Electronic Design articles from February 2008

Electronic Design archives from February 2008

Know your options before choosing a touchscreen.(Industry View)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... Though increasingly widespread and user-friendly, touchscreen technology is still very much a specialty and therefore outsourced by equipment manufacturers. But outsourcing any electronic subassembly can be a slippery slope for OEMs, since the...

Leveraging ESL techniques to optimize low-power design.(Free Webcast)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... Hosted by EDA Editor David Maliniak and sponsored by Mentor Graphics, this archived webcast examines what is to be gained for low-power systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) at levels of abstraction above RTL and looks at how tools and methodologies are...

Check out techview online for exclusive product and industry news from our technical editors.(Techview Online)
February 14, 2008... Fast pin electronics meet ATE challenges Manufacturers of automatic test equipment (ATE) face two constant and opposing challenges. First, they have to make test and measurement systems that match the faster, higher-frequency circuits of...

Team advances hollow-core optical fibers.(Techview Online)
February 14, 2008... Scientists from the University of Bath have discovered a way to speed up production of hollow-core optical fibers-a new generation of optical fibers that could lead to faster and more powerful computing and telecom technologies. The procedure...

Among design constraints, power assumes the throne.(Techview Online)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... Over the past few years, the "power problem" has registered more strongly on the radars of system design teams. Portable and handheld consumer electronics keep shrinking. Hence, so do their batteries. Meanwhile, no one wants to sacrifice...

Embedded PC targets digital signage.(EiED online)
February 14, 2008... Digital signage applications are growing with the appearance of compact compute engines like VIA Technologies' vmpc vm7700. Embedded/Systems/Software Editor Bill Wong takes a look inside the vm7700. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ED Online...

The WiMedia Alliance.(ENGINEERINGTV)
February 14, 2008... Wireless video transfer is one of the hottest trends in technology right now, and the WiMedia Alliance is leading the way in Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. Engineering TV looks at this group and its current work in a series shot at last...

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?(editorial)
February 14, 2008... I wonder if the line "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?" from the famous Simon and Garfunkel song, "Mrs. Robinson," will have any meaning for future generations. Not because they won't understand the context of the song or even know who Joe...

Don't touch that dial: even the humble remote control provides too many temptations for hackers, revealing the need for embedded security in many consumer devices.(the lab bench)
February 14, 2008... Server environments have needed secure communications for almost as long as computers have been around. But authentication and encryption often aren't even discussion points when it comes to consumer devices. Take the lowly IR television...

Mechatronics design faces two challenges--and two solutions.(point of view)
February 14, 2008... To compete on a global scale and meet the growing demands for increased throughput, higher quality, and greater yield, the way the machine industry builds machines has evolved. The industry is enhancing purely mechanical systems, based on gears...

Design FAQs: reducing FPGA power consumption.(FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)(Interview)
February 14, 2008... Why do FPGAs consume so much power? Historically, FPGAs have had a more passive "glue logic" role hardly worth mentioning in the overall power budget. But now they have taken over most of the system control, and today's FPGAs can be a...

Sensor-conditioning amps use Rejustors for precision compensation.(techview)
February 14, 2008... Microbridge Technologies' MBSTC-02 compensation amplifier is the first IC to marry the company's Rejustor technology with a CMOS analog process (see the figure). Rejustors are trimmable resistors that have marked advantages over older...

Cell phone literally rocks and rolls.(techview)
February 14, 2008... There's no need to squint to read your tiny cell-phone screen anymore. Polymer Vision's Readius provides a 5-in. display that rolls out whenever you need to check your e-mail or surf the Web. With 30 hours of reading time, the low-power screen...

Online poll.(techview)
February 14, 2008... With the presidential campaign under way, how do you feel about electronic voting machines? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Very confident: Electronic voting is the way to go. 13% Somewhat confident: Anything is better than hanging...

Power-efficient video amp detects loads.
February 14, 2008... The MAX9516 video amplifier from Maxim Integrated Products doesn't just detect and report the presence of a video load. It also reduces power consumption when the load isn't present so system designers can better manage power (see the figure)....

Save cold cash on ColdFire.(techview)
February 14, 2008... ColdFire MCUs have been part of Free-scale's 68K family since 1994. Because of their popularity, the company has decided to make the 32-bit V1 ColdFire core available to the embedded community through IPextreme, an IP licensing company. Yet the...

Oscilloscope software automatically detects hidden waveform anomalies.(techview)
February 14, 2008... All digital oscilloscopes come with their own measurement and analysis software to perform basic and advanced tests and measurements. You can also get a great third-party scope analysis software package from Amherst Systems Associates (ASA...

Agilent releases APP notes on using Linux in test systems.
February 14, 2008... Agilent Technologies has released a free multipart series of application notes that explain how to control your test instruments using Linux. Topics include Linux basics, control of LXI instruments and USB instruments, Linux in real-time...

EVE and CoWare forge strategic alliance.(techview)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... A strategic alliance between EVE and CoWare ties together the former's accelerated hardware/software co- verification with the latter's SystemC virtual platforms, reducing overall development time for multicore/multi-application...

Physical synthesis readied for Stratix III FPGAs.(techview)(Field-programmable Gate Array)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... The first physical synthesis tool with support for Altera's Stratix III family of FPGAs is now available. Altera has benchmarked Mentor's Precision RTL Plus synthesis suite as providing performance gains of over 8% compared with Mentor's...

Electronics advances fuel home healthcare boom: whether it's portability, ease of use, low power dissipation, reliability, or cost, medical device designers face tough tradeoff decisions.(feature)
February 14, 2008... According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), home healthcare is the fastest-growing segment of the medical device industry. Longer life spans, an increasing number of patients with chronic medical conditions, and rising health...

An alliance for continued good health.(feature)
February 14, 2008... In June 2006, the Continua Health Alliance formed with a mission to address the lifestyle, health, and demographic trends contributing to the skyrocketing costs of healthcare. It aims to: * Empower individuals and patients to better...

Power-intent standards vie for designers' loyalties: two standards for defining power intent are blossoming from EDA vendors. Here's what you need to know about the Common Power Format and the Unified Power Format.(technology report)
February 14, 2008... About three years ago, timing closure for large system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs began to develop into one huge headache. Every EDA vendor's toolset had its own interpretation of timing constraints, and there was little or no consistency between...

Piezoelectric ceramics: science meets pottery: these small and strong materials offer a wide frequency range, suiting a variety of applications and specific design needs without sacrificing performance.(engineering essentials)
February 14, 2008... Electronic engineers are no strangers to odd-sounding and difficult-to-pronounce methods and materials. However, the words piezoelectric ceramics still trip up even the most experienced designers. And why not? These materials are relatively new...

The sights, sounds, and sensory overload of CES.(embedded in ed)
February 14, 2008... If you went to this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas like I did, you probably were overloaded from its sights and sounds. I'm still trying to catch up, categorize, and comprehend everything I saw there. You can...

Proto Heaven.(NEWS)(Bug Labs' BUGbase and BUGmodules)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... One of the highlights hidden in the Sands at this yesr's International CES in Las Vegas was Bug Labs' BUGbase and BUGmodules. This system is designed to be modular and mobile. The $349 base contains an ARM1136JF-S microcontroller with MPEG4...

Seeing Double.(NEWS)(Samsung Electronics America Inc.)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... Samsung's $549 SyncMaster 2263DX adds a second 7-in. LCD on a movable arm that lets users to utilize the full monitor while additional applications display info on the smaller screen. DisplayLink's UbiSync USB-based graphics adapter drives the...

Lambda: reclaiming an old concept.(embedded in ed)
February 14, 2008... I think I'm going to go back to programming in APL and Lisp. The concepts and methodologies of decades ago are being reborn in today's languages, like Microsoft's C# and Sun's Java. Of course, languages like C#, C++, and Java were designed to...

Graphics chip in for the long term.(NEWS)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... Advanced Micro Devices' ATI Radeon E2400 comes with five-year availability and long-term support--factors that are almost as important as its performance features to embedded developers. The E2400 Discrete's 31-by 31-mm package also holds 128...

FPGA tools target automotive apps.(NEWS)
February 14, 2008... The Xilinx Automotive (XA) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) Development Kit is based on the automotive-qualified XA Spartan-3E FPGA. The board includes interfaces for CAN 2.0B and 2.0C, 10/100 Ethernet, USB 2.0, SPI, and SCI. Pre-verified...

Linux targets Virtex-4 FX FGPA.(NEWS)
February 14, 2008... Developers looking to take advantage of the two 32-bit PowerPC 405 processor cores in a Xilinx Virtex-4 FX FPGA can check out the Timesys 2.6.23 Linux kernel. The distribution is optimized for the Xilinx ML405 FX Evaluation Platform. Developers...

External 2.5-in. Drives break 300-Gbyte barrier.(NEWS)(Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc.)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... Toshiba America's 320-Gbyte hard drives are available in internal and external configurations (see the figure). The 5400-rpm internal drives are available with a 3-Gbit/s SATA or ATA8 interface. The external drives are USB-based....

Matlab meets Multi.(NEWS)
February 14, 2008... The Mathworks' Embedded IDE Link MU ties Matlab to Green Hills Software's Multi development environment. It allows processor-in-the-loop (PIL) simulation tests using Simulink models while enabling the debugging and monitoring features of the...

Dual-slot CompactPCI SBC draws less than 10 W.(NEWS)(Adlink Technology America Inc.)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... Adlink Technology's Compact-PCI cPCI-3600 series single-board computer (SBC) comes in a dual-slot form factor, enabling it to hold a 2.5-inch IDE hard drive (see the figure). It runs a low-power AMD Geode LX 800 processor. The system also has a...

Networking processor peripherals with [I.sup.2]C: here's a way to use Philips' simple two-wire serial bus to meet your I/O needs.(design solution)
February 14, 2008... As microcontrollers drop in price and offer more capabilities, designers have found it more cost-effective to utilize multiple small controllers in both single-board and multiboard systems. Such auxiliary processors can relieve the main...

Use bootstrap cell circuits to generate multiple voltages.(ideas for design)
February 14, 2008... Bootstrap circuits are widely used in dc-dc converters to serve as top-side bias voltage supplies. After explaining how bootstrap circuits work, this article will show how versatile they can be. One example bootstrap circuit uses the LTC3728...

Inexpensive MCU replaces dedicated backup-power controller.(ideas for design)
February 14, 2008... Portable battery-powered applications sometimes also permit operation from the power grid. If so, the application must choose the appropriate available power source--the grid or the battery. If the battery is rechargeable, the system also...

Request your 2008 Keithley test and measurement product guide.(Product Alert)
February 14, 2008... Keithley's 2008 product guide includes useful tutorials and selector guides, as well as information on the newest innovations in test and measurement. You'll find the instrumentation and software you need to solve even your most challenging...

New series of low-cost PC/104 digital boards provides 48 isolated digital inputs.(direct connection)
February 14, 2008... 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...

International Rectifier's iPOWIR[TM] building block reduces space and simplifies design.(direct connection)
February 14, 2008... The iP1206 is the latest addition to the iPOWIR[TM] integrated power conversion stage product line, designed for two-phase single output applications up to 30 amps or dual independent outputs up to 15 amps. Both options utilize synchronized 180...

SupIRBuck[TM] integrated DC-DC regulators.(direct connection)
February 14, 2008... The SupIRBuck point-of-load (POL) voltage regulators for high density, high performance data center applications, integrate IR's high performance synchronous buck control ICs and benchmark HEXFET[R] trench technology MOSFETs in a compact 5mm by...

What's all this oscillator Stuff, Anyhow?(pease porridge)
February 14, 2008... Anybody can make an oscillator these days at almost any imaginable frequency. But how do you make a good one at low power? A couple of people recently asked me why I add so much complexity by using an op-amp oscillator in my Cold Toe Detector....

From basic basement webcams to high-tech telepresence suites.(editorial)
February 28, 2008... I'll admit I'm late to the webcam thing. But when my daughter-in-law suggested a webcam as a Christmas present last December, I jumped at it. She and my son live in Tennessee and I don't get a chance to see the grandkids very much--Cal, who is...

If your programming language doesn't work, give Scala a try.(the lab bench)(Editorial)
February 28, 2008... Assembly language provides fine grain control. But it's rarely used these days, with the exception of some operating-system hackers or 8-bit embedded programmers working on small modules. The performance of C compilers essentially blew the...

Squeeze 10-bit performance from an 8-bit DAC.(analog/mixed-signal design)(digital-to-analog converter)
February 28, 2008... Few things are more frustrating than a requirement for some feature that exceeds the ability of your present hardware. Say you're designing a product that has historically required an 8-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Conveniently...

Dueling 12-bit ADCs make their debut.(techview)
February 28, 2008... The highest demand and the most vigorous competition between companies that make analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) lie in the sampling range from 50 to 65 Msamples/s in 10-and 12-bit resolutions. Market demand is highest for eight-and...

Old ideas in new design = lower power, higher performance.(techview)
February 28, 2008... Elegant designs have always blended old and new while meeting certain criteria. In the case of VIA Technology's Isaiah architecture, these criteria included higher performance, lower power consumption, and pin-compatibility with the company's...

High-def video brings telepresence into focus: H.264 codecs implemented in ICs and DSPs turn high-end video conferencing over IP networks into reality.(feature)
February 28, 2008... Imagine that you're walking into a darkened conference room. You switch on the lights and make a few phone calls. All of a sudden, three of your colleagues from across the globe appear at the conference room table as if they were sitting there...

The multicore era seeks a parallel paradigm: scalability, simpler debugging, and easier coding are essential to developing a successful parallel-programming approach.(technology report)
February 28, 2008... Parallel programming is hard. But debugging it is even harder. Unfortunately, taking advantage of multicore solutions like Intel's 80-core TeraScale prototype will require some type of parallel-programming technique (Fig. 1). [FIGURE 1...

Make your next design solid as a rock: crystal oscillators sustain the heartbeat for virtually all electronic products.(engineering essential)(Editorial)
February 28, 2008... Just as most electronic products today contain at least one embedded controller, most also have at least one crystal oscillator. In fact, some multiprotocol networking and telecom equipment can contain 10 or more different crystals. A...

Zero-drift IA takes the strain out of sensor measurements: instrumentation amplifiers can aid many sensor applications, from ratiometric bridges to low-side current sensing.(design solution)
February 28, 2008... Sensor measurements typically translate physical phenomena of interest into electronic-circuit parameters such as resistance and capacitance, which can then be read with a bridge circuit. Bridge circuits produce an output voltage or current...

Interfacing linear sensors to an ADC requires only basic math.(ideas for design)
February 28, 2008... Adding "intelligence" to measurement systems has become commonplace because 8-bit microcontrollers are inexpensive and widely available, and they can be programmed in many of today's popular higher-level languages (e.g., C and Basic). Often,...

Use "extra" LED driver channel to provide constant-voltage source.(ideas for design)
February 28, 2008... LED applications are booming: backlighting for LCD TVs, projectors, and computer displays, camera flashes, and vehicle brake lights and taillights are just a few. All require constant-current LED drivers that offer a high dimming ratio, high...

OLEDs get ready to break size barriers.(in electronic design)
February 28, 2008... Sharing technical expertise to solve the manufacturing challenges in producing organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), Saint Gobain Recherche (SGR) has partnered with Novaled to create a breakthrough in glass substrates. The development, based...

Get the right power supply to tackle peaks and valleys.(in electronic design)(Editorial)
February 28, 2008... A power supply with high peak-current capability can support loads that are higher than the nominal continuous power for short periods of time, without the unit shutting down or damage occurring. Typical constraints on this capability include...

Current monitor eases high-voltage circuit protection.(CIRCUIT PROTECTION)(Brief article)
February 28, 2008... Promising to simplify high-side current sensing in a wide range of high-voltage circuit protection applications, the ZXCT1080 current monitor provides an extended, commonmode-sensing voltage range from 3 to 60 V. The device also reduces the...

Clamp EMC filters embark for automotive apps.(CIRCUIT PROTECTION)
February 28, 2008... The ZCAT08V-BK and ZCAT12V-BK automtotive clamp filters can serve as countermeasures against the effects of electromagnetic noise on the cables that link various onboard electronic control units (ECUs). Their unique structure consists of a...

Compact Circuit Protector thwarts 200-kA shorts.(CIRCUIT PROTECTION)(Cooper Bussmann Inc.)(Brief article)
February 28, 2008... The Compact Circuit Protector (CCP) specifies a 200,000-A short-circuit current rating while consuming onethird the space of equivalent-rated circuit breakers and two-thirds less space than a traditional fusible switch. It also specifies a...

Unique process ensures reliable PCB shielding.(CIRCUIT PROTECTION)(Leader Technologies Inc.)(printed-circuit board)(Brief article)
February 28, 2008... An available printed-circuit board (PCB) shielding design and manufacturing process enlists standardized manufacturing methods to provide engineers with a new level of circuit-board-shield design and production flexibility. Slot-Lok...

Hybrid IC provides overcurrent protection for 1.7-kV IGBTs.(CIRCUIT PROTECTION)
February 28, 2008... The VLA500K-01R, a hybrid IC for driving insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules, consists of a fully isolated gate drive circuit with an isolated gate drive amplifier and isolated dc-dc converter. The gate driver provides overcurrent...

Why are FETs so expensive in India?(mailbag)(Letter to the editor)
February 28, 2008... Dear RAP: You answered one question for me last year ("Why are FETs so expensive in India?"), and I now have another. How does a bipolar op-amp-based non-inverting dc amplifier amplify dc signals that are below a 0.6-V bipolar threshold...

In a recent article, you said that too much beta decreases mu.(mailbag)(Letter to the editor)
February 28, 2008... Sir, In a recent article, you said that too much beta decreases mu. I can't find anything on this in my textbooks. Would you explain? -RAYMOND A. FUTRELL HI, RAY: You may have mediocre textbooks. Mu is an alternate statement...

As I am going to buy a testbench for electronic circuit testing.(mailbag)(Letter to the editor)
February 28, 2008... DEAR SIR, As I am going to buy a testbench for electronic circuit testing, I want some feedback about isolated power and the ground plane arrangement. Can you suggest a layout? -CHETAN VIRANI HELLO, CHETAN: You haven't given...

I need to convert a 5-MHz sine wave to a 5-MHz TTL signal.(mailbag)(Letter to the editor)
February 28, 2008... DEAR BOB, I need to convert a 5-MHz sine wave to a 5-MHz TTL signal. Is there an IC that would do the job? -RON RASPET HI, RON: Take a look at some comparators. There are lots of slow ones, but you'll want one with delays...