The SDC320 ac-dc power supply offers a choice of four formats—two using convection cooling or system airflow and two with internal fan cooling. The compact 320W unit, measuring 101.6 x 152.4 X 38.10 mm (4 X 6 X 1.5 in.) for the U-channel model, has a power density of 8.9 W per cubic inch.

This low-profile model, developed by XP Power, is suitable for 1U applications and comes with a vented cover if required. For applications with insufficient airflow, two fan-cooled models are available. These have the fan mounted on the end or the top of the unit’s enclosure, and offer a choice of space-saving vertical or horizontal mounting.

For applications requiring short durations of higher power, such as starting a motor, the unit makes for a cost-effective choice with its 700W peak power rating. This feature saves engineers having to specify a larger and more expensive power supply.

The SDC320 series includes 11 single and four dual-output models. Single-output units cover all popular voltages from +5 to +60Vdc. Dual-output versions provide +5, +12, +24 and +48Vdc combinations. Output 1 can be trimmed by ±5%. All models operate from 0 to +70ºC, with derating above +50ºC. Power output of up to 170W is possible with convection cooling only.

The power supplies meet FCC Part 15 & EN55022 Level B for both radiated and conducted emissions. No additional filtering components are required, which saves both space and cost. The units comply with UL60950-1 and EN60950-1 safety approvals for industrial, commercial, as well as IT equipment.

Yokogawa raises the bar for optical spectrum analysers
Yokogawa Electric Corp. claims to have developed the first optical spectrum analyser that combines a wide wavelength range of 1200nm to 2400nm with high resolution— between 50pm and 2nm—and high sensitivity of -70 dBm or better.

The compact AQ6375 has its sights set on the 2µm wavelength band. As such, it’s well suited to address the test requirements of 2µm optical passive components and light sources, such as the latest thulium lasers.

In particular, the analyser is aimed at supporting the research and development of new-generation high-performance optical laser sources. These include optically pumped semiconductor disk lasers (OPSDLs) in the 1.2 to 2.4µm wavelength area, which are attracting interest in a number of environmental sensing and security applications.

Yokogawa’s free-space optical input simplifies connecting the signal to be measured in free emitted configurations, and when connected to optical fibres of diameters between 5 and 800µm.

Due to its reliability and factory calibration (in terms of wavelength level as well as resolution), the AQ6375 can perform instant “switch on and go” high-accuracy, calibrated measurements. For example, it can handle SMSR, wavelength, peak level and centre wavelength, and OSNR.

With its wide resolution setting, the AQ6375 can also be used to evaluate broadband light sources or make use of so-called “supercontinuum” light sources connected through the passive device under test to the analyser.

Applications for the new optical spectrum analyser include enhancing the performance of optical components. Among the areas these components will find homes in are molecular spectroscopy, military countermeasures, gas sensing, medical diagnostics and therapy, long-range LIDAR, and a host of others.

Flash-based 90nm secure MCU
A secure microcontroller (MCU) based on embedded flash memory is claimed to be the first produced using 90nm process technology, claims developer STMicroelectronics. The ST21F384—the initial secure MCU within ST’s established ST21 smartcard platform—is optimised for 2.5G and 3G mobile communications.

The device uses flash memory in place of mask ROM for its program memory to provide increased flexibility and shorter lead times for manufacturers. Moreover, there’s increased cost-efficiency due to its 90nm production.

The ST21F family will enable card manufacturers to react quickly and cost-effectively to the fast-changing needs of the mobile market. It allows for applications to be customised late in the production process, at the card personalisation stage. The family also addresses the requirements of multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) with a single product. Supply chain risk and complexity can be reduced, too, since the silicon is not linked to a specific operator profile.

The ST21F384 is based on an enhanced 8/16-bit CPU core with 16-MB linear addressing range, running typically at 21MHz. It embeds 7kB of user RAM, plus 384kB of flash memory, organised as 128byte pages, with an erase capability similar to that of the EEPROM used in earlier family devices. Current consumption complies with 2G and 3G specs to meet the requirements of (U)SIM applications. The MCU includes a hardware Data Encryption Standard (DES) accelerator and a user-accessible, cyclic-redundancycode (CRC) calculation block.

Card manufacturers using the flash-based secure MCU will be able to reduce lead times throughout the production process, with less time required to validate the operating system on the card and to provide samples to operators.