Electronic Design articles from December 2007

Electronic Design archives from December 2007

Check out 2007'S best as you get ready for 2008.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
December 3, 2007... Welcome to our Best Electronic Design issue, and what a year it was. A blockbuster consumer product came on the scene in January and took the world by storm when it was released in June. That's the Apple iPhone, of course. And it went far...

What's all this "best trick circuit" stuff, anyhow?(PEASE PORRIDGE)
December 3, 2007... Once upon a time, op amps didn't swing very close to the positive or negative rails. Even a couple volts away from the rails--that was okay in the old days of transistor-ized op amps. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hey, that was a lot better...

Picking the "best" ADC presents a conundrum.(TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR: Analog)
December 3, 2007... The thing about selecting the "best" in mixed-signal chips lies in answering a key question--best for what? Designers can calculate the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) figure of merit (FOM), based on power consumption, effective number of...

Coax for cable forms a super home network.(TECHNOLOGY: Communications)
December 3, 2007... There's a growing need to transport video and audio around the home between HDTV sets, DVD players, PVRs, and even PCs. Now, a technology sponsored by the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) ensures the quality of service (QoS) required for...

Displays and capacitors leap forward.(TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR: Components)
December 3, 2007... There were some rich developments in components in 2007, particularly in innovative display technologies. Novaled, Immersion, and Clairvoyante all reported key advances. And necessary though taken for granted, capacitors also saw a noteworthy...

New transistors, less power mark 2007.(TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR: Digital)
December 3, 2007... Digital technology saw some significant leaps this year as companies responded to the limits of Moore's Law and the need for better power conservation. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NEW TRANSISTORS * For more than 40 years, "traditional"...

FPGA designers see some of EDA'S best work in 2007.(TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR: EDA)
December 3, 2007... With so many designers making FPGAs their implementation vehicle of choice these days, it's inevitable that some of EDA's brightest minds would turn their attention to tools and methodologies targeted at getting the most out of these...

Multicore technology pushes virtualization.(TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR: Embedded)
December 3, 2007... It's been a wild and frantic year for designers of embedded devices. A wide range of products has boosted performance, cut costs, and reduced power requirements by impressive amounts. On top of that, many new releases deliver matching reference...

Handheld Multimedia ICs hold the key to energy-efficient video.(TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR: Power)
December 3, 2007... Energy efficiency is a key design consideration in a National Semiconductor line of ICs intended for battery-powered phone and video systems. Minimizing power consumption is the common thread in these circuits, which convert digital data into...

Scopes bring simplicity to embedded design debug.(TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR: Test & Measurement)
December 3, 2007... Most test-equipment manufacturers live on the leading edge of electronics. Their advanced instruments give engineers the tools to develop the latest, limit-pushing circuits and systems, because "you can't design it if you can't test it." ...

Tech year in review.
December 3, 2007... JANUARY 30 The transistor gets its most thorough makeover in nearly 40 years. Intel and IBM change the composition of the gate stack, which researchers say is necessary for the perpetuation of Moore's Law. The new high-k plus metal-gate...

Drivers get an assist in the not-so-blind spot.(DESIGNS OF THE YEAR: Automotive)
December 3, 2007... From alertness-assistance to traffic-sign recognition, active-safety systems are revolutionizing the world of automotive electronics--redefining the driver/car interface and promising a vastly safer driving experience. For 2007, we recognize...

iPhone sets the standard across all categories.(DESIGNS OF THE YEAR: Communications)
December 3, 2007... Apple's iPhone was more than the best cell phone of 2007. It also was the best consumer technology--perhaps the best overall innovation--of the year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS * The iPhone is a mediocre...

More cores, performance define this year's best.(DESIGNS OF THE YEAR: Computers)
December 3, 2007... High-performance computing saw a major jump in performance this year with the appearance of dual quad-core platforms. This technology provides an ideal format for parallel processing and virtual-machine support. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Components converge for HDTV everywhere.(DESIGNS OF THE YEAR: Consumer)
December 3, 2007... Consumer products are driving the success of the electronics industry. We're seeing prices fall as production ramps up. Also, HDTV has pushed the demand for set-top boxes, satellite receivers, and HD video players. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Stellar MEMS sensors gear up for industrial applications.(DESIGNS OF THE YEAR: Industrial)
December 3, 2007... Finding innovative products designed for industrial applications wasn't difficult this year. Still, two MEMS-based devices were a cut above the rest--the ADIS16209 dual-mode inclinometer from Analog Devices and the D6F-P gas flow sensor from...

Imaging, telemedicine help physicians save lives.(DESIGNS OF THE YEAR: Medical)
December 3, 2007... The days of the simple country doctor are over. Physicians have an arsenal of high-tech tools at their disposal, diagnosing ailments long before they become dangerous--even from miles away. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MAPPING THE BODY *...

Military tech--still the spearhead of innovation.(DESIGNS OF THE YEAR: Military)
December 3, 2007... Military electronics rely on the latest technologies to gain that all-important edge, often with life or death in the balance. Their components and circuits must withstand the temperature extremes of the desert, the salt spray of the ocean, and...

Power LEDs promise brighter, more cost-effective lighting.(LEAPFROG OF THE YEAR)
December 3, 2007... The votes are in, and readers have selected Cree's XR-E series power LEDs as the most significant Leapfrog technology story of the year (see "White Power LED Lights The Way With A 160-Lumen Output," Nov. 16, 2006, p. 39). And Cree has come a...

Eight-pin microcontroller handles two-digit display with multiple LEDs.(IDEAS FOR DESIGN)
December 3, 2007... The Best Idea for Design for 2007 comes from an academic and a working engineer. And in this IFD, originally published in our May 24 issue, they've reworked an idea for driving many LED segments when you have only a few microcontroller output...

High-speed full-wave rectifier requires no diodes, few parts.
December 3, 2007... The functionality of our runner-up (originally published in our June 7 issue) is easy to understand, identifying Intersil's ISL59421 as the design's central component. But where did that part come from? Surely it was not developed for this...

Editors, experts, and readers look back and ahead.(PARTING SHOTS)(Editorial)
December 3, 2007... ED ONLINE 14763 "In our search, we ask what it means to be human. This is the psychological aspect of android research. Yet there are obviously several hard sciences involved in robotics as well. So it is a great combination to learn about...

Stuff your stocking with MEMS goodies this holiday season.(Editorial)
December 13, 2007... I wonder how many people will buy presents that incorporate some kind of MEMS device this season. There are a lot of choices out there. At the recent MEMS Congress in San Diego, keynote speaker Philippe Khan of Borland fame noted that the Apple...

Bob's mailbox.(PeasePorridge)
December 13, 2007... Bob: While my full-time job is writing for Electronic Design, I still teach part-time and work on an NSF grant that is attempting to update the electronics curricula in community colleges. From my observations in my own college and across the...

Multicore processors revolutionize real-time embedded systems.(PointOfView)
December 13, 2007... The proliferation of multicore processors has done more than provide a boost in processing power to server applications. Multicore chips also pose the opportunity to revolutionize how embedded systems are constructed. Developers now can host...

New year's eve ball celebrates its centennial by going green.(TechView)
December 13, 2007... As the stroke of midnight approaches on December 31, the throng of revelers in New York City's Times Square and billions of TV viewers worldwide will count down and gaze at a descending, brilliantly lit ball to mark the new year--no surprise...

Jury hands Power-One a victory: what does it mean to engineers?(Analog & Power)
December 13, 2007... On November 15, a Texas jury decided the lawsuit brought by Power-One against Artesyn Technologies (now part of Emerson Network Power) in 2005. The decision has ramifications for engineers who design power systems that step down a bus voltage...

Terabyte Bandwidth Initiative allows signals to board at any station and still arrive on time.(Digital)
December 13, 2007... Christmas is coming early for system designers who want up to a terabyte of bandwidth as well as simplified pc-board layout. As part of its Terabyte Bandwidth Initiative (TBI), Rambus responded with a neat idea--place more data bits on a given...

Power comes to the fore in FPGA design environment.(EDA)
December 13, 2007... Power is a chief concern for chip designers, and those who implement their circuitry on FPGAs are no exception. Pressure is mounting to follow the crowd toward low power, but FPGA designers need comprehensive design flows geared toward...

Function library smoothes path for Matlab-to-C f synthesis.(EDA)
December 13, 2007... For many design teams, the MathWorks' Matlab language has become the standard for signal-processing algorithm development. Likewise, C is the preferred vehicle for handing off those algorithms to downstream developers. But while Matlab...

Low-power SoC improves Wi-Fi battery life for sensor networks.(Wireless)
December 13, 2007... When implementing a wireless sensor network, most engineers look to ZigBee or other alternatives from CrossBow, Dust Networks, and Z-Wave. Wi-Fi enjoys widespread use, familiarity, and low cost. But its network topology and high power...

Wireless laptop access solution uses 3G technologies.(Wireless)
December 13, 2007... Laptop users typically access the Internet via Wi-Fi and a nearby hotspot or access point. Alternatively, they may have a plug-in USB device or PC card for GSM/EDGE/WCDMA or CDMA. Soon, they also will be able to get embedded Internet access and...

Battery-Free wireless module empowers mesh sensor networks.(Wireless)
December 13, 2007... Wireless sensor devices are cable-free, but they still require a battery that will occasionally need replacement. While transceivers with lower power consumption have boosted battery life in some products, their batteries ultimately will die...

32-bit MCU blends together old and new: Microchip moves MIPS Technologies' 32-bit microcontroller into the standard chip arena.(LeapFrog)
December 13, 2007... Microchip needed to move into the 32-bit space, which was encroaching on its 8-and 16-bit market. But the company didn't follow the line of ARM adopters. Instead, it looked at the silicon landscape and chose MIPS Technologies' M4K core to...

Serving up multimedia in the digital home digital home: New ICs bolster standards that support the high-definition content pervading today's digital homes.(EngineeringFeature)
December 13, 2007... As multimedia content grows exponentially throughout the home, designers face mounting consumer demands for storing, massaging, and sharing this content. Lots of work has already been done in these areas and standards abound, but naturally more...

Multicore projects mean multiple choices: multicore solutions may be finding their way into more projects, but opinions vary on the best architecture to use.(Technology Report)
December 13, 2007... When it comes to multiprocessing, what's good for the hardware goose is not necessarily good for the software gander. The ideal hardware architecture for a multicore design is a heterogeneous (asymmetric) single instruction-set architecture...

Leveraging FPGAs in portable storage applications: in portables, the latest FPGAs can help satiate demands for lower power and flexibility while still increasing battery life.(EngineeringESSENTIALS)(Field-programmable gate arrays )
December 13, 2007... To stay "connected and in touch," consumers increasingly rely on their portable devices, ranging from smart phones, personal media players, and digital cameras to emerging solutions like electronic notebooks. Today's handhelds serve multiple...

Designing a multi-Gbps memory interface requires scrutiny.(DesignView)(Multi-gigabit-per-second )
December 13, 2007... Popular consumer electronics products like gaming consoles, digital TVs (DTVs), and PCs offer more features and greater performance with each successive product generation. The data-intensive nature of these products tightly links the...

Consider thermal dissipation in Class D audio power amplifiers.(INNOVATIVE DESIGNS FROM READ)
December 13, 2007... Designers of multimedia products must provide high-quality audio functions, including high-output speaker modes. This places greater demand on the system's audio amplifiers. Linear amplifier efficiency is about 50%, so a small increase in...

Input clock adjusts frequency of digital ramp generator.
December 13, 2007... It's not always easy to design a ramp generator whose ramping frequency can be changed without manipulation of capacitors or inductors. Many ramp circuit designs are available, but they may not be flexible when it comes to varying the rise...

LEDs get brighter and brighter still: thanks to their higher outputs, the latest LEDs go beyond blinking buttons to easily assume roles in displays and general lighting applications.(eepn in Electronic Design)
December 13, 2007... Most components are on a quest to become the market's smallest part or consume the least power. Yet LEDs strive to become the brightest, and with good reason. Nowadays, LEDs are called upon to do more than act as function and alert indicators....

Batteries up, AMOLEDs down,and camera modules shrink.(COMPONENT TECHNOLOGIES & TRENDS)
December 13, 2007... According to an October 2007 report by industry analyst firm NanoMarkets, the market for thin-film and printable batteries will generate revenues of $5.6 billion by the year 2015. Ultra-light and flexible, these power components feature...

Power modules offer multiple mounting configurations.(POWER SOURCES)
December 13, 2007... The FSK and FSC series of encapsulated ac-dc modules, offering output levels of 5, 15, and 30 W, give users two mounting options. The FSK series comes in a compact boardmount case while the FSC series is available in a chassis-mount case with...

Modular power supplies put a lid on noise.(POWER SOURCES)
December 13, 2007... Addressing noise-sensitive and rugged applications, the XUP series modular and configurable power supplies specify a noise/ripple of less than 10 mV typical and an operating temperature range from -40[degrees]C to 75[degrees]C. The units comply...

320-W AC-DC supply offers multiple mechanical formats.(POWER SOURCES)
December 13, 2007... Taking a versatile route, the 320-W SDC320 ac-dc power supply offers a choice of four formats: two using convection cooling or system airflow and two with internal fans. The unit measures just 101.6 by 152.4 by 38.1 mm for the U-channel model...

Power supplies target energy-efficient led lighting.(POWER SOURCES)
December 13, 2007... Expanding the company's line of installation-ready, LED power supplies, the 30-W PLN30 and the 60-W PLN60 series employ the latest PFC topologies to achieve efficiencies up to 86%, class C Harmonic levels, and reliable performance. Sporting...

Gearmotors put new heads on their shoulders.(MOTORS & MOTION-CONTROL PRODUCTS)
December 13, 2007... Devices in the Pacesetter family of ac inverter duty, three-phase gearmotors, motors, and inverter duty gearmotors are now available with the company's latest gearheads: types 3RD, HG, and CG. Each gearhead offers unique characteristics. The...

Compact motor/driver packs many functions.(MOTORS & MOTION-CONTROL PRODUCTS)
December 13, 2007... The RBK two-phase, bipolar stepping motor and drive package incorporates a number of special control functions such as a smooth drive that initiates lowvibration operation with the flick of a switch. This function divides the basic 1.8[degrees]...

BDC servos run smooth and quiet.(MOTORS & MOTION-CONTROL PRODUCTS)
December 13, 2007... The Series 8000 brush dc (BDC) servomotors feature a seven-slot skewed armature design to minimize magnetic cogging, a.k.a., reluctance torque, to promote smooth and quiet operation. Tailored for data storage, medical/biotech, semiconductor,...

Step motor integrates parallel planetary gearhead.(MOTORS & MOTION-CONTROL PRODUCTS)
December 13, 2007... The LPD6G series two-phase stepping motor packs a parallel planetary gearhead that delivers 1.2 ozin of torque at 1358 pulses per second or 30 rpm. The entire package measures 0.5 in. in length by 0.41 in. high by 0.343 in. wide, including the...

12-V DC gearmotor develops 46 IN.LB AT 100 RPM.(MOTORS & MOTION-CONTROL PRODUCTS)
December 13, 2007... Accepting any 12-V dc source, including battery power, the Model MMP-TM55- 12V GPk52-046 gear motor measures 2.14 in. in diameter and 7.2 in. long with a keyed output shaft of 12 mm in diameter and 25 mm long. Despite its small size, the...

Sockets for BGA packages feature low insertion loss.(INTERCONNECTS)
December 13, 2007... Designed for the STMicroelectronics 35-mm and 27-mm package sizes, the SG-BGA-6245 and SG-BGA-6246 sockets operate at bandwidths up to 8 GHz with less than 1-dB insertion loss. They dissipate up to 4.5 W at 40[degrees]C and can handle up to 100...

Terminal blocks handle high-current applications.(INTERCONNECTS)
December 13, 2007... Able to handle up to 57 A at 750 V, the CTB77 series pc-board terminal blocks are well-suited for heavy-duty applications such as energy management, industrial heating and ventilation, and machine controllers. The terminal blocks, molded in...

Press-fit connectors raise density benchmarks.(INTERCONNECTS)
December 13, 2007... Meeting demands for high signal densities, the ZipLine connector system targets both backplane and orthogonal applications with speeds up to 12.5 Gbits/s and up to 101 signal pairs per linear inch at a 1.5-mm column pitch. These figures set...

Signal/power connectors support MicroTCA architecture.(INTERCONNECTS)
December 13, 2007... Compliant with the PICMG MicroTCA specification, these backplane signal connectors and power-input connectors include a press-fit, vertical card-edge connector that provides 170 contacts on a 0.75-mm pitch. They enable AdvancedMC cards to...

Terminal blocks save time and space.(INTERCONNECTS)
December 13, 2007... For power applications, the SPT 5 pc-board (PCB) terminal blocks promise fast wiring of conductors with a zigzag-pin design that allows for an unrestricted 600-V and 35-A UL capability with a pitch of 7.5 mm. They are fixed, one-piece terminal...

Flexible display inlay goes mainstream.(DISPLAYS & INDICATORS)
December 13, 2007... This electronic display inlay integrates its Primero 6|7 flexible numeric display module with a battery and other circuitry into a plastic structure roughly half the thickness of a standard credit card. Inlays are available in both standard...

Bi-color LED assembly illuminates portable enclosures.(DISPLAYS & INDICATORS)
December 13, 2007... Providing task lighting in portable equipment enclosures, this LED assembly features alternating white and green LEDs that allow operators to use night-vision technology while working with the equipment. The low-profile, bi-color LED lighting...

White OLED enjoys extended life span.(DISPLAYS & INDICATORS)
December 13, 2007... Employing its proprietary PIN organic LED (OLED) technology and materials, the company reports significant improvements for white OLEDs in the orders of an efficiency of 35 lm/W and a lifetime of 100,000 hours at a brightness of 1000...