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Not that anybody wanted extra proof that the analog section within the electronics business is booming, however Texas Devices (TI) is serving it up anyway: On Sept. 29, TI introduced it started preliminary chip manufacturing at RFAB2, a brand new 300-mm analog wafer lab in Richardson, TX, that’s related to RFAB1, its 13-year-old 300-mm analog wafer fab. A couple of years from now, the pair will be capable to produce greater than 100 million analog chips daily, TI asserts.
“It’s our funding technique to drive these kinds of merchandise into our newest and best manufacturing processes,” Roland Sperlich, VP and basic supervisor for Interface Merchandise in TI’s analog sign chain enterprise, informed EE Instances. “That’s how we get to the smaller geometry, smaller bundle sizes, and decrease prices. Certainly one of our core values is to drive down the price of semiconductors and their implementation.”
TI’s RFAB2 is an growth of RFAB1, the world’s first 300-mm analog wafer fab. Mixed, they’ve 630,000 sq. toes of cleanroom house and 15 miles of automated overhead monitor to seamlessly transfer wafers between them. (The inner manufacturing capability growth is not any shock; throughout TI’s Jan. 25 earnings name, TI executives acknowledged that clients have been intently targeted on new fab capability, together with the then-under-construction RFAB2.)
Sperlich confirmed EE Instances a number of digital gadgets his group and members of the corporate’s analog sign chain group have delivered to market, together with the digital isolator ISOW774x, the Ethernet PHY DP83TG720-Q1, the Corridor-effect place sensor TMAG5170, the brushless DC motor driver DRV8311, and the digital-to-analog converter DAC63204.
“A minimum of two or three of those gadgets shall be leveraging that further capability” from the brand new 300-mm wafer fab, he mentioned. “Preliminary manufacturing started late final month. Over the subsequent 12 months years, it’s going to ramp as much as full capability.”
Isolation not less than near heart stage
No matter what TI makes on the big 300-mm analog wafer lab, the corporate usually has a really robust give attention to isolation at present. Sperlich pointed to the truth that TI has been “delivering isolation innovation” since 2006—when it got here out with its first SiO2 capacitive isolator.
The isolation gadgets that TI makes shield on a regular basis merchandise like robotic vacuum cleaners—they acquire not solely filth but additionally electrostatic discharge as they roam round houses—from themselves, in addition to protects shoppers from the large battery packs powering electrical autos (EVs), for starters.
“Each time there are excessive voltages and there are people, we have to discover methods to be sure that nothing unhealthy occurs,” Sperlich mentioned. “And so, we’d have isolation merchandise that usually sit between the data barrier and the human barrier, and be sure that the people by no means see kilovolts of energy.”
The proliferation of EVs—and the anticipated unfold of concomitant EV charging stations—bodes effectively for TI’s specialization: “Normally, wherever you’ve gotten electrical autos and charging stations and issues of this nature, you’ll discover merchandise from the isolation product line,” he added.
Even inner combustion engine vehicles are trigger for celebration inside TI’s partitions as of late.
“Automobiles basically have rising quantities of digital content material: screens and buttons and movable chairs and audio system that cancel ambient noise to make your driving expertise extra attention-grabbing,” Sperlich mentioned. “So, within the transceiver and isolation house, there’s plenty of work occurring.”
He declined to call clients however indicated the work is endless.
“We work with nearly each carmaker on the planet in making an attempt to unravel their isolation challenges—whether or not it’s pace or channel rely, or they wish to do increased voltages as a result of their battery packs are increased voltage. And different clients could have decrease battery pack choices,” he mentioned. “Within the auto business, you’ll see completely different automotive distributors supporting completely different battery voltages, no completely different than if you happen to picked up an influence device at present, you’d see possibly a 14-volt energy device and a 60-volt energy device. These have completely different isolation necessities.”
Medical, house functions calling
TI’s isolation gadgets are certainly not restricted to automotive functions.
“We’re nearly to launch our remoted USB 2.0, the world’s first USB-compliant isolation answer,” Sperlich mentioned. “You’ll see alternatives for that gadget to serve audio functions the place audio indicators are going over USB, over probably medical functions the place there’s a USB plug in a hospital setting and persons are plugging in a reminiscence stick with obtain knowledge.”
“We already began releasing the decrease pace, 12-megabit merchandise in our ISOUSB line this 12 months, and the 480-megabit half is releasing any day now. That’ll be a fairly thrilling providing, partially as a result of any time there’s a USB socket and there’s potential for having a voltage disparity between the left aspect and the correct aspect, you want sort of like a degree shifter. ISOUSB211 can shield the delicate circuitry and hold issues working.”
TI additionally sees ISOUSB211—a galvanically-isolated USB 2.0 compliant repeater supporting low pace (1.5. Mbps), full pace (12 Mbps), and excessive pace—going into house or low-orbit satellite tv for pc environments.
“Isolation, in lots of circumstances, is enabling alternatives there to avoid wasting on dimension and price and weight. So, think about if the house shuttle is just a little bit lighter, then it could possibly price just a little bit much less,” mentioned Sperlich, whose enterprise unit constructed the corporate’s first space-grade isolator product. “There are all kinds of functions that may come into play that we’re working to deal with with a few of these efforts.”
TI’s RFAB (1 and a pair of) is Certified Producers Listing (QML)-certified, so it is able to create space-grade merchandise there, he famous.
