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CFD and thermal analysis tools aid system design and reduce costs. Added to these are a number of power analysis tools, which are making a serious impact on the market. Power consumption has become an important consideration in embedded firmware, and the way in which the results are interpreted can have a significant effect on performance and efficiency. However, FPGA designers have to understand how the power consumption data patterns relate to the chips they use, for both specific clock cycles and entire computations. Many engineers base their analysis on specific power component numbers, rather than the entire power profile of the system. Not seeing the broader picture can lead to system designs which are energy inefficient – or appear to be.

This was demonstrated during the development of systems implementing the Actel IGLOO low-power FPGA design. When power analysis was conducted on a single cycle basis, silicon chip consumption was seen to vary widely, with a different power number for each of the systems into which it was embedded. If only single clock cycles were considered, the FPGA often appeared to have poor energy efficiency. However, when the entire data spectrum pattern was examined, and power-down switches and alternative power modes were added to the system designs, the results were good.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies have many years’ experience in the field of DSP programming and FPGA design, offering comprehensive solutions for system analysis and PCB layout.

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The problem with omitting lead from tin solders is that, in its absence, spontaneous crystalline ‘whiskers’ can form. Electrically conductive, they can take anything from a few days to several years to develop, and sometimes (no one knows why) don’t grow at all. They can bridge contacts, short electrical circuits, and bridge traces, and no printed circuit board or VLSI design is exempt. In a piece of military (or civil) avionic hardware, the results can be catastrophic.

There is currently no fail-proof way to test the susceptibility of new PCB designs to whiskering, no way of predicting its occurrence, and no guaranteed prevention, except a minimum 3% lead addition. Many of the hardware systems using embedded firmware – for example, military applications – are exempt from environmental legislation. However, in a predominantly OTS (off-the-shelf) industry, component manufacturers aren’t prepared to start making specialist one-off products. It costs them money.

Can we live without lead solders? It seems we may have to. The race is on to find suitable alternatives, but in the meantime, those still using traditional lead-containing components will find them harder and harder to obtain. Part obsolescence management and PCN alerts are just two of the solutions we at offer, to help you cope with problems caused by environmental compliance.

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In 2007, researchers at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, created an automated, FPGA-based, reconfigurable low-power Radio Frequency Identification Data (RFID) tag, using reverse engineering logic. RFID technology is a rapidly expanding area applied in many situations where security is an issue. A shipping consignment may have thousands of tags. The system hardware must be application-specific (rather than off-the-shelf), with proprietary protocols, for each system. System design times for RFIDs tend to be extensive, and intolerant to changes in design standards or application criteria. They also have high costs.

The group sought to develop an automated design flow to customize low-power, active RFID tags using a common template. The system used an RFID primitives/macros and automated template system to create a smart logic buffer which screened out unwanted chip signals from the reader (transceiver). Normally, the transceiver broadcasts to all RFID chips in a certain range, indiscriminately of whether the chips are registered to that reader or not, which wastes power. Reverse engineering solved this problem at low cost.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies have the expertise to tackle complex reverse engineering tasks on your company’s behalf, and have considerable expertise in FPGA design.

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The automotive market is a highly lucrative one, driven by a platform manufacturing model which allows one VHDL design to find multiple buyers. Application specific Integrated circuit (ASIC) designs have been superseded by more flexible programmable logic devices (PLDs) to avoid obsolescence in the marketplace. Field programmable gate array (FPGA) designs are found in even the most economically designed motor vehicles today.

The modern automotive PCB layout needs to offer superior flexibility and performance within set budgetary limits. FPGA design provides the solution, as field programmable gate arrays can be produced in high volume at low cost, to very high standards. As well as optimizing vehicle performance, they can enhance the driving experience, being utilized in the multimedia graphics displays of satellite navigation systems and RSE (rear-seat entertainment) consoles – two of the most popular applications of automotive FPGA programming.

The typical satellite navigation system utilizes a graphics processor with a host CPU; usually a Power PC, TI OMAP or SH4 processor. These interact with various peripheral components such as an LCD display, keyboard and audio output. The processing of graphics involves rapid computing of multiple complex algorithms, a process to which FPGAs(Field Programmable Gate Array) are better suited than standard ASSPs (application-specific standard products) as they can process multiple data inputs within a single clock cycle.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a wide range of hardware design services to the automotive industry, including FPGA Programming and VLSI Design.

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The miniaturisation of complex RFID devices (some are smaller than a grain of sand) has made microchipping of live animals commonplace, and since they do not have to be invasive to be secure, these microchips are now being widely considered for human use. Advances in PCB design and digital signal processing has led to a new generation of low-cost mobile hand scanners, such as pet microchip scanners.

Mobile microchip scanners are based on DSP programming technology. Newer hardware designs have improved reading distance (i.e. the distance from the scanner to the microchip) and screen out interference from other digital technology such as TVs and computers. Since the scanner is a detection device, it needs to be compatible with as many microchips on the market as possible. This is made easier by the fact that that these have become largely standardised. Two of the best known component manufacturers of microtags are Trovan and Avid.

RFID tagging technology today is compact and flexible, with low-power reconfigurable system designs, which utilise FPGA programming in place of earlier ASIC technology. Clinically, it isn’t limited to animals; recently, a new ‘Smart Sponge’ tagging system was developed to safeguard against medical swabs being left inside human patients. If you have an idea for an FPGA design or DSP programming device, we at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies can help bring it to fruition.

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The beauty of miniaturized RFID devices is they are so tiny that they can be injected under the skin where, unlike conventional security tags, they can’t be removed. No larger than a grain of rice, they have been phenomenally effective in reuniting stolen or absconded pets with their owners, and in protecting the public from stray animals. In some parts of the US, it’s a legal requirement to have your dog microchipped.

The security microchips produced by component manufacturers may be small (and getting smaller – in 2009 Bristol University successfully microchipped ants) but they contain a lot of elements. Chief among these is a tiny integrated circuit, which modulates and demodulates radio-frequency signals and stores and processes information, sending it to the scanning device when the tag is activated. There is also a coil inductor, which acts as a radio antenna, and a capacitor which, with the inductor, forms an LC circuit and acts as a tuner.

The tag is activated when it encounters the inductive field of the scanner, which charges the LC circuit and triggers data transmission from the IC. FPGA design and DSP programming are just two of the skills needed to engineer the hardware; both fields in which we at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies are highly experienced.

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