[Cover Feature] Eye In The Sky
Dead reckoning is a method of using vehicle-based sensors to continue carrying out position determination during failure or poor reception of GPS signals. In addition, a comparison to map material takes place called map matching. Modern GPS receivers increasingly offer the option of processing information from vehicle-based sensors and thereby integrating dead reckoning. As a result, positions are given with a higher level of accuracy. Until recently GPS receivers were used...
—
Paul Whytock
[Direct Feature] Small Is Cool
Significant increases in the power density of multiphase voltage regulator module (VRM) circuits have been enabled by the use of source-mounted power MOSFET devices. Increases in current density have been enabled by two factors. Firstly, package parasitic impedances have been reduced, and secondly, the thermal resistance between the power device junction and the external ambient has been dramatically cut. Exploiting the advantages of source-mounted packages depends...
—
Carl Blake
, et al.
[News Feature] Adding Interfaces To PCI Embedded Designs
A growing number of applications demand storage and connectivity for digital content. This applies to personal video recorders (PVRs), set top boxes (STBs), information appliances, home gateways, simple routers and routers with network shared storage and/or printers. As a result of rising volumes, the cost of storage media such as small hard disk drives (HDD) and flash memory cards continues to fall, while interfaces such as USB and IDE are becoming de facto standards for device...
—
Alain Sorin
[News Feature] Memory Architecture Aims At High-End Mobiles
Infineon has expanded its wireless memory portfolio with CellularRAM, this is a customised memory solution designed and tailored for mid-range to high-end mobile phone applications. CellularRAM is well positioned to replace current 6T-SRAM in future 2.5G and 3G handsets due to its high-density 1T1C-cell architecture and optimised low power design. CellularRAM has SRAM-pin compatibility, refresh-free operation and exceptionally low power consumption, making it a viable alternative in legacy...
—
Ralf Schedel
[News Feature] Embedded Extra
The Embedded Systems Conference at Boston was the forum where operating systems company Enea Embedded Technology decided to unveil its Enea Embedded Medical Platform (EE-Med), a safety-critical software platform for embedded medical devices. The attraction of this platform is its ability to provide all the software components needed to design safety-critical medical devices, including a hard RTOS, secure wireless and wireline networking, an embedded GUI, a fault tolerant database...
—
Paul Whytock
[News Feature] Giving Stubble Trouble The Brush Off
The well worn but nevertheless important story of microscopic whisker growth on tin was given a new twist recently when engineers at Agere Systems have found a mix of semiconductor packaging ingredients that prevent the creation of these whiskers in lead free packaging designs. The company's formula eliminates lead from the process and avoids the potentially devastating flaw of whiskers that can create short circuits or break and cause other defects Lead-free semiconductor...
—
Paul Whytock
[Editorial] The Three Mobileteers – Lots Of Swash But Will Competitors Buckle?
Intel continues to lick its corporate lips over the mobile phone market and the technical challenges and potential sales this sector promises and often delivers. It's no secret that the giant computer chip maker has been seeking a toehold in the lucrative mobile market and it now looks like it has found one in the form of Nokia and Symbian, the UK software group in which Nokia is a major shareholder and the producers of the most widely used mobile phone software. This...
—
Paul Whytock
[Upfront] Automotive Power Technology Moves Up A Gear
STMicroelectronics has designed a new generation of its proprietary VIPower (Vertical Intelligent Power) family of technologies. Called M0-5, the new technology employs a patented control strategy that reduces chip and package sizes while delivering the same power level as currently available devices, and at the same time increasing robustness. The technology is particularly suitable for automotive applications which are characterised by a demand for smaller, lighter and...
—
Paul Whytock
[Upfront] Nanometer Simulation
Mentor Graphics claims it has enabled the industry's most accurate simulation of nanometer technology with new resistance and capacitance engines for its full-chip, transistor-level parasitic extraction solution, Calibre xRC. Based on the new engine, Mentor has also developed hierarchical netlisting and optimised back annotation capabilities between Calibre xRC and Nassda's high-performance simulation platform HSIMplus....
—
Paul Whytock
[Upfront] Big On Efficiency But Small On Size Claim For Capacitors
AVX has launched the 0402 TACmicrochip series tantalum chip capacitors which it claims is the smallest tantalum device and also offers the highest volumetric efficiency, being capable of delivering 0.47 to 10_F. Key to the capacitance rating of the TACmicrochip capacitors is the construction of these devices which borrows from semiconductor processing. Traditional moulded tantalum devices are based on a leadframe which result in proportionally larger space waste as the size of...
—
Paul Whytock
[Upfront] Standards Stuff And A New Conference
The VMEbus International Trade Association (VITA) has voted to move two working group draft standards into the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) process. The first draft standard, VITA 41.0, VXS, is the base-level draft standard for the latest enhancement to the VMEbus. VXS specifies a high performance, differential P0 connector that allows the integration of high-speed serial fabrics combined with the real-time/hard deadline performance of the VMEbus. For the first time,...
—
Paul Whytock
[Upfront] More Memory
Samsung Electronics has announced the industry's first mass production of 90nanometer(nm) 512Mb DDR SDRAM on 300mm base wafers. Samsung pioneered nanometer level production technology in 2003 with production of 2Gb NAND flash memory in a 90nm process. The 90nm 512Mb DDR SDRAM with voltage rates of 2.5V is available at both 400 and 333MHz. The new device is already being verified by leading chipset companies. According to Samsung, the keys to successful production in...
—
Paul Whytock
[Point of View] Less Can Mean More
The 1990's witnessed the consolidation of the EDA industry with many smaller companies being bought by larger ones and a few market leaders emerging with massive market share and profits to match. Now the situation is very different and the EDA market is undergoing fundamental change driven by three main factors: a more critical appraisal of their needs by EDA buyers, the divergence of analogue and digital designs, and the emergence of budget-constrained chip design start-up...
—
Paul Double
[Point of View] Facing Up To Fibre’s Future
The fibre optics industry is young but has already been through some unpredictable disruptions and it's probably safe to assume there will be further unexpected developments making it difficult to predict what will happen in the future. The next two years will see a reasonable recovery in the market and a bit more consolidation among the companies. Due to acquisitions taking place now, companies will have the opportunity to move into new markets. The fibre optics industry as a...
—
Fred Leonberger
, et al.
[Pease Porridge] What’s All This Input Impedance Stuff, Anyhow?
A young teacher went to Temple. Several priests and pharisees asked him questions. They asked trick questions to try to fool him. The teacher very sweetly and correctly answered their many tricky questions. All those present were amazed at the teacher's wisdom in answering these difficult questions. Then a pharisee asked him another trick question. He drew a circuit in the dirt. "Look at this op-amp circuit. It is often used as an example of a well-balanced circuit. Have you...
—
Bob Pease
