ams has launched the AS3955, an NFC interface Chip (NFiC), which offers energy harvesting and data transfer capabilities. Like its predecessor the AS3953, the AS3955 provides a contactless bridge between an NFC reader and any MCU. However, the AS3955 can also act as a power supply for the host device, harvesting as much as 5mA at 4.5V (enough to charge a Li-ion cell battery) from the RF energy radiated by an NFC reader.

acam-messelectronic has added a member to its Ultrasonic Flow Converter (UFC) family, the accurate, energy efficient TDC-GP30, which acam says heralds a new era for a full static measurement method in ultrasonic flow measurement. The integrated 32-bit MPU performs mathematically complex and computationally intensive flow calculations with all the necessary corrections in an extremely power-efficient manner, while the external MPU is ful...

Measuring just 1.145x1.66x0.32mm, the TSL2584TSV Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) from ams is claimed to be the world's smallest. In display management applications, automatically controlling the backlight intensity with an ALS ensures the best possible user experience while extending battery life. The TSL2584TSV’s outline and height are approximately half the size of competing ALS devices.

ams has announced a 1A synchronous buck converter with the wide input voltage range, high efficiency and low stand-by current required in designs powered by a single-cell lithium-ion battery. The AS1382 step-down converter operates from an input range of 2.7-5.5V and provides an output down to as little as 0.6V.

At the GSA Silicon Summit 2015, ams’ Full Service Foundry division presented its comprehensive sensor technology and solutions portfolio which provides foundry customers a complete tool set to develop advanced sensor solutions today’s electronic megatrends.

ams has announced that it is supplying its AS-MLV-P2 MEMS gas sensor component for VOC detection to Withings for use in its Home monitoring system. Accurate, small and power-efficient, the AS-MLV-P2 sensor produces a precisely varying resistance in response to changes in ambient levels of pollutants commonly found in indoor environments.

ams has introduced an integrated power management unit with an especially small footprint for use in wearables and other space-constrained devices. The AS3701 micro-PMIC with low quiescent current implements multiple power-regulation, power-saving, battery-charging, protection and start-up functions in a WL-CSP measuring just 2x2x0.4mm.

ams has added to its 47 series of magnetic rotary position sensors for motor and motion control applications with the AS5047P, featuring higher rotation speeds and higher-resolution incremental outputs. Like other members of the 47 series, the AS5047P features ams’ Dynamic Angle Error Compensation (DAEC) technology, which produces outstanding angle measurement accuracy even at very high rotation speeds.

ams has announced that the headset in the latest Huawei smartphone, the Ascend Mate 7, implements advanced noise cancellation with the company's AS3415. The high-end Android smartphone takes advantage of the ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) capability of the speaker driver to attenuate a large proportion of ambient noise from low frequencies up to around 3kHz.

A sensor for the Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) of light, which enables designers of portable devices such as smartphones and tablets to implement enhanced display management and brightness control, has been introduced by ams. Alongside the traditional red, green and blue (RGB) colour sensor channels, the TCS3490 features an infra-red (IR) measurement channel for the detection of the IR signature of ambient light sources. 

ams has introduced what it claims to be the industry’s first integrated chip-scale IoT-connected smart lighting manager. The AS721x Autonomous Daylighting Manager integrates photopic sensors to sense the ambient daylight and enable the delivery of constant lux levels by managing subtle adjustments as the amount of outside light varies.

Providing complete power control for Nvidia’s Tegra K1 mobile SoC, ams has added the AS3722 to its family of PMICs for mobile multi-core ARM processors. The AS3728, an 8A high-voltage power stage complementing the AS3722, provides for a streamlined power architecture in embedded systems, since it can supply the high current required by processor cores directly from a 12V power rail.

In an all-cash transaction, ams has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in acam-messelectronic. acam-messelectronic, which was established in 1996, designs and markets sensor interface solutions based on the company’s time-to-digital converter technology.

The Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) or shuttle run IC prototyping service from the Full Service Foundry division of ams is now available with an updated schedule for 2015. Combining several designs from different customers onto a single wafer, the service offers significant cost advantages for foundry customers as the costs for wafers and masks are shared among a number of different shuttle participants.

ams has released a family of intelligent sensors that integrate six key sensing functions, including gesture detection and Mobeam barcode emulation. The TMG399x product family is suited for touchless gesture control and display management in smartphones, tablets and many other consumer electronics.

Offering designers a reliable replacement for conventional rotary encoders, while providing a software-compatible incremental quadrature output, the AS5601 contactless rotary position sensor has been introduced by ams. Without any change to the host MCU or its application software, the sensor and its magnet may replace a rotary encoder in devices which use rotary knobs.

Providing a blueprint for an NFC implementation in any MCU-based system, ams has introduced the AS3911 NFC development kit and interface software stack. Using the kit, OEM designers do not need to implement a complete, proprietary software interface between a host MCU, its operating system and the NFC reader IC.

An integrated automotive sensor interface, from ams, has been utilised by BMW in the battery sensor of the i3 series EVs. The battery management system (BMS), which monitors the voltage and current of the 400V li-ion battery powering the electric motors, uses the AS8510 to provide extremely accurate measurements. This enables an accurate estimation of the range the vehicle can cover before the battery is completely discharged.

Offering all the power management building blocks required to provide a power solution for handheld devices powered by lithium-ion batteries, ams has introduced a configurable PMIC. The AS3715 is suited for action cameras, portable navigation devices, tablets, media players and gaming consoles.

Simplifying the process of replacing a traditional potentiometer with a more reliable contactless alternative, ams has announced a magnetic rotary position sensor. The AS5600 features a ratiometric output which mirrors the output of a potentiometer, meaning that potentiometer users do not need to change the application code running on their MCU when they replace it with a design based on an AS5600.