Processor-based Design

Voices: Microchip’s Ganesh Moorthy 12/18/2008

Executive discusses support for embedded developers, general-purpose versus application-specific products, trends in embedded-processor integration, and software.

Avnet, TI, and Xilinx deliver FPGA/DSP development board for digital video 10/31/2008

Avnet, Texas Instruments, and Xilinx today announced the availability of the Avnet Spartan-3A DSP DaVinci Development Kit, an aptly (albeit cumbersomely) named development board that combines a Xilink Spartan-3A FPGA with a TI media-processor DSP for digital-video applications including automotive systems, machine vision, and surveillance.

XMEGA processor sports event system for deterministic performance with low power 10/30/2008

Atmel’s 8/16-bit ATXMEGA A3B microcontroller combines an eight-channel event system with a four-channel DMA controller that simultaneously manage eight interperipheral signals and as many as four 64-Mbps data communication.

PSoC supports CyFi low-power RF 10/30/2008

Developers can now use Cypress Semiconductor’s PSoC (programmable system-on-chip) devices with the company’s new, 2.4-GHz CyFi low-power RF product, which combines a PSoC processor running the CyFi star-network-protocol stack and the CYRF7936 CyFi transceiver.

Piccolo processors focus on real-time control for cost-sensitive designs 9/30/2008

Texas Instruments’ new Piccolo series of TMS320F280xx processors integrate a C28x processor core, peripherals, and a CLA (control-law accelerator).

The Hot 100 Electronic Products of 2008 12/18/2008

EDN's editors offer up their annual list of the year's 100 most significant ICs, components, buses, boards, EDA tools, power devices, test instruments, and more.

Get hardware fast: Use your evaluation kit to build a testbench 11/27/2008

Build a testbench using the microcontroller in your project to simplify the new-task learning curve, get a head start on hardware/firmware integration, and shorten the overall development cycle.

All fail down: ESD-induced failures lead to a logical trap 11/27/2008

Tales From The Cube: When terminals in low-humidity cities fail, it's not hard to finger ESD as the cause. Figuring out the fix turns out to be more of a challenge, especially when engineers assume a single design change should do the trick.

Choosing the right processor candidate: the 35th annual microprocessor directory 10/30/2008

Welcome to the 35th annual EDN microprocessor/microcontroller directory. Once again, the companies and devices in the directory continue to evolve and grow in number. The company roster and product listings are testaments to the variety of processors available and the tremendous variation among requirements, features, and types of applications for which designers are using microprocessors and microcontrollers.

Artificial cochlea: an example of structural processing 10/2/2008

Prying Eyes: A MEMS-based artificial cochlea mimics the real thing in form and function.

Voices: Microchip’s Ganesh Moorthy 12/18/2008

Executive discusses support for embedded developers, general-purpose versus application-specific products, trends in embedded-processor integration, and software.

EDN Innovation: Awards season comes to technology 2/6/2008

Engineers rarely receive the same fame as those that toil in some higher profile professions. But I don't know of a job that demands a better combination of technical savvy, theoretical knowledge, and creative thought process.

AMD: Fading fast, nearly fini? 12/14/2007

At the moment, AMD is reeling on a number of fronts due to a number of factors. My prognosis for the troubled chipmaker has worsened.

Development boards speed learning and product-development cycle 12/3/2007

How do you use development boards? Complete our survey on development-board usage, and you'll enter a drawing for a special development prize.

H1-B questions hit EDN readers' hot button 10/18/2007

Our online career-oriented survey revealed engineers' strong feelings on outsourcing, education, and the profession most would still choose if they had it to do all over again.

Simple microcontroller-temperature measurement uses only a diode and a capacitor 12/5/2008

Discharging a capacitor through the reverse leakage of a PN junction allows you to measure ambient temperature.

Microcontroller detects pulses 7/24/2008

A microcontroller detects output pulses in a device under test.

Hot-swap circuit allows two computers to monitor an RS-232 channel 5/29/2008

A hot-swap serial-interface circuit allows two computers to monitor all the traffic on an RS-232 port.

Tiny microcontroller hosts dual dc/dc-boost converters 5/15/2008

An Atmel AVR microcontroller can serve as the PWM controller for two dc/dc converters that provide high voltages from a two-cell supply.

Circuit and software provide accurate recalibration for baseline PIC microcontroller’s internal oscillator 5/1/2008

A simple circuit and an assembly-language program allow you to recalibrate the internal oscillator of a PIC microcontroller.