Technical Features

    April 2015
    Transformer Design Comparisons for Mitigating EMI in Gate Driver Circuits

    Click image to enlarge

    Figure 1: Gate driver circuit diagram with a Bourns transformer

    While gate driver-based converters deliver improved efficiency, speed and signal integrity, their high frequency switching features can produce elevated levels of conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI), posing challenges to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and overall system reliability. To solve this
    Date:
    03/29/2026
    Tantalum surface mount capacitors with a solid electrolyte have been the favorite capacitor technology choice in many electronic devices for more than five decades, thanks to their stability, high reliability, and superior volumetric efficiency. The traditional manganese dioxide (MnO2) cathode material provides go
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    Date:
    04/30/2015
    Electric motors collectively consume a substantial portion of global electricity. According to the research firm IHS Technology, 96% of a motor’s lifetime costs are represented by pure electricity costs.  Regulators have imposed more stringent energy standards for them, and manufacturers are scrutinizing th
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    Date:
    04/30/2015
    The use of power diodes and Thyristors in applications such as small and large appliances, such as UPS systems, AC/DC rectifiers, and variable speed motor drives is the primary source of harmonic distortion in AC grid or mains current. Due to the source impedance of the mains power, the harmonic load current cau
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    Date:
    04/30/2015
    Like many steel mills throughout the world, a recent TMEIC customer in Tuscaloosa was searching for a solution to increase production at its facility. An aging steel rolling Steckel mill, powered by large DC motors and controlled by variable speed DC drives was limiting the full production potential of the mill. Fi
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    Date:
    04/30/2015
    Software is playing an increasingly prominent role in networking at a system architecture level, but it also has growing importance in the future in the delivery of power. Digital control, the use of power-optimization software algorithms and the concept of the Software Defined Power Architecture are all being se
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    Date:
    04/29/2015
    Advances in multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) technology now offer designers a high-capacitance alternative to traditional electrolytic capacitors. New high-value MLCCs provide the advantages of lower equivalent series resistance (ESR) and inductance (ESL) than electrolytics, and demonstrated mean time to fa
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    Date:
    04/29/2015
    The technique of paralleling power converters and phase shifting their outputs is not new, and “interleaving” (as it is known) has been used in a number of applications to reduce the size of input and output capacitors. These include the 42V/14V DC-DC converters found in dual-voltage vehicle electrical systems and
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    Date:
    04/29/2015
    Battery-powered equipment with high-sensitivity analog front-end (AFE) circuits must often operate in the presence of active battery charging. Equipment examples are mobile software-defined radios, portable ultrasound medical imaging systems, and wearable patient-monitoring devices. Depending on the application, an
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    Date:
    04/29/2015
    To better understand why Industrial automation is so important, a few trends need to be discussed and reviewed. First up is sustainability. Sustainability, in terms of energy and resource efficiency, is a key ingredient for the success of the global manufacturing industry. The growing focus on the implement
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    Date:
    04/29/2015
    Archive

    Transformer Design Comparisons for Mitigating EMI in Gate Driver Circuits

    Mar 29,2026
    Matthew Russell, Master’s student at University College Cork, and a student engineer at Bourns Electronics Ireland

    1250 V/1700 V GaN HEMTs for NVIDIA 800 VDC Architecture

    Jan 31,2026
    Kamal Varadarajan & Chris Lee, Power Integrations

    Future-Proof Automotive High-Voltage-to-SELV Conversion

    Dec 30,2025
    Greg Green, Director of Automotive Marketing, Vicor

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