Electronic Products March 2014

electronicproducts.comA Hearst Business Publication

MARCH 2014

The magic of memory: Getting the most out of an AWG... p16 Power beyond the battery... p38 Wireless considerations for the Internet of Things... p54

p.20

ChargingbatterieswithoutWIRES!

Also In This ISSUE:

Best performance in a leading role.

Histogram for a statistical viewTrend chart to see trends over time

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Electronic Products Magazine (USPS 539490) (ISSN 0013-4953)Published monthly by Hearst Business Communications Inc./UTP Division, 50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 100, Uniondale, NY 11553. Periodicals postage paid Garden City, NY and additional mailing offices. Electronic Products is distributed at no charge to qualified persons actively engaged in the authorization, recommendation or specification of electronic components, instruments, materials, systems and subsystems. The publisher reserves the right to reject any sub-scription on the basis of information submitted in order to comply with audit regulations. Paid subscriptions available: U.S. subscriber rate $65 per year, 2 years $110. Single issue, $6.00. Information contained herein is subject to change without notice. No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for its accuracy or completeness.

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2 Contents

MARCH 2014 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

2 2

Features16 Test and Measurement:The magic of memory: Getting the most out of an AWG18 Connectors:PCIe: Powerful, versatile sheepdog reliable

Vol. 56, No.10 March 2014

Cover Story20 Charging batteries efficiently without wires

Power Special24 Taking energy harvesting to extremes

28 Tamper detection in processor-based energy meters

35 EN60601 3rd edition: A standard with many faces

Touch Points5 Viewpoint: Power wherever you are

6 Industry Exclusive: FIRST, firsthand

8The Story Behind the Story: Elegant design enables ultra-small high-voltage dc/dc converters

11 Outlook (Technology News): SoC enables a fully implantable hearing aid Cowtown welcomes APEC 2014 The EE Live! Conference in San Jose 38 Energy-Saving Initiative: Power beyond the battery42 Product Update: Resistors & Capacitors

54 Wireless/Networking: Wireless considerations for the Internet of Things

New Products44 Packaging & Interconnections 51 Components & Subassemblies47 Power Sources 52 Test & Measurement50 Optoelectronics

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Only OnlineElectronicProducts.com

Education Center: Researchers construct worlds most

powerful terahertz laser chip Real-life RoboCop moves from screen

to reality Who was the President behind the

Space Shuttle? Industry 4.0: Enabling the factory of the

future through technology innovation Army testing smart rifle scopes that

track targets

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Viewpoint 5

Wireless power isnt new: In the early 20th century, Nikola Tesla planned to use a 187-ft-high tower to send power wirelessly.

Power wherever you areWireless power will help solve some of our nagging access problems

The industrialized world relies on electric power to do everything, and more and more of that power is becoming portable via batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors, and they are getting recharged in new ways such as energy harvesting and wireless re-charging. This month we bring you articles from Linear Technology, Ioxus, Recom, Texas Instruments, and Tadiran that inform and even challenge you to learn about de-signing for the future needs of your customers.

How important is it that we have new ways to keep our portable work tools charged and ready to keep us productive? The recent ice/snow storms have once again hum-bled us and made us aware of how reliant we are on electricity and how dc forms of energy can help

smooth out the down times of ac-electric supply. For example, mobile or wireless communications, especially for connecting

the Internet of Things (IoT), need power to enable long-term functioning. A report from ID-TechEx (http://tinyurl.com/lmu-v8gc) says that energy harvest-ing is the lower expense over the long term than batteries. But a report from NanoMarkets (http://tinyurl.com/offxjkf) says a new type battery, the printed battery,will enable this wireless IoT market to take off.

Each report has its salient points, but you will have to decide for yourself which one makes sense for your design, and dont forget about electri-cal double-layer (super/ultra) capacitors.

Paul OShea

MARCH 2014 electronicproducts.com ElECtRoniC PRoduCts

6 Industry Exclusive

FIRST, firsthandBY RICHARD COMERFORD and LEONARD SCHIEFER

Electronic Products had the opportunity to interview a member of an award-winning FIRST team 17-year-old Alexander Burzynski, a senior at Townsend Harris

High School a s well as his younger brother, 12-year-old Nikolas Burzynski, who is a 7th grader at PS/IS 119 in Glen-dale, NY, and a member of his schools FIRST Lego League (FLL). Next month, they will be involved in major FIRST competitions at NYCs Jacob Javits Center.

Electronic Products: How did you hear about FIRST, and how did you get in-volved with it?

Alexander Burzynski: I first got involved in the FIRST robotics program in the 7th grade when I joined IS 119 FLL robotics team. Nikolas Burzynski: I started working with robotics in the 4th grade at PS 153 when I had it as a class. When I started 7th grade at PS/IS 119 I tried out for their robotics team and made it, so now Im working on the team as we get ready to compete at the NYC FIRST Regional Competition at the Javits Center in April.

******************************EP: Has FIRST made you think about what you want to pursue in school? Do you want a career in engineering? Alexander: FIRST has strongly shaped my interests and my desire to pursue engineering in college. Being part of FIRST, I ... got to try out something new, and I fell in love with robotics and engineering. Many of my peers applying to college are undecided, but since Ive spent these last six years in the program, Im applying to top engineering schools because I want to pursue and expand my passion and make it my career. I want to improve what is considered the norm and make the dreams of today a reality for tomorrow, just as countless engineers and innovators before me have done.

Both Alexander and Nikolas have a great deal more to say about their expe-riences as part of a FIRST team. To read the full interview with them, please visit http://bit.ly/1j93IjL

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8 Story Behind the Story

MARCH 2014 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

A look at the making of POY award winnersElectronic PRODUCTS

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The AG Series dc/dc converters from EMCO High Voltage solve a vexing indus-try issue about constraining component profiles. PCB-mounted components, whether surface mount or through hole, sit on top of the host PCB, adding to thez-height. EMCO HV solved the height challenge with a novel design: dropping the package down into the board, resulting in a profile of only 0.128 in, compared to competitive solutions as low as 0.4 in. The 1- and 1.5-W converters occupy less than one-tenth a cubic inch and can be mounted using the surface-mount tabs or via-swaged PC pins for through-hole applications. Adjustable output voltages range from 100 to 6,000 V. Isolation is 500-V bias on the output return, input to output leakage current is

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Outlook 11Innovations impacting products, technology, and applications

ElEctronIc Products electronicproducts.com MArcH 2014

SoC enables a fully implantable hearing aidMassachusetts Institute of Technology research has led to a fully implatable co-chlear hearing device. A paper presented by Markus Yip at the 2014 International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco described the system's SoC, the piezoelectric acoustic sensor, and the neural stimulator and electrode array. The system uses a wireless power scheme developed elsewhere.

A piezoelectric sensor mounted at the umbo in the middle ear picks up sound and its signal goes to an analog front end

and A/D and then to the processor, which uses continuous wave interleaved sampling with an eight-channel filer bank. This entire process takes just a few hundred-

microwatts. After that comes the neural simulator and implanted electrode array at the cochlea which requires around 500 W. The waveforms received by the electrodes stimulate auditory nerve fibers and make the sound audible to the user.

"The idea with this design is that you could use a phone, with an adapter, to charge the cochlear implant, so you don't have to be plugged in," says Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT Professor of EE. "Or you could imagine a smart pillow, so you charge overnight." Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary were involved with the research. For more, see http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2014/cochlear-implants-with-no-exterior-hard ware-0209.html

Jim Harrison

Cowtown welcomes APEC 2014The Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exhibition (APEC) is the premier event for power professionals that focuses on the practical and applied aspects of the power electronics business. Once again the exposition expects a record number of exhibitors (221) and booths (337). The six plenary session speakers will talk about power electronics in emerging applications,

critical power solutions, high-efficiency power conversion, system reliability and ef-ficiency, transforming energy management, and 3D packaging of power products. The rap sessions will focus on smart infra-structures and wide-bandgap materials. Eighteen educational seminars will cover wide-bandgap devices, fundamentals, emerging technologies, design, control and modeling, and components. There will also be 35 technical papers, 21 dialog sessions, and 13 industry sessions.

This is not just a designers conference. The conference has something of interest for anyone involved in power electronics:Equipment OEMs who use power sup-

plies and dc/dc converters.Designers of power supplies, dc/dc convert-

ers, motor drives, uninterruptable power supplies, inverters and any other power

electronic circuits, equipment and systemsMakers and suppliers of components and

assemblies used in power electronicsManufacturing, quality, and test engineers

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Fort Worth Convention Center holds APEC 2014

12 OutlookInnovations impacting products, technology, and applications

MARCH 2014 electronicproducts.com ElECtRonIC PRoduCts

The EE Live! Conference in San JoseThe EE Live! Conference will take place in San Jose's McEnery Convention Center Monday, March 31,through Thursday, April 3, 2014, for four days of sessions, tutorials, boot camps, sum-mits, and post-mortem discussions on a comprehensive selection of engineering design topics taught by leading industry experts. The EE Live! Expo floor will open at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (Thursday until 1:30 p.m.). One part of EE Live! is the Embedded Systems Conference.

One of many featured events will be a two-day FPGA Engineering Boot Camp, which will help you understand available manufacturer, technology, language, device-level design block, and design tool options for FPGAs. The Black Hat Engineering Summit on Wednes-day and Thursday will discuss essential information and tools about the latest solutions for securing embedded systems from threats in today's global Ethernet environment.

There will be a keynote speech Tuesday, April 1, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. titled, "Killer Apps: Embedded Software's Greatest Hit Jobs," given by Michael Barr of the Barr Group. On Wednesday, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., a second keynote titled Open Source Hardware and the Fu-ture of Embedded Systems will be given by Andrew "Bunnie" Huang (Ph.D. EE and Hardware Hacker).

The 250+ exhibitors available prac-tically guarantee you'll discover a few interesting new products. There is also free technical training on the Expo floor, at the Expo theater, in vendor sessions, in a hands-on training lab, and tech funda-mentals classes. Find out more at www.eeliveshow.com.

Jim Harrison

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The conference also puts on a fun social event that will be held at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys football team. The socialwill offer interactive field games, go on a behind-the-scenes tour of

the stadium, and have the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders perform one of their routines for guests.

APEC runs from March 16 to 20 in Fort Worth, TX with exhibits Monday, 5 to 8 p.m.; Tuesday, noon to 5 p.m., and Wednes-day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Find more informa-tion at http://www.apec-conf.org/

Paul OShea

Octo-Buck

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Outputs Easily Paralleled

Features

8 Independent Synchronous Bucks Master-slave Configurable for up to 4A Output/Rail with 1 Inductor 15 Power Stage Configurations Independent VIN Supplies for Each Converter Precision Enable Pin Thresholds for Autonomous Sequencing (or I2C Control) On-Chip Die Temp Monitor QFN-48 Package (7mm x 7mm x 0.75mm)

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14 Engineering Distribution


In PartnershIP wIth

Wireless Charging TechnologyLearn more at mouser.com/applications/wireless-charging

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Not just for phones any more

As electric vehicles gain popularity, consumers will be waking up one morning and horrified that theyve forgotten to plug the car in and are now stranded. But, not if they use wireless charging! Wireless charging is quickly becoming commonplace for consumer devices and the same concept for electric cars and busses isnt far behind.

Similar to the consumer world, wireless charging of vehicles uses principles of magnetic induction and / or resonance, though at much greater power levels. For example, the new A4WP resonance charging standard offers 6.5W for smart phones. In comparison, vehicle charging start-up WiTricitys charging technology for passenger cars is 6kW and a huge 25kw for busses and fleets. Even with these high power transmitters, it still takes roughly 4 hours to charge a 24kW/h battery, a capacity typically found in economy size cars such as the Nissan Leaf. There are some trials with fast charging methods such as CHAdeMO in Japan, but unfortunately, these technologies do not extend to the wireless realm.

Wireless charging is also working on several pilots of its own. Evatran, one of the pioneers in automotive charging industry, currently has their 240V, Level 2 induction charging system in the homes of roughly 30 employees of Google, Hertz, and others. The owners homes and electric vehicles were retrofitted with Evatrans system.

New York based HEVO Power will use some of the citys

manhole covers to charge two specially configured electric cars in a pilot starting later this year. Though ultimately targeted for fleet usage, HEVO Power hopes to test the practicality and efficiency of their resonance technology. Part of the pilot will involve a smart phone app that will pinpoint available manhole covers and aid in alignment of the charging coils.

Finally, wireless chip giant Qualcomm has announced a pilot program in London using their resonance based HALO Wireless EV Charging technology. They will also be showcasing this technology in the new Formula E (E for electric) racing series starting in 2014. For the first year, only electric safety vehicles will use the 20kW HALO, with

all race cars using it thereafter. The Formula E series will not only showcase wireless charging

technology, but may be a proving ground for all EV technology before commercialization.

While these pilots are expected to show positive results, the automotive wireless charging market is still nascent. There have yet to be formal standards set in place, though the Society of Automotive

Engineers (SAE) will announced a standards decision sometime this year. Other obstacles must

also be overcome. Factors such as charging time and retrofit cost and weight must still be addressed by the industry. On the positive side, initial pilots have shown that consumers like the convenience of not having to plug in their cars and reducing the clutter of cables in the garage. Regardless, analysts have already predicted that the wireless charging market for vehicles will grow at a staggering 92% CAGR through 2020.

By CARolyN MAThAS

Engineering Distribution 15


In PartnershIP wIth

Next-Generation Wireless Charging Embraces Magnetic Resonance Technology

A wireless charging system consists of a charging pad connected to a power source, and a mobile device that receives energy from the pad when the two are in close proximity, thus charging the battery. First-genera-tion Qi (pronounced Chee) products were based on tight inductive coupling (magnetic induction) between a transmit-ter/receiver pair and thus charged one device at a time. They required specific positioning on the pad, and the mobile device had to practically be in contact with the pad to charge. The loose inductive coupling technique that seeks to sup-plant it, magnetic resonance, offers inches of charging range, simultaneous charging of multiple devices (even those with different power requirements), and free-form positioning, ideal for charging vehicles and wireless charging in countertops.

The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), an industry organization for wireless charging based on resonance, recently launched Rezence, wireless charging via magnetic resonance, with products projected by mid-2014.

Meanwhile, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), parent of the 5-year-old Qi standard, is looking to incorporate magnetic resonance technology. Work to update the Qi specification is still underway, but successful demonstrations were held at CES 2014. Goals include higher efficiency and lower radio frequency interference than other resonant solutions, and backward compatibility with an installed base of 40+ million Qi devices.

Leading Qi chipmaker Texas Instruments (TI) and New Zealands PowerbyProxi, both WPC steering members,

announced a licensing agreement at CES. TI, whose wireless charging technology is in 80% of Qi-enabled devices, will leverage PowerbyProxis expertise and patents to develop new products. The collaboration will produce resonant solutions compatible with Qi.

In early 2013, TI indicated an intention to develop multi-mode wireless charging ICs that support Qi, A4WP, and a third wireless charging standard. Power 2.0, championed by the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), is magnetic-

induction based with no recent announcements about magnetic resonance. However, Qualcomm, one of the founders of the A4WP and a proponent of magnetic resonance, joined the PMA last fall with the intent to co-chair a working group with Wi Tricity to define a dual-mode specification to seamlessly support both technologies.

In December 2013, Toyota announced that it had signed an IP agreement with Wi Tricity to license its magnetic resonance technology for application in recharging electric vehicles. Toyotas 2016 model of electric vehicle is

predicted to be the first with built-in wireless charging.Apple has not yet integrated wireless charging, but this

may change. Apple was noted this past December for winning a patent on wireless charging based on magnetic resonance technology. IEEE has also formed a working group to develop Standard Specifications for Wireless Power and Charging Systems, starting early 2014.

Competing wireless charging approaches have until now maintained a unique identity, but differences diminish as we move to next-gen products. It is not clear whether the three main standards will converge. However, magnetic resonance technology will play a starring role in the future.

By Mouser Electronics, www.mouser.com

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16 Test & Measurement Tools


The magic of memory: Getting the most out of an AWGWell suited to generating complex waveforms and long, dynamic signal scenarios, advanced analog waveform generators can enable realistic wireless testing

BY BEATE HOEHNE Product Manager, Agilent Technologies www.agilent.com

The game of leapfrog continues between the bandwidth needs of wireless services such as on-demand video and the bandwidth capacity of wireless components, devic-es, and infrastructure. For developers and manufacturers, this has implica-tions that extend to the test equipment needed for design, troubleshooting and testing.

Among the instruments needed for these tasks, an arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) is the most versatile generator of all the different signals necessary to represent the environ-ment required for testing, the so-called signal scenario. The latest generation of AWGs provides wide bandwidth and high dynamic range simultaneously, making it possible to cover multiple applications and test requirements.

Necessary but insufficientIn many wireless applications, realistic testing requires complex signal scenar-ios and long play times. Many AWGs are available with on-board waveform memory that ranges from 2 to 16 Gsam-ples, and this may seem like plenty of space for waveforms.

Reality shows that there is never enough memory. One reason: As the sampling rate of an AWG increases, playback time generally decreases. For example, a 50-Gsample/s signal and a 16-Gsample memory equates to just 320 ms of play time clearly inadequate when a growing number of tests call for minutes-long signals.

For applications that need a repet-itive signal, enhancing an AWG with

basic sequencing capabilities is sufficient to extend waveform play time. However, this approach falls short for tests that re-quire dynamic signals that change based on external events. Also, many AWGs

are unable to make on-the-fly changes without halting the output signal, down-loading a new waveform, and restarting the output.

New techniques, heightened realismIt is possible to benefit from a high sampling rate without giving up the benefits of a large waveform memory. For example, playback time can be improved by download-ing low-sampling in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) data into memory, and then gener-ating a high-sample-rate intermediate-frequency (IF) signal. This type of operation is typically implemented us-ing a numerically controlled oscillator, such as a direct digital synthesis (DDS) engine (see Fig. 1).

In addition, waveforms and their attributes can be stored independently. That is, instead of storing multiple ver-sions of a waveform, its basic shape can be saved just once, and the variations

stored separately in a table. The se-quencer function controls the merging of the parameters with the waveform

in real time. (The Agilent M8190A and M9330A AWG are examples of instru-ments that use this type of architecture.)

Fig. 1: The use of a direct digital synthesis (DDS) engine ensures that an AWG architecture can provide efficient use of memory while helping to extend playback time.

Fig. 2: This single tone (generated by the M8190A) demonstrates the kind of excellent signal performance that advanced AWGs can offer.

Test & Measurement Tools 17


This highly efficient approach can also add a useful new dimension to test-ing that requires highly realistic signal scenarios: during runtime, waveform parameters can be changed on the fly so signal output is continuous. On-the-fly changes enable easy generation of multiple permutations of one base waveform. Thus, the AWG can respond to real-time events and generate a new signal scenario, and the resulting effect is the ability to achieve several minutes of play time. (Currently, this function-ality is unique to Agilent AWGs because of their use of a proprietary ASIC.)

Streaming enables virtually endless scenariosThe next useful step is to create virtually endless scenarios. The simplest solution is to produce a continuous data stream originating from a RAID array or a solid-state disk.

The M8190A AWG is an example of an instrument that offers such a stream-ing solution. It can produce an uninter-rupted data stream with 14-bit resolution at 8 Gsamples/s or 12-bit resolution at 12 Gsamples/s. To meet the needs of demanding wireless applications, the M8190A can produce these signals with a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) as good as -90 dBc (see Fig. 2).

If the AWG is operating at 12 bits and 12 Gsamples/s, the data rate re-quired to support such signal gener-ations is 144 Gbits/s or 18 Gbytes/s. This level of performance requires a high-end computer system, a special RAID system, or a high-performance digitizer. With a digitizer, signal data can be downloaded directly to the AWG. Implementing this configuration in a modular form factor (see Fig. 3) can be very convenient as well as space and

cost efficient .The next level of sophistication in

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18 Connectors


PCIe: Powerful, versatile and sheepdog reliableWith some standards-based extensions to PCIe, its possible to eliminate Enet-PCIe bridging and just connect blades in their more natural, PCIe form

BY LARRY CHISVIN, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, PLX Technology www.plxtech.com

PCI Express (PCIe) has established itself as the universal interconnec-tion pathway between electronic subsystems.If you peel back the cover from almost any storage, server, communication, embedded, or consumer box deployed in the past five years, youll find that PCIe is right there, guiding the high-speed signals

between the components like a reliable sheepdog. Virtually every industrial design has at least one PCIe switching device as part of the mix. This is because PCIe is a modern, serial, point-to-point intercon-nect, and for every connection between components, a sepa-rate pathway is needed something PCIe switches enable.

While its the-oretically possible to build in enough connections in the components themselves, this is rarely done, since its expensive and complicated to add switching to devices that have a range of expansion needs.Its much easier and less expensive overall

to add an appropriately sized dedicated switch to a system based on the specific need (see Fig. 1).

Narrowing the focus to certain markets primarily the storage and server boxes used throughout todays data centers PCIe is well represented on the modules or blades that do all the work. But the interconnect that hooks up the blades to each other is usually some other technol-ogy, often 10G Ethernet. Asseen in Fig. 2, this approach isnt particularly efficient; the

subsystem on the blade is made up al-most entirely of PCIe. That subsystem needs to be bridged to something else, sent across a backplane or through a cable, and then translated back to PCIe for use in a similar blade.

This counterintuitive approach is primarily historical, rather than prac-tical. Ethernet has become the most popular way to connect servers and

storage boxes together, and it was conve-nient to treat the blades as separate local area networks. While robust and flexible, this approach is also slow, expensive and power-hungry.

Now, however, there is a better way.With some standards-based exten-

sions to PCIe, its a straightforward task to eliminate bridging and just connect up the

Fig. 1: Using PCIe switches to connect devices.

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Connectors 19

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using PCIe than it is using Ethernet.There are several functions that need to

be accommodated to create a fabric beyond just the fundamental ability to connect up the components. The first is the need to share devices among a variety of hosts (shared I/O). The most common way to share devices is through a standard called Single Root I/O Virtualization, or SR-IOV. This enables virtual machines (VMs) within a single host to share devices, each VM believing that it has its own device.A PCIe-based fabric can expand this to allow multiple hosts to offer the same capability, so that VMs running across multiple hosts can share the devices on the same network. This allows the reuse of both the SR-IOV devices and their software drivers, but ex-tends their capability to the entire system.

Another major capability that a fabric has to offer is communication between hosts.There are two typical mechanisms for accomplishing this in current systems:

direct memory access (DMA) and remote DMA (RDMA). DMA is usually offered in Ethernet-based systems, and it is a universal and reliable way to allow hosts to interact.The biggest drawback to a DMA system is that it entails copying the data quite a few times within the hosts, which, while

providing a measure of security, makes the system very slow and inefficient.RDMA delivers a much faster way to do this, sending data from the application memory on one host to the application memory on another. When this type of transfer is necessary, the system normally doesnt even use Ethernet.

PCIe-based fabrics such as Express-Fabric allow both DMA and RDMA to be used, without needing bridging devices, and using the same application software that runs on Ethernet or InfiniBand plat-forms.

Expect to see new developments in fabrics based on PCIe. This emerging ap-proach to a more-efficient, highly reliable interconnect will enable data centers to free themselves from the legacy solutions that exact cost and power tolls, and to allow sys-tem engineers and their sheepdogs to sleep well at night!

blades in their more natural form. A new generation of switching devices from ven-dors such as PLX Technology is enabling PCIe to be used in this way. For example, ExpressFabric by PLX does just that; with it, a data center system designer can create low-latency, high-performance solutions.

One reason Ethernet has maintained its dominance, even through radical changes in the underlying hardware, is that it has continually offered a way to migrate from one generation to the next.The software always the key ingredient in any migration has remained compatible for a relatively smooth upgrade. Furthermore, the end user has been able to make use of existing hard-ware and add the new, faster (though usually more expensive) devices as necessary.

In contrast, a system using a PCIe-based fabric, such as that illustrated in Fig. 3, offers this same advantage, with a few additional bonuses not available with Ethernet or any other interconnect, for

that matter. Ethernet-based applications will run on the new platform without change, except that they will operate at low-er power and a reduced cost.Also, theres an opportunity for substantial performance improvement through the use of RDMA (discussed later) on a PCIe-fabric-based system. Again, this is achieved without adding the expensive, complicated, and higher-power components this function would require in an Ethernet-based system.

With software compatibility essentially a non-issue, hardware compatibility is even more straightforward.While Ethernet is the dominant connection between servers, many devices that form the data center dont even have an Ethernet connection at least not of the 10G or higher variety. But virtually all those devices connect up to PCIe.In fact, an Ethernet NIC has Ethernet on one side and PCIe on the other! So it is easier to create a blade-based backplane

Fig. 3: A PCIe-based fabric greatly simplifies interconnection.

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Charging batteries efficiently without wiresA key parameter of wireless charging is the amount of power that actually adds energy to the battery

BY TREVOR BARCELO Design Manager Battery Management Products Linear Technology, www.linear.com

Batteries provide power to many different applications across a wide range of industries. In many of these applications, a charging connector is difficult or impossible to use. For example, some products require sealed enclosures to protect sensitive electronics from harsh environments and to allow for convenient cleaning or sterilization. Other products may simply be too small to include a connector, and in products where the battery-powered applica-tion includes movement or rotation, then forget about charging with wires. Wire-less charging adds value, reliability and robustness in these and other applications.

Wireless power system overviewAs shown in Fig. 1, a wireless power system is composed of two parts separated by a gap: transmit circuitry, including a transmit coil, and receive circuitry, including a receive coil. The transmit circuitry generates a high fre-quency alternating magnetic field around the transmit coil. This magnetic field is coupled to the receive coil and converted to electrical energy, which can be used to charge a battery or power other circuitry.

When designing a wireless power charging system, a key parameter is the amount of charging power that actually adds energy to the battery. This received power depends on many factors, includ-ing the amount of power being transmit-

ted, the distance and alignment between the transmit coil and the receive coil, also known as the coupling between the coils, and finally, the tolerance of the transmit and receive components.

The primary goal in any wireless pow-er design is to guarantee delivery of the required power under worst-case power transfer conditions. However, it is equally important to avoid thermal and electrical overstress in the receiver during best-case conditions. This is especially important

when output power requirements are low; for example, when the battery is fully charged or nearly fully charged. In such a scenario, available power from the wireless system is high, but demanded power is low. This excess power typically leads to high rectified voltages or a need to dissipate the excess power as heat.

There are several ways to deal with excess power capacity when the demand-ed receiver power is low. The rectified voltage can be clamped with a power Zener diode or transorb. However, this solution is typically large and generates considerable heat. Assuming no feedback from the receiver, the maximum trans-

mitter power can be reduced, but this will either limit the available received power or it will reduce the transmit distance. It is also possible to communicate received power back to the transmitter and adjust real-time transmit power accordingly. This is the technique used by wireless power standards such as the Wireless Power Consortium Qi standard. However, it is also possible to solve this issue in a compact and efficient manner without resorting to complicated digital commu-nication techniques.

To efficiently manage the power trans-fer from transmitter to receiver under all conditions, the LTC4120 wireless power receiver integrates technology patented by

PowerbyProxi, a Linear Technology partner. PowerbyProxis patented dynamic harmoniza-tion control, or DHC, technique enables high-efficiency contact-less charging without thermal or electrical overstress concerns in the receiver. Using this technology, up to 2 W can be transmitted at a distance of up to 1.2 cm.

By modulating the resonant frequency of the receiver from a

tuned condition to a detuned condi-tion, DHC guarantees delivery of power under worst-case conditions without worrying about unloaded best-case con-ditions. This allows the LTC4120-based wireless charging system to operate over a wide transmit distance with significant coil misalignment. Furthermore, by controlling power transfer on the receiv-er-side only, the LTC4120-based system eliminates all potential communication interference issues, which might disrupt power delivery.

System performanceSo how well does it work? Figure 2

Fig. 1: Wireless battery charger power system overview.

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shows the amount of battery charge power received by an LTC4120 wireless power receiver as the separation and the center-to-center alignment between the

transmit coil and receive coil is varied. With 10 mm of separation, 2 W of charge power is available and the coils can be

misaligned significantly without much reduction in available power. While many different wireless power transmitters are available, the data in Fig. 2 was generated

using a basic dc/ac transmitter. The basic transmitter is an open-source reference design. Additional details for this current-fed push-pull transmit-ter can be found in an application note on Linear Technol-ogys website.

When choosing a transmitter, sev-eral factors should be considered. Is transmitter stand-by power (when a receiver is not pres-

ent) important? Does the transmitter need to differentiate between a valid receiver and unrelated foreign metal objects? How

sensitive is surrounding circuitry to EMI?The basic transmitter is a very simple

and inexpensive solution. Due to passive resonant filtering, the spectrum of EMI is well controlled at the fundamental transmitter frequency (about 130 kHz). However, it transmits at full power whether an LTC4120-based receiver is present or not. Therefore, its standby power is relatively high. It also does not differentiate between an LTC4120 and foreign metal objects and can cause un-related metal objects to warm up through induced eddy currents.

Two off-the-shelf production transmitters can be purchased from PowerbyProxi: Proxi-Point and Proxi-2D. Transmit distance and align-ment tolerance performance of these transmitters is virtually identical to that of the basic transmitter. However, these more advanced transmitters can detect whether a valid LTC4120-based receiver is present or not. This feature allows them to reduce standby power if no receiver is present and terminate

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power transmission if unrelated foreign metal objects are nearby.

Due to the high-efficiency buck switching topology of the LTC4120 charger as well as the DHC technology, over-all system efficiency is about 50 to 55%. To calculate this value, divide the battery charge power by the dc-input pow-er to the transmitter. Overall efficiency is very dependent on coupling and load. When charging a single-cell Li-Ion battery at 400 mA, the components on the LTC4120-based receiver board stay within 10C of ambient temperature. The LTC4120-based receiver can be seen in Fig. 3.

Other system considerationsThe LTC4120-based wireless charging system can charge a battery at 400 mA across an impressive gap. Lithium-based rechargeable batteries power many handheld applications and both 1S (nominally 3.7 V) and 2S (nominally 7.4 V) Li-ion packs are common. Extended cycle life and improved safety features are creating significant market space of LiFe-PO4 batteries as well. Furthermore, there is a wide variety of target charge voltages within these battery packs as custom-ers fine-tune the trade-offsamong initial battery capacity, cycle life, and retained capacity over time. To accommodate this variety, the LTC4120 does not need any additional cir-cuitry to charge one- and two-cell Li-Ion batteries as well as one-, two- and three-cell LiFePO4 batteries. Charge current can be programmed from 50 to 400 mA, while charge volt-age can be programmed from 3.5 to 11 V.

In addition to a built-in constant-current / constant-volt-age charge algorithm, the LTC4120 includes multiple battery safety features. A termination timer safely ends a charge cycle while an NTC input provides battery temperature monitoring and automatically suspends charging during unsafe tempera-ture conditions. Two charge status pins provide charge cycle and fault status information.

Wireless charging can add value, reliability, and robustness in many different types of applications. The LTC4120 is a key component in a robust contactless charging system.

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24 Special

A new generation of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries enables remote sensors to be powered by energy-harvesting devices

BY SOL JACOBS Vice President and General Manager Tadiran Batteries, www.tadiranbat.com

While lithium thionyl chloride (LiSOCL2) batteries remain the leading choice for powering remote wireless sensors, new applica-tions are emerging that are well suited to energy-harvesting devices operating in conjunction with rechargeable lithium batteries, providing design engineers with a growing range of options.

Among the different battery chemistries available for long-term use in remote wire-less devices, bobbin-type lithium thionyl

chloride (LiSOCL2) is overwhelmingly pre-ferred due to its high energy density, wide temperature range, and low annual self-dis-charge rate. Bobbin-type LiSOCL2 batteries have a proven track record of success in remote wireless applications, including systems that are still operational after 28+ years in the field, capable of working 40+ years without battery replacement.

The list of potential applications suitable for both LiSOCL2 batteries and ener-gy-harvesting technologies is expanding rapidly to include factory automation, measurement and control, HVAC of residential and commercial buildings, monitoring the structural health of

bridges, tunnels, and other infrastructure; tire-pressure-monitoring systems (TPMS), tank-level monitoring, medical equipment and patient monitoring, and various M2M applications. As a result, design engineers need to understand the unique advantages and drawbacks of all available solutionsto determine the optimal power management solution based on application-specific requirements.

Taking energy harvesting to extremes


Special 25

Basics of energy harvestingEmerging low power communications protocols such as ZigBee, Green Power, Bluetooth LE, and 6LowPan have opened doors to wireless sensor networks. Those that operate within a peak power range of 10 W to 100 mW may be best suited for energy-harvesting devices that draw energy from a variety of sources, including light, heat, vibration/motion, and RF/EM power.

There are essentially five basic elements of an energy-harvesting device: the sensor, transducer, energy processor, microcon-troller, and radio link. The sensor detects and quantifies environmental parame-ters, including but not limited to motion, proximity, temperature, humidity, pressure, light, strain, vibration, pH, and many oth-ers. The transducer and energy processor work in tandem to convert, collect, store, and deliver the electrical energy to the microcontroller and radio link, which are responsible for processing, analyzing, and, if required, transmitting the data on a con-tinuous, periodic or episodic basis to a host receiver of data collection point.

In most instances, energy-harvesting devices are coupled with rechargeable lithium batteries that store the harvested energy. While rechargeable lithium battery technology has improved dramatically for consumer applications, standard re-chargeable lithium-ion cells have inherent drawbacks for remote wireless sensor applications, including short operating life (maximum 5 years), low maximum cycle life (1,000 cycles), high annual self-dis-charge (up to 60% per year), and limited temperature range (0 to 60C) with no possibility of charging at low and high temperatures.

To address these problems, Tadiran recently introduced TLI Series batteries that use the same technology found inits patented hybrid layer capacitor (HLC), which stores the high-current pulses required for wireless communications, and has been field-proven in millions of cells to deliver up to 40-year service life. TLI Series batteries modify this technology to deliver reliable, long-term performance under extreme environmental conditions.

TLI Series batteries feature wider operating temperature (-40 to 85C, with storage up to 90C); the ability to deliver high-current pulses (up to 15 A for AA cell); low annual self-discharge rate (less than 5%); up tofive times more lifecycles (5,000 full cycles); longer operating life (20 years); charging possible at extreme tem-peratures (-40 to 85C); as well as a glass-to-metal seal (others use crimped seals that are prone to leakage). Available in AA and AAA diameters and custom battery packs, TLI Series cells can be recharged using dc-power or by energy-harvesting devices.

Some real-life examplesThese real-life examples that demonstrate the huge potential for energy harvesting, as well as situations better suited to 40-year LiSOCL2 batteries.IPS Parking MetersThe IPS Group manufactures solar-pow-ered, wirelessly networked parking meters that use TLI Series rechargeable lithi-um-ion batteries for energy storage and emergency backup power requirements.


26 Special

These innovative parking meters incor-porate multiple payment system options, access to real-time data, integration to vehicle detection sensors, user guidance and enforcement modules, all linked to a comprehensive web-based management system. TLI Series rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are ideal for this application, in part due to their ability to deliver high pulses as well as their ability to operate

continuously at extreme temperatures from -40to 85C, ensuring 24/7/365 system reliability for up to 20 years.Logimesh SensorsLogimesh manufactures wireless sensors that monitor the engines used to drive natural gas production compressors, using energy harvested from the vibra-tion generated by these compressors to offer a self-contained power management

system. Logimesh sensors detect real-time vibration and exhaust temperatures, mon-itor the operation of individual cylinder valves, and produce valuable data that helps ensure safe operation and generates predictive models for long-term mainte-nance. Since natural gas compressors are often found in pipelines located in deserts and other inhospitable environments, a more ruggedized form of rechargeable lithium-ion battery was required.PowercastPowercast offers an interesting case his-tory because the company employs both energy-harvesting and LiSOCL2 battery technologies. For one application, Power-cast uses low-power RF energy harvested from broadcast radio or television signals, and/or RF transmitters located within 45 ft of a wireless sensor to power the device, a solution works because the sensor only requires microamps of power, and suitable RF energy sources are nearby.

Powercast also uses a hybrid version of the bobbin-type LiSOCL2 battery to power its WSN-1101 wall-mounted sensor that measures indoor temperature, humidity, and other variables in HVAC, lighting control, energy management, industrial monitoring, and medical applications.

Designed for indoor use in tempera-tures ranging from -20 to +50C, the WSN-1101 wall-mounted sensor can trans-mit data once per minute for more than 25 years to the Powercast WSG-101 wireless gateway, which interfaces with wired Build-ing Automation Systems (BAS) networks via industry-standard protocols.

Use of a long-life LiSOCL2 battery enables Powercast to offer a highly a cost-effective and reliable 25-year solution that instantly converts standard buildings into smart buildings, offering an ideal upgrade for older structures with concrete or cinder block walls that cannot be easily retrofit for hard-wired solutions.

These case histories demonstrate the wide range of possibilities for powering remote wireless sensors found in extreme environs, as bobbin-type LiSOCL2 batter-ies and energy-harvesting devices coupled with lithium-ion rechargeable batteries provide an increasingly dynamic range of design options.

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Tamper detection in processor-based energy metersSmart e-meters make it possible to report tampering in real time

BY KRIPASAGAR VENKAT Smart Grid Applications Manager Texas Instruments, www.ti.com

Energy meters have gone through several changes with respect to design and functionality in the last decade. A variety of improvements such as lower cost, increased accuracy, tamper detection, less bulk, bigger feature set, no moving parts, digital display, etc. were incorporated in the newer elec-tronic meters.

In most devel-oped nations, tra-ditional electronic meters are being replaced by smart energy meters. Smart meters can communicate (one-/two-way) to the outside world through various wired and wireless com-munication methods. However, looking into the global landscape, the adoption of these improvements is inconsistent due to a lack of investments in grid infra-structure, challenging environments, and prioritized feature sets. For example, most meters are electronic in India, but are far behind the concept of smart meters (two-way communication) due to poor grid conditions. However, Indias meters are the most advanced with respect to tamper detection and protection.

Meter tampering in the broadest sense is an illegal method employed by consum-ers to gain entry, break in, or some cases break the meter to deplete key func-

tionalities, with the goal of reducing or completely eliminating the cost of energy usage. Traditional electricity meters have no ability to detect or deal with tamper-ing because they only measure energy based on the voltage and current flowing between the inlet and outlet terminals. In such meters, tampering has become very easy and detection is harder. Just as

metering and anti-tamper technologies have im-proved, in parallel, bad consumers continue to get smarter with newer methods to tamper and combat existing an-ti-tampering schemes.

Processor-based metersAll electronic meters have a digital processor, microcontroller, micropro-cessor, or mixed-signal IC that performs energy measurement. These devices, collectively referred to as processors, are very powerful and directly contribute to the robustness of any meter. Energy is the instantaneous product of ac voltage and ac current averaged over time. Separate sen-sors for voltage and current will convert ac-mains voltage and current to a reduced and acceptable input for analog-to-digi-tal converters (ADCs) processing in the digital domain. Figure 1 shows the signal chain inside an electronic meter from ac inputs to ADCs.

Fig. 1: Front end of an electricity meter.

Recom14_Inserat_2,0625x9,5_EN_Pfade.indd 1 10.02.2014 13:37:51

28 Special

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Sensors are external to the processor and are probably the easiest targets for tampering. It is important to establish that the ac-mains voltage is always fixed, whereas ac current varies with loads being turned on/off. Therefore, voltage sensors are minor targets since they are easily replaced with fixed values in the event of voltage sensor tampering. In comparison, current sensors are the most critical part of an energy measurement system. In any electronic energy meter, current sensors play an important part in energy accuracy, cost, size, and safety. Current sensors can be shunt resistors, current transformers (CT), Rogowski coils, Hall-effect, and others, with choices primarily made based the accuracy requirement of the meter. However, the sensors susceptibility to tampering varies and must be under-stood by metrology engineers worldwide in order to design a tamper-proof meter that can cater to worldwide needs.

Methods of tamperingVarious methods of tampering have been identified, including physical tampering, magnetic interference, bypassing currents, removing wires, adding passives to cause interference, and elec-troshock technologies (including electrostatic discharge) to break meters. Predictably, single-phase meters used in most residential complexes are targets for tampering and anti-tamper techniques for these are most needed. Physical tampering includes trying to break the case, inserting metal objects to prevent measurement, etc. Magnetic interference is the most common and easiest way

30 Special

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MPD EP 1411.indd 1 1/16/2014 1:58:29 PM

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EN 60601-1 2nd & 3rd Ed., UL 60601-1 1st ed.,

AAMI/ANSI ES60601-1

EN 60950-1 2nd Ed., UL 60950-1 2nd ed.

2MOPP Primary to Secondary, 1MOPP Primary to Ground

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to tamper with a meter. Typical sources of magnetic interference are powerful magnets and strong ac fields. Magnetic core-based components in meters such as CTs and transformer-based power sup-plies saturate in such conditions, resulting in a complete shutdown of metering.

Figure 2 shows magnetic interference using magnets and/or application of strong ac fields to disrupt measurements

in a single-phase meter. Bypassing current or an unbalanced

current condition occurs when a con-sumer tries to bypass some of the current consumed so the meter reports less usage. This condition can easily go undetected as these changes can be reverted quickly when the meter is due to be read by the utility. Reversing current falls under this category as well, where the meter leads are

reversed to negate the true readings so the meter counts backward. Although this maneuver sounds simple, it is a compli-cated process that involves rewiring the meter. The process is a significant safety risk to the perpetrator and difficult to perform if the meter is sealed and/or installed in a cramped location.

Physical tampering can be eliminat-ed by using costly polycarbonate cases, secondary casing, hermetic sealing, or simply by welding it shut to provide isolation and protection against foreign objects. Magnetic tampering can be pre-vented by using less magnetics in a meter. Current sensors such as shunt resistors and Rogowski coils have no magnetic elements and are immune to this type of attack. However, shunt resistors have limitations such as reduced accuracy due to self-heating and provide no isolation to the processor. Rogowski coils are coreless in their design, therefore cheaper, smaller, and harder to tamper with. They have to be customized for electricity meters, which increases manufacturing challenges in comparison to shunt resistors or CTs. Simple power supplies like the resistive capacitive type are designed without magnetics to ensure uninterrupted system power during tampering, but lack the capability to source large currents. Hence, electricity meters equipped with proces-sors requiring lower power are a benefit, and are more resilient, during attacks. By-passing current tampering can be quickly combatted by measuring current in both the line and neutral, and checking for bal-ance. Any significant difference between the two is a clear indication of tamper-ing. However, this calls for an additional

Fig. 2: Magnetic interference applied to an e-meter.

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sensor and an ADC channel to measure the return current. Two shunt resistors will not work due to high ac voltage between line and neutral applied directly to the processor, whereas two CTs are an option, but with a bigger increase in cost. In such meters, a shunt resistor CT combo would ensure the best accuracy, isola-tion, balanced cost, and ability to remain tamper resistant.

Reversed current tampering is easily resolved by firmware that indicates negative energy readings. Measures can then be taken to report tampering, make the readings positive and continue or bill the consumer at a very high rate under these conditions.

This article provided a brief outline into the various types of energy meter tampering and methods to detect them. Most of these methods are adaptive over time, and processors must have programmability and flexibility to combat the newest means of tampering. With the introduction of smart e-meters, reporting of tampering is now available in real time. With a remote discon-nect feature on these meters, utility companies can now cut off power to bad consumers almost instantly. This is a huge benefit and savings in terms of energy and revenue lost due to tamper-ing, which justifies the roll-out of smart meters for yet another good reason. An important practical conclusion is that micro-controllers with mixed-signal capabilities are best suited to pro-vide systems-on-chip for smart meters. The low-cost, low-power, powerful analog and digital peripherals, and firmware flexibility, allow for robust tamper-free meters.

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EN60601 3rd edition: A standard with many facesLearn about the differences from previous EN606001 versions and how manufacturers addressed the discrepanciesBY REINHARD ZIMMERMANN Dipl.-Ing., Recom Power www.recom-power.com

The third edition of EN60601-1 safety standard for medical devices and systems has been in force in Europe since the middle of 2012, and has wrought disharmony onto the world the new standard was not nearly as uniform as it should have been. This article sheds light on the differences from the previous version, describ-ing how power module manu-facturers have addressed the discrepancies.

Standards raise expecta-tions of creating uniform rules and transparen-cy within their scope of applica-tion, and in view of this globalized world, it would not have been amiss to expect the same from the third edition of the EN60601-1 standard. Even after years of preparation, there are still astonishing differences around 35 years after IEC/UL 60601 was first published.

Grace for NA a detriment to EuropeThe U.S. gave itself an additional year of grace, enforcing the new UL60601-1 on July 1, 2013, while Europe replaced the old second version from 1995 with the third version on July 1, 2012. As if that wasnt enough, there was another ex-

tremely unpleasant difference the new standard applied to all devices launched onto the European market, even new products with old designs, but the same standard in the U.S. was only applied to newly developed products. The Cana-dians took the middle road with their CAN/CSA standard by enforcing the standard on the same date as in Europe, but applying it only to newly developed products as in the U.S. Medical devices often linger in product ranges for around

five to ten years, so this last point in particular constitutes a costly drawback for European manufactur-ers not only because they had to retrofit new components to old designs, but also due to the high

additional costs of certifying their new products. This gray zone lasting years is a heavy burden on small companies in par-ticular, which often face the decision of taking current products from the market early while their competitors from the U.S. are allowed to keep on selling their old products.

The situation is even less clear for devices that fall under the EN/UL 60601-2 standard. The third edition is only man-datory for these products once the second edition no longer holds sway for 60601-2 products which may indeed come later.

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Some countries haven't or haven't yet enforced the third edition, and their products are still certified according to the second edition. Medical engineering products will literally be subject to double stan-dards for years to come.

Extended risk management regulationsVirtually nothing has changed in technical specifications for insula-tion; risk management has gained focus as a major area of innovation.

Medical device manufacturers will be re-quired to document their risk management process as based on the ISO 14971 model. Specific processes will have to be observed and documented, alongside compliance with fundamental technical standards.

As an example, the second edition allowed devices to break during test-ing as long as that didn't pose a risk to patient or operator health, but the third edition requires that the system keeps its essential functionality. This has to be

documented in a risk manage-ment file or RMF, which will also require far more contact between the manufacturer and testing authority throughout the development process espe-cially as results from the testing process have to be included in the RMF document.

Different standard for patients and operatorsDevices with patient contact (means of patient protection, or MOPP) require two isolation

Fig. 1: Block diagram of a medical device for direct patient contact with a reinforced isolated dc/dc converter as the second isolation barrier.

Fig. 2: Visual comparison between a reinforced isolated REC3.5 (right) and a single isolation REC3 that is unsuitable for applications with patient contact (left).

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barriers for electrical safety, an important requirement in power modules. The first barrier on the supply side has so far been implemented in a medical PSU, while reinforced isolated dc/dc converters pro-vide the second isolation barrier between the medical electronics and diagnostics tools, such as endoscopes and ECG elec-trodes, to double the safety.

One new feature of the third edition is that it separates off operator protec-tion; in theory, clearance and creepage distances as defined in EN60950-1 for electronic equipment are enough for devices without patient contact intended for protecting operating staff (means of operator protection or MOOP). You might interpret this as a relief, but the requirement for very low operating current must also be observed according to EN60601, so manufacturers would be well-advised to limit their possibilities and use medically isolated converter modules in MOOP devices as well.

Reinforced isolated dc/dc converters doubling patient safetyTransformer clearance and creepage distances in reinforced isolated con-verters have to be three times the size as those used in industrial settings. So far, this has been implemented with primary and secondary windings on opposite sides of a toroidal core separated by a partition wall in the middle. That deals with the isolation issue, but the magnetic fields would not be able to overlap due to the spatial separation between the two windings. An unpleasant side effect would be a decrease in efficiency in the two transformers, resulting in increased heat losses.

RECOM developed a small trans-former with primary and secondary windings interlocked in such a way as to ensure virtually optimal overlapping magnetic fields despite the creepage and clearance distances required for reinforced isolation. The new converters achieve 15% to 20% more output in the same casing due to quasi-resonant circuit topology, and are also approved for ambient temperatures of up to 85C around 15C more than most trans-formers with conventional toroidal-core

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transformers due to the low heat loss. Depending on type, we were able to re-duce isolation capacitance to values down to 1.5 pF, ensuring lower leakage current as required in medical electronics.

A complete generation of highly iso-lated converters for medical applications has emerged from this new transformer design, such as in programming devices for pacemakers, blood gas analysers, and

oximeters. The RxxP and RxxP2 series cover the 1- and 2-W class, and are avail-able in SIP7 casings. The 2-W version is available as an RV series in DIP24 casings for pin compatibility with legacy designs. The REC3.5 and REC6 series both provide 3.5and 6 W, respectively, and also come in a DIP24 casing. The models quoted are available with isolation voltag-es up to 8and 10 kVdc.


an electronic products special series

38 Energy-Saving Initiative

Power beyond the batteryFor engineers, a change in mindset is needed to advance energy storageBY CHAD HALL, VP of Marketing, Ioxus, www.ioxus.com

Engineers are constantly exploring new ways to improve functionality, maximize performance and keep abreast of technological advances that will enable them to build better products than competitors. An area engineers have started investigating as part of their re-search into the next generation of energy is how to make batteries more efficient and better performing. This research is leading them to see the benefits of using ultracapacitors to achieve enormous bursts of energy and provide a more reli-able end-product for the consumer.

An ultracapacitor stores energy in an electric field, as opposed to batter-ies which store energy chemically. This means that ultracapacitors can complete

hundreds of thousands more charge and discharge cycles than batteries because they do not experience the standard wear and tear associated with chemical reactions. Research shows that over the

energy storage systems (ESS) lifespan, ultracapacitors are the most cost-effective technology and last 15 years, compared to two to four years with a lead-acid battery. An ultracapacitor located at the point of

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Initial System Cost Over Time: The predicted cost of the ultracapacitor-based system is less than the cost of the current best solution, which is double absorbed glass mat (2xAGM) batteries, and is only about 20 percent more expensive than the traditional dual starting-light-ing-ignition (2xSLI)

Electronic Products March 2014

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