EDN articles from November 2003

EDN archives from November 2003

Current-sensing resistor combines precision, surface mounting: what's hot in the design community.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... YOUR CHOICE of current-sensing resistor is sometimes more critical than you think at first glance, because errors and drift in that component's nominal resistance can have large effects on your feedback or control loop's performance. You may...

IC-package and pc-board-design flow now works with Linux.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS has ported its advanced-IC-package- and pc-board-design flow to IBM's Linux as part of its Version 15.1 IC-packaging and pc-board-design-environment release. The Cadence PCB Design Studio, part of the 15.1 release, is a...

AES gets embedded in nucleus RTOS.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... Enabling embedded devices to support secure connections and connect directly to the Internet without requiring the protection of an enterprise network, the Nucleus Cipher AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) from Accelerated Technology is a...

Software customizes DSOs, simplifies on-scope data analysis.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... LATE LAST YEAR, when Agilent Technologies added the 20G-sample/sec/channel 54850 series to its Infiniium line of digital oscilloscopes, the company, which had been the first to market Windows-based DSOs, finally allowed its new scopes to run...

Dilbert.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... THE PROJECT IS BEHIND SCHEDULE BECAUSE OUR CONTRACTOR IS A LAZY BEAVER. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR A WHILE HE WAS MAKING UP EXCUSES. NOW, HE DOESN'T RETURN CALLS. WHAT'S YOUR PLAN? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I HOPE TO GET...

Manufacturer upgrades DSO lines.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... TEKTRONIX HAS UPGRADED a large number of its oscilloscopes, turning into mainstream units products the company only recently thought of as top-of-the-line instruments. The changes make room for even higher performance scopes at the top of the...

Spec extends RapidIO to medium-rate data-plane applications.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... THE RAPIDIO TRADE ASSOCIATION has released its Flow Control Extensions Specification to complement the link-based flow-control mechanisms of the spec and extend the reach of RapidIO into medium-rate data-plane applications, such as media...

Conference presentation pumps up multimedia muscle.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... NEOMAGIC'S MIMAGIC 6, which the company unveiled at this year's Embedded Systems Conference, is simultaneously an evolutionary follow-on to the earlier generation MiMagic 5 and a revolutionary retargeting of the company's technology approach to...

Piezoelectric substrates are temperature-compensated.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS can convert electrical signals into sound waves that can propagate along the material's surface or through its bulk. Conversely, sound waves or mechanical vibrations on the surface or in the bulk of the material can...

Data-acquisition hardware/software combo streams real-time data to memory.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... DATA TRANSLATION HAS SO quickly announced so many versions of its Measure Foundry test-and-measurement application-development environment that potential customers, in their confusion, may hesitate to investigate the newer versions. If the...

Arapahoe is ready.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... The Arapahoe Working Group of the PCI-SIG (Special Interest Group) has completed development of its Advanced Switching specification, a scalable switched-interconnect and data-fabric architecture for interconnecting system boards and...

New spec for HyperTransport enhances robustness.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... THE NEW HYPERTRANSPORT 1.1 specification introduces native packet handling, retry protocols, peer-to-peer routing, and virtual channels. Native packet handling addresses many of the issues, such as complex channelization and data structures,...

Device expands communication options.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... TRISCEND'S TA7Vx05 FAMILY of configurable system-on-chip processors integrates a 70-MHz ARM7TDMI core with 512 configurable system-logic cells with about 6400 system gates, a CAN controller-area-network) 2.0B controller, a USB 1.1 transceiver,...

Tool speeds and eases pc-board design.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... Revision 7 of Zuken's CR-5000 enterprisewide pc-board-design tool integrates System Designer with Board Designer. Customers can integrate CR-5000 with their own custom processes. Engineers using CR-5000 can improve the speed and efficiency of...

Virtual-assembly tome gets real update.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... THE ART OF ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE by Randall Hyde, which has for 10 years been available online (http://webster.cs.ucr.edu/Page_asm/ArtOf Asm.html), is now available in a $59.95, 928-pg paper version from No Starch Press. Hyde presents initial...

Fingers good for more than just QWERTY.(leading edge)
November 13, 2003... THINGS ARE TRULY going digital everywhere--not just in the numerical, but also in the literal sense--as two recently introduced products vividly demonstrate. The MicroNav from Interlink Electronics may meet your requirements if you need the...

Shannon says.(signal integrity)
November 13, 2003... CE SHANNON, PIONEER OF THE INFORMATION AGE, says that the ultimate information-carrying capacity of a band-limited communications channel varies in proportion to its bandwidth and also as a function of the SNR within the channel. Given signal...

Design globally, make locally?(edn.comment)
November 13, 2003... READERS OF EDN KNOW that contract and outsourced manufacturing are major factors in our industry. Fewer and fewer companies operate their own production and assembly facilities; some industry analysts believe that less than half the pc boards...

Fourier transforms in the mechanical domain?(The outlook for new technology sightings)
November 13, 2003... YOU MAY THINK MEMS (microelectrical mechanical systems) are primarily for sensor and actuator functions, but a properly structured device can perform real-time signal processing. At Draper Laboratory (www.draper.com). researchers have built a...

Nonorganized molecules make nonvolatile memories.(The outlook for new technology sightings)
November 13, 2003... A RICE UNIVERSITY research team claims that building electronic circuits doesn't necessarily require delicate precision. In fact, disordered, self-assembling collections of gold nanowires and organic molecules can function as nonvolatile...

Squeeze water, get juice.(The outlook for new technology sightings)
November 13, 2003... A CURRENT OF A FEW microamps normally warrants little attention. But a tiny electron flow at the University of Alberta has created a commotion because researchers generated it simply by forcing ordinary tap water through fine pipelines. ...

Laser shoots plane up, not down.(The outlook for new technology sightings)
November 13, 2003... IN SCIENCE-FICTION adventures, laser beams bring aircraft crashing out of the sky. At NASA, they keep them aloft. A research ream from the space agency has successfully flown a miniature aircraft that gets its power entirely from an invisible...

Cooling processor hot spots: increasing high-performance-processor peak power density demands increasingly efficient and reliable cooling mechanisms.(how it works)
November 13, 2003... MANY HIGH-PERFORMANCE electronic systems require a cooling mechanism to keep sensitive devices, such as microprocessors, from overheating. Cooling mechanisms are becoming more critical as their integrated density- and current-voltage-handling...

7 tips for safe passage: models are not always available for your in-house EDA tools. It's up to you to span the gulf between what the vendor's software provides and a complete design.(Online Design Tools)
November 13, 2003... AT EDN, WE HAVE BEEN LISTENING to design engineers talk about the nature of their work, how it's been changing, and the pressures driving those changes. We meet at conferences and trade shows, listen to comments during focus groups, touch base...

Mesh technology boosts wireless performance: multihop mesh technology combines multiple wireless nodes into an extendable network environment with non-line-of-sight coverage and self-healing datapaths.(tech trends)
November 13, 2003... AS THE POPULARITY OF wireless networking grows, users are demanding higher bandwidth, greater coverage, and improved reliability. The standard point-to-point or point-to-multipoint technologies, such as 802.11 and Bluetooth, are short range,...

Auto-Track[TM] feature simplifies simultaneous power supply voltage sequencing.
November 13, 2003... Auto-Track is a unique feature of the new PTH series of power modules from the Plug-in Power Solutions product family from Texas Instruments. The feature was designed to simplify the amount of external circuitry required to configure these...

Design verification and debugging FPGA implementations: as the complexity of ASIC designs grows and development schedules shrink, design engineers must seek ways to improve their productivity. The best approach for them is to adopt new design methods.(design feature)
November 13, 2003... VERIFICATION TAKES as much as 70% of an ASIC's development time and resources. With growing ASIC complexity, verification problems are growing exponentially. Given the high cost of ASIC mask sets, the financial impact of a silicon respin is...

Programmatic interface generation simplifies software integration: complex SOCs often contain multiple processor cores and interconnect buses, along with IP blocks from numerous sources and associated embedded software. Implementing a contiguous data flow within the design flow can help you avoid costly silicon respins and delayed product introductions.(design feature)
November 13, 2003... THE GROWING NUMBER of SOC (system-on-chip) developments has highlighted for many systems companies the problems associated with parallel development of hardware and software. Well-understood hardware- and software-development programs may exist...

If extreme programming is good management, what were we doing before? Extreme programming provides a roadmap to a consistent and reliable development process.(design feature)
November 13, 2003... IF YOU HAVE MANAGED a software project, you know what it's like to feel the push for results from your managers working against the pull of your dedication to the well-being of your development team. What if these two forces were not in...

Skew generation and analysis in timing-critical circuits: custom-made circuits enable designers to achieve timing precision on the order of a few picoseconds. By following recommended techniques, designers can achieve highly accurate skew insertion and balancing, and spice simulations confirm the design method's suitability.(design feature)
November 13, 2003... AS THE ELECTRONICS industry enters the less-than-100-nm-transistor era, delay sensitivity has also begun to venture into the picosecond range. You can also infer this high degree of timing accuracy by Moore's Law, which predicts that the...

High efficiency ThinSOT white LED driver features internal switch and Schottky diode--Design Note 325.(Design Notes)
November 13, 2003... Introduction The LT[R]3465 white LED driver is ideal for backlight circuits in small, battery-powered portable devices--such as cellular phones, PDAs and digital cameras. The LT3465 includes important features such as automatic soft-start...

Input filter prevents instrumentation-amp RF-rectification errors.(design ideas)
November 13, 2003... INSTRUMENTATION AMPLIFIERS serve in a variety of applications that need to extract a weak differential signal from large common-mode noise or interference. However, designers often overlook the potential problem of RF rectification inside the...

White-LED driver backlights LCD and keypad.(design ideas)
November 13, 2003... DESIGNERS WIDELY USE white LEDs to backlight color LCDs and keypads in handheld devices, such as cell phones, MP3 players, GPS navigators, and PDAs. Their spectrum and brightness represent near-ideal light sources. One possible configuration...

Microcontroller or DSP circuit controls on/off function.(design ideas)
November 13, 2003... IN MANY APPLICATIONS, a single on/off button switches the power supply on or off. Usually, the system switches off regardless of the processing function or workload the microcontroller or DSP circuit is currently handling. The small circuit in...

Simple power supply fits into small spaces.(design ideas)
November 13, 2003... THE DEMAND FOR negative-voltage power supplies is increasing with the popularity of applications for portable devices. It can be expensive and relatively complicated to generate a negative supply from a positive input source, especially when...

Amplifier and current source emulate instrumentation amplifier.(design ideas)
November 13, 2003... THE CLASSIC three- or two-op-amp instrumentation-amplifier circuits are standard ways to amplify a small-amplitude differential signal contaminated with high common-mode noise. In some applications, the signal source is floating with...

Hardware histogram speeds ADC test.(design ideas)
November 13, 2003... ACCUMULATING ENOUGH samples to effectively and accurately measure linearity errors in pipeline converters at production test and minimizing test time are difficult enough. Add to that multiple sites, multiple channels, and the expense of...

Ergonomic case accommodates handheld electronics.(Cooling & Enclosures)
November 13, 2003... The top panel of the Hand-Terminal case is wider than the base, providing enough room for a large graphic LCD and keypad without making the unit too bulky to hold. A deep area at the top end of the base section accommodates larger components,...

Solid-state air conditioner employs preset thermostat.(Cooling & Enclosures)
November 13, 2003... Delivering accurate temperature control without setup or adjustment, the AHP-301FF/85F air conditioner comes with a built-in sensor that causes the unit to cycle on when ambient temperature reaches 85[degrees]F, [+ or -]5[degrees]E You can use...

Two-wire brushless dc blower is quiet and compact.(Cooling & Enclosures)
November 13, 2003... Even though it measures just 3.4 in. in diameter and 2.64 in. long, this 24V two-wire brushless dc blower produces as much as 11.5 in. of [H.sub.2]O pressure (28.8 mbar). The 300-0117-02 blower can also produce a maximum flow rate of 21.5 cfm....

PC/104 enclosure protects embedded module stacks.(Cooling & Enclosures)
November 13, 2003... Accommodating a stack of as many as four PC/104 or PC/104-Plus modules, the ENC-104 enclosure targets embedded applications requiring mounting inside NEMA boxes, OEM machinery, wiring closets, equipment rooms, and other areas where it is...

Fanless native X86 processor.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Implements the CoolStream architecture and PadLock data encryption engine with hardware random-number generator * Typically consumes 1W of power when running at a clock speed of 733 MHz * Eden ESP7000, from $80 VIA Technologies...

Storage-network-access processor.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Delivers 220,000 IOPS and 440-Mbyte/ sec throughput in full duplex, dual-channel Gigabit Ethernet configuration * Comes in a 937-pin CCGA package * iSNAP 2100, $150 (1000) Silverback Systems Inc, 1-408-558-1200,...

Mobile multimedia coprocessor.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Optimized for high-resolution graphics performance reaching 1280x1024 pixels * Works with Intel XScale, X86, Transmeta Crusoe, and Hitachi SH-4 processors through a direct 32-bit interface or PCI interface * SM501, $11 (100,000) ...

Flash microcontroller-unit in-circuit emulator.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Emulator/programmer unit and device-specific evaluation boards target the Motorola HCS08 flash microcontrollers * Permit real-time code execution without probes * inDART HCS08, $299 with one evaluation board SofTec Microsystems,...

RTOS port.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Optimized for Alphamosaic's VC01 VideoCore processor * Teams with the Nucleus NET TCP/IP and Nucleus FILE * Nucleus for VC01, from $12,495 Accelerated Technology Inc, 1-251-661-5770, www.acceleratedtechnology.com

64-bit MIPS processor.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Includes a 266-MHz VR4130 core, 133-MHz SDRAM interface, PCI interface, and Ethernet MAC * Consumes 370 mW at full speed * VR4133, $27.50 (10,000); CM-VR4133 reference board, $1950 NEC Electronics America Inc, 1-408-588-6000,...

PowerPC development environment.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Simplifies development of complex applications for Motorola's MPC500 family of processors * Includes hardware diagnostics, flash programming, search engine and text editor, debugger, and instruction-set simulator * CodeWarrior...

Linux PowerPC port.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Targets the IBM PowerPC 405LP embedded 32-bit RISC processor * Integrates with IBM's J2ME-certified WebSphere Micro Environment and graphics products such as Qtopia and Qt/Embedded from Trolltech * Linux Consumer Electronics Edition...

High-pin-count flash microcontrollers.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * 8-bit controllers come in 64 and 80-pin TQFPs and are code-compatible with Microchip's 18-, 28-, and 40-pin portfolio * Pack 48 or 64 kbytes of flash memory, 4 kbytes of RAM, and 1024 bytes of high-endurance EEPROM * PIG...

DSP real-time operating system.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * OSEck real-time kernel with built-in error handling and Illuminator development tools target Analog Devices' TigerSHARC ADSP-TS201 processor * Fully pre-emptive kernel occupies as little as 10 kbytes of memory * OSEck for...

Microcontroller design kit.(Microprocessors)
November 13, 2003... * Evaluates Cypress Microsystems' PSoC (Programmable-System-on-Chip) 28-pin microcontroller * Includes a loaded 6x4-in. board with 2x4 in. prototype area and header access to PSoC I/O, RS-232 cable, and power supply * PSoC evaluation...

Diamonds in the rough.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... "Programming today is the opposite of diamond mining. In diamond mining, you dig up a lot of dirt to find a small bit of value. With programming, you start with the value-the real intention-and bury it in a bunch of dirt." --Charles...

PC/104 module features software-selectable serial ports.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... THE NEW C4-104. ULTRA I/O card from Sealevel Systems allows users to specify the desired serial interface via software. You can independently select RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485 modes for each of the four ports, eliminating the need for setting...

Inductor wants to take you higher.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... COOL-RUNNING and micropower may be the rage, but many automotive, aerospace, and industrial applications need high-temperature and- current capability. The HT series of power inductors from JW Miller Magnetics meets those needs with current...

TDM fabrics and framers become interoperable.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... The OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum) has published a TDM (time-domain-multiplexed) fabric-to-framer-interface IA (implementation agreement) to speed the development of devices such as add/ drop multiplexers and TDM cross-connect and grooming...

Platform bridges the verification gap.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... MENTOR GRAPHICS has introduced its Scalable Verification Platform and four design-verification products. A new version of ModelSim forms the core of the new platform. To provide verification capabilities as early as possible to designers,...

Dilbert.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... YOU DON'T RESPOND TO MY E-MAIL ANYMORE. WHEN I REPLY TO E-MAIL, IT ATTRACTS MORE E-MAIL. I'M TRYING TO BREAK THE VICIOUS CYCLE. WELL... I'LL LEAVE "YOU VOICEMAILS. LET ME KNOW HOW THAT WORKS OUT FOR YOU.

Leading edge.
November 27, 2003... * The Terascale Cluster computer, nicknamed Big Mac, at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg) conducts 9.6 trillion calculations/sec, zipping along with 2200 IBM microprocessors. Big Mac could potentially handle...

Ceramic device is a good listener--ultrasonically.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... Targeting applications such as bill changers, paper scanners, and robotics, the Murata MA200D1 series features increased sensitivity and wider directivity than previous models from the company. It operates at approximately 220 kHz with a [+ or...

Java pacing agent improves real-time control.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... AONIX'S RELEASE OF PERC (Portable Executive for Reliable Control) 4.1, a Java virtual machine, includes a new pacing agent that monitors the memory-allocation behavior of an application and automatically adjusts the timing and ratios of...

PICMG-compliant single-board computer features Pentium M processor.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... TRENTON TECHNOLOGY'S new single-board computer uses the Intel Pentium M processor and E7501 chip set to support Ethernet-packet-switching, hot-swap, and platform-management requirements in CompactPCI or server-blade applications. The CP16 is...

New standards body focuses on 10-Gbps physical layer.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... Five major IC companies--AMCC, IBM, Infineon, Texas Instruments, and Xilinx (www.amcc.com, www.ibm. com, www.infineon.com, www.ti.com, www.xilinx.com)--have announced the creation of the UXPI (Unified 10-Gbps Physical-Layer Initiative). The...

PC/104 computer boasts CompactFlash, USB, and Ethernet.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... THE NEW SBC1586 FROM Micro/sys provides a complete single-board computer in the popular 3.55x3.775-in. PC/104 footprint. In addition to standard PC features, the new board also includes a CompactFlash connector, four serial ports, a USB-host...

Embedded TCP/IP goes wireless.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... THE WIRELESS-ETHERNET add-on option for the CMX-MicroNet TCP/IP stack enables 802.11b networking connectivity for 8- and 16-bit embedded applications, such as SOHO (small-office/home-office) networking, industrial automation, and...

Book reveals secrets of home networks.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... When I first saw Home Networking Basis by Walter Y Chen, I thought two things: That's an odd title, and why do I need a book about how fun and easy it is to set up your network, place the access points, perhaps drill holes and route wires, and...

IP targets use in metropolitan-Ethernet equipment.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... NERALINK NETWORKS' NEIP (Neralink metro-Ethernet intellectual-property) program provides metropolitan-Ethernet equipment and component vendors a variety of cores, delivering network functions for metro- and last-mile-Ethernet markets. The...

Security coprocessor works at IPSec speed.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... THE SAFEXCEL-184X SERIES of security coprocessors from SafeNet accelerates VPN (virtual-private-network) performance in midrange to high-range network devices and appliances, such as gateways, firewalls, security servers, and routers. The...

Statistics and probability get more exposure.(leading edge)
November 27, 2003... Statistics and Probability for Engineering Applications by William J DeCoursey (Newnes, 2003, ISBN 0-7506-7618-3) covers a topic area that all engineers should be familiar with and ready to use in design, test, and manufacturing. The book works...

Version control keeps rework to a minimum.(baker's best)
November 27, 2003... ONE DAY, LONG, LONG AGO, a customer called and asked why his circuit was getting wrong results today, when yesterday the system was working properly. He asked me whether a faulty ADC was causing the problem. Well, you can look in a few places...

When your time has come--and gone.(edn.comment)
November 27, 2003... THE LIFETIMES of the product families that EDN readers design vary widely. Some product categories, such as TVs and PCs, become so embedded in our lives that they seem like have been around forever and will continue to be there, in some form;...

Smart-dust designers deliver dirt-cheap chips: in a package no bigger than a grain of sand, new smart-dust circuits combine sensing, computing, and communications functions.(how it works)
November 27, 2003... IMAGINE FULLY FUNCTIONAL SENSOR circuits so small and inexpensive that you could afford to scatter thousands into an area of interest to sense local conditions or to detect the presence and movement of chemicals, vehicles, or even humans. These...

Tight squeeze: RF design once delegated to a few specialists and its own chip set, is now integrated with digital and analog modules in the same IC. Moreover, the critical dimensions inherent in RF designs add to engineering pressures.(Cover Story)
November 27, 2003... RF design is the design of a circuit that can transmit electromagnetic signals. RF stands for radio frequency, because in their infancy, RF circuits could emit radio signals only in the AM and FM bands. To call high-frequency design "RF design"...

A look at telematics: telematics is an umbrella application that combines location-based information services with two-way wireless capability for communication with the outside world.(tech trends)
November 27, 2003... SOME OF THE MOST VISIBLE recent innovations in automobiles, such as telematics, have little to do with the automobile's operation itself. The inclusion of hands-free kits and multimedia systems have less effect on the automobile's operation and...

Complete monolithic 800mA linear Li-Ion battery charger fits in ThinSOT package.(Power management: high performance analog solutions from linear technology)
November 27, 2003... The LTC[R]4054 is a single-cell linear Li-Ion battery charger with onboard charge termination circuitry and power transistor housed in a 5-lead, 1mm high SOT-23 (ThinSOT[TM]) package. The LTC4054 can deliver up to 800mA of charge current in the...

PWM controller minimizes transformer size in isolated & non-isolated power supplies.(Power management: high performance analog solutions from linear technology)
November 27, 2003... The LT[R]1950 is a PWM controller with a sophisticated control mechanism to protect, simplify and reduce the size of isolated/non-isolated 15W to 500W power supplies with 24V and 48V input supply rails. The LT1950 features an adaptive maximum...

Dual Output Supply Powers FPGA from 3.3V and 5V Inputs.(Power management: high performance analog solutions from linear technology)
November 27, 2003... FPGAs often require multiple Power supplies: one for the core voltage (usually 1.8V, but sometimes as low as 1.2V) and at least one more for the I/O circuitry (often 2.5V). The available input supply is either 3.3V or 5V. One way to provide the...

Memory-organization challenges with real-time video encoding on embedded signal processors; as current standards evolve and new compression standards emerge, memory size and bandwidth will remain the limiting factors to accomplishing real-time video encoding.(design feature)
November 27, 2003... MODERN MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS have been appearing and developing in the marketplace at an increasingly rapid pace. Used in applications such as handheld personal digital assistants, cellular phones, and home-entertainment set-top boxes,...

Powering your core voltage: a three-step process helps you select the right design for your low-voltage application and examines the latest low-dropout and switching-regulator technologies.(design feature)
November 27, 2003... AS PROCESSOR- AND ASIC-CORE VOLTAGES continue on a downward spiral, selecting the best design to provide these lower voltages requires a thorough knowledge of both requirements and options. It's safe to say that most of us prefer to use linear...

Basic switching-regulator-layout techniques: the fundamentals of laying out a switching-regulator board can be useful when you're working with all types of switching regulators, including a step-up switching regulator.(design feature)
November 27, 2003... WHEN CONSIDERING HOW BEST to lay out a switching-regulator board, it's good to recall its purpose, which is to supply a steady volt age of a specific magnitude. Experienced layout de signers achieve that steady voltage by paying close attention...

Circuit controls microneedle etching.(design ideas)
November 27, 2003... AT ITS INVENTION roughly two decades ago, STM (scanning tunneling microscopy) created a sensation because it was the first technology to make atomic-scale-resolution imaging a routine procedure. An essential requirement for the practical...

Circuit removes relay-contact bounce.(design ideas)
November 27, 2003... ADVANCES IN SEMICONDUCTOR technology have allowed ICs to replace many mechanical relays, but relays still dominate in high-current circuits that must stand off high voltages of arbitrary polarity. Contact bounce in those relays, however, can...

Log-ratio amplifier has six-decade dynamic range.(design ideas)
November 27, 2003... YOU NEED OPTICAL-POWER monitoring to guarantee overall system performance in fiber-optic communication systems. Logarithmic signal processing can maintain precise measurements over a wide dynamic range. The wide-dynamic-range signal undergoes...

VCXO makes inexpensive dual-clock reference.(design ideas)
November 27, 2003... THIS DESIGN IDEA describes an inexpensive circuit to generate two extremely high-quality, crystal-clock-reference-signals, one of which is a PWM-controlled VCXO (voltage-controlled crystal oscillator) clock signal (Figure 1). The design also...