March 2012 Low-Power Design Newsletter
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big.LITTLE is Big

John DonovanAsymmetrical multiprocessing is a great idea that's challenging to execute. It's relatively straightforward to process high-speed, high definition video doing symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP) using an array of identical DSPs instantiated in an SoC or FPGA. However, doing asymmetrical multiprocessing (AMP) - with some cores processing data and others acting as supervisors - represents a real challenge for systems architects and embedded developers. ARM has gone a long way toward addressing those issues with the announcement last October of its big.LITTLE architecture. More

How low can you go? ARM does the limbo with Cortex-M0+ processor core. Tiny. Ultra-low-power.

Steve Leibson

How low can you go? ARM has pushed further into small-processor territory-going whole hog after the 8-bit processor cores-with the newly announced ARM Cortex-M0+ processor core. This is still a 32-bit processor core with the same 56-instruction Thumb ISA implemented by the ARM Cortex-M0 processor core. However, ARM has tossed more hardware overboard to cut the transistor count and the power requirements relative to the ARM Cortex-M0 core. Most noticeable is a jump from the ARM Cortex-M0 processor core's 3-stage pipeline to the ARM Cortex-M0+ core's 2-stage pipeline. More

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Question of the Week: Which processor is beginner friendly?
Robert CravottaMy first experience with programming involved mailing punch cards to a computer for batch processing. The results of the run would show up about a week later; the least desirable result was finding out there was a syntax error in one of the cards. I moved up in the world when we gained access to a teletype that allowed us to enter the programs directly to the computer; however, neither of these experiences hinted at the true complexity that embedded programming would entail. The Z80 was the first processor that I worked with that truly exposed the innards of the processor to me. A key reason for this was the substantial hobbyist community that had grown up around the Z80. More
A Smartphone Upgrade: Decisions Made And Declined (Or At Least Delayed)
Brian DipertI've just wrapped up the latest in what has become a long series of periodic smartphone migrations, conveniently rationalized each time using words to the effect of "it's for my job; I need to keep up-to-date on the latest-and-greatest technologies." In this particular case, my motivations for upgrading my gear encompassed both technical and non-technical factors, but I didn't upgrade as far as I could have, and my restraint was only partly motivated by fiscal concerns. As such, especially since cellular handsets are today's highest-volume case studies of low-power design, I thought I'd devote this month's writeup to this particular story. More

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March Wireless Update: Mobile World Congress Afterthoughts
Will StraussMWC'12 in Barcelona ended the first day of March and had record attendance of 67,000 from 205 countries, of which probably half could be counted as company executives and included some 3,500 CEOs. Unlike some U.S. conferences, almost all of the attendees wore dark suits with ties (yes, there were a few women executives appropriately dressed, too). Clearly, the hit of the show was Nokia's 808 PureView camera/cellphone. With a 41 Mpixel sensor that can capture 4x zoom in full HD 1080p the pixel count was mind-bending. But not to worry on eating up a month's data plan with a single picture, since the default image setting is 5 MP with a 3x lossless zoom. But wait, as the TV pitchman says, there's more. More
International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design (ISLPED)

Featured Articles

Fundamentals of Energy Storage in Energy Harvesting Applications

3 Biggest Mistakes in Reducing RTL Power

The Design and Verification Challenge for the Next Decade

Prototyping with Frequency-Flexible Crystal Oscillators 

 

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Product News

Cadence Delivers High-Performance, Low-Power Design IP Supporting LPDDR3 Memory Standard

Qualcomm Atheros Announces New High-Performance, Low-Energy Wi-Fi System-in-Package for the Intelligent Home and Building Markets

Power Integrations Announces Industry's First LED-Driver Design for Replacement of 100 W A19 Incandescent Bulbs

World's Most Energy-Efficient Processor from ARM Targets Low-Cost MCU, Sensor and Control Markets

Renesas Electronics America Expands RX MCU Support with a BLDC Motor-Control Kit for Energy-Efficient Applications

15W I�C Power Manager Charges LiFePO4 Cells at 3.5A for High Power Density Portable & Battery Back-up Systems

IDT Announces World's First True Single-chip Wireless Power Transmitter and Highest-output-power Single-chip Receiver Solution

Tektronix to Provide First Automated Test Solution for MHL CTS 1.2

Mentor Graphics Announces PADS Release Targeting Design-for-Manufacturing (DFM) Analysis, High-Speed and Interactive Routing

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Industry News

Imec releases industry's first 14nm process development kit

Mentor Graphics Drives Broader Adoption of UVM

Vishay Intertechnology Launches PowerCAD Online Simulation Tool for Point-of-Load DC/DC Circuits

Peregrine Semiconductor Achieves ISO/TS 16949 Quality System Certification

Agilent Technologies Completes Acquisition of Accelicon Technologies' Solutions for Semiconductor Device Modeling

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Training Courses

computerFundamentals of Solar: Off-Grid

This course covers the fundamentals of off-grid, stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems, with the aim of providing engineers with a good overview of the technologies, topologies and electronics that make up such systems. The course content includes: � Introduction to Photovoltaic Systems � Grid-Connected vs. Off-Grid Solar Systems � Solar Energy Storage � Charge Controllers � Power Conditioning � Energy Harvesting � Integration Issue.

 

computerFundamentals of Solar: Grid Connected

Photovoltaic (PV) solar technology is at the heart of the multi-billion dollar clean/green/renewable energy industry, powering everything from road signs to entire cities. This course covers the fundamentals of grid-connected PV systems, with the aim of providing engineers with a good overview of the technologies, topologies and electronics that make up such systems.

 

computerFundamentals of Microcontrollers

EE Times Fundamentals course provides an introduction to microcontrollers (MCUs) including usage and selection of the devices. The course also includes a video explaining showing how to get started with an mbed evaluation kit.

John Donovan
Editor/Publisher, Low-Power Design