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Formula 1 cars are more hybrid than hybridsFor the 2014 season Formula 1 cars will have smaller engines, plus two energy recovery systems (ERSs): regenerative braking, like most road hybrids, and an exhaust gas-driven electrical generator – the kind of electrically-enhanced turbo charging that has yet to reach road cars.

Regenerative braking is not new to Formula 1. Hybrid technology was first introduced to the race series in 2009 with ‘kinetic energy recovery system’ (KERS), whose influence has been increased by regulation over the years.

However, today is the day when cars with both ERS systems, and far more energy storage, start pre-season testing in Jerez, Spain.

“The 2.4-litre normally-aspirated V8 engines of 2013 produced around 750 break horsepower (bhp), with an additional 80bhp available for around six seconds per lap from KERS.

The 2014 V6s put out around 600bhp. However, the two ERS systems (ERS-K and ERS-H) will give drivers an additional 160bhp [120kW] or so for approximately 33 seconds per lap,” said the racing organisation.

“Unlike in 2013, the driver no longer has to push a button to active ERS – the power is simply delivered to the rear wheels via the throttle pedal. Therefore, while you could still lap relatively competitively without KERS in 2013, an ERS problem in 2014 will be much more debilitating to performance.”

The two parts of ERS are: motor generator unit – kinetic [MGU-K], and motor generator unit – heat [MGU-H]), plus energy store and control electronics. Renault describes its energy store as a ‘battery’. It is not clear whether there is a super-capacitor element as well. It must weigh between 20kg and 25kg.

ElectronicsWeekly 5-11 February 2014 No. 2575

electronicsweekly.com @ElectronicsNews

CONTENTSThe week’s news and comment

3Holograms that change colour in response to

certain compounds have a future as medical monitors for conditions such as diabetes and cardiac function

8Interview: the managing director at Axiom discusses why contract manufacturer’s need to partner

with UK OEMs

10David Manners considers the whys and wherefores of the drive to fabricate

semiconductors on 450mm wafers

Contract manufacturing

12An industry insider considers

the arguments in favour of maintaining high-mix, low-volume manufacturing in the UK

SHOW PREVIEW: Southern Manufacturing and Electronics

14 A preview of some of the interesting

products that electronics manufacturers will bring to the exhibition in Farnborough this month

Show seminars

16A programme of the seminars sponsored by Electronics Weekly at the Southern show

on 12 and 13 February

17The product of the week is a miniature bufferless photocoupler from Toshiba

that boasts infrared LEDs

ry

meh UK

MGU-K, like KERS, uses a motor-generator to deliver power (120kW) for acceleration and extract energy instead of friction brakes for deceleration.

MGU-H also uses a motor-generator, connected to the turbocharger. Energy extracted can be used to feed the MGU-K directly, stored for later use by the MGU-K, or stored to be fed back into the turbocharger.

“Unlike the MGU-K, which is limited to recovering 2MJ of energy per lap, the MGU-H is unlimited. MGU-H also controls the speed of the turbo, speeding it up to prevent turbo lag or slowing it down in place of a more traditional wastegate,” said Formula 1.

A maximum of 4MJ per lap can be returned to the MGU-K and from there to the drivetrain.

“That’s 10 times more than with 2013’s KERS,” said Formula 1.

Although the cars are expected to be just as fast as before, they will be more efficient. Accordingly the amount of fuel allowed per car per race is now limited

to 100kg, with a flow limit of 100kg/hour. Last year fuel was unlimited, with about 160kg consumed and a flow of around 170kg/h.

“While the cars will likely be run at the limit of fuel flow during much of practice and qualifying, it will have to be a different story during races when cars are running for well over an hour,” said the racing organisation.

The minimum weight of car and driver has been increased by 48kg from 2013, up to 690kg to compensate for the new power unit and associated systems. www.electronicsweekly.com/news

Renault has revealed its

2014 energy unit

��www.electronicsweekly.com/social | 5-11 February 2014 | 3

www.electronicsweekly.com/NEWS

An inspirational engineer

COMMENT

MEDICAL

Colour-change holograms given diagnostic potentialResponsive holograms that change colour in the presence of certain compounds are being developed into portable medical devices for monitor-ing conditions such as diabetes, cardiac function or hormone imbalance.

The researchers at the University of Cambridge are also developing a pro-totype smartphone-based test suitable for both clinical and home testing of diabetes.

The technique uses an absorbent material known as a hydrogel, which is similar to that used in contact lenses. It is impregnated with tiny particles of sil-ver, which, when illuminated by a laser pulse are formed into three-dimensional holograms of predetermined shapes in a fraction of a second.

When in the presence of certain compounds, the hydrogels either shrink or swell, causing the colour of the hologram to change to any other colour in the entire visible spectrum. As a result the holograms can be used to test blood, breath, urine, saliva or tear fluid for a wide range of compounds, such as glucose, alcohol, hormones, drugs, or bacteria. When one is present, the hologram changes colour. This could

make the monitoring of some condi-tions as simple as checking the colour of the hologram against a colour chart.

The significance of this technique for medical monitors is the speed with which the holograms can be construct-ed. Clinical trials of holographic sensors to monitor glucose levels and urinary tract infections in diabetic patients are under way at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals.

“Currently, a lot of medical test-ing is performed on large, expensive

equipment,” said Ali Yetisen, a PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, who led the research. “While these sorts of inex-pensive, portable tests aren’t meant to replace a doctor, holograms could en-able people to easily monitor their own health, and could be useful for early diagnosis.” The team estimates that a single sensor would cost just 10p.

University of Cambridgewww.cam.ac.uk/research

South Korea has seen the launch of the first mobile phone service broadcast-ing high definition TV to smartphones. With 4G mobile technology known as LTE Broadcast, users can watch high- definition television programmes using an application running on Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphones.

LTE Broadcast technology, which some observers believe is the killer app for 4G mobiles, was also expected to be demonstrated by Verizon last weekend at the Super Bowl in the US.

The service is based on a techni-cal specification defined by 3GPP. Called multimedia broadcast multicast

services, ‘eMBMS’ allows LTE network infrastructure to broadcast video or data to multiple customers simultaneously, making it possible to broadcast content such as live sporting events, breaking news or software updates.

The eMBMS specification defines a way to broadcast video streams into specified areas of the network where radio cells send the same data during exactly the same radio timeslots and appear as a single large cell. The areas covered can range from a few cells to a complete network.

Broadcast channels share capacity with traditional unicast radio channels.

Ericsson was the first network sup-plier to demonstrate LTE Broadcast at MWC in 2012. Huawei also supports the streamed video services in its LTE network infrastructure.

In Korea the commercial service is currently limited to selected areas of the country where the LTE Broadcast service is available. It is based on a hardware/software platform from Qualcomm Technologies which include the broad-cast middleware and the eMBMS-ena-bled Qualcomm LTE-Advanced chipset.

Electronics Weeklywww.electronicsweekly.com/news

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MOBILE

4G LTE Broadcast for Korea and at Super Bowl

When the European Space Agency’s Ro-setta craft started transmitting a signal over 500 million miles back to earth last month, an engineer in Essex had every right to feel a sense of achievement.

Richard Harper was part of the engi-neering team at BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre in Essex which devel-oped one important element, a rotary joint, for the Rosetta spacecraft. The joint’s role is to ensure that the craft’s radio antenna is facing in the right direc-tion to transmit signals to Earth.

In 1998 Harper was the chief electri-cal designer working in the team at BAE Systems which invented the joint that allows the 2.2-metre wide antenna to rotate independently, pointing in any direction in the galaxy, and to do this with an electro-mechanical system that could survive the challenging environ-ment of deep-space travel.

“It’s the top technical moment of my career and it’s nice to know a bit of engineering – a piece that we have manufactured and tested with our clean gloved hands – is now millions of miles away,” Harper told a local newspaper.

An engineering project like the Rosetta spacecraft inevitably has a large number of design elements – electronic, mechanical and software – which must come together if the probe is to do its job. The inspiration for any engineer comes from knowing that their part of the project is potentially crucial to the overall success of the design.

So when Rosetta orbits comet 67P later this year and drops a pod to ana-lyse its surface, Harper will know he is one of many inspirational engineers who made it happen.www.electronicsweekly.com

4 | 5-11 February 2014 | www.electronicsweekly.com/social��


Phosphorene: graphene with a bandgap

RESEARCH

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�ARM has added to its processor offerings for the server market, with a platform for ARMv8-A based (64-bit) servers. Dubbed the ‘server base system architecture’ (SBSA), the specification is the result of collaboration with Microsoft, AMD, Broadcom, Dell and HP. The intention is to provide a framework for the deployment of ARM-based servers and support software portability between ARM-based platforms.www.electronicsweekly.com/news

�Osram Opto Semiconductors is switching fabrication of red, orange and yellow LEDs to 6-inch wafers. Red, yellow and orange chips will be fabricated at the company headquarters in Regensburg on an indium gallium aluminium phosphide (InGaAlP, also known as AlInGaP) process. The firm is looking at even larger wafer diameters and other substrates. www.electronicsweekly.com/

�The Electronic Systems Community (formerly the UK Electronics Alliance) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills will host a meeting about counterfeit avoidance in the electronic components supply chain in London, on Thursday 27 February. The issue is an increasingly significant problem in the supply network. Reports of counterfeit parts quadrupled between 2009 and 2011, infiltrating even the most secure supply chains. In 2013 alone the Anti-Counterfeiting Forum website was notified of an average of 30 new reports per week.www.electronicsweekly.com/

�Cambridge Graphene Centre (CGC), part of the UK’s Future and Emerging Technologies graphene flagship project, has taken delivery of an atomic force microscope supplied by Agilent Technologies. Graphene is the second layer of carbon atoms that are sp2 covalently bonded into a honeycomb lattice and may make high-speed ICs.www.electronicsweekly.com/

US and Chinese scientists have made transistors from a graphene-like sub-stance called black phosphorus, which is being dubbed phosphorene in its few-layer form.

Just like graphene, phosphorus can form a flat sheet molecule, although up-close it is heavily corrugated while graphene is flat – the difference being a result of phosphorus’s three covalent bonds and carbon’s four.

“The three bonds take up all three va-lence electrons of phosphorus so, unlike graphene, monolayer black phosphorus is a semiconductor,” said the Chinese team in its paper Black Phosphorus Field-effect Transistors, published on Arxiv.org.

“For few-layer phosphorene, interlay-er interactions reduce the bandgap for each layer added, and eventually reach ~0.3eV for bulk black phosphorus.” In the bulk form, layers are held together

by Van der Waals – also like graphene. For research, flakes of both materials

can be removed from lumps of the raw material using sticky tape. The Chinese team, from Fudan University, Shanghai, and University of Science and Technol-ogy of China, Hefei, made back-gate transitors by putting flakes on an oxide-coated silicon wafer, then depositing metal source and drain contacts on the flake.

With a 5nm channel on a 7.5nm thick flake, an on/off current ratio of around 105 was measured. “The measured drain current modulation is four orders of magnitude larger than that in graphene due to its [graphene’s] lack of bandgap,” said the team in its paper. The maxi-mum ratio could be higher, but limita-tions in the wafer oxide layer prevented the transistors from being pushed into saturation.

Phosphorene has p-type tendencies.

Mobility was thickness-dependent, and hole mobility peaked around 1,000cm2/Vs on 10nm thick flakes.

The US team also found a direct bandgap, describing a mobility hole mobility of 286cm2/Vs and on/off ratio up to 104 from 1μm channel fets in a paper Phosphorene: A New 2D Material with High Carrier Mobility, also published on Arxiv.org.

Molybdenum disulphide also forms 2D structures with graphene-like, but n-type behaviour. As also described in its paper, the US team from Purdue Uni-versity and Michigan State University, went on to make a CMOS inverter from 2D materials – phosphorene for PMOS and MoS2 for NMOS transistors, using top-gate structures with Al2O3 high-k gate dielectric.

Electronics Weeklywwwelectronicsweekly.com/news

Manufacturer invests in kit for big boards

SOUTHERN MANUFACTURING

Wilson Process Systems will be at the Southern Manufacturing show next week to promote its large-format surface-mount manufacturing facilities for PCBs up to 3x1.3m.

With UK electronics manufacturing in recovery, WPS sales director Nick Jones said the company has invested in more production equipment in the past year to be in a position to offer new customers “a professional, flexible and competitive alternative to off-shore manufacturing”.

The company’s upgraded surface-mount line can manufacture boards for any application, including the growing opportunity in retail displays, LED light-ing and digital signage. It can make long boards fully automatically, including the critical screen printing stage.

Wilson Process Systemswww.wps.co.uk

Actuators and sensors are getting smarter.

PLCs are being embedded in the machines

they control. And all of these devices are

being networked and secured.

See how we’re putting integration to work:

Across the factory floor,

equipment is becoming

more integrated.

© 2014 Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. All rights reserved. The Maxim Integrated logo is a trademark or registered

trademark of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions throughout the world.

Analog integration is transforming the way factories work

INTEGRATED FACTORIES

www.maximintegrated.com/Factories

Hall 4A, Stand 128



Microchip has announced the introduction of a power-monitoring chip that can measure to 0.1% accuracy across a 4,000:1 dynamic range.

Intended for single-phase power measurement, it includes two 24-bit delta-sigma ADCs, a 16-bit calculation engine, EEPROM, a voltage reference, and a two-wire interface.

Called MCP39F501, SINAD performance is 94.5dB on each channel.

“The power-monitoring IC allows designers to add power monitoring to their applications with minimal firmware development,” said Microchip.

“Built-in calculations include active, reactive and apparent power, RMS current and RMS voltage, line frequency, power factor, as well as programmable event notifications,” the company said.

Only passive components are

Power monitor chip connects to mainsPOWER

University of SurreyShort Courses in Electronics and Communications

Microwave Systems and Circuit Design: 24-28 February 2014In this course, a hands-on introduction is given to the essential principles of radio frequency (RF) and microwave engineering, giving particular attention to printed circuits and guided wave transmission. To supplement the theory lectures, there will be invited presentations from industry that will put the theory into the context of current industrial practice. Furthermore practical and simulation based laboratory sessions are included in the course for a hands-on learning experience. The topics covered will include:

• Printed transmission lines and waveguides and passive microwave devices• Microwave amplifiers, antennas and diode circuits• Test and measurement• MCMs (Multichip Modules) and MMICs (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits)

Emerging Technologies in Mobile Communications: 17-21 March 2014The course is intended for new recruits of telecommunication and related industries with an engineering or any related science degree who will work in R&D, sales and, and technical support. There will be strong emphasis for industrial audiences on the concepts and industrial applications. A team of academic and industrial lecturers will present the foundations and the trend for widespread deployment of advanced concepts such as MIMO/OFDM systems, Cooperative Communications, Machine to Machine (M2M), Cognitive Radio, Advanced Air Interface techniques such as Femtocells.

Satellite Communications: 7-11 April 2014 RF Circuit and Systems Design: 1-5 July 2014Spacecraft Systems Design: 1-5 July 2014

Our courses have received Technical Sponsorship from the IET and many form part of our Modular MSc in Electronic Engineering via short courses.

The Department of Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey has been awarded the “ELEKTRA University Department of the Year” Prize.

Discounts are offered for IET and IEEE members. IET rate £1525 for Early Registration

Contact: Barbara Steel, CE ManagerTel: +44(0)1483 686040

Email: [email protected]: www.surrey.ac.uk/ee/pd

Foundry offers affordable route to silicon-on-insulator ICs

MIXED-SIGNAL

Analogue and mixed-signal IC foundry X-Fab is working with the Belgium-based research centre Imec to offer multi-project wafer runs through Imec’s Europractice IC service for X-Fab’s 0.18-micron silicon-on-insulator (SOI) HV process (XT018) and a junction-isolated HV process (XH018).

This makes available lower cost asic prototyping and small volume production runs for smaller start-up companies and universities, by fabricating multi-project wafers. It is a more cost-effective manufacturing process because different IC designs can be produced on a single wafer.

According to Rudi De Winter, CEO of X-Fab, there is growing demand among European start-ups and universities to integrate analogue, high voltage and memory elements into digital ICs.

“We believe that our collaboration with Imec offers new opportunities for semiconductor researchers and developers in Europe to continue to innovate in this field,” he said.

X-Fab’s XH018 process has a high-temperature, high-voltage (HV) and non-volatile memory capabilities including flash and NVRAM IP.

This modular mixed-signal high-voltage CMOS technology extends the operating temperature range of integrated circuits to +175°C, making it suitable for automotive and motor control applications for the voltage range required in industrial systems.

The XT018 process is a trench dielectric isolated SOI foundry process with 200V MOS capability at 180nm.

It can be used to fabricate IC designs which require multiple voltage domains integrated and isolated in one chip.

For example, the process will be useful for medical ultrasound applications and for applications that require bidirectional isolation, such as piezo actuators and capacitive-driven micromechanics.

Europractice ICwww.europractice-ic.com

required in the mains-to-chip interface (see Figure 1).

Smart power meters are the obvious application for the technology, but Microchip is also aiming at products which report their own power consumption, for example: servers, networking PSUs, lighting, heating, industrial equipment, consumer appliances, and smart plugs that add power-monitoring to dumb appliances.

Operating temperature is -40°C to +125°C, extended at the high end to allow operation in industrial machinery, and it comes in a x5mm QFN.

The chip is available now, and a demo board (ARD00455) will be available in mid-February.

Microchipwww.microchip.com

Figure 1: The mains

to chip interface

uses only passive

components



SERIOUSABOUT ELECTRONICS

www.rapidonline.com

StrongVolt has raised $52,000 on the Kickstarter crowd-funding site for its iPhone and iPad solar charger. It consists of multiple panels which fold up into a “pocket-sized” format.

Dubbed SmartCharger, it uses patent-pending technology developed by the start-up which allows the solar charger to automatically reconnects after pass-ing under clouds or shade and is specifi-cally designed for iPhone compatibility.

There are different power versions of the charger ranging from 3W to 18W. The 18W version (28.5x12.5x0.2-inch) charges an iPhone in one and a half hours and the 5W version (15.4x7x0.2-inch) will charges one in three and a half hours, according to StrongVolt.

“Apple iDevices such as iPods,

iPhones and iPads are notorious for not working with existing solar chargers because they require a constant and stable power source,” claimed Strong-Volt. “The SunTrack technology was specifically developed to eliminate the “charger not supported” issue plaguing these devices,” said the start-up.

The charger can also be used with Android and Windows smartphones and Kindle e-readers. Folded dimen-sions range from 7x3.9x1.1-inch to 7.2x7.5x2.6-inch.

Stronvolt said its breakthrough dem-onstration took place on an overcast day in China in November when it tested the latest version of its chip.

Kickstarterwww.kickstarter.com

Energy harvesting and the IoTCOMMENT

The internet-of-things (IoT) is a broad term referring to applications as diverse as internet-connected vehicles to consumer electronics, writes Raghu Das.

The edge of the IoT network will consist of simple sensors and wireless devices that identify objects and pro-vide, sensing, control and automation.

The simplest, passive RF devices, with a relatively short range, will potentially be the most needed, and come in at the lowest price-points. Adding power to these devices enables more functional-ity, such as sensing, mesh networking and automated control.

The return on investment (RoI)of wireless sensors in some applications is dependent in part on the lifetime of the device, which is usually a function of the battery lifetime. A device lasting 10 years versus one that lasts only two has a dramatic effect on the RoI calculation, particularly if the sensors are embedded in devices, which adds significant labour cost for battery replenishment.

This is where energy harvesters can

help, although there are several chal-lenges in moving these to market. The first is that some buyers choose on cost for the short term. The cost of a primary battery is less than that of an energy harvester and associated interfac-ing electronics, and buyers may be influenced by low up-front cost without taking into account the long-term costs.

Longer-lasting batteries are also

available, particularly as the energy requirements of circuitry falls, although they usually command a premium price.

So what is needed? Lack of end user knowledge about the capabilities of

energy harvesting technologies and cost over time have to be addressed. There is a need for clear case studies of energy harvesting powered wireless sensors, showing payback versus other systems.

End users are more likely to adopt the technology if it is proven rather than argued in a Powerpoint presentation.

The publicity about the IoT will help to win recognition for how wireless sen-sors can add value. Forming part of the fabric of the IoT they will increasingly be powered by energy harvesting.

IDTechEx sees the energy harvesting market by component reaching $596m in 2018, up from $163m in 2014.

Raghu Das is CEO, IDTechEx

Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe conference will be hosted by IDTechEx in Berlin on 1 and 2 April.

IDTechExwww.idtechex.com

Solar iPhone charger watches the skies

CONSUMER

Figure 1: The adoption

of small scale energy

harvesting across all

applications by value of

the energy harvesting

component



David Davies, managing director of Axiom Manufacturing Services, tells Electronics Weekly that growth starts at home for contract electronics manufacturers.

Are you feeling positive about prospects for the manufacturing sector? At this early stage, signs for UK industry are undoubtedly positive, with the man-ufacturing organisation EEF announcing the results of its most recent survey, which predicts Britain’s manufactur-ing sector will grow faster than the UK economy on the whole.

It also stated that our industry could expect a growth of 2.7% over the UK’s expected 2.4% – all in all a positive message.

It is particularly encouraging for small to medium-sized enterprises, which have seized the opportunity the past five years has provided to streamline, focus on their skill base, ensure that costs are manageable and supply chains are as lean and agile as possible.

The trick is to capitalise on high-value IPINTERVIEW

�BeagleBone robotic projects: Anything to do with BeagleBone catches

my interest, so I’m happy to flag this one – a new

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Masters: BeagleBone Robotic Projects,

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primer on programming the BeagleBone Black. It will cost £14.99 as an e-book, and £27.99 for the print version plus the eBook plus PacktLib access. www.electronicsweekly.com/gadget-master

�Plastic heatsink in Hella LED spotlight: LED Automotive lighting firm Hella is using plastic heatsinks in a range of work-lights for agricultural use. “Thermally conductive plastics are used in place of aluminium heat sinks. A key advantage over aluminium is their corrosion resistance, and the products are also lighter,” said the firm, which is also using glass fibre reinforced plastic bracket in the lights. The lights are: ‘Ultra Beam LED’, Module 50 LED (50mm) and Module 90 LED (90mm). “Even in their smallest versions, they can achieve light outputs comparable with or better than xenon technology,” claimed the firm.www.electronicsweekly.com/led-luminaries

�Cambridge Science Festival celebrates 20th year: The Cambridge Science Festival, which is supported by Cambridge University, will run from Monday 10 to Sunday 23 March and is celebrating its 20th appearance. Those taking part include: Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal; professor Michael Green, recent winner of the Fundamental Physics Prize; professor Tony Purnell, head of technology for British cycling and professor Molly Stevens, named among The Times list of the top 10 scientists under the age of 40. The festival will explore questions such as What’s new in space? Why do coincidences happen? and Can science make cyclists go faster? Talking science: what next? brings together academics professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz and professor Sir Walter Bodmer, to discuss what’s next for science and society.www.electronicsweekly.com/university-electronics

THIS WEEK ONLINEwww.electronicsweekly.com/blogs

Entering 2014, it became appar-ent that the companies that worked tirelessly over the past 36 months investing time in streamlining their businesses are already reaping the rewards as the UK and global economy progresses in its recovery.

For those that still have work to do, now is one of the most opportune moments to invest in the electronics manufacturing sector, especially with UK interest rates at an all-time low and inflationary pressures receding.

Can UK manufacturers be globally competitive? While the outlook for the next year is encouraging, members of the UK elec-tronics industry should still be cautious.

British CEMs must recognise the need to focus on the basics and realise that

while the year ahead looks promising, we cannot afford to repeat

past mistakes. Importantly, we

need to accept that while maintain-ing and creating relationships in foreign markets is

important, we can-not risk overextending

ourselves by creating footprints abroad.

Let’s be realistic: lower intellec-tual property (IP) high volume orders should be left to the large-scale foreign contract manufacturers.

In the UK, a CEM should be focusing on partnering with UK OEMs specialis-ing in high value IP and low-medium orders.

Which sectors should manufacturers look to target in 2014? While the defence market could be considered a little slow presently, in-vestments are picking up and there are

noticeable increases in the aerospace and medical markets.

When it comes to the defence sector, necessity is the mother of invention as they say, and those inventions will continue to make a real impact on 2014 commercial markets, none more so than the UK market’s adoption of crypto-graphic technology.

In my opinion the medical sector is one of the UK’s strongest sectors for growth and new product development.

UK medical OEMs are generating excellent intellectual property (IP), how-ever converting this into important new products is reliant on funding for medi-cal start-ups and overcoming certain regulatory hurdles.

For example, the home diagnostics market has the potential to be mas-sively lucrative, yet it can only exist once OEMs get the government green light and CEMs can only work with them if the funding is in place.

Axiom Manufacturing Serviceswww.axiom-ms.com

David Davies tells Electronics Weekly what makes him think that 2014 could be a growth year for manufacturers

�What is your work worth? Take part in our Salary Survey: People would expect those working at the cutting edge with Android to be well rewarded. Is this the case? We want to find out. We last ran an industry salary survey in 2011, and it is now time for another. We will be looking at remunerations in the wider sense, considering work benefits as well as pay, and will break the results down by geography and by industry sector. Help us to gauge current salary levels in the industry by taking part – the more people who enter the clearer the picture we can draw! It will be quite brief and should only take five minutes to complete. We are pleased to be working in partnership with European Recruitment. www.electronicsweekly.com/eyes-on-andropid

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www.electronicsweekly.com/BLOGS

The drive towards manufacturing semiconductors on 450mm wafers is not as unified as it was because the motivations of the three main protagonists have altered.

Back in the summer of 2012, Intel, Samsung and TSMC invested in chip-making tool firm ASML to fund the de-velopment of 450mm wafer processing.

Samsung bought a 3% stake in ASML for €503m with a commitment to put up €276m for ASML’s R&D programmes.

Intel paid $3bn for a 15% stake in ASML and said it would put another $1bn into the R&D projects, while TSMC paid €838m for a 5% stake and another €276m for the R&D projects.

Intel also paid money to Nikon for it to develop a 450mm lithography machine.

Then, before Christmas, Paul van Gerven wrote on Bits&Chips that ASML’s effort to develop 450mm has been ‘reduced’. Samsung, TSMC and Intel have not pulled out of funding 450mm, but van Gerven speculated that the

450mm: Who? When? Why?MANNERISMS

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A good year for chips…

Analyst Future Horizons has come up with an 8% forecast for the semicon-ductor market this year. “Our forecast is for 8% semiconductor market growth in 2014,” said Malcolm Penn, CEO of Future Horizons at IFS2014 in London earlier this week, adding “if the econo-my continues to improve, the room for upside potential is huge.”

Since the economy is expected to improve, according to Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, who raised the IMF worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 3.7% last month, then this could be a very good year for chips.

Penn said that the downside risk to the 8% forecast was 4% and the upside potential is 14%. “The balance of probabilities favours a sustained semi-conductor market recovery,” he said. “Confidence should start to improve by the mid-year. For 2015 there’s an 18% potential growth if the current recovery trends sustain. It could be even higher.”

That trusty industry bellwether, the pure-play foundry industry, is forecast by IC Insights to grow 14% this year. For the market as a whole, IC Insights is forecasting 7% growth.

AT&T’s expected bid to take over Vodafone will not now happen after AT&Ts CEO, Randall Stephenson, met European Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes at this year’s meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January.

“At the request of the UK takeover panel, AT&T confirms that it does not

intend to make an offer for Vodafone,” said AT&T in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Vodafone had been seen as a takeover target after it sold its stake in US operator Verizon for £130bn.

It is believed that Kroes pointed out regulatory issues which would be triggered by a bid.

The Verizon share sale deal is due to complete on 21 February, and Vodafone’s shareholders are preparing to receive a £54bn cash hand-out.

AT&T has been rumoured to be seeking to expand in Europe and is said to have done a lot of work preparing for the bid for Vodafone.

It now cannot make another bid for Vodafone for six months unless expressly invited to by the Vodafone board.

AT&T may now set its sights on UK digital communications company EE.www.electronicsweekly.com/mannerisms

Neelie Kroes saves Vodafone from AT&T bid

programme may have slowed because of an intervention by them.

The intervention could be a result of a disagreement between them, because van Gerven said that although the goal of having a machine by 2015-16 for 450m wafer production in 2018 is achievable so far as ASML is concerned. Nonetheless it will be delayed unless the three backers green-light it.

The problem for the companies is that they don’t want to enable the competition. They used not to be in competition but, with Intel and Sam-

sung increasingly entering the foundry business, they now are.

“Everyone used to have their own turf. Intel – processors; Samsung – memories; TSMC – foundry. Now it’s all blurring and everyone is getting to eat each others’ lunch,” said semiconductor industry analyst Malcolm Penn.

The industry is in an unprecedentedly fragmented state at the moment with no consensus on the way forward. For 50 years the direction has been obvious – shrinking.

Now it’s not.

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Despite recent surveys reporting small growth in its manufacturing industry, China is seeing continued speculation about its future as the low-cost manu-facturer of choice.

Rising wages and shrinking export demand are forcing some manufactur-ers currently located in the region to reconsider their plans. Despite govern-ment intervention, the outlook for demand in manufacturing in China still looks gloomy. Its competitive edge in its traditional low labour cost is being eroded, and reverse offshoring is looking more likely.

As China’s labour costs have surged by 15%-20% annually, squeezd margins have driven some firms to bankruptcy. According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, between January and September 2012 the mini-mum wage level rose, on average, by 20% in 16 provinces. In Shenzhen it now stands at 1,500 Yuan ($238) per month, the highest standard level for the whole of Chinese mainland.

In contrast, many developing countries in Southeast Asia have much lower labour costs than many of the developed industrial areas of China. For example, the average monthly wage for manufacturing jobs in Vietnam was 600 Yuan in 2011, equivalent to the level in Shenzhen 10 years ago.

So where will manufacturers move to? Favoured destinations are usually members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. This trend is likely to continue in industries with more traditional labour-intensive manufacturing processes.

Some ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, have extended preferential policies in land use and utilities to at-tract foreign investment, including that from China. Many garment and textile companies have moved to Southeast Asia. Others are known to be consider-ing Cambodia, where labour costs are about a quarter of those in the Pearl River Delta area of China.

And major multinational corpora-

Is China’s appeal fading?Steven Healings considers China’s future status as the low-cost manufacturing location of choice

MANUFACTURING

tions in China are also strategically relocating. Partly because of rising costs, foreign direct investment in China has suffered in recent months. According to a survey by the Capital Business Credit, a US-based financial consultancy firm, 40% of major companies interviewed said they have plans to move factories from China to other locations, including Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

In the technology sector, how will this play out over the next decade, as this trend starts to extend in to the high-tech sector? Rather than moving outside of China many companies are moving operations from coastal regions to central and western areas. Samsung has announced that its largest overseas investment deal in 2012 will be located in Xi’an, a city in Northwest China.

The world’s largest technology manufacturer, Foxconn – the Taiwanese electronics manufactuer that builds most of Apple’s product range as well as supplying major brands including Acer,

Cisco, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Microsoft – is rumoured to be consider-ing investing up to $10bn in Indonesia over the next five to 10 years. .

Although it has plants in the US, Europe, Japan, China, India, Malay-sia, Brazil and Mexico it appears that Foxconn sees Indonesia as the next key investment area. However, lower costs in other countries could change, as the advantage of labour and production costs seen now in other Southeast Asian countries may only last for a few years.

The trend to move to Central and Western China along with other ASEAN countries may repeat what happened 10 years ago when many manufacturing industries in western countries, Hong Kong and Taiwan moved to the Pearl River Delta to chase cheap labour.

Steven Healings is supply chain director for Exception EMS

Exception EMSwww.exceptiongroup.com



Electronics manufacturing in the UK continues to flourish, though it does not conform to the stereotypical manufacturing model of endless rows of standard products on a line. The UK’s electronics manufacturing is much more likely to involve a variety of high-mix products delivered in low volumes. This is particularly true in industries such as defence, security and aerospace, or healthcare and life sciences.

Companies operating in these in-dustries face particular challenges that require highly complex manufacturing processes with strict regulatory compli-ance standards. The question is what is it that makes companies in these sectors choose to keep production in the UK, specifically with an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) partner?

For some, the obvious answer would be that if it is close to home then it is easier to keep an eye on production, but that is not always the primary strategic driver for this decision.

Close geographic proximity to their end markets often provides OEMs with the lowest total cost of ownership. They can both react more quickly to local customer demand, due to the shortened supply chain or logistics routes, and they may also be able to reduce inven-tory and, therefore, working capital.

Another trend is the requirement to provide customised or configured

High-mixers choose the UKThe UK’s high-mix, low-volume manufacturing businesses are flourishing, so why do companies keep production in the UK? Ensuring designs are efficiently manufactured is crucial, writes Ronnie Darroch

MANUFACTURING

goods and ship them to the OEMs or even to the OEMs’ end customers. This ‘configure to order’ model adds further complexity to the manufacturing pro-cess. Each unit is customised to meet the customer’s exact specifications, and the manufacturer can even supply the product direct to the end customer.

Providing this direct order fulfilment service can both minimise costs to the OEM and speed up delivery to the cus-tomer. Experienced manufacturing part-ners in the UK have the skills to fulfil this requirement, providing a further reason for manufacturing closer to home.

In the high-mix environment there is a move towards working with the partner that is manufacturing and fulfilling the product for design and commercialisation services. Effectively partnering with one provider for multi-ple stages of the product realisation can provide substantial benefits for OEMs, such as reducing the time to market and improving yields in the manufacturing process, ultimately delivering the lowest total cost solution.

This is particularly relevant given the nature of high-mix products, which often have long lifecycles and face strin-gent regulatory requirements. When products are properly designed with optimal performance and ease of manu-facturability in mind, hugely expensive change orders are reduced.

Access to rapid prototyping during the product development process is another essential piece of the jigsaw, and can enable the swift identification of potential problems with the design or manufacture of the product.

Using a UK-based prototyping facility will give a company direct access to engineers, operators and technicians that they may not have in-house. Close proximity to the design team is critical to reducing the design cycle time. The prototyping team will manufacture the product using flexible equipment, aim-ing to deliver the product quickly with zero manufacturing defects.

In addition the EMS partner should be able to provide the OEM with a post-build build report that identifies potential improvements in the design, including changes in the PCB design that would improve yields and and cut costs during volume manufacturing. Working with a partner that offers integrated design, prototyping and manufacturing services will smooth this process still further.

The latest technology to be intro-duced into the development process is 3D printing, which has a growing role to play in the prototyping process. It will become part of the rapid prototyping process for high-mix products.

These are the areas of expertise that keeps manufacturing in the UK as a strong part of the economy. The move towards high-mix and low-volume has reinvigorated the industry and opened up new opportunities for companies in the electronics manufacturing business.

There will always be a need for high volume, low-mix production to be undertaken off-shore, but the wealth of knowledge and excellence in the UK is what is keeping the production of high-mix products close to home.

Ronnie Darroch is regional president in EMEA for Plexus

Plexuswww.plexus.com


Harwin’s Gecko connectors will be used on CubeSat miniature satellites being designed by Surrey Space Centre as part of the international QB50 programme led by the von Karman Institute, Belgium.

The QB50 programme will study in situ the temporal and spatial variations of a number of parameters in the lower thermosphere using a network of about 40 double CubeSats Carrying identical sensors.

The size of the CubeSats, just 10x10x20cm and weighing only 2kg, has dictated the use of miniature connec-tors which can withstand the extreme conditions of shock, vibration and tem-perature likely to be experienced.

Harwin’s Elektra Award-winning low-

Connectors to go into space Hexane-free flux remover is clean

SOUTHERN MANUFACTURING & ELECTRONICS 2014, FIVE, FARNBOROUGH: 12-13 FEBRUARY

profile Gecko connectors have 1.25mm pin spacing and are rated to handle 2A per contact. They can operate between -65°C and +150°C and under extreme

vibration (Z axis 100g 6m/s).

Harwinwww.harwin.com

Electrolube has developed a hexane-free flux remover for use during PCB manufacture.

To be demonstrated at the Southern Electronics exhibition, HFFR is a fast-drying cleaning solvent that eliminates the use of the hazardous material n-Hexane.

Manufacturers may use ‘no clean’ processes, in which the solids content of the flux is lower than traditional types.According to Electrolube, however, they can still contain rosin and activator which are not removed before the next process, such as coating or encapsula-tion of the PCB.

Electrolubewww.electrolube.com

�www.electronicsweekly.com/social | 5-11 February 2014 | 15


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Battery enclosure range can rule out risk of short circuit

ENCLOSURES

Small volume manufacturing can be profitable, says mixed-signal firm

Swindon Silicon Systems believes there are many designs that are successfully under-taken for smaller volume product markets. “An example of this is the mixed-signal asic for industrial controllers,” said Carl Hudson, business development manager at Swindon Silicon Systems.

Typically a system which monitors and reacts to a defi ned set of perfor-mance parameters incorporates some sort of feedback loop which the control system will act upon.

“It is in the measurement and sensing part of the system that the mixed-signal asic has become prevalent as tighter

constraints and less hysteresis be-comes desirable. Input signals

can be anything from positional information to temperature, pressure and gas detection,” said Hudson.

So even with low annual volumes, due to

the extended lifetime of asic developments, the lifetime product

volumes are often the business driver. “The additional benefi ts of optimised performance, obsolescence and IP pro-tection make this route very attractive,” added Hudson.

Swindon Silicon Systemswww.swindonsilicon.co.uk

OKW’s plastic enclo-sures for handhelds, designated the Blob series, is designed to accept coin cell bat-teries such as CR1216 and CR1220.

Other battery compartment designs available include the SMART-CASE series, which has an integral battery compartment where the batteries are located inside the base section and access to them is by opening the enclosure itself.

The Datec-Mobile series has a separate lidded battery compartment

which is moulded into the base section and includes a clip-on lid which allows the batteries to be changed without opening the enclosure.

OKW offers a range of nickel-plated spring contacts for use in the bat-tery compartments. The latest contacts conform to DIN EN 60601 and have a modifi ed geometry which

rules out the possiblity of short circuit if the batteries are inserted incorrectly.

OKWwww.okw.co.uk



Craft Data will show on its stand the Kalypso kiosk printer from Axiohm. This two-inch industrial thermal printer measures 89x81x72mm (W,D,H).

It has a print width of 56mm, printing on either 58mm or 60mm paper and offers a high resolution of eight dots per mm or 203dpi, giving a print line of 448 dots.

The printer can be supplied as a 12VDC or 24VDC input device with the 24V version offering a print speed of 250mm/s, the 12V version offers a print speed of 150mm/s.

The kiosk printer has an integrated long life (1.5M cuts) auto-cutter/guillotine capable of both a full or partial cut and comes equipped with

Two-inch thermal kiosk printer

PCB relay for PV at altitude

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�Solder manufacturer DKL Metals has invited visitors to its stand at the exhibition to discuss soldering issues. DKL Metals is the UK and Ireland licensed manufacturer for Nihon Superior Co’s SN100C stabilised tin-copper-nickel+germanium eutectic lead-free alloy system. www.dklmetals.co.uk

�Phoenix Contact is offering a Profinet real-time switch with IP65/IP67 protection for creating fibre optic networks in the field. An integrated Profinet I/O device means the switch can be configured and monitored from the Profinet controller. The device has three polymer fibre ports which can be used to create interference-free fibre optic structures that can be diagnosed.www.phoenixcontact.com

�Eclipse Magnetics will present its range of standard and bespoke magnetic devices at the exhibition. The supplier uses 2D and 3D magnetic finite element analysis software to model magnetic products and assemblies.www.eclipse-magnetics.co.uk

�Pickering Electronics will show its latest 3V Reed relays. The series 100 has a coil resistance of 2,000Ω, the series 101 is 1,600Ω and the small series 118 is 1,000Ω. The relays are encapsulated using a soft inner material to greatly reduce physical stresses on the glass/metal seal of the reed switch capsule, where the hard compounds used by most manufacturers can cause stresses that can degrade contact resistance stability and life expectation.www.pickeringrelay.com

SEMINAR PROGRAMMESouthern Manufacturing & Southern Electronics 2014Electronics seminars sponsored by Electronics Weekly

Wednesday 12 February, Seminar Room 2

SESSION 13 9.45am: Selling to emerging markets, focusing on Russia, Middle East, China and Brazil; Sergey Putintsev, business development manager, TUV Rheinland UK.

SESSION 14 10.50am: Packaging regulations, are you handling it? Andy Fay, Kite Environmental Solutions.

SESSION 15 11.50am: Declarations of conformity; Nick Wainwright, CEO, York EMC Services.

SESSION 16 1.00pm: What makes good design, how to generate good ideas; Stefan Knox, Bang Creations.

SESSION 17 2.10pm: Best practice and world class manufacturing; David Kilroy & Ailsa Kaye, Manufacturing Insights.

SESSION 18 3.20pm: SC21 Case study; Jean-Louis Evans, MD, TÜV SÜD Product Service.

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SESSION 19 9.45am: What makes good design, how to generate good ideas; Stefan Knox, Bang Creations.

SESSION 20 11.00am: CE marking for consumer products and professional electronics; Mark Penton, retail laboratory manager, TÜV SÜD Product Service.

SESSION 21 12.15pm: Let’s sharpen your commercial negotiation skills; Stephen Ashcroft, Brian Farrington.

SESSION 22 1.30pm: To automate or not to automate that is the question; Peter Grundy, Altus Group.

SESSION 23 2.45pm: Demystifying patents and trade marks; Hugh Dunlop, partner at RGC Jenkins & Co.

To reserve a place at these free seminars go to the exhibition website at www.industrysouth.co.ukelectronicsweekly.com

C i f

both RS232 and USB2.0 interfaces providing a good level of flexibility to the system integrator.

Craft Datawww.craftdata.co.uk

Designed for applications where high current loads need to be switched but power is limited, Finder’s 67 series 50A PCB relay has peak current of 150A (5ms), providing two- and three-pole NO double break contacts.

Developed for inverters with DC inputs up to 1,500V and AC outputs up to 690V, and with a 3mm or 5.2mm contact gap according to VDE 0126-1-1, EN 62109-1 & 2 regulations, the relay is designed for solar energy equipment in remote locations and at high altitudes.

It is also suitable for use in photovol-taic inverters, battery-operated systems, domestic appliances and three-phase motor loads up to 7kW.

Findernetwww.findernet.com

SOUTHERN MANUFACTURING & ELECTRONICS 2014, FIVE, FARNBOROUGH: 12-13 FEBRUARY

www.electronicsweekly.com/PRODUCTS

Miniature photocouplers use high-output infrared LEDs

Toshiba Electronics has introduced two photocouplers housed in miniature SO6 and SO8 packages. TLP2361 and TLP2161 incorporate high-output GaAlAs (MQW) infrared light-emitting diodes and will operate from -40°C to 125°C.

“The LED’s high output and reliability enables low threshold input current of just 1.6mA (max), a reduction of 54% compared with equivalent products such as Toshiba’s TLP2366 and TLP2160,” said the supplier.

Supply current per channel is reduced to 1.0mA per channel.

The lower input current rating means that

the photocouplers can be driven directly by the microprocessor without requiring a buffer. The ICs operate over a power voltage range from 2.7v to 5.5V.

TLP2361 comes in a compact SO6 package with guaranteed clearance and creepage distance of min. 5mm, and with an insulation voltage of 3750Vrms. This is compliant with the reinforced insulation class of various safety standards.

TLP2161 combines two circuits into an S08 package, reducing mounting area by approximately 40%, compared with two TLP2361 units. Its insulation voltage is rated with min. 2500Vrms.www.toshiba-components.com

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Colour sensing chip is tiny

SENSORS

Intersil has announced a light-in digital-out colour photometric chip.

Called ISL29125, and measures only 1.65×1.65mm, it is intended to be used alongside displays, monitoring ambient light so the perceived display colour and intensity can be maintained.

“Specifically, in OLED display TV applications, it can be used to adjust the blue organic material ageing profile to maintain consistent contrast and brightness throughout the life of the display,” said the supplier.

Dynamic range is 5.7mlux to 10klux, in two ranges: 0.0057lux to 375lux, and 0.152lux to 10,000 lux, measured through an internal integrating 16-bit ADC operating at 100ms/colour.

Part-to-part variation of RGB output is said to be less than ±10%.

Intersilwww.intersil.com


www.electronicsweekly.com/PRODUCTS

Osram Oslon Compact infra-red Surveillance and machine vision are targets for a compact 500mA infrared LED from Osram.

In a 1.6×1.2×0.8mm package, the Oslon Compact SFH 4710 has a typical output of 270mW at hardly-visible 850nm wavelength.

Inside is a 0.75×0.75mm chip. “It is a welcome addition to the product portfolio of Osram Opto Semiconductors, occupying the output range between Power TopLED and Oslon Black,” said the firm, adding that it is half the footprint of Oslon

Mid-power infrared LEDLEDSTHIS WEEK

ONLINEwww.electronicsweekly.com/news

�A synchronous step-down controller from Exar supports point-of-load (POL) supplies up to 35A. The supplier said that transient response and output accuracy benefit from a proprietary emulated current mode constant on-time (COT) control loop. The XRP6141 is specified with an input voltage range of 4.5V to 22V and delivers an adjustable output voltage from 0.6V to 18V. www.electronicsweekly.com/products

�Euroquartz has a range of high temperature high shock oscillators which it says are capable of operating up to 200°C. The SQX02ATHG oscillators from Statek, which are housed in leaded through-hole TO39 packages, are available in frequencies from 32.768kHz to 50.0MHz, and offer high shock resistance up to 8,000g (5ms, ½sine). The 32.768kHz version offers low current operation (500μA at 25°C) and fast start up time of 0.8ms typical.www.electronicsweekly.com/products

� Farnell element14 has launched an embedded display module (EDM) that integrates an ARM-based single board computer with a 7-inch LCD and touch-screen assembly. The EDM6070AR-01, which is built around the ARM9 AT91SAM9X35 industrial processor from Atmel, is designed for HMI (human machine interface) applications including industrial control terminals, intelligent instruments, medical products, network terminals as well as data acquisition and analysis.www.electronicsweekly.com/products

Linear Technology’s latest dual output current-mode synchronous step-down DC-DC controller has the benefit of allowing the design to use low DC resistance (DCR) power inductors by using a DCR sensing architecture to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the current sense signal.www.electronicsweekly.com/products

Cable analyser has 40GHz range

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Black. Emission angle is ±65°. “Without external optics the IRED covers the near-field range of a few meters and is

therefore suitable for eye tracking and gesture detection,” said Osram.

“With external optics it is ideal for illumination in surveillance applications and for machine vision pattern recognition and 3D measurement because the

wavelength is barely perceptible to the human eye but can be easily detected by camera systems.”

Osram Oslon www.osram-os.com

TEST

Connector supports safe electrical grounding

CONNECTORS

Anritsu has introduced a handheld cable and antenna analyser with frequency coverage up to 40GHz. With a dynamic range of 110dB up to 40GHz, the Site Master S820E analyser has a frequency resolution of 1Hz.

The analyser has a sweep speed of 650μs/data points, improving field productivity. It also has RF immunity of +17dBm for use in harsh environments.

The analyser can be used for one-port measurements, such as return loss, VSWR, cable loss, DTF, phase, and Smith Chart. Users can also conduct two-port transmission measurements and two-port cable loss tests.

The instrument meets MIL-PRF-28800F for use in explosive atmos-pheres. It measures 273x199x91mm and weighs 3.0 kg. There are also full tem-perature coax calibration kits from -10° C to +55° C for field measurements.

Anritsuwww.anritsu.com

Harting has designed a connector which offers the safe grounding of electrical circuitry in portable units or for events where equipment is erected on a tem-porary basis.

The design of the Han GND connec-tor allows full potential equalisation to be implemented in a pluggable design.

The IP 65 plastic housing single-pole connector is designed for stranded wires from 10 mm² to 35 mm² cross-section, and is available in both crimp and axial screw termination.

The axial screw arrangement allows wires to be terminated to contacts with-out the need for special tooling.

Extra connector mating security can be provided by the use of additional locking elements that prevent uninten-tional interruption.

According to the supplier, the con-nector can be integrated into tempo-rary stage and truss constructions. An assembly with a pre-terminated crimp lug on the end of a length of cable and a Han GND connector on the other end would be suitable for linking with stand-ard fixtures and fittings such as ground spikes, rods or adjustable jubilee clips.

Hartingwww.harting.com

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Electronics Weekly 2

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Transcript of Electronics Weekly 2