==================================Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter Electronic Design Magazine PlanetEE ==> www.planetee.com August 4, 2004
=============================*************************ADVERTISEMENT************************** Ultracapacitors offer reliable power and save money Due to their unique features, such as long lifetime over 500,000 cycles, high reliability and wide operating temperature range, ultracapacitors give you more freedom when designing your power system and allow you to design solutions that cost less and perform better. Maxwell Technologies offers a free white paper that examines the Top 10 Reasons For Using Ultracapacitors In Your System Design. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKI20AY **************************************************************** Today's Table Of Contents: 1. Editor's View * Flash Memory Is On A Roll 2. Focus On Power * Advanced Process Makes Mightier MOSFETs 3. News From The Editors * Plastic Six-Pin DIP Relays Suit Mil-Aero * LCD Modules Feature Dual Power Capability * Wideband Noise, Jitter Analyzer Has Low Residual Noise 4. Upcoming Industry Events * IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society Symposium * Embedded Software Development Conference * International Display Research Conference and Fourth International Meeting on Information Display * International Conference on the Commercialization of Micro and Nano Systems 5. Magazine Highlights: July 19, 2004 * Cover Feature: Technology Report -- Analog Front Ends Max Out Performance * Leapfrog: First Look -- Instrument Advances Help Communications Design * Leapfrog: First Look -- Low-Cost FPGAs Spin Out High Performance * Design View / Design Solution -- Using LCD Panels For TVs Takes Technology To The Outer Limits Electronic Design UPDATE edited by John Novellino, Executive Editor **************************************************************** HURRY! HURRY! YOU CAN WIN $500. PHOTO ESSAY CONTEST: AUGUST 6 DEADLINE! Electronic Design presents "A Day in the Life of an Electronics Designer" photo essay contest. Grab your camera and snap away to show the "guts and glory" of you (and your team) at work. We'll publish the winning photos as part of our September 13 YOUR Most Important Issue of the Year, our annual special edition focusing on EE career issues. You can win $500 for best photo series, $250 for best single photo, or $50 if we use any of your photos in the issue. Deadline for submissions is August 6. Be sure to include names and titles of all photo subjects, as well as company name and the type of work-in-process that the photo illustrates. Submit photos digitally to: mailto:[email protected] Or mail to: Mark David, Editor-In-Chief Electronic Design, 45 Eisenhower Drive, Paramus, NJ 07652 Or call Mark at: (201) 845-2467 ***** 2004 BALLOT For Electronic Design's ENGINEERING HALL OF FAME It's time to elect the Class Of 2004 to our Engineering Hall Of Fame. Here's your opportunity to vote for this year's inductees. Our ONLINE BALLOT allows you to vote for as many nominees as you deem worthy and to name your own candidates, too. Go To Zoomerang ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKI30AZ ***** BE SURE TO VISIT Electronic Design's Web site, where the power of Electronic Design is a mouse click away! Read our Web exclusives, enjoy our Quick Poll, discover Featured Vendors, access our archives, share viewpoints in our Forums, explore our e-newsletters, and more. TAKE OUR CURRENT QUICK POLL: Electronic Design's editors ask which SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY you would prefer us to cover more extensively. Go to Electronic Design ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BGmZ0Ak **************************************************************** ********************** 1. Editor's View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE ********************** Flash Memory Is On A Roll By Dave Bursky, Digital ICs/DSP Editor Flash memory has become the digital film of the future, replacing rolls of film in still cameras and videotape in the new MPEG-4 digital video cameras. Memory manufacturers like Samsung, Micron, and Toshiba have pushed features to the limit, creating 90-nm chips that can store 2 Gbits using standard single-bit/cell storage schemes and 4 Gbits/chip when multilevel cell (MLC) technology is used. These numbers will double as process features drop to 65 nm and below. Companies such as SanDisk and M-Systems are working hand in hand with memory suppliers to develop not only the memory chips but also the control circuits that will help optimize performance by providing error checking and correction (ECC), wear leveling, and data encryption. Flash memory once cost substantially more per bit than almost every other memory technology. But now that costs have been drastically reduced due to advances in architectures such as NAND flash and the MLC, which doubles the effective density, new applications are opening in general-purpose data storage as well. In addition to the widespread use of NAND-based flash chips in memory cards that can plug into digital cameras, MP3 players, digital video handycams, and cell phones, NAND-based chips are becoming the dominant memory architecture employed in USB-based memory plug-in devices for laptop and desktop systems. Furthermore, companies such as M-Systems have developed an embedded flash architecture suited to creating small solid-state replacements for hard disk drives. These devices look just like IDE hard drives to the operating system. The USB attachable memories are fast becoming the solid-state alternative to floppy and other high-density removable disks (zip disks, for example). USB memory sticks now come in capacities from about 8 Mbytes to 2 Gbytes in a wide variety of packaging options, some of which also include a fingerprint sensor and controller to prevent unauthorized access to stored data. Such security is needed since the plug-in devices are now being used to hold more and more company critical data, from strategic corporate marketing presentations to the latest corporate financial data and specifications for forthcoming products. NOR-based flash memories are also used in this part of the market. But the chip densities aren't as high, typically peaking at 128 Mbits for now, and that could make them a more expensive alternative to NAND-flash options. The one-bit-per-cell NOR-based devices don't have any data integrity issues though, providing a solid platform for program and data storage. Indications are that the two-bit-per-cell NOR implementations are also pretty stable and may not need the ECC overhead. The NAND flash industry still faces some challenges. To achieve the higher density using MLC memories, designers of USB memory sticks have to provide some level of error checking and correction, since the MLC cells are more prone to data loss than single-bit/cell schemes. In the consumer memory card market, the loss of a bit or two won't make much difference when viewing megapixel images or listening to an MP3 audio file. Yet USB memory sticks target a broader range of applications, including the storage of program code and data. Missing or incorrect bits would play havoc with that type of storage. Many memory sticks pack a processor that performs ECC operations as well as encrypts the data to protect the information if the USB device should get lost. The processor can also perform wear leveling, a scheme that monitors the number of write operations to each memory cell and distributes the writes more evenly across all the cells in the memory chips, preventing one portion of the chip from wearing out too early. To comment on this Editor's View, go to Reader Comments at the foot of the Web page: Electronic Design UPDATE ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKI40Aa **************************************************************** *************************ADVERTISEMENT************************** Fall 2004 Intel Developer Forum Systems Conference, September 7-9 Stretch your boundaries with the latest updates on converging technologies. Join us at the Fall 2004 Intel Developer Forum Systems Conference, September 7-9, at Moscone Center South in San Francisco. Find the in-depth technical information--and the people--you need to stay nimble in a changing environment. SAVE up to $400! As our valued customer, you're entitled to a special rate on a full conference pass. Enter your Priority Code ATTMTELD to receive your savings. For more information or to register, visit http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BJuG0Ac **************************************************************** ********************** 2. Focus On Power ********************** ***Advanced Process Makes Mightier MOSFETs Two 30-V MOSFETs take advantage of the PowerTrench process technology, which yields a very low Miller charge (Qgd), Rds(on), and total gate charge (Qg) and improves gate-drain charge to gate-source charge ratio (Qgd/Qgs). The FDS6294's very low Qgd, 3 nC (typical), provides excellent performance in high-frequency, narrow duty-cycle switching operations. This is well-suited to high-efficiency synchronous buck power-supply designs for notebook computers. The FDS6294 has an Rds(on) of 11.3 mohms max and comes in an SO-8 package. In addition to boasting a low Miller charge, Rds(on), Qg, and a Qgd/Qgs less than 1, the FDS7288N3 comes in an SO-8 FLMP (flipchip in a leaded molded package). This technology offers a very low junction-to-case thermal resistance, low electrical resistance, and low package inductance. The device is lead-free and complies with EU standards taking effect in 2005. For 1000-piece lots, the FDS6294 costs $0.78, and the FDS7288N3 costs $1.52. Both are available eight weeks after ordering. Fairchild Semiconductor ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10pdF0Aq ********************** 3. News -- From The Editors ********************** ***Plastic Six-Pin DIP Relays Suit Mil-Aero Two plastic solid-state relays that come in six-pin dual-inline packages (DIPs) suit commercial, military, and aerospace applications. The ZD20CF series of 2-A, 60-V dc relays offers short-circuit/overload protection up to 33 V dc. The ZD24CC series of 500-mA, 80-V dc units offers protection up to 60 V dc and features trip status feedback. The relay also detects overloads such as a high current surge. Once tripped, the devices remain off until the overload or short is corrected and the relay is cycled. Both devices optically isolate control circuits from load transients and eliminate ground loops and signal ground noise. A low off-state leakage current ensures a high off-state impedance. The relays also come in a surface-mount package. The ZD20CF and ZD24CC cost $18 each in lots of 10,000. Lead time is 10 weeks. Teledyne Relays ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKI50Ab ***LCD Modules Feature Dual Power Capability The LM42315 and LM62315 displays use the 128-by-240 LCD module with the T6963-compatible AX6963 controller and come in 5- and 3.3-V versions. The modules ensure the long-term availability of a module compatible with the LM4229 display. The LM42315 is offered with a white, yellow-green, red, or yellow-green and red bicolor LED backlight, while the LM62315 has a high-brightness, long-life CFL backlight. Options include on-board negative voltage, temperature compensation, and touchscreen capabilities. FSTN and STN gray, yellow, and blue modes are available. OEM prices start at $53.87 each for 1000 pieces. Delivery is from stock to 10 weeks. Densitron Corp. ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKI60Ac ***Wideband Noise, Jitter Analyzer Has Low Residual Noise Less than 1 ps of residual noise and a residual noise floor of 0.001 ps set the PN9500 wideband noise and jitter analyzer apart. It measures phase noise up to 500 MHz and can be configured to measure any kind of source from 2 MHz to 140 GHz. Other features include dynamic range of 0.001 ps rms on a 10-GHz buffer, true peak-to-peak jitter capability with selectable mask filters and a peak-to-peak detector, and easy-to-use "auto" functions. The analyzer goes for $37,500. Aeroflex ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BCIT0Ay ********************** 4. Upcoming Industry Events ********************** Aug. 13-15, IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society Symposium Santa Clara, Calif. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKBH0An Aug. 17-19, Embedded Software Development Conference San Jose, Calif. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKI70Ad Aug. 23-27, 24th International Display Research Conference and Fourth International Meeting on Information Display Daegu, Korea http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKBI0Ao Aug. 29-Sep. 2, Ninth International Conference on the Commercialization of Micro and Nano Systems Edmonton, Alberta, Canada http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKI80Ae ********************** 5. Magazine Highlights ********************** In case you missed them, here are some of the high points of our most recent issue. July 19, 2004: * Cover Feature: Technology Report -- Analog Front Ends Max Out Performance These mixed-signal chips fit their target applications like a glove, speeding up system design and ultimately time-to-market. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKBJ0Ap * Leapfrog: First Look -- Instrument Advances Help Communications Design One company's horde of signal sources, enhanced analyzers, power meters, and connectivity test sets splashes down on IMS. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKBK0Aq * Leapfrog: First Look -- Low-Cost FPGAs Spin Out High Performance Leveraging 90-nm process rules and a logic architecture that minimizes chip area, the Cyclone II FPGAs deliver a cost-sensitive, high-performance solution. http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKBL0Ar * Design View / Design Solution -- Using LCD Panels For TVs Takes Technology To The Outer Limits http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKBM0As For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKBN0At **************************************************************** YOUR CHANCE TO WIN $500! Take our ISSUE POLL and win a $500 gift certificate. The editors would like to know what you think of the JULY 19 ISSUE of Electronic Design. Your feedback will help us better understand your critical information needs and provide valuable guidance for developing future editorial content. It's also your automatic entry into our drawing for a $500 American Express gift certificate. Go to ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/eA0Gl4E70Fh10BKJA0Ao ****************************************************************
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