Pulse: August 2014

Silicon Cloud Reigns with

High-Performance

CLOUD

COMPUTING Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Lumineq Displays Shine in Extreme Environments Vehicle Seats Sense Slumbering Drivers August 26, 2014

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PULSE TRANSFER:

ASONIC

FEATURED PRODUCTS mage Detector This Week's Latest Products

Commercial Applications from EEWeb

method utilizes an approach very ar to the “driven right leg” (DRL) m that is used in commercial measurement techniques. In entional ECG situations, the DRL l is coupled directly to the patient’s The DRL signal reduces power line on the sensor signals by feeding an inverted average of the signals two sensors on to the patient’s In noncontact ECG, the generated signal can be capacitively coupled to ody through clothing, via a piece of uctive material placed, for instance, e seat or back of a chair. Movement can be minimized by placing the ors away from the shoulders on the r part of the seat back. The proposed citive-driven ground plane would be bly placed under the seat r fabric.

F

rom memory foam to MRI machin

CONTENTS commercial technology are as num

to space exploration. These “spino

unique partnerships between NASA and

that provide an array of new products. N

Program facilitates the commercializati

technology and licensing. EEWeb’s Tech

4

highlight unique NASA technologies tha

both in the commercial marketplace and

will take a look at a new, floating ultraso

determines subsurface damage to vario

10

TECH ARTICLE

lex Maddalena, Contributing Writer

vides a secure, private,

computing infrastructureAsleep at the Wheel

essor Dias, who is leading the ngham study, said, “Plessey has dy demonstrated that cardiac ls can be measured unobtrusively g capacitive sensors mounted within river’s seat; the requirement now is prove the consistency and reliability e data so that it can be used for the ded purpose.”

applications. The

puting centers with

No More

k flows for universities

TECH ARTICLE

world.

Technology Transfer (Part 1) Ultrasonic Surface-Damage Detector

“The back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy.”

18

ian,

22

COVER INTERVIEW High Performace Cloud Computing Mojy Chian, CEO of Silicon Cloud International

oud-

ed his

d how

s.

TECH ARTICLE Lumineq Displays in Extreme Environments Rugged Technology at the Core of Product Reliability

xtreme conditions call for

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PULSE Wide Input Voltage 2A Buck Regulator Allegro MicroSystems has released the A8585, a 2.0 A buck regulator that features wide input voltage and low IQ mode, perfect for automotive applications such as car audio and infotainment systems with low power supply requirements. This product has been on the market for three months now. The A8585 is a highly efficient converter focused on automotive and industrial markets with end applications, including automotive infotainment, instrumentation clusters, center stack applications and advanced driver assistance systems...Read More

Single Output Medical Grade Power Supply The STR4A100 series are off-line PWM controllers with integrated sensing MOSFET intended for switching power supplies. The device features an automatic standby function with no load power consumption of less than 10 mW, current-mode type PWM control, random switching function, slope compensation function and leading edge blanking function...Read More

Breakthrough Flash Controller Performance The SF3700 performance and endurance represents a substantial improvement over competitive flash controller designs. Unlike current solutions, the SF3700 controller is optimized and architected for bi-directional PCIe traffic, unlocking the maximum performance capability to meet requirements for client and enterprise applications.

Optimized for performance, endurance, and reliability, enterprise-class SandForce速 flash controllers enable solid state drives for I/O intensive business applications. The SF3700 family is the third generation of LSI速 SandForce速 flash controllers that enables SSD manufacturers to build robust PCIe and SATA flash storage solutions...Read More

High Throughput AD Converters The CS556x/7x/8x families of high-throughput analog-to-digital converters are high-speed delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters featuring digital filter flat to near-Nyquist rate. It offers self-calibrating architecture that maintains accuracy over time and temperature as well as high-impedance buffered differential.

The CS556x family of Delta-Sigma-based industrial analog-to-digital converters sets new industry performance standards. This new family of high-precision analog converters combines the high-bandwidth, low-distortion performance of a SAR converter with high-resolution, low-noise performance that is the hallmark of Delta-Sigma ADCs...Read More

SMT Current Sensor Transformers The CST4835 series are surface-mount technology (SMT) current sensing transformers designed for 50 kHz to 1 MHz applications. It can sense current of up to 7 Amps and features 500 Vac isolation winding to winding. It has 9-turns ratios to meet variety of requirements with silver over nickel over phos over bronze terminations...Read More

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FEATURED PRODUCTS Dual Model BLE Solutions BlueCreation and Digi-Key signed a formal agreement for the global distribution of BlueCreation’s products through Digi-Key. BlueCreation is an industry that manufactures dual-model BLE solutions. BlueCreation is an United Kingdom based company that helps customers especially with their Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, WiFi, and other embedded wireless technologies that they need.

The company offers an industry leading Bluetooth Low Energy offering, providing a dual-model BLE solution with concurrent stack that can run both BLE and standard Bluetooth. This solution provides access to a wider range of application profiles than any other company in the industry...Read More

USB or Charger and Overvoltage Detector The FAN3988 is used in USB connections to detect continuities of the line. This device operates within the supply voltage range of 2.7 V – 20.0 V and efficiently functions on the wide temperature range of -40ºC to +85ºC. The FAN3988 is a USB-connection-monitoring device used to determine if a standard USB device or a battery-charging device is connected...Read More

PRIMEQUEST High-End Server PRIMEQUEST 1800E2 is one of Fujitsu’s Mission Critical IA server that provides high-end server functionality. It has the best characteristics of a mainframe and UNIX server reliability. With the flexibility benefits of open systems, this product is cost effective.

It has a CPU of either Intel® Xeon® Processor E7-8870 or Intel® Xeon® Processor E7-8830. This system can hold a number of CPU which range from 1 (8 core) to 8 (80 cores) and has a memory of 2 TB in 128 bit system...Read More

EAPP Hybrid 4-Phase PWM Controller The ISL6381 is an Enhanced Active Pulse Positioning (EAPP) hybrid digital four-phase green pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller intended for digital power management of core and memory with auto phase shedding. The device complies with Intel’s VR12.5/VR12 voltage regulation specifications. It includes programmable functions and telemetries for easy use, high system flexibility and overclocking applications using SMBus, PMBus, or I2C interface, which is designed to be conflict free with CPU’s SVID bus. This hybrid digital approach eliminates the need of NVM and Firmware often seen in a full digital solution and significantly reduces design complexity, inventory and manufacturing costs...Read More

HDX Robust 50 mm Transponder The NCD1015-50RO is a contactless, sequential power and data transmission (HDX) 500 transponder operating at radio frequency 134.2 kHz. It has 64 bits of data and associated 16 bits CRC. NCD1015-50RO is a contact-less Read Only RFID device for single transponder applications in the area of electronic identification operating in the low frequency (134.2 kHz) range, supporting ISO-11784/85 standards...Read More

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PULSE Toughened Heat Resistant Epoxy Adhesive The Supreme 46HT-2 is a two part, toughened heat resistance epoxy adhesive for high performance structural bonding, sealing, and coating. It features serviceability up to 500 ºF because of its superior shear and peel strengths, and has superior thermal cycling capabilities. This epoxy adhesive is 100% reactive and does not consist of any solvents or diluents...Read More

CDMA IF VGAs and I/Q Demodulators Maxim Integrated’s MAX2306 is an IF receiver used for dual band, triple mode with two IF VCOs with an input frequency range of 40 MHz to 300 MHz. The device includes an IF variable-gain amplifier, quadrature demodulator, dual VCOs and dual-frequency synthesizers. Dual VCOs are provided for applications using different IF frequencies for each mode or band of operation. The MAX2306 family provides a VGA with exceptional gain range...Read More

MLX90121 Development Kit The DVK90121 is a development kit developed for MLX9012 applications. It has a standard ISO communications and RS233 serial communication. It has a dedicated 6- to 9-V power supply with a dedicated instruction set.

The development kit DVK90121 has been developed by Melexis to create specific applications using ISO 13.56 MHz protocols and to evaluate the advantages and the high flexibility of the MLX90121 13.56 MHz multinorms RFID transceiver. The DVK90121 consists of the evaluation board EVB90121 connected to the universal development board, which contains the firmware for the communication with the MLX90121 and the communication with a computer through the RS232 serial interface...Read More

Low-Cost PIC32 Bluetooth Starter Kit Microchip Technology introduced the DM320018 PIC32 Bluetooth® Starter Kit. This kit is a cost-effective, full featured development platform that boasts a PIC32 microcontroller (MCU), HCI-based Bluetooth radio, Cree high-output multi-color LED, 3 standard single-color LEDs, an analog 3-axis accelerometer, analog temperature sensor and 5 push buttons for user-defined inputs. Additionally, a PICkit™ On Board (PKOB) which eliminates the need for an external debugger/programmer, USB connectivity and GPIOs for rapid development of Bluetooth Serial Port Profile (SPP), USB and general-purpose applications...Read More

25 W Single and Dual Output DC/DC Converters The F2500RU is a series of wide 4:1 input dc/dc converters, capable of both single and dual output. The series outputs rated power of 25W, and has an isolation voltage of 1,500 VDC. Input voltage range choice of the products is between 10.0-40.0 VDC or 18.0 VDC-75.0 VDC. All models under the series comes up with a continous (autorecovery) short circuit protection and are guaranteed to operate effectively at temperature range of -40ºC to +50ºC...Read More

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FEATURED PRODUCTS Current Sensing Integrated Circuit The IR25750LPBF (Mouser Part Number: 942-IR25750LTRPBF) is a Small Outline Transistor (SOT) current sensing integrated circuit designed for use in MOSFET, DirectFET and IGBT current sensing. It has integrated ESD protections and eliminates external current sensing resistors...Read More

Quarter Brick DC/DC Converter Murata Power Solutions presents the HPQ series, a series of ultra-high power, isolated 300 W quarter brick DC-DC converters. With a wide range of input voltage of 36 to 75 Vdc, with 2250 V basic isolation, it can deliver a fixed output voltage of 12 Vdc and a current of up to 25 A. This component has a measurement of 2.3” x 1.45” x 0.49”...Read More

Dual Channel BCD Counter The HEF4518B is a dual channel 4-bit synchronous BCD counter. This device is tolerant of slow clock rise and fall times. It features fully static operation, 5 V, 10 V, and 15 V parametric ratings, and standardized symmetrical output characteristics. It operates in a temperature range from -40 ºC to +85 ºC. The counter has an active HIGH clock input (nCP0) and an active LOW clock input (nCP1), buffered outputs from all four bit positions (nQ0 to nQ3) and an active HIGH overriding asynchronous master reset input (nMR)...Read More

Smartcard RTC for Battery Operation The PCA8802 is a Smartcard real time clock (RTC) that has an ultra low power oscillator with integrated counter for initiating one time password generation. This integrated circuit is suitable for battery operation, commonly supplied by button cells or flexible polymer batteries. The circuit is optimized for a quartz with 6 pF load capacitance specification. Higher values can also be used with the addition of external load capacitors...Read More

Two-Layer Dual Channel Reference Board The 2RT0108T is a two-channel reference board dedicated for 2SC0108T SCALE™-2 dual-driver core. This is a two-layer board intended to drive 1200 V and 1700 V IGBT modules such as 34 mm, 62 mm and others. This base board is assembled with THT-components using a two-layer PCB. The plug-and-play capability (only the gate resistors and the resistors Raclx for the effectiveness of the active clamping are missing) makes it ready to operate immediately after mounting. The user needs to invest almost no effort in designing or adjusting it to a specific application...

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PULSE High Class 3000 Watt Power Supply The PFE3000-12-069RA is a high class power supply that is both an AC/ DC and DC/DC converter, perfect to use on applications requiring high accuracy. This power supply is rated with platinum-level efficiency, best-in class version that guarantees to meet the high standards of the industry today...Read More

PNP Silicon Expitaxial Transistor The 2SA1010 is a PNP silicon epitaxial transistor for high-voltage, high-speed switching that features low collector saturation voltage. It has fast switching speed with 2CS2334 as a complementary transistor.

The 2SA1010 is a mold power transistor developed for high voltage high speed switching, and is ideal for use as a driver in devices such as switching regulators, DC/DC converters and high-frequency power amplifiers...Read More

50 MHz Mixed Signal Oscilloscope The DS1052D under the DS1000D Series is a mixed signal oscilloscope that caters 50 MHz Bandwidth of measurement. This device is capable of a real time sample rate of 1 GSa/s for a single channel, and 500 MSa/s for dual channels. The oscilloscope can be operated in manual, track or auto measure modes.

The DS1000D Series Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes sets a new standard for technology and capability. With features including 16 Channel Logic Analyzer, 1 million points of deep memory, FFTs, record and replay, roll mode, alternate trigger mode, and adjustable trigger sensitivity the DS1000D is the new bench standard...Read More

8-Bit MCU with Built-In LCD Driver The ML610400 series is high performance CMOS 8-bit microcontrollers equipped with LAPIS Semiconductor’s original RISC 8bit CPU “ U8 Core “.

The CPU core is capable of efficient instruction execution in one-instruction one cycle by 3-stage pipelined architecture parallel processing. The clock generation circuit is applied the dual clock composition and operates in low-speed mode and power-saving mode. This family products are popular for the battery-driven hand-held type applications and in a variegated field...Read More

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FEATURED PRODUCTS GDT protected Analog Linecards TE Connectivity’s Circuit Protection Section introduces GTCA36-900MR02. It is a type of Gas Discharge Tube that has 2 electrodes, 5.00 mm of diameter, 90 VDC sparkover, impulse discharge current of 2.5 kA, and axial leaded. An example of application of a GDT are analog linecards.

Overvoltage protection devices help protect not only telecommunications circuits, but also maintenance personnel and subscribers. When an overvoltage event occurs, the device changes its impedance to direct current around the protection circuit to ground...Read More

40 V LED Driver with Internal Switch The ZLED7000 is a 40-V LED Driver with internal switch featuring 95% efficiency capability. It operates in continuous mode and features built-in thermal shutdown and open circuit protection.

The ZLED7000, one of our ZLED Family of LED control ICs, is an inductive step-down converter that is optimal for driving a single LED or multiple LEDs (connected in series) from a voltage source greater than the voltage rating of the LED. The ZLED7000 operates in continuous mode. Capable of operating efficiently with voltage supplies ranging from 6 VDC to 40 VDC, it is ideal for low-voltage lighting applications. The ZLED7000 minimizes current consumption by remaining in a low current standby mode (output is off) until a voltage of ≼0.3V is applied to the ADJ pin...Read More

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PULSE

ASLEEP at the Wheel

NO MORE F

alling asleep while driving can be dangerous, both personally and for others on the road. Feeling drowsy behind the wheel is a very common phenomenon—the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 policereported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year.

This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in financial losses. These figures may be conservative since it is difficult to attribute crash causes to sleepiness. While most of us know when it’s time to pull over for a rest and some coffee, others ignore the signs and put themselves and others in danger by continuing to drive while sleepy—as dangerous as driving drunk.

By Alan Lowne, Saelig Company

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TECH ARTICLE

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PULSE SITTING SMART To address this threat, researchers at Britain’s Nottingham Trent University are designing “intelligent” car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel.

Using assistance from U.K. firm Plessey Semiconductor, who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors, the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driver’s heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy. The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored.

The sensor itself is a variation of Plessey’s award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology. Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the body—even through clothes. EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex, U.K. Novel, ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

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requiring physical or resistive contact, and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact. By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry, the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications. EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data.

HEART TO SEAT A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat, and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy. Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise, and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals. In noncontact ECG measurement there is—by definition—no skin contact, and thus no direct connection can be made between the subject’s body and the system ground. In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise,

TECH ARTICLE one method utilizes an approach very similar to the “driven right leg” (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques. In conventional ECG situations, the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patient’s skin. The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patient’s body. In noncontact ECG, the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing, via a piece of conductive material placed, for instance, on the seat or back of a chair. Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back. The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric.

Professor Dias, who is leading the Nottingham study, said, “Plessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driver’s seat; the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purpose.”

“The back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy.”

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PULSE

LONG-HAUL ALERT The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers, with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later. Steve Cliffe, Plessey’s business development director, commented, “We are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program. For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the body.”

“The aim is to design a manufacturable, embedded sensor system within the seat, which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driver’s decreased alertness.”

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With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents, the aim is to design a manufacturable, embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driver’s decreased alertness. The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over, but if the warning is ignored, the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents, and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action.

TECH ARTICLE SENSE AND SEATING

CONCLUSION

Additionally, Nottingham Trent University’s own novel knitted, conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats. The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UK’s Technology Strategy Board, which has committed more than $140,000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate.

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator, and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function.

ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices. Now, for the first time, noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration, or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride, handling, and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants. The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped, can save lives, and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years.

In another study, the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue. Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts.

Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute, Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driver’s fatigue and alertness: HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted.

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TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: Series Part 1

ULTRASONIC Surface-Damage Detector Floating Transducer Has Commercial Applications

By Alex Maddalena, Contributing Writer

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TECH ARTICLE

F

rom memory foam to MRI machines, NASA’s contributions to commercial technology are as numerous as its contributions to space exploration. These “spinoff” technologies have led to

unique partnerships between NASA and various research companies that provide an array of new products. NASA’s Technology Transfer Program facilitates the commercialization of NASA-sponsored technology and licensing. EEWeb’s Technology Transfer series will highlight unique NASA technologies that have broad applications both in the commercial marketplace and in space. This installment will take a look at a new, floating ultrasonic transducer, which determines subsurface damage to various structures.

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PULSE ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASA’s leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer. By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations, the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface, detecting any damage within the structure. The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base. The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches. The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up. “The technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of tape,” Zalameda recalled, “keeping it as straight as he could. Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the process.”

However, in order for the process to work, the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface. “After seeing this demonstration,” Zalameda said, “I thought that there had to be a better way to do this.” As it turns out, he was right.

“Utilizing a drycoupling technique in conjunction with pulsations, the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface.”

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method, which is as messy as it sounds. Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water, an on-site transducer, and a collection system. The transducer would then

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couple with the wet surface. The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspection—a task that can be time consuming.

“At NASA, we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection process,” Zalameda stated. With his dry-coupling transducer, Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected. “In order to complete the coupling,” Zalameda explained, “you have to apply pressure, which is why we’ve implemented a voice-coil motor.” The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant, providing a more practical inspection. Because the pressure is applied momentarily, it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface. Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space, water cannot be applied to any surface. This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances.

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor.

TECH ARTICLE

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup.

“If a plane were exposed to a hail storm, an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing.”

RISKY ENVIRONMENTS For a typical inspection routine, the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure, looking for defects, dents, or other potential hazards in high-risk environments. For example, if a plane were exposed to a hail storm, an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing. “It can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks, delamination, material variations, and other abnormalities in structures,” Zalameda noted.

While NASA’s Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector, there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

in the space program. If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris, the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made. However, the technology is not yet spaceready. “We have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning system,” Zalameda explained. “The transducer needs to be normal with the surface, or else it will send signals back and forth at an angle,” said Zalameda, who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings, which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface. Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA, it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth.

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PULSE

Silicon Cloud

Reigns with

High-Performance

CLOUD

COMPUTING Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

22

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TECH ARTICLE

S

ilicon Cloud International provides a secure, private, and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications. The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey, semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world.

In an interview with EEWeb, Mojy Chian, CEO of Silicon Cloud International, discussed the cloud revolution, data security, and the benefits of using cloudbased solutions. Chian also addressed his company’s work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs.

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PULSE Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud?

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design. We don’t do chip design, but we provide the infrastructure for those who do. The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow, performance, data protection, and security. Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud, so we don’t use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies. Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture, which means that everything is in the cloud. For chip design, this means we store design databases, tools, work flows, and any other resources in the cloud. We issue a very thin client, which allows a user to connect to the private cloud.

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons. First of all, because everything is in the cloud, network bandwidth data is not an issue. Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud. All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen.

The second reason is data protection; we don’t allow users to download, which is a major data protection factor. Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information.

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“The chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution.”

What is the focus of Silicon Cloud’s applications?

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based, turnkey, integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities. We are targeting universities in developing countries, such as Singapore, U.A.E., Malaysia, Pakistan, Brazil, and Algeria. These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income. We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities. The cloud will have a complete, turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities.

TECH ARTICLE

Design Start Creation Flow To: Universities IC Design Education in Universities

IC Designers To: Small Fabless

-

Design Enablement For Universities: Cloud EDA Tools PDK Training Local Support

To: Large Semi

Design Starts

IoT Paradigm

 Design starts are enabled by universities

 Huge potential for in developing countries What are the benefits of What was the impetus using a cloud-based 3 starting a cloud-based IC design Silicon Cloud International Confidential solution for chip design? infrastructure company?

When we founded the company, we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution.

Right now, there isn’t any successful model for chip design in the cloud.

There are a few reasons for that—one being data bandwidth. Another factor is data protection. The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players. To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud, you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together.

“We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructure—the EDA tools, PDK, and design IP—everything.”

For universities, there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution. We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure. Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group, whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider, the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries, the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers, and put them all together.

This is not a simple task—companies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design. We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructure—the EDA tools, PDK, and design IP—everything.

That is a big advantage for our users.

Because of the way we set up our

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PULSE infrastructure, they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have. Today, there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology. The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environment—anybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors. We solved this problem because we don’t allow downloads to any users’ machines.

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware.

The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations. Further, virtualized hardware allows the user to “build” a specific machine or machines for a specific application. The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform, which is particularly attractive to universities. If university A wants to work with university B, though they’re in different countries, they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases. One user can be in Singapore and the other in the U.S., and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database.

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side?

In many cloud applications, the main issue is tampering. In IC design, a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs. Another case is design IP

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protection. The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP. Currently, the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases.

This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP. This is something that secure cloud computing can solve. The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud, do simulations, and do verifications to see how things work.

Nothing gets downloaded to anybody’s local machine, so the data is secure in the evaluation phase.

This is also true for EDA tools.

Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern.

When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities, they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes. Once a university downloads the EDA tools, the tools can’t be controlled or tracked. EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research, or education, or even if the tools have been used at all. By having all the data, tools, and the tasks in the cloud, significant operational data is generated. Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability, control, and protection for EDA providers, semiconductor foundries, and design IP companies.

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Private & Secure Cloud

TECH ARTICLE Design IP & PDK

EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Design Databases

Workflows

Cloud User Portal

Cloud Access Thin Clients

 SCI establishes, maintains, and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the clou  The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users  The centers include H/W, design flows, training, local support – per country Silicon Cloud International Confidential

“Customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud, do simulations, and do verifications to see how things work.”

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Find us at Booth #613

PCB West 2014

Your Circuit Starts Here.

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PULSE

Lumineq Displays 速

in Extreme Environments Rugged technology at the core of product reliability

By Suzanne Touchette Kelso, Contributing Writer

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TECH ARTICLE

E

xtreme conditions call for extreme equipment. Lumineq® rivals such conditions by delivering electroluminescent displays designed to excel in harsh environments. Lumineq® Displays, a business unit of Beneq, is a premier manufacturer and developer of thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays. Lumineq® TFEL nontransparent displays are used in mining, marine, military, medical, and many other demanding environments. TFEL displays are robust and reliable, usually used in extreme conditions where traditional displays cannot cope .

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31

PULSE

S

ince Lumineq® is based in Finland, known for its arctic wintertime temperatures, it is no surprise that the company excels at producing harshenvironment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions. EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing, technical sales director at Lumineq®, about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver.

Harsh Temperatures and Monster Humidity Lumineq® is primarily known for harshenvironment displays. The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology. Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD), TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity. TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old, original flat panel which “being emissive, it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCD,” comments Vahlsing.

Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability.

Lumineq® TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel, an electronic control circuit, and a power supply. The TFEL glass panel, which is the heart of the assembly, consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

32

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TECH ARTICLE “TFEL is very rugged, being solid-state.

It’s unaffected by temperature and vibration.” matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram). The circuit board, which contains the drive and control electronics, is connected directly to the back of the glass panel. Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display. This causes the area of intersection to emit light.

“One of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator. The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story building—and the defibrillator still worked.”

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PULSE

“Our glass will work from -100°C to 100°C.”

Dynacon winch with Lumineq display on a ship.

Courtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

“TFEL is very rugged, being solid-state,” maintains Vahlsing. “It’s really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them. That’s why LCDs are so affected by temperature change.” The fact that TFEL is a solidstate material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent. “Our glass will work from -100°C to 100°C and runs at 180V AC,” adds Vahlsing. Also, the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions.

As a result, Lumineq® focuses on the niche categories of very rugged, monochrome displays.

Not only superior in harsh temperatures, TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED).

OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass. Because of Lumineq® core technology, atomic layer deposition (ALD), TFEL is well encapsulated. This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have.

Radical G-Force Endurance In addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity, TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration.

Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays, there is no air gap or fluid gap. This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration.

Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications. To say

34

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TECH ARTICLE that Lumineq® embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatement—the displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250,000hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass.

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications. “One of the significant applications,” reports Vahlsing, “is a portable defibrillator. The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story building— and the defibrillator still worked. This is really rugged display technology.”

Another distinctive aspect of Lumineq® display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent. Interestingly, one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale. This provides total freedom of design. Vahlsing elaborates that “you can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come up.”

Test of Time While there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment, Vahlsing maintains that Lumineq® displays have proven reliability. “There are 30 years of history behind Lumineq® displays,” he says. “With most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time, we just keep building them without modification.

For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs),” he notes, “the typical lifespan of the product is three to five years, and they call that an industrial display.” Lumineq® has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years. Because changing modules is expensive, Lumineq® shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues.

Vahlsing explains, “We are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago, and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components. Lumineq® is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the U.S. government.

Vahlsing concludes that Lumineq® is “small enough to be flexible, and we keep our projects going, and “The going, and going.”

displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock.”

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35

AXP Logic

2014

Design Contest

Announcing the

WINNERS GRAND PRIZE

Clemens Valens Multipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

FIRST PLACE

E

ngineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest. In January 2014, we asked contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power, configurable, multiple-function logic gate as a design platform. Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes.

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb, answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices.

After contestants fulfilled this requirement, we would then ship a free 3.5 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices, on-board power supply decoupling, and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions. Full documentation and design tips were provided, along with online design support.

The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014.

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results. Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted. The eventual winners are listed on the right.

Ryszard Milewicz Light Sensor and Photosound

SECOND PLACE

Monte Chan Wide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

THIRD PLACE

A. Youssef Dry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

HONORABLE MENTION

HONORABLE MENTION

Robert Kong

Yuri Tikhonov

Wireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

A Smarter nanoRobot

r logic w-powe lo P X eer ’s New A tes engin stimula ed creativity wer high-po

Download the Contest Winners’ Work: click here

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