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new products
With the challenging space constraints of many IoT
applications – where, for example, connectivity is
needed close to the sensor – ON Semiconductor’s 7
mm x 9 mm x 1 mm SiP transceiver has almost one-
third the footprint and is one-tenth the overall size of
a module-based solution; this gives engineers much
greater design freedom. Building on the success of the
AX-SFEU SoC family and thanks to the integration of all
necessary functionality, theAX-SIP-SFEU positions ON
Semiconductor with a market leading one-chip solution
for Sigfox applications. Delivered with conformal
shielding and pre-certified radio regulatory approvals,
the ‘out of the box’ solution helps to simplify design,
speed time to market, and reduce overall development
cost by allowing customers to focus on their application
and antenna design.
Due to the need for long-life from a battery powered
solution, a further concern for design engineers working
on wireless communications applications is power
consumption. Sigfox’s predictable and claimed lowest
energy consumption ‘device-to-cloud’, is complemented
by ON Semiconductor’s own ultra-low power design to
give the new SiP standby, sleep and deep sleep mode
currents of just 0.5 milliamps (mA), 1.3 microamps (µA)
and 100 nanoamps (nA) respectively.
The AX-SIP-SFEU connects to the customer product
via a simple universal asynchronous receiver
transmitter (UART) interface. AT commands are used
to send frames and configure radio parameters,
with an Application Programming Interface (API)
variant available for customers wishing to write
their own software. The new device is part of an ON
Semiconductor ecosystem which also comprises a
development kit and an integrated IDE for software
developers.
“ON Semiconductor’s new SiP transceivers, of which
the AX-SIP-SFEU is the first, provides all of the
advantages, integration and convenience associated
with a module, but with the form factor of an IC,”
said Thomas Wolff, Vice President of Wireless &
Connectivity Solutions at ON Semiconductor. “Sigfox
certification and compliancy with local regulation
means that engineers, working on exciting and
innovative IoT solutions across many market sectors,
can focus on other aspects of the design knowing
that the connectivity and communications element is
already taken care of.”
“Sigfox is delighted to have partners like ON
Semiconductor that provide our ecosystems with
innovative products and leading technologies,” said
Tony Francesca, VP of Global Ecosystem Partners
at Sigfox. “The new SiP from ON Semiconductor is
opening a new generation of devices, demonstrating
with its high level of integration that the IoT market is
developing now and gaining in maturity.”
Enable CAN Flexible Data Rate (CAN FD)
in new and existing designs using Microchip’s
unique external CAN FD controller
Microchip announces the availability of the industry’s
first external CAN Flexible Data Rate (CAN FD)
controller. The MCP2517FD provides designers with a
simplified path to upgrade from CAN 2.0 to CAN FD
and benefit from CAN FD protocol enhancements.
CAN FD offers many benefits over traditional CAN
2.0 including faster data rates and data byte message
expansion. The cutting-edge MCP2517FD CAN FD
controller can be used with any microcontroller (MCU),
enabling developers to easily implement this technology
without a complete system redesign. Since the adoption
and transition to CAN FD is in the beginning stages,
there are a limited number of CAN FD MCUs available
today. In addition, changing a system MCU can come
with a significant cost, increased development time and
risk. MCP2517FD allows system designers to enable
CAN FD functionality by adding only one external
component while continuing to utilise the majority of
their design.
The MCP2517FD also allows designers to easily
integrate additional CAN FD channels, on top of those
that may be available on an MCU.
The MCP251XFD CAN FD Motherboard (Part
#ADM00576), together with the MCP2517FD Click
Board (Part #MIKROE-2379), provides a simple,
low-cost evaluation board for implementing a CAN
FD design. In addition, a firmware API written in C is
available for rapid application development.
The MCP2517FD-H/SL is available today in a 14-lead
SOIC package for sampling and in volume production.
The MCP2517FD-H/JHA is available today in a 14-lead
VQFN package with wettable flanks for sampling and in
volume production.
76 l New-Tech Magazine Europe