Notable & Newsworthy

January 2019
Rectifiers in Low-Profile SMF Package Save Space
MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. expanded its offering of surface-mount TMBS Trench MOS Barrier Schottky rectifiers with 15 new 1 A, 2 A, and 3 A devices in the eSMP series low profile SMF (DO-219AB) package. Providing space-saving alternatives to Schottky rectifiers in the SMA, these Vishay General Se
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Date:
01/31/2019
Thermoelectric Assemblies Designed for Outdoor Environments
Laird Thermal Systems has established a series of thermoelectric assemblies (TEAs) designed for use in outdoor environments. The Outdoor Cooler Series are compact, more efficient air-to-air TEAs for cooling and heating vital electronics in outdoor environments. The Outdoor Cooler Series TEAs provide a lower total
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Date:
01/31/2019
Harnessing Light for a Solar-Powered Chemical Industry

This is RMIT University Associate Professor Daniel Gomez, holding a disc covered in the nano-enhanced palladium.

New technology that harnesses sunlight to drive chemical reactions is paving the way for a more sustainable chemical manufacturing industry, one of the globe's biggest energy users. RMIT University researchers have developed a nano-enhanced material that can capture an incredible 99% of light and convert it
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Date:
01/31/2019
IC Family Provides Noise, Vibration, and Heat Reduction
WESTFORD, Mass. -- Performance Motion Devices, Inc., announced the new Juno Torque Control IC in an ultra-small 56-pin or small 64-pin package. The new Juno Torque Control IC is the latest addition to the Juno Velocity and Torque Control IC family, the industry's first family of compact ICs with full four qua
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Date:
01/31/2019
TOKYO, Japan – Renesas Electronics Corporation announced the expansion of its RX24T and RX24U Groups of 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) to include new high-temperature-tolerant models for motor-control applications that require an expanded operating temperature range. The new RX24T G Version and RX24U G Version
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Date:
01/31/2019
EPC to Sponsor Inaugural GaN Con with Yole and SEMI
EPC is joining forces with Yole Développement (Yole) and SEMI to sponsor the first ever ‘GaN Con,’ an industry networking event covering the entire power GaN industry from manufacturers to end users. The theme of GaN Con is “Power GaN: From promises to possible market explosion” and is focused on the emergin
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Date:
01/30/2019
Digital Isolators for Small Satellites in Low Earth Orbit
TOKYO, Japan – Renesas Electronics Corporation introduced two plastic packaged, radiation-tolerant digital isolators that provide the highest isolation protection (2,500VRMS) from high voltage spikes in power supply stages and serial communications interfaces used in low Earth orbit (LEO) Small Satellites (S
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Date:
01/30/2019
Radio Detection System for Mobile Voltage Safety Surveys
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Utility Testing and Geographic Information Systems LLC (UTGIS) is pleased to announce the commercial launch of the ETR-3M (BigWave) radio detection system for use in conducting mobile voltage safety surveys. Hazardous faults on electrical distribution system equipment are commo
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Date:
01/30/2019
Effectively Combating Darknet Crime

Fighting criminal activities on the Internet is the goal of a Europe-wide project in which KIT legal scholars are involved.

With the start of the TITANIUM field labs, the practical phase of the EU project TITANIUM begins: For a period of several months, selected European police authorities test new software to better fight Darknet crime. The starting point are the crypto currencies as the common means of payment for anonymous illegal cy
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Date:
01/30/2019
AI ARTIST Instantly Captures Materials' Properties

ARTIST, which stands for Artificial Intelligence for Spectroscopy, instantly determines how a molecule will react to light.

Researchers at Aalto University and the Technical University of Denmark have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) to seriously accelerate the development of new technologies from wearable electronics to flexible solar panels. ARTIST, which stands for Artificial Intelligence for Spectroscopy, instantly determines ho
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Date:
01/30/2019
IRVINE, Calif. -- Fabless power semiconductor company Helix Semiconductors announced that Rudi De Winter has joined its board of directors. De Winter is the CEO of Helix Semiconductors’ fab partner X-FAB, as well as a managing partner at Xtrion N.V., a financial company with large holdings in X-FAB and other
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Date:
01/29/2019
NORTH CANTON, Ohio — The Timken Company announced the latest release of the MARK 8 Synchrotorque Control System for use with variable speed and soft-start hydroviscous drives. Convenient operation along with ease of maintenance and monitoring were key goals of this upgrade. The user-friendly interface and built
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Date:
01/29/2019
Laser-Fabricated Crystals in Glass are Ferroelectric

Ferroelectric single-crystal-architecture-in-glass is a new class of metamaterials that would enable active integrated optics if the ferroelectric behavior is preserved within the confines of glass. We demonstrate using lithium niobate crystals fabricated in lithium niobosilicate glass by femtosecond laser irradiation that not only such behavior is preserved, the ferroelectric domains can be engineered with a DC bias. A piezoresponse force microscope is used to characterize the piezoelectric and ferroelectric behavior. The piezoresponse correlates with the orientation of the crystal lattice as expected for unconfined crystal, and a complex micro- and nano-scale ferroelectric domain structure of the as-grown crystals is revealed.

A team of researchers from Lehigh University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lebanon Valley College and Corning Inc. has demonstrated, for the first time, that crystals manufactured by lasers within a glass matrix maintain full ferroelectric functionality. "This includes the ability to uniformly orient an
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Date:
01/29/2019
TTI Stocking High-Speed Mezzanine Connectors from Molex
Fort Worth, Texas – TTI, Inc. is now stocking SpeedEdge from Molex. Molex’s SpeedEdge Edge-Card Connector System is rugged enough to mate safely with large PCBs in high cycle application. It provides a high density, low profile solution that offers data rates over 40 Gbp/s per differential pair. As part of
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Date:
01/28/2019
Sager Announces Lead Time Monitor for Electronic Components
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Sager Electronics announces the release of its electronic component Lead Time Monitor. Sager Electronics regularly monitors supply chain lead times for its Interconnect, Electromechanical, Power, Thermal, and Passive products. The data is based on a periodic review of supplier lead time
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Date:
01/28/2019
Efficient MOSFETs for Telecom and Industrial Applications
MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. introduced the latest device in its fourth generation of 600 V E Series power MOSFETs. Providing high efficiency for telecom, industrial, and enterprise power supply applications, the Vishay Siliconix n-channel SiHH068N60E slashes on-resistance by 27 % compared with prev
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Date:
01/28/2019
High-Density Rack PDU Offers Advanced Configurability
RALEIGH, N.C. … Power management company Eaton announced the North American launch of its High Density rack power distribution unit (PDU) platform. Building on the best-in-class power distribution capabilities of Eaton’s ePDU G3 technology, the High Density rack PDU offers advanced configurability and serves as an id
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Date:
01/28/2019
A New Generation of Flexible Electronic Components
Researchers at the University of Exeter have developed an innovative technique that could help create the next generation of everyday flexible electronics. A team of engineering experts have pioneered a new way to ease production of van der Waals heterostructures with high-K dielectrics- assemblies of atomic
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Date:
01/25/2019
Inductor in 4040 Case Size Offers Increased Height to 5.4 mm
MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. introduced a new Automotive Grade IHLP low profile, high current inductor in the 4040 case size with an increased profile of 5.4 mm. Offering a reduced DCR, increased current handling, higher inductance, and a high operating temperature range to +155 °C, the Vishay Da
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Date:
01/24/2019
BLE Module Features 192kB Flash Memory, 24kB RAM
PLANO, TX – Rutronik has announced that Insight SiP's new ISP1507-AL system-in-package (SiP) is now available at Rutronik24. Based on the nRF52810 multiprotocol system-on-chip (SoC) from Nordic Semiconductor, the ISP1507-AL is one of the smallest fully-integrated BLE modules on the market, and is particularly sui
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Date:
01/24/2019
Breakthrough Reported in Fabricating Nanochips

In the NYU Tandon School of Engineering PicoForce Lab, Professor Elisa Riedo and doctoral student Xiangyu Liu fabricate high-quality 2D chips using the thermal scanning probe lithography process they invented and NanoFrazor equipment by SwissLitho. The process holds promise as an alternative to today's electron beam lithography.

BROOKLYN, New York, Thursday - An international team of researchers has reported a breakthrough in fabricating atom-thin processors - a discovery that could have far-reaching impacts on nanoscale chip production and in labs across the globe where scientists are exploring 2D materials for ever-smaller and -faster se
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Date:
01/24/2019
DC/DC Converter Saves Space in Mobile Equipment
San Jose, Calif. – TRACO Power announces the release of their THN 15N series of 15 Watt DC/DC converters in the standard 1x1 inch package, which utilizes the latest advancements in power technology design to meet EMI Level A standards without external components and reduced no-load power consumption of 96-336mW and
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Date:
01/24/2019
The body of knowledge about the human brain is keeps growing, but many questions remain unanswered. Researchers have been using electrode arrays to record the brain's electrical activity for decades, mapping activity in different brain regions to understand what it looks like when everything is working, and wha
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Date:
01/24/2019
AC-DC Power Supplies Ideal for Space-Limited Applications
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Sager Electronics is now stocking Traco Power’s TPP 450 series 450 Watt AC-DC power supplies. The next-gen TPP 450 Series of 450 watt AC/DC power supplies utilize a high efficiency design using robust, industrial grade components providing superior performance in the standard 3x5" f
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Date:
01/23/2019
Graphene and Related Materials Safety

Graphene Flagship researchers reviewed the current research into the safety of graphene and related materials

As the drive to commercialise graphene continues, it is important that all safety aspects are thoroughly researched and understood. The Graphene Flagship project has a dedicated Work Package studying the impact of graphene and related materials on our health, as well as their environmental impact. This enables sa
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Date:
01/23/2019
Measurement System Allows for Testing From 18–75+GHz
FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. – AVX Corporation announced that Ethertronics, an AVX Group Company, has released the new Ethertronics ETH-MMW-1000 Millimeter Measurement System: a compact, cost-effective, extremely accurate, and easily adaptable portable solution for testing 5G antennas and other devices at millimeter wa
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Date:
01/23/2019
In this series, how the superior switching speed of gallium nitride (GaN)-on-silicon low voltage power devices have enabled many new applications is being discussed.  These new applications are transforming industries such as light detection and ranging (lidar) for autonomous vehicles, envelope tracking for 4G and 5G communications
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Date:
01/23/2019
Thin Film Chip Resistors For High Precision Applications
RALEIGH, NC  -- The popular RNCF Series from Stackpole is a thin film chip resistor series capable of outstanding precision. From sizes 0201 up to 2512 the RNCF offers 0.01% tolerances for a wide range of resistance values. The RNCF also offers TCR down to 2 ppm for a significant value range for all sizes b
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Date:
01/22/2019
TTI Stocks 4 Direction Optical Sensor from Rohm
Fort Worth, Texas – TTI, Inc., is now stocking the RPI-1035 optical sensor from Rohm Semiconductor. This sensor is targeted for specialty sensing applications including cameras, medical, industrial, manufacturing automation, safety, and security equipment. The RPI-1035 is a uniquely packaged surface mounted
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Date:
01/22/2019
LED Driver With Edison Plug Input and Barrel Plug Output
SAN DIEGO -- Environmental Lights and ERP Power LLC (ERP) introduced the new MicroMax VIM LED Driver. The MicroMax VIM is the result of a collaboration combining Environmental Lights' extensive lighting engineering experience with ERP's innovative LED driver technology in order to create a robust and compact
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Date:
01/22/2019
Fluorinated Resin for Protecting Printed Circuit Boards
EXTON, Pa.–AGC is significantly expanding its production capacity of Fluon+ EA-2000 fluorinated resin by establishing a new facility at its plant in Chiba, Japan. Fluon+ EA-2000 is primarily used as a material for 5G high-speed, high-frequency printed circuit boards, which will see a sharp increase in demand as
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Date:
01/22/2019
GaN-on-Si Power Amplifier with Flexible Mounting Capability
Lowell, Massachusetts – MACOM Technology Solutions Inc. (“MACOM”) has expanded its GaN-on-Si power amplifier portfolio with the introduction of its new MAMG-100227-010 broadband PA module optimized for use in land mobile radio (LMR) systems, wireless public safety communications and military tactical communicat
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Date:
01/22/2019
Screw-Terminal Capacitors Feature 500 V Rated Voltage
MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced that it has extended the maximum voltage rating of the Vishay BC components 500 PGP-ST series of aluminum screw-terminal capacitors to 500 V while more than doubling its useful life to 5000 hours at +85 °C. As polarized aluminum electrolytic capacitors wi
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Date:
01/21/2019
RICHARDSON, TX – Eltek announced the new DPR6000B rectifier product line that makes use of Eltek High Efficiency (HE) technology to deliver 96 percent efficiency power conversion for high power applications. The DPR6000B rectifiers are designed for Eltek’s EcoTower and Scalable DC Power System. Both of t
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Date:
01/21/2019
A Process to 3D Print Piezoelectric Materials

A printed flexible sheet of piezoelectric smart material

The piezoelectric materials that inhabit everything from our cell phones to musical greeting cards may be getting an upgrade thanks to work discussed in the journal Nature Materials released online Jan 21. Xiaoyu 'Rayne' Zheng, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, and
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Date:
01/21/2019
North Sea Rocks Could act as Large Renewable Energy Stores
Rocks in the seabed off the UK coast could provide long-term storage locations for renewable energy production, new research suggests. An advanced technique could be used to trap compressed air in porous rock formations found in the North Sea using electricity from renewable technologies. The pressurised air
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Date:
01/21/2019
When will everything else catch up with magnetics?

Kevin Parmenter, Field Applications Manger, Taiwan Semiconductor

When it comes to power supplies the requirements keep going up for efficiency, performance, reliability, conformance to standards – safety and compliance, RohS, Weee, Conflict materials, operation at 5000 meters altitude with no derating in safety or performance, volumetric efficiency / power density, flexibility -co
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Date:
01/18/2019
Regulator Supports 20A to 25A Output Current
SUNNYVALE, Calif.– Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited (AOS) introduced a new family of EZBuck regulators. The first two members of the family are the 20A, AOZ2367QI and the 25A, AOZ2368QI. The new devices provide a compact, efficient power converter solution for next-generation chipsets used in high-end TV
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Date:
01/18/2019
The LTC4012 is a very popular multichemistry battery charger used in a variety of applications. This controller provides the user with gate drivers, current sense inputs, temperature qualified charging and multiple signal outputs.  There is also a range of useful functions detailed in the datasheet. One of
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Date:
01/18/2019
It is no surprise that analysts have predicted continued growth in the usage of Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery cells for energy storage and automotive applications through 2025 with growth rates of up to 30 percent forecasted to support China’s transportation market alone. In various forms of mobility applications, Ba
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Date:
01/18/2019
Measuring AI's Ability to Learn is Difficult
Organizations looking to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution should be cautious about putting all their eggs in one basket, a study from the University of Waterloo has found. In a study published in Nature Machine Intelligence, Waterloo researchers found that contrary to conventional wi
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Date:
01/17/2019
3600 W Power Supply for Big Data and Cloud Computing
Bel Power Solutions announces the Platinum efficiency PFE3600 series power supply, which delivers more power in a standard form factor for big data and cloud computing applications. This power supply features a compact form factor (69 x 42 x 555 mm) which converts standard AC mains power or high voltage DC bus vo
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Date:
01/17/2019
Generator Sets Implement Efficient Power Solutions
Shoreview, MINN – Cummins Inc. has announced the launch of a new generator set series. The C125D6D, C150D6D, C175D6D and C200D6D diesel generator sets are replacing the current DSGAB, DSGAC, DSGAD and DSGAE models. The new models include three circuit breakers, single phase power at 175 and 200 kilowatts and im
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Date:
01/16/2019
Zero-Drift Op Amp Provides Precision Plus EMI Filtering
CHANDLER, Ariz.— The rapid expansion of wireless capabilities, such as Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-enabled applications, is increasing high-frequency noise in our livable space and work environments. To allow designers to provide improved performance while more easily managing an increasingly difficult environment, Mi
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Date:
01/16/2019
TTI Stocking MXMag Dual Port Connectors from Molex
Fort Worth, Texas – TTI, Inc. is now stocking MXMag RJ45 Dual Port connectors from Molex. MXMag RJ45 connectors are robust, high-reliability magnetic jacks that provide an option for automated reflow-solder assembly solution designed to meet the stringent of customer demands and cost reduction requirements. Historically RJ-45 connectors
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Date:
01/16/2019
Customizable Stepper Motors for Automation Applications
Syosset, NY - ISL Products International Ltd. announces value-added hybrid, permanent magnet (PM) and variable reluctance stepper motors which meet the exact positioning, holding torque, and repeatability specifications of the broadest array of automation designs.  As stepper motors employ the theory of op
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Date:
01/16/2019
Looking Forward to 2019
2018 was a quite memorable year for power electronics and this year looks to be even more exciting. Of course, PSD will be there all the way to bring you the latest updates in the industry around the world. The main focal point of the year, at least in Europe, will be the PCIM exhibition, held in Nuremberg in Ju
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Date:
01/16/2019
Can Shenzhen Become the Next Silicon Valley?
A glowing profile in MIT’s Technology Review posits that Shenzhen, China might displace Silicon Valley as the global hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing. I get the last two. High-tech production has brought fabulous wealth to Shenzhen (the “Silicon Valley of hardware”), with a populati
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Date:
01/16/2019
Is There a Charge Pump IC in Your Product’s Future?

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Simple flying capacitor circuit

Charge pump topologies and the precursors to charge pumps have been around for over 100 years.  In the drive to make products smaller and more efficient, it may be the time to dust off the old flying capacitor and see what it might be able to do for you.  A “flying capacitor” is simply a capacit
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Date:
01/16/2019
New Advances in TMR Sensors

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Figure 1. Principle of TMR

As the magnetization directions of the pin layer and free layer are parallel, the resistance becomes small and current flows with little resistance. When the magnetization directions of the pin layer and free layer are not parallel, resistance increases which limits current flows.

Tunnel-magnetoresistance (TMR) elements for sensors has become increasingly popular over the past few years. This is
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Date:
01/16/2019
Chandler, AZ – Rogers Corporation announced the latest addition to its RO3000 Series PTFE circuit materials: RO3003G2 high-frequency laminates. RO3003G2 laminates build on Rogers’ industry leading RO3003 platform to provide radar sensor designers with improved insertion loss and reduced dielectric constant (
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Date:
01/16/2019
FETs Help Lidar Systems 'See' Better, Increase Efficiency
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — EPC announces successful AEC Q101 qualification of two additional eGaN devices, addressing a range of applications in the automotive industry and other harsh environments. The new products, EPC2206, and EPC2212 are both discrete transistors in wafer level chip-scale packaging (WLCS) with
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Date:
01/16/2019
Capacitors for High-Frequency Coupling and Decoupling
MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced that it has extended the Vishay Cera-Mite 715CxxKT series of ceramic screw-mounting disc capacitors with higher voltages to 50 kVDC (34 kVRMS). With low AC and DC coefficients and a negligible piezoelectric / electrostrictive effect, 715CxxKT series cap
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Date:
01/16/2019
Impedance Matching and the Selection of Transformers

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Figure 1. Audio Applications Photo Montage

Many electronic circuits in audio applications, data networks, communications and others require transmitting an AC signal from a source to a load while minimizing distortion and maximizing power transfer (Fig 1). To ensure optimal performance, these systems rely on a process called, “impedance matching
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Date:
01/16/2019
Jumpstarting IEEE 802.3bt's PoE++

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Figure 1. Power over Ethernet block diagram.

Five years in development and set to finalize in late 2018, IEEE’s next Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard, also known as PoE++, has power sourcing equipment (PSE) and powered device (PD) developers scrambling for the latest hardware, and rightfully so as PoE++ delivers up to 71.3W to the PD, nearly tripling th
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Date:
01/16/2019
Improve Asset Efficiency with Predictive Maintenance

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Figure 1: Predictive Maintenance Market Share 2017-2022

Equipment manufacturers, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies, and power and process plant owners and operators commonly face the challenge of keeping their fleet, machinery, and other assets working efficiently, while also reducing the cost of maintenance and time-sensitive repairs. Considering the aggre
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Date:
01/16/2019
Battery Management for Sensing Resistors

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Figure 1. Battery Management Block Diagram

With end products ranging from laptop computers and other consumer electronics to industrial infrastructure UPS systems, solar power storage, and hybrid vehicles, battery management is a rapidly growing market segment for sensing resistors. Understanding the basic structure for battery management circuits and th
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Date:
01/16/2019
A Power-ful New Year
Auld Lang Syne. Or in modern English, for old time’s sake. And while we celebrate everything great in 2018, the New Year means a fresh start – a new year of possibilities, a new CES, and a critical topic that, as noted in our edit call, hits at the very foundation of our fair publication. Our January/February is
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Date:
01/16/2019
Infineon Breaking Boundaries with Infineon’s New GaN Solution

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Figure 1 Cross section of a 600 V CoolGaN™ ™ power transistor [1]

Today’s demand for high-performance, low-cost power conversion products is driven by consumer expectation for longer battery life, faster charging for their phones, electric vehicles (EVs) or power tools. And consumers want faster data communication along with powerful artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, de
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Date:
01/15/2019
Handheld Device Optimizes Operator Control
Making it easier than ever for machine operators and maintenance personnel to monitor and control machine components, Mitsubishi Electric Automation introduces handheld models for its GOT2000 Series, a human machine interface (HMI) that optimizes operator control and monitoring of device and line status. The GT
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Date:
01/15/2019
CORNING, N.Y. - Corning Incorporated introduced two new auto interior glass solutions to customers at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. As automakers respond to consumer demand for more integrated and interactive displays, Corning's new Gorilla Glass for Automotive Interiors solutions are des
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Date:
01/15/2019
Laird Thermal Systems has developed the industry’s most efficient resource for design engineers to specify, search and select the optimum thermoelectric module, thermoelectric assembly or liquid cooling system for their application. The lairdthermal.com website enables customers to quickly find their ideal th
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Date:
01/15/2019
2019, a Year of Challenges
I’ve previously written about how excited I am for the industry, and I really do think we are in the middle of a power revolution. This revolution is both due to new technologies and materials like GaN, and also due to advances in alternative energy generation and storage. The innovation we have seen over th
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Date:
01/15/2019
New Energy Upkeep Standards for External Power Supplies

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Figure 1: AC-DC, Basic Voltage External Power Supply

External power supplies (EPSs) are contained in a separate housing from the devices they are powering and contribute substantially to total global electricity consumption. As governments strive to address their ongoing environmental responsibilities, resolving the inefficiencies of power conversion has become a
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Date:
01/15/2019
Isolated MagI³C Power Module Masters the 24V Industry Bus

Figure 1: Typical application for an isolated power module

Every industry control circuit needs a supply voltage. But as the industry control circuit is only a small part in a bigger electrical environment, a lot of specification parameters have to be considered to choose the proper supply device. During the design of a DC/DC converter, the designer needs to know the inp
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Date:
01/15/2019
CES 2019 - Wireless Charging Grips for the Nintendo Switch
In this episode of the PSDcast, we're recapping CES 2019 with a cool wireless charging application - wireless charging grips for the Nintendo Switch - courtesy of our old friends at Powercast ...
Date:
01/15/2019
On Board Charger - Quo Vadis?

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Conventional two-stage topology for a single-phase, electrically isolated on-board charger consisting of power factor correction circuit (PFC) and resonant DC/DC converter (LLC)

BMW, Tesla, or Volkswagen - every car manufacturer uses an increasing number of electrical systems in its latest models. Whether for safety, driving assistance, comfort or entertainment, the electrical energy demand in cars is constantly growing. This is accompanied by an evolution of power supply systems in cars
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Date:
01/15/2019
Ready-to-Use Motor Control with Application Flexibility

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Figure 1: Growth rate of variable speed drives

With a further growing population, the global demand for electrical energy is continuously increasing. In terms of the generation of electrical energy, the trend is clearly towards the use of renewable energies, while on the other side there is a strong push for the increasingly efficient use of electrical energy. Th
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Date:
01/15/2019
Fighting Thermal Runaway in Electric Vehicle Batteries
It’s no secret that the electric and hybrid vehicle market is experiencing a high level of growth, particularly as consumers become more aware of global sustainability issues. Cultures are changing, with people willing to do their bit to safeguard the future generation, including considering the switch from co
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Date:
01/15/2019
ATEN Technology Launches New Presentation Switch Series
IRVINE, CA – ATEN Technology, Inc. announced its new presentation switch series. Tailor-made with unique and innovative features to satisfy a wide variety of meeting space demands and various presentation environments, the switches are available in two series: VP 1000 Core Series - The “VP1920” is suitable for
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Date:
01/14/2019
8 mm Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack Fits into Slim Devices
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Sager Electronics is now stocking RRC’s FlatPAQ lithium-ion smart battery pack. The new RRC2130 battery with just 8mm in thickness is extremely thin. It is designed to fit into very slim devices, such as the back of a PC display or on a PC board, to allow developers to make a tablet-
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Date:
01/14/2019
5000 Times Faster Than a Computer

(a) Unit cell of the semiconductor gallium arsenide (GaAs). Chemical bonds (blue) connect every Ga atom to four neighboring As atoms and vice versa. Valence electron density in the grey plane of (a) in the (b) ground state (the electrons are in the valence band) and in the (c) excited state (electrons are in the conduction band). Apart from the valence electrons shown, there are tightly bound electrons near the nuclei.

The absorption of light in semiconductor crystals without inversion symmetry can generate electric currents. Researchers at the Max Born Institute have now generated directed currents at terahertz (THz) frequencies, much higher than the clock rates of current electronics. They show that electronic charge transfer be
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Date:
01/14/2019
Next-Generation Photonic Memory Devices are Light-Written

All-optical switching. Data is stored in the form of 'bits', which contains digital 0 (North Poles down) or 1 (North Poles up). Data writing is achieved by 'switching' the direction of the poles via the application of short laser pulses (in red).

Light is the most energy-efficient way of moving information. Yet, light shows one big limitation: it is difficult to store. As a matter of fact, data centers rely primarily on magnetic hard drives. However, in these hard drives, information is transferred at an energy cost that is nowadays exploding. Researchers of
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Date:
01/14/2019
Breakthrough in Organic Electronics

Double doping could improve the light-harvesting efficiency of flexible organic solar cells (left), the switching speed of electronic paper (center) and the power density of piezoelectric textiles (right). Disclaimer: The image may only be used with referral to Epishine, as supplier of the flexible solar cell. For instance: 'The solar cell was supplied by Epishine AB.'

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have discovered a simple new tweak that could double the efficiency of organic electronics. OLED-displays, plastic-based solar cells and bioelectronics are just some of the technologies that could benefit from their new discovery, which deals with "double-doped" po
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Date:
01/14/2019
Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes Offer Low System Noise
Tektronix is introducing the TPR1000 and TPR4000 power rail probes that combine with the 12-bit 5 or 6 Series MSO mixed signal oscilloscopes to offer the lowest system noise of any power-rail measurement solution available in the market today. The new probes are backed by a complete set of connectors for small
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Date:
01/13/2019
Shielded Drum Inductor Designed for Automotive Applications
Sumida Corporation has announced the introduction of the new CDRH50D28B/T150 Shielded Drum inductor for a broad range of automotive applications.  Based on Sumida’s Ni-Zn ferrite core technology, this power inductor is highly space-efficient and complies with automotive reliability standard, AEC-Q200.  It
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Date:
01/13/2019
3D Printing 100 Times Faster With Light
ANN ARBOR--Rather than building up plastic filaments layer by layer, a new approach to 3D printing lifts complex shapes from a vat of liquid at up to 100 times faster than conventional 3D printing processes, University of Michigan researchers have shown. 3D printing could change the game for relatively small man
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Date:
01/13/2019
A Boost for Artificial Intelligence

How can a computer learn to generalize the knowledge contained in a huge dataset and find solutions for complex problems on its own? This question is the focus of two new assistant professorships.

How can a computer learn to generalize the knowledge contained in a huge dataset and to find solutions for complex problems on its own? This question is the focus of two new assistant professorships at the University of Freiburg: Robot Learning and Representation Learning. They are the result of a successful ap
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Date:
01/13/2019
Ethernet Connector Modules Offer Pin-in-Paste Soldering
SAN DIEGO – Pulse Electronics’ Networking Business Unit introduced its JXR8 series of 1x2 PIP tab down Ethernet Connector Modules. Designed to provide safety isolation and noise reduction in a single solution, the new JXR8 series connector modules operate with a wide range of industrial protocols. The
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Date:
01/10/2019
San Diego - Maxwell Technologies, Inc. announced the launch of a new full-featured 3.0-volt (3.0V) product platform. With the introduction of these next generation ultracapacitors, users have the ability to increase energy and power in the same form factor as the 2.7-volt product line and can significa
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Date:
01/10/2019
Aluminum Caps Ideal for the Lowest Profile Circuits
Fort Worth, Texas – TTI, Inc. is now offering the THA and THAS series aluminum electrolytic capacitors from Cornell Dubilier (CDE). The CDE THA/THAS Thinpacks offer the highest energy density available in a low profile aluminum electrolytic cap. They are ideal for the lowest profile circuits where high capaci
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Date:
01/10/2019
PPST Solutions Sales and Support Company Launches in 2019
IRVINE, Calif. – PPST Solutions, a newly formed power test equipment sales, service and support organization has officially been launched to consolidate sales and service resources from a number of test equipment manufacturers. This new company is focused on sales and support of a wide range of advanced Programmable Power System Test S
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Date:
01/10/2019
2D Materials may Enable Electric Vehicles to get 500 Miles
Lithium-air batteries are poised to become the next revolutionary replacement for currently used lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, cell phones and computers. Lithium-air batteries, which currently are still in the experimental stages of development, can store 10 times more energy than lith
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Date:
01/10/2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite many benefits and relative popularity as a renewable energy source, eventually, the sun does set on even the best solar panels. Over time, solar cells face damage from weather, temperature changes, soiling, and UV exposure. Solar cells also require inspections to maintain cell performance le
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Date:
01/10/2019
Cartilage Could be key to Safe 'Structural Batteries'

Your knees and your smartphone battery have some surprisingly similar needs, a University of Michigan professor has discovered, and that new insight has led to a 'structural battery' prototype that incorporates a cartilage-like material to make the batteries highly durable and easy to shape.

ANN ARBOR--Your knees and your smartphone battery have some surprisingly similar needs, a University of Michigan professor has discovered, and that new insight has led to a "structural battery" prototype that incorporates a cartilage-like material to make the batteries highly durable and easy to shape. The idea behi
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Date:
01/10/2019
More Stable Light from Intentionally 'Squashed' Quantum Dots

Novel colloidal quantum dots are formed of an emitting cadmium/selenium (Cd/Se) core enclosed into a compositionally graded CdxZn1-xSe shell wherein the fraction of zinc versus cadmium increases towards the dot's periphery. Due to a directionally asymmetric lattice mismatch between CdSe and ZnSe, the core, at top right, is compressed more strongly perpendicular to the crystal axis than along it. This leads to modifications of the electronic structure of the CdSe core, which beneficially affects its light-emission properties. Bottom image: Experimental traces of emission intensity from a conventional quantum dot (upper panel) and a novel asymmetrically compressed quantum dot (lower panel) resolved spectrally and temporally. The emission from the conventional quantum dot shows strong spectral fluctuations ("spectral jumps" and "spectral diffusion"). The emission from the asymmetrically compressed quantum dots is highly stable in both intensity and spectral domains. In addition, it shows a much narrower linewidth, which is below the room-temperature thermal energy (25 meV).

LOS ALAMOS, N.M.--Intentionally "squashing" colloidal quantum dots during chemical synthesis creates dots capable of stable, "blink-free" light emission that is fully comparable with the light produced by dots made with more complex processes. The squashed dots emit spectrally narrow light wi
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Date:
01/10/2019
Guiding the way to a More Sustainable Energy Future

Lehigh University's Energy Research Center, which was recently awarded three projects with US and international funding, is positioned to help the energy industry meet the challenge of transforming fossil-fuel dependence.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released an alarming report this October about what it would take to cap rising global temperatures at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Hitting this target has motivated countries to start developing and executing plans for decarbonization of their power gene
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Date:
01/09/2019
DURHAM, N.C. and GENEVA — Cree, Inc. announces that it signed a multi-year agreement to produce and supply its Wolfspeed silicon carbide (SiC) wafers to STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications. The agreement governs the supply of a
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Date:
01/08/2019
Busway System Ideal for Mission-Critical Applications
RICHMOND, Va.  -- Power Distribution, Inc. (PDI) announced the availability of its new 600 Amp and 1000 Amp PowerWave 2 Busway System. The PDI PowerWave 2 Busway System is ideal for data center/mission critical, retail, industrial, higher education markets and any facility where flexible power distribution i
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Date:
01/08/2019
A Wireless Charger you can Easily Cut to Shape
Researchers from the University of Tokyo developed a new system to charge electronic devices such as smartphones and smartwatches wirelessly. The method involves a cuttable, flexible power transfer sheet which charges devices wirelessly and can be molded or even cut with scissors to fit different-shaped surfaces an
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Date:
01/08/2019
TOKYO, Japan – Renesas Electronics Corporation announced the qualification of their  RX65N Group of microcontrollers (MCU) with Amazon FreeRTOS, running on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Renesas RX65N MCU lineup with Amazon FreeRTOS makes it easy for embedded designers to create a more secure end-to-end In
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Date:
01/08/2019
Resistors Meet UL94V-0 Flammability Requirements
RALEIGH, NC -- The WW Series high-temperature silicone coated wirewound resistors meet UL94V-0 flammability requirements. The all welded WW is available in power ratings from 0.5W up to 11W and tolerances from 5% to 0.1%. Typical TCR for the WW series ranges from 90 ppm or better for resistance values below 1 ohm to
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Date:
01/08/2019
200W Railway Converters with Pure Convection Cooling
ABSOPULSE Electronics has recently released the RWY 200-HSA-P2 series of fully encapsulated railway quality DC-DC converters with pure convection cooling. The 200W converters deliver a single, regulated output of 12Vdc, 24Vdc, 36Vdc, 48Vdc or 110Vdc. They accept inputs of 24Vdc, 36Vdc, 48Vdc, 72Vdc or
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Date:
01/08/2019
Sensors for Head-Mounted Displays and Handheld Controllers
TDK Corporation announces the launch of a complete portfolio of VR sensors enabling a new class of highly accurate and affordable all-in-one VR solutions. The key platform components are: InvenSense ICM-42688 6-axis motion sensor for HMDs provides the lowest noise figure in the industry and features the
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Date:
01/07/2019
Module Guards Against Overcurrents and Overvoltages
CHICAGO —Littelfuse, Inc. introduced the first of a series of bidirectional TVS Diode Arrays (SPA Diodes) designed to protect high-end consumer and wearable electronics from damaging ESD-generating events. The SP1333-01UTG, the first TVS Diode Array in the SP1333 Series, with a breakdown voltage 3.3V, incorporates
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Date:
01/07/2019
Researcher Receives Award to Develop Portable Solar Panels
Stephanie Lee, an assistant professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, was honored with a 2019 CAREER Award by the National Science Foundation to fund her research in engineering green, portable and cost efficient solar panels and other power sources. The NSF's CAREER program, established in 1995, offers the
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Date:
01/06/2019
Excitons Pave the Way to More Efficient Electronics
They were the first to control exciton flows at room temperature. And now, the team of scientists from EPFL's Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) has taken their technology one step further. They have found a way to control some of the properties of excitons and change the polarization of
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Date:
01/06/2019
PSDcast - Wearables and the Future of Healthcare
In today's episode of the PSDcast, we're chatting with Maxim about wearables and their vital importance to the future of healthcare ...
Date:
01/04/2019
AC-DC Power Supplies Achieve Titanium Efficiency
Bel Power Solutions announced the TET2000 Series, 2100 W AC-DC power supplies that provide a 12 VDC power source with Titanium efficiency for servers, storage and switches in a compact form factor. Measuring just 86 x 40 x 195 mm, the TET2000 Series provides a high-efficiency and feature-rich power source fo
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Date:
01/04/2019
High-Power, Multi-Channel Laser for LiDAR Systems
Osram Opto Semiconductors announced an ultrafast laser driver with a high-power, multi-channel Surface Mount (SMT) laser for LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) systems. Osram, the leader in LiDAR lasers, and GaN Systems, the leader in GaN power semiconductors, partnered to develop the breakthrough in laser driver technology tha
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Date:
01/03/2019
PSDcast – A Self-Powered Bluetooth Sensor at CES 2019

Troy Davis with EnOcean

In this episode of the PSDcast, we’re previewing CES 2019 with an industry first. EnOcean comes aboard the show to discuss the industry's first self-powered Bluetooth sensor for intelligent lighting control ...
Date:
01/03/2019
Research Towards More Durable Cell Phones and Power Lines
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Researchers from Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed a way to make cell phones and power lines more durable.  Binghamton University Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Sherry Towfighian and graduate student Mark Pallay created a new type of m
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Date:
01/03/2019
Quantum Chemistry on Quantum Computers
Quantum computing and quantum information processing technology have attracted attention in recently emerging fields. Among many important and fundamental issues in nowadays science, solving Schroedinger Equation (SE) of atoms and molecules is one of the ultimate goals in chemistry, physics and their related fi
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Date:
01/02/2019
Physicists Record 'Lifetime' of Graphene Qubits
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have recorded, for the first time, the "temporal coherence" of a graphene qubit -- meaning how long it can maintain a special state that allows it to represent two logical states simultaneously. The demonstration, which used a new kind of graphene-based qu
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Date:
01/02/2019
Capacitors for High-Performance Microwave & RF Applications
FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. – AVX Corporation introduced a new line of ultraminiature, thin-film transmission line capacitors for high-frequency links, DC blocking in the UHF range (300MHz – 3GHz), and other high-performance microwave and RF applications. The new capacitors have a novel metal-insulator-metal (MIM) st
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Date:
01/02/2019
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