EDN's 2001 Innovator and Innovation of the Year Competition
EDN's Innovator and Innovation of the Year competition was designed over a decade ago with one goal in mind: to find, recognize, and promote the people and products that rock our engineering world. Check out this year's nominees.
By Staff -- EDN, January 24, 2002
(A note to readers: This PDF contains information from both EDN's print edition and Web-only material.)
Read about this year’s nominees below. Your votes (voting ended Feb 14, 2002) determine the winners, who will be honored with all the finalists at a black-tie-optional reception at the Pan Pacific Hotel in San Francisco on March 12.
Your selection of Innovator of the Year receives a $10,000 scholarship that EDN donates to the college or university of his or her choice. And all winners in EDN’s 2001 Innovator and Innovation Competition will be featured in a special section in the March 21 issue and on our Web site.
CATEGORIES
Florin Oprescu
Florin Oprescu, a design engineer at Linear Technology Corp, has developed the LTC2415 24-bit delta-sigma ADC. The LTC2415 features 4-ppm nonlinearity, 0.5-ppm offset error, and 4-ppm gain error. Offset and gain drift are less than 0.02 ppm/°C. This ADC sports a 15-Hz conversion rate, differential inputs, and an eight-pin SO-8 package. Its single-cycle settling time allows use in multiplexed applications. The device demonstrates design elegance in that it is implemented in 8000 square mils of 2-micron CMOS compared with comparable devices implemented in 30,000 square mils of submicron CMOS.
At Xerox, Oprescu designed a “noiseless” impact printer and, at Apple Computer, the Touch-Pad computer-input device and the 1394 Firewire-bus architecture. Oprescu holds nine patents and earned an MSEE from the Bucharest Polytechnic Institute (Bucharest, Romania) and an MSCS from Stanford University (Stanford, CA). Linear Technology Corp, 1-408-432-1900, www.linear.com.
Dan Bouvier, Robert Frisch, Bryan Marietta
Dan Bouvier, Robert Frisch, and Bryan Marietta are the principal architects of the RapidIO Interconnect Specification, a new open-standard switch fabric for linking chips and boards inside high-performance, embedded, networking, and communications systems. This spec is the culmination of the efforts of the RapidIO Trade Association, a 45-member group whose list of members reads like the who’s who of computer and communications companies. The spec is available free from the organization’s Web site, and, in just the first five months of availability, 5300 visitors have downloaded it, demonstrating the tremendous interest for product development. In embedded systems, faster processors and heavier data flows have brought hierarchical buses, such as PCI and PCI-X, to their physical limits. The spec embodies too many features and improvements to mention but should spur development in telecommunications equipment, storage subsystems, signal- and image-processing devices, and other embedded computing and communications systems.
Dan Bouvier is the architecture manager for Motorola SPS, Robert Frisch is vice president of advanced development for Mercury Computer Systems, and Bryan Marietta is the senior system architect for Motorola SPS. RapidIO Trade Association, 1-415-561-6276, www.rapidio.org.
Doug Hacker, Gilberto Sada, Keith Jones, Bill Jones
Doug Hacker, Gilberto Sada, Keith Jones, and Bill Jones work at MindSpeed Technologies and are the developers of the LoopWizard, a sequence-time-domain-reflectometry product. The low-power, spread-spectrum copper-loop LoopWizard diagnostic software runs directly on the MindSpeed CX28985 Octal G.shdsl-transceiver ASIC for determining line conditions for DSL modems. The traditional means of loop testing involves the use of a separate test head, which is switched to the copper wire pair for testing either manually or by a patch panel or relays. The test sends a peak pulse that is higher than normal DSL signals down the line, and time-domain reflectometry determines line conditions. This extra testing time and equipment has slowed DSL deployment. With LoopWizard, any port on the transceiver can run its normal DSL operation while another port is testing line conditions, making every port its own test head.
MindSpeed Technologies, 1-949-579-3000, www.mindspeed.com.
Security processor encrypts IPsec at 2.4 Gbps.
Broadcom’s BCM5840 Gigabit Security Processor from processes IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) packets at 2.4 Gbps, regardless of packet size. Security functions carry a fixed overhead independent of packet size. As the frequency of smaller packets increases, total packet overhead increases, and overall packet throughput decreases. The BCM5840 avoids this degradation by amortizing the overhead over more data, keeping performance on smaller packets at 2.4 Gbps instead of requiring additional processing resources.
The device supports standard encryption algorithms for applications such as VPNs (virtual private networks) in routers, firewalls, switches, storage networks, and access servers with 10/100-Mbps, 1- to 2.4-Gbps, and 10-Gbps throughputs. In a typical flow, a network processor appends SA (Security Association) information to the packet before handing it off to the BCM5840, which performs the required cryptographic functions on the data before passing it back to the network processor. The BCM5840 costs $300 in sample quantities. (See Picture.) Broadcom Corp, 1-949-450-8700, www.broadcom.com.
Device provides Bluetooth on a chip.
The integrated BlueCore1 Bluetooth device from Cambridge Silicon Radio, includes an RF transceiver, a baseband DSP, a microcontroller, and a Bluetooth software stack on a single chip. Manufactured in CMOS, BlueCore1 is available in an 8×8-mm, 81- bump BGA package at a volume price of $6.30, approaching the target of $5 for a complete Bluetooth module. Many vendors provide either the transceiver or the baseband processor or do not offer a complete software stack. Cambridge Silicon Radio also provides host-side software.
Power consumption is 135 mA peak current during RF burst, 1.1 mA as a parked slave, and 90 μA in deep-sleep mode. BlueCore1 is Bluetooth V1.1-compliant, BQB- (Bluetooth Qualification Board)-qualified, USB V1.1-compliant, includes BIST capabilities, and supports as many as seven slave devices within a piconet. The device also controls data-packet length to optimize transmission performance. (See Picture.) Cambridge Silicon Radio, 1-972-238-2300, www.csr.com.
10-Gbps optical module integrates multiprotocol support.
Network Elements’ Lithium 10-Gbps multiprotocol optical-networking module provides protocol termination and monitoring capabilities for layers 1 and 2 of 10-Gbps optical networks. Multiprotocol support includes framing, mapping, and encapsulation processing for 10-Gbps Ethernet LAN and WIS (WAN-interface sublayer), 10-Gbps POS (Packet over SONET), and 10-Gbps SONET/SDH, enabling designers to use one line-card design across multiple applications. Offloading layer 1 and 2 processing from network processors facilitates line-speed networking at 10 Gbps.
The physical layer supports optical lengths of 2 km and uses uncooled Fabry-Perot serial optics. It performs optical-to-electrical conversion and vice versa, clock and data recovery, transmit-clock multiplication, and serializer/deserializer functions. A 2 million-gate custom ASIC implemented in 0.18-micron CMOS technology supports 10-Gbps Ethernet, POS, and SONET transport-protocol processing, and provides packet filtering. An API provides a software foundation for module configuration, customization, and monitoring. The Lithium 10-Gbps module costs $7000 in large quantities. (See Picture.) Network Elements, 1-503-644-7666, www.nei.com.
POWER SOURCESQuarter-brick dc/dc converters provide dual isolated outputs that total 100W at 70°C.
The $90 (1000) QD48 dual-isolated-output dc/dc converter from di/dt provides as much as 100W from an industry-standard quarter-brick package. At 70°C, with airflow of 500 lfm, no heat sink, and a 48V input, the 2.3×1.45×0.188-in., through-hole-mounting and 2.3×1.45×0.258-in. surface-mounting units, whose input range is 36 to 75V, deliver 15A at 3.3V and 10A at 5V. With only convection cooling, the devices still deliver more than 50W in a 70°C ambient temperature. Maximum output-voltage error is ±1%, and combined line, load, and cross regulation is ±2%. From –40 to +85°C, the total output-voltage change is less than 1%.
Synchronous rectification and a thermally conductive pc board yield low dissipation and good heat distribution. Typical efficiency is 88% at full load on both outputs and 89% at 50% load on both outputs. Therefore, dissipation is typically less than 13.64W at full load and typically less than 6.18W at 50% load. The worst-case temperature variation within the module to 15°C. (See Picture.) di/dt Inc, 1-866-969-3438, www.didt.com.
Quarter-brick dc/dc converters deliver 115W (3.3V) or 40A (1.2V) at 55°C.
SynQor’s isolated-output Tera (QTA) dc/dc converters $96 (1000) provide as much as 115W from an industry-standard quarter-brick package. At 55°C with airflow of 400 lfm, no heat sink, and a 48V input, the 1.5-oz, 2.3×1.45×0.43-in., through-hole-mounted, 3.3V-output unit, whose input range is 35 to 75V, delivers 35A. The 1.2V-output unit delivers 40A, and you can trim the output to 1V. Typical efficiencies for the 3.3V unit are 90.5% at full load and 92% at half load. Thus, power dissipation is typically less than 12.125W at full load and less than 5.022W at half load. The corresponding figures for the 1.2V unit are 82%, 87%, 10.54W, and 3.59W. The units feature output-voltage ripple of 6 mV rms.
The QTA units, which use synchronous rectification, boost their efficiency through a patented topology that recovers energy stored in the rectifiers’ (MOSFETs’) parasitic capacitance. (See Picture.) SynQor Inc, 1-888-567-9596, www.synqor.com.
EDAWeb-based prototyping is easy.
National Semiconductor provides free, high-quality EDA tools on the Web to designers who are then more likely to use the company’s IC products in their designs. Webench serves the power-supply, wireless-PLL, and microcontroller areas. It provides WebSim from Transim for power-supply simulation, EasyPLL for PLL-circuit design, WebTherm from Flomerics for thermal analysis, the Microcontroller Webench for applications using microcontrollers, and the Build It module that you use to order either a kit or a prototype board. You can access all of the tools for free. Kits start at approximately $20, and a fully assembled and tested board costs about $110. (See Picture.) National Semiconductor, 1-408-721-5000, www.national.com.
Module provides more power to you.
The first innovation in the Cadence Design Systems SpecctraQuest Power Integrity Module is the ability to look at the power-delivery system’s impedance in the frequency domain. Its ability turns a pure postlayout-verification problem into an integrated-design-method problem early in the design cycle. The second innovation is the way the company models the power and ground-plane structures as a set of lossy transmission lines. Cadence has also partnered with Sun Microsystems for a product that allows engineers to calculate power-distribution characteristics earlier in the design cycle. It not only saves design time, but also allows you to create faster and smaller boards. (See Picture.) Cadence Design Systems, 1-503-671-9500, www.cadence.com.
Graph-based router leaves you in good shape.
NanoRoute from Plato Design Systems uses new algorithms to increase capacity and speed in IC routing. It performs global and detail routing, as well as postrouting optimization for any cell-based, block-based, or mixed design. Using scalable routing architecture, parallel processing, and object-oriented technology, NanoRoute delivers scalable performance and capacity. Leading-edge ICs are so large that the routing process may take days using traditional routers and require manual intervention for optimization. Plato has developed a router that significantly shortens routing time and optimizes trace width and spacing, because it performs signal-integrity optimization during routing. In addition, designers need to use only one router for both block- and cell-based routing. This ability eases and reduces the cost of floorplanning and final placement, because you need to buy and learn only one tool, and you need not reconcile the results of two routers before deciding on corrective actions. (See Picture.) Plato Design Systems, 1-408-436-8612, www.platodesign.com.
Online lab targets embedded developers of embedded systems.
Eliminating the initial wait for microprocessor-evaluation-hardware and, -software development tools, DevelopOnline allows embedded designers to write, compile, run, and debug programs on real hardware over the Internet. With proprietary technology to render the Internet, server, and controller transparent, DevelopOnline allows you to manipulate software running on a remote target as if it were directly connected to your desktop PC or workstation. You can select different hardware systems, operating systems, and development software without adjusting your local environment.
Microprocessor platforms from Intel (www.intel.com), IBM (www.ibm.com), and STMicroelectronics (www.st.com) are available for product and application development. In addition, DevelopOnline hosts complete suites of development tools and building blocks from leading providers, including MontaVista, Polyspace, Prosyst, and StarNet.
DevelopOnline leases the remote microprocessor boards and software to individual users at lease rates that are complementary to $100 per hour, depending on the platform. (See Picture.) DevelopOnline, 1-480-377-6800, www.developonline.com.
DSP software yields low-cost Internet connectivity.
SmartStack, a low-cost embedded product from eDevice Technology, allows OEMs to easily add Internet connectivity to their equipment. SmartStack uses a DSP to simultaneously execute the media-access-control layer—the standard functions you need to connect to a LAN—and the Internet protocols.
SmartStack is available for several physical layers or media via a standard off-the-shelf physical component that provides 10 Mbps of electrical interface to the LAN. Current physical layers include a dial-up modem, a LAN interface, and a GSM wireless modem. The company offers SmartStack as a software license, plug-in modem, or stand-alone external package controlled over a serial interface. After integration of the Internet protocols and physical layer on the single DSP, the DSP has additional room for user-application software.
A license for the software portion of SmartStack costs $4.10 (10,000). (See Picture.) eDevice Technology, 1-212-856-0000, www.edevice.com.
SOFTWARESoftware suite brings power management to new level.
Inhand Electronics’ BatterySmart allows OEMs and end users to manage performance and power consumption of battery-operated handheld devices. The suite comprises kernel-level software, which measures and controls CPU-core parameters and manages low-level system resources; peripheral-driver software, which optimizes performance and power consumption; a device driver and APIs, which allow you to access and control BatterySmart; and a control-panel applet, which provides hooks for end-user access to BatterySmart
features.
BatterySmart also implements a low-level DMA resource manager that unobtrusively allows each peripheral to appear to have its own DMA channel. The DMA manager prevents you from having to use CPU-intensive, interrupt-driven I/O. BatterySmart allows you to do more than adjust CPU-core-clock frequency based on CPU temperature and usage. The software suite also allows you to adjust performance based on parameters such as physical location of the device, remaining battery capacity, or proximity to a wireless access point. (See Picture.) InHand Electronics Inc, 1-301-670-9508, www.inhandelectronics.com.
Windows XP combines useful features with reliability.
Based on the new Windows Engine, Windows XP is the most dependable Windows to date. It also adds a number of multimedia features that allow you to acquire, save, print, and publish photos; find, play, and organize music; and create, play, copy, and organize videos. Windows XP has improved help and support features, allowing you to remotely access a user’s PC and make necessary changes. Internet-security features include a firewall and personalized logon. Multiple users can share a PC by switching to another user profile without disturbing currently running applications.
Microsoft has also reduced the time Windows XP takes to boot up, resume from hibernation, and shut down. The Network Setup Wizard simplifies the process of setting up a home- or small-office network by automatically recognizing the type of network and configuring the PC accordingly. Windows XP also automatically detects and connects to wireless networks, allowing you to roam from one wireless LAN to another. The OS costs $99 for a Windows XP Home Edition upgrade to $299 for a clean installation of Windows XP Professional. (See Picture.) Microsoft Corp, 1-425-882-8080, www.microsoft.com.
TEST & MEASUREMENTInstruments simplify logic analysis for engineers who haven’t time to become logic-analyzer experts.
Many EEs who use logic analyzers don’t use them every day or even every week. For these engineers, repeatedly relearning how to operate the instruments is unpleasant, time-consuming, and wasteful. The intuitive Windows-based interface of Agilent’s 1680 and 1690-series analyzers (from $4995) ends this frustration by providing a single-screen “home base” from which icons afford access to commonly used functions. This scheme replaces the use of separate screens for each major operation or task. Although that approach may have made sense to the designers of earlier analyzers, Agilent’s extensive usability testing showed that it presented serious obstacles to learning.
Setting up trigger conditions was another key impediment to usability. Agilent solved this problem with a technique that enables users to describe the conditions the way they think about them. Software within the analyzer then translates these descriptions into conditions the instrument hardware understands. Users can also set trigger conditions by drawing a box around a portion of a displayed waveform that describes desired trigger conditions. (See Picture.) Agilent Technologies, 1-800-452-4844, www.agilent.com.
Windows-based data-acquisition software bypasses Windows’ message queue.
Data Translation’s $495 DT Measure Foundry is a Windows-based test-and-measurement-application builder in which users create applications by dragging and dropping icons. Although it runs under Windows, Measure Foundry handles high-speed real-time processing because it bypasses Windows’ message queue, which creates processing bottlenecks. Developing an application consists of selecting measurement sources, selecting user-interface panels, and adding buttons to the panels. Users need not connect icons with virtual wires.
Measure Foundry also facilitates the development of applications that combine data acquisition with machine vision. The company’s companion software product, Vision Foundry, provides a built-in peer-to-peer communication link, DT Information Exchange, which enables sharing of sensor- and vision-based measurements. You share these measurements not only between applications based on the two Data Translation packages, but also with other applications that use Microsoft’s component-object-model technology. (See Picture.) Data Translation Inc, 1-508-481-3700, www.datatranslation.com.
Scope automatically identifies statistically significant waveform anomalies.
One of the most valuable features of Tektronix’s lunchbox-sized, 100- to 500-MHz-bandwidth, two- and four-channel TDS3000B series of digital-phosphor oscilloscopes (from $3395) is WaveAlert. This function removes the drudgery from identifying and finding anomalous waveforms that occur only occasionally (most often when nobody is watching the scope). The anomalies usually indicate that something is wrong with the circuit under test. WaveAlert is unique in determining which waveforms differ from the rest in statistically significant ways. The scope then displays the anomalous ones in a distinctive color, so that they stand out from typical signals. Upon detecting an anomaly, the scope can stop acquisition, sound an audible alarm, write the anomalous waveform to disk, or print the waveform on an optional strip printer, which plugs into the back of the scope. (See Picture.) Tektronix Inc, 1-800-426-2200, www.tektronix.com.
MPEG-4 codec makes magnificent mini movies.
Toshiba’s TC35273XB embeds 12 Mbits of DRAM, for lower power and higher bandwidth than the alternative approach employing external memory. It also includes three distinct 16-bit, MIPS-based processor cores for audio, video, and multiplexing and demultiplexing. The chip encodes and decodes the AMR, ITU-T G.729, and ITU-T G.723.1 speech formats. It decodes these standards as well as the Twin-VQ and AAC LC formats, which MPEG-4 also comprehends, and MP3.
The TC35273XB’s target video-resolution and -frame rate—QCIF at 15 frames/sec—tailors it for minimal-sized display applications, such as advanced cellular phones. It consumes only 80 mW of average power at 2.5V and 70 MHz. A partnership with Infineon (www.infineon.com) enables TC35273XB-interface compatibility with Infineon’s M-Gold 3G cellular-baseband chip set. In an 11×11-mm, 141-bump CSP, for the TC35273XB sells for $55 (one). (See Picture.) Toshiba Semiconductor, 1-949-455-2000, www.toshiba.com.
Video processor squashes cost, artifacts.
Sage’s $29 (10,000) FLI2200 operates either in a low-cost, no-external-memory mode with a line-interpolation algorithm or in conjunction with 4 Mbytes of external-SDRAM frame buffer for highest video quality. You can run it in either a 10-bit or a lower cost 8-bit configuration. Features include motion-adaptive cross-color suppression to remove NTSC, PAL, and SECAM color artifacts and per-pixel, motion-adaptive deinterlacing. DCDi (directional correlational deinterlacing) with per-pixel selection of edge direction produces a smooth picture, free of aliasing effects.
The 3:2 and 2:2 inverse-telecine modes adjust for film- and video-derived material and badly edited blends of the two. FLI2200 interlaced-input options include 8- and 10-bit D1 (BT656); 16- and 20-bit YUV (CCIR601); and 24- and 30-bit RGB, YCrCb, and YPrPb. Progressive-scan output options include 8-, 10-, 16-, and 20-bit YUV and 24- and 30-bit RGB, YCrCb, and YPrPb. The FLI2200 interfaces gluelessly to most standard video and MPEG DVD decoders, as well as to Sage’s FLI2000 video decoder and FLI2220 luma/chroma enhancer and OSD generator. (See Picture.) Sage, 1-408-383-5300, www.sageinc.com.
DSPsOptimum resource sizing makes for single-device voice and packetization processing.
The MoNET S1000 voice-over-packet processor from RealChip relies on several mechanisms to optimize on-chip resources and perform voice/telephony and packetization functions on a single device. These mechanisms include real-time updating of program and data memories while the DSP executes from other memory banks and sharing common program memory across several DSPs in a multi-DSP system. Built-in hierarchical arbitration and load-balancing mechanisms manage the four Carmel DSP cores to maintain performance supporting video, encryption, and voice recognition. Each device can gluelessly connect to multiple S1000s via the external synchronous bus to build OC3 density on a single board. Each device integrates 48 kbytes of program memory and 28 kbytes of data memory; a Lexra RISC CPU; a memory-access controller; and PCI, Ethernet, Utopia Level 2, SDRAM, and flash interfaces with the Carmel DSP cores. The S1000 costs $275 per unit in volume. (See Picture.) RealChip Communications, 1-408-735-9065, www.realchip.com.
Coprocessors and advanced (un)packing improve performance and code size.
Advanced VLIW-instruction handling allows the Texas Instruments TMS32C6416 DSP to execute packets to span fetch packets, and new instructions can access words and double words on any byte boundary. These new capabilities combine with expanded caches, increased orthogonality, doubled register-file size, expanded packed-data types, and an additional condition register to improve compiler efficiency, increase code performance, and reduce code size. New instructions supporting bit-interleaving speed, error-correcting algorithms, and coprocessors for turbo and Viterbi decoding accelerate the symbol-rate processing for wireless voice and data channels. Additional application-specific instructions, supporting imaging, communications, graphics, and audio applications, allow the $115 (10,000) C6416 DSP to perform one channel of MPEG-4 video encoding, one channel of MPEG-4 video decoding, and one channel of MPEG-2 video decoding and still have 50% of processing headroom for multichannel voice and data coding. (See Picture.) Texas Instruments, 1-281-274-3705, www.ti.com.
Tiny 3×3-mm package delivers a full-featured microcontroller.
Cygnal’s C8051F300 employs a two-wire interface to access the nonintrusive, on-chip-debug and in-system-development capabilities. It also has a crossbar block that enables users to select and route analog and digital peripherals to any of the I/O pins to deliver a full-featured microcontroller in an 11-pin, 3×3-mm micro-lead-frame package. The ±2%-accurate internal oscillator eliminates the need for an external crystal or resonator for UART communication and conserves even more board area. The device also integrates an 8051-compatible processor with 8 kbytes of flash memory; 256 bytes of RAM; an 8-bit, 500k-sample/sec ADC; an analog comparator with programmable hysteresis levels; UART and SMBus serial ports; three 16-bit counter/timers; and an on-chip temperature sensor. The $3.83 to $5.01 (1000) devices can dynamically switch between clock sources useful for power-saving modes. (See Picture.) Cygnal Integrated Products, 1-512-327-7088, www.cygnal.com.
Microcontrollers configure custom analog and digital peripherals on the fly.
Cypress Microsystems’ CY8C25xxx/26xxx 8-bit microcontrollers have no fixed set of peripherals but can dynamically reconfigure, during runtime, their programmable peripheral blocks of digital and analog logic to deliver the necessary peripheral functions. Users can configure the analog blocks to implement standard analog functions, such as signal gain stages, filtering, and analog-to-digital conversion. They can also configure these blocks to make internal analog-signal chains that can connect directly with analog sensors, thereby reducing the components the user’s circuit board requires and increasing the system’s reliability. The $2.25 to $4.65 (1000) devices include eight digital-peripheral blocks and 12 analog-peripheral blocks, 4 to 16 kbytes of flash memory, 128 to 256 bytes of RAM, and six to 44 configurable I/O pins. (See Picture.) Cypress Microsystems, 1-425-939-1016, www.cypressmicro.com.
Pipeline architecture squeezes performance with out-of-order execution.
NEC’s VR5500 is the first 64-bit MIPS microprocessor that supports speculative, out-of-order instruction execution. It lets the processor request a system-bus transaction and issues the next request before the transaction data returns, effectively reducing long latency penalties and filling holes in the pipeline. The 10-stage superpipeline architecture comprises four decoupled pipelines and supports higher frequency implementations, in which extremely high data amounts require simultaneous processing. A template-based commitment technique that limits the sequence of instructions to be committed eliminates bottlenecks in the speculative store-commitment pipeline. The data cache improves performance by using a nonblocking mechanism that allows the processor to access the cache even while the cache unit is waiting for as many as four additional lines of the refill data. The $35 (10,000) device features a detachable execution-unit architecture that allows you to replace one FPU with an application-specific coprocessor. (See Picture.) NEC Electronics, 1-800-366-9782, www.necel.com.
Core adds support for configurable, multiprocessor SOCs.
Tensilica’s Xtensa IV microprocessor core adds multiple-processor support to a configurable and extensible platform. Multiprocessing enhancements in the development tools include a new system-modeling API, a revamped C-callable instruction-set simulator, and an improved multiple-processor-aware debugger that manages multiple processors through a daisy-chained breakpoint network. The system-modeling API facilitates C-simulation models that can call multiple instances of the instruction-set simulator to simulate multiple processors. Each instance of the Xtensa core can have a different configuration and extensions, allowing you to simulate systems with multiple heterogeneous processors in C or C++ before committing to a particular system-design approach. New configuration options include a memory-management unit, a high-speed-local-memory port, and options for the Vectra DSP engine. The licensing fee starts at $350,000. (See Picture.) Tensilica, 1-408-986-8000, www.tensilica.com.
MEMS-based optical attenuator meets speed, size, reliability demands.
For setting signal levels in optical networks, the fast variable optical attenuator from Lightconnect Inc uses a CMOS-based MEMS device and a diffractive structure to function as a dynamic voltage-controlled attenuator. The device shifts an array of reflective ribbons, suspended above a reflective substrate, to control the phase difference and, thus, the interference and diffraction effects of the incident-light wavefront. Response time of approximately 40 μsec results from the small mass and distances and the high mechanical resonant frequency. Electrically, the $700 device looks like a small capacitor, and, unlike thermal or magnetic-actuation devices, it dissipates minimal power. Lightconnect has tested the device to 10 billion cycles. (See Picture.) Lightconnect Inc, 1-510-284-4337, www.lightconnect.com.
MEMS two-axis accelerometer uses thermal convection, not proof mass.
The MX2000 two-axis accelerometer from Memsic Inc does away with the proof-mass element that other accelerometers use and instead relies on a tiny bubble of heated air inside the package cavity. This MEMS IC measures any minute shifts in thermal convection as temperature differentials, as the bubble moves in response to acceleration. Integral thermocouples make the temperature measurements, so Memsic packages the complete unit as an eight- or 10-pin IC. Available in ±1 to ±50g full-scale models, the $7.25 device is easier to fabricate and more resistant to high-g shock (50,000g) than proof-mass units. (See Picture.) Memsic Inc, 1-978-623-8188, www.memsic.com.
Optical interconnect pumps 12 multi-Gbps channels in parallel.
For pushing more than 30 Gbps of aggregate data at distances reaching 300m, the Magnus Parallel Optical Interconnect from Picolight uses an array of 12 850-nm VCSELs and PIN diodes in mating connectors, along with a framing/media-access-controller unit, a serializer/deserializer, and support circuitry. The asynchronous channels accept data in a variety of standard formats. These $1500/pair interconnect modules operate from a 3.3V supply and dissipate 2W/pair. Picolight builds them using multichannel optical-alignment algorithms and a BGA card connection to lower both production and installation cost. (See Picture.) Picolight Inc, 1-303-530-3189, www.picolight.com.
Programmable-logic core builds on an arithmetic foundation.
The fundamental building block of Adaptive Silicon’s MSA 2500 embedded FPGA is an enhanced, 4-bit 74LS181 ALU with a modular carry-look-ahead scheme and optional output registering. Four ALUs group to form a quad block that connects to other quad blocks with signal routing and ALU-control resources; 16 quad blocks form a hex block. Adaptive Silicon estimates that each hex block represents an average of 1500 ASIC gates. The logic cell can also implement more generic look-up-table-like functions via both gate- and ALU-level-mapping capabilities.
The interface between programmable- and standard-cell partitions comprises a PLC (programmable-logic-core) control structure in the programmable partition, along with an application-circuit interface, and a matching PLC adapter in the ASIC partition. The MSA 2500 price scheme includes a technology-licensing fee that can cost as little as $300,000 and volume-dependent per-chip royalties that typically cost 5 cents to 40 cents per chip produced. (See Picture.) Adaptive Silicon, 1-408-335-2700, www.adaptivesilicon.com.
Enhanced DRAM delivers a power-thrifty performance.
FCRAM (fast-cycle RAM) employs a segmented memory core that, compared with conventional DRAM, reduces random-read access times and active current draw. Fujitsu’s 2.5V, 256-Mbit FCRAMs target networking and other applications that require high density and buyers who aren’t willing to pay for expensive synchronous SRAM. This third-generation of FCRAM technology follows in the footsteps of memories targeting graphics frame buffers (1999) and low-power SRAM replacement (2000).
Cycle times for the A series, running at 133 to 154 MHz, are 30 to 40 nsec, and random-access times are 23 to 30 nsec. Corresponding cycle and random-access times for B series FCRAMs with 167- to 200-MHz speeds are as low as 25 and 22 nsec, respectively. All devices come in 66-lead TSOPs. The high-volume price for 154-MHz FCRAMs is $40; the corresponding price for 200-MHz memories is $46. (See Picture.) Fujitsu Microelectronics, 1-408-922-9000, www.fujitsumicro.com.
Wireless chip set has a magnetic personality.
Aura Communications’ LibertyLink transceiver employs magnetic induction versus the more costly and power-hungry RF electric fields that protocols such as Bluetooth and 802.11 use. Wireless telephone headsets, headphones, game controllers, keyboards and mice, printers, and PDA synchronization are examples of the technology’s potential personal-area-network applications. Advanced features include automatic client recognition, security, autoranging power control, and EEPROM programmability.
A three-plane orthogonal ferrite-coil-antenna array simultaneously transmits data and voice over an 11-MHz Gaussian-minimum-shift-keying-modulated carrier signal. Time-division multiplexing enables multidevice partitioning of the 204.8-kbps maximum data rate, and 64-kbps continuously variable slope-delta voice encoding satisfies real-time latency requirements. Transmitted power drops off quickly (1/distance6 versus 1/distance3 for RF), limiting usable range but also enabling frequency reuse and simplifying the FCC compliance process. LibertyLink costs $6.50 in high volume. (See Picture.) Aura Communications, 1-978-988-0088, www.auracomm.com.
ANALOG ICsRMS-to-dc converter exploits DS topology.
The LTC1966 from Linear Technology uses a DS architecture to form a more accurate rms-to-dc converter than traditional log-antilog techniques. Its typical linearity over a 50-to-350 mV input range is 0.02%, and worst-case linearity is 0.15%. With a signal-crest factor of four, the converter holds its worst-case error to 1%. The 1966 also exhibits lower drift over time and temperature than competing architectures and allows calibration with any input-signal amplitude. Another advantage of the delta-sigma-converter structure is that the bandwidth doesn’t change with signal amplitude as it does in log-antilog converters.
Differential inputs improve EMI/RFI rejection, simplifying compliance certification for panel and handheld meters. The input range extends to 1V swings, and the chip can measure as little as 5 mV rms. The LTC1966 operates on 2.7 to ±5.5V rails, fits in an MSOP-8, and requires only one external component. The price is $5 (1000). (See Picture.) Linear Technology, 1-408-432-1900, www.linear.com.
Retiming repeater resets jitter budget without skips.
Primarion’s PX5120’ skip-free architecture allows you to operate any number of repeaters between nodes in 2.5-Gpbs InfiniBand or 2.125-Gbps Fibre Channel links. The full-duplex repeater/retimer reclocks data at the received rate, resetting the jitter budget without adding or deleting skip bits for clock-rate compensation and without jitter peaking that can occur with back-to-back serializer/deserializer repeaters.
The PX5120 is media-agnostic. User-selectable pre-emphasis allows the repeater to operate over cable, fiber, or pc-board traces. The independent clock-and-data-recovery circuits for each channel require no external components. An IEEE 1149.1 JTAG-test interface and dual loopback modes support chip and link diagnostics.
The chip operates with either 125- or 250-MHz differential or single-ended reference clocks. In full-duplex mode, the repeater dissipates 1.6W from a 2.5V supply. The PX5120 costs $30 (1000) and comes in a BGA-196 package. (See Picture.) Primarion, 1-866-321-7746, www.primarion.com.
Chip-sized gain/phase detector measures RF/IF signals.
The AD8302 reduces the circuitry for RF/IF-gain and -phase measurements to one IC. Gain or phase measurements require two precisely matched measurement channels. Instrument-grade discrete circuits require elaborate compensation schemes to maintain good channel-to-channel matching over time and temperature. The AD8302 simultaneously reports the relative gain and phase between two points in an RF-signal chain. The IC’s gain error is less than 0.5-dB in a 55-dB range; the phase accuracy is better than 1°.
The IC’s dual-demodulating log amplifiers and phase detector measure signals to 2.7 GHz and can measure signals of different frequency to gauge conversion gain or loss. The AD8302’s sensitivity is 30 mV/dB over a ±30-dB range and 10 mV/° from 0 to 180°. The $15.50 (1000) detector, packaged in a TSSOP-14, operates from –40 to +85°C and draws 27 mA maximum from 2.7 to 5V supplies. (See Picture.) Analog Devices, 1-800-262-5643, www.analog.com.
POWER ICsTEC controller keeps laser temperature rock steady.
The single-chip LTC1923 TEC (thermal-electric-cooler/heater) controller maintains a steady laser module temperature for DWDM control to 0.1 nm.
The H-bridge switch-mode power-output stage drives the Peltier cell bidirectionally with no dead zone as the control loop changes from heating to cooling. The controller protects, senses, and limits the peak bridge current during each switching cycle to prevent TEC overstress. The 1923 detects open or shorted thermistors to prevent thermal runaway. An on-chip output clamp protects the TEC from overvoltage conditions. An adjustable output slew rate reduces EMI.
A PLL-based oscillator facilitates synchronizing multiple TEC controllers in multilaser systems. The oscillator is adjustable to 1 MHz, minimizing the size of external filter components for the $18.17 (1000) chip. The LTC1923 is available in an SSOP-28 package. (See Picture.) Linear Technology, 1-408-432-1900, www.linear.com.
Battery monitor/charge controller manages multiple chemistries with or without system involvement.
The DS2770 monitor/charger from Maxim/Dallas Semiconductor integrates the sense resistor, charge controller, coulomb counter, and memory for lithium-ion and NiMH battery packs. It can operate as a stand-alone charger or with the system processor via its one-wire interface.
OEMs can use the 2770 to offer high-density li-ion or low-cost NiMH packs in the same equipment without safety concerns or added complexity. The die-sized flip-chip package fits easily into cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, digital cameras, and other small portable devices. The monitor/controller is also available in a TSSOP-16. DS2770-based battery packs need only four connections: battery power, charge source, ground, and the one-wire interface.
On-chip memory includes a lockable EEPROM for battery information, which remains unaffected by battery depletion, shorts, or ESD events. Each of the $2.85 (1000) devices has a factory-programmed 64-bit net address that allows a system to address individual packs in a multipack system. (See Picture.) Maxim/Dallas Semiconductor, 1-972-371-4000, www.dalsemi.com.
COMPUTERS, BUSES, AND BOARDSAffordable Ethernet module eases network-product development.
The RCM2200 Ethernet module from Rabbit Semiconductor simplifies the development of network-aware embedded systems at an extremely low recurring cost. The credit-card-sized module includes the Rabbit microprocessor, 256 kbytes of flash memory, 128 kbytes of SDRAM, four serial ports, 29 I/O lines, a 10BaseT Ethernet interface, and an RJ-45 connector. Using the RCM2200, you can control, monitor, and debug embedded systems across any network or the Internet. A complete software-development kit supports the module and features a TCP/IP stack, a Web server, and the Dynamic C development system.
Prices for the RCM2200 modules range from $34 (1000) to $49 (one). The $239 development kit includes the RCM2200 module, a prototyping board, networking software, C development system, and documentation on a CD-ROM. (See Picture.) Rabbit Semiconductor, 1-530-757-8400, www.rabbitsemiconductor.com.
Tiny module speeds handheld applications.
To meet the recent surge in demand for portable embedded devices, InHand Electronics offers an off-the-shelf hardware platform for low-power, handheld PDA development. Measuring 70×70×9.5 mm, the single-board computer supports Windows CE 3.0 and includes complete handheld and PDA functions.
The Fingertip platform incorporates Intel’s StrongARM SA-1110 RISC CPU with as much as 16 Mbytes of flash memory and 64 Mbytes of SDRAM and consumes less than 1W at 206 MHz. The device operates from unregulated dc supplies of 3.6 to 12V and includes a smart battery charger. The board also offers a Compact Flash socket, as many as three serial ports, 12 programmable I/Os, a multimedia codec, a USB port, and LCD/touchscreen interfaces. The Fingertip design is available as both a single-board computer and a reference platform. The single-board-computer version sells for less than $300 in volume quantities. (See Picture.) InHand Electronics Inc, 1-301-670-9508, www.inhandelectronics.com.
Single-board computer offers plug-in processing power.
Relegating the computing subsystem to the status of a plug-in component, the ETX-P3E from Jumptec Adastra offers designers an off-the-shelf single-board computer to simplify embedded-product design. The ETX-P3E module integrates the core CPU and memory, common I/O, USB, audio, graphics, and Ethernet on a standardized 3.7×4.4-in. board. All of the I/O signals from these peripheral systems plus the ISA and PCI buses are mapped onto four high-density, low-profile connectors on the bottom of the module. The designer’s custom baseboard needs only to provide mating connectors to take advantage of the ETX-P3E module’s processing power. The ETX-P3E single-board-computer module supports the Intel 330-, 500-, and 700-MHz mobile Pentium III and Celeron processors running at a maximum bus speed of 133 MHz.
The ETX-P3E costs $310 (1000) with a 300-MHz Celeron processor or $570 (1000) with a 700-MHz Pentium III processor. (See Picture.) Jumptec Adastra, 1-510-732-6900, www.adastra.com.
PERIPHERALSKeypad squeezes full alphanumeric keyboard into less than 2.5 in2.
The Fastap keypad from Digit Wireless includes all alphanumeric keys and fits into a space one-third the size of a credit card. You can operate it with your finger, and it brings a computer-keyboard interface to a wireless phone for the first time. Fastap technology comprises a matrix of raised and lowered keys. Raised buttons are comfortably distant from adjacent buttons, and the valleys between them form additional keys. Pressing any button or any valley produces a unique output that you use to identify which key was pressed.
The Fastap technology is available in any keypad arrangement, including alphabetic, QWERTY, and European layouts, and in multiple languages. Targeting handheld applications, such as wireless phones, two-way pagers, PDAs, Web-TV remotes, MP3 players, and industrial instrumentation, Fastap keypads are available from licensed keypad manufacturers or from the vendor. (See Picture.) Digit Wireless LLC, 1-617-441-0654, www.digitwireless.net.
Plasma-display panel cuts complexity and cost.
Fujitsu Microelectronics’ TERES (Technology of Reciprocal Sustainer) technology reduces drive-circuit costs by halving the required drive voltage with no reduction in discharge voltage. TERES also consumes half the power of older plasma-display panels. Fujitsu combines TERES with its ALIS (alternate-lighting-of-surfaces) technology to provide optimal luminosity at the most cost-efficient price of any plasma-panel display. ALIS alternately displays odd and even lines at high speeds, letting you create high-resolution images using the same number of electrodes that VGA displays use.
The 32-in., high-definition plasma-display panel also uses enhanced phosphors and rib materials, which improve brightness to 700 cd/m2 with no impact on the display’s longevity. The display has a 16-to-9 aspect ratio and 852×1024-pixel resolution, and it sells for $2990. (See Picture.) Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc, 1-408-922-9000, www.fma.fujitsu.com.
