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Sustainability has moved from corporate marketing to a board‑level mandate. For technology companies, this shift is more than meeting environmental, social, and governance frameworks; it reflects the need to align innovation with environmental and social responsibility among all key stakeholders.

Regulators are tightening reporting requirements while investors respond favorably to sustainable strategies. Customers also want tangible progress toward these goals. The debate is no longer about whether sustainability belongs in technology roadmaps but how it should be implemented.

The hidden burden of embedded and edge systems

Electronic systems power a multitude of devices in our daily lives. From industrial control systems and vital medical technology to household appliances, these systems usually run around the clock for years on end. Consequently, operating them requires a lot of energy.

Usually, electronic systems are part of a larger ecosystem and are difficult to replace in the event of failure. When this happens, complete systems are often discarded, resulting in a surplus of electronic waste.

Rapid advances in technology make this issue more pronounced. Processor architectures, network interfaces, and security protocols become obsolete in shorter cycles than they did just a few years ago. As a result, organizations often retire complete systems after a brief service life, even though the hardware still meets its original requirements. The continual need to update to newer standards drives up costs and can undermine sustainability goals.

Embedded and edge systems are foundational technologies driving critical infrastructure in industrial automation, healthcare, and energy applications. As such, the same issues with short product lifecycles and limited upgradeability put them in the same unfortunate bucket of electronic waste and resource consumption.

Bridging the gap between performance demands and sustainability targets requires rethinking system architectures. This is where off-the-shelf computer-on-module (COM) designs come in, offering a path to extended lifecycles and reduced waste while simultaneously future-proofing technology investments.

How COMs extend product lifecycles

Open embedded computing standards such as COM Express, COM-HPC, and Smart Mobility Architecture (SMARC) separate computing components—including processors, memory, network interfaces, and graphics—from the rest of the system. By separating the parts from the whole, they allow updates by swapping modules instead of by requiring a complete system redesign.

This approach reduces electronic waste, conserves resources, and lowers long‑term costs, especially in industries where certifications and mechanical integration make complete redesigns prohibitively expensive. These sustainability benefits go beyond waste reduction: A modular system is easier to maintain, repair, and upgrade, meaning fewer devices end up prematurely as electronic waste.

Recommended Why system consolidation for IT/OT convergence matters

Open standards that enable longevity

To simplify the development and manufacturing of COMs and to ensure interchangeability across manufacturers, consortia such as the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturing Group (PICMG) promote and ratify open standards.

One of the most central standards in the embedded sector is COM Express. This standard defines various COM sizes, such as Type 6 or Type 10, to address different application areas; it also offers a seamless transition from legacy interfaces to modern differential interfaces, including DisplayPort, PCI Express, USB 3.0, or SATA. COM Express, therefore, serves a wide range of use cases from low-power handheld medical equipment to server-grade industrial automation infrastructure.

Expanding on these efforts, COM-HPC is the latest PICMG standard. Addressing high-performance embedded edge and server applications, COM-HPC arose from the need to meet increasing performance and bandwidth requirements that previous standards couldn’t achieve. COM-HPC COMs are available with three pinout types and six sizes for simplified application development. Target use cases range from powerful small-form-factor devices to graphics-oriented multi-purpose designs and robust multi-core edge servers.

COM-HPC, including congatec’s credit-card-sized COM-HPC Mini, provides high performance and bandwidth for all AI-powered edge computing and embedded server applications. (Source: congatec)

Alongside COM Express and COM-HPC, the Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies developed the SMARC standard to meet the demands of power-saving, energy-efficient designs requiring a small footprint. Similar in size to a credit card, SMARC modules are ideal for mobile and portable embedded devices, as well as for any industrial application that requires a combination of small footprint, low power consumption, and established multimedia interfaces.

As credit-card-sized COMs, SMARC modules are designed for size-, weight-, power-, and cost-optimized AI applications at the rugged edge. (Source: congatec)

As a company with close involvement in developing COM Express, COM-HPC, and SMARC, congatec is invested in the long-term success of more sustainable architectures. Offering designs for common carrier boards that can be used for different standards and/or modules, congatec’s approach allows product designers to use a single carrier board across many applications, as they simply swap the module when upgrading performance, removing the need for complex redesigns.

Virtualization as a path to greener systems

On top of modular design, extending hardware lifecycles requires intelligent software management. Hypervisors, a software tool that creates and manages virtual machines, add an important software layer to the sustainability benefits of COM architectures.

Virtualization allows multiple workloads to coexist securely on a single module, meaning that separate boards aren’t required to run essential tasks such as safety, real-time control, and analytics. This consolidation simultaneously lowers energy consumption while decreasing the demand for the raw materials, manufacturing, and logistics associated with more complex hardware.

Hypervisors such as congatec aReady.VT are real-time virtualization software tools that consolidate functionality that previously required multiple dedicated systems in a single hardware platform. (Source: congatec) Enhancing sustainability through COM-based designs

The rapid adoption of technologies such as edge AI, real‑time analytics, and advanced connectivity has inspired industries to strive for scalable platforms that also meet sustainability goals. COM architectures are a great example, demonstrating that high performance and environmental responsibility are compatible. They show technology and business leaders that designing sustainability into product architectures and technology roadmaps, rather than treating it as an afterthought, makes good practical and financial sense.

With COM-based modules already providing a flexible and field-proven foundation, the embedded sector is off to a good start in shrinking environmental impact while preserving long-term innovation capability.

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Візит делегації Шведського інституту kpi пт, 10/31/2025 - 18:37

🎥 V Міжнародна науково-практична конференція «Біобезпека та сучасні реабілітаційні технології. Теорія, практика, перспективи» kpi пт, 10/31/2025 - 18:08

I recently came across a September 18 article by the “future technology” editor at The Wall Street Journal, “Solar-Powered Cars and Trucks Are Almost Here” (sorry, behind paywall, but your local library may have free access). The author was positively gushing about companies such as Aptera Motors (California), which will “soon” be selling all-solar-powered cars. On a full daylight charge, they can do a few tens of miles, then it’s time to park in the Sun for that totally guilt-free “fill up.”

Figure 1 The Aptera solar-powered three-wheel “car” can go between 15 and 40 miles on a full all-solar charge. Source: Aptera Motors

The article focused on the benefits and innovations, such as how Aptera claims to have developed solar panels that withstand road hazards, including rocks kicked up at high speed, and similar advances.

The solar exposure-versus-distance numbers are very modest, to be polite. While people living in a sunny environment could add up to 40 miles (64 km) of range a day in summer months, from panels alone, that drops to around 15 miles (24 km) a day in northern climates in winter. Aptera says its front-wheel-drive version goes from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/hour) in 6 seconds, and has a top speed of 101 mph (163 km/hr).

The article also mentions that Aptera is planning to sell its ruggedized panels to Telo Trucks, a San Carlos (Calif) maker of a 500-horsepower mini-electric truck estimated to ship next year, which uses solar panels to extend its range by 15 to 30 supplemental miles per day.

Then I closed my eyes and thought, “Wait, haven’t I heard this story before?” Sure enough, I looked through my notes and saw that I had commented on Aptera’s efforts and those of others back in a 2021 blog, “Are solar-powered cars the ultimate electric vehicles?”  Perhaps it’s no surprise, but the timeline then was also “coming soon.”

The laws of physics conspire to make this a very tough project. This sort of ambitious project requires advances across multiple disciplines. There are the materials for the vehicle itself, batteries, rugged solar panels, battery-management electronics —  it’s a long list. These are closely tied to key ratios beginning with power and energy to weight.

Did I mention it’s a three-wheel vehicle (with all the stability issues that brings), seats two people, and is technically classified as a motorcycle despite its fully enclosed cabin? Or that it has to meet vehicle safety mandates and regulations? Will drivers likely need power-draining air conditioning unless they drive open-air, especially as the vehicle needs to be parked in the sun by definition?

I don’t intend to disparage the technological work, innovation, and hard work (and money) they have put into the project. Nonetheless, no matter how you look at it, it’s a lot of effort and retail price (estimated to be around $40,000) for a modest 15 to 40 miles of range. That’s a lot of dollar pain for very modest environmental gain, if any.

Is the all-electric vehicle analogous to the flying car?
Given today’s technology and that of the foreseeable future, I think the path of a truly viable all-solar car (at any price) is similar to that other recurrent dream: the flying car. Many social observers say that the hybrid vehicle (different meaning of “hybrid” here, of course) was brought into popular culture in 1962 by the TV show The Jetsons – but there had been articles in magazines such as Popular Science even before that date.

Figure 2 The flying car that is often discussed was likely inspired by the 1962 animated series “The Jetsons.” Source: Thejetsons.fandom.com

Roughly every ten years since then, the dream resurfaces and there’s a wave of articles in the general media about all the new flying cars under development and road/air test, and how actual showroom models are “just around the corner.” However, it seems like we are always approaching but not making the turn around that corner; Terrafugia’s massive publicity wave, followed by subsequent bankruptcy, is just one example.

The problem for flying cars, however attractive the concept may be, is that the priority needs and constraints for a ground vehicle, such as a car, are not aligned with those of an aircraft; in fact, they often contradict each other.

 It’s difficult enough in any vehicle-engineering design to find a suitable balance among tradeoffs and constraints – after all, that’s what engineering is about. For  the flying  car, however, it is not so much about finding the balance point as it is about reconciling dramatically opposing issues. In addition, both classes of vehicles are subject to many regulatory mandates related to safety, and those add significant complexity.

Sometimes, it’s nearly impossible to “square the circle” and come up with a viable and acceptable solution to opposing requirements. Literally, “to square the circle” refers to the geometry challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle but using only a compass and straightedge, a problem posed by the ancient Greeks and which was proven impossible in 1882. Metaphorically, the phrase means to attempt or solve something that seems impossible, such as combining two fundamentally different or incompatible things.

What’s the future for these all-solar “cars”? Unlike talking heads, pundits, and journalists, I’ll admit that I have no idea. They may never happen, they may become an expensive “toy” for some, or they may capture a small but measurable market share. Once prototypes are out on the street getting some serious road mileage, further innovations and updates may make them more attractive and perhaps less costly—again, I don’t know (nor does anyone).

Given the uncertainties associated with solar-powered and flying cars, why do they get so much attention? That’s an easy question to answer: they are fun and fairly easy to write about and the coverage gets attention. After all, they are more exciting to present and likely to attract more attention than silicon-carbide MOSFETs.

What’s your sense of the reality of solar-powered cars? Are they a dream with too many real-world limitations? Will they be a meaningful contribution to environmental issues, or an expensive virtue-signaling project—assuming they make it out of the garage and become highway-rated, street-legal vehicles?

Bill Schweber is an EE who has written three textbooks, hundreds of technical articles, opinion columns, and product features.

Related Content

• Are solar-powered cars the ultimate electric vehicles?
• Keep solar panels clean from dust, fungus
• Home solar-supply topologies illustrate tradeoff realities
• Solar-Driven TEG Advances via Fabrication, Not Materials

References

• Smithsonian Magazine, “Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 03 – The Space Car”
• Popular Science, “The Flying Car Gets Real”(2008)
• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, “AOPA Terrafugia pulls US plug on Transition flying car” (2021)

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The RISC-V Summit North America, held on 22-23 October 2025 in Santa Clara, California, showcased the latest CPU cores featuring new vector processors, high-speed interfaces, and peripheral subsystems. These CPU cores were accompanied by reference boards, software design kits (SDKs), and toolchains.

The show also provided a sneak peek of the RISC-V’s design ecosystem, which is maturing fast with the RVA23 application profile and RISC-V Software Ecosystem (RISE), a Linux Foundation project. The emerging ecosystem encompasses compilers, system libraries, language runtimes, simulators, emulators, system firmware, and more.

“The performance gap between high-end Arm and RISC-V CPU cores is narrowing and a near parity is projected by the end of 2026,” said Richard Wawrzyniak, principal analyst for ASIC, SoC and IP at The SHD Group. He named Andes, MIPS, Nuclei Systems, and SiFive as market leaders in RISC-V IP. Wawrzyniak also mentioned new entrants such as Akeana, Tenstorrent, and Ventana.

Andes, boasting 20 years of expertise in the semiconductor IP business, was a prominent presence in the corridors of the RISC-V Summit in Santa Clara. It’s a founding member of RISC-V International and a pure-play IP vendor. At the RISC-V Summit, Andes displayed its processor lineup, including AX45, AX46, AX66, and Cuzco.

Figure 1 The processor lineup was showcased at the RISC-V Summit in Santa Clara. Source: Andes

Andes claims that these RISC-V processors, featuring powerful compute and efficient control, provide the architectural diversity required in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. AX45 and AX46 processors have been taped out and are shipping in volumes. Here, Andes also provides in-chip firmware, tester software, on-board software, and on-cloud software as part of its hardware IP monitoring offerings.

Though RISC-V is enjoying a robust deployment in automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), and networking, AI was all the rage on the RISC-V Summit floor. “If RISC-V has a tailwind, it’s AI,” Wawrzyniak said.

RISC-V world’s AI moment

Andes claims it’s driving RISC-V into the AI world with features such as advanced vector processing. And that its RISC-V processors are powering devices from the battery-sipping edge to high-performance data centers. Andes also claims that 38% of its revenue comes from AI designs.

Companies like Andes can also bring differentiation and efficiency to AI processor designs through automated custom extensions. “We are getting there, and the deployment speed is impressive,” said Dr. Charlie Su, president and CTO of Andes Technology.

Figure 2 Meta deployed two generations of AI accelerators for training and inference using RISC-V vector/scalar cores. Source: Andes

“RISC-V is getting better for AI applications in data centers,” said Ty Garibay, president of Condor Computing. “RVA23 has a massive investment in features for data center-class AI designs.” Condor Computing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Andes, founded in 2023, develops high-performance RISC-V IPs and is based in Austin, Texas.

Wawrzyniak of SHD Group acknowledges that AI applications are driving the adoption of RISC-V-enabled system-on-chips (SoCs). “The heterogeneous nature of SoCs has created opportunities for multiple CPU architectures,” he said. “These SoCs can support both RISC-V and other ISAs, allowing applications to pick the best core for each function.”

Moreover, the diverse needs for AI acceleration are fueling the demand for RISC-V. “RISC-V CPU IP vendors can more easily introduce new and more powerful CPU cores, which extends the reach of RISC-V into AI applications that require greater compute power,” Wawrzyniak said.

During his keynote, Wawrzyniak said that initial RISC-V deployments were driven by embedded applications such as networking, smart sensors, storage, and wearables. “RISC-V is now transitioning to higher-end applications like ADAS and data centers as AI expands to those applications.”

RISC-V processor duo

At the RISC-V Summit, Andes provided more details about its new application processors. It showcased AX66, a mid-range application processor, and Cuzco, a high-end application processor; both are RVA23-compliant. AX66—incorporating up to 8 cores—features dual vector pipes with VLEN=128 and front-end decode 4-wide. It has a shared L3 cache of up to 32 MB.

Figure 3 AX66 is a 64-bit multicore CPU IP for developing a high-performance quad-decode 13-stage superscalar out-of-order processor. Source: Andes

On the higher end, Cuzco features time-based scheduling with a time resource matrix to determine instruction issue cycles after decoding, thereby reducing logic complexity and dynamic power for wide machines. Cuzco’s decode is either 6-wide or 8-wide, and it has 8 execution pipelines (2 per slice).

Cuzco incorporates up to 8 cores and offers a shared L3 cache of up to 256 MB. The Cuzco RISC-V processor has been implemented at 5-nm nodes with 8 execution pipelines and 7 million gates. It features an L2 configuration with 2MB and is targeted for a 2.5-GHz speed.

Figure 4 The Cuzco design represents the first in a new class of RISC-V CPUs aimed at data center-class performance while maintaining power efficiency and area benefits. Source: Andes

For the development of these RISC-V processors, the AndeSight integrated development environment (IDE) helps design engineers generate files for LLVM to recognize new instructions. Then there is AndesAIRE software, which facilitates graph-level optimization for pruning and quantization as well as back-end-aware optimization for fusion and allocation.

For OS support, the processors comply with RVA22 and RVA23 profiles and SoC hardware and software platforms. Andes also provides additional support to ensure that the Linux kernel is upstream-compatible.

Cuzco, unveiled at Hot Chips 2025 earlier this year, features a time-based out-of-order microarchitecture engineered to deliver high performance and efficiency across compute-intensive applications in AI, data center, networking, and automotive markets. Andes provided a preview of this out-of-order CPU at the RISC-V Summit.

Condor Computing developed the Cuzco RISC-V core, which is fully integrated into the Andes toolchain and ecosystem. Condor recently completed full hardware emulation of its new CPU IP while successfully booting Linux and other operating systems.

“Condor’s microarchitecture combines advanced out-of-order execution with novel hardware techniques to dramatically boost performance-per-watt and silicon efficiency,” Andes CTO Su said. “It’s ideally suited for demanding CPU workloads in AI, automotive compute, applications processing, and beyond.”

The first customer availability of the Cuzco RISC-V processor is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The RISC-V adoption

According to Wawrzyniak, chip designers are now looking at both Arm and RISC-V processor architectures. “The RISC-V ISA and its rising ecosystem have interjected competition once again into the SoC design landscape.”

Furthermore, the custom RISC-V ISA extensions empower innovation and tailored performance. Not surprisingly, therefore, the adoption of RISC-V by large technology companies such as Broadcom, Google, Meta, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Renesas, and Samsung continues to validate the utility of the RISC-V ISA in the semiconductor industry.

RISC-V, once an academic exercise, has come a long way since its launch in May 2010 at the University of California, Berkley. However, as Krste Asanovic, chief architect at SiFive, said during his keynote, RISC-V will continue to evolve across different verticals and that it’ll be around for a long time.

Related Content

• Navigating the RISC-V Revolution in Europe
• RISC-V Summit spurs new round of automotive support
• RISC-V Exceeding Expectations in AI, China Deployment
• Why RISC-V is a viable option for safety-critical applications
• Why RISC-V + Blockchain Is the Conversation I’ve Been Waiting to Have

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Пам'яті Краморенка Леоніда Валентиновича kpi пт, 10/31/2025 - 12:38

My mom wanted battery-powered lamps for decoration. There are commercial options available but none of them met this style of lamp. But she bought these lamps from Ikea and asked if I could make them battery-powered. I got to work and designed the LED driver board. It was made to fit into old, broken light bulbs and is based around a TI constant-current Boost LED driver, a 555 timer adjustable PWM generator and three white LEDs. I ordered the board from AISLER and the parts from LCSC. AS you can See on the picture, I had to fix a small mistake I made with some wire, but apart from that everything works flawlessly. And please ignore my very ugly solder job on the PCB🙈 The second lamp I built looks better... For charging and protecting the battery, I used a cheap USB-C charge/protect module from EBay. Glued it along with the 18650 cell and holder into the base and done! submitted by /u/FloTec09 [link] [comments]

Taiwan Semiconductor launches a new series of automotive-grade, low-loss diodes in three popular industry-standard packages. They provide an automotive-level performance upgrade in existing designs and low-power dissipation required for higher-power rectification applications.

(Source: Taiwan Semiconductor)

The 1,200-V PLA/PLD series, with ratings of 15 A, 30 A or 60 A, all feature low forward voltage (1.3 Vf max), low reverse leakage (<10 µA at 25°C), and high junction temperature (175°C Tj max). They are available in three packages—ThinDPAK, D2PAK-D, and TO-247BD—for design flexibility.

These 1,200-V diodes provide easy drop-in replacements using an industry-standard pinout to improve efficiency in existing designs, according to the company. They can be used in a variety of applications such as three-phase AC/DC converters, server and computing power (including AI power) systems, EV charging stations, on-board battery chargers, Vienna rectifiers, totem pole and bridgeless topologies, inverters and UPS systems, and general-purpose rectification in high-power systems.

The new PLA/PLD series is offered in six models manufactured to automotive-quality standards. Two of the models, the PLAD15QH (ThinDPAK) and PLDS30QH (D2PAK-D), are fully AEC-Q qualified for automotive applications. The other four models include the PLAD15Q (ThinDPAK), PLDS30Q (D2PAK-D), PLAH30Q (TO-247BD), and PLAH60Q (TO-247BD).

The PLA/PLD series are sampling now. They are in-stock at DigiKey and Mouser. Production lead times is 8-14 weeks ARO. Design resources include datasheets, spice models, Foster and Cauer thermal models, and CAD files (symbol, footprint, and 3D model).

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Bourns Inc. launches its series of Riedon precision wirewound resistors. These passive devices meet application requirements for high accuracy and long-term stability. They offer a wide resistance range of up to 6 megohms (MΩ) with ultra-low resistance tolerances (as low as ±0.005 percent).

(Source: Bourns Inc.)

This rugged, high-precision resistor series is offered in multiple axial, radial, and square package sizes and in a variety of lead configurations for greater design flexibility. They feature non-inductive multi-Pi cores, protective encapsulation technology, and a low standard temperature coefficient of ±2 ppm/°C.

These features help minimize inductance and noise while maintaining stability and efficiency even under high heat and harsh electrical conditions, Bourns said.

The series is 100 percent acceptance tested and RoHS-compliant. Applications include measurement equipment, bridge circuits, load cells and strain gauges, imaging systems, current sensing equipment, and high-frequency circuit designs.

The Riedon wirewound resistors are available now. Custom solutions are also available to meet specific customer requirements.

Last year, Bourns expanded its Riedon power resistor family with the launch of 11 product series, including wirewound resistors and current-sense resistors. They feature high power ratings, low temperature coefficients (TCRs), a wide resistance range, and an extended temperature range.

These resistors are available in numerous packaging options, including wirewound through-hole and surface mount; surface-mount metal film; and bare/coated metal element resistors. They target a variety of applications, including battery energy storage systems, industrial power supplies, motor drives, smart meters, telecom 5G remote radio and baseband units, and current sensing.

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Intelligent power and sensing technology firm onsemi of Scottsdale, AZ, USA has introduced vertical gallium nitride (vGaN) power semiconductors, which it claims sets a new benchmark for power density, efficiency and ruggedness for applications including AI data centers, electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy, and aerospace, defence & security, as well as other energy-intensive applications. The proprietary GaN-on-GaN technology conducts current vertically, enabling higher operating voltages and faster switching frequencies, leading to energy savings to deliver smaller and lighter systems...

According to Sony, the IMX828 CMOS image sensor is the industry’s first to integrate a MIPI A-PHY interface for connecting automotive cameras, sensors, and displays with their ECUs. The built-in serializer-deserializer physical layer removes the need for external serializer chips, enabling more compact, lower-power camera systems.

The IMX828 offers 8-Mpixel resolution (effective pixels) and a 150-dB high dynamic range. Its pixel structure achieves a high saturation level of 47 kcd/m², allowing accurate recognition of high-luminance objects such as red traffic signals and LED taillights.

A low-power parking-surveillance mode detects motion to help reduce theft and vandalism risk. Images are captured at low resolution and frame rate to keep power consumption under 100 mW. When motion is detected, the sensor alerts the ECU and switches to normal imaging mode.

Sony plans to obtain AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualification before mass production begins. The IMX828 meets ISO 26262 requirements, with hardware metrics conforming to ASIL-B and the development process to ASIL-D. Sample shipments are expected to start in November 2025. A datasheet was not available at the time of this announcement.

Sony Semiconductor Solutions 

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NXP’s battery management chipset integrates electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to enable lab-grade vehicle diagnostics. The system comprises three devices: the BMA7418 18-channel Li-Ion cell controller, BMA6402 communication gateway, and BMA8420 battery junction box monitor. Together, they deliver hardware-based synchronization of all cell measurements within a high-voltage battery pack with nanosecond precision.

By embedding EIS directly in hardware, the chipset supports real-time, high-frequency monitoring of battery health. Accurate impedance measurements, combined with in-chip discrete Fourier transformation, help OEMs manage faster and safer charging, detect early signs of degradation, and simplify overall system design.

EIS sends controlled excitation signals through the battery and analyzes frequency responses to reveal cell aging, temperature shifts, or micro shorts. NXP’s system uses an integrated excitation source with a pre-charge circuit, while DC link capacitors provide secondary energy storage for greater efficiency.

The complete BMS solution is expected to be available by the beginning of 2026, with enablement software running on NXP’s S32K358 automotive microcontroller. Read more about the chipset here.

NXP Semiconductors 

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Housed in a 6-pin, 2.0×1.6-mm LGA package, Mixed-Signal Devices’ MS1180 crystal oscillator conserves space in AI data center infrastructure. Factory-programmed to provide any frequency from 10 MHz to 1000 MHz with under 1-ppb resolution, it is well-suited for 1.6T and 3.2T optical modules, active optical cables, active electrical cables, and other size-constrained interconnect devices.

The MS1180 is optimized for key networking frequencies—156.25 MHz, 312.5 MHz, 491.52 MHz, and 625 MHz—and maintains low RMS phase jitter of 28.3 fs to 43.1 fs when integrated from 12 kHz to 20 MHz. It offers ±20-ppm frequency stability from –40 °C to +105 °C. Power-supply-induced phase noise is –114 dBc for 50-mV supply ripples at 312.5 MHz, with a supply-jitter sensitivity of 0.1 fs/mV (measured with 50-mVpp ripple from 50 kHz to 1 MHz on VDD pin).

Supporting multiple output formats (CML, LVDS, EXT LVDS, LVPECL, HCSL), the device runs from a single 1.8- V supply with an internal regulator.

The MS1180 crystal oscillator is sampling now to strategic partners and Tier 1 customers. Production volumes are expected to ramp in Q1 2026.

MS1180 product page   

Mixed-Signal Devices  

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A bit-level retimer from Diodes, the PI2DPT1021Q enables high-speed USB and DisplayPort (DP) connectivity in automotive smart cockpits and infotainment systems. The 10-Gbps bidirectional device supports USB 3.2 and DP 1.4 standards for various automotive USB Type-C applications.

The retimer has 4:4 channels, configurable via I²C for different modes: four-lane DP, two-lane DP with one-lane USB 3.2 Gen 2, or one- or two-lane USB 3.2 Gen 2. It is AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualified and operates over a temperature range of -40° to +105 °C.

To maintain signal integrity, the PI2DPT1021Q offers receiver adaptive equalization that compensates for channel losses up to -23 dB at 5 GHz. It also provides low latency (<1 ns) from signal input to output, ensuring good interoperability between USB and DP devices. Additional features include jitter cleaning, an adaptive continuous-time linear equalizer (CTLE), and a 3-tap transmitter with selectable adjustment.

The PI2DPT1021Q retimer costs $1.65 each in lots of 5000 units.

PI2DPT1021Q product page 

Diodes

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ST’s VIPerGaN50W houses a 700-V GaN power transistor, flyback controller, and gate driver in a compact 5×6-mm QFN package. The quasi-resonant offline converter delivers up to 75 W from high-line input (185–265 VAC) or 50 W across the full universal input range (85–265 VAC). It uses a proprietary technique that ensures chargers and power supplies operate silently at all load levels.

Along with zero voltage switching (ZVS), the VIPerGaN50W includes dynamic blanking time, which minimizes switching losses by limiting the frequency. It also offers adjustable valley synchronization delay to maximize efficiency at any input line and load condition. A valley-lock feature stabilizes skipped cycles to prevent audible switching noise.

At no load, the converter’s standby power drops below 30 mW thanks to adaptive burst mode, helping meet stringent ecodesign regulations. Advanced power-management features ensure the output-power capability and switching frequency remain stable, even when the supply voltage changes.

In production now, the VIPerGaN50W is priced from $1.09 each in lots of 1000 units.

VIPerGaN50W product page

STMicroelectronics

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The adoption of RISC-V with open standards in automotive applications continues to accelerate, leveraging its flexibility and scalability, particularly benefiting the automotive industry’s shift to software-defined vehicles. Several RISC-V IP core and development tool providers recently announced advances and partnerships to drive RISC-V adoption in automotive applications.

In July 2025, the first Automotive RISC-V Ecosystem Summit, hosted by Infineon Technologies AG, was held in Munich. Infineon believes cars will change in the next five years more than in the last 50 years, and as traditional architectures come to their limit, RISC-V will be a game-changer, enabling the collaboration between software and hardware.

(Source: Adobe Stock)

However, RISC-V adoption will require an ecosystem to deliver new technologies for the automotive industry. The summit showcased RISC-V solutions and technologies ready for automotive, particularly for SDVs, bringing together RISC-V players in areas such as compute IP, software, and development solutions.

Fast-forward to October with several RISC-V players expanding the enabling ecosystem for automotive with key collaborations ahead of the October 2025 RISC-V Summit. Quintauris, for example, announced several partnerships, including with Andes Technology Corp., Everspin Technologies, Tasking, and Lauterbach GmbH, all focused on advancing RISC-V for automotive and other safety-critical applications.

The Quintauris strategic partnership with Andes, a provider of RISC-V processor cores, brings Andes’s RISC-V processor IP into Quintauris’s RISC-V-based portfolio, consisting of profiles, reference architectures, and software components. The partnership will focus on automotive, industrial, and edge computing applications. It kicks off with the integration of the 32-bit ISO 26262–certified processor in the AndesCore processor series with Quintauris’s automotive real-time reference architecture.

Quintauris is also teaming up with Everspin to bring its advanced memory solutions—magnetoresistive RAM technologies—into Quintauris’s reference architectures and real-time platforms for automotive, industrial, and edge applications. This partnership addresses the need for memory subsystems to meet the high standards for performance and functional safety in automotive applications.

In the development tools space, Quintauris announced a new partnership with Tasking to bolster RISC-V development in the automotive industry. Delivering certifiable development tools for safety-critical embedded software, Quintauris will integrate Tasking’s RISC‑V compiler into its upcoming RISC‑V reference platform.

Addressing embedded systems debugging, the new Quintauris and Lauterbach collaboration focuses on safety-critical industries such as automotive. Under the partnership, Lauterbach’s TRACE32 toolset, including a debug and trace suite, for embedded systems will be integrated into the Quintauris RISC-V reference platform. The TRACE32 toolset provides debugging, traceability, and system analysis tools.

Lauterbach also announced in October that its TRACE32 development tools support Tenstorrent’s system-on-chips (SoCs) and chiplets for RISC-V and AI-based workloads in the automotive, client, and server sectors. Tenstorrent’s automotive and robotics base die SoC targets automotive applications in SDVs. The SoC implements at least eight 64-bit superscalar, out-of-order TT-Ascalon RISC-V cores with vector and hypervisor ISA extensions, along with RISC-V-based AI accelerators and additional RISC-V cores for system and communication management.

The TRACE32 development tools allow simultaneous debugging of the TT-Ascalon RISC-V processors and other cores implemented on the chip, from pre-silicon development to prototyping on silicon and in-field debugging on electronic control units.

Also helping to accelerate the global adoption of RISC-V, Tenstorrent and CoreLab Technology are collaborating on an open-architecture computing platform for automotive edge and robotics applications. The Atlantis computing platform addresses demanding AI computing requirements, delivering a scalable, safety-ready CPU IP portfolio. The platform will leverage Tenstorrent’s RISC-V CPU IP and CoreLab Technology’s energy-efficient IP and SoC solutions.

Designed to deliver on performance, power efficiency, low total cost of ownership, and customization, all RISC-V CPU cores in the platform support deep customization, enabling customers to tailor their compute resources for their applications, according to Tenstorrent.

The automotive industry demands that ecosystem players meet stringent functional safety and security standards. To meet these requirements, Codasip recently announced that two of its high-performance embedded processor cores, the Codasip L735 and Codasip L739, have received TÜV SÜD certification for functional safety.

The L735 is certified up to ASIL-B and the L739 is certified up to ASIL-D, defined by the ISO 26262 standard. Both products are also compliant with ISO/SAE 21434 for cybersecurity in automotive development. In addition, Codasip’s IP development process is certified to both ISO 26262 and ISO/SAE 21434.

The L735 and L739 cores are part of the Codasip 700 family. The L735 includes safety mechanisms such as error-correcting code on caches and tightly coupled memories, a memory protection unit, and support for RISC-V RERI to provide standardized error reporting. The L739 adds dual-core lockstep, enabling ASIL-D certification.

Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions (CHERI) variants are available for both products. CHERI security technology protects against memory safety vulnerabilities. Codasip is standardizing a CHERI extension for RISC-V in collaboration with other members of the CHERI Alliance.

The post RISC-V Summit spurs new round of automotive support appeared first on EDN.

A classic nonlinear analog function is the squaring circuit. It’s useful in power sensing, frequency multiplication, RMS computation, and many other odd jobs around the lab bench.

The version in Figure 1 is straightforward, fast, temperature-compensated, calibration-free, and if the transistors are well matched, accurate. The final output is as follows:

 Vout = R3 antilog(2log(Vin/R1) – log(Vgain/R2)) = R3 antilog(log((Vin/R1)2 /(Vgain/R2))
Vout = (R1-2 R2 R3)Vin2 /Vgain

Figure 1 The squaring amplifier that is fast, temperature-compensated, calibration-free, and accurate (if the transistors are well matched).

Wow the engineering world with your unique design: Design Ideas Submission Guide

Its input can accept either voltage or current. It gains a bit of extra versatility from a separate gain factor control input, which can also accept voltage or current. Another boost in versatility comes from a similarly flexible output with both voltage and (inverted) current output mode. If the current mode is chosen, A3 and R3 can be omitted and a dual op-amp (OPA2228) used instead of the quad (OPA4228) illustrated.

 The series connection of Q1 and Q2 generates a signal proportional to 2log(Vin/R1) = (log(Vin/R1)2). This is applied to antilogger Q3 ,which subtracts log(Vgain/R2) from it to generate a current of:

-(antilog(log((Vin/R1)2 /(Vgain/R2))

This is inverted and scaled by R3 and A3 to yield the final:

Vout = (R1-2 R2 R3)Vin2 / Vgain

 Note that if the three resistors are equal and Vin = Vgain, then:

Vout = (R-2 R R)Vin2 / Vin = Vin

And, the squarer circuit will have unity gain.

Which is kind of a “square deal,” although I doubt it’s what Teddy Roosevelt had in mind when he made that phrase his 1904 campaign slogan.

An interesting application happens when the squarer is combined with a full-wave precision rectifier (like the one in “New full-wave precision rectifier has versatile current mode output”). See Figure 2.

Figure 2 The cascading full-wave rectifier (black) with squarer makes low distortion frequency doubler (red).

 Stephen Woodward’s relationship with EDN’s DI column goes back quite a long way. Over 100 submissions have been accepted since his first contribution back in 1974.

Related Content

• New full-wave precision rectifier has versatile current mode output
• Simple diff-amp extension creates a square-law characteristic
• Boost and modify square waves: More circuits
• Precision Full Wave Rectifier Circuit

The post Circuit makes square deal appeared first on EDN.

India’s electronics export sector continues its remarkable upward trajectory, recording a 41.9% jump to USD 22.2 billion during April–September 2025, compared to USD 15.6 billion in the same period last year. The surge was primarily driven by strong performance in the smartphone segment, which saw exports grow by 58%, reaching USD 13.38 billion, up from USD 8.47 billion a year ago.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry indicate that this robust growth is the reflection of India’s strengthening position in the global electronics supply chain, bolstered by the policy support extended under the Production Linked Incentive Scheme and rising investments from global players such as Apple, Foxconn, and Samsung.

The total value of India’s electronic exports reached USD 38.6 billion during the fiscal year 2024-25, with a year-on-year increase of 32.6%. This indicates continuous growth, reinforcing the country’s position as an emerging major electronic manufacturing hub and the third-largest smartphone exporter globally, after China and Vietnam.

According to industry experts, this momentum is driven by a better manufacturing ecosystem, diversified supply chains, and recent government initiatives towards “Make in India, Make for the World.”

With rising foreign investments and expanding production capacity, India is well on track to become a USD 100-billion electronics export powerhouse over the coming years.

The post India’s Electronics Exports Jump 41.9%, Smartphones Lead appeared first on ELE Times.

IVWorks Co Ltd of Daejeon, South Korea – which was founded in 2011 and manufactures 100-200mm gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxial wafers for RF & power electronics applications – claims to be first in the industry to develop and implement mass production of 8-inch gallium nitride (InGaN/GaN) nanowire epiwafers. This is expected to serve as a key foundation for further enhancing green hydrogen production efficiency through artificial photosynthesis...