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EVE to Exhibit at Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association Conference March 15

EVE — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:20:19 -0800

EVE, the leader in hardware/software co-verification and developer of a scalable and affordable emulation system known as ZeBu-Server, will exhibit at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association (ECEDHA) Conference March 15 in Clearwater Beach, Fla.

ECEDHA participants will learn about EVE’s unEVErsity Connections Program that offers universities access to its advanced verification technologies and methodologies for course curriculum. EVE’s ZeBu (Zero Bugs) emulation platforms are used for system-on-chip (SoC) hardware verification and software development to shorten time to tapeout, improve product quality and eliminate costly respins.

For more information on EVE and its hardware/software co-verification tools, visit: cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=htt[...]. Information about the unEVErsity Connections Program is available at: university.eve-team.com.

Details on ECEDHA can be found at: www.ecedha.org/

About EVE

EVE is the worldwide leader in hardware/software co-verification solutions, including hardware description language (HDL) acceleration and extremely fast emulation, with installations at nine of the top 10 semiconductor companies. EVE products significantly shorten the overall verification cycle of complex integrated circuits and electronic systems designs. Its products work in conjunction with popular Verilog, SystemVerilog and VHDL-based software simulators from Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics and Synopsys. EVE is a member of Power.org and ARM, CoWare, Mentor Graphics, Real Intent, Springsoft and Synopsys Partner programs. Follow EVE on Twitter at cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=htt[...]. Its United States headquarters are in San Jose, Calif. Telephone: (408) 457-3200. Facsimile: (408) 457-3299. Corporate headquarters are in Palaiseau, France. Telephone: (33) 1 64.53.27.30. Fax: (33) 1 64.53.27.40. Email: info@eve-team.com. Website: cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=htt[...].

Magma Announces FineSim Fast Monte Carlo

Magma Design Automation — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:35:22 -0800

Magma(R) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of chip design software, today announced the availability of FineSim(TM) Fast Monte Carlo, a revolutionary new alternative to traditional Monte Carlo analysis. FineSim Fast Monte Carlo makes it possible to achieve much more accurate statistical analysis as much as 100 times faster than traditional Monte Carlo methods.

Most engineers today rely heavily on statistical methods such as traditional Monte Carlo analysis for design reliability, an approach that has limitations making accurate analysis almost impossible. FineSim Fast Monte Carlo uses proprietary dynamic error-controlled algorithms along with sophisticated statistical techniques to provide dramatic improvement in speed and accuracy compared to traditional Monte Carlo statistical analysis. It has shown as much as 100 times better runtime when compared to other commercial methods, with superior accuracy.

"As engineers continue to push their products into more advanced process technologies, the need for improved reliability becomes even more critical. But the increasing number of process parameters and parasitic variability make it virtually impossible to predict accurate statistical yield analysis, reliability and failure analysis," said Anirudh Devgan, general manager of Magma's Custom Design Business Unit. "FineSim Fast Monte Carlo was developed to address these issues with greater accuracy and predictability."

The algorithms in FineSim Fast Monte Carlo, coupled with Magma's native-parallel technology, improve throughput for statistical simulations even further. FineSim Fast Monte Carlo makes statistical analysis practical for many different applications. "Several key customers have tested FineSim Fast Monte Carlo option on their memory, custom digital, and mixed-signal designs, and they are very excited about its performance and accuracy of results," Devgan said.

Designers can use FineSim Fast Monte Carlo to dramatically improve the speed of statistical analysis, enabling statistical analysis on designs that would previously have been infeasible. Fast Monte Carlo can also improve the accuracy of statistical analysis on a given number of statistical samples, providing users improved overall confidence in the analysis.

Availability

FineSim Fast Monte Carlo is available now for production use with FineSim SPICE and FineSim Pro for fast, accurate statistical circuit analysis.

About Magma

Magma's electronic design automation (EDA) software provides the "Fastest Path to Silicon"(TM) and enables the world's top chip companies to create high-performance integrated circuits (ICs) for cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, digital video, networking and other electronic applications. Magma products are used in IC implementation, analog/mixed-signal design, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization. The company maintains headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and offices throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Follow Magma on Twitter at www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr?d=186281&l=9[...] and on Facebook at Facebook.com%2FMagma" target="_top">www.Facebook.com/Magma. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr?d=186281&l=9[...].

Magma Unveils Tekton -- First Static Timing Analysis Solution to Deliver Fast Multi-Scenario Analysis on a Single CPU

Magma Design Automation — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:33:33 -0800

Magma(R) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of chip design software, today unveiled Tekton(TM), a new timing analysis platform that offers significantly higher capacity and dramatically faster runtimes than traditional tools, without sacrificing accuracy. Unlike other solutions, Tekton runs multi-scenario analysis efficiently on low-cost hardware without requiring a large number of expensive servers and software licenses. Leveraging breakthrough technology, this revolutionary new platform addresses complex sign-off challenges and is uniquely suited for today's most challenging designs.

"The complexity of timing sign-off has reached crisis proportions, forcing design teams to re-evaluate resource planning, design architectures and final sign-off solutions," said Premal Buch, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "Capacity and runtime limitations of current STA tools often force teams to sacrifice accuracy to meet tight design schedules, or they must invest in expensive servers and additional software licenses in an attempt to achieve reasonable turnaround times. By enabling STA in just minutes for the industry's biggest chips -- on a single machine -- Tekton is truly the next-generation timing analysis platform."

Tekton: Fast, Accurate, High-Capacity Static Timing Analysis

Designed to more efficiently handle on-chip-variation (OCV), composite current source (CCS) models and crosstalk analysis, Tekton overcomes the speed, capacity and accuracy limitations of traditional static timing analysis (STA) tools. It brings a new level of performance to static timing analysis and extraction while maintaining complete flow compatibility with existing STA tools.

Tekton meets the runtime, capacity and accuracy requirements for sign-off through an architecture designed to accommodate more than 100 million instances and greater than 15 PVT corners. Traditional STA solutions often take hours or days and numerous machines to deliver results on complicated designs that have many analysis scenarios. Tekton's multi-threaded architecture provides near-linear scaling on up to 24 CPUs. For a single timing scenario, with OCV and crosstalk enabled, Tekton performs timing analysis on designs greater than 10 million cells in minutes.

QCP: New Full-Chip Extractor

The Tekton platform includes QCP(TM), a fast, high-capacity, full-chip extractor that delivers results with the accuracy of the industry standard, QuickCap(R). QCP's architecture enables efficient multi-corner extraction with minimal increases in runtime as additional process, voltage and temperature (PVT) corners are added for each process node migration. Built on a similar architecture to Tekton, QCP is fully multi-threaded for near linear performance on up to 32 CPUs. Tekton and QCP can be used together in a single STA timing session for very fast and accurate "what-if" analysis for engineering change orders (ECOs).

Tekton and QCP: Tight Integration Means Fewer and Faster ECO Loops

Today's complex chip designs require accurate timing analysis to be performed across many scenarios (operating modes and PVT corners). Coupling Tekton's timing analysis with QCP's extraction in a single session allows designers to simultaneously iterate through the timing closure process of analyzing, fixing and extracting nets. The ability to make changes and get accurate timing results can drastically reduce the amount of time spent in trial-and-error ECO loops.

Tekton Multi-Mode/Multi-Corner Analysis Speeds Turnaround Times and Reduces Costs

Performing multi-mode/multi-corner or multi-scenario analysis using traditional tools is time consuming, expensive and cumbersome. Design teams are often forced to purchase many expensive servers and accompanying software licenses to parallelize the multi-scenario analysis in order to shorten run times. In some cases, design teams resort to using abstracted timing models to accelerate the analysis, but at the expense of accuracy. Tekton performs extremely fast, multi-scenario analysis on a single machine and provides the accuracy of existing sign-off solutions. Over a variety of designs with 5 to 50 scenarios enabled, Tekton performs timing analysis, with OCV and crosstalk enabled, in less than one hour on a single CPU.

"To ensure we provide the highest quality of silicon, we analyze our chips across many operating modes and PVT corners," said Jay Avula, vice president of Technology at ServerEngines. "The amount of STA we require puts our tapeout schedule at risk, and it will be only getting worse. Tekton runtimes are truly exceptional. We believe Tekton will meet our growing STA challenges without increasing our compute resources."

"Today, companies are budgeting millions of dollars for hardware to address the rapidly increasing number of STA scenarios," said Premal Buch, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "Tekton is the only STA solution that meets the multi-scenario analysis problems of today and five years from now -- on a single machine without any investment in new hardware."

Tekton Platform: Increasing Accuracy, Reducing the Timing Closure Burden

To address the timing closure challenges design teams face at 40 nm and below, Tekton supports advanced OCV (AOCV) margin reduction techniques. By incorporating AOCV into timing closure flows, design teams can minimize global pessimistic margins that lengthen tapeout schedules and potentially increase die sizes. For critical path and net analysis, Tekton and QCP offer high accuracy modes that leverage Tekton's integrated SPICE engine and QCP's accurate extraction.

Availability

Tekton and QCP are in limited release. General availability will begin in June 2010.

About Magma

Magma's electronic design automation (EDA) software provides the "Fastest Path to Silicon"(TM) and enables the world's top chip companies to create high-performance integrated circuits (ICs) for cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, digital video, networking and other electronic applications. Magma products are used in IC implementation, analog/mixed-signal design, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization. The company maintains headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and offices throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Follow Magma on Twitter at www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr?d=186282&l=1[...] and on Facebook at Facebook.com%2FMagma" target="_top">www.Facebook.com/Magma. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com/.

SiTel and Target Partnership Yields Powerful VoIP DSP

SiTel Semiconductor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:58:22 -0800

‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, 8 March 2010 – SiTel Semiconductor today announced how its successful collaboration with Target Compiler Technologies led to the creation of customized audio DSPs for its SC14452 Green VoIP processor. The DSPs combine extreme energy efficiency with high processing performance, enabling industry-leading audio quality and power consumption. Key components of the SC14452 that won a 2009 Frost and Sullivan Green Excellence Award, the DSPs were developed using Target’s IP Designer retargetable tool suite.

Target’s tools allowed SiTel to develop application-specific Gen2DSPs including a C-compiler, which means customers can program the DSPs themselves. The DSPs operate at low frequency to minimize energy consumption, yet provide high processing power. The SC14552 features two of these DSPs, which together deliver 160 MIPS. At the same time, they help minimize power consumption, enabling in-call power figures below 600 mW.

With these powerful DSPs on-board, the SC14452 delivers outstanding sound quality for crystal clear communications. It can support four concurrent IP connections, independent of the codec chosen. Currently supported codecs include G.711, G.729, G.722, G.726, iLBC and MP3. Highly integrated, this VoIP solution reduces the overall system bill of materials (BoM) for enterprise VoIP desktop phones and IP-DECT base stations. It features integrated DECT, CAT-iq, DECT 6.0 and KDECT support and a dedicated cryptography engine for complete call confidentially.

“SiTel strives to create state-of-the-art chipsets for the cordless telephony and VoIP markets that deliver outstanding audio quality and performance while minimizing environmental impact,” said Mark De Clercq, Product Marketing Manager at SiTel. “The Target tools have helped SiTel achieve this goal by enabling us to develop audio-specific DSPs that deliver lots of processing power while operating at low frequency.”

“As a leading supplier of chipsets for cordless communications, SiTel’s decision to use our IP Designer tool suite highlights the power and flexibility our tools offer. We are extremely pleased to have played a key role in the creation of a DSP that will enable more advanced and environmentally friendly communications products,” said Gert Goossens, CEO of Target.

SiTel’s drive towards more advanced and flexible System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions is the reason behind the company’s choice of Target’s tools. Target’s IP Designer is the leading retargetable tool suite for the design, programming and verification of application-specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs).

About Green VoIP

Concerns over climate change and fossil fuel supplies have put energy efficiency of all products at the forefront of both consumer and government agendas. For example, the European Commission Regulation on ecodesign (implementing Directive 2005/32/EC) proposes limiting the standby power consumption of domestic and office devices initially to 2 W if the device has a display and 1 W otherwise. A future second phase will further tighten these limits to 1 W and 0.5 W. Similar legislation is currently making its way through Congress in the US.

To help customers respond to these concerns and regulations, SiTel launched the Green VoIP range in 2008. These energy-efficient ICs allow manufacturers to create VoIP solutions that are environmentally friendly and reduce electricity bills. The first Green VoIP product, the SC14450, reduced the net system power consumption for typical applications by 50% to around 800 mW during calls and 550 mW in idle mode. The next Green VoIP processor, the SC14452, pushed down power consumption even further to 550 and 350 mW respectively – meeting the most stringent proposed limits.

About SiTel Semiconductor BV

SiTel Semiconductor BV was established in June 2005, following a management buy-out from National Semiconductor Corporation. Headquartered in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. SiTel is a fabless IC manufacturer with design centers in The Netherlands and Greece along with regional sales offices in Hong Kong, Japan and the U.S. The company specializes in the design, manufacturing and marketing of high-performance CMOS solutions for digital cordless and corded communication and is the world’s number one DCT supplier for cordless voice, real-time data and VoIP.

For more information, please visit www.sitelsemi.com.

About Target Compiler Technologies

Target Compiler Technologies is the leading provider of retargetable software tools to automate the design, programming and verification of application-specific processor cores (ASIPs). Target's IP Designer tool suite has been applied by customers worldwide for diverse application domains, including DECT, GSM, WCDMA, HSDPA and LTE handsets, VoIP, audio coding, car infotainment, ADSL and VDSL modems, wireless LAN, hearing instruments, mobile image processing, video processing, and automotive control applications. Target is a spin-off of IMEC, is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, with North American operations in Boulder, Colorado.

For more information about Target Compiler Technologies, please visit www.retarget.com.

TI adds Code Composer Studio tools and new brushed DC motor reference design to Stellaris MCU family support

Texas Instruments — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:56:19 -0800

Austin, TX (March 9, 2010) – Simplifying design through the expansion of its software and tool offering, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today announced that its Stellaris ARM® Cortex-M3 MCUs are fully supported by the Code Composer Studio (CCStudio) v4 integrated development environment, and eight new Stellaris MCU evaluation kits featuring CCStudio v4 are immediately available in standard distribution. Based on the Eclipse framework, CCStudio v4 is compatible across TI’s microcontroller portfolio to provide developers with a single familiar user interface that easily takes them through each step of the application development flow. Stellaris support in CCStudio v4 includes project file support and easy usage of StellarisWare® software for rapid software development. For more information, go to www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-pr.

Additionally, a new Brushed DC Motor Control with CAN Reference Design Kit (RDK-BDC24) and a module (MDL-BDC24) are also immediately available, and improve on previous brushed DC motor designs by providing additional variable speed control capabilities. The kits contain everything needed to get a developer up and running in 10 minutes or less. The open tool kit is designed to jumpstart development in a wide variety of consumer and industrial motion control applications, including factory automation devices and systems, mobile robots, household appliances, pumping and ventilation systems, and electric wheelchairs and mobility devices. For more information, go to www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-mcrdk-pr

Code Composer Studio v4 key features and benefits for Stellaris developers:

• Fully functional when run on any Stellaris evaluation kit: no code size limits, debug size limits, time usage limits or functional feature restrictions

• Superior code development environment speeds design and troubleshooting with an advanced editor and features such as code completion, code folding, local history of source changes, markers and the ability to associate tasks with source lines

• Advanced GUI framework simplifies data and project management through the creation of perspectives with full customization of menus, toolbars and ‘fast views’ that enable developers to define the functionality and views appropriate to specific tasks

• Debug server scripting interface enables the automation of common tasks such as code validation and profiling

• Update manager tool automatically manages tool updates

Brushed DC Motor Control with CAN Reference Design Kit (RDK-BDC24) and Module (MDL-BDC24) features and benefits:

• Variable speed control for both 12 V and 24 V brushed DC motors at up to 40 A continuous current

• 32-bit Stellaris LM3S2616 MCU and optimized motion control software enables DC motors to run smoothly and quietly over a wide speed range

• Support of open-loop voltage control as well as closed-loop control of speed, position or motor current

• Rich set of sensor interfaces, high performance Controller Area Network (CAN) interfaces, and control options, including analog and quadrature encoder interfaces

• New RS232-based serial control input that also functions as a serial-to-CAN bridge

• Integrated TI analog for increased efficiency, including a CAN transceiver, RS232 line driver/receiver, voltage regulator, swift DC/DC converter and current shunt monitor

• Mabuchi RS-555PH-3255 Brushed DC Motor included in kit

• Comprehensive StellarisWare® software, complete documentation, LM Flash Programmer utility for firmware updates, BDC-COMM for serial communications with the motor, GUI for monitor and control, and complete source code, schematics and PCB Gerber files

Pricing and availability

Stellaris MCU evaluation kits featuring CCStudio v4 are immediately available through TI’s distribution channel. These kits include the EKS-LM3S811, EKS-LM3S1968, EKS-LM3S2965, EKS-LM3S6965, EKS-LM3S8962, EKS-LM3S3748, EKS-LM3S9B90 and EKS-LM3S9B92, priced from 49USD to 109USD. Code Composer Studio v4 tools are available for TI’s entire embedded microcontroller portfolio with the CCStudio v4 Platinum Microcontroller license for the cost-effective price of 495USD.

The RDK-BDC24 is priced at 219USD and the MDL-BDC at 109USD. Both are also immediately available through TI’s distribution channel.

TI’s broad portfolio of MCUs and software

From general purpose, ultra-low power MSP430™ MCUs, to Stellaris Cortex-M3-based 32-bit MCUs and high performance, real-time control TMS320C2000™ MCUs, TI offers the broadest range of microcontroller solutions. Designers can accelerate time to market by tapping into TI's complete software and hardware tools, extensive third-party offerings and technical support.

Find out more about TI’s new Stellaris tools support by visiting the links below:

•CC Studio: www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-pr

•Stellaris MCUs - www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-slp-pr

•StellarisWare Software – www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-swlp-pr

•Brushed DC Motor Control with CAN Reference Design Kit: www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-mcrdk-pr

•Stellaris Power Reference Designs: www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-pm-pr

•TI's microcontroller portfolio: www.ti.com/ccsstellaristools-mcu-pr

•Sample and purchase: www.ti.com/ccsstellaris-buy-pr

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) helps customers solve problems and develop new electronics that make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun. A global semiconductor company, TI innovates through design, sales and manufacturing operations in more than 30 countries. For more information, go to www.ti.com.

Carbon Unveils New Generation of ARM Models with Availability of Mali Models

Carbon Design Systems — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:06:22 -0800

Carbon Design Systems™, the leading supplier of tools for the automatic creation, validation and deployment of system-level models, announced today immediate availability of virtual models for ARM® Mali™ Graphic Processor Units (GPUs).

“Our new Mali models represent the first in a new generation of ARM models from Carbon,” says Tom Rathje, Carbon’s vice president of engineering. “The built-in TLM-2.0 interface gives each model the flexibility for architectural exploration, firmware development and application software development.”

These new models, including the Mali-200 and Mali-400MP, are compiled directly from the ARM register transfer level (RTL) code and are 100% implementation accurate.

Each contains transaction level model (TLM)-2.0 interfaces to execute seamlessly with Fast Models from ARM as part of a system prototype and quickly boot an operating system such as Linux or Android. The interface and dynamic clock generation logic automatically turn the model on when it is being used and off when it is dormant. As a result, models run in a loosely timed (LT) level environment without slowing it down, except when they’re active. This capability will enable the same model to be used for architectural exploration, firmware development and application software development.

Mali models also contain a cycle-accurate TLM interface and integrate directly into Carbon SoC Designer and any SystemC or RTL design environment.

Availability

Mali models are available now from Carbon Design Systems. For pricing and further details, send email to: info@carbondesignsystems.com. To learn more about Carbon Design Systems, visit: cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=htt[...].

About Carbon Design Systems

Carbon Design Systems offers the leading system validation solution for complex system-on-chip (SoC) designs. Target applications range from model generation and deployment to virtual platform creation, execution, and analysis. Carbon provides 100% implementation accuracy on the critical components required for accurate architectural analysis and pre-silicon hardware/software validation. Solutions are based on open industry standards, including SystemC, IP-XACT, Verilog, VHDL, OSCI TLM, MDI, SCML, CASI, CADI and CAPI. Carbon’s customers are systems, semiconductor, and IP companies that focus on wireless, networking and consumer electronics. Carbon is headquartered at 125 Nagog Park, Acton, Mass., 01720. Telephone: (978) 264-7300. Facsimile: (978) 264-9990. Email: info@carbondesignsystems.com.

Symmetricom Introduces New Line of Embedded Sync Software Solutions

Symmetricom — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:15:32 -0800

SAN JOSE, Calif. — March 8, 2010 — Symmetricom®, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYMM), a major supplier of precise time and frequency technologies, today announced the company is introducing a new line of embedded software solutions. These new comprehensive solutions enable network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) to easily incorporate Symmetricom’s proven synchronization technology into their offerings to provide their customers with more versatile, high performing solutions.

“Providers have been demanding increased visibility and control of their evolving network infrastructure,” commented James Armstrong, EVP and general manager at Symmetricom. “As Carrier Ethernet adoption increases, there is a growing need for synchronization solutions that provide greater levels of flexibility, robustness and management capabilities. Symmetricom’s embedded solutions enable NEMs to deliver just that.”

Symmetricom’s line of embedded solutions enables NEMs to leverage years of real-world experience and provide their customers carrier-class reliability and precision along with enhanced levels of scalability and technology integration. Symmetricom embedded technology is more versatile than silicon solutions, has been field proven in trials and deployments and shown to be industry-leading in performance. With Symmetricom embedded solutions, NEMs now have a simpler and faster path to integrate a wide range of timing technologies while achieving smaller footprints, lower power consumption, improved manageability and overall cost reductions.

Symmetricom embedded solutions are based on its acclaimed timing technologies, such as BesTime®, a patented technology developed and extensively tested for primary reference source quality timing and extended to packet timing technology. These embedded solutions offer the flexibility to support a variety of platforms around popular embedded processors and operating systems and include a set of APIs and a reference design board.

The availability of Symmetricom’s IEEE 1588 (PTP) embedded technology expands the company’s end-to-end suite of synchronization solutions. Now, both NEMs and operators can benefit from Symmetricom’s expertise and its high performance, integrated solution set which includes boundary clocks, unique client technology, a sophisticated management platform and monitoring, analysis and testing tools to ensure network readiness.

For more information, visit: www.symmetricom.com/industry-solutions/network-[...].

About Symmetricom, Inc.

As a worldwide leader in precise time and frequency products and services, Symmetricom provides “Perfect Timing” to customers around the world. Since 1985, the company’s solutions have helped define the world’s time and frequency standards, delivering precision, reliability and efficiency to wireline and wireless networks, instrumentation and testing applications and network time management. Deployed in more than 90 countries, the company’s synchronization solutions include primary reference sources, building integrated timing supplies (BITS), GPS timing receivers, time and frequency distribution systems, network time servers and ruggedized oscillators. Symmetricom also incorporates technologies including Universal Timing Interface (UTI), Network Time Protocol (NTP), IEEE 1588 (Precision Time Protocol), and others supporting the world’s migration to Next Generation Networks (NGN). Symmetricom is based in San Jose, Calif., with offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.symmetricom.com.

The MathWorks Announces Release 2010a of the MATLAB and Simulink Product Families

The MathWorks — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:38:03 -0800

NATICK, Mass. – March 5, 2010 – The MathWorks today announced Release 2010a (R2010a) of its MATLAB and Simulink product families. Key in this release are new streaming capabilities for signal processing and video processing in MATLAB, nonlinear solvers for standard and large-scale optimization, and expanded Simulink support for large teams designing complex systems. R2010a also introduces Simulink PLC Coder, which helps industrial control system engineers generate IEC 61131 structured text. This release updates 83 other products, including PolySpace code verification products.

Advancements for the MATLAB family that are part of the R2010a release include:

• Signal Processing Blockset and Video and Image Processing Blockset: New System objects for stream processing in MATLAB. Supporting more than 140 algorithms, System objects use less memory, improve the handling of lengthy signal and video data streams, and simplify the development of streaming algorithms.

• Symbolic Math Toolbox: New interface with Simscape to automatically generate Simscape language equations for physical modeling.

• Global Optimization Toolbox and Optimization Toolbox: New nonlinear solvers for more complex and realistic problems and the ability to use parallel computing to accelerate time-to-solution.

• SimBiology: Stochastic approximation expectation-maximization (SAEM), dosing schedules support, and performance enhancements for improved data fitting and modeling for pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD).

R2010a reflects a continued focus on performance within the MATLAB product family, including multicore support and performance enhancements for more than 50 functions in Image Processing Toolbox, and additional multithreaded math functions in MATLAB. There are also enhancements to file sharing, path management, and the desktop in MATLAB.

With this release, Simulink offers expanded support for large design teams, enabling them to design complex systems more efficiently. These capabilities include tunable parameter structures for management of large parameter sets and triggered model blocks and function-call branching for component-based modeling.

Other Simulink 2010a highlights designed for more efficient embedded system development include:

• Embedded IDE Link and Target Support Package: Code generation support for Eclipse, Embedded Linux, and ARM processors, which provides simplified embedded system development workflows for systems engineers and software engineers.

• IEC Certification Kit: ISO/DIS 26262 tool qualification support for Real-Time Workshop Embedded Coder and PolySpace verification products, easing certification of ECUs developed to Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) A through ASIL D.

• DO Qualification Kit: DO-178B tool qualification support extended to model coverage, which expands the certification credit possible with model verification.

The new release is available immediately and is being provided to users with current subscriptions to MathWorks Software Maintenance Service. Additional information on R2010a product updates is available at: www.mathworks.com/products/new_products/latest_[...]

About The MathWorks

The MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software. MATLAB, the language of technical computing, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a graphical environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain dynamic and embedded systems. Engineers and scientists worldwide rely on these product families to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, and development in automotive, aerospace, electronics, financial services, biotech-pharmaceutical, and other industries. MathWorks products are also fundamental teaching and research tools in the world's universities and learning institutions. Founded in 1984, The MathWorks employs more than 2,100 people in 15 countries, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, USA.

For additional information, visit www.mathworks.com.

Forte Design Systems Ships Latest Version of CellMath Designer

Forte Design Systems — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:56:01 -0800

Forte Design Systems, a leading provider of SystemC high-level synthesis, datapath synthesis and intellectual property (IP), announced it is shipping the latest version of CellMath Designer™ datapath synthesis and Cellmath IP software.

The CellMath family allows register transfer level (RTL) designers to reduce area, improve performance and lower power consumption for their existing datapath-intensive design blocks.

“We’re seeing strong demand to reduce power and area, and create more competitive designs in virtually all market segments,” says Brett Cline, Forte’s vice president of marketing and sales. “Design teams that added CellMath Designer and CellMath IP to their existing logic synthesis or high-level synthesis design flow have been able to obtain optimal results quickly and at low cost.”

This version of CellMath Designer, the first release from Forte since it acquired Arithmatica in 2009, provides more automation to get users to optimal results with less effort. Other features include improved RTL code optimizations, a new bi-directional retiming algorithm and more scripting control, which mean that existing RTL designs can be used with no modifications.

For existing users, CellMath Designer’s multiplexor synthesis capability has been extended. This will provide more optimal results when optimizing across many levels of multiplexors, including recognizing complex pipeline enable signals formed from multiple levels of logic to improve ease of use and overall quality of results (QoR).

Improved formal verification flow for datapath designs

Traditionally, datapath blocks present unique challenges for formal verification tools because of the difficulty of comparing the original RTL input with the gate-level output after several complex transformations.

CellMath Designer’s unique approach to formal verification has been further extended to provide even more power to users. In this release, users have complete control over which parts of their design are described in RTL code and which at the gate-level, along with control over which carry-save outputs include final additions. This enables users to break verification problems into a chain of simpler/smaller steps that formal verification software can manage. With these new features, unresolved verification tasks can be turned from “inconclusive” to “equivalent.”

CellMath IP

CellMath Designer utilizes optimal, mathematically designed arithmetic operators and functions to improve overall quality of results in datapath-dominated designs. Together with CellMath Designer’s datapath synthesis capabilities, designers find that utilizing CellMath IP operators improves overall QoR, especially power, on existing RTL designs.

CellMath IP includes patented arithmetic architectures for floating-point, fixed-point and integer-based designs, and is being used in millions of leading-edge devices around the world.

Availability and Pricing

The latest version of CellMath Designer is shipping now. U.S. pricing starts at $120,000 for a one-year, time-based license.

About Forte Design Systems

Forte Design Systems is a leading provider of software products that enable design at a higher level of abstraction and improve design results. Its innovative synthesis technologies and intellectual property offerings allow design teams creating complex electronic chips and systems to reduce their overall design and verification time. More than half of the top 20 worldwide semiconductor companies use Forte’s products in production today for ASIC, SoC and FPGA design. Forte is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in England, Japan, Korea and the United States.

New SBCs and Embedded Systems with the latest Intel(r) Atom(tm) Processor D510

IEI — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:01:57 -0800

The IEI PICOe-PV-D510 is a sophisticated half-size CPU card with high performance and low power consumption. The high performance 45 nm dual-core Intel® Atom™ processor D510 with 1 MB L2 cache ensures high data throughputs. The PICOe-PV-D510 supports dual display through a single-channel 18-bit LVDS interface (up to 1366x768 WXGA resolution) and an analog CRT port. The analog CRT port supports resolutions up to 2048x1536 and supports hot plugging. The Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 3150, with GFX core rendering speed of 400 MHz, is integrated in the processor and enhances graphics performance.

The Intel® Atom™ processor D510 is paired with the Intel® 82810HM I/O controller which provides six PCI Express x1 and four PCI interfaces which allow for system expansion and speedy data delivery for real-time control. The system comes with built-in 512 MB 667 MHz DDR2 memory with the option of an additional 1.5 GB via DDR2 SO-DIMMs which improve the data delivery with less data lost and fewer delays.

The PICOe-PV-D510 has a variety of I/O and storage interfaces including two RS-232 serial ports, two PCIe GbE ports, three SATA II ports, seven USB 2.0 ports, one CompactFlash™ Type I/II slot and one audio interface that supports 7.1 channel HD audio via the IEI AC-KIT883HD audio kit.

The IEI PM-PV-D510 is a sophisticated, low power consumption PC/104 form factor SBC. The single-core Intel® Atom™ processor D510 with a two 512 KB L2 cache is paired with the Intel® 82810HM I/O controller. Versatile graphics support by Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 is provided through a single-channel 18-bit LVDS interface (up to 1366x768 WXGA resolution) and an analog CRT port. The analog CRT port supports resolutions up to 2048x1536 and supports hot plugging. The small form factor allows systems to be developed for space critical applications. In addition, support for Windows® XP Professional, Windows® XP Embedded, Windows® CE, Linux operating systems make the PM-PV-D510 ideal for embedded systems.

The PM-PV-D510 is designed with plentiful I/O and storage interfaces including one RS-232, one RS-232/422/485, four USB 2.0, one SATA II, one CompactFlash™ Type I/II slot, a PCI-104 slot and one GbE LAN by Intel® 82567V GbE Ethernet PHY.

The IBX-300 is good choice for a fanless and ready-to-use compact embedded system with 160 mm x 125 mm x 44 mm. This system is designed with the Intel® Atom™ processor D510 with 1 MB of cache and is paired with the Intel® 82801HM I/O controller. One GB DDR2 SDRAM system memory and one 2.5” SATA HDD interface are included.

Other features of the Intel® Atom™ processor D510 are two DB-9 connectors to support eight video capture channels totally, which are 8-channel video capture for analog camera (4-channel video capture for each DB-9 connector), Conexant CX25850 multiport composite video decoder (8 inputs) and CX25821 (PCIe x1) media bridge.

For Ethernet, the IBX-300 is designed with the Intel® 82567V GbE Phy and one PCIe interface. The multi communications are PCIe x1 signal via Intel® 82801HM I/O controller, LAN signal via Intel® 82567V GbE Phy and LAN via standard RJ-45 with ACK/LINK LED connector on rear side. In the video and audio communication, IBX-300 has the Intel® GMA 3150 rendering speed of 400MHz on board, and built-in one VGA, one RS-232/422/485 COM port, four USB connectors, two audio jack connectors for line-out and MIC-in, and one WiFi support. It supports analog CRT up to 2048x1536 and hot plug.

For more information, please visit www.ieiworld.com or contact sales@iei.com.tw for further information.

Corelis Releases New CD Version 7.0 Boundary-Scan Tool Suite

Corelis, Inc. — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:59:58 -0800

Cerritos, CA, March 3, 2010 – Corelis, Inc., a leading supplier of high-performance boundary-scan test and measurement tools, announced the availability of the latest version of its powerful ScanExpress Boundary-Scan Tool Suite. The new Version 7.0 CD now supports FlexNet licensing. Legacy software licenses will continue to be supported; however, all newly issued software and network licenses will utilize FlexNet.

CD improvements include:

• More file manipulation functions incorporated by the TPG scripting engine.

• Test pattern generation support for the Firecron JTS06Bu 6-port JTAG gateway hierarchical device.

• Increased ScanExpress JET Flash programming speeds by up to 33%.

• Support for 64-bit Flash address access.

• New ScanExpress JET processor support for BCM7400, i.MX27, OMAP3530, and PPC603EV.

Current Corelis customers that have a valid maintenance contract can now access the new Version 7.0 CD through the existing support website. To inquire about a maintenance package or to obtain a full list of improvements, please contact Terri Martinez, Maintenance Program Administrator, at (562) 926-6727; or send an email to terri.martinez@corelis.com.

As always, Corelis offers free training to its clients so that they may immediately utilize the various new product features and innovations now available. Class schedules and registration information can be found on the Corelis website at:

www.corelis.com/education/JTAG_Boundary-Scan_Se[...].

About Corelis

Corelis, Inc., a subsidiary of Electronic Warfare Associates, Inc., offers bus analysis tools, embedded test tools, and the industry’s broadest line of JTAG/boundary-scan software and hardware products combining exceptional ease-of-use with advanced technical innovation and unmatched customer service. Corelis’ development and test tools are used by companies such as Agilent, Dell, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Qualcomm, Nokia, Panasonic, TI, Ford, Broadcom, Ericsson, and many others. Corelis products are found globally in every industry developing or manufacturing electronic products.

Magma Announces Agenda for MUSIC Silicon Valley Users Conference

Magma Design Automation — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:17:30 -0800

Magma(R) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of chip design software, today announced the final agenda for the MUSIC users conference in Silicon Valley on March 10 in San Jose. The program will feature parallel tracks of technical presentations and tutorials given by Magma users, design industry experts and Magma's engineering research and development staff, and an exposition of Magma partners. Magma CEO Rajeev Madhavan will deliver a keynote address entitled, "The Electronic Ocean."

MUSIC Agenda Focuses on Meeting Today's Analog and Digital Design Challenges

MUSIC provides an open forum for users to gain expertise using Magma's chip design software, and to exchange ideas about and solutions for the challenges of analog and integrated circuit and system-on-chip (SoC) designs.

Over the years MUSIC has become a leading venue for Magma users to gather, share and learn best practices and solutions. This year's program covers a range of Magma software capabilities including synthesis, placement and routing, floorplanning, library characterization, verification, circuit simulation and analog design. Users will share useful tips on how to leverage Magma software to improve results, reduce power, minimize costs and increase productivity.

User presentations will include:

65-nm Design Tapeout in 6 weeks

Case Study: Low Power Design

Comparing Crosstalk Delay Calculations in Talus(R) and Prime Time-SI

Accelerating Timing Closure on Large, Complex Nanometer Designs

Multi-Mode/Multi-Corner Analysis Using Talus(R) Flow Manager(TM)

Magma Talus Design with Scan Test Compression

At-Speed Functional Verification of Complex IOs using FineSim(TM) SPICE

A High-Capacity Power Integrity Flow Supporting Inductive Rail Effects with Transistor-Level Accuracy

Using the Titan(TM) Shape-Based-Router for Next-Generation Flash-Based FPGAs

Magma will present the following tutorials:

Solving Design Challenges Visually with the Talus(R) Visual Volcano(TM)

Using SiliconSmart(R) ACE and Embedded FineSim Simulator for 28-nm Standard I/O Cell and Memory Characterization

The MUSIC agenda will also feature a guest keynote and a luncheon panel. Robert Patti, CTO and vice president of Design Engineering at Tezzaron Semiconductor, will present, "3D Integrated Circuits: New Directions for Semiconductors." Venture capitalists from Farallon Advisors, LLC, Foundation Capital, Intel Capital and U.S. Venture Partners will participate in a panel entitled, "Semiconductor Venture Funding -- At a Crossroads?" moderated by Jorge del Calvo of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

For the complete MUSIC agenda and to register for the conference visit the Magma website at www.magma-da.com/MUSIC.

Magma Partners at MUSIC

In addition to the technical program, the Silicon Valley conference will feature an exposition where users can learn how Magma is working with its partners to ensure design success. Attendees will be able to speak directly with Magma partners about design, flow and integration solutions. Magma partners exhibiting and/or sponsoring MUSIC include Blue Pearl Software, SynTest, TSMC, Uniquify and Virage Logic.

About MUSIC

MUSIC -- Magma Users Summit on Integrated Circuits -- provides a forum for Magma users to exchange ideas, discuss common problems and explore solutions related to the design and manufacturing of integrated circuits, as well as offering users an opportunity to meet with Magma staff and product experts. The MUSIC program covers the key elements of semiconductor design, from system-level design to tapeout, for systems on chips, ASICs and ASSPs. Magma users can register to attend any of the conferences via the Magma website at www.magma-da.com/MUSIC.

Magma, SiliconSmart and Talus are registered trademarks and FineSim, Flow Manager, Titan and Visual Volcano are trademarks of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Forward-looking Statements:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements about the features and benefits of Magma's software are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including but not limited to the ability of Magma's products to produce the desired results and the company's ability to keep pace with rapidly changing technology. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). The company undertakes no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Pentek Introduces High-Speed, Real-Time Recording Instrument for Extremely Wide Bandwidth Signals

Patterson & Associates — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:40:50 -0800

Pentek’s new Model RTS 2711 Real-Time Data Recording Instrument is a ready-to-run, PC-based recorder which includes a complete PC workstation running Windows XP, housed in a rack-mount 4U chassis. It’s extremely high-speed architecture allows simultaneous digitizing and recording of two signals at sampling rates of 500 Megasamples/sec. Since the system handles input signal frequencies up to 750 MHz, it is well suited for development and field testing in a broad range of wideband signal applications including UAVs, telemetry, communication and radar. The RTS 2711 is the fastest and widest bandwidth recording instrument ever offered by Pentek, doubling the aggregate recording rate and quadrupling the attainable bandwidth of previous RTS systems.

“The fact that we have two channels running simultaneously and synchronously at this speed in a single housing is quite remarkable,” said Rodger Hosking, vice president of Pentek. “These two 500 Megasamples/sec channels deliver an aggregate, sustained real-time rate of 1 Gigasample/sec to disk—from the time the recording starts until the disks are full.”

Vastly Deep Storage

In addition to its unusually high data rates, the Model RTS 2711 has exceptional storage capacity with a total of 4 terabytes of RAID storage to record arriving signals. The storage is actually configured as two 2-terabyte arrays with each of the arrays assigned to one of the A/D channels. All data is stored on high-performance, removable hot-swap SATA drives, accessible from the front panel.

"With regard to recording time, with each of the two channels running at its full rate of 500 Megasamples/sec, our customers can record signals continuously for an hour," said Chris Tojeira, product manager, Pentek. "And because the Model 2711 is a complete turn-key instrument, customers don’t need to do any programming or write any software—they can start recording immediately.”

The Benefits of the NTFS File Format

What sets the Pentek RTS 2711 apart from competing recording instruments is that it records data directly in NTFS (new technology file system) format. This means that as soon as recordings are laid down on the RAID array hard disks, they are immediately available to any Windows application for analysis or post-processing.

A number of competing instruments use a proprietary file system for recording. In order to open these files in Windows applications, such as signal analysis tools like MATLAB and others, the files must first be converted to a Windows-compatible file format. This conversion can often take many times longer than the actual duration of the recording.

Built-In Virtual Instruments and API with SystemFlow

What makes the RTS 2711 so easy to use is its SystemFlow software package based on a client/server architecture and delivered with every RTS instrument. SystemFlow includes several key components. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) provides the user with a control interface for the recording instrument and an intuitive means for setting up system parameters. The powerful Signal Viewer includes two companion analysis tools: a virtual oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer so users can monitor the signal prior to, during and after a recording session. Together, these elements of SystemFlow greatly simplify operation. In addition, SystemFlow includes an Applications Programming Interface (API) which allows users to integrate control of the RTS instrument into a larger system application.

A Deployable Subsystem

The RTS 2711 is a deployable instrument with the client application accessible remotely via TCP/IP messaging over Ethernet or the Internet. All system commands, status information and recorded files can pass back and forth between the client and server. As an example, a customer could have a larger system that needs to record live data at a monitoring facility. The RTS 2711 can be deployed as a server at a remote location to record signals. The recorded signal can then be accessed from the monitoring facility via the Internet.

Price and Delivery

For the latest pricing and availability information, please contact Mario Schiavone by phone at (201) 818-5900 ext.229, or by email at mario@pentek.com.

About Pentek

Pentek develops, manufactures and markets innovative DSP systems to original equipment manufacturers, distributors and value-added resellers. Pentek offers powerful VME, VXS, PMC, XMC, cPCI, PCI, PCIe boards for data acquisition, software radio and digital signal processing featuring Texas Instruments C6000 DSPs, Freescale G4 PowerPCs and Xilinx FPGAs. Pentek's I/O includes A/Ds, D/As, FPGAs, digital up/downconverters and more. Pentek equips all products with high-performance I/O including Gigabit serial interfaces and offers strong DSP software support.

Actel Introduces SmartFusion Devices - FPGAs with ARM Cortex-M3 Processor and Programmable Analog

Actel — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:20:21 -0800

Nuremberg, Germany, March 02, 2010 — At the Embedded World conference today, Actel Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTL) unveiled SmartFusion™, the world's first intelligent mixed signal FPGA. Available in production quantities, SmartFusion devices feature Actel's proven FPGA fabric, a complete microcontroller subsystem built around a hard ARM® Cortex™-M3 processor and programmable analog blocks on a flash process. Embedded designers no longer have to compromise. Now, they can easily build the system they want, with all the features they need, on a single chip.

"SmartFusion gave us the resources to build a highly-agile smartgrid sensor with greater flexibility in a smaller package," said David Brain, CTO Smartgrid Technologies. "The integration of a state-of-the-art embedded ARM processor with on-chip analog to digital conversion and the ability to build custom features in the uncommitted gate array is an unbeatable combination."

"The launch of Actel's SmartFusion represents a step forward in intelligent FPGA design and also demonstrates the rapidly growing momentum behind the ARM Cortex-M3 processor in a wide range of applications," said Eric Schorn, vice president, marketing, processor division, ARM. "In addition to exploiting the Cortex-M3 processor's industry leading high-performance and low-power features, SmartFusion licensees are also able to access ARM's vast ecosystem of more than 600 Partners, providing tools, software and middleware optimized for the ARM architecture."

Why SmartFusion is a Smart Choice

The combination of three programmable elements--logic, a microcontroller subsystem and analog--makes the SmartFusion family a fully-customizable, easy-to-use system design platform. Embedded designers can now optimize hardware / software tradeoffs on the fly without board-level changes. In the SmartFusion device, all the data transferred from the processor to the FPGA or from the analog to the processor or between the FPGA and the analog is on-chip. In addition, Actel's FlashLock® technology provides a superior level of intellectual property (IP) security.

When faced with options for co-processing or interface customization, SmartFusion devices offer a compelling solution in a wide variety of applications, including motor control, system and power management and industrial automation. These applications span the industrial, military, medical, telecommunications, computing and storage markets.

"SmartFusion is the innovative, intelligent integration of the key components of a system," said John East, Actel's president and CEO. "Due to Actel's flash technology, we now offer the industry's first and only no-compromise, fully programmable platform for embedded design."

A Closer Look

Targeted at today's complex embedded designs, SmartFusion devices evolved from the company's first Fusion mixed-signal FPGAs, introduced in 2005. Key components and features of the device are:

Full-Featured FPGA:

SmartFusion devices feature Actel's proven, flash-based ProASIC®3 FPGA architecture. Built on an advanced 130-nm CMOS process, Actel offers densities ranging from 60K to 500K system gates, with 350 MHz performance and up to 204 I/Os. This combination enables the integration of existing functions from other devices, substantially reducing board space and power consumption of the overall system.

Microcontroller Subsystem:

Intelligence is added to the FPGA in the form of a microcontroller subsystem that features a hard ARM Cortex-M3 processor running at 100 MHz. A full complement of standard peripherals and features include:

* Multi-layer AHB communications matrix with up to 16 Gbps throughput

* 10/100 Ethernet MAC with RMII interface

* Two of each: SPI, I2C, UART, 32-bit timers

* Up to 512 KB flash memory and 64 KB of SRAM

* External memory controller (EMC)

* 8-channel DMA controller

Programmable Analog:

The innovative and proprietary Analog Compute Engine (ACE) performs sample sequencing and computation, which offloads the ARM Cortex-M3 processor from analog initialization and processing. The programmable analog system features:

* ADCs and DACs with 1 percent accuracy

* Up to three 12-bit ADC with up to 600 Ksps sampling rate

* Up to three 12-bit first order sigma delta DACs

* Up to ten 50 ns high-speed comparators

* Multiple integrated temperature, voltage and current monitors

Early Customer Engagements

Sampling devices since September 2009, Actel has been engaged with customers around the globe through a formal lead customer program. For a full six months, designers of a multitude of applications, ranging from servers, routers, and industrial network gateways to solar panel inverters and gaming machines, were given the ability to use the software and silicon prior to market introduction.

Start Designing Now

The SmartFusion family is supported by Libero® Integrated Design Environment (IDE) v9.0, Actel's comprehensive software toolset for designing with all Actel FPGAs. Libero IDE version 9.0 is immediately available for download, free of charge at www.actel.com.

Libero IDE includes industry-leading synthesis, simulation and debug tools from Synopsys and Mentor Graphics as well as innovative timing and power optimization and analysis. For embedded designers, Actel offers free SoftConsole Eclipse-based IDE with GNU, as well as, evaluation versions of software from Keil™ and IAR Systems®. Full versions are available from the respective suppliers. Micrium supports SmartFusion devices with their new real-time operating system (RTOS) µC/OS-III, TCP/IP stack and µC/Probe products.

Pricing and Availability

SmartFusion A2F200 devices are now available in volume production. A2F500 devices are scheduled for delivery in Q2 2010 and A2F060 devices are expected at the second half of the year.

Evaluation kits priced at $99 and a full development kit for $999 are immediately available. Customers may contact their local Actel sales office or distributor for more information.

About Actel

Actel is the leader in low-power FPGAs and mixed-signal FPGAs, offering the most comprehensive portfolio of system and power management solutions. Power Matters. Learn more at www.actel.com.

Forte Becomes OSCI 2010 Global Event Sponsor; Will Co-Sponsor ESCUG, Exhibit at DATE

EVE — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:27:55 -0800

Forte Design Systems, a leading provider of SystemC high-level synthesis, datapath synthesis, and intellectual property (IP), is a 2010 Open SystemC Initiative (OSCI) Global Event Sponsor and will co-sponsor the European SystemC User Group (ESCUG) Meeting.

ESCUG, to be will be held Tuesday, March 9, is collocated with Design Automation & Test Europe (DATE) in Dresden, Germany. Mike Meredith, Forte’s vice president of technical marketing and OSCI president, will present an update on technical working group activities and will appear on a panel titled “10 Years of SystemC: SystemC Quo Vadis?.”

Forte will exhibit its Cynthesizer SystemC high-level synthesis software at DATE in Booth #46 March 9-11. It will demonstrate its SystemC tools available now and in production use for 10 years, along with its newly acquired CellMath tools and IP for improving area, power and speed for existing register transfer level (RTL) designs.

Details about Forte are available at: www.ForteDS.com

More on ESCUG can be found at: www.ti.uni-tuebingen.de/ESCUG.escug.0.html

For information about DATE, go to: www.date-conference.com

About Forte Design Systems

Circuits, LLC Now Offers Rigid-Flex

Circuits, LLC — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:18:25 -0800

Murrysville, PA. Combining rigid and flexible substrates into a single printed circuit board offers designers the ability to improve reliability by reducing connector counts and complex wiring configurations. With the addition of an innerlayer adhesion promotion system, Circuits, LLC’s engineering team released the rigid-flex PCB manufacturing operations to production to offer a more dependable and cost effective alternative for their customers. Rigid- flex PCBs enable weight-reduction and more compact packaging with improved performance ideal for many military, aerospace and medical applications.

Circuits, LLC is well-equipped to take on rigid-flex PCB processing. The 50,000 square foot fabricating and testing facility houses a built-to-purpose, flow-optimized workspace specifically designed and equipped to produce consistent, high-quality flexible printed circuits with minimum handling and transport. The PCB manufacturing facility features a fully-integrated Class 1,000 clean room, a laser driller/router and a custom plating line configured for the production of complex circuits.

Rather than using a traditional oxide treatment in the manufacture of rigid-flex, Circuits chose an innerlayer adhesion promotion system that combines micro-etching and surface adhesion promotion to influence the flow of the pre-preg resin yielding significant interlaminar bond strength between resin and the copper surface. The COBRA Bond™ process (developed by OMG Electronic Chemicals) is designed to work with multiple types of foils, is scratch resistant and has lower overall processing costs. “The new system offers many benefits for Circuits and their customers,” according to Michael Carano, Global Manager Strategic Business Development and Marketing, OMG Electronic Chemicals, “plus the COBRA Bond™ process meets with Circuits’ “clean manufacturing” strategy because it is more environmentally sound than traditional oxide processes.”.

As both the mechanical and electrical aspects are a consideration when designing rigid-flex applications, Circuits, LLC offers their staff of experts to help customers design for manufacturability early in their process to insure the highest yields possible through the fabrication and the assembly process.

About Circuits, LLC

Circuits, LLC is a quality‐driven, customer‐focused manufacturer of highly reliable built‐to‐spec flexible printed circuit boards serving the defense, industrial, and medical markets with consistent quality and on‐time delivery unsurpassed by competitors.

Circuits, LLC

4060 Norbatrol Court

Murrysville, PA 15668

www.circuits‐corp.com

OMG Electronic Chemicals is a diversified global developer, producer and marketer of value-added specialty chemicals and advanced materials that are essential to complex chemical and industrial processes. Key technology-based end-use applications include affordable energy, portable power, clean air, clean water and proprietary products and services for the microelectronics industry. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, OMG Electronic Chemicals operates manufacturing facilities in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. For more information, visit www.omgi.com.

COBRA Bond™ is a registered trademark of OMG Electronic Chemicals.

###

Tanner EDA and IC Mask Design Collaborate on Tools to Accelerate Analog Layout Design

Tanner EDA — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:03:48 -0800

MONROVIA, California – March 2, 2010 – Tanner EDA, the catalyst for innovation for the design, layout and verification of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) and IC Mask Design, an industry leader in the provision of physical design services to the global semiconductor industry, are collaborating on the development of a toolset to accelerate analog layout design. By exclusively licensing IC Mask Design’s patented layout acceleration technology and integrating it into Tanner EDA’s custom IC design suite, the partners will offer engineers an improved solution to boost layout productivity and quality.

Tanner EDA and IC Mask Design have been working together since 2007. In the course of working with customers to better understand their analog layout design challenges, the partners recognized a need to speed up the analog layout process. In Q2 2010 Tanner EDA will offer a breakthrough toolset based on IC Mask Design’s proprietary technology that accelerates and semi-automates physical design activities to improve productivity. The new tool will embed seamlessly into Tanner EDA’s powerful and robust layout editor. Designers will be able to automatically generate devices and structures that are silicon-aware and are contextually tuned for their own specific layouts. This new solution gives engineers and managers the benefits of quality and productivity by consistently applying analog layout knowledge and experience to eliminate errors and speed layout cycles.

Commenting on the collaboration, Greg Lebsack, president of Tanner EDA, said, “We are very focused on bringing innovations from trusted, well-regarded partners to our customers, and are pleased to be able to help them benefit from the depth and breadth of IC Mask Design’s experience in analog layout design. This collaboration is another instance of our desire to help analog designers develop breakthrough products with improved productivity and shorter design cycle times.”

Mr. Ciaran Whyte, co-founder and CTO of IC Mask Design, added, “We have always been impressed with the functionality and ease-of-use that Tanner EDA’s tools deliver to designers. It has been a natural extension of our working relationship to leverage our joint knowledge of analog layout challenges to further benefit analog layout productivity.”

Previews of the joint solution developed by Tanner EDA and IC Mask Design will be available from March 9th to March 12th in Booth #12 at the Design Automation & Test in Europe (DATE) conference in Dresden, Germany. The partners expect to ship this tool along with Tanner EDA’s next major product release – v15 of HiPer Silicon™ – at the beginning of Q2, 2010.

About IC Mask Design

Founded in 2002, IC Mask Design is a dynamic engineering organization and industry leader in the provision of Physical Design services to the global semiconductor industry. The company delivers services for analog, RF, mixed-signal and digital designs, and provides a range of training courses covering the complete spectrum of physical design.

About Tanner EDA

Tanner EDA provides a complete line of software solutions that catalyze innovation for the design, layout and verification of analog and mixed-signal (A/MS) integrated circuits (ICs). Customers are creating breakthrough applications in areas such as power management, displays and imaging, automotive, consumer electronics, life sciences, and RF devices. A low learning curve, high interoperability, and a powerful user interface improve design team productivity and enable a low total cost of ownership (TCO). Capability and performance are matched by low support requirements and high support capability as well as an ecosystem of partners that bring advanced capabilities to A/MS designs.

Founded in 1988, Tanner EDA solutions deliver just the right mixture of features, functionality and usability. The company has shipped over 33,000 licenses of its software to more than 5,000 customers in 67 countries.

HiPer Verify and HiPer Silicon are trademarks of Tanner Research, Inc.

All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

# # #

Contact for Tanner EDA:

Linda Marchant, Cayenne Communication LLC -- 919-451-0776 linda.marchant@cayennecom.com

LDRA and Visure Release Embed-X, A Comprehensive Embedded Application Lifecycle Management Solution

LDRA Software — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:52:15 -0800

Wirral, UK. 2 March 2010. LDRA, the leading provider of automated software verification tools, and Visure Solutions, market leader in Requirements Definition and Management, announced the release of Embed-X, the first end-to-end application lifecycle management (ALM) system for the embedded space. Embed-X, like other ALM solutions, merges product requirements, business objectives and metrics in a uniform actionable perspective. However, Embed-X also delivers these ALM objectives with full certification support for critical development standards in the avionics, defense, automotive and medical markets while executing on an unrivalled track record of embedded expertise extending 35 years.

Accelerating software complexity has created a multi-headed challenge for software developers. The criticality, complexity and volume of software have ballooned, creating an exponential increase in software risk. Company profits in automotive and medical are crippled by software-defect product recalls while, according to Forrester, avionics and defense projects commonly experience schedule and budget overruns by a factor of two and deliver only 60% of the expected functionality. Up to 85% of these errors stem from a failure to properly manage requirements. Boeing and Airbus maintain that the expense of identifying an error during first flight increases costs up to 900 times than if the error had been identified early in the development process.

To enable companies to cope with the exorbitant costs systemic in current development processes, LDRA and Visure have designed Embed-X to streamline software development to deliver 50% cost savings. This industry-first embedded application lifecycle management for critical systems coordinates software engineering by integrating project management, requirements management, architecture, coding, software configuration management and testing. ALM solutions automate and enforce processes between the stages of development, manage relationships between assets used or produced by the software, and offer transparency and metrics through reports on development as it progresses.

“For the first time, software developers will be able to manage the micro-detail fundamental to embedded applications,” noted Baldo Rincón, Managing Director of Visure Solutions. “Embed-X shares requirements and system components and creates an open forum between software developers and engineers taking care of mechanical and electrical details. Because of bidirectional Lifecycle Traceability, requirements are no longer isolated in repositories, but dynamically updated throughout the system.”

Building on LDRA’s strengths in the critical software marketplace and Visure’s experience delivering requirements solutions, Embed-X is geared to meet the demands of safety-critical development standards. Incorporating LDRA’s patent-pending verification management technology, Embed-X will help system engineering, development and production organizations by coherently tracing requirements through static and dynamic analysis to unit testing and system verification to achieve a fully certified application. Embed-X offers compliance with

DO-178B, MISRA, and security standards, such as CERT C and the Homeland Security Agency’s Common Weakness Enumerations (CWE).

“Developers in the safety- and mission-critical space face some of the most stringent certification requirements,” noted Ian Hennell, LDRA Operations Director. “Many companies still attempt to track many of the processes needed for certification manually—a feat often met with disaster. Embed-X automates those processes, removes redundancies between development teams and provides transparency and metrics into the processes to project managers and developers alike.”

Knowing the cost-sensitivity of the embedded market, LDRA and Visure has eased adoption by providing a target license package that incorporates customization and training. Common interfaces seamlessly link the various stages of Embed-X to provide a uniform product GUI. Now, instead of dealing with individual tools for project planning, requirements engineering, change management, product and certification documentation and verification, these activities are synchronized by Embed-X across a network of collaborative users.

“Embed-X represents a breakthrough for the embedded world,” stated Hennell. “Embed-X makes the entire development process visible and its assets tangible. Embed-X will not only slash development and certification costs, it will also greatly enhance management processes.”

About LDRA

For more than thirty years, LDRA has developed and driven the market for software that automates code analysis and software testing for safety-, mission-, security- and business- critical markets. Working with clients to achieve early error identification and full compliance with industry standards, LDRA traces requirements through static and dynamic analysis to unit testing and verification for a wide variety of hardware and software platforms. Boasting a worldwide presence, LDRA is headquartered in the UK with subsidiaries in the United States and an extensive distributor network. For more information on the LDRA tool suite, please visit: www.ldra.com.

About Visure Solutions

Visure Solutions, “The Requirements Company”, is the market leader in Requirements Definition and Management. Requirements are the most critical element in the development of complex systems and problems derived from their mismanagement have a very high incidence in lowering quality and productivity, increasing development costs and time to market.

With IRQA as our centralized requirements platform, Visure offers specialised and innovative solutions that are easy to use in the implementation of efficient processes for the requirements definition and management, and thereby guarantee the highest quality in the development of the products, systems and services of our clients. Visure is headquartered in Spain and provides a large distributor network throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.visuresolutions.com.

Please send reader enquiries to:

Mark James

LDRA, Portside, Monks Ferry, Wirral, CH41 5LH, UK

Email: mark.james@ldra.com

Ana Malumbres

Visure Solutions C/Labradores, 1, 4th Floor, 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain

E-mail: amalumbres@visuresolutions.com

Lanner Releases Embedded System Powered by the latest Intel(r) Atom(tm) Processor D510

Lanner Electronics Inc. — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:51:03 -0800

(Taipei, Taiwan March 2nd 2010, 4:01pm) Today Lanner Electronics Inc., a 24 year veteran manufacturer of Industrial computers, released the LEC-7100, a fanless industrial computer powered by the new dual core Intel® Atom™ processor D510 at 1.66GHz. The LEC-7100 comes equipped with VGA, DVI-D, 4 x USB and 2 x LAN ports, along with wireless capabilities. This embedded system is designed to be easily deployable for a variety of industrial and commercial applications.

“We’re very excited about the new dual core Intel® Atom™ processor and the advantages it brings to our fanless computers,” said Spencer Chou, Product Planner, Embedded Business Group, Lanner Electronics. “As a member of the Intel® Embedded Alliance, Lanner is able to utilize the latest Intel technologies to develop cutting-edge embedded products like the new Lanner LUGE 7100. The LEC-7100 is a versatile network-ready computer with all the interfaces needed for a wide variety of end-use applications, and with the new 1.66GHz Intel® Atom™ processor, we’ve developed a powerful solution that improves on all aspects of the fanless design, including performance, stability, power consumption and price.”

“The Intel® Atom™ processor D510 is power-optimized and delivers robust performance-per-watt for cost-effective embedded solutions,” says Jonathan Luse, marketing director, Intel Low Power Embedded Products Division. “Embedded platforms built with the new multi-threaded Intel Atom processor can deliver a combination of low power consumption, high performance and a smaller, more efficient footprint due to the integration of the graphics and memory controllers on the chip, opening new design and application opportunities for developers.”

The LUGE LEC-7100 includes multiple audio and video interfaces, two gigabit LAN network ports, and two storage interfaces – CompactFlash Type I/II and SATA HDD. Another stand out feature in the LEC-7100 is the ability to communicate wirelessly. There is a 3G/GPS module attached through a mini PCIe socket, as well as WiFi ready hardware.

Additionally, the LEC-7100 features both VGA and DVI-D video ports, delivering increased flexibility for dual display applications such as digital signage, point of sales, kiosk and jackpot displays.

The Lanner LEC-7100 embedded computer is designed for flexible deployment in any scenario. Its robust fanless design makes the LEC-7100 an ideal solution for video applications such as digital signs, outdoor advertising and kiosk systems. The onboard 1.66GHz dual core Intel® Atom™ processor D510 provides outstanding performance with very low power consumption and minimal cooling requirements, resulting in improved stability and longevity and providing a higher return on investment.

For more information please visit our website: www.lannerinc.com/embedded/LEC-7100.

Or contact our sales department: sales@lannerinc.com

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About Lanner

Founded in 1986 and publicly listed (TAIEX 6245) since 2003, Lanner Electronics, Inc. is an ISO 9001 certified designer and manufacturer of network application platforms, network video platforms and applied computing hardware for first-tier companies. Lanner's expertise also extends to include driver and firmware support, enabling customers to optimize hardware and software communication to achieve faster time to market. With headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan and branches in the U.S. and China, Lanner is uniquely positioned to deliver custom technical solutions with localized, value-added service. Lanner is an Associate Member of the Intel® Embedded and Communications Alliance, a group of companies committed to developing modular, standards-based solutions based on technologies, processors, products, and services from Intel®.

*Intel and Intel Atom are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

Lanner's Fanless Digital Signage Platform With Dual Display Support and S-Video Connection

Lanner Electronics Inc. — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:36:13 -0800

(Taipei, Taiwan) Lanner has released the LEC-7030, an interactive platform aimed at the narrowcasting segment of the digital signage market. New features of the LEC-7030 include both S-Video and RCA Audio inputs. Additional features include an onboard 1.6GHz Intel Atom with VGA and DVI-D video outs.

The VGA and DVI-D video outputs can be connected to any digital signage screen to produce vivid video and audio. Utilizing both outputs can increase the surface area of the message and can increase signage effectiveness. Applications include high impact advertising screens in locations such as shopping malls, tourist destinations and mass transport.

By designing the LEC-7030 to have both analog S-Video and RCA Audio inputs, Lanner has enabled additional signage functionality. By setting an external camera connected via the S-Video port, this platform can record data regarding customer viewership- allowing you to act upon that data to increase your signage effectiveness. Unlike IP cameras, the S-Video input can provide high quality video footage at a low price, without effecting network capabilities.

Hardware specifications for the LEC-7030 include an onboard 1.6GHz Intel Atom (N270) and an Intel 945GSE+ICH7M chipset. The LEC-7030 can hold up to 2GBs of RAM through a single SODIMM socket. It supports one 2.5” SATA HDD, DOM, and CompactFlash.

As for I/O ports there are 2 x RS-232 COM, 1 x Digital I/O, 4 x USB 2.0 and 1 RJ45 GbE port.

In addition to the RCA inputs there are RCA outputs for high quality sound.

With industrial components, the LEC 7030 has been tested for a temperature range between -10 degrees to 55 degrees Celsius. It is compatible with both Linux kernel 2.14.6 and above, along with both Windows XPE and Windows XP 32-bit.

For more information please visit the product page at: www.lannerinc.com/interactive/LEC-7030

Or contact our sales department at: sales@lannerinc.com

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About Lanner

Founded in 1986 and publicly listed (TAIEX 6245) since 2003, Lanner Electronics, Inc. is an ISO 9001 certified designer and manufacturer of applied computing hardware for first-tier companies. Lanner's expertise enables customers to optimize hardware and software communication to achieve faster time to market. With headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan and branches in the U.S. and China, Lanner is uniquely positioned to deliver customized solutions with localized, value-added service. Lanner is an Associate Member of the Intel® Embedded and Communications Alliance, a group of companies committed to developing modular, standards-based solutions based on technologies, processors, products, and services from Intel®.

STMicroelectronics Delivers 90nm STM32 MCU with Unique Flash Accelerator for Extra Performance Boost

STMicroelectronics — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:59:37 -0800

STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a world leader in microcontrollers, has announced two significant advances that further improve the performance and power consumption of its successful STM32 family: availability of production devices featuring embedded Flash at 90nm process technology; and the industry’s first Adaptive Real-Time (ART) memory accelerator optimized for the STM32’s industry-standard ARM® Cortex™-M3 processor.

The first production STM32 microcontrollers leveraging ST’s 90nm embedded Flash technology, which is already proven in smart card and automotive ICs, deliver faster operation, increased peripheral integration, lower power consumption, and increased on-chip memory densities. ST announced it was sampling these devices in 2009.

The proprietary ART memory accelerator balances the inherent performance advantage of the ARM Cortex-M3 over Flash memory technologies, which normally requires the processor to wait for the Flash at higher operating frequencies. The CPU can now operate up to 120MHz without waiting, thereby increasing overall system speed and efficiency.

To release the processor’s full 150 DMIPS performance at this frequency the accelerator implements an instruction pre-fetch queue and branch cache, enabling program execution from Flash at up to 120MHz with zero wait states. Competing Cortex-M3 MCUs can now only outperform the STM32 by operating at frequencies above 120MHz, which will increase power consumption and heat dissipation.

With this performance now available, developers can host extra elements of a system on the microcontroller, saving the need to use a more expensive microcontroller or a companion DSP. An example is in multimedia applications, where customers will be able to implement an audio codec, video processing functions, data encryption, digital filtering, and a multi-protocol gateway, with sufficient remaining resources to manage other tasks.

The latest STM32 variants benefiting from the 90nm process and the ART memory accelerator have been verified according to CoreMark™ tests created by the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium. CoreMark results verify the STM32 executes 8% faster than Cortex-M competitors at 100MHz clock speed. The performance advantage is greater still at 120MHz. CoreMark analysis also confirms dynamic power consumption of only 188µA/MHz (98µA/CoreMark). This is equivalent to drawing 22.5mA at 120MHz (executing from Flash memory, with ART accelerator enabled and all peripherals off).

The new 90nm devices featuring the ART memory accelerator are sampling at lead customers. Product details will be announced later this year.

About the STM32 family

The enhancements announced today extend the advantages of the industry’s most extensive Cortex-M3 microcontroller portfolio, which now includes over 110 devices. All STM32 family members are pin-to-pin and software compatible, and share from a common pool of peripherals to facilitate design scalability and efficient, platform-based product development.

Available STM32 product lines now include the STM32 Value Line, STM32 Access Line, and STM32 Performance Line. Additional enhancements include the STM32 Access USB Line featuring additional connectivity and the STM32 Connectivity Line supporting USB OTG, Ethernet and dual CAN interfaces. On-chip Flash densities range from 16Kbytes to 1Mbyte, SRAM densities from 4KBytes to 96KBytes, and surface-mount package styles from 36-pin QFN to 144-pin LQFP or BGA packages. High-performance on-chip peripherals span interface, conversion, timing, and supervisory features including watchdog and reset functions.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics is a global leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications with innovative semiconductor solutions. ST aims to be the undisputed leader in multimedia convergence and power applications leveraging its vast array of technologies, design expertise and combination of intellectual property portfolio, strategic partnerships and manufacturing strength. In 2009, the Company’s net revenues were $8.51 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.