Industrial

February 2014
In this video Atmel describes their latest solution for power supply temperature monitoring and management for Power Systems Design at embedded world 2014. In this demo an integrated digital temperature sensor with peripheral devices along with the accompanying support software manage the power supply's tempera
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Date:
02/28/2014
The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has licensed its Equivalent Circuit Battery Model to software developer ThermoAnalytics for use in its recently updated RadTherm software package. The model is a part of the Battery Module within RadTherm, which is used by engineers to simulat
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Date:
02/28/2014
Dual-configuration Schottky silicon-carbide (SiC) diodes from STMicroelectronics are the first such devices in the industry with a voltage rating of 650V per diode in a choice of common-cathode or series configurations allowing use in interleaved or bridgeless power-factor correction (PFC) circuits. ST’s STPSC6/8/10
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Date:
02/27/2014
Fairchild’s 650V green-mode buck switches offer high efficiency and design scalability

FSL306 and FSL336 650V Green Mode AC Buck Switches

Home appliance, industrial motor and smart meter applications require solutions that provide low standby power in order to achieve energy efficiency for the end user. At the same time, designers need power scalability to increase the power rating of a device for additional system functionality while simplifying de
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Date:
02/26/2014
Maxwell Technologies, a leading developer and manufacturer of ultracapacitor-based energy storage products, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SK Innovation, a subsidiary of SK Holdings and a leading Korean energy provider, to develop next-generation energy storage solutions leveraging th
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Date:
02/25/2014
Littelfuse offers custom upscreening and sorting for hi-rel TVS diodes

Littelfuse High-Reliability TVS Diodes

Littelfuse, a leader in circuit protection, offers users the ability to customize the upscreening and sorting process flows for High-Reliability Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) Diodes. These components protect sensitive electronic equipment from voltage transients induced by lightning surge and other transient vo
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Date:
02/24/2014
Powerstax, a specialist provider of highly optimized power sources, has added further scope to the portfolio of transformer rectifier units it offers the market - with numerous value-added and full custom solutions available. Benefiting from the technical expertise it inherited following the acquisition of Drake Po
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Date:
02/24/2014
Microchip’s low-power sensor hub makes sensor fusion easy

SSC7102 low-power turnkey sensor hub

Microchip Technology, a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, announced the SSC7102—a low-power, flexible and turnkey sensor hub that makes implementing sensor fusion easy and provides an extremely large selection of supported sensors. In fact, Microchip directly pa
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Date:
02/21/2014
Linear's latest LDO+ offers extensive monitoring, protection & cable drop compensation

LT3086 40V, 2.1A low-dropout linear regulator

Linear Technology announced the LT3086, the latest addition to the LDO+™ family, offering significant functionality previously unavailable in linear regulators. The  (LDO) includes current monitoring with externally settable current limit and temperature monitoring with external control of thermal limit te
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Date:
02/20/2014
Kerite cable offers superior wet performance in utility apps

Kerite “wet design” cable for harsh utility operating conditions

Kerite, a leading manufacturer of high quality insulated utility and industrial power cable, now offers a superior “wet design” for harsh utility operating conditions. This wet design is part of the standard Kerite utility cable construction. Utilities deal with flooded vaults, water soaked conduits and hi
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Date:
02/20/2014
Three-phase transformer suits heavy-duty industrial apps

IPI Three-Phase Transformers

With their advanced performance, rugged construction and superior reliability, the modular IPI Three-Phase Transformer Series from Innovative Power delivers superior power management in a wide range of instruments and controls designed for heavy-duty industrial use. The IPI Three-Phase Transformer Series pr
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Date:
02/20/2014
Anderson Power Products (APP), a leader in high power interconnect solutions, is pleased to announce a new addition to the SB® connector family with the release of their new SB® Environmental Boots. Ideal for a wide range applications, the SB Environmental Boots’ soft shell provides water, dirt, chemical an
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Date:
02/19/2014
During the Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), held at the Fort Worth Convention Center, the revised PMBus Power System Management Protocol Specification V1.3 will be introduced. Power Electronics Standards session IS2-1-5, “An Introduction to Revision 1.3 of the PMBus Specification” wi
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Date:
02/18/2014
Given the range of industrial applications is extremely diversified  – from very small sensors powered by energy harvesting to mega processors used for process control and huge data computing capabilities required by some industrial equipment – the challenge for power designers remains the selection of
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Date:
02/18/2014
Battery replacement may soon be a thing of the past. Researchers from A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) are tapping into low frequency vibrations, the most abundant and ubiquitous energy source in the surroundings, to power small-scale electronic devices indefinitely. IME's energy harvester has the abil
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Date:
02/18/2014
Delivering more than 200mA of output current can be a serious challenge for many high-voltage operational amplifiers. But for high voltage applications requiring as much as 1A of current, it is possible to meet this spec by pairing a current buffer with the op amp. What the current buffer brings to this arrangement is
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Date:
02/18/2014
MTU and MTU Onsite Energy will showcase an all-encompassing, fully integrated product portfolio of power and propulsion systems for construction and industrial applications and mining at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014. Rolls-Royce Power Systems brands MTU and MTU Onsite Energy will pack two exhibit areas with the latest in
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Date:
02/18/2014
Life to Return to the Power Supply Industry in 2014

Jonathon Eykyn, IHS Technology

The global market for power supplies crashed in 2012 as economic uncertainties led to low consumer demand and the postponement of large industrial projects. Whilst 2013 bought growth, it was limited to a few markets and the overall market grew by just 2.4%. However, the outlook for the global power supply market is
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Date:
02/17/2014
Advances in system level goals of the Smart Grid to better manage electrical loads during high demand time of use or during a shortage of available resources have created a need for efficient methods of connecting and disconnecting loads from the grid. Load management systems have been available in the commercial an
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Date:
02/17/2014
Designers of power control devices and those that combine control with power FET functionality are finding that FIB circuit edit techniques proven at older process nodes are delivering even greater benefits when used at advanced technology nodes.   It is also expected that FIB circuit edit techniques wi
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Date:
02/17/2014
Intermediate bus voltages from 24V to 28V (nominal) are commonplace in industrial, aerospace and defense systems, where series-connected batteries may be a backup power source and 12V bus architectures tend to be impractical due to distribution losses. The widening voltage gap between the system bus and the po
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Date:
02/17/2014
With more than 800 exhibitors, 57,500 square meters, the 13th electronica China and productronica China will be held on March 18-20, 2014 in halls W1, W2, W3, W4 and W5 at Shanghai New International Expo Center. This year, the two trade fairs will unveil the latest technology products and solutions including
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Date:
02/17/2014
Substation expansions can become extremely complicated when space is limited. That’s when use of high voltage underground cable comes into its own as a viable option. What makes the option even more favorable is a turnkey approach, in which the high voltage underground cable provider provides the cable, terminations, an
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Date:
02/17/2014
Powervation, a leader in Intelligent Digital Power™ IC solutions, will discuss its solutions for cloud/datacenter server infrastructure, high performance computing, power modules, and communications infrastructure, at the upcoming Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) and Exposition scheduled in Fort Wor
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Date:
02/17/2014
Micrel Introduces full-featured, high-performance digital PWM controller for high-current, non-isolated DC/DC supplies

MIC21000 digital PWM controller for high-current, non-isolated DC-DC power supplies

Micrel, an industry leader in high performance linear and power solutions, LAN and timing and communications solutions, introduced the MIC21000, true-digital PWM controller for high-current, non-isolated DC-DC power supplies in computing and telecom applications.  Designed to work with an external industry st
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Date:
02/17/2014
In today’s information-driven business landscape, enterprises across the globe have become increasingly dependent on data centers as the foundation for successful operations. For mission critical environments, peak operating efficiency and reliability are necessities; if the data center falters, the business su
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Date:
02/17/2014
As the shift from discrete DC-DC converters to integrated power modules continues, more complex devices are being introduced into the market for applications in several fields like industrial and telecommunications. These both require programmable modules with small footprints and high power density that deliver mu
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Date:
02/17/2014
The new Industrial revolution

Alix Paultre, Editorial Director, Power Systems Design

Industrial technology and processes have been under constant development since the invention of the wheel. From the potter’s wheel came the lathe, fire went from cooking to pottery to steam, and precision went from rough measurements based on body parts and other natural comparators to rulers and levels. The to
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Date:
02/16/2014
We here at Ridley Engineering recently conducted a survey with a group of almost 3,000 active power supply design engineers to discover the various reasons and circumstances they have encountered power supplies that failed. The experiences the engineers shared with us were very enlightening, and this article su
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Date:
02/15/2014
Plant-to-Enterprise Network Convergence Design Strategies

George Kairys, Molex

Industrial network convergence between plant and enterprise systems necessitates the integration of cabling, connectivity, controllers, switches and other components, coupled with the software interface to transmit and mine data between commercial and industrial functions.  Lately we’ve seen a trend towards ex
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Date:
02/15/2014
Farsens’ TITAN battery-free bistable RFID relay triggers wirelessly

Farsens TITAN battery-free RFID bistable relay tag

The TITAN from RFID specialist Farsens is a battery-free RFID bistable relay tag compatible with commercial EPC C1G2 readers. They can be wirelessly activated and deactivated via their unique ID, and the relay keeps its latest status even when the RFID reader is gone. The TITAN has a 96 bits EPC number, a 32 bit
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Date:
02/14/2014
Eaton explores strategies for increasing U-rack space at Data Centre World 2014

Gary Bowdler of Eaton

Eaton is presenting an important paper examining the latest techniques for improving rack and equipment densities in data centres at this month’s Data Centre World. The presentation will form part of the conference programme accompanying this year’s exhibition taking place 26th – 27th February at ExCel in
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Date:
02/14/2014
Vishay's 5A synchronous buck regulator operates to 4 MHz at up to 95% efficiency

Vishay Siliconix SiP12108

Vishay Intertechnology expanded its microBUCK® family of integrated synchronous buck regulators with a new 5 A device offering high programmable switching frequencies to 4 MHz. The Vishay Siliconix SiP12108 features integrated high- and low-side power MOSFETs in the space-saving 3 mm by 3 mm QFN-16 package, pr
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Date:
02/14/2014
Linear's  96%-efficient synchronous buck converter needs only 2.5µA of quiescent current

Linear Technology's LT8610A and LT8610AB

Linear Technology's LT8610A and LT8610AB are a pair of 3.5A, 42V input capable synchronous step-down switching regulators with an efficiency as high as 96% while Burst Mode® operation keeps quiescent current under 2.5µA in no-load standby conditions. Their 3.4V to 42V input voltage range makes them ideal for aut
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Date:
02/14/2014
Three Key Opportunities in the Industrial Market for 2014 and Beyond

Ryan Sanderson, IHS

2013 marked a year of recovery for many power electronic manufacturers following a weak end to 2012 and a global decline. Recovery, however, was slow in the majority of sectors as economic growth, particularly in Europe, remained unstable, keeping spending confidence low at both a consumer and business level. De
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Date:
02/13/2014
Lattice Semiconductor will demonstrate their latest USB3 and Human Machine Interface (HMI) solutions, and address how embedded designers can use low-power, low-cost FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) to overcome the challenges of implementing MIPI interfaces at the Embedded World Exhibition and Conference ta
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Date:
02/13/2014
The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) Magnetics Committee is sponsoring the Industry Session “How Are Magnetics Catching Up To SiC & GaN?” at APEC 2014, taking place on Thursday, March 20, 2014, from 2:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The APEC Industry Se
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Date:
02/13/2014
 TMD to show high-power TWT amplifiers for EMC HIRF testing at EMV 2014

TMD Technologies will be highlighting its ultra-high power TWT amplifiers at the EMV 2014 exhibition in Germany this March

A wide range of travelling wave tube (TWT) amplifiers from TMD Technologies will be highlighted at the EMV 2014 exhibition and conference on electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in Duesseldorf, Germany. TMD's capability extends up to 40 kW for certain special pulsed models, covering the frequency range from 10 kHz
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Date:
02/12/2014
AVX, a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions, is exhibiting at the fourth annual Electronics For You Expo February 20–22, 2014 in New Delhi, India. Cohosted by the EFY Group and the Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA), the EFY Expo addresses nearly every facet of
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Date:
02/12/2014
Absopulse's opto-less wide-input DC/DC converter works for up to 30 years

ABSOPULSE DHR 150-24 converter

The DHR 150-24 is the latest addition to ABSOPULSE’s line of wide input range, long-life power conversion products developed for rugged industrial environments, designed for an operating life of up to 30 years. By eliminating optocouplers in the feedback loop and significantly reducing component count, the MT
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Date:
02/12/2014
Switching regulators are an excellent replacement for linear regulators in areas where low heat dissipation and high efficiency are valued. The switching regulator is typically the first active component on the input power bus line, and therefore has a significant impact on the EMI performance of the complete co
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Date:
02/11/2014
Linear releases 2.5A monolithic active cell-balancer with telemetry interface

LT8584 monolithic flyback DC/DC converter

Linear Technology announces the LT8584, a monolithic flyback DC/DC converter designed to actively balance high voltage stacks of batteries. These battery stacks are commonly found in electric and hybrid vehicles as well as fail-safe power supplies and energy storage systems. Because these batteries are stacked in
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Date:
02/11/2014
UK-based ARCOL Resistors is increasing the availability of their power and specialist resistor range worldwide through closer cooperation with RS Components, widely recognised as the world's leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products. The latest ARCOL Resistor types to be added t
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Date:
02/10/2014
ROHM op-amps suit motion-sensor signal amplification

ROHM op-amp block diagram

ROHM has recently announced the development of op-amps designed for motion sensor applications such as accelerometers (shock) and angular velocity detection. Recent years have seen a growing number of devices, such as smartphones, tablet PCs, and portable gaming systems, that incorporate sensors to detect acceleration, an
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Date:
02/10/2014
AVX's polymer tantalum chip capacitors with undertab terminations target high-energy applications

TCN PulseCap tantalum solid-electrolytic chip capacitors

AVX, a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions, has released its TCN PulseCap™ Series of tantalum solid-electrolytic chip capacitors, a polymer electrode version of AVX’s industry-favorite, high capacitance, and high energy TLN PulseCap Series. Available in the same single, la
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Date:
02/10/2014
Keithley publishes seventh edition of popular low-level measurements handbook

Low Level Measurements Handbook: Precision DC Current, Voltage, and Resistance Measurements

Keithley Instruments, a leader in advanced electrical test instruments and systems, announced that it has published the seventh edition of its well-regarded Low Level Measurements Handbook: Precision DC Current, Voltage, and Resistance Measurements. This 250-page reference, which Keithley first published in 19
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Date:
02/07/2014
AMETEK has acquired Powervar, a leading provider of power management systems and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, for approximately $128 million. Headquartered in Waukegan, IL, the privately held company has annual sales of approximately $70 million. Powervar provides highly engineered and custo
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Date:
02/07/2014
CBS ArcSafe offers remote racking for GE AK-1-25 low-voltage breakers

GE AK-1-25 tooling

CBS ArcSafe® is proud to offer the industry’s first remote racking solution with circuit breaker-specific tooling for General Electric’s line of GE AK-1-25 low-voltage power circuit breakers. When used with a CBS ArcSafe RRS-2 configurable remote racking solution for non-rotary racking mechanisms, the GE AK
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Date:
02/07/2014
Hirose's low-profile horizontal connector handles high currents

Hirose DF64 Series connectors

Hirose, a leader in the development of innovative connector solutions, recently its newest connector: the DF64 Series, a Horizontally Mated 2-Piece Connector System. Made available for board-to-board and board-to-wire interfaces, the 2-position DF64 Series connector measures 20.4 x 14.4 mm and has a mated height of
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Date:
02/07/2014
Stackpole's RHC Series claims lowest heat rise in a 2512-size chip resistor

Stackpole's RHC2512 2W-rated 2512 chip resistor

The RHC2512 from Stackpole is a 2W-rated 2512-size chip resistor with a lower heat rise compared to other high-power chip resistors currently available. Stackpole uses a novel part design, set of materials, and manufacturing processes to lower the self-heating of the part by at least 30°C. The RHC2512 is availa
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Date:
02/06/2014
Newark element14's IoT development board to cause waves in Android Development Kit Space

Revolutionizing the Internet of Things (RIoT) board

Newark element14, a high-service distributor of technology products and engineering solutions, is launching an exclusive open-source, single board platform, the Revolutionizing the Internet of Things (RIoT) board. The RIoT board is designed to run Android operating systems efficiently, and features a high processing pe
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Date:
02/06/2014
AVX, a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions,will deliver four technical presentations and chair a conference session at the 18th annual Components for Military & Space Electronics Conference & Exhibition (CMSE 2014), which will take place February 18-20, 2014 at the LAX Ra
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Date:
02/06/2014
GaN Systems, a leading developer of gallium nitride power switching semiconductors, is presenting a technical paper at APEC describing the application of SPICE models developed for very high power GaN devices and integrated GaN drive circuits in automotive applications. At present, drive train power requirements of
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Date:
02/05/2014
Advanced Power Electronics releases APE1723-HF-3 Buck DC/DC converter

APE1723-HF-3 200kHz 1A PWM buck DC/DC convertor

Advanced Power Electronics, a leading manufacturer of MOS power semiconductors for DC-DC power conversion applications, has introduced the APE1723-HF-3, a 200kHz 1A PWM buck DC/DC convertor with an adjustable output voltage range from 0.745V to 24V. The APE1723-HF-3 can drive a 1A load without an external transistor, sav
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Date:
02/05/2014
ERNI unveils mini WTB connector with a high current density

ERNI iBridge single-row cable connector system

ERNI has developed a compact and economical wire-to-board interconnect solution with high current density in a small, 2.0mm pitch form factor.  The iBridge™ single-row cable connector system delivers up to 5A per contact at 20°C when paired with an appropriate discrete wire.  Engineered for use in
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Date:
02/05/2014
Akros Silicon, a premier supplier of leading-edge intelligent energy management ICs, announced its participation in APEC 2014’s Industry Sessions conference program with a presentation titled: “Tripling the Power of PoE.” The presenter, Faisal Ahmad, Akros Silicon’s VP Marketing, will offer the audience an
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Date:
02/04/2014
At the 2014 Embedded World Exhibition and Conference in Nuremberg, Germany (February 25 – 27, 2014), Maxim Integrated will demonstrate the advantages of highly integrated analog solutions. Maxim will host interactive demo kiosks with embedded solutions for energy management, power management, and the signal-chain. Al
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Date:
02/04/2014
Hitec QPS UPS system enhances data center power infrastructures

Hitec QPS UPS

Hitec Power Protection, a leader in dynamic UPS systems for the supply of uninterruptible, continuous, and conditioned power to mission critical applications, today announced its introduction of the QPS uninterruptible power system (UPS) to the U.S. data center market. Designed for a 25+ year lifecycle, the Hi
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Date:
02/04/2014
AVX’s latest SMT tantalum capacitors tout high reliability and minimal DC leakage

TMJ S1gma Series SMD tantalum capacitors

AVX, a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions, has introduced the TMJ S1gma Series of high-reliability SMD tantalum capacitors, which offer three levels of next-generation statistical screening and process control enhancement for applications that require both exceedingly high re
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Date:
02/04/2014
EZ BoardWare is the name of a whole family of products from Harwin, a leading hi-rel connector and SMT manufacturer. The surface mount (SMT) products can improve manufacturing flexibility, reduce manufacturing costs, and improve in-field maintenance. Often, relatively simple issues can frustrate good board design an
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Date:
02/03/2014
TI unveils  a nano-power regulator that delivers 94.6% peak efficiency in a 30x30-mm footprint

TI's 750-mA LMR22007 switching regulator

Texas Instruments has claimed the high ground in board-level power with the industry’s smallest 12-V, 750-mA DC/DC power regulator. The SIMPLE SWITCHER® regulator puts high performance into tiny packaging to drive space-constrained and power-dense applications in a variety of markets, including consumer, ind
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Date:
02/03/2014
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