USB activation dongles: Counterfeit woes
My Blackmagic Design video cameras are compatible with numerous editing software packages, but the company’s own DaVinci Resolve is a particularly compelling option. For one thing, there’s a close-knit synergy—or at least the natural potential…
Snap-in capacitors simplify PCB mounting
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors in the SNA and SNL series from Kyocera AVX come in insulated cases with snap-in terminals that ease installation. The devices provide high reliability and high CV performance for use in a wide range of commercial…
AI-powered processors drive business PCs
AMD has rolled out the Ryzen Pro 8040, a series of advanced x86 processors with built-in AI for business laptops and mobile workstations. By leveraging the CPU, GPU, and dedicated on-chip neural processing unit (NPU), the Ryzen AI-enabled processors…
32-bit MCUs pack ample memory and resources
Microcontrollers in the GD32F5 series from GigaDevice are equipped with 7.5 Mbytes of on-chip flash and 1 Mbyte of SRAM, both supporting ECC verification. Up to 2 Mbytes of code flash can be configured for zero-wait-state operation, improving…
7-A switch protects USB-C connections
The AOZ1377DI current-limiting switch from Alpha & Omega improves USB-C safety by providing a maximum load current of 7 A at up to 23 V. In addition to programmable current limiting, the switch offers true reverse current blocking, which…
Actuation gear aids aircraft electrification
Microchip has combined gate driver boards with its Hybrid Power Drive (HPD) modules to ease the aviation industry’s transition to electric actuation systems. Configured with silicon or silicon carbide switches, the HPD modules cover a range…
Efficient digitally regulated bipolar voltage rail booster
The challenge of improving analog/digital accuracy by preventing amplifier saturation in systems supplied with only a single logic-level power rail has been receiving a lot of activity and design creativity recently. Voltage inverters generating…
EPR spectrometer and its AWG and digitizer building blocks
A new electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer aims to open the technology to a larger pool of scientists by making it cheaper, lighter, and easier to use without needing an experienced operator. Its control software—designed to…
Practical tips for automotive ethernet physical layer debug
Automotive ethernet is increasingly utilized for in-vehicle electronics to transmit high speed serial data between interconnected devices and components. Due to the relatively fast data rates, and the complexity and variation of the networked…
Challenges in designing automotive radar systems
Radar is cropping up everywhere in new car designs: sensing around the car to detect hazards and feed into decision making for braking, steering, and parking and in the cabin for driver and occupancy monitoring systems. Effective under all weather…
Measuring pulsed RF signals with an oscilloscope
RF signals historically are measured using spectrum analyzers, at least that was before oscilloscopes offered sufficient bandwidth for those measurements. With oscilloscope bandwidths over 100 GHz, RF measurements are no longer the exclusive…
Microchip’s acquisition meshes AI content into FPGA fabric
Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), once a territory of highly specialized designs, are steadily gaining prominence in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), and Microchip’s acquisition of Neuronix AI Labs once more asserts this technology…
