Power Tips #149: Boosting EV charger efficiency and density with single-stage matrix converters

An onboard charger converts power between the power grid and electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles. Traditional systems use two stages of power conversion: a boost converter to implement unity power factor, and an isolated DC/DC converter…

Procurement tool aims to bolster semiconductor supply chain

An AI-enabled electronic components procurement tool claims to boost OEM productivity by leveraging a software platform that negotiates prices, tracks spending, and monitors savings in real time. It takes your bill-of-materials (BOM) and uploads…

PolarFire FPGA ecosystem targets embedded imaging

Microchip Technology has expanded its PolarFire FPGA–based smart embedded video ecosystem to enable low-power, high-bandwidth video connectivity. The offering consists of integrated development stacks that combine hardware evaluation kits,…

Controllers accelerate USB 2.0 throughput

Infineon’s EZ-USB FX2G3 USB 2.0 peripheral controllers provide DMA data transfers from LVCMOS inputs to USB outputs at speeds of up to 480 Mbps. Designed for USB Hi-Speed host systems, the devices also support Full-Speed (12 Mbps) and Low-Speed…

Digital isolators enhance signal integrity

Diodes’ API772x RobustISO series of dual-channel digital isolators protects sensitive components in high-voltage systems. The devices provide reliable, robust isolation for digital control and communication signals in industrial automation,…

MOSFET ensures reliable AI server power

A 100-V, 200-A MOSFET from Rohm, the RS7P200BM achieves a wide safe operating area (SOA) in a compact DFN5060-8S (5×6-mm) package. The device safely handles inrush current and overload conditions, ensuring stable operation in hot-swap circuits…

Sensor drives accurate downhole drilling

The Tronics AXO315T1 MEMS accelerometer from TDK is designed for oil and gas downhole navigation in extreme environments. It features a ±14‑g input range and a 24‑bit digital SPI interface for measurement-while-drilling (MWD) applications…

Peeking inside a moving magnet phono cartridge and stylii

How does a wiggling groove on a rotating record transform into two-channel sonic excellence? It all starts with the turntable cartridge, mated to one of several possible needle types. Mid-last year, I confessed that I’d headed back down the…

Combine two TL431 regulators to make versatile current mirror

Various designs for current mirror circuits have been an active topic recently here in Design Ideas (DIs). Usually, the mirror designer’s aim is to make the mirror’s input and output currents accurately equal, but Figure 1 shows one that…

The AI-tuned DRAM solutions for edge AI workloads

As high-performance computing (HPC) workloads become increasingly complex, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is being progressively integrated into modern systems, thereby driving the demand for advanced memory solutions. To meet these…

Sensing and power-generation circuits for a batteryless mobile PM2.5 monitoring system

Editor’s note: In this DI, high school student Tommy Liu builds a vehicle-mounted particulate matter monitoring system that siphons power from harvested wind energy from vehicle motion and an integrated supercapacitor. Particulate matter (PM2.5)…

How to implement MQTT on a microcontroller

One of the original and most important reasons Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) became the de facto protocol for Internet of Things (IoT) is its ability to connect and control devices that are not directly reachable over the Internet. In…