Electronic Design articles from August 2007

Electronic Design archives from August 2007

Going on vacation? Don't forget your battery charger.(Editorial)(Editorial)
August 2, 2007... I just returned from a two-week family vacation driving through Italy and Greece, exploring the roots of Western civilization. While I was on the road, I realized how power-addicted we Westerners have become, as each night's rest stop included...

Bob's mailbox.(Pease Porridge)
August 2, 2007... Bob: Several years ago, an acquaintance bought a very expensive "high-end" audio system. The speakers were huge. The amplifiers were 350-W "mono blocks" using eight 6550s in a push-pull parallel configuration. The wires were about $100 per...

Industry giants want to weaken our patent system.(Point Of View)
August 2, 2007... If you're a seasoned or aspiring inventor, you should be concerned about the current attack that large patent-intensive corporations are making on our venerable patent system, which has effectively protected the intellectual property of...

Nanowires get bent out of shape for new technology.(Tech View)
August 2, 2007... While most electronics research has its twists and turns, a project currently under way at the Georgia Institute of Technology offers more than its share of new angles. That's because the research is entirely focused on bending things. ...

On the other hand, it's myoelectric.(Digital)
August 2, 2007... Healthcare solutions need affordable as well as effective. That's what a team of engineering students from ITESO graduate school at the Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico, decided when they entered their latest project in...

Tri-axis inertial-measurement units combine performance and low cost.(Analog & Power)
August 2, 2007... Previously, selecting high-precision rate and acceleration sensors with six degrees of freedom involved painful cost/performance tradeoffs and elaborate implementation and calibration processes. Now, Analog Devices' ADIS16355 inertial...

WiMAX chip sets address exploding broadband wireless market.(Wireless)(Beceem Communications)
August 2, 2007... WiMAX no longer means endless hype or a wireless broadband dream. Services are rolling out from companies like Clearwire and Sprint Nextel. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This means a growing number of WiMAX subscribers and the rising demand...

Graph-based test-synthesis tool creates verification plans.(EDA)(Breker Verification Systems Inc. )(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... The complexity of today's system-on-a-chip designs creates serious verification challenges in various respects. It's increasingly difficult to write an effective and comprehensive verification plan. Developing a set of test vectors is itself an...

ARM7 makes a move to multicore: with its multicore/multiprocessor support, ARM7 can now handle cache coherency.(Leap Frog)
August 2, 2007... ARM's new symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) multicore architecture has found a home in the popular ARM7 architecture. SMP is similar to the architecture found with ARM's higher-end cores. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] However, the new...

Simulate multicore systems before silicon: Virtutech's Simics will bring Freescale's new architecture to life before the hardware is in your hands.(Leap Frog)(Freescale Semiconductor Israel Ltd.)
August 2, 2007... It's still a bit early to start expounding on Freescale's new multicore Power architecture-based communications platform (see the figure). But with the help of Virtutech's Simics development platform, Freescale developers can access functional...

Auto infotainment: get the show on the road: no longer just a niche market, the surging consumer appetite for more electronics gadgetry and services in the car has automakers and their IC suppliers scrambling to keep pace.(Engineering Feature)
August 2, 2007... These days, drivers and passengers want--and tend to expect--all of the technological comforts of home out on the road. But consumer demand for traditional in-vehicle infotainment systems like CD players is giving way to products that support...

It's Z-One vs. PMBus in digital power management: a court decision could determine the future of the competing architectures as well as that of digital power-supply management.(TechnologyReport)
August 2, 2007... Sure, designers of embedded computer systems know digital techniques. But they may not be intimately familiar with the digital management of the power supplies used by their systems. Two methods reign when it comes to implementing digital power...

Avoid the bird flu with proper FPGA migration: prepare in advance for FPGA-to-ASIC migration, or you may wind up flying in the wrong direction.(Engineering ESSENTIALS)(field programmble gate array)(application-specific integrated circuit)(Editorial)
August 2, 2007... Once upon a time, designers could throw FPGA migration over the fence and wash their hands of it. Sure, they may have worked out a few details like optimal pinout along the way. But chances are they didn't lose any sleep over the process....

The true cost of free FPGA IP.(Engineering ESSENTIALS)(Field programmagle gate arrays)
August 2, 2007... There's no question that FPGAs make the ideal platform for prototyping most digital systems. In some cases, FPGAs are available at a price point that makes sense in production volumes. On top of that, FPGA vendors have made significant strides...

The benefits--and hazards--of scan compression.(Design View)
August 2, 2007... IC designers now have a powerful weapon in the struggle against test costs: commercially available solutions that provide fast and means to implement scan compression on-chip. By reducing the data needed thoroughly test digital circuits,...

Highlights.(Design View)
August 2, 2007... Text execution cost and test time reduction Assume that a design with F scan flops has C scan chains of equal depth, each connected to a pair of dedicated scan I/O pins. Then without scan compression, the chain depth is F/C and we can...

Current transducer runs on single 5-V supply.(Component View)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... The HMS current transducer from LEM S.A. integrates a primary conductor into a surface-mount package measuring only 0.630 by 0.531 by 0.472 in. The device operates from a single 5-V supply. Four standard versions cover nominal ac, dc, pulsed,...

Sensors.(Component View)
August 2, 2007... Kavlico's P4100 board-mount pressure sensor features a quick-disconnect fitting that eliminates the cost of redundant air hose adapters, fittings, and reducers. Designers can specify a variety of port sizes, including 5/32, 3/16, and 1/4 in.,...

Control multiple stepper motors through a PC's USB port.(INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READERS)
August 2, 2007... The USB's many advantages have led designers to come up with a wide range of applications for the bus. For example, the figure shows a USB-based controller for four stepper motors built using inexpensive off-the-shelf components. The circuit...

Analog switch connects one [I.sup.2]C bus master to multiple SFP modules.(Ideas For Design)(small-formfactor pluggable )(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Telecom and data-communications equipment commonly use small-formfactor pluggable (SFP) modules for the physical-layer interface. Also common in these systems is an [I.SUP.2]C bus for the management data input/output (MDIO) interface. But when...

Taking an editorial round trip--from T&M to EiC.(test and measurement)(editor-in-chief)(Editorial)
August 16, 2007... It's hard to believe that nearly 10 years have gone by since I started with Electronic Design as a technology editor covering the test & measurement beat. Some of you may even remember me from that time. Others may remember me from EEPN...

What's all this canyon turn stuff,anyhow?(PeasePorridge)
August 16, 2007... Let's say you're flying a light plane, and you fly up into a canyon at 8000 feet. At 8000 feet, your turning radius is perhaps 600 feet. The canyon is 1000 feet wide. You'd like to turn and get out of the canyon, but there's no room to turn....

Independent contractor or product design firm--it's your call.(PointOfView)
August 16, 2007... When it's time to produce the electronic portion of your product, do you go to a design firm or an independent contractor? Both are good solutions, but they meet different needs. If you need your lawn mowed, you hire the kid next door. But if...

Callona distributor to get the job done.(DistributionSurvey)(Survey)
August 16, 2007... Nobody can do it all.Sometimes, you have to call for backup. And that's where distributors come into play. You need parts and services to get the job done. Fortunately, many companies, both large and small, are out there and waiting for your...

Science Center gets high-tech revitalization.(TechView)(Liberty Science Center)
August 16, 2007... One of the most popular exhibits at the "old" Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J., was the "touch tunnel," where little hands felt their way through a lightless maze. After a two-year renovation, the center has emerged from the dark...

Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters spark controversy.(Analog & Power)(Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter )
August 16, 2007... The United States' National Electrical Code (NEC) recently expanded Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) requirements (see "Arc-Detecting Circuit Breakers Will See Wider Use" at www.electronicdesign.com, ED Online 15682). This decision led to...

Will Robots come to our medical rescue?(Digital)
August 16, 2007... Even just a few years ago, robotic doctors seemed decades away. But many physicians now use a remotely controlled robot with a built-in video conference system to provide medical care. The RP-7 from InTouch Health provides a "remote presence"...

ASIC/SoC prototyping system handles up to 28 Mgates.(EDA)(Application specific integrated circuits/system-on-a-chip)
August 16, 2007... With up to 21 Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGAs, the CHIPit Platinum V5 prototyping system can handle ASIC and system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs of up to 28 Mgates. The system targets users who need early hardware prototypes for software developers or end...

Accellera elects companies to its board.(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... The board of directors of Accellera, an industry consortium that drives EDA standards initiatives, has elected 14 corporate member companies to join it for the 2007-2008 term. Accellera Corporate Member companies for 2007-2008 include ARM,...

VSIA's demise could lead to new IEEE standards.(VSI Alliance)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... In the wake of the VSI Alliance's (VSIA's) announcement that it will cease operation, IEEE has formed two study groups to examine VSIA's Quality IP (QIP) Metric standard and encryption activities. The Quality IP Study Group and Encryption Study...

System extends InfiniBand Cable reach to 100 m.(Communications)
August 16, 2007... Intel's Connects Cables will have many designers wondering why they didn't come up with the idea themselves.These cables address the InfiniBand market, where this technology and its high data rate are widely used to interconnect multiple...

Deep packet inspection at 20 Gbits/s improves networking monitoring and control.(Communications)
August 16, 2007... Most packet protocols permit virtually any packet to encapsulate another. So, it's difficult for any network administrator to know just what is passing through the network. The solution to this pervasive problem is deep packet inspection, which...

Thermal trimming revolutionizes the resistor.(LeapFrog)
August 16, 2007... In lieu of laser trimming or trim pots, high-temp annealing allows independent finetuning of resistance and temperature coefficient. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The lowly resistor has been given a makeover. And if your job has anything to...

Chip design services set sail Offshore: despite the time-to-market crunch, questions still loom on whether tech regions like India, China, and Eastern Europe can handle leading-edge designs.(EngineeringFeature)(Company overview)
August 16, 2007... After years of working for tech companies like California Micro Devices and Motorola, Gerald Smith wanted to spend the rest of his analog engineering career involved in independent, hands-on tinkering. He found a cause in the growing need for...

Design for manufacturing: still not ready for prime time?; The consensus among experts is that a shift away from rule-based approaches and toward models in DFM remains incomplete, but is at least under way.(TechnologyReport)(electronic design automation)
August 16, 2007... In EDA, two primary areas still have room for innovation. One is at high levels of abstraction (above RTL), where a stalwart band of startups as well as one or two of EDA's heavier commercial hitters continue to seek a solid and predictable...

New peripheral interfaces challenge designers: choosing microcontrollers becomes a difficult task when trying to determine the right links to storage, displays, and communication devices.(EngineeringESSENTIALS)
August 16, 2007... Given the range of digital and analog interfaces available, just about anything can be a microcontroller peripheral. However, most devices for storage, displays, and communication tend to use standard interfaces, such as Serial ATA (SATA) or...

Opening a CAN.(Embedded)(trends in using controller-area networking)
August 16, 2007... Automotive and process control environments aren't the only homes for controller-area networking (CAN) these days. It can be found in everything from printers to robots. Topping out at 1 MHz, CAN uses a differential bus architecture (Fig....

PCI adapts CAN.(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... ESD Electronics brings CAN to PCI with its CAN-PCIe/2000 adapter. The interface supports one or two ports that comply with the ISO 11898 and CAN 2.0B standards. It provides a way for a PC to control or be part of a CAN network. Optoisolation is...

ARM9 USB stick speeds Ethernet and CAN development.(Hitex Development Tools product information on compilers (Software))(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Hitex's $49 USB-based STR9-comStick contains a 96-MHz STMicroelectronics STR912 microcontroller that uses an ARM966E core and has 544 kbytes of flash and 96 kbytes of RAM. The USB stick also includes a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC),...

Multicore and soft peripherals target multimedia applications.(EmbeddedInElectronicDesign)
August 16, 2007... Do you remember the Transputer? Inmos introduced it back in the 1980s, when single-processor performance was seemingly going to peak. The initial Transputer had a single 20-MHz, 16-bit processing core with four 20-Mbit/s links. David May, the...

Kit turns quickly into products.(NetBurner's product information)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Developers can take NetBurner's $299 PK70 Product Kit and quickly turn their designs into networked devices (see the figure). At its core is the 147-MHz ColdFire 5270 32-bit processor plus 4 Mbytes of flash, 8 Mbytes of SDRAM, an SD flash card...

Dev kit addresses 8-and 32-bit microcontrollers.(Freescale Semiconductor Israel Ltd. )(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Freescale's Flexis line spans the company's 50-MHz 8-And 32-bit cores, starting with the MC9S08QE128-based S08 core and MCF51QE128-based ColdFire V1 core. Flexis microcontrollers have common peripherals and pinouts and represent Freescale's...

Innovate for low power in a high-performance FPGA: overcome static and dynamic power consumption challenges by employing novel power-reduction techniques.(DesignSolution)(Field-programmable gate array )
August 16, 2007... Traditionally, digital logic has not consumed significant static power, but this has changed dramatically as process nodes shrink.Leakage current in digital logic is now the primary challenge for FPGAs as process geometries decrease. If...

Hybrid resolver replaces optical encoders.(Computer Conversions Corp. productr information)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... A rugged, self-contained, resolver-based encoder, the Shaft-Tracker from Computer Conversions Corp. can replace less reliable optical shaft encoders. The device provides both incremental and true absolute position outputs with a resolution of...

INVERTER well-suited for powering CCFLS.(Endicott Research Group information on electric inverters)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... The dc-ac inverters in the W10M series from Endicott Research Group accept a wide range of input voltages, from 8 to 24 V, while offering high efficiency, a low profile, and reliable starts for LCDs backlit by one or two cold-cathode compact...

Commercial version of Ll4 microkernel available.(Open Kernel Labs )(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... OKL4, Open Kernel Labs' commercial version of the L4 microkernel, provides the required features for next-generation medium-to highend embedded systems. These include virtualization and protection of subsystems from faulty or malicious...

HF crystal measures only 2.0 BY 1.6 BY 0.5 MM.(Tellurian Technologies Inc. product information of TU1A)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... The TU1A is currently the smallest quartz crystal device available, according to its manufacturer, Tellurian Technologies Inc. Measuring only 2.0 by 1.6 mm, it has a seated height of just 0.5 mm. The TU1A comes in a ceramic surfacemount package...

MIL-STD-883 LNA modules cover up to 18 GHZ.(Narda Microwave - East product information of low-noise amplifier )(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... A comprehensive line of low-noise amplifier (LNA) modules from Narda Microwave-East covers up to 18 GHz in several bands. Noise figures are as low as 1.8 dB, with gains up to 28 dB [+ or-]2 dB or less and P1dB output power of up to 20 dBm. The...

USB test software expanded, enhanced.(Jungo Software Technologies Inc.)(universal serial bus)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Version 1.0 of Jungo Software Technologies' USBTester includes enhancements that make it easier for USB developers to quickly validate their devices for USB compatibility, Chapter 9 conformance, mass-storage functionality, and performance. New...

Low-profile inductors suit compact systems.(C and D Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Available in 19 inductance values ranging from 1.0 [MU]H to 1 mH, the 2900 and 2900L series of low-profile, drum-core, shielded, surface-mount inductors from C&D Technologies are well-suited to space-constrained applications. The models in the...

Focus on inductors.(Statistical table)
August 16, 2007... Focus on inductors Company Model/Type Description Pricing RCD Components Inc. TFI series Surface-mount; TFI0402-10N-GTW www.rcdcomponents.com thin-film as small as 0201 (0402 size, 10 ...

Transformers.
August 16, 2007... A series of gigabit discrete isolation-transformer modules includes the HX5200NL and HX5201NL dual-port modules and the HX5400NL and HX5401NL, which manufacturer Pulse Engineering says are the industry's first extended-temperature-range...

Power-saving keypad controls multiple keys through one MCU pin.(INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READERS)
August 16, 2007... Traditionally, interfacing a microcontroller with an n-by-m keypad required n + m of the microcontroller's I/O pins for keypad scanning. Keypad designs that conserve microcontroller pins have been developed, but they require additional...

Simple additions to audio amplifier prevent clipping at higher inputs.(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Amplifying the human voice presents some tough challenges. One of the toughest of these is providing enough amplification to make sure a soft-spoken person can be heard while allowing sufficient headroom for people who speak loudly. If the...

Supercapacitors provide new power options.(Product Alerts)
August 16, 2007... The new DLR series of radial-leaded capacitors from Illinois Capacitor offers capacitance values up to 220 Farads with up to 2.5 WVDC. Custom packs are also available, combining multiple capacitors for higher voltage ratings. Applications...

40 GHz bandwidth QFN socket.(Product Alerts)
August 16, 2007... New high performance QFN socket for 0.4mm pitch QFN 40 pin IC's. The DG-QFN40C-01 socket is designed for a 5X5mm package size and operates at bandwidths up to 40 GHz with less than 1dB of insertion loss and 100,000 insertions. Socket is...

High temperature lithium cell now available in 1/2AA size.(Product Alerts)
August 16, 2007... Panasonic's poly carbonmonofluoride (BR) lithium cells have been expanded to include a 1/2AA size. Ideal for a variety of challenging field applications, including meter monitoring, RFID, and electronic toll collection, the BR 1/2AA provides...

Keithley's new full featured 61/2-digit DMM for only $795.(Product Alerts)
August 16, 2007... Get Keithley's new Model 2100 61/2-Digit USB Digital Multimeter at its special introductory price of $795 plus 30-day no risk evaluation. This full featured DMM can simplify and improve your most critical measurements and is ideal for a wide...

World's smallest Isolators.(Product Alerts)
August 16, 2007... IsoLoop Isolators are the ideal alternative to optocouplers.The award-winning products are based on NVE's patented spintronic GMR technology, providing unprecedented miniaturization, speed, pulse width distortion, and standoff voltage....

B3 Series Hi-Brite Block solid state lighting.(PRODUCT ALERT)
August 16, 2007... Bivar's innovative new lighting solutions are meeting requirements in applications across a broad spectrum of industrial markets. The B3 Series Hi-Brite Block design features optional configurations for power, light, and mounting styles in a...

IPV42/70 series - intelligent power distribution units.(PRODUCT ALERT)
August 16, 2007... Power distribution units (PDUs) have become vital to the management of power to IT arrays and have evolved from a simple panel of switches and outlets to designs that can now be considered "intelligent" through the inclusion of internal...

200 watt AC/DC power supply.(PRODUCT ALERT)
August 16, 2007... The GNT200 is a wide range, openframe power supply series up to 200 watts. Available in models from 12-48 volts, the GNT200 has a power density of 10-13 watts per cubic inch. Safety approvals include CSA/EN/IEC/UL 60950-1 for ITE; EN/IEC/UL...

40 GHz socket for QFN packages.(PRODUCT ALERT)
August 16, 2007... Ironwood Electronics introduces a new high performance QFN socket for 0.4mm pitch QFN packages. These QFN sockets operate at bandwidths up to 40 GHz with less than 1dB of insertion loss. The contact resistance is typically 3 milliohms per pin....

From melexis.(PRODUCT ALERT)
August 16, 2007... The MLX90614DAA is a 3 Volt digital integrated temperature sensor device that delivers [+ or-]0.1[infinity]C measurement accuracy in the object temperature range of 36 [infinity]C -39 [infinity]C and the wide ambient temperature range 20...

Electronic cabinets withstand earthquakes.(PRODUCT ALERT)
August 16, 2007... Electronic cabinets specifically designed to withstand severe earthquakes are available from Equipto Electronics Corporation. Independently tested, the seismic hardened cabinets meet the NEBS standard for Zone 4, the most severe, for earthquake...

New series of low-cost pc/104 digital boards provides 48 isolated digital inputs.(PRODUCT ALERT)
August 16, 2007... ACCES I/O Products Inc., is pleased to release its newest series of PC/104 isolated digital I/O boards, the 104-IDI-48 Series. These 48-channel PC/104 utility boards feature 48 individually optically isolated digital inputs. The boards are...