Author: Techtime

Advanced Energy Open a New Facility in Israel

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Advanced Energy Industries from Fort Collins, Colorado, announced the grand opening of its newest facility, located near Tel Aviv, in Caesarea, Israel. The new 6,500 square-foot facility includes business offices, a service and repair center and R&D lab. This facility supports AE’s growth strategy and global expansion, while providing enhanced support for the company’s regional customers in the semiconductor, medical, defense and industrial markets.

“Our new facility in Israel underscores our commitment to enhancing service and support for our customers,” said Yuval Wasserman, president and CEO of Advanced Energy. “Our local presence provides us with the opportunity to expand our customer base in both the semiconductors and industrial sectors, and within Israel’s fast-growing high-tech market. It also positions us to further collaborate with technology centers of innovation in the country.”

Amir Wachs, general manager, Israel, for Advanced Energy, said  that the new facility brings tremendous value to local customers, “by combining sales support, a service center and R&D lab for custom design.” AE provides precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions for mission-critical applications and processes. Last month it was chosen by Alma Lasers from Caesarea to integrate AE’s UltiMod and CoolX power supplies into Alama’s energy-based aesthetic treatment platforms.

On May 15, AE has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Embedded Power business of Artesyn Embedded Technologies for approximately $400 million. Artesyn EP is a provider of highly engineered, application-specific power supplies for demanding applications. During 2018, AE’s annual ales were $718.9 million, compared with $671.0 million in 2017.

Mellanox Has Gained Over a Million Ethernet Ports

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 Mellanox Technologies from Yokneam, Israel, said that the integration of its Ethernet switches into  Check Point Software’s “Maestro” security platform, announced in January 2019, has propelled Ethernet switch shipments past the one million port milestone. Check Point has selected Mellanox Spectrum-based Ethernet switches for its next generation Maestro platform – the industry’s first truly hyperscale network security solution.

Check Point Maestro is a revolutionary new hardware-software security suite based on a new architecture to enable cyber defense against “Generation V” threats.  Its HyperSync patented technology allows customers to enjoy full redundancy within a system, by utilizing all hardware resources. Maestro leverages the Mellanox 10, 25 and 100Gbps Spectrum based Ethernet switches.

The Spectrum-based Open Ethernet platform enables Check Point to allow Gaia, its operating system for security applications, to run on the switch. Gaia provides the feature set and interfaces that are familiar to security administrators worldwide, and delivers secure updates via IPSO and Secure Platform.

Mellanox’ Spectrum family of Ethernet switches are purpose built for Software Defined Datacenters. The Spectrum product family includes a broad portfolio of Top-of-Rack (TOR) and aggregation switches that range from 16 to 128 physical ports, with Ethernet data rates of 1GbE, 10GbE, 25GbE, 40GbE, 50GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE and 400GbE per port. Utilizing an Open Ethernet architecture allows a choice of operating systems, including Mellanox Onyx, Cumulus Linux, SONiC, Switchdev and others.

Itai Greenberg, VP Product Management at Check Point, said that Check Point’s decision “Came After a careful evaluation of the various offerings. We selected the Mellanox Spectrum family of switches as the best solution to meet our needs and deliver unmatched security platforms to our customers. We look forward to continuing the technology collaboration with Mellanox for product generations to come.”

MACOM Announced 4-Watt Ka-Band PA for SATCOM

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MACOM Technology Solutions from Lowell, Massachusetts, announced the new MAAP-011250 Ka-Band power amplifier, mainly suited for next generation commercial SATCOM systems and VSAT outdoor units. The MAAP-011250 is a balanced 4 W, 4-stage power amplifier assembled in a lead-free 5 mm 32-lead AQFN plastic package. As the demand for high speed, broadband, data connectivity continues, MACOM is seeing changes in fixed wired networks, such as HFC and Fiber along with terrestrial wireless networks, and SATCOM, in order to meet this demand.

With the addition of the 4W amplifier, MACOM now offers 2, 2.3, 3, 4 and 7 W power output options spanning frequencies ranging from 27 to 31.5 GHz. These new GaAs-based Ka-Band PAs can provide strong linear gain, which is expected to enable customers to efficiently increase the power from the input to the output port with minimal tradeoffs. This power amplifier operates from 27.5 to 30 GHz and provides 24 dB of linear gain, 4 W saturated output power and output IP3 of 41 dBm while biased at 6 V.

Balanced design can enable consistent matching to 50 Ohms at the input and output. The MAAP-011250 can be used as a power amplifier stage or as a driver stage in higher power applications. The amplifier complements MACOM’s portfolio of Ka-Band gain block amplifiers, drivers, mixers and PAs to deliver a complete chipset for high-performance wireless broadband data links.

The German Army Chose Elbit Personal Radios

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Following a competitive solicitation and technical testing, Elbit Systems’ subsidiary in Germany was selected to provide the German Army with the E-LynX soldier radios (PNR 1000) in handheld and vehicular configurations. The new soldier radios will be used at the platoon and company levels and will be installed onboard various combat vehicles, including the SPz PUMA.

The contract involves a transfer of technology agreement to facilitate local development and manufacturing of the E-LynX soldier radios that will be supplied to the German Army, and the development of further extensions and capabilities. Development and production will be done in the company’s facilities in Ulm, Germany.

E-LynX is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) aimed to provide secure and reliable communications on the battlefield. It consists of strong error correction algorithms to eliminate the lost of data packets, and a self-healing, self forming ad-hoc networking capabilities to ensures robust data communications of several megabits per second at adaptable bandwidths. The devices for the German Army consist of networked combat solutions in both open field and in urban areas.

The radio system provides forces with the capability to use several voice groups in a single channel and fast data services. The radios that will be supplied feature advanced networking waveform with unique concurrent flooding techniques that extend range over a multi-hop network.

ReWalk Received CE Mark for soft Exoskeleton-like Device

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The news that ReWalk Robotics from Yokneam, Israel, received a CE clearance to market its ReStore Exo-Suitstock, hit the market with surprise and drove the company’s value in NASDAQ more than 20% up. Further more, the company estimated last week that the approval request it had submitted last February to the FDA, complies with the American regulator’s demands and  will be approved in the coming months.

ReStore is a powered, lightweight soft exo-suit intended for use in the rehabilitation of patients with lower limb disability due to stroke. It is a first of its kind gait training solution. ReWalk CEO, Larry Jasinski, told Techtime that ReStore can a revolutionize post stroke gait training. ”We developed this design through collaboration with the Wyss Institute at Harvard. It was a unique opportunity to combine both our scientific and technical expertise.”

Stroke is a leading cause of disability. The UK stroke association estimates that approximately 17 million people worldwide affected by stroke each year. As many as 80% of stroke survivors suffer Locomotor Dysfunctions, such as asymmetrical step length, slow velocity, and altered bio-mechanical alignment. ReWalk is globally known for its rigid exoskeleton product, ReWalk Personal 6.0, designed to actively assist individuals with paralysis following a spinal cord injury.

The company announced that ReStore will be priced significantly below the ReWalk Personal 6.0. “The affordability and versatility of ReStore make it an attractive solution for a broader range of the rehabilitation cases than our previous technologies,” said Jasinski. To date, ReWalk has placed nearly 550 exoskeletons in 26 countries and trained more than 270 rehabilitation clinics to conduct exoskeleton training worldwide.

Infineon to acquire Cypress for €9 Billion in Cash

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Infineon Technologies from Munich, Germany, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire San Jose, California based Cypress Semiconductor for US$23.85 per share in cash, corresponding to an enterprise value of approximately €9.0 billion. The price represents a 46% premium to Cypress’s traded value in NASDAQ. The funding of the acquisition is fully underwritten by a consortium of banks. The acquisition is subject to approval by Cypress’s shareholders and the bodies, and is expected to be closed by the end of 2019 or early 2020.

The completion of the deal will create a new semiconductor’s giant with 37,000 employees, 30,000 patents and €10 Billion combined annual sales (in 2018). Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon (photo above), said that the deal, “Will open up growth potential in the automotive, industrial and Internet of Things sectors.” Steve Albrecht, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cypress, revealed that there were other contestants behind the scene: “After receiving interest from several companies, we entered into a transaction that is a testament to our team’s strategy and hard work. ”

Economy of Scale in Action

Infineon estimates that the expected economies of scale will create cost synergies of €180 million per annum by 2022. The complementary portfolios will enable the offering of further chip solutions with a revenue synergies potential of more than €1.5 billion per annum in the long term. Based on pro forma revenues of €10 billion in FY 2018, the transaction will make Infineon the number eight chip manufacturer in the world.

In addition to its strong position in power semiconductors and security controllers, Infineon will now also become the number one supplier of chips to the automotive market.  Cypress has a differentiated portfolio of microcontrollers as well as software and connectivity components that are highly complementary to Infineon’s leading power semiconductors, sensors and security solutions. Combining these assets will enable to provide advanced solutions for high-growth applications such as electric drives, battery-powered devices and power supplies.

Infineon: “The combination of Infineon’s security expertise and Cypress’s connectivity know-how will accelerate entry into new IoT applications in the industrial and consumer segments. In automotive semiconductors, the expanded portfolio of microcontrollers and NOR flash memories will offer great potential, especially in light of their growing importance for advanced driver assistance systems and new electronic architectures in vehicles.”

RT Aerostat secured Eurovision Song Contest

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A new HD payload enabling to transmit high-resolution video from an aerostat to a ground command and control station was installed this May on a SkyStar 180 small-size mobile aerostat (photo above), to provide extra layer of protection for to the Eurovision Song Contest held in Tel Aviv during  14-18 May 2019. The aerostat was developed and produced by RT LTA from Yavne, near Tel Aviv.

The SkyStar 180 was designed for tactical mid-range surveillance, border control, military and public safety missions. Based on a towable trailer, the helium-filled aerostat is tethered to a ground vehicle and carries up to 20kg stabilized electro-optical payload. It needs only 2 operators and supply wide area coverage from an altitude of up to 1,000 ft. for up to 72 hours. Even under 40 knots wind velocity conditions.

Markets&Markets survey ranked RT LTA was chosen as one of the 5 most influential aerostat companies in the world. The company’s SkyStar systems had already accomplished more than 1.5 million operational hours worldwide. It was founded by the CEO Rami Shmueli, former head of the aerostats department in the IDF. Today the company enters a new market of large scale aerostats through American subsidiary, RT Aerostat Systems from Texas.