In Brief

• The Fieldbus Foundation has released a High-Speed Ethernet (HSE) interoperability test kit which can be used to troubleshoot and debug HSE devices. The kit includes the hardware and software needed to ensure that an HSE device will interoperate with others and incorporates a test engine that subjects the device to more than 400 test cases. It verifies the function blocks that make interoperability possible.

• Semikron has introduced a new generation of IGBT gate drivers based on a standard core coupled to PCBs that tailor the driver for optimised operation with a variety of IGBTs. The low-cost Skyper drivers, which interface between controllers and IGBT modules in applications such as inverters, have 30% fewer components than conventional designs.

• The Cambridge-based display specialist Pelikon is developing a thin, flat-panel display that will be able to be read in all lighting conditions, from bright sunlight, to total darkness, without needing a backlight. The 18-month project, backed by the UK`s Department for Trade and Industry, aims to develop the world`s first flexible display on one substrate combining liquid crystal and electroluminescent technologies.