Hot 100 Products 2001
By Staff -- 12/6/2001
COMMUNICATIONS
Network processor operates at wire speed.
AMCC's nPX7250 network processor transports single-stream, clear-channel OC-48c for both packets and cells and 43OC-192, 16×OC-3, and 2×Gigabit Ethernet combinations at wire speed. The company based the multicore nPX7250 on nPcore network-optimized instruction-set-computing elements. The nPX7250 has hardware-based multithreading, zero-cycle context switching, and an embedded classification-and-search coprocessor. Programming follows a linear-programming model using the nPsoft development environment with Internet Protocol routing and ATM software libraries and code-generation and -debugging tools, including simulators, graphical symbolic debuggers, and a C/C++ compiler. The nPX7250 comes in a 673-bump PBGA, is available for sampling, and costs $300 in volume.
AMCC, www.amcc.com.
Switcher connects eight network processors at 12.8 Gbps.
The VSC2708 Focus self-routing switch from Vitesse connects as many as eight IQ2000 network processors or other Focus-enabled devices on a single line card for a throughput of 12.8 Gbps. For more complex applications, you can construct multistage switching networks by cascading multiple Focuses for as much as 64 Gbps of bandwidth. Each of the eight bidirectional, 16-bit Focus interfaces operates as fast as 100 MHz. The Focus uses a low-overhead route header to explicitly define unicast, multicast, and broadcast traffic between ingress and egress ports to reduce the complexity of multistage architectures and minimize ingress-bandwidth requirements. The header also supports multiple priority levels. The VSC2708 Focus Connect comes in a 456-bump PBGA.
VoIP ante rises to 384 ports.
Mapletree's MTN3000 Series access processor can process as many as 384 voice ports at 10 mW per port for voice-over-packet and multiservice gateways ranging from 48-port customer-premises-equipment switches to OC-12 carrier-class trunk gateways. The device offers on-chip ATM and Ethernet data-link-layer processing and glueless interfaces for ATM Utopia Level 2, Ethernet media-independent interface, and H.110 time-division-multiplexing physical-layer devices. The MTN3000 supports voice, fax, and data services, including G.711, G.726, ADPCM (adaptive differential pulse code modulation); G.729A and G.723.1 voice codecs; G.165 and G.168 echo cancellation; VoIP and voice-over-ATM packet processing; fax relay; and wireless packet processing. Multiple MTN3000s increase port density support to several thousand ports at the board level. Advanced adaptive jitter-buffer and echo-cancellation algorithms dynamically compensate for network jitter and long, multiple echoes, minimize delays, and increase port density. One device can support as many as 384 G.711 ports with 32-msec echo delays and as many as 256 ports with 128-msec delays. The MTN3000 costs $350, and samples are available.
Mapletree Networks, 1-781-751-2400, www.mapletree.com.
SERDES goes wide and fat.
Running eight full-duplex channels at 3.125 Gbps, the VC1003 SERDES (serializer/deserializer) from Velio Communications can pass an aggregate 50 Gbps on a chip. Consuming 2.1W under typical load conditions, the device can also support 1m of FR4 pc-board trace length plus two backplane connectors, more than double the objectives described in 10-Gbit XAUI (extended attachment-unit interface), the emerging Ethernet standard. Other devices in the family include the VC1001, an octal SERDES device running channels at 1.25 Gbps and consuming 1.5W; the VC1002, an octal device running channels at 2.5 Gbps and consuming 1.9W; the VC1012 quad running at 2.5 Gbps; and the VC1013 quad running at 3.125 Gbps. Octal devices are available in 25-mm, 380-bump BGA packages; quad devices come in 17-mm, 220-bump BGA packages. Price for the VC1003 Octal 3.125 is $136 (1000).
Velio Communications, 1-408-434-9280, www.velio.com.
Processor provides speedy address look-up.
The iAP (iFlow Address Processor) network coprocessor from Silicon Access Networks can perform more than 65 million searches/sec using either exact- or longest-prefix matching. The device can store 256,000 IPV4 entries and associated data on-chip. The iAP simultaneously supports media-access-control addresses, IPV4, IPV6, IPV5 5 tuple look-ups without bank segmentation; that is, it stores tables in separate banks of memory. An on-chip arithmetic unit offloads statistics calculations from the host processor. The device can manage as many as 64 concurrent look-up threads to support multithreaded processors. Error-correcting code protects all internal memories with parity protection for all external buses. The iAP connects to other devices using a zero-bus-turnaround/double-cycled-deselect synchronous-SRAM interface. Built using a 0.13-micron CMOS process, the iAP comes in a 520-ball BGA. The device costs less than $300 in production quantities. A hardware-evaluation system is available.
Silicon Access Networks, 1-408-545-1100, www.siliconaccess.com.
Switch-fabric and line-card devices groom for OC-192.
New members of Vitesse's TimeStream family of SONET/SDH switch-fabric and line-card devices target OC-192 STS-1/STM-1 applications. The 10-Gbps VSC9186 pointer processor lets you combine four 2.5-Gbps optical interfaces into one 10-Gbps fiber. The device integrates working- and protection-fabric interfaces, as well as clock and data recovery. Price is $810 (1000). The VSC9188 and VSC9187 work together to provide grooming for 5 Gbps of VT1.5 traffic or 10 Gbps of ring-based VT1.5 traffic for applications at the metropolitan-area-network edge that require legacy T1 switching. The VSC9188 handles SONET and virtual-tributary traffic termination, and the VSC9187 performs VT1.5 switching and grooming on as many as 6048 VT1.5s. Price for the pair is $1600 (1000). Another new member, the VSC9180 backplane transceiver serializes four STS-12/STM-4 signals or byte-interleaved SONET/SDH/optical-transport-network data from 4-bit, 622-MHz or 16-bit, 155-MHz buses onto redundant 2.5-Gbps serial-backplane outputs. Price is $105 (1000).
Vitesse, 1-805-388-3700, www.vitesse.com.
9-Mbit CAM hits silicon.
The 9-Mbit SiberCAM Ultra-9M from SiberCore is a ternary CAM (content-addressable memory) that operates at 100 MHz and can perform 100 million searches/sec for OC-192 and OC-48 applications requiring multiple look-ups per packet. At 100 MHz, it supports 36-, 72-, and 144-bit searches; it performs 288-bit-wide searches at 50 million searches/sec. A block-select feature limits searches to only sections of the CAM and reduces power consumption. A single device can store 256k Layer 3 addresses. You can cascade as many as 16 devices to support 4M addresses. You need not suspend the search path during table maintenance, which would degrade overall look-up performance. The Ultra-9M is pin-compatible with the Ultra-2M, and comes in both 40- and 27-mm BGA packages. Prices start at $320 (10,000), depending on package and clock speed.
SiberCore, 1-613-271-8100, www.sibercore.com.
Get T1 granularity over OC-48.
The PX4800 Viti-48 SONET/SDH cross-connect switch from Paxonet Communications is a single-chip, single-stage, and nonblocking switch for virtual tributaries across OC-48 data streams. Granularity down to T1, E1, T3, and E3 data streams within 16 STS-3/STM-1 or four STS-12/STM-4 cross connections enables data grooming and aggregation at the metro optical network edge, and physical cross connections swap virtual tributaries of equal sizes. The device can also switch columns in the SONET/SDH input-data stream along with standard payload increments of VT1.5, VT2.0, and so on, as well as cascade to support OC-192 with channelization down to 0.5-Mbps granularity. Features include programmable even or odd parity, fixed code insertion in the output stream, parity error detection and counting, and a 16-bit interface adaptable to certain Intel and Motorola processors. The device comes in a 352-bump SBGA package and is rated at –40 to +85°C. Price is $450 (1000).
Paxonet Communications, 1-510-770-2277, www.paxonet.com.
Bridge chip targets PCI.
The AP1011 HyperTransport-to-PCI bridge chip from API Networks is backward-compatible with PCI with a maximum aggregate bandwidth as high as 16 Gbytes/sec based on a 32-bit datapath in each direction and clocked on both edges at 1 GHz. The bus can daisy-chain as many as 32 devices, including the host, and comes in 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 bits. The AP1011 is configured with an 8-bit datapath clocked on both edges at 533 MHz for a 1-Gbyte transfer rate in both directions and contains a forward path for all HyperTransport packets that do not match its address space. On-chip transceivers and buffers enable the device to directly drive four 33-MHz or two 66-MHz PCI slots for 32- or 64-bit PCI. The device also complies with Revision 2.2 of the PCI spec. Packaged in a 352-pin SBGA, the device costs $95 (1000).
API Networks, 1-978-318-1100, www.api-networks.com/silicon.
Forward error correction gets turbo boost.
The Astro LE family from Advanced Hardware Architecture gives you 3-dB coding gain via Reed Solomon or Viterbi coding is attractive, especially at the target price of $5 (1 million). The 2-kbit Astro LE operates at channel rates as high as 35 Mbps. The 4-kbit Astro LE offers additional coding gain for less cost-sensitive applications and uses a larger block size of 4 kbits. Applications for the Astro LE family include modems for high-speed wireless-Internet access, including point-to-multipoint terrestrial and satellite connections, as well as next-generation power-line modems running through standard electrical outlets. The devices use the vendor Turbo Product Code technology, offer coding rates of 0.25 to 0.95% efficiency, operate at half- or full-duplex, and have 5V-tolerant inputs with 3.3V-I/O and 1.8V-core operation.
Advanced Hardware Architecture, www.aha.com.
COMPONENTS, HARDWARE, AND INTERCONNECT
Magnetic-surface clutches offer mechanical isolation.
A magnetic clutch from Rimtec lets you transmit torque through a barrier, such as a cabinet wall or sealed housing, with no continuous mechanical path. Applications include underwater and nuclear applications, as well as pumps in chemical and pharmaceutical applications. The clutch uses a pair of permanent-magnet-lined disks or cylinders, depending on sizing, opposing each other across an air gap or other noninterfering barrier. As you rotate one disk or cylinder, the magnetic fields interact across the gap and induce the second disk or cylinder to follow. If the transmission path has an overload situation, the clutch disengages and slips to eliminate the possibility of damage to the driving shaft and its power source. The barrier between driving and driven sides can be nonmagnetic surfaces, such as plastic, air, some types of metal, and glass, and can be as thick as 0.25 in. These clutches are made with disk-type facing surfaces for torque values of 17 to 265 lbs-in., and the cylinder-terminated version is for larger loads of 440 to 8850 lbs-in. Prices range from $850 to $6085, depending on model.
Rimtec Corp, www.rimteccorporation.com.
High-current, surface-mount inductor includes magnetic shielding.
JW Miller's PM12639S series of high-current units includes magnetic shielding, low dc resistance, and high saturation current in low-profile, surface-mount packages. The series offers inductance of 0.67 to 1.2 µH with 30A maximum current, and the PM12465S series has an inductance range of 1.2 to 2.7 µH but with a maximum current of 27A. The surface-mount components of the two series are 3.9 and 4.5 mm high, respectively, and operate at –40 to +125°C. They come on reels of 800 pieces and cost $1.42 each (full-reel quantities).
JW Miller, 1-310-515-1720, www.jwmiller.com.
Light up your life with an LED line.
You can easily create illumination for display letters and signage using Ledtronics' PathLED LEDs on light strips. In many applications, the line of LEDs can replace less efficient, less reliable, hotter fluorescent lamps or even neon lamps. The LEDs, which offer 1408 viewing angle, emit bright light that fills the entire letter form. They're prewired in parallel so that if any one fails, the rest of the string remains on. The product family offers many options, including 5-mm, 3-mm, or SMT-size LEDs; interLED spacing of 3, 6, and 12 in.; six colors, including 8000K white; differing intensities; and operating voltages of 2 to 28V. The LEDs come on EIA-standard reels as one long strip, and you can cut the strip to fabricate any sizes you need. Prices depend on configurations.
Ledtronics Inc, www.ledtronics.com.
GPS antenna can swing active or passive.
The Powerhelix GPS-A antenna from Sarantel provides user-specified or vendor-supplied low-noise active circuitry to boost gain and improve resulting bit-error rate if needed. The antenna, which operates in the 1575.42-MHz L1 GPS band, measures 18×10 mm and has a 3-dB contour of 175°. It features a right-hand-primary polarization above the antenna and a left-hand pattern beneath it, so it can receive both direct line-of-sight signals and bounced signals that GPS receivers often see in urban areas. Further, its small near-field area means a user's body or hand leaves the antenna relatively unaffected. The GPS-A costs $4.30 (10,000 to 50,000) for the passive version and $9.50 for the active version.
Sarantel Ltd, +44-0-1933-670560, www.sarantel.com.
Protection against high currents gets easier.
The TISP3xxxH3SL series from Bourns comes in modified TO-220 packages that are just two-thirds the height of a conventional TO-220 housing. The devices provide 100A overvoltage protection (at 10-µsec rise time, 100-µsec fall time waveshape) and 200A overvoltage protection (at 9-µsec rise time, 720-µsec fall-time) at 70 to 350V. They meet the impulse-current requirements of ITU-T K20/21, FCC part 68, and Telcordia GR-1089-Core without additional series resistance. These monolithic units integrate multiple voltage-triggered bidirectional thyristors for precise control and matching of trigger voltage, low on-state voltage, and high holding current without latch-up once the surge has cleared. Differential capacitance is less than 67 pF at bias of –2 to –50V for these $1.15 (1000) components.
Bourns Inc, 1-877-426-8767, www.bourns.com.
Aluminum capacitor surface-mounts with low ESR.
As an alternative to high-capacitance ceramic devices, the AO-CAP from Kemet Electronics is a true surface-mount aluminum-anode capacitor with aluminum oxide as the dielectric and a conductive, organic polymer as the counter-electrode material. Instead of using a rolled-foil construction, the devices use a stacked arrangement of plates. The A700 series of this device includes a molded case and wraparound terminations in standard EIA case sizes, thus providing protection against cracks due to flexing. ESR (equivalent series resistance), depending on model, is typically 10 µV at 100 kHz and is nearly unchanged to 10 MHz. The 100% lead-free capacitors are available with values to 220 µF for operation at –55 to +125°C; users need not factor in voltage derating, even at the highest temperatures.
Kemet Electronics, 1-864-963-6300, www.kemet.com.
Ferrite-chip beads suppress supply, signal-line noise.
Taiyo Yuden has added 0603 case-size parts to its inventory with the FBMH series, targeting higher currents typical of power-supply lines. Intended for noise in the high-megahertz and the low-gigahertz range, the surface-mount beads withstand currents as high as 2A for the 150Ω part and 1.5A for the 220Ω version. The parts tout 0.050 and 0.070Ω dc resistance, respectively, to minimize supply-line IR loss and self-heating. The devices cost 45 cents each (OEM quantities).
Taiyo Yuden USA Inc, www.t-yuden.com.
Connector supports 10 Gbps on copper.
The Connector-X from Winchester Electronics handles 12 differential signal pairs, each at the 10-Gbps rate—three to four times that of currently available copper interconnects—in a compression-mount connector system. The fuzz-button contacts resemble miniature steel-wool pads and withstand for 250 mating cycles. To use this connector, the associated pc board needs no holes or vias, saving cost and improving fabrication yield. You can achieve the 10-Gbps performance with standard FR-4 pc-board material rather than more costly substrates. The 3-in. (7.5-cm)-long connector costs $250 to $300.
Winchester Electronics, 1-860-945-5000, www.litton-wed.com.
DIGITAL ICs
Programmable logic delivers fast interconnect, abundant memory.
Each of Altera's 4-kbit ESB (embedded system blocks) is twice the size of an ESB in Altera's previous-generation Apex 20K devices. Both ports of each dual-port ESB can interface bidirectionally, and you can subdivide each ESB into dual 2-kbit unidirectional arrays. Apex II devices have eight on-chip PLLs: four for the True-LVDS I/O banks and four for general-purpose internal and external frequency synthesis and transformation. I/O buffers contain six registers each. And for chip-to-chip interconnection, Apex II receivers automatically synchronize multiple True-LVDS input channels to a common system clock. Price is $150 (100,000).
Altera, 1-408-544-7000, www.altera.com.
Virtex-II offers increased range of functional capabilities.
Virtex-II FPGA architecture features include a hybrid-tuned logic-cell structure, copper interconnect, large block RAM structures, and 18×18-bit hardware multiply-accumulators running at 140 to 250 MHz. Xilinx has also increased the range of functional capabilities that the Virtex-II's Digital Clock Managers support compared with Virtex, Virtex-E, and Virtex-EM DLLs. The expanded DLLs now range from 19 to 420 MHz. Digital-frequency synthesis multiplies an incoming clock by a range of values from 1/4096 to 4096, subject to maximum input- and output-frequency limitations. The digital phase shifter lets you move an incoming clock edge backward and forward among 256 subdivisions of its period. Spread-spectrum capability reduces standards-measured EMI effects.
Xilinx, 1-408-559-7778, www.xilinx.com.
Enhanced DRAM expands in density.
Fujitsu and development partner Toshiba (www.toshiba.com) again focus on your need for speed with 2.5V, 256-Mbit FCRAMs (fast-cycle RAMs), targeting networking and other applications that require high density and buyers who aren't willing to pay for expensive synchronous SRAM. The A series, runs at 133 and 154 MHz and is available for sampling for $100; the B series runs at 167 and 200 MHz. Cycle times for the A series run at 30 to 40 nsec, and random-access times are 23 to 30 nsec. Corresponding cycle and random-access times for B series FCRAMs are as low as 25 and 22 nsec, respectively. All devices come in 66-lead TSOPs.
Fujitsu Microelectronics, 1-408-922-9000, www.fujitsumicro.com.
FIFO family furnishes QOS flexibility.
Integrated Device Technology's multiqueue FIFO family integrates logic and memory into one device with as many as 32 user-configurable queues. Cascade logic even lets you create multichip arrays having as many as 256 queues. Currently available, 3.3V, multiqueue FIFOs, in 512-kbit to 2-Mbit densities and 256-bump BGA packaging, deliver 166-MHz performance. Prices for commercial-temperature, 133-MHz chips are $30 to $61.75. The prices are identical for both 2.5 and 3V operation and for 9-, 18-, and 36-bit data-bus-widths.
Integrated Device Technology, 1-408-727-6116, www.idt.com.
BAT-RAM saves you from excessive battery drain.
Micron's BAT-RAM is available as the 2.5V (core voltage) MT48V2M32LFFC (with 2.5 and 1.8V I/O voltages) or the 3.3V (core and I/O voltages) MT48LC2M32LFFC variant of a 64-Mbit SDRAM with a 32-bit data bus. Both chips come in 90-bump FBGA packages that are footprint- and pinout-compatible with 128-Mbit versions. The chips' TCSR (temperature-compensated self-refresh) mode enables you to tailor refresh frequency and power consumption to the chips' actual operating temperature. Self-refresh current for the 2.5V, 64-Mbit part at 25°C is 100 to 250 µA (typical). At 70°C, the part draws 350 µA typical, and, at 85°C, the self-refresh current is 600 µA to 1 mA (typical). Micron says BAT-RAM chips will "follow a commodity-pricing model with competitive cost."
Micron Technology, 1-208-368-4000, www.micron.com.
Fractional refresh cuts DRAM current.
Mitsubishi's M2L64S40 is a 2.5V core (1.8V I/O buffer), 64-Mbit SDRAM with a 16-bit data bus in both 64-lead, $15 (one) shrink TSOPs and 54-bump, $17 (one) BGA packages. In addition to the conventional full-chip self-refresh capability with less than 300-µA current draw, the M2L64S40 supports partial-array self-refresh and deep-power-down operating modes. For designs that need to preserve the contents of only half of the array, standby current drops to 170 µA, and refreshing one-quarter of the array requires only 100 µA.The device requires less than 10 µA in deep-power-down mode.
Mitsubishi, 1-408-730-5900, www.mitsubishichips.com.
Single-die flash disk gets bigger, faster, and more secure.
M-Systems' $40 (10,000), 32-Mbyte Millennium Plus, based on Toshiba's 0.16-micron NAND process, incorporates a 16-bit data bus between the controller logic and dual banks of flash memory, enabling faster interleaved-read and -write operations. Unalterable device- and customer-specific identifier numbers, along with a 6-kbyte OTP array partition, enable numerous security-implementation possibilities. You can cascade-connect as many as four 3.3V, 48-lead TSOP Millennium Plus chips without glue logic, and the 1-kbyte autoloading boot block area (versus 512 bytes on the previous generation) eliminates the need for a separate boot memory in some configurations.
M-Systems, 1-510-494-2090, www.m-sys.com.
FRAM delivers "unlimited" cycling, creates "unforgettable" logic.
Ramtron has added ferroelectric elements to a recently introduced line of logic devices. The FM573 is a nonvolatile transparent octal latch, and the FM574 is a nonvolatile octal D-register. Both products are pin- and function-compatible with industry-standard 573- and 574-class logic but differentiate themselves by automatically storing the last state before power-down and immediately restoring it upon power-up. In all other respects, they operate like standard CMOS logic. Running across a –40 to +85°C extended-temperature range, the FM573 and FM574, each selling for 67 cents (10,000), write new logic states to a nonvolatile latch as a background function. A power monitor tracks the supply voltage and blocks nonvolatile updates when the voltage strays outside the 2.7 to 5.5V tolerance.
Ramtron, 1-719-481-7000, www.ramtron.com.
Soft CPU core expands its FPGA options.
Version 1.1 of Altera's Nios processor-development kit supports all of the company's look-up-table-based programmable-logic architectures: Acex 1K and 2K, Flex 10K, Apex 20K, and Mercury. You can even target it at the programmable portion of the company's ARM and MIPS-based hybrid chips for use as an I/O controller or other slave processor. The device includes optional hardware-accelerated support for matrix multiplication operations, as well as an SPI core and dynamic bus sizing. The kit costs $995, has no license fee, and is available as a free upgrade to registered users.
Altera, 1-408-544-7000, www.altera.com.
MULTIMEDIA
JPEG2000 compressor supports next-generation imaging standard.
Analog Device's $14 (10,000) 1.5 to 1.8V ADV-JP2000 (with 3.3V I/O buffers) can compress five 3 million-pixel images/sec. It comes in a 48-bump BGA package, consumes only 100 mW of power in active mode, and draws less than 100 µA of power-down current. The ADV-JP2000 acts as a coprocessor for an imaging system, bypassing the previous DCT (discrete-cosine-transform)-based compression engine and relying on the primary system CPU to handle final compressed bit-stream assembly.
Analog Devices, 1-800-262-5643, www.analog.com.
Upgraded Radeon chip achieves improved performance.
ATI's 60 million-transistor, next-generation Radeon chip is the foundation of the $399 Radeon 8500 graphics board. The graphics accelerator takes advantage of the 0.15-micron lithography ATI employed to manufacture it and integrates four parallel rendering pipelines, each capable of applying as many as six textures to a pixel in a single pass. R200's 250-MHz core clock and 275-MHz DDR SDRAM-clock frequencies give it brute-force performance. Hardware-accelerated transform and lighting, along with vertex shaders and DirectX 8.1-compliant pixel shaders, boost overall system performance by unburdening the CPU. And second-generation HyperZ buffering optimizes available frame-buffer bandwidth. R200 also forms the silicon foundation of the workstation-targeted FireGL 8800.
ATI Technologies, 1-905-882-2600, www.ati.com.
Integrated DSP makes a sound investment.
Cirrus Logic's EP7409 pairs a 74-MHz ARM7TDMI with a companion 24-bit DSP core that the company obtained when it acquired AudioLogic in mid-1999. The EP7409 marks the first integrated implementation of Cirrus Logic's Class D PWM-amplifier technology. This version delivers a claimed 25-mW-per-channel output that can drive stereo headphones or line levels, more than 80% efficiency, and 80-dB (0.03%) THD plus noise. Additional integration beyond that in earlier generation Maverick processors includes a USB 1.1-compatible slave controller, and dual PLLs and associated logic for internal clock generation. Production will begin in early 2002. The EP7409 in 14×20-mm, 128-lead QFPs costs $15.85 (10,000); in 12×12-mm, 144-bump BGA packages with 0.8-mm ball pitch, it costs $16.35.
Cirrus Logic, 1-949-455-2000, www.cirrus.com.
Graphics go soft.
Nvidia's graphics processor vision hits full stride with the GeForce3. The OS and application interface to the more general-purpose shaders, which Nvidia marketers call the nfiniteFX Engine, takes the form of high-level instructions. The GeForce3 incorporates four parallel pixel pipelines, with each pixel pipeline mated to two texture pipelines. It interfaces to 230-MHz DDR SDRAM and runs at 200 MHz. The GeForce3 supports 4-to-1 lossless Z-buffer compression—an important feature when you consider that the GeForce3 combines the frame buffer, Z-buffer, and texture buffer within one unified memory array. The GeForce3 also supports the application of as many as four textures to a pixel in one multiclock pipeline pass. A 64-Mbyte graphics board based on the 57 million-transistor GeForce3 costs roughly $500 to $600.
Nvidia, 1-408-615-2500, www.nvidia.com.
A/V integration in a wire, no "fire" required.
Silicon Image adds high-fidelity, multichannel audio to the DVI (Digital Visual Interface) mix with its first PanelLink A/V transmitter and receiver, the $5 (50,000) SiI 190 and $12 (10,000) SiI 991, respectively. The SiI 190 supports audio encryption before transmission, and the SiI 991 decrypts on the other end of the link. S/PDIF delivers neither the bandwidth nor the security necessary to carry 9.6-Mbps DVD-Audio content. PanelLink A/V and IEEE 1394a share none of these limitations. The I2C bus refresh rate, and other features, will deliver additional capabilities in the audio-plus-video era. Transmitters and receivers can interrogate each other to determine whether they both support the A/V protocol and, if not, can alert the user to rely instead on legacy-audio connections, such as analog or S/PDIF.
Silicon Image, 1-408-616-4000, www.siimage.com.
MPEG-4 decoder, codec make magnificent mini movies.
Toshiba enters the MPEG-4 silicon arena with its decoding-only, $35 TC35274XB and simultaneous-encoding-plus-decoding, $55 TC35273XB. The TC35274XB integrates 4 Mbits of embedded DRAM. The chip runs at 30 MHz, burns 50 mW of average power at 2.5V, and decodes and displays through its integrated LCD controller a 176×144-pixel video presentation at 15 frames/sec. The TC35273XB MPEG-4 codec embeds 12 Mbits of DRAM and includes three distinct 16-bit, MIPS-based processor cores for audio, video, and multiplexing and demultiplexing. Targeting advanced cellular phones, the chip encodes and decodes the AMR, ITU-T G.729, and ITU-T G.723.1 speech formats. The TC35273XB target video resolution and frame rate—QCIF at 15 frames/sec—matches those of the TC35274XB.
Toshiba, 1-714-455-2000, www.toshiba.com.
Multimedia codec shrinks bit stream, expands quality.
Files you create using Version 8 of Microsoft's Windows Media audio/video encoder are backward-compatible with Version 6.4 and Version 7 decoders. The company makes aggressive claims about the latest iteration of its technology, touting its near-CD audio fidelity at a 48-kbps bit stream, near-VHS audio-plus-video quality at 250-kbps rates, and near-DVD audio-plus-video quality at 500-kbps. Version 8 has two-pass frame analysis and variable-bit-rate encoding. You can download a command line-driven encoder from the Windows Media Web site; Microsoft is working to incorporate Version 8 support in its and its partners' GUI-based software. You can download GUI front ends from http://www.xeon.tv and http://www.mydivx.com.
Microsoft, 1-425-882-8080, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia.
PROCESSORS
Quad-core DSP brings major horsepower to applications.
Motorola's $181 (10,000) MSC8102 integrates four 300-MHz SC140 extended cores with 11.5 Mbits of on-chip memory and supplying a theoretical 4.8 billion MAC operations/sec. It has 16 ALUs and four 300-MHz, enhanced-filter coprocessors, enabling it to support as many as eight ADSL channels; 60 universal voice, fax, and modem channels; and 80 compressed-voice channels with 64-msec echo cancellation tails or 600 noncompressed, G.711 voice channels. It includes dual PowerPC buses for 9.6-Gbps peak bus throughput, four independent TDM interfaces for 400-Mbps peak throughput; a flexible memory controller supporting SDRAM, SRAM, SSRAM, EPROM, and flash; and a 32-channel DMA engine.
Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector, 1-512-933-6911, www.starcore-dsp.com.
Architecture targets multiprocessor SOCs.
The Xtensa IV offers an enhanced C/C++-callable instruction-set simulator that lets you iterate a C-level model of a multiple-processor configuration running compiled C code and a new local-memory interface that supports a 128-bit-wide, high-speed local-memory interface between tightly coupled processors. Processor-configuration options include a new memory-management unit that supports separate data and instruction translation via look-aside buffers. There are five new configuration options for the Vectra DSP engine to optimize fixed-point arithmetic. The second-generation XT2000 hardware-emulation kit features a larger FPGA. The company bases pricing on a licensing-fee-per-design instance plus royalties based upon the volume of processors manufactured. The licensing fee for a single-processor configuration, including a complete, configured Gnu-based software-development tool set, starts at $350,000.
Tensilica, 1-408-986-8000, www.tensilica.com.
Real-time mulitmedia DSP targets portable Internet appliances.
TI's TMS320DSC24 enables real-time video in imaging Internet appliances. The 500-MIPS DSP sports the performance to deliver encoding or decoding of real-time video at 320×240-pixel (CIF) resolution and consumes as little as 75 mW for MP3 playback and 205 mW for MPEG 4 video encoding or playback. The DSC24 combines on a single device the low-power TMS320C5000 DSP to perform real-time media processing and an ARM7TDMI RISC processor for general system-control functions. DSC24-optimized software modules for MPEG 4, MPEG 1, H.263, MP3, Advanced Audio Coding, JPEG, and motion JPEG are available. The device comes in a 257GHK MicroStar BGA package and costs $25 (100,000).
Texas Instruments, www.ti.com/sc/digitalcamera.
Blackfin enters DSP waters.
Analog Devices' ADSP-21535 Blackfin 16-bit DSP sports a unified programming model for DSP and control software, targeting video-enabled telecommunications and Internet applications. The architecture combines a dual-MAC unit; a 16-bit, fixed-point DSP; and the instruction set of a microcontroller into a single platform. PCI-bus and USB-device interfaces support system connectivity. It integrates 2.4 Mbits of on-chip SRAM and a Level 1 memory that you can configure as cache or SRAM. Video-processing enhancements include four 8-bit math operations in a single clock cycle and special instructions that support video-compression, motion-estimation, and Huffman-coding algorithms. The ADSP-21535PKCA-200 and 300 operate at 200 and 300 MHz and cost $27 (10,000) and $34.
Analog Devices Inc, 1-781-329-4700, www.analog.com.
Microcontroller is more than just another 8-bit device.
Cypress Microsystems' CY8C25x/26x family of 8-bit microcontrollers includes dynamically reconfigurable on-chip peripherals to avoid longer development times; large-volume requirements; and the need for silicon-design expertise common when using custom configurations from microcontroller companies, custom ASICs with processor cores, or programmable-logic devices. The CY8C25x/26x family comprises four 24-MHz configurations featuring 512 bytes of configuration and I/O control registers, 128 or 256 bytes of SRAM, and 4, 8, or 16 kbytes of flash program space. All configurations contain eight digital and 12 analog PSOC (programmable-system-on-chip) blocks. Operating voltages are 3.3V±10% and 5V±10%, and all but the eight-pin configuration include charge pumps to support single-battery operation. The devices are available in eight-, 20-, 28-, and 48-pin versions supporting six to 44 I/O pins in PDIPs, SOICs, SSOPs, and TQFPs with prices ranging from $1.76 to $3.53 (1000).
Cypress Microsystems, 1-877-751-6100, www.cypressmicro.com.
Tiny package not so tiny inside.
Cygnal's 8051-based C8051F300 microcontroller integrates 8 kbytes of programmable flash; an 8-bit, 500k-sample/sec ADC with a temperature sensor; and on-chip debugging circuitry in a 3×3-mm, 11-pin micro lead-frame package. These features support localized data acquisition, processing, and control in tight spaces. The 2%-accurate on-chip oscillator allows the built-in UART to function without an external crystal, further reducing the space your design requires for serial communications. The C8051F300 and development kits cost $5.01 (1000) and $99, respectively.
Cygnal Integrated Products, 1-512-327-7088, www.cygnal.com.
PowerPC processor puts copper metal to the speed pedal.
The Motorola MPC7450, delivers high performance for networking, telecomm, scientific computing, and desktop supercomputing-like applications. Operating with a maximum clock speed of 733 MHz, the microprocessor sports a seven-stage pipeline with two additional execution units, L2 cache on the die, and a 256-bit datapath to the L1 cache. It also includes an Altivec vector-processing engine. For the critical attribute of moving data, the MPC7450 includes Motorola's MPX high-bandwidth bus, which can sustain as much as 1.064-Gbps bandwidth performance.
Motorola also factored power consumption into the design with three power-saving modes that you can invoke as desired—lowest power consumption in the sleep mode; slightly higher power usage in doze mode, which also supports bus snoop (monitoring); and higher power dissipation in the nap mode—in addition to normal, full-power operation. You can get the processor, which Motorola fabricated in 0.18-µm copper technology, in 533-, 667-, and 733-MHz versions; prices range from $250 (10,000) for the slowest to $370 for the fastest.
Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector, http://www.motorola.com/semiconductors.
ANALOG ICs AND DISCRETES
Motor-drive IC cuts safety-shutdown time in half.
International Rectifier's linear, current-sensing IR2172 IC has built-in overcurrent shutdown for motor-drive applications. The IC is rated at 600V and handles 230V, three-phase ac-inverter, or brushless-dc industrial motor drives. The IC has a 1.5-msec overcurrent-shutdown feature with a wired-OR connection to a microprocessor or DSP chip. Conventional linear current-sensing opto- or Hall-effect-sensing systems have typical shutdown times of 3 to 4 msec. The motor driver comes in an SO-8 or an eight-pin DIP and costs $3.55 (10,000).
International Rectifier, www.irf.com.
24-bit converter misses hum, not codes.
Linear Technology's LTC2413 ΔΣ converter for process-measurement and -control applications rejects 49- to 61-Hz normal-mode signals by 87 dB minimum and common-mode signals by 140 dB. The 2413 offers 24-bit resolution with no missing codes, 14-ppm integral nonlinearity, and 2.5-µV offset error. An on-chip conversion oscillator requires no external components. Conversion data is available through a three-wire SPI interface at the end of each conversion cycle. Available in a 16-pin SSOP, the converter costs $8.30 (1000).
Linear Technology, www.linear-tech.com.
Single chip accurately measures gain and phase to 2.7 GHz.
Analog Devices' AD8302 compares signals with 0.2-dB gain and 1° phase accuracy. The gain/phase detector features specified performance of 0.1 to 2.7 GHz with data at 900 MHz and 1.8, 1.9, and 2.2 GHz. The detector's output maps a ±30-dB gain/loss range onto a 30-mV/dB scale and phase of 0 to 180° onto a 10-mV/° scale. The circuit includes two tightly matched 60-dB range demodulating log amps. The IC can operate as a setpoint servo in signal-control applications or as the measurement element in RF power-amplifier feed-forward circuits. The AD8302 operates over –40 to +85°C is available in a 14-pin TSSOP, and costs $15.50 (1000).
Analog Devices, 1-800-262-5643, www.analog.com.
Power op amps get high on speed.
With a power bandwidth of 400 kHz, a 50V/msec slew rate, and a 100V supply, Apex's PA50's 40A continuous- and 100A pulse-current ratings suit signal-driver requirements in systems with many devices under test. The amplifier can operate with ±3 to ±50V supplies for the output stage. The front end provides for a ±12 to ±65V boost supply that can cut the output-stage supply overhead. A 12-pin, hermetically sealed package houses the chip-and-wire hybrid. Apex also offers the 200V PA52 and PA52A, which feature 90-kHz power bandwidth and 80A peak current. The PA50 and 50A cost $264 and $343 (100), respectively. The PA52 and 52A cost $300 and $390 (100), respectively.
Apex Microtechnology, 1-520-690-8600, www.apexmicrotech.com.
DSL and POTS interfaces add features, simplify designs.
Legerity's new chips reduce power-supply requirements and simplify pc-board layouts. For POTS, the Le79555 low-power SLIC operates from a -16 to -58V rail. A built-in switching regulator eliminates the need for a 25V supply and its associated components, and an on-chip changeover switch selects between primary and backup power sources. Volume pricing for the 44-pin TQFP is $3.90. For ADSL line cards, the Le87S11 differential hybrid transceiver supports 8 Mbps (ITU G.992.1 and ANSI T1.413 issue 2) and 1.5 Mbps G.Lite (ITU G.992.2). The 87S11's differential receiver features on-chip active termination, 70-dB multitone power ratio, and echo cancellation. Production quantities of the Le87S11 cost $6.50. A version designed to operate from a –26.5V power supply, the Le87S12, is also available.
Legerity, www.legerity.com.
VCSELs by the dozen.
Picolight has entered volume production for its 12×2.7-Gbps Magnus parallel optical interconnect module with a snap-on connector. Based on 850-nm VCSEL technology, the device supports 12 asynchronous data channels for an aggregate bandwidth of 32 Gbps. Power dissipation is 2W per receiver/transmitter-module pair. Modules use BGA packaging and are pretested and prequalified, allowing you to drop devices into place later in the manufacturing cycle to avoid potential optical damage from wave-soldering and washing during assembly. Prices starts at $1500 in low volumes.
Picolight, www.picolight.com.
MEMS-based attenuator sheds light on next-generation optical networks.
Lightconnect's MEMS-based VOAs (variable optical attenuators) offer low loss and dispersion and high speed for optical switching, subcarrier modulation, power control, or equalization applications. The attenuator features an insertion loss of 1 dB max and operates with 1530- to 1570-nm C-band signals to 200 mW. The maximum wavelength-dependent loss is less than 0.3 dB at 10-dB attenuation, its drive voltage is 0 to 10V, and its power dissipation is less than 10 mW. The single-channel FVOA1001 comes in a hermetic package and costs $1000 in sample quantities and substantially less in production volumes. An eight-channel module, the FVOM2008, containing eight FVOA1001 elements is also available for $8000 in sample quantities.
Lightconnect, www.lightconnect.com.
Transceiver spits terabits, sips milliwatts.
Extending the architecture of its four-channel BBT3400 transceiver, BitBlitz Communications offers an octal, full-duplex, 3.125-Gbps-per-channel transceiver. The low power BBT-3800 drives high-speed copper and OC-192, DWDM, and InfiniBand optical links. The BBT3800 supports one operating mode that allows the eight full-duplex channels to operate independently. A second mode implements two independent 25-Gbps extended-attachment-unit-interface channels for 10-Gbit Ethernet. The third mode de-skews eight transmitting and eight receiving lines for an aggregate 50-Gbps bandwidth. The device dissipates 163 mW per channel from a 1.8V supply when configured for the HSTL (high-speed-transceiver-logic) parallel interface. When operating with an SSTL (stub-series-terminated-logic) interface, the transceiver requires an additional 2.5V supply, but the dissipation rises only to 200 mW per 3.125-Gbps full-duplex channel. The BBT3800 costs $135 (1000); the four-channel BBT3400 costs $70 (1000).
BitBlitz Communications, www.bitblitzcom.com.
SOFTWARE
Matlab gets a 3g boost.
You use RadioScape's 3G UMTS/WCDMA system-level design tool set works with the Mathworks' (www.mathworks.com) Matlab and Simulink products. The tool set extends the capabilities of Simulink to support bursting, variable-sized data; bit-accurate simulation; and a variety of reference systems. It also supports a library of models and simulations, including Turbo and Viterbi coding, transport and physical channels, multiuser detection, and multipath radio-channel simulation to enhance both simulation and rapid development of 3G base stations and handsets. The license fee for the Radiolab UMTS/W-CDMA Blockset and Reference Systems Version 1.0 $18,000 to $20,000.
Radioscape, www.radioscape.com.
Math software combines power with ease of use.
Wolfram Research's CalculationCenter math-software package targets "people too busy with calculations to learn new software." Despite CalculationCenter's power, Wolfram claims that, after 10 minutes' exposure, technical users can start productively using the $295 package, which runs under Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000 and MacOS. CalculationCenter uses Mathematica's .NB (notebook) file format and also supports symbolic math so that the program can manipulate complex formulas before you enter numeric values for the variables. The package provides value-entry templates that remain with its files, so you don't have to figure out anew how to enter different numeric values.
Wolfram Research, 1-217-398-0700, www.wolfram.com.
Visual Basic tool adds graphical debugging.
Version 3.0 of Softwire, the graphical application-development package for Visual Basic, offers its new visual debugger. Softwire allows you to create reusable ActiveX DLLs, which also lend themselves to the creation of hierarchically structured programs. One of Version 3.0's new 31 controls targeting database development creates and displays histograms and dynamically updates them in real time. Softwire costs $495. Users of earlier versions can update to V3.0 for $199.
Softwire Technology, 1-508-946-8900, www.softwiretechnology.com.
Enhanced math software eases analysis stress.
Version 7 of Waterloo Maple's Maple mathematical-software product enhances analysis, algorithm development, functions, and connectivity. You can construct interactive 2- and 3-D plots, explore complex linear and differential equations, solve simultaneous complex equations, convert scientific unit, create and execute algorithms, and access real-time data via TCP/IP sockets. The Maple application center has more than 1000 downloadable application and demo programs. For modeling in which linear or nonlinear differential equations are critical, Maple 7 includes a legion of solution engines. If you are concerned about floating-point resolution error with just 32, 64, or even 128 bits and investigating its impact on algorithm computation, you can set the Maple 7 accuracy into the hundreds of bits. Maple 7 supports the Worldwide Web Consortium's (W3C) MathML 2.0 standard. Price is $1695 for a single-user license for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or Unix platforms. Site licenses are also available.
Waterloo Maple Inc, www.maplesoft.com.
Math tool cuts cost—if you don't need to create documents.
Mathsoft's Mathcad lets you change documents and save them as variants of the original document. You can't use Mathcad Client to create documents, however. It prevents you from saving documents from which you've excised the original material and replaced it with new material. Moreover, Mathcad Client lets you open and save (under new file names) Mathcad- and MathML-formatted documents. Mathsoft says that, for most companies, Mathcad Client costs approximately $120 or less per copy.
Mathsoft Engineering and Education Inc, 1-617-577-1017, www.mathsoft.com.
Math software adds simulation, XML support.
Mathsoft's enhancement Mathcad 2001 includes the ability to simulate dynamic systems and to directly gather and output data via National Instruments (www.ni.com) I/O boards. Mathcad 2001 also supports MathML, a standard based on XML. The publisher has focused on adding application-development tools via a software-development kit and on improving the package's performance and reliability as well as its interoperability with such software as Microsoft Office, AutoCad 2000, and MatLab.
Built-in MathML-related enhancements include IBM's TechExplorer Professional Edition hypermedia browser. Mathcad 2001 reads and writes HTML and MathML files, and an enhanced HTML/MathML file format encodes Mathcad worksheet logic, enabling Mathcad 2001 to load MathML documents as active worksheets.
The package runs under Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000. The Professional Edition carries a suggested retail price of $799.95 and an upgrade price of $249.95. The Premium Edition's suggested retail price is $1599.95, and its upgrade price is $499.95.
MathSoft Inc, 1-800-628-4223, 1-617-577-1017, www.mathsoft.com.
Thermal-analysis tool adds enhancements.
Flomeric's enhanced Flotherm Version 3.1 includes a Command Center Module, which enables design engineers to create multiple design variations on an initial base-line model and quickly determine the optimum design. The FloVolunteer technology allows users to post their models for solving on other PCs on a network. A new SmartPart compact-package library of two-resistor, star, or full Delphi resistance networks enables users to solve complex designs featuring numerous onboard packages.
The new version also contains a new SmartPart compact-heat-sink library featuring detailed or compact representations of plate- or pin-fin heat sinks. Simplified gridding creates computational grids you need for detailed calculations. Updates from Spatial Technology (www.spatial.com) include support for ACIS 6 to enhance tolerant modeling operations and improve the ACIS-healing and -translator husks and support for writing AP203 and AP214 STEP file formats. The product runs on NT, Windows2000, HP, Sun, IBM, and SGI platforms. An annual license for Flotherm V3.1 starts at $19,500.
Flomerics, www.flomerics.com.
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