Electronics Automation

RoHS-compliant versions of IRC resistor products include the LR family of thick film current sense resistors and the PFC Series of thin film precision resistors.
Providing customers with product options in response to the impending RoHS compliance deadline, TT electronics IRC Advanced Film Division has developed RoHS-compliant versions of their resistor products, including its LR family of thick film current sense resistors and its PFC Series thin film precision resistors. The company will also continue to produce the tin-lead terminations of the majority of their products based on continuing customer demand, especially in military electronic systems, which are exempt from the RoHS compliance regulations. 'While many component manufacturers are converting all their products to be RoHS-compliant, some customers still require tin-lead terminations for specific applications', said Steve Wade, Director of Sales and Marketing for IRC's Advanced Film Division.

'By offering our products in both tin-lead terminations and RoHS-compliant versions, we are providing our customers with more flexibility in their applications'.

IRC's datasheets indicate that the majority of its products have a RoHS-compliant version available, with specific ordering instructions for the tin-lead terminations.

IRC engineers are developing lead-free versions of the few products that are not currently available.

Coupled inductors for nonisolated step-down DC/DC voltage regulators bring a faster transient response, lower ripple current per phase and increased system efficiency.
Pulse has introduced the industry's first family of coupled inductors for nonisolated step-down DC/DC voltage regulators. These bring a faster transient response, lower ripple current per phase and increased system efficiency. Pulse's multiphase coupled inductors are developed and manufactured under a license agreement with Volterra to support Volterra's VT1165M and VT1115M chipsets which implement its patented coupled inductor topology.

This innovative inductor solution provides a highly efficient voltage regulation system with low system cost.

Pulse's PA131xNL is a family of off-the-shelf, surface-mount, RoHS-compliant inductors, with two, three, four or five phases magnetically coupled together in a single part.

Each phase has an equivalent transient inductance (Lk) of 50nH and a magnetising inductance (Lm) greater than 250nH.

Each phase is rated for 40A and has a maximum direct current resistance (DCR) of 0.5mohm.

These parts can accommodate a 5A current imbalance between phases, ensuring they will operate well in less-than-ideal conditions.

'The Pulse PA131xNL family, when used with Volterra's chipsets, provides lower current ripple per phase, improved transient response, and higher efficiency', said Michael Arkin, Pulse Power Division Product Line Manager.

'Their lower transient inductance compared with traditional solutions reduces cost because fewer bulk capacitors are required to support high-transient-load applications such as high-performance central processing units and graphical processing units used in personal computers, workstations, and servers, DC/DC power for gaming consoles, video cards, and DDR SDRAM (double datarate synchronous DRAM) memory'.

In a noncoupled multiphase DC/DC convertor, each phase has an independent inductor.

To improve transient response, the value of this inductor must be reduced.

However, this reduction causes an increase in current ripple per phase and a decrease in efficiency.

With a coupled inductor topology, all of the inductors are integrated on the same magnetic core and the interaction of the magnetic fields from each phase enables the use of a lower equivalent inductance for faster transient response without increasing the current ripple per phase.

The reduction in ripple current in a coupled inductor topology compared with a noncoupled solution is approximately 50% for a two-phase system, 66% for three-phase, 73% for four-phase, and 77% for a five-phase system.

The Pulse PA131xNL family package dimensions and footprint match Volterra's requirements to enable second sourcing for the inductors while maintaining a low profile and small footprint.

The sizes of the inductors are: PA1312NL - 18.3 x 9.0 x 5.2mm, PA1313NL - 27.3 x 9.0 x 5.2mm, PA1314NL - 36.6 x 9.0 x 5.2mm, and PA1315NL - 42.7 x 9.0 x 5.2mm.

These products are in production with samples available for approved Volterra customers using the Volterra chipset.

The inductors are available packaged in tape and reel and in trays.

GSPK Circuits has officially launched its new subsidiary company Ampohm Wound Products.
GSPK Circuits has officially launched its new subsidiary company Ampohm Wound Products. Based in Treburley, Cornwall, Ampohm Wound Products has been created out of the assets of Ampohm (Capacitors) which ceased trading in January 2006. Having taken over the technology, GSPK Circuits has already got the new company in full operation from its business premises on Treburley Industrial Estate - and it intends to focus its efforts on developing vital skills and expertise within this region.

Ampohm Wound Products is set to continue the manufacture and development of Ampohm's specialist range of standard and custom made capacitors and interference suppressors for industrial, audio and automotive markets.

This strategic move dovetails with GSPK Circuits' specialist printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing capabilities and the company's expertise in the sale and distribution of PCBs will enhance Ampohm's performance and drive it into new markets.

Steve Lloyd, Managing Director of GSPK Circuits and Ampohm Wound Products said: 'This is a very exciting new venture for GSPK Circuits'.

Metal element current sense chip resistors with power ratings up to 8W feature a size of only 6.4 x 12.8 x 2.5mm.
Providing design engineers with more watts in a smaller footprint, TT electronics BI Technologies SMT Division has developed a series of metal element current sense chip resistors with power ratings up to 8W with a temperature rating of 175C. Designated the BCS8 Series, the surface mount devices feature a size of only 6.4 x 12.8 x 2.5mm. According to Jim Rieley, Sales Director for BI Technologies' SMT Division, the BCS8 Series surface mount resistor power rating is unique among current sense resistors.

'Most flat current sense components are rated for a maximum of 3-4W under ideal conditions', Rieley explained.

'With its 8W power rating and TCRs as low as 30ppm/C, the BCS8 Series resistors deliver excellent performance, making them ideal for a variety of applications, many of which could not otherwise have been served with a surface mount component'.

The resistor is constructed using a low-resistance, low-inductance, high-impulse proprietary metal element that gives the device its extended power and temperature ratings.

'The devices are suitable for all current sense applications, including over current detection in battery chargers, servomotor control circuits, and DC/DC, DC/AC and intelligent power modules', Rieley continued.

Additional applications for the current detect chip resistors include industrial PC modules (IPM) and precision measurement systems, as well as current detection circuits in high-speed CPU peripherals.

The devices can also be manufactured to custom length/width for use as a current shunt.

The current detect chip resistors have a rating current of 90A (at 1mW), a maximum current of 126A (2.5s, one time), and a series inductance of 5nH.

Resistance range for the BCS8 Series resistors is 0.5 to 5mohm in tolerances as low as +/-1.0%.

Typical TCR is +/-50ppm/C, with +/-30ppm/C devices available.

Operating temperature range is -55 to +175C, and the hot spot temperature of the device at 8W applied power is 175C.

Special considerations when mounting the BCS8 Series devices include a 10-20C recommended increase in reflow solder temperature.

BI Technologies will also produce devices outside these specifications to meet customer requirements, with comprehensive application engineering and design support available for customers worldwide.

Maxwell Technologies will show its latest Boostcap ultracapacitor products at this year's PCIM Europe exhibition.
Maxwell Technologies will show its latest Boostcap ultracapacitor products at this year's PCIM Europe exhibition. The Power and Energy product lines were introduced recently to better meet the requirements of the automotive, transportation, industrial, telecommunications and consumer electronics markets. Maxwell's MC and BC ultracapacitor product families provide cell sizes ranging in capacitance from 140 to 2600F, each available in both Power and Energy cell types and in corresponding fully integrated multicell modules.

All cells with a capacitance of 650F or greater operate at 2.7V, enabling them to store more energy and deliver more power per unit volume than any other commercially available ultracapacitor products.

The more economical Energy versions are targeted for light duty industrial, UPS, telecommunications and consumer electronics applications, whereas the Power versions are designed for hybrid vehicle drive trains, automotive subsystems and other applications that require the lowest equivalent series resistance (ESR) and highest efficiency available with current ultracapacitor technology.

The RAV16-4D series is an isolated resistor network consisting of four 0603 size resistors in a single 1206 size package.
Stackpole Electronics has recently expanded its RAV16-4D series of chip resistor arrays to include 0.5 and 0.1% tolerances. The RAV16-4D series is an isolated resistor network consisting of four 0603 size resistors in a single 1206 size package. It had previously been offered to only 1% tolerance.

'Chip arrays have been used for downsizing for some time', explains Kory Schroeder, SEI Product Engineering Manager.

'But the tolerances have been limited to 1% or higher typically'.

'This tolerance improvement enables the use of arrays for precision applications, such as instrumentation, avionics, and test equipment'.

For circuits with the same resistance value in the same proximity on the board, chip arrays are the ideal choice.

By integrating multiple elements onto a single chip, the end user saves cost in procurement, storage, placement, test etc, which are components of total acquisition cost.

Adding tolerances tighter than 1% dramatically increases the end products that can make use of this technology benefit.

The RAV16-4D series is offered in standard E24 values from 10ohm to 1Mohm, though the value range is limited for tighter tolerances.

1% and 0.5% tolerances are available in E24 values from 10ohm to 330kohm, and 0.1% tolerance is available in E24 values from 100ohm to 33kohm.

Custom values may be available on request.

It has an operating voltage of 75V, and a power rating of 63mW per element.

The RAV16-4D series is RoHS compliant with 100% matte tin terminations.

Current leadtimes are seven weeks with many values in stock.

Maxwell Technologies has licensed Shanghai Urban Electric Power Investment Development Corporation to manufacture and market ultracapacitor products in mainland China.
Maxwell Technologies has licensed Shanghai Urban Electric Power Investment Development Corporation to manufacture and market ultracapacitor products based on Maxwell's proprietary large cell and multicell module technology under its own brand in mainland China. The contract, which also obligates SUEP to source ultracapacitor electrode material exclusively from Maxwell, has a six-year term, renewable by mutual agreement. Dr Richard Balanson, Maxwell's President and Chief Executive Officer, said that while Maxwell also is targeting the Chinese market with its own Boostcap ultracapacitor products, the alliance with SUEP is expected to accelerate large cell ultracapacitor products' penetration of that large and rapidly growing market and generate significant sales of Maxwell's proprietary electrode material.

'There is strong and immediate demand in China for ultracapacitor-based energy storage and power delivery solutions', Balanson said.

'SUEP's financial resources and its network of affiliated power utility and manufacturing companies and distribution channels will enable it to expand ultracapacitor sales into the Chinese industrial and transportation markets more broadly and rapidly than Maxwell can on its own'.

'We expect this relationship to generate high-volume sales of our electrode material, and in time, it may also provide an additional option for offshore manufacturing capacity to meet growing worldwide demand for our Boostcap products'.

An Bao Li, SUEP's President and Senior Economist, said that when the group recognised the large Chinese market potential for ultracapacitor products and researched potential avenues to enter the business, it identified Maxwell as the industry's technology leader and proposed an alliance between the companies.

'We concluded that licensing Maxwell's intellectual property for ultracapacitor cell and module architecture and its manufacturing know-how and entering into a supply agreement to obtain a reliable supply of high quality, low-cost, electrode material would be the best path to success', Li said.

'We plan to use ultracapacitors to enhance the reliability and efficiency of the electric power utility infrastructure we own and maintain in Shanghai, and we see many opportunities to market ultracapacitor-based solutions to transportation and industrial customers throughout China'.

'As a result of this collaboration, we have created a new company, Shanghai San Jiu Electric Equipment Company, to manufacture and market this exciting product family'.

Balanson said that Maxwell will provide training for San Jiu personnel in cell and module assembly both at Maxwell's manufacturing facility in San Diego, and at San Jiu's new plant in Shanghai.

He emphasised that Maxwell will continue to manufacture its proprietary ultracapacitor electrode material internally, and that the licenses and technology transfer arrangements with SUEP and San Jiu specifically exclude Maxwell's carbon film electrode technology.

Maxwell Technologies has formed a toll manufacturing alliance with Belton Technology Group to support forecasted growth for its Boostcap ultracapacitors and modules.
Maxwell Technologies has formed a toll manufacturing alliance with Belton Technology Group, a major Chinese manufacturer of precision components, flex circuits, circuit boards and other products, to support Maxwell's forecasted growth to multi-million-unit annual volumes for its Boostcap ultracapacitors and multicell modules, driven by automotive, transportation and industrial electronics applications that are advancing toward high-volume production. Dr Richard Balanson, Maxwell's President and Chief Executive Officer, said that the offshore manufacturing alliance enables the company to tap into Belton's large existing factories, supply chain operations and 20,000-person skilled production workforce to ensure that Maxwell can ramp ultracapacitor production as required to keep pace with the rapidly escalating ultracapacitor demand it expects in coming years. He said that Maxwell will continue to produce its proprietary carbon powder electrode material internally and deliver it to Belton plants for assembly into finished ultracapacitor cells and modules.

'The worldwide ultracapacitor market is real, and the demand we foresee in 2007 and beyond requires large-scale production capabilities such as those Belton already has in place', Balanson said.

'Belton's financial strength and its willingness to commit to making major and continuing investments in factory space, equipment and training to support our cell and module production requirements will allow us to continue concentrating our resources on research, product development and electrode capacity expansion'.

Balanson noted that Maxwell recently introduced more than 30 new Boostcap products based on common architecture, components and assembly processes, and is now working closely with Belton engineering and manufacturing personnel to completely shift production of those products to high-volume facilities in China by the end of 2006.

'We have been sourcing key components and materials from Belton for the past year in what we considered the initial phase of a natural progression to offshore manufacturing, and we have been more than satisfied with their responsiveness and quality-centric approach', Balanson said.

'Belton has 18 years of experience in producing precision components on a scale of millions per week at Six Sigma quality levels for hard disk drives, communications equipment, implantable medical components and other extremely demanding and competitive industries'.

HP Chan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Belton Technology Group, said that Belton seeks to align itself as a manufacturing partner with technology leaders in their respective industries.

'We are excited about this expanded alliance with Maxwell', Chan said.

'Belton's proven high-volume quality manufacturing and supply chain capabilities and Maxwell's ultracapacitor technology, product designs and worldwide marketing and distribution network will make a powerful combination'.

Small-footprint precision voltage divider networks now feature an extended range of resistance values for precision applications.
Providing design engineers with a small-footprint precision voltage divider network, TT Electronics BI Technologies Electronic Components Division has expanded its line of thin film resistor networks. Designated the SS1 Series, the networks consist of two ultra-stable Nichrome thin film resistors on silicon substrates connected in series and now feature an extended range of resistance values for precision applications. According to Mike Torres, Product Manager for BI Technologies' Electronic Components Division, the resistance range of 5 to 100kohm has been extended to 1 to 100kohm.

'Not only have we extended the resistance values, but we have also expanded the offering of ratio values, and made the devices RoHS-compliant', said Torres.

'The expanded ratio and resistance ranges provide our customers with greater flexibility in designing precision divider circuits for military and medical applications'.

The SS1 Series resistor networks are ideal for voltage divider and gain circuits, and industrial and aerospace applications.

The thin film networks are housed in a SOT-23 package.

Resistance range is 1 to 100kohm, and available R2/R1 ratio values include 10, 9, 4, 3, 2 and 1.

Ratio tolerance is +/-0.05% with TCR tracking tolerance at +/-5ppm/C.

Maximum operating voltage is 100V DC and operating temperature range is -55 to +125C.

BI Technologies will also produce devices beyond these specifications to meet customer requirements.

Typical pricing for the SS1 Series resistor networks is $0.30-0.40 each in quantities of 10,000 pieces, with lead times from stock to 12 weeks.

With a reported market share of 20%, AVX is likely to remain ahead of NEC, Sanyo, Vishay, and soon-to-be-merged Kemet/Epcos whose joint market share is predicted to stand at 19%.
With a reported market share of 20%, AVX Corporation is likely to remain ahead of NEC, Sanyo, Vishay, and soon-to-be-merged Kemet/Epcos whose joint market share is predicted to stand at 19%. AVX reported a net sales increase of 7.1% to $349.1 million in the third quarter ending 31st December 2005. With no debt and $773.1 million in cash and investment securities, the company is predicted to maintain its high sales performance in Europe, Asia and America.

'We work hard to be the industry's technology leader'.

'Our products are key in helping customers develop new high performance equipment', says Gordon Hoey, Product Manager for AVX.

Said to supply the highest volumetric efficiency tantalum polymer, the lowest profile tantalum (0.5mm) and the lowest ESR high voltage tantalum on the market, AVX is reported to have been granted 13 patents during fiscal year.

Sager Electronics has committed itself to growing the Canadian market and has recruited Marc Villeneuve to represent the company in Montreal and Ottawa.
Sager Electronics has committed itself to growing the Canadian market and has recruited Marc Villeneuve to represent the company in Montreal and Ottawa. 'Sager is committed to aggressive growth in 2006 and I am delighted to announce Marc Villeneuve has joined our sales team in pursuit of this goal in Canada', stated PJ Murphy, Sager Vice President of Sales for the East Region. 'The strength of our Toronto service centre, the alignment of our growth strategy with our Canadian suppliers and our expansion into Montreal and Ottawa are critical elements to achieving this growth in the Canadian market'.

'Marc is specifically chartered with the development of the Montreal and Ottawa markets', continued Murphy.

'His formal engineering background coupled with his vast sales experience make him a perfect compliment to our growth plan'.

'Marc's ability to understand customer needs while driving our corporate objectives will be instrumental in establishing Sager's presence in these marketplaces'.

Villeneuve's career spans over twenty years and includes sales and marketing, project management and business development experience.

Prior to joining Sager, he held positions at Task Micro-Electronics, Tyco Electronics and FCI.

Villeneuve has degrees in mechanical engineering and chemistry, and is a current member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO).

Columbia Tech of Worcester, Massachusetts has named Sager Electronics as its supplier
Columbia Tech of Worcester, Massachusetts has named Sager Electronics as its supplier of the year for 2005. Columbia Tech provides creative design, engineering and manufacturing solutions to a diversified group of capital equipment and device manufacturers throughout the USA. 'Our high service levels and our success in continuously and creatively meeting Columbia Tech's needs were cited as the reasons why Sager was once again selected as their supplier of the year', said PJ Murphy, Sager Vice President of Sales for the East Region.

'This is our second such award at Columbia Tech, which speaks to our customer service strategy and our ability to productively support the efforts of manufacturers like Columbia Tech', Murphy continued.