Category Archives: Newsworthy

Importance of Edge Sensor Data

The industrial setup is seeing a significant increase in the amount of autonomous machinery with Industry 4.0. Not only are these machines providing human-like thinking capabilities, they are also revolutionizing the industry with their utmost precision and efficiency of operation. Edge sensors are an integral part of the industrial automation ecosystem. The edge sensors collect surrounding and environmental signals, sending them to edge data centers for monitoring and control of various parameters that affect operations. These sensors generate vast amounts of data that require monitoring for the identification of patterns while extracting important insights for further optimization.

With AI or Artificial Intelligence, ML or Machine Learning, and BDA or Big Data Analysis forming the base of Industry 4.0, the industry is treating data as the new gold. These tools process the data generated by edge sensors for efficiently managing and analyzing extensive processes. Enterprises use these tools to obtain insights into the working of processes, for recognizing patterns and looking for events associated with the industrial operation. The analysis helps with the further creation of algorithms that help in the optimization of machines and monitoring devices.

However, large computational power is necessary for processing the data that the sensors produce. The industry resorts to cloud computing, as data processing with the symbiotic support of the cloud, reduces the necessary investments. But this comes at the cost of higher bandwidth requirements and increased latency. On the other hand, applications like computational healthcare and self-driving cars require a faster response. Edge computing easily fills such gaps.

For the computation of data and remote monitoring, the Internet of Things happens to be a complete ecosystem of supporting devices and connected sensors. The cloud processes the enormous amounts of data the system generates. The cloud is simply huge data centers working round the clock, handling extensive amounts of data while being in connection with the internet.

The location of most of these data centers is in remote areas, as they need massive areas of land and cheap power to operate. This increases the bandwidth requirement and latency. Engineers are trying to solve this issue by placing smaller data centers close to the edge sensors, actuators, motors, etc.

Industries also use IoT to share data through unified analytic platforms. Industries usually deploy similar kinds of machinery, but use them in varied conditions of environments and load conditions. This generates various types of data, which when industries share them, can help build a robust ecosystem.

Companies can optimize their products based on shared local consumer data. This optimization can be in the hardware or in the software. Industries frequently conduct software optimization through the internet, while hardware optimization involves generating newer editions of the product. Collecting user data typically involves privacy and security issues. With edge computing, proper handling of local and distributed storage of data can help prevent huge tech giants from accumulating large amounts of private data. However, this makes data more prone to attacks from cyber-crooks.

Engineers typically collect and process the data collected from the edge sensors near the sensor itself. Sometimes, they transfer the data to centralized data centers or localized edge data centers for adding value.

What are Low-Power Reflective Displays

The next-generation display technology is coming up with high-resolution reflective displays. These displays come with motion image capability along with a broad color capability. The reflective displays substantially reduce power consumption, allowing the realization of newer display applications, such as digital textbooks and smartwatches.

E-book applications have been widely using EPD or electrophoretic displays for the past few years. EPDs are low-power displays that form images by the electronic rearrangement of charged pigment particles. However, EPDs are of relatively low reflectivity, as their optical diffusion is essentially Lambertian. Avoiding further reduction in display reflectivity, therefore, requires using narrow color gamut filters, which impacts the display properties negatively.

The use of reflective color liquid crystal displays overcomes this issue of EPDs. Reflective LCDs use a diffusion film and a mirror electrode to diffuse light in its direction of travel. The design of the display system requires a suppression of the chromaticity of the optical components. This establishes a method of controlling the optical diffusion of the reflected light. The net result is a display with high reflectivity and a wide color gamut. This arrangement makes the display optically similar to the white paper.

Sharp makes this low-power, high-resolution reflective display with the technical name IGZO. They offer full color with high-resolution displays, and because of their reflective nature, they are sunlight readable. In fact, their exceptionally high resolution makes them comparable in performance to TFT displays.

Sharp uses unprecedented circuit thinning and transistor miniaturization, leading to a high electron mobility rate. Their design raises the light transmission of each pixel, thereby achieving nearly twice the resolution typically offered by a display of the same transmittance.

IGZO displays achieve power consumption reduction to the order of one-fifth to one-tenth that of conventional displays. This helps to preserve a longer product battery life. Sharp achieves improved pixel performance in their IGZO displays by utilizing a Pause Driving Method that capitalizes on high OFF resistance.

The trend in the electronics industry is towards increasingly thinner and lighter finished products. The IGZO reflective technology meets this demand exceedingly well. This makes IGZO displays ideal for handheld battery-powered products that need full-color, high-resolution displays that perform well in bright outdoor environments. Additionally, the elimination of the backlight opens up the design to a whole new world of possibilities.

The Sharp IGZO reflective displays offer several advantages. The major advantage is they do not require a backlight as they work in a reflective mode, resulting in ultra-low power consumption. The reflective electrode structure results in the displays offering high outdoor readability, with full-color moving images in high contrast. A special design effort from Sharp has resulted in these displays being thin and lightweight. The slim, low-power reflective design enables product design to be made compact.

The IGZO displays support a wide operating temperature range, extending from -20 C to +70 C. Corresponding storage temperatures extend from -30 C to +80 C.

The higher electron mobility of IGZO displays is about 20-50 times faster than those of amorphous silicon displays. This enables them to perform at higher resolution at the same or lower power consumption, as compared to amorphous silicon displays.

What is the Pyroelectric Effect?

With the electronic industry trending more toward automated devices, their safety and reliability are assuming the utmost importance. Pyroelectric sensors help to make these devices work properly, by indicating changes that require specific types of reactions. Many types of ceramic materials can absorb infrared rays and generate an electrical signal in response.

Certain crystalline materials demonstrate Pyroelectricity. These materials, which are electrically polarized, demonstrate a change in their polarization when they undergo a change in temperature. The change in polarization of the crystal material generates a temporary but detectable voltage across it. Different materials exhibit differences in pyroelectric coefficients that show their sensitivity to temperature.

Infrared radiation heats pyroelectric ceramic crystals to generate a detectable voltage. It is possible to detect the infrared rays the object is generating by using passive infrared sensors. The sensor can detect the wavelengths that the pyroelectric ceramic crystal absorbed when it is in position between the hot object and the sensor. Pyroelectricity has several applications.

Motion Sensors—Typically, there are two types of infrared motion sensors, active and passive. Active infrared sensors have a long range of operation, and the emitter and sensor can be far apart. A garage door safety sensor is a good example of an active sensor. Anything blocking the infrared beam across the opening of the garage door generates a signal to prevent the garage door from moving.

Passive infrared sensors can also detect motion by sensing infrared radiation or heat direct from a source. Such sensors can detect the presence, or absence, of an object emitting heat, such as a human body.

Pyroelectric motion sensors can be surface-mount devices and are highly sensitive. Manufacturers offer them in single-pixel configuration or as a 2×2 pixel configuration, allowing users to determine the direction of the motion it has detected. The sensors have a high dynamic range and a fast response time that ensures rapid and accurate motion detection.

Gas Sensors—Infrared pyroelectric sensors can detect and monitor gases. In fact, this is one of their most popular applications. The sensors operate by directing infrared radiation from an emitter through a sample of the gas. The detector senses if a certain IR wavelength is present on the other side. If the sensor does not detect that wavelength, it means the gas that absorbs this wavelength is present in the sample. Optical IR filters allow fine-tuning the sensor to a specific wavelength, thereby permitting only the desired wavelength to pass through to the sensing element.

Pyroelectric gas sensors are available in small SMD packages and most have a digital I2C output, although analog outputs are also available. The sensor consumes very low power but offers high sensitivity and extremely fast response times.

Food Sensors—Similar to gas sensors, infrared pyroelectric food sensors can detect food-related substances like sugar, lactose, or fat. These are typically general IR spectroscopy sensors for monitoring commercial, medical, or industrial substances or processes.

Flame Sensors—With pyroelectric elements, it is easy to construct sensors for detecting flames. As flames are strong, flame sensors, apart from detecting the presence of the flame, can also discriminate the source of the flame. Typically, they compare three specific IR wavelengths and their interrelated ratios. This allows them to detect flames with a high degree of accuracy.

Types of EV Connectivity

Technologies related to EVs or electric vehicles are undergoing enormous research and development efforts with the ultimate aim of achieving widespread EV adoption. Although at present, extending the driving range is occupying much of the direction of this effort, future benefits will ultimately extend beyond progressive battery and charging technologies.

For instance, for future EVs, there are exciting value propositions like the number of different connectivity technologies they will be featuring. This is the V2X or vehicle-to-everything connectivity that includes in-use technology like V2G or vehicle-to-grid, V2N or vehicle-to-network connectivity, and the emerging technology like V2V or vehicle-to-vehicle, which engineers expect will change the future working of EVs.

The recent production of EVs includes V2G or vehicle-to-grid connectivity. This refers to the EV’s ability to allow electricity to flow bidirectionally from the vehicle to the grid and back. The concept is that the batteries in the EV, being relatively large, can not only act as energy storage for the vehicle but also as energy storage for the grid and as V2H, energy storage for the home.

V2G, therefore, relies on a power electronics technology, bidirectional charging. Such an EV requires a versatile power conversion and control circuit, allowing conversion between the AC of the grid and the DC of the battery. There are innumerable benefits of V2G for both the vehicle owner and the grid.

The owner can use the EV not only as a vehicle but also as a backup generator for home use in case of a disaster like a blackout. The vehicle owner can offset their cost by selling excess energy in their EV to the grid.

For the infrastructure of the grid, V2G technology can supplement the grid stress when the demand is at its peak. During low demands, or when the energy generation is higher, the grid can recharge the EV.

V2N is another type of EV connectivity, and it refers to the ability of the vehicle to connect to the Internet and communicate with anything else on the network. This mostly refers to the vehicle connecting to the internal network and cloud service of its manufacturer. This allows the manufacturer to closely monitor the vehicle, update it dynamically, and thereby, ensure maximum performance.

Companies use V2N connectivity for extracting information related to performance from their vehicles. They gather metrics such as battery charge cycles, energy throughput, and range. With such feedback information from all vehicles connected to the V2N network, EV manufacturers conduct statistical analysis for understanding the real-time operating conditions of their vehicles and improve their performance. V2N-connected vehicles can also receive necessary updates for their software and firmware for introducing performance improvements.

However, V2V connectivity will bring the biggest impact of all these, although, currently it is far from being a reality. This connectivity is the interconnection of all connected vehicles on the road. V2V allows all vehicles to wirelessly communicate between themselves, information like position, speed, road conditions, and other important driving information. V2V-enabled vehicles can also share real-time road and traffic condition information for achieving the optimal path to their destination.

3D Printed PCBs

The world over, electronics manufacturers are facing difficulty with supply disruption. Those struggling with circuit board production are trying out a new and innovative method for solving their problems. They are using 3D printers for making printed circuit boards. Not only are these boards faster to make as compared with traditional production methods, but they are also more versatile. Moreover, this method provides significant cost savings, and it can produce more complex circuits also.

The biggest advantage of 3D printed PCBs is that manufacturers can control their circuit board supply. They can eliminate disruptions from shipping slowdowns, plant shutdowns, or other geopolitical maneuverings. All these have been stretching circuit board supply chains to their breaking point while leaving manufacturers to look for alternatives frantically.

At present, this technology is in its nascent stages and requires more R&D to scale it to large-scale production levels. However, manufacturers are finding 3D printing of producing printed circuit boards in-house a viable alternative for validating iterations and gaining practical intuition that would take a long time by outsourcing fabrication. This is especially helpful in rapid prototyping, small-scale production, and making unique electronic products.

Manufacturers have been making rapid advancements in this technology. They have successfully disrupted traditional methods of PCB manufacturing, thereby accelerating the speed to market for their newer products. For instance, Optomec, a 3D printer manufacturer, claims its semiconductor solution has helped increase 5G signals by 100%.

Whereas traditional methods of fabricating PCBs can take days or weeks to produce, 3D printers can do the job within 30 hours. Another significant factor is design freedom, as compared to the traditional rectangular board, 3D printers can create more complex shapes, including flexible boards, boards with honeycomb structures, and even boards with three-dimensional structures. For some applications, it is possible to use a common desktop printer with conductive filaments.

There are two ways to fabricate printed circuit boards with 3D printers. The first method uses conductive materials to print the circuitry directly. The other makes circuit boards with hollow channels that the user fills with conductive materials.

3D printers construct the printed circuit board entirely through additive manufacturing. This is different from the traditional methods of etching or CNC milling that remove unwanted material to retain conductive traces.

Most 3D printers are capable of handling conductive printing materials. These 3D PCB printers actually lay down a path of conducting material to form the circuitry. These materials may be inks or filaments with conductive particles infused in them. The conductive material may be graphite, copper, or silver. It is also possible to spray these materials as an aerosol-laden stream.

Commercial 3D PCB printers can also use inks as an option. These are similar to 2D printers, and deposit droplets of insulating and conductive inks to build the circuitry. While some printers are capable of printing the entire board including the substrate, others need a prefabricated substrate board. The former can fabricate complex, multi-layered circuit boards that contain embedded components like LEDs, resistors, and inductors. One example of such a 3D printed board is a 10-layer high-performance structure with components on both sides.

RF MEMS Switches for 5G Networks

For high-power RF designs like 5G networks, Menlo Micro has added an RF MEMS switch that contains an integrated driver circuit for a charge pump. The RF MEMS switch operates from DC to 6 GHz.

The new RF switch from Menlo Micro is one of a family of SP4T or single-pole/four-throw, DC-t0-6 GHz switch, and is meant for 5G infrastructure, measurement, and testing equipment involving high-power RF switching applications. Menlo Micro is using its own Ideal Switch technology for the high integration MM5140 SP4T switch. The technology gives the new switch power handling capability up to 25 W, an ultra-low insertion loss, and the highest linearity in the industry. The MM5140 SP4T switch easily outperforms all types of traditional solid-state switches and electromechanical relays.

The MM5140 SP4T switch performs RF operations at high power levels over a wide temperature range of -40 °C to +85 °C, delivering superb linearity from DC to 6 GHz. 5G RF applications demand significant reductions in distortion, which the switch’s IP3 of 95 dBm provides conveniently.

Menlo Micro has custom designed a built-in high-voltage charge pump or driver circuit and integrated it into the LGA package of the MM5140 SP4T switch. The charge pump circuit has both GPIO and SPI digital interfaces so that any test system or host processor can keep control over it.

Although the new module has the existing MM5130 at heart, it also has the CMOS charge pump driver ASIC, driver circuitry, and other peripheral passive components in its 5.2 X 4.2 mm package.

As the MM5140 SP4T switch is a single-pole four-throw device, the voltage must route over to each of the four gate lines. This requires the presence of either a MOSFET drive circuit or a dedicated multiplexer IC. Along with the integrated charge pump and the driver circuitry, the MM5140 SP4T switch saves board area and bill of materials.

The integrated passive components include a large capacitor that the charge pump requires for handling the high voltage that drives the MEMS. This helps reduce the BOM for passive components.

The difference between the MM5130 and the MM5140 is their operational speed. The MM5130 is a design meant to operate at higher frequencies, such as the microwave band. The design of the MM5140 is meant for a sub-6 GHz application. The MM5140 comes in an LGA package rather than the WLCSP of MM5130. That makes it easier for customers to design their boards, as the LGA package has a bigger pitch.

Moreover, Menlo Micro has eliminated some external components for the MM5140 design reduces its complexity. This helps in simplifying RF front-end development including receivers and transmitters, beamforming antennas, and RF filters. These are necessary for radar systems and advanced radio architectures.

5G base stations typically use RF/microwave solid-state switches and RF electromagnetic relays that the MM5140 SP4T switch can replace. The replacement offers significant improvements over the competing technologies, especially in the integrated capability, BOM count reduction, and real-estate savings on the board. Moreover, the MM5140 SP4T switch exhibits far better reliability over the other competing technologies.

Wi-Fi 5.0 to Wi-Fi 7.0

Both on smartphones and in living rooms, the audio & video streaming revolution is producing an insatiable demand for speed and bandwidth. To satisfy this demand, in the early 2010s, we had the Wi-Fi 5. However, this lasted only for a decade or so, because by then, consumers had bidirectional video applications such as Webex, WhatsApp, and other social media uploads like TikTok. These had begun to alter not only the consumer landscape but also that of the enterprise.

That led to the catapulting of Wi-Fi 6 to the arena for better management of the huge traffic of streamlining wireless transmissions. This was followed by Wi-Fi 6E which literally extended the benefits of its predecessor with the availability of the 6 GHz band. The pandemic of Covid-19 in 2020 was the moment for Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, as is evident from the 1+ billion chips of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E that Broadcom shipped in the past three years.

And still, the demand for higher bandwidth and speed continues only to increase. A recent study has shown that consumer spending on games has increased by 40%. This involves not only devices operating at higher speed, but also the use of newer technology like AR or augmented reality and VR or virtual reaility headsets as new gaming devices. While these devices demand unprecedented levels of immersion while playing, they also call for deterministic and reliable wireless data.

So, we are now moving towards Wi-Fi 7. It has the ability to incorporate 320-MHz channels into the 6 GHz band and employ the 4096-QAM modulation technique, thereby effectively doubling the channel bandwidth. Additionally, it employs better technologies for lowering latency and bolstering determinism. These include AFC or automatic frequency coordination and MLO or multi-link operation.

Wi-Fi 7 comes with spectrum flexibility spanning three bands. However, the critical role is played by the incorporation of 320 MHz channels into the 6GHz band for doubling the speed. For boosting the coverage and the overall network performance, there is the 4096-QAM technique that plays a crucial role.

Wi-Fi 7 can rapidly aggregate channels in congested, high-density networks. This is due to its MLO or multi-link operation that significantly improves its deterministic performance. By rapidly switching traffic among several channels, Wi-Fi 7 can drive greater capacity, thereby facilitating commercial-grade QoS or quality of service in its networks.

Another technology that Wi-Fi 7 utilizes is AFC or automatic frequency coordination. This technique allocates optimum spectrum, thereby enabling high-power access points and extending the 6 GHz range outdoors and indoors. According to Broadcom, its Wi-Fi 7 designs with AFC are capable of 63 times greater transmitting power. This helps not only to extend the range but also the coverage of the 6 GHz band in use.

Therefore, with its immense focus on speed, latency, and determinism, Wi-Fi 7 has entered our lives and is here to stay. According to the forecast of industry technology analysts, revenue from Wi-Fi 7 will supersede that from any other Wi-Fi technology so far in the next five years.

What are Stacked 3D ICs?

Just like any big city, electronics is evolving with great rapidity, such that both are running out of open space. The net result is a growth in the vertical direction. For a city, vertical growth promises more apartments, office space, and people per square mile. For electronics, there is the slowing of Moore’s law and the adoption of new advanced technology. That means chip developers cannot increase density and speed from shrinking processes and smaller transistors. Although they can increase the die capacity, this suffers from longer signal delays that reduce yield. That limits the expansion in X-Y directions, which means the only option remaining is building upwards.

Among the many established forms of vertical integration, there are 2.5D ICs, flip-chip technology, inter-die connectivity with wire bonding, and stacked packages. However, all these suffer from constraints that limit their value. Three-dimensional integrated circuits or 3-D ICs offer the highest density and speed.

Three-dimensional ICs are monolithic 3-D SoCs built on multiple active silicon layers. These layers use vertical interconnections between the different layers. So far, this is an emerging technology and has not been widely deployed. Furthermore, there are stacked 3-D ICs with multiple dies that manufacturers have stacked, aligned, and bonded into a single package. They use TSVs or through silicon vias, and a hybrid bonding technique to complete the inter-die communication. Stacked 3-D ICs are now commercially available, offering an option for larger dies or migration to leading-edge nodes that are very expensive.

Stacked 3-D ICs offer an ideal option for applications requiring more transistors in a given footprint. For instance, a mobile SoC requires high transistor densities but has limits on its footprint and height. Another example is cache memory chips. Manufacturers usually stack them on top of or below the processor to increase their bandwidth. This makes stacked 3-D ICs a natural choice for applications that are on the limits of a single die.

Vertical stacking offers a smaller footprint with faster interconnections compared to multiple packaged chips. Rather than a single large die, splitting it into several smaller dies provides a better yield. For the manufacturer, there is flexibility in stacking heterogeneous dies, as they can intermix various manufacturing processes and nodes. Moreover, it is possible to reuse existing chips without redesigning them or incorporating them into a single die. This offers a substantial reduction in risk and cost.

Although there are numerous benefits and opportunities from the use of stacked 3-D ICs, they also introduce new challenges. The architecture of 3-D silicone systems needs a more holistic approach, taking into account the third dimension. It is not sufficient to think of 3-D ICs only in terms of 2-D chips stacked on top of each other. Although it is necessary to optimize power, performance, and area in the familiar three-way approach,  the optimization must be in every cubic millimeter rather than in every square millimeter. All tradeoff decisions must take into account the vertical dimension also. This requires making the tradeoffs across all design stages, including IP, architecture, chip packaging, implementation, and system analysis.

The Battery of the Future — Sodium Ion

Currently, Lithium-ion batteries rule the roost. However, there are several disadvantages to this technology. The first is that Lithium is not an abundant material. Compared to this, Sodium is one of the most abundantly available materials on the earth, therefore it is cheap. That makes it the most prime promising candidate for new battery technology. So far, however, the limited performance of Sodium-ion batteries has not allowed them a large-scale integration into the industry.

PNNL, or the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, of the Department of Energy, is about to turn the tides in favor of Sodium-ion technology. They are in the process of developing a Sodium-ion battery that has excelled in laboratory tests for extended longevity. By ingeniously changing the ingredients of the liquid core of the battery, they have been able to overcome the performance issues that have plagued this technology so far. They have described their findings in the journal Nature Energy, and it is a promising recipe for a battery type that may one day replace Lithium-ion.

According to the lead author of the team at PNNL, they have shown in principle that Sodium-ion battery technology can be long-lasting and environmentally friendly. And all this is due to the use of the right salt for the electrolyte.

Batteries require an electrolyte that helps in keeping the energy flowing. By dissolving salts in a solvent, the electrolyte forms charged ions that flow between the two electrodes. As time passes, the charged ions and electrochemical reactions helping to keep the energy flowing get slower, and the battery is unable to recharge anymore. In the present Sodium-ion battery technologies, this process was happening much faster than in Lithium-ion batteries of similar construction.

A battery loses its ability to charge itself through repeated cycles of charging and discharging. The new battery technology developed by PNNL can hold its ability to be charged far longer than the present Sodium-ion batteries can.

The team at PNNL approached the problem by first removing the liquid solution and the salt solution in it and replacing it with a new electrolyte recipe. Laboratory tests proved the design to be durable, being able to hold up to 90 percent of its cell capacity even after 300 cycles of charges and discharges. This is significantly higher than the present chemistry of Sodium-ion batteries available today.

The present chemistry of the Sodium-ion batteries causes the dissolution of the protective film on the anode or the negative electrode over time. The film allows Sodium ions to pass through while preserving the life of the battery, and therefore, quite significantly critical. The PNNL technology protects this film by stabilizing it. Additionally, the new electrolyte places an ultra-thin protective layer on the cathode or positive electrode, thereby helping to further contribute to the stability of the entire unit.

The new electrolyte that PNNL has developed for the Sodium-ion batteries is a natural fire-extinguishing solution. It also remains non-changing with temperature excursions, making the battery operable at high temperatures. The key to this feature is the ultra-thin protection layer the electrolyte forms on the anode. Once formed, the thin layer remains a durable cover, allowing the long cycle life of the battery.

SD-Card Level Translator with Smaller Footprint

Interfacing SD-Cards with their host computers almost always requires a voltage-level translator. This is because most of these memory cards operate at signal levels between 1.7 and 3.6 VDC, while their hosts operate with nominal supply levels varying from 1.1 to 1.95 VDC. Until now, bidirectional level translators for SD 3.0 memory cards were WLCSP devices with 20 bumps or solder balls. The new translator for SD 3.0 memory cards, from Nexperia, is a WLCSP device with 16 bumps. Its footprint is 40% smaller than the 20-bump types. The new device, NXS0506UP, supports multiple data and clock transfer rates for signaling levels that the SD 3.0 standard specifies. Moreover, this includes the SDR104 mode for ultra-high speeds.

While shifting the voltage levels between the memory card and the I/O lines of the host device, the new translator operates at clock frequencies of up to 208 MHz and handles data rates up to 104 Mbps. To automatically detect whether data and control signals should move from the host to the memory card (card write mode) or from the memory card to the host (card read mode), the device uses its integrated auto-directional control.

Apart from the auto-directional control, Nexperia has substantially reduced the BOM cost of their NXS0506UP device by integrating the pull-up and pull-down resistors. These resistors are essential in establishing the voltage levels at the chip IO lines, and discrete resistors push up the BOM cost. In addition, the input/output driver stages of the device have inbuilt EMI filters that help to reduce interference. Moreover, Nexperia has provided robust ESD protection, according to the IEC 61000-4-2 standard, on all the side pins of the memory card. While the 16-bump WLCSP has a physical measurement of just 1.45 x 1.45 x 0.45 mm, its operating temperature ranges from -40 °C to +85 °C.

The NXS0506UP SD card voltage level translator is useful for consumer devices like automotive systems, medical devices, notebook PCs, digital cameras, and smartphones. The SD 3.0 standard compatible level translator is a bidirectional dual supply device with auto-direction control. Nexperia has designed the card for interfacing cards operating from 1.7 to 3.6 VDC levels to hosts with a nominal supply voltage between 1.1 to 1.95 VDC. Apart from the SD 3.0 standard, the device also supports the SDR12, SDR25, DDR50, SDR50, SDR104, and the SD 2.0 standards at default speeds of 25 MHz and high speeds of 50 MHz. The device offers built-in protection from ESD and EMI conforming to the IEC 61000-4-2, level 4 standard.

There are several benefits to using the NXS0506UP SD card voltage level translator. The primary benefit is it supports a maximum clock rate of 208 MHz. It translates voltage levels for default and high-speed modes. It has auto-direction sensing for data and controls. The power consumption is low, while the device integrates pull-up and pull-down resistors. The integrated EMI filter suppresses higher harmonics at digital IOs. Buffers at the IO lines help to keep ESD stresses away with the zero-clamping concept. The 16-bump WLCSP package offers a pitch of 0.35 mm.