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WHAT'S NEW NEWS National’s Technology Hikes Solar Array Efficiency Jumping into the photovoltaic market, National Semiconductor Corp. has created a new technology designed to increase the overall energy output of solar power systems under adverse conditions. The SolarMagic technology extracts the maximum power efficiency from each photovoltaic panel, even when some panels in the array are compromised by shading, debris, or inherent panel-to-panel mismatching.
Sun-Based Distiller Wins Green Design Contest The Digital Sun Distiller, a device that allows a person to purify and reuse household water, has won America’s division of Freescale Semiconductor’s first green FTF Design Challenge. The distiller was developed by Jose Luis Rojas of iluxon S.A. de C.V. of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Rojas will receive $10,000 and an invitation to compete in the Grand FTF Challenge with other first place global winners for $50,000.
DESIGNED IN Waterproof Cells Phones Add Fingerprint Sensor A new waterproof cell phone scheduled for high-volume production in the fourth quarter of 2008 will employ AuthenTec’s TouchStone fingerprint sensor packaging technology, according to Authentec. The TouchStone package allows easy integration into various waterproof industrial design configurations. It offers the durability and water resistance required for this new class of handsets while adding Power of Touch features, including security, convenience, personalization, and navigation.
DESIGN SOLUTION Smart Optics Push Camera Phones Out Of The “Dark” Ages Since their introduction in 2001, cell-phone cameras have transitioned from added features to standard items. Today, more than 80% of cell phones have at least one camera. Camera-enabled phones offer the convenience of having a camera that’s permanently on and, quite literally, on-hand for every occasion.
DESIGN HOTSPOTS Squeeze 10-Bit Performance From An 8-Bit ADC, Part 3: Self-Dithering ADCs Part 2 of this series showed a practical example of how to construct a triangular additive dither that only required two pulse-width modulators (PWMs) and an XOR gate. Although this technique only required some additional hardware, it may be possible to dither with no additional hardware.
EIED ONLINE ZigBee Kits 5 Getting started with ZigBee continues to get easier. Technology Editor Bill Wong takes a look at offerings from Digi.
NEW PRODUCTS SHOWCASE New PulSAR ADCs Wayne Talley, Product Marketing for Precision ADCs at Analog Devices, talks about the new AD7626 and AD7625 converters, the newest additions to the PulSAR family of ADCs.
EVENT COVERAGE MTT-S
The IEEE's International Microwave Symposium (IMS2008), sponsored by the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) has been growing each year, and is more relevant than ever. Check out exclusive videos with companies like NXP Semiconductors and Emerson and get the lowdown on all the highlights from the event.
ED BOOKSTORE Antenna Engineerign Handbook, 4th Edition I will be straight with you and say I have no idea how to write a review of a book like this. It does indeed fit the definition of the word “tome,” but I mean that in the best possible way. If you are looking for a master reference on antennas, this is certainly a great one. You will not be disappointed.
WHAT'S HOT
Read Pacing: A Performance Enhancing Feature of PCI Express Gen 2 Switch Devices
A new feature called Read Pacing is now available on Gen 2 PCI Express switches. Read Pacing is a technology that opens up new avenues for enhancing performance in systems with multiple I/O streams. To learn more about Read Pacing from our friends at PLX Technology, please click on the arrow above. (NOTE: This webcast contains audio, so please hit the mute button on your volume control if you cannot listen to audio at this time.)
FEATURED ARTICLE Bob's Mailbox
Analog and power guru Bob Pease corresponds with readers about the latest proposals for electric cars in this exclusive online edition of his popular mailbag.
Speedo and Ansys used computer modeling software to develop a new record-breaking swimsuit. What effect will this and other technology have on the upcoming Olympics?
New PulSAR ADCs
