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Nikkei Electronics

July 04 2005 Issue

Keyword . . . p. 12

Kilby Patent

What’s New. . . p. 28

• livedoor to Start Wireless LAN Service in October that Can Be Connected Anywhere
• Citizen Electronics Develops White LED with World’s Highest Luminous Efficiency and Brightness
• Many Manufacturers Release Wireless LAN Chips that Can Fit on a Fingertip
• In the Mad Scramble for SoC Memory Technology, SRAM Moves into the 32nm Area
• Aiming for Outsourcing, NEC Demonstrates a SoC Development Environment Based on C Language
• Hitachi Implements Pioneering Embedded Software Component Technology
• NEC Develops Technology for Using Markup Language to Build GUIs
  
  

Leading Trends

Micron and Samsung Top the List for the Foreign Invasion of the Image Sensor Market . . . p. 53
Overseas manufacturers of image elements, long the unchallenged domain of Japanese makers, are rapidly gaining momentum in an avalanche-like fashion.
The 2005 IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors, held in June 2005, was a clear expression of the rising technological capabilities of overseas manufacturers.

Neutron-Induced Soft Error Countermeasures Can Lose No Time . . . p. 63
Software errors caused by malfunctions in LSI resulting from radiation are increasing. As LSI has become increasingly miniaturized, they are more susceptible to effects from cosmic rays. LSI and device manufacturers are under increasing pressure to take countermeasures.

Cover Story

Broadcast and Broadband Come Face to Face in the Living Room . . . p. 91
FTTH will spread to 30 million households, and the age in which broadcasting and telecommunications services will be provided over communications networks will arrive in 2010.
If FTTH spreads to this many households, the positioning of communications by content providers and the advertising industry will change. Efforts to provide rich video content by means of communications networks will be in full swing, and it will be possible to handle digital broadcasts.
As a result, communications providers’ home servers will make inroads into the household server market.

(Part 1)
FTTH Overwhelms Broadcasting
Televisions Become Communications Terminals . . . p. 94

(Part 2)
After HDTV will Come the Provision of “Reality” . . . p. 106

Interview

Seiko Epson’s President & COO, Seiji Hanaoka: “New Technology Comes from Self Denial . . p. 115

Tech Tale

The Engineers Who Created Cell (Part 4): “Putting Down Roots in Texas” . . . p. 118

Guest Paper

Developing a Software Execution Environment that Can Extract the Full Value of Cell Microprocessor . . . p. 123
Toshiba Corporation has developed a software execution environment for the Cell next-generation microprocessor, which pursued a multi-core architecture. By creating an environment in which programs can be assembled without a detailed awareness of the structure of multi-CPU cores such as making it possible to write multimedia processing flows using XML, Toshiba seems to eliminate the conventional wisdom that multi-core programming is difficult. | Many functions that in the past were accomplished with hardware are now being performed by software, leading to expectations for higher efficiency in device development.
In addition, it will be possible to create structures that maintain real-time capability, which is expected to be used in digital home appliances, and to allow legacy software assets to remain in use through the simultaneous operation of multiple operating systems. Engineers involved in development of the platform explain the functional structures and evaluation results.

NETs Buyers’ Guide

White LED Driver ICs . . . p. 136
Devices that use white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the light sources for compact liquid crystal panel backlights are expanding to include mobile phone handsets, PDAs, digital cameras, VTRs with integrated cameras, and recently, portable music players. We report on white LED driver ICs used for compact liquid crystal panels. The number of white LEDs used as the light source for compact liquid crystal panel backlights is increasing, and it is now commonplace for mobile phones to use four of them.
This article focuses on products that adopt innovations such as IC miniaturization and EMI reduction, assuming that at least four white LEDs can be driven. This includes white LED driver ICs intended to expand additional functions, among multifunctional devices that have functions such as illuminating the light source for mobile phone camera flashes.

NETs Seminar

Wanting to Know the Reality of Neutron-Induced Soft Errors . . . p. 145
LSI software errors caused by cosmic rays are increasing steadily. Semiconductor manufacturer engineers are paying closer attention to this problem than in the past, and device developers must now also have a solid grasp of the situation. Researchers explain the background to the problem and the trend in evaluation methods.

One More Year to the RoHS Directive (2nd Half) . . . p. 157
TDK is lamenting the lawlessness of its supply chain prior to the coming into force of the RoHS Directive in July 2006.
Following a description of undertakings by Ricoh Company, Ltd., an equipment manufacturer, in the previous installment, here we discuss current environmental issues and search for hints to responses by highlighting problems facing component manufacturers.

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Keyword:	12
News Ranking	14
What's New:	28
Selected Shorts:	41
Leading Trends:	53
Cover Story:	91
Interview:	115
Tech Tale:	118
Guest Paper:	123
NETs:	136
Calendar:	206
From the Readers:	210
From the Editors:	211