Technical Features

January 2014

Figure 1: Power schematic circuit for the bi-directional three-level, two-phase converter

Optimizing Flying Capacitor Multilevel Converters for GaN Technology

Alejandro Pozo Arribas, Senior Applications Engineer, Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

Introduction Modern power systems demand higher efficiency, increased power density, and reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI)—all while adhering to shrinking size constraints. Among the converter topologies addressing these challenges, the Flying Capacitor Multilevel (FCML) converter stands out for it

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Date:

05/30/2025

Optimizing power quality under large load transients

Peyman Safa, Agilent Technologies

Today’s integrated circuits are operating faster than ever, and the increased operating speed can lead to highly dynamic power demand from the power supply, posing a challenge during testing using programmable power supplies. The high-speed current waveforms can lead to voltage drops at the integrated circuit. If

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Date:

01/13/2014

RS-485 Communication Link versus the Electric Fence

James Scanlon and Conal Watterson, Analog Devices

Industrial and instrumentation applications (I&I) require transmission of data between multiple systems often over very long distances. The RS-485 bus standard is one of the most widely used physical layer bus designs in I&I applications. Applications for RS-485 include process control networks, in

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Date:

01/12/2014

Using the right power semiconductors can increase your power density

Jifeng Qin, International Rectifier

The steady increase in vehicle production, along with increased demand for car electrification is a worldwide phenomena. It is expected that global vehicle production will grow at around 4% over the rest of the decade. On the other hand, mainly driven by stringent fuel economy requirement and cross-functional ne

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Date:

01/10/2014

Using brushless motors to optimize performance & efficiency in automotive systems

John T. Lee, Miguel Mendoza and Carlos Ribeiro; Micrel

Today's electronic manufacturers are looking for motor solutions that are practical, implementable, energy-efficient and cost-effective. For automotive applications, any technology that also contributes to fuel savings offers an added bonus. Brushless DC (BLDC) motors deliver the best of both worlds. In these mot

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Date:

01/10/2014

Making Isolation Safety Standards Work for You

Mark Cantrell, Analog Devices

In this article we will examine effective ways to use IEC (International Electrical Commission) safety standards to explore the limits of a design by figuring out what standards may apply to a problem amongst the hundreds available. The standards and supporting documents from the IEC are perceived as a burden to

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Date:

01/10/2014

Take Control of Your Power Supply

Bruce Haug, Linear Technology

Did you ever feel like it’s time to take control of your power supplies? If not, you should, since there is a growing trend to configure and monitor power supplies over a digital communications bus. This is frequently referred to as “Digital Power” or “Digital Power System Management” (DPSM). This te

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Date:

01/10/2014

Managing hold up/transparency time in high-reliability power supplies

Christophe Massenet, GAIA Converter

As soon as a power supply designer needs to comply with military standards, he might need to take into account the transparency or holdup requirement. Transparency requirement is the minimum amount of time during which input power can go away but the equipment is expected to remain operational. This power int

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Date:

01/07/2014

Ceramics provide high-voltage insulation for unique gas plasma engine

Marc Fichou, Morgan Advanced Materials

When researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) went looking for a material from which to make a custom-made plasma cavity for a new gas plasma space engine, they were directed to Morgan Advanced Materials, a world leader in high purity Alumina custom-made, high precision ceramic components. After providing

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Date:

01/02/2014