The booming GPU market, propelled by new implementations ranging from deep learning, virtual currency mining, computer vision and versatile smart manufacturing applications, is boosting the market values of chipmakers. In 2018, this momentum will continue for GPU and CPU vendors with growing demands for edge computing and upcoming fifth generation communication (5G) solutions, which involves participating in distributed cloud networks and requires more processing power and data IO bandwidth.Key vendors such as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have benefitted from the increased demand for these solutions. Observers noted that AMD gains in the market are significant and return to competitive footing in x86 processor solutions since the company's multiple successful launches of its 'Zen' architecture CPUs and 'Vega' cored GPUs in the second half of 2017. From the desktop to notebooks and data center servers, AMD processors offer compelling alternatives versus key competitors and have received a resoundingly positive market reception for successful introduction to big datacenter customers.In February 2018, AMD announced the EPYC Embedded 3000 and Ryzen Embedded V1000 series processors based on the "Zen" core and tailored to the growing embedded system market. The new families of processors are designed for core networking and storage applications to edge computing usage models in a wide variety of markets such as military and aerospace, casino and gaming, retail, healthcare and industrial solutions and applications. With this announcement, AMD is bringing the "Zen" architecture to many more applications beyond just PCs and Servers. Especially the rapid developments in hardware, software, and communication technologies that allow emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) devices can manage things and make life much easier for human beings.Machine learning for IoT data analysis boosting technological evolutionIn his keynote speech during the Embedded Technology Forum hosted by Digitimes, Steve Longoria, Corporate Vice President Sales, Datacenter and Embedded Solutions Business Group, AMD, explained IoT as billions of connections through LTE and 5G. The real meaning of IoT is enabling smart applications through machine learning algorithms that encompass every aspect of our lives, Longoria added.Intelligent processing and analysis of massive amounts of data is the key to developing smart IoT applications. Modern examples range from the car-sharing economy, high speed rail systems, airport visual security systems and aviation safety technologies. As more and more data has been collected by the internet, remote sensing networks, mobile devices and the Internet of Things, these varieties of applications require massive IO connectivity and bandwidth to analyze tens of terabytes in size in airport hubs or train stations. Data analytics and relevant technologies make up a 20 billion dollar opportunity, and AMD is proactively embracing the data-rich era with the launch of its new embedded processors.The highly scalable AMD embedded processor families deliver powerful performance, space savings and energy efficiency in edge computing systems. As edge infrastructure is distributed across wide regions, spanning gateway devices and cloud providers, it is very important to provide cybersecurity features to help protect data at the hardware level with an on-chip secure processor. Notable features of AMD product offerings are more advanced security features with Secure Memory Encryption, Secure Encrypted Virtualization, and Secure Boot technologies on system. And the most significant value, the application software could benefit from these features without changing source code.Ecosystem partners boost market shares with near-term product deploymentsVersatile smart solutions and use cases are driving success for AMD's new embedded processors, said Stephen Turnbull, Director, Product Marketing, Datacenter and Embedded Solutions Business Group, AMD. In examining 2018 market trends, he finds smart healthcare and smart manufacturing as two major areas expected to maintain strong growth.For example, AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 customer Esaote, based in Italy, announced the MyLab 9 eXP ultrasound system for medical imaging, women's healthcare and cardiovascular diagnostics. The AMD processors use an artificial intelligence algorithm to execute sophisticated Noise Cancellation features. With these unique visualization tools, Esaote can display ultrasound image results with clarity and sensitivity to help doctors make more informed clinical decisions. Furthermore, the small footprint and low power consumption of Esaote's medical system enables medical organizations and healthcare centers to increase productivity and explore more portable medical system options.With more than 20 years providing processors for the embedded market, AMD has a strong presence in digital signage, thin client, casino and arcade gaming, networking, smart healthcare and smart manufacturing markets. Several Taiwan ecosystem partners are deploying 23 various AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 and AMD EPYC Embedded 3000 solutions. With near-term product deployments and highly integrated solutions, AMD is ushering in a new age for embedded processors and looking to increase market share and business opportunities.Steve Longoria (left), CVP Sales, and Stephen Turnbull (right), Director of Product Marketing, AMD Datacenter and Embedded Solutions Business Group

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation will exhibit its innovative test solution for semiconductor-based pressure sensors used in advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and moderate a panel discussion on the evolving appearance and operation of automobiles at SAE's WCX World Congress, coming April 10-12 to Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.Rugged, on-board sensors are in high demand for automotive applications, where their usage ranges from reducing carbon-dioxide emissions to enabling ADAS-enabled vehicles. Ensuring the reliable performance of these sensors and shortening the development time for new automotive systems requires highly efficient test solutions.In booth S4000 throughout the WCX World Congress, Advantest will exhibit its HA7200 system, capable of precisely controlling the temperature and pressure in testing automotive pressure sensors. Designed for evaluating up to four sensors simultaneously, the HA7200 can be coupled with a handler and the EVA100 measurement system to create a high-productivity test cell that optimizes a user's engineering, prototyping and manufacturing processes. This test cell is already in use at multiple customer companies.In addition, Advantest's vice president of global marketing communications, Judy Davies, will moderate a roundtable discussion with seven automotive industry executives sharing their insights and opinions regarding how new generations of electronics, hardware, software, system architectures and manufacturing processes are changing the automobile industry. The 90-minute event will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 12, in the Ambassador Ballroom, Room #360 of the Cobo Center.

With smart medical care and health care becoming hot topics in the industry, medical electronics are igniting the growth momentum of the information communication technology market. The demand for software and hardware of medical equipment has become the focus of development in the industry. APD Group, which shines in the field of medical power supplies in recent years, will participate in the China International Medical Equipment Fair 2018 (CMEF) and International Component Manufacturing & Design Show 2018 (ICMD) from April 11 to April 14, and will present a full range of medical power solutions. (National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), Hall 6.1, Booth No.: F26)Backed by the industry's highest level of "UL Safety Laboratory" and "Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Laboratory," APD has a solid R&D team and technical strength accumulated over the years. Whether it is in product safety, EMC, study of the standard for energy efficiency, or certification testing, APD is in full compliance the newest industry standards, such as IEC/EN/UL 62368, IEC/EN/UL60950-1, and IEC/EN/UL60065, providing professional, efficient and competitive certification services to help customers quickly push their products to the global market.APD also passed ISO13485 certification for medical device quality management system and IEC60601 medical safety standards compliance certification in 2015, and meets the stringent requirements of "high quality, high stability, high safety standards" demanded by the medical care market.In addition, the extensive cooperation experience with many world-renowned brand customers, including European, Australian and Japanese international manufacturers, has also become the key to the success of APD Group. Mr. Chia-Ming Tsai, General Manager, said, "APD Group can provide highly customized power supply design based on the needs of medical customers, and fully meet the requirements of medical power diversification and stringent safety standards. This is the biggest advantage that APD Group enjoy and that is what separates us apart from other power supply manufacturers."For more information, please visit APD Group power solution.APD Group's customized power supply design

Innodisk, a leading provider of storage, memory and expansion cards for the embedded and industrial market, is using an innovative method to counter frame loss for surveillance systems using flash storage.The solid state drive (SSD) is increasingly finding its rightful place in the surveillance world. New surveillance features such as facial recognition, data analytics, and smart city solutions, all require large data amounts to be handled on-the-spot. As an example, picture a busy intersection that does not just run on timed signals, but rather changes dynamically according to traffic. Cameras follow the ebb and flow of vehicles and people while simultaneously calculating the most efficient flow of traffic. While this requires a lot of computational power, even incremental improvements will lead to significant cost savings for society. Modern surveillance features such as this are what gives the better performing SSD a leg up on the legacy hard disk drive (HDD).Innodisk was approached by one of its partners that had run into some issues with SSDs used in surveillance equipment. The equipment recorded high-resolution video where consistent quality was vital to the application. However, when testing this new setup, the recordings would all exhibit re-occurring frame loss; leaving the equipment manufacturer at a loss as to the reason behind it.The crux of the problem lay in the execution of background processes (garbage collection and wear leveling), which handle the deletion of SSD data. These processes usually kick in when the SSD workload is lighter, as to minimize the impact on performance. This obviously introduces some problems to surveillance recording, which is constantly running, as any background process will cause a drop in video quality when it starts up.Innodisk's investigation into this issue led to the development of RECLine. RECLine alters the firmware of the SSD; dispersing and lowering the frequency of background processes. This allows the SSD to continuously write data with minimal interference and frame loss.RECLine, and the associated InnoREC Surveillance SSD series, remove the last stumbling block for the SSD in the surveillance market and help pave the road towards the promised features of smart cities and IoT.For more information about Innodisk and the newest surveillance solutions, visit https://www.innodisk.com/en/applications/surveillanceDrops in write performance causing frame loss for standard SSDStable write performance for InnoREC SSD

The HPC-AI Advisory Council, an organization dedicated to high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) research, education and outreach, and the National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore, have officially kicked off the first APAC HPC-AI Competition that will start on March 27, 2018 and continue through August 2018.University and technical institute teams from the entire APAC region are taking part in the 2018 competition, which includes both creating missions and addressing challenges around AI development and testing, and high-performance computing workloads. The top team will be invited to Germany to participate in the 2019 International HPC- ISC Student Cluster Competition.The new APAC HPC-AI Competition encourages international teams in the APAC region to showcase their HPC and AI expertise in a friendly yet spirited competition that fosters international exchange in the areas of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI). To take home top honors, the teams will have to showcase systems of their own design, adhering to strict power constraints and achieve the highest performance across a series of standard HPC and AI benchmarks and applications."Sharing the same underlying technologies and infrastructures, HPC and AI are key enablers for universities, research laboratories and commercial vendors to develop the products and services of tomorrow - from safer cars and airplanes, to accurate weather and storm prediction, to improving peoples' lives and discovering new cures and solutions to problems plaguing Earth," noted Gilad Shainer, chairman of the HPC Advisory Council. "By participating in the APAC HPC-AI competition, team members will harness the power of HPC and AI, while gaining priceless access to a wealth of industry expertise, training and tools and hands-on exposure to a range of technologies and techniques they'll use not only for competition but throughout their careers. ""Our hope is that the competition will promote excellence in the usage of high performance computing in AI. By providing a petascale HPC platform, NSCC can help to bring people with different skillsets and expertise together to solve problems of a scale previously not possible," said Tan Tin Wee, chief executive, NSCC.Visit the 2018 APAC HPC-AI Competition's site for more detailed information and criteria and to submit team entries.

Semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation has received a volume-purchase order for its V93000 testers from a leading Chinese designer of application-specific ICs (ASICs). The Beijing-based company will add the new testers to its existing installed base of more than 60 V93000 systems and use them in testing its current products as well as developing customized semiconductors for neural-network applications, including artificial intelligence (AI)."This customer is focused on leveraging its IC-design expertise to accelerate deep learning with innovative, cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions," said Hans-Juergen Wagner, CEO of Advantest Europe. "In addition to working with them, Advantest also provides test solutions to companies that manufacture microprocessors, GPUs and custom devices that are used in today's AI applications. Through our many global partnerships and activities, we are further extending our leadership to provide the best test solutions in this fast-growing market."At the SEMICON China trade show, running March 14-16 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Advantest will exhibit 12 of its advanced products and services for the Chinese semiconductor market in booth #4425, Hall N4. An expert in testing chips for AI applications will be available in the booth to talk with visiting customers. In addition, product displays will include the V93000 platform, which provides the industry's broadest test coverage for leading-edge semiconductors. When equipped with Wave Scale MX and Wave Scale RF channel cards, the V93000 can achieve unprecedented parallelism and throughput, reducing the overall cost of test and pioneering new capabilities to test future generations of IC designs.More information about Advantest Corporation is available at www.advantest.com.

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857) has received a supplier excellence award from iTest Inc., a Silicon Valley-based start-up providing reliable and leading-edge semiconductor testing services, in recognition of the overall value delivered in the first year of the companies' strategic partnership.The award was presented to Todd Delvecchio, director of sales with Advantest, by iTest's CEO Rabbi Islam at the year-end supplier-recognition and customer-appreciation event at iTest's headquarters facility in Milpitas, California.The testing services company has purchased and installed four of Advantest's V93000 test systems, which includes the entire solution set offered by V93000 Smart Scale test systems, to evaluate a variety of devices including network processors, high-bandwidth interfaces and IoT devices for multiple semiconductor companies with operations in Silicon Valley."The first-rate performance and productivity delivered by the V93000 platform is matched only by the dedicated service and support that Advantest has provided this past year," said iTest's Islam. "I'm pleased to report that since the testers were installed a year ago, they have logged zero failures after rigorous usage.""As we move into 2018, we look forward to continuing our successful partnership with iTest," said Advantest's Delvecchio. "It's very gratifying to receive the award, but even more rewarding to see how our test solutions are enabling our customers to grow and become leaders in their market segments."Designed for testing different ICs on a single system, the V93000 platform fulfills the test requirements for a large variety of customers and device types, from engineering through volume production. It is the most cost-efficient test solution for all advanced semiconductor designs including high-speed, radio-frequency, mixed-signal, analog and power ICs. With the tester's universal per-pin architecture, each pin can run with its own clock domain, providing full test coverage by matching the exact data-rate requirements of the device under test. In addition, the V93000 platform's scalability allows it to address a variety of test methodologies and quality requirements, giving it a long usable lifetime for maximum ROI and reduced risk.More information about about Advantest Corporation is available at www.advantest.com.

Benefitting from flourishing growth of automotive electronics and telecommunication markets, Taiwan's No. 1 aluminum electrolytic capacitor manufacturer Lelon Electronics has recently posted 2017 revenue of NT$7.18 billion, up 18% on year, the highest in the company's history.Looking into 2018, burgeoning automotive applications and 5G deployments will continue to fuel growth in the demand for aluminum electrolytic capacitors.Lelon's new production lines of polymer capacitors are scheduled to begin full-scale operation in the second half of 2018, which will satisfy the massive market demand for polymer capacitors. Lelon can expect record-setting revenue for the year with growingly strong market demand and increased production capacity.For the purposes of meeting road safety and environmental protection standards, manufacturers are adding an increasingly large number of electronic control units (ECU) in each automobile. Lelon's automotive-grade aluminum electrolytic capacitors are used in original automotive electronics produced by many tier-1 automotive electronics providers in the world. With power systems used in cars transitioning to 48V, Lelon is also working with several automotive electronics providers to develop aluminum electrolytic capacitors specifically for 48V automotive power systems. The new automotive aluminum electrolytic capacitors will begin shipping this year, which will change the current market dominance by a few American and European manufacturers.Featuring long life, low impedance and high heat resistance, Lelon's automotive-grade aluminum electrolytic capacitors are AEC-Q200 and VDA6.3 compliant. As a result of its continuing efforts in the automotive electronics market over recent years, automotive applications contributed more than 10% of Lelon's aluminum electrolytic capacitor revenue in 2017 and the company expects to see steady increase in the future.Furthermore, telecom operators around the world are stepping up efforts on 5G infrastructure buildup. Lelon has also engaged in collaborations with major manufacturers in China, US and Europe to develop aluminum electrolytic capacitors for 5G base stations. Telecom and network applications account for approximately 20% of Lelon's aluminum electrolytic capacitor revenue. The category can expect to perform even better this year with 5G deployments picking up speed.Targeting automotive electronics and 5G developments in addition to high speed computing, robotics and Industry 4.0 applications, Lelon has been ramping up efforts toward high-end electronics markets in recent years and is benefitting from the efforts. For the year 2018, Lelon will respond to continuingly strong demand for high-end aluminum electrolytic capacitors with new products and added capacity, which will further buoy the company's overall performance.Lelon's products

Indium Corporation has earned the Circuit Assembly New Product Introduction (NPI) Award for its Core 230-RC flux-cored wire at the IPC APEX Expo technical conference on February 27 in San Diego, Calif.The NPI Awards recognize the leading new products for electronics assembly during the past 12 months. Honorees are selected by an independent panel of practicing engineers."Developing Core 230-RC and having the electronics assembly industry recognize it as a leading new product, is truly a great honor," said Tim Twining, Vice President, Marketing. "I am very proud of our team and the work they have done to develop and deliver this high-performance product to our customers."Indium Corporation's Core 230-RC is a new REACH- and RoHS-compliant, J-STD-004B tested and compliant "no-spatter" formula cored wire."In 2017, Indium Corporation sold more than 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) of 0.2 mm diameter flux-cored wire on 114-gram level wound spools," said Eric Slezak, Director of Business Development and Printed Circuit Board Assembly. "Indium Corporation is the only company that can put 1/4 lb. of 0.2 mm cored wire on a level wound spool in volume and ensure no tangling or feeding issues. This enables a more efficient and lengthy robotic soldering process."Core 230-RC delivers an exceptionally impressive 0.09% total flux spatter, as tested per IPC TM-650 2.4.48. "No-spatter" is important so that flux does not contaminate gold fingers or other contacts where it can interfere with circuit board electrical properties, or spatter hot flux on operators' hands. It is available in lead-free, tin-lead, and high-lead cored wires. In lead-free cored wire the available diameters are from 0.008" (0.2mm) up to 0.125" and flux weight content from 1.0% to 4.5%.Indium Corporation is a premier materials manufacturer and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, thin-film, and thermal management markets. Products include solders and fluxes; brazes; thermal interface materials; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, germanium, and tin metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil. Founded in 1934, the company has global technical support and factories located in China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the USA.For more information about Indium Corporation, visit www.indium.com

Indium Corporation will feature its new ultra-low voiding Indium10.1HF Solder Paste - which helps customers Avoid the Void - at Productronica China 2018, March 14-16, 2018, in Shanghai.Indium10.1HF is an air reflow, no-clean, halogen-free, Pb-free solder paste specifically formulated to achieve ultra-low voiding, especially in bottom termination component (BTC) assemblies.Indium10.1HF has a flux chemistry engineered to improve reliability with:- High ECM performance under low standoff components, RF shields without proper ventilation, and components in low-clearance cavities- Solder beading minimization- Very low bridging, slump, and solder balling- Excellent wetting to a variety of common fresh and aged metallizations and surface finishes- High print transfer efficiency with low variationIndium10.1HF is compatible with lead-free alloys such as SnAgCu, SnAg, and other alloy systems favored by the electronics industry. This solder paste is halogen-free per IEC 61249-2-21, test method EN 14582.For more information about Indium Corporation's low-voiding solder pastes, visit www.indium.com/avoidthevoid or see Indium Corporation at booth E2.2330.Indium10.1HF