Page 18 - EE Times Europe Magazine | April2019

18 EE|Times EUROPE

Maxim LiDAR Module Revs Self-Driving Safe Speeds
NEWS

Europe Unveils Hydrogen

Alliance to Combat Climate

Change

The European Commission has
unveiled an industrial strategy
that sees hydrogen playing a
crucial role in Europe’s tran-
sition to a sustainable future.
Until now, the biggest challenge
for hydrogen energy has been
its cost. According to a recent
Hydrogen Council report, “Path
Figure 4: MAX40660 block diagram (Image: Maxim Integrated) to Hydrogen Competitiveness:
A Cost Perspective,” scaling up
TIA circuits are often used in applications that share the need for hydrogen production and distribution, along with related equip-
circuitry to buffer and scale the output of electro-optical solutions to ment and component manufacturing, could decrease the cost of
achieve high speed and high dynamic range. TIA is a current-to-voltage hydrogen solutions by up to 50% by 2030.
converter, almost exclusively implemented with one or more opera- Europe is in the early stages of its energy transition to decarbonize
tional amplifiers (Figure 3). all sectors. With the newly launched Clean Hydrogen Alliance, a key
Phototransistors and photodiodes are closely related and convert component of a vast Industrial Strategy, the EC aims to accelerate
incident laser light into electrical current. To achieve maximum per- the decarbonization of industry and maintain its industrial leader-
formance from these devices, designers must pay special attention to ship. Over the past decade, the EC has promoted several research
interface circuits, wavelengths, and optical-mechanical alignment. and innovation projects on hydrogen within the Horizon 2020
The MAX40660/MAX40661 transimpedance amplifiers enable much framework. The Clean Hydrogen Alliance is expected to be modeled
faster self-driving systems using high resolution. The TIAs reduce on the European Battery Alliance, which gathers more than 200
current consumption by more than 80% in low-power mode. companies, governments, and research organizations around battery
Maxim’s TIAs support 128 channels with a bandwidth of 490 MHz manufacturing. ■
in the case of the MAX40660 and 2.1-pA/√Hz noise density to provide
greater measurement accuracy (Figure 4).
The MAX40026, meanwhile, is a single-supply, high-speed compara- First IBM Quantum Computer
tor for TOF distance measurement applications. Its low, 10-picosecond
propagation delay dispersion contributes to the accurate detection in Europe to Be Installed in
of fixed and moving Early 2021
objects.
“Lower disper-
sion delay and more IBM is slated to install its first quantum computer system in
channels per system Germany as part of a collaboration agreement with Fraun-
enable more precise hofer-Gesellschaft to provide European companies and research
timing measurement, institutions with access to the technology for exploring
thus enhancing application scenarios. It will also allow development of applica-
system resolution tion-oriented quantum-computing strategies under the complete
and enabling higher data sovereignty of European law.
driving speed,” said As part of the collaboration, an IBM Q System One quantum com-
Figure 5: MAX40026 functional diagram Gavardoni. puter will be installed in an IBM computer center near Stuttgart. The
(Image: Maxim Integrated) The MAX40026 has system is scheduled to go into operation in early 2021 and will be the
an input first of its kind in Europe.
common-mode range of 1.5 V to VDD + 0.1 V, compatible with the Fraunhofer plans to bring
output swings of several widely used high-speed TIAs. The low-voltage together established partners
differential signaling (LVDS) output stage minimizes power dissipation from research and industry under
and interfaces directly with many FPGAs and CPUs (Figure 5). the umbrella of a research infra-
The size of the new solutions is further reduced, allowing many more structure of Fraunhofer institutes,
channels to be inserted into vehicle platforms with limited space. These which will work together in a
integrated circuits meet the automotive industry’s most stringent safety centrally coordinated national
requirements, with AEC-Q100 qualification, improved electrostatic dis- Fraunhofer competence network
charge (ESD) performance, and effects and diagnostic analysis (FMEDA), for quantum computing. The net- NEWS IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK
in order to support ISO 26262 certification at the system level. ■ work will initially be represented
by competence centers in six German states.
Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio is a staff correspondent at AspenCore, Currently, more than 10 Fraunhofer Institutes are already working
editor of Power Electronics News, and editor-in-chief of EEWeb. on various aspects of quantum technology. ■

APRIL 2020 | www.eetimes.eu