EDN Access — 09.02.96 design features

Design Features: September 2, 1996

Cover Story
The hard facts about soft cores	The use of soft cores, predefined and preverified technology-independent logic blocks, simplifies and speeds chip design. Knowing what to look for in these blocks eases system design. —Jim Lipman, Technical Editor
Design Features The hottest new technologies and the latest design techniques to help you work efficiently and effectively.
Workstation vendors brace for Pentium Pro whirlwind	The winds of change are blowing through the workstation business. Storms are brewing around Windows NT, the Pentium Pro, the PowerPC, and UPA. —Maury Wright, Technical Editor
BIST: pie in the sky no longer	EEs have been hearing about BIST for almost two decades, but outside a few specialized areas, the technology has had little impact. BIST still doesn't appeal to everyone, but, thanks to new EDA products, those who apply BIST find that it can be almost unbelievably effective. —Dan Strassberg, SeniorJohn Goldie
Have you ever had one of those days?	Use flip-flops and NAND gates to create the logic for changing a master clock signal into three subclocks. —Clive "Max" Maxfield, Intergraph Computer Systems
Low-voltage differential signaling yields megatransfers per second with milliwatts of power	Today's high-speed data-transfer applications need hundreds of megatransfers per second yet must consume only milliwatts of power. Older signal standards can achieve either—but not both—of these goals. New standards for low-voltage differential signaling let you overcome this roadblock. —Stephen Kempainen, Technical Editor —John Goldie, National Semiconductor Corp
Beware of under- or overspecifying your next sensor	To choose the best photoelectric sensor for your application, you need to consider a number of criteria, including sensor configuration; environment; and the placement, nature, and speed of the target. —Raymond Butow, Aromat Corp