Consumer

    June 2019
    SMD Bridge Rectifier Helps Save Manufacturing Assembly Costs
    Taiwan Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (TSC) has announced the introduction of SMD bridge rectifier – TBS series. SMD bridge rectifier – TBS series (TBS406, TBS408, TBS410, TBS606, TBS608, TBS610) is designed to optimize higher power application and prevents arcing problems through increased creepage distance wi
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    Date:
    06/27/2019
    Component Enhances 5G/LTE Smartphone Battery Life
    SEOUL, South Korea and SAN JOSE, Calif.-- MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation announced a new low-Rss(on)* LV (Low Voltage) MOSFET with reduced chip size for smartphone battery PCMs (Protection Circuit Modules). Extended life and increased protection for batteries in high-end LTE and 5G smartphones are bec
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    Date:
    06/26/2019
    Varistors Offer Ultra-High Surge Capability to 13 kA
    MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. introduced a new series of VDR metal oxide varistors (MOV) certified for operation up to +125 °C in accordance with UL 1449 edition 4, VDE/IEC 61051-1/2. Designed to provide overvoltage and transient voltage protection in consumer goods and industrial applications, the
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    Date:
    06/26/2019
    Wearable Vibration Sensor for Accurate Voice Recognition
    A voice-recognition feature can be easily found on mobile phones these days. Often times, we experience an incident where a speech recognition application is activated in the middle of a meeting or a conversation in the office. Sometimes, it is not activated at all regardless of numbers of times we call out th
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    Date:
    06/24/2019
    Phones and Wearables Combine to Assess Worker Performance

    Smartphones, fitness bracelets and a custom app form a mobile-sensing system that judges employee performance.

    HANOVER, N.H. - Using smartphones, fitness bracelets and a custom app, researchers have created a mobile-sensing system that judges employee performance. The system works by monitoring the physical, emotional and behavioral well-being of workers to classify high and low performers. The new mobile-sensi
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    Date:
    06/24/2019
    A Sound Idea: A Step Towards Quantum Computing

    Laser pulses.

    Tsukuba, Japan - A team at the University of Tsukuba studied a novel process for creating coherent lattice waves inside silicon crystals using ultrashort laser pulses. Using theoretical calculations combined with experimental results that were obtained at the University of Pittsburgh, they were able to show th
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    Date:
    06/19/2019
    3W Ultra-thin Isolated Regulated Output DC/DC Converters
    The new series URB/VRB-J(M)D/T-3W provides 4:1 and 2:1 ultra wide input range, features 1500VDC isolation voltage, and delivers efficiencies up to 83%. Packages are available in SMD and DIP. In addition to meeting EN62368 standards, protections for input under-voltage, over voltage, over-current, output short cir
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    Date:
    06/17/2019
    Sub-Miniature Tact Switches for Home Automation and IoT
    WALTHAM, Mass. – C&K introduces two new sub-miniature tact switches aimed at design engineers developing home automation and Internet of Things (IoT) electronic devices: the PTS636 and PTS526. With printed circuit board (PCB) space at a premium within consumer electronics devices, these ultra-compact C&K sw
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    Date:
    06/17/2019
    Expanded High-Voltage, Low-RDSON Power Platform
    MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel – TowerJazz announced the release of its leading edge 140V low Rdson power platform, providing significant high power efficiency at high voltages. This advanced offering expands the Company’s 90V technology platform, spe
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    Date:
    06/17/2019
    PSDcast - Natural Spectrum LEDs at the Grevin Wax Museum

    Seoul Semiconductor’s Mark McClear

    Most of us intuitively feel that natural sunlight is better than artificial light, whatever the color temperature. And the science backs it up. But today, we're focusing on the aesthetic qualities, and just last month, Seoul Semiconductor  announced that their natural spectrum LEDs had been adopted for use
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    Date:
    06/14/2019
    PSDcast - The World's First Quantum Dot LED

    Dr. Juanita Kurtin, Director of Materials Research at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors

    At Lightfair 2019, OSRAM showed off the world's first quantum dot LED brought to market. And in this episode of the PSDcast, we're chatting with Dr. Juanita Kurtin, Director of Materials Research at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors about this new development ...  
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    Date:
    06/13/2019
    Lighting Packages Intended for Outdoor Horse Arenas
    WORCESTER, Mass -- Access Fixtures has introduced three complete horse arena lighting packages intended for outdoor horse arenas of various sizes. To date, Access Fixtures has provided custom packages based on photometric studies that are specific to the dimensions and needs of each arena. These new packages, based on 190' x 135' outdoor arenas and 150' x 75' outdoor arenas, provide customers with three different prepackaged options meant to throw a lot of light in a designated area. The packages make it simple for consumers to select what they need.  These packages can be used for various different types of equestrian sporting including but not limited to dressage, rodeo, and casual riding. All of these packages include steel poles APTA or A
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    Date:
    06/12/2019
    A Network Without the Internet or Electricity!

    The Beekee Box, developed by the Training and Learning Technology Researchers (TECFA) of the UNIGE FPSE.

    How can you send documents, watch educational videos or work collaboratively in regions where there is no internet coverage or electricity? These were the challenging questions taken up by researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, who have developed a standalone box, known as the Beekee Box, th
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    Date:
    06/12/2019
    MEMS Oscillators Designed for Battery-Powered Applications
    Abracon's AMJM / AMJD / AMPM / AMPD series of power-optimized MEMS (micro electro-mechanical systems) oscillators are designed for compact, portable and battery-powered applications. MEMS devices present a very small footprint while producing an accurate clock that is robust and immune to shock and vibration.
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    Date:
    06/11/2019
    What’s in Your Healthcare Monitor?

    An example of in-home patience monitoring

    The pervasiveness of diabetes and obesity, as well as high cholesterol levels due to changes in lifestyle, in conjunction with the proliferation of smartphones and wearable devices, are influencing consumers to adopt various health monitoring applications to assist them to maintain their optimal health. Accordingly, patient c
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    Date:
    06/10/2019
    MCU Innovations Respond to Motor Design and Applications

    Click image to enlarge

    Figure 1: Permanent Magnet Synchronous (PMS) motors are commonly used in industrial applications because they natively offer higher torque at lower speeds

    Motors come in many forms. They range from stepper motors that are often used in precision positioning applications to the large Alternating Current Induction (ACI) motors often employed to deliver high torque for industrial mixing and processing. Very often, the choice of motor is not just determined by the ap
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    Date:
    06/10/2019
    The First Cyber Agility Framework to Measure Attacks

    Cyber of the fittest: UTSA develops 1st framework to measure the evolution of cyber attacks.

    For more than a year, GozNym, a gang of five Russian cyber criminals, stole login credentials and emptied bank accounts from unaware Americans. To detect and quickly respond to escalating cyber-attacks like these, researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have developed the first framework to
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    Date:
    06/10/2019
    Qi-Compliant Wireless Transmitter & Receiver Coils
    MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. expanded its offering of Qi-compliant wireless charging transmitter and receiver coils with the introduction of 14 new products in industry-standard shield sizes. Consisting of eight single-coil transmitters (Tx), three three-coil transmitters (Tx), and three sin
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    Date:
    06/10/2019
    Indicators with Improved Prevention of Overheating Damage
    CHICAGO — Littelfuse, Inc. announced an expanded  PolySwitch setP series of digital temperature indicators, designed to protect USB Type‑C and USB power delivery charging cables from dangerous overheating. The newest addition to the product family, the SETP0805-100-CC, is optimized for use in cables e
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    Date:
    06/07/2019
    Plug Adapter Compliant to DOE VI Efficiency Standards
    Fremont, CA — Phihong has announced the launch of its new 10W USB Interchangeable Plug Adapter Series, which is compliant to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE VI) efficiency regulations for external power supplies, as well as the European Union’s voluntary Code of Conduct Version 5 Tier 2 requirements. Th
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    Date:
    06/07/2019
    Ensuring IoT Infrastructure Integrity via Smarter Nodes

    Click image to enlarge

    Figure 1: The Texas Instruments MSP430 MCU

    IoT infrastructure can potentially be compromised in a number of ways. Firstly, there is the possibility that IoT nodes could be damaged during shipment or transport, prior to their installation. Then they might be exposed to harsh conditions, due to the application environment in which they are located - with extreme heat, high humidity or vibrational forces al
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    Date:
    06/07/2019
    IoT – IioT, IoE and oh da do dah day
    Our industry loves acronyms in a big way. I think this is so finance people can sound like technologists and speak in industry jargon that makes them sound like experts in things other than financial analysis of organizations. In this case, IoT (or Internet of things), IIOT (the industrial Internet of things), an
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    Date:
    06/07/2019
    Battery Solutions for IoT Devices

    Click image to enlarge

    Figure 1: The extended temperature cells remain largely unaffected by long-term storage at elevated temperatures

    There is no question that the Internet of Things (IoT) is growing very rapidly, with estimates of nodes deployed in the billions. Many estimates suggest that there are now up to six IoT nodes for every person on the planet – and the growth rate is accelerating. On the other hand, there are those who sugge
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    Date:
    06/07/2019
    Wireless Power with Infrared Light

    Power is delivered with pinpoint accuracy using an invisible beam of light. Users do not see or feel the beam.

    By the time you read this, Lightfair should be in the books, and to that end, I’d like to highlight one of the coolest opto items I’ve seen in a while – wireless power with infrared light. Like any healthy marketplace, the wireless charging options are voluminous – be they inductive wireless chargin
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    HARTING and HIROSE push infrastructure for Single Pair Ethernet
    To make the new connection technology for Single Pair Ethernet a success, the technology partnership is pursuing the systematic expansion of SPE to achieve an end-to-end, complete infrastructure. This infrastructure consists of a portfolio of connectors, sockets, cables and cable sets on the component side. In
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    Rad-Hard 16-Channel Current Driver with Integrated Decoder
    The ISL72814SEH integrates the decoder, input level shifter, and 16 current driver arrays in a single monolithic IC. The device allows satellite manufacturers to significantly increase system capacity and cut solution footprint by 50 percent for their medium Earth orbit (MEO), geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), h
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    Encapsulated sixteenth-brick DC-DC converters
    The modules are housed in the industry-standard sixteenth-brick form factor (35.3 x 25 x 10.4mm / 1.39 x 0.984 x 0.41 in), with sealed and encapsulated packaging. This ensures their reliability when exposed to dust, moisture, severe vibration and other harsh environmental conditions. There are two variants: the PKU35
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    Powerbox announces 105 models of DC/DC converters featuring 2xMOPP medical approvals
    The PMM15, PMM20 and PMM30 are certified to the 3rd Edition of the IEC/EN/ANSI/AAMI ES 60601-1 medical safety standard and rated for the highest levels of patient protection - 2xMOPP. With a clearance and creepage distance of 8mm, a typical leakage current of 2µA and a 5,000VAC isolation voltage, the modules ensur
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    New angled locking cable for IEC C14 Power Connectors
    The newest connector in the IL13 family sets a benchmark in space limited locking situations. Due to its angled construction the connector can be beneficially used with devices standing next to a wall or in table-top applications. The connector comes in four different orientations to cater for any assem
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    Now at Mouser: Maxim’s MAX77860 Switch-Mode Buck Charger
    The MAX77860 is ideal for USB Type-C charging for single-cell (1S) lithium-ion or lithium-polymer applications, portable medical equipment, portable industrial equipment, and mobile point-of-sale devices, as well as smartphones and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The Maxim MAX77860 step-down charger, available from
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    10W reed relay suits high-PCB-density applications
    Series 122 relays measure 12.5mm in height and are rated with a switching current of 0.5A at 10W. 3V and 5V coils are available.   Fast operate and release times, typically 150 μs or less, make Series 122 relays ideal for high speed test systems such as A.T.E. switching matrices or multiplexers.
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    Date:
    06/06/2019
    PSDcast - Wireless Power with Infrared Light

    Wi-Charge Chief Marketing Officer Yuval Boger

    In this episode of the PSDcast, we're discussing a unique approach to wireless power - Israeli start-up Wi-Charge uses infrared light to transmit usable energy ...
    Date:
    06/04/2019
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    Power Systems Design

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    Power Systems Design

    Power Systems Design is a leading global media platform serving the power electronics design engineering community. It delivers in-depth technical content, industry news, and product insights to engineers and decision-makers developing advanced power systems and technologies.

    Published 12× per year across North America and Europe, Power Systems Design is distributed through online and fully digital editions, complemented by eNewsletters, webinars, and multimedia content. The platform covers key areas including power conversion, semiconductors, renewable energy, automotive electrification, AI power systems, and industrial applications—supporting innovation across the global electronics industry.