HONG KONG: OSRAM Opto Semiconductors’ LEDs are in the spotlight again. When the advertising light-boxes in Singapore’s Changi Airport were to switch away from fluorescent T8 tubes under REVOLITE’s energy saving program, OSRAM’s Golden DRAGON Plus LEDs were chosen to be the light source by REVOLITE, the renowned LED back-light application expertise. It was found that over the last five years, after replacing the old tubes and installing REVOLITE’s Dio back-lit lightbox system with these LEDs, maintenance costs were reduced by as much as 90%. These environment-friendly light-boxes also brought about 73% energy savings.
The Changi Airport is a busy hub, with over 98 airlines flying to 205 cities around the world. It is currently handling 5,000 arrivals and departures every week and servicing over 37 million passengers a year. The low maintenance requirement of the LED light-boxes is a must for Changi in order to minimize disruption caused to the Airport’s operations.
“REVOLITE has installed and maintained over 200 LED advertising light-boxes in the Airport for over 5 years to date. With OSRAM’s LED technology and our experiences in LED back-light applications, we are able to provide back-light LED modules which can fit into any size configuration, allowing customization of the lighting requirement in a variety of light-box sizes. Furthermore, the thickness of the light-box can be reduced from 30cm to 12cm, which is a lot more aesthetic. We are extremely excited as the great leaps in LED technology in recent years has allowed us to provide an ROI as quick as one to two years for our clients today,” said Calvin Lim, director of REVOLITE.
“These advertising light-boxes in Changi Airport, equipped with OSRAM’s Golden DRAGON Plus LEDs, prove that the LEDs have exceptionally good quality, high reliability and superior lighting performance. In addition, the LED’s uniform brightness and colour meet the requirements of the demanding advertising industry,” said Kai-Chong Cheng, marketing director of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Asia Ltd.
The retail digital signage market is growing rapidly as public spaces are dotted with advertising and communication billboards. According to iSuppli, this market will grow at a CAGR of 26.8% by 2013. With low energy consumption and low maintenance, the trend is for LEDs to replace traditional light sources. As such, a much higher growth rate for LED retail signage market is expected.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Digi-Key joins China Electronics Distributor Alliance (CEDA) as founding member
THIEF RIVER FALLS, USA: Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corp. announced its role as a founding member of the China Electronics Distributor Alliance (CEDA).
CEDA was established in order to promote franchised distributors’ value-added services, to strengthen cooperation between suppliers and distributors of electronic components, and to encourage technological innovations with the support of government incentive policies. CEDA is supported by the Chinese government and related industry associations, as well as corporate distributors of electronics that conduct business with Chinese companies.
“China has played a major role in the electronic component industry and Digi-Key is experiencing exponential sales growth in China,” said Mark Larson, president and COO of Digi-Key. “It is appropriate that we join this alliance which facilitates the relationships between American companies and Chinese companies to develop a clear-cut understanding of distribution guidelines and to develop the marketing research that will benefit companies throughout the entire global industry.”
The establishment of CEDA was recently celebrated at a luncheon in Shenzhen, China. There the founding companies were thanked for their contributions to CEDA. Digi-Key Corporation, along with Arrow, Avnet, WPG, Future Electronics, Mouser, element 14, RS Components, Richardson Electronics, Comtech, SZCEAC, Techtronics, Asiacom, Honestar, Shanghai Linpo, Morusun, Letdo Electronics, Jiangsu Sunlord, CE-Power, Zetron, Alignment, and Interine were recognized as founding members.
CEDA was established in order to promote franchised distributors’ value-added services, to strengthen cooperation between suppliers and distributors of electronic components, and to encourage technological innovations with the support of government incentive policies. CEDA is supported by the Chinese government and related industry associations, as well as corporate distributors of electronics that conduct business with Chinese companies.
“China has played a major role in the electronic component industry and Digi-Key is experiencing exponential sales growth in China,” said Mark Larson, president and COO of Digi-Key. “It is appropriate that we join this alliance which facilitates the relationships between American companies and Chinese companies to develop a clear-cut understanding of distribution guidelines and to develop the marketing research that will benefit companies throughout the entire global industry.”
The establishment of CEDA was recently celebrated at a luncheon in Shenzhen, China. There the founding companies were thanked for their contributions to CEDA. Digi-Key Corporation, along with Arrow, Avnet, WPG, Future Electronics, Mouser, element 14, RS Components, Richardson Electronics, Comtech, SZCEAC, Techtronics, Asiacom, Honestar, Shanghai Linpo, Morusun, Letdo Electronics, Jiangsu Sunlord, CE-Power, Zetron, Alignment, and Interine were recognized as founding members.
Monday, March 7, 2011
PLX announces world’s first SuperSpeed USB general-purpose peripheral controllers
SUNNYVALE, USA: PLX Technology Inc. announced the industry’s first SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) general-purpose peripheral controllers that bridge USB 3.0 to PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0, thus matching the high-performance 5Gbps bus speeds experts predict will be required by most consumer-electronics and industrial designs for the next five to 10 years.
With samples available in Q2’11, the new PLX USB338x family targets a broad array of applications that include tablets, mobile PCs, printers, projectors, embedded systems, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) WiFi adapters, graphics/video adapters and TV tuners.
PLX’s complementary USB software suite simplifies adding a USB 3.0 peripheral port to PCIe-based systems, as well as converting PCIe endpoints to a USB 3.0 product. Existing designs with the gold-standard PLX NET2282x Hi-Speed USB 2.0 controller can easily upgrade to the new USB338x product family with minimal or no software changes. Driver stacks are already available for operating system-independent applications, as well as for common operating systems such as Windows (7, XP, Vista, and CE), Linux and VxWorks.
The new PLX USB3382 features two PCIe Gen2 x1 ports with flexible port configurations for different needs of PCIe buses, while the USB3380 is designed with one PCIe Gen2 x1 port, and both feature high-efficiency power management. The USB338x family is designed meet the difficult power constraints for battery-powered and bus-powered applications. Both solutions support PLX USB Duet® technology, which focuses on the tablet and mobile-PC market and provides the fastest PC-to-PC interconnect for data synchronization and sharing.
“SuperSpeed USB adoption has accelerated across the industry at an incredible pace, and the introduction of PLX’s general-purpose USB 3.0 peripheral controllers are a welcome addition to this rapidly expanding specification,” said Jeff Ravencraft, president, USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). “PLX has been a long-standing USB-IF member and advocate, with a wide range of USB 1.0-, 2.0-, and 3.0-compliant devices published on the forum’s exclusive Integrators List, and we look forward to future interoperability testing of new products from this market innovator.”
“USB and Conventional PCI have already proven to be a successful interconnect pairing, with USB-to-PCI controllers having penetrated several enterprise and consumer-electronics market segments,” said Brian O’Rourke, principal analyst at In-Stat and author of the report Wired USB: High-Speed Rules, SuperSpeed on the Way. “Now, with the combination of two highly versatile, multi-gigabit-per-second standards such as USB 3.0 and PCI Express 2.0, those enterprise and consumer market possibilities expand dramatically.”
“With global designers rapidly adopting the new USB 3.0 standard, along with the deep development of PCI Express Gen2 already in the market, this mix inherently creates broad opportunities for PLX solutions,” said David Raun, PLX vice president of marketing and business development. “PLX is a market leader with products supporting both these heavily used standards, so based on customer requests it made sense to create a bridge to support their coexistence.”
Pricing for the new USB338x devices ranges from $7.00 to $8.00 in volume. The products will sample globally in Q2’11 and will be in full production in Q3’11.
With samples available in Q2’11, the new PLX USB338x family targets a broad array of applications that include tablets, mobile PCs, printers, projectors, embedded systems, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) WiFi adapters, graphics/video adapters and TV tuners.
PLX’s complementary USB software suite simplifies adding a USB 3.0 peripheral port to PCIe-based systems, as well as converting PCIe endpoints to a USB 3.0 product. Existing designs with the gold-standard PLX NET2282x Hi-Speed USB 2.0 controller can easily upgrade to the new USB338x product family with minimal or no software changes. Driver stacks are already available for operating system-independent applications, as well as for common operating systems such as Windows (7, XP, Vista, and CE), Linux and VxWorks.
The new PLX USB3382 features two PCIe Gen2 x1 ports with flexible port configurations for different needs of PCIe buses, while the USB3380 is designed with one PCIe Gen2 x1 port, and both feature high-efficiency power management. The USB338x family is designed meet the difficult power constraints for battery-powered and bus-powered applications. Both solutions support PLX USB Duet® technology, which focuses on the tablet and mobile-PC market and provides the fastest PC-to-PC interconnect for data synchronization and sharing.
“SuperSpeed USB adoption has accelerated across the industry at an incredible pace, and the introduction of PLX’s general-purpose USB 3.0 peripheral controllers are a welcome addition to this rapidly expanding specification,” said Jeff Ravencraft, president, USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). “PLX has been a long-standing USB-IF member and advocate, with a wide range of USB 1.0-, 2.0-, and 3.0-compliant devices published on the forum’s exclusive Integrators List, and we look forward to future interoperability testing of new products from this market innovator.”
“USB and Conventional PCI have already proven to be a successful interconnect pairing, with USB-to-PCI controllers having penetrated several enterprise and consumer-electronics market segments,” said Brian O’Rourke, principal analyst at In-Stat and author of the report Wired USB: High-Speed Rules, SuperSpeed on the Way. “Now, with the combination of two highly versatile, multi-gigabit-per-second standards such as USB 3.0 and PCI Express 2.0, those enterprise and consumer market possibilities expand dramatically.”
“With global designers rapidly adopting the new USB 3.0 standard, along with the deep development of PCI Express Gen2 already in the market, this mix inherently creates broad opportunities for PLX solutions,” said David Raun, PLX vice president of marketing and business development. “PLX is a market leader with products supporting both these heavily used standards, so based on customer requests it made sense to create a bridge to support their coexistence.”
Pricing for the new USB338x devices ranges from $7.00 to $8.00 in volume. The products will sample globally in Q2’11 and will be in full production in Q3’11.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Cree and Zumtobel extend strategic agreement for LED downlights to accelerate LED lighting revolution
DURHAM, USA: Cree Inc. announced a two-year extension of the strategic agreement signed with Zumtobel Lighting GmbH in 2008. The companies continue to work together to bring industry-leading LED lighting to Europe.
“Cree and Zumtobel see the LED lighting revolution taking hold in Europe and we are excited to sign this agreement and to continue to work together,” said Ty Mitchell, vice president and general manager, Cree LED Lighting. “Zumtobel is a market-leading lighting company and is providing their customers with high-quality LED lighting based on Cree TrueWhite technology.”
“In the past years, Cree has become one of our preferred suppliers in the LED lighting business. As we combine the best available technology with our outstanding lighting expertise and our strong IP position, we enhance our leading position to bring LED lighting innovation into our markets,” said Harald Sommerer, CEO of the Zumtobel Group. “We look forward to extending our successful cooperation with Cree in the coming years.”
“Cree and Zumtobel see the LED lighting revolution taking hold in Europe and we are excited to sign this agreement and to continue to work together,” said Ty Mitchell, vice president and general manager, Cree LED Lighting. “Zumtobel is a market-leading lighting company and is providing their customers with high-quality LED lighting based on Cree TrueWhite technology.”
“In the past years, Cree has become one of our preferred suppliers in the LED lighting business. As we combine the best available technology with our outstanding lighting expertise and our strong IP position, we enhance our leading position to bring LED lighting innovation into our markets,” said Harald Sommerer, CEO of the Zumtobel Group. “We look forward to extending our successful cooperation with Cree in the coming years.”
ISSI and Micross Components announce agreement to supply MIL temp memory
SAN JOSE & AUSTIN, USA: Integrated Silicon Solution Inc., a leader in advanced memory solutions, and Micross Components, a global provider of distributed and specialty electronic components, announced an agreement to supply MIL Temp memory to benefit military and other harsh environment applications.
Under the agreement, Micross will offer selected ISSI SDRAM, asynchronous SRAM and synchronous SRAM parts under the Micross brand as Mil Temp memory, after certifying their operation to the extended military temperature range (i.e., -55ºC to +125ºC). While this agreement will certainly increase the availability of MIL Temp commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product in the marketplace, the most promising aspect of this venture is the decision to focus the offerings on ISSI's copper lead frame plastic packages. Micross will be ISSI's exclusive provider for Mil Temp memory.
Copper lead frames offer significant benefits for high-temp, harsh environment applications. As component engineers and system designers know, copper enhances the long-term reliability of both parts and systems because of its superior thermal conductivity and its greater compatibility with the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of most printed circuit boards (PCB's).
"More simply," says Sean Long, director of marketing, industrial/medical/military for ISSI, "copper dissipates heat faster, allowing systems to run cooler, and results in more reliable solder joints because the leads and the PCB's expand and contract at the same rate. Since both of these factors play a significant role in making these parts viable options for high-temp, harsh-environment applications, we're excited that Micross will be able to expand availability of these products to military and other specialty customers."
The first offerings, which can be previewed at www.micross.com/cotsipems, will be released in early April, with both companies committed to providing long-term product support to the line. "That's one of the shared values that made this business opportunity so attractive to us," says Jeff Kendziorski, Micross' director of marketing & new product development. "ISSI's product life cycles are driven more by customer need, than market forces, so engineers and designers who incorporate these parts into their systems can do so with confidence, knowing that ISSI and Micross will support their programs from start to finish."
Under the agreement, Micross will offer selected ISSI SDRAM, asynchronous SRAM and synchronous SRAM parts under the Micross brand as Mil Temp memory, after certifying their operation to the extended military temperature range (i.e., -55ºC to +125ºC). While this agreement will certainly increase the availability of MIL Temp commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product in the marketplace, the most promising aspect of this venture is the decision to focus the offerings on ISSI's copper lead frame plastic packages. Micross will be ISSI's exclusive provider for Mil Temp memory.
Copper lead frames offer significant benefits for high-temp, harsh environment applications. As component engineers and system designers know, copper enhances the long-term reliability of both parts and systems because of its superior thermal conductivity and its greater compatibility with the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of most printed circuit boards (PCB's).
"More simply," says Sean Long, director of marketing, industrial/medical/military for ISSI, "copper dissipates heat faster, allowing systems to run cooler, and results in more reliable solder joints because the leads and the PCB's expand and contract at the same rate. Since both of these factors play a significant role in making these parts viable options for high-temp, harsh-environment applications, we're excited that Micross will be able to expand availability of these products to military and other specialty customers."
The first offerings, which can be previewed at www.micross.com/cotsipems, will be released in early April, with both companies committed to providing long-term product support to the line. "That's one of the shared values that made this business opportunity so attractive to us," says Jeff Kendziorski, Micross' director of marketing & new product development. "ISSI's product life cycles are driven more by customer need, than market forces, so engineers and designers who incorporate these parts into their systems can do so with confidence, knowing that ISSI and Micross will support their programs from start to finish."
Cree launches highest performance warm and neutral white lighting-class LEDs
DURHAM, USA: Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announced the commercial availability of XLamp® XM-L LEDs in neutral and warm white color temperatures (2600K – 5000K CCT). Cree once again leads the industry by extending the XM-L LED family’s unprecedented light output and efficacy to a wide range of mainstream indoor and outdoor lighting applications.
The XM-L LEDs deliver unmatched performance across a wide range of drive currents. Warm white (3000 K) XLamp XM-L LEDs provide up to 113 lumens and 117 lumens per watt and neutral white (4000K) XM-L LEDs provide up to 134 lumens and 138 lumens per watt, both at 350 mA. At 700 mA, warm white (3000 K) XLamp XM-L LEDs provide up to 220 lumens and 108 lumens per watt and neutral white (4000K) XM-L LEDs provide up to 260 lumens and 128 lumens per watt. Driven at 3.0 A, XM-L neutral white LEDs produce 850 lumens at 84 lumens per watt.
Unlike competing LED solutions that use large footprint packages and diffuse optical sources to deliver hundreds of lumens, XM-L LEDs provide breakthrough performance in a compact footprint and small optical source size. This high lumen-density can simplify designs and reduce costs for lighting manufacturers building products for directional lighting applications, such as high bay, parking, roadway, track, spot and LED replacement lamps. XLamp XM-L LEDs enable manufacturers to easily control the light output and place light exactly where it is required, minimizing wasted light and light trespass.
“Cree is the only LED manufacturer currently delivering production volumes of warm and neutral white LEDs at these performance levels,” said Paul Thieken, Cree, director of marketing, LED Components. “Cree innovation translates into ready-to-ship components that can enable our customers to develop highly-efficient LED fixtures from streetlights to downlights and from desk lamps to A-lamps.”
XLamp XM-L neutral and warm white LEDs are available now in sample and production quantities.
The XM-L LEDs deliver unmatched performance across a wide range of drive currents. Warm white (3000 K) XLamp XM-L LEDs provide up to 113 lumens and 117 lumens per watt and neutral white (4000K) XM-L LEDs provide up to 134 lumens and 138 lumens per watt, both at 350 mA. At 700 mA, warm white (3000 K) XLamp XM-L LEDs provide up to 220 lumens and 108 lumens per watt and neutral white (4000K) XM-L LEDs provide up to 260 lumens and 128 lumens per watt. Driven at 3.0 A, XM-L neutral white LEDs produce 850 lumens at 84 lumens per watt.
Unlike competing LED solutions that use large footprint packages and diffuse optical sources to deliver hundreds of lumens, XM-L LEDs provide breakthrough performance in a compact footprint and small optical source size. This high lumen-density can simplify designs and reduce costs for lighting manufacturers building products for directional lighting applications, such as high bay, parking, roadway, track, spot and LED replacement lamps. XLamp XM-L LEDs enable manufacturers to easily control the light output and place light exactly where it is required, minimizing wasted light and light trespass.
“Cree is the only LED manufacturer currently delivering production volumes of warm and neutral white LEDs at these performance levels,” said Paul Thieken, Cree, director of marketing, LED Components. “Cree innovation translates into ready-to-ship components that can enable our customers to develop highly-efficient LED fixtures from streetlights to downlights and from desk lamps to A-lamps.”
XLamp XM-L neutral and warm white LEDs are available now in sample and production quantities.
GigOptix announces successful Telcordia high temperature operating lifetime testing results for its 40G DPSK optical modulator
PALO ALTO, USA: GigOptix Inc., a leading supplier of high performance electronic and electro-optic components that enable next generation 40G and 100G optical networks, announced that as part of the ongoing productization of its Thin Film Polymer on Silicon (TFPS) line of Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZM), that its LX8401 40G DPSK MZMs has successfully passed prequalification assessment with over 1000hrs of Telcordia’s GR-468 demanding High Temperature Operating Lifetime (HTOL) testing without degradation in operating performance.
The HTOL test is a key milestone in the required suite of Telcordia GR-468 reliability assessments. The HTOL test assesses the reliability of the TFPS MZM by stressing the device at a temperature of 85C while the device is modulating a 1550nm laser and is driven by a high speed electrical RF signal. This test simulates an accelerated 25 year lifetime of the product.
After 1000 hours, the pre-qualification modulators showed no degradation in performance. The performance parameters measured included insertion loss, drive voltage, extinction ratio, and bandwidth. This successful result builds on previously announced reliability assessments by GigOptix of its TFPS optical chips, which have been measured successfully for over 7000hrs at 85C to date.
Dr. Raluca Dinu, GigOptix’s VP and GM of GigOptix Bothell, states: “The LX8401 prequalification parts passed HTOL testing without any degradation in performance which is an important milestone in our commercialization of our TFPS technology. Following this successful prequalification test, we are now in the process of running full GR-468 qualification on these devices, including damp heat, mechanical shock and temperature cycling testing to be completed in the third quarter of 2011. We expect the LX8401 and subsequent modulators addressing both the 40G and 100G markets to be a major vehicle for future revenue growth as we capitalize on the rapid growth of these optical networking markets.”
The LX8401 is designed using GigOptix's proprietary TFPS technology that enables industry leading low drive voltage in the smallest form factor available. The low drive voltage reduces power consumption by more than 20% compared to competing modulator technologies, while the small form factor enables smaller 300pin optical transponders. The product is being industrialized by Sanmina-SCI, a leading designer and manufacturer of complex, technologically advanced optical products. Sanmina-SCI has provided process development, manufacturing and supply chain services for the LX8401.
The HTOL test is a key milestone in the required suite of Telcordia GR-468 reliability assessments. The HTOL test assesses the reliability of the TFPS MZM by stressing the device at a temperature of 85C while the device is modulating a 1550nm laser and is driven by a high speed electrical RF signal. This test simulates an accelerated 25 year lifetime of the product.
After 1000 hours, the pre-qualification modulators showed no degradation in performance. The performance parameters measured included insertion loss, drive voltage, extinction ratio, and bandwidth. This successful result builds on previously announced reliability assessments by GigOptix of its TFPS optical chips, which have been measured successfully for over 7000hrs at 85C to date.
Dr. Raluca Dinu, GigOptix’s VP and GM of GigOptix Bothell, states: “The LX8401 prequalification parts passed HTOL testing without any degradation in performance which is an important milestone in our commercialization of our TFPS technology. Following this successful prequalification test, we are now in the process of running full GR-468 qualification on these devices, including damp heat, mechanical shock and temperature cycling testing to be completed in the third quarter of 2011. We expect the LX8401 and subsequent modulators addressing both the 40G and 100G markets to be a major vehicle for future revenue growth as we capitalize on the rapid growth of these optical networking markets.”
The LX8401 is designed using GigOptix's proprietary TFPS technology that enables industry leading low drive voltage in the smallest form factor available. The low drive voltage reduces power consumption by more than 20% compared to competing modulator technologies, while the small form factor enables smaller 300pin optical transponders. The product is being industrialized by Sanmina-SCI, a leading designer and manufacturer of complex, technologically advanced optical products. Sanmina-SCI has provided process development, manufacturing and supply chain services for the LX8401.
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