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16 March 2006

News & Analysis | Technical Features | Opinion | Times People
News & Analysis
Darwin's ideas evolve design
Emerging engineering approaches inspired by evolutionary principles will transform the field in the future.

ESL design tools come up short
ESL and DFM tools need to pack far more capabilities than they do today if they are to represent the EDA industry's best opportunities for growth.

Sensors shoot for cameras
Vendors are rolling out CMOS image sensors that promise to bring entry-level, high-volume camera phones from the VGA dark ages into the megapixel era.

One MIPS core, not many, does the trick
MIPS Technologies has unveiled a next-generation core with a 'virtual CPU' architecture.

What-If tools for everyone
Here is a comprehensive tool set providing an iterative, what-if analysis that engineers can run before PCB layout begins.

Memory packages eye cellphones
Micron has developed a family of multichip-packaged memories for smart phones.


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Soft module lets phones add in-channel music
The software module for Octasic's telephony processor allows in-channel music for entertainment and karaoke apps.
Mobile TV may outpace 3D offerings in handsets
In the race to pack advanced media features into handsets, 3D graphics for gaming is lagging, while mobile TV is gaining, according to ATI Technologies.

Security ICs add muscle for faster, deeper inspection
Bottlenecks in today's security appliances are pushing chipmakers to offer more integrated silicon and systems that promise to speed throughput to gigabit rates.

Startup aims to sharpen handset photos
Sozotec collaborates with Nvidia and wireless service providers on image-quality enhancements for cellphone cameras and other mobile and handheld devices.

Primitive tools slow analog/digital integration
With the right tools, the job of integrating high-performance A/D circuits on the same SoC could be easier.

Verifying mixed-signal designs
Each piece of a mixed-signal design presents difficult problems that can be solved only by producing a custom circuit that fits the requirements of its particular situation.

A designer's guide to CMOS RF models
A BSIM4 model that is well correlated at RF can be highly accurate from DC to microwave frequencies over all operating conditions.

Rx: New test techniques
New measurement approaches require faster and more efficient and reliable instrumentation and software.

Overcoming obstacles to use of linear motors
Find out how the ServoTube can help you overcome linear motors' application impediments.

Are DSPs disappearing?
Despite the challenges, DSPs are not about to go away and will continue to have important advantages for many applications.

Mentors teach skills, hard and soft
When it's your first full-time engineering job out of college and you have questions, it helps to have someone like Lonne Mays in your corner—more specifically, in the cubicle across from yours.

China patents a must-have
Protecting the company's IP in China by applying for local patents is quickly taking on greater importance.

GaAs dielectric points past silicon
Freescale Semiconductor's laboratory recently announced that it has cracked a 40-year-old puzzle—how to deposit a defect-free dielectric on GaAs.

Mobile TV may not yet be ready for prime time
Receiver suppliers face a number of challenges in bringing mobile TV to the real world, including meeting the the Mobile and Portable DVB-T Radio Access Interface.

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Technical Features
Scalable approach to fabric interface controllers
System modularity demands a common interconnect to support the seamless integration of silicon and/or subsystems in multiple apps. (PDF file)

Accelerate design performance with HDL coding practices
Improve design performance by writing an HDL code that is efficient for your targeted device. (PDF file)

NoC: Evolution toward the MPSoC era
Learn more about a low-cost on-chip interconnect that works to enable multiprocessor SoCs. (PDF file)

Multiplier circuit measures real power in high-frequency PWMs
Applications requiring the precise monitoring or regulation of dissipated load power can use a circuit that measures real power. (PDF file)

DLNA,UPnP pave way for home video nets
The DLNA and UPnP are but two of recent attempts at making the vision of a networked digital home a reality. (PDF file)

LXI faces physical measurement challenges
Some physical measurement challenges can be met by LXI-based instruments that directly support transducers. (PDF file)

Creating low-cost solution for memory test
Explore the development of a memory test solution and its required features to verify functionality and physical connections. (PDF file)

Design audio interfaces for portable products
Several circuit implementations may be used to create an audio system that accepts both single-ended and differential inputs. (PDF file)

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Online Exclusive
Tackling signal integrity in serial interfaces
With the move towards serial data links operating at GHz data rates, the digital hardware designer now equally has to pay attention to signal integrity. (PDF file)


Opinion
Winning the patent ownership game
Perhaps one of the means to succeed in the IP ownership game is for Asian countries to join in setting regional standards.

Video sets the dividing line for disk drives
HDDs and Flash will co-exist for a long time to come, with the mixed-media intensity of end applications driving the choice of one technology over the other.
Talkback

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Demystifying Vietnam
What does Vietnam offer that a rising number of top-tier semiconductor companies are setting up and expanding operations there?

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