News & Updates from STMicroelectronics
December 2009

First 8-bit ultra-low-power MCU fits in chip-scale package

Measuring only 1.7 mm x 2.9 mm, the STM8L ultra-low-power microcontroller is the first in this performance class to come in a 28-pin chip scale package. The STM8L151G6 incorporates 32 Kbytes of program memory, 2 Kbytes or RAM, 1 Kbyte of data EEPROM, a full 12-bit ADC and DAC and a complete set of general-purpose peripherals. The extremely small package makes the microcontroller highly suitable for space-constrained applicactions, such as mobile phones or medical devices, but also industrial sensors embedded in standard M-type screws, for example. More

Silicon-carbide (SiC) power Schottky rectifiers improve system efficiency

Silicon carbide's remarkable electrical properties (wide bandgap, large critical electrical field) are ideal for the design of high-voltage Schottky-structured diodes. Their excellent switching behavior (low reverse recovery current and charge) and low forward losses (low VF) result in an overall increased efficiency of the electrical applications in which they are used. Their dynamic characteristics allow SiC diodes to increase the power density. Following the increased popularity of 8 A and 10 A silicon-carbide diodes, ST has expanded its range of SiC rectifiers with 4, 6 and 12 A devices housed in DPAK, D²PAK or TO-220 packages. More

Automotive 32-bit MCU incorporates improved current-load management hardware

Car lighting often require several tens of lighting devices to be controlled and diagnosed in parallel. The SPC560B is the first 32-bit microcontroller family available on the automotive market to drive multiple loads without CPU intervention. Diagnosis of each and every individual load is possible using an innovative hardware-supported scheme. The SPC560B is a high-performance automotive microcontroller based on the 32-bit Power Architecture™, with up to 1.5 Mbytes of Flash, up to 96 Kbytes of SRAM and a rich set of automotive peripherals. More

Stepper motor controller/driver IC performs complex motion without MCU

The L6470 is the first member of dSpin, a new family of intelligent digital micro-stepping motor drivers able to perform speed profile and positioning calculations without an external microcontroller. The innovative voltage-mode driving operation results in outstanding performances, including accurate position resolution (up to 128 micro-steps) and smoother motion. More

Current-limiting terminations shrink industrial digital input modules

CLT devices are intelligent protected termination arrays designed for digital inputs compliant with the industrial automation IEC 61131-2 standard. Their front-end topology embeds a voltage protection, a current limitation and a status comparator. Per channel power dissipation is cut by at least 50%, and immunity to fast transient bursts is increased up to 4 kV. Composed of a quad array, the CLT3-4B, and a dual array, the PCLT-2A, this family has been extended with the SCLT3-8B, an octal array with an SPI serialized status transfer output. More

Micro-USB ESD protection device fits tightest spots

The USBULC1606-4M8 is dual-voltage micro-USB ESD protection that provides a single-package solution to protect the VBUS pin with a VBR (breakdown voltage) up to 14.6 V and D+, D- and ID pins with a VBR of 6.8 V. Compliant with IEC 61000-4-2 level 4, the narrow micro-DFN package of 1.35 mm x 1.7 mm is particularly well adapted to highly integrated PCB layout. The ultra low capacitance below 1 pF on datalines ensures a perfect signal integrity even at the high datarate of 480 Mbit/s. More

Ultra-fast 600 V HF IGBTs target high-frequency applications

The new family of ultra-fast 600 V HF IGBTs (W series) improves the power efficiency in high-frequency equipment by minimizing turn-off energy losses mainly at frequencies up to 100 kHz. The new series allows an easy parallel connection for higher power applications as a result of the VCE(sat) rating. It also achieves up to 10% better performance in conduction and switching losses, and a lower spread of dynamic parameters, even at high temperature, compared to the previous generation products. More

STM8L101 low-power demonstration board with LCD consumes only 1.6 µA

Featuring a 1.6 µA consumption while performing a counter function using a 3-digit LCD glass driven by software at a 18 Hz refresh rate, the STEVAL-IAS003V1 demo board highlights the optimization of the power consumption that can be reached with the STM8L101 microcontroller. Very low consumption is achieved by keeping the STM8L in the active-halt low-power mode for most of the time. More

Online presentation highlights ST's family of driver ICs for DC, stepper and BLDC motors

After a short introduction to motor control, this 18-minute multimedia presentation focuses on ST's powerSPIN family of monolithic motor control ICs. The powerSPIN family includes a large range of devices rated at 2.8 A and 5.6 A peak for DC, stepper and BLDC motors. After reviewing the principal family members, the presentation concludes with an application example and a discussion of the tools, reference designs and software for easy integration of these devices into your application. More