There are many different materials and methods for creating PCB materials. The electronics used in numerous applications benefits from the large number of options for PCBs. Hobbyists often choose the least expensive PCB, however, it’s essential to choose appropriate PCB materials when prototyping is done, and high-volume product development and manufacturing become the focus. Applications […]
Why clean PCBs matter, Part 1
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are essential in modern electronics. Dust and other contaminants are more important to watch out for than ever. As components get smaller, the relative size of contaminants is larger, heat is more of an issue with densely packed circuits on modern ICs, and devices operating at high frequencies (~1 GHz and […]
Secure microcontroller delivers advanced cryptography in pint-sized package
Manufacturers of security-sensitive industrial, consumer, computing and internet of things (IoT) devices now have a fast, efficient way to build in secure cryptographic operations, integrate key storage and enable active tamper detection with the MAX32558. As the newest member of the DeepCover family of secure microcontrollers from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., the MAX32558 offers these robust security […]
PCB layout guidelines and considerations
A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout, in its most basic form, is a means to transfer a circuit from a breadboard to a more stable and permanent physical form. Whereas entire books and college coursework have been dedicated to PCB layout, what follows is a short overview of what to consider when making a PCB. […]
RTL-to-GDSII design flow software gets optimization, industry-golden signoff tools
Synopsys, Inc. unveiled its Fusion Technology that transforms the RTL-to-GDSII design flow with the fusion of best-in-class optimization and industry-golden signoff tools, enabling designers to accelerate the delivery of their next-generation designs with full-flow quality-of-results (QoR) and the fastest time-to-results (TTR). It redefines conventional EDA tool boundaries across synthesis, place-and-route and signoff, sharing engines across […]
C/C++ Compiler now integrated into Eclipse-based e² studio IDE
Renesas Electronics Corporation announced an enhancement to its e² studio integrated development environment (IDE) tool for the Renesas Synergy Platform. Through its ongoing partnership with IAR Systems, the leading embedded development tools supplier, Renesas Synergy customers can now enjoy significant performance benefits by integrating IAR Systems’ advanced IAR C/C++ Compiler into the Eclipse-based e² studio […]
Top microcontroller stories of 2017
Here are the microcontroller features that got the most interest from readers in 2017. What is an open drain? Open-collector and -drain devices sink current when controlled to one state and have no current flow (i.e., output a high impedance state) in the other state. It is fairly common to use open-drains (open-collectors) together […]
Free BOM calculator for custom IC costs
S3 Semiconductors today announced an online bill of materials (BOM) calculator that shows how custom ICs are economically viable even in low to medium volumes. Learning from S3 Semiconductors’ 20 years of experience in designing custom ICs, the BOM calculator will provide an estimate of project development costs and give a guide to break-even volumes using just […]
Chip design CAD software supports integrated fan-out advanced packaging, chip-on-wafer-on-substrate packaging technologies
Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced several enhancements to its Calibre® nmPlatform, Analog FastSPICE™ (AFS™) Platform, Xpedition® Package Integrator and Xpedition Package Designer tools in support of TSMC’s innovative InFO integrated fan-out advanced packaging and CoWoS® chip-on-wafer-on-substrate packaging technologies. The TSMC InFO and CoWoS 3D packaging technologies enable customers to mix multiple silicon dice on a single device and […]
Chip design CAD system supports 7-nm FinFET Plus and 12-nm FinFET process technologies
Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced certification for TSMC’s 12nm FinFET Compact Technology (12FFC) and the latest version of 7nm FinFET Plus processes for its Mentor Calibre® nmPlatformand Analog FastSPICE™ (AFS™) Platform. Nitro-SoCTM place and route system is also certified to support TSMC’s 12FFC process technology. “TSMC is pleased to work closely with Mentor, which continues to increase its […]
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