Undoubtedly, the hottest topic currently in the manufacturing sector is "Industry 4.0," and most firms hope to utilize ICT, software and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to build up their smart and automation synergy. However, everything has a beginning. To enter Industry 4.0, firms need to have a strong automation foundation, and through data collection and analytics, smart decisions can be made.Industry 3.0 saw the industry utilize computer technology to turn hardware control circuit into software, and make it more digitalized. Industry 3.0 gave birth to PLC supporting complicated logic. This was a huge improvement compared to Industry 2.0. And now, as we move towards Industry 4.0, the goal is to use the bases we have now and integrate elements such as cloud computing, big data, and IoT technologies. Smart processes can help the industry shorten the time needed to complete the otherwise tedious and time-consuming operations such as manufacturing process management, procurement, and production scheduling. And such a prospect alone is already enough to whip up much interest in Industry 4.0 among firms.Wen-Jinn Liang, vice president of Toes Opto-Mechatronics, a subsidiary of Tatung Company, notes that the advantage of Industry 4.0 is not limited to just reducing labor cost, as it also brings more added values. For example, Germany has been eager to promote the cyber physical system (CPS) integration concept which allows firms to use 3D virtual software, motion simulation robots, modules, and other equipment to detect design flaws and interferences. This allows them to preemptively repair weaknesses and increase design efficiency. This is a huge step to shortening the time-to-market process.Moving towards smart manufacturing requires strong foundation for automationSo how do firms build a smart manufacturing environment that is in line with the spirit of Industry 4.0? Liang believes there are two key foundations – the smart factory equipment maintenance system and automated precision assembly. In particular, automation is the necessary key. To achieve automation, firms need to plan an effective production line and continue to promote smooth workflow and standardization. If there is anything amiss in the preparation, automation may fail easily, resulting in setbacks on the road to Industry 4.0. With nearly 40 years of automation experience under its belt, Toes can help firms with the overall planning, laying a strong foundation for automation.To allocate the production line with efficiency, the layout of equipment must be carefully considered to prevent badly designed flow that could undermine efficiency in the future. Secondly, a smooth workflow needs to be based on the principle of "line balance," and extra workstations may be needed or flow may have to be diversified according to the bottleneck at each workstation. This can reduce an unnecessary waste of work hours. Standardization can be divided into two categories: procedure standardization and component standardization. The former can avoid negative effects on utilization rates while the latter can prevent equipment malfunction from lowering yields.When these basics are completed, the next step is to utilize robots, visual control and sensors to move towards the smart automated process. However, many firms who are interested have been deterred by a lack of return on investment (ROI) after evaluating the costs. For example, a firm may spend millions of dollars procuring a robotic arm, only to use it in simple procedures such as picking up and putting down parts. Meanwhile the idle time of the robotic arm is also higher than expected.Liang believes that to achieve smart automation, firms do not need to spend a lot of money. For example, production lines can use low-cost sensors and motion control systems; and with the help of feature recognition technology for working parts they can smartly achieve smart automation with reasonable ROI to quickly fulfill customers' needs for products of different colors, materials, and types.Automation combined with software analytics to form Industry 4.0 value chainSome production lines cannot add extra process steps to handle the entire production process due to a lack of space. This means no matter where the robot is placed, it may only be able to do simple jobs and the true value of this investment will be hidden.Addressing this type of problem, Toes utilizes the robots' characteristics of flexibility to come up with the idea of placing the conveyer to next work station above the physical space of the robot. With a specially-designed multi-functional claw, the robot can handle multiple tasks such as applying grease and baking at the same time. Once the baking process is completed, the robot can place the product onto the conveyer above its physical space for further processing. This is a creative idea.Liang says that if we imagine Industry 4.0 as a person, the smart automated movable parts of the equipment are like the arms and legs; the real intelligence comes from data collection and analytics, which may even have to rely on professional systems or algorithms to make smart decisions.Hence Toes assumes the role of providing smart automated SI solutions, which facilitate utilization rate or quality analysis based on data obtained from the equipment and sent to MES through the CIM interface. The data can further be used for cost analysis in the ERP system. At last, with cloud computing and big data analytics, the data can help firms make smart decisions to achieve the goal of both maximizing the volume of orders and efficiency, and minimizing cost.The value-added services Toes offers have begun to bloom in Taiwan and China. For example, with Toes' help, a China-based traditional manufacturer has reduced the number of labor by nine units per production line while increasing capacity by three-fold. The efficiency is astounding.Wen-Jinn Liang, vice president of Toes Opto-Mechatronics, points out the optimization of the panel cutting tool allows it to cut thin glass efficiently. It also sends the cutting data to MES for yield calculation and cutter lifespan prediction. This is a typical application of Industry 4.0.

Imagination Technologies (IMG.L) announces that it was awarded a Partner of the Year Award from TSMC during the TSMC Open Innovation Platform (OIP) Ecosystem Forum. Imagination received this recognition in the Graphics IP category for its collaboration with TSMC to develop highly optimized reference design flows and silicon implementations using Imagination's industry-leading PowerVR Series6 GPUs combined with TSMC's advanced process technologies, including 16nm FinFET process technology.TSMC selects the winners for the partner award based on customers' feedback, the number of tape-outs and wafer shipment enabled by the IP, along with the strength of technical support offered by the company.Tony King-Smith, EVP marketing, Imagination, says: "We're delighted to receive this honor from TSMC. Our long-time collaboration is focused on helping our mutual customers get the most out of Imagination's IP combined with TSMC's advanced processes. This includes developing improved design flows and engineering guidance through PPA projects such as our PowerVR Series6XT GPU on 16nm FinFET."Suk Lee, TSMC senior director, Design Infrastructure Marketing Division, says: "This award recognizes Imagination's excellence in delivering leading-edge graphics technology on our advanced process nodes. Imagination's commitment to delivering the highest quality results and strong product differentiation, enables our mutual customers to speed their time to volume production in the most efficient way."Imagination and TSMC are also working together to optimize Imagination's IP platforms incorporating PowerVR multimedia IP, MIPS CPUs, Ensigma RPUs and OmniShield security technology with the broad portfolio of TSMC processes to dramatically reduce time to volume and R&D costs for creating next generation smart, connected SoCs for IoT, automotive, consumer, enterprise and mobile markets.About Imagination Technologies, please visit: http://www.imgtec.com/

Traditional network frameworks have been built over decades, which is hard to change overnight. Luckily, with SDN and NFV, the flexible and cost-saving framework simplifies deployment, setup, and maintenance, which help telcos build customer-centric business models."Dedicated hardware like routers, switches, and servers in telco facilities serve for fixed duties. Rigid frameworks make it hard to design and configure, let along catering to customer needs. However, SDN and NFV bring elasticity to the telecom industry," said Hadwin Liu, Chief Architect of NEXCOM Network and Communication Solutions Business Group.NFV incorporates multiple servers as a big virtual one in telecom facilities. Using resource management platform like OpenStack, telcos can view hardware resources and set rules based on service demands to provision computing, storage, or bandwidth resources automatically.NFV quickens application deployment like load balancing, QoS, and eMBMS. Under this framework, the next generation CPE with computing capability serves as a node in telco facilities, allowing telcos to reallocate nodes' resources and to offer security services like VPN, firewall, and UTM with less capital investments and less time to market.Programmable network frameworks facilitate operation and maintenance. SDN adopts software to define network forwarding rules. With pre-defined algorithms, software dynamically changes how network traffic is forwarded while automating the deployment, configuration, and management of networks.NEXCOM's communication platform supports open-source software for SDN and NFV implementation, helping telcos integrate server resources, coordinate network functionality, apply centralized control, and dynamically adjust network performance to enhance competitiveness with customer-centric services, applications and low TCO.For more information about NEXCOM, please visit http://www.nexcom.com/SDN and NFV provide a flexible, cost-saving framework, helping telcos build customer-centric business models.

STAr Technologies is one of the leading test systems and probe cards supplier for the semiconductor industry since its establishment in 2000, announces the launch of a new family of systems called the Taurus-PDAT (Power Device Analytical Tester).Energy conversion and storage has become a critical sub-system for automotive industry, green technologies and clean energy management. One of the key components for such applications is power MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) and IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors). In order to improve the efficiency, reliability and yield of such devices, manufacturers have to correctly characterize the dynamic electrical performance. The dynamic test data has not been able to meet requirements from system manufacturer as the parasitic effects of the test system have dominated the actual device dynamic performance data.The revolutionary test technologies in Taurus-PDAT has overcome such difficulties and enables manufacturers of Power MOSFETs and IGBTs to test dynamic AC tests in both characterization and high volume production. This is a technically-challenging combination, but one that enhances correlation confidence between the engineering lab and the back-end test floor.The Taurus-PDAT family's first offering includes AC dynamic test modes such as Switching, Reverse Bias Safe Operating Area, Diode Recovery, Gate Charge, Unclamped Inductive Load, and Short Circuit, performed at high energies such as 1500V/1000A short circuit and ultra-high bandwidth of greater than 10,000A/us inductive switching tests. Insert figure shows a family of inductive switching current curves, with varying gate voltages, with a fastest slew rate of 2000 A per µS.With selectable capacitor banks, the varying energy requirements of low, medium, and high voltage devices can be met, but it is PDAT's innovative stimulus and measurement designs that make it unique. Competitive solutions are difficult to move into production because of the limited space available close-in on device handlers. STAr enables this capability with low parasitic DUT board design with miniaturized components and integrated current sensors.Industry-leading slew rates are also enabled by the Taurus-PDAT integrated current sensors design, up to 10,000 Amps per µS, enables STAr to provide this capability without the considerations for long cablings between testers and IC handlers or probers. For protecting the system and handler sockets in case of catastrophic device failure, stored energy is managed automatically, and ultra-high-speed custom semiconductor circuit breakers are employed.Due to the complexity of dynamic power transistor tests, STAr works closely with our users to provide customized sockets, thermal chamber, and probing solutions to ensure that all technical requirements can be met with highest system level performance. The production software and debug environment (Helios) draws on over 15 years of the design team's experience, optimized for fast test time, with specialized environments for program development, debug, production operation, handler control, and data analysis. This open architecture software further enables engineers to optimize test algorithms and automate test flows as required for either characterization or production needs."In response to market demands, power electronics systems have driven innovation in the basic technologies of circuit technologies, control systems and power semiconductors," stated Dr. Choon-Leong Lou, CEO of STAr Technologies, "STAr Taurus-PDAT's revolutionary dynamic AC tests capabilities enables corresponding power devices to be developed, characterized and manufactured in a timely manner, with great confidence and lower costs."Inductive switching family of timing curves

Merck, the global leader in Display materials, has successfully completed the integration of AZ Electronic Materials into its organization early this year. For the first time, the company joins SEMICON TAIWAN 2015 under the brand name "Merck", to demonstrate its strong commitment to move into semiconductor material market. In an interview with DIGITIMES in Taipei, Dr. Bernd Reckmann, CEO of Life Science & Performance Materials, and Dr. Rico Wiedenbruch, Senior Vice President of Integrated Circuit Materials at Merck, talked about the reason Merck has decided to acquire AZ Electronics Materials, how will they gain a foothold in the semiconductor material market, and its commitment to Taiwan customers.Merck sees growth potential in the semiconductor market"Semiconductor is an interesting market to us", Dr. Reckmann said. "We see a lot of potential in the semiconductor industry. If you look long term, there is many opportunities in the consumer market and also in IOT trend, which will continue to prosper. Merck has always been well known for display materials, by tapping into the semiconductor industry, we see that both technologies is complementary to each other, and we are able to create more innovation by combining the both together. For Merck, it is important that we are not only dependent on the area of display, but also with IC products. For example, we can benefit from small devices because they also have sophisticated IC inside."As semiconductor process reaches the physical limit of lithography technology, Moore's Law is now facing tougher challenges than ever. According to Dr. Reckmann, the advances of new technology nodes highly depend on the more aggressive roles that material providers play. To break through the challenges of process shrinkage, it is vital to forge a closer partnership with customers to jointly develop the materials for the advanced nodes and beyond.Taiwan has a very key position in the semiconductor industry. The highly densified industrial cluster, complete value chain and housing leading semiconductor companies in foundry and packaging/testing services have attracted Merck to deepen its roots in Taiwan. With product offerings from AZ, Merck has increased the amount of resource dedicated to to support its business operations here, and help customers to develop innovative products. "I would like to reinforce the importance of Taiwan market to Merck and our commitment to support our customers to grow by investing in next generation technology", said Dr. Reckmann.Through acquisition, Merck offers a broader high tech materials product portfolioMerck already has proven success in display industry. Eyeing the future potentials of semiconductor market, Merck now can leverage a broader offering for the IC materials with the AZ acquisition. Dr. Reckmann explained the two important meanings behind this.First, with the addition of AZ, Merck is now able to provide materials for semiconductor industry. In particular, in performance material area, Merck can offer customers with more diversified product portfolios and a wider range of technology roadmap, so that we can maximize success with our customers.Second, customers now rely on strong partnerships and on our ability to deliver the ingredients that make the electronic devices for tomorrow faster, smarter and more attractive. Dr. Reckmann sees there are many similarity in the business: 1) focusing on high-quality material supply; 2) both semiconductor and display businesses are driven by innovation; and 3) business is driven by customer relation and customer proximity."We are pleased that the decision to acquire AZ was not just internal assessment. It is also a shared feeling among the investors. We also get constant positive feedback from customers in the electronic industry, who understand the logic behind the acquisition and have a lot of trust in Merck", Dr. Reckmann pointed out. The two companies have been officially integrated and operating as one since January this year, and as of now, the new organization is working well. Dr. Rico Wiedenbruch, who plays a crucial role for this, said, "The integration goes very smooth because we are both a very similar company. There is also similarity in the business model and customers. Our combined teams, driven by the needs of our customers, will be successful in capturing the compelling business opportunities ahead.""The integration of the two operations can't be so smooth and fast without the trust from all of our team members", Dr. Reckmann continued. "And we also benefit the learnings out from our recent acquisitions Serono into the Health Care business and Millipore into the Life Science Business. This was also applied to AZ."With a strong base in the developments of display materials and proven track records in terms of quality and innovations, Merck has been widely recognized by Taiwanese customers. By leveraging richer product portfolios obtained from AZ, Merck is fully confident to make inroads into semiconductor market to grasp bigger opportunities ahead.Merck will continue to support Taiwan semiconductor industry by expanding resourceTaiwanese companies are globally known to be extremely professional and skillful, and are flexible in production. Merck sees a lot of potential in future collaboration with the Taiwan leading companies. As a result, the company will commit to invest more sources to support its local customers. Furthermore, Merck will speed up the transaction of acquiring US-based Sigma Aldrich, which also include taking over its high tech material subsidiary – SAFC Hitech. With the joining of SAFC Hitech, Merck in Taiwan will expand its presence to Kaohsiung, where there is an additional site, and bring total solution technologies for our semiconductor customers.Regarding the current acquisition trends in the Semiconductor market, Dr. Reckmann believes that this is a common way to close gaps and have access to market and increase competitiveness. Taiwan is the powerhouse for global semiconductor manufacturing, and have proven success by helping customers to develop products and enhance competitiveness through advanced process technology, diligent engineers, and close customer relationships. Taiwan is also strong in packaging, where the competition is increasing. Therefore, it is crucial for packaging companies to stay strong and competitive in this area. Dr. Reckmann shares his point of view, "I think we should be aware that this trend will go on and create more strong players. The industry keeps changing, so we need to strengthen our competency to drive innovation continuously. Merck will always provide the best-in-class products and services for our customers. By growing with customers, we can create the win-win situation for each other."Dick Hsieh, managing director (left), Dr. Bernd Reckmann, member of the executive board (middle), and Dr. Rico Wiedenbruch, head of Integrated Circuit Material (right) of Merck at company booth in Semicon Taiwan 2015.

AVEXIR Technologies Corp., the world's leading manufacturer in exclusive patented breathing LED & plasma tube technology memory products, today announced brand new S100 series solid-state drive (SSD). This whole new product series, S100 series SSD, achieves to inherit the superior feature of breathing LED light effect. Even though we have showcased the LED SSD prototype at Computex Taipei 2015, we are now pleased to present the final edition of S100 series SSD with extreme performance and impeccable breathing LED light effect after three months of modifications, fine tuning and improvements.AVEXIR classic Core Series memory with breathing LED light effect has been well received by the public, and now these features are immersed into the new SSD series. Exclusive LED light guide design is to ensure even lighting throughout the SSD, creating the perfect rhythm in your PC for the best visual experience. Aggressive casing by using multiple layers of combined high-quality materials and special curve design is to give you a unique hardware experience.AVEXIR S100 series SSD is powered by the new generation of high performance JMircon controller, and utilizes cutting-edge original NAND Flash chips. Sequential read/write speeds up to 540MB/s & 450MB/s with 80k IOPS random 4k write. Also providing AVEXIR exclusive designed SATA cable and 3.5" bracket. All series are available in 120GB /240GB/ 480GB capacities and contain a three-year warranty.For more information, visit AVEXIR official website page: http://www.avexir.com./home.html or contact marketing@avexir.com.twAVEXIR Technologies announced brand new product series, S100 series SSD

Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857, NYSE: ATE) will demonstrate both hardware and online test solutions as well as present several papers at the International Test Conference (ITC), October 6-8 in Anaheim, Calif. Advantest is a Platinum sponsor of this year's conference.Products featured in the boothLive demonstrations of Advantest's on-demand CloudTesting Service and its EVA100 tester for analog, mixed-signal and sensor ICs will be given in booth #323 in the South Hall of the Disneyland Hotel.The first-of-its-kind CloudTesting Service allows users to access various IP selections whenever needed from Advantest's website. Using this on-demand online service, designers can verify their new silicon at very low cost with no capital investment. It allows users to set up their own test environment within a few hours and be ready to test when a device arrives from the fab. With free tester leasing and repairs, Advantest's CloudTesting Service allows customers to avoid maintenance issues and unplanned expenses.With its modular architecture and high-voltage, high-precision analog parametric measurement units, the EVA100 tester has the flexibility to conduct a wide range of measurements over a broad range of analog and mixed-signal devices. The EVA100's GUI interface is highly intuitive so users do not need advanced coding skills to quickly develop test programs and rapidly receive feedback on critical design parameters. This minimizes the time to release the latest ICs to market.Paper PresentationsIn addition to its exhibits, Advantest is involved in several presentations during ITC TestWeek.On Tuesday, October 6 at 1:20 p.m. at the Corporate Forum staged within the exhibit hall of the Disneyland Hotel, Advantest's A. Lum will host a discussion on rapid test development using the EVA100 system.That same afternoon at 2:00 p.m. during technical session #3 in the Magic Kingdom Ballroom 4, a paper will be presented on a new method of measuring alias-free aperture jitter in an ADC output. The authors are T. Yamaguchi and K. Uekusa of Advantest Laboratories, K. Degawa, M. Kawabata and M. Ishida from Advantest and M. Soma of the University of Washington.On Thursday, October 8 at 9:00 a.m. in technical session #21 on RF and high-speed testing in the hotel's Magic Kingdom Ballroom 2, a paper titled "An ATE System for Testing 2.4-GHz RF Digital Communication Devices with QAM Signal Interfaces" will be given. The authors are M. Ishida and K. Ichiyama of Advantest.In addition, Advantest will be a corporate sponsor of the 6th IEEE International Workshop on Testing Three-Dimensional Stacked ICs at Anaheim’s Disneyland Hotel on Friday, October 9, the day after ITC concludes. S. Neches of Advantest will host a tabletop presentation titled "Analysis of Advanced Semiconductor IC Devices Using Terahertz Frequency Technology," describing the company's new TS9000 THZ system that uses short-pulse terahertz and sub-terahertz frequencies to analyze advanced ICs.Connect on Social MediaFor the latest updates from the global test leader, follow Advantest on Twitter @Advantest_ATE.

ASRock Rack, the innovative server technology provider has announced today its high density GPGPU server "2U2N-F" and "3U8G-C612" with the new NVIDIA GRID 2.0.NVIDIA GRID recently released the newest NVIDIA GRID 2.0 at VMWorld, the world's largest cloud and virtualization conference. NVIDIA GRID 2.0 delivers double the application performance and double the user density as well as support for Linux OS and blade servers to provide unprecedented speed, efficiency and flexibility for virtualized graphics in enterprise workflows. Employees can work from almost anywhere without delays in downloading files, increasing their productivity. IT departments can equip workers with instant access to powerful applications, improving resource allocation. And data can be stored more securely by residing in a central server rather than individual systems.NVIDIA GRID 2.0 combines enterprise software and support with the latest generation Maxwell GPU architecture-based Tesla M6 and Tesla M60 GPUs that were designed to deliver maximum performance and scalability for virtualized graphics workloads. ASRock Rack 2U2N-F and 3U8G-C612 are both configurable with four to eight GPU cards to support GRID 2.0. ASRock Rack recommends a minimum of four Tesla M60 GPUs for the best graphics performance for virtualization. Other PCIe slots are available for rich functionalities such as accelerating by PCIe SSD, Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) by SFP+ or InfiniBand, NVR or facial recognition system by capture cards, data back up by RAID cards and other high performance graphic cards for real time transcode.ASRock Rack will showcase 2U2N-F and 3U8G-C612 in the upcoming NVIDIA GTC Japan in Tokyo. Please come to visit us at booth number 13.ASRock Rack will showcase 2U2N-F and 3U8G-C612 in the upcoming NVIDIA GTC Japan in Tokyo

Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced a range of advanced security products and solutions, including a new software-based release of its award-winning Unisys Stealth solution, which helps organizations protect their digital and physical assets in cloud, mobile and enterprise environments.The new security products and solutions, a key part of the company's growth strategy, were unveiled at its annual Americas Analyst and Advisor Summit in Dallas.Designed to protect vital information and infrastructure in the face of evolving threats from hackers and malware, the new solutions include products based on the latest version of Unisys Stealth software, which delivers identity-based micro-segmentation to protect sensitive data by making communication endpoints undetectable to unauthorized parties.The new Unisys Stealth products are completely software-based and can be immediately incorporated into an organization's existing eco-system including clients, servers, clouds, industrial control systems, Internet of Things, mobile devices, customers, and even supply chain partners.New Stealth products are part of a comprehensive portfolio of security solutions for location, perimeter and surveillance security; identity management and biometrics; secure image processing and analytics; as well as efficient managed services and global consulting to address all aspects of its clients' security requirements."With enterprises becoming increasingly interconnected environments and cyber threats becoming business threats, security professionals can no longer protect their enterprises with an outdated focus on building walls and counting events," said Tom Patterson, vice president and general manager for global security solutions, Unisys. "Instead, enterprises need to accept that bad guys will get in somehow, and they must layer in advanced defenses that minimize harm with identity-based micro-segmentation."Addressing the Convergence of IT and Physical SecurityThe Unisys Stealth family of products uses an advanced approach that helps organizations mitigate attacks and hacker incidents by rendering devices, data and end users undetectable on networks. The solution establishes secure "segments" within an enterprise where only authorized users can access information. Unauthorized users cannot access the information -- or even see that it exists. Even if a bad actor gets in, Stealth sees to it that they are cryptographically contained to a single segment of the network, with no access to move laterally to other parts of the enterprise.The new release of Unisys Stealth is based on a software design that eliminates operational costs associated with additional hardware and cuts deployment times by up to half. Leveraging global Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) standards, this latest version of Stealth code allows easier configuration and integration and provides a highly-enhanced interface for configuring, monitoring and managing the Stealth environment.Key product updates and new releases include:• Stealth(Core): Secures data using micro-segmentation and cryptography to limit a user's – or potential attacker's – view of data and services to only a tiny segment of the enterprise.• Stealth(Mobile): Enables authenticated and secure access to application processing environments in the data center from mobile applications by using application wrapping software to encrypt data-in-motion from the mobile app across the Internet.• Stealth(Cloud): Extends the same level of protection to enterprises that wish to leverage the cost-savings benefits of using the public cloud but have been reluctant to do so due to security concerns.Unisys also offers related security solutions including:• Physical Security and Identity Management: Unisys Location, Perimeter, and Surveillance Security solutions deliver comprehensive, end-to-end protection and are custom-built to clients' requirements - ranging from securing a room to securing a national border. Unisys' biometrics-based, service-oriented identity management platform provides high levels of multi-factor user authentication, combining fingerprint, iris, voice, signature and face with non-biometric credentials.• Managed Security Services: Unisys manages a client's security infrastructure, enabling the organization to quickly achieve and maintain regulatory compliances while taking advantage of new technologies including cloud, virtualized environments and mobility. • Security Consulting Services: Unisys strategic and technical consultants help clients identify and manage risk and pinpoint vulnerabilities in their digital and physical environments.For more information on Unisys Security Solutions visit: http://www.unisys.com/offerings/security-solutions

The memory market for automobile electronics has a higher entry barrier compared to that for other ICT or consumer electronics, and therefore unless a new entrant is a credible, reliable and trustworthy company, it is not an easy market to enter. When Macronix decided to enter the automobile electronics memory sector, it did so with the determination to keep on perfecting memory products in terms of both design and fabrication.Founded in 1989, Macronix has, after more than two decades of refinement of delivering high quality products and maintaining a reliable manufacturing supply, incorporated 'big data analytics' in the initial factory planning stage and established the sNOVA quality improvement system long before 'big data analytics' became mainstream and ahead of other technology leaders in the world. The accumulated extensive customer service experiences, feedbacks and support are then further utilized to enhance its rapid successful expansion into the automobile electronics memory market.Macronix started its automotive journey by conducting a comprehensive study regarding the regulations relating to the reliability of automobile electronics. It then obtained a series of IC reliability certifications, including the AEC-Q100 quality certification according to standards set by the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC). Since Macronix entered the automobile electronics memory sector, it has achieved very positive results in terms of market penetration, and is seeing strong revenue growth in 2015 and will continue to do so in 2016 and onwards. Many, in fact most of the world-leading automobile electronics vendors are today in mass production of their systems utilizing Macronix flash memory, including Serial NOR Flash, Parallel NOR Flash and SLC NAND flashBased around solid, customer backed strategies, Macronix drives ongoing efforts in product R&D and innovation to meet the current and future requirements for automobile electronics. Elain Shih, Product Marketing Manager at Macronix, provides an analysis on the advancement of memory components for automobile electronics from the developmental perspective of SPI NOR Flash, where Macronix is the global market leaderOctaFlash marks a milestone in high-speed SPI NOR Flash applicationSince the launch of SPI memory featuring double transfer rate (DTR) technology in 2010, Macronix has been working on further boosting SPI data transfer rates. The introduction of the 55nm process in 2013 raised the data transfer rate to 100MHz for SPI products with DTR interface. In 2014, Macronix packaged two quad I/O chips as a dual-quad product achieving a performance simulating eight I/O with a 200MByte/s data transfer rate.In 2015, Macronix unveiled the OctaFlash series, an expansion to eight I/O on a single chip. Fabricated on the in-house, highly reliable 55nm floating gate process flash technology, the data transfer rate reaches 400MByte/s, making OctaFlash the fastest SPI NOR Flash on the market.Macronix's dual-quad memory introduced in 2014 has been able to provide complete solutions supporting in-vehicle infotainment systems. For example, dual-quad flash can satisfy "instant on" requirements to quickly load a large amount of data for temperature or dashboard controls in the in-vehicle system after the car engine is started and procedure is initiated.OctaFlash, with more powerful features, is designed specifically for in-vehicle systems, especially ADAS for road safety and telematics systems. Addressing safety concerns, the current mainstream automobile designs make use of sensors and image data processing and transmit massive amounts of data to the in-vehicle system so that the automobile can instantly react to or cope with any otherwise unforeseen circumstances on the road, instantly.As automobile electronics demand the capability to perform big data analytics, Macronix believes that the embedded memory, traditionally integrated with the core processor, is no longer sufficient as it is generally 32MB or 64MB in capacity and made with 0.13um process, which is typically unable to support big data operations. This need from the market was the driver for Macronix to develop OctaFlash, which is a specialized new memory product line targeting high capacity and high speed data transfer applications.In comparison to competitors, OctaFlash uses the conventional SPI interface and therefore provides compatibility with existing single I/O interface of SPI Flash. Also to enable application compatibility, OctaFlash retains the original SPI instruction set to free design engineers from having to spend time learning and verifying new instructions and large chunks of code, which allows engineering to re-use, improve reliability and accelerate time to market.OctaFlash aids functional safety design in support of ISO 26262OctaFlash's specifications and reliability will help both Tier 1 suppliers and automakers alike meet the requirements of the ISO 26262 standard, a functional safety standard for automobile control systems. Sampling of OctaFlash is scheduled for September 2015 to meet the urgent demand by top-tier automakers looking to enhance the performance of existing and introduce new ISO 26262-compliant vehicles.Continuing advancement in clock frequency becomes a key future development area for SPI NOR FlashShih comments that future SPI NOR Flash development will trend toward high speed and high frequency to meet market demands. Moreover, with telematics applications growing in complexity, a variety of wireless communication technologies are being introduced to automobiles also. Components with high frequency clocking for automobile electronics are increasingly important for the widely available telematics systems. For many designers using high frequency clocking, BGA package has become the package of choice; OctaFlash is capable of supporting 200MHz in a 24-pin BGA package. Macronix has also designed special data strobe (DQS) pins to enable complete high-speed data processing. Furthermore, OctaFlash follows eMMC pin definition, offering convenience to core processor vendors with respect to hardware design and PCB layout.Macronix OctaFlash offers both 1.8V and 3V power supply solutions, available in 256Mb, 512Mb and 1Gb versions.Macronix OctaFlash targets automotive telematics and high-end cameraElain Shih, Product Marketing Manager, MXIC