Archive : 9 March 2015 год

Bosch Sensortec has launched MEMS sensors with an integrated DSP. The devices, designed for use in Android based phones – are said to provide a low power solution to motion sensing and data processing.

"In modern smartphones, sensors are a key component and are often switched on all or most of the time for motion sensitive applications," said chief executive Dr Stefan Finkbeiner. "By handling all sensor data processing, these new devices can make a substantial difference to overall battery life."

The BHI160 and BHA250 both offer identical functionality except that the BHI160 integrates a six axis inertial measurement unit, consisting of a three axis gyroscope and a three axis accelerometer. The BHA250 omits the gyroscope, making it smaller and lower cost.

The Fuser Core is a 32bit MCU optimised for the execution of sensor fusion and activity recognition algorithms with ultra low power consumption. It is said to use 'significantly less power' than standard MCUs, with Bosch claiming a power saving of up to 95% compared to Cortex-M0 based devices and up to 90% compared to those based on the Cortex-M4.

The BHI160 comes in a 3 x 3 x 0.95mm LGA package, while the BHA250 is provided in a 2.2 x 2.2 x 0.95 LGA. Both parts are pin and footprint compatible with Bosch's sensor only variants.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Researchers at Arizona State University are exploring a new energy storage technology that could give lithium-ion batteries a longer life cycle. Led by Professor Dan Buttry, the work also involves University of Colorado at Boulder, Sandia National Laboratories, Boulder Ionics and Seoul National University.

Prof Buttry is focusing the work on room temperature ionic liquids, whose properties inclue high thermal stability, a wide electrochemical window and low vapour pressure. By combining a silicon electrode architecture with a room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte containing the bis-fluorosulfonylamide anion, the researchers have demonstrated an energy dense lithium-ion cell which maintains a capacity of more than 75% capacity over 500 charge/discharge cycles with almost perfect current efficiency.

According to Prof Buttry. "One of the key features of successful lithium battery materials is that they develop thin films that protect the surface of the battery electrodes, which prolongs the life of the battery. This study documents the development of just such a film in a new type of battery formulation that has many more attractive features than existing commercial lithium batteries. The hope is that this new formulation will find its way into commercial use."

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

MEMS microphone specialist Akustica has added two robust analogue devices to its portfolio. The AKU151 is a top port device boasting a high SNR and high acoustic performance density (SNR/mm3). Meanwhile, the AKU350 has a bottom port configuration and an SNR of 67dB. According to the company, both devices take advantage of its MEMS, ASIC and package expertise.

The AKU151 has a volume of 5.4mm3 and an SNR of 65dB. This, says Akustica, is almost twice the acoustic performance density (SNR/mm3) of any other top port MEMS microphone. Consuming 60µA during standard operation, the part is said to be suited to applications such as wearables.

Meanwhile, the AKU350 is of metal lid construction and offers sensitivity matching of ±1dB. Occupying a volume of 9.1mm³, the AKU350 is targeted at smartphone manufacturers who use multiple microphones with noise cancellation algorithms.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk