RS Components has announced that it is now stocking a range of ARM® Cortex™-M4 processor-based 32-bit Kinetis microcontrollers (MCUs) from Freescale Semiconductor.

Kinetis MCUs are built using Freescale’s 90nm Thin Film Storage (TFS) technology with FlexMemory capability – configurable electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) – and feature the latest low-power innovations and high performance, high precision mixed-signal capability. The devices are supported by market-leading development tools from Freescale and ARM 3rd party ecosystem partners.

The five first-phase Kinetis families include a rich suite of analogue, communication and timing and control peripherals with the level of feature integration increasing with flash memory size and the number of inputs/outputs. Features common to all Kinetis families include:

• High-speed 16-bit analogue-to-digital converters
• 12-bit digital to analogue converters with on-chip analogue voltage reference
• Multiple high speed comparators and programmable gain amplifiers
• Low-power touch sensing with device wake-up on touch from reduced power states
• Multiple serial interfaces including UARTs with ISO7816 support and Inter-IC Sound
• Powerful, flexible timers for a broad range of applications including motor control
• Off-chip system expansion and data storage options via SD host, NAND Flash, and DRAM controllers and Freescale’s FlexBus interconnect scheme

RS is also stocking a range of development tools to support the Kinetis MCU families, including the Freescale Tower System, and the Kinetis KwikStik K40 development board.

The Tower System is a modular, reusable development platform that provides rapid prototyping capabilities. It offers multiple system expansion options and delivers outstanding flexibility and value for designers of industrial and consumer end products. Modules can be purchased individually or as part of a complete Tower System Kit.

The new KwikStik development board is a small, low-cost, all-in-one tool for evaluating, developing and debugging Kinetis MCUs. It features low-power touch sensing, a segment LCD user interface and a suite of development and run-time software, as well as an on-board Segger™ J-Link™ debug probe. It can be used standalone or integrated with the Tower System.

Fred Knowles, Head of Product Management – Electronics at RS Components, said: “By adding Freescale Kinetis MCUs to our rapidly expanding electronics offering, we are bringing even greater choice to engineers who are increasingly seeking lower power and higher performance capabilities for their embedded designs. The supporting range of development tools also available direct-from-stock enable engineers to find and design-in the right MCU for their application, knowing they can buy the quantities they need at a competitive price from RS.”

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Mouser Electronics, Inc. has announced it is stocking the Freescale Semiconductor 32-bit Kinetis Cortex™-M4 microcontroller family. Freescale is one of the first companies to introduce production M4 products.

The ARM® Cortex™-M4 processor is the latest embedded processor by ARM specifically developed to address digital signal control markets that demand an efficient, easy-to-use blend of control and signal processing capabilities. Combined high-performance, low-power and low-cost, the Cortex-M4 family is ideal for motor control, automotive, power management, embedded audio, and industrial automation markets.

Freescale Semiconductor 32-bit Kinetis microcontrollers represent the most scalable portfolio of ARM® Cortex™-M4 MCUs in the industry. The Kinetis product line consists of five MCU families with more than 200 pin-, peripheral-, and software-compatible devices with outstanding performance and feature scalability. Also available is a suite of development tools, including controller boards for Freescale’s Tower System and evaluation kits, as well as software tools from Keil and Micrium to enable rapid development of new Cortex M4-based systems.
To learn more, visit http://www.mouser.com/freescalekinetis/.

With its broad product line and unsurpassed customer service, Mouser caters to design engineers and buyers by delivering What’s Next in advanced technologies. Mouser offers customers 19 global support locations and stocks the world’s widest selection of the latest semiconductors and electronic components for the newest design projects. Mouser Electronics’ website is updated daily and searches more than 8 million products to locate over 2 million orderable part numbers available for easy online purchase. Mouser.com also houses an industry-first interactive catalog, data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, and engineering tools.

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Advanced sensing solutions to meet growing demand for high performance sensors across the different industries in Asia Pacific

element14 (formerly Farnell), the industry’s first fusion of commerce and community supporting design engineers and electronic component purchasing professionals worldwide today expanded its 130,000 products inventory with the introduction of cutting edge Xtrinsic Sensing Solutions from Freescale, one of the world’s leading innovators of sensor technology.

Sensory technology is currently one of the fastest growing semiconductor sectors. Research firm, Gartner has predicted that the sales of non-optical sensors will grow to $6.2 billion by 2014 globally. For engineers in the Asia Pacific region, this soaring demand also translates into a rising need for advanced sensing solutions that can provide leading performance across multiple applications.

“Sensors have become the key drivers for technological progression across many electronic categories, including smart phones and medical equipment. element14 understands that engineers are constantly being challenged to find smarter sensor components to support the cutting edge devices and applications designs that we have today,” said Marc Grange, Head of Product Management, element14, Asia Pacific. “In order to meet this challenge, we strengthened our partnership with Freescale, and introduced the Xtrinsic Sensing Solutions series. This series seamlessly integrates intelligent sensing capability and precision to enable engineers in the region to develop multifunctional, intuitive, and ultimately, more intelligent devices for the markets.”

Professionals in the electronics industry can purchase Freescale’s Xtrinsic Sensing Solutions with ease and flexibility for purchase via multiple channels with no minimum quantity or value, and next day delivery in most cities in Asia Pacific. 24/7 customer service telephone support and 24/5 online technical support are also available. In addition, customers can also visit and engage with the element14 online community to research, consult industry experts, and collaborate with design engineers and electronics enthusiasts around the globe.

Heralding a new age of sensing experience
Freescale’s Xtrinsic Sensing Solutions feature intelligent contextual sensing which enables sensors to have decision making capability. This innovative feature creates and manages a diverse portfolio of sensors that provide multiple inputs and extract maximum amount of information from the environment.

These multiple sensor types coordinate their data coherently through advanced, modular integration. This intelligent integration allows the right combination of leading sensor types, logic and other building blocks to produce smarter and more relevant data to solve case needs efficiently. These sensing solutions also make sophisticated calculations and decision based on the context of their environment through the use of algorithms, providing engineers with interpreted sensing information and control over sensing decisions to innovate and maximise the efficiency of their designs.

Versatile, intelligent and energy efficient
MMA8450QT, a member of the Freescale’s Xtrinsic Sensing Solutions family, is a smart low-power, accelerometer that provides 12-bit data with first in, first out (FIFO) to accomplish complex gesture recognition and position detection. It has two programmable interrupt pins that allow the independent monitoring of the two functions.

In addition, this component’s embedded FIFO buffer enables a more efficient analysis of gestures and user programmable algorithms. This function ensures that no data is lost on a shared I2C bus and enables system level power savings of up to 96% of the total power consumption savings by allowing the applications processor to sleep while data is logged.

More about the MMA8450QT:

Access to both low pass filtered data as well as high pass filtered data, which minimizes the data analysis required for jolt detection and faster transitions.

Configured to generate inertial wake-up interrupt signals from any combination of the configurable embedded functions, thus allowing the component to monitor events and remain in a low power mode during periods of inactivity.

Wide range of application, including static orientation detection, real-time orientation detection and activity analysis and motion detection for portable power saving.

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Mouser Electronics, Inc., regarded as a top global engineering design resource for semiconductors and electronic components, today announced it is stocking new product from Freescale Semiconductor.

Freescale Semiconductor MMA845xQ Xtrinisic accelerometer family offers extremely low power and pin compatibility with a broad range of resolution (14-, 12-, and 10-bit) and embedded features for configurable, accurate motion analysis. To operate with extremely low power, Freescale Semiconductor MMA845xQ Xtrinsic accelerometers have six user-configurable sample rates that can be set over a wide range of 1.5 to 800 Hz. The power scheme of these Freescale accelerometers contains four different power modes from high resolution to low power, offering best-in-class savings in supply current and extremely high resolution for very small motion detection. MMA854xQ Xtrinisic accelerometers are ideal for mobile phones, laptops, unbalance detection for washers, and more.

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Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for rapid introduction of the newest electronic components and technologies, today announced the presentation of the Best in Class award to those individuals representing our suppliers who performed at the highest level to support ongoing marketing programs and initiatives for 2010.

The awards ceremony was held on August 2, 2010 during the 15th Annual Mouser-Supplier Golf Tournament. Winners of the Best in Class award were selected by Mouser using five criteria: ­–Promoting the product line within Mouser, –Finding solutions to grow Mouser and supplier market share, –Strategic partnering with the Mouser team, –Working together to launch new products, and –Maximizing Mouser’s unique value proposition within their own businesses.
Winners of the Mouser Best in Class award:

Larry Buckley, National Distribution Manager, 3M Electronic Solutions
Canda Carr, General Manager Global Distribution, Tyco Electronics
Ryan Crouch, Corporate Sales Director, Freescale Semiconductor
Anna Greashaber, Marketing Communications Manager, Honeywell Sensing and Control
Scott Johnson, Corporate Account Manager, Texas Instruments
Dawn Manhart, Corporate Distribution Manager, Littelfuse
Steve Nye, Strategic Account Manager, Vishay
Sue Rios, Channel Sales Account Manager, Digi International
Steve Shoemaker, President, Advanced Web Offset
Doug Steele, Global Vice President of Catalog Distribution, Harwin
Cheryl Swaim, Account Executive, KEMET
Caroline Wells, Distribution Sales Representative, Omron Corporation

Glenn Smith, Mouser President and CEO, commented, “It’s a great pleasure to express our gratitude and publicly recognize the winners of the Mouser 2010 Best in Class award. These individuals were incredibly supportive and showed great creativity. Our record growth is due, in large part, to the unwavering commitment of suppliers who help us introduce the newest products and latest technologies. Our commitment to becoming the most preferred distributor of design engineers is strengthened with the help of business associates who champion our mutual goals. Congratulations to each of them on a job well done, and thank you to the companies they represent for sharing these winners with Mouser.”

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Freescale combines the ZSTAR3 with MMA7660FC accelerometer for extended functionality

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it is stocking new product from Freescale Semiconductor. The Freescale Semiconductor RD3965MMA7660FC: ZSTAR3 with MMA7660FC accelerometer offers extended functionality. New software has been developed to allow the user to tap, shake, or orient the device with the Freescale Semiconductor RD3965MMA7660FC: ZSTAR3 with MMA7660FC for specified commands.

The ZSTAR3 accommodates multiple digital and analog accelerometer boards connected through an RF ZigBee® 2.4 GHz communication to a single USB node connected to a PC. The Freescale RD3965MMA7660FC accelerometer boards measure acceleration in three axes using a pin compatible digital or, optionally, an analog sensor. The sensor sensitivity is defined by the MMA7660FC accelerometer. The USB node is part of the ZSTAR design, equipped with dedicated software supporting multiple nodes.

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Digi-Key Announces Stock on New Freescale Semiconductor Tower System Modules and Kits

Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry’s broadest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, today announced it has stock on several new modules and kits for Freescale Semiconductor’s Tower System.

The following products are in stock and available for purchase on Digi-Key’s global websites:

* TWR-ZGWIFI – ZeroG-based 802.11b WiFi module
* TWR-S08LL64-KIT – Includes TWR-S08LL64 microcontroller module, TWR-PROTO prototype module and TWR-ELEV
* TWR-S08LL64 – 8-bit segment LCD module
* TWR-MCF5225X – ColdFire® V2 Connectivity microcontroller module with complimentary Freescale MQX™ Software
* TWR-MCF5225X-KIT – Includes TWR-MCF5225X microcontroller module, TWR-SER serial module and TWR-ELEV
* TWR-SER – Serial module: Ethernet, USB, RS232/485, CAN

The Freescale Tower System is a modular, reconfigurable development platform that allows designers to get to market faster with packaged evaluation boards, tools and runtime software.

Comprised of three types of modules (microcontroller, peripheral, and elevator modules), the Tower System enables engineers to reuse tools and rapidly prototype designs.

For more information about Tower System products stocked by Digi-Key, visit its global websites or towergeeks.org, an exclusive online community created for engineers by Digi-Key.

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TWR-MCF51CN-KIT simplifies configuration with modular hardware development platform

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it is the first to stock Freescale’s Tower System. Freescale is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors.

Freescale’s Tower System evaluates Freescale solutions with easy to use, modular, reconfigurable hardware. The interchangeable microcontroller and peripheral boards leverage standardized, open source hardware, making it simple to create customized plug-and-play development tools for all of your design needs. The first development kit (TWR-MCF51CN-KIT) in this new platform configuration includes the elevator module (TWR-ELEV) that provides all the power regulation and structural integrity for a complete Tower System, a modular development platform (TWR-MCF51CN) supporting the ColdFire® V1 MCF51CN128 Ethernet microcontroller and included complimentary MQX software, and a peripheral module (TWR-SER) to provide USB, Ethernet, CAN, and RS323 / 485 connectivity solutions. Additional microcontroller platforms are planned and will also be available from Mouser. For more information about Freescale’s Tower System, visit http://www.mouser.com/freescale_tower_system/.

“Mouser is excited to be the first to stock these latest Freescale development tools, again reiterating Mouser’s focus on progressively supporting the needs of the design engineering community,” stated Mike Scott, Mouser’s Vice President of Active Products.

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Farnell Adds 1300 New Products

Farnell, the leading multi-channel distributor, is placing additional focus on multimedia technology with addition of over 1300 new products specifically for use in this pervasive, exciting and rapidly developing area of technology.

Mobile multimedia devices have become affordable mainstream products for the mass market as have technologies such as LCD and plasma television and video servers. Recognising the need to give designers easy access to the very latest technology in this fast moving sector, Farnell now offers a total of 3200 products from over 112 suppliers including industry leading names such as Freescale, Maxim, Texas Instruments and Atmel.

Multimedia also provides the focus for the latest issue of Farnell’s Technology First journal which contains a range of informative articles that aim to help demystify some of the aspects of designing for multimedia applications. Popular regular features such as RoadTest and MarketWatch can also be found in the publication. Downloadable PDF and interactive online versions of the journal are available and can be accessed via the homepage of the Farnell website.

Commenting on the company’s focus on multimedia, Jamie Furness, Technology Development Manager, Farnell said: “Multimedia is perhaps the most rapidly evolving sector of the electronics industry. Consumer driven demand is leading designers to face tough challenges to integrate previously separate functionality into what are often small and portable form factors. Our focus on multimedia is timely and underlines our dedication to giving designers fast access to the very latest multimedia technologies from the most innovative suppliers.”

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MCU family features on-chip USB, Ethernet, CAN, and encryption

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it is stocking the Freescale Semiconductor MCF5225x family of ColdFire® Microcontrollers. Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors.

The ColdFire MCF5225x family of microcontrollers is supported by complementary and ready-to-go Freescale MQX™ RTOS, software stacks, training resources, and a suite of third party solutions. The Freescale MCF5225x MCU consists of a RISC microprocessor based on the V2 ColdFire core that operates at a frequency up to 80 MHz. The family’s on-chip memories include up to 512 KB of Flash memory and 64KB of SRAM.

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