EDN Asia articles from April 2007

EDN Asia archives from April 2007

Design convergence and chain management.(ednasia comment)
April 1, 2007... With EDA revenue flat at around $4 bn for the last five years, and designers complaining of inadequate EDA tools for leading-edge nodes, all is not well with the design industry. Traditionally, EDA has not followed the cyclic upturn-downturn of...

HDTV processor and development platform with full HD video processing.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... Texas Instruments introduces its TVP9010 integrated high-definition television (HDTV) processor and development platform. Using sophisticated video processing techniques and based on the company's mixed signal SoC design expertise, the...

Dual HDTV decoder chip manufactured in 65nm technology.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... The STi7200 is a dual-video-stream high-definition decoder chip intended for STBs, digital video recorders (DVRs) and DVD players. Developed by STMicro-electronics, this highly integrated SoC supports both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats, ...

ARM7 Flash MCUs support 1G byte-Plus SDRAM.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... The AT91SAMTSE series is the industry's first family of ARM7 Flash MCUs to Support 1G byte-Plus SDRAM, NAND Flash, and CompactFlash. They feature a universal memory interface including an Error Correcting Code Controller (ECC). Available with...

Low cost SiGe power amplifier for 802.11b/g MIMO WLAN apps.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... M/A-COM, a business unit of Tyco Electronics and provider of wireless radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave components, has launched a low cost RoHS compliant 2.4GHz linear power amplifier for 802.11b/g MIMO (multiple-input...

Tektronix extends software for UWB WiMedia radios.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... Tektronix announces an extension to its TDSUWB oscilloscope software utility. The Tek UWB WiMedia2 software extends the UWB debug and analysis capabilities of the Tektronix DSA70000, DPO70000 and TDS6000C Series--said to be the industry's...

"Industry's lowest" current consumption for low-noise voltage references.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... Intersil's ISL21009 voltage reference delivers initial accuracy, along with what's claimed as the industry's lowest supply current consumption for low-noise references. This makes it an ideal choice for industrial and medical instrumentation...

Freescale's WiMAX infrastructure development platform.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... A comprehensive development platform utilizing Power Architecture technology for the creation of WiMAX base band applications is now available from Freescale Semiconductor. Incorporating high performance PowerQUICC communication technology,...

Handheld MS2720B spectrum analyzer.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... The compact MS2720B Spectrum Analyzer series is a small (313x211x77mm), lightweight (2.9kg max.), battery powered spectrum analyzer that builds on the success of its predecessor MS2720A with strengthened performance and functions. In addition...

MPLAB REAL ICE emulation system for PICs and dsPICs.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... Microchip has launched its MPLAB REAL ICE emulation system for the development of applications employing the company's PIC microcontrollers and dsPIC digital signal controllers (DSCs). Addressing the need for increased controller memory speed...

Tiny SMT ChipLED lamps in standard package.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... Said to be the industry's thinnest surface mount (SMT) LEDs in the smallest industry-standard (0603) footprint available, these low-power LEDs use high-brightness chips to provide excellent illumination with minimum current consumption. ...

Step down controller with remote voltage sense.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... Linear Technology Corporation's LTC3823 is a synchronous step-down dc/dc controller with differential output voltage sensing, fast transient response, integrated phase-lock loop synchronization and output voltage tracking. The differential...

Step-down dc/dc converters deliver 500mA, and integrate feedback network in SC70.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2007... The MAX8640Y/MAX8640Z from Maxim Integrated Products are small 500mA, high-efficiency step-down dc/dc converters that come in a tiny SC70 package. Ideal for applications where small size, high efficiency, and low output ripple are priorities,...

Point-and-see picture transfer requires no setup, employs IrDA.(GLOBAL DESIGNER)
April 1, 2007... As a long-term supplier of transceivers to the IrDA (Infrared Data Association) market, Sharp Microelectronics is promoting the IrSimple "special case" of that standard for sending pictures from camera phones to televisions. Sharp expects that...

Powering SoCs with integrated approaches.(GLOBAL DESIGNER)
April 1, 2007... A typical portable electronic device, such as a mobile phone or all MP3 player, comprises a variety of chips many of which need different power-supply voltages. For instance. USB OTG (on the go) needs it 5V source, analog sections and...

Seeking the secrets of a satellite receiver.(prying eyes)
April 1, 2007... Rendered redundant by the acquisition of a more advanced trait, a DirecTV D11-100 satellite-set-top box gets the Prying Eyes treatment for your voyeuristic enjoyment. Peer inside the svelte, silver case to see how the box's creators used...

Connecting systems to displays: what we got here is failure to communicate: continuous technological evolution is the inevitable consequence of vendors' desires to sustain revenue and profit at healthy levels. When that product progression results in regressive experiences for end users, however, its sustainability is uncertain.(Cover story)
April 1, 2007... Peer at the back of a modern home-theater receiver, and you'll note a preponderance of analog-signal-carrying connectors amid the plethora of plugs (Figure 1). RCA jacks route low-level analog-audio signals, and banana plugs and binding posts...

Embedded-processing platforms: a second look: processing platforms and their software-development ecosystems are becoming more important for the success of designing increasingly complex applications.(design feature)
April 1, 2007... During the last quarter of 2002, I did a hands-on project with Texas Instruments' OMAP (Open Mobile Application Processor) platform using the Innovator development kit. Although the article that resulted from that effort shared my experiences...

A logical approach to NVM integration in SoC design: SoC designers have several options for integrating NVM (nonvolatile memory) into their designs, so it's wise to weigh the availability and numerous trade-offs before jumping headfirst into integrating NVM into your SoC.(design feature)
April 1, 2007... Increasingly, ICs require embedded NVM (nonvolatile memory). The popularity of consumer appliances such as MP3 players--with their asSoCiated need for digital-rights management--and security considerations, for example, drive this trend. At the...

"Developers can modify the OS to suit their requirements".(Interview)
April 1, 2007... On the sidelines of EDN Asia's Embedded Systems Seminar held in Singapore, EDN Asia spoke with Professor Ken Sakamura of the University of Tokyo, who is also the Director of YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory, Tokyo, and father of the TRON...

Comparing industrial field bus networks.(special report)
April 1, 2007... When selecting a bus network, the engineer either begins with no restrictions and can, therefore, specify any network, or the engineer is constrained to specify a network compatible with an existing installation. In this discussion, we'll focus...

Extend low-output-voltage switching regulator's input range.(design ideas)(Linear Technology Corp.)
April 1, 2007... Internal operating voltages in electronic devices continue to decrease, but input-source voltages don't change. As the difference between input and output voltages increases, so does the improvement in efficiency that a switching regulator...

TI's high-quality, flexible wireless solution.(SEMICONDUCTORS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... The high-performance, power-efficient OMAP2430 processor enables smooth and easy functioning mobile TV and VGA resolution for viewing movies and video clips. Based on the company's high-performance, low leakage 90-nanometer CMOS technology, the...

Fiber optic module with advanced diagnostics technology.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2007... The AFBR-5978Z is said to be the industry's only industrial Fast Ethernet optical transceiver to incorporate digital diagnostic monitoring interface (DMI). This feature permits real-time monitoring of transceiver performance and system...

Converter delivers 2A per channel from TSSOP-20E package.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2007... The LT3510 is a dual current mode PWM step-down dc/dc converter with two internal 2.5A power switches packaged in a 20-lead TSSOP-20E package. Each channel is capable of delivering up to 2A of continuous output current at efficiencies up to...

CRM PFC controller ICs feature top THD performance.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2007... The FAN7529 and FAN7530 are critical conduction mode (CRM) power factor correction (PFC) controller ICs designed to meet stringent standby power and harmonic regulations affecting ballast, notebook adaptors, LCD TVs and LCD monitors. They...

Transceiver allows USB, UART signaling through one connector.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2007... The MAX3349EA is a USB 2.0 full-speed transceiver with UART multiplexing mode. The UART interface allows mobile devices, such as PDAs, cellular phones, and digital cameras, to use either UART or USB signaling through the same connector, thus...

High frequency, small footprint PWM buck regulator.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2007... The MIC4722 is a 3x3mm MLF 2.7MHz 3A PWM buck regulator that's claimed to be the industry's highest frequency 3A device. It targets applications that require high operating frequencies, such as the next generation xDSL modems and satellite...

Very small digital TV demodulator.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2007... The DRX3931J, an 8VSB and QAM 64/256 demodulator with integrated IF amplifier, demodulates standard-and high-definition television signals according to ATSC-A/53, the North American digital television broadcast standard; and QAM 64/256 signals...

Complete battery-pack design for one- or two-cell portable applications.
April 1, 2007... Introduction Although voltage measurement alone has been used in many portable products to approximate the remaining capacity of the battery, this method may have an error rate of up to 50%. The relationship between cell voltage and...