MINIATURE VISION SENSOR SYSTEM
The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) has developed a miniature vision sensor system that enables broad-based monitoring and interpretation of visual data in real time, in any light conditions. The low-cost system, called ViSe, allows original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop application-specific image analysis and response systems aimed at automotive, security, building and home automation, and industrial markets.
The ViSe camera is composed of a vision sensor and a digital signal-processing (DSP) chip that can run identification algorithms. The system speeds throughput of visual data by enabling the vision sensor chip itself to extract key image features needed for interpretation, prior to sending it for software processing on the DSP.
The conventional approach to processing image information involves acquiring an image with a CCD or CMOS camera, converting the intensity distribution to a digital representation, and processing it by means of a digital-processing device. This approach poses considerable problems in certain applications such as automotive or surveillance markets where vision tasks must be executed in real-time and at a low system cost, in environments with uncontrolled levels of lighting.
Unlike other platforms, the ViSe sensor chip captures a detailed image but extracts from the image contrast strength and orientations, permitting it to pass on to the DSP only the key features of the scene needed for analysis. This allows a drastic reduction in the amount of data transmitted off the sensor chip, enabling rapid and low-cost post-processing of imagery in real time.
A ViSe evaluation kit is available and the technology is available for licensing and transfer. CSEM will develop customized software and algorithms for specific applications upon request.
CSEM • (310) 430-3728 • www.csem-devise.com
IMAGING SIGNAL PROCESSOR
C&D Technologies' ADCDS-1603 imaging signal processor combines true 16-bit resolution with 3 Mpps performance. The unit provides an easy-to-inter-face, functionally complete, low-cost solution for electronic imaging applications that use charge-coupled devices (CCDs) as their photo-detectors.
The unit has a signal-to-noise ratio of 85 dB at 3 MHz with no latency delay. The small, fully integrated 40-pin TDIP package incorporates a user-configurable input amplifier, a correlated double sampler (CDS), and a 16-bit sampling ADC. Further features of the design include edge triggering, gain adjust, offset adjust, a precision +2.0 V reference and a programmable analog input bandwidth function. Overall power consumption is just 500 mW typical.
Central to the ADCDS-1603's high performance is a unique high-speed, high-accuracy, CDS circuit that eliminates the effects of residual charge, charge injection and kT/C noise on the output capacitor of the CCD. This produces a ‘valid video' output signal that the ADCDS-1603 digitizes using its integral high-speed, low-noise sampling ADC.
Two variants of C&D's new imaging signal processor are available: The ADCDS-1603 is designed for commercial applications and has an operating temperature range of 0 °C to +70 °C, while the ADCDS-1603EX has an operating temperature range of -55 °C to +125 °C making it suitable for military and more demanding commercial applications.
Unit pricing for the C&D Technologies ADCDS-1603 is $244 for 100-pieces.
C&D Technologies • (508) 339-3000 www.cd4power.com
CAN MICROCONTROLLERS
Fujitsu Microelectronics America has introduced three high-performance, 32-bit microcontrollers for next-generation automotive applications. The ICs, part of Fujitsu's MB91460 series, include the MB91F464AA and MB91F465KA, which have been designed for automotive body control applications. The third MCU, the MB91F467RA, was designed for on-board entertainment and information systems. All three MCUs incorporate controller area network (CAN) interfaces.
The MB91F465KA and the MB91F464AA serve door, seat, air conditioning and other vehicle body controls. Both include a CAN channel, 32 CAN message buffers and five UART channels that comply with the local interconnect network (LIN) standard. Designed for car navigation, audio, and other information system controls, The MB91F467RA includes two CAN channels, either 32 or 64 CAN message buffers, and seven LIN-compliant UART channels. LIN interfaces are used for vehicle door, mirror, and wiper controls.
All the new MCUs run at clock speeds of up to 80 MHz, and have embedded flash memory.
Fujitsu offers development chips and tools supporting the MB91460 series, enabling all MCUs, including these new models, to be developed using the same platform. Fujitsu plans to augment its line of microcontrollers for next-generation, on-board vehicle systems, with new models planned for dashboard and FlexRay controls.
The MB91F464AA, which comes in 100-pin LQFP packages, is priced at $8.52 each in volume. The MB91F465KA is available in 120-pin LQFP packages and is priced at $9.73 each in volume. The 176-pin LQFP MB91F467RA costs $17.04 each in volume.
Fujitsu Microelectronics America
(212) 599-9800
www.fujitsu.com/us/
DRIVERS
Two drivers from ON Semiconductor are specifically designed for robust automotive and industrial applications. The NCV7513 is a programmable six channel low-side MOSFET pre-driver designed to control a variety of load types. The NCV7708 is a hex half-bridge driver specifically designed to drive power system motors and loads.
The NCV7513 is a fully protected 6-channel low-side hex pre-driver designed for a wide variety of loads, including engine control, memory seats and LED headlamps. This device is the newest member of the FLEXMOS family of automotive-grade products for driving logic-level MOSFETs. The NCV7513 is controllable by a combination of serial peripheral interface (SPI) and parallel inputs. With 3.3 V and 5.0 V compatible inputs, it is ideal for use with the newer microcontrollers. Each of the six channels independently monitors its external MOSFETs for fault conditions. It features programmable fault management modes and allows power-limiting pulse width modulation (PWM) operation. The fault information for each channel is uniquely captured by fault type.
The NCV7708 is a fully protected hex half bridge driver and the newest member of a family of multichannel drivers. The device features six independent high side and six independent low side drivers that are also configurable as H-bridge drivers. The NCV7708 is controlled via SPI up to 5 MHz. It offers advanced fault reporting and protection features, and is compliant with 5 V and 3.3 V systems.
The NCV7513 is available in a 32-pin LQFP package and priced at $0.82 per unit in 10,000 unit quantities. The NCV7708 is offered in a 28-pin SOIC thermally enhanced fused lead package and priced at $1.25 per unit in 10,000 unit quantities.
ON Semiconductor • (602) 244 6600 • www.onsemi.com
DUAL-CORE AUTOMOTIVE MICROCONTROLLER
Freescale Semiconductor's dual-core, 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) family is designed to enhance the performance, power efficiency and flexibility of automotive body electronics. The MPC5510 family is the first line of 32-bit automotive MCUs featuring a dual-core architecture with flexible low-power modes. Built on power architecture technology, the MPC5510 family delivers a range of price/performance options and supports extensive communications capabilities, including the FlexRay, controller area network (CAN) and local interconnect network (LIN) protocols.
The MPC5510 family scales from single-core MCUs (with 384 KB of embedded flash, low pin count and reduced feature sets) up to 80 MHz dual-core devices (with 1 MB of flash and advanced communications peripherals). This scalability enables developers to address a broad range of body electronics applications with a flexible platform architecture that extends to other members of the MPC55xx portfolio. Target applications include body control modules (BCMs), gateways (linking FlexRay to CAN and LIN networks), instrument cluster controllers, center stack display controllers and smart junction boxes.
As automotive architectures evolve toward more complex hierarchical networks, automakers require higher-performance body electronics modules to support gateway functions, as well as higher functional integration and centralized services, such as diagnostic, reprogramming and power management. The MPC5510 family addresses these needs with a dual-core architecture based on two e200 cores.
Supported by a crossbar switch architecture and 16-channel enhanced direct memory access (eDMA), Freescale's innovative dual-core design makes the MPC5510 family one of the most efficient, low-power 32-bit automotive MCUs in the market. The MPC5510 family also enables customers to migrate to higher levels of integration in central body electronics and connect the body electronics domain to a FlexRay network. Automakers increasingly are adopting the FlexRay protocol as the vehicle “backbone” network and integrating more functionality into the central body controller.
The MPC5510 family leverages the comprehensive suite of hardware and software development tools available for the MPC55xx family and power architecture technology. Access to this mature ecosystem reduces application development complexity and debugging/validation time during prototyping and software integration phases.
Other feature of this product family include up to 1 MB of embedded flash memory with error correction coding (ECC) and read-while-write (RWW) capability for on-chip data storage, Up to 6 FlexCAN modules, and a single 5 V supply and 5 V analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
Available in 144-pin 20 mm × 20 mm LQFP or 208-pin 17 mm × 17 mm MAPBGA, Freescale plans to offer samples of the MPC5510 family in Q1 2007. A starter kit including an evaluation board and debug interface is planned for April 2007.
Freescale • 800 521 6274 • www.freescale.com
HIGHLY INTEGRATED MCUS
Silicon Laboratories C8051F52x MCU family combines a +/-0.5% integrated precision internal oscillator with 8 K Flash, 25 MIPS, 12-bit ADC, dedicated LIN 2.0 controller, 16-bit timers/PWM, SPI, UART, and six I/O lines. The C8051F53x MCU family has the same feature set but adds 10 additional I/O lines and is offered in 20-pin QFN and TSSOP packages. Both families integrate additional analog features such as programmable comparators, voltage regulators, and on-board temperature sensors to further reduce design complexity. This highly integrated architecture enables automotive electronics designers to simplify the design process and reduce bill of materials.
For example, the integrated LIN 2.0 controller combined with the ultrahigh-precision internal oscillator enables designers to implement LIN master-mode communication networks without the need for external timing components, further reducing overall system cost. The C8051F52/3x MCU family also includes power-on-reset, brownout protection, and a watchdog timer reset, helping designers to create reliable and durable electronics systems. In addition, Silicon Laboratories' patented MCU technology has been field tested and optimized for rigorous automotive specifications and maintains full performance over the complete automotive temperature range.
Silicon Laboratories provides robust tools to support this MCU family, offering a fully integrated development environment that interfaces to the on-chip debug module via a USB to serial debug adapter. A device-specific development kit (C8051F530DK) is also available to facilitate software and application development.
The C8051F52x is available in a 3 mm × 3 mm QFN package; the C8051F53x is offered in 20-pin QFN and TSSOP packages. Samples of the C8051F52/3x MCU family are available with fully AEC-Q100 qualified production in the second quarter of 2007. Silicon Laboratories' fabrication and assembly sites are ISO/TS16949 certified. Pricing for the C8051F530 begins at $1.79 and the C8051F520 begins at $1.49 in quantities of 10,000.
Silicon Laboratories • (877) 444-3032 • www.silabs.com
HYBRID VEHICLE OPTOCOUPLERS
Avago Technologies' ACPL-M61T is an automotive-grade 10 MB digital interface optocoupler built to withstand high temperatures. The optocoupler supports the stringent requirements of various networking, communication and system management applications within hybrid electric vehicles.
Wide temperature support of -40 °C to +125 °C makes the optocoupler ideal for implementation in CAN bus vehicle communication networks, battery management systems, safety and infotainment applications in all automobiles, including hybrid electric vehicles. Due to the high number of electrical components in hybrid electric vehicles, opto-isolation products play a key role in the optimal performance of these cars. Additionally, the product adheres to AECQ100 guidelines, ensuring manufacturers the optocouplers provide a consistent level of high-quality and reliability. Avago's ACPL-M61T comes with an enhanced LED (5 mA) for lower driving current and lower power consumption. The high-speed digital optocoupler also comes with enhanced wire bonding processes and an improved lead frame for added reliability and better heat dissipation. A high common-mode rejection ratio provides a high immunity to transient noises, EMI and ground loop eliminations. Its compact size also makes it flexible for high-density automotive system design. Pricing for the ACPL-M61T starts at $2.50 in 10,000 unit quantities.
Avago Technologies • (877) 673-9442 • www.avagotech.com