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ISSUE DATE: FEBRUARY 17, 2003 OPTIONS
Power management, ASIC platforms, Embedded design, Voltage-to-current converter


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February 17, 2003 - In This Issue

[Technology Report]
Battery Management Chips Empower Portable Designs
Handheld devices like cell phones and PDAs rely on a variety of components to perform power management. Maximizing the efficiency of these components, both individually and as a whole, is becoming increasingly important as power consumption climbs...  — David G. Morrison

[Leapfrog: First Look]
Fast-Turnaround ASIC Platforms Speed Complex Chips To Market
By using preselected market-segment-specific blocks of IP, a new class of ASICs helps accelerate product development and trim development costs. One of the biggest challenges in ASIC design is reducing the design time from concept to final, functional...  — Dave Bursky

[Design View / Design Solution]
Boost Internet-Based Applications With Embedded Device Gateways
Full article begins on Page 2 The chaos of diverse physical systems can be transformed into an orderly and uniform set of software interfaces that bridge to high-speed networks. Internet-based applications benefit from access to real-world...  — Michael Howard

[Ideas For Design]
Voltage-To-Current Converter Works From A Single-Supply Rail
Voltage-to-current converters feeding to grounded loads often find their way into industrial measurements and control applications. The conventional textbook circuit needs both positive and negative-supply rails (...  — R. Jayapal

[Ideas For Design]
Get Low-Impedance Scaled Voltages With Everyday Parts
The precise combination of common, inexpensive components can yield a scaled regulated voltage with a very low output impedance and high current output capability. It's especially useful when the output is scaled to one-half of the input value to...  — Felix Matro

[Editorial]
We Need Safe End-Of-Life Disposal Plans To Save Our Environment
Designers craft many fantastic products with most, if not all, of their attention focused on delivering goods that meet specs and cost budgets. However, designers often give little regard to what happens when the product reaches its end of life,...  — Dave Bursky

[POV: Point Of View]
Taking Chip-Scale Packaging To New Heights
Chip-scale packages were introduced to the semiconductor industry in the early 1990s to address the need for reduced size and weight in consumer products, like camcorders, cameras, and cell phones. Japanese OEMs, such as Sony and Sharp, first realized...  — Craig Mitchell

[Pease Porridge]
Bob's Mailbox
Dear Bob: They say doctors make the worst patients, but all my doctors say engineers are the worst. I guess we ask too many questions. I always feel better if I know what's going on. I even like listening to the air-traffic controller, if I...  — Bob Pease

[TechView: The Industry]
DC Motor Controller Targets Robot Apps
Robotics designers can now take advantage of the AX2500. This microcomputer-based dual-channel dc motor controller module drives up to 120 A on each of two independent channels, at up to 40 V. Applications include automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) and...  — Staff

[TechView: The Industry]
T&M Hot Product
The Ant8 500-Msample/s, USB-powered logic analyzer is about the size of a matchbox and needs no external power supply, yet it costs a low $166. It includes pattern and edge triggers, plus occurrence counting and maximum and minimum-duration...  — Staff

[TechView: The Industry]
Advanced TCA Hyped At Bus And Board Show
The lines of vendors formed behind the Advanced TCA (Telecom Computing Architecture) specifications booth at the 2003 Bus and Board Show in Long Beach, Calif., replete with chassis and demonstration boards. These vendors are poised to deliver...  — Staff

[TechView: Analog & Power]
Workshop Guides Designers Toward Silicon Integration
Results from an industry workshop on silicon integration for power electronics come via a recent report by the Power Supply Manufacturers Association (PSMA). The Workshop Report is the second of two volumes documenting the findings of the PSMA's...  — David G. Morrison

[TechView: Analog & Power]
Breaking News
In the merchant power-supply market, design and manufacturing are typically closely linked. Yet a Dublin, Ireland-based power-supply design house known as Commergy seeks to untie these binds. The company is developing high-efficiency dc-dc...  — David G. Morrison

[TechView: Analog & Power]
Hot Product
The AD8027 rail-to-rail operational amplifier from Analog Devices offers a "selectable crossover" feature that minimizes distortion. Like other op amps with rail-to-rail inputs and outputs, this one features an input stage that switches from one...  — David G. Morrison

[TechView: Analog & Power]
Leadframe Memory Cards Slash Packaging Cost
Aimed at memory die for digital storage and I/O applications, leadframe-based memory cards cut packaging costs by as much as 50% over conventional laminate-based solutions. Proprietary processes developed at Amkor Inc. brought the cards to fruition....  — Roger Allan

[TechView: Communications]
Audio: The Next Step In Home Networking
So far, the growth of home networking has focused on the sharing of a single high-speed Internet connection with multiple PCs. But that's about to change as developers and users look for smart audio-networking solutions. Phonex Broadband's...  — Louis E. Frenzel

[TechView: Communications]
Don't Forget! Wireless Systems Design Conference & Expo
Wireless is the hottest communications technology. If you're designing wireless products and systems, don't miss the Wireless Systems Design Conference & Expo (www.wsdexpo.com), February 24-27 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, Calif....  — Louis E. Frenzel

[TechView: Communications]
Hot Product
Have your cake and eat it too with Bluetooth + 802.11b in a Mini-PCI Card. Coupled with explosion wireless technology boom is the burgeoning need for multiple wireless technologies working together or operating concurrently. The IEEE 802.11b...  — Louis E. Frenzel

[TechView: Embedded]
Software Integration Makes Life Easier
A number of companies now offer integrated software solutions, giving designers various options to meet time-to-market goals. Bundling integrated software packages is becoming more prevalent as developers try to cut corners to reduce...  — William Wong

[TechView: Embedded]
Eclipse For Linux
Timestorm from Timesys (www.timesys.com) is another system integrated development environment (IDE) based on the open-source Eclipse project. It joins QNX's (www.qnx.com) Momentics as one of the full-blown environments handling...  — William Wong

[TechView: Embedded]
RapidIO Shines At Bus & Board Show
RapidIO adoption got a leg up with the release of new RapidIO mechanical standards through the VMEbus International Trade Association (www.vita.com) and the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (www.picmg.org). This means serial...  — William Wong

[TechView: Embedded]
Hot Products
Eight-port 4x infiniband switch fits in a 1U rack-mount slot. The nonblocking switch supports cut-through and store and forward algorithms and has dual hot-swappable fans and power supplies. The aggregate switch bandwidth is 160 Gbits/s. The...  — William Wong

[TechView: Components & Test]
Filter Connectors Come In Pressfit Or PC Tail
Available in plug or socket form, users have the option of the 5W5 combo D-Sub filter in either a pressfit or PC tail configuration. Both configurations can be installed in multilayer pc boards using flat-rock tooling or directly soldered using the...  — Roger Allan

[TechView: Components & Test]
Breaking News
MEMGen CORP. has launched its 3D MEMS Design Challenge, a contest made possible by the company's EFAB micromanufacturing technology. With EFAB, engineers can design microdevices with commonly available 3D CAD software tools and fabricate them in a...  — Roger Allan

[TechView: Digital]
Chip Trio Packs All Line-Card And Switch-Fabric Logic
Streamlining the design of 10-Gbit/s line cards and switches, a three-chip set can process packets, manage traffic, and switch data at wire speed. To create what's considered the highest-integration chip set for packet processing and...  — Dave Bursky

[TechView: Digital]
Breaking News
As systems start switching over to the higher operating speeds of PCI-X 2.0 and PCI Express interfaces, these interfaces turn into standard building blocks. Companies such as LSI Logic Corp. now offer these blocks as part of their...  — Dave Bursky

[TechView: Digital]
Hot Product
When implementing logic functions, designers usually must trade off speed to attain low power consumption. With Lattice Semiconductor's ispMACH4000Z series of programmable logic devices (PLDs), designers can get high-speed PLDs that drop static...  — Dave Bursky

[TechView: EDA]
"Circuit Engine" Soups Up Op-Amp Synthesis
This engine plug-in spits out synthesizable, fully customized op amps that come in 10 different topologies or architectures. Analog synthesis, promised for some time but still not yet fully delivered, is at least making strides. Analog...  — David Maliniak

[TechView: EDA]
Cadence, Synopsys Beef Up The Back End
Cadence, Synopsys beef up the back end. Through strategic acquisitions, Cadence and Synopsys continue to strengthen their physical-IC design-tool divisions. Synopsys struck first by acquiring Numerical Technologies Inc., giving Synopsys a deeper...  — David Maliniak

[TechView: EDA]
Shrinking Portable Products Taking On More Functionality
Shrinking portable products taking on more functionality pose stiffer challenges to system designers. It's more important than ever for EDA tools to bring 3D visualization capabilities to the table. Zuken's Cadstar 3D 4.2 is an upgraded version of...  — David Maliniak

[Product Report]
Digital Pots Leverage Reliability And Hands-Off Programmability
For decades, mechanical (or trimmer) potentiometers within a voltage-divider configuration have tackled such tasks as gain or offset adjustment. Digital pots, in which the wiper position is digitally programmed with a microcontroller, offer a type of...  — Lisa Fakhry

[New Products]

• Latest-Gen Low-Profile Relay Cuts Power Consumption By Half  — Lisa Fakhry

• SMD Inductor Boasts Low-Profile Design  — Lisa Fakhry

• Permanent Magnet Sensors Keep Processes In Line  — Lisa Fakhry

• Single-Pole,Triple-Throw Switch Replaces Two SPDTs  — Lisa Fakhry

• Ultra-Miniature Switches Ensure Crisp Actuation  — Lisa Fakhry

• Motion Control Chip Features 6.5-Mpulse/s Output  — Lisa Fakhry

• SPXOs Squeeze ±20-ppm Stability Into 7-By 5-mm Package  — Lisa Fakhry

• Jitter Analysis Unit Boasts Deeper Memory,Faster Speeds  — Lisa Fakhry

• Portable Ratchet-Action Meter Applies Pull-Type Force  — Lisa Fakhry

• USB-Based Test Pod Brings Test Capabilities To The PC  — Lisa Fakhry

• 75-W DC-DC Converters Mix High Efficiency,Small Size  — Lisa Fakhry

• Very Low Output With ±1%Accuracy Earmarks Step-Down DC-DC Controller  — Lisa Fakhry

• Performance-Packed MOSFET Driver IC Handles Fast Switching  — Lisa Fakhry

• 150-W Power Supply Elevates Designs To CE Requirements  — Lisa Fakhry

• 2-W Dual-Output Power Converters Feature 5.5-mm Profile  — Lisa Fakhry

• Op Amps Squeeze More Life Out Of Battery-Powered Systems  — Lisa Fakhry

• SMT Planar Power Transformers Take On 1500-V DC Isolation  — Lisa Fakhry

• Scalable PCI/ISA SBC Targets Applied Computing Apps  — Lisa Fakhry

• Eight-Port Serial I/O Board Supports Potpourri Of Protocols  — Lisa Fakhry

• Conduction-Cooled SBC Steps Up With 600-kgate FPGA  — Lisa Fakhry

• Software Automatically Generates Efficient Code For ECUs  — Lisa Fakhry





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