Conquer design challenges: Skills for power supplies
In the dynamic world of engineering design, the escalating requirements placed on power systems frequently give rise to intricate design challenges. The evolving landscape of DC power systems introduces complexities that can manifest stumbling…
The Intel-UMC fab partnership: What you need to know
Intel joins hands with Taiwanese fab United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) in a new twist in the continuously evolving and realigning semiconductor foundry business. What does Intel’s strategic collaboration with UMC mean, and what will these…
100-V MOSFET employs double-sided cooling
Alpha & Omega’s AONA66916 100-V N-channel MOSFET comes in a DFN 5×6-mm designed to afford top and bottom side cooling. In addition to improved thermal performance, the device offers low on-resistance of 3.4 mΩ at 10 VGS and a wide safe…
MCUs integrate configurable logic block
Microchip’s PIC16F13145 MCUs enable the creation of hardware-based, custom combinational logic functions directly within the MCU. The integration of a configurable logic block (CLB) module in the microcontroller allows designers to optimize…
Smart sensor monitors in-meter water pressure
The 129CP digital water pressure sensor from Sensata allows remote monitoring by utilities to identify distribution issues, leaks, and other non-revenue water events. Integrated into residential and commercial water meters, the 129CP improves…
Bluetooth LE SoC slashes power consumption
Renesas offers the DA14592 Bluetooth LE SoC, which the company says is its lowest power and smallest multicore Bluetooth LE device in its class. The device balances tradeoffs between on-chip memory and SoC die size to accommodate a broad range…
RFICs improve in-vehicle communications
Two linear power amplifiers (PAs) and two low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) from Guerrilla RF serve as signal boosters to enhance in-cabin cellular signals. Qualified to AEC-Q100 Grade 2 standards, the GRF5507W and GRF5517 PAs and the GRF2106W and…
“Thin is in” as RF-module shrinkage also enhances thermal performance
Packaging innovation has always been critical to the cooling of components, especially for power-switching devices such as MOSFETs and IGBTs. The non-stop demand to make these devices smaller and lighter also applies to RF PA modules, even though…
Quelling a ground loop
As shown in Figure 1, this issue had been previously addressed during pre-internet times in EDN of January 18,1990 but a further detailed look at the idea is warranted thirty-four years later.
Figure 1 Archival design idea “Resistor isolates…
SoC design: When a network-on-chip meets cache coherency
Many people have heard the term cache coherency without fully understanding the considerations in the context of system-on-chip (SoC) devices, especially those using a network-on-chip (NoC). To understand the issues at hand, it’s first necessary…
Blink Cameras and their batteries: Functional abnormalities and consumer liabilities
Quite possibly the single biggest thing that drives me nuts about consumer electronics products is when their implementation doesn’t grasp the technical comprehension limitations of consumers. I can’t count the number of products I’ve…
Parsing PWM (DAC) performance: Part 1—Mitigating errors
Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of DIs proposing improvements in the performance of a “traditional” PWM—one whose output is a duty cycle-variable rectangular pulse which requires filtering by a low-pass analog filter to produce…
