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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: 24,130
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 239: 25 October 2005
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26604 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] Single-chip phone produces budget handsets
[2] Novel lithium cell offers best of both worlds
[3] FPGAs take serial transceivers onboard
[4] Compact chokes clean up high-speed signals
[5] Soft ARM7 core if free to use in FPGA designs
[6] New family brings innovation to 8bit MCU market
[7] Trial scheme puts lead-free solders to the test
[8] Value-for-money scopes - as used by the MoD
[9] Networking modules upgrade processing power
[10] Amps cut costs and power of current sensing
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
Having been involved - albeit on a modest scale - in the early
introduction of chipsets for GSM handset development, it is
interesting to observe one of the most elusive milestones in the
technology finally coming to pass. Because now, more than ten years
after it was first mooted, the so-called single-chip phone has become
a reality.
That all major players in the GSM semiconductor market took a chipset
approach, separating the baseband from the RF was no surprise. Early
1990s process technology showed no sign of being able to
cost-effectively marry the processing power required with the then
still "black art" of RF.
And while a number of the semiconductor big names have converged
towards the elusive single-chip solution in recent years - notably the
likes of TI with its digital RF technology - Silicon Laboratories
appears to have gone one step further. The new Aerofone device (our
lead product below) doesn't just put the baseband and RF on a single
chip, it also integrates a power management unit, battery interface
and charging circuitry.
And while nobody is suggesting that the Aerophone doesn't require any
support circuitry, it is claimed to reduce the parts count of an entry
level handset by 75%, board area by 65% and manufacturing costs by up
to 50% - pretty impressive for a single component in a 12mm-square
package.
The stakes are high. The market for true low-cost handsets is measured
in billions of units, to say nothing of machine-to-machine
communications.
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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DTI INITIATIVE TO AID COMPETITIVENESS
(IEE (Institution of Electrical Engineers), 25 Oct 2005)
The IEE and the NMI have welcomed the announcement by the UK's
Department for Trade and Industry of funding for the creation of an
electronics knowledge transfer network (KTN).
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iwo/iwo126.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iwo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FREESCALE ACQUIRES COMMASIC
(Freescale Semiconductor, 24 Oct 2005)
Freescale Semiconductor has acquired CommASIC, a fabless semiconductor
company based in San Diego.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot221.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mot2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MARGINS MARCH UP AT ON SEMICONDUCTOR
(ON Semiconductor, 24 Oct 2005)
ON Semiconductor has reported total revenues in the third quarter of
2005 of $313.6 million, an increase of approximately 4% from the
second quarter of 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/onw/onw200.html
or send a blank email to mailto:onw2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BUOYANT SALES FOR DIALOG
(Dialog Semiconductor, 21 Oct 2005)
Dialog Semiconductor has reported revenues of Eur 40.6 million for the
third quarter of 2005, an increase of 28.7% compared with Eur 31.6
million for Q3 2004.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dal/dal120.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dal1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MODEST SALES GROWTH FOR LINEAR
(Linear Technology Corp, 21 Oct 2005)
Linear Technology reports net sales of $256,013,000 in Q1, an increase
of 1% over the first quarter of the previous year.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne205.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SEOUL OFFICE IS READY FOR T-DMB DEPLOYMENT
(Frontier Silicon, 19 Oct 2005)
Frontier Silicon has opened its office in Seoul, South Korea, to
support the launch of the world's first commercial T-DMB mobile
television service.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fon/fon131.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fon1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TOKYO OFFICE IS FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE
(Ateme, 24 Oct 2005)
Ateme has opened an Office in Tokyo and appointed Yasushi Kato as
Sales Director for Japan.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ayb/ayb104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ayb1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ELMA ACQUIRES MEKTRON SYSTEMS
(Elma Electronic UK, 19 Oct 2005)
Mektron Systems of Bedford, a leading supplier of rugged system
enclosures, has been acquired by the Elma Electronic Group.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/elm/elm129.html
or send a blank email to mailto:elm1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LABORATORY TO FURTHER NEUROELECTRONICS RESEARCH
(IMEC, 19 Oct 2005)
IMEC has set up a neuroelectronics convergence laboratory, which it
reckons is unique in Europe.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ime/ime177.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ime1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SALES LEAP CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY
(EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering, 24 Oct 2005)
EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering has reported sales growth of 30.3%
year-over-year for fiscal 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/exf/exf139.html
or send a blank email to mailto:exf1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] SINGLE-CHIP PHONE PRODUCES BUDGET HANDSETS
(Silicon Laboratories, 25 Oct 2005)
New from Silicon Laboratories, the Aerofone single-chip phone is
billed as the industry's most integrated, highest performance,
easiest-to-use solution for GSM/GPRS handsets. The Aerofone Si4905 is
based on patent pending, breakthrough innovation enabling the first
fully functional single-chip phone to integrate the power management
unit (PMU), battery interface and charging circuitry, digital
baseband, analogue baseband and a quad-band RF transceiver in a single
monolithic CMOS IC. By leveraging Silicon Laboratories' proven Aero II
RF transceiver technology, the Aerofone Si4905 offers industry-leading
RF performance including sensitivity, blocking and transmit modulation
spectrum characteristics. The high level of integration paired with
unmatched RF performance makes Silicon Laboratories' Aerofone solution
ideal for entry-level GSM/GPRS handsets where cost and circuit board
area are critical.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/snl/snl132.html
or send a blank email to mailto:snl1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] NOVEL LITHIUM CELL OFFERS BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
(Maxell Europe, 21 Oct 2005)
A new environmentally friendly lithium battery from Maxell Europe
combines the high-power capabilities of spiral type batteries with the
capacity and lifetime of bobbin type batteries to offer a flexible and
innovative solution for the automotive, industrial and facilities
management sectors. The novel "spiral wound" construction and improved
electrical-conductivity structures of the CR17450 power cell provide
high-rate discharge capabilities (maximum pulse discharge current
1000mA), and its high temperature tolerance (operating range -40 to
+85C) make it suitable for use in the most punishing environments.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/mxe/102/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mxe/mxe102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mxe1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] FPGAS TAKE SERIAL TRANSCEIVERS ONBOARD
(Altera Europe, 25 Oct 2005)
Altera has launched the Stratix II GX family, its third generation of
FPGAs with embedded serial transceivers. Designed to deliver superior
signal integrity, Stratix II GX FPGAs offer a complete programmable
solution for the growing number of applications and protocols
requiring high-speed serial transceivers. Stratix II GX FPGAs combine
the industry's fastest and highest-density FPGA fabric with up to 20
low-power transceivers that operate between 622Mbit/s to 6.375Gbit/s
to meet the requirements of high-speed designs of today and tomorrow.
Altera carefully selected the data range of the Stratix II GX
transceivers based on customer requirements and future protocol
roadmaps.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aeu/aeu180.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aeu1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] COMPACT CHOKES CLEAN UP HIGH-SPEED SIGNALS
(Murata Electronics (UK), 24 Oct 2005)
For designers seeking to suppress common mode noise on high speed
differential signal lines, without distortion, Murata has announced
the DLP0NS Series of compact low-profile film-type common-mode choke
coils. Taking advantage of Murata's advanced microfabrication film
technology and superior ferrite materials, the DLP0NS coils are
ultracompact and provide accurate transmission of high-speed
differential signals. Common mode choke coil circuits are increasingly
being used for the effective suppression of common mode noise without
distorting the waveform of high-speed signals. The DLP0NS chip coils
measure just 0.85 x 0.65 x 0.45mm in profile, with a tight +/-0.05mm
dimensional tolerance, making them ideal for today's high speed
portable products.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mut/mut105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mut1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] SOFT ARM7 CORE IF FREE TO USE IN FPGA DESIGNS
(Actel Europe, 25 Oct 2005)
New from Actel, the CoreMP7 is a soft ARM7 family processor optimised
for use in Actel field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), bringing the
flexibility and fast time to market of programmable logic to this
industry standard in processor technology. Under an agreement
announced in March 2005 with ARM, Actel is offering the 32bit ARM7
family microprocessor for use in its products free of licence fees,
greatly reducing the cost of entry and increasing designer access to
system on chip (SoC) development with the ARM7 family. Exploiting the
benefits of Actel's Flash-based architecture, CoreMP7 will be
available for use in ARM-ready versions of Actel's low-cost ProASIC3
family of FPGAs.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/act/218/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/act/act218.html
or send a blank email to mailto:act2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] NEW FAMILY BRINGS INNOVATION TO 8BIT MCU MARKET
(Freescale Semiconductor, 25 Oct 2005)
Freescale Semiconductor reckons it is extending its leadership in 8bit
microcontrollers with product families designed to provide the utmost
in flexibility and value at the industry's most competitive price
points. The S08QG family, with the MC9S08QG8/QG4 as the first member,
combined with HC08-based microcontrollers offer a wide variety of
functionality at suggested resale price points below US $1, giving
customers a broad range of solutions for cost-sensitive applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot222.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mot2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] TRIAL SCHEME PUTS LEAD-FREE SOLDERS TO THE TEST
(Farnell InOne, 24 Oct 2005)
With lead-free soldering proving one of the biggest challenges
currently facing the electronics industry, Farnell InOne has launched
a new "test and try" campaign to ensure electronics and electrical
engineers are fully equipped to deal with the changes required by the
EU Restriction of the use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
Directive. The international distributor of electronic and industrial
components is offering engineers the chance to "test and try"
two-metre lengths of lead-free solder wire - costing as little as
99p - to enable them to trial the different products before committing
to a full reel.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/far/far174.html
or send a blank email to mailto:far1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] VALUE-FOR-MONEY SCOPES - AS USED BY THE MOD
(Aspen Electronics, 25 Oct 2005)
Ruislip-based specialist test instrumentation distributor Aspen
Electronics has completed a contract to supply the UK MoD with a
substantial quantity of 100MHz analogue oscilloscopes. The GW Instek
oscilloscope, model GOS-6112, selected following an open tender, was
regarded the best in terms of value for money. The MoD was looking for
a simple to use, general purpose instrument and the GOS-6112, supplied
by Aspen, provided the ideal solution. As a result of this significant
contract, Aspen Electronics is able to offer all UK customers the same
instrument at an excellent price, believed to be the most competitive
in the UK, for this type of oscilloscope.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ane/ane105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ane1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] NETWORKING MODULES UPGRADE PROCESSING POWER
(Digi International, 24 Oct 2005)
Digi International has expanded its ConnectCore family of core modules
to include the ConnectCore 7U, ConnectCore 9P 9360 and ConnectCore 9P
9750. These new products are flexible, high-performance embedded core
modules that enable customers to easily design in main processing
functionality with fully integrated Ethernet networking capabilities
in a powerful module solution. Based on NetSilicon's NS7520 processor,
the ConnectCore 7U is the product family's first ARM7-based NET+ARM
core processor module. The ConnectCore 9P 9360 and ConnectCore 9P 9750
modules are built on NetSilicon's ARM9-based NET+ARM processors, with
the ConnectCore 9P 9750 offering superior performance with an on-chip
PCI v2.2 bus interface.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dii/dii116.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dii1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] AMPS CUT COSTS AND POWER OF CURRENT SENSING
(Semtech, 25 Oct 2005)
New from Semtech is the SC310 family of high-side current sense
amplifiers with voltage flexibility and power saving features that
allow mobile device designers to lower the system cost and power draw
needed for battery sensing or data acquisition applications. The SC310
takes voltage input from a sense resistor and converts it to a
low-impedance, low-voltage signal that can be fed into a battery
charging IC for monitoring battery levels, or into other power
regulation or monitoring ICs. The device has a wide temperature range
that makes it especially well suited for industrial applications, and
features an industry best accuracy level of 1% (typical) that ensures
that the sensing IC receives the most accurate information.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sem/sem138.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sem1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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ESL BY ANY OTHER NAME
(Altium, 24 Oct 2005)
The latest hot topic in the chip design world recently has been
electronic system level design, says Rob Irwin, Product Marketing
Manager at Altium.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tas/tas188.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tas1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
HOW TO PROVE ROHS COMPLIANCE
(SGS, 24 Oct 2005)
How to prove RoHS compliance is the question most frequently asked,
once key issues such as lead-free solders and RoHS-compliant
electronic components and materials have been sorted.
Request free details from the supplier on RoHS compliance analysis:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/sgs/100/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sgs/sgs100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sgs1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NETWORK SEARCH ENGINE PROVIDES AMPLE PERFORMANCE
(IDT, 21 Oct 2005)
Ample Communications is using the IDT 75K62134 network search engine
to accelerate search performance in its Internet appliance solution.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/idt/idt197.html
or send a blank email to mailto:idt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CHINESE MANUFACTURER FINDS LOW-COST ROUTE TO 2.5G
(Texas Instruments, 19 Oct 2005)
TI's 2.5G wireless platform is being used by leading Chinese
manufacturer TCL Communication Technology for developing affordable
2.5G handsets.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex902.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex9[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
EMBEDDED DATABASE HITS THE ROAD
(Ittia, 20 Oct 2005)
Oshkosh Truck Corporation, a leader in the defence, fire and
emergency, and commercial truck manufacturing market, is now using an
Ittia embedded database in several of its vehicles.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iia/iia106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iia1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LOGGER HELPS GET EXHIBITION DEMO UP AND RUNNING
(SolderStar , 21 Oct 2005)
The SolderStar datalogger solved a tricky Pb-free process profiling
problem at the recent Forum De L'Electronique exhibition in France.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/emb/emb110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:emb1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MODULAR INSTRUMENTS PUT LATEST XBOX ON TRIAL
(National Instruments, 19 Oct 2005)
Microsoft Corp is using an NI LabView and PXI-based test solution for
its Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system controllers.
Request free details from the supplier on PXI-based test solutions:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/naa/225/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa225.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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ADCS PROVIDE COMPLETE BRIDGE SENSOR FRONT END
(Texas Instruments, 24 Oct 2005)
New 24bit analogue-to-digital convertors integrate low-noise
programmable gain amplifiers, precision delta-sigma ADCs and internal
oscillators.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex910.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex9[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PC CHIPSET SUPPORTS NEW GRAPHICS STANDARDS
(VIA Technologies, 24 Oct 2005)
The VIA K8M890 core logic chipset features the new S3 Graphics
DeltaChrome integrated graphics processor core to meet the
requirements of the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/vih/vih110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:vih1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
HANDSET PROCESSORS MAXIMISE MULTIMEDIA
(Broadcom Corp, 19 Oct 2005)
New multimedia processors cost-effectively transform a mobile phone
into a multifunctional media device with the ability to display
high-quality video and capture up to 5Mpixel images.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/brd/brd105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:brd1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
REGULATOR GETS THE JITTERS TO CUT EMI
(Allegro MicroSystems Europe, 24 Oct 2005)
A family of low-output power offline switching regulator ICs features
a novel "jittering" function that minimises the need for external EMI
noise-filtering circuitry.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/alb/alb209.html
or send a blank email to mailto:alb2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RTOS AIDS MIGRATION TO NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL
(SDC Systems, 24 Oct 2005)
Leveraging Interpeak's IPv6 technology, MQX RTOS developers will be
able to build secure, Internet-connected embedded systems for sale in
markets that already require or plan to use the new protocol.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sdc/sdc113.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sdc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PROCESSOR PROMISES FASTER SOC DESIGN
(Tensilica, 25 Oct 2005)
Tensilica has announced a new version of its Xtensa processor family -
the Xtensa 6 configurable and extensible processor core for
system-on-chip (SoC) design.
Request free details from the supplier on Xtensa 6:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/ml/tey/113/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tey/tey113.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tey1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NOVEL TOOL CUTS GDSII DATA DOWN TO SIZE
(Softjin Technologies, 21 Oct 2005)
SoftJin Technologies reckons its new design tool GDSIIZIP compresses
large IC layout files in GDSII format by up to 20 times, making it
four or five times better than existing products.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/soj/soj100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:soj1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MILITARY CONNECTOR TAKES ON HIGH-POWER DUTIES
(Deutsch, 19 Oct 2005)
A new high-power compact connector is designed for power management
systems on military vehicles and aircraft.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/deu/deu129.html
or send a blank email to mailto:deu1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
COMPACT CONVERTORS ARE BIG ON ISOLATION
(Powersolve, 25 Oct 2005)
The THP-3 series of high-performance high-isolation DC/DC convertor
modules provide 3W from a DIL-24 package.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pop/pop103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pop1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PRECOMPLIANCE TESTER ISOLATES IMMUNITY PROBLEMS
(Lapp, 19 Oct 2005)
Costly and embarrassing CE testing failures now can be avoided using a
simple and cost-effective EMC fault locator from Lapp.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lax/lax100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lax1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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