测试、测量和监测仪器提供商泰克公司日前宣布， PulseCore半导体已经成功地采用泰克全套测试仪器，测试和验证其最新推出的USB 2.0集成电路(IC)。新推出的PulseCore IC在业内率先采用扩频时钟(SSC)降低电磁干扰(EMI)，同时满足了USB 2.0行业标准。
为测量是否满足USB 2.0行业标准和信号完整性，PulseCore结合使用装有TDSUSB2软件选项的DPO7254示波器、TDSUSBF测试夹具和P7360A 6 GHz差分有源探头。为测量电缆上的及辐射的USB 2.0 EMI功率降低情况，PulseCore还使用了带有DPX实时RF显示技术的RSA6114A实时频谱分析仪(RTSA)。DPX波形图像处理技术可以提供频谱的实时RF信息，揭示以前看不到的RF信号和信号异常事件。
“泰克是USB设计和一致性测试的领导者。”PulseCore工程设计总监Dan Hariton说，“我们面临着一个特别困难的测试挑战，需要验证USB 2.0标准满足情况及EMI降低情况，因此我们转向专家求助。泰克测试套件自动进行测量检定和报告采集工作，同时消除了耗时的手动设置工作，为我们节约了大量的时间。”
通过使用这一测试套件，PulseCore能够验证其SSC技术的效果，该技术的平均EMI衰减为4dB，满足了USB 2.0标准。RTSA在跳变中和跳变后实时分析SSC，保证示波器检验、调试和测试设计时，关键SSC参数一直满足规范。
仪器和软件的速度、可重复性和灵活性提供了额外的优势，帮助PulseCore找到新型IC的极限，最终为PulseCore客户提供更多的设计选项。借助PuseCore详细测试发现的信息，使用新型IC的系统设计人员可以了解极限特点，优化设计，实现最大性能，或最大限度地降低EMI。
“泰克设备和软件自动进行设置和一致性测试，在设计阶段和验证阶段为我们节约了大量的时间。如果没有这些设备和软件，我们不可能把我们的芯片推向极限。”Hariton接着说。
2008年10月16日星期四
2008年10月14日星期二
安捷伦U1253A使用最新的有机发光显示管（OLED）
Agilent Technologies Inc. has introduced the U1253A handheld digital multimeter (DMM), touting it as the first DMM to use an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display.
For on-the-go and benchtop applications, the OLED readout provides a 2000:1 contrast ratio, a 160-degree viewing angle, smoothed fonts and a "large display" mode to ensure crystal-clear indoor viewing.
Designed to simplify electronic troubleshooting and validation, these high-performance instruments enable engineers and technicians to complete their day-to-day tasks without being confined to the bench.
All three U1250 Series DMMs provide useful benefits that help simplify analysis, accelerate glitch detection and simplify probing of hard-to-reach points.
Key specifications are 4.5-digit resolution with 50,000-count full-scale dual display and basic accuracy of up to 0.025 percent. All offer simultaneous measurements and provide the flexibility to quickly perform validation tests, tolerance checks and marginal-failure troubleshooting.
Pricing: $449.Availability: Now worldwide.Datasheet: Click here.
For on-the-go and benchtop applications, the OLED readout provides a 2000:1 contrast ratio, a 160-degree viewing angle, smoothed fonts and a "large display" mode to ensure crystal-clear indoor viewing.
Designed to simplify electronic troubleshooting and validation, these high-performance instruments enable engineers and technicians to complete their day-to-day tasks without being confined to the bench.
All three U1250 Series DMMs provide useful benefits that help simplify analysis, accelerate glitch detection and simplify probing of hard-to-reach points.
Key specifications are 4.5-digit resolution with 50,000-count full-scale dual display and basic accuracy of up to 0.025 percent. All offer simultaneous measurements and provide the flexibility to quickly perform validation tests, tolerance checks and marginal-failure troubleshooting.
Pricing: $449.Availability: Now worldwide.Datasheet: Click here.
安捷伦发布针对MIMO接收机测试的实验室仪器
编辑笔记：安捷伦发布的这款针对MIMO接收机测试仪器可升级，同时也具有更高的速度和更好的精度。安捷伦声称这是目前市场上能够模拟真实通信环境的最好产品。该产品支持2*2，2*4，4*2路MIMO测试。该产品的售价为31000美金。
Agilent Technologies has announced a scalable laboratory instrument that enables quicker, more accurate testing of MIMO (multiple-input/multiple-output) receivers earlier in the design cycle. Providing what the company calls the market’s best simulation of real-world conditions, the new N5106A PXB MIMO-receiver tester, enables significant reductions in the time to develop and qualify new products. By minimizing design uncertainty and setup time and providing the performance and scalability to meet future test needs, the instrument transforms MIMO test, according to Agilent. Its capabilities make the new tester ideal for R&D engineers who develop and integrate MIMO receivers for 3GPP (third-generation-partnership-project), LTE (long-term-evolution), WiMax (worldwide-interoperability-for-microwave-access), and emerging wireless standards.
The tester provides versatile signal-creation and channel-emulation for the latest LTE and WiMax standards. It supports 2×2 (two-transmitter/two-receiver), 2×4 (two-transmitter/four-receiver), and 4×2 (four-transmitter/two-receiver) MIMO with 120-MHz bandwidth and features custom MIMO-correlation settings—for example, channel models, antenna pattern, and correlation matrix. Signal Studio signal-creation software runs in the instrument and provides up-to-date standards-compliant signal creation.
Using the PXB, you can simulate real-world conditions in the lab to more quickly test corner cases and stress devices beyond standards requirements. You can also test coexistence to ensure design robustness earlier in the design process. Using Signal Studio, Advanced Design System software, or even a waveform-creation tool that you wrote yourself, you can sum the outputs of as many as four high-performance baseband generators to perform multiformat coexistence testing. Each baseband generator supports 120-MHz modulation bandwidth with 512M samples of playback memory for simulating long, complex signals. This approach enables earlier identification of problems, which allows you to design with greater confidence and thereby reduce uncertainties, minimize rework, and shorten time to market.
Seamless signal routing and automated power calibration minimize test time and eliminate the time-consuming system setup previously required for fading and multiformat coexistence-signal summing. Predefined test configurations further reduce test time and allow you to quickly define complex instrument settings. A GUI (graphical user interface) with drop-down menus speeds learning and provides quick selection of test settings such as MIMO-channel models and path configurations.
The tester features a scalable, high-performance platform based on a field-upgradable architecture. Adding support for the test needs of future technologies, such as 4G (fourth-generation) and higher-order MIMO implementations, requires only a cost-effective upgrade that you can perform in an hour. The architecture extends the instrument’s service life, maximizes your equipment investments, and reduces the cost of test by allowing you to use existing Agilent signal generators and analyzers and other RF-test equipment. Pricing depends on the system configuration and begins at $31,000.
Agilent Technologies has announced a scalable laboratory instrument that enables quicker, more accurate testing of MIMO (multiple-input/multiple-output) receivers earlier in the design cycle. Providing what the company calls the market’s best simulation of real-world conditions, the new N5106A PXB MIMO-receiver tester, enables significant reductions in the time to develop and qualify new products. By minimizing design uncertainty and setup time and providing the performance and scalability to meet future test needs, the instrument transforms MIMO test, according to Agilent. Its capabilities make the new tester ideal for R&D engineers who develop and integrate MIMO receivers for 3GPP (third-generation-partnership-project), LTE (long-term-evolution), WiMax (worldwide-interoperability-for-microwave-access), and emerging wireless standards.
The tester provides versatile signal-creation and channel-emulation for the latest LTE and WiMax standards. It supports 2×2 (two-transmitter/two-receiver), 2×4 (two-transmitter/four-receiver), and 4×2 (four-transmitter/two-receiver) MIMO with 120-MHz bandwidth and features custom MIMO-correlation settings—for example, channel models, antenna pattern, and correlation matrix. Signal Studio signal-creation software runs in the instrument and provides up-to-date standards-compliant signal creation.
Using the PXB, you can simulate real-world conditions in the lab to more quickly test corner cases and stress devices beyond standards requirements. You can also test coexistence to ensure design robustness earlier in the design process. Using Signal Studio, Advanced Design System software, or even a waveform-creation tool that you wrote yourself, you can sum the outputs of as many as four high-performance baseband generators to perform multiformat coexistence testing. Each baseband generator supports 120-MHz modulation bandwidth with 512M samples of playback memory for simulating long, complex signals. This approach enables earlier identification of problems, which allows you to design with greater confidence and thereby reduce uncertainties, minimize rework, and shorten time to market.
Seamless signal routing and automated power calibration minimize test time and eliminate the time-consuming system setup previously required for fading and multiformat coexistence-signal summing. Predefined test configurations further reduce test time and allow you to quickly define complex instrument settings. A GUI (graphical user interface) with drop-down menus speeds learning and provides quick selection of test settings such as MIMO-channel models and path configurations.
The tester features a scalable, high-performance platform based on a field-upgradable architecture. Adding support for the test needs of future technologies, such as 4G (fourth-generation) and higher-order MIMO implementations, requires only a cost-effective upgrade that you can perform in an hour. The architecture extends the instrument’s service life, maximizes your equipment investments, and reduces the cost of test by allowing you to use existing Agilent signal generators and analyzers and other RF-test equipment. Pricing depends on the system configuration and begins at $31,000.
ATE厂商前景黯淡？
编辑笔记：ATE行业的衰退已经结束，还是没有？在最近的西部半导体贸易展上，传闻日本横河电气集团将要发布自己的ATE产品线。横河也是工业自动化行业，仪器以及其他产品的的供应商，但是这些产品线显然不是为此次贸易展准备的。
The shakeout in the automatic test equipment (ATE) business is over. Or is it?
At the Semicon West Trade Show, there were rumors that Japan's Yokogawa Electric Corp. may put its semiconductor ATE business on the block. Yokogawa also sells industrial automation equipment, instruments and other products, but those lines are apparently not for sale, according to sources.
The company has a strong presence in Asia, but the company has been nearly invisible in the U.S. market, according to analysts. For its fiscal year, the company's test and measurement group posted an operating loss of 1.9 billion yen ($17.8 million) on sales of 67.8 billion yen ($635 million). This compares to operating profit of 1.1 billion yen ($10.3 million) on sales of 78.5 billion yen ($735.2 million) the previous year.
The Japanese company dismissed the rumor. "We have no plan at present to divest our ATE business," according to a spokesman from Yokogawa, in an e-mail.
"As you know, market conditions at present are tough. Hence, what we are struggling for in our ATE business is to establish a business structure that can be profitable regardless of what happens in the business environment," the spokesman said. "In this regard, we are implementing a selection and concentration strategy. However, it does not mean that we will divest the ATE business," he added.
Anticipated lossIn any case, it's been a tough cycle for ATE vendors. Many suppliers failed to recover in the last downturn in 2001. Now they face yet another downturn, as the ATE segment is expected to decline by 20.3 percent in 2008, according to Gartner Inc.
"It's a tough business," said Rod Stewart, general manager, SOC business group, Teradyne Inc., in an interview at Semicon West. "The outlook is not terribly strong for the 2H of the year," he added.
The net result is more consolidation. The long-awaited consolidation finally hit the ATE market late last year, as Teradyne reentered the flash-memory test business by buying Nextest Systems Corp. for $325 million.
Late last year, Verigy Inc., the ATE spin-off of Agilent Technologies Inc., signed a definitive agreement to acquire DFM chip test vendor Inovys Corp.
Continuing to divest its unwanted lines, Credence Systems Corp. in June entered into a definitive agreement to sell its automotive ATE unit in Amerang, Germany to Advantest Corp. for $5 million. Last month, ATE gear rivals Credence and LTX Corp. said they are planning to merge in an all-stock merger of equals.
ATE rivalsThe shakeout leaves the following competitors in ATE: Advantest, Eagle Test Systems, LTX-Credence, Teradyne, Verigy, Yokogawa and perhaps a few niche players.
For years, analysts insisted there were too many ATE players going after a nongrowth market. Many believe there are still too many vendors. So expect another wave of merger and acquisition activity.
"There needs to be more consolidation," Stewart said. "I would not be surprised to see more of it."
"Over time, there is room for only three or four major players in ATE," said Greg Smith, general manager, broadband and computing business unit, Teradyne.
So which company is next in the ATE shakeout? Some question the viability of the LTX-Credence duo. Both are relatively weak players that even struggled during the upturn. LTX's management appears to have the upperhand in the LTX-Credence merger hierarchy. There is also product overlap between the two companies, leaving many to wonder about the fate of Credence's Sapphire and other ATE lines.
Because of this, the LTX-Credence duo will most likely become a niche player over time. Eagle is also a niche player, but the vendor has confounded critics and rivals, as it has found a way to make a profit in the ATE downturn.
Search for a partnerTo save face, Yokogawa will mostly likely find an ATE partner over time. Some wonder if Advantest Corp. will assume control over that company's ATE business in the future.
This leaves the ATE industry with three big players such as Advantest, Teradyne and Verigy. At one time, it was widely believed that Advantest would trounce its rivals and would become the undisputed champion in ATE.
But even mighty Advantest is struggling. Its memory ATE business is flat on its back amid the downturn in DRAMs and flash. And its SoC test unit, which was riding high at one juncture, has fallen on hard times.
Advantest's logic test business exploded in recent times, thanks to the T2000 line of testers. Intel Corp. procured a plethora of these testers in the early part of the decade, but that business has dried up at the chip giant.
Verigy and Teradyne have each fared relatively well in logic test, but the hated ATE rivals face some major challenges in NAND ATE. The downturn in NAND presents some major economic challenges for Advantest, Teradyne and Verigy, leaving some to believe there is only room for two NAND flash memory test vendors.
Quest for survivalAdvantest will most likely protect its base in the DRAM and flash ATE categories. The question is which company between Teradyne and Verigy is stronger and will survive in NAND ATE.
In logic test, there are some hits and misses in the market, but wireless is especially strong. There is a sea of change in wireless design, as vendors have integrated significant functions on the same device.
"We are thankful to the wireless trends, the 1H was good for us," said Stewart. "Wireless is the dominating driver for us," he added.
To prepare for the next cycle, it has introduced five new products in the past five months. Introductions include the UltraWave 12G wireless test instrument; the high density UltraPin800 instrument; the small footprint UltraFLEX-HD test system; the D750Ex LCD driver test system; and the Magnum II memory test system for flash and embedded memory.
- Mark LaPedusEE Times
The shakeout in the automatic test equipment (ATE) business is over. Or is it?
At the Semicon West Trade Show, there were rumors that Japan's Yokogawa Electric Corp. may put its semiconductor ATE business on the block. Yokogawa also sells industrial automation equipment, instruments and other products, but those lines are apparently not for sale, according to sources.
The company has a strong presence in Asia, but the company has been nearly invisible in the U.S. market, according to analysts. For its fiscal year, the company's test and measurement group posted an operating loss of 1.9 billion yen ($17.8 million) on sales of 67.8 billion yen ($635 million). This compares to operating profit of 1.1 billion yen ($10.3 million) on sales of 78.5 billion yen ($735.2 million) the previous year.
The Japanese company dismissed the rumor. "We have no plan at present to divest our ATE business," according to a spokesman from Yokogawa, in an e-mail.
"As you know, market conditions at present are tough. Hence, what we are struggling for in our ATE business is to establish a business structure that can be profitable regardless of what happens in the business environment," the spokesman said. "In this regard, we are implementing a selection and concentration strategy. However, it does not mean that we will divest the ATE business," he added.
Anticipated lossIn any case, it's been a tough cycle for ATE vendors. Many suppliers failed to recover in the last downturn in 2001. Now they face yet another downturn, as the ATE segment is expected to decline by 20.3 percent in 2008, according to Gartner Inc.
"It's a tough business," said Rod Stewart, general manager, SOC business group, Teradyne Inc., in an interview at Semicon West. "The outlook is not terribly strong for the 2H of the year," he added.
The net result is more consolidation. The long-awaited consolidation finally hit the ATE market late last year, as Teradyne reentered the flash-memory test business by buying Nextest Systems Corp. for $325 million.
Late last year, Verigy Inc., the ATE spin-off of Agilent Technologies Inc., signed a definitive agreement to acquire DFM chip test vendor Inovys Corp.
Continuing to divest its unwanted lines, Credence Systems Corp. in June entered into a definitive agreement to sell its automotive ATE unit in Amerang, Germany to Advantest Corp. for $5 million. Last month, ATE gear rivals Credence and LTX Corp. said they are planning to merge in an all-stock merger of equals.
ATE rivalsThe shakeout leaves the following competitors in ATE: Advantest, Eagle Test Systems, LTX-Credence, Teradyne, Verigy, Yokogawa and perhaps a few niche players.
For years, analysts insisted there were too many ATE players going after a nongrowth market. Many believe there are still too many vendors. So expect another wave of merger and acquisition activity.
"There needs to be more consolidation," Stewart said. "I would not be surprised to see more of it."
"Over time, there is room for only three or four major players in ATE," said Greg Smith, general manager, broadband and computing business unit, Teradyne.
So which company is next in the ATE shakeout? Some question the viability of the LTX-Credence duo. Both are relatively weak players that even struggled during the upturn. LTX's management appears to have the upperhand in the LTX-Credence merger hierarchy. There is also product overlap between the two companies, leaving many to wonder about the fate of Credence's Sapphire and other ATE lines.
Because of this, the LTX-Credence duo will most likely become a niche player over time. Eagle is also a niche player, but the vendor has confounded critics and rivals, as it has found a way to make a profit in the ATE downturn.
Search for a partnerTo save face, Yokogawa will mostly likely find an ATE partner over time. Some wonder if Advantest Corp. will assume control over that company's ATE business in the future.
This leaves the ATE industry with three big players such as Advantest, Teradyne and Verigy. At one time, it was widely believed that Advantest would trounce its rivals and would become the undisputed champion in ATE.
But even mighty Advantest is struggling. Its memory ATE business is flat on its back amid the downturn in DRAMs and flash. And its SoC test unit, which was riding high at one juncture, has fallen on hard times.
Advantest's logic test business exploded in recent times, thanks to the T2000 line of testers. Intel Corp. procured a plethora of these testers in the early part of the decade, but that business has dried up at the chip giant.
Verigy and Teradyne have each fared relatively well in logic test, but the hated ATE rivals face some major challenges in NAND ATE. The downturn in NAND presents some major economic challenges for Advantest, Teradyne and Verigy, leaving some to believe there is only room for two NAND flash memory test vendors.
Quest for survivalAdvantest will most likely protect its base in the DRAM and flash ATE categories. The question is which company between Teradyne and Verigy is stronger and will survive in NAND ATE.
In logic test, there are some hits and misses in the market, but wireless is especially strong. There is a sea of change in wireless design, as vendors have integrated significant functions on the same device.
"We are thankful to the wireless trends, the 1H was good for us," said Stewart. "Wireless is the dominating driver for us," he added.
To prepare for the next cycle, it has introduced five new products in the past five months. Introductions include the UltraWave 12G wireless test instrument; the high density UltraPin800 instrument; the small footprint UltraFLEX-HD test system; the D750Ex LCD driver test system; and the Magnum II memory test system for flash and embedded memory.
- Mark LaPedusEE Times
USB3.0来了
编辑笔记：
USB flash drives such as the Kanguru FlashBlu now hold up to 64 Gbytes of data. Courtesy of Kanguru.With 64-Gbyte flash drives and terabyte external hard drives now available, USB 2.0 has become a data bottleneck. USB 3.0, with its 5-Gbps bit rate, will change that. If you plan to develop USB 3.0 products and you’re not currently testing other high-speed buses such as PCIe (PCI Express) Gen2 or SATA-3 (Serial ATA III), start making a case to your manager for a faster oscilloscope.
USB 3.0 will leverage technology from PCIe Gen2 (5-Gbps) and SATA-3 (6-Gbps) serial buses. It will use 8b/10b data encoding, which reduces the data throughput rate to a maximum of 4 Gbps. “In practice,” said Mike Engbretson, USB test solution marketing manager at Tektronix, “the data throughput may be around 3 Gbps.” Still, the 5-Gbps bit rate is more than 10X faster than USB 2.0. (Click here to read a discussion with Engbretson, covering USB 3.0 technology in more detail.)
Like PCIe Gen2, USB 3.0 will use a 2.5-GHz fundamental clock frequency. So, you’ll likely need a 12.5-GHz oscilloscope if you need to see a signal’s fifth harmonic. USB 3.0 will also require you to measure a signal at the receiver, which isn’t necessary for USB 2.0. With the higher bit rate, USB 3.0 receivers will need equalization at the receiver because the signal eye will be closed after traveling through PCB traces, connectors, and cables.
Just how much oscilloscope bandwidth you’ll need is still open to debate. Jim Choate, product management engineer at Agilent Technologies, suggests that using a 10-GHz oscilloscope at the receiver will reduce the amount of jitter and noise you’ll see because some noise is generated by the instrument itself. “There’s very little high-frequency content at the receiver,” he said.
Engbretson countered that you’ll need 12.5 GHz to capture the signal’s fifth harmonic and that using a lower-bandwidth oscilloscope will reduce the amplitude of the measured signal. Engbretson, Choate, and Mike Micheletti, senior product marketing manager at LeCroy, agree that you’ll need to use a 12.5-GHz oscilloscope at the transmitter.
Sample rate will be equally important because of the USB 3.0 signal’s rise time. “At the transmitter,” noted Choate, “edges will rise in less than 70 ps.” You’ll need a sample rate fast enough to measure the signal’s rise time.
“The USB 3.0 specification could specify a 50-ps minimum rise time, although actual hardware may not reach that speed,” said Steven Sanders, product development engineer at LeCroy.
USB 3.0 should have a specification version 1.0 in time for a USB developer’s conference in November. Initial USB 3.0 interface ICs and consumer products should appear in mid-2009, with widespread deployment in 2010. You can expect the first USB 3.0 products to be data-storage devices such as flash drives, external hard drives, digital music players, and digital cameras. After that will come video products and, eventually, data-acquisition systems that need the high data throughput.
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Programmable power supplies
Lambda’s NV-350 and NV-700 series programmable power supplies provide up to 350-W and up to 700-W continuous output, respectively. Both series are 1U high and operate from 90 VAC to 264 VAC. Outputs are 3.2 V–3.6 V at 40 A and range up to 24 V–26.4 V at 25 A. www.lambdapower.com/products/nv-series.htm.
Oscilloscope consulting service
Amherst Systems Associates (ASA), maker of M1 oscilloscope software, has started a consulting service to help you choose an oscilloscope. ASA’s ScopeMatch program can keep you from buying more oscilloscope than necessary. ASA will discuss signals, probing, software, and oscilloscope specifications with you. www.amherst-systems.com/scope-match.htm.
Instrument software for PC sound card
FreeView-Sound-Pro from Hacker Technology turns your PC sound card into a datalogger, chart recorder, oscilloscope, or FFT analyzer. With an eight-channel sound card, the software can operate on all eight channels at the full speed and resolution of the card. It can store data files up to 2 Gbytes and operates with Windows 95 through Vista. www.hacker-technology.com/100493.html.
Programmable power supplies
Lambda’s NV-350 and NV-700 series programmable power supplies provide up to 350-W and up to 700-W continuous output, respectively. Both series are 1U high and operate from 90 VAC to 264 VAC. Outputs are 3.2 V–3.6 V at 40 A and range up to 24 V–26.4 V at 25 A. www.lambdapower.com/products/nv-series.htm.
Oscilloscope consulting service
Amherst Systems Associates (ASA), maker of M1 oscilloscope software, has started a consulting service to help you choose an oscilloscope. ASA’s ScopeMatch program can keep you from buying more oscilloscope than necessary. ASA will discuss signals, probing, software, and oscilloscope specifications with you. www.amherst-systems.com/scope-match.htm.
Instrument software for PC sound card
FreeView-Sound-Pro from Hacker Technology turns your PC sound card into a datalogger, chart recorder, oscilloscope, or FFT analyzer. With an eight-channel sound card, the software can operate on all eight channels at the full speed and resolution of the card. It can store data files up to 2 Gbytes and operates with Windows 95 through Vista. www.hacker-technology.com/100493.html.
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