Every designer’s work and professional environments have become mobile. Maxim Integrated has developed a quick and easy way to deliver an electronic designer experience on mobile. Dubbed Essential Analog, the mobile app is available for every design situation.
The rapid spread of technology requires constant innovation, leading to faster, smaller, and more efficient systems, as well as new cutting-edge devices. All these systems need analog circuits that work in harsh conditions, requiring high reliability and robustness. Low-power, accurate, high-performance integrated circuits provide innovative solutions that push wearable, wireless and advanced applications to the next generation.
Engineers need smart solutions that are always at hand. You may need to review a technical detail or look for a particular specification without having your computer available. Engineers love to go for walks, and they may be getting some fresh air in the mountains or at sea, thinking about their next project and the possibility to do a quick check for that particular solution.
Maxim Integrated’s Essential Analog mobile app, available for iOS and Android, provides quick and easy access to intelligent Essential Analog ICs. It offers a solution for all designers who are building innovative next-generation systems. The app also makes ordering parts and receiving product news quicker and easier.
“Our app (here is the link to download) highlights high performance building block parts, the core of Maxim Integrated’s product offering. We are dedicated to innovating with these building blocks,” said David Andeen, executive director for the Core Products Group at Maxim Integrated. “Further, we have found the focus on high-performance building blocks appeals to a wide range of customers. This app aims to address that market need by offering a simple and intuitive way to access products and information.”
Andeen added, “In our new situation of working during Covid-19, people have had to train themselves to mix their personal and professional lives—for example, many are working while being parents, teachers, spouses, and caregivers. This new app helps optimize our customers’ work.”
Everything just a click away
The business and professional environment requires smart and fast solutions. New mobile technologies have become a preferred tool to differentiate from the competition. Through the use of a smartphone with an Android or iOS operating system, engineers (and others) can keep track of activities, making their work accessible and, above all, efficient while also considering the increasingly stringent demands of the market.
Thanks to devices such as smartphones but also web and cloud technologies, internet access is ubiquitous. With the advent of 4G and the next 5G, it will be possible to access the internet anytime and anywhere. The use of specific professional applications for each technical profession is becoming a must.
Essential Analog
Maxim Integrated’s Essential Analog mobile application provides an access to engineering resources, allowing designers to remain online through notifications and receive alerts of items such as new product introductions and events.
The app allows you to read application notes and blogs, watch training videos, explore evaluation kits and more easily access what industry experts provide.
Through cursors and menus, you can find the right solutions for your project. The app features significant offline functionality, allowing you to perform searches and other actions, even when you are not connected to the web. You can save technical details and keep track of your order for various products.
The main page of the app appears as shown in figure 1. A menu bar at the bottom of the screen allows you to keep track of your notifications, feeds, and preferences. “A regular newsfeed section provides updates on new products, events, content, and material, giving people the ability to bookmark their preferred items and access samples and purchases,” said Andeen. The newsfeed section allows you to have a natural approach to the weekly news relevant to your field of application.
“Essential Analog focuses on building block products, with particular attention to highly innovative parts. We have noticed positive feedback and a remarkable response, especially from customers who are building new applications where the architecture is not yet defined. These engineers all want the best performing building blocks with the flexibility to design their systems as they see fit,” said Andeen.
The main blocks are efficient power, precision measurement, reliable connectivity and robust protection with different product categories such as buck boost for efficient power, ADC and op-amp for precision measurement, CAN and RS-485 for reliable connectivity and isolator and RTC for robust protection (figures 2 and 3). The Smart Selector sub-menu allows intuitive product selection based on various parameters such as input voltage and output voltage for power devices.
The wide selection of Maxim Integrated’s Essential Analog ICs supports every application. The portfolio will help solve the most severe design challenges and make systems smaller, smarter, and more durable.
All devices need power, of course. And much of the focus in next generation systems is on optimizing the form factor, in addition to operating longer. Efficient power ICs support low power losses for consumer and industrial applications, as well as long battery runtimes for compact and portable devices.
Precision measurement leads us towards the use of accurate signal blocks. Innovations in the field of medical diagnostic devices, for example, that must eliminate additional calibration steps while providing accuracy on the first measurement. Precision measurement ICs, such as amplifiers and data converters, provide high speed and accuracy in each of the signal processing blocks.
Reliable connectivity considers communication beyond WiFi and broadband with the goal of sending the right information at the right time, under all conditions. “This is where our robust serial interface products shine, as well as our wireless products,” said Andeen.
Reliable connectivity ICs enable wired and wireless communications on standards using RS-232, RS-485, CAN, and ISM with robust and reliable data transfer.
The last block in the app menu is robust protection. “Devices and technology enter a phase where we notice them less, and they are increasingly integrated into our lives,” said Andeen. “Therefore, they cannot be reset continuously due to internal malfunctions. They also need to be able to handle real-world conditions as we have more and more sensors in the world, and this is the primary function of our product lines for supervision and protection.”
These robust protection devices maintain and monitor system environments, ensuring continuous operation for mission-critical applications.
Anil Telikepalli, managing director for the Core Products Group at Maxim Integrated, added that once a solution has been found, many products are featured in reference designs, whose files may be viewed using links to the Maxim Integrated web page.
In addition, Andeen said, “We are super excited about this new app. It’s something we don’t see in the industry. The newsfeed, notifications, and other features provide customers with what they need in any situation.
This is an app that lays the foundation for fast, intuitive, and efficient sharing of solutions in macro categories to speed up projects in any situation. In addition to being always updated with feeds and notifications on the latest products and material, customers can order their samples and products.
This app is a great way for engineers to have the information they need available at their fingertips, whether at home or on the go.