TTD for wideband phased array beamforming: Eliminating beam squint in AESA

Radar, communications, and sensing systems increasingly rely on phased array antennas to achieve agile, precise beam steering without mechanical motion. As bandwidths widen to support higher data rates and better resolution, traditional phase-shifter-based…

Fluxgate basics: How magnetic saturation changes everything

Picture a satellite holding its course high above Earth, its mission dependent on flawless orientation, or an electric vehicle with a high-voltage battery that demands exact current monitoring to safeguard performance and safety. In these moments,…

Next-gen components power safer, smarter vehicles

As the automotive industry continues to shift toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs), autonomous driving, and connected vehicles, it raises challenges around performance, reliability, and security. Component makers have a big role to play by…

Dissecting third-party camera batteries, part 1: Functional misbehavior

The premise that a supposed-clone rechargeable battery is more economical than its “branded” counterpart is all well and good…unless you’re unable to actually recharge it. As my accretion of previously-owned photography equipment continues…

Designer’s guide: Radar, LiDAR, and cameras advance ADAS

Advances in autonomous driving and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) now enable vehicles to understand their surroundings in real time, a complex process based on the concepts of perception and sensor fusion. Perception refers…

Automotive LEDs and drivers: Balancing performance with style

LED manufacturers continue to enhance their LED designs for automotive lighting, enabling greater differentiation in the car’s exterior and interior illumination as well as improving safety features. Many of the latest developments focus on…

Power Tips #155: How to choose the best topology for isolated energy storage systems

With the increasing popularity of renewable energy and electric vehicles, the large-scale application of bidirectional isolated DC/DC converters is growing. This article will focus on energy storage systems (ESSs), with an overview of the isolated…

Active filters: Design tips and tricks

Filters are circuits comprising resistors, inductors and capacitors that pass certain frequency bands and attenuate others. Active filters use operational amplifiers (op amps) with resistors and capacitors, whereas passive filters do not include…

Why autonomous agriculture needs inertial navigation

Agriculture has become one of the fastest-growing applications for autonomous systems. Self-driving tractors, robotic sprayers, autonomous mowers, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are helping growers address labor shortages while improving…

Optimize hi-rel designs with rugged, flexible interconnects

As OEMs in high-reliability industries, including automotive, industrial, and military/aerospace, move to next-generation designs, they are looking for interconnects that not only offer high reliability and ruggedness but also greater design…

Unsung software and services heroes ease our days

Full-featured, high-priced products address many users’ needs. But free and low-cost options, sometimes for augmentation purposes, other times operating standalone, also have their place. As regular readers may already have noticed, I regularly…

Compound uncertainty: AI’s hidden risk in safety-critical development

Here’s a question your grandfather could have answered: Would you rather have a million dollars today or a penny that doubles every day for a month? Most people take the million. The penny reaches $5 million by day 30. Human intuition is simply…