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How Bad Cabling Cost a Spanish Engineering Team 200 Million Euros

How Bad Cabling Cost a Spanish Engineering Team 200 Million Euros

This past week, Spain’s attempted launch of its first optical imaging satellite ended in tragic failure—and the reason was frustratingly avoidable.


News Nov 20, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Security IC Solutions: Build or Buy?

Security IC Solutions: Build or Buy?

Depending on the project, designers have a number of options to either etch security at the silicon level or buy a pre-fabricated and pre-programmed security IC.


TI Turns to GaN FETs to Cut Board Space and Boost Power Density in EVs

TI Turns to GaN FETs to Cut Board Space and Boost Power Density in EVs

The new GaN FET family, which includes an integrated gate driver, is said to double power density in onboard chargers and industrial power supplies.


News Nov 10, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Chipmakers Petition for Language Change in Funding Bill to Include Mission-Critical Devices

Chipmakers Petition for Language Change in Funding Bill to Include Mission-Critical Devices

A bill currently going through Congress which would see semiconductor firms handed an extra $3 billion in funding could do more harm than good if its language isn’t modified, some defense firms have said.


News Nov 07, 2020 by Luke James
As Mission-Critical Applications Boom, Reliability Engineering is More Important Than Ever

As Mission-Critical Applications Boom, Reliability Engineering is More Important Than Ever

Transphorm recently suggested that its GaN transistors may be significantly more reliable than rival SiC transistors. How do we measure reliability in components anyway?


News Nov 06, 2020 by Jake Hertz
MIT Sends a Battery-Free GPS Underwater

MIT Sends a Battery-Free GPS Underwater

Researchers at MIT have developed a new underwater communication technique, called underwater backscattering localization, which they hope will need for batteries in underwater GPS.


News Nov 03, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Altimeter Technology—Pressure, Radar, and Optical—Rises to Great Heights

Altimeter Technology—Pressure, Radar, and Optical—Rises to Great Heights

Altimeters have taken off since the 1920s. Now, with piezoresistive ICs and LiDAR-like technology, they're more advanced than ever.


News Oct 30, 2020 by Tyler Charboneau
Silicon Labs Sends Its Isolated Gate Drivers to Space

Silicon Labs Sends Its Isolated Gate Drivers to Space

Silicon Labs has announced a "high-reliability partnership" with Teledyne e2v HiRel, a provider of high-performance semiconductors to the aerospace and defense markets.


News Oct 30, 2020 by Luke James
Xilinx Brings FPGA DNA to a Custom Hybrid System-on-Chip for 5G Radio Units

Xilinx Brings FPGA DNA to a Custom Hybrid System-on-Chip for 5G Radio Units

Xilinx solutions are surfacing for each new wave in the 5G rollout. Appearing in 2021, the new RFSoC DFE is forecasted to break all existing benchmarks.


News Oct 27, 2020 by Adrian Gibbons
Army Funds Research for Sensor with “100,000 Times Higher Sensitivity”

Army Funds Research for Sensor with “100,000 Times Higher Sensitivity”

Army researchers have developed a new microwave radiation sensor that’s said to have 100,000 times higher sensitivity than currently-available commercial sensors.


News Oct 16, 2020 by Luke James
Keeping Power Integrity a Priority With the Right Capacitor

Keeping Power Integrity a Priority With the Right Capacitor

With passives supply chains running thin, some engineers have reemphasized the importance of capacitors and power integrity in space-constrained PCB designs.


News Oct 12, 2020 by Adrian Gibbons
A Closer Look at MARSIS, the Radar that Discovered Lakes on Mars

A Closer Look at MARSIS, the Radar that Discovered Lakes on Mars

This week, the European Space Agency discovered underground lakes of liquid water on Mars. What circuit-level hardware made this discovery possible?


News Sep 30, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Double the Protocols, Cut the Board Space: How Multi-Protocol SoCs are Simplifying IoT Design

Double the Protocols, Cut the Board Space: How Multi-Protocol SoCs are Simplifying IoT Design

Silicon Labs and STRATIS announced a collaboration to connect smart apartment complexes. What tech underlies this news?


News Sep 29, 2020 by Jake Hertz
GaN HEMT Reliability: Why the Industry Can’t Agree on One Testing Standard

GaN HEMT Reliability: Why the Industry Can’t Agree on One Testing Standard

If standardized testing methodology for GaN-based HEMT reliability is far on the horizon, what are manufacturers doing to help deliver quality GaN devices in the meantime? 


A New Low-Power GNSS Solution Creates More Precise Indoor Positioning

A New Low-Power GNSS Solution Creates More Precise Indoor Positioning

Synopsys and Nestwave are combining hardware IP and algorithms to give GNSS receivers in battery-operated IoT devices extra nap time.


News Sep 08, 2020 by Adrian Gibbons
DARPA’s Recent Deal With Arm Reflects a History of Microelectronics Innovation

DARPA’s Recent Deal With Arm Reflects a History of Microelectronics Innovation

From a three-year partnership with Arm to sponsoring ongoing Electronics Resurgence Initiatives, here’s how the U.S. DARPA is forging onward in microelectronics.


News Aug 27, 2020 by Tyler Charboneau
A New RF Upconverter Can Test Satellites Operating in the Q/V Band

A New RF Upconverter Can Test Satellites Operating in the Q/V Band

This week, Rohde & Schwarz released news of its new Q/V band upconverter meant to test satellite payloads. But what is the Q/V band?


News Aug 12, 2020 by Jake Hertz
From Space to Anywhere: New Ka-Band Transceiver Promises to Connect Remote Areas

From Space to Anywhere: New Ka-Band Transceiver Promises to Connect Remote Areas

Socionext and Tokyo Tech have developed what they claim is the first Ka-band SATCOM transceiver that uses CMOS technology.


Failures in Electronic Systems Can be Catastrophic. How Can We Avoid Them?

Failures in Electronic Systems Can be Catastrophic. How Can We Avoid Them?

Rocket Lab’s recent in-flight failure was the result of an electrical system failure. This evokes the question, How can electrical failures be avoided?


News Aug 03, 2020 by Jake Hertz
NASA Taps Teledyne CCD Image Sensors to Search for Past Life on Mars

NASA Taps Teledyne CCD Image Sensors to Search for Past Life on Mars

Teledyne e2v’s CCD image sensor is headed to Mars on NASA's Perseverance Rover. Its mission? To investigate rock samples on the red planet for past signs of life.