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Home :. Table of Contents :. Index :. Nikkei Electronics October 10 2005 Issue


Nikkei Electronics


October 10 2005 Issue

Keyword .  .  .  p. 10

Power Line Communication

What’s New .  .  .  p. 32

  • Sony to Market a DTCP-IP Compliant PC for Use in the Living Room
  • FUJITSU TEN Launches a Car Navigation System Showing Different Screens to the Driver and Passenger Seats
  • The “Ichitaro” Court Case Is Resolved
  • A MAC Layer LSI for Wireless USB Appears
  • NTT DoCoMo Reveals Details of Their “Super 3G” Next generation Wireless Technology
  • Aiming for World Domination of Mobile Phone Software, ACCESS Buys Palm Source
  • JEITA Reveals Standards for Self-Regulation of Quantities of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from PC’s

Leading Trends

After Focusing on iPod, Samsung Looks to Using Flash for PCs and Videos .  .  .  p. 53
Apple Computer, Inc. astonished the business world with a rock-bottom price tag—a little less than ¥30,000—on its 4GB “iPod nano.”  The secret to the low price has to do with the pricing strategy of Korean flash memory provider, Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. Samsung’s aim is to avidly cultivate new markets for NAND flash memory.

With the “Yodobashi Camera Shock,” RFID Tags Using the UHF Band Also Come to Japan .  .  .  p. 59
Major consumer electronics retailer, Yodobashi Camera Co., Ltd., has decided to adopt a UHF-band RFID tag system at the end of May 2006 with the aim of improving logistics efficiency.  The system will run on the new Gen 2 international standard and employ Japan-specific interference avoidance technology.  
Japan, which one year ago had yet to settle on a frequency for IC tags, is suddenly about to see UHF tag commercialization take off.

Cover Story

Thorough-Si Via to Bring About a Chip Structure Revolution .  .  .  p. 81
Through-Si via electrodes, which ensure a transmission path right through a chip from top to bottom, are the focus of a great deal of attention since they allow the stacking of chips with multiple points being connected along the shortest distance.
It will be possible to dramatically increase the number of chips in an SiP (System in Package) product and significantly raise the data transmission speed between chips.  In due course, new inter-chip connection technologies have the potential to completely transform existing concepts in LSI design.


(Part 1)
The Answer to the Crisis
From flat to 3D LSI
Realized by a transmission path right through a chip

The assumption that LSI are flat may soon be thrown on its head with the emergence of through-Si via electrodes, which allow a transmission path right through a chip, and wireless communication technology.  It will be possible to link a multiple number of chips at high speeds along the shortest distance between them.  
These technologies will first be utilized to save space in SiP and memory products.  Afterwards they will be used to shorten wiring delay in LSI, which are required to operate at high speeds, and eventually have an influence on almost all areas of LSI.


(Part 2)
Towards Mass Production
Leaping from research to practical use through cost reductions and miniaturization

Next-generation inter-chip connection technologies have taken a first step towards practical application.  Among the several contenders, semiconductor manufacturers are focusing their energy on through-Si via electrodes.  
The greatest challenge along the road to practical use is the reduction in manufacturing costs.  Simply applying the processes established during research would be insufficient.  Numerous ideas are coming in from other areas.  Once cost reductions have been achieved and through-Si via electrodes widely used, attention will then fall upon miniaturization.  
If it were possible to construct through-Si via electrodes at the same level as LSI circuits, LSI design and manufacturing as we know it could change dramatically.

Interview

Panasonic Mobile Communications’ Director, Base System Development Center, Ryoichi Sugimura: “Combating Mobile Phone Software Quality” .  .  .  p. 101

Tech Tale

STAR WARS the Digital Cinema Revolution (Part 5): “The MPEG-2 Blues” .  .  .  p. 104

Guest Viewpoint

Rejuvenated Electric Power Systems Bring 2.3W/cm3 AC-DC Converters into Life .  .  .  p. 109
Vicor Corp. of the U. S. has developed an AC-DC converter with a much higher power density than previous products—2.3W/cm3 compared to 0.6W/cm3.  The high power density was achieved by applying the same power supply architecture used in the company’s DC-DC converters, Factorized Power Architecture (FPA), to its AC-DC converters.  Power conversion efficiency is a high 82%.  Power is converted efficiently by stepping down and isolating voltage soon after the power is fed through via an outlet.  And as the switching frequency goes as high as 4MHz, compact components—transformers, capacitors and inductors—can be used.  As a result, the heart of the new AC-DC converter, the power conversion circuit, was able to fit into one 43 x 32 x 6mm package.  In this article, Vicor Corp. describes the configuration of the FPA-based AC-DC converter and presents some application examples

NETs Buyers’ Guide

Electric Double-Layer Capacitors for Mobile Devices .  .  .  p. 120

Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) are widely utilized in areas from consumer electronics to automobiles.  For mobile devices, the market includes small products with a low electrical capacitance ranging between tens of millifarads and several farads.  Capacitance density and equivalent series resistance (ESR) are points to look at when selecting components.

A small EDLC, the cell of which is 3.8mm across and 1.1mm thick, has emerged in the market for coin-shaped capacitors, used for real-time clock (RTC) backup in mobile phones.  For peak current assistance, too, a rising number of thin-profile models less than 2mm thick and with ESR under 300mΩ are available.  There is also a stronger lineup of models with a high maximum voltage of +3.3V that can be used together with lithium ion secondary batteries.  It is possible to combine with lithium ion secondary batteries using just one component.

NETs Seminar

Validation Method for Embedded Software (1) .  .  .  p. 126
Quality improvements are a pressing issue as the scale of embedded software keeps growing.  However, we can hardly say that engineering approaches to verification to ensure quality are being put into good practice.  
In this series, a specialist describes the methods for verifying software, including testing, reviews and model examinations.

Why Was the “Pachisuro Patent” Decision Overthrown? .  .  .  p. 132
Lawsuits should not be ruled out if they will help protect the company’s patents.  While companies are placing more emphasis on intellectual property strategy, they also face an increasing risk of legal action by other companies for patent infringement.  
We will take a look at the tactic of invalidating the patent in question to avoid having to pay damages, as one way to head off legal action.

Next 2 Weeks 8 For further information, please contact:
Nikkei Electronics
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Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8622, Japan
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http://ne.nikkeibp.co.jp/
Keyword: 10
News Ranking 12
What's New: 32
Selected Shorts: 45
Leading Trends: 53
Cover Story: 81
Interview: 101
Tech Tale: 104
Guest Viewpoint: 109
NETs: 120
Calendar: 166
From the Readers: 170
From the Editors: 171

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