Technical Features

October 2012

Figure 1: Clearance is the line-of-sight distance between conductors in space

Len Crane, Senior Technologist, Coilcraft

New power electronic developments are bringing the hazards of electrical energy closer to users than ever before. There are developing applications like electrified vehicles with 400 v or 800 v batteries, data centers with +/- 400 v racks, and faster switching devices with 650 v or higher ratings. These innova

. . . Learn More

Date:

04/29/2025

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: General usability-engineering design cycle

Enhancing medical-product usability with IEC 62366

Seppo Vahasalo, Product Line Manager, Medical Devices, SGS

Manufacturers are required by the 3rd edition of IEC 60601-1 to avert the poor usability risks involved in identification, marking, and documents, which can be achieved by an "application of usability

. . . Learn More

Date:

10/30/2012

Click image to enlarge

Figure 1: Southampton hands. Across each palm can be seen a dc motor with a worm and wheel to rotate the thumb. Five other motors flex and extend the fingers and thumb. The fingertips have touch (force), slip/texture, and temperature sensors.

Power management of an artificial hand

Dr Paul H Chappell, Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences, University of Southampton

For an upper extremity amputee, mass is a main factor when choosing an artificial hand. A hand should be lightweight so that high pressure points do not develop inside the plastic socket that attaches

. . . Learn More

Date:

10/25/2012

Figure 1: The 8-bit data registers in the SPI Master and Slave devices link through the MISO and MOSI signals to form a 16-bit control register. (Click image to enlarge.)

Optimize data rates in isolated SPI buses

He Junhua, Senior Technical Marketing Engineer, Avago Technologies

The simple SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) bus is a popular serial interface commonly employed in automotive, industrial-control, and communication applications. To provide isolation and minimize

. . . Learn More

Date:

10/21/2012

Click image to enlarge

Table 1: Process-control measures

Reliability of copper wire bonding for power devices

Dr. Arthur Chiang, Director of Reliability Engineering, Vishay Siliconix

Though copper wire bonding developed nearly 30 years ago, it has only recently gained in popularity due to the rapid increase in the price of gold, which is now about 7,000 times that of copper (Reference

. . . Learn More

Date:

10/19/2012

Figure 1: The local-dimming function saves 10 to 20% of power on edge-lit systems (left) and 20 to 30% of power on direct back-lit TVs (right).

The 60-W TV

Paul Wilmarth, Director, Consumer Segment Marketing, ams

TVs in households are regular companions for many people around the world. It is common that people have the TV on in a living room while preparing a meal in the kitchen. In many cases, the TV is

. . . Learn More

Date:

10/18/2012

Reducing standby power consumption for LED Lighting

WonSeok Kang, Senior Application Engineer and Youngbae Park, Application & System Engineering, Power Conversion, Fairchild Semiconductor

LEDs provide high-efficiency, environment-friendly characteristics, and a long life compared to conventional lighting sources. Therefore, they are becoming a primary light-source choice to reduce

. . . Learn More

Date:

10/16/2012