ICs & Semiconductors

Diodes Incorporated has introduced what it is claiming to be the smallest programmable omnipolar Hall effect switch.  The AH1892 has been designed for proximity and position detection in space-constrained portable and battery-powered products, including tablets, smart phones and camcorders. 

OmniVision Technologies, a developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, has announced the OV16820 and OV16825, two 16-megapixel CameraChip sensors that can support 16-megapixel burst photography and can capture 4K2K video, or Quad Full High Definition (QFHD), at 60 frames per second (FPS).

Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced a successive-approximation-register (SAR) analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) with a downloadable TINA-TI SPICE model, enabling system designers to simulate and characterise the full analogue signal chain in software for the first time.

CommAgility has launched the AMC-V6L, a competitively-priced FPGA processing module. The new board provides high performance in an AdvancedMC form factor, and an extensive set of high speed I/O for maximum flexibility in interfacing. The module has been designed for a wide range of applications including wireless, general-purpose FPGA acceleration and I/O processing.

CVRx, a developer of proprietary active implantable technology to treat high blood pressure, is using On Semiconductor’s technology and manufacturing services. CVRx recently launched the Barostim neo – the company’s second-generation implantable anti-hypertensive barostimulation device – in Europe.

HiSilicon has licensed a range of  ARM Mali Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), including the market-leading Mali-400 MP GPU and the latest high-performance Mali-T658 GPU. The new licenses will increase the scalability of the GPU performance points that HiSilicon will be able to offer manufacturers of mobile, consumer and home devices. HiSilicon has also licensed the latest ARM Cortex processor technology for use in next-generation devices.

Plessey Semiconductor is launching a new version, the PS25203, of its EPIC sensor technology which is specifically aimed at the automotive market. This device has a lower gain and higher input impedance making it suitable for certain types of contactless ECG measurement such as driver fatigue monitoring or seat occupancy. The EPIC sensor is a completely new area of sensor technology and works by measuring tiny changes in an electric field in a similar way to a magnetometer detecting changes in a magnetic field even at a distance.

Silicon Laboratories has introduced what it is describing as a customer-friendly microcontroller (MCU) die sales program, accelerating time to market and giving customers another option for small-footprint designs.

Samsung Electronics is producing the industry’s first four gigabit (Gb), low power double-data-rate 2 (LPDDR2) memory using 20 nanometer (nm) class technology. The mobile DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chip, which went into mass production last month, will help the market to deliver advanced devices that are faster, lighter and provide longer battery life than today"s mobile devices.

Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced a low-power, FPD-Link serializer that delivers what it claims to be the industry’s highest screen resolution while extending battery life in tablet computers, ebooks, laptops and portable display monitors.