Power Systems Design (PSD) Information to Power Your Designs

Gridtential CEO Chris Beekuis

PSDcast - Gridtential CEO Chris Beekuis on next-gen lead-acid batteries

In this PSDcast Gridtential CEO Chris Beekuis talks to Alix Paultre of Power Systems Design about next-generation lead-acid battery technology and what the company is doing to add value to the space. Gridtential has a proprietary advanced lead-acid battery that replaces the metal grid in current lead-acid ba

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Date:

02/22/2017

Counterfeit chargers for portable electronics are a major problem

New chip may thwart battery charger counterfeiting

Larry Hardesty

Counterfeit chargers for portable electronics are a major problem. At the end of 2016, Apple claimed that of 100 Apple-branded charging accessories it bought on Amazon, 90 were counterfeits. Around the same time, Britain’s Chartered Trading Standards Institute reported that of 400 counterfeit chargers it bought fr

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Date:

02/17/2017

U.S. might block Wolfspeed deal

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies and U.S. LED lighting maker Cree warned on Wednesday that Cree's agreed $850 million sale of its Wolfspeed Power unit to Infineon might not go ahead, citing U.S. government security concerns. The deal's woes underscore a drive by the United States to prevent the transfer of w

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Date:

02/17/2017

Winner Vantage Robotics was selected by a prestigious panel spearheaded by special guest judge Sir Richard Branson

Extreme Tech Challenge 2017 winner announced

The race to Necker Island culminates with an unprecedented, photo-finish judging: Separated by less than half a percent in point total, Vantage Robotics is named of winner of Extreme Tech Challenge 2017! XTC 2017 Champion Vantage Robotics (San Francisco, CA) has created the best flying camera in the world, ma

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Date:

02/17/2017

Demonstration objects from the Insect Project

German flex+ Project ends on positive note for flexible devices

The flex+ Project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has successfully come to the end of ist planned two-year duration and will leave its mark on the future as well: flexible electronics as a comprehensive approach. Fraunhofer FEP is one of the leading research and devel

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Date:

02/14/2017

Ultra-low power UB20M voltage detector chip

Novel chip extends sensors’ battery life

A low-cost chip that enables batteries in sensors to last longer, in some cases by over ten times, has been developed by engineers from the University of Bristol. Dr Bernard Stark and colleagues in the Bristol Electrical Energy Management Research Group based in the Merchant Venturers School of Engineering, ha

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Date:

02/13/2017

(Left): An example of the hybrid process for manufacturing metal mesh. (Right) examples of O-Film metal mesh TCFs.

ITO challenged as a transparent conductor by novel technologies

The transparent conductive film (TCF) industry has witnessed upheaval in recent years. On the one hand, multiple technologies have been developed as alternatives to the incumbent solution, whilst the incumbent suppliers slashed their prices to protect their share in sluggish markets. Our report Transparent Conductiv

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Date:

02/13/2017

A German research team has explored the technological basis for reducing the energy losses in power grids and electric devices by more than half

German research team finds solution for significant reduction in energy losses in electric devices and the grid

A German research team has explored the technological basis for reducing the energy losses in power grids and electric devices by more than half. This can be made possible through the use of direct current (DC). DC allows for smaller power losses when compared to the alternating current (AC) used today. The fi

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Date:

02/10/2017

Spin-LED chip placed on a copper block (left) and emitting CP EL (orange spiral arrows); the right- (σ+) and left (σ−)-handed EL components are indicated by the red and blue circles, respectively. QWP, LP, and MCS represent a quarter-wave plate, a linear polarizer, and a multichannel spectrometer, respectively. Inset: EL from a spin-LED chip for different current densities (J).

Tokyo Institute of Technology research finds surprising GaN LED spin behavior at room temp

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have observed almost purely circularly polarized electroluminescence from GaAs-based spin-polarized light-emitting diodes at room temperature, with no external magnetic field. This behavior indicates the presence of spin-dependent nonlinear processes, which may allow th

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Date:

02/08/2017

iDrive Gallium Nitride (GaN) Power ICs

Navitas claims first production GaN power ICs

Navitas Semiconductor announced the immediate availability of production qualified iDrive Gallium Nitride (GaN) Power ICs using the company’s proprietary AllGaN technology. The NV6131, NV6105 & NV6115 offer a high-efficiency 650V, 160mOhm power FET with increasing integration of digital and analog circuits, le

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Date:

02/07/2017

USound and Fraunhofer Institute's micro-speaker uses MEMS technology

AT&S helps create worlds's smallest loudspeaker

Graz-based start-up USound, in partnership with several Fraunhofer Institutes (IDMT, ISIT, IIS and IZM) and utilizing PCB technology together with system integration expertise from AT&S, has developed what is not only the world’s smallest speaker, but also the first based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (M

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Date:

02/06/2017

Qualcomm extends offer for all outstanding shares of NXP

Qualcomm announced that Qualcomm River Holdings, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, has extended the offering period of its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of NXP Semiconductors. The tender offer is being made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, da

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Date:

02/03/2017

Curtis Mosher (left), Eric Henderson (middle) and Mike Mcloskey (right) have assembled a prototype biomimetic tree that produces electricity. Such technology could appeal to a niche market in the future, according to the researchers.

Iowa State scientists design generator that mimics trees

Iowa State University scientists have built a device that mimics the branches and leaves of a cottonwood tree and generates electricity when its artificial leaves sway in the wind. Michael McCloskey, an associate professor of genetics, development and cell biology who led the design of the device, said the

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Date:

02/02/2017

Mark M. Little

Analog Devices announces changes to Board of Directors

Analog Devices, a leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, announced that Mark M. Little, former Senior Vice President, GE Global Research and Chief Technology Officer of General Electric Company, has been elected as a Director of the Company, and that the Board of Directors of

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Date:

02/01/2017

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