Touchstone Semiconductor Introduces The Industry’s Only Ultra Low-Power, Load Independent, High-Efficiency Boost

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

Photo Credit: Semiconductor OnlineMilpitas, CA (PRWEB) – Touchstone Semiconductor, a leading developer of high-performance, low-power analog integrated circuit solutions, today announced the TS3300 boost regulator. The TS3300 uses only 3.5µA of supply current, and the TS3300’s efficiency performance is constant over a 100:1 span in output current. No other low power boost converter offers this level of performance.

The TS3300 is the industry’s first boost plus linear regulator that can operate from supply voltages as low as 0.6V up to 4.5V and can deliver at least 75mA of continuous output current. The TS3300 is ideally suited to be powered from a wide variety of power sources including single or multiple-cell alkaline or single Li-chemistry batteries. The boost regulator’s output voltage range can be user-set from 1.8V to 5.25V to power an entire range of low-power analog circuits, microcontrollers, and low-energy Bluetooth™ radios simultaneously. While configured to produce a 3V output from a 1.2V input source, the TS3300’s efficiency performance is constant over a 100:1 span in output current – no other low-power boost converter offers this level of performance. For powering low-energy radios, its internal, low-dropout linear regulator can deliver up to 100mA output current while reducing boost-converter-generated output voltage ripple by 3X. READ MORE

Mentor Graphics Pyxis Platform and PDK Automation Process Adopted by MagnaChip Semiconductor

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT), a leader in electronic design automation, today announced that MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (“MagnaChip”) has adopted the Pyxis(R) custom IC design platform and the Mentor(R) process design kit (PDK) automation process. MagnaChip is a leading designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high-volume consumer applications.

With significant growth in the customer base, MagnaChip added the Mentor Graphics(R) analog mixed-signal (AMS) design and verification solution that could handle a high level of mixed-signal complexity, different levels of design abstraction, and support multiple CAD tools in an integrated, unified environment. A key desired attribute was a reliable process for automating the creation of PDKs that could be easily inserted into their AMS design and verification flow.

“Pyxis expands our ability to work with multiple vendor tools with a proven process for automating the creation of PDKs, which is very important to our customers. With Mentor tools and their automated PDK creation process, MagnaChip is better positioned to serve broader customer base and expand businesses for both MagnaChip and Mentor Graphics,” said Taejong Lee, EVP and General Manager of MagnaChip’s Corporate Engineering Division.

The basic design components for analog mixed-signal IC design are delivered in the form of PDKs. Key components of the PDK are the fundamental building blocks for designing custom circuitry: transistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, inductors, etc. PDKs have various models to represent these devices; functional verification models for use in simulation, symbols for use in schematics, parameterized and fixed geometries for use in layout and physical rules for use in physical verification.

“MagnaChip is a key partner of the deep submicron division of Mentor and one whose products have a growing importance in the marketplace,” said Robert Hum, vice president and general manager, DSM division, Mentor. “We are delighted that they have chosen the Pyxis custom IC design platform and our automated PDK tools and flow.”

About Pyxis

The Pyxis custom IC platform includes integrated solutions for design capture, floorplanning, custom routing, polygon editing, physical layout, schematic-driven layout, concurrent editing and chip assembly. To help companies jump-start their design cycles and cut time-to-market, Mentor and its foundry partners have developed design kits. These kits include all the foundry-specific devices and models for use with the Pyxis custom IC design and platform. The platform supports all common commercial design kit formats plus numerous customer proprietary formats. Mentor supports OpenPDK, iPDK and other industry standards. READ MORE

Compact 800-W Programmable Power Supply Features Digital Controls

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

TDK Corp. has announced the expansion of TDK-Lambda’s Z+ Series of programmable power supplies, which now includes the new 800-W models in addition to the previously released 200- and 400-W models. These high-density, high efficiency, 2U format, bench-top and rack-mountable power supplies are designed to meet the demands of a variety of ATE, laboratory, and OEM applications, including test and measurement, semiconductor burn-in, component test, and LED/laser test. They also serve RF-amplifier, electromagnetic, and electrochemical applications.

TDK-Lambda’s new Z+800 provide 800 W of output power with a selection of output voltage ranges that cover from 0 to 100 VDC with output currents up to 72 A. The Z+ 800-W units are 66% smaller and 67% lighter than previous generations and provide a 200% increase in power density. All Z+ standard models are 3.27” high by 2.76” wide, so up to six units can be installed in the optional 19” rack housing; blanking plates are available for unused slots.

The Z+ 200-W, 400-W, 600-W, and 800-W programmable power supplies have comprehensive front panel controls with individual rotary encoders for output current and voltage. The controls also let users access power-supply settings such as OVP level, start-up mode, and remote control and monitoring of parameters. Separate 4-digit voltage and current displays are provided along with function/status LEDs, pushbuttons for output preview, output on/off, fine/coarse adjustment, and other features. Options for front panel output-jacks and multiple-unit housings are available for bench-top applications.

All Z+ models include built-in arbitrary waveform generation and storage for up to four preprogrammed functions; making them suitable for test and simulation tasks in the automotive, solar-panel and LED/laser industries, to name a few. These power supplies feature fast command processing times, output sequencing, and two programmable output pins that, for example, can be used to control isolation relays. Up to 12 voltage or current values can be programmed using the waveform creator software provided, and four waveforms can be stored in the Z+ unit’s memory. More complex waveforms can be created using NI LabVIEW. These waveforms can be either repetitive or single-shot and injected into the system under test. The results can be analyzed confirming the proper or faulty operation of the powered device or system. READ MORE

Spectro-X Simultaneously Analyzes Four RF and Microwave Spectrum Capture Files

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

X-COM Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Bird Technologies Group, has introduced Version 4.0 of its Spectro-X RF and microwave signal-analysis software—a comprehensive toolkit designed to search for and analyze signals of interest within long-duration recordings of signal activity. The new version can simultaneously analyze up to four recorded RF and microwave spectrum files with precision file alignment to plus or minus one sample. It includes multidomain correlated markers and features that make the software more versatile and easier to use.

There are many applications for Spectro-X software, including development and analysis of ELINT, SIGINT, ECM, ESM, multichannel communications, and MIMO system performance. The software can also be used for testing radar systems. The software requires no programming skills and can reduce the time required to discover RF anomalies within a complex spectral environment or to evaluate signal characteristics over time.

Spectro-X operates on files of signal activity captured over the air using a COTS signal analyzer and X-COM’s new IQC5000A Series Spectrum Capture and Playback System or on custom spectrum files created in The Mathworks’ MATLAB or other software. It has four discrete search engines (carrier, wireless standard, arbitrary waveform, and pulse) that allow users to zoom in to specific sections of a file in frequency, time, or both, to find signals of interest. Results can be exported in a file format usable by vector signal analysis software for demodulation and detailed analysis. Pulsed waveforms can be characterized by their rise and fall times, pulse width, pulse repetition interval, peak and average power, and carrier frequency.

Multichannel Capabilities

Spectro-X 4.0 now allows up to four different files recorded at different times to be aligned in time in order to make comparisons between them. For example, in a typical “threat and response” scenario on a test range, an aircraft might make four passes through the measurement area, perform the same RF or microwave functions, and be subjected to the same jamming or radar pulses each time. The operator must interpret the data from each pass to determine how the aircraft’s threat protection systems performed. In addition, Spectro-X makes it easier to identify different levels of interference that occurred during each pass. The four files can also be offset in time and compared, placing marker measurements on all four plots. This is helpful when evaluating the performance of a radar system for example, to see if it performs exactly the same way during each scan. READ MORE

Taiwan remains big semiconductor player in 2012

Posted on September 4, 2012 by

Taiwan will remain among the world’s leading semiconductor markets this year in terms of equipment and material spending, a global industry association said Tuesday.

The Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) has forecast stable growth in the global integrated circuit (IC) industry, where equipment spending is predicted to grow 2.6 percent to US$42.4 billion this year and to US$46.7 billion next year.

Material consumption in 2011 totaled US$47.9 billion and the figure is set to rise to US$49.2 billion this year, according to the association.

Over the past few years, Taiwan’s foundry operators have spent more on equipment and materials than vendors anywhere else in the world, establishing the island as the world’s most important IC market, said Clark Tseng, a senior manager of SEMI Taiwan.

“The global equipment and materials markets were robust in 2011 and 2012,” he told a pre-show press conference prior to SEMICON Taiwan, a global semiconductor trade show slated for Sept. 5-7 in Taipei.

“Taiwan meanwhile is expected to spend over US$9 billion on equipment in both 2012 and 2013, underscoring the island’s leadership status in the global IC market,” the Hsinchu-based analyst said. Read More

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Posted on August 31, 2012 by

The semiconductor – memory chips industry, which features stocks including Micron Technology Inc. and Rambus Inc., is known to be strongly cutthroat and cyclical. Lately, excess supply in the industry appears to have caused a surplus in many sectors, including NAND flash memory. However, confidence concerning next year is rising as manufacturers seem to be cutting supply. Those businesses mainly involved in the production of DRAM chips have been facing more challenges due to evolving consumer preference for tablets and other mobile devices. Read More

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Posted on August 29, 2012 by

POWAY, Calif. — Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) today announced new solutions from its Semiconductor Equipment Group for use in testing mobile devices.

The company’s proprietary T-Core thermal technology is being integrated with its Delta EDGE handler, providing a production test handling solution for the ICs that power a wide range of smart phones, tablets, and other consumer devices. In addition, the T-Core thermal subsystem can be incorporated in burn-in and system level test equipment, for cost-effective, parallel testing of hundreds of ICs.

“We are excited to bring our active thermal control technology, long considered the benchmark for testing mid and high power processors, to new applications in the rapidly-expanding mobile market” said Luis Müller, President of Cohu’s Semiconductor Equipment Group. Read More

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/08/29/4221718/cohus-semiconductor-equipment.html#storylink=cpy

6 Rallying Semiconductors with Strong Inventory Trends

Posted on August 24, 2012 by

Do you prefer investing in stocks with strong trading momentum?

We screened the semiconductors industry for those rallying above their 20-day, 50-day, and 200-day moving averages.

We then screened for stocks with strong sales trends by comparing growth in revenue to growth in inventory over the last year. We screened for stocks with positive sales trends, with faster growth in revenue than inventory over the last year. Since inventory represents the portion of goods not yet sold, faster growth in revenue than inventory is considered an encouraging sign.

To screen for strengthening liquidity, we also only focused on those companies with inventory decreasing as a percent of current assets.

For an ‪interactive version of this chart, click on the image below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.‬‬ Read More

Top 12 semiconductor foundries of 2012

Posted on August 22, 2012 by

A ranking of the forecasted top 2012 semiconductor foundries (pure-play and IDM) was released by IC Insights. TSMC is expected to remain the leading foundry, with sales almost 4x that of second-ranked GLOBALFOUNDRIES, which in turn is expected to have more than 2x the sales of the fifth-ranked foundry SMIC. Samsung is expected to be the largest of only three IDM foundries in the 2012 ranking with almost 8x the sales of IBM, its closest IDM foundry competitor.

Table. Top 12 IC foundries of 2012. SOURCE: IC Insights, company reports. Read More

2012F rank	2011 rank	Company	Foundry type	HQ	2010 sales ($M)	2011 sales ($M)	11/10 change (%)	2012F sales ($M)	12/11 change (%)
1	1	TSMC	Pure-play	Taiwan	13307	14600	10	16720	15
2	3	GLOBALFOUNDRIES	Pure-play	US	3510	3480	-1	4285	23
3	2	UMC	Pure-play	Taiwan	3965	3760	-5	3775	0
4	4	Samsung	IDM	South Korea	1205	2190	82	3375	54
5	5	SMIC	Pure-play	China	1555	1320	-15	1625	23
6	6	TowerJazz	Pure-play	Israel	510	611	20	655	7
7	7	Grace/HHNEC (2012 merger)	Pure-play	China	630	565	-10	605	7
8	8	Vanguard	Pure-play	Taiwan	508	519	2	540	14
9	9	Dongbu	Pure-play	South Korea	475	500	5	540	8
10	10	IBM	IDM	US	430	420	-2	435	4
11	13	WIN (GaAs)	Pure-play	Taiwan	221	298	35	425	43
12	11	MagnaChip	IDM	South Korea	405	350	-14	375

UNH Ethernet testbed launches new consortium

Posted on August 20, 2012 by

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an Ethernet testbed, has created a new consortium to help semiconductor businesses address the automotive industry’s requirement of in-vehicle networking.

The group has launched the Automotive Ethernet Consortium, a group that works with its member companies in the auto industry to test various methods that will promote automotive Ethernet devices, the IOL said Monday.

Need for the industry-supported consortium was created because of the integration of applications including advanced navigation and voice recognition, on-board diagnostics and other features in vehicles. As members of the consortium, semiconductor companies can test whether their chips meet the requirements of the BroadR-Reach standard, which allows multiple car systems to access and share information over a single pair, unsheilded cable.

The standard could potentially decrease the cost of connectivity by 80 percent, and the weight of cabling by up to 30 percent because, according to the UNH-IOL, the standard uses one pair of cables and can rely on the same connectors and cables used by other networking technologies in the car. Read More