Application Solutions
Putting Physics to Work in Next-Generation Automotive and Aerospace Engineering
March 28, 2011 10:19 am | by Sandeep Sovani, Ph.D., ANSYS, Inc., www.ansys.com | Articles | CommentsThe engineering field is founded on fundamental laws of physics which can be explained by governing equations such as Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism and Navier–Stokes equations of fluid motion. However, a profound irony plagues engineering.
Improve Margins for Your 6-Gbps Storage Design by Choosing the Right Oscilloscope
March 18, 2011 5:29 am | by Min-Jie Chong, Agilent Technologies | Articles | CommentsTwo standards bodies that oversee storage interconnect technology -- the Serial ATA International Organizations (SATA-IO) and International Committee for Information Technology Standards...
Modern Techniques for Characterizing Phase Change Memory Materials and Devices
March 15, 2011 9:27 am | by Alex Pronin, Lead Applications Engineer, Keithley Instruments | Articles | CommentsFlash memory devices have been around in one form or another since the early 1980s; today, they’re widely used in applications such as memory cards, USB flash drives, MP3 players, and solid-state drives for popular consumer products like Apple’s MacAir laptops.
IP to the Pin
March 9, 2011 9:13 am | by Kevin Bisking, Senior Product Marketing Manager, National Instruments | Articles | CommentsFor decades, the electronics industry has pursued its version of the Holy Grail – concurrent design and test. Many have believed this an unattainable goal, considering how far apart the two worlds appear. In the design world, most engineers design at a system level...
Low MOSFET Gate Resistance – A Key requirement for Improving Efficiency of DC-DC Converters
February 28, 2011 6:00 am | by Omar Hassen and Vijay Viswanathan, International Rectifier, www.irf.com | Articles | CommentsImprovements in Si MOSFET technology, particularly in the last decade, have enabled significant reduction in power consumption of servers...
EDS: Where Problems & Challenges Become Opportunities
February 18, 2011 7:58 am | by George Bournazian, vice president, account services, BtB Marketing Communications | Articles | CommentsDuring the course of a year, there are many marketing and sales questions a component manufacturer must consider and answer in order to sustain growth or at least meet fiscal year objectives, but rarely has the time to address. EDS is probably the best venue to address these types of questions...
No Risky Business: Eliminating the Dangers of EOL Device Procurement
February 15, 2011 10:31 am | by George Karalias, Rochester Electronics | Articles | CommentsIn the past, there were only two end-of-life (EOL) solutions available to procurement professionals: make a one-time, last-time purchase from the original manufacturer, or purchase residual inventory through distribution. A last-time buy can be a significant financial burden...
Fuel New Company Growth with the Right Online Strategy
February 15, 2011 8:41 am | by Susan Orr, Senior Director, Thomas Industrial Network | Articles | CommentsWhether you’re a manufacturer or distributor of electronic components, now is the time to capitalize on the growing economy, and to reach new prospects and new markets, to fuel your own company’s expansion. Indeed, ThomasNet’s Industry Market Barometer (IMB)...
Engineer 2.0 – 10 Online Tools You Should be Using
February 15, 2011 8:32 am | by Andy Brown, VP, SupplyFrame | Articles | CommentsAs a design engineer, you spend more time online than ever before. Researching parts, trading off options and checking price and availability are commonplace tasks that have shifted online. Other common engineering tasks you can do online have only just begun.
A component distributor that goes beyond components
February 15, 2011 8:26 am | by Vandana Lokeshwar, Technology Development Manager, Newark & element14 | Articles | CommentsOur parent company, Premier Farnell, has historically been a leading, high service, multi-channel distribution group supporting millions of engineers and purchasing professionals globally through Newark in the Americas, Farnell in Europe and most recently, element14 in Asia.
Answering the Call for Systems-Level Training
February 15, 2011 8:10 am | by Tim Barber, Senior Vice President, Avnet Electronics Marketing | Articles | CommentsTo achieve true product differentiation in today’s ultra competitive global electronics market, OEM designers must go beyond smaller, faster, cheaper and take a more holistic approach to new product development. Though the Internet age has made component information more accessible than ever...
Distributor’s Reference Designs Lend Helping Hand to Engineers
February 15, 2011 7:53 am | by Jim Beneke, Vice President, Global Technical Marketing, Avnet Electronics Marketing | Articles | CommentsThe continuing pressure on designers to develop products faster, cheaper, with greater performance, improved functionality and lower power consumption, places considerable stress on the traditional design process. Add in the fact that at the component level device complexity is nearly doubling every 18 months...
High-Temperature Semiconductor Solutions
January 28, 2011 11:05 am | by Mont Taylor, High Temperature Business Development, Texas Instruments | Articles | CommentsHydrocarbons like oil and natural gas continue to be a critical source of the world’s energy for the near and likely intermediate term. Since the beginning of drilling for these resources, technology has allowed ever-growing efficiencies and increased effectiveness of oil exploration and extraction equipment.
Oil and Gas Exploration Requires the Highest-grade Industrial Connection Systems
January 28, 2011 10:35 am | by Mike Balekdjian, RIA Connect, Inc. | Articles | CommentsUnlike traditional office settings, Ethernet has spread into environments where protection from noise, solids, liquids and even gases is of concern. Manufacturing equipment and automated test environments are just some of the more common areas...
Hot, Harsh, and Hostile
January 28, 2011 10:13 am | by Pamela Aparo, Analog Devices, Inc. | Articles | CommentsOut on the wind-swept North Sea, an oil drill is attempting to penetrate hard rock. The ocean is frigid but a few miles under the seabed, the thermometer hits a hellish 200°C. Volatile weather conditions and temperature ranges make drilling hazardous and complex.
Choose a Charger IC for Single-Cell Li-Ion Battery Applications
January 27, 2011 10:24 am | by William Hadden, Texas Instruments, www.ti.com | Articles | CommentsThere are many options for single-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery chargers. With the portfolio of handheld devices growing every year, so do the requirements for the battery charger. Several factors must be weighed in order to select the correct integrated circuit (IC) for the job.
The Urgent Need for Digital Media Subscriber Modeling
January 27, 2011 5:11 am | by Joseph Zeto, Ixia | Articles | CommentsWith the advent of 4G wireless applications, the world is rapidly shrinking, drawing subscribers together in new and powerful ways. We are heading toward an always-on, always connected world. Engaging, media-rich mobile applications will become the norm...
Safety Standards for Lithium-Ion Cells
January 24, 2011 7:07 am | by Mahmood Tabaddor, PhD, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. | Articles | CommentsAdvances in portable energy sources, such as rechargeable cells (or batteries), are a major technological driver for the popularity of many electronic and electrical devices from consumer products to medical equipment to automotive systems to space applications.
Lithium Ion Battery Assembly Challenges
January 14, 2011 4:29 am | by Marko Dimitrijevic, Applications Engineer, International Components Corporation | Articles | CommentsAdvances in lithium-ion battery technology have created new opportunities for the development of portable devices. Contemporary lithium-ion cells offer energy densities that are significantly higher than legacy battery chemistries such as nickel cadmium (NiCd), nickel metal hydride (NiMh) and lead acid (LA).
Electronic Current Limiter Solutions
January 13, 2011 5:14 am | by Paul Wiener, Telecom Market Director at Bourns, Inc. | Articles | CommentsEthernet is the most pervasive interface technology used in Local Area Networking (LAN). There are several variations of Ethernet; the most common types are the 10BaseT at 10 Mbps data rate, Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps and a growing trend toward Gigabit Ethernet (GbE).
Power Module Designs Aim for Efficiency, Heat Management, and Flexibility
January 12, 2011 5:49 am | by Joe Sullivan, Product Marketing Manager, Vicor Corporation | Articles | CommentsAs electronic systems continue the trend toward lower voltages and higher currents and as the speed of contemporary loads ? such as state-of-the-art processors and memory ? continues to increase, the power systems designer is challenged...
Defining the New Era in Highly Efficient Power Electronics Design
January 11, 2011 11:54 am | by Peter J Zdebel (Senior Vice President and CTO) and Marnix Tack (Senior Director), ON Semiconductor | Articles | CommentsA report published by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEE) estimates the US economy could expand by greater than 70 percent through 2030 and still use 11 percent less electricity, thanks to efficiency gains made possible via semiconductor technology.
Lighting the Future
December 30, 2010 5:06 am | by Bill Weiss, Lighting Applications Business Development Manager, Power Integrations | Articles | CommentsThroughout the world there is pressure to develop a direct plug-in replacement for the incandescent bulb. Such a replacement must not only provide an equivalent perceived omni-directional light output...
Next-Generation Power MOSFETs For Next-Generation Vehicles
December 23, 2010 6:14 am | by Benjamin Jackson, Product Manager, International Rectifier | Articles | CommentsPerformance, power density and efficiency are goals not normally associated with electrical systems on automobiles. That was yesterday, now the pistons, valves and fuel pumps of the last 150 years have transformed into the electric motors, inverters and batteries of today.
Streamlining development processes through an automotive architecture framework
December 21, 2010 5:39 am | by Meg Selfe, Vice President, Complex & Embedded Systems Executive, IBM | Articles | CommentsVehicle complexity has increased dramatically over the past two decades. New “smarter” vehicles are evolving with intelligent, built-in safety and comfort functions; green technologies such as hybrid and fully electric engines...
