EDN Asia articles from August 2007

EDN Asia archives from August 2007

Ushering in 45nm.(ednasia comment)(Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. develops 45nm chips)
August 1, 2007... With TSMC set to manufacture chips at 45nm from next month, it seems the transition from 65nm to 45nm has not been as disruptive as thought earlier. True, designers have to cope with longer design cycles, increased tape-out costs, and higher...

TI's highest-performance dual and quad ADC family.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Texas Instruments' family of two- and four-channel 12- and 14-bit ADCs feature high speed, low power and high performance in tiny 9x9mm packages. This pin-compatible family offers designers an easy upgrade path with a range of resolutions,...

Total power device solutions for low-noise LCD TV power designs.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Fairchild Semiconductor offers Stealth II and Hypeffast II diode technology as part of a total power device solution specifically designed to optimize LCD TV switch-mode power supply (SMPS) applications. The FFP08S60S and FFPF08S60S Stealth II...

Wraptor wire ID printer applicator.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... The Wraptor wire ID printer applicator from Brady is an automated print-and-apply machine that brings the efficiency you need to wire and cable identification. The system slashes the cost of wire and cable identification by combining the...

Design Compiler 2007 boosts designer productivity and IC performance.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Synopsys' latest release of its Design Compiler synthesis solution, Design Compiler 2007, extends topographical technology to accelerate design closure for designs utilizing advanced low-power and test techniques, boosting designers...

"Industry's first" PECI-to-[I.sup.2]C/SMBus translators.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Maxim's MAX6618/ MAX6621 translators convert Intel's proprietary platform environment control interface (PECI) data to [I.sup.2]C protocol. These devices provide a simple, low-cost solution for implementing temperature management for...

Self protecting MOSFETs add diagnostics.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Zetex Semiconductors' low side self-protecting MOSFETs in a SOT223 package provide diagnostic feedback via a separate status pin. The facility aims to further increase the reliability of high voltage automotive and industrial systems. The...

16-bit microcontrollers with 64Kbytes of Flash in 28-pin packages.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Microchip Technology has included eight more members to the PIC24F 16-bit microcontroller family, extending this line into smaller and lower cost 28- and 44-pin packages with 16 to 64Kbytes of Flash program memory, and up to 8Kbytes of RAM. ...

Altera Stratix II GX FPGAs for multi-format broadcast router line.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Harris Corporation has selected Altera's Stratix II GX-based development kit, and 3Gbps serial digital interface (SDI) intellectual property (IP) MegaCore function to reduce development time by several months for its recently introduced line of...

Micropower comparator brings precision to low voltage designs.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)(Linear Technology Corp.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Linear Technology's LT6703 is a micropower comparator with an integrated 400mV voltage reference in a tiny 2x2mm package. It operates with a supply voltage from 1.4 to 18V, which is ideal for low voltage or unregulated power supplies. It...

Thin core flip chip package provides 199-micron via-to-via core pitch.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... The CoreEZ semiconductor package developed by Endicott Interconnect Technologies utilizes an organic, thin core build-up flip chip technology that combines exceptional electrical performance, wireability and reliability with a cost sensitive...

Renesas and ZMD to collaborate on 900MHz band ZigBee chipset.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Renesas Technology and ZMD AG have announced a joint development agreement enabling Renesas to incorporate ZMD's RF technology into Renesas microcontrollers (MCU) to develop a 900MHz band ZigBee chipset. Based on this agreement, the two...

Advanced video development platform.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Xilinx and Image Processing Techniques (IPT) have developed and launched the Advanced Video Development Platform (AVDP) based on the PCI Express compliant endpoint block embedded in Xilinx Virtex-5 LXT and SXT FPGAs. Designers of postproduction...

First single-package FXO solution.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)(Teridian Semiconductor)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Teridian Semiconductor's 73M1866 and 73M1966 devices facilitate superior voice quality and significant bill of materials cost reductions in business critical and residential Voice-over-IP (VoIP) applications. The Teridian 73M1866 is a...

Ramtron intros +125[degrees]C automotive FRAM.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... Ramtron International Corporation's FM25CL64-GA is a 64Kb nonvolatile RAM with an SPI that operates at up to 16MHz, enhancing the high-speed write capacity of FRAM technology. Pin-compatible with equivalent EEPROMs, but far superior, this Grade...

Self-contained amplifier for high-end portable audio products.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
August 1, 2007... STMicroelectronics has developed a compact audio b power amplifier chip--intended for mobile phones and other portable audio products--which creates 3D audio effects in stereo speaker outputs to add impact and a surround-sound feel to MP3 and...

Hybrids mark the end of the stinky city bus.(prying eyes)
August 1, 2007... Hybrid-electric designs are well-suited for industrial and commercial vehicles that make frequent starts and stops. The average speed of a city bus is 12mph, and in New York, it's just 6mph. Anyone who's been stuck behind a diesel bus in city...

Taking a bite out of power: techniques for low-power-ASIC design: even if you are designing an ASIC or SoC that doesn't target a low-power application, you need to become familiar with low-power-design techniques, because the newest generation of silicon-process technologies inherently leaks power.(Cover story)
August 1, 2007... Until recently, low-power-digital-IC design has been an area for specialist or guru IC designers. However, most IC-design engineers will have to learn a variety of low-power-design techniques as ASICs and SoCs (systems on chips) increasingly...

PCI Express prompts quiet evolution: the PC's next-generation internal peripheral bus has been quietly overturning both the PC and the embedded-computing industries with its performance and expansion potential.(design feature)
August 1, 2007... Largely unknown to users, the PC industry, with embedded computing following close behind, is in the middle of a quiet shift in technology. The overtaxed PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus for add-in cards is slowly giving way to the...

Extreme low-power design: modern implantable medical devices, such as pacemakers and cardioverter defibrillators, use aggressive power-management techniques to reduce SoC power.(design feature)
August 1, 2007... A typical modern pacemaker may consume on average only a few microamperes of current to achieve long battery life. To meet these low power requirements, engineers use many techniques that may be applicable today to other power-conscious...

"I envisage a merger among the top five memory makers".(Interview)
August 1, 2007... EDN Asia met Steven R. Appleton, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Micron Technology, recently in Singapore, and sought his perceptions on the memory industry. Excerpts: What are the trends in mainstream memories? A...

Technology and lateral thinking: silicon is no longer used just for its electrical characteristics. The most innovative ICs integrate electronic, mechanical, fluid dynamic and other functions. Designers must have a sound multi-disciplinary background, and use their creativity and lateral thinking.(special report)
August 1, 2007... Recent history is marked by great technological developments which have received an enormous boost from the progress of microelectronics: large mainframe computers at the beginning of the 1970s, personal computers in the office or home during...

Microcontroller functions as voltmeter.(design ideas)
August 1, 2007... Noureddine Benabadji, University of Sciences and Technology, Oran, Algeria The circuit in Figure 1 is an extension of a previous Design Idea on how to use an analog input in a microcontroller lacking a built-in ADC, and it takes into...

Amplifier cancels common-mode voltage.(design ideas)
August 1, 2007... W. Stephen Woodward, Chapel Hill, NC Since the dawn of time--or at least since the dawn of precision electronics--a major headache for analog designers has been CMV (common-mode-voltage)-induced errors, also known as the dreaded ground...

Photodiode amplifier exhibits one-third the output noise of conventional transimpedance amp.(design ideas)
August 1, 2007... Glen Brisebois, Linear Technology Corp., Milpitas, CA Aconventional 1M[OMEGA] transimpedance amplifier has at least 130nV/[square root of (Hz)] of output-noise density at room temperature (Figure 1). You can consider the 130nV as the...

Single-chip solution drives GPS into mainstream mobile phones.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... This single-chip to drive GPS applications into mainstream mobile phones is built on TI's DRP single-chip technology. The NaviLink 5.0 has a footprint of 25[mm.sup.2], delivering high performance with the industry's smallest solution size and...

Pickering Interfaces intros PXl solid state multiplexers.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... This range of high-density solid-state multiplexers provides a perfect solution for low current and voltage applications where speed of operation, long service life and low contact bounce are essential. The 40-680 is available in configurations...

8-diode ESD protection array in compact LLPI713 package.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... This ESD protection array integrates eight diodes in a small, leadless LLP1713 package. And with an extremely low profile of 0.55mm, the VESD05A8A-HNH is designed to provide ESD protection while saving board space in portable electronics for...

Dual-channel ADC provides front-end processing.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... Based on the Xilinx's Virtex-5 LX110 FPGA-based PMC module with two integrated analog-input channels, the PMC-FPGA05-ADC1 provides front-end processing by combining a dual analog interface with the processing power and PCI-X bus interface....

AVR Flash MCUs for USB full-speed peripherals.(SEMICONDUCTORS)(Atmel Corp.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Based on the 8-bit AVR core, the AT90USB82 and AT90USB162 are devices for high-volume USB applications ranging from high-performance human interface devices (HID) to wireless adaptors. Both feature a full-speed USB (12Mbits/s) controller, and...

Serial EEPROM families in tiny MLP8 packages.(SEMICONDUCTORS)(STMicroelectronics N.V.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... STMicroelectronics' Serial EEPROM devices, from 2- to 64-Kbit density--and from both the SPI and [I.sup.2]C interface series--are available in the tiny 2x3mm MLP8 package, compared to the predecessor 4x5mm S08N package. This enables significant...

Highly integrated switching solution for video apps.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... The FMS6502 is an 8-input, 6-output video switch matrix that is cost effective and saves space in consumer and industrial video applications such as automotive in-cabin entertainment systems, HDTVs, fiat panel displays, and A/V receivers. It...

Boost converter enables solar innovation in portable electronics.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... This low input voltage dc/dc boost converter enables portable electronic end-equipment to draw power from new energy sources, such as solar and micro-fuel cells. The tiny power circuit can operate with input voltages lower than 0.3V with high...

Single channel LVDS buffers with equalization for signal integrity.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... DS25BR100, DS25BR110 and DS25BR120 are single-channel LVDS buffers that provide enhanced signal integrity up to 3.125Gbps. They offer what's said to be the industry's best jitter performance at 9ps typical, and the lowest power at 100mW. These...

Low-cost Spartan DSP series.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... The Spartan-3A DSP platform features the 3SD3400A device delivering over 30GMACS and 2200Gbps memory bandwidth, and the 3SD1800A device with over 20GMACS and 1500Gbps memory. At the heart of its architecture is a cost-optimized XtremeDSP slice...

Single-axis DC servo motor controller.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... The 3C20 digital motion controller is a DSP based single-axis DC servo motor controller/amplifier intended to control small (up to 100W) brush motors with quadrature encoders. It includes a 30MIPS 16-bit DSP coupled a 100W Hbridge on a single...

GSM/GPRS PA module for dual-band handsets.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... The RF3198 dual-band power amplifier (PA) module provides ease of implementation and optimized performance to manufacturers of dual-band handsets for the growing entry level and replacement markets. The improved isolation, harmonic performance,...

Four-channel LDD for driving LEDs directly from battery.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... The CAT4004 is a four-channel LDD (low dropout driver) designed for emerging, power-conscious portables where the LEDs are driven directly from the battery. It features tight current matching of [+ or -] 5% across a wide range of LED voltages,...

Fault monitoring for high availability systems.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... The LTC4355 dual ideal diode-OR controller allows Schottky diodes to be replaced by N-channel MOSFETs in high availability systems, and provides extensive fault monitoring to diagnose supply failures. Forming the diode-OR of input supplies in...

Transceivers for high-density metro telecom equipment.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
August 1, 2007... Avago Technologies has added a line of single-mode SFP transceivers for long reach SONET OC-48 to its METRAK family of SONET products. The AFCT-5745xZ line of transceivers includes high-performance, cost effective modules for serial optical...

Comprehensive support for ARM Cortex-M1 processor for FPGAs.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... Mentor Graphics has announced product support for the ARM Cortex-M1 processor--the ARM processor designed specifically for implementation on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The company provides a comprehensive portfolio of...

EMC adopts Mentor's analog/ mixed-signal IC design flow.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... Elven Mico Circuits (EMC) has selected Mentor Graphics's full suite of analog/ mixed-signal IC design flow to design and develop a broad range of silicon solutions targeting telecom, display, imaging, and mobile markets. The design flow...

Ciranova releases Pycell Studio V4.0.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... Ciranova has released version 4.0 of PyCell Studio, which incorporates the enhancements requested by developers of deep-submicron PCells including: Graphical Source Code Tracing, enabling users to select an object in Pyros Layout Viewer, and...

First parallel fast-SPICE simulator.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... The FineSim Pro Parallel Manager is said to be the first parallel fast-SPICE simulation capability available to the semiconductor industry. Built on Magma's proprietary Native Parallel Technology, this parallel fast-SPICE option to FineSim Pro...

Synthesis support for Xilinx Spartan-DSP series.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... Mentor Graphics' suite of advanced synthesis products now supports the Spartan-DSP series from Xilinx, Inc. Precision Synthesis targets low-cost applications in wireless, video and consumer applications. It forms the centerpiece of Mentor...

Liberty NCX characterization solution launched.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... The Liberty NCX is a next-generation library characterization solution for 65nm and below process technologies. It is architected around Composite Current Source (CCS) models, and delivers comprehensive characterization, performance and...

Automated solution for logic designers.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... The Talus IX is a full-chip synthesis environment that enables rapid development of RTL and chip-level constraints throughout the design process without sacrificing the quality of design or delivery schedule. This integrated environment...

Vendor adds features to Sip analysis suite.(EDA)
August 1, 2007... Adding IC-package-pc-board co-design-analysis features to the vendor's SiP (system-in-package) analysis suite allows the tool to better model power across the IC, package and pc board. The PakSI-E tool, generates a CCP...

Power analyzers for Energy Star testing.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
August 1, 2007... The 2801 and 2802 advanced power analyzers can test scales from microamps to hundreds of amps, and millivolts to kilovolts. They are ideal for Energy Star testing, displaying numeric results and waveforms. RS-232, GPIB, USB, and Ethernet...

Auto-Test increases speed, accuracy of radio testing.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
August 1, 2007... The 2975's Auto-Test software increases speed, consistency and accuracy of testing P25 and FM radios while providing the ability to store, print, and share test results. For public safety and other private mobile radio (PMR) network users, the...

AWG5000 for testing mixed signal devices.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
August 1, 2007... The AWG5000 Series of Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWG) is built on the same platform as the AWG7000 Series. With a single AWG5000, customers are able to generate high-resolution signals for testing both analog and digital baseband, and...

Free software upgrade portable test set.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
August 1, 2007... Aeroflex has a free software upgrade for its portable 3500 series radio test set. Distance-to-Fault (DTF) measurement and enhanced Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) enable the Set to easily find faults in cables and antennas, and display...

R&S FSH family of handheld spectrum analyzers expanded.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
August 1, 2007... The R&S FSH18 is said to be the world's lightest handheld spectrum analyzer up to 18GHz. This latest member of the R&S FSH family can be used in the field for a variety of applications in the microwave range. The analyzer has the same compact...

NI improves instrument control with LabVlEW SignalExpress.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
August 1, 2007... National Instruments recently announced NI LabVIEW SignalExpress, an extension of the LabVIEW graphical system design platform for acquiring, analyzing, and presenting data without programming. LabVIEW SignalExpress is interactive measurement...

16-bit A/D transient recorder PCI cards with differential input termination.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
August 1, 2007... These six Transient Recorder cards in the UF2-4700 series use multiple 16-bit ADCs for true simultaneous sampling. Available with a choice of maximum sampling rates of 100kS/s, 250kS/s, and 500kS/s, the cards are available in 8- or 16-channel...