Toshiba - Integrated constant current drivers provide responsive LED brightness

A new family of integrated constant-current LED drivers has been introduced by Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE). They provide very high levels of ESD protection while significantly reducing component count and board space in applications built around multiple LEDs.

Ideal for panel displays, devices in the TB62747 LED driver family feature 16 driver outputs with the ability to deliver constant currents of between 1.5mA to 45mA. ESD protection in accordance with Man Machine (MM) and Human Body (HB) models is ±500V and ±4000V respectively.

The drivers 'guarantee' a maximum current accuracy between outputs and between different devices of ±1.5%. This ensures constant brightness in designs built around large number of LEDs. The high number of integrated outputs, coupled with the ability to adjust the current through the use of a single, external resistor, significantly reduces the number of components needed to drive LED array applications.

All TB62747 drivers operate with a supply voltage of between 3.3V and 5V and deliver output voltages up to 26V. Internally the devices are based around 16 channels of shift registers, latches, AND gates and the constant current outputs. Control data format is serial-in, parallel-out. The devices are fully BiCMOS-compatible and can accommodate 3.3V and 5V input signals. A power-on-reset (POR) facility is also available.

The TB62747 drivers deliver fast output current response (tWOE(L) = 100ns min) and, when cascaded, support serial data transfer rates of 25MHz. Package options are 1mm pitch SSOP-24 (TB62747AFG), 0.65mm pitch SSOP-24 (TB62747AFNG) and 0.64mm pitch QSOP24 (TB62747AFNAG and TB62747BFNAG). All of the drivers will operate between -40C and 85C, says the company.

NVIDIA on Thursday was reported as having visited Taiwan computer makers as part of a campaign to pressure Intel into allowing support for the GeForce 9400M and similar chipsets with the Atom processor. The chipset designer is said to be negotiating deals that would have the local firms themselves ask Intel to remove an insistence that Atom run only on its own platform and thus let NVIDIA move in, potentially leading to much faster graphics for netbooks and nettops.

We have reviewed many an Intel Atom netbook. Performance is quite standard at this point; the netbooks can handle basic multi-tasking including Web browsing and word processing and light multimedia use, such as watching streaming video or a navigating through a virtual world. But you are limited in what you can do on your netbook in terms of graphics performance and Nvidia doesn’t want it to stay that way.

The company doesn't specifically say whether it has tried negotiating directly with Intel to get support but implies that a lack of success has forced the new tactic. Which companies have been petitioned aren't named, though Acer and ASUS currenly sell the majority of netbooks. Current users of the 9400M platform are relatively few but include Apple and Toshiba, though whether these have also been asked to pressure Intel isn't mentioned.

Today, the GPU maker released its GeForce 9400 + Intel Atom platform (called Ion) that will allow the Intel netbook platform to run a more powerful graphics option. It replaces Intel’s GMA 945 chipset (it is similar in a sense to what we saw on the ASUS N10J, but that system allowed for switching between the Intel and the Nvidia 9300M graphics card, while the Ion platform is Nvidia graphics only). While Nvidia isn’t looking to convert your netbook into a desktop replacement gaming system, it wants to give end consumers the ability to take advantage of the GPU on smaller form factors. So what will the platform bring to future netbooks?

Such a campaign points to a distinct reversal of NVIDIA's cautious stance on netbooks, revealing the company to now be directly interested in adapting it hybrid graphics and controller chipsets to the very low-cost and often limited field. Most netbooks are incapable of playing back HD video or of accelerating modern 3D.

According to the Nvidia, Ion will improve the graphics and video transcoding performance of Intel Atom netbooks by 10x. Sick of running Windows XP? The GeForce 9400 platform will help netbooks run modern operating systems like Vista and Windows 7. Ion-based systems will also be capable of handling high definition content and outputting it via HDMI. For more details, see our full interview with Nvidia on what the platform can do.

Along with the platform Nvidia is unveiling a Pico-ITX and motherboard nettop reference design that shows off the power of combining its GeForce 9400 platform with Atom processor. See the images in the gallery below.

Nvidia has not announced any OEM partners that will bring the new platform to market just yet, but expects systems to ship during the first half of 2009. As you can read in our interview, the company also hasn’t revealed the pricing but doesn’t expect it to add more than $50 to the total cost of a netbook. The company will be demoing this new small form factor platform at CES next month.

Tags: NVIDIA, NVIDIA Ion, NVIDIA GeForce and Intel Atom, netbooks, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Apple

Toshiba - New 16GB microSDHC and secure digital high capacity cards

With the launch of a 16GB microSDHC card, offering the largest capacity available in the market, Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has reinforced its memory card line-up.

At the same time, the company extended its range of industry-leading memory card solutions by adding ultra fast read / write 8GB and 16GB secure digital high capacity (SDHC) cards to its line-up. Mass production of the new SDHC cards will start in December 2008, with production of the new microSDHC due to start in January 2009.

All the new SD memory cards comply with the SD memory standard Ver. 2.00, and the two new SDHC cards support class 6 ultra fast read / write speed - a maximum write speed of 20MB per second, delivering the performance level necessary for continuous shooting of still images and recording video images. The new cards meet strong market demands for cards combining high capacities with high speed data read and write. The new microSDHC can be used with an adapter that allows it to be used in SDHC slots.

Demand is growing fast for larger data storage in portable digital consumer products. microSDHC cards provide a solution for mobile phones, while SDHC memory cards support for other digital consumer products.The high-level specifications and wide range of memory cards announced by Toshiba will allow third-party developers to bring exciting applications to future generations of consumer products. Toshiba will continue to meet market demand by further expanding its SD memory card series, says the company.

Toshiba - Phototriac coupler with high noise immunity for high-density designs

With the introduction of an ultra miniature device designed for high component density applications, Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has extended its family of phototriac couplers.The TLP163J offers improved immunity against external noise and is supplied in a compact, low-profile MFSOP6 SMT package measuring just 4.4mm x 3.6mm x 2.5mm. Target applications include solid-state relays, home appliance control systems, office automation equipment and other high density designs where designers are looking to save space and weight.

Approved to international safety standards, the TLP163J offers an AC insulation voltage rating of 5000Vrms (minimum). Typical impulse noise immunity is rated at 2000V. The TLP163J consists of a zero-crossing photo-triac output optically coupled to an infrared LED. Peak off-state voltage is 600V, effective on-state current is 70mA, and trigger LED current is 10mA.