Tech Trends
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iPad or laptop: You have a choiceMartin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor, June 1, 2011Clearly, iPad scopes are still in their infancy compared to PC-based USB models. But if you can live within the bandwidth and channel limitations, you can use the iPad’s screen and its popular user interface to display waveforms. More
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Vendors target LTE design and deploymentRick Nelson, Editorial Director, May 1, 2011Test-equipment vendors are gearing up to facilitate the design and deployment of LTE systems, with companies such as Aeroflex, Agilent Technologies, Anritsu, ETS-Lindgren, and Rohde & Schwarz highlighting instruments, technologies, and options to support the rollout of the 4G technology. More
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Camera interface choices expandAnn R. Thryft, Contributing Technical Editor, May 1, 2011Vision-system and manufacturing engineers are demanding vision systems with greater sensitivity, faster frame rates, and more image data. In response, camera makers are choosing from an expanding menu of interfaces to handle the resulting bandwidth. More
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How do you connect your oscilloscope?Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor, April 1, 2011To get a feel for how engineers obtain images from their scopes for reports and analyses, I asked the question, "Do you connect your oscilloscope?" on my blog. The answers varied widely: bus connections include GPIB, Ethernet, PXI, and USB, with some engineers asking for wireless. USB flash drives, floppy disks, and even taking pictures rounded out the responses. More
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High-speed designs drive test needsRick Nelson, Editor in Chief, March 1, 2011High-speed digital technologies are driving today's designs as developers target applications areas ranging from the digital home to aerospace and defense. More
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Vision systems eliminate need for PCsBy Ann Thryft, Contributing Technical Editor, March 1, 2011Because pre-integrated embedded vision systems have an embedded microprocessor, developers can program smart cameras on the same machine that will be used as the central controller on the factory floor. More
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Instrument interfaces could see changesBy Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor, February 1, 2011Bench instrument front panels have, since their beginning, used buttons and knobs, but there are signs of new interfaces being driven by consumer electronics. More
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Data acquisition keeps movingMartin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor, December 22, 2010Engineers need to collect data, but the days of writing code that addresses the registers of a card or a cable-connected unit are long gone. So, what's left? Plenty. More
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GPUs boost design and simulationRick Nelson, Editor in Chief, November 1, 2010The MathWorks announced on September 20 that customers can take advantage of Nvidia GPUs to accelerate Matlab applications, and a day later, Ansys reported that it is employing Nvidia GPUs to reduce engineering simulation time. More
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Inspection gets ultra-high-speed camerasBy Ann Thryft, Contributing Technical Editor, November 1, 2010Some video cameras used in R&D record at 2000 fps or more, and play back in slow motion for analysis. These high-speed cameras capture events that occur in a fraction of a second. More
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Control design: pervasive and perplexingBy Kevin C. Craig, PhD, November 1, 2010A discussion with Dr. Rob Miklosovic, a leading mechatronics innovator, leads to a better understanding of what can be accomplished in evaluating a design concept through modeling. More
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Technologists and engineersBy Kevin C. Craig, PhD, October 1, 2010A trip to The Hershey Co. with Fred Stolfi, mechatronics professor at Columbia University, was a journey into the future of US automation, which may mean the future of domestic manufacturing. More
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Inductance and capacitanceBy Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor, October 1, 2010The 2010 EMC Symposium included three papers on EMI that results from switching noise in DC-DC buck converters. The papers explained how the converters' noise can couple into circuit traces, which can disrupt components or let a product emit excessive EMI. More
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Near infrared techniques find MEMS defectsBy Ann R. Thryft, Contributing Technical Editor, September 1, 2010Detecting defects within MEMS is not an easy task. NIR systems not only find subsurface defects, but also measure critical alignment marks between two die layers, between two wafer layers, or between a die layer and a wafer layer. More
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ATE workshop weighs functional testBy Rick Nelson, Editor in Chief, September 1, 2010Despite the evidence on the Semicon West show floor that big-iron functional testers are being replaced by low-cost test systems, the book isn't closed on functional test. More
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Graphene shows promiseBy Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor, August 1, 2010One day, silicon-based ICs will reach their speed limits. Researchers are, therefore, looking for new materials that can take over where silicon will leave off. More
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Embedded and edge devices offer test opportunitiesJuly 1, 2010Even though they don't necessarily require the highest bandwidths, data rates, and memory depth, embedded systems and edge devices pose design and test challenges. More
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Desktop SEMs produce fast imagesJuly 1, 2010
Desktop scanning-electron microscope systems produce high-quality images comparable to those from large SEM systems, but they do so much faster and for one-tenth to one-twentieth of the cost.
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Calibration is changingBy Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor, June 1, 2010The calibration and metrology profession hardly seems to change. Yet, changes do take place. Two significant issues have recently emerged, one driven by a document, the other by economics. More
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Interfacing North American OEMs and Asian CMsRick Nelson, Editor in Chief, May 1, 2010Robin Tian the CEO of SiFO Technology is positioning his firm to be the interface between North American OEMs and Asian CMs (contract manufacturers). More
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