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I
Visit www.rsleads.com/607ee-005
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6/8/2016 11:26:57 AM
July 2016, Vol. 55, No.7
C O NT E NT S
I N S T R U M E N TAT I O N
SPECIAL REPORT
Oscilloscopes
12
Is there an SBO in your future?
By Tom Lecklider, Senior Technical Editor
Data Acquisition
26
PTPv2 holds data acquisition and
testing to a tight schedule
By Christof Salcher, HBM
EMC/EMI/RFI
SPECIAL REPORT
EMC Test
6
Instruments, software span
validation to compliance
By Rick Nelson, Executive Editor
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S T E S T
Cloud Computing
18
INSPECTION
By Rick Nelson, Executive Editor
Industry Happenings
28
The Vision Show brings FPGAs
into focus
AT E
Test Systems
By Rick Nelson, Executive Editor
22
MEDICAL TEST
Ensuring equipment safety and
effectiveness
S O F T WA R E
Industry Happenings
By Tom Lecklider, Senior Technical Editor
29
D E PA R T M E N T S
2
Editorial
4
EE Industry Update
30 EE Product Picks
31 Index of Advertisers
Hands-off testing key to ICs
and solar
By Tom Lecklider, Senior Technical Editor
Medical Product Focus
24
IoT spans edge to data center
StarEast targets software test
automation and quality
By Tom Lecklider, Senior Technical Editor
Research Insights
32
IBM Watson takes to the road
By Rick Nelson, Executive Editor
@EE_Engineers
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6/8/2016 2:31:11 PM
EDITORIAL
Companies,
governments can
foster innovation
evaluationengineering.com
EDITORIAL
I
n a contentious U.S. election season, Bill Gates hopes that come November, all candidates will agree on America’s unparalleled capacity for innovation. In an April 18
blog post at Reuters titled “America’s secret weapon,” he wrote that investment in innovation creates jobs at home and fights poverty in the poorest countries, adding, “It offers the next president a tremendous opportunity to help people in America and around
the world.”
Of course, a key issue is how to achieve innovation—it can’t be ordered from an
online shopping service. But speaking at The Vision Show May 4 in Boston, Leo Baldwin, futurist and inventor, had three specific suggestions: a successful innovation
must be novel, it must be useful (not merely fun), and there must be a reasonable way
to implement it.
Baldwin, who recently rejoined Amazon (he noted the ideas he was presenting were
his own), said that during an earlier stint with the company, the idea of a flexible Kindle
reader arose. That might be fun—the Kindle mimics paper, which is flexible. But many
people given a sheet of paper look for a way to support it in a comfortable reading position—supporting it on a hardcover book, perhaps. Further, the e-ink used in the Kindle
would not perform well in a flexible display. The concept was novel but not necessarily
useful or realizable.
Baldwin, who holds 50 U.S. patents finding use in applications ranging from breweries to silicon fabs, then asked, why innovate? The short response, he answered, is
“innovate or die.” Sears should have been Amazon, he said. After all, the company had
mastered the information superhighway of its time: catalogs, the telephone, and the
postal service. The company failed to adapt and is shrinking.
To innovate, said Baldwin, “Be open to new ideas—that’s the first battle.” A corollary
is “Let go of old ideas.” Also “reward failure.” That’s not to say “reward incompetence,” he emphasized, but it is appropriate to reward people who take a calculated risk
at a moonshot project.
He then commented on diversity: gender, ethnicity, and age, of course, and going
beyond legal requirements. An innovative team needs young people with new ideas
and older people (who already have made mistakes) to guide them.
An innovative team also should be diverse with respect to work style, he said. An innovative team needs relational thinkers (messy-desk people) as well as hierarchical thinkers (clean-desk people). The former (people like Einstein) will generate the big, breakout
ideas; the latter will be innovative at the margins, handling tasks like generating a bill of
materials, handling version control, or making gradual process improvements.
Further, he said, don’t tailor the team to your problem (another way of emphasizing diversity). Don’t precategorize the problem. Don’t assign only software engineers
to software problems and hardware engineers to hardware problems. A problem that
might at first seem to be a software problem might in fact be better solved using an
FPGA. A problem that might lend itself to cloud computing may be better solved using
a local DSP or ASIC, or vice-versa.
In addition, he advised against embedding a solution in your problem statement. A
CEO, he said, might see a presentation on lasers and then specify a package-tracking solution using lasers. The problem, Baldwin emphasized, is to develop a better packagetracking solution. Lasers may or may not be a part of the optimal solution—that’s up to
the innovation team to determine.
Baldwin’s recommendations fit well within a company, but government also has a
role to play. As Gates emphasized in his Reuters blog post, government should not pick
winners and losers—markets will do that. Governments, instead, should make targeted
investments in support of entrepreneurs.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Rick Nelson
e-mail: rnelson@evaluationengineering.com
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02-03_EE_201607_Editorial_MECH_eb.indd 2
July 2016
6/7/2016 3:06:50 PM
Accuracy orst.
Keysight Trueform outperforms DDS.
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Buy from an Authorized Distributor:
© Keysight Technologies, Inc. 2015
02-03_EE_201607_Editorial_MECH_eb.indd 3
6/7/2016 3:07:35 PM
INDUSTRY
UPDATE
1.3 GW
Combined RF output power of
GaN-on-SiC transistors shipped
by Wolfspeed as of the end of 2015
Source: Wolfspeed
72%
Percentage of Americans who have
used some form of shared
or on-demand online service
73%
Percentage of Americans saying
they are unfamiliar
with the “sharing economy”
Source: Pew Research Center
6.5 million
Number of instant-film cameras
Fujifilm expects to ship
this year
Source: The Wall Street Journal
151.41
Overall technology and engineering
literacy (TEL) score
for eighth-grade girls
148.65
Overall TEL score
for eighth-grade boys
Source: 2014 National Assessment of
Education Progress
16%
Percentage of survey respondents
who spend
more than $100,000 per year on
PCB prototypes
Source: Nano Dimension
$3.3 billion
Worldwide semiconductor
photomask market in 2015
Source: SEMI
Test Vision 2020 topics to span
advanced packaging to test data
Test Vision 2020 takes place July 13-14
in San Francisco in conjunction with
SEMICON West. The goal is to look at
where the test industry is heading and
provide a forum for discussing directions and solutions.
Jan Vardaman, president and founder
of TechSearch International, will deliver
a Wednesday keynote address “Advanced Packaging Trends and the Impact
on Test.” Wednesday technical papers
will address the future of analog test
as well as advanced packaging and advanced test challenges. A panel session
will let participants weigh in on the topic
“3D/2.5D/SIP: What should be tested,
who should do it, and where?” The
Wednesday program will conclude with
a poster session and reception.
Thursday will feature two invited
speakers. Professor Thomas Lee, Stanford University, will deliver a talk Thursday morning titled “Silicon is the New
Steel: Building the Internet of Everything—the World’s First Terascale Network.” The Thursday afternoon speaker
will be Yervant Zorian, chief architect
and fellow at Synopsys and president
of Synopsys Armenia, who will deliver
an address titled “Test and Robustness
in Today’s Advanced Technologies.”
Thursday technical papers will cover
advanced test methods and getting more
out of your test data.
For more information and to register,
visit www.testvision2020.com.
IPC releases Troubleshooting
PCB Fabrication Processes
IPC has released IPC-9121, Troubleshooting PCB Fabrication Processes, an
essential resource for anyone involved
in manufacturing or purchasing printedcircuit boards. This new handbook contains more than 650 PCB process defects
with causes and corrective actions for
each. It also includes hundreds of fullcolor photos demonstrating real-world
process defects.
IPC-9121 organizes these process defects by the manufacturing steps in the
process where they can occur—imaging, resists, protective coatings, drilling,
surface prep, etching chemistries, lamination, final finishes, etc.—and summarizes causes and solutions for each. This
resource enables the process engineer to
quickly find and resolve process defects
in-house, saving money and keeping
quality product flowing to customers.
“The IPC-9121 handbook presents common problems, solutions and corrective
actions required in manufacturing PCBs,”
said Chris Jorgenson, director of technology transfer at IPC. “It is a valuable
troubleshooting tool that every process
engineer involved with manufacturing of
printed circuit boards should have.”
Xilinx selects Optimal+
for real-time analytics
Optimal+ announced that it was selected
by Xilinx to provide real-time visibility
into its production test operations taking
place in their global supply chain.
Through the use of the Optimal+ Big
Data Infrastructure, Xilinx is able to
monitor all aspects of its test operations
being performed by OSATs, including
site-to-site test results, temperature monitoring, and bin limits. In addition, Xilinx
can create flexible and reconfigurable
rules that can automatically check for
issues that otherwise would be too difficult to track manually. This creation of
this tightly integrated environment was
driven by Xilinx to enable fast response
times to manufacturing issues.
More than 200 vehicle models
have MOST inside
The MOST Cooperation—the standardization organization for the automotive
multimedia network technology Media
Oriented Systems Transport (MOST)—
announced at the 8th MOST Forum that
GM’s new Cadillac CT6 has become
the 204th vehicle model implementing
MOST. “We are delighted about the continued implementation of this automotive network standard by key carmakers
worldwide,” stated Henry Muyshondt,
MOST Cooperation administrator. “In
fact, MOST is so widely used now that
MOSTCO is planning to transfer the
MOST Specifications
to the International
Standards Organization (ISO). The aim is
to simplify access and
make future technical developments go
through a recognized
Courtesy of the
standards
developMOST Cooperation ment organization.”
Educational tools teach signal
generation, acquisition, analysis
Spectrum offers a number of academic
tools that can be used to learn the basics
For more on these and other news items, visit www.evaluationengineering.com/category/industry-update/
4
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04-05_EE_201607_IndustryUpdate_MECH_eb.indd 4
July 2016
6/8/2016 5:20:37 PM
INDUSTRY
UPDATE
of waveform generation, acquisition,
and analysis. The tools are designed to
be used by teachers and other educators
for structured learning classes or by students who wish to follow a self-tutorial
style process. The academic tools also
are helpful for first-time digitizer and
arbitrary waveform generator (AWG)
users wanting to learn the basics of
these instruments.
At the heart of the academic tools is
the SBench 6 software, which provides
a graphical user interface for control of
PC-based instrumentation such as digitizers and AWGs. SBench 6 is especially
designed for instruments from Spectrum
that cover the range from 100 kS/s up to
5 GS/s. SBench 6 can operate with simulated demonstration hardware allowing
the user to effectively manipulate virtual
instruments without the need to have
real hardware.
NI and Hewlett Packard
Enterprise to collaborate
National Instruments and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) have announced a
collaboration to facilitate the availability
of pretested Big Analog Data solutions
based on NI DataFinder Server Edition
software and HPE Moonshot Systems.
Engineers must collect and manage sensor
data that is fundamentally different than
what traditional big-data solutions typically tackle. The collaboration of HPE, a
global leader in computing and data processing, with NI, a leader in data acquisition and analysis, is expected to result in
the availability of a pretested best-in-class
hardware and software combination for
solving engineering data management
problems and making decisions from sensor data more effectively.
“The DataFinder-Moonshot Big Analog Data solution is a potent combination,
making it easier for engineers to rapidly
deploy and gain insight from manufacturing, test, and Internet of Things (IoT)
data,” said Dr. Tom Bradicich, vice president and general manager of servers and
IoT systems at HPE. “With this pretested
solution, HPE and NI are helping our customers to reduce their integration risks.”
Combining the multiple award-winning HPE Moonshot Systems and DataFinder Server Edition provides engineers
with a complete, prevalidated, tested solution to manage and analyze the complexities of file-based sensor data. With
DataFinder Server Edition software running on HPE Moonshot server blades,
users can manage structured and unstructured data generated from any data
acquisition analysis node.
Derrickson, department chair of electrical engineering, Cal Poly (pictured with
Satish Dhanasekaran, vice president and
general manager of Keysight’s wireless device and operator segment, left).
“Students and faculty now have the capability to model, design, build and test
complex communication systems. Plus,
our senior and masters-level projects will
partner to help create the next generation
of 5G designs.”
“With the IoT and the emergence of
more connected systems, our customers
are collecting more data than ever before,” said Eric Starkloff, executive vice
president of global sales and marketing
at NI. “By analyzing more of their data
in a reliable and accurate way, our customers can better document the results
of their tests and take actionable steps
to improve the efficiency and designs of
their applications.”
Both companies will showcase this
technology at NIWeek Aug. 1-4 in Austin.
Cal Poly establishes mobile
communications teaching lab
Keysight Technologies announced that
it has donated $1.3 million worth of design and test software and hardware to
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to establish a
communications teaching lab for electrical engineering students. The new lab,
named Keysight Technologies Advanced
Communications Laboratory, was dedicated in May during Cal Poly’s annual
banquet for the college of electrical engineering. Attendees included alumni,
faculty, students, and members of the
industry advisory board.
“The donation is transformative for
the electrical and computer engineering
departments at Cal Poly,” said Dennis
Courtesy of Keysight Technologies
The new lab has 10 systems of PXI
vector signal analyzers and vector signal
generators, including two 2x2 VSA and
VSG combo systems suitable for MIMO
testing. The donation also included three
years of Keysight application software—
Signal Studio, Waveform Creator, and
the flagship 89600 VSA software.
VPC presents awards for three new design patents
Courtesy of VPC
Virginia Panel Corp. (VPC) has presented plaques in recognition of three
design patents to five of its engineers:
Randy Garman, Darryl Ashby, Randall
Herron, Chris Church, and Lucas Harman. The designs come from VPC’s
product-development and product-design teams, which research and develop
concepts for technology improvements
and future products for the company.
The patents include designs for the
i1, i2 Micro iCon, and VTAC High
Speed Data, which belong to VPC’s
iSeries and SIM product lines. These
product lines accommodate low I/O
in small test connectors.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team.
Today, it is very difficult to be granted
a patent, so it’s even more of an honor
to have our design patents reviewed
and granted,” said David Rocker, vice
president of engineering.
“Receipt of patents for product
design just shows that VPC is both
innovative and the best at developing new products for our industry. I
personally and professionally receive
these plaques with a great sense of accomplishment,” said Herron from the
product-development team.
July 2016
04-05_EE_201607_IndustryUpdate_MECH_eb.indd 5
evaluationengineering.com
5
6/8/2016 5:20:55 PM
SPECIAL REPORT
EMC TEST
Sponsored by
Instruments, software span
validation to compliance
By Rick Nelson, Executive Editor
E
lectromagnetic compatibility has long been a key consideration of successful product design. As speeds increase, concerns related to signal and power integrity
also come to the fore. Such topics will be at the forefront at
the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic
Compatibility (EMC 2016), which will include exhibits as
well as technical presentations when it convenes July 25-29
in Ottawa.
The symposium will begin with full-day tutorials on “Fundamentals of EMC” and “Military EMC.” Half-day tutorials
will cover a variety of topics, including the IEEE P370 Standard (“Electrical Characterization of Printed Circuit Board and
Related Interconnects at Frequencies up to 50 GHz”), reverberation chambers, measurement uncertainty, electromagnetic information security, automotive and medical EMC, EMI
modeling techniques, computational electromagnetics for
nanotechnology and advanced materials, wireless device test,
signal integrity and power integrity fundamentals for computer and communication systems, managing risks with regard to electromagnetic disturbances, smart-grid EMC issues,
crosstalk, and calibration.
Testing services
Several test-and-measurement companies have shared their
plans for the symposium. D.L.S. Electronic Systems offers
a variety of EMC testing and consulting services to the electronics, medical equipment, automotive, aerospace, computer,
telecommunications, and other industries. President Donald L.
Sweeney said the company will be promoting its compliance
programs for RTCA-DO-160, MIL-STD-461, and the European
EMC, LVD, and RED directives at EMC 2016. The company
provides links to the latest EMC rules and regulations, which
EE-Evaluation Engineering readers can access at www.dlsemc.
com/EE-July2016.
“We offer ‘up-front’ engineering reviews and assessments
that address noncomplaint design issues prior to testing, which
saves both time and money,” Sweeney said. “Later when the client comes back for testing, our engineers are knowledgeable in
the correct way to perform the tests, and they are highly skilled
at solving any issues that are revealed during the testing.”
Sweeney added, “Besides our knowledgeable test engineers,
D.L.S. has invested in state-of-the-art test equipment that supports the most current global wireless and radio standards to
ensure the most accurate test results in the most expedient
amount of time.”
From R&D to compliance
Figure 1. Test system including EMI test receiver, signal generator, and
broadband amplifier plus antenna
Courtesy of Rohde & Schwarz
6
evaluationengineering.com
06-11_EE_201607_SpecialRep_EMCTEST_FINAL_eb.indd 6
Rohde & Schwarz offers EMI/EMS measurement solutions
(Figure 1) for the entire development cycle—including design
verification, precompliance, and full compliance. At EMC 2016,
said Faride Akretch, marketing manager, “We will showcase solutions used in the development and design verification phase,
such as oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers for EMI debug, to
solutions for precompliance and full compliance, such as EMI
receiver, amplifier, and test systems.” The company’s offerings
also include amplifiers, antennae, chambers, and automatic test
systems—for example, for visual inspection as it relates to EMC.
Akretch highlighted two new products in particular that
will appear at the show. “The ESW EMI test receiver offers outstanding RF characteristics, including high dynamic range and
measurement accuracy and meets the most stringent requirements for certification measurements in line with CISPR, EN,
MIL-STD-461, DO-160, and FCC,” he said. “With its FFT-based
time-domain scan, the R&S ESW captures and weights disturbance spectra in virtually no time. The instrument’s real-time
spectrum-analysis capability with 80-MHz bandwidth and
spectrogram function permits a detailed analysis of disturbance
signals and their history.”
Akretch also cited the R&S BBA150 and BBL200 broadband
amplifier families. The compact BBA150 generates power in the
9-kHz to 6-GHz frequency range and is suitable for amplitude,
frequency, phase, and pulse modulation. Extensive switching options for input, output, and sample ports are available.
The R&S BBL200 amplifiers serve applications requiring high
RF power. They generate up to 10 kW of power in a 9-kHz to
225-MHz frequency range. They are liquid-cooled, solid-state,
rugged, quiet, and efficient. Precise monitoring of all runtime
parameters ensures maximum robustness and reliability.
July 2016
6/8/2016 9:40:30 AM
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SPECIAL REPORT
EMC TEST
He elaborated on the company’s EMI receivers. “We help our
customers by offering test results that are beyond a simple pass
or fail,” he said. “The increasing percentage of EMI compliance
failures necessitates an improved capability not only in detecting emissions, but also in characterizing the failing emissions.
Combining the traditional spectrum plot with the real-timemode spectrogram and persistence displays provides the user
with a variety of tools that can be used to identify the root-cause
of failed EMC tests.”
Akretch cited several key features and capabilities:
• Time-domain scan provides real-time spectrum feedback
thousands of times faster than traditional spectrum analyzer
measurements.
• Real-time-mode spectrogram displays show a color-coded representation of signal strength over time. “This is extremely useful when examining the time nature of signals and when measuring pulse repetition rates without resorting to the zero span
mode in a swept spectrum analyzer,” he said.
• Real-time-mode persistence displays amplitude as a function
of the percentage of time the signal was at that amplitude. “This
gives the EMC designer the ability to visualize time-multiplexed
signals, or ‘signals under signals,’ eliminating costly multiple
rounds of full EMC testing,” he explained.
Rohde & Schwarz also will offer a presentation titled “Capturing Pulsed/Intermittent Signals” as part of the “Hardware
Experiments and Demonstrations” portion of the symposium.
Attendees will learn how the growing complexity of electronics within both military and commercial products is resulting
in the emission of more pulsed/intermittent signals, which although difficult to detect must be properly characterized during EMC testing.
Presenters will note there are several methods to perform
the task of measuring the electromagnetic (conducted or radiated) emissions of a pulsed signal and will describe three EMC
test methodologies: frequency-swept, frequency-stepped, and
time-domain-scan.
Sponsored by
products early in the design stage. Working with our Advanced
Design System software package, this powerful software solution can help customers complete their designs rapidly and
avoid signal integrity and electromagnetic compliance issues.”
In addition, he said, “The N6141A EMI measurement application transforms X-Series signal analyzers into an EMI precompliance and diagnostic solution, providing data collection and
analysis tools to facilitate rapid time-to-market for new designs.”
Finally, he noted that the N9038A MXE EMI receiver provides
compliance measurement and diagnostic capabilities for all
commercial and military applications. “With the new real-time
spectrum analysis capability for diagnosing high-speed signals
and new millimeter-wave frequency coverage, the N9038A is a
comprehensive compliance measurement tool,” he said. “Our
MXE EMI receiver recently introduced millimeter-wave measurement capability. With a range of external millimeter-wave
downconverters, the receiver can cover to the 231-GHz FCC
upper frequency range and beyond.”
Keysight also will present a paper titled “Millimeter-wave
Emissions Measurement Challenges for FCC Intentional Radiator Compliance.” The paper will provide an overview of millimeter-wave EMC measurements for FCC intentional radiator
measurement applications and discuss issues associated with
the creation of these measurements. The presenter will note
that millimeter-wave EMC measurements will become more
Instruments and software
Mark Terrien, EMC business manager at Keysight Technologies, said, “We will be highlighting our electromagnetic simulation software, our EMI precompliance test, and our EMIcompliant receiver. These products cover the entire breadth of
activities in the electromagnetic environment that face product designers and compliance test houses. With our partners,
we offer customers complete precompliance and compliance
measurement solutions.”
Terrien said Keysight will present the following demos at the
EMC Symposium:
• standards-compliant EMI measurements with signal-analyzerbased diagnostics to 44 GHz and higher with the recently added
external mixer support for millimeter-wave using the N9038A
MXE EMI receiver;
• precompliance measurement and diagnostic evaluation tools
with the N6141A EMI measurement application (Figure 2) on XSeries signal analyzers;
• EMPro 3D EM software to simulate emissions levels vs. frequency and compare to common FCC, CISPR, and other EMI
emissions standards;
• PLTS that supports the flexible PXIe chassis form factor with
VNA modules for multichannel analysis of high-speed digital
interconnect; and
• PDN component characterization with the ENA network analyzer with the impedance measurement function.
“Our products provide detailed design, troubleshooting, and
compliance information across the breadth of EMC applications,” Terrien said. “Our EMPro 3D EM simulation software
enables designers to simulate the EMC performance of their
8
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06-11_EE_201607_SpecialRep_EMCTEST_FINAL_eb.indd 8
Figure 2. N6141 EMI measurement application
Courtesy of Keysight Technologies
important as solutions for 60-GHz WiGIG and millimeter-wave
broadband Internet of Things applications are introduced over
the next five years.
Precompliance solutions
Jason Chonko, applications engineer at Rigol Technologies
USA, said his company will be highlighting several EMC precompliance solutions at the show. “At Rigol, our goal is to provide engineers and technicians with the tools that help them
solve technical challenges in a cost-effective manner,” he said.
“Each of these new products represents our next steps toward
achieving that goal.”
The products include the NFP-3 near-field probe kit that provides engineers and technicians with simple tools for investigating EMI emissions from boards and enclosures. These nearfield probes are designed to work seamlessly with Rigol DSA
spectrum analyzers.
July 2016
6/8/2016 9:41:09 AM
SPECIAL REPORT - EMC TEST
“These sniffer probes are used to identify sources of EMI on
boards as well as ‘leaks’ in enclosures and cut-outs,” Chonko
said. “These handheld electrically insulated probes offer a convenient way to measure magnetic and electric fields produced
by EMI. This can help designers isolate causes of EMI earlier
in the design phase and correct for issues before they undergo
fully compliant testing, where changes can be expensive and
delay product release.”
The company also will feature the DSA800 Series of spectrum
analyzers (Figure 3), which now includes analyzers that cover 1.5-,
3.2-, and 7.5-GHz maximum frequency ranges. These swept superheterodyne analyzers deliver accurate amplitude vs. frequency
information with a low DANL and a flexible digital platform.
The analyzers, Chonko said, provide amplitude vs. frequency information in a small and cost-effective package. “Our
DSA800 series of spectrum analyzers features low noise, wide
operating frequency ranges, tracking generator/preamplifier
options, an EMI toolkit with a QuasiPeak detector, as well as
on-screen limit lines and correction tables,” he added. “These
features make precompliance testing easier than ever.”
Also on display will be the new EMI Test System software,
which works with the Rigol DSA Series of spectrum analyzers to create and execute precompliance scans, including limit
line creation and correction tables. It also features a reportgeneration tool.
“The EMI Test System software coupled with a Rigol DSA
spectrum analyzer provides a ‘one-stop’ solution for collecting precompliance data,” Chonko said. “It serves to control
the spectrum analyzer setup, scan sequencing, data collection,
and reporting.”
And finally, the company will present the new DSG800 Series
RF sources, which provide capabilities for precompliance susceptibility and broadcast testing of receivers and RF components.
Figure 3. DSA832 9-kHz to 3.2-GHz spectrum analyzer
Courtesy of Rigol Technologies
Oscilloscopes for ESD/EMC
Mike Hertz, field applications engineer, Teledyne LeCroy, said
the company will focus on using oscilloscopes (Figure 4) for
ESD/EMC testing. “Teledyne LeCroy offers a unique solution
for the ESD RC time-constant measurement, accurate automatic threshold placement for ESD pulse rise-time measurements,
decay time, level-at-pulse, radiated immunity testing with parameter limit testing, and many other EMC-specific measurements,” he said.
A Teledyne LeCroy application note1 describes immunity
testing using an EMC chamber and an array of oscilloscopes.
“Although oscilloscopes are well equipped to perform the rapid parametric measurements required for determining EMC deviation in immunity testing, they often have been overlooked in
the past mainly due to lack of awareness and lack of sufficient
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Figure 4. Array of oscilloscopes used for live analysis of immunity data
outside an EMC chamber
Courtesy of Teledyne LeCroy
oscilloscope channel count,” the note states. “Using an array of
oscilloscopes is potentially the most efficient and cost-effective
method to qualify component sensor outputs during immunity
test, since most of the functionality using pass/fail mask and
parameter limit testing has already been implemented.”
Keysight, Rigol, Rohde & Schwarz, and Teledyne LeCroy
are just a few of the instrument makers who will exhibit at the
EMC Symposium. As this issue goes to press, others have not
detailed their plans for the event, but based on recent product
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its HSS-2 coupling-decoupling network (CDN), used to couple
electrical surges onto unshielded symmetrical high-speed telecommunications lines such as found in Ethernet networks. This
CDN applies pulses up to the maximum 2-kV 1.2/50 μs or 50-A
8/20 μs specified by IEC/EN 61000-4 through a 40-Ω resistance in
series with a capacitive coupling element.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific may highlight its ECAT lightning test
system, a modular platform that tests compliance to a variety of
avionics standards, including RTCA DO-160 and CS-117 (MILSTD-461G).
• ETS-Lindgren may present its EMField generator, an integrated solution for radiated immunity testing that incorporates an
amplifier, directional couplers, and an antenna array—converting almost all of the generated power into usable field strength.
Check the EE-Evaluation Engineering website for updates as
EMC 2016 nears. EE
Reference
1. EMI Radiated Immunity Testing With Oscilloscopes, Teledyne LeCroy,
Application Note, Dec. 23, 2015.
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SPECIAL REPORT
OSCILLOSCOPES
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Is there an SBO in your future?
By Tom Lecklider, Senior Technical Editor
T
o date, no manufacturer has adopted the stratosphericbandwidth oscilloscope (SBO) terminology, although
several very high frequency oscilloscopes, such as Keysight Technologies’ 63-GHz Z-Series Infiniium DSOZ634A
shown in Figure 1, clearly could support the SBO description.
We already have variations on the digital storage oscilloscope
(DSO) such as MSO mixed-signal (now generic, but began by
Hewlett Packard in 1995), digital-phosphor (DPO) and mixeddomain (MDO) from Tektronix, and high-definition (HDO)
from Teledyne LeCroy. Why not an SBO?
A common aspect that distinguishes today’s SBOs from other
scopes is their use of semiconductor technologies that cannot
directly support the claimed bandwidths. A very high-end
oscilloscope takes a few years to develop, so no matter what
speed IC process it uses, at the time it is introduced, the frequencies it needs to work with have become even higher. It’s
not possible to keep up.
certain ENOB are overtaken by sampling clock-related errors—
aperture jitter. The paper concludes that rms jitter less than 100
fs is needed to achieve an ENOB of 6.0 at input frequencies
higher than 20 GHz.
Figure 2. ENOB vs. maximum input frequency for published ADCs
Courtesy of S. Callender
Figure 1. Z-Series Infiniium DSOZ634A oscilloscope
Courtesy of Keysight Technologies
Instead, each manufacturer making these scopes has figured
out how to split the input signal spectrum into pieces small
enough to handle with existing IC technology. Of course, they
also had to develop the means to reassemble the original signal
by combining outputs from the separate paths.
This approach should not be confused with time-interleaved sampling (TIS), which has been used by many scope
vendors to increase time resolution. A common way that this
technique has been presented to users was to specify a scope’s
longer memory and higher sample rate when multiple channels were combined.
The concept of TIS is easy to understand, but TIS designs
only work well when inherent performance limitations are addressed. Because a single tone is converted by all n ADCs being
interleaved, the gain and group delay of each path contribute
distortion to the degree that the n paths differ. So, additional
compensation must be included to normalize the gains and
align the path delays before the separate outputs can be combined. Of course, gains and delays are frequency- and temperature-dependent.
Another significant limitation is caused by the ADC clock jitter. A 2015 Ph.D. dissertation1 presents a plot of input frequency
vs. achievable ENOB for ADCs described in ISSCC and VLSI
Symposium papers. As shown in Figure 2,1 there is a maximum
frequency at which the quantization errors associated with a
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12-17_EE_201607_SpecialRep_Oscilloscopes_FINAL_eb.indd 12
The paper also examines the benefits of a frequency-interleaved approach relative to one using TIS. Splitting the input
spectrum into two or more parts has the benefit of allowing
the ADCs in each path to operate at lower clock rates, which
reduces sensitivity to sampling clock jitter. On the other hand,
downconverting higher-frequency bands to baseband involves mixing with a suitable local oscillator (LO). Unless LO
noise is low, the improvement in sensitivity to sampling clock
jitter could be offset by the LO noise that gets added to the
input signal.
Commercial solutions
In a 2010 technical brief,2 Peter Pupalaikis, vice president of
technology development at Teledyne LeCroy, discusses the
spiraling costs encountered as oscilloscope companies pursued
higher bandwidth direct-sampling designs, which required “…
the redesign of various custom ICs, with costs increasing at an
exponential rate. As the life-cycle of these high-performance
instruments continues to shrink, these costs are passed on to
oscilloscope customers.”
And, as described in a 2013 article3 by Brig Asay, at the time
product manager of high-performance oscilloscopes at Agilent
Technologies’ oscilloscope product division, “… the need for
higher oscilloscope bandwidths is outstripping what can be
achieved with … [a direct-sampling] architecture, even when
very fast semiconductor processes are used to realize the circuits…. Some of the high-bandwidth oscilloscopes have employed variations of what are sometimes called hybrid filter
bank (HFB) techniques. Basic HFB uses analog bandpass filters
to select and redirect separate frequency bands.”
Digital bandwidth interleave
The solution that LeCroy developed before being acquired
July 2016
6/22/2016 3:08:46 PM
SPECIAL REPORT - OSCILLOSCOPES
by Teledyne—digital bandwidth interperformance of a conventional single-band
leave (DBI)—uses a diplexer to split the
lower-frequency scope.
input spectrum into lower and upper
Asynchronous time interleave
bands (Figure 3). Only two bands are
Tektronix has developed the asynchronous
considered here, but the technique can
time interleave (ATI) bandwidth-multiplicaaddress three or more bands if required.
tion technology used in the 70-GHz Model
The lower band contains frequencies
DPO70000SX. The overall scheme is simiwithin the bandwidth of the front-end
lar to DBI to the degree that two paths are
amplifier and ADC. The higher band
processed and combined to form the higher
is mixed with an LO to translate it to
bandwidth output. However, there are sevbaseband, and in the process, it beeral distinct differences as well.
comes spectrally reversed.
As discussed in a 2015 white paper6 and
In the 30-GHz example discussed in
also in a 2016 patent,7 ATI signal processing
another LeCroy DBI paper,4 two bands
are developed—DC to 16 GHz and 16
(Figure 5) drives two identical paths rather
GHz to 30 GHz. After downconverting
than immediately forming upper and lower
the upper band, both are sampled at 40
bands as with DBI. One result of this archiGHz. The paper continues, “… alternate
tecture, as claimed in the white paper, is rezeros [are inserted] into the waveforms
duced noise power spectral density because
in both bands. This process upconverts
the noise is spread across the total sample
Figure 3. Bandwidth interleave topology
the sampling rate to 80 GS/s. This also
rate, which is twice the sample rate of the
Courtesy of Teledyne LeCroy
is equivalent to mixing the signals with
individual ADCs.
a 40-GHz local oscillator, and as a result,
The two paths are distinguished by the
we image the baseband spectra about 40 GHz and harmonphase of the asynchronous pre-sampler clock—one clock (C’) is
ics thereof. At this point, we low-pass filter the signals in both
180 degrees different in phase with respect to the other (C). The
bands, and we are left with the baseband spectra and a new Nyfrequency of both is above the final bandwidth. In the 70-GHz
quist frequency of 40 GHz due to the 80-GHz sampling rate.”
example described in reference 6, a 75-GHz pre-sampling clock
To recover the upper band, which still is spectrally reis used, resulting in a 37.5-GHz Nyquist frequency.
versed, the paper states, “We mix the high band with a local
If you consider a signal consisting of frequency A that is less
oscillator [31.25 GHz] in order to remove the spectral reverthan Nyquist and a tone B that is greater than Nyquist but less
sal and also to restore it to its original frequency range. The
than frequency C, what happens when the signal is sampled
output of this mixer is bandpass filtered eliminating the upby clocks C and C’? Because frequency A is less than Nyquist,
per sideband image….”
it is retained as a baseband signal. In addition, frequencies A
Clearly, LeCroy’s DBI approach is technically sound, as has
and B are mixed with the sampling frequency C and C’. Mixbeen demonstrated in several scope models such as the Labing is equivalent to multiplication, and if each signal compoMaster 9 Zi-A and 10 Zi-A scopes, the latter series with bandnent and the sampling frequency are sine waves, after lowwidths to 100 GHz. Nevertheless, as shown in Figure 4,5 recompass filtering at 37.5 GHz, one path will contain the original
bining the multiple bands is far from straightforward. Several
sin (A) term and –cos (C-B). The other path will have the same
types of errors have accumulated during the splitting, downsin (A) term but +cos (C-B).
conversion, and filtering.
The C-B term is equivalent to the reversed-spectrum upper
DBI band. However, because frequency B lies between Nyquist
and the presampling frequency C, C-B clearly has aliased to
a position within the baseband from DC to Nyquist—there’s
nothing to restrict frequency A from falling at the same location.
Ordinarily, the creation of an alias is something to be avoided
in any data acquisition or processing scheme. In ATI, it occurs
in both paths, which allows it to be removed. The aliasing and
180 degrees phase difference are shown in Figure 4 so cancellation is implied. However, unless you go through the math, it’s
not obvious from the figure how the DSP can recover the upper
frequency band.
After conversion by ADCs running at a rate unrelated to the
pre-sampling clock—100 GHz in the white paper6 example—
the paths are resampled at exactly the same C and C’ frequency and phase used in each path’s respective pre-sampler. The
Figure 4. The digital signal processing subsystem of a DBI scope
two paths now contain the original baseband sin (A) but have
Courtesy of Teledyne LeCroy
gained a sin (B) term. One path also has a cos (C-B) term and the
other a –cos (C-B) term. Summing the two paths cancels the cos
One factor, the delay correction, is partially caused by the
(C-B) terms and results in sin (A) + sin (B)—the original signal,
baseband and upper-frequency paths being different. And,
although the amplitudes may need adjusting. Higher frequenin the 30-GHz example, each path was sampled at 40 GHz,
cy terms also are created by the resampling but are removed by
which was achieved by time interleaving a few slower speed
a low-pass filter at the 75-GHz sampling frequency.
ADCs. So, interleave correction is necessary for each of the
Similar to DBI, ATI recovers the upper band by mixing with
composite ADCs.
a high-frequency LO—75 GHz instead of LeCroy’s 31.25 GHz.
These are just a couple of the calibration and compensation
In both cases, mixing serves to restore the upper band’s original
algorithms—the “secret sauce” that underlies any of the varispectrum. DBI always works with physically separate frequenous SBO techniques and provides amplitude and phase accucy bands, so the downconverted upper band doesn’t add to the
racy in the combined-band output that is comparable to the
July 2016
12-17_EE_201607_SpecialRep_Oscilloscopes_FINAL_eb.indd 13
evaluationengineering.com
13
6/8/2016 5:29:18 PM
SPECIAL REPORT
Sponsored by
OSCILLOSCOPES
Figure 5. ATI channel block diagram
Courtesy of Tektronix
baseband spectrum. In ATI, aliasing does occur but is cancelled
when the paths are combined after resampling at the original
pre-sampling frequency and phase. Most importantly, in both
DBI and ATI the upper-band restoration is done digitally so
there is no limit to the frequencies that can be handled if the RF
signals ahead of the ADCs have sufficient fidelity.
Figure 14 of reference 7 includes a compensation oscillator
and a means to switch it in place of the input signal. The patent
discusses details of one embodiment of the oscillator that explicitly provides a “… relatively large and linear tuning range
compared to varactor tuning at these frequencies. The large tune
range is helpful to overcome process modeling uncertainty and
process variability.” Both amplitude and phase can be compensated. In particular, the compensation oscillator supports good
phase and amplitude correction in the cross-over region at the
top of the baseband and the bottom of the upper band.
RealEdge technology
Not a lot has been published about Keysight’s RealEdge—a
third SBO technology in addition to DBI and ATI. As Agilent’s
(now Keysight’s) Asay explains in reference 3, “Agilent began shipping its RealEdge technology in 2012 when it moved
from its previous 33-GHz products to the 63-GHz models of
the 90000 Q-Series Infiniium scopes. The RealEdge architecture consists of a proprietary combination of the basic TIS and
HBF techniques.”
Variations of this wording are used in several recent Keysight
scope datasheets; for example, according to the Q-Series datasheet, “RealEdge technology uses custom chips to seamlessly
increase the bandwidth of Q-Series oscilloscopes.” And from
the Z Series datasheet, “RealEdge technology is implemented
using a unique combination of time interleaving, frequency interleaving, and proprietary signal processing.”
Verifying an SBO’s accuracy
Having enough bandwidth is essential for applications involving some of today’s fastest data communication rates. But,
bandwidth alone isn’t useful unless a scope also addresses amplitude and phase accuracy as well as noise level. As discussed
by Patrick Connally, product manager at Teledyne LeCroy,
“Viewing the shape of an oscilloscope’s step response demands
14
evaluationengineering.com
12-17_EE_201607_SpecialRep_Oscilloscopes_FINAL_eb.indd 14
a signal source that is significantly faster than the instrument—
the rise time measured by the scope is the root-sum-of-squares
of the rise times of the signal and of the scope itself.”
He continued, “Things began to get really interesting when
we were developing the LabMaster 10-100Zi-A. It’s the first and
only real-time oscilloscope with 100 GHz of analog bandwidth,
which means it has a 20-80 rise-time of just 3.5 ps. Electrical signal sources that are suitable to characterize that just don’t exist,
so we use an extremely fast (hundreds of fs) optical impulse
signal and a high-bandwidth photodetector. This creates a very
fast electrical impulse, which we can mathematically integrate
to get a step response.”
Tek’s David Taylor, Sr., technical marketing manager, performance instruments, also mentioned an optical test method.
He said, “For NIST traceability, Tektronix recommends using
one of the laser diode sources referenced by NIST, which can
produce impulses capable of characterizing test equipment to
100 GHz and beyond. The NIST laser diode-based test could be
done by any users sophisticated enough to be developing relevant optical and electronic systems with signaling approaching the rise time of the scope.
“Although pulse response is not specified in Tek’s high-performance scopes, we thoroughly characterize the time-domain
performance and accuracy of our scopes to ensure operation
within their design parameters, including impulse and step response,” he continued. “We generally use a math function to
integrate impulse response measurements into the corresponding step response visualization. This characterization is done
both in engineering and in manufacturing.”
And, Keysight’s Asay, Infiniium marketing manager at the
company, explained that, “Inside all [Keysight] oscilloscopes
is a performance verification test, which can be used to confirm the bandwidth of the scope to the NIST standard. In addition to this, it is relative easy to perform noise and jitter tests
on the oscilloscope.”
Using an SBO
In common with other SBOs and following a well-established
trend in the industry, Keysight’s high-performance scopes have
a very large number of built-in features as well as a long list of
options. For example, as the datasheet for the Series Z Infiniium
July 2016
6/8/2016 10:43:19 AM
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scopes states, “EZJIT Plus automatically detects embedded
clock frequencies and repetitive data patterns on the oscilloscope inputs and calculates the level of data-dependent jitter
that is contributed to the total jitter PDF by each transition in
the pattern….”
EZJIT, EZJIT Plus, and EZJIT Complete jitter analysis software are three of at least 17 analysis software applications
available for the Z Series scopes. In addition, 32 compliance
test and validation applications can perform standard tests
on buses such as BroadR-Reach, DisplayPort 1.2, MOST, or
USB 3.1. Optional protocol decoding software from generic
8b/10b to multiple MIPI and USB versions also is compatible
with the Z Series.
If you regularly work with standards such as SAS-3,
28/32G FibreChannel, or MIPI M-PHY, you really do need an
SBO. A table in the Keysight Z-Series datasheet lists preferred
scope bandwidth as a function of bus speed. The table’s a big
help because it’s not always the data rate that determines the
needed bandwidth: rise time also plays a role. For example,
the SAS-2 standard has a 6-Gb/s data rate but only a 42-ps
rise time and requires a 16-GHz bandwidth. In contrast, the
MIPI M-PHY standard has a similar 5.83-Gb/s data rate but a
much faster 17.2-ps rise time. It needs a 24-GHz bandwidth.
Some of the changes to your test method required when
using an SBO include applying the correct torque to RF connectors, compensating for cable losses, and employing the
correct probe with the right probing technique. Tek’s Taylor
commented, “At RF/microwave frequencies, consistency of
the measurement setup is critical. Tek’s TriMode probes allow
a single probe tip to be soldered into the system under test,
supporting single-ended, differential, and common-mode
measurements … without changing or disturbing the probe
tip or node under test.”
On the other hand, you don’t get any points for using an
SBO when you don’t need one. As Keysight’s Asay noted, “On
a fast oscilloscope, with a signal that has a slow rise time, it’s
very easy to underestimate the scope noise floor in the measurement. You really do need to get the right scope bandwidth
for the signal.” This is another way of saying that a scope’s
noise is integrated over the entire bandwidth—and for an SBO,
that’s a lot of Hertz. If you only need to measure a 1-GHz signal, even a 30-GHz SBO will add noise over 29 more gigahertz
than necessary. EE
References
1. Callender, S., Wideband Signal Acquisition via Frequency-Interleaved
Sampling, Ph.D. Dissertation, UC Berkeley, 2015.
2. Pupalaikis, P., Digital Bandwidth Interleaving, LeCroy, Technical Brief,
April 2010.
3. Asay, B., “Architectures for ultra-high-performance scopes,” Electronic Products, June 14, 2013.
4. The Interleaving Process in Digital Bandwidth Interleaving (DBI)
Scopes, LeCroy, White Paper, December 2009.
5. Pupalaikis, P., “Recent Advances in Waveform Digitizer Technology,”
North Jersey Section MTT-Society & AP Society Joint Chapter 24th Annual Symposium and Mini-Show, October 2009.
6. Techniques for Extending Real-Time Oscilloscope Bandwidth, Tektronix, White Paper, March 2015.
7. Knierim, D. G. and Lamb, J., S., “Test and measurement instrument including asynchronous time-interleaved digitizer using harmonic mixing,”
U.S. Patent 9,306,590 B2, April 2016.
Pickering Electronics
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6/8/2016 10:44:46 AM
CLOUD COMPUTING
IoT spans edge to data center
By Rick Nelson, Executive Editor
M
ost people, including homeowners, facilities managers, and consumers, recognize the compute cloud by
way of the Internet of Things (IoT) that connect to it—
for example, smart thermostats, smart paper-towel dispensers,
and even wireless playing cards, all of which have garnered
recent attention. Certainly, these edge devices, often with fog
computing capability, offer significant business opportunities.
There are drawbacks, however. Addressing the Burn-in and
Test Strategies (BiTS) Workshop in March in Mesa, AZ, Risto
Puhakka, president of VLSIresearch, said the IoT offers high
growth yet low cost—and low profits, at least at the semiconductor level. He described IoT devices as low-cost data generators. All that generated data must go somewhere—namely,
the data center, which along with connectivity is the physical
implantation of the cloud.
Consequently, many companies—test and measurement
companies included—are looking to the data center for business opportunities, emphasizing both hardware and software.
Some recent examples of IoT implementations provide an indication of the breadth of “things” that can be connected and the
challenges imposed from the edge to the data center. Design
and test companies are stepping forward to provide assistance.
Cloud-connected playing cards
A cloud-connected playing-card project got its start back in November 2014 when Holst Centre, imec, and Cartamundi NV—a
producer of playing cards, promotional cards, casino cards,
collector card games, and board games—announced a collaborative effort to develop ultrathin flexible near-field-communication (NFC) tags. The plan was to use metal-oxide (IGZO)
thin-film transistor (TFT) technology on plastic film to integrate
flexible chips into game cards as part of Cartamundi’s strategy
of developing game cards for the connected generation. Implementing the NFC tags using chips based on IGZO TFT technology on plastic film promised to keep manufacturing cost low
while enabling paper-embedded NFC applications.
Then in April of this year, the organizations announced they
had won a “Best Product” award at Printed Electronics Europe
for successfully integrating the technology into Cartamundi’s
playing cards (Figure 1), noting that the award jury recognized
the “game-changer” potential of the technology for the gaming
industry and for other printed-electronics applications in the
IoT domain.
On announcing the award, Paul Heremans, department director of thin-film electronics at imec and technology director
at the Holst Centre, commented on the TOLAE (thin, oxide
and large-area electronics) technology enabling the cards. “Our
prototype thin-film RFID is thinner than paper—so thin that it
can be invisibly embedded in paper products such as playing
cards,” he said. “This key enabling technology will bring the
cards and traditional games of our customer in direct connection with the cloud. This achievement also opens up new applications in the IoT domain that we are exploring, to bring more
data and possibilities to applications such as smart packaging,
security paper, and maybe even banknotes.”
Facilities management in the cloud
Among other cloud applications receiving recent attention, in
April IBM announced that the Professional division of Kimberly-Clark had adopted IBM Cloud to create a new intelligent facilities-management app that helps clients monitor and
manage restrooms remotely, lowering costs and improving
consumer experiences.
Kimberly-Clark Professional’s new Intelligent Restroom app
(Figure 2) was built using the IBM Bluemix development platform and is hosted on the IBM Cloud. IBM said Kimberly-Clark
Professional learned of the value of Bluemix and IoT when it
participated last year in an IBM Design Thinking Workshop
that featured the IBM Bluemix Garage Method, which is designed to help clients innovate and rapidly develop apps as a
start-up would.
Through the use of the IBM Internet of Things Foundation
service, facilities managers using the Kimberly-Clark app collect data and alerts from sensors integrated into restroom
amenities, from soap dispensers to air fresheners, as well as
nonamenities like entrance doors. All the data is managed and
monitored through a central dashboard that can be viewed on
desktops or mobile devices remotely. In pilot tests of the Intelligent Restroom, Kimberly-Clark Professional said it has been
able to reduce the amount of supplies used in the restroom by
up to 20%.
Bryan Semkuley, vice president of global innovation at
Kimberly-Clark Professional, commented on the importance
of restroom and supplies management to maintaining a business. “We wanted to help our clients reduce tenant churn, lower
costs, and improve the customers’ experience along the way,”
he said in a press release. “That’s when we turned to innovations in the cloud and IoT from IBM that can be operated from
facilities managers’ smartphones.”
IoT platforms
Figure 1. Cartamundi playing card with flexible thin-film RFID technology
Courtesy of imec
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Note that IBM isn’t looking to make money selling sensors for
bathrooms—its business model is based on the software platform that allows others to deploy sensors and build apps that
handle the resulting data. In addition to IBM, Amazon.com,
General Electric, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Salesforce.com
offer IoT platforms.1
A recent entrant to the IoT platform business is Hewlett
Packard Enterprise (HPE), which in May at Internet of Things
World 2016 introduced the HPE Universal IoT Platform. The
company describes it as a scalable, modular, client-agnostic
solution that enables customers to monetize the data that connected devices generate.
July 2016
6/8/2016 2:26:39 PM
CLOUD COMPUTING
Figure 2. Intelligent restroom app, built using IBM Bluemix platform and
hosted on the IBM Cloud
Courtesy of Kimberly-Clark Professional
HPE is looking to profit from anticipated IoT market growth.
According to Gartner, “Endpoints of the IoT will grow at a
31.7% CAGR from 2013 through 2020, reaching an installed
base of 20.8 billion units.”2 The market-research firm predicts
6.6 billion “things” will ship in 2020, with about two-thirds
serving consumer applications and with hardware spending on
networked end points reaching $3 trillion.
“The value of the IoT lies in enriching data collected from
devices with analytics and exposing it to applications that enable organizations to derive business value,” said Nigel Upton,
director and general manager, IoT, HPE, in a press release. “The
HPE Universal IoT Platform dramatically simplifies integrating
diverse devices with different communications protocols, enabling customers to realize tremendous benefits from their IoT
data, and is designed to scale to billions of transactions tried
and tested in rigorous large-scale global telco and enterprise
environments in a variety of smart ecosystems.”
The HPE Universal IoT Platform is aligned with the oneM2M
industry standard and supports long-range, low-power connectivity via LoRa and SIGFOX deployments alongside other
connectivity protocols, including cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
Intel Security report reveals critical need for improved trust to advance cloud adoption
Intel Security has released a global report titled “Blue Skies
Ahead? The State of Cloud Adoption.”1 The report is based on
a survey, conducted by Vanson Bourne, of 1,200 IT decision
makers with influence over their organization’s cloud security in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Australia,
Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The report advocates the need for technology vendors to
help businesses, governments, and consumers understand the
implications surrounding the growing adoption of the cloud.
With a majority (77%) of participants noting that their organizations trust cloud computing more than a year ago, just 13%
completely trust public cloud providers to secure sensitive
data. These findings highlight improved trust and security and
are critical to encouraging continued adoption of the cloud.
Intel Security, which now includes McAfee and its McAfee
Global Threat Intelligence service, said the survey underscores
the increasing use of the cloud. In the next 16 months, 80% of
respondent IT budgets will be dedicated to cloud computing.
Here are some key highlights from the report:
• A majority of organizations—81%—are planning on investing in infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), closely followed by
security-as-a-service at 79%, platform-as-a-service at 69%, and
software-as-a-service (SaaS) at 60%.
• A majority of respondents (72%) list compliance as the primary concern across all types of cloud deployments, and only
13% of respondents noted knowing whether or not their organizations stored sensitive data in the cloud.
• More than one in five respondents said their main concern
around using SaaS is having a data security incident, and correspondingly, data breaches were a top concern for IaaS and
private clouds. In contrast, results found that less than a quarter (23%) of the enterprises are aware of data breaches with
their cloud service providers.
• High-profile data breaches with major financial and reputational consequences have made data security a top-of-mind
concern for C-level executives. However, many respondents
feel there still is a need for more education and increased
awareness and understanding of risks associated with storing
sensitive data in the cloud. Only one-third (34%) of respondents
feel senior management in their organization fully understands
the security implications of the cloud.
• Despite IT departments’ efforts to cull shadow IT activity,
52% of the lines of business still expect IT to secure their unauthorized department-sourced cloud services. This lack of
visibility into cloud usage due to shadow IT appears to be
causing IT departments concern when it comes to security,
with a majority (58%) of respondents to one survey2 noting
that shadow IT has a negative impact on their capability to
keep cloud services secure.
Cloud security investment varies in priorities across the
different types of cloud deployment, with the top security
technologies leveraged by respondents being email protection (43%), web protection (41%), antimalware (38%), firewall
(37%), encryption and key management (34%), and data loss
prevention (31%).
“This is a new era for cloud providers,” said Raj Samani, chief
technology officer, Intel Security EMEA, in a press release. “We
are at the tipping point of investment and adoption, expanding
rapidly as trust in cloud computing and cloud providers grows.
As we enter a phase of wide-scale adoption of cloud computing
to support critical applications and services, the question of trust
within the cloud becomes imperative. This will become integral
into realizing the benefits that cloud computing can truly offer.”
“The cloud is the future for businesses, governments, and
consumers,” added Jim Reavis, chief executive officer of the
Cloud Security Alliance. “Security vendors and cloud providers must arm customers with education and tools and cultivate
strong relationships built on trust in order to continue the adoption of cloud computing platforms. Only then can we completely
benefit from the advantages of the cloud.” The Cloud Security
Alliance is dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best
practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment.
References
1. “Blue Skies Ahead? The State of Cloud Adoption,” Intel Security, April 14,
2016.
2. Shackleford, D., “Orchestrating Security in the Cloud,” SANS Institute,
InfoSec Reading Room, September 2015.
July 2016
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CLOUD COMPUTING
HPE said Objenious, a subsidiary of Bouygues Telecom,
a French provider of mobile, fixed, TV, Internet, and cloud services, is using the HPE Universal IoT Platform and the LoRa
network to deliver IoT services that address IoT use cases including vehicle fleet management, remote meter reading, predictive maintenance, and geolocation.
The data center
Of course, software cloud platforms need processors to run on.
To that end, in April Intel announced a restructuring initiative
to accelerate its evolution from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and the IoT. The company said the data center and
IoT businesses are Intel’s primary growth engines, with FPGA
technology (obtained through the Altera acquisition) and memory offering opportunities. These growth businesses, Intel said,
delivered $2.2 billion in revenue growth last year and made up
40% of the total revenue and the majority of the operating profit, which largely offset the decline in the PC market segment.
Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich says that Intel will leverage Rack Scale Architecture, 3D XPoint memory, FPGAs, and
silicon-photonics technology to revolutionize the data-center infrastructure. In addition, he says, Intel will pursue opportunities
in 5G—from modems to base stations. Krzanich cites five core
beliefs. First, “The cloud is the most important trend shaping the
future of the smart, connected world—and thus Intel’s future.”3
Analytics, big data, high-performance computing, and machine
learning are keys to unlocking cloud and data-center value, he
adds. As for the other four core beliefs, “things” become more
valuable when connected to the cloud, memory and FPGAs will
enable new classes of products, 5G will be the key cloud-access
technology, and Moore’s Law will continue to progress.
From design to test
Building your own IoT implementation—whether at the edge
or the data center or somewhere in between—will present significant design-and-test challenges. To help point you in the
right direction, at the Internet of Things World 2016 in May,
Avnet introduced the Avnet MicroZed Industrial IoT Starter
Kit, an out-of-the-box system incorporating technology from
IBM, Wind River, and Xilinx. The kit is designed to simplify
customers’ prototype and development efforts while providing
a quick transition to production.
The kit includes the necessary building blocks for developing
a production-ready, IoT-enabled, industrial-processing system.
The platform is based on Avnet’s MicroZed system-on-module
with a Zynq-7000 all-programmable SoC from Xilinx and pluggable sensors, including a motion and environmental sensor
board from STMicroelectronics and a thermocouple-to-digital
Pmod sensor module from Maxim Integrated (see page 32).
Data-center test
Numerous vendors are pursuing
test applications for cloud and IoT
implementations. The cloud and
data center are key targets for the
M8000 Series BERT (Figure 3) introduced in May by Keysight Technologies, according to Ellen Spindler,
product manager for BERTs at
Keysight’s Digital & Photonic Test Division. An emphasis, she said in a phone
i n t e r v i e w,
is on PAM4 and other
challenges
Figure 3. M8040A 64-Gbaud BERT
Courtesy of Keysight Technologies
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18-21_EE_201607_CloudComputing_FINAL_eb.indd 20
of 400G data-center interconnect, with development having begun in 2014 and deployment slated for 2018.
The new BERT features from one to four 16-/32-Gb/s channels with interactive link training and automated in situ calibration. She noted that as the data-center build-out progresses
toward 400 Gb/s Ethernet (400GbE), PAM-4 and NRZ will
coexist as will electrical and optical interconnects. In addition,
support for four to 16 lanes (25GbE, 50GbE, and 200GbE) will
be necessary.
The new BERT, she said, will support fast test setups requiring few reconnections, provide repeatable and accurate results,
and scale to meet future needs.
Edge device production test
Mike Frazier, senior director, global business development,
Xcerra, addresses edge-device production-test requirements in
a SEMICON Southeast Asia paper.4 An edge device, he writes,
includes a sensor, processing capability, and wireless communication functionality. As a device under test, its stimulus isn’t
electronic but rather pressure, inertia, sound, a radar signal, or
a chemical (gas). A test handler will need to stimulate the device
appropriately, and the tester itself will need to apply transactionbased (protocol-aware) test patterns and be capable of mixedsignal and RF concurrent test capabilities. In addition, high-multisite capability will be necessary to keep test costs low.
Frazier’s comments echo those of Laurie Wright, director of
business development at Xcerra, at the March BiTS Workshop.
She noted that IoT devices will include memory and, for applications such as automotive, power circuitry. She also emphasized the importance of multisite but noted as well requirements for site-dependent data such as MAC addresses and
calibration information.
Anthony Lum, business development manager at Advantest, also at the BiTS Workshop addressed IoT devices, which
he divided into three categories: small (personal and medical
sensors, for example), medium (cell phones and automotive
devices), and large (communications infrastructure and server
components). He agreed with Wright that test cost is critical for
small devices. Medium devices will have more cores as well
as sensors, RF capabilities, and security features. He said scan
depths are expected to double every three years. For infrastructure devices, he added, stacked-memory test methods are under development, and it will be necessary to develop optical
signaling tests and fixturing.
Conclusion
There will be many twists and turns in the road to a connected
future. Writing in Vox, Timothy B. Lee comments that smart-thermostat maker Nest, acquired by Google in 2014, has been struggling. Lee notes that we just don’t interact much with connected
lightbulbs, crock pots, and smoke detectors, and “… there is only
so much a better thermostat can do to improve our lives.”5
Nevertheless, the onslaught of data—whether it comes from
thermostats or not—will continue. Advantest’s Lum commented at BiTS that Internet traffic will exceed 88.4 EB per month
in 2016 and double by 2019. “IoT test challenges require IoTspecific solutions,” he concluded. “Many challenges have been
solved—some remain. We’re working hard on those.” EE
References
1. Clark, D., “HP Enterprise Joins Internet of Things Platform Wars,” The
Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2016.
2. “Forecast: Internet of Things—Endpoints and Associated Services,
Worldwide, 2015,” Gartner, Oct. 29, 2015.
3. Krzanich, B., “Our Strategy and the Future of Intel,” Editorial, Intel, April
26, 2016.
4. Frazier, M., “How Internet of Things Will Change Back End Processing,”
SEMICON Southeast Asia, April 2016.
5. Lee, Timothy B., “Nest was supposed to lead the next computing revolution. It’s looking like a bust.” Vox, April 7, 2016.
July 2016
6/8/2016 3:06:12 PM
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18-21_EE_201607_CloudComputing_FINAL_eb.indd 21
6/8/2016 2:53:21 PM
TEST SYSTEMS
Hands-off testing key to ICs and solar
By Tom Lecklider, Senior Technical Editor
I
f you wanted to learn about automated test equipment (ATE) but only
had a couple of days in which to do
so, how would you spend your time?
Certainly, there’s a lot of material online,
but for sheer information-overload, you
can’t beat attending major trade shows.
This year’s SEMICON West Business
and Technology Conference and Expo
boasts about 700 exhibitors and has
been established the longest of the four
shows running simultaneously July 1214 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.
The largest of the other three, InterSolar
North America, anticipates hosting an
additional 550 exhibitors. Co-located
with InterSolar are SOLAR 2016, the
American Solar Energy Society’s conference; and the Electrical Energy Storage
(ees) North America show, which last
year hosted 74 exhibitors.
According to a press release issued by
the InterSolar and ees show organizers,
“The ees exhibitions and accompanying conferences are focused on storage
solutions for renewable energy, from
residential and commercial applications
to large-scale storage systems for stabilizing the grids. ees also features energy
management, electric transportation,
and uninterruptible power supplies.”
Automation has long been associated
with semiconductor manufacturing and
is well-represented at this year’s SEMICON West. Test systems have many
facets extending from initial wafer
handling and probing to final test with
burn-in, and they all use ATE. Moving
up the food chain from individual devices to assemblies, automated test of
a different type addresses the inverters
and energy storage products associated
with solar power.
Without Q-Dynamic Z
With Q-Dynamic Z
Semiconductor manufacturing
As the SEMICON West website states,
“Everything is changing…. SEMICON
West has been retooled to keep pace
with the industry’s realignment. It’s
built around disruptive trends driving
the market…. We’ve deepened our reach
across the full electronics manufacturing
supply chain to connect you with more
key players….” Smart manufacturing is
one of the trends specifically mentioned.
Addressing silicon wafer defect detection, Sonoscan has developed the Quantitative Dynamic-Z surface tracking
feature (Figure 1) for scanning warped
wafers. According to a press release,
“The tool acquires data from the scans
that not only reveals the features inside
the wafer, but also measures the warpage. The warpage information is used
during the scan to instantly adjust the
height of the transducer above the wafer
surface and maintain the critical focus inside the wafer over its entire area.”
Moving on to device testing, National
Instruments (NI) will be highlighting the
Semiconductor Test System (STS) in its
three configurations: T1 with one 18-slot
PXI chassis, T2 with two chassis, and T4
with up to four 18-slot PXI chassis internally. All STS models use NI’s TestStand
test executive software. An STS brochure
explains, “Its ‘tester in a head’ design
houses all the key components of a production tester including system controllers; DC, AC, and RF instrumentation;
device under test (DUT) interfacing;
and device handler/prober docking me-
Figure 1. Quantitive Dynamic-Z tracking compensates for wafer warpage
Courtesy of Sonoscan
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22-23_EE_201607_TESTSYSTEMS_FINAL_eb.indd 22
chanics.” This means the STS is equally
adept at wafer sort or final test after dicing and packaging.
The brochure continues, “The STS is
available with RF port expansion modules for multiport RF test. The core of this
subsystem is the vector signal transceiver (VST), which provides up to 200 MHz
of real-time bandwidth for RF signal
generation and analysis.” Multiple VSTs
can be configured to test a broad range of
RF ICs, such as RF front-end ICs and RF
MEMS devices.
NI and Optimal+, a global big-dataanalytics provider for the semiconductor
industry, have collaborated to enable the
entire suite of solutions from Optimal+
to be supported by NI’s STS via the Optimal+ Proxy.
The Proxy is a full-featured agent with
the capability to acquire test data events
in real time, independent of the test datalogging format or system. From a control
perspective, Proxy is able to send control
commands to TestStand to adaptively
resequence tests to achieve the best possible throughput while maintaining
full test coverage. Running in the background of the STS, the Optimal+ Proxy
gives users the power of adaptive testing, escape prevention, real-time data analytics, and globally consolidated data.
NI’s Ron Wolfe, vice president of semiconductor test, said, “With each new deployment, the NI STS continues to prove
its capability to lower costs and decrease
time to market. Helping customers gain
additional value and insight from their
test data through the collaboration with
Optimal+ is a natural complement to
NI’s open, platform-based approach.”
Also exhibiting a tester, Marvin Test
Solutions will be showing its PXI-based
TS-900 Series product line, which includes the TS-960 semiconductor test
platform. Featuring the GX5296 PXI
digital subsystem, the TS-960 offers
subnanosecond edge placement, timing
per pin, multiple time sets, and a PMU
per pin—making the TS-960 suitable for
both digital and mixed-signal test applications. The TS-960 supports up to 512
high-performance digital channels in a
single chassis, and its compact footprint
and receiver interface easily adapt to
handler/manipulator configurations.
With the release of the TS-960, MTS
has upgraded the company’s software
tools for semiconductor test to include:
• expanded file translation tools that sup-
July 2016
6/8/2016 10:39:48 AM
TEST SYSTEMS
port popular digital files formats including STIL, VCD/eVCD, WGL, and Teradyne’s ATP format;
• advanced waveform display and edit
tools supporting the features of the
GX5296 digital subsystem;
• automated TDR pin deskew tool; and
• enhanced shmoo tool (part of MTS’
ICEasy test library) supporting the features of the GX5296.
Featuring RF capabilities, Roos Instruments will be exhibiting the Casini 16
ATE test system (Figure 2) complete with
40-, 60-, and 80-GHz high-frequency instruments. With 16 instrument slots, the
Casini 16 supports typical power amplifier test requirements with four independent DC supplies, a 10-MHz to 20-GHz
digitally modulated RF source in an auxiliary rack, an RF/microwave receiver
with 50-MHz to 20-GHz time- and frequency-domain capture, a 4-GHz to 40.5GHz power measure/multiport VNA,
and a 0 to 20-GHz RF combiner for RF
mixing in multitone tests. Other common
configurations address transceiver, SoC,
automotive radar, cellular infrastructure,
and military aerospace applications.
For manufacturers with unusual test
needs or for those that prefer to construct their own test systems, switching
is an essential part. Pickering Interfaces
will be exhibiting new products within
its Series 40-760 50-Ω, 600-MHz PXI RF
multiplexers. Available configurations
include dual, quad, and octal SP4T; single, dual, and quad SP8T; single and dual
SP16T; and single SP32T. All of the multiplexers have versions with automatic
terminations to manage VSWR effects,
which could degrade the performance
of a test system. Each version exhibits
low insertion loss and VSWR through
the use of modern RF relay technology,
with each path having a nominally equal
insertion loss.
Also on display will be the new 40-520
family of one-pole high-density PXI matrix modules. There are 22 different configurations and up to 256 crosspoints to
suit a large variety of user requirements.
The choice of six bus widths (x16, x12, x8,
x6, x4, x2) enables competitively priced
solutions. All models use Pickering Electronics’ instrumentation-quality reed relays, which offer very long life with good
contact resistance stability and low-level
switching performance. The modules
come with built-in relay self-test (BIRST)
and the company’s eBIRST switching
system test tools.
Burn-in with test systems provide an
important step in the manufacture of
high-reliability parts, and Micro Control
will likely exhibit one or more of its products. For the LC-2 Logic and Memory
Burn-in System, up to 64 burn-in boards
Figure 2. Casini 16 ATE machine
Courtesy of Roos Instruments
(BIB) can be powered with each DUT
having individual temperature control
with up to 50-W dissipation. With 16
user-defined pattern and power zones,
different tests as well as different device
types can be accommodated.
The HPB-5C increases the allowable
power dissipation per DUT to 150 W
maximum and the amount of test vector memory available per DUT to 32M.
A total of 384 devices can be tested at
temperatures up to 150°C with an 800MHz clock rate. The HPB-4A increases
the maximum power per device to 600 W
and includes a liquid-cooled heatsink for
each DUT. A total of 112 devices can be
tested—eight devices on each of 14 BIBs,
each BIB capable of providing 2,060 A.
This model also features programmable
clocks with leading and trailing edges
per pin, 1-ns resolution, and eight onthe-fly timing sets.
PV-related test at InterSolar
The efficiency of any system is defined
as the ratio of the output to the input.
For PV installations, the input is the direct normal irradiance (DNI)—the solar
radiation arriving at the earth’s surface. According to a Campbell Scientific
white paper,1 “… [DNI] is a difficult parameter to measure and one of the most
expensive measurements in the field of
broadband solar and infrared radiation
measurements.”
The company’s CR6 smart datalogger
was programmed to perform a multistep
July 2016
22-23_EE_201607_TESTSYSTEMS_FINAL_eb.indd 23
calibration routine of an Eppley AHF
cavity radiometer. After calibration, the
automated test routine measured DNI
values. As the white paper explains,
“The calibration time is four min; series
measurement time is 21 min; and the
time interval between measurements is
30 s. This means a user can collect up to
42 solar irradiance measurements every 25 min.”
Campbell also features a range
of solar monitoring stations, such
as the Solar1000-SCE, typically
used by solar energy producing
utilities and based on the company’s CR6 measurement and control datalogger. The unit features an
uninterruptable power supply and sensors for air temperature, relative humidity, diffuse radiation, total global plane
of array irradiation, total global horizontal irradiation, solar altitude and azimuth angle, precipitation, and back of
module temperature. Communications
choices such as TCP/IP, RS-485, fiber,
cellular, satellite, and radio are supported. Although offered as a turnkey unit,
almost all aspects of the Solar1000-SCE
are customizable.
Electricity produced by a PV installation has to be consumed on the power
grid or stored. With products that address both aspects, NH Research is likely
to feature the 9200 Series Test System
that can be used to emulate any energy
storage system and the 9410 Grid-Simulator, which is used to verify a product’s
AC performance.
The NHR 9410 Grid Simulator can
provide a 1, 2, or 3 simulated utility connection while allowing per-phase
controls for amplitude, wave shape, and
the relative phase angle relationship.
These features allow testing of any number of AC conditions including phase imbalance, voltage sag, frequency changes,
and harmonic injection. The integral
measurement system removes the need
for additional power meters, DMMs, oscilloscopes, or spectrum analyzers.
The 9200 Battery Test System features
a charge mode, a discharge mode, and a
battery emulation mode, allowing a battery to be tested or electronically emulated. Because battery emulation replaces
a real battery, it avoids risks associated
with a battery failure and facilitates faster and more consistent testing by eliminating battery-related preparation time,
operator errors, and result variations due
to temperature or aging. EE
Reference
1. Singh, A. and Perry, M., Development
of a new controller for absolute cavity,
cavity calibration, and solar irradiance
measurement, Campbell Scientific, White
Paper, September 2015.
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6/9/2016 3:48:43 PM
MEDICAL PRODUCT FOCUS
Ensuring equipment safety and effectiveness
By Tom Lecklider, Senior Technical Editor
M
odern medical technology has made possible a wide
range of procedures not available years ago. Many
of these involve some kind of special equipment, such
as electrosurgery devices, defibrillators, and ultrasound
machines. When tools like these are calibrated and used
within their operating guidelines, trained personnel can
work wonders—diagnosing, treating, and rescuscitating
effectively and efficiently.
Yet, what assurance does a doctor or paramedic have that
the equipment really will work as required? That’s where
biomedical test instrumentation comes in: specialized
simulators and measuring products that deal with patientspecific parameters. Just as electrical engineers can choose
between a voltmeter or a DMM, so too are there singlesignal and multipurpose instruments for testing and
calibrating biomedical equipment.
Electrosurgery analyzer
With 130 user-selectable loads in two ranges—0 Ω, 10 Ω, 20
Ω, and 25 Ω to 2,500 Ω in 25-Ω steps, and 2,500 Ω to 5,200 Ω in
100-Ω steps—the Model
QA-ES Series III Electrosurgery Analyzer provides the flexibility to
test many types of electrosurgery units (ESUs).
To accurately measure
an ESU’s output, which
may include damped or undamped high-frequency AC waveforms, the QA-ES has a 30-Hz to 5-MHz -3-dB bandwidth. The
analyzer measures power, current, peak-to-peak voltage, and
crest factor either continuously or as a single operation. In contrast to most general-purpose AC measurement instruments,
the QA-ES accommodates crest factors from 1.4 (sinewave) to
16—a sharp pulse.
Current accuracy is ±2.5% + 1 mA from 0 to 5,500 mA,
and voltage accuracy is ±10% + 50 V from 0 kV to 10 kV. To
ensure safe ESU operation, the QA-ES provides connections and load configurations to measure HF leakage from
both grounded and isolated equipment. Ansur test automation software allows users to create and automatically
run tests, capture data, and produce easy-to-read reports.
Fluke Biomedical, www.rsleads.com/607ee-176
Infusion device analyzer
The Infutest Solo is a standalone infusion device analyzer that
also can be used with the manufacturer’s ES601 Plus automatic
tester. When connected to the ES601, one or more of the tester’s 60 general-purpose autosequences can be programmed to
execute a specific infusion device test protocol. When the Solo
is on its own, the keypad or an external barcode reader can be
used to identify the type of pump being tested.
Flow tests measure rates from 1 ml/h to 1,200 ml/h, volume
from 0 to 9,999 ml, and elapsed time from 0 to 100 h with 1-s
resolution. The occlusion pressure test—testing the pump to
see at what pressure/time combination it recognizes the existence of an occlusion—indicates pressure from 0 to 2,586
mmHg (0 to 50 psi) and time from 0 to 100 min. The automatic
24
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24-25_EE_201607_MedicalProductFocus_FINAL_eb.indd 24
pump test verifies the accuracy of the infusion timer from 0 to
9,999 s and that of the occlusion timer presets: off, 1, 2, 3, 5,
10, 20 min.
Up to 123 records can be stored in the internal nonvolatile
memory. Interfaces include a 20-character x two-line LCD and
a 12-button keypad, delrin twistlock fluid connectors, a type
B USB 1.1 or 2.0 port, and an RS-232 port. Power is supplied
by an internal 12-V NiCad battery providing approximately 30-h use or via a universal 110-VAC to 240-VAC charger.
DATREND Systems, www.rsleads.com/607ee-182
Integrated patient simulator
The handheld and battery-operated
UNI-SiM integrated patient simulator
generates six synchronized vital signs
parameters to test sensors measuring
invasive (IBP) or noninvasive blood
presure (NIBP), ECG, temperature, respiration, and pulse oximeter oxygen
saturation (SpO2). A built-in pump provides programmable pressures from 0
to 350 mmHg for testing the pressure
transducers used in an oscillometric
monitor attached to a NIBP cuff. For IBP monitoring, a catheter
transfers arterial blood pressure to an external transducer that
outputs a corresponding electrical signal, which the UNI-SiM
simulates, typically with a sensitivity of 5-μV per volt of excitation voltage per mmHg (5 μV/V/mmHg).
The ECG arrhythmia simulation has a range of 20 to 300
beats per minute and includes selectable waveforms depicting ST elevation, ST depression, and tall T abberations as
well as waveforms representative of myocardial infarction
(ischemia, injury, infarction, inferior infarction) and a range
of atrial and ventricular impairments. Both five-lead and 12lead outputs are available at levels from 0.5 mV to 5.0 mV. The
UNI-SiM is compatible with the manufacturer’s SpO2 simulation finger that supports SpO2 monitor testing. Communication is via Bluetooth, and the simulator stores approximately
5,000 records. Rigel Medical, part of the Seaward Group,
www.rsleads.com/607ee-177
July 2016
6/8/2016 4:18:24 PM
MEDICAL PRODUCT FOCUS
Ventilator test system
The Certifier FA Plus ventilator test system can determine the pressure, flow
rate, and oxygen concentration of the gas used in
adult, pediatric, anesthesia,
and neonatal ventilators as well as high-frequency ventilators.
Flow sensing with the 4080 high-flow standard kit is bidirectional from -200 to +300 standard liter per minute (slpm) for air,
O2, or N2, and -40 to +40 slpm for CO2. With the optional 4082
low-flow kit, flow measurements are unidirectional from 0.01
to 20 slpm.
Volume ranges from 0.01 to 10 liters standard temperature
and pressure (STP) with accuracy between 2% and 4% depending on flow direction—inhale or exhale—and whether the ventilator is being used for a high or low flow rate. Minute volume
also is measured under high-flow (0.01 to 100 liters STP) or
low-flow (0 to 10 liters STP) conditions with 3% accuracy in
both modes. With the optional 4073 kit, O2 concentration can
be measured from 21% to 100%.
The unit is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion battery pack or
an AC adapter. Memory includes 1 MB internally as well as a
larger SD Flash card. The USB is used for printing and as the
computer interface. TSI, www.rsleads.com/607ee-178
Pacemaker tester/ECG simulator
The DELTA 3000 combines a defibrillator analyzer, pacemaker tester, and 12-lead ECG simulator in a single instrument. For
defibrillators, it measures both mono-phasic and bi-phasic waveform
energy up to 900 Joules with a 1-J
resolution in the high range or up to
100 J in the low range with 0.1-J resolution. The maximum voltage is 5,200
V and the maximum current 100 A.
The pacemaker analyzer section
has two modes. For transcutaneous
devices, either a fixed 50-Ω load or a
user-selectable value from 100 Ω to 1,000 Ω can be used. The
current measurement range is from 1 mA to 200 mA for pulse
widths between 0.5 ms and 80 ms. For atrial and ventricular
devices, the test load is fixed at 500 Ω, and the current measurement range is from 1 mA to 25 mA. Both modes measure
refractory periods from 20 ms to 500 ms.
Three types of outputs are available from the ECG
arrhythmia simulator: a normal sinus rhythm at rates
of 30, 60, 90, 120, or 240 BPM; sine, square, triangle, and
pulse waveforms at rates of 0.5, 1, 2, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 40
Hz for performance testing; and several types of arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation.
NETECH, www.rsleads.com/607ee-179
Ultrasound teaching system
The UltraSim is an ultrasound
training simulator used to teach students, residents, and medical professionals new to the field of untrasound
imaging. UltraSim users perform
“virtual ultrasound examinations by
scanning a human-like mannequin,
accessing stored volumes of real patient ultrasound data. The simulator
tracks the exact position, angle, and
movement of the probe in relation to
the area of examination. As the probe moves across the mannequin, the onscreen image responds accordingly, providing a
real-time, authentic scanning experience.
Because of the way in which real-patient scanning has
been simulated, training with UltraSim benefits from increased control of clinical experience and skills progression, reproducible clinical scenarios, exposure to many
diverse patient types, and minimal operating expense.
The simulator is used with a modular training curriculum that focuses on specific anatomic areas. Each module
includes a series of clinical cases available on CD ROMs
together with instructor manuals and user worksheets.
MEDSIM, www.rsleads.com/607ee-180
Automating electrical safety testing
The ES601 Plus is an electrical safety tester with integrated
signal simulation for verifying ECG and defibrillator operation.
When used with the manufacturer’s ES601pc software, the
tester’s stored sequences can be customized and test reports
viewed and printed.
Tests comply with IEC 60601, AAMI-ES1, VDE-0751, and IEC
62353 as well as versions of these standards for battery-powered equipment. Manual-mode safety tests measure voltage
from 0 to 300 VAC at frequencies from DC to 100 Hz, AC load
current up to 20 A, insulation resistance from 0.5 MΩ to 999.9
MΩ, protective earth resistance from 1 mΩ to 200 mΩ at 25 A
AC or 0.001 Ω to 3.0 Ω at ±1A DC, and true-RMS leakage current
from 0 to 14 mA RMS or 0 to 25 mA DC.
The 4.5-inch x 3.4-inch graphical monochrome LCD supports
30 lines of text with 53 characters each. Up to 500 patient monitor
test procedures and 24 safety test autosequences can be stored
as well as many device-specific test autosequences: six ECG, 12
pulse oximeter, 12 IV pump, 24 defibrillator, and 60 for user-defined applications. Interfaces include a DB25F Centronix printer
port, an RS-232 data output, USB 2.0 data transfer/capture, Ethernet 10baseT data transfer/capture, an RS-232 barcode scanner,
and a PS/2 keyboard or barcode scanner. DATREND Systems,
www.rsleads.com/607ee-181
Leakage current safety testing
Electrically powered medical equipment that contacts a patient can deliver
life-threatening or lethal current levels
if insulation has become damaged. Any
ultrasound transducers can exhibit high
leakage current but IAC regulations specifically require that all transesophageal
echocardiography (TEE) transducers
must be tested for leakage current before each use. Because the esophagus is
located directly behind the heart, good
ultrasound images result from using a
transducer in this position.
The ULT-2000 Series ultrasound leakage tester includes a
128 x 64-pixel graphical display to present setup information,
test measurements, and an indication of progress. Source voltage is selectable from 90 to 275 V AC. Conductivity and leakage currents are measured in three ranges: 0.5 μA to 10 μA,
10 μA to 250 μA, and 250 μA to 500 μA. The tester is autoranging and Flash programmable and includes PC utility software
for configuration setup and remote control. A 9-V lithium battery provides power for more than 100 tests, or an optional
battery eliminator can be used. An optional printer documents
TEE transducer testing with full IAC compliance. BC Group
International, www.rsleads.com/607ee-183
July 2016
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evaluationengineering.com
25
6/7/2016 3:16:24 PM
DATA ACQUISITION
PTPv2 holds data acquisition and
testing to a tight schedule
By Christof Salcher, HBM
O
ver the last few decades, many different timing mechanisms have been used to synchronize the operation of
data-acquisition and test-and-measurement devices.
However, for synchronizing the operation of distributed systems, using the established Ethernet infrastructure is essential
because it offers high flexibility and ease of use at a relatively
low cost.
Ethernet is the de facto worldwide standard for machine-tomachine or human-to-machine communications. Even mobile
devices like smartphones and vehicles can be linked to Ethernet-based networks through mobile telecom networks. The
IEEE 1588:2008 Precision Time Protocol (PTPv2) was developed
to support highly accurate time synchronization of distributed
systems like data acquisition modules in test-and-measurement
applications.
In test-and-measurement applications, highly accurate timestamped signal inputs representing the same physical process
captured at the same moment play an important role in qualifying and analyzing measurement data in the post-processing
mode.
Absolute time vs. relative time
Absolute time accuracy is needed when measurement data
must be mapped to a specific real-world event or when two
or more data-acquisition systems are not on the same network.
An example in which absolute time might be relevant would
be when it’s essential to monitor the load influence of a train
crossing a bridge and identify the train to support further actions such as issuing an overload warning. The absolute time is
explicitly available when it is represented by a clock.
Most test-and-measurement applications or processes can
use a relative system time, particularly when a test is reproducible and what matters most is the relative timing of the signals
to each other. Sometimes, time accuracy can be confused with
reaction, latency, or real time. Real time refers to deterministic behavior—a “decision” or “response” that needs to be done
within a specific time frame and is used mainly in control or
automation tasks in which a control algorithm issues an output
based on input from a sensor.
Time latency must be taken into account when designing
control algorithms or when a response is needed within a given
maximum time. Real-time control applications normally require fixed and very low time latency from the sensor to the
controller. For nondeterministic protocols like Ethernet TCP/
IP, CANbus, or any PC-based activity, time latency is variable.
Time latency also plays a role when data is streamed to a realtime controller for monitoring purposes in case the timestamp
sent with the data value is not or cannot be considered.
Hardware- vs. software-based timestamping
PTPv2 is based on Ethernet. Unlike Network Time Protocol
(NTP), PTPv2 is embedded in the physical layer, which allows for true hardware-based timestamping for precise time
synchronization of all participants in an Ethernet network.
The main difference between hardware- and software-based
timestamping is the synchronization accuracy achievable.
With software-based timestamping (used in NTP, for example),
slave synchronization accuracies down to 100 μs are possible
in small networks but typically are more on the order of 1 ms.
In contrast, with hardware timestamping like PTPv2, it is possible to achieve time synchronization accuracy down to 50 ns.
However, to obtain this level of accuracy, the network topology
such as switches and slave hardware must support hardware
timestamping.
How PTPv2 works
PTPv2 is a relative time sync mechanism. One participant is selected to work as the master clock, which delivers time sync mes-
Figure 1. A widely distributed topology based on the modular QuantumX data acquisition system
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July 2016
6/8/2016 9:46:23 AM
DATA ACQUISITION
sages to all slaves. The sync process starts with a time sync telegram to the network. All participants (slaves) calculate the time
difference (delay) between their local time and the given master
clock and adapt step by step to a time difference less than 2 μs.
PTPv2 applications
PTPv2 is invaluable for synchronizing data produced by
distributed data-acquisition modules during ground-based
structural durability testing of new aircraft. It also supports
synchronizing data acquired under the control of a flight
simulator using so-called “iron birds.” By using an iron bird
as a testbed, data from various measurement sensors is synchronized and recorded for later analysis. An iron bird can
be “flown” like a standard aircraft from a simulated flight
deck, with a computer generating the aerodynamic model
and environmental conditions like air density, air temperature, airspeed, and Mach number. Aeronautics engineers use
these tools to incorporate, improve, and validate vital aircraft
systems, including electrical and hydraulic generation and
flight controls. Iron birds allow these engineers to confirm the
characteristics of all system components during early development stages and discover any incompatibilities that may
require redesign or modifications.
PTPv2 is equally suitable for hybrid applications (Figure 2)
that combine high-speed acquisition with high channel counts,
such as for dynamometer testing of new electric or hybrid vehicles. For example, one automotive industry customer has used
PTPv2 offers some major advantages over other synchronization methods for a wide range of data acquisition applications:
• Supports time synchronization between different device types
from different vendors via a standardized protocol.
• Allows for large distances between data acquisition modules
(electrical, optical).
• Supports synchronization of different product lines from the
same manufacturer with each other. For example, HBM’s QuantumX, SomatXR, and GENESIS High Speed systems offer PTPv2
synchronization and can work together to enable data acquisition in both distributed applications in harsh environments and
in lab settings with hundreds of channels and high speeds.
• Ensures high time accuracy (in the submicrosecond range) between all participants when working with high data rates.
• Provides for simple, administration-free setup, including automatic master selection, high robustness, and a continuous time
scale with no “jumping” time
stamps and no rollover.
• Supports absolute timing when
necessary. A grandmaster clock
based on GPS can be integrated to
serve as an absolute time source
when one or more data acquisition
systems are not in the same network but the resulting data needs
to be analyzed quickly.
A number of applications highlight the advantages that PTPv2
time synchronization offers. For
example, it allows data gathered
from widely distributed data ac- Figure 2. A hybrid data acquisition system that combines the high speed of a GENESIS system with the high
quisition modules (Figure 1) to channel count capability of a QuantumX system
be used to study complex interactions, such as braking dynamics
HBM’s GENESIS high-speed data acquisition system to acquire
and structural stability of large ground transportation vehicles
voltage and current data in sync with the modular mid-speed
like trains and construction equipment. Figure 1 shows a wideQuantumX system used to acquire temperature sensor data
ly distributed topology based on the modular QuantumX data
and CANbus signals.
acquisition system, which is capable of acquiring signals from
GENESIS high-speed systems are widely used for high-speed
any type of analog sensor. The modules often are used in monidata acquisition and transient recording because they can have
toring and testing applications because their universal inputs
from four to 4,320 channels with sampling rates up to 100 MS/s
provide maximum interference suppression for the acquisition
per channel. They support continuous direct-to-disk streaming
of strain, force, displacement, acceleration, rotational speed,
at up to 200 MB/s.
pressure, temperature, voltage, current, and many more.
Testing of an aircraft’s electrical grid and components is anOperators of today’s complex electrical power grids use
other example of the use of a hybrid architecture that depends
time-tagged measurements of voltage and current throughout
on PTPv2 synchronization. Engineers study electrical switchthe power grid to monitor and control grid performance. PTPv2
ing with variable interruptions and times to assess their impact
synchronization allows operators to monitor the relationships
on the computers and other components; the complete system
between voltage and current due to reactive loads, compare the
assembly also is tested to gage the effects of electromagnetic
phase of two voltages that might be connected together to diinterference. EE
vert power from one part of the grid to another, or monitor the
harmonic content of the signal. Often, important data is aggreAbout the author
gated from multiple data acquisition locations, and it must be
Christof Salcher is the product and application manager for test
synchronized so that the data can be directly compared in time.
and measurement and data acquisition systems at HBM (Hottinger
Systems that support PTPv2 also are well suited for strucBaldwin Messtechnik GmbH), headquartered in Germany. He holds
tural health monitoring of the stability of large engineered
a Dipl.-Ing. in electrical engineering and has more than 20 years of
structures such as bridges, towers, or wind turbines using GPSexperience in the data acquisition industry.
based absolute time signals.
July 2016
26-27_EE_201607_DataAquisition_FINAL_eb.indd 27
evaluationengineering.com
27
6/8/2016 9:46:36 AM
NEWS & EVENTS
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F
PGAs garnered much of the attention during The Vision Show that
took place May 3-5 in Boston. Other
products on exhibit ranged from industrial robots to lenses.
FPGAs were the topic of two presentations at the show. Paul Scardino, senior
vision application consultant for Baumer,
discussed FPGAs as key components of
the company’s LX cameras with VisualApplets technology. The term VisualApplets refers to the graphical development
environment for FPGA programming
from Silicon Software, which also participated in the show. With FPGA preprocessing, Scardino said, the amount of
image data transmitted can be reduced,
making it possible, for example, to employ GigE Vision instead of Camera Link
interconnect.
And Jim Blasius, solutions architect
for measurement and automation at ADLINK Technology, described his company’s Neon smart camera, which includes
an Atom E3845 quad-core processor and
FPGA coprocessing. The FPGA can handle tasks like shading correction without
using CPU resources, he said. ADLINK
also exhibited its four-channel GigE EOS
compact vision system with 6th-generation Intel Core processors and the new
Matrix MVP series of embedded computers targeting single-purpose vision
applications.
National Instruments highlighted
its NI Compact Vision Systems, which
combine industrial camera connectivity,
open communication, and FPGA-based
I/O in a small form factor. The systems
can acquire and process images in real
time from multiple cameras. Powered
by Intel Atom processors, the systems
are compatible with GigE Vision or USB3
Vision cameras. They include real-time
display and industrial communication
ports and industrial digital I/O that you
can customize using the LabVIEW FPGA
Module.
NI also presented its CompactRIO
controllers, which use Intel Atom processors and Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGAs, offer-
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The Vision Show
brings FPGAs
into focus
ing connectivity to GigE Vision cameras
and USB3 Vision cameras. The processor
handles network communication, data
logging, control, and processing with
the deterministic and reliable NI Linux
Real-Time OS. The user-programmable
FPGA can implement custom hardware
for high-speed control, inline data processing, or complex timing and triggering. In addition, the FPGA can be used
for image coprocessing, which reduces
latency and processing time so cameras
can provide an input for closed-loop control applications.
Matrox Imaging highlighted its Matrox Design Assistant 4—a hardwareindependent integrated development
environment that lets users easily create
an application flowchart and HMI. The
software works with the Matrox Iris GTR
smart camera, which measures 75 mm
x 75 mm x 54 mm. The cameras use ON
Semiconductor’s PYTHON CMOS image sensors with high readout rates and
an Intel Celeron dual-core embedded
processor.
XIMEA exhibited its new Model
MQ022HG-IM-LS150-VISNIR camera, a
member of the company’s hyperspectral
xiSpec Series. While conventional color
cameras use a mosaic pattern of red,
green, and blue (RGB) color filters on top
of the pixel matrix, hyperspectral cameras replace the RGB pattern with many different wavelength filters. The features of
this new xiSpec multi-linescan HSI camera include 150 HSI bands between 470
and 900 nm, covering the visual and NIR
spectrum, and high-speed multi-linescan capability with up to 1,020 lines/s.
The cameras are USB3 Vision compliant and include Windows, Linux, and
MacOS drivers; a software development
kit (SDK); and a USB 3.0 micro-B connector with a screw-lock.
Microscan introduced its latest technology platform, combining its smallest-ever imaging devices with a new
release of AutoVISION machine-vision
software. The result is a fully capable
barcode reading suite consisting of four
unique smart cameras, which will adopt
the complete machine-vision toolset of
AutoVISION for the company’s “Auto
ID+” applications.
Edmund Optics showcased its new
TECHSPEC UC Series of fixed-focallength lenses. Designed to work with all
smaller-format camera sensors and built
specifically for machine-vision working
distances and resolution requirements,
these compact lenses are suitable for a
range of applications including factory
automation, inspection, and biomedical
instrumentation.
Teledyne DALSA featured its newest
cameras and vision solutions, including
the Linea line-scan cameras as well as
next-generation NIR, LWIR, and X-ray
cameras, including the Piranha4 multispectral camera, the Calibir uncooled
LWIR camera, and the Rad-icon flatpanel X-ray detector for nondestructive
testing. The company also announced
the addition of eight new models to its
Genie Nano Series GigE Vision cameras,
including four monochrome and four
color models that incorporate Sony Pregius image sensors. The addition of these
eight new models brings the total number of cameras in the series to 27, with
more models planned.
The new models, the M2450, C2450,
M2050, C2050, M2420, C2420, M2020,
and C2020, are designed for industrialimaging applications and are capable of
data transfer rates at two or even three
times the standard GigE Vision rates. The
Genie Nano series also takes advantage
of the Sapera LT SDK and the vendor’s
Trigger-to-Image-Reliability framework
for full system-level monitoring, control, and diagnostics from image capture
through transfer to host memory.
Robotics also was a key focus of the
show. ABB featured two YuMi dual-arm,
collaborative robot demonstrations: a
vision-enabled, small parts assembly
application and an interactive, handson demo allowing attendees to program
YuMi using ABB’s lead-through programming technology. EE
July 2016
6/7/2016 4:00:39 PM
NEWS & EVENTS
Indus
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StarEast targets software
test automation and quality
A
t the 2014 StarEast Software Testing Conference, Agile prevailed.
This year, DevOps—a cooperative effort among developers, QA, and
operational IT people—-was more often
talked about. Nevertheless, as expressed
in one of this year’s closing short “Lightning Keynotes,” producing more and
better quality software at a faster rate is
what it’s all about.
The role of the tester within an organization was the focus of Keith Klain’s
opening address. Klain, executive director and head of Software Quality
Management for Tekmark Global Solutions, has an enterprise technology background, having been in charge of global
software testing for Barclay’s. In such a
large company, he said, the goals of the
business managers are distinct from
those of the testers. There needs to be
more attention given to the value proposition of software testing. Instead of a
“train and pray” culture, Klain suggested that enterprises need to have a direct
link from the business objectives to the
supporting technology and then to what
employees actually do. In Klain’s opinion, testers should have the businessoriented vocabulary necessary to discuss
their role with the enterprise’s nontechnical managers.
The second keynote, delivered by David Dang, vice president of Automation
Solutions at Zenergy Technologies, was a
fast-moving trip onto the second wave of
test automation software. In contrast to
a small number of packaged automation
solutions making up the first wave, Dang
said, today there are at least 136 opensource test automation frameworks to
choose among. The first-wave tools were
difficult to use, fragmented, and required
additional instrumentation code.
Selenium Web Browser is a leading
second wave framework that has been
adopted by many companies and is used
to automate web browser testing—a
growing requirement as more and more
applications become web-based. Nevertheless, Dang stressed that to successfully use open-source tools, an organization
generally needs more technical resources
and greater technical knowledge. You
must truly understand how the framework operates, Dang said, because you
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can’t count on vendor support. And,
open source tools require more time and
effort to maintain.
Technical sessions
One technical presentation highlighted
the wide range of test activities necessary
to ensure the quality of the Anki Overdrive game—a very high-tech update to
slot cars. Jane Fraser, test director at the
company, discussed some of the hardware and software challenges faced by
her team of 16 testers.
Up to four cars compete on a customizable track layout. The track is encoded
so that infrared cameras under each car
read the car’s position and transmit it to
a smartphone hosting the game. Separate
smartphones are used by competitors to
control their cars’ speed, direction, and
weapons—yes, you can shoot (virtually)
at a competing car. For iPhones, Bluetooth low energy (BTLE) handles the
communications. Fraser commented that
Android devices didn’t implement BTLE
consistently, so for Android, Anki uses
Wi-Fi instead.
A very important aspect is the cloud
storage of each session, which allows
Fraser to virtually replay any game that
has shown a problem. Charles Proxy is
a tool she uses to view all of the traffic
between the game and the cloud. She
stressed the importance of testing one
thing at a time and also that you can’t ignore one-off problems. Anki’s emphasis
on quality, which includes logging and
the development of related test tools,
helped convince Fraser to join the company.
She listed a few of her concerns as a
tester: How can I make this fail? How
will the customer use the game? What
happens as a car’s battery runs down?
The multiple communications channels
make test sufficiently complicated that
the game has been used as a BTLE network stress test, but several times Fraser
referred to the “thing” (as in Internet of
Things) that adds another layer of complexity. For example, when a car would
very infrequently fly off the track, the
cause eventually was found to be sunlight reflected up into the IR camera—a
sun shield fixed that. And, status data
continuously received from each car alJuly 2016
28-29_EE_201607_IndustryHapp_MECH_eb.indd 29
ppeni
lows the host to increase drive to the motor as the battery discharges.
A session presented by Arondekar
Gauli from InfoStretch was more commercially oriented, highlighting the benefits of the company’s QMetry automation framework. InfoStretch provided an
end-to-end testing strategy for Peloton
Interactive featuring a large degree of
automated testing via the company’s
QMetry Test Manager. This facilitated
Peloton’s goal of accelerating software
testing while ensuring quality.
Peloton provides both an exercise
bike and in-home cycle training with the
slogan “Indoor cycling: reimagined for
the home.” While you ride your sensorequipped Peloton bike, you are joined
(virtually) on a 22-inch screen by trainers riding their Peloton bikes in a remote
studio. They monitor your biometric information and suggest improvements to
your riding technique.
At another session, “Test-Driven
Everything—With Deliberate Collaboration,” Jeff “Cheezy” Morgan from
LeanDog and Ardita Karaj from EPAM
Systems conducted a live demo of a web
application revision. Karaj took the roles
of both the project owner and tester as
she developed test stories and acceptance criteria. For several years, Morgan
has helped teams adopt Cucumber—a
tool written in Ruby that runs automated
acceptance tests. So, he wrote the lowerlevel code that then was incrementally
tested by the Cucumber statements.
Well, that’s mostly how things worked
out, but in the spirit of collaboration, the
developer, tester, and owner roles all
contributed as the changes progressed.
As the presenters explained, acceptance
criteria are only meaningful if all three
groups have a shared understanding of
what the team is building. The idea, they
said, is to test in small pieces as the application is being coded, and the automation tools facilitate this, making continuous development easier.
The StarWest Software Testing Conference will be held Oct. 2-7 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA. EE
evaluationengineering.com
29
6/7/2016 4:01:57 PM
EE PRODUCT PICKS
USB oscilloscopes
PicoScope two-channel, fourchannel, and mixed-signal models have the functionality of an
oscilloscope plus a logic analyzer (on MSO models), a spectrum
analyzer, a function generator,
an arbitrary waveform generator, and a serial bus analyzer with support for 15 protocols included as standard. They are USB-powered and can be easily
transported in a laptop bag.
PicoScope 2000A two- and four-channel models are suitable for technicians, trainers, students, and hobbyists doing
fault-finding on signals up to 25 MHz. The 2205A MSO has
two analog plus 16 digital channels. PicoScope 2000B Series
models are equipped with deep buffer memory from 32 to 128
MS and feature bandwidths of 50, 70, or 100 MHz supported
with sampling speeds to 1 GS/s and hardware acceleration to
deliver more than 80,000 waveforms per second update rates.
Torque transducer
The compact T40HS torque
transducer is designed for measuring torque at high rotational
speeds. It offers high stiffness,
is made of light titanium, and
ensures maximum precision.
Whether in motorsports or the aerospace industry, performance testing of high-speed motors and drives at high rotational speeds is an important factor. The T40HS has a spaceand cost-saving torque flange for rotational speeds up to
45,000 rpm for noncontacting transfer of signals.
Thanks to the compact measurement flange design, the
T40HS features high torsional stiffness, allowing for dynamic torque measurements. No additional bearings are
required, which eliminates maintenance overhead. The
compact design of this torque transducer saves space,
which makes it easy to integrate into a test bench. HBM,
www.rsleads.com/607ee-198
Pico Technology, www.rsleads.com/607ee-215
PXI relay module
Scanning electron microscope
The Apreo scanning electron microscope (SEM) targets applications in fields ranging from materials and life sciences to
semiconductors, energy, and chemistry. Due to its proprietary compound
final lens design, the Apreo SEM is capable of resolution down to 1.0 nm at 1
kV without the need for beam deceleration—providing high performance on
nearly any sample, even if it is tilted or
topographic. It offers backscatter detection at the lowest beam currents, at any
tilt angle, on sensitive samples, and at
TV-rate imaging so materials contrast
is strong.
The Apreo software provides user
guidance and point-and-click navigation using an in-chamber
camera. Multiple samples can be loaded quickly and easily
without tools. FEI, www.rsleads.com/607ee-196
The new CTS 6000 Series radio test set, which was unveiled
at the Army Missions Solution Summit, incorporates nine test
capabilities into a single tester with an easy-to-use, modern
touchscreen interface for testing radio communications systems at the factory, at the
depot, or in the field.
The CTS 6000 is suitable for use by all branches of the military, TSA,
police, fire, private security, and airline personnel
requiring secure, reliable
radio communications. It
provides extensive test
capability for any radio system to reduce testing time and
cost, maintenance and calibration costs, lifecycle ownership
costs, and the number of “no fault found” results. Users can
test tactical handsets, amplifiers, antennae, and any other
component of a radio system. Astronics Test Systems,
www.rsleads.com/607ee-197
evaluationengineering.com
30-31_EE_201607_ProductPicks_MECH_dB.indd 30
Pickering Interfaces, www.rsleads.com/607ee-199
Color-sensor evaluation board
Radio test set
30
The Model 40-100 high-density PXI relay module, configured
with 83 SPDT relays, originally
was designed for applications in
aerospace and defense requiring a higher density alternative
to the vendor’s current 52 SPDT
module (Model 40-139). This new
relay module is suitable for applications requiring mediumpower switching with very high density. It features a 2-A current capacity and voltages to 200 VDC/140 VAC.
Connections for the 40-100 are made via a front panel-mounted
500-pin SEARAY high-density connector. The vendor also offers
standard cabling solutions to convert this high-density connector to more standard interfaces such as D connectors and IDC
connectors as well as an unterminated option for ease of use.
The MTCS-INT-AB5 sensor board fully integrates the MTCSCDCAF sensor chip from the JENCOLOR product line. It can
serve as an evaluation board for
system and application tests and is
available as part of a development
kit. The board includes memory for
saving calibration data and additional user data related to the application as well as an I2C interface.
It works as an evaluation system
for the MTCS-CDCAF. Typical applications include measuring light colors for multispectral LED
arrays and calibrating color on monitors. It also can be used for
photometric applications.
As part of a development kit for system and application tests,
the sensor board is mounted in a housing and can be controlled
via USB. Control files on the PC level take over specifications
for the sensor and sensor electronics. Once the development
kit has successfully validated an application, the sensor electronics programming can be easily transferred to a microcontroller. MAZeT, www.rsleads.com/607ee-200
July 2016
6/8/2016 2:23:14 PM
EE PRODUCT PICKS
Index of Advertisers
ADVERTISER
Common-mode chokes
The 0805USBN Series common-mode chokes measure
2.0 x 1.2 mm with a maximum height of 0.93 mm. The
chokes offer up to 6.5-GHz differential-mode 3-dB cutoff frequency and up to 35-dB common-mode noise attenuation across a wide frequency range for handling
noise suppression in super
high-speed signal lines
such as USB 3.x, HDMI 2.0,
HDBaseT, DisplayPort, and
DVI. They also are suitable
for high-speed differential
signal lines such as USB 2.0,
IEEE 1394, and LVDS and
compatible with the USB
Type-C specification 1.0.
The 0805USBN Series provides low DCR (0.11 to 0.63
Ω) and current ratings up to 0.5 A. It is available in eight
impedance values. All 0805USBN common-mode chokes
are halogen free and feature RoHS-compliant matte tin
over nickel over silver-platinum-glass frit terminations.
They have an ambient temperature rating of -40°C to
+125°C. Coilcraft, www.rsleads.com/607ee-201
PAGE
AMETEK CTS ...............................................www.tesequsa.com........................................9
AR RF/Microwave Instrumentation .......www.arworld.us/pulsedamps......................7
AR RF/Microwave
Instrumentation...........................http://www.arworld.us/html/posterRequest.asp ...31
Avtech Electrosystems Ltd.......................www.avtechpulse.com ................................31
CertifiGroup .................................................www.CertifiGroup.com ................................31
Educated Design & Development, Inc. .www.ProductSafet.com ..............................31
IEEE Autotestcon 2016...............................www.autotestcon.com.................................21
Keysight Technologies .............................www.keysight.com/find/TrueformUS .........3
Keysight Technologies .............................www.keysight.com/find/ScopeMVP ........11
Keysight Technologies .............................www.keysight.com/find/5G-Insights ........19
National Instruments ................................ni.com/smarter-test ..................................... BC
Pickering Electronics ...............................pickeringrelay.com .......................................16
Pickering Interfaces Inc...........................www.pickeringtest.com/advantage .......IFC
Pico Technology.........................................www.picotech.com ......................................15
Virginia Panel Corp. ..................................www.vpc.com/EE2 ........................................10
This index is provided as a service. The publisher does not assume liability for errors or omissions.
EE LITERATURE MARKETPLACE
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evaluationengineering.com
31
6/8/2016 4:14:19 PM
RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
By Rick Nelson, E xecutive Editor
IBM Watson takes to the road
F
ive years ago, IBM
Watson triumphed
over human competitors to win the TV
game show Jeopardy!
Subsequently, Watson
has been busy in fields
including
healthcare,
medicine, and genetics.
Now, researchers at
Fuji Heavy Industries
(FHI), the manufacturer
of Subaru automobiles,
and IBM Japan are collaborating to put Watson in the driver’s seat
in the role of an assistant if not an autonomous operator.
By way of background, Forester, Im- Impreza interior at the 2016 New York International Auto Show
preza, Legacy, Outback, Courtesy of Subaru/Fuji Heavy Industries
WRX, and Crosstrek
integrating a range of other data with
Subaru models are available with the
data collected from sensors mounted on
EyeSight driver-assist system, which
each car.
uses stereo cameras mounted near the
Apart from the initiative involving
rearview mirror (top center of the phoFHI, IBM Watson IoT for Automotive is
tograph) to detect other vehicles, pedesfinding use in several applications. Daimtrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. In adler subsidiary moovel GmbH has created
dition to avoiding frontal collisions and
a car-sharing app, and truck maker Scalimiting damage in the event of an accinia has used the technology to improve
dent, EyeSight supports functions such
the driver response time of fleets through
as adaptive cruise control, active lane
in-vehicle social messaging.
keep, and precollision braking and throtIn addition, Panasonic Automotive
tle management. Subaru first brought
Systems, which makes head units, amEyeSight to the United States with the
plifiers, and radios, has employed IBM
2013 model year Legacy.1
At a press conference March 23 at the
cloud technology to collaborate with
2016 New York International Auto Show,
global partners and customers. In a
Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, FHI president and
video posted on the IBM Watson IoT
CEO, introduced the new Impreza and
for Automotive website, John Penoyer,
described it as “the first of Subaru’s nextgroup manager, tools, says, “In a 24generation vehicles,” with EyeSight and
hour turnaround cycle, we were able to
other features constituting “the bedrock
close 200 defects. We’re linking together
of our core technologies.”
requirements management, systems enThe collaborative effort between FHI
gineering, and software development”
and IBM Japan is aimed at helping FHI
in order to build an all-in-one very tight
engineers manage the vast amounts of
iterative process.
test image data associated with EyeSight.
Looking toward Watson IoT appliA system put in place in April allows FHI
cations beyond automotive, Avnet reengineers to search for and analyze test
cently debuted the MicroZed IoT Starter
images to help speed the development of
Kit, which includes a Xilinx Zynq-7000
advanced driver-assist technologies.
All Programmable SoC and pluggable
In the works is a system that will lesensors from Maxim Integrated and
verage IBM Watson Internet of Things
STMicroelectronics. The kit integrates
for Automotive to evaluate the applicathe IBM Watson IoT Platform agent on
bility of cloud technology to advanced
top of a custom-configured, certified imdrive-assist technology. IBM IoT for Auage of the Wind River Pulsar Linux optomotive supports real-time analytics by
erating system. Using a standard MQTT
32
evaluationengineering.com
32-BC_EE_201607_ResearchInsights_FINAL_eb.indd 32
messaging protocol,
IBM’s Watson IoT Platform agent enables
registered, secure connection to the Watson
IoT Platform and additional cloud services
from the IBM Bluemix
portfolio.
“Avnet’s MicroZed
Industrial IoT Starter
Kit, supported by
IBM’s Watson IoT Platform, enables IoT developers throughout
the channel ecosystem
to create new products
that offer a differentiated level of user
interaction and experience,” said Jack Desjardins, vice president,
Alliances & Ecosystem
Business Development, IBM Watson IoT,
in a press release. “By simplifying IoT
device-to-cloud integration with this kit,
IBM and Avnet are helping to inspire a
new generation of cognitive IoT systems
and applications that have the capability
to learn from the physical world.”
Watson also has taken to a virtual
classroom in the form of “Jill Watson,”
a robotic teaching assistant at Georgia
Tech that helps students taking an online
artificial intelligence course.
As reported by Melissa Korn in The
Wall Street Journal,2 Ashok Goel, a professor of computer science, says students in
the online class can post 10,000 questions
per semester, straining the capabilities
of the human TAs. Researchers trained
Ms. Watson using a database of 40,000
discussion forum posts; she responds
to questions if she has a 97% confidence
level that her answer will be correct.
One student was about to nominate Ms.
Watson for an “outstanding TA” award
just before learning of her true nature.
Korn quotes another satisfied student
as saying, “We’re taking an artificial intelligence class. There should be some
artificial intelligence here.” EE
References
1. Stoklosa, A., “We Try Out Subaru’s EyeSight
Collision-Avoidance Tech,” Car and Driver,
Sept. 7, 2012.
2. Korn, M., “Imagine Discovering That Your
Teaching Assistant Really Is a Robot,” The Wall
Street Journal, May 6, 2016.
July 2016
6/7/2016 3:12:25 PM
32-BC_EE_201607_ResearchInsights_FINAL_eb.indd CoverIII
6/8/2016 10:08:44 AM
SMART DEVICES REQUIRE
SMARTER
AU TOM AT ED T ES T SYS T EMS
The old approach to automated test isn’t
scaling, but you already knew that. Look at your
balance sheet. To test smart devices, you need
a smarter test system built on a platform of NI
PXI, LabVIEW, and TestStand. More than 35,000
companies deploy NI technology to lower their
cost of test—what are you waiting for?
V
Prepare for the future at ni.com/smarter-test
NI PXI, LabVIEW, and TestStand
©2016 National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com, and NI TestStand are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 25143
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