Microchip has integrated a dual op amp into its 8-bit PIC microcontrollers. The PIC16F527 and PIC16F570 microcontrollers are designed with on-chip dual op amp module, 8-bit ADC and two comparators. Combining signal conditioning and amplification function, the devices implement a … Continue reading →

Renesas has introduced fast waking 32bit microcontrollers made on low power zero wait state flash process. Called RX111, the devices include USB 2.0 support for host, device, on-the-go (OTG), and battery charging. There are multiple modes to trade off performance … Continue reading →

Europe was the only region in the world to report semi sales growth between January and February. European semiconductor sales were up 1.4% in February compared to January, says WSTS. Overall, European semiconductor sales in February 2013 amounted to US$ … Continue reading →

The third-party tools and software ecosystem is expanding for Atmel’s ARM Cortex-A5-based SAMA5D3 microcontrollers. A5 is ARM’s baby A-series-compatible core, designed as an up-grade from the ARM926 and ARM1176 with better mW/MHz than both, only slightly more chip area than … Continue reading →

Intersil has joined with Renesas Electronics to develop a sensor signal conditioning reference design for thermocouple, pressure and strain gauges. The design incorporates two boards – an Intersil board with analogue front-end chips and a Renesas RL78/G13 microcontroller development board. … Continue reading →

When we look at a video wall system it is interesting to look at what lies behind the display screens — both literally and figuratively. As a rule, video wall systems display high-quality videos and 3D graphics, and require a … Continue reading →

Altera and ARM have developed a development tool for debugging Altera FPGAs which contain hard ARM cores. It will be included in the Altera SoC Embedded Design suite due early next year. “It’s a unique collaboration between ARM and Altera … Continue reading →

Linear Technology’s latest power management IC for low voltage power supplies has eight independent 1A channels with I2C control, sequencing and fault monitoring in a QFN package. Each channel has a synchronous step-down regulator with independent 2.25V to 5.5V input … Continue reading →

  Atmel has introduced a range of touch controllers that integrate motion sensor functionality. The maXTouch controllers incorporate the company’s maXFusion sensor technology which combines inputs from multiple sensors that detect motion, including accelerometers, magnetometers and gyroscopes, to provide real-time … Continue reading →

Texas Instruments has introduced its first differential amplifiers which are programmable for variable gain. The 2.4GHz LMH6881 single-channel and 2.4GHz LMH6882 dual-channel amplifiers have a 6dB to 26dB gain range.  “The programmable gain control in the LMH6881 and LMH6882 eliminates the need for gain-setting resistors … Continue reading →