Electronics News April 2011

n ew s Australia’s Premier Electronics Magazine

w w w. e l e c t r o n i c s n e w s . c o m . a u INSIDE

APRIL 11

News 4

Future Awards 2011 Get your nominations in, and be recognised for your work Technology 8

Conductive plastics Local research turns an insulator into a conductor with ion bombardment Feature 15

Coherent signal processing How coherent technology is ensuring the quality of optical data transport Feature 16

Contract electronics manufacturing CEMs provide invaluable services to design houses through insight and innovation Feature 20

The next interconnect

Post Print Approved PP255003/00319

Medical electronics How advances in electronics are making healthcare friendlier to patients, doctors and vendors.

Page 10

Design | Communications | Environmental | Industrial | Research | Medical | Consumer

How Thunderbolt works and how it will revolutionise connectivity in consumer electronics Technical Feature 22

Hardware-based mask testing Speedy testing function on oscilloscopes ensures product quality

NEWS

n ew s

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Industry braces for the aftershocks

Published five times a year Reed Business Information Pty Ltd Tower 2, 475 Victoria Avenue Chatswood NSW 2067 Tel: (02) 9422 2999 Fax: (02) 9422 2977 www.electronicsnews.com.au EDITOR Kevin Gomez Tel: (02) 9422 2976 kevin.gomez@reedbusiness.com.au SENIOR JOURNALIST Isaac Leung Tel: (02) 9422 2956 isaac.leung@reedbusiness.com.au

Kevin Gomez Editor

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• Green Technologies • Power Management • CPUs and MPUs

AS this issue of Electronics News goes to press, we continue to receive updates on the damage and destruction caused by the tsunami and earthquakes that rocked Japan in March. The tragic loss of lives and livelihood is indeed distressing.

Doubtless, the events in Sendai will have a flowthrough impact on the global electronics sector.

Despite most of the electronics manufacturing capability moving to Taiwan and China, Japan still supplies a fifth of the global semiconductor market and accounts for six per cent of the world’s production of large-sized LCD screens. And some of these lines have been impacted.

Panasonic has reported damage at its plant, but is considering using an alternative site in Himeji to ensure its LCD panel supply stays on top of the market.

Toshiba Mobile Display’s assembly line at the Saitama Fukaya plant near Tokyo which makes small LCDs will be closed for around a month to repair sensitive equipment which had been misaligned by the quake.

Chisso, which supplies liquid crystal, had to contend with a fire at a nearby oil refinery, which may affect its supplies.

Sharp suspended operations at its Yaita plant in Tochigi prefecture, but operations will resume subject to the black outs.

Texas Instruments has reported substantial damage to its manufacturing site in Miho, which makes analogue and display chips and made up around 10 percent of its revenues in 2010.

The disruptions to supply will impact the availability and pricing of NAND, DRAM, microcontrollers, standard logic, LCD panels and parts and materials.

Problems with silicon supply will also affect MOSFETs, bipolar transistors and small signal transistors.

The psychological impact is already causing prices to rise. Shortly after the quake, higher-density NAND flash pricing on the spot market climbed by as much as 10 per cent, and DRAM by seven per cent.

Given the complexity of modern electronics, losing supply of any one component can have an impact on the production line.

In the short term, inventory supplies should prevent any product shortages, although prices may rise in the second half of 2011 as the effects of the disaster ripple through the supply chain.

Amidst the tragedy, it was heartening to see this proud and technologically savvy nation turn to sophisticated electronics. Satoshi Tadokoro, a leading robotics expert was visiting Texas University when the quake hit Sendai – where he lives. Tadokoro rushed back to the quake ravaged town to deploy his creation, Active Scope Camera, to search for survivors.

This remote-operated, eight meter-long snake-like robot carries a scope camera and can slither through small spaces. It has been described as the world’s most capable robot for tight spaces. kevin.gomez@reedbusiness.com.au

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NEWS

IN BRIEF

SEMICONDUCTORS HIT BY JAPAN’S EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DETAILS and analysis have emerged about the extent of the impact of Japan’s continuing earthquake and tsunami disaster on the semiconductor industry.

IHS iSuppli claims the disruptions to supply will impact the availability and pricing of electronic components such as NAND flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), microcontrollers, standard logic, liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels, and LCD parts and materials.

Problems with silicon supply will also affect MOSFETs, bipolar transistors and small signal transistors.

In the short term, the global supply chain’s two weeks’ worth of excess component inventory will absorb any shortages until the end of March or the start of April.

The psychological impact of the long-running and large-scale destruction from the earthquake and tsunami means prices are already rising. iSuppli reports higher-density NAND flash pricing on the spot market has climbed by as much as 10 percent, and DRAM by 7 percent.

Polycrystalline silicon and silicon wafer makers such as Shin-Etsu and Sumco have been affected by the disaster, and this will have impact on supplies to other semiconductor companies down the line.

LOCAL FAMILY ELECTRIC CAR UNDER DEVELOPMENT A CONSORTIUM of five local companies will build prototypes of Australia’s first large electric car.

The concept for the electric family car is based on the Holden Commodore. The Green Car Innovation Fund is contributing more than $3.5 million to the project.

The Green Car Innovation Fund closed to new applications in January, as the Gillard Government diverted funds to rebuild the infrastructure in Australia’s flood ravaged communities.

However, all contractual commitments and grant offers made by the Government through the fund, including this current project, will be honoured.

4 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

DESIGN

Future Awards 2011 Electronics News is now accepting nominations for the prestigious 2011 Future Awards.

Now in its 7th year, the annual awards program recognises excellence in the Australian electronics industry. If you or your company have worked on an interesting project over the past two years, make sure to send in a nomination.

An Electronics News Future Award is a great way to showcase the vision, design and development which has gone into your work in electronics.

With the migration of the majority of manufacturing work, ideas and innovation are more important than ever. Let your ideas be seen!

Winners will be able to use the Electronics News Future Awards logo in advertising, trade shows and product literature. Electronics News will be providing extensive coverage and publicity in a special supplement alongside our October issue.

The awards are open to all companies, irrespective of size, who have a design operation and/or manufacturing facility and/or testing presence in Australia and have been

operating for at least two years.

The nomination may be submitted by anyone representing a company in Australia or New Zealand; however that person must be in a position to properly evaluate the submission.

The submission process is simple, and any requirements for confidentiality or help with providing information will be handled by our highly skilled nomination team.

Judging will be conducted by a panel of experts.

In 2011, we are introducing a new category, Best In Design, to showcase design expertise by Australian electronics engineers. ■ Categories: Automotive & Transport Communications & Networks Environment Industrial Electronics Students Wellness Best in Design Entries close 1 July 2011.

Electronics News would like to thank the program sponsors Kontron,

The 2011 Electronics News Future Awards will recognise excellence in electronics engineering.

Altium and element14 for their continued support of these awards.

For more information, contact Isaac Leung on isaac.leung@reedbusiness.com.au or phone 02 9411 2956.

DESIGN

Receiver for big telescope ELECTRONICS equipment from Fremantle-based Poseidon Scientific Instruments (PSI) will help humanity look 13 billion years into the past.

The MWA is being built by an Australian consortium led by ICRAR, a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia, in close collaboration with US and Indian partners.

The new radio telescope will allow scientists study the low-frequency universe, in order to gain an insight into the first stars and galaxies after the Big Bang.

Founded over 20 years ago by physicist Jesse Searls, PSI is a MWA industry partner. Its solutions are fabricated in-house by highly trained production staff.The high technology company has succeeded in packaging sensitive electronics into environmentally controlled enclosures tough

element14Panasonic deal

enough to withstand the harsh conditions of outback WA. According to Professor Steven Tingay, ICRAR deputy director, the enclosure provided by PSI does more than protect the electronics inside. It would also prevent the electronics from interfering with other equipment on the site, an important consideration in preserving the radioquiet nature of the outback location.

In all, 64 enclosures will be used to service the 500-antenna telescope, which will search for the weak signals emanating from the early stages in the evolution of the Universe, 13 billion years ago.

The MWA is located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, and is an official Square Kilometre Array telescope. ■

ELEMENT14 has extended its partnership with Panasonic to the Asia Pacific, allowing electronic design engineers access to over 6000 Panasonic passive components.

The parts range from aluminium electrolytic capacitors, resistors to inductors. Previously, the partnership only extended to Europe, but these products are now available to customers in the Asia Pacific.

Panasonic’s ZNR Transient Surge Absorber series provides surge protection against power outages and lightning strikes.

With element14's distribution network and fusion of commerce and community, Panasonic says electronic design engineers will benefit from more efficient designs and faster time to market. ■

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NEWS

ENVIRONMENTAL

Concentrating PV in development SILEX has provided updates on the work on its concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technology, as well as the rare earth oxides work of its subsidiary.

Silex is one of a number of local companies currently developing very interesting electronics technologies which could see Australia become an intellectual heavyweight in the solar power and semiconductor production industries.

The company is currently commercialising its solar systems utility-scale CPV technology.

According to its latest update report, it is on track with the construction of a 0.5MW demonstration facility in Bridgewater, Victoria. It is also upgrading and commissioning its 500MW module

manufacturing plant in Melbourne, and is making inroads into the international market in the USA and the Middle East.

Besides establishing a $500,000 in-house reliability test laboratory, Silex is developing CPV multi-junction cells. These would have improved efficiency and higher yield manufacturing.

The Silex CPV technology originates from a March 2010 acquisition of the Solar Systems Group’s IP and patent assets, along with its manufacturing and demonstration facilities.

The CPV cells with Dense Array technology are very efficient, and suited for large utility-scale electrical power generation.

The ‘triple junction’ solar cells can reach 40 percent conversion efficiency, which Silex claims is approximately double the efficiency of today’s best silicon-based cells.

Silex hopes to reap initial commercialisation opportunities in the 2012 financial year.

As part of the commercialisation program, Silex is building a 2MW pilot solar power station in Mildura, Victoria, which will lead to a 100MW facility. The solar power station is expected to be the largest and most efficient facility of its kind in the world, and is being partly funded by the VIC State Government and the Federal Government.

Meanwhile, Silex’s subsidiary Translucent has reported on its progress toward low cost ultra-high efficiency solar cells, low cost silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, and low cost silicon wafer substrates for LED production.

Translucent specialises in rare earth oxides (REOs), which it incorporates into semiconductor materials to develop low cost on-silicon solutions.

Currently, terrestrial silicon solar cells have around 20% efficiency. High-cost solar cells used on satellites use complex III-V semiconductor materials with triple-junction structures for an efficiency of around 40%.

According to Translucent, it came up with an approach which enables conventional III-V multijunction solar cells to be grown on large low-cost silicon wafer substrates instead of expensive germanium wafers. This could slash the costs associated with III-V multi-junction solar cells.

Translucent is also making progress on the crystalline siliconon-insulator (cSOI) wafer substrate technology. A third party company is helping with this development, and recently constructed a 150mm wafer reactor which is now producing 150mm cSOI development wafers for evaluation.

The companies have also developed low temperature deposition of silicon directly onto REOs, yielding epitaxial layers with surface quality equivalent to that of the substrate, an important step towards manufacturability.

On the photonic front, Translucent is continuing its work to migrate LED manufacturing from sapphire or other expensive substrates to large diameter silicon wafers.

The company’s efforts were boosted by an enquiry from a LED company regarding the technology. Initially, the main obstacle to the migration to silicon substrates was the absorption of light by the substrate.

However, Translucent used patented REO surface structures to develop a 150mm virtual substrate with the required optical properties for viable LED production. This is being integrated with existing nitride based processes used in standard LED manufacturing. ■ www.silex.com.au

6 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

NEWS

DESIGN

IP reforms to protect electronics industry NEW intellectual property reforms will protect the ideas of Australian electronics designers and engineers.

These new protections are especially significant to the Australian electronics industry, which is heavily dependent on intellectual property and has found a niche in value adding through new ideas, designs and technologies.

The Federal Government claims the reforms will strengthen the IP system to protect local innovations.

The reforms proposed by the government include raising patent standards to align with major overseas trading partners, reducing the time to resolve patent and trade mark applications, strengthening anti-counterfeiting measures, and making sure the patent system doesn’t restrict research.

It is hoped the reforms will also balance the other way, allowing overseas partners to continue to bring new technology to Australia.

IP Australia is currently developing the reforms. The organisation is responsible for the administration of patents,

The new IP protections will be especially useful for the electronics industry. trade marks, designs and plant breeders’ rights. These reforms form part of a suite of integrated projects to make the IP system

work more efficiently for innovators, businesses and the community. ■ www.ipaustralia.gov.au

INDUSTRIAL

Electronex 2011 ELECTRONEX 2011 is moving to Melbourne, and will be held from 14 to 15 September at the Park Function Centre.

In 2010, Electronex was held in Sydney, combining a trade show of 80+ exhibitors and a three day conference, and Electronics News was on hand to provide some coverage.

That inaugural event confirmed the market for an event dedicated to the Australasian electronics

industry, something which has been lacking for years.

Electronex 2011 is expected to be bigger than the Sydney event, and organisers hope it will attract even more visitors and conference delegates.

The Surface Mount & Circuit Board Association and Australasian Exhibitions and Events (AEE) are again working together to bring both Electronex and the SMCBA conference to Melbourne,

providing the electronics sector with a dedicated forum for new technologies and ideas.

The SMCBA Electronics Design & Manufacture Conference 2011 will be colocated with Electronex 2011. It will feature keynote international presenters and leading Australian experts who will deliver information on the latest directions for the electronics market. ■ www.electronex.com.au www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 7

TECHNOLOGY

RESEARCH

Plastics as conductors Low-cost and flexible conductors could be a possibility with latest findings ESEARCHERS at the University of Queensland and New South Wales have developed a way to produce plastics which conduct electricity.

Plastics normally conduct electricity very poorly, and are thus commonly used as insulation.

However, they also carry desirable mechanical properties such as flexibility and low cost of production.

As such, there is considerable interest in making plastics conductive. This is achieved by changing the chemical structure of the molecules which make up the plastic, or filling the plastic with a natural conductor such as metal powder.

The new method from the Australian researchers, called “ion beam metal mixing”, coats a sheet of plastic with a very thin layer of tin.

The scientists then used a

R

This material can be made as conductive as metal, and can be easily produced with commonly available equipment. Photo by: Adam Micolich

particle accelerator located at the ANSTO in Sydney to fire a beam of tin ions at the film.

The bombardment knocks some of the tin atoms forming the metal coating off the plastic entirely, reducing the amount of metal sitting on the surface. It also drives some of

the surface tin atoms inwards, effectively blending the metal into the plastic surface.

Lastly, the ion beam destroys some of the chemical bonds in the plastic, releasing oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen and increasing the carbon content, enhancing the

The ionic bombardment...blends the metal into the plastic surface

conductivity further.

Varying the metal film thickness and the speed of the tin ions in the bombarding beam allows adjustments in electrical resistance. The method can also produce superconducting films which pass an electrical current with no resistance at all when cooled to a sufficiently low temperature. ■ More information on this research can be found in Volume 12, issue 1 of the 17 January 2011 volume of ChemPhysChem, found online at http://goo.gl/5ALbs

DESIGN

New research takes on timing errors in ICs UNIVERSITY of Wisconsin researcher Azadeh Davoodi is looking into solutions for timing errors in integrated circuits.

ICs are composed of billions of nano-sized components. Timing errors are a type of bug within these complex systems which can cause components to slow down and take longer to execute operations.

As devices and their component parts become smaller and more complex, so too does the process of preventing and solving timing errors become ever more difficult.

Electrical and Computer Engineering assistant professor Davoodi has received a 2011 Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) to support her work in looking into ways to combat timing errors in ICs. According to Davoodi, the nanoscale components in ICs are so small that they can have weird phys8 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

ical behaviour which only emerge after fabrication.

The validation process involves manually opening up a chip and examining billions of transistors, which is extremely time-consuming.

Additionally, detection is made even more difficult as timing errors often are interdependent, meaning they emerge only when certain operations are performed together. Currently, validation takes several months.

Davoodi's team will develop special sensor components that can be added to a chip's design, as well as methods to analyse measurements from the components.

The new components will provide custom timing information for a particular chip design, allowing developers to predict, detect and solve errors more quickly.

Instead of manually opening up and examining chips, developers could use data from the sensor

The new components will provide custom timing information for a particular chip design, allowing developers to predict, detect and solve errors more quickly. components as a compact representation of important areas of the design that may be causing timing errors.

This improves visibility into the inside workings of the chip. ■ More info: http://goo.gl/VMKmA

TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL

Mass-manufacture of nanoscale sensors RMIT University researchers have found a way to fabricate batches of nanoscale sensors on the tips of optical fibres, with insect wings playing a role in this research.

This breakthrough is a critical step toward the mass manufacture of nanoscale sensors.

Led by Professor Arnan Mitchell from RMIT and Dr Paul Stoddart from Swinburne University, the team nanoimprint lithography in the first demonstration of the parallel fabrication of nanoscale sensors on optical fibre tips.

The research has a range of potential applications from medicine and biotechnology to sensing environmental contaminants.

Optical fibres are about the width of a human hair, making them suitable as platforms on which tiny sensors may be built.

According to the researchers, nano-level feature sculpting, while difficult, is not unheard of in nature.

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Some insect wings feature nanosized elements that act to minimise reflections and reduce their visibility to predators.

The team used the transparent wing of a cicada as a template of sorts, copying the nano-scale textures onto fibre tips.

Previously, it would take up to an hour to build just one nanosensor.

The new technique allows up to 40 nanoscensors to be built at a time, demonstrating a low-cost and accessible way for large volume manufacture of the devices.

This research was funded through a National Health and Medical Research Council Development grant to develop intra-venous sensors based on a combination of advanced manufacturing, fibre optics and nano-technology. â&#x2013; Nano-level feature sculpting is found on the wings of cicada.

This research appeared on 21 January 2011 in the journal Advanced Materials, and may be accessed at http://goo.gl/NbpeB

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COVER STORY

MEDICAL

Medical electronics today and t The medical authorities are embracing electronics to supplement traditional healthcare. The result is a booming industry with Australia at its forefront, writes Isaac Leung MEDICAL electronics smacks of the future but is not a new discipline. Electronic devices have been supporting the frail human body for over five decades since the first artificial cardiac pacemaker was implanted in 1958. But, since the turn of the century, medical technology has accelerated dramatically.

Cheaper, smaller electronic chips have allowed medical manufacturers to develop products that significantly enhance the quality of life of the chronically sick, allow constant monitoring of elderly people so they can continue to live at home and provide motivation for the obese to lose weight and improve their health.

It’s a booming market with great potential and Australia is home to some of the leading medical manufacturers. Electronics News spoke to some of these companies regarding their vision of the future.

M

Inside the body The ongoing miniaturisation and improving power efficiency of electronics is encouraging the use of more implants says David Mulcahy, ResMed’s vice president of sleep product development. The smaller the device can be made, the less invasive it becomes for the patient, and long battery life reduces the number of inconvenient trips to hospital to swap out exhausted cells.

ResMed is a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative medical products for the treatment and management of respiratory disorders, with a focus on sleep-disordered breathing (SDB, also known as sleep apnea). “[Implants] used to be the domain of life-critical applications in the past, but we expect to see more low cost, low complexity devices, in less critical applications, including simple passive sensors, that improve patient management and care,” 10 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Wireless sleep monitoring system based on imec’s ultra-low-power bio-potential read-out ASIC, to monitor electroencephalography, electro-oculography and electromyography (image: imec).

Mulcahy told Electronics News.

As exemplified by the work of Bionic Vision Australia, implants are indeed moving into less critical applications, which still drastically improve patients’ quality of life.

The Bionic Vision Australia project aims to restore vision to people affected by retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, via a bionic eye implant.

Visual information captured via a

camera attached to a pair of eye glasses would be transmitted as RF signals to a chip in the eye, which then uses electrical impulses to stimulate the retinal ganglion cells which in turn connect to the optic nerve.

COVER STORY

tomorrow Professor Stan Skafidas is program leader for the development of this high-acuity device at Bionic Vision Australia. He is also the research group manager in embedded systems at National ICT Australia (NICTA), Australia’s ICT centre of excellence.

His team is currently developing the second prototype of the retinal implant, which provides higher resolution imaging, with 1000 stimulating electrodes, compared to the 100 electrodes of the first prototype.

Australian researchers are also working on bionic ears, deep brain stimulators which combat certain psychological conditions and implants to treat chronic pain by stimulating muscles and nerves.

But surely these conditions can be treated by taking a tablet, without the need for invasive implants and surgery? Prof. Skafidas agrees, but explains that implants are much more precise in their effect.

“The body is very specialised, and you need to have the right level of chemical or pharmacological agents at the right location, at the right time. You can’t target where those drugs are going,” Prof. Skafidas told Electronics News. “[But] these new types of [implant] technologies...can be much more targeted for a very specific part of the brain.”

And, in the case of reversing vision loss, pharmacological solutions don’t look like providing an answer, leaving the field open for implants.

But implants have one serious obstacle: biocompatibility. The body attacks what it perceives to be foreign objects. The immune response brings with it a risk of necrosis or histological changes around the site of the implant.

Diamonds, it turns out, are a patient’s best friend.

“In the bionic eye, we’re encapsulating devices in polycrystalline diamonds. Diamonds are very inert, structurally very strong,” said Dr. Skafidas, “There’s also a lot of work

FACTS & FIGURES

Biomedical signal processor

Detail of imec’s ECG necklace developed at Holst Centre (image: imec).

ECG signals wirelessly transmitted to an Android mobile phone via a lowpower interface (image: imec).

in developing new types of biocompatible materials.”

Power is the other big challenge for implants. Battery technology is moving slowly relative to other electronic advances, and implants that run constantly drain power quickly.

Prof. Skafidas says supercapacitors or power harvesting may provide the answer. Wireless power transfer is also an option, though it is not very

efficient and tends to dissipate a lot of the energy in the tissue.

In the meantime, reducing the power consumption of electronics by upping efficiency will allow energy technology to catch up.

Body area networks Compact size and long battery life are not just desirable characteristics in implants; all electronics medical

CoolBio is an ultra-low power biomedical signal processor for use in wearable biomedical sensor systems, developed by imec, Holst Centre and NXP. The processor consumes only 13pJ/cycle when running a complex electrocardiogram algorithm at 1MHz and 0.4V operating voltage.

The chip is C-programmable, with scalable voltage and performance. It supports a frequency range of 1MHz up to 100MHz with an operating voltage from 0.4 to 1.2V. The chip reduces overall power consumption down to a level where the system can be powered by energy harvesting or a microbattery.

The CoolBio can process and compress data locally on the BAN node to reduce the need for power hungry data transmission over the wireless link. The processor also adds motion artefact reduction and smart diagnosis.

CoolBio has its basis in NXP’s CoolFlux DSP baseband core. The companies adapted the architecture and circuitry to operate at nearthreshold voltage (0.4V) at low operating frequencies.

Separate multiple voltage power, clock and memory domains to guarantee high energy efficiency from standby to 100 MHz. devices benefit from these attributes.

The goal is to make devices so unobtrusive that they fit seamlessly into the normal lifestyles of patients. Part of the solution lies with Body Area Networks (BANs).

BANs comprise a network of compact wireless sensors monitoring vital signs such as pulse, blood pressure and blood glucose levels. The sensors send the information to > www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 11

COVER STORY

MEDICAL

FACTS & FIGURES

Technology-packed breathing device The S9 Series Continuous Positive Airway Pressure breathing device is the result of a technology partnership between ResMed and STMicroelectronics. The S9 Series’ integrated microchip technology is provided by STMicroelectronics.

The device gently delivers pressurised air via a mask to keep the airways open. Integrated sensors allow automatic control of the air pressure; data logging and a colour LCD screen makes the device easy to use.

Miniaturised temperature sensors in the mask provide climate control.

Advanced computational simulation is key to the operation of the lownoise Easy-Breathe motor.

12 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

“gateways” such as mobile phones or PCs, and then to remote physicians.

Electronics News spoke to Bert Gystelinckx, program manager of imec’s Human++ program, who is widely regarded as a thought leader in the BANs sector.

Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. Imec performs research in nano-electronics, delivering technology solutions to the ICT, healthcare and energy sectors.

Its business line Human++ works on innovative solutions in the healthcare domain. Within Human++, imec and Holst Centre develop technologies for wearable and implantable body area networks, with low-power components, radios and sensors.

The goal of monitoring, according Gystelinckx, is to improve quality of life. But current hospital technology involves wires and cables running from bulky machinery to a patient, who is consequently “tied” to a bed.

BANs remove the wires, restoring the patient’s independence.

Imec is currently developing applications for cardiac, brain and emotion monitoring using BANs.

There is also work on sensors which detect biochemicals and chemical compounds found in breath.

Miniaturised components use less power, explained Gystelinckx.

“With even a tiny battery, you can run these devices for a week or even up to months at a time.”

As with industrial networks, often the most power-hungry operation is transmitting data wirelessly. To address this, imec, Holst Centre and NXP announced the CoolBio ultralow power biomedical signal processor in February 2011.

The new chip is designed to be integrated into the sensor nodes, directly processing and compressing data to reduce the amount of wireless transmissions required.

Standards and the exact transmission technologies for BANs are still being worked on, most notably by the IEEE 802.15 Task Group 6. The resulting technologies and protocols would need to meet the relevant medical and communication regulations, as well as combine low power, reliability, quality of service, data rate and non-interference properties.

In the meantime, companies like imec are continuing to work on smaller and more efficient electronics. The hope is for interconnected healthcare and monitoring devices which are truly wearable and integrated into everyday objects, allowing better autonomy and reliable remote health monitoring.

There’s an app for that At the Wireless Health Conference, held recently in Sydney, a key discussion was the use of smartphones as a gateway from range-restricted BANs to a wider network of doctors, patients, and equipment suppliers.

In his address to the conference, NICTA’s CEO David Skellern provided a clear vision of the future of healthcare offered by BANs. “BAN is around-body wireless. It’s low power, it’s high speed, it’s always on, and it will be built into your phones,” Skellern said. “The aim of this is to remove every wire in the hospital, integrate all your personal monitoring devices and have the system function whether it’s at home, work or play.”

COVER STORY

According to Gystelinckx, “the smartphone...is a central hub for all of these [BAN] devices. For example, we hooked the ECG monitor up to an Android-based cell phone,” he said.

“Indeed, the cell phone is probably going to be a key element in capturing, and relaying data that is coming in [from the BANs].”

Companies like ResMed hope BANs, connected to the cloud via smartphones, will help patients manage their own health.

“In the future, patient software for smartphones will become commonplace for information, diagnostics and treatment support,” said ResMed’s David Mulcahy. “Viewing information about their condition and treatment may help remove some of that ‘fear of the unknown’ that patients may have had when confronted with a diagnosis they previously may not have understood.”

New models of care The Wireless Health Conference in Sydney also featured Jan Janssen, senior vice president of design and development at Cochlear, a company

that provides implants to combat hearing loss in children and adults.

According to Janssen, the company is already providing implant recipients with improved control and insight into the operation of their devices. The current generation of devices from Cochlear has a bidirectional control and monitoring link to the implant.

Implant recipients can use their device to change the patterns and algorithms used by the microphones to optimise performance in different situations. These algorithms were once only adjustable by a specialist.

Janssen says Cochlear is looking to build on this advantage.

“With the abundance of internet and mobile computing and wireless technologies, we can develop a new clinical model,” Janssen told the audience. “Where the classical model involved a highly specialised, typically academic clinic, we are now working on solutions that will move the care to satellite centres or to the recipient’s home.”

ResMed’s Mulcahy agrees a new paradigm of care is on the horizon.

“We are seeing a move towards decentralised (or distributed) health care versus the centralised hospital model,” Mulcahy said. “Patients want greater control over their own health care and data, which will be facilitated by technology enablers.”

Patients will be able to maintain their own treatment without having to make regular trips to clinics.

Medical professionals will be able to focus on new and more technically difficult cases, while still providing the occasional check-up and care for existing patients.

Such a move would also make treatments more affordable and available to more patients in countries with a shortage of professionals.

Slowly does it Less invasive, more intelligent.

Precisely targeted implants. Care without cables. More patient visibility and control of their own health outcomes. Better use of professional resources. Electronics will make these dreams become reality.

But while increasing the use of electronic technology in medical care

will yield many advantages, care must also be taken to mitigate risks.

Circuits must be properly isolated from body tissue, and include measures to neutralise risks in the case of device failure. And in the face of continuing scientific furore over the effect of mobile phones on the human body, BAN technology needs to be developed and tested to minimise the risk of harm to the user.

Additionally, protocols for medical data transfer will need to be updated or created for the new network models, in order to provide security, privacy for the patient and efficient use of bandwidth.

The advances of healthcare and technology have been inextricably entwined for over five decades and this has proved to be good for the profession, patients and the economy.

But future progress needs to be measured to allow regulation and certification to keep up. ■ www.imec.be www.bionicvision.org.au www.resmed.com.au www.cochlear.com www.nicta.com.au

www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 13

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FEATURE

COMMUNICATIONS

DSP in optical data transport Optical transport is complex, and as speeds increase, even the smallest anomalies could introduce errors in the data.

Digital signal processing is the key to effective data quality control, writes Anthony Mclachlan HE demand for increased bandwidth is ever present. Today, transmission systems employing advanced modulation formats and coherent receivers with channel capacities of 40 Gb/s are widely deployed. While the first coherent commercial 100 Gb/s was put into service in late 2009, the secret to its success – coherent technology, and more specifically, the electronics that enable it – have until now been shrouded in mystery.

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Why coherent?

Coherent detection, with a local oscillator approximately centred on the signal’s frequency band, provides a 4.3 dB improvement in noise tolerance compared to the traditional direct detection. The electrical lowpass filter of the coherent receiver front-end provides selection of the signal around the frequency of this local oscillator and significant rejection of other signals.

The quest for improvement in noise tolerance, and improved receiver sensitivity, combined with the difficulty of the coherent methods, meant there was a lot of research into coherent systems in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the optical amplifier provided a cheaper and easier method to improve noise tolerance, and most of the coherent work was abandoned.

Today, coherent technology preoccupies both research and commercial development in optical communications because of its ability to address distortion compensation, polarisation de-multiplexing, and carrier extraction. These capabilities are afforded by the most important characteristic of coherent transmission, namely, access to the optical electrical field (E-field), and are enabled by digital signal processing (DSP).

Working hand-in-hand with coherent detection, DSP is the mathematical vehicle through which the

appropriate numerical transforms are applied to recover signals from impairments that are physically wellunderstood, but, until recently, electronically inaccessible.

The major sources of degradation of the optical channel at regular power levels are linear and invertible with respect to the optical Efield. Coherent detection provides electrical signals that are proportional to the optical E-field. Linear digital filtering can fully compensate for these degradations. The complexity of digital linear filters grows linearly with the amount of impairment tolerance needed.

Chromatic dispersion is a linear degradation that can be inverted without penalty. Coherent 100 Gb/s transmission uses DSP to perform chromatic dispersion compensation, without recourse to any optical means of dispersion compensation.

With DSP there is no longer a requirement to phase or frequency lock the local oscillator laser to the transmit laser, as this can be done with digital carrier recovery. Linear digital filters can be used to compensate the chromatic dispersion and polarisation effects of the optical line. For high capacity signals, this is beyond the capabilities of a processor or FPGA circuit, and so requires a CMOS integrated circuit.

Current commercial 100 Gb/s transmission products use hard decision forward error correction (FEC), with iterative decoding. Soft-decision decoding such as with Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes or Turbo Codes [4], that use multi-bit metrics for each information bit, offer in theory 3 dB better noise mitigation.

Given the A/D conversion and signal processing that is already present in the receiver, the soft metrics are readily available on the CMOS chip.

However, there are two major challenges in getting the benefits of soft-decision FEC. Optical transmission systems must provide the network operators with bit error

Electronic digital signal processing continues to drive data transmission systems.

High-quality algorithms that deliver the required performance cannot fit onto one chip.

rates that are better than 10–15, and simple soft-decision FEC algorithms that provide good noise tolerance suffer from bit error rate floors in the range of 10–3 to 10–10. More complicated algorithms are required to avoid these floors.

Multi-bit metrics for each of the greater than 100 billion information bits per second creates huge data flows, and a large processing task.

For heat efficiency, this operation must be implemented within the same CMOS chip as the DSP.

CMOS In the 1990s, channel line rates were increased from less than 1 Gb/s to 10 Gb/s based on increases in symbol rate. Symbols were simple binary intensity modulation. The required frequency bandwidth of the optical and electrical components is largely determined by symbol rate.

Availability and cost of such

components at the required bandwidth strongly influence the economics of symbol rate.

The commercial success of 10 Gb/s systems from 1995 to 2000 drove a cost reduction of volume manufactured components at 10 Gbaud. Silicon CMOS has displaced electronics composed of III-V elements in these applications, due to lower costs, integration scale, and lower heat. Some recent higher bitrate systems exploited the economics of CMOS technology near these same symbol rates and, instead, expanded the other dimensions.

Commercially installed coherent optical fibre transmission products use the existing 90-nm or 65-nm CMOS processes for the signal processing ASIC. High-quality algorithms that deliver the required performance at 100 Gb/s cannot fit onto one chip at these feature sizes.

Two parallel chips have been used, with dual subcarriers, to achieve maximum system reach. When 32-nm CMOS ASICs are available, highquality signal processing for 100 Gb/s can fit in a single chip without compromising performance. ■ Anthony Mclachlan is the Asia Pacific VP for Ciena Corporation. www.ciena.com www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 15

FEATURE

DESIGN

CEMs vital to future of Austral Cost pressures, rapid technology advance, Asian competition and the GFC have forced Australian electronics onto the back foot. But local contract manufacturers are proving an ally in the fight back, writes Isaac Leung IGH volume manufacturing jobs have largely moved offshore, as the effect of globalisation has forced companies to seek lower labour costs in regions like China and SE Asia.

The local electronics industry has attempted to fill the void left by the absence of assembly operations by becoming a fully-fledged member of the information economy, specialising in intellectual property, design and research & development. It’s hoped that technology and expertise will provide the competitive edge for indigenous firms.

But generating IP is one thing, bringing new products out of the ethereal realm of ideas and into the hands of customers is quite another.

For that, someone is going to have to put the products together, and with no in-house assembly capability, the Australian “design house” is reliant on the unassuming factories of contract manufacturers.

This model has been in place for many years, but in 2011 is it still working well? To find out, Electronics News talked to three contract electronics manufacturers for an insider’s perspective into the niche sector that is the Australian electronics industry.

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Services rendered GPC Electronics is a major player in the contract electronics manufacturing industry, with factories in Penrith (Sydney), Christchurch (New Zealand) and China. Its customers include Siemens, Nortel, NEC, Alcatel and Ingenico.

On-Track Technology, based in Mascot, Sydney, provides quality products with quick turnaround, competitive costs and on-time delivery. Its facility is 100 percent ESD safe and climate controlled.

Kwang Myung Tech, while based in Seoul, Korea, has an eye on the Australian market, with its Englishspeaking staff ensuring smooth 16 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

GPC Electronics says its robust systems give it an edge as a CEM.

communication while retaining the advantages of manufacturing in Korea. It is catering to a number of local clients, and has also made its presence felt in Australia via electronics shows like Electronex.

Companies turn to contract electronics manufacturers (CEMs) like these when the winning design they’ve come up with on paper has to be turned into a tangible product.

CEMs typically provide a “onestop shop” for the entire range of services, such as PCB manufacturing and checking, component sourcing, component storage, CNC and metal work, board population, in-circuitand functional-testing, prototyping, pilot runs, product runs, final assembly, packaging and delivery.

According to GPC Electronics’ managing director Christopher Janssen, his company can even provide direct shipping and fulfilment services to customers.

Not all of these services are necessarily completed at the CEM’s own business.

For example, On-Track Technology’s sales manager

Raymond Pang explains that while the company’s PCB assembly services are done at its Mascot facilities – along with testing, chassis assembly and prototyping – it subcontracts services like stencil manufacture, manufacturing (offshore) and bare board manufacture.

Kwang Myung Tech’s overseas manager Ric Lee says his company takes this further, with operations effectively structured as a co-op.

“We have four or five companies that work together and pass work among each other. We pass the sales on to these other companies, and they put their own money and time into building the components.”

This means Kwang Myung Tech does not have to carry the overheads for the parts produced by other companies, but can benefit from the extra sales generated due to the “turnkey” range of services offered.

Flexible friend The flexibility that CEMs offer is a major appeal for OEMs. It lowers the risk in the early days of a product’s development when it’s difficult to

SHORTCUTS: Electronics manufacturing still exists in Australia, in the factories of contract manufacturers ■ CEMs provide essential and value-added services to design houses ■ Quick advances in technology and the GFC have put strain on CEMs ■ Constant upgrades, automation and new markets will help CEMs survive ■

know how volumes will ramp up – or if a product is even going to take off at all.

“We have customers like young companies and startups who run initial production but do not have visibility or certainty of the orders.

They usually look for scalability,” GPC’s Janssen told Electronics News.

“We can transition the product to another location like China and manufacture there if they are going to a global marketplace with higher volume product requirements with cost sensitivities.”

FEATURE

ian electronics GPC Electronics’ clients have other reasons for using a CEM. Janssen says some prefer to run products locally so they can be involved in the production process itself, sometimes because the product isn’t stable yet.

The company also manufactures complex products for large multinationals, providing box builds of electronic devices in the medical, automotive, industrial and communications sectors.

Lee says Kwang Myung Tech mostly sees low production runs of high-end electronics from its Australian clients, who may request anything from a hundred units to a couple of thousand units.

“Most of our clients want better control of quality during the production build and they might have more requirements in relation to data collection, so they can back-check if there’s ever a problem with their equipment,” Lee said.

Retaining the edge In an increasingly competitive market, simply providing manufacturing is often not enough. Like the Australian design industry, CEMs have found “value-adding” is key to retaining business.

According to Lee, despite the labour cost differential, Australian clients often go to Kwang Myung Tech because its English-speaking employees allow better communication between engineers.

“A lot of these are prototype runs are pre-designed systems which have not previously gone through an SMT pick-and-place machine,” Lee explained. “So even though the design would be up to spec when they are building it in their technical laboratory, when it comes into full production and a pick-and-place situation, a lot of the variables change.”

This results in a great deal of back and forth. The CEM will do quick runs, send it back to Australia for testing, take requests for new

changes and revise the product. This intense communicative process is susceptible to failure when dealing with many manufacturers in countries like China or Thailand.

For local companies like On-Track Technology, eliminating the tyranny of distance is a major consideration for its clients.

“If something goes wrong with a product in an overseas factory, it gets delayed for a lot longer because [clients] can’t fly over there quickly to inspect their factory and to look at their products while it’s on the line,” said Pang.

“If there’s an engineering change, they can’t just go to their offshore manufacturer and stop production.” he continued. “Local manufacturing allows these modifications.”

GPC Electronics cites the robustness of its systems as an important value-adding advantage. The manufacturer’s three plants have similar implementations of systems, processes and equipment.

These plants are managed with a unified IT platform with ERP capabilities, allowing engineers in different locations to access and execute the necessary processes at the other facilities.

Janssen says GPC Electronics is ISO 9000 accredited for quality management systems, and its systems ensure that it purchases only components from approved vendor lists supplied by clients.

“Through our SAP system, we have a shopfloor control system. All the products we process are individually bar-coded and tracked,” Janssen explained. “We also capture all fault data and transaction data.”

“If we see the process has more faults than we’d expect, engineers in Australia can see what’s going on in China and email to tell them there’s an issue. We can then look at it and see if there’s a problem with the processes or the components.”

This system also ensures the allimportant Australian companies’ IP

CEMs view automation and new electronics technology as double edged swords, driving up investment costs but bringing in new business.

is protected.

Using reputable CEMs can avert the horror stories whereby companies outsourced production, only to find the market flooded with cheap copies made on the same equipment, using their design data.

Janssen says this cannot happen with its operations, because the design is tightly controlled by the system and dished out “piecemeal” to the shopfloor.

“The different work centres get their [own] work instructions,” Janssen said. “We don’t have a single document which gives away the whole product.”

No substitute for experience These services all increase the value of the OEM/CEM relationship. But perhaps the most valuable contribution CEMs can make is in the advice they give their clients.

For example, CEMs have knowledge of which components have high failure rates. They also have insight into the design considerations that can reduce costs and improve the

“Generating IP is one thing, bringing new products out of the ethereal realm of ideas and into the hands of customers is quite another.”

final product.

Lee cites a recent example where the client specified hot air solder level (HASL) finish for a PCB. Kwang Myung Tech suggested using an organic surface protection (OSP) finish, which has largely pushed HASL out of the Korean market.

“We suggested [to the engineers in Australia] to use OSP as it has a better finish, better protection, and is more readily available for SMT runs,” Lee said. “We showed them a sample, and they agreed.”

According to Pang, manufacturing efficiency is a major contributor to cost. CEMs can help clients reduce costs by improving manufacturability. > www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 17

FEATURE

DESIGN

He tries to get involved as early as possible to ensure the board is designed to be reproduced many times over quickly.

“I tend to put a lot of emphasis on talking to the designers in the design phase,” Pang explained, “in order to reduce the amount of redesign needed.

“For example, you can minimise the number of processes and hand-fitted assemblies by choosing components that can be mounted via SMT, rather than through-hole technology,” Pang said. “We always encourage designers to go surface mount whenever possible.”

Challenges to the niche According to IBISWorld’s December 2010 report titled Electronic Components Manufacturing in Australia, industrial users make up 40 percent of the market for electronics manufactured in Australia, followed by export sales at 31 percent and wholesale at 29 percent.

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EMONA

The report claims the local electronic component manufacturing industry will generate revenue of $1.84 billion in 2010 to 2011. Exports will amount to $430.5 million, and imports are expected to be around $6.61 billion in this same period.

But the industry is constantly changing, with waves from the global financial crisis (GFC) still breaking and challenging CEMs. Even the electronics design sector is under siege, according to Pang.

“Generally speaking, the electronics industry is shrinking in Australia. A lot of the design work is [now] getting subcontracted overseas,” Pang told Electronics News.

“Eventually, a lot of the work [will go permanently], increasing competition for the remaining Australian manufacturers and designers.”

The GFC has also decimated American consumption, reducing the demand on Asian manufacturers.

This has prompted them to enter the market for lower volume builds, directly challenging the domain of Australian CEMs. “Five years ago, if you asked an overseas manufacturer to do a prototype board, they’d tell you to go and jump off a cliff,” Pang explained.

“These days, they’re quite willing to do prototypes because any work is good work.”

For Janssen, the GFC has resulted in more variability in work, as well as problems in the supply chain.

“During the GFC, people became much more cautious and now typically order only what they know they have demand for,” Janssen said.

“That means the demands from clients tend to be driven by actual demand in the field. This leads to variability from month-to-month.”

Technological flux The electronics industry is at the forefront in the advance of technology. Costs are on a continual spiral downwards, and new design methods prompted by new compo-

FEATURE

“Eliminating the tyranny of distance is a major consideration for CEM clients.”

nents constantly challenge the capabilities of existing equipment.

CEMs have found the fast pace of change a double-edged sword.

All the companies Electronics News talked to agreed labourreducing automation holds the key to their future, but the increasing availability of automation is viewed by Lee as a potential threat because it allows OEMs to consider doing their own small production runs. “[Large manufacturers] can get a very good medium size pick and place unit and medium size selective reflow unit and could do their own production runs,” Lee said. “[We already see] a lot of the brand names doing their own work, instead of subcontracting [to CEMs].”

However, larger CEMs are also optimistic, because the fast pace of technological change means small- to medium-size manufacturers are hardpressed to maintain fully-fledged inhouse lines.

For Pang, simple economic logic places the advantage squarely on the side of CEMs. “A contract manufacturer’s machines are constantly working. A lot of OEM manufacturers are only building their own products, so [their equipment] is only working when they’ve got products to build. The other half of the year, when it’s sitting idle, it’s money lost,” he said.

Surviving the future In its report on electronics manufacturing in Australia, IBISWorld identified four key factors to success in this highly competitive industry.

To thrive, or indeed, to survive, CEMs need to have access to exten-

sive distribution channels, strengthen their brands, access the latest and most efficient technologies and techniques and establish export markets.

In a testament to the last point, GPC Electronics set up its Chinese facility in 2008.

This has not only provided customers with the option of lower cost manufacturing, but also allowed the company to gain clients in Europe and North America.

On-Track Technologies has long had contacts in Asia, but is now looking to set up its own facilities in Fujian, China.

According to Pang, the new operations will not only help it offer increasingly competitive pricing to win the jobs, but will allow it to cater to global manufacturers, many of which require 30 percent of their products to be manufactured in an Asian country.

However, Pang says the business remains firmly rooted in Australia, with constant equipment upgrades, and staff undergoing training in lean manufacturing practises.

That’s a reassuring statement, because present trends mean more than ever, CEMs are essential for the good health of the electronics industry in Australia, and provide invaluable niche services beyond just manufacturing.

Despite common perceptions of a dearth of manufacturing operations in Australia, a number of CEMs continue to thrive locally, powered by strategic vision, a constant willingness to go the extra mile for clients and constant investment in cutting edge technology.

While CEMs currently face change and challenge, it seems ingenuity and a willingness to adapt to the situation will allow these operators to continue providing services to the design houses and electronic entrepreneurs of this country. ■ www.gpc.com.au www.on-track.com.au kmpcb.com www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 19

FEATURE

DESIGN

Thunderbolt strikes Intel-designed superfast I/O sneaks into production via revised Apple notebook

HE release of new Apple products tends to dominate the electronics press, but sometimes a significant technology leap from the Cupertino-based company does sneak out under the radar. A couple of weeks before the iPad 2 was launched by a gaunt but exuberant Steve Jobs, the company introduced its enhanced MacBook Pro portable computer with barely a whimper.

In its press release the company announced “the new MacBook Pro brings next generation dual and quad Core processors, high performance graphics, Thunderbolt technology and FaceTime HD”.

Fairly standard features, except for one – “Thunderbolt”.

In the words of Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, “Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard”. For comparison, 10 Gbit/s is fast enough to transfer a full length Blu-Ray film in less than 30s.

Yet the base model 13-in MacBook Pro boasts Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 and two USB 2.0 sockets in addition to the mysterious Thunderbolt. This would suggest that Apple is covering all the bases when it comes to peripheral devices. Is this a sign that Thunderbolt is just another highspeed I/O, or is Apple waiting for the rest of the world to catch up while temporarily retaining other interfaces for legacy equipment? Let’s take a closer look.

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Optical heritage The MacBook’s version of Thunderbolt is actually a copper implementation of a technology that was initially designed for optical architecture. Codenamed Light Peak, chip giant Intel announced this technology in late 2009 and explained 20 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Thunderbolt is based on Intel’s Light Peak

that it was “an optical implementation of a multi-protocol cable interconnect for innovative and emerging client usage models that complements other existing interconnects”.

The starting speed for Light Peak is the 10 Gbit/s that Thunderbolt now delivers. But Light Peak is designed for scaling up to 100 Gbit/s by 2019.

According to Intel, the main component used in Light Peak is the controller chip. This device provides protocol switching capabilities so that a single cable can support, for example, both a display and a peripheral storage device.

Optical technology doesn’t suffer from the limitations of copper such as attenuation and noise; problems that increase with cable length.

What is Thunderbolt?

In its current implementation, Thunderbolt isn’t quite Light Peak because it doesn’t take advantage of light as the data carrier, instead sticking to conventional electrical signals. Designed in collaboration with Apple, it can only be assumed that this more conventional tech-

nology was chosen to speed commercialisation and further reduce costs.

To be fair, this first version of Thunderbolt is impressive. It has been designed with video and audio applications in mind and is said to have low latency and highly accurate time synchronization capabilities.

And it inherits Light Peak’s multiprotocol capabilities.

Specifically, Thunderbolt combines two I/O protocols – PCI Express and DisplayPort – into a single protocol, transmitted over a one cable. The technology is based on a switched fabric architecture with full-duplex links. Intel says that unlike bus-based I/O architectures, each Thunderbolt port is capable of providing the full bandwidth of the link in both directions with no sharing of bandwidth between ports or between upstream and downstream directions.

Intel does say that Thunderbolt cables may be electrical or optical in its technical briefing on the technology. Both cable types use same connector. The active electrical-only cable provides for connections of up

SHORTCUTS A new high-speed computer I/O, Thunderbolt, has been introduced by Apple on its MacBook Pro ■ Thunderbolt is based on Intel’s Light Peak optical technology ■ Thunderbolt combines two I/O protocols into one ■ In addition to Apple, Canon is a supporter of Thunderbolt ■

to 3 m in length, and for up to 10 W of power deliverable to a buspowered device. And, with its much lower attenuation, the active optical cable provides for much greater lengths, up to tens of metres.

The Thunderbolt protocol physical layer (PHY) is responsible for link maintenance including hot-plug detection, and data encoding for efficient data transfer. The transport layer boasts a low-overhead packet format with flexible Quality of Service (QoS) support that allows multiplexing of “bursty” PCI Express

FEATURE

“Optical technology doesn’t suffer from the limitations of copper such as attenuation and noise”

transactions with isochronous DisplayPort communication on the same link. The transport layer also features a time synchronisation protocol that allows all the Thunderbolt products connected in a domain to synchronise to within 8ns of each other.

Rivals As we’ve already seen, the MacBook Pro incorporates several other I/O technologies, all of which, at some point in their history have been described as “high-speed”. So, how do they compare with the new kid on the block?

Gigbit Ethernet, based on the IEEE 802.3ab and first introduced by Apple in 2000, can cope with speeds up to 1 Gbit/s. But the 10 Gbit/s version is already starting to see use in data centres and will inevitably migrate down to more modest computers, while the 40 and 100 Gbit/s versions, described under the IEEE P802.3ba specification were ratified in June 2010.

FireWire, Apple’s tradename for its own technology that eventually became IEEE 1394, has been around on Macs and PCs since 2004.

FireWire 400 is a 400 Mbit/s technology, while the 800 version is rated at 800 Mbit/s (actually 786 Mbit/s).

FireWire 1600 and 3200 (1.6 and 3.2 Gbit/s respectively), designed to compete with USB 3.0, have been specified, but commercial products are rare.

USB 2.0 was released in April

2000, and can cope with up to 480 Mbit/s. USB 3.0, announced by the Promoter Group in November 2008, first started to be seen on some products at the beginning of 2010. It is capable of data transfer of 3.2 Gbit/s.

Disruptive Technology So, in terms of outright speed, Thunderbolt does have an advantage over other high-speed computer I/O, even taking into account developments yet to move into commercialisation – with the exception of the faster forms of Gigabit Ethernet.

Nonetheless, Thunderbolt offers something that Gigbit Ethernet can’t; a multi-protocol capability. This endows it with a flexibility that could provide the edge needed to ensure mass adoption. The technology is already capable of connecting to peripheral devices that employ native PCI Express interfaces like eSata and FireWire, via adapters.

These adapters can be built using a Thunderbolt controller with off-theshelf PCI Express-to-“other technology” controllers.

But more than that, because it can migrate (relatively) easily from electrical to optical interconnect, and subsequently scale to 100 Gbit/s, Thunderbolt represents the kind of transformational leap that’s characteristic of disruptive technology.

It is early days for Thunderbolt, and there are some established competitors, particularly USB, but already there are signs of consumer electronics company support beyond Apple. Japanese video- and digitalcamera maker Canon, for instance, is one such proponent.

“We are excited about Thunderbolt technology,” says Hiroo Edakubo, Group Executive of Canon’s Video Products Group. “We feel it will bring new levels of performance and simplicity to the video creation market.” ■ www.intel.com www.canon.com.au www.apple.com.au www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 21

FEATURE

INDUSTRIAL

Hardware-based mask testing It is important to have an oscilloscope that consistently provides an accurate visual representation of the signal as well as measure times. Mask testing can dramatically speed up debug and test time on your devices, writes Maryjane Hayes SCILLOSCOPES play a major role in design and manufacturing, testing and debugging products that generate electrical signals such as ICs, FPGA and serial bus communication.

Oscilloscopes’ mask testing works by comparing a captured waveform to a “mask” that consists of an upper waveform limit and a lower waveform limit. The captured waveform “passes” if each point of the captured waveform falls in between the upper and lower limits and “fails” if a point extends above or falls below the mask.

Mask testing is sometimes also referred to as “pass/fail” or “go/no go” testing because it provides a fast and easy way to test your signals to specified standards, as well as uncover unexpected signal anomalies, such as glitches. The application allows you to acquire a “golden” waveform and then define the tolerance limits of the signal to create a test envelope. It automatically detects the waveforms that deviate from the standard, allowing you to get more answers in less time.

This is ideal for manufacturing or service where you need to compare the output of a new device to the output of a known good device. If the output from the new device falls in between the upper and lower masks, the device passes. If the output falls outside the upper and lower masks, then adjustments are made to the new device in an attempt to bring it within the required specifications.

With continuous waveform monitoring applications such as mask testing, an oscilloscope is used to continuously monitor a waveform for a quick specification test and can also be used in more intensive testing for quality purposes.

Mask testing is an electrical parametric limit test that can provide vital information about the device under test. This information includes

O

22 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

FACTS & FIGURES

More time and certainty, less hassle Mask testing helps verify devices are operating within required specifications and parameters.

Mask testing provides a fast and easy pass-fail status.

Hardware-based mask testing such as that in oscilloscopes tend to be much faster than softwarebased tests.

The combination of speed in hardware-based mask testing means more waveforms can be tested to ensure stability and reliability.

Faster tests mean more time can be spent on innovative designs.

Oscilloscopes are used to test and debug electronic products and components. waveform pass or fail status, waveform failure rate with cumulative statistics, display relative position and magnitude of failures.

The application can also send a trigger out (and/or alarm) to alert you of a failed waveform and has the ability to save the image and testing data to a USB stick or print hardcopy on failure.

Why should I care if mask testing is hardware-based?

Mask testing can be implemented using hardware technology or in a software post-processing.

When it is based on softwareintensive processing, it tends to be very slow and not able to test a large number of waveforms quickly

“Hardware-based mask testing provides more reliability faster than a software-based one.”

because it is processing rather than capturing data.

When it is hardware-based, it is much faster. This provides testing throughput that is orders of magnitude faster than software-based applications, making valid pass/fail statistics available almost instantly.

This level of mask testing speed can provide rapid insight for accelerating a design from development through manufacturing because it allows testing of a more significant

sample set in a shorter period of time. This can used in quality testing to achieve Six Sigma standards as well as speed up the manufacturing test time.

If you need to validate the quality and stability of your components and systems, a mask testing application that is hardware-based will save you valuable test time.

How does hardware-based mask testing application change how I do my job?

In manufacturing and R&D, you need to verify that your device is operating within the required specifications for the device in order to validate the quality and stability of the final product.

The device can be measured with an oscilloscope to test various signal attributes such as peak-to-peak voltage, frequency, RMS voltage and delay. By far, the most important change with hardware-based technology in mask testing is speed.

FEATURE

e ment features to speed up debug and test

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 1. Shows an example using the Agilent InfiniiVision X-Series oscilloscope with mask testing application to test a signal from a device under test against a known good waveform.

Figure 2. Shows a signal with jitter and notice the red highlights the errors.

In this example, we were able to test over 13 million waveforms in a few seconds.

Figure 3. In this example on the Agilent InfiniiVision X-Series oscilloscope, after running the test for just a few seconds, the mask test statistics showed that the scope performed the pass/fail mask test on more than 28 million waveforms and detected over 11 thousand errors for a computed error rate of 0.00388%.

Hardware-based mask testing offers a fast and easy way to test your signals to specified standards, as well as the ability to uncover

unexpected signal anomalies, such as glitches. It provides valuable data that allows for characterisation of whole systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance and >

Figure 3

www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 23

FEATURE

INDUSTRIAL

stability. This ensures the design will produce high yields in manufacturing and gives you more confidence in your design since the number of waveforms you can test is hundreds of thousands of waveforms per second versus only a few thousand in a software-based system.

In manufacturing testing, the ability to have a “Pass/Fail” test set up on pre-defined limits with the ability to test device characteristics quickly is extremely valuable.

In addition, testing hundreds of thousands of waveforms ensures long-term process stability and Six Sigma quality.

When working with industry published standards, masks can be

Figure 4 Figure 4. Shows how hardware-based mask testing can provide details statistics in real time and achieve over 6.7 sigma quality in a few seconds. created on a PC using a text editor.

The mask is then imported into the scope via a USB memory stick and the mask testing application is set up using this custom created mask.

The ability to document so many tests and to see the error rate of the device allows technicians and engineers to confidently report what the annual failure rate of a part will be

or to ensure compliance to the Sigma quality standards. With a hardwarebased system, you can test enough waveforms to achieve Six Sigma in a few seconds.

In addition, as seen in figure 2, we can see that this particular signal has a “sigma” quality relative to the mask tolerance of approximately 6.8ó because of the large number of waveforms it was able to test in such a short time.

Mask testing can be used repetitively to ensure the signals meet the required specifications. This is orders of magnitude faster than manually checking individual measurements on that signal and provides more reliability because the entire signal can be evaluated against a correct signal to find signal anomalies.

As a result, mask testing saves time and money by ensuring that customers receive higher-quality products sooner.

Hardware-based mask testing speeds up Quality Assurance testing Quality Assurance (QA) is a systematic approach to designing and providing processes to ensure confidence in and sustainability of a products quality.

As part of the QA process, product operation must be tested and verified many times at each stage. Every device is subject to this testing to ensure they consistently meet standards for design and performance and maintain a low defect rate. The ideal process to achieve high quality would be to test 24 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

signals for high quality standards (low failure rates) using a large number of samples, without impacting test times. This ensures a high quality product, while speeding up time to market, greater customer satisfaction, and gives designers and engineers back more valuable time to create new designs rather than fixing old ones.

With hardware-based mask testing you can test large numbers of samples in a few seconds to achieve a Six Sigma quality standard. It not only does not impact test times, but will actually improve them since it only takes a few seconds to achieve this high quality.

Summary Hardware-based mask testing will change the way you do your job in both R&D and manufacturing tests.

In R&D, engineers can test signals they are developing through many waveform repetitions.

The more waveforms they can test, the more confidence they have that the design functions correctly.

In manufacturing, engineers must test signals to ensure customers do not receive defective units.

Hardware-based mask testing provides more reliability faster than a software-based one. As a result, mask testing saves time and money in design and manufacturing and ensures customers receive higherquality products sooner.

All our time is valuable and when technology is invented to reduce the amount of time we spend doing repetitive testing, it allows for that time to be spent working on new innovative designs. ■ Maryjane Hayes is the InfiniiVision Oscilloscopes product manager in the Digital Test Division of Agilent. She is responsible for bringing new and innovative system verification and validation solutions to students and engineers in the electronics industry. www.agilent.com

TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

INDUSTRIAL

High-end graphics performance for small embedded computers Kontron boards and modules with AMD’s Embedded G-Series platform boost small-form-factor applications HE AMD Embedded GSeries platform integrates energy-efficient x86 technology processor cores with the parallel computing power of a general-purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) into a single computing device dubbed the Accelerated Processing Unit (APU).

Kontron, an embedded computing technology company, claims this allows design engineers to develop low-power small-form-factor applications that had previously only been possible with high-performance multi-core designs.

The AMD Embedded G-Series platform includes a single- or dualcore AMD 64 processor and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level graphics and parallel processing engine, Universal Video Decoder (UVD) 3.0 (the dedicated high-definition video acceleration block), DDR3 memory controller and a PCI Express 2.0 controller (see figure 1).

The APUs include five different performance versions, ranging from the AMD T44R with a 1.0GHz singlecore AMD 64 CPU and low power consumption of 9W (thermal design power or TDP) to the AMD T56 N with a 1.6GHz dual-core processor and 18 W TDP. According to Kontron, this broad span of performance in a single platform enables design engineers to adjust the performance and power consumption to the precise requirement of the application.

Additionally, those customers who wish to build a complete product line from entry level up to high-performance can do this on a single embedded platform.

The engineer doesn’t need to adapt the operating system (OS) and software to different chipsets, but can use the same configuration on any device.

This reduces the amount of development effort required, minimises a

T

Figure 1: AMD G-Series platform schematic product’s time-to-market and reduces the total cost-of-ownership.

Enhanced graphics The G-Series platform provides support for DirectX 11 API that Kontron says enhances all conventional graphics-intensive small-formfactor applications.

The integrated AMD Radeon HD6310 supports DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.0 to provide a 2D or 3D graphics with good frame rates and resolutions (of up to 2560 by 1600 pixels).

Compared with the 3D Mark06 performance of an Intel Atom N450 platform (100 percent), the dual-core APU performs at 1470 percent, which is also well above AMD’s extremely fast embedded platform ASB2 at 1,083 percent. This level of performance enables cost-effective, spacesaving systems to be designed without a dedicated graphics card, yet with good graphics performance.

Furthermore, by integrating the UVD 3.0 that unloads the processor when decoding video streams, boards and modules equipped with AMD’s new Fusion processors have set a new benchmark in their power range.

They can decode 1080p BluRay videos with HDCP as well as HD MPEG-2 and DivX (MPEG-4) videos.

The platform also supports decoding of up to three HD videos in parallel.

Up to four displays are supported by a variety of interfaces, including DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI, as well as the embedded interfaces LVDS and VGA at a maximum resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels.

Kontron says the graphics capability enables delivery of highperformance multimedia content in a small-form-factor, power-efficient platform suitable for a broad range of low-power designs in embedded applications, such as x86 set-top boxes, IPTV, thin clients, information kiosks, points-of-sale appliances and gaming systems.

Parallel processing power The G-Series is also suitable for applications requiring high levels of parallel computing capabilities such as pattern recognition in quality control, sonar or radar data analysis, video surveillance, or medical imaging applications like the recon-

struction of 3D X-ray images and the detection of anomalies.

These applications require multiple processing cores that can handle vast amounts of data in parallel. Hundreds, if not thousands, of individual threads need to be processed to manipulate the highvolume data streams.

However, traditional processor architectures and application programming tools, which are optimised for scalar data structures and serial algorithms, are not the best match for data-intensive vectorprocessing applications.

Fortunately, with the advent of the G-Series platform, application developers who previously had no access to embedded solutions can now make use of the power of innovative GPGPU technology to add the parallel processing power of the AMD Radeon 6310 GPU to their applications. Kontron says that by doing this, it’s possible to add “supercomputer-like performance to smallform-factor embedded designs and obtain a previously unachievable performance-per-watt ratio”.

The feature set makes these new boards and modules a substitute for many existing platforms or new designs and application areas. By implementing the new AMD APUs on the most common form factors for graphics-intensive applications, such as computer-on-modules and smallform-factor single board computers and motherboards, the company says it is making the benefits of this new architecture readily available for application development.

Additionally, with the support for OpenCL 1.1 and Microsoft DirectCompute, parallel processing executed by the graphics core will speed up vector processing applications such as situational awareness and video surveillance in the industrial automation, military and medical markets. ■ au.kontron.com www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 25

PRODUCT FOCUS

DESIGN

Advanced oscilloscopes, entry-level prices Agilent is looking to corner the entry level oscilloscope market with its latest units.

GILENT Technologies has launched the InfiniiVision 2000 and 3000 X-Series oscilloscopes with advanced capabilities at entry-level prices.

The new InfiniiVision oscilloscopes are based on an Agilentdesigned custom 90nm CMOS ASIC with 6 million gates and embedded memory. The MegaZoom IV singlechip architecture allows accelerated waveform update rates and responsive deep memory.

Talking about the ASIC, Johnnie Hancock, senior product management for scopes at Agilent, said integration was the key to everything.

“We sunk a lot into designing and integrating all that [functionality] into a single chip. But integrating all these parts brings the cost down,” said Hancock.

Agilent, Hancock added, wanted to bring the price down, and increase volumes through integration.

The 2000 X-Series offers bandwidths from 70MHz to 200MHz, an update rate of 50,000wfm/s, and up to 2GSa/s sample rate.

The 3000 X-Series has bandwidths from 100MHz to 500MHz, up to 4GSa/s sample rate, and an update

A

rate of one million wfms/s.

“These scopes allow people to debug things quicker...You can see problems quicker than you can with other scopes,” Hancock told Electronics News.

According to Agilent, the InfiniiVision 2000 and 3000 X-Series oscilloscopes are really four instruments in one, integrating the scope, a logic analyser, function generator and protocol analyser.

The oscilloscopes also feature upgradeable bandwidth, MSO, measurement applications (decodes) and waveform generator (WaveGen).

Besides the price, features such as training signals mean the units are ideal for the education sector.

However, Agilent expects a much broader market outside of education.

“If you look at industries, whether it’s computer industry, telecommunications, semiconductor, scopes sell into every market sector,” said Hancock. “[For example,] the masters capability is a perfect tool for manufacturing, so you can have a standard or particular pulse that you want to test, and you don’t have to make detailed measurements or have someone look on screen to see if it is the right shape.”

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26 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

The new oscilloscopes are based on a custom 90nm CMOS ASIC.

Hancock expects the oscilloscopes to be around in the market for a long time to come, but says additional upgrades will be provided via firmware changes.

Agilent has rival scopes manufacturer Tektronix squarely in its sights.

“Our intent is to be number one in oscilloscopes...to have total, across the board, higher market share than Tektronix,” said Hancock. “I think it is achievable with the technology that we have in these scopes.”

The oscilloscope manufacturer certainly has the momentum.

“We are the fastest growing scope company. For the last five years we’ve grown about six percent and that’s during tough economic times. Our competitors combined have negative growth. So we have been gaining market share and it’s within sight,” Hancock claimed.

However, Hancock acknowledges that Agilent faces tough challenges from users already using Tektronix scopes and their interfaces.

“It takes time to change perceptions, to change biases for scope users,” Hancock said. “If people will talk to their fellow engineers and colleagues, and if people experience

our scopes relative to the Tektronix scopes, they’ll see what they can do.”

“Yes, the interface is different, but sit down for an hour, use the scope, get the built-in training signals, you can learn a new interface, and then be able to debug things quicker.”

Until 31 August 2011, Agilent is offering customers guaranteed satisfaction on the new oscilloscope purchases, or it will replace the units with another vendor’s scope.

Education users who purchase one or more new InfiniiVision 2000 or 3000 X-Series oscilloscopes will receive a free WaveGen built-in 20MHz function generator and a free Education Oscilloscope Training Kit per oscilloscope.

Trio Smartcal, authorised distributor of Agilent Technologies’ products in Australia, says it will offer a free extra probe for the external trigger input for purchases of the new oscilloscopes, and has also announced a trade-in offer for the 3000 X-Series. ■ Trio Smartcal 1300 853 407 www.triosmartcal.com.au

NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

VDE and TÜV, have the latest developments in IGBT switching technology and have islanding protection.

The Kinglong grid-tied inverters are transformer- and fan-less units, available in single-phase ratings to 5 kilowatts. They feature RS485 communication, thus allowing their use in both two- and three-phase systems, utilising two and three inverters respectively.

Solar power inverters POWER Protection say it now distributes an extensive range of solar power inverters from Growatt, Kinglong and CEHE. The range includes both transformer and transformer-less systems in power outputs to 1000 kilowatts.

The Growatt solar inverters range in power from 1500 watt to 17,100 with single-phase and three-phase outputs. For higher ratings, two MMPTs are available per inverter, suitable for 2 plus 2 strings for ratings of 3.6, 4.2 and 5 kilowatts.

The Growatt units incorporate high energy density solid state components, are transformer-less and do not have fans, relying instead on excellent, convection-promoting designs. They also have IP65 electronics with complete protection against ingress of dust or powerful water jets, and can be operated in ambient temperatures to 60°C. The CEHE grid-tied solar inverters have outputs ranging from 1800 watts to 1000 kilowatts, meet stringent specifications including

Power Protection 1800 623 350 www.parameters.com.au

Embedded radar system

Plastic push-pull connectors LEMO, distributed by the John Barry Group in Australia, is introducing the REDEL XP, a plastic push-pull connector which suits medical or measurement applications.

The connector system is made from Sulfone proprietary material and is resistant to sterilisation actions such as autoclave.

The latching system of the REDEL XP is embedded in the shell for increased impact resistance and

KONTRON says its 6U VPX High Performance Embedded Computer (HPEC) is being used by a client for next-gen surveillance radars.

By using Kontron’s hardware, software and design services, the client minimised time-to-market and improve application quality for its radars.

Data processing in the radar computer is handled via a cluster of Kontron 6U VPX computing blades VX6060 each with twin Intel Core i7 6U operating at 2GHz CPU frequency. For communications, the client used classic Linux and TCP or UDP sockets based on PCI Express physical layer. The socket interface is implemented as a kernel module and also manages the low level PCI Express silicon and DMA engines.

Kontron VXFabric simplifies the task of inter-system communication in VPX system architectures thanks to a set of ready to use libraries and kernel modules.

Kontron 02 9457 0047 au.kontron.com

very high contact density.

The product is available in black, white, grey, green, blue, yellow and red. Contact configurations range from 4 to 22 contacts and can be crimp or solder type. The outer shell is available in grey, black or white

colour, and the grip design is easy for surgeons and medical staff to hold and use.

According to John Barry Group, the flexibility of its design allows any manufacturer of electrical devices to keep a minimum stock of sub-compo- >

Wireless Solution BREAKTHROUGH! E Durable and Stable under severe circumstance E Environmentally Friendly E Fast Development Contact us at: Ginsei Sangyo Co., Ltd.

TEL: +81 3 3356 5715 Email: sales@ginsei-jp.com www.ginsei-jp.com

www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 27

NOMINATIONS CLOSE ON 1 JULY 2011

Envision, Develop, Design Your Future

FUTURE AWARDS Electronics News 7th annual awards program.

The Electronics News Future Awards is the prestigious electronics industry awards program that recognises excellence in the Australian electronics industry. If you or your company have developed products that help enable modern lifestyles within the following categories, then be sure and nominate yourself today!

Be recognised for your contribution to the Australian electronics landscape

Nomination kit available online 2011 CATEGORIES Enter online www.electronicsnews.com.au/awards

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NOMINATION & EVENT INFORMATION Contact: Margaret Tra P: (02) 9422 2759 E: margaret.tra@reedbusiness.com.au

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NEW PRODUCTS

REDEL XP, ENABLING NEW CONNECTIONS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

nents that can generate a large range of final connector assemblies.

John Barry Group 02 9355 2300 www.lemo.com

Digital isolators ELEMENT14, previously Farnell, has released Analog Devices’ iCoupler technology which provides a digital isolation option to traditional optocoupler based solutions.

Analog Devices iCoupler digital isolators combine proprietary chip-scale micro-transformer technology, analogue and mixed-signal circuits, as well as high-speed CMOS. element14 claims they are devices with significant system level integration and functional advantages over other digital isolators and optocouplers.

The iCoupler digital isolators portfolio is said to be the broadest in the industry and includes standard digital isolators, digital isolators with isoPower, digital isolators with integrated PWM controller and transformer driver, USB 2.0 compatible isolators, isolated gatedrivers, isolated I2C digital isolators, isolated RS-485 transceivers, isolated RS-232 devices, and isolated sigma-delta ADCs. The ADuM347x Family are quad-channel, digital isolators with an integrated PWM controller and transformer driver for isolated DC-to-DC conversion.

The DC-to-DC converter provides up to 2 W of regulated, isolated power at 3.3V to 24V from a 5.0V input supply or from a 3.3V supply.

The chip-scale transformer technology is used to isolate the logic signals, and the integrated transformer driver with isolated secondary side control provides higher efficiency for the isolated DC-to-DC converter.

The ADuM3160 and ADuM4160 are single package USB isolation solutions.

They are fully isolated to 1.5Mbps and 12Mbps and have been developed to lower system

Entry-level IR camera FLIR Systems has released the i3 infrared camera with a low price, hoping to increase the uptake of infrared imaging.

Prices for infrared cameras have falling in recent times as the technology matures for the mass commercial markets.

FLIR says the i3 is pocket-sized, weighing in at 340g.

The unit is suited for new adopters, with a very simple menu operation, and image storage in JPEG format for easy sharing.

The camera produces instant, point-and-shoot infrared imagery.

Up to 5000 images can be saved onto the included MicroSD card.

The FLIR i3 measures temperatures up to +250°C and detects temperature differences as small as 0.15° C, displayed on the camera’s bright 2.8” LCD display.

Because the i3 is a non-contact IR camera, it is 100% safe for engineers to carry out inspection tasks avoiding potential injuries from arc-flash.

A new connector from the original Push-Pull manufacturer.

REDEL XP Series Patented Push-Pull system Sterilisable Solder, crimp and print contacts 4 to 22 contacts Gray, black or white outershell Colour coding: red, gray, white, black, green, blue, yellow 100% scoop proof ergonomic design & comfortable grip

FLIR Systems Australia 03 9550 2800 www.flir.com

cost, lessen design time, and allow more compact systems.

The ADuM4160 offers 5kV rms isolation that is ideal for medical applications as well as applications in harsh industrial environments.

The ADuM3160 offers 2.5kV rms isolation and electrically isolates instrumentation and controls by protecting equipment from damaging surges or spikes. element14 1300 361 005 www.element14.com

New support on MCU development kit KEIL, distributed by Embedded

Logic Solutions, has announced that it now provides support for the STMicroelectronics STM32 F-2 MCU series in its MDK-ARM microcontroller development kit.

The STMicroelectronics STM32F2xx series combines an adaptive real-time memory accelerator, up to 1MB Flash, Ethernet MAC, USB 2.0 HS OTG, camera interface, and integrated encryption technology.

Based on a 120MHz ARM Cortex-M3 processor, the series achieves 150 Dhrystone MIPS with 188μA/MHz of dynamic power consumption.

The latest releases of Keil’s MDK-ARM supports all STM32 F-2 devices and includes set-up files, device-specific views, and example projects.

The microcontroller development kit features the industrystandard compiler from ARM, >

®

®

Australian REDEL Distributor John Barry Group Pty Ltd

Tel: Fax: Email: Web:

02 9355 2300 02 9355 2381 lemo@johnbarry.com.au www.lemo.com

www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 29

NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

400Hz through to 10kHz. Accuracy is maintained at 1min +/- 1 lsb. Programmable resolution is at 10, 12 14 and 16 bits.

The SB-3660xUx test system also supplies an inbuilt 2VA power oscillator to support 2 to 32 Vrms and 20 to 122Vrms from 400Hz through to 10kHz in 1 Hz Steps.

Included with the system is an application for Windows or Linux operating systems, which allows the user to display the angle and velocity of both channels simultaneously and to change resolution and bandwidth as well as set up the reference oscillator output.

Solder recovery system UPTON Australia is distributing the EVS 9000 solder recovery system.

The EVS International machine has a capacity of 20kg, and is able to de-dross large wave soldering machines in a single operation.

The EVS 9000 has integrated hopper for safe, simple and rapid transfer of dross. The machine provides a cleaner wave with less maintenance, less downtime and a reduction in shorts and bridging.

The process uses heat and pressure inside a magnetized cylinder to separate and return pure solder into an ingot tray. The remainder of the material is automatically ejected down a sealed chute into a dross bucket.

Tests have found the recovered pure solder is exactly the same specification as the solder in the WSM pot.

The system can recover 50 to 70 percent pure solder from dross, allowing users to save on solder costs.

Upton Australia (03) 9738 2224 www.uptonaustralia.com.au

the Keil μVision4 IDE, RTX RTOS, and analysis tools. It is specifically optimised for single-chip, high performance devices such as the STM32 F-2 family.

DATA Device Corporation, represented by Allied Data Systems has introduced the SB-3660xUx synchro and resolver to USB converter.

The unit provides a USB interface for 2 channels of synchro and resolver conversion. It operates in temperatures from zero to 71°C. Allied Data Systems says while DDC released the product, the IP 30 APRIL 2011 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Industrial automation ATX motherboard ICP Electronics Australia has released IEI’s IMBA-G410 ATX motherboard for industrial automation and security networking applications.

The motherboard supports the LGA775 Intel Core2 Duo/Quad processor with 800/1066/1333MHz

Embedded Logic Solutions 02 9899 1703 www.emlogic.com.au

Synchro and resolver to USB converter

Allied Data Systems 02 9997 8844 www.allieddata.com.au

Front Side Bus. The Intel G41 chipset on the motherboard allows up to 8GB of dual channel DDR3 1066MHz memory, with data transfer at twice the rate of DDR2.

An integrated Intel GMA X4500 graphics card handles massive computing and visual workloads, while preserving power efficiency.

The motherboard includes an array of expansion slots including PCIe x16 and PCIe x4, and also offers TPM V1.2 hardware security function and One Key Recovery.

ICP Electronics Australia 02 9457 6011 sales@icp-australia.com.au

DC power supply for harsh applications AUTOMATED Control Engineering (ACE) and FEAS have introduced the SNT8024 switch mode DC power supply for use in harsh industrial environments.

The power supply unit has a nominal output voltage of 24VDC and the short circuit proof output of this model can be adjusted from 22.5 to 30.0VDC, with a nominal output current of 3.0Amp. The unit has an operating temperature range of -30°C to +70°C. It can be installed onto DIN rail or via panel mounting.

The output is separated according to VDE 0551, and the power supply has extra low safety potential PELV (EN 60204), SELV (EN 60950).

Automated Control Engineering 02 4954 5004 www.aceg.com.au

Top Tweets originates from Australia, and the system was designed and manufactured locally.

Each channel can be individually programmed for input voltages from 0.3V to 90V RMS Line to Line in synchro, Resolver or Sin/Cos format.

The Synchro test system comes in two bandwidths that allows operation from 47Hz through to 10 kHz with the low bandwidth from 47Hz to 5kHz and the high Bandwidth from

Electronics News is providing a running stream of news on Twitter.

Follow @ENMag on Twitter to keep informed. Here are some of the top Twitter posts in the past month: How Japan’s 2011 earthquake will impact electronics industry http://dlvr.it/K7L6M Remember that news a few weeks back about Thunderbolt? http://goo.gl/Lw3ma Canon has announced it will use it too! http://goo.gl/gT1oo A vision of electronics-imbued glass [Video] http://dlvr.it/Jm8TD GPC Electronics fully operational after Christchurch quake http://dlvr.it/HwNM3 The future of printed electronics http://dlvr.it/HDPXM

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We offer great value-added services such as local, free re-reeling, cut-to-length cable and peel packaging.

We also offer a leading information portal and community website for design engineers developed to bridge the information divide in the electronics design industry.Visit our website today!

ASD TECHNOLOGY www.asdtech.com.au ASD Technology is a premier supplier of quality RF/ Microwave, Millimeterwave, Fiber Optics and Satcom components and subassemblies. Our products include Amplifiers, Antennas, Attenuators, Adapters, Cable Assemblies, Circulators, Coaxial Connectors, Directional Couplers, Filters, Fiber Optic Links, Isolators, Limiters, Mixers, Noise Sources, Oscillators, Phase Shifters, Power Dividers Combiners, Splitters, Synthesizers, Switches, Terminations, Waveguide Components and more.

FLUKE CALIBRATION www.fluke.com.au Fluke Calibration is a leader in precision calibration instrumentation and software for electrical, temperature, pressure, flow, and RF measurements. Calibration products from Fluke are found in calibration facilities around the world, including National Metrology Institutes, that demand the highest levels of performance and reliability, backed by state of the art metrology and uncompromising support.

M Rutty & Co www.mrutty.com.au "Companies include Portescap miniature & speciality motors, Dunkermotoren advanced motion solutions, Mavilor - AC/DC motors and drives, Italtronic DIN rail enclosures and Bivar PCB hardware. Specializing in subracks & innovative high quality 19" enclosures".

SATCAM www.satcam.com.au Quick Circuit from SATCAM allows you to make your own prototype circuit boards • circuit board prototypes in hours • uses standard CAD output • mills, drills and routs – no chemicals • analog, digital, RF and microwave • engraves and mills panels • plated-through holes • LED illumination of work area • models with automatic tool change Shouldn't you have one on your bench?

Aussirad Electronics www.aussirad.com.au • Potentionmeters Omeg-Panel-switched 1/4W-100W • Rotary encoders with LED • LED 12V Lighting Colours 3W-7W with dimmable options • JoystickPosition sensors- for robots-airbag • Resistors 1/8W to greater than 5000W braking types • Capacitors –Full range • Fans 12- 24-48V dc – AC24-380Vac • Diodes- Semiconductors-mA to greater than 250A • Solar Panels on / off grid Inquiries welcome

Faraday Pty. Ltd. www.faradayshielding.biz Faraday Pty Ltd is a specialist electromagnetic shielding company, which provides design, installation, and testing of shielding systems for Industrial, Medical and Defence EMI requirements. Faraday represents pre-eminent international companies including ETS Lindgren (EMCO / RANTEC / Holaday), AR Worldwide (Amp Research / AR-modular rf), Solar Electronics and TESEO.

Lemo www.lemo.com

Koloona Industries www.koloona.com.au

High quality circular connectors with the LEMO designed push pull mating. Harsh environment connectors rated to IP68.

Plastic connectors for the medical industry.

Coaxial, triaxial, quadrax, multi contact and fibre optic connectors. LEMO is accredited with ISO9001:2000 and all connectors are RoHS compliant.

Koloona Industries is a wholly owned Australian Company who have been Importing and Distributing Electrical & Electronic Components for 30 years.

Koloona specialise in High Quality Switching and Protection Components with many supportive products to complete the range. We pride ourselves on our ability to offer quick service and full technical and application support.

Powerbox Australia www.powerbox.com.au Microchip Technology Inc. www.microchip.com/8bit • Low pin count and small form factor • Easy migration • Cost effective • Low power capability • Ease of use and quick development • Mutiple product options • Flexible flash program memory

"Powerbox suppling a wide selection of AC/DC Power Supplies, DC/DC Converters, Military Power Supply, Railway Converters, Security Power Supply, Euro Cassettes, External Power Supply, Medical Power Supply, Battery Chargers, Laboratory Power Supplies & DC/AC Inverters"

Easy access to over 350,000 Electronic, Electrical and Industrial products from over 2,500 of the world's leading manufacturers. Online users have instant stock availability and access to over 100,000 free datasheets. Delivery is free for all orders over $125 in Australia and New Zealand.

Wireless Design www.wirelessdesign.co.nz

Soanar Plus www.soanarplus.com Soanar Plus offers an on-line ordering service with more than 7,500 plus parts in stock and ready for next day delivery. Our site offers real-time pricing and availability, broken pack quantities, side by side comparison and datasheets. This website complements our FREE catalogue.

RS Components www.rsaustralia.com www.rsnewzealand.com

TekMark Australia Pty Ltd www.tekmark.net.au Authorised Distributor of Tektronix in Australia. enquiries@tekmarkgroup.com Key Products offered: Oscilloscopes • Logic Analysers • Real Time Spectrum Analysers • Signal Sources • Video Test Equipment • Access Networks’ Testers • Optical and Metallic TDR’s, Power Meters

Wireless Design provides RF testing and component solutions to the wireless industry.

• RF equipment rental (spectrum analysers, signal generators network analysers) • RF equipment sales new and used • RF components (cable assemblies, filters, RF adaptors, attenuators) • RF equipment calibration • Passive Intermodulation test equipment and components www.wirelessdesign.co.nz

www.electronicsnews.com.au APRIL 2011 31