[Technology Report] Heatsinks Shape Up To Face New Thermal Challenges
Rising power dissipations at the device and board levels continue to create more challenging thermal management problems in many applications. While heatsources are becoming more concentrated, pc boards are growing more densely populated. Naturally,...
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David G. Morrison
[Product Innovation] Superfast Op Amps Break 2-GHz Bandwidth Barrier
Until now, very high-speed Operational Amplifiers (OP AMPS) have offered a top bandwidth of about a gigahertz. The addition of silicon germanium (SiGe) to a high-speed bipolar-CMOS process results in a family of fixed-gain, voltage-feedback op amps...
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Tets Maniwa
[Design Application] Quickly And Easily Automate Test Systems With USB
Manufacturers of test-and-measurement equipment have long recognized the need to allow for automated testing. So, they usually build equipment with some type of I/O interface. The General-Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) described in the IEEE-488...
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Andy Purcell
[Ideas For Design] One-Shot Timing Improves Microprocessor Reset Circuit
Many microprocessor-based products require a manual-reset capability that allows the user, test technician, or external circuitry to reboot the system without a full power-down/power-up cycle. To simplify the necessary timing and system interface,...
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Larry Barnes
[Ideas For Design] Hyperbaric Fall-Time Viscometer Is PC-Based
The measurement of the viscosity of solutions is an integral element in analytical chemistry and chemical manufacturing. It has particular value in designing and controlling the processes of polymerization, an essential step in the production of...
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W. Stephen Woodward
[Editorial] Looking For The Juice To Fuel The Next 50 Years Of Innovation
By now I hope you've found time to read your copy of our 50th anniversary issue. Putting this commemorative special together was both a labor of love and a lot of hard work. Reviewing all the breakthroughs of the last half-century makes my imagination...
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Dave Bursky
[Pease Porridge] Bob's Mailbox
Mr. Pease: I was shopping at a thrift store in Willoughby, Ohio, yesterday and found a Black & Decker 1/4-in. drill, No. 7004, type 1, with an orange $6.50 price sticker on it. Recalling your recent article on the scarcity of...
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Bob Pease
[Editor's Notebook] Scripting Is Not Enough
I've been looking at a number of microcontroller development kits from Atmel, Cypress Semiconductor, Parallax, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Ubicom, and Rabbit Semiconductor. It's surprising how inexpensive the kits are and how easy it is to get started using...
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William Wong
[Celebrating 50 Years] Flashback
Flashback > 10 Years Ago NOVEMBER 2, 1992 With portability and ease-of-use unmatched by standard computers, pen-based PCs and digital assistants have made users stand up and take notice. However, the...
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Staff
[Forefront] Believe It Or Not, Chip Sales Rise 14%
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it might not be a train after all. A recent Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) report says global chip sales totaled $11.9 billion in August, achieving a 2.2% sequential increase over the $11.7...
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Richard Gawel
[Forefront] CPU/DSP Gains Java Accelerator
The TriCore-based TC1920 Telematics Controller targets automotive telematics, where Java is becoming an important application platform. The controller combines Infineon's TC1920 with Nazomi's (www.nazomi.com) JA108 Java...
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William Wong
[Forefront] Tiny, Low-Cost MEMS Gyro IC Sets Performance Records
Using the Coriolis effect and its integrated MEMS (iMEMS) surface micromachined process, Analog Devices has produced the smallest, lowest-cost high-performance commercially available angular-rate sensor (gyroscope) with signal-conditioning electronics...
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Roger Allan
[Forefront] 100-kHz Op Amps Need Very Little Quiescent Current
A family of operational amplifiers featuring a gain-bandwidth product of 100 kHz typically requires an ultra-low quiescent current of 600 nA and a maximum quiescent current of just 1 µA. Microchip Technology's MCP614-XA family consists...
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Tets Maniwa
[Forefront] Programmable Sensor-Signal Processor Is Accurate To 16 Bits
A highly integrated, dual-channel, 16-bit programmable sensor-signal conditioner from Maxim Integrated Products provides amplification, calibration, signal linearization, and temperature compensation. The MAX1463's outputs support a choice...
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William Wong
[Forefront] MCUs Sport DMA And Dual 12-Bit DAC
Direct memory access (DMA) support is almost nonexistent in low-end microcontrollers (MCUs). So the inclusion of three DMA channels, coupled with the addition of two high-performance, 12-bit digital-to-analog converters (DACs), makes Texas...
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William Wong
[Forefront] Collaboration Is Key To Developing Better Design Methodologies
Over the past decade, the percentages of ASIC design dollars spent on tools and labor have shifted dramatically toward labor. As the design process has grown in the number of steps and complexity, tools and tool flows have also increased in complexity...
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Ken McElvain
