The Kynix Blog

With the ICL5101, Infineon Technologies AG extends its portfolio of lighting control ICs, addressing lighting systems in the range of 40W to 300W. The new high-voltage resonant controller IC provides a high level of integration which translates to a reduction in system cost. Typical applications which benefit from these features include indoor and outdoor LED lighting, high-bay and low-bay lighting, street lighting, parking garage and canopy lighting, office lighting, retail and shop lighting. Since the total cost of ownership is an important aspect for industrial lighting, customers prefer to use resonant topologies supported by the new ICL5101 due to its high efficiency up to 95%.  The highly integrated ICL5101 allows for advanced LED driver designs with approximately 25% less components compared to similar solutions which require separate PFC and resonant ICs. This leads to smaller form factors with more reliable designs, less complex PCB layouts and reduced costs. The ICL5101 integrates the half-bridge and the PFC gate drivers. All operation parameters of the IC are adjustable by simple resistors, enabling cost effective but reliable and stable parameter-settings.The chip supports outdoor use by an extended junction temperature ranging from -40°C to +125°C.The LED controller ICL5101 is designed to control resonant converter topologies such as LLC. The integrated digital PFC stage operates both in critical conduction mode (CrCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM), which allows an extremely stable regulation in low load conditions, occurring for e.g. when the device is dimmed. The LED lighting can be dimmed down over an extremely wide range from 100% to 0.1% of its nominal load. State of the art dimming today typically ranges from 100% to 5%. In addition, the ICL5101 enables an ultra-fast time to light – under any conditions – with less than 200ms.The adjustable PFC stage of the ICL5101 delivers high power quality, providing a low total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than 10% and a high power factor of more than 0.99 over wide line input voltage range. This enables lighting manufacturers to comply with energy efficiency standards. Furthermore the output of the ICL5101 is extremely stable over line voltage variations. A comprehensive set of protection features including external over temperature protection and capacitive load protection ensure the detection of fault conditions and increase system safety.With the introduction of ICL5101 Infineon once again demonstrates its technology leadership for highly efficient driver solutions. Just recently, the ILD6150 step-down driver IC was nominated as finalists in the product category "ICs and electronic components" for the 2015 LEDs Magazine Sapphire Awards .  

What if you could stick an OLED panel on your wall with a magnetic mat? A detachable OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panel that would just as easily be taken off as stuck on the wall? Reports surfaced on Tuesday that South Korea-based LG Display has fashioned just the thing, a 0.97 mm thick 55" flat OLED TV panel and only 1.9 kilos (4.2 pounds). LG Display showcased the screen in Korea.By comparison, LG Display's existing 55-inch OLED panel is 4.3 mm thick. Engadget's Jon Fingas said that "it raises the possibility of big-screen sets that easily blend into your living room's décor." That's the good news. The sad news is that there is no word about when such displays will make it to retail shops.The unveiling was part of a broader announcement to showcase the company's plans for the future, which center on OLED tech, said Don Reisinger in CNET. The screen was presented as one of the company's future displays at the media event. Using a magnetic mat, the screen can easily be stuck to—or removed from— a wall. To remove the display from the wall, said Reisinger, you peel the screen off the mat. The Yonhap News Agency report carried a photograph of a model gently lifting the detachable wallpaper OLED panel at the event in Seoul on Tuesday. Yonhap News Agency referred to the LG Display screen as a "wallpaper OLED panel." Don Reisinger of CNET referred to it as press-on wallpaper TV.Strategically, the unveiling tells us something about LG Display, said reports; the company appears to view high-end displays as a growth engine. (They released 55-inch, 66-inch and 77-inch OLED models earlier in the year, said Yonhap News Agency.) The showing also indicates that LG Display continues to focus attention on OLED.Reisinger offered reasons for why OLED "is widely believed to be the next frontier." He said, "The technology adds an organic compound layer that allows not only for exceedingly thin screens, but for those displays to be curved. The organic material also emits its own light, eliminating the need for a backlight. That allows for such thin screens and has made OLED a desirable choice not only for televisions, but for a wide range of wearables and other mobile products."While the wall-sticking panel is a delight to view, Ryan Waniata, writing in Digital Trends on Tuesday, expressed his view that "Such a display probably won't be used in a TV anytime in the near future; it's more likely to end up in wearable technology, automobile manufacturing, and commercial applications." Still, he added, "we could conceivably see such technology (paired with an outboard processing unit) becoming the TV of the future."  

Intel on Monday provided details about the microarchitecture of the Intel Core M processor, which is the first product to be manufactured using 14nm technology. As such, the world is in for a taste of a 14-nanometer chip. AnandTech also said that "Core M will be launch vehicle for Broadwell and will be released for the holiday period this year." Intel executives provided some of the first details on the chips built using Intel technology. Providing some context to the event, CNET on Monday observed how Intel and other chip companies have been racing to advance processor technologies "by shrinking the geometries of the chips." CNET said the race looks as if Intel is ahead of the pack, with processors built at 14 nanometers, or billionths of a meter. AnandTech commented: "Intel appears to be back on track. 14nm is in volume production in time for Broadwell-Y to reach retail before the end of the year."What does the Core M mean for manufacturers and consumers? CNET said, for one result, the Intel chip is to allow PC makers to build much thinner and lighter devices. In all, the Intel move to a 14 nanometer chip from a 22-nanometer chip can translate into devices that are "thinner, lighter, more power-efficient, and don't need a fan," said CNET. The Wall Street Journal said, "The first chip based on the new production process—which is called the Intel Core M and based on a design called Broadwell —will be targeted at tablets and other devices that operate without a cooling fan but are as thin as nine millimeters or less.".Intel's own statement said, "The combination of the new microarchitecture and manufacturing process will usher in a wave of innovation in new form factors, experiences and systems that are thinner and run silent and cool."As for process, "Intel's 14 nanometer technology uses second-generation Tri-gate transistors to deliver industry-leading performance, power, density and cost per transistor," said Mark Bohr, Intel senior fellow, technology and manufacturing Group, and director, process architecture and integration. "Intel's investments and commitment to Moore's law is at the heart of what our teams have been able to accomplish with this new process."CNET noted the first systems using Core M will reach shelves for the holiday period, and the bulk of new devices will be available in the first half of 2015. Gizmodo remarked, "We'll most likely see Core M branding on the boxes of select tablet devices this holiday season with even more laptop and PCs hopping on board in early 2015."In the bigger picture, AnandTech commented that "Intel's preview is very much a preview; we will see bits and pieces of Broadwell's CPU architecture, GPU architecture, and packaging, along with information about Intel's 14nm process. However this isn't a full architecture preview or a full process breakdown. Both of those will have to wait for Intel's usual forum of IDF." The Wall Street Journal also said that Intel plans to disclose more about the new technology and products based on it at the September event.Related products:NU80579EZ009CNU80579ED009CNU80579EZ600CNU80579EZ600CTNU80579EZ004C  

Fujifilm Corporation and nano-electronics research institute imec have demonstrated full-color organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) by using their jointly-developed photoresist technology for organic semiconductors, a technology that enables submicron patterning. This breakthrough result paves the way to producing high-resolution and large organic Electroluminescent(EL) displays and establishing cost-competitive manufacturing methods.Organic EL displays are increasingly used for televisions, mobile devices including smartphones as well as wearable devices. Since they can be made thin and flexible, while also offering excellent response time and contrast ratio. It is said that today's products require organic EL displays of high pixel density, i.e. around 200ppi for 4K televisions, 500ppi for full HD mobile devices and even higher density for compact displays for wearable devices. There has been active R&D for organic semiconductors to develop a high-resolution patterning method for organic EL materials to be used in these products.In 2013, Fujifilm and imec jointly developed photoresist technology for organic semiconductors that enables submicron patterning without damaging the organic semiconductor materials, based on photolithography capable of high-resolution patterning on large substrates. There is no need for additional capital investment since an existing i-line exposure system can be used for the new technology. This is why the technology has attracted wide attention since the development announcement with anticipation of a cost-effective way of manufacturing high-resolution organic semiconductor devices.In the latest achievement, Fujifilm and imec produced full-color OLEDs with the photoresist technology for organic semiconductors and successfully verified their performance. Red, green and blue organic EL materials were patterned, each in the subpixel pitch of 20μm, to create full-color OLEDs. An OLED array of 40 x 40 dots at the resolution of 640ppi was realized and illuminated with UV rays to confirm that red, green and blue dots separately emitted light. The emission of red, green and blue lights was also confirmed in a test involving the application of voltage rather than illumination, confirming its correct performance.These results open new opportunities, such as using the novel photolithography in a multiple patterning process. An example would be creating an OLED array that adds a fourth color to red, green and blue, as well as developing previously-unseen devices such as a new sensors that integrate OLED with the organic photodetector.This research result is to be presented at the SID Display Week, one of the world's largest international exhibitions for information displays, held in San Jose, California from May 31 to June 5, 2015.Since the commencement of joint research in November 2012, Fujifilm and imec have broken through the boundary of conventional technology to contribute to the progress of technology associated with organic semiconductors, e.g., developing the photoresist technology for organic semiconductors that enables the realization of high-resolution submicron patterns. The two companies will continue to undertake cutting-edge R&D involving semiconductor materials, process technology and system integration, thereby contributing to resolving challenges faced by the organic electronics industry.

A small NO2 sensor featuring a low power consumption in the mW range has been developed by Imec and Holst Centre. The sensors have a low detection limit for NO2 (<10 ppb) and a fast response time. They are particularly well suited for air quality monitoring and serve as a solution to the increased demand for accurate local air quality monitoring for indoor and outdoor environments. The sensors are being tested in real-life situations, as part of an environmental monitoring platform.While wearable technology that measures body parameters has become increasingly popular in recent years, the Intuitive Internet of Things (I2oT) is next on the horizon: connecting everybody and everything everywhere with data stored in the cloud, turning the massive amount of data in information to make the right decisions, to take the right actions exactly as we need or want. The I2oT is expected to manage the sustainability, complexity and safety of our world. It will increase our comfort and wellbeing in many ways.Health issues resulting from poor air quality are a growing concern for consumers and accurate monitoring is becoming more and more in demand, for both outdoor and indoor environments.Air quality is typically measured on just a few distinct locations per city, with specialized equipment. Many current gas sensors are large in size, have high power consumption and are too cost prohibitive to be implemented on a large scale for I2oT applications. Imec and Holst Centre have developed small, simple, low power and high quality autonomous sensors that wirelessly communicate with the environment and the cloud.Imec and Holst Centre's NO2 sensors were integrated in the Aireas air quality network, a multiple sensor network in the city center of Eindhoven (the Netherlands). The purpose was to test -in actual outdoor conditions and long term- the stability of the sensors, and benchmark them against established reference sensors. The sensors are operational since early May 2015 and contribute with valuable outdoor sensor data since then. During traffic rush hours, the sensors detect a significant increase of NO2 concentration up to the health safety limits.Imec and Holst Centre are currently deploying a similar sensor network inside the Holst Centre building in Eindhoven to test the sensors for indoor air quality monitoring. This environmental monitoring platform today includes it proprietary NO2 sensor and commercial sensors for temperature, relative humidity and CO2. The measured levels can be monitored live, over the internet. In a next step, proprietary low-cost low-power sensors will be added for CO2, VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), ozone, and particle matter.The generated sensor data are transferred to the cloud, stored in a database and immediately available on (mobile) applications, explained Kathleen Philips, director of imec's perceptive systems for the intuitive internet of things R&D program. "Data fusion methodology and advanced algorithms enable us to combine data from different sensors such as temperature, several gasses, humidity, human presence detection and to derive contextual knowledge. This information contributes to a correct interpretation of the situation and helps us to take adequate actions to solve the problem. In this way, we have developed a context-aware intuitive sensing system."Companies interested in early application validation and development for distributed IoT networks and/or in the innovative technology and circuits to realize them are invited to become a partner in our R&D program. IP can also be licensed.

Imec and Holst Centre (set-up by imec and TNO) have demonstrated a prototype of a single-chip electrochemical sensor for simultaneous detection of multiple ions in fluids. The demonstrator paves the way to small-sized and low-cost detection systems for agriculture, healthcare and lifestyle applications, food quality monitoring and water management.Imec and Holst Centre's ion sensor solution is a generic platform that can be tailored towards specific applications. It enables efficient and low-cost monitoring, such as monitoring of nutrient concentrations in surface and waste water, both for agricultural applications and water quality. In the healthcare and lifestyle applications, it provides disposable point-of-care solutions, or conformable solutions for integration into patches. Depending on the application and the form factor, it can be mass produced through microfabrication or through screen-printing on inexpensive substrates such as glass or foil. As compared to commercial ion sensors, this bring a unique advantage in terms of low cost manufacturability, and size of the solution. Moreover, by changing the selective membranes on the electrodes, the sensor can be adopted to detect other ions.The presented prototype is a handheld device that integrates a single-chip sensor with different electrodes that detect pH levels in a range from 2 to 10 at a 0.1 pH accuracy. For the chemical elements chloride (Cl-), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), and nitrate (NO3-) -ranging from 10-4 M to 1 M ions- the sensor detects at a 10 percent accuracy. Benchmarked against other available single-ion sensors, imec's prototype demonstrated comparable sensitivity and accuracy for a versatile multiple-ion solution."With small autonomous smart sensors that adapt to and wirelessly communicate with the environment and each other, imec aims to develop the building blocks that enable an Intuitive Internet of Things," stated Kathleen Phillips, program director perceptive systems at imec. "Our scientists and engineers have reached an important breakthrough demonstrating the capabilities of our technology with this versatile single-chip sensor. As we continue to improve our sensor platform, develop sensors for other ions, integrate more sensors into a single system, and extend the lifetime of our sensor, imec will be at the nucleus in driving the advancements of smart connected systems. We invite industry to join our R&D program, become a partner to jointly develop new ion sensing applications and to bring this technology to the market."