EE-Evaluation Engineering articles from August 2005

EE-Evaluation Engineering archives from August 2005

The skin effect.(EDITORIAL)
August 1, 2005... A not-so-new technology has seen a resurgence in viability according to developments announced recently by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT). The technology is based on using the surface of your skin as a transmission medium. Your body would...

Tester/Handler combo tests 512 devices.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... The new T5588 Memory Tester and the M6300 Test Handler accommodate 512 devices in parallel. The T5588+M6300 test cell is designed for high-volume production of high-speed DDR2-SDRAM devices. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The T5588 offers a...

Arb generates UWB waveforms for MBOA proposal.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... The four-slot 3U CompactPCI Agilent N6031A Arbitrary Waveform Generator simultaneously delivers 1.25 GS/s and 10 b of vertical resolution for communications systems such as ultrawideband (UWB). It enables DSP and systems engineers who design...

40-GHz Down-Converter features low phase noise.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... The PN9276 Down-Converter plugs into any PN9000 Phase Noise Analyzer or PN9500 Wideband Jitter and Phase Noise Analyzer to help produce measurements at up to 200-MHz offset. The unit has three options: PN9276-00 from 1 to 18 GHz, PN9276-01 from...

Software addresses manufacturability for 90-nm designs.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... Blast Yield[TM], a design-for-manufacturability and design-for-yield solution for IC designs at 90 nm and below, provides a comprehensive solution for yield improvement that is integrated into the company's RTL-to-GDSII implementation flow. It...

Analyzer captures power in time and statistical domains.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... The 4500B Peak Power Analyzer captures, displays, and analyzes RF power in time and statistical domains. It can be used for pulsed RF applications such as radar, TDMA and GSM, pseudorandom or noise-like signals such as CDMA and WLAN, and...

Vector network analyzer offers eight ports.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... The ZVT8 is an eight-port vector network analyzer that measures over a range of 300 kHz to 8 GHz. It features a reflectometer (VSWR bridge, measurement receiver, and reference receiver) at each test port to perform measurements of a multiport...

PC oscilloscope has 20-MS/s sampling.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... The dual-channel PicoScope 2202 is an entry-level PC oscilloscope with 8-b resolution, a 20-MS/s sampling rate, a 2-MHz bandwidth, and a 32-kB memory depth. It connects to a laptop or desktop PC via a USB port and runs on Microsoft Windows 98SE...

Series 35% smaller than current SMPM connectors.(Product Briefing)
August 1, 2005... The GORE[TM] 100 Series Connectors are low-profile, high-density blindmate/push-on microwave interconnect systems offering performance through 100 GHz. The RF connectors accommodate both radial and axial misalignment with negligible VSWR...

A nerd's paradise: Maple 10 = math at multiple levels, quick and easy to use or as complex as you require.(TEST SOFTWARE EVALUATION)
August 1, 2005... When a software program includes more than 3,500 computational functions addressing 50 topics from differential equations to vector calculus, you don't presume to evaluate it. Rather, I approached this article about Maplesoft's Maple 10...

My top 10 practices for leading and motivating a workforce: an executive with more than 30 years of experience offers some valuable insight into a very successful management philosophy.(MANAGER'S FORUM)
August 1, 2005... When I was asked by Evaluation Engineering if I would like to write an article about how to best lead and motivate a large and diverse workforce, I humbly accepted the assignment. By sharing my own leadership style, I hope to provide other...

Data acquisition in microgravity: university students developed a methodology to test frequency shift in crystal oscillators during rocket flight.(AEROSPACE PC-BASED TEST)
August 1, 2005... Sounding rockets often are used by NASA as a cost-effective way to conduct investigations at specified times and altitudes. Experiments using these rockets provide a variety of information on the upper atmosphere, the sun, stars, galaxies, and...

Understanding noisy signals: with a good DSA, analyzing the sound of one hand clapping is not a problem.(DYNAMIC SIGNAL ANALYZERS)
August 1, 2005... A dynamic signal analyzer (DSA) is used to investigate signals representing forces and motions. In this context, the word dynamic has a precise meaning distinct from the usual synonyms such as spirited or energetic. Dynamics is the branch of...

Compact data acquisition.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The Quattro four-channel data acquisition instrument is powered from its USB 2.0 PC link, measures 5.6" X 4.0" X 0.9", and weighs 1.2 lb. In addition to handling two differential or four single-ended channels, it provides two outputs and a...

Portable fatigue analyzer.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The eight-channel Portable ProCAT Spectrum Analyzer samples at 25 kS/s, has a bandwidth of 12.5 kHz, and produces a 12,500-line FFT spectrum from 0.76 Hz to 12,500 Hz that can be qualified with a Hann, Hamming, or rectangular window and zoomed....

Modular dynamic instrument.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The Focus[TM] II Portable Dynamic Signal Analyzer provides from four to 20 inputs, each sampled at up to a 96-kS/s rate. The 24-b data is streamed to disk via the USB 2.0 interface while onboard DSPs simultaneously perform online analysis....

Multichannel analyzer.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The Pimento Portable Analyzer records data from four to 24 channels with 24-b resolution, up to a 100 kS/s sampling rate, and a 40-kHz bandwidth. Applications include general-purpose data acquisition, structural testing, acoustics, and rotating...

High channel-count system.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The OR38 Portable Real-Time Multi-Analyzer/Recorder has from eight to 32 inputs followed by 24-b digitizing at a 2- to 102.4-kHz sampling rate. The self-contained instrument includes a shock-mounted 40-Gb hard disk, a backup NiMh battery, and a...

VXI-based DSA system.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The C-size single-slot Model VT1432B 16 SE/8 diff-channel, 24-b Digitizer with DSP has a 102.4-kS/s sampling rate and a wide selection of anti-aliasing filter types including a linear phase FIR implementation. The bandwidth is 46 kHz maximum...

Full-featured DSA.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The two-channel SR785 DSA provides a 102.4-kHz bandwidth, [+ or -]0.2-dB accuracy with [+ or -]0.05-dB channel match, a 90-dB dynamic range, and a variety of source types: low distortion sine, two-tone sine, swept-sine, white and pink noise,...

Hand-held FFT Analyzer.(DSA Products)
August 1, 2005... The RION Model SA-78 Two-Channel Compact FFT Analyzer operates up to 15 h on four C-size batteries. Microphones and accelerometers can be directly connected to its two inputs. The instrument uses a 16-b sigma-delta ADC to digitize signals from...

GPIB and Ethernet: selecting the better instrument control bus: GPIB or Ethernet? Some early testing results and recommendations can help you focus on the realities of each technology.(DATA ACQUISITION)
August 1, 2005... Ethernet, with its higher bandwidth and ubiquitous usage, seems a natural alternative to the market-leading GPIB instrument control bus for automating instruments. However, it's not always an accurate conclusion. There are many factors to...

Noise suppression of switch-mode power supplies: an industry expert addresses the debate of discrete components vs. external boxed filters for suppressing noise.(NOISE SUPPRESSION)
August 1, 2005... The analysis and suppression of electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated from high-frequency switching converters are becoming increasingly important today. On the one hand, we have more EMC regulations. On the other hand, the switching...

Filtered connectors.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The ACARA Filtered Electrical Power Connectors are available in 65-, 100-, 150-, and 250-A ratings and capacitances from 100 to 2,100 nF. The male filtered connector provides EMC performance >10 GHz. To ensure user safety, the plastic housing...

PCB shields.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The PCB shield consists of a fully enclosed ferrite body augmented with an internal RF absorber membrane. The shield is mounted either by pressure-sensitive adhesive pads, screws, or rivets and provides broadband effectiveness up to 1.2 GHz...

Chip Absorbers.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Chip-Cap Absorbers function as a mode suppressor or signal isolator to absorb high-frequency energy emanating from a chip package. They mount over a noisy chip to suppress signals ranging from 500 MHz to >40 GHz. The Chip-Cap consists of a...

Compact EMI Filters.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Compact EMI Filters, designed to handle 100- to 120-V or 200-to 240-V line voltages, can be mounted with a single screw and use a UL 94 VO plastic enclosure to increase protection against electrical shock. The fully encapsulated construction...

Common-mode chip filters.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The PM0805CM and PM1206CM Series Surface-Mount Chip Filters provide common-mode impedance and noise suppression in signal lines. They are available in 0805 and 1206 footprints; the small size and low profile make them suitable for high-density,...

Swivel adapters.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The new Swivel EMI Adapters, available in LC duplex, SC simplex, or MPO simplex configurations, allow the cable-exit angle to be repositioned from the standard straight-mount position (90 degrees to the faceplate) by [+ or -]35 degrees in...

Feed-through filters.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The HPR Series of metric high-current feed-through filters comes in current ratings of 55, 140, and 300 A and voltage ratings of 50, 100, 200, and 500 VDC. The size of the HPR has been reduced compared to prior models to accommodate more...

Three-line protection.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The Theon Surge Suppressor offers true three-line (live-neutral-ground) protection. The continuous attenuation circuit is built on the company's UL-recognized GTT technology that works by opposing changes in electron flow on the ground wire...

EMI filter/ESD protection device.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The EM4D-100L is a 2-mm sq, eight-pin DFN package, four-line low pass filter array with integrated TVS diodes. It provides a cutoff frequency of 150 MHz and attenuation better than 35 dB in the 800-MHz to 3-GHz bandwidth to block RF noise from...

Surface-mount filters.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... A new line of surface-mount inductors, low-pass filters, high-frequency filters, and power filters offers EMI filtering with a minimal PCB footprint, including several models in EIA 0402. The family consists of ferrite chip and power beads;...

Metalized Fabric Gaskets.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Standard D-Connector Metalized Fabric-Over-Elastomer Gaskets to shield most 9-pin through 50-pin connectors are available in five standard sizes and multiple material thicknesses for each size. The flexible gaskets have compression set values...

Adhesive-backed gaskets.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Conductive silicone rubber gaskets and cushioning pads with conductive pressure sensitive acrylic adhesives are produced using EC-2000 Series Conductive Silicone. Stockwell's proprietary low-viscosity primer allows for lamination of 3M #9713...

Surge Suppressor.(EMC SUPPRESSION PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... The new Surge-Trap[R] Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor (TVSS) line features a patented, thermally protected MOV providing point-of-use overvoltage protection. It offers IP20-grade finger-safe protection and mounts on a DIN rail. The...

Automated inspection systems for the electronics industry: as IC devices get smaller and smaller, the challenge of detecting faults becomes bigger and bigger.(IMAGING ANALYSIS SOFTWARE)
August 1, 2005... Tamar Technology designs and manufactures application-specific automated visual inspection and metrology systems for the semiconductor, micro-electromechnical systems (MEMS), data storage, micro display, and medical devices industries. Many of...

Environmental Test Buyers Guide.(Buyers Guide)
August 1, 2005... EE's annual Environmental Test Buyers Guide is a comprehensive, up-to-date listing of the companies that offer environmental testing products, equipment, and services. The guide is arranged in two sections. First is a product/company...