Digi-Key Electronics, a global electronic components distributor, and BQR Reliability Engineering Ltd, a worldwide leader of reliability and maintenance engineering solutions, present a collaboration to deliver a simple yet powerful Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) calculator to support Digi-Key's global customers.Digi-Key has undertaken this venture to enable efficient and cost-effective use of BQR's software solution in a SaaS mode to evaluate products' Bill of Materials (BOM) MTBF."The new BOM MTBF application will enable Digi-Key customers to easily compare different BOMs MTBF, making sure the design meets the reliability goal early in the design process, before manufacturing," said Yizhak Bot, Founder and CTO of BQR Reliability Engineering. "With Pareto reports showing the most unreliable components, it will ensure the selection of components that balance reliability and cost. It will also provide measures for warranty analysis, design reviews, tenders, product data sheets, and design trade-offs."This tool makes it easy and quick to calculate MTBF for BOMs of any size. All one needs to do is export the BOM file and click on "Launch Calculator" on the Digi-Key website and see the magic happen immediately. The online application includes a library smart data auto-complete for BOM components using AI, fast calculation engine, and detailed Pareto and graphic reports. This calculator is not only easy to use, but also 100% secure where the components library and results are saved on the user's desktop (not on BQR server).Users can also conduct quick "What If" analyses, checking how a components quality level will increase the product MTBF."Digi-Key is excited to launch this new MTBF calculator which enables customers to see the component dependencies that their circuits are relying on and helps them determine the best mix of parts to use," said Randall Restle, VP, Applications Engineering at Digi-Key. "Digi-Key and BQR want to make it fast and easy for customers to achieve their design and end-product goals."Additional information and access to Digi-Key's broad product offering can be found by visiting www.digikey.com.

Located at Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan, Proscend is among the leading global providers in industrial-grade wire and wireless communications products and solutions. Proscend has established strong sales presence in many countries known for requiring the highest quality standards such as Japan, Germany and France, and deployed products into their major national infrastructures.Long before the New Southbound Policy launched by the Taiwanese government, Proscend had already gone deep into India market for over a decade and established a subsidiary company providing high-performance industrial-grade mobile wireless and commercial-grade wire communications devices as well as collaborating with the leading local telecommunications company, Bharti Airtel.In the early stage of its business, Proscend focused in research and development of xDSL (digital subscriber line) technology and soon became a market leader in supplying SHDSL products and solutions. Based on its core technologies in hardware and software of xDSL, Proscend is among a few manufactures in the international market supplying innovative networking products like VDSL2 SFP transceivers and long reach PoE solutions fulfilling various high-bandwidth demands for video and voice transmission. With professional technical strength, Proscend cooperates with its worldwide partners and is awarded with projects from Japan Railways, Paris Metro, and Electrical substations in Germany.Because of overwhelming growth in IoT applications, network security is becoming an important issue for every user in home environment, building surveillance and transportation. It is even more critical for industrial users in the utility fields for M2M (machine to machine) connectivity and applications. Featuring built-in VPN Security, Firewall and cryptographic protocols, like TLS, SSL and SSHv2, PROSCEND delivers a comprehensive series of industrial-grade 4G LTE cellular routers which allows industrial users to build a strong defense for cybersecurity and makes secure and reliable transmission possible in harsh environments.Furthermore, Proscend's industrial-grade 4G LTE cellular router series is fully integrated with its newly self-developed ISMS (Integrated Service Management System). ISMS is an intelligent cloud-based management solution which enables implementation and integration of information flow and logistics in industrial automation fields as well as ensures the processes are always reliably interconnected. In the future, the processes of connections among machines and the devices will require high-capacity bandwidth, and more importantly the solutions and services to manage network communications control among the equipment in the diverse fields.We know the industrial market is the significant indicator of IoT. Proscend is dedicated in developing mission-critical communications applications for Industrial IoT and enhances its comprehensive product portfolio from IP30 to IP68 ratings with the functions of Wi-Fi, GPS and PoE. Proscend attaches closely with worldwide clients for customizing intelligent software and hardware to achieve their specific requirements and continues providing valuable and innovative products and services.The standard model of industrial-grade 4G LTE PoE cellular router

According to news reports, Samsung and TSMC are expected to enter 5nm process mass production in 2020. The competition in 5nm wafer yield and market share will be very intense. A brand new wafer defect analysis platform featuring two crucial technologies - namely "smart defect screen and sample technology" and "defect size metrology technology" - can discover various types of tiny yield loss defects in 5nm process and enhance 5nm wafer yield.To win 5nm race, you need to know what is the most critical factorFab engineers know for a fact that discovery of bad defects in 5nm process is much more difficult than in 12nm process. In the race of 5nm wafer yield, the defect analysis technology in the inline wafer inspection must be improved. The wafer yield improvement process is described in the following steps. Step 1: Defect inspection -> Step 2: Defect analysis platform selects bad defect for sampling -> Step 3: Take bad defect samples' SEM images through Review SEM -> Step 4: Root cause analysis of bad defects. Since bad defects directly impact wafer yield. The discovery of bad defects is dependent upon the defect analysis platform in step 2. Then, the fab is able to dig out root causes of bad defects and improve yield afterward. So, the most critical factor in winning 5nm wafer yield is the capability of defect analysis platform.Critical know-how to improve 5nm wafer yield - Defect size metrology technologyVery often fab suffers big issue in discovering bad defects in advanced technology. ESI's invention patent, Method for smart defect screen and sample, which maps inline defect to corresponding IC design layout and performs Critical Area Analysis to classify nuisance defect and killer defect. The breakthrough of this smart defect screen platform can identify and filter most of nuisance defects accurately. The basic concept in ESI's invention is "The more nuisance defects to be filtered accurately, the more bad defects to be discovered." This accomplishment makes ESI's defect patent invention technology the best in the world.To meet the more advanced 5nm and 3nm process challenges, ESI already finished the development of defect size metrology technology and patent portfolio. Nuisance defects are falsely classified into killer defects because of incorrect defect size measurement results. ESI's defect size metrology technology successfully improves wafer yield by providing correct defect size.ESI OpenShort Platform, including smart defect screen and sample technology and defect size metrology technology, has distinguished itself in the race for 5nm win.The best smart inline defect analysis platform - ESI OpenShort PlatformNo doubt the smart defect analysis platform is a prime and must selection tool for yield enhancement in semiconductor industry. After the detailed prior art search, Gainia Inc., the intelligent asset services at ITRI, pointed out that ESI's patent invention "Method for smart defect screen and sample (US 8312401, CN1614876, ROC I402928)" is the founder of Artificial Intellegence defect analysis in the world. Based on that invention, ESI OpenShort Platform is one of a kind in the industry.More information about Elite Semiconductor, please invist: http://www.elitesemi.com.tw/OpenShort PlatformOpenShort Platform

In line with the "2025 Nuclear-free Homeland" policy and its goal of achieving the 20GW accumulated installation capacity goal for solar energy, the Taiwanese government actively promotes the installation of photovoltaic (PV) systems, and encourages industries to pursuit industrial upgrades, as well as further increase the revenue of aquaculture businesses through electricity sold to utility companies, thereby creating a win-win scenario.Recently, the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) hosted an energy forum to discuss applications of "Water-based solar power generation and the incorporation of solar power in fishery industry," analyzing the latest core technology of solar power system construction in addition to successful implementations of water-based cases.PrimeVolt was invited to share its success and experience in planning and installing inverters in the water-based projects. Vincent Fan, the Director of PrimeVolt's Business Division, stated: "Both water-based and land-based implementations must take into account environmental conditions and assess the overall efficiency and return on investment over 20 years. The welded parts of inverters installed in the water-based cases are usually subject to corrosion, resulting in water seepage, which causes system malfunctions. For salt-water applications, salt resistance and anti-corrosion capabilities shall be taken into consideration for the inverter's body case and its connectors."100% designed and manufactured in Taiwan, PrimeVolt has for many years, devoted to the research and development of the PV inverter. The PrimeVOLT inverter features a unique aluminum die-casting case, a one-piece body and water-proof design, thereby preventing corrosion or water penetration from occurring in welded parts after long-term usage. Complemented by water-proof surface conditioning, anti-salt and anti-corrosion baking-varnish coating, the PV inverter series can maintain an IP 65 water-proof and dust-proof level and has passed IEC salt-fog tests (IEC 60068-2-52 Severity 5). The product series can withstand strict tests from water-based project environments. Furthermore, the embedded MPPT controller can achieve maximum power through tracking, allowing the PV system to optimize efficiency.Vincent Fan emphasized: "For many years, PrimeVolt has helped its clients achieve the optimal efficiency in applications involving different kinds of harsh environments. In alignment of the government's policy promotions, all models of the PrimeVolt series comply with VPC certification requirements. PrimeVolt will soon introduce grid type PV inverters with a larger capacity in order to meet market demands."Vincent Fan, director for PrimeVolt's business divisionPrimeVolt PV inverters implemented in the Agongdian Reservoir case

LTE-M technology will play a pivotal role in the evolution of IoT, covering applications for both 4G and 5G networks. ThroughTek, a cloud platform provider from Taiwan has jointly collaborated with 4G LTE-M module maker, Sierra Wireless, and video solution provider, LOCT, on developing the LTE-M IP camera.The LTE-M IP camera was first showcased at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 this past January and again at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), attracting both domestic and international providers. Upon returning to Taiwan, ThroughTek will be attending the Smart City Expo to take place on March 26 with the aim to target telecom providers.The IP camera supports LTE-M standards for data transmission. Through the use of IoT-enabled SIM cards, the device can transmit images in the outdoor environment, where Wi-Fi network is unavailable. With the advantage of having a ready-to-use out of the box feature, the device is expected to revolutionize products by providing solutions for the monitoring, security, smart industry, and smart agriculture industries.The LTE-M IP Camera breaks through the constraints of space, providing a complete solution for outdoor IoT applicationsEntering the IoT era, a large number of devices will need to be connected in order to realize various types of use cases and applications. Currently, Low-power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology is most commonly used to create IoT applications, as it enables wide area coverage, consumes less power, and can easily be deployed. Most outdoor IoT applications today are geared towards use of a variety of sensors to collect real-time data on monitoring devices and environmental changes, however, the current market lacks video monitoring applications. This is because LPWAN technology has its limitations, especially in transmitting large volumes of data, which comes at a higher cost with using chip modules that support the technology. The latest LTE-M IP Camera is unique because its image processing uses a compression technology to take into account the volume of data being transmitted and image resolution. Designed with the use of a rechargeable battery, the device can handle low power operation to extend its battery life. The device meets the IP65 rating to protect against dust and is also water resistant, suitable for use in outdoor environments. Most importantly, the plug-and-play feature allows the device to quickly deploy in remote large-scale outdoor areas such as farms, fish farms, and event sites, fulfilling the needs for outdoor IoT applications.Kalay Platform's advanced technology provides enhanced data transmission security and privacyIn response to the increasing demand of wide bandwidth data transmission, ThroughTek upgraded the Kalay Platform's core technology to support transmission of narrowband data solutions. With data security and privacy as a primary concern, ThroughTek uses a decentralized design for its solution, using end-to-end encryption to enhance privacy protection for users. It supports IFTTT (short for IF This Then That) for automating tasks to enable users to easily manage their devices and create custom scenarios. Additionally, the Kalay Platform also supports integration of smart voice assistants such as Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, as well as other third-party APIs to provide comprehensive smart services, enabling brands to easily deploy smart devices that meet end users' needs.Besides showcasing the LTE-M IP Camera at the four-day 2019 Smart City Expo, ThroughTek will also display security applications for police and military use, smart home, and smart building, as well as 4G body worn camera, lighting cameras, smart voice assistants and other IoT devices. Visit our booth at #I327Meet ThroughTek at 2019 Smart City Summit & Expo, booth#I327

Digi-Key Electronics, a global electronic components distributor, has announced the release of a new secondary KiCad library, known as the Digi-Key Partner Library, on GitHub. This is intended to be a supplement to the existing Digi-Key KiCad library released last year.Whereas the previous library was developed and curated by Digi-Key's Applications Engineering team, the Partner Library was created to allow manufacturers to submit their own symbols and footprints to be compiled into the Digi-Key format."KiCad continues to grow in popularity as the open source alternative of robust EDA tools," said Randall Restle, VP, Applications Engineering. "The user community's endorsement of Digi-Key's atomic part library, which binds parts' symbols to their correct printed circuit board footprints, datasheets, part numbers, and more, motivated us to develop the software tools to enable and motivate suppliers to develop their own KiCad design assets. Thereby, becoming a gold standard for such assets."The initial rollout contains 45 parts submitted by TRINAMIC Motion Control GmbH and is set to expand as more suppliers engage in the program.For more information about KiCad as well as the company's full portfolio of EDA and design tools, visit the Digi-Key website.Digi-Key KiCad library

The race to devise the next best smart home device is a tight one - the world's largest tech companies are constantly introducing new features and products to a highly saturated market of eager consumers. However, there is one drawback to the current state of the smart home: many of these devices operate separately, when in fact, they must communicate with one another in order to achieve a fully connected and truly smart home.The number of connected devices is expected to grow to 20.4 billion by 2020. In the next few years, IoT devices could know more about your home than you do. Even if you have more than 50 smart devices in your home, if there is a missing link between a device's ability to sense and act accordingly, the home is not smart.Introducing Aura WiFi MotionCognitive Systems created a solution to address this industry-wide challenge. Its patented Aura WiFi Motion technology takes a customer's existing WiFi network and transforms it into a comprehensive, automated home monitoring and security solution.Through partnerships with chipset manufacturers including Qualcomm, Quantenna Communications and Cypress Semiconductor, Aura WiFi Motion software is layered onto existing access points within a home. It monitors radio frequency (RF) waves from WiFi-enabled products to identify and alert users of motion within a home. Changes to the WiFi signals prompt user notifications that show where motion has occurred.Aura WiFi Motion has the ability to connect all devices on a mesh network so that they can work together to sense motion from room to room without any additional hardware or software. Over time, as consumers adopt more and more IoT devices, the mesh network will have the ability to truly automate the smart home based on the user's habits, eliminating the need to manually set preferences.Why WiFi Motion?In addition to home automation, the usability and benefits of Aura WiFi Motion create several distinct application categories, including:Home securityCameras are great for seeing what's going on outside of your house (preventing package theft, etc.), but having cameras inside can cause concerns around privacy. By using WiFi to monitor motion, users can "see" what's happening in each room of their home and understand the context without having a visual line of sight.Elder careFor consumers who have elderly family members who live alone, Aura WiFi Motion enables loved ones to make sure a family member is up and moving around as expected without infringing on privacy with cameras.Rental propertiesRenting your home or apartment to strangers can be lucrative, but risky. Aura WiFi Motion allows you to monitor your property and provides non-intrusive information, such as the number of people in your rental space, without making your guests uneasy.Energy managementWhen no motion is sensed in the home after a certain period of time, lights and other appliances can turn off automatically with Aura WiFi Motion to conserve energy. As Aura WiFi Motion learns user preferences and habits, conservation can be automated for increased savings.Aura WiFi Motion versus traditional motion sensingThere are other key differences that make Aura WiFi Motion an ideal solution when compared to other options.WiFi Motion versus camerasUnlike cameras, Aura WiFi Motion preserves privacy. For most people, cameras are only a solution for outdoor areas. Aura WiFi Motion can cover the whole home.Cameras can apply machine learning to identify faces and distinguish between pets and humans but there is still a high false detection risk due to pixel changes caused by shadows and lighting. Also, cameras are limited to field-of-view so several units are required to cover a whole home, which can be very costly.WiFi Motion versus PIR sensors and contact switches:PIR sensors and contact switches are typically used as stand-alone devices for home security applications. Both require special attention during installation to provide reliable detection ;whereas, Aura WiFi Motion requires no hardware set up.A contact switch can provide valuable information about localization (which window or door has been opened, etc.), but the total area each device can cover is limited. Aura WiFi Motion also provides additional context, such as when the kids arrive home or how long a caregiver has stayed.Why 'seeing' motion mattersMost actions in a home require motion. Setting a thermometer, for instance, or opening the door. Being able to "see" and interpret these motions is key for devices to sync with each other and ultimately operate independently with the user's habits and preferences in mind. This device interconnectivity and comprehension of human behavior patterns is the future of the smart home, and Cognitive Systems' groundbreaking Aura WiFi Motion is the technology to catapult us into this future.

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation will present more than a dozen of its newest, most advanced systems and services for the Chinese market at Semicon China 2019 on March 20-22 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC).Product DisplaysIn booth #4431 in Hall N4, Advantest will showcase its leading-edge test solutions through live product demonstrations and displays. These include the V93000 scalable platform, featuring the latest IC test solutions and services enabling AI technology; the FVI16 floating power VI source that extends the V93000 platform's capabilities to include testing of advanced ICs for automotive, industrial and power management IC (PMIC) applications; the B6700ES burn-in memory test system for laboratory environments, with burn-in boards that can be used in production test systems; the highly flexible T5830ES engineering station, whose Tester-per-Site design enables it to conduct testing across a wide range of flash memory devices used throughout mobile electronics; the EVA100 measurement system with a new HVI (high-voltage VI source and measurement) module that extends the platform's range to include high-power ICs for large-volume consumer applications; the T2000 platform for system-level testing; and the MMXHE and RECT550EX modules, which enable T2000 systems to more efficiently test devices used in the power trains of hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. Advantest also will have a unique automotive display to help attendees visualize how and where the T2000 series of test systems is being applied to improve the performance and reliability of broader types of automotive electronics such as sensing, controlling, processing and power-related devices and modules.Additionally, digital graphic displays will showcase the TS9000 series of terahertz analysis systems for measuring IC mold thickness and the wiring quality of IC packages and printed circuit boards; the E3650 scanning electron microscope (SEM) for measuring critical dimensions (CD) of next-generation photomasks and the E5610 defect review SEM for photomasks; the F7000 e-beam lithography system for the 1X-nm technology node; the T6391 tester for display driver ICs (DDI); device interfaces including 300mm NAND probe cards and V93000 interface solutions for IoT ICs; the innovative CX1000P CloudTesting station and cloud-based solutions offering cost-effective, on-demand test solutions; and Advantest's array of field services to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) using AI technology.Advantest's exhibit also will include a presentation on the semiconductor system-level test business acquired from Astronics Corporation in February. More information About Advantest Corporation is available at www.advantest.com.

Based on the demand for mobile phones and tablet PCs with ultra-large memories, China's embedded memory manufacturer, Biwin, has unveiled a UFS flash memory product with maximum capacity of 512GB.The UFS flash memory product of Biwin is in accordance with UFS2.1. The continuous read/write speed of this product can reach up to 872MB/s. The product is FBGA-packaged and its capacity can reach up to 512GB from 32GB. For the 512GB product, the size is 12.0×16.0×1.0mm, while for other specs, 11.5×13.0×1.0mm. It can meet the high performance and large capacity requirements of high-end smartphones and tablet PCs in the market, even with extra performance.Biwin deals in a variety of embedded memory products. In addition to UFS memory products, the latest specs such as LPDDR4 and LPDDR4X being other standard configurations for flagship devices are also in mass production and sales.As a leading enterprise in China's memory industry, relying on the powerful memory product development capability and various types of products, Biwin is able to meet almost all requirements of customers in the market. Biwin is powerful in developing multi-platform software/hardware products and experienced in developing platforms such as Qualcomm/Intel/Realtek/MediaTek/Spreadtrum since being carefully tested and accepted by the their suppliers.For more information about Biwin, please visit: www.biwin.com.cnInnovative memory professional choice

STAr Technologies, a leading supplier of semiconductor test equipment, formally unveiled Taurus TS-8500, the new switch matrix mainframe series specifically developed for device characterization test and process control. This TS-8500 matrix series significantly reduce time consumption and expenditure of semiconductor test and meet laboratory, engineering or mass production needs.STAr Taurus TS-8500 series is 4-slot switch matrix instrument that can be configured with low leakage modules that enables configuration from 10x12 to 10x48 channels. Other configurations include high voltage module up to 3000V and 4x6 RF module up to 40GHz. Furthermore, TS-8500 supports integration and flexible configuration to STAr' semiconductor test software products and equipment to provide customers cost-effective switch matrix solution with advantages of high performance and reliable test results."With the improvement of advanced semiconductor manufacture process and the requirement for device characterization test and analysis is in much demand. Meanwhile, to meet the trend of reducing test expenditures, suppliers must aggressively develop and design product correspond the test requirement and cost control. Undoubtedly, TS-8500 series is the ideal switch matrix solution," said Choon-Leong Lou, CEO of STAr Technologies.STAr Taurus TS-8500 is designed to solve existing problems on semiconductor test and measurement, such as the limits resulted from single function switch matrix and the reduction of efficiency and automatic capabilities. This series supports customers to flexibly select different types of matrix modules for different test applications. This further enhances the capability for single or multi-channel connections of different test need in one single switch mainframe and enable to meet customers' request for cost reduction and efficiency improvement.For more product information, please visit our website at www.STAr-Quest.comSTAr Taurus TS-8500 switch matrix mainframe