How Do You Stay Current

I work in the world of silicon chips and I am constantly looking at new ways to stay current.  I did find a good website out there (Thanks to a friend for the suggestion), and wanted to repost the Podcast and the website.  The following information is from Chip Report TV, a website dedicated to talking about some of the recent chip releases out there:

The following information is from ChipReportTV, a new Podcast I listen to:

ChipReportTV #6 — CC2564, LT8300, MAX5318

Oct 20

CC2564 from Texas Instruments

• What it does
  • Bluetooth
• Industry it is targeted at:
  • Everything in wireless consumer electronics
• Project Ideas
  • Adding Bluetooth to your uC projects
• Comparable to
  • CC254x (2.4 Gig)
  • Bluetooth modules like the SPBT2632 from ST (higher cost)
• What’s The Special Sauce?
  • This is the all in one radio chip and MAC
  • Best-in-class range of about 2x, compared to other BLE-only solutions.
  • On-Chip Power Management (Can reliably operate for 7 years).
  • Easy Integration with Stellaris and MSP430 MCUs (need a stack, included)
• Power
  • Power Supply Voltage 2.2-4.8V.
  • I/O Power Supply Voltage. 1.62 -1.92.
• Packaging
  • footprint: 76 pins, 0.6-mm pitch,8.10- × 7.83-mm mrQFN
• Price
  • $2.14 @ 1K
• Comments/Thoughts
  • Aside from FCC cert, why WOULDN’T you put this in a project? We’ve finally reached the point where Bluetooth is as standard to implement as Ethernet.

LT8300 from Linear Technology

• What it does
  • Isolated flyback converter for isolated power delivery.
• Industry it is targeted at
  • Anything requiring an isolated power supply. Telecom, automotive, industrial, medical, etc.
• Project Ideas
  • Isolated USB (2.5W), Isolated anything
• Comparable to
  • UCC28600 from TI
• What’s The Special Sauce?
  • Integrated 150V, 260mA DMOS power switch.
  • Vout set with a single resistor.
  • Boundary Mode Operation at Heavy Load.
  • Low-Ripple Burst Mode Operation at Light Load.
• Power
  • 6-100V input
  • 70uA in Sleep, 330uA in Active.
• Packaging
  • TSOT-23-5
• Price
  • 3.58 @1K
• Comments/Thoughts
  • Great if you need isolation and don’t have a ton of space or requirements. The no 3rd turn is a cool feature and the regulation on this thing looks great.

MAX5318 from Maxim Integrated

• What it does
  • 18 Bit High Accuracy DAC with Digital Gain and Offset Control
• Industry it is targeted at:
  • Data-Acquisition Systems, Medical, Communication, Automation
• Project Ideas
  • Voltage source
• Comparable to
  • DAC9881
• What’s The Special Sauce?
  • Accuracy Guaranteed with ±2 LSB (max) Over Temp.
  • Buffered Voltage Output Directly Drives 2kΩ Load
  • Rail-to-Rail.
  • Fast Settling Time (3µs) with 10kI || 100pF Load.
• Power
  • Continuous Power Dissipation (T= +70C): 1111.1 mW (1.1W)
• Packaging
  • 4.4mm x 7.8mm, 24-lead TSSOP
• Price
  • $24.88 @100
• Comments/Thoughts
  • Eesh, is the resolution worth it? I’m not so sure. What kinds of applications need 18 bits? What are you wrapping around it? That could immediately kill your resolution.

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