PCIe card brings edge AI acceleration to developers
Powered by BrainChip’s AKD1500 edge AI coprocessor, the AKD1500 PCIe development card enables developers to run models built with existing AI frameworks. The card plugs into a standard PCIe slot in a desktop, workstation, industrial PC, or…
Reference design cuts complexity in USB-C adapters
Eggtronic has announced a 140-W USB-C Power Delivery (PD) 3.1 AC/DC reference design for notebook adapters and other USB-C powered devices. The evaluation board combines Eggtronic’s EPIC dual-controller chipset with Renesas’ TP70H150G4LSG…
Vision AI ASIC enables always-on vehicle security
Omnivision’s OAX7700 ultra-low-power ASIC is an always-on vision AI companion processor for vehicle security systems, supporting sensor resolutions up to 720p. An integrated neural processing unit (NPU) allows designers to develop custom algorithms…
AI agent automates PPA-driven RTL generation
Cadence has added an agent for RTL generation to its ChipStack AI Super Agent platform for front-end silicon design and verification. The new agent extends ChipStack’s autonomous verification and debugging capabilities to PPA-driven spec-to-RTL…
With PEN nearing end-of-life, capacitors built on it must change
For decades, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) held a small but critical place in high-performance capacitors. It was never the volume material that biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) is, since cost and production capacity kept it niche. But…
8 to 48 volt PWM relay/solenoid driver finds fault, pinches power
This versatile Design Idea survives and reports open- and short-circuits, not to mention multiplying efficiencies.
Generally accepted tech folklore says that after you drive relays and solenoids into full actuation, only half as much coil voltage…
Space-rated analog ICs are increasingly standard catalog items
It wasn’t that long ago that space-rated components were special in every possible sense. They had to be ordered via a different process well in advance of fabrication, manufactured to order, undergo the additional tests to qualify them, and…
Frequency division by any number, with a 50% duty cycle output
Using the concept and leveraging the example circuits in this Design Idea, you can divide any frequency by any number divisible by 2.
Any dividend frequency can be divided by any number representable by 2n, resulting in a square wave output…
MCUs for power conversion and motor control feature PQC
A new microcontroller family boosts real-time control performance for power and motor applications through higher control-loop frequency, accuracy, and system efficiency. This enables the MCUs to meet the needs of applications that require precise,…
SFP: The single-mode module autopsy
This initial entry in a planned dissection series analyzes the insides of a long distance-capable fiber optic cable networking adapter containing a focused-beam laser.
Last week’s tutorial, the conceptual kickoff to the teardown coverage cadence…
Unmasking the ghosts in your grid with power quality analyzers
Power that looks perfect can still betray you. Hidden distortions in the mains lurk behind flawless root mean square (RMS) readings—waiting to trip up even the best‑designed systems.
You’ve built the device exactly to spec, tested it in…
Some tips for electrical engineers
Chime in with your suggestions in the comments. We’ll even allow the mechanical engineers out there to participate. Well…maybe.
The following are a few of the tips, advice, rules, or guiding principles, I’ve discovered after many years…
