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01 March 2008
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News & Analysis
Major players in the GPON arena have—or plan to have—ICs that serve as combination GPON terminal and home gateway.
The annual International IC-China Conference & Exhibition (IIC-China) is on its 13th year, and it is bigger and better than ever.
First appearing in 1999, the OLED display was expected to be the wunderkind of the flat-panel display world, the LCD killer that would quickly take over across a range of applications. Flash forward nine years to 2008, and only one 10-inch-plus OLED has made it to production. What happened?
Microelectromechanical-system-based inertial and motion sensors are finding slots in medical applications, with demand fueled by implantable devices that must be highly reliable and very small, as well as by handheld devices for home monitoring and diagnostics.
While the bulk of demand for tantalum capacitors comes from the handheld and gaming markets, as designers cram greater functionality into these ever-shrinking devices, there has also been quite a bit of activity in high-reliability markets—including military, automotive and medical—that require higher-performance components.
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Micrel Inc. has introduced two low-cost, dual-channel hot-plug power controllers that support the power requirements for PCIe v2.0.
Cellphones have moved rapidly from dual-band to tri-band to even quad-band. Also, cellphones need to handle various signals for peripheral radios such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. Ultimately, it is the RF switch that must be capable of switching up to nine paths of high-power RF signals with low insertion loss, high isolation and exceptional linearity to realize the necessary multiband performance.
Even as 3G wireless equipment continues deployment, the wireless ecosystem is identifying and designing 4G systems, with OFDMA as the PHY transmission technology of choice.
Although multicore is definitely here to stay, the key challenges are not solved simply by throwing extra cores at the problem.
Technical Features
While adding a feature such as VGA or TV-out may seem as simple as adding the appropriate connector, its addition presents many system design challenges in the areas of power management, device interoperability, and user interaction. Judd Heape of QuickLogic discusses these issues and presents a solution to these technical system design challenges based on QuickLogic's programmable solution platform. (PDF file)
Given that FlexRay is intended to be the next-generation automotive networking system, the target is to combine in one standard, the best flexibility, stability, robustness, reliability and dependability. (PDF file)
Rohm Co. Ltd and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have developed an image sensor using CuInGaSe2 (CIGS). Developed by combining the polycrystalline CIGS solar cell technology with the conventional crystalline Si (c-Si) CMOS image sensor technology, the new device has a higher sensitivity and a wider spectral range. (PDF file)
Notes Alex Mihalka of International Rectifier, Class-D audio amplification circuits offer high efficiency and small size compared to the more prevalent linear Class-AB topology. Solid-state drivers that deliver 1A or more gate-drive current with ±100V capability for driving half-bridge topologies to power levels of 500W into 8Ω ensure quality audio. (PDF file)
According to National Semiconductor's Grant Smith, high Power-over-Ethernet (HPoE) standards are still to be resolved. What is expected by most is that the voltage source will be increased to 53Vdc, usable current from each line to about 750mA, and the total resistance in the cable be limited below 12.5Ω. But for some applications, this is not enough power. One solution is to use multiple Ethernet lines, but this raises the problem of power sharing. (PDF file)
The latest version of the WiMAX standard addresses the mobile services required to free users from the tethers of a predetermined location. As with any new technology comes the need to test its hardware--in the research labs, for product qualification and conformance testing to the standard; on the production line; and for troubleshooting and maintenance. Proper and accurate testing helps ensure full interoperability of WiMAX equipment from all manufacturers. (PDF file)
Designers and manufacturers are two sides of the same team, sharing a common goal—yield. To win out, they need to align their strategies, their skills and their knowledge, and work together to overcome the challenges. That's the way the game is played in the nanometer era, says Anthony Nicoli of Mentor Graphics. (PDF file)
Opinion
Despite all its complexities, analog is an interesting place. The predicaments about the end of the road for analog have periodically surfaced.
Ajay Khoche of Verigy Ltd notes: Companies in the semiconductor ecosystem, from design through manufacturing and test, are doing something the industry as a whole hasn't done before: They are collaborating.
Interview
The search is over. After months of scouting for the best person to take the reins from Willem Roelandts, Xilinx Inc. has appointed Moshe Gavrielov as its new president and CEO. Gavrielov becomes only the third CEO in the company's 24-year history.
Vital Signs
The growth of the ULC handset market is changing the dynamics of the handset business. Traditionally, a handset manufacturer would rely exclusively on one vendor to supply chips for all its phones but ULC phones are changing this model.
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