Photocell makes true-zero output of the op-amp
While choosing an op-amp buffer for a new high-resolution single-supply DAC, a source of negative supply was considered because the buffer op-amp had to provide true zero voltage on its output.
Wow the engineering world with your unique design:…
Dissecting a malcontent (and moist?) microwave oven
Back in February 2015, my wife and I purchased Whirlpool’s WMC30516AB 1.6 cubic foot microwave oven from Amazon:
It lasted a bit more than four years. Toward the end, various segments of the four-digit, seven-segment per-digit display would…
Image sensor delivers 16:10 aspect ratio
Omnivision developed its OV05C10 5.2-Mpixel color image sensor specifically for 16:10 aspect ratio laptops, tablets, and IoT devices. The backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor employs a 1/4.7-in. optical format and features 1.12-µm pixels,…
Ethernet PHYs offer flexible speed options
Single-port Ethernet transceivers from MaxLinear, the MxL86110 and MxL86111, operate at speeds of up to 1 Gbps to meet both consumer and industrial needs. The copper PHYs can be used in such applications as gateways, routers, industrial PCs,…
Silicon capacitors slash mounting area
Housed in tiny DFN0402-2 packages, silicon capacitors in Rohm’s BTD1RVFL series conserve space in smartphones and wearables. With dimensions of 0.4×0.2×0.185-mm, Rohm claims the devices are the industry’s smallest in a mass-produced surface-mount…
AI tool minimizes EM/IR impact on IC designs
The Cadence Voltus InsightAI platform uses generative AI to identify the root cause of electromigration (EM) and voltage (IR) drop early in the design process. It not only automatically identifies EM/IR violations, but also implements the most…
MCUs provide ML acceleration at the edge
PSoC Edge, a series of MCUs from Infineon, leverages hardware-assisted machine learning (ML) acceleration for responsive compute and control applications. The microcontrollers are based on an AI-capable Arm Cortex-M55 processor with Helium technology…
Completely wireless measurement of the voltage of objects
Imagine a satellite, floating in space. How would you measure its voltage? Yes, it probably has a non-zero voltage, a consequence of geospatial electric fields and ion and electron currents.
The question above is discomfiting for several reasons.…
Op-amp wipes out DPOT wiper resistance
An interesting variation on the theme of digital to analog converters (DACs) is the digital potentiometer (DPOT). In addition to being able to output a voltage proportional to a digital value when used as a multiplying DAC (MDAC), the DPOT can…
An FPGA-to-ASIC case study for refining smart meter design
Many embedded system designs are first implemented using FPGAs. This may be for quicker prototyping or to provide a platform for software development. Sometimes, the FPGAs will remain in the design after production begins. But usually, the plan…
Switches controlled by the duration of the input control signal
Among the switches of various kinds of loads, the circuit of the switch is of particular interest, controlled by varying signal duration. So, for example, feeding a short pulse to the input will turn on the load, and a longer pulse will turn…
The next embedded frontier: machine learning enabled MCUs
A new microcontroller claims to offer hardware-assisted machine learning (ML) acceleration for the Internet of Things (IoT) and industrial applications such as smart home, security surveillance, wearables, and robotics. That’s expected to…
