An eye on tomorrow: electronica 2012 preview

Smart energy solutions will be one of the main themes of this year's event. With global transition to alternative energy sources and the expansion of power grids, electronica 2012 will showcase technical solutions for intelligently supplying power in the future. Leading executives will discuss this topic at the ceo roundtable, with a focus on 'Semiconductor Solutions for Smart Grid Challenges'. This year's event will also feature the PCB Marketplace. Alongside a diverse lecture programme, visitors will be able to discuss issues relating to pcbs, other circuit carriers and electronics manufacturing services. Meanwhile, the embedded platforms conference will take place on November 14 and 15. More than 130 events will take place during the four days of electronic 2012, giving visitors the opportunity to find out today what will matter tomorrow. Visit www.electronica.de/en for more information and to register in advance. ON Semi expands its presence ON Semiconductor is expanding its presence at electronica this year, outfitting its stand with live demonstrations and technical information designed to highlight its latest product innovations. The company will spotlight power management and energy saving solutions for end markets in automotive, consumer white goods, healthcare, smart grid, industrial, communications, led lighting, and renewable energies. Live technical demonstrations will include: Inverter panels, remote displays, KNX bus communication, dimmable leds, tleds, infotainment power delivery, touch screens, noise cancellation and proximity sensors. On Semiconductor: visit www.onsemi.com Stand A5.225 New energy harvesting technologies Visitors to Avnet Memec's stand will be presented with new technologies to support energy harvesting and renewable energy applications. Solutions will be presented for Near Field Communication (NFC), wind and solar energy and energy harvesting applications. These include dedicated power management ics from Maxim as well as a complete system for charging and protecting micropower storage cells. Silicon Labs digital isolator solutions will also be featured, which are said to offer power consumption and reliability unachievable with optocouplers. Avnet Memec: visit www.avnet-memec.eu Stand A5.476 Next gen cellular networks Maxim will present a portfolio of highly integrated analogue and mixed signal components as well as system solutions at electronica 2012. Visitors can learn more about the company's recently announced heterogeneous network (HetNet) solutions that it claims are essential for next generation base station equipment. The solutions include single chip multiband radio transceivers, broadband gain blocks, direct rf synthesis DACs, and intelligent, digital, point of load controllers. "Maxim is in a unique position. We are leveraging our experience in ic integration to deliver disruptive high performance technologies and differentiated solutions for a successful HetNet rollout," commented Vickram Vathulya, md of Maxim's Communications Solutions Group. Maxim: visit www.maxim-ic.com Stand A6.163 Multicore developments XMOS will use electronica 2012 to showcase new developments in its XCORE multicore microcontroller family. Demonstrations at the show will include docking solutions for current and next generation smartphones and reference platforms for audio video bridging (avb) and usb audio. The company also plans a number of product announcements that will be revealed closer to the show. "We're bringing multicore technology into the mainstream," said Nigel Toon, president and ceo of XMOS. "Our XCORE devices are the perfect solution for engineers who are frustrated by the limitations of traditional microcontrollers. With deterministic real time performance, unmatched flexibility, and outstanding ease of use, our solutions excel where others fail." XMOS: visit www.xmos.com Stand A4.242 Unprecedented graphics Visitors to embedded computer module provider congatec's stand will see the new conga-TFS module with AMD embedded R-Series apu. The company says the device expands the COM Express standard and combines power efficient x86 processing, unprecedented integrated graphics and high performance parallel processing support. "We expect AMD Embedded R-Series apus to be a great addition to our computer on module family which will be ideally suited for demanding graphics applications that require lower power consumption," said Gerhard Edi, congatec ceo. congatec: visit www.congatec.com Stand A6.306 Integrated design environments Altium will showcase its Altium Designer software at electronica 2012 along with the online platform AltiumLive, which together are said to provide a wide range of benefits for the development of innovative products. "Altium Designer lets us provide a unified tool to our customers, allowing them to implement out of the box solutions in those areas and let them achieve their goals more successfully," said Frank Krämer, Altium's technical marketing director EMEA. Altium Subscription will provide customers with continuous software and content updates for an innovative software delivery model, while Altium Vault technology will offer smart data management. Altium: visit www.altium.com Stand A1.659 Solutions for vertical markets Arrow Electronics will be dedicating its electronica presence to solutions for vertical technology markets as well as service offerings that it says cover every stage of the product lifecycle. Arrow's electronica team have in depth experience in the automotive, led lighting, aerospace/defence, industrial automation, smart energy and power solutions markets. In addition, leading suppliers of semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components and connectors will join Arrow to highlight their offerings during the show. Arrow Electronics: visit www.arroweurope.com Stand A4.225 Power management International Rectifier engineering and sales staff will demonstrate the company's latest energy saving and high power density enabling technologies and products. The IR booth will feature power management solutions for a wide range of applications including demonstrations of the newest automotive and motor control products and GaN based power device platform, GaNpowIR. Also on show will be IR's latest ics for lighting and ac/dc switch mode power supplies, CHiL digital controllers and SupIRBuck integrated voltage regulators for dc/dc applications, alongside benchmark mosfets and igbts. International Rectifier: visit www.irf.com Stand A5.320 Simplifying solutions Analog Devices (ADI) plans to unveil a range of simplified solutions and technologies designed for precision control, measurement and monitoring in industrial and instrumentation, healthcare, and automotive applications at electronica 2012. The company will host a series of demonstrations at its stand designed to showcase its latest signal processing technologies, products and designs. In the healthcare demonstrations, ADI will unveil a low power vital sign measurement platform that incorporates the AD8232 heart rate monitoring analogue front end (AFE), ADXL362 motion sensor and low energy Bluetooth interface for body worn healthcare and fitness applications. Analog Devices: visit www.analog.com Stand A4.159 Expanding the power budget Visitors to the Linear Technology stand will have the opportunity to see the recently released LT4275 LTPoE++, PoE+ and PoE-compliant PD interface controller designed for applications which require up to 90W of delivered power. Unlike PD controllers that integrate the power mosfet, the LT4275 controls an external mosfet to drastically reduce overall PD heat dissipation and maximize power efficienc. This approach allows users to size the mosfet to their application's specific heating and efficiency requirements, enabling the use of low RDS(ON) 30mohm mosfets if necessary. Linear Technology: visit www.linear.com Stand A4.538 Targeting space constrained applications Visitors to Vicor's stand will see the new Westcor MicroPAC power factor corrected ac/dc power system, which is said to provide up to 1300W of continuous power at up to 92% efficiency. Offering semi regulated output voltages of 12, 24, 36 and 48VDC via four factory configurable isolated outputs, the MicroPACs are suitable for distributed power architectures in industrial and automation, MIL-COTS, telecom and renewable energy applications. Vicor: visit www.vicorpower.com Stand A6.560