China tax exemption for EPZ-imported polysilicon ends

China's Ministry of Commerce on September 1 put an end to the exemption of anti-dumping and anti-subsidization tariffs on polysilicon imports from Europe-, US- and South Korea-based makers via export processing zones (EPZs), and this is expected to increase prices for such material and in turn production costs for China-based PV firms, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

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Solartech sees solar cell orders extend to November

Solar cell maker Solartech Energy has obtained orders with shipments scheduled through November and shipments scheduled for September will occupy over 80% of the monthly production capacity, according to company president Chang Jin-long.

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Pure-play foundry sales to top US$12 billion in 4Q15, says IC Insights

The pure-play foundry market is forecast to grow to an all-time high of US$12.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, following several quarters in which sales remained between US$11.3 and US$11.8 billion, according to IC Insights.

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Digitimes Research: China eyeing acquistions to advance IC processes

More advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes and more production capacity for special processes are likely to emerge in China during the country's 13th five-year economic plan period which ranges from 2015-2020 thanks to equity investment from the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, according to Digitimes Research.

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Japan sees decreased 2Q15 PV module shipments, says JPEA

Makers in Japan shipped 1,737.6MWp of PV modules in total during the second quarter of 2015, decreasing 39% on quarter and 13% on year, according to Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA).

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Japan market: HTC to beef up marketing of SIM-free smartphones

Taiwan-based smartphone vendor HTC expects demand for contract-free (SIM-free) smartphones in the Japan market to take off after the Japan government allowed sales of such smartphones in addition to originally required contract-bundled sales in May 2015, and thus will enhance marketing of entry-level, mid-range and high-end models there, according to HTC North Asia president Jack Tung.

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Samsung holding meetings with telecom providers to introduce new 18-inch tablet, say reports

Samsung Electronics has met with three major telecom operators in Korea to introduce its upcoming 18-inch tablet, which will enter mass production in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Korea media reports.

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Toshiba sells shares in Topcon

Toshiba has announced it has decided to sell all shares of its shares in Topcon Corporation held both by it and its consolidated subsidiary, Toshiba Insurance Service Corporation (TISCO), in order to improve assets and to its balance sheets.

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Taiwan IC design houses see order visibility continue improving

Taiwan-based IC design houses have seen their order visibility continue improving recently, which will allow them to meet their sales targets set for the third quarter of 2015, according to industry sources.

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Hybrid Emulation: It's about time!

Given the critical importance of software as a differentiator in SoC-based products, doesn't the software team deserve the best tools available?

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'Future Frontier' Sees Drones, Space

The "Future of Frontier Technologies" report describes what analysts believe will be the most successful technologies in the next five years, from finance drones, space, augmented- and virtual-reality.

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Keysight Expands Calibration, Asset Management Services

Keysight Technologies, Inc., has purchased Electroservices Enterprises Ltd, a U.K. company specializing in test equipment service and solutions.

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Apple Joins Pentagon Alliance to Develop Wearable Tech

The Pentagon has announced a Silicon Valley-based manufacturing institute and partnership with a consortium of over 160 companies, universities, and non-profit organizations to develop high-tech military wearables and ultimately "an end-to-end stretchable electronics 'ecosystem' in the U.S."

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Slideshow: Touch Taiwan 2015

The touch screen industry is looking for a lift as demand growth for smartphones and tablets hits a lull in 2015. Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, one of the world's largest electronics R&D organizations, may have the answer.

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Cheap DDS Signal Generator Does the Trick

Less expensive test gear produced in China by smaller, local brands is worth a first look.

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Interactive display market continuing to see growth, says report

The interactive whiteboard market has grown at a tremendous pace over the last decade. Initially major uptake was in the UK, Mexico and the US, but they have now become common place across the globe. As the technology has evolved over the last few years, we are now seeing interactive flat panels gain traction in the market, especially in countries like Netherlands, South Korea and the UK, which has encouraged additional vendors into the market, according to Futuresource Consulting.

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Ruggedized and gaming notebooks becoming new target of ODMs

Notebook ODMs are keen to expand into to gaming and ruggedized device segments that offer high ASPs. The ruggedized notebook market also has seen about a 10% shipment growth every year.

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CPT conservative about 3Q15 performance

Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) has a conservative outlook for small- to medium-size panel shipments in the third quarter but expects revenues from vehicle display shipments to grow 10-15% sequentially.

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China semiconductor investment fund reportedly targets Globalfoundries

China's National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund reportedly has targeted Globalfoundries for acquisition in order to allow China to secure 14nm FinFET foundry process technology in a fast manner, according to sources from Taiwan's semiconductor industry.

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Vendors raising motherboard, graphics card prices in China to minimize exchange losses

Following Lenovo's decision to raise its PC product prices by the end of August, most motherboard and graphics card vendors in China have also recently increased their prices by 3-5% to reflect the rising costs resulting from the depreciation of the country's currency, according to sources from motherboard players.

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E Ink reports 2H15 performance

E Ink Holdings (EIH) has reported its revenues in the second quarter of 2015 reached NT$3.479 billion (US$106.95 million) and EPS of NT$0.09.

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Digitimes Research: Smart glass used in automobiles still in developmental stages

Demand for transparent smart glass used in vehicles continues to rise but there are still many different opinions as to what type of technology will be sought out the most due to different developments and costs associated, according to Digitimes Research.

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SPIL, Foxconn to form strategic partnership to fend off ASE acquisition bid

Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) has announced that it has reached an agreement with Foxconn Electronics to form a strategic partnership through share swaps.

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TLLiA signs MoU with China-based Changhui Group

Taiwan LED Lighting Industry Association (TLLiA) has signed an MoU with China-based automotive part maker Changhui Group to facilitate the latter to procure Taiwan-based LED automotive lighting products as well as for cooperation to develop automotive electronics, according to TLLiA.

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Advantech, Panasonic, Aurotek cooperate to boost Industry 4.0 in Taiwan

Advantech, the largest Taiwan-based industrial computing device maker, Panasonic and Aurotek, a Taiwan sales agent for automation components produced by Advantech and Panasonic, have signed for cooperation to promote Industry 4.0 and smart factory solutions in Taiwan, according to Advantech.

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Taiwan key economic indicator continues to signal slow growth

Taiwan's economic conditions remain soft, affected by weak international economies, the National Development Council (NDC) has said, citing its latest survey on the outlook of the local economy.

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EEVblog #789 – Batteriser Monkey BUSTED!

Dave shows why power supplies are no different to batteries when determining cutoff voltage, busting the claim of Batteriser using their own monkey experiment.
It shows the incorrect method used by Batteriser to come to their false conclusion.
Discharge testing of alkaline batteries is performed, and correct probing of the monkey toy shows that the cutoff voltage with both batteries and the PSU are identical, and does take into account the electrochemical ionic internal resistance of the battery.
Dave explains why using a PSU is the standard industry technique for measuring product battery cutoff voltage.
Also discussion on ionic resistance recovery graphs and energy density in a battery.

Forum HERE
All the EEVblog Battery related videos in a Playlist

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Increase Your Engineering Value in Just 20 Minutes a Day

Twenty minutes is how much time commercials fill in an hour-long TV show. Why not take 20 minutes a day to increase your value as an engineer.

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Inside NASA Mars Mission: Proper Parachute Packing

NASA's focus on astronaut safety using science, engineering and technology shines through during parachute testing for Mars-bound Orion spacecraft.

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Electronic Design’s Products of the Week (8/23-8/29)

Here we've rounded up some of the latest products to optimize your applications, devices, and systems.

read more

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Cellular, Wi-Fi Spar Over Spectrum

Debate around spectrum sharing for next generation communications systems continues, following a recommendation by the industry group Wi-Fi Alliance to withhold certification of LTE-Unlicensed equipment. Licensed and unlicensed spectrum management is a critical concern ahead of an expected boom in data needs and connected devices by 2020.

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Video: Two Fritos Cans 'Chatting'

Imagine a gaggle of these cans conversing with each other -- their lids and animatronic eyes popping up and down like a demented game of Whac-A-Mole.

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Facebook Likes 100G at $1/G

Web giant Facebook has helped define a short, reach 100 Gbit/second optical Ethernet transceiver that can hit $1/Gbit costs in volume.

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Analog Is More Important Than Digital: Scientific Proof

We humans are products of the real world, too. Are we analog or digital?

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Qorvo Takes Strategic Stake in MEMS Vendor Cavendish

RF MEMS switch vendor Cavendish Kinetics Ltd. has raised $36 million in a Series-F round of financing that includes a $25 million stake taken by RF component company Qorvo Inc. through its subsidiary TriQuint Inc.

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3D NAND Debuts in Storage Arrays

Kaminario said it will offer an all-flash storage array with 3D TLC NAND at a buck per gig. It's ahead of the curve for now, but lower cost flash seems inevitable as does the downfall of spinning disk

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Intel Investment Spotlights Drones' Opportunity for Chipmakers

Backing of Chinese Drone Supplier Yuneec-to the tune of $60 million-speaks to the opportunity that chipmakers see in the fast-growing drone market

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Melexis introduces elevated current version of its Hall-effect sensors

Melexis has an elevated current version of its MLX91208 series of programmable Hall-effect current sensors.T

Optimised for the very high fields of hybrid and electric vehicle (HEV) applications, the MLX91208CAV can cope with up to 1000A of primary current. This device complements the existing MLX91208 products which cover low field and high field functions.

Thanks to the proprietary integrated magnetic concentrator (IMC) technology employed, the sensors in the AEC-Q100-qualified MLX91208 series can accurately measure current without the need for inclusion of the bulky external ferromagnetic cores that are required for conventional Hall-effect current sensors.

The IMC structure concentrates the magnetic flux and thereby enhances sensor performance. Melexis’ IMC-Hall devices thus enable significant savings in board real estate and simplify the assembly process as they are housed in compact surface mount standard SOIC8 packages.

Based on the Hall-effect, the MLX91208CAV provides a contactless current sensing mechanism that meets required performance benchmarks. This device intrinsically delivers the galvanic isolation mandated by high voltage applications, while simultaneously eliminating the additional sources of power loss that are found with shunt technology.

david manners

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Electrostatic Discharge Association Recharges Standards Documents

The EOS/ESD Association (ESDA) has revised four of its standards documents and is issuing a new report arguing that machine model for IC qualification be abandoned.

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Friday Quiz: Oscilloscopes, Part 2

Here's the second set of questions on oscilloscopes, originally published in Test & Measurement World.

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NSA Acknowledges Quantum Computing Threat

An unprepared company could be devastated with the arrival of quantum computers able to execute Shor's Algorithm and break RSA and ECC crypto.

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Survey highlights serious cuts in government-funded science R&D

Civil service employees in science research say decline in government-funded science affects whole economy, according to a survey by the Prospect union.

The survey found that 81% of civil servants, three-quarters of those in other public bodies, and 45% of those in the private sector stated that “cuts in public funding have affected R&D across the economy over the last five years”.

All sectors have experienced significant staff reductions, according to the survey of union members working in science, engineering and technology.

Over half of respondents considered that the expertise within their own organisation had declined in the last five years – including 60% in the civil service (compared to 41% in 1999) and 49% employed in the private sector and other public bodies.

“Our research provides a stark illustration of the decline in publicly funded science,” said Sue Ferns, Prospect deputy general secretary.

The decline has accelerated with the spending cuts experienced in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Overall, respondents were pessimistic about career prospects in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), with 47% believing they do not have further opportunities to progress.

Ferns said successive governments had paid lip service to the importance of investing in R&D to put the economy on a sustainable footing. “Our survey shows that they have so far failed to deliver.”

She added: “Twice as many civil servants are now telling us their work is commercially confidential compared to 15 years ago. The government must ensure that the rise of commercial contracts does not undermine the independent, quality advice that is the bedrock of good decision-making.”

More than 50% of civil service members employed in research and development say half or more of their work is now commercially confidential.

The survey also found that 14% of respondents reported that they had been asked to tailor research conclusions to suit a customer’s preferred outcome, including 19% from the civil service.

Download a PDF of the June 2015 survey results.

Richard Wilson

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Precision cables designed for 5G research

Precision cables for testing millimetre-wave systems for 5G mobile research are available from China-based laboratory device company Nanjing Arance Electronics through its UK representative, Aspen Electronics.

The low-loss precision test cables are designed for good VSWR and phase/flexure stability up to 67GHz. They are suitable to be used in 5G research labs with high frequency microwave vector network analysers.

Research work in the UK and across Europe into the next generation mobile phone standard is now focusing on the use of millimetre wave radio transmission at very high 30-300GHz frequencies.

If implemented, this will represent the biggest technology change for a mobile generation since the switch from analogue to digital GSM technology more than a decade ago.

For researchers in the UK, France and Germany everything is up for grabs. The standards work for the radio access network (RAN) has yet to begin.

The first discussions on potential global standards will start next month at a 3GPP standards meeting in Arizona.

The 67GHz cables, according to the supplier, have been designed for test equipment applications where test ports will be continually mated and re-mated allowing a high number of mating cycles without any damage to the equipment device interface.

“The reinforced sheath test cables exhibit torque and crush resistance with the outer jacket having a multilayer armour and a compression resistance greater than 920kgf/cm,” said Aspen.

They are available as sets containing two cables with 60 cm standard length each and can be operated at 0℃ to +40℃.

Richard Wilson

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China software industry posts January-July revenues of nearly CNY2.36 trillion, says MIIT

China's software industry generated total revenues of CNY2.359 trillion (US$379.4 billion) in January-July 2015, growing 16.6% on year, according to statistics by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

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CEA defines HDR compatible displays

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has announced the industry definition for high dynamic range (HDR) compatible video displays. HDR is a new capability that promises to deliver an expansive range of brightness and shadow detail, further enhancing the viewing experience.

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Taiwan solar cell makers see demand in excess of capacities in September

Taiwan-based crystalline silicon solar cell makers have obtained orders in excess of production capacities in September, according to the makers.

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BOE to purchase 6G flexible OLED production equipment, says report

BOE will purchase flexible OLED production equipment for 6G facilities from makers in Korea and Japan, with an intent to produce similar displays as LG Display, according to a report from Korea-based Digital Daily.

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Revenues from vehicle-to-external communications systems expected to total nearly US$180 billion from 2015-2025, says report

The increasing drive to reduce vehicle emissions and increase safety for drivers is spurring several technological developments in the transportation segment. One area benefiting from this push is the increasing development of vehicle-to-external communications (V2X) systems that allow real-time information sharing between vehicles, drivers, and pedestrians. According to a recent report from Navigant Research, total revenues for V2X systems is expected to reach nearly US$180 billion from 2015-2025.

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AMD puts 4K gaming graphics into 6-inch Mini ITX card

AMD has announced a PC graphics card for 4K resolution displays which it has squeezed into the small Mini ITX card format.

It is a 6-inch air-cooled board which AMD expects to be used in a new type of small format gaming PCs.

The Radeon R9 Nano graphics card is based on the graphics chip codenamed “Fiji”.

This chip is already used in the Radeon R9 Fury and R9 Fury X graphics cards.

This is a 8.19 TFLOPS GPU fabbed on a 28nm process and running at 1GHz. It will process 64 gigapixels a second with a 512Gbyte/s memory bandwidth.

The $649 card will have power consumption of 175W.

“This graphics card is enabling 4K class gaming in your living room in an exceptionally quiet, ultra-small design built to excel in today’s games and on the latest APIs like DirectX 12 and Vulkan,” said Matt Skynner, general manager, computing and graphics business at AMD.

 

Richard Wilson

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Taiwan market: BenQ cooperates with Chunghwa Telecom to set up smart bus stations

Display device vendor and display solution provider BenQ has cooperated with Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) to establish a system of smart bus stations in Taichung City, central Taiwan, with BenQ providing customized display panels and matched software to transmit bus-related information from the city government's bus administration to stations through CHT's mobile communications network.

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AVX implantable capacitors

AVX has brought out thin film chip capacitors for implantable medical devices.

Delivering extremely tight capacitive tolerances, repeatable performance, low ESR and high Q at high frequencies — including VHF, UHF, and RF bands — AVX’s Accu-P MP Series capacitors are stable with respect to temperature, time, frequency, and voltage variation.

Based on thin film technology and materials, and subjected to on-line process control procedures, in addition to accelerated life, damp, and heat testing and final quality inspections for capacitance, proof voltage, IR and breakdown voltage distribution, temperature coefficient, solderability, and dimensional, mechanical, and temperature stability, Accu-P MP Series capacitors are for use in medical RF signal and power applications that require high accuracy, such as embedded medical systems and implantable medical devices.

Accu-P MP Series medical grade capacitors are currently available in three standard case sizes (0201, 0402, and 0603), five rated voltages (10V, 16V, 25V, 50V, and 100V), two dielectric temperature coefficients (0±30ppm/°C and 0±60ppm/°C), and with capacitive tolerances spanning ±0.01pF to ±5%. Rated for use in operating temperatures spanning -55°C to +125°C, the series is also available with tin/lead (Sn/Pb) terminations or RoHS compliant and lead-free compatible 100% tin terminations.

Designed for soldering onto flexible or alumina circuit boards, Accu-P MP Series capacitors can withstand the time and temperature profiles used in both wave and reflow soldering methods. Shipped in bulk or on 7” or 13” reels, the components should be handled with plastic-tipped tweezers, vacuum pick-ups, and other pick-and-place machinery. Lead time for the series is nine weeks for production quantities.

david manners

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Robust growth for server revenues

Q2 server shipments grew 8% y-o-y year while revenue increased 7.2% from Q1 2014, says Gartner.

“x86 server shipments increased 8.3% in the second quarter of 2015 and revenue grew 9 percent,” says Gartner’s Jeffrey Hewitt, “RISC/Itanium Unix server shipments declined 18.7% globally for the period, while RISC/Itanium revenue declined 9.7% compared with the same quarter last year. The ‘other’ CPU category, which is primarily mainframes, showed an increase of 7.8%.”

Regionally, the US grew most with a 14.8% increase. The region also posted the highest vendor revenue growth at 14.7% for the period.

HP maintained its No. 1 ranking in the worldwide server market based on revenue with a 25.2% market share.

Lenovo had the largest increase in Q2 with 526.5% growth in revenue.

All of the top five global vendors had revenue increases for the second quarter of 2015 except IBM.

The top five Q2 2015 vendors in terms of revenue were with their % market share were::

HP 3,428,089,692 – 25.2%

Dell 2,361,553,746. – 17.4%

IBM. 1,869,261,145. – 13.7%

Lenovo. 949,775,89 – 7.0%

Cisco 866,700,000. – 6.4%

Others. 4,133,875,723. 30.4

The leaders in In terms of unit shipments with their market share were:

HP. 583,790. 21.7%

Dell. 485,745. 18.0%

Lenovo. 222,206. 8.3%

Huawei. 122,565. 4.6%

Cisco. 82,473. 3.1%

Others. 1,194,464. 44.4%

Total Market. 2,691,244

david manners

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Microchip's New PIC16F18877s: Peripheral's Are Central

Microchip's new PIC16F18877 MCUs offer a lot of interesting peripherals. The ADC is singularly powerful and complete.

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eevBLAB #12 – Dailymotion vs Youtube CPM Revenue

Dave compares Dailymotion to Youtube to see if it’s worth uploading his videos there. How does the CPM compare?
Can you make money uploading to Dailymotion?
How many views does Youtube get compared to Dailymotion?

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Crystek VCXO with low phase noise

Crystek has brought out an Ultra-Low Phase Noise HCMOS VCXO with standby mode, featuring a close-in phase noise of -90 dBc/Hz @ 10 Hz offset and a typical noise floor of -168 dBc/Hz @ 100 kHz offset.

The CVHD-957 is suitable for applications such as: DAB, professional CD audio equipment, and DACs and ADCs for HD audio.

david manners

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AUO and 3M announce new partnership

AU Optronics (AUO) and 3M have announced a new technology alliance that combines AUO ALCD (advanced LCD) technology, 3M's quantum dot (QD) enhancement film made with quantum dots produced by California-based Nanosys with AUO's backlight components for wide color gamut (WCG) and high dynamic range (HDR) for Ultra HD (4K) TV panels up to 85-inch.

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Touch Taiwan: Corning exhibits new glass products

Corning is showcasing products from its Corning Glass Technologies portfolio including recently launched Corning Lotus NXT Glass at Touch Taiwan 2015. Corning is also featuring Corning Iris Glass, a high-transmission, light-guide plate enabling thinner edge-lit LCD TVs.

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Global wearable market grows 223.2% in 2Q15, says IDC

Global shipments of wearable devices came to 18.1 million units in the second quarter of 2015, up 223.2% from the 5.6 million shipped a year earlier, according to IDC.

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Global tablet shipments in 2015 estimated at 163 million units, says TrendForce

There will be an estimated 163 million tablets shipped globally in 2015, decreasing 14.9% on year. 117 million units will be shipped by brand vendors and 46 million units by white-box vendors, slipping 18.7% and 3.1% respectively, according to Taiwan-based consulting firm TrendForce.

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Solargiga Energy posts net profit of nearly CNY7 million for 1H15

China-based solar-grade monocrystalline silicon wafer maker Solargiga Energy Holdings has released its financial report for first-half 2015, recording net profit of CNY6.991 million (US$1.12 million), turning around from net loss of CNY20.370 million for first-half 2014.

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Taiwan market: Asustek launches 3 ZenFone smartphones

Asustek Computer has unveiled three ZenFone-series smartphones, the ZenFone Selfie, ZenFone 2 Laser and ZenFone 2 Deluxe, for immediate launch in the Taiwan market.

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China smartphone market dominated by local vendors

In the China smartphone market, China-based vendors have extended competitive advantage from entry-level models priced below CNY1,000 (US$156) to mid-range and high-end ones and thereby have gained the upper hand over foreign vendors in terms of overall market occupation, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

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Acer seeking smartphone OEM in Indonesia

IT vendor Acer is seeking a manufacturing partner for OEM production of smartphones in Indonesia to avoid the country's high customs duty on imported smartphones and will make a final decision in the second half of 2015, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

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SEMICON Taiwan 2015 to kick off with more than 700 exhibitors

The 20th annual SEMICON Taiwan tradeshow will kick off on September 2 and run through September 4 at the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall. The show will host more than 700 exhibiting companies with more than 1,400 booths.

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Semiconductor equipment suppliers brace for layoffs

Layoffs could hit the global semiconductor equipment industry later in 2015, with some players considering cutting 10-15% of their workforce, according to industry sources.

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Digitimes Research: China looks at 70% IC self-sufficiency in 2025

China is aiming to improve the self-sufficiency rate for ICs in the nation to 40% in 2020, and boost the rate further to 70% in 2025, according to Digitimes Research.

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Game Card Rides DRAM Stack

A veteran graphics analyst takes AMD's first graphics card with stacked memory out for a test drive.

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Open Source GPU Debuts

The first open source general-purpose graphics processor was described at Hot Chips along with an open source core more power efficient than an ARM processor.

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Revisiting the Woodstock Era with the Perfect Playlist

If you were tasked with creating the definitive collection of songs that defined the Woodstock era, which tracks would you include and which would you exclude?

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TSMC Pulls Plug on Solar Business

TSMC's six-year flirtation with solar and LED manufacturing as diversifying alternatives to IC foundry work is coming to an end.

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AMS's New York Adventure

New York's gain is Europe's loss as Austria's AMS grabs headlines with an innovative plan to rent rather than own its next wafer fab.

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Nanotech Hub Targets 7nm, Beyond

We toured the College of Nanoscience and Engineering, part of a State University of New York campus, a hub for advanced semiconductor manufacturing research in areas such as lithography, 450mm wafers, and new materials as well as photonics, biotech and workforce development.

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Zigbee: Protect the Keys to Security

Consumers need to feel confident that the smart home will not become a Trojan horse for malware.

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Testing Facebook

This is just a test to see if WordPress can (again) auto-post to my Facebook EEVblog page
I’ll add this embedded video too as a test:

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Well-Backed MEMS Startup Closed?

Sand 9 Inc., a startup founded in 2007 to develop piezoelectric MEMS resonator timing circuits as an alternative to quartz crystal devices, appears to have closed its doors.

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EEVblog #788 – Apple IIC Teardown

Vintage retro teardown of an original Apple IIC

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Forum: http://ift.tt/1WU7xOi

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Microchip PIC32 microcontrollers get FreeRTOS design tool

There is now a version of FreeRTOS+Trace for Microchip’s PIC32 microcontrollers and MPLAB X IDE, thanks to a Swedish developer of RTOS visualization tools, Percepio AB.

FreeRTOS+Trace is the standard trace analyser for FreeRTOS. It allows the developer to visualises run-time behaviour of their embedded software, and it provides more than 20 views and these views are interconnected in helpful ways.

According to the supplier, this will “allow viewing the trace from multiple perspectives, for instance task scheduling, communication and synchronization, as well as resource usage and logged application variables”.

FreeRTOS+Trace for PIC32 comes with a plugin for MPLAB X IDE.

MPLAB X is an open source based IDE which is used to to develop code for Microchip’s microcontrollers. It runs on a PC with Windows, Mac OS or Linux operating systems.

The addition of the FreeRTOS+Trace tool has been made possible because the MPLAB X IDE is based on the open source NetBeans IDE from Oracle.

FreeRTOS+Trace for PIC32 costs $149 for the Standard Edition and $249 for the Professional Edition.

The tool allows developers to visualise the software running on the MCU during debugging, validation and profiling.

Percepio is a five year old company  based in Västerås, Sweden. It specialises in creating visual runtime diagnostics tools for embedded and Linux-based software.

Richard Wilson

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Wearable: 'Hardware Ponzi Scheme'

If "fitness bands are like hardware Ponzi schemes" where device suppliers must sell more and more new hardware while amusing bored users, can this be sustainable?

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Cree to champion SiC at ECCE 2015

Cree co-founder Dr John Palmour is to champion silicon carbide as the most cost-effective power technology in a plenary session at the IEEE ECCE power conference in Montreal Canada in September.

In a transistor price comparison, SiC devices loose badly to silicon.

“A component-to-component comparison will never be wholly accurate because silicon carbide is vastly superior to silicon with regard to performance,” said Palmour. “SiC devices make systems less expensive through their ability to operate at much higher frequencies, shrink magnetics, and simplify designs. They can also dramatically cut conduction and thermal management costs in lower frequency applications.”

Beyond this, he argues that SiC devices can allow designers to switch from multi-level topologies to simpler two-level designs.

Palmour will present “SiC power devices: Changing the dynamics of power circuits from 1 to 30kV” between 8:00 and 10:30am on 21 September. in room 517D. The talk will include mention of devices up to 27kV.

ECCE 2015 will take place across 20-24 September  at the Montreal Palais des Congrès. It covers electrical and electromechanical energy conversion; spanning components, materials, systems, resources, applications and practices.

Cree is presenting four other papers:

• 900V silicon carbide mosfets for breakthrough power supply design
• Advances in SiC and GaN based devices, packaging, and systems.
• 3.3kV SiC mosfet update for medium voltage applications.
• 10–25kV silicon carbide power modules for medium voltage applications

steve bush

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Global PC demand impacted by currency depreciation and high inventory, says Acer CEO

Global PC demand was weaker than expected in early 2015 due to impacts from changes in foreign exchange rates and vendors' inventory levels, according to Acer CEO Jason Chen.

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China investment environment deteriorating, investment risk rising, says TEEMA

The investment environment in China has declined for the seventh consecutive year in 2015, while the risk for committing investments in China has continued to rise for the fourth year in a row, according to a survey on investment in China by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA).

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Medical applications leading advancement in 3D printing, says Gartner

3D printing (3DP) technology has progressed rapidly in recent years, and medical applications are leading to some of the most significant deployments of 3DP technology, according to Gartner.

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AUO developing high-end, value-added products amid rising competition, says chairman

AU Optronics (AUO) expects the panel market to be weak in the second half of 2015. In order to combat weakening demand, the company will strengthen product value and also aim to further cooperation with vendors and sales routes in India, according to chairman Paul Peng.

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Canon announces new 4K wide-angle broadcast lens

Canon has announced the CJ12ex4.3B portable Ultra HD (4K) 2/3-inch broadcast lens, a 4K wide-angle lens for use with 4K broadcast cameras featuring 2/3-inch sensors. This will be the first in a new line of 4K broadcast lenses from Canon intended to support a range of 4K productions. Designed as a portable wide-angle 12x zoom lens, the CJ12ex4.3B is ideal for Electronic Field Production (EFP) and Electronic News Gathering (ENG) broadcast applications covering news, sports, live events and filmmakers creating documentary projects desiring 4K quality, according to Canon. Canon is also developing a portable, longer-zoom 4K lens that will further extend 4K production capabilities, according to the company.

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China PV module demand may see downturn in October

While Taiwan-based crystalline silicon solar cell makers have seen increases in orders from China, especially for high-efficiency models, China's demand for PV modules is likely to turn weak in October, according to industry sources.

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Touch Taiwan: New Cando flexible touch panels to appear in smartphones in 2016

Touch panel maker Cando, a subsidiary of TPK Holding, has unveiled new flexible thin-film touch panel technology that is expected to go into production by the end of 2015 and be integrated in smartphones using AMOLED panels in 2016, according to remarks made by the company at Touch Taiwan 2015.

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Taiwan approves BOE subsidiary set up

The Investment Commission under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has approved an application by China-based TFT-LCD panel maker BOE Technology to set up a local subsidiary to distribute electronic materials in the Taiwan market.

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UK quantum computing start up gets first round funding

Grupo Arcano has invested in Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQCL). Although undisclosed, the amount has been reported to be $50m by Tech City News.

Established in early 2013 CQCL was founded to create tools and algorithms for the commercialisation of quantum computers. It has an operating system called ‘ t|ket> ‘ and is focusing on field including: cryptography, financial services,  medicine, biotech, and big data.

“After just over two years of being self-funded, the technology investing company Grupo Arcano invested in and has become an important shareholder of CQCL. The amount of the investment and the percentage ownership owned by Grupo Arcano is confidential and is not disclosed,” said CQCL. “The funding allows CQCL to accelerate and build on its position as the world’s leading independent Quantum Computing company with a focus on developing a Quantum Operating System including a platform for developing a quantum processor, and on related algorithms and software.”

CQCL has posted some technical information about quantum computing.

 

steve bush

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Murata power supply provides 12Vdc output at 1,200W

Murata’s DC-input front end power supply

Murata has announced DC-input front end power supply modules with a 1,000VRMS isolated power supply providing a 12Vdc output at 1,200W with a standby voltage at up to 20W.

With a power density of 28W per cubic inch, 54.5mm (2.15-inch) width and 1U height, it is suitable for 1U and 2U applications in servers, storage equipment, data centers, and telecommunications network equipment, says the company.

D1U54-D-1200 series DC-input models accommodate an operating input voltage range of -40Vdc to -72Vdc. This product series complements the AC-input D1U54P-W-1200 models and allows plug-and-play compatibility between products.

The hot-swap-enabled D1U54-D-1200 series has integral mosfet ORing in conjunction with active current sharing of the main output. These features allow up to eight units to operate in parallel, providing the capability to drive larger loads or to build in N+N redundancy of supplies.

With a PMBus compliant digital interface, the supply can be monitored, managed and controlled using industry standard PMBus protocol commands. Safety features of the new series include over-voltage, over-current and over-temperature protection.

Model selection includes choice of 3.3Vdc or 5.0Vdc standby outputs as well as forward or reverse airflow.

david manners

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EUV Breaks Through to Angstrom

A new type of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) microscope designed at the University of Colorado can take optical images with angstrom resolution.

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Giga-Scale Challenges Plague Memory Design

Advanced designs are more complex and larger than ever before and designers are balancing between accuracy and performance for large scale memory simulation and verification, fine-tuning options and settings for each circuit type

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Taiwan market: CHT partners with Microsoft to provide cloud computing services

Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) has signed a strategic-alliance agreement with Microsoft for cooperation on Cloud Solution Provider and Cloud OS Network, with CHT responsible for providing Microsoft Office 365 cloud computing services on a rental basis for CHT's enterprise and government subscribers.

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Inventec plans to set up factory in Indonesia or Philippines

Notebook ODM Inventec, in line with clients' move to tap the ASEAN market, plans to set up a factory in Indonesia or the Philippines in 2016, according to company chairman Richard Lee.

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China market: Local smartphone vendors limit launch of new models

China-based smartphone vendors have limited the number of new models launched per year to cope with the declining profitability generated by smartphones, a move which has affected the operations of small-scale handset OEMs in China, according to a China-based tech.163.com report.

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Taiwan market: Samsung expects Galaxy Note 5 shipments to reach 50,000 units in 1st month

Samsung Electronics expects sales of its new flagship model, the Galaxy Note 5, in the Taiwan market to reach over 50,000 units in the first month of launch.

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ITRI, CPT pursuing foldable AMOLED panels

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is optimistic about its cooperation with Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) to develop foldable AMOLED displays, and is aiming to mass produce the technology with a bend radius of 2-3mm by 2017.

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Wistron to buy back 3.13% stake

Wistron has announced a bid to buy back 80 million shares, equivalent to a 3.13% stake, at a price interval of NT$12-23 per share as treasury stock during August 27-October 26, according to a company's posting on Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE)

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Taiwan market: InFocus unveils 4G smartphones

US-based vendor InFocus has unveiled M812, M808 and M370, respectively a flagship, mid-range and entry-level Android 5.0 4G smartphone models, for launch in the Taiwan market in early September, according to InFocus' Taiwan sales agent Commtiva.

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TDDI solutions set to see growing adoption among smartphones

Touch and display driver integration (TDDI) single-chip solutions are expected to see growing adoption among smartphones starting the fourth quarter of 2015, according to industry sources.

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Innolux to begin mass producing 8K TV panels in 2Q16

Innolux will begin mass producing 8K TV panels by the second quarter of 2016, according to company remarks at Touch Taiwan 2015.

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Global service robot market to grow 20-30% annually

The market value of service robots globally is expected to grow 20-30% on year, growing from US$8.5 billion in 2015 to over US$20 billion in 2020, according to an industry estimate.

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Taiwan market: Local vendors cut LED light bulb prices

In the wake of Philips' lowering retail prices for a 6.5W LED light bulb from NT$249 (US$7.60) to NT$169 in the Taiwan market, several Taiwan-based vendors have followed suit, for example Leotek Electronics and Ritek have reduced prices for a 7-8W LED light bulb to NT$99.

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MStar to acquire Ilitek for NT$51 per share

MediaTek has issued a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) that subsidiary MStar Semiconductor plans to acquire ILI Technology (Ilitek), which designs and develops displays driver ICs mainly for smartphones and other mobile devices.

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Chip orders for notebooks picking up

IC demand for notebooks is picking up, and the outlook for replacement demand triggered by Microsoft's Windows 10 is more positive, according to sources at Taiwan-based PC-related IC suppliers.

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Worldwide smartphone growth to slow to 10.4% in 2015, says IDC

Global smartphone shipments are expected to grow 10.4% on year, instead of a previous forecast of an 11.3% growth, to 1.44 billion units in 2015, according to the latest data released by IDC.

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Intel's Open-Source Fabric Supersizes Comm for Data

Intel's Omni-Path Arcitecture (OPA) build on Infiniband and to provide superior fabric communications among heterogeneous computers from datacenters to supercomputer.

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Wireless Charging Visits The Hospital

Wireless charging is making its way into hospitals with the goal of eliminating power issues in everything from surgical tools to defibrillators.

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Opening an FPGA-Based MIPS CPU Core to Universities

Imagination's MIPSfpga program is designed to bring a new CPU architecture education paradigm to universities around the world.

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Superconductivity Temp Record Achieved

Researchers have found that hydrogen sulfide loses its electrical resistance at high temperatures when placed under high pressure -- a discovery that could pave the way for superconductors that operate at room temperature.

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Fredric Brown: Role Model for 21st Century Online Writing

Still popular, Fredric Brown's science fiction novels and short stories were written in the 1950s and 1960s. They are online in ebook and audio form and can serve as models for short, concise, and clear writing.

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Fredric Brown: Role Model for 21st Century Online Writing

Still popular, Fredric Brown's science fiction novels and short stories were written in the 1950s and 1960s. They are online in ebook and audio form and can serve as models for short, concise, and clear writing.

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Fabless RF Filters Cut Size, Share Same Die

The latest high-end smartphones have upwards of 60 discrete radio frequency (RF) filters to address all the bands they must cover worldwide, but Resonant Inc. says it can half that number (or more) plus half their thickness.

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5G will need a radio technology change

MiWaveS 5G network concept

Research is indicating there will be a completely new radio technology for the 5G mobile communications standard expected to hit the market by 2020.

Research work in the UK and across Europe into the next generation mobile phone standard is now focusing on the use of millimetre wave radio transmission at very high 30-300GHz frequencies.

If implemented, this will represent the biggest technology change for a mobile generation since the switch from analogue to digital GSM technology more than a decade ago.

For researchers in the UK, France and Germany everything is up for grabs. The standards work for the radio access network (RAN) has yet to begin.

The first discussions on potential global standards will start next month at a 3GPP standards meeting in Arizona.

According to Professor Rahim Tafazolli, director of the 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) at the University of Surrey:

“Global 5G research is still taking place in isolation, but this will change. Various groups have different technology favourites, and the 3GPP standardisation discussions will start in September. I expect technology selection will start in 2016.”

The use of the millimetre wave frequency band, which is 30-300GHz, has benefits of spectrum efficiency, the use of lower power radio cells and data capacity, but will have significant implications for chipset makers.

In particular, the general switch from CMOS to gallium arsenide and gallium nitride process technologies.

The other reason for the radical jump in frequency is the lack of sufficient spectrum below 6GHz, which leads to high interference levels.

According to Dr. Laurent Dussopt from CEA-Leti and manager of the European Commission-funded MiWaveS project, the use of the millimetre wave frequency bands at 60GHz and 71-86GHz will enable data transmissions up to 10Gbit/s for backhaul and 5Gbit/s for mobile user access.

However, Dussopt believes this will be a challenge for the system architecture, networking functions and algorithms, radio and antenna technologies.

Millimetre wave radios use much higher carrier frequencies than 4G or Wi-Fi, allowing higher data rates, which could be as much as 50 times faster than 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. And at 60GHz there is significantly more unallocated spectrum.

According to researchers at The University of Bristol, which is also working on millimetre wave technology, the challenge at 60GHz is how to overcome the additional signal losses. If transmit powers and antenna gains were equal, at 60GHz the received signal would be 1000x weaker than a Wi-Fi signal.

Nokia’s Networks division is working with National Instruments to demonstrate the viability of high-frequency millimetre wave transmission for 5G.

“Our experimental 5G Proof-of-Concept system will be implemented using NI’s LabVIEW and PXI baseband modules, which is the state-of-art experimental system for rapid prototyping of 5G air interface available today,” said Lauri Oksanen, vice-president of research and technology at Nokia.

Aspects of the next generation mobile communications technology the companies are researching are peak data rates and cell-edge rates in excess of 10Gbit/s and 100Mbit/s, respectively.

Work in the European MiWaveS project is intended to demonstrate how low-cost or advanced millimetre wave technologies can provide multiGigabits per second access to mobile users and contribute to sustain the traffic growth.

It believes the exploitation of the available millimetre wave spectrum will be a key element in building high-throughput and low latency infrastructures for next generation heterogeneous mobile networks.

The UK’s main 5G research centre, the 5GIC at the University of Surrey is to be part of the MiWave S project.

Other project members include: CEA-Leti, Orange, Nokia, Intel, National Instruments Dresden and STMicroelectronics.

Richard Wilson

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Choosing The Best Control Method

Fixed-frequency pulse-width-modulated (PWM) control for power supplies breaks down into two main categories: voltage mode (VM) and current mode (CM). To make the proper control choice, it's best to examine the advantages and disadvantages of both.

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Signal Chain Basics: Understanding Noise in ADCs

As a data converter supplier, we are sometimes asked, which is our lowest noise analog-to-digital converter (ADC)?

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Position sensing is all about seeing black

Light-based proximity sensors for use in robots and 3D printers must not be fooled by transparent or black surfaces, says Gabriele Fulco

Figure 1: Reflective microsensor

A surprising number of systems depend on the ability to accurately locate and identify physical objects. Robots need not only to detect obstacles, but also to identify the type of floor they are on, and to be aware of steps before they fall off them.

3D printers and IP cameras each present a whole new set of challenges. Vending machines need to handle a growing number of different types of packaging, including transparent glass and plastics.

The role of sensors

Light-based proximity sensors, alternatively known as photo‑microsensors (Figure 1), slotted switches, opto-switches or optical switches and photo interrupters, are generally used to detect the presence or absence of objects, to measure the speed and direction of rotating objects and in other applications.

Infra-red and visible LEDs have rated lifespans of over 100,000 hours, giving opto-switches an effectively infinite operational life. They can switch in four microseconds and operate at high frequency of up to 3,000 counts per second.

These characteristics make transmissive and reflective photo microsensors deservedly popular in office equipment, industrial automation systems, vending machines and home and building automation.

Figure 2: Transmissive slotted photo-interrupter

Of the newer applications, 3D printers require detection of the position of the print head, and confirmation of correct feeding and movement of the filament; IP cameras need to detect the angle and position of the camera body; and there are countless requirements to detect position in fitness and massaging machines.

Established styles don’t necessarily fully address these new applications. Although they detect most surface textures and colours, they don’t easily detect transparent objects and can be fooled by black items too.

Many have a ‘slotted’ style where the size of the object detected is limited by the width of the slot (Figure 2). They do have a long sensing distance, which can be good, but can also be a drawback as spurious detections can result from objects moving into the background.

New approaches

New technologies are emerging which not only benefit the newer designs, but have advantages for developers of the more established applications too.

Figure 3: Light convergent reflective sensor

Light convergent reflective sensors (Figure 3) detect only objects that are a specific distance from the sensor. They can eliminate background and can detect both specular and diffuse reflecting objects reliably, regardless of their colour or material. They were originally developed for robot cleaning units, which needed to detect and reliably clean floors made of all kinds of materials in any colour.

Particular challenges for traditional optical sensors were detecting floors with glass or black areas. Traditional sensors also struggled to identify downward steps.

Using the new light convergent technology, robot cleaners can be reliably programmed to turn away from ‘cliffs’ and can accurately identify all kinds of floor coverings, implementing the most appropriate cleaning approach for each one.

The same technology is now also being widely applied in printers, allowing them to detect a much wider range of materials including black paper and clear film. Similarly, vending machines can now detect transparent cups, eliminating the need to fit a label to clear glass or plastic items to ensure that they are detected.

Checking the distance

Also new is the introduction of micro displacement sensors. These calculate the distance of the detected object, producing an output voltage proportional to the distance.

Typical devices can detect displacements with a resolution of 10 microns at a distance range of 6.5mm ±1.0mm. They are accurate enough, for example, to detect a double feed in a copier, count the notes in a cash dispenser and detect the amount of paper remaining on a till roll in a mini printer or point-of-sale system.

The first proximity switches were introduced in 1960, and LED type photo electric sensors in the early 1970s.

Although the core principle of pairing an LED light source with a detector remains the same, switches have increased considerably in sophistication and accuracy since then. Light-based proximity sensors continue to develop and it is inevitable that robotics and 3D visualisation will drive further improvements in this technology.

Gabriele Fulco is European product marketing manager for sensors at Omron Electronic Components

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Military upgrades march in step with modular design

Anthony Green describes the processes a manufacturer needs to implement to ensure mil-spec reliability for electronic control circuits

The pace of development of electronics in the military and aerospace market brings its own challenges for the manufacturer when undertaking major upgrades to legacy products that already meet regulatory standards.

This case study describes a defence electronics firm with a strength in airborne mission-critical systems, that required two separate electronic control modules for a new AESA radar system to be developed and manufactured.

The main control interface would enable communication with the aircraft’s pilot‑controlled electronics. The front‑end controller module was to emit electrical timing reference signals and manage the clock distribution for the antenna system within the radar. Both were part of an upgrade that would replace an older, more mechanical radar system that was proving unreliable.

Reliability

The customer had designated design for reliability as a top priority. The modules had to be suitable for use in military jet fighters where space and weight is a major consideration; to be able to cope with extremes of temperature, vibration and sudden shock from gunfire; and they had to be compact, lightweight, and electromagnetically shielded to minimise noise amid radar signals.

Once integrated into the avionics of the plane, the boards would deliver high-resolution radar at medium and long range. To achieve the maximum reliability possible the manufacturing design team reviewed and introduced a range of techniques that included careful selection of components and consideration of thermal expansion properties and tin whisker growth.

Careful PCB layout in relation to adjacent metal materials and the addition of conformal coating further mitigated the risk of tin whisker growth.

The design was developed to meet the de-rating guidelines submitted by the customer and the component specifications for voltage, power, frequency and thermal properties. Lightweight, reliable thermal relief techniques were employed that included selective conduction cooling to a cool wall. Potential hot spots were identified by thermal analysis, which lead to revisions to the PCB layout.

Standards

After an assessment of the mean time between failures (MTBF) the team made sure the product would reach the military standard MIL-HDBK-217B. Putting the antennas through failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) defined which areas were potential reliability risks and lead to a re-design of the protective circuits to defend against threats such as lightning strikes.

By using signal integrity optimisation of critical high-speed signals and then slowing edges of certain signals, the team reduced the potential noise in the radar antenna, which improved reliability of the critical reference clock distribution.

Moving from the design stage, the modules were then manufactured to an IPC Class 3 standard using a tin-lead solder process; conformal coating; edge sealing and corner bonding of ball grid arrays (BGAs); and re-balling and hot solder dipping of components for tin whisker growth mitigation.
The final stage of the process was environmental stress screening, which was carried out by the customer before the modules were moved into inflight trialling. Both the electronic control modules are now in operation.

The manufacturing design team had to work closely with customers and, at times, stray from the script in commoditising the product. They had to look at how the legacy products had worked and re-configure the design to meet 21stC military certification, while looking to the potential for future upgrade of the components, including producing accurate documentation at every stage in the development and production process. Compliance with all regulations had to be achievable and all documentation has to tell a coherent story of equipment’s development and testing.

Co-operation between military and aerospace manufacturers and design engineers can bring products to market on time, on budget, with regulations met.

Anthony Green is director of engineering, EMEA at Plexus

Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2015 takes place at ExCeL, London, 15-18 September. The companies, systems suppliers and specialist electronics firms attending reflect the importance of electronics to military systems.

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Microwave pioneer gets Frank Whittle Medal

British microwave engineer Professor Peter Clarricoats is to receive the Sir Frank Whittle Medal, one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades.

Clarricoats, CBE FREng FRS, gets the Whittle Medal for influential achievements spanning more than half a century.

According to the Academy, these achievements include:

• Research with Sir Charles Kao optical fibre technology – Kao got a Nobel prize for inventing optical fibres.
• Influential work on the high-performance microwave antennas for satellite communications.
• The first person in the UK to explore the behaviour of ferrites. “His book Microwave Ferrites became an essential text for those developing microwave radar and communications systems,” said the academy.
• First to use computers to design microwave waveguide junctions (University of Leeds).
• Establishment of the journal Electronic Letters.
• A theory that confirmed the correct choice of physical attributes in optical fibre (Queen Mary University of London).
• Microwave antennas for communication and radar systems. “Most ground station reflectors, radio astronomy reflectors and satellite antennas now use corrugated horns of the type first investigated by Professor Clarricoats in the 1970s and ’80s,” said the Academy.
• Industrial and government appointments with institutions including the Ministry of Defence and the European Space Agency.

Any wisdom to pass on?

“My message to academics is to get involved with industry,” said Clarricoats, “Since I joined the academic world from industry in 1959, I have been able to start research groups at Queens University Belfast, the University of Leeds and finally at Queen Mary University of London where I have spent the last 47 years. In all three I was greatly helped by outstanding colleagues and from the outset was fortunate to have support from industry, government and the European Space Agency. We had great success in solving many of the problems they posed, often with innovative ideas.”

Academy President Professor Dame Ann Dowling will present the award to at the Academy’s AGM in London on 21 September.

steve bush

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Full-size e-bike unveiled in Germany

Full-size Mando Footloose e-bike

A prototype e-bike with full-sized 26-inch wheels has been unveiled at EuroBike 2015 in Germany by Mando.

Maybe you ask what is an e-bike?

The electronic element comes from a control unit that monitors the bike’s acceleration and even pedal resistance.

There is a “smartphone-style”control module that mounts on the handle bars. From this the rider can get feedback on power and  speed and even health/fitness information.

It even tells the rider when they are cycling up or down hills.

Once the module is detached, the bike is rendered unusable.

The e-bike is powered by a 504Wh lithium-ion battery which the designer says gives it a travel distance of up to 56 miles on a single charge.

The bike’s body is constructed of carbon as well, and weighs 22 kilograms. It has a top speed of 25 Km/hour.

South Korean manufacturer Mando said the full-sized Footloose e-bike will be available in summer 2016.

Mando’s existing e-bikes include a smaller bike with 20-inch wheels and a folding model.

“With the successful launch of our smaller sized, portable models, we now see a big market opportunity for a full sized bike, particularly in Europe city locations,” said TS Lee, executive director at Mando.

 

 

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Buck converter draws only 180nA

Industry’s highest ultra-light-load power conversion efficiency, is Analog Devices’ claim for its latest buck converter – no load quiescent current through the ADP5301 is an impressive 180nA.

Depending on input and load, this can mean >90% efficiency across 5µA to 50mA output.

It also offers a novel way to select between multiple internally-set fixed output voltages (see table above) – Resistor Rvid is read at start-up and this value is used to select internal voltage-setting feedback dividers. This keeps the super high (50Mohm, and therefore low-power) dividers safely on-die and safely away from humidity and dirt. THere are actually two factory set voltage ranges: 1.2-3.6V, or 0.8-5.0V – see the data sheet for more.

Intended for IoT applications, input range is 2.15 to 6.5V, and once it is working this can drop to 2.0V.

Switching is at 2MHz, with external clock synchronisation from 1.2 to 2.5MHz.

The high efficiency and low quiescent figures above come from operating in hysteresis mode. For higher outputs (500mA), and less noise, at the expense of higher operating current, there is a selectable PWM mode.

There are actually four devices – the 5301, 00, 02 and 03 covering two options: 9ball WLCSP (<3.1mm²) or 10lead LFCSP, and Vout OK Flag or Vin OK flag.

“The buck regulator is designed to deliver maximum power for a longer period of time than previously achievable and is ideally suited for IoT applications, including wireless sensor networks and wearable devices such as fitness bands and smartwatches,” said ADI.

 

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Infineon adds logic level to StrongIRFETs

Infineon has extended its StrongIRFET Power MOSFET family with Logic Level StrongIRFETs which can be driven directly from a microcontroller.

With the logic level extension, Infineon meets the market’s demand for StrongIRFETs that do not require a stand-alone driver.

In the logic level variant the necessary gate-source voltage is reduced to 4.5 V. This makes it possible to directly connect the MOSFET with the microcontroller in many applications.

“The Logic Level StrongIRFETs deliver two decisive advantages. They reduce the complexity of the electronic design in various applications and show an unmatched ruggedness,” says Infineon’s Stéphane Ernoux.

The characteristic performance features of the StrongIRFET family have been retained in the logic level extension: Low on-state resistance (0.52 mΩ typ. and 0.97 mΩ max.) for reduced conduction losses, high current carrying capability for increased power capability and rugged silicon all make for high system reliability.

Production orders are available immediately.

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Taiwan market: Philips lowers prices for LED table lamps

Philips has offered price discounts for LED tablet lamps for sale in the Taiwan market, with retail prices reduced from NT$2,499 (US$76.90) to NT$999, from NT$1,500 to NT$899, and from NT$1,499 to NT$799 for different models, according to Philips Taiwan.

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TSMC Solar shutdown reflects challenges to CIGS thin-film PV module makers

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) decision to shut down its wholly-owned subsidiary, TSMC Solar, underscores the challenges facing makers of CIGS (copper-indium-gallium-selenide) thin-film PV modules, according to PV industry analysts.

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More consolidation efforts needed to shore up Taiwan IC-design industry

More consolidation efforts are needed in Taiwan's IC-design industry in order to cope with increasing global competition, according to sources at local IC design houses.

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SPIL receives tender offer from ASE

Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) on August 25 announced it has received notice of an unsolicited tender offer by Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) to buy a major stake in the company.

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Taiwan FSC grants 6 licenses to 3rd-party e-payment service operators

Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has granted operating licenses to six third-party e-payment services: AllPay, Gash+, E.Sun Bank, Bank of Taiwan, CTBC Bank and Bank SinoPac. Several other banks have also applied for operating licenses, according to FSC.

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Market for lithium ion batteries for vehicles expected to reach US$30.6 billion in 2024, says report

As automotive manufacturers continue efforts to produce more vehicles with electric drivetrains, the amount of vehicles using lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries for onboard energy storage is increasing. The technology's future is expected to be secure, and automakers are now focusing on how they can reduce costs while increasing energy density and vehicle range. According to Navigant Research, the global market for Li-ion batteries for vehicles is expected to grow from US$7.8 billion in 2015 to US$30.6 billion in 2024.

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Chicony Power Technology to buy back 1.37% stake

Power supply maker Chicony Power Technology will buy back five million shares, equivalent to a 1.37% stake, as treasury stock at a price interval of NT$26-46 (US$0.80-1.42) per share during August 25-October 24, according to the company.

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TPV reports 1H15 performance

TPV has announced consolidated revenues were US$5.05 billion in the first half of 2015, representing a drop of 6.9% on year. Loss attributable to shareholders was US$60.1 million, compared to US$44.2 million a year ago. Gross profit margin was suppressed by unfavorable exchange rates and declined to 7.1%.

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TSMC exiting solar

TSMC is exiting solar by the end of the month.

Steve Tsu, chairman of TSM Solar, says the company couldn’t turn a profit with its solar manufacturing and that even the most aggressive cost-reduction plan wouldn’t make the solar subsidiary viable.

“TSMC continues to believe that solar power is an important source of green energy and that solar module manufacturing remains a robust and growing industry,” says Tsu. “But despite six years of hard work, we have not found a way to make a sustainable profit.”

The company will offer alternative jobs to employees working at its Taichung solar factory which is to close, said Tsu.

TSMC manufactured photovoltaic modules based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) material.

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IQD OCXO in 9.7×7.5mm package

IQD Frequency Products has launched a series of oven controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs), the IQOV-71 series, housed in a four-pad plastic package with a fibreglass base measuring 9.7×7.5mm.

According to the company the devices offer frequency stabilities down to ±10ppb over an operating temperature range of -20°C to 70°C or ±20ppb over -40°C to 85°C.

Standard frequencies available are 10MHz, 12.8MHz, 19.2MHz, 20MHz, 24.576MHz, 25MHz, 30.72MHz, 38.88MHz, 40MHz, 49.152MHz and 50MHz.

Other frequencies in the range 5MHz to 50MHz can be developed for commercially viable quantities.

Power consumption is typically less than 1W during warm-up which takes about three minutes and less than 0.4W once the device has reached steady state, claims IQD. Frequency ageing is less than 2ppb per day and a maximum of 3ppm over a 10-year period.

The IQOV-71 offers either a standard HCMOS or clipped sinewave output, with operating voltages specified at either 3.3V or 5.0V.

Low phase noise performance is assured with figures of -152dBC/Hz at 10kHz offset and only -153dBc/Hz at 100kHz from the carrier. Unusually for this type of device, the G-sensitivity is also good at <2ppb/G making the design suitable for applications such as military radios and airborne applications.

There is an option to specify external frequency adjustment by the application of a variable control voltage that allows for crystal ageing as well as changes in the circuit conditions. This variation is also extremely linear being <1% as against a more typical 5%.

This part is intended for applications including picocells for wireless applications, satellite communication, broadcasting, microwave and instrumentation such as frequency counters and analysers.

david manners

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Macom selling TIA for GPON ONU

Macom is in volume production of a transimpedance amplifier for GPON ONU equipment.

Macom’s M02027 enables GPON receivers to use lower cost PIN photodiodes while offering performance margin in the GPON BOSA-on-board environment, the company says.

The device is claimed to deliver ultra high sensitivity with PIN photodiodes and wide dynamic operating range while offering a ‘best-in-class’ power dissipation.

The M02027 is targeted toward GPON ONU, SONET, CPRI basestation and SFF/SFP module applications. It supports data rates between 100Mbps and 3.125Gbps with wire bonding flexibility and a single supply of 3.3V.

It has an output data polarity invert function and output average photodiode current for photo-alignment and receiver signal strength indicator (RSSI) average power monitoring.

david manners

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Skeleton and Adgero recover kinetic energy in lorries

Skeleton Technologies and Adgero have developed a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for road freight vehicles.

The hybrid system is designed to reduce fuel consumption and associated emissions by up to 25%, and is optimised for intermodal road transport solutions.

The Adgero Hybrid System consists of a bank of high-power ultracapacitors working alongside an electrically-driven axle, which is mounted under the trailer. The technology is controlled by an intelligent management system that tracks driver input in order to automatically control the regenerative braking and acceleration boost.

The technology is projected to reduce fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions by 15-25%, depending on terrain and traffic profile. It will also pay for itself in as little as three years through reduced consumption alone, and where subsidies are available the payback can be even quicker. The product has also been designed to exceed the typical 10 year lifetime of the trailer itself.

“Road haulage accounts for over a fifth of the EU’s total CO2 emissions, so fuel efficient solutions are crucial. We are beginning to see regenerative braking systems in automotive applications but the market clearly needs a similar solution for articulated lorries,” explains Mack Murray, CEO of Adgero SARL.

“By partnering with Skeleton Technologies, we are putting the world’s most advanced ultracapacitors at the heart of our system. This will give us a powerful competitive edge in a demanding industry where energy density is a key metric.”

Skeleton Technologies is the only ultracapacitor manufacturer to use a patented graphene material that allows for better conductivity and higher surface area. This material has allowed the young company to quickly achieve breakthroughs in product performance, delivering twice the energy density and five times the power density of competitors’ products.

Over the last year, Skeleton Technologies has worked with Adgero to adapt an 800V ultracapacitor power module that is proving successful in the motorsport industry to meet the needs of road freight vehicles. The module consists of five 160V units made up of Skeleton Technologies’ cylindrical cells. With monitoring for each individual cell, the module is able to actively self-balance.

“At Skeleton Technologies we pride ourselves on being a vertically integrated ultracapacitor manufacturer, from materials technology through to the system level,” explains Chief Technology Officer Volker Dudek. “To enable this solution for Adgero, we developed intelligent power modules with a proprietary management system that allows for smart monitoring and control of the energy/power profile according to customer requirements.”
Adgero’s system will be fully compatible with existing infrastructure and staff training programmes, and has been optimised for intermodal solutions. Any truck equipped with an Adgero monitor becomes a parallel electric hybrid when paired with an equipped trailer. If a truck without a monitor picks up a retrofitted trailer, the hybrid system will simply stay in standby mode.

In recent months the system has been through rigorous testing procedures including vibration, shock and immersion testing. Road testing will begin in 2016 with Altrans, a French logistics company that is part of a trade organisation that represents 11,000 vehicles across Europe. Adgero and Skeleton Technologies then plan to ramp up production, with the objective of producing 8000–10,000 units annually by 2020.

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China July mobile phone user base grows to 1.295 billion, says MIIT

There were 1.295 billion subscribers of mobile communication services in China as of July 2015, growing 0.13% sequentially and 2.47% on year, and 444.08 million (34.30%) of them were 3G users, 250.52 million (19.35%) 4G users and 937.43 million (72.41%) mobile Internet-access users, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

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Laster lands orders for LED headlights from China

LED automotive lighting maker Laster Tech has obtained orders for three LED headlight models from China-based automotive lamp vendors, with shipments to begin in the second quarter of 2016, according to the company.

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Digitimes Research: China government to support development of MCUs, CPUs, memory chips

The China government will support local IC-design companies' development in the MCU, CPU,FPGA, MEMS and memory chips sectors through acquisitions during its current five-year economic plan running from 2015-2020, accordingto Digitimes Research.

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Taiwan businesses urged to develop IoT devices

Taiwan-based companies have an advantage in developing IoT products thanks to their innovative ideas, flexibility and efficient implementation, according to John Wang, founder of Tolink, an IoT solution provider.

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Taiwan top court rules in favor of TSMC in lawsuit against ex-R&D director

Taiwan's top court has ruled in favor of TSMC in a trade secret case against Liang Mong-song, a former senior director of R&D at TSMC. Liang has been accused of revealing TSMC's trade secrets and patents related to its advanced process technology to Samsung Electronics.

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Touch panel market estimated at US$31.9 billion in 2018, says IDTI

Following developments in touch panels used in all-in-one (AIO) PCs and smartphones in addition to newer applications such as vehicles and industrial applications, touch panel developer IDTI estimates the touch panel market will reach US$31.9 billion in 2018.

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Compal to shift notebook capacity from Chengdu factory to Kunshan

Notebook ODM Compal Electronics will gradually move notebook production capacity at its factory in Chengdu City, western China, to its factory in Kunshan, eastern China, and has notified its component makers of the plans, according to notebook supply chain makers.

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Touch Taiwan 2015: Panel makers shift competition from output to innovation value

As global display panel production capacity has increased significantly but end-use demand has not grown, display panel makers' focus is shifting from production scale to innovative applications, especially cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data technologies. The trend will be significantly reflected at Touch Taiwan 2015 in Taipei during August 26-28.

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Continuing Education: It's No Surprise that Engineers Like Homework

Design News contributing writer and webcast lecturer Warren Miller learned that engineers who attend his online classes want to get very hands-on with learning.

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CEO Interview: Ambiq Sees Broader Options for Low Voltage

Mike Noonen, recently appointed interim CEO at microcontroller startup Ambiq Micro, discusses the focus and opportunities for this pioneering company designing circuits that can operate below the threshold voltage of the constituent transistors.

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Cellular, Asia Drive RF Sales

Basestation proliferation in China and the Asia-Pacific region are driving demand for RF power devices, according to a report from ABI Research. The market for RF power devices grew by approximately $1 billion in 2014, over 50% growth year-over-year.

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China Shakes Up ARM Servers

A China startup, Phytium Technology, plans a 64-core ARMv8 server processor that leapfrogs any ARM server design described to date.

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Drone Highways: Europe Wants to Get on the Road

Amazon is upping its game for dedicated space for drone delivery, and Europe seems eager to play along.

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Tesla Engineer Jumps Ship To Join Apple

Apple is adding another senior automotive engineer -- this time from Tesla -- to its roster of people working on the closely guarded Project Titan autonomous vehicle project.

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Building a Great Advisory Board

The difference between the board of directors and board of advisors sometimes is a matter of dollars and sense.

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Want a Deal? Visit Your Local Technology Recycling Store

It doesn't matter how crusty you are -- $2.50 for a 15-meter Ethernet cable is bound to being a little smile to your face.

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Space Center Houston Slideshow: STEM on Steroids

The Manned Space Flight Education Foundation Inc. is helping NASA educate the public: take a tour of the foundations' Space Center Houston, a neighbor to NASA Johnson Space Center.

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Will Apple Build an Entire Car?

Whether its creators call it 'iRod' or 'iCar,' Apple has launched a pedal-to-the-metal drive into the automotive industry, while keeping typically mum, according to industry analysts.

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iPhone6 Powered by Hydrogen

Intelligent Energy, the company that already sells external fuel cells to recharge iPhone in Apple Stores, wants to put one inside the phone, demonstrating a prototype fuel cell exactly the same size as an iPhone6's lithium-ion battery.

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Electronic Design’s Products of the Week (8/23-8/29)

Here we've rounded up some of the latest products to optimize your applications, devices, and systems.

read more

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Fantastical Theatre Featured at ESC Minneapolis 2015

At the forthcoming Embedded System Conference (ESC), the Fantastical Theatre sessions are open to all attendees, including those sporting a Free Demo Hall Pass.

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TSMC Wins Lawsuit Against Ex-Employee Now at Samsung

TSMC has won a lawsuit against a former R&D employee who leaked secrets including 28 nm process technology to Samsung.

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Is Batteriser Scam or Savior?

The miniaturization is commendable, but is there a strong commercialization market opportunity for this product, aimed at extending the life of disposable batteries?

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Military builds on open standards and SDR

Military hardware has adopted the practices of the commercial market to enjoy the benefits of open standards, modular system architectures and software-defined radio, write Nigel Forrester and Paul Moakes

CommAtility’s conduction-cooled board

In the embedded industry, there is over 30 years’ experience of using open standards based building blocks in defence applications. Suppliers accept that it takes a lot of trust for a defence equipment manufacturer to choose COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) components. Longevity of supply, high quality manufacture and testing, and the ability to support equipment in the field are critical attributes that suppliers must demonstrate.

Once trust is established, the benefits of modular building blocks based on open standards can be realised. For military deployment, while there still needs to be system-level qualification, each block that can be sourced off‑the‑shelf saves time to deployment, reducing development cost and risk.

Off-the-shelf with open standards

The ability to intercept, monitor and decode communications must keep pace with constantly evolving threats. While COTS technologies are not always available, they provide a valuable choice with shorter design cycles.

Armed forces need the most capable software defined radio/electronic warfare (SDR/EW) equipment. COTS parts make it easier to update standards-based equipment, provided the standards in question are widely supported. There has been a proliferation of open standards, as more industries and markets have become aware of the advantages. They can broadly be split into three categories:

• those applicable for low cost, single processor systems
• multiprocessor architectures driven by a small group of manufacturers
• multiprocessor architectures driven by a wide group of suppliers and end users.

EW/SDR equipment needs multiple, connected processing elements, so naturally falls into the last category. Several open standards could be considered suitable, including CompactPCI Serial and Rugged MicroTCA from the PICMG standards body, plus VITA’s VME and VPX standards.

Embedded benefits

CompactPCI boards and AdvancedMC modules (used in MicroTCA systems) do not yet have sufficient momentum in the defence community and so are not seen as the best choice, despite having some technical merits.

Many VME boards have been deployed in military and aerospace, and this could still be a valid option for updating an existing system. However, the obvious choice for a new design is the VPX portfolio of standards.

VPX was originally introduced as VITA 46 and then augmented with the OpenVPX VITA 65 initiative. VITA 46 offers great flexibility in pinout choices, negating some of the advantages of COTS hardware by allowing vendors to create unique solutions.

VITA 65 was driven by customers’ need to standardise on defined profiles for interoperability, and has stimulated a wave of VPX deployments, where it is now the de-facto choice, allowing ‘best-in-class’ modules to be selected from alternate vendors.

Backplane mapping within a VPX solution is important. Although governed by a set of predetermined slot profiles in the specification, a choice of backplane architectures is available for implementation. The VITA 65 specification defines profiles in an exact way.

Electronic warfare

A configuration suitable for EW includes a single Intel control processor mated with several DSP/FPGA cards via a PCIe and Ethernet switch. An example for command and control is the TR B1x/msd board from Concurrent Technologies, which is based on a fourth generation Intel Core processor.

The board has two x4 PCIe data plane “fat pipe” connections, compliant with the VITA 65 MOD3-PAY-2F2U-16.2.3-3 profile. In the profile “2F2U” refers to having two fat pipes (four lanes) for data plane use plus a pair of ultra-thin (one lane) pipes for control use. The end digits identify the two fat pipes as PCIe Gen 2 compliant, and the two ultra-thin pipes as 1,000Base-BX control plane interfaces.

Figure 1: VPX-D16A4-PCIE block diagram showing rear I/O

Four CommAgility VPX-D16A4-PCIE DSP/FPGA boards (Figure 1) are used for signal processing, and also have PCIe connectivity. The two DSPs on each board have their own x2 PCIe connections out to the backplane, and so the TR B1x/msd control board is configured with an x4 data plane bifurcated into two x2 pipes. This allows data to be sent between individual DSPs and the command and control board.

Smaller, lower cost VPX configurations can be created without the switch module, by using a backplane that has specific connectivity, for example with a single Intel‑based control processor having an x4 PCIe connection to two DSP/FPGA boards in the slots either side of the CPU.

Rugged kit

Many EW/SDR deployments must work in a conduction-cooled, rather than air-cooled environment, tolerate high levels of shock and vibration and have a coating to protect against factors like moisture and pollution.

The VPX-REDI specifications (VITA 48.0) assure ruggedisation in COTS-based military systems and focus on aspects that allow favourable size, weight, and power (SWaP) metrics.

Nigel Forrester is technical marketing manager at Concurrent Technologies and Paul Moakes is technical director at CommAgility

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