Actel sign with Future Electronics to supply fast access to low-power FPGAs

Actel Corporation and Future Electronics have agreed to a franchise distribution partnership. Actel are a world leader in low-power and mixed-signal FPGAs. Their FPGAs are specifically designed to cut power as well as bill-of-materials cost. The company’s portfolio includes the lowest-power IGLOO® and ProASIC®3 FPGAs, Fusion mixed-signal FPGAs and the RTAX family of high-reliability FPGAs. Actel is also unique in offering royalty- and license-free ARM® Cortex processors for embedded applications.

Future Electronics will provide comprehensive support and fulfilment services for Actel’s portfolio. Offering the highest level of service, the most advanced engineering and design capabilities as well as technical solutions, and the largest available-to-sell inventory in the world, Future will help Actel’s FPGA customers to accelerate their design cycle.

 

Microchip updates USB Software Stack for 8-, 16- and 32-bit PICs

Microchip has upgraded its free USB software stack. The software is USB-IF certified and still includes On-The-Go (OTG) support for Microchip’s 16-bit PIC24F MCUs. Additional support for Microchip’s portfolio of 8-, 16- and 32-bit USB PIC® MCUs is now included together with a number of advanced features. The software stack includes an optimised library and full source code. OTG stack certification for the 32-bit PIC32 family is expected in early 2009. All of Microchip’s MCUs are supported by the free MPLAB® IDE, which allows development with the new USB stack. The stack, and other associated software, can be downloaded from www.microchip.com/USB.

 

Noise-shaping technology enables uninterrupted accuracy

National’s zero-drift amplifiers use advanced noise-shaping technology with continuous-correction circuitry to auto zero the input offset error voltage. This technology enables uninterrupted accuracy over time and temperature, with a high Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) and high Power-Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR).

Two new zero-drift operational amplifiers have been released. The LMP2021 and LMP2022 op amps offer high DC accuracy with low input voltage noise of 11nV√Hz at a voltage gain of 1000. The LMP2021/22 amplifiers support sensor-interface applications operating at low frequencies and low supply voltages, as well as applications requiring high gain and low noise.

 

Extended PoE family offers higher power range

The NCP1083 joins ON Semiconductor’s NCP1081 high-power integrated Power over Ethernet Power Device (PoE-PD). The family now supports up to 40W of regulated power delivered to the application load in a two-pair configuration. The NCP1083 is also capable of providing power through an auxiliary parallel supply.

Applications that can benefit from this technology include industrial Ethernet I/O modules, VoIP phones, wireless access points, PLCs, Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) and dome security cameras, and other applications that require an auxiliary supply.