Articles – Page 224

December 19, 2012

True to my word, I’m highlighting a handful of x86 processors this week. Well, maybe “handful” isn’t appropriate; more like a bushel full. These things are large.

AMD just rolled out a trio of new Opteron chips for embedded systems. It’s not often that you hear “Opteron” and “embedded” in the same sentence, so some clarification is in order here. (Frankly, it’s not often that you hear Opteron mentioned at all, but that’s a different problem.) These are embedded processors in the sense that a Gulfstream V is a small jet. Sure, … Read More → "AMD Rolls Out the Big Iron"

Ahead by a Node

GLOBALFOUNDRIES 14XM

by Kevin Morris

December 18, 2012

Let’s just get one thing out of the way before we talk about GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ new 14XM process. In electronics, almost nothing is actually what it is named. That’s because names are generally created by marketers rather than engineers. This is actually a good thing. Engineers are way too honest and specific. If engineers named solar panels, instead of “200W Solar Panel” we’d have “Photovoltaic Panel With Somewhere Between 0W and 140W Output That Could, Theoretically, On A Perfect (and Cold) Day At The Equator, With Some Cloud Edge Boost, Within the First Six Months … Read More → "Ahead by a Node"

Minimizing Idle Time

Sensor Hubs Rapidly Gain Ground

by Bryon Moyer

December 17, 2012

Any of you that are as much a fan of a good roadtrip as I am will have stopped off at more than your fair share of truck stops. And you’ll know that there’s no such thing as a quiet truck stop. Even if all of the traffic stopped and the fuel pumps stopped and the insipid inside music stopped, it wouldn’t be quiet.

When everything else goes away, you’re left with the constant thrum of diesel engines idling for hours on end. And you might wonder, isn’t that a waste of … Read More → "Minimizing Idle Time"

Freescale In Your Smart Meter

by Bryon Moyer

December 13, 2012

There’s a building out back behind where I live that has an electric meter on it. While that’s not unusual, what is different about it is that it’s an old-school version. One with a spinning wheel. It has survived the local conversion to smart meters not because of any protest (common around here), but because it’s actually a sub-meter; the main property meter is now digital. This one hasn’t been read by a meter reader in many years. (Which is good for the utility, because, as far as I can tell, it runs backwards.)</ … Read More → "Freescale In Your Smart Meter"

The Secret Ingredient

Altera and ARM Roll FPGA/SoC Tools

by Kevin Morris

December 12, 2012

We’ve talked a lot about the awesome combination of ARM-based processors with FPGA fabric in these pages. The power of a state-of-the-art dual-core ARM matched with the almost infinite flexibility of an FPGA brings to mind so many fantastic possibilities that it’s hard to know where to begin. This combination truly represents a new breed of SoC that is capable of solving a great number of problems that could never be addressed before, and with Altera and Xilinx both now marketing such devices, the excitement has only just begun.

A Humble Christmas Wish

A New Year Filled with New Chips and Fewer Stones

by Jim Turley

December 11, 2012

It’s mid-December, and in journalistic circles, that means it’s time for the year-end wrap-up article filled with enticing prognostications for the upcoming year. Or we just ramble because it’s a slow news week and the advertiser-supplied bourbon is starting to pile up in the break room. In keeping with both hallowed traditions, I offer herewith my own humble observations, wishes, and pronouncements for 2012 and 2013.

For starters, I’d like to see the x86 processor family get a bit more respect. I know, I know, I’m a hypocrite. I’ve been bad-mouthing Intel’s … Read More → "A Humble Christmas Wish"

There’s a New Transistor in Town

SuVolta Bucks the FinFET Craze

by Bryon Moyer

December 10, 2012

By all accounts, the jury has heard the evidence, deliberated, and rendered a verdict: the future is FinFETs. Despite some other folks still trying to remain relevant.

But… just when you think that the case has been settled and all of the affected parties can achieve closure, the decision gets appealed. This particular appeal comes courtesy of startup SuVolta. They’ve got a different way of solving the world’ … Read More → "There’s a New Transistor in Town"

How to Close Timing with Hundreds of Multi-Mode/Multi-Corner Views

by Amelia Dalton

December 6, 2012

In the last decade we have seen the process of timing signoff become increasingly complex. Initial timing analyses at larger process nodes such as 180nm and 130nm were concerned mostly with operation at worst-case and best-case conditions. The distance between adjacent routing tracks was such that coupling capacitances were marginalized by ground and pin capacitance. Hence, engineers seldom looked at the potential issues associated with cross-coupling and noise effects. It was simply easier to add a small amount of margin than to analyze crosstalk.

Starting at 90nm, and even more prominently at 65nm, an increase in coupling … Read More → "How to Close Timing with Hundreds of Multi-Mode/Multi-Corner Views"

The Industry Locksmith

CRI Behind the Scenes

by Kevin Morris

December 4, 2012

When we are worried about our security at home, we usually call a locksmith – a security expert that can analyze our defenses, weigh them against threats (both known and imagined), and help us implement security measures that will meet our goals. This is a difficult job for people to do on their own. Paranoia creeps in, as does complacency. We have a difficult time doing a realistic assessment of our own vulnerabilities and of the capabilities and determination of our adversaries. It helps to bring in a professional.

For example, we may want … Read More → "The Industry Locksmith"

ARTEMIS

Aiming for Success

by Dick Selwood

December 4, 2012

It is sometimes a source of wonder how acronyms are created. ARTEMIS, the European programme to promote embedded systems, was formed from Advanced Research and Technology for Embedded Intelligence and Systems. Which came first the chicken or the egg?

The ARTEMIS programme’s roots are from around 2004, when the European Union recognised that embedded systems were a vital part of the economy, and, while there is a great deal of expertise in Europe, it is scattered across different organisations – commercial, governmental, and educational – and across multiple countries. The underlying idea was that by co-ordinating and supporting research … Read More → "ARTEMIS"