Hitachi achieves 40pc reduction in PCB place-and-route design time with Cadence GRE

SAN JOSE, USA: Cadence Design Systems Inc. announced that the Cadence Global Route Environment (GRE) technology for Cadence Allegro PCB design enabled Hitachi Ltd. to successfully reduce PCB place-and-route design time by 40 percent for a high-speed communication product.

Hitachi applied the GRE place-and-route design methodology to its PCB place-and-route from interconnect planning to complete routing, with full constraints for high-speed digital signals where no automation was previously available.

The time-saving results were reported by Hitachi Communication Technologies, Ltd., the communication products division of Hitachi Group, as part of a companywide initiative at Hitachi to enhance design efficiency and reduce design-cycle time.

“High-speed PCBs require significant enhancements in performance, and gigahertz-level signals are becoming common,” said Toru Hiyama, general manager, MONOZUKURI Innovation Operation, Hardware MONOZUKURI Division at Hitachi.

“Hitachi is always aiming at high-performance, high-quality products, and in order to complete the design in the shortest cycle time possible while maintaining high quality, it was critical for us to solve the bottleneck of place-and-route for PCBs. By using Cadence GRE technology, we can solve the routing bottleneck as well as enhance the reliability of the design.”

The Cadence GRE technology is the next-generation interconnect planning and routing technology for PCB, and establishes a new PCB design paradigm. The GRE technology provides users with automation for various stages of interconnect planning and routing where no automation has been available. At the beginning of the process it allows users to plan the routing strategy at a high-level through Interconnect Flow Designer.

Through the Interconnect Feasibility capability it checks and provides feedback on available space for each of the flows, allowing users to modify their routing strategy. In the middle of the planning process, it determines the overall routing feasibility, including the routing paths, net topologies and assigned electric constraints.

In the final planning phase, the GRE technology performs feasibility routing against the pre-determined routing flow, and then automatically completes routing. This approach becomes very effective for memory interfaces such as DDR2, DDR3, and serial interfaces such as PCI Express and PCI Express Gen II with their stringent high-speed design constraints.

At Hitachi, automatic routing had not previously been available to route signals with high-speed constraints. The GRE technology dramatically improves the quality of PCB designs by enabling users to concurrently work on the placement and the exploration of the routing strategies and paths.

With GRE, Hitachi was able to effectively manage PCB designs with various tradeoffs. Hitachi expects further reduction of design time as the GRE performance and features are updated and further enhanced.

In March 2007, Hitachi and Cadence jointly announced that Hitachi had standardized on Cadence EDA products in order to enhance design efficiency and reduce the design-cycle time for Hitachi's hardware products as part of its focus on the company's manufacturing capability.

“Cadence GRE technology is the next generation of PCB interconnect planning and routing technology. It offers automation for designs with high-speed interfaces such as DDR2, SATA, and PCI Express,” said AJ Incorvaia, vice president of research & development, Allegro - R&D Development at Cadence.

“In order to design today’s PCBs with high-speed constraints while maintaining quality levels like those of Hitachi, it is imperative to make route strategy trade-offs at early stages of design as well as have a unified and global methodology for routing. By combining their high-level requirements PCB design with GRE technology, Hitachi is able to significantly shorten their overall PCB design cycle. This success will become a standard reference for a new design methodology for high-speed PCBs.”

In addition to the full-constraints routing capability, Hitachi said the GRE technology will be effective for many other PCB design challenges, such as engineering changes and routing estimation. Hitachi plans to deploy and promote the GRE technology as a standard solution throughout the design environment.

Mac Mini carries $376.20 bill of materials

EL SEGUNDO, USA: Apple Inc.’s latest Mac Mini desktop computer demonstrates once again that Apple knows how to make computers better, smaller, and more attractive.

Such an achievement, however, comes at a premium and bears higher component costs due to the Mac Mini’s use of parts designed for mobile PCs, according to a dissection conducted by iSuppli Corp.’s Teardown Analysis Service.

The entry-level version of the new-generation Mac Mini carries a Bill of Materials (BOM) of $376.20, which increases to $387.14 when manufacturing costs are added. This low-end model of the Mac Mini is priced at $599, reflecting the relatively thin BOM/manufacturing margins generated by Apple’s PCs in relation to its lower-cost consumer items, specifically the iPod line.

The table summarizes the results of iSuppli’s teardown of the new Mac Mini.

iSuppli: Top Cost Drivers in the Second-Generation Mac Mini (Pricing in US Dollars)Source: iSuppli, June 2009

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in iSuppli’s teardown analysis of the new Mac Mini mirror only the expenses for direct materials, manufacturing and basic tests.

Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacturing of the core device itself—i.e., the cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees—as well as those expenses not already included into the per component price, software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs.

Mini finds its inner mobile PC
“Unlike most desktop computers from other brands, the Mac Mini and, indeed, Apple’s entire Mac line make extensive use of components designed for notebook computers,” said Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst for iSuppli. “This enables the Mini and other members of Apple’s computer line to achieve their very sleek and compact form factors, and to reduce energy consumption. However, the use of these components, along with other cost adders like software, yields a computer that is more expensive to make.”

The Mac Mini’s focus on mobile components starts at the top with the PC’s use of Intel Corp.’s Core 2 Duo P7350 microprocessor, which is designated as a mobile chip. The specific Mac Mini torn down by iSuppli incorporated a 2GHz clock speed version of Core 2 Duo P7350, which carries an iSuppli estimated price of $118.35. The next-level Mac Mini model features a 2.26GHz version of the microprocessor, available from Apple at a $150 premium in retail pricing.

Another mobile microchip embedded in the Mac Mini is the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics and I/O controller hub. Apple commonly uses this same part in its MacBook line of notebook PCs. The Nvidia GeForce 9400M comes in at an estimated price of $65.16.

Other mobile components in the Mac Mini that command a price premium include the 2.5-inch form factor Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and the slim Optical Disk Drive (ODD). The Hitachi 120GByte 2.5-inch-format HDD comes in at a price of $46, while the Mac Mini’s ODD—a DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW 8 x speed drive—is priced at $32.

Cutting PCs down to size
At a size of 6.5 x 6.5 x 2 inches, the Mac Mini is tiny compared to a more full-size desktop PC tower enclosure, which can be 10-20 times larger, not including Apple’s external power supply, of course.

Power up
In spite of its use of some mobile components, and the latest energy-saving silicon process geometries, the Mac mini overall has a great deal of processing power. As a result, it employs a 110-watt external power supply, representing a higher power usage than the first-generation model, which employed an 85-watt power supply.

This is so despite the process geometry leap from the 0.13 micron technology employed in Freescale’s RISC microprocessor in the first-generation Mac Mini, to Intel’s 45nm process Core 2 Duo used in this most recent generation Mac Mini.

“The new Mac Mini is a more powerful computer than the first-generation model, causing its peak power requirements to rise,” Rassweiler said. On the other hand, the Mac Mini has earned its green designation as it consumes less than 13 watts when in idle mode.

Nvidia inside
Another major difference between the new Mac Mini and the first- and second-generation models is the use of the Nvidia graphics controller and I/O controller hub. The first-generation Mac Mini employed an equivalent ATI part. The second-generation Mac Mini also employed an Intel graphics processor.

This represents a departure from conventional Intel chipset designs in which Intel provides all of the core silicon and processing beyond the microprocessor.

“Nvidia, as a specialist in the domain of graphics processing and acceleration, clearly enhances the performance of the Mac Mini,” Rassweiler said.

NEC and Renesas to integrate biz ops, establish world's third largest semicon firm

KAWASAKI & TOKYO, JAPAN: NEC Electronics Corp. Renesas Technology Corp., NEC Corp. Hitachi Ltd and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. today agreed to enter into negotiations to integrate business operations at NEC Electronics and Renesas.

1. Background and goals of business integration
NEC Electronics was established in 2002, separating from NEC, and Renesas was established in 2003, integrating semiconductor units at Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric. Both as leading semiconductor companies, NEC Electronics and Renesas provide a wide variety of semiconductor solutions, primarily specializing in microcontroller units (MCUs). In light of fierce global competition in the semiconductor market, NEC Electronics and Renesas have agreed to explore the possibility of business integration in order to further strengthen their business foundations and technological assets while increasing corporate value through enhanced customer satisfaction.

By integrating the world’s two largest MCU suppliers, the new company will provide one of the most competitive MCU product lineups throughout the world.

NEC Electronics and Renesas both focus on the fast-growing field of system-on-chip (SoCs) products. NEC Electronics is a leading producer of SoCs for digital consumer electronics, while Renesas is a well established manufacturer of SoCs for mobile phones and automotive applications. By reinforcing the companies’ respective strengths and development resources the new company will provide globally competitive SoC products.

In terms of the discrete semiconductor business, both companies will define strategies to enhance the competitiveness of analog and discrete products that generate synergies with MCUs.

The new integrated company will have three major product groups, MCUs, SoCs, and discrete products, and will become the world’s third-largest semiconductor business. The new company will select and focus on the development of projects covering a diverse range of fields and will expand its comprehensive lineup of globally competitive products.

In order to address the ongoing challenges of the current economic downturn, NEC Electronics and Renesas will each execute structural reform plans in order to strengthen their business frameworks. Upon completion of these structural reforms, the two companies will integrate their operations to achieve synergies and boost profitability. This integration will result in the establishment of a powerful new semiconductor company that is capable of consistently achieving high earnings and maintaining the ability to withstand changing market conditions.

2. Corporate structure following integration
The preconditions for holding future negotiations are to integrate business operations on April 1, 2010, and to maintain public listing for the new company.

To ensure fairness and equitability, the ownership ratio of the integrated company will be decided and announced before the conclusion of the integration contract through negotiations between NEC Electronics and Renesas, based on scheduled due diligence. The new company will announce the company name, the location of its headquarters, the corporate representative, the board members, capitalization, total assets, and financial forecasts following the integration.

3. Schedule moving forward
NEC Electronics and Renesas plan to sign an agreement at the end of July, 2009 to integrate their business operations. The dates and details of the extraordinary general meetings of shareholders for NEC Electronics and Renesas to consider approval of the integration are to be announced following the signing of the agreement.

Implementation of the planned business integration is conditional upon authorization of the integration by the relevant government agencies.

Make unique fashion statements with E Ink!

This is a continuation of my conversation with E Ink. An Electrophoretic Display (EPD) company and headquartered in Boston, the company makes rolls of EPD film that are later shipped to partners.

Founded in 1997 based on research started at the MIT Media Lab, E Ink Corp. is a leading supplier of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies. Products made with E Ink's revolutionary electronic ink possess a paper-like high contrast appearance, ultra-low power consumption and a thin, light form.

Recently, the company achieved a number of design wins in Japan. Throwing light on these developments, Sriram Peruvemba, Vice President of Marketing, E Ink Corp., said that the company's customers in Japan include Sony (for eBooks), Casio (for mobile phone the GzOne, most rugged version), Citizen (for signage products), Seiko (for wrist watches), Hitachi (for mobile phone, case art display), Teraoka (for Ink In Motion signs), Toppan (for train station arrival/departure information signs).

Based on E Ink's design wins in Japan, is there are a possibility that there will be more mobile phones using film-based displays?

Peruvemba said: "We see sub-segments of the mobile phone market that is disatisfied with the amount of use per battery charge with current LCD technology. We see opportunities for customers to make a unique fashion statement with their products by using our displays. Our displays are slightly thicker than a sheet of paper, so, it is easy to incorporate them as the outside skin of a mobile phone."

The display can be cut to any shape. The company encourage designers to "think outside the rectangle", the rectangle representing traditional display technologies, and there is no glass to break making E Ink's displays the most rugged.

Smart design trends
Given E Ink's vision of having a presence on every smart surface, it would be interesting to find out the company's views on the design trends among displays, and in semiconductors.

For starters, customers used to 30 hours of continuous operation on their eBooks will no longer accept two hours on their laptop battery or just a few hours on their cell phone battery, as the demand for lower power consuming displays will increase.

Peruvemba added: "Designers that hitherto designed their product to accommodate a rectangular display will seek displays that will work around their design, displays that offer unique shapes and sizes such as what is available with technologies like E Ink's EPD. Adoption of reflective display technologies into mobile phones, GPS, PDA's and laptop computers, will allow us to read the display outdoors without having to squint, shield the screen or seek shade."

This spring E Ink had announced new product advancements, like its next generation segmented display cells (SDC) and a new controller for active matrix displays that allows for menu options and pen-input. E Ink is offering a prototyping kit for each product line.

Elaborating on these developments, Peruvemba said that the segmented displays were relaunched with three major changes. They are now more flexible/bendable, they can tolerate a wider temperature range (-10 to +60 deg Centigrade)and are thinner (less than 400 micro meters).

"These features allowed E Ink to win designs with smart card makers, penetrate industrial market segments for battery indicators, and go where no display has gone before," he concluded.