What is the next trend that design engineers in Taiwan must grasp?
Despite the impact of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis and soaring oil prices on the global economy, there is still good news. According to a report from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), the global semiconductor market will achieve considerable growth in 2008.

The data released by the WSTS shows that the global semiconductor market grew 9.2 percent in May, with market turnover reaching $20.53 billion. In April, the global semiconductor market achieved a turnover of $19.38 billion, a 5.5 percent increase over the same period in 2007. In terms of regions, the Asia Pacific had outstanding performance, with the market turnover reaching $10.35 billion, and a 17.5 percent increase in May, as compared to the same period last year.

China and India, the two rising economies in Asia Pacific, have contributed considerably in recent years to stimulate the overall demand for semiconductor and electronic products. The wireless technology boom, advancement of embedded design, rise of "green" consciousness and the maturity of the process of manufacturing miniaturized components, all converge to drive the innovation of design, from upstream semiconductors to downstream electronic products.

The International IC-Taiwan Conference & Exhibition (IIC-Taiwan 2008), which will run from Sept.9-11, will highlight these key developments and more. During the exhibition, summits and technical seminars, leading technology companies from all over the world will showcase their most advanced innovative technologies in a variety of fields, from clean energy technology and mobile handhelds to the new generation of automotive electronic products.

Toward a clean future
What will be the consequences of technological developments on the human race? Will disasters be plentiful as the result of heavy pollution, climate change and disregard for nature? Or will there be a way to peacefully co-exist with the environment amid rapid technological and industrial advancement?

Touted as the key to such scenario is clean energy.

For electronics manufacturers, "environmental protection" is truly an implemented policy, not just a slogan. At the summit on clean energy initiatives, NXP Semiconductors will explore the topic of sustainability design of electronic products, from design to the end of its life cycle. In making a semiconductor product, selection of materials and packaging are all closely related to whether the environment can sustain them. Semiconductor manufacturers are exerting efforts to create a cleaner future.

In addition to environmental protection, energy consumption and exhaust emission have been the largest barriers against developing green technologies. Microchip Technology Inc. will discuss how electronic component suppliers can improve the energy efficiency of their electronic products. The company will be introducing technologies that improve energy efficiency while reducing power consumption, focusing on motor control and power transformation.

Texas Instruments Inc. and ON Semiconductor Corp. will also present their energy-efficient solutions.

Index of advanced tech
With the Internet going wireless and achieving high-speed access, embedded devices have been put under pressure to meet demands for wireless broadband, security and management. Optimum integration and seamless connection have become the driving forces for the growth of embedded devices for mobile technology.

Among next-generation mobile phones, which technology will dominate communications? Apart from Wi-Fi, Zigbee and Bluetooth, next-generation mobile phones must have the capability to interact with various communications technologies and services. In the summit on next-generation wireless design, Infineon Technologies AG will explore whether one can obtain, from a single supplier, the consolidated services such as fixed network access, broadband, cable TV, landline phone and mobile phone. Other wireless design highlights are ubiquitous computing, network consolidation and always-on applications.

Among the wireless schemes, Wi-Fi has been particularly successful. The specification has evolved through 802.11a/b/g to the latest 802.11n, with raw data rate growing from the initial 11Mbit/s to 600Mbit/s. Wi-Fi has also gone from PCs to notebooks to handheld devices. At the next generation wireless design summit, Taiwan's Ralink Technology Corp. will conduct an in-depth exploration of market trends for next-generation Wi-Fi devices and the challenges facing the segment.

Also, MontaVista Software Inc. will discuss the development of software for next-generation wireless devices.

Additionally, to usher in the era of the Mobile Internet (MI), Michael Chen, director of the embedded sales group and ultra mobility group at Intel Asia Pacific, will explain how, from the viewpoint of Web 3.0, mobile technology featuring lower power consumption, higher frequency bandwidth and better cost-effectiveness will drive the growth of the embedded market.

Embedded system design engineers and managers will be able to explore the challenges coming from MI, and peek into the future of embedded system connections, which will serve as the strategy for Web 3.0 to connect all embedded devices, such as digital security surveillance, digital signage, kiosks, and gaming and consumer electronics.

At the manufacturers' technical seminars, engineers and managers will be exposed to the latest embedded products and testing schemes. These cover the fields of embedded system design, test and measurement, MCUs and processors, RF and network design, bus analysis, automotive electronics, design automation, portable video, signal processing, and memory design.

In embedded system design, there are both predictable and unpredictable events or signal anomalies. In its presentation, Agilent Technologies will demonstrate the use of InfiniiVision 7000 series oscilloscopes to solve real-world challenges encountered in applications such as radar, satellite, high-energy physics, error logging, mixed-signals debugging and packetized serial bus troubleshooting.

In test and measurement, Tektronix Inc. will explain how adopting direct synthesis technology would eliminate the need to inject jitter and noise from other sources, as well as remove the requirement for multi-channel added signals to create pre-emphasis as well as increase the capability of providing true transmission path artifacts, such as ISI and other system anomalies.

On the other hand, National Instruments Corp. will show how with LabVIEW, scientists and engineers can deliver applications that run predictably in time, deliver increased reliability and offer stand-alone operations. By combining LabVIEW graphical programming with the deterministic performance of dedicated real-time and FPGA targets, engineers can ensure design flows, prototype and deployment and further implement next-generation development and testing.

Launch time
IIC-Taiwan will also introduce technologies such as brand new display, memory and automotive technologies. Advanced embedded design technologies will also be demonstrated by leading manufacturers, including Leadis Technology, NEC Electronic, Spansion and Renesas Technology. Companies including Atmel, ARM, Ansoft, Accelerated Technology, CEVA and Wind River will showcase a new generation of embedded processors, programmable MCUs and development tools, providing more convenient solutions to the re-evolution of mobile devices.

IIC-Taiwan 2008 will provide various design technologies that will help design engineers create the next generation of devices. It will be held at the World Trade Building in Taipei.

source:EE Times-Asia