Articles
Ethernet Adoption Encourages Open Protocols
August 30, 2007 5:49 am | by Robert Jackson, PAC and HMI product manager, National Instruments, and Alex McCarthy, instrument control senior product manager, National Instruments | CommentsEngineers and system designers can exchange information around the world using instant messaging, Web browsers, and e-mail protocols based on Ethernet. The impact on our daily jobs is part of a larger trend described in the book The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman. Friedman describes how broad Ethernet adoption, combined with open protocols and widely adopted platforms such as the World Wide Web, causes a dramatic shift in the global economy. In his words, the global economy is becoming “flat.” In addition to delivering data in the global economy, Ethernet is well suited for distributed test and industrial automation systems. New Ethernet standards have increased bandwidth from 10 Mb/s in 1983 to 1 Gb/s in 1998. It will take several years for the new 10GBASE-T standard (2006) to reach comparable price points with the currently deployed 1GBASE-T and 100BASE-T standards. With Ethernet, as well as PCI Express and USB, industrial automation and test systems can operate with higher performance at lower costs.
Software Defined Radios Adapt to Change
August 29, 2007 11:53 am | by Murat Bicer, Software Defined Radio Group, Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. | CommentsEvolving communications technologies require systems that can support many existing and emerging standards. By implementing communication functions in software, designers can build such “future-proof” communications, called software defined radios (SDRs). Software tools must let developers work at a high level of abstraction so they can port reusable code to other systems. But even though SDRs depend on software for their agility, they still require hardware in the form of switch fabrics, high-speed interconnects, and heterogeneous processor architectures that include FPGAs.
Sidebar: What is the Software Defined Radio Forum?
August 29, 2007 10:58 am | by Jon Titus | CommentsThe Software Defined Radio Forum is an industry association that promotes the development and deployment of reconfigurable radio systems. The group includes 100 member organizations involved with commercial, defense and civilian communications. Members' activities include wireless services, network operations, public-safety communications, and hardware and software developments.
Simulating the Effect of Blockers on Data Converter Performance in Wideband Receivers
August 29, 2007 5:57 am | by Michael Sink and Pamela Aparo, Analog Devices | CommentsMany different standards for wireless communications equipment are in use today. Narrowband communication standards use stronger transmission in a small slice of bandwidth. Wideband standards use lower transmission power across a larger bandwidth. Each standard defines minimum performance characteristics for receivers, and includes specifications such as bandwidth, maximum signal level, and sensitivity. GSM is one narrowband example; the channel bandwidth is 200 kHz. A GSM receiver must have a minimum sensitivity of –104 dBm and be able to tolerate a –13 dBm signal at the antenna. In contrast, CDMA2000 is a wideband standard that uses a 1.25 MHz bandwidth. CDMA2000 receivers need to have a minimum sensitivity of –117 dBm/1.25 MHz and tolerate a maximum signal of –30 dBm at 900 kHz offset.1
8-Bit MCUs Keep Going Strong
August 29, 2007 5:22 am | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | Comments"Cost still rules applications," said Ross Bannatyne, Marketing Director at Silicon Laboratories, a supplier of 8051-based MCUs. "If 8-bit MCUs solve problems, why use more expensive 32-bit chips?" Newer 8051 derivatives, for example, execute 100 MIPS and on-chip multiply-accumulate accelerators let them handle signal-processing tasks. According to Bannatyne, some engineers might not realize 32-bit MCUs can incur code penalties. "They might assume an algorithm that requires 16 KB in an 8-bit MCU also needs 16 KB in a 32-bit processor. Often the code takes more memory in the 32-bit processor, often much more."
Initiate efficiency
July 31, 2007 7:23 am | by Evan Koblentz, Online Editor | Comments“The frog was wrong” — that’s what I saw on a giant billboard when driving toward New York’s Lincoln Tunnel last year. It turned out to be a Toyota advertisement, with fine print stating, “It is easy to be ‘green’ when you drive the new such-and-such…” I didn’t think much of the car, but the slogan is terrific. That’s what we think here at ECN.
Decrease Processor Power Consumption using a CPLD
July 30, 2007 8:23 am | by Mark Ng, Xilinx, Inc. | CommentsOne of the most critical factors in designing handheld, portable electronics today is reducing overall system power consumption. With increased consumer expectations, portable devices require longer battery life and higher performance. Even power reductions on the order of 10 mW are crucial to portable system designers and manufacturers.
RoHS: One Year Later
July 30, 2007 8:09 am | by Zulki Khan, president, NexLogic Technologies, Inc. | CommentsThe industry’s conversion from leaded (eutectic) to lead-free has been slow. The industry perception prior to July 2006 was a virtual overnight switch to lead-free. However, today many OEMs still have a “don’t care, wait and see attitude” since they’re either RoHS-exempt at this time or don’t sell into Europe.
Kits for Kids
July 30, 2007 7:57 am | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | CommentsAs a youngster I enjoyed wiring up circuits with knife switches, lamps, buzzers and large dry cells. While in high school I made frequent trips to surplus-electronics stores in New York City and ordered components from mail-order supply houses. My projects included a 4-bit binary adder -- built from switches and relays -- and a tic-tac-toe machine. I also built my share of kits from Knight, Eico and Heath. My friend Bill Kuhn designed and built relay-logic learning machines.
To Extend Battery Life, Use Two Processors (Not One)
July 25, 2007 5:44 am | by John Dixon, J. B. Fowler, Zack Albus and Adrian Valenzuela, Texas Instruments | CommentsWhen system designers must extend battery life, many believe one chip uses less power than two. The reasons seem straightforward: Chip-to-chip communications consume more power than on-chip communications, and two chips will inevitably have more transistors and thus more leakage than a single chip with equivalent functions. But power-saving design techniques often turn conventional wisdom on its head.
IC Power Management Requires a Careful Balancing Act
July 20, 2007 7:56 am | by Arvind Narayanan, Product Director, Magma Design Automation | CommentsAs the electronics industry moves to new IC-fabrication technologies, chip designers must deal with tighter power specifications and with new power constraints. In large and complex designs, implementing a reliable power network and minimizing power loss have become major challenges for design teams.
The great motivator
June 26, 2007 11:01 am | by Aimee Kalnoskas, Editor-in-Chief | CommentsMy neighbors, who live almost a hundred yards and up a hill away from me, love their SUV’s, monster trucks and electricity. During the Christmas season, the illumination from their myriad of Christmas lights and blow-up, lighted lawn Santas and Frosties alone allow me to keep my flood lights off for most of December.
Distribution and the Evolving Web
June 26, 2007 8:06 am | by Rob Birse, Vice-president of Marketing, Allied Electronics | CommentsIf you spend time on the Internet, you may have noticed a subtle but important shift in the way web sites are beginning to interact with visitors. Web sites that feature static content have faded away and are being replaced by interactive web sites that engage the user. This recent shift in content — termed Web 2.0 — reflects the idea that the web is moving into its next generation of interactivity. The electronic component industry is certainly not exempt from this recent web trend. Many distributors have already done a considerable amount to beef up their web sites in response to engineers’ changing preference of obtaining information on the Internet in recent years. As distributors are quickly learning, they must do even more to keep engineers engaged and returning to their web site
Optimizing the Power Switch in High Voltage Applications
June 26, 2007 5:59 am | by Peter Blair, Zetex Semiconductors | CommentsSmall high voltage loads are found in abundance. Be they actuators, motors, solenoids or transformers, power supply or power conversion circuits, all are subject to the relentless quest for better energy efficiency, improved reliability and reduced cost and footprint. For the power switching element within such loads, these technical demands appear to manifest themselves as simply “increased switched power density!” In practice, how can this be best achieved?
Power Supplies Aim for Efficiency and Economy
June 25, 2007 12:10 pm | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | CommentsWe all have read about the push for better use of energy, whether expressed in improved vehicle gas mileage, higher efficiency in appliances or energy conservation at home. The need for increased electrical efficiency extends down to the power sources that supply energy to large computers, servers and even PCs.
