Calling all freemaster fans!
Are you an experienced FreeMASTER user (who has already created custom dashboards) or an HTML/Javascript coder (who is new to this great tool and keen to share your creative ideas)? We are giving away 50 evaluation boards (20 i.MX RT1020 , 20 LPC55S2888-EVK , and 10 S32K144EVB-Q100 ) as a thank you to those of you who are willing to share your dashboards with our community by June 19, 2020.
We would like to see your #FreeMASTERdash design! Learn how to participate and share your dashboard.
FreeMASTER helps you to create engaging dashboards to control and/or demo your application with all the possibilities using its resources such as jqWidgets, Google, PrimeUI, or Plotly.js
As our ability to shrink the size of transistors begins approaching the atomic wall, researchers have had to shift more of their focus on making chips more efficient in both power consumption, and the speed at which the chips can process data. One way to do this is to simplify the design of the chip to utilize fewer components, but that’s easier said than done. Researchers at Purdue University have recently published a research paper that could change the way we build microchips forever.
Researchers have created a more feasible way to combine transistors and memory on a chip, potentially bringing faster computing. (Caption Credit: Purdue University | Photo/Vincent Walter)
The paper which was published in Nature Electronics in December of 2019 details a new transistor/memory hybrid that has the potential to temporarily alleviate some of the issues that chipmakers are facing right now. The team of engineers had to find a way to combine ferroelectric RAM with silicon-based transistors, a problem that has frustrated researchers for decades.
You see, silicon and materials with high ferroelectric properties do not like to mix for a number of reasons, and previous attempts to make the two materials play nice together were for all intended purposes, fruitless. The closest we have been able to get (until now) to this holy grail of combinations is interfacing the ferroelectric RAM as a separate module on the chip itself.
The team was led by Peide Ye, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue, together they discovered ho
“We used a semiconductor that has ferroelectric properties. This way two materials become one material, and you don’t have to worry about the interface issues,” said Peide Ye, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue and team lead of this project.
The new hybrid was dubbed a “ferroelectric semiconductor field-effect transistor and is built using the same process as traditional silicon-based chips. “The material, alpha indium selenide, not only has ferroelectric properties but also addresses the issue of a conventional ferroelectric material usually acting as an insulator rather than a semiconductor due to a so-called wide “band gap,” which means that electricity cannot pass through and no computing happens,” the researchers wrote. “Alpha indium selenide has a much smaller band gap, making it possible for the material to be a semiconductor without losing ferroelectric properties.”
The transistor was built and tested by Mengwei Si, a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue, and the results showed that it was on-par in terms of performance of traditional silicon transistors. Performance is expected to increase substantially with improvements in efficiency and refinement as further research and testing is conducted. Furthermore, both teams worked together in conjunction with the Georgia Institute of Technology to build alpha indium selenide into a space on a chip, called a ferroelectric tunneling junction, which engineers could use to enhance a chip’s capabilities even further.
This has been an issue with other ferroelectric materials in the past as their band gap made the material much too thick for any usable electrical current to pass through. Alpha indium selenide has a much smaller band gap, and can retain its properties at a thickness of just 10-nanometers, which allows much more current to flow through a smaller space which results in further miniaturization of integrated circuits. The paper says that this new technology could allow scales down to just several nanometers to become the norm for microchip fabrication in the near future. This technology could one day shrink circuit density to a scale that allows us to memic networks similar to how the human brain transfers information.
I covered the computer processor beat for several years early in my career, and I remember when 16nm scale processes were thought to be close to the atomic wall, but each year or two we somehow managed to shrink things down further, and then over the last decade or so, that progress has slowed to what can only be described as a glacier's pace. I have been pretty bummed out about this, but its research like this that gives me hope that we can squeeze more performance out of silicon-based processors yet!
In the previous blog of September 2019, we covered the software integration of NFC frontends in Linux. We discussed about how NFC frontend offers a host interface and a contactless interface.
In this blog we talk about the software integration of another group of products, the NFC controllers.
PN7150 NFC controller family are integrated solutions combining an NFC frontend together with an MCU.
PN7150 has two main external connections: the Host and the RF interfaces.
Host interface:
RF interface:
For detailed webinar, please click here : https://www.nxp.com/video/nfc-software-integration-ii-how-to-integrate-nfc-controllers-in-linux:INTEGRATE-NFC-CONTROLLER…
Content of Webinar:
Ask NFC community, get expert advice from the developer community
Microcontrollers can be complicated, to be honest, understanding how a microcontroller works is critical to a perfect system level design. In addition, understanding the IPs and how a microcontroller can best fit into your application in order to maximize its potential sometimes might get really complicated and hard to solve by yourself. However, using an NXP microcontroller or processor is a different story. Today I am going to introduce different ways that NXP is trying to better support customers and users to design more smoothly.
NXP website for general product selection and new product peek
The broadest official documentation and software download pool: www.nxp.com
NXP's microcontroller and processor portfolio is making things really different. The cortex-M and Cortex-A cores provides high compatibility. While NXP also provides multiple reference designs and sample codes to help you get started from both hardware and software level. For nearly each microcontroller and processor family, NXP designs and provides unique development board to help user get familiar quickly. All these efforts enable users to get to know the product even though it is their first time using NXP's products.
To get the most up-to-date information about NXP's new product and the development board, reference design and latest customized software to fit your design best, you can simplly do some click and search on the official website and you will find the latest information that you need.
NXP community for direct technical support from global audience
The most efficient way to get help from NXP global experts: community.nxp.com
NXP runs its own community that is different from here. The NXP community is a place for users from around the world to seek help and get answer from NXP's experts. No matter what your question is, there are always NXP engineers and experts who will try their best to reply and solve your needs in time. The community is supported by NXP's experts 24hours globally so you won't worry about the time. If you are interested in finding what other people are asking, you may also brouse as a visitor, who knows you might get your confusion to be cleared in the meantime!
NXP MCU China Community (co-managed with EEFocus) for technical supports in Mandarin
Completely local, Mandarin, exclusive Mandarine tech materials from NXP experts: www.nxpic.org
NXP community sometimes provides materials in diverted languages aside from English, but not so much as it needs to serve best for international quests. This China Community under EEFocus.com is a platform that best suites users who do not speak English or those who wants more localized help. The China Community is also professional since NXP engineers from China regularly supports. The site is totally in Chinese so that Mandarin speakers can express and get answered with better understanding. Besides the technical support function, this China Community is also established as a stand alone website where you can find Mandarin marketing and technical materials. And some of the Mandarin application notes and develop exerience, selection guide from NXP's experts are nowhere to be downloaded aside from here.
Microcontrollers (MCUs) and Microprocessors (MPUs) are nowadays vital for a wide range of industrial and automotive applications: from motor control to infotainment systems and auto body control solutions. Therefore, selecting the right MCU or MPU for a product can be a huge hurdle, as not only engineers need to consider the technical features of the device but the cost and lead-times to build the business case for the proposed solution.
Both hardware and software engineers should first work out the high levels of the system (the block diagram and flowchart) and details (specifications and solution requirement) to collect enough information to make a rational decision for selecting the MCU or MPU. Choosing the appropriate device can reduce the Bill of Materials (BOM) cost —and lower the price of the Electronic Control Unit (ECU).
Normally, MCUs are used in cost-optimized solutions where tight control of BOM, power saving, and limited UI interaction are a must-have requirement. They tend to be utilized in low-power applications like remote controls, consumer electronics, and smart meters. While MPUs are ideal for rich UI OS-based (Linux, Android, or Windows CE) industrial and consumer applications, with intensive computing, high-speed connectivity, and high-performance applications.
Here are some ideas to consider when choosing the right MCU or MPU for your design:
1- List all hardware interfaces.
Enumerate all external interfaces that the device need to support using the general hardware block diagram. Include both communication (USB, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, UART...) and real-time input/output interfaces (digital to analog, analog to digital, PWM...)
2- Examine the software architecture.
Check the computing power requirements (architecture and frequency of the device) and estimate the magnitudes of each task —how long and often the task will need to run. Watchdog timers are a key feature to look in MCUs as they help to recover from failure situations, resetting the device as soon as it detects is unresponsive.
3- Identify the needed memory.
Estimate how much Flash, RAM, and ROM are needed for the application to perform correctly, using the software architecture and the communication peripherals, identifying which kind of memory interfaces the application will require; making sure the solution will not run out of the program or variable space. Also, leave room for future upgrades and next versions.
4- Check the Power Constraints.
Review the external voltage supply and current loads the device will power from to avoid malfunction. Double-check if the parts need to be low-power or not and the operational voltage levels of all components to decide how many source powers are needed.
5- Consider Functional Safety and Security reliability.
Analyze the electrostatic discharges, electro migrations, and electrical ground conditions and levels to increase robustness and safety levels against failures, as electrical connections in automotive environments can be physically quite long (because of how ECUs and equipment are positioned) drawing relatively large current, in addition to the parasitic noise generated.
6- Check the enhanced features.
Ease the development process by using the embedded MCU features, such as Zero Point Detection (ZPD) for automotive instrument cluster applications or Quad Position and Revolution Counter (QPRC) to implement jog-dial functions for audio and navigation applications. Check if the MCU has built-in software flexibility too for relocating internal modules to a different set of pins to increase flexibility during the PCB layout process. In another hand, some MCUs and MPUs have Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) dedicated to managing image processing and camera interfaces. Also look for Neural Network, Machine Learning capabilities, and Sensor Fusion too for leveraging Artificial Intelligence in your solution.
7- Study the Enablement for the MCU or MPU.
Solidify the choice of the device by mapping all available development kits, example codes, and documentation, but also compilers and debugging tools to ease the development process. Complete tool sets are usually offered for free and can be used for development processes and production intent.
8- Search for the right MCUs.
Use all above required features to check MCU or MPU options between suppliers and chipmakers. If available, get better advice from a support representative or FAE.
9- Confirm Prices and Availability.
Examine the piece cost of the device and how it will impact the overall price of the solution. Confirm how available the part is, the stocking options, and leading times (usually 6-12 weeks). Also, double check the part longevity program from the manufacturer to match the product lifecycle. Some manufacturers have roadmaps for new MCUs and MPUs available that support representatives or FAE can share.
Once you get your samples and start experimenting with the MCU or MPU, is always a good idea to test circuits and interfaces with the device, choosing high-risk parts and get them to work on the development kit. Trying out software and code variations to validate performance and ensure the selected MCU or MPU is right for your design.
It's Live!
The brand new www.riotboard.org website has been released.
In this new comprehensive website, you'll find much more information on your precious development board:
- Home: general overview
- Hardware: everything about technical features
- Software: more about available software (Android, Linux) and downloads
- Wiki: plenty of user guides for all kinds of users
- Accessories: more about available devices to extend your riotboard
- Review: different roadtests
- Applications: good ideas or new ideas on how to use riotboard explained by users
- Forum: Q&A
Freescale Technology Forum
June 22 - 25, Austin, TX
With four days, eight tracks and over 350+ hours of sessions, attend FTF to keep your skills and tech knowledge current
Know more about FTF event and register: https://ftf.freescale.com/
As the Internet of Things gains momentum, the future will rely on a secure, embedded network. With over 50 years of security expertise, Freescale is the only supplier providing secure solutions from the end node, to the network, to the cloud.
Watch our new video introducing our long legacy in terms of Security in networks from A to Z
Securing the Internet of Things|Freescale
want to know more about Freescale & Internet of Things? That's here
How do you convince an entire generation of school children that STEM is cool? You let them experiment.
Along with 25 other tech companies, including ARM, Samsung, and Microsoft, Freescale is working with the BBC to provide kids across the UK with one million personal coding devices as part of their Make it Digital initiative. The goal is to stimulate children’s interest in technology at a young age by providing them with the tools they need to learn and succeed.
The device, coined Micro Bit, is designed to be a starting point to get younger children interesting in coding so they can move onto other, more complex devices in future. Micro Bit, which uses a Kinetis MCU and Freescale motion sensors, will be released this September. It has a built in LED display and can be programmed using Touch Develop, C++, MBED and Python. Kids can plug the Micro Bit straight into the computer and start creating.And the Micro Bit can even connect and communicate with other devices, including Arduino, Galileo, Kano and Raspberry Pi, as well as other Micro Bits.
STEM education is important to us at Freescale, and we believe children have the ability to create incredible things with the right support and education. In 2013, we founded the Freescale Foundation as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting science, technology, engineering, and math education for K-12 students. Whether it’s unveiling the fun science behind model rockets, the engineering that enables robots or the technology that drives automotive advancement, the foundation aims to empower our future innovators.
We are excited to support such an amazing initiative that will enable the great minds of tomorrow, today.
John Dixon is Director of Global Marketing at Freescale.
Interested to understand how a self-driving car work?
It's called Sensor Fusion. There's more information here
Here's how the sensors feed the brain of the car to keep you and your family safe.
