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www.newelectronics.co.uk
isit www.newelectronics.co.uk/forum and join the discussion 9 April 2013
Focusing on the detailsDigital optical microscopy will help to answer fundamental questions about materials
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Contents Vol 46 No 7
9 April 2013 3www.newelectronics.co.uk
Got a problem? Seeif the Forum canhelp you solve it
Comment 5
Forty years of the
technology you
never knew you
needed
News 6
Peratech looks to
adapt its QTC
technology to suit
printed electronics
Cisco set to buy
small cell specialist
Ubiquisys for
$310million
ARM and TSMC tape
out the first Cortex-
A57 processor
based on a 16nm
FinFET process
Europe should take
advantage of the
opportunities which
the Internet of
Things will present,
says keynote
speaker at DATE
The most popular
items from the
New Electronics
website
C o v e r : I B M Z
u r i c h
www .n e w e l e c t r o ni c s . c o .uk / f o r u
m
30
24
18
6
14
Interview 12
Onwards and upwards
Plextek Group chairman Colin Smithers says that, after morethan 20 years as a design consultancy with many strings to
its bow, it’s time for the company to move forward
Cover Story 14
Focusing on the details
The microscope is one of science’s oldest tools, yet digital
optical microscopy is set to help researchers answers some
fundamental questions in a range of fields
Aerospace 18
Flying the funky stuff
An all British satellite project featuring experimental UK
technology is nearing completion. Eight payloads are set to
enter orbit later this year on a three year mission
Digital Design 21
Security is key
Built in crypto functions could help the industry to extend trust
into the supply chain and combat the growing threat posed bycounterfeit components
Programmable Platforms 24
Small is beautiful
There’s plenty of opportunity for small scale programmable
logic devices, claims this developer, as it launches its smallest
part – not only in terms of capacity, but also of size
Communications Test 27
Ready for the callThe automotive eCall system will be mandatory in cars sold
in Europe after 2014, but what’s in the system and how
extensive is the testing regime?
Engineering MAnagement 30
Ticking the boxes
When elements of a design change, can you ensure the
changes have been applied to all the relevant parts of the
system – and can you prove it?
8/9/2019 New Electronics - 9 April 2013
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Comment
It’s hard to believe the first mobile phone call was made 40 years ago;the technology continues to feel as though it’s a recent development.
Yet, four decades ago, an engineer made that call using a prototypeversion of the Motorola DynaTAC. If you believe Wikipedia, the call reachedthe wrong number. Neverthless, it connected and the rest, as they say, ishistory. But what a history.
Getting to that first mobile phone call had taken many years. Althoughcar phones were in use in the US and the UK, these large and heavysystems remained tethered to the car.
Bell had already launched a commercial system using cellular
principles in 1969. The service, which was available on trains runningbetween Washington and New York, used trackside hardware to switchcalls and demonstrated some of the principles involved in handing callsover and frequency management.
It took another 10 years before the problem of handing over mobilephone calls was solved satisfactorily – systems engineers finally realisedthat mobile phone users were upwardly mobile in a number of senses.While handing calls over between cells worked well enough if you were onthe street, it wasn’t so good if you were up a New York skyscraper. Asusers moved around, their phones linked with different cells – but not theones which the network expected. If a call linked to an unexpected cell, it
dropped out. That brought finer granularity to the cellular network, but italso created backhaul problems.
When the first commercial mobile phone call was made in Chicago in1983, early adopters needed deep pockets – the production version of theDynaTAC carried a price tag of $3995.
In three decades, the mobile phone has gone from a novelty to anessential tool: those who weren’t born when the mobile phone reached theUK in 1985 probably cannot imagine life without one. It would take a verybrave person to predict what the mobile phone will be capable of inanother 30 years.
Graham Pitcher, Group Editor ([email protected])
www.newelectronics.co.uk
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8/9/2019 New Electronics - 9 April 2013
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News Printed Electronics
Preparing for printingResearch project adapts QTC materials to printed
electronics. Graham Pitcher reports.
Peratech is working with the Centre for
Process Innovation (CPI) to develop newformulations for its QTC materials. Theproject, supported by the Technology
Strategy Board, will establish if existingcommercial printing machinery can beused to print a new generation of printable
electronics, including QTC sensors.“The next innovation in electronics is
being able to print complete circuitassemblies as this reduces unit costsdramatically,” explained David Lussey,Peratech’s cto. “Both active and passive
components are being printed onto paper, textiles and plastics using flexographic printing processes. Theresearch project with CPI is designed to create QTC ink formulations that can be used in this and similarprinting processes so that QTC pressure sensors and switches can be incorporated into these next
generation, printed electronic circuits.”The research project with CPI is halfway to completion, with several promising formulations being tested.
The first run of printed QTC electronics using a standard flexographic press was completed in February. “The
beauty of working with CPI is it has a development print line, so new formulations can be tested andfeedback is available immediately,” added Lussey. “This is very important as it enables us to experimentwith printing the new formulations on different types of materials.”
Nigel Perry, CPI’s ceo, added: “Our joint research on QTC print ink for volume printed electronics will openits use up for a huge number of possible applications. We have already shown that printing does not need tobe done in proper cleanroom conditions, which reduces the production costs even more.”
Cutting LED costs
The University of Cambridge has opened a£1million facility aimed at reducing the cost of manufacturing gallium nitride leds.
“A 48W led lightbulb made from GaN onsapphire leds costs about £15,” said Professor SirColin Humphreys, from Cambridge University’sDepartment of Materials Science and Metallurgy.“The research we have performed on GaN onsilicon leds, plus that which we will carry out inthis new reactor, means people will be able to buyan led bulb for just £3.”
Prof Humphreys also believes GaN couldreplace silicon in power electronics devices. “If
we can replicate these devices using GaN, webelieve we could make them 40% more efficient.”
Cisco to buy Ubiquisys
Cisco is to buy Ubiquisys, the Swindon basedsmall cell specialist, for $310million. The move issaid by Cisco to reinforce its capability to delivermobile internet networks.
Kelly Ahuja, general manager of Cisco’s MobilityBusiness Group, said: “By acquiring Ubiquisys, weare expanding on our current mobility leadershipand our end to end product portfolio.”
Ubiquisys has focused on small cellcommunications and on intelligent software forlicensed 3G and LTE spectrum. It believes this,coupled with Cisco’s mobility portfolio and Wi-Fiexpertise, will support the transition to nextgeneration radio access networks.
Weightless 1.0 ratified
Version 1.0 of the Weightless machinecommunications standard has been ratified atthe Weightless SIG’s fourth Plenary Conference.
“We are delighted to have reached this seminalmoment for machine communications,” saidProfessor William Webb, ceo of the Weightless SIG.“This technology can enable the tens of billions of connections forecasted over the next decade.”
At the terminal level, data rates ranging from1kbit/s to 10Mbit/s are possible, with packetsizes ranging from 10byte with no upper limit.Acknowledged and unacknowledged messagetransmission modes are supported and there isa multicast call capability.
At the network level, scheduling will allowtransmissions to be planned, resulting in highloading efficiency. Frequency hopping andintelligent frequency planning will maximisethroughput, says the body. Modulation schemesand spreading factors will enable 5km coverageto indoor terminals, it adds.For more, go to weightless.org
Briefs
Azio has launched the first interface board for thenon profit open source Myriad RF project. Myriad RF
was launched in March by Lime Microsystems toencourage innovation in the sector.
The DEO-Nano interface board connects to the
Myriad-RF 1 board, allowing designers to use
Altera’s Cyclone IV fpgas in Myriad RF projects. Italso provides a USB connector for pcs and
Raspberry Pi.Meanwhile, Azio says the first 250 customers for
the Myriad-RF 1 will be entered into a draw for a free
DEO-Nano. For more, go to www.azio-tw.com
First interface board launched for Myriad RF community
Bio-battery breakthrough
Researchers from the University of East Anglia have shown that it is
possible for bacteria to lie directly on the surface of a metal or mineral
and to transfer electrical charge through their cell membranes. The
team believes this could bring efficient microbial fuel cells or ‘bio
batteries’ a step closer.
Lead researcher Dr Tom Clarke said: “We knew that bacteria could
transfer electricity into metals and minerals and that the interaction
depends on special proteins on the surface of the bacteria. Our
research shows these proteins can ‘touch’ the mineral surface directly
and produce an electric current, meaning that is possible for the
bacteria to lie on the surface of a metal or mineral and conduct
electricity through their cell membranes.”
9 April 20136 www.newelectronics.co.uk
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ARM Processor News
FET accompli?ARM and TSMC tape out FinFET based Cortex-A57.
Graham Pitcher reports.
ARM and TSMC have made the first tape out of
an ARM Cortex-A57 processor which featuresFinFET process technology. This is said by thecompanies to be the first milestone in their
collaboration to optimise the 64bit ARMv8processor series on a FinFET process. The testchip was implemented using a commercially
available 16nm FinFET tool chain and designservices provided by TSMC’s Open Innovation
Platform (OIP) ecosystem and ARM ConnectedCommunity partners.
“This first ARM Cortex-A57 processorimplementation paves the way for our mutual
customers to leverage the performance and power efficiency of 16nm FinFET technology,” claimed TomCronk, general manager of ARM’s processor division. “This joint effort ... demonstrates the strongcommitment to provide industry leading technology for customer designs to benefit from our latest 64bit
ARMv8 architecture, big.LITTLE processing and POP IP across a variety of market segments.”The Cortex-A57 processor, ARM’s highest performing processor to date, is targeted at compute intensive
applications such as high end computers, tablets and servers. The processor was taken from RTL to tape out in
six months using ARM Artisan physical IP, TSMC memory macros and eda technologies enabled by the OIPdesign ecosystem.
“Our collaboration with ARM continues to deliver advanced technologies to enable market leading SoCs
across mobile, server and enterprise infrastructure applications,” said Dr Cliff Hou, TSMC’s vice president of R&D. “This achievement demonstrates that next generation ARMv8 processor is FinFET ready for TSMC’sadvanced technology.”
www.newelectronics.co.uk
9 April 2013 7www.newelectronics.co.uk
Hybrid ribbons of vanadium oxide and graphenecould represent the best electrode yet for lithium-ion
batteries. A team from Rice University in the US foundthat cathodes made from the material could becharged and discharged in 20s, while retaining more
than 90% of their initial capacity after 1000 cycles.
“This is the direction in which battery research isgoing, not only for high energy density but also for
high power density,” said materials scientist PulickelAjayan. The ribbons’ ability to be dispersed in asolvent might also make them suitable as a
component in paintable batteries.
Hybrid graphene ribbons set to boost battery efficiency
Tektronix makes move into power analysis
Tektronix has launched the PA4000, its first dedicated power analyser. Dave Mehta, the company’stechnical marketing manager, said: “Many customers use our tools, scopes and probes for poweranalysis in the R&D environment, but need to do precompliance testing and take other measurements.They were looking for a power analyser solution from us and, rather than reinventing the wheel, webought the IP from Voltech.”
The PA4000 debuts the ‘Spiral Shunt’ design,which provides a way to take stable, precise currentmeasurements on highly distorted powerwaveforms. There are two Spiral Shunts on each
channel – one for measurements up to 1A, the otherfor up to 30A. This shunt design is then combinedwith dsp algorithms, allowing the PA4000 to trackpower cycles accurately, even in the presence of transients and noise.
Bright lights at Forum
A recent event held at the Williams F1 ConferenceCentre highlighted the growing success of eventsthat bring focused technical presentations to arelevant audience. The event – LED Design andLighting Design – was attended by more than100 delegates, whose spheres of interest rangedfrom automotive and aerospace to electronicsequipment manufacture.
The stand out presentation came from TonyArmstrong, Linear Technology’s director of product marketing (power), who flew in from theUS to open the forum with a presentationhighlighting the protection which LEDs require to
achieve the right temperature and colour.Fortronics’ marketing director Harvey Osborncommented: “Despite local weather issues andother events running on the same day, wedelivered our most successful event to date. Thekey to the event’s success is to carefully selectboth sponsors and attendees – matchmaking, if you like – and it works.”
The next forum – RF and Wireless– takesplace at the Williams F1 Centre on 25 June. Formore about the event, go to www.fortronicuk.com
Developing delays
A team from Georgia Tech has developed an ultra
compact passive true time delay. ResearcherRyan Westafer said: “Most true time delayequipment uses long electromagnetic delay lines– comparable to coaxial cables – that take up alot of space.”
Georgia Tech’s solution uses acoustic delaylines embedded within thin film materials. Thecomponent can, says Westafer, be madethousands of times smaller than an electricaldelay line design and can be readily integratedon top of semiconductor substrates.
Charging lifetime
extended
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Materialand Beam Technology IWS have developed atechnology that increases the charging life of alithium-sulphur battery by a factor of seven.
“We have managed to extend the lifespan of lithium-sulphur button cells to 1400 cycles,” saidDr Holger Althues, head of IWS’ chemical surfacetechnology group. The prototype anode is madefrom a silicon-carbon compound, which changesless during each charging process than metalliclithium. This avoids the l iquid electrolytebreaking down as quickly.
In the long term, IWS expects lithium-sulphurbatteries to reach an energy density of 600Wh/kg.
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In the emerging world of the internet of things (IoT),the smartphone looks set to become our generalpurpose person-to-person and person-to-(smart)
machine interface. Yet, according to BenedettoVigna, executive vice president with STMicroelectronics, the smartphone of the future will
be a distributed device; with microphones andspeakers in our glasses or ear wear, displays on oursleeves, accelerometers in our jewellery and solar
rechargeable batteries in our clothing.In his keynote address to last month’s DATE
Conference in Grenoble, Vigna highlighted the
technologies critical to the integration of MEMSbased sensors with traditional microelectronics in3d packaging. He believes that Europe, with its
strength in MEMS, is in a good position to get aheadin this race. He identified four key areas where
MEMS can contributeto the IoT: motion;
acoustic;environmental; andmicroactuation.
“A new acoustic erais coming,” he claimed,“with contextual and
geolocalised audiocontent.” He envisages
augmented sensorbased applications.“Indoor navigation willrely on a combination
of gyroscope,accelerometer,pressure sensors (for
altitude changes) and gps to specify preciselocation, with speech to alert the user.”
However, despite the potential of a range of
smart applications, there are challenges – rf connectivity needs to be better integrated withaugmented sensors and the server infrastructure
needs further development to supportinterconnected ‘smart’ environments.
Vigna asked: “How much of this will happen and
how fast? It depends on us and the technology.”And, with the success of Apple’s iPhone technologyin prompting the mass take up of accelerometers,
he added: “We need the right people in the supplychain to get things going and get them accepted.”
Energy efficiency was a key theme at this year’s
DATE conference. Keynoter Massoud Pedram, fromthe University of Southern California, spoke at the
macro level on how nations can minimiseemissions through information and
communications technology (ICT). He believes ICTcan improve efficiency in a range of market sectorsand reduce energy consumption in data centres by
moving from performance driven design to a focuson adaptive voltage supply levels and near subthreshold computing.
Continuing the theme of energy efficientcomputing was John Goodacre, director of technology and systems at ARM, who made a
keynote on day two of the event. He said ARM hasalways positioned multicore as a power efficiencysolution, not a high performance one. “But the IT
industry has always considered it a performanceplay,” he said. Now, with power efficiency having a
higher priority than server performance, ARMbelieves the time is right for it to make moves intothe server, HPC and IoT markets.
ARM’s move to address 64bit processing via its
v7 compatible v8 core design is said to enable itsconcept of a scalable unified architecture, in whichenergy efficient, multiple clusters of cores can be
used for higher performance applications.Meanwhile, DATE allowed local company Docea
Power to demonstrate its latest power and thermal
analysis tools – Aceplorer 3.1 andAceThermalModeler 2.0 – which can be usedthroughout the design process. Aceplorer 3.1
features a solver for coupled power and thermaltransient simulations, plus a communicationsprotocol to enable cosimulation with virtual
platforms and performance analysis tools.The tools recognise that power optimisation in
SoC, 3d package and system in package design has
become highly specialised. Sales and marketingdirector Ridha Hamza noted: “We used to be indiscussion with the system architect about power
and thermal challenges, but now these samecompanies have teams of power architects.”
News Analysis Conference Report
9 April 20138 www.newelectronics.co.uk
Little things mean a lotEurope should take advantage of the Internet of Things,
says keynoter. Louise Joselyn reports from Grenoble.
Vigna: “How
much of this
will happen and
how fast? It
depends on us
and the
technology.”
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Most popular news on the web
9 April 201310 www.newelectronics.co.uk
Magazine contactsNew Electronics Tel: 01322 221144Fax: 01322 221188 [email protected]
Group Editor
Graham Pitcher [email protected]
Deputy Editor
Web Editor
Laura [email protected]
Contributing Editors
David BoothroydChris EdwardsLouise JoselynRoy [email protected]
Art EditorMartin [email protected]
Illustrator
Phil Holmes
Sales Manager
Mason [email protected]
Sales Executive
James Slade [email protected]
Publisher
Peter Ring [email protected]
Executive Director
Production Controller
Nicki [email protected]
Represented in Japan by:
Shinano International: Kazuhiko Tanaka,Akasaka Kyowa Bldg, 1-6-14 Akasaka,Minato-Ku, Tokyo 107-0052Tel: +81(0)3 3584 6420
New Electronics, incorporating ElectronicEquipment News and Electronics News, ispublished twice monthly byFindlay Media Ltd, Hawley Mill, HawleyRoad, Dartford, Kent, DA2 7TJ
Copyright 2013 Findlay Media.
Annual subscription (22 issues)UK £108. Overseas £163. Airmail is £199.
ISSN 0047-9624
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News
Blogs Technology
White Papers
Videos
IBM says so-long to silicon?An alternative technology to silicon-based devices is beingresearched by IBM 48735
2. SiTime enters smartphonemarket with its first MEMSoscillator 48838
3. Renesas selects ARM’sbig.LITTLE processor for new
automotive SoC 48801
4. Graphene ribbons could boostefficiency of Li-ion batteries 48853
5. Microwave screening materialmay enable non invasive sensingdevices 48770
6. Introducing Fuel, claimed to bethe world’s smallest smartphonecharger 484877
7. TI's bq2419x family of batterycharger ics reduces charge time
of smartphones by 50%. 48794
Flogging a dead horse
Was Didier Lamouche, ST-Ericsson’s former ceo, tired of
flogging a dead horse? 48677
Is Warren East the retiring type?
Is ARM’s leader stepping downinorder to step up somewhere
else? 48621
Is Altera the first of some 'big
name' foundry deals for Intel?
Intel appears to be entering thefoundry business in a meaningfulfashion 48485
Cadence looks to knock
Synopsys off its IP perch
Cadence could offer customerscustomised IP, tailored to theirspecific requirements 48499
Advent of 4G looks set to
disgruntle Freeview users
Will the new 4G multimedia
services impact on those who relyon digital terrestrial TV? 48789
Improvements still needed to
make LEDs more efficient
Two recent developments aim tomake LEDs more efficient 48779
Embedded PMBus simplifies
complex power systems
Managing complex powerrelationships 48784
A new twist to optical comms
An optical component that can
detect twisted light could lead tomuch higher capacity opticaltransmission systems 48776
1Real time challenges andopportunities in SoCsSilicon convergence affectingreal time design 48715
Energy in inductive sensingApplications to show how
these systems work. 48769
Mobile OS trendsIntel looks at OS trends 48435
Adding class D audioSiLabs tells you how to add class Daudio to embedded systems. 48886
How to add a mobile phoneUI to your Raspberry PiInterface options when a screen
and keyboard are not a practicalsolution 48840
Circular placement formulti-channel designsHow to reuse circuit blocks that
repeat in a circular fashion 48649
Ceramic speaker driverwith ALC demoDemo of the LM48560 Class Hboosted speaker driver 48645
NXP unveils smart wirelesscharging demonstratorThe device triggers wake-up, so athe charging pad remains switched
off when not in use 48572
Forum
Connector conundrum
I will be designing a PCB with 30
digital inputs and 6 outputs. What
type of PCB connector can I use to
connect all peripheral I/O to limit
switches?
www.newelectronics.co.uk/forum
8. Cree’s XLamp CXA family breaks10,000lumen barrier withintegrated led arrays 48822
9. Third generation MEMSoscillators offer lowest levels of
jitter 48768
10. Researchers make advancetowards bio-batteries 48771
To read these items online, go to www.newelectronics.co.uk and type in the article number
1
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Colin Smithers
Colin Smithers, chairman of the Plextek
Group and one of its three cofounders, has
been involved with radio and electronics
projects for more than 30 years. He
maintains an active role in guiding the
de velopment of custom product and system
solutions.
Prior to founding Plextek, he spent four years
with PA Consulting Group and before that he
worked for Philips, where he completed his
PhD in linear power amplifiers.
8/9/2019 New Electronics - 9 April 2013
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Interview Colin Smithers
When is a design consultancy not a design consultancy? That’s the
problem with which Plextek has been wrestling for some years.
Established in 1989, the company has grown to become one of
the leaders in its chosen field. But as it has added more strings to its bow, in
the view of group chairman Colin Smithers, it kept ‘bumping into itself’.
The solution? At the beginning of 2013, it formed the Plextek Group toseparate the consultancy from the various businesses created along the
way. The move is intended to catalyse the growth of the business by giving
each spin-off a greater focus, whilst fostering a culture dedicated to
innovation within the core consultancy business.
“We spent our first 10 years as a consultancy,” Smithers recalled,
“working at every level. But things burst and we had to ask ourselves what to
do next.” A big design win at the time was for the LoJack stolen vehicle
recovery system. “We worked this into a full supply contract,” said Smithers.
“We only needed to add one person to the staff, but it increased our turnover
fourfold. We held the sole contract for seven years, even displacing Motorola,
and saw five million devices enter the market. Few other companies have
managed to do that.”Other ventures followed, including the Blighter radar surveillance
system, RedCloud and Iceni, focusing on cashless money transfer, RedTail
Telematics and Telensa, a street lighting control specialist. And the
establishment of Plextek RF Integration will take advantage of its rf design
expertise.
Plextek experienced a slow period in 2003, when a third of its workforce
was ‘underused’, according to Smithers. This gave the opportunity to
develop Blighter. “We thought of it as a way to use our resources,” Smithers
explained, “but it was part of a longer term plan; it can take a decade to get
a product like that accepted for operational tests.” And only recently has
Blighter begun to match up to earlier expectations.
By 2008, Plextek was navigating the third recession in its history. “It
was just as difficult as the others,” Smithers said, “but it’s lasted longer andhas been challenging for all markets. It has taken a bit of thinking to get
through it.”
Smithers said the new structure is a recognition of the company
‘growing up’. “It’s a fact that we have 100 engineers focused on
communications and there’s only so much going on in that sector. It’s also
an emulation, to a certain extent, of the Cambridge model.
“We needed to simplify the structure of the business,” he reflected.
“Until now, we have been a consulting organisation selling things like radar
systems. Our businesses are now mature enough to be separated out; not
only in structure, but also in their identity. We’ve spent three or four years
getting things ready and now it’s time to move forward.” The result, he
believes, is not only a consulting entity, but also a portfolio business. “To
some extent,” he contended, “you could regard the move as a deliberate
generation of internal customers.”
He asserts the creation of spin-offs has been the right way to go. “We
developed an ultranarrow band (UNB) communication technology,” he
pointed out, “and have applied that to controlling street lights. Setting up
Telensa turned out to be completely the right decision; it’s now winning morethan 50% of all tenders for street lighting control and it’s all based on UNB.
Similarly, the RFIC group has matured to the point where its business is clear.”
As part of the restructuring, Simon Cassia has assumed the chief
executive role for Plextek’s consulting business. He said there’s plenty of
business out there, but added the
nature of the work is changing.
“Plextek Consulting is still the
largest part of the Group; it has
around 70 people and makes
around 55% of the contribution to
the bottom line.”
The fact that consultingrepresents the largest part of the
Plextek Group is not an accident.
Cassia says there is ‘plenty of
business’ out there. “But the
nature of the business is changing. Because the UK consulting base can
only service a certain size of business, we need to develop capabilities in
other technologies, markets and countries.
“We have a solid business in design, build and manufacture,” Cassia
claimed. “The opportunity for us now is to expand into systems and
solutions. To do that, we need to further develop our capabilities and our
new management structure will allow us to expand what we have without
losing our focus on design and manufacture.”
Growth at Plextek remains ‘organic’, said Smithers. “It’s always been thatway.” Skills have also been acquired organically. “When we started, we
didn’t have an antenna engineer,” he said, “now, we have a lot of work in that
area. It’s the same for image processing; we’ve gone from no specialists to a
complete department. One reason for this is that we have a very low
attrition rate; it’s all to do with the intellectual challenge and the working
environment,” he claimed.
Plextek has built a reputation around its communications skills and that
track record remains a useful asset. “Despite the fact that we can be
considered as focusing on niche markets, much of our business comes
from companies recommending us and it’s surprising how much of that is
general engineering,” Smithers concluded. “Our manufacturing experience
is vital in some of these areas and we have the scars.”
Smithers: “Despite the
fact that we can be
considered as focusing
on niche markets, much
of our business ... is general engineering.”
9 April 2013 13www.newelectronics.co.uk
Onwards and upwardsPlextek Group chairman Colin Smithers tells Graham Pitcher how it’s timefor the company to move forward.
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The microscope is one of science’s oldest tools for examining nature,
going back at least to the late 16th Century, with Galileo being its most
famous pioneer – he called it the ‘little eye’. For hundreds of years since,
optical microscopes have revealed a world beyond our senses, pioneering
huge areas of research and discovery. Today, there are scores of differentforms of optical microscopy and one of the most valuable recent advances –
the digital optical microscope – has been enabled by electronics. This uses a
cmos sensor or ccd to convert light into electronic signals that can be
displayed on a monitor, making eye pieces unnecessary.
But it is the use of particles other than photons – notably electrons –
together with advances in electronics and other technologies, that has
revolutionised microscopy over recent
decades. It began in the 1930s with the
development of the transmission electron
microscope (TEM), which offers far greater
resolution through the use of electrons,
rather than light, and electromagnets,instead of glass lenses. The electron beam
is passed through the sample being
studied and the electrons are reflected or
change direction. From this, an electron
micrograph can be created.
The TEM was quickly followed in 1935
by the development of the scanning
electron microscope (SEM). This
represents another whole family of
microscopes because it examines objects
by scanning the surface with a fine
electron beam as opposed to passing it
through the sample. The beam arereflected and scattered and a 3d image is
built up from this data.
Since then, a range of electron
microscope techniques have been
developed. The hallmark of them all is the extraordinary increase in resolution
they provide – in the case of TEM, down to 0.05nm, for SEM, around 0.4nm,
equivalent to a magnification factor of around 2million, and at least 1000
times greater than optical devices.
Another major branch of the microscope world is scanning force (or probe)
microscopy, which comprises more than 20 different versions. One of the
most widely used is a technology making important advances today, atomic
force microscopy (AFM), capable of resolving to a fraction of a nanometre.
Since the first commercial device was introduced in 1989, AFM has become a
key tool for imaging, measuring and manipulating matter at the nanoscale.
The AFM comprises a cantilever with a probe at its end with a radius
measured in nanometres. This scans the surface of the material being
studied. The cantilever is typically silicon or silicon nitride and piezoelectricelements make it possible to control the precise movements needed.
When the tip touches the sample, forces deflect the cantilever and from
these deflections, read by piezoelectric sensors, an image can be built. AFM
can study a whole range of forces, from basic mechanical contact force, to
van der Waals forces, capillary forces, chemical bonding, electrostatic forces,
magnetic forces and others. Usually, deflections are measured using a laser
spot reflected from the top surface of the
cantilever into an array of photodiodes,
although other methods are used like
optical interferometry or capacitive
sensing.
A variation is non contact AFM (NC-AFM), in which there is no physical contact
with the sample, a technique used by IBM
Research Zurich. Here, a current is passed
through the tip to probe the electrical
conductivity of the underlying surface. The
principles underpinning this go back to the
beginning of the 1990s, when it was
suggested that you could use frequency
modulation (FM) signals, as Leo Gross, an
IBM Research Staff Member, explains.
“You oscillate the cantilever, in our case
a tuning fork, at the resonant frequency
and as it gets close to the surface, butwithout touching it, it starts to get detuned.
In the NC-AFM that IBM uses, the resonant
frequency is around 30kHz and the shift is
of just a few Hz, but this is enough to
create an image by moving the tip of the cantilever – which consists of a
single carbon monoxide (CO) molecule – across the sample.” This makes it
possible to image the atomic structure of the sample.
A recent achievement at IBM, using NC-AFM, has been the ability to
differentiate the chemical bonds in a molecule, which differ in length by only
3picometres (3 x 10–12m), or 1% of an atom’s diameter. Bonds can be imaged
and differentiated because they exhibit different electron densities, which
show up in the images as areas of varying brightness. The results have
Cover Story Microscopy
9 April 2013 15www.newelectronics.co.uk
Focusing on the detailsDigital optical microscopy is set to answer fundamental questions in arange of fields. By David Boothroyd.
Images of a 1.4nm diameter hexabenzocoronene molecule captured
using a non contact atomic force microscope
8/9/2019 New Electronics - 9 April 2013
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advanced the exploration of molecules and
atoms at the smallest scale and could be
important for studying applications such
as graphene, organic solar cells and LEDs.
Despite its achievements, there are
limitations to AFM. One is that it is slow – recording
an AFM image of a molecule with atomic resolution
takes around 30mins.
“We are working on speeding this up, using faster sensors
with a higher resonant frequency; in the region of MHz,” Gross
says. Even real time video is becoming possible.
Another major challenge in any form of microscopy that can image
individual atoms is the need for extraordinarily precise control of the imaging
tip. This is made possible through the use of piezoelectric materials but also
critical is very low temperature operation, down to 4K,
achieved using liquid helium. IBM custom builds itssystems, but makes use of commercially available
components, from companies like SPS CreaTec.
As well as increasing the speed of image capture,
another potential advance for AFM technology is to widen
the range of sensor tips used and the classes of
molecules that are investigated, which could include
biomolecules. And a different form of NC-AFM, called
Kelvin probe force microscopy, is attracting a lot of
attention. This uses electrostatic forces, as Gross explains.
“You apply a bias between tip and sample, sweep the
bias across the sample and analyse how the force
changes. This enables you to see charge differences withinmolecules that are even smaller than electron charges.
This could be valuable to help the work going on with single electron devices,
because it can show how single electron charges are distributed and moved
within molecules.”
For an instrument that we have been using for hundreds of years, the
microscope is still proving to be a remarkable source of innovation. One
recent development that owes its emergence to advanced IT is the digital
holographic microscope. This aims to overcome limitations affecting many
microscope techniques: a tiny field of view and a shallow depth of field. This
makes it difficult to view objects where 3d information can be crucial, like
living cells.
Answer: make a hologram of the sample. This is done in the usual way, by
splitting a laser beam in two, then using one as a reference beam andreflecting the other off the sample to record the pattern of phase shifts that
this produces. A digital sensor records the data. As with any hologram,
recombining the beams produces an interference pattern that can be
analysed by a reconstruction algorithm to build a 3d image of the sample.
The holographic technique not only records variations in the intensity of
light bouncing off a sample, like conventional microscopy, but also phase
information. Thanks to image processing software, this means you can
change the depth of focus – effectively focusing after the image is recorded –
and correct optical aberrations, as well as building the 3d image.
Another surprising advantage is that holographic microscopy can be low
cost. Devices have been built for as little as $1000 and researchers at the
Kisarazu National College of Technology in Japan have gone even further.
Using a web camera, a small solid state laser,
an optical pinhole and free open source
software, they have cut the cost to $250.
What’s more, there are several similar
kinds of techniques, including interferometric
microscopy, optical coherence tomography and
diffraction phase microscopy. Common to all is the
use of a reference wave front to obtain intensity and
phase information.
There is a nice irony to this use of holography, which has so far
mostly been applied to light microscopy. That is because holography
was invented by Dennis Gabor in order to improve the electron
microscope! It did not happen in his day, but there are signs that digital
electron holography may finally work as Gabor hoped.
After photons and electrons, now we are seeing the
emergence of neutrons as data for microscopy. A newneutron microscope called Larmor is to be built at the
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire. By
monitoring how neutrons are scattered by a sample, high
precision images can be created. Since neutrons have no
electrical charge, the beams can penetrate deeply into
materials. Images with a resolution at the level of
individual atoms should be achieved.
Neutron microscopy is suited to a range of
applications, including observing magnetic materials,
complex liquids, living biological specimens, and
enhancing storage of charge in lithium ion batteries.
Another possibility is studying new molecules that cantransport medication to the exact location of a tumour.
It is not only microscope techniques and technology that are seeing
surprising innovation: so too are their applications. One example is the use
of an AFM by researchers at Zurich’s ETH university to analyse a crystal that
could tell us about the very early days of the cosmos, shortly after the Big
Bang. A crystal of yttrium manganite was analysed by the AFM because of its
‘multiferroic’ behaviour, in which electric charges and magnetic dipoles
arrange themselves spontaneously. The researchers discovered this
arrangement of charges followed the same rules that describe the universe
during its very early expansion.
Meanwhile, at the University of Berkeley and the National University of
Singapore, a TEM is being used to manipulate nanoparticles. The TEM’s
electron beam traps gold nanoparticles and directs their movement, enablingthe researchers to assemble several nanoparticles into a tight cluster. Also,
because the beam is from an electron microscope, they can image the
nanoparticles as they manipulate them.
Even the humble founder of it all, optical, is seeing advances, such as
‘nonlinear’ microscopy. A typical optical microscope is a linear instrument,
meaning the atoms of a sample interact with only one photon at a time. This
limits the ability to look below a surface. With a nonlinear microscope, a
sample is examined using two intersecting, non parallel light rays. This makes
it possible to capture images from beneath the sample’s surface. A further
innovation by Japanese researchers at the Riken Institute has enabled
nonlinear optical techniques to resolve structures in mouse brains down to a
depth of 240µm.
9 April 201316 www.newelectronics.co.uk
Cover Story Microscopy
Non contact atomic force microscopy
highlights the different lengths and
orders of the carbon-carbon bonds in
this nanographene molecule
8/9/2019 New Electronics - 9 April 2013
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P
roving technology in space is not
a cheap business. ‘Heritage’
technology – that which has been
flown successfully in space before – is
essential for companies requiring
guaranteed performance when their own
technology is committed to space. The
nature of space is that you just can’t
afford to get it wrong.
A British venture is hoping to
progress a number of technologies by
giving them the opportunity, at a
relatively low cost, to both prove the
technology and give it valuable flying
time. The project, called TechDemoSat, is
led by Surrey Satellite Technology(SSTL). Its platform will carry eight
payloads, along with a stack of its R&D,
into orbit later this year.
Project manager at SSTL is Victoria
O’Donovan: “It is a really interesting
project because normally a satellite just
has one payload, one aim of what it
wants to be – an imager or GPS or a
science mission. This has everything. It’s
got eight payloads instead of one and all
sorts of product development; from the
onboard computers to techniques forlaying down solar cells.”
The project started when SSTL had its
frustrations trying to test product
developments and suspected others
shared the same frustrations. In 2009, it
approached the Technology Strategy
Board and the now defunct South East
England Development
satellite. SSTL was not part of this
process, it just needed to know the basic
technical requirements – how big, how
much power and data, earth or space
pointing. After this information was
presented to SSTL, it could decide how to
fill the remaining payload capacity. The
payloads selected are:
• SSTL’s Sea State Payload that will
demonstrate how GPS signals reflectedoff the ocean’s surface can be used to
determine ocean roughness and help
shipping plan more efficient routes.
• MuREM, a miniature radiation
environment and effects monitor
supplied by the Surrey Space Centre.
• The Charged Particle Spectrometer, a
radiation detector developed by the
Mullard Space Science Laboratory that
can perform simultaneous electron-ion
detection.
• The Highly Miniaturised Radiation
Monitor from Rutherford AppletonLaboratory and Imperial College.
• The Langton Ultimate Cosmic Ray
Intensity Detector (LUCID). Developed by
the Langton Star Centre, part of a sixth
form college, the detector can
characterise high energy particles.
• A Compact Modular Sounder system,
an infrared remote sensing radiometer
unit, provided by Oxford University’s
Planetary Group and Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory.
• SSBV’s CubeSAT ACS payload, which will
The platform for
TechDemoSat is
Surrey Satellite
Technology’s SSTL
150, used previously
on the Ra pidEye
mission
Agency with a view to developing a
programme that could deliver benefits
across the UK’s aerospace industry.
Grant applications were submitted in
2010 and the project kicked off in
October 2010. In order to keep costs
down, TechDemoSat is an auxiliary load
on the launch vehicle, which means the
launch date will be determined by the
primary load, but it is expected to be inorbit by Q3.
When proposals were invited for
payloads, it was massively
oversubscribed. An independent
consultant VEGA Space (now Telespazio
VEGA) determined the successful bids
and this has evolved to form the list of
eight that will now fly in the
9 April 201318 www.newelectronics.co.uk
Flying thefunky stuff An all British satellite project featuringexperimental UK technology is nearingcompletion. By Tim Fryer.
8/9/2019 New Electronics - 9 April 2013
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Sector Focus Aerospace
provide three axis attitude
determination and control.
• The Cranfield de-orbit sail, designed by
Cranfield University, will move the
satellite to burn up quickly in the Earth’s
atmosphere at the end of its life.
The satellite itself is the SSTL 150 – a
150kg satellite used on a previous SSTLmission called RapidEye, which was
used as the starting point for
TechDemoSat. O’Donovan explained how
the equipment on the TechdemoSat had
been assembled. “The primary string is
our proven avionics that has flown on
other satellites. You would then have a
redundant, which is your second string.”
Under normal circumstances, this
second string would also have to be
space proven, but this is not the case
with TechDemoSat.
O’Donovan continued: “Thesecondary string for the platform is all
SSTL developments, so there are new
onboard computers, new solid state data
storage, new battery charge modules
and solar cell lay-down techniques – it’s
all on the platform. For data, we have an
S Band rf link as our primary and a
slightly more capable X Band on the
secondary.”
According to O’Donovan, her biggest
technological challenge has dealing with
so many payloads. “We had all these
different technologies arriving and had
to work out how this development talk to
that one, what happens when this draws
power and so on – it is quite challenging
because a typical satellite only has one
payload and we have eight. You might
normally have one piece of new
development which you don’t know
exactly how it will work, and on this we
have 15 to 20 new SSTL developments.So the challenge is to get it all to work
together in this very small system in a
small space of time with a limited
budget.
“We communicate using the CANbus
and that was a specification when we
invited people to submit for a payload.
We couldn’t have lots of different buses
– everyone had to use the same thing. It
is a protocol that I don’t think many
people use, but it is typical in satellites.”
CAN nodes on the spacecraft use an
SSTL proprietary protocol, known as CANSpacecraft Usage, where the most
significant byte in the arbitration field is
used as a destination node address.
Each module connected to the CAN bus
has a unique node address and SSTL
spacecraft may support up to 250 nodes
(certain node addresses are reserved).
In addition, there are two physically
separate CAN buses, primary and
secondary. All units communicate
initially on the primary CAN bus on
power-up, then switch to the redundant
bus if they do not receive CAN messages
within five minutes.
TechDemoSat is scheduled to be in
space for three years. The first month
will be taken up by stabilising the flight
and getting the platform in stable
operation. This will be followed by two
months of commissioning the new
technology, followed by a seven month
period during which the payloads share
resources on an eight day cycle (two
days each) to gather all of the
information required to satisfy their
objectives.
Unlike an ordinary commercial
operation, once that initial phase hasbeen completed, the gloves are off, as
O’Donovan explains: “After the first year,
and until the end of the three years, is
what we call ‘extended operations’. It is
continuing data collection – the eight
day cycle – but when everyone has got
what they want and we know how the
platform is behaving, we might be able
to do something a bit funkier. So they
have their standard operations and there
is scope at the end to try them out in
anger and see what they are reallycapable of!”
At the end of the three years, after
waiting patiently in the sidelines, the
final payload, Cranfield’s de-orbit sail,
will be deployed and bring TechDemoSat
back into the Earth’s atmosphere.
(Below) Testing all the payloads together isthe challenge. SSTL’s
Victoria O’Donovan said:“The challenge is to getit all to work together inthis very small systemin a small space of timewith a limited budget.”
9 April 2013 19www.newelectronics.co.uk
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9 April 201320 www.newelectronics.co.uk
Security is the keyBuilt in crypto functions help to combat the prevalence of counterfeit components.By G. Richard Newell.
The counterfeiting of electronic
components continues to rise alarmingly.
IHS iSuppli reported that, in the first eight
months of 2012, more than 100 incidents of
counterfeiting were reported each month. In the
past six years, more than 12million par ts havebeen discovered to be fakes.
Counterfeiting is a major risk to everyone in
the electronics supply chain, but the cost of
dealing with an incident is not shared equally.
The US military sector, for example, is now
covered by the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Section 818, which
deals with the detection and avoidance of
counterfeit electronic parts,
places the
burden of corrective action on the prime
contractor to the Department of Defense. In
other sectors, the burden rests with the end
user. However, subcontractors and suppliers
are still vulnerable to the reputational and
business relationship risk of falling victim toforgery. The ability to prevent counterfeits from
entering your supply chain is clearly critical.
Spotting fake components
Counterfeits are often difficult to spot; they
could be parts from the approved supplier
which failed production testing and were not
destroyed properly or recycled then diverted by
criminals into the supply chain. They
could also be lower grade components
relabelled or repackaged to resemble
more expensive extendedtemperature or endurance
devices.
One approach that can be
used use to cut the risk of
having counterfeit
components make it to the
pcb is to adopt good
business processes in
which all parts are
only sourced from
authorised
distributors. Even
so, there remainsa risk that
counterfeit
components
can still
make it into
the supply chain
through approved
channels if legitimate
shipments are somehow
switched with fakes unknown to the
supplier.
The risk of fake parts entering a high quality
supply chain can be reduced dramatically using
technical means that take advantage of key
characteristics of the semiconductor supply
chain. The design and fabrication of the source
wafers by an original component manufacturer
(OCM) is the most trusted part of the supplychain. The OCM has a high degree of control
over device quality through to component level
test. The key to counterfeit free components is
to extend this trust into the entire supply chain
so counterfeits cannot end up in an electronic
system. By putting electronic tags and markers
into the silicon itself, a device can provide
evidence of its authenticity at any point.
Criminals will attempt to reverse engineer
the markers used to distinguish fake
components from genuine so they can make
their devices appear to be authentic. Therequirement is for a technical solution this is
both tamper resistant and hard to spoof.
Some identification techniques are easier to
forge than others. A simple marker, such as a
device code accessed through a serial port,
may only identify the device as a member of a
broad class, not individually. A major problem
with a class marker is that if the technique used
to embed it within a device becomes available
to counterfeiters, the identification technique
becomes practically worthless. If individual
devices are marked with a public identifier plus
a unique private key, the counterfeiter has todetermine how the markers are applied and
used in order to determine whether a part is
genuine or not. Simply reverse engineering and
copying the public identifier from a genuine
part to a series of fakes will not work, since the
associated private keys a re much harder to
learn and clone.
Physically unclonable functions (PUFs)
provide one way to tie a device to its mark of
authenticity. Each IC is subtly different to its
neighbours on wafer, even though all that make
it through test will operate in the same manner.
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Research & Development Digital Design
9 April 2013 21www.newelectronics.co.uk
For example, internal srams have subtle biases
such that, when they are first powered up, they
contain a pattern of 1s and 0s that is
essentially random from die to die, but which is
consistent from power cycle to power cycle for
that die. Repeatability can be as high as 80%
under different test conditions. This pattern can
be used as an unclonable device ‘fingerprint’
that, together with a digital certificate stored aspart of the manufacturing and test process,
guarantees authenticity.
There are a number of requirements for the
digital certificate. The first is the presence of
embedded non volatile memory to store the
data and a communications interface to allow
the data to be read. The device needs sufficient
computational capability to implement
cryptographic functions in real time such that
the secret value certified is never exposed. The
certification circuitry is used to answer
challenges with responses consistent with a
public key supplied by the manufacturer toallow testing for authenticity.
Hardware level security on top of these
functions ensures criminals cannot probe the
device. Microsemi’s SmartFusion2 SoC fpgas
implement all these functions, making them
suitable for a strong technical anti
counterfeiting solution.
With the necessary hardware in place, a
secret key can be injected into the device at
wafer test. This is followed by injection of a
digital certificate bound to the secret key at the
assembly and binning stage. This process
provides a certificate that has been securely
signed by the OCM and which supports all
downstream anti counterfeiting measures. The
certificate, which can be interrogated at any
point, provides traceability for suppliers and
end users, providing a way of guaranteeing a
counterfeit free supply chain downstream.
The public data in the certificate can contain
not just a unique device number, but also amodel number with grading information and the
assembly date code. Grading data can weed out
valid parts remarked by forgers to resemble
higher grade parts. The date code assists in
identifying older devices that require additional
screening to ensure they are new and have not
been previously used.
The production mechanism ensures only
good devices receive a certificate, which
prevents the representation of failed
components as good ones. The hardware
security module (HSM) at the fab logs each
certificate securely, so the OCM knows exactlyhow many have been issued.
As part of a screening process, such as
checking the delivered device against the order,
SmartFusion2 devices can be authenticated in
a number of ways. The certificate’s integrity and
signature can be checked using the Microsemi
public key. The certificate can be checked for
listing on a certificate revocation list and the
device itself can be checked to ensure that it
knows the correct unique private cryptographic
key and is bound correctly to the certificate.
This proves the certificate belongs to that
particular device and is not a copy of acertificate belonging to another device.
By adopting a strong foundation of
technologies for anti counterfeiting, devices
such as SmartFusion2 provide the assurance of
authenticity that is now needed in the forgery
prone electronics supply chain – not just for the
devices themselves, but also for the
subsystems into which they are assembled.
Author profile:
G. Richard Newell is senior principal product
architect with Microsemi’s SoC products group.
SmartFusion2 SoC fpgas are suitable for use in a
strong technical anticounterfeiting solution.
Fig 1: Extending trust through the supply chain
Wafertest
Fab Certificateinjection
Keyinjection
Assembly Distribution
8/9/2019 New Electronics - 9 April 2013
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Exhibition • Conference • Workshops
Designed for Design Engineers
2 - 3 October 2013 • Jaguar Exhibition Hall • Ricoh Arena • Coventry
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Last year’s inaugural Engineering Design Show was received so well by exhibitors and
visitors alike that Findlay Media decided to create an event designed specifically for the
electronics sector.
Now, Findlay Media’s market-leading magazine New Electronics is pleased to announce that
the Electronics Design Show will take place alongside this year’s Engineering Design
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Occupying Hall 2 at the Jaguar Exhibition Centre at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, the Electronics
Design Show will provide exhibitors with a unique opportunity to take part in an event aimed
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products, techniques and technologies, but will also be able to attend informative and free
educational conference and workshop sessions.
“We are delighted to announce the launch of the Electronics Design Show,” said New
Electronics’ editor Graham Pitcher. “The 20 practical workshops and 16 conference sessions will
reflect the quality of New Electronics’ editorial, offering visitors practical hands-on content and
technology updates from leading experts.”
We look forward to seeing you there!
WHAT’S ON OFFER■ 16 high level conference sessions
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I
n the world of progra mmable logic, the
phrase ‘ultra low density’ stands out starkly.
The reason? Over the years, the trend has to
been to create devices with ever more featureson ever smaller manufacturing processes.
While the devices themselves may not be
getting smaller, their density has increased
dramatically.
And yet Lattice Semiconductor is developing
devices which it proudly describes as ‘ultra low
density’. How does the company explain the
use of a phrase which implies a large die with
not much on it? Gordon Hands, dir ector of
marketing for low density solutions, explained.
“When you look at the programmable logic
market, there are low density, and mid and highend products – an example of low density is
Lattice’s ECP3 range. But we didn’t think it was
a good term to use to describe what we’re
doing, which is driving beyond what
programmable logic has delivered in the past in
terms of cost.”
Lattice’s latest announcement – the ice40
LP384 – boasts 384 look up tables (LUTs,
equivalent to 7680 gates) and is supplied in a
package measuring 2.5 x 2.5mm. In its basic
state, the LP384 consumes 25µW. “As you start
to toggle the clock nets and ramp frequency, it
will start a linear power ramp,” Hands noted.“When it’s running at 10MHz, you might see a
power consumption of 5 to 10mW, but it’s
design dependent.”
Yet, despite its size,
the part supports LVDS
interface rates of 525Mbit/s. Small size is
matched by small price:
in high volume, LP384
fpgas will cost 50cents.
Hands believes this is a
significant achievement. “If you
go back to 1995, the price of a similar
device was $50. In 2002, it was $5, but
today, it’s 50cents.”
Why is Lattice pushing towards the other
end of the market than its competitors? Hands
said: “We are forging a different path to that of other companies in the market – and
deliberately so. We believe there is a range of
applications in which designers would like to
use programmable logic, but where the cost
and power consumption of parts have ruled
them out.”
Hands believes this is true for high volume
applications and for handheld and battery
powered products. “We’re seeing designers use
products from the ice40 range for a number of
applications, including devices such as
smartphones and tablets. But we are also
seeing the attributes of these products fittingwell into some handheld industrial devices
where size and power consumption are critical.,
such as point of sale terminals a nd
industrial sensors”
One particular sensor
application of ice40
devices has been in
geophones – devices
used for oil exploration
and to monitor seismic
activity. “They need to be
small and low power,” Hands
asserted. “But because there are thousands of
sensors in a typical geophone system, cost per
unit becomes important.”
Lattice is keen to emphasise the size of the
ice40 LP384, as well as its capabilities. “The
importance of device size varies depending on
who you talk to,” Hands admitted, “but in mobileconsumer apps, it’s absolutely critical.”
The change is being driven by a new
approach to product design. “Historically,
phones were built with the battery underneath
the pcb,” he explained, “and there was a lot of
space for the pcb. Now, phones are being built
with the two elements side by side. Because
designers are looking to maximise operating
time between charges, they are looking to
maximise the space available to the battery
and to minimise the space taken by the pcb.”
Manufacturing technology is another driver.
Small is beautifulThere’s plenty of opportunity for small scaleprogrammable logic devices, claims developer.By Graham Pitcher.
9 April 201324 www.newelectronics.co.uk
“We are forging a different
path to that of other
companies in the market –
and deliberately so.”
Gordon Hands
Packaging technology
becomes a critical factor
as die size decreases
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Embedded Design Programmable Platforms
“The cost of manufacturing increases with
package size,” Hands suggested. “When we talk
with customers, they tell us that large packages
are not acceptable now. There is a big cost
difference between making a product with a 2.5
x 2.5mm device and with a 4 x 4mm device.
Size is critical and the use of the 40nm
manufacturing process helps us solve this.”
Nevertheless, there are applications where
size is not so critical. “These customers don’t
worry so much about package size,” he
continued. “While they are trying to make their
products smaller, they are looking for a
different balance between cost and size.”
But Hands knows the package can’t be
smaller than the die. “Once we start getting
down to these dimensions, the die takes up a
large percentage of the package area.” And that
opens the door for more radical packaging
techniques, such as wafer level chip scale
packaging (wlcsp). “It’s a useful technique,”
Hands asserted. “Amongst the things we likeabout wlcsp is the smaller package height and
the lower cost of the approach.” But wlcsp isn’t
appropriate for every application. “It’s not a
panacea,” Hands pointed out, “because the
package is the die and that defines how much
I/O is available. As we shrink the die, we get to
the point where it is too small to attach a
reasonable number of balls.”
Take the ‘top off’ an LP384 and you’ll find
the die is just 1 x 1mm. “Even when you use a
0.4mm ball pitch, you can only attach nine
balls,” Hands said. “If more I/O is needed, thenwe offer a low cost wire bonded bga which
features 36 balls.” Other packages include a
32pin qfn measuring 5 x 5mm and a 49 ball
ucbga measuring 3 x 3mm. And it’s likely that
Lattice will offer a 2 x 2mm wlcsp option.
The LP384 ships without any embedded
memory; is this simply because there’s not
enough space on the die? “No,” said Hands, “it’s
more about matching the specifications to the
potential applications. These might be to link
i2c to GPIO or spi to i2c. For the most part,
these actions can be done without block
memory. A lot of applications need I/O
expansion – more uarts, for example – and the
LP384 is a good way to enable thatinexpensively.
Developing such small scale products
requires a new approach. “It used to be a
sequential process,” Hands noted, “but we now
need to engineer silicon and package in
parallel. And, as we architect new parts, we
develop a handful of typical applications and try
to adjust the resources to optimise the part to
those apps.”
One of the benefits of the wlcsp approach is
cost. “There’s no substantial packaging cost; we
take the wafer, attach a redistribution layer and
put the balls on that,” Hands said. “That enablesus to offer the LP384 for 50cents in volume.”
The challenge for Lattice now is to work out
how to reduce the cost further. “We’re finding –
particularly in consumer applications – that
projects have a fixed budget. We can now
address those who have 50cents to spend on
programmable logic; what we would like to do is
address those who have 25cents to spend.”
It’s unlikely that Lattice will add new
members to the ice40 family. “We’re turning our
attention to the next generation,” Hands
concluded, “and investing for the future.”
9 April 2013 25www.newelectronics.co.uk
Fig 1: Sensor management using an ice40 fpga
FIFOi2c
spi
uart
Sensor
Sensor
Sensor
Processorinterface
Applicationprocessor
Sensorinterfacewith autopooling
Datafiltering
Local port orSLIM out
Interrupt
The ice40 LP384 is available for 50cents in volume
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Communications Design Communications Test
The automotive eCall (emergency call)
system is an emergency cellular
communication service that will become
mandatory in vehicles introduced in Europe after
2014.In the event of an emergency or accident, the
eCall e112 flag system will provide the ability to
call the local emergency services via a Public
Safety Answering Point (PSAP) using any
available cellular network. While eCall will not
prevent accidents, it will speed the arrival of
emergency assistance.
A key requirement is that data and voice calls
must use the same voice channel because SMS
and GPRS do not provide the necessary service
priority or availability. Routing data over the voice
connection will enable eCall to use the e112routing protocol standards deployed in the
existing cellular network.
The minimum set of data (MSD) required to be
transmitted by EN 15722:2011 comprises the
exact vehicle location (from the vehicle’s GPS
device), time and date stamps, number of
occupants and Vehicle Identity Number.
A number of cellular standards have the
potential to manage and deliver the various
protocol control and data required for eCall to
function correctly. But, as high data bandwidth is
not the primary requirement, the initial
deployment of eCall will focus primarily on the 2Gnetwork (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) widely available
within Europe. However, multiple cellular
standards are likely to be supported on future
eCall chipsets.
Typically, eCall devices and modules will be
integrated in the vehicle’s telematics systems
and will play an increasingly prominent role in
automotive electronics design.
The following system blocks are necessary for
eCall to work successfully:
• In Vehicle System (IVS). Alongside the
automotive telematics unit, the module will
include such sub systems as the GPS module,
multiple vehicle sensors, microphone/speakers,
IVS data in-band modem, 2G/3G communications
modem and the vehicle application software. The
eCall voice and data message can be originated
and activated automatically or with driver
intervention.
• Mobile operator network. This is responsible for
transmitting and routing the eCall emergencye112 flag message to the emergency call
response centre (PSAP).
• Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP). Call
centres responsible implementing the
infrastructure required to receive eCalls and for
answering them. The PSAP transmission section
is responsible for sending control messages to
the IVS to initiate transmission of MSD
information and for providing ACK/NACK feedback
for the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ).
In the event of a collision, an eCall flag is
triggered and two way voice communication is
established between the PSAP and the driver. In
addition, eCall can transfer data from the vehicle
over the same cellular network connection.
IVS in-band data modem
The primary blocks of the in-band transceiver are
cyclic redundancy check (CRC), forward error
correction (FEC) codecs, HARQ, data modem and
a sync/multiplexing block.MSD information is input to the IVS modem
via the CRC section, where cyclic code data bits
are appended. This additional code will be used
by the PSAP’s data modem to determine whether
the original message has been corrupted. If the
verification check reveals errors, the system will
send ACK/NACK feedback messages requesting
repeat transmission (ARQ) of problem data
blocks.
MSD information bits are then subjected to
channel encoding in the HARQ encoder using FEC,
where redundant error detection bits are added to
Ready for the callTesting eCall systems: how to benefit from synergies with existingGSM test platforms. By Lee Roberts.
9 April 2013 27www.newelectronics.co.uk
Fig 1: The eCall system net work architecture
GPS rx module
Car sensors
Vehicleapplication
Microphone andspeaker
IVS datain-band modem
eCallPSAP
display
Microphone andspeaker
PSTN fixednetwork
PLMNcellular network
Data in band
modem
PSAPswitch
MSD: minimum set of data
Public safety answering point (PSAP)
In vehicle system (IVS)
2G/3G/LTEspeech and
radio modemMSD
MSD
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Communications Design Communications Test
the already modified data. The HARQ encoder is a
combination of ARQ and FEC coding and typically
contains a powerful Turbo coding scheme with
incremental redundancy added to each data
retransmission.
The FEC technique reduces the susceptibility
of data to errors during transmission over noisy
or inefficient cellular rf channel links. FEC enables
the receiving PSAP modem to correct errors
without needing to request retransmission of the
original message. However, while HARQ offers
better performance in poorer channel conditions,it has the disadvantage of significantly lower data
throughput in improved channel conditions.
The signal modulator up converts the data
stream by mixing it with a carrier waveform
suitable for it to be applied to a speech codec.
The voice speech encoder and decoder can
support adaptive multirate (AMR) and full and
half rate (FR/HR) GSM audio data compression
schemes. These generate a compacted data bit
stream output representation of the analogue
speech signal, whilst providing an adequate level
of audio quality. These speech coded standards
are commonly employed in GSM and UMTS
systems.
The receiver section demodulates and
monitors the corresponding ACK/NACK message
sent by the PSAP modem. Once MSD
transmission is completed and a successful ACK
message has been received, the IVS and PSAP
modems are placed into idle state by deactivating
the transmitter signal paths.
The equivalent PSAP receiver and transmitter
sections have similar building blocks, but
function in the reverse order. The HARQmechanism block is not used and there is a
different FEC implementation.
Test challenges and limitations
The eCall simulation system overcomes
challenges presented using a deployed live
network system, including emergency services
testing without the need to contact an operator.
This prevents an emergency services response
being triggered accidentally. If emergency
services testing is required, the Anritsu eCall
system can function as a development stage test
and simulation solution in advance of the live
network becoming available.
The IVS DUT contains various functional blocks
which require independent verification and
testing. To verify the raw MSD data, a logic
analyser confirms the transmission of the low
serial data rate defined by its set of requirement
definitions.
eCall test solution
The MD8475A simulates the PLMN and PSAP
sections of the live network whilst providing a
convenient platform for verifying the voice call
connection and the MDS content transmitted by
the IVS device under test (DUT).
When using the eCall test solution, the user isnot restricted to testing on a live cellular network
and PSAP provider. Using a simulated and
controlled test environment means the DUT will
not be subjected to cell and connection link
quality issues; beneficial when testing the higher
layers of the software protocol implementation.
The eCall tester provides functions to test the
MSD and voice call communication sequence
between the IVS DUT and PSAP. Current
communication sequence functions supported
include voice codec (AMR, GSM FR/HR), in-band
modem (push and pull mode), voice operator andloopback calls and voice quality.
The tester displays the current MSD, voice and
in-band modem communication status between
the IVS and PSAP and, as the MD8475A supports
all major technology standards, the platform is
equipped to provide an upgrade path to
supporting all eCall technology implementations.
The Anritsu MD8475A does not verify in-band
modem block functionality in isolation. By
combining the IVS elements, the eCall solution
can verify the system as a whole, enabling end to
end system test and providing the ability to
simulate a complete operational solution. As theMD8475A includes a base station cell emulator,
the radio modem section can also be verified
independently.
The implementation of simple test routines
and integration of future proof cellular standards
allow the tester to be easily upgraded when
enhancements and amendments to the eCall
standards are introduced.
Author profile:
Lee Roberts is business development manager
for Anritsu (UK).
9 April 201328 www.newelectronics.co.uk
Fig 2: eCall GSM sequence protocol message
Send ACK message(pc audio output to handset)
Start
Off hook
Software processing User operation
a/d convert
MSD analysis/decode
Display message
Voice checks
On hook
MSD analogue voice signal(GSM voice call)
StartStart
Origination response
End (change the state of start)
Release
Origination
On hook
eCall testerIVS MD8475A
Event of origination
MSD analogue voice signal(handset to pc audio input)
Voice callsVoice checks
Off hook
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Whenever you embark on a design
project, you need to know what it is
you’re creating and who you are
creating it for. You also need to know the
relative importance o