Newsletters
Static Power Path Management (SPPM) to Provide an Effective Handheld Battery Charger Solution
March 12, 2010 10:44 am | by Chuck Wong and Haitao Hu, Intersil Corporation | Articles | CommentsHandheld electronic devices -- regardless of what they are used for or who manufactures them -- share one common denominator: a re-chargeable battery and, in most cases, a built-in charger circuit. When an external power source such as an AC adapter or a USB port is attached at the input terminal, the charger circuit will re-charge the battery.
Model-Based Design Creates Configurable, Space-Qualified Digital Channelizer
March 12, 2010 8:56 am | by Bradford Watson, Staff Engineer, Advanced Algorithm Development Group at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company | Blogs | CommentsMany commercial communications satellites are limited to fixed band plans that assign a bandwidth to users even if they are not actively employing it, an inefficient use of communications capacity. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company developed a dual-stage, satellite-based channelizer (also known as a bent pipe transponder) that can move bandwidth on demand between users and locations.
Travel Charger Handles Every Contingency
March 12, 2010 8:17 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsPowertraveller has released the ultimate travel charger for on-the-go professionals, outdoorsmen, and techies alike—the powermonkey-eXplorer. With three charging methods, international adapters, and tips for nearly every portable electronic device, you’ll never be somewhere without power.
Power Lock Box Meets IP65 Standards
March 12, 2010 6:46 am | Product Releases | CommentsITT Interconnect Solutions’ PowerLock Box includes a flange to provide simple and secure sealing into equipment panel cut-outs. Available in lidded and non-lidded versions, the PowerLock Box with flange features an extended front panel measuring 107 mm, providing a
25 MHz Oscilloscope Touts Auto-scale, FFT and Trigger Hold
March 12, 2010 6:38 am | Product Releases | CommentsSaelig Company, Inc. announced the PDS5022S 25 MHz two-channel benchtop oscilloscope with Auto-scale, FFT, and trigger hold -- added features normally found on more expensive instruments. Autoscale can be set to automatically
Digital Light Sensors Operate Behind Darkened Glass
March 12, 2010 6:23 am | Product Releases | CommentsTexas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions announced the first members of its next generation digital ambient light sensor (ALS) and proximity detection family. These devices are said to eliminate the need to use clear glass/plastic in front of the sensor or
NVRAM Process Combines benefits of SRAM and Non-volatile Memory
March 12, 2010 4:43 am | Product Releases | CommentsX-FAB Silicon Foundries , a leading analog/mixed-signal foundry announced that they are the first and only pure-play foundry to offer an embedded non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) process feature
Brainstorm: Photovoltaics
March 11, 2010 8:20 am | by Edited by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsHow can we make solar panels more efficient?
Brainstorm: Batteries
March 11, 2010 4:34 am | by Edited by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsWhat is the next breakthrough in battery technology?
Design Tips Save MCU Power
March 11, 2010 4:11 am | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsMicrocontrollers offer engineers a variety of power-saving techniques. But using them effectively requires careful attention to tradeoffs in software and hardware at the start of a project. "Engineers must partition their application so they have a rough idea how long their microcontroller will stay in a sleep mode or in an active mode," said Mike Salas...
Get Rolling with Efficient Motor-Control Designs
March 11, 2010 3:58 am | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsTo find out more about the state of motor-control design in embedded systems, I recently talked with three engineers at Texas Instruments who work with motor-related hardware and software. "Motor control looks simple to start but it covers many disciplines so it's almost impossible to have one designer do everything," noted Miroslav Oljaca...
A Physiological Sensing Interface
March 11, 2010 3:53 am | Videos | CommentsThis is a demo from this year's TechFest of a Physiological Sensing Interface.
DAC Helps Enable Clear Diagnostic Images
March 10, 2010 2:32 pm | Analog Devices, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsAnalog Device’s AD5791 high-accuracy 20-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is said to be the industry’s first to feature true 1-ppm (parts per million) resolution and accuracy, provides four times greater accuracy and four times more resolution than competing converters. The AD5791 features
Army to hit one million unmanned flight hours
March 10, 2010 12:30 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsTraditionally pegged as a ground force, the Army is approaching an historic milestone: one million flight hours for its Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). According to COL Christopher Carlile, director, U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence, the Army will hit one million UAS flight hours some time next month.
Next Generation PoP for Processor and Memory Stacking
March 10, 2010 6:47 am | by Helen Katske, Manager, Engineering Services, Micro-Electronics group, Tessera, Phil Damberg, Vice President, Next Generation Packaging, Micro-Electronics group, Tessera, & KM Bang, Senior Engineer, Package Development, Micro-Electronics group, Tessera | Articles | CommentsThe continued increase in mobile handset functionality is being enabled by more powerful baseband and applications processor chips, which are more frequently coupled with memory devices using package-on-package (PoP) stacking.
Advanced Architecture For DC-DC Buck Regulators Raises The Bar For Conversion Efficiency
March 10, 2010 5:08 am | by Chris Winkler – Marketing Director, Fairchild Semiconductor | Articles | CommentsThe emergence of energy-efficiency standards and continued evolution of processing and feature sets to support new products that consumers/enterprises use in everyday life: DVRs, set-top boxes and modems, industrial handhelds, portable media players, bar-code scanners have changed the methodologies employed for addressing DC power conversion, management and distribution.
USB Digitizers Exhibit High Signal Fidelity
March 9, 2010 1:37 pm | Product Releases | CommentsGaGe announced the new USB CompuScope Family of USB digitizers The USB CompuScope Family includes three separate models, which feature up to two input channels, up to
Universal Crimp Press Terminates Large Lug Products Up to 4 AWG
March 9, 2010 1:20 pm | Product Releases | CommentsMolex Incorporated announced its heavy-duty TM-4000 Universal Crimp Press, which provides up to 31 kN (7000 lbf) for bench-top crimping large lug products of up to 4 AWG. This direct-drive press is designed for
PA Eliminates the Need for RF Component Matching
March 9, 2010 11:49 am | Product Releases | CommentsCalifornia Eastern Laboratories (CEL) is shipping its uPG2251T6M GaAs power amplifier (PA). According to the company, the PA eliminates the need for RF component matching, which reduces component count and simplifies procurement. The new 2251 PA is
Top 10 Considerations When Building a Production-Level Document Conversion Environment
March 9, 2010 11:11 am | by Mark McKinney, President of LuraTech, Inc. | Articles | CommentsEven with careful planning and reliance on industry-leading technologies, it’s not uncommon for records managers and their IT support teams to experience frustration and disappointment with their document capture and conversion workflow environment.
High-Voltage Capacitors: Design and Testing
March 9, 2010 9:23 am | by Joe Moxley, Senior Engineer, Custom Electronics, Inc. | Articles | CommentsThere are many industries that depend on the proven design concepts that require high voltages to operate. Radar, X-ray machines, traveling wave tubes, down-hole logging, particle accelerators, aerospace ignition systems, partial discharge detection, power utilities and welding equipment are some examples.
Video games and the military: Engaging the “tech generation”
March 9, 2010 9:10 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsFor good or ill, the military is often indistinguishable from a large corporation. While “employees” must conform to the company’s modus operandi, the company must engage its employees on their terms. In this day and age, that means technology. Thus, the military increasingly relies on video games and computers to recruit and train its “employees.”
Enhancement-Mode Power Transistors use GaN Technology
March 9, 2010 5:50 am | Product Releases | CommentsEfficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) today introduced a family of enhancement mode power transistors based on Gallium Nitride on Silicon technology.
Daytime running light with only two LEDs
March 9, 2010 4:49 am | Osram Opto Semiconductors | Product Releases | CommentsThe OSTAR Compact LED from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has been developed specifically for use in vehicle headlights. This high-power LED is designed for Daytime Running Light (DRL) applications based on the use of light guides.
Searching for the Next Top Product
March 9, 2010 3:34 am | by by Aashish Mehta, National Instruments | Blogs | CommentsIdeas can come and go quickly. To harness the potential of new ideas it’s essential to follow the basics to select ideas for further refinement to suite the market.
