Cover Story
LSI Manufacturers Results Show that Technology in Volume Brings Survival
Signs are pointing to a recovery by semiconductor manufacturers in Japan, for whom a revival had been deemed impossible. Both Elpida Memory, Inc. and Toshiba Corp. reported favorable results for the third quarter of 2006 for their semiconductor businesses. The driving force behind their good form is the strategy of using volume to make the most out of the technology.
Interview with Top Management
It is too early to declare recovery—profit must rise to at least 25%.
Yukio Sakamoto, Elpida Memory, Inc.
Profit can still be generated with falling prices—the key will be multi-level cell and miniaturizationp.
Masashi Muromachi, Toshiba Corp.
A coherent vision is vital—customer focus and global scale are our strengths.
Richard K. Templeton, Texas Instruments Inc.
Setting the pace for technological innovation by forcing obsolescence after two years.
Willem P. Roelandts, Xilinx Inc.
Transforming into a new company
No need for production plants or ASICs on tight deadlines.
Abhi Talwalkar, LSI Logic Corp.
Leading Trends
Tearing Down the PlayStation 3
We disassembled a just-released PlayStation 3. The 4,000 or so parts packed inside managed to convey to us the enthusiasm with which designers tried to transform the console into an “information processing unit for homes.”
Leading Trends
New Types of SiPs Bring Down the Cost of Fast/High Capacity Devices
Semiconductor packaging technology has emerged that can heighten the performance of a wide range of devices at low cost. The technology can fit a high-capacity DRAM of 512 Mbits or more into one package together with a logic LSI. The data transmission rate between the two is high, between several Gbits/s and several hundred Gbits/s.
Leading Trends
As Data Centers Heat Up, the Need to Reduce Power Density Becomes Urgent
Consumption of electricity by data centers is rapidly increasing. Underlying this is a rise in power density caused by the spread of blade servers. Manufacturers of server-related products have begun to devise all manner of measures in an attempt to resolve this constantly growing problem.
Keyword
HDD
Tech Tale
Making W-ZERO3 in 8 Months (Part 2): “It’s Like Traversing the Peaks of Trouble”
Guest Paper
Using Aluminum and Water to Make Pure Hydrogen as a Fuel Source for Fuel Cells, Etc.
Development of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), which run on hydrogen, is being aggressively pursued towards achieving improvements in fuel cell output. One issue is the poor storage efficiency of hydrogen, which is a gas at room temperature. If stored in a high-pressure tank, the capacity of the tank has to be increased. If stored in a hydrogen-absorbing alloy, the weight of the tank increases. Meanwhile, between spring and summer 2006, Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and others have been unveiling fuel cells run on hydrogen generated by mixing metallic powder and water. NTT DoCoMo has not revealed details of the metal it uses to generate hydrogen, but Hitachi Maxell says it employs aluminum powder. The hydrogen generation method used by Hitachi Maxell is actually part of the research of Masao Watanabe, a professor at the Muroran Institute of Technology. Professor Watanabe explains to us about the aluminum particles used to generate hydrogen.
NETs Buyers' Guide
Virtual Surround Sound LSIs
It looks as if more and more video and audio content containing 5.1 channel sound, such as Dolby Digital or Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), will be released. But in most cases, when it comes to the actual listening environment, we only get to use a couple of speakers or stereo headphones. This is where we introduce to you the virtual surround sound LSI, which makes it possible even in such environments to enjoy the full spatial effects of multi-channel audio. There are two main methods for achieving this: through an LSI already equipped with a virtual surround sound function, or through virtual surround sound software run in a programmable general-purpose DSP core. The question to ask yourself when making a selection is, do you go for flexibility in being able to select the algorithm you wish to use, or do you choose the fast option that requires no programming?
NETs Seminar
Performance and Sound Quality of Audio D-A Converter (1st Half)
The quality of digital audio is greatly influenced by the performance of digital-to-analog conversion LSI circuits. This is because the circuits’ capabilities, in terms of D-A conversion method and THD+N (total harmonic distortion plus noise), have a direct influence on sound quality. We explain how these factors affect quality of sound and look at the relationship between the conversion method and the sound we want to produce.
NETs Seminar
Learning New Methods of Reducing Power Supply Noise (Part 1): Capacitors Using Novel Concepts Reduce Power Supply Noise over a Wide Spectrum Band
New ways to counter noise in electronic devices are starting to be employed. One such approach is “decoupling,” which is able to lower noise better than conventional methods. NEC Tokin Corp., has developed the Proadlizer, a four-terminal capacitor that can be used for decoupling. Here we explain the decoupling approach and methods of implementation using the Proadlizer as an example.
Interview
The Developers of Sony Computer Entertainment’s PS3: “The PS3 Isn’t a Goal, It Is a Milestone”
What's New
- Sony, Matsushita and Samsung Move to Bring Millimeter Wave Technology to Home Networking
- Matsushita Electric Starts Sales of an HDTV Camcorder which Uses SD Memory Cards and H.264
- SANYO Electric Starts Sales of a “PND” (Personal Navigation Device)
- Aplix Develops “User Space Virtual Machine” Technology for Digital Consumer Electronic Products
- Devised to Control Power Consumption, 65nm Generation FPGAs Appear
- UPS Devices Using Li-Ion Rechargeable Batteries Are Productized
- Aichi Steel Develops a Small Highly Sensitive Magnetic Sensor
