Sample Projects
This page lists a few projects that ECROS Technology has undertaken. These projects by no means represent our full capability, but they do show the range of engineering tasks we are equipped to handle.
Radio Frequency Multiplexer
The customer wanted a 16-way RF multiplexer to add to an existing product line. He specified a 4-way, gallium-arsenide absorptive switch IC with integrated silicon control logic, but provided no other details. ECROS Technology wrote the functional description, which the customer reviewed, and produced three fully-functional pre-production units in three weeks. A significant challenge was the 3 GHz bandwidth of the switches (more ...)
Vending Machine Motor Control
An industrial inventory management system used motor mechanisms from an existing vending machine product line. The mechanism was designed to make one complete revolution and then stop (in the original application, discharging one item from a wire spiral). With over a hundred such motor mechanisms in a single machine, wiring density was an issue, so sensing of the shaft position was via a microswitch wired in series with the motor. To return the motor to the home position, the control electronics needed to detect the short current interruption as the microswitch flew between its two positions (more ...)
Five Switching Regulators in Three Square Inches
Linear Technology make some very highly integrated power management chips for cameras, PDAs, MP3 players, etc. An example is the LTC3586, which includes five switching power regulators - one to charge the battery and the other four to provide a variety of supply voltages to the application circuit. The customer wanted an implementation of Linear Technology's Typical Application circuit from the data sheet, minus the microcontroller and plus soft-start and other safety features. The challenge became the layout of the PCB, on two layers, with a full silk-screen and suitable for low-cost prototype manufacturing, in an area no larger than the battery (more ...)