~0.1% resolution capacitive position sensor

Simple circuit ratios sensor capacitance to reference capacitor to measure micrometers. It’s hard to imagine a simpler electromechanical sensor than the capacitance type, consisting of little more than two plates (or even just one if the sensed…

Implementing feature rich applications on entry-level MCUs

Microcontrollers (MCUs) come in a wide array of sizes for every application, from power optimized 8-bit to 32-bit high-performance MCUs running a dedicated operating system. The amount of MCUs needed to achieve a specific application is a difficult…

Top 10 circuit-protection devices

Manufacturers of circuit-protection devices have significantly improved the performance of their safety components to protect electronic devices and equipment from a range of failures caused by electrical surges and electrostatic discharge (ESD),…

AI augments advances in medical electronics

One of the biggest drivers of growth and advances in medical electronics is the integration of artificial intelligence. AI, particularly AI-enabled diagnostic imaging, is a major driver of innovation, helping address the rising data volume and…

The 50G PON gateway SoC supports edge AI, Wi-Fi 8

The first 50G passive optical network (PON) gateway system-on-chip (SoC) incorporates a neural processing unit (NPU) for edge AI inference and offers native compatibility with the Wi-Fi 8 standard. Broadcom’s BCM68850 CPE gateway claims to…

Power Tips #153: How to generate a regulated negative output from a negative input using a boost controller

How to deal with the reality that a standard buck controller power stage won’t work for negative-input conversion. Telecommunications equipment, industrial test and other applications require a negative input to negative output voltage conversion.…

Flash diagnostics and health monitoring for NOR memory

In embedded systems, where failure is not an option, NOR flash devices storing boot code, firmware images, and critical application data are subject to gradual wear over their operational lifetime. That wear is not invisible; it’s reflected…

Designing low-power CGMs with TMR-based magnetic sensing

Engineers must carefully manage power, protection, and sensing interactions at every design level to achieve reliable, always-on operation in a body-worn form factor. (Source: Getty Images) Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) have reshaped diabetes…

Portable jump starters: A dubious primary use case, but not a total waste

While its vehicle battery resurrection skills are uncertain at best, this device also offers other useful abilities. Two-plus years back, within my teardown of my PowerStation PSX3: which I described at the time as being: …(among other things)…

Gas discharge tubes (GDTs): From sparks to circuit protection

Gas discharge tubes (GDTs) harness the physics of controlled sparks to provide reliable surge protection, making them a fundamental safeguard for modern electronic circuits. They are deceptively simple devices that rely on ionized gas to tame…

AI-powered medical imaging: Turning data into faster diagnoses

Medical imaging has become one of the most critical pillars of modern healthcare to provide insights into diagnosis, treatment planning, and disease management. However, the very success of imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT)…

From specification to simulation: Modeling PPTC devices in QSPICE

Surface-mount polymer positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) devices are widely used resettable protection components in modern electronic systems. These devices are commonly selected when designers require automatic recovery after a fault,…