Disposable vapes: Unnecessary, excessive waste in cylindrical shapes
My recent teardown of a rechargeable vape device was…wow…popular. I suspected upfront that it might cultivate a modicum of incremental traffic from the vape-using (and vape-curious) general public, but…wow. This long-planned follow-up…
Data center power solutions meet rising energy demands amid AI boom
Texas Instruments’ APEC-related releases are power management chips centered around supporting the AI-driven power demands in data centers. The releases include the first 48-V integrated hot-swap eFuse with power-path protection (TPS1685)…
Latching D-type CMOS power switch: A “Flip ON Flop OFF” alternative
The venerable Stephen Woodward recently published the design idea (DI) “Flip ON flop OFF” that converts a momentary push button to a classic push-on, push-off switch. Figure 1 is an attempt to go further still in terms of economy.
The circuit…
Power Tips #139: How to simplify AC/DC flyback design with a self-biased converter
Introduction
The demand for smaller, lighter, and more efficient AC/DC USB power delivery (PD) chargers is always a challenge for power-supply design engineers. Below 100 W, the quasi-resonant flyback is still the dominating topology, and gallium…
The evolution of PCBs and the demands of modern electronics
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) have come a long way over the years. Electronics design engineers must stay aware of the latest developments to understand how they might soon incorporate them into their work.
For instance, as more products require…
32-bit MCUs pack FPU and fast analog
Microchip’s PIC32A 32-bit MCUs feature an FPU coprocessor that performs both 32-bit and 64-bit operations for math-intensive tasks. Operating at 200 MHz, they also integrate high-speed analog peripherals to minimize external component requirements.
Two…
Gate driver photocoupler simplifies SiC MOSFET control
Housed in a small SO8L package, Toshiba’s TLP5814H gate driver photocoupler provides an active Miller clamp for driving SiC MOSFETs. Its built-in clamp circuit directs Miller current from the gate to ground, preventing short circuits without…
Buck regulator boosts transient response and stability
Kinetic’s KTB4800 2.4-MHz, 3-A buck regulator delivers fast transient response with precise switching frequency. Its OptiComp adaptive on-time PWM control scheme maintains a nearly constant switching frequency despite input and output voltage…
iToF sensor provides on-chip depth processing
An indirect time-of-flight sensor, the AF0130 from onsemi offers long-distance measurements and 3D imaging of fast-moving objects. It features a depth processing ASIC beneath its pixel area, which rapidly calculates depth, confidence, and intensity…
MPU targets endpoint vision AI
The Renesas RZ/V2N quad-core MPU integrates an AI accelerator, achieving up to 15 TOPS of AI inference using pruning technology. Pruning reduces memory usage and increases computing efficiency by removing parts of the AI inference process. The…
Peak power point
Imagine that you have a voltage source in series with some source resistance feeding power to a variable load. The relationship between load voltage, load current, and cell current can be drawn as follows in Figure 1.
Figure 1 The load voltage…
Intel’s new CEO: What you need to know
Lip-Bu Tan, who has exposure to both chip design and chip manufacturing worlds due to his CEO stint at EDA powerhouse Cadence, is taking the reins of Intel after Pat Gelsinger was forced out by the Intel board a few months ago. Sally Ward-Foxton…
