solutions.com www.shiratech-solutions.com

level packaging, suitable for system in package and/or multi-chip module packaging. The Entry level group includes high- volume applications where cost is the main driver rather than performance. Devices for notebook and mobile applications, for example, will generally require small size wafer level and chip size packaging. Number of Pins and I/Os The number and location of input and output connections of any device are key factors to be considered when determining the package requirement. High pin count. If you’re looking at a very high pin-count, say 1000 pin package, then your best option may be a standard BGA package, which offers such I/O capability as overall package size can go up to 50-60 mm square. Low pin count. For a low pint count, say 50 pins your choice would probably be a QFN or WLCSP package. However, a WLCSP will have limitations for heat dissipation within the package. In cases where there is heat generation (e.g., fast switching) or need for good signal grounding, then a QFN is the better package choice, due to the ‘built-in’ metal base pad. Layout. Another parameter is the location of I/Os. If the I/Os are on the periphery around the die, then wire bonding is quick, easy and reliable provided there is enough surface area in the die and package pads for this. If the I/Os are spread across the surface of the chip in different areas, so that wire bonding out from the center of the chip is difficult, then flip chip packaging offers a direct attach approach onto the substrate of the package, which is usually a multi-layer PCB, and there would be no concerns about the die overlapping. Heat Management Thermal management is a key packaging factor for optimizing chip

performance. A BGA package, for example, can often offer lower cost/ improved thermal management solutions within the package because of its size, as it has a larger area available to dissipate the heat. The smaller real- estate chips can be more expensive in terms of the thermal management solution, requiring an external heatsink or other cooling options. BGA packages have options with both thermal pads, such as conductive vias or inbuilt metal base plates that can enable adequate heat management. Some options of thermally enhanced BGA packages can have a metal cap built onto them that establishes a thermal conduction path between the IC device and the metal cap, which provides good heat dissipation. QFN packages are designed such that they have a solid metal die pad as the base of the package, to which the die is bonded. This enables very good heat dissipation from the silicon die through to the PCB. Die attach materials. Bonding the chip to the substrate with a thermal conductive adhesive like Sliver filled Epoxy, rather than plain epoxy, will help remove the heat. In addition,

newer technologies are available like Silver sinter technology – an interconnection method with high operating temperature, high thermal and electrical conductivity. These materials typically work well in QFN packages, but are not as effective in BGA packages, due to the package construction. Chip size and wafer-level packaging. Thermal management in these packages is primarily done on the back of the chip, or in chip size package, on the exposed top-side of the chip. High-Speed Signals/RF RF, wireless and high-speed digital designs have specific requirements that affect package selection. The signal speed and the frequencies can be significantly degraded by the parametric effects of the interconnections within the package. Wire bond vs. flip chip. In RF devices, key design considerations involve inductance, capacitance and resistance, which are affected by the speed of the signals travelling in and out of the device. These issues also impact package selection, primarily

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to accommodate the high-speed RF devices. BGA substrate dielectric materials are also a key factor in RF chips. For example, a high-performance liquid polymer substrate, like Rogers laminate, is better suited than the standard FR4 PCB material for use as the substrate for BGA packages used for RF designs. To read a full-length discussion of packaging requirements, please see our white paper, The Ultimate Guide for Selecting an ASIC Package Author Written by Sharon Akler. Sharon has a background in technology and innovation and more than 20 years of experience in global companies and startups. At DELTA, Sharon is looking

between flip chip and wire bond interconnections. Flip chip will provide better RF Performance and enable reaching higher frequencies with lower inductance. Wire bonds, on the other hand, can add a randomly-variable inductance at each RF input or output at higher frequencies. Package layout. At RF frequencies, signals travel along the surface rather than in the conductor. Hence, the way in which the package is assembled has an important effect on the device. For example, high-speed amplifier chips, RF transistors, and diodes often cannot be put into a “standard” plastic package, as the encapsulation materials affect the speed in which the chip operates. Consequently, such chips should go into a cavity QFN or BGA package. High frequency signals (1 GHz and above) are likely to require the layout of the interconnections to have isolated signal paths, known as “ground signal ground” interconnect. Here the requirement of two ground connections for every signal i/o will impact the package size and layout. Additionally, with high-speed ASICs, the signal levels and timing will be affected by the length of the conductor that they travel along. For example, if you are using a BGA package and you have a longer lead to one point and a shorter lead to the next, you will have timing differences on the signal. This must be overcome by putting more consideration into the initial design of the package substrate

after sales in Europe covering ASIC supply chain services. About DELTA Microelectronics With over 25 years of experience, DELTA Microelectronics is a European leader in ASIC services for the semiconductor industry. DELTA's comprehensive services include ASIC design, layout, test development, wafer supply, production testing, package development and assembly, components supply, logistics and supply chain management. DELTA’s development and production facilities are based in Denmark and the UK, with service partners in Europe and Asia. For more information, visit asic.madebydelta.com

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