New chip technology makes way for exploding number of internet users

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IBM announced a new chip-making technology that can be used to create advanced semiconductors that can keep pace with the exploding number of internet-connected devices and the tidal wave of data they are generating.

The Cu-32 Custom Logic offering employs unique IBM technology -- designed by IBM Research -- to dramatically increase thememory capacityand processing speeds of chips used in fiber-optic andwireless networks, and in such gear as routers and switches. The technology can help manufacturers and network operators handle the data deluge driven by consumers' appetites for smart phones and other Web-connected devices.

Systems using chips made with Cu-32 for example, can result in:

• Cellular infrastructure that can move one year's worth of text messages (six trillion, worldwide in 2010) in less than ten seconds
• A consumer downloading a feature-length film on a smart phone in less than ten seconds; or a HD version in under a minute
• Routers that can stream every motion picture ever produced in less than one minute

The number of people using the internet has doubled in the past five years, with two billion logging-on in 2010. Smart phones, game consoles, digital TVs, GPS devices and MP3 players are among the consumer gadgets that now ride the internet. As the world's infrastructure gets further digitized, connected and monitored, vast arrays of machine-to-machine sensors are also beginning to use the internet to transmit data on commuter traffic, buildings' energy usage or the health of newborn infants, for example. Manufacturers of communications infrastructure will increasingly need breakthrough semiconductor technologies such as Cu-32 to keep up with the demand to secure, store and move an ever-growing amount of web traffic.

Embedded Memory, Made in IBM Labs, Key to Breakthrough Performance

IBM's embedded DRAM technology provides the most dense on-chip dynamic memory available today, enabling more than 1Gb of memory on a singlechip. IBM eDRAM performance has advanced to a point where it can replace conventional on-chip static memory (SRAM) in many applications, taking up 60% less space on the chip, and consuming up to 90% less power.

"IBM's Cu-32 technology with ARM advanced physical IP enables chip-makers to get powerful system-on-a-chip solutions quickly to market,"said Simon Segars, executive vice president and general manager, ARM physical IP division."Our collaboration with IBM allows both companies to advance the state-of-the-art in the low-power embeddedsemiconductorsthat will help create next-generation networks."

A suite of new high-sped serial cores (HSS) give Cu-32 advanced capabilities to network with more than a dozen different interface standards. Additionally, IBM's silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process helps improve energy efficiency in chips using Cu-32. Since its invention by IBM in 1998, more than 100 million SOI chips have been shipped, powering the newest generation of video games and enabling a wide range of enhanced communications applications. More than twenty of the world's leading semiconductor makers, tool makers and industry suppliers are members of the SOI Industry Consortium, setting the course of future SOI innovation.

"By any measure– from the growing number of mobile users to the explosion we're seeing in data -- network traffic will grow at a pace we haven't seen before,"said Mark Ireland, VP, Semiconductor Products, IBM."Cu-32, our most advanced Custom Logic offering, with the industry's best eDRAM and high speed serial links will provide our infrastructure partners the lead they need to create next-generation networks."

Technical Features of Cu-32 Design Kit

IBM's High Speed Serial (HSS) cores were developed to provide industry-leading jitter performance and equalization support for enhanced system performance with the lowest possible bit error ratio. IBM is an active member of the Optical Internetworking Forum committee and is leading the effort to define interface standards for networking communication applications.

Cu-32 offers the industry's first set of HSS cores in 32nm SOI technology including:

• 15G Backplane core supporting 16G Fibre Channel standard
• 15G Chip-to-Chip core supporting low-power optical and chip-to-chip applications
• 28G Backplane core supporting 32G Fibre Channel standard
• 6G standards core supporting PCI-Express Gen1&Gen2 standards
• PCI-Express Gen3 core supporting PCI-Express Gen1, Gen2, and Gen3 standards

IBM, as the first provider of eDRAM technology in a custom-logic design system continues to expand its eDRAM offering with a compiler that can create more than 3,000 configurations. This flexibility enables smarter silicon solutions with memory optimized for a wide range of applications from high-end servers and networking applications to game processors.

• IBM's eDRAM offering features the fastest and densest eDRAM memory in the industry, achieving up to 600 MHz of random cycle performance while using up to ten times less standby power than conventional SRAM.
• IBM's trench-based eDRAM technology is optimized to deliver high performance and low power, while avoiding many of the process complexities of alternative MIM-cap-based eDRAM cells.

IBM's high-k metal gate (HKMG) SOI technology can provide up to 25% chip performance improvement, up to 30% improved energy efficiency with up to twice the density compared to 45 nm SOI technology, allowing chips built with the Cu-32 process to address an ever wider range of devices and applications.

Design kits for standard cell libraries, memory compilers, eDRAM and supporting Fibre Channel HSS standards are available now with additional HSS standards availabilities slated for end of 2010. IBM's accreditation as a Trusted Supplier enables government sponsored program access to Cu-32 offering.

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New energy metering chip introduced by NXP

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EM773 based on Cortex-M0 is world?s first 32-bit ARM-based solution for non-billing metering applications.

NXPSemiconductorsN.V. today announced the EM773 energy metering IC– the world‘s first 32-bit ARM-based solution designed specifically for non-billing electricity metering applications. In recent years, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and smart meters have become popular with regulators and utilities as a means to introduce more sophisticated pricing models and tariffs, and incentivize customers to adjust their energy consumption accordingly. The NXP EM773 takes energy metering beyond this traditional billing context, by making it easy for system designers to integrate energy metering functionality into almost any type of device, and make information on electricity consumption more accessible and intuitive for the end user. With the EM773, consumers and industrial users can monitor energy consumption in real-time, in devices ranging from smart plugs, smart appliances and green consumer electronics, to building sub-meters, industrial sub-meters, and even clusters of rack-mounted servers in the data center.

Featuring a metrology engine with automatic single phase, power and energy measurement, the EM773energy metering IC includes an API which vastly simplifies the design of non-billing metering applications. The NXP EM773 is built on an ARM Cortex-M0 processor.

“Saving energy is high on the agenda for consumers and businesses, but with most electrical devices today, it‘s difficult to know how much energy you are actually using at any given point in time. Smart devices measuring and communicating how much energy is being used are potentially a powerful tool for managing energy consumption,” said Rolf Hertel, director of smart metering, NXP Semiconductors.“The EM773 energy metering IC is 'metrology made easy' - it makes the design of non-billing metering applications accessible to designers without a deep background in metrology. With the EM773, NXP is enabling the rapid design of innovative devices that will transform the way we consume energy– in the home, on the go, and in industrial environments.”

By using the powerful ARM Cortex-M0 platform, the NXP EM773 is able to support complex communication tasks such as running a feature-rich wireless m-bus stack, so that data on energy use can be transmitted quickly throughout the home or business, and displayed on other devices such as PCs and smartphones. The standard demonstration kit for the EM773 ships with a wireless plug meter transmitting data from the metrology engine via the wireless m-bus to a USB-based dongle. The USB dongle uses the OL2381 wireless transceiver and LPC1343 microcontroller, both from NXP.

The NXP metrology engine, which is accessible via a simple API, automatically calculates active power in Watts within one percent accuracy; the engine also calculates reactive power, apparent power, the power factor ratio, and even THD (Total Harmonic Distortion). In addition, data on kilowatt hours (kWh) is integrated into the open-source plug meter application that ships with the energy metering IC demo kit, and can be transmitted to and displayed on a PC.

The powerful 32-bit Cortex-M0 platform provides system designers with performance of up to 48 MHz, while maintaining a small footprint and lower silicon cost equivalent to a traditional 8- or 16-bit MCU. With 32KB of flash and 8KB SRAM memory, the NXP EM773 supports complex customer application software, and offers cost-efficient implementation by reducing the number of external components required. The EM773 further reduces costs through the availability of the complete demo design from NXP, as well as the support of the standard ARM tool chain environment.

TheNXPEM773 energy metering IC is now in volume production and is available immediately.

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Powerful LED flash for smartphones

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Researchers from Osram Opto Semiconductors have developed an LED chip that makes it possible to offer smaller pocket projectors, vehicle headlights, and cell phone camera flashes. In combination with a new package the new UX:3 chip is 50 percent brighter than the precursor package. In combination with an optimized lens, the light is much better distributed. The chip is used in the Oslux LED, which is therefore considerably more efficient at high currents than previous LEDs and is impressive for its very high luminous efficiency over a small area.

At a distance of one meter, for instance, such an LED flash evenly illuminates a diagonal of 90 cm. That is sufficient for capturing sharp images even under unfavorable light conditions. At 150 lux, the LED with the UX:3 chip is 50 lux brighter than its predecessor. As a result, high-quality images can be taken even with very flat cell phones or smartphones.

Normally, when taking photos at night with a camera phone, the flash is capable of relatively bright illumination of the middle of the image area, but the corners appear somewhat dark. This is because theluminosityof the LED itself is too low— it just can’t produce enough light— and the lens doesn’t distribute the light evenly enough. This creates a bright circle with dark edges, an effect that occurs especially under very unfavorable light conditions. To change this situation, the researchers from Osram rearranged the internal layout of theLEDchip.

The chip consists of a metallic lattice and two semiconductor layers. The lattice conducts the current to the upper layer, from where the electrons move to the lower layer and release energy in the form of light. With conventional LEDs, however, the metallic lattice is positioned above both layers and thus diminishes the light. The effect is similar to what would happen if you place a dark cloth over a light bulb. The researchers at Osram therefore moved the lattice all the way to the bottom, enabling them to increase the“wall plug efficiency,” which describes the relationship between the radiant flux of the chip and the electrical power that flows through it.

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Fujitsu expands lineup of 8-bit LCD driving microcontrollers

Fujitsu Semiconductor today announced the forthcoming release of a new series of high performance 8-bit microcontrollers with segment-display LCD controller built in.

This new series is regarded as a member of the F²MC-8FX family. This series includes 12 products from the 64-pin MB95470 series and 6 products from the 80-pin MB95410 series. Samples of these new products are available in early November 2010 and product shipment will commence in January next year.

With the growing popularity of segment-display panels in household appliances such as air-conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators and microwave ovens, instruments such as a temperature controller with an attached LCD display are becoming a trend, which raises the need for a low-cost microcontroller with LCD control function.

To meet market demand,FujitsuSemiconductor has developed the 64-pin MB95470 Series and the 80-pin MB95410 Series, of which the operating conditions are 2.4 V ~ 5.5 V. Based on the 8-bit microcontroller of the F²MC-8FX family, this series of products incorporates flash memory with security functions, as well as LCD control capabilities.

In addition to the LCD control function, the MB95470 Series and MB95410 Series products are also equipped with highly compatible timers, analog comparator, high precision AC/DC converter and oscillation circuit, aiming to significantly lower the cost on the customer’s side by reducing system configuration components.

As these products adopt the 1-wire on-chip debug function, users only have to use a small number of pins to perform debugging during product development.

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Power consumption cut by 50% with Panasonic's 32-bit microcomputer

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Panasonic Corporation has successfully developed a new series of 32-bit microcomputers with built-in flash memory which contribute to energy-saving and system cost reduction of in-car electronics, office equipment, and household electrical appliances. The company will start volume shipment of the MN103L series microcomputers in January, 2011.

These new microcomputers contribute to improving performance and energy-saving of the equipment in which they are used by achieving a good balance between performance and lowpower consumption. Especially, the new microcomputers are suitable for equipment requiring low power consumption in stand-by mode. In addition, they can meet the demand of a variety of operation voltages of the equipment, because they can deliver superior performance over a wide voltage range. Moreover, the Panasonic microcomputers facilitate miniaturization and cost reduction of the equipment by reducing the number of parts necessary for the equipment, such as external EEPROM, and integrating an oscillator into the microcomputers.

The new MN103L series of microcomputers have the following features:

1. About 50%* reduction of the microcomputer's stand-by power consumption, enabling to reduce stand-by power consumption in electrical appliances.
2. Operable over a wide voltage range of 2.2 V - 5.5 V, enabling to reduce power consumption by about 50%* during operation
3. The number of external parts can be reduced by improving flash memory's rewriting performance and incorporatinganalog circuitsin the microcomputers.

The new products use the following technologies:

1. Panasonic's newly developed 110 nm embedded flash memory process technology that achieves optimization of low leakage current and an optimum operation performance
2. The core design technology of Panasonic's newly developed 32-bit AM32L series core microcomputers that achieve about twice* the electricpower efficiency, and embedded flash memory design technology that enables reading operation in a wide range of voltages.
3. High performance analog circuit technology that achieves voltage detection and built-in oscillation function and the embeddedflash memoryreliability technology that achieves 100,000 times of rewriting.

There is a growing market demand for environmentally-conscious system control microcomputers with low power consumption and high energy efficiency. Moreover, cost reduction is called for by cutting the number of parts in the equipment and reducing the substrate area. Panasonic's new 32-bit microcomputers meet such demands of the users.

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NTU researchers develop world's smallest on-chip low-pass filter

A research team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU, Singapore) has successfully designed the world's smallest on-chip low-pass filter which is 1,000 times smaller than existing off-chip filters.

A low-pass filter is a circuit that allows low-frequency signals to pass through while reducing unwanted high-frequency signals from passing through. Compared to existing off-chipfilters, which are discrete and bulky components, on-chip filters occupy a small area on integrated circuit chips, which can be found in portable devices such as mobile phones, laptops, vehicle-mounted radars, as well as speed guns used in traffic monitoring.

The successful completion of this research project was announced at the official opening of VIRTUS, the new Integrated Circuit Design Centre of Excellence, which was launched by NTU and the Economic Development Board just 10 months ago.

The man behind this invention is Professor Yeo Kiat Seng, Head of Circuits and Systems at NTU's School of Electrical andElectronic Engineering. The breakthrough in design for this filter is set to revolutionise wireless communication.

"This new low-pass filter can lead to a significant improvement in signal quality as it removes nearly all unwanted interferences and noise in the environment,"said Professor Yeo.

"This results in clearer reception and enhanced clarity for mobile phone users and users of wireless applications such as Bluetooth and other mobile devices. For example, if you are speaking to your friend on your mobile phone in a noisy food centre or in a train, you would still be able to hear him clearly."

"The filter also consumes less power and can be easily incorporated into existing integrated circuit chips at almost no cost. This means that in addition to better signal quality, consumers enjoy lower power consumption without any additional cost,"he added.

The new filter will pave the way for further research and development of high-performanceintegrated circuitsandwireless communicationproducts. Integrated circuit chips incorporating the filter can result in new applications for transmitting uncompressed digital audio/video data, and high-speed wireless local area networks for instantaneous wireless file transfer.

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HP finds partner to build memristors into chips

Hewlett-Packard Co. has found an ally to take a breakthrough research project of HP's and build the technology into computer chips.

HP is partnering with Korean memory chip maker Hynix Semiconductor Inc. tomake chips that contain memristors. Memristors are a newly discovered building block of electrical circuits.

HP built one in 2008 that confirmed what scientists had suspected for nearly 40 years but hadn't been able to prove: that circuits have a weird, natural ability to remember things even when they're turned off.

Memristors could be valuable for memory chips, such as allowing a personal computer to remember things about a user's session long after the battery dies.

The first products could come within 3 years.

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