Fan-Out packaging growing at 19.4%

The Fan-Out packaging market will grow at 19,4% CAGR 2019-24 to reach $3.8 billion in 2024, forecats Yole Developpment. In 2015, the Fan-Out market was small and consisted mostly of standard devices like BB , RF , and PMU . But after TSMC’s 2016 game-changer with inFO for Apple’s iPhone APE, market value increased 3.5x ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/fan-packaging-growing-19-4-2019-02/

Semtech sponsors Catapult Lab

Semtech is sponsoring Digital Catapult’s Future Networks Innovation Lab, which opened in London, earlier this week. The Future Networks Innovation Lab drives potential value from networks, such as LPWANs. The  opening included a demonstration by Semtech of its LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology in a smart building solution. The demo shows how LoRa ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/__trashed-2019-02/

Rockwell Automation buys Emulate 3D

Rockwell Automation has acquired Emulate3D whose products digitally simulate and emulate industrial automation systems. By using simulation models to improve systems planning and decision-making, followed by emulation trials that test the control system before installation, Emulate3D’s software enables customers to virtually test machine and system designs before incurring manufacturing and automation costs and committing to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/rockwell-automation-buys-emulate-3d-2019-02/

KP18 raises $600m

Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, the iconic 47 year-old Silicon Valley VC company, has raised $600 million for its 18th venture fund. “We’re returning to Kleiner’s roots,” says KP, “we believe that venture is a non-scalable, boutique craft. It requires incredibly dedicated practitioners with diverse and complementary backgrounds that span technology, operating, and investing. Above ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/kp18-raises-600m-2019-02/

Small connectors

Amphenol RF has introduced the small form factor AMC4 connector series. This micro-miniature product series features the push-on coupling design and is suitable for IoT applications which require space efficient, economical designs. The AMC4 PCB jack connector offers electrical performance from DC to 6 GHz and operates at 50 ohms. This precision stamped and formed ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/small-connectors-2019-02/

Broadcom joins SIA

Broadcom has joined the SIA. Broadcom’s Chief Legal Officer Mark Brazeal is expected to be elected to the SIA board of directors at the association’s next board meeting on April 4. “We are thrilled to welcome Broadcom, a leading player and valued voice in our industry, into the SIA tent,” says SIA CEO John Neuffer,  “the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/broadcom-joins-sia-2019-02/

IC R&D Sprnding To Rise

Consolidation in the semiconductor industry has been a big factor contributing to lower growth rates for R&D expenditures so far this decade. In the most recent five-year span from 2013-2018, semiconductor R&D spending grew by CAGR of 3.6% per year, essentially unchanged from the 3.3% experienced from 2008-2013 (Figure 1).   IC Insights expects new ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/rd-mannerisms/ic-rd-sprnding-rise-2019-02/

Curious AI algorithm learns to play Atari games 10x quicker

An artificial intelligence that is rewarded for exploring unknown situations has played the Atari game Montezuma’s Revenge – learning from mistakes and identifying sub-goals 10 times faster than Google DeepMind, according to RMIT University in Australia, where the algorithm was developed. “A 2015 study showed Google DeepMind AI learnt to play Atari video games like Video ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/ai-algorithm-learns-play-atari-games-10x-quicker-2019-01/

400mA dc-dc idles at 500nA, and the chip is

STMicroelectronics has announced a peak current control synchronous buck dc-dc converter that can idle at 500nA, but still deliver 400mA at 92% efficiency and 1mA at 95%. Called ST1PS01, it is aimed at keep-alive point-of-load supplies and IoT devices such as asset trackers, wearables, smart sensors, and smart meters – as well as energy harvesting. Packaging ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/400ma-dc-dc-idles-500na-chip-1-5mm-across-2019-01/

Industrial handling gets to grips with AI for the smart factory

At this year’s Hannover Messe (1 – 5 April 2019), Schunk will be echoing the theme of human collaboration with robotics with a gripper that, with a gripping force of 600N, is claimed to exceed any other currently available. The company believes that mechantronic grippers that can handle heavier weights will be used in the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/events/industrial-handling-gets-grips-ai-smart-factory-2019-01/

DIY VR motion simulator is powered by Arduino

A Gadget Master has built their own VR motion simulator, powered by an Arduino and using recycled parts from an electric mobility scooter.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/motor-controllers/diy-vr-motion-simulator-powered-arduino-2019-01/

Intel upgrades interim CEO to permanent CEO

Intel has confirmed its interim CEO, Bob Swan (pictured), as its permanent CEO. Swan had served as Intel’s CFO since 2016 and as interim CEO since last June when Brian Krzanich left after being accused of an inappropriate relationship with an employee. “When the board approached me about taking the CEO role, I jumped at the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-upgrades-interim-ceo-permanent-ceo-2019-01/

Fable: What Now?

50 years ago last month, when Jobs and Gates were 15 and 14 respectively, a demo dubbed the Mother of all Demos occurred at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. It showed how a computer could perform everyday functions, how a mouse could control a computer display, and how a display could be ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/fable/fable-what-next-2019-01/

Vanguard to buy GloFo fab

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS) of Taiwan, in which TSMC has a major shareholding, is to buy GloFo’s Fab 3E in Singapore for $236 million. The transaction includes buildings, facilities, and equipment, as well as IP associated with GLoFo’s MEMS business. GloFo will continue to operate the facility through the end of 2019, providing a transition ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/vanguard-buy-glofo-fab-2019-01/

Mouser signs Pimoroni

Mouser has signed a global distribution agreement with Pimoroni, designers and manufacturers of tech accessories for Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and micro:bit boards. Pimoroni offers a selection of Raspberry Pi accessories, ranging from the company’s first product, the Pibow case, to a variety of HATs and pHATs that add almost unlimited functionality to the Raspberry Pi ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/mouser-signs-pimoroni-2019-01/

Renesas has expanded its RX24T and RX24U 32-bit microcontroller groups to include high-temperature types for motor-control – ‘G’ versions of both will operate from −40°C to +105°C. “Through the IoT, home appliances and industrial machinery are attaining greater functionality based on network connectivity and user interface enhancements and effective use of the limited interior space as ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/549985-2019-01/

Infineon expands 1200V CoolSiC line

Infineon Has added to its 1200V CoolSiC MOSFET family with the CoolSiC Easy 2B power modules which enable engineers to reduce system costs by increasing power density. In addition, they can also lower operational costs significantly. Owing to about 80 % lower switching losses compared to silicon IGBTs, inverter efficiency levels exceeding 99 % can be ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/infineon-expands-1200v-coolsic-line-2019-01/

Green laser for smartphone RGB projectors

Osram has released a green laser for phone-based projectors, capable of delivering 140mW pulses. Although a projector also needs red and blue lasers, green is the colour that poses the greatest challenges in semiconductor laser and LED production. “Up to now, RGB laser projections for smartphones, based on a red, green and blue laser, often ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/led/green-laser-smartphone-rgb-projectors-2019-01/

Silicon shipments at record high

Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments in 2018 increased 8% to a record high, while revenues jumped 31% on year exceeding the US$10 billion mark for the first time since 2018, according to SEMI. Silicon wafer area shipments in 2018 totaled 12.73 billion square inches, up from the previous market high of 11.81 billion square inches ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/silicon-shipments-record-high-2019-01/

Deep/Dark web mining and analytics engine raises $500,000

WorldStack raised half a million dollars in seed round investment from angel investors. “This round of funding will be used to evolve WorldStack’s intelligence platform, Providence, and expand the team to bolster the software development, intelligence operations, product support and sales areas of the business,” says COO and co-founder, Eric Flis. WorldStack is an Australian ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/deep-dark-web-mining-analytics-engine-raises-500000-2019-01/

Foxconn changes plans for Wisconsin

Foxconn’s plan to build an LCD factory in Wisconsin may be canned, reports Reuter’s. The announcement of the Wisconsin plant was made from the White House in the early months of the Trump Presidency.  It supported the new president’s campaign promises that he would repatriate jobs to the USA, and Wisconsin was said to be ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/foxconn-changes-plans-wisconsin-2019-01/

Intel, Xilinx fight for Mellanox

In the bidding process for the Israeli datacentre connectivity company Mellanox, Intel is said to have offered $5.5-5.6 billion. Xilinx is also reported to be engaged in the process which is being run by an investment bank. Mellanox’s customers are datacentre owners and the companies which build datacentres. Xilinx is making a bid for datacentre ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-xilinx-fight-mellanox-2019-01/

DCMS aims to improve life using tech

Today, the  Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is to announce a programme budgeted at up to £30 million to look at how  technology could be used to tackle global challenges. The projects include: A partnership between leading conservation charities. Tech Hub and technology experts to reduce the level of illegal trade of wildlife ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/dcms-aims-improve-life-using-tech-2019-01/

Rich & Poor

According to a  YouGov poll,  an annual income of $100,000 is seen in the US as making you rich – 56% of those polled agreed with that description. $10k means you’re poor according to 76% of those polled. $30,000 is seen by half of those polled as being neither rich nor poor. According to the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/consumer/rich-poor-2019-01/

Two days before the lathe

Having done quite a bit of 3D printing with my trusty tiny cheap Fabrikator v2, a few issues are emerging. DIY diameter-reducing sleeve installed One is z-wobble (visible here) caused by a rigid yet slightly non-coaxial coupler between that and z-axis drive stepper motor, and a slightly bent leadscrew. My obscure printer uses the same leadscrew ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/two-days-lathe-2019-01/

Conductive polymer sheet could shrink car and grid storage batteries

Researchers at Fraunhofer Umsicht (Fraunhofer institute for environmental, safety and energy technology) have developed a ‘bipolar plate’ (explained below) for bipolar construction batteries (ditto) that is flexible and can be made on a roll-to-roll process. “We manufacture bipolar plates from polymers that have been made electrically conductive,” said Fraunhofer researcher Dr Anna Grevé. “In this way, we ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/conductive-polymer-sheet-shrink-car-grid-storage-batteries-2019-01/

Davos Cold-Shoulders 70% Tax Rate

Apparently the Davos dipsticks were unamused by the 70% tax rate proposed for very high earners by US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “I do think a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong,” says Ocasio-Cortez. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/politicians/davos-cold-shoulders-70-tax-rate-2019-01/

X-Fab has volume production capability for auto-qualified high-temperature galvanic isolation process.

X-FAB, the analogue/mixed-signal and specialty foundry, has begun  full volume production of its high temperature galvanic isolation semiconductor process. The technology is fully automotive qualified. Galvanic isolation electrically separates circuits in order to improve noise immunity, remove ground loops, and increase common mode voltage. It can also protect human interfaces from contact with high voltages. An example ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/x-fab-volume-production-capability-auto-qualified-high-temperature-galvanic-isolation-process-2019-01/

EW BrightSparks search continues

Deadline approaching in search for the 2019 brightest young UK electronics engineers!

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/ew-brightsparks-launches-2019-01/

Samsung makes 1TB flash module

Samsung has begun mass producing the industry’s first 1TB embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) 2.1, for use in mobile applications. Phones will have storage capacity comparable to a premium notebook PC, without having to pair their phones with additional memory cards. “The 1TB eUFS is expected to play a critical role in bringing a more ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/samsung-makes-1tb-flash-module-2019-01/

AMD renews wafer supply deal with GLoFo

AMD has announced the 7th amendment to its wafer supply agreement with GLOBALFOUNDRIES  see this link. ‘AMD remains an important strategic partner as we reshape our portfolio to intensify investment in the technologies that provide the most value to customers,’ says GloFo, ‘we are proud to be a critical supplier of AMD’s current-generation 14nm and 12nm ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/amd-renews-wafer-supply-deal-glofo-2019-01/

Smartphone units to sink

In Q1, 307 million smartphones will be made down from Q4’s 383 million units, says TrendForce. The  top six brands by production volume for Q1 will be Samsung, Huawei, Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo. Samsung will ship 70 million units in Q1, says TrendForce. Huawei, the No.2 player, is expected to ship 46 million units. Apple, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/smartphone-units-sink-2019-01/

Blue laser diode shrinks headlights

Osram Opto Semiconductors is introducing its second-generation blue multi-mode laser diode, which double the range of previous LED solutions up to 600 metres. It also simplifies system design when used in the auxiliary high beam lights of vehicles. Used as a light source for auxiliary high beams, Osram’s PLPT9 450D_E A01 laser makes driving at ...

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INS system for GNSS in challenging environments

ACEINNA today announced its new INS1000 state-of-the-art, high performance dual band RTK INS (Real-Time Kinematic Inertial Navigation System) with built-in inertial sensors for construction, agriculture and automotive applications. The INS1000 embeds ACEINNA’s 9 degree-of-freedom inertial sensor technology to achieve Automotive Dead Reckoning performance in GNSS challenged environments like urban canyons, heavily tree lined roads, tunnels, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/ins-system-fo-gnss-challenging-environments-2019-01/

SPAD array for LIDAR

With the SPAD2L192, LASER COMPONENTS offers a solid-state CMOS sensor for Flash LiDAR applications. The single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array has a resolution of 192 x 2 pixels. The in-pixel time-to-digital converter, which features a temporal resolution of 312.5 ps and a scale value of 1.28 μs, enables a nominal range of up to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/spad-array-lidar-2019-01/

Ten Best Science Books

The ten best books written about science and the scientific method are: The Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin [tie] Philosophiae Naturalis Principia by Isaac Newton (1687) Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems by Galileo Galilei (1632) De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium  by Nicolaus Copernicus (1543)  Physica by Aristotle (circa 330 B.C.) Relativity: The ...

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single-crystal 2d material self-assembles on liquid gold

Korean scientists have found a way to make large near-perfect areas 2d single crystal hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), by using liquid gold as a substrate. This, in turn, could form a substrate for growing other 2d materials – possibly graphene or tungsten disulphide. Synthesising perfect crystalline structures is very challenging, with most methods yielding polycrystals ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/single-crystal-2d-material-self-assembles-liquid-gold-2019-01/

Waterproof micro USB and USB Type-C connectors

CUI has announced waterproof USB connectors rated at IP67. Offering protection from moisture and environmental contaminants, USB Micro B and Type C receptacles are available, conforming to either the USB 2.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 2, depending on model. Surface mount and mid-mount SMT types are available in vertical or horizontal orientations, with several models including ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/connectors/waterproof-micro-usb-usb-type-c-connectors-2019-01/

One-board dev kit has three snap-off 8pin STM8 Microcontrollers

ST Microelectronics has introduced a development kit that allows potential users to evaluate all three or its 8pin STM8 microcontroller variants, and the no-frills board is nominally priced at $8.50. The board, called STM8-SO8-DISCO, includes STM8S001J3M3 (1kbyte ram, 128byte data eeprom) 16bit timers with three comparator outputs, three capture-compare channels, a 10bit ADC, and an 8bit ...

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China Growth Hits 28 Year Low

The National Bureau of Statistics of China says China GDP grew by 6.6% last year – the lowest growth rate since 1990. Beijing announced a 1.3 trillion yuan ($193 billion) stimulus package a couple of weeks ago aimed at boosting  the economy – the latest of several measures recently taken to prevent the country’s growth from ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/markets/china-growth-hits-28-year-low-2019-01/

Four-line common-mode choke mounts on PCB

For filtering three-phase and neutral on circuit boards, Schurter is offering the DKIH-4 series of four-line common mode chokes using nano-crystalline ring cores, with ratings from 10A to 40A. “The power section is increasingly being mounted on the printed circuit board with discrete components,” according to the firm. “However, due to the high integration density ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/passives/four-line-common-mode-choke-mounts-pcb-2019-01/

Autonomous driving? We’ll need flexible development models

To make robot cars and autonomous driving a reality, we will need flexible development models

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/test-and-measurement-2/autonomous-driving-well-need-flexible-development-models-2019-01/

Shock and vibration tolerant DC-DC converters for industrial and railway

Murata’s IR series of dc-dc converters are designed specifically for use   in industrial and railway applications. Models include: IRQ100 series 100W single regulated output industry-standard quarter brick IRH150 series 150W single output IRS50 series 50W sixteenth brick IRQ and IRH products deliver regulated outputs of 5, 12, or 24Vdc, from a 3:1 input range ...

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One chip adds security to IoT end nodes

Maxim is claiming simple route to protecting sensitive data in IoT end-nodes with a pair of security supervisor chips. Called MAX36010 and MAX36011, “these make it easier for designers to implement robust tamper detection, cryptography and secure storage while safeguarding sensitive information via logical and physical protections, without having to be security experts themselves – that ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/digital-integrated-circuits/one-chip-adds-security-iot-end-nodes-2019-01/

Osram’s second-generation headlight lasers

Osram has released the second generation of blue multi-mode laser diodes for car headlights, doubling range in auxiliary high beams compared to with its previous lasers, to 600m, it claims. What lasers offer over LEDs as a light source is higher light output per unit area (luminance) – which then allows a slimmer smaller optical ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/led/osrams-second-generation-headlight-lasers-2019-01/

Rad-tolerant digital isolators protect against 2,500V spikes

Renesas has introduced two plastic packaged, radiation-tolerant digital isolators that provide the highest isolation protection (2,500VRMS) from high voltage spikes in power supply stages and serial communications interfaces used in low Earth orbit (LEO) Small Satellites (SmallSats). Private “New Space” companies plan to launch thousands of SmallSats forming large constellations that operate in multiple LEO ...

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EE is best operator, says RootMetrics

The latest tests conducted by RootMetrics by IHS Markit,  which tests mobile network performance, confirm EE as the UK’s leading mobile operator at the UK-wide level, with the BT-owned company winning all six mobile performance categories tested. EE has now performed best in 11 consecutive rounds of testing, dating back to when RootMetrics first began ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/549732-2019-01/

Imec on Telepresence

This is the fifth in a series of essays from Imec on the future of electronics technology. This one is called: ‘On Martians and telepresence’. It is by Xavier Rottenberg who is scientific director and group leader for wave-based sensors and actuators at Imec. The end of the 20th century was the era when the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imec-on-telepresence-2019-01/

Farnell shipping Raspberry Pi Compute Model 3+

Premier Farnell  is shipping the new Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ for same day despatch. Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ delivers the enhanced thermal performance and ease of use of Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ in a smaller form factor, with a choice of memory variants suitable for a broad range of embedded applications including ...

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Criminal charges brought against Huawei

Two criminal lawsuits initiated by US government prosecutors have been brought against Huawei in the USA The lawsuits allege that Huawei violated US sanctions on trade with Iran and with stealing trade secrets from one of its customers – T-Mobile. The lawsuits were brought just a couple of days before trade talks between the USA ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/criminal-charges-huawei-2019-01/

Intel considering $11bn Kiryat Gap fab investment

Intel is talking to the Israeli government about possible plans to build a $11 billion 10nm fab in Kiryat Gat, reports Globes – the Israeli financial news daily. Intel is said to be asking the Israeli government to cover 10% of the cost. If it goes through, the investment would be in addition to the $5 ...

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Smallest-Ever ECG

BELIEVED to be the smallest so far developed, this miniature portable electrocardiograph comes from New Electronic Products Ltd., an associated company of Honeywell Controls. so, 57 years ago, started a story in Electronics Weekly’s edition of March 15th 1961. The story continues: It uses transistors and printed circuits, and weighs only 9lb. The battery-powered instrument ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/memory-lane/smallest-ever-ecg-2-2019-01/

Vishay claims best FOM for 600V superjunction mosfet

Vishay has announced an Rds(on) x Qg figure-of-merit of 3.1 Ω*nC for its latest fourth generation 600V E Series power n-channel mosfet, claiming that “this results in the industry’s lowest gate charge times on-resistance for devices in the same class”, said the firm, where ‘class’ is 600V mosfets used in power conversion applications. Called SiHH068N60E, its on-resistance is 27% ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/vishay-claims-best-fom-600v-superjunction-mosfet-2019-01/

Ring pendant from Candelec

For pendant or wall use, Hong Kong-based Candelec has announced Ring300 and Ring400 – 300 and 400mm in diameter respectively. Both have 100-240Vac inputs, consuming 25 or 35W respectively and emitting 1,750 and 2,835 lm in warm white form. They also come in cool white, with an increase in lumens. Colour rendering index is >80, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/ring-pendant-candelec-2019-01/

New World Richest Woman

It’s surprising how quickly people get rich these days. It took eleven years for Mark Zuckerberg to go from student to one of the world’s ten richest people. It took 23 years from the founding of  Amazon for Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest man. And, maybe, one year more for Mrs Bezos to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/shenanigans/worlds-richest-woman-2019-01/

Automotive wireless phone charging reference design

Rohm has created a reference design for an automotive-grade wireless phone charger with NFC communication, using the Qi standard and supporting EPP (extend power profile) – supplying up to 15W. It combines Rohm’s automotive-grade wireless power transmission control IC (AEC-Q100 qualified BD57121MUF-M) with two STMicroelectronics’ chips, and NFC reader (ST25R3914) and an 8bit microcontroller (STM8A). ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/automotive-wireless-phone-charging-reference-design-2019-01/

Nice source of button cell battery information

Energizer has put some battery knowledge documents onto the web. There is a good one describing the difference between cells of the LR44/SR44/AG13/ for example who knew there were two typed of silver oxide cell, with either KOH or NaOH electrolyte (KOH better load performance, but harder to keep sealed). There is also one on ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/nice-source-button-cell-battery-information-2019-01/

Imec on Smartphones

This is the fourth in a series of essays from Imec on the future of electronics technology. This one is called: The Disintegrating Smartphone It is by Jan Rabaey of UC Berkeley – an Imec alumnus. Even until way into the nineties, a lot of people were convinced mobile telephony was nonsense. Goes to show ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imec-on-smartphones-2019-01/

ST expanding capacity

ST is looking for a better H2 than H1. “After Q1 2019, we plan to return to sequential revenue growth in the second quarter, with an acceleration in the second half of the year,” says ST CEO Jean-Marc Chery. The drivers are expected to be SiC, auto MCUs, ADAS and imaging. To support expansion, ST ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/st-expanding-capacity-2019-01/

Intel CPU shortage to last until Q3

Intel says it will have caught up with PC CPU demand ‘as we exit the second quarter’ according to interim CEO Bob Swan. “Supply remained constrained particularly at the value end of our product range,” says Swan, “we are working closely with our customers to align demand with available supply while we add capacity and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-cpu-shortage-last-q3-2019-01/

Government cyber projects widen talent pool

Four new projects across England to encourage more women, BAME, and neurodiverse candidates into a career in cyber security have been announced by the government The total investment for all four projects is ‘at least’  £500,000 as part of the next round of the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund (CSIIF). The aim of the Fund ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/government-cyber-projects-widen-talent-pool-2019-01/

Ed Gets Involved In The Trade War

Oh dear. I was hoping to keep out of this Chinese telecoms nonsense but at Cabinet the PM fixed me with her gimlet eye and asked me what my Department was doing about it, Ed confides to his diary. The answer is nothing but, as it’s the Department for Science and Technology, I had to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ed-the-serial-ceo/ed-gets-involved-trade-war-2019-01/

Android Studio 3.3 advances with the Navigation Editor

Main highlights include official support for a Navigation Editor, improved incremental Java compilation, C++ code lint inspections, an updated project wizard and a speedier Android emulator when saving snapshots

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/eyes-on-android/programming/android-studio-3-3-advances-navigation-editor-2019-01/

Tektronix power probe works with 1mV and shuns 60V bias

Tektronix is to feature four areas on its stand at Embedded World, which will cover: embedded design, power electronics, automotive and education-and-research. Publically showing for the first time will be 1mV-accurate power rail probes: TPR1000 and TPR4000. Designed specifically for minimising noise, they work with up to 60V of offset. Then there is the firm’s ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/test-measurement-products/tektronix-power-probe-works-1mv-shuns-60v-bias-2019-01/

ISM 868/915MHz IIoT antenna works on metal surfaces

UK-based antenna maker has created an product for wireless lighting that can be used on metal surfaces. Named Magna (part SR4I051) and aimed at industrial IoT and smart buildings, it operates in the ISM 868/915MHz bands. It uses two electrical layers, one isolated from the other, which enables an antenna to radiate on a metal ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/rf-microwave-optoelectronics/ism-868-915mhz-iiot-antenna-works-metal-surfaces-2019-01/

LonWorks over IP for building automation

Adesto, new owners of Echelon, will be promoting LonWorks and its ecosystem at Embedded World, particularly recently-approved ANSI/CTA 709.7 – LON IP protocol – that enables native LON communication over any IP (internet protocol) transport such as Ethernet and Wi-Fi, as well as interoperability with IP-based web services. With this, building and industrial automation based ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/bus-systems-sbcs/lonworks-ip-building-automation-2019-01/

Heitec expands sub-rack portfolio

Heitec will present sub-rack elements based on new architectures and designed primarily for serial backplane technology and high speed at Embedded World – aiming at demanding applications and challenging environments. Its 1U HeiCool ECO fan tray is compatible with the entire HeiCool line and can be inserted into a 19 inch cabinet using standard fixings, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/emech-enclosures/heitec-expands-sub-rack-portfolio-2019-01/

Most Read articles – Driverless cars, ST revenues, AI

What are the most popular topics covered? There's the hype-cycle for driverless cars, the promise of AI, a single board computer competition, ST's revenues and the Huawei CEO talking at Davos...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/general-electronics/read-articles-driverless-cars-st-growing-ai-2019-01/

How To Get A Manager Off Your Back

There’s a nice story in Fire in the Valley by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine about how Apple president Mike Scott got on Steve Wozniak’s back in the early days. To distract Scott, Wozniak played on Scott’s admiration for film director George Lucas.  Scott had told Wozniak that he thought it would be good if ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/yarns/get-manager-off-back-2019-01/

Nominate BrightSparks before 28 February

The judges of the BrightSparks 2019 competition are already looking forward to meeting the brightest young people in UK electronics. They will use their industry expertise and knowledge to select the winners. You can nominate a contender here. They are stalwarts Clive Couldwell (group editor, Electronics Weekly), Graham Curren (CEO, Sondrel),  Paul Hide (techUK’s director of market engagement and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/nominate-a-brightspark-before-28-february-2019-01/

Design tool handles LynxSecure hypervisor on Cortex-A53

Programmierbare Logik & Systeme (PLS) is to reveal version 5.0 of its Universal Debug Engine (UDE) at Embedded World in Nuremburg. New to the tool is the development of virtualised applications for ARM Cortex-A53, by providing hypervisor awareness for Lynx Software Technologies’ LynxSecure hypervisor. “At present there is a trend to consolidate multiple applications, which ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/software-products/design-tool-handles-lynxsecure-hypervisor-cortex-a53-2019-01/

Small size industrial servers from Congatec

Congatec will present tiny servers at Embedded World 2019 in Nuremburg next month. It has squeezed an Intel Core i7-8565U (Whiskey Lake) onto a 146 x 102mm board (nominally 3.5inch). “Compared to similar processors of the Kaby Lake U generation, the soldered Intel Core i7 processor of the 8th generation Whiskey Lake family offers quad ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/bus-systems-sbcs/small-size-industrial-servers-congatec-2019-01/

Deal those Python Flash Cards!

I can't file this under 'Gadget Books' because it is a deck of cards, not a book! There are 101 cards in deck, designed to help developers keep their Python language skills sharp.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/deal-python-flash-cards-2019-01/

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-2-2019-01/

Imec on Future Cities

This is the third in a series of essays by Imec on the future of electronics technology. It is called: Future Cities. It is by Jan Adriaenssens, Director City of Things at Imec. It’s all about letterboxes, fashion designers and scooters: the city of the future where you’ll definitely want to live. Living in the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imec-future-cities-2019-01/

SEMI December billings up 8.5% sequentially

SEMI’s December Billings Report shows billings figure is 8.5% higher than the final November 2018 level of $1.94 billion, but 12.1% lower than the December 2017 billings level of $2.40 billion. “December billings of North American equipment manufacturers ended 2018 on a positive note,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “Spending for logic and foundry ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/semi-december-billings-8-5-sequentially-2019-01/

Intel has $18.66bn Q4

Intel had a Q4 net profit of $5.2 billion on revenues of $18.66 billion For the full year, profit was $21.5 billion on revenue of $70.8 billion. Intel says Q4 revenue was below its October expectations due to a mix of weaker modem demand, slowdown in China, cloud customers absorbing capacity, and the weakening NAND ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-2-2019-01/

Semi units top a trillion

Annual semiconductor unit shipments, including ICs and optoelectronics, sensors, and discrete (O-S-D) devices grew 10% in 2018 and surpassed the one trillion unit mark for the first time, says IC Insights. As shown in Figure 1, semiconductor unit shipments climbed to 1,068.2 billion units in 2018 and are expected to climb to 1,142.6 billion in ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/semi-units-top-trillion-2019-01/

The Vanishing PC Market

259 million PCs were shipped last year down from 263 million in 2017 to make it the seventh year of decline for the market, says Gartner. Shipments are down almost 30% compared to 2011 which seems to have been the year of peak-PC. The 20i8 decline was only 1.3% after growth in Q2 and Q3 ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/markets/vanishing-pc-market-2019-01/

Layers of polymer material build into a battery stack

The quest for lightweight, compact batteries in power supplies and in electric vehicle is unrelenting, but researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen, have developed a flexible and thin bipolar plate material for batteries which do not require sealing, which makes them vulnerable to leakage, and which can ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/market-sectors/power/layers-polymer-material-build-battery-stack-2019-01/

Cobots to integrate vision systems

Ahead of the Hannover Fair (1 to 5 April 2019), Omron announced that it is collaborating with Taiwanese robotic company, Techman, to develop cobots (collaborative robots) with integrated vision systems. Designed as an autonomous system, the TM cobot will combine sensors and a vision system allowing it to judge pieces on production lines and which ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/market-sectors/industrial-electronics/cobots-integrate-vision-systems-2019-01/

3D printing flexible resilient piezolelectrics

Tough flexible piezoelectric materials can be 3D printed to convert movement, impact and stress to electrical energy for monitoring or energy harvesting, according to Virginia Tech. The materials are elastomeric and, via a set of printable topologies, the technique allows the creation of materials generating electric charge in response to incoming forces and vibrations from ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/3d-printing-flexible-resilient-piezolelectrics-2019-01/

Warwick centre will study electric vehicle battery re-use

An innovation hub at the University of Warwick will research future automotive supply chains, the challenges of vehicle electrification, and using and reusing resources for as long as possible. It is a partnership between WMG, a University department once known as the Warwick Manufacturing Group, and European automotive logistics firm Gefco. GEFCO today, and is ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/manufacturing/warwick-centre-will-study-electric-vehicle-battery-re-use-2019-01/

Fable: Lust

Some 40 years ago, a famous logo was designed. An exec described it as:  “It is the symbol of lust and knowledge, bitten into, all crossed with the colours of the rainbow in the wrong order – lust, knowledge, hope, and anarchy.”  It remains one of the most iconic logos of all time on one ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/fable/fable-lust-2019-01/

Need a better network? Ask tree frogs

Male Japanese tree frogs communicate with sound, using an internally orchestrated system that lets information get through while also permitting collective choruses and time to rest, according to researchers from Osaka University and University of Tsukuba, and borrowing the technique could reduce packet collisions and power consumption in data networks. The team listened to calling ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/need-better-network-ask-tree-frogs-2019-01/

Workers of the world, relax: robotics encourage creativity

In this current period of economic uncertainty, stoked by international trade deals and the spectre of Brexit, Jurgen Von Hollen has some words of encouragement. He believes that at a time when CEOs cannot forecast 12mths ahead, the only constant is a need for a company to be flexible and creative, and this can be ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/market-sectors/industrial-electronics/workers-world-relax-robotics-encourage-creativity-2019-01/

Prince’s Trust shuns Huawei

The Prince of Wales’ Prince’s Trust has stopped accepting donations from Huawei as part of the global shunning of the Chinese telecom maker. “At present, we are not accepting new donations from Huawei in light of public concerns,” says the  Trust, “future donations will continue to be reviewed by our Ethical Fundraising Committee.” The Trust ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/princes-trust-shuns-huawei-2019-01/

EW BrightSpark develops electronically-scanned radar unit at mm-wave frequencies

James Henderson updates us on developing an electronically-scanned radar unit operating at mm-wave frequencies.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/ew-brightspark-develops-electronically-scanned-radar-unit-mm-wave-frequencies-2019-01/

Tin dioxide could increase perovskite solar cell life

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are efficient, rapidly getting more efficient, and are likely to be cheap to mass-produce, but have a lemming-like tendency for self-destruction. Now scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) think that have found one of the causes of early demise – the use of titanium dioxide ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/tin-dioxide-increase-perovskite-solar-cell-life-2019-01/

Europeans are increasingly sceptical about robots

It seems that Europeans are relatively positive about robots as long as they have a more or less theoretical concept in mind, but are increasingly critically when the robot is specified and personal interactions appear imminent – robots were evaluated more negatively in 2017 than five years before. This has been extracted from a survey ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/europeans-increasingly-sceptical-robots-2019-01/

ST revenues up 15.8%; profit up 11.5%

ST had Q4 revenues of $2.65 billion, gross margin of 40.0%, operating margin of 16.8%, and net income of $418 million. ST CEO Jean-Marc Chery (pictured) commented: “ST delivered a solid performance in the fourth quarter, with net revenues and operating income increasing sequentially 5.0% and 11.5%, respectively. “Net revenues in 2018 increased by 15.8% year-over-year ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/st-revenues-15-8-profit-11-5-2019-01/

Imec on AI

This is the second of a series of essays by Imec scientists on the future of electronics technology. This one is called: ‘AI systems will become our workmates. Workmates we understand and trust.’ It is by Pieter Ballon, director of SMIT – an Imec research group. Artificial intelligence, or AI is all the rage again. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imec-on-ai-2019-01/

TI revenues flat

TI’s Q1 revenues were 1% down on Q4. Q1 revenue was $3.72 billion down from Q4’s $3.75 billion. Q1 net income was $1.24 billion up from Q4’s $344 million due to income taz. Rich Templeton, TI’s chairman, president and CEO, made the following comments: “Revenue decreased 1 percent from the same quarter a year ago ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/ti-revenues-flat-2019-01/

China chip growth slowing

The growth of China’s semiconductor industry will slow to 16.2%  this year – the lowest in five years, says TrendForce. TrendForce says the China IC industry was worth $88.4 billion in 2018 and will be worth $107 billion this year. Challenges for China’s semiconductor industry include the global economic slowdown, the overall weak demand, the negative ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/china-chip-growth-slowing-2019-01/

Mouser signs Pyreos

Mouser has signed a global distribution agreement with Pyreos, a U.K.-based passive infrared sensor developer and manufacturer. Through the agreement, Mouser is now stocking a variety of Pyreos’ mid-infrared detectors for applications in air quality, breath measurement for medical applications, gas and flame detection, motion, and gesture. The Pyreos product line includes ezPyro digital SMD pyroelectric ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/mouser-signs-pyreos-2019-01/

UFS Ver. 3.0 embedded flash

Toshiba is sampling what it claims to be the industry’s first Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Ver. 3.0 embedded flash memory devices. The new lineup utilizes the company’s  96-layer BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and is available in three capacities: 128 gigabytes, 256GB and 512GB. With high-speed read/write performance and low power consumption, the new devices are suitable  for ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/ufs-ver-3-0-embedded-flash-2019-01/

Members Of Congress The Least Trusted Professionals In The US

Members of  Congress are the least trusted professionals in the US, says Gallup. Nurses are the most trusted orofessionals – a distinction they have held for 17 successive years. Doctors and pharmacists also among the top-three and police officers are considered honest by a majority of Americans. Auto salespeople are traditionally low on the trust ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/delusions/members-congress-least-trusted-professionals-us-2019-01/

China EV market 3x bigger than US EV market

China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) reports thst China sales of EVs grew  60% last year, reaching 1.26 million units. Tesla CEO Elon Musk reckons: “Affordable cars must be made on same continent as customers.” The market figures, his remark and the tariffs and duties of trade war show why he’s building a huge Tesla factory ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/markets/china-ev-market-3x-bigger-us-ev-market-2019-01/

Varada raises $7.5m

Varada, the Tel Aviv data indexing specialist, raises $7.5 million in seed funding

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/varada-raises-7-5m-2019-01/

Dyson re-locates to Singapore

Dyson is to become legally head-quartered in Singapore where the company is to build its electric car, Sir James, who owns 100% of the company,  is a big supporter of Brexit but the company says the move to Singapore has nothing to do with the UK leaving the E.U. Last October, Singapore signed a free ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/dyson-re-locates-singapore-2019-01/

IC growth tracks GDP

The correlation between IC market growth and global GDP growth, has been tracked by IC Insights. Figure 1 depicts the increasingly close correlation between worldwide GDP growth and IC market growth through 2018, as well as IC Insights’ forecast through 2023. Figure 1 Over the 2010-2018 timeframe, the correlation coefficient between worldwide GDP growth and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/548144-2019-01/

We’re off, says Huawei boss

Huawei wants to go where it is welcomed, the company’s chairman Liang Hua (pictured) told the Davos World Economic Forum yesterday. ‘We would transfer the technology partnership to countries where we are welcomed and where we can have collaboration with,” said Liang. Asked whether Huawei could leave the UK, where it has a $3 billion investment ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/off-says-huawei-boss-2019-01/

Imec on Health

This is the first in a series of Imec essays on the future of electronics technology. It looks at the subject of health. The title of this first essay is: “By 2035 you will ‘manage’ your health like a bank account.” It is by  Peter Peumans, svp life sciences at Imec. How can we live a ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imec-on-health-2019-01/

Top Ten (+20) European Countries For Being Killed By A Superbug

Thanks to The Lancet for this one – where in Europe you are most likely to be killed by a superbug:

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ten-best/top-ten-20-european-countries-killed-superbug-2019-01/

Scratch programming – Now We Are 3.0

Anyone who's got a Raspberry Pi and kids will know about the graphical, block-based programming language designed by MIT and aimed at young coders. Well, there's a new version out, Scratch 3.0.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/scratch-programming-now-3-0-2019-01/

Bridging PCIe to Ethernet AVB and TSN for automotive

Toshiba has announced an automotive chip that can bridge between PCIe and two Ethernet standards: Ethernet AVB and Ethernet TSN, to connect central processors to telematics, infotainment and driver assistance systems, as well as sensors, at up to 1Gbit/s. Called TC9562XBG, “it’s not just a simple hardware-bridge between PCIe and Ethernet”, Toshiba Electronics Europe told ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/digital-integrated-circuits/bridging-pcie-ethernet-avb-tsn-automotive-2019-01/

Cable tie mounts with ‘high-performance’ adhesive

From HellermannTyton, come two families of cable tie mounts which can operate at up to 105°C, which are now available in Europe through TTI. SolidTack MB are for flat surfaces FlexTack are for curved and bent surfaces (2D curves, not 3D), without resorting to thick layers of glue. “These self-adhesive mounting bases feature a high-performance acrylic ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/emech-enclosures/cable-tie-mounts-high-performance-adhesive-2019-01/

Best VC Bets

The best VC bets of all time have been compiled by CB Insights. Here they are:

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/start-ups/best-vc-bets-2019-01/

ESA plans to mine moon

The European Space Agency has given the Ariane Group a one year contract to develop plans for a moon base that could be used for mining. The project will ‘examine the possibility of going to the Moon before 2025 and starting to work there’, says ESA. The plan is to eventually mine regolith. ‘As ESA ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/esa-plans-mine-moon-2-2019-01/

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/site-update/get-mannerisms-gadget-master-daily-weekly-newsletter-form-2019-01/

Hailo expands Series A to $21m

Hailo, the Israeli AI start-up, has expanded its Series A funding to $21 million. Chinese VC firm, Glory Ventures, led the expansion joined by existing and other new investors. The investment will enable the company to expand its target markets into China and Hong Kong, complementing its existing markets in Europe, North America, Japan and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/hailo-expands-series-21m-2019-01/

Thrills and frustration for Team Bath Racing Electric in China

The University of Bath’s student electric racing car team, Team Bath Racing Electric (TBRe), has recently returned from competing at Formula Student Electric China (FSEC) in Zhuhai, China.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/general/thrills-frustration-team-bath-racing-electric-china-2019-01/

Hex-core mini-ITX industroal motherboard

Taiwanese single board computer maker Aaeon has launched a hex-core industrial mini-ITX motherboard using ‘8th generation’ (Coffee Lake) Intel Core processors hyper-threading – fewer cores are also available. Called MIX-H310A1, “increased core count and the refined graphic engines meet the requirements for graphic-intensive and high-performance computing applications in machine vision, kiosk and robotics,” said the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/bus-systems-sbcs/hex-core-mini-itx-industroal-motherboard-2019-01/

Ancient mechanics lurking in the woods

Out for a walk in rare sunshine, I stumbled across machinery in the woods – in the ruins of an old hut, to be precise. Winter has thinned the undergrowth, and a small brick chimney gave it away. I am guessing it is a water pump, and I am pretty sure there are the remains ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/ancient-mechanics-lurking-woods-2019-01/

Health app start-up raises $10m

Kaia Health, the two year old health app start-up, has raised a $10 million Series A led by Balderton Capital. The investment will be used for Kaia’s US rollout, including a new office in New York City, and fund further clinical studies. Kaia’s back pain app has been  adopted by over 250,000 individuals as well ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/health-app-start-raises-10m-2019-01/

UK cyber defence hooks up with New York City

 LORCA, the government-backed cybersecurity programme, is partnering  with the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), City of New York, and the New York Economic Development Corporation to help cybersecurity companies scale internationally. The GCA is a global, collaborative non-profit dedicated to reducing cyber risk with  an extensive network of dedicated partners around the world. The partnership with the City ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/uk-cyber-defence-hooks-new-york-city-2019-01/

ESA plans to mine moon

The European Space Agency has given the Ariane Group a one year contract to develop plans for a moon base that could be used for mining. The project will ‘examine the possibility of going to the Moon before 2025 and starting to work there’, says ESA The plan is to eventually mine regolith.  ‘As ESA ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/esa-plans-mine-moon-2019-01/

Server DRAM ASP to fall 20% In Q1

Contract prices of server DRAM are expected to fall by more than 20% QoQ in 1Q19, reports DRAMeXchange. The main reason for the steep price fall lies in the difficulties in reducing inventory. The DRAM suppliers’ fulfillment rate has improved from 90% in 4Q18 to 120% in 1Q19, indicating an oversupply in the market. Currently, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/server-dram-asp-fall-20-q1-2019-01/

Making your home a power station

Resilience Energy aims to give customers the hardware, software and contracts they need to produce, store and sell renewable energy, and an app to monitor the system’s performance.  Customers will be able to sell excess electricity on the spot market and excess battery capacity to the National Grid to help balance the grid’s energy supplies. This ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/making-home-power-station-2019-01/

Rampisham Gets New Transmitter

was the headline, 57 years ago, on a story in Electronics Weekly’s edition of March 8th 1961 The story ran: THE first stage in the modernistation and re-equipment of the BBC short-wave stations at Rampisham has been completed with the installation of a new 100-kW transmitter. Rampisham broadcasts to Africa, South East Asia, the Americas ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/memory-lane/rampisham-gets-new-transmitter-2019-01/

Luminair has Bluetooth-controlled variable beam-shape, direction, and…, and…

Over Bluetooth, this luminair’s beam can be adjusted from <10° to 50°, flowing fluidly through all the all points in between, according to manufacturer Formalighting. Development was with beam shaping specialist LensVector and wireless firm Casambi. Direction (pan and tilt), intensity and colour temperature are also adjustable, in what is to be called the Motolux ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/luminair-bluetooth-controlled-variable-beam-shape-direction-2019-01/

600V Super-Junction mosfets for bridge and ZVS converters

STMicroelectronics’ DM6 600V mosfets contain a fast-recovery body diode to bring super-junction technology to full-bridge (and half) phase-shifted zero voltage switched (ZVS) converters – and other applications that need a robust diode to handle dV/dt. “Leveraging ST’s carrier lifetime control technology, the mosfets have reduced reverse-recovery time [trr] to minimise power dissipation in the diode ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/600v-super-junction-mosfets-bridge-zvs-converters-2019-01/

2A 32V dc-dc converter includes mosfets in 2.8x3mm

Diodes has announced a family of low-power dc-dc buck converters that can deliver 2A from between 3.8V and 32V. Output voltages between 0.8 and Vin are possible. Efficiency can be 88% at 5mA out, with quiescent as low as 22µA. The devices are: AP63200: 500kHz, PWM/PFM, variable out, can operate as LDO (100% duty) AP63201: ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/2a-32v-dc-dc-converter-includes-mosfets-2-8x3mm-2019-01/

Comment: Panasonic Industry and the WARR Hyperloop, accelerating tomorrow’s transportation

WARR Hyperloop did it again – the team from the Technical University of Munich won the Hyperloop Pod Competition for the third consecutive time.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/comment-panasonic-industry-warr-hyperloop-accelerating-tomorrows-transportation-2019-01/

EV Boost Shows How Far They Have To Go

Despite an 81% jump in US EV sales last year, thanks largely to sales of Tesla’s Model 3, America’s interest in EVs is still pitifully weak, says InsideEVs. For every 50 internal combustion engined cars one EV was sold last year, giving EVs a 2.1% share of the annual 17.2 million unit  light vehicle market.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/delusions/ev-boost-shows-far-go-2019-01/

Driverless Cars Enter The Trough Of Disillusionment

Have driverless cars entered the ‘trough of disillusionment’ – the coming-down-to-earth phase of the Gartner hype cycle? “It’s going to be painfully slow,” Gartner analyst Mike Ramsey tells Bloomberg. ”It’s realky realky hard”, says John Krafcik, head of Waymo, “you don’t know what you don’t know until you’re actually in there and trying to do ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/delusions/driverless-enters-trough-disillusionment-2019-01/