After dropping 7% in 2015 to $12.3 billion, power transistor sales are expected to stabilize and begin a modest recovery in 2016, growing by a little over 1% to $12.4 billion, says IC Insights. Power transistors—the $12 billion growth engine in the $21 billion discrete semiconductor market—have faced a choppy uphill climb since surging in …
Power Trip
One of the increasing number of things which puzzle me is what IBM is doing in semiconductors. When it sold its semiconductor business to GloFo last year, IBM said that it “expects its unparalleled semiconductor and materials research to continue to advance its capabilities in systems for years to come.” And so it has. A …
Updated: Designing led/optic assemblies gets easier
Maybe everyone else has known this for ages, but at last there is enough information on led and collimator data sheets to work out how far one should be form the other to get the specified beam. Gaggione LLC17N This was bought to my attention by optics maker Gaggione – which I had know had …
Qualcomm offers 6GHz radio chips for early 5G launch
Qualcomm has developed a prototype radio system for 5G mobile communications research and first network trials. Interestingly, this latest 5G prototype system from Qualcomm operates in the sub-6GHz spectrum bands and not in the millimetre-wave (28-65GHz) frequency bands. However, this just confirms the likelihood of a two stage introduction of 5G services over the next …
Makers make their mark with distributors
Recent company acquisitions in the component distribution sector may only be the start of things. Since selling over the internet changed the way companies and so-called “maker” designers find and buy new components, the distribution business has been turned on its head. For decades the component distribution business was straight-forward. Supply companies with components for …
Intel Said To Be Selling McAfee
Intel, having failed to sell its VC arm, is now putting McAfee on the block, reports the FT. No one could ever explain why it bought McAfee in 2010 in for $7.7 billion. Especially when the EC then extracted an undertaking that any special protection developed for x86 processors would also be offered to AMD. …
Spendwallet style takes care of your substance
When I tell you that I am looking at the Spendwallet, “The thinnest electronic wallet that consolidates all your cards”, you’ll not be surprised to know that the first thing I wanted to know about was security.
Raspberry Pi powers RaspTouch open source music player
We know Raspberry Pi stories for high-end audio often prove popular, so check out the RaspTouch audio project on KickStarter, from France.
Microchip extends PIC32 range downwards
Microchip has created the lowest power and least costly family of PIC32 microcontrollers (MCUs), positioned between the PIC24F XLP and PIC32MX families, and the first PIC32s to have the firm’s ‘core independent’ peripherals. Called PIC32MM, the family is aimed at IoT, consumer, industrial and motor control applications. Key figures are: sleep down to 500nA and a 4x4mm package. …
BlueInGreen completes 25th water treatment installation
BlueInGreen unveiled three completed installations in Jefferson Parish, La., Fayetteville, Ark. and Parkville, Mo., as well as two upcoming projects.