Electronic Design UPDATE: March 22, 2006 -- IC Testing, Fuel cells, Ultra-Mobile PC

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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine
Electronic Design ==> www.electronicdesign.com
March 22, 2006
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Today's Table Of Contents:
1. Industry View
  *Short-Pulse Stressing Outdoes DC Testing For Advanced 
   Semiconductors
2. Focus On Test & Measurement
  *Isolated Digital I/O Module Supports USB 2.0
3. News From The Editors
  *Microarchitecture Saves Energy While Boosting Performance
  *Microsoft Unfolds Origami At CeBIT
  *Researchers Close In On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Success
4. Magazine Highlights: March 16, 2006
  *Cover Feature: Engineering Feature -- To What Degree -- MSEE Or 
   MBA?
  *Technology Report -- Know The Way To San Jose For This Year's ESC, 
   Or Else
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- Single-Chip Transceiver Brings 3G Handsets 
   Up To Speed
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- Solving The Wear And Tear Of Flash Memory
  *Design Solution -- Follow Heuristic Guidelines To Make 
   Surface-Mount PC-Board Footprints

Electronic Design UPDATE edited by Lisa Maliniak, eMedia Editor
mailto:[email protected]
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1. Industry View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE
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Short-Pulse Stressing Outdoes DC Testing For Advanced Semiconductors

By Dave Rubin, Senior Industry Market Manager, Semiconductor Business 
Group, Keithley Instruments Inc.

Developing ICs that work is one thing. Developing them to last is 
another. And that's getting more difficult as new technologies and 
devices present new reliability problems. Pulse testing on-wafer, 
before packaging, can help. The problem is that traditional dc testing 
of advanced IC technologies may not uncover reliability problems 
caused or exacerbated by new materials and devices...

Read the full article at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24944:484C79

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http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=2494F:484C79

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*******************Live on ElectronicDesign.com***********************

Free Webcast: Low-Cost FPGAs Deliver Design Encryption, DDR, and DSP 
for $0.50 per 1000 LUTs
Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at 2:00 pm ET

Lattice Semiconductor's low-cost 90-nm FPGA family delivers high-end 
FPGA features for about $0.50 per 1k LUTs in volume. The LatticeECP2 
chips contain built-in nonvolatile encryption security, a flexible and 
easy-to-use double-data-rate (DDR) memory interface, 400-Mbit/s DDR1/2 
memories, and advanced DSP blocks. Join us and learn how to design 
with these new devices. One lucky participant will receive an ispLever 
development tool and LatticeECP2 evaluation board. Register now!
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24940:484C79
.cfm?source=ednewsletter

***

Free Web Seminar: Troubleshooting Common Circuit Problems Using 
Digital Oscilloscopes
Thursday, March 23, 2006 at 2:00 pm ET

Join us to learn about the techniques available in modern digital 
oscilloscopes for troubleshooting circuit problems. This seminar will 
focus on practical, real-world examples showing how to troubleshoot 
common failure modes of circuits and components. Register today!
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24942:484C79
partnerref=ednewsletter

***

Free Webcast: Unveiling Innovations in Batteries and Portable Power 
Wednesday, April 5, 2006 at 2:00 pm ET

This webcast will share upcoming innovations in the battery and 
power-management industry. Our speakers will provide an unbiased and 
vendor-neutral roadmap of upcoming innovations in cell chemistries, 
power-management electronics, authentication technology, and portable 
fuel cells for mobile devices. 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24941:484C79
partnerref=EDUpdate 

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2. Focus On Test & Measurement
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***Isolated Digital I/O Module Supports USB 2.0
Designed as a portable solution for driving solid-state or mechanical 
relays, the DT9817-R isolated digital I/O data-acquisition module 
supports USB 2.0 for ease of use and high reliability. It has up to 
500-V channel-to-channel isolation on eight digital input lines with 
an input voltage range of +/-3 V to +/-32 V and on eight digital 
output lines capable of switching up to 30 V at 400 mA. The DT9817-R 
input lines can be used in applications for proximity and limit 
switches, photoelectric switches, and transistor-transistor logic 
(TTL) and pushbutton devices. The outputs can be used for switching ac 
and dc loads such as relays, electric-motor controls, solenoids, and 
indicator lamps. A 32-bit counter timer can be run by an internal or 
external clock. The module ships with the GO! application for 
measurement and an evaluation copy of the DT Measure Foundry 
test-and-measurement application builder. Free software downloads, 
including LabView and Matlab interfaces, are available online. 
Available immediately, the DT9817-R costs $299.
     Data Translation Inc. ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24953:484C79

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3. News -- From The Editors
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***Microarchitecture Saves Energy While Boosting Performance
More performance for less power -- that's the goal of Intel's Core 
microarchitecture. Based on the company's advanced 65-nm process 
technology, the Core's improvements over Pentium processors should 
enable more stylish, quieter, and smaller mobile computers and servers 
that need less energy and space while offering more security, 
virtualization, and manageability...
     Read the full article at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=2494A:484C79

***Microsoft Unfolds Origami At CeBIT
It's finally here, and it's more than a paper swan. Microsoft revealed 
the details of its top-secret Origami project at this month's CeBIT 
show in Hannover, Germany, and fans of on-the-go technology should be 
pleased. Powered by the Windows XP Tablet PC operating system, the 
Ultra-Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC) offers full functionality in a 
2-lb device that's the size of a paperback book...
     Read the full article at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24945:484C79

***Researchers Close In On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Success 
As promising as hydrogen fuel cells are for automotive and mobile 
electronic applications, a barrier to their practical use has 
been the inability to store enough hydrogen fuel at the proper 
pressure, temperature, and concentration. Now, chemists at UCLA 
and the University of Michigan are reporting progress on two of 
those fronts, and they've got some ideas for tackling the 
third...
     Read the full article at 
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24947:484C79

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Design Briefs Wanted!

Send us your ideas for design. We'll pay you $100 for every Design 
Brief that we publish. You can submit your ideas to: 
mailto:[email protected].

For submission guidelines, go to http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24950:484C79

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

March 16, 2006

* Cover Feature: Engineering Feature -- To What Degree -- MSEE Or MBA?
More EEs today wrestle with whether or not to go for an advanced 
technical degree or an MBA. Now, they can have it both ways.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24949:484C79

* Technology Report -- Know The Way To San Jose For This Year's ESC, 
Or Else
PCI Express and ZigBee are among the many sizzling technologies 
crowding the marquee at the 2006 Embedded Systems Conference.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=2494B:484C79

* Leapfrog: First Look -- Single-Chip Transceiver Brings 3G Handsets 
Up To Speed
The SW3200 integrates CMOS and WEDGE/HSDPA RF functionality for 
next-generation performance.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=2494C:484C79

* Leapfrog: First Look -- Solving The Wear And Tear Of Flash Memory
Innovative storage technology instills a longer, more predictable life 
for flash memory.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24948:484C79

* Design Solution -- Follow Heuristic Guidelines To Make Surface-Mount 
PC-Board Footprints
These rule-of-thumb specifications will keep your anxiety level low 
and your prototype design first-pass success level high.
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24943:484C79

For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==>
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=2494D:484C79

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EiED Online -- Altium NanoBoard-NB1: FPGA Kits Part 1

Embedded in Electronic Design (EiED) Online is your source for 
technical insight and hands-on reviews. Read Technology Editor Bill 
Wong's latest EiED Online column, "Altium NanoBoard-NB1: FPGA Kits 
Part 1." Altium Designer 6 is out the door. Bill takes a look at 
Designer 6 and its components in conjunction with the NanoBoard-NB1 
FPGA development system. Find out how to make FPGA development easy. 
This is the first in a series of FPGA kit reviews planned for this 
year.

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24946:484C79

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TAKE A POLL!

A recent study showed that interference from portable electronic 
devices may present a greater risk to aircraft navigation than 
previously thought. Do you think that interference from cell phones 
and other electronics poses a safety risk to aircraft?

-- Yes, there could be significant interference from these devices
-- No, the fields are too weak to be a problem
-- Not sure

Vote at Electronic Design ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=24952:484C79

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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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