Here is my list of electronics industry trends and predictions for 2016:
There was a huge set of mega mergers in electronics industry announced in 2015. In 2016 we will see less mergers and how well the existing mergers went. Not all of the major acquisitions will succeed. Probably the the biggest challenge in these mega-mergers is “creating merging cultures or–better yet–creating new ones”.
Makers and open hardware will boost innovation in 2016. Open source has worked well in the software community, and it is coming more to hardware side. Maker culture encourages people be creators of technology rather than just consumers of it. A combination of the maker movement and robotics is preparing children for a future in which innovation and creativity will be more important than ever: robotics is an effective way for children as young as four years old to get experience in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics as well as programming and computer science. The maker movement is inspiring children to tinker-to-learn. Popular DIY electronics platforms include Arduino, Lego Mindstorms, Raspberry Pi, Phiro and LittleBits. Some of those DIY electronics platforms like Arduino and Raspberry Pi are finding their ways into commercial products for example in 3D printing, industrial automation and Internet of Things application fields.
Open source processors core gains more traction in 2016. RISC-V is on the march as an open source alternative to ARM and Mips. Fifteen sponsors, including a handful of high tech giants, are queuing up to be the first members of its new trade group for RISC-V. Currently RISC-V runs Linux and NetBSD, but not Android, Windows or any major embedded RTOSes. Support for other operating systems is expected in 2016. For other open source processor designs, take a look at OpenCores.org, the world’s largest site/community for development of hardware IP cores as open source.
GaN will be more widely used and talked about in 2016. Gallium nitride (GaN) is a binary III/V direct bandgap semiconductor commonly used in bright light-emitting diodes since the 1990s. It has special properties for applications in optoelectronic, high-power and high-frequency devices. You will see more GaN power electronics components because GaN – in comparison to the best silicon alternative – will enable higher power density through the ability to switch at high frequencies. You can get GaN devices for example from GaN Systems, Infineon, Macom, and Texas Instruments. The emergence of GaN as the next leap forward in power transistors gives new life to Moore’s Law in power.
Power electronics is becoming more digital and connected in 2016. Software-defined power brings to bear critical need in modern power systems. Digital Power was the beginning of software-defined power using a microcontroller or a DSP. Software-defined power takes this to another level. Connectivity is the key to success for software-defined power and the PMBus will enable the efficient communication and connection between all power devices in computer systems. It seems that power architectures to become software defined, which will take advantage of digital power adaptability and introduce software control to manage the power continuously as operating conditions change. For example adaptive voltage scaling (AVS) is supported by the AVSBus is contained in the newest PMBus standard V 1.3. The use of power-optimization software algorithms and the concept of the Software Defined Power Architecture (SDPA) are all being seen as part of a brave new future for advanced board-power management.
Nanowires and new forms of memory like RRAM (resistive random access memory) and spintronics are also being researched, and could help scale down chips. Many “exotic” memory technologies are in the lab, and some are even in shipping product: Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), Resistive RAM (ReRAM), Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), Nano-RAM (NRAM).
Nanotube research has been ongoing since 1991, but there has been long road to get practical nanotube transistor. It seems that we almost have the necessary parts of the puzzle in 2016. In 2015 IBM reported a successful auto-alligment method for placing them across the source and drain. Texas Instruments is now capable of growing wafer scale graphene and the Chinese have taken the lead in developing both graphene and nanotubes according to Lux Research.
While nanotubes provide the fastest channel material available today, III-V materials like gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) are all being explored by IBM, Intel, Imec and Samsung as transistor channels on silicon substrates. Dozen of researchers worldwide are experimenting with black phosphorus as an alternative to nanotubes and graphene for the next generation of semiconductors. Black phosphorus has the advantage of having a bandgap and works well alongside silicon photonics device. 3-Molybdenum disulphide MoS2 is also a contender for the next generation of semiconductors, due to its novel stacking properties.
Graphene has many fantastic properties and there has been new finding in it. I think it would be a good idea to follow development around magnetized graphene. Researchers make graphene magnetic, clearing the way for faster everything. I don’t expect practical products in 2016, but maybe something in next few years.
Optical communications is integrating deep into chips finally. There are many new contenders on the horizon for the true “next-generation” of optical communications with promising technologies in development in labs and research departments around the world. Silicon photonics is the study and application of photonic systems which use silicon as an optical medium. Silicon photonic devices can be made using existing semiconductor fabrication. Now we start to have technology to build optoelectronic microprocessors built using existing chip manufacturing. Engineers demo first processor that uses light for ultrafast communications. Optical communication could also potentially reduce chips’ power consumption on inter-chip-links and enable easily longer very fast links between ICs where needed. Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which may enable engineers to exceed the properties of silicon in terms of energy efficiency and speed, moving researchers toward 2D on-chip optoelectronics for high-performance applications in optical communications and computing. To build practical systems with those ICs, we need to figure out how make easily fiber-to-chip coupling or how to manufacture practical optical printed circuit board (O-PCB).
Look development at self-directed assembly.Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and IBM have discovered a trenching capability that could be harnessed for building devices through self-directed assembly. The capability could potentially be used to integrate lasers, sensors, wave guides and other optical components into so called “lab-on-a-chip” devices.
Smaller chip geometries are come to mainstream in 2016. Chip advancements and cost savings slowed down with the current 14-nanometer process, which is used to make its latest PC, server and mobile chips. Other manufacturers are catching to 14 nm and beyond. GlobalFoundries start producing a central processing chip as well as a graphics processing chip using 14nm technology. After a lapse, Intel looks to catch up with Moore’s Law again with with upcoming 10-nanometer and 7-nm processes. Samsung revealed that it will soon begin production of a 10nm FinFET node, and that the chip will be in full production by the end of 2016. This is expected to be at around the same time as rival TSMC. TSMC 10nm process will require triple patterning. For mass marker products it seems that 10nm node, is still at least a year away. Intel delayed plans for 10nm processors while TSMC is stepping on the gas, hoping to attract business from the likes of Apple. The first Intel 10-nm chips, code-named Cannonlake, will ship in 2017.
Looks like Moore’s Law has some life in it yet, though for IBM creating a 7nm chip required exotic techniques and materials. IBM Research showed in 2015 a 7nm chip will hold 20 billion transistors manufactured by perfecting EUV lithography and using silicon-germanium channels for its finned field-effect transistors (FinFETs). Also Intel revealed that the end of the road for Silicon is nearing as alternative materials will be required for the 7nm node and beyond. Scaling Silicon transistors down has become increasingly difficult and expensive and at around 7nm it will prove to be downright impossible. IBM development partner Samsung is in a race to catch up with Intel by 2018 when the first 7nm products are expected. Expect Silicon Alternatives Coming By 2020. One very promising short-term Silicon alternative is III-V semiconductor based on two compounds: Indium gallium arsenide ( InGaAs ) and indium phosphide (InP). Intel’s future mobile chips may have some components based on gallium nitride (GaN), which is also an exotic III-V material.
Silicon and traditional technologies continue to be still pushed forward in 2016 successfully. It seems that the extension of 193nm immersion to 7nm and beyond is possible, yet it would require octuple patterning and other steps that would increase production costs. IBM Research earlier this year beat Intel to the 7nm node by perfecting EUV lithography and using silicon-germanium channels for its finned field-effect transistors (FinFETs). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest foundry, said it has started work on a 5nm process to push ahead its most advanced technology. TSMC’s initial development work at 5nm may be yet another indication that EUV has been set back as an eventual replacement for immersion lithography.
It seems that 2016 could be the year for mass-adoption of 3D ICs and 3D memory. For over a decade, the terms 3D ICs and 3D memory have been used to refer to various technologies. 2016 could see some real advances and traction in the field as some truly 3D products are already shipping and more are promised to come soon. The most popular 3D category is that of 3D NAND flash memory: Samsung, Toshiba, Sandisk, Intel and Micron have all announced or started shipping flash that uses 3D silicon structure (we are currently seeing 128Gb-384Gb parts). Micron’s Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) uses stacked DRAM die and through-silicon vias (TSVs) to create a high-bandwidth RAM subsystem with an abstracted interface (think DRAM with PCIe). Intel and Micron have announced production of a 3D crosspoint architecture high-endurance (1,000× NAND flash) nonvolatile memory.
The success of Apple’s portable computers, smartphones and tablets will lead to the fact that the company will buy as much as 25 per cent of world production of mobile DRAMs in 2016. In 2015 Apple bought 16.5 per cent of mobile DRAM.
After COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris environmental compliance 2016 will become stronger business driver. Increasingly, electronics OEMs are realizing that environmental compliance goes beyond being a good corporate citizen. On the agenda for these businesses: climate change, water safety, waste management, and environmental compliance. Keep in mindenvironmental compliance requirements that include the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2002/95/EC (RoHS 1), and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). It’s a legal situation: If you do not comply with regulatory aspects of business, you are out of business. Some companies are leading the parade toward environmental compliance or learning as they go.
Connectivity is proliferating everything from cars to homes, realigning diverse markets. It needs to be done easily for user, reliably, efficiently and securely.It is being reported that communications technologies are responsible for about 2-4% of all of carbon footprint generated by human activity. The needs for communications and faster speeds is increasing in this every day more and more connected world – penetration of smart devices there was a tremendous increase in the amount of mobile data traffic from 2010 to 2014.Wi-Fi has become so ubiquitous in homes in so many parts of the world that you can now really start tapping into that by having additional devices. When IoT is forecasted to be 50 billion connections by 2020, with the current technologies this would increase power consumption considerably. The coming explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT) will also need more efficient data centers that will be taxed to their limits.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is enabling increased automation on the factory floor and throughout the supply chain, 3D printing is changing how we think about making components, and the cloud and big data are enabling new applications that provide an end-to-end view from the factory floor to the retail store. With all of these technological options converging, it will be hard for CIOs, IT executives, and manufacturing leaders keep up. IoT will also be hard for R&D.Internet of Things (IoT) designs mesh together several design domains in order to successfully develop a product. Individually, these design domains are challenging. Bringing them all together to create an IoT product can place extreme pressure on design teams. It’s still pretty darn tedious to get all these things connected, and there’s all these standards battles coming on. The rise of the Internet of Things and Web services is driving new design principles as Web services from companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Uber are setting new standards for user experiences. Designers should think about building their products so they can learn more about their users and be flexible in creating new ways to satisfy them – but in such way that the user’s don’t feel that they are spied on what they do.
Subthreshold Transistors and MCUs will be hot in 2016 because Internet of Things will be hot in 2016 and it needs very low power chips. The technology is not new as cheap digital watches use FETs operating in the subthreshold region, but decades digital designers have ignored this operating region, because FETs are hard to characterize there. Now subthreshold has invaded the embedded space thanks to Ambiq’s new Apollo MCU. PsiKick Inc. has designed a proof-of-concept wireless sensor node system-chip using conventional EDA tools and a 130nm mixed-signal CMOS that operates with sub-threshold voltages and opening up the prospect of self-powering Internet of Things (IoT) systems. I expect also other sub-threshold designs to emerge. ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England) is also working at sub- and near-threshold operation of ICs. TSMC has developed a series of processes characterized down to near threshold voltages (ULP family for ultra low power are processes). Intel will focus on its IoT strategy and next-generation low voltage mobile processors.
FPGAs in various forms are coming to be more widely use use in 2016 in many applications. They are not no longer limited to high-end aerospace, defense, and high-end industrial applications. There are different ways people use FPGA. Barrier of entry to FPGA development have lowered so that even home makers can use easily FPGAs with cheap FPGA development boards, free tools and open IP cores. There was already lots of interest in 2015 for using FPGA for accelerating computations as the next step after GPU. Intel bought Altera in 2015 and plans in 2016 to begin selling products with a Xeon chip and an Altera FPGA in a single package – possibly available in early 2016. Examples of applications that would be well-suited for use of ARM-based FPGAs, including industrial robots, pumps for medical devices, electric motor controllers, imaging systems, and machine vision systems. Examples of ARM-based FPGAs are such as Xilinx’s Zynq-7000 and Altera’s Cyclone V intertwine. Some Internet of Things (IoT) application could start to test ARM-based field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, enabling the hardware to be adaptable to market and consumer demands – software updates on such systems become hardware updates. Other potential benefits would be design re-use, code portability, and security.
The trend towards module consolidation is applicable in many industries as the complexity of communication, data rates, data exchanges and networks increases. Consolidating ECU in vehicles is has already been big trend for several years, but the concept in applicable to many markets including medical, industrial and aerospace.
It seems to be that AXIe nears the tipping point in 2016. AXIe is a modular instrument standard similar to PXI in many respects, but utilizing a larger board format that allows higher power instruments and greater rack density. It relies chiefly on the same PCI Express fabric for data communication as PXI. AXIe-1 is the uber high end modular standard and there is also compatible AXIe-0 that aims at being a low cost alternative. Popular measurement standard AXIe, IVI, LXI, PXI, and VXI have two things in common: They each manage standards for the test and measurement industry, and each of those standards is ruled by a private consortium. Why is this? Right or wrong, it comes down to speed of execution.
These days, a hardware emulator is a stylish, sleek box with fewer cables to manage. The “Big Three” EDA vendors offer hardware emulators in their product portfolios, each with a distinct architecture to give development teams more options. For some offerings emulation has become a datacenter resource through a transaction-based emulation mode or acceleration mode.
LED lighting is expected to become more intelligent, more beautiful, more affordable in 2016. Everyone agrees that the market for LED lighting will continue to enjoy dramatic year-on-year growth for at least the next few years. LED Lighting Market to Reach US$30.5 Billion in 2016 and Professional Lighting Markets to See Explosive Growth. Some companies will win on this growth, but there are also losers. Due currency fluctuations and price slide in 2015, end market demands in different countries have been much lower than expected, so smaller LED companies are facing financial loss pressures. The history of the solar industry to get a good sense of some of the challenges the LED industry will face. Next bankruptcy wave in the LED industry is possible. The LED incandescent replacement bulb market represents only a portion of a much larger market but, in many ways, it is the cutting edge of the industry, currently dealing with many of the challenges other market segments will have to face a few years from now. IoT features are coming to LED lighting, but it seem that one can only hope for interoperability
Other electronics trends articles to look:
Hot technologies: Looking ahead to 2016 (EDN)
CES Unveiled NY: What consumer electronics will 2016 bring?
Analysts Predict CES 2016 Trends
LEDinside: Top 10 LED Market Trends in 2016
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Chips for Energy Harvesting: The Next Billion-Dollar Market
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329577&
Although energy harvesting has failed to take off to date – usually because it is has been uneconomic compared with installed battery power – it will drive semiconductor sales worth $3 billion in 2020, according to Semico Research (Phoenix, Ariz.).
This drive will be from values of about $200 million and 40 million units shipped in 2015.
The key components for an energy harvesting system include the transducer – whether it is thermal, photovoltaic or vibrational – plus a power management IC, microcontroller and an energy storage device.
Annual unit shipments over the period 2015 to 2020 will grow to 777 million with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 80.6 percent. This would put unit shipments in 2015 at about 40 million and shipments in 2016 at about 70 million.
Tomi Engdahl says:
If the Internet of Things will be SOOO BIG why did Broadcom just quit the market?
Radio silicon offloaded to Cypress Semi for US$550m as founder and CEO retires
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/01/broadcom_divests_to_cypress_semiconductor/
Cypress Semiconductor has made Broadcom an offer too good to refuse: US$550 million in cash for its wireless Internet of Things business unit.
The deal covers the whole kit-and-kaboodle: Broadcom’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee Internet of Things product lines, its WICED brand and developer community, and the relevant intellectual property.
Exiting the Internet of Things seems a surprising decision from Broadcom, considering it endorses the wider industry’s “50 billion devices by 2020” prediction in its promotional material.
Broadcom’s canned statement about the sale says the segment generated $189 million in 2015, and the transaction will see 430 staff worldwide go to work under a new logo by the third quarter of 2016.
The acquisition gives Cypress Semiconductor its own radio silicon, with the company noting that at the moment it can only pair with “generic” radio sets in the Wi-Fi and Zigbee space (the company has its own Bluetooth Low Energy devices).
Cypress’s main IoT play is in the programable system-on-a-chip (SoC) market, with low-power ARM-based mixed-signal devices, with the Broadcom acquisition to give it a footprint in micro-controller, SoC, memory, module, and now connectivity.
Cypress To Acquire Broadcom’s Wireless Internet Of Things Business
http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=s2162841
Tomi Engdahl says:
GaAs & Silicon: A New Proposal for Power
Startup says its modules reduce switching loss by 30%
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1329573&
More details about how startup Sarda Technologies heterogeneously integrated power stage module combines CMOS power drivers with GaAs output transistors in the same QFN package.
The idea seems so intuitive that you wonder why someone hasn’t suggested this before: Use gallium arsenide (GaAs) as the power driver for modules in compute servers and communications switching stations. Traditionally used for basestation transmitters, GaAs transistors automatically improve switching power supply frequencies: This enables higher densities for server power transmission applications, reduces heat dissipation, and helps shrink the size of power chain bricks and modules.
What Sarda Technologies calls its heterogeneously integrated power stage (HIPS) module combines CMOS power drivers with GaAs output transistors in the same QFN package. The use of GaAs increases voltage regulator switching speed by 10x and reduces switching losses by 30%, says Robert Conner, Sarda’s CEO and co-founder. Switching power supplies using Sarda’s modules have been routinely clocked at 5MHz, dropping 12 volts to 1.2, and delivering up to 14 amps with 94% efficiency.
a majority of switching power supplies and point-of-load (POL) converters are making do with 100- or 250-kHz clock rates.
Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistor developers like EPC and Navitas are demonstrating power bricks and modules with 2MHz switching speeds, 96% efficiencies and power densities on the order of 500W-per-cubic inch. Sarda’s modules will clock at 5MHz and demonstrate a density of 4,000 watts/in3. Electron mobility favors GaAs with a 8,500 cm2/Vs; GaN on silicon has a 2,000 cm2/Vs mobility figure, compared with 1,400 for silicon MOSFETs
Traditionally, GaAs transistors for RF applications have been depletion mode devices, which turn-on rapidly but need a negative gate drive voltage to be turned off. Although Sarda’s GaAs transistors are presently depletion mode devices, Bob Conner says, Sarda’s custom CMOS driver provides the negative gate drive voltage, an input voltage switch and power sequencing logic. The result is Sarda’s power stage electrically resembles a silicon DrMOS (driver MOSFET) taking its input from an external pulse width modulator (PWM) controller while providing two outputs and operating at higher switching frequency
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Intel Missed the Smartphone Call
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1329581&
Its lack of expertise in SoCs, insistence on its x86 architecture and some bad luck kept Intel from enjoying the smartphone boom.
Back in the year 2000, a bright young reporter named Anthony Cataldo burst into our San Mateo bureau, his hair on fire with a story. There was going to be a new class of mobile chips people were calling applications processors.
“Intel, the most vocal evangelist for the application processor, rolled out its StrongARM-based XScale processor in Japan this past week as the archetype of the standalone application processor,” he wrote in the next week’s print version of EE Times.
NEC, Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi, Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics were all getting into the act, Cataldo wrote. It was the days of flip phones, and Japan’s i-Mode service was pointing to a new mobile future.
By 2002, Intel was still in last place in the new market
Ultimately, Intel sold off the XScale to Marvell in a 2006 reorg, so it could focus on the booming notebook market where it sold more expensive and profitable chips.
By late 2007, Intel put one of its top engineers, Gadi Singer, on a tiger team to build the design and tool expertise it needed to make x86-based SoCs. A few months later, Apple debuted the iPhone with an ARM-based apps processor. A new industry was launched and Intel was paddling furiously after it with the wrong architecture.
By the time Intel started releasing competitive x86 apps processors, Apple and Samsung were well on the way to claiming the lion’s share of smartphone profits. They were already making their own ARM-based SoCs
Intel pulled off a bold last-ditch effort to co-design x86-based apps processors with China’s RockChip and Spreadtrum, They hoped to get into the handsets of up and coming China OEMs, the next Xaomi.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel to Exit Mobile SoC Business
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329580&
As it proceeds with a massive restructuring plan announced earlier this month, Intel will exit the smartphone and tablet mobile SoC business by ending its struggling Atom chip product line. The discontinued products include those code-named SoFIA, Broxton and Cherry Trail.
As Intel CEO Brian Krzanich explained in his latest blog, the chip giant’s focus is now squarely on “Cloud, IoT, memory/programmable solutions, 5G and Moore’s Law.”
Out are mobile SoCs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers Develop Dissolvable Memristor
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329584&
Researchers at two Chinese universities, the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University and the University of Bolton in the UK, have produced a so-called memristor device made from egg proteins, magnesium and tungsten.
A memristor – sometimes simply called a non-volatile resistive memory – is a two-contact variable device that not only controls the flow of electrical current, like a resistor, and does so as a function of its previous history, a memory effect and hence the memristor name.
Transient electronics and memristors have previously been touted as having potential for numerous applications from controlling localized drug delivery to monitoring pollution. The memristor also has scope for incorporation in neuromorphic computing architectures.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MaxLinear Buys Microsemi’s Broadband Wireless Unit
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329585&
RF and mixed-signal IC vendor MaxLinear Corp. said it acquired assets related to Microsemi Corp.’s Broadband Wireless division, which Microsemi acquired in the deal to buy PMC-Sierra Inc. MaxLinear paid roughly $21 million for the assets, the company said.
MaxLinear (San Diego) said the products and technology acquired address wireless infrastructure markets, including wideband RF transceivers and synthesizers for 3G, 4G, and future 5G cellular base station and remote radio head unit platforms.
Kishore Seendripu, MaxLinear’s CEO, said through a statement that migration to new network architectures and the proliferation of higher frequency wireless RF bands have increased the complexity of wireless access technologies. “We expect further increases in complexity with the adoption of 5G architectures, operating frequency ranges around 28GHz, and cumulative aggregated channel bandwidths of about 1GHz across all cellular frequency bands,” Kishore said.
MaxLinear estimates that the serviceable available market for wireless base station transceivers was worth roughly $500 million in 2015. The firm said it expects this market to grow at a substantial rate over the next five years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chip Sales Edge Up Slightly
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329598&
Global semiconductor sales ticked up slightly in March, showing sequential improvement for the first time in five months, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) trade group.
March chip sales totaled $26.1 billion on a three-month average basis, up 0.3% compared with February said the SIA, reporting sales figures compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.
But total first quarter chip sales totaled just $78.3 billion, down 5.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2015 and down 5.8% compared to the first quarter of 2015, the SIA said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> Tools & Learning> Products> Product Brief
Diode array offers robust TVS protection
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4441918/Diode-array-offers-robust-TVS-protection-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160502&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160502&elqTrackId=e1b8299bcf9740a5b906c8777d5d00bb&elq=0ca13003d37b4dff8c774694dcc03231&elqaid=32085&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28001
The SP4042 TVS diode array from Littelfuse absorbs lightning surges up to 120 A (2/10 µs) per IEC 61000-4-5 without degradation and withstands ±30 kV of ESD per IEC 61000-4-2. Used to protect Ethernet interfaces, CPE and carrier-class equipment, and PBX systems, the dual-channel 3.3-V SP4042 offers low loading capacitance of 11 pF per line to preserve signal integrity and minimize data loss.
SP4042 Series – 3.3V Diode Array
http://www.littelfuse.com/products/tvs-diode-arrays/lightning-surge-protection/sp4042.aspx
The SP4042 integrates low capacitance steering diodes with a TVS diode to provide 2 channels of protection against lightning induced surge events and ESD. This robust device can safely absorb up to 120A per IEC61000-4-5 (tP= 2/10μs) without performance degradation and a minimum ±30kV ESD per IEC61000-4-2 international standard. The low loading capacitance makes the SP4042 ideal for protecting Ethernet interfaces.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Surge stopper protects always-on electronics
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4441932/Surge-stopper-protects-always-on-electronics?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160505&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160505&elqTrackId=94b55f928fef4967a0ad6530b565ea02&elq=ae3dcbe9f1a14a1a907bb7d3cbec6f0a&elqaid=32135&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28051
The LTC4380, a low-IQ surge stopper from Linear Technology, provides overvoltage and overcurrent protection for always-on 4-V to 72-V electronics in automotive, industrial, and avionic systems. Device current consumption is just 8 µA during normal operation and 6 µA in shutdown mode, prolonging battery run and standby time.
Controlling an external N-channel MOSFET, the LTC4380 replaces shunt circuits composed of bulky inductors, capacitors, transient voltage suppressors, and fuses. It not only saves board space, but also enables continuous operation through transient voltage or current surges.
http://www.linear.com/product/ltc4380
Tomi Engdahl says:
LED headlight connector mates securely
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4441958/LED-headlight-connector-mates-securely?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160505&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160505&elqTrackId=6cf670cc028d475a86feff3b95aa0e9d&elq=ae3dcbe9f1a14a1a907bb7d3cbec6f0a&elqaid=32135&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28051
The single-row, wire-to-board MiniBridge Koshiri connector from ERNI improves mating integrity in intelligent LED headlight systems and other automotive LED lighting applications
MiniBridge pin contacts are recessed sufficiently so they cannot be damaged during improper or skewed insertion. This also prevents pins from being bent and contacts from being shorted during mating.
http://www.erni.com/en/products/show/category/connectors-minibridge-127-mm/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linduino for power system management
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4441931/Linduino-for-Power-System-Management?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20160505&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20160505&elqTrackId=44b3f2c8c45e4904a6b8408e71973c82&elq=727d0a35b01a4c56a6b34512de61c3c7&elqaid=32142&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28058
Most Power System Management designs follow a set and forget model. Setup and debug of Power System Management (PSM) devices is simple with LTpowerPlay® and when combined with a bulk programing solution, there is no need for firmware. However, many large systems require a Board Management Controller (BMC), begging the question: “What can firmware do for PSM?”
The foundation of PSM firmware is PMBus; the foundation of PMBus is SMBus; and the foundation of SMBus is I2C. Building a BMC that adds value with PSM firmware requires some level of knowledge of each protocol, or a pre-existing library that frees the programmer from the details.
The Linduino® libraries handle each protocol layer, and provide an Application Programming Interface (API), that makes writing PSM firmware easy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LTC Design Note: Precision op-amp enables fast multiplexing at low power
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4441925/LTC-Design-Note–Precision-op-amp-enables-fast-multiplexing-at-low-power?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20160505&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20160505&elqTrackId=447f156a29a24e5ba39457a1523ae2eb&elq=094948c7dafc48ca9d3610753c321cfc&elqaid=32129&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28044
If you are designing a system that measures a number of analog voltages, but not all at the same time, you can reduce downstream circuitry by multiplexing the measurements into a single output signal, then serially process and digitize the original voltage levels using shared components. The benefit is that the number and size of signal chain components is a fraction of that required by a per-channel design. Properly implementing a multiplexing solution requires attention to a few details, especially if you want to quickly switch between channels, measure accurately and maintain low power consumption.
Multiplexing increases the frequency content of the combined signal, since every time the multiplexer switches channels, the multiplexed signal changes value.
Op amps with low power consumption tend to be slow. In particular, op amp slew rate is typically closely related to op amp supply current.
Even if the op amp following the multiplexer is fast enough, there is another important detail that is often overlooked. Most precision op amps have internal protection diodes across the input stage to avoid reverse biasing sensitive bipolar transistors at the input stage.
When the multiplexer switches from one channel to the next, the input voltage at one terminal changes quickly, with the output (and therefore the feedback node) not yet changed. This causes a large current spike to flow through the internal protection diodes.
Correctly multiplexing precision signals into one output signal requires careful attention to detail.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why isolate LVDS?
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4441946/Why-isolate-LVDS–?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20160505&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20160505&elqTrackId=62d9533b55494605a56af908afe13011&elq=094948c7dafc48ca9d3610753c321cfc&elqaid=32129&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28044
Galvanic isolation of external interfaces is required in harsh environments for safety, functionality or improved noise immunity. This includes analog front-ends used in data acquisition modules for industrial measurement and control, as well as digital interfaces between processing nodes.
In the past, bandwidths of only up to a few megabits were sufficient for convertor interfaces or industrial backplanes, allowing isolation of protocols such as serial peripheral interface (SPI) or RS-485 using optocouplers. Digital isolators have improved the safety, performance and reliability of such isolated interfaces, as well as offering integrated isolation and I/O. However, trends such as Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) demand far more ubiquitous measurement and control, with greater speed and precision, resulting in greater demands for increased bandwidth.
Low Voltage Differential Signalling (LVDS) is a ubiquitous high-speed interface for higher-performance convertors and high bandwidth FPGA or ASIC I/O. The differential signalling offers high immunity to external electromagnetic interference (EMI) due to the mutual coupling between the inverting and non-inverting signals, which also correspondingly minimises any EMI created by the LVDS signalling. Adding isolation to LVDS interfaces provides a transparent solution that can be inserted into existing signal chains for high-speed and precision measurement and control applications.
Standard digital isolators remain a far faster, robust and more reliable solution than optocouplers for galvanic isolation of converter and processor interfaces. However, typical LVDS data rates to support high speed or precision convertors are in the hundreds of megabits, while the fastest standard digital isolators support up to 150 Mbps.
To support isolating at higher bandwidths, system designers until now have turned to custom design-intensive solutions, such as deserialization or discrete solutions using transformers or capacitors.
Analog Devices has introduced a family of drop-in LVDS isolators, ADN4650/ADN4651/ADN4652, using iCoupler technology enhanced for operation up to 600 Mbps. In addition to TIA/EIA-644-A LVDS compliant I/O, the complete isolator signal chain is fully differential, realising a high-immunity and low emissions solution.
Tomi Engdahl says:
“The smartphone is much more complex than space shuttle”
Ensuring the operation of smart devices, namely verification should be constantly challenging. The new car ola software code can be more than one hundred million rows. Several tens of millions of smart phones.
In 1986 the Challenger space shuttle’s computer to run a million lines of code.
Challenger accident was the case of a mechanical defect, even if it was the time the most advanced intelligent system.
That is an increase of complexity, said yesterday EDA-house development of Cadence Design Systems.
- One of the worst mistakes are architecture-level defects in the code. Their number of all software defects is only 8 per cent, but the time spent on fixing bugs so they take up more than half.
Smartphones and robot cars must be completely safe, IoT devices should not be able to hack. – But all that is connected to the network can be hacked, Beckley recalled.
- All the equipment we need to verify what’s going to happen and also what should not happen
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4361:alypuhelin-on-paljon-avaruussukkulaa-monimutkaisempi&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCB design now successful teamwork – in real-time
Circuit design and circuit board design have tried to take team work, where apart from each other in the designers could work on the same design of the circuit card design for a long time. Cadence Allegro and OrCAD make real-time updates on the planning team is now possible
The design is able to do different sites the past, but in this case it has always been a design partitioning, or into parts, and interconnection of them.
the work simultaneously on two different models. In the first model, the design is done on a server. Anyone can start planning and others to join the project, the owner of the machine.
In the second model, a project set up on the server and to join and leave the very freely. The design is done all the time authentication server.
In such a simultaneous planning the biggest question is always, how changes in different parts kept under control, ie how a kind of version control is carried out.
Concurrent team work to save up to 80 per cent of the designs of complex routing the lapse of time, says Hemant Shah. At this stage, team work is limited to five in the design and the same local area network within the region, but Shahin, this is the only level at which the Cadence tool to guarantee the operation.
- I know that this has been tested with larger teams and more than an internet connection and a tool has worked well, but we can not guarantee,
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4363:piirikorttisuunnittelu-onnistuu-nyt-tiimityona-reaaliajassa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Strong Growth Seen For CMOS Image Sensor Market
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329627&
The worldwide CMOS image sensor revenue grew 12 percent in 2015 to $9.9 billion and 2015 was firth consecutive year of record-high annual sales, according to IC Insights. And the growth is expected to continue for another five years albeit at a reduced compound annual growth rate.
IC Insights forecasts the market for CMOS image sensors growing each year through to 2020 and achieving a CAGR of 9.0 percent over the period 2015 to 2020. In the previous five-year period (2010-2015), CMOS image sensor sales increased by a CAGR of 17.0 percent although that was partly influenced positively by recovery from the severe economic recession in 2008-2009.
While much of the past growth is based on the adoption of low-cost CMOS image sensors in smartphones and digital cameras that growth is now spreading as embedded digital imaging to automotive, security and medical applications.
Automotive systems are forecast to be the fastest growing application for CMOS image sensors with worldwide sales rising by a CAGR of 55 percent in the next five years to $2.2 billion in 2020, or about 14 percent of the market’s projected $15.2 billion total value.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eliminating the power integrity analysis bottleneck from PCB design: Product how-to
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/all-aboard-/4441955/Eliminating-the-power-integrity-analysis-bottleneck-from-PCB-design–Product-how-to?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160509&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160509&elqTrackId=4601766bb45742b283dce4675465cb65&elq=50c556de8ef441f4b56995ab8558ae20&elqaid=32169&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28082
Is your PCB design team spending too much time waiting for IR-drop analysis results on the power delivery network (PDN), or trying to optimize the decoupling capacitor network without under- or over-designing it? Given the miniscule voltages of today’s designs, there’s really no margin for error in the PDN. How can PCB designers gain useful IR-drop insights quickly from overloaded power integrity (PI) engineers so they can meet stringent time-to-market targets? In this article, we’ll discuss technology that empowers PCB designers with fast access to the same trusted, comprehensive, and accurate IR-drop analysis functions used by the analysis experts.
Ensuring sufficient power delivery in a PCB design, without requiring excess layers or larger board size, is essential. IR-drop analysis has, however, become quite challenging. With low-power design, core voltage levels have continued to drop—1.5V or less is now common. As voltage is reduced, current requirements typically increase. At the same time, miniaturization of electronics means fewer layers and higher densities—so, less available area for power nets.
There needs to be a faster, more reliable way for IR-drop analysis results to get into the hands of PCB designers, so they can properly manage the power flow through the PDN in their designs and meet aggressive time-to-market goals.
Good vs. bad PDN designs
Bridging the gap between IR-drop analysis and PCB design
Technology that makes the best use of the unique skill sets of PCB designers and PI engineers and that drives faster access to power delivery insights is essential. An ideal solution would first enable the PI engineer to manage the complex setup of the analysis technology and allow the designer to reuse the setup parameters. With this approach, the designer could run and rerun the analysis to gather data while resolving first-order problems. Afterwards, the designer could hand the design over to the PI engineer, who would use the same models and report files, reducing the number of iterations.
Decoupling
Another important part of PDN design is the ability to devise a decoupling capacitor scheme that balances cost versus performance. Large ICs switch at fast speeds. When a whole address bus switches from high to low, it will draw from the power supply, causing the voltage level to drop. Typically, this happens faster than the PCB power supply can respond. To compensate, decoupling capacitors can be added near the power pins on the IC.
Signoff-level PI analysis
Cadence provides accurate, signoff-level PI analysis tools based on its Allegro and Sigrity technologies that deliver the capabilities we’ve discussed.
Summary
With the right IR-drop analysis tool, PCB designers can quickly gain accurate insights into the power delivery scheme in their design. Armed with this data, they can make timely decisions to optimize power delivery, save weeks from the design cycle, and avoid wasting valuable board space.
Decoupling’s effect on PI & SSN
http://www.edn.com/design/pc-board/4441981/Decoupling-s-effect-on-PI—SSN?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160509&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160509&elqTrackId=abb2a816166041969b168d604ccb1e59&elq=50c556de8ef441f4b56995ab8558ae20&elqaid=32169&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28082
This article discusses the impact of power integrity (PI) and power distribution network (PDN) impedance on simultaneous switching noise (SSN). The study is performed with post-layout PI simulation and characterization of SSN and jitter on an actual prototype PCB.
Introduction
It is important for hardware designers to know the resonant frequency of each element (e.g., bulk bypass and decoupling capacitor, plane capacitance, and interconnect inductance) of the PDN, and its impact on PI. A PCB with poor PI, e.g., having high PDN impedance at 50MHz and beyond, gives rise to SSN and jitter of signals powered from the PDN. This article demonstrates the relationship between PDN impedance and SSN on a PCB.
Tomi Engdahl says:
VNA tools improve signal integrity test
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4441977/VNA-tools-improve-signal-integrity-test?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160509&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160509&elqTrackId=a0ff0e82e30c4b7a83d67c4985d634e9&elq=ad6d9213f550465f929187e27e1dd632&elqaid=32171&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28085
Software options for Anritsu’s VectorStar and ShockLine vector network analyzers conduct channel diagnostics and model validation of high-speed digital circuit designs. The VectorStar Eye Diagram and ShockLine Advanced Time Domain (ADT) tools give engineers the capabilities needed to meet the challenges associated with faster data rates and more extensive circuits.
The Eye Diagram option updates the VectorStar display via a trace-based process, rather than a conventional file-based method, eliminating the need to manually transfer .SnP files.
The ADT option includes a subset of popular SI capabilities, including the ability to plot eye diagrams, determine single-ended or differential near-end crosstalk and far-end crosstalk, and apply various equalization techniques. With the ADT option, engineers can select among several IEEE and OIF specifications and compare the power sum of coupled noises, insertion loss crosstalk ratio, insertion loss, insertion loss deviation, and integrated crosstalk noise.
Vector Network Analyzers
http://www.anritsu.com/en-US/test-measurement/rf-microwave/vector-network-analyzers
Anritsu offers a variety of vector network analyzers (VNAs) to suit your application. Choose from an RF VNA to a Broadband VNA, from a Premium VNA with the highest performance and no compromises to a Value VNA that offers solid performance with suitable measurement speeds for an R&D environment. No matter what your application, Anritsu has your VNA needs covered. Choose with confidence from the pioneers in VNA measurements, introducing the Wiltron 310 Impedance Meter in 1965, and introducing the first broadband VNA, spanning 40 MHz to 65 GHz, in 1999. The first to cover a span from 40 kHz to 125 GHz from a single coaxial connector.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Forward Concepts fresh figures for market shares show a clear language reasons for that decision for Intel to throw in the towel on smart phone chips.
According to Forward Concepts smartphone baseband circuits were sold last year to 18.8 billion dollars. Qualcomm’s market share was 66 per cent and 19 per cent of the Czech media. The other was in practice only traces.
China’s Spreadtrum has managed to capture the baseband circuits of six per cent market share. HiSiliconilla and Samsung has a three per cent slice.
After that Leadcorella, Intel and Marvel Lilla was in possession of one percent of sales baseband circuits.
Marvell and Intel have already announced the resignation of play.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4372:syy-intelin-kannykkapaatokseen-varmistui&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Current sensor supplies 1-MHz analog output
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4441986/Current-sensor-supplies-1-MHz-analog-output?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160509&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160509&elqTrackId=4dd12797b7e942d5b4a3192e0f3bfa59&elq=57e02b010d0541e49a0d04fdf8008eb8&elqaid=32176&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28090
Allegro MicroSystems’ ACS730 Hall-effect current sensor provides 1-MHz bandwidth and a fast response time of 210 ns. The device comes in versions that offer primary sensed current of ±20 A, ±40 A, and ±50 A with sensitivity of 100 mV/A, 50 mV/A, and 40 mV/A, respectively.
Galvanically isolated, the ACS730 can be used for AC or DC current sensing in industrial, commercial, and communication systems. It comprises a low-offset linear Hall sensor circuit with a copper conduction path located near the surface of the die.
ACS730: 1 MHz Bandwidth, Galvanically Isolated Current Sensor IC in Small Footprint SOIC8 Package
http://www.allegromicro.com/en/Products/Current-Sensor-ICs/Zero-To-Fifty-Amp-Integrated-Conductor-Sensor-ICs/ACS730.aspx
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel rose to third place in industrial components
Industrial semiconductor sales rose last year to 40.7 billion dollars. Semicast Research, Texas Instruments was the market, Infineon Technologies and Intel runner-up at the same time bypassing the third largest STMicroelectronics.
Semicast points out that the industrial component market is very fragmented. The market leader in TI’s share is only 8.1 per cent. Infienonin share of the sales sector is 6.8 per cent and 4.9 per cent of Intel.
Intel’s rise a list of third place based on the fact that the company bought last year for FPGA manufacturer Altera. FPGA chips are widely used industrial equipment.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4385:intel-nousi-teollisuuskomponenttien-kolmoseksi&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lithium-ion batteries are now being developed at a rapid pace. Companies are developing new solutions to improve the battery capacity.
English Nexeon has developed a technique in which the anode is placed on the surface of the silicon layer. It increases the surface area of the anode and the cell energy density. The increase is according to the company’s nearly 10-fold.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4374:piianodilla-akun-energiatiheys-lahes-10-kertaiseksi&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Iowa State engineers develop micro-sized, liquid-metal particles for heat-free soldering
http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2016/04/25/liquidmetal
“Nature has a beautiful way of working for us,” he said. “Self-assembly and ambient oxidation are great tools in our designs.”
One of the latest innovations from Thuo’s lab is finding a way to make micro-scale, liquid-metal particles that can be used for heat-free soldering plus the fabricating, repairing and processing of metals – all at room temperature.
The discovery was recently reported online in the journal Scientific Reports.
Thuo is hoping his heat-free soldering technology is just as useful. To try to help make that happen, he’s worked with Tevis to launch SAFI-Tech. Thuo said the company plans to locate to the Iowa State Economic Development StartUp Factory when it opens in the ISU Research Park later this year.
The project started as a search for a way to stop liquid metal from returning to a solid – even below the metal’s melting point.
Thuo’s research team thought if tiny droplets of liquid metal could be covered with a thin, uniform coating, they could form stable particles of undercooled liquid metal.
“We wanted to make sure the metals don’t turn into solids,” Thuo said. “And so we engineered the surface of the particles so there is no pathway for liquid metal to turn to a solid. We’ve trapped it in a state it doesn’t want to be in.”
“We demonstrated healing of damaged surfaces and soldering/joining of metals at room temperature without requiring high-tech instrumentation, complex material preparation or a high-temperature process,”
Undercooled Metal Particles for Heat-Free Soldering
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep21864
Phase-change materials, such as meta-stable undercooled (supercooled) liquids, have been widely recognized as a suitable route for complex fabrication and engineering. Despite comprehensive studies on the undercooling phenomenon, little progress has been made in the use of undercooled metals, primarily due to low yields and poor stability. This paper reports the use of an extension of droplet emulsion technique (SLICE) to produce undercooled core-shell particles of structure; metal/oxide shell-acetate (‘/’ = physisorbed, ‘-’ = chemisorbed), from molten Field’s metal (Bi-In-Sn) and Bi-Sn alloys.
This simple and low cost technique for soldering and fabrication enables formation of complex shapes and joining at the meso- and micro-scale at ambient conditions without heat or electricity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DRAM Goes Hot and Cold
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329645&
As many big memory makers focus efforts on non-volatile options such as perfecting 3D NAND, and others work to get perennially niche memories into wider markets, DRAM has found itself in the situation of being a low-margin, commodity memory in a slowing tablet and PC market.
However, there are areas where DRAM still makes the most sense from a performance, density and cost perspective, evening as some vendors look to replace it, as Everspin has been looking to do with MRAM, for example. Virtium has focused on targeting its DRAM products in specific industry verticals, said Scott Phillips, Virtium’s vice president of marketing, eschewing the consumer and enterprise markets.
In the case of medical applications, in can take as long as three years to qualify memory. “We’re still supporting SDRAM from 12 years ago,” Phillips said.
Phillips said Virtium finds itself in markets that large vendors such as Micron have exited. But the company’s real niche is offering ultra-low-profile (ULP) RDIMM and Mini-RDIMM form-factors. Virtium’s memory modules still conform to JEDEC standards, but offer form factors other players don’t focus on, said Phillips.
Phillips said Virtium has a roadmap to release even higher density DDR4 with 64GB in the same ULP RDIMM and mini-RDIMM form factors in the second half of the year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IC Capital Spending Forecast Improves Slightly
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329646&
Market research firm Gartner Inc. Monday (May 9) revised its forecast for 2016 semiconductor industry capital spending, projecting it will decline less than previously expected.
Gartner (Stamford, Conn.) is now forecasting that chip industry capital spending will be $62.8 billion in 2016, down 2% from more than $64 billion in 2015. The firm had forecast in January that capital spending would decline nearly 5% this year.
Gartner continues to project that the equipment market will rebound in 2017. The firm expects capital spending to grow by 4.4% next year, driven by increased demand for 10nm and 3D NAND process development in memory and logic.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> Analog Design Center > How To Article
Voltage reference long-term stability reduces industrial process control calibration costs
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4441999/Voltage-reference-long-term-stability-reduces-industrial-process-control-calibration-costs?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20160512&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20160512&elqTrackId=d4f8d8116c764e74a6d94765ccc1926e&elq=80bbb1de48f843cc93839babf64f7fdb&elqaid=32215&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28137
Large industrial plants–such as those in the oil, gas, electricity, pharmaceutical, and food and beverage industries–rely on electronic instrumentation to provide accurate, stable measurements to control their processes. The stability of an instrument very much depends on its application and the environment it operates in. Fluctuating temperatures, harsh manufacturing conditions, humidity and elapsed time are all factors that affect stability.
When a sensor or instrument experiences temperature variations or physical stress over time its performance will begin to decline, a phenomenon known as ‘drift.’
Drift can be identified and rectified via calibration, but this solution can be very expensive and may result in factory downtime.
Since sensors and instruments are only as accurate as their references, the focus for the solution to this problem becomes the voltage reference. Thorough understanding and minimization of drift behavior in voltage references leads to tailored calibration strategies that can translate into substantial cost savings.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Nvidia beats with Q1 revenue of $1.3B, up 13% YoY, credits growth to gaming, automotive, and deep learning
Nvidia zooms by earnings targets thanks to graphics chip demand from cars and games
http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/12/nvidia-zooms-by-earnings-targets-thanks-to-graphics-chip-demand-from-cars-and-games/
Graphics chip maker Nvidia reported earnings for its fIrst fiscal quarter ended April 30 that beat Wall Street’s expectations.
Nvidia’s results are a bellwether for the PC industry, as the company is one of the largest makers of graphics chips. Its results are also indicators of the health of sectors such as PC gaming hardware, graphics-enhanced data center computing, deep learning, and car computing. The PC market isn’t growing like it once did, but Nvidia still did well.
“We are enjoying growth in all of our platforms — gaming, professional visualization, data center and auto,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia, in a statement “Accelerating our growth is deep learning, a new computing model that uses the graphics processing unit’s (GPU’s) massive computing power to learn artificial intelligence algorithms. Its adoption is sweeping one industry after another, driving demand for our GPUs.”
He added, “Our new Pascal GPU architecture will give a giant boost to deep learning, gaming and VR. We are excited to bring a new wave of innovations to the markets we serve. Pascal processors are in full production and will be available later this month.
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 and 1070 GPUs represent the newest generation of graphics for consumer computers, and they come at a time when 3D graphics is being pushed to its limit by virtual reality headsets.
The consumer GPUs come a month after Nvidia unveiled the very first Pascal-based GPU, the P100, which was targeted at deep learning neural networks. Pascal is a new master design, dubbed an architecture, for a whole generation of chips that also come with a new manufacturing process. The process, based on the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s 16 nanometer FinFET node technology
The previous generation of chips used the 28-nanometer TSMC process that has been available to Nvidia and rival Advanced Micro Devices since 2012. With the new process, Nvidia was able to create the P100 with 15 billion transistors on a single chip. The GTX 1080 and 1070 are expected to be slimmed-down versions of the P100. The GPUs are expected to have about 3,584 CUDA cores.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Conductive Inks Give New Meaning to the Term ‘Printed’ Circuit Boards
https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1100561
NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a novel nanosilver ink technology that provides a conductive ink system to suit a variety of printing applications. These include inkjet or direct-write 3D printing of electrodes, antennae or interconnects in printed electronic devices and systems, and applications where chemically etched, copper-printed circuit boards are used.
This conductive ink innovation offers low-temperature processing, high electrical conductivity, and excellent adhesion to various substrates.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Free yourself from IBIS-AMI models with PyBERT
http://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4441991/Free-yourself-from-IBIS-AMI-models-with-PyBERT?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20160512&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20160512&elqTrackId=32d0c32ab25e44e2a358acdbbe9eda06&elq=c135da191c624eecba70db1c92d28afa&elqaid=32224&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28146
The IBIS-AMI modeling standard was supposed to free high-speed serial communication link designers from the SPICE model chains, which perpetually lengthened design cycles. Unfortunately, IBIS-AMI has fallen short of the mark. IBIS-AMI models run from two to three orders of magnitude faster than the SPICE equivalents—which is great for systems designers.
IBIS-AMI models are, however, also plagued by a lack of commitment to the standard by some silicon vendors and a decided lack of consistency in interpretation by the commercial tools supporting it.
Fortunately, you needn’t use IBIS-AMI models (or, their SPICE antecedents) throughout the entirety of the link design process. In fact, you only need them at the very end of that process, as a tool for final “signoff” validation of the PCB CAD data, before sending it off to the PCB fabricator. I now introduce PyBERT, a public domain, open source tool that you can use as an alternative to IBIS-AMI models during the initial phases of high speed serial communication link design.
How black is “black?”
Just as Dorothy and her friends discovered that what personal accouterments the wizard was peddling weren’t anything they didn’t already possess, so can we serial link designers free ourselves from our presumed dependency upon IBIS-AMI models, if we are willing to pull the curtain aside and look at the inner workings of the machinery.
A SerDes Rx is quite a bit more complicated than the transmitter. In fact, several aspects of its behavior
Do I still need IBIS-AMI models, in order to do my work?” Fortunately, you don’t.
Consider that, if you took your favorite SerDes designer to lunch and asked “So, how is IBIS-AMI modeling working for you?”, the designer might struggle to contain his or her bemused contempt for you, wondering how anyone can’t be using MATLAB or Python/NumPy/SciPy for the majority of high-speed serial communication link design work.
SerDes designers yearn for the day when we lowly systems designers can converse with them in their native language. It’s probably time for us to become bilingual.
Among SerDes architects, IBIS-AMI is the unwanted stepchild of a modeling standard they’re forced to support only because, if they didn’t, we “systems” (PCB) designers wouldn’t know how to design around their parts.
Understanding the fundamental concepts of serial communication link design really isn’t all that hard. What we need is a community resource that we can use to begin our exploration of serial link design fundamentals, which is completely open and accessible to all.
Introducing PyBERT
PyBERT is a free, open source, public domain, serial communication link modeling and design tool, written in the Python language. It makes use of the Traits/UI library from Enthought to provide a GUI (graphical user interface). It can be used to explore serial link design concepts, as well as to begin the high level architectural tradeoff phase of link design.
Conclusion
I want to make it clear that PyBERT is not intended to replace IBIS-AMI simulation as the vehicle for final sign-off of PCB CAD data, before release to board fabrication. PyBERT is not suitable in this role because it lacks one very important feature: implied liability/accountability on the part of the silicon vendor. This is an important part of the accountability chain for any commercial product, and should not be omitted.
What PyBERT can offer us all is a way to get started on our next serial link design, before IBIS-AMI models of our SERDES become available.
PyBERT
https://github.com/capn-freako/PyBERT/wiki
PyBERT is a serial communication link bit error rate tester (BERT) simulator with a graphical user interface (GUI), written in Python and making use of the Enthought Traits/UI packages. It is intended to give students, hobbyists, and curious engineers the ability to play with serial communication link design concepts. It is not intended as a mission critical tool for use by professional serial communication link designers. There are much better tools available for that purpose.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SMIC Again Boosts 2016 Capex to $2.5 Billion
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329670&
emiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), China’s largest foundry, today said it will increase its capital expenditure budget for 2016 to $2.5 billion on expectations that strong demand will continue for another four years.
Three months ago, SMIC boosted 2016 capex to $2.1 billion from $1.57 billion last year to capture more business in China, the world’s fastest growing chip market.
Reiterating its expectations for a 20% increase in its 2016 sales from $2.24 billion in 2015, SMIC forecast that it is targeting annual sales growth of 20% for the next three to four years.
The company is uncharacteristically bullish as growth in the global semiconductor industry this year slumps amid an inventory glut.
While its largest competitors such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung are selling leading-edge 16nm and 14nm products to companies such as Apple and Qualcomm, SMIC has been making gross margins of about 25% by selling chips made with 28nm and 40nm as its most advanced process technology.
In April, TSMC reiterated its forecast for its 2016 capex to be within a range of $9 billion to $10 billion as it aims for a bigger share of finer geometry chips.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Diamond ICs May Finally Debut
National lab spinoff has fab in Illinois
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329663&
Diamonds may soon be the semiconductor industry’s “best friend.” Startup Akhan Semiconductor Inc. (Gurnee, Ill.) plans to make the promise of diamonds come true by licensing the diamond semiconductor process from the U.S. Energy Department’s Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, Ill.). Diamond semiconductors have been known to be faster, consume less power, be thinner and lighter weight that silicon, but Akhan Semiconductor is the first vendor with its foot-in-the-door of actually realizing its capabilities.
Akhan Semiconductor has a 200mm wafer fab in Gurnee, Ill. and expects to announce a diamond semiconductor IC in a consumer product at the Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) 2017.
So far, however, the biggest successes for diamond have been in jewelry, abrasives and other industrial uses of man-made diamonds. Nevertheless, Argonne National Labs continued pursuing the dream of diamond semiconductors by finding a way to make diamond—a natural insulator—into a semiconductor and a conductor laying out the path to all diamond chips.
The biggest problem that kept diamond from being commercialized, until now, has been the ease of making p-type transistors, but the difficulty of making n-types, a problem solved by founder and chief executive officer of Akhan Semiconductor
“We recently demonstrated CMOS-compatible diamond semiconductors—with both p-type and n-type devices—by successfully fabricating diamond PIN [abbreviation for a p-type—intrinsic, undoped—n-type junction] diodes with a million-times better performance than silicon and one-thousand-times thinner,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
LEDs Spur Growth in Power ICs
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329662&
Power semiconductor and power supply vendors are poised to cash in on strong growth anticipated for LED lighting in coming years, according to the latest forecast from market research firm IHS Inc.
The market for power semiconductors for LED lighting is projected to grow to 24.3 million units in 2020, up from 7.3 million units in 2015, as LED lights command a larger proportion of the overall lighting market, according to IHS (Englewood, Colo.).
LED lightning shipments accounted for just 8% of the total lighting market in 2015. But that percentage is expected to increase to 27% in 2020, according to the market research firm’s power supplies intelligence service.
Shipments of power drivers and power supplies for LED lighting are expected to grow to 4.5 billion units in 2020, up from 1.4 billion units in 2015, IHS said.
IHS also forecasts rapid growth in the microcontroller market. The firm projects that the market for microcontrollers will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 44% from 2015 to 2020. Microntrollers are used in LED lighting applications for advanced functions, including color changing and for peripheral communications via wireless technologies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Breakthrough Boosts 2D Semiconductor Photoluminescence
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329666&
Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have come up with a technique to enhance the photoluminescence efficiency of tungsten diselenide, a 2D semiconductor. According to them, the discovery could light the path for the application of such semiconductors in advanced optoelectronic and photonic devices.
Tungsten diselenide is a single-molecule-thick semiconductor that is part of an emerging class of materials called transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which have the ability to convert light to electricity and vice versa, making them strong potential candidates for optoelectronic devices such as thin film solar cells, photodetectors flexible logic circuits and sensors. However, its atomically thin structure reduces its absorption and photoluminescence properties, thereby limiting its practical applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
More than just jewelry.
http://www.akhansemi.com/home.html
AKHAN Semiconductor is ushering in a new era of computing technology with diamonds
“Being able to make devices that are thousands of times smaller, millions of times more powerful, and handle big data are essential for not only addressing today’s challenges, but for building tomorrow’s technologies.”
Adam Khan, founder and CEO of AKHAN Semiconductor
Diamond is unmatched in its ability to diffuse heat, perform as a semiconductor, and create smaller and more powerful electronics. Until now, we’ve been constrained by the physical limitations of silicon, but the “Diamond Age” begins here with AKHAN. Our new process of manufacturing perfect diamonds out of methane gas lifts the barrier of affordability in diamond-based electronics, and we’re not stopping there. We’ll nurture new technological advancements in major core industries.
Through the use of proprietary diamond semiconductor technolgies, we are transforming the world of electronics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> Tools & Learning> Products> Product Review
TI’s 600-V integrated GaN FET and driver power stage
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4442003/TI-s-600-V-integrated-GaN-FET-and-driver-power-stage?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160516&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160516&&elqTrackId=ab991b69c91a4f51b14d340033aa1bc0&elq=142e18f90fcc490f89513b234b81fa24&elqaid=32274&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28181
Now, Texas Instruments has developed 600-V gallium nitride (GaN) 70-mΩ field-effect transistor (FET) power-stage engineering samples, which are the first semiconductor manufacturer to publicly offer a high-voltage driver-integrated GaN solution. The 12-A LMG3410 power stage coupled with TI’s analog and digital power-conversion controllers help designers to develop smaller, more efficient and higher-performing designs, further sealing the fate of silicon FET-based solutions. These solutions are prime in isolated high-voltage industrial, telecom, enterprise computing and renewable energy applications.
The integrated driver and other neat features such as zero reverse-recovery current, the power stage provides reliable performance, especially in hard-switching applications where it can dramatically reduce switching losses by as much as 80 percent. The next step to enhance stand-alone GaN FETs, this device integrates built-in intelligence for temperature, current and undervoltage lockout (UVLO) fault protection.
Home> Tools & Learning> Products> Product Review
TI’s 600-V integrated GaN FET and driver power stage
Steve Taranovich -May 10, 2016
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I have been waiting for “the other shoe to drop” regarding GaN power element evolution and so here it is. I had fully expected Texas Instruments to join the race for an integrated power element and driver containing GaN and they have not disappointed. I remember the days when TI acquired Ciclon Semiconductor in 2009 to enter the MOSFET business as a complement to its extensive Power Management business. Those MOSFETs were relatively low voltage below 35V and made good business sense to round out their Power solutions.
Now, Texas Instruments has developed 600-V gallium nitride (GaN) 70-mΩ field-effect transistor (FET) power-stage engineering samples, which are the first semiconductor manufacturer to publicly offer a high-voltage driver-integrated GaN solution. The 12-A LMG3410 power stage coupled with TI’s analog and digital power-conversion controllers help designers to develop smaller, more efficient and higher-performing designs, further sealing the fate of silicon FET-based solutions. These solutions are prime in isolated high-voltage industrial, telecom, enterprise computing and renewable energy applications.
The integrated driver and other neat features such as zero reverse-recovery current, the power stage provides reliable performance, especially in hard-switching applications where it can dramatically reduce switching losses by as much as 80 percent. The next step to enhance stand-alone GaN FETs, this device integrates built-in intelligence for temperature, current and undervoltage lockout (UVLO) fault protection.
The integrated solution reduces package parasitic inductance resulting in lower power loss, less component voltage stress and lower EMI.
I spoke to Steve Tom, Product Line Manager for GaN solutions and he commented that TI is still working with EPC with an integrated solution for eGaN and the TI LG5200 driver.
Applications
This integrated solution enables zero reverse-recovery charge, which is well-suited for hard-switched half-bridge applications, such as a totem-pole bridgeless PFC circuit and LLC resonant converter.
The totem-pole bridgeless PFC circuit example is a 99% efficient, 1kW solution running at 100 kHz.
To support designers who are taking advantage of GaN technology in their power designs, TI is also introducing new products to expand its GaN ecosystem. The LMG5200POLEVM-10, a 48-V to 1-V point-of-load (POL) evaluation module, will include the new TPS53632G GaN FET controller, paired with the 80-V LMG5200 GaN FET power stage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quartus Prime boosts FPGA design productivity
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4442002/Quartus-Prime-boosts-FPGA-design-productivity?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160516&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160516&elqTrackId=562645ce4b86437eac9794eb615c0456&elq=142e18f90fcc490f89513b234b81fa24&elqaid=32274&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28181
Quartus Prime Pro software supports the Altera’s next generation of high capacity, highly integrated FPGAs, especially at 1-million-plus-LE scales.
Areas that are upgraded include compile time, versatile design entry methods, and simplified intellectual property (IP) integration. The Quartus Prime Pro software v16.0 delivers a design environment that is optimized for large designs with more than one million logic elements, and also adds an incremental optimization feature to reduce design iterations and accelerate timing closure.
The BluePrint platform designer reduces design iterations by a claimed factor of 10x by allowing designers to make pin assignments and clock planning early in their design.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lucas Mearian / Computerworld:
HP is now taking orders for its first 3D printer, the Jet Fusion 3D, which starts at $130K and HP says is 10X faster than rivals; orders will ship in late 2016 — ORLANDO — Hewlett-Packard today began taking orders for its first 3D printer, the HP Jet Fusion printer, which it said will be …
HP begins selling its Jet Fusion 3D printer; says it’s 50% cheaper, 10X faster than others
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3071035/emerging-technology/hp-begins-selling-its-jet-fusion-3d-printer-says-its-50-cheaper-10x-faster-than-others.html
HP’s Jet Fusion technology will be able to print electronics in a product
Hewlett-Packard today began taking orders for its first 3D printer, the HP Jet Fusion printer, which it said will be up to 10 times faster than existing machines and can cut the cost of manufacturing parts in half.
At the RAPID 3D additive manufacturing conference here, HP revealed two models: the lower-cost and lower production 3200 series and the 4200 series, for which it is now taking orders.
HP claims its printer will enable mass production of parts through additive manufacturing (3D printing), instead of just rapid prototyping, for which the technology is typically used. The printers are unlikely to be used to produce millions or billions of production parts; think, instead, in terms of hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of parts, HP said.
The printers will also revolutionize 3D printing in that they will be able to print electronics in the parts they create through the use of conductive materials printed at the voxel level. Like a pixel in a display, a voxel in 3D printing is a tiny cube, millions of which make up a larger object. A single voxel is 50 microns in size.
HP’s Jet Fusion printers have a print area or a print bin of 16-in. x 12-in. x 16-in. Within that area, there are 2.4 teravoxels (a teravoxel is a trillion voxels).
For example, Monino said, healthcare products such as orthotics or medical implants could have embedded wireless RFID chips that provide feedback to physicians or physical therapists on how well the product is performing or even how well a patient is doing.
The printer works by first depositing powder (about 100 microns thick, or the thickness of a standard sheet of paper) onto a print bed using a print bar that looks like a scanning bar on a typical 2D printer. The print bar has 30,000 nozzles spraying 350 million fusing agent droplets per second in specific patterns as it moves back and forth across a print platform.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DESIGNING MEMS MICROPHONES FROM CONCEPT TO FINISHED GDSII IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS
http://s3.mentor.com/public_documents/whitepaper/resources/mentorpaper_95318.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductor Industry Capex Forecast to Rise 3%
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329695&
Capital expenditure in the semiconductor industry is forecast to rise by 3% this year, led by foundries that are expanding to grab more business.
Capex will increase this year to $66.8 billion from $64.8 billion last year, according to a report by market research firm IC Insights.
“Intense rivalry in the foundry business will push capital spending in this semiconductor manufacturing segment to nearly $23 billion, which will break the previous record high level of $22.1 billion set in 2014,” according to IC Insights senior market research analyst Rob Lineback. “Foundry capex dropped 5% in 2015 to about $21.0 billion but it is now projected to increase nearly 9% in 2016. Wafer foundry capital spending is forecast to remain the largest capex segment in the semiconductor industry through the end of this decade.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
A MOSFET’s behavior on a phase-shifted ZVS full bridge DC/DC converter
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4442020/A-MOSFET-s-behavior-on-a-phase-shifted-ZVS-full-bridge-DC-DC-converter?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20160519&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20160519&elqTrackId=19fd4ee3f27c4abc93927bdca0b9dab9&elq=5923aebb34184fbeb2e9900dfb074a58&elqaid=32329&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28237
In the last few years, the market request for systems with a high enough efficiency level to manage high power has pushed SMPS designers toward topologies with low electric losses. The full-bridge converter with PWM phase-shift control is one of very popular topologies potentially capable of achieving that efficiency at high power levels combining the advantages of hard switching technology and soft-switching technology. The aim of this article is to investigate the potential electrical stress on MOSFET devices when they are used as switches on a zero voltage switching (ZVS) converter.
The ZVS phase shift converter is addressed to the market of power applications like telecom power supplies, main frame computer-servers and any applications where power density and high efficiency are a must. To reach this target, we must minimize power losses and reactive size, and this is possible by increasing the switching frequency of the converter. High switching frequency means more switching losses, which is in opposition to the target of efficiency. The solution is represented by topologies driven to operate ZVS or zero current switching (ZCS) converters. The technique guarantees in the switches that voltage or current is zero before the transition, and in particular, the ZVS guarantees zero voltage across the switching device before turn on, thereby eliminating any power losses due to the simultaneous overlap on the switch current and voltage.
Recently, the problem of the complex controller has been alleviated by the introduction of integrated controllers while the solution for the light load conditions is offered by a dedicated selection of switches.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s TPU Hit a Tight Sked
Short schedule “answers a lot of questions”
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329722&
Google’s new processors for accelerating machine learning were built under a tight schedule, said Norm Jouppi, a veteran chip designer and distinguished hardware engineer who led the effort.
“I joined Google 2.5 years ago, and there were already some efforts underway…The emphasis was on getting something out quickly,” said Jouppi in an interview with EE Times.
A decision was made about three years ago to make a custom chip to accelerate Google’s machine learning algorithms.
The chips, called tensor processing units (TPUs) after the Google TensorFlow algorithm they accelerate, have been running for more than a year in Google’s data centers. “The sked was pretty challenging, the team did really well on that—a short schedule can help focus you, it answers a lot of questions,” Jouppi said.
Before Jouppi arrived in September 2013, Google engineers had evaluated using CPUs, GPUs and FPGAs. “They decided the benefits of customization were great enough that they wanted to go straight to custom silicon,”
Google may reveal some details about the TPUs in the fall, but for now it is keeping mum on their inner workings.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ARM Describes 10nm Test Chip
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329664&
ARM announced it taped out a 10nm FinFET test chip in January at TSMC. Chips made in the process will be in handsets by the end of the year, ARM said, describing the node as relatively expensive and focused on lowering power.
The ARM test chip used four of its yet-to-be-disclosed Artemis cores running at 2.8 GHz, an unknown GPU and memory subsystem among other components. Unlike previous nodes, the TSMC 10nm process is focused less on pushing performance to the max and more on lowering power consumption, ARM said.
Compared with a Cortex A-72 on TSMC’s 16FF+ process, the 10nm SoC operating on the same frequency showed a 0.7%, 11% and 12% improvement in performance depending on the use of overdrive which ARM defines as nominal + 100 mV. Eventually, 10nm chips should show a 30% improvement in power consumption compared with its predecessors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductor Merger Mania: A Change From Historical Norms?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1329701&
Consolidation is a totally new phenomenon for semiconductors, but after 60 years, it’s about time.
In 2015, an amazing wave of consolidations struck the semiconductor industry. Proposed mergers approached $160B in market value and over $100B have already been consummated. That’s more than six times the largest annual merger amount in the history of the semiconductor industry.
To many, this consolidation seems natural. After all, the semiconductor industry is now more than sixty years old and the growth rate is slowing, as is common for most maturing industries. Semiconductor sales as a percentage of total electronic equipment sales have been relatively flat for the last twenty years. Consolidation through mergers gradually increases as industries mature so why should the semiconductor industry be any different?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Great, IBM has had a PCM breakthrough. Who exactly is going to manufacture?
Pick a partner
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/20/the_changing_phase_of_storageclass_memory/
IBM has demonstrated a 3-bit Phase-Change Memory chip with IBM Zurich researcher Dr. Haris Pozidis talking about it in a YouTube video and not mentioning 3D XPoint once.
The idea is to counter the relatively high cost of PCM chips by giving them 3 bits per cell, TLC or triple-level cells, instead of just one – clever.
This IBM TLC PCM occupies the same general space in the memory-storage hierarchy, defined by latency, as Intel/Micron’s 3D Point. It is much faster than flash, IBM quoting 70 times faster, and not quite as fast as DRAM, with a 1 microsecond read latency. DRAM is generally around 0.1 microseconds, 100 ns.
Unlike its presentation of XPoint, IBM has provided some endurance numbers, saying it lasts for at least 1 million write cycles, which is far better than the 3,000 it quotes for TLC flash.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ARM Announces Next-Gen 64-Bit Artemis Mobile Chip On 10nm TSMC FinFET Process
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/16/05/20/030227/arm-announces-next-gen-64-bit-artemis-mobile-chip-on-10nm-tsmc-finfet-process
ARM has been working closely with TSMC for years now. Over the last six years or so especially, ARM and TSMC have collaborated to ensure that TSMC’s cutting-edge process technologies work well with ARM’s processor IP. However recently, ARM just announced the successful tape-out of a test chip featuring next-generation, 64-Bit ARM v8-A mobile processor cores, codenamed Artemis, manufactured using TSMC’s upcoming 10nm FinFET process technology. The test chip features what ARM calls an Artemis cluster. It’s essentially a quad-core processor
Tomi Engdahl says:
Self-charging battery stretches over skin to power wearables
http://www.gizmag.com/solar-power-battery-band-aid/43413/
While we’ve seen promising prototypes of computers that conform to the contours of human wrists and forearms, the technology isn’t quite ready for mainstream adoption yet. But this hasn’t stopped one forward-thinking team of researchers from coming up with a new way to power these wearable electronics, developing a soft, millimeter-scale battery that can be stretched over the skin like a band-aid.
Sensors that are wearable and flexible promise a diverse range of applications including things like health monitoring, ticketing for sporting events and robots with human-like sense of touch. Some of these need to be hooked up to an external power source, while others have shown the ability to harvest mechanical energy from movement to power themselves.
To address some of the problems in building flexible power supplies, the researchers chopped a regular lithium-ion battery up into tiny ultrathin tiles. These tiles were then connected with wires and the array was integrated into a soft, rubbery material before receiving a final coat of stiffer rubber. Tiny solar cells were then layered on top of the battery cells, along with biosensors and chips.
The resulting device is super thin, waterproof and because the wires connecting the tiles are actually longer than the space between them, able to be stretched out of shape.
The team says this proof-of-concept device could be applied to human skin like a band-aid to offer an endless flow of biosensor data.
Stretchable batteries that can be applied to the skin like a band-aid (w/ video)
http://techxplore.com/news/2016-05-stretchable-batteries-skin-band-aid-video.html
(Tech Xplore)—An international team of researchers has developed a means for applying a stretchable battery to human skin that not only carries enough charge to power a portable device, but can be applied like a band-aid. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes the technology they built, how it works and a how they combined their battery technology with tiny solar cells to build an actual working monitoring device.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Synopsys Aims to Deliver ‘Software Signoff’ Platform
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329723&
The longtime leader of EDA’s largest firm said Tuesday (May 18) that his company aims to deliver a “software signoff platform” that would certify that software has been analyzed for known security vulnerabilities prior to release.
Aart de Geus, Synopsys Inc.’s president and co-CEO, said in an interview with EE Times following the company’s better-than-expected fiscal second quarter report, said its growing Software Integrity Group would surpass the $100 million mark in sales this year.
Much as EDA tools used to provide a verification signoff on a chip design prior to manufacture, Synopsys’ Software Integrity Platform would provide certification that software has been checked for vulnerabilities prior to its release, de Geus said. He added that the company expects to deliver this capability to the market this year.
”In this case, ‘signoff’ means signing off that the known vulnerabilities [in software] have been found automatically, have indeed been checked out,” de Geus told EE Times. “That’s a very powerful thing and that’s getting a lot of attention.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
TI Still Top Dog in Industrial Chips
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329728&
Texas Instruments was the leading vendor of semiconductors to the industrial sector in 2015 ahead of Infineon Technologies AG, according to analysis by Semicast Research.
Semicast defines the industrial sector to include traditional areas such as factory automation, motor drives, lighting, building automation, test & measurement and power & energy, as well as medical electronics and industrial transportation. Semicast excludes the aerospace and defense sectors from its analysis. Using this definition, Semicast estimates that revenues for industrial semiconductors totaled $40.7 billion in 2015.
Semicast’s industrial semiconductor vendor share analysis ranks TI as the leading supplier in 2015, with an estimated market share of 8.1 percent, ahead of Infineon with 6.8 percent, Intel (4.9%), STMicroelectronics (4.4%) and Renesas (3.8%).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductor Merger Mania: A Change From Historical Norms?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1329701&