Episodes
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Metrology Podcast
May 20th is a special day - World Metrology Day! Get a bit of history and learn about all things metrology when you join Daniel Bogdanoff, Bob Stern, and Chris Cox in this special Metrology Day electrical engineering podcast!
App note mentioned by Bob: https://bit.ly/DecisionRules
More about Keysight metrology, calibration, and services: https://www.keysight.com/find/metrology
Topics and time tags:0:00 World metrology day, and a brief history of the meter and the ohm
2:00 Keysight University has FREE test gear courses!
2:45 Bob Stern, Keysight Metrologist Chris Cox, Keysight Regional Metrologist
4:30 Why does metrology matter? How does it impact us? The global economy relies on a consistency of measurement and test, which is why metrology is important. It allows measurements made in one country to be used and replicated in other countries.
7:25 Metrology and measurement traceability is important. An unbroken chain of traceability is one of the key components of metrology and calibration. It's a bit like a game of telephone leading back to SI units.
10:00 Keysight DMMs get calibrated off the first commercially available Josephson Junction - a tool that uses quantum physics to provide a very stable voltage.
11:16 Accuracy vs. Measurement Uncertainty A production engineer might say "accuracy" but really it's all about "measurement uncertainty" Vocabulary of international metrology (VIM): https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/vim.html
12:15 A practical example of how different instruments have different levels of uncertainty
13:45 What's the significance of measurement uncertainty for a user of test gear or a production engineer?
15:33 The internal adjustments that the factory makes to an instrument are some of the most closely guarded intellectual property / trade secrets.
18:15 The Army uses mobile Josephson junctions to test the DMMs used in Apache helicopter field testing.
18:45 Metrology overkills - times when people went overboard with their measurement uncertainty
21:10 How do you quantify measurement uncertainty? There's "test uncertainty ratio" which uses your expanded measurement uncertainty.
23:00 You can also get to percent risk, which is easy to wrap your head around. Bob Stern and Chris Cox authored some papers on this topic.
24:00 Why do people make measurements in the first place? There are no perfect measurements
26:45 Metrology in the government/military vs. private sector
29:00 There are a lot of factors for metrology equipment calibration and the engineering metrology equipment. There are different "levels" of calibration and different depth of reporting
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New tunneling modes, the scoop on plugfests, and 40 Gbps!
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It feels like USB 3.2 just came out, but USB4 is HERE! With USB4, gone are the days of wondering what's behind that USB Type-C connector - all the functionality is mandatory. And, you get double the speed! 40 Gbps over two 20 Gpbs lines keeps Moore's law happy (which makes us happy).
Find out more in today's podcast with Jit Lim, Mike Hoffman, and Daniel Bogdanoff.
Video version:
Twitter: @DanielBogdanoff: https://twitter.com/DanielBogdanoff
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Notes & Topics:
1:45 The USB-IF released the USB4 Spec in September USB4 requires that you use the USB Type C connector USB4 is fully backwards compatible USB4 uses a 20 Gbps x2 link (pronounced "by two") so Mooreâs law still holds (yay!) USB 3.2 took 10 Gbps and doubled it to 20 Gbps
Itâs USB4 not USB 4.0 and not USB 4 (confirmed)
10:00With USB4 you must implement USB-PD (USB Power Delivery), but in the past it was optional.USB4 brings a doubling bitrates, you must use Type C connector, and must be backwards compatible all the way to USB2
13:30USB 3 and USB 3.2 had a lot of alternate modes, but USB4 implements a tunneling mode. With tunneling allows you to send packets of USB, DisplayPort, or PCIe inside of the USB protocol. This means you donât have to run it as an alternate mode, which requires extra silicon.
17:00The silicon is often prototyped before a spec is actually released, so that the spec can match reality and be possible to build.
18:30USB4 is already being prototyped and tested. At the USB workshop-plugfestUSB plugfests are very secret, and company names arenât used. They use a âtest ID numberâ instead of company name, and the attendance is very limited. In many cases, only Keysight and the company testing their device are allowed to be in the room while the testing is done.
21:00A âCompliance Test Specâ describes how you test a device against a specification. Because, you canât test for every single thing in the spec, but you can test a subset of things to verify performance.
22:00Will USB take over everything? It depends on the other organizations and specifications groups. There are other ecosystems and organizations like VESA (DisplayPort) and HDMI that are autonomous. But, both HDMI and VESA have a USB Type-C mode that allows the protocols to work over a USB Type C connector
26:00USB4 implementation is very complex! The different speeds that could be used are pretty complex. USB4 is advertised 40 Gbps, but itâs actually 20 Gbps x2.
30:15It can be 5 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 20 Gbps, and run at x1 or x2, and it can also do alt modes.
31:55Are there any main competitors to USB4? What about the lightning connector from Apple?
35:30Thereâs evidence that there will be a USB4 native display, and some high end USB4 monitors already exist.
36:30USB4 is coming, and if you want to be on the leading edge you better get started now (and why)!
38:20 - stupid questions:When will see USB5? Whatâs the lamest way someone could use USB4? If USB4 is truly universal, shouldnât it go into space?
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Missing episodes?
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Brig Asay, Melissa, and Daniel Bogdanoff sit down to answer the internet's questions about the new 110 GHz UXR oscilloscope. How long did it take? What did it cost? Find out!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GxotFVQ8HE Some of the questions & commentsS K on YouTube: How long does it take to engineer something like this? With custom ASICs all over the place and what notâŠGlitch on YouTube: Can you make a budget version of it for $99?Steve Sousa on YouTube: But how do you test the test instrument?? It's already so massively difficult to make this, how can you measure and qualify it's gain, linearity etc?TechNiqueBeatz on YouTube: About halfway through the video now.. what would the practical application(s) of an oscilloscope like this be?Alberto Vaudagna on YouTube: Do you know what happen to the data after the dsp? It go to the CPU motherboard and processed by the CPU or the data is overlayed on the screen and the gui is runner's by the CPU?How does a piece of equipment like that get delivered? I just don't think UPS or Fedex is going to cut it for million+ dollar prototype. It would be nice to see some higher magnification views of the front end.Ulrich Frank:mNice sturdy-looking handles at the side of the instrument - to hold on to and keep you steady when you hear the price...SAI Peregrinus: That price! It costs less than half the price of a condo in Brooklyn, NY! (Search on Zillow, sort by price high to low. Pg 20 has a few for $2.7M, several of which are 1 bedroom...)RoGeorgeRoGeorge: Wow, speechless!R Bhalakiya: THIS IS ALL VOODOO MAGICMaic Salazar Diagnostics: This is majestic!!Sean Bosse: Holy poop. Bet it was hard keeping this quiet until the release.jonka1: Looking at the front end it looks as if the clock signal paths are of different lengths. How is phase dealt with? Is it in this module or later in software?cims: The Bugatti Veyron of scopes with a price to match, lolOne scope to rule them all...wow! Keyesight drops the proverbial mic with this oneMike Oliver: That is a truly beautiful piece of equipment. It is more of a piece of art work than any other equipment I have ever seen.Gyro on EEVBlog: It's certainly a step change in just how bad a bad day at the office could really get!TiN: I have another question, regarding the input. Are there any scopes that have waveguide input port, instead of very pricey precision 1.0mm/etc connectors?Or in this target scope field, that's not important as much, since owner would connect the input cable and never disconnect? Don't see those to last many cable swaps in field, even 2.4mm is quite fragile.User on EEVBlog: According to the specs, It looks like the 2 channel version he looked at "only" requires 1370 VA and can run off 120V. The 4 channel version only works off 200-240VThe really interesting question: how do they calibrate that calibration probe.They have to characterize the imperfections in it's output to a significantly better accuracy than this scope can measure. Unless there's something new under the sun in calibration methodology?Mikes Electric Stuffâ @mikelectricstuf: Can I get it in beige?Yaghiyahâ @yaghiyah: Does it support Zone Triggering?User on Twitter:Itâll be a couple paychecks before Iâm in the market, but Iâd really be interested in some detail on the probes and signal acquisition techniques. Are folks just dropping a coax connector on the PCB as a test point? The test setup alone has to be a science in itself.Iâd also be interested in knowing if the visiting aliens that you guys mugged to get this scope design are alive and being well cared for.Hi Daniel, just out of curiosity and within any limits of NDAs, can you go into how the design process goes for one of these bleeding-edge instruments? Mostly curious how much of the physical design, like the channels in the hybrid, are designed by a human versus designed parametrically and synthesized
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USB 3.2 DOUBLES the data transfer capabilities of previous USB specifications, and could mean the end of having USB ports on just one side of your computer. Find out more in today's electrical engineering podcast with Jit Lim, Daniel Bogdanoff, and Mike Hoffman.https://youtu.be/VEx6b6_XecI 1:00Jit is the USB and Thunderbolt lead for Keysight.1:30USB 3.2 specifications were released Fall 2017 and released two main capabilities.USB 3.2 doubles the performance of USB 3.1. You can now run 10Gb/s x2. It uses both sides of the CC connector.In the x2 mode, both sides of the connectors are used instead of just one.4:00The other new part of USB 3.2 is that it adds the ability to have the USB silicon farther away from the port. It achieves this using retimers, which makes up for the lossy transmission channel.5:00Why laptops only have USB ports on one side! The USB silicon has to be close to the connector.6:30If the silicon is 5 or 6 inches away from the connector, it will fail the compliance tests. That's why we need retimers.7:15USB is very good at maintaining backwards compatibilityThe USB 3.0 spec and the USB 3.1 spec no longer exist. It's only USB 3.2.The USB 3.2 specification includes the 3.0 and the 3.1 specs as part of them, and acts as a special mode.9:00From a protocol layer and a PHY layer, nothing much has changed. It simply adds communication abilities.9:55Who is driving the USB spec? There's a lot of demand! USB Type C is very popular for VR and AR.12:00There's no benefit to using legacy devices with modern USB 3.2 ports.13:45There's a newly released variant of USB Type C that does not have USB 2.0 support. It repurposes the USB 2 pins. It won't be called USB, but it'll essentially be the same thing. It's used for a new headset.15:20USB Type C is hugely popular for VR and AR applications. You can send data, video feeds, and power.17:00Richie's Vive has an audio cable, a power cable, and an HDMI cable. The new version, though, has a USB Type-C that handles some of this.18:00USB 3.2 will be able to put a retimer on a cable as well. You can put one at each end.What is a retimer? A retimer is used when a signal traverses a lossy board or transmission line. A retimer acquires the signal, recovers it, and retransmits it.It's a type of repeater. Repeaters can be either redrivers or repeaters. A redriver just re-amplifies a signal, including any noise. A retimer does a full data recovery and re-transmission.21:20Stupid Questions:What is your favorite alt mode, and why?If you could rename Type-C to anything, what would you call it?
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It ain't over. We're back with a hot new season, premiering November 21, 2019!
Audio:
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYlmB1OUQck
iTunes:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ees-talk-tech-an-electrical-engineering-podcast/id1238385165
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/4j9CG7Z1iy9zkjnOSVHB6f
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5G means business. With wired speeds coming in over the air, designers are turning to new wireless techniques like beamforming, MIMO, and advanced tower synchonization designed to pump you full of bits. Find out more as Daniel Bogdanoff sits down with Brig Asay and Joe Haver to discuss the changing wireless ecosystem of tomorrow.
Audio:
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX0r22fSBwI
1:004G was sub 6 GHz, but 5G is much higher frequencies (24 GHz, 28 GHz, 39 GHz, and above 50 GHz)
2:154G test strategies: simple source and a middle-of-the-line signal analyzer. There were also some combo boxes that were both signal sources and signal analyzers.
4:005G testing requires more powerful setups. There are still generators, but they have to be more powerful. FR2, 100 MHz, 200 MHz, 400 MHz wide bands make things more complicated.
Chambers and OTA (over the air) testing and MIMO systems make things much more complicated.
And, a 5G system has to cover all of these ranges.
5:30MIMO for 5G - MIMO means "Multiple Input Multiple Output"
Beamforming is also being implemented. Designers need to be able to test and see all the 5G signals at once.
7:00 Beamforming explanation and discussion - essentially beams can be directed with constructive and destructive interference to send signals to UEs (user equipment).
5G beamforming significantly increases the power delivered to a UE. Want to try it? Try "Build a beam" here: https://www.keysight.com/main/editorial.jspx?cc=US&lc=eng&ckey=2800374
10:005G brings wired-level speeds to wireless systems, which will open up brand new markets that haven't even been defined yet.
11:155G security
12:00Are 5G bandwidths a challenge? A wider carrier channel means more interference and a lower effective number of bits / SNR (signal to noise ratio). So, the wide 5G bands require a more robust design. This is especially true for distance.
Even windows are potentially a challenge with 5G frequencies, so beamforming becomes critical.
15:30Testing 5G with a signal analyzer / spectrum analyzer - is it doable? Sorta... How do you look at four distinct bands at one time?
18:00The UXR oscilloscope can actually look at multiple bands at once at 0.5 EVM (error vector magnitude).
20:00Why does 5G have so many different frequencies and bands? Isn't that excessive?
21:00Will 5G make it where I can get rid of my home internet provider?
22:00Beamforming from a cell tower is pretty easy, but it's much harder for a handset. So, there are systems that propose 5G downlinks, but 4G or 3G back up to the tower.
23:00Multiple towers can talk to the same handset AT THE SAME TIME! Multiple towers can provide the same packet at the same time to the same UE to increase the power. This means they are all working on the same clock as well.
25:00There are a number of ways to synchronize multiple cell towers at the same time. GPS is common, but there are a number of other feasible technologies.
27:00Brig has to get in his "vicious Keysight plug" for the mmWave extension on the UXR that lets an oscilloscope behave like a signal analyzer. It also uses a 1mm connector on the front end.
31:45Stupid question: if you had to describe 5G using five words that start with "G" what would they be?
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When power systems get ridiculous...
Power goes way beyond basic bench power supplies. Daniel Bogdanoff sits down with Chris Cain to explore femtoamp measurements, 100 kV multi-quadrant regenerative power systems, noise, and space-borne solar arrays in this EEs Talk Tech electrical engineering podcast!
Audio:
Learn more about the Keysight RP7900 regenerative power systems (RPS) and the Keysight CX3300 Dynamic Current Analyzers
0:17Recording from New Jersey with Chris Cain, who manages teams for electronic industrial products, like power, DMMs, function generators, DAQs, board test, etc.
1:15Current analyzer behind us measures FEMTOAMPERES of current. This is useful for RF and IoT systems.
4:20Chrisâs most spectacular equipment failure â a new engineer put their electrolytics in backwards
6:30For extra large electrolytic capacitors people design vent holes in PCB 8:15 High power power supplies. 5kW and 10 kW power supplies
9:00Two quadrant power supplies vs. one quadrant power supplies
10:30A 100 kV power supply!? Whatâs that used for? Battery emulation for things like electric cars. The supply has to be able to both source and sink power, and switch between the two very quickly
12:15A regenerative power supply (RPS) rectifies input voltage and puts it back on the AC mains instead of dissipating it as heat like a normal electronic load. So, the overall cooling requirements are very different for an RPS than a normal electronic load. One of the big costs for industrial factories is air conditioning and heat management. So, a regenerative power supply is very useful because it reduces heat.
15:15Regenerative power supplies are also useful for testing photovoltaic inverters, for both terrestrial and space solar systems.
18:45Noise parameters for high power systems
20:30Power is very complex, and the systems are very dynamic
22:15Giant toroidal transformers are used for power supplies and are dynamically controlled. They also are leveraged from systems like source measure units (SMUs).
24:30Precision current measurement is very different than measurement, it often uses a triax
25:30Some systems have 5 or 6 wire measurements to help with guardbanding
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That time Mehdi almost died on camera, science & tech on YouTube, 50 takes of the same scene, and more life advice from Mehdi Sadaghdar, aka electroBOOM! Join Mehdi and Daniel Bogdanoff in an random park in downtown New York City in this electrical engineering podcast episode.
Mehdi is awesome check him out at: https://www.youtube.com/electroboom
Episode sponsored by the 5G track, everything you need to know about 5G everything: https://www.keysight.com/find/LEARN5G
Video:
Audio:
Approximate time tags:
1:00He gives away tools to people that actually need it
1:30electroBOOM is bringing electronics and electrical engineering to the mainstream
Science channels are really growing on YouTube
2:55How much does Mehdi prepare for his videos?
3:30Most of Mehdi's mistakes and explosions are planned and scripted
4:30The comment section is always interesting
5:10Mehdi has a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering
6:00He doesn't have a very good pain tolerance
6:40He has a hard time keeping a straight face when something's coming in the video
7:00Jacob's Ladder project - he almost died and learned that he should not be a mechanical engineer"I would be dead if it wasn't for my flimsy wiringâŠ"
8:40Before he became a full time YouTuber he worked doing electronics for a boating steering and control company
9:50Mehdi got his undergrad degree in Iran, Master's in Canada
10:00How Mehdi got into electronics - one of his relatives got him an electronics kit as a kid and he loved it
10:40electroBOOM is not as good of a channel name as his daughter's channel, electroCUTE
11:40Mehdi works really hard on his videos
Most underrated joke: "I don't have a very long term memory"
12:25Mehdi's wife didn't used to like his videos, she thought they were boring. But, she's since come around
13:30He watches PewDiePie and lots of science channels
14:40Mehdi and "Mr. Tripod" do all his production work
16:20The content is what matters, it's not about the production value
17:10Every paragraph that he reads, he tries it 10 - 50 times so that it comes out straight. Usually it's just the last take that he keeps
17:40Is it "recording" or "taping"? Can you still say "taping?"
18:10Batteries can explode in beautiful ways
18:45what other good science channels do you recommend?Cody's Lab, Smarter Every Day, Veratisium, The Sci Show
19:20Follow Mehditation on YouTube as well: https://www.youtube.com/mehditation
19:35If you really want to learn electronics, you must experiment. Just pickup some random project, start building, and you will learn.And if you don't care about electronics, do something else. I don't knowâŠ
âŠbut don't play with high voltage!
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What does USB Type-C mean for the world? Daniel Bogdanoff and Mike Hoffman sit down with Jit Lim to find out. We discuss super fast charging, blazing data transfer - and, of course, things catching fire as a result.Video version (YouTube):What does USB Type-C mean for the world? Daniel Bogdanoff (@Keysight_Daniel) and Mike Hoffman sit down with Jit Lim to find out. We discuss super fast charging, blazing data transfer transfer - and, of course, things catching fire as a result.Watch the video version and ask us any questions you might have on the Keysight Oscilloscopes YouTube channel or in the comments below!Look for new episodes each 2nd and 4th Thursday.Visit Keysight's USB Type-C design and test solutions page for app notes and more!Discussion overview:What is the EEs Talk Tech podcast?What is USB Type-C, one port to end all others!Reversible plugsShow and tell-Superspeed USB, micro USBUSB Type-C cables are the same on both endsHost/Device Source/Sink vs role negotiationUSB Power Delivery (USB PD) overviewUSB PD for USB A was deprecatedUSB Type-C charger has 60 watts of power!Charge your phone very quickly using USB PD 10:005V is an hobby-industry standard level, what about going forwards?What does USB Type-C look like for day-to-day life? LED projectors? USB Noodle makers?Q: Can I find a cheap USB Type-C cable? Should I?A: Probably over time, but if it's poorly made it could go badlyPhones are literally blowing up!The cable isn't just a wire anymore 14:59USB alt modes:USB is the cable to end all cables!It can handle Displayport, HDMI, VGA, DVI, Thunderbolt, ethernet, power, headphonesMHL device discussionNo headphone jack needed!?!Is USB Type-C available in stores?Are manufacturers pushing Type-C or are consumers demanding it?USB A to C, USB B to C, Thunderbolt to USB C adapters are allowed in the USB C spec (USB Type-C specification)Make sure to look for USB Certification when you buy productsUSB IF mandates that products be certified before being soldA bad USB Type-C implementation can destroy your stuff!How are USB alt modes implemented?What makes up the hardware? 20:20All USB Type-C cables & hardware have to be the same!CC (Configuration Channel) line starts the handshake and is a dedicated pinMake sure cables only have one CC! 21:40USB Type-C is reversible! 22:20The device receptacle does the signal routing based on cable position and orientationHow does device negotiation work? For example, what if two phones want to charge each other?A device can be a host (sinking) or a device (sourcing) 24:20How does it happen? 24:45RP, RD, RA resistor network is fundamental to Type-CWhat do the resistors mean?RP means "always a source"RD means "always a sink"These resistor networks have certain values that determine current, etc.You can have USB Type-C without PD, up to 5 Volts 3 AmpsUSB Type-C PD lets you go to 20V 5AWe have two USB test fixtures/USB test jig the N7015A and N7016AIs USB PD available today?Temperature sensors (or other fail safe mechanisms) are required 28:00Are USB Type-C cables active or passive?In general, USB Type-C cables are passive. Active USB Type-C cables will be used for longer cables.All USB Type-C cables are required to have an e-mark chip to help with power negotiation 29:15Not all USB Type-C cables can handle 100WUSB Type-C can go up to 80 Gb data transfer using four TX/RX links!There's a lot of room to grow for future USB Type-C revisions 32:10Predictions 30:30
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How is the world of processors changing, and what does it mean for the future of AI? Daniel Bogdanoff and Brig Asay sit down to talk about it.Video (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10_8c-nkfOgDiscussion overview:Intro 00:00Intel acquisition of Altera 00:45What does it mean for Intel to buy an FPGA company?What is "dispersed computing" 1:17Microprocessors used to handle everythingThen, GPUs became integrated 1:45Offloading computing from a microprocessor 2:02One option is to use an FPGA to share computing 2:10ASIC vs FPGA 2:15ASICs aren't flexible 2:45FPGAs give more flexibility than an ASIC 3:03We use both FPGAs and ASICs in our instruments 3:25Parallel vs serial buses 3:35PCIe is x16, other tech going well past 2 and 4 lanes 4:00This is helpful, but it adds a lot of design complexityWe're starting to see 5:00PCIe, USB, SerDes used to dominate but now we're seeing some other technologieslike Generation Z and CCIX (Cache Coherent Interconnect for Accelerators) 6:00Makes designs faster to market and easier to debugGeneration Z (Gen-Z) 6:25Generation Z and CCIX build on PCIe technologyWhy are these technologies coming out? 7:00PCIe takes a lot of work to implement 7:35So these technologies are less stringent 8:00and are more open 8:15We see a lot of PCIe Gen 2 that will start to be replaced by Gen-Z or CCIX type buses internally 8:30How does the microprocessor connect to other chips in the design? 9:05That's the biggest opportunity for speed increasesThunderbolt has been around for a while 9:45But, Thunderbolt is finally taking off 10:00It used to be an internal bus, but now we're starting to see it externally on consumer devicesWhat are the next major tasks that will be offloaded? 10:25AI, machines learning from themselves 11:00"If true artificial intelligence happens, there's no way a microprocessor can do it all" 11:10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_dataBig data is huge, and that requires a lot of processing and computing 11:32A processor and a server won't be able to do it alone 11:50Is this because there's too much data? (it's two-fold) 12:101. There's tons of data 12:452. We want to know the answer right awayFPGAs/ASICs are currently doing a "filtering" of data which then feeds into a central processor 13:15Right now, FPGAs are handling very specific tasks 13:56Intel acquires Altera, which is a good indicator of where the industry is going 14:15The FPGA is going to get smarter and smarter 14:50Are FPGAs too slow? 15:15What do designers need their FPGAs to do? 16:10Companies creating FPGAs know that they have to have higher performance at lower cost 16:30NVIDIA, Google, Facebook are all releasing their own chipsFPGA part costs will likely drop in the next 5 years as a result 17:20Is there a blend of FPGAs and ASICs? 18:00We're seeing FPGAs starting to be implemented on data centers and servers 18:15Using FPGAs instead of ASICs there for their flexibilityServers lead the PC/consumer market in technology 18:45Server loads are an order of magnitude greater than PC loadsHyperscaling 19:40Historically, you had storage, servers, and routers all separate. Now, they're getting smarter with resource allocationLocalized vs remote dispersed computing 21:20All the data has to go somewhere, there's not a lot of point to pointLatency is becoming more of an issue 22:00Is processor technology plateauing? 22:30Consumers generally don't need a lot more processing power as of today, but servers doAre multiple core processors a harbinger of FPGAs taking on more tasks? 23:55AI is becoming more and more important 25:05There's nothing more debated than artificial intelligence 25:40We're using it in a minimalist way 26:00A "large tech company" had an AI go on Twitter and it didn't work out very well 26:35What is it going to take to make AI something that is integral to our daily life? 27:05For data centers, AI is going to play a role in adjusting to the flux of data 27:50What's the difference between artificial intelligence and analytics 28:15AI makes the decisions, analytics is just a flow of informationThe 2016 USA presidential election is an good example of analytics vs AI 28:53AI has been in Science Fiction for a long time 29:55AI brings a lot of ethical discussions, but we don't have time to talk about them 30:00Predictions (Luddites, elections, and "the common man") 30:45AI and self driving cars 31:30
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Wireless charging is growing in popularity! Learn about the difference between inductive and resonant techniques, as well as who's implementing the technology (it might surprise you!). Daniel Bogdanoff, Brig Asay, and Johnnie Hancock discuss.Video (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsC5_ML8J88Discussion Overview:Intro 00:00Efficiency measurements for wireless charging system 01:02Basics of wireless charging 01:53Phones without built-in wireless charging functionalityPhone case to enable wireless charging 02:05Wireless charger and phone as primary and secondary transformer 02:16Magnetic Inductive vs Magnetic Resonant techniques for Wireless ChargingMagnetic resonance versus inductance for wireless charging 02:39Magnetic inductance 02:54Qi technology 03:05Rezence/Airfuel/A4WP (alliance for wireless power)Magnetic inductance runs at a lower frequency 03:21Device communication - "ping" 03:30Load change, load modulation, handshaking 03:39Spool of wire as load 04:05Two main states - polling/power save 04:23Magnetic resonance 04:39Proximity of device to charging pad for magnetic inductance charging 05:00Charge multiple devices wirelessly with magnetic resonance using one large charging coil 05:31Can you mount a charging pad under table/surface? 05:46Surface material types that do and do not allow charging 06:07Where is wireless charging available?Integration of wireless charging into non-electronic devices 06:28New infrastructure - Furniture makers, coffee shops 06:52Wireless charging pads built into furniture 07:01Magnetic inductance, built into surface of furniture 07:06Coffee shops in the future may have wireless charging in the tables and countersWireless charging might not be free 07:35Near field communication (NFC) 07:52Is wireless charging secure?There's a possibility of data transfer (non power-related information) 08:04Magnetic resonance has parallel communication path 08:39Bluetooth protocol will be used to transfer more information 08:51Wireless charging in cars and furnitureAutomotive integration of wireless charging 09:36Why is this better than plugging the phone in directly? 10:24Wireless chargers embedded in furnitureSold at furniture stores 11:18Standards for distance from charging pad 12:26Charging from far distances using repeater systems and magnetic resonance 14:28How to tune a wireless charging deviceTuning a wireless charging device 15:01Network analyzer for tuning, impedance matching 15:12Oscilloscopes can also be used for tuningWhy don't we have this technology everywhere right now? 15:44Slowed down by lack of a single standard 16:06Magnetic resonance versus inductance for future technology 16:34Companies and standards - one technology will winInfluencers of the consortium - manufacturers, tech companies, etc. 18:54Trade offs 19:31Efficiency, cost, multiple devicesWhat is the efficiency of wireless charging? 20:12Wireless charging efficiency for bigger device - electric car 20:45Safety, government regulations 21:18Texas A&M professor - what does electric radiation do to people? 22:07NFC - Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, etc. 22:38Wirelessly charge wearables, medical implants 23:16Wireless charging pacemakersHow much power can we really transfer wirelessly? 24:53Charging all devices inside a single room?Predictions for the future of wireless power 26:24Read Johnnie's wireless charging application notes:Part 1: Measurements during the power transfer statePart 2: Measurements during the power save statePart 3: Power and efficiency measurements
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Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, officially abbreviated as PCIeÂź or PCI ExpressÂź, is a computer expansion bus standard designed to replace the older bus standards such as PCI.PCIe 4.0 is doubling the data rate of PCIe 3.0 and poses some interesting challenges for designers. Learn more about PCIe, what it is and how it affects your PC's performance & capabilities. Daniel Bogdanoff, Mike Hoffman, and Rick Eads discuss.Video (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zX-uO8CXfcDiscussion Overview:Intro 00:00Rick Eads is "PCI-Eads" 13:00Rick's background with PCIe - He's been around since the beginning PCIe 1.0Rick spent time on the PCI-SIG board of directors 50:00PCI-SIG means "Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group"Signal integrity, transmitters, receivers (PCIe PHY Layer) 1:00What is PCIe? What is PCI Express? 1:20PCIe means Peripheral Component Interconnect ExpressUsed to have the ISA bus, ISA means Industry Standard Architecture 1:40Which transitioned to PCI, but that wasn't fast enough 1:55Gaming has driven overclocking 2:00PCIe is revolutionary 2:25PCI and ISA was parallel but, PCIe is serial 2:40PCIe is scalable 3:00PCIe lanes use lanes that are a differential TX (transmit) and a differential RX (Receiver)3:09You can have 1 lane (x1, "by one") up to at least 32 lanes 3:30PCIe is starting to be used for storage 4:35Storage with PCIe is popular thanks to solid state drivesNVMe (also called NVM Express) uses PCIe PHY layer 5:25NVMe means "Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Specification"SATA & SAS involve sectoring and writing onto "RUST" (iron oxide) It turns out that sand is faster than rust! 6:00It's in consumer-grade equipment now 6:45m.2 is on most motherboards, and takes an SSD drive running NVMe or SATA expressNVMe is targeted more towards servers but NVMe's speed and reliability makes it more of a standard interface 7:40When is PCIe used? 8:05PCIe is designed to be an interoperability 8:20The "Root Complex" is the host, like a motherboard, the "Peripheral" is the card 8:40Why does the PCI-SIG exist? 9:15The point is that you can be interoperable, the device should work with all other similar devicesPCI-SIG holds interoperability workshop events 11:00The first rule of the interoperability workshop is we don't talk about the interoperability workshop 11:30Engineers have brought in products covered in giant trashbags with a port sticking out 11:50Thunderbolt is a combination of PCIe and Displayport 13:00But it doesn't leverage the "collateral," the written spec but instead borrows the theory of operation from PCIeHow does Thunderbolt work with the PCI-SIG? 13:30PCI express is a variant of the PHY portion of InfiniiBand (IB), which is a computer networking standardA Physical layer is called a PHYMotherboard designers don't want to build a lot of PHYs, they want something universal 14:15Industry tries to build universal PHYs 15:00PCI express is used in some mobile devices 15:10Because PCI express has some low power statesSome cars use a PCI express connection for connecting the rear view camera to the rear view mirror displayHow far can you transmit PCI express? 16:15There is a cable version of PCI expressYou can use an active cable 16:30There are some proprietary systems that use a repeaterThe repeater transmits a proprietary signal to a receiver that converts it back to PCIePCI express 4.0 (PCIe Gen 4) 17:45The PCI express Gen 4 feature set has been fixed 18:05It's not final-final 18:30PCIe has used a 0.7 version as a sort of a trial run 18:40PCIe Gen 3 equalization changed from 0.7 to 3.0 and a nonlinear equalizer was implemented 18:45PCIe Gen 4 is different 19:15PCI express Gen 4 looks a lot like PCI express Gen 3 19:30PCI express Gen 4 20:00The average link length on a motherboard is 10 inches, a server is about 20 inchesThis architecture can't change, so the speed has to increaseInsertion loss in PCIe Gen 4 is increased 10:50As loss increases, the ability to transmit data decreasesPCI express Gen 3 runs at 8 Gb/s per data link, PCI express Gen 4 runs at 16 Gb/s per data linkPCI express Gen 3 has a 25 mV eye height 21:00, PCI express Gen 4 has a 15 mV eye heightand even then, the lane length is too long 21:30PCI express Gen 4 adds a retimer (a form of a repeater) 22:05A retimer was option for PCI express Gen 3, but it's refined in Gen 4A retimer takes data and passes it through as quickly as possible to extend the channel length 22:35But, it takes more power and more cost. Designers are not excited about retimers 22:50PCI express Gen 4 also uses a lower loss material 23:00PCI express Gen 4 uses FR4 23:10FR4 stands for "fire retardant 4"Electronics fail because the magic smoke comes out 23:45FR4 is cheap, which is why engineers are using it 23:59The motherboard cost can double just by going to a lower loss interconnect material 24:10FR4 is a weaved fiberglass weave put in a mesh and pressedYou can have variations in insertion loss characteristics, etc 25:05Predictions 28:10High speed PCI express buses will appear in weird places like IoT toasters!Bonus 32:19
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The entire universe can be described using just seven different units! These are the metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and candela and are defined by the The International System of Units (SI) as the seven base units through which all other units can be derived.Learn more about these standard units, their interesting history, and relevance today. Daniel Bogdanoff, Mike Hoffman, and Matthew Woerner discuss.Video (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl4I0jg63sIDiscussion Overview:What is Metrology?Meteorology vs MetrologyWhat are SI Units and what is the international system of units?Why do we even have SI units?The history of the yard, where does the word "ruler" come from?The specific value of the kilogram (kg)Basics of the kilogram and how we define mass 07:00The kilogram has sister units.Units of measure defined by constants in the universe are helpful because they don't change.What makes up a second? (Uses a cesium atom's vibrations)What are base SI units? 12:06What are derived SI units? Derived SI units are units of measurement that can be found by selectively combining the seven base SI units. For example, the volt.What is the difference between base and derived SI units?Electrical current, the Ampere, and Electromagnetics 15:00What is the triple point of a substance?It is the temperature and pressure at which a substance's gas, liquid, and solid states coexistWhat are moles (chemistry) - the quantity of a substance 20:20What is a candela? (Luminous intensity)Planck's constant is important! How to use Planck's equationThe Watt balance is replacing the physical versions of the kilogram 26:16Mike's amazing water bottle flip 38:53EEs Talk Tech is an electrical engineering podcast from Keysight Technologies
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Do you know how the volt was discovered? It might surprise you! Daniel Bogdanoff, Mike Hoffman, and Matthew Woerner discuss the volt's wild history and more in this week's EEs Talk Tech podcast.Video (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgc017zt5qsDiscussions Overview:The volt and building batteriesVolta discovered the Volt (article)Capital vs. Lower case SI unitsThe Greeks knew about static electricityIt's not that hard to build a basic batteryHow do potato batteries work? 4:30, 10:30How do lemon batteries work?The invention of electrostatic generators and storage in Leiden jarsWho were Galvani and Volta?Galvani started experimenting with static electricityMike simply assumes frog legs are deliciousGalvani was skinning a frog leg for some experiments and the frog leg kicked!Why and how did the leg kick?Galvani vs. VoltaGalvani believed in "animal electricity," but Volta thought it was just electricityGalvani is considered to be the father of bioelectromagneticsMike thinks plants crave electrolytesRedox reactions make biobatteries work (like frog leg batteries and ox head batteries)Galvani's nephew performed demonstrations on more than just animal tissueMary Shelley and the fabled origin of FrankensteinVolta and the invention of the Voltaic Stack (or Voltaic Pile)The first light bulb was demonstrated for the Royal Society in LondonWhat is the volt now?Mike was born just in time to browse dank memesWhy is it called "natural philosophy" - Because there was much study of the mind (Greeks), and technology finally allowed natural philosophers to study nature.Wikipedia tipBack in the day, scientists had to understand a lot of different disciplinesFamous scientific rivalries over time - is Edison vs. Tesla over hyped?Predictions:Maker movementWe want EEs Talk Tech fan fiction.We forgot Mike's prediction 23:25EEs Talk Tech is an electrical engineering podcast by Keysight Technologies
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How do we handle the ethical dilemmas that arise when building increasingly capable and intelligent systems? AI is all around us- likely a part of your phone, home systems, and even cars. Autonomous cars offer greater convenience, safety, and efficiency, but is the world ready to tackle the corresponding ethical dilemmas?Video (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBIz8ouOMGkFollow Brig Asay on Yelp @baasay.Discussion Overview:AI EthicsRestaurant Reviews by AI 01:41Self-driving (autonomous) carsAI ethical dilemma and AI decision liabilityWhat about consumer liability?AI decision-making without human interaction 07:25The three stages of AIArtificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI also known as "weak AI"), Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) 07:48AI consciousness, AI ethical standards, and self-replicating AIHumanoid robotsShould AI be allowed to replicate itself? 10:16Task-based AI using computersIs there a need to program AI to have morals and ethics?The prisoner's dilemma and game theoryChallenges of marketing self-driving carsAutonomous buses emulating human behaviorShould AI have to follow local laws and regulations? 17:50Telemetry tracking autonomous vehicles for speed monitoringSelf-programmable FPGAs and neural network simulationsCan a computer be evil? 26:30EEs Talk Tech Electrical Engineering podcast
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Learn more about producer risk and consumer risk! Mike Hoffman, Daniel Bogdanoff, and Matthew Woerner discuss various aspects of the risk involved in manufacturing and buying goods.Audio player:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci3s6ASV8VMMore about calibration:http://www.keysight.com/find/americas_calDiscussion Overview:What is consumer risk and producer risk?There's always risk, so how do you manage it?What should consumers do to be safe?How are producers testing their products before selling them?The history of the ballpoint pen is a good object lesson for producers @7:00Are lifetime warranties just a marketing ploy?Lifetime warranty transfers consumer risk into producer riskAs a producer how do you decide how long your warranty should be?How to build reliability models for products 10:30How can we predict a failure rate for a product?We have use temperature chamber and other test techniques.How do you balance AFR (annualized failure rate) with the risk of experiencing catastrophic failure ?What is a false accept? What is the "escape rate," what is a false pass ?A false accept is the term for test results that should have failed, but instead pass.How do you avoid catastrophic issues in production? 15:15How accurate can you really be? How accurately can you measure something that takes time?Is there a guide for the uncertainty of measurements?Traceability is important for making reliable measurementsFill up your gas tank early in the morning and you get more gasWhat should you do now? 20:00What is margin stackup?Everything in a device has margin, so margin stackup is the combination of all uncertainties.Calibration is a very wide industry, it doesn't just apply to test and measurement! Think, car alignments, etc.What is Matthew's biggest challenge? 24:23How do you make sure your measurements are accurate?Predictions 28:00Some companies test products based on the region that product is being sold into, as different regions can have different quality expectations.
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Optical communication 101 - learn about the basics of optics! Daniel Bogdanoff and Mike Hoffman interview Stefan Loeffler.Video Version (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWV7Yd1OGa0Audio version:Discussion overview:Similarities between optical and electricalStefan was at OFCWhat is optics? 1:21What is optical communication? 1:30There's a sender and a receiver (optical telecommunication)Usually we use a 9 um fiber optic cable, but sometimes we use lasers and air as a mediumThe transmitter is typically a laserLEDs don't work for opticalOptical fiber alignment is challenging, and is often accomplished using roboticsHow is optical different from electrical engineering?Photodiodes act receivers, use a transimpedance amplifier. It is essentially "electrical in, electrical out" with optical in the middle.Optical used to be binary, but now it's QAM 64Why do we have optical communication?A need for long distance communication led to the use of optical.Communication lines used to follow train tracks, and there were huts every 80 km. So, signals could be regenerated every 80 km.In the 1990s, a new optical amplifier was introduced.Optical amplifier test solutionsSignal reamplifcation vs. signal regenerationThere's a .1 dB per km loss in modern fiber optic cable 11:20This enables undersea fiber optic communication, which has to be very reliableHow does undersea communication get implemented?Usually by consortium: I-ME-WE SEA-ME-WEAT&T was originally a network providerWhat is dark fiber (also known as dark fibre)?Fiber is cheap, installation and right-of-way is expensiveWhat happens if fiber breaks?Dark fiber can be used as a sensor by observing the change in its refractive indexWater in fiber optic line is bad, anchors often break fiber optic cable 17:30Fiber optic cable can be made out of a lot of different thingsUndersea fiber has to have some extra slack in the cableSubmarines are often used to inspect fiber optic cableYou can find breaks in the line using OTDR - "Optical time domain reflectometry"A "distributed reflection" means a mostly linear loss. The slope of the reflection tells you the loss rate.The refractive index in fiber optic cable is about 1.5Latency and delay 23:00The main issue is the data processing, not the data transmissionA lot of optical engineers started in RF engineering 24:00Environmental factors influence the channel, these include temperature, pressure, and physical bendsRecently thunderstorms were found to have an effect on the fiber channelDistributed fiber sensing is used drillingPolarization in fiber, polarization multiplexing techniquesCurrently, we're using 194 THz, which gives 50 nm windowsFuture challenges for optical 28:25It's cost driven. Laying fiber is expensive. And, when all dark fiber is being used, you have to increase bandwidth on existing fiber.Shannon relation 30:00Predictions 31:10Watch the previous episode here!
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The future will be built using ASICs! Daniel Bogdanoff and Mike Hoffman sit down with chip sage and planner Mike Beyers to discuss the challenges of building custom application specific integrated circuits. This podcast was inspired by the blog post "Creating an ASIC - Our Quest to Make the Best Cheap Oscilloscope"Video version (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGKY29t-uQsAudio version:Discussion Overview:Weâre finally a real podcast now!What is an ASIC? An ASIC is an application specific integrated circuit, an IC designed for a specific task.Why do we use ASICs?ASIC architecture 101 2:46The main specification people talk about is the size smallest thing you can find on a chip - like the gate of a CMOS transistorEffective gate length is shorter than the gate length drawn because of the manufacturing process.Another key spec is how many transistors you can fit in a square mmMetal layers for interconnects are also more important, but can cause the mask sets to be more expensiveDo we care more about a gate's footprint or its depth? 4:11Will Mooreâs Law hit a ceiling? 4:29What about using three dimensional structures? 5:37Is Mooreâs Law just a marketing number? 5:51Does technology ever slow down? 6:29Power is often the largest limiter 6:58Google builds data centers next to hydroelectric dams 7:34Battery power 7:43Power drives cost 7:53How does the power problem affect ASICs? 8:25There are power integrity and thermal management concernsDedicated routes on an ASIC vs switching on an FPGA 8:14Who actually uses ASICs? 10:14IOT technology - 7 nm and 14nm chipsA lot of people are using older technology because it's much more affordable (like 45 nm)ASICs on your bike could be a thing? 11:16SRAM wireless electronic bike shifters 11:57Is bike hacking a real thing? Yes! Encrypted wireless communication helps prevent it.Is an opamp (operational amplifier) an ASIC?What to consider when investing in an ASIC 13:23Whatâs the next best alternative to building this ASIC?With an ASIC, you can often drive lower cost, but you also increase performance and reliabilityIs there a return on investment? 14:24What happens when Mooreâs Law hits a dead end with transistors? 14:46Could we replace electrical with optical? 15:30Is it possible that there other fundamental devices out there, waiting to be discovered? 16:20The theoretical fourth device, the memristor 17:00Will analog design ever die? Mike was told to get into digital design.Non-binary logic could be the future 18:23If someone wants and ASIC, how do they get one? 18:50In-house design vs. external fabs/foundries, total turnkey solutions vs. the foundry modelYou can get a cheaper chip by going to a larger architecture, but the chip will run hotter and slower.RTL - Most common code languages Verilog or VHDL vs. higher level languages like C 22:50Behavioral Verilog vs. Structural Verilog 24:00The history of Keysight ASICs 25:45Predictions 28:40How to connect with us 29:00
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Mike Hoffman and Daniel Bogdanoff continue their discussion with Stefan Loeffler about optical communication. In the first episode, we looked at "what is optical communication?" and "how does optical communication work?" This week we dig deeper into some of the latest optical communication techniques and advances in the industry as well as the use of fiber optic cable in electronics and long-range telecommunication networks.Video version (YouTube):https://youtu.be/sZXxltWJwIU Audio Version:Discussion Overview:Installation of optical fiber and maintenance of optical fiberWe can use optical communication techniques such as phase multiplexingThereâs a race between using more colors and higher bitrates to increase data communication rates.Indium doped fiber amplifiers can multiply multiple channels at different colors on the same optical PHY.You can use up to 80 colors on a single fiber optic channel! 3:52How is optical communication similar to RF? Optical communication is a lot like WiFi 4:07Light color in optical fiber is the equivalent of carrier frequencies in RFHow do we increase the data rate in optical fiber?There are many multiplexing methods such as multicore, wavelength division, and polarization 4:50Practically, only two polarization modes can be used at once. The limiting factor is the separation technology on the receiver side. 6:20But, this still doubles our bandwidth!What about dark fiber? Dark fiber is the physical piece of optical fiber that is unused. 7:07Using dark fiber on an existing optical fiber is the first step to increasing fiber optic bandwidth.But wavelengths can also be added.Optical C-band vs L-band 7:48Optical C-band was the first long-distance band. It is now joined by the L-band.Is there a difference between using different colors and different wavelengths?Optical fibers are a light show for mosquitos! 8:30How do we fix optical fibers? 10:36For short distances, an OTDR or visual light fault detectors are often used by sending red light into a fiber and lights up when there's a break in the fiberAre there other ways to extend the amount of data we can push through a fiber? 11:35Pulses per second can be increased, but we will eventually bleed into neighboring channelsPhase modulation is also usedPAM-4 comes into play with coding (putting multiple bits in a symbol)And QAM which relies on both amplitude and phase modulationPAM-4 test solutionsHow do we visualize optical fibers? 14:05We can use constellation diagrams which plot magnitude and phaseDo we plan for data error? 15:00Forward error correction is used, but this redundancy involves significant overheadQAM vs PAM64 Gigabot (QAM-64) was the buzzword at OFC 2017 16:52PAM is used for shorter links while QAM is used for longer linksHow do we evaluate fiber? 18:02We can calculate cost per managed bit and energy per managed bitEnergy consumption is a real concern 18:28The race between copper and fiber 19:13Fiber wins on long distance because of power consumptionBut does fiber win on data rate?Google Fiber should come to Colorado Springs...and Germany!To compensate for the loss of the signal on the distance, you push more power in for transmitting and decryptingFibers attenuate the signal much less than copper doesBut the problem comes when we have to translate the signal back into electrical on the receiving endIs there a break-even point with fiber and copper? 22:15Optical communication technology in the futureWhat speed are we at now and whatâs the next technology? 23:05600 G technology will be here eventuallyWe can expect 1.5 years between iterations in bandwidth. This is really slow in terms of today's fast-paced technology.We typically see 100 G speeds todayPredictions 26:00
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Laser-delivered Netflix and backyard data centers!The conversation continues with optical communications guru, Stefan Loeffler. In this episode, Daniel Bogdanoff and Mike Hoffman discuss optical infrastructure today and what the future holds for optics.Video version (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZOO5yzUXcUAudio Version:Discussion Overview:Optical Communication Infrastructure 00:30Optics = Laser-driven Netflix delivery systemClient-side vs line-side 1:00Line-side is the network that transports the signals from the supplier to the consumerClient-side is the equipment that is either a consumer or business, accepting the data from the network provider.Yellow cables in your wall indicate presence of fiber 1:40Technically, optics is communication using radiation! But it is invisible to us as humans. 2:20Getting fiber all the way to the antenna is one of the major new technologies 2:30But this requires you to have power at the antenna 2:45However, typically there is a "hotel" or base station at the bottom of the antenna where the power is and where fiber traditionally connects, instead of up to the antennaReally new or experimental antennas have fiber running all the way up the pole 3:28Network topologies- star, ring, and mesh 3:42Base stations are usually organized in star-form, or a star network pattern. A star network starts at a single base station and distributes data to multiple cellsRings (ring networks) are popular in metro infrastructure because you can encircle an entire area 4:20Optical rings are like traffic circles for data.Is ring topology the most efficient or flexible? 6:20An advantage of ring and mesh topologies is built-in resilienceMesh topologies have more bandwidth but require more fiber optic cable 7:10How often is the topology or format of a network defined by geography or regulations? 8:30How consumers get fiber 9:20Business or academic campuses typically utilize mesh networks on the client side, subscribing to a fiber providerFiber itself or a certain bandwidth using that fiber can be leasedIf you're a business, like a financial institution, and latency or bandwidth is critical, leasing fiber is necessary so you have control over the network 9:45What's the limiting factor of optical? What are the limitations of the hardware that's sending/receiving optical signals? 11:08Whatever we do in fiber, at some point, it is electrical 11:27There will be a tipping point where quantum computing and photon-computing (optical computing) comes into play 11:40Will optical links ever compete with silicon? Maybe we will have optical computers in the future 12:02The limiting factor is the power supply 12:40What's costing all this energy? 12:58The more data (bits and bytes) we push through, the more energy in the form of optical photons or electrons we are pushing through. We also must use a DSP for decoding which costs energyOne of the first 100 Gb links between two clients was between the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange 14:00The evolution of the transmission of data 14:45 Will we ever have open-air optical communication? 15:50RF technology uses open-air communication today, but it is easy to disturbThe basic material fiber is made of is cheap (silica, quartz), and can be found on any beach 16:08Whereas copper has a supply problem and, thus, continues to increase in priceOther uses for optical 16:33Crystal fiber and multicore fiber is being experimented with to increase the usable bandwidthOptical, as waveguides, can be built into small wafer sections 17:15Optics is used in electrical chips when photons are easier to push through than electronsCross-talk can happen with optical, too 18:13Testing is done with optical probing, which works because of optical couplingOptical-to-electrical converter solution Optical satellite communication 19:48Hollow-fiber could be used in a vacuum, such as spaceThe refractive index of the fiber's core is higher than the cladding, which guides the optical signal through 21:05A hollow-fiber would be like a mini mirror tubeOptical data transmission 21:25 Higher carrier frequencies means you can modulate faster, but there's more loss and dispersionThis means optical communication could be harder in open-air vs. in traditional fiber 22:4570-80% headroom is typicalThe congested part of a network drives the change in technology. 24:25Mega data centers vs. distributed data centers Cooling and power is important so big data centers are being built by Google, Facebook, Netflix in places where cheap, cool water is abundant 24:30Distributed data centers are becoming more popular than mega-data centers 24:55All images on Facebook have "cdn" in the URL because the image is hosted on a content distribution network, or cloudData centers are described by megawatts (MW) of power, not size or amount of data processed 26:20Internal data center traffic takes up about 75% of the traffic 27:47Distributed networks utilize a mesh network and require communication between networksTelecom starts using faster fiber when about 20% of the fiber is used 28:55This 20% utilization is also common in CAN busses because of safety-critical data communicationUptime guarantees require the Telecom industry to keep this number at 20%Keysight optical resources and solutions 31:00Predictions 31:45Also, check out our previous conversations with Stefan about Optical Communication 101 and Optical Communication Techniques.
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