Product engineering organizations face the incredible challenge of ever shrinking market windows for innovation in 2012. Due to globalization, increasing competition and rapidly changing technology, there are many risks and uncertainties facing the new product development path. These opportunities if missed, can lead to huge costs and overwhelming complexity that can compromise quality and lead to very expensive recalls. Innovating in the face of these pressures requires organizations to rethink how they work.
Learn the most important new technologies and start designing next-generation equipment early if you are working on real technology company. The real technology companies asks are Amazon, Facebook, eBay, and Google good technology companies or good applications-of-technology companies? Applications-of-technology could also be a good position to be. No matter where you are differentiate to dominate. No more lame “me too” products. CES is over; it’s time to start designing. Here are some material to fuel up your innovation.
EE Times’ 20 hot technologies for 2012 article is a list of 20 technologies EE Times editors think can bring big changes, and that EE Times will be tracking during 2012. Hot technologies: Looking ahead to 2012 article: EDN magazine editors reflect on some of the hot trends and technologies in 2011 – and look ahead to 2012.
Top 12 Hot Design Technologies for 2012 article mentions MEMS, Wireless sensor networks, Internet of Things starts with lightbulbs, new flexibility via organic materials for electronics, Near Field Communication (NFC) is becoming available in many mobile phones, Printed electronics, power scavenging methods for low power electronics, Graphene, conversion of solar energy, Ethernet displaces proprietary field buses, 40/100 Gbit/s Ethernet Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays and Smart Grid technologies (power management and architecture system components). We are nearing the point where some microelectronics systems can be made sufficiently low power – requiring microamps rather than milliamps – that scavenging methods can produce enough power to enable them to be autonomous.
Home electronics is expected to become a new status symbol (Kodinelektroniikasta uusi statussymboli) article tells that consumer electronics demand will increase further in 2012 according to market research by Deloitte. Latest digital technology will also become a status symbol in homes. In particular, tablets, and smartphones Deloitte expects record sales.
Mobile phones with advanced features start to replace traditional separate devices for different functions. This is happening for small digital cameras and video cameras. 2012 At the end of 2012 there is the more navigation capable mobile phones than the stand-alone GPS navigators according to Berg Insight. Berg Insight calculates that the sales of separate GPS navigators started to decline already in 2011. Nav equipment manufacturers have responded to the situation by bringing the software to mobile devices.
How apps for your appliances represent the next opportunity article tells that Samsung Electronics not only pushed its smart TVs at CES, but a whole line of smart appliances, including washers and refrigerators. If Samsung Electronics is right, developers may flock to smart appliances as the next opportunity. That included music apps such as Pandora on the refrigerator and an app on the washer that can ping you when a load is done.
IPv6 is becoming more important. One of the driving forces behind the move from IPv4 to IPv6 has been low-cost embedded devices, which are going online at an accelerating pace. Support for this technology will be crucial for the success of many forthcoming connected embedded devices. IPv6 on a microcontroller article gives some tips how to implement IPv6 on small microcontroller.
The science fiction future of medical implants is here article tells that semiconductor solutions contained in hand-held consumer product innovations are now finding their way into medical implantables: wireless data and power transmission as well as analog, microcontrollers and transducer capabilities.
App Servers and Lua Scripting Speed Rich Web Applications for Small Devices article tells that with ever more smart devices connecting to the web, even small embedded devices must be able to serve up rich graphical presentations of the data to satisfy user expectations. This creates a new challenge for designers of small embedded systems as a new task. With time and space at a premium, a scripting approach can be invaluable. LAMP (Linux, Apache, mysql, PHP) setups work well in full-up web server implementations (at least around 65 Mbyte of memory), but for small embedded system we need something that uses less resources. Smartphones have set the bar ridiculously high when it comes to how sophisticated the application interface should be.
We’re on the cusp of an era that offers better-than-ever display technologies for an excitingly immersive viewer experience. Just as we’ve seen the emergence of 3DTV for consumers and higher than HDTV resolutions are to be tested in 2012 London Olympics. Xilinx Making Immersive 3D and 4K2K Displays Possible with 7 Series FPGA System Integration press release tells that Xilinx just introduced new 28nm Kintex™-7 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based targeted reference designs and a new development baseboard for accelerating the development of next-generation, 3D and 4K2K display technologies at 2012 International CES. The network infrastructure will need an overhaul in 2012 due to the increasing amounts of high-definition video and other traffic.
ARM processor becomes more and more popular during year 2012. Power and Integration—ARM Making More Inroads into More Designs. It’s about power—low power; almost no power. A huge and burgeoning market is opening for devices that are handheld and mobile. The most obvious among these are smartphones and tablets, but there is also an increasing number of industrial and military devices that fall into this category. ARM’s East unimpressed with Medfield, design wins article tells that Warren East, CEO of processor technology licensor ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England), is unimpressed by the announcements made by chip giant Intel about the low-power Medfield system-chip and its design wins. Android will run better on our chips, says Intel. Look out what happens in this competition.
Bill McClean: Don’t broad-brush the semiconductor market article tells that year 2011 started off great, full of optimism and high growth expectations for the semiconductor industry. But that mellowed as the year progressed (total semiconductor market at 2% growth for this year, although smartphone increase very much). Going into 2012, there’s not a lot of optimism. Any thoughts on 2013? A: We’re thinking it’s going to be a little slower than 2012. So, we’re looking to a slower market—not a disaster.
Chip sales flat in 2011, will grow (a wee bit) in 2012 article tells that the prognosticators at Gartner have ranked the chip makers of the world by 2011 revenue and are calling the market for 2012, with a reasonably upbeat forecast for next year’s chip sales, but (paradoxically) a dreadful forecast for companies that make the gear to bake the chips. Disk shortages are expected to slow down PC sales for several quarters. Smartphones, tablets, and flash will represent more than three-quarters of the revenue growth between now and 2015.
There are also some more optimistic predictions for chip sales. Malcolm Penn, founder and chief analyst with semiconductor market analysis firm Future Horizons Ltd, is more bullish than most other market analysts. Bullish Penn sees chip market growth of 8% in 2012 article tells that Malcolm Penn has predicted that the global chip market will rise on an annual basis by 8% to $323.2 billion in 2012. Penn said that after a flat first quarter he expected the chip market to bounce back in the second half of the year. He considers that 8% growth is a “safe bet,” and indicated that annual growth “could easily be 20%.” For 2013 Future Horizons forecasts 20% annual growth.
EDN magazine writes in PC boards: Materials and processing are now a hot technology article that exotic substrates and fabrication methods are now commonplace. A dozen layers, thick copper, fine lines, and buried vias are just the processing side of the modern high-tech PCB. There are many processing options that have made PCBs truly a hot technology. Also the substrates themselves are now high tech. Traditional FR-2 (phenolic resin bonded paper) or FR-4 (glass-reinforced epoxy laminate) are not the only widely supported choices anymore. You could always specify Teflon or polyamide substrates for high-speed circuits. In addition to the old high tech like flex circuits, there are a host of improvements that make a whole new set of high-tech PCB designs that are truly a hot technology.
EDA industry predictions for 2012 mentions that 28-nm design starts will increase by 50% in 2012 and more people will be dabbling with 20 nm. The increased design sizes and complexity will create all kinds of pressure in the verification and test fields.
The rise in fake parts is also contributing to engineers’ fears that their products will be corrupted. Counterfeit electronic components were big issue in 2011, and the problem does not go away this year.
EDA industry predictions for 2012 mentions a trend, and one that has been going on for some time, is a continued migration of functionality from hardware to software. Dr Markus Willems of Synopsys attributed this to “the needs to support multiple standards simultaneously (wireless, multimedia), use the same hardware platform for product derivatives (automotive), quickly adjust to evolving standards (wireless), and react to changing market demands (all applications).” Increased rate of adoption of new technologies such as tablets, ultra-books, and their inherent demand for low-power solutions will help the EDA industry improve their importance. Electronic system-level design tools (ESL) continues to be an important thrust for the EDA industry. Increased adoption of the TLM 2.0 (Transaction-level modeling) standard is a popular theme. Several EDA companies have been busy writing books recently and self-publishing them.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools are taking product design to the next level (especially in automotive, aerospace, and defense). PLM was launched more than a decade ago with the lofty vision of creating an enterprise-wide, central repository for all product-related data, from the earliest customer requirements feedback through quality and failure data collected in the field by maintenance and support personnel. Product lifecycle management, sometimes “product life cycle management”, represents an all-encompassing vision for managing all data relating to the design, production, support and ultimate disposal of manufactured goods. What 2012 holds for Product Lifecycle Management? article tells about current PLM trends.
The prototype comes of age article tells that a radical change is about to happen in the typical development of an electronic system. The hardware-development flow will no longer be the center around which everything else revolves. The rising size and complexity of systems and the limitations of using a single-purpose model—the hardware-design model—have fueled the growth of new prototyping technologies. Among the changes now taking place in this area is the migration to higher levels of abstraction for hardware design. The ability to derive several implementations from a single high-level description is also desirable. Many hardware blocks now come with sophisticated software stacks, and they also must be integrated into the software flow.
‘KISS’ Among Engineers’ Top 2012 Concerns article tells that Rich Merritt agrees that we’ve forgotten the KISS principle especially in automation sector. “We’ve made everything so complicated, complex, and convoluted that we’ve entered the age of ‘transoptimal engineering,’ ” he says. “That is, things are so advanced and have so many features, they don’t work anymore.” Business development manager Herat Shah sees the pressures for complexity and price converging in an unhealthy manner. “The biggest issue for the automation and control supplier is to design and engineer something that’s the cheapest and the best,” he says. “Practically, this is not possible.” In addition to this there are security concerns: Stuxnet targeted controllers, and made engineers realize that factories aren’t immune to security threats.
How do you manage the Internet of you? article claims that electronics has gotten to the point (in the consumer space) where the only innovations are the mundane, the enhancements, the extensions. A computing device today (whether a tablet, a phone or a PC) can do what telephony, typewriters, pen and ink, film (motion and still), cameras, television, radio (basically all major mediums) did a generation ago. And yet… And yet we still innovate. We still build. We still buy. The devices in one sense feed the worst part of a personality: compulsiveness. They suppress pause and reflection. Think about it.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless Power breakthrough: Iron Man can lose the chest reactor
And in the real world, pacemakers won’t need batteries
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/03/medical_implant_wireless_power_breakthrough/
Engineering boffins in the States have announced details of a new method of wireless power transmission which can reach inside a human body to power tiny implanted devices, so removing the need for repeated surgery in order to change batteries
According to the Stanford announcement of the new gear, the discovery of an optimum electrical frequency of 1.7 Gigahertz meant that power transmission
At that the optimal frequency, a millimeter-radius coil is capable of harvesting more than 50 microwatts of power, well in excess of the needs of a recently demonstrated eight-microwatt pacemaker.
Poon and her colleagues think the new kit could be big stuff in the medical world, and have applied to patent it with a view to manufacture.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless network ties together
IFA2012: The homes get more wireless devices
In addition to mobile phones, home electronics companies add more and more increased intelligence of home appliances. Some equipment has already been able to control the mobile phone. The use of wireless intellect will continue to expand.
You will soon be able to control your washing machine with your mobile phone.
Philips introduces a coffee machine, which can be wirelessly programmed to be manufactured in exactly the right amount of just the right strength of coffee.
Samsung’s stove automatically detects the pan or saucepan so they can be moved seamlessly from place to place during cooking.
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/ifa2012_koteihin_lisaa_langattomia_laitteita
Tomi Engdahl says:
Behind the scenes with Samsung’s Chinese factory girls
http://www.itworld.com/data-centerservers/293250/behind-scenes-samsungs-chinese-factory-girls
Faced with limited opportunities, young women choose electronics manufacturing for the relatively high salaries
Like many her age, 19-year-old Zhao Caixia left her hometown in the Chinese province of Gansu to see the world. That world now revolves around a Samsung factory in the Chinese city of Tianjin, where she spends eight to 12 hours a day inspecting cameras before they’re shipped out.
“It’s pretty tiring,” she explained, having to test the functions of each camera that comes her way. “The pressure can be big sometimes.” But despite the stress, Zhao’s job at the factory is a good one, she said
“I don’t want to change my job; I think it’s pretty good,” said Zhao, who can earn between 2,000 and 4,000 yuan ($315 to $630) a month depending on how much overtime she does. “I feel the salary is enough.”
“I’m just here to make money,” said a 23-year-old woman surnamed Wang, who also works at Samsung’s camera factory in Tianjin. “A lot of people just come here to make money,” she added.
Samsung workers interviewed by IDG said their main complaint was how monotonous and dull their work is.
“The work we do now has nothing to do with what we learned in school,”
“You don’t really gain anything from these manufacturing jobs. It’s just a short-term way to make money,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sensor fusion and MEMS for 10-DoF solutions
http://www.eetimes.com/design/medical-design/4395167/Sensor-fusion-and-MEMS-technology-for-10-DoF-solutions
Until recently the discussions about smartphones and tablets usually have focused on the latest generation of application processors, quality of the displays, the number of megapixels in cameras, or the newest version of operating systems.
Now, sensors and particularly MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical-systems) sensors are becoming a part of that discussion thanks to their proliferation in both smartphones and tablets.
In high-end smartphones, the number of sensors has already reached a half dozen and is rapidly marching towards a dozen per smartphone. Sensors are not only essential to bringing new smart features to products such as smartphones and tablets but also to ultra-books, laptops and PCs.
Moreover, sensors are becoming ubiquitous and are found in many different applications besides mobile devices such as industrial control, automotive industry, smart highway infrastructure, smart grid infrastructure, smart homes, health care, oil exploration, petroleum industry, and climate monitoring.
This proliferation of sensors into all spheres of our lives is mainly due to MEMS technology that is finally entering a stage of maturity and becoming a main stream. MEMS maturity has brought new products to life with its low cost of under a dollar
Sensor fusion
One of the hottest developments in sensor applications is multidimensional sensing.
Sensor fusion is intelligent and simultaneous sensor data processing (from multiple sensors) whereby the output is greater than the sum of individual parts. In other words, if the signals from an accelerometer, gyro, and magnetometer are taken at the same time and processed in an intelligent way, the deficiencies of separate devices can be eliminated and a synthesized smart output can be obtained.
A typical sensor fusion solution that combines a 3D-accelerometer + 3D-gyro + 3D-magnetometer is called a 9-DoF (nine degrees of freedom) or 9-SFA (nine sensor fusion axis) solution.
Sensor fusion is not limited to a 9-DoF solution. For example, if we include one additional sensing quantity, it becomes a 10-DoF (or 10-ASF) solution.
Why stop there?
It is evident that sensor fusion requires substantial MCU power.
There is a general expectation that 10-DoF solutions will be a high point of sensor fusion implementation in the next couple of years.
Tomi says:
Mass Production of 450mm Wafers Bumped Back Again: 2018
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/09/05/1357249/mass-production-of-450mm-wafers-bumped-back-again-2018
“TSMC … said it planned to start mass-producing next-generation 450mm wafers using advanced 10-nanometer technology in 2018. The advanced 10-nanometer chips could first be used in mobile devices and other consumer electronics, like game consoles, that demand high-performance and low power consumption.”
“Chipmakers can get 2.5 times more chips from a 450mm wafer than from a 300mm wafer … The industry’s gradual migration toward 3D ICs with through-silicon vias (TSV) is unlikely to happen until 2015 or 2016,”
Check also:
Probably one of the most interesting presentations at HOPE9, “Indistinguishable From Magic: Manufacturing Modern Computer Chips,” covered modern semiconductor fabrication and why these things are cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGFhc8R_uO4
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Under the hood” of Altera’s 20nm offerings
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/other/4395802/-Under-the-hood–of-Altera-s-20nm-offerings?Ecosystem=communications-design
Last week, the folks at Altera unveiled several of the key innovations they have planned for their next generation of products, which will be implemented at the 20nm technology node
Amongst other things, they talked about 40-Gbps Chip-to-Chip and 28-Gbps backplane transceivers, heterogeneous 3D ICs featuring a high-speed chip-to-chip interface, and next-generation DSP performance with the highest TFLOPs/watt.
Let’s start with what Altera refer to as SoC FPGAs (the industry is still trying to come to grips with the fact that the “FPGA” moniker is almost 30 years old and no longer reflects the humongous capacity and vast capabilities associated with today’s high-end incarnations of these little beauties).
I’m talking about the integration of a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor with the flexibility of traditional FPGA fabric.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why China still can’t create the next Texas Instruments
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4395702/7-reasons-why-China-can-t-make-a-TI—yet?Ecosystem=communications-design
SHENZHEN, China – Will China ever create an enterprise comparable in size, creativity and impact to Texas Instruments?
So far, it hasn’t come close. For now, there’s not much chance it will.
China is rapidly transitioning from its role as a manufacturing center to a design center for the electronics industry. The latest annual China Fabless Survey by EE Times-China revealed that volume production of digital ICs at 45 nm or below by mainland China local fabless companies has grown by 33.3 percent over the previous year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IDF: Intel expects 14nm to be ready by the end of 2013
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2205131/idf-intel-expects-14nm-to-be-ready-by-the-end-of-2013
SAN FRANCISCO: CHIPMAKER Intel thinks its 14nm process node will be ready for production by the end of 2013.
As Intel is maturing its 22nm Tri-gate process node to produce its Haswell processor line, Mark Bohr, director of its process architecture and integration said the firm’s 14nm process node is in “full development” status.
Intel’s 14nm process node will be used in its Skylake architecture, the successor to Haswell.
IDF: Intel isn’t betting on 450mm wafers or extreme ultraviolet for 10nm
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2205142/idf-intel-isnt-betting-on-450mm-wafers-or-extreme-ultraviolet-for-10nm
SAN FRANCISCO: CHIPMAKER Intel said it can’t bet on extreme ultraviolet lithography for its upcoming 10nm process node.
Intel recently invested billions in ASML to fund research into 450mm wafers and extreme ultraviolet lithography, but it’s not banking on either technology being ready for its 10nm process node.
Bohr said extreme ultraviolet lithography is “not quite ready for manufacturing or meeting cost goals”. He also said Intel is “not betting on extreme ultraviolet for 10nm”, which is expected to tip up around the 2016 timeframe.
Bohr confirmed that Intel’s 10nm process node can use the firm’s Tri-gate transistors
Tomi Engdahl says:
Where RF meets analog and digital—the new embedded reality
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/other/4395965/Where-RF-meets-analog-and-digital-the-new-embedded-reality?cid=Newsletter+-+EDN+Today
I often hear people talking about how the new “wireless world” and the abundance of wireless devices have changed our daily lives
In 2012, analysts expect 1 billion WLAN devices to be shipped; 2 billion shipments are forecast for 2014.
For WSNs (wireless sensor networks), 10.2 million chipsets were shipped in 2009, and 645 million are expected for 2015.
And for the ubiquitous RFID tags, the forecast calls for almost 3.98 billion tags to be shipped in 2012.
Perhaps this is why everyone talks about wireless. The numbers underline a trend that we all see.
In the past, it has been very challenging to cross the two domains, and to fully understand and test the relationship and effects of analog and digital signals on the RF path of a design, or vice versa. The missing piece when measuring in the time and frequency domain was the ability to time-correlate signals in order to understand their relationship.
A mixed-domain oscilloscope, such as the MDO4000 Tektronix introduced last year, allows exactly that: capturing analog, digital, and RF data and displaying them time-correlated on the same screen. The MDO is the first and so far only oscilloscope to offer analog and digital input channels along with a spectrum analyzer with its own RF input in the same instrument. All data in both domains—time and frequency—are displayed on the same screen and always time-correlated.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel implemented the digital radio
Digital integrated circuits shrinks the components are cheaper, faster and consume less energy. Analog technology does not scale in the same way.
Radio technology is, however, largely a mathematical problem.
Intel’s Developer Days in Justin Rattner, Intel’s director of research laboratories, said the company has reached its destination. He introduced the 32-nanometer technology, manufactured silicon wafer with hundreds of circuits in which there were two Atom-processor cores, and a full 40 MHz band reached to the 802.11g radio.
It only requires the support of an analog antenna amplifier.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/uutiset/intel_toteutti_digitaalisen_radion
Tomi Engdahl says:
After a decade of research, Intel shows off its digital radio chip
http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/13/after-a-decade-of-research-intel-shows-off-its-digital-radio-chip/
Justin Rattner demonstrated Intel’s first all-digital WiFi radio chip after more than a decade of research. That radio is the stepping stone for microprocessors — from the smallest sensor chips to supercomputers — to be linked by wireless signals that are sent and received by a radio embedded in the microprocessor itself.
Most of the time, however, it’s better to separate analog and digital functions into separate chips. One of the tough problems is interference between the analog and digital parts.
Intel set out to create a digital radio, over the past decade, and it has finally completed the task.
Intel created digital frequency synthesizers, sigma delta analog to digital converters, digital phase modulators, and digital radio frequency power amplifiers. Those were the elements of digital radio receivers and transmitters.
Intel has now created its digital RF Wi-Fi transceiver. It has a 40-megahertz bandwidth, built with Intel’s 32-nanometer manufacturing technology
The Intel chip is code-named Rosepoint and it features two Atom microprocessor cores on the same chips as a WiFi radio.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Engineers aren’t using social networking for work
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4395652/Engineers-aren-t-using-social-networking-for-work–survey
More than a decade into the social networking era, engineers are broadly engaged with these platforms but are highly protective of their privacy and very reluctant to use them to make their jobs easier and more productive, according to a new EE Times survey.
Use for engineering? Hardly
Perhaps the most eye-opening results concerned how engineers use social networking tools and platforms. Seventy-one percent of respondents never use social networking to request or share business information, and 81 percent never use the technology to collaboratively solve technical problems or find new products and suppliers.
More than half (56 percent) use social networking to network with colleagues but the rest never use it for that purpose.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s Official: The Era of the Personal Computer Is Over
http://allthingsd.com/20120915/its-official-the-era-of-the-personal-computer-is-over/
As a signpost on the road to the so-called Post-PC Era we’ve been hearing about for so many years, this one is pretty hard to argue with: As of this year, personal computers no longer consume the majority of the world’s memory chip supply.
Word of this tipping point came quietly in the form of a press release from the market research firm IHS (the same group formerly known as iSuppli). The moment came during the second quarter of 2012.
During that period, PCs accounted for the consumption of 49 percent of DRAM produced around the world
PCs have consumed the majority of memory chips since sometime in the 1980s.
And given their rates of growth, IHS expects phones and tablets combined to consume about 27 percent of the world’s memory by 2013, while by that time PCs will consume less than 43 percent, making the decline, in the firm’s estimation, irreversible.
Last year, PC makers shipped about 353 million machines, an increase of about one-half of one percent, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see the industry finish the year with a slight decline in shipments year-over-year.
So perhaps now the academic debates about where the Post-PC Era begins can come to a close.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ITU suggests replaceable cables for power supplies
Standards body hopes to reduce e-waste, match connectors with voltages
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/19/itu_psu_standard/
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has kicked off its Green Standards Week with a proposal for the world to standardise the power supply units (PSUs) provided with devices like mobile phones and laptop computers.
One of the standards the ITU proposes would see the ubiquitous devices equipped with replaceable cables, because after testing more than 300 PSUs the organisation found the main reason for their failure “is a weak point where the low-voltage cable is connected to the power supply.”
The idea for replaceable cables may seem trivial until you consider the ITU’s estimates that four billion PSUs will be summoned into existence this year alone and will collectively weigh one million tons. The organisation predicts that PSU numbers will grow by 12 per cent a year for the foreseeable future.
Just where these ideas go from here is not clear, as the ITU has no power to compel manufacturers to adopt a new standard.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Meet Shenzhen, tech capital of China
El Reg journeys to the city where much of our tech is made
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/25/shenzhen_tour_china_technology_hub/
Welcome to Shenzhen, a geek wonderland at the heart of the technology manufacturing hub of China and the world – the Pearl River Delta (PRD).
So we decided to come to the heart of it all – a city that just 30 years ago was little more than a fishing village.
Thanks to former Communist boss Deng Xiaoping’s vision and some timely economic liberalisation, that village has now grown to a conurbation of over 14 million, which can justly lay claim to the title “China’s Technology Capital”.
Telecoms company ZTE senior vice president Zhu Jinyun had this to say recently about the city that hosts the headquarters of his firm, and those of arch rival Huawei, Chinese web giant Tencent and many more, as well as a stock exchange of over 17m registered investors – the second largest in the country:
The spirit of Shenzhen was born when China’s government chose Shenzhen to be the first of four Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) in 1979.
Aside from the obvious environmental impact – the air quality in Shenzhen is pretty abysmal, like most Chinese cities – there’s also a human cost to all of this technology. The labour rights violations of local supplier factories run by the likes of Foxconn, VTech, HEG and others to supply the big tech brands are well documented.
According to China Labour Bulletin spokesman, Geoff Crothall, workers in the smaller white box factories and workshops are even more poorly paid than their counterparts on the Foxconn shop floor, although the working environment might be less stressful.
“Low pay has undoubtedly been one of the PRD’s main competitive advantages, along with good logistics and business oriented government,” he told The Reg. “What it also has now is a pool of highly skilled and experienced labour at a managerial level as well as a supply of slightly more expensive unskilled labour. So although the ‘sweatshop’ model may eventually go out of business, the PRD will as the local government hopes, gradually move up the value chain.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Riots, suicides, and other issues in Foxconn’s iPhone factories
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57515968-37/riots-suicides-and-other-issues-in-foxconns-iphone-factories/
What makes life hard at the giant plants that make iPhones and other staples of high-tech life? CNET’s Jay Greene traveled to China to find out.
“The employees always say the people outside want a job,” one employee told me in an interview, “and the people inside want to quit.”
When a major new product such as the iPhone 5 is heading to stores, even more stress is put on that fast-growing manufacturing chain.
“It’s very hard to get a job at Foxconn,” Li said, with her pink purse and a grocery bag full of food in her hand. “They pay more than other companies.”
“We track working hours weekly for over 700,000 workers and currently have 97 percent compliance with the 60-hour maximum workweek specified in our code of conduct.”
“Foxconn is not perfect, but we have made tremendous progress,”
Critics dispute that Foxconn has done much of anything to improve working conditions. A report released
SACOM found that employees worked excessive overtime, beyond Chinese legal limits. The report said that some workers weren’t compensated for their overtime. It cited “inadequate training and protection” for employees using chemicals in the production process. And the group even found that some workers need to acquire an “off-duty permit” for a toilet break.
Ma tries to add as much overtime as she can to supplement her salary.
“Most of the employees would rather have overtime,” Ma said. “They complain that they can’t work more hours.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electronics exports coughs badly
Electronics and electrical industry exports have collapsed with the top half.
Finland’s foreign trade statistics, electronics/electrical exports in the first half of this year to EUR 3.9 billion. Finland’s total exports at the same time was a little less than 30 billion euros.
In the future, electronics exports fall even further, as production in Finland is constantly decreasing. Salon mobile phone plant in the last cell phone was made at the end of July.
In 2006-2008, the top export was more than 15 billion (almost half mobile phones). At the time electronic and electrical industry’s share of Finland’s total exports were up nearly 30 per cent.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/elektroniikan+vienti+yskii+pahasti/a841996?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-26092012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Floorplanning: concept, challenges, and closure
http://www.edn.com/design/integrated-circuit-design/4396580/Floorplanning–concept–challenges–and-closure?cid=EDNToday
In today’s world, there is an ever-increasing demand for SOC speed, performance, and features. To cater to all those needs, the industry is moving toward lower technology nodes. The current market has become more and more demanding, in turn forcing complex architectures and reduced time to market. The complex integrations and smaller design cycle emphasize the importance of floorplanning, i.e., the first step in netlist-to-GDSII design flow. Floorplanning not only captures designer’s intent, but also presents the challenges and opportunities that affect the entire design flow, from design to implementation and chip assembly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Challenge: Transport data to and from displays and image sensors in mobile devices—Part I
http://www.edn.com/design/sensors/4396908/Challenge–Transport-data-to-and-from-displays-and-image-sensors-in-tablets–handsets–and-laptops-Part-I?cid=EDNToday
The user interfaces of mobile and consumer electronics devices (CE) have undergone a remarkable transformation in just a few years.
Having 3D high-resolution displays and high-resolution image sensors come with a price, and create a new set of challenges for the system designers. This paper examines some of the difficulties involved in transporting huge amounts of data to and from displays and image sensors in tablets, handsets, and laptops. The second part of this paper is dedicated to presenting workable solutions.
One can only appreciate the magnitude of the interconnect problem, if it is compared to the data rates in existing devices. As an example, the bandwidth required for a full “Retina” display used in the latest iPhone (4S) is only 1.5 Gbps – a factor 8 less than the predicted 12 Gbps for a smartphone having a similar size.
In summary, it is safe to assume that the resolution and pixel densities in future displays will continue to go higher. This transition will undoubtedly increase the needed connectivity bandwidths by orders of magnitude. Systems designers will be forced to find new interconnect schemes capable of handling such a massive burden.
Presently most systems utilize flexible PCBs (FPCs) to connect display and camera subsystems to application processors. This method has worked well for now but will run out of steam at rates above 10 Gbps. Presently the dominant interconnect technology used in mobile devices is based on Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) standards.
As an example, transporting 50 Gbps of data utilizing even the fastest M-PHY Gear 4 technology will require 5 differential lanes or 10 physical lines each running at approximately 12 Gbps. Designing PCBs or FPCs for such a transport system is extremely challenging. Even if the design challenges are overcome, the cost and size of the solution will be prohibitive.
Presently the practical maximum speeds supported by FR-4 are in the range of 6 to 8 Gbps.
Insertion loss is not only a function of frequency but also a function of link lengths. Link lengths are still quite manageable in today’s smartphones.
To date, clever placement of cameras and displays has kept the link lengths quite manageable. Unfortunately this trend is not sustainable since all of these platforms will be supporting multiple cameras that will inevitably require longer links.
Another undesirable side effect of copper links; whether in the form of traces or Micro-Coaxial cables, is their electromagnetic emissions (EMI). Such emissions are particularly troublesome in constricted spaces such as tablet and laptops containing multiple antennas and very sensitive RF receivers. As an example, LTE’s RF front-ends contain a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), which are extremely sensitive to aggressor energies in the band of 700 MHz to 6 GHz.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Unified, Concurrent Mixed-Signal Methodology
http://www.edn.com/design/systems-design/4396865/Unified–Concurrent-Mixed-Signal-Methodology?cid=EDNToday
Editor’s Note: Mixed-signal design methodologies are central to design of SoCs targeting nearly all embedded applications. A new book, Mixed-Signal Methodology Guide, looks at key aspects of mixed-signal design in chapters authored by industry experts in each topic area. In this excerpt of Chapter 2 on mixed-signal methodologies, the author discusses the key characteristics required in a unified mixed-signal methodology and considerations for choice of the most appropriate methodology for a design.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Contract Manufacturers Make About Nine Out of 10 Media Tablets in 2012
http://www2.electronicproducts.com/Contract_Manufacturers_Make_About_Nine_Out_of_10_Media_Tablets_in_2012-article-news02_21_sep2012-html.aspx
Although your new media tablet may sport the logo of a familiar brand name like Apple or Amazon, there’s a 90 percent chance the device was actually made by a company with a much less famous moniker, such as Hon Hai or Quanta.
That’s because the vast majority of tablets—including the iPad and Kindle Fire—actually are made by contract or outsourced manufacturers based in Asia, according to an IHS iSuppli Global Manufacturing & Design Report from information and analytics provider.
Outsourced manufacturers in 2011 were responsible for 87.5 percent of tablet production, compared to 12.5 percent that were made in-house. The percentage of outsourced tablets this year is expected to increase to 89.2 percent,
“The high percentage of outsourced manufacturing of tablets reflects the choice among tablet brands and original equipment manufacturers—even ones as big as Apple—to refrain from in-house production,”
“Tablet brands use outsourcing for many reasons, including faster time to market; the leveraging of capabilities, especially for firmware development and hardware integration; and asset flexibility that translates into reduced corporate expenditures and lower headcount.”
The biggest contract manufacturer of tablets is Apple partner Hon Hai, of Taiwan, also known as Foxconn. Hon Hai accounted for 62 percent of tablet shipments last year.
close relationship with Apple.
Hon Hai is an EMS provider, a type of outsourced manufacturer that generally does not participate in designing product but simply offers manufacturing and supply chain management services.
With the emergence of Android—and soon, Windows-based tablets—ODMs will have a better chance of breaking Hon Hai’s near-impregnable hold on the market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CloudConnect Conference Talks Infrastructure in the Cloud
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1365&doc_id=251365&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
Users engage in a community that allows sharing of information and expertise. Solutions can be tested through simulation before buying. The existence of large data stores — big-data — allows this simulation and opens up new ways to optimize systems. A common integrated development environment is used to create, configure, and manage systems. This is a good example of how control and industrial systems will be designed in the future. They will still need programming to perform specific functions, but putting together the elements of a system will be more integrated for the industrial designer.
What is probably of most interest to Design News readers is that McLuckie said his company already has users developing computational fluid dynamics codes in Compute Engine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alumina substrate packs in passive components
http://www2.electronicproducts.com/Alumina_substrate_packs_in_passive_components-article-FAJH_Ohmite_Oct2012-html.aspx
Proven technology allows resistors and sensors to be printed directly on to a board
There is a push to miniaturize all possible aspects of circuitry. Passive components such as resistors and capacitors still consume a majority of board space in most electronic devices. This can quickly become a problem for products that require a large number of resistors, particularly physically larger power resistors.
For applications such as these, alumina substrate technology can offer a great solution. Although the technology has been around for decades, it has enjoyed a renewed popularity in recent years as the use of microcircuits and hybrid microcircuits has increased. Alumina substrate offers excellent heat dissipation and resistors can be printed directly onto the board, saving crucial space
With alumina substrate manufacturers can print resistors directly onto the surface of the board. These resistors are very thin, approximately the same height as the copper conductive traces on a PC board, allowing for efficient use of board space. Manufacturers can also place components directly on top of these resistors while still making conductor traces between them, doubling the space utilization. While components such as transistors and diodes must still be surface mounted on alumina substrate, the space saved on resistors adds up to big benefits for power applications.
The alumina substrate is particularly suitable for temperature regulation in products like irons, coffee cup warmers, hair straighteners, and other heat-intensive items. Temperature sensors can actually be printed directly onto the board, just like the resistors mentioned above, and this reduces space consumption while also ensuring that the sensor can be mounted closer to a heat source for quicker response time
Tomi Engdahl says:
As Apple and Samsung dominate, Japan’s tech giants are in a free fall
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-apple-and-samsung-dominate-japans-tech-giants-are-in-a-free-fall/2012/09/28/04c6eb36-0944-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_story.html
While electronics giants Apple and Samsung fight each other for market dominance, with hotly competitive product releases and tit-for-tat patent lawsuits, Japan’s consumer electronics makers find themselves in an increasingly perilous fight for relevance and, in some cases, survival.
Companies such as Sony, Panasonic and Sharp once controlled the industry, outclassing and outselling their U.S. rivals. But now they represent the most alarming telltale of corporate Japan’s two-decade struggle to adapt, downsize and innovate.
While the Japanese economy staggers, the consumer electronics companies are in an accelerated free fall, unable to catch on in the digital world of tablets and smartphones.
The companies still have famous brand names, and tech analysts say they still produce some of the world’s highest-quality hardware devices. But they face a fundamental problem: It’s been years since they’ve turned out products that people feel they need to have.
Those who study the consumer electronics industry describe a decade of missteps and miscalculations. Japan’s giants concentrated on stand-alone devices like televisions and phones and computers, but devoted little thought to software and the ways their devices synced with one another.
In other cases, the Japanese companies were simply too slow to turn cutting-edge technology into usable technology.
Even the Japanese companies’ strengths matter less now, as consumers have lost the willingness to pay a premium for quality. Sharp and Sony and Panasonic make among the world’s best televisions, for instance, but such Korean competitors as LG and Samsung have found ways to make products that are almost as good for far less money.
“Japanese companies,” Gartenberg added, “were busy defending old business models that the world simply bypassed.”
The pace of problems is accelerating. Sony hasn’t made a profit in four years. Panasonic has lost money in three of the past four. Along with Sharp, the companies’ combined market value, according to Bloomberg, is $32 billion — making them one-fifth the value of Samsung and one-twentieth the value of Apple.
No company is faring worse than Sharp, which once ruled the liquid-crystal-display TV market and promised “to make products that others want to imitate.”
Sony and Panasonic have drastically cut their TV production. Sony’s life insurance arm was by far its most profitable segment last year, when it lost $5.9 billion because of flagging demand for electronics. Both Panasonic and Sharp are now selling solar panels.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Create lasers with an inkjet printer
http://www2.electronicproducts.com/Create_lasers_with_an_inkjet_printer-article-FANE_printable_lasers_Sep2012-html.aspx
What if a laser beam could be created on an inkjet printer? Although it may sound a little bizarre, it is becoming a reality.
In traditional laser formation, liquid crystal (LC) molecules act as an “optically resonant cavity,” or a series of mirrors that creates a constant wave pattern for light waves to travel. When fluorescent dye is added, it ignites the laser light. Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge, led by D.J. Gardiner, have figured out a way to align LC molecules and create laser displays by printing them out.
The team used a custom inkjet printer to print hundreds of small dots of LC materials onto a substrate. This base layer is then covered with a wet polymer solution. As the polymer solution dried, the chemical reaction that took place actually caused the molecules to align, and as a result, transformed the dots into laser beams.
The team’s goal is to produce lasers on any surface.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sharp starts mass production of 5-inch 1080p displays for smartphones
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/1/3436644/sharp-starts-mass-production-of-5-inch-1080p-displays-for-smartphones
Sharp is starting “full-scale” production of a new 5-inch 1080p display for smartphones that has an incredible pixel density of 443ppi.
The only 1080p phone announced so far is the Oppo Finder 5, although rumors of a 5-inch HTC superphone continue.
With Sharp cutting thousands of jobs amidst huge losses, it will be hoping that its new display, coupled with a deal to provide Apple with iPhone 5 displays, will help it to recover from its ongoing financial crisis.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Happy birthday, Compact Disc
First commercial release 30 years ago today
http://www.reghardware.com/2012/10/01/compact_disc_is_30_years_old/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: NASA’s incredible unsung sensors
http://www.edn.com/design/sensors/4397296/Slideshow–NASA-s-incredible-unsung-sensors?cid=EDNToday
It’s mindboggling to think of how many sensors are used by NASA. Temperature, position, pressure, imaging, inclinometers, navigational, accelerometers, force…and the list goes on. What follows is a look at just some of the sensor-based systems at NASA and a few of the commercial technologies that have fallen out of NASA projects. While this merely scratches the surface of what exists, I hope you enjoy the collection.
Tomi Engdahl says:
News on one of the biggest contract manufacturer of semiconductors:
Globalfoundries 28/32nm foundry capacity hits as high as 80,000 wafers
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20121001PD214.html
Globalfoundries’ combined capacity for 28/32nm chips has climbed to 60,000-80,000 wafers a month, according to Michael Noonen, the foundry’s executive VP for marketing and sales.
In addition, Globalfoundries’ recently-introduced 14nm process with 3D FinFET transistors will be ready for trial production in 2014, Noonen noted.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Discretes in cheap designs
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/analog-ic-startup/4397367/Discretes-in-cheap-designs?cid=EDNToday
As part of my job at Touchstone Semiconductor, I’ve been doing some teardowns of consumer products recently—and from time to time I’m still finding lots of discretes in the analog portion of those designs.
So why not integrate all that analog stuff? The answer, I’m sure, is cost (<$0.01 per 2N3904/2N3906)—but that only works if a few things are true: The design isn’t space sensitive, supply current isn’t that critical, you have plenty of voltage headroom, and you don’t need dc accuracy.
If those conditions apply, a single-transistor logic inverter serves fine for level translating (Vbe is the threshold) and for switching some MOSFETs for power management.
What’s interesting is that since so many designs are battery powered now (where miniaturization, supply current, and voltage really matter), the availability of reasonably integrated analog blocks has exploded—and prices do drop (I think the old LM319 costs a few pennies).
As much as I admire some of these discrete, board-level designs, I wonder if they may eventually become a vanishing art. Comments?
Comments:
As long as the integrated analog block IC’s are sole-source, it’s foolhardy to go away from discrete components unless the requirements dictate otherwise.
It’s still cheaper. Thats why you see it in ultra-low cost items like toys. You will also find all-discrete, thru-hole, maybe hand soldered circuits in the base of CFL lamps – event the so-called quality brand types.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wearable sensor devices leverage MEMS motion tracking innovations
http://www.eetimes.com/design/medical-design/4397350/Wearable-sensor-devices-to-leverage-MEMS-motion-tracking-innovations
With each passing day, the smart phone becomes an increasingly indispensible part of our lives. Some of us, either intentionally or unintentionally, feel comfortable leaving the house without our keys, wallet, watch, PC, camera or other items. But the smart phone, almost unconsciously, has become our proverbial security blanket, the one personal item we won’t leave behind. Why is this?
Well, certainly, voice communication is one factor. It is a phone after all.
But, I would argue, access to unlimited amounts of data has quickly become the dominant factor. Whether for turn-by-turn navigation to our destination, information about the closest coffee house, updates from friends in our social networks, or streaming music from our favorite cloud service, we have become addicted to data.
This need for constant access to data is quickly spilling over into a new breed of electronic devices generically referred to as wearable sensors that can provide us real time data and feedback about our activity levels and performance. IMS Research predicts the market for wearable sensing devices will grow to over 170 million units annually by 2016.
Examples of this new breed of wearable sensors including Nike’s FuelBand, Adidas’ miCoach, and Fitbit are building on the foundation of traditional sport watch products from the likes of Polar and Garmin to include connectivity and data streaming to smart phones which enable advanced real time data processing and social sharing of recent accomplishments to friends and family over the network.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simulation Heads for Mainstream Makeover
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1394&doc_id=251529&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
Two trends are pushing simulation to the forefront of the development effort. Engineering groups are rapidly embracing workflows that move analysis further upstream in the design process, and an array of integrated tools and technologies are making the discipline far more accessible to those outside traditional specialist circles.
Experts say putting analysis capabilities in the hands of mainstream engineers encourages deeper exploration of designs and shrinks the development process, because there are fewer handoffs between engineers and simulation specialists. There is also less of a chance that major issues will go undiscovered until late in the game, when changes are costly.
The idea of broadening the use of simulation and making it a requirement throughout the development effort (not just at final verification) is not new, but it’s not necessarily well entrenched, either. Hardware has been a big inhibitor; simulation software demands a significant investment in high-performance workstations. The software itself has presented another hurdle.
“People have wanted to give simulation to non-experts for a long time, but it hasn’t worked out that well,”
“What we need to do is encapsulate the experts’ process, automate it, and simplify it.”
Thanks to a number of emerging technologies, including relatively inexpensive workstation horsepower, deeper integration with familiar tools like CAD, and the advent of cloud computing, simulation software vendors seem armed with a better plan to make analysis-led design more accessible to mainstream engineers.
According to Buchowski, giving a CAD-proficient engineer a simplified version of a traditional FEA or CFD tool doesn’t go far enough in making simulation mainstream; the engineer still needs to know the tool to get an accurate answer.
The cloud computing delivery model and mobile platforms factor heavily in Autodesk’s strategy for making simulation more accessible. Rather than addressing the mainstreaming of simulation with a single offering, it is pushing myriad options aimed at different use cases, with different price points, and to address different parts of the simulation process.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Does an Embedded Systems Designer Select the Right Storage Solution?
http://rtcmagazine.com/articles/view/102760
Tomi Engdahl says:
New FPGA Designs Take Advantage of the Latest COTS Platforms
http://rtcmagazine.com/articles/view/102751
As ever more powerful FPGAs are used in system designs, finding the right environment to accommodate their functionality with optimal space, system power and cost can be a challenge. The new MicroTCA.4 standard can offer a sweet spot.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Enabling next gen smart utility meters
http://eetimes.com/design/smart-energy-design/4397599/Enabling-next-gen-smart-utility-meters
The next worldwide opportunity for growth is commonly recognized in the smart grid market, which comprises gas, heat, water and electrical meters and heat cost allocators, as are metering and sub-metering devices. There are also smart grid home gateways, data concentrators and data collectors that collect information from the metering units. The combination of smart grids with home area networks (HAN) is expected to enable utilities to ease peak power demand, which in turn helps reduce the need for new power plants. It is also expected to bring cost savings and increased comfort thru home automation for consumers.
This article shows how combining the best ultra-low-power MCUs, the highest performance RF transceivers for Sub-1GHz communication and advanced power system solutions will enable the next generation of smart utility meters in Europe and beyond. The maturity and latest developments of the European wM-Bus protocol stack opens new opportunities for large-scale deployment of battery-operated gas, water and heat meters.
This article will explain the building blocks of a smart meter (gas, water and heat) for the European market, using the popular wM-Bus RF communication in the 868MHz and 169MHz band.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet of Things Starts at the Smart Home
http://rtcmagazine.com/articles/view/102735
The smart and energy-efficient home, monitored and controlled by one central application on your smartphone, will finally become a reality and introduce a connected ecosystem for everyday living.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Integrating power electronics design technologies
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4397810/Integrating-power-electronics-design-technologies
The field of power electronics, the application of electronics for the control and conversion of electric power, is underpinned by basic electrical principles that were established in the distant past by the pioneers of electrical science. But today, the need to supply, modify and control the voltage, current or frequency of electric power arises in a vast number of applications and products spanning a huge range in terms of power handling capability.
The industry has generated numerous technological advances to address the ever-growing spectrum of requirements
Tomi Engdahl says:
Powering Greener, More Efficient Electronics
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=251702&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
The adoption of ultracapacitor technology is a growing trend in electronic applications. The presidential election year has shone a bright light on renewable energy as a solution for developing America’s energy independence and boosting the economy. This has resulted in a spike in demand for cleaner technologies and energy storage initiatives in the electronics industry. In part because of this, more manufacturers are choosing ultracapacitors as an efficient energy source in various applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Megatrend:
Machine control, HMIs, safety, vision, networking and software are converging to produce more potent, streamlined control architectures and robust industrial automation solutions. Those solutions are re-shaping the face of automation and industrial machinery development.
Tomi Engdahl says:
700% surge in motion combo sensors by year end
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/sensor-ee-perception/4398047/700–surge-in-motion-combo-sensors-by-year-end?cid=EDNToday
Smartphones and media tablet adoption is behind a surge of more than 700% in combo motion sensors by the end of 2012, says an IHS iSuppli Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) market brief. Revenue will rise to $189.1 million in 2012 from a mere $23.0 million in 2011.
What’s in store for next year? Another 236% growth and revenue at $635.6 million and over a billion in revenues for 2014.
Motion sensors include gyroscopes, accelerometers and compasses, and the combo fuses their signals, are easily implemented, and are small.
Tomi Engdahl says:
2012 a Breakthrough Year for Motion Combo Sensors in Consumer and Mobile Applications
MEMS Market Brief – August 2012
http://www.isuppli.com/MEMS-and-Sensors/Pages/2012-a-Breakthrough-Year-for-Motion-Combo-Sensors-in-Consumer-and-Mobile-Applications.aspx?PRX
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart meters can be fully customizable
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4397977/Smart-meters-can-be-fully-customizable
New European regulations and the establishment of the SmartGrid have transformed the electricity distribution market. EU regulations demands AMR (automated meter reading) that allows any user to see his energy consumption every 15 minutes over the entire day, while the SmartGrid allows us to achieve this using PLM (power line modem) communication over various protocols, for example, Linky G1, G3, and PRIME.
The old mechanical disc meters (Ferraris) are no longer effective and digital e-meters are taking their place. This change not only brings easier integration and more communication possibilities but also more intelligence.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSMC announces COWOS test vehicle tape out
Claims it is at the pilot stage
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2216826/tsmc-announces-cowos-test-vehicle-tape-out
CHIP SHOP TSMC announced it has taped out its first chip on wafer on substrate (COWOS) test vehicle using the wide I/O mobile DRAM interface.
TSMC has been promoting its COWOS process after it announced a 20nm process using the technology earlier this week.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSMC announces two 20nm reference flows for chip designers
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2215793/tsmc-announces-two-20nm-reference-flows-for-chip-designers
TAIWANESE CHIP SHOP TSMC has announced its support of 20nm chip fabrication as part of its Open Innovation Platform (OIP) by revealing two reference flows.
TSMC has been busy trying to meet customer demand for its leading edge 28nm process node, but as fab rivals Globalfoundries and Intel are moving to sub 20nm process nodes the firm has announced developments for its own 20nm process node. The firm said its 20nm chip on wafer on substrate (COWOS) foundry-first process node has now produced two reference flows, showing the way for chip designers to implement designs to make use of its processes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ST Microelectronics is mulling a break-up
Wants to separate its analog and digital businesses
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2216847/st-microelectronics-is-mulling-a-breakup?WT.rss_f=Home
CHIP VENDOR ST Microelectronics reportedly is considering breaking itself up in order to offload its system-on-chip (SoC) business.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Complex Logic Circuit Made From Bacterial Genes
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/10/14/1459246/complex-logic-circuit-made-from-bacterial-genes
“Just as electronic circuits are made from resistors, capacitors and transistors, biological circuits can be made from genes and regulatory proteins. Engineer Tae Seok Moon’s dream is to design modular ‘genetic parts’ that can be used to build logic controllers inside microbes that will program them to make fuel, clean up pollutants, or kill infectious bacteria or cancerous cells. The circuit Moon eventually built consisted of four sensors for four different molecules that fed into three two-input AND gates”
A complex logic circuit made from bacterial genes
https://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/24418.aspx
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon in talks to buy Texas Instruments’ mobile chip arm
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/15/us-amazon-texasins-chips-idUSBRE89E09P20121015
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc, the world’s largest Internet retailer, is in advanced talks to buy the mobile chip business of Texas Instruments, Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist reported on Monday.
Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told Reuters she doubted whether Amazon wants to “become that intimately involved with hardware”.
TI’s chips are used in Amazon.com’s Kindle Fire tablet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 3D die stack tack: Toshiba builds towering column of flash
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/15/toshiba_3d_solid_state/
Toshiba is building high rise flash and ReRAM chips, with prototypes coming next year and volume shipping in 2015.
The idea of high-rise or 3D chips is that we can sidestep limitations on increasing the storage density of flash or memory chips by stacking them one on top of the other, increasing the storage density on a Mbits/in 2 basis by building upwards, in the same way as high-rise housing increases the number of people living in the ground footprint of a block of flats.
Toshiba’s p-BiCS NAND has a 50nm-size hole and 16 layers. Toshiba’s chief engineer, Masaki Momodomi, at its Semiconductor & Storage Products Co., says that p-BiCS becomes cheaper than ordinary NAND when more than 15 layers are used, presumably comparing similar capacity levels. The company aims to deliver 128Gbit and 256Gbit prototype samples next year, engineering samples in 2014, with volume shipments in 2015; we are more than two years away from seeing product hit the streets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple rethinking Samsung chip partnership, say sources
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57531694-92/apple-rethinking-samsung-chip-partnership-say-sources/
Apple appears to be in the process of shifting chip production from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Apple has begun the process of lessening its dependency on Samsung for chipmaking, an analyst told CNET.
“Apple is working with TSMC at 20 nanometers,” said Gus Richard, a chip analyst at Piper Jaffray, referring to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s most advanced 20-nanometer (nm) manufacturing process.
Another chip industry source contacted by CNET confirmed this. “The Apple-Samsung relationship has deteriorated to such a poor point that they’re just looking to fill contractual obligations, then make a change,” said the source, who corroborated the move to TSMC at 20 nanometers.
This shift will not happen overnight, though.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Japan’s Renesas set for £1.6bn rescue plan
Japanese microcontroller-maker to receive government rev-up, says report
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/15/renesas_200_billion_yen_rescue_package/
Ailing Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics is set to receive a ¥200bn (£1.6bn) investment boost to help prop up the company, the majority of which will come from the government, according to new reports from the Far East.
The state-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) will plough around ¥150bn (£1.2bn) in for two-thirds of Renesas shares, according to several reports citing a Nikkei article.
The remaining ¥50bn (£397m) will apparently be funded by a group of top Japanese tech and auto firms including Panasonic, Canon, Toyota, Nissan and Honda.
The involvement of the car-makers is due to Renesas’ position as the world’s leading producer of microcontroller chips used in cars.