Notable & Newsworthy

December 2023

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Figure 1: Ripple generated by the traction inverter impacts an EV’s high-voltage bus

High-Bandwidth Power Modules Quell the Disruption of High-Voltage Line Ripple Rejection

Haris Muhedinovic, Automotive Principal Field Applications Engineer, Vicor

Automotive electrification may be the most wide-ranging power challenge of our time. It is a global problem automotive OEMs face as they transition from internal combustion engines to battery-electric vehicles. R&D teams everywhere are exploring new approaches, trying to find better solutions to solve old an

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Date:

12/30/2023

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Figure 1. Physical distance between a voltage regulator and the associated load

Preventing Voltage Fluctuations Due to Power Supply Lines

Frederik Dostal, Analog Devices, Inc.

When power supplies such as step-down regulators or linear regulators are used, they regulate a set voltage to supply a load with electrical energy. In some applications—for example, laboratory power supplies or electronic systems in which various components are connected to longercables—theregulatedvoltag

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Have We Reached the Age of the Solid-State Battery?

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

For a long time we have known that the solid-state battery would be the next big step in battery technology. While scientists and researchers have spent many years trying to develop other battery chemistries, the solid-state battery is more likely to bring almost immediate improvements to our energy storage. The other

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Kevin Parmenter, Director, Applications Engineering. TSC, America

Building Parts for the Strict Auto Electronics Market Pays Off

Kevin Parmenter, Director, Applications Engineering. TSC, America

Besides broadcast radio receivers, electronics for actual vehicle operation started in the 1970s when they replaced traditional points and the distributor. Today, the automotive electronics market is at the forefront of the industry's transformation, with electrification, autonomy, connectivity and safety being its

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Figure 1: A typical multicomponent wired BMS network (left) and the simpler arrangement made possible by wBMS technology (right)

Electrification Technology Accelerates Sustainable Transportation

Patrick Morgan, Corporate Vice President, Analog Devices

EVs are still not affordable for many, while for others their perceived value is still unclear. Government economic policies can support the EV agenda to a point, but disruptive innovation in electrification technology across transportation and the energy grid, business services must lead the way in breaking dow

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Figure 1: An electric vehicle's battery pack. (Source: Nissan)

An Engineer's Guide to EV Battery Management Systems

Mark Patrick, Mouser Electronics

An EV's primary energy source is a battery pack (Figure 1). A pack is typically designed to fit on the vehicle's underside, between the front and back wheels, and occupies the space usually reserved for a transmission tunnel, exhaust, and fuel tank in an internal combustion vehicle. Keeping the pack as low as poss

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Figure 1: Enhanced temperature stability ensures consistent efficiency under all conditions

The SiC Evolution and GaN Revolution for Electric Vehicles

Llew Vaughan-Edmunds, Sr. Director, Navitas Semiconductor

Governments worldwide, seeking to meet climate-change pledges, are driving the transition to electric vehicles through legislation and financial inducements. According to Fortune Business Insights, the total global market for battery and hybrid electric vehicles will grow from $500 billion in 2023 to almost $1

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Figure 1. Critical stages in the battery cell manufacturing process

Accelerating Life Cycle Testing for Battery Cell Manufacturing

Hwee Yng Yeo, Industry & Solutions Marketing Manager, Keysight Technologies

Gigafactories have helped boost Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cell production from a capacity of 4 to 10 GWh per year to 40 to 80 GWh per year. Bringing cost efficiency to the forefront, high-volume battery cell production has led to a 90% plunge in EV battery prices over the past decade. Scaling up battery c

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Figure 1: ADAS/AD Levels, highlighting also the hands on/off features

How PCIe Makes the Car of Tomorrow Possible Today

Richard Herbert, automotive networking product marketing manager for Microchip Technology’s USB and Networking business unit

The development of basic Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is now commonplace, but to enable enhanced features—even ones we have not dreamt of yet— that bridge varying levels of complexity, there is a need to provision vehicles with high-performance SoCs and connect them to a standard communication

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Powering Electromobility Applications in Harsh Environments

Rutronik, Technical Marketing Team

Perhaps the most fascinating example of electromobility occurred in April 2021: the maiden flight of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. Although electric vehicles on Earth do not have to operate in such harsh environments, their power electronics still need to work reliably in difficult conditions. When Ingenuity to

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Figure 1: IoT Applications

Advanced Battery-Management ICs are Essential Elements Powering the Growth of Smart IoT Devices

Eileen Ni Sun, Founder & CEO, GLF Integrated Power

The term Internet of Things, or IoT, was first developed in the late 1990s and was related to RFID technology. Over the two decades since being developed, IoT has flourished to include literally billions of nodes, each with its unique IP address. The notion of “smart” IoT is a relatively new development. The

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Figure 1. DC-optimized systems allow for two panels to be connected in series, meaning that, upon rapid shutdown initiation, the maximum voltage within the array is 125VDC

How to Ensure Safety under UL 3741 - Understanding the Risks and Limitations of Some Solutions Without DC Optimization

Bill Brooks, Jason Bobruk, and Kleber Facchini, SolarEdge Technologies

The introduction of the UL 3741 Standard for Photovoltaic Hazard Controlin 2020 was hailed as an important milestone in the solar industry’s continuing drive to improve solar system safety. Building on rapid shutdown best practice first introduced in NEC 2014, it was conceived to equip the solar industry with

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Driving Home for Christmas

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Welcome to the December edition of Power Systems Design Europe. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone here at PSD. We really appreciate you choosing to read the magazine every month. For the industry, it has generally been a good year al

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Date:

12/01/2023

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Jason Lomberg, North America Editor, PSD

Transporting us Through the Holidays and the New Year

Jason Lomberg, North America Editor, PSD

Welcome to the December issue, and an early happy holiday to one and all! Hopefully, everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with good food and good company and no one got trampled to death in search of increasingly mediocre deals (because in our digital world, it’s making less and less sense to stand in l

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Date:

12/01/2023