Application Solutions
Resonant Controller-Power Switch Combination Enables Efficient Power Solution for LED Street Lighting
October 8, 2011 7:51 am | by Wonseok Kang, Sungmo Young, Fairchild Semiconductor, www.fairchildsemi.com | Articles | CommentsThis article will explore a total solution for a switching power supply targeted to LED street lighting. The new resonant controller combined with new power switch enable a high efficiency solution for LED lighting power supplies without sacrificing
Integrated Silicon-Based EMI Suppression Devices Help Move Smartphone Design Forward
October 7, 2011 6:09 am | by Tim Micun, ON Semiconductor, www.onsemi.com | Articles | CommentsWhile form factor and electromechanical interference (EMI) remain a primary concern for smartphone designers, provisioning all of the high end peripherals in a format which is comfortable to hold and carry, creating a clean EMI ecosystem and not interfering with the wireless transmit and receive functions remains a complex challenge.
Plastic Electrical Enclosures: Solutions for Extreme Customization
October 4, 2011 11:33 am | by David Crooks, General Manager, Fibox Enclosures | Articles | CommentsRather than create a custom package, OEMs often choose to modify or customize a standard enclosure to lower development cost, reduce final product cost, and achieve a faster time to market.
High Performance Solutions for the Thermal Management of Electronics in Harsh Environments
September 23, 2011 5:02 am | by Mark Montesano, Vice President of engineering, k Technology, a Division of Thermacore | Articles | CommentsThe range of applications and functions of military electronics is rapidly expanding. From smart weapons to unmanned vehicles, the challenge of packaging significant processing power in very limited volumes that need to survive extremely harsh environments is rising.
High-Temperature Semiconductor Solutions
September 22, 2011 12:03 pm | by Mont Taylor, Texas Instrumetns, www.ti.com | Articles | CommentsAlthough there is still an abundance of oil and gas, the future requires continued technological improvement to access deposits that are found ever deeper underground. As these wells become deeper they also become extremely hot, and using high-reliability, high-temperature electronics for down hole drilling equipment is necessary.
Goodbye Upconverters?
September 22, 2011 6:40 am | by A. Glascott-Jones, F. Bore, J.P. Amblard, N. Chantier; e2v Grenoble | Articles | CommentsAdvanced high bandwidth, high data rate Digital to Analog Converters (DACs) are revolutionizing the way that microwave communication systems are designed. The ability to be able to perform direct microwave synthesis right up to C band brings higher flexibility...
Simplifying Total Energy Management
September 16, 2011 5:25 am | by Alan Elbanhawy, Akros Silicon | Articles | CommentsIn past years, energy management in electronics equipment has moved from being a “check-box” requirement to a real competitive feature and differentiator. Traditional DC-DC point solutions that optimize single parameter via fine tuning of components are just not sufficient...
Speed Demons
September 14, 2011 11:54 am | Articles | CommentsTechnology today doesn’t gradually evolve, it develops in leaps and bounds, and the processes that are necessary to bring that technology to market have advanced just as quickly. Unfortunately, sometimes speed can be our industry’s downfall -- when companies are caught in a bind; when parts are hard to come by, whether they have
Know Your Choices for Mounting Heat Sinks to Hot Components
September 1, 2011 2:02 pm | by Dr. Kaveh Azar, Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc., www.qats.com Edited by Chris Warner | Articles | CommentsBecause of the performance demands on ICs, the use of cooling heat sinks on top of ASICs, CPUs and other processors is a standard industry practice. As the available real estate on PCBs has become sparse, physically attaching heat sinks to such devices has become a challenge for most applications, specifically for high-density boards. Thus, an engineer starting the process of thermal management must
Energy Harvesting: Minimizing the Total System Current
August 23, 2011 5:57 am | by John Monteith, Transducers Direct / ACAM, www.acam-usa.com | Articles | CommentsToday we hear a lot of talk about energy harvesting and alternative power sources. To make effective use of these energy sources, everything in the entire system must make efficient use of power.
Power Factor Correction Techniques in LED Lighting
August 16, 2011 1:17 pm | Product Releases | CommentsHigh power LED based light fixtures are replacing fluorescent and HID light sources in many general lighting applications. Since LED lighting represents a green technology, the issue of power factor is very important. Power factor is defined as
Enclosures: The heart of speedy telecommunications products and services
August 16, 2011 9:58 am | by Ken Tumblison, President of Buckeye Shapeform | Articles | CommentsSpeed. There is nothing of greater consequence in human communication than speed. Although we have come a long way since the pony express, the need for speed in the telecommunications industry is greater now than ever.
Application Understanding Impacts Cost of Interconnect Solutions
August 15, 2011 1:08 pm | by Michael Giesler, Application Specialist, 3M | Articles | CommentsEvery day, consumers embrace multiple levels of interconnecting in our activities without thinking about it. Whether it is waking up to an alarm clock, turning on the lights, placing a call on your cell phone, operating your automobile, accessing data on your computer from the cloud...
Optimize Color Management Capabilities in LED Lighting Fixtures
August 10, 2011 1:21 pm | by Irene Signorino, Microsemi Corporation, www.microsemi.com | Articles | CommentsImproved cost of ownership and improved light quality can only be enabled if optimized drivers are used. These drivers take into consideration the unique characteristics of the LED semiconductor (i.e. color shift over temperature and age, life expectancy over temperature etc) and enable
CPV + WDG = Successful Model for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Deployments
August 10, 2011 6:03 am | by Guy Blanchard, Amonix | Articles | CommentsSolar technology and energy market dynamics have intersected to create the perfect conditions for a new, deployment-friendly model for generating and distributing energy – the wholesale distributed generation (WDG) model.
How to make early thermal assessments and decisions using a simple resistor network
August 9, 2011 7:27 am | by Matt Romig, Analog Packaging Productization Manager, Texas Instruments | Articles | CommentsManaging heat dissipation is one of the biggest challenges when designing electronic components and systems today. You can run simulations and measure full systems with high accuracy, but that can be time-consuming and costly.
Making the Leap of Faith: Migration to Micro-Packaging
August 8, 2011 6:54 am | by Todd Visconti, Product Manager & Edwin Romero, Application & Marketing Engineer, ON Semiconductor | Articles | CommentsSchottky diodes can play several important roles inside battery powered handheld electronics equipment, such as cell phone handsets and portable gaming consoles. They are often incorporated into the DC-DC boost converters used to power the backlights for LCD displays and LED keypads.
Hot Topic: Prevent Thermal Runaway Damage in Power Electronic Systems
August 4, 2011 12:45 pm | by Matt Williams, TE Circuit Protection, www.te.com | Articles | CommentsThere are a number of innovative technologies that have been designed to assist in protecting the application and end-user from catastrophic thermal events...
Mobile Measurement Technologies Support High-Voltage Onboard EHV Testing
August 1, 2011 12:53 pm | by Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Harry Störzer, IPETRONIK GmbH & Co.KG, www.ipetronik.com | Articles | CommentsTo ensure optimal EHV performance, numerous tests must be conducted during the new vehicle development process. Suitable mobile vehicle data acquisition systems are vital for ensuring system competency, functionality and efficiency.
LED Lighting Trends
July 28, 2011 8:31 am | by Douglas A. Toth, PE, Wurth Electronics Midcom | Blogs | CommentsAny new innovation experiences obstacles. In LED lighting, one problem is the issue of Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), or unwanted noise signals.
RoHS Recast Guidance: Providing Coherent Advice to Design Engineers
July 20, 2011 10:58 am | by Gary Nevison, Head of Legislation and Compliance, element14, www.element14.com | Articles | CommentsWhen RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) was enacted in 2006, there was a critical need for engineers (and the industry as a whole) to have one dependable source to help understand and navigate the complexities of global environmental legislation.
Distribution and the Design Engineer: Delivering the “How”
July 20, 2011 10:46 am | by Ron Moore, Avnet Electronics Marketing, Americas | Articles | CommentsThe distribution channel has been engaged with the design community for more than 30 years. In that timeframe, innovation and advances continue to make a lasting and profound impact on how design engineers accomplish their goals.
RF Energy Harvesting Perpetually Powers Wireless Sensors
July 18, 2011 1:18 pm | by Harry Ostaffe, Powercast Corporation, www.powercastco.com | Articles | CommentsWhile the power from RF energy is typically very low, RF energy is unique among energy-harvesting options because it can either be harvested from ambient energy or intentionally broadcasted to provide more reliable power-over-distance using very little energy from the electric grid.
Trends in Smart Grid and Alternate Energy
July 13, 2011 12:59 pm | by Nagarajan Sridhar, Texas Instruments, www.ti.com | Articles | CommentsWith global prosperity on the rise, the demand for energy is increasing and is approximately expected to double by 2030. In parallel, there is a concern of energy supply issues on the long run. This has resulted in an increasing activity and proliferation of employing sustainable/alternate energy sources and improved energy transmission methods over the last decade from all fronts
Air Power: New Device Captures Ambient Electromagnetic Energy to Drive Small Electronic Devices
July 12, 2011 5:29 am | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered a way to capture and harness energy transmitted by such sources as radio and television transmitters, cell phone networks and satellite communications systems.
