(1)
INTERSIL

3.3–V RS–485 transceivers consume up to 70% less board space
eeProductCenter’s Ismini Scouras says: “Intersil Corp. has introduced its most rugged RS–485/RS–422 transceiver family yet. The ISL317XE is the first Intersil RS–485 devices to have an IEC61000 ESD rating, providing what it says is the highest ESD standard in the industry. As a result, it can provide extreme protection for its customers’ products. At the same time, the ISL317XE family of 3.3–V RS–485/RS–422 transceivers support a data transmission rate of 20–Mbits/s.”

Readers say:
» “I thought RS–485 was slowly phasing out.”
» “The enhanced ESD rating allows me to use this in many of my designs.”
» “The price is a little bit higher than my expectation.”
» “New 485 IC. 3.3V and ESD protection is good. But price is much more expensive than common 485 IC, like 75176.”
» “The increased ESD rating has helped me refine my product.”
» “Always looking for devices with better ESD protection.”
» “AMCC has recently begun sampling its new PPC405EZ Networked Industrial Processor which features IEEE 1588 support. We are actively looking for complimentary logic ICs for demonstration platforms targeted at the Industrial Automation market. The ISL317XE family looks like a very good candidate.”
» “No need for external protection circuitry; space saving – power supply – awesome!”
» “If my group has a need for an RS–485 / RS–422 transceiver I would very strongly consider the ISL317XE.”
» “Package size is important.”
» “5V to 3.3V conversion will take longer but overall systems is better off with 3.3V.”
» “Using 70% less board space is absolutely amazing, and a bit incredible. is it real?”
» “Great ESD structure achievement.”
» “The space–saving MSOP sizes, makes this product look very attractive for our factory automation.”
» “Just in time since we are converting from RS232 to 485.”
» “Good upgrade of standard product. ESD protection is not usually a top priority for me. But 3.3V power is a good idea.”
» “Small foot print will be advantageous in applications mentioned in article.”
» “Nice price, too.”
» “I like how dense it is for compliant RS–485 with ESD protection. I am always looking for parts like this.”
» “This looks like a very efficient device and would evaluate.”
» “The significance is not in the power supply voltage: It’s in the low bus current and the number of transceivers that can be supported without a repeater.”
» “I wish I had this device in 1989, when I had to use a through–hole power hog that didn’t have –40C to +85C operating range (telecom industry).”
» “Nice to see someone still cares about interfacing with the massive installed base of +5V systems!”
» “Smaller, cheaper, faster...what else is there to say?”


USABILITY RANK: 1

(2)
ACTEL

FPGA maker launches lowest–power device for portable apps
eeProductCenter’s Ismini Scouras says: “Tailored to address the power–sensitive needs of portable applications, Actel Corp. has developed the IGLOO family of FPGAs, which are capable of drawing static power as low as 5–µW. Actel uses process technology (Vt shifts), design changes and a 1.2–V power supply to minimize power consumption. As a result, the IGLOO devices can achieve static power as low as 5–µW and dynamic power consumption up to 60% lower than low–power competitors, according to Martin Mason, director, silicon product marketing at Actel. ”

Readers say:
» “Minimizes power consumption.”
» “Power sensitive needs for portable applications.”
» “Saver.”
» “Any FPGA is probably too expensive for a consumer product like a smart phone and the volumes justify an ASIC. Can it survive in automobile enviroment?”
» “Opens significant & important markets to FPGAs (and FPGA engineers).”
» “Want to know more about flash freeze technologies...”
» “Amazing price!”



USABILITY RANK: 2

(3)
FUJITSU
10G Ethernet switch goes upscale
eeProductCenter’s Rick Merritt says: “Hoping to catch the rising wave of Web–based video services, Fujitsu Microelectronics is rolling out a high–end version of its 10–Gbit/second Ethernet switch with features that aim to enable lower–cost, easier–to–build backplane–based computers and telecom systems. The company claims the 20–port switch is among the first to implement the 10–Gbit/s Ethernet serial interface for direct connection to low–cost optical modules.”

Readers say:
» “Great availabilty.”
» “Good for both ATCA and IBM BladeCenter H.”


USABILITY RANK: 3

(4)
CSWITCH CORP.
Arrays narrow platform ASIC, FPGA gap
eeProductCenter’s Dave Bursky says: “Narrowing the performance and density gap between FPGAs and structured or platform ASICs, a novel configurable array architecture un–veiled by startup CSwitch Corp. promises to deliver levels of flexibility not previously available in programmable products.”

Readers say:
» “Flexible custom processor design.”
» “A configurable switch array is nice, but I would rather have it in an existing Altera or Xilinx FPGA than learn someone else’s software.”
» “I’d wait to see what’s real as opposed to vapor–ware.”


USABILITY RANK: 4

(5)
GENESIS MICROCHIP
Transmitter–receiver pair transmits video, audio signals at up to 10.8–Gbits/s
eeProductCenter’s Ismini Scouras says: “Genesis Microchip Inc. has developed what it claims is the industry’s first transmitter–receiver pair based on the DisplayPort 1.0 standard. The DisplayPort–based product consists of a discrete transmitter (gm60028) and a discrete receiver (gm68020), which together form a interface translator for high–bandwidth display applications such as HDTVs, projectors and high–resolution monitors.”

Readers say:
» “A general enabling technology with applications beyond video and audio. Can reduce generalized cabling costs signficantly.”
» “192Hz audio, can be transported regardless of the video resolution?”
» “That’s an awfully low sample rate.”
» “Could capture HDTV industry. Something has to replace S–Video and Component Video.”
» “Two pairs for 1080p? The first one to 1 pair will win this race...”


USABILITY RANK: 5

(6)
TOKYO ELECTRON
World’s fastest JPEG chipset?
eeProductCenter’s Ismini Scouras says: “Aimed at the digital video recorder and IP camera markets, Tokyo Electron Device Ltd. is sampling what it claims is the industry’s fastest JPEG chipset, which consists of a high–speed encoder, decoder and video multiplexer.”

Readers say:
» “Pricepoint vs increased performance.”
» “Smart idea.”
» “3 chip solution?”
» “An integrated one chip solution will be better than 3 chips.”
» “NTSC is dead in 2 years! Where’s the HDTV (16:9) output???”


USABILITY RANK: 8

(7)
VITESSE
RAID–on–Chip controller brings SAS storage to the masses
eeProductCenter’s Ismini Scouras says: “In a move to accelerate the transition to next–generation serial attached SCSI (SAS) storage, Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. recently developed a pair of PCI Express–based SAS RAID–on–Chip (ROC) controller ICs for the entry–level and volume server markets.”

Readers say:
» “Very flexible product to use.”
» “Good design simplicity and flexibility.”
» “Very cool controller chip.”
» “Cool.”
» “It’s about time someone started working on the slowest bottleneck in computers.”


USABILITY RANK: 7

(8)
NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR
CPRI SerDes delivers 800–ps fiber delay–calibration accuracy
eeProductCenter’s Ismini Scouras says: “National Semiconductor has developed the SCAN25100 CPRI (common public radio interface) SerDes, which integrates delay calibration measurements (DCM) circuitry to precisely measure basestation–to–remote radio heads (RRH) and RRH–to–RRH fiber delay components with a guaranteed ±800–ps of accuracy. The SCAN25100 CPRI SerDes can even track fiber delay changes as small as 200–ps.”

Readers say:
» “Has allowed me to reduce component count.”
» “Finally – a product that can guarantee 800–ps delay calibration measuring–accuracy guarantee.”
» “Very innovative!”


USABILITY RANK: 9

(9)
CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR
Dual–port interconnects bridge application, baseband processors in smartphones
eeProductCenter’s Ismini Scouras says: “Cypress Semiconductor Corp. has added six members to its family of asynchronous dual–port memory based inter–processor connectivity products for next–generation smartphones.”

Readers say:
» “Has allowed me to significantly increase my products’ standby battery life.”
» “Redesign and resetting required...’
» “Superb.”
» “Allows Direct connection between the application and baseband processors.”
» “Always good.”


USABILITY RANK: 6

(10)
ANALOGIX SEMICONDUCTOR
Transmitter marries DisplayPort and HDMI
eeProductCenter’s Rick Merritt says: “One of the huge opportunities in digital media today lies in the move to a next–generation digital display interface for flat–panel monitors and TVs. Analogix Semiconductor Inc. hopes to surf that sea with an announcement this week of transmitters and receivers for the emerging DisplayPort standard.”

Readers say:
» “Save steps and time.”
» “HDMI cables are expensive. A wireless solution for interconnection would be much better.”
» “Video are the cool products of the day.”


USABILITY RANK: 10