Kyocera’s ceramic packaging based on HTCC technology (High Temperature Co-Fired Ceramics), which is currently used with specific “non-magnetic” piece parts and plating options, is now being used to deliver an HTCC with platinum metallization on the top surface and in ceramic multilayering.
Besides the “non-magnetic” property of platinum metallization, this technique and choice of materials also allows for use in high temperature applications up to 1.000°C. For instance, the wireless SAW temperature sensor of the company Vectron, which can be used to screen temperatures up to 600° C, has been developed based on Kyocera’s component package.
Furthermore, customized packages for individual applications can be delivered, for example, the design can include or omit leads and can also be made compatible with a surface mountable concept if required.
Among other applications are sensitive medical equipment such as magnetic resonance tomography; electronic applications in aeronautics including atomic clocks and sensors; vacuum equipment in electron microscopy; as well as other industrial processes like down-hole drilling for exploration purposes.
The platinum multilayer technology (HTCC) offers an innovative and unique approach to “non-magnetic” ceramic packaging applications, where the proven reliability of ceramics are required. Moreover, it also enables customers to push the limits of HTCC packaging towards higher temperature applications in harsh environments, such as automotive sensors and oil exploration.
TSMC and ARM have today announced the results from a key FinFET silicon validation of the ARM big.LITTLE implementation, using ARM Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 processors on TSMC’s advanced 16nm FinFET process technology.
Silicon results on 16FF show the “big” Cortex-A57 processor achieving 2.3GHz for sustained mobile peak performance, as well as the “LITTLE” Cortex-A53 processor consuming only 75mW for most common workloads.
The performance improvements are a result of the collaboration between ARM and TSMC to jointly optimise the 64-bit ARMv8-A processor series on FinFET process technologies and build on the successful tape-out of the Cortex-A57 processor on TSMC’s 16FF process last year.
TSMC and ARM claim new benchmarks for performance and power efficiency with first announced FinFET silicon with 64-bit ARM big.LITTLE technology
TSMC and ARM today announced the results from a key FinFET silicon validation of the ARM big.LITTLETM implementation, using ARM Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 processors on TSMC’s 16nm FinFET (16FF) process technology.
Silicon results on 16FF show the “big” Cortex-A57 processor achieving 2.3GHz for sustained mobile peak performance, as well as the “LITTLE” Cortex-A53 processor consuming only 75mW for most common workloads.
The performance improvements are a result of the collaboration between ARM and TSMC to jointly optimise the 64-bit ARMv8-A processor series on FinFET process technologies and build on the successful tape-out of the Cortex-A57 processor on TSMC’s 16FF process last year.
Ongoing collaborative efforts are focused on TSMC’s 16FF+ process technology which will deliver an additional 11% gain in performance for the Cortex-A57 at the same power as the 16FF process, along with a further 35% power reduction for the Cortex-A53 when running low-intensity applications.
This further increases the dynamic performance range and power savings for big.LITTLE platforms. 16FF+ is scheduled to be delivered by Q4 2014. Early big.LITTLE implementations of Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 processors on 16FF+ are supported by ARM POP IP technology.
“This silicon proof point with ARM Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 processors demonstrates the additional benefits in performance and power efficiency that 16nm FinFET technology delivers to big.LITTLE implementations,” says ARM evp Pete Hutton, “the joint effort of ARM, TSMC, and TSMC’s OIP design ecosystem partners will transform end-user experiences across the next generation of consumer devices and enterprise infrastructure.”
Toshiba has introduced Bluetooth Smart (aka Bluetooth Low Energy) starter kit.
In the box are two PCBs: a daughter board with a TC35667FTG Bluetooth chip and a mother board with a TMPM395FWAXBG ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller and some sensors for temperatur and acceleration, plus a buzzer.
The Bluetooth chip receiver has a sensitivity of -91dBm and transmitter output power can be varied from 0dBm to -20dBm in 4dB steps. There are two two oscillators alongside it (26MHz and 32.7kHz), as well as a 512kbit EEPROM, a PCB antenna and an RF test connector.
On the mother board, the Cortex-M3 runs at 20MHz and has 128kbyte ROM, 8kbyte RAM and a real-time clock. GPIO, JTAG and USB interfaces are included.
Integrated development environments (IDEs) from Keil and IAR Systems are usable via the JTAG port.
Sample application source code is available together with a high level API software driver.
XTR60010
X-REL Semiconductor, the French fabless specialist in high reliability and extreme temperature ICs, is selling a low-power, small footprint crystal oscillator driver for high-reliability, extreme temperature and extended lifetime systems.
The XTR60010 is specially tailored for crystal oscillators, clock generation, clock buffering, frequency division and precision timing applications, with supply voltages from 2.5V to 5.5V and with crystals from 32kHz to 50MHz.
Several features have been implemented in the XTR60010 to minimise bill-of-material (BoM) and ease adoption, such as automatic gain control of crystal driver, on-chip crystal load capacitors, customer selectable prescaler and programmable frequency divider. Together with the ability to adapt to the used crystal without the need for customer intervention this reduces system complexity, cost and development time, accelerating product qualification cycles and time-to-market.
The XTR60010 is able to operate well below and above the -60°C to +230°C temperature range (five years at +230°C). Operating at high temperatures is mandatory both in applications where the environment is at elevated temperature, but also where self-heating of devices within the system increases the temperature inside the application casing. Additionally, all X-REL Semiconductor products can be used in applications running at lower temperatures (e.g. from 100°C to 200°C) where extended lifetime is expected or where failing is not an option.
XTR60010 are available in high-reliability compact hermetic or plastic packages, as well as bare dies.
nalog Bits – Mahesh Tirupattur – Executive Vice President
Analog Bits, the mixed-signal IP provider, is selling mixed signal design kits for TSMC’s 16nm finfet process and has made working test-chips.
These Design Kits were created to de-risk and accelerate customers’ use of mixed-signal technology, such as SERDES, PLLs and Sensors in advanced SOCs. Silicon validation through early tapeouts and rigorous testing, means customers can confidently design SOCs using the low power IP solutions.
“While 16nm finfet is being prepared for volume production, we have worked closely with TSMC and our customers on early tapeouts and testing,” says Analog Bits evp Mahesh Tirupattur.
“Our low-power IP is a significant differentiator for 16nm SoCs. We have a strong reputation for IP products that work the first time and also enable key differentiation including the earliest adoption by customers at new nodes. We now have IP tested on TSMC’s newest 16nm finfet process and have products ready for customer tape-outs.”
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Help beat Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
(Pozible campaign live tomorrow)
A look at the FLIR TG-165 visual spot thermometer and (unfair) comparison with the FLIR E8 thermal camera.
High density Mitra 125 16KB magnetic core ferrite memory from the 1970’s
Eric LPRS low power radio modules
Forum HERE
Vietnam is to invest half a billion dollars in chip manufacturing, reports VietnamNet Bridge.
Saigon Semiconductor Technology (SSTI) is to build a $257 million plant in Saigon to make telecoms chips, reports VietnamNet Bridge, and another IC plant costing $311 million is to be built by Saigon Industry Corporation (CNS).
The SSTI plant will be in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park. CNS is waiting to get permission to put its plant in the park.
SSTI’s plant will include an R&D centre and a testing line for LEDs and solar panels.
The rationale behind the SSTI plant is import substitution – supplying local industry and setting a foundation for a semiconductor industry in Vietnam.
The CNS plant is expected to produce 1.8 billion ICs a year worth $90 million.
Two years ago the Saigon authorities set out a $354 million IC programme to generate $100-150 million in revenues from IC sales, train 2000 technicians and engineers and establish 30 IC companies by 2017.
Dave shows how to upgrade an Agilent/Keysight 6643A/6642A/6641A system dc power supply to have front panel binding posts.
Sense lines are added to improve the high current accuracy.
Operation Manual HERE
Service Manual + Schematic HERE
Auction Score video HERE
Forum HERE
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich
Intel has bought a 20% share in the China state-owned company, Tsinghua Unigroup, which owns mobile chip developers Spreadtrum and RDA. The two chip companies will now make x86-based mobile ICs.
With China’s mobile IC specialist RockChip already co-developing chips with Intel, Intel has ensured that three of China’s major mobile chip-makers, which used to make ARM-based chips, will now make x86-based chips.
In December 2013, Unigroup bought Spreadtrum for $1.75 billion and in July this year Unigroup bought RDA for $907 million.
“This collaboration and investment will also enhance our ability to support a wider range of mobile customers in China and the rest of the world,” said an Intel spokesperson, “we will be able to deliver a broader portfolio of Intel architecture and communications technology solutions.”
“China is now the largest consumption market for smartphones and has the largest number of Internet users in the world,” said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO, “these agreements with Tsinghua Unigroup underscore Intel’s 29-year-long history of investing in and working in China. This partnership will also enhance our ability to support a wider range of mobile customers in China and the rest of the world by more quickly delivering a broader portfolio of Intel architecture and communications technology solutions.”
Zhao Weiguo, chairman and president of Tsinghua Unigroup, says, “It has become a national priority of China to grow its semiconductor industry. The strategic collaboration between Tsinghua Unigroup and Intel ranges from design and development to marketing and equity investments, which demonstrate Intel’s confidence in the Chinese market and strong commitment to Chinese semiconductor industry, which will accelerate the technology development and further strengthen the competitiveness and market position of Chinese semiconductor companies.”
Spreadtrum will mske x86-based mobile SoCs coming on the market in H2 2015 to be sold both by Intel and Spreadtrum.
“The adoption of Intel’s architecture technology will enable us to accelerate the development of mobile SoCs that expand the breadth of our portfolio, benefiting handset makers addressing both China and the global market,” said Leo Li, chairman and CEO of Spreadtrum, in a statement. “We are pleased to embark on collaboration with Intel around these new product offerings.”
Global Unichip, TSMC’s design arm, has rolled out an expanded interconnect low power IP portfolio for ASICs targeting solid state drive (SSD) applications. The expansion covers ultra low power PCIe 3/4 PHY, DDR3/4, LPDDR3/4 CTRL/PHY and ONFi4.0 IO/PHY.
IP based on the 28HPM/HPC processes in the expanded portfolio are available now, while 16nm macros will be available in Q4 of this year. The first tape out targeting TSMC’S 16FF+ process is expected in October.
The company’s 16nm DDR4 PHY, taped out in November 2013, was the industry’s first.
The company is now expecting to tape out the industry’s first Application Processor platform IP to TSMC’s 16FF+ process at the start of 2015.
Among all NAND applications, SSD is the fastest growing with the Data Center and Enterprise segments showing the greatest potential. GUC addresses that with a complete low power IP portfolio for SSD controllers, including NAND I/O (ONFI, Toggle), DDR I/F (DDR3/4, LPDDR3/4) and Serdes I/F (PCIe-3/4, SATA3/SAS3).
“We have both a low power IP portfolio and an advanced technology roadmap to drive ASIC development for SSD markets to the next level of innovation,” says C. J. Liang, SVP of R&D at GUC.
GUC’s in-house IP portfolio includes DDR, high-speed networking interfaces, high -speed interface SerDes, data converters, hardened ARM cores, and multimedia IP. GUC’s IP ecosystem provides the flexibility to work with IP from GUC, TSMC and other vendors, creating the widest range of design options.
I’m a full time Youtube content producer, and I like responding to comments, it’s a way for me to directly interact with my audience. It’s an important thing for a content produce to be able to do. To say thanks, answer a question, respond to criticism, correct something, etc.
Yet I cannot respond to some comments on my own freaking videos , and that really pisses me off!
Take a look at this, here is an example of a post on one of my own videos:
Note how there is no Reply button next to the first comment. No one can reply to it, not even the video owner!
Notice how the REPLY button is missing on the comment! It is impossible for the video owner (or anyone else) to reply to that comment.
Why?
Well, the retarded Google+ integration with Youtube of course. To post on Youtube you must have a linked Google+ account. And in the setting menu for Google is an option that says “Who can comment on your public posts”.
But because of this new fangled integration, Youtube comments count as Google+ “posts”.
That means if you select “Only You”, which sound like a good thing from a privacy point of view, then no one, including the video owner can reply to your comment on youtube!
It seems that many people are simply unaware of how this Google+ setting affects their postings on Youtube.
Here is a DIRECT LINK to the settings page so you can change it to “Anyone”, which is what you need to do so people can reply to your comments onYoutube.
Your Google+ settings page. You have to set this setting to “Anyone”
So if you are wondering why I don’t respond to your comments on my videos, this could be the reason why. It’s not me, it’s a setting in your Google+ account.
Not allowing a Yotuube video owner to respond to comments on their own videos is nothing short of retarded. Google really need to fix this shit, seriously.
Sravan Kundojjala
Qualcomm’s baseband processor market share is at a record 68% with MediaTek No. 2 on 15%and Spreadtrum on 5% at No. 3, says Strategy Analytics.
The global cellular baseband processor market grew 17% year-on-year to reach $5.2 billion in Q2 2014.
Qualcomm, MediaTek, Spreadtrum, Marvell and Intel grabbed the top-five baseband revenue share spots in Q2 2014. Qualcomm continued its baseband market dominance with 68 % revenue share, followed by MediaTek with 15 % revenue share and Spreadtrum with 5 percent revenue share.
Sravan Kundojjala, Senior Analyst states, “Despite increased LTE baseband competition, Qualcomm managed to increase its baseband revenue share to an all-time-high of 68 % in Q2 2014. Qualcomm’s LTE Gobi slim modems and LTE Snapdragon applications processors all gained strong traction in Q2 2014 and featured in multiple flagship smartphones. Strategy Analytics calculates that LTE basebands accounted for over 45 % of Qualcomm’s total baseband shipments in Q2 2014. Strategy Analytics believes that still further LTE gains in the next few quarters provide further scope for market share gains.”
According to Stuart Robinson, Director of the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service, “In Q2 2014, MediaTek capitalised on its baseband-integrated applications processor momentum and solidified its number two position in the baseband market. Strategy Analytics estimates LTE basebands accounted for less than 1 percent of MediaTek’s total baseband shipments in Q2 2014. However, Strategy Analytics believes that MediaTek has the potential to emerge as the number two LTE baseband player in the second half of 2014, thanks to increased traction in China.”
Christopher Taylor, Director of the Strategy Analytics RF and Wireless Component service details, “Spreadtrum maintained its number three baseband revenue share position in Q2 2014, after overtaking Intel in Q1 2014. Strategy Analytics estimates that Spreadtrum’s W-CDMA baseband shipments registered 170 percent year-on-year growth in Q2 2014. Spreadtrum is well-positioned to grab W-CDMA market share dropped by Broadcom as it leaves the market.”
In the 2Q14 smartphone apps processor market, Qualcomm remains the company to beat in mobile processors with investments in CPU, GPU, DSP, RF, location and connectivity technologies well matched to current market trends
The chasing pack are now in a better position to compete as they are now shipping the key competitive products: namely LTE and baseband-integrated-Apps processors.
The global smartphone applications processor (AP) market grew 22 percent year-on-year growth to reach $5.2 billion in Q2 2014.
Based on Strategy Analytics estimates, Qualcomm, Apple, MediaTek, Spreadtrum and Samsung captured the top-five smartphone AP spots in Q2 2014. Qualcomm topped the smartphone AP market with 58 percent revenue share, followed by Apple with 14 percent revenue share and MediaTek with 13 percent revenue share.
According to Sravan Kundojjala, Senior Analyst, “Qualcomm continues to widen the lead and captured a record 58 percent revenue share in the smartphone AP market in Q2 2014, thanks to its strong momentum in LTE smartphones. Strategy Analytics believes that the multi price-tier Snapdragon processor portfolio continues to serve Qualcomm well.”
Stuart Robinson, Director of the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service details, “Strategy Analytics estimates that stand-alone AP unit share dropped to 21 percent in Q2 2014 compared to 28 percent in Q2 2013 and this can be attributed to increased shipments of low-to-mid range smartphones, which often feature baseband-integrated APs. Stand-alone AP vendors HiSilicon and Samsung are also now shipping baseband-integrated APs in volume to address mid-range smartphones.”
In the 2Q14 tablet apps market, Intel rose to the No.2 position in tablet APs
The non-Apple tablet AP market leadership position continues to change hands. Previously six companies have held the non-iPad tablet AP leadership position, which continues to be a challenging one to sustain due to the relative ease with which tablet OEMs can switch AP vendors.
The global tablet applications processor (AP) market registered a solid 23 percent year-on-year growth to reach $945 million in Q2 2014.
Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung captured the top-five tablet AP revenue share spots in Q2 2014. Apple maintained its tablet AP revenue share lead with 26 percent revenue share, followed by Intel with 19 percent revenue share and Qualcomm with 17 percent revenue share.
According to Sravan Kundojjala, Senior Analyst, “The non-Apple tablet AP market leadership position continues to change hands and during Q2 2014 it was Intel’s turn. Strategy Analytics notes that previously six companies held the non-iPad tablet AP leadership position, which continues to be a challenging one to sustain. Strategy Analytics believes that Intel is a on a good trajectory to achieve its 40 million tablet AP shipment goal in 2014.”
Stuart Robinson, Director of the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service adds, “During Q2 2014, HiSilicon, Marvell, MediaTek, NVIDIA and Qualcomm all registered significant shipment growth in the tablet AP market. Strategy Analytics believes that NVIDIA is well-positioned to grab high-profile tablet design-wins with its 64-bit Tegra K1 chip in the second half of 2014.”
Teardown Tuesday.
Inside a Polar Wearlink chest strap fitness heart rate monitor monitor transmitter.
Also a look at and some attempted decoding of the signal with the Tektronix MDO3000 oscilloscope.
Polar RMCM-01 Receiver Module Datasheet: http://ift.tt/1uWUSfI
Forum HERE
Cree has introduced a multi-die 500 lm (80CRI, 3,000K) surface-mount lighting LED, aiming to compete against multiple single-die medium-power LEDs in automated luminaire manufacture.
The idea is analogous to the way bolt-down multi-die chip-on-board modules (CoBs) are taking-on single-die LED boards in manual assembly lighting manufacture.
Named MH-B, the new LED “combines the reliability and manufacturability of Cree’s high power LEDs with the simplicity and performance of our CXA LED arrays,” claimed Cree marketing director Paul Thieken. “MH-B introduces a technology platform that gives customers the best of both technologies, while avoiding the limitations of mid-power LEDs.”
In an attempt to keep system cost down, the Cree part can operate at higher than usual temperatures allowing smaller heatsinks to be employed. According to Cree, it’s MH-Bs can deliver better life at 105°C than some medium power LEDs operating at 85°C.
This said, it is specified and binned at 85°C.
Key to high temperature durability is a ceramic rather than plastic package.
The package is 5x5mm, with 5.5°C/W thermal resistance, and can be driven up to 175mA (~7W) where output is around 35% up on the 120mA value. Claimed all-guns-blazing output is 830 lm.
Typical forward voltage is 37V (120mA (4.4W) 85°C), and 42V maximum (120mA 25°C).
Colour temperatures between 2,700 and 6,500K are available, and there are CRI options including 90.
MH-Bs come in the firm’s ‘EasyWhite’ simplified binning, and applications are expected in high bay luminaires, outdoor area lighting and down-lights.
