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/11685e/2009_top_finance_a) has announced the addition of the "2009 Top Finance Accounting Outsourcing Providers, Black Book Survey 2009 Results" report to their offering.

Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) helps companies reduce costs and nearly always includes business critical high volume processes such as accounts payable and accounts receivable. Other outsourced finance functions include compliance, treasury, budgets, reporting, general accounting and employee and HR finances. Succesful vendors normally have specific industry knowledge and expertise

Scope of this research

    --  The Finance and Accounting Outsourcing survey evaluates 350 contracts
        held by 1400+ top businesses measuring them against 18 key performance
        criteria
    --  The FAO services rated include Order-to-Cash, Compliance, Budgets,
        Treasury, Reporting, Accounting, Employee & HR Finances and
        Purchase-to-Payment
    --  Growth predictions are shown by FAO segment and are reported together
        with predictions for industry verticals
    --  Findings show that most FAO vendor/client relationships are new with
        less than 5% of contracts representing an established or renewed
        relationship

Research and analysis highlights

    --  Client Relationship, Cultural Fit and Trust are the most important
        attributes influencing FAO client satisfaction with their 2009
        outsourcing providers. Vendor dissatisfaction is unusual among the top
        ranked suppliers with vendors offering comprehensive end-to-end services
        gaining the highest satisfaction scores
    --  The highest growth segment in 2010 is in Employee & HR Benefits
        outsourcing with 88% of current FAO buyers indicating they will buy
        further services. The lowest growth segment is Compliance, Budgets and
        Control with 57%
    --  The leaders in FAO all demonstrate their expertise in particular
        vertical market segments together with finance function expertise.

Key reasons to purchase this research

    --  Existing FAO clients can compare their experience with that of other
        users while prospective clients use the data as part of their selection
        process
    --  Investors, venture capital firms, analysts and bankers use the survey
        outcomes to support financing decisions in this growing market
    --  FAO providers use the data to analyse their own strengths and weaknesses
        using this to inform and plan their own go to market strategies

Companies Mentioned:

    --  Infosys
    --  Outsource Partners International
    --  Genpact
    --  ACS
    --  HCL BPO
    --  Capgemini
    --  Accenture
    --  Hewlett Packard - EDS
    --  Vertex
    --  EXL Service
    --  WNS, Consero
    --  IBM
    --  Convergys
    --  Wipro
    --  Xchanging
    --  Fiserv
    --  TCS
    --  Mahindra Satyam

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/11685e/2009_top_finance_a

    Source: Research and Markets Ltd.

Global technology distribution leader now live in Chandler, Ariz. and Tongeren, Belgium logistics centers

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RedPrairie Holding, Inc., a productivity solutions provider, announced today that Avnet Logistics, a division of Avnet, Inc., has achieved a successful rollout of RedPrairie's Warehouse Management solution. A global technology marketing, distribution and services company, Avnet has implemented Warehouse Management in the organization's 228,000 square foot Chandler, Ariz. Global Solutions Center, a facility capable of building and shipping 700,000 systems annually, along with their warehouse in Tongeren, Belgium.

"We expect RedPrairie's Warehouse Management solution to help us be more efficient as we grow our expanding logistics business," says Jim Smith, President of Avnet Logistics. "We consider their organization's knowledge of supply chain technology, and their reach around the globe, to be among the best in the industry."

When opened in 2009, Avnet's Chandler facility doubled Avnet Americas' integration capacity, prompting the need for a more robust management system that would also improve Avnet's flexibility to quickly and effectively adapt to high-end configuration requirements. RedPrairie's Warehouse Management solution directs activity at the facility, helping Avnet deliver better service faster and at a lower overall cost. Avnet partnered with supply chain services firm Fortna Inc. for the successful implementation in the Chandler facility.

Since deploying RedPrairie, Avnet's Belgium facility has automated planning, with RedPrairie's solution setting order priority and directing picking and packing tasks based on requested delivery, order entry, and carrier departure times. In addition, the logistics center also features voice picking for each employee, along with serial number capture for thousands of different SKUs on each pallet.

"Like many of our customers, Avnet's operations illustrate just how important efficient logistics practice is for any business," says RedPrairie CEO, Mike Mayoras. "It's a privilege working with a company with such continued dedication to meeting the needs of customers."

About Avnet Inc.

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers and by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 27, 2009, Avnet generated revenue of $16.23 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

All company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

ABOUT REDPRAIRIE

RedPrairie delivers productivity solutions to help companies around the world in three categories - workforce, inventory and transportation. RedPrairie provides these solutions to manufacturers, distributors and retailers looking to support business strategies that increase revenue, reduce costs and create competitive advantage.

With over 20 global offices and solutions that are installed at more than 34,000 customer sites in over 40 countries, companies trust RedPrairie workforce, inventory and transportation solutions to deliver an increase in productivity - with the flexibility to adapt as business needs change.

At RedPrairie, we understand today's operational demands and we're committed to delivering solutions that work. We're committed to delivering solutions for the real world.

For additional information, call 1.877.733.7724, or visit RedPrairie.com.

RedPrairie is a registered trademark of RedPrairie Corporation.

E2e is a trademark of RedPrairie Corporation.

(C) 2009 RedPrairie Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Other product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

    Source: RedPrairie Holding, Inc.