Precisely! That's the way the future of energy would likely be, should the industry manage to pull it off. These folks are really working hard to develop alternative energy sources to power a whole lot of equipment and devices.
The other day, we were discussing energy, when the subject of fuel cells cropped up. With electronics items and other equipment constantly undergoing design changes, thereby putting even more demand on battery power. Several alternative energy solutions are constantly being developed.
In fact, Motorola reports to have successfully conducted a year-long wind- and solar-powered cell site at its Swindon R&D facility in the UK. The trial concluded that an optimized solar and wind solution can generate enough power to drive a mid-sized base station (BTS) plus ancillaries. The next step would be a commercial customer trial using a six-carrier BTS cell site, being implemented in the first half of 2007.
I believe, nearly all mobile phone manufacturers, including Motorola, are also developing solar-powered handsets.
Coming back to power, the existing battery chemistries are constantly challenged to maintain performance levels or maybe, extend beyong the existing levels. While solar and wind solutions are among the options, fuel cells and even micro fuel cells are also in the fray.
Now, Frost & Sullivan's report titled World Micro Fuel Cell Market for Industrial Portable Devices, finds that the market is likely to produce 75 million units by 2013, demonstrating a high market growth rate due to a ramp-up in commercialization. The micro fuel cell market for industrial portable devices has gained a boost with the significant growth of the heavy-duty device markets.
The report says that fuel cells for such devices should be able to operate safely for long periods under inclement weather and dusty conditions. They must be resistant to high shock and vibration, while surviving drops on hard surfaces as well.
The market is addressing the fuel cell standard concern by forming groups within prominent international standards organizations such as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), dealing with electrical, electronic and related technologies.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wherever you may roam!
I recall editing an article of this name during my days at DiSyCom, way back in late 1994. Those were the early days of cellular/mobile telephony in India. At a seminar on mobility at the Taj Palace in New Delhi in early 1995, I had the first-hand experience to learn what roaming was all about, thanks to a nice gentleman from the ITU.
Today, 13 years down the road, roaming is hardly the subject to discuss. People take it for granted that if they are carrying a mobile phone, they MUST be roaming. Its also one of the safest bets for operators to make money.
I recall, in December 2002, in Hong Kong, some colleagues from India were unable to call home as they weren't on roaming, and I had to lend them my phone to call. On the contrary, I was once stuck in Munich as I wasn't on roaming and couldn't call, and had to seek help from a 'friend' at the airport.
Of course, I've noticed in places across the Asia Pacific, such as Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore, that people buy local SIM cards in order to save on roaming costs. Even I've done the same on several occasions.
Today, we have come a long, long way as far as mobility is concerned. Soon, video roaming or the ability to make video calls, while roaming, would be upon us. I wonder how people would take to that experience! Also, it'd be interesting to see how the operators charge consumers on video calls and especially, video roaming.
Today, 13 years down the road, roaming is hardly the subject to discuss. People take it for granted that if they are carrying a mobile phone, they MUST be roaming. Its also one of the safest bets for operators to make money.
I recall, in December 2002, in Hong Kong, some colleagues from India were unable to call home as they weren't on roaming, and I had to lend them my phone to call. On the contrary, I was once stuck in Munich as I wasn't on roaming and couldn't call, and had to seek help from a 'friend' at the airport.
Of course, I've noticed in places across the Asia Pacific, such as Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore, that people buy local SIM cards in order to save on roaming costs. Even I've done the same on several occasions.
Today, we have come a long, long way as far as mobility is concerned. Soon, video roaming or the ability to make video calls, while roaming, would be upon us. I wonder how people would take to that experience! Also, it'd be interesting to see how the operators charge consumers on video calls and especially, video roaming.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Shake-up for Internet radios?
My good friend, Steven Yang, informed me this morning about a certain development happening in the realm of Internet radios.
He told me that there's been quite a shake to the market. Song royalties are jumping three-fold, which is going to increase the cost of operation so high that most stations will be forced to shut down.
The new royalty fee takes effect in September, but stations are already shutting down daily. Stephen pointed me to a noteworthy article on USA Today that speaks about all of this. The URL is pasted below for those interested.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-07-21-radio_x.htm
Now, it'll be interesting to see how makers of portable Internet radios ride this so-called storm.
And, thanks Steven!
He told me that there's been quite a shake to the market. Song royalties are jumping three-fold, which is going to increase the cost of operation so high that most stations will be forced to shut down.
The new royalty fee takes effect in September, but stations are already shutting down daily. Stephen pointed me to a noteworthy article on USA Today that speaks about all of this. The URL is pasted below for those interested.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-07-21-radio_x.htm
Now, it'll be interesting to see how makers of portable Internet radios ride this so-called storm.
And, thanks Steven!
Impact of RoHS
If any one of you has had the opportunity of attending any major electronics trade show across the Asia Pacific region, you cannot remain untouched by the impact that the RoHS (removal of hazardous substances) directive has had on suppliers.
The RoHS directive, which aims to restrict the level of hazardous substances used within new electronic and electrical equipment in the European Union (EU), is said to have had a "huge effect" on the industry so far, according to an expert.
It reminds me of a discussion I had with Man Yue, said to the seventh largest supplier of aluminum electrolytic capacitors late last year. Now Man Yue is huge and has the capability to invest in the expensive machinery required for RoHS.
Man Yue's competitive edge is strengthened by its compliance with RoHS. It has been RoHS compliant since Q2-2004. The supplier had placed orders for ICPE-9000 machine, which was scheduled for delivery by end of 2006. This machine grinds the capacitor into powder and checks for banned substances.
The spokesman told me Man Yue has a RoHS lab as well. Man Yue has four XRF machines. It was planning to purchase the GCMS-QP2010 Plus, another high-end testing machine, which checks for banned substances. It will purchase the UVmini-1240 machine as well.
Now, I understand that investing in such machinery needs substantial amount of capital. Having seen suppliers across Asia Pac at close up, I hope many have managed to make the transition to buying and maintaining expensive machinery to check for banned substances.
I haven't seen any leading articles on RoHS in India so far. However, I'm sure that the Indian manufacturers of electronics products have also made the shift.
The RoHS directive, which aims to restrict the level of hazardous substances used within new electronic and electrical equipment in the European Union (EU), is said to have had a "huge effect" on the industry so far, according to an expert.
It reminds me of a discussion I had with Man Yue, said to the seventh largest supplier of aluminum electrolytic capacitors late last year. Now Man Yue is huge and has the capability to invest in the expensive machinery required for RoHS.
Man Yue's competitive edge is strengthened by its compliance with RoHS. It has been RoHS compliant since Q2-2004. The supplier had placed orders for ICPE-9000 machine, which was scheduled for delivery by end of 2006. This machine grinds the capacitor into powder and checks for banned substances.
The spokesman told me Man Yue has a RoHS lab as well. Man Yue has four XRF machines. It was planning to purchase the GCMS-QP2010 Plus, another high-end testing machine, which checks for banned substances. It will purchase the UVmini-1240 machine as well.
Now, I understand that investing in such machinery needs substantial amount of capital. Having seen suppliers across Asia Pac at close up, I hope many have managed to make the transition to buying and maintaining expensive machinery to check for banned substances.
I haven't seen any leading articles on RoHS in India so far. However, I'm sure that the Indian manufacturers of electronics products have also made the shift.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Low-cost mobile broadband access for all
Today, the cell phone has become a commodity, a comman man's device. In India, especially in the metros, it is hard to find someone not carrying a cell phone. It has become so convenient to use one.
Imagine what it used to be a decade back. Cell phone prices were very high as were the call charges. Today, the story has reversed. It has been well established that Wireless is the most cost-effective way to bridge the digital divide.
Higher prices of handsets were posing a barrier to growth in developing countries. This has changed considerably since. Lowering of handset prices has ensured that the maximum growth has been in the developing countries.
However, more needs to be done as the rural-urban 'digital' divide is still significant. We first heard of ultra low-cost US $40 handsets a couple of years back. These were developed to lower the entry barrier in developing countries and to connect the unconnected.
We also saw US $30 handsets come into the fray. And now, low-cost 3G handsets are starting to do the rounds.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the operators, the handset vendors and their partners -- all need to be congratulated for having done such commendable work.
However, more needs to be done to truly make low-cost access available to all. ITU has recommended in its paper that low-cost 3G handsets "would create economies of scale for handset makers and their component suppliers. It would also make third-generation mobile services accessible to a much wider user base. The handsets will be available at a wholesale price about 30 percent less than the typical entry-level 3G phone and fully-competitive with the multimedia second-generation handsets on sale today."
This will happen eventually. And, when it does, these low-cost 3G handsets would become affordable mobile broadband devices for the masses. This would be the first step toward providing true mobile broadband low-cost access for all!
Imagine what it used to be a decade back. Cell phone prices were very high as were the call charges. Today, the story has reversed. It has been well established that Wireless is the most cost-effective way to bridge the digital divide.
Higher prices of handsets were posing a barrier to growth in developing countries. This has changed considerably since. Lowering of handset prices has ensured that the maximum growth has been in the developing countries.
However, more needs to be done as the rural-urban 'digital' divide is still significant. We first heard of ultra low-cost US $40 handsets a couple of years back. These were developed to lower the entry barrier in developing countries and to connect the unconnected.
We also saw US $30 handsets come into the fray. And now, low-cost 3G handsets are starting to do the rounds.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the operators, the handset vendors and their partners -- all need to be congratulated for having done such commendable work.
However, more needs to be done to truly make low-cost access available to all. ITU has recommended in its paper that low-cost 3G handsets "would create economies of scale for handset makers and their component suppliers. It would also make third-generation mobile services accessible to a much wider user base. The handsets will be available at a wholesale price about 30 percent less than the typical entry-level 3G phone and fully-competitive with the multimedia second-generation handsets on sale today."
This will happen eventually. And, when it does, these low-cost 3G handsets would become affordable mobile broadband devices for the masses. This would be the first step toward providing true mobile broadband low-cost access for all!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
China Sourcing Fair and Global Sources
First of all, it feels great to be back after having been on the road. I didn't know so many folks were missing me... am overwhelmed. Some friends and associates I believe, went overboard trying to find out where I was and why wasn't I writing. To all these well wishers, thanks a lot! It sure feels good to be back.
There are a lot of topics on my mind that I would like to write about. Before anything else, my mind goes back to Hong Kong for a while. A former employer, Global Sources, just completed the Spring edition of the Electronics & Components China Sourcing Fair at the sprawling Asiaworld Expo in Hong Kong.
I have been part of this event in the recent past, having covered the show extensily and judging the New Products Gallery during the Spring and Autumn Shows last year (2006). I'm sure, my former team-mates in Hong Kong did a great job in selecting the products for the New Products Gallery.
The show this time around was huge, as usual, and very well attended. I know, all of my ex-colleagues and friends gave their 200 percent to make this show a success. My congratulations to all of them.
I have tremdous self-respect and self-belief, and if one company helped me bring these qualities out in abundance, it has been Global Sources. Thank you!
Finally, here's a picture from the last year's CSF from the team dinner. All of you are great guys, and God bless.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Increasing efficiency with power MOSFETs
The electronics manufacturing segment is being constantly pushed to pursue increasing the power efficiency. The power MOSFET has been successful in supporting such moves.
High-voltage end >200V power MOSFETs were said to be driven by the power supply, lighting and motor drive markets. The mid-voltage range from >30 to 200V focused on the automotive and telecom markets, and the low-voltage products were driven by portable and computer markets.
According to Zetex Semiconductors, trends driving the demand for MOSFETs included portable applications that focus on smaller size, increased power density, increased functionality and longer battery life; more generally, the increasing demand for efficient DC-DC conversion to support the numerous voltage rails required in today’s systems; growth in LCD panel market requiring MOSFETs for driving CCFL backlight; the need for higher performance and efficient cooling systems cooling (DC Fans); and the move toward switching amplifiers for audio.
As the electronics market was being pushed to increase power efficiency, driven by governments’ legislation for energy conservation, the MOSFET developments to support this initiative were following two main tracks.
One was the shrinking of geometries to enable smaller packaging and higher power densities, and the other was the process and geometry optimization to improve the switching performance. A move to leadless packaging was a parallel activity to support higher power densities.
The need to drive MOSFETs at higher frequency to improve efficiency in power conversion applications and reduce system size was setting challenges for driving MOSFETs. Despite being voltage driven, in order to switch a power MOSFET at high speed requires high current to charge and discharge the gate capacitance.
This is currently an area of focus for Zetex. As a provider of leading-edge bipolar transistors, the supplier offers products that offer high drive current capability in very compact packages.
Keke Ke of Mainland based Guangdong Kexin added that electronic manufacturers were making efforts on decreasing the power dissipation and increasing efficiency, which calls for MOSFET to provide lower RDS (on) to decrease power dissipation. Meanwhile, gate charge and ratio of gate charge should be lowered to reduce conduction loss and switching loss to further increase efficiency.
Demand mostly emanted from portable products for smaller packaging of components. Kexin rolled out a variety of MOSFETs packaged by horizontal pin SOT-723 having the packaging size of 1.2x0.8x0.5mm. Such new packaging made use of PCB’s 1.44mm2 area and can increase the ratio of silicon/packaging area to decrease the power dissipation.
Kexin’s TSSOP-8 production line has been put into use. Compared with SOP-8, it can perform smaller packaging size. E.g., one TSSOP-8 component is up to SOP-8 in terms of performance, but its packaging size is only 25 percent of the SOP-8’s.
(Picture with the report is of Fuyong, Shenzhen, where I'd the pleasure of having lunch with my friends Simon Wang and Edmund. Don't have Kexin's image!)
Take care of thermal distribution for higher-layer PCBs
This is an extension to an earlier piece on the subject. During my various meetings in Hong Kong, I found Johnny Keung, deputy general manager, Circuitone, as a very good resource for discussing PCB services.
He described that immersion tin was economical, complied with RoHS, could replace immersion gold, and go fine line width. Circuitone offers 4µx4µ line width. As for spacing, it can go down to 3µ spacing.
The board size can be limited by equipment. Circuitone has equipment that handles 24x24inch board sizes. It can also offer 0.003” line width (3µx3µ) for high-density PCBs in large volumes. It offers minimum hole-width of 0.2mm, and plans to offer 0.1mm hole-width by Q4-07. This is indeed significant.
There had been some reports in the trade press regarding some Mainland Chinese PCB fabricators offeing 20- and even 40-layer PCBs.
Keung said there were two benchmarks. One, switching from double-sided to four layers, and two, switching from four layers to six layers.
He pointed out that Circuitone could use technology from six layers up to 20 layers. If it went beyond 20 layers, for example, 22 layers, there may be difficulties with thermal distribution within the board.
As I understand from our discussions, for up to 20 layers or so, heat distribution was on the top layer of the PCB, while distribution across middle layer could be uneven. Layers at the bottom could experience higher heat transfer than those in the middle.
Even PCB pressing is done in two stages: one, increase heat so the bonding sheet started to melt, and two, if temperature kept increasing, the glue was transformed into solid. This was the final curing stage.
Commenting on 40-layer PCBs, Keung commented that those boards at the outer layer would likely start melting, and those at the core layer would be in solidstate. When heat was being transferred into core layer, the evenness of distribution changed. The outer layer would remain in solidstate as well. So, expansion/contraction could get uneven, and registration could be a big challenge.
Fabricators should definitely look into this aspect, before designing higher-layer PCBs. I believe, some research work has been done by PCB makers to develop higher-layer PCBs. We discussed the yield rate earlier. That has to rise.
He described that immersion tin was economical, complied with RoHS, could replace immersion gold, and go fine line width. Circuitone offers 4µx4µ line width. As for spacing, it can go down to 3µ spacing.
The board size can be limited by equipment. Circuitone has equipment that handles 24x24inch board sizes. It can also offer 0.003” line width (3µx3µ) for high-density PCBs in large volumes. It offers minimum hole-width of 0.2mm, and plans to offer 0.1mm hole-width by Q4-07. This is indeed significant.
There had been some reports in the trade press regarding some Mainland Chinese PCB fabricators offeing 20- and even 40-layer PCBs.
Keung said there were two benchmarks. One, switching from double-sided to four layers, and two, switching from four layers to six layers.
He pointed out that Circuitone could use technology from six layers up to 20 layers. If it went beyond 20 layers, for example, 22 layers, there may be difficulties with thermal distribution within the board.
As I understand from our discussions, for up to 20 layers or so, heat distribution was on the top layer of the PCB, while distribution across middle layer could be uneven. Layers at the bottom could experience higher heat transfer than those in the middle.
Even PCB pressing is done in two stages: one, increase heat so the bonding sheet started to melt, and two, if temperature kept increasing, the glue was transformed into solid. This was the final curing stage.
Commenting on 40-layer PCBs, Keung commented that those boards at the outer layer would likely start melting, and those at the core layer would be in solidstate. When heat was being transferred into core layer, the evenness of distribution changed. The outer layer would remain in solidstate as well. So, expansion/contraction could get uneven, and registration could be a big challenge.
Fabricators should definitely look into this aspect, before designing higher-layer PCBs. I believe, some research work has been done by PCB makers to develop higher-layer PCBs. We discussed the yield rate earlier. That has to rise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
