Abstract: The disclosure provides a microcontroller which has an internal timing device for generating an internal clock signal, at least one terminal contact for receiving an external clock signal, a clock changing device and a timer module, which is electrically conductively connected to the at least one terminal contact and to the internal timing device and, after the microcontroller has been switched on, is set up to determine a frequency of the external clock signal by means of the clock signal, and to determine at least one parameter by means of which the clock changing device can be set up to change the external clock signal into a useful clock signal with a predefined frequency.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a vertical power semiconductor device includes forming a drift region in a semiconductor body having a first main surface and a second main surface opposite to the first main surface along a vertical direction, the drift region including platinum atoms, and forming a field stop region in the semiconductor body between the drift region and the second main surface, the field stop region including a plurality of impurity peaks, wherein a first impurity peak of the plurality of impurity peaks is set a larger concentration than a second impurity peak of the plurality of impurity peaks, wherein the first impurity peak includes hydrogen and the second impurity peak includes helium.

Abstract: A semiconductor package includes: a first substrate having a first metallized side; a semiconductor die attached to the first metallized side of the first substrate at a first side of the die, a second side of the die opposite the first side being covered by a passivation, the passivation having a first opening that exposes at least part of a first pad at the second side of the die; a thermally and electrically conductive spacer attached to the part of the first pad that is exposed by the first opening in the passivation, the spacer at least partly overhanging the passivation along at least one side face of the semiconductor die; a second substrate having a first metallized side attached to the spacer at an opposite side of the spacer as the semiconductor die; and an encapsulant encapsulating the semiconductor die and the spacer. Additional spacer embodiments are described.

Abstract: An adaptive MEMS device includes a MEMS microphone and integrated circuitry, wherein the integrated circuitry is electrically connected to the MEMS microphone. The integrated circuitry reads out an output signal from the MEMS microphone and provides the output signal or a rendered output signal, via a first integrated interface, to an external processing device. Additionally, the integrated circuitry determines, at run-time, diagnostic data on the current condition of the MEMS device and provides, at run-time, the diagnostic data, via a second integrated interface, to the external processing device.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a method includes: transmitting a plurality of radar signals using a millimeter-wave radar sensor towards a target; receiving a plurality of reflected radar signals that correspond to the plurality of transmitted radar signals using the millimeter-wave radar; mixing a replica of the plurality of transmitted radar signals with the plurality of received reflected radar signals to generate an intermediate frequency signal; generating raw digital data based on the intermediate frequency signal using an analog-to-digital converter; processing the raw digital data using a constrained L dimensional convolutional layer of a neural network to generate intermediate digital data, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, and where the neural network includes a plurality of additional layers; and processing the intermediate digital data using the plurality of additional layers to generate information about the target.

Abstract: An electronic module is disclosed. In one example, the electronic module includes a first substrate, a first dielectric layer on the first substrate, at least one electronic chip, which is mounted with a first main surface directly or indirectly on partial region of the first dielectric layer, a second substrate over a second main surface of the at least one electronic chip, and an electrical contacting for the electric contact of the at least one electronic chip through the first dielectric layer. The first adhesion layer on the first substrate extends over an area, which exceeds the first main surface.

Abstract: A semiconductor module includes a power electronics carrier including a structured metallization layer disposed on an electrically insulating substrate, a power semiconductor die mounted on the power electronics carrier, a housing that surrounds an interior volume over the power electronics carrier, a reinforcing structure contained within the interior volume and including a textured surface that is accessible by fluid, a volume of curable encapsulant disposed within the interior volume and encapsulating the power semiconductor die, wherein the reinforcing structure is embedded within the volume of curable encapsulant such that the textured surface adheres to the encapsulant, and wherein the reinforcing structure has a tensile strength that is greater than a tensile strength of the curable encapsulant.

Abstract: A sensor circuit, having a startup phase and an operation phase, includes: a sensor configured to generate a sensor signal based on a measured property, wherein the sensor signal has a frequency spectrum defined by a first frequency and a second frequency that is greater than the first frequency; a signal processing circuit including an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to convert the sensor signal into a digital sensor signal; and an offset diagnosis circuit. The offset diagnosis circuit includes: a low pass filter having a cutoff frequency less than the first frequency and configured to generate a filtered signal based on the digital sensor signal; an offset register configured to store a startup signal value of the filtered signal during the startup phase; and an offset comparator circuit configured to set a threshold range based on the startup signal value for use during the operation phase.

Abstract: An overvoltage protection device includes a semiconductor body including a substrate region disposed beneath an upper surface of the semiconductor body, first and second contact pads disposed over the upper surface of the semiconductor body, a trenched connector formed in the semiconductor body, a vertical voltage blocking device formed in the semiconductor body, wherein the trenched connector includes a trench that is formed in the upper surface of the semiconductor body and extends to the substrate region, and a metal electrode disposed within the trench, wherein the metal electrode forms an electrically conductive connection between the first contact pad and the substrate region, and wherein the voltage blocking device is connected between the second contact pad and the substrate region.

Abstract: A power electronics system includes: a power semiconductor module with opposite first and second sides and lateral sides connecting the first and second sides. The power semiconductor module includes: at least one power semiconductor die forming at least one part of a half bridge circuit, an encapsulation encapsulating the power semiconductor die, and an external contact configured as a direct current contact of the half bridge circuit and exposed from the encapsulation at a lateral side of the power semiconductor module. A driver module arranged over the first side of the power semiconductor module is configured to control the half bridge circuit. A differential Hall sensor arranged over the external contact is configured to detect a direct current flowing through the external contact. The driver module is configured to modify a control pattern of the half bridge circuit based on a direct current value detected by the differential Hall sensor.

Abstract: Error correction is proposed, wherein, on the basis of a data word, a syndrome calculation is carried out with a matrix M on the basis of a matrix H of a code, and, if the result of the syndrome calculation reveals that the data word is erroneous, the result of the syndrome calculation is transformed by means of a linear mapping. Next, an error vector is determined on the basis of the result of the linear mapping by means of an efficient error correction algorithm and the erroneous data word is corrected on the basis of the error vector.

Abstract: A magnetic-field-based angle sensor system includes a stator component and a rotor component rotatable relative thereto, a magnetic field sensor operating in saturation operation and a magnetic field sensor operating in linear operation, wherein the magnetic field sensor operating in saturation operation is configured to determine a rotation angle of the rotor component relative to the stator component, and wherein the magnetic field sensor operating in linear operation is configured to ascertain an external magnetic stray field acting on the angle sensor system. The angle sensor system further includes a control device configured, based on the ascertained external magnetic stray field, to compensate for a stray-field-dependent measurement deviation in the determination of the rotation angle carried out.

Abstract: A method of sensing touch on a touch surface of a touch structure includes: transmitting, from within an enclosed interior volume, an ultra-sonic transmit signal towards an inner surface of the touch structure that is arranged counter to the touch surface; receiving, from within the enclosed interior volume, an ultra-sonic reflected signal produced from the ultra-sonic transmit signal being reflected by the inner surface; acquiring a plurality of digital samples from the ultra-sonic reflected signal; calculating an Euclidean distance of the plurality of digital samples to a first plurality of reference samples; and determining whether a no-touch event or a touch event has occurred at the touch surface based on the Euclidean distance.

Abstract: A package is disclosed. In one example, the package includes a carrier, an electronic component mounted on the carrier, an encapsulant fully encapsulating the electronic component and the carrier, electrically conductive leads electrically coupled with the carrier and/or with the electronic component and extending out of the encapsulant at opposing sides of the encapsulant, and a recess in at least one of two opposing main surfaces of the encapsulant and extending between two opposing further sides of the encapsulant. A difference between a creepage current path length including the recess and a further creepage current path is not more than 20%.

Abstract: A system including circuitry to communicate data across an isolation barrier of a switch driver circuit. For switch driver circuits with galvanic isolation, the circuitry of this disclosure uses the unavoidable common mode voltages caused by the coupling capacitances of the data transfer circuit to evaluate the common mode voltage characteristics, such as the slew rate of a switching event. The switch driver circuit of this disclosure may include a common mode voltage detector to detect and measure features of the unavoidable common mode voltage during a switching event, such as voltage amplitude and slew rate. The common mode voltage detector may couple to a communication interface that provides the common mode voltage information to a controller for the switch driver circuit. In some examples, based on the received information, the controller may adjust the operation of the switching circuit.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to chopper amplifier circuits with inherent chopper ripple suppression. Example implementations can realize a doubly utilized chopper amplifier circuit that is a current-saving circuit with a wake-up function that is capable of providing a self-wake signal in order to change into a fast, low-jitter/low-latency mode, and to provide a wake-up signal for a sleeping microprocessor or a system in response to signal changes.

Abstract: A radar monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) includes a trigger encoder configured to receive a clock signal comprising a plurality of clock pulses having a fixed amplitude and a trigger signal configured to indicate trigger events. The trigger encoder is configured to encode the trigger signal into the clock signal to generate a distributed clock signal by skipping at least one clock pulse of the plurality of clock pulses to indicate a trigger event. The radar MMIC is configured to output the distributed clock signal having the at least one clock pulse skipped to indicate the trigger event. The radar MMIC is configured to receive the distributed clock signal as a received distributed clock signal. The radar MMIC further includes a radar operation controller configured to detect the trigger event based on the received distributed clock signal and initiate a radar operation based on detecting the trigger event.

Abstract: A photodetector device includes a photodetector array comprising an array of photodetectors and a plurality of metal structures arranged between photodetectors of the array of photodetectors, wherein the plurality of metal structures are arranged in a first pattern; and a transparent substrate comprising a plurality of diffusion structures being patterned according to a second pattern that matches the first pattern. Each diffusion structure of the plurality of diffusion structures is configured to redirect light that is incident thereon. Additionally, the transparent substrate and the photodetector array are coupled together such that the first pattern is aligned with the second pattern and the plurality of diffusion structures covers the plurality of metal structures.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a phase change switch device is provided. The phase change switch includes a phase change material, a set of heaters arranged to heat the phase change material, and a switch arrangement. The switch arrangement includes a plurality of switches, and is configured to selectively provide electrical power to the set of the heaters.

Abstract: Monitoring devices for battery systems, battery systems and corresponding methods are provided. A monitoring device can communicate via a first interface with a control device. The monitoring device can communicate with a security device via a second interface in a first operating mode, and can communicate with a temperature sensor in a second operating mode of the second interface.