Communications

Arrow Electronics, Infineon and Arkessa have joined forces to provide connected devices for the IoT, based on the GSMA’s eSIM specification for secure communications. The agreement sees Infineon’s secured hardware controllers and Arkessa’s secured mobile data services provided by Arrow to OEMs, system integrators and enterprises for secure cellular services. Infineon’s SLM security controllers are based on eSIM and can be coupled ...

MEMS oscillators from SiTime have been added to the range of IoT-targeted frequency control products available from AEL Crystals. The company explains that the IoT brings fresh challenges for frequency control manufacture as it requires products to accommodate multiple protocols, such as Bluetooth,  ZigBee, Z-Wave, 6LoWPAN, CSR Mesh / Bluetooth Low Energy, Sigfox and Thread. Designs are also expected to require lower power consumption ...

Developers and makers can take an existing microcontroller application that does not have wireless connectivity and, using just two GPIO pins, add it without modifying the original firmware, via IoTize‘s TapNLink products for Bluetooth and near field communications (NFC) products. The French start up company has signed a distribution agreement with Digi-Key to resell the wireless connectivity products for microcontroller-based embedded systems as ...

For long data cables, Diodes has introduced aPCIe 4.0 compliant equalising repeater for use between 2.5Gbit/s and 16Gbit/s. Called PI3EQX16904GL, and branded a ReDriver by the firm, the device supports four 100Ω differential current mode logic (CML) data I/Os, providing programmable linear equalisation, output swing, and gain to reduce inter-symbol interference over a variety of physical media. “It is the industry’s ...

Intended to fit inside the end of industrial data cables, Maxim has unveiled a dual IO-Link transceiver that includes a dc-dc converter and surge – claiming it to be both the smallest and most power-efficient available. Called MAX2251, the buck regulator supplies up to 300mA of load current and has an adjustable output from 2.5V to 12V). Switching is a ...

Doherty amplifiers can improve energy efficiency in 5G basestation transmitters, argue Gareth Lloyd and Patrick Agyapong. Doherty amplifiers, especially those with two independently driven inputs, promise significantly better energy efficiency in 5G basestation transmitters and similar applications. Power amplifiers in basestations constitute 30‑60% of the cost and 20‑60% of the energy consumption of the transmitter infrastructure, so optimal design is ...

Texas Instruments has removed the need for external timing crystals by developing a technique for building high-grade thin film piezoelectric bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators within the metallisation of silicon chips, on a CMOS-compatible process that can be delivered in a standard, or even thin, QFN package. The crucial piezo film is sandwiched between two metal electrodes and several acoustic ...

The Government-sponsored Digital Catapult has set-up a laboratory dedicated to low-power wireless area networks at its London headquarters. Called the Future Networks Lab, it has been created with sponsorship and equipment from BT, IBM, PTC, Semtech, ServiceNow, Siemens and Texas Instruments. Technologies covered include LoRaWAN, SigFox, NB-IoT and LTE-M – and it also has a 5G node and access to the ...

Male Japanese tree frogs communicate with sound, using an internally orchestrated system that lets information get through while also permitting collective choruses and time to rest, according to researchers from Osaka University and University of Tsukuba, and borrowing the technique could reduce packet collisions and power consumption in data networks. The team listened to calling patterns between three frogs over ...

Toshiba has announced an automotive chip that can bridge between PCIe and two Ethernet standards: Ethernet AVB and Ethernet TSN, to connect central processors to telematics, infotainment and driver assistance systems, as well as sensors, at up to 1Gbit/s. Called TC9562XBG, “it’s not just a simple hardware-bridge between PCIe and Ethernet”, Toshiba Electronics Europe told Electronics Weekly. “Through the built-in ...