Testing Times and the Most New Technology in One Place

Autumn is here and with that trade show time. This is an electronica year, and I’m looking forward to getting back to Munich and catching up with colleagues, as well as seeing what is new in the industry. Electronica is always very hard work, but there is nowhere else on earth that so much new technology can be seen in the one location. Because of the magazine’s focus, I normally stay in the halls that cover power technology, but this year I think I’ll pay more attention to test and measurement. The subject has always been important to the power industry, but with the advent of GaN technology and the faster switching that it enables, along with the need for greater accuracy in power applications, especially for electric vehicles, T&M has a much more interesting role to play.

Test and Measurement is also the subject of this month’s Special Report. In our first article, Bernard Ang and Brian Whitaker from Keysight Technologies talk about the advantages an independent test validation system can bring when attempting to find hotspots in battery packs. Although most packs come with a battery management system, the potential drawbacks of lithium batteries mean that the greatest care possible should be taken, especially when employing a solution that requires multiple batteries. Having independent test validation, such as a modular data acquisition system, helps validate that the BMS is performing properly, providing assurance and offering a greater degree of detail on the measurements that could allow you to catch hotspots before they become a problem.

The second article in this month’s Special Report also concerns test and measurement in EVs. In the article, Yokogawa’s Kelvin Hagebeuk tells us about the company’s precision power scopes, which combine time-based measurement with the features of power analyzers to perform standard multi-phase power measurements while also being able to analyse waveforms. He also talks about the ScopeCorder series, which can evaluate the electromechanical relationships between components and systems and record over periods of up to 200 days. ScopeCorder is a data acquisition recorder that combines a mixed signal oscilloscope with a multi-channel, multiple speed data acquisition system.

The final article in this month’s supplement is based on automatic test. With more power applications requiring advanced processing, those ICs require separate DC parametric and high speed digital automatic test equipment (ATE) passes to ensure quality. Performing two passes adds to costs and logistics. In the article, Richard Houlihan, Naveen Dhull, and Padraig Fitzgerald from Analog Devices explain how the company’s ADGM1001 SPDT MEMS switch facilitates a one pass single insertion test for both DC parametric and high speed digital tests.

I hope you enjoy!

Best Regards,

Ally Winning

European Editor, PSD