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ELECTRONICSTALK
The Independent Weekly Product Information Guide
for Electronics Engineers
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London, UK
ISSN 1475-2913 - Free subscription
Published every Tuesday at 12:30 (UK)
Issue 31: 11 September 2001
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2512 product announcements and technical articles
on our web site, all fully searchable at
http://www.electronicstalk.com/ - take a look!
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In this issue:
* Editor's Message
* Our Top Ten new Products Selection
1. 300V diodes provide ideal performance for PSUs
2. Debug probe speeds embedded development
3. Wideband digital power analyser
4. I/O chip handles all the usual suspects
5. Here's a switch - dome lasts more than a year
6. Space-saving MCMs combine MPU, Flash and RAM
7. Latest backplane specification extends CompactPCI
8. Bundles combine Linux with tools and support
9. Kit solves LCD applications
10. Mixed-signal ASIC libraries up for grabs
* New Technical Articles and Case Studies
* ...And take a look at these stories too...
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
It may have been a bad week for business, but it's been a damn fine one for announcements of scientific discoveries. As you will read below, Motorola Labs reckons it has cracked the thorny problem of combining silicon with III-V materials. But on a still more fundamental level I must thank my good friend, Australian technology commentator Graeme Philipson, for drawing my attention to a recently published paper.
It would appear that German researchers have gone one better and managed to interface silicon with organic material. The paper is entitled "Interfacing a silicon chip to pairs of snail neurons connected by electrical synapses", and while it is clearly a little early to talk in terms of practical neural circuitry, it does provide food for thought (now all that remains is to interface the garlic butter!).
I hope you find this issue of our weekly newsletter useful. In addition to the new products, news and ideas featured here, there are hundreds more on our website and dozens more being added daily, so do take a look if you can. But you don't need web access! All the full stories behind the summaries and headlines in this newsletter can be retrieved by email alone: see details below. In the meantime, if you've got any suggestions as to how we might make the site or the newsletter better, email me directly.
Best wishes
Laurence Marchini, Editor
mailto:lauren[-email removed-]nicstalk.com
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THIS WEEK'S INDUSTRY NEWS
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SANYO AND WOLFSON IN MIXED-SIGNAL ALLIANCE
Wolfson Microelectronics and Sanyo Semiconductor are entering into a strategic business alliance to develop and market mixed-signal products for automotive and consumer applications.
Wolfson Microelectronics, 5 September 2001
mailto:wol1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wol/wol110.html
MOTOROLA CRACKS THE GaAs ON SILICON RIDDLE
Motorola is claiming a first in combining silicon with III-V materials.
Motorola SPS, 6 September 2001
mailto:mot1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot113.html
GRAYCHIP ACQUISITION ADDS TO TI MIXED-SIGNAL LINE
Texas Instruments has added a new category to its high-performance analogue and mixed-signal portfolio with the purchase of Graychip.
Texas Instruments, 7 September 2001
mailto:tex1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex144.html
FAIRCHILD HAS POWER TO ACQUIRE IMPALA LINEAR
Fairchild Semiconductor has acquired Impala Linear, based in San Jose, California.
Fairchild Semiconductor, 7 September 2001
mailto:fai1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai133.html
SCOTTISH BUSINESS AWARD FOR INDIGOVISION
IndigoVision has picked up the Small Company Deal of the Year 2001 in the annual Scottish Deals and Dealmakers awards ceremony, which took place in Glasgow on 4th September 2001.
IndigoVision, 10 September 2001
mailto:ing1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ing/ing105.html
FAIRCHILD LESS PESSIMISTIC ON Q3 RESULTS
Fairchild Semiconductor is experiencing improving order rates and has raised its guidance for third quarter 2001 revenues.
Fairchild Semiconductor, 10 September 2001
mailto:fai1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai134.html
SIROYAN FINDS ASSEMBLY AND PACKAGING CLOSE TO HOME
Siroyan has signed a manufacturing agreement with Atlantic Technology, Europe's largest semiconductor assembly and test services provider.
Siroyan, 11 September 2001
mailto:sir1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sir/sir100.html
IMERGE FUNDING RAISES GBP 2.5 MILLION
Imerge has completed a funding round of convertible debt totalling GBP 2.5 million.
Imerge, 5 September 2001
mailto:ima1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ima/ima100.html
SURVEY POINTS TO SWITCH FROM ASICs TO FPGAs
Improvements in the use of traditional EDA techniques will not address the problem of shrinking windows of market opportunity, according to the findings of a new user survey.
Celoxica, 6 September 2001
mailto:cel1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cel/cel113.html
WHEELER MOVES FROM APW TO EUROCRAFT
Inventronics has appointed Stephen Wheeler as European Sales and Marketing Manager for its wholly owned subsidiary, Eurocraft Enclosures, located at Dudley, England.
Inventronics, 5 September 2001
mailto:inh1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/inh/inh101.html
DENSITRON GOES ORGANIC WITH OPSYS
Densitron Technologies has entered into an agreement with Oxford-based display technology developer, Opsys.
Densitron Europe, 6 September 2001
mailto:dec1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dec/dec106.html
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OUR TOP TEN NEW PRODUCTS SELECTION
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1. 300V diodes provide ideal performance for PSUs
International Rectifier has expanded its fast recovery epitaxial diode (FRED) family to include 300V ultrafast diodes. The new 300V family includes 8A (8ETH03), 15A (15ETH03) and 30A (30EPH03, 30CPH03) devices optimised for 48V switch-mode power supply systems for telecomms and datacomms applications. The new 300V ultrafast diodes feature 50% lower reverse recovery current (IRRM) compared with the best competitive device.
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2. Debug probe speeds embedded development
Green Hills Software says its Green Hills Probe is the industry's fastest and most intelligent hardware debug probe for 32bit, 64bit and multiprocessor SoC embedded systems. The new probe, together with Green Hills' Multi 2000 source-level debugger and integrated development environment (IDE), streamlines host/target communications and provides many debugging functions previously handled by the host. Using an embedded 32bit processor and reconfigurable logic, the Green Hills Probe, achieves host/target download speeds that are up to one-hundred times faster than its competitors.
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3. Wideband digital power analyser
Yokogawa has, for the first time, packaged two high-accuracy three-phase power meters into a benchtop enclosure. The new WT1600 is a wideband digital power analyser designed for a wide variety of power measurement applications - from high-sensitivity energy-saving investigations to high-power measurements in rotating machinery. The new instrument incorporates a colour TFT screen which will display both numerical and waveform data, and also allows voltage and current inputs to be viewed as waveforms or vectors.
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4. I/O chip handles all the usual suspects
LSI Logic has introduced the first standard product device from its ComCentrix product family designed to address the rising demand for reliable, high-bandwidth connections of networked laser printers, digital copiers and multifunction peripherals. The L1500 is a highly integrated peripheral I/O solution that provides system designers a comprehensive set of standard I/Os on a single-chip, resulting in a significant reduction in system development time and a lowered component cost of about 30%. In addition, the L1500 features a highly modular architecture offers the flexibility to accommodate the integration of evolving connectivity solutions such as USB 2.0, Bluetooth and 802.11b.
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5. Here's a switch - dome lasts more than a year
New from Omron is a metal dome array that attaches directly to a printed circuit board to create a tactile switch. The B3DA uses stainless steel to make a 4 or 5mm diameter contact dome with a positive clicking action. The simple, strong construction is nevertheless very thin and light - just 0.25mm thick - making the dome array ideal for ultraslim applications such as mobile phones, remote controls, and miniature keypads.
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6. Space-saving MCMs combine MPU, Flash and RAM
Hitachi has two new series of multi-chip modules (MCMs) that offer a high-performance SuperH microprocessor together with Flash and either SDRAM or SRAM in a single compact package. The HJ93D1 and HJ931 series both use a stack structure to minimise mounting area and to help simplify system design. They are designed for use in portable products such as digital cameras and PDAs.
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7. Latest backplane specification extends CompactPCI
Continuing a long-established tradition, APW Electronic Solutions is providing early backplanes meeting the exciting new CompactPCI 2.16 Packet Switching Backplane (PSB) specification, approved as Draft Rev 1.0 at the PICMG Executive meeting held in Boston on 5th September. At present, the CompactPCI specification enables single conversations operating at 66MHz over a 64bit databus, a bandwidth of approximately 4Gbit/s transfer rate, albeit limited to only five slots on a contiguous backplane. The PICMG 2.16 draft specification allows two switching fabrics, each supporting 20 simultaneous conversations at 2Gbit/s to provide a 40Gbit/s transfer rate.
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8. Bundles combine Linux with tools and support
LynuxWorks has come up with a new series of bundle options to include service and support with enhanced tools for its popular BlueCat Linux operating system platform. With a strong reputation for the industry's best support and leveraging an ever increasing advanced tool set, LynuxWorks aims to offer product and system engineers the greatest flexibility in choosing the most comprehensive and cost-effective solutions available to meet their immediate product and system design needs. Several options are immediately available.
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9. Kit solves LCD applications
A new analogue interface controller kit, complete with all necessary accessories packaged in a single box - with a single part number - has been introduced by Digital View. Preset for any chosen VGA, SVGA or XGA panel, the kit contains all the components necessary to support LCD applications, and offers an effective and user-friendly solution for almost any application.
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10. Mixed-signal ASIC libraries up for grabs
Zarlink Semiconductor is offering free access to unique design libraries for 0.6- and 0.35-micron digital and mixed-signal processes at the company's foundry in Plymouth, England. The libraries include a comprehensive and proven range of component cells as well as tools to finalise chip designs, backed by a full range of design services available from the company.
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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NARROWBAND MODULES SHOOT THROUGH INTERFERENCE
RF Solutions has found an unusual application where its latest transmitter and receiver modules have provided the perfect solution.
RF Solutions, 10 September 2001
mailto:rfs1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rfs/rfs107.html
STRATUS TECHNOLOGIES USES TEKTRONIX LOGIC ANALYSER
Stratus Technologies has selected Tektronix test equipment to streamline design processes at its Dublin product development centre.
Tektronix, 7 September 2001
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http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tek/tek113.html
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...And take a look at these stories too...
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INTEGRATED HOST PROCESSORS GO FASTER AND SMALLER
Motorola has added two members to its integrated host processor family - the newly packaged MPC8241 and the speed-enhanced MPC8245.
Motorola SPS, 5 September 2001
mailto:mot1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot112.html
DSPs INTEGRATE FLASH FOR INDUSTRIAL CONTROL
Texas Instruments claims its two new high-precision control DSPs will reduce development time from hours to minutes while delivering up to 12x performance existing devices.
Texas Instruments, 5 September 2001
mailto:tex1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex141.html
FAST SINGLE-VOLTAGE FLASH MAKES MCU EASY TO UPDATE
Enabling system designers to carry out in-circuit memory updates, the M30624 16bit microcontroller from Solid State Supplies features single voltage on-chip DINOR (divided bit-line NOR) Flash memory.
Solid State Supplies, 5 September 2001
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http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sol/sol112.html
LARGEST CPLD DOUBLES IN SIZE
Cypress Semiconductor has announced the availability of the world's largest CPLD, the Delta39K200, which includes 200,000 gates with 3072 macrocells and 480Kbit of embedded memory.
Cypress Semiconductor, 5 September 2001
mailto:cyp1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cyp/cyp121.html
BUS SWITCHES ROUTE DATA SIGNALS UP TO 500MHZ
IDT has expanded its QuickSwitch bus switch family for the enterprise/carrier-class and access infrastructure markets.
IDT, 6 September 2001
mailto:idt1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/idt/idt106.html
MCU CRAMS FLASH AND PERIPHERALS INTO 3mm SQUARE
Cygnal Integrated Products has introduced a full-specification microcontroller which it reckons gives design engineers an unprecedented feature set for its size.
Cygnal Integrated Products, 7 September 2001
mailto:cyg1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cyg/cyg101.html
HIGH-DENSITY T1/E1 PROCESSING SOLUTION
PMC-Sierra has introduced the PM4328 TECT3, the newest member of the TEMUX product family that is optimised for channelised DS3 applications.
PMC-Sierra, 7 September 2001
mailto:pmc1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pmc/pmc104.html
TOP-OF-THE-RANGE 16BIT MICROCONTROLLER
Hitachi has released its highest performance 16bit H8S microcontroller to date.
Hitachi Europe, 7 September 2001
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http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/hit/hit116.html
FASTER MEMORIES SPEED COMMS APPLICATIONS
Fujitsu Microelectronics has introduced the latest family members of its fast-cycle RAM series, a group of 256Mbit high-speed memories that incorporate the double datarate SDRAM interface.
Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe, 10 September 2001
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http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fuj/fuj112.html
LICENCE SIMPLIFIES FPGA IP INTEGRATION
ARC Cores has enhanced its position in the 32bit user-customisable soft processor market be signing up as a charter member of the Common Licence Consortium.
ARC Cores, 11 September 2001
mailto:ara1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ara/ara119.html
TIGHTER ENVELOPE FOR OVERCURRENT PROTECTION
The PolySwitch family of resettable overcurrent protection devices has been extended to include the new RXE005 from Raychem Circuit Protection.
Raychem Circuit Protection, 6 September 2001
mailto:ray1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ray/ray106.html
LOW-COST POWER RELAY WITH 10A CURRENT RATING
The VTM 4459 is a low-cost power relay with a current rating of up to 12A and a coil-voltage range from 3 to 48V.
VTM (UK), 6 September 2001
mailto:vtm1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/vtm/vtm105.html
COMPACT RELAYS PROVIDE 8kV ISOLATION
Omron's G5Q compact single-pole relay switches up to 10A and features a low power coil to save power supply size and cost.
Omron Electronics, 11 September 2001
mailto:omr1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/omr/omr129.html
FPGA SYNTHESIS STRETCHES TO MILLIONS OF GATES
LeonardoSpectrum 2001.1d is the latest version of the Mentor Graphics FPGA synthesis tool.
Mentor Graphics UK, 6 September 2001
mailto:men1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/men/men130.html
THE ART OF VERIFICATION WITH VERA
Verification Central and Synopsys have jointly launched a new book: 'The art of verification with VERA', by Faisal Haque, Khizar Khan and Jonathan Michelson.
Synopsys, 10 September 2001
mailto:syn1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/syn/syn111.html
LIGHT GUIDE PUTS LEDS INTO MEMBRANE APPLICATIONS
WASP has developed an ultra-thin acryllic light guide which allows LEDs and filament bulbs to be used for membrane switch illumination.
WASP, 5 September 2001
mailto:was1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/was/was104.html
RUGGED KEYBOARD COMBINES PIEZOSWITCHES AND EYEBALL
Diamond Electronics' latest addition to its range of sealed and rugged keyboards, built by Baran Advanced Technologies, is the KB 5000P.
Diamond Electronics, 5 September 2001
mailto:dia1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dia/dia103.html
SOFT GASKETS SEAL DELICATE ENCLOSURES FROM EMI
New from Chomerics is the Soft-Shield 5500 family of continuous-length EMI gaskets, which provide a low-cost solution for enclosure shielding or low-impedance grounding applications.
Chomerics Europe, 7 September 2001
mailto:cho1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cho/cho108.html
ENCLOSURE PUTS COMMERCIAL PCs TO INDUSTRIAL USE
The new IPWorkStation from Armagard provides the benefits of industrial computing without the costs and performance issues of industrial computers.
Armagard, 7 September 2001
mailto:arm1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/arm/arm112.html
FUTURE-PROOF CLAIM FOR SIGNAL CONDITIONING MODULES
Status Instruments reckons its MEDACS 2000 series represents a novel and revolutionary concept in DIN rail signal conditioning modules.
Status Instruments, 5 September 2001
mailto:std1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/std/std100.html
TINY CONTROLLER AMPLIFIER RUNS SERVOSYSTEMS
Animatics has applied its miniaturised motion control technology to a free-standing controller amplifier called the RTC-3000.
Animatics Corp, 6 September 2001
mailto:ani1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ani/ani104.html
ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN FOR IEC CONNECTORS
As designs of power supplies, audio equipment and computing peripherals change in shape and size, so cable inlet and outlet sockets require new connection shapes to match.
Feller (UK), 5 September 2001
mailto:fel1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fel/fel101.html
STATIC PROTECTION IS IN THE BAG
Static Control Components can now supply its SCC1500 metal-out static shielding bags from stock in sizes ranging from 76 x 127 to 460 x 610mm.
Static Control Components (Europe), 6 September 2001
mailto:stc1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/stc/stc102.html
SPLICERS CLAIM FASTER AND EASIER OPERATION
Furukawa Electric Europe is claiming a world-leading breakthrough in the speed and ease of use of optical-fibre splicing technology, to be unveiled at next month's ECOC show in Amsterdam.
Furukawa Electric Europe, 11 September 2001
mailto:fur1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fur/fur100.html
HIGH-SPEED DATACOMMS FROM PCMCIA CARD
New from Impulse is the latest addition to Sealevel's popular PCMCIA card family.
Impulse Corporation, 5 September 2001
mailto:imp1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/imp/imp114.html
CONVERTORS IMPROVE BANDWIDTH USAGE
RAD Data Communications introduced a pair of interface convertors that reduce the cost of connecting routers and switches to E3 and T3 services.
RAD Data Communications, 11 September 2001
mailto:rae1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rae/rae102.html
OVERSAMPLING GIVES LOGIC ANALYSERS HIGH ACCURACY
The Tektronix TLA600 series of advanced logic analysers is now available from TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments).
TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments), 6 September 2001
mailto:bla1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/bla/bla127.html
WIRING ANALYSER FROM THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
Now available exclusively in the UK from the Peak Group is the RWA 1500 ruggedised wiring analyser from Cabletest Systems.
The Peak Group, 6 September 2001
mailto:peb1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/peb/peb103.html
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