DECEMBER 2016

Also in this issue

Airline Safety
Plug and play your
way to balancing
supercapacitors p7

TAKES OFF
Using real-time
spectrum analysis to
efficiently troubleshoot
interference issues in
wireless systems p10

with DO-178C
Changes in battery
technology: evolutionary
and revolutionary p18

Product of the Month p23

FAA standard ensures airborne
software correctness page 13

An AspenCore Publication electronicproducts.com

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 2 Contents
Vol. 59, No. 7 December 2016

Features

7 Supercapacitors
Plug and play your way to balancing supercapacitors

6 13 Cover Story Industry Standards: Safety

DO-178C helps to make flying safer

RF & Microwave Special

10 Using real-time spectrum analysis to efficiently troubleshoot
interference issues in wireless systems

Touch Points
18 4 Viewpoint: IoT is for real; now we need to make it safe

5 Outlook (Technology News):

Researchers develop hybrid nanostructures
for next-gen light-duty cars
Research reveals solid-state switch with zero off current
EDITORIAL STAFF
516-667-2300 FAX: 516-667-2301 18 Product Trends:
Managing Editor Greg Lupion Changes in battery technology: evolutionary
516-667-2379 glupion@aspencore.com
and revolutionary
Senior Technical Editor Paul OShea
941-359-8684 poshea@aspencore.com
Senior Technical Editor Jim Harrison
23 Product of the Month:
415-456-1404 jharrison@aspencore.com Intersil supplies the power for multiphase, smart-power
Senior Technical Editor Richard Comerford solutions for the coming IoT needs
516-667-2332 rcomerford@aspencore.com
Digital Content Manager
Technical Content Manager
Jeffrey Bausch
Nicole DiGiose
24 Product Roundup:
Microprocessors & Microcontrollers Scan to
Production Coordinator Lori OToole
download
Digital Content Manager Max Teodorescu EP calculator

New Products
app:
Assistant Editor Jennifer Korszun
Graphic Designer Giulia Fini
Cover Design Giulia Fini 26 Power Sources
Subscriber Service 1-866-813-3752 30 Packaging & Interconnections
Subscriber Service Fax 1-847-564-9453
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COVER IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

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4 Viewpoint
IoT is for real; now we need to
make it safe
T
he Internet of Things (IoT) is
so encompassing and such a
buzzword in the electronics
industry that it makes me wonder two
opposing thoughts: It will succeed in
becoming an economic force, and we
are going blindly down a road where we
dont fully understand the consequenc-
es of its implementation. If we dont
comprehend, then maybe we shouldnt
want to proceed until we investigate the
social implications and the impact of the
products we have (and will create). This
IoT concept isnt, and shouldnt be (to
borrow incorrectly from Gene Rodden-
berrys Star Trek monologue), to blindly
go where no man has gone before. Most
of us in the electronics industry think
that IoT is an overused term and maybe
we are becoming numb to the phrase
and not thinking of its long-term effects.
Definitions include the simple electron-
ics description: the development of the
internet in which everyday objects have
network connectivity (an IP address),
allowing them to send and receive data.
I dont think that any of us are nave
enough to think we can/should stop the
development of the IoT infrastructure,
but surely we need to start thinking
about how to control its misuse. Un-
fortunately, our lawmakers are not the
best people to make decisions on new
technologies.
So, what do we need to do to move
Semiconductor Shipments in the Medical Market - Sample Graph
Semiconductor Shipments
2014 2015
Wired
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
forward with our eyes wide open? Cer-
tainly, information security and privacy
are very important. What about cyberse-
curity? You know, the ability of a hacker
to bust into your personal information
via something like a smart light or even
your Wi-Fi-enabled central air/heat sys-
tem? That makes me think that we need
instructions for the general public, the
non-technical users, to accompany the
installation instructions.
Presently, security information is
very important for company IT depart-
ments and we more or less expect them
to know what to do to keep systems and
products protected. There is also the
idea of big data, where large amounts
of data are collected, but not all of it is
used for any one application. How do
we prevent the data from being shared
across applications that dont use it?
Fortunately, some organizations like
the EU have taken on this problem and
issued a report that speaks to the need
for developers to build-in from the
start, the rights of users to have data
deleted, and rights of privacy and data
protection.
From the business perspective, where
are we going with this Internet of Things
idea? It has long been perceived as an
area of growth for the semiconductor
industry. What will be the impact of
the IoT on the semiconductor indus-
try? What types of semiconductors will
2016 2017 2018
Mesh WLAN
benefit the most? What applications hold
the most opportunity for each type of
semiconductor? A new report from IHS
brings together broad electronic device
coverage with expertise in semiconduc-
tor markets to answer these questions for
the first time.
The IHS report, Semiconductors
in the Internet of Things offers histor-
ical data (2014 and 2015), a five-year
annual forecast (2016 to 2020), and an
extended ten-year snapshot to 2025. The
forecasts include device unit shipments,
semiconductor unit shipments, and
semiconductor revenue for three major
categories of semiconductors con-
nectivity, processors, and sensors. Each
semiconductor category will be further
divided into segments that are relevant to
that semiconductor type. All device and
semiconductor data in the report are seg-
mented by major markets automotive,
communications, computers, consumer,
industrial, medical, and military & aero-
space. In addition to detailed forecast
data, the report examines each market
and provides commentary and analysis
on the trends, obstacles, and opportuni-
ties that are unique to each. Maybe with
this type information, we can develop a
more secure and safe digital connection
to the analog world. For more informa-
tion, visit https://technology.ihs.com/api/
binary/582984.
Paul OShea
2019 2020 2025
wPAN WWAN
SOURCE: IHS
 Outlook 5
Innovations impacting products, technology, and applications

Researchers
develop hybrid
nanostructures
for next-gen
light-duty cars
T
he Department of Energy has
setbenchmarksfor storage mate-
rials that would make hydrogen a
practical fuel for light-duty vehicles. Lay-
ers of graphene separated by nanotube
pillars of boron nitride may be a suitable
material to store hydrogen fuel in cars,
according to Rice University scientists. 3D structures that combine boron nitride nanotubes and graphene may be suitable for
The Rice lab materials scientist Rouzbeh hydrogen storage for cars.
Shahsavari determined in a new compu-
tational study that pillared boron nitride for hydrogen atoms. The challenge is to either pillared graphene or pillared boron
and graphene could be a candidate. make them enter and stay in sufficient nitride graphene would offer abundant
Just as pillars in a building make numbers and exit upon demand. surface area (about 2,547 square meters
space between floors for people, pillars In their latest molecular dynamics per gram) with good recyclable prop-
in boron nitride graphene make space simulations, the researchers found that erties under ambient conditions. Their

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6 Outlook
Innovations impacting products, technology, and applications
models showed that adding oxygen or
lithium to the materials would make
them even better at binding hydrogen.
They focused the simulations on four
variants: pillared structures of boron ni-
tride or pillared boron nitride graphene
doped with either oxygen or lithium.
At room temperature and in ambient
pressure, oxygen-doped boron nitride
graphene proved the best, holding 11.6%
of its weight in hydrogen (itsgravimet-
riccapacity) and about 60 grams per
liter (itsvolumetriccapacity); it easily
beat competing technologies like porous
boron nitride, metal oxide frameworks,
and carbon nanotubes.
At 321F, the material held 14.77%
Research reveals solid-state
switch with zero off current
A
team of engineers at the Univer-
sity of Utah, led by electrical and
computer engineering professor
Massood Tabib-Azar, have discovered a
way to produce microscopic electronic
switches that are truly open when turned
off thus eliminating bias current
and potentially saving large amounts of
energy. The design could cut vampire
currents in appliances and perhaps
University of Utah electrical and computer engineering professor Massood Tabib-Azar.
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
of its weight in hydrogen. The Depart-
ment of Energys current target for
economic storage media is the ability to
store more than 5.5% of its weight and 40
grams/liter in hydrogen under moderate
conditions. The ultimate targets are 7.5%
of its weight and 70 grams/liter.
Shahsavari said that hydrogen atoms
adsorbed to the undoped pillared boron
nitride graphene, thanks to weakvan
der Waals forces. When the material was
doped with oxygen, the atoms bonded
strongly with the hybrid and created a
better surface for incoming hydrogen,
which Shahsavari said would likely be
delivered under pressure and would exit
when pressure is released.
allow smartphones and laptops to run
longer on a battery charge.
Unlike a mechanical switch, transis-
tors waste small doses of electricity while
they are in a waiting or off state. The new
kind of switch uses solid electrolytes,
such as copper sulfide, to literally grow
a wire between two electrodes when an
electrical current passes through them,
turning the switch on. When you reverse
What were looking for is the sweet
spot, Shahsavari said, describing the
ideal conditions as a balance between
the materials surface area and weight, as
well as the operating temperatures and
pressures. This is only practical through
computational modeling because we can
test a lot of variations very quickly. It
would take experimentalists months to
do what takes us only days. He said that
the structures should be robust enough
to easily surpass the Department of Ener-
gy requirement that a hydrogen fuel tank
be able to withstand 1,500 charge-dis-
charge cycles. Find more information
athttp://bit.ly/2eSwubA.
Paul OShea
the polarity of the current, the metal-
lic wire between the electrodes breaks
down, leaving a gap between them, and
the switch is turned off. A third electrode
is used to control this process of growing
and breaking down the wire.
The distance between the two elec-
trodes where the wire is grown can be as
little as a nanometer long, Tabib-Azar
said. Thus, billions of these switches
could be built onto a processor or mem-
ory. He added that this process doesnt
require expensive retooling of manufac-
turing plants to implement it because
these plants already use similar materials.
Professor Tabib-Azar said that the
switch process is about 100 times slower
than a transistor. He noted that the
wear mechanism is well understood and
should result in very long endurance
much like that of a transistor. The
PHOTO: DAN HIXSON/UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
research was published in a paper in the
current issue ofSolid-State Electronics.
The paper was co-authored by Pradeep
Pai from Intel, Yuying Zhang from
Omnivision Technologies, and Nurun-
nahar Islam Mou from IM Flash. More
information is available athttp://bit.
ly/2fdHvHJ.
Jim Harrison
 Supercapacitors 7

Plug and play your way

to balancing supercapacitors
BY ROBERT CHAO, President and
CEO,Advanced Linear Devices
www.aldinc.com

S
upercapacitors are unique because
they can work in conjunction with
or as an alternative to batteries in
applications needing many rapid charge/
discharge cycles, and they are popular in
applications such as short-term energy
storage, regenerative braking, and static
RAM memory backup.
But balancing a supercapacitor in a
design involves more than connecting
a few wires. When a supercapacitor has
an operating voltage of 2.52.7 V, most
applications use an array of devices con-
nected in series for higher voltage.
Many supercapacitors have a leakage
current that varies based on numerous

Fig. 2: Schematic of a fully populated board with three MOSFET arrays. The design
ensures that the voltage across each supercap (VA VB, for example) does not exceed the
maximum allowed value.

factors, including: a solution also requires layout expertise

Fig. 1: Four supercapacitors plus
external components.
initial leakage value
leakage variation with charging voltage,
charging current, and temperature
operating temperature range
chemistry, material, and construction
aging
Preventing this imbalance requires a
balancing circuit that keeps the voltage
across each supercapacitor within limits
by automatically correcting the effects
of changing leakage currents, all with
minimal added leakage current or power
consumption.
For the module designer, this rep-
resents an additional layer of complexity.
A simple resistor-based design dissipates
power and doesnt respond to aging and
temperature variations; an op amp-based
design has higher performance but is
complicated, wastes power, and con-
sumes excessive board space. Developing
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
and analog or power design skills; the
result may be added development time
or even making the problem worse and
adding unwanted leakage of its own.
Overview of a new PCB
A new printed circuit board (PCB) offers
a plug-and-play solution by combining
all of the circuitry required to accomplish
these tasks for any size of supercaps.Fig.
1shows the board, which is designed to
be used in conjunction with precision
MOSFET arrays.
Each board measures only 0.6 x 1.6 in.
and, when fully populated, can balance
up to four supercapacitors connected
in series; in addition to the unpopulat-
ed, populated boards are available with
different combinations of MOSFETS to
reach required voltages. For larger arrays,
any number of boards can be connected
8 Supercapacitors
in series, subject only to
a maximum voltage per Fig. 3: The chips relative ON resistance vs. input voltage.
board of 15 V.
The board can accom-
modate supercapacitors
from 0.1 F to 3,000 F and
beyond. The average ad-
ditional power dissipation
due to the use of the boards
is zero, which makes this
method of supercapacitor
balancing very energy-effi-
cient. It is especially suited
for low-loss energy harvest-
ing and long-life battery-op-
erated applications.
Fig. 2shows the sche-
matic of the board used with four super-
capacitors C1C4. The MOSFET is an
array of four identical chips, which con-
tains two devices in an identical configu-
ration. Depending on the board selected,
each supercapacitor can have a single
MOSFET, or two devices in parallel, con- A new PCB offers a
nected across it. Connecting two devices
in parallel gives an equivalent MOSFET
with twice the output current and twice
the sensitivity to voltage change.
The XX in both part numbers de-
notes the voltage across the MOSFET that
corresponds to a leakage current of 1 A
at 25C, as discussed in the next section.
Each MOSFET is rated for a reverse
bias diode current of up to 80 mA max-
imum. Any reverse-bias condition as a
result of changing supercapacitor voltag-
es, especially during fast supercapacitor
discharge, could lead to some internal
nodes becoming reverse-biased with
surge current in excess of this limit.
The board has TO277 pads for adding nected, VDSis also equal to VGS and called
external Schottky rectifiers (power di-
odes) to clamp such current transients.
An optional resistor can also be
connected across each pair of superca-
pacitors. Normally, this is left open, but
Table 1: Equivalent ON resistance at different input voltages and output currents for the ALD810025 at TA= 25C.
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
if those two supercapacitor locations
are unpopulated, a zero-ohm jumper in
the corresponding location should be
installed.
plug-and-play solution
by combining all of the
circuitry required to
balance supercapacitors
of any size.
Circuit operation
How does the circuit automatically
balance leakage? A MOSFET can be con-
sidered as a three-terminal voltage-con-
trolled resistor over a limited operating
range, with the ON resistance RDS(ON)an
exponential function of the input voltage
VGS. When the gate and drain are con-
the threshold voltage Vt. Fig. 3 shows the
data for the quad MOSFET array.
The XX in the ALD part numbers
denotes the threshold voltage Vtthat
gives an output current IOUTof 1 A at
25C. For example, the
ALD810025 quad array has
Vt= 2.5 V, so IOUT= 1A
at 2.5 V and 25C. This
corresponds to an RDS(ON)of
2.5 M. Table 1 shows the
change in IOUTas Vtvaries.
When a MOSFET is
connected across a superca-
pacitor in an array, the ex-
ponential relationship be-
tween Vtand RDS(ON)means
that any small increase in
the supercapacitor voltage
caused by leakage current
from another superca-
pacitor will cause a large
decrease in the RDS(ON)of that MOSFET.
This will increase IDS(ON)and reduce
the voltage. As the voltage decreases,
IDS(ON)will also decrease.
Depending on the PCB part number
selected, each supercapacitor can have
a single MOSFET or two devices in
parallel connected across it. Connect-
ing two devices in parallel gives an
equivalent MOSFET with twice the
output current and twice the sensitivity
to voltage change.
The leakage current balancing
mechanism is fully automatic and works
for supercapacitor arrays with different
leakage current profiles. In a stack with
many supercapacitors in series, multiple
MOSFET arrays function to balance the
various leakage currents.
For example, if leakage current IC1is
greater than IC2in the four-capacitor
array in Fig. 2, then both M1s (in U1
and U2) are turned off and the M2 pair
becomes the active circuit element to
balance C1, the supercapacitor with the
greatest leakage.
Without the auto-balancing circuit,
the voltage across C2 can keep rising
until it destroys the part. The MOSFET
balancing solution
contributes virtually
no additional current
drain and adjusts for
temperature, time, and
other environmental
changes that may con-
tribute to out-of-bal-
ance conditions.
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10 Special
Using real-time spectrum
analysis to efficiently
troubleshoot interference
issues in wireless systems
BY ROLLAND ZHANG, Senior
Product Manager, Keysight Technologies
www.keysight.com
I
nterference is becoming more
common and more severe in todays
increasingly crowded wireless spec-
trum. Given the complex and dynamic
nature of many wireless signals, equally
dynamic measurement tools are needed
to effectively troubleshoot and maintain
deployed systems.
One such tool is real-time spectrum
analyzer (RTSA) capability, which pro-
vides high-speed, gap-free measurements
and a variety of informative display
modes. When these functions are added
to a handheld spectrum or combination
analyzer, field personnel can use a single
instrument to detect, locate, and resolve
issues such as co-channel interference
and uplink interference (Fig. 1). Continu-
ing advances in digital signal processing
Fig. 1. With frequency coverage to 50 GHz
and RTSA functionality, advanced handheld
analyzers enable efficient troubleshooting
of interference in the field.
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
(DSP) and analog-to-digital converters
(ADCs) are putting RTSA within reach
of more users.
Reviewing common
interference issues
Any type of interference can have a
profound effect on performance metrics
such as quality of service and quality of
experience. Fortunately, troubleshooters
can focus on a few types of interference
that commonly cause problems in wire-
less systems. Relative to signal interac-
tion, the interference may be co-chan-
nel (CCI), adjacent channel (ACI), or
intermodulation distortion (IMD). From
the network-operation perspective, there
may be interference in the downlink
or uplink between a base station and a
mobile unit.
Within a wireless system, interference
is often caused by closely situated cell
sites and base stations that are always
transmitting. Noise affects downlink
connections to mobile users, leading to
increased uplink noise at the base station
antenna and, ultimately, reducing cell-
site capacity. The impaired signal-to-in-
terference ratio shows up in the channel
quality indicator (CQI) reports gener-
ated by mobile devices and sent to the
base station. Low CQI results in greater
retransmission of data and a decrease in
network speed.
In commercial digital wireless net-
works, external interference is often the
result of the slim frequency guard bands
that exist between operators. Also, any
illegal use of the frequency spectrum will
exacerbate these problems.
Assessing traditional
interference analysis
If interference exists within a network,
typical performance-monitoring tools
may report a variety of issues: connec-
tion failures, high signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR), and a rising uplink noise floor
when traffic is low.
The next step is detecting and
locating the source of the problem. The
traditional approach has been to use
a directional antenna connected to a
spectrum analyzer, and this works well
when the culprit is sending a relatively
constant signal.
Detecting non-constant signals
requires use of the maximum hold
display feature of most swept-tuned and
FFT-based spectrum analyzers. However,
because these analyzers often have large
dead times during sweep reset or FFT
processing time, max hold can be time
consuming as it gradually accumulates
the details in bursty, or random-like,
signals. It may also miss exceedingly
brief signals.
 Special 11

Utilizing gap-free measurements as the serving carrier or are within its blasts RF energy into the middle of an
An RTSA is an FFT analyzer operating in channel bandwidth. In digital wireless LTE downlink channel, the mobile unit
a mode that continuously processes in- systems, the interfering signals have an detects poor SNR and, in response, trans-
coming data, and this solves the problems effect only when synchronized with the mits more power on the uplink.
of analyzer dead time and random-like baseband frames. Detecting and troubleshooting CCI
signals. The analyzer is set to a start or Typically, CCI has a greater effect on can be difficult because interferers are
center frequency of interest and a frequen- the downlink because the system has no often hidden beneath the carrier signal.
cy span less than or equal to its maximum direct feedback regarding this type of When using a traditional spectrum ana-
real-time analysis bandwidth. With its interference. For example, if an interferer lyzer, the only reliable way to detect such
large buffer memory synchronized with
the DSP and display engines, the analyzer
can process and empty the memory fast
enough to capture all incoming data (Fig.
2). The stream of gap-free measurements
enables detection of dynamic transients
and narrow pulses that are within the
analyzers real-time bandwidth.

Continuing advances in digital

signal processing and analog-to-
digital converters are putting
Temperature
RTSA within reach of more users. Variable Attenuators
RTSA performance is a function of the TVAs from the recognized Attenuation vs. Temperature (50 MHz)
0
underlying ADC and DSP hardware. In leader in high reliability resistive
current-generation analyzers, maximum components offer: -1
real-time bandwidth ranges from 10 MHz
s 4WO CASE SIZES
in handheld analyzers to 1 GHz in bench-
0.150X vX vTO  '(Z -2
top signal analyzers. In field troubleshoot-
Attenuation Factor (dB)

0.075X vX vTO  '(Z %46!

ing, 10 MHz is often sufficient for most of -3
todays over-the-air applications. s 4HREE 4#! VALUES 
Two more crucial and related char-  AND  D"D"# 46!
-4
acteristics are 100% probability of in- s %NHANCED SLOPE %46!S WITH A
tercept (POI) and minimum detectable 4#! VALUE OF  D"D"# -5
signal. POI defines the shortest signal s !TTENUATION VALUES FROM   D" S0706AT3B0BE5
S0706AT3B0BN7
duration that the analyzer can detect s 3OLDERABLE OR WIRE BONDABLE -6
with 100% probability and full ampli- -75 -25 25 75 125
TERMINATIONS Temperature (C)
tude accuracy; the minimum detectable
signal is shorter and is a function of raw
ADC and DSP performance. In handheld
analyzers, typical values are 12 s for POI When the mission is critical, choose State of the Art.
and 22 ns for minimum detectable signal.
When chasing interference in the
field, the other key specification is spu- State of the Art, Inc.
rious-free dynamic range (SFDR). The 2%3)34)6% 02/$5#43
better the analyzers front-end perfor-
mance, the more easily RTSA can discern -ADE IN THE 53!
low-level signals of interest from internal
spurious signals.

Mitigating interference problems

CCI refers to any interfering signals
that are either at the same frequency
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
12 Special
signals is to shut off the carrier trans-
mitter and this is too disruptive to be
practical in the field.
With RTSA, the density display is a
spectrum measurement that adds a third
dimension frequency of occurrence
to frequency and power. The display is
color-coded to show the rate of occur-
rence, ranging from red (often) to blue
(less often). Because interferers differ
from carriers in terms of signal-level
distribution, the density display makes
it easier to detect multiple signals in the
same channel (Fig. 3).
In broadband systems such as LTE,
noise in the uplink limits network capac-
ity and performance. Because cell sites
and mobile devices within a system oper-
ate on the same frequency, controlling all
noise internal and external to the
system is crucial.
With RTSA, the ability to perform
a gap-free capture and then apply the
density display enables the user to find
the time signature of a specific signal and
see the statistical distribution of power
in the signal. This makes it easier to
separate various signal types, even within
the same network.
Checking for hardware problems
More than half of interference issues are
caused by malfunctioning RF subsys-
tems or components within a network,
and the most common culprits are
antennas and cables.
In an antenna, the key performance
Fig. 3. Compared to a conventional spectrum analyzer (left), RTSA and the density display (right) reveal the presence of a two-way FM signal
in the center of a W-CDMA signal.
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
Analog to digital converter
Data 1 Data 2
T1
T2
T3
Window
function
Fig. 2. Gap-free Calc1 Calc2
RTSA processing uses
weighting, or window, Overlap FFT >> Display
functions and overlapping
FFT calculations to enhance the measurement and display of dynamic signals.
parameter is return loss, or voltage
standing wave ratio (VSWR). If a trans-
mit antenna has a decrease in return
loss, less energy will be transmitted to
the coverage area. Mobile units respond
by increasing transmit power, and this
causes noise to increase at the base-sta-
tion receivers. Field personnel may
misinterpret this as external interfer-
ence, sending them on a wild goose
chase. Whenever external interference
is suspected, a good first step is to test
(i.e., sweep) the antenna using a suitably
equipped handheld analyzer.
Cabling is exposed to a wide range
of environmental forces and, over time,
Data 3
T4
T5
Calc3 Calc4 Calc5
connectors may corrode and cables can
bend. These types of degradations often
lead to an increase in cable loss, reducing
the received power level near the cell
edge and causing declining SNR. Per-
forming routine cable-loss measurements
relative to the link budget is a proactive
way to avoid interference issues within
the network.
Interference is a symptom of many
underlying problems. Handheld ana-
lyzers equipped with RTSA can help
engineers and technicians quickly detect
interference issues, locate the cause and,
after implementing the fix, verify system
performance.

DO-178C helps to make flying safer
FAA-mandated standard checks that software
life cycle processes meet their requirements
BY BENJAMIN M. BROSGOL
Senior Technical Staff, AdaCore
www.adacore.com
I
n a suspenseful scene from the 1976
movie Marathon Man, a sadistic
Nazi dentist (Sir Laurence Olivier)
poses menacingly with his assorted in-
struments. Referring to a cache of stolen
diamonds that he has come to collect,
Olivier repeatedly asks his terrified
captive (Dustin Hoffman), Is it safe?
Hoffman has no idea what this means,
but his ignorance is far from bliss as he
suffers the unanesthetized consequences.
As producers of modern software,
we also need to confront the question,
Is it safe? Not knowing the answer
could easily lead to disaster even if
it doesnt bring dental torture. Actually,
the question for software developers
is not Is it safe? but, rather, Is it
safe enough? Safety is not a Boolean
condition; its a continuum reflecting
our confidence that the systems safety
properties have been satisfied. And safe-
ty implies security, since vulnerabilities
can be exploited to produce unaccept-
able hazards. At the highest assurance
Fig. 1: DO-178C in perspective.
System Safety Assessment
Process
y is a
Safet -level
m
syste perty
pro
System Requirements
(including Safety Requirements)
Allocated to Software
DO-
178C Software Life Cycle Processes
Planning Processes Development Processes
levels, we need correspondingly high
confidence that our software does what
its supposed to do and does not do what
its not supposed to do.
Software safety and security have
traditionally received varying degrees
of attention in the electronic products
arena. High attention to these require-
ments are obviously relevant for medical
devices; nevertheless, significant lapses
have sometimes occurred, causing injury
or death. In the Therac-25 radiation
therapy machine incidents in the 1980s,
a race condition between concurrent
activities caused massive overdoses of
radiation to be administered, and several
years ago, software defects in insulin
infusion pumps also resulted in improper
and sometimes lethal dosages.
Safety and security requirements
for software are fairly new in the more
general area of small electronic products.
Previously, the software in such systems
was relatively simple, the devices were
typically standalone, and safety was
enforced through mechanical means. But
nowadays, the software is performing
increasingly complicated functions, and
smart devices connected to the internet
System Life Cycle Processes
System Requirements
Functional Hazard Assessment
Preliminary System Safety Assessment
Software-Level Software
Determination Architecture
Integral Processes
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
Cover Story 13
can be remotely controlled.
This article highlights the major
issues that software developers need
to confront, with a focus on the DO-
178C certification standard (Software
Considerations in Airborne Systems and
Equipment Certification) as an example
of one industrys approach. The guidance
in DO-178C is not specific to aviation,
and the article suggests how it can be
adapted to other domains in which high
assurance is required.
The big picture
Fig. 1, abstracted from a figure in DO-
178C, shows the relationship between the
system life cycle processes and the software
and hardware life cycle processes. The key
takeaway is that safety (and, implicitly,
security) requirements and responsibil-
ities must be determined at the system
level but with feedback from the other
life cycle processes. Each software com-
ponent has a corresponding software
level (also referred to as a Development
Assurance Level, or DAL) based on the
impact of that components anomalous
behavior on the continued safe operation
of the aircraft. As noted in Rick Hearns
article on DO-254 in the October 2016
issue of Electronic Products, Level A is
the most demanding because anomalous
System Approval Activities
System Verification Activities
System Integration
DO-
254
Hardware
Life Cycle Processes
14 Cover Story

specifying the software architecture,

Fig. 2: A sample DO-178C objective.
and implementing the design. Verifi-
Verification of Outputs of Software Coding & Integration Processes cation (one of the integral processes) is
needed at each step. For example, are the
Objective Activity Applicability by Output software requirements complete and con-
SW Level
sistent? Does the implementation satisfy
Description Ref. Ref. A B C D Data Item the requirements? Verification involves
traceability: each requirement must
Source Code is Software be traceable to the code that correctly
6 accurate and 6.3.4f 6.3.4 Verification
consistent Results implements it, and in the other direction,
each piece of code must be traceable to a
LEGEND: The objective should be satisfied with independence
The objective should be satisfied requirement.
Complementing the actual develop-
6.3.4 Reviews and Analyses of the Source Code ment processes are various peripheral
f. Accuracy and consistency. The objective is to determine the correctness and consistency activities. The software is not simply a
of the Source Code, including stack usage, memory usage, fixed-point arithmetic overflow
static collection of code, data, and docu-
and resolution, resource contention and limitations, worst-case execution timing,
exception handling, use of uninitialized variables, cache management, unused variables, mentation; it evolves in response to de-
and data corruption due to task or interrupt conflicts. The compiler (including its options), tected defects, customer change requests,
the linker (including its options), and some hardware features may have an impact on etc. Thus, the integral processes include
worst-case execution timing and this impact should be assessed. Configuration Management and Quality
Assurance, and well-defined procedures
behavior could produce a catastrophic with the various software life cycle pro- are critical.
failure with a resulting loss of the aircraft. cesses. A components DAL establishes DO-178C is not biased toward or
A number of standards provide a which objectives are relevant, the rigor of against any particular software develop-
recommended practice for conducting the configuration management controls, ment methodology. Although it seems to
the system life cycle processes for and whether the parties responsible for be oriented toward new development ef-
example, ARP 4754A and IEC 61508. meeting an objective and verifying that forts, its possible to take an existing sys-
Hazard and safety assessment approaches it has been met need to be independent. tem and perform the relevant activities
include those presented in official stan- The objectives are listed in a set of tables retrospectively to derive the necessary
dards, such as ARP 4761. that refer back to the body of the docu- data items. The standard also deals with
A catalog of security functions and ment for details; as an illustration, Fig. 2 issues such as incorporation of commer-
assurance requirements may be found shows Objective 6 in Table A-5. cial off-the-shelf (COTS) components
in the Common Criteria (www.com- The system provider needs to and the usage of service history to gain
moncriteriaportal.org). The assurance demonstrate compliance with the objec- certification credit.
requirements are grouped into Evalua- tives by supplying a variety of artifacts
tion Assurance Levels (EALs), with the (data items) that will be reviewed by a Software verification
highest level (EAL 7) calling for formal Designated Engineering Representative The majority of the guidance in DO-
verification of security functions. More (DER) authorized by the national bodys 178C deals with verification: a combi-
specific to aviation, an international certification authority. Upon acceptance nation of reviews, analysis, and testing
working group has prepared DO-326A of the data items, the system is consid- to demonstrate that the output of each
(Airworthiness Security Process Speci- ered to be certified. software life cycle process is correct with
fication) to augment current guidance Fig. 3 shows the main elements of respect to its input. Of the 71 total ob-
for aircraft certification to handle the DO-178C; namely, the various software jectives for Level A software, 43 apply to
threat of intentional unauthorized life cycle processes comprising planning, verification, and more than half of these
electronic interaction to aircraft safety. development, and several associated concern the source and object code.
Such system-level analyses serve as integral processes. This isnt rocket For this reason, DO-178C is sometimes
input to the DO-178C processes but, in science; in essence, the standard is an called a correctness standard rather
turn, may be affected by feedback from instantiation of software engineering than a safety standard; the principal
the DO-178C activities. common sense. Any piece of software is assurance achieved through certification
designed and implemented against a set is confidence that the software meets its
Software engineering of requirements, so development consists requirements. And the emphasis of the
common sense of elaborating the software requirements code verification objectives is on testing.
Oriented toward providers of aircraft (both high-level and low-level) from the But testing has a well-known intrinsic
software, DO-178C contains guidance in system requirements and perhaps teasing drawback; as quipped by the late com-
the form of specific objectives associated out additional (derived) requirements, puter scientist Edsger Dijkstra, it can
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

show the presence of bugs but never their
absence. DO-178C mitigates this issue in
several ways:
Testing is augmented by inspections
and analyses to increase the likelihood
of detecting errors early.
Instead of white box or unit
testing, DO-178C mandates require-
ments-based testing. Each require-
ment must have associated tests,
exercising both normal processing and
error handling, to demonstrate that
the requirement is met and that inval-
id inputs are properly handled. The
testing is focused on what the system
is supposed to do, not on the overall
functionality of each module.
The source code must be completely
covered by the requirements-based
tests. Dead code (code that is not exe-
cuted by tests and does not correspond
to a requirement) is not permitted.
Code coverage objectives apply at the
statement level for DAL C. At higher
DALs, finer granularity is required,
with coverage also needed at the level
of complete Boolean expressions (de-
cisions) and their atomic constituents
(conditions). DAL B requires decision
coverage (tests need to exercise both
True and False results). DAL A requires
modified condition/decision coverage.
Fig. 3: DO-178C software life cycle model.
Fig. 3: DO-178C Software Life Cycle Model
Plan for Software Aspects of
Certification (PSAC)
Software Configuration
Software Verification
Integral Processes
Data Items
Software Requirements
High-Level
Requirements
Derived Requirements
The set of tests for a given decision
must satisfy the following:
o In some test, the decision comes
out True, and in some other test, it
comes out False;
o For each condition in the decision,
the condition is True in some test
and False in another; and
o Each condition needs to inde-
pendently affect the decisions out-
come. That is, for each condition,
there must be two tests where:
> the condition is True in one and
False in the other,
> the other conditions have the
same values in both tests, and
> the result of the decision in the
two tests is different.
MC/DC testing will detect certain
kinds of logic errors that would not
necessarily show up in decision coverage
but without the exponential explosion of
tests if all possible combinations of True
and False were needed in a multiple-con-
dition decision. It also has the benefit
of forcing the developer to formulate
explicit low-level requirements that will
exercise the various conditions.
Fig. 4 shows possible sets of test
cases associated with the various levels
of source coverage for a sample if
statement.
System Planning
Process
Concurrent Activities
Integral Processes
Software Quality
Management Assurance
Concurrent Activities
Software Development Processes
Software Design Software Coding
Low-Level Requirements Source Code
Derived Requirements
Design Description Object Code
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
Cover Story 15
Software methodology
Advances in software methodology have
presented both opportunities and chal-
lenges for verification:
Model-based development expresses
the control logic in a graphical lan-
guage from which the source code is
generated automatically, perhaps mixed
with manually produced code. In light
of the multiple forms of the program,
its not clear which objectives apply to
which form.
Object-oriented programmings prin-
cipal features inheritance, polymor-
phism, and dynamic binding raise
issues with objectives including code
coverage and time and space predict-
ability.
For the highest levels of safety criti-
cality, applying formal methods can
help increase assurance (for example,
to prove safety properties such as
absence from run-time errors) and
eliminate the need for some low-level
requirements tests. However, its not
clear how to justify to the certification
authorities that formal proofs can
replace such tests.
These issues were a major impetus for
revising the earlier DO-178B standard,
and they are addressed in supplements to
DO-178C:
Software Development
Standards
Software Life Cycle Plans
Certification Liaison
Software Accomplishment
Summary
Integration
Executable Object Code +
Parameter Data
16 Cover Story
DO-331 for Model-Based Development
and Verification,
DO-332 for Object-Oriented Technolo-
gy and Related Techniques, and
DO-333 for Formal Methods.
Tool qualification
Tools have a range of uses during the soft-
ware life cycle. Some assist verification,
such as checking that the source code
complies with a coding standard, comput-
ing maximum stack usage, or detecting
references to uninitialized variables. Oth-
ers affect the executable code, such as a
code generator for a model-based design.
Tools can save significant labor, but we
need to have confidence that their output
is correct; otherwise, we would have to
verify the output manually.
With DO-178C, we gain such
confidence through a process called
Tool Qualification, which is basically a
demonstration that the tool meets its
operational requirements. The level of ef-
fort that is required the so-called tool
qualification level, or TQL depends
on both the DAL of the software that
the tool will be processing and which of
several what-if scenarios could arise in
the presence of a tool defect:
Criterion 1: The tool output is part
of the airborne software, and the tool
could insert an error.
Criterion 2: The tool could fail to detect
an error, and its output is used to re-
duce other development or verification
activities.
Criterion 3: The tool could fail to detect
an error.
TQLs range in criticality from 5 (low-
est) to 1 (highest). TQL-1 applies to a
tool that satisfies Criterion 1 and is used
for software at DAL A. Most static code
analysis tools will be at TQL-4 or TQL-5.
An auxiliary standard DO-330 (Tool
Qualification Considerations) defines the
specific objectives, activities, and data
items associated with the various TQLs.
DO-330 can be used in conjunction with
other software standards; it is not specific
to DO-178C.
Whats the catch?
Although there have been some close
calls, to date, there have been no com-
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
Fig. 4: Code coverage examples.
Source Code: C1, C2, C3 are con-
if (C1 and C2) or C3 then ditions. The Boolean
expression (C1 and
end if; C2) or C3 is a decision
Statement coverage: One test case needed
Example: C1=True, C2=True, C3=True True
Decision coverage: Two test cases needed
Example: C1=True, C2=True, C3=True True
C1=False, C2=True, C3=False False
MC/DC: Four test cases needed
For each condition, boldface shows which test cases illus-
trate the condition's independent effect on the outcome.
Example: C1=True, C2=True, C3=False True
C1=True, C2=False, C3=True True
C1=True, C2=False, C3=False False
C1=False, C2=True, C3=False False
mercial aircraft accidents with loss of life
where the software has been found at
fault. So DO-178C (and its predecessor
DO-178B) seem to be effective. Never-
theless, some questions have arisen.
Does correctness imply safety? As
noted above, DO-178C is really a cor-
rectness standard, offering confidence
that the software meets its requirements.
How does that translate into overall
system safety and the resulting low
probability of failure? A paper by John
Rushby (http://bit.ly/2gabzFl) argued
that the successful track record for
airborne systems may be credited not so
much to the software standard as to the
corporate safety culture in that industry
and the relatively infrequent changes
in the technology. Use of the DO-178C
guidance by other industries might not
yield the same benefits.
The relationship between software
correctness and system safety is indeed
not so straightforward; many factors
affect the overall safety of an aircraft or
any other computer-based system (for
example, and perhaps most obviously,
the training and skills of the operators).
However, even though code correctness
clearly is not sufficient for achieving
safety, it is necessary in situations such as
fly-by-wire, in which there is no backup
for a Plan B. Even ignoring safety issues
for a moment, faulty software in many
industries can lead to expensive recalls
that incur a direct financial cost as well as
damage to a companys reputation. The
bottom line: principles and practices that
give confidence in code correctness are
worth following because they can help
save lives and money.
Is the certification process unneces-
sarily heavy? System certification is not
cheap. Attention should be focused
on the area where the most significant
problems appear; namely, at the require-
ments stage rather than at the coding
level. A natural question is whether the
advantages of DO-178C can be achieved
at a lower cost. This cost versus ben-
efit question has been raised by both
systems suppliers and the U.S. Congress
because the safety certification process
for airborne software has been perceived
as being overly complicated for new
entrants and yet failing to adequately ad-
dress how to deal with new methods and
technologies. A working group tasked by
the FAA to investigate this issue conduct-
ed a Streamlining Assurance Processes
Workshop in September 2016, where
they presented three high-level overar-
ching properties that may form the basis
of a simpler certification approach:
Intent The defined intended func-
tions are correct and complete with
respect to the desired system behavior.
Correctness The implementation
is correct with respect to its defined
intended functions under foreseeable
operating conditions.
Necessity All of the implementation
is either required by the defined intend-
ed function or is without unacceptable
safety impact.
This work in progress may lead to
an alternative framework for certifying
airborne software.
Lessons learned
In summary, the guidance in DO-178C
serves mainly to provide confidence that
the software meets its requirements
not to validate that the requirements,
in fact, reflect the systems intended
functionality. So getting the code correct
is not sufficient, but it is necessary, and
many of the benefits of the DO-178C
approach can be realized without going
through the effort of a formal certifica-
tion. Here are some suggestions:
Pay attention to the full software life
cycle. Source version control and con-

figuration management might not seem
sexy, but they are essential. Implement
source check-in hooks (for example,
invoke a static analysis tool to enforce
some aspects of code quality) and regu-
larly schedule full regression test runs.
Implement processes for dealing with
defect reports and change control, so
that software updates can be supplied
without introducing new problems.
Make sure that known problems have
workarounds.
Review the objectives in DO-178C and
decide which ones to aim for. In the
absence of official certification, there
is no need to produce the various data
items, but if an objective is inten-
tionally omitted, make sure that you
understand the reasons for the omis-
sion and the possible consequences of
failing to comply.
Use a programming language that de-
tects potential problems early. As stated
in Section 4.4 of DO-178C:
The basic principle is to choose
requirements development and design
methods, tools, and programming
languages that limit the opportunity for
introducing errors and verification meth-
ods that ensure that errors introduced
are detected.
The Ada programming language is
particularly applicable because it was
designed to promote sound software
engineering practice and it enforces
checks that will prevent weaknesses
such as buffer overrun and integer
overflow. The most recent version of
the language, Ada 2012, includes an
especially relevant feature known as
contract-based programming, which ef-
fectively embeds the low-level software
requirements in the source code in
which they can be verified either stati-
cally (with appropriate tool support) or
at run time (with compiler-generated
checks).
Whichever language is chosen, settle
on a subset that is appropriate for the
needs of your application. General-pur-
pose languages such as C, C++, Ada,
and Java provide features that may
be problematic in a high-assurance
context. A feature may be error-prone,
its semantics might not be completely
specified, or it may require complex
run-time support. Choose and enforce
a suitable subset (or software code
standard, in DO-178C parlance).
For example, the rules in MIS-
RA-C have been designed to address a
variety of the C languages problematic
features. However, some of the MISRA
rules are not checkable (for example,
the documentation requirements) and
others may be enforced in different
ways (for example, the prohibition
against dangling references). In Ada,
a standard feature known as pragma
Restrictions allows the programmer
to specify the features that are to be
prohibited. Relevant subsets can thus
be defined in an a la carte fashion, with
almost all of the restrictions enforced
by compile time rather than run-time
checks. The Ada language standard also
defines a particular set of restrictions
on the concurrency (tasking) features,
known as the Ravenscar profile. The
Ravenscar tasking subset is expressive
enough to be used in practice but sim-
ple enough for safety- or security-certi-
fied systems.
Consider formal methods for high-as-
surance applications. Static analysis
tools based on formal methods can
prove program properties (including
safety and security properties) ranging
from absence of run-time errors to
compliance with formally specified re-
quirements. Use of such tools provides
mathematics-based assurance while
also eliminating the need for some of
the low-level requirements-based tests.
One example is the Frama C tech-
nology which can prove properties of C
programs, although the pervasive use
of pointers in C presents a challenge.
SPARK is a formally analyzable subset
of Ada; hard-to-analyze features such as
pointers and exceptions are absent, and
the proof technology can exploit funda-
mental Ada features such as strong typ-
ing, scalar ranges, and contract-based
programming.
Automate manual processes with
qualified tools. Static analysis tools are
your friend; among other things, they
can check compliance with a coding
standard, compute complexity metrics,
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
Cover Story 17
and detect potential errors or latent
vulnerabilities (such as references to
uninitialized variables, buffer overrun,
integer overflow, and concurrent access
to a shared variable without protec-
tion). An example of a static analysis
tool for Ada that identifies such errors
is AdaCores CodePeer. Practicalities to
be considered include soundness (does
the tool detect all instances of the error
it is looking for?), false alarm rate
(are the reported problems, in fact, real
errors?), and usability (such as scalabili-
ty to large systems, ability to analyze
parts of a system without needing the
full code base, and ease of integration
into an organizations software life cycle
infrastructure).
For dynamic analysis, a code cov-
erage tool is essential at both source
and object level. Typical technology in
this area generates special tracing code
in the executable, but this means that
the real executable is not the same as
the one from which the coverage data
is derived. Thus, extra work is need-
ed to show that the coverage results
obtained for the instrumented and
actual executables are equivalent. An
alternative approach is non-intrusive,
with the compiler generating source
coverage obligation data separately
from the executable. Using trace data
generated from either a target board
with appropriate trace capabilities or an
instrumented emulation environment,
the coverage tool can then identify and
report which source constructs and ob-
ject code instructions have or have not
been exercised. An example of such a
non-intrusive tool is AdaCores GNAT-
coverage, which can derive coverage
data up to MC/DC.
For any of these tools, qualification
credentials will provide added confi-
dence and also alleviate the need for
additional effort in confirming the
tools results.
Applying the principles of DO-178C
to your software life cycle processes
might not save you from an evil Mara-
thon Man dentist, but when used jointly
with system-level safety principles, it will
help you give a confident yes answer to
the question, Is it safe?
18 Product Trends
Insight into current product developments

Changes in battery technology:

evolutionary and revolutionary
BY JOHN WARNER, Chief Marketing Officer, EnerDel
www.enerdel.com

T
he only constant in life is change. We have heard it said
hundreds of times, but it has turned out to be true time
and again. Batteries are no exception to that rule; as the
markets for electric applications continue to grow, the tech-
nologies that power them continue to evolve today and in the
future. In my book, The Handbook of Lithium-Ion Battery
Pack Design (2015), I wrap up with a discussion on some of
the trends that will continue to drive battery development. To-
day, just over a year after publication, some of these trends are
already beginning to emerge and some new ones are emerging.
In this article, I discuss two types of changes that are occur-
ring in the battery world: evolutionary changes and revolution-
ary changes. Evolutionary changes are those that are continu-
ous improvements to current technologies. These are changes
that are highly likely and that we can expect to see within the
next five years. However, revolutionary changes are those that
offer major improvements and often diverge significantly from
the current technologies. These are changes that are not likely
to be commercialized for at least 10 years or more, if at all.

As vehicles continue to power more of their

systems electrically and as more modes
of transportation turn to electrification,
demands on the battery will only grow.

Evolutionary changes
From a technology perspective, the demand for power con-
tinues to increase; therefore, demands on the battery increase,
which, in turn, drives us to continue to push the limits of
these technologies. In other words, as vehicles continue to
power more of their systems electrically and as more modes of
transportation turn to electrification, demands on the battery
will only grow. In fact, in a recent webinar, one research firm
forecasts vehicle technology to largely transition to Energy
Independent Vehicles (EIVs) by the mid-2030s and predicts the
end of the internal combustion engine by about 2037. Higher
energy density equates to longer range, more power equates to
faster acceleration, greater energy volumetric energy density
gives us smaller batteries, and greater gravimetric energy densi-
ty gives us lighter batteries. And there are technologies in devel-
opment today that move us in all of these directions just not
necessarily all in the same technology.
Concept cars from Toyota, Honda, and Chevrolet will
In addition to the technology drivers, there are some geopo-
need new, and perhaps revolutionary, batteries.
litical drivers pushing these technology trends. One is the fact
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
20 Product Trends
Insight into current product developments
that the global population continues to
grow from about 3 billion people in 1960
to more than 7 billion in 2014, and cur-
rent forecasts show the world population
reaching 8 to 10 billion by 20402050
(United Nations, 2014). This trend also
has a secondary influence location.
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largest cities. This continuous population
growth focused in these mega-cities
will drive the demand for electric trans-
portation, autonomous electric vehicles,
personal transportation, and car sharing
programs, all of which will mean that
lithium-ion battery technology will need
to continue
3/15/16 1:07toPMevolve in order to support
these trends (Warner, 2015).
ment of a silicon or more accurately,
Today, I see continued movement
toward higher energy density chemistries.
Some companies that have historically
used lower energy density lithium-iron
phosphate (LFP) chemistries are begin-
ning to transition to higher energy density
lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC)
chemistries. But the materials companies
that manufacture these are also starting to
introduce new formulations with greater
nickel content to improve the energy
density. There are some challenges that
many cell manufacturers are still working
to resolve, including electrolyte formula-
Continuous population
growth will drive the demand
for electric transportation,
autonomous electric vehicles,
personal transportation, and
car sharing programs which
will mean that lithium-ion
battery technology will need
to continue to evolve.
tion and temperature performance. These
are evolutionary changes to the current
technologies that we will see in the market
place over the next several years.
In addition to the cathode develop-
ment, there is still a lot of work going on
in the anode materials development. This
is falling in a couple of areas, with the
greatest area focus being the develop-
a silicon-blended anode. The past
few years have shown us some dramatic
improvements in cycle life, increasing
from less than 100 cycles to some mate-
rials that manufacturers claim are able to
achieve more than 1,000 cycles.
In addition to these trends, there is an
overriding concern that is almost univer-
sal, and that is safety. Recent lithium-ion
battery failures in Samsung smart phones
and last years hoverboard fires have
continued to bring battery safety to the
forefront of the publics mind. Battery
manufacturers are working hard to
improve their technologies to reduce
the potential for safety-related failures.
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22 Product Trends
Insight into current product developments
In some cases, some manufacturers are
working to transition to non-flammable
electrolytes, while others are moving
toward the use of ceramic and other
separators to offer improved safety.
The final evolutionary change that I
will discuss is cost. The industry has seen
costs come down at a very rapid pace over
the past 10 years as more applications have
begun integrating lithium-ion-based cells.
With increasing volumes, we find that de-
creasing materials costs have a significant
effect on costs. The same effect is true of
the battery manufacturers, with commit-
ments coming from major OEMs that it
makes it much easier to drive costs lower.
In the early days of the large-format lithi-
Lithium-sulfur batteries have the potential to offer
very low costs due to the sulfur in place of the
high-cost nickel, cobalt, aluminum, and other rare
earth metals used in current lithium-ion cells. It
may very well be that lithium-sulfur cells will be the
replacements for current lithium-ion batteries.
um-ion batteries, virtually all manufactur-
ers had to install capital because there were
no manufacturing facilities in place. Today,
nearly 10 years after the successful launch
of vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and
Nissan Leaf, the costs of these factories
are largely amortized. Finally, as energy
densities have increased, the cost per watt-
hour (Wh) continues to decrease. In fact,
this last factor is one of the largest factors
that impacts the cost per Wh and is mainly
being achieved through the transition to
higher nickel content cathodes, which
drives the energy up.
Revolutionary changes
As I mentioned earlier, revolutionary
changes are those that will take longer to
develop into commercial viability and/
or may still be early in the development
stage. In most of these cases, we will not
see these in large volumes for close to
10 years for large applications such as
vehicles. However, we may see some of
these entering the market for consumer
electronics much earlier as the usage
profiles are generally much easier than in
DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
the automotive applications.
The first revolutionary technology is
the emergence of solid-state batteries. The
solid-state battery uses a solid electrolyte
that is deposited over the cathode and
then the anode is coated on top of that.
The two big benefits here are energy
density and safety. The solid-state battery
has the potential to drive very high energy
density into very small battery space.
And the use of solid electrolytes means
that there is no flammable material in the
battery, so a thermal failure is, at the very
least, extremely unlikely, if not impossible,
to occur. However, at the current state of
the technology, solid-state cells are limited
to the mAh scale and are mainly appli-
cable for very small applications. We will
see this technology begin to take hold in
places like medical devices and consumer
electronics over the next five years. As
the technology matures and larger cells
become possible, we can envision a time
when they begin to power vehicles and
larger applications, but that is still more
than a few years away.
Another developing technology
trend which shows great promise is the
lithium-sulfur batteries. Lithium-sulfur
batteries have the potential to offer very
low costs due to the sulfur in place of the
high-cost nickel, cobalt, aluminum, and
other rare earth metals used in current
lithium-ion cells. In addition to the low
cost, they may offer energy densities
in the range of 500 Wh/kg. Current
lithium-ion cells range from about 160
Wh/kg up to about 220 Wh/kg, with the
maximum limit for current technologies
expected to be about 300 Wh/kg. So it
may very well be that lithium-sulfur cells
will be the replacements for current lith-
ium-ion batteries. However, as of today,
there are only a handful of companies
actively developing lithium-sulfur cells,
and none are commercially available. As
long as there are no major hurdles that
occur, I would expect to see these cells
beginning to emerge in product form in
about five years and between five to 10
years becoming the new standard.
Conclusion
How far can the current technology take
us? Well, that is still to be seen. But some
scientists have pegged the current lithi-
um-ion chemistries top-end energy den-
sity at somewhere near 300 Wh/kg. Some
of these evolutionary changes may get us
there in the next five to 10 years. In fact,
we can see some cells in the low- to mid-
200 Wh/kg range today. So, 300 Wh/kg is
not out of reach. But beyond that, we may
need to depend on some of these more
revolutionary technologies to pick up
after that. I would expect to see solid-state
batteries moving into the medical and
consumer spaces over the next five years.
In the large application space, I think the
lithium-sulfur batteries could become the
next major shift in technology, but that is
likely still more than 10 years out.
But there are also some technologies
that havent been looked at in a long time
that are now beginning to re-emerge.
One such technology is the Edison
Battery. Thomas Edison patented a
nickel-based battery back in 1901, which
is being re-developed today for mod-
ern applications by several companies.
And of course, there are a slew of other
technologies out there that are under
development in many universities and
national laboratories around the world
that I did not mention here. Perhaps one
or more of these will move into position
to be the next new thing.
Dr. John Warner is the Chief Marketing
Officer for Indianapolis-based EnerDel
and author of the book The Handbook of
Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Design (2015).
Dr. Warner has been in the battery indus-
try for almost eight years with companies
such as XALT Energy, Magna Steyr
Battery Systems, and Boston-Power. Prior
to that, Dr. Warner spent 18 years in the
automotive industry, including 12 years
with General Motors.

Intersil supplies the power for multiphase,
smart-power solutions for the coming IoT needs
for wireless needs; and server, storage, and
BY PAUL OSHEA
Senior Technical Editor accelerator cards for the data center.
T
Intersil says that the solution features
he proliferation of IoT devices is 12 digital multiphase controllers and a
driving the need for large amounts companion smart-power stage, including
of computing in the
cloud. So data centers are ex-
periencing substantial growth,
and they need efficient power
so that they can deliver high DECEMBER
efficiency while minimizing the
heat. Electricity is consumed
when powering these data
centers, but also when cooling them. The
solution has to be increased power density
so that the footprint can be minimized.
Intersil launched a new platform
product called the digital multiphase
family, which includes digital multi-
phase controllers and companion power
stage products, that is a power solution
for supporting infrastructures for data
centers, wireless bay stations, network-
ing switches, and routers. The platform
supports high-current loads for devices
such as memory chips.
The product is digital and can be tuned
on the fly, changing quickly as the need
arises. The multiphase controllers feature
a digital compensator that helps power
designers develop solutions that have no
external compensation because device
tuning is managed digitally with software.
The company says that a complete power
solution can be developed in 30 minutes
compared to spending days managing RC
tables with competing designs.
The product solution provides different
interfaces, and all of them provide a PM-
Bus for the data-out telemetry features. It
also provides the adaptive voltage scaling
interface (AVSBus), which is an interface
between the device and the processor. The
processor determines how much power is
required and essentially tells the controller
what it needs to support different tasks.
The controller supports Intel, IBM, AMD,
Broadcom, ARM, Qualcomm, and other
processor chips.
The product also supports optical
transport, routers, and switches for wired
infrastructure; base stations and line cards
Product of the Month 23
the industrys first digital
solution with an AVSBus.
The new digital controllers
2016 provide up to seven phases
assignable in any combination across two
outputs and combine with smart-power
stages to provide a scalable solution from
10 A to 450 A. The result is enhanced
power optimization and more energy-ef-
ficient networking and communications
infrastructure equipment.
AVSBus joins the PMBus V1.3 specifi-
cation and features a 50-MHz high-speed
bus that connects directly to the proces-
sor to communicate telemetry data and
deliver efficiency savings through adap-
tive voltage positioning. Intersils new
dc/dc controllers and the ISL99227 60-A
smart-power stage support demanding
CPU core voltages, memory, and auxilia-
ry power rails, enabling power designers
to customize their solution to meet any
rail requirements.
The digital multiphase family is com-
prised of three groups of controllers. The
ISL68137 and ISL68134 controllers use
the AVSBus to power and communicate
with ARM-based processors in network
routers, switches, servers, storage, and
wireless telecom equipment. Two gen-
eral-purpose controllers (ISL68127 and
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
Smart Power Solutions
ISL68124) power network processors,
FPGAs, SoCs, and graphics accelerators.
And eight controllers (ISL69147/44,
ISL69137/34, ISL69128/27, and
ISL69125/24) add a secondary high-speed
interface (SVID or SVI2) to power the
latest Intel and AMD processors in cloud
computing applications that make up the
Internet of Things (IoT) backbone.
The ISL681xx and ISL691xx control-
lers integrate a high-performance digital
engine featuring a patented synthetic
current control architecture that tracks
each phase current with zero latency.
This allows the device to respond to any
load transient with precise current and
voltage positioning and 30% less capaci-
tance than competitive devices. Synthetic
current control also makes it possible to
develop high-reliability systems using all
ceramic capacitors.
Engineers are able to realize the
flexibility and benefit of digital control
through Intersils PowerNavigator GUI
software tool. PowerNavigator connects
to development boards communicating
across PMBus and AVSBus, allowing
engineers to set up and control all pa-
rameters, optimize efficiency via precise
current thresholds for adding/dropping
phases, and adjust the loop tuning.
PowerNavigator eliminates board rework
as designs are completed with on-the-fly
changes for stability tuning and optimi-
zation. The final configuration is simply
stored to non-volatile memory.
The ISL681xx and ISL691xx digital
multiphase controllers and ISL99227
smart-power stage are available now. The
ISL99227 smart-power stage is supplied
in a 5 x 5-mm, 32-lead QFN package and
is priced at $5.21 USD in 1K quantities.
Development boards are also available
to help engineers scale power supply
performance and select connectivity
requirements for rapid prototyping and
development.
Wed like to hear your opinion, good or
bad, about Electronic Products Product of
the Month feature. So we are asking you to
please visit http://bit.ly/2eWfAZO and tell us
what you think. Wed also be happy to have
you send us your nominations for future
Products of the Month.
24 Product Roundup
Microprocessors & Microcontrollers

Automotive MCU multimedia features and peripherals to consume minimum

features secure, power in both active and various low-power modes. The pro-
cessors also feature dynamic voltage and frequency scaling.
high-speed The i.MX 6ULL applications processor starts at $3.50

networking ea/10,000 and is sampling now. It comes in 14 x 14-mm or

9 x 9-mm packages with optional 40C to 105C junction
Automotive designs are bursting temperature.
at the seams with electronics and all of these sub-systems are NXP Semiconductors: www.nxp.com
totally relying on two very important things. Networking and
security are critical in todays cars and trucks.
The Traveo (S6J342xxx) 32-bit microcontroller targets 8-bit MCUs have 1 Kbyte of flash,
gateways, body control modules, HVAC, and collision-warning
systems and features six-channel CAN FD networking support 10-bit A/D
with Secure Hardware Extension (SHE). The MCU offers sin- The ATtiny102 and 104
gle-supply operation and a 132-MHz Cortex-R5 core. The IC 8-bit MCUs provide 12
has 512, 822, or 1,000 Kbytes of flash with a 1-Ms/s 64-channel MIPS at 12 MHz and
12-bit A/D converter and an optional 14-channel multi-func- integrate features such
tion serial (MFS) communication block. as self-programming for
The Traveo S6J342xxx is sampling now and will be in firmware upgrades, 1
production in early 2017. The IC operates at up to 125C Kbyte of flash, an accurate
and comes in four package sizes with 100 to 176 pins. Power internal oscillator, and a
supply current is typically 85 mA in full operation and 1.3 mA high-speed USART. The
in low-power timer mode. The chips flash memory retention chips have a 10-bit A/D
time is up to 20 years. It has ASIL-B support on the ISO26262 converter and operate from a 1.8- to 5.5-V supply.
specification. The MCUs come in 8- and 14-pin packages as small as 2 x
Cypress Semiconductor: www.cypress.com 3 mm and have 32 bytes of SRAM, a 10-byte unique ID, and
external and internal interrupts. They are available with 40C
to 105C or 40C to 125C temperature ranges. Samples
Cortex-A7- available now.
Atmel: www.atmel.com
based chip
runs at 528
MHz with Low-cost
128 Kbytes 32-bit MCUs
of L2 cache fit real-time
The Cortex-A7 core is great for a proces- control
sor that may be used in applications like access The XMC1401, 1402,
control panels, human machine interfaces, portable medical, 1403, and 1404 32-bit
IP phones, and smart appliances. What it needs in the way of microcontrollers use a
added functions are memory interfaces, security, and Ethernet. Cortex-M0 core and have
The NXP i.MX 6ULL processors have a single 520-MHz 32 to 200 Kbytes of flash and
Cortex-A7 MPCore with DDR2/3 memory and NAND/NOR 16 Kbytes of SRAM, with extended control performance and
flash memory interfaces, ARM TrustZone, and a 10/100 Ether- connectivity. The devices use a 48-MHz clock and operate over
net port. They also have a 128-Kbyte fast RAM, an ARM Neon 40C to 105C.
multimedia co-processor, a parallel LCD display port, and an All versions have a nested vectored interrupt controller and
8-/10-/16-/24-bit parallel camera sensor interface. a math coprocessor, as well as a dual-UART/LIN controller,
Also included is a random-number generator, eight PMW CAN, and dual 1.1-Ms/s 12-bit A/D converters. They have a
generators, and secure non-volatile storage. The chips furnish a temperature monitor, up to four fast comparators, four com-
12-bit A/D converter, two USB 2.0 OTG ports, and two MMC/ plex industrial timers, a nine-channel LED brightness control
SD/SDIO card ports. They include a power management mod- unit, and dual-hall or quadrature encoder interfaces. The ICs
ule that reduces complexity and simplifies power sequencing. come in four different packages as small as 5 x 5 mm. From
In system idle mode, with the LDO enabled, the chips take $1.24 ea/2,500.
40 MW. The ICs power management implementation enables Infineon Technologies: www.infineon.com

DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS


Low-power dual-band wireless
microcontroller has Cortex M3
core, 128 Kbytes of flash
The CC1350 low-power wireless MCU is
capable of handling both sub-1
GHz and 2.4 GHz RF frequen-
cies. The device combines a
flexible, low-power RF transceiv-
er with a 48-MHz Cortex-M3
processor in a platform support-
ing multiple physical layers and
RF standards. This combination of
communications yields very long range together with a Blue-
tooth low-energy smartphone connection that enables great
user experience. The chip has a dedicated radio controller (a
Cortex-M0) that handles low-level RF protocol commands that
are stored in ROM or RAM, thus ensuring ultra-low power
and flexibility and updatability.
The IC offers a range of up to 20 km on a coin-cell battery
for building and factory automation, alarm and security, smart
grid, asset tracking, and wireless sensor network applications.
Dual-band connectivity expands the functionality of a sub-1
GHz network with Bluetooth low-energy implementations
such as beaconing, over-the-air updates, smart commissioning,
and remote displays.
Targeting low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN), the
transceiver in the CC1350 can operate in the 315-, 433-, 470-,
500-, 779-, 868-, 915-, and 920-MHz bands and the 2.4-GHz
ISM band. The IC is available in a 7 x 7-mm QFN package and
will also come in 4 x 4-, 5 x 5-mm versions. It uses a Cortex
M3 processing core with 128 Kbytes of flash and has a sleep
current of 0.7 uA, which allows for as much as 10 years of bat-
tery life. It uses a supply voltage of 1.8 to 3.8 V. In Rx, the chip
takes 5.4 mA in sub-1 GHz mode, or 6.4 mA in Bluetooth LE
2.4 GHz Rx operation. Supply current in transmit at +10 dBm
is 13.4 mA for sub-1 GHz operation and 22.3 mA at +9 dBm
using Bluetooth LE and 2.4-GHz modes.
The IC also offers excellent receiver sensitivity of 124 dBm
using long-range mode, 110 dBm at 50 kbits/s (sub-1 GHz),
and 87 dBm at Bluetooth LE. Selectivity (100 kHz) is 56
dB and blocking performance (10 MHz) is 90 dB. It has an
RTC, an 8-channel 12-bit A/D converter, an AES-128 security
module, a true random-number generator, support for eight
capacitive sensing buttons, and a temperature sensor. The
LAUNCHXL-CC1350 LaunchPad development kit is available
for only $29. The CC1350F128RGZR IC costs $4.60 ea/1,000.
Texas Instruments: www.ti.com
Processor runs from a 1.7-V to
3.6-V supply at up to 100 MHz
The ARM Cortex-M4 core is extremely popular for em-
bedded microcontrollers for good reasons. So what would
Product Roundup 25
Microprocessors & Microcontrollers
we need for a perfect implementation? First of all, we need
low power, high performance, security, a display controller,
and lots of flash. Oh, and it has to be cheap. Your dream has
come true.
The STM32F412 and high-temperature STM32F410 are
low-cost Cortex-M4-based 84- or 100-MHz microcontrollers
with 128 Kbytes to 1 Mbyte of flash and up to 256 Kbytes of
RAM. The chips memory access accelerator implements an
instruction pre-fetch queue and branch cache, which increas-
es program execution speed from the flash memory to zero
wait states.
Running at 100 MHz with an external clock, PLL ON, and
all peripherals disabled, supply current is
approximately 15.5 mA from a
1.7-V supply. At 1 MHz, supply
current would be only 0.64 mA
(PLL off). In stop mode, current
is just 18 A.
The chips have up to four I2C
interfaces, up to four USARTs,
USB 2.0 full-speed, and two CAN
ports. They do not have an Ethernet
port. They have a 16-channel 12-bit A/D
converter. The processors come with a high-performance in-
terface to off-chip memory via a dual-mode 100-MHz Quad-
SPI port and a flexible memory controller (FMC) for static
memory that allows efficient expansion of the integrated flash
and RAM. Security features include a true random-number
generator, a CRC calculation unit, and a 96-bit unique ID.
There is also a parallel LCD interface, which runs displays
up to QVGA resolution with 16-bit color depth or WQVGA
with 8-bit depth. The ICs come in a WLCSP64 3.658 x 3.686-
mm package and are priced from $4.92 ea/1,500.
STMicroelectronics: www.st.com
14-/20-pin, 8-bit flash
microcontroller
Microchip -
PIC16F1619Micro-
chip - PIC16F1619
square PIC16(L)
F1615/9 microcon-
trollers deliver on-
chip features that
are unique to the design for embedded
control of small motors and general-pur-
pose applications in 14-/20-pin-count
packages. Features like 10-bit A/D, CCP, 24-bit SMT, and
zero-cross detection offer an excellent solution to the variety
of applications. The product family also has a CRC+ memory
scan and Windowed WDT to support safety-critical systems in
home appliances, white goods, and other end equipment.
Microchip Technology: www.microchip.com
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
26 New Products
Power Sources
Delta demonstrates power
electronics, cooling, and
integrated power solutions
Delta and its subsidiaries, Cyntec and
Eltek, introduce power solutions for
telecom, industrial, and UPS systems.
The Delta DPR3000E-48 series rectifiers
now offer energy conversion efficiency
of up to 98% and power density of 56.8
W/in. Elteks Rectiverter, a bidirectional
power module, facilitates simplified ac
and dc-powered system structures for
higher efficiency, reliability, and control.
The Industrial Power Supply (IPS) port-
folio (currently more than 500 products) cations as diverse as factory automation
offers an extensive set of product types and medical. For example, the Delta CliQ
to support power conversion in appli- M series DIN-rail power supply features
>90% efficiency and advanced power
boost (APB) in a high-power-density
design. The APB function detects a faulty
current path within a multiple-load

AIA
connection and, in turn, trips the circuit
breaker connected to that path, ensuring
CONVERTER
that other connected loads can con-
tinue operations without interruption.
Flexible DC-DC Cyntec offers 95% efficient non-isolated

Power Systems and isolated PoL dc/dc converters that

for Military & High Reliability Applications
800 Watts Conduction Cooled (No Fans)
9~45 or 16~80 VDC Input Ranges
MIL-STD-704, 461 & DO-160 Compliant
Measures only 180 x 120 x 60mm
GPack800
800 Watt Modular DC-DC Power System
Up to 4 Isolated Outputs
Parallel or Serial Connections
-40~+85C Ambient (-55C Option),
Conduction Cooled Operation
Ultra-Wide input ranges:
- 9~45Vdc (transient 60Vdc/100ms)
- 16~80Vdc (transient 100Vdc/100ms)
Reverse Polarity Protection
Inrush Current Limiting
Advanced Status & Control
- Global Output Enable / Inhibit
- Individual Voltage Enable / Inhibit
- Synchronization In/Out (560kHZ)
- Over Temperature Monitor
- Remote Sense (10% compensation)
- Output Voltage Trimming
- Output Current Trimming
- Active Current Share ( 5% Accuracy)
Up to 88% efficiency
w w w . g a i a - c o n v e r t e r. c o m
integrate controller chips, chokes, and
I/O capacitors into a single power man-
agement module. They target designs for
ultra-compact high-performance dc/dc
conversion systems. Deltas three-phase
modular Modulon DPH series UPS
system features 96% ac/ac efficiency and
suits medium-sized data centers. The sys-
tem offers a power rating up to 200 kW.
Delta Group: www.deltaww.com
Eighth- and quarter-brick
dc/dc converters suited
for telecom, computing
applications
Artesyn Embedded Technologies
launched two digitally controlled dc/dc
converters, the ADO300 and ADQ700,
suited for telecom, computing, and
server applications. Both converters are
offered in standard DOSA-compliant
digital interface brick format and pin
configuration and are available with
baseplate or open-frame options. They
operate between 40C and 85C with
air cooling now demanded by telecom
network and data center equipment
manufacturers.
The ADO300 is a single-output
digitally controlled dc/dc converter with
standard eighth-brick outline and pin
configuration. It can handle an input
range from 36 to 75 V, delivers up to
26-A output current at 11.7-V output

DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS


and features 95.2% full-load efficiency.
The new converter has a pre-bias startup
capability and, for high-current applica-
tions, two converters can be connected
in parallel, automatically using droop
current sharing.
The ADQ700 is a single-output dc-dc
converter with standard quarter-brick
outline and pin configuration. It can han-
dle an input from 40 to 60 V and delivers
up to 58-A output current at 12-V output
voltage. The 96% efficiency typical at 50%
load, together with an enhanced pre-bias
startup capability, makes it suitable for
use in datacom and telecom applications.
Both converters provide digital com-
munications via the PMBus command
protocol with control and monitoring
functions for voltage, current, tempera-
ture, and the reporting of fault con-
ditions. They suit isolated converters sup-
plying power to downstream digital dc/
dc converters. They are RoHS 6-compli-
ant and feature input undervoltage and
overvoltage lockout, together with output
overvoltage and current protection and
overtemperature protection.
Artesyn Embedded Technologies: www.
artesyn.com
Fanless power supply offers
medical approvals
The CoolX600 Series is a convec-
tion-cooled modular power supply from
Excelsys Technologies and delivers 600
W without fan-assisted cooling from an
8.5 x 4.5 x 1U package. The fanless mod-
ular power supply carries Medical Safety
approvals. The patented modular reso-
nant technology offers system designers
New Products 27
Power Sources
best-in-class efficiency and
reliability and features a
five-year warranty.
The modular power
supply series is safety-cer-
tified to the IEC60601-1
3rd edition and IEC60601-
1-2 4th Edition (EMC)
for medical applications.
Medical features include
BF (Body Floating) rating,
dual-fusing, 2 x MOPP,
and <300-A leakage
current. Other features fans, or displays. It operates to 5,000-m
include 4-kV input surge immunity and altitude and offers optional PMBus com-
the ability to withstand input voltages of munications.
up to 300 Vac, making it suitable for use The CoolX600 can be populated with
in remote locations and places subject to up to four CoolMods, providing up to
input voltage disturbances. four isolated dc outputs ranging from
Enhanced thermal performance is 2.5 V to 58 V. Outputs can be configured
attained with system fans or additional to the required set point voltages and
external conduction cooling. It provides connected in parallel of series for higher
an efficiency of up to 94%. Additional output current and/or higher output
features include a 24-W standby power voltages. Mounting options include base,
output (5-V or 12-V), effectively offering side, and DIN-rail alternatives.
an output for system intelligence, cooling Excelsys: www.excelsys.com
13 Ampere non-isolated
Step-down Switching regulators.
A high efficient alternative
to linear voltage regulators.
Reliable. Available. Now. tracopower.com
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
28 New Products
Power Sources
Ultra-narrow DIN-rail power supplies
feature high efficiencies
TDK introduces the DRL series of 10- to 100-W DIN-rail
mount ac/dc power supplies with efficiencies of up to 90%.
Featuring a low profile and narrow width, the units are suited
for wall-mounted enclosures commonly used in building au-
tomation and security applications. With an average efficiency
of up to 87%, the DIN power supplies also meet ErP efficiency
standards.
Housed in a robust plastic case, the DRL series has a com-
mon depth and height of 55.6 mm and 91 mm, respectively,
and widths of 18, 36, 54, and 72 mm for the 10-W-, 30-W-,
60-W-, and 100-W-rated models. The supplies operate from a
wide range input from 85 to 264 Vac and can withstand a 300-
Vac peak for five seconds. All package sizes have a 24-V out- are CE marked for the Low Voltage, EMC, and RoHS2 Direc-
put and 12 V is available for the 10-, 30-, and 60-W models. tives, with select models complying to NEC Class 2 in accor-
The 30-, 60-, and 100-W outputs are adjustable either from 12 dance with UL1310. All models meet EN55022-B conducted
to 15 V or 24 to 28 V. emissions, EN55022-A radiated emissions, EN 61000-3-2
The DRL has a Class II (double-insulated) construction, harmonic currents, and EN61000-4 immunity standards.
requiring no earth-ground connection, and 3,000-Vac in- TDK-Lambda: www.uk.tdk-lambda.com/drl
put-to-output isolation. Off-load power consumption is less
than 0.3 W for the 10- and 30-W versions and less than 0.5
W for the 60- and 100-W versions. All models are convec- Tesla introduces advanced Powerwall
tion-cooled and are rated for operation in 20C to 71C ambi- storage and solar roof
ent temperatures (derating applies at high temperature). Teslas Energy group introduces its second-generation home
The units are certified to IEC/EN/UL/CSA 60950-1, UL 508, energy battery storage unit and, along with it, a new aesthet-
ic solar roof design. The Powerwall 2 has twice the energy
density and capacity of its predecessor and can power a
M30 Series two-bedroom home for a full night. Compact, stackable, and
with a built-in dc-to-ac inverter, the new unit costs $5,500
Fully Programmable DC/DC Converter (plus $1,000 for installation and supporting hardware). The
Selectable Outputs to 1000Vdc included inverter is a new design by Tesla. Powerwall capac-
ity is now 14 kWh and it starts shipping in December from
Teslas new factory in Nevada. Power output is 7 kW peak, 5
kW continuous, and weighs 264.4 lbs., with dimensions of 44
x 29 x 5.5 in.
The solar roof consists of uniquely designed glass tiles
that complement the aesthetics of any home, embedded with
high-efficiency photovoltaic cells. It is customizable for a
variety of different home styles, each engineered so that the
photovoltaic cells are invisible. Customers can choose which
sections of their roof will contain the hidden solar technology

* Wide Range of Input Voltages

* Typical Efciency 85%
* 1500 Vdc Output Isolation
* Single and Dual Outputs
* 3L X 2.5W X .83H Metal Case

For more information, call American Power Design

Phone 888/894-4446 , Fax 603/894-4291
Email sales@apowerdesign.com
www.apowerdesign.com

DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

 A54_ElecProds_2_06x9_5_Layout 1 10/24/16 3
New Products 29
Power Sources Introducing the new
while still having the entire roof look the same. The new roofs will supply renewable Pico Electronics
energy to homes and battery storage systems. When combined with Tesla Power-
wall, the solar roof can power an entire home with 100% renewable energy. The roof
website...
tiles are made from quartz glass and are expected to last longer than an asphalt tile. picoelectronics.com
The tiles are transparent to solar but appear opaque when viewed from an angle and
look much like a standard roof. They have 2% loss over a plain solar panel.
Tesla: www.tesla.com

Compact, power-factor-corrected
180-W ac/dc power supply
MicroPower Direct offers the MPO-120S series
of 120-W ac/dc power supplies that provide high
power density and efficient operation. The series
has five standard models that operate from 90-
to 264-Vac inputs and provide regulated single
outputs of 5, 12, 15, 24, or 48 Vdc. Now its faster and
Standard features include EN 55022 B easier to find the
emissions, active power factor correction to EN magnetic & power
61000-3-2, I/O isolation of 4 kVAC, up to 93% ef- components you need!
ficiency, and a standby 5-V output. All models are protected for overload, overvoltage,
and short-circuit faults. Three types of input/output connectors are available: terminal Featuring our easy-to-use
block, molex, or clamp. The MTBF (per MIL HDBK 217F) of the MPO-120S series is product Search Wizard!
greater than 120 kilohours. All models are approved to EN 60950. Welcome to www.picoelectronics.com,
featuring Picos unrivalled selection of high
The MPO-120S family is fabricated on a 5 x 3 x 1.24-in. open PC board. With 18- quality Transformers, Inductors, DC-DC
cfm airflow, the power supplies provide 180-W output power. All models are specified Converters and AC-DC Power Supplies.
Our easy-to-use Search Wizard helps you
for operation from 25C to 70C (ambient). The supplies target commercial and identify the right part for your specifications
industrial applications that require high performance, compact size, and low cost. and facilitates the ordering process. Picos new
MicroPower Direct: www.micropowerdirect.com website is fully compatible with all platforms
desktop, mobile, and tablets so you can
get started right away and anywhere!
Go to Pico Electronics for:
Miniaturized Transformers and Inductors
Audio Transformers / Pulse Transformers /
DC-DC Converter Transformers /
400Hz Transformers / MultiPlex Data Bus
Transformers / Power & EMI Inductors /
Surface Mount and Plug-In
QPL MIL-21038/27 Transformers &
Surface Mount Equivalents
Next-gen online UPS supports industrial IoT equipment DC-DC Converters
Industrial, COTS and Military
The SC UPS family is a 700-VA to 3-kVA rackmount that provides backup power
High-Voltage Converters
protection for high-performance systems, including IT and industrial IoT equipment, To 10,000 VDC
telecommunications, servers, and industrial PLCs. The UPS models use a true dou- AC-DC Power Supplies Power Factor
ble-conversion, online topography. It acts as an electronic firewall between incoming Corrected Modules to 2,000 Watts,
Isolated, 5 to 300 Watts, Encapsulated
dirty power sources and sensitive equipment.
The uninterruptible power supply features digital signal processor technology and
surface-mount devices to provide the highest level of internal UPS protection, control,
and performance. It provides hot-swap batteries with a life span of five years, and a PICO ELECTRONICS, Inc.
battery boost circuit to reduce component count and increase efficiency. The UPS can www.picoelectronics.com
be configured as a frequency converter for worldwide power applications. RS-232, 143 Sparks Avenue
USB, and SNMP/HTTP interfaces are provided to support remote management and Pelham, New York 10803
Call Toll Free: 800-431-1064 Fax: 914-738-8225
secure monitoring over Ethernet LAN, WAN, or the internet. Additionally, during a E Mail: info@picoelectronics.com
power disturbance, the output receptacles can be programmed to shed non-critical
loads to reserve power for critical equipment.
Falcon Electric: www.FalconUPS.com
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
 30 New Products
Packaging & Interconnections
Spring-loaded pin provides
greater compliancy for
mobile devices
With an initial height of 0.379 in., the
0919-0-15-20-89-14-11-0 spring-load-
ed pin has a maximum stroke of 0.118
in. Designed for surface-mounting, the
spring-loaded pin has a recommended
working travel range of 0.030 to 0.100 in.
and can be used at a minimum spacing of 0.100 in.
The pin is suited for applications where greater compliancy is desired. That is,
it can compensate for problematic tolerance stack-ups in assemblies with board-
to-board or device-to-board connections, allowing a greater range of movement
between mating components to provide stable connectivity in assemblies subject
to motion, particularly those that use more flexible housings and materials, such
as mobile devices. When compressed to mid-stroke, the pin still has 0.040 in. addi-
tional travel while remaining in the recommended working range.
Because the 0919 has more stroke capability, it provides higher forces at its
recommended working travel than similar spring pins of this scale, which helps to
maintain reliable contact during cycles of high shock and vibration. The 0919 ex-
hibits an average 85-gram force at mid-stroke with the ability to achieve 127 grams
at the minimum recommended travel.
The pin has a hard stop incorporated to prevent over-compression and minimize
the risk of damage to the spring. Gold-plated brass components and stainless steel
springs are used to ensure high reliability, corrosion resistance, and durability. The
spring-loaded plunger is suitable for mating with gold-plated PCB pads or Mill-
Max target pins and connectors.
The pin is also available packaged in single- (837-22-0XX-30-0011X1) and
double-row (839-22-0XX-30-0011X1) strips on 0.100-in. centers; the strips can be
delivered bulk-packaged or on reel.
Mill-Max: www.mill-max.com

Platinum-clad mesh, wire, and

rod anodes said to outlast MMO
Designed for long life in electroplating
processes and to be more durable and lon-
ger-lasting than mixed-metal-oxide (MMO)
anodes, Anomet Platinum Clad Anodes
consist of platinum metallurgically bonded
to niobium or titanium, with or without a
copper core for enhanced conductivity. With
a dense, pin-hole-free, and uniform structure
that is more durable than plated mesh an-
odes, the platinum-clad mesh anodes provide
a more uniform current distribution with
lower operating current densities.
The platinum-clad anodes can be sup-
plied as rod, wire, or mesh in a variety of configurations, including precut circles
and squares. Woven mesh can be up to 24 in. wide, and wire and rod can range
from 0.021 to 1 in. in diameter and incorporate platinum thickness from 10 to 600
micro-inches, depending upon the application. Anodes are priced according to
configuration and quantity, and free samples are available.
Anomet Products: www.anometproducts.com

DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

 New Products 31
Packaging & Interconnections
Lower-cost
enclosure offers
versatile supports
with a distributed
mesh backplane
A 4U-high chassis for the
development of 3U VPX
and OpenVPX cards, the VPXD4500 OpenVPX
Development Chassis features a five-slot OpenVPX backplane with a BKP3-DIS05-
15.2.13-n profile per the VITA 65 specification. The distributed mesh backplane is
versatile for a wide range of 3U OpenVPX boards and the enclosure facilitates rear
I/O access, with rear-transition-module (RTM) connectors optional.
The 19-in.-wide 4U development platform comes with rubber feet for desktop
applications; however, the unit is also rack-mountable. A 350-W ac power supply is
standard and offers typical 3U VPX voltages of 3.3, 5, and 12 V, plus +/- 12-V AUX
and 3.3-V AUX. The chassis pricing starts under $2,495.00, depending on configu-
ration, and other backplane and PSU options are available.
Pixus Technologies: www.pixustechnologies.com

Compact enclosure suits

many applications
XR Series ABS plastic enclosures
are now available in a compact, 5.75
x 3.75 x 1.97-in. size. Suitable for
various electronics applications, the
XR-35 enclosure is available with or
without surface-mounting flanges, which
feature round holes for permanent mounting
and keyholes for temporary mounting. The enclosure
also has a screw-on cover with a recessed center for mem-
brane keypads or graphic overlays.
Molded from black flame-retardant ABS plastic, the enclosure is flame-rated to
UL94-5VA. PC board-mounting bosses are standard in the base of the enclosures.
Priced as low as $3.82 each, the XR-35 can be purchased directly from the manufac-
turer with no minimum order requirements.
Polycase: www.polycase.com

Waveguide
adapters operate
up to 65 GHz
A new line of 1.85-, 2.4-,
and 2.92-mm waveguide-
to-coax adapters offer
operating ranges up to 65
GHz. Meeting the require-
ment for a transition from
coax to waveguide, or vice
versa, the adapters tar-
geted applications include
satellite communications,
wireless communications,
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016
32 New Products
Packaging & Interconnections
The E5s bushing is designed with
industrial, test and measurement, and defense systems.
a longer travel distance, providing
The new line includes 10 adapters that include millime-
enhanced security. With its flush,
ter-wave frequency ranges with models in the K-band (18
low-profile design, the E5 provides a
to 26.5 GHz) up to the V-band (50 to 65 GHz).
clean appearance, minimizing dust and
The adapters offer VSWR as low as 1.29:1, while also
debris collection that may affect oper-
providing insertion loss performance as low as 0.3 dB.
ation. The E5 also meets NEMA
Waveguide sizes available for these new models include
4 and IP65 standards for water
WR-42, WR-28, WR-22, WR-19, and WR-15.
and dust protection, as well
The adapters feature a right-angle configuration.
as EN61373, the shock and
Those with 2.92-mm connectors use a UG-style square
vibration standard for railway
waveguide flange; 2.4-mm and 1.85-mm connector
applications. The E5 delivers
versions use a UG-style circular waveguide flange. Both
robust, vibration-resistant
male and female connector options are available in each
fastening, features a variety
frequency band.
Fairview Microwave Inc.: www.fairviewmicrowave.com
of grip lengths, and is available
in numerous head style options for
added security.
Southco: www.southco.com
Shutter cam latch resists vibration,
prevents accidental opening
The E5 Shutter Cam Latch prevents the cam from rotating High-flow capacity 1/8-inch connectors
open in high-vibration applications. The latch is designed
with a spring-loaded bushing that covers the driver re-
target liquid cooling
The LQ2 series quick-disconnect couplings offer high-
cess. To actuate the latch, the bushing must be manually
flow capacity 1/8-inch connectors for liquid cooling. The
depressed. If the latch is not entirely closed, the bushing
connectors also feature unique elbow and swivel configu-
remains in the depressed position, providing a visual indica-
rations and an integrated thumb latch for easy, one-hand-
tion that the latch is unsecured.
ed operation in tight spaces, such as the server racks of
large data centers.
The color-coded thumb
latch is simple and intuitive
to operate, contributing to
fast, foolproof connections.
A multi-lobed seal offers
redundant protection against
leakage and lasting shape
retention during extend-
ed periods of connection.
Multi-lobe seals provide
greater sealing efficien-
cy than standard O-rings
while requiring less force
to connect. The non-spill
design allows disconnection
under pressure without leaks
critical to protecting electronics from exposure to fluid
and enabling hot swapping of equipment.
The LQ2 Series connectors are currently specified in
a major manufacturers next-generation supercomputers.
In addition to use in data centers and high-performance
computers, the connectors target a range of applications,
including medical lasers and MRI machines, power
generation and management equipment, aerospace, and
high-end digital equipment such as projectors, radars,
televisions, and more.
Colder Products Company (CPC): www.cpcworldwide.com

DECEMBER 2016 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

 New Products Product Mart
Test & Measurement Electronic Products Presented by the Manufacturer

Latest test-software version targets key Diode & Transistor Switching Time Testers
features of new wireless draft standard Avtech offers 12+ unique pulsers for MIL-STD-750-3, MIL-STD-750-4
and MIL-PRF-19500 test applications including reverse recovery,
Combined with NIs RF vector signal transceiver (VST), the forward recovery, switching time, and transition time tests. Our test
WLAN Measurement Suite supports draft 0.1 of the IEEE jigs can accept a full range of device packages, and custom designs
802.11ax high-efficiency wireless standard. This early-access are available. Visit http://www.avtechpulse.com/semiconductor for
more information.
software suite introduced at IMS2016 lets engineers measure
the performance of their 802.11ax designs, a key necessi- For data sheets,
test results & pricing:
ty due to significant changes to the 802.11 physical layer
Avtech
specification. The WLAN Measurement Suite already gives Tel: 888-670-8729
researchers/engineers/technologists the ability to generate Fax: 800-561-1970
and analyze a wide range of 802.11 waveforms, such as those info@avtechpulse.com
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for 802.11a/b/g/n/j/p/ac/ah/af.

Some 802.11ax standard draft 0.1

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ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com DECEMBER 2016