EE-Evaluation Engineering articles from May 2005

EE-Evaluation Engineering archives from May 2005

Not alone in the field.(EDITORIAL)
May 1, 2005... As the soldier darts across the street toward the building on the other side, he glances at the device on his wrist and quickly scans its LCD for any signs of enemy activity in the immediate vicinity. Seeing none, he proceeds directly to the...

Partnership provides customized Mobile Phone Test solutions.(In The News)
May 1, 2005... Willtek Communications has entered into an agreement with Instrumentation Engineering (IE) to develop complete turnkey systems for mobile phone testing in the manufacturing environment. Willtek offers test equipment for the wireless industry,...

Military and RTCA standards seminar.(Dates)
May 1, 2005... A seminar/workshop titled Designing to Meet Military and RTCA EMC Standards, coordinated by Donald L. Sweeney, president of D.L.S. Electronic Systems, will be held July 21-22 and 25-26 in Northbrook, IL. The four-day seminar will explain the...

Environmental test seminars.(Dates)
May 1, 2005... Hobbs Engineering will hold three environmental test-related seminars in Irvine, CA, in late summer: Comprehensive HALT and HASS on Aug. 22-23, HALT and HASS Workshop on Aug. 24, and Essential Reliability Tools on Aug. 25-26. www.hobbsengr.com

AUTOTESTCON 2005.(Dates)
May 1, 2005... AUTOTESTCON 2005 will be held Sept. 26-29 in Orlando. The theme for this year's conference is "Technology--Powering the Next Generation of Test." IEEE AUTOTESTCON focuses on automated test and related systems-readiness technology for...

Kit combines PXI Controller and Chassis.(Product Briefing)
May 1, 2005... The PXIStarterll features the PXI-3800 PXI Controller and the 3U, six-slot PXIS-2506 PXI Chassis. The kit facilitates building ATE, data acquisition systems, and production test systems. The PXI-3800 complies with PXI specifications Rev....

USB modules have instrument panel software.(Product Briefing)
May 1, 2005... The ECONseries family of eight mini-instruments for the USB 2.0 or 1.1 bus is supported by GO!, a new application software package that includes oscilloscope, chart-recorder, voltmeter, waveform-generator, file-viewer, digital input/output,...

Pins and systems share floating license.(Product Briefing)
May 1, 2005... Agilent InstaPin for the Agilent 93000 SOC Series Test System offers per-pin licenses that can be shared across pins of a tester, testers on a test floor, and production facilities around the world. Because they are not tied to a specific card...

Loads available in three configurations.(Product Briefing)
May 1, 2005... The SL Series of electronic loads provides a wide selection of loads for DC and AC input from 75 to 1,800 W. The modular series features 60- to 500-V models with a four-bay chassis or a 4U, 19" rack-mount frame. A flexible control system...

SMUs handle multi-channel applications.(Product Briefing)
May 1, 2005... The Series 2600 System SourceMeter[R] consists of the single-channel Model 2601 and the dual-channel Model 2602. The modular instruments can be seamlessly integrated into systems from one to 16 SMU channels. Each channel offers a 40-W, 3-A,...

DSO measures Serial Data to 6.25 Gb/s.(Product Briefing)
May 1, 2005... The four-channel, DSO-based SDA 11000 Serial Data Analyzer has a bandwidth of 11 GHz and acquires data at sample rates as high as 40 GS/s into a memory of up to 100 million points per channel. It measures next-generation high-speed serial data...

Innovation and the butterfly effect: an industry expert shares some advice for transforming chaos and uncertainty into real innovation.(MANAGER'S FORUM)
May 1, 2005... The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines chaos as a state of things in which chance is supreme; the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a natural system such as the atmosphere, boiling water, or the beating heart; or a state of...

VXS for VMEbus embedded systems.(DATA ACQUISITION)
May 1, 2005... The VMEbus, well into a third decade of widespread deployment, continues as the dominant bus structure for high-performance embedded systems. In an industry characterized by a steady succession of new device offerings with speed and density...

Audio signals are in a class of their own: only completely defined performance specifications are helpful when comparing products.(AUDIO SIGNAL GENERATORS)
May 1, 2005... Audio signals are judged good or bad by the way they sound, not by their rise time, pulse width, or voltage level. And to complicate matters, what we humans think we hear is a complex mix of physiology--how our ears are made--and...

Adopting the right embedded compression solution: today's industry trends are prompting semiconductor manufacturers to adopt embedded solutions to compress test time and data volume.(DESIGN FOR TEST)
May 1, 2005... Semiconductor companies on the leading edge of the nanometer migration were the first to experience it--the change, the uncertainty, the risk. They prevailed in finding solutions to both the test quality crisis and the test cost crisis that...

ATE Buyers Guide.(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... EE's 24th annual ATE Buyers Guide is a comprehensive, up-to-date listing of the companies that offer automated test equipment. The guide is arranged in two sections. First is a product/company cross-reference showing the types of equipment...

Boundary scan and processor emulation achieve synergy.(BOUNDARY SCAN)
May 1, 2005... Today, PCBs are becoming more and more complex, and that means adequate test coverage is becoming harder and harder to achieve. Moreover, every test methodology has its limitations. As a result, many test engineers are combining the strengths...

High-performance IEEE488.2 GPIB interface card.(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... ADLINK's PCI-3488 GPIB controller interface card is fully compatible with the IEEE488.2 instrumentation control and communication standard. It is capable of controlling up to 14 stand-alone instruments via IEEE488 cables. Dual 1KB on-board...

40MB/s high speed data recording system.(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... The DAQStreaming is a Windows-based turnkey system for capturing and recording analog signals. It provides up to 40MB/s real-time data recording throughput and up to 1.5 hours of continuous recording. This 12-bit, 20MS/s DAQ device features a...

2-CH 65MS/s 14-bit digitizer with SDRAM.(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... ADLINK's PCI-9820 and PXI-9820 are 2-CH 65 MS/s, high-resolution PXI digitizers with 512MB SODIMM SDRAM memory. They feature flexible input configurations including programmable input ranges and user selectable input impedance. With lots of...

4X8 two-wire matrix module for measurement and automation.(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... The PXI-7931 is matrix module with 32 cross-point two-wire relays (DPDT, 2 Form C), 220VDC/125VAC and switching capacity of up to 2A switching and 2A carrying. Using a termination board, users can choose between multiple configurations, (one...

Testing Ultrawideband Part 1: learn more about what's involved in testing UWB devices to the applicable regulations.(EMC TEST)
May 1, 2005... Ultrawideband (UWB) technology provides low-cost communications and measurement capabilities for a number of applications including short-range data exchange in excess of 100 Mb/s, imaging through walls and into the ground, and automotive speed...

Operator/Ground Monitor.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The M200 Operator and Ground Monitor meets the requirements for continuous monitoring and local alarm only. It offers a user-programmable alarm set and zeroing capability and requires no calibration or adjustments. The stand-alone digital...

ESD Simulator.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The dito Simulator from EM Test generates ESD pulses per IEC/EN 61000-4-2 up to 16.5-kV air discharge and 10-kV contact discharge. Discharge tips and R/C modules can be changed without dismantling the unit. The modules are automatically...

Conductive Alloy Film.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The Pentastat[R] WHMS-10 Black Conductive Styrenic Alloy Film provides increased melt strength for easier thermoforming of packaging such as carrier-tape and trays and in disk-drive applications. The humidity-independent, recyclable film...

Clean-room/static-control Seating.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... Advancements in Microtech Seating for Class 10 clean rooms and Class 10 combination clean-room/static-control applications include a patented filtration system and an expanded selection of height- and width-adjustable armrests and ergonomic...

Mobile recorder.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... EnviroTracker[TM] combines ESD sensors and a data recorder with the capability to communicate via a wireless link. When placed in a reticle carrier, EnviroTracker follows the reticle throughout the process and collects data on ESD exposure of...

ESD Survey Kit.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The 41000 ESD Survey Kit contains the tools required to conduct an audit or survey per ANSI/ESD S20.20: a field meter and ionization test kit, an HBM test fixture, a resistance/resistivity tester, a Fluke 10 Multimeter, an AC outlet analyzer,...

Hand-held Tester.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The modular, lightweight ESD3000 Tester features a range of accessories for contact-discharge, air-discharge, and indirect-discharge applications. It is available as a basic 16-kV unit expandable to 32 kV by adding a relay module. The EMC...

PCB Rack for clean rooms.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The Rack-All RA-18CL Rack for use in clean-room environments is injection molded in a durable static-dissipative material with low contamination and low off-gassing. Surface resistivity @ 50% R.H. is 3X1[0.sup.10] [OMEGA]/sq, volume resistivity...

Charged-Plate Monitor.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The enhanced Model 157 Charged-Plate Monitor offers software-based storage and retrieval capability to save and recall test data including actual data points, graphical waveforms of the data, and operator comments. The new 1-ms/data point mode...

Conductive Tile.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... UltraTile Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Tile is fire-, chemical-, and slip-resistant flooring available in nine colors. Resistance is 1[0.sup.4] to 1[0.sup.6] [OMEGA]. It comes in either rolls or tiles measuring 24" X 24". Ground Zero...

Thick worksurface material.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... Ultimat[TM] is a durable static-dissipative industrial-grade rubber elastomer work-surface, available in rolls and mats, that meets the EOS 20/20 and IEC 613450-5-1 specifications. Developed to conform to Class Zero requirements, the chemically...

Vinyl Tile.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... LG StaticPulse[TM] ESD Control Vinyl Tile meets the conductive and static-dissipative resistance ranges at 10 VDC and 100 VDC when tested according to ESD Association and ASTM standards. The homogeneous material also complies with UL-779. The...

Ionizer bar.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... The AeroBar Model 5225, made of clean-room-compatible materials and designed to handle the requirements of in-tool ionization, neutralizes electric charge on wafers to comply with E-78 Level 1. Both the Model 5225 and its Interface Module Model...

Cabinets.(ESD PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2005... Tek Cabinets, designed for kitting or storing items at a workstation, feature multiple drawers for segregating ESD-susceptible components. The cabinets are constructed of buried shielding layer impregnated corrugated material with a...

Manufacturing probe needles with vision: combining motion and machine vision expands inspection equipment capabilities.(MACHINE VISION)
May 1, 2005... Motion control and machine vision are used throughout the semiconductor manufacturing process, from monitoring the diameter of ingots as they are being formed from a crystal seed to aligning a die lead frame prior to wire bonding. In nearly...