Electronic Design articles from January 2002

Electronic Design archives from January 2002

A Celebration, 50 Years in the making. (Publisher's Foreword).(Editorial)
January 7, 2002... IF YOU'RE LIKE MOST ORDINARY FOLKS, YOU PROBA-bly don't wake up each day thinking about the impact your profession has on society in general. But as one of the 145,000 design engineers and engineering managers receiving this magazine, you're a...

Be part of our year-long party. (Anniversary Celebration).
January 7, 2002... I'T SIMPLY CANNOT BE TRUE! HOW can ELECTRONIC DESIGN be 50 years old? We feel like we're still only 25! We're a vibrant magazine covering a vibrant industry. There must be a mistake; we demand a recount! Okay, ELECTRONIC DESIGN will, in...

Design through the decades. (Retrospective 50 Years of Change).
January 7, 2002... FIFTY YEARS AGO, ELECTRONIC DESIGN MAGAZINE was born. Since then, we have witnessed the growth of the electronics industry and provided our readers with the necessary information to make informed design decisions. As we celebrate our...

Reader polls<>Hall of Fame.
January 7, 2002... This page will appear in every issue as part of our year-long celebration of ELECTRONIC DESIGN's 50th anniversary. It is here we will print the results of your responses to our Web-site polls, publish our new Flashback column, and keep you...

Flashback>10 years ago.
January 7, 2002... JANUARY 9, 1992 STARTING ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR, ELECTRONIC DESIGN'S annual Technology Forecast theme was "Building On Today's Foundations." The Editorial noted, "This year we return to fundamentals with a report on the enabling...

Flashback>25 years ago.
January 7, 2002... JANUARY 4, 1977 "MINICOMPUTERS ARE BECOMING LESS EXPENSIVE and more powerful so quickly that groups of them are being combined into powerful networks. Standards for intercomputer communications are being developed, and agreement...

Flashback>40 years ago.
January 7, 2002... JANUARY 4, 1962 THE SPACE RACE WAS BIG NEWS, AND A SPECIAL Report, "Design '62," took note: "Indeed, space will undoubtedly dominate electronics this year and for years to come.... Communications is the keynote of our satellite and space...

These initial candidates are top-notch achievers, yet you may not have read a lot about them. (Electronic Design's First Hall-of-Fame Nominees).
January 7, 2002... John M. Birkner and Hua-Thye Chua PROGRAMMABLE-ARRAY LOGIC (PAL) TECHnology; developed in the 1970s at Monolithic Memories Inc., is the precursor to today's field-programmable logic technologies. John Birkner and Hua-Thye Chua are credited...

Electronic Design's Engineering Hall of Fame.
January 7, 2002... Jeff Kodosky and James Truchard ONE CAN HARDLY THINK OF "VIRTUAL IN-strumentation" without thinking of LabVIEW, the brainchild of Jeff Kodosky and James Truchard. The pair revolutionized test and measurement with their graphical...

Predictions for next year and beyond. (Top Ten Introduction).
January 7, 2002... TO KICK OFF OUR ANNIVERSARY YEAR, WE HAVE COMPLETELY restructured our annual Technology Forecast issue. The new format emphasizes scope of coverage to inform you of as many important technology trends and impending events as possible. We...

Digital Brings More Memory, Gates, Speed. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Digital ICs).
January 7, 2002... THE ABILITY TO PROCESS DATA IN THE DIGITAL domain has opened many new opportunities and application areas. Starting with diode-transistor logic (DTL) circuits in the '50s, to the first IC in 1959, to the first 4- and 8-bit processors in the...

Analog moves up to full data systems. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Analog/Mixed-Signal ICs).
January 7, 2002... AMPLIFIERS AND MIXED-SIGNAL DATA CONverters have come a long way since their humble beginnings in the first rudimentary monolithic operational amplifier designed by Robert Widlar in 1965. Little did the engineering genius realize at the time...

Smaller component packaging on the way. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Components).
January 7, 2002... THE MANTRA IN COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT continues to be smaller, smaller, smaller. In the coming year, expect much of the news in passive-component development to focus on packaging. Vendors will address the need for smaller parts by migrating...

Packaging, interconnects move to the fore. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Interconnects & Packaging).
January 7, 2002... WE CAN WONDER WHAT FORMS OF PACKaging will have the greatest impact on electronics development in the coming year. We can debate which innovations in chip or module packaging will offer the highest performance, the impact of new interconnect...

Smarter devices spur savvy supply design. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Power).
January 7, 2002... OVER THE YEARS, ADVANCES IN POWER SEMI-conductors, especially discrete power transistors and power control ICs, have played a crucial role in the development of power supplies. They have coped with the challenges of every generation...

Optical and wireless lead the way. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Communications).
January 7, 2002... COMMUNICATE. THAT'S WHAT HUMANS DO. WE still predominantly communicate face-to-face and in print, but electronics has made it possible to communicate faster, more conveniently, and certainly more broadly. The telephone. Cell phones. Radio. TV....

Telecom and wireless drive performance. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Test & Measurement).
January 7, 2002... FOR DECADES, TEST AND MEASUREMENT (T&M) has shouldered the burden of a broad range of diverse and complex tasks in the life of every electronic product--from its beginnings in the design stage, into the production test environment, and on to...

EDA tools try to keep up with the Silicon. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Electronic Design Automation).
January 7, 2002... IT NOT ONLY APPEARS AS IF THE DESIGN WORLD IS at last ready to embrace system-on-chip (SoC) design methodologies, but that the electronic design automation (EDA) industry is maneuvering itself into position to make it happen. Just about all...

In search of standards. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Embedded Software).
January 7, 2002... IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY, PRICE, AND PERFORMance drive today's embedded software development market. Frameworks and standards-based libraries make programmers more productive in an era of rising complexity. Royalty-free operating systems (OSs)...

Buses dominate board architecture. (2002 Top Ten Forecast - Computer Boards).
January 7, 2002... PCI IS DEAD. LONG LIVE PCI, PCIX, COMPACTPCI, and so on. Of course, the emerging plethora of high-speed serial buses is looking to make mincemeat out of standardized parallel bus architectures like PCI. Fortunately for many, the emergence of...

Circuit measures small currents referenced to high-voltage rails. (Ideas for Design).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... Designs that need to measure small signals riding on high-voltage power rails suggest the use of isolation devices. However, a high-common-mode-voltage instrumentation amplifier used with a rail-to-rail input and output amplifier can recover...

Serial-port-powered ADC streams data to PC. (Ideas for Design).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... CIRCLE 521 The circuit shown in Figure 1 provides a simple, low-power means of digitizing analog signals and sending the data directly to a PC's serial port where it can easily be read, analyzed, and stored. The low power requirements of...

Inductance-substitution circuit uses variable coils. (Ideas for Design).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... When prototyping RF circuits, computer simulation or design programs can potentially yield the wrong component values. These errors are caused by the omission of capacitances or inductances originating from the board layout or other...

What's all this analog computing stuff, anyhow? (Part 1). (Pease Porridge).(Technical)
January 7, 2002... I first joined George A. Philbrick Researches back in 1961, when Philbrick was doing some of the advanced analog computing stuff in the industry. (Note: for you young kids who weren't around then, I will explain everything later.) At that...

High-Voltage capacitor suits CRT displays and video monitors. (Capacitors, Resistors, & Potentiometers).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The MVDR high-voltage inductive capacitor is specifically designed for use with CRT displays and video monitors. It also functions for high-voltage power supplies and multiplier circuits. The small-footprint devices feature a capacitance...

Neocapacitor family features small J and B3 case sizes. (Capacitors, Resistors, & Potentiometers).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... A line of conductor-polymer neocapacitors now features the 0.8-mm high-J and 1.2-mm high-P B3 case sizes. The addition of these sizes enables support for capacitances in the range of 2.2 to 47 [micro]F. The tantajum capacitors achieve low...

Termination arrays boast power ratings from 0.5 to 1.6 W. (Capacitors, Resistors, & Potentiometers).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The CHC series termination arrays in ball grid packages suit portable products and high-speed switches requiring superior electrical performance. With power ratings from 0.5 to 1.6 W, they fit digital networks, telecom equipment, portable...

Active matrix display offers High Brightness of 550 nits. (Indicators & Displays).
January 7, 2002... The 10.4-in, diagonal High Brightness thin-film transistor (TEE) transmissive LCD module suits flat-panel display applications where high brightness, high contrast, and outstanding resolution are required. ft provides a high brightness of 550...

Fiber optic panels supply backlighting with fewer LEDs. (Indicators & Displays).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... A new series of fiber optic panels can provide backlighting that requires fewer LEDs, uses less power, generates less heat, and offers uniform color. Also, backlighting systems employing these panels take up less space and last longer than...

LED display includes flat pad design with an inner connection. (Indicators & Displays).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The APSC SMD LED display eliminates manual inserting to reduce time and decrease the assembly cost associated with the manual insertion process. It features a flat pad design with an inner connection. Eliminating the need for leads, this design...

Discrete LEDs' large lenses provide better viewing. (Indicators & Displays).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The Series L806T 20-mm Big Dome discrete LEDs feature six SMT LED diode chips arranged in a circle on a PC board. Larger-than-normal lenses facilitate viewing and light dispersion. The LEDs are excellent solutions for large dot-matrix displays,...

ADCs support high-end audio in home entertainment systems. (Analog).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The PCM180x audio analog-to-digital converter (ADC) family supports the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) specification and the Super Audio CD format (SACD). The ADCs support high-end audio in home entertainment systems. Two 24-bit devices, the...

High-resolution ADCs suit industrial sensor measurement. (Analog).(Humor)(Tutorial)(Column)(Editorial)
January 7, 2002... Three high-resolution, [SIGMA]-[DELTA] analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) function for the instrumentation and industrial sensor measurement markets. The AD7708 is a multichannel, 16-bit ADC that supports four or five fully differential inputs...

Quad-PDC targets third-generation wireless protocols. (Analog).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The ISL5416 quad-programmable downconverter specifically targets third-generation (3G) wireless protocols while supporting legacy standards. The quad-PDC's filter configuration enables the integration of four discrete wide-band channels in a...

DACs feature AC performance and DC accuracy. (Analog).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The LTC1666 and LTC1667 digital-to-analog converters (DACs) offer an unmatched combination of ac performance (76-dB minimum and 78-dB minimum SFDR) and dc accuracy ([+ or -]1-LSB maximum DNL) at 50 Msamples/s. Due to their low glitch of 5 pV-s...

Standalone ICs include automatic fan control. (Analog).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The EMC6D100 and EMC6D101 environmental monitoring and control ICs feature automatic fan control. They provide the thermal monitoring and control necessary to protect today's high-heat, small-form-factor system designs. The EMC6D101...

13-bit octal DAC functions for automatic test equipment. (Analog).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The SPT5420 is an octal, 13-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC). This parallel-input, voltage-output device is tailored for use in automatic test equipment. It offers very low power dissipation of 195mW The DAC also features an ultra-fast...

16-bit DAC incorporates an on-chip output amplifier. (Analog).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The 7846RP digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is a 16-bit microcircuit that suits space-flight applications. It features a greater than 100-krad (Si) total dose tolerance, depending on orbit. Also, it includes both positive and negative...

Step-down DC-DC regulator includes integrated power FET transistors. (Power).(Tutorial)
January 7, 2002... The EL755ICU step-down dc-dc regulator targets distributed power applications, including telecommunications, data communications, networking, modems, and graphics accelerators. It features synchronous, integrated power FET transistors. For...

It's a new year-with a fresh chance to recover. (Editorial).(Editorial)
January 21, 2002... David Bursky As the first month of the new year draws to a close, there are good reasons to believe that the economy will be rekindled, restoring the high-tech industries to their former glory. New yet reduced budgets have been approved,...

Reader polls. (Celebrating 50 Years of Technology).
January 21, 2002... To start the reader polls for our 50th anniversary celebration, we thought you would like lighthearted questions. The first poll asks about your movie and television preferences. If we left out your favorite, just write it in. Go to our Web...

10 years ago. (Flashback).
January 21, 2002... JANUARY 23, 1992 RECENT TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGHS IN the IC plug-in card arena promise to impact all segments of the computing industry, from portable systems to high-end workstations, including test and measurement equipment. Last...

25 years ago. (Flashback).
January 21, 2002... JANUARY 18, 1977 INTERFACING MICROPROCESSORS TO THE WORLD OF ANALOG data requires a new approach. The hundreds of data-acquisition systems and modules that have served minicomputers well are inappropriate for micros. They're too expensive,...

40 years ago. (Flashback).
January 21, 2002... JANUARY 18, 1962 A CONCEPT THAT MAY AFFECT THE future of very large tracking antennas is to be tested later this year. With Air Force support, researchers at Ohio State University have designed a tracking array of four 30-ft diameter...

Nonvolatile memory cuts the price of digital storage. (Forefront).(from Matrix Semiconductor)
January 21, 2002... A 3D write-once memory structure from Matrix Semiconductor Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., promises to achieve a cost so low--just $0.02 to $0.03 per megabyte--that the cost of a 64- or 128-Mbyte memory card will be competitive with a roll of film...

Group forms to support standardized IP core socket interface. (Forefront).(Open Core Protocol International Partnership)
January 21, 2002... For system-on-a-chip (SoC) design to become mainstream, it behooves the semiconductor industry to embrace a common intellectual property (IP) core interface that would make IP integration a true "plug-and-play" proposition. That's what the Open...

Online design tool includes flash microcontroller. (Fore Front).(National Semiconductor's Webench 3.0)(Product Announcement)
January 21, 2002... Design analysis and simulation have been added to National Semiconductor's interactive online design and prototyping tools for its flash-based COPS8 microcontrollers. Webench 3.0 now includes a new site, microcontroller.national.com, that...

Alliance to develop GHz power-management ICs. (Fore Front).(Intersil and Primarion)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2002... Intersil Corp. of Irvine, Calif., has partnered with Tempe, Ariz., startup Primarion to develop multigigahertz power-management ICs. Intersil will license Primarion's digital power architecture to develop new power controllers for advanced...

FPGA tools upgrade aids logic Optimization. (Product Features).(Synplicity's Amplify 3.0)(Product Announcement)
January 21, 2002... Synplicity's upgrade to its Amplify Physical Optimizer software and Synplify Pro logic synthesis tool, Amplify 3.0, is a physical synthesis tool for FPGAs. It has been augmented by Synplicity's Total Optimization Physical Synthesis (TOPS)...

Supply packs 1500 W of power in 1U space. (Product Features).(Transistor Devices' Zeuss)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 21, 2002... A 500-W hot-swappable power supply from Transistor Devices (TDI) raises the level of power obtainable in a 1U high rack space. Offering five independent outputs, the Zeus series supply measures just 4.75 in. wide by 13.72 in. deep, permitting...

Emulation Replicate brings efficient verification. (Product Fratures).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 21, 2002... I kos VStation-[5M.sup.X] Replicate Station multiplies the power of emulation for in-circuit and targetless system-level verification of SoC designs. It uses the compiled database from Ikos' VStation-5M emulator, providing a known-good database...

Thermal interface cools beyond 125[degrees]C. (Product Features).(Thermalcure)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2002... Thermalcure, a thermal interface product from Eden Outsource, is a gap filler for temperatures too hot for traditional silicone-based interface materials that melt at 125[degrees]C. It maintains its strip shape and cooling properties thanks to...

Dual thermal paths double power handling for surface-mount MOSFETs: Two-sided cooling and direct attachment of the chip to the board slash the package's electrical and thermal resistance. (Cover Story Mosfet Package).
January 21, 2002... Improvements in silicon processes have steadily produced more-efficient power MOSFETs. These MOSFETs have propelled dc-dc converters, such as the synchronous buck converters used to power microprocessors, to higher levels of power density. But...

Smart biasing keeps RF power amplifier on track: Bias controller chip ensures constant output power from LDMOS FET-based RF amplifier despite temperature drifts and aging. (Product Innovation - Ldmos Bias Controller IC).
January 21, 2002... Despite recent improvements in the performance of RF LDMOS field-effect transistors (FETs), temperature drift and aging continue to affect the efficiency and linearization of power amplifiers using these transistors. In addition, the...

Proper design techniques solve high-speed op-amp stability problems: Successful high-speed circuit designs need the right combination of grounding, power-supply bypassing, and decoupling. (Design Application - Analog Design).
January 21, 2002... Modern op amps have much higher operating bandwidths than their predecessors. These new devices are excellent building blocks that can greatly simplify the design and construction of high-bandwidth video and RF systems. However, these...

Temperature sensor circuit provides dual-slope output. (Ideas for Design).
January 21, 2002... The excellent linearity of integrated-circuit temperature sensors makes them ideal for direct analog compensation of the thermally induced errors inherent in many circuits. For example, a negative-sloped temperature sensor could compensate for...

Excel formula calculates standard 1%-resistor values. (Ideas for Design).
January 21, 2002... CIRCLE 521 The Excel cell formula below calculates the nearest standard 1%-resistor value without using a lookup table or macro. Type or electronically paste the text below into any cell (other than A1). The formula will calculate the...

Wideband filter only has two different components. (Ideas for Design).
January 21, 2002... Wideband filters with bandwidths in excess of an octave can be created by cascading a high-pass filter and a low-pass filter. In this design idea, nine-pole high-pass and low-pass filters have been constructed using a modified equal-element...

Socket system integrates a miniature thermal electrical cooler. (Connectors & Sockets).
January 21, 2002... The Model 1560 Thermal Control Socket System enables the characterization of IC devices in substantially less time than traditional forced-air thermal control systems. It integrates a miniature thermal electrical cooler (TEC) in the test socket...

Screwless terminal socket features simple installation procedure. (Connectors & Sockets).(Brief Article)
January 21, 2002... The PYF-S screwless terminal socket for the company's MY family of relays features a simple procedure that eliminates time-consuming relay wiring jobs. The only steps required are inserting the screwdriver, inserting the wire, and then removing...

Interconnect device simplifies connection of a PC board to an LCD panel. (Connectors & Sockets).
January 21, 2002... CAIN is a low-cost, high-density attachment device designed to interconnect a dual-row surface-mounted connector (Hirose DF9, Molex 1386, Conan 91901-31121, Elco 8375) to a flexible circuit. This system is commonly used for connecting a pc...

Press-fit card edge connectors offer staggered contacts. (Connectors & Sockets).
January 21, 2002... Press-fit card edge connectors provide high-density 0.050-in, spacing for 0.093-in, daughter cards. The connectors feature staggered contacts to allow low-insertion force board installation. The compliant pin design provides reliable hole...

Microminiature connectors optimize space usage and RF performance. (Connectors & Sockets).
January 21, 2002... Microminiature MMCX connectors are designed for applications operating from dc to 6 GHz. The devices optimize space usage and RF performance for high-density electronic packages. Applications include wireless/PCS devices, telecommunications,...

Programmable headers provide a low-cost alternative to DIP switches. (Connectors & Sockets).
January 21, 2002... The Series 675 DIP program headers offer both X and Y programming within the header itself. The devices provide a low-cost, effective alternative to DIP switches. The headers can be individually programmed using cutters or the company's...