EDN Asia articles from April 2009

EDN Asia archives from April 2009

Designing for environment.(ednasia comment)
April 1, 2009... In October 2001 Netherlands halted 1.3 million unit shipments of Sony products because of excess of cadmium. Sony estimated an impact on sales of Euro 110 million on an operating profit of Euro 52 million, including cost of rework. With...

Power distribution switches ensure safety and guard against short-circuits.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
April 1, 2009... Four new power-distribution switches from Texas Instruments Inc. enable end equipment to handle heavy capacitive loads while preventing short-circuits in a variety of applications, such as USB ports/hubs, cell phones, laptops, flat panel TVs...

Digital accelerometers yield benefits in gesture-driven consumer devices.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Features involving a device's motion, such as a tap-to-mute capability on a cell phone or a user-input feature on a gaming controller, can serve as communication tools. Motion sensors can also serve as safety devices, sensing a laptop in a...

Tiny module delivers Pico-ITXe expansion.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... As standard off-the-shelf board architectures shrink, designers need simple and low-cost techniques to tack on custom I/O. Toward that end, WinSystems recently introduced the first Pico-I/O module for expanding Pico-ITXe single-board computers....

High efficiency light load for green home/office appliances.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Micrel's MIC23150 is said to be the highest output current device in the HyperLight Load family of synchronous step-down regulators. The patented architecture implemented in the MIC23150 delivers high efficiency light load for portable products...

N-channel power MOSFET in compact footprint.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Vishay Intertechnology has launched its first 190V n-channel power MOSFET plus co-packaged 190V power diode in a compact 2x2x0.75mm PowerPAK SC-70 package. The SiA850DJ is also said to be the industry's first such device with an on-resistance...

Future nonvolatile memories may have carbon footprints.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... A Rice University team has proposed that a strip of graphene 10 atoms thick could serve as the basic storage element in a new form of memory. With individual bits smaller than 10nm, the memory's capacity would improve upon today's...

NI simplifies advanced control with CompactRIO system.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... National Instruments has launched its lowest-cost NI CompactRIO programmable automation controller (PAC), which offers engineers and machine builders an ideal solution for advanced control and monitoring applications. The NI cRIO-9073 system...

RF-communications software spans signal generation and analysis.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Keithley Instruments has expanded its free SignalMeister software platform to include RF-signal analysis and generation. It controls generation and analysis of both SISO (single-input/single-output) and MIMO (multiple-input/multiple-output)...

Tests resolve tension over silicon strain.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In work that should help silicon-device makers optimize materials and processes, scientists at the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) have demonstrated the ability to measure stress in regions of a...

DAS optimized for battery-powered apps.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Maxim Integrated Products' latest low-power data-acquisition system (DAS) integrates precision data converters for signal conditioning and sensor excitation. The MAX1329 features a 12-/16-bit ADC, dual 12-bit force-sense DACs, and voltage...

IntelliMAX load switches offer 1[micro]A quiescent current.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Fairchild Semiconductor's FPF2024, FPF2025, FPF2026 and FPF2027 are IntelliMAX advanced load switches that minimize the quiescent current and prolong battery life. With a quiescent current of only 1[micro]A, these devices use less than 2% of...

MIT researchers claim 50% increase in solar-cell output.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... A team of physicists and engineers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) claims that sandwiching a solar cell between an antireflective coating on the front and a combination of reflective coatings and a diffraction grating on the back...

VectorStar microwave VNA operates to 70GHz.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Anritsu's VectorStar MS4640A family delivers a frequency coverage of 70kHz to 70GHz,dynamic range of 103dB @ 67GHz, and measurement speed of 20/[micro]s/point to establish top performance for S-parameter measurements on RF, microwave, and...

Infineon introduces two RF chips for LTE and 3G.(pulse)
April 1, 2009... Infineon has introduced two RF-chips for LTE and 3G--SMARTi LU for highest data rates with LTE, and SMARTi UEmicro for low cost 3G devices. SMARTi LU is a highly integrated 2G/3G/LTE multi-mode RF transceiver compliant to 3GPP Rel.7 and...

The Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset.(prying eyes)
April 1, 2009... While raking some leaves recently, I uncovered a fully charged Bluetooth headset. Someone's loss is someone else's gain, I thought as I pried into the interior of this popular consumer-electronics device. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Unlike...

Evaluating value-oriented x86 CPUs: the price of falling prices: EDN hands-on project: economical microprocessors may enable you to easily hit your next design's bill-of-materials cost target, but will they also allow you to accomplish your performance and power-consumption objectives?(Cover story)
April 1, 2009... It's unclear to what degree Intel anticipated the fiscal crisis now gripping the globe and therefore developed the economical Atom CPU as a means of preserving its market-share position. (The company publicly states that its primary intent with...

Stackable architectures diverge: although standards organizations differ on updates to replace the obsolete ISA-bus technology, classic PC/104 continues to attract embedded-system designers.(design feature)
April 1, 2009... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] With recent additions to the official specification plus multiple customized variations to extract more performance, PC/104-like architectures continue to be prime candidates for rugged and space-constrained embedded...

Diode-turn-on-time-induced failures in switching regulators: never have so many had so much trouble with so few terminals.(design feature)
April 1, 2009... Most circuit designers are familiar with diode dynamic characteristics, such as charge storage, voltage-dependent capacitance, and reverse recovery time. Manufacturers less commonly acknowledge and specify diode forward turn-on time. This...

Thermal derating of LEDs.(special report)
April 1, 2009... In the last few years, the "high brightness" light emitting diode (LED) has developed enormously from a niche existence as a high priced designer spotlight to a useful general purpose illumination source with efficiencies of well over 1001m/W...

Program "excelerates" microcomputer-I/O allocation.(design ideas)
April 1, 2009... When I designed a system employing the LPC2138 ARM (www.arm.com) -based microcontroller, I quickly abandoned a pencil-and-paper approach to allocating the I/O. That method is tedious and error-prone because of the large number of pins on the...

Five- to 10-LED flashlight circuit runs at 3V.(design ideas)
April 1, 2009... Almost all inexpensive commercial LED flashlights use a 4.5V power supply--three AA or AAA batteries--because white LEDs require 3.3 to 3.5V to fully turn on. Thus, there is a voltage gap between LEDs and traditional 3V incandescent-flashlight...

TI unveils low-power stereo audio codec.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2009... The TLV320AIC3107 low-power stereo audio codec from Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) enables CD quality playback and extends battery life in portable products such as cellphones, portable navigation devices and portable media players. It integrates...

AMS launches 16-channel LED controller IC.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2009... austriamicrosystems' AS3693B LED controller IC helps to build flat LCD TVs with high contrast ratios, resulting in excellent picture quality. The concept of controlling external FETs and the patented power saving technology, which actively...

3W LED provides a full-color output.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2009... The AstraLED RGB is suitable for use in a variety of kitchen appliances; communications equipment; medical devices; and automotive and sign applications requiring bright, intense light with low power consumption. The LED provides an...

Infineon's industrial MCU family with 8-, 16- and 32-bit models.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2009... Available with embedded flash, Infineon Technologies AG's latest MCUs for industrial applications include the new extension of 8-bit XC800 family with XC864, 16-bit XE166 family with XE162M, XE164M and XE167M, and 32-bit Tricore family with...

Avago launches energy efficient 1W LED emitter.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2009... Avago's 1W high power LED emitter is designed for use in solid-state lighting applications. The energy efficient ASMT-Ax00 LED features a low-profile package design, wide 130[degrees] viewing angle, and the ability to handle high thermal and...

High-input-voltage quad-output controller.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Maxim Integrated Products has introduced the MAX17019, a high-input-voltage, quad-output controller for automotive applications. This device saves space and cost by integrating four independent voltage outputs in a...

DC/DC converter extends battery runtime.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
April 1, 2009... The LTC3125 is a 1.6MHz current mode, synchronous boost DC/DC converter with an accurate and programmable average input current limit. Its internal 1.2A switches can deliver output voltages as high as 5.25V from an input voltage range of 1.8 to...

Upgrade enhances designer kit.(EDA)
April 1, 2009... Enhancements to the Altium Designer, Version 6.8 includes a 3D PCB-visualization-engine capability, allowing designers to see how manufactured boards will look and improving information sharing with the design team. The visualization engine...

Simulator for challenging circuit simulation tasks.(EDA)
April 1, 2009... Cadence Design Systems' Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS) has the full accuracy of the Virtuoso Spectre Circuit Simulator, developed to solve the largest and most complex analog and mixed-signal designs across all process nodes. The...

Fujitsu receives support to implement OVM.(EDA)
April 1, 2009... Fujitsu Ltd and Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd have selected Mentor Graphics' Questa advanced functional verification platform to deploy their next generation functional verification environment .based on the Open Verification Methodology (OVM). Both...

Aqueous cleaner for lead-free flux residues.(MANUFACTURING)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The AQUANOX A4625 is a versatile aqueous chemistry designed for cleaning the latest lead-free residues, while providing brilliant mirrored solder finishes. This product is environmentally friendly, has a long tank...

Fast, dedicated, automated Flash programmer.(MANUFACTURING)
April 1, 2009... The 3000FS is a fine-pitch automated device programmer designed specifically for Flash me-mory programming. As an example, the 3000FS can produce a fully programmed 512Mb NAND Flash every 3.4s. On-the-fly vision centering allows the 3000FS to...

Programmable preheater lowers soldering and rework temperatures.(MANUFACTURING)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The PCT-1000 Programmable Preheater, from OK International, equips users with the ability to deliver more heat to difficult boards while maintaining very high levels of thermal control and lower operating...

Rosin-free, no-clean, cored wire solder.(MANUFACTURING)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The CW-501 is a colophony-(rosin) free, no-clean, cored wire solder for use with Pb-free alloys. Available in a variety of alloys and wire diameters, it provides excellent wetting and solder spread with minimal...

AC/DC power adapters meet CEC, Energy Star requirements.(POWER)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tumbler Technologies + TRUMPower launches the TMP60 series of medical grade AC/DC desktop power adapters, which deliver up to 60W of output power. This TMP60 series has 85 to 264VAC input and comes enclosed in 94V-1...

High-power supply for communications and industrial apps.(POWER)
April 1, 2009... The CLC175 single output, open frame AC/DC power supply is rated at 175W, and measures 76.2x127x31.8mm. Resonant topology converter techniques used in the design contribute to make the CLC175 highly efficient, typically 87%, and gives it a very...

More mini-USB power adapters.(POWER)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Emerson Network Power has expanded its line of DCH3 series wall-mount AC-DC power adapters with the addition of four more models (DCH3-050XX-004) that are equipped with cableless outputs to support interchangeable...

Battery charger delivers up to 2A.(POWER)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Linear Technology Corp.'s LT3650-8.2 battery charger for 2-cell Li-Ion/Polymer batteries features a switch-mode architecture that minimizes power dissipation without compromising board space. The LT3650-8.2 accepts...

High power hybrid solid-state contactors.(PASSIVES)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This line of high power hybrid solid state contactors have been developed for use in heating and lighting applications where mercury displacement relays have previously been applied, and where life cycle constraints...

Rugged ribbed connector caps.(PASSIVES)
April 1, 2009... ITT Interconnect Solutions has developed protection caps for its PT/M26482 connectors. Designed for reliability and ease-of-use in extreme conditions, they are ideal for applications such as military communications and vehicles, commercial...