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SEPTEMBER 2013

electronicproducts.com A Hearst Business Publication

IN THIS ISSUE:ndustry Exclusive: FIRST member creates low-cost prosthetic leg Working with Microsofts Windows

Embedded Compact RTOS Precision-circuit semiconductors drive gains in energy harvesting

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SEPTEMBER 2013

Also In This ISSUE:

Industry Exclusive: FIRST membercreates low-cost prosthetic leg

Working with Microsofts WindowsEmbedded Compact RTOS

Precision-circuit semiconductorsdrive gains in energy harvesting

p.34

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Electronic Products Magazine (USPS 539490) (ISSN 0013-4953)Published monthly by Hearst Business Communications Inc./UTP Division, 50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 100,Uniondale, NY 11553. Periodicals postage paid Garden City, NY and additional mailing of fices. Electronic Produc ts is distributed at no charge to qualif ied persons actively engaged inthe authorization, recommendation or specification of electronic components, instruments, materials, systems and subsystems. The publisher reserves the right to reject any sub-scription on the basis of information submitted in order to comply with audit regulations. Paid subscriptions available: U.S. subscriber rate $65 per year, 2 years $110. Single issue,$6.00. Information contained herein is subject to change without notice. No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for its accuracy or completeness.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Electronic Products, PO Box 3012, Northbrook, Il 60065-3012. Phone 847-559-73172013 by Hearst Business Communications Inc./UTP Division. ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDPublications Mail Agreement Number 40012807. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A PO Box 12, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5

4 Contents

SEPTEMBER 2013 electronicproducts.com ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

Features

20Wire & Cable:40 Gbits/s over twisted-pair copper cable is on the way

24Real-Time Software Design:Working with Windows Embedded Compact RTOS

28Portable Test Support:Working on remote RF remotely

30Energy-Saving Initiative:Precision-circuit semiconductors drive gains in energy harvesting

Vol. 56, No.4 September 2013

Cover Story34 Getting started with ARM embedded MCU design

Analog & Digital ICs

38 Myths about endpoint security for embedded devices42 Tripling the power of PoE

Touch Points

6Viewpoint:Its a brave new world for next-generationprocessors

8The Story Behind the Story: NIs PXIe-5644R RF vectorsignal transceiver

11 Outlook (Technology News):Device can detect disease in just one drop of bloodAutotestcon looks to innovate in tight budgets

14Industry Exclusive: FIRST member creates low-costprosthetic leg

48Product Trends:Medical electronicsSensor fusion andpotential healthcare benefits

50Product Roundup:LEDs: Technology gains, pricereductions

52Industry Innovators:Bruno Maisonnier, founder and CEOof Aldebaran Robotics

New Products55 Power Sources 62 Test & Measurement

58 Components & Subassemblies 63 Optoelectronics

59 Packaging & Interconnections

38

11

50

Only OnlineElectronicproducts.com

Education Center:

Boost and monitor brain fitness or controlthings wirelessly with your mind

Water-based gels used to create bend-

able, soft robots

The pros and cons of retrofit LED bulbs

Handheld point-and-shoot 3D scanner

creates a model out of anything

Cove

rImagescourtesyofARM(

www.arm.com)andTexasInstruments(www.t

i.com).DigitalimagerybyDonWilber.

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6Viewpoint

Its a brave new world fornext-generation processors

I'm going to make a wild prediction. Soon, Intel will bring

out a new processor that is NO 50% faster and 50% lower

power than the last one. Yes, it's true. Unbelievable as it

may seem, that's my prediction. I predict that the next Core

processor will ONLY be 25% faster and 25% lower power. his

will, of course, set off near panic in what's left the PC process-

ing world. he end is near for Mr. Moore's law.

I'm so used to Intel upping the stakes with every new Core

CPU release. I just expect it. So, of course I wasshocked. Intel's recently announced Has-

well Core processor, which is

at 22 nm and uses ri-gate 3-D

transistors, actually didn't really

provide much of a performance

boost at all. Just somewhere

around 10% at most. It had to

happen someday.

Te way Intel put this was in-

teresting. "Te 4th generation Intel

Core vPro processors are up to 2x

faster for business productivity ap-

plications over 4-year-old systems."

Tat's one way to look at it I guess.

Te really interesting thing is that nobody cares. You see, PCs

have gotten fast enough. Everyone is totally happy with their

machines (except the gamers, of course). We don't need any

more speed. Lower power, yes, always, but not higher speed.

It's a brave new world.

Intel has addressed a lot of other stuff with this 4th-gen-

eration Core family, including graphics performance (yes,

another big step up for integrated graphics) and security.

And, the lower power chips means ultrabook laptops can befanless by running at a scenario design point (SDP) of 4.5 W.

Te new 1.4-GHz Core i5-4200Y version has a max thermal

design power (DP) of 11.5 W and SDP of 6 W with 4.5-W

versions coming soon. Other versions of Haswell go as high as

84-W DP.

SDP is said to be an operational profile representative of

a tablet computer. MacBook Air laptops with Haswell are

expected in September with the slim 13-in. display model

boasting of an incredible 12-hour battery life.

Meanwhile, the semiconductor in-dustry overall is going along nicely.

International Data Corp. raised its

worldwide semiconductor revenue

forecast for the year and projected

further growth for 2014, as demand

for smartphones and tablets remain

strong. IDC expects worldwide

semiconductor revenue to improve

6.9% to $320 billion this year. Te

company raised that from a pre-

diction of 3.5% in May. Te market

researcher also forecast semiconduc-

tor revenues to be up another 2.9% in 2014.

Intel chips are in a lot of embedded apps, of

course. But, over in the other corner, it seems as though

ARM CPU cores are taking over embedded processing.

Every MCU maker has 'em. Oh no! I was just imagining

that ARM had placed a disable command in every processor

it's ever produced (let's start a rumor). And, they have a

switch in Cambridge that they can throw any time they like

and shut 'em all down. he European Union better not try

pushing ARM around like they do Google and Microsoft.

No sir. Do it and they'll throwthe switch

.Jim Harrison

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8 Story Behind the Story


A look at the making of POY award winnersElectronicPRODUCTS

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For years, RF instruments have used FPGAs to

implement the instruments capabilities and con-

trols their so-called firmware personalities but the development of these personalities had been

done by specialized HDL engineers and presented to the

user in locked-up form. On the other hand, National In-

struments was providing programmable FPGAs in data

acquisition and control products such as the R Series and CompactRIO. Using LabVIEW

to program the FPGAs, users could define an instruments functionality, making the devel-

opment of these complex applications accessible to the novice. With the PXIe-5644R RF

vector signal transceiver (VST), NI decided to take the next step in instrument evolution.

e core development of the VST was a joint effort between R&D, manufacturing,

product marketing, and sales. Together, the departments jointly defined and evolved the

product from concept to release. Each of these groups needed to be involved in the concept

and development to ensure that the product was comprehensive in its ability to meet theneeds of a broad range of applications in the RF industry.

Ten years ago, on the RF instrumentation front, NI brought high-performance vector

signal analysis to PXI, thereby enabling a fast, modular approach to RF test applications. As

the test challenges evolved at an increasing pace, NI saw an opportunity to integrate these

separately successful technologies to produce a fast, flexible, extensible instrument that

boasts performance among the best in the industry. e design cycle for the VST was con-

sistent with NIs historical trend of 1 to 3 years. Very early in the development of the VST,

NI felt it had an excellent product coming together, and work done with lead users indicat-

ed that it would be successful. For example, Qualcomm Atheros improved its WLAN test

speed 200x, which gave Qualcomm better insight into its device under test using the VST.

e VST is designed around a high-performance FPGA that defines the core function-

ality of the instrument, and evolution of FPGA technology has provided increasing power.

Not only did NI take advantage of the latest FPGA technologies, but the company also

had to design a uniquely architected programming API, the Instrument Design Libraries,

to expose the VSTs soware-designed functionality to the user. (For whitepapers on the

hardware and soware architectures, visit ni.com/vst.) Another key to opening the instru-

ments power to customers in an easy-to-use way was heavy reliance on LabVIEW FPGA.

Without it, it would be almost impossible for customers to modify the VSTs firmware

the main thing NI expected users to dowithout extensive help from NI.

For the VST, the manufacturing team developed unique manufacturing processes to

handle the complex manufacturing and testing requirements demanded by the VST. For

example, the manufacturing team created a new production cell that uses NI instrumen-

tation almost exclusively, reducing capital costs and manufacturing overhead. is addedenormous value to the production process and removed the need for costly traditional box

instruments.

So far, the VST has won seven global industry awards and has been extremely success-

ful in applications from production test to research. Customers are also using the VST for

applications NI had never dreamt of and, in terms of revenue, aer the first nine months

it is the most successful new hardware product in NIs history. NI says that, when you set

about to something as bold as giving customers the ability to rewrite the firmware of an RF

instrument, you have to have a little doubt that its possible and effi cient. VST taught the

company that it was not only possible but, when done correctly, extremely empowering for

users. And instead of increasing NIs support burden for simple firmware modifications,

the VST actually reduced it; customers can now do the modifications themselves (success-

fully) without asking NI, freeing the company to deliver new innovations. .Richard Comerford

NIs PXIe-5644R RF vectorsignal transceiver

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Outlook 11Innovations impacting product, technology and applications

ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS electronicproducts.com SEPTEMBER 2013

Device can detectdisease in just one

drop of bloodCarbon nanotube creates prototype lab-on-a-chip

for physicians

A New Jersey Institute o echnology proessor known or his cutting-edge work

with carbon nanotubes is overseeing the making o a prototype lab-on-a-chip that

may someday enable a physician to detect disease or virus rom just one drop o

liquid, including blood. Proessors Reginald Farrow and Alokik Kanwal, his ormer

postdoctoral ellow, have created a carbon nanotube-based device to noninvasively

and quickly detect mobile single cells with the potential to maintain a high degree o

spatial resolution.NJI researchers

evaluated three different

types o cells using three

different electrical probes.

"It was an exploratory

study and we don't want

to say that we have a

signature," Farrow said.

"What we do say here

is that these cells differ

based on electrical prop-

erties. Establishing a sig-

nature, however, will take

time. We do know that

the distribution o elec-

trical charges in a healthy

cell changes markedly

when it becomes sick."

Te device uses

standard CMOS technologies or abrication, allowing it to be easily scalable down to

a ew nanometers. Nanotubes are deposited using electrophoresis afer abrication in

order to maintain CMOS compatibility. Te devices are spaced by 6 m, which is the

same size or smaller than a single cell. o demonstrate its capability to detect cells, theresearchers perormed impedance spectroscopy on mobile human embryonic kidney

(HEK) cells, neurons rom mice, and yeast cells. Measurements were perormed with

and without cells and with and without nanotubes. Nanotubes were ound to be cru-

cial to successully detecting the presence o cells.

Te carbon nanotubes are very strong, electrically conductive structures a single

nanometer in diameter, or approximately the size o 10 hydrogen atoms in a row.

Farrow's breakthrough is a controlled method or firmly bonding one o these submi-

croscopic crystalline electrical wires to a specific location on a substrate. His method

also introduces the option o simultaneously bonding an array o millions o nanotubes

and efficiently manuacturing many devices at the same time. For more inormation, go

to www.njit.edu/news/2013/2013-218.php.

Jim Harrison

NJIT researchers have created this prototype lab-on-a-chipthat may someday enable a physician to detect disease or

virus from just one drop of liquid. (Photo: NJIT.)

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Outlook 12

Innovations impacting product, technology and applications


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Autotestcon looks to innovate in tight budgetsTe largest U.S. conerence ocused on automatic test equip-

ment or U.S. military systems, IEEE Autotestcon will be held in

Schaumburg, IL, rom September 16 to 19. Te theme or this, the

48th annual conerence, is "AS Innovation

in the Era o Challenging Budgets." GeneralConerence Chair M. Kay Burch o Northrop

Grumman notes that the theme "is especially

relevant in today's changing environment. As

affordability is a key actor in this changing

economy, technical sessions including stan-

dardization, lie-cycle cost reduction, reusable

sofware, interoperability, and multinational support will appeal

to a wide audience. When beginning to identiy affordability,

it is important that we challenge ourselves to find new ways to

lower operating, development, and implementation costs. We are

being offered an unprecedented opportunity to participate in this

transormation. . ." She also notes that "virtually every significantcompany in the industry" will be represented, with approximately

170 exhibit booths and over 80 papers being presented.

Te technical program kicks off on Monday with a ull day o

seminars that offer insights into a wide range o topics, including

built-in test, integrated diagnostics, AE technology and manage-

ment, and instrumentation and sofware standards.

uesday begins with a keynote session eaturing Jeffrey Q.

Palombo, the Sector Vice President and General Manager o

Northrop Grumman's Land and Sel Protection Systems (L&SPS)

Division. Te L&SPS is a diverse organization specializing in land

orces, rotary wing survivability systems, inter-

national and U.S. military ground-based tacticalradars, communications systems, inrared counter-

measure systems, automatic test equipment and

simulation, and the Laser Systems business unit ca-

pabilities. Te division is based at multiple locations

around the United States and the United Kingdom,

with headquarters in Rolling Meadows, IL.

uesday through Tursday have an array o papers and panel

sessions: arranged into three tracks that explore topics in:

echnologies, trends, and applications in instrumentation

Automatic test systems, test programs, testability, and management

Diagnostics, prognostics, and health management.

Some papers will be theoretical, most will be practical, "and allwill be inormative. Tese presentations will capture and hold your

interest," notes the echnical Chair, eresa Lopes o eradyne, Inc.

In addition, there will be our panel sessions hosted by techni-

cal leaders in their field, exploring the ollowing topics: testability,

synthetic instruments, modular instruments, and IVI & LXI.

For more inormation about attending, visitwww.autotestcon.com.

Richard Comerford

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14 Industry Exclusive


FIRST member creates low-costprosthetic legBY JIM HARRISON

Last fall, Parker Owen was a senior at the Alabama

School of Math and Science in Mobile, AL, and a

member of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team

3469 and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team 4260. Parker

invented a low-cost prosthetic leg that he sees being able to

help perhaps thousands of people who can't afford the profes-

sional device.

Parker Owen won this year's Future Innovator Award.

Tis award recognizes creativity in effectively solving a

real-world complex problem through the invention o a unique

solution beyond the requirements o the FIRS competition

season. Tis award directly links to the FIRS mission to inspireyoung people to be science and technology leaders and to the

FIRS vision to transorm the culture by creating a world where

science and technology are celebrated. Te award is sponsored by

the Abbott Fund. See more about FIRS at www.usfirst.org and

www.electronicproducts.com/News/You_need_to_know_about_

FIRS.aspx?terms=%22You%20need%20to%20know%22).

Last all, Parker was talking with a riend who had tak-

en mission trips to Honduras. Te riend told Parker about

the need in Honduras or prosthetic legs, which cost around

$10,000 each. Parker went to his FIRS robotics team, and the

team started looking at available prosthetics on their computers

all o which were very expensive.

Parker was thinking about this and then watched a ew

videos o "third-world countries" on his computer. He noticed

there were bicycles everywhere.

"Afer staring at a bicycle diagram

or a ew hours, I had an idea in my

head about how the parts might fit

together," he told me. Te ollowing Sat-

urday afernoon he went to a thrif store

and bought a $20 bike. He took it home

to his dad's shop and tore it apart. He then

put various parts together in the orm o

a prosthetic leg and it came together very

well. He decided to use the bike's inner tube

as a pneumatic actuator to adjust the fit or

different size people and to allow the wearer

to adjust it as his/her body and strength maychange. It seemed to work.

His riend Greg knew o a prosthetic expert

in the next town. Tis expert had been part o the

Honduras trips, and Parker called him and

then took his new device over to show him.

Very impressed, the expert agreed to advise

Parker on getting some o the details in place.

Parker went to Honduras with a prototype, but stiff legal and

safety regulations precluded getting the leg in use there. He is now

working on getting the documentation and testing done. Patents

are in place or in process. He credits FIRST with giving him the

perspective and enthusiasm needed for ideas such as this.

Parker Owen earned the Future Innovator Award sponsored by the

Abbott Fund for his invention, the Cycle-Leg. Pictured here (from L to R)

are Parkers dad, Scott; Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST; Parker Owen;

and Dr. Woodie Flowers, chairman of the FIRST Advisory Board.

Parker Owens

invention, theCycle-Leg.

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2013 National Instruments. 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. 12123

NI data acquisition products are the most trusted computer-based measurement

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16 Engineering Distribution


IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

RFID & NFC

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RFID and NFC PunctuateOur Daily Lives

he use o RFID and NFC technology to access and share

data is burgeoning as the number o devices and killer

apps continue to swell. he technologies date back to

World War II, but their applications are up to the minute. Radio-

requency identiication (RFID) is based on a small chip with

an antenna that provides a unique identiier

or an object to be scanned or data retrieval.

Near-ield communication (NFC),

in comparison, allows devices to

communicate via radio signals inclose proximity or when touching

two NFC-based devices together.

odays RFID system is

composed o a scanning antenna, a transceiver with a decoder

to interpret data, and an RFID tag, or transponder, programmed

with data to be read. When an RFID tag passes through the field

o a scanning antenna, the antenna delivers an activation signal

and the chip wakes up and transmits the data, which is picked

up by the antenna.

RFID improves on barcode technology, as tags can be read up

to 300 f, compared with approximately 15 f or barcodes, and

do it aster with read rates o approximately 40 tags per second

compared with a barcodes hal second per read.

RFID permeates everyday lie and includes baggage tracking,

smart passports, animal subdermal tracking, access, retail

antithef tags, warehouse and inventory management, and

heavy-duty transponders that track shipping containers, trucks,

railroad cars, and heavy machinery. RFID tags also perorm well

in such harsh environments as oil and gas, chemical, mining, and

construction. RFID tags combined with sensors are opening up

a new wave o applications as they work dynamically, adding a

level o intelligence never beore available.

Near-field communications (NFC) is resident on the majorityo smartphones, where its used primarily or mobile payments.

By waving an NFC-based smartphone, or digital wallet, over

an NFC-based payment terminal, the phone provides AM

unctionality. It can be used to pay or parking at NFC-based

meters, or as a transit, boarding, or security pass. NFC wirelessly

shares data between two NFC-resident smartphones. Androids

Beam, BlackBerry, and Windows phones have such sharingeatures. Google estimates that by next year, NFC-based

smartphones will account or 50% o the market.

One o the most compelling uses or NFC technology is in

the medical field. Imagine checking into a hospital or clinic or

even a doctors office with a smartphone, finding instructions

on our prescriptions as usage and side-effects ino appears on

our phone. Medical proessionals can use

their NFC phones to make sure they are

seeing the right patient, or access to areas,

and that patients are receiving the prescribed

care. Already diagnostic skin tags exist that

monitor a patients environment, measuringglucose, UV light, or temperature and

transmitting the data via a smartphone.

While both RFID and NFC technologies have existed

or quite some time, there has never been the number oapplications as there are today. Tese killer apps, providing

secure access and sharing o inormation at our fingertips, are

ensuring that both technologies will be seen in almost every

aspect o our lives.

BY CAROLYN MATHAS

Fig. 2: Block diagram of the Texas Instruments TRF7970A 13.56-

MHz RFID and NFC transceiver IC. (Source: Datasheet.)

Fig. 1: RFID development kits from DLP Designs.

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Engineering Distribution 17


IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

As RFID Gains Traction,Design Opportunities Proliferate

By the time you arrived in the office this morning, you

may have used radio frequency identification (RFID)

four times without being aware of it: when you inserted

the key in your car, disabling the immobilizer circuit; when you

drove through an unmanned toll booth, automatically paying

your fee; when you used your cell phone to pay for your morning

cappuccino; and when your ID badge registered your entry into

the office. RFID may not be everywhere, but it is getting there.

Te market for RFID tags is growing rapidly and is expected

to accelerate. IDechEx forecasts that the number of passiveRFID tags will rise from fewer than three billion units in 2011 to

approximately 250 billion units in 2021.

For businesses, RFID offers an unprecedented opportunity for

increasing productivity and improving customer experience by

providing data at a very granular level and by automating ser-

vices such as payments and record keeping. From an engineering

perspective, RFID is not a single technology, and the technology

varies with the frequency. able 1 summarizes the applications

and reading range of the three major RFID bands.

Table 1: RFID bands and applications.Although a subset of RFID technology, near-field communi-

cation (NFC) has some distinctive features. NFCs shorter read

range and encryption prevent unauthorized access of a link.

NFC also requires minimal user intervention to create links and

supports communication with passive RFID devices such as

smart cards.

As a result, NFC applications will grow rapidly with mobile

phones as the main driver. According to IMS Research, NFC-en-

abled mobile phones will reach up to 1.2 billion units by 2017

as manufacturers adopt wireless communications and payment

technology as a de facto standard.

Most RFID system design activity is focused on reader sys-

tems and specific reader characteristics are driven largely by the

application and the charac-

teristics of the transponders(tags).

Semiconductor

manufacturers are now

offering highly integrated

reader solutions. One-chip

RFID readers such as ams

AS3993 UHF reader chip

offer high performance and

low power. In NFC system

design, the controller chip plays a central role.

Among other typical tasks, it has to monitor

and control the transceiver, power management,

and host computer interface. New controllers

and transceivers from NXP (PN544) and I

(RF7970) improve time-to-market and are

suitable for a wide range of applications.

Although RFID applications are typically not

high-performance, high-speed designs, there is

a good deal of complexity at the system level due

to different standards, frequency options, and

most important application requirements.

Once system architecture is carefully thought

out, however, there are numerous design tools and developmentkits to provide a clear path to a successful project.

Learn more about RFID and NFC technology as well as the

latest products at www.mouser.com/applications/rfid-nfc/.

By Jack Shandle for Mouser Electronics, www.mouser.com

Fig. 1: RFID tag showing the chip

with coiled antenna.

Learn more at mouser.com/applications/rfid-nfc/

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QI KNOW TOSHIBA HASBEEN SAMPLING A UFS

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AThe UFS system has thebacking of Toshiba, Micron

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20Wire & Cable


40 Gbits/s over twisted-paircopper cable is on the wayCategory 8 cable and 40GBASE-T standards are in process

BY FRANK STRAKAProduct Development ManagerPanduit, www.panduit.com

Recently the IEEE P802.3bq ask

Force was formed to create a

standard for 40-gigabit Ether-

net over copper twisted-pair cabling

(40GBASE-). his is the next gen-

eration following 10-gigabit Ether-

net over copper twisted-pair cabling

(10GBASE-). he BASE- families

of standards are regarded as one of themost successful and deployed Ether-

net standards in the world today. hey

feature cost advantages and ease of de-

ployment with auto-negotiation and the

ubiquitous RJ45 connector for seamless

backward compatibility. he IEEE is

the main standards body for BASE-,

focusing on both the equipment and

cabling. In support of the development

of 40GBASE-, the cabling standards

bodies (IA and ISO/IEC) have also

been working hard on creating Category

8 cabling and connector specifications.

Tere is a distinct trade-off between

the cabling specifications and the equip-

ment specifications. Cables that are

easier to design and manufacture tend

to have worse performance, requiring

more advanced equipment, while more

advanced and harder to manufacture ca-

bles will likely have better performance,

requiring less advanced equipment. Te

goal of the standards body is to cometogether and try to find the optimum

trade-offs between these elements tooptimize the time to market and power

consumption for the user and maintain

a broad market potential.

Collaboration required40GBASE- is a great example where

both the equipment vendors and

cabling vendors are working together

to try and find the optimum scenario.

Cabling vendors, such as Panduit, want

to ensure that our customers continue

to enjoy the advantages of BASE- stan-

dards. We need to ensure that the cable

specification has sufficient reach and

usability so it can be used in as many

scenarios as possible.

While there are no official standardsyet developed, it is clear that 40GBASE-

will require the most advanced twist-ed-pair cabling technology yet. It will

require a bandwidth of between 1,500

to 2,000 MHz. As a point of reference,

10GBASE- only requires Category 6A/

Class EA components with a bandwidth

of 500 MHz. Even the European ISO/

IEC standards for Category 7A/Class FA

only have a bandwidth of 1,000 MHz.

Te difference in magnitudes can be seen

in Fig. 1.

Another change with 40GBASE-

over traditional BASE- standardsis that the channel length had to be

reduced from 100 m to 30 m in order

to reduce power consumption and

equipment complexity. (Channel is

the term for the combination of cables

and connectors.) All prior Categories

and BASE- Ethernet standards allowed

for lengths of up to 100 m. In order toproperly service as broad a market as

Fig. 2: Maximum lengths compared.

Fig. 1: Existing cabling standards versus40GBASE-T (Category 8).

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WE BUILD SUPERIOR QUALITY INTO

EVERYTHING WE MAKE

AND WE MAKE EVERYTHING WE SELL.

Our components fit like they were made for each other. Thats because they were.

The exceptional quality found in every Mill-Max Interconnect product results directly from the control we exercise over

every step of the manufacturing process. From the receipt of raw materials to the shipping of finished components, each

operation is performed in-house to the highest standards for quality and precision

in the industry. You can depend on Mill-Max interconnects to mate perfectly

and perform reliablyevery time. See the whole Mill-Max story at

www.mill-max.com/videos.

Mill-Max is North Americas largestmanufacturer of machined-pin interconnects.

2013 MILL-MAX MFG. CORP. 190 PINE HOLLOW ROAD OYSTER BAY, NY 11771 PHONE: (516) 922-6000 Maximum Quality.

8/12/2019 Sel Prod

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22Wire & Cable


possible, companies worked

to ensure the maximum

channel length was at least

30 m designed to support

both end of row and top of

rack topologies and provide

data center customers with

maximum flexibility. Whilethis length can change since

there is no standard published,

at this point 30 m is assumed

to be the likely maximum cable

length (see Fig. 2).

Available next yearWhat this highlights is that

there are no existing cabling

standards that are close

to meeting the needs for

40GBASE-. Cabling compa-nies have been working hard

to develop new Category 8

cables and connectors. Tere

has been much progress from

a multitude of cabling vendors

like Panduit showing connec-

tors and cabling with 2,000 MHz bandwidths (see Fig. 3).

It is expected that products will be available in late 2014

to early 2015 when the standards become more developed. At

this point the standards are in a state of constant flux so it is

still too early to supply products.

able 1 highlights the different categories of cables and the

applications they are designed to support, as well as the up-

grade path through the different data rates. 1000BASE- will

run on Category 6, 10GBASE- will run on Category 6A, and

40GBASE- will run on the yet to be fully defined Category

8. Tere are no specific Ethernet applications for Category 7

or Category 7A. Since 40GBASE- standards are in state of

flux and no existing standards come close to meeting these

requirements, it is recommended that today if someone is

looking to install 10GBASE- that they use Category 6A

cabling and connectors.

40GBASE- is becoming an excellent example of differ-ent industries collaborating together in order to provide our

customers with the optimum products with the fastest time to

market. Cabling companies like Panduit are working hard and

doing our part to design next-generation cabling and connec-

tors so that 40GBASE- becomes another successful member

of the BASE- Ethernet family.

Currently, the state of the art for twisted-pair copper

cabling is running 10GBASE- over Category 6A cabling. Te

Panduit MariX Category 6A solution, including the PUP6A-

04BU-UG cable with CJ6X88G-style jacks, is an example of

an available Cat 6A system good for lengths up to 100 m with

a bandwidth of 500 MHz.

Table 1: Category cable standards overview with supported data rates and upgrade path

Fig. 3: Category 8 prototype test results.

MEGA Electronics Inc.

4B Jules Lane

New Brunswick, NJ 08901

tel 732.249.2656 fax 732.249.7442

www.megaelectronics.com

[email protected]

Wall Adapters with InterchangeablePlug Option

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MILL-MAX HAS THE CAPACITY TO TAKE ONTHE LARGEST PRODUCTION RUNS

AND THE SMALLEST ONES, TOO.

Flexible, high-volume manufacturing to meet any customers needs.

With more than 200 high-speed, Swiss screw turning machines running 24 hours a day, Mill-Max can manufacture

over 100 million interconnect components every week. Since precision milling requires no tooling or dies, we

also have the ability to produce modified or custom-designed components in quantities too small for other

suppliers to touch. And every step in the fabrication process is monitored

for superior quality in our 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

See the whole Mill-Max story atwww.mill-max.com/videos.Over 800 Varieties of Pins, Contacts,

and Receptacles in Stock

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24 Real-Time Software Design


Working with WindowsEmbedded Compact RTOSThis small-footprint operating system can be customized to meet the

targeted requirements of a specialized device on multiple chipset options

BY JUSTINE COATESTechnical EvangelistMicrosoft, www.microsoft.com

Windows Embedded Com-

pact 2013 dierentiates

itsel rom other operat-

ing systems by providing a real-time,

small-ootprint operating system that

can be customized to meet the targeted

requirements o a specialized device onmultiple chipset options, including both

x86 and ARM. With an emphasis on

"non-PC" solutions, Windows Embed-

ded Compact is not trying to create

multi-purpose desktop, but instead

ocuses on devices such as industrial

controllers, medical imaging units,

printers, digital signs, and retail scan-

ners, to name a ew.

Te specific characteristics o a

device, like a small touchscreen or no

screen at all (headless), plus its sin-

gle-purpose unctionality, make it a

"specialized device." As you can imagine,

there are thousands o possibilities and

you probably interact with these special-

ized devices every day without realizing

it. When you want to design a device to

serve a specific purpose and build it to

meet a cost objective, Windows Embed-

ded Compact is a great place to start.

Minimally, as a 32-bit operating

system, Windows Embedded Compactrequires a 32-bit CPU with a memory

management unit. Along with support-

ing multiple architectures, the latest

versions support symmetric multipro-

cessors, allowing developers to control

which processor does the work or let the

operating system balance the workload

across multiple cores.

OS advantagesEmbedded device manuacturers can and

do take advantage o the logical separa-

tion o operating system design and the

hardware. Developers in charge o the

sofware eatures o their design can start

their operating system and application

prototyping on a Virtual PC-based plat-

orm while hardware-level board-sup-

port package (BSP) development is done

in tandem (see Fig. 1). Te modular

design o the OS is uniquely geared so

that designers can select only the compo-

nents needed or their targeted scenario

and it easily allows or the integration o

third-party or custom eatures as well.

Windows Embedded Compact gives all

o the benefits o a Win32 API, coupled

with the reedom to make the OS have

only the eatures that are absolutely

required.

Windows Embedded Compactdevelopment is done using tools hosted

in Visual Studio. Tis allows embedded

developers to use the latest in Microsof

developer tools when creating their

platorm.

Te Windows Embedded Com-

pact OS design tool, Platorm Builder,

provides access to a catalog o eatures

and the ability select only those sofware

components that are absolutely neces-

sary or the targeted solution. Applica-

tion Builder (ormerly Visual Studio or

Devices) allows application developers

to create rich, targeted device applica-

tions without requiring the ull platorm

development toolset. Not only is Win-

32 available in Windows Embedded

Compact, but AL, MFC, DirectDraw,

OpenGL, and XAML are also available

i the designer includes the required

components.

A "compact" version o the .NE

Framework is selectable in the Windows

Embedded Compact catalog to support

Visual Basic and C# development or

devices. Te Microsof .NE Compact

Framework enables the device to host

managed applications and use web ser-

vices. It includes an optimized common

language runtime (CLR) and a subset

o the .NE Framework class librarythat supports eatures such as Windows

Communication Foundation (WCF)

and Windows Forms. It also contains

classes that are designed exclusively or

the .NE Compact Framework.

When and why would I useWindows Embedded Compact?Embedded operating systems, unlike

their desktop counterparts, usually

bundle the operating system and the re-

quired application together into a single

Fig. 1: Developers in charge o the sofware eatures o their design can start their operatingsystem and application prototyping on a Virtual PC-based platorm while hardware-level

board-support package development is done in tandem.

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WELL CUSTOM DESIGN THE INTERCONNECTYOU NEED ASSUMING, OF COURSE,ITS NOT ALREADY IN STOCK.

Prototyping and concurrent engineering are part of Mill-Max support.

Despite an industry-leading inventory of stock products, application-specific interconnects represent about

half of our business, and were very good at it. Mill-Max engineers work directly with our customers

engineers. We look for ways to enhance functionality, simplify manufacturing,

eliminate secondary operations, and reduce costs. Fast prototyping is

a specialty and were happy to do it even on short-run projects.

See the whole Mill-Max story at www.mill-max.com/videos.Mill-Max manufactures a wide variety of both

standard and application-specific interconnects.

2013 MILL-MAX MFG. CORP. 190 PINE HOLLOW ROAD OYSTER BAY, NY 11771 PHONE: (516) 922-6000 Maximum Support.

8/12/2019 Sel Prod

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26 Real-Time Software Design


executable image or purpose-driven

devices. Using less space and only in-

cluding required sofware allows Win-

dows Embedded Compact to run on

small-ootprint devices needing flexible

hardware and hard, real-time support.

In short, you would use Windows

Embedded Compact to create lowercost, purpose-driven devices where you

need the reliability o a trusted Micro-

sof platorm with support or up to 15

years.

A ully eatured image or Win-

dows Embedded Compact is about 45

Mbytes, but the size will vary based on

what you include. It is recommended

that a designer download the Compact

2013 kit (it is ree at www.Windowsem-

bedded.com/Compact) and try it out

using the Virtual PC.

Microsof recently posted a blog that

discusses real-time in some detail and

has links to the real-time studies done

on Compact 7 (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/

windows-embedded/archive/2013/07/17/

the-hard-and-sof-acts-behind-real-

time.aspx).

Te blog, in general, has a number ointeresting postings at http://blogs.msdn.

com/b/windows-embedded.

Windows Embedded Compact offers

encryption and networking security op-

tions, and Windows CE supports creat-

ing a trusted app execution environment

using certs etc. See http://msdn.microsof.

com/en-us/library/ee498894.aspx.

Downloads o all Windows Em-

bedded offerings are available at www.

microsof.com/windowsembedded/en-us/

downloads.aspx.

When you want

to design a device

to serve a specific

purpose and build it to

meet a cost objective,

Windows Embedded

Compact is a greatplace to start.

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28 Portable Test Support


Working on remoteRF remotelyRecently, a number of companies have introduced

ways to ease the burden on field personnel byletting them control RF instruments from afar

BY RICHARD COMERFORD

With widespread deployment o

RF systems such as celluar and

radar equipment in some o the

most remote locals on earth, ield engineers

and technicians oten need to be able to

perorm sophisticated RF measurements in

places and under conditions that can best

be described by the expression, "I wouldn'tsend a dog out on a night like this." Yet

these systems are so critical to business

and everyday lie that not maintaining

them is not an option.

Recently, a number o instrumenta-

tion companies have introduced ways to

ease the burden on field personnel by

allowing them to control RF equip-

ment remotely, say rom within the com-

ort o a truck cab, while the instrumenta-

tion is doing its job in precarious locations

and/or exposed to the elements.

For example, with Option 030, the

FieldFox handheld analyzers rom Agilent

echnologies (www.agilent.com) can now

be remotely controlled via an iOS device

such as an iPad or iPhone, which enables

viewing and control o the instrument

via the Remote Viewer iOS app. With a

wireless LAN or cellular broadband data

connection and an iOS device, the analyz-

ers can now be placed in areas where users

do not wish to stay long due to extremelyharsh or unsae conditions. Additionally,

i one technician or engineer has trouble

making a measurement or determining

the source o a problem, another can step

in to remotely troubleshoot and solve the

problem. Once users launch the Remote

Viewer, they can also access technical

literature such as user guides, application

notes, and datasheets, as well as demo

videos. Tis lets users quickly find the data

they need to resolve network issues as they

arise in the field.

Also new to the instrument are a

spectrum analysis time-gating option (Op-

tion 238) and support or Agilent's USB

peak-power sensors (Option 302). Te

spectrum analysis time-gating unction is

specifically geared toward engineers testing

the pulse characteristics o their radar

systems. Unlike

competing solu-

tions, the instrument's time-gating unc-

tion allows users to view both requency

and time domain at the same time, and it

can measure very narrow pulses (less than

1us wide) with sweep time as small as 8 us.

Enhanced trigger unctions (burst trigger

and pre-trigger, or example) urther ease

the signal-measurement challenge.

Peak power measurements are needed

to test pulsed transmissions. Te pow-

er meter option supports Agilent USB

peak-power sensors so engineers can

measure peak and average power to 18 or

40 GHz with the same accuracy as with

traditional peak-power meters. By extend-ing requency measurements to 40 GHz,

the power meter option suits engineers

maintaining and troubleshooting radar

communications equipment and networks.

Anritsu (www.anristsu.com) too has

introduced remote capability, in the

orm o its Wireless Remote ools or

its touchscreen PIM Master, Site Mas-

ter, Spectrum Master, and VNA Master

handheld instruments. With the sofware

installed, field technicians and engineers

can remotely view screens and control the

FieldFox handheld analyzers cannow be operated remotley using

iPads or iPhones.

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Portable Test Support 29


industry-leading field instruments using

a Windows-based tablet, laptop, or PC to

simpliy deployment and maintenance o

2G/3G/4G wireless networks.

Available or ree download rom the

Anritsu ool box web page, Wireless

Remote ools makes conducting field

measurements, such as sweeps, spectrum

analysis, PIM, and S-parameters, easier

and more efficient. For example, operatorscan now remain on the ground and use a

Site Master cable-and-antenna analyzer to

conduct sweeps on jumpers at the top o

the tower. Remote spectrum monitoring

can also be done more effectively, espe-

cially i the intererence is caused by an

intermittent signal. Users can now monitor

and control a Spectrum Master handheld

spectrum analyzer at a remote location,

such as a desk, using the sofware.

Wireless Remote ools initially sup-

ports the Site Master S331E/S332E and

S361E/S362E; VNA Master MS2024B/

MS2025B and MS2034B/MS2035B hand-

held vector network analyzers; Spectrum

Master MS2712E/MS2713E and MS2720;

and PIM Master MW82119A Passive

Intermodulation analyzer. Te handheld

instruments can be connected remotely

via a Wi-Fi link using a pocket Wi-Fi

router or local remote control or rom the

Ethernet port on the analyzer through the

Internet.Te Model RR 2727 alon RF/IF sig-

nal recording and playback system rom

Pentek (www.pentek.com) is a rugged

portable recorder suitable or military and

aerospace applications. Te system ea-

tures recording and playback o IF signals

up to 700 MHz with signal bandwidths to

200 MHz, and it can be configured with

500-MHz 12-bit A/Ds or 400-MHz 14-bit

A/Ds and an 800-MHz 16-bit D/A. Avail-

able I/O includes audio and VGA video,

RS-232/422/485 serial, multiple USB 2.0

and 3.0, eSAA, and dual Giga-

bit Ethernet connections.

Te instrument's System-

Flow sofware allows turnkey

operation through a graphical

user interace, while System-

Flows API provides or remote

system control and integrationo the recording sofware into

custom applications. Te sofware also

includes a virtual oscilloscope and spec-

trum analyzer to monitor signals beore,

during, and afer data collection. Record-

ed files are stored in native Windows

NFS ormat, so they can be used without

post-recording file conversion. At the

heart o the recorder are the Cobalt SeriesVirtex-6 sofware-radio boards.

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A number of portable instruments from Anritsu, such as the

SiteMaster seen here on the right, can be operated remotelyusing a Windows-based tablet or other Windows device.

8/12/2019 Sel Prod


an electronic products special series

30 Energy-Saving Initiative

Precision-circuit semiconductorsdrive gains in energy harvestingThe precision semiconductor technology delivers markedly improvedsystem sensitivity, reliability, stability, and functionality

BY ROBERT CHAO, Founder and CEO,

Advanced Linear Devices

www.aldinc.com

Advancements in the fields of en-

ergy harvesting, sensor networks,

building automation, and security

systems are making tremendous strides due

to recent innovations in precision circuit

semiconductors. While developersseek integration for all four system

categories, the precision semicon-

ductor technology delivers mark-

edly improved system sensitivity,

reliability, stability, and functionality.

Growth and interest in these systems

has evolved to the point where the

IEEE is developing protocols for a

more integrated approach to sensor

networks and building automation

so that end solutions are more cost

effective and energy efficient.

Industry standards for such

systems are called for in a document

entitled Building lighting automa-

tion through the integration of DALI

with wireless sensor networks. Te

consumer electronics-focusedrans-

actions journal published the paper

on the integration of Digital Address-

able Lighting Interface (DALI) devic-

es in wireless sensor networks and explores

possible improvements for the technology.Since different manufacturers usually

deal with one aspect of building automa-

tion for example, heating ventilation and

air conditioning, lighting control, differ-

ent kinds of alarms, etc. final building

automation system has different subsys-

tems that are finally taken to an integrated

building management system.

An economical fully centralized system

Our main purpose is to provide the end

consumer with an economical fully cen-

tralized system in which home appliances

are managed by an IEEE 802.15.4-based

wireless sensor network.

Te case of building automation is

ideal for demonstrating how advances in

semiconductor technology enable break-

through capabilities for these systems.

Operators of large facilities such as office

buildings and municipal complexes have

made great strides in cutting cost and

improving energy efficiency by usingbuilding automation and security in con-

junction with energy-harvesting systems

and wireless sensor networks.

Large office complexes use sensor net-

works to interface with building controls

to turn on power, heating, and ventilation

to individual offices and cubicles only

when people are present. However, there

is much room for improvement in such

systems as anyone who has had their

office lights shut off in the middle of the

working day might attest. By improving

Fig. 1: Current-source circuit diagram constructed with

precision semiconductor devices

the circuits of these systems, its possible

to improve accuracy of the controls that

activate building automations systems

so that they more accurately respond to

real-life situations for which they were

intended.

In practical applications, the technol-

ogy hasnt always worked as designed.

Systems set up to detect the presence

of motion and temperature changesare limited in their capabilities and

this has undesired results. Tats why

lights turn off even when workers are

present. Te systems have limitations

in accuracy, reliability, and sensitivity

range. Te goal of many in sensor

network and building automation

development is to improve the tech-

nology so that it truly matches the

real-life situations for which they were

designed.

Circuit design progress

One of the most important areas

where designers are making prog-

ress is in the basic building blocks of

circuit design. With better circuits

that afford greater operating dynam-

ics, building automation and security

systems are finely attuned to real-life

usage models. For example, greater

sensitivity and reliability can prevent cost-

ly false alarms in building security.Energy harvesting and ultra-low

power are also important features that

enable greater reliability and cost-effective

wireless installation. In building a system,

designers desire extremely low power

circuits, so that as much energy as pos-

sible can be harvested, stored, and used

for some other purpose. If the electronics

consume a prohibitive amount of power,

it is difficult to build high-efficiency

systems.

It is important that these circuits con-

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an electronic products special series

32 Energy-Saving Initiative

sume as little energy as possible so that

the current and voltage that is harnessed

from an ambient source can be maxi-

mized to drive the electronic systems that

they were intended to supply. Greater

power ranges provide building automa-

tion system developers and end-userswith greater flexibility and reliability to

deploy improved solutions.

oday, energy harvesting is a growing

field because it helps building operators

with the ability to install automation

controls with wireless networks. Tis

helps eliminate cost and complexity

for operators who want to improve the

efficiency and reduce the operating cost

of their facilities.

Te research firm IDechEx expects

the total market of energy-harvestingdevices to rise to more than $5 billion

in 2022. In a report, the firm stated,

Te technology has reached a tipping

point, because the necessary lower power

electronics and more efficient energy

gathering and storage are now sufficient-

ly affordable, reliable, and longer-lived

for a huge number of applications to be

practicable.

An example of this type of advance-

ment is the ALD210800 MOSFE array,

with a gate threshold voltage is exactly

0.00-V 0.001 (10 mV). Tis newcategory of device enables breakthrough

analog circuit design parameters, such as:

100-mV minimum operating voltage

1-nA minimum operating current

1-nW minimum operating power

Te ALD210800 is a basic building

block in circuits to enable greater sensor

sensitivity. Each MOSFE is enabled

by fully independent input and output,

source, and drain. Compared to previous

generations, it increases current output by

greater than an order of magnitude. It alsoreduces circuit size by 50%, which in turn

helps decrease board real estate and cost.

Te MOSFE array is designed to tap

a number of energy-harvesting sources

that have less than a 1-V supply voltage.

Te array also helps improve energy

efficiency and extend battery life. Designed

with precise specifications, this new catego-

ry of device gives developers a new frontier

of operating voltages, power consumption,

and increased precision. In the analog

world, precision is always welcome.

N-channel current source

Figure 1 depicts a circuit design for a

very basic current source. Actual useful

current and voltage ranges also depend

on the device being used. Te ALD

210800 offers the highest-precision

performance with the lowest current and

voltage requirements. You can build this

current source with any of the devices

that are listed above or that are current-

ly on the market. Te difference is the

actual specifications that can be achieved.Tis marks a new frontier for basic MOS-

FE circuits.

With innovative materials like the

new generation of ultra-precise semi-

conductors, developers of energy-har-

vesting systems and sensor arrays will be

able to make improvements in building

automation security, wireless networks,

and building automation. Sensors will

be given greater dynamic range to detect

motion and heat. Tis will spur greater

sensitivity to detect when people are

present and when they are not, and

afford operators finer granularity in

controlling their facilities.

Te new category of precision circuit

semiconductors will enable the circuits

supporting these systems to be more sta-

ble more reliable and more dependable.

It also allows energy harvesting systems

to make greater use of the ambient ener-

gy and store power when it is not needed

so that systems are ready to be deployedwhen they are called into action.

About the author

Robert L. Chao, CEO of Advanced Lin-

ear Devices in Sunnyvale, CA, founded

ALD in 1985 and has been a leading

authority in the analog semiconductor

industry for over 30 years. A founder of

Supertex, Mr. Chao was instrumental

in inventing the analog circuitry that

enabled the home smoke detector.

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34 Cover Story

Choosing the right processor is a

critical decision as it deines a

products capabilities. When a

processor is correctly sized, it supports

the ull suite o a products unctions and

leaves headroom or growth. Overspeci-

ying the processor will drive system cost

up unnecessarily. An incorrectly chosenprocessor may run out o perormance

during the design cycle, leading to key

eatures being eliminated or downsized.

In a worst-case scenario, an improperly

sized device in the ield may not have the

capacity or a critical update.

Sofware is also a very important con-

sideration and ofen represents a majority

o the development investment, both in

terms o cost and time, so the optimal

processor or an application also must

have the right development resources sup-

porting it. Finally, an application-specific

perspective is required to determine how

the needs o particular markets also affect

processor and sofware requirements.

Making sense of the ARM coresARM offers several licensable cores to meet

a wide range o application requirements.

Microcontroller manuacturers obtain an

ARM core architectural license to modiy

the core and design a complete proces-sor or SoC around the ARM core. Tis

includes integrating peripherals and mem-

ory, as well as adding application-specific

eatures that can enhance perormance

and power efficiency. While many vendors

design their own processor offering an

ARM core, the resulting processors are not

equal. ARM Cortex processors are used

most requently or embedded processing

designs that need to eature low-power.

Tese Cortex processors also provide a

large amount o compatibility and scalabili-

Getting started with ARMembedded MCU designChoosing the right ARM Cortex-based processor

BY SANGMIN CHONCentral Marketing DirectorTexas Instruments, www.ti.com

ty among each other.

Selecting the right ARM-Cortex proces-

sor or your application involves more than

just estimating perormance requirements.

Te first step in selecting the right ARM

core or an application is to understand the

three primary ARM-Cortex core amilies

and the basic differences between them.

Here is a description o each o the

ARM cores in a nutshell:

ARM Cortex-A:Application processors

based on the Cortex-A series core offerlow power, along with exceptional 32-bit

perormance. Tis architecture supports

multicore configurations, as well as option-

al advanced floating-point capabilities. Te

Cortex-A offers up to 13-stage technology

with 1.5 to 2.5 DMIPS/MHz per core with

advanced branch prediction. Its Neon

integer and floating-point SIMD engine

enable advanced media perormance or

applications. Te series is tuned or memo-

ry streaming with one- to two-cycle cache

access, pipelined loads and stores, and

coupled (or integrated) level-2 caches.

With their high perormance and

advanced memory, Cortex-Abased MCUsare well suited or any product that needs

to incorporate and run an advanced oper-

ating system, such as Windows, Linux, or

Android. In addition, Cortex-A processors

provide additional benefits through a ew

available technology extensions

Documents

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