EDN Asia articles from May 2006

EDN Asia archives from May 2006

Uncertain value proposition for Structured ASICs.(ednasia comment)
May 1, 2006... How far has Structured ASICs succeeded in playing the role the designer said they would play? Structured ASIC is said to be the right choice for 100,000 to 3 million units; below this range, FPGA is the right choice, and above this range,...

bq25012: single-chip, Li-Ion battery charger and high-efficiency switching DC/DC converter IC for Bluetooth[R] headsets.(integrated circuits)
May 1, 2006... Introduction Highly integrated charger and DC/DC converter ICs have been more and more desirable as portable power management technology continues to advance. This is not only to meet the goal of shrinking portable device size, but also to...

Fast 8-bit MCU with 32Kbytes Flash in 28 and 40 pins.(INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
May 1, 2006... Microchip's PIC18F45J10 family consist of 8-bit microcontrollers that provide 32Kbytes of Flash program memory in 28-pin packages. It offers 40MHz performance at 3V, as well as ADC, comparator, USART, SPI, [I.sup.2]C and PWM peripherals at a...

Small, dual SCART solution for set-top boxes and A/V receivers.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... Maxim Integrated Products' MAX9595, said to be the smallest, complete, dual SCART solution for set-top boxes and A/V receivers, integrates video filters and a switch matrix in a space-saving 7 x 7mm TQFN-EP package. Its dual SCART switch matrix...

OMAP 3 architecture boosts entertainment and productivity features.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... Texas Instruments' OMAP 3 architecture is set to transform the mobile phone into a personal and professional tool that allows consumers to integrate work and entertainment into one device. It is said that the OMAP 3 application processors will...

Extended temperature LVDS transmitter and receiver family.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... National Semiconductor has introduced five extended temperature single and dual transmitters and receivers to the company's portfolio of low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) products. The general-purpose LVDS physical laver devices (PHYs)...

600mA dc/dc step-down converters for portable consumer electronics.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... The NCP1521 and NCP1522 600mA dc/dc step-down converters from ON Semiconductors are optimized for portable applications powered from one cell Li-ion or three cell Alkaline/ NiCd/NiMH batteries. The devices include integrated soft-start,...

Joint development of W-CDMA handset platform.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... NTT DoCoMo, Renesas Technology Corp., Fujitsu Limited, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Sharp Corporation recently announced that they will jointly develop a comprehensive mobile phone platform combining a single-chip LSI for dual mode...

Clockless processor for real-time chip designs.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... ARM and Handshake Solutions, a line of business of Royal Philips Electronics, have launched the ARM996HS processor using Handshake Solutions' clockless IC design technology. This compact, clockless processor is an ideal solution for automotive,...

Hot Swap controller with ADC monitors voltage.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... Linear Technology's LTC4215 is a 2.9 to 15V Hot Swap controller that features an onboard 8-bit ADC and [I.sup.2]C compatible interface. The integrated digital power monitoring allows sophisticated platform management in high-availability...

Improved debugging oscilloscopes for embedded systems.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... The DPO4000 Digital Phosphor Oscilloscopes (DPOs) from Tektronix are a portable series of models developed upon a new generation platform. This oscilloscope family ranges from 350MHz to 1GHz and offers Wave Inspector, a set of easy-to-use tools...

Aeroflex adds AMR support to 6113 EDGE base station test set.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... Aeroflex has launched an AMR (adaptive multi-rate) option for its 6113 EDGE base station tester to complement its existing GSM and GPRS/EDGE test capability. AMR is a relatively new network upgrade that improves customer satisfaction and...

8-bit MCU series with 32Kbytes on-chip SRAM.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... STMicroelectronics has announced larger SRAM versions of the high-performance 8051-based uPSD3400 Turbo Plus microcontroller series. The uPSD-3454E devices integrate 32Kbytes of SRAM and 256Kbytes of Flash memory, together with USB 2.0...

Single-chip GPS receiver IC consumes low power.(pulse)
May 1, 2006... Atmel and u-blox AG have announced the availability of their GPS technology and product generation, ANTARIS 4, in an small form factor. The single-chip ATR0630 measures 7 x 10mm and integrates a complete ANTARIS 4GPS receiver, including...

Logarithms: the new floating point?(GLOBAL DESIGNER)
May 1, 2006... From the University of Newcastle upon Tyne spin-off Northern Digital comes a microprocessor whose maker claims to be the first to operate directly on numbers that are held in a logarithmic representation. The device targets applications that...

IEEE standardizes SystemVerilog.(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
May 1, 2006... The IEEE has recently approved the SystemVerilog hardware-description and -verification language as IEEE Standard1800-2005. EDA-tool users in India, particularly those providing design services to clients, see the ratification of this standard...

Sonic surprises: dissecting the high-resolution hype.(prying eyes)
May 1, 2006... Late August 2005 brought a killer deal from Philips' online store: a PSC805 Aurilium 5.1-channel external sound processor at 60% off its previous $50 asking price. What do $20 plus sales tax and free shipping translate to in terms of included...

Scopes: more than meets the eye: modern digital scopes now do much of the heavy lifting in measurement and analysis. But successful use of these advanced capabilities requires doing your homework.(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... People often say that EEs are almost obscenely fortunate to have a tool that provides as much insight into fundamentally invisible processes as do oscilloscopes into the internal workings of electronic circuits and systems; no other profession...

Co-design: EDA vendors are helping IC and package designers more effectively work together.(design feature)
May 1, 2006... Traditionally, separate groups designed ICs and packages, but cost, time-to-market issues, and ever-growing package complexity--especially as SIPs (systems in packages), multichip modules, and stacked die become more common--are now forcing IC...

Linux joins the consumer-electronics revolution: designers are turning to the Linux operating system to meet the escalating user-interface, networking, and multimedia requirements of today's consumer-electronics products.(design feature)
May 1, 2006... AS CE (consumer-electronics) vendors vie for market share, consumers are asking designers to cram more functions into every new product or update. Users are no longer content with devices that offer only one function. Multifunction devices,...

"We are developing new technologies in several areas".(Interview)
May 1, 2006... EDN Asia spoke to John East, CEO and President of Actel Corp., about tool innovations. Excerpts. Could you elaborate on fusion technology from a design engineer's perspective? A Actel's new fusion technology is the industry's first to...

Broadband for consumer use: these days simple modems are being replaced by integrated "home gateways" that combine telephony. Internet, and video services. A further boost is expected with the introduction of VoIP services in which integrated voice and data systems offer baseband voice and DSL functions on a shared line.(special report)
May 1, 2006... Systems for high-speed wireline network access via DSL (digital subscriber line) and VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) have been available on the market for quite some time now. Nevertheless, only recent advances in semiconductors and in the...

Lowpass, 30kHz Bessel filter offers high performance for audio applications.(design ideas)
May 1, 2006... Thanks to its property of applying an equal amount of delay to all frequencies below its cutoff frequency, the Bessel linear-phase filter sees service in audio applications in which it's necessary to remove out-of-band noise without degrading...

PC's parallel port and a PLD host multiple stepper motors and switches.(design ideas)
May 1, 2006... Robotic applications frequently include multiple stepper motors and switches. The stepper motors produce motion in several directions, and the switches identify home positions and detect proximity to obstacles. This Design Idea describes the...

Low cost, complete MCU development tool.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The eZ430-F2013 development tool allows both new users to evaluate the MSP430 MCU architecture in minutes and, for the first time, also gives experienced developers all the resources they need to complete an entire MSP430F20xx project from...

Video filter/driver for consumer designs.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The FMS6690, FMS6246 and FMS6346 family of 6-channel, 6th order video filter/drivers stands apart from competitive devices by allowing designers to select the combination of SD/PS/HD filters best suited to their system needs. It boasts...

PFM step-up dc/dc converters improve efficiency.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... These PFM step up dc.'dc converters--AIC1610/11 and AIC1612--have extra pins for selecting the current limit value and for reducing EMI. They consume 201[micro]A of quiescent current and offer a built-in synchronous rectifier that reduces size...

Kino 2 chip gets smaller.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... Bringing TV to smaller phones with longer battery life and lower cost, Kino 2 chip is said to be the only available T-DMB receiver with the flexibility to take care of diverse requirements of networks worldwide. It slashes the power consumption...

Wide-input advanced PWM controller.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The ISL6420A wide-input advanced PWM controller supports a wide range of applications (5 and 12V intermediate bus voltages) and several industrial, medical and consumer electronics applications with high input voltage. It has voltage margining...

VCO with phase hit free performance suits mobile apps.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The CLV1630A-LF voltage control oscillator is targeted at demanding mobile communications systems. This RoHS-compliant model utilizes patented design techniques to deliver single sideband phase noise of-111dBc/Hz at 10kHz away from carrier with...

Clock synthesizer reduces frequency programming needs.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The MAX9491, a VCXO clock generator for communications systems, features one-time-programmable ROM to eliminate the need for programming output frequencies after each power-up cycle. This integrated VCXO can track input reference by [+ or -]...

Low-cost 8bit MCU with 32KB flash.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The PIC18F45J10 microcontroller family offers 40MHz at 3V operation and rich peripheral set with a 30% cost reduction over 5V microcontrollers. It is ideal for cost-sensitive applications in consumer electronics, medical and industrial markets....

Shrinking the 2-megapixel image sensor.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The one-quarter inch MT9D112 2-megapixel image sensor enables phones to capture richer, higher-quality digital pictures. The first to incorporate Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) standards into an image sensor, it provides a common...

High-voltage conversion IC lowers system cost.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The TinySwitch III is a cost-effective IC for universal-input power supplies ranging from 3 to 28W. It enables designs with fewer components than competing discrete and integrated solutions; features a 700V MOSFET alongside low-voltage control...

Analog current/voltage o/p driver for industrial apps.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The XTR300 is a digitally/controlled current/voltage output driver designed for industrial applications such as industrial PLC (programmable logic controller) and process control equipment. It delivers outputs up to [+ or -]17V and [+ or...

Secure microcontroller for next-gen (U)SIM cards.(SEMICONDUCTORS)
May 1, 2006... The AT91SC512384RCT 32 bit RISC crypto-controller is designed for next-generation (U)SIM cards, requiring high-speed interfaces with handsets, very large storage capacity and the capability of supporting concurrent applications with contactless...

RoHS-compliant ac-dc supply for front-end power distribution.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... This series of compact 150W ACDC power supplies are ideal front-end conversion solutions for systems with distributed power and point of-load architectures. The TLP150 series power supplies provide a 12, 24 or 48V output to simplify system...

Open frame switching power for medical equipment.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... The MBU60 series of compact, open frame constructed, ac-dc switching mode power supplies provide 63W of continuous output power. Suited for use in hospital instruments and other applications all models meet FCC Part-18 class B and CISPR-11...

Quadruple power supply for mobile phone production.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... The R&S NGPL6/5 quadruple power supply allows final tests to be performed cost-efficiently, especially after the assembly of previously tested components. This space saving instrument offers four channels, each providing an output power of...

Power supplies with regulated triple outputs.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... Providing a 20W output power in a compact, fan-cooled case, the HF20W-TL series at-de switchers have an 85 to 264V-ac input and robust filtering. Three models provide 5/+12, 5/[+ or -]15, or 5/12/-5V-dc regulated triple-output combinations....

Rack-mount power for meters and floating channels.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... Improved configuration options of the "HV Rack" Series allow customers to order floating channels and green meters, making the series effective in even more environments and applications. The floating-channel option allows customers to...

4W single-output switching power supply provides 5.5V dc.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... With a 90 to 264V-ac universal input and regulated output voltages, the single-output DA4 series switching power supply delivers 5.5V dc with 4W total power and 15msec typical holdup time. For 0 to 0.75A loads, the device features overload and...

Advanced DIN rail power supplies.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... A range of low cost DIN RAIL mount switching power supplies has been designed especially for the industrial automation markets. It offers a wide range of power and voltages providing dc power for all low power devices commonly used in automated...

Power supply targets PC modification.(POWER)
May 1, 2006... Measuring 31X45X20mm, the picoPSU-120 is 10 to 20 times smaller than standard PC power supplies. Using HyperWarr technologies, the device provides 120W of power for small PCs using a 12V power source. Suiting PC modification, embedded-system...

2D/3D X-ray system with enhanced modular software.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
May 1, 2006... The Feinfocus [micro]CT-FOX 2D/3D X-ray inspection system combines high-resolution 2D X-ray technology with 3D Computed Tomography techniques for detailed inspection and analysis of complex electronic devices in the 3rd dimension. Provides a...

Test receivers measure DVB network coverage.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
May 1, 2006... The DVB-T Diversity Test Receiver R&S TSM-DVB is designed for mobile coverage measurements in DVB-T networks. It provides quick and reliable measurement values even if the test vehicle reaches speeds of up to 100km/h. The test system supports...

Chain debugger cuts circuit debug and test times.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
May 1, 2006... The JTAG chain debugger features a range of debug options which allow designers to trace signals around the board and immediately find the location of any problems within the JTAG chain. This allows engineers to get boards up and running...

Spectrum monitor allows easy handling.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
May 1, 2006... The Analyze-R model 2261A Spectrum Monitor/Analyzer addresses the 900MHz and 2.4GHz unlicensed ISM bands, the 3.4 to 3.6GHz licensed/ unlicensed bands the 4.9GHz public safety band, the unlicensed 5GHz UNII/ISM bands, and the 5.8GHz DSCR band....