Dear Sir/Madam

To design excellent new products also means that designers have to measure and validate the correct function of these complex products – but in a very economical way. Therefore you´ll find some solutions for this problem in this newsletter. Enjoy!

Wolfgang Patelay
Technical Editor, EPN

At Glance, in this issue

1. Products News 2. Articles 3. Design Tips 4. Market Research 5. Book of the Month

1| Product News

Digital Laboratory Scope (Chauvin Arnoux)
The Scopix family of oscilloscopes is intended for laboratory and educational use. It combines high technical performance, simplicity of use, and practical functions at a competitive price.
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Test Software (Keithley)
Keithley has announced the release of KTE Interactive V6.1, an updated version of its measurement software for the Model 4200-SCS semiconductor-characterisation system. The new software enhances the pulse I-V capabilities of the system and significantly improves pulse and DC-measurement correlation.
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WiMAX R&D Test Set (Tektronix)
Tektronix has announced the RSA-IQWiMAX demodulation and analysis software, part of a comprehensive test set targeted at solving WiMAX design problems. The software is a new application-specific test tool for characterising and troubleshooting WiMAX-device designs utilising the RSA3408A real-time spectrum analyser, and is the result of a partnership between Tektronix and LitePoint.
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Hand-held Spectrum Analyser (Anritsu)A small 313x211x77mm, battery-powered unit weighing only 2.9kg, the MS2720B spectrum analyser series is the first to support all regulation test items for installation and maintenance of W-CDMA base stations. In addition to supporting measurements up to the microwave band (13 and 20GHz), it can also perform optional modulation analysis of W-CDMA signals and high-accuracy power measurements.
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2| Articles

Integrated MEMS Sensors for Industrial Control
Recent developments in sensors might allow revolutionary improvements in industrial system designs. Applications where inertial sensors could be useful include platform stabilisation, motion control for industrial machinery, security devices, robotics, navigation and mechanical levelling. The article by Bob Scannell from Analog Devices shows that the motion information provided by such sensors can be invaluable in improving performance, reliability, safety, and cost of ownership.
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POWER THIS: Testing audio ICs
SoCs for Set-Top boxes, television monitors, Disk players, and mobile media players have or soon will have HD capability. But another aspect of this evolution – one that could prove even more challenging to SoC designers and test engineers – is that, along with HD video come a significant increase in the quality of the accompanying audio. The cover story in EDN by Executive Editor Ron Wilson how you can achieve this increased quality.
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3| Design Tips

Gain-of-two instrumentation amplifier uses no external resistors
An instrumentation amplifier offers precise gain without feedback resistors, and, at any value of gain, it provides high input impedances at its non-inverting and inverting inputs. In a typical IC instrumentation amplifier, a single resistor that connects across two gain-adjustment pins determines the circuit's overall gain. Integrated versions of most instrumentation amplifiers allow the pins to remain open for unity gain but require finite-value gain-setting resistors for gains exceeding one. The Design Idea by Marion Stofka from the Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia shows an instrumentation amplifier that offers a gain of two without using any external resistors.
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Magnetic-field probe requires few components
Popularly known as “gauss meters,” various makes and models of magnetic field meters are available on the market at prices that make them unaffordable to most people. This Design Idea by Rama Sarma, EMI-EMC Centre, RCI, Hyderabad, India, combines a commonly available DMM (digital multimeter) with a single semiconductor component to measure magnetic-flux density and, in turn, magnetic-field intensity.
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4| Market Research

Bright Outlook for MEMS in Consumer Electronics
Nearly all major categories of MEMS have seen, or may soon see, applications in consumer products, reports In-Stat. As a result, the worldwide MEMS market in consumer electronics will grow from US$727 million in 2006 to over US$1 billion by 2009. MEMS will expand to a broad array of consumer applications including game consoles, portable consumer electronics devices (such as digital camcorders), and GPS devices. In the longer term, MEMS memory, MEMS fuel cells, and other types of MEMS devices could also join the list.
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5|Book of the Month

Accelerated Testing and Validation, by Alex Porter
Accelerated Testing and Validation Methods is a cross-disciplinary guide that describes testing and validation tools and techniques throughout the product development process. Alex Porter not only focuses on what information is needed but also on what tools can produce the information in a timely manner. From the information provided, engineers and managers can determine what data is needed from a test and validation program and then how to select the best, most effective methods for obtaining the data.
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