Electronics industry hopefully starts to glow after not so good year 2012. It’s safe to say that 2012 has been a wild ride for all of us. The global semiconductor industry has demonstrated impressive resilience in year 2012, despite operating in a challenging global macroeconomic environment. Many have already ratcheted back their expectations for 2013. Beyond 2012, the industry is expected to grow steadily and moderately across all regions, according to the WSTS forecast. So we should see moderate growth in 2013 and 2014. I hope this happens.
The non-volatile memory market is growing rapidly. Underlying technologies for non-volatile memories article tells that non-volatile memory applications can be divided into standalone and embedded system solutions. Standalone applications tend to be driven primarily by costs is dominated by NAND FLASH technology. The embedded market relies mainly on NOR Flash for critical applications and NAND for less critical data storage. Planar CT NAND and 3D NAND could fast become commercially viable this year or in few years. MRAM, PCRAM, and RRAM will need more time and new material innovation to become major technologies.
Multicore CPU architectures are a little like hybrid vehicles: Once seen as anomalies, both are now encountered on a regular basis and are widely accepted as possible solutions to challenging problems. Multi-core architectures will find their application but likely won’t force the extinction of single-core MCUs anytime soon. Within the embedded community, a few applications now seem to be almost exclusively multicore, but in many others multicore remains rare. There are concerns over the complexity and uncertainty about the benefits.
FPGAs as the vanishing foundation article tells that we are entering a new environment in which the FPGA has faded into the wallpaper – not because it is obsolete, but because it is both necessary and ubiquitous. After displacing most functions of ASICs, DSPs, and a few varieties of microcontrollers, it’s fair to ask if there is any realm of electronic products where use of the FPGA is not automatically assumed. Chances are, in the next few years, the very term “FPGA” might be replaced by “that ARM-based system on a chip” from Xilinx, Altera, Lattice, or other vendor.
Are products owned when bought? The trend in recent decades has been an increase in the dependence of the buyer on the seller.
More than 5 billion wireless connectivity chips will ship in 2013, according to market research firm ABI Research. This category includes standalone chips for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, satellite positioning, near-field communications and ZigBee as well as so called “combo” chips that combine multiple standards. Broadcom seen retaining lead in connectivity chips. Bluetooth Smart, WiGig and NFC are all are seeing increased adoption in fitness, automotive and retail applications. Combo chips are also a growing opportunity based on the popularity of smart phones, tablet computers and smart televisions.
Signal integrity issues are on the rise as both design complexity and speed increase all the time. The analog world is moving faster than ever. Learning curves are sharper, design cycles are shorter, and systems more complex. Add to all this the multidisciplinary, analog/digital nature of today’s designs, and your job just gets more complicated.
High-speed I/O: On the road to disintegration? article tells that increases in data rates driven by a need for higher bandwidth (10Gbps, 40Gbps, 100Gbps networking) means the demands on system-level and chip-to-chip interconnects are increasingly challenging design and manufacturing capabilities. For current and future high-performance, high-speed serial interfaces featuring equalization could well be the norm and high levels of SoC integration may no longer be the best solution.
For a long time, the Consumer Electronics Show, which began in 1967, was the Super Bowl of new technology, but now consumer electronics show as a concept is changing and maybe fading out in some way. The social web has replaced the trade show as a platform for showcasing and distributing products and concepts and ideas.
NFC, or near-field communications, has been around for 10 years, battling its own version of the chicken-and-egg question: Which comes first, the enabled devices or the applications? Near-field communications to go far in 2013 article expects that this is the year for NFC. NFC is going to go down many different paths, not just mobile wallet.
3-D printing was hot last year and is still hot. We will be seeing much more on this technology in 2013.
Inexpensive tablets and e-readers will find their users. Sub-$100 tablets and e-readers will offer more alternatives to pricey iPads and Kindles. Also sub-$200 higher performance tablet group is selling well.
User interfaces will evolve. Capacitive sensing—Integrating multiple interfaces and Human-machine interfaces enter the third dimension. Ubiquitous sensors meet the most natural interface–speech.
Electronic systems in the automotive industry is accelerating at a furious pace. The automotive industry in the United States is steadily recovering and nowadays electronics run pretty much everything in a vehicle. Automotive electronics systems trends impact test and measurement companies Of course, with new technologies come new challenges: faster transport buses, more wireless applications, higher switching power and sheer amount and density of electronics in modern vehicles.
Next Round: GaN versus Si article tells that the wide-band gap (WBG) power devices have shown up as Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC). These devices provide low RDSON with higher breakdown voltage.
Energy harvesting was talked quite much in 2012 and I expect that it will find more and more applications this year. Four main ambient energy sources are present in our environment: mechanical energy (vibrations, deformations), thermal energy (temperature gradients or variations), radiant energy (sun, infrared, RF) and chemical energy (chemistry, biochemistry). Peel-and-stick solar cells are coming.
Wireless charging of mobile devices is get getting some popularity. Wireless charging for Qi technology is becoming the industry standard as Nokia, HTC and some other companies use that. There is a competing AW4P wireless charging standard pushed by Samsung ja Qualcomm.
In recent years, ‘Low-carbon Green Growth’ has emerged as a very important issue in selling new products. LED lighting industry analysis and market forecast article tells that ‘Low-carbon Green Growth’ is a global trend. LED lighting is becoming the most important axis of ‘Low-carbon Green Growth’ industry. The expectations for industry productivity and job creation are very large.
A record number of dangerous electrical equipment has been pulled from market by Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency’s control. Poor equipment design have been found in a lot, especially in LED light bulbs. Almost 260 items were taken from the market and very many of them were LED lights. With high enthusiasm we went to the new technology and then forgotten the basic electrical engineering. CE marking is not in itself guarantee that the product is safe.
The “higher density,” “higher dynamic” trend also is challenging traditional power distribution technologies within systems. Some new concepts are being explored today. AC vs DC power in data center discussion is going strong. Redundant power supplies are asked for in many demanding applications.
According to IHS, global advanced meter shipments are expected to remain stable from 2012 through 2014. Smart electricity meters seen doubling by 2016 (to about 35 percent penetration). In the long term, IHS said it anticipates that the global smart meter market will depend on developing economies such as China, Brazil and India. What’s next after smart power meter? How about some power backup for the home?
Energy is going digital article claims that graphical system design changes how we manipulate, move, and store energy. What defines the transition from analog to digital and how can we tell when energy has made the jump? First, the digital control of energy, in the form of electricity, requires smart sensors. Second, digital energy systems must be networked and field reconfigurable to send data that makes continuous improvements and bug fixes possible. Third, the system must be modeled and simulated with high accuracy and speed. When an analog technology goes digital, it becomes an information technology — a software problem. The digital energy revolution is enabled by powerful software tools.
Cloud is talked a lot in both as design tool and service where connected devices connect to. The cloud means many things to many people, but irrespective of how you define it, there are opportunities for engineers to innovate. EDA companies put their hope on Accelerating embedded design with cloud-enabled development platforms. They say that The Future of Design is Cloudy. M2M companies are competing in developing solutions for easily connecting embedded devices to cloud.
Trend articles worth to check out:
13 Things That Went Obsolete In 2012
Five Technologies to Watch in 2013
Hot technologies: Looking ahead to 2013
Hot technologies: Looking ahead to 2013
Technology predictions for 2013
Prediction for 2013 – Technology
Slideshow: Top Technologies of 2013
10 hot consumer trends for 2013
Popular designer articles from last year that could give hints what to expect:
Top 10 Communications Design Articles of 2012
Top 10 smart energy articles of 2012
Slideshow: The Top 10 Industrial Control Articles of 2012
Looking at Developer’s Activities – a 2012 Retrospective
626 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building a solid state relay? Does the solution include optocouplers or digital isolators?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/isolate-me-/4409711/Building-a-solid-state-relay–Does-the-solution-include-optocouplers-or-digital-isolators-
Off-the-shelf Solid State Relays (SSR) are reliable and compact, but it’s hard to find one that can conduct more than a few hundred milliamps of current. If you need an isolated SSR to switch line voltages, for example, you may just have to build one yourself out of power FETs. You could use optocouplers to provide galvanic isolation between the control and the FET gates, but where would you get enough power on the isolated side for the optocoupler to actually drive the FET gates?
Combining the power and signal drive capabilities of the digital isolator allows large voltages and currents to be controlled. The primary requirement on the FET is that its gate threshold be below the 5V provided by the device. Any other combinations of current and voltage are limited only by the chosen FETs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Miniature FPGA debuts
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4409795/Miniature-FPGA-debuts
Lattice Semiconductor Corporation has announced its iCE40 LP384 FPGA featuring 384 LUTs (look-up tables) in packages as small as 2.5 mm x 2.5 mm. The new FPGA consumes only 21 µA (1.2V Vcc) static core current. Intended for portable medical monitors, mobile consumer devices, and compact embedded systems, the new device allows designers to build high-speed data processing engines in a small footprint while maintaining low power requirements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will 2013 bring tighter power supply efficiency requirements?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/eye-on-efficiency/4407921/Will-2013-bring-tighter-power-supply-efficiency-requirements-
Things have remained pretty quiet over the past few years with respect to new external power supply (EPS) efficiency requirements. Despite some minor tweaks in no-load power consumption levels by mobile phone consortiums and government groups, things haven’t changed much since early 2011, when the European Commission (EC) adopted the 2008 ENERGY STAR EPS Version 2 program specifications*.
But, that may be about to change. If recent agency draft specifications get finalized this year, the result could shake up the current world EPS efficiency regulation landscape.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fail-safe Power Supervision in Mission-Critical Systems
http://www.edn.com/design/sensors/4409645/Fail-safe-Power-Supervision-in-Mission-Critical-Systems
Power supervision plays a critical role in mission-critical communication systems such as routers, switches, storage systems and servers. Due to the continued expansion of the Internet, global IP traffic has increased eightfold over the past 5 years. Despite significant advances in processing power and speeds in communication systems to keep up with this expansion, relatively few advances have been made in power supervision technology.
Moving forward, global IP traffic will continue to grow at an alarming rate driven by mobile devices and IP video, with demand expected to surpass the zettabyte threshold as soon as 2016.
These trends in communications systems have resulted in significant power supervision design challenges for engineers to solve. This article will detail these design challenges, discuss the traditional solutions and how they are falling short of next generation requirements. It will then explore how designers of mission-critical systems can more efficiently deal with the major trends in the industry including increasing processing power (“Moore’s law”), energy efficiency (“green”), reliability (“always on”) and design efficiency (“do more with less”).
Tomi says:
Coming to a supermarket near you: Plastic sensor circuits that digitize food freshness
New technology lets buyers “test” whether food is still safe to eat
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Sensors_and_Transducers/Sensors/Coming_to_a_supermarket_near_you_Plastic_sensor_circuits_that_digitize_food_freshness.aspx
a solution centered on a brand new invention: a plastic analog-digital converter (ADC).
The technology was presented at the recent International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco. While it is impressive to see a sensor circuit made of plastic, what’s even more noteworthy is the fact that it costs approximately one cent to manufacture.
“In principle that’s all already possible, using standard silicon ICs,” says researcher Eugenio Cantatore of Eindhoven University of Technology. “The only problem is they’re too expensive. They easily cost ten cents. And that cost is too much for a one euro bag of crisps. We’re now developing electronic devices that are made from plastic rather than silicon. The advantage is you can easily include these plastic sensors in plastic packaging.”
All plastic transistors behave differently in the low-cost production processes at low temperatures,”
Looking ahead, Cantatore says that it will probably take at least five years before buyers can expect to see this technology at the supermarket
Tomi says:
Implementing ZigBee Light Link for lighting control applications
ZigBee profiles provide interoperability between devices and applications
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Digital_ICs/Communications_Interface/Implementing_ZigBee_Light_Link_for_lighting_control_applications.aspx
ZigBee profiles define application-level communication protocols that provide interoperability between devices and applications from different vendors. Profiles are based on a number of target application areas such as smart energy, healthcare, telecom, and, most recently (April 2012), lighting. To also ensure networking interoperability it is required that ZigBee profiles are implemented on top of ZigBee PRO–compliant networking stacks.
he ZigBee PRO standard uses license-free 2.4-GHz frequency band with a 250-Kbit/s physical data rate and specifies important mechanisms for networking such as security, mesh routing, and network management.
Industry lighting leaders such as Philips, Osram and GE, together with ZigBee chip vendors, drove the design of the ZigBee Light Link (ZLL) profile. The ZLL profile specifies two main groups of devices: controllers (e.g. sensor, bridge, remote controller) and lighting devices (color light, dimmable light. etc.). An important part of the ZLL profile design is to ensure ease of installation and use of the devices without any prior technical knowledge. This is achieved by providing a thorough description of device commissioning procedure, extensive test coverage, and the absence of any optional functionality that can lead to interoperability issues.
Light Link–controlled devices can interoperate with home automation (HA) devices if they are joined to the same ZigBee network.
A new lighting device is added to a ZLL network via “touchlink” commissioning. To initiate this procedure, a controller device and a lighting device are put close to each other (typically within 20 to 50 cm), and the user presses a button on a controller that instigates a command exchange. During this step, network parameters are transferred to the lighting device, after which it becomes attached to the controller’s network. This operation is repeated for each new lighting device that has to be manipulated by the controller.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Transmit Light Instead of Electricity on PC Boards
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=260442&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily&dfpPParams=ind_183,industry_consumer,bid_27,aid_260442&dfpLayout=blog
Using electrical signals alone to transfer data has become too slow for the high-speed transfers becoming routine in datacenters and supercomputers. In datacenters, 10Gbit/s is now common in high-end servers and routers. Although fiber optics has replaced copper wires for communications connections outside the system, the time has come to move those speed advantages inside to board and chip data interconnects.
The search for materials that can meet the myriad challenges of board-to-board and chip-to-chip optical interconnects has been ongoing for several years. A new optical silicone-based material developed by Dow Corning and IBM promises to overcome most of those challenges to enable flexible, stable, and easily processable board-level polymer waveguides. The two companies debuted the material earlier this month in a presentation at the Photonics West 2013 conference in San Francisco.
So far, waveguide materials investigated have included glass, silicon, and various types of polymers. Materials must have the right performance characteristics, including mechanical and optical properties such as low loss and mechanical flexibility, while also being durable and stable enough to withstand high operating heat and humidity. To keep it cost-effective, the material must also be compatible with standard PC board processing equipment, and have a short processing time. Dow Corning has been conducting research into polymer waveguide silicones for the last 10 years.
The Dow/IBM material has been successfully processed using both deposition and photopatterning methods, and waveguides have been built in under 45 minutes.
Another advantage of polymer, and especially of silicone, is its flexibility, since space is often limited.
The Dow/IBM silicone material has losses as low as 0.03 dB/cm, which could enable links of greater than 1m.
Although the engineers now are designing boards for supercomputers and high-speed networking equipment, the same issues will eventually, and inevitably, migrate down to PCs. Polymer optical waveguides may be first placed outside the rigid PC board. But once they’re accepted as a reliable technology in the field, the ultimate vision is integrating them within the rigid board, said Jones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Forget the Cellphone Fight — We Should Be Allowed to Unlock Everything We Own
http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/03/you-dont-own-your-cellphones-or-your-cars/
While Congress is working on legislation to re-legalize cellphone unlocking, let’s acknowledge the real issue: The copyright laws that made unlocking illegal in the first place. Who owns our stuff? The answer used to be obvious. Now, with electronics integrated into just about everything we buy, the answer has changed.
We live in a digital age, and even the physical goods we buy are complex. Copyright is impacting more people than ever before because the line between hardware and software, physical and digital has blurred.
But we really don’t own our stuff anymore (at least not fully); the manufacturers do. Because modifying modern objects requires access to information: code, service manuals, error codes, and diagnostic tools. Modern cars are part horsepower, part high-powered computer. Microwave ovens are a combination of plastic and microcode. Silicon permeates and powers almost everything we own.
This is a property rights issue, and current copyright law gets it backwards, turning regular people — like students, researchers, and small business owners — into criminals.
Manufacturers have systematically used copyright in this manner over the past 20 years to limit our access to information.
Fixing our cars, tractors, and cellphones should have nothing to do with copyright.
Neighborhood car mechanics also see copyright as a noose constricting their ability to fix problems. The error codes in your car? Protected. The diagnostic tools used to access them? Proprietary software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Energy-Harvesting Soccer Ball Gets a Kickstart
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=260401&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
A New York-based startup is taking the idea of energy harvesting to a more philanthropic level through the use of something that can be found in nearly every country in the world — a soccer ball.
The founders of Uncharted Play Inc. have developed a prototype soccer ball, called SOCCKET, that captures the kinetic energy created when it is kicked or thrown.
The product is aimed at giving people in poorer countries access to energy where they otherwise may have none.
SOCCKET is made of a soft plastic material that is similar to the texture of a soccer ball and uses an energy harvester inside that swings like a pendulum whenever the ball moves. There the kinetic energy is converted to electrical energy through an internal circuit board and then stored in a battery that can be used by small electronic devices.
Playing with the ball for about 30 minutes will enable the battery inside to provide at least three hours of light
SOCCKET harvests and generates a modest 6W of energy. “In Mexico, for example, people have been replacing candlelight with SOCCKET, and that is offsetting the household income they were dedicating to buying candles,” Smith said.
SOCCKET is not meant to solve the energy poverty problem, but merely to call attention to it and provide an interim solution people deprived of electricity can use now, according to Smith. In the future the company hopes the soccer ball, which has universal appeal, can be used as a development model for other ways to harvest energy and provide affordable energy solutions to those that need it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ARM head legs it from core body: CEO Warren East retires
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/19/arm_warren_east_retiring/
ARM Holdings’ chief executive Warren East is stepping down after nearly 12 years leading the British tech success story.
East, 52, is retiring on 1 July, 2013, and will be replaced by 45-year-old ARM president Simon Segars, processor core designer ARM confirmed this morning.
ARM chairman John Buchanan said in a statement that East had transformed ARM during his tenure – from a single processor product line found mainly in mobile phones and other handheld gadgets to a broad portfolio of technologies used in nine billion chips.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Then there were 3: Micron slowly ‘wipes out’ NAND flash rivals
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/19/micron_flash_numero_uno/
Hands up who thought Samsung was the world’s leading flash shipper? Well, according to a Micron VP, it is his company that’s the biggest shipper of NAND flash in the business, bigger than both Samsung and Hynix.
Micron makes DRAM, NAND and NOR flash chips.
“If we specifically broke out our SSD revenues, we’d probably be the largest SSD public company today.”
Bedard sketched out the history of the DRAM and flash manufacturing business, saying that the DRAM business had seen many players who had become consolidated to just three: Hynix, Micron and Samsung.
The DRAM business had been driven by increasing PC and notebook demand. Not so today.
The NAND business “started from a consolidated basis. There were basically four of us that had the technology or still developing the technology that would be … Micron, Samsung, Hynix and a combination, Toshiba and SanDisk.”
Micron’s flash business is most profitable in the enterprise area. Bedard said: “If I had to guess, we’re probably running on a revenue basis somewhere around 80 to 85 per cent client, 15 to 20 per cent enterprise. Enterprise obviously … is more profitable.”
Watch out 2014: flash is going to kick serious storage butt.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Consolidation and EDA innovation
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/practical-chip-design/4410229/Consolidation-and-EDA-innovation
According to a poll conducted by EDAC, and presented at the EDAC Consortium’s CEO forecast, 74% of respondents think that consolidation within the EDA industry has been bad for innovation.
Having been in both startups and large EDA companies, I am somewhat surprised by this number and feel that I have to weigh in a little here, because I think the kinds of innovation that happen in both is essential for the health of our industry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Contactless connectivity platform targets applications that contain moving parts
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4410058/Contactless-connectivity-platform-targets-applications-that-contain-moving-parts
TE Connectivity has unveiled a new technology platform that will allow the delivery of robust power, signals and data without any physical connectors or contact, in virtually any environment. The ARISO contactless connectivity solution integrates seamlessly wireless power and radio frequency (RF) technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Technology That Engineers Love Not Thinking About
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=2732&doc_id=260355&&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
When I purchase a new product, whether online or at a store, nine times out of 10 everything works without a hitch.
Just like many of you, I’ve gotten used to and expect things to just work, update, sync, connect, and arrive on time every time. I often forget how much work goes on behind the scenes to make the products or services we rely on every day work as expected.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Obsolescence, counterfeiting and COTS: Understanding the consequences
http://www.eetimes.com/design/military-aerospace-design/4410180/Obsolescence–counterfeiting-and-COTS–Understanding-the-consequences
In the last decade, the obsolescence of electronic components including passive components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors as well as integrated circuits (ICs) has become a challenging issue for many OEMs and design houses in the avionics, military and space (AMS) market. Many of the precision resistors and ICs that were designed into systems from the early 90s and into the beginning of the 21st century are, unfortunately, becoming obsolete or difficult to get for reasons beyond the control of these companies.
The reasons can vary. They range from the rejection by specific industries of tin-lead terminations or pressure from purchasing and management to reduce the cost of the bill of materials (BOM), often by searching for substitutes from Asia.
Whatever the specific causes, the results have been quite negative. Many AMS manufacturers have seen unintended consequences in their shift from traditional established-reliability precision resistors qualified by the Defense Electronics Supply Center (also called DSCC) to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) resistors. Pressure to reduce prices has actually hastened obsolescence and counterfeiting while encouraging some suppliers to publish less definitive datasheets that mask the very real differences between their low-priced products and military-qualified devices with full supportive data.
In the 1960s, the start of the exponential growth of electronics in military systems, communication satellites, and space exploration brought about the need for specific base-line performance standards for high-reliability components. Design engineers needed to be certain that components would perform the exact same way with known reliability regardless of manufacturer. That was the only way to be sure that systems operated the same way over different life cycles. It also ensured that replacement parts could be used without changing fundamental performance criteria and with no reduction in reliability.
Beyond standardizing performance, military specifications specified the testing protocols underlying the data used in statistical analysis to define various levels of reliability. Any manufacturer who qualified to these specifications and maintained the continuing testing could supply parts against these specifications. All manufacturers who qualified were considered to be equal.
Military-qualified components came at an added cost. Qualification and maintenance were an expensive burden on the manufacturers and they had to be included in the component price.
As the use of qualified parts expanded into nearly every military and space project, the quest for new systems and extraordinary performance began to be moderated by the need to reduce the cost of the required components. So interest developed in using standard commercial components rather than fully qualified parts. Eventually these became known as commercial-off-the-shelf, or COTS components.
COTS components are less expensive because there are no uniform test and documentation protocols as there are in the military specifications.
With COTS, the design and purchasing decisions are focused on price, manufacturer claims, and BOM costs. Equipment reliability becomes separated from parts and production costs. Purchasers are encouraged to buy from the cheapest source, equipment reliability is no longer linked to parts purchased, and repair costs increase along with field failures.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Evolution of Real-Time Testing
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/pub/p/id/1110
Real-time testing involves the use of a real-time environment to implement a test application. Engineers use real-time testing techniques primarily to achieve greater reliability and/or determinism in a test system. These techniques also play a critical role in the development of many of today’s products and systems. Examples include durability, life-cycle, and other test systems that operate for long durations or with extended operator absence requiring the superior reliability provided by real-time execution platforms, as well as environmental test cells, dynamometers, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulators, and similar test systems that use closed-loop control execution, which requires the low-jitter determinism of real-time execution platforms.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Product How-To: Active balancing solutions for series-connected batteries
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4410154/Product-How-To–Active-balancing-solutions-for-series-connected-batteries
Large, high-voltage rechargeable battery systems are now common sources of power in applications ranging from electric vehicles to power grid load leveling systems. These large battery stacks are comprised of series/parallel arrays of individual battery cells, and are capable of storing enormous amounts of energy (tens of kilowatt-hours). Lithium polymer or LiFePO4 cells are common technology choices due to their high energy density and high peak power capability.
As in single-cell applications, careful control of the charging and monitoring of the cells is essential to ensure safe operation and prevent premature aging or damage to the battery. However, unlike single-cell systems, series-connected battery stacks present an additional requirement: cell balancing.
All Series-Connected Cells Need to be Balanced
The cells in a battery stack are “balanced” when every cell in the stack possesses the same state of charge (SoC). SoC refers to the current remaining capacity of an individual cell relative to its maximum capacity as the cell charges and discharges. For example, a 10A-hr cell with 5A-hrs of remaining capacity has a 50% state of charge (SoC).
All battery cells must be kept within an SoC range to avoid damage or lifetime degradation. The allowable SoC min and max levels vary from application to application. In applications where battery run time is of primary importance, all cells may operate between a min SoC of 20% and a max of 100% (or a fully charged state).
Applications that demand the longest battery lifetime may constrain the SoC range from 30% min to 70% max. These are typical SoC limits found in electric vehicles and grid storage systems, which utilize very large and expensive batteries with an extremely high replacement cost.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Certified Optos Ensure Safer Isolation System Designs
http://www.avagoresponsecenter.com/715/Copied/356be963-7950-48f4-a691-3c9070c0b37f
MTF Testing Shows Optos are More Reliable
This investigative report includes repeatable, mean-time-to-failure testing of the three most popular isolation barrier solutions: optocouplers, capacitive and magnetic isolators; in SOIC packages. You may be shocked by the results!
An example of an optocoupler standard is VDE0884 which was subsequently replaced by DIN/EN 60747-5-2/
DIN/EN 60747-5-5. This standard was developed to address all of the specifi c safety aspects of optocoupler technology.
One of the key achievements of this standard is the implementation of 100% manufacturing test methodology. This methodology is able to reliably prove the long-term high-voltage endurance of every manufactured optocoupler.
In recent years, alternative isolators using diff erent coupling technologies, e.g. magnetic and capacitive isolators, have been introduced to the market. These alternative isolators are typically built using ultra thin (10 um – 20 um) insulation layers, while optocouplers have insulation thicknesses of 80 um to 1000 um. The thinner insulation barrier in the alternative isolators experiences higher electric-fi eld stress for the same working voltage, and thus may be more prone to failure than the optocouplers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teardown: Cell-phone charger: nice idea done right
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4408109/Cell-phone-charger–nice-idea-done-right
Back in November 2012, EDN Brand Director Patrick Mannion published a teardown of a cell-phone battery charger. The design was not well done and received bad reviews. Redemption!
I recently acquired a Mophie juice pack powerstation mini smartphone and USB-device battery charger that not only negates the previous teardown fiasco but also demonstrates the ability to provide more than twice the battery life to your smartphone while still keeping a low-profile shape that slips right into your pocket.
There are three USB specifications—USB 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0—but here we focus on USB 2.0, as it’s by far the most common.
there are three kinds of USB ports dictated by the current specs: a standard downstream port, a charging downstream port, and a dedicated charging port.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nvidia claims that fabbing big chips is not difficult
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2256404/nvidia-claims-that-fabbing-big-chips-is-not-difficult
CHIP DESIGNER Nvidia admitted at its GPU Technology Conference (GTC) today that physically large GPUs have difficulty passing verification.
With Nvidia’s Volta GPU architecture stacking DRAM on the same silicon substrate as the GPU, it will require the firm to increase the size of its chips.
Nvidia’s decision to stack DRAM will bring both performance and capacity benefits but it will result in the firm sending larger chip designs to TSMC.
Typically fabs such as TSMC, Globalfoundries and UMC are judged on their yield, that is, the percentage of chips that pass verification. Gupta is indeed right when he says that it isn’t harder to fab larger chips, but the probability of a chip having a defect goes up as chip size – either in physical dimensions or more commonly transistors – increases.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Laser pointers produce too much energy, pose risks for the careless
NIST study finds 90% of green lasers are in violation of federal regs
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/laser-pointers-produce-too-much-energy-pose-risks-careless
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) study on the properties of handheld laser devices that tested 122 of the devices and found that nearly 90% of green pointers and about 44% of red pointers tested were out of federal safety regulation compliance.
“Handheld lasers (laser pointers) have been around for decades. However recent advances in laser technology have had a dramatic impact, enabling low-cost, high power laser pointers at a variety of visible wavelengths. These powerful lasers have found their way into society in large numbers and are being operated by people who may be unfamiliar with their potential for eye injury, resulting in increased reports of retinal injuries,”
Green lasers generate green light from infrared light. Ideally, the device should be designed and manufactured to confine the infrared light within the laser housing. However, according to the new NIST results, more than 75 percent of the devices tested emitted infrared light in excess of the CFR limit, NIST stated.
Green lasers in particular have gotten a bad reputation for being used by chuckleheads who think it is fun to point them at low flying aircraft.
The FAA has begun to impose civil penalties against individuals who point a laser device at an aircraft.
The FAA says the increase in annual laser reports is likely due to a number of factors
Tomi Engdahl says:
Creating solutions for health through technology innovation
http://www.eetimes.com/design/medical-design/4410306/Creating-solutions-for-health-through-technology-innovation
Medical care provides a diverse growth opportunity for designers and manufacturers of electronic systems. The growth is fueled by new discoveries, the need to contain treatment costs and enhance diagnostics, and the increasing number of people who are demanding affordable medical care.
Electronics in health care
Health care is advancing rapidly around the world, driven by new medical discoveries and ongoing demographic and economic changes. Industrial countries are experiencing an aging population, while countries in development are demanding better basic health care to match their newly won prosperity. At the same time, new tests, procedures and medicines make medical care increasingly expensive, forcing the containment of costs even while overall effectiveness improves. In addition, better-informed patients now demand to know more about their health and the treatment they receive, and they are backed by legislative initiatives to make medical data more readily available. All of these factors underline the need for more cost-efficient, more therapeutically effective means of delivering health care.
Electronic systems have an important role to play in meeting all these expectations. New developments in IC manufacturing and design help make medical systems smaller, more power efficient, more accurate, less expensive and more easily integrated into information networks. The result is that the entire health care chain —ranging from hospitals, labs and emergency vehicles, to physicians’ offices and clinics, homes and even wearable devices — can provide more effective diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of patient conditions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Rise Of Embedded Vision
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/now-hear-this/4410236/The-Rise-Of-Embedded-Vision
One of the hot topics in Embedded Space at the moment is that of Embedded Vision – the creation of machines that see.
Embedded vision is everywhere around us, including industrial automation, surveillance, automotive safety systems, medical devices, and the hottest kids’ toys. The number of embedded systems using vision is increasing at an incredible rate — if you’re not involved in this technology now, the chances are you will be soon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Si vs. GaN vs. SiC: Which process and supplier are best for my power design?
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4409627/Si-vs–GaN-vs–SiC–Which-process-and-supplier-are-best-for-my-power-design-
As silicon (Si), gallium-nitride (GaN), and silicon-carbide (SiC) processes are maturing, so, too, are their suppliers’ expertise and creativity. It is worthwhile to examine the pros and cons of each process, as well as what is unique about the suppliers of the power elements fabricated on these processes. All of these components factor into the decision on the right solution for a particular design.
As the race toward leadership in the power element continues to evolve, industry experts have said that by mid-2013 about half a dozen GaN, Si, and SiC suppliers will reveal process enhancements, new architectures, and the latest new capabilities that will bring new choices and tools to the industry.
Wireless power for charging mobile devices « Tomi Engdahl’s ePanorama blog says:
[...] power for charging mobile devices Wireless power has become a hot topic as wireless charging of mobile devices is get getting some popularity. Wireless charging for Qi technology is becoming the industry standard (pushed by Wireless Power [...]
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ultra-high speed optical communications link raises bar on power efficiency
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/03/ofc-optical-power-record.html
By combining circuits in IBM’s 32-nanometer silicon-on-insulator complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (SOI CMOS) technology with advanced vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photodetectors fabricated by Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations USA (formerly Emcore), Proesel and his colleagues have created a power-efficient optical communication link operating at 25 gigabits per second using just 24 milliwatts of total wall-plug power, or 1 pJ/bit.
“We’re continuing the push for lower power and higher speed in optical communications. There will always be demand to move more data with less energy, and that’s what we’re working toward.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Printed electronics firm prints more money in quest for safer poultry
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/thinfilm_money/
Printed electronics pioneer Thinfim successfully squeezed shareholders for another 26.8m Norwegian Kroner yesterday, following the announcement of a real customer for its printed memory circuits.
Ongoing work involves temperature monitoring, recording the temperature when it dips below or above a preset level, such things being important in food safety.
The problem with printed electronics, beyond the immediate problem of laying down components with a printing machine, is interfacing with the rest of the – unprinted – world. Thinfilm addresses some of that
The future is obviously radio, perhaps modified RFID or something akin to Kovio’s NFC Barcodes, but not any of the existing standards as Thinfilm reckons they’re all tricky to integrate into printed systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What to consider when selecting medical device interconnects
http://www.eetimes.com/design/medical-design/4410764/What-to-consider-when-selecting-medical-device-interconnects?Ecosystem=communications-design
Technology advances in electronic consumer devices and the telecommunications industry are converging at a rapid rate with medical device technology. For example, the medical industry now embraces membrane switches from the appliance industry and relies on mobile phone interconnects within portable medical monitoring devices. In addition, super-precise surgical tools have been further improved by combining advanced fiber optic and interconnect design technologies.
Converged technologies like these have not only greatly enhanced the ability of healthcare professionals to provide direct patient care in clinics and hospital settings but have also helped monitor patient conditions remotely.
Healthcare reform has also stimulated integrated approaches for patient diagnostics and real-time patient monitoring. Today’s telecommunications systems provide the super highway for managing digital information as illustrated by Picture Archival and communications systems (PACS). PACS enables images such as x-rays and scans to be stored electronically and viewed on screens
Whereas medical interconnects have traditionally been supported by specialty manufacturers, industry trends are increasingly leaning towards standards from other industries, such as consumer electronics and telecommunications.
When developing medical devices, manufacturers must consider durability and reliability to a greater degree compared to the consumer and telecommunications market. That’s because medical devices are expected to last for many years, and in cases where devices are invasive to the human body, they must perform consistently in relatively harsh environments. This is a real challenge as it relates to the use of industry-standard interconnects in the medical environment, where the form factor may be correct, but the materials and lifecycle may not match.
Tomi says:
Why Computing Won’t Be Limited By Moore’s Law. Ever
http://readwrite.com/2013/03/30/computing-wont-be-limited-by-moores-law-ever
In less than 20 years, experts predict, we will reach the physical limit of how much processing capability can be squeezed out of silicon-based processors in the heart of our computing devices. But a recent scientific finding that could completely change the way we build computing devices may simply allow engineers to sidestep any obstacles.
The breakthrough from materials scientists at IBM Research doesn’t sound like a big deal. In a nutshell, they claim to have figured out how to convert metal oxide materials, which act as natural insulators, to a conductive metallic state. Even better, the process is reversible.
There’s a lot more research ahead before this technology sees practical applications.
Tomi says:
Globalfoundries shows working 20nm TSV silicon
Should whet AMD’s appetite
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2258956/globalfoundries-shows-working-20nm-tsv-silicon
WAFER MAKER Globalfoundries has announced that it demonstrated chip stacking using through-silicon vias (TSV) on its 20nm process node.
Spun off from AMD and perhaps best known for fabbing AMD’s processors, Globalfoundries has been investigating TSVs as a method of stacking chips, much like rival chip foundry TSMC. Now the firm just announced that it has demonstrated working 20nm silicon that incorporates TSVs.
AMD has already said that it is waiting for the move to 20nm, presumably with Globalfoundries, however it is likely that fabbing TSVs at 20nm will take longer.
Globalfoundries didn’t say when its 20nm TSV process will be ready for volume production
Tomi Engdahl says:
My Opinion on Testing Without ATS
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=261132
Automated test software, or ATS, is nothing new. But as systems grow in complexity, the need for automated testing, and likewise automated testing software, grows correspondingly. The data points of current systems are becoming so immense that it’s not feasible to deploy anything other than automated testing.
It’s no surprise that there’s a correlation between increased system complexity and the need for a greater focus on test software quality.
As the folks at NI will tell you, “Software engineering best practices ensure that test systems meet increasingly demanding feature and performance requirements.”
One of the keys to automated test software is that it can execute tasks, especially repetitive tasks, very quickly. The downside to that phenomenon is that if you have set up the wrong test, or are testing for the wrong variable/characteristic/criteria, you’ll get a ton of data — useless data.
Another aspect of automated test software is that it won’t necessarily reduce the costs associated with your testing process. It can make immense improvements in the process, but isn’t likely to save you any money, at least in the short term. This is a common misnomer. The real key is the savings you’ll reap in the long term.
Tomi Engdahl says:
System Update – SoC design trends; FPGA-based IDE; 16nm Cortex-A57
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/other/4411142/System-Update—SoC-design-trends–FPGA-based-IDE–16nm-Cortex-A57-
16nm ARM Cortex-A57
ARM and TSMC recently announced the first successful tapeout of ARM’s Cortex-A57 processor on TSMC’s 16nm FinFET process technology. The two companies completed the implementation from RTL to tapeout in six months using ARM Artisan physical IP, TSMC memory macros, and an EDA design chain drawn from TSMC’s OIP (Open Innovation Platform) ecosystem and ARM’s Connected Community partners. According to ARM’s Tom Cronk, executive vice president and general manager, Processor Division, ARM, this “… first ARM Cortex-A57 processor implementation paves the way for our mutual customers to leverage the performance and power efficiency of 16nm FinFET technology.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Programmable hall switch extends flexibility of detection circuit designs
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4410957/Programmable-hall-switch-extends-flexibility-of-detection-circuit-designs
Diodes Incorporated has introduced a programmable omnipolar Hall effect switch enabling designers to use the same contactless detection circuit in multiple applications or with different field strengths.
The miniature and micropower AH1898 is suitable for numerous portable consumer applications including cell phones, tablets and cameras as well as a variety of domestic, office and industrial equipment.
AH1898 features a band-select pin, which allows device sensitivity to be changed to one of two predefined magnetic sensitivity ranges.
The AH1898 Hall switch has been optimized for use across a 1.6 V to 3.6
Tomi Engdahl says:
MPPE Insulation & the Incredible, Shrinking Medical Device
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1365&doc_id=257813
With today’s rapidly advancing technology, there is a medical arms race to promote healthy living and proper care in all regions of the world. Although the average levels of care can be drastically different, smaller, and thus, more portable, medical devices help bridge the gap between developed and developing markets.
With an aging population across the globe, the same devices found in hospitals are transitioning to the home, where the need for portability and ease of use is even greater. Coupled with the high costs associated with inpatient care, many with chronic conditions are finding this option more cost-effective and more convenient.
When designing an application to be smaller, it’s often the smallest components, such as the wire and cable, that tend to get overlooked. However, when the arms or the body of a device shrinks, the wire and cable needed to power it must shrink as well to obtain the required flexibility and motion. MPPE insulation is able to achieve this result through its inherently superior characteristics.
MPPE, which stands for modified polyphenylene ether, is a thermoplastic that is inherently lighter and tougher than traditional PVC. Its superior dielectric properties allow for less insulation when used on wire and cable, resulting in reduced wall thickness.
When paired with wire, MPPE insulation can result in a hook-up wire that is up to 45 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter, with 10 times the abrasion resistance of standard PVC hook-up wire.
MPPE’s capabilities are not only limited to hook-up wire. The insulation can be formulated and used across a wide variety of configurations, including multiconductor static and flexing cables.
MPPE’s wide temperature range and high dielectric strength, combined with its flame resistance, allowed Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to approve of MPPE as a suitable insulation or jacket for more than 100 AWM cable styles and a VW-1 flame rating.
Not only is MPPE revolutionary for its size and performance, but also for its recyclability. MPPE is 100-percent recyclable, the first of its kind in the wire and cable industry. The compound contains no halogens, phthalates, or heavy metals, thus meeting RoHS and WEEE requirements for the elimination of hazardous substances and recyclability.
Traditional PVC insulation found in many medical devices contains harmful halogens such as fluorine and chlorine that emit toxic acids when disposed of at the end of their lifecycles.
MPPE insulation has helped to disprove the myth that green products require a trade of decreased performance for environmental benefit.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Declining Production Fault Coverage?
…Consider Embedded Test
Structural test coverage is declining due to advanced packaging and PCB technologies (HDI) which are limiting test access points. Today’s coverage has fallen below 50% for many high density products.
Declining coverage and increasing clock speeds are resulting in unpredictable OS boot failures and difficult fault identification. Embedded hardware test provides a solution for quickly identifying proper component operation for all data paths and provides detailed information for fault isolation.
Source: http://info.kozio.com/index.php/email/emailWebview?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRolsqjLZKXonjHpfsX67%2B8uXbHr08Yy0EZ5VunJEUWy3IMJRNQ%2FcOedCQkZHblFnVwIQ629UKINoqcI
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aluminum-air battery fuels electric vehicle for 1,000 miles
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Power_Products/Batteries_and_Fuel_Cells/Aluminum-air_battery_fuels_electric_vehicle_for_1_000_miles.aspx
New technology shows remarkable capability for producing energy
A new type of aluminum-air battery has proven capable of providing enough energy to power an electric vehicle for up to 1,000 miles — with only occasional stops to take on more water.
The company behind the battery is Phinergy, an Israeli developer of metal-air energy systems.
For those unfamiliar with the technology, metal-air batteries get their energy via interaction between oxygen and metals, with the metal acting as the cathode, the oxygen in the air serving as the cathode, and water being used as an electrolyte.
Once the plate of aluminum is depleted, it turns to aluminum hydroxide. The metal is considered unusable and needs to be replaced / recycled in an aluminum factory.
As the water is used, it too needs to be replaced. On average, the system needs a water fill-up every 200 miles or so.
What makes Phinergy’s system worth covering is that it seems to have solved a long-standing issue with metal-air batteries.
Air-metal batteries are a unique form of portable power in that they use metal as a fuel source as opposed to a battery component. Replacing the metal when it is depleted can be costly.
Phinergy states that they believe cars using their aluminum-air batteries will be sold commercially come 2017.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Switching from CCFL to LED backlighting
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Optoelectronics/LEDs/Switching_from_CCFL_to_LED_backlighting.aspx
Here are some options available for liquid crystal display backlighting
There are currently four options for backlighting a display: (1) continue to use CCFLs with dc/ac inverters for as long as parts are available, (2) make an easy switch to an LED driver using a number of options currently on the market such as kits and drop-ins, (3) choose an LED driver, standard or newly designed, for an LED display that does not come with an onboard driver, and (4) for the display that has an onboard driver, it is possible to use the system’s existing input power signals and convert the analog dimming signal used for the inverter into a PWM signal for the LED driver.
CCFL still hanging on
CCFLs are not entirely dead yet, and they are still an option for certain legacy applications (for example, medical and point-of-sale) where a re-design for LED backlighting is not yet necessary or economical.
The majority of LCD users, however, are switching to LED backlights.
If you are sourcing a driver for an LED backlit LCD, you have a few options that can make the switch surprisingly fast and easy.
One option is a development kit available for OEM LED-backlit LCDs that includes everything necessary to get the panel, backlight and driver fully operational.
For CCFL designs already in the field, it’s possible to swap an LED rail for the CCFL lamp, or tube. LED rails are available on a long, narrow PC board that fits into a metal channel or “rail” that is similar in form factor to the channel in which CCFLs are commonly fitted. These are available as a drop-in replacement
There are many standard LED drivers available on the market today. However, LED backlights create new challenges for the power supply driving the BLU, challenges that cannot be met by the many single-chip ICs currently available. Getting optimum performance from LED BLUs requires a full-function power supply,
Another option is to integrate an LED display into an existing design by providing interconnectivity from the existing controller or power supply to the LCD backlight driver.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chip design – it’s not rocket science
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/practical-chip-design/4411128/Chip-design—it-s-not-rocket-science
While advancements have been made in the past few decades, it has been quite yawn inspiring compared to what the semiconductor and EDA industry goes through all the time. We have overcome limitations in materials, developed software to handle the huge levels of complexity and overcome lithographic anomalies created by used long wavelengths of light.
Right now we are dealing with lithographic geometries that are one tenth the wavelength of the light we are using, devices that are measured in the single digits of atoms, a billion devices on a chip where we expect them all to function correctly, and for the whole thing to be designed and verified often within six months.
GlobalFoundries who announced a milestone in the creation of 3D stacking of chips. They demonstrated a 20nm silicon wafer with integrated Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs).
ARM and TSMC who have their first tape-out of an ARM® Cortex™-A57 processor on FinFET process technology. The test chip was implemented using a commercially available 16nm FinFET tool chain.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Benchside chat: Can capacitor banks replace batteries in off-grid systems?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/outside-the-box-/4410820/Benchside-chat–Can-capacitor-banks-replace-batteries-in-off-grid-systems-
The electronics involved is an inverter, to convert from 12 V of the battery to 120 V rms of the power distribution system in the house, the same as in houses in North America (except Ted Dukaish’s “structures” on his compound in NW Pennsylvania; he uses 120 V dc instead!). And a low-cost solar charger adds a marginally-useful function of keeping the battery bank from being overcharged, though this is occasionally desirable (in a controlled way) to make the weakest cells in the batteries fully charged. (This process is called equalization because it is intended to equalize the charge on all the cells in series in a battery.)
The most troublesome component of this off-grid electric system is the battery bank because it is increasing expensive (as the price of lead (Pb) skyrockets) and especially in the warm tropics, where the Law of Arrhenius works against homesteaders in causing the batteries to react more vigorously and have shortened lives with fewer charge-discharge cycles.
The best solution I have found for the “battery-bank problem” is to replace them with a technology that is old and unavailable from U.S. manufacturers. The old Edison Co. made nickel-iron batteries whose marvelous features (for the user, not the manufacturer)
Edison developed in his day an electric car that is in the Ford Museum in Detroit (or more precisely, in Dearborn, Michigan) and it runs on its original century-old NiFe batteries.
The only maintenance involved is to replace the electrolyte every 15 years, a rather safe and cheap lithium compound in solution and not an acid.
As I see it, NiFe batteries are the “final solution” to the battery-bank problem.
As for disadvantages, charging efficiency is less than lead-acid, but with the decreasing cost of solar panels, buying a larger solar array is preferred to periodic purchase of expensive batteries. They also do not retain a charge as well, but for daily charging this is not a major factor. The largest disadvantage is that the electrochemical reaction involved is weaker than in lead-acid chemistry and large transient surges of current cannot be pulled from them.
The NiFe batteries do not charge as fully as they could (though this does not reduce their life as it would lead-acid batteries) using a lead-acid-battery charger. A possibly better solution is to use a capacitor bank instead in parallel with the NiFe bank and charge fully.
Electrolytic capacitors have much higher charge density than plastic capacitors but not the breakdown voltage, and do not result in a viable solution either. Double-layer (or “super”) electrolytic capacitors come closer, but still require an imposing magnitude, a cost in the thousands of US dollars.
Conclusion? C-banks do not have the charge density or specific charge to be feasible
Tomi Engdahl says:
There’s No Excuse for Not Designing Virtually
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=261142&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
Thomas Edison was at the forefront in the early days of the electrical industry. He was an empiric who spared no expense in his pursuit to push forward. Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Imagine saying the same thing in the workplace today: “I have tried 9,751 different designs that didn’t work, on to the next.”
With all the computing power at the world’s fingertips, virtual design has gone from pen and paper to a complete design environment populated with virtual components that can be constructed and tested in larger, more complex, systems. With virtually no overhead in building multiple revisions, it only makes sense to design virtually first, before a build is attempted. The virtual approach should also be applied to testing, monitoring, and evaluating. Often enough, design on the job follows the Edison style, but it’s time to go Sprague — it’s time to go virtual.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thingsquare Offers Open-Source Firmware to Enable Internet of Things
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=261493&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
“The idea behind Thingsquare Mist is to make it easy to connect low-power wireless devices to the Internet, so that they can be connected with smartphone apps or backend databases,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Self-Assembled Devices May Transform Manufacturing
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=261138&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
Engineers are developing multiple technologies to create devices that self-assemble or self-reconfigure, from synthetic DNA to robotic building blocks. Some may eventually create materials tailored for specific functions, or energy-harvesting and drug-delivery devices. Others may be used to copy objects for rapid prototyping, make replacement parts for other systems, or repair themselves. Self-assembling and self-reconfiguring robots that change their shapes and functions to fit the task and environment may serve as rescue robots and planetary explorers, or completely replace the manufacturing processes of certain consumer goods. All of these techniques are still in R&D.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Convergence of Safety & Control
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=261158
For the better part of the last decade, a vigorous and healthy debate has ensued over separate versus integrated safety and control systems. While the debate continues in some quarters, the de facto outcome is clear: Integrated safety is becoming predominant in automation strategies as these systems continue to converge. Technology has been the principal driver of this convergence as new products demand more advanced safety functionality, and others provide the means to deliver it.
Separate no more
Historically, safety and control systems were separate.
This approach had numerous drawbacks, including:
Material and labor costs associated with wiring;
Diminished production due to line shutdowns necessary for system maintenance;
Lack of programmable control.
As technology advanced, safety systems became increasingly configurable and programmable, allowing system maintenance without equipment shutdown or undue work stoppage. This increased throughput and improved operational efficiency.
The new solutions
In integrated safety systems, the controller and safety network architecture operate within a single CPU to manage both control and monitoring of safety and non-safety functions. This is called a “networked solution.” The development of networking technologies allows safety to be administered over a network — something that wasn’t possible a decade ago. The rapid implementation of distributed control and safety systems is leading to the proliferation of devices with built-in networked safety.
Tomi says:
Automotive Electronics in 2013 and Beyond – Batteries Bear a Burden
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Power_Products/Power_Management/Automotive_Electronics_in_2013_and_Beyond_–_Batteries_Bear_a_Burden.aspx
This year will see automotive electronics designers approach power management (PM) more like their mobile industry counterparts.
While it may seem a fringe concern, the burgeoning security, convenience, connectivity, safety, and infotainment features of tomorrow’s vehicles will drive design and component choices that address standby power consumption. Despite sizable batteries in vehicles, there are still corner-case risks of premature battery exhaustion due to light driving habits and car electronics that “sleep only lightly”. Just as cabin illumination from an open car door could drain a battery overnight, too many stealthy electronics nibbling at the reservoir can pose a similar risk.
Tomi says:
Electronic Products looks at the forecast for low-end smartphones and the top suppliers of baseband ICs
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Analog_Mixed_Signal_ICs/Communications/Infographics.aspx
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tiny Chiplets: A New Level of Micro Manufacturing
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/science/tiny-chiplets-are-a-new-level-of-micro-manufacturing.html
Under a microscope, four slivers of silicon — electronic circuits called chiplets — perform an elaborate, jerky dance as if controlled by a hidden puppet master. Then on command, they all settle with pinpoint accuracy, precisely touching a pattern of circuit wires, each at just the right point of contact.
The technology, on display at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC, is part of a new system for making electronics
If perfected, it could lead to desktop manufacturing plants that “print” the circuitry for a wide array of electronic devices
they have designed a laser-printer-like machine that will precisely place tens or even hundreds of thousands of chiplets, each no larger than a grain of sand, on a surface in exactly the right location and in the right orientation.
The new manufacturing system the PARC researchers envision could be used to build custom computers one at a time, or as part of a 3-D printing system that makes smart objects with computing woven right into them.
PARC team that has designed the new technology that they have dubbed “Xerographic micro-assembly.”
The PARC technology is based on the ability to use computing and an array of electrodes that generate microscopic electrical fields to control the precise placement of tiny electronic circuits — not just in the correct position, but with the proper orientation as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
From Prototyping to Production, Distributors Can Help
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=261599&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
If you’re a design engineer who’s struggling to understand the growing proliferation of electronic components on the market, and you’re trying to learn about all those parts while juggling multiple projects, here’s a tip: You can get help from distributors.
Sure, distributors want to sell components. They’re looking for your business. Increasingly, though, they’re willing to provide design and engineering help to get it. “They want a design win,”
Big distributors such as Avnet Inc., Allied Electronics, Digi-Key, Element14, Future Electronics, Mouser Electronics, and AutomationDirect employ design services and application engineers to give themselves a competitive edge. For OEM designers, the benefit is far more technical insight on components than they could get with a Google search.
Though there are no hard numbers on how many design engineers rely on distributors for design help, the ECIA says most electronics engineers are familiar with such services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electrical Engineer Unemployment Soars; Software Developers’ Rate Drops to 2.2%
http://developers.slashdot.org/story/13/04/09/2257223/electrical-engineer-unemployment-soars-software-developers-rate-drops-to-22
“The unemployment rate for people at the heart of many tech innovations — electrical engineers — soared in the first quarter of this year to 6.5%. That’s nearly double the unemployment rate from last year”
Comment:
One cause for the lack of demand of electrical engineers is that the hardware design and manufacturing is located to cheaper countries. However this also means that the competence level of the existing engineers declines slowly since they lack the experience from production.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chiplets: The future of circuitry?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57578663-76/chiplets-the-future-of-circuitry/
Xerox technology would allow companies to “print” circuitry for electronics, rather than use today’s wafers.
Referred to as Xerographic microassembly, the technology is based on the idea of laser printing and could one day become the most efficient way to bring circuitry to electronics products, Xerox claims.
The so-called “chiplets” can be everything from microprocessors to computer memory to other lesser-known components in the average computer.
Xerox admitted to the Times that the technology is still in its early stages of testing, and it won’t make a play for the chip market anytime soon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
System Update – SoC design trends; FPGA-based IDE; 16nm Cortex-A57
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/systems-interface/4411142/System-Update—SoC-design-trends–FPGA-based-IDE–16nm-Cortex-A57-
SoC design trends
As designers pile more cores into SoCs, the implementation of OCCNs (on-chip communications networks) is critical for overall efficiency. In a recent study, Sonics conducted a blind independent survey of design and verification professionals looking for the latest SoC OCCN trends. In this case, OCCN includes an SoC’s entire interconnect fabric, including crossbars, NoCs (networks-on-chip), crossbars, peripheral interconnect, and multi-layer bus matrices.
16nm ARM Cortex-A57
ARM and TSMC recently announced the first successful tapeout of ARM’s Cortex-A57 processor on TSMC’s 16nm FinFET process technology.