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Littelfuse Launches First Reflow-Compatible Illuminated Tactile Switch with Long Travel and SPDT Function

Littelfuse Launches First Reflow-Compatible Illuminated Tactile Switch with Long Travel and SPDT Function

­Littelfuse, Inc. announced the expansion of its K5V Series illuminated Tactile Switch family with the release of new K5V4 models. These include Gull Wing (GH) and 2.1 mm Pin-in-Paste (PIP) versions that are reflow soldering-compatible.  Built using a high-temperature PAR (polyarylate) material
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Date:
10/01/2025
Talkin’ Batteries and EVs in the Motor City

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

­Happy Fall and welcome to the October issue! Oh, is my unmitigated glee at no longer melting like an ice cream cone in an oven that obvious? You can keep your long days at the beach and baking in the hot sun – I’m all about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and weather that doesn’t feel like I’m wearing five
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Date:
10/01/2025
Playing it Safe

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

­Welcome to the October edition of Power Systems Design Europe.  The first article in the Special Report was submitted by Bytesnap. In the piece, Dunstan Power tells us how designs for ATEX environments have moved from passive monitoring to active control. ATEX environments are places that have a hig
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Date:
10/01/2025
A Deep Dive into High-Efficient LED Drivers for Low-Profile Display Applications

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Figure 1: Conventional LED boost architecture simplified circuit diagram

­Laptop battery drain has a significant impact on the battery run-time of the laptop system. In this article, we explore the efficiency and performance of the LED driver and introduce a novel, 2-stage architecture that consists of a synchronous boost followed by a charge pump multiplier. We compare the 2-stage ar
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Date:
10/01/2025
Solving Multiphase Power Challenges in Compact, High-Efficiency Systems with Coupled Inductors

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Figure 1: Simplified equivalent circuit for simulation

­Whether in data centers, electric vehicles, or industrial automation, engineers face increasing demands to deliver higher power with less space while minimizing losses all while managing thermal loads without complex cooling infrastructure. A central trend in these applications is the adoption of 48-volt p
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Date:
10/01/2025
Unlocking the Full Potential of Virtual Prototyping

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Figure 1: Virtual prototypes and virtual testing accelerate the development process and time to market at a lower cost versus transitional approaches (courtesy of ESI Group)

­In roughly 80 years of computer simulation, we’ve seen its benefits span across industries and domains. From modeling gravitational waves to designing a circuit board, the intent remains unchanged: to represent the physical world as accurately as possible. In the last several years, multi-domain integrati
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Date:
10/01/2025
Floating Ground Non-isolated Half-Bridge Gate Drivers

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Figure 1: A step-down power converter with remote load

­Power conversion is a core function of virtually every electronics design today. Ideally, any conversion from one DC voltage, say 9 V, to a different level, for example, 24 V, should be as efficient as possible, with minimal losses. To accommodate different voltages, current requirements, and power density, se
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Date:
10/01/2025
How IoT is Driving Sustainability Across Industries in 2025

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Figure 1: An area driving sustainable manufacturing innovation is automated robotic systems that improve warehouse efficiency, reduce labor costs, lower the risk of errors and minimize the environmental impact of transportation

­In 2025, IoT is expected to emerge as a powerful force in advancing sustainability initiatives across industries, helping organizations reduce their environmental impact while improving operational efficiency. IoT is not just a product, but the architecture around a product, using sensors, connectivity and oth
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Date:
10/01/2025
Enabling Digital Transformation in Industrial Environments

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Figure 1: Bird’s-eye view of an FPGA architecture showing an array of programmable logic blocks interconnected by configurable routing.

­Whether in the pursuit of greater efficiency, data-driven insights, artificial intelligence (AI) applications, or beyond, businesses across sectors are continuing to pursue digital transformation. In fact, the International Data Corporation (IDC) projects worldwide spending on digital transformation efforts wi
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Date:
10/01/2025
Harnessing AI for Safer, Faster Thermal Runaway Testing

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Figure 1: System architecture of SGS’s UL 9540A thermal runaway test platform

­Energy storage batteries are at the heart of the renewable energy transition, powering residential, commercial and grid-scale applications. However, they also carry a critical risk: thermal runaway. This phenomenon is a chain reaction within cells that can escalate into a fire or even an explosion. As global de
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Date:
10/01/2025
Smart Cities and IoT: Growth, Opportunities and Challenges

Kevin Parmenter, Director, Applications Engineering. TSC, America

­According to a recent research report published by MarketsandMarkets, the U.S. smart cities market is expected to reach $260.9 billion in 2028, up from $152.8 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period. A significant part of this surge is driven by government initiatives focused on managing ur
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Date:
10/01/2025
How Modern ATEX Design Enables Intelligent Control at the Edge

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Figure 1: Evolution of Intrinsically Safe Products

­Manufacturers are under continual pressure to create advanced electronic systems for hazardous environments. In the past, intrinsically safe (IS) designs were limited to basic sensors that transmitted data to distant control rooms. Now, modern low-power electronics have opened up new possibilities for intri
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Date:
10/01/2025
Expanded EV Charging Access

Jason Lomberg, North America Editor, PSD

­Ars Technica had a rather…unique take on expanded access to electric vehicles, and while I don’t quite agree with the article’s conclusions, it got me thinking about the future of EVs and their wider dissemination. Will charging access hamper the growth of EVs beyond the ubiquitous “early adopters”
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Date:
10/01/2025
Faster EV Charging Without the Risks

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

­We have featured battery safety extensively in this issue. The topic is a growing concern as we use more and more lithium based batteries, which have a risk of catastrophic failure. In fact, our Special Focus section on high-reliability technologies actually feature two separate articles on the subject, one on
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Date:
10/01/2025
Complete, Efficient 100mA Wireless Charging Solution with Optimum Power Transfer and Safety Features

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Figure 1: Complete 6mm wireless battery charger solution

­The LTC4124 is a high performance 100mA wireless Li-Ion charger receiver that provides a tiny total solution with few external components for space-constrained applications. The LTC4124 is paired with theLTC4125 - a wireless power transmitter with optimum power search and foreign object detection features -
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Date:
10/01/2025
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