Electronics Weekly articles from February 2002

Electronics Weekly archives from February 2002

Marconi cuts 200 UK jobs.
February 6, 2002... Marconi is cutting 200 staff from its multimedia and voice systems division. The redundancies are part of previously announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs worldwide, 1,000 of which are expected to be in the UK. The division employs 800...

Expanding options bring surround sound; to the forefront...and the back...and the sides...and the ceiling...and the floor...
February 6, 2002... Why make your potential customers travel to movie theatres, concert halls, and video arcades to enjoy surround sound? Ever-evolving technology, in conjuction with DSPs and memory, create an immersive audio experience no matter where you...

CDT centre ready for LEP ventures.
February 6, 2002... Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), the light emitting polymer (LEP) technology company, has announced the completion of its new 1,750m2 facility for LEP technology development. CDT said the centre would allow it to expand its licensing...

Geometries get finer as frequencies rise in CMOS radio teams.
February 6, 2002... Harry Yeates One chip radios, particularly CMOS radios, have been a feature of recent ISSCCs and this year is no exception, with geometries getting finer and frequencies rising. Ericsson reported a 0.18[micro sign]m CMOS Bluetooth...

CMOS image sensor replaces film in normal SLR camera.
February 6, 2002... Richard Ball Researchers at STMicroelectronics in Edinburgh have developed a CMOS image sensor aimed at replacing film in unmodified SLR camera bodies. The firm sees such devices as a route to the high performance digital stills camera...

Organic LEDs make debut in 852x600 pixel microdisplay.
February 6, 2002... Steve Bush Organic LEDs featured for the first time at ISSCC in a 852x600 pixel microdisplay from Tality and eMagin. The silicon backplane device is being aimed at head-mounted displays and is claimed to cut power consumption...

Samsung guru divines memory future.
February 6, 2002... In the second of three plenary papers at ISSCC, Chang-Gyu Hwang, chief executive of Samsung Semiconductor's memory division, said graphics and network systems will drive memory performance. Hwang's presentation examined many aspects of the...

4Gsample/s ADC is in 0.35[micro]m CMOS.
February 6, 2002... Agilent Technologies presented a 4Gsample/s ADC in 0.35[micro sign]m CMOS at ISSCC. These high-end systems typically use bipolar or III-V materials, but by using a reduced radix architecture, Agilent was able to put the ADC into CMOS. ...

Summer learning at Oxford.
February 6, 2002... Oxford University is the setting for engineers and technical specialists who are attracted by a range of short courses on anything from RF microwave design to broadband wireless access, as they look to keep up to date in their fields. The...

Bio-sensors recognise DNA and measure life.
February 6, 2002... Harry Yeates The sensors and microsystems session at ISSCC included microwave radar chips for remote medical monitoring, and a CMOS DNA-screening system. The single-chip, direct conversion 1.6GHz Doppler radars, using 0.25[micro...

Irish photonics firm wins E6.6m award.
February 6, 2002... FireComms, developer of semiconductor light sources for plastic optical fibre communications, has won E6.6m backing from Enterprise Ireland. "Our photonics technology and the range of opportunities it addresses, will allow FireComms to...

Speech standard for all.
February 6, 2002... Telecom standards body the ITU has approved a standard for high-quality digital wideband speech encoding which covers both wireless and wireline technology. The standard, known as Recommendation G.722.2, is also called the Adaptive...

Thales signs with two UK unions to support MoD bids.
February 6, 2002... French defence firm Thales has signed a voluntary partnership agreement with two unions, Amicus and the GMB. "Thales believes that the support of the trade unions will play a significant role in reinforcing the company's position and...

Single inductor multi-output regulator beats noise problem.
February 6, 2002... A topology for a single-inductor, multiple-output (SIMO) switching regulator was the subject of a paper from two Hong Kong universities in the analogue techniques session at ISSCC. In SIMO regulators, the inductor is time-shared between...

Air jet based on MEMS is highlight of this year's ISSCC show.
February 6, 2002... The ISSCC's 2002 meeting this week included a micro electromechanical system (MEMS)-based air jet for on-chip heat dissipation. At 100[degree sign]C, a 10-20mm chip can provide cooling of around 0.6mW/mm2. The silicon design from the...

UK trio win nominations for 3GSM awards.
February 6, 2002... UK companies Pogo Technology, Dynamic Concepts and BT's wireless division O2 have all received nominations for the GSM Association's annual awards, due to be announced at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes. There are nine award categories...

Engineering waits for green light to use motorsport glamour in recruitment drive.
February 6, 2002... Chris Druce The Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) has eight weeks to raise [pound]3m from the electronics, aerospace, motorsport and defence sectors. If successful the Government will release a further [pound]6m to be used for the...

Hynix future takes twist as Infineon talks start.
February 6, 2002... David Manners Hynix's uncertain future has developed further after the firm said it was in new talks with both Samsung and Infineon Technologies. The firm had rejected Micron Technology's offer of $3.1bn for seven fabs, leading to a...

Edinburgh start-up licenses digital camera IP to US firm.
February 6, 2002... Chris Druce FifteenSeven, the Edinburgh start-up, has revealed details of a three-year licensing agreement for its intellectual property, worth [pound]400,000. The company will supply its FlashMailer technology to US company Crystal...

Simplex gets field solver.
February 6, 2002... Chip design tool supplier Simplex solutions has acquired 3D field solver software for use in IC designs using 0.13[micro sign]m or less. Simplex paid $2.5m for the Coyote Systems business division of Coventor. The field solver is part of a...

European chip service offers up SiGe process.
February 6, 2002... Europractice, the organisation offering low-cost access to chip manufacturing, is offering a silicon germanium BiCMOS process at Alcatel. The 0.35[micro sign]m process can be used for prototyping and volume production, said Alcatel. It is...

French design firm 'proves' efficiency of error detection.
February 6, 2002... Richard Ball French design house iRoC Technologies claims to have proven the extra circuitry in its radiation-hardened processor does not impair performance. iRoC designed error detection and correction circuits for memories and logic...

NEC to merge passives.
February 6, 2002... NEC has signed a deal to transfer its passive electronic component business to electronic components manufacturer Tokin. The deal will become effective in April when Tokin will change its name to NEC Tokin. The product groups involved...

NEC nanotube discoverer named for Franklin medal.
February 6, 2002... Dr. Sumio Iijima, a senior research fellow at NEC, has been chosen to receive this year's Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics. Iijima was chosen for his discovery and clarification of the atomic structure and character of multi-wall and...

Soft core start-up licenses Lightfoot.
February 6, 2002... Surrey-based soft core start-up DCT has licensed its Lightfoot Java processor to Taiwan-based Shera International. "The Lightfoot core contains only 26k gates," said Jerry Crosetti, president of Shera. "Bytecode executes as fast as...

UMTS forum presses for wider 3G spectrum.
February 6, 2002... The UMTS Forum is urging Europe to agree on additional spectrum for 3G mobile communications which will be needed to accommodate the extra traffic expected on these networks from 2005. The industry body is keen to see an agreement reached...

ELumin name change.
February 6, 2002... Electroluminescent display company ELumin is changing its name to Pelikon. "The re-branding exercise follows our second round fund raising where we attracted [pound]4m," said Pelikon marketing director Chris Barnardo (pictured). ...

Three-five systems gets display firm IP.
February 6, 2002... Display maker Three-Five Systems has acquired all the intellectual property and top personnel of Zight, formerly Colorado Microdisplay. "I am very pleased with this acquisition. We already know about Zight's products because we had...

Industry trumpets DAB data transmission capability.
February 6, 2002... Melanie Reynolds The data transmission capabilities of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) is now being pushed as its main selling point as the industry seeks to find a market for the technology. To take full advantage of this the...

'Start-up boom for Europe' claims technology centre.
February 6, 2002... Harry Yeates The number of UK and European technology start-up firms is set to explode over the next few years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). That is the message from the directors of Menlo Park Europe, a centre of...

Silicon nanoparticles add colour to electronic displays and flash.
February 6, 2002... A process for reliably creating silicon nanoparticles which fluoresce in distinct colours, depending on their size, has been developed at the University of Illinois. "The availability of specific particle size and emission in the red,...

Research funding shortfall will 'harm UK science in long term'.
February 6, 2002... Chris Druce The Government has come under further fire for its failure to match increases in the quality of university R&D with increased funding. The Science and Technology select committee was told last week that the [pound]200m...

Reading powerline company chosen for US standard trial.
February 6, 2002... Melanie Reynolds Reading-based firm nSine has been chosen as one of the providers of powerline technology in a US trial aimed at determining a standard for high-speed data transmission over mains cables. "This is the first major...

Oxford start-up creates double speed algorithm.
February 6, 2002... Harry Yeates A highly efficient multiplier algorithm doubles the speed and halves the power of existing designs, according to Automatic Parallel Designs, the Oxford start-up that developed it. AutoPD is already working on a floating...

Administrators called in by switch company.
February 6, 2002... Manchester-based switch fabric firm Power X has called in administrators as part of its financial restructuring. "Power X has filed for protection from creditors," said a spokesman for the company. The company announced that it has...

'Worst is behind us' says Alcatel opto manager.
February 6, 2002... Despite continued re-structuring at Alcatel, the worst is behind its optoelectronics division, according to division manager Derek Moon. The division includes the former Kymata business in Scotland, acquired by Alcatel last year. Moon said...

Clear Logic bankruptcy protection.
February 6, 2002... A couple of weeks after raising $10.5m, including $4m of new capital, Silicon Valley FPGA-Asic conversion specialist Clear Logic has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Clear Logic said the Chapter 11 filing is not because the...

AMD collaborates for 300mm Singapore fab.
February 6, 2002... AMD is teaming up with Taiwanese foundry UMC to build a 300mm wafer fab in Singapore. By the time commercial production starts in 2005, the firms expect to be using a 65nm (0.065[micro sign]m) process to manufacture PC processors and logic...

Work hours up despite EU directive.
February 6, 2002... More people in the UK are now working in excess of 48 hours a week than were ten years ago, despite this being the limit set by Europe's working time directive. According to the TUC almost four million employees, 16 per cent, are now...

Japanese chip firms see heavy Q3 losses.
February 6, 2002... Toshiba, NEC and Fujitsu have all reported heavy losses for the third quarter of the financial year. Toshiba recorded a loss of $637.5m for Q3 with sales down 13 per cent from the same period last year to around $9.19bn. As a result...

Oftel considers compulsory mobile location service plan for 999 calls.
February 6, 2002... Telecoms regulators in the UK and the European Union are investigating the feasibility of introducing mandatory US E911-style mobile location services for all 999 or 112 emergency calls. UK regulator Oftel is taking part in studies...

Get the message...
February 13, 2002... Distributors can use seminars to simplify a complex message, says Michael Whitehorn Component distributors have played a key role in enabling programmable logic to move from a niche product to mainstream technology. We are now faced with...

Spinning in the web.
February 13, 2002... Pat Brockett's assertion that product managers and distribution outlets are becoming outdated to be replaced by 'modern communications' like the web is not as straightforward as it seems, says Gary Kibblewhite Pat Brockett, president and...

Balancing the books.
February 13, 2002... Buying test equipment is not always the most economic option when a number of hire firms provide a more efficient alternative. RICHARD BALL looks at the basic factors to consider when deciding whether to rent or buy The economic downturn...

Wave hello to machines with greater scope.
February 13, 2002... The increasing demands placed on oscilloscopes are forcing manufacturers to implement new internal architectures. Steve Bush snoops on the latest generation of equipment Couch potatoes have to battle with video recorders designed for...

Get to know me.
February 13, 2002... Mike Hamper, the new distribution boss at Philips Semiconductors, gives his views on... allow us to not only deliver our products to a larger base of customers, but also help to increase the value we offer to our customers by offering a...

Watch your step.
February 13, 2002... Single-chip neural networks lower the cost of next generation surveillance systems which can clear up misleading background patterns and focus on the target when it is partly obscured. Ross skinner the FAE involved writes Agencies...

Make your supply chain real.
February 13, 2002... Proper management of your real time supply chain could save the company millions, says Thorgeir Einarsson The electronics industry was kicked squarely in the supply chain in 2001 and now everybody's trying to work out how to guard their...

Key tactics to bring success.
February 13, 2002... Skilled and motivated FAEs are vital for product support. Armando Banon writes competence and provides a formal framework for the training programme. It also enables the manufacturer to focus training on the major product and support...

BT network spend falls.
February 13, 2002... BT's investment in equipment for its UK communications network fell by 17 per cent in the third quarter compared with the same period 12 months ago. In the quarter the BT Wholesale operating division, which runs the UK network, spent...

Bookham says worst is over as Q4 sales plunge.
February 13, 2002... Harry Yeates Optical components firm Bookham Technology saw revenues fall by 82 per cent in its fourth quarter, compared with the same period last year. Revenues of [pound]2.1m also represented a 12 per cent drop from the previous quarter....

A probe into shrinking geometries.
February 13, 2002... The need for faster data acquisition technologies - the result of shrinking circuits - has seen a big advance in probing technology. HARRY YEATES finds out how firms have gone about it IC would be an absolute nightmare," says Miles....

Synopsys highlights demand for SystemC with simulation tool.
February 13, 2002... Synopsys has developed a simulation tool for chip designers using the SystemC language. The CoCentric System Studio tool adds to the synthesis tool for the language launched by the firm two years ago. "In an EDA flow you need two...

Taking the lead.
February 13, 2002... Although suppliers in the aerospace and defence sectors are exempt from the WEEE legislation banning lead solder, that does not stop the problems for manufacturers, writes ALAN DEDDEN Much has been written about the impending WEEE...

The big test for 3G.
February 13, 2002... Testing for the 3rd generation mobile communications market is challenging to say the least, because there is no standard set in stone for the technology. Richard Wilson looks at how the firms are coping with these testing times points...

Plastic magnets get tuned into the light.
February 13, 2002... The world's first light-tuneable plastic magnet has come out of a research project at the Ohio State University, claims the team. The substance, developed with the University of Utah, becomes 1.5 times more magnetic when blue light shines...

Power X administrator to sell firm.
February 13, 2002... The administrators of Power X, the Manchester-based fabless telecoms chip company, are aiming to sell the firm. "The company's products are on the leading edge of technology and well respected within the telecommunications industry. I am...

Researchers build ultra-low power radios for all-pervasive networks ; g.
February 13, 2002... Steve Bush PicoRadios - ultra-low-power radios for ubiquitous wireless networks - were the subject of a paper from the University of California and Xilinx at last week's ISSCC. It envisages low-data-rate (under 10kbit/s) low-cost...

16-bit chip debut as Cyan goes embedded.
February 13, 2002... Cyan Technology has completed a second round of funding and launched its first commercial product, the eCOG1, a 16-bit microcontroller aimed at the low-power embedded market. "There is a belief in the electronics industry that bigger is...

The light fantastic.
February 13, 2002... The increasing bandwidth and accelerating roll-out of optical fibre can only be a good thing for users, but it is yielding up more complex test issues. MELANIE REYNOLDS takes a look at the emerging challenges and how firms are responding ...

Foundries get upper hand.
February 13, 2002... The foundries are leading the big fab owners in process technology. David manners investigates Have the IDMs lost it? Integrated Device Manufacturers - i.e. chip companies with their own fabs - seem to be lagging behind the foundries...

CMOS chips processing RF signals are in vogue.
February 13, 2002... Richard Ball A common theme throughout this year's ISSCC was the widespread use of standard CMOS to make chips capable of processing RF signals. In fact all six papers in the RF Systems session used 0.25 or 0.35[micro sign]m CMOS for: GPS...

CPS test lab open for location technology.
February 13, 2002... Cambridge Positioning Systems (CPS) has opened its first testing and integration lab for its E-OTD (enhanced observed time difference) location technology. It has previously been difficult for terminal manufacturers to provide laboratory...

Altera's 0.13[micro]m FPGA embeds 10Mbit SRAM.
February 13, 2002... Richard Ball Altera has unveiled Stratix, a family of 0.13[micro sign]m, all-copper FPGAs that will cover from 10,000 to 114,000 logic elements - about 2.4 million logic gates - and embed up to 10Mbit of memory. "It's a pure clean...

Philips makes [pounds sterling]1.6bn loss.
February 13, 2002... Philips has made a loss of [pound]1.6bn for the year ending 2001, compared to a profit of [pound]5.9bn during a record performing 2000. "Given the economic downturn, especially in the ICT industries, 2001 was a tough year," said Gerard...

Axeon development system cuts out computer code.
February 13, 2002... Chris Evans-Pughe IP firm Axeon has launched a development system for its VindAX parallel processor that will allow engineers without expert knowledge to explore and develop solutions for non-linear applications such as engine management,...

BAE Systems launches fast cosmic processor.
February 13, 2002... Steve Bush The most powerful radiation-hardened general purpose microprocessor ever developed for space, is the claim of BAE Systems for its new RAD750. "The processor has successfully passed manufacturing and environmental testing...

Simplex shows signal tool.
February 13, 2002... Simplex has unveiled SignalStorm SoC, a tool for measuring signal integrity effects on timing in ICs. The tool takes the routed chip data, extracts parasitic information and calculates IR drop, propagation delay and crosstalk effects. This...

Management buys back UK multimedia Asic firm.
February 13, 2002... Chris Druce The original management team of Cambridge firm Nexus has bought back its hardware business from FutureTV, which was acquired in 1999. The new company, Nexus Electronics, will focus resources on the development of Asic chips...

Release local loop from BT, pleads C&W.
February 13, 2002... Alex Mayhew-Smith The local loop must be separated from BT if the UK is to have an effective broadband network, according to Graham Wallace, chief executive of Cable & Wireless. "After 11 years of competition, BT still own and operate...

Kamelian opens $20m Oxford plant.
February 13, 2002... Optical amplifier developer Kamelian opened its indium phosphide semiconductor manufacturing plant near Oxford on Friday. The facility is capable of producing 400 semiconductor optical amplifiers a week. The devices sell for around $1,000...

Intel to get 90nm process installed in Dublin facility.
February 13, 2002... David Manners A group of 130 engineers from Intel's Dublin fab are to install a 90nm process on their return from the company's Oregon development fab. Fab24, the shell of which has been completed, will be the first of Intel's...

Altera FPGA adds DSP and memory.
February 13, 2002... Programmable logic firm Altera has taken a major step forward with Stratix, its latest product family, by integrating three sizes of memory, embedding DSP blocks and improving timing accuracy during design. "It's a pure clean slate...

Global CDMA standard two years away.
February 13, 2002... A single global CDMA standard for broadband wireless telephony is at least two years away, according to the inventors of the CDMA technology, Qualcomm. "It's not for the current generation - but a lot of people are thinking that, at the...

'Disadvantaged' women need tech showcase.
February 13, 2002... Melanie Reynolds Events which showcase women's talents are needed because of the problems they still face in being taken seriously in the fields of technology, invention and innovation. "Women are still at a serious disadvantage," said...

Cambridge start-up secures [pounds sterling]60,000 to evaluate RF intelligent tagging system.
February 13, 2002... Steve Bush Cambridge start-up Radioplex has obtained [pound]60,000 funding to evaluate its RF intelligent tagging system. "We have a [pound]45,000 DTI SMART Award and [pound]15,000 from a private investor," said company founder Abol...

Irish chip firm develops Gigabit Ethernet devices.
February 13, 2002... Irish communications chip firm Massana has introduced single and quad-port gigabit Ethernet transceiver devices. The physical layer (PHY) devices are aimed at switches, routers, server and desktop network interface cards, and storage area...

US Raman work lowers thresholds.
February 13, 2002... Researchers in the US have demonstrated a micrometer-scale, non-linear Raman source that functions with input signals 1,000 times weaker than existing devices. According to a report in the science journal Nature, the new device could offer...

Marconi cut 200 staff from business sold to Bookham.
February 13, 2002... Chris Druce Marconi shed 200 staff from its optical components business in the lead-up to last month's sale of the division to Bookham Technology. The redundancies were part of a voluntary scheme for employees at the Caswell and...

Toshiba sets up European mobile HQ.
February 13, 2002... Toshiba has set up a European mobile phone handset business with the headquarters based in Camberley. The Japanese company plans to launch its first phones by the middle of this year. These will be GPRS phones but 3G phones will follow as...

Sigtronics sets up UK PCB network.
February 13, 2002... Scottish PCB machine company Sigtronics is launching its nationwide network of board prototyping outlets across the UK through its Kwikboard division. "The company is doing deals with PCB manufacturers around the country, leasing Kwikboard...

Teachers respond to initiative.
February 13, 2002... The Government's initiatives to address the shortage of teachers in key areas like technology and maths appears to be producing positive results. The number of graduates applying to become technology teachers is up 79 per cent from last...

Zarlink on track to sell Plymouth fab.
February 13, 2002... Zarlink Semiconductor has confirmed that it wants to sell its UK wafer fab in Plymouth and recorded a net loss of $18.3m for its third quarter. This was an improvement on the year-ago Q3 $21.9m loss. As part of its drive to become a...

Roke Manor finishes trial.
February 13, 2002... Roke Manor Research and Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, have successfully completed 3G wideband communications trials using QinetiQ's BAC1-11 research aircraft. The idea of the trials is to...