Microsemi showcases many of the latest products and solutions

     Microsemi highlights a range of products and solutions including: ZL70250 Ultra-low power Radio frequency (RF) transceiver, Power conversion technology for solar/photovoltaic inverters, demonstration of new single-chip multi-axis motor control suite from Meko SEMi, Flangeless VRF MOSFETs and the new 1200V IGBT series and high reliability Transient Voltage suppression (TVS) products.

     Among the most notable are the design guidelines for developing the next generation of high-voltage, high-power systems based on the company's unique digital radio frequency (DRF) family of hybrid modules. It is widely used in semiconductor processing, LCD glass coating, solar cell production, optical devices and building glass coating, harmful gas treatment, CO2 laser excitation, MRI RF amplifier, RF scalpel and induction heating systems. These modules integrate RF driver ics and power MOSFETs in a single high-performance package capable of sending 1 to 3kW of power at frequencies up to 40 MHz. The design guide also provides system developers with RF design tips including component selection, matching network design, optimization of output power, efficiency maximization, heat dissipation design, and specific advice on the circuit topology needed to build a complete RF generator.

     Glenn Wright, Director of Marketing, MOSRF Product Division, Microsemi, said: "Our DRF family of products offers significant technical advantages over traditional low-voltage RF systems. These benefits are reflected in the ability to solve complex design challenges, reduce system size, increase power density and reliability, and reduce overall system cost for a variety of industrial, scientific and medical applications."

     The Microsemi DRF product family integrates up to two RF driver ics, two power MOSFETs, and associated decoupling capacitors in a single package. The close proximity of the driver IC and MOSFET greatly reduces circuit inductance, while providing higher system performance than the current component solution, as well as enabling multiple circuit configurations and system topologies. Designed to deliver continuous power, Class D and E and pulse power applications, the module can transmit up to 3kW of RF power with only 5V logic level input signals. The new module uses Meso Semi's unique flangeless packaging technology, which costs less than traditional alternative solutions and further improves system performance.

     Microsemi now offers design guides and other development tools and technical support services for the DRF product family, including SPICE models, reference design tool kits and application instructions.

     There are also two new non-magnetic transient voltage suppressor (TVS) arrays, designed specifically for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices to prevent circuit damage caused by electrostatic discharge, electrical fast transients and secondary lightning effects. USBQNM504xx and USBQNM504xxC TVS arrays are now available from Megalomy, which meet the requirements and are used by a major medical device manufacturer.

     Simon Wainwright, vice president of marketing and Business Development for Microsemi's High Reliability Products division, said: "Our high-performance TVS arrays use non-ferrous materials in their packaging, making them suitable for MRI devices and other medical devices that operate in strong magnetic environments. This feature provides additional protection against harmful voltage spikes that can damage data in sensitive medical devices and produce inaccurate results that could adversely affect patient health."

     The USBQNM504xx and USBQNM504xxC TVS arrays protect unidirectional and bidirectional lines, respectively, and the new environmentally friendly halogen-free product comes in a non-iron square flat lead-free 143-pin metal lead frame package with a RoHS compliant "green" housing that is also pin-compatible with the SOT-143 package. Other features include: Rated power peak 500W at 8/20μs pulse, in accordance with IEC 61000-4-2 ESD protection, IEC 61000-4-4 Electrical Fast Transients (EFT), and secondary lightning effects specifications, Board level protection for sensitive circuits including TTL, CMOS, DRAM, SRAM, HCMOS, HSIC microprocessors, as well as USB and I/O transceivers. The solution includes Microsemi's SmartFusion. Evaluation kit and TRINAMIC's motor control daughter board kit.

     Microsemi's award-winning SmartFusion Customizable System-on-a-Chip (cSoC) combines three important features for successfully compiling complex motor control algorithms: an embedded microcontroller, a programmable analog module, and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Such an integrated approach provides an ideal platform to separate software and hardware architecture requirements. Embedded ARM Cortex for SmartFusion? The M3 microcontroller can be used for system-level task management, algorithm execution, and system connectivity. The programmable on-board analog module provides complete sensing and control of voltage, current and temperature monitoring. Flash FPGA logic is used to perform hardware acceleration and mathematical co-processing. In addition, arithmetic/cycle intensive algorithms (routines) can be implemented by hardware within the FPGA and can be executed very quickly and efficiently.