| 2003 Press Releases | Past News : |
Press Releases from our
manufacturers. |
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November 2003 - Central Semiconductor
The
new CMLD2004 Series of PICOmini™
surface mount high voltage diodes are dual diodes rated at 300V peak repetitive
reverse voltage with a peak repetitive reverse current of 200 mA per device. In addition to the high voltage specification, the CMLD2004 Series
devices all exhibit a respectable trr of
50nS, max. This next generation of smaller, higher density discrete
semiconductors manufactured by Central is optimal for portable handheld
electronic devices requiring superior performance and reliability in the
smallest possible package. These PICOmini™
diodes in the SOT-563 package boast the same electrical specifications as the
larger SOT-26 (CMXD2004) devices, but require less circuit board space.
The
CMLD2004 Series high voltage diodes are manufactured in 5 configurations:
CMLD2004 - Two individual diodes,
isolated in parallel.
CMLD2004S - Two individual diodes, in-series.
These
devices also have a nominal profile of 0.58mm and are SUBONE™ certified. SUBONE™ certified devices all feature a
profile of less than 1.0 millimeter.
November 11, 2003 - EM Microelectronics supplies UHF RFID Chips for Marks & Spencer's Trial to Improve Supply Chain Efficiency
MARIN,
Switzerland – November 11, 2003 –
EM Microelectronic, a company of the Swatch Group, announces that one of its
recently-announced transponder ICs has been used by Marks & Spencer in a
small-scale trial aimed at evaluating the use of RFID technology to improve
supply chain efficiency and product availability for customers. The
four-week trial, which ended November 7, was conducted at one store in the UK on
a limited selection of men’s suits, shirts and ties.
The circuit provided by EM Microelectronic is a passive, read-only 868MHz UHF
RFID IC containing a 64-bit identifier number programmed during fabrication.
The IC is contained within a paper label that is attached to the garment
alongside the separate pricing label and is designed to be cut off and thrown
away. The garment information associated with the unique identifier number
is held on Marks & Spencer’s secure computer database and relates only to
that garment’s details, for example, the size, style and color. As a
result, the chip can be of minimum complexity, which is ideal for very
cost-effective solutions in closed system logistics applications. The RFID
IC is part of a new generation of UHF chips and is optimized to yield the
absolute minimum die area. The device is a UHF and microwave
(300MHz-2.45GHz) single-chip solution with a very small footprint slightly above
one fourth of a square millimeter with two pads for antenna attachment.
Depending on the chip programming, tags can be read at speeds between 0.5 m/s
and 100 m/s. Up to 240 tags can be read per second, while average tag ID
reading rate is nearly 200 tags per second.
“This kind of UHF circuit can also be used in other applications closely
linked to logistics and supply chain management, such as transport management of
goods, anti-counterfeiting and tampering, toll collection, sport applications,
parcel and baggage tracking and pallet tracking,” says Mougahed Darwish,
president of the management board of EM Microelectronic. “Such
achievements and capabilities are no surprise, since EM Microelectronic has more
than 14 years experience in this market and is number one in the worldwide RFID
IC market, according to a recent study.”
Now that the trial has ended, Marks & Spencer will be evaluating the performance of the technology and its acceptance by customers.
October 28, 2003 - Ramtron announces highly integrated Processor Companion Family with 4KB to 256KB of Nonvolatile FRAM Memory Single chip solution replaces discrete components to reduce cost and board space
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Ramtron International Corporation (Nasdaq:RMTR), the leading supplier of nonvolatile ferroelectric memory products, today introduced its FRAM-based Processor Companion family featuring highly integrated support and peripheral functions for processor-based systems. The FM3104, FM3116, FM3164, and FM31256 devices combine a nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) with a real-time clock (RTC), a processor supervisor, and additional peripheral functions. Ramtron’s Processor Companion family, which is the most integrated FRAM product developed to date, provides commonly needed system functions for a variety of automotive, consumer, communications, industrial, metering, and computing applications.
The FM31X Processor Companion family includes a processor supervisor that features a programmable low-VDD reset, a programmable watchdog timer, and a manual reset function. Additional peripherals include a nonvolatile event counter, a lockable 64-bit serial number area, and a general purpose comparator that can be used for an early power-fail (NMI) interrupt or other purpose. Implementing these complementary but distinct functions using an advanced 0.35-micron manufacturing process, allows them to share a common interface and combine to fit in a tiny 14-pin SOIC package, replacing the need for multiple parts on a system board. An industry standard 2-wire bus is used to access the memory and control all functions. All devices operate from 2.7 to 5.5V and are available in 4Kb, 16Kb, 64Kb, and 256Kb densities.
“No other processor support chip has the unique nonvolatile memory features of unlimited endurance and fast read/write,” stated Mike Alwais, VP FRAM products of Ramtron International Corporation. “The Processor Companion family also gives system designers the most highly integrated system management solution to support virtually any microcontroller- or microprocessor-based design.” “Through the careful integration of nonvolatile memory, all individual features are improved versus discreet versions and the total package achieves superior bill of material cost and board space,” he said.
Features of the Processor Companion:
Processor Supervisor - provides a host processor with two basic functions: detection of power supply fault conditions and a watchdog timer to escape a software lockup condition. A reset pin (/RST) drives the processor-reset input during power faults, power-up and -down, and software lockups. The reset pin also provided a switch debounce function to facilitate manual reset inputs.
Early Power Fail Interrupt - an early power fail warning can be provided to the processor well before VDD drops out of specification. The comparator is used to create a power fail interrupt (NMI). This is ideal for saving critical data in nonvolatile FRAM.
Serial Number – a separate memory location to write a 64-bit serial number is provided. It is a writeable nonvolatile memory block that can be locked by the user once the serial number is set. Once locked, the serial number can’t be altered.
Real-Time Clock (RTC) Operation – a timekeeping device that can be battery or capacitor backed for permanently powered operation. It offers a software calibration feature that provides high accuracy.
Event Counter – offers
the user two battery-backed event counters, which are 16-bit each, cascading to
one 32-bit counter, including a programmable edge detect. This unique counter
can be used to log system intrusions (tamper events) or virtually any other
general-purpose event.
Backup Power - the real-time clock/calendar is intended to be permanently powered. When the primary system power fails, the voltage on the VDD pin will drop. When VDD is less 2.5V the RTC (and event counters) will switch to the backup power supply on VBAK. The backup source can be either a battery or capacitor.
Trickle Charger - facilitates capacitor backup. The VBAK pin can optionally provide a trickle
charge current. Data is nonvolatile so data won’t be lost if the
capacitor fails.
Memory - the processor companion family is provided with choices of 4Kb, 16Kb, 64Kb or 256Kb of nonvolatile FRAM memory. FRAM memory technology replaces system SRAM or nonvolatile memory since it reads and writes at bus speed with no delay and offers unlimited write cycles.
About the 0.35 Micron and IT/IC FRAM Technology
Advances in ferroelectric memory design and manufacturing have enabled commercial FRAM products using 0.35-micron geometries and a more efficient 1T/1C memory architecture. The Processor Companion family represents the first commercial advanced nonvolatile memory product featuring 1T/1C memory cells on one of the most widely used semiconductor process nodes.