Electronic Design UPDATE: May 4, 2005

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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine
PlanetEE ==> www.planetee.com
May 4, 2005
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Today's Table Of Contents:
1. Editor's View
  *Real Digital Power-Supply Control Goes Beyond Simple Sequencing 
   And Ramping
2. Focus On Embedded
  *Serial ATA II Hard Drives Arrive
3. News From The Editors
  *RS-232 Transceivers Run On 1.8 V
  *PhotoMOS Relay Has Low On Resistance
  *Electric Car Will Attempt U.S. Speed Record
4. Magazine Highlights: April 28, 2005
  *Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Patents: Cuffing Innovation?
  *Technology Report -- PCI Express Design: A Lesson In Techno-Shock
  *Technology Report -- Mobile Storage: Chips Served With Hard-Disk 
   Salsa
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- Mini Ethernet Chip Contends In Low-End 
   Networking Space
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- ADCs Digitize Capacitance And Impedance 
   Directly
  *Design View/Design Solution -- Measure Capacitive Sensors With A 
   Delta-Sigma Modulator

Electronic Design UPDATE edited by Lisa Maliniak, eMedia Editor

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Get The Lead Out!

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. Check out Electronic Design's 
new RoHS Reference Center with links, articles, and more. Take our 
RoHS quiz to see how much you really know about this new EU 
directive. Then download the first chapter of our eBook, "Electronic 
Design's Guide To New International Environmental Laws." And stay 
tuned for more chapters to learn everything you need to know about 
this important emerging topic.

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C5:1001CD

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FREE Webcast: Capturing and Characterizing High-Frequency Signals

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 at 2:00 pm ET

Recent advances in sampling technology, memory usage, and other 
fields allow for much faster and more accurate measurements of fast 
pulses and high-speed serial data signals. This LeCroy technical 
seminar, featuring Dr. Michael Lauterbach, will focus on new 
techniques and technology for capturing very high-frequency signals 
-- up to 100 GHz -- using both real-time and "sampling" oscilloscopes.

Register today at http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C4:1001CD

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1. Editor's View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE
**********************

Real Digital Power-Supply Control Goes Beyond Simple Sequencing And 
Ramping

By Don Tuite, Analog/Power Editor

Recent news from power-converter manufacturers announcing their 
support of PMBus and implementation of this I2C technology in new 
products demonstrates that digital power control is becoming 
mainstream. However, questions remain. What kind of control? And 
what is there beyond sequencing POLs, controlling their ramp time, 
and monitoring their output?
   Plenty, says Astec Power's Geof Potter. In a white paper 
( http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C7:1001CD ), Potter notes that peripheral 
functions have long been within the scope of digital control. Yet 
component size, cost, and power consumption have limited control 
of an active feedback loop, including pulse modulation. Moreover, 
digital control requires data resolution and latency 
characteristics that have been available only in large, expensive 
DSP and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) products. 
   So what's needed? In a full-blown digitally controlled power 
supply, a digital pulse-width modulator (DPWM) would calculate 
and time the switcher's duty cycle just ahead of the power 
switching stage. Ahead of the DPWM would be a 
proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control processor that 
centers the output voltage on a preset value by adjusting pulse 
width. (The proportional part of the PID control law scales its 
response linearly with the error. The integrator accumulates the 
error signal over time so that the longer the error exists, the 
harder the controller tries to correct it. And, the derivative 
function tends to reduce overshoot.) This processor gets its 
input from an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that compares the 
supply's output voltage to a voltage reference. The PID filter 
then uses the digitized error to calculate the switcher duty 
cycle.
   What has made this hard to accomplish in the digital domain is 
that the transient response requirements for high-end supplies 
demand a fast controller and an ADC with minimal conversion 
delay. Proportional and derivative loops correct normal small 
transients. But in server supplies, for example, the problem is 
sudden, big load swings. In that case, the error output from the 
ADC needs to cause the transient monitor to interrupt the MCU. 
The MCU must respond immediately by adjusting loop gain and 
frequency.
   Additionally, the DPWM modulates the output duty cycle in 
response to the error signal from the ADC under normal 
conditions. Practically, the output duty cycle also is used to 
limit peak current. This requires a peak current detector to 
monitor inductor (or transformer) current.
   To provide this level of digital control, microcontroller 
supplier Silicon Laboratories announced the first of a family of 
products for power-control applications at April's Portable Power 
Developer's Conference. Based on a patented architecture, Silicon 
Labs' Si825x family of single-chip digital power-supply 
controllers combines high-speed processing hardware for real-time 
loop control with a flash-based system management controller. The 
control loop updates at 10 MHz and comprises a dedicated ADC, a 
programmable DSP filter engine, a six-channel DPWM, and a 
programmable overcurrent protection hardware detector. 
   The system management controller performs fault detection and 
recovery, dynamic loop compensation and dead-time adjustment, 
PMBus communication, and external-device management. It is based 
on a 50-MIPS 8051 CPU. (That's right, an 8051 that's clocked and 
pipelined to achieve 50 MIPS.) The controller also includes 32 
kbytes of flash and a 12-bit self-sequencing ADC, plus a 
SMBus/PMBus interface port, a UART, 16-bit timers, and additional 
PWM channels. 
   For system design, Silicon Labs has a toolset that consists of a 
real-time firmware kernel, loop compensation and timing 
simulator/designer tools, system controller, configuration 
wizards, and the company's integrated development environment. 
There's also a USB debug adaptor and a complete half-bridge 
Si825x-based dc-dc converter. The kit comes with a PMBus 
interface protocol and external host interface hardware.
   The Si825x is available in a 5- by 5-mm, 28-pin QFN or a 32-pin 
LQFP. Pricing starts at $2.49 in 1000-unit quantities The Si825x 
is sampling now with general availability scheduled for the third 
quarter of 2005. 

To comment on this Editor's View, go to Reader Comments at the foot 
of the Web page:

Electronic Design UPDATE ==>
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B8:1001CD

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2. Focus On Embedded
**********************

***Serial ATA II Hard Drives Arrive
Samsung Electronics is the first to deliver Serial ATA (SATA) II 
drives that have twice the transfer rate of the initial crop of 
Serial ATA drives. The SATA II drives have 3-Gbit/s links. SATA 
drive usage continues to push parallel ATA (PATA) drives to the 
side. For example, SATA already has features, such as hot-swap 
support, that PATA drives lack. SATA II drives support a number of 
new standards, including Port Multiplier support that lets a single 
controller port handle multiple SATA II drives. As a result, 
motherboards can have fewer SATA II ports while still being able to 
handle more drives for future expansion. The Port Selector standard 
lets multiple hosts access a single drive, a requirment typically 
found in cluster configurations where redundancy is key. All the 
drives in the series have a 7200-rpm spindle speed with an 8.9-ms 
average seek time and an 8-Mbyte cache buffer. Samsung's NoiseGuard 
and SilentSeek technologies keep the drives quiet. The drives are 
available in 80-, 120-, and 160-Gbyte versions. Estimated street 
prices are $93, $120, and $150, respectively.
     Samsung Electronics Co. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C8:1001CD

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3. News -- From The Editors
**********************

***RS-232 Transceivers Run On 1.8 V
The devices in a family of single and dual RS-232 transceivers 
operate over an input supply range from 1.8 to 5.5 V. The lower 
voltages accommodate systems powered from two alkaline, 
nickel-cadmium, or nickel-metal-hydride cells or systems that 
interface directly to a low-voltage logic supply. All the ICs offer 
a low 1-microampere shutdown current and a 15-microampere 
receiver-active current. The LTC2802 and LTC2804 support up to 
1-Mbit/s data rates for proprietary diagnostic links, and the 
LTC2801 and LTC2803 are capable of rates as high as 250 kbits/s. An 
integrated boost converter generates the required RS-232 output 
signal levels. The LTC2801 and LTC2802 are single transceivers, 
offered in a tiny 3- by 4-mm DFN package. The LTC2803 and LTC2804 
are dual transceivers offered in a 16-lead SSOP and 16-lead DFN 
package. Pricing begins at $1.60 each in 1000-piece quantities.
     Linear Technology Corp. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C9:1001CD

***PhotoMOS Relay Has Low On Resistance
A new Panasonic brand PhotoMOS relay from Aromat offers high 
continuous load current of 0.5 A and low on resistance of 1 ohm. The 
relay is well suited for power supplies, test and measurement 
equipment, communications, security, and other applications 
requiring 1 Form B contacts. The four-pin version is designated the 
AQY412 series (1 Form B), and the eight-pin is the AQW612 (1 Form A 
1 Form B). They both come in SOP (super miniature) and DIP 
reinforced-insulation 5000-V packages. SOP and DIP types are 
available in both tape-and-reel and tube-packing style. The SOP 
version measures a compact 4.3 by 4.4 by 2.1 mm. Operating 
temperature is -40 deg. C to 85 deg. C. The AQY412 is priced at 
$2.32 and the AQW612 is $4.84 in 1000-piece quantities. Delivery is 
stock to six weeks.
     Aromat Corp. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C1:1001CD

***Electric Car Will Attempt U.S. Speed Record
Early tomorrow morning, May 5, a car powered solely by electricity 
from a bank of batteries will attempt to set a new FIA (Federation 
Internationale d'Automobile) electric vehicle land-speed record. The 
record currently stands at 245 mph. The objective is for the 
electric vehicle, named e=motion, to achieve speeds in excess of 300 
mph (400 feet per second). The 32-ft long, mustard-yellow car, whose 
main sponsor is ABB Inc., will make the record attempt on a closed, 
secured section of paved road near West Wendover, Nevada. The 
e=motion car has no mechanical gears. Acceleration is controlled 
entirely by ABB variable speed drives regulating two of the 
company's 50-horsepower electric motors. ABB's system uses a 
regenerative standard inverter from its ACS800 motor drive line to 
convert the 600-V dc output from the car's four packs of 52 
lead-acid batteries into ac power for the two motors. Video, system 
diagrams, and vehicle specifications can be viewed at the ABB Web 
site.
     ABB Inc. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C6:1001CD

*************************ADVERTISEMENT**************************

RapidChip Xtreme2 (TM) Family Includes 12 New Slices

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View the webcast at 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90BA:1001CD

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4. Magazine Highlights
**********************
In case you missed them, here are some of the high points of our 
most recent issue.

April 28, 2005:

* Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Patents: Cuffing Innovation?
Patent claims are threatening what have been accepted as 
royalty-free standards.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B6:1001CD

* Technology Report -- PCI Express Design: A Lesson In Techno-Shock
Start the coffee. Embedded designers are in for the long haul when 
it comes to implementing PCI Express, but the rewards are worth it.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B5:1001CD

* Technology Report -- Mobile Storage: Chips Served With Hard-Disk 
Salsa
Tiny hard disks and massive flash memory devices give designers a 
spicy array of storage choices.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B9:1001CD

* Leapfrog: First Look -- Mini Ethernet Chip Contends In Low-End 
Networking Space
With SPI, an Ethernet controller easily interfaces to 8-bit 
microcontrollers.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B4:1001CD

* Leapfrog: First Look -- ADCs Digitize Capacitance And Impedance 
Directly
These monolithic devices simplify measurement-system design in 
applications ranging from automotive to medical.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B7:1001CD

* Design View/Design Solution -- Measure Capacitive Sensors With A 
Delta-Sigma Modulator
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B3:1001CD

For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==>
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90BB:1001CD

*****

A Closer Look At Video Signals

Nowadays there are numerous standards for the digital video signals 
widely used in such products as game players and cell phones. Tough 
design questions arise, however, because those digital signals must 
be dealt with in an analog domain. Get the answers in a new eBook, 
"Analog/Mixed-Signal Components For 21st Century Video," by 
Analog/Power Editor Don Tuite.

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C0:1001CD

*****

Embedded in Electronic Design (EiED) Online is your source for 
technical insight and hands-on reviews. Read Bill Wong's recent EiED 
Online column: "Soft MCU Goes Graphical." 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90B2:1001CD

*****

THOUGHT YOU'D MISSED THEM? DON'T WORRY, THEY'RE ARCHIVED
Electronic Design's webcasts are available online:

Embedded Systems Conference Showcast: Take a look at the new 
products and technologies from this year's show.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90C2:1001CD

Advances In Mixed-Signal Testing: Learn how to add 32 digital 
channels to four-channel oscilloscopes.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90BF:1001CD

Maximize System Mobility By Selecting The Best Memory Options: Sort 
through your memory options for mobile systems.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=90BE:1001CD

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CONTACTS: Electronic Design UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER
==================================

Editorial: Mark David, Editor-in-Chief
mailto:[email protected]

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