Author Archives: david manners

Consolidation on the cards for UK mobile operators

Apple iPhone 5S

Following the purchase of EE by BT, the UK mobile market may see a consolidation of carriers with 3 taking over O2.

O2 is owned by Spanish network operator which is struggling with heavy debts. Telefonica was in negotiations with BT about possible sale but any deal fell through when BT chose EE.

3 is owned by Hutchison of Hong Kong which is owned by Li Ka-shing.

3 is expected to have to pay $13.6 billion to buy O2.

A combined 3 and O2 would be the UK’s biggest mobile operator with 31 million subscribers.

An alternative option for Telefonica is to IPO O2.

david manners

AVX high CV wet tantalum capacitors match aqueous supercapacitors

AVX has introduced a series of high CV wet tantalum capacitors that the company says approach the ultra high volumetric capacitance densities of aqueous supercapacitors, as well as surmount their temperature and soldering limitations.

They are available on a 10- to 14-week lead-time.

Microsoft Word - twa_series.docDeveloped using a design process based on high CV tantalum powders, the TWD DCUltraMax Series High CV Wet Tantalum Capacitors achieve high DC capacitance values and, unlike aqueous supercapacitors, are rated for continuous high temperature operation to at least 85°C and are compatible with both wave and reflow soldering to a PCB, according to AVX.

Currently available with a CV value of 50mF at 6.3V, TWD DCUltraMax Series capacitors are used in a variety of harsh environment applications, including: pulse applications, energy harvesting, energy storage, military electronics, and avionics.

Rated for use in temperatures spanning -55°C to 85°C, capacitance and voltage values for the new TWD DCUltraMax Series span 50mF to 150mF and 6.3V to 2.5V, respectively. However, series extensions exhibiting CV values of 150mF at 2.5V and rated for maximum operating temperatures as high as 105°C are currently in development.

In addition to high CV, TWD DCUltraMax Series capacitors also exhibit a low DCL of 0.0001CV, do not require derating, and are available with lead-free or SnPb terminations. Packaged in a DSCC T4 case (AVX’s E case), the series measures 26.97mm in length and 9.52mm in diameter without an insulating sleeve or 10.31mm in diameter with an insulating sleeve. The terminal welded to each case measures 57.15mm.

david manners

Sparkling Dialog

Dialog share priceDialog had record revenues of $435 million in Q4 which were 24% up on Q4 2013.

Full year, 2014, revenues were $1.156 billion which is 28% up on 2013.

Dialog anticipates an increase in cash and cash equivalents of approximately $67 million in Q4 2014 which includes a $40 million early debt repayment.

The strong cash generation of the business has allowed the company to return to a bank debt free position significantly ahead of schedule.

At 31 December 2014 the company anticipates a cash and cash equivalent balance of approximately $325 million.

david manners

Pop-up silicon 3D structures mimic biological structures

3D microstructures of device-grade siliconA way to make pop-up silicon structures which can mimic the shape of biological structures like the veins and brain cells has been found by researchers at Northwestern University, Illinois and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Complex three-dimensional (3D) structures in biology (e.g., cytoskeletal webs, neural circuits, and vasculature networks) form naturally to provide essential functions in even the most basic forms of life.

Compelling opportunities exist for analogous 3D architectures in human-made devices, but design options are constrained by existing capabilities in materials growth and assembly.

“We report routes to previously inaccessible classes of 3D constructs in advanced materials, including device-grade silicon,” say the researchers, “the schemes involve geometric transformation of 2D micro/nanostructures into extended 3D layouts by compressive buckling,” say the researchers.

Demonstrations include experimental and theoretical studies of more than 40 representative geometries, from single and multiple helices, toroids, and conical spirals to structures that resemble spherical baskets, cuboid cages, starbursts, flowers, scaffolds, fences, and frameworks, each with single- and/or multiple-level configurations.

Image: 3D microstructures of device-grade silicon - University of Illinois

david manners

Plessey in LED deal with 8point3

Plessey die artist impressionPlessey  has entered a long-term commercial agreement with 8point3, a Dartford-based LED luminaire manufacturing company. Plessey will be supplying its GaN-on-Silicon MaGICTM LEDs for use in 8point3′s new Sabre Architectural range of LED linear lighting products.

“Our focus has always been to create market leading LED solutions for a wide range of applications. Our agreement with Plessey, the only UK LED Silicon manufacturer, ensures we continue to do this,” says 8point3 md Ashley Bateup.

Recent performance improvements in  Plessey’s MaGIC LEDs  combined with 8point3′s Sabre Architectural range, should beat other linear lighting solutions, reckons Plessey.

Sabre Architectural combines the benefits of remote phosphor with a unique delivery system, a wide range of colour temperatures, and  a uniform and diffuse luminance and appearance, ensuring no reflections or pixilation, even when dimming.  It offers designers a flexible solution for high lumen areas and decorative lighting systems.

“Plessey will design bespoke LED solutions in the UK to complement 8point3′s ongoing lighting projects,” says  Plessey’s Mark Pinnock.

david manners

Imec’s post-silicon NFC tags

NFC-LogoImec subsidiary Holst Centre with the Dutch research institute TNO, and games manufacturer Cartamundi are co-developing ultra-thin flexible NFC tags using metal-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) technology on plastic film. The flexible chips will be integrated into game cards as a part of Cartamundi’s larger strategy of developing game cards for the connected generation

Holst Centre, imec and Cartamundi engineers will look into NFC circuit design and TFT processing options, and will investigate routes for up-scaling of the production. By realizing the NFC tags using chips based on IGZO TFT technology on plastic film, the manufacturing cost can be kept low. Moreover, the ultra-thin and flexible form factor required for paper-embedded NFC applications can be realized.

Currently, Cartamundi  embeds silicon-based NFC chips in their game cards, connecting traditional game play with electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets. The advanced IGZO TFT technology that will be used addresses the game card industry call for much thinner, more flexible and virtually unbreakable NFC chips. Such chips are essential to improve and broaden the applicability of interactive technology for game cards, compared to the currently-used silicon based NFC chips. Next to technical specifications, this next-generation of NFC tags will better balance manufacturing cost and additional functionalities.

“Not only will Cartamundi be working on the NFC chip of the future, but it will also reinvent the industry’s standards in assembly process and the conversion into game cards,” says Cartamundi’s Steven Nietvelt.

“Imec and Holst Centre aim to shape the future and our collaboration with Cartamundi will do so for the future of gaming technology and connected devices,” says Imec’s Paul Heremans, “chip technology has penetrated society’s daily life right down to game cards.”

david manners

Automotive chips lead semi growth, says IC Insights

AEC - automotive electronics councilAuto is the fastest growing IC market, reports IC Insights, with a CAGR of 10.8% between 2013 and 2018.

The CAGR for the total IC market will be 5.5% over that  period.

Second fastest is comms with 6.8% growth.

“The strong CAGR for automotive ICs is partly due to the fact that this market is growing from a smaller base compared to the communications, computer, and consumer segments and partly because a steady and significant increase in IC content is expected onboard all new cars—luxury level to base models—throughout the forecast period,” says IC Insights.

“Vehicle-to-vehicle communications, mandatory backup cameras, and various driver assist systems will keep the automotive IC market dynamic through 2018,” it says.

CAGR 2013-8

  • Auto 10.8,
  • Comms 6.8,
  • Ind/Med 5.7
  • All ICs 5.5
  • Mil/Gov 4.1
  • Consumer 4.1
  • Computer 3.3

IC Insights - automotiveThe total automotive IC market is expected to grow 15% to $21.7 billion in 2014, compared to a 1% increase registered in 2013.

Asia-Pacific is forecast to surpass Europe as the largest market for automotive ICs beginning in 2016 and is forecast to be the strongest region for automotive IC market growth through 2018 (20.0% CAGR).

Analogue ICs and MCUs remain the two largest IC product categories within the automotive IC market.

The automotive memory IC market is forecast to more than double from an estimated $2 billion in 2014 to $4.2 billion in 2018.

david manners

Data-driven discovery investigators set up by Moore Foundation

Gordan Betty MooreThe Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has set up a $60mn programme for data-driven discovery research which seeks to find ways to make sense of the vast amounts of data which are being routinely collected.

The foundation seeks ways to “create positive change for future generations”. It has an endowment of $5.8bn.

The five year data-iriven discovery initiative has given awards to fourteen investigators in fields ranging from astronomy to statistics, computer science and biology.

The investigators typically receive an unrestricted grant worth $1.5m over five years.

A recent award went to Kimberley Reynolds of the University of Texas, who works on on evolutionary ‘design principles’ for use in cellular systems, using statistical analyses of protein sequences and genomic data. Reynolds aims to create a new method of understanding genomic information, which may provide new insights into the function of biological systems.

david manners

Drone legislation needed, Met tells House of Lords

3d robotics droneDrones need legislation, the House of Lords Internal Market, Infrastructure and Employment Committee was told by chief inspector Nick Aldworth of the Metropolitan Police yesterday.

“We are seeing this technology being used for criminal conduct,” Aldworth told the Lords. “We have positively seen it flown in controlled airspace, we have positively seen it used to harass people, and we have seen it flown in transgression of air navigation orders, so I think that concern arises by the fact that there is clearly a means of offending that we do not seem to be necessarily able to address quickly.”

Baroness O’Cathain, chair of the House of Lords committee, said there were concerns about invasion of privacy but Aldworth pointed out that, in the absence of a criminal offence of invasion of privacy, invasion of privacy was not a police matter.

Aldworth said there were cases of drones snooping on bedroom windows and that Angela Merkel had been harassed by a drone. He said that the usual way that drone harassment came to light was that video was posted on the internet of what the drone had seen.

Aldworth is working with a unit set up to look into issues surrounding drones.

david manners

Cavendish Kinetics raises $7m

Cavendish antenna tuning - Devices with MIPI RFFE Interface

Cavendish antenna tuning – Devices with MIPI RFFE Interface

Thirteen years after it raised its first funding, Cavendish Kinetics, the RF MEMS antenna tuner specialist, has raised $7m.

The company’s first funding round was in 2001 when it raised $6.5m. In 2006, it raised $15.5m.

The company has changed its product plans along the way. Originally it set out to make a MEMS-based memory. Now it is making RF MEMS antenna tuners and it recently announced its first success with a design-in at ZTE.

Qualcomm Ventures participated in the new funding round, along with Tallwood Venture Capital, Wellington Partners and other existing investors.

The company describes its product as ‘a precise, reliable, lossless, small, variable capacitor for antenna tuning’.

The company’s thesis is that, by the time a signal gets to the chip-set for processing, it has been degraded by the antenna, the switch and the filter to 25% of its original strength, and 60% of that  degradation is caused by the antenna.

Antenna size and LTE spectrum are critical elements to this. A small antenna means a drop in efficiency and, with LTE deployed in 40 different bands, the antenna has to cover a wider bandwidth.

Antennas have the best performance at the frequency for which they were designed. So you need to change the characteristics of the antenna to match the change in frequency.

The tuning is done with a MEMS capacitor: 32 capacitor stages pick the best settings to maximise antenna performance with ‘near zero’ loss.

Cavendish claims its technology doubles data rates and delivers up to 40% longer battery life with fewer dropped calls while avoiding the need to increase the size of the antenna.

david manners