The Full Service Foundry division of ams and Sarda Technologies, a disruptive power management component supplier, has announced at the CDNLive event in Santa Clara/CA, that ams is manufacturing Sarda’s advanced high-voltage CMOS drivers which play a key role in their Heterogeneous Integrated Power Stage (HIPS).

ams has announced the availability of its first interoperable process design kit (iPDK) for its 0.35μm analogue speciality processes. iPDKs are based on the OpenAccess database and use standard languages as well a unified architecture to enable interoperability among multiple EDA vendor tools.

Promising to bring the benefits of ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) to mass-market headphones, ams unveils the compact, cost-effective AS3412 speaker driver. This device extends the manufacturer's family of ANC speaker drivers, drawing on the proprietary analogue noise cancellation technology developed by ams and in use by many of the world’s leading audio equipment manufacturers.

In a move which expands its offering in the sensor market, ams has agreed an all cash acquisition of CMOSIS, a supplier of advanced area and line scan CMOS image sensors for high-end imaging applications. Antwerp-based CMOSIS supplies high performance standard and customised area and line scan CMOS image sensors for demanding imaging applications.

  ams' proven boostedNFC technology, which enables reliable NFC coupling in space-constrained devices, has been implemented in a complete system development board compatible with the popular STM32 family MCUs from STMicroelectronics.

The Full Service Foundry division of ams has announced its fast and cost-efficient IC prototyping service, known as Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) or shuttle run, with an updated schedule for 2016. The prototyping service, which combines several designs from different customers onto a single wafer, offers significant cost advantages for foundry customers as the costs for wafers and masks are shared among a number of different shuttle participants.

ams AG has announced a NFC solution for manufacturers of smart watches, wristbands and other space-constrained devices, enabling them to reliably support contactless payments and ticketing. The AS3921 is an NFC Analogue Front End (AFE) with the unique boostedNFC technology from ams, which increases the useable operating volume of an NFC reader by up to 900% when compared to conventional NFC implementations.

ams has introduced the AS1383, an efficient, ultra-compact switching boost converter which helps extend run-time in single-cell Li-ion battery applications. The converter provides outputs of 2.7-5.0V from an input voltage range of 2.7-5.5V. It is available with an adjustable output voltage, or a factory-programmed fixed output voltage. Depending on the input voltage, it can provide a maximum output current of up to 200mA.

ams has announced that the 1153, a rugged, wearable RFID scanner made by Technology Solutions Limited, uses the highly-integrated, low-power AS3993 reader IC. The small, light 1153 Bluetooth Wearable RAIN (UHF) RFID Reader, which measures 10.2x5.5x5.6cm and weighs just 157g, has a palm strap so it can easily be worn on the back of the user’s hand, as well as an anchor point for attachment to a tablet computer.

ams has announced the launch of the AS7000, the first member of a family of health/fitness solutions aimed at wearable devices. The AS7000 solution incorporates a highly integrated optical sensor module accompanied by software to provide industry-leading, highest accuracy optical Heart Rate Measurements (HRM) and Heart Rate Variation (HRV) readings, backed by opto-mechanical design-in support from ams.

The Full Service Foundry division of ams AG has announced an expansion of its 0.35µm High-Voltage CMOS process platform. The advanced ‘H35’ process provided now includes a set of truly voltage scalable transistors offering area and performance improvements. Foundry customers developing complex high-voltage analogue/mixed-signal applications such as large driver and switching ICs instantly benefit from more dies per wafer.

ams has announced that the earphones supplied with the Z1 smartphone from ZUK use the AS3415, an analogue speaker driver from ams offering outstanding noise cancellation and very low power consumption. Using advanced analogue semiconductor technology, ams' AS3415 Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) speaker driver provides impressive noise reduction of up to 30dB over a wide audio frequency bandwidth of 3.5kHz.

ams AG has launched a reference board for a small, high-performance and simple 48V automotive battery monitoring system. The board is suitable for use in next-gen single 48V lithium battery systems, and in dual 48/12V battery systems, such as those used in passenger and light commercial vehicles and electric scooters and motorbikes.

ams' foundry division is extending its 0.35µm CMOS optoelectronics IC foundry platform to offer chip designers greater sensitivity and precision and more light filtering capabilities. This platform is an add-on to the company’s ”More Than Silicon” portfolio, providing a package of technology modules, IP, cell libraries, engineering consultancy and services to help customers develop advanced analogue and mixed-signal c...

ams AG has acquired the CMOS Sensor Business from NXP Semiconductors. The acquisition expands ams’ environmental sensor portfolio with advanced monolithic and integrated CMOS sensors that measure several environmental variables such as relative humidity, pressure and temperature in one sensor device.

ams AG has announced that Elgato is using the ams AS-MLV-P2 MEMS VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) gas sensor in its Eve family of home monitoring devices. The 9.1x9.1x4.5mm AS-MLV-P2 is a low-power gas sensor which accurately measures levels of VOCs in the air, producing a precisely varying resistance in response to changes in ambient levels of pollutants commonly found in indoor environments.

ams has launched the TMx4903 series of advanced optical sensing modules, integrating multiple functions including universal remote control, barcode emulation, RGB colour sensing, proximity and 3D gesture detection in a 5.0x2.0x1.0mm package. The high level of integration in the TMx4903 modules reduces PCB space requirements and lowers BOM cost while delivering the exciting capabilities expected of today’s smartphones

Providing reliable performance in automotive applications, an ultra-high speed magnetic rotary position sensor has been introduced by ams. The AS5147P's accurate absolute and incremental measurement outputs at speeds up to 28,000rpm make it suited for use in safety-critical applications such as electric power steering, brake and accelerator pedals, pumps, double-clutch transmissions, starter motors, alternators and windscreen wiper motors.

The foundry division of ams AG, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS and the Space Research Institute (IWF) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) have jointly presented the very promising results of highly accurate measurements of the Earth’s magnetosphere from space, as part of NASA’s ‘Magnetospheric Multiscale’ mission launched in March 2015.

ams AG has announced that automotive equipment supplier Marquardt is using its AS3914 NFC reader IC in a series of contactless door lock and ignition control modules. Marquardt chose the AS3914 because it enables very reliable NFC coupling even when mounted in close proximity to sheet metal. The device also offers lower average power consumption than competing NFC reader ICs.