Electronic Design UPDATE: October 22, 2003

Oct. 22, 2003
Editor's View -- The Spirit Of Cooperation by David Maliniak, EDA Editor. In the sometimes fractious world of electronic design automation (EDA), there are two areas that are almost guaranteed to spark intramural conflicts: standards and...
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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter Electronic Design Magazine PlanetEE ==> www.planetee.com October 22, 2003

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*************************ADVERTISEMENT************************** Yours Free -- the new Newark InOne Catalog 121 The best catalog in the industry showcases the broadest selection of electronics from 400+ top manufacturers and 50,000 just-added products -- semis, passives, power, test and more. With supplies limited, order your copy now. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHU0Ao **************************************************************** FOR THE LATEST, visit www.elecdesign.com, where the power of Electronic Design is a mouse click away! Read our Web exclusives, discover Featured Vendors, access our archives, share viewpoints in our Forums, explore our e-newsletters, and more. Be sure to participate in our current QUICK POLL: Were you fooled by the fake satellite photo of the 2003 North American blackout? See more about this hoax in the Reader Comments for ED Online 5742. Go to Electronic Design ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ03Hf0Ai Today's Table of Contents: 1. Editor's View * The Spirit Of Cooperation -- By David Maliniak, EDA Editor 2. Focus On Power * Power-Supply Platform Serves Datacom And Telecom Applications 3. News From The Editors * Reference Flow Arrives For Nanometer Process Technologies * Optocouplers Boast Very High Common-Mode Rejection * 32-Bit RISC MCUs Tackle Two Motors * CompactPCI 2.16 Platform Comes Fully Integrated * More Industrial Firms Are Feeling Optimistic 4. Upcoming Industry Events * 11th Color Imaging Conference * International Conference on Computer-Aided Design * IPC Designers Learning Symposium * iMAPS, 36th International Symposium on Microelectronics * International Conference on VLSI Integration of SoC * Flat Information Displays (FID) Conference 5. Magazine Highlights October 13, 2003 issue: * Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- To Step Up Your Career, You've Got To Keep Learning * Technology Report -- Power-Over-Ethernet Chips Give LANs A New Outlet * Leapfrog: Industry First -- Coax Backplane Connector Handles Rates To 40 Gbits/s * Design View / Design Solution -- UML 2.0 Incrementally Improves Scalability And Architecture October 20, 2003 special edition: YOUR Issue * This special issue is all about you and your profession. Features include the results of our 2003 salary survey and reader profile, as well as the 2003 Engineering Hall Of Fame. Edited by John Novellino ********************** 1. Editor's View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE ********************** The Spirit Of Cooperation By David Maliniak, EDA Editor In the sometimes fractious world of electronic design automation (EDA), there are two areas that are almost guaranteed to spark intramural conflicts: standards and tool interoperability. EDA is like other technologies in that often an industry leader spends a great deal of time and money to get its proprietary technology entrenched as a standard of some kind. On the standards front, the recent announcement of Cadence Design Systems' belated support for SystemVerilog came as a bit of a surprise. Cadence had, until now, resisted support for SystemVerilog, a next-generation Verilog HDL developed under the aegis of Accellera with substantial technology donations from Synopsys. But all at once, Cadence has stated its intention to provide SystemVerilog support in its Incisive verification and Encounter digital IC design platforms. Addtionally, Victor Berman, an industry veteran with a long track record in standardization efforts, has been named to lead Cadence's languages and standardization efforts. While there's still some potential for conflict between Accellera's vision for the future of Verilog and that of the IEEE 1364 committee, which is laying plans for its Verilog 2005 standard, there's hope that level heads will prevail and that there won't, as some have feared, be conflicting and incompatible "standard" versions of next-generation Verilog. Accellera missed an August deadline for a Verilog 2005 technology contribution, but perhaps the 1364 committee will be wise enough to wait for technology that will make for a better standard when all is said and done. Accellera has stated that it will donate version 3.1a of SystemVerilog to the IEEE by June, 2004. On the interoperability side, Synopsys has moved ahead with its plans to open up (and gain broad industry acceptance for) its Milkyway design database by delivering a C-application programming interface (C-API) for use by other EDA vendors and third parties. The Milkyway database, which is the basis for Synopsys' Galaxy IC implementation platform and was inherited by Synopsys through its acquisition of Avant!, flies in the face of ongoing efforts by the OpenAccess Initiative, an industry consortium that's seeking broad acceptance for its own design database and API. That effort is based on a technology donation from none other than Cadence, which decided that its Genesis database would make a fine industry standard. So on the interoperability front, it remains to be seen whether there will indeed be dueling standards. At least one standardization effort has gone well: Accellera's Advanced Library Format (ALF) has been approved as IEEE 1603-2003. The ALF standardizes the language and semantic representation for design libraries, supporting an RTL-to-GDSII description of functional, electrical performance and layout views for libraries. It's scalable from cells to complex, hierarchical IP blocks. There's already widespread support for IEEE 1603 among the industry's leading IP suppliers and EDA vendors. It should make for a smoother design process with less effort expended by designers in aligning library formats. Accellera also won IEEE approval for its VHDL and Verilog RTL synthesis standards as IEEE 1076.6 and 1364.1, respectively. These standards define the syntax and semantics that can be used by all compliant RTL synthesis tools. The result is uniformity and yes, that magic word, interoperability. There's always going to be push and pull, give and take, and some byzantine politics when it comes to standards and tool interoperability. What EDA users can -- and should -- do is to let their vendors know that these subjects are of great importance to them and their design efforts. They should encourage the vendors, with their EDA tool budgets as leverage, if necessary, to cooperate and figure out how to get it done. To comment on this Editor's View, go to Reader Comments at the foot of the Web page: Electronic Design UPDATE ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHV0Ap *************************ADVERTISEMENT************************** Learn In-Circuit Debug Techniques Using FPGAs Visit Agilent.com for an eSeminar on in-circuit debug techniques for identifying the source of problems in various situations designers face. Learn about finding root causes of failure with logic analysis cores inside FPGAs, using logic analyzers and mixed signal oscilloscopes to look at signals inside and external to FPGAs, and more. Click for more. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BCl50Ar **************************************************************** ********************** 2. Focus On Power ********************** ***Power-Supply Platform Serves Datacom And Telecom Applications Designed for use in distributed power architectures, the Sentry 3000 from Tyco Electronics Power Systems is a cross-market-compliant power-supply platform. The platform handles either data or telecom applications with a simple exchange of the power supply. The platform consists of the AC-3000 front-end rectifier, the DC-3000 power entry module (PEM), and the PS-3000 power shelf. Mechanically identical and fully interchangeable, the rectifier and PEM each deliver 3 kW of continuous power. Two power supplies may be positioned across a 19-in. rack-mountable shelf, either in an N+N redundant configuration or to provide a 6-kW output. Operating from a universal high-line ac input, the power-factor-corrected AC-3000 rectifier generates a +/- 48-V output. The DC-3000 interfaces an external battery plant to -48-V systems while providing isolation and filtering. Tyco Electronics Power Systems ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHW0Aq ********************** 3. News -- From The Editors ********************** ***Reference Flow Arrives For Nanometer Process Technologies A fully validated reference flow that's been proven in silicon has been developed for UMC's 180-, 130-, and 90-nm process technologies. Developed in partnership with Magma Design Automation, UMC's comprehensive reference methodology can be downloaded from either company's Web site. Mutual customers who have already successfully implemented designs using the RTL-to-GDSII flow include WIS Technologies, which has a video compression IC in production, and Faraday, which has validated multiple IP cores and libraries for UMC's 90-nm process using the Magma-UMC flow. The customer download kit includes a summary document, run scripts, a tutorial design, and more. The flow uses Magma's Blast Create, Blast Noise, Blast Rail, and Blast Fusion implementation toolset. Magma Design Automation ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BCfz0Au UMC ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BAe40Ah ***Optocouplers Boast Very High Common-Mode Rejection The first members of a family of high-speed transistor optocouplers use coplanar construction to deliver a common-mode noise rejection 30% better than similar products, according to its manufacturer. Also, the devices' five-pin, mini-flat packaging (MFP) cuts volume by 35% compared to the commonly used eight-pin SOIC packages. A proprietary shielding technique also helps boost common-mode rejection. The FODM452 and FODM453 feature a 1-Mbit/s bandwidth and fast switching of less than 1 microsecond for turn-off and turn-on. Performance is guaranteed from 0 degrees C to 70 degrees C. The FODM452 and FODM453 cost $0.80 and $0.83 each, respectively, in lots of 1000. Lead time is six weeks, with samples available now. Fairchild Semiconductor ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0pdF0Af ***32-Bit RISC MCUs Tackle Two Motors The 64-MHz V850E/IA3 and V850/IA4 handle up to two motor or inverter control systems. Designed for the home appliance market, these 32-bit MCUs from NEC Electronics employ a pair of high-speed, 10-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with a 2-microsecond conversion speed. The MCUs also have a delta-sigma ADC. The chips carry 12 kbytes of RAM. The IA3 has 256 kbytes of flash and a 128-kbyte mask ROM. The IA4 has a 256-kbyte mask ROM. The IA3 costs $20 and the IA4 is $25. NEC Electronics ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHX0Ar ***CompactPCI 2.16 Platform Comes Fully Integrated The SYS50 platform delivers complete CompactPCI PICMG 2.16 compatibility in one package. The CP50-DC-LS comes complete with a 9U CP50 chassis that includes two 300-W dc power supplies, two EPC-3100 Fast Ethernet switches with integrated platform management, two EPC-3311 CPU blades, an MM50 media module with one 20-Gbyte integrated-development-environment hard disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, and Monta Vista Carrier Grade Linux 3.0 pre-installed. The Ethernet switches support up to 52 nodes. Prices start at $24,245. Radisys Inc. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHY0As ***More Industrial Firms Are Feeling Optimistic Businesses in the industrial sector are generally optimistic about revenue projections compared to last year, and the percentage of companies planning to cut spending has dropped substantially compared to 2002. These bits of good news come from the second annual survey of industrial indicators by GlobalSpec Inc., a specialized search engine and online community for engineers and technical buyers. The survey found that 87% of U.S. companies anticipate that total revenues this year would meet or exceed last year's figure, up from 79% in 2002. Seventy-five percent of the nearly 600 respondents said revenue projections are on target or ahead of target, compared to 64% in 2002. GlobalSpec Inc. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHZ0At ********************** 4. Upcoming Industry Events ********************** Nov. 4-7, 11th Color Imaging Conference (CIC11) Scottsdale, Ariz. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BC2q0At Nov. 9-12, International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD) San Jose, Calif. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ05As0Aq Nov. 11-13, IPC Designers Learning Symposium Raleigh, N.C. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BCmC0A7 Nov. 16-20, iMAPS, 36th International Symposium on Microelectronics Boston, Mass. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ08CE0AB ********************** 5. Magazine Highlights ********************** In case you missed them, here are some of the high points of our most recent issues. October 13, 2003: * Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- To Step Up Your Career, You've Got To Keep Learning Knowledge is power and money, but only if you acquire and apply it. Here are some suggestions for your educational journey. * Technology Report -- Power-Over-Ethernet Chips Give LANs A New Outlet Controller ICs safely distribute 48-V power from hubs and switches to peripherals in accordance with the IEEE 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet standard. * Leapfrog: Industry First -- Coax Backplane Connector Handles Rates To 40 Gbits/s Using a direct pin-to-pin connection methed eliminates interconnect and channel losses, extending copper's capabilities beyond the present 10 Gbits/s. * Design View / Design Solution -- UML 2.0 Incrementally Improves Scalability And Architecture For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHa0A1 October 20, 2003 -- YOUR Issue: * What You Earn -- Who Makes What: A Look At Current EE Salaries * All About You: At Work And At Home * About Your Job: What It Takes To Get Ahead * Honoring Your Profession: * 2003 Engineering Hall Of Fame, Honor Roll * Featured Honorees * Class Notes: 2002 Inductees For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/edIC0DJhUf0EmQ0BDHb0A2

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CONTACTS: Electronic Design UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER

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Editorial: Lucinda Mattera, Associate Chief Editor: mailto:[email protected] Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities: Bill Baumann, Associate Publisher: mailto:[email protected]

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=============================== Copyright 2003 Penton Media Inc.

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