Electronic Design UPDATE: July 13, 2005

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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine
PlanetEE ==> www.planetee.com
July 13, 2005
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*************************ADVERTISEMENT**************************

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With the recent increases in gas prices, hybrid vehicles are 
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http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3AB:F6E03

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Today's Table Of Contents:
1. Industry View
  *Power Reduction: Another Benefit Of Signal Integrity
2. Focus On Test & Measurement
  *Control GPIB Devices Worldwide
3. News From The Editors
  *AA-Sized Lithium Battery Packs 2 Wh Of Energy
  *Features And Standards Drive Mobile-Phone Growth
  *ZigBee-Ready M2M Terminals Replace Cables
4. Magazine Highlights: July 7, 2005
  *Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Time Is Ticking... Lead-Free 
   In A Year Or Else
  *Technology Report -- Denser, Faster Chips Deliver Knockout DSP 
   Performance
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- MEMS/Nano Advances Help Quench 
   Sensor-Thirsty Apps
  *Design View/Design Solution -- Try A Hybrid Flow To Overcome 
   Hierarchical Design Limitations
5. Electronic Design Helpline
  *Negative-To-Positive Voltage Converters

Electronic Design UPDATE edited by Lisa Maliniak, eMedia Editor
mailto:[email protected]
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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 the 
recently added Chapter 2 discusses interfacing video amps to 
digital-to-analog converters.

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A8:F6E03

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1. Industry View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE
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Power Reduction: Another Benefit Of Signal Integrity 

By Joseph Fjelstad, Cofounder of SiliconPipe

Signal transmission speeds are now entering the gigahertz range, and 
understandably, designers are paying considerable attention to 
signal integrity. The primary objective of most research is to 
extract the dormant power of semiconductors. While current 
processors operate at nearly 4 GHz, pc-board performance 
unfortunately is nominally limited to 800 MHz. A combination of 
design and manufacturing issues set those limits. Addressing this 
issue is a complex challenge, especially when the demands of cost 
and performance collide. This challenge likely will loom larger as 
the electronics industry moves forward, and increasingly, signal 
integrity will reside at the heart of potential solutions...

Read the complete story at 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E39F:F6E03

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

Shift Into Warp Speed - arrow.national.com. 

Let National and Arrow assist you in optimizing your interface 
design by offering you a host of products and services to address 
today's high-speed data transfer applications. National's interface 
solutions are ideal for FPGA designs, making them more reliable and 
robust. And, Arrow's factory-trained technical support and speedy 
delivery accelerates your time to market.

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3AC:F6E03

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2. Focus On Test & Measurement
**********************

***Control GPIB Devices Worldwide
The GPIB AnyWhere software offers network access to a GPIB 
controller and to all of the instruments connected to it by adding a 
VXI-11 service to the PC with the GPIB controller. It creates a 
software bus extension and access solution that uses the existing 
company and Internet networks and eliminates the need for additional 
bus-extension hardware. As a result, users can share instruments 
from anywhere in the world, access equipment at remote test sites, 
debug test programs on production hardware from their desktops, or 
provide a GPIB gateway for Unix/Sun/Apple and other Unix-like 
machines. VXI-11 is a communication standard developed by the VISA 
consortium in conjunction with the VISA transition library and the 
full VISA specification. GPIB AnyWhere ships with a VXI-11 keyboard 
utility program that lets users interactively control GPIB devices. 
The utility runs in either the host PC or in a remote WIN32 PC. GPIB 
AnyWhere will be included free with each ICS GPIB controller. Users 
of non-ICS controllers can buy the software for $200. A free 30-day 
trial copy is available at the ICS Web site.
     ICS Electronics ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A7:F6E03

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3. News -- From The Editors
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***AA-Sized Lithium Battery Packs 2 Wh Of Energy
The TLM-1550HP from Tadiran Batteries packs 2 Wh of energy into an 
AA-sized cell. This high-voltage/high-rate lithium battery is 
specifically designed for applications requiring high power, long 
life, and extended storage, such as military and aerospace systems, 
portable medical devices, and wireless sensors. It features a 4-V 
open-circuit voltage, and it can handle pulses of up to 15 A with 
5-A maximum continuous load. The battery offers long life in extreme 
environmental conditions, including a self-discharge rate of less 
than 3% per year at room temperature. Its operating temperature 
ranges from -40 deg. C to 85 deg. C. The TLM-1550HP is a safe design 
using solvents that are nontoxic and nonpressurized. In addition, 
the anode material is less reactive than that found in most other 
lithium cells. Pricing is $6 in large quantities. Lead time is eight 
weeks.
     Tadiran Batteries ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3AE:F6E03

***Features And Standards Drive Mobile-Phone Growth
After a sluggish first quarter, mobile-phone production will rise in 
the second quarter and for the remainder of 2005, according to 
market researcher iSuppli. Mobile-phone production in the first 
quarter of 2005 amounted to 173 million units, down 13% from the 
fourth quarter of 2004. The second quarter will increase 4% over the 
first quarter. Shipments will continue to rise to 206 million in the 
fourth quarter. New subscribers and replacement handsets both will 
drive this growth. Developing nations such as China and India will 
continue to see strong subscriber growth. However, growth will 
increasingly come from replacement or upgrade sales of phones that 
include new standards, features, and functionality. Embedded cameras 
were in 32.5% of mobile phones in 2004, and iSuppli predicts they 
will be in 85% in 2009. MP3 music playback is the next consumer 
feature being embedded in mobile phones. MP3 penetration in handsets 
is expected to amount to 15% this year, and it will rise to 50% in 
2009.
     iSuppli Corp. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3B0:F6E03

***ZigBee-Ready M2M Terminals Replace Cables
The IP-Link 2000 machine-to-machine (M2M) network terminals replace 
cables by providing ZigBee wireless-communication functionality to a 
standard RS-232 interface. The terminals will serve the market 
demand for low-cost and low-power wireless networks. They best suit 
low-data-rate, short-range applications, such as serial data 
acquisition, and remote monitoring and control. In addition to 
short-range wireless networking, the IP-Link 2000 terminals can be 
connected to the GPRS/CDMA terminal family to provide a total wide- 
and local-range M2M wireless network. IP-Link 2000 terminals come in 
IEEE 802.15.4-compliant 2.4-GHz or 915-MHz versions to operate in 
global or regional ISM bands. The terminals function in the 
RS-232/RS-485 transparent serial modes that can seamlessly route 
serial data at 38.4 kbits/s over a mesh or multihop wireless 
network.
     Helicomm ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3AF:F6E03

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

Put Your Electronic Engineering IQ to the Test with Mentor Graphics 

Electronic Design has teamed up with Mentor Graphics to test your 
Electronic Engineering IQ. Take a bash at the questions and you'll 
be in with a chance of winning a handsome Sony Playstation Portable 
device -- perfect for movies, MP3, and games. We'll also be throwing 
a few Electronic Design t-shirts into this month's quiz, so put your 
knowledge to the test and hit that submit button! 

Here's a sample question: 
Q. As the width of a wire increases, its resistance: A. Increases 
---  B. Decreases ---  C.- Remains the same.... 

Click here to take the test and win a t-shirt!
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A6:F6E03

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

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

July 7, 2005:

* Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- Time Is Ticking... Lead-Free 
In A Year Or Else
Most companies are responding to the European directives to remove 
lead (and other toxic substances) from their products, while others 
still try to figure it out.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A0:F6E03

* Technology Report: Denser, Faster Chips Deliver Knockout DSP 
Performance
Faster clocks, highly parallel architectures, and long instruction 
words push throughput to incredible levels.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A4:F6E03

* Leapfrog: First Look -- MEMS/Nano Advances Help Quench 
Sensor-Thirsty Apps
Defense, homeland-security, military, communications, and aerospace 
applications are on the prowl for MEMS/nano sensor innovations.   
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A1:F6E03

* Design View/Design Solution -- Try A Hybrid Flow To Overcome 
Hierarchical Design Limitations
Instead of black-box modeling, use pseudoblocks during top-level 
design for the parts of your design that will cause timing 
violations and routing congestion.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A3:F6E03

For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design ==>
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A5:F6E03

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5. Electronic Design Helpline
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Electronic Design reader C.N. Rajendra Simha asks:

"I am looking for some design tips on negative-to-positive voltage 
converters. I am specifically looking for +5-V generation from 
negative RS-232 signals (like RTS) for one of our designs."

Do you have any tips, ideas, or resources to offer? Please e-mail 
your ideas to Lisa Maliniak mailto:[email protected] for posting 
on the Electronic Design Web site.

***Readers seeking help with design problems or in need of design 
tips and techniques are encouraged to e-mail us at 
mailto:[email protected] for posting in future editions of the ED 
Update newsletter.

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Embedded in Electronic Design (EiED) Online is your source for 
technical insight and hands-on reviews. Read Bill Wong's latest EiED 
Online column, "Wireless in Orlando," as Freescale's Technology 
Forum unwraps wireless wonders.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=E3A2:F6E03

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TAKE A POLL!

In the near term, which approach will most designers exploit to 
extend battery life in portable devices?

-- Further refinements in lithium-ion battery technology
-- Direct methanol fuel cells
-- PMBus point-of-load power management
-- Higher dc-dc converter efficiency
-- None of the above

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

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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=E3AA:F6E03

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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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