Cover.

qxd 5/6/07 9:34 am Page 1

THE DESIGN CYCLE FORTNIGHTLY W W W. N E W E L E C T R O N I C S . C O . U K

2142 A
JU NIEL 2 0 0 7
PR

Blast off!
For amateurs and professionals
alike, rocketry is challenging,
inspiring, educational and –
above all else – fun!

Special Report: Plus: • RoHS one year on • Virtualisation helps developers mix things up
• Multicore devices spawn signal processing changes • Serial communications bring
Start Ups and Spin Offs FPGA transceiver boost • Lasers hit the spot • Reference board blends in
 In Stock and at Your Door

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nele-apr-10-07-pifc 1 4/4/07 10:16:04

Contents.qxd 7/6/07 5:11 pm Page 3

12 JUNE 2007 VOL 40 NO 11 CONTENTS

John Bradley

COVER STORY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM DESIGN

Rocketry is enabling
both the amateur and DIRECTIVES & STANDARDS REFERENCE DESIGNS
professional to Getting greener Blending into the project
experience engineering A year after RoHS came into force, its real Is this new reference board the shape of
challenges – to infinity impact is only just being felt in some sectors. 23 things to come? 45
and beyond! 14

INTRA DESIGN SPECIAL REPORT

REGULARS
EMBEDDED SOFTWARE START UPS AND SPIN OFFS
Comment DEVELOPMENT Investing in innovation
Private equity has cash Pick and mix How fishing in the same ‘Pond’ helps
to spare for profitable How virtualisation mixes different operating to provide investment for great ideas. 19
and stable technology systems on a single hardware platform. 27
companies. 5
SIGNAL PROCESSING PRODUCT NEWS
News Signalling a change Intra Design 34
ST launches Cortex-M3 A new algorithmic development approach is
based mcu. 6 needed for multicore and fpga coprocessors. 31
TSMC eases DFM
uncertainty at DAC. 8
MEMS device targets
industrial motion
INTER DESIGN
control. 10 PROGRAMMABLE PLATFORMS
Location feature added Transceiver take up
to ZigBee chip. 12 Manufacturers increase transceivers on
fpgas to accommodate emerging serial
ADVANCE IN THE interface standards. 37 Is your company producing
PROFESSION innovative designs? If so, why not
Should you be thinking
OPTOELECTRONICS enter the Innovation and Design
about an MBA for your
Point of interest Excellence Awards?
career? 49
New optical filtering techniques are enabling For more information, go to:
one laser to generate three wavelengths. 41 www.ideawards.co.uk
Appointments 51

8 23 27 37
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Leader.qxd 6/6/07 3:55 pm Page 5

PRIVATE EQUITY COMMENT

L SE change?
Private equity companies still have more than enough cash to spare.

H
ow much private equity is there in the world?
Without putting a number to it, the answer is
‘lots’. And the investment firms still have a more
than a bit of loose change, at least judging by
recent activity.
A leading Silicon Valley news source claims that 121 private
equity buyouts have been completed this year already, with a
value of $109.9billion. Last year, 299 deals were struck, worth
$94.8bn.
And there are still quite a few deals bubbling away. There’s Graham Pitcher, Editor gpitcher@findlay.co.uk
an $8bn acquisition of networking specialist Avaya in process
and Palm has just sold a quarter of its stock in exchange for
$325million – much needed, apparently.
But the big rumour swirling around is whether Cadence Why the interest in technology, however? The answer is that
could be the next private equity target. The company has been the sector is now maturing – if not matured. Early stage investors
subject to acquisition rumours over the recent past, but linking are used to the ‘white knuckle’ ride of getting companies off the
it with private equity investors is a new twist. ground and the accompanying risk. The private equity investors
You have the feeling that Cadence will be a big ticket who ‘swallowed’ NXP and Freescale, for example, are more
investment, should it happen. Under Mike Fister, the company interested in a steady revenue stream, along with the opportunity
has seen its capitalisation rise to $6.5bn – and the acquisition for a little ‘asset stripping’. So, while there are profitable and stable
rumours boosted that by 6% overnight. technology companies, there will be interest from private equity.

Editor Graham Pitcher Associate Editor Mike Richardson US Correspondent Paul Dempsey (newelectronics.usa@cox.net)
Contributing Editors David Boothroyd, Louise Joselyn, Vanessa Knivett, Roy Rubenstein Art Editor David Walters Illustrator Phil Holmes
Sales Director Tricia Bodsworth Business Development Director Lee Nye Circulation Manager Chris Jones (circulation@findlay.co.uk)
Production Controller Derek Gill Publisher Peter Ring
Represented in North America by Huson International Media (www.husonusa.com)
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Represented in Japan by Shinano International: Kazuhiko Tanaka, Akasaka Kyowa Bldg, 1-6-14 Akasaka, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 107-0052
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ISSN 0047-9624
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Copyright 2007 Findlay Publications. Annual subscription (22 issues) for readers in the UK is £105, overseas is £160, and airmail is £196.
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N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7 5
pg 6.qxd 7/6/07 4:40 pm Page 6
MICROCONTROLLERS
ST targets 8 and 16bit
32bit micro launch to boost UK design opportunities. Graham Pitcher reports.
S TMicroelectronics has announced
a new family of 32bit flash micro-
controllers based on the ARM Cortex-
M3 core. According to the company,
the combination of high performance,
low power and low cost will make the
range attractive to existing 8 and 16bit
users looking to upgrade.
Frederic Gaillard, an ST microcon-
troller product marketing engineer, said
High precision,
low power
Intersil has launched a range of low
power, high accuracy analogue devices.
According to Simon Prutton, general
manager of the company’s analog and
mixed signal products business: “We
have identified many unsatisfied needs
for products that deliver improved
accuracy over temperature and time.
The first of these parts are launching
under the pinPOINT name.”
The pinPOINT range will include
precision voltage references, op amps,
comparators, instrumentation ampli-
fiers and current sensing amplifiers.
WEEE registration
‘on track’
With the 1 July WEEE deadline
approaching, the Environment Agency
believes most major producers, rebran-
ders and importers of household elec-
trical and electronic equipment have
signed up with an approved compli-
ance scheme.
Liz Parkes, the Agency’s Head of
Waste, said: “Initial data ... indicates the
major companies are signed up.” But
some smaller businesses obligated under
the WEEE Regulations still haven’t reg-
istered. “Our advice to these businesses
is to get into a scheme as soon as possi-
ble ... if you leave it too late, you risk get-
ting prosecuted,” she warned.
• For more on Directives and Stan-
dards, see p23
6 N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
FRONT PAGE NEWS
the objective of the STM32 range was
to bring new degrees of freedom to
developers by offering good power effi-
from a supply between 2 and 3.6V, draw-
ing a maximum of 36mA at 72MHz with
all peripherals clocked. With peripherals
UK manager Ollie Althorpe
believes the part boasts specifications
that will be attractive to UK designers.
ciency, a good peripheral set and high off, power consumption is 22mA and “It’s a world leading device; battery
levels of integration. “But a good micro standby mode draws 2mA. capable and powerful. It hits where the
starts with a good engine,” he claimed, There will be two lines in the fam- UK market needs it to hit and gives our
“so we chose the Cortex-M3 core ily. The Performance range will run at small and medium sized companies the
because it offer 1.25Dhrystone 72MHz, while the Access range will run ability to tackle new applications – for
MIPS/MHz.” at 36MHz. Both feature up to 128k of instance, the ability to run high speed
ST says the devices in the family run flash, but offer different sram capacities. displays directly.”
First MicroTCA win?
Motorola has claimed the industry’s
first MicroTCA design win for com-
munications computing applications.
Under the deal, Hypercom will inte-
grate Motorola’s Centellis 1000 series
communications server into its transac-
tion network products designed for use
in transport point of sale transactions.
“Centellis 1000 series server will
help us accelerate delivery of our high
security network transaction products
to new markets by providing an
advanced and system oriented platform
for next generation POS networking
products,” said Neil Hudd, Hyper-
com’s senior vp for global product
development and marketing.
Back illumination
boost
Imaging specialist e2v is claiming a
‘dramatic’ improvement in the sensitiv-
ity of devices aimed at medium volume
Medical approval applications through the use of back
illumination.
The company says it has combined its
Plexus UK has been accredited to ISO13485, the quality standard sensor expertise with the circuit layer
for medical device design. transfer technology of Soitec subsidiary
ISO13485 takes a process approach to quality management. Andy Tracit Technologies. “e2v’s sensor
Allen, Plexus’ vp Europe said: “The medical device market is breakthrough is the result of our opti-
fundamental to our business in Europe. The design, development mised manufacturing processes and
and manufacture of devices for this market requires an extremely Tracit’s expertise,” said Jean-Philippe
high process standard and the award of ISO13485 demonstrates Lamarcq, Imaging Business Unit Gen-
our commitment to the regulatory requirements related to the eral Manager at e2v’s Grenoble site.
design of medical devices.” “We are proud to be first in the medium
volume professional image sensor mar-
ket to offer this innovative solution.”
nele-apr-10-07-p007 03/04/2007 12:54 PM Page 1

>IHI6GIH=:G:
;>C9L=6INDJC::96IJ@#9><>@:N#8DB

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a million products now
available online!*
uk.digikey.com
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pg 8.qxd 7/6/07 4:39 pm Page 8

DAC REPORT US NEWS

Manufacturing clarity
TSMC moves to end DFM uncertainty. Paul Dempsey reports from DAC in San Diego.

L eading foundry TSMC has unveiled

its latest steps to reduce uncertainty
over meeting design for manufacture
(DFM) requirements. Its Reference Flow
8.0, aimed at designs up to 45nm and
unveiled at last week’s Design Automa-
tion Conference, now includes an auto-
matic DFM design fix feature.
“We have been in a ‘green-amber-
red’ kind of situation and obviously
designers have wanted more clarity. It’s
important that we are now really offering
that in terms of physical DFM,” said
Tom Quan, deputy director for design
service marketing at TSMC.
At the same time, the foundry has
launched its Active Accuracy Assurance
initiative, which will be based on marry-
ing and intense data mining of its manu-
facturing data with the tools supplied by
partner EDA vendors and in house soft-
ware used by major clients.
Both Reference Flow 8.0 and the
AAA scheme mark a new phase in an
often tense relationship between
TSMC and its clients and eda partners
over the degree of visibility it has
offered into its proprietary manufactur-
ing processes.
“There are still issues over how the
data is interpreted and imported into
tools,” said Rajeev Madhavan, ceo of
TSMC partner Magma Design Automa-
tion. “The good thing is that the question
is now more about the use of the data
rather than what we do and do not have.”
Both Quan and Madhavan said that
further refinements to the DFM compo-
nent of TSMC’s main flow are required
in terms of electrical DFM.

Resource nightmare? ESL gets IP boost

The 32nm node is threatening to turn
into a engineering resource nightmare,
according to speakers at DAC last week.
Aart de Geus, chairman and eda of
Synopsys (above), noted: “We are seeing
the early designs in 32nm already.”
However, he also expects a significant lag
to persist between the introduction and
widespread adoption of growing and
upcoming process nodes.
According to De Geus, the gap
between initial significant activity in
65nm and then 45nm had ‘clocked at
exactly 24 months’, but he added the
‘mainstream’ was then lagging behind
these power users by up to four years.
Even heavily resourced companies
see 32nm as another step along a diffi-
culty curve growing exponentially. Kazu
Yamada, vp and general manager of Cus-
tom SoC solutions at NEC Electronics
America, said an internal analysis indi-
cated that a 32nm design undertaken by
a ‘typical’ team of 40 engineers could
take 10 years to complete.
Two major IP providers have released
system level (ESL) models of key prod-
ucts addressing obstacles to implement-
ing abstracted methodologies.
Sonics and ARM are now distrib-
uting models for interconnect and on
chip communication IP alongside tra-
ditional RTL versions. Such models
would previously have been created on
a third party basis.
ARM’s C++ model offering within
the AMBA Adaptive Verification IP
package was described as a consequence
of work it had already undertaken. “We
need to create the verfication IP our-
selves to ensure the quality before we
IBM releases SoI kit release a product, so it makes sense to
make it more widely available,” said Rob
Kaye, ARM IP portfolio manager.
IBM is to release its silicon on insulator (SoI) technology into the
broader foundry market. A 45nm design kit for SOI asics will be
released in early 2008, anticipating the first tape outs towards the end Rocket men
of next year and a volume ramp during 2009.
SoI has, so far, been confined to high performance microprocessors, Start up GateRocket unveiled its Rock-
but Big Blue will now be aiming at the consumer, aerospace, defence, etDrive ‘device native’ verification
storage and multimedia markets, said Richard Busch, director for asic modules.
products and services in IBM’s Global Engineering Solutions division. “FPGA vendors make huge tools
The CU-45HP custom asic offering will also include the SOI embedded investments, but the cap has been in
dram unveiled at ISSCC earlier this year, and be available through all allowing simulation, rather than emu-
partners in its Common Platform foundry alliance (also Chartered lation. (We’re) allowing the engineer to
Semiconductor Manufacturing and Samsung). do validation and test before going to
IBM is also launching its first silicon germanium process incorporating production,” said GateRocket presi-
through silicon via technology – where vias can be used the ground dent and ceo Dave Orecchio.
plane and which also has potential applications for stacked packages The company provides Linux PC
(available this Summer). modules featuring Altera Stratix 2 or
Latest process additions are rounded out with a low leakage offering Xilinx Virtex 4 devices. The verifica-
for handset design (available later this year) and a cost optimised SiGe tion engineer can then place any por-
design kit (available now). tion of the fpga design into this drive
and run simulation software from
almost all major vendors.

8 N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
 Bidirectional current monitors that make sense.
In measurement and control, analog is everywhere.

AD8210 Precision over temperature—guaranteed

Bidirectional Current Sense Amplifier
With our new AD8210 bidirectional current sense amplifier, you get the
• –2 V to +65 V operating common-mode voltage range
• –40°C to +125°C operating temperature range
industry’s most integrated, flexible, and accurate current sense monitor.
• 120 dB typical CMRR at dc With features like ⫾8 ␮V/°C maximum offset drift and 20 ppm/°C
• 10 ppm/°C typical gain drift maximum gain drift guaranteed across the entire –40°C to +125°C
• Gain of 20 temperature range, it represents a milestone in precision current sense
• 500 kHz bandwidth monitoring. The AD8210 improves your ability to meet your error budget
• Price: $1.79/1k and to control more precisely a wide range of loads in communications,
industrial, and medical applications. Two other bidirectional monitors—the
AD8205 (gain of 50 V/V) and the AD8206 (gain of 20 V/V)—offer 50 kHz
operation and excellent performance over temperature.
500
400 All three amplifiers feature an innovative ratiometric output offset
300 architecture that inherently improves the accuracy of your ADC and your
200
system. With a typical 5 V single-supply, each device can be configured
100
for both bidirectional and unidirectional current sensing. Excellent output
0
–100
accuracy is maintained throughout the input voltage range through the
–200 use of a proprietary thin film precision network.
–300
–400
For more information on ADI’s current sense amplifiers and monitors,
–500 please visit www.analog.com/currentsense-EU
–40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130

www.analog.com/currentsense-EU

Tel: +44 (0) 1932 358 530 Fax: +32 (0)11 300 635
analog is everywhere is a trademark of Analog Devices, Inc.

nele-jun-12-07-p009 1 4/6/07 09:35:15

pg 10.qxd 7/6/07 5:14 pm Page 10
MOTION SENSING
Sensing opportunities
Motion sensor targets high end devices. Graham Pitcher reports.
A n advanced motion sensor from
Analog Devices is set to address
applications previously served by more
expensive parts. In a move which
extends its iSensor range, the
ADIS16355 inertial measurement unit
delivers performance and functionality
previously reserved for defence, aero-
space and other high end applications at
approximately one tenth of the cost.
Right by design
The introduction of Simulink Design
Verifier by The MathWorks will allow
developers of embedded systems to
obtain test cases to satisfy industry
standard metrics, whilst uncovering
design errors earlier in the development
process.
“Model Based Design is becoming
a widely used approach for embedded
system development, moving from
R&D and proof of concept projects
into production programs,” said Paul
Barnard, marketing director of design
automation at The MathWorks.
Simulink Design Verifier, which
generates tests and proves design prop-
erties for Simulink and Stateflow mod-
els incorporates the Prover Plug-In from
Prover Technology, which searches pos-
sible execution paths of a model for test
cases and counter examples.
10
Bob Scannell, iSensor business
development manager, noted: “If you
look at what’s typically shipped, it’s
usually sensor and signal conditioning.
We’ve added calibration, which is a big
thing for industrial customers.”
Although the six degree of freedom
unit measures 2.3cm per side, its com-
petitors are much bigger ‘and cost a few
thousand dollars’, said Scannell. The
A need for speed
Integrating analyser, generator
and RNC simulator, the
MS269X series of signal
analysers from Anritsu is said
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
NEWS
‘355 and its sister product the ‘350 cost
less than $359.
Ease of use is a key benefit, Scannell
contended. “All key parameters can be
tuned using the spi port,” he noted,
“including dynamic range and filtering.”
A wide range of motion control
applications will be targeted for the
parts, including robotics, platform sta-
bilisation and artificial limbs.
to meet the speed and
functionality needs of next
generation mobile
communications test systems.
Camcon eyes global
expansion
Cambridge Consultants has made
three senior management changes and
unveiled plans to expand global opera-
tions over the next five years, creating
more than 200 new jobs.
CEO Dr Brian Moon has relo-
cated to the company’s US office,
where he will accelerate expansion in
medtech and wireless communications
consulting.
Meanwhile, Alan Richardson has
been promoted to deputy ceo and will
concentrate efforts on growing the UK
office. Richardson will be succeeded as
cto by Ray Edgson, who retains his role
as ventures director.
PCB and simulation
solution to improve
design quality
Synopsys and Zuken have announced a
partnership to develop an integrated pcb
design and simulation product. The
solution, which will combine Synopsys’
Saber Simulator and Zuken’s CR-5000
System Designer, will deliver a platform
capable of system level electronic design,
simulation and verification.
“Working with Synopsys to inte-
grate our design and simulation envi-
ronments, we can improve the quality
and reliability of product design. This
partnership can make the Zuken solu-
tion one of the most comprehensive
pcb design environments available,”
said Zuken’s European general man-
ager Gerhard Lipski.
 Industry defined. Analog Devices designed.
In energy metering, analog is everywhere.
ICs for energy metering designs
ADE71xx and ADE75xx families:
Energy metering core, MCU, flash
memory, LCD driver, RTC, and intelligent
battery management
ADF7021: Narrow-band transceivers
extend range, resist interference
ADM2483: Isolated RS-485
transceiver supports 500 kbps data
rate and 256 nodes on bus
Blackfin® Processor: Maximizes
performance and efficiency in
control processing and signal
processing applications
ADE7758: 3-phase energy
a
measurement IC performs active,
reactive, and apparent measurement
rms calculations
nele-apr-24-07-p009 1
Smarter on-chip integration offers superior
performance and value
The ideal energy measurement ICs for LCD display meters are here.
Our ADE71xx and ADE75xx families represent a technology innovation
that offers meter manufacturers and power utilities:
• Intelligent battery control
• LCD contrast control with low dc offset
• Improved meter reliability
• Ultralow battery mode power consumption
• Lower BOM cost with greater design simplicity
Analog Devices smartly integrates leading analog and mixed-signal
ICs with application-optimized functionality for unequalled design
features. We offer a broad portfolio of energy metering solutions,
with an integration road map for continued reliability, size, cost, and
power improvements.
With signal processing ICs inside 175 million meters, Analog Devices
is the industry’s most trusted IC supplier. To learn more about our
energy metering ICs, visit our website.
www.analog.com/energy-EU
Tel: +44 (0)1932 358 530 Fax: +32 (0)11 300 635
©2007 Analog Devices, Inc. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective owners.
13/4/07 12:32:49
pg. 12.qxd 7/6/07 4:53 pm Page 12
TRACKING CHIP
Where are you?
Location hardware means ZigBee chip knows its position. Graham Pitcher reports.
R esponding to a perceived need for
tracking abilities within a ZigBee
network, Texas Instruments has
launched the CC2431, said to be the
first SoC solution to boast a hardware
location engine.
Targeted at industrial and con-
sumer applications, the part is an
upgrade to the existing CC2430, devel-
BAA signs radar contract
UK based radar systems
specialist Navtech Radar has
won a contract for its W800
Automatic Surveillance system
from BAA. The system will be
installed at Heathrow, where it
will provide continuous automatic
surveillance of areas within the
airport’s perimeter.
Navtech W800 is a high
frequency all weather radar,
scanning through 360°. It
automatically controls CCTV
Have you seen the number one 3D Extractor?
VISIT WWW.HFSS.COM and see how it will work for you.
12
oped by Chipcon before its recent
acquisition by TI.
Product marketing engineer Eric
Markman said the CC2431 calculates
its position by determining the strength
of signals received from nearby ZigBee
nodes. A mobile device can use this fea-
ture to determine its location or a static
device can be tracked. He added:
cameras to allow intruders to be
identified and tracked and can
detect objects up to 800m away
in all weather conditions.
“This is a landmark contract for
Navtech,” said managing director
Andrew Rosenthal. “There is no
question that BAA is our most
prestigious UK customer to date.”
The contract has been awarded
following a successful four month
trial of the system at Gatwick
airport last year.
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
NEWS
“Potential applications include asset
tracking and location. In a hospital, for
example, the approach can be used to
control where expensive and important
equipment is stored. But it could also
be used as for patient tracking, which
can’t be done effectively with gps.”
Accuracy is better than 5m, depend-
ing upon the number of nearby nodes.
FPGAs get boost
The third generation of non volatile
fpgas from Lattice is said to represent
the first such range produced on a
90nm process.
The XP2 family offers up to 40k
look up tables and adds dedicated dsp
blocks whilst boosting performance by
25% and, according to Lattice, dropping
the price per function by up to 50%.
The parts use Fujitsu’s 90nm
embedded flash technology, providing
such benefits as ‘instant on’. Claiming
that most applications need some form
of dsp, the parts come with up to 12
sysDSP blocks. The programmable
blocks boast pipelined MAC functions,
with up to 36 x 36 capability.
Synplicity acquires
asic prototyper
Synplicity has signed a definitive
agreement to acquire Swedish asic
prototyping specialist HARDI Elec-
tronics. According to the company,
the asic prototyping market is one the
fastest growing segments of the eda
industry, and the acquisition makes it
the leader in this part of the asic veri-
fication market.
Gary Meyers, Synplicity’s ceo, said:
“This is a major strategic move for Syn-
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the HARDI asic prototyping boards.”
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nele-jun-12-07-p013 1 31/5/07 14:07:52

Cover story.qxd 6/6/07 5:11 pm Page 14
All systems... GO!
S
For amateur and tart the countdown: Five … Race into space
tourism could soon be a reality. Four …
Amateur rocketry is fascinating and much
professional alike, rocketry more challenging than it first appears. Three …
Hobbyist rocketeers are developing electronics that
is challenging, inspiring, parallel those used in the professional world. Two
… It’s a great way to introduce children to a range
educational and of engineering based disciplines. One … Not for-
getting the immense fun and enjoyment it pro-
– above all else – fun! vides both adults and children. Blast off!
To really get off the ground however, it’s
By Mike Richardson. worth tracing the history of the UK’s rocket
technology which first came to prominence with
the work of William Congreve during the early
19th Century. At this point Britain led the world
in rocket technology but fell behind in the 1930s
when liquid propellant technology was developed
in Nazi Germany.
“After World War II, Britain developed a
series of rocket engines using hydrogen perox-
ide as an oxidiser,” explained British Rocketry
Oral History Programme (BROHP) director
and historian David Wright. “This technology
- developed by Walther in Germany - led to
the Gamma engines used by the UK’s Black
Arrow rocket for launching the Prospero
satellite.”
Wright claims that British rocket tech-
nology went into decline after the decision
to cancel the UK developed Blue Streak
and buy missiles for nuclear deterrent
instead. Without the kind of subsidy pro-
vided to other countries, the UK strug-
gled to support a civilian launcher
programme and was finally cancelled in
1971. However, even then some politi-
cians argued that it would be more prof-
itable for the UK to develop satellites
rather than rockets. The Astrium facil-
ity at Stevenage which used to man-
ufacture Blue Streak now produces
some of the largest and most expen-
sive satellites ever built.
If the UK had been less focused on
cold war defence issues it might
have developed a profitable com-
mercial satellite launcher.
14 N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
But our interest in rocketry didn’t end there and
today, amateur rocketry provides many interest-
ing challenges to anyone with a technical bent.
Organisations such as the United Kingdom
Rocketry Association (UKRA) promote and rep-
resent high, medium power and model rocketry
for amateur research, educational and recre-
ational purposes. Equally, the Mars Advanced
Rocket Society (MARS) is funded through
private donations and corporate sponsorship
and strives ‘to put Britain back in space’
through the development of
rockets and related technolo-
gies. Launching rockets up to
32,000ft in America’s Black Rock
desert, MARS is a prime example
of people getting together and shar-
ing knowledge.
Aspiring rocketeers can gain
valuable exposure to the engineer-
ing skills of designing and build-
ing airframes capable of surviving
rocket flight. It helps to enforce
the message that engineering can
be educational and ‘fun’ for adults and children
alike. Associations such as the East Anglian
Rocketry Society (EARS) provide opportunity
to meet fellow enthusiasts, share information
and have an enjoyable time flying handmade
creations.
EARS’ club secretary, Mike Roberts says flyers at
the club come from a variety of backgrounds.
“We have folks who discovered Estes model
rockets, look for somewhere to fly them, find
our club and get hooked. We meet teachers
that now use rocketry in the classroom to teach
science and engineering, and one has got so
interested that he’s taken his experiences back
to college to provide new and challenging
projects for students.”
Meanwhile, the formation of the Purley Ama-
teur Rocketry Society (PARS) came by pure
chance rather than design. A boy’s model
rocket birthday present for his dad set them on
a course that became a focal point for bring-
ing friends together, getting outdoors and
having fun.
Cover story.qxd 6/6/07 4:06 pm Page 15

ROCKETEERING COVER STORY

Under the guidance of the ‘dad’, Howard Smith, Left: PARS’ Oliver Smith and
his son Oliver and friends Daniel Goldsmith and friends get ready to ‘blast into
Kes Daood use SpaceCAD to design and build open skies’.
rockets, and with the PARS motto ‘blast into open
skies’, it sure beats the kind of school design tech- Centre: Mission control. On
nology lessons where the limit of ambition seems to the launch pad at one of the
stop at coat hooks and wine racks. many rocketry events held
“Boys need inspiration to go forward in tech- throughout the UK.
nology, and model rockets is one way forward,”
stated Smith. “If you consider what they are doing
at school in woodwork or metalwork, they’re usu-
ally making candlestick holders. Schools could be
more ambitious and I hope that technology teach-
ers are motivated to do something more interesting.
My aim is to try and get the boys enthused by build-
ing things that involve technology. Sometimes you
need to bring them back down to earth by telling
them that they have to simulate the rocket first to
ensure stability, but they quickly learn engineering
principles.”
Alongside the educational aspect of design tech-
nology Smith says the boys also
develop a responsible attitude
when handling rocket motors and
work as a team to conduct the
required safety checks before, dur- sation of a rocket by getting it to fly without any Below: Ready for launch. Niall
ing and after a launch. fins and hover by moving the motor around.” The Oswald’s rocket contains self
University of Bristol third year first iteration comprised a homemade gyroscope built electronics, including a
electrical and electronic engineer- built from a bicycle dynamo rotor magnet, a pro- datalogger/prototype altimeter,
ing undergraduate, Niall Oswald pelling pencil and opto sensors to detect its position a full functioned altimeter with
feels that many people are drawn and trigger the driving coils. This has successfully deployment control and a
to rocketry by the ‘whoosh-bang’ evolved throughout various revisions into a dynam- general purpose timer.
factor. “For most it’s recreational, ically stabilised rocket.
but involves learning new skills Mike Bessant runs an instrumentation consul-
and obtaining personal achievements - not just in tancy since leaving his post as director of the Intel-
designing electronics, but in construction and ligent Instrumentation Group at Cranfield
propulsion.” University. “I use a rocket pow-
Electronics design is one area ered by a cluster of engines to lift
where rocketeers can push the a 200grams instrumentation pay-
envelope to the point where it load which transmits real-time
meets the orbit of professional video and a number of sensor
rocketry. Onboard electronics can channels over a 2.4GHz teleme-
involve home built and designed try link to a ground station for
hardware, specialist commercial recording,” he stated. “The air-
equipment used for flight com- borne video is not only very enter-
puters/altimeters to log accelera- taining, but can be correlated
tion, air pressure and fire ejection with sensor data displayed on a
charges to recover the rocket; timers to time staging pc. This instrumentation is a proven tool for post
events on multistage rockets; gps to record flight flight analysis.”
profiles and aid rocket recovery; telemetry systems For high power rocketry, Oswald uses a ‘G-Wiz
to down link data during flight; video systems to MC’ altimeter/accelerometer to perform deploy-
either record onboard or downlink video of the ment of parachute, report peak altitude and log alti-
flight; tracking systems to locate lost rockets and tude/acceleration data. Data logging shows the
experimental payloads. acceleration experienced by the rocket at lift-off.
Airborne Engineering’s director, James Macfar- “It’s quite something to see that a rocket you’ve built
lane is intent on ‘boldly going’ where no rocketeer in your garage has pulled 40g or accelerated from
has gone before. “I’ve prototyped the active stabili- 0-500mph in just over a second!”

N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7 15
Cover story.qxd 6/6/07 4:42 pm
ROCKETEERING
Above: Blast off! There aren’t
many hobbies where you can
break Mach 1 accelerating to
hundreds of miles an hour in
fractions of a second, pulling
50g or more!
Below: Electronics design is
one area where rocketeers can
push the envelope to the point
where it meets the orbit of
professional rocketry.
16
Page 16
Oswald has designed and built three devices: a
data logger/prototype altimeter, a fully functioned
altimeter with deployment control and a simple
general purpose timer - all based on various mem-
bers of the PICAXE microcontroller family. He says
the ability to reprogram without removing the chip
from the pcb speeds code development and testing.
“The prototype consisted of a Motorola MPX
series barometric pressure sensor, a signal condi-
tioning circuit, a PICAXE-18X microcontroller
and two 256kbit eeproms. The PICAXE provides
an a/d and i2c routines for accessing the eeprom, so
in essence a working altimeter can be built with
minimal components beyond the pressure sensor,
PIC and eeprom. I learnt a lot about op amps and
filtering through building this prototype.”
Two main obstacles are robustness and rocket
recovery. Rockets come down under parachute
which means its descent can drift some distance -
especially when it may have been over 10,000ft
high. Often rockets land on arable farms where
crops can hide its location so any electronic aid to
help find the rocket is welcome.
Roberts sums up robustness in a nutshell:
“There aren’t many hobbies where you can break
Mach 1 accelerating from 0 to 100s of miles an
hour in fractions of a second pulling 50g or more!
If you don’t build robust electronics, you will lose
components from the pcb. Hybrid motors can have
high levels of vibration and I have seen commercial
switches shaken to pieces by hybrid flights.”
Amateur and professional parallels
Technical parallels exist between amateur and pro-
fessional rocketry. Oswald says the fuel propulsion
ammonium perchlorate com-
posite propellant (APCP) is used
in amateur solid rocket motors
and Space Shuttle boosters.
To infinity and beyond, the
future of rocketry presents chal-
lenges for more exploration and
development, and there is scope
for the enthusiastic amateur to
invent a new technology or
exploit a new market.
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
COVER STORY
“One of the applications that really excites me is
planetary missions,” said Macfarlane. “This is
where the cutting edge of electronics meets the final
frontier of rocket technology. Miniaturisation of
components and systems has made it cheaper and
easier to do amazing science like sending probes to
Mars or performing comet rendezvous.”
According to Wright, British engineers have
never entirely lost interest in Space flight and a joint
venture by BAe and Rolls Royce introduced the
HOTOL programme in the 1980s with what
remains one of the most complete designs for an
orbital Spaceplane.
“The HOTOL programme ended when the
Government declined further investment,”
explained Reaction Engines’ managing director,
Alan Bond.
Bond intends to build a launch vehicle that
can take off, fly like Concorde, go into orbit,
return to earth and the next day do the same
again. “We’re well on the way to achieving this
aim and if we succeed, people will see it as an
embodiment of these aspirations. We named it
Skylon (pictured above) after the 1951 Festival of
Britain structure. Skylon was seen as a symbol of
Britain’s technological, political and cultural
aspirations.”
His hope is that it will transform
space transportation. “Skylon
will have tremendous scientific
and cultural impact, not only on
Britain, but the whole world.”
Could Bond and his team help
the UK reach for the stars and
launch rocket technology into
the next generation of space
flight?
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©2007 Intersil Americas Inc. All rights reserved. The following are trademarks or services marks owned by Intersil Corporation
or one of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the USA and/or other countries: Intersil (and design) and i (and design).

nele-jun-12-07-p017 1 31/5/07 14:09:48

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nele-jun-12-07-p018 1 5/6/07 09:53:41

Spin.qxd 6/6/07 4:01 pm Page 19
START UPS AND SPIN OFFS
Investing in innovation
B
ack in 2000, industry veteran
Peter Claydon and wireless ‘guru’
Dr Doug Pulley joined forces as
picoChip to create a solution to a digital
signal processing need they had identified.
“We had developed the business con-
cept and technology over a period of five
or six months,” said Claydon. “We were
using our own money and knew from the
start that we could not afford to continue
for more than a year before securing
investment, so it was at this very early
stage that we got in touch with Pond
Ventures.”
High risk, but big rewards
According to Pond’s Richard Irving:
“The market for dsps is huge – about
$8billion a year and growing. But for
hard tasks, current architectures have run
out of steam. What the dsp market needs
is a powerful engine that allows software
to be written and then modified easily at
a later date.
“The big companies generally can’t
afford to develop and launch a new archi-
tecture: it is too risky and expensive,” he
contended, “and takes away resources
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
SPECIAL REPORT
Start ups fish in the same ‘Pond’.
By Graham Pitcher.
from existing product lines.”
Because of these market pressures,
this problem has been addressed prima-
rily by start ups – companies like
Chameleon, Morphics, BOPS, Equator,
Systolix and Chromatic Research have all
taken up the challenge.
“Pond was naturally sceptical when
picoChip claimed to have solved the
problem, but it did a great job at con-
vincing us that a key hardware innova-
tion made it much easier to write
software,” continued Irving. “We realised
a breakthrough on this scale could build
a very successful company.”
Pond was serious about picoChip
from the beginning. At the time, due
diligence for an early stage investment
normally comprised an hour long phone
call. However, Irving took four key pic-
oChip staff to meet prospective cus-
tomers. These intensive visits, which
included all day meetings with technolo-
gists, were a baptism of fire for Claydon
and Dr Pulley.
This approach was useful, not only to
picoChip, but also to Pond as it helped
to clarify whether it was going to invest.
For picoChip, it meant its strategy and
focus became clear at an early stage.
“This is what Pond is good at,” said
Rupert Baines, picoChip’s vp of market-
ing. “It has the ability and the address
book that can get start ups into places
they would never be able to get alone.”
After completion of due diligence, but
while the lawyers were finishing the paper-
work, a local group of engineers was let go
by a US company. picoChip’s founders
knew them and wanted to hire them – but
the money was not yet available.
“It was frustrating”, Claydon recalled.
“We had 12 experienced engineers we
wanted to employ, but although they
wanted to work with us, many had other
job offers. We discussed this with Pond
and, one Friday evening, two Pond part-
ners came to Bath, looked them in the
eye and assured them of Pond’s commit-
ment.” As a result, all 12 decided to join
and several started work immediately,
19
Spin.qxd 6/6/07 4:02 pm Page 20
START UPS AND SPIN OFFS
They had a great idea
Stewart Graham, pictured above, was work-
ing with Renesas in a senior rf marketing posi-
tion, but had started thinking about what to do
next. “I’d met a number of people in start ups
and was impressed with their sparkle,” he
said. “It inspired me to look into it a bit further.”
trusting they would be paid when the
money came in.
Pond invested in picoChip in 2001,
along with Atlas Ventures, and the com-
pany grew to 35 people by the end of the
year.
Having committed to picoChip, Pond
used its financial and marketing expertise
20
SPECIAL REPORT
One of the first things he did was to get in
touch with Pond to present some of his ideas,
but they didn’t work out. “But we built our rela-
tionship over a couple of years, discussing
ideas and I got involved with due diligence
with some of their other projects.”
Meanwhile, Air’s cofounder David Tester,
had come to Pond with his own ideas. “Pond
liked him and saw some potential,” Graham
continued, “so they introduced us. We worked
together for a couple of months, then went
back to Pond with a business plan, which they
agreed and funded.”
Air was founded in May 2006, since when
it has recruited seven people and now has
plans to expand further.
Graham noted that, from a very early stage
– almost the Powerpoint stage – Pond recog-
nised his and Tester’s marketing and engi-
neering expertise. “That’s the part we’re trying
to do,” he noted. “But there’s a lot of other stuff
involved and we had no idea about this. Pond
really understands the business and supports
us. They fill in a lot of the ‘blanks’ themselves
and get other people involved when they can.”
to ensure the company got off on the right
foot. In that first year, Irving was involved
in operational issues, such as planning for
manufacturing, whilst Baines – a Pond
associate partner at the time – helped with
marketing and strategy.
Whilst this sort of help would not be
unusual in the US, especially in Silicon
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
Valley, it was unusual in the UK. “It is
getting better,” commented Baines, “but
five years ago, it was difficult to find a
VC working like this. It is unusual for a
UK based VC to have the technical
understanding that you get from Pond.”
In July 2002, Baines moved full time to
picoChip.
Baines believes this is the way forward
for European VCs. “This is the way VCs
operate in the US and it works. The
cliché is that Britain has great technol-
ogy, but fails to commercialise it. For
early stage investing, there is a need for
investors with industry experience, who
can roll up their sleeves to help with the
‘go to market’ strategy and who have a
deep understanding of the environ-
ment.”
Posing a key question
One key question which Pond helped
picoChip to answer was whether to sell
chips for terminals, like mobile phones,
or for infrastructure, like wireless base
stations. “Together, we chose the latter,”
Irving concluded, “and picoChip is the
only player to focus on infrastructure.
That, combined with an easily pro-
grammed architecture, has made it the
de facto solution for next generation
wireless.”
Today, picoChip has a workforce of
more than 75 people, it has working
technology and blue chip customers,
including Intel, Nortel and Korea Tele-
com. As a result, Pond is less involved in
the day to day operations, although it
still has partners on the board.
“A friend once said there are three
types of VC – hands off, hands on and
hands in – and the art is to strike the
right balance between the three styles,”
continued Baines. “Now picoChip is
more established, there is less input from
Pond, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t
involved and we know it is there to give
as advice whenever we need it.”
Left:
picoChip’s founders Pete Claydon, left,
and Doug Pulley, with the company’s
LTE basestation development board.
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Standards.qxd 6/6/07 3:59 pm Page 23
DIRECTIVES & STANDARDS
Getting greener
A
s the transition to RoHS com-
pliance gathered pace last year,
a feeling of relief might have
been detected across the electronics
industry. In the UK at least, there is evi-
dence of business as usual – thanks to UK
‘enforcer’ National Weights and Measure
Laboratory, whose ‘softly softly’ approach
coached companies through the compli-
ance process. However, it isn’t possible to
say that most companies are compliant or
that RoHS hasn’t had a dramatic impact.
But the real impact of RoHS is only just
being felt in some sectors.
Initially, companies that sought to
comply with RoHS ahead of the deadline
experienced difficulties sourcing compli-
ant parts. Then, with the deadline loom-
ing, concern was voiced that excess non
compliant stock would lead to expensive
and wasteful write offs. In reality, com-
ponents for the increasingly powerful
consumer segment quickly made the
transition, whilst the supply chain’s
inventory control kept a tight rein on
non compliant stock volumes.
As a result, apprehension has built
about limited supplies of non compliant
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
A year after RoHS came into effect,
it’s business as usual for some,
but the ripples are building in
the high reliability sector.
By Vanessa Knivett.
inventory, with the greatest effect in areas
where RoHS’ impact was predicted to
have the least impact – in exempt indus-
tries such as aerospace, defence, medical
equipment and telecommunications,
where systems typically have high devel-
opment costs, long availability and
require decades of support.
Over the last decade, the electronics
industry has changed and RoHS has
underlined the extent to which power
has shifted to consumer electronics. The
erosion in the high reliability sector’s
influence may have been exacerbated by
its willingness to adopt COTS products
and thus capitalise on the performance
gains and price of consumer electronics
components, plus by the squeeze of
global competition –
leaving contract manufac-
turers, already working to tight mar-
DebutArt: Jürgen Ziewe
gins, unable or unwilling to support
compliant and non compliant processes.
Dr Chris Robertson, head of ERA
Technology’s reliability and failure analy-
sis team (www.era.co.uk/rfa) confirms
that RoHS is affecting the high reliability
sector in a number of ways. “Firstly, there
is the supply chain movement – it is not
being driven by that sector.” Market
analysis by Prismark suggested the total
available market for all high reliability
categories represents around 10% of rev-
enue for the component supply base.
Dr Robertson adds: “With some
components rendered obsolete, they are
suffering problems finding replacements
and are considering moves such as
retinning components. Also, many of
their clients are applying pressure to their
supply chains without understanding the
true requirements of RoHS. For exam-
ple, aircraft component manufacturers
are being encouraged to produce RoHS
compliant sub assemblies, despite being
an exempt industry.”
23
Standards.qxd 6/6/07 4:00 pm Page 24
DIRECTIVES & STANDARDS
“The … WEEE Directive is also being
reviewed and it is likely that changes
will be made in the near future.”
Gary Nevison, Farnell
One of ERA’s customers is Smiths,
several of whose commercial customers
have asked suppliers to meet RoHS and
WEEE type requirements, despite some
products falling outside scope. Dr
Robertson comments: “Those specifying
some of these procurement contracts
need to understand why you might be
using something [environmentally harm-
ful] – generally, there is a very good rea-
son and you don’t choose to use
something like cadmium wilfully.”
Re-education
Many within the high reliability industry
believe more education is needed about
the characteristics of high reliability prod-
uct life cycles. The aim is to persuade sup-
pliers to maintain dual supply chains by
offering components in tin lead and lead
free. Needless to say, many suppliers aren’t
too excited about that.
One organisation voicing concern for
the high reliability sector is the Interna-
tional Electronics Manufacturing Initia-
24
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
tive (iNEMI), whose ceo Jim McElroy
confirmed: “Many have been surprised
by how quickly things have unfolded.
The high reliability community realised
its exemptions wouldn’t last forever, but
felt that at least it took some of the
immediate pressure off whilst they went
about trying to close the knowledge gaps
related to lead free and other substances
within RoHS’ scope.
“Our job is to make sure the sector is
focused on closing these knowledge gaps
and convincing suppliers, in the interim,
that their continued support is needed.
But the biggest challenge right now is to
address the availability of components –
we can almost forget about exemptions.”
Most components involve a change of
surface finish from tin lead to pure tin.
From an assembly point of view, such
components are backwards compatible
and can be soldered with either tin lead
or pure tin paste, although performance
impairment can result from the growth
of tin whiskers. The high reliability
industry remains concerned about the
risk of rapidly converting to lead free
products prior to fully understanding the
implications on long term reliability.
Of most concern though, is the threat
of not being able to secure SnPb com-
patible bgas. Although more environ-
mentally friendly ball metallurgies are
coming on stream, the consortium is
campaigning to ensure that different part
numbers are used to differentiate them.
Mike Davisson, RoHS technical pro-
gram manager for Agilent Technologies,
commented recently: “The proliferation
of solder ball metal-
lurgies only makes it
more difficult to close
the remaining knowl-
edge gaps for Pb free
conversion of mission
critical applications. Reli-
ability experts are still
working to fully under-
stand the long life per-
formance of SAC 305/405
and have limited data on
some of the alternate ball
formulations. A change in
metallurgy without the
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
ability to track the change will only make
Pb free conversion more difficult and
could delay the process.”
McElroy says industry is making
headway on closing the knowledge gaps;
adding that iNEMI is working on under-
standing where the remaining knowledge
gaps are and ensuring that R&D activi-
ties are coordinated.
Looking to the future, Gary Nevison,
Directives expert at Farnell, intimates the
true implications of RoHS are yet to be
felt. “The RoHS Directive has been in
force for less than a year and is already
being reviewed by the EC. Any changes
are possible, including adding more sub-
stances to the list or changing the scope.
The closely related WEEE Directive is
also being reviewed and it is likely that
changes will be made in the near future –
and these are unlikely to reduce its scope.”
In its reexamination of RoHS, the EC
is looking at some of the unintended
consequences of RoHS, such as more tin
mining and increased demand for silver.
Nevison says that, as yet, there is little
visibility as to which substances, if any,
will be added to the list. Robertson
agrees, although makes the point that
manufacturers should bear in mind that
Chinese RoHS isn’t restricted to six sub-
stances, but leaves the door open for
more. He also advises manufacturers to
pay attention to the European Chemical
Bureau’s investigations into a number of
substances, including the flame retardant
TPPA, Bisphenol-A, hexabromocyclodo-
decane (HBCDD) and decaBDE (for
more, see http://ecb.jrc.it)
Asked whether there is
evidence of exempt indus-
tries moving towards com-
pliance, Nevison confirmed
that ‘medical seems to be the
most active.’ With category 8
and 9 equipment considered
likely to come within scope, it
seems that lessons are being
learnt about acting early,
although the EC knows that
manufacturers will need time
to comply and the general feel-
ing is that it won’t happen
before 2012.
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© National Semiconductor Corporation, 2007. National Semiconductor, Signal Path Designer, and are registered trademarks
of National Semiconductor Corporation. All rights reserved.

nele-jun-12-07-p025 1 4/6/07 09:33:11

nele-may-08-07-p047 1 2/5/07 12:54:00
Virtual.qxd 5/6/07 10:05 am Page 27
EMBEDDED S/W DEVELOPMENT
Pick and mix
A
new wave of virtualisation tools
is helping to simplify the task of
migrating, debugging, and opti-
mising software for multicore processors.
Able to provide a system wide view of mul-
ticore behaviour, virtualisation allows
developers to quickly diagnose the com-
plex interactions that characterise multi-
core designs and to pinpoint bottlenecks.
These benefits vary based on how vir-
tualisation is being applied. For software
developers, the major benefit is to provide
a more flexible and powerful development
platform than actual hardware. For the end
product, virtualisation provides the flexi-
bility of mixing operating environments
on a single hardware platform which leads
to a variety of benefits, including improved
security, higher availability and reduced
size to weight and power ratios.
It’s worth pointing out that one of the
major issues with the word ‘virtualisation’
is that it means different things to differ-
ent people. It helps to separate the tech-
nology into distinct application areas —
software development, server provision-
ing, security and other applications.
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
INTRA DESIGN
At the high end of technology, virtual-
isation provides a computing platform that
acts or simulates the system being targeted.
In the embedded software arena, there are
two major — and very different — appli-
cations of virtualisation that can create
confusion when trying to understand their
benefits: the sub classification of virtual
prototyping, which is used to improve the
software development process; and the
provision of a virtual platform, which
helps to improve the actual run time flex-
ibility of a system, in other words, an end
product that incorporates virtualisation.
Hastening adoption
For embedded applications, virtualisation
can hasten multicore adoption. Trends
suggest that virtualisation use is being
driven by time to market demands, pro-
duction cost pressures, increased consoli-
dation of functions and the need for more
flexibility.
“Flexibility comes from time to market
demands for the ability to start developing
you application and run it before you have
the hardware,” explained Green Hills’ cto
Virtualisation is allowing
software developers to choose
different operating environments
and mix them on a single
hardware platform.
By Mike Richardson.
Illustration: Vincent Fraser
David Kleidermacher. “The gap between
when software development begins and
when hardware is actually available is
increasing and, nowadays, systems are
becoming more complex, so the software
element becomes proportionally larger
and time consuming. You no longer need
wait until the hardware is ready to start
developing your software.
“Virtualisation is also gaining promi-
nence because desktop pcs are becoming
fast enough to support its use at a reason-
able speed,” he continued. “For example,
Green Hills has just released its Multi 5.0
virtual prototyping environment which
allows the user to run a simulation of an
ARM at 100MIPS on a pc. Suddenly, cus-
tomers can simulate at close to the same
speeds as a real embedded system.”
Realtime embedded OS technology
specialist QNX claims virtualisation can
act as an abstraction layer beneath the OS.
The fact that multiple compute cores can
be abstracted or hidden from the OS itself
allows you to take an OS that is not ‘mul-
ticore capable’ and run a rtos on top of a
virtualised collection of processors.
27
Virtual.qxd 5/6/07 9:44 am Page 28
EMBEDDED S/W DEVELOPMENT
accuracy the customer needs will vary. We
have to constantly adapt as new hardware
platforms are released.”
According to Kleidermacher, the next
challenge is performance. “Green Hills’
Padded Cell run time virtualisation tool
allows you to run Windows under
VMware,” he affirmed, “and you can’t tell
that it is not running native speeds. Virtu-
alisation opens up performance possibili-
ties that were previously unheard of on
standard pcs. Padded Cell makes it possi-
ble to run two copies of Windows seam-
lessly from a single hardware box. You
cannot do this using a regular pc.”
Johnson suggests that, in the embedded
world of industrial automation, the advent
of virtualisation and the increase in dual
“Virtualisation allows you to run core processor technology is driving a
demand to consolidate different real time
multiple OS’ and consolidate them OS platforms onto one processor.
“The point to remember is that when
onto a single higher power processor.” you virtualise, you still need to be able to
guarantee real time,” he explained. “Virtu-
Kerry Johnson, QNX alising by running multiple
OS’ isn’t the whole story –
you need to consider the
QNX product manager for multicore connected devices in the
Kerry Johnson said: “I see great value in peripheral and ensure your
virtualisation as it allows you to run mul- real time OS has the
tiple OSs and consolidate them onto a sin- required access. A virtualisa-
gle higher power processor.” tion layer that allows you to
Clearly, virtualisation presents a chal- run a rtos is more difficult
lenge that companies strive to implement than what you would find
well to achieve adequate performance, in server applications, where
whilst retaining the flexibility of the cus- real time isn’t as important.
tomers’ hardware choice. “The challenge Open source solutions don’t
we face is that our customers’ hardware is translate well to the embed-
constantly changing,” noted Kleiderma- ded world, although we are starting to see
cher. “In the embedded world, this prob- certain vendors offer solutions for the real
lem is exacerbated because the level of time aspect. QNX’ approach would be to
Figure 1: Secure partitioning for multicore
50% 10% 15% 25%
secure secure secure secure
partition 1 partition 2 partition 3 partition 4
QNX
NX NNeutrino RTOS
CPU 1 CPU 2 CPU 3 CPU 4
multi-core CPU, shared I/O, memory
28 N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
INTRA DESIGN
partner those companies with mature solu-
tions to maintain the real time require-
ments we need to work in conjunction
with another general purpose OS.”
Industry use of virtualisation varies dra-
matically, depending on how it is applied.
In the server market, it is used to improve
the management, provisioning and avail-
ability of servers. Another area of interest
is the use of virtualisation as a means to
reach higher levels of security, whilst main-
taining the ability to reuse the vast existing
software application base.
“Although software defined radio has
been driven by the defence industry, it also
has many commercial applications,” Klei-
dermacher (pictured below) observed.
“Customers are demanding a single hard-
ware platform that can talk different ‘real’
languages. This provides more interoper-
ability and flexibility by taking some of the
hardware functions of the radio and put-
ting them into the software. The radio can
then change its configuration dynamically
and handle different kinds
of radio communications.
“One Green Hills cus-
tomer was using Integrity
OS, but wanted to reuse its
original networking soft-
ware on top of Linux,” he
continued. “Instead of two
computers, it had one
PowerPC controlling the
software defined radio sys-
tem. Padded Cell enabled
itto run Linux as an appli-
cation on top of Integrity,
which meant it could reuse the original
software. It now has separation between
the Linux being used for legacy reasons
alongside critical applications control-
ling the radio itself — all running
directly on top of Integrity and all on the
same computer.”
The last word goes to Johnson. “It’s
still early days for virtualisation in the
embedded arena, but what I envisage is
the promise of virtualising the processor
itself to obtain the kind of consolidation
that you just cannot do without. This has
a big impact by making the best use of
processors and keeping the BoM for large
scale systems in control.”
 Amplicon Test systems
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nele-jun-12-07-p029 1 5/6/07 08:56:20

nele-jun-12-07-p030 6/7/07 3:17 PM Page 44

NE
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We offer a range of MSc courses, providing the
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The best choice for in fixed and wireless networks.
• DSP for Multimedia Communications: provides
embedded computing vital skills in the design of speech, audio, image
and video processing systems.
• Mobile, Personal and Satellite Communications:
supplies the knowledge required for the design
and operation of mobile communication systems.
• SoC Design for DSP and Communications: gives
you the skills to design VLSI processes in CMOS
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Full and part-time study available in state-of-the-art
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4ECHNOLOGICAL,EADERSHIP

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30 N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e o n . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
Signal.qxd 5/6/07 9:35 am Page 31
SIGNAL PROCESSING
Signalling a change
T
he world of signal processing has
advanced almost beyond recogni-
tion since the first dsps were intro-
duced some 25 years ago. From their early
days, largely in military applications, dsps
now find use in a wide range of markets.
DSP developers have not, in general,
felt the need to push their designs down
the Moore’s Law curve – unlike micro-
processor manufacturers. So clock speeds
are slower and the devices may not be
made on the smallest process technologies
available.
Yet the Laws of Physics are having an
effect. Power consumption and heat gen-
eration requirements, for example, have
prompted a move to multicore devices.
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
INTRA DESIGN
Another development is the use of an fpga
as a coprocessor for the dsp. In the micro-
controller world, companies are adding
‘dsp like’ instructions to create the hybrid
digital signal controller. And ARM is
adding dsp capability to its cores.
So where does this leave signal process-
ing software? Ken Karnofsky, director of
signal processing and communications
marketing for The MathWorks, said a
number of trends have become apparent
recently. “One is to do with applications,
another is to do with the type of device
being used and a third trend is to do with
the development process itself; how engi-
neers are developing signal processing
algorithms.”
Multicore architectures and fpga
coprocessors mean new algorithmic
development approaches are
needed. By Graham Pitcher.
As far as applications are concerned,
communications and wireless continue to
drive the use of signal processing technol-
ogy. “But multimedia and video are
becoming more important,” said Karnof-
sky, “both in terms of consumer applica-
tions and other markets.” He gave the
automotive industry as an example.
“Video technology is now being used in
active safety systems, for collision avoid-
ance and security.”
Karnofsky said use of video required
more bandwidth and more storage. “So
embedded engineers developing these
applications may have additional require-
ments and they may not be so familiar
with the algorithms that are needed. For
31
Signal.qxd 5/6/07 9:37 am Page 32
SIGNAL PROCESSING
“If you can shorten that process, it’s
good. But it’s not 100% pushbutton.”
Ken Karnofsky, The MathWorks
example, how do they distribute the pro-
cessing; is it local or is it central?”
On the architecture front, Karnofsky
believes the move to multicore devices
only represents one dimension. “We’re also
seeing general purpose microcontroller
companies adding dsp like capabilities to
their products, creating this new category
of digital signal controllers. And ARM is
adding more dsp capability to its cores. All
of these developments are trying to address
the same issue; how do you take a general
purpose device and allow it to handle dig-
ital processing loads?”
With a nod towards the need for more
capable tools for multicore design, The
MathWorks and Analog Devices have
recently introduced a tool which inte-
grates MATLAB and Simulink with Ana-
log Devices’ VisualDSP++ integrated
development and debugging software
environment.
Called Link for Analog Devices Visu-
alDSP++, the tool lets engineers verify
embedded code running on VisualDSP++
using MATLAB and to generate Visu-
alDSP++ projects from Simulink models.
According to the companies, the devel-
32
INTRA DESIGN
opment brings model based design capa-
bilities to engineers working with Blackfin,
SHARC and TigerSHARC processors. It
allows the same model to be used for exe-
cutable specification, design with simula-
tion, embedded code generation and code
verification.
“Rapid advances in processor architec-
tures from Analog Devices have delivered
performance and value for embedded sys-
tems,” said Derek Leadbetter, Analog’s
director of DSP tools development. “At
the same time, the complexity of develop-
ing embedded software for these devices
has increased significantly. The release of
Link for Analog Devices VisualDSP++
extends the benefits of Model Based
Design with MATLAB and Simulink to
embedded systems engineers, enabling
them to take advantage of our processors.”
An increasingly popular development is
the use of an fpga as a coprocessing ele-
ment for a dsp. “We’re seeing a lot of these
systems,” Karnofsky observed.
He believes multicore programming
and test is already a challenge. “But what
happens when that second device is a hard-
ware accelerator? How do you design for
this and how do embedded engineers –
who know C – work on this challenge?”
One obvious solution is for companies
such as The MathWorks to develop tools
that address multicore design directly.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about
tools that can deal with multicore parti-
tioning,” Karnofsky continued, “but
there’s nothing that automates the prob-
lem. Today, there are tools that can help
you build system models and perform
manual adjustments. Full automation –
from idea to hardware and software design
– is still some time in the future.”
Karnofsky sees another design trend
emerging. “Traditionally,” he claimed,
“there has been a gap between algorithm
implementation and development. In
many cases, floating point code has been
rewritten for fixed point devices, but a crit-
ical development has been the introduc-
tion of fixed point development tools.” He
sees these tools bringing designers the ben-
efit of working in a higher level environ-
ment. “We’ve been investing a lot in fixed
point upgrades to Matlab and Simulink,”
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
he continued. “Engineers can run their
code quickly and validate that it works
properly in their system design. They can
switch between floating and fixed point
code to see how the algorithm degrades
system performance. When satisfied, they
can generate code automatically from the
fixed point design.”
Karnofsky feels this development will
find application where fpgas are being used
alongside dsps. “If you have a processor,
then word length is predetermined –
32bit, for example. If you’re working in
hardware, then a degree of freedom is cal-
culation length; you might go from 16bit
to 12bit. If you do, will you meet the over-
all goals? Will the signal be degraded to the
point where it’s not acceptable?”
He sees engineers becoming more
involved with trade offs between what he
sees as correctness and cost. “The problem
is that if you’re trying to do this at a later
stage in the development, you’ve lost the
opportunity for that kind of iteration.”
And this move to multicore hardware
and software platforms needs new ways to
do development, he believes. “There’s
more dimensions to the trade offs that
need to be made, especially in systems
where time cycles are short.”
All of these moves are increasing the
complexity of the development process, so
companies such as The MathWorks are
working on ways of easing the problems.
“Generating code automatically is of ben-
efit to the designer who wants to try some-
thing on an fpga,” Karnofsky contended.
“If you can shorten that process, it’s good.
But it’s not 100% pushbutton.”
Complexity is also increasing as single
processor systems are being embedded in
larger systems. “Designers need to know
how these systems interact,” he continued.
“A security system needs to be able to con-
trol the camera’s motion as well as handle
the video. Where’s the functionality? Is it
one device or two? If so, how do they talk
to each other?”
Karnofsky believes the solution lies at
the modelling level. “We’re generating C
code for embedded processors and dsps
and now we’re doing hdl. That single
model can be be mapped to different
architectures,” he concluded.
nele-may-22-07-p021 1 14/5/07 10:03:37
Intra prod.qxd 6/6/07 4:28 pm Page 34

PRODUCT NEWS

Motherboard targets graphics centric designs

BOARD LEVEL DESIGN the ATI Radeon X-300-based 2d/3d

BVM has expanded its embedded board
portfolio with the introduction of the LV-
681 Mini-ITX motherboard, aimed at
graphics centric applications such as thin
clients, gaming, kiosk and point of sale.
The AMD S1 processor socket is
compatible with AMD Turion 64x2 Dual-
Core, AMD Turion 64, and Mobile AMD
Sempron processors. The board also
implements the ATI RS485M chipset with
graphics engine. Up to 2Gbyte of DDR2
sdram is available via two so-dimm slots;
there are eight USB2.0 ports, three
RS232C and one RS232/422/485 serial
ports. The board also features two
10/100/1000 LAN ports and a
CompactFlash slot.
Specialist expansion is accommodated
through aPCI expansion slot and a mini
PCI socket.
BVM: visit www.bvm.co.uk

ASSP
Ramtron has introduced the FM33x
product family – a range of FRAM
Enhanced Processor Companions.
Featuring a high speed serial peripheral
interface, the FM33x family combines the
benefits of a non volatile ram with a set
of integrated support and peripheral
functions for processor based designs.
Ramtron is launching the FM33x family
with two products: the FM33256 and the
FM3316, which are 3V devices with
256kbit and 16kbit of fram
respectively. This solution replaces
discrete components and reduces cost
and board space, supporting commonly
LEADING through Technology needed system functions in processor
based systems.
Ramtron:
PowerTrace II visit www.ramtron.com
• 2 GByte of trace memory to record
program and data flow
• More than 30 processor architectures MICROS
supported by the trace port
STMicroelectronics has rounded out its
• Trace port speed up to 500 MBit
ST7 UltraLite family of 8pin
Great Britain • Sophisticated analysis methods to perform microcontrollers with the ST7FLITEU0
Lauterbach Ltd.
comprehensive performance analysis and
www.lauterbach.co.uk series, said to add more memory and
quality assurance tests
Germany system features to the peripheral set of
Lauterbach GmbH
www.lauterbach.de
existing devices.
Available in 8pin so and dip and 0.9mm
Italy
Lauterbach Srl thick dfn packages, and with temperature
www.lauterbach.it qualification to 125°C, the devices are
USA targeted at HVAC, home appliance and
Lauterbach Inc.
www.lauterbach.com
lighting control.
With a 2kbyte flash memory, the parts
China
Suzhou Lauterbach include a trimmable 8MHz RC oscillator,
Technologies Co., Ltd. with prescaler ratios down to 500kHz.
Phone: ++86-512-6265-8030
www.lauterbach.cn Other features include an embedded
12bit autoreload timer, an 8bit Lite timer
Japan
Lauterbach Japan Ltd. with prescaler, watchdog, real time base
www.lauterbach.co.jp
PowerDebug II and input capture; and a five channel,
10bit a/d converter with 3.5µs overall
• A Gigabit ethernet interface guarantees conversion time.
immediate display and rapid analysis
STMicroelectronics:
of the trace information.
visit www.st.com

34 N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
Intra prod.qxd 6/6/07 4:28 pm Page 35

INTRA DESIGN

MIXED SIGNAL & ANALOGUE Keep it Simple.

The LTC2630 is a family of 8, 10 and 12bit d/a converters
supplied in 6pin sc70 packages measuring 2.1 x 2mm – said by
Linear Technology to be the smallest such devices with an internal
reference.
The family offers the choice of an internal 2.5V or 4.096V
10ppm/°C full scale reference. The single voltage output converters
achieve 12bit dc performance of ±1LSB(max) integral nonlinearity
error and are said to be ideal for ‘under the hood’ automotive
applications.
The devices draw 160µA at 3V and 180µA at 5V. Communicating
via a three wire SPI compatible serial interface at clock rates up to
50MHz, the output settles for a half scale step in less than 5µs.
Operating from a single 2.7V to 5.5V supply, the output can swing
to the internal reference voltage or rail to rail to the supply voltage.
Linear Technology: visit www.linear.com

EMBEDDED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

The Micro Digital range of USB drivers is now available from
Computer Solutions. The smxUSBH USB host stack, the smxUSBD
USB device stack and the smxUSBO On The Go stack are said to
NI CompactDAQ
help embedded developers by providing easy interfacing between
their systems and other USB devices. USB Data Acquisition
The smxUSBD device stack is designed for situations in which a
developer wants the embedded application to plug into a pc and to
exchange data with it or be controlled by it.

The smxUSBH host stack allows the embedded application to act Now more than 30
like a pc and to control a USB network, whilst the OTG stack

NEW LabVIEW 8.20

provides a limited host capability as well as a USB peripheral.
modules

Now Available
Host stack support is available for interface chips that conform to the


EHCI, OHCI and UHCI specification. New NI LabVIEW
Computer Solutions: visit www.computer-solutions.co.uk
data-logging software
included


Hi-Speed USB for up to
6.4 MS/s streaming I/O


Compact 25 by 9 by 9 cm
form factor

For more information 01635 523545

and pricing visit ni.com/uk
ni.com/compactdaq/new info.uk@ni.com

© 2007 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com,
and NI CompactDAQ are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are
trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
 Design with confidence.
Introducing the new Stratix III family.

Stratix III Family:

The Lowest-Power
High-Performance FPGAs
Building on the success of prior generations,
Stratix® III FPGAs give you the highest
performance available, while keeping power
consumption to a minimum.
Design your next-generation systems with confidence.
Design with Stratix III FPGAs.

www.altera.com/confidence

Distributors Arrow Electronics (UK) Ltd: 01279 626777 EBV Elektronik UK: 01793 849933

Copyright © 2006 Altera Corporation. All rights reserved. Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylised Altera logo, specific device designations, and all other words and logos that are
identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names
are the property of their respective holders. Altera products are protected under numerous U.S. and foreign patents and pending applications, mask work rights, and copyrights.

nele-feb-27-07-p040 1 20/2/07 14:32:21

Platform.qxd 5/6/07 9:45 am Page 37
PROGRAMMABLE PLATFORMS
Transceiver take up
Manufacturers are boosting the number and type of transceivers on their fpgas. By Roy Rubenstein.
dding transceivers to fpgas is not
new; it was first done a decade
ago as part of the former Lucent
Microelectronics Orca family. But it is
now commonplace, especially with the
emergence of several serial interface stan-
dards. “These [transceiver] fpgas account
for 10 to 20% of the total market and this
is growing fast,” said Shakeel Peera, direc-
tor of strategic marketing, high perform-
ance fpgas for Lattice Semiconductor.
Altera launched its latest family of
transceiver fpgas in May. Dubbed Arria
GX, the family targets three specific serial
interface standards: Gigabit Ethernet
(GigE), PCI Express (PCIe) and Serial
RapidIO. “Some applications are so cost
sensitive that we believe a family like this
will expand the market overall,” said
Altera’s Danny Biran, senior vice president
of product and corporate marketing.
Arria complements Altera’s Stratix II
GX, a family of transceiver fpgas that sup-
ports six serial interface standards at
speeds up to 6.375Gbit/s. Lattice has, for
almost a year, had two transceiver fpga
families – the SC and ECP2/M – that tar-
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
INTER DESIGN
get different cost/performance points,
whilst Xilinx’ Virtex 5 family has four
platforms, three of which have on chip
transceivers. “That’s because so many
applications require it,” said John
Heighton, Xilinx’s EMEA senior manager
for product solutions marketing.
Altera decided to launch a lower cost
fpga family focused on these three stan-
dards only at speeds up to 2.5Gbit/s. “Of
the various interface flavours [supported
by IIGX], these three are breaking away,”
said Biran.
Support for GigE reflects its wide-
spread adoption within telecom equip-
ment. The transceiver is used to
terminate traffic on copper or optical
links, for backplanes and even between
chips so the entire data path remains Eth-
ernet. The interface’s use is spreading to
industrial applications and markets such
as broadcasting.
One Xilinx customer is using a Virtex
5 fpga for Video over IP. The fpga SoC
takes either standard or high definition
raw video, performs some digital signal
processing before sending the video to
DebutArt: Jürgen Ziewe
either the GigE or PCIe transceiver. “Such
video over IP – with the dsp, PCI Express
and gigabit Ethernet interfaces within the
one fpga – is a growing opportunity,” says
Heighton.
PCIe is the latest variant of the long
standing PCI computer expansion card
standard. It is adopted by Intel processors
and PowerPC devices used for telecoms as
part of the control plane. Unlike its pred-
ecessors, PCI Express Revision 1.1 uses
serial links – or lanes – each capable of
bidirectional communication at 2.5Gbit/s.
The PCIe lanes range from one (1x) up
to 32 (32x), but Arria GX supports 1x and
4x. “PCIe is the interface of choice for the
pc and server world,” said Biran. “It is now
in high volume, the cost is going down
and it is attractive for many applications.”
Medical imaging is another market. For
example, an fpga provides a PCIe link to
a single board computer, whilst interfac-
ing it to the sensing system such as ultra-
sound and the system memory.
The third serial standard is RapidIO, a
packet switched based interface that also
has a parallel implementation. Serial
37
Platform.qxd 5/6/07 9:46 am Page 38
PROGRAMMABLE PLATFORMS
“FPGAs provide ... a value add
when you have three or four
serial standards fighting it out.”
Shakeel Peera, Lattice Semiconductor
RapidIO supports one (1x) and four lanes
(4x) at 1.25, 2.5 or 3.125Gbit/s. The Arria
GX family targets the first two speeds only.
Serial RapidIO transceivers remain a
niche market for fpgas compared to GigE
and PCIe, but demand is growing as Ser-
ial RapidIO becomes adopted as part of
ics, such as in TI’s C64xx dsp family. Not
surprisingly, Serial RapidIO is used for
applications requiring fpga and dsp hard-
ware. The dsps execute program code,
whilst the fpgas are used as a coprocessor
for computationally intensive tasks.
Having fpgas with Serial Rapid IO
transceivers enables the fpgas to interface
directly to the dsps. “Serial RapidIO is
very good for peer to peer, switched
communication,” said Peera. “Anywhere
you see dsps and fpgas and there is a need
for distributed processing.” Such exam-
ples include Wimax and 3G wireless
basestations.
ASSPs and fpgas
Having three serial standards used across
the telecom, datacom, industrial and
broadcasting markets explains the grow-
ing prominence of transceiver fpgas. Ven-
dors typically adopt the best ic for a
38
INTER DESIGN
specific application, with the serial proto-
col being a secondary concern. FPGAs
perform an important role as bridging
devices, whilst challenging application
specific standard products (assps).
“If the assp does exactly what you need,
then it is the right solution,” says Biran.
But if the design requires more than a
physical interface (PHY), then an fpga
becomes the pre-
ferred solution.
Biran cites industrial
applications that use
legacy protocols as
one example. “The
market isn’t big
enough to justify
developing an assp
due to the cost.” An
fpga can interface
the legacy protocols
to one of the newer interfaces.
“There are always going to be applica-
tions for which assps do not yet exist,
where standards are still evolving or where
the system company has unique value it
can add through programming some of
the on chip logic,” says Jordan Selburn, an
analyst at iSuppli.
Designers under time to market pres-
sure are also turning to fpgas, argues Peera:
“Can I take a specific function on a line
card and implement it inside an fpga
using the latest technology at a lower cost
and lower power? More and more [design-
ers] are saying ‘yes’.” FPGA gate counts
continue to grow, as do the non recurring
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
engineering costs of assps. “FPGAs pro-
vide an extra layer of customisation and a
value add when you have three or four
serial standards fighting it out,” says Peera.
New fpgas
Altera’s Arria GX family consists of five
devices that range from 21,580 to 90,220
logic elements, up to 4.5Mbit memory
and 176 18x18 multiplier accumulators
(44 dsp blocks). The number of on chip
transceivers ranges from 4 to 12. “These
are mid range devices: less than 20,000
logic elements is very small, while Stratix
II GX has up to 180,000,” said Biran.
“Arria is aimed at designers using an fpga
for the first time, so we wanted a robust
transceiver. We leveraged the II GX trans-
ceiver that is at 90nm.”
In contrast, Xilinx’s Virtex 5 is a more
general fpga family, supporting additional
interfaces to Arria’s tailored three. These
include Sonet/SDH for telecom, Fibre
Channel and Infiniband datacom stan-
dard and video interfaces. It also supports
PCIe (1x to 8x), Serial RapidIO, includ-
ing the 3.125Gbit/s
data rate, and GigE.
It also supports 8 to
24 transceivers and
is implemented in a
65nm process.
Lattice claims to
be the first to tackle
the transceiver fpga
market with two
families. The high
end SC has trans-
ceivers for the serial standards, as well as
others such as the stringent Sonet/SDH.
It also includes support for parallel I/O
and up to 32 transceivers. The ECP2/M,
aimed at cost sensitive applications, uses
more compact transceivers and cheaper
programmable logic.
Meanwhile, since Altera announced
the device in May, the supporting design
software has been downloaded by users in
several markets. “FPGAs, in general, are
mainly used for datacom and telecom, but
with Arria we are seeing a lot of interest
from test and measurement, medical,
industrial and office equipment markets,”
Biran concluded.
 A PROPRIETARY VERIFICATION SOLUTION IS LIKE A RUNAWAY MERRY-GO-ROUND.

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nele-jun-12-07-p040 1 4/6/07 09:41:40

Opto.qxd 6/6/07 3:56 pm Page 41

OPTOELECTRONICS INTER DESIGN

M
ention the word ‘laser’ and

Point of interest
you could be forgiven for
thinking of epic sci-fi space
movies with the kind of handheld acces-
sories that no self respecting Jedi should
be without. Less destruction and fight,
more construction of light, the advances
in laser technology – through a burgeon-
ing use of innovative electronics and
minus the wobbly ‘zapping’ noises – have
brought a host of industry applications
under the steady beam of the laser’s focus.
Laser specialist Pacer sees an innova-
tive use for fibre lasers and market
growth stemming from their versatility
and flexibility. Pulse on demand fibre
lasers can replace a number of other lasers
in a multi-station process. Users can vary
the pulse width, peak energy, repetition
rate and program complex pulse shapes.
Frequency doubling and trebling enables
a single laser to ablate at the fundamen-
tal, doubled and tripled frequencies.
“The demand for fibre lasers is driven
by the customers’ requirements for
increased speed and improved quality,” How the latest laser
Pacer’s new business development direc-
tor Stuart Sendall began. “Because fibre techniques can prove that
lasers have different optical beam charac-
teristics – which are significantly better three into one will go.
than traditional lasers – you can achieve By Mike Richardson.
brighter intensity all in one focal point.
Even though older laser systems had the
high power and could be focused, they
didn’t have the beam quality or accuracy
of focal point currently demonstrated by
fibre lasers. As a result, the energy den-
sity wasn’t as high as hoped. Fibre lasers
deliver a much higher brightness, which
has set the benchmark in terms of
W/cm≈ and in a more clearly defined
area to because the beam quality is higher
and therefore more precise and faster.”
Sendall notes that some materials
don’t interact well with certain lasers
because they simply absorb the energy
and overheat. This is particularly notice-
able on semiconductor repair, scribing
and marking, solar panels and even with
writing encoder discs. Nowadays, mate- process of stripping wire and marking it. other clearly needs to avoid heat, so it’s
rial interaction is more predictable and “This normally requires the work of two rare to find one laser that does both tasks.
consistent because of the advances in lasers: one to strip the insulation off and The semiconductor process requires
laser technology. the other to mark it. The difference is numerous lasers to perform a number of
To underline his point, he relates the that while one is a heat based process the different processes on a hybrid combina-

N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7 41
Opto.qxd 6/6/07 3:57 pm Page 42
OPTOELECTRONICS
“… the latest optical filtering techniques
enable one laser to generate three
wavelengths on demand.”
Stuart Sendall, Pacer
tion of materials. Sometimes it’s down to
wavelength but much of the time it is
due to the energy pulse profile, the shape
of it, how long it will last and its peak
energy. Pulse on demand lasers optically
‘pulse’ to create a hammering effect. By
shaping the pulses you can obtain more
flexibility and versatility than having just
one traditional laser.”
Three of a kind
While material processing is normally
performed at around 1064nm, a revolu-
tionary process of adding a ‘crystal’ can
double the frequency to 532nm (green)
and treble the frequency to 355nm
(UV). Normally, you would require an
infrared laser, a green laser or a UV laser,
whereas in theory, you can use the latest
42
INTER DESIGN
optical filtering techniques to enable one
laser to generate all three of these wave-
lengths on demand.
“Customers are looking for more ver-
satility and flexibility; they want fully
adjustable lasers to replace a number of
different types of laser,” Sendall affirmed.
“This places technology demands such as
higher brightness, long life diode sources
and lower cost per Watt technology plat-
forms to meet these requirements.”
Photonic Products states that general
medical uses now employ laser diodes in
patient positioning, DNA analysis, X-ray
scanners and blood sensors. Comple-
mentary activity can also be seen in the
field of molecular diagnostics and where
the deflection of laser light caused by par-
ticles in suspension, i.e. in blood can
prove a useful diagnostic tool such as a
nephelometer. In addition, low level laser
therapy for muscle recovery and skin
treatment continues to grow in interest.
Photonic’s sales director Tony Wright
reaffirms this view by pointing to the
proliferation of new applications that are
suited to the compact size and versatil-
ity of the laser diode.
“There’s an expanding use
of laser diodes in bio-scientific
applications, such as in instru-
ments that function around
the stimulation and sensing of
fluorescence at a number of
wavelengths,” he explained.
“The recently introduced blue
violet (405nm) devices enable new areas of
activity in bioscientific and medical fields.
Fibre delivery to ‘point of interest’ is
becoming progressively more attractive
and is adding to the versatility
of the laser diode as a laser
solution. Customers primarily
require reliability which we are
able to offer in our range of
modules and collimators - many
with focusable optics and
onboard drive circuitry - due
to the fact that the ‘heart-
beat’ of the device is either a
well proven Sanyo, Sony or
Opnext laser diode.”
Many laser techniques
touch on the electronics
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
industry such as the ablation of indium
tin oxide (ITO) in OLED manufacture,
as well as numerous material processing
applications including semiconductor
scribing, solar panel processing, thick
film deposition and laser deposition.
Pulsed laser deposition is new area of
innovation where a powder form of the
base metal, such as titanium for example,
is used to create a desired shape by illumi-
nating the area and fusing the powder
together to form the shape. Repeating the
build up process over successive layers
gradually constructs an intricate 3d shape.
Upward integration
With low cost, versatility, power reduc-
tion, longer lifetimes and consistent
quality on different surfaces high on the
laser user’s wish list, Sendall says that
Pacer is seeing an upward integration to
add functionality and intelligence whilst
making user application simpler.
Wright points to a distinct market
requirement: a demand for higher stabil-
ity green modules at economic price lev-
els. “Current technology is generally
centred on a diode pumped crystal
arrangement where a higher wavelength
diode (808nm) is used to ultimately pro-
duce 532nm emission. But if you’re look-
ing for any kind of stability then thermo
electric cooling (TEC) is usually a pre-
requisite here. Generally this carries a
prohibitive cost for many applications.
However, in collaboration with Sanyo,
we’ve just launched a TEC green module
at pricing that approaches that of many
uncooled lased diode modules.”
Satisfying a range of diverse laser
applications, both Pacer and Photonic
Products have dedicated design centres to
help customers who cannot source off the
shelf components or assem-
blies. Pacer uses its extensive
product portfolio and capa-
bility in designing pcbs,
assemblies, enclosures and
connections, whilst Photonic
Products offers a complete
custom design service centred
on the packaging and supply
of laser diode solutions for a
host of applications.
 Information
Displays
● Monochrome Panels from Pacer
● Character & Graphic Modules
● Colour STN Modules Pacer offers an extensive range of display
● Vacuum Fluorescent Displays technologies, in sizes from 1" to 108" and to
● OLEDs suit all budgets. Our specialist team is
● TFT Panels & Kits (1" to 57") experienced in finding display solutions for
● Touchscreen Systems retail, kiosk, signage, industrial control, medical,
● Chassis, Open Frame & Housed Monitors broadcast and gaming applications. Pacer can
● Panel PCs customise displays to fit your requirements
● Digital Signage & Media Players exactly, supporting you technically and
● LCD TVs up to 108" commercially from design concept through
● Large Format Monitors to full production.

Pacer International Ltd

Tel +44 (0)118 9845280 · Fax +44 (0)1635 32370
Web www.pacer.co.uk · Email displays@pacer.co.uk

nele-jun-12-07-p043 1 6/6/07 09:31:21

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44 N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e o n . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
Refer.qxd 5/6/07 9:40 am Page 45
REFERENCE DESIGNS
E
very embedded application con-
tains at least one microprocessor
and the large number of microcon-
trollers available means developers are
often spoiled for choice.
In its search for an affordable micro-
controller that can be used in a range of
applications, EBV Elektronik has selected
the ARM based LPC23xx microcontroller
family from NXP. With a range of com-
munications interfaces, LPC23xx micro-
controllers are flexible enough to be
regarded as the new embedded workhorse,
thanks to the family’s 32bit processing
power and its wide range of peripherals.
In order to reduce the time to market
and to make the developers’ work easier,
EBV has developed the ChameleonARM
reference platform. Although designed
specifically for the LPC23xx microcon-
troller family, this platform can also act as
a ‘superset board’, facilitating the move to
smaller ARM7 controllers from NXP.
ChameleonARM can be used as part of
the development process, but can be inte-
grated directly into a design. A circuit dia-
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
SYSTEM DESIGN
Can this reference board take any
shape you want it to?
By Rudy Van Parijs.
gram and software demo projects are
included in the board’s delivery package.
Developers already use this option with
EBV’s other boards – such as SnakeBytes
or DragonFire.
In many cases, the ChameleonARM
board will be used in the first prototype,
whilst the production version will use a
more compact variant. In this way, EBV is
helping its customers to cut time to mar-
ket because a ChameleonARM based
design can be implemented quickly.
The board is also designed for the
future and will support additions to the
LPC23xx product family.
With this reference design, EBV is leav-
ing the field of pure component sales and
offering its customers an example of an
application in which the components from
its franchise partners combine to form an
optimum solution. Following DragonFire
and SnakeBytes, ChameleonARM is
EBV’s third reference design in nine
months and a fourth such design will fol-
low in September. Four further boards are
planned to be launched next year.
Platform = board + software
Whilst hardware is a major element, soft-
ware development now requires much
greater resources. ChameleonARM is a
typical example – representing several
years of development work and embedded
networking know how. By contrast, the
hardware was developed in eight weeks.
For this reason, EBV provides compre-
hensive software support in the
ChameleonARM delivery package. This
software supports all the platform’s inter-
faces, so developers can concentrate on their
application software from the start.
ChameleonARM comes with an
embedded web server, including a TCP/IP
stack, as well as Ethernet and USB drivers
and various network protocols.
45
Refer.qxd 5/6/07 10:11 am Page 46
REFERENCE DESIGNS
Figure 1: Chameleon Arm Block diagram
dc plug power supply
poE 48V poUSB 4·5V
ethernet
USB
RS232
ISP
CAN
reset
serial flash/eeprom
As LPC23xx microcontrollers are based
on the ARM architecture, a wide range of
software is already available (often in
house) and can continue to be used.
Alongside the LPC23xx microcon-
troller, the board contains switching reg-
ulators to facilitate power over Ethernet,
USB or mains power. The microcon-
troller features an Ethernet PHY and
transceiver components for CAN and
UART interfaces.
The range of interfaces available is the
highlight of the LPC23xx product family.
On the ChameleonARM board, these
interfaces link
to the
usual standard plug
connectors. As this controller has already
been almost fully integrated by NXP, the
board does not contain any further inter-
face controllers.
Two 120pin plug connectors run par-
allel to each other, allowing EBV add on
boards to be connected directly.
ChameleonARM also contains an inter-
face to an SD card, which acts as mass
memory storage.
Although EBV is targeting industrial
control and process automation, other
46
SYSTEM DESIGN
5V
EBV board connectors
3·3V
SPI
I2C
LPC2378 JTAG
ARM7
A/D, D/A I/O
GPIO
LEDs
crystal plus battery SD card interface
potential applications include medical
equipment, office and network applica-
tions and the wide ranging field of home
automation.
This is borne out by the following
examples:
● Embedded web server
An optimised embedded web server,
including TCP/IP stack and Ethernet driv-
ers, has been ported to an LPC 2378
microcontroller. As the board can be pow-
ered via the Ethernet connection, only one
cable is required.
● Industrial network
Actuators, sensors, regulators, controllers,
gateways and operating elements can be
developed around a ChameleonARM
board and interconnected. The diversity of
LPC23xx microcontrollers means one
hardware/software base can be used for
various different applications. As a result,
this network can be implemented quickly
and inexpensively whilst ensuring full Eth-
ernet compatibility.
● USB Ethernet bridge
A highlight of ChameleonARM is its abil-
ity to work in two network segments
simultaneously. The board facilitates data
exchange between these segments so a
device connected to Ethernet via TCP/IP
can communicate with an remote network
device interface specification (RNDIS)
service connected via USB. With this type
of bridge, developers can implement
router, switch or gateway functions.
● USB and LAN
ChameleonARM allows the user to con-
nect to a pc or another USB host. This
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
means any devices can be connected to the
pc via USB, avoiding the need for special
interface cards.
● From CAN to Ethernet
ChameleonARM allows CAN based net-
works to be connected to an Ethernet
based LAN. This means the control com-
puter does not have to be located in the
vicinity of the CAN network. As this
removes all restrictions on the length of
CAN networks, this opens up new oppor-
tunities for developers.
● LON controller
LON transceiver add on boards, con-
trollers and gateways to Ethernet, CAN,
USB and Pyxos can be created without
the need of a Neuron chip. As the LON
protocol stack is available from EBV,
what was a complex application can be
implemented relatively easily and
quickly.
The complete solution
EBV designed ChameleonARM to offer
development engineers optimum support.
For the design itself, EBV drew on the sup-
port of some of its development partners.
For example, Fraunhofer IMS was in
charge of hardware development and
ARM subsidiary Keil controlled software
development. The demo software is based
on software forging solutions from Seven-
stax and Thesycon.
By taking this approach, EBV is pro-
viding its customers with access to state of
the art technologies which they can either
implement off the shelf or adapt to their
requirements. This reduces costs and
development work for EBV’s customers, as
well as reducing time to market.
In addition to the board and docu-
mentation, EBV supplies RS232, USB
and Ethernet cables, a power supply and a
preconfigured SD card.
Author profile:
Rudy Van Parijs is VP Technical Develop-
ment for EBV Electronik.
Support and prize draw
For more information and to enter a
draw for a ChameleonARM board, go
to www.ebv.com/chameleonarm.
 “We were delighted to be named as a finalist in the 2006 Innovation
& Design Excellence Awards. It was an excellent opportunity to gain
national recognition, as well as celebrating the expertise and hard
work of our team. Being named amongst the industry’s leading

you win!
companies is a great honour in itself.”

Win or lose
Paul Marsh, managing director, GSPK Design

The 2007 Innovation & Design Excellence Awards

(iDEAs) reward creativity, innovation and excellence in
engineering design. They celebrate the critical role
played by engineering design teams. These can be an
in-house team or external design house.

What’s more, the awards provide a key benchmark of

your performance against the best in the field.

If you think your design team can compete with the

best, this is your chance to prove it. This year’s
categories are:
■ Design Collaboration
■ B2B Product
■ Consumer Product
■ Green Innovation
■ Small Company
■ Design Cycle Reduction, and
■ The prestigious Innovation & Design Excellence
of the Year Award.

It all starts with an entry form (details below), in which

you describe how you apply innovation in design. If this
looks good, an iDEA judging team will visit you for a day
and make a rigorous assessment.

Many companies see this visit – and

subsequent feedback – as the most
compelling reason to enter.

The highlight of the programme is the prestigious

Awards Luncheon, where more than 500 guests will
gather at the Park Lane Hilton in London in September.

Entry to the awards is free, but entry forms must be

completed by 20 June 2007.

You can only gain from entering

the 2007 Innovation & Design
Excellence Awards

To request an entry form, contact:

Maggie Bridge, Awards Co-ordinator, Cranfield School of Management, Bedford, MK43 0AL
Email: m.bridge@cranfield.ac.uk Tel: 01234 754498 Fax: 01234 751806
www.ideawards.co.uk

Organised by In partnership with Sponsored by

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Careers.qxd 6/6/07 4:32 pm Page 49
POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION
Mastering your future
T
here was a time when postgraduate
study was viewed as a ‘way in’ to an
academic or industrial research post.
Those who embarked upon a Masters straight
after their first degree risked giving the
impression of being more interested in
academia. Taking time out mid career to
pursue postgraduate qualifications was very
unusual. However, times have changed and
appropriate postgraduate study can now be a
career enhancing experience.
Today, some 10% of electronic
engineering graduates take higher degrees.
Postgraduate study at Masters level allows
students to specialise in a particular field and
to gain extra skills, whilst a PhD, MRes, MPhil
or EngD are appropriate further qualifications
for those pursuing academic careers.
Because the average first degree in
electrical and electronic engineering tends to
introduce students to a broad range of topics,
postgraduate study is now regarded as a
natural means of gaining specific expertise.
There is also the question of Chartered
Engineer status. Michelle Richmond, director of
qualifications at the Institute of Engineering and
Technology (IET) explains: “There are many
routes to chartership, including a BSc and
BEng Hons. A new standard for professional
engineers called the UK Standard for
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
ADVANCE IN THE PROFESSION
A postgraduate degree isn’t just for
those headed for academia.
By Vanessa Knivett.
Professional Engineering Competence (UK-
SPEC) was launched in December 2003 to
raise the standard for Chartered Engineer
status to Masters level.” The action was taken,
recounts Richmond, in response to a ‘cohort of
engineers coming through the system, whose
education finished at BEng level’. As a result,
Masters courses have again become a popular
means of demonstrating a commitment to
professional development and a key tenant to
obtaining Chartership.
One word of warning – the Institution has
an approved list of postgraduate courses and
began assessing MScs in 2004. If an MSc is
to count towards Chartership, then you should
follow an approved course and there are more
than 40 of these on offer in the UK.
Jane Black, senior accreditation
coordinator at the IET, is one of those
responsible for approving courses. It is an
involved exercise, she says, that includes
formal visits to the institution to look at the
whole student experience, a detailed
investigation of course content, plus
consideration of ongoing research within a
department through peer assessment. Black
says that an important criteria is that learning
outcomes are mapped to UK-SPEC.
According to Richmond, the IET is keen to
promote postgraduate study in the workplace.
Similarly, universities are keen to attract
employed students and many part time Masters
schemes are now available. For employed
students, the challenge is finding the right MSc
which runs at a suitable time. Universities have
become increasingly accommodating – some
provide evening tuition. Meanwhile, the
number of distance learning courses is on the
increase. Whilst no distance learning courses
are currently approved by the IET, Black
suggests this will change.
Black feels employer support for staff
following postgraduate study is, at best,
49
Careers.qxd 6/6/07 4:04 pm Page 50
POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION
What are the
options?
There are many postgraduate courses in electronic engineer-
ing available in the UK. Typically, a full time MSc programme
runs for 12 months, combining compulsory and optional
taught units, as well as a project carried out independently by
the student. Part time courses usually run for two years, with
the taught section organised into intensive weeks of study or
one day of classes per week.
Postgraduate courses can be found at www.findamas-
ters.com. Going to www.learndirect-advice.co.uk may
be useful for sources of funding. It is also worth investigating
the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (www.ktponline.
org.uk) for funding opportunities.
Meanwhile, the following are some of the courses now
available.
Where?: University of Leicester
What?: MSc, a Postgraduate Diploma or Certificate
in Advanced Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Target student?: Engineers who wish to follow a career in
the design and implementation of electrical and electronic sys-
tems within the wider engineering environment. Half the
intake tends to be new first degree graduates, whilst the other
half tends to have spent a few years in industry.
What’s covered?: Modules available include digital com-
munications, biomedical engineering and electrical power.
Links with industry: An industrial consultative committee
and the Engineering Institutions all advise on course content.
Next intake:? 1 October 2007
Programme director: Paul Lefley (pwl3@leicester.ac.uk)
‘patchy’. “During my university
photography courtesy iSLI
visits, I’ve talked to many part time students.
Some employers are incredibly supportive and
will offer day release and even pay for the
course. Others allow employees to attend
courses if time is made up, whilst others are not
very supportive.”
50
ADVANCE IN THE PROFESSION
Where?: University of the West of England
What?: MSc Advanced Technologies in Electronics
Target student?: The course has been designed predomi-
nantly to expand upon knowledge gained in an electrical/elec-
tronic biased first degree. However, mature students who wish
to update and expand their knowledge are encouraged to par-
ticipate and a part time mode is offered.
What’s covered?: There is a large embedded computing,
VLSI, hardware/software codesign, mobile telecoms, and
modern AI implemented in engineering systems content for
British and European candidates.
Links with industry: The MSc is closely related to the
research strengths of the teaching staff, which in turn, are
often related to industrial research contracts.
Next intake? September 2007
Programme director: Dr Tony Pipe (Anthony.Pipe@
uwe.ac.uk)
Where?: The University of Bolton
What?: Full or part time MSc, Postgraduate
Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced
Electronics Design
Target student?: First class or upper second honours grad-
uates in electronics or related subjects. Industrial experience
in electronics design plus an HND may be sufficient.
What’s covered?: Taught modules include microelectronic
technologies and applications, engineering design, project
management, signal integrity and emc, dsp, microcontrollers
and system design using fpgas.
Links with industry: The electronics team at Bolton is very
involved in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with local com-
panies, and with the UK’s Electronics Knowledge Transfer Net-
work launches in December 2006.
Next intake?: September 2007
Programme director: Linda Holland
Employer support tends to depend upon
the relevance of your chosen course to your job
specification. If you are interested in using a
postgraduate course to manoeuvre into a
different area of expertise, then other sources
of finance and support are worth
investigating.
The Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC) is an important source of
funding for postgraduate studies
in engineering. Although it
doesn’t give money to students
directly, it does fund universities
through Doctoral Training Accounts and
Collaborative Training Accounts – the latter
designed to support training with strong
connections to industry.
Meanwhile, the IET has amalgamated the
various scholarships, awards and prizes that
N e w E l e c t r o n i c s w w w. n e w e l e c t r o n i c s . c o . u k 1 2 J u n e 2 0 0 7
Where?: The University of Southampton
What?: Full time MSc in Microelectronic Systems
Design (other MScs include System on a Chip, Nano-
electronics, Microsystems Technology and Radio Fre-
quency Communications Systems)
Target student?: First degree graduates with either an
upper second-class honours degree or higher in an appropri-
ate related discipline.
What’s covered?: This MSc programme offers a wide choice
of modules based on digital integrated circuit design and ana-
logue integrated circuit design. It examines aspects of system
integration and aspects of discrete device properties. There is
also a group project on VLSI design and optional modules on
nanotechnology, microsystems technology and radio fre-
quency transceiver design.
Links with industry: The MSc degrees have been designed
around areas of expertise for which there is great demand
from industry. Much of the tuition is from academics who are
world-leaders in their field.
Next intake?: October 2007
Programme director: Dr Darren Bagnall
(dmb@ecs.soton.ac.uk)
Where?: Institute for System Level Integration
What?: MSc in System Level Integration
Target student?: Undergraduates considering a career path
in analogue design, as well as practicing analogue design engi-
neers.
What’s covered?: The MSc is designed to provide an under-
standing of the process of system level design, the use of IP
blocks and the architecture of modern electronic systems. The
course also provides a thorough grounding in business issues.
Links with industry: The course has been designed with
substantial input from industry.
Next intake?: 2007
previously belonged to the IIE and IEE into
three programmes, entitled Achievement,
Ambition and Innovation. The Ambition
Awards, launched this year, seek to recognise,
support and encourage those either studying,
or at the start of their careers, within the fields
of engineering and technology. These may
prove a useful source of either whole or part
postgraduate course funding.
NE 12 June 2007.qxd 5/6/07 3:11 pm Page 66

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