Notable & Newsworthy

July 2019
A Material that can Make Solar Cells More Efficient
Researchers at Siberian Federal University, together with colleagues from the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden), discovered new properties of material based on palladium, which can increase the performance of solar cells. Palladium diselenide is a promising material whose properties have not
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Date:
07/31/2019

Centimeter-Long Snail Robot is Powered with Light
Researchers at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, Poland used liquid crystal elastomer technology to demonstrate a bio-inspired microrobot capable of mimicking the adhesive locomotion of snails and slugs in natural scale. The 10-millimeter long soft robot harvests energy from a laser beam and ca
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Date:
07/31/2019
PSDcast - The Global Deployment of 5G Technologies

Ken Bednasz at Telit

5G's the future of telecommunications, and as such, it's significantly faster and more reliable than the status quo. And in this episode of the PSDcast, we're chatting with Ken Bednasz at Telit about 5G and its global rollout. Telit's one of the leading enablers of the IoT, so they have a rather unique perspective on the
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Date:
07/31/2019
NRL Pigment Package for Ships Lowers Solar Temperature Load

NRL is currently working with Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Systems Engineering Directorate, Ship Integrity & Performance Engineering (SEA 05P) to transition the new pigment combination into a military specification. The most recent vessel to receive it was USS George Washington (CVN 73).

WASHINGTON -- A pigment package designed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory to slow discoloration of the exterior coating on surface ships has started to make its way into the fleet and is producing early, positive results. NRL researchers created the pigment combination to satisfy the fleet requirement for the N
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Date:
07/31/2019
Transphorm's $18.5M Contract to Produce RF GaN Epi for Navy
GOLETA, Calif.— Transphorm Inc. announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Naval Research (ONR) has exercised a three-year $15.9 million option on an existing $2.6 million base contract with the company. This contract, N68335-19-C-0107, administered by Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Div
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Date:
07/31/2019
High Bay LED Fixture for U.S. Light Industrial Applications
FARMINGDALE, N.J. – Dialight launched its new Reliant High Bay line of industrial LED fixtures for the North American market, the company’s first product line designed for light duty applications, such as warehouses, light manufacturing and other large indoor spaces. Built for maximum energy efficiency
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Date:
07/31/2019
Chip Resistors with Resistance Values from 1 ohm to 1Meg ohm
RALEIGH, NC – Stackpole has increased the power rating of its popular RPC Series. The RPC-UP from Stackpole offers 0805 and 1206 size chip resistors with excellent pulse withstanding and high power ratings. RPC0805-UP is rated at 0.5W and 400V working voltage and the RPC1206-UP is rated at 0.75W and 500V. Re
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Date:
07/31/2019
Emerson Collaborates with Dragos on Cybersecurity Protection

Emerson and Dragos, Inc. have signed a global agreement that will enable power producers and water utilities to further strengthen the security of their critical assets.

PITTSBURGH — Emerson and Dragos, Inc., developer of the Dragos Platform for industrial cybersecurity asset detection, threat detection and response, have signed a global agreement that will enable power producers and water utilities to further strengthen the security of their critical assets. Emerson will in
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Date:
07/31/2019
Advance in Understanding of All-Solid-State Batteries

Schematic of Li metal/Li6PS5Cl interface cycled at an overall current density above the CCS.

HARWELL, UK -- All-solid-state batteries, a battery design composed of all solid components, have gained attention as the next major advance beyond lithium ion batteries because of their potential to store more energy while being safer to operate. When capable of being produced in commercial quantities, solid-state ba
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Date:
07/31/2019
Mouser Electronics Opens Customer Service Center in Vietnam
Mouser Electronics, Inc. announced the opening of its Vietnam Customer Service Center, in Ho Chi Minh City. This new customer service center, located in the iconic Bitexco Financial Tower, will support local electronic design engineers, buyers and hardware innovators, helping them to locate the newest products fo
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Date:
07/30/2019
Mouser Electronics Signs Global Agreement with Formerica
Mouser Electronics, Inc., the authorized global distributor with the newest semiconductors and electronic components, announces a global distribution agreement with Formerica Optoelectronics, a pioneer and leading provider of optical interconnect solutions. Using innovative technologies that offer higher energy ef
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Date:
07/30/2019
AC-DC Power Filters Address EMC and Surge Compliance
TUALATIN, Ore. — CUI’s Power Group announced the addition of ac-dc power filters, designed to accompany its existing portfolio of low power embedded ac-dc power supplies. The EMC‑20 and EMC‑30 series offer 20 dB and 30 dB of ac-line noise filtering at 150 kHz to 1 GHz, respectively. Available in compact bo
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Date:
07/30/2019
AC-DC Power Supplies Offer Multiple Mounting Options
TUALATIN, Ore. — CUI’s Power Group announced the addition of 3 W and 5 W models to its line of low power, encapsulated ac-dc power supplies. Available in board mount, chassis mount, wire lead, and DIN rail configurations, the single output PSK‑S3 and PSK‑S5B series are housed in compact packages measuring as
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Date:
07/30/2019
USB Cable Assemblies Added to CUI Devices Portfolio
CUI Devices announced the addition of USB cables to its existing portfolio of connector and cable assembly products. The USB cable assemblies come available with USB Type A, USB Type B, Micro B, Mini B, and USB Type C plugs and receptacles, along with dc power plugs, blunt cut, and stripped and tinned terminations. Jo
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Date:
07/30/2019
Rechargeable Lead Acid Battery Shipping from Sager
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Sager Electronics is now stocking Power Sonic’s PS-640F1 Rechargeable Sealed Lead Acid Battery. The PS-640F1 is part of Power Sonic’s PS range of sealed lead acid batteries that have been specifically designed for general purpose and standby applications. The 6V 4.50 Ah battery f
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Date:
07/30/2019
Rittal North America Opens Rapid Design Center in Houston
HOUSTON – Rittal expanded its operations by opening an innovative new Rapid Design Center located in its Oil & Gas Competency Center in Houston, Texas. Built to improve process efficiency, the massive 85,000-square-foot facility is equipped with high-efficiency automated technology to deliver modifi
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Date:
07/30/2019
Electric Car Research Boosted by Cobalt-Free Battery

Arumugam Manthiram, a leading researcher from UT's Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Austin TX - The elimination of cobalt -- an expensive chemical component currently required to power our smartphones and laptops -- from lithium-ion batteries has been the goal of Texas Engineer Arumugam Manthiram for much of his career. When paired with a graphite anode (the terminal on a battery through w
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Date:
07/30/2019
3D-Printed Rocket Fuel Comparison at James Cook University
James Cook University scientists in Australia are using 3D printing to create fuels for rockets, and using tailor-made rocket motors they've built to test the fuels. JCU lecturer in mechanical engineering Dr Elsa Antunes led the study, which made use of the revolutionary and rapidly advancing 3D printing technology
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Date:
07/30/2019
Powercast: 3 FCC Approvals for Over the Air Wireless Power

Powercast long-range wireless power technology gains FCC approval to power on-shelf retail applications like wirelessly illuminated product packaging, interactive end cap displays and electronic paper displays (EPD) such as electronic shelf-edge labels.

PITTSBURGH -- Powercast Corporation announced that its radio-frequency (RF)-based long-range over-the-air wireless power technology has received three new certifications from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – totaling seven since 2007 – adding retail applications to the company’s existing FCC ap
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Date:
07/29/2019
Camera can Watch Moving Objects Around Corners

Objects -- including books, a stuffed animal and a disco ball -- in and around a bookshelf tested the system's versatility in capturing light from different surfaces in a large-scale scene.

David Lindell, a graduate student in electrical engineering at Stanford University, donned a high visibility tracksuit and got to work, stretching, pacing and hopping across an empty room. Through a camera aimed away from Lindell - at what appeared to be a blank wall - his colleagues could watch his every move. That's because, h
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Date:
07/29/2019
'Deforming' Solar Cells Could be clue to Improved Efficiency
Deformations and defects in structures of photoelectric technologies shown to improve their efficiency University of Warwick physicists demonstrate that strain gradient can prevent recombination of photo-excited carriers in solar energy conversion Increasingly important as devices become miniatu
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Date:
07/29/2019
Energy from Seawater

The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant on Santa Monica Bay in Los Angeles is an example of a coastal wastewater treatment operation that could potentially recover energy from the mixing of seawater and treated effluent.

Salt is power. It might sound like alchemy, but the energy in places where salty ocean water and freshwater mingle could provide a massive source of renewable power. Stanford researchers have developed an affordable, durable technology that could harness this so-called blue energy. The paper, recently published
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Date:
07/29/2019
Engineers use Heat-Free Tech for Flexible Electronics

Martin Thuo and his research group have printed electronic traces on gelatin.

AMES, Iowa - Martin Thuo of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory clicked through the photo gallery for one of his research projects. How about this one? There was a rose with metal traces printed on a delicate petal. Or this? A curled sheet of paper with a flexible, programmable LED display.
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Date:
07/29/2019
Expanding Functions of Conducting Microbial Nanowires

UMass Amherst microbiologist Derek Lovley and colleagues introduce a new method of tuning conductive nanowires, offering a 'toolbox of wires to choose from with a million-fold range in conductivity.'

AMHERST, Mass. - In the latest paper from the Geobacter Lab led by microbiologist Derek Lovley at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he and colleagues report "a major advance" in the quest to develop electrically conductive protein nanowires in the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens for use as
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Date:
07/29/2019
Software Simplifies Automotive Ethernet Testing
BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Tektronix, Inc. released two new software packages that greatly simplify automotive ethernet testing, debug and protocol decode for use with its 5 and 6 Series mixed signal oscilloscopes (MSO). Using the new Signal Separation software, automotive engineers can now perform Automotive Ethernet
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Date:
07/26/2019
A Computer That Understands how you Feel

Kragel is combining machine learning with brain imaging to learn more about how images impact emotions.

Could a computer, at a glance, tell the difference between a joyful image and a depressing one? Could it distinguish, in a few milliseconds, a romantic comedy from a horror film? Yes, and so can your brain, according to research published this week by University of Colorado Boulder neuroscientists. "Machine learning technology is
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Date:
07/26/2019
Next-Gen Membranes for Carbon Capture

CO2-selective polymeric chains anchored on graphene effectively pull CO2 from a flue gas mixture.

A major greenhouse gas, CO2 produced from burning fossil fuels is still mostly released into the atmosphere, adding to the burden of global warming. One way to cut down on it is through a carbon capture: a chemical technique that removes CO2 out of emissions ("postcombustion"), preventing it from entering th
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Date:
07/26/2019
Optimal Design of Molecular Systems
The chemist Dr. Sabine Richert from the University of Freiburg has been awarded a German Research Foundation (DFG) grant of 1.8 million euros for an Emmy-Noether junior research group. Under her leadership, the group will explore over the next six years which molecular properties materials need to have in order to
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Date:
07/26/2019
Shaping Light with a Smartlens
Camera performance on mobile devices has proven to be one of the features that most end-users aim for. The importance of optical image quality improvement, and the trend to have thinner and thinner smartphones have pushed manufactures to increase the number of cameras in order to provide phones with better zoom, lo
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Date:
07/26/2019
Solar Energy Becomes Biofuel Without Solar Cells

This is professor Peter Lindblad

Soon we will be able to replace fossil fuels with a carbon-neutral product created from solar energy, carbon dioxide and water. Researchers at Uppsala University have successfully produced microorganisms that can efficiently produce the alcohol butanol using carbon dioxide and solar energy, without needing to us
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Date:
07/26/2019
Rugged S5E SLC NAND-Based Solid State Drive
The S5E SSD provides comprehensive encryption and security features such as quick erase, SMART’s Security Data Elimination Technology (SDET) which meets current declassification standards, and erase triggers, making it an ideal data recording and storage tool for surveillance, defense and telemetry application
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Date:
07/25/2019
Analog Devices Honours Top Suppliers at Supplier Day 2019
Held at the Hyatt Regency Boston, the event brought together 100 of the semiconductor company’s top suppliers for a day of recognition, celebration and relationship building.  A total of 18 awards were presented for outstanding performance and contributions.   The first event of its size an
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Date:
07/25/2019
Healthcare Sensors for Next-Generation Wearables
In addition, design engineers can improve both sensitivity and accuracy with the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) using the MAXM86161.   To provide value, wearable health and fitness monitors require greater accuracy in measuring human biometrics such as body temperature and heart rate, but device designers hav
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Date:
07/25/2019
Mouser and Wilcoxon Sign Global Distribution Agreement
The agreement will see Mouser distribute Wilcoxon Sensing Technologies vibration monitoring products and sensing solutions.   A trusted brand since the 1960s, Wilcoxon has a strong legacy of success in vibration monitoring. Companies and organizations across many industries depend on Wilcoxon to meet
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Date:
07/25/2019
Small Automotive MOSFETs Provide Superior Mounting Reliability
The RV4xxx series is AEC-Q101 qualified, ensuring automotive-grade reliability and performance under extreme conditions. ROHM’s original package processing technology enables the miniaturization of automotive components, such as ADAS camera modules, that demand high quality.   In recent years, the gr
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Date:
07/25/2019
RS Components introduces new MakerBot Method 3D Printer
The unit targets engineers and designers who use 3D modelling software and need to create product prototypes rapidly for a range of purposes, such as to accelerate product development or to ensure the viability of parts before moving to volume production.   A key feature of the Method is its fast printing speed, w
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Date:
07/25/2019
nanoPower RTC Offers Small Package and Long Battery Life
More than 35 percent smaller than the tiniest RTC alternatives available today, this nanoPower RTC, which operates at less than 180nA, offloads the central microcontroller from timekeeping, allowing for greater energy savings during sleep cycles and extension of battery runtime.   Systems that use mi
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Date:
07/25/2019
Innovative Variable Speed Hybrid Generator
The unit’s core is a true variable speed generator, which runs between 900 and 2000 rpm; and a highly efficient lithium battery bank which will utilise stored power for when silent power is needed or loads are low. This combination makes VariPower a far more economical and efficient power option compared to a t
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Date:
07/25/2019
New SUF350 1U, 3 x 5in footprint 350W PSU from FiDUS Power
All models meet the latest general safety approvals EN/IEC/UL 623681-1 (2nd Ed), also meet FCC Part-15, CISPR-32, EN55032 class B emission limits and EN55024 with no additional components, and are CE marked conforming to the latest RoHS approval. Fitting in a 1U enclosure the power supplies have an optional 12V
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Date:
07/25/2019
Mouser Stocking the Qorvo QPA2308 60W GaN Power Amplifier
The QPA2308 provides high-power density and power-added efficiency for 5 to 6 GHz radio frequency (RF)-based designs. Fabricated on Qorvo’s production 0.25 um gallium nitride-on-silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) process, this monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MIMC) power amplifier simplifies system integration and
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Date:
07/25/2019
Robust and Flexible, Automotive Buck, LED Drivers
The LED drivers address internal and external lighting applications, such as fog lamps, position lamps, rear lamps, and door lamps.   The AL8860Q and AL8861Q have a wide-operating voltage range from 4.5V to 40V to withstand load-dump events and operate correctly at low-cranking voltages in stop-start applica
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Date:
07/25/2019
Family of 15 Mbps Photocouplers for Harsh Industrial Applications
The trend toward higher voltage, compact systems is driving stricter International safety standards and eco-friendly solutions that require smaller ICs with lower power consumption. The RV1S9x60A family meets this need with best-in-class low threshold input current (IFHL) ratings: the RV1S9160A (SO5) operates at 2.
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Date:
07/25/2019
CoolSiC MOSFET and TRENCHSTOP IGBT in Easy 2B package
Optimizing for sweet spot losses of the CoolSiC MOSFET and the TRENCHSTOP IGBT4 chipsets respectively, the module features increased power density and a switching frequency of up to 48 kHz. This is especially well suited for the needs of new generation 1500 V photovoltaic and energy storage applications.  
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Date:
07/25/2019
Now at Mouser: TI’s LMG1210 MOSFET and GaN FET Driver
Part of TI’s industry-leading gallium nitride (GaN) power portfolio family, the LMG1210 enables higher efficiency, increased power density, and lower overall system size over traditional silicon-based alternatives, and are optimized specifically for speed-critical power-conversion applications.  
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Date:
07/25/2019
HARTING’s ix connector wins the German Innovation Award
The pioneering connector impressed the German Design Council and won the award for “Excellence in Business to Business”. The German Innovation Award acknowledges products and solutions that clearly set themselves apart from conventional solutions, thanks to their user focus and added value.   HARTI
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Date:
07/25/2019
Common Mode Choke for Automotive Ethernet Applications
Pulse Electronics AE3003 100Base-T1 Power over Data Lines (PoDL) Common Mode Choke (CMC) is a 300mA single twisted pair device for automotive Ethernet applications. This CMC supports PoDL classes 0, 1, 2, 4, and 6. The AE3003 CMC reduces the need for a second twisted pair wire to power an end device and re
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Date:
07/25/2019
Electrical Safety Software Manages Test Procedures
Poway, CA — Vitrek introduces QT Enterprise, a major upgrade to its PC-based software designed to control operation of the company’s V7x and 95x lines of high-performance electrical safety (hipot) testers and 98X Series insulation resistance testers. In test situations where multiple test points are involved, th
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Date:
07/25/2019
Healthcare Sensors Enable Clinical-Grade Accuracy
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Designers creating next-generation wearable health and fitness applications can reduce temperature measurement power by 50 percent with the MAX30208, as well as shrink optical solution size by 40 percent with the MAXM86161 from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. In addition, design engineers can im
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Date:
07/25/2019
CO2 Extraction Pump System Provides Continuous Duty Cycle
Erie, PA – High Pressure Equipment Company (HiP), a subsidiary of Graco Inc., has developed the e710 supercritical CO2 extraction pump system to address market demand for an environmentally friendly extraction process used for a wide range of natural oils, foods and cannabis. The e710 pump system is specifical
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Date:
07/25/2019
Gallium Nitride-Based AC-DC Converter ICs
San Jose, Calif. – Power Integrations announced new members of its InnoSwitch 3 families of offline CV/CC flyback switcher ICs. The new ICs feature up to 95% efficiency across the full load range and up to 100 W in enclosed adapter implementations without requiring a heatsink. This groundbreaking increase in performa
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Date:
07/25/2019
The Apollo Guidance Computer – History's Unsung Hero

Margaret Hamilton posing next to stacks of software she and her team at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory developed for the Apollo computer.

We’ve all heard that the computer on Apollo 11 had less memory than modern calculators. And that’s true, but the disparities are even more astounding, and on the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, I wanted to take a gander at the piece of hardware that made Apollo 11 possible, the Apollo Guidance
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Date:
07/24/2019
UnitedSiC adds 2 650V SiC FET Packages to UF3C FAST Series
Princeton, New Jersey: UnitedSiC has added two new TO220-3L package options to its growing range of hard-switching UF3C FAST series of 650V SiC FETs. The new products offer RDS(on) values of 30mohms (UF3C065030T3S) (https://unitedsic.com/datasheets/DS_UF3C065030T3S.pdf) and 80mohms (UF3C065080T3S) (https://unitedsic.com/datasheets/DS_UF3C065080T3S.pdf). The three-leaded, industry-standard
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Date:
07/24/2019
One Size Fits All? A New Model for Organic Semiconductors

This is a representation of carrier mobility in hard inorganic materials (upper figure, band transport) and flexible organic solids (lower figure, flexibility induced transport mechanism).

Osaka, Japan - Organic materials that can conduct charge have the potential to be used in a vast array of exciting applications, including flexible electronic devices and low-cost solar cells. However, to date, only organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have made a commercial impact owing to gaps in the understanding of
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Date:
07/24/2019
Ultrathin Transistors for Faster Computer Chips

Schematics of the new transistor: the insulator in red and blue, and the semiconductor above

For decades, the transistors on our microchips have become smaller, faster and cheaper. Approximately every two years the number of transistors on commercial chips has doubled - this phenomenon became known as "Moore's Law". But for several years now, Moore's law does not hold any more. The miniaturization has
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Date:
07/24/2019
Mouser Stocks Qorvo 60W GaN Power Amplifier
Mouser Electronics, Inc., is now stocking the QPA2308 MMIC power amplifier from Qorvo. Engineered for commercial and military applications, the QPA2308 provides high-power density and power-added efficiency for 5 to 6 GHz radio frequency (RF)-based designs. Fabricated on Qorvo’s production 0.25 um gallium nitride-on-silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) process, this monolithic microwave integrated circu
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Date:
07/24/2019
Valleytronics Core Theory for High-Efficiency Semiconductors

A diagram on the formation of valley domain in molybden disulphide, a 2D crystal material, and its current signal control.

A DGIST research team discovered a theory that can expand the development of valleytronics technology, which has been drawing attention as a next generation semiconductor technology. This is expected to advance the development of valleytronics technology one level further, a new magnetic technology of next generation th
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Date:
07/24/2019
New Material for Wearable Devices to Restore Conductivity

Contrary to typical materials, the electrical conductivity of which decreases when the shape of the materials is changed by an applied tensile strain, the new material developed by the KIST research team shows a dramatic increase in conductivity under a tensile strain of 3,500%.

The research team of researcher Hyunseon Seo and senior researcher Dr. Donghee Son of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology's (KIST, president: Byung-gwon Lee) Biomedical Research Institute and postdoctoral candidate Dr. Jiheong Kang and Professor Zhenan Bao of Stanford University (chemical engineering) ann
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Date:
07/24/2019
A new Concept for Self-Assembling Micromachines

Wheel mounting in seconds: as soon as a non-uniform electric field is switched on, the chassis of a microvehicle pulls its own wheels into wheel pockets. After just over a second, all the wheels are in place.

In the future, designers of micromachines can utilize a new effect. A team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have presented a concept that enables the components of microvehicles, microrotors and micropumps to assemble themselves in an electric field. The new co
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Date:
07/24/2019
Screw Terminal Capacitors w/ Better Ripple Current Handling
MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. today launched a new series of miniaturized screw terminal aluminum capacitors that deliver 10 % higher capacitance and 10 % better ripple current handling for a given can size than previous-generation devices, allowing designers to pack more energy storage into le
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Date:
07/24/2019
Marktech Awarded Veteran-Owned Small Business Certification
Latham, NY, USA –  Marktech Optoelectronics, Inc. announced the achievement of its veteran-owned small business certification (VSOB). This Marktech VSOB certification, awarded by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, via its Center f
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Date:
07/24/2019
15 Mbps Photocouplers for Harsh Industrial Applications
TOKYO, Japan – Renesas Electronics Corporation announced three new 15 Mbps photocouplers designed to withstand the harsh operating environments of industrial and factory automation equipment. The trend toward higher voltage, compact systems is driving stricter International safety standards and eco-friendly so
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Date:
07/24/2019
MEMS Timing Solutions for Aerospace and Defense Applications
SANTA CLARA – SiTimeCorporation unveiled its Endura MEMS timing solutions for aerospace and defense applications such as field and satellite communications, precision GNSS, avionics, and space. The Endura products are engineered to offer unmatched performance in harsh conditions – such as severe shock,
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Date:
07/24/2019
Sintering Materials – Know the Differences

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1 – Illustration of Particle Size on Sintering Temperature and Density

Silver sintering is a proven technology that overcomes many of the thermal dissipation, power cycling and high temperature stability challenges associated with power module interconnects (die attach solder, wire-bonds and heat sink attach).  This has become critically important as the automotive industry em
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Date:
07/23/2019
Most of the growth in the rechargeable battery industry is expected to be from their increased use in high voltage energy systems for electric vehicles (EV) as well as in marine and home storage applications. These systems will typically employ series-connected battery packs made up of lithium-ion or nickel me
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Date:
07/23/2019
Effective USB 3.1 Filtering and Protection

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Figure 1: USB-C dongle used to demonstrate USB 3.1 filtering and protection

The USB connector and standard are one of the most widely implemented and successful interfaces ever used. The applications are commercial and industrial, and both have been pushing the standard to be faster. The USB standard has been updated to version 3.1. This standard increases data transfer speeds to 5 GB
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Date:
07/23/2019
Three Quick Buck EMI Checks

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Figure 1: Simplified buck schematic (left) and waveforms (right)

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) presents constant challenges in automotive power end equipment. With the rise of mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) solutions, EMI becomes even more challenging, as the battery voltage shifts from 12 V to 48 V in many electronic circuits in the system. Most engineers designing
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Date:
07/23/2019
Preparing the way for Wind Power

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Figure 1: Typical wind turbines

Wind power in the United States is booming and vast farms of turbines are sprouting across large parts of the country. While this trend isn’t representative of every US state, the country’s use of wind power is on the up and it’s showing no signs of anchoring just yet. Indeed, wind power is on track to overtake hydropower as the U.S. grid’s largest source of renewable electricity in 2019, according to dat
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Date:
07/23/2019
GaN Technology Breaks into Power Supply Designs

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Figure 1: Synchronous rectification in a secondary circuit

The ideal AC-DC power supply will be compact, reliable and cool running. This has been the request from equipment designers in the industrial and medical industries since the dawn of the electronic age. With the advent of switch mode power supplies in the 1970s, the industry took a quantum leap towards this go
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Date:
07/23/2019
Precision Current Sensing to Optimize System Performance

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Figure 1: Current sensors are used in a wide range of control, protection, and measurement circuits to measure the power flow within the system

There is a tremendous amount of pressure on the embedded electronics community for higher efficiencies and better system performance. This is due to multiple factors - from thermal management issues, to increased power densities, to battery life, and more. This pressure to improve is driving development in many ar
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Date:
07/23/2019
Five Reasons Why Your IoT Application Needs Fog Computing

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Figure 1: IoT with and without Fog Computing

Cloud computing in the IoT is about centralized data processing. In contrast, fog computing focuses on moving computational power, storage capacity, device-control capability, and networking power closer to the devices. Fog computing is a term created by Cisco that is used to describe computing on devices in
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Date:
07/23/2019
There are various solutions available for timing applications. For simple tasks, a standard 555 circuit can be used. With the 555 circuit and the appropriate external components, numerous different tasks can be performed. One disadvantage of the popular 555 timer, however, is the inaccuracy of the timer set
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Date:
07/23/2019
The Right Approach to Power-Supply Selection and Design

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Figure 1: Off the shelf Power Supply

There are three main options, though more complex systems could rely on a combination of all three. The first option that will be most familiar to experienced board-level engineers is the custom power circuit, though this will often involve a combination of off-the-shelf power controllers together with discrete po
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Date:
07/23/2019
Cybersecurity Clouds Over the Bright Future of Smart Grids

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Figure 1: The evolving Smart Grid energy infrastructure

Cybersecurity represents a dark cloud overshadowing the “smart grid” modernization of the existing electrical grid system that enhances customers' and utilities' ability to monitor, control, and predict energy use. The need for a secure enterprise-level architecture in defending against pote
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Date:
07/23/2019
Trends and Challenges for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
It’s gonna be a scorcher, folks. Not the summer, though record-breaking heat is roasting the nation. I’m talking about the July/August issue, which covers one of the industry’s hottest topics, "Electric + Hybrid Vehicles." Rest assured, you’ll enjoy this heat wave. The automotive space is a broad um
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Date:
07/23/2019
Electric Scooters Taking Off and Being Left Behind in France
Welcome to the combined July/August issue of PSD. I hope you all have a relaxing break planned for over the summer to set you up for the second half of the year. I’ve been too busy myself to even stop and think about getting away. I did manage a couple of days away in Lyon after a meeting in Grenoble during the
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07/23/2019
DC-DC Conversion for 48 V – 12 V Automotive Applications

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Figure 1: Example comparison of AEC qualified Si MOSFET and eGaN FET

Recent evolution in automotive powertrain technology has motivated the use of a dual 48 V and 12 V bus in mild hybrid vehicles, which can provide an 8 − 15% fuel consumption reduction. The 48 V Li-ion battery bus furthermore supports higher power loads such as air conditioning, faster heating of the cabin, an
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07/22/2019
Optimal Motor Control with Intelligent One-Chip Solution

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Figure 1: Basic structure of an embedded drive

It is hard to imagine a world without today’s modern networking and communications. Electronics either enables or powers just about everything in today’s digital world, including automobiles. The automotive electronics market will grow to reach over USD 350 billion by 2024 for passenger cars. Today, most ne
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07/22/2019
Powering the Future of Electric Vehicles

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Figure 1. SiC Schottky diodes and MOSFETs, like these pictured from Littelfuse, lower power switching losses compared to Si devices.

Electric vehicles are poised for meteoric growth, rising from an estimated 6 million vehicles in 2019 to 16 million vehicles in 2023. New technologies are enabling this dramatic change, including more efficient power conversion and higher power density. New circuit protection strategies are also required to pr
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07/22/2019
Improving EV Safety and Reliability with Galvanic Isolation

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Figure 1. EV/HEV Major Electrical Assembly Locations

Electric and hybrid vehicles promise greater efficiency, reduced emissions, and eventual price and performance parity with gas-powered vehicles. To be competitive with existing vehicles, the batteries used in EV/HEVs must possess very high energy storage density, near zero self-leakage current, and the ability to
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07/22/2019
Analog Devices Shows Faith in Brexit Britain
A couple of months ago, I wrote here about how Brexit had paralysed the UK government and the whole country had basically ground to a standstill. That paralysis didn’t only affect the government, it also started to have quite a strong effect on the economy of the country as inward investment dried up and even local
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07/22/2019
Plane Inspired by Electric Guitar Could Cut Fuel Costs by 20%
Commercial airlines have a ravenous appetite for fossil fuels – it’s one of the industry’s most onerous costs, fiscal and environmental. Dutch airline KLM wants to change that with a plane inspired by a Gibson guitar. The Flying-V takes advantage of the superior aerodynamics of the titular shape to r
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07/22/2019
Will Tesla Lead the Growing EV Market by 2025?
The report firm Statistica estimates that 14% of the vehicles on the road will be electric by 2025, and Tesla leads the way. Whatever you might think of Elon Musk, I believe if it were not for him, the traditional automakers would still be telling us that, “we are researching the market and studying the technical ch
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07/22/2019
SiC Revolutionizes the Powertrain

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Figure 1 – Main components of an electric powertrain

As the automotive industry moves towards zero-emissions transportation, auto manufacturers are swiftly ramping up their electrification programmes. Most OEMs plan to be ready to supply large volumes of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as well as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) worldwide by 2025. To meet buye
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07/22/2019
Transient Voltage Suppression in Automotive Applications

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Figure 1: A TVS is designed to operate differently to a Zener diode, and for a shorter period

Anyone who has worked with integrated electronic devices in a design, production or repair environment will be familiar with the anti-static or electrostatic discharge (ESD) wrist strap, and knows their purpose is to protect ICs before they are inserted into or onto a PCB. Manufacturers fully understand the da
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07/22/2019
TTI Launches Comprehensive Mil/Aero Resource Center
Fort Worth, Texas – TTI, Inc., announced the company has a new central hub for market updates and product information on mil/aero technology.   TTI’s comprehensive Military Aerospace Resource Center provides up-to-date content from our mil/aero suppliers including links to white papers, MarketEYE
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07/22/2019
AVX Completes its Largest Global MLCC Manufacturing Facility
FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. – AVX Corporation recently completed a major, $150 million expansion of its flagship multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia. The expansion added 250,000 square feet to the original facility, which now encompasses 450,000 square feet of Class 1K and Class 10K cleanrooms, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and testing technology, and warehousing space designed to support the safe storage and global export of products, and squarely established the Penang site as AVX’s largest MLCC manufacturing facility. The Penang expansion will support the continued evolution of the company’s extensive portfolio of high-performance, high-reliability passive components designed to meet
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07/22/2019
Intel Enpirion DC-DC Voltage Bus Converter
Intel Enpirion EC2650QI 12V DC-DC Step Down Voltage Bus Converter offers extremely high-efficiency, with integrated low ON-resistance MOSFET switches and small-signal control circuits in an advanced 5.5mm x 5.5mm x 0.9mm 36-pin QFN package. The EC2650QI Voltage Bus Converter features an output voltage that tracks on
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07/22/2019
Automotive-Grade IHLP Inductors for Under the Hood Apps
MALVERN, Pa. — Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. introduced its smallest Automotive Grade IHLP low profile, high current inductors to date. Offered in the 3.3 mm by 3.3 mm 1212 case size to save space in next-generation ADAS and sensor applications, the Vishay Dale IHLP-1212AZ-A1 and IHLP-1212AB-A1 combine operating temperature
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07/22/2019
Sectigo Partners with NetObjex to Protect the Edge of IoT
ROSELAND, N.J. – Sectigo (formerly Comodo CA) announced a secure edge computing technology pact with NetObjex. The collaboration provides enterprises and manufacturers with a secured, trusted computing infrastructure that extends from IoT edge devices to the cloud and blockchain. “By collaborating with Sec
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07/19/2019
Atomically Precise Models Improve Fuel Cell Understanding

The initial positions of the atoms in this computer model of a solid-oxide fuel cell were based on observations of the actual atomic configuration using electron microscopy. Simulations using this model revealed a previously unreported reaction (red path) in which an oxygen molecule from the yttria-stabilized zirconia layer (layer of red and light blue balls) moves through the bulk nickel layer (dark blue balls) before forming OH on the nickel surface.

Simulations from researchers in Japan provide new insights into the reactions occurring in solid-oxide fuel cells by using realistic atomic-scale models of the active site at the electrode based on microscope observations as the starting point. This better understanding could give clues on ways to improve performance an
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07/19/2019
Machine Learning in the Discovery of new Polymers

The ML workflow consists of two different steps of prediction; the forward and backward predictions. The objective of the forward prediction is to create a set of prediction models that describe various polymeric properties (e.g., thermal conductivity, glass transition temperature) as a function of chemical structures in the constitutional repeat units.

A joint research group including Ryo Yoshida (Professor and Director of the Data Science Center for Creative Design and Manufacturing at the Institute of Statistical Mathematics [ISM], Research Organization of Information and Systems), Junko Morikawa (Professor at the School of Materials and Chemical Technology, To
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07/19/2019
TTI Now Stocks Murata's LoRa Module
Fort Worth, Texas – TTI, Inc., is now stocking the Murata LoRa Module Type ABZ (CMWX1ZZABZ). Murata’s Type ABZ module is a new, compact, low cost, low power wide area network (LPWAN) wireless module that supports the LoRaWAN long-range wireless protocol. This new stand-alone module measures 12.5 x 11.6 x 1.
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07/18/2019
Mikrotron Introduces its First CoaXPress 2.0 Camera
(POWAY, CA) -- Mikrotron is redefining video acquisition speed and performance with the launch of its first camera to feature the ultra-fast CoaXPress 2.0 (CXP 2.0) interface: the EoSens 1.1CXP2. By being one of the first camera manufacturers to introduce a CXP 2.0 camera, Mikrotron is extending the advantages
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07/18/2019
Resistors Designed for High-Voltage Handling
RALEIGH, NC – Stackpole is now stocking 10M, 100M, 500M, 1G, and 10G ohm values of its HVAM axial leaded precision resistors. These resistors are designed for high voltage handling and high resistance values with power ratings from 2W to 10W. The proprietary direct film deposition of the HVAM enables toleranc
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07/18/2019
$4.6 Million Award to Train Cybersecurity Professionals
A five-year, $4.63 million award from the National Science Foundation will enable a multi-disciplinary team of researchers at the University of Arkansas to recruit, educate and train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. The program will provide the knowledge and tools necessary to protect network a
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07/18/2019
Vietnam Finds Common Ground with America over Huawei

Viettel's President and CEO Le Dang Dung. Vietnam's state-owned mobile carrier is wary of doing business with China's Huawei.

The U.S. might be loosening restrictions on Huawei, but China’s socialist neighbor is holding the line. Oddly enough, the free world is anything but unified on Shenzhen’s scandal-ridden telecom giant. The U.S. led the charge against Huawei, but after an industry revolt, it could be business as usual (l
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Date:
07/18/2019
600V Three-Phase Gate Driver with Smart Shutdown
Featuring smart-shutdown circuitry for fast-acting protection, the STDRIVE601 turns off the gate-driver outputs immediately after detecting overload or short-circuit, for a period determined using an external capacitor and resistor. Designers can set the required duration, using large C-R values if needed, with
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07/17/2019
Mouser and Phoenix eBook Features Secure Connections
In Trusted Connection, Trusted Design, experts from Phoenix Contact provide useful guides on PCB design, locking systems, and new connecting technologies, offering readers valuable insights on how to leverage connectors for more reliable performance.   As more devices are folded into IIoT, strong connections will t
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Date:
07/17/2019
Rectifier for highest current densities
The innovative semiconductor manufacturer MaxPower Semiconductor Inc. has expanded its product portfolio with a series of MOS-based rectifiers with very high current density. They are particularly suitable for use in high frequency switching power supplies such as DC/DC converters, adapters, polarity protection c
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Date:
07/17/2019
Compact LED Drivers Provide High Efficiency and Low EMI
The drivers provide the EMI performance without compromising on efficiency and size.   These ICs drive up to eight HBLEDs directly from the automotive battery and integrate many external components to save on bill of materials (BOM) costs and space, making them excellent solutions for automotive lighting
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Date:
07/17/2019
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