Electronic Design articles from April 2008

Electronic Design archives from April 2008

Who's winning the computer virus war? probably not us.(editorial)
April 10, 2008... Back in December, I decided to uninstall the anti-virus software on my desktop computer at home. The computer was taking several minutes to boot up, and when it was finally ready to go, everything ran slowly. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Using your own products can yield some new solutions.(the lab bench)
April 10, 2008... Flying to Dallas on my way to the Texas Instruments Developer Conference in February, I was reminded of the importance of using the products you design. This is much easier with consumer products, but hands-on experience is often the only way...

You've got high-power battery questions, we've got answers.(power design)
April 10, 2008... Historically, the nickel-cadmium (NiCd) cell has been the best solution for handheld applications with usage profiles requiring large current pulses. But new environmental regulations may have a marked effect on cells containing heavy metals...

Design FAQS: offloading CPU boosts microcontroler performance and cuts power.(FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)(central processing units)
April 10, 2008... Why should designers offload a microcontroller's CPU? Performance and power consumption are the typical reasons for adding offload capability to a microcontroller. Traditionally, any hardware peripheral offloads the CPU. This includes...

Embedded waveform viewing improves signal integrity testing without an oscilloscope.(techview)(Vitesse Semiconductor Corp.)
April 10, 2008... Buses and backplanes keep getting faster. Ethernet now runs at 10 Gbits/s, and the XAUI interfaces are at 3.125 and 6.25 Gbits/s. Blade server serial buses like PCI Express are moving from 2.5 to 5 Gbits/s. The SAS and SATA interfaces are...

Power over Ethernet-plus PSE and PD chips with real two-event classification play nicely together.(techview)
April 10, 2008... Last month, MicroSemi and Akros Silicon demonstrated the first compatibility between ICs for IEEE 802.11at Power over Ethernet Plus/HiPOE power source equipment (PSE) and powered devices (PDs). The PSE chip was MicroSemi's PD64001, and the PD...

SERDES IP releases tackle top speeds.(techview)
April 10, 2008... High-speed design and serial buses used for chip-to-chip communications seem to go hand in hand nowadays. Whether you're talking signal integrity, printed-circuit board (PCB) routability, or a slew of other factors, it just makes sense....

Low-Power methodology guide goes online.(techview)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... Capturing thousands of hours of real-world design experience, a downloadable handbook is available to guide designers in applying the Common Power Format (CPF). The guide draws from the format's usage by many of the 26 members of the Power...

SiP module bridges gap between RF and digital in wireless receivers.(techview)
April 10, 2008... Modern wireless system design is usually a team effort, with RF engineers working on the front end and the baseband guys working on the digital back end. The trouble in receiver design, though, is at the interface where the downconverted signal...

Portable media keeps playing and playing and ... : IC designers find innovative ways to extend battery life in portable media players and multimedia phones.(feature)
April 10, 2008... Portable media players, like the Apple iPod and its competitors, have been around for many years, so you might think no further improvements are possible. But this doesn't seem to be the case. Somehow, the companies that develop audio chips for...

Invisible links revolutionize industrial communications: with wireless becoming more practical, secure, and reliable, you can throw the cost of wiring out the factory window.(technology report)
April 10, 2008... Most networks are wired systems based on dozens of proprietary protocols and, more recently, on Ethernet. In an industrial environment, whether it's manufacturing, process control, transportation, or building automation, these networks are used...

Success in portable video starts with a balanced design: designers of the latest multimedia marvels face a slew of seemingly conflicting requirements, such as size, resolution, and power.(engineering essentials)
April 10, 2008... Planning to design a portable streaming-video product? Be prepared, because several design challenges stand in the way. The wide selection of hardware and software that's available may seem like an advantage, but sorting through those choices...

It's called simulation.(embedded in ed)
April 10, 2008... The term virtual prototyping has a nice ring. But it confuses the issue when it's mixed with virtual machines and virtual memory. All three present a warped sense of reality. Of course, the term simulation also cuts a wide swath. Still,...

Hypervisor tips CAP.(NEWS)(Trango Virtual Processors)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... Trango Virtual Processors now supports Atmel's CAP architecture, blending ARM-based cores with FPGA-style custom logic for production-time configuration. Trango's Hypervisor runs operating systems in multiple secure virtual machines. It handles...

Tool simulates multidomains.(NEWS)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... The Matlab/Simulink environment from the MathWorks gained additional multidomain support with SimScape, which allows designers to specify the physical nature of a system instead of the underlying mathematical equations that define the system....

Enable your Grid Computing.(NEWS)
April 10, 2008... MapleSoft's Grid Computing Toolbox enables distributed computing using Maple, a WYSIWYG math environment for solving complex mathematical problems and creating rich technical documents. With Toolbox, developers can take advantage of networks of...

Full-Scale simulation means analog and I/O.(embedded in ed)
April 10, 2008... A simulation that's an exact copy of a physical device would be ideal. Barring that, developers can choose from a range of simulation techniques that can replicate a device, allowing details such as timing and physical characteristics to be...

Simulate multiple machines on multiprocessors.(NEWS)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... Virtutech's Simics 3.4 takes simulation to the next level by running complex, multisystem simulations on multiprocessor hosts. This takes advantage of the multicore server migration. The application programming interfaces (APIs) for integrating...

Bridge PCI Express and serial IO.(NEWS)(Pericom Semiconductor Corp.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... The transition to PCI Express (PCIe) continues with Pericom's PIC9X95x PCIe to serial port bridge chips. Available in two-, four-, and eight-port versions, pricing starts at $5.30. The high-performance 16C950-compatible ports support...

LCD controller takes on rugged environments.(NEWS)
April 10, 2008... DigitalView's HE-1920 controls large, high-definition LCD thin-film transistor (TFT) displays in rugged industrial and military environments. It supports display resolutions up to 1920 by 1200. Also, it has a wide 25% tolerance for its supply...

Embedded SQL adds tools.(NEWS)
April 10, 2008... Encirq's DeviceSQL 4.0 adds a number of features, including the SQL Probe Tool and the Remote DB Query Tool. Compression adapters can reduce storage requirements by 50%, while new MPHash Lite and MPAVL indexing options can increase system...

8-Bit LIN micro targets control applications.(NEWS)(Freescale Semiconductor Israel Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... Freescale's S08SG16/32 MCU is based on a 40-MHz HCS08 core with up to 32 kbytes of flash memory and 1 kbyte of RAM. It incorporates a local interconnect network (LIN) slave interface as well as SCI, SPI, and [I.sup.2]C with broadcast mode. The...

DisplayPort receiver simplifies interface.(NEWS)(Integrated Device Technology Inc.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... IDT's PanelPort receivers simplify DisplayPort interfacing while lowering system costs. DisplayPort uses up to four high-speed serial pairs with a capacity up to 10.8 Gbits/s, including audio and a 1-Mbit/s auxiliary channel. The VPP1600EMG...

ARMing OMAP.(NEWS)(Brief article)
April 10, 2008... ARM's RealView Development Suite 3.1 now supports Texas Instruments' DaVinci technology and the OMAP platforms, including the DaVinci TMS-320DM355 digital media processor and OMAP35x processors. The Eclipse-based RealView support automatically...

DSP shrinks Bluetooth phones.(NEWS)
April 10, 2008... Cambridge Silicon Radio's MusiCore chip combines its Kalimba DSP with a Bluetooth interface. It replaces a Bluetooth transceiver while offloading the host processor's audio chores, improving performance while reducing power requirements. Also,...

Fast load transient tester circuit features adjustable slew rate.(ideas for design)
April 10, 2008... Performance under transient loads has become the most important specification of voltage regulators used to power a wide array of products whose current demands vary quickly during operation. Testing transient performance requires a load that...

Unconventional use of an output driver protects current monitor.(ideas for design)
April 10, 2008... One of our products uses a standard 1/10-W surface-mount resistor with a high-side current monitor to detect small load changes at the product's output. Since this circuit is part of the device's output, it's vulnerable to field wiring mishaps....

Mixed-signal processors can aid visual robotic development: state-of-the-art tools make motion control and development a more abstract process.(design solution)
April 10, 2008... A recent project for one of the exhibitors at the RoboDevelopment Conference and Expo 2007, held last October in San Jose, Calif., required our company to quickly develop a motion-control system for a tracked robot. This isn't complicated...

What's all this AMT stuff, anyhow? (Part 2)*.(pease porridge)
April 10, 2008... I've often heard that if you're going to owe the Alternative Minimum Tax, there's nothing you can do about it. And that makes me scream! Most of these officious statements say you can postpone some income and defer the AMT, but you'll just pay...

Turning buses and trucks into hybrid vehicles.(editorial)
April 24, 2008... I recently had a chance to visit Odyne Corp., a seven-year-old company based in Haupauge, N. Y. It develops plug-in hybrid electric power trains for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. While I was there, I met with its director of engineering, Dana...

A visionary passes, but the dream survives.(the lab bench)
April 24, 2008... The recent death of science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke has been noted widely by the conventional press. But I wanted to take the time to reflect on his impact on our industry. Clarke joins the ranks of sci-fi writers like Isaac Asimov and...

High-speed serial data and RF wireless dominate today's T&M.(point of view)(test and measurement)
April 24, 2008... Two key areas of electronics are driving the development of new test and measurement (T&M) instruments--high-speed serial buses and wireless test. Both require very high-frequency capability as well as the ability to support the many standards...

SDRAM chip set boldly goes where no man has gone before.(techview)
April 24, 2008... When it comes to achieving more memory in the same amount of space, we typically talk about process shrinks, die stacking, multichip packaging, and other techniques. But MetaRAM, a fabless company that recently "de-cloaked," has shot its new...

Robots run with the BigDog.(techview)
April 24, 2008... If sci-fi movies are to be believed, the Boston Dynamics BigDog may be the herald of the robot revolution. About the size of a large canine, this quadruped can walk, run, climb, and even jump over rough terrain--and carry up to 340 lb. Its...

Single chip digitizes high-side power measurements.(techview)
April 24, 2008... In-circuit power measurements frequently involve a current-sense amplifier or a hot-swap controller and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Optimally, the current sensing is done on the high side of the load to avoid false grounds. But one...

Monolithic ultrasound AFEs usurp multiple chips in new designs.(techview)(Analog Front Ends )
April 24, 2008... There are now two sources of analog front ends (AFEs) for ultrasound applications. Texas Instruments is sampling the AFE5805, the first member of a future family for portable to high-end ultrasound diagnostic equipment. Last year, Analog...

Design flow halves development time for mixed-technology PCBs.(techview)
April 24, 2008... Once found chiefly in the military and aerospace domains, printed-circuit boards (PCBs) with a melange of analog, digital, and RF circuitry are now everywhere. In fact, the wireless telecom and consumer sectors are embracing them...

Superior dispersion compensation paves the way for 40- and 100-Gbit/s fiber transmission.(techview)
April 24, 2008... The primary limiting factor in transmitting very high data rates on fiber-optic cable is signal dispersion. Dispersion is the lengthening of a pulse over distance due to the variation of the speed of light through the fiber at different...

Radio interoperabili it's harder than it looks: emergency management can be difficult enough. Designing the systems that provide seamless communication between personnel presents some equally tough challenges.(feature)
April 24, 2008... Fire swept through the hills above the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, Calif., on Oct. 21, 1991. Known as the Tunnel Fire, it destroyed more than 2800 homes and damaged almost 700 more. It also burned some 1500 acres. And while it caused $1.5...

Software rules the day in multicore SoC design: with the number of on-chip processors set to explode, software-development issues loom for design teams. Yet D&V methodologies may evolve to avert any stumbling over parallelism.(technology report)
April 24, 2008... Looking back over the past 10 years or so, semiconductor process technology more or less kept pace with the demand for functionality in large-scale processor-based ICs. When the next-generation set-top-box IC needed more horsepower, a move...

Storage must prepare for the zettabyte universe: all guts and no glory--storage solutions in the information age aren't the engineering "no-brainers" they once were.(engineering essentials)
April 24, 2008... Remember when bubble memory was the top storage technology? Then along came the faster, cheaper, and higher-density hard-disk drive (HDD). Of course, bubble memory replaced core memory. One example of the latter was the Apollo Guidance...

Bridge architecture solves performance, design, cost problems in new portables: West Bridge approach boosts system performance as designers integrate more functions.(design solution)
April 24, 2008... Interconnecting peripherals and mass storage to embedded processors has always been a challenge, but now it"'s an even more critical part of designing portable devices. Designers must solve numerous problems, such as power consumption, data...

Circuit transfers resistance value through isolation barrier.(ideas for design)
April 24, 2008... The circuit shown in the figure can monitor resistance in a noisy or otherwise hostile environment. A 1:1 transformer provides isolation and a good common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR). The resistance across the secondary winding is reflected to...

Novel switch interface scheme reduces microprocessor pin count.(ideas for design)
April 24, 2008... The most common method for interfacing multiple switches--multiplexing--allows for the connection of [(N/2).sup.2] switches with N microcontroller IO lines. The method described below, which has its roots in an LED interface technique commonly...

Electronic birthday candles "blow out" one at a time.(ideas for design)
April 24, 2008... This circuit creates a set of LED-based electronic birthday candles that are just as much fun as blowing out wax candles, but are also reusable, scalable, and even eco-friendly. It uses a thermal sensor that's maintained at a temperature above...

Unique technology boosts image quality of low-cost cameras.(in electronic design)
April 24, 2008... One of the challenges facing camera-phone and webcam makers, as well as designers of other small-size, low-cost mobile cameras, is image quality. These products don't target the professional photographer, yet their users now expect better...

Please touch! explore the evolving world of touchscreen technology.(in electronic design)
April 24, 2008... You've probably encountered some faulty touchscreens that required multiple touches, applying more pressure each time, just to register an entry. That's because early resistive touchscreen technologies were environmentally unstable and subject...

Dc-dc converters widen input range, raise power density.(POWER SOURCES)
April 24, 2008... The S36E series dc-dc converters deliver up to 17 W from a wide input range from 18 to 75 V dc. Measuring 1.10 by 0.96 by 0.33 in., the PCB-mount (printed-circuit board) converters feature a power density of 48.7 [W/in.sup.3] and provide single...

SMT dc-dc converters deliver 0.25 W.(POWER SOURCES)
April 24, 2008... Featuring surface-mount-technology (SMT) packages and an internal surface-mount-device (SMD) design, the VBT0.25 series 0.25-W dc-dc converters convert fixed voltages into isolated voltages. They don't require a heatsink or any external...

CCFL inverters offer wide input.(POWER SOURCES)
April 24, 2008... Adding to the Smart Force family, the SFW series of cold-cathode fluorescent-lamp (CCFL) inverters provides a wide input voltage range from 8 to 18 V, open lamp detection, onboard pulse-width-modulation (PWM) dimming, and lamp current...

SIP POL regulators save space, cut costs.(POWER SOURCES)(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... While delivering up to 7.5 W of output power, the SR7805 series point-of-load (POL) switching regulators replace linear regulators of the LM78xx type for board-level applications requiring miniature size and a tight budget. In system-in-package...

Next-gen vision system is small, smart, and simple.(DISPLAYS & INDICATORS)(Cognex Corp's In-Sight Micro )(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... The next-generation In-Sight Micro wedges a complete vision system into a package measuring 30 by 30 by 60 mm. The system teams with intuitive EasyBuilder configuration software and the VisionView operator interface display, ingredients that...

PLC touchpanels ease DAQ duties.(DISPLAYS & INDICATORS)(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... Promoting ease of use, the EZ series programmable logic controller (PLC) touchpanels offer enhanced data acquisition (DAQ) via Ethernet connectivity options and a programming time of 10 minutes. Features include 3D graphical objects, fast...

Technology forecasts future of print in digital signage.(DISPLAYS & INDICATORS)
April 24, 2008... Turning static print into animated displays, ActivPrint employs programmable e-paper technology and animation combined with the latest design techniques to bring promotional materials to life, in any shape and with up to 10 animation steps....

Keyboard backlight uses fewer LEDs.(DISPLAYS & INDICATORS)
April 24, 2008... Thinner than previous versions, Global Lighting Technologies' latest LED-based backlight for use with desktop or notebook PC keyboards employs fewer LEDs to reduce both power consumption and cost. It relies on patented MicroLens light...

100-MHZ/HCSL-output crystal oscillator rides the PCI Express.(TIMING DEVICES)(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... Heralded by its manufacturer as the industry's first crystal oscillator for PCI Express applications with a high-speed, current-steering logic (HCSL) output, the DS4100H eliminates the need to translate from CMOS, low-voltage differential...

PCI Express timing devices boost bandwidth and reliability.(TIMING DEVICES)(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... Expanding IDT's portfolio of PCI Express Gen2 timing ICs are four-and eight-output timing devices. Users can drive the 9FG104D generator with either a 14.318- or a 25-MHz crystal to provide four PCIe Gen2 reference clocks. Otherwise similar,...

Watchdog timer protects critical systems.(TIMING DEVICES)(Logic Supply Inc's Emphase WDT-01 )(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... Performing as a defense mechanism against hardware and software failures in critical systems, the Emphase WDT-01 watchdog timer module exhibits a small footprint and restores and maintains a system's normal operation by monitoring its activity....

VCO provides narrow bandwidth.(TIMING DEVICES)
April 24, 2008... The CVCO55CC-2425-2440 voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) operates from 2425 MHz to 2440 MHz with a voltage-control range of 0.3 to 4.7 V. It specifies a typical phase noise of -113 dBc/Hz at a 10-kHz offset and comes in an industry-standard,...

Miniature switch-mode transformer outputs 0.7 W.(PASSIVE COMPONENTS)
April 24, 2008... Unveiled as a series of custom, low-power switch-mode transformers, the EE5 measures 0.195 in. high and 0.309 by 0.240 in. Capable of delivering up to 0.7 W at 100 kHz, the component meets the rugged requirements of MIL-PRF-27 for...

Tantalum caps reduce ESL.(PASSIVE COMPONENTS)
April 24, 2008... The TPM series of tantalum capacitors now includes D-and low-profile Y-case-size multi-anode mirror components that exhibit low equivalent series inductance (ESL) and lower equivalent series resistances (ESRs). Their symmetrical design reduces...

33-[micro]F tantalum cap fits 1206 footprint.(PASSIVE COMPONENTS)
April 24, 2008... Suiting up for portable designs, the TLJ series adds a tantalum capacitor with a higher capacitance versus voltage ratio. With a 33-[mu]F/10-V rating, the capacitor exhibits a 1206 footprint with a height below 1 mm and comes in a K case size....

SMT inductor detects current.(PASSIVE COMPONENTS)
April 24, 2008... Groomed for detecting current in voltage-regulator applications, the HM69S series power inductor maintains a constant dc resistance value with a shift of [+ or -]2% at room temperature and 7% over a 100[degrees]C temperature range. The...

Current-sense resistors handle up to 3 W at 80[degrees]C.(PASSIVE COMPONENTS)
April 24, 2008... Described by their manufacturer as economical, surface-mount, metal-element current-sense resistors that promise to maximize thermal performance and minimize power consumption, the ULR series devices feature tight temperature coefficients of...

Euro-style connectors add screw termination.(CONNECTORS)
April 24, 2008... The Series 768 M8 Euro-style connectors now include shielded connectors with screw termination, which provides reliably shielded connections in industrial Ethernet and Fieldbus networks. Shielding is a simple task via the use of an iris-shaped...

Fiber-optic feedthroughs guarantee hermeticity.(CONNECTORS)
April 24, 2008... Withstanding rigid testing for hermeticity with certification available, this comprehensive range of fiber-optic feedthroughs includes standard connectors: FC for single-mode or graded-index fiber and SMA for large-core fiber from 140 to 1000...

Receptacles and cables meet DisplayPort specs.(CONNECTORS)(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... This line of cable assemblies and receptacles meets the VESA DisplayPort digital audio/video interconnect specification for both high- and low-bit-rate cables. Delivering high-definition media content on computers and flat panels, cable...

High-speed connectors meet ATCA specs.(CONNECTORS)
April 24, 2008... Groomed for the high-speed AdvancedTCA (ATCA) market, the AMC.0 B+ connectors support PICMG ATCA specifications for next-generation mezzanine cards and suit a wide range of applications in telecommunications, computing, and IEEE 1386 arenas, as...

Headers exploit emerging Pin-in-Paste technology.(CONNECTORS)(FCI USA Inc's Millipacs Type C headers )(Brief article)
April 24, 2008... The Millipacs Type C headers are now available with Pin-in-Paste (PIP) termination, a technology common to daughtercard connectors found in rack systems. PIP is also making headway in board-to-board and wire-to-board applications in the telecom...

Mailbag.(pease porridge)(Letter to the editor)
April 24, 2008... HELLO BOB, A note concerning electric cars and plug-in hybrids: Consider that politics has little to do with engineering and/or science. It only pays lip service at those altars. So, somebody has to do serious planning for the immediate...