Thermally conductive 5.5W/m.K low thermal resistance. Ideal for screen/stencil printing
Read full article: Electrolube Phase Change Materials
You may be aware of UK-based Bare Conductive already, and their 'electric' paint, but they've just released a new Touch Board Starter Kit.
Read full article: Paint your own surface sensor
Today the vertical vs horizontal debate about the right approach to the technology industry has been decided in favour of horizontal, but ten years ago it was still very much a current issue. In 2007, NXP, the re-named Philips Semiconductors which had recently been spun out of Philips, was run by Hans van Houten, now CEO ...
Read full article: Vertical vs Horizontal
If you are looking to buy your next Raspberry Pi Zero or Zero W and you don’t know which websites have modules in stock? Well an enterprising guy in Italy has created a website showing which online stores have Raspberry Pi Zero and Zero W’s in stock. It is called The PIlocator. As yet there is ...
Read full article: Where to find your Raspberry Pi Zero W
UK human propulsion start-up, Gravity, has built and flown a jet engine flying suit. Founded by Richard Browning, the firm’s Daedalus suit has six jet engines, four hand held and two in a backpack. RS Components has provided tools, components and expertise to support the development. RS has a page on the suit here. Just ...
Electric Imp, the developer of hardware and software platforms for secure IoT designs, is offering quick-start reference designs for what it believes are the most frequently demanded connectivity and device prototypes. According to Hugo Fiennes, CEO and co-founder of Electric Imp: “We have seen customers cut nine to 12 weeks from prototype and trial schedules, and ...
Read full article: Quick-starting your IoT node design just got easier
Rohm has a thermal printhead for incorporating in payment terminals capable of being driven by a single-cell Li-ion battery. Thermal printheads are electronic devices that print on special media (i.e. thermal paper) by generating and dissipating heat. Conventional thermal printheads for payment terminals are driven by 2-cell Li-ion batteries. As thermal printers do not use ...
Read full article: Thermal printer works off one Li-ion cell
Arrow Electronics is targeting the maker market with an IoT design board based on an FPGA. The Arrow MAX1000 board can be installed directly into a custom application or integrated on to a completely separate board. The Intel MAX10 FPGA has 8,000 logic elements. The chip also includes integrated flash memory, a 1Msample/s 12-bit ...
Read full article: IoT design board makes most of its FPGA
David Jervis recently contacted Electronics Weekly, trying to get a clean copy of an article written about his grandfather 50 years ago. Sadly, we couldn’t help because most of EW’s paper archive was destroyed in a storage accident. The grandfather turned out to be HJ Round, the British engineer who a century ago helped invent what ...
Read full article: From the archive: Henry Joseph Round, unrecognised electronics pioneer Part 2
RS Components now has 100,000 users in schools and colleges of its free-for-download DesignSpark PCB design tool via its educational network licence. In the last five years 100,000 users from more than 200 places of education across the globe, including schools, academies, colleges and universities, have been using the PCB tool. Before the launch of the licence, the DesignSpark ...
Read full article: Free design tool used by 100,000 students, says RS
ARM owner SoftBank is working with secure IoT hardware specialist Electric Imp and will sell Electric Imp’s IoT QuickStart product through its own IoT design and prototyping platform. This will incorporate Electric Imp’s imp004m breakout board, which has a TELEC-certified 2.4GHz Wi-Fi module. The platform includes hardware, OS, cloud services software and IoT security software ...
Read full article: ARM owner SoftBank sells Electric Imp secure IoT platform
E.Ink made a profit of $2 million on sales of $461 million in 2016 after a $14.2 million loss in 2015. Royalty income was $74.3 million. it is the first time the company has made a profit in the last five years. Gross margin went up from 31 – 36% thanks to more displays being ...
Read full article: E.Ink makes first profit for five years
Flexible OLEDS will outsell rigid OLEDS this year, reports IHS, despited the highe cost of flexibles IHS forecasts Q3 sales for flexible AMOLEDs at $3.2 billion and sales of rigid AMOLEDs at $3 billion. With many smartphone brands planning to apply flexible AMOLED displays to their high-end product lines, revenues for flexible AMOLED panels are ...
Read full article: Flexible AMOLEDs to out-sell rigid AMOLEDs this year
Some of Qualcomm’s contractual conditions have been jaw-dropping. It was revealed some time back by the Japanese trade authorities that, in its CDMA licensing contracts with Japanese hand-set makers, Qualcomm had a clause which stated effectively: ‘We can take all your IP but you can only use from our IP what we specifically license to ...
Read full article: Qualcomm’s Amazing Contracts
It looks like the 47 year-old fab at Greenock has reached the end of its days. Built by National in 1970, the fab is now owned by TI after TI bought in 2011. TI said last year they intended to close the plant by 2019. Closure will mean the loss of an estimated 572 jobs ...
Read full article: Hope fades for Greenock fab
Analog Devices has bought GaAs and GaN amplifier specialist OneTree Microdevices which makes components for CATV and FTTH. The acquisition means that ADI can deliver the complete signal chain for next-generation cable access networks. “Analog Devices, in combination with OneTree Microdevices, is uniquely positioned to solve the bandwidth and power efficiency challenges facing cable operators ...
Read full article: ADI buys One Tree Microdevices
44 years ago Teledyne Semiconductor ran an ad: “Godzilla is the well known king of the linear IC underworld,” started the ad, “Teledyne, on the other hand, is known as the semiconductor and IC producer of monstrous proportions. When we started out to do battle in the linear market, we come across Godzilla’s forces: the ...
Read full article: Fable: The Legend Of Godzilla
MAX20310 is a power management for wearables that will work from as little as 0.7V and up to 2V, for operation from single zinc-air, silver oxide and alkaline cells. The aim is to allow disposable rather than rechargeable cells to be used – to remove the need for charging components and, in clinical environments, remove ...
The second of April marks Arduino Day this year, and Gadget Master tips its hat with a little giveaway. One randomly chosen reader can win the Arduino Playground book that we have featured recently.
Read full article: Celebrating Arduino Day with book giveaway
The scale of semiconductor company mergers and acquisitions is rapidly restructuring the industry. This has the potential to negatively impact new product designs in terms of component pricing, diversity of parts and industry innovation. The potential downsides can, however, be mitigated in part through increased design effort and managerial prudence. Yet more mergers A wave ...
Read full article: Do semiconductor mergers pose a threat to IoT product development?
The first GCHQ-backed accelerator programme for cyber security start-ups has concluded . Seven start-ups joined the GCHQ Cyber Accelerator – a partnership between GCHQ, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and corporate accelerator Wayra UK (part Telefónica Open Future). The companies received support to scale their businesses, including mentoring, business services, office space, ...
Read full article: GCHQ fledges cyber start-ups and asks for more
Renesas Electronics has added new microcontrollers to its Synergy range of IoT-focused devices and software. With the latest MCUs – S128, S3A3 and S3A6 families – there are now a total of 57 devices based on ARM Cortex-M CPU cores covering operating frequencies from 32MHz up to 240MHz, and on-chip flash memory sizes of 64KB, 128KB, 256KB, ...
Read full article: Renesas adds more MCU options to IoT range
Kionix KXTJ3 is a drop-in replacement for the earlier 2 x 2 x 0.9mm KXTJ2 (Kionix’s best selling accelerometer), with from better noise performance to extended range. Toys, wearables, remote controls, smart home and IoT are foreseen applications. “A common use case of accelerometers is for power savings, allowing the system to sleep when there ...
Read full article: Tiny 3-axis accelerometer gets improved specs
Peter Lieberwirth, vice president, strategic business planning, Toshiba Electronics Europe outlines the semiconductor firm’s product plans for memory, power mosfets and LED lighting. What are your product plans for 3D NAND flash and how important is this technology for the data storage industry? Peter Lieberwirth: 3D NAND flash memory built on Toshiba’s BiCS (Bit Cost ...
Read full article: Toshiba semiconductor v-p talks to Electronics Weekly
Dortmund-based company Lemonbeat – developer of eponymous IoT infrastructure technology – has added a DALI lighting interface as well as cabled Ethernet. It ethos is to remove unnecessary cloud-based communication and replace it with a local sub-GHz network – a pleasant change from the insidious tendency for companies to incorporate cloud-based services, and then mine ...
Read full article: Lemonbeat adds DALI and Ethernet bridge for IoT without a cloud connection
Long-term skin damage following radiotherapy could be predicted using a LED-based scanner, according to The University of California Irvine Beckman Laser Institute (BLI). Radiotherapy is sometimes used to eradicate cancer cells that might have survived surgery or chemotherapy, in breast cancer patients, for example. A side-effect of this radiation is long-term damage in the skin. ...
Read full article: LED scanner reveals radiotherapy damage
Infineon is adding to its CoolMOS portfolio with the 600 V CoolMO P7 and 600 V CoolMOS C7 Gold (G7) series. The product families are designed to operate at 600 V breakdown voltage and deliver improved superjunction MOSFET performance. The P7 is targeting applications such as chargers, adapters, lighting, TV, PC power, solar, server, ...
Read full article: Infineon adds to CoolMOS line
If at first you don’t succeed try, try again. That seems to be the highly determined stance of the China government in trying to establish a chip industry which will make a dent in its annual $230 billion bill for importing ICs. First China encouraged a fabless domestic industry. That produced several thousand design companies ...
Read full article: If At First You Don’t Succeed . . . . ,
IC Insights has raised its worldwide IC market growth forecast for 2017 to 11%—more than twice its original 5% outlook. The revision was necessary due to a substantial upgrade to the 2017 growth rates forecast for the DRAM and NAND flash memory markets. IC Insights currently expects DRAM sales to grow 39% and NAND flash ...
Read full article: IC Insights doubles 2017 forecast
The humble flat-bed scanner can be used as a portal into a hacked computer, according to researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Several messages were transmitted to trigger malware in computers using the technique, including from a laser 900m away and from a drone outside the building. “In this research, we demonstrated how to ...
Read full article: Scanner exploited in remote laser hacking attack
Raspberry Pi has selected a chipset from Cypress Semiconductor to provide Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless interfaces on the new Raspberry Pi Zero W board. The CYW43438 chipset provides 802.11n Wi-Fi with algorithms to support simultaneous Bluetooth 4.1 operations such as audio streaming and low-power Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connections to smartphones, sensors and other low-power devices. The chip provides up to ...
Read full article: Raspberry Pi Zero W has IoT level wireless connectivity
“Let’s clear up the node naming mess,” says Intel’s process guru Mark Bohr. He proposes a density metric Gordon Moore would approved of – the number of transistors per square millimetre. Nice and simple. But then Bohr goes on to add ‘weighting factors’ and comes up with a formula for measuring transistor density which is ...
Read full article: Clearing Up The Node-Naming Mess
Richardson RFPD is stocking a family of power IGBTs from Vincotechin the new VINco E3 package. VINco E3 features ‘SoLid Cover’ technology in an industry-standard low-profile package. “It enables engineers to design mid-power inverters with higher output current, higher power density and improved reliability for motion control, industrial drives, solar power, UPS and other mid-power ...
Read full article: 1.2kV IGBT half bridges stretch to 690A
One to note if you are a Gadget Master in the North East region - the Maker Faire UK is taking place at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle this weekend.
Read full article: Maker Faire UK weekends in Newcastle
Abbey Road Studios, the most famous recording studios in the world and has been witness to countless landmark recordings from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Ed Sheeran, is under-going a major transformation. It is opening two brand new smaller studios designed to cater for a new generation of artists, as well as a mix stage for film ...
Read full article: Abbey Road equips new recording studios
How to avoid amplifier output driver saturation when using very low bias current amplifiers with high source impedance sensors, write Jon Munson and Kevin Scott When taking sensor measurements, the type of sensor excitation used typically varies greatly. It can be a DC signal, an AC signal, a voltage source, a current source or a ...
Read full article: IoT sensors need low bias current amplifiers
Fidus Power has introduced a range of single output, open frame AC-DC 40W power supplies. Convection cooled the power supplies, which measure only 76.2 x 38.1 x 23.5mm, have a peak rating of 50W for 60s. The range consists of seven different models from 5 to 48Vdc output. The operating temperature range is 0 – ...
Read full article: AC-DC supply squeezes 40W into a small footprint
Recent advances in polymer-cathode technology and improvements in tightening the tantalum supply-chain are allowing more designers to choose polymer tantalum capacitors as alternatives to traditional solid tantalum capacitors, writes Roger Tall In specifying the ideal capacitor most designers would start with high volumetric efficiency and then consider miniaturised packages and capacitance stability over applied voltage, ...
Read full article: There is now an alternative to solid tantalum capacitors
Hynix is in talks with Japanese investors about a plan to bid for Toshiba’s memory business, reports the Korea Economic Daily. Toshiba is said to value the business at $13 billion. A preliminary bid from Hynix bid is expected sometime today. A number of industry leaders like Micron, TSMC, Western Digital, Foxconn, Kingston and others ...
Read full article: Japan-backed Hynix bid for Toshiba
Helix Semiconductors is sampling a two-chip set with a conversion efficiency of more than 95% when converting AC mains voltage to 5VDC — especially at light load, no load or standby operating conditions. At full loads, the eMpower HS100 enables efficiency greater than 93%. The industry has set a target for power consumed by electronic ...
Read full article: Helix samples efficient converter
Hopefully your household doesn’t engage in struggles for control of the remote, or the zapper or the thing-a-ma-jig. Here are the top ten names for what we call the TV remote control watch-a-ma-call-it: Remote Doofah Zapper Clicker Flicker Thing-a-ma-jig Switcher Whatcha-ma-call-it Controller Gizmo
Read full article: Top Ten Names For The Thing-A-Ma-Jig
X-rays have been sensed with high resolution using an optical antenna on the end of an optical fibre – which could offer another route to precision medical imaging. “We want to develop this technology so that it could be used in radiotherapy, for example,” said Thierry Grosjean of the FEMTO-ST Institute at France’s National Centre ...
Read full article: Optical antenna makes fibres sense X-rays
Power supply firm CUI has created a chart which clarifies forthcoming US and EU power adapter regulations – DoE Level VI and CoC Tier 2. “When the United States Department of Energy (DoE) implemented its Level VI standard in February 2016, most OEMs were forced to update their designs to meet these requirements. Now with ...
Read full article: Explaining new power adaptor regulations
You wait ages for an Arduino-based garage parking assistant to come along and then here comes another, the Arduino Parking Assistant.
Read full article: Arduino Parking Assistant guides your car
The theory explaining how lithium ions move in batteries is not quite right, according to the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in Korea, which has been examining the process in femtosecond detail. The model was, said IBS, that lithium ions (green dots) move surrounded by a shell of ethylene carbonate (EC, blue ovals) molecules, and that ...
Read full article: Not quite how lithium ions move in batteries
The CIA are clever fellows. The Vault7/Wikileaks dump of the CIA cyber-spy tool-set shows some ingenious.tricks. “There are cell phone towers which, once you’re connected to them, the CIA can jump in and take over control of your phone,” instances Peter Dakin, Director of Digital Technology at Metropolis Business Media, “and there is malware that ...
Read full article: The Warning From The Vault
French firm Spark Racing Technology will once again be supplying all the racing cars for Formula E, when it enters season five next year. Called SRT05e, the car will be the successor to the SRT01, from the same firm, which has been used since the Formula E race format was introduced – Spark having been ...
Read full article: Changing face of Formula E electric racing cars
Good to see the UK has a semiconductor manufacturer that can compete on a world stage. IQE manufactures semiconductor wafers in South Wales, which are used by some of the world’s largest IC firms to make wireless chips, photonics devices and even solar cells. As such it is at the heart of the biggest chip ...
Read full article: At last UK has a semiconductor success story
Intel says first PC memory modules based on its much-talked of high speed NAND flash alternative memory called 3D XPoint, will be commercially available next month. Called Optane, the first 16GB and 32GB memory modules will be available on 24 April, for those users who can install them in Optane memory ready motherboards or systems. ...
Read full article: Intel’s first Optane memory modules available next month
Google launches Google Home and Google WiFi in the UK, expanding further into the realm of consumer electronics
Read full article: Google expands into Home consumer electronics
Faraday Future Dragon Racing team is preparing for the fourth leg of the 2017 Formula E championship series this Saturday in Mexico City. Lead driver Jerome D’Ambrosio won the Mexico City ePrix last year. The course is at the Autódromo Hermanos RodrÃguez, 2,285m above sea level. “The team took a technological leap into the future ...
Read full article: Electric racers prepare for Mexico eGP
National Instruments says it has given the world’s first public demonstration of a real-time, over-the-air prototype for Verizon 5G specification operating in the 28GHz frequency band which is likely to be deployed for first 5G services in the US. A prototype system was built using NI’s mmWave transceiver system with a new version of the RF mmWave heads operating at 28GHz ...
Read full article: First 28GHz mm-wave 5G transceiver demoed in US
Attopsemi, the seven year-old Taiwanese OTP memory IP specialist, has joined GloFo’s FD-SOI FDXcelerator Partner Program, to provide scalable, OTP memory IP compatible with GF’s 22FDX technology. Attopsemi’s I-fuse OTP IP suits harsh applications such as automotive, 3D IC, and IoT applications, and can guarantee zero-program defects. Features of the I-fuse include: Limited program current below ...
Read full article: OTP memory IP for GloFo’s 22nm FD-SOI process
Scaling has seven years to go, says the International Technology Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) which took over the forecasting of scaling trends from ITRS. “Die cost reduction has been enabled so far by concurrent scaling of poly pitch, metal pitch, and cell height scaling,” says IRDS concluding that this will likely continue until ...
Read full article: Seven more years for scaling
Pico Technology has increased the bandwidth of its PicoScope 9300 family of sampling oscilloscopes with two 25GHz models. “The USB-controlled sampling oscilloscope stands as one of very few low-cost, high-integrity options for viewing and measuring RF and microwave signals, paths and networks,” claimed the firm. “Sampling Oscilloscopes are the cost-effective solution to today’s proliferation of ...
Read full article: USB scope reaches 25GHz
Six high-performance computing centres for academics and industry will be launched officially on Thursday. Funded with £20m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) the centres are located at the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Exeter, and Oxford, Loughborough University, and UCL. “These centres will enable new discoveries, drive innovation and allow new insights ...
Read full article: £20m for six tier-2 UK supercomputer centres
Samsung has said that the 4 million recalled Galaxy Note 7 mobile handsets will be recycled and processed in an environmentally-friendly manner. The mobile phone maker said that recalled devices shall be considered to be used as refurbished phones or rental phones where applicable. All salvageable components, such as semiconductors and camera modules, shall be detached for test sample production purposes. Samsung also ...
Read full article: Samsung to recycle millions of recalled Galaxy Note 7 phones
ARM has brought out an Embedded Linux Education Kit to train students and future engineers on Linux development. The kit includes full courseware on how to develop embedded Linux products, including Linux kernel configuration and custom peripheral driver development, using ARM-based single board computers. The courseware is highly modular and includes a rich set of ...
Read full article: ARM launches embedded Linux education kit
An interesting chart from the China SIA quoted by Semiconductor Intelligence shows that China’s chip strategy is actually doing rather well. Based on UN trade data, the chart shows that China chip imports have been flattish for the last three years while the output of the domestic chip industry has tripled. So China is increasingly ...
Read full article: China’s Chipper Chips
Collaborative research taking place between the Universities of Bristol and Lund, National Instruments and BT has set up field trials of a massive MIMO system working in a large indoor environment. The aim was to test massive MIMO spatial multiplexing indoors and improve the understanding of massive MIMO radio channels under mobile conditions with untethered ...
Read full article: Researchers show 5G mobile working indoors
Recom has introduced a three-pin 2A switching regulator that is pin-compatible with linear regulators in TO-220 packages and operates at up to 96% efficiency – and therefore doesn’t need a heatsink. Part of the R-78B series, it comes in a 11.5 x 8.5 x 17.5 mm SIP3 package, making the power density up to 17.5W/cm³, said Recom. ...
Read full article: 2A switching regulator replaces TO-220 linears
Ethernet is now being used for real-time communications in industrial automation networks and Rahman Jamal from National Instruments explains the pros and cons of the OPC-UA and TSN protocols Which tasks and functions do OPC-UA and TSN (time-sensitive network) protocols fulfil respectively in industrial systems? Rahman Jamal: TSN and OPC-UA operate at different (and compatible) ...
Read full article: How will Ethernet go real-time for industrial networks?
Learn more about the forces transforming Intel’s surveillance servers
Read full article: Intel – IoT Solutions Alliance
Giovanni D’Amore discusses approaches to characterising both dielectric and magnetic materials using impedance analysers and specialist fixtures. We are used to thinking about technological progress in terms of mobile phone model generations, or semiconductor manufacturing process nodes. These provide a useful shorthand, but overshadow progress in enabling technologies, such as those in materials science. Anyone ...
Read full article: Measuring critical material properties of capacitors and inductors
The biggest night in the electronics calendar, the Elektra Awards, returns to the iconic Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, on Wednesday 6 December.
Read full article: Get ready for the 2017 Elektra Awards
Shining lights into the eyes of skiers before thy get out on the slopes makes them ski better, according to led maker Osram, which has made ‘biologically effective light’ glasses for the German Skiing Association (DSV). “Before the start of the race, the glasses give the skiers an intensive light shower and thus help them ...
Read full article: Osram makes skiers better
China is aggressively recruiting semiconductor engineers and execs, reports headhunters TrendForce, leading to a boost in salaries across the entire semiconductor industry. With a number of new fabs set to start production in H2 2018, China is looking for veteran semiconductor people, particularly memory specialists, to run them. Memory specialists are particularly required because Yangtze ...
Read full article: China recruitment drive boosting semi salaries
Sharply higher memory prices pushed Micron Technology to calendar Q1 revenues of $4.65 billion for net income of $894 million. The increase in the company’s revenues of 17% for calendar Q1 compared to calendar Q4 2016 was due primarily to a 21% increase in DRAM ASPs and an 18% increase in NAND sales volumes. “Strong ...
Read full article: Micron rides memory boom
Reuters reports that Toshiba will put its Westinghouse nuclear unit into Chapter 11 and take a $9 billion charge on its losses. The move would limit future liabilities from the unit. The Singapore investment fund Effissimo increased its stake in Toshiba to over 8% as shares rose 7.6%. Toshiba has received interest in the sale ...
Read full article: Toshiba ponders Chapter 11 for nuclear unit
Uber has suspended its driverless car programme after a crash in Arizona. With Apple and Google already going leery on driverless cars, it is beginning to look as if expectations for the technology were over-egged. Uber had already been banned from testing its self-driving cars in San Francisco before it went down to Arizona to ...
Read full article: Uber suspends driverless car test programme
My Hedgie is back with a fiendish new wheeze, Ed confides to his diary. He’s discovered a company with a new technology which can revolutionise the semiconductor industry by replacing silicon substrates with a new compound material which is potentially cheaper and more scalable. The trouble is, from the Hedgie point of view, that the ...
Read full article: Ed Sells His Soul
Android "Nougat" is just barely starting to register on official radars (3% platform share) when the next version is already being lined up, in the form of a first developer preview.
Read full article: Google releases first developer preview of Android Oreo
TSMC will start moving equipment into its Nanjing fab in H2, reports Digitimes. Thee fab will kick off on 16nm. Pilot production is scheduled for H1 2018 with volume production in H2. It is being equipped to run 20k wpm. First 7nm tape-outs at TSMC Taiwan are set for H2 2017. 10nm is already in production. ...
Read full article: TSMC to equip Nanjing fab this year
On November 15th 1971 Intel’s 4004, the world’s first microprocessor, was advertised in Electronics News as a ‘micro-programmable computer on a chip’. Shortly afterwards at a computer conference Ted Hoff, who invented the chip, remembers an indignant engineer complaining to Stan Mazor: ‘How dare you say you’ve got a computer on a chip?’ “Mazor handed him ...
Read full article: It’s The Microprocessor!
Here are the top ten most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com in the last week, with X-Fab, Qualcomm platforms, Arduino parking aids and 3D XPoint memory all figuring prominently...
Read full article: Top 10 most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com
Samsung has launched its answer to Apple Pay – a contactless payment system it calls the Contactless Companion Platform (CCP). CCP was built with Smartlink and Ingenico. Users can make digital cash payments via any enabled contactless device of their choice, such as a dedicated smart card, wristband, key fob, or even a mechanical watch or a ...
Read full article: Samsung takes on Apple Pay
Infineon has increased the outlook for revenues and Segment Result Margin for its fiscal Q2 2017 and increased the outlook for revenues and Segment Result Margin for the full 2017 fiscal year. The outlook for investment for the full 2017 fiscal year has also been updated. Increased outlook for the second quarter of the 2017 ...
Read full article: Infineon increases outlook
Ultrahaptics, the mid-air haptic touch specialist, is collaborating with MIT on a haptics teaching programme. The course, which has been running since January 2017, is based on Ivan Sutherland’s vision of an “Ultimate Display” – a room that could render data so realistically that it would allow users to interact with information as if it ...
Read full article: Ultrahaptics hooks up with MIT
Check out an interesting piece on Vault7 and its possible repercussions for the electronics industry, written by David Manners.
Read full article: Vault7 and the possible repercussions for the electronics industry
Rotary sensing firm CambridgeIC has further lifted the lid on its technology by rendering its coil-based sensing system for 3D viewing. Its sensors require two PCBs, one on the rotating shaft and a static one though which the shaft passes. The two PCBs only need to be made to conventional tolerances – with 0.2mm track ...
Read full article: Cambridge IC reveals sensing detail, on 10th brithday
Okay, it's just a bit of fun. But it is entertaining and you learn a bit, too. We're talking a rapping robots video.
Read full article: Rapping robots!
Knowles is aiming at electric and hybrid vehicle charging with a range of X7R multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). “The big change being seen in automotive applications is the voltage rating and size of components now being used,” said the firm. “This revolution in MLCC technology, used in control electronics, is being driven by modern on-board ...
Read full article: Knowles caps tackle EV charging challenge
French lab Leti has modelled indoor V and E Band millimeter-wave propagation to identigy space for 5G comms. Classic frequency bands for mobile communication below 6GHz cannot meet throughput requirements projected for future needs due to network congestion and limited bandwidth. However, the majority of demand could be met using millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum – with ...
Read full article: Leti un-picks 5G indoor mm-wave propagation
110 years ago this year, a light-bulb company was set up in New Jersey, USA, with a focus on providing car head-lights. The company name was a derivation from tungsten and the Latin word for sun. A logical diversification in 1920 took it into vacuum tubes and, in the early 1950s, it was among the top ...
Read full article: Fable: The Value Of A Good Name
In an example of emergent behaviour, researchers at Tohoku University have created a control technique that allows a walking robot to spontaneously break into a trot, and then a gallop, as it is commanded to increase speed. The resulting energy-efficiency profile matches horses. There is no central algoritm. Instead, the team, led by Professor Akio ...
Read full article: Four-leg robot spontaneously trots, canters, then gallops
Quantum dot solar cells could become more efficient, now that the Los Alamos Lab has uncovered a mechanism that has been holding them back. The dots are made form electro-optically active materials whose size as well as composition controls the photon energy that they interact with, allowing their absorption (and emission) wavelength to be tuned ...
Read full article: Quantum dot solar inefficiency source found
The Vault7 dump of hacking recipes used by the CIA could be a very positive thing for companies who can now check if their equipment is compromised.
Read full article: Vault7 upside for the electronics industry
Wright Electric, which is developing electric passenger aircraft, is working with Easyjet on a plan to develop a 737 type plane for short-haul flights. “Depending on how it’s designed, you can have an electric plane that’s substantially less loud than a fuel plane,” said Jeff Engler, Wright Electric’s co-founder. “the way we’ve designed our plane ...
Read full article: Electric plane company works with Easyjet.
Texas start-up Mythic has raised $9.3 million in VC money to bring a chip to market which will deliver local processing of AI functions like voice control and computer vision. That is a similar ambition to ARM’s new DynamIQ microarchitecture which, among other things, aims to take AI processing out of the cloud and onto ...
Read full article: Mythic aims to bring AI to the device
Built around the BeagleBone open hardware and based on a TI ARM Cortex-A8 processor, the BeagleBone Blue has a set of peripherals suited for building mobile robots.
Read full article: BeagleBone Blue brings robotics design kit to makers
MIT spin-out Arctic Sand has created plenty of interest in the dc-dc converter world – so much so that Murata has just bought the company. But exactly what the firm’s unique technology is, has remained under wraps. Now Electronics Weekly has been given a peep behind the scenes by company CEO Gary Davison. It transpires ...
Read full article: More on: Arctic Sand’s novel dc-dc converter technology
At Southern Manufacturing 2017, the Crystals announced by Jauch Quartz (J103) – in the JXSxx-WA quartz crystal series – are designed for wireless applications in a variety of settings. They support frequencies of 24.0MHz, 26.0MHz, 32.0MHz, 37.40MHz, 38.40MHz or 40.0MHz, which are often used by radio frequency application specific integrated circuits (RF-Asics). Southern Manufacturing: Say ...
Read full article: Southern Manufacturing 2017: Quartz crystals target wireless and IoT
Microchip has brought out a mobile app for ordering microcontrollers. microchipDIRECT, which sells parts directly to customers, has been updated with several mobile-accessible features including high-volume quotes, custom programming, ordering flexibility, numerous languages, worldwide currency options and global support. “microchipDIRECT is providing a B2C-like experience that allows our clients to check product ...
Read full article: Microchip launches mobile ordering app
When you remember the heady expectations of a few years back with the 10/100/20 EU programme to resurrect semiconductor manufacturing, the outcome is enough to make you weep. European companies held only 1% of the fabless IC company marketshare in 2016 as compared to 4% in 2010, reports IC Insights. The reason for the loss ...
Read full article: Pipe-Dream
Japanese gallium oxide power device start-up Flosfia has raised Y750m (£5m) in series B funding. http://flosfia.com The firm, a spin-out from the Kyoto University, is aiming to commercialise crystalline α-Ga2O3 (corundum/sapphire/ruby structure) in power transistors and Schottky diodes – with the intention of manufacturing 600V TO-220 diodes in 2018 to compete against silicon carbide power ...
Read full article: Gallium oxide power device firm gets £5m in second-round funding
Electronics Weekly asks Phil Valentine - MD at European Trade & Exhibition Services - about the Southern Manufacturing show, its future and UK manufacturing’s post-Brexit prospects.
Read full article: Interview: Southern Manufacturing and market trends, Brexit, and the future
NXP and Canonical have ported Ubuntu Core to NXP’s quad ARM Cortex-A53 core LS1043A SoC, aimed at IoT gateways and networking equipment. “Embedded networking products can run standard Linux applications such as Quagga or Sonic,” said NXP. “Ubuntu Core therefore makes full use of the LS1043A network and IO features, such as packet acceleration, to ...
Read full article: Ubuntu Core ported to NXP quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 SoC
A computer game enthusiast has wired up a home automation system to be controlled by a Raspberry Pi which recognises memorable tunes from the classic Zelda game franchise. “Released in 1998, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the best game ever is still an iconic entry in the retro gaming history books,” said Allen Pan on the Raspberry ...
Read full article: Raspberry Pi triggered by tunes from legendary Zelda game
Prime Minister Theresa May singled out robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in her blueprint for a ‘modern’ industrial strategy for the UK. This comes as Edinburgh’s Centre for Robotics hosts the European Robotics Forum (22-24 March). Earlier this month the Prime Minister welcomed Sir James Dyson’s plans to build a 500 acre campus in Wiltshire ...
Read full article: Robotics at the heart of UK government plans
X-FAB will IPO tomorrow on Euronext Paris. The price range is €8-10.50 per share. Based on the price range, the size of the IPO will range between €440 million and €492 million and the implied market capitalisation of X-FAB will range between €1,046 million and €1,295 million. X-Fab is majority-held by its Belgian founders, including ...
Read full article: X-FAB to IPO tomorrow
What does it take to create fleet management systems that can use big data, remote management, and even machine-learning technology?
Read full article: Intel case study: Simplifying data analytics for City Fleet Management
Using an Arduino to build a device to gauge the distance you need to drive a car into your garage. Warren Andrews, author of Arduino Playground, covers . Part two of two.
Read full article: How to build an Arduino Garage Parking Assistant, Part II
LDOs can offer the low noise and PSRR performance to be used in wide voltage range applications such as in test and measurement systems, write Amit Patel and Steve Knoth Linear Regulators are integrated circuits that step a voltage down from a higher voltage to a lower voltage without the need of an inductor. The ...
Read full article: When is it best to use LDO regulators?
Hong Kong scientists are claiming an efficacy of 129lm/W from an led ‘filament’ light bulb, claiming it to be the most energy-efficient led filament technology. Researchers came from State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision Machining Technology and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), working with a 2015 grant of HK$100,000 (increased to $120,000 since 2016) from the ...
Read full article: Most efficient led filament lamp yet claimed
With two weeks to go till April 1st Qualcomm is gearing up to give us a laugh. Some joker in San Diego has come up with the wheeze of calling its Snapdragon processors ‘platforms’. Snapdragons contain, of course, much more than a processor or indeed several processors, so to call it a processor is a ...
Read full article: Qualcomm’s Dilemma
V-TAC has launched a range of mini led panels, aiming at replacing downlights, but with a wider beam. They range from 3w (210 lm) to 24w (2,000 lm), in slim square or round designs. Life up to 20,000hr is claimed, and they have a two year warranty. As an example, the round 3W VT-307 is 84mm in ...
Read full article: Mini panel alternative to downlights
AdaCore has published a handbook covering its technologies for DO-178C / ED-12C. Written by Quentin Ochem of AdaCore and certification expert Frédéric Pothon, aside from describing the firm’s own products, it puts the DO-178C / ED-12C standard and its technology supplements into perspective and explains many of their more subtle aspects in the context of several ...
Read full article: Free DO-178C / ED-12C handbook
Caroline Hayes introduces some of the innovations and highlights promised for this year’s manufacturing and electronics show, Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2017.
Read full article: Show Preview: Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2017
Rohde & Schwarz’s latest RF spectrum analyser starts with a 1GHz model, and it can be upgraded to 2- or 3GHz with a software keycode. Upgrades can be purchased as needed and are available as soon as the keycode is entered. Recalibration is not required. Noise performance can also be upgraded by software. The R&S ...
Read full article: Rohde & Schwarz makes RF spectrum analyser software upgradable
The Southern Manufacturing and Electronics & AutoAero 2017 show is now underway - running 21 - 23 March 2017 - at Five, Farnborough.
Read full article: Southern Manufacturing: Say hello to Electronics Weekly at M133
Murata has bought MIT dc-dc converter spin-off Arctic Sand Technologies, through Murata’s RF SoI chip subsidiary Peregrine Semiconductor. Arctic sand makes bold claims for the efficiency products but, to the knowledge of Electronics Weekly, has not publicly released data sheets or briefs. Its ARC2C0608 LED string driver is said to deliver up to 30V output with ...
Read full article: Murata buys Arctic Sand for power convesion technology
Tech firm Dyson is seen by the general public as the UK’s most reputable company, according to a “corporate reputation” survey by the Reputation Institute. And other tech firms in the top ten include Intel, Sony and Samsung, despite its Galaxy 7 woes. The UK RepTrak 150 ranking, which was taken in the first quarter of 2017, found ...
Read full article: Top 10 most reputable brands in the UK, show Brexit effect
It's always interesting to see the breakdown of Android platform share that Goggle samples each month, and the March split has not long been made public.
Read full article: Android platform stats: Nougat takes a bite-sized share
At last the government is starting to recognise that it has to do more to foster the engineering workforce at all levels. But the skills crisis in engineering is such that still this may not be enough. In his Budget statement a couple of weeks ago the Chancellor unveiled a new technical qualification, called the ...
Read full article: Government starts process of building skills for industrial IoT
FPGAs just became more accessible. Learn the basics here.
Read full article: The Fundamentals of FPGA
IQE has reported 2016 Revenues which were up 16% to £132.7mm, profit up 17% to £22.1m, cash generation up 7.1% to £22.5 million, and capex of £19 million. “IQE delivered a strong set of results in 2016, with revenues up 16%, PBT up 17%, and EPS up 15%,” says IQE CEO Dr Drew Nelson (pictured), ...
Read full article: Photonics stars at IQE
Imec has made an 896Gb/s silicon photonics transceiver of just a few mm2, targeting future Tb/s optical links and highlighting the scalability of Imec’s iSiPP50G silicon photonics platform. Driven by exponential demand for interconnect bandwidth in datacenters, single-mode optical transceivers will need to scale to Tb/s capacity and be tightly integrated with network switches. Imec ...
Read full article: Imec makes tiny 896Gb/s Si photonics transceiver
ARM has introduced a new microarchitecture for its Cortex-A series called DynamIQ. DynamIQ allows up to eight cores to be put on a chip with different configurations like 1+7 (i.e. 1xbig and 7xLITTLE CPUs), 2+4, 1+3 to deliver scalable solutions The first phones using DynamIQ will be out early in 2018. DynamIQ aims to allow ...
Read full article: ARM launches new microarchitecture – DynamIQ
TEXAS Instruments and the International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation in the USA have announced an agreement to exchange non-exclusive patent licences and technical information regarding semiconductor components. So, 56 years ago started a story in Electronics Weekly’s edition of January 25th 1961. The story continues: These are the parent companies of the British firms Texas ...
Read full article: TI Ties Deal With ITT Semiconductors
Finlay Cuffe from Sutton Grammar School and Shahab Fazal from Loreto Sixth Form College in Manchester have both been named as WCSIM (Worshipful Company Of Scientific Instrument Makers) Young Engineer of the Year 2017. The nominations entitle them to participate, along with more than 1,700 other students from around the world, in the Intel-sponsored International Science ...
Read full article: WCSIM chooses Young Engineer of the the Year 2017.
Prologue – David Jervis recently contacted Electronics Weekly, trying to get a clean copy of an article written about his grandfather 50 years ago. Sadly, we couldn’t help because most of EW’s paper archive was destroyed in a storage accident. The grandfather turned out to be HJ Round, the British engineer who a century ago helped invent ...
Read full article: From the archive: Henry Joseph Round, unrecognised electronics pioneer
Students from Croydon College have had a taste of the start-up world by getting through to the final stage in a major competition to find the next big business idea. The ‘Big Idea Challenge’ is a competition for students to come up with an innovative business or social enterprise idea. Aimed at college students who ...
Read full article: Croydon students in Big Idea Challenge final
TiePie Engineering of the Netherlands has introduced a 1Gsample/s four-channel PC oscilloscope with differential capability. Called Handyscope HS6 DIFF, is connects via USB 3.0 and is available in versions down to 50Msample/s. The firm has included what it calls ‘SafeGround’ technology, claimed to prevent damage if inputs are switched from differential to single-ended without thinking. “SafeGround allows ...
The strangest product launch in the industry’s history has been the saga of Intel’s 3D XPoint. Last week it got stranger still with an announcement timed for a Sunday – last Sunday. Unless a product launch is tied to an event a Sunday launch is very unusual. Yesterday, Intel announced that 3D XPoint is available on ...
Read full article: The Curious Saga Of 3D XPoint.
Analog Devices has announced hardware for learning about analogue circuits and software-defined radio. USB-powered and controlled, ADALM2000 Active Learning Module includes: two analog differential inputs, two analog single-ended outputs, and two power supplies. 12bit 100Msample/s DACs and ADCs provide the digital interface, and once coupled with the firm’s Scopy software running on a computer (Windows, ...
Read full article: Analog Devices teaches analogue and RF electronics
TSMC is considering building a second fab in the USA. Bloomberg reports that TSMC director of corporate communications Elizabeth Sun has said that the US is among several sites which TSMC is considering for its 3nm fab. “We have not ruled out going to the U.S., but the formal decision will not be made until ...
Read full article: TSMC considering building 3nm fab in USA
Download Zuken’s White Paper: End-to-end hardware architecture design and validation
Read full article: Reduce produce development risk
Fabless chip companies supplied 30% of the world’s IC sales in 2016 (up from 18% ten in 2006), reports IC Insights. Figure 1 depicts the 2016 fabless company share of IC sales by company headquarters location. As shown, at 53%, the U.S. companies held the dominant share of fabless IC sales last year, ...
Read full article: Fabless take 30% IC share
Sometimes in government you don’t have to do much to have a big effect, Ed confides to his diary. When I was out and about last week visiting the Northern Powerhouse (RIP), one of the managing directors asked for a word in my shell-like. “What to I have to do to get approved for the ...
Read full article: Ed Sniffs Some Luvly Jubbly
Today 3D XPoint memory, called a ‘a new class of memory’ by Intel, reaches the market in the form of an SSD. The first product is a 375GB SSD. In Q2 a 750GB SSD is planned and a 1.5TB SSD is scheduled for H2. Micron, the co-owner of the fab line in Utah where the ...
Read full article: 3D XPoint debuts
IoTSF, the industry body tasked with helping firms address the security issues of the internet of things has appointed a new chairman. Professor Paul Dorey will take over from Professor John Haine as the IoTSF chairman. Professor Dorey is a Director of cybersecurity strategy firm CSO Confidential and a Visiting Professor at Royal Holloway University of ...
Read full article: IoT security body names new chairman
Multi-core processing has been an industry aspiration for decades and there have been many approaches to it by many companies. Peter Claydon, who invented PicoChip’s multi-core processing technology, did it Bristol-fashion. “Our architecture was very accidental,” recalls Claydon, “when I joined Brooktree, I was the 12th employee and the first who hadn’t come from Inmos, ...
Read full article: Multi-Core Processing Bristol-Fashion
The Internet of Things, and securing the Internet of Things were very much to the fore.
Read full article: Video: Embedded World 2017, the overview
As surveillance systems continue to evolve, the surveillance server has become a completely different animal from a standard server, says Intel. Examples include standalone servers, network video recorders (NVRs) and IoT video gateways. Regardless of form, all the servers must capture, archive, and manage video from multiple cameras. Find out more. Learn more about the ...
Read full article: Intel case study: Building better Surveillance Servers
Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems has teamed up with online distributor element14 to launch a research project competition for people detection designs using the supplier’s infrared sensor arrays. Designs will combine IR sensors with Bluetooth wireless systems and software for IR detection of people and objects on one board. The projects will be assessed by Panasonic and ...
Read full article: Panasonic and element14 look for the best IR detector design
Orange Pi, the competitor to Raspberry Pi from Chinese firm Shenzhen Xunlong Software has created a design app store in partnership with Canonical. The Orange Pi compute module is based on a quad-core 64 bit ARM Cortex A7 Allwinner SoC. It is available in several models from the entry level Orange Pi Zero to the 2Gb ...
Read full article: Raspberry Pi competitor taps Ubuntu community
UK connector maker Harwin has earned accreditation to EN 9100 / AS9100C, which is specific to the aerospace industry. Also known as AS9100 in the USA and JISQ 9100 in Japan, it is supported by major aeronautics manufacturers worldwide, said Harwin. “We have a strong presence in the aerospace market, as our high-reliability connector ranges ...
Read full article: Harwin increases aerospace focus
Ultrahaptics, the mid-air touchless haptic technology specialist, has signed an agreement with EBV Elektronik, an Avnet company, to distribute and market Ultrahaptics’ TOUCH Development Kit (UHDK5) and related microprocessors under itsnn EBVchips program. The UHDK5 development platform uses ultrasound to provide touch feedback in mid-air – enabling users to ‘feel’ virtual buttons, switches, dials and ...
Read full article: Ultrahaptics signs EBV
This month features the invention described in GB patent no. 2487734, which aims to improve the detection accuracy of Answer Machine Detection systems.
Read full article: Electronics patent of the month: Improving Answer Machine Detection systems
SEMI reports that February billings of equipment makers were $1.97 billion. – 6.1% higher than January’s $1.86 billion, and is 63.8% higher than the February’s level of $1.20 billion. “Billings levels remain elevated as memory and foundry manufacturers continue to invest in advanced semiconductor technologies,” says SEMI CEO Ajit Manocha, “these investments are paving the ...
Read full article: SEMI February billings up 6% on January
It’s often said that if you want to get into a technology as a newcomer you have to aim-off so that when your product hits the market, it is technically ahead of everyone else’s. However China’s flagship chip company Yangtze River Storage Technology, tasked with getting China into the memory business, is looking to have a ...
Read full article: The Yangtze River Riddle
When Xerox invented its copier it set about patenting it in every which way possible. An Arthur D Little report stated that Xerox had built a patent wall around their copier technology that would never be breached. A 37 year-old company R&D chief at a camera company didn’t like the idea of an unbreachable patent ...
Read full article: Fable: The R&D Guy Who Liked A Challenge
Allegro MicroSystems has a three-phase brushless BLDC motor controller for use with N-channel external power mosfets. The AMT49413 can be used as part of three-phase motor drive systems with maximum supply voltages up to 50V. One feature of the devices is a charge pump regulator that provides adequate (>10V) gate drive for battery voltages down ...
Read full article: Three-phase brushless motor controller separates the mosfets
Littelfuse’s latest circuit protection devices will provide eight channels of low capacitance common mode and differential mode protection for electronic equipment exposed to electrostatic discharges (ESD). SP8008 range of TVS diode arrays are intended to provide protection against ESD events exceeding the IEC 61000-4-2 contact ESD level of ±8 kV without any performance degradation. A ...
Read full article: Low capacitance diodes protect high speed channels
Optical quantum key exchange could one day secure data transfer to mobile phones, according to the University of Oxford, which has demonstrated the technique using a prototype made form off-the-shelf parts. It includes ultra-fast LEDs and moveable mirrors to send a secret key at more than 30kbyte/s over 500mm. “The idea is that this gadget ...
Read full article: Quantum key exchange for phones
Technicians are inspecting the James Webb telescope, intended to succeed Hubble, for contamination after it has undergone vibration and acoustic testing. This is done at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the dark, by people wielding torches – including special ultra-violet torches, because contamination is easier to spot this way, said NASA. The long exposure ...
Nexperia, formerly part of NXP, has announced common mode EMI filters with integrated ESD protection for USB 3.1 Type C, HDMI 2.0 and MIPI M-PHY interfaces. PCMFxUSB3S, PCMFxHDMI2S and PESDxUSB3S are the parts, where x is the number of channels. They come with the same footprint as ESD-protection-only products. “System engineers will benefit from having ...
Read full article: One-package EMI and ESD protection for USB Type C, HDMI and MIPI
Art McFall, Marketing Brand Manager of Oscilloscopes at Keysight, talks about the company's new InfiniiVision 1000X series oscilloscope.
Read full article: EW: Video Interview – Keysight Technologies on InfiniiVision 1000X oscilloscopes
Matt Davis, Managing Director of QA Systems, talks about the newly announced version of QA Systems' unit and integration test tool, Cantata.
Read full article: EW: Video Interview – QA Systems on Cantata unit and integration test tool
AMS has come up with a new communications interface for audio devices that uses the microphone wire in a standard 3.5mm audio cable to carry power and bidirectional data with a rate of up to 16Mbit/s, as well as digital audio signals. According to AMS, this can eliminate the need for a battery in noise-cancelling ...
Read full article: AMS redesigns 3.5mm audio jack to carry power and data
China has 1,362 IC design companies reports the China SIA, up from 681 in 2014. The production value of China’s IC industry increased 20.1% y-o-y to $62 billion in 2016, while revenues of China’s IC design companies grew 24.1% y-o-y to $24 billion, says the CSIA. China’s top-10 IC design firms’ combined revenues accounted for ...
Read full article: China IC industry growing fast, says CSIA
