Shanghai raises $7.4bn IC promotion fund

Shanghai, has raised a $7.4 billion fund to back the IC industry, reports Digitimes. The intention is to help fabless companies make acquisitions and assist the equipment and materials industries. Last year the Shanghai fund, called the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Fund (SICIF) raised $3.5 billion with 10% of that coming from the China government’s ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/shanghai-raises-7-4bn-ic-promotion-fund-2017-08/

Scotland Gets First Computer

The first electronic computer ever bought by a Government Department in Scotland was put to work last week by Mr. John Maclay, Secretary of State for Scotland. Costing £45,000, it will save the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries many thousands of pounds a year in office and administration costs. It will deal primarily with agricultural statistics ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/memory-lane/scotland-gets-first-computer-2017-08/

EW BrightSparks 2017 profile: Chris Shaw, Sensible Objects

Chris Shaw is Lead Engineer at the company Beasts of Balance, makers of the Sensible Objects technology game.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/ew-brightsparks-2017-profile-chris-shaw-sensible-objects-2017-07/

Webinar: Reduce Test Time by implementing Embedded JTAG Solutions

Electronics Weekly joins forces with Goepel Electronics to discuss increasing productivity and reducing test time by implementing Embdedded JTAG solutions.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/test-and-measurement-2/reduce-test-time-by-implementing-embedded-jtag-solutions-2017-07/

Led driver triac dims across 1-100%

Recom is claiming 1% to 100% leading-edge or trailing-edge triac dimming from four led drivers, rated at 9, 12, 18 or 25W. Both leading and trailing edge phase angle control makes them suitable for many standard dimmers for a wide range of applications,” said the firm. Called the ‘RACT series’, their constant current outputs are between ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/led-driver-triac-dims-across-1-100-2017-07/

Thin light wire vies with PTFE for high-rel connections

Alpha Wire’s new ThermoThin Hook-Up Wire, now available from Aerco, delivers 600V performance from -150 to +300°C, and is intended for applications where premium performance must be matched with space and weight savings. Potential applications are foreseen in medical devices, semiconductor production, geothermal energy generation, energy production, military equipment and the oil and gas industry. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/emech-enclosures/thin-light-wire-vies-ptfe-high-rel-connections-2017-07/

Hats off to a particular professional cyclist

I was standing by the roadside, watching the Surrey Classic professional cycle race on Sunday. And the cycling was most impressive. But none of the riders cracked a smile, despite a little crowd that was cheering its heart out. Then, a long way behind the main pack, there was tired group of four riders – ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/hats-off-particular-professional-cyclist-2017-07/

Your last chance to win an STM32L4 Discovery Kit IoT Node

Check out the latest competition on Electronics Weekly, giving you a chance to get your hands on a STM32L4 Discovery Kit IoT Node.

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Arduino Shenanigans

Arduino has had a great commercial success but a lousy corporate history. Now the CEO has been ousted after it was found that his degrees are phony. Five guys founded Arduino LLC in 2008 but, in 2010, when they applied for a worldwide trademark on the name, they found that one of the founding five, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/shenanigans/arduino-shenanigans-2017-07/

Fable: The Costly Micro

40 years ago this year, the first 16-bit microprocessor to be designed and made in Europe was launched on the market. Here is the die shot:               It had a 60mm² die size and was made on a 3.5 micron bipolar process. It had 64KB of physical memory and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/fable/fable-costly-micro-2017-07/

Small PC also supports Arduino

LattePanda is an Intel Atom PC running and Arduino combined. Designed for Windows 10, it has a 1.8GHz Z8300 Cherry Trail CPU with I/O handled by a second processor rather than the Atom. “This micro controller is re-programmable, source code is provided, and can be programmed to off-load the Atom if an application is so demanding,” said RS Components, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/bus-systems-sbcs/small-pc-also-supports-arduino-2017-07/

Building a business model for IoT

New research from Canonical shows how to develop a successful IoT business model

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/building-business-model-iot-2017-07/

SD-WANs growing rapidly

Software-defined wide area networks have only been commercially available for a few years but, according to IDC, worldwide SD-WAN infrastructure and services revenues will see a CAGR)p of 69.6% and reach $8.05 billion in 2021. The most significant driver of SD-WAN growth over the next five years will be digital transformation (DX) in which enterprises ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/sd-wans-growing-rapidly-2017-07/

Trillium buys CanBusHack

Trillium, the automotive cybersecurity specialist, has bought auto cyber security company CanBusHack. “The addition of CanBusHack’s Red Team and penetration testing expertise is a perfect fit for Trillium, and adds to our already robust range of cybersecurity products, services and training capabilities,” says Trillium CEO, David M. Uze, “now, in addition to providing customers with ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/trillium-buys-canbushack-2017-07/

ITRI reaching out to foreign IoT start-ups

Taiwan’s renowned government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is inviting foreign IoT start-ups to visit Taiwan to learn about the island’s electronics industry. ITRI brought advanced IC processing toTaiwan in 1976 by licensing RCA’s CMOS process and then proceeded to scale it over subsequent generations while spinning it off, along the way, into start-ups like ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/itri-2017-07/

BT offers £600m broadband upgrade

BT has made an offer to the government to spend £600 million on providing 10Mbps broadband access to everyone in the UK. “We already expect 95% of homes and businesses to have access to superfast broadband speeds of 24Mbps or faster by the end of 2017,” says BT CEO Gavin Patterson, “our latest initiative aims ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/bt-offers-600m-broadband-upgrade-2017-07/

Fujitsu Speeds Up Transaction Processing on the Blockchain

Fujitsu Labs has developed  technology that accelerates transaction processing for Hyperledger Fabric, one of the Hyperledger blockchain frameworks hosted by The Linux Foundation. The blockchain is a technology that creates systems with excellent resistance to falsification while preserving high transparency and reliability, all without centralized management. It is expected to have applications in a variety ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/fujitsu-speeds-transaction-processing-blockchain-2017-07/

Ed Wreaks Skulduggery

With the headmistress away the more testosterone-charged pupils are up to pranks  – concocting new Brexit strategies, conniving over her departure and plotting the succession. None of which bothers me, Ed confides to his diary,  my strategy is to make hay while the sun shines. With parliament in recess, with most of the Cabinet in ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ed-the-serial-ceo/ed-wreaks-skulduggery-2017-07/

Lux-TSI enhances BSI membership for led testing

Wales-based led test and compliance firm Lux-TSI has become a Platinum member of the British Standards Institution (BSI) associate consultant programme. This adds to the firm’s BSI associate laboratory status from 2015, covering the lighting and road traffic equipment markets.   “This agreement reinforces the position of LUX-TSI as a trusted provider of technical consulting, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/lux-tsi-enhances-bsi-membership-led-testing-2017-07/

The Man Who Said IC R&D Was ‘Nearly Over’

In the 1950s,  Tsugio Makimoto, was sent by his employer, Hitachi, to pursue graduate research at Stanford. “Hitachi had a programme to send 10 people to US universities for studying”, recalls Makimoto, “and I was selected as one them.” “I chose Stanford because there were many shining stars of the semiconductor industry there.” “While I was ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/yarns/man-said-ic-rd-nearly-2017-07/

EW BrightSparks 2017 profile: Robert Smith, Plextek RFI

Continuing our series on the EW BrightSparks of 2017, we highlight Robert Smith, who works as a consultant engineer at Plextek RFI.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/ew-brightsparks-2017-profile-robert-smith-plextek-rfi-2017-07/

There are still grown-up websites

In a world where I boil with frustration over websites that contain no data, just marketing fluff, I was so pleased to come across the National Physical Laboratory’s page on the UK national off-air time reference. It dives in straight away, with “the signal provides a field strength exceeding 100 µV/m at a distance of 1000 ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/still-grown-websites-2017-07/

Renesas Q2 revenues up 31.7%

Renesas reported Q2 sales up 31.7% y-o-y and 12.6% sequentially at $1.7 billion. Operating profit was $270 million and gross margin was 45.7%. For Q3, Renesas expects the same level of sales and margin. . “We have been successfully improving our gross and operating margins by pursuing sales growth and cost containment”, says Renesas CEO ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/renesas-q2-revenues-31-7-2017-07/

Being World’s Richest Person

How do you feel when you become the world’s richest person? Proud? Ashamed? Frightened? Guilty? Responsible? Ready to party? Jeff Bezos is clearly about to become the world’s richest person. He had a four hour glimpse of it yesterday before slipping back down to No.2. Bill Gates, of course, has been an excellent No.1 since ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/dilemmas/worlds-richest-person-2017-07/

Intel is No.2

Intel is No.2. After 24 years as the No.1 chip company, Intel slipped below Samsung in Q2 with revenues of $14.8 billion. On Wednesday Samsung reported Q2 chip revenues of $15.7 billion. Intel’s slip to No.2 had been widely predicted in the wake of hugely inflated memory prices. It means that TI’s 25 year reign ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-no-2-2017-07/

EW BrightSparks 2017 profile: Keno Mario-Ghae, Imagination Technologies

Electronics Weekly has teamed up with RS Components to highlight the brightest and most talented young electronic engineers in the UK today. In the latest in our series on the EW BrightSparks of 2017 we highlight Keno Mario-Ghae, who works as a Project Engineer at Imagination Technologies. Having graduated from Cambridge University, Keno has done many activities involving sustainable energy, such ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/ew-brightsparks-2017-profile-keno-mario-ghae-imagination-technologies-2017-07/

Optical processing glass integrated with CMOS

Australian scientists are combining high-speed chalcogenide glass optical processing with silicon CMOS. “We integrated a novel non-linear glass into an industrially scalable CMOS compatible platform. We maintained the key advantages of both the silicon and the glass, and made a functional and efficient ultra-compact optical circuit,” said Dr Alvaro Casas Bedoya who leads photonics fabrication ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/504918-2017-07/

Mannerisms, Gadget Master, the Daily and the Weekly, in newsletter form

Too busy to keep checking our blogs and news section? Let the content come straight to you! Easily digestible newsletter emails straight to your inbox.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/general-electronics/mannerisms-gadget-master-daily-weekly-newsletter-form-2017-07/

Fable: The Company Which Got In Over its head

In 1979 a large company paid $380 million for a ten year-old company which had achieved success in the memory business. Over the next six years a further $1 billion was poured into fab, R&D and equipment. In 1984 the Japanese assault on the memory business got underway. The memory company was late to market ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/fable/fable-company-got-head-2017-07/

Another crack the high-temperature superconductor walnut

Scientists from the US Brookhaven National Laboratory and Yale University have discovered surprising behaviour amongst electrons in high-temperature superconductors (HTS). “Our discovery challenges a corner-stone of condensed matter physics,” said Brookhaven Lab physicist Jie Wu. “These electrons seem to spontaneously ‘choose’ their own paths through the material – a phenomenon in direct opposition to expectations.” ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/another-crack-walnut-high-temperature-superconductivity-2017-07/

Low-cost surface treatment makes better solar cells

Osaka University has created front and back coatings to improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells, without resort to expensive vacuum treatment. The front coating is anti-reflective – a component of almost all solar cells – and created using a wet process based on ‘surface structure chemical transfer’ (SSCT), using it to fabricate so-called ‘black ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/low-cost-surface-treatment-makes-better-solar-cells-2017-07/

Li-ion thermal knowledge pooled into one place

US researchers have collated the temperature performance of different Li-ion cell technologies with a view to improving batteries. “People have not looked that studiously at temperature constraints. We searched hard to find one paper that talks about all the problems at the same time and what all the individual components experience at extreme temperatures, and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/li-ion-thermal-knowledge-pooled-one-place-2017-07/

Picture of the Day: The robotic eel, swimming with sensors

Check out this robotic eel, loaded with sensors to report on the quality of the water it navigates, made by researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/picture-of-the-day/picture-day-robotic-eel-swimming-sensors-2017-07/

Electromagnetic gun readies for war

The US Navy’s electromagnetic rail-gun is out of the laboratory and ready for field demonstrations at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren, Virginia. Rail guns, which until now have been research tools, are a form of linear motor which accelerate objects to very high velocity using a combination of magnetic and electric fields. Testing is ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/electromagnetic-gun-readies-war-2017-07/

E-bikes: functional to cool

Avionics V1 is an e-bike, soon to be released from a firm in Poland. Its 5kW brushless electric motor really puts it well above mopeds for power (6.7bhp, 125Nm, max speed 58km/h), however there are 230, 500 and 750W ‘street’ modes – where range is up to 120km. Power comes from a 24Ah battery (no ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/e-bikes-functional-cool-2017-07/

Bristol Robotics wins Farnell Lab Makeover competition

Farnell element14 has named Bristol Robotics Laboratory as winner of its ‘Win a Lab Makeover’ competition. The Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) is an academic centre for multi-disciplinary robotics research in the UK and builds on a collaborative partnership between the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and the University of Bristol, and is ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/bristol-robotics-wins-farnell-lab-makeover-competition-2017-07/

ST Emerging From Its Defensive Shell

ST is beginning to look a bit more like it was in its glory days under Pasquale Pistorio. At the conference call following the Q2 results, which contained a 9% sequential revenue increase forecast for Q3, CEO Carlo Bozotti mentioned that, with its $1.25-3 billion proposed capex this year, and with the assistance of its ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/manufacturing-mannerisms/st-emerges-defensive-shell-2017-07/

President Trump, Terry Gou, Speaker Ryan greet Wisconsin LCD plant

As expected, the Foxconn LCD plant promised for the USA is to be in Wisconsin. “Because of you we are also committed to great jobs for Americans,” Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn (pictured) told President Donald Trump, “Mr President, the eagle flies.” Calling Gou “one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs,” Trump said that the investment ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/president-trump-terry-gou-speaker-ryan-greet-wisconsin-lcd-plant-2017-07/

Updated: ADI hits 500W with switched capacitor power converter

Analogue Devices has managed to create a 500W switched-capacitor power chip for fixed ratio power conversion at up to 72V and 99% efficiency. Power density up to 4,000W/in3 is claimed. The main application foreseen for the chip, the LTC7820, is 48V non-isolated dc bus conversion, although it is capable of up, down and inverting conversion at ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/adi-hits-500w-switched-capacitor-power-converter-2017-07/

Android Studio… Does it have to be this way?

Maybe it's just me, but it can sometimes seem Android development, using Android Studio, has to be a little battle, each step of the way.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/eyes-on-android/programming/android-studio-way-2017-07/

EW BrightSparks 2017 profile: Daniele Capocci, Nissan

In the next in our series on the EW BrightSparks of 2017 we highlight Daniele Capocci, a design and development engineer in the ITS test department at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/ew-brightsparks-2017-profile-daniele-capocci-nissan-2017-07/

Silly Ministers

The silly season has come a week early to Westminster with a silly Ministerial reaction to BMW’s electric car announcement and another silly Minister saying he’s banning the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles in 2040. It’s humiliating to see how pathetically grateful our Ministers are when someone chucks them a Brexit-friendly bone. When ARM was ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/bullshit/bmws-brexit-bone-2017-07/

Germans experiment with integrated motor and electronics for electric vehicles

Spotted at power exhibition PCIM in Nuremberg this year, this is a 100kW (134BHP) integrated motor/drive for electric vehicles. Called Sphinx, it is the result of a joint research venture between Infineon, Daimler, ZF, TLK-Thermo and Technische Universitat Braunschweig. Maximum current and voltage in the system are 450A and 300V.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/germans-experiment-integrated-motor-electronics-electric-vehicles-2017-07/

Webinar: Reduce Test Time by implementing Embedded JTAG Solutions

Make a note for your diary, for a new Electronics Weekly webinar – Combining the Power of Functional Test and Embedded System Access Electronics Weekly has joined forces with Goepel Electronics to discuss how you can benefit from increased productivity and reduce test time by implementing Embdedded JTAG solutions, Book your place » On Tuesday Wednesday 6 September, 10:00am ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/industry-comment/webinar-reduce-test-time-implementing-embedded-jtag-solutions-2017-07/

Top Ten IP Companies

  Thanks to IPnest for this one – the top ten semiconductor IP companies

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ten-best/top-ten-ip-companies-2017-07/

Apple to build three plants in USA, says Trump

Apple is to build three manufacturing plants in the USA, according to President Donald Trump.   President Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he’d talked to Apple CEO Tim Cook (pictured) about manufacturing in America. “I said you know, Tim, unless you start building your plants in this country, I won’t consider my administration ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/apple-build-three-plants-usa-says-trump-2017-07/

Semi M&A Slowing

H1 semiconductor M&A was worth $1.4 billion, says IC Insights, well down on the $4.6 billion of H1 2016 and the $72.6 billion of H1 2015.   Last year, M&A got off to a slow start, but several large transactions announced in 3Q16 pushed the 2016 total value in semiconductor acquisitions to nearly $100 billion ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/markets/ma-slowing-2017-07/

Element14 ‘Upcycle it’ winners chosen

Element14  has announced winners of its ‘Upcycle it’ design challenge. Sponsored by Intel, element14 challenged 15 community members to Upcycle an unwanted or waste product to give it a new or enhanced lease of life. The application areas for this challenge and ability to use unlimited components to complete an original electronics-based project offered true ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/element14-upcycle-winners-chosen-2017-07/

LG investing $7 billion in OLED production

LG says it is putting $7 billion into OLED production plants. LG is putting $870 million into its jv plant in Guangzhou, China to make OLEDs in a foreign factory for the first time. The Guangzhou plant currently makes LCD panels and the intention is to use it to make 65 inch and bigger OLED ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/lg-investing-7-billion-oled-production-2017-07/

Re-hab centre for hackers

A re-hab centre for hackers has opened in Bristol in an experiment which could be extended across the country. The camp has been set up by the National Crime Agency (NCA). The idea is to divert potential cyber-criminals into useful cyber-security work. The first seven attendees are people caught engaging in cyber-crimes like defacing websites, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/re-hab-centre-hackers-2017-07/

Infineon to enter packaged silicon microphone market

Infineon will  enter the packaged silicon microphone market with samples of  high performance, low noise MEMS microphones in Q4. Volume production starts in Q1 2018.. The analogue and digital microphones are based on Infineon’s dual backplate MEMS technology with a 70 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and a  distortion level of 10% at a 135 dB ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/infineon-enter-packaged-silicon-microphone-market-2017-07/

Wafer area shipments grow 4.2% q-o-q.

Q2 silicon wafer area shipments were up 4.2% on Q1, says SEMI’s Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG). Total Q2 silicon wafer area shipments were 2,978 million square inches up from the 2,858 million square inches shipped in Q1. New quarterly total area shipments are 10.1% higher than Q2 2016 shipments and are at their highest recorded quarterly ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/wafer-shipments-grow-4-2-q-o-q-2017-07/

Samtec delivers 14 Gbps FireFly dev kit

Samtec, the Indiana interconnect specialist, Has brought out a 14 Gbps FireFly FMC Development Kit to evaluate and develop  Samtec’s FireFly optical engines.   The 14 Gbps FireFly FMC Module provides up to 140 Gbps full-duplex bandwidth over 10 channels from an FPGA to an industry-standard multi-mode fiber optic cable. Samtec’s 14 Gbps FireFly FMC ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/samtec-delivers-14-gbps-firefly-dev-kit-2017-07/

LTC buck converter has differential VOUT remote sensing

The LTC7150S is a 20V, 20A monolithic synchronous buck converter with differential VOUT remote sensing. The device’s phase lockable controlled on-time constant frequency current mode architecture eases compensation and is ideal for high step-down ratio applications that operate at high frequencies while demanding fast transient response. The LTC7150S uses Silent Switcher2 technology, including integrated bypass ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/ltc-buck-converter-differential-vout-remote-sensing-2017-07/

Marvell launches gigabit auto Ethernet switch

Marvell has launched an automotive gigabit Ethernet switch. The switch is designed to prevent malicious attacks or compromises to the data streamed in-and-out of the vehicle. These industry-leading security features are paramount to ensure the safety of the vehicle and its occupants. This switch has been purpose-built to address the increasing risk cybercrime represents to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/marvell-launches-gigabit-auto-ethernet-switch-2017-07/

The Orthotron

INTRODUCING THE ORTHOTRON Super-power breakthrough claimed. was the headline, 57 years ago, on an article in Electronics Weekly’ds edition of October 12th 1960. The story starts: In connection with an announcment of the establishment of a new laboratory for research on super-power microwave devices, the General Electric research laboratory at Schenectady have claimed a ‘revolutionary ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/memory-lane/500960-2017-07/

Faraday Challenge to boost UK battery technology expertise

The Business Secretary launches the £246 million "Faraday Challenge", aiming to boost UK expertise in battery technology.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/uks-faraday-challenge-boost-battery-technology-2017-07/

Gadget book giveaway – The Arduino Inventor’s Guide

Time for a little giveaway on Gadget Master. No Starch Press has kindly sent us a hard copy of the book The Arduino Inventor’s Guide, which we covered recently, so we'll pass it on.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/arduino/gadget-book-giveaway-arduino-inventors-guide-2017-07/

Intel’s Complaint

Intel sums up the tech world’s beef with Qualcomm in its complaint to the FTC about Qualcomm’s business practices. ‘Whatever the source of Qualcomm’s past success, in recent years Qualcomm has maintained its modem monopoly through a host of anticompetitive practices—not through the merits of its products or the strength of its innovation, ‘ says ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/shenanigans/intels-complaint-2017-07/

Samsung targets 25% foundry share

Samsung is targeting a 25% share of the foundry market by 2022, E.S.Jung, head of Samsung’s foundry business, told Reuters today.Currently Samsung holds a 7.9% foundry share. TSMC has over 50% share, GloFo 9.6% and UMC 8.1%. Samsung is betting on an early move to 7nm process technology to help secure its foundry aspirations. It ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/samsung-targets-25-foundry-share-2017-07/

China plans to be AI leader

The State Council of the People’s Republic of China has set the gosl of having a $150 billion AI industry by 2030. The State Council’s plan says that, by 2020,  China p’s AI industry technology should match the rest of the world, and that by 2025, China should achieve “major breakthroughs” in the technology. By ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/china-plans-ai-leader-2017-07/

Post-Brexit trade arrangements are top priority for business leaders

Business leaders put post-Brexit trade arrangements as their top priority in a survey by MarketInvoice. The top priority (58%) for UK business leaders as part of the Brexit negotiations is to have the right trade arrangements with the EU to ensure a stable trading environment. This is three times more important than having access to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/504622-2017-07/

RF Academy: Learn at your own frequency

Whether you’re a seasoned engineer looking to solve new RF challenges or a new engineer hoping to understand the fundamentals, RF Academy can help you.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/rf-academy-learn-frequency-2017-07/

Trillium launches SecureSKYE

Trillium, the automotive IoT cybersecurity specialist, has  launched  SecureSKYE, a data mining and analytics solution for cars. SecureSKYE creates a dynamically updated profile of the car and its driver. By utilising the platform’s data-mining and analytics capabilities, ‘safety-and-security’ applications and services such as geolocation-based emergency services, insurance tech solutions including ‘Usage-Based Insurance,’ ‘CyberSecurity-as-a-Service,’ ‘Forensics-as-a-Service’ and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/trillium-launches-secureskye-2017-07/

Fujitsu GaN-HEMT PA achieves world’s highest output density

Fujitsu Labs announced earlier today the development of a GaN  HEMT power amplifier for use in W-band (75-110 GHz) transmissions. To realize long-distance, high-capacity wireless communications, a promising approach is to utilize the W-band and other high frequency bands that encompass a broad range of usable frequencies, and increase output with a transmission power amplifier. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/fujitsu-gan-hemt-pa-achieves-worlds-highest-output-density-2017-07/

Ed Eyes EV

The Chinese have approached the Department about EV battery technology, Ed confides to his diary, a firm up North has developed a battery that gives cars a 500+ mile range between charges and can be topped up in 10 minutes. The Chinese are dead keen to be world leaders in EV and have apparently approached ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ed-the-serial-ceo/ed-eyes-ev-2017-07/

Top 10 most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com

With Qualcomm, Icera and Vodafone all figuring prominently, along with Bluetooth mesh, cyber security and Bitcoin...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/general-electronics/top-10-popular-articles-electronicsweekly-com-25-2017-07/

Raspberry Pi adds qualification programme for professional users

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has introduced an official Raspberry Pi integrator programme for organisations building Raspberry Pi single-board computers into products. “Raspberry Pis are now essential components of everything from washing machines to underwater exploration vehicles,” said the Foundation. “We love seeing these commercial applications, and are committed to helping bring Raspberry Pi-powered products to market. With ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/raspberry-pi-development/raspberry-pi-adds-qualification-programme-professional-users-2017-07/

Microprocessor Memories

After getting the world’s first microprocessor, the 4004, into silicon, Dr Federico Faggin set about his next task at Intel – designing the first 8-bit microprocessor –  the 8008. “It was architecturally a better machine than the 4004 – the 8008 was the ancestor of the Pentium Pro” recalls Faggin. In 1969, Victor Poor vice president of Computer Terminal ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/yarns/microprocessor-memories-2017-07/

Vishay trench Schottkys cut voltage drop

Vishay has expanded its surface-mount ‘TMBS’ trench MOS Barrier Schottky rectifiers with 10 1A and 2A devices in the eSMP series MicroSMP (DO-219AD) package. “Providing space-saving alternatives to Schottky rectifiers in the SOD123W, the Vishay General Semiconductor devices feature reverse voltages from 45 to 150V and include the industry’s first 2 A TMBS rectifiers in the MicroSMP ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/vishay-trench-schottkys-cut-voltage-drop-2017-07/

ST denies it is about to stop taking MCU orders

Asian sources are saying that ST is to stop taking orders for MCUs, although ST has denied the stories. The Economic Daily News says ST won’t take any more sMCU orders until the end of this year. Digitimes reports that ST’s lead times on MCUs had been extended to 16-20 weeks and has stopped taking ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/st-denies-stop-taking-mcu-orders-2017-07/

Diodes cuts Schottky forward drop

Using an deep-trench process, the SDT series of Schottky diodes from Diodes is claimed to deliver superior performance to planar-type Schottky diodes. “The initial family of 29 devices provides the blocking, free-wheeling, fly-back and other diode functions commonly found in a wide range of applications, such as ac-dc chargers, ac-dc adapters, dc-dc up conversion, dc-dc ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/diodes-cuts-schottky-forward-drop-2017-07/

Cree’s 1W RGBW led for architectural lighting.

CLQ6A is an 1W RGBW architectural lighting led from Cree. The package is a standard surface-mount 5 x 5.2mm PLCC8, 1.1mm high. At 100mA, output is: CLQ6A* lm cd λ dominant mA max** mW max*** red 14 3 – 5.86 619 – 624nm 200 520 green 30 7.03 – 14.4 520 – 535nm 180 684 ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/crees-1w-rgbw-led-architectural-lighting-2017-07/

Competition: Last chance to win a JTAG Live Controller

One for Gadget Masters who are serious about testing issues, perhaps. Check out the latest competition on Electronics Weekly, giving you a chance to get your hands on a JTAG Live Controller.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/competitions/competition-chance-win-jtag-live-controller-2017-07/

Vodafone revenues slip

Vodafone reported a 3.3% drop in calendar Q2 – the result of selling its Dutch business and the weaker pound. Calendar Q2 revenue was €11.4bn, compared to €11.8bn in calendar Q2 2016. A 4.8% drop in Europe offset a 1.2% increase in EMEA. The Dutch sale was done to get regulatory approval for the merger ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/vodafone-revenues-slip-2017-07/

Arms sales to fall next year for the first time

Next year, for the first time, arms sales are to decline, says Jane’s. A weakening defence export order backlog points to a contraction in the market by 2018. Defence trade deliverables grew substantially in 2016. Markets expanded by $4.3 billion to hit $62.5 billion, as imports rose despite global defence spending falling between 2010 and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/504513-2017-07/

Governments Collaborate To Beat Cyber-scourge

The crackdown on Alpha Bay and Hansa demonstrates three things: First, governments have the will and the capability to collaborate against cybercrime. Second, despite anonymising techniques governments can identify cyber criminals. Third, society doesn’t have to passively accept cyber-crime as inevitable. “Criminals and transnational criminal organisations think they can commit their crimes with impunity by ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/dilemmas/international-collaboration-beat-cyber-scourge-2017-07/

Fable: The Billion Dollar IC Start-Up

There was once an initially very secretive company backed by, among others, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. It attracted the glitterati of the tech industry, among them Linus Torvalds. The company raised $969 million in its 14 year lifetime. Four years after it was founded it filed for a patent on a processor that could run ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/fable/fable-billion-dollar-ic-start-2017-07/

Inertia steers Int-Ball drone through International Space Station

A novel photography drone has started operation in the International Space Station, called Int-Ball and created by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/inertia-steers-int-ball-drone-international-space-station-2017-07/

Intel ditches wearables

Intel has canned its wearables business, reports CNBC, a week after laying off IoT staff and ditching a raft of IoT products. Intel bought smartwatch maker Basis in 2014 but laid off 80% of its staff last November. Nowvthe rest of the wearables unit has gone. Wearable came under Intel’s New Technologies Group which is ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-ditches-wearables-2017-07/

Qualcomm results hit by fine and legal squabbles

Thanks to the legal row with Apple, which means it is not getting royalty payments from Apple sub-contractors, and to a fine imposed by the Korea FTC and to a financial settlement of a legal dispute with Blackberry Qualcomm’s calendar Q2 results were down on last year. Revenues of $5.4 billion were 11% down on ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/qualcomm-results-hit-fine-legal-squabbles-2017-07/

Pet Tech

It’s the dog food thing again. The iconic start-up of the .com crash was pets.com – the awareness of the silliness of online petfood retailing collapsed the digital revolution – for a while. Now it may be back. Embark Veterinary has raised $6.5 million to do DNA testing on pets. Doggy DNA can tell you ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/dilemmas/pet-tech-2017-07/

EW BrightSparks 2017 profile: Josh Elijah, Engimake

On the EW BrightSparks of 2017, we highlight Josh Elijah, who looks after design and development for Engimake, a robotics company he co-founded.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/ew-brightsparks-2017-profile-josh-elijah-engimake-2017-07/

Open source tools set to help parallel programming of multicores

The Multicore Association, the processor standards body with a focus on multicore processor implementations, has announced the availability of an enhanced implementation of its Multicore Task Management API (MTAPI) integrated into an open source framework called Embedded Multicore Building Blocks (EMB2). The MTAPI takes care of task scheduling and execution on embedded parallel systems. While ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/open-source-tools-set-help-parallel-programming-multicores-2017-07/

UnFRANDly

Qualcomm does seem to relish a scrap – whether with Nokia in the days when Nokia ruled the mobile phone market or with the regulators in Japan, Korea and Europe or the richest company in the world. Now it’s got a raft of Asian contract manufacturers – Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and Compal – suing the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/shenanigans/unfriendly-frand-2017-07/

Raspberry Pi runs Netflix video streaming

A software development firm, with a liking for ARM-based systems, has demonstrated how it is possible to run Netflix on a Raspberry Pi and so turn it into a low cost home media streaming system. The firm is Eltechs, which is the company behind the ExaGear Desktop which enables x86 applications such as Skype, Teamviewer, MS ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/distribution-world/raspberry-pi-runs-netflix-video-streaming-2017-07/

UK projects shine in Change the World design competition

Three UK projects are among the winners in the ‘Change the World’ global design competition.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/competitions/uk-projects-shine-in-change-the-world-design-competition-2017-07/

DIY SMD reflow for small boards

Makers and hobbyists have created all sorts of equipment to re-flow surface-mount components. The first I came across were modified domestic table-top ovens – some re-engineered to work exceedingly well. They will take a small PC motherboard, or multiple smaller boards, but are large (~450mm wide) and over-kill for a single small board. Whiles pondering alternatives ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/diy-smd-reflow-small-boards-2017-07/

Pi-topPulse offers music, lights and voice control for the Pi

A tip of the hat to the Pi-topPulse, a HAT-compliant sound and light educational accessory for the Raspberry Pi 3.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/raspberry-pi-gadget-master/pi-toppulse-offers-music-lights-voice-control-pi-2017-07/

Plessey trumpets its mid-power leds

Plessey has branded its mid-power products ‘Midion’. They are available in 2835, 3014, 3030, 5050, and 5630 PLCC packages, with efficacy claimed to peak at 210 lm/W. Colour temperatures span 2,700-6,500K with nominal flux levels from 20-140 lm and 120° typical viewing angle. For a little more, see this Electronics Weekly news article.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/plessey-trumpets-mid-power-leds-2017-07/

Mannerisms, Gadget Master, the Daily and the Weekly, in newsletter form

Too busy to keep checking our blogs and news section? Let the content come straight to you! Easily digestible newsletter emails straight to your inbox.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/general-electronics/mannerisms-gadget-master-daily-weekly-newsletter-form-2017-07/

Sign up for the Gadget Master newsletter

Ensure you receive the latest and greatest Gadget Master news, hot and fresh, straight into your inbox!

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/sign-up-for-the-newsletter-2-2017-07/

Memory ASPs soar as units slow.

Memory sales are expected to set record highs this year due to fast-rising ASPs but unit shipments  are sluggish, says IC Insights. DRAM unit shipments are actually forecast to show a decline this year, while NAND shipments are forecast to increase only 2%. DRAM and NAND ASPs first began increasing in H2 2016, and continued ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/memory-asps-soar-units-slow-2017-07/

Top Ten Public Companies

Thanks to Forbes for this one – the ten biggest public conpanies: ICBC China China Construction Bank Berkshire Hathaway JPMorgan Chase Wells Fargo Agricultural Bank of China Bank of America Bank of China Apple Toyota

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ten-best/top-ten-public-companies-2017-07/

Silicon Labs puts Bluetooth Mesh on old hardware with new software

With the official release of Bluetooth mesh networking, Silicon Labs is implementing it on existing silicon with three three software packages. Bluetooth mesh is a protocol that will run on top of any Bluetooth 4.0 device. It does not need Bluetooth 5 hardware, Silicon Labs marketing manager Mikko Savolainen told Electronics Weekly. It relies completely on ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/rf-microwave-optoelectronics/silicon-labs-puts-bluetooth-mesh-old-hardware-new-software-2017-07/

SIG finalises Bluetooth mesh networking

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) officially announces today full Bluetooth support for mesh networking, with version 1.0 of its specification.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/communications/bluetooth-sig-finalises-support-mesh-networking-2017-07/

FBI issues IoT security warning

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Centre has warned against weaknesses the security and privacy protections provided by manufacturers of Internet-connected smart toys, also known as IoT toys. Cesare Garlati, chief security strategist at the prpl Foundation, comments: “The security behind IoT is non-existent as developers and manufacturers by-pass security to get the latest products to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/distribution-world/fbi-issues-iot-security-warning-2017-07/

Stupidity

I must be stupid. Everyone I know says they understand Bitcoins and when I ask them to explain what Bitcoins are, I can’t understand their explanations. I can accept the proposition that a thing is worth what someone will pay for it, and people are currently paying £1500 for a Bitcoin. But, a few short ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/bullshit/stupidity-2017-07/

Two PLLs and a VCO in one chip for RF and IF synthesis

CML Microcircuits is offering two phase-locked loops and a VCO in one chip. Called CMX979 is designed to implement an RF synthesiser at the same time as an IF synthesiser. The RF synthesiser operates over 2.7-3.6GHz with a integrated VCO and PLL, and is capable of operating between 338MHz and 3.6GHz via a configurable output frequency ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/rf-microwave-optoelectronics/two-plls-vco-one-chip-rf-synthesis-2017-07/

24pin ATtinyAVRs get 16kbyte of flash

Microchip has added 16kbyte flash options to its ATtiny AVR microcontroller family and, despite the extra flash, the devices are pin and code compatible with the recently released ATtiny817 series of MCUs, according to the firm. “There is more growth and innovation in the AVR MCU portfolio now than at any point in the past ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/24pin-attinyavrs-get-2017-07/

Mentor PADS tool gets parts library with 3D models

Mentor has teamed up with online components library SnapEDA, which now supports its PADS and DX Designer PCB design tools. Users can access to SnapEDA’s component library containing millions of symbols, footprints, and 3D models. All parts are auto-verified with SnapEDA’s proprietary verification technology. “We’re seeing a shift in the industry where it’s no longer ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/mentor-pads-tool-gets-parts-library-3d-models-2017-07/

IoT environmental sensor talks to the cloud

Omron Electronic Components has introduced a multi-function environmental sensor for use as part of autonomous IoT systems. Designated 2JCIE-BL01, the sensor measures temperature, humidity, light, UVI, barometric pressure, noise and acceleration.  The device also has embedded memory for data logging to keep track of the surroundings. Data from the module can be downloaded over Bluetooth ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/market-sectors/internet-of-things/iot-environmental-sensor-talks-cloud-2017-07/

Renesas wins US patent infringement lawsuit

Renesas Electronics says the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts has ruled in its favour in a patent infringement lawsuit brought against it in 2013 by a Massachusetts-based firm named Zond. In July 2013, Zond brought suit against a number of semiconductor companies, including Renesas, alleging that the companies infringed eight of its US ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/renesas-wins-us-patent-infringement-lawsuit-2017-07/

Fascinating DIY electronics website

Wise coding guru Mr C drew my attention to mitxela.com, the intriguing website of Tim Alex Jacobs. Before we go on, the name is pronounced ‘mit – zela’, according to Mr Jacobs. Anyway, it is full of imaginative projects, including him inventing a way of laser-defining pcbs for etching, the “worlds smallest” midi synthesizer (followed by a ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/fascinating-diy-electronics-website-2017-07/

Factory Will Output 15m Transistors A Day

15 MILLION TRANSISTORS A YEAR BY 1963 Was the headline, 57 years ago, on the front page lead story in Electronics Weekly’s edition of October 19th 1960 The story opens: At an ultra-modern factory they are building at Basingstoke, Hampshire, Associated Transistors Ltd are planning to are planning to produce 15 million transistors a year ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/memory-lane/factory-will-output-15m-transistors-day-2017-07/

Icera bites back from beyond the grave

Qualcomm has lost its appeal against a fine imposed on it by the EU for failing to produce information in an anti-trust case involving the UK wireless start-up Icera. Icera was sold to Nvidia in 2011 for $367 million – $100 million more than it raised in equity funding – after nine years of existence. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/icera-bites-back-2017-07/

Lens-free smart microscope diagnoses meningitis

Together with medical equipment firm Horiba, French research lab Leti has created a automated diagnosis system for meningitis, based around a simple lens-free microscope and a tablet computer. The lens-free microscope is physically simple (see demonstrator photo) and consists of a light source and a pin-hole, both mounted a few cm above an image sensor – ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/lens-free-smart-microscope-diagnoses-meningitis-2017-07/

Only Connect: The dangers of running data and power cables in parallel

Welcome to another post in the series by Nick Locke, of Nicab Ltd, who has more than 15 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly. Here is a useful guide for you, with everything you ever wanted to know about why you should never rub Data and Power cables next ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/industry-comment/connect-dangers-running-data-power-cables-parallel-2017-07/

Record Semi Content In Systems

The semiconductor  content in electronics systems is expected to reach 28.1% this year, breaking previous high of 25.9% set in 2010, says IC Insights. IC Insights forecasts that the 2017 global electronic systems market will grow by  2% to $1,493 billion while the worldwide semiconductor market is expected to surge by 15% this year to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/markets/504053-2017-07/

BCD and Atlantik merge

D     BCD Microelectronics, the Basingstoke semiconductor distributor  has merged with Munich distributor Atlantik Elektronik.. The new company will be named BCD-Atlantik. BCD-Atlantik remains an independent company but will combine resources from both companies. BCD are 27 years old this year and Atlantik is 40. “Our merger with Atlantik Elektronik strengthens our position in ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/bcd-atlantik-merge-2017-07/

Silicon needle injects drugs without pain

French semiconductor lab Leti has used deep etching to created micro injection needles for Swiss firm Debiotech. The idea is to allow injections without pain, with the final injecting short enough (720μm high, 220μm diameter) not to contact nerves (see photo of model). Construction involves etching 80μm diameter holes 800μm deep from the back of ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/silicon-needle-injects-drugs-without-pain-2017-07/

Guest Post: Ensuring today’s IoT innovations aren’t tomorrow’s security disasters

With the IoT security genie already out of the bottle, tackling the recurring design vulnerabilities right at the core of IoT devices is critical to the industry’s future, to avoid security disasters, argues Canonical's Emily Ratliff.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/industry-comment/guest-post-ensuring-todays-iot-innovations-arent-tomorrows-security-disasters-2017-07/

Competition: A chance to win a JTAG Live Controller

One for Gadget Masters who are serious about testing issues, perhaps. Check out the latest competition on Electronics Weekly, giving you a chance to get your hands on a JTAG Live Controller.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/competitions/competition-chance-win-jtag-live-controller-2017-07/

Electric bicycles, I see the point

I have been a little cynical about electric bicycles, with their speed restrictions, arguing that normal cycling speed is above the maximum speed at which assistance is allowed. . Now I have seen the light, during a visit to the French town of Grenoble, which is surrounded by hills. People in normal about-town clothes were sailing ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/electric-bicycles-i-see-point-2017-07/

Qualcomm grabs MediaTek’s China slots

Qualcomm has ben grabbing China market share, reports Digitimes, getting its Snapdragon processors into handsets at MediaTek customers Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Meizu. MediaTek’s response is reported to be a move to TSMC’s 12nm process in Q4. It is said that MediaTek’s lack of a Cat 10 modem has reduced both its market share and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/qualcomm-grabs-mediateks-china-slots-2017-07/

Enigma gold

An Enigma cryptography machine has been bought in a Romanian street market for €100 and later sold at auction for €45,000. Enigma machines were distributed in Romania by Germany when Romania was on Germany’s side in WWII. Later it switched to the allies. It is assumed there may be other machines undiscovered in the country. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/enigma-gold-2017-07/

Cyber hack could cost $120bn, says Lloyds.

Lloyds, which has a 20-25% share of the cyber insurance market, says that a major cyber attack could cause over $120 billion of potential losses and that many organisations are under-insured. In a report co-authored with risk-modeller Cyence, Lloyds finds that: The WannaCry ransomware attack in May cost $8 billion across 100 countries, says Lloyds. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/cyber-hack-cost-120bn-says-lloyds-2017-07/

Ed Gets A Licence For Graft

Ministers used to be frightened of No.10, now No.10 is frightened of Ministers, Ed tells his diary, we can get away with anything now which spells opportunity for pro-active, enterprising Ministers. Like me. It’s always seemed to me that there’s too little acknowledgment of the Department as a patron of UK industry, by which I ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ed-the-serial-ceo/ed-gets-licence-graft-2017-07/

Top 10 most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com

With Micron, ARM, Rambus and the University of Bath all figuring prominently, along with CPU IP rankings, IoT jobs and the size of the semiconductor market...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/general-electronics/top-10-popular-articles-electronicsweekly-com-24-2017-07/

The Astonishing Achievements Of Architecture

These days we’re becoming familiar with new special purpose microprocessor architectures like Google’s 45TFlops TPU2 and Nvidia’s 5,000 core Volta GPU but, 11 years ago, the world seemed stuck. “There really is a technology issue now,” Transputer architect David May told me in 2006, “there’ve been no fundamental architectural enhancements for a long time. Some of this ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/yarns/astonishing-achievements-architecture-2017-07/

Galaxy Note 7 recycled by Samsung

Samsung is recycling some of the Note 7s it recalled after some of the originals caught fire – aside from catching fire, the original phones were well received and popular. The recycled phones are called Galaxy Note Fan Edition, and are recalled phones with a new battery. iFixIt has published a tear-down of the Fan ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/galaxy-note-7-recycled-samsung-2017-07/

Vodafone develops flexible radio hardware for 4G and IoT

Vodafone is moving into mobile network hardware development. The mobile operator will work with Guildford-based chipset firm Lime Microsystems to develop software-defined cellular radio platforms that support the radio access network (RAN) for 4G and NB and IoT. Vodafone and Lime demonstrated a low cost radio at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/market-sectors/internet-of-things/vodafone-develops-flexible-radio-hardware-4g-iot-2017-07/

Car manufacturers lobby China on EVs

Car manufacturers’ trade associations have asked the China government to relax some of its EV regulations. The request has come from the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). China says it wants one fifth of all cars ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/car-manufacturers-lobby-china-evs-2017-07/

Raspberry Pi and GCHQ teach encryption

The Raspberry Pi Foundation and UK Government code breaking facility GCHQ have got together to create a public key encryption teaching resource. Find it here and a blog introducing it here. Be warned, if you want to finish the whole educational unit, you will need to build yourself an eight-Raspberry Pi (32 core) mini-supercomputing cluster.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/raspberry-pi-gchq-teach-encryption-2017-07/

Chang Bags Up His Billion

Morris Chang, one of the great semiconductor CEOs, has become a billionaire, reports Bloomberg. Thanks to TSMC’s booming production for iPhone 8, the company’s market cap has soared 25% in the past year to over $182 billion. Chang’s stake  is 5%. Presumably Bloomberg assumes that Chang has another $100 million or so in non-TSMC stock ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/genius/chang-bags-billion-2017-07/

Imagination extends university course to give “deep” access to CPU

Imagination has launched a revamped and extended version of its MIPSfpga course for universities that gives budding CPU designers hands-on experience of the inner workings of processors.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/university-electronics/imagination-university-course-cpu-2017-07/

Raspberry Pi add-on includes LEDs, a speaker and a microphone

Pi-topPulse is a HAT-compliant sound and light educational accessory for Raspberry Pi 3 as well as something for the accessory rail within a pi-top – the Raspberry Pi-based DIY laptop, or for the all-in-one desktop pi‑topCeed. Small, measuring 60x67mm, it includes a 7 x 7 matrix of RGB LEDs, a loudspeaker and a microphone. “It ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/raspberry-pi-development/raspberry-pi-add-includes-leds-speaker-microphone-2017-07/