Electronic Design Update: January 30, 2008

Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter |   January 30, 2008 ADVERTISEMENT Hit Your 10Gbps Bull's-Eye with Margin to 20Gbps
When you choose Amphenol TCS technology, you can't miss. Get connectors that meet and exceed the very latest IEEE 802.3ap standard for 10 Gbps serial data rate capability and deliver crosstalk up to 30 times lower at 5 GHz than the previous generation of backplane connectors. See the data and request your free white paper. design solution |New Synthetic Instrumentation Methods Solve Tough System-Level Test Problems By Francesco Lupinetti, Aeroflex Test Solutions
Today's electronic components and products are evolving faster than ever, with design- to- production life cycles shrinking to just six months in most commercial applications. In addition, device content and topologies are migrating from single to multi functional components, and then to entire subsystems and systems, often as a single assembly solution (such as for smart phones and iPhone-type devices). When all of these considerations are taken into account, the characteristics and requirements of the ideal design for test and manufacturing (DFT&M) solution emerge quite rapidly. Read the full article...

ADVERTISEMENT Our revamped Navigation bar has new Design Hotspots. Come check out the latest in EDA, analog, embedded, power, and green design from the ED editors. focus on components|

Waveform Viewing Technology Sets Benchmark For Signal Integrity Analysis

Providing system designers with unique possibilities to redefine the dynamics and economies of backplane design, signal integrity analysis, test-and-measurement equipment, and remote monitoring in communication systems, VScope IC-based waveform viewing technology embeds an oscilloscope function into the receiver section of communication-system ICs. Read the full article... EiED online |CES 2008 Display Technology By William Wong, Embedded/Systems/Software Editor
Tiny OLEDs. DLPs with LEDs. 3D TV and giant plasma screens. All these were out in force at CES. Of course, trying to figure out who was selling these displays and who was using them to highlight their other products like personal video recorders (PVRs) was a challenge. Read the full article...

ADVERTISEMENT DesignCon 2008 - Your Design Connection Awaits!
DesignCon attracts engineering professionals from various levels and disciplines and represents many aspects of electronic design: applications engineering, architecture and systems design, ASIC design, circuit-board design, embedded-systems design, hardware/software integration, high-performance systems, IC design, packaging, semiconductor product management, service and support, SoC design, software development, testing and debugging, and more.
Please visit: www.designcon.com/2008/register/index.asp Engineering TV |

The Microsoft Sync System

The Microsoft Sync System allows drivers to link their personal electronics with their car for safer driving while staying connected on the road. Take a look at the functionality of this technology.

View the video...

news from the editors |

Fast Pin Electronics Meet ATA Challenges

Manufacturers of automatic test equipment (ATE) face two constant and opposing challenges. First, they have to make test and measurement systems that match the faster, higher-frequency circuits of new system-on-a-chip (SoC) ICs and leading-edge boards. Second, they have to do so while cutting test time and costs. The solution to both problems lies in better pin electronics. Read the full article...

National Instruments Joins Multicore Association

National Instruments (NI) announced it has joined the Multicore Association, a global nonprofit organization focused on developing standards that help shorten time-to-market for multicore products. Read the full article...

Intel Becomes Largest Purchaser Of Green Power In U.S.

As part of its "Green Power" initiative to reduce its impact on the environment, Intel said it will purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of renewable energy certificates. The purchase makes Intel the single largest corporate purchaser of green power in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Read the full article...

Infineon Launches Green Automotive Microcontroller Family

To meet the performance requirements of next-generation emission standards, Infineon Technologies launched an integrated microcontroller family for automotive powertrain and chassis applications. The Audo Future family of 32-bit microcontrollers uses the TriCore core, which combines microcontroller functions with digital signal processing and the industry's highest-density flash memory. Read the full article...

ADVERTISEMENT Low Level Measurements Handbook
The sixth edition of Keithley's Low Level Measurements Handbook covers the fundamentals of precision DC current, voltage, and resistance measurements with a section devoted to common low-level measurement applications. Also included is an instrument selection guide as well as a measurement troubleshooting guide, a glossary of terms, and important safety considerations.
Download your free copy now! quick poll |

With the presidential campaign under way, how do you feel about electronic voting machines?

• Very confident: Electronic voting is the way to go.
• Somewhat confident: Anything is better than hanging chads.
• Not confident: Security needs to be improved

Read the full article...

product picks online | LED Driver Delivers Constant Current To Large Displays Graphics Accelerator XMC Card Readies For Rugged Rigors Current Monitor Eases High-Voltage Circuit Protection USB RF Power Meters Extend Range To 26.5 GHz Differential-Pair Connector Boosts Speed, Reduces Crosstalk engineer's resource | Rev Up Your Interdisciplinary Design Skills What happens when a microcontroller turns on a power FET, sending a current pulse to a motor coil that develops a magnetic field which turns the rotor shaft, advancing a timing belt that drives a pair of nip rolls suspended on bearings in a web-processing operation on a form, fill, and seal machine installed on a potato chip line at a Frito Lay plant in central California? And how can you be sure that the encoders, prox sensors, and other feedback devices you plan to use will accurately see and report every relevant motion, machine state, and process condition? And will the signals get through the networks fast enough, without being corrupted, giving the controllers time to execute their algorithms as intended?

It's a lot to think about, and it only scratches the surface of what many engineers grapple with today. If you happen to be one of them, then the place for you — where you can find answers and meet others with similar concerns -- is Mechatronic-Design.com.

Backed by some of engineering's top information sources including Machine Design, Electronic Design, Motion System Design, and Power Electronics, Mechatronic-Design.com is the interdisciplinary engineer's desktop, toolbox, library, and lifeline in one easily accessible place.

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upcoming industry events | International Solid State Circuits Conference San Francisco, Calif.
Feb. 3-7     DesignCon 2008 Santa Clara, Calif.
Feb. 4-7     Leveraging ESL Techniques To Optimize Low-Power Design Webcast
Feb. 13    GSMA Mobile World Congress 2008 Barcelona, Spain
Feb. 11-14     ED bookstore |Embedded Software: Know It All By Labrosse, et. al.
First it was Dummies. Now it is Know It All. Not bad for a brand name and -- in this instance -- a pretty good book as well. The book covers a range of topics from operating systems to networking, which will already be familiar to embedded developers. Since it's a software book, there's a chapter on debugging and coding techniques. Read the full article...