New Electronics - 9 April 2013

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9 April 2013
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Focusing on the details
Digital optical microscopy will help to answer fundamental questions about materials
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Contents Vol 46 No 7
12
Onwards and upwards
14
Cover: IBM Zurich
Plextek Group chairman Colin Smithers says that, after more

than 20 years as a design consultancy with many strings to
its bow, its time for the company to move forward
Cover Story
14
The microscope is one of sciences oldest tools, yet digital

optical microscopy is set to help researchers answers some
fundamental questions in a range of fields
Aerospace
21
Built in crypto functions could help the industry to extend trust

into the supply chain and combat the growing threat posed by
counterfeit components
Small is beautiful
24
Theres plenty of opportunity for small scale programmable

logic devices, claims this developer, as it launches its smallest
part not only in terms of capacity, but also of size
Communications Test
24
The automotive eCall system will be mandatory in cars sold

in Europe after 2014, but whats in the system and how
extensive is the testing regime?
Ticking the boxes

30
www.newelectronics.co.uk
27
Ready for the call
Engineering MAnagement
When elements of a design change, can you ensure the

changes have been applied to all the relevant parts of the
system and can you prove it?
Forty years of the

technology you
never knew you
needed
6
Peratech looks to
adapt its QTC
technology to suit
printed electronics
Security is key
Programmable Platforms
Comment
News
An all British satellite project featuring experimental UK

technology is nearing completion. Eight payloads are set to
enter orbit later this year on a three year mission
Digital Design
18
Got a problem? See

if the Forum can
help you solve it
18
Flying the funky stuff

6
www.newelectronics.co.uk/forum
Interview
30
Cisco set to buy

small cell specialist
Ubiquisys for
$310million
ARM and TSMC tape
out the first CortexA57 processor
based on a 16nm
FinFET process
Europe should take
advantage of the
opportunities which
the Internet of
Things will present,
says keynote
speaker at DATE
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9 April 2013
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Comment
The Newest Products for Your Newest Designs
Celling mobility
Forty years of the technology
you never knew you needed,
but cant do without.
ts hard to believe the first mobile phone call was made 40 years ago;
the technology continues to feel as though its a recent development.
Yet, four decades ago, an engineer made that call using a prototype
version of the Motorola DynaTAC. If you believe Wikipedia, the call reached
the wrong number. Neverthless, it connected and the rest, as they say, is
history. But what a history.
Getting to that first mobile phone call had taken many years. Although
car phones were in use in the US and the UK, these large and heavy
systems remained tethered to the car.
Bell had already launched a commercial system using cellular
principles in 1969. The service, which was available on trains running
between Washington and New York, used trackside hardware to switch
calls and demonstrated some of the principles involved in handing calls
over and frequency management.
It took another 10 years before the problem of handing over mobile
phone calls was solved satisfactorily systems engineers finally realised
that mobile phone users were upwardly mobile in a number of senses.
While handing calls over between cells worked well enough if you were on
the street, it wasnt so good if you were up a New York skyscraper. As
users moved around, their phones linked with different cells but not the
ones which the network expected. If a call linked to an unexpected cell, it
dropped out. That brought finer granularity to the cellular network, but it
also created backhaul problems.
When the first commercial mobile phone call was made in Chicago in
1983, early adopters needed deep pockets the production version of the
DynaTAC carried a price tag of $3995.
In three decades, the mobile phone has gone from a novelty to an
essential tool: those who werent born when the mobile phone reached the
UK in 1985 probably cannot imagine life without one. It would take a very
brave person to predict what the mobile phone will be capable of in
another 30 years.
Graham Pitcher, Group Editor (gpitcher@findlay.co.uk)
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News P r i nte d E lectro n i cs
Briefs
Cutting LED costs
The University of Cambridge has opened a
1million facility aimed at reducing the cost of
manufacturing gallium nitride leds.
A 48W led lightbulb made from GaN on
sapphire leds costs about 15, said Professor Sir
Colin Humphreys, from Cambridge Universitys
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy.
The research we have performed on GaN on
silicon leds, plus that which we will carry out in
this new reactor, means people will be able to buy
an led bulb for just 3.
Prof Humphreys also believes GaN could
replace silicon in power electronics devices. If
we can replicate these devices using GaN, we
believe we could make them 40% more efficient.
Cisco to buy Ubiquisys

Cisco is to buy Ubiquisys, the Swindon based
small cell specialist, for $310million. The move is
said by Cisco to reinforce its capability to deliver
mobile internet networks.
Kelly Ahuja, general manager of Ciscos Mobility
Business Group, said: By acquiring Ubiquisys, we
are expanding on our current mobility leadership
and our end to end product portfolio.
Ubiquisys has focused on small cell
communications and on intelligent software for
licensed 3G and LTE spectrum. It believes this,
coupled with Ciscos mobility portfolio and Wi-Fi
expertise, will support the transition to next
generation radio access networks.
Weightless 1.0 ratified

Version 1.0 of the Weightless machine
communications standard has been ratified at
the Weightless SIGs fourth Plenary Conference.
We are delighted to have reached this seminal
moment for machine communications, said
Professor William Webb, ceo of the Weightless SIG.
This technology can enable the tens of billions of
connections forecasted over the next decade.
At the terminal level, data rates ranging from
1kbit/s to 10Mbit/s are possible, with packet
sizes ranging from 10byte with no upper limit.
Acknowledged and unacknowledged message
transmission modes are supported and there is
a multicast call capability.
At the network level, scheduling will allow
transmissions to be planned, resulting in high
loading efficiency. Frequency hopping and
intelligent frequency planning will maximise
throughput, says the body. Modulation schemes
and spreading factors will enable 5km coverage
to indoor terminals, it adds.
For more, go to weightless.org
9 April 2013
Preparing for printing

Research project adapts QTC materials to printed
electronics. Graham Pitcher reports.
Peratech is working with the Centre for
Process Innovation (CPI) to develop new
formulations for its QTC materials. The
project, supported by the Technology
Strategy Board, will establish if existing
commercial printing machinery can be
used to print a new generation of printable
electronics, including QTC sensors.
The next innovation in electronics is
being able to print complete circuit
assemblies as this reduces unit costs
dramatically, explained David Lussey,
Peratechs cto. Both active and passive
components are being printed onto paper, textiles and plastics using flexographic printing processes. The
research project with CPI is designed to create QTC ink formulations that can be used in this and similar
printing processes so that QTC pressure sensors and switches can be incorporated into these next
generation, printed electronic circuits.
The research project with CPI is halfway to completion, with several promising formulations being tested.
The first run of printed QTC electronics using a standard flexographic press was completed in February. The
beauty of working with CPI is it has a development print line, so new formulations can be tested and
feedback is available immediately, added Lussey. This is very important as it enables us to experiment
with printing the new formulations on different types of materials.
Nigel Perry, CPIs ceo, added: Our joint research on QTC print ink for volume printed electronics will open
its use up for a huge number of possible applications. We have already shown that printing does not need to
be done in proper cleanroom conditions, which reduces the production costs even more.
Bio-battery breakthrough
Researchers from the University of East Anglia have shown that it is
possible for bacteria to lie directly on the surface of a metal or mineral
and to transfer electrical charge through their cell membranes. The
team believes this could bring efficient microbial fuel cells or bio
batteries a step closer.
Lead researcher Dr Tom Clarke said: We knew that bacteria could
transfer electricity into metals and minerals and that the interaction
depends on special proteins on the surface of the bacteria. Our
research shows these proteins can touch the mineral surface directly
and produce an electric current, meaning that is possible for the
bacteria to lie on the surface of a metal or mineral and conduct
electricity through their cell membranes.
First interface board launched for Myriad RF community

Azio has launched the first interface board for the
non profit open source Myriad RF project. Myriad RF
was launched in March by Lime Microsystems to
encourage innovation in the sector.
The DEO-Nano interface board connects to the
Myriad-RF 1 board, allowing designers to use
Alteras Cyclone IV fpgas in Myriad RF projects. It

also provides a USB connector for pcs and
Raspberry Pi.
Meanwhile, Azio says the first 250 customers for
the Myriad-RF 1 will be entered into a draw for a free
DEO-Nano. For more, go to www.azio-tw.com
AR M P ro c es s o r News
FET accompli?
ARM and TSMC tape out FinFET based Cortex-A57.

Graham Pitcher reports.
ARM and TSMC have made the first tape out of
an ARM Cortex-A57 processor which features
FinFET process technology.This is said by the
companies to be the first milestone in their
collaboration to optimise the 64bit ARMv8
processor series on a FinFET process.The test
chip was implemented using a commercially
available 16nm FinFET tool chain and design
services provided by TSMCs Open Innovation
Platform (OIP) ecosystem and ARM Connected
Community partners.
This first ARM Cortex-A57 processor
implementation paves the way for our mutual
customers to leverage the performance and power efficiency of 16nm FinFET technology, claimed Tom
Cronk, general manager of ARMs processor division.This joint effort ... demonstrates the strong
commitment to provide industry leading technology for customer designs tobenefit from our latest 64bit
ARMv8 architecture, big.LITTLE processing and POP IP across a variety of market segments.
The Cortex-A57 processor, ARMs highest performing processor to date, is targeted at compute intensive
applications such as high end computers, tablets and servers.The processor was taken from RTL to tape out in
six months using ARM Artisan physical IP, TSMC memory macros and eda technologies enabled by the OIP
design ecosystem.
Our collaboration with ARM continues to deliver advanced technologies to enable market leading SoCs
across mobile, server and enterprise infrastructure applications, said Dr Cliff Hou, TSMCs vice president of
R&D. This achievement demonstrates that next generation ARMv8 processor is FinFET ready for TSMCs
advanced technology.
Tektronix makes move into power analysis

Tektronix has launched the PA4000, its first dedicated power analyser. Dave Mehta, the companys
technical marketing manager, said: Many customers use our tools, scopes and probes for power
analysis in the R&D environment, but need to do precompliance testing and take other measurements.
They were looking for a power analyser solution from us and, rather than reinventing the wheel, we
bought the IP from Voltech.
The PA4000 debuts the Spiral Shunt design,
which provides a way to take stable, precise current
measurements on highly distorted power
waveforms. There are two Spiral Shunts on each
channel one for measurements up to 1A, the other
for up to 30A. This shunt design is then combined
with dsp algorithms, allowing the PA4000 to track
power cycles accurately, even in the presence of
transients and noise.
Hybrid graphene ribbons set to boost battery efficiency

Hybrid ribbons of vanadium oxide and graphene
could represent the best electrode yet for lithium-ion
batteries. A team from Rice University in the US found
that cathodes made from the material could be
charged and discharged in 20s, while retaining more
than 90% of their initial capacity after 1000 cycles.
This is the direction in which battery research is

going, not only for high energy density but also for
high power density, said materials scientist Pulickel
Ajayan. The ribbons ability to be dispersed in a
solvent might also make them suitable as a
component in paintable batteries.
Bright lights at Forum

A recent event held at the Williams F1 Conference
Centre highlighted the growing success of events
that bring focused technical presentations to a
relevant audience. The event LED Design and
Lighting Design was attended by more than
100 delegates, whose spheres of interest ranged
from automotive and aerospace to electronics
equipment manufacture.
The stand out presentation came from Tony
Armstrong, Linear Technologys director of
product marketing (power), who flew in from the
US to open the forum with a presentation
highlighting the protection which LEDs require to
achieve the right temperature and colour.
Fortronics marketing director Harvey Osborn
commented: Despite local weather issues and
other events running on the same day, we
delivered our most successful event to date. The
key to the events success is to carefully select
both sponsors and attendees matchmaking, if
you like and it works.
The next forum RF and Wireless takes
place at the Williams F1 Centre on 25 June. For
more about the event, go to www.fortronicuk.com
Developing delays
A team from Georgia Tech has developed an ultra
compact passive true time delay. Researcher
Ryan Westafer said: Most true time delay
equipment uses long electromagnetic delay lines
comparable to coaxial cables that take up a
lot of space.
Georgia Techs solution uses acoustic delay
lines embedded within thin film materials. The
component can, says Westafer, be made
thousands of times smaller than an electrical
delay line design and can be readily integrated
on top of semiconductor substrates.
Charging lifetime
extended
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material
and Beam Technology IWS have developed a
technology that increases the charging life of a
lithium-sulphur battery by a factor of seven.
We have managed to extend the lifespan of
lithium-sulphur button cells to 1400 cycles, said
Dr Holger Althues, head of IWS chemical surface
technology group. The prototype anode is made
from a silicon-carbon compound, which changes
less during each charging process than metallic
lithium. This avoids the liquid electrolyte
breaking down as quickly.
In the long term, IWS expects lithium-sulphur
batteries to reach an energy density of 600Wh/kg.
9 April 2013
News Analysis Conference Report
Little things mean a lot

Europe should take advantage of the Internet of Things,
says keynoter. Louise Joselyn reports from Grenoble.
MEMS can contribute
to the IoT: motion;
acoustic;
environmental; and
microactuation.
A new acoustic era
is coming, he claimed,
with contextual and
geolocalised audio
content. He envisages
augmented sensor
based applications.
Indoor navigation will
rely on a combination
of gyroscope,
accelerometer,
pressure sensors (for
altitude changes) and gps to specify precise
location, with speech to alert the user.
However, despite the potential of a range of
smart applications, there are challenges rf
connectivity needs to be better integrated with
augmented sensors and the server infrastructure
needs further development to support
interconnected smart environments.
Vigna asked: How much of this will happen and
how fast? It depends on us and the technology.
And, with the success of Apples iPhone technology
in prompting the mass take up of accelerometers,
he added: We need the right people in the supply
chain to get things going and get them accepted.
Energy efficiency was a key theme at this years
DATE conference. Keynoter Massoud Pedram, from
the University of Southern California, spoke at the
Vigna: How
much of this
will happen and
how fast? It
depends on us
and the
technology.
In the emerging world of the internet of things (IoT),

the smartphone looks set to become our general
purpose person-to-person and person-to-(smart)
machine interface. Yet, according to Benedetto
Vigna, executive vice president with ST
Microelectronics, the smartphone of the future will
be a distributed device; with microphones and
speakers in our glasses or ear wear, displays on our
sleeves, accelerometers in our jewellery and solar
rechargeable batteries in our clothing.
In his keynote address to last months DATE
Conference in Grenoble, Vigna highlighted the
technologies critical to the integration of MEMS
based sensors with traditional microelectronics in
3d packaging. He believes that Europe, with its
strength in MEMS, is in a good position to get ahead
in this race. He identified four key areas where
9 April 2013
macro level on how nations can minimise

emissions through information and
communications technology (ICT). He believes ICT
can improve efficiency in a range of market sectors
and reduce energy consumption in data centres by
moving from performance driven design to a focus
on adaptive voltage supply levels and near sub
threshold computing.
Continuing the theme of energy efficient
computing was John Goodacre, director of
technology and systems at ARM, who made a
keynote on day two of the event. He said ARM has
always positioned multicore as a power efficiency
solution, not a high performance one. But the IT
industry has always considered it a performance
play, he said. Now, with power efficiency having a
higher priority than server performance, ARM
believes the time is right for it to make moves into
the server, HPC and IoT markets.
ARMs move to address 64bit processing via its
v7 compatible v8 core design is said to enable its
concept of a scalable unified architecture, in which
energy efficient, multiple clusters of cores can be
used for higher performance applications.
Meanwhile, DATE allowed local company Docea
Power to demonstrate its latest power and thermal
analysis tools Aceplorer 3.1 and
AceThermalModeler 2.0 which can be used
throughout the design process. Aceplorer 3.1
features a solver for coupled power and thermal
transient simulations, plus a communications
protocol to enable cosimulation with virtual
platforms and performance analysis tools.
The tools recognise that power optimisation in
SoC, 3d package and system in package design has
become highly specialised. Sales and marketing
director Ridha Hamza noted: We used to be in
discussion with the system architect about power
and thermal challenges, but now these same
companies have teams of power architects.
Most popular news on the web
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White Papers
News
Real time challenges and

opportunities in SoCs
Silicon convergence affecting

real time design
48715
Energy in inductive sensing
Applications to show how

these systems work.
Mobile OS trends
Intel looks at OS trends
48769
48435
Adding class D audio
SiLabs tells you how to add class D

audio to embedded systems. 48886
Videos
How to add a mobile phone
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and keyboard are not a practical
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Circular placement for

multi-channel designs
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repeat in a circular fashion 48649
Ceramic speaker driver

with ALC demo
Demo of the LM48560 Class H

boosted speaker driver
48645
NXP unveils smart wireless

charging demonstrator
The device triggers wake-up, so a

the charging pad remains switched
off when not in use
48572
Forum
Connector conundrum
I will be designing a PCB with 30
digital inputs and 6 outputs. What
type of PCB connector can I use to
connect all peripheral I/O to limit
switches?
www.newelectronics.co.uk/forum
10
9 April 2013
IBM says so-long to silicon?
An alternative technology to silicon-based devices is being

researched by IBM
48735
2. SiTime enters smartphone

market with its first MEMS
oscillator
48838
may enable non invasive sensing

devices
48770
6. Introducing Fuel, claimed to be
the worlds smallest smartphone

charger
484877
7. TI's bq2419x family of battery
charger ics reduces charge time

of smartphones by 50%. 48794
Group Editor
Graham Pitcher
gpitcher@findlay.co.uk
Deputy Editor
Tim Fryer
tfryer@findlay.co.uk
Contributing Editors
David Boothroyd
Chris Edwards
Louise Joselyn
Roy Rubenstein
editor@newelectronics.co.uk
big.LITTLE processor for new

automotive SoC
48801
5. Microwave screening material
New Electronics Tel: 01322 221144

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lhopperton@findlay.co.uk
3. Renesas selects ARMs
4. Graphene ribbons could boost

efficiency of Li-ion batteries 48853
Magazine contacts
1
8. Crees XLamp CXA family breaks
10,000lumen barrier with
integrated led arrays
48822
9. Third generation MEMS
oscillators offer lowest levels of
jitter
48768
10. Researchers make advance
towards bio-batteries
48771
Art Editor
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Illustrator
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Blogs
Flogging a dead horse
Was Didier Lamouche, STEricssons former ceo, tired of
flogging a dead horse?
48677
Is Warren East the retiring type?
Is ARMs leader stepping down
inorder to step up somewhere
else?
48621
Technology
Advent of 4G looks set to
disgruntle Freeview users
Will the new 4G multimedia
services impact on those who rely
on digital terrestrial TV?
48789
Improvements still needed to
make LEDs more efficient
Two recent developments aim to
make LEDs more efficient 48779
Is Altera the first of some 'big

name' foundry deals for Intel?
Intel appears to be entering the
foundry business in a meaningful
fashion
48485
Embedded PMBus simplifies

complex power systems
Managing complex power
relationships
48784
Cadence looks to knock

Synopsys off its IP perch
Cadence could offer customers
customised IP, tailored to their
specific requirements
48499
A new twist to optical comms

An optical component that can
detect twisted light could lead to
much higher capacity optical
transmission systems
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Colin Smithers
Colin Smithers, chairman of the Plextek
Group and one of its three cofounders, has
been involved with radio and electronics
projects for more than 30 years. He
maintains an active role in guiding the
development of custom product and system
solutions.
Prior to founding Plextek, he spent four years
with PA Consulting Group and before that he
worked for Philips, where he completed his
PhD in linear power amplifiers.
Interview Colin Smithers
Onwards and upwards

Plextek Group chairman Colin Smithers tells Graham Pitcher how its time
for the company to move forward.
Photo: Charles Milligan
hen is a design consultancy not a design consultancy? Thats the

problem with which Plextek has been wrestling for some years.
Established in 1989, the company has grown to become one of
the leaders in its chosen field. But as it has added more strings to its bow, in
the view of group chairman Colin Smithers, it kept bumping into itself.
The solution? At the beginning of 2013, it formed the Plextek Group to
separate the consultancy from the various businesses created along the
way. The move is intended to catalyse the growth of the business by giving
each spin-off a greater focus, whilst fostering a culture dedicated to
innovation within the core consultancy business.
We spent our first 10 years as a consultancy, Smithers recalled,
working at every level. But things burst and we had to ask ourselves what to
do next. A big design win at the time was for the LoJack stolen vehicle
recovery system. We worked this into a full supply contract, said Smithers.
We only needed to add one person to the staff, but it increased our turnover
fourfold. We held the sole contract for seven years, even displacing Motorola,
and saw five million devices enter the market. Few other companies have
managed to do that.
Other ventures followed, including the Blighter radar surveillance
system, RedCloud and Iceni, focusing on cashless money transfer, RedTail
Telematics and Telensa, a street lighting control specialist. And the
establishment of Plextek RF Integration will take advantage of its rf design
expertise.
Plextek experienced a slow period in 2003, when a third of its workforce
was underused, according to Smithers. This gave the opportunity to
develop Blighter. We thought of it as a way to use our resources, Smithers
explained, but it was part of a longer term plan; it can take a decade to get
a product like that accepted for operational tests. And only recently has
Blighter begun to match up to earlier expectations.
By 2008, Plextek was navigating the third recession in its history. It
was just as difficult as the others, Smithers said, but its lasted longer and
has been challenging for all markets. It has taken a bit of thinking to get
through it.
Smithers said the new structure is a recognition of the company
growing up. Its a fact that we have 100 engineers focused on
communications and theres only so much going on in that sector. Its also
an emulation, to a certain extent, of the Cambridge model.
We needed to simplify the structure of the business, he reflected.
Until now, we have been a consulting organisation selling things like radar
systems. Our businesses are now mature enough to be separated out; not
only in structure, but also in their identity. Weve spent three or four years
getting things ready and now its time to move forward. The result, he
believes, is not only a consulting entity, but also a portfolio business. To
some extent, he contended, you could regard the move as a deliberate

generation of internal customers.
He asserts the creation of spin-offs has been the right way to go. We
developed an ultranarrow band (UNB) communication technology, he
pointed out, and have applied that to controlling street lights. Setting up
Telensa turned out to be completely the right decision; its now winning more
than 50% of all tenders for street lighting control and its all based on UNB.
Similarly, the RFIC group has matured to the point where its business is clear.
As part of the restructuring, Simon Cassia has assumed the chief
executive role for Plexteks consulting business. He said theres plenty of
business out there, but added the
nature of the work is changing.
Smithers: Despite the
Plextek Consulting is still the
fact that we can be
largest part of the Group; it has
around 70 people and makes
considered as focusing
around 55% of the contribution to
on niche markets, much the bottom line.
The fact that consulting
of our business ... is
represents the largest part of the
Plextek Group is not an accident.
general engineering.
Cassia says there is plenty of
business out there. But the
nature of the business is changing. Because the UK consulting base can
only service a certain size of business, we need to develop capabilities in
other technologies, markets and countries.
We have a solid business in design, build and manufacture, Cassia
claimed. The opportunity for us now is to expand into systems and
solutions. To do that, we need to further develop our capabilities and our
new management structure will allow us to expand what we have without
losing our focus on design and manufacture.
Growth at Plextek remains organic, said Smithers. Its always been that
way. Skills have also been acquired organically. When we started, we
didnt have an antenna engineer, he said, now, we have a lot of work in that
area. Its the same for image processing; weve gone from no specialists to a
complete department. One reason for this is that we have a very low
attrition rate; its all to do with the intellectual challenge and the working
environment, he claimed.
Plextek has built a reputation around its communications skills and that
track record remains a useful asset. Despite the fact that we can be
considered as focusing on niche markets, much of our business comes
from companies recommending us and its surprising how much of that is
general engineering, Smithers concluded. Our manufacturing experience
is vital in some of these areas and we have the scars.
9 April 2013 13
Cover Story Microscopy

Digital optical microscopy is set to answer fundamental questions in a
range of fields. By David Boothroyd.
he microscope is one of sciences oldest tools for examining nature,

Since the first commercial device was introduced in 1989, AFM has become a
going back at least to the late 16th Century, with Galileo being its most
key tool for imaging, measuring and manipulating matter at the nanoscale.
famous pioneer he called it the little eye. For hundreds of years since,
The AFM comprises a cantilever with a probe at its end with a radius
optical microscopes have revealed a world beyond our senses, pioneering
measured in nanometres. This scans the surface of the material being
huge areas of research and discovery. Today, there are scores of different
studied. The cantilever is typically silicon or silicon nitride and piezoelectric
forms of optical microscopy and one of the most valuable recent advances
elements make it possible to control the precise movements needed.
the digital optical microscope has been enabled by electronics. This uses a
When the tip touches the sample, forces deflect the cantilever and from
cmos sensor or ccd to convert light into electronic signals that can be
these deflections, read by piezoelectric sensors, an image can be built. AFM
displayed on a monitor, making eye pieces unnecessary.
can study a whole range of forces, from basic mechanical contact force, to
But it is the use of particles other than photons notably electrons
van der Waals forces, capillary forces, chemical bonding, electrostatic forces,
together with advances in electronics and other technologies, that has
magnetic forces and others. Usually, deflections are measured using a laser
revolutionised microscopy over recent
spot reflected from the top surface of the
decades. It began in the 1930s with the
cantilever into an array of photodiodes,
development of the transmission electron
although other methods are used like
microscope (TEM), which offers far greater
optical interferometry or capacitive
resolution through the use of electrons,
sensing.
rather than light, and electromagnets,
A variation is non contact AFM (NCinstead of glass lenses. The electron beam
AFM), in which there is no physical contact
is passed through the sample being
with the sample, a technique used by IBM
studied and the electrons are reflected or
Research Zurich. Here, a current is passed
change direction. From this, an electron
through the tip to probe the electrical
micrograph can be created.
conductivity of the underlying surface. The
The TEM was quickly followed in 1935
principles underpinning this go back to the
by the development of the scanning
beginning of the 1990s, when it was
electron microscope (SEM). This
suggested that you could use frequency
represents another whole family of
modulation (FM) signals, as Leo Gross, an
microscopes because it examines objects
IBM Research Staff Member, explains.
by scanning the surface with a fine
You oscillate the cantilever, in our case
electron beam as opposed to passing it
a tuning fork, at the resonant frequency
through the sample. The beam are
and as it gets close to the surface, but
reflected and scattered and a 3d image is
without touching it, it starts to get detuned.
built up from this data.
In the NC-AFM that IBM uses, the resonant
Images of a 1.4nm diameter hexabenzocoronene molecule captured
using a non contact atomic force microscope
Since then, a range of electron
frequency is around 30kHz and the shift is
microscope techniques have been
of just a few Hz, but this is enough to
developed. The hallmark of them all is the extraordinary increase in resolution
create an image by moving the tip of the cantilever which consists of a
they provide in the case of TEM, down to 0.05nm, for SEM, around 0.4nm,
single carbon monoxide (CO) molecule across the sample. This makes it
equivalent to a magnification factor of around 2million, and at least 1000
possible to image the atomic structure of the sample.
times greater than optical devices.
A recent achievement at IBM, using NC-AFM, has been the ability to
Another major branch of the microscope world is scanning force (or probe)
differentiate the chemical bonds in a molecule, which differ in length by only
microscopy, which comprises more than 20 different versions. One of the
3picometres (3 x 1012m), or 1% of an atoms diameter. Bonds can be imaged
and differentiated because they exhibit different electron densities, which
most widely used is a technology making important advances today, atomic
show up in the images as areas of varying brightness. The results have
force microscopy (AFM), capable of resolving to a fraction of a nanometre.
9 April 2013 15
Cover Story Microscopy
advanced the exploration of molecules and

Using a web camera, a small solid state laser,
atoms at the smallest scale and could be
an optical pinhole and free open source
important for studying applications such
software, they have cut the cost to $250.
as graphene, organic solar cells and LEDs.
Whats more, there are several similar
Despite its achievements, there are
kinds of techniques, including interferometric
limitations to AFM. One is that it is slow recording
microscopy, optical coherence tomography and
an AFM image of a molecule with atomic resolution
diffraction phase microscopy. Common to all is the
takes around 30mins.
use of a reference wave front to obtain intensity and
We are working on speeding this up, using faster sensors
phase information.
with a higher resonant frequency; in the region of MHz, Gross
There is a nice irony to this use of holography, which has so far
says. Even real time video is becoming possible.
mostly been applied to light microscopy. That is because holography
Another major challenge in any form of microscopy that can image
was invented by Dennis Gabor in order to improve the electron
individual atoms is the need for extraordinarily precise control of the imaging
microscope! It did not happen in his day, but there are signs that digital
tip. This is made possible through the use of piezoelectric materials but also
electron holography may finally work as Gabor hoped.
critical is very low temperature operation, down to 4K,
After photons and electrons, now we are seeing the
achieved using liquid helium. IBM custom builds its
emergence of neutrons as data for microscopy. A new
systems, but makes use of commercially available
neutron microscope called Larmor is to be built at the
components, from companies like SPS CreaTec.
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire. By
As well as increasing the speed of image capture,
monitoring how neutrons are scattered by a sample, high
another potential advance for AFM technology is to widen
precision images can be created. Since neutrons have no
the range of sensor tips used and the classes of
electrical charge, the beams can penetrate deeply into
molecules that are investigated, which could include
materials. Images with a resolution at the level of
biomolecules. And a different form of NC-AFM, called
individual atoms should be achieved.
Kelvin probe force microscopy, is attracting a lot of
Neutron microscopy is suited to a range of
attention. This uses electrostatic forces, as Gross explains.
applications, including observing magnetic materials,
You apply a bias between tip and sample, sweep the
complex liquids, living biological specimens, and
Non contact atomic force microscopy
highlights the different lengths and
bias across the sample and analyse how the force
enhancing storage of charge in lithium ion batteries.
orders of the carbon-carbon bonds in
changes. This enables you to see charge differences within
Another possibility is studying new molecules that can
this nanographene molecule
molecules that are even smaller than electron charges.
transport medication to the exact location of a tumour.
This could be valuable to help the work going on with single electron devices,
It is not only microscope techniques and technology that are seeing
because it can show how single electron charges are distributed and moved
surprising innovation: so too are their applications. One example is the use
within molecules.
of an AFM by researchers at Zurichs ETH university to analyse a crystal that
For an instrument that we have been using for hundreds of years, the
could tell us about the very early days of the cosmos, shortly after the Big
microscope is still proving to be a remarkable source of innovation. One
Bang. A crystal of yttrium manganite was analysed by the AFM because of its
recent development that owes its emergence to advanced IT is the digital
multiferroic behaviour, in which electric charges and magnetic dipoles
holographic microscope. This aims to overcome limitations affecting many
arrange themselves spontaneously. The researchers discovered this
microscope techniques: a tiny field of view and a shallow depth of field. This
arrangement of charges followed the same rules that describe the universe
makes it difficult to view objects where 3d information can be crucial, like
during its very early expansion.
living cells.
Meanwhile, at the University of Berkeley and the National University of
Answer: make a hologram of the sample. This is done in the usual way, by
Singapore, a TEM is being used to manipulate nanoparticles. The TEMs
splitting a laser beam in two, then using one as a reference beam and
electron beam traps gold nanoparticles and directs their movement, enabling
reflecting the other off the sample to record the pattern of phase shifts that
the researchers to assemble several nanoparticles into a tight cluster. Also,
this produces. A digital sensor records the data. As with any hologram,
because the beam is from an electron microscope, they can image the
recombining the beams produces an interference pattern that can be
nanoparticles as they manipulate them.
analysed by a reconstruction algorithm to build a 3d image of the sample.
Even the humble founder of it all, optical, is seeing advances, such as
The holographic technique not only records variations in the intensity of
nonlinear microscopy. A typical optical microscope is a linear instrument,
light bouncing off a sample, like conventional microscopy, but also phase
meaning the atoms of a sample interact with only one photon at a time. This
information. Thanks to image processing software, this means you can
limits the ability to look below a surface. With a nonlinear microscope, a
change the depth of focus effectively focusing after the image is recorded
sample is examined using two intersecting, non parallel light rays. This makes
and correct optical aberrations, as well as building the 3d image.
it possible to capture images from beneath the samples surface. A further
Another surprising advantage is that holographic microscopy can be low
innovation by Japanese researchers at the Riken Institute has enabled
cost. Devices have been built for as little as $1000 and researchers at the
nonlinear optical techniques to resolve structures in mouse brains down to a
Kisarazu National College of Technology in Japan have gone even further.
depth of 240m.
16
9 April 2013
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roving technology in space is not

a cheap business. Heritage
technology that which has been
flown successfully in space before is
essential for companies requiring
guaranteed performance when their own
technology is committed to space. The
nature of space is that you just cant
afford to get it wrong.
A British venture is hoping to
progress a number of technologies by
giving them the opportunity, at a
relatively low cost, to both prove the
technology and give it valuable flying
time. The project, called TechDemoSat, is
led by Surrey Satellite Technology
(SSTL). Its platform will carry eight
payloads, along with a stack of its R&D,
into orbit later this year.
Project manager at SSTL is Victoria
ODonovan: It is a really interesting
project because normally a satellite just
has one payload, one aim of what it
wants to be an imager or GPS or a
science mission. This has everything. Its
got eight payloads instead of one and all
sorts of product development; from the
onboard computers to techniques for
laying down solar cells.
The project started when SSTL had its
frustrations trying to test product
developments and suspected others
shared the same frustrations. In 2009, it
approached the Technology Strategy
Board and the now defunct South East
England Development
Flying the
funky stuff
An all British satellite project featuring
experimental UK technology is nearing
completion. By Tim Fryer.
Agency with a view to developing a
programme that could deliver benefits
across the UKs aerospace industry.
Grant applications were submitted in
2010 and the project kicked off in
October 2010. In order to keep costs
down, TechDemoSat is an auxiliary load
on the launch vehicle, which means the
launch date will be determined by the
primary load, but it is expected to be in
orbit by Q3.
When proposals were invited for
payloads, it was massively
oversubscribed. An independent
consultant VEGA Space (now Telespazio
VEGA) determined the successful bids
and this has evolved to form the list of
eight that will now fly in the
The platform for

TechDemoSat is
Surrey Satellite
Technologys SSTL
150, used previously
on the RapidEye
mission
18
9 April 2013
satellite. SSTL was not part of this

process, it just needed to know the basic
technical requirements how big, how
much power and data, earth or space
pointing. After this information was
presented to SSTL, it could decide how to
fill the remaining payload capacity. The
payloads selected are:
SSTLs Sea State Payload that will
demonstrate how GPS signals reflected
off the oceans surface can be used to
determine ocean roughness and help
shipping plan more efficient routes.
MuREM, a miniature radiation
environment and effects monitor
supplied by the Surrey Space Centre.
The Charged Particle Spectrometer, a
radiation detector developed by the
Mullard Space Science Laboratory that
can perform simultaneous electron-ion
detection.
The Highly Miniaturised Radiation
Monitor from Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory and Imperial College.
The Langton Ultimate Cosmic Ray
Intensity Detector (LUCID). Developed by
the Langton Star Centre, part of a sixth
form college, the detector can
characterise high energy particles.
A Compact Modular Sounder system,
an infrared remote sensing radiometer
unit, provided by Oxford Universitys
Planetary Group and Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory.
SSBVs CubeSAT ACS payload, which will
Sector Focus Aerospace
(Below) Testing all the

payloads together is
the challenge. SSTLs
Victoria ODonovan said:
The challenge is to get
it all to work together in
this very small system
in a small space of time
with a limited budget.
provide three axis attitude

determination and control.
The Cranfield de-orbit sail, designed by
Cranfield University, will move the
satellite to burn up quickly in the Earths
atmosphere at the end of its life.
The satellite itself is the SSTL 150 a
150kg satellite used on a previous SSTL
mission called RapidEye, which was
used as the starting point for
TechDemoSat. ODonovan explained how
the equipment on the TechdemoSat had
been assembled. The primary string is
our proven avionics that has flown on
other satellites. You would then have a
redundant, which is your second string.
Under normal circumstances, this
second string would also have to be
space proven, but this is not the case
with TechDemoSat.
ODonovan continued: The
secondary string for the platform is all
SSTL developments, so there are new
onboard computers, new solid state data
storage, new battery charge modules
and solar cell lay-down techniques its
all on the platform. For data, we have an
S Band rf link as our primary and a
slightly more capable X Band on the
secondary.
According to ODonovan, her biggest
technological challenge has dealing with
so many payloads. We had all these
different technologies arriving and had

to work out how this development talk to
that one, what happens when this draws
power and so on it is quite challenging
because a typical satellite only has one
payload and we have eight. You might
normally have one piece of new
development which you dont know
exactly how it will work, and on this we
have 15 to 20 new SSTL developments.
So the challenge is to get it all to work
together in this very small system in a
small space of time with a limited
budget.
We communicate using the CANbus
and that was a specification when we
invited people to submit for a payload.
We couldnt have lots of different buses
everyone had to use the same thing. It
is a protocol that I dont think many
people use, but it is typical in satellites.
CAN nodes on the spacecraft use an
SSTL proprietary protocol, known as CAN
Spacecraft Usage, where the most
significant byte in the arbitration field is
used as a destination node address.
Each module connected to the CAN bus
has a unique node address and SSTL
spacecraft may support up to 250 nodes
(certain node addresses are reserved).
In addition, there are two physically
separate CAN buses, primary and
secondary. All units communicate
initially on the primary CAN bus on
power-up, then switch to the redundant
bus if they do not receive CAN messages

within five minutes.
TechDemoSat is scheduled to be in
space for three years. The first month
will be taken up by stabilising the flight
and getting the platform in stable
operation. This will be followed by two
months of commissioning the new
technology, followed by a seven month
period during which the payloads share
resources on an eight day cycle (two
days each) to gather all of the
information required to satisfy their
objectives.
Unlike an ordinary commercial
operation, once that initial phase has
been completed, the gloves are off, as
ODonovan explains: After the first year,
and until the end of the three years, is
what we call extended operations. It is
continuing data collection the eight
day cycle but when everyone has got
what they want and we know how the
platform is behaving, we might be able
to do something a bit funkier. So they
have their standard operations and there
is scope at the end to try them out in
anger and see what they are really
capable of!
At the end of the three years, after
waiting patiently in the sidelines, the
final payload, Cranfields de-orbit sail,
will be deployed and bring TechDemoSat
back into the Earths atmosphere.
9 April 2013 19
Security is the key
Built in crypto functions help to combat the prevalence of

counterfeit components.
By G. Richard Newell.
he counterfeiting of electronic
components continues to rise alarmingly.
IHS iSuppli reported that, in the first eight
months of 2012, more than 100 incidents of
counterfeiting were reported each month. In the
past six years, more than 12million parts have
been discovered to be fakes.
Counterfeiting is a major risk to everyone in
the electronics supply chain, but the cost of
dealing with an incident is not shared equally.
The US military sector, for example, is now
covered by the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Section 818, which
deals with the detection and avoidance of
counterfeit electronic parts,
places the
20
9 April 2013
burden of corrective action on the prime

contractor to the Department of Defense. In
other sectors, the burden rests with the end
user. However, subcontractors and suppliers
are still vulnerable to the reputational and
business relationship risk of falling victim to
forgery. The ability to prevent counterfeits from
entering your supply chain is clearly critical.
Spotting fake components
Counterfeits are often difficult to spot; they
could be parts from the approved supplier
which failed production testing and were not
destroyed properly or recycled then diverted by
criminals into the supply chain. They
could also be lower grade components
relabelled or repackaged to resemble
more expensive extended
temperature or endurance
devices.
One approach that can be
used use to cut the risk of
having counterfeit
components make it to the
pcb is to adopt good
business processes in
which all parts are
only sourced from
authorised
distributors. Even
so, there remains
a risk that
counterfeit
components
can still
make it into
the supply chain
through approved
channels if legitimate
shipments are somehow
switched with fakes unknown to the
supplier.
The risk of fake parts entering a high quality
supply chain can be reduced dramatically using

technical means that take advantage of key
characteristics of the semiconductor supply
chain. The design and fabrication of the source
wafers by an original component manufacturer
(OCM) is the most trusted part of the supply
chain. The OCM has a high degree of control
over device quality through to component level
test. The key to counterfeit free components is
to extend this trust into the entire supply chain
so counterfeits cannot end up in an electronic
system. By putting electronic tags and markers
into the silicon itself, a device can provide
evidence of its authenticity at any point.
Criminals will attempt to reverse engineer
the markers used to distinguish fake
components from genuine so they can make
their devices appear to be authentic. The
requirement is for a technical solution this is
both tamper resistant and hard to spoof.
Some identification techniques are easier to
forge than others. A simple marker, such as a
device code accessed through a serial port,
may only identify the device as a member of a
broad class, not individually. A major problem
with a class marker is that if the technique used
to embed it within a device becomes available
to counterfeiters, the identification technique
becomes practically worthless. If individual
devices are marked with a public identifier plus
a unique private key, the counterfeiter has to
determine how the markers are applied and
used in order to determine whether a part is
genuine or not. Simply reverse engineering and
copying the public identifier from a genuine
part to a series of fakes will not work, since the
associated private keys are much harder to
learn and clone.
Physically unclonable functions (PUFs)
provide one way to tie a device to its mark of
authenticity. Each IC is subtly different to its
neighbours on wafer, even though all that make
it through test will operate in the same manner.
Research & Development Digital Design
Fig 1: Extending trust through the supply chain
Fab
Wafer
test
Key
injection
Certificate
injection
Assembly
For example, internal srams have subtle biases

such that, when they are first powered up, they
contain a pattern of 1s and 0s that is
essentially random from die to die, but which is
consistent from power cycle to power cycle for
that die. Repeatability can be as high as 80%
under different test conditions. This pattern can
be used as an unclonable device fingerprint
that, together with a digital certificate stored as
part of the manufacturing and test process,
guarantees authenticity.
There are a number of requirements for the
digital certificate. The first is the presence of
embedded non volatile memory to store the
data and a communications interface to allow
the data to be read. The device needs sufficient
computational capability to implement
cryptographic functions in real time such that
the secret value certified is never exposed. The
certification circuitry is used to answer
challenges with responses consistent with a
public key supplied by the manufacturer to
allow testing for authenticity.
Hardware level security on top of these
functions ensures criminals cannot probe the
device. Microsemis SmartFusion2 SoC fpgas
implement all these functions, making them
suitable for a strong technical anti
counterfeiting solution.
With the necessary hardware in place, a
secret key can be injected into the device at
wafer test. This is followed by injection of a
digital certificate bound to the secret key at the
assembly and binning stage. This process
provides a certificate that has been securely

signed by the OCM and which supports all
downstream anti counterfeiting measures. The
certificate, which can be interrogated at any
point, provides traceability for suppliers and
end users, providing a way of guaranteeing a
counterfeit free supply chain downstream.
The public data in the certificate can contain
not just a unique device number, but also a
model number with grading information and the
assembly date code. Grading data can weed out
valid parts remarked by forgers to resemble
higher grade parts. The date code assists in
SmartFusion2 SoC fpgas are suitable for use in a

strong technical anticounterfeiting solution.
Distribution
identifying older devices that require additional

screening to ensure they are new and have not
been previously used.
The production mechanism ensures only
good devices receive a certificate, which
prevents the representation of failed
components as good ones. The hardware
security module (HSM) at the fab logs each
certificate securely, so the OCM knows exactly
how many have been issued.
As part of a screening process, such as
checking the delivered device against the order,
SmartFusion2 devices can be authenticated in
a number of ways. The certificates integrity and
signature can be checked using the Microsemi
public key. The certificate can be checked for
listing on a certificate revocation list and the
device itself can be checked to ensure that it
knows the correct unique private cryptographic
key and is bound correctly to the certificate.
This proves the certificate belongs to that
particular device and is not a copy of a
certificate belonging to another device.
By adopting a strong foundation of
technologies for anti counterfeiting, devices
such as SmartFusion2 provide the assurance of
authenticity that is now needed in the forgery
prone electronics supply chain not just for the
devices themselves, but also for the
subsystems into which they are assembled.
Author profile:
G. Richard Newell is senior principal product
architect with Microsemis SoC products group.
9 April 2013 21
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Small is beautiful
Theres plenty of opportunity for small scale
programmable logic devices, claims developer.
By Graham Pitcher.
n the world of programmable logic, the

phrase ultra low density stands out starkly.
The reason? Over the years, the trend has to
been to create devices with ever more features
on ever smaller manufacturing processes.
While the devices themselves may not be
getting smaller, their density has increased
dramatically.
And yet Lattice Semiconductor is developing
devices which it proudly describes as ultra low
density. How does the company explain the
use of a phrase which implies a large die with
not much on it? Gordon Hands, director of
marketing for low density solutions, explained.
When you look at the programmable logic
market, there are low density, and mid and high
end products an example of low density is
Lattices ECP3 range. But we didnt think it was
a good term to use to describe what were
doing, which is driving beyond what
programmable logic has delivered in the past in
terms of cost.
Lattices latest announcement the ice40
LP384 boasts 384 look up tables (LUTs,
equivalent to 7680 gates) and is supplied in a
package measuring 2.5 x 2.5mm. In its basic
state, the LP384 consumes 25W. As you start
to toggle the clock nets and ramp frequency, it
will start a linear power ramp, Hands noted.
When its running at 10MHz, you might see a
power consumption of 5 to 10mW, but its
We are forging a different

path to that of other
companies in the market
and deliberately so.
Gordon Hands
24
9 April 2013
design dependent.
Yet, despite its size,
the part supports LVDS
interface rates of
525Mbit/s. Small size is
matched by small price:
in high volume, LP384
fpgas will cost 50cents.
Hands believes this is a
significant achievement. If you
go back to 1995, the price of a similar
device was $50. In 2002, it was $5, but
today, its 50cents.
Why is Lattice pushing towards the other
end of the market than its competitors? Hands
said: We are forging a different path to that of
other companies in the market and
deliberately so. We believe there is a range of
applications in which designers would like to
use programmable logic, but where the cost
and power consumption of parts have ruled
them out.
Hands believes this is true for high volume
applications and for handheld and battery
powered products. Were seeing designers use
products from the ice40 range for a number of
applications, including devices such as
smartphones and tablets. But we are also
seeing the attributes of these products fitting
well into some handheld industrial devices
where size and power consumption are critical.,
such as point of sale terminals and
industrial sensors
One particular sensor
application of ice40
devices has been in
geophones devices
used for oil exploration
and to monitor seismic
activity. They need to be
small and low power, Hands
Packaging technology
becomes a critical factor
as die size decreases
asserted. But because there are thousands of

sensors in a typical geophone system, cost per
unit becomes important.
Lattice is keen to emphasise the size of the
ice40 LP384, as well as its capabilities. The
importance of device size varies depending on
who you talk to, Hands admitted, but in mobile
consumer apps, its absolutely critical.
The change is being driven by a new
approach to product design. Historically,
phones were built with the battery underneath
the pcb, he explained, and there was a lot of
space for the pcb. Now, phones are being built
with the two elements side by side. Because
designers are looking to maximise operating
time between charges, they are looking to
maximise the space available to the battery
and to minimise the space taken by the pcb.
Manufacturing technology is another driver.
Embedded Design Programmable Platforms
The cost of manufacturing increases with

package size, Hands suggested. When we talk
with customers, they tell us that large packages
are not acceptable now. There is a big cost
difference between making a product with a 2.5
x 2.5mm device and with a 4 x 4mm device.
Size is critical and the use of the 40nm

manufacturing process helps us solve this.
Nevertheless, there are applications where
size is not so critical. These customers dont
worry so much about package size, he
continued. While they are trying to make their
products smaller, they are looking for a
different balance between cost and size.
But Hands knows the package cant be
smaller than the die. Once we start getting
down to these dimensions, the die takes up a
large percentage of the package area. And that
opens the door for more radical packaging
techniques, such as wafer level chip scale
packaging (wlcsp). Its a useful technique,
Hands asserted. Amongst the things we like
about wlcsp is the smaller package height and
the lower cost of the approach. But wlcsp isnt
appropriate for every application. Its not a
panacea, Hands pointed out, because the
package is the die and that defines how much
I/O is available. As we shrink the die, we get to
the point where it is too small to attach a
reasonable number of balls.
Take the top off an LP384 and youll find
the die is just 1 x 1mm. Even when you use a
0.4mm ball pitch, you can only attach nine
balls, Hands said. If more I/O is needed, then
we offer a low cost wire bonded bga which
features 36 balls. Other packages include a
32pin qfn measuring 5 x 5mm and a 49 ball
ucbga measuring 3 x 3mm. And its likely that
Lattice will offer a 2 x 2mm wlcsp option.
The LP384 ships without any embedded
memory; is this simply because theres not
enough space on the die? No, said Hands, its
more about matching the specifications to the
potential applications. These might be to link
i2c to GPIO or spi to i2c. For the most part,
these actions can be done without block
Fig 1: Sensor management using an ice40 fpga

Local port or
SLIM out
Processor
interface
Sensor
interface
with auto
pooling
Application
processor
Interrupt
i2c
FIFO
Data
filtering
spi
uart
Sensor
Sensor
Sensor
The ice40 LP384 is available for 50cents in volume
memory. A lot of applications need I/O

expansion more uarts, for example and the
LP384 is a good way to enable that
inexpensively.
Developing such small scale products
requires a new approach. It used to be a
sequential process, Hands noted, but we now
need to engineer silicon and package in
parallel. And, as we architect new parts, we
develop a handful of typical applications and try
to adjust the resources to optimise the part to
those apps.
One of the benefits of the wlcsp approach is
cost. Theres no substantial packaging cost; we
take the wafer, attach a redistribution layer and
put the balls on that, Hands said. That enables
us to offer the LP384 for 50cents in volume.
The challenge for Lattice now is to work out
how to reduce the cost further. Were finding
particularly in consumer applications that
projects have a fixed budget. We can now
address those who have 50cents to spend on
programmable logic; what we would like to do is
address those who have 25cents to spend.
Its unlikely that Lattice will add new
members to the ice40 family. Were turning our
attention to the next generation, Hands
concluded, and investing for the future.
9 April 2013 25
Communications Design Communications Test
Ready for the call

Testing eCall systems: how to benefit from synergies with existing
GSM test platforms. By Lee Roberts.
he automotive eCall (emergency call)

system is an emergency cellular
communication service that will become
mandatory in vehicles introduced in Europe after
2014.
In the event of an emergency or accident, the
eCall e112 flag system will provide the ability to
call the local emergency services via a Public
Safety Answering Point (PSAP) using any
available cellular network. While eCall will not
prevent accidents, it will speed the arrival of
emergency assistance.
A key requirement is that data and voice calls
must use the same voice channel because SMS
and GPRS do not provide the necessary service
priority or availability. Routing data over the voice
connection will enable eCall to use the e112
routing protocol standards deployed in the
existing cellular network.
The minimum set of data (MSD) required to be
transmitted by EN 15722:2011 comprises the
exact vehicle location (from the vehicles GPS
device), time and date stamps, number of
occupants and Vehicle Identity Number.
A number of cellular standards have the
potential to manage and deliver the various
protocol control and data required for eCall to
function correctly. But, as high data bandwidth is
not the primary requirement, the initial
deployment of eCall will focus primarily on the 2G
network (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) widely available
within Europe. However, multiple cellular
standards are likely to be supported on future
eCall chipsets.
Typically, eCall devices and modules will be
integrated in the vehicles telematics systems
and will play an increasingly prominent role in
automotive electronics design.
The following system blocks are necessary for
eCall to work successfully:
In Vehicle System (IVS). Alongside the
automotive telematics unit, the module will
Fig 1: The eCall system network architecture

In vehicle system (IVS)
GPS rx module
Microphone and
speaker
Vehicle
application
Car sensors
MSD
PSTN fixed
network
PSAP
switch
PLMN
cellular network
Public safety answering point (PSAP)
Microphone and
speaker
Data in band
modem
2G/3G/LTE
speech and
radio modem
IVS data
in-band modem
MSD
eCall
PSAP
display
MSD: minimum set of data
include such sub systems as the GPS module,

multiple vehicle sensors, microphone/speakers,
IVS data in-band modem, 2G/3G communications
modem and the vehicle application software. The
eCall voice and data message can be originated
and activated automatically or with driver
intervention.
Mobile operator network. This is responsible for
transmitting and routing the eCall emergency
e112 flag message to the emergency call
response centre (PSAP).
Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP). Call
centres responsible implementing the
infrastructure required to receive eCalls and for
answering them. The PSAP transmission section
is responsible for sending control messages to
the IVS to initiate transmission of MSD
information and for providing ACK/NACK feedback
for the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ).
In the event of a collision, an eCall flag is
triggered and two way voice communication is
established between the PSAP and the driver. In

addition, eCall can transfer data from the vehicle
over the same cellular network connection.
IVS in-band data modem
The primary blocks of the in-band transceiver are
cyclic redundancy check (CRC), forward error
correction (FEC) codecs, HARQ, data modem and
a sync/multiplexing block.
MSD information is input to the IVS modem
via the CRC section, where cyclic code data bits
are appended. This additional code will be used
by the PSAPs data modem to determine whether
the original message has been corrupted. If the
verification check reveals errors, the system will
send ACK/NACK feedback messages requesting
repeat transmission (ARQ) of problem data
blocks.
MSD information bits are then subjected to
channel encoding in the HARQ encoder using FEC,
where redundant error detection bits are added to
9 April 2013 27
Communications Design Communications Test
Fig 2: eCall GSM sequence protocol message

IVS
MD8475A
Start
eCall tester
Start
Start
Event of
origination
Origination
Off hook
Off hook
Origination response
MSD analogue voice signal

(handset to pc audio input)
MSD analogue voice signal

(GSM voice call)
a/d convert
MSD analysis/decode
Display message
Send ACK message
(pc audio output to handset)
Voice calls
Voice checks
Release
Voice checks
On hook
On hook
End (change the state of start)

Software processing
the already modified data. The HARQ encoder is a

combination of ARQ and FEC coding and typically
contains a powerful Turbo coding scheme with
incremental redundancy added to each data
retransmission.
The FEC technique reduces the susceptibility
of data to errors during transmission over noisy
or inefficient cellular rf channel links. FEC enables
the receiving PSAP modem to correct errors
without needing to request retransmission of the
original message. However, while HARQ offers
better performance in poorer channel conditions,
it has the disadvantage of significantly lower data
throughput in improved channel conditions.
The signal modulator up converts the data
stream by mixing it with a carrier waveform
suitable for it to be applied to a speech codec.
The voice speech encoder and decoder can
support adaptive multirate (AMR) and full and
half rate (FR/HR) GSM audio data compression
schemes. These generate a compacted data bit
stream output representation of the analogue
speech signal, whilst providing an adequate level
of audio quality. These speech coded standards
28
9 April 2013
User operation
are commonly employed in GSM and UMTS

systems.
The receiver section demodulates and
monitors the corresponding ACK/NACK message
sent by the PSAP modem. Once MSD
transmission is completed and a successful ACK
message has been received, the IVS and PSAP
modems are placed into idle state by deactivating
the transmitter signal paths.
The equivalent PSAP receiver and transmitter
sections have similar building blocks, but
function in the reverse order. The HARQ
mechanism block is not used and there is a
different FEC implementation.
Test challenges and limitations
The eCall simulation system overcomes
challenges presented using a deployed live
network system, including emergency services
testing without the need to contact an operator.
This prevents an emergency services response
being triggered accidentally. If emergency
services testing is required, the Anritsu eCall
system can function as a development stage test
and simulation solution in advance of the live

network becoming available.
The IVS DUT contains various functional blocks
which require independent verification and
testing. To verify the raw MSD data, a logic
analyser confirms the transmission of the low
serial data rate defined by its set of requirement
definitions.
eCall test solution
The MD8475A simulates the PLMN and PSAP
sections of the live network whilst providing a
convenient platform for verifying the voice call
connection and the MDS content transmitted by
the IVS device under test (DUT).
When using the eCall test solution, the user is
not restricted to testing on a live cellular network
and PSAP provider. Using a simulated and
controlled test environment means the DUT will
not be subjected to cell and connection link
quality issues; beneficial when testing the higher
layers of the software protocol implementation.
The eCall tester provides functions to test the
MSD and voice call communication sequence
between the IVS DUT and PSAP. Current
communication sequence functions supported
include voice codec (AMR, GSM FR/HR), in-band
modem (push and pull mode), voice operator and
loopback calls and voice quality.
The tester displays the current MSD, voice and
in-band modem communication status between
the IVS and PSAP and, as the MD8475A supports
all major technology standards, the platform is
equipped to provide an upgrade path to
supporting all eCall technology implementations.
The Anritsu MD8475A does not verify in-band
modem block functionality in isolation. By
combining the IVS elements, the eCall solution
can verify the system as a whole, enabling end to
end system test and providing the ability to
simulate a complete operational solution. As the
MD8475A includes a base station cell emulator,
the radio modem section can also be verified
independently.
The implementation of simple test routines
and integration of future proof cellular standards
allow the tester to be easily upgraded when
enhancements and amendments to the eCall
standards are introduced.
Author profile:
Lee Roberts is business development manager
for Anritsu (UK).
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Ticking the boxes

Requirements management software helps to keep safety
critical projects on track. By Graham Pitcher.
henever you embark on a design

project, you need to know what it is
youre creating and who you are
creating it for. You also need to know the
relative importance of the constituent parts.
Nothing new there, you will say. But as
projects become larger, the number of
constituent parts increase and the
relationships between them become more
complex. And its here where problems can
arise; when elements of the design change, can
you ensure that the changes are applied to all
the relevant parts of the system and can you
prove that?
That certainly applies when the project is
housed in one building; but when it is
distributed across a number of sites, the need
for a system to keep things

under control
becomes more
apparent.
Requirements
management has its
roots in the automotive
and defence sectors, where
everything is designed with
safety in mind and where
companies have to prove they did everything
possible to avoid problems.
Christian Christophoridis is vp of product
management with Visure Solutions. He said
many companies spend a lot time in producing
this evidence manually. They have to comply
with many standards and have to react to
Fig 1: Requirements lifecycle management

Define:
Requirements
Prototypes
Tests
Organise:
Blocks
Traceability
Reuse
PRO
CE
SS
RE
CTU
RU
ST
W O R K F LO W
Verify and validate:

Semantic quality
Test cases
Coverage analysis
30
9 April 2013
QUALIT Y
Share:
Documents
Reports
Integrations
different customer requirements

within weeks. Despite this, you
would be surprised how many
companies still use Excel, even
though theres solutions that
would make their life easier.
Modern products use components from
various suppliers, must come together quickly
and function as required. To do this
successfully, Christophoridis asserted,
product requirements must be managed using
an automated system that links each
requirement directly to its associated tests and
deliverables. Developers can quickly and easily
trace to the point of failure, implement
corrective measures and validate the product.
Visure has recently released Visure
Requirements 4.5, a software system designed
to maximise analysis and team efficiency. He
claimed version 4.5 features a significant set
of improvements. One of the things we worked
out was that if people dont like software, they
dont use it. So we spent a lot of time analysing
use cases and performing interviews with
customers and internal experts to work out
what needed to be included.
According to Visure, Requirements 4.5 has a
simplified interface and a process architecture
that streamlines requirements capture,
analysis and management. The result, it
believes, is a faster and more powerful
requirements engineering tool for product
development.
Its an ecosystem in which any stakeholder
can collaborate on the requirements which
define the system being built, he continued.
Because not everyone will be in the same
office, you need a single source of truth which
can be accessed in different ways. For example,
a manager might want to see which items have
System Design Engineering Management
what priority, while a design engineer might be

more interested in the decomposed
requirements to see what needs to be done.
Any person holding any role can go into the
system and see what they are interested in. We
have put the emphasis on requirements
analysis.
Visure Requirements 4.5 manages all
requirements related information in a way that
reflects how the data flows and interacts during
the product development process. Any
requirements related information such as
different levels, test cases and use cases can
be configured, related and analysed based on
process needs.
Christophoridis is keen to suggest that
software products such as Requirements 4.5
provide a better solution than the use of Word
or Excel, for example.
If you write requirements documents using
Word or Excel, you end up copying a lot of
common requirements. But what happens if the
customer decides on something different? In
that case, you have to go back to the core
requirements so they can be changed. But
history tells us that people often forget to
change copies.
So what benefits does Christophoridis attach
to a requirement management system? It
brings a new culture and discipline to the
process, he claimed. But people need to work
differently; they have to change the way they
think when they are developing a system. Its
like introducing a quality management system;
people have to understand the truth no longer
lies in Powerpoint and similar systems its
available to everyone, depending on their
access rights.
He also believes requirement management
systems will boost productivity. You will see
benefits in terms of traceability and impact
analysis, he claimed. Traceability allows you
to prove coverage on various levels; for
example, all customer requirements. And you
If you write requirements documents

using Word or Excel, you end up
copying a lot of common
requirements. But what happens if the
customer decides on something
different?
Christian Christophoridis
Traceability tool helps those building safety certified systems

If a project needs to comply with safety assurance measures, such as DO-178/254, then
traceability must be readily available throughout all of the projects phases to enable an
understandable and efficient validation process.
To help with this, Atego has launched Trace, a
software tool which automates requirements
traceability and error detection. The tool creates
traceability matrices across existing
engineering lifecycle documents; including
requirements engineering tools, such as DOORS,
and general purpose documents such as Word,
PDF and Excel.
Fig 2: An example of Atego Traces

traceability report
SystemSpec
Atego Trace is useful for customers who build

safety certified systems and software, said
Hedley Apperly, vp of product and marketing.
Atego Trace was designed by our US Federal
Aviation Authority Designated Engineering
Representatives and has been proven
extensively on multiple DO 178/254 and other
compliance projects.
Atego Trace captures custom tags embedded in
existing documents to provide top to bottom
and bottom to top traceability matrices. These
results can be used to analyse the traceability
between system requirements, designs, code
and tests.They can also show traceability
improvements over time and act as compliance
evidence.
can also derive test requirements from

customer requirements, allowing you to
identify gaps in test coverage.
Companies who will need their products to
undergo compliance testing can use the
templates to define requirements standards
and can reuse the template across teams and
product lines. In this way, defined processes
can be enforced and a common requirements
structure imposed across an organisation and
its supply chain.
You can put in the standards which you
have to comply with and link to the
requirements and test cases that respond to
the constraints. It will tell you
which parts am I not
fulfilling?, if I fail this
test, will I still be
compliant? and what
features will be
impacted by failure?.
Christophoridis said
that, when he was a
SWReq
DesignSpec
TestCase
SourceFiles
TestProcedures
systems engineer, he had to generate a lot of

documentation to prove systems were
compliant. We spent a lot of time preparing
information and ticking boxes, but it was a
manual process; when a new version of the
requirements was issued, we had to go back
through it all again.
Now, with software like Requirements 4.5,
you can import changes and the software will
tell you what those changes mean. The box
ticking is done automatically and the person in
front of the screen has a better understanding
of the requirements content.
Requirements 4.5 is process agnostic, says
Visure, and integrates process, quality
enforcement and collaboration in one platform
with views tailored to particular roles.
Anything you do that has more than two
stakeholders, Christophoridis concluded,
needs requirement management. By putting a
requirement management system in place, you
avoid ambiguity and can prove things have
been done.
9 April 2013 31
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