EDN articles from June 2005

EDN archives from June 2005

If it ain't broke, fix a little here and a little there.(EDN.COMMENT)(Editorial)
June 9, 2005... We hope you like our new design and content, which you've undoubtedly noticed by now. Our intent is to modernize the magazine, make it simpler, and take a more expansive approach to print and online coverage. The fact is: We've preserved...

Inside current-mode control.(POWER / designer Single-ended current-mode AC-DC PWM controller: Expert tips, tricks, and techniques for powerful designs)
June 9, 2005... Current-mode control has been used in power supplies since the late 1970s. Although this method of control has been in use for over two decades, its operation and characteristics are not generally well known. Most engineers learn about...

Low-cost modem connects embedded-system designs.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... Xecom recently announced a new modem module targeting embedded-system applications with nominal data-transfer requirements, such as point-of-sale terminals, vending machines, alarm panels, and set-top boxes. Supporting dial-up communications at...

Inductor claims industry's best DCR/H figure in this size class.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... Vishay claims that its IHLP family of low-profile, high-current devices, with DCR (dc resistance) as low as 0.65 m[OMEGA] at 0.19H inductance, offers the lowest DCR/H figure of merit for this size class, a 4-mm-high package measuring 10.2X 11.5...

Socket adapter proves that mistakes, changes need not cause insomnia.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... The Aries Electronics Correct-A-Chip helps you convert a 160-pin QFP package to 0.65-mm pin-to-pin spacing in a 160-pin through-hole array. The adapter lets designers use the QFP package with the through-hole footprint of the...

Feedback loop.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... "A person with even moderate intelligence can sell real estate and earn far more than an engineer. There is no status attached to being an engineer. Engineers are treated as just another cog in the machine." Bruce Newman, in EDN's Feedback...

Power-savvy tool replaces clock-tree synthesis.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... EDA start-up Azuro Inc wants to help ASIC designers get a better handle on IC power conservation and ultimately lengthen the runtimes of their wireless applications. Toward that end, the company recently introduced the PowerCentric EDA tool, a...

Dilbert.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)(Cartoon)
June 9, 2005... MY COMPUTER IS TOO SLOW. I NEED TO UPGRADE IT. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I NEED A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS INCLUDING THE COST OF ALL ALTERNATIVES, AND VICE PRESIDENT APPROVAL. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT WAS EASIER TO GET A SECOND JOB...

Current-sense resistor wrestles 100A.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... Low-power design is tricky, but high-current systems, such as motors, servers, and even workstations, also give unique headaches to engineers. The HLD series of current-sense resistors from Stackpole Electronics spans 0.001 to 0.1[OMEGA] with...

RapidIO boosts bandwidth for DSP.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... Texas Instruments' TMS320C6455 DSP includes on-chip support for four IEEE 1149.6-compliant serial-RapidIO links to enable designers to develop scalable systems that support high-definition video and the telecom infrastructure. The integrated...

Chip inductor offers tight tolerance and self-resonance.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... Providing both tight tolerance and high self-resonant frequency, the PM0402T and PM0603T chip inductors from JW Miller Magnetics measure 1X0.5X0.35 mm and 1.6X0.8X0:45 mm, respectively. Fabricated with photolithographic-design techniques, these...

System Verilog for the masses.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 9, 2005... Mentor Graphics Corp recently introduced the Questa verification tool. The product adds to the ModelSim simulation kernel engines for assertions, constraint-random testbenches, and code coverage. A new feature monitors the progress of each...

Configurable power supplies offer nonstandard voltages and safety approval.(pulse)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Configurable power supplies offer a fast way for designers of industrial, IT, and medical systems to incorporate safety-agency-approved power supplies in their systems. "A configurable power supply is right for the designer who needs something...

DMM shows insulation-resistance measurements need not be futile.(pulse)(digital multimeter)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Measurement of insulation resistance is increasingly a mandate in equipment installations. It makes sense even when not required to verify insulation integrity and path isolation in applications such as motors, HVAC, and even conventional power...

Francis J Madden: eye in the sky didn't come easily.(Q&A)(Charles Stark Draper Prize winner)(Interview)
June 9, 2005... Francis J Madden is one of a team of five engineers who received the prestigious Charles Stark Draper Prize (www.draper.com) from the NAE (National Academy of Engineering, www.nae.edu) on Feb 21, 2005, for its work on the Corona project. The...

Rarely asked questions: strange but true stories from the call logs of analog devices.(RAQ's)
June 9, 2005... Radio Frequency Interference (or how to get a free lunch at a very good restaurant) Q. I've heard that RF can make low-frequency circuits do strange things. What's that all about? A. I was once summoned to France because an Analog...

Reference design supports-multiple video, audio formats.(GLOBAL DESIGNER)(portable media player and recorder)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Ittiam Systems Ltd's PMPR (portable media player and recorder), also known as MuV-PaMPR, is a form-factor reference design with near-production-ready hardware and software. Ittiam claims that these features reduce time to market from 18 months...

Bluetooth continues to gain traction in China.(pulse)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Since the Chinese government declared in March that it was considering a formal adoption of Bluetooth-enabled technology, the consensus has been building that it will have a positive effect on OEMs and design houses nationwide. According to...

Bits & pieces.(pulse)
June 9, 2005... * Toshiba has developed a battery that users can recharge to 80% of its battery capacity in only one minute. For more, see www.edn.com/050609p2. * This year, the CAS Institute of Computing Technology successfully developed the first 64-bit...

Finalizing hardware before you should.(BAKER'S BEST)
June 9, 2005... Finalizing hardware before its time can delay a project. Improper planning of long hardware leadtimes may prompt you too early to finalize the hardware portion of your design. This poor planning can happen before the product definition,...

In the game? Nintendo's DS packs dual screens, wireless technology, and graphics into a sleek package. Does the underlying design satisfy the target market?(PRYING EYES)
June 9, 2005... The latest version of the venerable Game Boy, the Nintendo DS, hit the shelves last December and promptly became a best seller, even as Sony planned the March debut of its PSP (PlayStation Portable). The DS broke new ground with dual color...

Signals assume an alias.(THE DATA DETECTIVE)(Signal-analysis )(Advertisement)
June 9, 2005... After you sample a continuous waveform, you end up with discrete-time values rather than the original signal. The very act of sampling can cause problems when it comes time to analyze the data. You can solve those problems or take advantage of...

Fabric technologies reach the mezzanine level: a new mezzanine-card family offers designers standard plug-in modules with high availability, hot-swap functions, and multiple switched-fabric options.
June 9, 2005... Telecom-equipment engineers are transforming their industry from proprietary systems with long, expensive development cycles to standards-based designs using low-cost, off-the-shelf products. The first step was a new board, backplane, and...

Song wars: Apple's continued dominance of the digital-audio-content and -player markets seems inevitable. Then again, so did its dominance of the PC market more than a decade ago. How does the Microsoft-led audio army plan to counterattack, and how might Apple repel its charge?
June 9, 2005... "I'm planning to spend some serious money; I intend to outmarket everyone. The MP3 war has started, and I am the one who has declared war." These belligerent words were attributed to Creative Technology's Chief Executive Officer Sire Wong Hoo...

Cutting a path: Susanne Paul: CMOS-power-amp innovator.(Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (transistor type))
June 9, 2005... SUSANNE PAUL: CMOS-POWER-AMP INNOVATOR Think you had a busy week? In March, Susanne Paul, winner of EDN's 2004 Innovator of the Year award, taped out the latest revision of a CMOS GSM/power-amplifier chip she designed and two days later...

High accuracy synchronous step-down controller provides output tracking and programmable margining--Design Note 364.(DESIGN NOTES)(Advertisement)
June 9, 2005... Introduction Output voltage tracking and margining are two increasingly popular features in power supply designs for high performance server, ASIC and memory systems. These two functions are among the advanced features provided in the...

Miniature 4[mm.sup.2] low-noise charge-pump doubler operates from Li-Ion, NiMH and alkaline cells.(Portable Battery Power: High Performance Analog Solutions from Linear Technology)(Advertisement)
June 9, 2005... Power management ICs today operate from a variety of input supply sources, ranging from Lithium-Ion, alkaline and Nickel batteries to USB. Battery-powered portable electronic devices place stringent demands on these power ICs to extend battery...

500mA VLDO operates from [V.sub.IN] as low as 0.9V & [V.sub.OUT] down to 0.2V with dropout of only 160mV.(Portable Battery Power: High Performance Analog Solutions from Linear Technology)(Advertisement)
June 9, 2005... The LT[R]3021 is a very low dropout linear regulator (VLDO[TM]) capable of ultralow 0.9V minimum input and 0.2V minimum output voltage operation. The device maintains a very low dropout voltage of only 160mV while delivering up to 500mA of...

Standalone 750mA linear Li-Ion battery chargers in miniature 2mm x 2mm DFN package.(Portable Battery Power: High Performance Analog Solutions from Linear Technology)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
June 9, 2005... The LTC4065/A is a complete standalone 750mA constant-current, constant-voltage linear charger for single-cell Li-Ion batteries. The device's highly integrated functionality/feature content, miniature low profile (0.75mm) 2mm x 2mm DFN package...

Standalone 9[mm.sup.2] 1A linear Li-Ion battery chargers with thermistor input.(Portable Battery Power: High Performance Analog Solutions from Linear Technology)(Advertisement)
June 9, 2005... The LTC4061/-4.4 are compact standalone 1A linear 1-cell Li-Ion battery chargers with advanced features to improve charging safety, simplify charge termination and status reporting, enhance thermal performance, and prolong battery life. Their...

Filters a nutshell: spreadsheet promotes intuitive feel: using an online spreadsheet, designers can derive the most common types of filters from a universal-filter-transfer function.(CYPRESS MICROSYSTEMS)
June 9, 2005... When almost any electronic system passes a certain level of complexity, it requires some sort of filtering--often several types. However, many designers with a predominantly digital background may hesitate to tackle analog filters, based on...

Inrush limiter also provides short-circuit protection.(design ideas: READERS SOLVE DESIGN PROBLEMS)
June 9, 2005... For containing large amounts of bulk capacitance, controlling inrush currents poses problems. The simplest approach involves placing an inrush-limiting resistor in series with the capacitor bank, but a resistor wastes power and adds a voltage...

Microprocessor-based dual timer features four outputs.(design ideas: READERS SOLVE DESIGN PROBLEMS)
June 9, 2005... Based on Freescale Semiconductor's MCC908QY 8-bit flash-memory microcomputer, the circuit in Figure 1 provides a low-cost, general-purpose dual timer that offers an alternative to one-shot circuits. You can modify the assembly-language software...

Wide-range voltage regulator automatically selects operating mode.(design ideas: READERS SOLVE DESIGN PROBLEMS)
June 9, 2005... The circuit in Figure 1 delivers programming voltages to an EEPROM under the control of an external DAC (not shown). You can replace the DAC with a potentiometer to create a general-purpose power supply operating from 12V and able to deliver a...

CMOS hex inverter generates low-distortion sine waves.(design ideas: READERS SOLVE DESIGN PROBLEMS)(Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (transistor type) )
June 9, 2005... This Design Idea provides a simple, inexpensive, portable circuit as an alternative to a microcontroller to provide a wide-range source of low-distortion sine waves for audio-circuit design and debugging. Although sine waves from DDS (direct...

Motion-control IC features precision-velocity loop.(MOTION DEVICES)
June 9, 2005... Providing a precision-velocity loop for brushless dc motors, the MC73110 motor-control IC operates in internal velocity-profile mode, velocity mode with an external velocity-command signal, or torque mode with an external torque-command signal....

Linear motor has new magnetic design.(MOTION DEVICES)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Replacing optical encoders with integral Hall position sensors, the ServoTube linear motor with 25-mm-diameter thrust rods includes 11.5- to 23-lb continuous force and 70- to 175-lb peak force. Meeting the IP67 environmental specifications, the...

Piezoelectric motor has higher efficiency than electromagnetic motor.(MOTION DEVICES)
June 9, 2005... The small, high-resolution piezo-electric SQ-306s Squiggle motor suits OEM products. The motor's specifications include a 10-mm-long motor stator. a 4-mm-diameter motor, greater-than-5-mm customizable travel, 0.001- to 10mm/see speed, 2N of...

Servo-motor feedback comes in a 36-mm package.(MOTION DEVICES)
June 9, 2005... Using MiDi technology, the SKS-36 SinCos motor-feedback system features a code disk with a 2-mm track radius, allowing integral scanning of the entire code disk and eliminating eccentricity errors of the code disk, ball bearings, and shaft....

Motion-control card features biquad filters.(MOTION DEVICES)
June 9, 2005... Available in one-, two-, three-, and four-axis versions, the Magellan-PCI motion-controller card supports dc brush, dc brushless, microstepping, and pulse and direction motors. With dual biquad filters, the device can produce two polarities of...

Single-chip video processor includes optimal-picture-quality features.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Targeting midrange LCD TVs, the TDA 15600 single-chip video processor supports screens as large as 30 in. Features include advanced picture-improvement deinterlacing with EDDI (edge-dependent deinterlacing), detail-adaptive noise reduction, and...

Analog CMOS image sensor meets AEC-Q100 criteria.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)(Complementary metal oxide semiconductors)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... The color OV7940 analog CMOS image sensor meets AEC (Automobile Electronics Council) AEC-Q100 criteria with respect to preconditioning, humidity, high-temperature-cycle, mechanical, optical, and electronic-test parameters. Packaged in a QFP-48...

GUI chip aims at 5.7-in. LCD modules.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)
June 9, 2005... Targeting use in 5.7-in. QVGA-display modules, the Amulet On-Board modules come in STN (supertwistneumatic) blue-negative and FSTN (fast-STN) negative-transmissive displays and in the FSTN positive-transflective display. The devices feature an...

SOC audio/video encoder produces high-quality MPEGs.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)(WISchip, USA)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... The Cypher 7108 SOC integrated video/audio encoder produces MPEG 4/2/1, H.263, and MJPEG video from direct RGB Bayer and full D1 CCIR-656/601 YUV video sources. The product also supports Dolby Digital AC3 and MPEG-1 and -2 audio encoding. The...

Advanced video-filtering devices suit consumer-video applications.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)
June 9, 2005... The ADA4410-6, ADA4411-3, and ADA4412-3 video filters feature adjustable six-pole filters and buffers. The ADA4410-6 integrates six channels for high-definition, standard-definition, S-video, or composite-video processing; 2-to-1 multiplexers...

Digital-signal controllers offer control-optimized performance at low cost.(MICROPROCESSORS)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... * The TMS320F2801, TMS320-F2806, and TMS321F2808 digital-signal controllers target use in motor control, digital-power conversion, and intelligent-sensor control in industrial, appliance, automotive, medical, and consumer applications. The...

Audio-system processor integrates communications controller.(MICROPROCESSORS)
June 9, 2005... * Integrating the vendor's 32-bit audio-optimized 49K series of audio DSPs, the single-chip CS4961XX family features a CobraNet communications processor and LQFP-144 packaging. The CS496102, CS496112, and CS496122 support two, eight, and 16...

Microcontrollers suit automotive and industrial use.(MICROPROCESSORS)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... * The 64-MHz M32C/95 microcontrollers, part of the M16C family, feature a three-channel controller-area-network controller, 512 or 768 kbytes of flash memory, local-interconnect-network master support for systems with communication functions,...

Iridium almost crashes and burns, then reignites.(reality check: YESTERDAY'S HYPE MEETS TODAY'S REALITY)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... * Do you remember Iridium, the satellite-based global-telephony system that promised worldwide connectivity, even with sparsely populated locales? (See "Satellite-based telephones punch Past reality's impediments," EDN, Sept 24, 1998.) Based on...

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore".(EDN.COMMENT)
June 23, 2005... This famous line that anchorman Howard Beale angrily recites in the 1976 movie Network--the late Peter Finch won the Oscar for his portrayal of Beale--sums up the reader responses to the EDN.comment "Perception problem dogs engineering" (links...

LabView module programs embedded DSPs.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 23, 2005... The new DSP Module extends National Instruments' popular LabView graphical development environment to embedded-signal-processing applications, such as communications, custom-control algorithms, digital and least-mean-square filtering, and audio...

DSP improves floating-point performance.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)(Digital signal processors)
June 23, 2005... Texas Instruments has introduced its latest floating-point DSPs, the TMS320C6722 TMS320C6726. and TMS320C6727. which include architectural enhancements to better meet the needs of high-quality-audio applications. According to Gerard Andrews....

Lithography simulator helps designers check integrity of OPC layouts.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)(optical-proximity-corrected)
June 23, 2005... Photolithography-tool-vendor Sigma-C contends that your OPC (optical-proximity-corrected) design may not be correct at all. The Munich-based vendor has expanded into the design-for-manufacturing tool market with the new Solid+ microlithography...

Sampling downconverter module meets need for serious speed.
June 23, 2005... The trend in radar receivers and similar advanced systems is to replace the traditional mixer with a downconversion-sampling module that comprises the front end of the digital-signal-processing chain. One such family of products, the 7600...

Dilbert.(Cartoon)
June 23, 2005... I MIGHT APPEAR TO BE A RECEPTIONIST, BUT I'M ACTUALLY THE DIRECTOR OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I MIGHT APPEAR TO BE A SALESMAN OF PRINTER CARTRIDGES, BUT I'M REALLY THE CEO OF HP. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Microcontroller-based SOC marries wireless and configurable-analog capabilities.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 23, 2005... For the past few years, Cypress has touted two product families that it is now integrating in the PRoC (Programmable Radio-on-a-Chip) family. PRoC devices will include both the 2.4-GHz wireless radio that Cypress offers in its WirelessUSB...

Feedback loop.
June 23, 2005... "I don't consent to the manufacturer's monitoring of me, or my car, even how my car performs--particularly under the guise of improving their product. THe type of invasive process this 'black box' represents right now needs to be stomped out,...

Logic analyzers feature higher speed and bigger screens and squeak to No. 1 in market share.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... Tektronix is crowing that, after years of battling, its logic analyzers have finally squeaked past those of Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) to achieve the No. 1 market share in 2004, according to a Prime Data (www.primedata. com) study....

Compression technique preserves accessible data elements.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)(WindSpring Inc)(data-miniaturization technology)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... Like all other compression technologies, WindSpring's DMT (data-miniaturization technology) shrinks data sets, thereby reducing storage requirements and the accessing or transmitting time necessary to fetch data. But DMT differs from most other...

Zigbee chip and software stack enable control networks.(pulse: INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS)
June 23, 2005... Someday, users will recognize control networks as equally important as-if not more important than-the more glamorous data network in the home. Low-speed control networks will enable a truly smart home with automated HVAC systems and lighting...

Module combines mobile communications, GPS.
June 23, 2005... Parvus Corp recently announced the OrbiTrak GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), a PC/104 module for intelligent-vehicle and airborne-computing systems requiring worldwide GSM/GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) roaming and GPS...

"Plastics" return to original meaning, but with light.(RESEARCH UPDATE)(light-sensitive plastic developed )(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... The word "plastic" originally characterized only the material's qualities: It is malleable, pliable, and deformable. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed plastics that change shape when the researchers...

Nanograss provides effective thermal-transfer surface.(RESEARCH UPDATE)
June 23, 2005... Cooling is a constant design challenge, To meet that challenge, researchers at Bell Labs/Lucent are experimenting with a nanostructured surface that reduces viscous drag on cooling fluid. The intention is to use billions of silicon posts to aid...

White LEDs get hotter--in intensity.(RESEARCH UPDATE)(Light emitting diodes)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic institute's Lighting Research Center have come up with a way to achieve a development priority: extracting more light from white LEDs. With their scattered-photon-extraction approach, they move the phosphor...

MEMS assists microdetectives.(RESEARCH UPDATE)
June 23, 2005... MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) have the versatility to solve specialized problems, and the demonstration of that versatility continues at Sandia National Laboratories. Researchers there have devised an advanced gas-sampling procedure...

Watery grave.(OFF BEAT)(Electrostatic Discharge )
June 23, 2005... A menacing thunderstorm catches you out on the lake in an aluminum canoe. As you paddle briskly toward shore, sensing the catastrophic danger of a direct strike by lightning, you face three choices: remain seated in the canoe; abandon the canoe...

Beyond the Spice model's dc and ac performance.(ANALOG ANGLE)
June 23, 2005... Evaluating the dc and ac performance of a Spice model before using it is mandatory for success. But the model evaluation should not stop here; designers should also know how the model performs when operating the active device in the nonlinear...

Baby steps stop the crying.(making battlebots)
June 23, 2005... Sometimes, a seemingly insignificant part tempers the thrill of a technical accomplishment. That's what happened to me recently when I designed and built a Battlebot that I thought was verified and ready to run. Instead, repeated failures...

First precision analog temperature sensors with four user-selectable gains and operation down to 1.5V.(Featured products)
June 23, 2005... The LM94021 and LM94022 are precision analog output CMOS integrated-circuit temperature sensors that operate at supply voltages as low as 1.5V and as high as 5.5V. Operating over a wide temperature range of -50[degrees]C to +150[degrees]C, the...

Super-small 1.8V rail-to-rail input/output operational amplifier.(Featured products)(LMV931 of National Semiconductor Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... The LMV931 is a low-voltage, low-power operational amplifier. It is guaranteed to operate from a 1.8V supply voltage and have rail-to-rail input and output. The input common-mode voltage of the LMV931 extends 200 mV beyond the supplies, which...

Temperature sensor solutions for low-voltage systems.(DESIGN / idea)(Advertisement)
June 23, 2005... To follow Moore's law and provide higher performance and expanded features at lower cost, processor manufacturers have moved to lower geometry or deep sub-micron processes. One of the characteristics of smaller geometry processes is a drop in...

12-bit Micropower digital-to-analog converter with rail-to-rail output.(Featured products)(DAC121S101)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... The DAC121S101 is a full-featured, general-purpose 12-bit voltage-output DAC that can operate from a single 2.7V to 5.5V supply and consumes just 177 [micro]A of current at 3.6V. The on-chip output amplifier allows rail-to-rail output swing....

1 MSPS, 12-bit analog-to-digital converter in a SOT-23 package.(Featured products)(National Semiconductor Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... The ADC121S101 is a low-power, monolithic CMOS 12-bit analog-to-digital converter that operates at 1 MSPS. It is based on a successive approximation register architecture with internal track-and-hold. The serial interface is compatible with...

An IP storm? The IP market is on a nonstop treadmill that artificially devalues IP to make money on silicon sales. How long can it keep up?(TECH TRENDS)
June 23, 2005... The continuously increasing number of components that silicon vendors are fitting onto a single chip has been driving the need for a correlating increase in developer productivity. Designers are increasingly acquiring IP (intellectual property)...

Easy-to-use, energy-efficient LM5021 for AC-DC converters.(Featured products)(National Semiconductor Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... Features * Current-mode PWM control with internal slope compensation * Implements highly efficient single-ended AC-DC converters * Low-current boostrapped start-up with wide hysteresis * Cycle-by-cycle current limiting and...

New 4V to 20V LM2717 converter with frequency up to 600 kHz allows use of small external components.(Featured products)(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... Features * High efficiency over complete load range (90% typ. at 1A, 5[V.sub.OUT]) reduces power dissipation in stand-by mode and extends battery life * Adjustable frequency up to 600 kHz allows use of small external components *...

Spring-loaded connectors provide maximum contact.(Brief Article)
June 23, 2005... While advancing the technology of high speed turning, Mill-Max has become North America's premier manufacturer of machined interconnect components. By combining precision-machined pins, "multi-finger" receptacles and a variety of insulators,...

Politically correct power: it's not sexy but, increasingly, it's the law: if you want to sell your products into a growing number of geographic markets, you have no choice but to be a good power-line citizen. Fortunately, power-semiconductor manufacturers are easing the needed compliance.
June 23, 2005... One of the intended consequences of universal-power-supply designs--those that accommodate inputs from 100V ac or less to 240V ac or more--is that the power-management circuits become source-independent and the designer need consider only...

Sensors and ICs simplify current measurements: today's drive toward energy efficiency at every level makes current the fast-growing measurement. Designers can now choose from a bewildering variety of hardware to best implement techniques that have minimal impact on the host circuitry.
June 23, 2005... From tiny, battery-powered tire-pressure sensors to multimegawatt wind turbines, the nature of today's electronics and the incessant drive to improve energy efficiency make energy measurement a hot topic for every designer. At the low end of...

Crosstalk penalty in high-speed, serial-communication modules: electromagnetic crosstalk, among its many detrimental effects, degrades receiver sensitivity. The mitigation of crosstalk becomes increasingly challenging as data rates increase for higher throughput, as module sizes shrink for increased port density, and as supply rails lower for reduced power dissipation.
June 23, 2005... The crosstalk between two channels is the ratio of the output of Channel A (with no input signal) divided by the output of Channel B (excited by the input signal). The crosstalk in decibels from B to A is defined as: CROSSTALK =...

ThinSOT switching regulator controls inrush current: design note 365.(DESIGN NOTES)(Advertisement)
June 23, 2005... Introduction Inrush current can be troublesome, especially when regulators are operated from batteries or a current-limited source. In such cases, excessive inrush current can cause the input source to collapse and prevent the converter...

Digital countdown timer may never need battery replacement.(design ideas: READERS SOLVE DESIGN PROBLEMS)
June 23, 2005... Comprising a microprocessor, an LCD, a 32.768-kHz crystal, and little else, the basic countdown-timer circuit in Figure 1 operates from a commonly available CR2032 lithium-coin-cell battery. Based on the circuit's calculated current drain, the...

Wide-range regulator delivers 12V, 3A output from 16 to 100V source.(design ideas: READERS SOLVE DESIGN PROBLEMS)
June 23, 2005... Synchronous buck regulators offer high efficiency and are popular in applications in which available input voltages are 12V or less. However, as input voltage approaches 100V, wide-range-regulator design becomes more difficult, and the choice...

Stable, 18-MHz oscillator features automatic level control, clean-sine-wave output.(design ideas: READERS SOLVE DESIGN PROBLEMS)
June 23, 2005... A recent Design Idea described a method for designing simple, high-frequency LC oscillators with few passive components (Reference 1). However, for best results, practical hardware design of a stable oscillator requires more parts and greater...