CAL chip initiatives

Newsfile_ CAL chip initiatives The Scottish Development Agency (SDA) is to support an R&D initiative from the company Algotronix Ltd and Edinburgh University, involving configurable array logic (CAL) chips developed by the former. The internal architecture of CAL chips -- a general-purpose architecture that is made specific by programming cells to be communication paths or function blocks - - can be modified repeatedly and, according to Dr John Gray, director of AIgotronix, these chips 'represent a novel paradigm for computation intermediate between traditional hardware and software with many of the advantages of both'. Proposals for the development of the base technology and potential applications for these versatile chips have been requested from academics. The SDA intends to fund the chips, boards and support software required by those institutions that decide to participate in this venture.

the consumer electronics sector. Last year Japan accounted for half of the world's chip production, while the European share fell to 10%. The casualties of Japan's dominance are perhaps more serious in the USA, Hub~e continued: the audio and visual sector has been reduced to a label industry, dependent on the Japanese industry for the development of new generations of products. There is concern, with the demise of an indigenous development base, that the USA's broadcasting communications infrastructure and even its defence apparatus is becoming dependent on Japanese technology. • The EC is to back the project JESSI (Joint European Submicron Silicon), led by Siemens, Philips and SGSThomson, and aimed at bringing Europe to the forefront of semiconductor technology and reducing Europe's dependence on USA and Japanese technology.

10BASE-T compliant developments Warning for Europe With the 1992 single European market approaching, a senior manager of Philips has warned of damaging consequences for European electronics manufacturers unless governments can provide a coordinated strategy to support the industD'. 'A battle is raging for world supremacy in electronics' according to Karl Hub~e, vice chairman of the board of Philips, speaking at a London conference on hightechnology in 1992. The protagonists are Europe, the Far East and the USA. European customs procedures, import quotas, national standards and quality regulations, and preferential treatment for government orders cause problems for exporters, and the 'intrinsically divided' Europe is no match for the aggressive targeting policy of Japan, where government, banks, universities, industry, suppliers and trading houses 'close ranks and move onto the offensive' Hub@e said. In 1987 Europe registered a trade deficit of 5 billion ECU both for the computers and components sector and for

354

Unshielded twisted-pair Ethernet products have been boosted by two recent development agreements. The first is a 'strategic technology alliance' between Advanced Micro Devices and SynOptics Communications Inc. for the development of products that comply with the emerging 10BASE-T Ethernet local area network (LAN) draft standard. Two products are being developed: an IEEE 802.3 10BASE-T compliant transceiver for the general market (to be sampled by the end of the year); and a secondgeneration transceiver to support value-added functions for host connectivity with the SynOptics system, LattisNet. 'The 10-BASE-T IC and AMD's forthcoming Ethernet controller will make a two-chip 10BASE-T solution possible by yearend,' assured David Simpson of AMD. National Semiconductor and Hewlett-Packard are also jointly to develop products that comply with the emerging standard. Their aim is to help vendors realize 'the significant multivendor communications and cost-saving benefits associated with

using a standards-based twisted-pair LAN'. The attractions of twisted-pair wire, which (unshielded) can transfer information at 10 Mbit s-~, are that k is cheaper than traditional coaxial cable, and that the star topology specified by the current 10BASE-T draft simplifies wiring management and troubleshooting. Under developmem: is ,J IOBASE-T compliant I.AN chip set to be integrated into HP's StarLAN ll} transceiver and multiport repeater products

GaAs perceptions Customer attitudes to GaAs ICs are revealed in a survey commissioned by GigaBit Logic, Newbury Park, (A, USA, a producer of GaAs ICs. The report concludes, 'Each of the user.~ and potential users has different perceptions of the digital GaAs technology, suppliers and products, many of which differ widely from the facts. GaAs I f users and prospective cisers, and (iaAs IC manufacturers and ECL l( manufacturers were interviewed by the independent research and (onsulting firm Market Performan(u Group. • Price is the major obstacle to GaAs acceptance by commercial concerns. However, GaAs prices were expected to under(ut E(L prices within one to three years. • Aggressive marketing by GaAs and ECL manufa(turers has confused the marketpla(:e - promises of future products '{:~ming soon' (ECL I ( suppliers) and mistaken comparisons of
Microprocessors and Microsystems