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EDGE Vol.20
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The world of electronics appears to be increasingly — pervasively — digital. Yet that observation is a major simplification. It belies the very real importance of analog technology, which is the focus of the Special Feature section of this issue of EDGE magazine.
Consider especially the area of user interfaces, which can play a significant role in determining how people perceive electronic equipment. The various ways in which human beings sense, understand, and manipulate the world — whether this involves looking through our eyes, listening to sound, or moving and touching things — are all analog processes, not digital ones. Because we are human, technologies for translating from analog to digital and back to analog again are a perennial issue. They will always be needed.
Digital electronic equipment invariably incorporates diverse analog technologies that are essential for implementing various system functions, ranging from stabilized power supplies to high-precision data converters. In many cases, analog technology determines much of the added value in a semiconductor device, even though the performance of the digital central processing unit (CPU) is, of course, another major factor. It's no exaggeration to say that analog semiconductor technology enables numerous chip breakthroughs that are making electronic equipment smaller, more energy-efficient, and more sophisticated.
Being a leading global IC manufacturer, Renesas must remain internationally competitive in the field of analog semiconductor technology and products, so over the decades we have built up a large library of analog intellectual property (analog IP). We constantly apply it and our other technical strengths to all of our products. Advanced analog expertise enables our microcomputers to achieve maximum performance, for example. Also, the special analog IP we add to customized special-purpose chips gives customers' end products distinct market advantages.
Key factors in our ongoing attainment of advanced analog technology are the talent and accumulated knowledge of the engineers who develop it. Analog design is characterized by unique challenges quite unlike those in digital design. To help our experts meet and overcome those challenges, we run training programs and have built a strong development and support infrastructure for technical experts both inside and outside the company. Success has led to the development and commercialization of the leading-edge analog innovation now deployed in numerous Renesas semiconductor devices.
This Special Feature section begins with an interview that provides an update on our analog technology and how it is supporting advances in electronic equipment. The five other stories in the section cover analog IP for microcomputers, mobile products, automotive systems, AV equipment, and power supplies. Additional articles in this Edge magazine describe new developments in secure microcomputers, summarize new product introductions and news announcements, and continue our "Dream Science" series.
 Views on: Secure Microcomputers | Product and News Information |
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| Latest microcomputers for IC cards have a power-efficient new 16-bit CPU that delivers a five-fold improvement in processing performance | |
| RENESAS MCU Application Report: Healthcare Devices and Meters | |
| Battery-powered monitoring and measuring products require compact microcomputers that consume minimal power and integrate advanced analog technologies | |
| Dream Science - Walking in a Ubiquitous Society | |
| Vol.7: Organizations | |
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