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ELECTRONICSTALK
The Independent Weekly Product Information Guide
for Electronics Design, Development and Manufacturing Engineers
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ISSN 1475-2913 - Free subscription
Last week's delivered circulation: 23,670
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 220: 14 June 2005
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23,790 product announcements and technical articles on our
website http://www.electronicstalk.com/ - all fully searchable
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In this issue:
* Editor's Message
* Other industry news
* Our Top new products selection
[1] Power modules cut the budget for DC motor drives
[2] Silicon oscillators promise crystal replacement
[3] Robust ceramics boost capacitance
[4] Rail-mounted filters for fast-fitting EMC
[5] Software provides full-chip temperature map in 3D
[6] Power conversion chip saves on charger standby
[7] Graphical environment extends to embedded design
[8] Chassis makes a home for AdvancedMC systems
[9] Flying probe tester tackles densely packed boards
[10] 6U convertor card has up to 64 analogue outputs
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
All of us at Electronicstalk, and throughout the Pro-talk group of
sites are acutely aware that bandwidth is a precious resource. That's
why we deliberately keep all our websites "bandwidth friendly",
without masses of unnecessary graphics or fancy animations, and why we
still publish all our newsletters - like this one - in text form.
And with the ever-increasing availability of broadband access by one
technology or another it is all too easy to forget that even today the
majority of Internet accesses are made as speeds of 56Kbit/s or less -
whether it be an individual dial-up access or the share of bandwidth
available to a user on a corporate network.
But while our readers can rest assured that we will continue to
preserve their valuable resources, it is a constant source of
amazement and annoyance to me that much of the marketing profession
seems to feel that their own message is far more important than the
resources of those they are trying to influence.
A classic case this week came in the form of a press release from a US
company (that for now will remain nameless) extolling its new green
environmentally aware policies. Now, there's nothing wrong with
stories like that, but when they are accompanied with 5Mbyte of
attached photographs and sent to a distribution list running into
hundreds of recipients, that environmental awareness appears to end at
the door to the marketing department!
So, please, the next time your marketing department suggests that the
world should see a high-resolution picture of your latest product, don't
just go e-mailing it willy-nilly. Post it on your company website and
send people the URL. You know it makes sense.
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.
Alternatively, the full stories behind all the summaries and headlines
in this newsletter can be retrieved by email alone: see details below.
In the meantime, if you have any suggestions as to how we might make
the site or the newsletter better, email me directly.
Best wishes
Laurence Marchini, Editor
mailto:ne[-email removed-]nicstalk.com
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This week's industry news
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ANALOGUE FOCUS CONTINUES NATIONAL'S MARGIN GROWTH
(National Semiconductor, 14 Jun 2005)
National Semiconductor has reported a GAAP net income of $132.1
million, or 36 cents per share, on revenues of $467 million for the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, which ended 29th May 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nat/nat336.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nat3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PHOENIX DESIGN CENTRE COMPLETES TOP TEN
(Linear Technology Corp, 13 Jun 2005)
Linear Technology Corp has opened its newest design centre in Phoenix,
Arizona.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne167.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ANGLIA INVESTS IN THE FUTURE IN GLAMORGAN
(Anglia, 14 Jun 2005)
A new support initiative with the University of Glamorgan is the first
alliance in a new programme of co-operation with schools of
electronics within key UK universities.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ang/ang118.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ang1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CLEAR SHAPE CASHES IN ON SUB-90NM ANGST
(Clear Shape Technologies, 13 Jun 2005)
Clear Shape Technologies has raised more than $5 million in its second
round of venture financing, bringing total funding to more than $10
million.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/clh/clh100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:clh1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DEK TO EXPAND CAPACITY BY A THIRD
(DEK, 13 Jun 2005)
As demand for DEK's line of mass imaging solutions continues its
dramatic rise of the last 18 months, so has the market leader's
manufacturing capacity and productivity.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dek/dek204.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dek2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
INVESTMENT PROGRAMME INCLUDES FOURTH SMT LINE
(AWS Electronics, 10 Jun 2005)
UK-based contract electronics manufacturer AWS Electronics is in the
middle of a long-term investment programme into its people, equipment
and facilities.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aws/aws101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aws1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
EXPANSION FOR ASSOCIATION
(Fab Owners Association (FOA), 08 Jun 2005)
Spansion, the Flash memory venture of AMD and Fujitsu, has joined the
Fab Owners Association.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fab/fab102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fab1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATES PATENT CLAIMS
(Power Integrations, 14 Jun 2005)
The US International Trade Commission has moved to institute an
investigation into whether System General Corp is infringing four US
Patents held by Power Integrations.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/poo/poo103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:poo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] POWER MODULES CUT THE BUDGET FOR DC MOTOR DRIVES
(Fairchild Semiconductor, 13 Jun 2005)
Fairchild Semiconductor's Motion-Smart Power Modules (SPMs) offer a
highly integrated solution for low-power (sub-100W), brushless DC
(BLDC) motor applications. The Motion-SPM devices integrate multiple
functions in a single compact package, offering a simplified motor
drive solution to speed engineering design, reduce PC board space and
enable energy-efficient and reliable designs in home appliances.
Motion-SPM multichip modules combine six fast recovery MOSFETs (FRFET)
and three half-bridge high-voltage ICs (HVIC) in one thermally
efficient, ultracompact (29 x 12mm) Tiny-DIP package designed for BLDC
motors with built-in control.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai347.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fai3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] SILICON OSCILLATORS PROMISE CRYSTAL REPLACEMENT
(Linear Technology Corp, 14 Jun 2005)
Linear Technology's newest family of silicon oscillators, the
LTC6905-xxx, generate a fixed frequency clock output from 20 to
133MHz. These oscillators provide a simple, compact and robust timing
solution for FPGAs, CPLDs, microprocessors and DSPs. Eliminating the
external trim components, these precision oscillators minimise board
space and maximise accuracy. It's a familiar story: just as vacuum
tubes, relays and core memory were transformed by solid state
technology, silicon oscillators offer big advantages over traditional
resonating elements. Linear Technology's silicon fabrication and
assembly ensures that the LTC6905-xxx family is inherently immune to
shock and vibration, a key advantage over crystals and ceramic
resonators.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne168.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] ROBUST CERAMICS BOOST CAPACITANCE
(AVX, 14 Jun 2005)
Driven by demands for more robust and more reliable components, AVX
has extended the capacitance ranges of its Flexiterm family. This
recently introduced, soft termination system delivers enhanced
mechanical strength and temperature cycling performance for ceramic
capacitors in X7R dielectric. Flexiterm enables superior mechanical
and thermomechanical performance in applications subject to high
degrees of board flexure.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/avx/116/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/avx/avx116.html
or send a blank email to mailto:avx1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] RAIL-MOUNTED FILTERS FOR FAST-FITTING EMC
(Schaffner , 13 Jun 2005)
New from Schaffner is the FN 2412 series of DIN-rail mounting EMC
filters. This new family of high performance single-phase filters are
will fit industry standard TS35 DIN rails and offer simple-to-use
time-saving cost-effective solution to conducted EMC suppression for
panel builders and control cabinet manufacturers. The extensive range
of current and voltage ranges available mean that even special
applications can now be protected with an off-the-shelf solution.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/sca/176/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sca/sca176.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sca1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] SOFTWARE PROVIDES FULL-CHIP TEMPERATURE MAP IN 3D
(Gradient Design Automation, 14 Jun 2005)
This week at the Design Automation Conference in Anaheim, Booth 1276,
Gradient introduced FireBolt, a core thermal analysis engine that
enables temperature awareness in industry-standard physical design
tools that analyse leakage power, voltage (IR) drop, electromigration
and timing of chips for portable devices, high-end graphics
processors, automotive electronics and memories such as DRAM and
Flash. Without temperature awareness, using these tools in 90nm and
smaller technologies may result in large inaccuracies in their results
due to on-die temperature variations.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/grd/grd101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:grd1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] POWER CONVERSION CHIP SAVES ON CHARGER STANDBY
(Power Intergrations, 10 Jun 2005)
Power Integrations has unveiled a 3W charger reference design that
consumes less than 30mW of no-load power. Typical applications for
this design include cellphones, cordless phones, PDAs, MP3 players and
other battery-powered portable equipment. The new design, DI-84,
consumes 97% less no-load energy than traditional linear
transformer-based power supplies (otherwise known as "energy
vampires") and easily beats the recently announced mandatory
regulations from the California Energy Commission (CEC), which permit
up to 500mW of no-load energy consumption.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/poo/102/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/poo/poo102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:poo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] GRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT EXTENDS TO EMBEDDED DESIGN
(National Instruments, 13 Jun 2005)
Scientists and engineers can now take advantage of the high-level
graphical programming paradigm of National Instruments LabView
software to save significant time prototyping and deploying embedded
applications to 32bit microprocessors. The new NI LabView Embedded
Development Module extends LabView to any 32bit embedded processor,
providing scientists and engineers with a graphical approach to
algorithm design, simulation, prototyping and deployment of custom
designs for embedded systems.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/naa/203/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa203.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] CHASSIS MAKES A HOME FOR ADVANCEDMC SYSTEMS
(SBS Technologies, 13 Jun 2005)
The AMC-7S-Chassis is the first AdvancedMC stand-alone 2U 19in
rack-mount chassis from SBS Technologies. This chassis is ideal for
building computer systems based on AdvancedMC modules. The
AMC-7S-Chassis is compliant with AMC.0 and AMC.1, Revision 1. A single
board computer slot accepts a processor AdvancedMC. The seven
additional AdvancedMC peripheral slots connect to the single board
computer through a PCI Express switch.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sbs/sbs172.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sbs1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] FLYING PROBE TESTER TACKLES DENSELY PACKED BOARDS
(Itochu Europe, 10 Jun 2005)
Itochu's Takaya flying probe test range has been developed to an even
higher level with the introduction of the new APT-9411. With improved
performance in both speed and accuracy, the APT-9411 exemplifies the
continuing programme of technical development at Itochu and Takaya.
Positioning resolution on the x and y axes has been enhanced from
2.5mm to an even more precise 1.25mm allowing the testing of
increasingly smaller components on more densely packed boards. There
are four moving probes, plus two IC opens on the top-side plus one
camera for vision alignment/inspection as standard.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/itc/itc100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:itc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] 6U CONVERTOR CARD HAS UP TO 64 ANALOGUE OUTPUTS
(KineticSystems Company, 13 Jun 2005)
The KineticSystems CP266 is a single-width 6U CompactPCI/PXI D/A
convertor card with up to 64 analogue output channels. The new device
joins KineticSystems' growing family of data acquisition and automated
test equipment (ATE) products for CompactPCI/PXI, VXI and stand-alone
DAQ platforms. With high 16bit resolution and +/-10V full-scale output
range, the CP266 is used by engineers and scientists to stimulate
devices under test for the ATE market.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gag/gag102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:gag1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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IMAGE PROCESSOR PROJECTS PERFORMANCE
(Gennum Corp, 13 Jun 2005)
Christie Digital Systems has designed the Gennum GF9350 image
processor with VXP technology into 15 of its new high performance
projectors.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gea/gea120.html
or send a blank email to mailto:gea1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
REFERENCE PLATFORM SHOWS OFF MULTICORE DSP
(Ignios, 13 Jun 2005)
A new reference platform demonstrates multiple CEVA-Teak DSP cores
seamlessly operating together using Ignios' multicore-enabling
SystemWeaver technology.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ign/ign107.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ign1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
REUSABLE IP ACCELERATES OKI'S ANALOGUE DESIGN
(Cadence Design Systems, 13 Jun 2005)
Oki Electric has achieved five times faster design turnaround time for
its analogue blocks than with its previous design methodology by using
Cadence Virtuoso NeoCircuit technology.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cad/cad288.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cad2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SHIELDING JACKET BANISHES INDUSTRIAL INTERFERENCE
(Swift Textile Metalizing, 10 Jun 2005)
Swift-Lock is a reusable electrically conductive hook and loop for
grounding static electricity and closing shielding jackets.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/swf/swf101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:swf1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
GPRS MODEMS COLLECT TURKISH METER DATA
(Alpha Micro Components, 13 Jun 2005)
A Turkish IT solutions provider turned to Alpha Micro Components for
help with a remote metering project.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/alp/alp125.html
or send a blank email to mailto:alp1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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TRENCH-BASED MODULE BOASTS BOOSTED CURRENTS
(Toshiba Electronics Europe, 13 Jun 2005)
Toshiba Electronics Europe has announced its first trench gate based
4.5kV press pack IEGT (injection enhancement gate transistor).
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tos/tos269.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tos2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PROCESSORS STEP ON THE NETWORK ACCELERATOR
(Analog Devices, 10 Jun 2005)
The Fusiv-NP family of network processors provide industry-leading
network throughput performance with IPSec security.
Request free details from the supplier on Fusiv-NP:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/anc/307/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anc/anc307.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anc3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MOTOR DRIVERS BANISH TAIL-END SPIKES
(Zetex, 10 Jun 2005)
Zetex has developed a novel technique to remove the current spike at
the end of the commutation cycle in single- and two-phase brushless DC
motors.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/zet/zet154.html
or send a blank email to mailto:zet1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DUAL-BAND TUNER PUTS TV ON THE HANDSET
(Athena Semiconductors, 09 Jun 2005)
A new high-performance ultra-low-power dual-band RF tuner chip enables
cost-effective mobile TV applications in cellular phones and other
devices such as PDAs and automobile entertainment systems.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ath/ath104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ath1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SHORTFORM FOCUSES ON EMI SUPPRESSION DEVICES
(Schurter, 14 Jun 2005)
A new EMC shortform catalogue from Schurter contains details of an
assortment of power entry modules, block filters, chokes, pulse
transformers and power stage driver modules.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/scc/scc129.html
or send a blank email to mailto:scc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
KIT PUTS HIGH-DENSITY FPGAS TO DSP DUTIES
(Altera Europe, 10 Jun 2005)
A new digital signal processing (DSP) development kit leverages
Stratix II devices, the industry's fastest and highest-density FPGAs.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aeu/aeu165.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aeu1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
COMPACT CORES CREATE FLEXIBLE RESAMPLING FILTERS
(RF Engines, 13 Jun 2005)
A new range of fractional resampling architectures for FPGAs can be
used to perform up-sampling or down-sampling of high-speed digital
signals.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rfe/rfe123.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rfe1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SOFTWARE RECONFIGURES FPGAS ON THE FLY
(Lattice Semiconductor UK, 08 Jun 2005)
New free programming software allows designers to reconfigure
LatticeXP nonvolatile FPGAs in the field without interrupting system
operation.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lat/lat166.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lat1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DUAL XEON BOARD TOPS COMPACTPCI CHARTS
(Concurrent Technologies, 14 Jun 2005)
A dual Intel Xeon processor board is the newest and most powerful
CompactPCI single board computer from Concurrent Technologies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cct/cct155.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cct1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FIRMWARE UPGRADE MAKES RADIOS EVEN EASIER TO USE
(Low Power Radio Solutions, 14 Jun 2005)
Low Power Radio Solutions has released new V2 firmware for its market
leading easy-Radio range of software embedded wireless modules.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/low/low127.html
or send a blank email to mailto:low1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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