System on a chip

WLAN chips are another example of a system fully integrated on a single chip (SoC).
1. The maximum output power to be delivered by the power amplifier still remains a critical issue for standard silicon.
2. Some other elements like the transmitter/receiver switch, the RF filters or the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) tank, may also be hard to implement in standard silicon technologies.
3. Noise isolation and technology fusion of analog/RF with digital and memory systems can be costly.

The advantages of SoC are good performance, small system size, and potentially low system cost.

Intellectual Property are designs purchased from a third-party as sub-components of a larger ASIC. They may be provided as an HDL description (often termed a "soft macro"), or as a fully routed design that could be printed directly onto an ASIC's mask (often termed a "hard macro").

The silicon wafers start out blank and pure. The circuits are built in layers in clean rooms. First, photoresist patterns are photo-masked in micrometer detail onto the wafers' surface. The wafers are then exposed to short-wave ultraviolet light and the unexposed areas are thus etched away and cleaned. Hot chemical vapors are deposited on to the desired zones and baked in high heat, which permeate the vapors into the desired zones. In some cases, ions, such as O2+ or O+, are implanted in precise patterns and at a specific depth by using RF-driven ion sources.

These steps are often repeated many hundreds of times, depending on the complexity of the desired circuit and its connections.

Wafer based ATEs typically use a device called wafer prober for testing integrated circuits.

Wafer-level packaging consists of extending the wafer fab processes to include device interconnection and device protection processes. Most other kinds of packaging do wafer dicing first, and then put the individual die in a plastic package and attach the solder bumps.

1. Wafer Level - Chip Scale Package (WL-CSP): The die may be mounted on an interposer upon which pads or balls are printed directly onto the silicon wafer, resulting in a package very close to the size of the silicon die: such a package is called a Wafer Level - Chip Scale Package (WL-CSP).
2. Wafer Level - Ball Grid Array (WL-BGA): The package is not realized on a silicon wafer as for classical Wafer Level Package, but on an artificial wafer. The electrical connections from the chip pads to the interconnects are realized in thin-film technology (like WL-CSP). With this technology any number of additional interconnects can be realized on the package in an arbitrary distance (fan-out design).

Reference:
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1202950
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_on_a_chip
http://opencores.org/
http://www.design-reuse.com/articles/20203/analog-ip-integration-soc.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_design_automation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wafer_fabrication
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvluuAIiA50
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wafer_testing

IEEE and Wi-Fi Alliance

>>> IEEE 802.11 standardizes WLAN technical specifications.
>>> The Wi-Fi Alliance creates certification programs for WLAN products.

Wi-Fi Direct (P2P) is a standard developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi Direct is not a standard created or maintained by the IEEE and as such there are no current plans to incorporate it into any IEEE standard.

Wi-Fi certification program formulation procedure:
1. Marketing TG (MTG) is established.
2. In the MTG, a Statement of Work (SoW) and a Marketing Requirements Document (MRD) are created.
3. Technical TG (TTG) is established and a Wi-Fi test plan is developed for the Wi-Fi certification.
4. Plugfest is held by member companies for testbed development, device selection, and connectivity verification.
5. Wi-Fi Certification, without waiting for the completion of IEEE 802.11 standards.

Reference:
https://www.ntt-review.jp/archive/ntttechnical.php?contents=ntr201004gls.html
http://networkengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/9675/does-ieee-802-11ac-imply-wi-fi-direct-compatibility

Fine Timing Measurement

distance = c * [ (t4-t1) – (t3-t2) ]
where “c” is speed of the light.


Reference:
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/13/11-13-0995-01-00ak-802-1as-synchronization-services-for-802-11ak-links.pptx
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/13/11-13-1178-00-000m-resolution-for-draft-1-0-lb-cid-s-cids-1424-1671-1418.docx

solar cell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell
A solar cell (also called a photovoltaic cell) is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoelectric_effect
Electrons can absorb energy from photons. If the photon energy is absorbed, some of the energy liberates the electron from the atom, and the rest contributes to the electron's kinetic energy as a free particle.

Interesting…

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/175377-carbon-nanotubes-harvest-the-suns-energy-as-heat-for-better-solar-cells
The key to this new technology is taking all the wavelengths of light that silicon can’t absorb, and converting them to something it can absorb.
Unlike a regular solar cell, this process doesn’t immediately result in electricity generation. Instead, the absorber material heats up in response to the light and directs that heat energy into the photonic crystal layer.
This technology comes with the added benefit of being able to store the absorbed light as thermal energy for on-demand power generation when the sun isn’t shining.

Cool… right???

Stingray, the fake cell phone tower cops use to track you

Reference:
http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/184597-stingray-the-fake-cell-phone-tower-cops-and-providers-use-to-track-your-every-move

IR Blaster - 2

Reference:
http://www.power7.net/HTCIR.html
http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/codes
http://www.remotecentral.com/features/irdisp1.htm

An insight to semiconductor business

An original equipment manufacturer manufactures products or components that are purchased by another company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product.

Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. It outsources all semiconductor manufacturing to Asian merchant foundries, such as GlobalFoundries, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Silterra, TSMC, and United Microelectronics Corporation.

The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2011 were: Qualcomm, Broadcom, AMD, Nvidia and Marvell.

Fabless manufacturing is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing the fabrication of the devices to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry.

Pure-play semiconductor foundry is a company that does not offer a significant amount of IC products of its own design, but instead operates semiconductor fabrication plants focused on producing ICs for other companies. Some of the top leaders in this segment are: TSMC, Globalfoundries, UMC, SMIC, PowerChip, Vanguard (VIS), Huahong Grace, Dongbu, TowerJazz, Win Semiconductors etc. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is world's first dedicated merchant foundry.

An integrated device manufacturer (IDM) is a semiconductor company which designs, manufactures, and sells integrated circuit (IC) products. Integrated device manufacturer (IDM) semiconductor foundry is where companies such as Texas Instruments, IBM, and Samsung join in to provide foundry services as long as there is no conflict of interest between relevant parties. Some of the top leaders in this segment are: Samsung Semiconductor, IBM, MagnaChip etc.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_equipment_manufacturer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabless_manufacturing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcom
http://www.umc.com/English/class_300/c.asp

IR blaster

An infrared blaster (or IR blaster) is a device that emulates an infrared remote control to autonomously control a device that is normally controlled only by remote control key presses.

I'm the type of television viewer that constantly has his smartphone or tablet in hand while watching shows, so having quick access to remote control functions is great.

While the infrared port has been missing from phones' spec sheets for a good five years or more, it seems to be a "must have" feature for high-end Android devices in 2013. Flagship devices from Samsung and HTC now include transmitters and apps that let you control your TV.


Reference:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/24/4262074/is-this-the-year-of-the-ir-blaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_blaster
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=remote.control.samsung
http://mobilefomo.com/2014/01/mixing-mobile-tv-super-bowl/
http://www.thinktv.co.nz/insights/research/digital-device-usage-and-television-viewing-habits/

skbuff

Reference:
http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/skb_data.html
http://www.skbuff.net/skbbasic.html

Area Conversions

SL No	M^2	Cent	ft^2
1	1	0.0247	10.7639
2	122	3.0147	1,313.1976
3	83	2.0510	893.4049

Reference:
http://www.keralalandmart.com/land_conversion.htm
http://converters360.com/area/square-meters.htm