Electronic Design UPDATE: August 3, 2005

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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine
PlanetEE ==> www.planetee.com
August 3, 2005
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Today's Table Of Contents:
1. News Focus
  *UWB Technology Increases Security In Wireless Networks
2. News From The Editors
  *Flexible Laminate Responds To Touch
  *Global Semiconductor Sales Up In First Half
  *Tiny Battery Chargers Inhabit 2-mm Package
3. TechView Scope
  *Student Teams Compete For EPA Prize And Greener Tomorrow
4. Upcoming Industry Events
  *2005 Digital Power Forum
  *Embedded Systems Conference
  *Intl Conference on Commercialising Technology
5. Book Review
  *"Wireless Sensor Networks: An Information Processing Approach"

Electronic Design UPDATE edited by Lisa Maliniak, eMedia Editor

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2005 Engineering Hall of Fame

The members of Electronic Design's Engineering Hall of Fame are 
those men and women whose accomplishments have shaped the 
electronics industry and, by extension, our world. It's time to vote 
for the 2005 slate of inductees. Give us a few minutes of your time 
to browse through our list of nominees and tell us who you think 
should be honored this year. Your vote counts!

Go to http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF94:1001CD

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1. News Focus
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UWB Technology Increases Security In Wireless Networks

Sandia National Laboratories, in cooperation with Time Domain Corp. 
and KoolSpan Inc., has developed a secure wireless ultra-wideband 
(UWB) data-communication network that's used to help sensors monitor 
U.S. Air Force bases and Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear 
facilities. It also aids in wireless control of remotely operated 
weapon systems. The Sandia project is considered a milestone for the 
next generation of secure wireless networks.
   UWB technology, also known as "impulse radio," is different from 
other forms of RF communication because it does not use a 
carrier. Instead, UWB transmits a flood of ultra-short microwave 
energy pulses (about 100 ps in duration) that extend over an 
extremely wide band of energy covering several gigahertz.
   Sandia's secure wireless communication combines UWB technology 
with heavy-duty protection from the 256-bit Advanced Encryption 
Standard (AES) to form UWB/AES. UWB signals provide secrecy for 
covert operation by hiding near or within the noise floor to 
prevent detection. It's particularly difficult for other forms of 
RF communication to operate in that undetectable region. UWB's 
probability of survival increases in a toxic RF battlefield when 
compared to many other forms of RF. The UWB/AES network 
architecture requires no computing infrastructure, provides 
real-time (hardware) encryption, and requires zero maintenance 
for complete self-recovery if interrupted or if a sensor goes 
down. 
   Tests conducted at the KoolSpan Encryption Laboratory in Santa 
Clara, Calif., demonstrated a wireless UWB network bridge with 
real-time 256-bit AES encryption for live-streaming video images. 
The tests used only microwatts of transmitted power -- 
approximately 1000 times less power than what's typically used by 
conventional wireless IEEE 802.11b or Wi-Fi networks. 
     Sandia National Laboratories ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF9D:1001CD

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2. News -- From The Editors
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***Flexible Laminate Responds To Touch
Designers can build a touch interface on nearly any surface using 
Interactive Surface Technology (IST) from 3M Touch Systems. The 
MicroTouch IST touch interface is constructed of a flexible, 
polyester layer that can be laminated to any surface, including 
contoured objects. The substrate for lamination can be plexiglass, 
polycarbonate, or any other nonconductive material. MicroTouch IST 
supports "on display" use with LCD panels or "off display" use 
creating touch pads or button interfaces without a display. Products 
used in outdoor environments can employ laminated stack-ups 
integrated with Vikuiti solar-reflecting film for heat resistance or 
Vikuiti light-control film for privacy. An optional protective, 
replaceable front surface for a MicroTouch IST touch screen is 
planned for future release.
     3M Touch Systems Inc. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF9C:1001CD

***Global Semiconductor Sales Up In First Half 
Although worldwide sales of semiconductors declined slightly in the 
second quarter, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reports 
that total sales were up in the first half of 2005. For the first 
six months of the year, global chip sales totaled $109.0 billion, an 
increase of 6.5 percent over the first six months of 2004. Sales in the 
second quarter of 2005 came in at $53.9 billion, a sequential 
decline of 2.1 percent from the first quarter. The SIA predicts that the 
strongest growth in 2005 will occur in the second half of the year. 
Most major end markets for semiconductors, including PCs and 
wireless handsets, saw unit sales substantially above expectations 
in the second quarter. Semiconductor manufacturing utilization rose 
after two quarters of sequential decline, and recent reports 
indicate utilization rates will continue to increase in the third 
quarter.
     Semiconductor Industry Association ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF9B:1001CD

***Tiny Battery Chargers Inhabit 2-mm Package
The LTC4065 and LTC4065A tiny, standalone linear battery chargers 
can charge a single-cell lithium-ion battery wih a charge current up 
to 750 mA without overheating the device or surrounding components. 
A patented thermal regulation scheme prevents the junction 
temperature of the charger IC from exceeding 115 deg.C by reducing 
charge current during high power or high ambient-temperature 
operation. Both ICs offer timer termination, recharge, trickle 
charge, and C/10 detection. They're housed in a miniature six-lead, 
2- by 2-mm DFN package. A complete charging system needs only two 
additional discrete components -- an input capacitor and a 
charge-current program resistor -- and fits into a 2.5- by 2.7- by 
0.75-mm form factor. Applications include digital still cameras, 
portable diagnostic equipment, cell phones, PDAs, and USB-equipped 
handheld devices. Pricing starts at $1.40 and $1.55 each in 
1000-piece quantities.
     Linear Technology Corp. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF9E:1001CD

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3. TechView Scope 
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Student Teams Compete For EPA Prize And Greener Tomorrow

It's never too early to start thinking about the future. That was 
the mission behind the Environmental Protection Agency's first 
annual P3 Awards -- People, Prosperity, and the Planet -- designed 
to create solutions for the sustainability challenges faced by the 
developed and developing worlds alike. Last spring, 65 teams 
comprising over 400 university students and advisors put their 
engineering skills to the test to rise to these challenges.
   The EPA provided selected universities with $10,000 grants for 
phase-one research and design, and the teams got to work. 
Students from California State University, Chico, crafted a 
strategy to locally generate solar power and facilitate a 
transition to energy sources in the Chico area. The New Jersey 
Institute of Technology proposed a national system for recycling 
electronics. And, the team from the University of Maine, Machias, 
planned the design and construction of a new college science 
building that uses less energy and produces fewer greenhouse gas 
emissions.
   Judges from the National Academy of Sciences narrowed the field 
to seven finalists. To win the overall prize, teams had to defend 
how their projects related to the P3 concept and prove how their 
work would further the goal of worldwide sustainability. 
Finalists included Oberline College, the University of North 
Carolina, Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado at Denver, the 
University of California, Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, and the University of Michigan.
   The team from the Rochester Institute of Technology took first 
prize and the $75,000 award. These five undergraduate engineering 
majors and two graduate students developed a low-cost solar oven 
for use in developing countries in Latin America. According to 
the students, solar ovens would reduce wood consumption, 
deforestation, air pollution, and related health problems. Their 
design consisted of glass, particleboard, and offset printing 
plates with a total unit cost of $32.33, or about one-fourth the 
price of a comparable commercially made solar oven. Since 2 
billion people around the world still use organic material like 
wood in their daily cooking, the market for such a product -- and 
its positive effect on the environment -- would be huge. 
     P3 Awards ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF95:1001CD

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Submit Photos And Get Paid! 

Grab some photos showing the "guts and glory" of you (and your team) 
at work. We need them for our "Day in the Life of an Electronic 
Designer" photo essay, which will appear in Electronic Design's Oct. 
20 special issue. There's a $500 Grand Prize for best photo series 
and $250 prize for best photo, and we pay $50 if we use any of your 
photos in the issue. Please include the names and titles of all 
photo subjects, as well as company name and the type of 
work-in-process illustrated by the photo. Digital photos should be 
in .tif or .jpg formats and must have resolution of at least 300 
dpi. Deadline for submission is Sept. 15.

E-mail digital photos to Richard Gawel at mailto:[email protected]

Mail hard-copy photos to:
 
Richard Gawel
Electronic Design
Managing Editor
45 Eisenhower Dr., 5th Floor
Paramus, NJ 07652 

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4. Upcoming Industry Events
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September 12-14, 2005 Digital Power Forum (DPF)
Wakefield, Mass.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF96:1001CD

September 12-15, Embedded Systems Conference
Boston, Mass.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF99:1001CD

September 14-15, IEE International Conference on Commercialising 
Technology and Innovation
London, U.K.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF97:1001CD

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5. Book Review
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"Wireless Sensor Networks: An Information Processing Approach"
By Feng Zhao and Leonidas Guibas

If you want to see what ZigBee and low-cost, low-power micros can 
do, check out "Wireless Sensor Networks: An Information Processing 
Approach." This very general book addresses topics like 
infrastructure, tracking of multiple objects, and databases. Network 
databases provide a way to gather sensor information, allowing the 
aggregate computing power to be employed in processing the 
information....

Read the full book review at 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF90:1001CD

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Embedded in Electronic Design (EiED) Online is your source for 
technical insight and hands-on reviews. Read one of Bill Wong's 
latest EiED Online columns: "Keeping Ahead Of Overseas PCB 
Competition." Bill interviews Ron Houston of Advanced Circuits to 
provide insight into how his company excels in the highly 
competitive pc-board arena. Visit 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF91:1001CD

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TAKE A POLL!

Where do you find the most useful information about new products and 
technology?

-- Print magazines
-- E-mail newsletters
-- Google searches
-- Trade shows
-- Fellow designers

Vote at Electronic Design ==> http://www.elecdesign.com

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Designing With Video Signals

Dealing with digital video signals in the analog world can be 
tricky. Arm yourself with knowledge and download our eBook, 
"Analog/Mixed-Signal Components For 21st Century Video," by 
Analog/Power Editor Don Tuite. Chapter 1 covers the basics, and 
Chapter 2 discusses interfacing video amps to digital-to-analog 
converters. The recently added Chapter 3 looks at video multiplexing 
and driving unshielded twisted pairs.

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF93:1001CD

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Need To Go Green? We Can Help!

The European Union, as well as Japan and China, are about to 
restrict the use of environmentally hazardous materials in 
electronic components and systems through the Restrictions on 
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. Electronic Design's RoHS 
Reference Center has the information you need to make the shift to 
green designs. The third chapter of our eBook, "Electronic Design's 
Guide To New International Environmental Laws," is now available for 
download. And don't miss our comprehensive list of industry and 
government Web sites and contacts. 

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=FF9A:1001CD

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CONTACTS: Electronic Design UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER
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Editorial: Mark David, Editor-in-Chief
mailto:[email protected]

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities: Bill Baumann, Publisher:
mailto:[email protected]
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