Mentor Blogs

Latest Posts

Analog Modeling - Part 2

Posted Feb 2, 2012, by Mike Jensen

In Analog Modeling – Part 1 I reviewed the importance of equation selection in the analog modeling process. In a nutshell, the first step in getting good simulation results is choosing equations that best describe the behavior or device you want to analyze. Your analog equation set could be as simple as a single transfer function describing the relationship between the inputs and outputs of a … Read More

Tags: HDL, Modeling, analog modeling, System Simulation, Simulation, System Modeling

Capital for Choppers

Posted Jan 31, 2012, by J VanDomelen

This geek is an all-around mil/aero enthusiast. Aircraft, spacecraft, ships, ground combat vehicles, unmanned vehicles, missiles—you name a mil/aero platform, and this geek’s interest is piqued. It’s not often that helicopters turn heads; however, Bell Helicopter has been successful in doing so over the past few months. This geek previously discussed the Middle Eastern debut of the Bell Boeing V-22 … Read More

Tags: Embedded Systems, Electric, Engineer, Aviation, Mentor.com, Bell 429, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Aerospace, Military, Geek, Design Automation, Hardware, EDA, Mentor, Bell Helicopter, Mentor Graphics, Design

New packaging for power electronics

Posted Jan 30, 2012, by John Day

Infineon Technologies notes that higher performance power electronics components contribute to the primary automotive industry goals of better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The firm suggests that power MOSFETs with current capability above 200A and R DS(on) below 1mΩ are needed to reduce conduction losses and improve overall efficiency, but it says that MOSFETs to fulfill these needs have not … Read More

Tags: electric power steering, Infineon Technologies, D2PAK (TO-263), start/stop systems, Strategy Analytics, JEDEC standard H-PSOF, power MOSFETs

Q&A

Posted Jan 30, 2012, by Colin Walls

As I spend a lot of my time talking about embedded software via a variety of media – conferences, articles, Web seminars, this blog are examples – I frequently get emails requesting copies of materials or posing questions. All of this communication is very welcome and I do my best to respond promptly and, where I can, usefully. If I think a question might be of wider interest, it seems … Read More

Tags: Embedded Software, Nucleus, Android, Nucleus OS, Real Time

Bottlenecks and Interface Materials; Part 2 - When TIMs Go Bad

Posted Jan 30, 2012, by Robin Bornoff

‘Bits stuck onto other bits’, a succinct definition of an electronic product, if not a product that contains electronics. Soldering is the method of choice for getting the components to attach to the pcb, the layered board that contains the metallic traces connecting component pins to other component pins. Rivets, welds, screws or bolts for the chassis, some form of gluing or sticky adhesion … Read More

Tags: Electronics Cooling, FloTHERM, CFD, thermal chokepoint, T3ster, thermal bottleneck

Embedded passives never boomed –but saves high performance designs

Posted Jan 30, 2012, by Per Viklund

Do you remember the hype on EP’s (Embedded Passives) just a few years ago? In the PCBD&F magazine, late in 2006, Kathy Nargi-Toth wrote in an Editorial to PCD&F referring to an industry survey: The statistic that blew me away was the change in anticipated implementation of embedded passives. The projections are that 24.6% of the PCBs, up 222% over current figures, will incorporate embedded … Read More

Tags: EP, Expedition, "Embedded Passives", Expedition Enterprise

Double duty

Posted Jan 30, 2012, by J VanDomelen

Engineers from Bell Helicopter, a Textron Company, and The Boeing Company have unleashed a unique aircraft that has been turning heads at recent air shows, and for good reason. The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey was designed from the ground up (a rarity in a downturned economy, it seems) to meet the needs of multiple armed services. In doing so, it combines the capabilities of a helicopter with those of fixed-wing … Read More

Tags: Geek, Embedded Systems, Hardware, Warfighters, V-22, Aviation, Milaero, Bell Helicopter, Military, Software, Aerospace, Textron, Mentor, Electric, Mentor Graphics, Electronic, Mentor.com, Boeing, Mil-Aero, Design

Truly interoperable

Posted Jan 29, 2012, by J VanDomelen

System interoperability is a major issue and continual challenge in military and aerospace (mil/aero) applications. Electronic components and solutions from various vendors must all work together. The same is true of legacy versus modern systems. Many industry pundits in the mil/aero community have long compared the challenge to trying to have a 50-year-old communicate effectively with a newborn—they … Read More

Tags: electrical, Electric, Electronic, SystemVision, Software, Aviation, Mentor Graphics, Computer, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, Milaero, Engineer, Design Automation, Geek, EDA, Hardware, COTS, Mentor, Design

Dauntingly disparate

Posted Jan 28, 2012, by J VanDomelen

Systems integration is no small feat. Ensuring disparate parts and systems—standalone solutions from multiple vendors—talk and work together seamlessly and reliably is a challenge. In fact, the systems integrator, not to mention the MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) specialist charged with keeping systems in good working order over decades of deployment, has been given many nicknames reflective … Read More

Tags: systems whisperer, Military, Mentor Graphics, Design, Design Automation, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Milaero, COTS, electrical, hardware wrangler, HDMI, Electronic, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, EDA, Mentor, Electric, Geek, Embedded Systems, Hardware, Technology

Autonomous vehicles – so near and yet so far

Posted Jan 27, 2012, by John Day

Considering the number of traffic accidents involving driver error, it seems obvious that many lives would be saved if cars could drive themselves. Additional benefits of autonomous vehicles include less traffic congestion and better fuel economy/lower emissions. The enabling technology is close at hand. Google’s fleet of driverless cars has traveled nearly 200,000 miles, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research … Read More

Tags: automotive electronics applications, autonomous vehicles, parallel park assist, Center for Automotive Research, Google Driverless Car, DARPA, lane keeping assist, Santa Clara Law Review, Adaptive Cruise Control, New York Times, Stanford University, DARPA Grand Challenge