Technical Features

October 2013
Combining Lowest RDS(on) + SMT for Space-Limited, High-Performance Apps

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Figure 1: The Qorvo SiC FET – a ‘cascode’ of a Si-MOSFET and SiC JFET

The performance of wide band-gap (WBG) semiconductor switches such as silicon carbide cascode FETs (‘SiC FET’ henceforth) [1] (Figure 1) and SiC MOSFETs is closely tied to its package. At the pure technology level, nanosecond switching speed and low specific on-resistance result in very low losses, allowing much
Date:
05/30/2023
Using Dynamic Bus Voltage (DBV) technology reduces board level energy usage at times of both high and low data-traffic demand in ICT systems. Energy savings from 3% to 10% are achievable. The European Commission DG INFSO (Directorate General – Information Society) estimates that communications network energy co
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Date:
10/18/2013

Since the recession of 2008–2009, many R&D organizations, including those within the green power and related industries, have had to become leaner and more efficient, just like their products. In addition to all the other cutbacks they’ve made, they are employing fewer dedicated test engineers with in-depth T&
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Date:
10/14/2013
First published in 1977, the internationally accepted IEC 60601-1 standard has been continuously developed to help alleviate safety issues relating to all types of medical equipment. The 3rd edition of this medical safety standard was first published by the IEC in 2005 (IEC60601-1:2005) and was adopted by the Eu
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Date:
10/14/2013
Powering up universal mobile telemedicine

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Figure 1. Global Mobile Sensing Health & Fitness Sensor Shipments.

Universal health care is one of the most important governmental, societal and economic issues in recent time. Attention has been mainly focused on providing health insurance to the uninsured. However,
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Date:
10/11/2013
Solar thermodynamic power challenges traditional PV technology

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In addition to photovoltaic systems to produce solar energy, another technology exists that can make better use of clean energy based on the principle known as thermodynamic solar power. Opened in
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Date:
10/11/2013
Power Management in Health Care Applications

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Figure 1. Typical power chain for portable battery powered home health care device

Different health care applications require different power management solutions. From a power management view, health care is a very interesting market. Though design cycles within health care are
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Date:
10/11/2013
Considering COTS connector solutions for solid-state lighting design:

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Figure 1: AVX's 70-9159 coplanar contact system

Now that the color, quality, and cost issues often associated with early solid-state lighting technologies have been addressed and overcome by so many leading manufacturers, consumers are adopting
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Date:
10/10/2013
Microgrid Market Trends and Outlook

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Figure 1

In the wake of increasing blackouts and brownouts, and particularly after the recent power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy, the need for a more reliant grid is undeniable. One solution is to consider
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Date:
10/10/2013
Enhancing RF system efficiency with bypass mode in hysteretic step-down converters

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Figure 1. Data from the MAX8805W show how a bypass FET affects output voltage line regulation.

A hysteretic DC-DC step-down converter has been widely used in 2G/3G/4G RF power amplifiers (PAs) as a replacement for a direct battery supply to the PA's DC supply. By dynamically adjusting the PA
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Date:
10/04/2013
Customizable Wirewounds in Utility apps

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Figure 1: Devices like these handle thousands of 6KV surges yet fuse quickly under continuous overload

Wirewound resistors have attributes that give them advantages over film resistors. Frequently, engineers have designs that require a resistor to meet specific characteristics in order to satisfy
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Date:
10/01/2013
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