Mobile Solutions
August 30, 2010
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By Eddie Suckow
It started as Inter IC, then IIC, and is now simply referred to as I2C. Regardless what you call it, the two wire interface has been around for a while but doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. And why should it? I2C is simple, flexible, and, most importantly, established. Most micro’s have the port and an array of sensors and auxiliary modules support the interface as well.
With any standard that has existed for some time, a lot of changes can happen around it. Voltage level is one of those changes. As Vcc’s drop, differences in potential on a once common platform will arise. Whether it is the micro that drives the change or a latest and greatest sensor, the mismatch is showing up more and more. Mismatches on a common bus are difficult to address with minimal external component additions.
A new IC has been released to handle exactly this. The FXMA2102 from Fairchild Semiconductor is a level translator specifically for this need. Its open drain technology supports the full I2C protocol and includes bidirectional data exchange. Take a look at the feature set here: http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/FX/FXMA2102.pdf
Tags: Fairchild Semiconductor, FXMA2102, I2C interface, level translators, portable medical, two wire interface
August 9, 2010
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By Dr. Portable
By Dr. Portable
China has seen an explosion of growth in cell phones over the past 15 years, led primarily by the popularity of candy bar phones. This situation is now changing as the market starts exploring features and functions delivered by different form factors, such as twist phones, especially those with TV functions, gain popularity in China.
uSerDesTM serializer/deserializer devices have been adopted by the world’s major cell phone manufacturers for multifunction cell phones designs. This technology reduces the number of parallel buses needed for data transmission in flip phones, slide phones or swivel phones, and acts as a converter between the parallel bus and serial bus, converting system signals from parallel to serial, and then converting serial signals back to parallel signals for peripherals. It also increases system reliability, delivers better EMI and ESD endurance, enhances overall system performance, and simplifies interface design, leaving structure engineers with more flexibility.
Designers have two types of uSerDes products to use in cell phone design. One is for LCD data transmission and another is for camera data transmission
uSerDes devices are a current transfer logic (CTLTM) based data transmission technology for parallel-serial-parallel conversion, and involves small serial signal transmission at very high speed. While it was once considered complex, it is now widely accepted among design engineers. Additionally, well-established design resources offer a better understanding of the properties and functionalities of uSerDes devices and helps R&D engineers solve issues they encounter when developing applications with uSerDes technology.
China has a unique phone design market, made up of independent design houses (IDHs), and in-house R&D engineers. Both of these design areas can benefit from the added features uSerDes products offer, which is more functionality and greater customer satisfaction.
Design help and application notes are available at: http://www.fairchildsemi.com/products/interface/userdes.html
About the author:
Dr. Portable is the ‘go to guy’ when it comes to enhancing power systems’ efficiency and extending standby time. Widely recognized as an industry guru, he’s had a string of successes in the switching and multiplexing of both data and analog signals.
When he’s not researching and developing innovative power and signal path ICs for portable devices he can usually be found online chatting and sharing his knowledge with his many friends and followers around the globe. He’s ‘always on’ and is fully socially networked, Twittering and Facebooking anyone who’ll listen.
A regular ‘Inspector Gadget,’ Dr. Portable is rarely seen without the very latest portable device in hand, whether it’s the latest generation Smartphone, ebook, netbook or MID.
A keen traveler, he is always on the go. He stays on top of his game by regularly working out and is very careful what he eats. In fact it’s probably fair to say that he’s obsessed with losing weight and getting thinner as well as smarter. Tags: cell phone features, China cell phone market, Fairchild Semiconductor, uSerDes
July 26, 2010
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By Fairchild Semiconductor
Written by Wayne Seto, Technical Marketing Manager
With the proliferation of cellular mobile handsets, especially smartphones, in the world today where people are connected 24/7, consumers just can’t seem to get enough of the voice calls, emails, text messages and surfing the web. However, all of these activities greatly consume battery life in our handsets; as such, our handhelds lead to that one-bar battery power indicator very quickly. In this article from the June 1, 2010 edition of EDN Asia, Wayne Seto discusses what can be done to prolong the battery life for these handsets so that we can use them longer.
Read the complete article
Tags: efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Fairchild Semiconductor, power management
June 18, 2010
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By Fairchild Semiconductor
Written by Earl Schreyer, Duane Sorlie and Bill Boldt, Signal Conditioning Products
The input and output coupling and clamping topologies of filter products have evolved to meet new video application requirements. In this article from the May 3, 2010 edition of Planet Analog, Fairchild’s signal conditioning product experts look at some of the trade-offs of the different implementations of input and output coupling and input clamping methods that apply to video filters and identify their relative advantages and disadvantages.
Read the complete article.
Tags: video filter
November 16, 2009
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By Eddie Suckow
Medical Electronics to Leverage off Mobile Handset
Telehealth, E-Health,Wi-Health….The mobile handset has changed the way we live and communicate and we will see the same effect on portable medical electronics in the future. A cell phone that doubles as a wireless diagnostic tool may be a few years out due to infrastructure development but small adoptions in medical electronics will provide an immediate impact. Let’s look at a several key design areas that should be examined.
Handsets are everywhere and the consumer is educated on features like resolution, audio fidelity, plug-in and wireless peripherals. The portable medical segment has noticed these features but implementation into legacy medical is not an easy task due to IEC regulations and slow product design cycles. The adoption of mobile handset features into the portable medical segment will take place over time but there are several key areas that designers can focus on now.
Power
Power is at the top of the list. Until an alternative is proven, the battery as we know it is the medium of choice for the coming future. The cell phone’s 3.7V Li-Ion battery has seen growth in copious volumes and has driven the development of new DC/DC products from the IC industry. This includes a range of integrated synchronous buck devices with max recommended inputs of 5.5V and numerous charging schemes. Get rid of that stacked C123 cell battery giving 6-9Vs and you will see some nice power solutions that combine both high performance and cost effectiveness.
I/O
The USB port is becoming more important for mobile handsets. The portable medical market is aware of this vast adoption, however adding the port and complying with the industry’s IEC60601 standard can be a difficult task. (Optocouplers or magnetic isolation is required at the data pins or after the PHY.) Fortunately, there are simple charge detect ICs available to aid in adding USB power and providing Over Voltage Protection (OVP).
USB devices can minimize the number of external ports on your medical device and can mux other signals such as audio, video and sensors onto a shared connector port. When you need to transfer data off your medical device in a hurry but with shortest impact to design schedules, consider adding an external SDIO memory port. This is a win-win solution that improves time-to-market for the designer. By using an available port on the microcontroller it offers the user a familiar and established memory interface.
Packaging
Portable medical devices are space constrained. The enhanced packaging technology from mobile handsets has already been proliferated widely and can be leveraged in portable medical applications. ICs are available in sub 1×1mm packages in the form of bumped Chip Scale Packaging (CSP) and established MLP form factors. Examples include a simple P channel MOSFET or a new I2C lever translator / repeater. Does your manufacturer like leads? How about the SOT-923F?
Cell phones operate on a platform concept and medical is just starting to adopt this feature to improve time-to-market and leverage extensive testing. Medical electronics symposiums are starting to discuss these topics and more. Look for more product solutions from semiconductor manufacturers in the coming months.
Tags: CSP, E-Health, IEC regulations, MLP, mobile handset, portable medical, Telehealth, USB, Wi-Health
July 17, 2009
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By Sona Kim
Standing in the park, I have been checking emails, making phone calls and taking a few precious pictures of my darling dog. Wishing to send the pictures to a friend’s cell phone, I press the button and stare at the cell phone display. Suddenly, it says “connection failed.” What! I try again and realize that the cell phone battery is too low with barely one bar showing.
Does this sound familiar to you?
We all want to be connected via cell phone whenever and wherever we are. Unfortunately, our cell phone battery does not always keep up with our busy lifestyle.
Inside of every cell phone is a radio frequency (RF) transmitter. Every time you talk, text or send data, the transmitter drains power from the battery. Often the transmitter consumes only 10% of the phone’s total power. However, if you’re in a poor coverage location, surf the net or up-load photo/video, the transmitter’s battery consumption can top six times, sapping 60% of the battery’s charge. This transmitter can be a huge power drain and dramatically reduce your talk time on the cell phone.
Today’s feature-rich 3G phones require more power than ever before. The design challenge facing engineers today is how to improve efficiency in existing areas such as RFPA, display and increased talk time so more power is available for new features.
One solution is to install a step down DC-DC converter with dynamic voltage scaling to control VOUT between the battery and the RF Power Amplifier (RFPA). This reduces current consumption by 30-50%, and makes power available for other functions (such as MP3, GPS and video). In addition to reducing current consumption, a step down DC-DC converter also reduces heat and increases talk time.
If you would like to check out Fairchild’s solution, please watch a short video demonstrating a solution to extend battery power for a 3G phone by improving the efficiency of the RFPA. More information on RF Power is available at www.fairchildsemi.com/rfpower.
About the author:
Market Development Program Manager, Fairchild Semiconductor Tags: battery life, cell phone, DC-DC converter, Fairchild, Fairchild Semiconductor, power, RF Power Amplifier, RF transmitter
