February 1998 v.49 n.1

Cover: A reflective look at communications appliances used in the past contrasted with those used today

New Directions, by Steve Beitler, pg 2-3

Wireless Communications: A Spectrum of Opportunities. The tremendous growth in the consumer market for wireless communications products, such as celluar and cordless telephone, has created a parallel growth in research and development for higher-performance components for these products, by William J. McFarland, pg 6-9

[Author:] William J. McFarland, pg 6

The IrDA Standards for High-Speed Infrared Communications. As more data communications products, such as printers and laptop PCs, are released with infrared capability, support for a core set of IrDA standards has strong support from many manufacturers because, among other things, they want to ensure that their products will interoperate in a transparent and user-friendly manner, by Iain Millar, Martin Beale, Bryan J. Donoghue, Kirk W. Lindstrom, Stuart Williams, pg 10-25

Glossary, pg 11

[Authors:] Iain Millar, Kirk L. Lindstrom, Martin Beale, Stuart Williams, Bryan J. Donoghue, pg 26

RF Technology Trade-offs for Wireless Data Applications. Rapidly evolving wireless system standards and applications are placing demands on RF semiconductor manufacturers to produce highly specific and optimized RFIC solutions for specific growth segments including wireless data terminals, by Kevin J. Negus, Bryan T. Ingram, John D. Waters, and William J. McFarland, pg 27-36

[Authors:] Kevin J. Negus, Bryan T. Ingram, John D. Waters, pg 36

0.1-mm Gate-Length AlInAs/GaInAs/GaAs MODFET MMIC Process for Applications in High-Speed Wireless Communications. To ensure high performance of MODFETs used in HP’s high-speed communications applications, their high-frequency signal, noise, and power characteristics must be optimized, by Hans Rohdin, Avelina Nagy, Virginia Robbins, Chung-Yi Su, Arlene S. Wakita, Judith Seeger, Tony Hwang, Patrick Chye, Paul E. Gregory, Sandeep R. Bahl, Forrest G. Kellert, Lawrence G. Studebaker, Donald C. D’Avanzo, Sigurd Johnsen, pg 37-38. This complete article can be found at: http://www.hp.com/hpj/98feb/feb98a4.htm [sic; url no longer functions].

An Enhancement-Mode PHEMT for Single-Supply Power Amplifiers. To address the growing handset power amplifier needs for the emerging Personal Communications Services (PCS) markets, a 3-volt, single-supply, enhancement-mode pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (E-PHEMT) has been developed. The device exhibits +33-dBm output power and 65% drain efficiency at 1.88 GHz, by Der-Woei Wu, John S. Wei, Chung-Yi Su, Ray M. Parkhurst, Shyh-Liang Fu, Shih-Shun Chang, Richard B. Levitsky, pg 39-51

[Authors:] Der-Woei [Dave] Wu, Ray M. Parkhurst, Shyh-Liang Fu, John S. Wei, Shih-Shun [Mark] Chang, Chung-Yi Su, Richard [Rich] B. Levitsky, pg 51

Direct Broadcast Satellite Applications. One of the main reasons for the popularity of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service is the small size of the parabolic dish antenna. The key to the small-size dish is a low-noise GaAs transistor used in the low-noise block of the DBS receiver system. One of HP’s efforts in this area has been to develop an AllnAs/GaInAs device fabricated on a conventional GaAs substrate that has a lower noise figure, higher gain, and lower cost, by Shunichiro Yajima, Antoni C. Niedzwiecki, pg 52-55

[Authors:] Shunichiro [Shun] Yajima, Antoni [Tony] C. Niedzwiecki, pg 52

Packaging, pg 55

Pager Testing with a Specially Equipped Signal Generator. This paper reviews current trends in the paging industry, describes typical pager designs, presents the test requirements of modern pagers, and discusses the contribution to pager testing of the HP 8648A signal generator with Option 1EP, the paper signaling option, by Matthew W. Bellis, pg 56-65

[Author:] Matthew [Matt] W. Bellis, pg 56

HP CaLan: A Cable System Tester that is Accurate Even in the Presence of Ingress. Today, cable system operators have to deal with bidirectional traffic from sources such as pay-per-view television, high-speed Internet access, and two-way telephony. A cable testing system is described that can handle bidirectional traffic even with RF noise (ingress) on the return path, by Daniel D. Van Winkle, pg 66-83

[Author:] Daniel [Dan] D. Van Winkle, pg 66

Glossary, pg 68

May 1998 v.49 n.2

Cover: Examples of 3D graphics images that can be rendered with HP workstations using the VISUALIZE fx graphics hardware.

Highlights, by C. L. Leath, pg 2-3

An API for Interfacing Interactive 3D Applications to High-Speed Graphics Hardware. The OpenGLÒ specification defines a software interface that can be implemented on a wide range of graphics devices ranging from simple frame buffers to fully hardware-accelerated geometry processors, by Kevin T. Lefebvre, John M. Brown, pg 6-8

[Authors:]  Kevin T. Lefebvre, John M. Brown, pg 6

The Fast-Break Program, pg 8

An Overview of the HP OpenGLÒ Software Architecture. OpenGL is a hardware-independent specification of a 3D graphics programming interface. This specification has been implemented on many different vendors’ platforms with different CPU types and graphics hardware, ranging from PC-based board solutions to high-performance workstations, by Kevin J. Lefebvre, Robert J. Casey, Michael J. Phelps, Courtney D. Goeltzenleuchter, Donley B. Hoffman, pg 9-18

[Authors:] Michael J. Phelps, Courtney D. Goeltzenleuchter, Donley B. Hoffman, pg 18

The DirectModel Toolkit: Meeting the 3D Graphics Needs of Technical Applications. The increasing use of 3D modeling for highly complex mechanical designs has led to a demand for systems that can provide smooth interactivity with 3D models containing millions or even billions of polygons, by Brian E. Cripe, Thomas A. Gaskins, pg 19-27

[Authors:] Brian E. Cripe, Thomas A. Gaskins, pg 19

Fahrenheit, pg 21

An Overview of the VISUALIZE fx Graphics Accelerator Hardware. Three graphics accelerator products with different levels of performance are based on varying combinations of five custom integrated circuits. In addition, these products are the first ones from Hewlett-Packard to provide native acceleration for the OpenGLÒ API, by Noel D. Scott, Daniel M. Olsen, Ethan W. Gannett, pg 28-34

Occlusion Culling, pg 30

Fast Virtual Texturing, pg 32-33

[Authors:] Noel D. Scott, Daniel M. Olsen, Ethan W. Gannett, pg 34

HP Kayak: A PC Workstation with Advanced Graphics Performance. World-leading 3D graphics performance, normally only found in a UNIXÒ workstation, is provided in a PC workstation platform running the Windows NTÒ operating system. This system was put together with a time to market of less than one year from project initiation to shipment, by Ross A. Cunniff, pg 35-40. VISUALIZE.

[Author:] Ross A. Cunniff, pg 35

Concurrent Engineering in OpenGLÒ Product Development. Time to market was reduced when tasks that had been traditionally serialized were completed in parallel, by Robert J. Casey, L. Leonard Lindstone, pg 41-45

[Authors:] Robert J. Casey, L. Leonard Lindstone, pg 41

Advance Display Technologies on HP-UX Workstations. Multiple monitors can be configured as a contiguous viewing space to provide more screen space so that users can see most, if not all, of their applications without any special window manipulations, by Todd M. Spencer, Paul M. Anderson, David Sweetser, pg 46-49

[Authors:] Todd M. Spencer, Paul M. Anderson, David J. Sweetser, pg 50

Delivering PCI in HP B-Class and C-Class Workstations: A Case Study in the Challenges of Interfacing with Industry Standards. In the highly competitive workstation market, customers demand a wide range of cost-effective, high-performance I/O solutions. An industry-standard I/O subsystem allows HP workstations to support the latest I/O technology, by Ric L. Lewis, Erin A. Handgen, Nicholas J. Ingegneri, Glen T. Robinson, pg 51-60

[Authors:]  Ric L. Lewis, Nicholas J. Ingegneri, Erin A. Handgen, Glen T. Robinson, pg 61

Linking Enterprise Business Systems to the Factory Floor. Information is the fuel that drives today’s business enterprises. The ability to link different components in the enterprise together in a user-friendly and transparent manner increases the effectiveness of companies involved in manufacturing and production, by Kenn S. Jennyc, pg 62-73

[Author:] Kenn S. Jennyc, pg 62

Knowledge Harvesting, Articulation, and Delivery. Harnessing expert knowledge and automating this knowledge to help solve problems have been the goals of researchers and software practitioners since the early days of artificial intelligence. A tool is described that offers a semiautomated way for software support personnel to use the vast knowledge and experience of experts to provide support to customers, by Kemal A. Delic, Dominique Lahaix, pg 74-81

[Authors:] Kemal A. Delic, Dominique Lahaix, pg 74

Glossary, pg 76

A Theoretical Derivation of Relationships between Forecast Errors. This paper studies errors in forecasting the demand for a component used by several products. Because data for the component demand (both actual demand and forecast demand) at the aggregate product level is easier to obtain than at the individual product level, the study focuses on the theoretical relationships between forecast errors at these two levels, by Jerry Z. Shan, pg 82-88

[Author:] Jerry Z. Shan, pg 82

Strengthening Software Quality Assurance. Increasing time-to-market pressures in recent years have resulted in a deterioration of the quality of software entering the system test phase. At HP’s Kobe Instrument Division, the software quality assurance process was reengineered to ensure that released software is as defect-free as possible, by Mutsuhiko Asada, Pong Mang Yan, pg 89-97

[Authors:] Mutsuhiko Asada, Pong Mang Yan, pg 89

A Compiler for HP VEE. With the addition of a compiler, HP VEE programs can now benefit from improved execution speed and still provide the advantage of an interactive interpreter, by Steven Greenbaum, Stanley Jefferson, pg 98-99. Visual Engineering Environment. This complete article can be found at: http://www.hp.com/hpj/98may/ma98a13.htm [sic; url no longer functions].

[Authors:] Steven [Steve] Greenbaum, Stanley Jefferson, pg 98

August 1998 v.49 n.3109

Highlights, by C. L. Leath, pg 2-3

Cover: The 150-MHz-bandwidth membrane hydrophone is described. The signal is generated by a 20-MHz focused ultrasound transducer driving water into a non-linear state.

A 150-MHz-Bandwidth Membrane Hydrophone for Acoustic Field Characterization. To measure the beam parameters of intravascular ultrasound imaging transducers with operating center frequencies exceeding 20 MHz and beamwidths below 200 mm, a hydrophone with a spot diameter less than 50 mm and a bandwidth greater than 150 MHz is required. The hydrophone described in this article is a step towards meeting these requirements, by Paul Lum, Michael Greenstein, Edward D. Verdonk, Charles Grossman, Jr., Thomas L. Szabo, pg 6-15

The Hewlett-Packard Medical Products Group Acoustic Output Measurement Laboratory, by Charles Grossman, J., Thomas L. Szabo, Kathleen Meschisen, Katharine Stohlman, pg 8

[Authors:] Paul Lum, Charles [Charlie] Grossman, Jr., Michael Greenstein, Thomas [Tom] L. Szabo, Edward [Ed] D. Verdonk, pg 16

Units, Traceability, and Calibration of Optical Instruments. This article presents a short and comprehensive overview of the art of units measurement and calibration. Although the examples focus on optical instruments, the article may be of interest to anyone interested in metrology, by Andreas Gerster, pg 17-29

[Author:] Andreas Gerster, pg 17

Appendix: Realization of Electrical Units,  pg 28-29

Techniques for Higher-Performance Boolean Equivalence Verification. The techniques and algorithms presented in this paper are a result of six years’ experience in researching, developing, and integrating Boolean equivalence verification into the HP Convex Division’s ASIC design flow. We have discovered that a high-performance equivalence checker is attainable through careful memory management, the use of bus grouping techniques during the RTL-to-equation translation process, hierarchical to flat name mapping considerations, subequivalence point cone partitioning, solving the false negative verification problem, and building minimal binary decision diagrams, by Harry D. Foster, pg 30-38. Register Transfer Language.

[Author:] Harry D. Foster, pg 30

On-Chip Cross Talk Noise Model for Deep-Submicrometer ULSI Interconnect. A simple closed-form model for calculating cross talk noise on signal lines in deep-submicrometer interconnect systems has accuracy comparable to SPICE for an arbitrary ramp input rate. Interconnect resistance, interconnect capacitance, and driver resistance are all taken into account. The model is suitable for rapid cross talk estimation and signal integrity verification, by Samuel O. Nakagawa, Dennis M. Sylvester, John G. McBride, Soo-Young Oh, pg 39-44

[Authors:] Samuel [Sam] O. Nakagawa, John G. McBride, Dennis M. Sylvester, Soo-Young Oh, pg 45

Theory and Design of CMOS HSTL I/O Pads. To control reflections, the impedance of integrated circuit output pad drivers must be matched to the impedance of the transmission lines to which the pads are connected. HP’s HSTL (high-speed transceiver logic) controlled impedance I/O pads use an on-chip impedance matching network that compensates for process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations, by Gerald L. Esch, Jr., Robert B. Manley, pg 46-52

[Authors:] Gerald [Jerry] L. Esch, Jr., Robert [Bob] B. Manley, pg 46

A Low-Cost RF Multichip Module Packaging Family. These packages provide much lower cost than traditional high-frequency packaging, shielding, and interconnects, while still providing low-reflection transitions and high electrical isolation, by Lewis R. Dove, Martin L. Guth, Dean B. Nicholson, pg 53-59. MIPPS.

[Authors:] Lewis [Lew] R. Dove, Martin L. Guth, Dean B. Nicholson, pg 60

Testing with the HP 9490 Mixed-Signal LSI Tester. The tester’s features include a timing interval analyzer for statistical analysis of clock periods, synchronous generation of arbitrary waveforms with respect to master digital clocks, and a library of digital signal processing routines. These features have been applied to production measurements of key parameters like AGC loop bandwidth, phase-locked loop timing jitter, and ADC signal-to-noise ratio and distortion parameters, by Matthew M. Borg, Kalwant Singh, pg 61-70

[Authors:] Matthew [Matt] M. Borg, Kalwant Singh, pg 61

Tester Description, pg 66

Reliability Enhancement of Surface Mount Light-Emitting Diodes for Automotive Applications. Preencapsulation drying eliminates broken stitch bonds and reduces inconsistent reliability performance. A new casting epoxy formulation stops epoxy cracking, and optimization of the die-attach epoxy cure schedule solves lifted die-attach and delamanation problems, by Koay Ban-Kuan, Leong Ak-Wing, Tan Boon-Chun, Yoong Tze-Kwan, pg 71-80

[Authors:] Koay Ban-Kuan, Yoong Tze-Kwan, Keong Ak-Wing, Tan Boon-Chun, pg 80

Engineering Surfaces in Ceramic Pin Grid Array Packaging to Inhibit Epoxy Bleeding. Bleeding of epoxy resin around surfaces undergoing bonding during electronic packaging assembly has long caused sporadic yield loss. Previously, it was thought that vacuum baking reduced the yield loss resulting from surface contaminants. Although vacuum baking inhibits epoxy resin bleeding, it also produces coatings of hydrocarbons, which affect surface wettability and surface energy. Surfactant coating results in a surface chemistry similar to vacuum-baked substrates but it a better alternative because of its controllability, by Ningxia Tan, Kenneth H. H. Lim, Bernard Chin, Anthony J. Bourdillon, pg 81-89. CPGA.

Glossary, pg 83

[Authors:] Ningzia Tan, Kenneth H. H. Lim, Bernard Chin, Anthony J. Bourdillon, pg 90

November 1998 v.50 n.1

Highlights, by C. L. Leath, pg 2-3

 

Cover: The lower-left pictures shows the SnapLED emitters that are attached to a clinch frame to make up the fully assembled SnapLED array shown in the upper-right picture. The other pictures show two more configurations of fully assembled SnapLED arrays

Dear Reader,

Over the last few years the World Wide Web has become ubiquitous, and more and more people are accessing information on the web. Consequently, the Hewlett-Packard Journal will no longer be distributed in print form. November’s issue is available on our website: http://www.hp.com/hpj/journal.html [sic; url no longer functions], pg 4