Technical Features

May 2012
Molded Power Inductors

Figure 1a here

Figure 1a: Saturation current (Isat) comparison between a hard saturation ferrite power inductor (orange color) and soft saturation powdered alloy power inductor (blue color) at different ambient temperatures displayed by REDEXPERT. Saturation at an ambient temperature of 20ºC

Higher power requirements and miniaturization expose passives to rising temperatures, increasing the probability of thermal aging. This article explores how to select molded high-current power inductors, which are exposed to high temperatures for an extended time. The constant market demand to increase power density
Date:
09/28/2024
Next-generation commercial building network-connected lighting systems

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Lighting controls for next generation lighting.

A significant percentage of a building's energy consumption is due to its lighting. Historically, lighting was a coarsely controlled power load, managed manually with a simple on-off switch. With
. . . Learn More
Date:
05/21/2012
What to expect from your LED driver

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Incandescent light bulbs (blue curves) are purely resistive, LEDs (red curves) are not.

LEDs are gaining significant traction in the lighting market due to their long operating lifetime, low running cost, and ease of control for specific applications. However, in order to realize
. . . Learn More
Date:
05/20/2012
LED-driver ICs lead to a broad spectrum of lighting

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: The LT3791 Driving a 3 A LED Array at up to 100 W

Incandescent light bulbs waste 90% of the energy they consume in the form of heat. The light outputs from HB (high-brightness) LEDs have already exceeded the critical milestone of 100 lm/W. In fact,
. . . Learn More
Date:
05/20/2012
Smart and simple sensor interfaces

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Modern robotic systems featuring sophisticated multi-axis arms are adding to factory productivity and safety. Simply picking up an object can require several sensors.

Automation is providing improvements in safety, accuracy, and convenience for many everyday applications. Consider the precision and advantages of computer-assisted surgery or the array of automation
. . . Learn More
Date:
05/20/2012
High-power LED-lighting drivers

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Resonant driver for high-power LED-lighting applications.

Solid-state lighting applications such as streetlights and industrial lighting demand drivers that offer better efficiency than the traditional flyback topology in the 50—250 W power range. As
. . . Learn More
Date:
05/19/2012
Flicker and dimmer challenges in LED-lamp design

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: One-Stage Approach: The driver converts an AC-rectified line voltage to the necessary DC current through a flyback transformer and filter. Unfortunately, the rectified voltage contains ripple at twice the line frequency (100 or 120 Hz).

The SSL (solid-state lighting) industry is in a state of excitement mixed with trepidation. With the obvious need for lighting more efficient than traditional incandescents, key market drivers
. . . Learn More
Date:
05/19/2012
Closed-loop voltage scaling

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Development of CNA ASICs

For some designs, reducing circuit-board power dissipation by 25% to 30% would just be a nice outcome. For other designs, it's an absolute necessity. Designers of products using the latest high-performance
. . . Learn More
Date:
05/19/2012
Archives