Serving the Electronic Design Community Since 1956
Google's top execs keep $1 salaries amid turmoil
March 25, 2009 5:39 am | Product Releases | CommentsGoogle Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin maintained their traditional salaries of $1 last year even as the value of their combined stakes in the Internet search leader plunged by nearly $26 billion.
Feinstein Blocking Solar Development in Mojave
March 25, 2009 5:04 am | Product Releases | CommentsCalifornia's Mojave Desert may seem ideally suited for solar energy production, but concern over what several proposed projects might do to the aesthetics of the region and its tortoise population is setting up a potential clash between conservationists and companies seeking to develop renewable energy.
Sensor Zone: April 2009
March 24, 2009 1:25 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsFor the last half-century, sensors based on the Hall effect have provided a low-cost, solid-state option for sensing any object that incorporates a magnetic field. Hall effect sensors are based on the discovery by Dr. Edwin H. Hall in 1879. He found that a thin conductive material, placed in a magnetic field, formed a difference in potential (voltage) at the opposite edges that was
RFID Slice Allows Discrete and Analog I/O
March 24, 2009 1:23 pm | Product Releases | CommentsContaining two channels, a Simple RFID (RFID-S) slice from TURCK allows traditional discrete and analog I/O slices. The RFID-S slice does not require software for integration into a PLC system. The slice is compatible with BL20 non-programmable and programmable gateways, available for use on PROFIBUS-DP, PROFINET, DeviceNet, Modbus TCP/IP
Optical Encoder Has 2-bit Quadrature Resolution
March 24, 2009 1:19 pm | Product Releases | CommentsIntended for applications such as audio, aircraft, medical and test equipment, a panel mount optical encoder from CUI has a 2-bit quadrature resolution. The C14 series has a 16 or 32 angle of throw position along with three shaft options that include 3.175 mm with slotted end, 6 mm diameter round, and 6.35 mm with D-cut
World’s Cheapest Car Riles Environmental Groups
March 24, 2009 12:27 pm | by by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsTata Motors has unveiled the world’s cheapest car, with potential for a vast standard of living increase. And Greenpeace doesn’t like it. The same organization that supported a ban on chlorine in drinking water feels that the mass proliferation of cheap automobiles is a bad thing. Despite its eco-friendly 47 MPG rating, the Tata Nano is seen as a threat to the environment. Why? Because lots of people want to buy them.
Framer/Mapper/PHY Devices Target Multi-Service Transport Platforms
March 24, 2009 8:01 am | Product Releases | CommentsSupporting 10-Gigabit Ethernet, Metro, and Long Haul network applications, the Yahara family of Framer/Mapper/PHY Devices are intended to serve multi-service transport platforms and metro/long haul optical networks. The product family integrates 10GbE/10G Fibre Channel (FC)/8G FC/OC-192/STM-64 to OTU-2 mapping services, FracN clock synthesizing circuitry, Electronic Dispersion Compensation (EDC), GFEC/Enhanced FEC, and 10G serdes functions in a single device.
GaAs SP3T switch Operates from 0.1 to 6.0 GHz
March 24, 2009 7:35 am | Product Releases | CommentsAppropriate for high volume, consumer products, the SKY13317-373LF pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) gallium arsenide (GaAs) symmetric SP3T switch operates at frequencies from 0.1 to 6.0 GHz.
Microscale Heat Pump Enables Pinpoint Thermal Management
March 24, 2009 7:34 am | Product Releases | CommentsNextreme Thermal Solutions' OptoCooler HV14 high voltage, low current thin-film thermoelectric cooler (TEC) targeted at laser diode cooling for the telecommunications achieves a 60°C temperature difference between its cold and hot sides. This temperature difference, known as the ?T, reflects the ability of the device to pump heat efficiently. The OptoCooler HV14 is the first module
E-voting Fraud Manipulated Voters, not Machines
March 24, 2009 5:19 am | Product Releases | CommentsThis past Friday brought news of a handful of indictments of elections officials in Kentucky who are alleged to have rigged elections in 2002, 2004, and 2006 by changing votes in electronic voting machines. Remarkably, the vote manipulation technique here was essentially an exploit of a simple UI design flaw, and involved no computer skills at all on the part of the alleged perpetrators.
Stretchy Nanotube Material Promises More than Muscle
March 24, 2009 4:28 am | Product Releases | CommentsCarbon-nanotube ribbons developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas are stronger than steel, as stretchy as rubber, and as light as air. The ribbons, which are made of long, entangled 11-nanometer-thick nanotubes, can stretch to more than three times their normal width but are stiffer and stronger than steel or Mylar lengthways.
Vibration Monitoring System Handles up to 900°F
March 23, 2009 11:45 am | Product Releases | CommentsA high-temperature vibration monitoring system, model 5334 from Dytran Instruments, can handle up to 900°F. Operating from a constant current 2-wire (IEPE) power unit, the system consists of a high temperature charge mode accelerometer and an in-line miniature differential charge amplifier. The accelerometer is connected to the input of the charge amplifier via an 18-inch long hard line cable
DC-DC Regulator Family Offers 97 Percent Efficiency
March 23, 2009 11:41 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe AS1332-34 family of step down DC-DC regulators from austriamicrosystems achieves 97 percent peak and 94 percent average efficiency. The three devices in the family deliver up to 650 mA from an input voltage range of 2.7 V to 5.5 V. Output varies between 1.3 V to 3.16 V. Other features include: 2-MHz fixed switching frequency
Two Paths Lead to FIR Filters
March 23, 2009 11:07 am | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsBecause finite impulse response (FIR) filters use a mathematical algorithm to process information, engineers rely on them when an analog filter just won't do. “FIR filters appeal to people who don't want to become filter designers”, explained Grant Griffin, President, Iowegian International. "They just want to use a filter to solve a problem
Test System Targets Solar Power
March 23, 2009 7:38 am | Keithley Instruments | Product Releases | CommentsThe Keithley Test Environment Interactive (KTEI) V7.2 upgrade for the Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System includes nine new solar cell test libraries, an expanded frequency range for the system’s Capacitance-Voltage (C-V) measurement capability, and support for the company’s new nine-slot Model 4200-SCS instrument chassis.
