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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: 23,690
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 221: 21 June 2005
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23950 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] MOSFETs keep cool to boost conversion efficiency
[2] Oscilloscope comes on compact USB drive
[3] Cores take control of Flash memory security
[4] Wi-Fi platform brings it all together
[5] Gate-level debugger is easy to customise
[6] Aluminium offers economical thermal management
[7] High accuracy calibrator runs up to 2.2GHz
[8] Li-ion batteries promise "plug and play" solutions
[9] RF mixer reduces board space and cost
[10] Measurement systems cover multiple RF standards
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
Previous feedback to this column has proved that patents are a
contentious issue. However, nobody can argue that correctly phrased
patent legislation provides essential protection for intellectual
property - and hence a continued incentive for research and
development.
So last night's decision by the European Parliament Legal Affairs
Committee to throw out proposals for a big overhaul of the impending
Software Patents Directive should be a popular one.
Specifically, the committee threw out a raft of amendments that would
have made it far harder to obtain a patent for software-based
innovation. And even though the intention behind many of the
amendments appears to have been to disbar the types of "conceptual"
patents that have been perceived as stifling innovation in countries
(such as the USA) where they are permitted, it appears that common
sense has prevailed.
Not surprisingly, the decision has been welcomed by the biggest R and
D spenders in the business. And no doubt it will be decried by garden
shed innovators who will feel that it discourages them from re-using
code from patented programs, however general the purpose the original
code may have been.
The directive will now move to the European Parliament for a full vote
early next month. It would be a big surprise if it was not passed.
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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IC MAKERS COLLABORATE TO FAST TRACK RFID STANDARD
(Philips Semiconductors, 20 Jun 2005)
Philips and Texas Instruments are to co-operate on conformance testing
for the technical interpretation of the EPCglobal Electronic Product
Code Generation 2 RFID standard.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/phi/phi322.html
or send a blank email to mailto:phi3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BIG NAMES COLLABORATE ON MOBILE EDA
(Synopsys, 16 Jun 2005)
IBM, Intel Corp and Synopsys have begun a "mobile-aware" technology
initiative to bring mobile design tools to the electronic design
automation market segment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/syn/syn261.html
or send a blank email to mailto:syn2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RADAR FILTER TO OVERCOME WIND FARM OBJECTIONS
(BAE Systems Aerospace Controls, 17 Jun 2005)
BAE Systems has received a significant contract to demonstrate the
mitigation of wind farm interference with air traffic control radars.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/bae/bae104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:bae1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CONTINUED GROWTH FOR MICRALYNE
(Micralyne, 17 Jun 2005)
MEMS component specialist Micralyne has secured two major
manufacturing orders and has experienced strong revenue growth for its
most recent fiscal year.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mal/mal102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mal1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LAB AIMS TO ANSWER MATERIALS CHALLENGES
(Engis (UK), 16 Jun 2005)
A new laboratory in Henley on Thames will provide a resource in the UK
for developers looking for technical support and expertise in
polishing and thinning of advanced materials.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eng/eng106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:eng1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PROJECT AIMS TO MAKE RF MEMS MORE ROBUST
(Innovative Micro Technology (IMT), 16 Jun 2005)
Innovative Micro Technology is to work with MEMtronics Corp on the
second phase of a $3.69 million three-year DARPA development contract
on "Robust, reliable RF MEMS capacitive switches".
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iny/iny100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iny1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
KNORR TO SPEARHEAD DUBAI MICROELECTRONICS VENTURE
(Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), 15 Jun 2005)
Dr Juergen Knorr has been appointed CEO of the Dubai Silicon Oasis, a
strategic initiative of the Government of Dubai.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dua/dua100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dua1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WEBSITE KEEPS TRACK OF GREEN LEGISLATION
(MVR International, 20 Jun 2005)
Florida-based distributor MVR International has set up a website
entirely dedicated to the European RoHS Directive and other
environmental laws emerging worldwide.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mvr/mvr100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mvr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] MOSFETS KEEP COOL TO BOOST CONVERSION EFFICIENCY
(International Rectifier, 20 Jun 2005)
A new DirectFET chipset maximises DC bus convertor efficiency when
used with IR's recently announced IR2086S full-bridge bus convertor
IC. The chipset enables a bus convertor solution capable of delivering
336W with 97% efficiency in a footprint 29% smaller than a
"quarter-brick" convertor. The IRF6646 and IRF6635 are optimised for
48V regulated and 36 to 60V input bridge topologies in isolated DC/DC
bus convertors, synchronous buck nonisolated DC/DC topologies, 18 to
36V input forward and push-pull convertors for mobile communication,
and secondary-side synchronous rectification in regulated output
isolated DC/DC applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sil/sil226.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sil2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] OSCILLOSCOPE COMES ON COMPACT USB DRIVE
(Elan Digital Systems, 17 Jun 2005)
The USBScope50 is the first in a new range of new modular test and
measurement products from Elan Digital Systems. The USBScope50 is a
full-function single channel, isolated oscilloscope which is similar
in size and form to the popular USB "pen" memory products. Two (or
more) USBScope50s can be plugged together to form a dual or
multichannel device with a unique synchronisation feature. The product
features 100MHz analogue bandwidth, 50Msample/s one-shot acquisition
and 1Gsample/s equivalent time sampling (for repetitive waveforms) and
is compatible with any standard scope probes.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ean/ean111.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ean1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] CORES TAKE CONTROL OF FLASH MEMORY SECURITY
(ARM, 17 Jun 2005)
Discretix and ARM have collaborated to offer an integrated secure
Flash controller solution optimised for the rapidly growing removable
and embedded Flash-based memory markets. Based on the integration of
the industry-leading ARM7TDMI embedded processor, or the ARM SecurCore
family of processors, with the Discretix CryptoFlash security
solution, this combination delivers a complete, robust, scalable and
easily-deployed secure Flash controller to the storage and mobile
device industries.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ank/ank210.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ank2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] WI-FI PLATFORM BRINGS IT ALL TOGETHER
(Green Hills Software, 21 Jun 2005)
Green Hills Software has introduced a complete Wi-Fi platform for
developers of electronic products that incorporate wireless LAN (WLAN)
interfaces based on IEEE802.11 standards (Wi-Fi). This platform
accelerates the development of Wi-Fi-enabled products by providing
developers with all of the required software components, fully
integrated and tested together. In addition, the reference hardware
can be used for rapid software development and testing prior to the
availability of a product's final electronics. The Green Hills Wi-Fi
reference platform addresses a broad range of applications, from
resource-constrained mobile devices through mission-critical network
infrastructure equipment.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/gre/185/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gre/gre185.html
or send a blank email to mailto:gre1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] GATE-LEVEL DEBUGGER IS EASY TO CUSTOMISE
(Concept Engineering, 17 Jun 2005)
New from Concept Engineering, GateVision Pro is a gate-level debugging
tool that offers higher performance and an open application
programming interface (API) that allows chip designers to customise
and implement their own debugging functions. In addition, a new 64bit
database provides higher capacity, giving chip design teams the
ability to debug large, complex chips. GateVision Pro fits easily into
any design flow where Verilog and EDIF netlist formats are being used.
The new product gives designers of ICs, SoCs, IP blocks and complex
FPGAs full access to the chip database.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cce/cce106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cce1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] ALUMINIUM OFFERS ECONOMICAL THERMAL MANAGEMENT
(Norse Precision Castings, 21 Jun 2005)
Frequently a problem, rarely an asset, the question of heat and its
management often arises late in the design stages of any component or
system, but a change in chassis or enclosure material can solve
overheating problems quickly and easily. Sand casting in aluminium
offers a late yet economical solution even in fairly high batch
quantities, and accommodates change without high financial penalty.
Although aluminium lies fourth after silver, copper and gold in the
league of heat conduction, take into account the economy and ease of
production and it comes up "top".
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nrs/nrs106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nrs1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] HIGH ACCURACY CALIBRATOR RUNS UP TO 2.2GHZ
(Time Electronics, 17 Jun 2005)
The 5041 is a versatile, high accuracy calibrator capable of
calibrating a wide range of oscilloscopes and timer/counters to
2.2GHz. It provides a wide range of outputs for amplitude, frequency,
period and bandwidth. Amplitude calibration is achieved by a DC signal
or 1kHz square-wave, ranging from 1mV to 200V (2V maximum for 50ohm
loads). Deviation up to +/-9.99% allows fine adjustment of amplitude
and direct readout of error. Accurate frequencies are generated from a
temperature controlled quartz crystal oscillator.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tio/tio101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tio1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] LI-ION BATTERIES PROMISE "PLUG AND PLAY" SOLUTIONS
(Saft, 21 Jun 2005)
Saft is leading the way in the industrial application of lithium-ion
(Li-ion) battery technology with its new Intensium Flex system
developed to provide fully integrated "plug and play" smart solutions
to suit the various power requirements of a wide variety of industrial
and telecomms users. Thanks to its versatile, modular rackable design,
Intensium Flex can be configured to provide any system voltage from 24
to 720V for pure standby float or high frequency cycling applications,
and discharge patterns ranging from high energy (hours or days of
discharge) to very high power demands over minutes or seconds.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/saf/123/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/saf/saf123.html
or send a blank email to mailto:saf1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] RF MIXER REDUCES BOARD SPACE AND COST
(Analog Devices, 16 Jun 2005)
A new RF mixer offers industry-leading linearity over a broad
frequency range up to 3GHz for both up- and down-conversion
applications. When selecting an RF mixer, designers must make many
tradeoffs between performance, flexibility of IF selection, size,
power consumption, integration and cost. By delivering high linearity,
very low power consumption, and high integration in a miniature 3 x
2mm package, ADI's ADL5350 RF mixer reduces board space and cost while
enabling designers to achieve no-compromise levels of performance.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/anc/311/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anc/anc311.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anc3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS COVER MULTIPLE RF STANDARDS
(National Instruments, 17 Jun 2005)
National Instruments advances the development of emerging wireless
communications standards by collaborating with leading software
providers to deliver complete RF/communications test and analysis
solutions based on modular hardware and software. To test compliance
of IEEE802.15.4 WPAN (ZigBee) and IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi) applications,
engineers now can use SeaSolve Software tools that integrate with NI
PXI-based RF hardware and the LabView graphical development
environment for a flexible and cost-effective solution. Built on PXI -
the most widely used standard for modular instruments - the platform
provides a foundation to develop a complete test system.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/naa/204/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa204.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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FPGAS MEET VIDEO CHALLENGES IN DSP DEVELOPMENT
(Altera Europe, 16 Jun 2005)
DSP development expert Mango DSP has released its Bluejay CompactPCI
card for high-performance video processing applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aeu/aeu166.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aeu1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FRUGAL MCU TURNS TO ZIGBEE NETWORKING
(Texas Instruments, 20 Jun 2005)
Texas Instruments has collaborated with Ember Corp to unveil the
world's lowest power consuming ZigBee networking and microcontroller
(MCU) platform.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex842.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex8[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
POWER AMP FINDS A HOME IN WI-FI REFERENCE DESIGN
(Fairchild Semiconductor, 20 Jun 2005)
The RMPA5255 WLAN RF power amplifier from Fairchild Semiconductor has
been selected for use in Broadcom's latest single-chip and PCI
Express-enabled Wi-Fi reference designs.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai349.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fai3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
COMPILER SPEEDS IMAGE PROCESSOR TO TAPE-OUT
(Cadence Design Systems, 17 Jun 2005)
Nethra Imaging has successfully taped out its first product, the
NI-2050 image processor designed for mobile handset applications,
using Cadence Encounter RTL Compiler synthesis.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cad/cad294.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cad2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DESIGN PLATFORM CUTS POWER FOR STARC
(Synopsys, 17 Jun 2005)
The Synopsys Galaxy Design Platform has been integrated into the
latest Semiconductor Technology Academic Research Centre STARCAD-21
Synopsys-based production flow.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/syn/syn262.html
or send a blank email to mailto:syn2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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LDO SUITS TELECOMMS AND AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS
(Linear Technology Corp, 17 Jun 2005)
The LT3014 is a high-voltage micropower low-dropout regulator capable
of delivering 20mA output current.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne169.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LOW-VOLTAGE LOAD SWITCHES REDUCE ON-RESISTANCE
(Vishay Siliconix, 17 Jun 2005)
Five new P-channel load switches are billed as the industry's first
such devices designed to offer low on-resistance at a 1.5V gate drive.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/vsh/vsh121.html
or send a blank email to mailto:vsh1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WI-FI MODULES TARGET WIRELESS NICHES
(SiGe Semiconductor, 21 Jun 2005)
Three new RF front-end modules allow manufacturers to optimise the
performance, battery life and transmission range required of a full
complement of emerging Wi-Fi applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sif/sif169.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sif1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RF SIMULATION SOFTWARE PROVIDES ALL THE TOOLS
(Vector Fields, 17 Jun 2005)
Concerto, the high frequency simulation software for component design
from Vector Fields, has been upgraded to include many features from
the user-group wish list.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/vct/vct110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:vct1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TOOLSET SPEEDS SIGNAL PATH SPECIFICATION
(National Semiconductor, 17 Jun 2005)
A new Webench Signal-Path Designer toolset provides engineers with an
easy-to-use tool to select, design and evaluate critical data
convertor and amplifier/filter components and circuits.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nat/nat337.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nat3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BLOWER BOASTS BIG AIRFLOW BOOST
(Rittal, 17 Jun 2005)
Rittal has introduced a new, extra powerful, radial fan for use in
high availability and high performance rack-mounted electronic
systems.
Request free details from the supplier on Ricool II:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/rit/193/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rit/rit193.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rit1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SYSTEM PROMISES COST-EFFECTIVE ROUTE TO LEAD-FREE
(Blundell Production Equipment, 20 Jun 2005)
The new Blundell System 300 is designed to appeal to small to medium
sized electronics manufacturers or cell producers in larger
facilities.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/bun/bun128.html
or send a blank email to mailto:bun1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
COMPACT SYSTEM GUARANTEES DC SUPPLIES
(Unipower Europe, 20 Jun 2005)
The Gravitas X75-48S DC power system combines high-power-density
hot-swap rectifier modules with a DC battery load distribution section
and a monitor and control section.
Request free details from the supplier on Gravitas X75-48S:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/uni/134/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/uni/uni134.html
or send a blank email to mailto:uni1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MORE FUNCTIONS FOR LOW POWER RADIO MODEM
(Circuit Design, 16 Jun 2005)
Circuit Design has updated its MU-1 low power radio modem with new
relay and communication margin measurement functions.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cic/cic100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cic1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SPECTRUM ANALYSER COVERS ALL WIRELESS LANS
(Accelonix (UK), 17 Jun 2005)
The Bantam 425A handheld wireless LAN spectrum analyser boasts an
impressive range of features in a compact package.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/bse/bse112.html
or send a blank email to mailto:bse1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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