MEMS accelerometer rolls for auto, industrial apps

STMicroelectronics has developed the AIS326DQ, a three-axis MEMS accelerometer qualified to AEC-Q100 for automotive applications.

PMC-Sierra expands WiMAX RFIC solutions

As WiMAX becomes a "global phenomenon," PMC-Sierra Inc. steps up to help solve WiMAX global spectrum hurdles and help OEMs develop cost-effective WiMAX products to enter the market.

NI Video Product Demo

Learn how National Instruments combines Graphical Programming (NI LabVIEW) with NI Technologies (NI Smart Camera, NI CompactRio, NI Compact FieldPoint) to help you increase productivity, reduce costs and smoothen your programming process.

Backplane protocols

Backplane bus protocols determine how signals are dropped off or picked up at every device attached to the line. Protocols determine how cards pass information, the speed of data transfer, the maximum number and type of peripheral devices allowed, and the physical size and layout of the system. This section provides an understanding of what is necessary to implement a backplane protocol and how to choose the protocol that best fits the design needs.

Data Conversion

Find out key issues that analog engineers deal in analog front-end (AFE) design while grappling with analog-to-digital converters (ADCs).

Solar power: The next major energy source

Here's a look at the technology that is free from the leash of the oil industry, low in maintenance, high in modularity and scalability, and the only one capable of meeting the long-term energy needs without emitting greenhouse gases.

Rouse future digital input
designs

Modern digital input module designs require high-channel count, small form factor, low-power consumption and high data rates. Conventional designs are unable to keep pace. Instead, use innovative circuit designs such as digital input serializers that exceed requirements and lay the groundwork for future digital input designs.

Uncovering the Cdv/dt shoot-
through

A fast commutation in a half-bridge topology can cause a Cdv/dt shoot through. A current flowing through the gate-drain capacitance can raise the Vgs of a MOSFET and thus obtain a cross conduction into the leg. This article highlights the internal MOSFET parameters affecting this phenomenon.

Soundbars invigorate flat-panel TV audio

Cramming high-quality audio components into the confines of a flat-panel TV simply isn't a feasible solution. The answer is the soundbar, which significantly improves audio experience without the complexity of an entire home theater setup.

Design all-digital audio for HDTVs

The digital lifestyle explosion is driving A/V system integration. Architecture digitization is driving decreasing system cost for CE products.

Achieve good audio quality in portables

Mark Toth, system engineer at Texas Instruments, provides suggestions for good system design and PCB layout practices relevant to the design of any portable system that includes audio playback and/or recording functionality.

1H 08 shows revamp in IC
ranking

A big shakeup in the top 20 semiconductor supplier ranking for 1H 08 has been reported by IC Insights. Although the top four companies stayed put in their spots, there were a number of "movers and shakers" up and down the list.

Samsung Electronics shelling out more amid crises

Woosik Chu, executive VP, investor relations, Samsung Electronics, likes saying that the Korean electronic giant is "a cut above the competition."

• AMD to Spin Off Plants
• Ford's key-with-a-chip
• Second-tier memory vendors laying off workers
• Scientists develop solar cells with a twist
• Electronics makers'eco-technology boost
• Economists mixed on possibility of technical recession for Singapore
more headlines

Memristors transit to reality

HP Labs is attempting to catapult the memristor, the fourth passive circuit element after resistors, capacitors and inductors, into the electronics mainstream.

Cellphones push mobile growth in rural India

It is not the gleaming edifices housing thousands of software engineers nor the bustling cities caught up in perennial traffic jams, but the endless landscapes of 600,000 villages in India that is becoming the next frontier for handset makers to conquer.

Andes facilitates Taiwan SoC design

Driven by strong market demand for portable products, the consumer electronics sector swerves to the Internet-capability route, as touted by Mobile Internet Devices.

TSMC delays high-k offering to 28nm

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has rolled out its 28nm process and disclosed it will push out its initial high-k/metal-gate offering until 28nm, putting it slightly behind its rivals in Chartered, IBM and Samsung.

IBM 'fab club' details foundry roadmap

IBM Corp.'s "fab club" has outlined its foundry process road map including a 28nm "half-node" technology, and, in some cases, positioned its 32nm offering as a better alternative to 40nm.

Chartered moves to 40nm process and below

Aiming to take the lead in the foundry market, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing unveiled its new roadmap, which includes plans to develop and offer a 28nm process possibly by next year.

Analyst: Micron plays waiting game in Qimonda takeover

Micron Technology Inc. is playing the waiting game before it buys Qimonda AG, or at least pieces of the troubled DRAM maker, according to an analyst.

LTE rollout to boost picocell, femtocell markets

A new report from ABI Research forecasts that femtocells and picocells will form an integrated part of the initial rollouts of Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

Visa-Nokia solidifies further mobile payment project

Visa Inc. and Nokia will jointly deliver Visa payment and payment-related services, including contactless payments, remote payments, money transfer, alerts and notifications, for Nokia's next-generation handsets.

Unlocked iPhones land in Hong Kong

Apple is offering in Hong Kong a carrier-independent, "unlocked" iPhone that can be used with each customer's wireless operator of choice.

Cleantech investment hit record $2.6B in Q3

The Cleantech Group disclosed that venture investments in North America, Europe, China and India across 158 companies reached $2.6 billion in the third quarter of 2008, a record quarter for clean tech investments.

Ascent Solar, Texsa co-develop PV roofing materials

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. has singed a definitive cooperation agreement with Texsa S.A. of Spain for the development of new PV roofing products intended for the European marketplace.