Lighting & Illumination
April 2014
Isolation has been considered a necessary burden by designers. It is necessary because it makes electronics safe for anyone to use. It is a burden because it limits communication speed and consumes a lot of power and board space. Old-technology optocouplers and even many, newer digital isolators co
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Date:
04/30/2014
In 2013 LED lamps and luminaires accounted for just 2% of the global lighting installed base. Collectively incandescent and fluorescent lamps and luminaires still accounted for 80% of total shipments, with CFL and HID technologies accounting for the remainder. With legislation which inhibits the use of incandescent la
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Date:
04/30/2014
One of the biggest challenges for automotive lighting systems designers is how to optimize all the benefits of the latest generation of HB LEDs. HB LEDs require an accurate and efficient DC current source with a means for dimming and must include protection features. Additionally, these LED driver ICs must be de
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Date:
04/29/2014
In this age of “green” building systems, it is incumbent upon commercial building owners and operators to reduce their day-to-day operating costs while at the same time ensuring the comfort of occupants. Lighting is one of the factors that greatly impacts human comfort. Too much or too little light can result in
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Date:
04/29/2014
Miniaturization and a low profile are demanded of the semiconductors and electronic components used in portable devices such as smartphones and tablets. Accompanying the lower voltages and larger currents used in semiconductors in devices, DC/DC converters, which have a higher conversion efficiency than linear reg
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Date:
04/29/2014
ANSI C136.41 dimming receptacle
TE Connectivity debuted its ANSI C136.41 compliant solution for the electrical and mechanical interconnection between a photo control cell and a street lighting luminaire at the Light+Building show. The ANSI C136.41 dimming receptacle is pre-configured with wire leads to allow for ease of integration into a ne
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Date:
04/28/2014
There are several parking garages in the downtown area of almost every German city, many of which are heavily frequented – in winter more than in the summer. Naturally, lighting these buildings, which are generally several floors high, consumes a great deal of energy, incurring high costs in the process. Gerald St
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Date:
04/28/2014
Many LED failures are temperature related since an LED’s performance and projected lifetime correlate tightly to thermal management and the resulting junction temperature of the LED semiconductor chip. Elevated junction temperatures cause a reduction in light output and accelerated LED lifetime degradation. Pr
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Date:
04/28/2014
The controversy over when, where and who developed the incandescent lamp continues with dates and places varying from the early 1800’s in Hungary to the late 1800’s in Menlo Park, California. What cannot be disputed is that this product brought about a revolution to the lighting industry, leading to the co
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Date:
04/28/2014
RPCR relay panel
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of customized electrical power control for professional audio, video, and lighting (AVL) systems, will highlight its award-winning Remote Power Control Mobile (RPCM) power distribution panel at PLASA Focus: Baltimore 2014, taking place May 8-9 at the Reitz Arena of Loyola University Ma
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Date:
04/22/2014
MPOWERD’s Solar Justice campaign highlights the environmental – and social – ramifications of energy poverty
MPOWERD announced the launch of a campaign aimed at raising awareness about energy poverty, delivering solar lights to communities living off-the-grid, and inspiring an international, grassroots Solar Justice movement as a call-to-action to provide clean energy to the 1.5 billion living without access to electricity.
Coinciding with Eart
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Date:
04/21/2014
RS2983 control IC for single stage Flyback and Buck-Boost topologies
International Rectifier, a leader in power management technology, introduced the IRS2983 control IC for single stage Flyback and Buck-Boost topologies used in LED drivers and power supplies. The IRS2983 employs primary side regulation that reduces component count and simplifies design by eliminating the opto-isolator an
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Date:
04/21/2014
Vu, a developer and manufacturer of mercury-free, energy-efficient, general illumination lighting technology, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent application for Vu1’s Electron Stimulated Luminescence™ (ESL) lighting technology.
Specific patent infor
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Date:
04/18/2014
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The 2015 model of the Ford F-150 will be the world's first pickup on the market with a complete LED forward lighting solution
One of America's legendary pickup trucks, and the biggest seller in the USA, is now blazing the pioneer trail in lighting with help from Osram. The 2015 model of the Ford F-150 will be the world's first pickup on the market with a complete LED forward lighting solution from Osram. "We are proud to be supplying the
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Date:
04/16/2014
The relative newness of LED streetlights naturally prompts important questions about maintenance and reliability, and how to take these issues into account when planning and preparing for a transition to LED street lighting. The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled “Maintenance Practices for LE
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Date:
04/10/2014
In this episode of PSDtv Infineon demonstrates their latest LED driver solution for Power Systems Design. Based on the 32-bit XMC1000 microcontroller family, which uses the ARM® Cortex™-M0 processor, the solution provides flicker-free dimming and color change.
Infineon
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Date:
04/10/2014
600V AlphaMOS MOSFET for lighting apps
Alpha and Omega Semiconductor expands its 600V AlphaMOS portfolio with rugged solutions for lighting
Alpha and Omega Semiconductor, a designer, developer, and supplier of power semiconductors and power ICs announced the release of their AOD4C60, AOD3C60, and AOD2HC60, additions to the 600V AlphaMOS portfolio, which combines features such as robustness, controlled switching and low on-resistance for high-performing de
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Date:
04/10/2014
In this third article about power supply failures, the magnetics are examined for their contribution to the failure rate. These are usually the least understood of all components, and poor magnetics design can lead to many different failure mechanisms in power supplies.
Power Supply Failure Survey
The LinkedIn sit
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Date:
04/06/2014
Alix Paultre, Editorial Director, PSD
One of the things I love about serving this industry is that we are in the process of making things better for everybody by making the world a more efficient and empowered place. Migrating from technologies as wasteful in materials as they were in power benefits everyone. Materials get lighter and more multipurpose, ha
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Date:
04/05/2014
There have been numerous changes to the EU’s directives and regulations concerning the efficiency of electronic devices in recent years, particularly concerning standby power. The Eco Design directive, 2009/125/EC, is the all-embracing directive intended to improve the energy efficiency of all energy related prod
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Date:
04/04/2014
The flyback is the simplest and most commonly used isolated power-converter topology, able to step voltage up or down while providing galvanic isolation from the ac mains in off-line applications. It is the most cost-effective topology for powering many kinds of electronic equipment, having acceptable ef
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Date:
04/04/2014
The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy offers free webinars on subjects from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to training for the clean energy workforce. Advanced registration is typically required, but you can also watch archived webinars and browse previously ai
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Date:
04/03/2014
A novel IGBT structure was developed with reverse-blocking capabilities comparable to the forward voltage rating of the IGBT. This new device, known as the RB-IGBT, was used to create a 3 level advanced neutral point clamping power converter that shows better loss characteristics than standard 3 level converters.
The results o
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Date:
04/03/2014
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SMT releasable poke-in connectors
TE Connectivity, a leader in connectivity, showcased its SMT Releasable Poke-In connector at the light+building 2014 show, Hall 4.0, Booth 26. TE Connectivity is a pioneer in developing innovative interconnect solutions that seamlessly integrate controls and transmit power and data across multiple building systems to
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Date:
04/02/2014
In this episode of PSDtv Infineon demonstrates their latest LED driver at APEC 2014 for Power Systems Design. Infineon LED driver ICs additionally offer thermal protection and DC voltage and PWM dimming. LED controllers with external power stages offer maximum design flexibility.
Infineon
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Date:
04/02/2014
Typical switched-mode power converters today include circuitry for monitoring the current flowing through a switching power MOSFET or IGBT for regulating or limiting peak current levels. This is necessary to protect the switch against high peak currents that can damage components or saturate inductors. A low-ohmic re
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Date:
04/01/2014
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