SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Solido Design Automation today announced that it was ranked the number two company overall based on user response in DeepChip’s annual Design Automation Conference report. The Solido Variation Designer results can be found at http://www.deepchip.com/items/dac10-02.html.

Asked what were the most interesting specific tools seen at DAC 2010, semiconductor designers highlighted the following aspects of Solido Variation Designer, a variation-aware custom IC design product used as an add-on to existing custom design and SPICE simulation tools:

• Custom IC design analysis across variation effects such as PVT
• corners, random, environmental, and well proximity
• 5-10X faster variation analysis than with SPICE simulation alone, with
• SPICE accuracy
• Determining device sensitivities to variation, based on impact on
• design specifications
• Recommending specific transistor modifications to fix and optimize the
• design

“We are excited to be recognized in John Cooley’s long-standing DAC report, which was first published back in 1994,” said Amit Gupta, President and CEO of Solido Design Automation. “We are pleased with the positive response to our variation design product, which enables fast, accurate variation-aware design with existing custom IC design tools.”

Information on Solido Variation Designer can be found at http://www.solidodesign.com/product/variation-designer/ 

About Solido Design Automation

Solido Design Automation, Inc. is a leading provider of variation-aware custom integrated circuit design software. Solido Variation Designer and application packages are used by custom IC designers spanning analog/RF, I/O, memory and standard cell digital library design teams, to improve design performance, parametric yield, and designer productivity. The privately held company is venture capital funded and has offices in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan and Europe. For further information, visit www.solidodesign.com or call 306-382-4100. 

XP Power today announced what is believed to be the world’s smallest open frame 45 W AC-DC power supply. Setting a new benchmark at this power level, measuring just 2 x 3 x 1.05 inches (50.7 x 76.2 x 26.7 mm), the ECS45 single output power supply is 25% smaller than the current industry standard of 2 x 4 inches. All models have a no load power of less than 0.3 W, helping the end equipment comply with internationally recognized energy efficiency standards. In addition, these convection cooled units are highly efficient, typically 87%, resulting in less waste heat to dissipate. The lower profile ECS25 model provides 25 W output within the same footprint. They can provide full power output up to + 50 degrees C without the need for any external fans or forced airflow and operate up to + 70 degrees C with derating.

Both models provide the nominal outputs of +12, +15, + 24 or +48 VDC. The ECS45 is also available with a single +5 VDC 6 A output. They have a wide input voltage range of 80-264 VAC and are approved for Class I and Class II applications. The units meet UL60601-1 / EN60601-1 medical equipment safety standards and UL60950-1 / EN60950-1 standards for IT and industrial equipment. They also comply with the EN55011 / EN55022 level B standard for conducted emissions without the need for additional filtering components. Overvoltage, overload and short-circuit protection features are included as standard across the whole range.

The power supplies suit designers of medical, IT or industrial equipment.
Applications can cover a wide variety, such as broadcast equipment, computing and data storage. The medical safety approval makes it suitable for products such as portable medical devices, home healthcare devices and personal drug delivery equipment.

Covered versions of each model are also available for Class I installations.

Prices start from $21.00 in 500 piece quantities. Both series have a 3 year warranty and are available from Newark or direct from XP Power. 

MILPITAS, CA – September 9, 2010 – Linear Technology introduces the LTC5583, a 40MHz to 6GHz dual channel, matched RMS power detector, offering over 55dB isolation at 2.14GHz. In RF power amplifier (PA) applications, the LTC5583 provides a simple solution for accurately measuring forward power, reverse power, and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR). The device comprises a pair of 60dB dynamic range RMS detectors that are matched to 1.25dB. This provides accurate RF power measurement of high crest-factor signals such as those used in LTE, WiMAX, W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA and CDMA2000 3G or 4G basestations and other high-performance radios employing complex modulation waveforms. Each channel can detect signals accurately from as small as -58dBm to 2dBm, in a log-linear response with a typical linearity of better than +/-0.5dB covering all cellular frequency bands. At higher frequencies, the device is capable of providing 47dB of useful dynamic range up to 6GHz. Unique to the LTC5583, each detector simultaneously tracks the envelope of the modulated input waveform, providing on-chip capability to measure both peak and average signal power.

The LTC5583 has best-in-class channel-to-channel isolation of over 55dB at 2.14GHz, when driven differentially. Unlike other detectors, the LTC5583 can operate single-ended for RF input frequencies up to 2.14GHz, requiring no external balun transformers. This configuration greatly reduces costs without trading off dynamic range and provides isolation better than 40dB. An integrated amplifier measures the difference between the two detector outputs. For applications where one RF input is measuring the forward power and the other the reflected power, the difference output provides real time VSWR results. The two matched detectors are also useful in applications such as monitoring and controlling RF amplifier stage gain. The LTC5583’s matching and isolation performance minimize calibration requirements, thus simplifying designs and reducing costs.

The detectors exhibit outstanding temperature performance. Each detector maintains accuracy of +/-1dB error over a 53dB dynamic range over its specified operating temperature range of -40°C to 85°C. This enables the LTC5583 to be used in rugged environments such as Remote Radio Units (RRUs) or Outdoor Units (ODUs) deployed on cellular towers. Moreover, the device has on-chip provisions for first- and second-order temperature compensation which enable easy calibration for improved temperature performance.

The LTC5583 operates on a single 3.3V supply with total current consumption of 80.5mA. This 266mW is 25% lower power than other available solutions. The device has an enable pin, allowing the chip to power down. In shutdown mode, the device draws a maximum current of 10uA. The LTC5583 is available in a 4mm x 4mm 24-pin QFN package. The LTC5583 is available from stock, priced starting at $9.50 each in quantities of 1,000 pieces. For more information, visit www.linear.com/5583.

Summary of Features: LTC5583

• Operating Frequency Range 40MHz to 6GHz
• Difference Output for VSWR or Power-Gain Measurements
• Channel-to-Channel Matching <1.25dB
• Channel-to-Channel Isolation  >55dB 
• Log-Linear Dynamic Range (Modulated Signals)
  • at 880MHz 61dB
  • at 2.14GHz 60dB
  • at 5.8GHz 49dB
• Accurate RF Measurement 
• Range -58dBm to 2dBm
• Accuracy Over Temperature (-40°C to +85°C) + 1dB
• Flat Detector Response from 700MHz to 2.7GHz
• Single-Ended RF Input (40MHz to 2.2GHz) No External Transformer

About Linear Technology

Linear Technology Corporation, a manufacturer of high performance linear integrated circuits, was founded in 1981, became a public company in 1986 and joined the S&P 500 index of major public companies in 2000. Linear Technology products include high performance amplifiers, comparators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, µModule® products, and many other analog functions. Applications for Linear Technology’s high performance circuits include telecommunications, cellular telephones, networking products such as optical switches, notebook and desktop computers, computer peripherals, video/multimedia, industrial instrumentation, security monitoring devices, high-end consumer products such as digital cameras and MP3 players, complex medical devices, automotive electronics, factory automation, process control, and military and space systems.