Page 38 - EngineerIt January 2021

NEW PRODUCTS AND INNOVATIONS

Microchip Adds 64 Mbit said Bob Vampola, associate vice president of Microchip’s aerospace
and defense business unit. “It offers the vital protection these space
®
Parallel SuperFlash Memory systems need for the most reliable digital processing where companion
for Space Systems Flash memory is required to store the critical software code or bitstream
that drives the complete system.”
Complements company’s COTS-based processors and Radiation-tolerant up to 50 kilorad (krad) TID, even while the Flash
communication interfaces to streamline development of is still biased and operating, the SST38LF6401RT device enables
space-qualified and scalable total system solutions systems to operate in a broad range of space applications where they
cannot afford any loss of code execution that could lead to severe
defects and system loss. It is an ideal companion to Microchip’s
®
®
o reduce the time, cost and risk of developing spaceflight-qualified SAMRH71 Arm Cortex -M7-based radiation-hardened SoC processor
®
systems, designers may start with Commercial-Off-The-Shelf and can also be used with the company’s RT PolarFire FPGAs to
T(COTS) devices that can later be replaced by their space-qualified, support in-flight system reconfiguration. The device has pinout
radiation-tolerant equivalent parts, available in plastic or ceramic distribution compatibility with its industrial version, for easy transition
packages featuring the same pinout distribution. Microchip Technology to the space-qualified plastic or ceramic versions at the Printed Circuit
announced a radiation-tolerant, 64 Megabit (Mbit) parallel-interface Board (PCB) level. Voltage operation of the SST38LF6401RT ranges
SuperFlash memory device with unrivaled Total Ionizing Dose (TID) from 3.0 to 3.6 volts (V).
tolerance for maximum reliability and robustness in the harsh radiation
environment of space missions. It is an ideal companion to Microchip’s Development tools and availability
space-ready microcontrollers (MCUs), microprocessors (MPUs) and The SST38LF6401RT SuperFlash device is sampling now in a ceramic
Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that provide the building version and supported by an evaluation board and demonstration
blocks for this scalable development model. software, available upon request. Also available upon request is an FPGA
“The SST38LF6401RT SuperFlash device further strengthens our flight programming reference case for combining the SuperFlash device
scalable approach to developing total space system solutions using our with an FPGA and a SAMRH71 processor with supporting software.
radiation-tolerant or radiation-hardened microprocessors and FPGAs,”
Microchip’s COTS-to-Radiation-Tolerant Process
By selecting relevant devices from its proven automotive- or industrial-
qualified product family and adding silicon process improvements,
Microchip gives them enhanced protections that make them more
immune to single-event latch-up in heavy ion environments. The
radiation performance of the slightly modified devices is fully
characterised and supported by a dedicated radiation report for each
functional block. The devices are used in applications ranging from
launch vehicles and satellite constellations to space stations. Designers
can begin system implementation with easy-to-source COTS devices
before swapping them out with pinout-compatible, space-qualified
equivalents in high-reliability plastic or ceramic packages. n

Fast IO-Link Encoders with COM3

ncoders with the latest and fastest IO-Link interface are now available with a transfer
rate of 230.4 Kbit/s, thus enabling a considerable improvement for control circuits.
EThe encoders also come with integrated temperature sensors and can route already
preprocessed position data to IO-Link masters if required. With their smart data, the devices
support the implementation of IIoT solutions, such as for predictive maintenance.
Their interlocked bearings make the encoders particularly robust against vibration or
impact to the shaft. The energy harvesting technology ensures continuous operation with
zero maintenance since the new multiturn IO-Link encoders also detect the number of
revolutions when de-energized – without any additional battery or mechanical gears. This
saves users the need for battery changes and regular maintenance.
The encoders allow simple and uniform data processing with the help of the IO-Link
smart sensor profile (SSP) which defines the data semantics of the IO-Link information
model in detail and uniformly, irrespective of vendor. The data storage functionality of the
IO-Link encoders enable users to replace faulty devices without any additional effort, since
the IO-Link master provides the new encoder with all the necessary device parameters
without the need for any additional parameter setting. n

For more information email brandon.topham@turckbanner.co.za

EngineerIT | December 2020 / January 2021 | 36