Energy Efficiency
Power Supplies
Maurizio Salato, the director of power systems engineering at Vicor, describes their latest integrated ViChip AC to Point-ofLoad chip technology at PCIM for Power Systems Design.
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Date:
5/22/2013
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Figure 1. DOE proposed regulations vs. Level V performance for a 5V output EPS
The need to reduce active-mode power consumption is somewhat obvious. What has not been so obvious is the need to minimize power drain in standby and no-load when products are essentially doing nothing. Several studies have been performed worldwide to quantify this consumption by domestic equipment
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Date:
5/20/2013
LAST POWER, the European Union-sponsored program aimed at developing a cost-effective and reliable technology for power electronics, announced its three-year program achievements that place Europe at the forefront of research and the commercialization of energy-efficient devices for industrial and automotive
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Date:
5/17/2013
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Figure 1: Schematic of the flyback converter. After the transformer is inserted, the elements in green have to be selected and tuned.
Power Transformer Testing
Figure 1 shows the schematic of the flyback converter with the transformer inserted into the circuit. Before applying the full load on the circuit, the elements in green have to be selected and tuned for proper operation.
Current limiting is key to reliable operation of
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Date:
5/16/2013
GE’s Critical Power business unveiled its new DOSA-standard, 12A SlimLynx™ DC-DC power solution, which enables design engineers to finally deliver the performance and manufacturing efficiencies customers demand, without compromising board space or power efficiency. Thanks to the latest point of load
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Date:
5/16/2013
Amantys and Fuji Electric announced at PCIM 2013 the launch of two Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) Gate Drivers for High Power 2-pack modules. The AP12BA2A and AP17BA2A gate drives operate at 1200V and 1700V respectively and current ratings from 450A to 1400A.
The Amantys IGBT gate drivers
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Date:
5/16/2013
Texas Instruments introduced at PCIM two high-current, low-dropout (LDO) linear voltage regulators with excellent noise and power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) performance in very small, easy-to-use packages. The 250-mA LP5907 and 800-mA LP38798 LDOs feature less than 10-µVrms output noise over the
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Date:
5/15/2013
Toshiba semiconductors shows their latest hybrid Silicon Carbide power modules for Power Systems Design at PCIM 2013. The modules combine IGBTs with SiC diodes to deliver 1,700
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Date:
5/14/2013
Vicor announced at PCIM 2013 the expansion of its ultra high density Picor Cool-Power® PI31xx series of isolated, ZVS-based DC-DC converters optimized for 24 V industrial, 28 V aerospace/defense and/or demanding wide temperature applications. The new Cool-Power PI31xx converters retain the product series’
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Date:
5/14/2013
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Transphorm announced at PCIM 2013 the implementation of a high efficiency off-line 1kW 48Vdc power supply that has demonstrated peak efficiency of 97.5 percent. The power supply design utilizes Transphorm’s JEDEC-qualified GaN on silicon 600V high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) to implement a
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Date:
5/14/2013
When it comes to power, everyone wants more "green" supply, but what does that exactly mean? Efficiency is obviously desirable, but what does that meant to the designer? How about the supply's materials, do they count towards being "green" too? Efficiency means more than just doing more with less, it
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Date:
5/13/2013
Ericsson introduced their latest surface-mounted version of its second generation of digital Advanced Bus Converter (ABC) products, called the BMR456-SI. the high-efficiency, digitally-controlled DC/DC converter is compliant to full surface-mount manufacturing processes, and its high-precision tooled
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Date:
5/13/2013
Powerstax, a specialty provider of highly-optimized power sources, has released a series of DC-DC converter power modules specifically aimed at fuel cell power generation. The modules in the FC series accept 50V to 120V input direct from many popular fuel cells and deliver a stabilized output of up
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Date:
5/9/2013
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Figure 1: The reduction in needed PC board real estate resulting from using components with smaller linear dimensions is dramatic, as seen by this comparison of 0805, 0603, and 0402 bodies. A 0402 capacitor takes just one-fifth of the space required by a 0805 chip.
Power supply design trends are clear and dramatic: additional features, improved efficiency, and smaller size for the same power ratings, for both battery-powered portable units as well as larger, line-powered ones. For the AC-DC supplies, these changes are due to multiple factors combining to yield
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Date:
5/8/2013
Vicor will be exhibiting at PCIM 2013 in Nuremberg, the international conference and exhibition for power electronics and intelligent motion. Vicor will showcase its latest ChiP technology “Converter housed in Package”; a packaging technology that provides a high performance, scalable and cost-effective
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Date:
5/8/2013
The LTC3621 is a high efficiency, 17V input capable synchronous buck regulator from Linear Technology that delivers up to 1A of continuous output current to outputs as low as 0.6V. Synchronous rectification delivers efficiencies as high as 95% while Burst Mode® operation requires only 3.5µA of no load
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Date:
5/7/2013
CUI has introduced its second generation of low power, board-mount dc-dc converters with improved efficiency, isolation, and thermal performance compared to existing products. The unregulated dc-dc modules are available in 1- and 2-W configurations, with 1.5 kVdc isolation and anti-static protection
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Date:
5/7/2013
In this podcast, Alix speaks to Ralph Waggitt, President/CEO of Advanced Power, about linear power devices and how his company is creating solutions with them. Once thought banished from all but the most niche device applications, the linear supply is finding new use in board-level board power conversion.
Here
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Date:
5/7/2013
Micrel, an industry leader in high-performance linear and power solutions, LAN and timing and communications solutions, announced that they have signed Phoenics Electronics, a fully franchised, technically supportive, stocking distributor of semiconductor and board level solutions. The distributor
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Date:
5/3/2013
Dialight, a leader in LED lighting technology, announced its innovation program has developed an industry leading solid state power supply with an expected life of 20 years. Dialight’s new power supply technology guarantees long-life performance even in the most demanding applications.
“Dialight
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Date:
5/3/2013
XP Power announced availability of the ECP225 series of highly efficient low-profile AC-DC power supplies. Delivering up to 150 W by convection cooling alone, the units deliver a maximum of 225 W when a forced air flow of only 10 CFM is applied. With a typical efficiency of 94% and a no-load power consumption
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Date:
5/2/2013
In this video, the first part of a series of videos on frequency response analysis, Dr. Ridley explains the need for frequency response analysis for switching power supplies. The
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Date:
5/1/2013
TDK announced that TDK-Lambda UK’s Load Sharing Apparatus patent application has been approved for grant by the UK Intellectual Property Office. “In systems that are required to operate with high reliability, it is often necessary to operate multiple power supplies in parallel,” explains Andy Skinner,
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Date:
4/30/2013
Eltek, a leader in high-efficiency power systems for telecommunications, industrial applications and renewable energy projects, announced the availability of the Flatpack S, a new high-efficiency (HE) DC power system that combines the ability to support 100A in an extremely compact one rack unit (1RU)
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Date:
4/29/2013
Luso Electronics Distribution announced availability of the XL375LED constant current 375W AC-DC power supply family from N2Power. The new power supplies are designed to drive strings of LEDs in high-power lamps for industrial, entertainment and outdoor lighting applications.
Many LED lighting and
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Date:
4/26/2013
Acopian, a leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of custom, standard and modified-standard power supplies, launched its newly expanded Online Custom Power
Supply System Builder. The Online Custom Power Supply System Builder is developed to assist design engineers meet the market’s demand
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Date:
4/26/2013
Murata released their MTE1 series of
isolated 1 Watt single output DC-DC converters. Suitable for a broad
range of industrial and automation applications, these highly efficient
units, up to 88%, offer much better efficiency across the full load
range than competitor models currently available,
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Date:
4/24/2013
SL Power Electronics, a division of SL Industries and an industry leader in the design and manufacture of rugged, highly reliable power supplies, launches its GB60 single output, convection cooled, wide temperature range power supply that is one of only a few available on the market to provide 60 watts
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Date:
4/24/2013
Linear Technology introduced the LTC3863, a high-voltage inverting DC/DC controller that uses just a single inductor to produce a negative voltage from a positive input voltage. Most low to medium power inverters utilize a coupled inductor topology, or transformer which increases the circuit size and
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Date:
4/16/2013
In this special video version of Paultre on Power, we talk to Exar President and Chief Executive Officer, Louis DiNardo, at the Globalpress Electronics Summit 2013 on the company's
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Date:
4/16/2013
SmartPower Stack™ is presented as the industry's first fully integrated, deployment-ready commercial embedded system for high volume solar, photovoltaic, wind, hybrid electric and
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Date:
4/12/2013
Texas Instruments introduced a family of lithium-ion battery charger ICs that reduce charge time by up to 50% in smartphones and tablets compared to other charger solutions. The bq2419x family of 4.5-A output, 20-V input-rated switch-mode chargers with I2C interface and USB On-the-Go (OTG) support delivers
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Date:
4/10/2013
GreenChip technology lies at the heart of NXP's cost-effective and highly-efficient power and lighting ICs. GreenChip products are suitable for any device that draws AC power and
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Date:
4/10/2013
Packaged as an industry standard open-frame quarter brick module with through-hole mounting, the Murata Power Solutions PAQ series of 150 Watt isolated DC-DC converters has a 2:1 input range of 36 - 75 VDC around a nominal 48 VDC input. The single 29.8 VDC nominal output can be trimmed from 23.83 (-20%)
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Date:
3/1/2013
The 300-W ZWS300BAF AC/DC power supply from TDK Lambda operates from a universal input of 85 to 265Vac or 120-370Vdc and features a 10-year E-cap lifetime for superior reliability in the field, meeting demands for a wide range of applications, including those found in industrial equipment and front-end
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Date:
2/25/2013
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Figure 1: Shoot through due to drive-signal timing mismatch
Solid-state exterior lighting requires a regulated AC to DC power supply to drive LED loads which can vary in size from 1 W to over 500 W. To ensure a good return on investment, these power converters must offer very high efficiency—to complement the increased efficacy of the light source—and a long
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Date:
2/13/2013
Ideal for the use in modern home automation solutions, the RAC03-SCR/277 series of 3W regulated AC/DC mini power supplies from RECOM fit behind standard wall outlets and operate with an efficiency of up to 78%. Currently available from Rutronik, the devices offer a wide input voltage range of 85 to
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Date:
1/30/2013
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Figure 1. CAPZero high-level functional diagram
Recent studies have indicated that standby power consumption can range as high as 10 percent of all domestic electricity usage.
Over the last few years, multiple programs – including ENERGY STAR, the EU Code of Conduct, and the EcoDesign Directive – have attempted to build awareness
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Date:
2/3/2012
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Figure 1: Harmonic Performance
As a designer and manufacturer of critical power systems used in airborne, shipboard and ground-based applications in the defense and commercial markets, Excelitas Technologies recognizes the need to optimize overall system efficiency.
The conversion of three-phase power to a DC voltage
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Date:
2/3/2012
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Figure 1: 65W demo board of the TEA1733
The current market of Switch Mode Power Supply IC’s shows increasing demand on efficient and cost effective solutions that enable slim and compact design. The industry standard Energy Star Version 2.0 requires the external power supplies to have average active mode efficiency higher than 87% and
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Date:
1/19/2011
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Figure 1a: The effects of parallel connecting two power supplies without share control
Flexibility is one of the major advantages of power supplies using digital power conversion, where customer specific optimisations can be achieved without the expense of changing the hardware. Andrew Skinner, Chief Technology Officer of TDK-Lambda UK explains how current sharing power supplies operating
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Date:
1/15/2011
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Figure 1: Effect on efficiency of reducing component size by increasing switching frequency
Reducing the size and improving the efficiency of AC-DC power supplies are constant pressures. In addition, the requirement for portability in some equipment means that not only the size but also the weight is a prime consideration in the selection of power supplies.
A designer can always
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Date:
1/15/2011
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Figure 1: 347W universal input PFC
Power supplies of up to1kW output power account for the majority of power supplies used in high-volume electronics applications. One obvious application that we use every day is the personal computer, but other examples include printers, TVs, video game consoles, appliances, and industrial equipment.
Designing
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Date:
1/15/2011