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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: 23,300
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 227: 02 August 2005
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24702 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] PXI controller boasts top real-time performance
[2] Ferrite cores snap on for compliance
[3] Top performance claims for 16bit DAC
[4] Microcontroller is ready for radio duties
[5] Digital input board has four relay outputs
[6] PICMG compliant CPU suits low-profile systems
[7] Simulator made for networked design verification
[8] Flip-chip underfill is easy to work with
[9] Narrowband radio modules go a long way
[10] Signal generator and digitiser join PXI range
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
Another phenomenon of the "silly season" seems to have hit
Electronicstalk this week: companies have been so busy releasing
financial results (of which many are referenced below) that they seem
to have neglected to release any products.
Mind you, that's no bad thing, it gives us all a chance to take stock
of the year to date by checking up on who's making money, who's losing
it and who the rising stars might be.
And while I'm not advocating that anyone should invest their pension
fund based on financial news published on Electronicstalk, investing
in our own industry can be highly lucrative. It's all a matter of
knowing when to invest and when to get out.
One person who is in no doubt that good times are ahead is Dave
Sonnier of Agere Systems Telecom Division, who this week reflected on
the semiconductor industry, the year so far, and the year it will
likely have had when all is said and done on 31st December 2005 - see
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/age/age181.html.
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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WOLFSON CONTINUES TO GROW
(Wolfson Microelectronics, 28 Jul 2005)
Wolfson Microelectronics has published financial results for the six
months ended 30th June 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wol/wol191.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wol1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
AGERE STAYS BUOYANT DURING RESTRUCTURING
(Agere Systems, 28 Jul 2005)
Agere Systems has reported that revenues for the third quarter of
fiscal 2005, ended 30th June, were $433 million, at the high end of
the guidance range provided by the company in April.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/age/age182.html
or send a blank email to mailto:age1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DESIGN CENTRE OPENS IN BANGALORE
(AMI Semiconductor, 28 Jul 2005)
AMI Semiconductor has expanded its design and development capabilities
with the opening of an offshore design centre in India.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/amb/amb171.html
or send a blank email to mailto:amb1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PRICING PRESSURE PRUNES IR PROFITS
(International Rectifier, 01 Aug 2005)
International Rectifier Corp has reported adjusted earnings of $38.4
million (or $0.54 per share) for the June quarter on revenues of
$281.8 million.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sil/sil231.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sil2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LINEAR BREAKS BILLION DOLLAR REVENUE BARRIER
(Linear Technology Corp, 01 Aug 2005)
Linear Technology Corp has reported net revenue for its fiscal year
ended 3rd July 2005 of $1,049,694,000, an increase of 30% over net
revenue of $807,281,000 for the previous year.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne181.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CSR TO ACQUIRE UBINETICS SOFTWARE BUSINESS
(Cambridge Silicon Radio, 01 Aug 2005)
CSR has entered into an agreement with UbiNetics Holdings to acquire
UbiNetics' software business for a cash consideration of $48 million.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cam/cam197.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cam1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SCHAFFNER TO QUIT TEST AND MEASUREMENT MARKET
(Schaffner , 29 Jul 2005)
Schaffner is to sell off its Test Systems Division and concentrate on
its successful and profitable Components Division.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sca/sca180.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sca1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MIPS RECORDS RECORD GROWTH IN 2005
(MIPS Technologies, 29 Jul 2005)
MIPS Technologies has reported financial results for its fourth
quarter and fiscal year ended 30th June 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mip/mip276.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mip2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CUSTOM ICS DRIVE CADENCE GROWTH
(Cadence Design Systems, 01 Aug 2005)
Cadence Design Systems has reported second quarter 2005 revenue of
$321 million, an increase of 12% over the $287 million reported for
the same period last year.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cad/cad302.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cad3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
AUTOMOTIVE AND AUTOMATION GROW FOR OMRON
(Omron Corp, 01 Aug 2005)
Omron Corp has reported net sales for the first quarter totalling JPY
138.4 billion.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/oro/oro125.html
or send a blank email to mailto:oro1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NI CLOCKS UP RECORD REVENUES
(National Instruments, 28 Jul 2005)
National Instruments has reported second quarter revenue of $141
million, an increase of 11% compared with the second quarter of 2004
and up 9% sequentially.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa209.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] PXI CONTROLLER BOASTS TOP REAL-TIME PERFORMANCE
(National Instruments, 27 Jul 2005)
Engineers can use two new National Instruments RT PXI embedded
controllers to increase their real-time control rates and
data-streaming throughput. The NI PXI-8196 RT controller is billed as
the highest-performance real-time controller available. With a 2.0GHz
Pentium M 760 processor, it delivers an average performance
improvement of 18% compared with the previous highest-performance
real-time controller. The NI PXI-8195 RT controller features a 1.5GHz
Celeron M 370 processor.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/naa/208/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa208.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] FERRITE CORES SNAP ON FOR COMPLIANCE
(Steward, 02 Aug 2005)
Three new snap-on ferrite cores from Steward allow manufacturers of
consumer products to quickly and easily ensure EMI compliance for
their products. The devices are the highest-impedance ferrites of
their type in the industry today, allowing manufacturers to eliminate
bulky, unsightly "multiple turn" EMI suppression arrangements in many
applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sgt/sgt109.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sgt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] TOP PERFORMANCE CLAIMS FOR 16BIT DAC
(Maxim Integrated Products, 01 Aug 2005)
New from Maxim Integrated Products is the MAX5891, a state-of-the-art
high-performance 16bit 600Msample/s digital-to-analogue convertor
(DAC). At a 30MHz output frequency, the device offers industry-leading
80dBc performance in spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) and -94dBc
intermodulation distortion (IMD). At a 36MHz output frequency, it
offers -163dBFS/Hz noise-spectral density.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/max/max232.html
or send a blank email to mailto:max2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] MICROCONTROLLER IS READY FOR RADIO DUTIES
(Microchip Technology, 27 Jul 2005)
Microchip has released a Flash 8bit PIC microcontroller with a
three-channel low-frequency (LF) transponder analogue front end and an
integrated Keeloq cryptographic peripheral. This is combined with
Microchip's low power Nanowatt Technology in a small 20-pin SSOP
package. The PIC16F639 is ideal for a wide range of security and other
general-purpose applications. These include automotive passive keyless
entry (PKE) systems and tyre pressure monitoring (TPM) systems,
property and identity authentication systems, and security systems
such as electronic locks, remote security sensors etc.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ari/ari199.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ari1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] DIGITAL INPUT BOARD HAS FOUR RELAY OUTPUTS
(Acces I/O Products, 01 Aug 2005)
New from Acces I/O Products, the Model 104-II32-4RO is a 36-channel
PC/104 utility board featuring 32 fully optically isolated digital
inputs with change-of-state interrupt generation and four handy
electromechanical relay outputs. The board provides connections to an
assortment of devices including sensors, switches, controllers,
powered circuits, and other user inputs. The inputs may be driven by
either DC sources of 3-31V (or higher by special order) or AC sources
at frequencies of 40Hz to 10kHz. Optically isolating the digital
inputs from each other, and from the computer, assures smooth,
error-free data transmission in noisy, real-world industrial
environments.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aes/aes103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aes1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] PICMG COMPLIANT CPU SUITS LOW-PROFILE SYSTEMS
(Wordsworth Technology, 01 Aug 2005)
New from Wordsworth Technology, the IP-4MTP2G is a socket 479
full-size PICMG compliant CPU card designed for the Pentium M
processor. The Wordsworth IP-4MTP2G is a low power solution, ideally
suited to low profile enclosures. The Wordsworth 4MTP2G card
implements a Socket 479 supporting Pentium M processors up to 2.0GHz
with a 400MHz front side bus. The Pentium M processor is, in turn,
supported by the Intel 855GME and ICH4 chipsets.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wor/wor155.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wor1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] SIMULATOR MADE FOR NETWORKED DESIGN VERIFICATION
(Aldec, 02 Aug 2005)
Aldec has released Riviera-SNA (simulator for networking
applications). The new product is aimed at 64bit Linux design
verification server farms and is priced starting at less than $200 per
seat. Riviera-SNA addresses changing customer needs as ESL and ASIC
manufacturers require an increased number of high-performance
simulators online. Despite that over 70% of the design effort goes
into design verification alone, there are still many ASIC respins and
product cancellations due to poor design quality. To cope with these
issues, the industry has seen a surge in automatic testbench
generation tools.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/axw/axw124.html
or send a blank email to mailto:axw1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] FLIP-CHIP UNDERFILL IS EASY TO WORK WITH
(Henkel, 01 Aug 2005)
The Electronics Group of Henkel has brought to market its latest high
purity, liquid epoxy encapsulant material, Hysol FP4548FC. The
advanced material has been designed specifically for use as an
underfill for flip-chip devices and provides superior flow and more
robust processing capability as compared with competing products.
Hysol FP4548FC features a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)
and low shrinkage - characteristics that are perfect for low-k die
applications. When fully cured, the material creates a rigid,
high-strength, low-stress seal that dissipates solder joint stress,
greatly extends thermal cycling performance and simplifies the
assembly process.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/hen/hen135.html
or send a blank email to mailto:hen1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] NARROWBAND RADIO MODULES GO A LONG WAY
(Radiometrix, 27 Jul 2005)
For all those manufacturers who require a wireless interface for their
latest remote handset, diagnostic tool, or sensor head interface
product, the new NTX2 transmitter and NRX2 receiver pair by
Radiometrix is ideal. Such an interface allows full remote operation
and removes the need for awkward and expensive trailing cables. This
true narrowband NTX2/NRX2 pair offers a low power, reliable datalink
for many applications, especially point-to-point and
point-to-multipoint wireless links where longer ranges (over 500m) are
required at low datarates (below 10Kbit/s).
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rio/rio115.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rio1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] SIGNAL GENERATOR AND DIGITISER JOIN PXI RANGE
(Aeroflex , 02 Aug 2005)
Building on the success of the company's PXI 3000 series RF test
systems, Aeroflex has unveiled two new PXI modules and a new software
suite that expands range of use, speed of operation, accuracy and
flexibility of its PXI test systems. New products are the Aeroflex
3020A 2.7GHz digital RF signal generator, the 3030A 3GHz RF digitiser
with 33MHz bandwidth and a cdma2000 reverse link software measurement
library. The new products offer the benefits of PXI's much lower cost
and flexibility compared with general-purpose rack instruments, while
maintaining exceptional RF performance.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aof/aof128.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aof1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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POSITIVE SIGNS FOR THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY
(Agere Systems, 27 Jul 2005)
Dave Sonnier of Agere Systems Telecom Division reflects on the
semiconductor industry, the year so far, and the year it will likely
have had when all is said and done on 31st December 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/age/age181.html
or send a blank email to mailto:age1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DESIGN ISSUES FOR FLEX CIRCUIT MANUFACTURERS
(UK CAM, 28 Jul 2005)
Nik Vyas from UK CAM looks at some of the constraints in the "black
art" of flexible circuit design.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ukc/ukc100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ukc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RTOS HELPS RECORD COMET IMPACT
(Express Logic, 29 Jul 2005)
Software from Express Logic and Green Hills Software played key roles
in NASA's recent successful Deep Impact spacecraft mission.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/exp/exp106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:exp1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
COMPILER HELPS CUT CONSUMER IC DOWN TO SIZE
(Cadence Design Systems, 02 Aug 2005)
Sunplus Technology Company of Taiwan has achieved an important
production tapeout of a reduced-die-size consumer-electronics chip
using Cadence technology.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cad/cad304.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cad3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DEBUG TOOLS SPEED MIXED SIGNAL DESIGNS TO SILICON
(Sandwork Design, 01 Aug 2005)
Analogue and mixed-signal circuit debugging tools from Sandwork Design
have been incorporated into the design flow of Faraday Technology
Corp.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sad/sad102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sad1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
AUDIO TESTER PROVIDES THE RIGHT MIX FOR CALREC
(Prism Sound, 02 Aug 2005)
Prism Sound's compact dScope Series III audio test and measurement
tool is proving so invaluable to UK console manufacturer Calrec Audio
that the company has now bought its sixth unit.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/prx/prx100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:prx1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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TRANSMIT-QUALITY CONVERTORS USE LESS POWER
(Analog Devices, 29 Jul 2005)
Analog Devices has developed a low-power generation of its
industry-leading TxDAC transmit digital-to-analogue convertors.
Request free details from the supplier on AD970x family:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/anc/316/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anc/anc316.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anc3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
POWER CHIP PUTS FIVE ULDOS UNDER SOFTWARE CONTROL
(Semtech, 02 Aug 2005)
The SC900 is an I2C software-controlled power management device
incorporating five individual ultra-low-dropout regulators in a tiny 4
x 4mm package.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sem/sem131.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sem1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
STEP-DOWN CONVERTOR HANDLES WIDE-RANGING INPUTS
(Texas Instruments, 27 Jul 2005)
A new 1.5A DC/DC step-down convertor supports input voltages from 3.1
to 17V for devices powered by two- to three-cell lithium-based
batteries or a 12V power source.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex859.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex8[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PLL CHIPS DROP IN TO REPLACE CRYSTAL OSCILLATORS
(ON Semiconductor, 01 Aug 2005)
The NB4N507A is the first in a series of fully integrated PLL ICs
designed to replace expensive crystal oscillators for clock generation
in a wide variety of consumer and networking applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/onw/onw190.html
or send a blank email to mailto:onw1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RTOS DRIVES FOR MULTIMEDIA OVER USB
(Accelerated Technology, 29 Jul 2005)
Accelerated Technology has developed two new class drivers for the
Nucleus USB software, which provides USB support for the Nucleus RTOS.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/acl/acl115.html
or send a blank email to mailto:acl1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WHITE LED DISPLAYS PROMISE A FRESH LOOK
(Forge Europa, 02 Aug 2005)
White seven segment and dot matrix LED displays are now economically
viable for a wide range of industrial and consumer applications.
Request free details from the supplier on White LED displays:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/frg/132/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/frg/frg132.html
or send a blank email to mailto:frg1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FRONT END SUPPLIES INCLUDE STANDBY AND FAN OUTPUTS
(Artesyn Technologies, 01 Aug 2005)
A new series of compact 250W AC/DC power supplies are billed as ideal
front-end conversion solutions for systems with distributed power
architectures.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/art/art205.html
or send a blank email to mailto:art2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PENTIUM M BASED SBC GAINS LINUX OPTION
(Arcom, 01 Aug 2005)
Arcom has introduced a ready-to-run Linux Development Kit for its
Apollo Pentium M based single board computer.
Request free details from the supplier on Apollo Development Kit for
Linux:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/arc/142/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/arc/arc142.html
or send a blank email to mailto:arc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
UPGRADE FOR BUDGET-PRICED LOGIC ANALYSER
(TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments), 29 Jul 2005)
The TA320S logic analyser from TTi has been updated to integrate with
the company's new range of bench instruments.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/bla/bla239.html
or send a blank email to mailto:bla2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
COUPLERS CUT THE COST OF MICROWAVE MEASUREMENTS
(Link Microtek, 27 Jul 2005)
A new series of single directional couplers provide an economical
means of measuring microwave power in commercial mobile-phone
infrastructure and test systems.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lib/lib176.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lib1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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