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February 2015 | Volume 5, Issue 2

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Big Questions for Smart Meters

Embedded World Energy Auxiliary Solutions

A sneak peak at whats Buildings that generate The latest in configurable Your chance to win a 3D
in store at this years their own power using logic that could solve Touch-Pad development
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design
Contents
06 News
The latest developments, including a new ultra-low power MCU
10

08 Market & Trends

Complexity threatens IoT growth

10 Embedded World 2015 Preview

Our sneak peak at whats in store this year

16 The cost of being smart

Theres fragmentation in the smart meter market

22 Wireless charging charges ahead

Can a recent merger help clear the muddy waters?
16

24 Smart grids need to be Streetwise

The lessons that need to be learnt.

28 Building-in Power Generation

Could BIPVs be the future of commercial power?

31 Match Making
The benefits of integrating discrete components in to a single chip

The Logical Option 32

32 How configurable logic could solve a host of design errors

Auxiliary Solutions
34 A round-up of some of the latest essential components

34
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electronicspecifier.com 3
Editors Comment
What will your Thing be?
Were days away from Embedded World 2015, arguably
(and defensibly) the biggest event in the embedded
electronics industry. And this year it is expected to be even
bigger, with more exhibition space taken and a larger
number of visitors anticipated.
Unsurprisingly, the theme for this years event revolves
around the IoT; not for the first time. OK, its becoming a bit
of a recurring theme but thats only because the
expectations for the IoT have now spread far beyond the
embedded domain. So whats your Thing going to be?
The realism is that, for many years, embedded devices
have been connected, albeit in a modest and
understated way, so whats really going to change? The
answer is, in my opinion, the potential for connected
devices to work together more coherently, bringing the
level of control to an entirely new user-base. Of course, Big
design
Data is a part of it, the amount of (potentially valuable) data
that the IoT will generate shouldnt be underestimated as it
will undoubtedly generate a great deal of the revenue that
will be needed to keep the IoT evolving. But what we, as
developers, will get for free will be the ability to introduce
entirely new opportunities for devices that work in a way
never before practical or financially feasible.
Its not without precedence; the Internet supports a host of
so-called Over The Top services that, effectively, nobody
pays for they exist purely because the infrastructure
enables them. The same will be true for the IoT, so now
really is the time to get our thinking caps on and let our
imaginations run wild.
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News
Micro-power from new MCU
A technique known as sub-threshold
switching has been harnessed by
Ambiq Micro to develop a family of
ARM Cortex-M4F based MCUs that
operate at dramatically lower power
levels than its competition, the
company claims.
The patented technology, which Ambiq
calls SPOT (Sub-threshold Power
Optimised Technology) exploits the
relationship between voltage and
current, and keeps transistors
operating in their sub-threshold region.
This results in lower power dissipation
across the platform, which equates to
active power levels of 30A/MHz when
executing from Flash, and average
sleep currents of 100nA. The devices
run at up to 24MHz and are targeted at
emerging IoT applications, which are
likely to be battery-powered, possible
wearable and invariably connected to
one or more sensors.
The company admits that SPOT
probably wouldnt be possible to
implement in MCUs running in the GHz
Cloud-based carer
A cloud-based self-learning algorithm is
at the heart of a new Senior Lifestyle
System developed and launched by
GreenPeak, using a network of ZigBee-
based sensor nodes distributed
throughout a home. The sensors relay
back to a gateway which in turn
connects to the algorithm that features
advanced behaviour patter recognition.
It uses the algorithm to learn the
normal daily activities of the people
being monitored, and raises an alarm
when it detects abnormal behaviour.
The solution doesnt require people to
wear devices, or use cameras, and so
remains unobtrusive, says GreenPeak.
6 electronicspecifier.com
range, but insisted that speeds of
around 24MHz are perfect for the
sweet spot of applications being
targeted. Although the companys
differentiating factor is the dynamic
adaptive technology it has developed
to enable sub-threshold operation, it is
still able to implement more
conventional low-power techniques
such as voltage/frequency scaling,
A quality sensor
An environmental sensor combining
pressure, humidity, temperature and
indoor air quality, based on MEMS
technology, and measuring just 3.0mm
on each side, has been added to the
Bosch Sensortec family. It can detect a
broad range of gases, including Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOC) from paints,
cleaning supplier and even office
equipment.
Bosch Sensortec has positioned the
sensor for the IoT, targeting personalised
weather stations, indoor navigation, fitness
monitoring, home automation and more.
The combination of four sensors is
intended to provide the kind of real world
design
power-gating and autonomous
peripherals. Uniquely, the technology
makes effective use of leakage currents
that other manufacturers try to
minimise, in order to enable SPOT.
Although not officially announced, the
company claims that it would be no
problem to extend the product offering
to include ARMs latest Cortex-M7 core
in the future.
data needed by IoT applications and uses
internal calibration and compensation,
allowing it to detect VOCs in the ppm
range.
The sensor is equipped with both SPI and
I2C interfaces, as well as three power
modes, and proven configuration settings
are available for specific applications, such
as weather logging or indoor navigation.
design News

FPGA for always-on configuration memory and the ability to

The fourth generation of its iCE family,
and the third to be fabricated in a 40nm
process, claims to be the industrys
smallest and lowest power. Targeting
always-on applications in smart devices,
it aims to provide OEMs with a way to
integrate background functions without
employing power-hungry Application
Processors, and thereby extending the
battery lifetime of portable and, in the
future, wearable devices.
The iCE40 UltraLite offers a maximum
of 1248 LUTs and as such is intended
to implement just one function at a time,
but it also integrates its own
be reconfigured on the fly, so can
theoretically be used for a range of
functions. Lattice claims it is 60%
smaller than its nearest competitor, and
55% smaller than the iCE40 Ultra, at
least in its WLCSP option; at just
1.4mm on each side. However, that
option comes with a 0.35mm BGA
pitch, which requires advanced
manufacturing/assembly equipment
that some manufacturers in emerging
markets have yet to invest in. For this
reason, Lattice is also making the iCE40
UltraLite available in BGA package with
a 0.4mm pitch, using the package size
up to 2.5mm.

Debugging made simpler
A patent for a power supply heatsink
construction technique developed and
submitted by TDK- Lambda has been
approved by the UK Intellectual
Property Office. It comprises traditional
surface mounted power components
and lead-based power
semiconductors on a traditional IMS
(insulated metal substrate) board, but
uses double-sided adhesive tape that
is both thermally conductive and
insulating; no mechanical fasteners are
used. The board can subsequently be
soldered to a main circuit board.
BLE for You and Me! well as getting to grips with the key
Future Electronics is running a series elements of the BLE protocol stack.
of workshops to give designers a To register to attend a workshop, visit
chance to get hands-on with Cypress www.futureelectronics.com/en/promo
Semiconductors new PSoC 4 BLE tions/EventsAndSeminars/Pages/inde
solution, which integrates its x.aspx or contact your local Future
configurable mixed-signal platform representative.
with a Bluetooth Low Energy radio.
The workshops are running across
Europe between January and April.
As well as providing tuition and a free
Pioneer kit, attendees will learn about
the constraints and challenges
involved with developing low power
sensor-based systems for the IoT, as

Debugging made simpler can be sent back to the manufacture

A library intended to be embedded
within any Linux code, and
supported by a dedicated database,
has been developed which aims to
make debugging complex software
much simpler, particularly when
reacting to field-based failures.
The solution, called Live Recorder,
has been developed by Undo
Software and, when implemented,
can make a detailed recording of the
runtime codes activity sort of like
a black box for software which
in the event of a failure. The
developers say it means the need to
reproduce failures in a lab, or attend
customer sites, should be minimised
or even obviated.
An Undo Recording provides an
exact copy of the the original
programs execution history, which
can be played or fast-forwarded to
find bugs. It can also be used in-
house as part of the development
cycle, to reveal bugs quicker, says
the developer.
ReB&Boot
A brand change for B&B
Electronics sees the company
changing its name to B+B
SmartWorx and, while still
focused on markets that
demand rugged solutions, is
repositioning itself to address the
needs of the Industrial IoT. It is
also seeking new channel
partners in the form of System
Integrators, to add to its network
of VARs.

electronicspecifier.com 7
Market & Trends
Complexity threatens growth in the IoT
The IoT needs a stronger focus on
customers needs, the customer experience
and the creation of partnerships, leveraging
collaborative business models. By Jon
Carter, UK Head of Business Development
Connected Home, Deutsche Telekom
The connected home is often cited as the most
compelling consumer-facing market in the
domain of the Internet of Things (IoT). While
much of the technology has been at our
disposal for some years, the market has yet to
take off. Questions like does this uplighter
support Zigbee, Z-Wave or Bluetooth? Will the
motion sensors be able to link to my lights and
heating system? are set to become quite
common in our homes, unless we see a change
from the route that the industry is going. I believe
that without simple and compelling propositions,
and a focus on simplifying the technical
integration, much of the growth that the industry
is hoping to see realised, will not materialise.
Admittedly, the connected home is a complex
ecosystem both from a technical and a
commercial perspective. For example,
manufacturers are increasingly confronted by
multiple different communication standards and
protocols. An increasing range of companies
across telecoms, energy, retail, construction and
insurance have started their own initiatives to
explore the markets opportunities. The end
result of all these efforts: a growing set of
connected devices that cant be connected
outside their own segregated silo; further
confusing the market and limiting the value to
the customer. In order to avoid this
fragmentation, we believe a collaborative
approach is needed.
Interoperable platforms constitute the
foundation of a promising connected home
8 electronicspecifier.com
design
strategy. For consumers, they broaden the
choice of products available and greatly simplify
the smooth integration of new connected
devices in their home. For manufacturers and
service providers, such platforms offer APIs,
SDKs, tools and best practices, which reduce
development cycles and lead to a faster time-
to-market.
The industry has already recognised the
importance of a joined-up approach to the
market. Googles Nest recently announced the
inclusion of 15 new partners into its smart home
offer. Apple and Samsung have done likewise.
Deutsche Telekom has also built an open
connected home platform in Germany,
QIVICON, which is utilised by over 30 partners,
including Samsung, Miele, Philips, Osram,
Sonos, and Huawei. Nonetheless, there are still
many segregated solutions and offers in the
market that are too focused on technology. To
drive mass market adoption, we as an industry
need to prioritise the customers needs and
expectations. Offers have to answer clear
customer needs and be more than gimmicks
and gadgets.
I strongly believe that innovative and
collaborative business models will be the key to
success. Mutual collaboration leads to a higher
degree of compatibility across devices and
services, which in turn can create a larger set of
possible cross-connections and enhanced
value for customers. Heating systems interact
with door and window sensors, security
systems and smoke detectors influence
insurance tariffs. Why should I pay extra for my
home insurance, if Ive made sure I have
functioning smoke alarm, when others havent?
Its the connections between previously
separated components, which constitute the
core benefits of a connected home. Here lies
the real value, which can only be unlocked by
mutual collaborations. t
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 Preview
We are the IoT!
In a short while, all eyes in the global embedded electronics industry
will once again be turned towards Nuremberg in Germany, where more
exhibitors and, its expected, more visitors than any previous year will
congregate for three critically important days to learn about the latest
trends and technologies shaping our world.
This year marks the 13th Embedded World
Exhibition & Conference and, according to the
organisers, it is once again set to break its own
record for attendees and exhibitors. The theme
for this years event is simple; We are the
Internet of Things, highlighting the importance of
embedded systems in a connected world.
The conference programme focuses on the key
elements of a networked society; quality, safety
and security. Spanning all three days, highlights
include The McGuire Class on Open-Source Risk
Management, the Ultra-Low Power Workshop,
and the Panel Discussion on Car-2-X
communication. The programme overview
provides further details of all presentation topics.
Meanwhile, we provide here a short preview of
some of the highlights from the exhibition floor,
giving you a taste of things to come!
10 electronicspecifier.com
design
Arrow Electronics (Hall 5, Stand 351) has adopted
a theme of Intelligent Systems and will present
a range of solutions on its stand, as well as its
vision of intelligent systems that sense, connect
and control. Visitors to Arrows stand will be able
to see how its solutions apply to industrial,
automotive and high-end applications. This will
include a range of ARM Cortex-A and Cortex-M
SoCs, FPGAs and module-based products,
along with intelligent power management,
storage and memory solutions.
During the show, Perforce Software (Hall 4, Stand 408)
will be debuting a new product specifically aimed at
the multi-domain simulation and model-based design
environment; Mathworks Simulink. It is intended to
help design and test engineers to cooperate using
models that are both protected and versioned.
design
The Qt Company (Hall 4, Stand 308) will be
showing off the latest release of the cross-
platform application and user-interface
framework; Qt 5.4, at its stand. With this
release, the framework introduces a
Chromium-based browser engine called Qt
WebEngine, which supports HTML5 hybrid
development to provide future-proofing of
web technologies in an embedded application.
Represents from Qt Company will be on hand
to demonstrate other enhancements to the
framework, such as an improved 2D renderer
plugin that allows it to run on low-end devices
that dont have any GPU support.
Improvements to productivity are also
highlighted, thanks to an updated IDE.
As well as highlighting its latest hardware and
software solutions for the IoT, Silicon Labs (Hall
4A, Stand 128) CEO, Tyson Tuttle, will be
delivering the opening day keynote, entitled
Engineering the IoT, An RF Experts View on
Technology Trends and Challenges. In addition
to discussing ultra-low power embedded
wireless platforms, the keynote will also explore
the diversity of wireless technologies including
Conference overview:
Preview
low-power Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Smart, ZigBee and
Thread. Tuttle believes 2015 will be a tipping
point where advances in low-energy design,
wireless protocols, application layer standards
and SoC integration will converge to drive large-
scale deployments across all IoT segments.
Silicon Labs will also be presenting a number of
papers throughout the conference, including
How to Design a Winning Wearable Product
(Thursday, 3:30 - 4:00PM). It will also be giving
away EFM32 Gecko MCU, 8-bit MCU and
Sensor development kits from its stand to
qualifying developers.
Drawing from the strength of its ecosystem,
Xilinx (Hall 1, Stand 209) will be demonstrating a
range of All Programmable solutions for vision
applications, including a simultaneous
localisation and mapping algorithm which is key
to enabling self-parking vehicles. Another
demonstration, currently on display at the
Museum of Mathematics in New York City, will be
available on the stand, which shows how high-
resolution image processing contributes to a
precision positioning system. There will also be a
number of demonstrations focusing on the
electronicspecifier.com 11
 Preview
Smart Factory, and Xilinx will also deliver three
presentations during the conference.
While its product portfolio is broad, Toshiba
Electronics Europe (Hall 5, Stand 268) will be
focusing on solutions for wearable technology
and the IoT at Embedded World 2015,
particularly application processors from its
ApPLite range, which support secure
communication and processing of text, sound,
image and sensor data. In addition, Toshiba will
be demonstrating its recently introduced
Bluetooth-NFC-Tag combo IC, intended to
provide effortless pairing.
A new partnership will be officially announced
during Embedded World between ESL Smart
Solutions (Hall 4, Stand 660) and LPRS, which will
match ESLs cloud-based platform with LPRS
industrial wireless products. To mark the occasion,
LPRS is sponsoring a change to win one of three
EventMan Cloud platforms and one mont
complimentary cloud service package. For a
chance of winning, visit http://goo.gl/3Ck5St. ESL
Smart Solutions was formed as a subsidiary of
ESL, to address cloud-based solutions for M2M
and IoT applications. As a practical demonstration
of the platform, LPRS will have a model starlight in
action, showing the value of live data for alarm
and predictive maintenance purposes.
Under the theme of building the car of the future
12 electronicspecifier.com
design
today, Cadence (Hall 4, Stand 116) will be
demonstrating its solutions for ADAS,
infotainment, ECU design, Automotive Ethernet,
and early software development and verification
of embedded systems. Cadences Frank
Schirmeister will also be presenting a paper on
software quality during the conference
(Wednesday, 11:00 - 11:30).
Following the theme of this years event, Wind
River (Hall 4, Stand 260) Chief Strategy Officer,
Gareth Noyes, will be delivering Thursdays
keynote presentation, entitled Delivering End-to-
End Intelligence for the Internet of Things. It will
describe how end-to-end solutions will bridge
the IT-to-Device gap, and softwares role in that.
The company will also present a number of
papers during the conference looking at security,
particularly in Linux-based systems. The same
theme will be apparent on its stand, with working
demonstrations.
Also aiming to demonstrate expertise in all
things IoT, Rutronik Elektronische
Bauelemente (Hall 1, Stand 310) will be
presenting a number of its embedded
products designed to link internet-capable
machines with industrial devices, as well as
solutions complete solutions for
consumer/lifestyle, health care, home
automation and security systems. Along with
live demonstrations showing how to manage
SIM cards for industrial applications in the
cloud, the first Bluetooth 4.2 chip and
module solutions will be on display, which will
design Preview

be joined by examples of 6LoWPAN

products.

Demonstrating its first COM Express Compact

Size Type 6 module, the cExpress-BL, will be the
highlight for Adlink Technology (Hall 1, Stand 538)
during this years event. The module is based on
the 5th generation Intel Core i7 and i5
processors, and features its Smart Embedded
Management Agent (SEMA) to provide access to
detailed system activities at the device level.
Furthermore, SEMA-equipped devices can
connect seamlessly with Adlinks SEMA Cloud
solution to enable remote monitoring,
autonomous status analysis, custom data
collection and the initiation of appropriate
actions. Adlink will also be showing off its
industrial mobile tablet running Windows 8.1,
and its new embedded IoT gateway; the Matrix Embedded World 2015, with daily live demos on
MXE-200i. its stand, interactive exhibits and the chance to
win prizes. Its theme for the show will be Explore
First time exhibitor, Conrad Business Supplies (Hall the Future and it will feature a mixture of own-
5, Stand 318), intends to make an impact at brand products as well as the latest offerings

BIG IDEAS
IN MIND?
Make them a reality with our technology
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See your big ideas become big successes with Toshiba

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Our products enable the development of valuable and highly

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toshiba.semicon-storage.com/eu/wearables
 Preview
from its suppliers. A wide selection of
development kits will also be on show, inviting
visitors to get hands on with the technology.
One of the prizes on offer will be its own
WunderBar IoT Starter-Kit.
On the PLS Programmierbare Logik & Systeme
stand (Hall 4, Stand 310) the tools company will
be demonstrating the latest release of its
Universal Debug Engine; UDE 4.4, which
features significantly enhanced debugging
procedures for complex SoCs with
heterogeneous controller cores, as well as
dedicated support for a wide range of 32bit
multicore SoCs from a range of manufacturers
including Infineon, Freescale, STMicro, and Xilinx.
According to PLS, this release also heralds an
enhancement to the DWARF standard, which is
freely available for all compiler manufacturers,
which enables branch coverage measurements
on optimised code.
14 electronicspecifier.com
design
With a focus on complete IoT solutions for
Industry 4.0, Unitronic (Hall 5, Stand 354) will be
demonstrating two examples on its stand; one
for Smart Homes and one for Industrial
applications. The companys experts will be on
hand to discuss all the steps necessary in
creating a complete solution, from selecting the
sensors to storing their data on an optimised IT
structure. Individual steps will be illustrated using
sensors to collect data, wireless gateways to
aggregate the data and a server to process it.
The two example solutions on show at the stand
represent Unitronics competence gained from its
many years of experience in sensor technology
and M2M communications, and believes it is in a
position to react quickly to new customer
demands.
Focusing on connectivity and automation, Silica
(Hall 1, Stand 340) will be staging a number of
examples of how to connect different devices
using different methods on its stand. Its an effort
to move beyond the glass case demonstrations
of yesteryear, towards interactivity to deliver
information in a fun and interesting way. The
demonstrations will comprise solutions from
Analog Devices, Freescale, Infineon, Maxim
Integrated, Microchip, NXP, ON Semiconductor,
Renesas, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments
and Xilinx.
One of the interactive demos will deliver pieces of
chocolate to visitors, selected using an NFC tag
or a smartphone app. The demo harnesses
typical industrial processes including motor
control, robotics, machine vision and NFC. At the
heart of the demo is one of Avnet ZedBoards
featuring a Zynq-7000 SoC from Xilinx.
Another demo, from ArchiTech, will allow visitors
 design Preview

Exhibition Floorplan:
Parkhaus Ost
Parking

Fachmesse Exhibition

Fachmesse
Q Hardware, Exhibition
Distribution, Dienstleistungen ServicePartner
Center
Hardware, distribution, services
Q Hardware, Distribution, Dienstleistungen
Hardware, distribution, services
Q Tools, Distribution, Dienstleistungen
Tools, distribution, services
Q Tools, Distribution, Dienstleistungen 12 11 10 8 7 7A
Tools, distribution, services NCC West Franken- S 10 NCC
Mitte 9 S 8/9 VIP
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Q Anwendungs-Software, Distribution, Rotunde
halle
S9
S 6/7
S7
NCC Mitte
Dienstleistungen
Q Anwendungs-Software, Distribution,
S 11
Mitte
NCC
Mitte
S9
6 Ost
Application software, distribution, services
Dienstleistungen Mitte
Eingang
Messepark AusstellerShop
ExhibitorShop
S 5/6 NCC Ost Eingang
Entrance
Entrance
Application software, distribution, services Service-

VIP
Center
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Mitte
S1
5 S4
VIP
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Q M2M Area S 2/3/4 S 3/4

Q M2M Area Ot
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Einfahrt . Access Einfahrt . Access

to order a cup of coffee, while Maxim Integrateds new module aimed at the support of new IEEE
beer mug factory (first seen at electronica last P1687 (IJTAG) compliant devices that are
November) will also be present, which is
ew2015_Plan+Legende_v4_09-04-2014.indd 1
2015_Plan+Legende_v4_09-04-2014.indd 1
currently under development. Devised as an 09.04.14 13:35
09.04.14 13:3

empowered by Maxims Micro PLC platform.
Test and debug tool vendor, JTAG Technologies
(Hall 4, Stand 578), will be presenting
CoreCommander and JTAG Translator for
FPGAs. The former offers direct access to
memory and peripheral controllers in FPGAs, for
testing, debugging and in-system programming
purposes, while the latter in an IP module that
provides a JTAG interface to the internal IP
connection bus of an FPGA, to which peripherals
and peripheral controllers may be connected.
In addition, there will be a demonstration of a
evolutionary extension to the basic IEEE 1149.1
and IEEE 1500 standards, it describes how
embedded (test) instruments within a device or
SoC may be accessed using the conventional
4/5 wire JTAG port.
RS Components (Hall 4, Stand 348) will be
showcasing the latest versions of its design
software packages DesignSpark PCB and
DesignSpark Mechanical, as well as the very
latest Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards and
other open-source platforms. Visitors to the
stand will also see demonstrations of the
distributors 3D printing portfolio.

Altera (Hall 5, Stand 277) will be showcasing

automotive and industrial applications on its
stand, based on its latest SoC solutions. Visitors
will be able to see the latest generation; Arria 10
SoCs, which are manufactured on a 20nm
process, as well as cloud-based PLCs based on
a Cyclone V SoC, demonstrations of security IP,
video processing acceleration, and motor control.

electronicspecifier.com 15
Energy
Metering faces the
costs of being smart
The smart meter market is awash with
different standards and technologies and, as
Steve Rogerson found, there is little sign of
any light at the end of the tunnel
The roll out of smart meters looks set to begin in
earnest for many countries over the next five
years, but the situation is a bit of a mess, with
different countries and even different utilities
within those countries going their own way in
terms of how the meters work and, just as
importantly, the way those meters will
communicate over long and short distances. And
these problems are not going to go away. Given
the high cost of replacing meters, the aim is for
16 electronicspecifier.com
design
the meters to have an installed life of the order of
15 to 20 years. This means at least a couple of
decades are likely to pass before any agreed
standards on smart metering will result in some
sort of unification in the market. This is also going
to find little favour among consumers, who are
used to updating technology every couple of
years. The early takers for smart meter
programmes will be seething five or so years
down the line when they see their neighbours
getting the latest models while they are locked in
to an older model for another 15 years at least.
On top of all that, this disjointed market makes
little financial sense as it is difficult to achieve the
economies of scale that are needed to drive the
costs of the meters down to more acceptable
levels. True, some are getting round this by
allowing more updates via software and
effectively over-designing on the communications
side by giving the meters the ability to work with
different wireless standards. Some are even
going down the software-defined radio route.
There is some standardisation, said Jean-Marc
Darchy, Business Development Manager at
Freescale. But it is still an important political
game. There is still a legacy of all the contributors
to the programmes as regards when and what is
going to happen. Part of the problem is the
differing geographies that make up the countries.
For example, for remote farms and houses in a
rural environment, it might make more
technological sense to have the communications
using existing cellular networks given the
distances involved, but the cellular networks are
notoriously poor in some rural areas, which will
design
mean more investment in base stations. Who is
going to pay for a base station for one or two
farms? asked Olivier Amiot, Marketing Director
at Sierra Wireless.
In urban areas, it may make more sense to use
optical fibre or have local hubs and use a short-
haul communications standard to link them with
homes. Given short-range radio will be used in
many cases within the home, this has its
attractions. But there is not even agreement on
the best way to link the homes in neighbourhood
area networks, with proponents of both mesh
and star topologies.
The advantage of star topology is it is better
suited to battery operated devices, said Jon
Lewis, Operations Director at Senaptic. With a
mesh network, each node has to relay
messages, so that means each node will have
more traffic and its receiver has to be on all the
time. For electricity meters with their own power,
that is not so much an issue, but for battery-
powered meters it is.
There is even a debate on whether it is the meter
itself that connects to this network or whether
the meter connects to a separate device in the
home and through that to the neighbourhood
network. No one solution will fit all the cases,
said Amiot. It will be very difficult to find one
solution. There is nothing that suits everyone.
Energy
Another problem crops up in urban areas for
the short-haul transmissions with the different
types of housings, and blocks of flats are
causing particular headaches. Small houses
are relatively easy to cover, said Lewis. But
blocks of flats can have all their meters in one
room on the ground floor and you have to go
up through several floors to get to the displays
in the flats. One way is to use powerline
technology, but that is more expensive. The
other is to use a sub-gigahertz version of
Zigbee and that is being defined, but flats will
still be the most difficult to cover.
The problems are exasperated because in a
connected home the different meters water,
gas and electricity may also need to
communicate with each other and maybe with a
central hub, which brings with it questions of
interoperability. Each region is picking a different
frequency, said Vivek Mohan, Senior Product
Manager at Silicon Labs. You need true
integration with different vendors meters talking
to each other. This can be quite difficult.
Security
One of the major concerns with smart meters is
security. This comes in two forms. First, there is a
need to protect the meters in the home from
tampering, to make sure people dont work out
ways they can fiddle the meter to reduce their
bills. The second is security on the grid itself, to
electronicspecifier.com 17
Energy
protect against malicious hacking that could
bring down the electricity network.
There are also concerns about the data being
used to learn about the use habits of people,
said Jim Aralis, Chief Technology Officer at
Microsemi. People can see this as an invasion
of privacy, especially if the smart meter is talking
with your appliances in a connected home.
Even though some of these security risks may be
remote, Aralis still believes they need to be taken
seriously: With a meter, the potential of stealing
an operators power is there, he said. But it is
not huge. For the network, you need multiple
levels of security to stop people turning off the
grid or overloading it. You need hardware and
software to stop this.
In home networks, there will also be different
security requirements at different parts of the
network, which will make the communications
trickier. People talk about common security
between, say, a thermostat and the smart
meter, said Mohan. But the security
18 electronicspecifier.com
design
requirements of these devices are less than
what the smart meter needs. It comes down
to what the consumer will pay. They are not
going to pay a lot for a door or window sensor.
If they are too expensive, they will not be
viable. So, do you need the same level of
security in home automation? That is a big
question and people are arguing both sides of
it. I think in five years we will have a common
security protocol for this.
The other problem on the meter side is the
security has to be good for the life of the meter,
which as said could be 15 to 20 years, or maybe
longer. But David Hughes, CEO at HCC
Embedded, believes the security that is available
today is good enough: Very few algorithms have
been cracked in recent years, he said. Most of
the hacks have been down to poor coding
standards rather than the algorithms used.
He said that as long as people used higher
coding standards, there would not be a problem:
The communications side is not a problem as
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the bandwidth is very small, he said. The issue
is to build a secure and clean system. He also
said the meter makers needed to invest in
secure and reliable flash memory so this would
continue working for the life of the meter: Flash
by its nature is quite unstable, he said. We have
done work to make it last a long time. To get the
reliability, you have to invest.
Costs
The main goal coming from governments and
utilities is to bring down the price of smart
meters. The installations themselves are going to
cost a fortune, so any savings that can be made
with the meters will be more than welcome. The
goal for a lot of companies like us is to find an
innovative approach to reduce the cost, said
Freescales Darchy. We are looking at things like
having single chips that will do both the
measurement and communications. Only very
recently, in the last 12 to 18 months, have
standard microcontrollers been developed with
the speeds to handle the stacks in real time.
He said the meter market was getting close to
what happened with mobile in that there would
be software-defined meters: Everything is
running on software, he said, so you can
change this quite quickly with a software update.
Most of the MCUs will be running on ARM cores,
so they will not depend on proprietary DSPs or
20 electronicspecifier.com
design
hardware accelerators. It can be done on a
standard MCU.
Aralis thinks the metering and communications
chips will stay separate for some time, mainly
due to the lack of standardisation: There is no
standardisation on communications, so putting
them together creates too many variables, he
said. But as we standardise this will start to
happen at least on a country level. The
technology is there to put everything on a single
chip and make it more economical; the problem
is standardisation.
Mohan added: When you design these
products, you make them really flexible to
support different requirements and load whatever
software stack is needed. We have a common
hardware platform for whatever software is
loaded. Most semiconductor vendors do not
have the luxury of producing different ICs for
each region. That is an expensive way to do it.
He pointed out that this was really a software-
defined radio approach to let the chips be used
with different networks: This means you can
load Zigbee, Wifi or a Wireless Mbus stack onto
the same hardware.
Amiot believes the answer to the cost problem is
to simplify everything: Technologies such as
LTE are high speed and high bandwidth, he
said, but for this type of M2M application you
need low power and low bandwidth, and that
can drive cost massively down. You can get rid
of all the unnecessary silicon and be more like
the 2G model.
design Energy

The smart meter programme will have the
difficulty of still being in the development phase
as it is rolled out and some of the early adopters
are going to find problems that have not yet been
considered. There will be lessons learned from
the initial installations, said Darchy. There will be
some surprises and difficulties to overcome. No
country is the same and each will have their own
issues. For example, the noise on the networks
will be different because they have been
designed differently.
The key, he said, will be being able to adapt
quickly to these discoveries: We are not just
going to be able to ship something and have it
work in every case, he said. t

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electronicspecifier.com 21
Energy
Wireless charging charges ahead
Will removing division in the industry help
promote wireless charging to greater
heights? Philip Ling takes a look at the latest
developments
Delivering energy wirelessly is attractive for
numerous reasons, but its limitations cant be
ignored; the technology can demand close
proximity with little tolerance for misalignment,
introducing device size limitations, in addition the
amount of power than can be transferred can
preclude its use with more power-hungry devices.
Of course, while well established the technology is
still in its early stages, relatively speaking. Its going
to take some time before inductive power transfer
is as ubiquitous as the humble standard cell
battery or AC/DC adapter. Standardisation can
sometimes be seen as a doubled-edged sword in
emerging markets, particularly where more than
one exists, as is the case with wireless charging; it
can often force component manufacturers to
support all at the same time, inevitably adding cost
and complexity. However, the recently announced
22 electronicspecifier.com
design
merger between two of the standards in questions
Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power
Matters Alliance (PMA), based on magnetic
resonance and inductive coupling respectively
could significantly simplify the landscape. The
organisations have signed a letter of intent to
merge the two bodies by June 2015; described as
key milestone. It is hoped that the merger will
reduce market confusion, presenting fewer
standards (and therefore lower complexity/cost for
manufacturers).
The merger has been proposed as a logical
direction to unify the wireless charging market, but
it still leaves the Wireless Power Consortium and its
Qi standard (based on inductive coupling) as a
prevailing alternative. According to Ron Resnick,
President of the PMA, there is a chance for further
consolidation in the future, he commented: We
remain open to all options for the future.
The popularity of the Qi standard is evident; IDT
recently announced that its wireless power chips
have been designed in to the Cube remote control
from 4MOD Technology, based on the Qi
standard. 4MODs CEO, Laurent Stephan, said:
Wireless charging is an important part of the Cube
user experience, and we wanted to make sure we
got it right. IDTs success in developing wireless
power products for a broad range of applications
made choosing a vendor an easy decision.
We need more power!
The division within the industry and end-market
isnt stopping its pioneers from forging ahead, and
one of the more recent developments is a
significant increase in the amount of power that
can be transferred. Freescale recently announced
a 15W Qi-compliant wireless charging solution
which increases the amount of power that can be
transferred wirelessly by three times. Todays
mobile products offer a broader range of features,
functionality and form factors than ever before,
design
requiring developers of wireless charging systems
to accommodate larger batteries and enable
faster recharge speeds, commented Denis
Cabrol, Director of Global Marketing and Business
Development for Freescales MCU Group.
Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has also
increased the amount of power its solutions can
support, to a 10W version that remains Qi V1.1
compliant. It boost the power output from 5V/1A
to 7-12V/1A. TEE Field Application Engineer,
Marcus Schorpp, explained that the need for
more power was always apparent: Even at the
time when WPC Low Power standardisation
development started, the need for higher power
was already in demand and the need for a
Medium Power standard was emphasised.
The reason is apparent to anyone with a smart
phone; portable devices are becoming more
power-hungry. The capacity of batteries in smart
phones, tablets and other rechargeable battery
powered devices increases steadily, added
Schorpp. Since the acceptable charging time of
a device is a constant, regardless of the battery
size, charging currents need to increase to meet
with consumer expectations.
Bosch Power Tools recently introduced a
wirelessly chargeable battery for their professional
battery powered cordless drills, with the ability to
charge a relatively large battery in a short time. I
strongly believe that we will see more and more
devices on the market that will need t be charged
with much more than 5W; even the automobile
industry is interested in wireless charging hybrid of
full electric vehicles.
Realistic limits
Toshiba recently developed a 7kW wireless power
transfer system for Electric Vehicles, which raises
an interesting question; what limits wireless
charging, the standard or the technology?
Predominantly in the traditional applications of
mobile phones its the size or volume available for
wireless power receiver systems; the coils are the
largest part of that, explained Schorpp. Larger
coils would offer higher charging currents, but
Energy
consumers ask for thinner, more compact phones.
Higher power transfer also requires thicker ferrites
and shielding in the phone, and other power
receiving devices, which is often in conflict with the
consumer demand for smaller devices.
As with most things, the market will ultimately
decide; its not improbable that we experience a
period of cross-over, as Schorpp explained: It
may be a matter of time until the first standard C-
sized or even A, AA or AAA sized rechargeable
batteries will be available with wireless recharging.
It would be nice for the user if they could recharge
those batteries on a wireless power plate that
could also be used to recharge their phone. But
with rechargeable batteries the cost pressure is
very high, and the available product volume is very
limited the volume required for the wireless
charging system would reduce the batteries
capacity quite a bit.
Schorpp pointed out that TEE is a member of
WPC, A4WP and PMA but is currently only mass
producing products compliant with the WPC
standard and believes the A4WP/PMA merger is a
positive move, but added: It remains to be seen
how long it will really take to merge both in to a
single standard and develop products that comply
with both technologies; resonant and inductive
coupling. According to Schorpp, it is also
important to note that the WPC is in the process of
developing a resonant power solution. Ultimately,
the future direction of wireless charging may
depend less on the smart phone and more on
emerging applications. t
electronicspecifier.com 23
Energy
Smart Grids must also be Streetwise
The use of sophisticated information
technology to control nation-wide utility
delivery increases efficiency but introduces
new hazards. There are lessons to be learnt
from those with long experience of testing
such critical infrastructures, according to
David Hill VP EMEA, Spirent
Communications
According to the British governments energy.gov
website, the term Smart grid generally refers to
a class of technology people are using to bring
utility electricity delivery systems into the 21st
century. Its a great idea, but with one major
drawback: the 21st century is becoming a
dangerous place for innocent newcomers
however smart. According to a US Defence
Secretary, attackers are targeting the computer
control systems that operate chemical, electricity
and water plants, and those that guide
transportation throughout the country, a cyber-
attack perpetrated by nation states or violent
extremist groups could be as destructive as the
terrorist attack of 9/11.
The idea of a smart grid is being applied across a
wide range of public utilities, transport and
industrial control systems, but the most obvious
example is electricity, where a national grid
delivers power to homes and business via wires,
substations transformers and switches. This is
largely a one-way transfer, from power station to
the consumer. Meanwhile data from the users
and network infrastructure has traditionally been
gathered by sending out staff to read meters,
and engineers to inspect the system for broken
cables or faults.
A smart grid, however, uses two-way
communication and computer processing to
gather such information. This not only saves
24 electronicspecifier.com
design
money by reducing the need for field staff, it also
allows real-time data gathering that can increase
efficiency. With the move to green energy it
becomes all the more important to respond
quickly to changing consumer demand and
faults, and a smart grid makes that possible.
An electrical grid is fundamental to electricity
delivery, but the use of electrical control grids
extends to a whole range of national services:
transport, water and waste, gas supply and
industrial control systems all rely on instructions
transmitted from a central controller to outlying
switches or traffic signals. And in every case
there will be potential benefits from upgrading
these into two-way smart grids allowing, for
example, the immediate detection of leaks in a
water main.
Vulnerability
What sort of communication is used on a smart
grid? The default option for most computer
communication is Internet Protocol, so that the
smart grid becomes an intranet linking all its
parts. And when it comes to connecting
individual homes and far-flung sites it makes
good sense to connect via the ubiquitous
Internet rather than lay new cables. This is exactly
where the greatest vulnerability can arise
welcome to the 21st century!
In theory a utility smart grid could be totally
independent of the Internet, running on its own
dedicated cabling across the nation. But in
practice it often makes sense to use existing
telecommunication lines rather than laying new
cables, especially to far-flung sites. The same
thing has been happening in business
organisations, where previously independent
systems such as fire and burglar alarms, smoke
detection, and industrial control systems
increasingly run across the same corporate IT
network.
design
But even if an attempt is made to quarantine the
smart grid from the Internet, it is not easy to
maintain that state. Corporate IT networks have
for years been facing the challenge of network
permeability; whereas the earliest networks
consisted of isolated computers linked by cables,
todays networks have to cope with mobile staff
plugging in their laptops anywhere on the
network, also with wireless access from
smartphones and with data transfer via USB
memory sticks.
So, instead of sealing the network from the
Internet, the main focus has been on ways to run
secure services over the Internet. A host of
solutions are available, including firewalls, intruder
detection systems and deep packet inspection
devices to examine all the traffic on a network
and look for anomalies. These forms of
protection are very necessary, especially for a
nations critical infrastructure where so much is at
stake. Dont be fooled by the argument that
public utilities rely on highly customised systems,
with no two alike, so that hacking them would be
impossible without insider knowledge. Hackers
have long known how to get such knowledge.
Specific instances where intruders have
successfully gained access to these control
systems are well documented. We also know
these disruptive influences are seeking to create
advanced tools to attack these systems and
cause panic, destruction, and even the loss of
life. However, as everyone with experience in IT
networks knows, every addition to a network,
however necessary, increases its complexity. And
that makes it harder to predict.
The testing imperative
So the real challenge for any national smart grid
is this: how can we secure a highly complex
system? Unless the engineers managing the grid
have long experience with complex networks
the sort of experience gained over decades by
telecommunications and IT network engineers
it is easy to underestimate this challenge.
Security vendors will assure you that their
products will make the network utterly secure,
and provide good reasons to justify their claims.
Energy
So, consider this thought experiment, imagine
that you have won a prize to be the first civilian to
fly to the moon. Its exciting, but also scary. So
the NASA team spends a whole day showing
you the blueprint of the spacecraft and explaining
all the fail safe and security provisions built in.
That is encouraging, but still pretty scary. Now
imagine that you are also told that the same
space ship has flown hundreds of moon
missions and never once failed. That is far more
reassuring, because we humans do have an
innate sense of complexity and know that,
however smart the design, a complex system
can only be proven by repeated testing.
And that is how it is with todays complex IT
networks: you design in all the safety and security
features that are needed, but you then submit it
to rigorous testing under realistic operating
conditions as well as extreme loads and attack
situations in order to make sure it is secure and
also to allow fine- tuning of the network for
optimal performance.
This sort of testing is critically important for the
sort of smart grids being planned for our national
utility infrastructure. The good news is that there
are companies that have long experience in
testing IT and telecoms networks, and
sophisticated tools are available to facilitate
testing of highly complex networks under real-
world conditions. The first lesson from years of
network testing is that you need two types of
test: Security testing and performance testing.
The need for security testing against attacks and
system faults is obvious, what is less obvious is
that a complex network can develop surprising
problems under varying loads. A telecoms
network, for example, might be able to handle
hundreds of gigabits of data per second during
file transfers and yet fail at a much lower
bandwidth when handling a mix of different types
of traffic e.g. video and voice over IP. So it is
necessary not just to test its greatest data
capacity but also to test how it performs under a
whole range of realistic traffic scenarios and
combinations of traffic.
electronicspecifier.com 25
Energy
Security testing should include three main
stages. First the sort of assessment that
might be provided by those security
vendors: an experienced eye looking over
the existing or planned grid for obvious
weak points or vulnerabilities, and making
sure they are protected.
The second stage is to simulate actual
attacks under real-world operating
conditions. Todays sophisticated test tools
not only simulate all combinations of normal
operating conditions but also combine
these with state-of-the-art malware attacks.
Most relevant to a national grid are the so-
called Denial of Service attacks that could
cut off users from the service and cause
widespread panic. The most advanced test
tools are integrated with a cloud database
that is kept up to date with every new
attack or virus as they occur, rather than
waiting days or weeks for patches to be
distributed.
The third stage is to explore further for
26 electronicspecifier.com
design
unknown vulnerabilities, and todays smart
test solutions have the flexibility to allow
very detailed testing around the boundaries
of normal operation. For example: what
happens when a system requires a long
pass-code to be input and an operator
mistakes a capital O for a zero? Does it
simply report an error, or does the wrong
type of character crash the system? The
best test solutions allow for fuzz testing
testing such variations from normal
behaviour to anticipate problems that might
accidentally arise.
And then we come to performance testing.
Todays networks have to carry many types
of traffic data, video, voice, control signals
etc and a range of different protocols for
each. It is not enough just to know the
maximum bandwidth capacity but also how
the network behaves under a whole
spectrum of different operating conditions.
The right test solution in the hands of an
experienced network test engineer will be
able to test the network to all its limits, and
design
provide clear reports to show where
problems could occur.
The ideal is, of course, to have a grid that
can handle every operating condition and
survive any type of attack or local fault, but
this is hardly realistic. The real value of a
comprehensive network test report is often
that it spells out the systems limits, rather
than saying it is perfect. So, during a crisis,
when a certain type of traffic is surging, the
grid operators know where the danger point
lies and can take precautionary steps
before that point is reached.
What sort of standards exist for the security
of a nations critical infrastructure? In the
USA, the Department of Homeland Security
is working with service providers. But
information sharing alone is not sufficient. It
is essential to work with the business
community, to develop baseline standards
for our most critical private-sector
Energy
infrastructure, including power plants, water
treatment facilities, and gas pipelines.
In Britain, The Centre for the Protection of
National Infrastructure is collaborating with
the British Standards Institution to create
standards addressing a number of critical
concerns such as mail and food and drink
security. The Office of Energy Delivery &
Energy Reliabilitys Energy Delivery Systems
Cybersecurity web page also offers useful
guidelines for securing the grid.
Meanwhile, it makes a lot of sense to speak
to any company that has spent years in the
business of testing the performance and
security of the worlds most critical financial,
government, medical and corporate
networks. Todays utility grids are getting a
lot smarter, but to survive in the 21st
century they also need to be streetwise
and that demands a whole lot of
experience. t
electronicspecifier.com 27
Energy
in pow
g- er ge
ldin n
ui erati
B on
The next step for photovoltaic technology is integrating it directly
into buildings, writes Sally Ward-Foxton
Pictured: A new What if a building could generate its own
BIPV facade at electricity, without the addition of external solar
Hanergy HQ in panels? BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics)
Beijing, China. This is the idea of integrating photovoltaic materials
facade, designed to into the fabric of the building itself, rather than
resemble dragon installing separate solar panels. These systems
scales, generates replace non-active parts of the building, such as
about 20% of the window glass or roof tiles, with modules that can
total energy used by capture energy from the sun.
the building.
BIPV is a different concept to PV in a lot of ways.
In contrast to standard PV solar panels, BIPV
modules are dual-purpose their mechanical
function as a construction material complements
their electrical function. Generating electrical
power from the environment therefore needs to
be considered right at the start of the
architectural process. Another way that standard
PV differs from BIPV is in the technology used.
The most commonly used technology behind
traditional PV panels today is crystalline silicon,
which comes in two flavours: monocrystalline
and multicrystalline. Monocrystalline silicon uses
wafers cut from a single, very large crystal of
silicon, whereas the most common type,
multicrystalline, is slightly less efficient but more
cost effective. In both cases, the crystalline
28 electronicspecifier.com
design
material is doped and a sandwich of n- and p-
type materials is created. This single junction is
covered with a layer of glass to protect it from the
environment. Efficiency for monocrystalline cells
is up to 25%, dropping to a maximum of 20.4%
for multicrystalline, but low light conditions and
high ambient temperatures can negatively affect
performance.
In direct contrast, most BIPV modules use a
second-generation PV technology called thin-film.
In this technique, a photovoltaic material is
deposited onto a glass, plastic or metal substrate,
in a film thats between a few nm to tens of
microns thick. PV materials that are used for thin-
film PV cells include cadmium telluride (CdTe) and
copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS).
Because there is so little material involved, the
cells are thin to the point of transparent,
lightweight and can even be manufactured on
mechanically flexible substrates. Other than the
material and thickness of the layers, cell structure
is similar to crystalline silicon, with n- and p-
doped layers forming a junction protected by an
encapsulation layer, such as glass. R&D in recent
years has brought efficiency up to around 21%,
however, some of the materials and
manufacturing processes are toxic.
design
Crystalline silicon prices have fallen dramatically
in the last few years, so rather than trying to
compete, thin-film solar has begun to focus
more on niche applications like BIPV where the
unique properties of the technology are an
advantage. These attributes (mechanical
flexibility, light weight and transparency) allow the
price differential to be justified in these
applications.
Growing market
According to the latest market research from
market analysts Lux Research, Inc., the total
market for new thin-film products in 2024 is
1.2GW, driven primarily by BIPV. Solar roofing
products have the most traction in BIPV today,
accounting for 425MW (around half the BIPV
market), but facade modules will grow faster,
reaching 407MW in 2024.
A common example of a facade installation of
BIPV is the CIS Tower in Manchester. This 118m
tall building was retrofitted with BIPV panels in
2004 after its original facade deteriorated due to
age. The photovoltaic panels generate around
180,000kWh of energy a year (averaging 20kW),
which is fed into the National Grid. BIPV on a
roof might be exemplified by the installation in
Perpignan SNCF Station in the South of France,
designed by Belgian architects ISSOL. The
Energy
stations roof structure is made of thin-film PV
panels; a no-brainer when you consider that
Perpignan gets 220 days of sunshine every year.
The world leader in thin-film solar technology for
BIPV is Hanergy, which claims its BIPV
components have superior low-light
performance, high temperature resistance,
customisable shapes and colours, stable light
transmittance, and improved malleability over
traditional panels. The company is based in
Beijing, China; as the country industrialises, the
applicable area for BIPV in Chinas urban areas is
expected to reach 1.79 billion square metres in
the next five years, with an estimated electricity
generation of 61.5 billion kWh. According to
Hanergy, if BIPV can fill all these square metres, it
will lead to the reduction in carbon dioxide
emissions of 52 million tons, equivalent to
planting 2.9 billion trees or offsetting the exhaust
emissions of 16 million cars.
Hanergy recently completed the first phase of a
project to cover its Beijing HQ in BIPV modules
that look like dragon scales, with a generation
capacity of 600kW, which is 20% of the
electricity demand of the building. These thin-film
PV scales have different shapes, colours and
light transmittance rates, maximising visual
impact. When complete, the installation capacity
Figure 1: Heliateks
organic PV devices
use a tandem cell,
which allows
absorption of a
broad spectrum,
thanks to the two
different materials.
electronicspecifier.com 29
Energy design
will equal the energy demand of the building create domes that are energy self-sufficient by
(3MW), using BIPV in curtain-walls, skywalks, 2016. They plan to extend the PV material to
flexible roof installations and a carport. cover a quarter of the available surface and add
an energy storage and control system.
A special type of organic thin-film photovoltaic
material has been developed by Heliatek in Also expected to be up and running in the near
Dresden, Germany. This material uses future is the EU-sponsored SmartFlex project,
oligomers (small molecules), building on the which involves the building of a production line
success of oligomers in the OLED industry. for PV facade modules in Vilinus, Lithuania. Since
The company claims its materials are higher architects often find that their BIPV designs for
efficiency and longer lifetime than PV materials facade elements are either technically impossible
based on printed polymers (long molecules). or too expensive to be implemented, the project
Heliateks world record is just 12% efficiency includes specially-created design software used
for its solar cells, but the company says its to design BIPV modules in a variety of shapes
organic materials perform better in low light and colours, with the data sent directly to the
and at high temperatures than crystalline production line.
silicon and thin-film PV.
Initiatives like the SmartFlex project are making
Heliatek devices use tandem cells (two cells BIPV easier for architects to specify, while the
stacked on top of each other). The cells use development of new PV materials by companies
different materials which absorb at different like Heliatek is pushing the science forward.
wavelengths, making it possible to absorb Someday all built structures may be able to
energy from a broad spectrum using devices as produce their own electricity, but in the mean
thin as 500nm. A recent test application of time, BIPV projects are providing significant
Heliateks technology placed its organic solar amounts of renewable energy for consumers,
cells on the PVC membrane of an airdome in offices and industries. t
Berlin. These domes are used for sport, events
or emergency accommodation but they are
notoriously energy-hungry, requiring big fans.
This test project used 2m x 2m squares for a
A Paranet air- total coverage of 50m2, and produced 1.4kWp
dome with
Heliatek organic (peak) of energy, which is 5% of the energy
PV film integrated
into the demand of the dome. Heliatek, along with
membrane. In this the domes manufacturer,
test installation,
the green areas Paranet, expect to
provide 5% of the
energy required be able to
to sustain the
dome.

30 electronicspecifier.com
design
Match Making
There can be little debate about the benefits of
the miniaturisation of electronics devices and
their ever-increasing functions, but they can give
designers headaches; when marketing
departments freeze the form factor and
specifications of the end-device, designers and
pc-board layout experts must deal with it, making
their jobs a balancing act. Once the core ICs
have been selected and placed on the board,
they must design basic, but essential, circuits for
impedance matching, ESD protection, line
termination, and filtering.
Traditionally achieved with discrete devices, new
integrated solutions offer significant space
savings compared to standard-size components
like 0402, 0201 or even 01005 Surface Mount
Packages (SMD). The right trade-off between
flexibility and overall space savings is critical.
Benefiting from their accrued in-depth application
knowledge, semiconductor companies have
developed products for many design cases that
dont compromise performance or board space.
This space saving, won by integrating discrete
components into a single chip, is the result of
three factors. First, when integrating separate
components on a die, semiconductor engineers
can use a single bandgap to cover the complete
die. Second, mounting a component on a pc-
board leaves a gap called pitch between
nearby packages to evacuate solder excess,
avoiding the tombstoning phenomenon or other
common assembly defects. Third,
interconnecting discrete components on a board
devours millimetres of metal lines and space-
consuming vias, while semiconductor engineers
can interconnect the discrete components on
silicon die with micrometers of metal lines. These
tiny interconnections created by the
semiconductor process contribute to decreasing
Auxiliary Solutions
the overall space needed and
drastically reduce the undesired
parasitic effects of the metal lines
(parasitic resistor, inductor and
capacitor). Designers working on
EMI rejection know a low-parasitic
solution is crucial to avoiding
multiple design and layout iterations
and matching the specified pattern.
Integrating passive and active
components in a single package
additionally benefits the tolerance
range due to semiconductor
process control. Matching components
processed on the same die from the same wafer
is far easier than matching discrete components
manufactured separately. For instance, ESD
protection on differential high-speed lines (HDMI,
USB 3.0 ), matching the capacitance of the
differential lines is far easier to achieve when
using dual-line ESD protection (single package)
than two single-line ESD protection devices (two
separate packages from different lots). The use of
integrated passive and active devices simplifies
simulations and reduces the parameters involved
in corner-lot analysis. By replacing discrete
components with an off-the-shelf solution,
designers accelerate time-to-market with an
improved form factor and better performance.
As an example, STMicroelectronics ECMF02-
3HSM6 Common-Mode Filter embedding ESD
protection or BAL-SPI-01D3 - outsmarting
ultra-miniature balun, which integrates matching
network and harmonics filter enables 50% to
80% space saving on the pc-board and perfectly
matches integrated components. Liberating the
constraints on pc-board size, these devices
speed up time-to-market and reduce both BOM
count and the cost of assembly. t
electronicspecifier.com 31
Auxiliary Solutions
The Logical Option
Congurable ICs delivering multiple logic
functions from the same device can save
space, reduce logistics and qualification
costs. by Michael Lyons, NXP
Semiconductors
Configurable logic - also known as multi-function
logic - is a type of logic that can be configured to
deliver one of several different logic functions from
the same device. Two such devices can be
combined in a single package, resulting in improved
flexibility, reduced space, lower system cost,
improved inventory management, and fewer
qualification expenses during development.
Configurable logic is different from programmable
logic. With configurable logic, the function is not
achieved through programming. Instead, the
configuration of input pins connected to either of the
supply pins via the PCB layout determines the
particular logic function that will be provided. Neither
is configurable logic the same as combination logic.
Combination logic is one package with two or more
functions that can operate on their own or in
combination. By contrast, configurable logic is a
Figure 1: Some of single package that can be configured to perform
the logic func- nine or more different operations.
tions possible
with the PCB- An example of configurable logic is NXPs
configured logic 74AUP1G57 which can perform any of several
device standard functions including AND, NAND, OR,
32 electronicspecifier.com
design
NOR, XNOR, inverter, or buffer. It can also perform
non-standard combinations, such as a NAND gate
with one input inverted. The pin configuration
determines which logic function the device
performs, so the same device can be used to
perform multiple functions in a system. This makes it
possible to replace several discrete logic solutions
with a single device. The 74AUP1G57 is a single
configurable logic gate. Eight patterns of 3-bit input
determine the state of each output. All inputs can be
connected directly to VCC or GND. Figure 1 shows
some of the different standard and non-standard
configurations possible. Non-standard functions,
such as a 2-input NAND with one input inverted,
combine gates with inverters. This functionality can
be achieved in two ways, either with inputs B and C
or inputs C and A. NXP now also offers configurable
logic in dual formats. The innovative 74AUP2G57
integrates two 1G57 functions into a single 10-pin
package. This integration allows the configuration of
many different combinations of logic gates.
Dual configurable logic can be configured to
perform the same functions as combination logic,
and then some. For example, the 74AUP2G57 is
essentially the same as adding 49 combination logic
devices to the portfolio. If we include the dual-layout
options available with the non-standard functions,
the total is equivalent to 81 combination logic
products. All configurable logic products have
integrated Schmitt- trigger inputs as standard.
Schmitt-trigger inputs have hysteresis built into the
design Auxiliary Solutions

switching threshold which allows the interface to
slowly changing analogue signals without risk of
false triggering or oscillation.
Inventory management
A primary benefit of configurable logic is the number
of Boolean functions it represents. In just about any
development effort, the inclusion of control logic
generally occurs near the end of the project. Only
after the key chip set decisions have been made
does it become clear which glue-logic functions are
required. In the past, to avoid delays in obtaining
samples of the correct function, a supply of all
standard functions must be maintained. With
configurable logic, one device represents several
standard and non- standard functions. Therefore,
the number of different devices required in stock can
be greatly reduced. The same approach can be
taken to reduce the total number of items on a bill of
materials, simplifying manufacturing logistics. It can
also be extended to component qualification: if
several functions are all configured from a single
device, only one component requires qualification.
Saving power is one of the major concerns facing
design engineers today. Designers are also looking to
increase performance, by adding features like
graphical user interfaces, wireless connectivity, and
longer battery life. NXPs configurable logic is available
in the low-voltage CMOS (LVC) family, the advanced
ultra-low-power (AUP) family, and in the advanced,
extremely low-voltage and power (AXP) family. The
LVC family has a wide supply voltage range of 1.65 V
to 5.5 V. It is fully specified at supply nodes of 5.0, 3.3,
2.5, and down to 1.8 V. For power-sensitive
applications, the AUP family has a supply range of
1.1 V to 3.6 V. It is fully specified at supply nodes of
3.3, 2.5, 1.8, 1.5, and down to 1.2 V. For further
power savings, the AXP family has a supply range of
0.7 V to 2.75 V. It is fully specified at supply nodes of
2.5, 1.8, 1.5, 1.2, and down to 0.8 V.
Single-gate AUP and AXP
configurable logic have
a maximum static
current
dissipation of
0.9 A and
0.6 A
respectively.
They have
dynamic power-
dissipation
performance (CPD),
of 3.1 pF and 2.9 pF
respectively. These ratings show that AUP and AXP
are the lowest-power logic solutions in the industry.
Advanced packaging
Another concern is reduced footprint, especially
for mobile and portable designs. Configurable
logic is available in a 10-pin TSSOP package, as
well as in smaller footprint, leadless 10-pin XSON
and XQFN packages. The XSON10 represents
an 89 % footprint reduction compared to the
leaded TSSOP10. This footprint reduction
increases flexibility in space-constrained layouts.
It also allows the use of smaller PCBs and the
potential cost reductions they enable.
By realising multiple functions within a single
package, configurable logic increases design
flexibility, reduces inventory cost, and enables
faster qualification in end-user applications. Now,
with NXPs new dual PCB configurable logic
devices - single-package solutions each
containing two configurable logic devices -
engineers have an even greater degree of
freedom when it comes to finding a low-cost
way to use glue logic in a design. t

The Dual PCB Configurable Logic product line is the centrepiece in a design contest featuring products from
NXP Business Units, including Logic, Smart Analog, Load Switches, Protection and Filtering, Small Signal
Mosfets, Small Signal Diodes, and more. The Dual PCB Configurable Logic Contest will be this years entry
in the 2015 Big I.D.E.A. (International Design Engineering Award) sponsored by NXP and Mouser. The con-
test launched worldwide in January 2015 with huge cash and merchandise awards for the most creative design
using all the NXP products together in one application solution. The contest entails engineers navigating from
the sign-up process, through an on-line schematic tool, to working with a demo board in the final submission.
Prizes are awarded at every stage of the contest, so more engineers can qualify, regardless of how far they
progress in the contest. www.thebigidea2015.com

electronicspecifier.com 33
Auxiliary Solutions design
A pre-charge relay aimed
specifically at heavy-load
battery powered systems,
such as electric and hybrid
vehicles, has been developed
by Omron. It aims to reduce
very high inrush currents
typically experienced on start-
up, it achieves this by
switching on briefly to charge
the capacitors in the
controller and inverter circuits
through a current-limiting
resistor.

The G9EJ supports up to 25A

at 400VDC and features a
proprietary contact driving
system, as well as high
efficiency magnetics intended to limit arcs. will form part of Omrons portfolio of power
Omron claims the device is also one of the relays targeting electric vehicles, which switch
smallest of its type, measuring 30mm by the in the full motor circuit once the pre-
27mm by 31mm and weighing around 50g. It charge phase is complete.

supports customer-
specific contact variants.

Contacts are able to carry

up to 60A, or 55A in the
low-profile version, while
offering a resistance as
low as 0.7m for high-
conductivity contacts.
Contacts intended for
signals can carry 3A,
while creepage and
clearance regulations can
be accommodated
through blank module
options. Termination
options include board-to-
board, board-to-cable,
cable-to-cable and panel
mount and, in addition, a
Component supplier, Astute Electronics, has wide variety of accessories is available including
announced the availability of Postironics ventilation slots in the connector housing, integral
Scorpion modular signal power connector family, blind mate and locking systems, as well as float
which are formed using modular tooling which and panel mount clips.

34 electronicspecifier.com
design
A new series of medium power film
capacitors from AVX, the FLA Series, has
been designed specifically for AC filtering in
power converters, UPS systems, and solar
and wind inverters. They feature self-healing
properties and an internal overpressure
disconnector. They also exhibit high ripple
current and extremely high dielectric strength
in operating temperatures spanning -40 to
+80C. Unlike aluminium capacitors, the
polypropylene capacitors do not have a
catastrophic failure mode; as film capacitors
they simple experience a parametric loss of
capacitance of around 5% but continue to
operate.
Auxiliary Solutions
Targeting mobile and consumer devices,
Cypress Semiconductor has introduced
what it believes is the industrys
smallest USB 3.0 Hub Controller;
measuring just 6mm x 6mm. The EZ-
USB HX3 can be configured via I2C
eeprom or slave, or via GPIO, allowing
developed to configure the PHY drive
strength, number of downstream ports,
power switch polarity, LED indicators
and more. It also offers a ghost
charging mode for charging devices
without a host, as well as supporting
the USB-IF Battery Charging V1.2
specification. Its also the first
SuperSpeed USB hub controller to offer
an Accessory Charger Adaptor Dock
(ACA-Dock) feature, says Cypress.
Two new high power PIN diode switches from
Macom targeting RF, microwave and millimetre
wave applications operating over the 50MHz to
1GHz frequency range offer high Continuos
Wave and pulsed power operation. The
common-anode configuration of the MASW-
011040 and -011041, which should appeal to
developers of land mobile radio, are
manufactured using Macoms hybrid
manufacturing process and offer high linearity,
broadband performance and low loss, according
to the company.
Their high level of integration should also deliver
savings in the order of 80% in terms of space, as
well as what are described as significant cost
benefits at the BOM level.
electronicspecifier.com 35
Auxiliary Solutions
Getting power to a board can always be a
challenge, so developers might be interested to
learn that Molex has increased its range of wire-
to-board connectors with the Nano-fit and
Ultra-Fit families. They address size and current
density, and pitch and row spacing, to deliver
more power per linear and square millimetre than
36 electronicspecifier.com
design
The new Han M Plus range of
connectors from Harting incorporates
effective protection against extreme
environmental influences, through the
use of an additional polyurethane
coating which not only increases its
impact resistance but also protects it
from extreme mechanical and
chemical influences.
Harting believes this makes the
connector ideal for transportation,
maritime and mining applications, as
well as for use in the petrochemical
industry.
The coating will protect the connector
from rock chips, icing, salt mist, UV
radiation, industrial exhaust gases,
oils and fuels, says Harting.
competitive products, says Molex. Nano-Fit
connectors offer a 2.5mm pitch rated at up to
4.0A; an effective PCB space saving of 69%,
while the Ultra-Fit mix a 3.5mm pitch with 12.0A
rated current; equal to a 20% saving. Both
families use the companys Micro-Fit, Mini-Fit and
Mega-Fit connector systems.
design Auxiliary Solutions

Four new ultra-small photo relays

have been designed by Toshiba to
deal with the high frequency and high
voltage signals used in devices such
as semiconductor testers, medical
devices and probe cards. Comprised
of a photo MOSFET optically coupled
with an infrared LED, the entire
solution has been squeezed in to a
VSON 4 package. As an alternative
to mechanical relays, photo relays
offer unique benefits but their appeal
means developers now need smaller
solutions, according to Toshiba. With
these latest devices, it believes its
customers can expect to see a 50%
reduction in assembly area and 60%
reduction in assembly volume.

The latest single-chip HDMI signal

conditioning and protection ICs from
STMicroelectronics have been designed
specifically for 4K ultra-HD data rates.
With integrated pull-up resistors and
ESD protection, it offers an increased
bandwidth of 10GHz, while a 10V
clamping voltage and 30ns response
time help prevent unwanted transients
from damaging the HDMI chips
themselves. ST says the integrated
solution can save as much as 80% of
the board space used by alternative
approaches using discrete components,
and its packaging has been optimised
for use in single- or two-layer PCBs.

A new range of low-profile gas discharge tube (GDT) surge

arrestors intended to protect small devices from potentially
harmful current spikes is now being stocked and distributed
by Mouser. Able to switch from very high resistance (over
1G) to a virtually short-circuit in as little as 20s in a disc-
like profile measuring 8mm in diameter and just 1.6mm thick
should make the Bourns 215 Series of devices applicable to
a range of new and emerging end-products. A GDT
operates by ionising the gas inside when a current spike
greater than its sparkover value is experienced across its
terminals. The range is available with sparkover values of
90V, 150V, 230V and 350V.

electronicspecifier.com 37