Once again, qualified readers of EE Times and eeProductCenter www.eeProductCenter.com have selected the best of the best––the top products in each of seven categories in our quarterly Ultimate Products survey. The categories are analog ICs, RF and microwave, logic/programmable logic and interface products, test and measurement, processors and memory, power products, and interconnection/passives and electromechanical components. The results reported here are for products introduced during the third quarter of 2006. Diverse products once again made the cut.

In the analog category, Inphi Corp.’s 13650DE and 13651DE differential encoder ICs topped the list. The encoders launched in leadless–grid array typepackages at a cost of about $225 apiece, operate at up to 12.5 Gbps for such applications as telecommunications systems and transponders.

The U–Blox 5 family of GPS and Galileo–ready single chips and chipsets from U–Blox AG took the top spot in the RF and microwaves category. Among the features of these new receivers is their ultra–fast acquisition time of under one–second due to a 50–channel GPS architecture with over one million correlators and separate acquisition and tracking engines. These ICs dissipate less than 50–mW. That level of power, and with footprints smaller than 100–square millimeters, will enable the devices to be used in PDAs, personal navigation devices, cameras, cellphones, and other battery–operated portables.

In the logic and interface products category, Intersil Corp’s ISL317XE RS–485 interface chips captured first place. Intersil claims its new family of transceivers has an IEC61000 ESD rating, which is said to be the highest ESD standard in the industry. The 3.3-V RS-485/RS-422 transceivers support a data transmission rate of 20–Mbits/s.

For Test & Measurement, it was Pickering Interfaces’ model 40–581 2–pole single–slot 3U–sized PXI matrix module that captured the top slot. The module is aimed at hot–switching or cold–switching applications where two signals must be switched simultaneously.

Microchip Technology’s PIC18F97J60 PIC microcontroller captured first place in the processors and memories category. The new MCU integrates a 10–MIPS PIC18 high–end microcontroller with a complete Ethernet unit. With this device, Microchip gives designers network connectivity in 64– to 100–pin packages which is said to be more cost effective and easier to use than multi–chip Ethernet alternatives. And, Microchip offers a free TCP/IP software stack to reduce development time.

For power products, the top slot goes to IWATT’s iW1688 PWM chip. Using what the company says is a unique combination of sampling techniques and an efficient digital engine, the iW1688 was designed to achieve tight regulation and a smaller, less expensive implementation for the 2– to 5–watt adapters used in cellular and cordless phones, digital music players, and still cameras.

Finally, Cree Inc.’s CSD02060A zero recovery rectifiers was the winner in the components category. Operating at 600V, the 2–amp rectifiers specifically meet the increasing need to reduce costs and increase efficiency in power supplies for desktop PCs.

Here’s how Ultimate Products works: Our editors select up to 10 of the most significant products posted at www.eeProductCenter.com during the calendar quarter. Then, using an electronic balloting process, we submit the products with the accompanying editorial reviews to selected, qualified readers. Those readers score the products by technical significance and usability on a scale of 1 through 5, with 5 being the highest score. The product ranked No. 1 in each category was judged as most technically significant for that category. Relative usability rankings and selected reader comments are also reported.

More than 1,000 of you helped to choose these products. As always, we are grateful for your enthusiastic participation.

Marty Gold
Executive Editor, eeProductCenter
mgold@cmp.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Analog ICs

Processors & Memory

IP&E

Logic & Programmable Logic

Power

RF & Microwave

Test & Measurement

THE RANKINGS

Readers ranked products for technical significance and usability on a scale of 1 through 5 (with 5 as the highest score). However, the product rankings reported in this issue are relative to other products within the category-not absolute scores. The product ranked 1 in each category was judged as most technically significant for that category. Relative usability rankings and selected reader comments are also reported.

THE ARCHIVE