Electronic Design articles from April 2006

Electronic Design archives from April 2006

Bridging the ap gap in mobile video: finding the sweet spot in suburbia.(Editorial)(wireless application protocol)(Editorial)
April 13, 2006... This week, I'm finally getting around to enabling the Vcast service on my Verizon phone. I'm interested in checking out these broadcasts, but as a commuter, it's hard to envision where mobile video fits into my life. At home, I already...

What's all this bivouac stuff, anyhow?(Pease PORRIDGE)(snow trekking)(Editorial)
April 13, 2006... Okay, my old friends Mal and Jon and I were planning to hike up a big hill, Mt. Adams, near Gorham, N.H., in early February. On snowshoes. We'd have 3000 ft of snow to ascend, and it gets steep. We considered the potential terrain, like a...

Measuring the metrics: look beyond the obvious.(POV: POINT OF VIEW)(systems performance measurement)(Column)
April 13, 2006... Many of the metrics that companies currently use to determine and market their products' Performance have become outmoded and need a new approach. Measurements commonly assigned to system performance--CPU clock rate, amount of main memory,...

University's sensor gets fresh with pharmaceuticals and other goods: this low-power device uses unique algorithms and wireless technology to let retailers know how much life their products have left.(Tech VIEW)(University of Florida)
April 13, 2006... Food, flowers, pharmeceuticals, and other perishables are next to worthless if they're about to spoil. Due to the unpredictable variables involved in shipping, expiration dates often can be unreliable. As a result, products that won't be fresh...

Dual in-amp and signal isolators sweat the small stuff.(Tech VIEW: ANALOG & POWER)(Analog Devices AD8222 instrumentation amplifier)(ADuM5240, ADuM5241, and ADuM5242 isolators)
April 13, 2006... Two separate announcements from Analog Devices illustrate the importance of little things in how a company creates its products. One is a small-footprint instrumentation amplifier that makes an unusual boast about its datasheet. The other is an...

PS controllers rev up for peak loads.(Tech VIEW: ANALOG & POWER)(Power Integrations PeakSwitch)(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... A new family of power-supply (PS) controller ICs supports supplies with peak-to-continuous power ratios of up to 3:1. This would make it possible to build supplies with less expensive components for applications such as printers, whose motors...

Multiplier chips and port selector implement efficient SATA interfaces.(Tech VIEW: COMMUNICATIONS)(Serial Advanced Technology Attachment)(Exar XRS10L140 and XRS10L240)
April 13, 2006... Also known as IDE, the Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) standard has dominated data transfer to and from hard-disk drives for years. But as the need to address storage units far from the server grows and transfer speeds increase, this...

Frequently asked questions.(design FAQs: Constant On-Time Buck Regulator ICs)(Column)
April 13, 2006... How did the constant on-time (COT) buck regulator IC evolve? The COT regulator is a modified version of the basic hysteretic regulator shown in Figure 1. The basic hysteretic regulator IC consists of a comparator with input hysteresis that...

Controller combines USB and CE-ATA support.(Tech VIEW: DIGITAL)
April 13, 2006... Portable storage and communication have become increasingly important as mobile devices continue to multiply. Oxford Semiconductor's OXU140CM addresses USB and storage connectivity needs in a single chip. A host can use the memory-mapped...

USB PHY supports Intel XScale CPU in portable applications.(NEW PRODUCTS)
April 13, 2006... Standard Microsystems' USB3280 UTMI standalone transceiver has been optimized for Intel's last XScale processors. The 6- by 6-mm, 36-pin quad-flat no-lead package suits cell phones and PDAs where space and power are at a premium. The physical...

Prototyping boards speed FPGA development.(NEW PRODUCTS)
April 13, 2006... Hardi Electronics' ASIC Prototyping System (HAPS) gained two new motherboards based on the Xilinx Vertex-4 FPGAs. The HAPS-31 and HAPS-32 contain one and two FPGAs, respectively, making them ideal for smaller projects. Multiple boards can be...

Chip packs UART, RS-232 transceiver.(NEW PRODUCTS)
April 13, 2006... Exar's XR19L2xx high-performance UARTs incorporate an RS-232 transceiver in a single chip. The interface fully complies with EIA/TIA-232-F standards. The chip requires a 3- to 5.5-V power supply. The RS-232 driver outputs and receiver inputs...

Platform-driven ESL suite eases software pain.(Tech VIEW: EDA)(electronic system-level)(CoWare Virtual Platform )(electronic design automation)
April 13, 2006... It was only a matter of time before an established electronic system-level (ESL) vendor cast an eye toward creating virtual hardware platforms. The concept of virtual hardware platforms isn't new, but an ESL vendor can bring a hardware...

Startup seeks to automate software reuse for FPGA-based development efforts.(Tech VIEW: EDA)(Binachip-FPGA)(field programmable gate arrays)(electronic data automation)(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... Typical next-generation system development projects attempt to reuse software from the previous generation. But a next-generation system screams for a next-generation processor architecture, and therein lies the rub. Often, when developers set...

BER testers handle tomorrow's devices as well as today's.(Tech VIEW: TEST & MEASUREMENT)(Agilent Technologies N4903A J-BERT, E4898A BERT)(bit-error-ratio tester)
April 13, 2006... Atrio of bit-error-ratio tester (BERT) products from Agilent Technologies cuts the costs of physical-layer testing today's 3G communications devices. They also should trim the laboratory testing costs of tomorrow's 100-Gbit systems. The...

Mini CMOS MEMS oscillator marks a new era for timing: use of standard CMOS process, design, and packaging methods yields the smallest high-performance, low-cost programmable IC oscillator to date.(PUTTING NEW TECHNOLOGY IN PERSPECTIVE)(complementary metal oxide semiconductor)(microelectromechanical systems)
April 13, 2006... It took the combined experiences of several types of CMOS silicon designers to come up with the smallest high-performance low-cost microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) oscillator on the market. This feat was accomplished by SiTime, a...

Frequently asked questions.(Design FAQs: Precision Analog Microcontrollers)
April 13, 2006... What is a precision analog microcontroller? A precision analog microcontroller (Fig. 1) combines high-performance analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) with a single-chip processor and peripherals that...

IP integration is standard fare: solving the IP puzzle is getting easier, thanks to significant movement toward industry-standard IP exchange formats and new choices for interconnect fabrics.(ENGINEERING FEATURE: IP INTEGRATION)
April 13, 2006... The system-on-a-chip (SoC) era has reached the point where the assembly of such large, complex chips seems almost rote. From a high level, it would appear to be a formula process: choose a processor, choose a bus, bring together your memories...

Demanding applications push NAND flash densities: advances in process technology and cell structures promise higher storage capacities and faster read/write operation.(ENGINEERING FEATURE: NAND FLASH MEMORY)(Editorial)
April 13, 2006... The wheels of innovation are spinning at a breakneck pace in the world of NAND flash memories. With storage capacities hitting 16 Gbits, these memories offer the densest storage of any solid-state memory technology. Look fast, though, because...

Bit twiddling.(EMBEDDED IN ELECTRONIC DESIGN)(JScan of Macraigor Systems LLC)(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... Sometimes so many things pile up in the lab, I don't get around to checking them out until much later. Macraigor's JScan is one of those things. JScan builds on Macraigor's usbDemon, which is typically used for JTAG debugging. It provides IEEE...

Server motherboard hosts AMD Athlon 64 Or Opteron.(EMBEDDED NEWS)
April 13, 2006... The Asus K8N-LR server motherboard can manage a single- or dual-core 2.4-GHz Athlon 64 or a 2.6-GHz Opteron processor. The onboard nVidia display adapter leaves the 16x PCI Express available for expansion options like an SAS RAID adapter. Also...

32-bit MCU mixes multimedia with low power control.(EMBEDDED NEWS)
April 13, 2006... The AT32AP7000 represents the first of Atmel's AVR32 32-bit microcontroller family (see "A New Player In The 32-Bit Processor Field" at ED Online 11939 at www.electronicdesign.com). Its new architecture incorporates vector processing and...

Eight 32-bit cores take flight in multiprocessor microcontroller.(Embedded: IN ELECTRONIC DESIGN)(Parallax Propeller)
April 13, 2006... New processor architectures are rare, especially in the microcontroller arena. But Parallax created a chip that could rotate right into your next application. The Parallax Propeller consists of eight identical RISC-style processing units called...

Dual-core microcontroller handles industrial apps.(Embedded: IN ELECTRONIC DESIGN)
April 13, 2006... The DCIC9907 MCU is optimized for ac drive control. It packs a pair of 128-MHz ARM946 processors, two DMA controllers, two controller-area-network (CAN) controllers, and two Ethernet media-access controllers with PowerLink real-time extensions...

8051 line fits embedded data-acquisition market.(Embedded: IN ELECTRONIC DESIGN)
April 13, 2006... Ramtron's mixed-signal Versa Mix 8051 line features up to 128 kbytes of flash, 1280 bytes of RAM, a seven-channel, 12-bit analog-to-digital controller, and a 16- by 16-bit hardware multiplier with a 32-bit accumulator to handle DSP-style...

Bridge PCI Express to local bus.(Embedded: IN ELECTRONIC DESIGN)
April 13, 2006... Easier access to 66-Hz, 8- to 32-bit local bus systems is possible with PLX Technologies' PEX 8311 x1-lane PCI Express-to-local bus bridge. It includes root complex and end-point support. The zero-wait-state operation handles burst rates up to...

Design high-speed data links with link-level simulation: an integrating link simulator can act as a kind of "motherboard" for the various models and simulators used to tackle signal-integrity issues.(Design SOLUTION COMMUNICATIONS)
April 13, 2006... The phrase "high-speed digital" evolved during the time of vacuum tubes and early digital computers. (1) Ever since, the driving need for better system performance and higher clock speeds has presented greater challenges to designers. Those...

Divide and conquer the resistive divider.(Design Briefs: INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READERS)
April 13, 2006... The resistive voltage divider--a basic circuit taught in every introductory electronics course--may cause some problems during its implementation. If you've ever stood in front of a resistor kit while punching values into your calculator, this...

Use a PC serial port for pulse-encoded communications.(Design Briefs: INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READERS)(PC serial port)(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... The simple method described here evaluates a one-wire device that uses pulse-width-encoded communications from a PC serial port. Communications errors such as parity and acknowledge are monitored. The hardware interface to the PC is a MAX232...

Control LCD registers and backlight voltage with two wires.(Design Briefs: INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READERS)(National Semiconductor LP3944)
April 13, 2006... Many applications require a minimum number of conductors in the link between two areas of a device--for example, a flip-style cell phone. While a Mobile Pixel Link (MPL) device offers a convenient way to transmit high-speed RGB video data...

Small enclosures stand up to harsh conditions.(Component VIEW)(Box Enclosures Inc.'s Grip-Tech family)
April 13, 2006... Extreme environments are no match for the Grip-Tech family of ergonomic handheld enclosures. The NEMA 4, fire-grade, polycarbonate parts come standard in black or white. They also have interchangeable, tactile thermoplastic-elastomer (TPE)...

The aluminum-silicon-carbide (AlSiC) metal matrix composite from CPS Corp. produces reliable low-cost lids, or heat spreaders, for the flip-chip IC packaging and optoelectronics market.(NEWS IN BRIEF: MATERIALS)
April 13, 2006... The aluminum-silicon-carbide (AlSiC) metal matrix composite from CPS Corp. produces reliable low-cost lids, or heat spreaders, for the flip-chip IC packaging and optoelectronics market. Unlike traditional packaging materials, AlSiC's isotropic...

Multi-Seals Inc. offers a free engineering sample kit of its Uni-form epoxy preforms.(NEWS IN BRIEF: MATERIALS)
April 13, 2006... Multi-Seals Inc. offers a free engineering sample kit of its Uni-form epoxy preforms. The kit includes a variety of epoxy pre-form configurations along with an information pack. Epoxy preforms are an alternative to liquid epoxy for high-volume,...

Gap Filler 3500S35 is a thermally conductive, liquid gap- filling material from the Bergquist Company that features high thermal performance (3.6 W/m-K) and excellent softness filling.(NEWS IN BRIEF: MATERIALS)
April 13, 2006... Gap Filler 3500S35 is a thermally conductive, liquid gap-filling material from the Bergquist Company that features high thermal performance (3.6 W/m-K) and excellent softness. This two-component gel-like material can be cured either at room or...

PIN diodes now available in space-saving SOD-323 packages.(COMMUNICATIONS)
April 13, 2006... * Three high-performance PIN diodes housed in RoHS-compliant (Restrictions on Hazardous Substances) lead-free SOD-323 (small-outline diode) plastic packages consume less board space than prior versions housed in three-lead SOT-23 (small-outline...

Collaborative efforts let Wi-Fi chip tag-team with CDMA or WCDMA.(COMMUNICATIONS)(QUALCOMM Inc. and Atheros Communications Inc. partnered)(code division multiple access and wideband code division multiple access )(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... * A collaboration between Atheros and Qualcomm will produce a low-power, high-performance chip set for cellular and wireless LANcapable handsets and PDAs. Mobile devices based on the forthcoming chip sets will support CDMA and WCDMA...

10-Gbit PHYs integrate VCSEL diode drivers and clock synthesizers.(COMMUNICATIONS)
April 13, 2006... * The Puma AEL1006 can drive vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes while providing 10-Gbit/s physical-layer (PHY) support. Implemented in a 130-nm CMOS process, it also simplifies next-generation serializer/ deserializer...

Enhanced telephones ease conversations for hearing impaired.(COMMUNICATIONS)
April 13, 2006... * Able to improve voice quality for the hard-of-hearing, a signal-processing chip can be added to standard telephone handsets as well as wireless handsets. The Digital Clarity Power (DCP) signal processor runs various algorithms (multiband...

Wireless chip sets comply with 802.11n and deliver 300 Mbits/s.(COMMUNICATIONS)
April 13, 2006... * The Intensi-fi wireless local-area network (WLAN) chip sets comply with the IEEE 802.11n draft specification. Intensi-fi technology incorporates all mandatory elements of the draft specification and can be software-upgraded once the standard...

Simple pulse-width modulator controls heater in electric jacket.(IFD POWERFUL IDEAS FOR DESIGN)
April 13, 2006... A friend bought an electric jacket to wear on his motorcycle. But it was on all the time when it was plugged in, which made him sweaty at certain temperature ranges. He was looking for a way to control the heater inside the jacket. He...

Calculate system THD without measuring noise.(IFD POWERFUL IDEAS FOR DESIGN)(total-harmonic-distortion)
April 13, 2006... Designing total-harmonic-distortion (THD) measurement into a system usually involves a notch filter and a broadband ac measurement. The problem with this technique is that it measures both THD and noise. DSP-based test equipment can calculate...

Molded plastic boxes protect instrumentation.(PRODUCT ALERT)
April 13, 2006... BUD NBB Series molded plastic boxes can be used to mount instrumentation, telecom equipment and data acquisition equipment. Internal mounting bosses can be used to mount PC boards. Doors on NBB Series boxes have plastic hinges and plastic snap...

Delta electronics introduces the F48SA, a 700W full brick DC/DC converter.(PRODUCT ALERT)
April 13, 2006... Delta Electronics introduces the F48SA, a 700W single output, full brick DC/DC converter into the Delphi Series of Board Mounted DC/DC power converters. The F48SA280, a 48V input, single 28V output, isolated DC/DC converter delivers up to 700W...

ISI lead free interposers for DDR2 BGAs.(PRODUCT ALERT)
April 13, 2006... ISI Lead Free Interposers allow OEMs to use standard eutectic (leaded) SMT assembly processes, even when BGAs are only available in lead-free packaging. DDR2 memory chips are one common application, although ISI supplies interposers for a...

ESC gives life to smart fabric, smart dashboard.(Embedded Systems Conference)(Sharp BlueStreak ARM7 and ARM 9 microcontrollers)(Toshiba TX4961)(Editorial)
April 27, 2006... There was so much to see at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose earlier this month. But a couple of applications really jumped out at me in terms of their potential impact. There has been a lot of talk about smart fabrics--clothing...

Bob's mailbox.(Pease PORRIDGE)(Letter to the editor)
April 27, 2006... Dear Bob: I once had a problem identical to what Jeff Slefske mentioned (ELECTRONIC DESIGN, Feb. 16, p. 18). The way he described it, his circuit did not originally have the power-supply common connected to the line cord green wire. Often...

IP trumps process in cutting power use in mixed-signal ICs.(POV: POINT OF VIEW)(Column)
April 27, 2006... From a silicon design perspective, the industry has long held the notion that power consumption can be reduced simply by porting chips forward to the next process technology node. Yet as more consumer electronics move from 130-to 90-nm...

Photon detector speeds up interplanetary communications.(Tech VIEW)(developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
April 27, 2006... In science fiction, starship captains can pick up the phone and talk to headquarters back on Earth in real time. In reality, messages to and from our interplanetary probes take hours to cross the cosmos. That's because they rely on RF...

LCD backlights, light sources for microdisplays drive market growth for solid-state lighting.(Tech VIEW)(liquid crystal displays)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... In the neverending quest to improve display technology, no component is left untouched. Light sources for non-emissive displays are significantly shifting away from lamp-based technology and toward newer, solid-state options like LEDs, organic...

Digital isolators turn to RF.(Tech VIEW: ANALOG & POWER)(Silicon Laboratories Si8840, Si8441 and Si8442)
April 27, 2006... For a long time, there was little activity in the universe of non-optical digital isolators. But the past two months have seen three developments (See ED Online 11998 and 12231 at www.electronicdesign.com). The most recent is a 2500-V...

Low-power, 12-bit, 250-Msample/s ADC offers 1.2-GHz analog input bandwidth.(Tech VIEW: ANALOG & POWER)(Linear Technology LTC2242-12 analog to digital converter)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Linear Technology has pushed sampling rates for its 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) family for high-IF applications to 250 Msamples/s while holding the chip's power consumption to a modest 740 mW at 2.5 V. Analog input bandwidth for...

HyperTransport 3.0: the third time's the charm.(Tech VIEW: DIGITAL)(data transfer technologies)(HyperTransport Consortium)
April 27, 2006... HyperTransport's third time around adds more robust performance and features to an already successful run. The new standard not only extends HyperTransport's range and throughput, it also moves it into high-reliability environments that require...

Silicon-on-insulator x86 process keeps cool At 3.5 W.(Tech VIEW: DIGITAL)(VIA Technologies C7-M ULV )(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... The C7-M ULV processor from VIA Technologies comes in a range of configurations, from the low-power, 3.5-W, 1-GHz Model 779 to the 1.5-GHz Model 775, which tops out at a rather cool 7.5 W (see the figure). The C7-M's silicon-on-insulator...

FPGA development software keeps connections correct.(NEW PRODUCTS)
April 27, 2006... Xilinx's Platform Studio 8.1i adds a host of new features, including a system assembly panel that uses color-coded graphical connectivity views to aid the editing of bus connections. Its system block-diagram viewer lets developers visualize the...

90-nm hard-disk read channel cuts power consumption in half.(NEW PRODUCTS)
April 27, 2006... Agere's TrueStore RC7200 90-nm read channel design can deliver up to 240 Gbytes/platter using perpendicular recording for 2.5- and 3.5-in. hard-disk drives. It also uses half the power of competing solutions. The channel can work with 2.5-V...

Distributed processing cuts PC-Board Autorouting times.(Tech VIEW: EDA)(XtremeAR from Mentor Graphics Corp.)(electronic design automation)
April 27, 2006... Rather than having to plan your autorouting runs for large pc boards so they can run overnight or over a long holiday weekend, wouldn't it be better to break up the job and run it on a CPU farm or on other networked computer resources?...

Standard cell-optimization tools, originally for IDMs, now seek to penetrate fabless market.(Tech VIEW: EDA)(integrated device manufacturers)(Zenasis Technology Inc. introduced ZenTime-XT, -PT, -AT, -GT)(electronic design automation)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... At its introduction almost three years ago, Zenasis Technologies' ZenTime was marketed as a standard cell-optimization tool largely for integrated device manufacturers (IDMs). But Zenasis has broadened its horizons and business model by...

32-bit ARM MCU hits one-dollar mark.(Tech VIEW: EMBEDDED)(Luminary Micro LM3S101 and LM3S102 )(microcontrollers)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Luminary Micro has aimed its guns at the low-cost embedded micro-controller market, but it's using a 32-bit firearm to tackle jobs normally handled by its 8- or 16-bit cousins. Two of the biggest problems that 32-bit MCUs have to overcome are...

InfiniBand hits 10m messages/s.(Tech VIEW: EMBEDDED)(Pathscale 10X-MR PCI Express adapter)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Message bandwidth requirements grow more quickly than the number of processors. So, fast mesh interconnects like InfiniBand are needed with large clusters of multicore processors. Pathscale's 10X-MR meets those challenges, linking InfiniBand...

Light IPC links disparate hosts.(EMBEDDED NEWS)(interprocess communication)(Enea's Linx)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Enea's Linx interprocess communication (IPC) software supports a range of operating systems, including Linux. Linx is based on the IPC embedded in Enea's OSE real-time operating system. Its robust, message-passing system supports processors...

Systems ready to roll.(EMBEDDED NEWS)
April 27, 2006... Ampro's ReadySystem comes in benchtop and wall-mount 1U, 2U, and ATX packages that support Linux 2.6 and Windows. Fedora Core 3 Linux can be pre-installed. The compact systems support processors through the 1.4-GHz Pentium M with space for hard...

Point of sale OS streamlines POS application development.(EMBEDDED NEWS)
April 27, 2006... Microsoft's Windows Embedded Point Of Sale (WEPOS) 1.1 lets Windows XP applications easily interface with POS hardware. The interface support complies with the UnifiedPOS retail peripheral standard version 1.9. The platform supports Microsoft's...

Efficient digital RF power amp slashes basestation power, size, and cost.(Tech VIEW: WIRELESS)(PulseWave RF amplifiers)
April 27, 2006... Blame it on RF power amplifiers. Large and costly, they comprise roughly 40% of a basestation's cost. And since these amplifiers must transmit wide bandwidth signals of various modulation types, linearity is critical. But linear amplifiers...

UHF transceiver extends range for telemetry and other wireless applications.(Tech VIEW: WIRELESS)(Radiometrix NiM2)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... If your wireless applications don't require the sophisticated networking capability of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or ZigBee, you can always use transceivers for the unlicensed UHF industrial-scientific-medical (ISM) bands, including 315, 433, and...

2.4-GHz power amp consumes least power.(Tech VIEW: WIRELESS)(Avago Technologies MGA-412P8)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... More and more portable devices are incorporating Wi-Fi. You'll find it in digital cameras, personal digital assistants, and industrial wireless devices as well as in laptops. Power amplifiers for these applications must be able to meet the...

Breaking a new sound barrier: it s a mic-on-a-chip: fabricated on a MEMS CMOS process, these tiny, low-cost ICs solve acoustic performance issues for many computing and consumer electronics devices.(PUTTING NEW TECHNOLOGY IN PERSPECTIVE)(microelectromechanical systems)(complementary metal oxide semiconductors)(AKU2000 microphone from Akustica Inc.)
April 27, 2006... Spurred on by advances in MEMS CMOS processing, a low-cost, tiny single-chip microphone with high acoustic quality has moved from fantasy to reality. According to developer Akustica, it's the industry's first single-chip CMOS MEMS microphone....

Who's listening? Weaving a security blanket for handhelds: data-security and privacy technology outpace the law in the struggle to protect you and your data.(ENGINEERING FEATURE: DATA SECURITY)
April 27, 2006... Your day might start out something like this: You drive to the airport, passing through several tollbooths equipped with video cameras and an E-ZPass billing system. When you get to the airport, you show your ID at the check-in counter and hand...

IDEs of change: market consolidation and Eclipse narrow the number of available platforms while expanding choices for developers.(TECHNOLOGY REPORT: EMBEDDED PROGRAMMING)(integrated development environments)
April 27, 2006... Does anyone remember the days when there was a virtual cornucopia of development tools? Well, the latest bounty is even larger. But when it comes to integrated development environments (IDEs), an interesting consolidation has occurred. While...

Design a system clock-distribution strategy with confidence: simulation lets you design a transceiver clocking and frequency-planning strategy while making the required tradeoffs between performance and cost.(Design SOLUTION ANALOG)
April 27, 2006... Clock-distribution devices create multiple copies of a master clock and distribute them to a variety of integrated circuits. They accept single-ended or differential clock inputs and supply multiple single-ended or differential outputs that are...

Reduce AC-coupling capacitance in transmission systems.(Design BRIEFS: INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READERS)
April 27, 2006... Communication systems often require large ac output coupling to remove dc voltage on the transmission line and to isolate ground connections between transmit and receive systems. Generally, a feedback network is used to minimize the output...

Digital volume control eliminates zipper noise.(Design BRIEFS: INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READERS)(audio systems)
April 27, 2006... In low-end audio systems, digital potentiometers can be used as audio attenuators or amplifiers (Fig. 1). Unfortunately, a large change in volume at an arbitrary time can cause an abrupt discontinuity in the audio signal. The result is audible...

Compact socket accepts 0.50-mm pitch BGAs.(Component VIEW)(ball-grid array)(Advanced Interconnections Corp.'s connectors)
April 27, 2006... An innovation in fine-pitch socket technology makes possible a ball-grid array (BGA) socket adapter system with a 0.50-mm pitch. This hybrid design uses male and female pins in an interstitial pattern that offers the reliability of...

The Cannon DLP series of zero insertion force (ZIF).
April 27, 2006... The Cannon DLP series of zero insertion force (ZIF) connectors from ITT Electronic Components provides greater contact reliability and less signal crosstalk than many existing products. Because the contact in the receptacle (female) connector...

Designed to provide fast, safe, and reliable terminations.
April 27, 2006... Designed to provide fast, safe, and reliable terminations in harsh environments, the diagnostic Profibus (Process Field Bus) connectors from 2E Mechatronic suit applications requiring comprehensive test functions to facilitate Profibus network...

Molex is offering a range of high-density connectors for.
April 27, 2006... Molex is offering a range of high-density connectors for flat-panel displays (FPDs), low-voltage differential-signal (LVDS) televisions, and similar applications. These flat-flexible-cable/flexible-printed-circuitry (FFC/FPC) connectors...

PC/104 GSM/GPRS modem brings along its own power supply.(...EMBEDDED)
April 27, 2006... * The PV-1800 PC/104 GSM/GPRS modem board combines a GSM/GPRS dual-band 900/1800-MHz modem with its own 20-W power supply. The board also has eight isolated analog inputs with a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter, eight opto-isolated digital...

Virtual platform simulates environments for TI's OMAP 3.(...EMBEDDED)
April 27, 2006... * The VPOM-3430 Virtual Platform provides a complete simulated environment for Texas Instruments' OMAP3430 dual-core hardware and software platform. This includes support for the latest ARM Cortex-A8 superscalar architecture inside the OMAP3....

Open-source database brings persistence to Java and C#.(...EMBEDDED)
April 27, 2006... * The Perst open-source project is available as a free download, though a licence must be purchased for commercial or closed-source products. The object-oriented database comes in Java and C# versions. It has "ACID" properties (atomicity,...

16-bit DSC targets motor control, lighting, and power conversion.(...EMBEDDED)
April 27, 2006... * The dsPIC30F line of digital signal controllers has gained two new chips--the dsPIC30F5015 and dsPIC30F5016. Operating from 2.5 to 5.5 V, they include 2 kbytes of SRAM. They also have an eight-output pulse-width modulator (PWM), with...

DVD writer supports all DVD media.(...EMBEDDED)
April 27, 2006... * The dvd840 drive supports all types of DVD media, including DVD-RAM discs (5x speeds). It also supports single- (16x speeds) and double-layer (8x speeds) media, including LightScribe media. The dvd840i DVD Writer costs $89.99. It has an EIED...

NEW low cost USB DAQ from NI starting at $145.(ELECTRONIC DESIGN: Direct Connection)
April 27, 2006... Free Data Logging Software Included. Taking measurements is simple with ready-to-run data logging software and driver software for LabVIEW. The hardware has all the functionality you need to acquire and generate analog signals, read and...

High performance sockets and adapters.(ELECTRONIC DESIGN: Direct Connection)
April 27, 2006... Includes GHz bandwidth sockets for BGA and QFN only slightly larger than the IC with integral heatsink for medium power and optional heatsinking to over 100 watts. Up to 500k insertions. Adapters for prototype, test, and more. Quick turn volume...

New LabVIEW database connectivity toolset.(ELECTRONIC DESIGN: Direct Connection)
April 27, 2006... The LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolset is the next generation of the SQL Toolset, but it adds significant new capabilities to the existing repertoire of LabVIEW database functions. It readily connects to popular databases, such as Microsoft...

Free bud industries enclosure catalog.(PRODUCT ALERT)
April 27, 2006... A complete line of enclosures, cabinets, chassis, and racks are described in Bud's new Short Form Catalog. Whether it's plastic or metal, standard or custom, Bud quality means that it's always on time, always on spec, and always built to last....