www.newelectronics.co.

uk
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13 28 June2017
June 2016

SPACE
TEST
ROVERS &ELECTRONICS
MEASUREMENT
EXCEED SAFETY
EXPECTATIONS SPECIAL
& SECURITY
REDEFININGHARDWARE
SENSORS
ENCLOSURES
THERMAL
IN REAL MANAGEMENT
EMC SHIELDING
TIME CATCHING UP WITH CLOCKS

SOLVING THE IoT

COMMS PUZZLE
Theres a range of IoT comms protocols
available, but will low power WAN or
another complete the design jigsaw?
 www.newelectronics.co.uk
www.newelectronics.co.uk

13 28 June2017
June 2016

SPACE
TEST
ROVERS &ELECTRONICS
MEASUREMENT
EXCEED SAFETY
EXPECTATIONS SPECIAL
& SECURITY
REDEFININGHARDWARE
SENSORS
ENCLOSURES
THERMAL
IN REAL MANAGEMENT
EMC SHIELDING
TIME CATCHING UP WITH CLOCKS

SOLVING THE IoT

COMMS PUZZLE
Theres a range of IoT comms protocols
available, but will low power WAN or
another complete the design jigsaw?
 CONTENTS VOL 50 NO 11

18 28

14 25 34
Cover Illustration: Dan Bright

COMMENT 5 INTERVIEW 12 COVER STORY 14

Are there practical things Dont settle for the ordinary Solving the comms puzzle
which the incoming At last months CDNLive in Munich, Tom Beckley Theres a range of IoT communications protocols
government can deliver on referred to 1960s cartoon series The Jetsons and available, but which low power WAN approach will
immediately when it comes asked attendees wheres my flying car? help to complete the design jigsaw?
to R&D?
SENSORS 28
TEST & MEASUREMENT SPECIAL
NEWS Smaller, simpler, more accurate
IBM and partners develop OSCILLOSCOPES 18 Pushed by automation, todays sensors are
process by which silicon Touching new levels now required to detect distance, velocity and
nanosheet transistors can be Tektronix redefines mixed signal oscilloscopes position. Step forward mmWave technology
built at the 5nm node 7 following its largest development effort
yet, plus a quick look at a couple of recent BOARD LEVEL TECHNOLOGY 31
A new version of the LabVIEW oscilloscope launches Changes across the board
engineering system design COM Express Type 7 modules can help industrial
software is unveiled at RENTAL 21 data centres to cope with the demands of data
NIWeek 8 Extending their reach intensive IoT applications
As the complexity of technology evolves, those
Yokogawa unveils a portable companies that used to simply rent test and THERMAL MANAGEMENT 34
instrument for capturing, measurement equipment have found they need Keeping your cool
displaying, recording and to expand the range of services they offer As thermal design challenges get more complex,
analysing electrical and future solutions will need more processing power
physical parameters 9 T&M TRENDS 25 and that is likely to be cloud based
Exciting times for T&M
At this years NI Week, a group From growing automation to the use of New Electronics weekly eZine features
of customers discussed the equipment with multiple capabilities, the test the latest blogs, news, articles and
impact of new technology on and measurement market is changing and more. To register for your copy, go to
research and innovation 10 changing quickly www.newelectronics.co.uk

www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 3

 COMMENT R&D STRATEGY

Lofty aims
meet reality
ARE THERE PRACTICAL THINGS THE
NEXT GOVERNMENT CAN DELIVER ON
IMMEDIATELY WHEN IT COMES TO R&D?

I n the run up to last weeks General Election, the main parties put science and
engineering at the heart of their economic and industrial strategies. In letters
written to the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), the main parties
set out their positions and made commitments to education, immigration,
global leadership and collaboration, investment, evidence and regulation.
According to CaSE executive director Dr Sarah Main, the letters backed by
manifesto commitments showed the main parties claimed that science and
innovation was key to a more prosperous Britain and all manifestos seemed to
be seeking to outdo each other in terms of commitments to and talk of huge
investment in R&D.
The Conservatives committed to invest 2.4% of GDP in R&D by 2027, while
Labour set a target of 3% by 2030. Currently, the UK spends only around 1.7%
of GDP on R&D.
Both main parties claim they want to reinforce the UKs position as a
leader in science, but their positions on immigration could make that ambition
extremely challenging to achieve. Immigration policy is likely to hit science and
engineering particularly hard, especially if limits are placed on the number of
people able to come to the UK.
Both parties are determined to end free movement and, whatever the
complexion of the next government, that could stop the UK from attracting
the brightest and the best and in the numbers required, whether for industry
or academia. Fear of a Brexit brain drain is growing, with more than 1300
academics from the EU having left the UK universities in the past 12 months.
According to research by the Russell Group, which represents 24 top UK
universities, nearly 25,000 members of staff are from the EU and they make
up nearly a quarter of academics.
Universities minister Jo Johnson has said that, throughout the Brexit
process, the Conservatives would ensure the UK remains the go to place for
scientists and innovators. Good, but commitments are one thing; delivering
practical, sensible solutions to prevent serious damage to the UKs research
and industrial base are quite another.

Neil Tyler, Editor (neil.tyler@markallengroup.com)

www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017

 NEWS 5nm TRANSISTORS

Nanosheet
Editor Neil Tyler
neil.tyler@markallengroup.com
transistors
Online Editorial Peggy Lee
Assistant peggy.lee@markallengroup.com
for 5nm
Group Editor Graham Pitcher PARTNERS CLAIM SIGNIFICANT
graham.pitcher@markallengroup.com
POWER, PERFORMANCE BENEFITS.
Contributing Chris Edwards GRAHAM PITCHER REPORTS.
Editors John Walko
editor@newelectronics.co.uk IBM Research, Globalfoundries and Samsung have developed a process by which silicon
nanosheet transistors can be built at the 5nm node. The performance available from such
Art Editor Andrew Ganassin
devices is likely to accelerate progress in a range of applications delivered in the cloud.
andrew.ganassin@markallengroup.com
According to IBM Research, it has been exploring nanosheet semiconductor technology for
Illustrator Phil Holmes more than 10 years and this latest work is said to demonstrate the feasibility of designing
Sales Manager James Creber and making stacked nanosheet devices with electrical properties superior to those based on
james.creber@markallengroup.com FinFETs.
Publisher Peter Ring
EUV lithography played a key role, allowing the width of the nanosheets to be adjusted
peter.ring@markallengroup.com continuously. This permits the performance and power of specific circuits to be fine tuned
something not possible with FinFETs. Power savings available from this approach could also
Managing Jon Benson mean that batteries in smartphones and other mobile products could last two to three times
Director jon.benson@markallengroup.com
longer than todays devices, before needing to be charged.
Production Nicki McKenna According to the partners, when compared to leading edge 10nm technology, a 5nm
Manager nicki.mckenna@markallengroup.com nanosheet device can deliver a 40% performance enhancement at fixed power or consume 75%
less power at matched performance.
ISSN 0047-9624 Online ISSN 2049-2316

Carbon computing system created

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If you change jobs or your company moves, please contact
circulation@markallengroup to continue receiving your
free copy of New Electronics
A researcher at the University of Texas at Dallas
has designed a computing system made solely
from carbon and says the approach might one day
replace silicon transistors.
The concept brings together an assortment
of existing nanoscale technologies and combines
them in a new way, said Dr Joseph Friedman.
Dr Friedmans all-carbon spintronic switch
functions as a logic gate that relies on the fact
that an electric current moving through a wire
creates a magnetic field. Similarly, a magnetic
field near a graphene nanoribbon affects the
current flowing through the ribbon.
In Dr Friedmans spintronic circuit, electrons
moving through carbon nanotubes create a
magnetic field that affects the flow of current in a
nearby graphene nanoribbon, providing cascaded
logic gates that are not connected physically.
Because communication takes place via an
electromagnetic waves, Dr Friedman expects that
communication will be much faster with the
potential for terahertz clock speeds.

MIPS core addresses functional safety

2017. All rights reserved. No part of New Electronics
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the Publisher.The views
expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor
of New Electronics. Advertisements in the journal do not
imply endorsement of the products or services advertised.
Origination: CCM, London. Printed by Pensord.
Following the launch last year of the I6500 CPU core, Imagination Technologies has unveiled a
scalable 64bit MIPS multiprocessing solution that meets the functional safety requirements of
ISO26262 and IEC61508. The I6500-F is said to offer the ability to create devices with up to 64
heterogeneous clusters of multithreaded multicore MIPS CPUs and other accelerators.
Imagination is looking at the automotive sector, in particular. Tim Mace, business
development manager with the MIPS business unit, said: Auto manufacturers are looking to
consolidate resources in a central server. This multicore, multicluster CPU is good for that. In
order to meet ISO26262 requirements, an autonomous system needs to perform to ASIL-D
levels. This requires a proper process and methodology to make sure the IP works correctly.
According to Mace, the core has been designed for Safety Element out of Context
applications. We chose to design the 6500-F for this as it allows us to address other
customers and applications with the same product. Imaginations lead customer is Mobileye,
whose EyeQ 5 SoC will feature the I6500-F CPU, targeted at a 7nm FinFET process.

www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 7

 NEWS LABVIEW UPDATED
Embedded FPGA for
deep learning chip
A deep learning chip being developed at
Harvards School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences will feature Flex Logix embedded
FPGA technology. According to the team led
by Professors David Brooks and Gu-Yeon Wei
design and tape-out have been completed
and the chip will be made on TSMCs 16FFC
process.
We see a huge opportunity for
reconfigurable logic in SoCs targeting deep
learning for a wide range of applications, said
Prof Wei. Embedded FPGA is changing the
way chips are designed and we recognised the
power of being able to reconfigure RTL when
designing our deep learning chip.
Voice capture
XMOS has launched the XVF3000 family
of voice processors, said to enable far-
field voice capture via arrays of MEMS
microphones.
Paul Neil, vp of marketing, noted:
According to Gartner, there will be 500
smart devices in every home by 2025.
Because you wont be able to control these
things from a smartphone or tablet, voice is
the new click.
While the XVF3000 supports four
microphone inputs, the XVF3101 adds
keyword recognition. Neil said these
devices will be the first in a line of products
addressing markets ranging from speakers to
industrial applications.
XMOS also launched the VocalFusion
Speaker development kit, which includes an
XVF3000 processor card and a circular four
microphone array.
Sub-10nm
germanium GAAs
Belgian research centre imec has developed
scaled strained germanium p-channel gate-
all-around (GAA) FETs with a diameter of less
than 10nm.
We adapted the process flow of our
previously published 14/16nm-node strained
germanium p-FinFETs to study the benefit of
strained germanium GAA p-FETs at short gate
lengths and sub-10nm diameter, explained
Nadine Collaert, distinguished member of
technical staff at imec.
8 13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
The next generation
A NEW VERSION OF THE LABVIEW ENGINEERING SYSTEM DESIGN SOFTWARE WAS
UNVEILED AT NIWEEK. NEIL TYLER REPORTS.
National Instruments has unveiled LabVIEW NXG 1.0, described as a new generation of its
engineering system design software. The first in a series of releases, NXG 1.0 is intended to
bridge the gap between configuration-based software and custom programming languages,
allowing domain experts to focus on the problem, not the tool.
According to NI cofounder Jeff Kodosky: For a long time, we focused on making additional
things possible with LabVIEW, rather than furthering the goal of helping engineers automate
measurements quickly and easily. Now, we are squarely addressing this with the introduction
of LabVIEW NXG. Common applications can use a simple configuration-based approach, while
more complex applications can use the full open-ended graphical programming capability of the
LabVIEW language, G.
LabVIEW NXG 1.0 helps engineers to increase the speed at which benchtop data can be
acquired, as well as to iteratively analyse measurement data.
According to NI, non-programming workflows simplify automation by building code behind the
scenes. Engineers can now drag and drop a section of code equivalent to 50 lines of text-based
code, it notes.
While NI also introduced an updated version of LabVIEW, its long term goal is to move
developers to LabVIEW NXG, reuniting the two platforms.
BEEAS deadline looming
If you have developed breakthrough Start Up of the Year
technology, grown an innovative business Young Design Engineer of the Year
or excelled in your specialist field, then why The BEEAs 2017 is supported by
not enter the British Engineering Excellence headline sponsor Cambridge Consultants,
Awards? gallery sponsor RS Components and
Theres a range of categories available, category sponsors Altium UK, Goodfellow
including: (Cambridge), John Guest, LG Motion,
Consultancy of the Year MiniTec and Rutland Plastics.
Design Engineer of the Year The award ceremony will be held on
Design Team of the Year Thursday 5 October 2017 at The Honourable
Engineering Ambassador Artillery Company in London. Entering the
New Product of the Year (Aerospace) Awards is free, but entries must be in by 14
New Product of the Year (Electronic) July. For more information, go to
Small Company of the Year www.beeas.co.uk
Graphene based
image sensor
Graphene Flagship researchers have integrated graphene, quantum
dots and CMOS technology to create an array of photodetectors
which is being used in a high resolution image sensor. When used
as a digital camera, the device can sense UV, visible and infrared
light at the same time. Other applications include microelectronics,
sensor arrays and low-power photonics.
Image: Fabien Vialla
The development of this monolithic CMOS-based image sensor
represents a milestone for low-cost, high-resolution broadband and
hyperspectral imaging systems, said Professor Frank Koppens
from Spanish research centre ICFO.
 NEWS TEST & MEASUREMENT

Defusing
a time bomb
Although security affects enterprises as
a whole, design engineers must include
security measures in their products, said
Johan Pieterse, head of IT and security at
Racing Post.
With the number of cyber attacks on the

Testing rise, security experts came together last

week at Infosecurity Europe in London to
discuss how to counter and protect against

in the eld increasingly powerful hackers.

When designing a new product, []
make security part of the process, Pieterse
urged.
YOKOGAWA LAUNCHES A COMPACT, PORTABLE MEASURING INSTRUMENT.
However, Amichai Shulman, co-founder
NEIL TYLER REPORTS. and CTO of cyber security software specialist
Yokogawa has unveiled a fully portable measuring instrument for capturing, displaying, recording Imperva, believes business must come rst.
and analysing a variety of electrical and physical parameters in broad range of industry sectors. Drive business rst, think how to defend
Part of the ScopeCorder family, the DL350 combines the features of a general-purpose it after, he argued. At some point, the
oscilloscope with those of a high-performance data acquisition recorder. security becomes disruptive for the design as
Clive Davis, European marketing manager, said: The device adds high levels of precision it adds too much code.
and accuracy to field measurements, with isolated inputs for measurements at high voltage Adam Brown, security solutions manager
levels and long-memory capabilities that allow recording for hours, or even days. at Synopsys, disagrees. Its more efcient
The DL350 offers plug-in modularity and is compatible with existing ScopeCorder modules, to plan security from the beginning of the
which allows it to be configured to suit a variety of applications. It features two slots which can process.
be populated with any of 18 types of input module. Whichever you decide, there is no denying
A choice of operating modes is available. Recorder mode suits long-term, continuous that security in electronics can no longer be
recording for a specific duration and sampling interval. Scope mode allows the device to be put on the backburner with the increasing
used like an oscilloscope, with all the associated benefits, including triggering and flexible number of connected devices.
memory use. There is currently not enough
Up to 5Gpoint of data per module can be recorded on an SD card and continuous recording protection, said Igal Zeifman, director of
is available for up to 50 days. For high-speed signals, up to 100Mpt per module of internal Incapsula at Imperva. Most IoT devices are
memory is available to capture fast transients. open to access; not because its a security
A high speed sampling module provides individually isolated 12bit 100Msample/s inputs, aw, but because they are designed that
which can measure and record transient waveforms (superimposed on inverter outputs, for way.
example) and the edges of control signals, which cannot be measured by traditional handheld Synopsys has tested the security
recorders or oscilloscopes. resistance of a number of connected devices
For more on test & measurement, see the special section starting on p18. with alarming results. Weve managed
to hack pacemakers and insulin pumps,
said Brown. 39% of all known hacks in the
High speed CO2 detection PUF built into FPGAs medical domain are device control. This is
6S
GSS has launched the SprintIR CO2 sensor, Microsemi is including Intrinsic IDs SRAM worrying.
said to be able to take 20 readings per based physical unclonable function (SRAM Zeifman admits most devices need
second six times faster than the previous PUF) in its PolarFire FPGAs. QUIDDIKEY-FLEX remote access, but said applying some
SprintIR. is said to serve as a primary security element, easy security measures such as not using
Like many other companies, GSS uses protecting IP against cloning and reverse default passwords or changing default
non dispersive infra red detection. However, it engineering. In addition, it provides secure access for each new version of the product
says it is the only company to use LEDs. CEO supply chain assurance. will limit risks.
Ralph Weir noted: Most competitors use a Intrinsic IDs CEO Pim Tuyls noted: Websites, such as Shodan.io, enable
filament lamp or micro hotplate, then filter The version of the QUIDDIKEY-FLEX SRAM anyone to locate your connected device,
to get the appropriate wavelength. While its PUF used in PolarFire FPGAs is some of the which makes things even harder, he
hard to get an LED to emit at the right level, if most sophisticated IP we have delivered for added. However, as non-professional
you can get it right, you have a stable source key storage and device identification and attacks are now the majority, implementing
that wont vary over time. LEDs also turn on reflects our successful collaboration with these easy steps should help to keep you
instantly and they can be pulsed rapidly. Microsemi. protected.

www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 9

 NEWS ANALYSIS NI WEEK CUSTOMER PANEL

Inventing the future

AT THIS YEARS NI WEEK IN AUSTIN, A GROUP OF
CUSTOMERS CAME TOGETHER TO DISCUSS THE IMPACT
OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ON RESEARCH AND INNOVATION.
NEIL TYLER REPORTS.
Away from the main conference hall at this years NI Week, a panel of
NI customers chaired by Eric Starkloff, National Instruments executive
VP for global sales and marketing, discussed some of the implications
of technologies that were likely to have an impact on the electronics
industry.
Opening the discussion Leo McHugh, VP, instrumentation,
aerospace and defence with Analog Devices, suggested that customer
expectations were changing.
In the past, our customers would have the skills in-house to put
systems together; we just supplied the components. That has long
gone. Today, they are taking a sub-system approach and we are
supplying full system modules.
Crucially, time is the key differentiator, especially as the pace of the actions of the driver. Try and capture all of that all the time and
change accelerates Customers are no longer concerned about whats youll be generating a lot of useless stuff.
inside the box it just needs to work and do what is required. Schneider talked about the benefits of a data bus, as opposed to a
Arun Ghosh, AT&Ts director of advanced wireless technologies, data base.
agreed, describing time as a luxury. But, from his perspective, he said Unlike the latter, a data bus will only identify and use the data it
he was benefitting from this trend. needs to manage a particular situation. Useful data is more important
When it comes to 5G, the pressure on timing is significant. We than the volume of data and, ideally, we should be able to figure out
have just two and half years to ramp up to 5G, compared to six years automatically what data is needed and, ideally, do that locally.
with 4G/LTE. People dont want components, they want integrated Starkloff said he knew of one customer that generated so much test
systems and those systems are crucial to delivering 5G to that data that there was insufficient bandwidth to send it over the network.
timetable. Its faster for them to get their data back to base via hard disks
Another area of debate centred on data and how it was being loaded onto an aircraft, he said.
generated and used. 5G channel sounding techniques need to collect vast amounts of
According to Stan Schneider, CEO of Real Time Communications, data with thousands of parameters. We need to be able to optimise
the tests associated with technologies such as 5G, autonomous machine learning and data mining if we are going to develop the
vehicles and the industrial IoT were generating masses of data. models to emulate, model and simulate 5G networks, Ghosh said.
Using analytics, companies are generating vast amounts of data, Whatever the challenges and the panel talked about the
but the question is whether that data is useful and are we able to use destructive dislocation often associated with new technology the
it? We need to start differentiating between data and useful data. Look contributors agreed that there were huge opportunities in the future
at an autonomous vehicle, for example; it will be generating data from and the levels of connectivity being created were going to change the
numerous sources, such as cameras, LIDAR and radars; even tracking world radically.

10 13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk

 High Performance Single Board Computer
with NXP i.MX6 Processor
The armStoneA9 is a compact
and very powerful SBC in Pico
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Available operating systems are Linux (Buildroot and
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Long term availability.
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www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 11

 INTERVIEW TOM BECKLEY
Dont settle for the
ordinary
At last months CDNLive, Tom Beckley urged
attendees not to settle for the ordinary. Neil Tyler
caught up with him in Munich.
W
hen Tom Beckley, senior vice president and general
manager of Cadences Custom IC and PCB Group,
addressed this years CDNLive in Munich, he began his
speech by referring to the 1960s cartoon The Jetsons.
Whats interesting about this is that The Jetsons predicted
smart watches, robotics in the home and FaceTime, the ability to get
information at any time and in any place, flat screen devices and the
availability of online medical records, as well as remote diagnosis.
The only thing it predicted that we havent got is the personal flying
vehicle, Beckley noted. But weve pretty much got everything else.
He ended his speech with a challenge to the conference attendees.
So, wheres my flying car? Thats your challenge, going forward.
In Beckleys view, the industry is currently experiencing profound
change. All industries, no matter what sector, are being affected by
new technology and the combination of complex software and advanced
electronics. The challenge for companies like Cadence is to deliver the
right tools and technologies. Its no longer simply about the chip, he
contended, its about the product. autonomous vehicles to even the humblest IoT enabled devices.
Looking back at previous generations of design engineers, he said:
Everyone looks to transform the sector they are working in, so we
need, like our predecessors, to take a leap of faith and start to look
outside the box.
Beckley is responsible for the Virtuoso design environment and
simulation product lines, as well as the Allegro and OrCAD design and
routing solutions and Sigrity, the high-speed analysis software for PCBs
and IC packaging.
There was a raft of announcements including JasperGold Apps for
RTL signoff, new integration between MATLAB and Virtuoso and listing
recent revisions to the companys Xcelium and Pegasus tools but
Beckley suggested that, in future, Virtuoso, Allegro and Sigrity could be
brought together in a move that would enable design engineers to pull
in package and board parasitics while the chip remained open.
Speaking after his presentation, Beckley contended: Today, the
packaging, board and system worlds need to be brought together and
into the design cycle as soon as possible.
Beckley started his career with Harris and General Motors, where he
held engineering and management positions, before moving on to the
EDA sector. He joined Cadence in 2004.
12
When I was at GM, new car development usually took something
like 10 to 12 years. Now, we are seeing an industry faced with new
entrants who have cut their teeth in the consumer space and are used
to a two year development cycle.
Todays automotive industry needs ECUs to be smaller, lower
power, cheaper, more reliable and more highly integrated and wireless
is going to be another big trend in this industry, he said.
Drive-by wireless technologies will reduce the weight of vehicles
significantly, increasing the reliability of connections and reducing costs.
All of which means the demand for semiconductors is set to soar
in the coming 10 years. While we wait for our autonomous vehicles
to appear on the market, the demand for automotive semiconductors,
in terms of value, is expected to rise from $31billion this year to more
than $110bn by 2025.
Whether its the likes of Tesla, Nvidia or Uber, it seems to me
that every semiconductor and software company is now seeing an
opportunity. But I think the opportunities going forward will be massive
and the number of units set to be sold will be huge as a result of the
systems and products that will be created, he suggested.
While Beckley talked at length about how the automotive market was
changing radically, he also highlighted the impact the Internet of Things
was having in its broadest sense.
From the cloud to the fog to the edge, system design enablement
is changing profoundly and we, at Cadence, are having to actively
transform ourselves to make what we do more relevant for this new
design world. It is a world in which software and hardware teams are
working more closely together.
Over the past few years, we have seen many waves of innovation.
In just five years, more than 24bn IoT devices will have been deployed,
he said. We are seeing GPUs and CPUs being layered in with next
generation embedded flash and 3D technologies. We are moving
from millions into billions of units and its across the board from
Beckley made the point that the number of companies doing
advanced design node work is significantly higher than he expected. If
youd asked me five years ago how many companies would be involved
in FinFET design today, I would have said there would be just a few
actively engaged in this. In fact, more than 130 companies are working
on this today, which means hundreds of design teams and thousands
of individuals.
The opportunities in this space are immense and still unfolding.
Were still chasing Moores law, with production at 7nm and test chips
at 5nm. Well certainly get to 3, 2 and then 1nm. But then, thats it.
The fundamental atomic structure of CMOS means it will just not
be possible to scale beyond that; which raises the question of what
then? Most advanced nodes design teams are already now looking at
alternatives such as multi-die, 3D scaling or multi-technology solutions;
its going to have to be something exotic.
When he spoke to the conference and to New Electronics, Beckley
made the point that design engineers should not settle for the ordinary
and used a Robert Frost poem to make make his point eloquently. Two
roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less travelled by. And
that has made all the difference.
13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
 Tom Beckley
Tom Beckley is senior vice president
and general manager of Cadences
Custom IC and PCB Group. He is also
executive sponsor of the Cadence
Quality Initiative, a corporate focus on
enabling the design, implementation
and delivery of high quality products.
Beckley joined Cadence in 2004 via the
acquisition of Neolinear, where he was
president and CEO. Prior to Neolinear,
Beckley was head of the systems
division at Avant! Before that, he was
president and CEO of Xynetix Design
Systems.

www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 13


A
n embarrassing oversight
made more than a decade ago
by the then fast expanding
mobile network operators (MNOs) and
by standards setters has unwittingly
led to an unfortunate and confusing
scenario in todays wireless space.
MNOs worldwide built out their
pioneering voice and data networks
to accommodate low-power wide
area and low data rate demanding
industrial applications, such as
machine-to-machine communications
(M2M) and the more generic IoT
connectivity. But they have left a
void as their legacy 2G and GPRS
networks the workhorses of those
applications and services are
gradually being turned off.
14
Solving the
comms puzzle
This void is being filled by a
growing mix of candidates grouped
under the umbrella term LPWAN low
power wide area networks.
Many of these operate in the
unlicensed sub-GHz spectrum and
fulfil needs in applications and
markets as diverse as agriculture,
oil-fields, utilities and mining, asset
tracking, health monitoring, citywide
lighting and energy management.
They generally offer the low cost and
simplicity necessary to connect scores
of sensors and devices that previously
could not be interconnected.
But most are based on proprietary
technologies and solutions and
even more radically diverse
business cases. There is a feeling
Theres a range of IoT communications
protocols available, but which low power
WAN approach will complete the design
jigsaw? By John Walko.
amongst industry observers and the
participants themselves that unifying
around a single standard could prove
difficult, if not impossible.
This uncertainty and fragmentation
is clearly holding back early adoption
at the scale that would lead to
Illustration: Dan Bright
costs coming down and cost will
continue to be as big an issue as
the underlying technology; in truth,
relatively simple compared to many in
the wireless sector.
13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk

The LPWANs with the largest
market penetration to date are Sigfox
and LoRa, with Ingenu (formerly
known as On-Ramp) moving quickly
in the US. But there are others,
including: Symphony, a version of
LoRa offered by LinkLabs that uses
the LoRa PHY with a custom media
access controller; N-Wave; and
Weightless-P, the only option that is
a true open standard and that targets
IoT applications.
Sigfox is interesting in that the
French company not only offers the
robust technology, but also the network
and service, making the proposition
the most cost effective low power
solution for connecting modules via
very simple transceivers, according to
co-founder Christophe Fourtet.
The system operates in the 866 to
915MHz ISM band and, says Fourtet:
Requires very, very little power or
bandwidth and, crucially, through a
really simple software adjustment,
will get users connected to the
Internet.
On the radio side, Sigfox uses a
novel ultra narrowband modulation
technique in the form of binary phase-
shift keying (BPSK) optimised for
sending short messages at low data
rates.
We have been meeting our
targets and have rolled out networks
that now connect billions of devices
through the Internet and are present
in more than 30 countries and many
cities in the US, Fourtet told New
Electronics. We have also partnered
with some global companies and
concluded strategic deals with
operators such as Telefonica and SK
Telecom. With funding from the likes
of Samsung, Intel and Total, we plan
to become even more aggressive and
hope to be present in 60 countries by
2018. He added the company now
offers simple transceiver modules
which include sensor, silicon and
software, for as little as $2.
The company says it also
charges as little as $1 per year for
connectivity. But we are aware there
www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017
is significant competition, so we are
planning to make public the entire
specification and protocols used in
our technology. We need to ensure
that everyone, including companies
in China, can deal with us on an NDA
basis. Not enough people are aware
of our pricing advantage, especially
when compared to the cellular
options, such as NB-IoT (narrow band
IoT) and versions of LTE-M that will
soon be coming to the market.
We need to communicate
better that these offerings, based
on licensed spectrum, are targeted
at different applications and, once
hardware cost, including the SIM card
modules, is taken into account, how
cost effective our proposition is.
LP-WAN ownership model
One of the biggest considerations for
a company choosing to implement
either a local or global LPWAN is the
standards ownership model. Here,
Sigfox is seen by some as vulnerable,
being the most closed system of the
various options.
Industry observer and founder of
consultancy WiFore Nick Hunn notes:
While the technology is simple and
clean and works and chips and
modules can be obtained from a
variety of sources, all traffic is routed
through Sigfox servers and cloud
platform. This ties the customer to
annual running costs. The upside is
that the service should be the same
everywhere. The downside is the
risk, warns Hunn.
Bluetooth/Zigbee
(personal area networks)
Battery efciency
Low cost
Ubiquitous
coverage
Scalability
Security/privacy
COVER STORY IoT COMMUNICATIONS
Ingenus LPWAN business model
is close to that of Sigfox, but uses
the busy 2.4GHz unlicensed band. At
first, this would seem to limit range,
but the US focused company deploys
a novel coding technique dubbed
random-phase multiple access
(RPMA), in which direct-sequence
spread spectrum and differential
[NB-IoT and BSPK modulation push peak data
LTE-M] will co- rates to 634kbit/s and a range
exist. It is hard to generally longer than other LPWAN
see which would offerings. The company also claims
dominate. more users per access point.
Georges Karam Ingenu has IoT networks in more
than 30 US cities, with its modules
supplied by u-Blox and ODM Compal.
Perhaps the most open and
compelling LPWAN in the unlicensed
group is LoRa (for low-range). This
proprietary modulation format is
owned by Semtech, whose chips
use chirp spread spectrum (CSS)
modulation combined with FEC for
the PHY. The technology uses the
868MHz band in Europe and 902 to
908MHz in the US.
LoRaWAN is an open standard
that defines the communication
protocol for the networking technology
based on the LoRa chip. It defines
the media access control in the data
link layer and is maintained by the
Semtech inspired LoRa Alliance,
Below: which has specified three classes
The requirements to cover a range of applications,
for IoT wireless including battery powered sensors,
connectivity, battery powered actuators and mains
according to powered actuators.
Sequans Semtech makes the higher-
Wi-Fi proprietary low LTE low power
(personal area networks) power wide area wide area
15
 COVER STORY
layer protocols available to Alliance
members under a royalty-free license
basis, but is the sole supplier to date
of the silicon and associated IP. The
business model means anyone can
acquire a LoRa base station for few
hundred pounds and set themselves
up as a network in fact, several
campuses have, says Hunn. The
issue is one of scaling up.
Interestingly, there is a
crowdfunding initiative the Things
Network that has designed
numerous modules and gateways
and sells them via Farnell/Element
14 in a model similar to that for the
Raspberry Pi.
More than 400 companies
and groups have joined the LoRa
Alliance and are backing LoRaWAN,
including some global mobile network
operators who are deploying it in
conjunction with their cellular low
power options. Last September, the
Digital Catapult launched a Things
Connected initiative that includes
BT, Beecham Research, start-up
incubators and researchers from
universities across London.
The Weightless SIG has also been
trying to get market traction for its
technology, notably the Weightless-P
specification, but the focus has been
more on trying to act as a unifying
force for the sector.
Professor William Webb,
Weightless SIGs chief executive,
told New Electronics: It is important
that there is a viable LPWAN sector
that uses the unlicensed spectrum
but, for the moment, we see only
fragmentation and nothing like the
kind of volumes of nodes installed
that makes a real business case for
any of the incumbents. Figures are
really difficult to come by, but my
estimate is the three main incumbents
(Sigfox, LoRa and Ingenu) have about
10million installed users. We are
simply bumping along on the bottom.
He remains optimistic that, sooner
or later, all major players will realise
that either a single open standard will
have to agreed perhaps through an
16
IoT COMMUNICATIONS
via software upgrades to their LTE
networks. Ca1-1 LTE-M and NB-IoT
6 were ratified in June 2016 by 3GPP as
LTE low power wireless access part of Release 13, since when there
5 proprietary low power wireless access have been trials and implementations
in Europe, the US and Asia.
billions 4 In the US, most operator activity,
by the likes of Verizon and AT&T, has
3 focused on LTE-M; European carriers,
notably Vodafone, seem wedded to
2 NB-IoT.
The two versions will co-exist. It is
1 hard to see which would dominate,
said Georges Karam, CEO of French
SoC specialist Sequans, which makes
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
devices for both versions. Sequans
source: Strategy Analytics, Sequans estimates
also claims its Monarch XS chipset is
ahead of the competition in terms of
initiative by chip suppliers working Demand for low design-ins, but volume shipments are
within an existing standards body or power wireless not expected until at least next year,
by one of the existing technologies access is predicted suggesting serious deployments are
opening its spec and merging to grow signicantly still some way off.
with another. The chances of this in the next ve years Those competitors include
happening, says Prof Webb, are about Qualcomm, Altair (now owned by
50:50. Sony) and Intel, with ARM recently
Weightless itself tried to get things entering the fray for a slice of the IP
moving in the right direction earlier business, notably in NB-IoT, through
this year when it transferred its open the acquisition of Swedish group
standards into the ETSI standards Mistbase and UK based NextG-Com.
setting organisation, which has an One reason why NB-IoT has been
informal sub-group for developing slower to take off than anticipated is
a family of standards for Low alleged incompatibility with equipment
Throughput Networks. Unfortunately, from Chinese group Huawei and
it has become apparent that this Ericsson, following disputes over IP,
approach would not even be a short essentially leading to two different
term fix, Prof Webb noted. I am versions of the standard. The
disappointed, of course, but it was companies have denied this, as have
always a long shot and not our only the standards setters.
plan. We will continue our efforts for The feeling is that LTE-M will prevail
consolidation. in the short term, especially as the
If unlicensed groups do not step up US continues to bar Huawei gear from
to the mark, this will let the traditional entering the country, but also that
MNOs, with their established cellular NB-IoT could prove to be a more cost
networks and licensed spectrum, back effective approach for cellular IoT.
into the game. It is important As to which class of LPWANs will
While they may have taken their that there is a prevail, the jury is certainly out. There
eyes off the ball a few years back, viable LPWAN is clearly a serious cost premium
recent efforts within the 3GPP sector that uses when it comes to the modules
standardisation group suggest a the unlicensed needed for cellular, perhaps not as
resurgence, with more cost effective spectrum but, big as proponents of systems based
standards and revised business for the moment, on unlicensed spectrum may suggest,
models, is well under way. Network we see only but LTE and NB-IoT are clearly more
operators can now offer two options, fragmentation. secure and can piggy-back on
both of which can be incorporated Prof William Webb existing network infrastructure.
13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 17

Touching new levels
Oscilloscope developers are not only integrating more functionality in their offerings, but also
providing touchscreen operation. By Graham Pitcher.
I
ts probably fair to say that an
electronic engineers go to
instrument is an oscilloscope.
Recognising that, test and
measurement product developers have
regularly updated their portfolios; not
only adding more features, but also
providing devices which meet a much
broader range of user needs.
So its interesting to see a
leading developer explain that its
latest introduction has required it to
redefine the mid range oscilloscope.
But thats what Tektronix says it has
done with the 5 series MSO, which
18
has just had the wraps removed.
Chris Godfrey is oscilloscope 5 Series MSO
market development manager, EMEA,
for Tektronix. He said development
of the 5 series was driven by
increasing system complexity.
The drive towards power efficiency
is bringing challenges for signal
acquisition, including jitter, while
noise is becoming more significant.
However, there are fewer engineering
specialists, so everyone needs to be
an expert, whilst handling time to
market pressures. All of this causes
pain for engineers.
In Godfreys view, four analogue
channels in an oscilloscope is no
longer good enough. While people
need to do things simply, engineers
also need more from their tool of
choice. But there are budget issues,
as well as the need for flexibility and
upgrades.
Looking to address these issues,
Tektronix has launched the 5 series
MSO, said by Godfrey to be the
result of the companys largest ever
development effort. Its new in every
regard, he contended. Theres a
new ASIC with A/D converter, more
channels, tighter integration and more
flexibility.
Amongst the innovation are
FlexChannel technology, which allows
four, six or eight analogue channels
and up to 64 digital channels,
integrated protocol analysis and
signal generator, a new 12bit signal
acquisition system and a high-
definition capacitive touch display.
According to the company, the
device breaks accepted rules
Above: Tektronix for scope design. One aspect is
FlexChannel which, as the name
range is the result implies, allows engineers to configure
of the companys the scope to meet a particular
largest projects needs. Until now, Tektronix
development contends, scopes have had fixed
effort yet configurations, with a decision
needed up front about how many
analogue and digital channels would
be needed. FlexChannel allows each
input to be either one analogue
channel or eight digital channels
and whether that input is analogue
or digital is determined simply by the
probe which is plugged in.
13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
 TEST & MEASUREMENT OSCILLOSCOPES

The default input is a TekVPI+

connector, which accepts all TekVPI Professional functionality,
analogue probes. However, if the
budget price
TLP058 logic probe is used, the
input is converted to eight digital Keysight recently launched the InniiVision 1000 X-Series
channels. of scopes. The family is said to deliver professional
Any combination of analogue and functionality, as well as integrating up to six instruments
digital probes is said to be supported. in one. All models have a serial protocol analyser, digital
This is said to be of use in a voltmeter and frequency counter, while the EDUX1002G
range of applications, including motor and DSOX1102G models include a frequency response analyser and WaveGen function generator.
control and inverter designs, as well Featuring Keysights MegaZoom IV technology, the scopes can capture 50,000waveform/s and
as automotive electronics and power sample at up to 2Gsample/s. The scope features 24 typical oscilloscope measurements to quickly
supply design, where more than four analyse signals and determine signal parameters. Additional signal analysis is provided by the gated
analogue channels are said to be FFT function, which allows users to correlate time and frequency domain phenomenon on a single
required. screen. Nask limit testing is also available to help users easily detect signal errors.
The 5 Series MSO also features The 1000 X-Series supports decoding and analysis of embedded and automotive serial bus
a new front end amplifier that is said applications, including I2C, SPI, UART/RS232, CAN and LIN.
to lower noise by about 4.5dBm,
compared to previous generation to those of a phone or tablet, displayed. A lot of thought has been
scopes. The front end has a 12bit allowing users to pinch, zoom and put into the design and how engineers
A/D converter and supports a High swipe. However, operations can be will use it, Godfrey asserted. And
Res mode. In the latter mode, conducted using a mouse interface. the new stacked displays feature will
accessed via a button push, vertical Features can be accessed directly be really good, compared with the
resolution is increased to 16bit. through objects on the display, but traditional overlay mode.
Tektronix notes that a DSP filter traditional front panel controls are The scope can also be operated in
is applied at each sample rate, available. dedicated scope mode or in an open
providing a more accurate view of the So called badges enable users Engineers need Windows configuration. According
signal. to see relevant information for all more from their to the company, users can switch
Data is presented on a 15.6in displayed waveforms, while there is tool of choice. between the two modes by simply
capacitive touchscreen with a also access to maths, reference and But there are inserting a solid state drive featuring
resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The bus waveforms. Horizontal, trigger budget issues, as the Windows OS into the scope. The
display supports similar operations and acquisition parameters are also well as the need user interface remains the same,
for exibility and whether Windows has been booted
upgrades. or not.
Low cost scope with touchscreen Chris Godfrey Along with a range of optional
embedded serial communications
According to Rohde & Schwarz, the RTB2000 is the rst low cost oscilloscope
standards packages, users can
to offer touchscreen operation and 10bit vertical resolution. Rohde & Schwarz
also specify optional jitter and eye
engineers love challenges where they can apply leading edge technology
analysis software, offering bathtub,
to customer needs, claimed Joerg Fries, Vice President Oscilloscopes. We
time interval error (TIE) histogram,
gave our team an additional challenge: to provide R&S quality at an extremely
TIE spectrum, eye diagram and jitter
competitive price.
measurements. This will enable
The RTB2000 includes a proprietary 10bit A/D converter, providing four
easier operation than in the past,
times more resolution than other oscilloscopes in this segment. It also supports
Godfrey claimed.
a 10Msample acquisition memory on each
Three variants are available,
channel, or 20Msample per channel in interleaved
with four, six or eight FlexChannels.
mode. A 10.1in capacitive touchscreen allows
Each is available with bandwidths of
the instrument to be operated more quickly and
350MHz, 500MHz, 1GHz or 2GHz and
efciently. This, says the company, is the rst time
a 62.5Mpt record length, extendable
that users with lower budgets can take advantage
to 125Mpt. The 350MHz and 500MHz
of capacitive touchscreen operation.
devices can be field upgraded to
The RTB2000 comes in two and four channel
1GHz via a licence, while an upgrade
models, with bandwidths of 70MHz, 100MHz,
to 2GHz is available via a return to
200MHz and 300MHz and upgrade options.
base agreement.

www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 19


Extending their reach
As technology evolves companies that rent out test and
measurement equipment are having to extend the range of
services they offer. By Neil Tyler.
T
he past few years have been
challenging for companies
operating in the test and
measurement market, but for those
delivering rental and leasing services,
economic and business challenges
have provided fertile ground as more
customers become aware of the
benefits of their services.
Traditionally the renting or leasing
of test equipment was suitable
for customers with short-term
requirements or who didnt have
the budget to buy test instruments.
Today, companies in industries that
are evolving rapidly are turning to
rental specialists, especially when
instrument obsolescence is becoming
increasingly important.
Research from Frost & Sullivan
suggests the share of rental and
leasing services in the test and
measurement industry is growing
strongly and currently accounts for a
third of the total market revenues.
While different industry sectors
have different requirements,
demand for rental and leasing
has tended to be strongest in the
telecommunications market, boosted
www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017
TEST & MEASUREMENT
by the deployment of 4G networks
fibre optic networks moving to 40G
and from growing investment in
mmWave and 5G technologies.
Whatever the market, those
supplying test and measurement
equipment have to ensure their
portfolio meets changing customer
requirements and, as technology
evolves more quickly, companies
faced with budgetary constraints are
having to think more creatively about
how they acquire test equipment
does it address the needs of their
latest development project, does it
support the latest standards and in
the light of rapid developments driven
by the Internet of Things does it offer
sufficient performance?
The functionality and cost of
software is another challenge that
needs to be addressed. As the use
and type of software increases,
so variations in the type of test
equipment required have exploded.
In addition, equipment is becoming While the
more configurable, adding further market remains
pressures when it comes to providing at overall, it is
the correct test services and support. very competitive.
For rental and leasing companies, Howard Venning
RENTAL MARKET
the key challenge is not only to be
able to provide the right equipment,
but also the most up to date
devices that meet changing testing
requirements.
Microlease, which accounts for
more than 70% of the UKs rental
market, is looking to address
changing market requirements by
providing a much broader portfolio of
services.
George Acris, head of business
development, said: Theres a lot
going on in the test and measurement
market and, in response to
changes weve seen in research
and development, manufacturing,
installation and maintenance, we
have moved to become what I would
describe as a total solutions provider.
That means we now cover rental,
leasing, the selling of equipment and
more recently distribution, together
with asset management.
In effect, we act as a consultancy
that looks to help customers identify
the right product for their test and
measurement requirements. Whether
for design or verification, installation
or production, companies cant afford
to acquire equipment that ends up
not being used efficiently or simply
becomes obsolete as technology
evolves, Acris continued.
Asset management has become
an important element of the
21
 TEST & MEASUREMENT
Microlease portfolio. We have
developed our LEO software and
demonstrated that, through better
asset management, companies can
not only save money but can boost
utilisation significantly, said Acris.
The larger the inventory, the bigger
the savings.
As a result of better asset
management engineers can find their
test equipment more quickly, redirect
spend on test equipment to leading
edge technologies and even identify
and then sell assets that are no
longer required.
By better understanding their
assets companies can then make
more informed decisions as to what
assets they need and then whether to
purchase or rent them, Acris noted.
A competitive market
While Aspen Electronics primarily
sells test equipment, it also rents
specific lines.
While the market remains flat
overall, it is very competitive, said
managing director Howard Venning.
Thats a given when you consider
there are now 26 companies
supplying oscilloscopes into the UK
market and the routes to market
are changing rapidly. Keysight has
announced, for example, that along
with traditional distributors like RS
and Farnell, they will now be using
Amazon to source its equipment.
A lot of test and measurement
22
RENTAL MARKET
equipment is now little more
than a commodity, which
means cost is the priority for
design engineers. If the test and
measurement market is reaching
saturation point, I would expect the
cost of test equipment to come down
even further.
Microlease has responded
to this by moving into
distribution itself. Weve
worked to extend the
range of services we
offer and, in the face of
cheaper products coming
on to the market, have
developed a distribution
element to our business, explained
Acris.
We manage thousands of
lines and acting as an authorised
distributor was a logical next
step, he continued. Distribution
services form a key growth driver
for Microlease. We work closely, for
example, with Keysight and Viavi
Instruments in the UK, targeting that
part of the market where cost is seen
as being far more important and
where test equipment is perceived
as a commodity. We recently signed
GW Instek, adding further to our
economy range of test equipment
and opening opportunities in the
education market.
Buyers, according to Venning,
want value for money and
are looking to acquire multiple
Companies such capabilities in each item of
as Microlease are equipment. More and more, we
now addressing are seeing instruments being
rental, leasing and consolidated.
sales, along with However, Acris doesnt see
distribution and this as a threat to the economics
asset management underpinning the rental market. No,
not really. Companies are addressing
the needs of a specific part of the
market; one which tends to buy test
and measurement equipment. More
OEMs are moving into that space
and where multiple devices replace
traditional devices, there will be
implications for the number of units
being sold. But most companies will
not want to buy a stock of equipment
only to find that, in a matter of
months, technology has
moved on and the test
equipment they have
acquired has become
obsolete.
The challenge for
rental companies is
that they are obliged
to carry an extensive portfolio
of equipment to match the changing
needs of their customers.
Were constantly looking to add
new lines and to enable customers to
access them. We look to offer them
a one stop shop that provides them
with the products and advice they
need, said Acris.
To be a one-stop-shop,
companies need to buy a lot of
equipment, suggested Venning.
Companies are having to sink
serious amounts of money into
providing a complete service to
meet the demands of customers in
a rapidly changing market. Thats a
challenge for any company, no matter
their size.
Beyond the financial costs and
Companies cant whether renting or buying test
afford to acquire equipment is in their best interests,
equipment that the speed at which technology is
ends up not being evolving is a challenge and, large or
used efciently or small, companies will need to invest
simply becomes carefully in as much test equipment
obsolete. as their budget can reasonably
George Acris allow.
13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
24 13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
 TEST & MEASUREMENT INDUSTRY TRENDS

W
ith enormous change in the
types of product coming to
market and the way in which
they are being designed, it is obvious
that those companies that deliver test
and measurement equipment are also
having to adapt.
Design engineers are becoming
more application focused, explains
Bob Bluhm, VP, Value Instruments,
Rohde & Schwarz. As a result, their
starting point is much closer to the
problem, which is a good place to
come up with a solution.
The IoT and greater connectivity
are key drivers and all sorts of devices
are being connected from the
smallest sensors to hyperscale Cloud
computing centres.
Despite these changes, there is

more help available than ever when
it comes to developing new products;
whether from distributors or open-
source communities or in terms of
access to low-cost evaluation kits and
reference designs.
Small teams can make bigger
things happen than ever before and
the success of the maker movement
is a great example of how almost
anyone with a vision can build and
demonstrate a prototype quickly,
Bluhm enthuses.
But in the face of these changes
the demands for test capabilities are
also changing.
In the past, computing and logic
were at the forefront of development,
but this is changing with the increased
use of RF technology to connect our
devices. For just a few pounds, it is
possible to buy a viable platform for
prototyping a concept. It can be built,
configured and customised easily
using modules and, then for minimal
extra outlay, it can be connected
wirelessly to other devices, creating a
powerful device. This is a major driver
of the changes happening in what we
might call the low-end of the test and
measurement equipment market,
suggests Bluhm.
At the high-end, equipment
encompassing technologies like 5G
Exciting times
From growing automation to the use of equipment with
multiple capabilities, the test and measurement market is
changing and fast. By Neil Tyler.
involves building and testing large
capacity, high-power multi-channel
systems. Other end-user markets
considered to be high-end, such as
medical imaging, are also pushing
forward quickly in terms of capability
and demand fast and accurate test
and measurement. It is here that
the use of software and the ability
to control instruments remotely is
becoming more important.
One of the key programming
environments that makes this task
much easier for designers to access,
with very little or no programming
experience, is LabVIEW, suggests
Kevin IIcisin, VP of product marketing
at National Instruments.
All engineers go through the same
work flow when they are bringing
products to market, irrespective of
the industry in which they work. They
need to be able to design, prototype
and test for all requirements and then
bring that prototype to production,
where it will face end of line testing.
Thats independent of whether you
are working on a consumer, IoT or 5G
project, he insists.
But talk to any VP or director from
any industry who is pulling together a
In the past, a development schedule and the hard
scope was a deadline never changes the pressure
scope, but we is always on the back end, where the
are now seeing design engineer is under pressure to
instruments being achieve more with less and to get it
consolidated. done more quickly. Thats why we are
Bob Bluhm seeing a move to greater automation.
You need to provide advanced
levels of analysis through better
measurement techniques, not only to
deliver innovative products faster, but
also to ensure their quality.
An example of how automation

www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 25

 TEST & MEASUREMENT
is helping to accelerate research
and development and bringing new
products to market is the work which
AT&T is doing in 5G.
Its employing automated
advanced test equipment to deliver
5G, IIcisin says. AT&T is, with the
transition to mmWave, mapping the
RF signal between the base station
and the receiving device. Called
Channel Sounding, this technique
generates vast amounts of data and
through automation we have reduced
measurement times by 6000X in
practice, what would have taken a
decade to measure can now been
done in a day.
Whatever the sector, engineers
need equipment that gives them
the confidence that it will remain
dependable and accurate for the long-
term. Ease of use remains important
because product developers are far
less interested in becoming test-
equipment experts.
Thats because, as IIcisin
suggests, they are simply under more
pressure than ever to get the job
done. NI is focused on a number
of key sectors which we see as
critical, he explains. These include:
semiconductors, where we are still
seeing a lot of innovation at chip level;
consumer electronics; aerospace
and defence, including electronic
monitoring surveillance equipment;
transportation; and industrial.
Each has its particular
requirements but once you abstract
above that, their requirements tend
to look similar. They need to generate
data, collect and analyse it quickly,
then make decisions based on that
data. Crucially, the number of physical
parameters that need to be measured
has increased significantly.
With 2G and 3G, there was limited
innovation at the physical level; today,
with mmWave when you are looking
at 28, 32 or 70 to 80GHz, we need to
expand our measurement platforms to
measure those points.
To make the remote control of
instruments easier, Rohde & Schwarz,
26
INDUSTRY TRENDS
for example, provides the LabVIEW
instrument with drivers that remove
the problems and responsibility for
synchronisation, response formatting
and error handling from the design
engineer helping to speed up the
design process.
Whatever the industry and whether
high or low end, designers need to
invest carefully in test equipment and
much depends on their budget and
even large companies are having to be
careful with their capital expenditure.
Buyers are looking to acquire
multiple capabilities in each item
of equipment, says Bluhm. In the
past, a scope was a scope, but we
are now seeing these instruments
being consolidated, he says. The
RTB2000 oscilloscope, for example,
incorporates logic analyser, protocol
analyser, waveform and pattern
Designers need to generator modes, as well as a digital
invest carefully in voltmeter.
test equipment and While customer expectations are
much depends on high, what they are looking to spend
individual budgets is certainly limited, Bluhm suggests.
While it is crucial that we continue
to deliver high-quality products, it
is also vital that we back that up
with extensive support. By doing so,
well be able to attract the type of
customers who would like to use our
equipment, but who may in the past
have felt it was beyond their budget.
According to Bluhm, product
support is adapting and changing,
not in response to any perceived split
between high- and low-end equipment,
but more to changes in the way
Below: Rohde & designers are working.
Schwarzs RTB2000 Todays designers are working
oscilloscope online all the time and the younger
incorporates multiple engineers will often have multiple
capabilities information streams active
continuously, taking part in chat
threads and forums to find the
information they need as quickly as
possible, he suggests.
Everyone expects to find help
in a format that suits them, so we
are developing a variety of online
resources. Some of these are already
familiar such as seminars, webinars
and online videos but we are also
creating new material that cuts to the
chase like quick application cards
that give what to do if guidance, so
users can quickly solve their immediate
challenge and move onto the next.
13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
 Smaller, simpler,
A
revolution is unfolding

more accurate
amongst manufacturing
companies, with an increasing
number investing in smart factory
technology intelligent machines,
devices and measurement and testing
Pushed by automation, todays sensors are required to
equipment to monitor every critical
parameter of the manufacturing detect distance, velocity and position. By Neil Tyler.
process.
The technology is enabling factories
to manufacture more consistently
and accurately based on improved
communications, more interconnected
machines and the use of more
intelligent operating systems capable
of maintaining maximum levels of
efficiency and productivity.
The Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT) is changing the manufacturing
environment, instrumenting assets
and connecting them, making
business more efficient, with higher
quality yields and improved levels of
security.
Recent advances in sensor
technology have enabled improved
levels of process control and much
improved data acquisition.
From basic temperature and
humidity monitoring to sophisticated
position and pressure sensing, smart
factories require a variety of sensor intelligence, but also to do so in more Millimetre varying environmental conditions.
types that help advance operations by complex scenarios. wave sensing There has also been a shift in
moving product, controlling robotic and In response, TI has developed technology is said the industry towards the use of
manufacturing processes, as well as a new range of mmWave sensors to bring precision frequencies in the range from 75GHz
sensing environmental factors. to bring what it describes as an and intelligence to 85GHz, due to smaller size, higher
However, sensors must also unprecedented degree of precision to a range of antenna directivity, larger bandwidth
contend with a difficult operating and intelligence to a range of applications and other performance advantages.
environment that can comprise of applications spanning the automotive, While mmWave sensors are
smoke, dust and heat. Singularly factory and building automation not a new technology, many current
or collectively, each can prove sectors. sensors are certainly inadequate when
challenging for sensor technologies. The use of mmWave sensing it comes to meeting changing market
The need for greater automation technology in various industrial and requirements, Delagi suggests.
is certainly pushing the envelope on automotive applications has grown Most current sensors tend to be too
sensing needs, says Greg Delagi, significantly in recent years. The big, too complex and, certainly, more
Texas Instruments (TI) senior VP, technology is being used in a variety power hungry.
Embedded Processing. It is no longer of industrial applications, ranging from mmWave is a radar technology that
enough to just sense presence tank-level probing radar and security can determine more effectively the
todays sensors are required to detect systems to robotic vision and traffic range, velocity and angle of the object.
distance, velocity and position and, monitoring. The key advantage of using
in the industrial space, they need to When it comes to fluid-level short wavelengths is that they are
be able to operate across very harsh sensing, for example, mmWave highly accurate, explains Delagi.
environmental conditions. We need sensors offer improved levels of A mmWave system operating at 76
not only need them to provide more accuracy and robustness across to 81GHz has the ability to detect

28 13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk


movements as small as a fraction of a
millimetre.
The companys latest mmWave
single chip CMOS portfolio comprises
five solutions that span two families of
76GHz to 81GHz sensors. Addressing
automotive and industrial applications,
the devices come with a complete end-
to-end development platform.
That development platform is
intended to help engineers get started
quickly and we have created an entire
end-to-end development resource
platform that includes software, online
training, development kits and tools,
as well as reference designs, Delagi
explains.
TI says its software development
kit also includes sample algorithms
and software libraries which are
intended to help simplify RF designs
and, by leveraging them, the company
claims that engineers should be able
www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
to start developing their applications
in less than 30 minutes.
According to Delagi, the industrial
IWR1x sensor portfolio van deliver up
to three times the sensing accuracy of
currently available mmWave solutions.
Our sensors combine
sophisticated analogue design
techniques with intelligent digital
signal processing to provide design
engineers with contactless sensing in
their systems, he explains.
Traditionally, a complete mmWave Weve entered
radar system will comprise of transmit a period where
and receive RF components; analogue there have
components, such as clocking; and been leaps in
digital components such as analogue- technology and
to-digital converters, microcontrollers the provision of
and digital signal processors. more benets,
In the past, these systems including
were implemented with discrete other ways of
components, the downside being that connecting.
they increased power consumption, Greg Delagi
took up more board space and added
significantly to the overall system
cost, Delagi notes.
System design is always
challenging, but especially so with
mmWave due to the complexity and
high frequencies associated with
which it is associated.
Our new chips integrate TX-RF and
RX-RF, analogue components such
as clocking, and digital
components such as the
A/D converter, MCU and
hardware accelerator. Some
families in the portfolio also
integrate a DSP for additional
signal-processing capabilities,
says Delagi.
We are providing a range of
devices that we think will allow
developers to select the right
solution for their design needs,
Delagi explains. Its a scalable
portfolio and comes with common TIs mmWave
software and, crucially, we have been single chip
able to reduce power consumption CMOS portfolio
significantly. comprises five
Compared to existing solutions solutions in
TI claims to have reduced power two families
consumption by up to 75%, with some covering 76GHz
parts drawing as little as 150mW. to 81GHz
SENSORS
Weve also been able to reduce
board space by as much as 50%,
Delagi continues.
While the sensors are a fully
integrated CMOS single-chip that
combines a DSP and an MCU, TI can
also offer a single-chip variant with
just an MCU or a DSP.
The TI mmWave sensor portfolio
for industrial applications includes two
single-chip devices.
The IWR1443 mmWave sensors
integrate a hardware accelerator for
radar signal processing, explains
Delagi, while the IWR1642 sensors
use a DSP to perform the required
processing.
According to Delagi, the DSP
provides users with more flexibility and
allows for further software integration
of other higher-level algorithms, such
as tracking and classification.
TI believes these single-chip
devices will provide simple access
to high-accuracy object data,
including range, velocity and angle.
That, it contends, will enable
advanced sensing in a range of new
applications that demand performance
and efficiency, including smart
infrastructure and Industry 4.0 in
factory and building automation
products.
The mmWave sensor portfolio
has been designed so that it can
adapt dynamically to changing
conditions, bringing multi
modal functionality to avoid
false positives and delivering
a broad range of sensing
to multiple applications,
Delagi explains.
The sensors are
also described as being
environmentally friendly.
What that means is that they are
capable of accurately sensing through
a variety of different materials such as
plastic, dry wall, clothing, glass and
many other different materials, Delagi
concludes. As a result, they are
effective and bring a level of accuracy
to even the toughest industrial
conditions.
29

Changes across
the board
COM Express Type 7 modules can help industrial
data centres to cope with data intensive IoT
applications. By Martin Frederiksen.
T
he downstream performance
requirements of software as
a service and streaming are
increasing constantly. The same goes
for upstream workloads, which are
rising dramatically as a result of IoT
applications with voice control or with
tens of thousands of vision sensors.
In order to balance this traffic
better, more and more edge and fog
server farms are emerging compact
server configurations between the
central clouds and the end devices.
In the telecom sector, they are called
cloudlets or industrial clouds (see fig
1). Such decentralised data centres,
not only operated by carriers, but
also by industrial providers, are a first
step to enable better network load
distribution.
This decentralisation continues to
be essential; but operators cannot
expand these centres endlessly in
order to meet rising performance
requirements. On one hand, there
is often not enough space for
further expansion particularly true
for cloudlet server installations on
mobile phone towers. On the other, it
makes no sense to replace existing
equipment after a few years since
at least in the carrier segment the
earnings per gigabit of bandwidth
are decreasing. As a consequence,
it takes longer to get a return on
investment.
Operators of such high-availability
server farms are therefore looking for
www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017
EMBEDDED DESIGN
ways to optimise their investments in
new rack performance. The solution
needs to be standardised as it is
the only way to guarantee that it
will last for decades. Since 19in
rack servers are most common, it is
advisable to stick with this design in
order to maintain the infrastructure.
But replacing individual rack
servers requires a reinvestment of
approximately 80%. It would be much
better to reverse this ratio, so the
incurred upgrade costs are only 20%.
How can this be achieved?
On the technology side, it is
generally processors that enable
new performance levels. But it
hasnt been an easy job to replace
a processor. Intel and AMD have,
so far, failed to develop a socket
technology for servers that
reliably lasts longer than
one tick-tock generation.
The board, and often the
entire workings of a server,
have to be exchanged.
The housing, invariably
the smallest cost item, is
then disposed of.
However, there is now
a vendor-independent
standard at the module
level that enables
upgrades of existing
equipment over several
socket generations. In
many cases, it is now
possible to use two
BOARD LEVEL
TECHNOLOGY
to three processor and performance
generations without having to replace
rack servers or entire systems.
While some manufacturers may
already offer this using servers
with processor modules, these are
proprietary and tie the customer to
the manufacturer.
A vendor-independent standard
for server on modules (SoM) COM
Express Type 7 was developed
by PICMG under the editorship of
congatec. Officially adopted in April
2017, this standard is designed
specifically for carrier-grade rack
servers and robust industrial servers.
Author prole: It differs from computer-on-
Martin Frederiksen modules in that the feature set is
is sales director, designed for server technology.
northern Europe, Essentially, this refers to the
with congatec. connection of the servers in the rack
using up to 4 x 10GbE links and
the connection of storage via fast
native PCIe. Dedicated interfaces
are executed exactly where they are
needed on the carrier board and
comprehensive design guides, as well
as free circuit diagrams, make the
developers job easier.
Scalability translates into a high
degree of investment security, which
results in cost advantages and a
Starter packs allows maximum payback of NRE costs over
designers to explore decades. An extensive community
the benets of the ensures competitive pricing and
COM Express Type 7 provides an ecosystem for off-the-
format shelf accessories. In addition, PICMG
31
 EMBEDDED DESIGN
Internet
Cloudlet
Edge / Base Station
Devices
Streaming
ensures continued vendor-neutral
development of the standard.
In this respect, computer-on-
modules are distinctly different from
the modular solutions offered by
the server manufacturers, which are
generally not sufficiently standardised
to allow swapping modules between
different manufacturers.
COM Express Type 7 is therefore
perfect for the standardisation
initiatives of major global server
operators, such as Facebook and
Google. However, this standardisation
is not just an advantage when
upgrading large installations; smaller
batch sizes also benefit from this
standard.
Technically speaking, the first
processors installed on the COM
Express Type 7 are designed for
high parallelism with an optimal
performance per Watt ratio and at
least from a server point of view
are most suitable for low-power
applications and micro-servers.
Thanks to the lower power envelope,
they are also suited to applications in
32
BOARD LEVEL TECHNOLOGY
Carrier Backbone
Security Transportation
harsher environments at the edge of
carrier networks.
Processors from Intels Xeon D
family meet these requirements.
Many applications benefit from these
SoCs because they provide high
parallel computing performance with
up to 16 cores and 32 threads, as
well as hardware virtualisation with
a maximum of 45W thermal design
power (TDP). This also makes them
suitable for the first SoMs. As one
of the first manufacturers to develop
these devices, congatec has made
them available on the conga-BX7D
range. These parts have a footprint
of 125 x 95mm, corresponding to the
COM Express Basic format.
The modules are available with a
choice of six Xeon processors, ranging
from the 16 core D-1577 to the quad
core D-1529, all specified for use
in temperatures ranging from -40 to
85C. As an industry first, the modules
also offer server features, including
two 10GbE interfaces, 32 PCIe lanes
and 48Gbyte of DDR4 ECC RAM.
Future modules could take the
COM Express Extended format 155
x 110mm which would allow them
to host more memory in order to
integrate more powerful processor
technologies, allowing them to be
used in the backbones of larger
server farms. If these developments
are not enough, PICMG could specify
larger modules because there is no
upper limit.
Another vital feature for servers
is remote management, which must
also be enabled for switched off
systems. Out of band management
allows server connection and control,
even when the processor and
operating system are not running. For
this purpose, the COM Express Type
7 pinout integrates dedicated pins
for the Network Controller Sideband
Interface (NC SI). This defines
both the protocol and the electrical
interface for connecting a baseboard
management controller (BMC) on the
carrier board. As a result, module-
based server designs offer exactly
COM Express Type 7 the same remote management
provides a modular functions available in classic
approach for servers. Recognising this, congatec
upgrading cloudlets has integrated a BMC on its latest
and industrial fog evaluation board, available either
and edge servers as a telco variant, with 4x10GbE
interfaces, or as an industrial version
for the extended temperature range.
Current congatec SoMs also
support virtualisation technologies
that carriers need for software
defined networks and network
function virtualisation. For example,
it has developed application-ready
SoM configurations that implement
hypervisors from Real Time Systems.
The implementation of further
virtualisation technologies is possible
at any time on request.
COM Express Computers at the edge of carrier
Type 7 networks and servers in industrial
is designed data centers must cater for the ever
specically for increasing workloads of higher and
carrier grade higher resolution streaming services
rack servers and and data intensive IoT applications.
robust industrial COM Express Type 7 modules
servers. can provide the required leaps in
Martin Frederiksen performance in a cost effective manner.
13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk
 Realise your vision
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count on us for the best solution. uk.rs-online.com
www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017 33
Keeping your cool
As thermal design challenges get more complex, future solutions are interaction with CAD packages in
building models.
likely to be cloud based. By Graham Pitcher. Future Facilities, which develops
6SigmaET, span out of Flomerics in

E
lectronic devices get hot, but
how hot depends upon a range
of factors. However, the move
to smaller devices offering more
functionality has increased the
challenges of keeping them running at
sensible temperatures.
But its not just small consumer
devices that provide challenges;
even products targeted at industrial
applications with large enclosures
and forced cooling require careful
thermal design.
What was a specialist task is
now available to all, courtesy of
software which first appeared in the
early 1980s. Chris Aldham, product
manager with 6SigmaET, noted that
early users of these systems included
the nuclear and aerospace sectors,
with electronics catching up quickly.
IBM, for example, signed a large
contract for general purpose fluid
dynamics software.
One thermal analysis software
pioneer was UK based CHAM, but
a group of engineers split away to
form Flomerics, where they focused
on developing solving algorithms.
Electronics cooling software in those
days was a missionary sell, Aldham
reflected. You had to tell people
they could simulate thermal effects
in order to help electronics design.
Until then, the approach was build,
measure, repeat.
In the early days, lack
of computing power was a
drawback. The art then was
how to simplify modelling in
order to get something useful.
But, as computers have
become more powerful, the
software has become more
complex.
One of the challenges with earlier
software packages was the way in
which analysis was undertaken.
Most early software was based on
Cartesian coordinates, Aldham said.
It was very rectilinear; much like
building models using Lego blocks.
But the technology has moved on to
the point where curved shapes can
be analysed consumer products, for
example and that has seen greater
2004; initially to focus on the cooling
issues associated with data centres.
The challenge was to deal with
very large boxes of electronics,
Aldham said. The level of detail was
huge. However, the company started
addressing the thermal challenges
of electronics design in 2008.
We wanted to make the software
more specific to electronics
design, bringing more intelligence
and more automation, he
continued. While you no longer
needed to be a CFD expert,
you still needed to understand
modelling; how you put things
together to represent devices.
So what are the challenges facing
6SigmaET has companies developing thermal
been used to management software? There are
model a range a couple of important challenges,
of electronic Aldham asserted. One is the price
designs, of the equipment being developed.
including DIMM At one time, people thought about
arrays (top) and the engineering margin products
a processor were over designed, but engineers
heatsink knew they would work. Today, people
want to work on the limit, producing

34 13 June 2017 www.newelectronics.co.uk


something that just
works, rather than over
engineering. Todays products
dont have to last 20 years, but
they still have to work.
That means designers need to
be more accurate because the power
going into electronics has grown,
more heat is generated and the
packages are smaller.
The other challenge is the use
of CAD data, he noted. Most
engineers have fully detailed CAD
models often down to the screws
being used and they want to use
that data in their thermal model. Its
a similar problem to the early days;
there is still the need to simplify the
extreme details of a CAD model.
In Aldhams view, the challenge
can be addressed in two ways;
one is to embed thermal analysis
functionality into CAD packages.
You can put a CFD solver into the
CAD package, but that means its a
CAD driven solution, even though its
targeted at electronics.
The other way is to make data
import as seamless as possible.
We can then read the CAD model
and migrate it in a way that makes it
easier to handle.
Meanwhile, the granularity of
analysis software is becoming ever
finer. We are using smaller and
smaller grids, he pointed out. The
question then is how many grid cells
the system can handle. Our software
can support up to 700million, but
a model like that would probably
take a week to run. The biggest
models we see are around 100m
cells, but most designers try
to run models featuring tens of
millions.
Yet, despite thermal analysis
software becoming more widely
available, Aldham suggests
most users are full time thermal
engineers. Theyre mechanicals
responsible for signing off thermal
designs or in a mechanical
design team working alongside
an electronic engineer. Full time
www.newelectronics.co.uk 13 June 2017
SYSTEM DESIGN THERMAL MANAGEMENT
thermals understand where heat is Aldham believes that, while thermal
coming from and the techniques that analysis today is desktop based, that
need to be used. will change. If you want more detail,
Implicit is an understanding of you need faster processors and that
how heat moves around a product. could mean cloud based solutions.
Heat can spread, it can be moved by There is also a growing need to
airflow and theres radiation. All three move beyond steady state analysis.
approaches need to be considered. Particularly in devices like mobile
Thermal analysis software is also phones, static analysis has little value
good for a what if? approach. If it because devices are rarely in a steady
runs at 50W, Aldham noted, what state; theyre playing a video, making
size fan do I need? If it increases to Designers need a call and so on, Aldham explained.
70W, do I need a bigger fan? What to be more Thermal design strategies are often
about heat sinks? accurate because based on controlling a processor as it
So what will the thermal analysis the power going gets hot. This needs to be simulated
package of the future look like? In into electronics and thats difficult in terms of the
some respects, Aldham said, it will has grown, more amount of computation needed.
be more of the same. Packages will heat is generated In the end, however, Aldham
be more powerful, more detailed and and the packages knows that thermal analysis needs
faster, with closer integration with are smaller. to get closer to electronic engineers.
CAD and EDA systems. Chris Aldham They are the ones creating the
But faster, more detailed software problems and its something we have
needs more computing power and on the back burner, he concluded.
FloTHERM XT updated
Mentor has updated its FloTHERM XT software package, adding advanced thermal management
capabilities that allow designers to effectively simulate thermal effects of complex geometries.
The latest release of FloTHERM XT is based on listening to our customers and delivering
the optimum thermal simulation solution to address their thermal design challenges, said
Roland Feldhinkel, general manager of the Mentor Mechanical Analysis Division. Our continued
investment in FloTHERM XT will allow our customers to verify and prototype their designs with
greater ease and confidence. These new features are vital for electronics systems designers
who are creating innovative, high-performance products for the transportation, mil-aero and
automotive industries.
Features available in the latest FloTHERM XT release include: simulation of spinning parts in
electronic enclosures;
temperature-dependent power
simulation; enhanced Design
of Experiments parametric
studies to determine best
design coverage; and
thermal territory simulation
when using various
component materials.
Also featured are explicit
models for: spinning parts;
temperature-dependent
power simulation; thermal
territory simulation; and
enhanced parametric study
functionality.
35