August 1, 1997

WHAT'S HOT IN THE DESIGN COMMUNITY

Graphic-display generator targets TV applications

The Scorpion chip (MC92100) from Motorola Semiconductor is a graphics-display generator and a digital video encoder in one. Combining these functions on a single chip enables a television to display overlaid interactive graphical user interfaces. With varying levels of transparency, the graphics windows appear right over the traditional video stream on the television screen. The Scorpion graphics match the resolution and color depth of standard NTSC/PAL baseband video.

The Scorpion uses a square pixel filter to ensure that the graphics displays are accurate and in their intended aspect ratio. It also has an adaptive deflicker filter to check graphics pixel by pixel to ensure flicker-free display. The digital video encoder supports output in RGB, composite, and component video. Scorpion provides design flexibility because the video encoder accepts CCIR-656 standard inputs from digital decoder, MPEG-2, and DVD sources. The encoder also has a closed-caption inserter. An integrated SDRAM controller enables sharing system and graphics memory to save cost. Samples of the MC92100 are available in a 208-lead PQFP for $19 (10,000).

--by Stephen Kempainen

Motorola Semiconductor, Chandler, AZ. 1-602-814-4425, www.motorola.com/sps.

EDN, µC vendors join forces to develop benchmarks

Twenty leading microcontroller manufacturers have formed the EDN Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC--pronounced "embassy"). Markus Levy, EDN's Microprocessor and DSP editor, founded the group in an effort, to finally kill Dhrystone MIPS as the universal microprocessor benchmark. Dhrystone MIPS' failure is its small size and artificial nature. EEMBC is a nonprofit organization with EDN's Levy as chairman; numerous subcommittees will collect and develop the benchmarks.

EEMBC aims to expand the worldwide microprocessor and microcontroller market by creating a standard suite of embedded benchmarks from real applications. These benchmarks will help engineers evaluate microprocessors and microcontrollers and aid the industry in improving the function and performance of controllers used in embedded applications. Beyond simply creating the test suites and measuring performance using these real-world applications, EEMBC will evaluate performance against such metrics as power consumption, code density, and compiler technology. EEMBC will also develop a set of rules defining the testing procedures.

The group, containing suppliers of microcontrollers that account for more than 80% of the worldwide microcontroller market, is dedicated to creating an architecturally neutral set of real, usable benchmarks to evaluate controllers. It will release the benchmarks in several phases during the next few years.

Founding members of the EDN Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium are AMD, Analog Devices, ARM, DEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, LSI Logic, Mitsubishi/VSIS, Motorola, National Semiconductor, NEC, Philips, QED, MIPS Technologies, SGS-Thomson, Siemens, Sun, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba. Motorola, NEC, Hitachi, Texas Instruments, and Mitsubishi are the top five suppliers of micrcontrollers and accounted for 56% of microcontroller shipments in 1996, according to In-Stat.

EEMBC's charter limits membership to companies that develop and market processors and controllers. The subcommittees, focusing on networking, telecommunications, consumer, office automation, and automotive/industrial markets, are staffed with engineers from these companies. For further information, contact Levy at markuslevy@eembc.org.

--by Michael Markowitz

In-system programming: Is simpler really better?

ISP has become a popular programmable-logic-device feature for several reasons: Price is decreasing; more and more vendors are supporting it for just-in-time manufacturing and field upgrades; and high pin-count, small-pitch packaging is making traditional PROM programmers obsolete. Problems still remain, though: Even if every vendor used the 1149.1 JTAG technique, every company's algorithms and file formats are proprietary, with unique command sequences, operating modes, and timing delays. A group formed under the IEEE has been working on the problem for almost a year, but progress has been slow. No vendor wants to give up a perceived architectural advantage or be forced to redesign their products to achieve compatibility with their competitors.

Altera and Cypress have stepped forward with an alternative approach, an interpreted language called Jam. As the two companies envision it, you'll write a sequence of high-level commands to program and test all programmable logic devices on your board, regardless of their manufacturers and algorithms. The interpreter--hardware running on either the programmer or the tester (in the manufacturing line) or on the system board (for field upgrades)--will convert the Jam command sequence to a low-level bitstream on the fly. Altera and Cypress have vowed to freely license Jam to all interested parties and to seek JEDEC standardization for the command set.

Advantages of the Jam approach include write-once/use-many-times portability and small download files. A high-level language can also work in concert with silicon-provided information to produce adaptive algorithms and help isolate you from software changes caused by process and product steppings. However, just as Java has demonstrated, interpreted code can be less efficient and run more slowly than its architecture-optimized alternative in many situations. Fastest possible programming is a key concern in production environments. Jam's ability to do concurrent multidevice programming is not in place, and adding Jam support may require investing in new hardware and software (perhaps one reason why so many programmer and tester companies are endorsing it). Finally, other large ISP programmable-logic vendors, such as Lattice (Hillsboro, OR), Vantis (Sunnyvale, CA), and Xilinx (San Jose, CA) were conspicuously absent from the Jam announcement. Although expressing interest in the concept, they have adopted a wait-and-see attitude on the implementation.

--by Brian Dipert

Altera Corp, San Jose, CA. 1-408-894-7000, fax 1-408-435-1394, www.altera.com.

Cypress Semiconductor, San Jose, CA. 1-408-943-2600, fax 1-408-943-2741, www.cypress.com.

IGBTs challenge MOSFETs in midrange supplies

In the alphabet-soup world of power devices, IGBTs (insulated-gate bipolar transistors) should be more cost-effective than MOSFETs because of their smaller dice and higher current density. However, their lower turn-off switching speed and corresponding losses, as well as process factors, have kept them from realizing their potential.

A new series of IGBTs from International Rectifier, dubbed WarpSpeed devices, may change that balance. These devices have switching characteristics of 100 to 150 kHz that are similar to those of MOSFETs, making them suitable for switching-power-supply applications in the 400 to 600V range. The turn-off switching loss, E_OFF, which is where current levels are greatest and losses highest, is about half that of the company's U-series devices, thus doubling the frequency range without incurring more power loss. The new IGBTs are available for currents from 5 to 50A and cost $0.67 to $3.59 in moderate volumes.

--by Bill Schweber

International Rectifier Corp, El Segundo, CA. 1-310-252-7105, fax 1-310-252-7100, www.irf.com

Add power to motherboard for "instant" server

OEMs can now buy a turnkey motherboard that packs all of the features required in a file or print server. Creative Design Solutions offers the Plug & Stor 100 motherboard with TCP/IP (transmission-control protocol/Internet protocol) and Microsoft NetBEUI networking protocols stored in ROM. To implement a complete print server, you simply need to package the motherboard in a standard PC case and add power. You can connect one or more SCSI disk drives to the two onboard ports for file-server applications.

The Plug & Stor 100 has its proprietary operating system and networking software stored in nonvolatile memory, so no software disks, drivers, or licenses are required. A network administrator can configure the motherboard from any node on a network using a standard Web browser. For example, the administrator can set password-security options and even configure SCSI drives for RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) operations. Other features of the board include a Pentium processor socket, two SIMM DRAM sockets, a 10/100 Ethernet interface, an ATA (AT-bus attachment) interface, and a parallel printer port. With no processor or memory, the Plug & Stor 100 costs $660 (50); packaged in a low-profile case, the cost is $799 (50).

--by Maury Wright

Creative Design Solutions Inc, Santa Clara, CA. 1-408-653-1330, www.creativedesign.com.

Devices talk, so you don't scream

Getting one information-oriented device to communicate with another often requires advanced communication techniques--muttering under the breath, cursing, even screaming. The process could be much easier, however, if a new communications protocol gains wide acceptance. JetSend, created by Hewlett-Packard, lets devices intelligently negotiate an exchange of information themselves--without an intermediate human, network server, or device driver. In a typical negotiation, one device says something like, "I can send you images in gray scale or color with as much as 24 bits of color depth and in resolutions from 150 to 1200 dpi." Another device may then respond with, "Send me 24-bit color at 600 dpi." HP's printers and scanners will host the first implementations of JetSend, but other companies may use the open protocol for a nominal licensing fee. HP says that Canon and several other companies have already jumped on the JetSend bandwagon.

Each device using JetSend contains embedded firmware that includes a small amount of device-specific code and a description of how the device works. Because a device knows its own capabilities and can communicate these via JetSend to others, devices can interact directly to accomplish a specific communications task. A digital camera, for example, can communicate automatically with a printer without an intermediate computer.

JetSend-enabled devices can be so simple to use, according to HP, that they become essentially "information appliances"--so called because they serve a single purpose well and require minimal, intuitive user interaction. JetSend provides at least basic device communication without user intervention, but HP notes that power users--those who want to use devices' advanced features--will probably still want to use device-specific drivers in some instances.

A JetSend appliance-development tool kit--consisting of code samples, information-exchange specifications, reference implementations, and test tools--will be available in September for an as-yet-undetermined price. In the meantime, you can get a free copy of the JetSend specification from HP's JetSend Web site.

--by Gary Legg

Hewlett-Packard Co, Palo Alto, CA. www.jetsend.hp.com.

Software customizes instrumentation packages for production test

National Instruments has announced major upgrades of the test-executive software for its test-and-measurement application-development packages. The packages are LabView (for which the new test executive is V5.0) and LabWindows/CVI (for which the new test executive is V2.0). LabView and LabWindows/CVI run under Sun's Solaris OS and under Windows 95, NT, and 3.1. In addition, LabView runs under HP-UX and on the Macintosh and Power Macintosh. The new test-executive software for either of the application-development packages under any of the supported operating systems costs $695. Users who own an earlier version of one of the test-executives can upgrade it for $195.

Besides enhanced customization capabilities, key new features include more flexible sequencing, interactive debugging and test execution, and the ability to create better reports and test documentation. The test executives can now call tests written in C, C++, or Visual Basic as well as tests written in LabView or LabWindows/CVI. Among the applications that test engineers can use for designing and editing test sequences are Excel and MS Access. Test results stored in online databases are available to users throughout an organization via corporate networks.

--by Dan Strassberg

National Instruments, Austin, TX. 1-800-258-7022, fax 1-512- 794-8411, info@natinst.com, www.natinst.com.

Support chips integrate common functions

Plan the architecture of almost any piece of electronics equipment, and you'll likely find yourself including a few popular peripherals: some nonvolatile data memory, a voltage-supervisor reset circuit, a watchdog timer, and maybe even a real-time clock. Benchmarq Microelectronics' and Xicor's new devices combine these circuits in one package, reducing board space, increasing reliability, and saving you work (see table below).

Benchmarq's new devices, all based on battery-backed SRAM and featuring an 8-bit parallel interface, expand a line of 256-kbit and 1-Mbit microcontroller support chips. Benchmarq maximizes battery life by shipping parts with the battery (included within the package) electrically isolated from the rest of the circuitry until first application of system power.

Xicor has introduced an new category of serial-interface-support chips, which take advantage of the company's core EEPROM expertise. Portions of the memory array can be software-locked or permanently set to write-only status. The devices optionally operate as low as 1.8V, and Xicor also offers a choice of active-low or active-high reset output.

--by Brian Dipert

Benchmarq Microelectronics Inc, Dallas, TX. 1-972-437-9195, fax 1-972-437-9198, www.benchmarq.com.

Xicor Inc, Milpitas, CA, 1-408-432-8888, fax 1-408-432-0640, www.xicor.com.

1-MHz filter IC requires no external components

For applications such as ADSL upstream data flow, and ISDN transceivers or for inevitable antialiasing needs, the LT1560-1 lowpass filter in an SO-8 package provides pin-selectable cutoff frequencies of 500 kHz and 1 MHz. This fifth-order, continuous-time elliptic-response filter requires no external components. This response represents a balance between selectivity needed for antialiasing applications and transient response.

With a 1V_rms input, SNR is ­72 dB, and THD is ­62 dB. It is flat in the passband with ripple of ±0.2 dB to as much as 0.55 times the nominal cutoff frequency, and stopband attenuation is greater than 60 dB. The filter, which operates from a ±5V supply, requires 22 mA in normal operation and 1 mA in power-saving shutdown mode. The device costs $5.95 (1000).

--by Bill Schweber

Linear Technology Corp, Milpitas, CA. 1-408-432-1900, fax 1-408-434-6441, www.linear-tech.com.

Desktop SCSI adapters include RAID in firmware

In the past few years, RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) technology has become mainstream in large network-server environments and in some high-end workstations. RAID subsystems, however, typically require dedicated controllers and prove too costly for desktop or even small- server usage. Mylex promises to slash the cost of RAID technology with its new RAIDplus-enhanced FlashPoint SCSI host adapters. The FlashPoint family of PCI-bus cards includes firmware support for RAID levels 0 (striping), 1 (mirroring), and 0+1 (striping and mirroring) in the adapter BIOS. These adapters will economically bring RAID performance-enhancement and data-security features to the desktop.

Mylex offers the FlashPoint adapters in four flavors--single or dual SCSI ports, each offered in 8- or 16-bit SCSI configurations. You can connect as many as eight drives to a single SCSI channel, and the drives are split into dual four-drive arrays. The company offers support for Windows 95, Windows NT, and DOS. Once you configure the array, you can boot any of these three operating systems from the array drive. The host adapters range in price from $179 for a single-channel, 8-bit adapter to $499 for a dual-channel, 16-bit adapter; OEM versions are available at a discount. Mylex is also offering a $99 RAIDplus update for the installed base of FlashPoint adapters.

--by Maury Wright

Mylex Corp, Fremont, CA. 1-510- 796-6100, www.mylex.com.

New CMOS-logic family combines speed and low power

VCX, the new low-voltage logic family from the Low-Voltage Logic Alliance, targets operation from 2.5V power supplies. The LVL Alliance members, Fairchild Semiconductor, Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector, and Toshiba America Electronic Components, jointly specified the devices and standardized the pin assignments. The logic family tolerates 3.6V on the inputs and outputs and will work with next-generation 1.8V power supplies. Initial products will be 16-bit buffers, transceivers, latches, and flip-flops.

The VCX devices achieve typical delays of less than 2 nsec at 3V. They feature power-off, high-impedance inputs and outputs and support hot-swapping. In addition, they provide static drive of 18 mA at 2.3V, and latch-up performance exceeds 300 mA.

The first part available from LVL Alliance members is a 16-bit buffer. Fairchild's 74VCX16244 is in production and costs $2.10 (1000). Toshiba is sampling the TC74VCX16244, with production slated for the third quarter and pricing set at $3 (1000). Motorola will begin sampling the MC74VCX16244DT this month; production is slated for September at a price of $3 (1000).

--by Stephen Kempainen

Low-Voltage Logic Alliance, www.lvlalliance.com

Fairchild Semiconductor, South Portland, ME. 1-207-775-8100, www.fairchildsemi.com.

Motorola Semiconductor, Chandler, AZ. 1-602-732-2852, motorola.com/sps.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Irvine, CA. 1-800-879-4963, www.toshiba.com/taec.

Spin FPGA designs with free Web-based tools

If Actel FPGAs are in your future, you can now download free development tools from the Actel Web-site home page. The Designer Lite tool suite lets you go from synthesis through place and route for many Actel devices with as many as 8000 gates. The suite also has Verilog and VITAL libraries and a set of documentation in Adobe Acrobat PDF. The Design Lite suite includes Design Flow Manager to track and record your design; ACTmap VHDL synthesis; ACTgen Macro Builder to create optimized logic blocks; a timing-driven place-and-route tool; and Design Script, a macro language to simplify common design steps.

You download a compressed version of Designer Lite, still quite large, to get the tool suite--all 50 Mbytes of it. To perform the download, you need either a Netscape 3.0 or an Internet Explorer browser, versions 3.0 or higher. The tools run on Windows 95 and NT and require 16 Mbytes of RAM along with the disk space. Unfortunately, you cannot use FTP downloads.

--by Jim Lipman

Actel, Sunnyvale, CA. 1-408-739-1010, fax 1-8408-739-1540, www.actel.com.

CALENDAR

Aug 21 to 23

Hot Interconnects Symposium 1997, Stanford, CA, covers network I/O, cluster computing, network interfaces, bandwidth to the home, symmetric multiprocessors, signaling technologies, and routers. Registration for nonmembers of IEEE/CS or ACM is $300. Yunfeng Yang, Department of Computer Engineering, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. 1-408-554-5194.

Aug 24 to 26

Hot Chips IX, Palo Alto, CA, sponsored by the Technical Committee on Microprocessors and Microcomputers of the IEEE Computer Society, features tutorials on new DRAMs and on the architectural and design implications of media processing. The symposium offers sessions on media/3-D/graphics processors, one panel session, and two keynote addresses. Registration for non-ACM or non-IEEE/CS members is $290 for registration by Aug 16, 1997, and $360 thereafter. Bob Stewart, Los Altos, CA. 1-415-941-6699, www.hotchips.org.

CCD camera module fits 25.5-mm² pc board

Sony Semiconductor's Micro Unit CCD (charge-coupled-device) camera family includes modules that output video signals in analogue or digital formats. The first product in the range outputs analogue NTSC format; digital NTSC versions are due in November 1997, and analogue PAL parts will be available in the first quarter of 1998.

Each camera module includes a built-in lens, 180k-pixel CCD, timing generator, S/H, and DSP processor. The hybrid module measures 18.3×18.3×7.1 mm high and weighs 3.8g. The first unit in the range produces a conventional analogue luminance/chrominance output and includes automatic white-balance and automatic exposure control. Resolution at the centre of the picture equals 220 lines.

You can choose between a lens with a fixed focus of 2.9 or 4.0 mm, which enables a focal range of 20 cm to infinity with 50° horizontal and 40° vertical field of view. The module operates over a ­10 to +40°C range and occupies a 68-pin GFN ceramic package that consumes 950 mW. Volume price is <DM80.

To form a complete camera system that fits on a 25.5-mm² pc board, the module requires a socket, two crystals, and an electronic variable resistor. An evaluation-board design is also available.

--by Brian Kerridge

Sony Semiconductor, Basingstoke, UK. +44 1256 478771. www.sony.co.jp.

Reference design advances ISDN-based PC videoconferencing

At a cost of less than $500, Harris Semiconductor's video conferencing reference design offers you a shortcut to developing an ISDN videoconferencing PCI card. The reference design digitises analogue NTSC/PAL video signals, compresses the signals for transmission, decompresses incoming video and audio signals, and restores the signals to NTSC/PAL format. The key video codec chip supports CCIR 4:2:2 PAL or NTSC input formats and video rates, and it provides simultaneous compression and decompression at a rate up to 30 frames per second.

Harris offers the reference design as two kits. The H.320 manufacturer's development kit HMP8320MDK, which costs $5000, includes everything you'll need to build, test, and evaluate videoconferencing on two PCs. Specifically, the kit includes two PCI videoconferencing cards, two Matrox Mystique graphics cards, two Toshiba composite video cameras, two microphones, cables, and a suite of Harris (or licenced) software. Two ITK ISDN modem daughtercards are optional.

The second kit, H.320 software developer's kit HMP8320 SDK, which costs $2000, includes MDK software components, plus source code for application software and device drivers.

Key chips in the reference design include the HMP8156 NTSC/PAL video encoder, which costs $8.25; the HMP8112 video decoder, which costs $12; the HMP8364 video codec, which costs $57.53; and the HMP8201 audio link processor, which costs $67.22 (all prices for 10,000).

--by Brian Kerridge

Harris Semiconductor, Camberley, UK. +44 1734 328585, www.semi.harris.com.

In-system flash-memory programmer uses boundary-scan access

The FL 3710 FlashBlaster in-system programmer exploits IEEE 1149.1 JTAG/boundary-scan architecture to program industry-standard flash-memory devices. The FlashBlaster system copes with different memory organisa tions, bus architectures, device densities, erase block sizes, operating voltages, and programming algorithms. The flash devices you want to program do not need boundary-scan interfaces. The FlashBlaster system performs erase, program, read, and verify functions. By specifying a start address and length, you can perform programming functions at specific memory addresses. For example, the typical programming time for a 16-Mbit Intel 28F016 part equals 16 seconds with a 25-MHz test clock.

The FlashBlaster system comprises a PC ISA card, a four-port JTAG pod, connecting cables, and FlashProg software. The hardware supports test clock frequencies from 100 kHz to 25 MHz, programmable in 100-kHz increments. The connecting pod supports 3.3 and 5V operation and allows you to program up to four JTAG targets simultaneously. The hardware also supports general JTAG testing and PLD programming applications. The software accepts input files in binary, Intel Hex, or Motorola S-record formats. The programmer supports devices from AMD, Atmel, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Intel, National Semiconductor, Samsung, Toshiba, and Xicor. The system costs approximately Dfl19,900.

--by David Marsh

JTAG Technologies, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. +31 40 295 0870. www.jtag.com.

$1 SMD inductors keep low profile

Microspire's SESI range of SMD inductors aims to compete in categories such as size, inductor range, and price with toroidal choke alternatives in any application needing energy storage, smoothing, or EMI filtering.

In three basic sizes, the devices span 1.8 to 330 µH and operate over 100 kHz to 1 MHz and a ­55 to +125°C ambient temperature. The smallest SESI 14 and SESI 15 range devices measure 15×16×5 mm high. The larger SESI 18 range units measure 26×19×8 mm high. DC current handling varies across the three ranges. For example, a 100-µH device handles 1.0, 1.7, or 2.7A for the SESI 14, 15, or 18 units, respectively. Cost guide is <$1 (50,000).

--by Brian Kerridge

Microspire, Illange, France. +33 03 82 56 55 64.

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