Press Releases

Kawasaki, Japan, Feb 10, 2010 - (ACN Newswire) - Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and the University of Toronto today announced their joint development of a new processing method for transceiver chips used in gigabit-class(1) high-speed data transmission over wirelines. The new technology employs digital circuitry to replace previously-required structures that used analog circuits. While analog processing require circuits that are adapted to the specifications of a signal being transmitted, such as transmission distance and amplitude, this new digital approach can perform these optimizations automatically, so that a single circuit could be used to accommodate a wide range of various wireline communications. Compared to conventional processing methods, this new digital-processing method makes it possible to shorten development periods by approximately half. It is anticipated that this new technology in the future could be applied to a variety of wireline communication applications, including 10 Gbps high-speed Ethernet in datacenters.

Details of this technology were presented at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference 2010 (ISSCC 2010) being held in San Francisco from February 7-11. (Presentation number: 8.7)

Background and Technological Challenges

File size data volumes for large photographic, audio, and video files are becoming increasingly larger, thus requiring a significant amount of bandwidth to transmit, leading to demand for ever-faster wireline data communications. Conventional transceiver chips rely on analog circuitry which needs to be optimized to accommodate specifications of the signal being transmitted - such as transmission distance and amplitude - and therefore require multiple transceiver chips to be designed in order to accommodate for various applications.

With a growing diversity of devices featuring high-speed data transmission, the need to optimize an existing technology for every new type of device or model has become a bottleneck in the development process. Efforts to develop transceiver chips within short development periods that can accommodate the wide range of different devices have been proven challenging.

Newly-developed Technology

Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto have developed a digital circuit-based transceiver chip. Featuring digital circuitry, the new transceiver chip can automatically optimize itself for a variety of high-speed communications circuits, thus significantly reducing development periods by approximately half compared with conventional methods.

This technology detects variations in the delay on the time axis of the input signal, caused during data transmission, and based on that can automatically adjust the timing it uses for judging whether an incoming signal is a 0 or 1 (Figure 1). Since variations in data transmissions increase along with faster transmission speeds, this new technology is essential for accurate data exchange. This is the world's first technology to achieve Gbps-class speeds without the use of analog circuitry elements, while offering fully-digital timing adjustments for signal-determination.

Results

As a world's first, by using digital circuitry-based high-speed transceiver technology, Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto's new technology makes it possible to reduce the design and development period for a gigabit-class transceiver chip by approximately one-half (1/2) compared with conventional methods. This suggests that transceiver chips for a wide range of communications devices could be offered in a timely manner.

Future Developments

Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto will continue with development of this technology to optimize the digital signal processing, to further reduce the transceiver's power consumption.

Glossary and Notes

1 Gigabit-class/Gigabits-per-second (Gbps):Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) expresses data rate and indicates how many gigabits can be transferred per second. 10 Gbps is 10 billion bits-per-second (10 billion bps) = 10,000 megabits-per-second (10,000 Mbps), and indicates that 10 billion bits of data can be transferred per second.

About University of Toronto

Established in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada's largest university, recognized as a global leader in research and teaching. U of T's distinguished faculty, institutional record of groundbreaking scholarship and wealth of innovative academic opportunities continually attract outstanding students and academics from around the world. U of T is committed to providing a learning experience that benefits from both a scale almost unparalleled in North America and from the close-knit learning communities made possible through its college system and academic divisions. Located in and around Toronto, one of the world's most diverse regions, U of T's vibrant academic life is defined by a unique degree of cultural diversity in its learning community. The University is sustained environmentally by three green campuses, where renowned heritage buildings stand beside award-winning innovations in architectural design.

For more information: http://www.utoronto.ca/

About Fujitsu Ltd

Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT-based business solutions for the global marketplace. With approximately 160,000 employees supporting customers in 70 countries, Fujitsu combines a worldwide corps of systems and services experts with highly reliable computing and communications products and advanced microelectronics to deliver added value to customers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.6 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. For more information, please visit www.fujitsu.com.

Contact: Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
Design Solutions Lab.
Platform Technologies Lab.
Tel: +81-44-754-2635
E-mail:hsio_adc_pr@ml.labs.fujitsu.com

University of Toronto
Prof. Ali Sheikholeslami
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tel: +1(416)978-1681
E-mail:ali@eecg.utoronto.ca
Address: 10 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G4

Copyright 2010 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved.

Kawasaki, Japan, Feb 10, 2010 - (ACN Newswire) - Fujitsu Laboratories Limited and the University of Toronto today announced that they have jointly developed the world's first high-reliability read-method for use with spin-torque-transfer (STT) MRAM(1) that is insusceptible to erroneous writes. STT MRAM is regarded as a potential future form of non-volatile memory(2) that could be used as an alternative to flash memory. NOR flash memory that is embedded in microcontrollers widely used in mobile phones and other electronic devices is expected to reach the limits of its feasible miniaturization in the near future, which has led to the search for an alternative low-power non-volatile memory that will allow continued necessary miniaturization. By resolving one of the major obstacles to using STT MRAM, Fujitsu and the University of Toronto's new read-method marks a major step towards the practical implementation of STT MRAM as a necessary replacement for flash memory, in view of future requirements that will be necessary for compact and low-power electronic devices.

Details of this technology were presented at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference 2010 (ISSCC 2010) being held in San Francisco from February 7-11. (Presentation number: 14.1)

Background

Many electronic devices such as mobile phones or PDAs use microcontrollers with embedded flash memory, which allows onboard software to be rewritten. However, NOR flash memory used in such microcontrollers is nearing the physical limits of its miniaturization, which has led to research on various types of memory that could replace NOR flash memory.

STT MRAM, which uses magnetic materials as the memory storage element, is gaining attention as an emerging potential candidate to replace flash memory, as STT MRAM meets the needs for speed, low power consumption, and miniaturization that would make it a good candidate to replace flash memory.

Technological Challenges

STT MRAM uses memory storage elements that take advantage of the effect in which a current that is passed through a magnetic material - such as a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)(3) - reverses its direction of magnetization (Figure 1). Passing a current through the MTJ causes its direction of magnetization to switch between a parallel or anti-parallel state, which has the effect of switching between low resistance and high resistance. Because this can be used to represent the 1s and 0s of digital information, STT MRAM can be used as a non-volatile memory.

Reading STT MRAM involves applying a voltage to the MTJ to discover whether the MTJ offers high resistance to current ("1") or low ("0"). However, a relatively high voltage needs to be applied to the MTJ to correctly determine whether its resistance is high or low, and the current passed at this voltage leaves little difference between the read-current and the write-current. Any fluctuation in the electrical characteristics of individual MTJs could cause what was intended as a read-current, to have the effect of a write-current, thus reversing the direction of magnetization of the MTJ.

Newly-developed Technology

In a joint collaboration, Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto have developed an innovative circuit design (Figure 3) that for the first time resolves the issue of erroneous writes in STT MRAM during read operations.

The newly developed read-method uses a negative resistance(4) that is intermediate between the MTJ's high resistance and low resistance on a parallel circuit (Figure 4). If the MTJ is in a high-resistance state, this circuit exhibits negative-resistance characteristics. If the MTJ is in a low-resistance state, then it exhibits normal-resistance characteristics. These characteristics allow the resistance value to be read at lower voltages than before, suppressing the tendency of the read operation to reverse the direction of magnetization and avoiding the problem of erroneous write operations.

Results

The development of this new read circuit with negative resistance has resulted in STT MRAM that is insusceptible to erroneous writes caused by fluctuations in the electrical characteristics of the MTJs. It is anticipated that the STT MRAM used as miniaturized non-volatile memory would enable greater high-performance in mobile phones and other electronic devices.

Future Developments

Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto plan to continue with R&D related to STT MRAM to strive toward practical implementation, such as lowering write currents and developing process technologies for further miniaturization.

Glossary and Notes

1 Spin- Torque-Transfer MRAM:Spin-torque-transfer magnetoresistive (STT) random access memory. MRAM that uses the "spin-torque-transfer" effect to reverse the direction of magnetization of an element by passing current through it.

2 Non-volatile memory:Memory that persists even when electrical power is cut.

3 Magnetic tunnel junction (MJT):A tunnel junction that uses the magnetoresistive effect. Consists of a recording layer made of ferromagnetic material, an insulating film a few atoms thick, and a layer made of ferromagnetic material that will not change its direction of magnetization in the presence of a current.

4 Negative resistance:An element that has negative resistance value, in which its current decreases when voltage rises.

About University of Toronto

Established in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada's largest university, recognized as a global leader in research and teaching. U of T's distinguished faculty, institutional record of groundbreaking scholarship and wealth of innovative academic opportunities continually attract outstanding students and academics from around the world. U of T is committed to providing a learning experience that benefits from both a scale almost unparalleled in North America and from the close-knit learning communities made possible through its college system and academic divisions. Located in and around Toronto, one of the world's most diverse regions, U of T's vibrant academic life is defined by a unique degree of cultural diversity in its learning community. The University is sustained environmentally by three green campuses, where renowned heritage buildings stand beside award-winning innovations in architectural design.

For more information: http://www.utoronto.ca/

About Fujitsu Ltd

Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT-based business solutions for the global marketplace. With approximately 160,000 employees supporting customers in 70 countries, Fujitsu combines a worldwide corps of systems and services experts with highly reliable computing and communications products and advanced microelectronics to deliver added value to customers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.6 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. For more information, please visit www.fujitsu.com.

Contact: Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
Technology Integration Lab.
Platform Technologies Lab.
Tel: +81(46)250-8379
E-mail:til-si@ml.labs.fujitsu.com

University of Toronto
Prof. Ali Sheikholeslami
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tel: +1(416)978-1681
E-mail:ali@eecg.utoronto.ca
Address: 10 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G4 Canada

Copyright 2010 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/e93fe0/poland_insurance_r) has announced the addition of the "Poland Insurance Report Q1 2010" report to their offering.

Poland Insurance Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, insurance associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Poland's insurance industry.

This report differs from its predecessors in several respects. In this analysis of competitive conditions, they provide a much more comprehensive ranking of insurance companies in the major segments from the point of view of the organisation that is providing the data (in practice almost always the national insurance regulator or the national insurance trade association). In Poland, for instance, the three largest non-life companies in the first half of 2009 in terms of Gross Written Premiums written - were PZU SA, STU ERGO Hestia SA and TUiR WARTA SA, whose market shares were 38.9%, 10.0% and 9.4% respectively. In the life segment, the leaders in the first half of 2009 were PZU Zycie SA, ING TUnZ SA and TUnZ WARTA SA, whose market shares were 28.1%, 11.1% and 9.4% respectively. Over time, the authors hope to derive insights from observing how market shares change. They emphasise though, that a decline in share of Gross Written Premiums is not automatically a bad thing and is often the result of a deliberate corporate decision to focus on more profitable business lines.

This report also provides a breakdown of the insurance sector by line from the point of view of the regulator or the trade association. In Poland, for instance, the largest non-life lines in calendar 2008 were Compulsory Motor Third Party Liability (CMTPL), land vehicles voluntary insurance (CASCO) and Fire and Diverse Risks. These accounted for 35%, 26% and 10%, respectively, of total non-life premiums. Over time, they should be able to use this information to bring greater sophistication to the forecasting process.

Writing in November 2009, the authors have been able to ensure that the report includes actual data for 2008. They have generally been able to use data that has been published over the course of 2009 to adjust the forecasts for the year as a whole. They have also extended the forecasts out to 2014. The authors are looking for total premiums in 2009 of PLN55,756mn. This includes non-life premiums of PLN22,158mn and life premiums of PLN33,598mn. In 2014, the corresponding figures should be PLN74,423mn, PLN37,793mn and PLN36,630mn. In terms of the key drivers that underpin the forecasts, they are looking for non-life penetration to rise from 1.68% in 2009 to 2.08% in 2014, and for life density to rise from US$288 to US$340. The proprietary Insurance Business Environment Rating for Poland is 59.7.

This quarter, the report includes a discussion of developments within regional markets on the basis of results published by major cross-border companies in relation to Q209 or Q309 and the latest information provided by regulators and/or trade associations. In their latest reports, both PZU and Vienna Insurance Group have discussed the sharp downturn in life premiums relative to 2008 which has only partly been due to the economic downturn in Poland.

Key Topics Covered:

    --  Executive Summary
    --  SWOT Analysis
    --  Global Outlook
    --  Central And Eastern Europe Overview
    --  Projections And Forecasts
    --  Country Update
    --  Insurance Business Environment Rating
    --  Regional Context
    --  Major Players In Poland's Insurance Sector
    --  Analysis Of Regional Competitive Conditions
    --  Local Company Profiles
    --  Regional Company Profiles
    --  Country Snapshot: Poland Demographic Data
    --  Methodology
    --  Companies Mentioned

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/e93fe0/poland_insurance_r

    Source: Research and Markets

OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/10/10 -- Halogen Software announced today that it has been named one of the Top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada for the second consecutive year. This national awards program, sponsored by Queen's School of Business and Hewitt Associates, recognizes top employers with 50 to 400 employees. It mirrors the renowned Best Employer in Canada initiative, but is focused on small and medium sized businesses. The study, now in its sixth year, is published in the Globe and Mail and PROFIT Magazine.

Selected from a pool of hundreds of small and medium sized companies across Canada, Halogen's inclusion in this exclusive ranking is a testament to an employee focused corporate culture, which is entrenched in its mission, vision and values. As a leading talent management vendor, the organization also uses its own solutions internally to support its employee engagement efforts and drive high performance. Halogen's overall objectives are supported by its employees, each of whom understands how his or her personal goals support the company's top level goals. This connection is well reflected in some key survey results where Halogen stood out above the average.

"Halogen's score of 99% engagement on the questions 'This organization is fair, respectful and honest with customer/clients' and 'This organization cares about the quality of its products/services' put Halogen at the top of all companies surveyed," said Sandra Olszowka, Director, Projects at Queen's Centre for Business Venturing at Queen's School of Business.

"At Halogen our employees work hard, have fun, are respected and recognized. The team is creative, action oriented, and acts with integrity. They also clearly see the link between their own performance and the company's business objectives," said Paul Loucks, President and CEO of Halogen Software. "This is the basis of our success and the survey results reinforce the power of this connection. We are honoured to earn this distinction from our employees, for the second year in a row."

The rankings are primarily determined using the results from Employee Opinion Surveys. Here, 21 key engagement drivers are detailed and analyzed. The evaluation process also includes the assessment of organization practices and perspectives from the leadership team.

Study partners include Queen's School of Business, Queen's Centre for Business Venturing and Hewitt Associates. More information about the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada is available online at http://business.queensu.ca/qcbv/sme.

About Halogen Software

Halogen Software is recognized as a market leader by industry analysts and strongly endorsed by the thousands of HR professionals who use their Talent Management solutions. The company offers a complete suite of web-based products that automate, simplify and integrate performance appraisals, 360 degree feedback, compensation management, succession planning and learning management. Halogen's offering makes HR best-practices accessible to companies of all sizes and its healthcare, financial services and professional services specific suites meet the unique needs of these industries. Halogen is consistently recognized by the industry and its customers for its exceptional implementation and support services, and has won multiple awards for its corporate leadership and product innovation, including HR Technology Product of the Year. For more information, visit www.halogensoftware.com.

Contacts:
Maggie Patterson
PR Consultant, Halogen Software
613-989-1866
mpatterson@ripnet.com

Sandra Olszowka
Queen's Centre for Business Venturing
Queen's School of Business
613-533-3119
solszowka@business.queensu.ca

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/e69472/biofouling) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new report "Biofouling" to their offering.

Biofouling (the colonisation of an interface by a diverse array of organisms) is almost always a problem where it occurs, as it negatively affects surfaces, the materials that they are made from and the structures that they form, and can even destroy them.

This comprehensive book covers in detail in its first section the processes involved in marine, freshwater and medical biofouling including coverage of settlement by larvae and spores, biofouling community processes, epibiosis (biofouling on living organisms) and microbial fouling, including biofilms deleterious to human health. The book's second section, encompassing biofouling processes with industrial implications, includes coverage of biofouling on artificial substrata, paints and coatings technology for the control of marine biofouling, biofouling and antifouling in the maritime industries, such as shipping, offshore oil , and aquaculture, and in power stations and other industries. The impacts of both biofouling and biofouling control and details of current legislation of relevance to biofouling issues are fully covered. The book's final section looks at methods for the measurement of biofouling, and future prospects for biofouling, including in-depth coverage of the changes anticipated in biofouling worldwide due to global climate change, and likely future directions in antifouling research, technology and legislation.

Biofouling, which includes contributions from many international experts, is an essential reference for all those working in the antifouling industry including those involved in formulation of antifouling products such as paints and other coatings. Aquatic biologists, ecologists, environmental scientists and lawyers, marine engineers, aquaculture personnel, chemists, and medical researchers will all find much of interest within this book. All universities and research establishments where these subjects are studied and taught should have copies of this important work on their shelves.

Key Topics Covered:

    --  Contributors.
    --  Preface.
    --  Chapter 1 Reproduction and Larvae/Spore Types (Jon N. Havenhand and
        Craig A. Styan).
    --  Chapter 2 Larval Supply and Dispersal (Christopher D. McQuaid and Karen
        Miller).
    --  Chapter 3 Settlement and Behaviour of Marine Fouling Organisms
        (Gabrielle S. Prendergast).
    --  Chapter 4 Succession on Hard Substrata (Stuart R. Jenkins and Gustavo M.
        Martins).
    --  Chapter 5 Patterns of Fouling on a Global Scale (Joo Canning-Clode and
        Martin Wahl).
    --  Chapter 6 Biofouling Patterns with Depth (Phillip R. Cowie).
    --  Chapter 7 Epibiosis (Martin Wahl).
    --  Chapter 8 Natural Control of Fouling (Rocky de Nys, Jana Guenther and
        Maria J. Uriz).
    --  Chapter 9 Marine Biofilms (Sergey Dobretsov).
    --  Chapter 10 Freshwater Biofilms (Anna M. Roman).
    --  Chapter 11 Biofilms in Medicine (Dave A. Spratt, Derren Ready and
        Jonathan Pratten).
    --  Chapter 12 Fouling on Artificial Substrata (Antonio Terlizzi and Marco
        Faimali).
    --  Chapter 13 Paint and Coatings Technology for the Control of Marine
        Fouling (Alistair A. Finnie and David N. Williams).
    --  Chapter 14 Fouling on Shipping: Data-Mining the Worlds Largest
        Antifouling Archive (Jeremy C. Thomason).
    --  Chapter 15 Consequences of Fouling on Shipping (Robert Edyvean).
    --  Chapter 16 Consequences of Antifouling Coatings The Chemists Perspective
        (Dickon Howell and Brigitte Behrends).
    --  Chapter 17 Consequences of Antifouling Systems An Environmental
        Perspective (Cato C. ten Hallers-Tjabbes and Simon Walmsley).
    --  Chapter 18 Fouling and Antifouling in Oil and Other Offshore Industries
        (Henry M. Page, Jenifer E. Dugan and Fred Piltz).
    --  Chapter 19 Biofouling and Antifouling in Aquaculture (Simone Drr and
        Douglas I. Watson).
    --  Chapter 20 Fouling and Antifouling in Other Industries Power Stations,
        Desalination Plants Drinking Water Supplies and Sensors (Peter
        Henderson).
    --  Chapter 21 Regulation of Marine Antifouling in International and EC Law
        (Ilona Cheyne).
    --  Chapter 22 Techniques for the Quantification of Biofouling (Alan J.
        Butler, Joo Canning-Clode, Ashley D. M. Coutts, Phillip R. Cowie, Sergey
        Dobretsov, Simone Drr, Marco Faimali, John A. Lewis, Henry M. Page,
        Jonathan Pratten, Derren Ready, Dan Rittschof, David A. Spratt, Antonio
        Terlizzi and Jeremy C. Thomason).
    --  Chapter 23 Biofouling and Climate Change (Elvira S. Poloczanska and Alan
        J. Butler )
    --  Chapter 24 Biofouling Invasions (John A. Lewis and Ashley D. M. Coutts).
    --  Chapter 25 New Directions in Antifouling Technology (Dean C. Webster and
        Bret J. Chisholm).
    --  Chapter 26 Implications of International and European Regulatory
        Developments for Marine Antifouling (Ilona Cheyne).
    --  Chapter 27 Research on Practical Environmentally Benign Antifouling
        Coatings (Dan Rittschof).

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/e69472/biofouling

    Source: Research and Markets