New-Tech Europe Magazine | Aug 2018

August 2018

16 Simplifying CSP Manufacturing By Improving Heliostat Design 20 Conquering wireless connectivity challenges with simple, low-power proprietary wireless solutions 26 The potential of sequential- 3D integration for advanced semiconductor scaling 28 Connector Designs To Address Data Rate and Density Challenges

All inclusive.

© eiSos

# MAGIC POWERMODULES

electronica Hall B6 Booth 404

MagI³C Power Modules are easy-to-use DC/DC converters with integrated regulator IC, power inductor and capacitors. Design and layout reviews as well as support with EMI filter design are offered as a service for all customers. Datasheets contain detailed specifications and application information.

 Simple design-in process  Design and layout support  EMI filter design for EN55022 class B compliance  Evaluation Boards for all products

For more information please visit: www.we-online.com/powermodules

LGA-6

LGA-16

QFN

TO263

SIP-3

SIP-4

SIP-7

MAX IMUM ROUT I NG & GROUNDING FLEXIBILITY THE MOST VERSATILE HIGH-SPEED HIGH-DENSITY PRODUCT LINE IN THE INDUSTRY

With products designed for maximum routing and grounding flexibility, ultra-high-density signaling, and PCB space-savings, Samtec’s family of High-Density Arrays are ideal for a variety of high-performance applications. SEARAY ™ Open-Pin-Field Arrays | SEARAY ™ Ultra-High-Density Arrays | FMC / FMC+ (VITA 57) Solutions LP Array ™ High-Speed Low Profile Arrays | Z-RAY ® High-Speed Ultra Low Profile Arrays

Samtec Israel | 21 Bar-Kochva St. | Concord Tower | B’nei Brak, Israel 51260 Tel: +972 3 7526600 | Fax: +972 3 7526690 | Email: israel@samtec.com | Visit samtec.com/arrays to learn more

CABLES CABLES TM HAND FLEX

Hand Flex Cables conform to any shape required.

$ 12 95

DC to18GHz

from ea. (qty.1-9) Get the performance of semi-rigid cable, and the versatility of a flexible assembly. Mini-Circuits Hand Flex cables offer the mechanical and electrical stability of semi-rigid cables, but they’re easily shaped by hand to quickly form any configuration needed for your assembly, system, or test rack. Wherever they’re used, the savings in time and materials really adds up! Hand Flex cables deliver excellent return loss (33 dB typ. at 9 GHz for a 3-inch cable) and low insertion loss (0.2 dB typ. at 9 GHz for a 3-inch cable). Why waste time measuring and bending semi-rigid cables when you can easily install a Hand Flex interconnect? Excellent return loss, low insertion loss, DC-18 GHz.

Hand Flex cables are available in 0.086" and 0.141" diameters, with a tight turn radius of 6 or 8 mm, respectively. Choose from SMA, SMA Right-Angle, SMA Bulkhead, SMP Right-Angle Snap-On and N-Type connectors to support a wide variety of system configurations. Two popular diameters to fit your needs. Standard lengths from 3 to 50" are in stock for same-day shipping. You can even get a Designer’s Kit, so you always have a few on hand. Custom lengths and right-anglemodels are also available by preorder. Check out our website for details, and simplify your high-frequency connections with Hand Flex! Standard lengths in stock, custom models available . o S COMPLIANT RoHS compliant

NEW

N-Type Bulkhead

N-Type

SMA Right Angle SMA Bulkhead

SMP Right Angle Snap-On

SMA

Mini-Circuits ® www.minicircuits.com P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, NY 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 sales@minicircuits.com

482 Rev. N

RF Solutions

From RF Engineers

Largest Selection p Expert Technical Support p Same Day Shipping From the U.S. p

Actives, Passives and Interconnects

24/7 Support

Application Engineers Available

Armed with the world’s largest selection of in-stock, ready to ship RF components, and the brains to back them up, Pasternack Application Engineers stand ready to troubleshoot your technical issues and think creatively to deliver solutions for all your RF project needs. Whether you’ve hit a design snag, you’re looking for a hard to find part or simply need it by tomorrow, our Applications Engineers are at your service.

Visit www.pasternack.com or Email RFsales@Tritech.co.il for Local Sales & Service

Read To Lead

Keep Up To Date With Our Weekly Newsletter! Sign Up Today!

www. new- t echeurope . com

August 2018

About New-Tech Magazines Group Read To Lead ‘New-Tech Magazines’ A world leader in publishing high-tech and electronics, producing top quality publications read by tens of thousands professionals from all over the world especially from Europe, innovative electronics, IoT, microwave, homeland security, aerospace, automotive and technological industries. Our specialized target audiences prefer New-Tech Europe because they know that our publications are a reliable source of the latest information in their respective fields. Our multidimensional editorials, news items, interviews and feature articles provide them with a full, well-rounded picture of the markets in which they operate - an essential asset for every technological leader striving to stay ahead, make the right decisions, and generate the next global innovation. Moreover, as an attractive platform for advertisers from around the world, New-Tech Europe has become a hub for bustling international commercial activity. Here, through ads and other promotional materials, Israeli readers obtain crucial information about developers and manufacturers worldwide, finding the tools, instruments, systems and components they need to facilitate their innovative endeavors. Targeting the needs of both the global and european industries and global advertisers, New-Tech Magazines Group constantly expands and upgrades its services. Over the years, the company has been able to formulate a remarkably effective, multi-medium mix of offerings, combining magazine publications with useful online activities, newsletters and special events and exhibitions.

Editor: Tomer Gur-Arie COO & CFO: Liat Gur-Arie Journalist: Amir Bar-Shalom Technical journalist: Arik Weinstein U.S journalist: Sigal Shahar Graphic Design: Hadas Vidmayer Concept design: Maya Cohen

mayaco@gmail.com Technical counselor: Arik Weinstein Sales and advertising:

sales@new-techmagazine.com Account Manager: Tatiana Yamin Account Manager: Ricky Shlezinger Account Manager: Tal Shechter Account Manager: Noa Oslander Project Manager: Ayelet Arran Project Manager: Yaara shahaf Administration: Shir Ben David Editorial coordinator: Lihi Levi Mail: Office: info@new-techmagazine.com Publisher : NEW-TECH MAGAZINE GROUP LTD Data system: Liat Tsarfati Administration: Lihi Levi

www. new- t echeurope . com

8 l New-Tech Magazine Europe

Contents

10 LATEST NEWS 16 Simplifying CSP Manufacturing By Improving Heliostat Design 20 Conquering wireless connectivity challenges with simple, low-power proprietary wireless solutions 26 The potential of sequential-3D integration for advanced semiconductor scaling 28 Connector Designs To Address Data Rate and Density Challenges 32 “Qualcomm’s latest antenna module announcements bring 5G smartphones closer to commercial reality.” 34 On-chip optical filter processes wide range of light wavelengths

16

20

36 OUT OF THE BOX 38 NEW PRODUCTS 46 INDEX

26

28

www. new- t echeurope . com

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 9

Latest News

CPI Working with MIF to Boost UK’s Innovation Capabilities

CPI is playing a pivotal role in advancing industry knowledge of formulated liquids. CPI has joined forces with the Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) to create a project focused on improving the high throughput production and characterisation of liquid formulations across consumer goods, such as shampoos, body washes, detergents, and paints.

Graeme Cruickshank, CPI Director of Formulation, said: “We are very proud to be part of this collaboration and playing such an important and proactive role in improving and joining up the UK innovation ecosystem. “We are committed to supporting research and development that will strengthen the formulation sector and optimise formulated products

The new collaboration will strengthen the UK’s innovation ecosystem by identifying additive capabilities and will drive inter-connectivity and data transfer across the Northern Powerhouse. This inter-connectivity will also facilitate cross-sector collaboration opportunities across all formulated product value chains. The collaboration builds on CPI’s expertise and successful track-record in formulation, which involves the creation of multi-component and often multi-phase products across markets including healthcare, food and drink, and personal care. CPI experts are taking time out from their National Formulation Centre to work at the MIF facility – using MIF’s high throughput systems to formulate and characterise complex emulsions. This characterization data is then combined with similar data generated at increasing production scales at CPI – ultimately leading to predictive models for formulating liquids from benchtop through to 1000 l. Researchers incorporate optoelectronic diodes into fibers and weave them into washable fabrics. The latest development in textiles and fibers is a kind of soft hardware that you can wear: cloth that has electronic devices built right into it. Researchers at MIT have now embedded high speed optoelectronic semiconductor devices, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and diode photodetectors, within fibers that were then woven at Inman Mills, in South Carolina, into soft, washable fabrics and made into communication systems. This marks the achievement of a long-sought goal of creating “smart” fabrics by incorporating semiconductor devices — the key ingredient of modern electronics — which until now

for a wide range of applications.” CPI enables the transition of ideas from academic, SME and large corporate partners to commercialisation, helping improve consumers’ lives and drive UK economic growth. The MIF research facility, based at the University of Liverpool, co- locates industrial and academic users, providing open-access to an array of high throughput robotic platforms and state-of-the-art analytical techniques. The aim is to upskill users, while accelerating their advanced experimental programmes. Jon Mercer, Programme Manager at the Materials Innovation Factory, added: “We are really excited to be working closely together with CPI. “Providing access to our MIF shared labs and linking up activity between two national facilities is great for the formulation community in the UK and will undoubtedly lead to a number of follow on projects.” was the missing piece for making fabrics with sophisticated functionality. This discovery, the researchers say, could unleash a new “Moore’s Law” for fibers — in other words, a rapid progression in which the capabilities of fibers would grow rapidly and exponentially over time, just as the capabilities of microchips have grown over decades. The findings are described this week in the journal Nature in a paper by former MIT graduate student Michael Rein; his research advisor Yoel Fink, MIT professor of materials science and electrical engineering and CEO of AFFOA (Advanced Functional Fabrics of America); along with a team from MIT, AFFOA, Inman Mills, EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland,

Introducing the latest in textiles: Soft hardware

10 l New-Tech Magazine Europe

Latest News and Lincoln Laboratory. A spool of fine, soft fiber

and Chia-Chun Chung, developed the pathways to increasing yield, throughput, and overall reliability, making these fibers ready for transitioning to industry. At the same time, Marty Ellis from Inman Mills developed techniques for weaving these fibers into fabrics using a conventional industrial manufacturing-scale loom. “This paper describes a scalable

made using the new process shows the embedded LEDs turning on and off to demonstrate their functionality. The team has used similar fibers to transmit music to detector fibers, which work even when underwater. (Courtesy of the researchers) Optical fibers have been

traditionally produced by making a cylindrical object called a “preform,” which is essentially a scaled-up model of the fiber, then heating it. Softened material is then drawn or pulled downward under tension and the resulting fiber is collected on a spool. The key breakthrough for producing these new fibers was to add to the preform light-emitting semiconductor diodes the size of a grain of sand, and a pair of copper wires a fraction of a hair’s width. When heated in a furnace during the fiber-drawing process, the polymer preform partially liquified, forming a long fiber with the diodes lined up along its center and connected by the copper wires. In this case, the solid components were two types of electrical diodes made using standard microchip technology: light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photosensing diodes. “Both the devices and the wires maintain their dimensions while everything shrinks around them” in the drawing process, Rein says. The resulting fibers were then woven into fabrics, which were laundered 10 times to demonstrate their practicality as possible material for clothing. “This approach adds a new insight into the process of making fibers,” says Rein, who was the paper’s lead author and developed the concept that led to the new process. “Instead of drawing the material all together in a liquid state, we mixed in devices in particulate form, together with thin metal wires.” One of the advantages of incorporating function into the fiber material itself is that the resulting fiber is inherently waterproof. To demonstrate this, the team placed some of the photodetecting fibers inside a fish tank. A lamp outside the aquarium transmitted music (appropriately, Handel’s “Water Music”) through the water to the fibers in the form of rapid optical signals. The fibers in the tank converted the light pulses — so rapid that the light appears steady to the naked eye — to electrical signals, which were then converted into music. The fibers survived in the water for weeks. Though the principle sounds simple, making it work consistently, and making sure that the fibers could be manufactured reliably and in quantity, has been a long and difficult process. Staff at the Advanced Functional Fabric of America Institute, led by Jason Cox

path for incorporating semiconductor devices into fibers. We are anticipating the emergence of a ‘Moore’s law’ analog in fibers in the years ahead,” Fink says. “It is already allowing us to expand the fundamental capabilities of fabrics to encompass communications, lighting, physiological monitoring, and more. In the years ahead fabrics will deliver value-added services and will no longer just be selected for aesthetics and comfort.” He says that the first commercial products incorporating this technology will be reaching the marketplace as early as next year — an extraordinarily short progression from laboratory research to commercialization. Such rapid lab-to-market development was a key part of the reason for creating an academic-industry- government collaborative such as AFFOA in the first place, he says. These initial applications will be specialized products involving communications and safety. “It’s going to be the first fabric communication system. We are right now in the process of transitioning the technology to domestic manufacturers and industry at an unprecendented speed and scale,” he says. In addition to commercial applications, Fink says the U.S. Department of Defense — one of AFFOA’s major supporters — “is exploring applications of these ideas to our women and men in uniform.” Beyond communications, the fibers could potentially have significant applications in the biomedical field, the researchers say. For example, devices using such fibers might be used to make a wristband that could measure pulse or blood oxygen levels, or be woven into a bandage to continuously monitor the healing process. The research was supported in part by the MIT Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) through the MRSEC Program of the National Science Foundation, by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Office through the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. This work was also supported by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 11

Latest News

Audi and Ericsson to pioneer 5G for automotive manufacturing

Premium automobile manufacturer Audi, and 5G innovation leader, Ericsson are announcing plans to pioneer the use of 5G technology for automotive production. At Audi’s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, the two companies agreed on a range of activities exploring the potential of 5G as a future-proof communication technology that

extend the performance of today’s mobile networks to serve the future needs of consumers and industries. 5G networks will deliver a better and faster broadband experience for consumers, while for businesses 5G will be an enabler to open up new applications for everything from connected vehicles to the smart factories of tomorrow.

can meet the high demands of automotive production. Audi and Ericsson have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and in the coming months, experts from both companies will run field tests in a technical center of the “Audi Production Lab” in Gaimersheim, Germany. Frank Loydl, Chief Information Officer at AUDI AG, says: “The fully networked factory will have a significant impact on the production of the future. A powerful network architecture that can respond in real time is of decisive importance for us. As part of the project with our partner Ericsson, we are testing the opportunities offered by 5G technology for industrial applications in the smart factory.” In addition to the Ingolstadt plant, Audi and Ericsson are exploring whether 5G can be used in other Audi Group factories. Erik Ekudden, Group CTO at Ericsson, says: “Ericsson is already running 5G industry programs all over the world to help manufacturers boost productivity and create new business opportunities. This project is a great opportunity to see what is possible when we bring 5G into an automobile production environment to truly enable smart wireless manufacturing.” 5G is the next-generation of mobile communications, which will

This technology has many network characteristics that are essential for Industry 4.0 with increasingly flexible and complex production processes. It allows for faster data throughput rates and more network capacities, as well as promising highly secure availability. Moreover, ultra-low latency ensures fast response times between equipment in the factory system. In the first phase of the project, Audi and Ericsson will test a latency-critical application using wirelessly connected production robots that are equipped with a gluing application – a commonly used technique in auto body construction. The planned infrastructure at the technical center in Gaimersheim will include the implementation of 5G technologies in a simulated production environment that mirrors those of Audi’s plant in Ingolstadt and other locations. The laboratory will be equipped with Ericsson’s Proof-of-Concept (PoC) network which is an open trial facility to enable early deployments of 5G technology. The network is designed to integrate alternative or complementary technologies to the ones currently in use, including WiFi or wireless LAN, or wired (Ethernet) connectivity of production components.

Infineon and Alibaba Cloud Sign MoU on Internet of Things (IoT)

Infineon Technologies AG and Alibaba Cloud Computing Company (Alibaba Cloud) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint promotion of IoT applications within the fields of smart life and smart industry. Infineon and Alibaba will thus facilitate the digital upgrade of Chinese enterprises and cities.

As an active promoter and practitioner of Industry 4.0, Infineon will rely on its own core technology and service advantages in the field of IoT to collaborate with Alibaba Cloud on its IoT operating system, AliOS Things, and provide technical services. Additionally, with the acceleration of the IoT application process, new requirements are also placed

12 l New-Tech Magazine Europe

Latest News

on system security. As part of this collaboration, the two parties will further explore the planning, implementation and security standards of the IoT, enabling SMEs and individuals to deploy and access Alibaba Cloud in a low-cost, highly reliable manner. This will enable the participants to share in the development dividend

with Infineon’s semiconductor technology solutions. We believe that this will effectively promote the deployment of IoT in smart industries.” “As the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturer, Infineon is committed to combining our advanced IoT semiconductor solutions with local experience,” said Andreas

Siemens to acquire mendix, a leader in low-code application development, for €0.6 billion Acquisition to accelerate adoption of MindSphere by ecosystem growth and 10x faster application development Closing of transaction expected in first quarter of fiscal year 2019 Siemens has signed an agreement today to acquire mendix, a pioneer and leader in cloud native low code application development. Under the agreement, Siemens will pay in cash €0.6 billion to acquire the company. Mendix will retain its distinct brand, culture and continue serving customers across the full range of industries with its unique platform and broad ecosystem and community. Siemens will continue to invest in mendix’s independent product roadmap, continuing its legacy as the most-innovative, open low-code cloud platform. Mendix will be part of the software business of Siemens’ Digital Factory (DF) Division, with the mendix of the IoT, while protecting them from losses caused by security risks. The two companies also plan to collaborate on e-commerce channels. Based on this, both parties will make use of Alibaba Cloud’s integration capabilities and successful experiences in IoT and work together to create advanced and secure IoT solutions. This will help upgrade and transform the smart digitalization of SMEs, allowing them to manage the entire production process through digital means. “The construction and improvement of the IoT ecosystem requires gathering the advantageous resources and power of all parties,” said Wei Ku, Vice President of Alibaba Group and General Manager of Alibaba Cloud IoT. “This partnership combines Alibaba Cloud’s capabilities in operating systems

platform also deployed across other Divisions. As enterprises invest to digitalize their operations, demand for business applications is growing significantly faster than the capacity of IT organizations to deliver them. Low code application development platforms provide features for rapid development, deployment and execution of applications in the cloud. “We acquire mendix to extend our leading position in digitalizing the industrial world, which is a cornerstone of our Vision 2020+”, said Klaus Helmrich, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG. “Mendix is a leader in the rapidly expanding low-code segment and their platform will help our customers to adopt MindSphere even faster by accelerating cloud-based application development for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)”, he added. “As part of our digitalization strategy, Siemens continues to invest in software offerings for the Digital “Sustainable growth in mainland China is one of Infineon’s most important development strategies, and is also our long- term goal in the Chinese market,” said David Poon, Vice President of Power Management & Multimarket, Infineon Greater China. “We are very pleased to work with leading companies like Alibaba Cloud, and to join in creating an IoT service platform that meets the needs of the local market, helps companies achieve digitalization, and provides a driving engine for innovation and the development of smart cities in China.” Urschitz, President of the Power Management & Multimarket Division at Infineon, “This partnership with Alibaba marks our efforts in this field.”

Siemens strengthens its digital enterprise leadership with acquisition of mendix

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 13

Latest News

proprietary CPU technology, and the emerging RISC-V open standard. Rupert Baines, UltraSoC CEO, commented: “China’s semiconductor industry is growing rapidly and companies such as C-SKY are demonstrating how home grown IP can enable innovative product design. Our partnership with C-SKY provides benefits throughout the electronics value chain: for C-SKY’s engineers; for product designers and manufacturers building C-SKY’s products into final systems; for software developers; and ultimately for end customers who get better, more reliable products. We’re proud to be working with C-SKY to help Being part of Siemens will allow us to serve our customers even better by accelerating our R&D vision, adding a much larger pool of go-to-market resources, and leveraging an enormous global infrastructure. And we’ll do this while maintaining our unique culture, brand and R&D capability that has allowed us to become the leader in our space – I can’t think of a better outcome for our customers, community, partners and team.” Mendix was named a leader in the Gartner “2018 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise High Productivity Application Platform as a Service”, placing furthest for completeness of vision for the second consecutive year, and a leader in the Gartner “2018 Magic Quadrant for Mobile App Development Platforms” for the second consecutive year. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019. Siemens expects to achieve synergies through a combination of revenue growth and anticipated margin expansion, representing a net present value of more than €0.5 billion. Additionally, the transaction is expected to be EPS accretive within four years from closing. Derek Roos will remain CEO of the company and join the Siemens PLM Software senior leadership team.

Enterprise. With the acquisition of mendix, Siemens continues to add to its comprehensive Digital Enterprise and MindSphere IoT portfolio, with cloud domain expertise, cloud agnostic platform solutions and highly skilled people,” said Jan Mrosik, CEO of the Digital Factory Division.

Mendix was founded in 2005 in Rotterdam, Netherlands and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company has over 400 employees and its software-as-a- service business model results in over 90 percent of sales being recurring. Siemens expects mendix to continue to experience strong growth in the future in both its existing customer segments and across the Siemens customer base. Mendix will accelerate Siemens’ current cloud, IoT and Digital Enterprise software capabilities. Mendix will also continue to deploy its technology to customers and partners across all verticals and technology ecosystem. “When we pioneered the low-code market over a decade ago, we had a bold vision to help customers change the way they build software, but we never imagined the oceanic opportunity that’s now in front of us,” said Derek Roos, co- founder and CEO of mendix. “I’m thrilled to accelerate our vision at a much larger scale with the incredible team, assets, industry know-how and footprint of Siemens behind us.

C-SKY selects UltraSoC embedded intelligence for Chinese developed AI SoC UltraSoC today announced that C-SKY Microsystems Co Ltd (“C-SKY”), a China-based semiconductor company acquired by the Alibaba Group in April, has licensed UltraSoC’s embedded analytics technology for use in C-SKY’s China- developed system-on-chip (SoC) products. The companies plan a long-term partnership, with the first products targeted at sophisticated artificial intelligence-based applications. China’s indigenous semiconductor industry is gaining a reputation for increased innovation and sophistication. C-SKY will employ UltraSoC’s embedded analytics technology to enable advanced product developments based on its own

14 l New-Tech Magazine Europe

Latest News build a new generation of semiconductor products.”

(AI), which require multiple processor cores to work with shared data, and incorporate network-style interconnects

Dr Jianyi Meng, vice president and chief technology officer for C-SKY, added, “UltraSoC understands perfectly the value of providing embedded insights to designers integrating our CPUs into demanding environments – and even to the end users of those systems. The functionality provided by UltraSoC’s embedded analytics enhances the C-SKY offering.” The partnership between C-SKY and UltraSoC allows chip and system designers to access holistic and intimate information about the internal operation of an SoC and about the product or system into which it is embedded. This is particularly valuable for advanced applications based on artificial intelligence

(networks-on-chip, or NoCs). Such an environment presents a substantial challenge in terms of ensuring that processors are used efficiently, that shared data remains coherent, and that interconnect transports data effectively: on-chip analytics substantially simplifies this task. C-SKY develops a range of CPU cores with applications ranging from smart devices for the Internet of Things, to digital audio and video, information security, network and communications, industrial control and automotive electronics. Its proprietary C-SKY embedded CPU cores feature ultra-low power, high performance, high code density and ease of use.

Vivacom launches 4G Voice service andWi-Fi calling in Bulgaria Vivacom is extending its contract with Ericsson to deploy 4G Voice service and Wi-Fi calling. With the pre-integrated Fast VoLTE Launch solution, the service’s deployment time has been significantly reduced. The agreement builds on Vivacom’s existing Ericsson Evolved Packet Core network and adds virtual IP Multimedia Subsystem (vIMS). Radoslav Zlatkov, CTO, Vivacom, says: “The Bulgarian market is highly competitive, so we want to be out front with the best technology and customer experience. Our long-standing partnership with Ericsson makes it possible for us to leverage the latest innovations to help offer our customers a continuously

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, VoLTE subscriptions are expected to grow exponentially worldwide and reach 5.4 Billion during 2023. Vivacom’s customers will benefit from high-quality, simultaneous communication and data services on their devices. The VoLTE solution opens up further possibilities to enable HD voice+ and music within calls, video communication and IP messaging. Monica Zethzon, Head of Communication Services at Ericsson, says: “With the deployment of our Fast VoLTE Launch solution, Vivacom has substantially reduced the time for deploying communication services while also opening up for a broad range of new communication capabilities to their customers.”

improved communication services experience.” The Fast VoLTE Launch solution, a complete pre-integrated virtual IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), includes network functions such as virtual Multimedia Telephony Application Server (vMTAS), virtual Session Border Controller (vSBC), virtual Call Session Control Function(vCSCF), virtual Message Resource Function (vMRF) and virtual IPWorks. The solution also includes NFV infrastructure with Ericsson BSP 8100 telecom-grade hardware and the OpenStack-based virtual infrastructure manager, Ericsson Cloud Execution Environment.

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 15

Simplifying CSP Manufacturing By Improving Heliostat Design Corné Bekkers, TRINAMIC Motion Control

Various technologies are being used to generate durable and consistent sources of renewable energy, and some are more popular than others. One of the less popular methods is concentrated solar power (CSP), because setting up these systems requires a considerable investment in both money and time. Although this investment will eventually pay out, it can prevent companies, and entire countries, from building traditionally- designed CSP plants. Today, Spain and the U.S. are leaders in CSP deployments. Other countries, such as India and China, are also investing in these plants. But for some countries, such as Chile, Egypt, Peru and Nepal, the barriers to entry are still too high, due to lack of financial and manufacturing resources. In fact, countries with the highest solar energy potential tend to rank at the bottom when it comes to the generation of

solar power regardless of method. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy launched the AutoR (autonomous rim) drive heliostat project to make design and construction of the heliostat – the key element in CSP plants – simple and low-cost, so that these countries can build their own. The project developed a new autonomous heliostat design with a rim drive system, wireless communication, and its own energy supply. This system is lightweight, has improved performance, and can be manufactured for far less cost with easily accessible resources, such as welding tools, CNC machines, and 3D printers. This article will focus on the development of the rim drive system hardware. A cost-efficient design Compared to conventional photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants,

CSP plants provide a continuous, full- time supply of energy. Due to their configuration, CSP plants are also known as solar power tower plants. A field of computer-controlled mirrors, called heliostats, reflects the sun on a tall tower as it turns to track the sun's path across the sky. A central absorber in the tower converts the heat produced into electrical power via heat exchangers and turbines. CSP plants can thus serve as base load power plants, enabling a full-time energy supply. However, conventional heliostats account for about 40% of the plant's total cost, making it the most expensive part of a CSP. Moreover, it means that scaling up a CSP plant is also expensive, on top of the costs of setting up the plant itself. The AutoR project was carried out by three main organizations in Germany: the Hamburg University of Technology,

16 l New-Tech Magazine Europe

TRINAMIC Motion Control (TMC), and the German Space Agency (DLR). The University designed a wireless communication system to reduce cabling cost, and simplify CSP plant deployment and scalability. This is the meshed network HelioNode that connects individual heliostats and lets them communicate with the cloud. TMC designed the HelioEBMU (energy and battery management unit), a decentralized control unit with low energy consumption, using a photovoltaic (PV) energy supply with battery storage. The DLR provided TMC with three different drive systems to develop a final version based on its experience in testing these three. This final version is a simple rim drive system, the HelioDrive, that reduces overall weight while simplifying production. The rim drive system Heliostat designs can be divided into three types: those using a linear drive system, a swivel gearbox, or a rim drive system. Rim drives are cheaper than swivel gearboxes and have several advantages over linear actuators. One is that all drive train components have a high efficiency rating, compared to solutions based on slew drives or lead screw linear actuators. The rims work as levers for the drivers, allowing small, cost-efficient motors to move the big frames. Small motors are cheaper to build and also cheaper to ship, lowering the price of the overall heliostats, especially for countries without the means to build engines themselves. To move the rims, several methods were investigated, including winch wheel drive systems, chain gear systems, and systems using a belt drive. Previous experience with winch wheel drive systems proved that mounting thesesystems is complex. Furthermore, the scaling-up potential for larger

Figure 1: Structure of the AutoR (autonomous rim) drive heliostat.

cables. In addition, as an intermediate gear is needed, the cost is high. Chain gears are precise, but only when there is constant tension on the chain. Even then, the polygon effect prevents the heliostat from turning into position in one constant movement. Using a belt drive to move the rims proved to be a cost-efficient method. Mounting the belt to the rim with springs, the belt stays tensioned throughout the

heliostats is low. This is because, for larger heliostats and higher loads, cables of a larger diameter would be needed. This, in turn, would lead to a bigger diameter of the winch wheel, which would reduce the gear reduction ratio. An alternative could be to use more cables of a smaller diameter. But this would complicate the mounting of the drive system, which is already not very simple with its existing two

Figure 2: Closeup of the driver and machined rim.

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 17

The big rim drives at the back of the mirror act as a counterbalance to the mirror itself, balancing out the entire structure. Besides the benefit of stabilizing the heliostat structure, this counterbalancing also allows lower energy consumption from the moving parts. Also, the large diameter of the rims means that precise movement can be achieved using low-cost gears and motors, contrary to a linear actuator, which requires more precise and expensive motors to achieve the same accuracy levels. In addition to this counterbalancing function, the two rims can also be used as encoders when machined correctly (see Figure 2). This not only makes them lighter but also reduces BOM costs, as external encoders are no longer necessary. Taking all these improvements into account, the heliostat's power requirement is reduced to the point where it can rely on PV cells mounted on the heliostat itself as a power source, in combination with battery storage, which increases its autonomy. This overall design enables a fairly simple hardware architecture using the following components: Two motion control drives that control both axes of the heliostat's rims (the HelioDrive). A photovoltaic panel, battery, and energy and battery management unit (the HelioEBMU) that harvests energy out of the PV panel, charges the battery, and supplies the energy to the autonomous system. A wireless module (the HelioNode) that communicates with the centralized field control system through a mesh network made of similar devices. All components are connected together with a wired bus within each autonomous heliostat. The master drive communicates with the centralized field control system and with other devices using wireless technology, while at the same time running the heliostat's

Figure 3: Components of the AutoR (autonomous rim) drive heliostat system.

lifetime of the spring. If needed, the spring can simply be replaced, reducing the technical skills required to maintain this part of the heliostat. Also, with belt drive systems the rims can be easily kept in place using self- locking gearboxes, which are both efficient and easy to implement. An additional locking pin to secure the

heliostat during storms can be easily slid into place when needed, preventing too much strain to be put on the small drives. Both rims are designed the same to ensure both drivers have the same power requirements to move the mirror pane, which also reduces the number of different components required.

Figure 4: Assembling the sandwich-like structure. By tightening the nuts, the mirror is forced into the concave shape of the wooden frame.

18 l New-Tech Magazine Europe

operating system. Other considerations were also taken into account when building the prototype of the entire heliostat system. A product's weight is a measure of its production costs: the heavier the item, the higher the cost. In a heliostat, the size of the mirror directly affects the weight of the entire structure. Small heliostats therefore seem to be most promising in the long run. This is especially true if they don't come with the traditional high wiring cost, as the number of wires required for small heliostats is the same as for big heliostats. Thus, it was decided to build a small prototype with a mirror of only 8m2 in area, compared to a typical heliostat mirror area of up to 115m2. Simplified manufacturing and assembly TMC spent some time trying to come up with a way of manufacturing the frame and mounting the mirror on the frame that would make these tasks simple to perform, with easily accessible resources, and for a low cost. Laser cutting can be used to cut a wooden framework that contains a concavity. 3D printing can be used to make mounting pins that are glued on the back of the mirror on one side, and screwed in place on the other side of the mounting pin to create a sandwich- facet (see Figure 5). The laser-cut frame is placed in between a wooden board on the back side and the mirror on the front side. As the 3D printed mounting pins are glued to the back side of the mirror and have a threaded side sticking out of the wooden board, this simplified construction will be held in place tightly when screwing the 3D printed nuts on top of the mounting pins -- sandwiching the laser-cut frame in between the mirror facet at the front, and the wooden board at the back. When doing so, nuts should be screwed on evenly so as to distribute the load, ensuring

Figure 5: Experimenting to find the right tension for the mounting pins. By tightening the nuts, the mirror is forced into the concave shape of the wooden frame.

concavities (see Figure 6). Once all nuts are tightened accordingly, the concave mirror is placed on top of the metal structure to complete the heliostat. All that's left is adding the PV cells to the front side so that the heliostat doesn't need anything else but the sun.

the mirror follows the concavity of the laser-cut frame. By changing the tension on the screw, the mirror can be tensioned on the concave wooden frame to shape it as needed. Experimenting with different tensions, such as screwing it on as tight as possible, can result in some weird

Figure 6: The final result is a cost-efficient heliostat that can be made with easily accessible resources.

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 19

Conquering wireless connectivity challenges with simple, low-power proprietary wireless solutions

Adithya Madanahalli, Würth Elektronik

Wireless connectivity design challenges The first challenge is the choice of the frequency of operation. The 2.4 GHz ISM band’s global availability and high bandwidth make it an attractive frequency band to address the global market. However, the over-crowded spectrum and limited range are often the pitfalls of this frequency band. Several other unlicensed bands including 169 MHz, 433 MHz, 868 MHz and 915 MHz, often referred to as sub- GHz, intrinsically provide extended range at the cost of lower data rates. Alternatively, the use of licensed spectrum with technologies like GSM or LTE offers the due reliability for the premiums paid. The challenge here is to choose the right frequency, keeping the range, throughput as well as local regulatory requirements, including transmitting power, duty cycle and channel spacing of the application in mind.

Introduction We are in the midst of the information age, where data has become the currency of the world. Data from varied sources are accumulated, aggregated and analyzed at a scale previously unseen. The network of interconnected devices, the veins and arteries of this information mechanism, are going through exponential growth. According to a Forbes magazine report, the number of connected devices would reach 75.4 billion by 2025. Advances in the field of wireless communication technologies brought about the revolution of mobile communication in the past two decades. In today’s world, wireless connectivity still acts as the catalyst driving modern technological developments forward. From smart cities to automated manufacturing, connected homes and next-generation healthcare,

wireless connectivity has been the key factor enabling the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT). Ease of deployment, flexibility, mobility, improved performance and enhanced reachability are some of the benefits offered by the integration of wireless connectivity into an application. The mobile phone, a device that has become so commonplace today, that the complexity of the systems and technologies involved are often easily forgotten. As a system designer either looking to take your next big idea wireless or trying to replace an existing wired link in your industrial system, you will inevitably ask yourself this simple question: how much effort does it take to design and implement a wireless link into your application? To answer this question is to prudently list the challenges faced to perform this task.

20 l New-Tech Magazine Europe

Table 1: Comparison of wireless technologies

aspects of wireless communication on its own. The solution has to be modular and scalable to the size of the application without consuming much of the system resources (energy, processing power etc.). From a commercial standpoint, the solution should offer quick time-to- market without compromising system reliability while maximizing the ROI. We, the wireless connectivity and sensors division of Würth Elektronik eiSos, deliver elegant wireless connectivity solutions that precisely aim to achieve these objectives. With robust hardware, easy-to-use software and pre-certified modules in a wide range of frequency bands and technologies including Bluetooth, wireless M-BUS and proprietary sub-GHz, we offer reliable wireless connectivity solutions. Integrating one of our modules into your application simplifies the wireless connectivity function enabling you to focus on that innovative idea you intend to deliver. Wireless connectivity made easy Simplicity is the essence of our proprietary wireless connectivity solutions. To demonstrate this, consider an industrial system with a temperature sensor and a cooling system. The idea here is to frequently monitor the temperature and actuate the cooling system to regulate the temperature. Typically, this is done by having a micro-controller unit (MCU) read the temperature from

The next step is the choice of technology that determines the connectivity protocol. From the tried and tested Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to the modern day Low-Power wide area networking (LPWAN) technologies, there are a number of options. A brief analysis of these options clearly indicates that there is no one-size- fits-all solution. Another important factor that is often underestimated is the amount of time necessary to comprehend the complexities of these protocols at several levels in order to obtain optimum performance. Assuming that we have chosen the standard that best fits the application and the underlying frequency of operation, we now face the task of hardware design. Thanks to advances in modern-day silicon technology, it is possible to obtain a highly integrated, reasonably powerful micro-controller with built-in RF and base-band processing capabilities. The complexities in antenna design could be considerably simplified by using off the shelf solutions (e.g. Chip antennas). Nevertheless, the optimal layout of the RF lines with corresponding matching circuits still requires specialized skills along with considerable experience. With a stable hardware platform, the focus moves to the software. Being the brain of the system, the software determines the actual functionality that makes efficient use of the underlying hardware. Well- written software goes a long way in

determining the energy efficiency and security as well as the timing performance of the system. Achieving accurate timing with optimal resource management using complex protocols on lightweight real-time kernels offers plenty of challenges to the designer. Let us assume that we have conquered all the above challenges and have a fully functional wireless connectivity solution on hand. There is one other obstacle to overcome: certification. Irrespective of the frequency of operation, all devices that utilize the radio spectrum have to comply with the regulations imposed by spectrum regulation authorities in the land of deployment. The radio equipment directive (RED) in Europe, the FCC in the US and the IC in Canada are some examples of regulatory bodies. For a device manufacturer, this means their device has to be verified with respect to the regulations of the intended country of deployment either in-house or at a certified laboratory. Standards like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth require additional tests to ensure interoperability. These certifications, in addition to the actual design of the device, may seem bit overwhelming, but an elegant solution that tackles all of these challenges does exist. For a system designer it would be ideal to have a function block that takes care of wireless connectivity without having to bother about the radio specific aspects. This black box has to accept data at one end and deliver it to the destination, taking care of all

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 21

Figure 1: Simple remote temperature control system - wired (RS232/RS485)

Figure 2: Simple remote temperature control system - wireless

3-Steps to wireless freedom Step 1: Hardware At its most simple configuration, the AMB8826 needs the following pins connected to the host microcontroller. The DC power (VCC and GND), the boot mode pin, the reset pin and the UART interface (TX, RX). To enable low power operation, let us also connect the Wake-Up pin. With the antenna integrated on the module, the hardware is ready to go. Step 2: Software The host microcontroller interfaces with the AMB8826 over UART with a simple yet robust command interface. A typical command frame consists of a start byte, a command byte, a length byte followed by the payload. A check sum (CS) ensures data integrity. The command interface uses a request-response mechanism, which means that the module sends an acknowledgment back for every command to ensure reliability. Start byte Command Length Payload CS 0x02 0x00 1 Byte Length Byte 1 Byte The AMB8826 offers a host of commands to configure the behavior of the module as well as the characteristics of the wireless link. There are three categories of commands: 1. Data transfer – Send and receive data 2. Actions or events – Reset, standby, sleep 3. Modify parameters – Get/set parameters to control the radio

(channel, transmit power, and radio profile), network (addresses) and UART (baud rate). All of the commands are described in the manual with detailed examples. For our application, assuming that we use the default wireless configuration, the flow of commands would look as follows: The on-board microcontroller host reads the temperature to be 45°C with fans running at 500 rpm. To send these current readings to the remote host, the onsite microcontroller sends a CMD_DATA_REQ command with a payload “TEMP 45 SPEED 500” (in ASCII coded Hex) to the AMB8826.

a sensor over an SPI/I2C interface. Based on the current temperature the speed of the fan is adjusted using an actuator connected over SPI/I2C. The sensor and actuator parameters are periodically sent to a remote host over a wired RS232/RS485 interface. This host sets up the control parameters (for example, the fan actuation temperature), analyses the values over time and visualizes the status/trends through an intuitive user interface. Let us now consider replacing the RS232/ RS485 link with a wireless link, in this case the AMB8826 proprietary module. AMB8826/9826 The AMB8826 module operates in the 868 MHz band and is suitable for the European market. The same hardware platform available as AMB9826 operating at 915 MHz is suitable for the North American market. The two are footprint compatible with the same software interface making it easier to design a single system for worldwide deployment. With an antenna integrated within a small form factor of 27 x 17 x 3.2 mm, the AMB8826 comes pre-programmed with the industry tested Amber RF-stack. Despite a meager 26mA of current consumption to transmit at 14dBm and a sleep current as low as 200nA, the AMB8826 can transmit up to 10 kilometers using its long-range mode. Consider the steps involved in replacing the RS232/RS485 link with a wireless link powered by AMB8826 modules.

Start signal Command Length Payload CS 0x02 0x00 0x11 0x54 0x45 0x4C

0x4d 0x50 0x20 0x34 0x35 0x20 0x53 0x50 0x45 0x45 0x44 0x20 0x35 0x30 0x30

The module then responds with the following confirmation to the on- board microcontroller.

Start signal Command | 0x40 Length Status CS 0x02 0x40 0x01 0x00 0x43

The module broadcasts over the wireless link and the host receives the message. From the remote host, the operator decides to set the temperature at which the fan speed needs to double to 55°C. To achieve this, the remote host sends a command “SET TEMP 55 SPEED 1000” (in ASCII coded Hex) to the module.

22 l New-Tech Magazine Europe