The story of NI and its influence on instrument control
National Instruments, widely known as NI in the test and instrumentation worlds, will become the Test & Measurement unit in Emerson after the completion of the $8.2 billion acquisition. The St. Louis, Missouri-based industrial conglomerate…
Adjust op-amp gain from -30 dB to +60 dB with one linear pot
A good manually adjusted audio gain stage is characterized by:
Low noise and low distortion,
A 20 kHz bandwidth,
A wide gain adjustment range (e.g. 90dB), and
Logarithmic (at least pseudo-logarithmic) control characteristic to
Efficiently span…
Bidirectional I/O for communicating power mode between ECUs
In recent days, the number of electronic control units (ECUs) in the car continues to increase, at the same time there is a necessity to reduce the sleep current to improve the efficiency of the battery. In gas powered cars this has become mandatory.
Wow…
Signal relay targets high-density applications
Operating up to 3 GHz, the MM1205 six-channel SPST relay from Menlo Micro is useful for signal switching applications in DC, analog, and RF circuits. The device, which integrates a relay driver and charge pump, combines the high isolation of…
GaN FETs come in TO-leadless packages
Transphorm is sampling three 650-V GaN FETs with typical on-resistances of 35 mΩ, 50 mΩ, and 72 mΩ in TO-leadless (TOLL) packages. According to the manufacturer, these normally off D-mode SuperGaN FETs can be used as drop-in replacements…
Image sensors shrink size and power
Architected for low power consumption, Hyperlux LP image sensors from onsemi can extend battery life in products like smart doorbells and security cameras. In addition, a stacked architecture minimizes sensor footprint, with the smallest device…
Scopes provide 12-bit resolution in portable package
The compact, portable design of the DHO800/DHO900 series of 12-bit digital oscilloscopes from Rigol makes them suitable for both on-site and desktop testing. An extension of the DHO family of high-resolution oscilloscopes, the DHO800 and DHO900…
32-bit MCUs embed hardware-based security
Microchip’s PIC32CZ CA series of 32-bit MCUs integrates a hardware security module (HSM) for applications that require secure communications. Powered by a 300-MHz Arm Cortex-M7 processor, the microcontrollers also offer a wide range of connectivity…
Playing with phase in AM signal generation
I needed to test a UHF linear amplifier’s ability to deliver a low distortion AM signal output. Unfortunately, the output distortion requirement was better than the distortion limits of any commercial AM signal source I could find. It was…
Chiplets diary: JEDEC’s tie-up with OCP bears first fruit
While the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) standard for die-to-die interconnect is getting a lot of attention, significant work is also being carried out on another design front: electronic part integration in chiplets. JEDEC, which…
Power vs energy: SSD and HDD case studies
Windows 10 isn’t scheduled to “sunset” for another two years (and a month, since I’m writing this in early September), but I’m already executing on a hardware replacement plan for my Microsoft Surface Pro 5, which isn’t sanctioned…
AI: Making the case for analog in-memory computing with DRAM
Machine learning (ML), a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), has become integral to our lives. It allows us to learn and reason from data using techniques such as deep neural network algorithms. Machine learning enables data-intensive tasks…
