Maxim Integrated Products has introduced the Newport smart
meter reference platform offering the latest in metrology,
security, and powerline communications (G3-PLC) technology.
A separate G3-PLC concentrator board is available to support
meter-to-concentrator communications testing.
The Newport evaluation platform integrates the 71M6541
energy-metering system on chip (SoC) that provides 0.1%
accuracy across a wide current range of 2000:1. The G3-PLC
chipset, which includes the MAX2991 and MAX2992, features
adaptive tone mapping, notching, and robust mode to ensure
communication in the noisiest of conditions. The MAXQ1050
secure microcontroller supports advanced and scalable encryption
standards and protects against physical attacks from hackers.
By using this smart-meter platform, designers can evaluate
the MAX2991/MAX2992 G3-PLC compliant chipset, the 71M6541
metering SoC, and the MAXQ1050 secure microcontroller for
their next-generation smart meters.
The Newport platform includes two communications sockets,
allowing for independent neighborhood area network (NAN)
and home are network (HAN) interfaces. Maxim's G3-PLC chipset
(MAX2991/MAX2992) is installed in one socket to provide
communication for either meter to concentrator (route A),
meter to in-home display and home gateway (route B), or
both. The chipset complies with the emerging IEEE P1901.2
standard for OFDM-based communication over power lines and
offers guaranteed interoperability. The MAX2992 also includes
an on-chip CCM authentication coprocessor with AES-128 encryption/decryption.
The 71M6541 combines a powerful, programmable, and customizable
32-bit metrology computation engine, a 22-bit delta-sigma
ADC featuring the company's Single Converter Technology(R);
a 5MHz 8051-compatible MPU core with a low-power RTC and
digital temperature compensation; flash memory; LCD driver;
UARTs; and I2C interface. This combination of blocks allows
the system to be optimized for specialized measurements
and to work with various sensors including shunts, current
transformers, and Rogowski coils. The Newport platform is
also the only solution that supports isolated shunt-metering
technology, as per Maxim.
To protect the meters from hacking the Newport platform
adds the MAXQ1050, which supports advanced asymmetric encryption
schemes such as elliptic curve and also protects against
physical hacking. The MAXQ1050 incorporates a sophisticated
security mechanism to protect secret key data; two self-destruct
inputs and various other environmental monitors (temperature
and voltage sensors) erase secret key data when an attack
condition is detected, thereby preventing sensitive information
from falling into the hands of an attacker. The device supports
high-speed encryption with hardware accelerators for AES,
RSA, DSA, ECDSA, SHA-1, SHA-224, SHA-256, and 3DES. A true
hardware random-number generator is included for key generation
and challenge generation.
The Newport smart grid platform includes several other
important components to ensure a successful design evaluation.
Complete power management is provided by the MAX17498, a
current-mode pulse-width-modulated regulator for AC-DC and
DC-DC power-conversion applications. The DS3231M real time
clock offers enhanced timing accuracy, and the MAX13256
and MAX13412 provide an isolated RS-485 interface.
For more information visit: www.maxim-ic.com
