Technical Features

August 2018
DC/DC Flyback Converter

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Figure 1: Power stage of the flyback converter (simplified)

Isolated flyback converters often use optocouplers in the feedback loop to regulate the output voltage. As part of the compensation circuit, its parameters such as CTR influence the control loop and must be taken into account in the flyback converter design. The flyback converter is an isolated switching power
Date:
04/01/2024
Capacitive Isolation: The Future AC/DC Power Conversion

Figure 1: Various Galvanic Isolation Technologies

Capacitive isolation is a mature solution developed over the past decade to replace optocouplers in signal isolators, isolated gate drivers, isolated transceivers, and other applications. However, the potential to use capacitive isolation to replace optocouplers in offline adaptors is often neglected. This articles ex
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Date:
08/31/2018

A Quick Guide to Automotive DC-DC Converter Test

Figure 1. Block Diagram

An automotive DC-DC converter receives high-voltage battery output and converts it to a lower voltage to power on board devices such as the instrumentation panel, entertainment system, sensors, LED lighting, and any other on board devices requiring low voltage DC power.  Manufacture’s strategies in DC-DC co
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Date:
08/31/2018
Novel robotics technologies rely on sufficient power semis
People have been infatuated with controllable machines for a very long time. Today robots are in our immediate surroundings, leaning away from industry-based usage and shifting the focus toward becoming our everyday helpers. With the commercialization of robots, modern engineering designs stress how important it
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Date:
08/31/2018
Precision Meets Power, It's the Refulator

Figure 1. LT6658 Typical Application

Precision analog designers often rely on the quiet humble voltage reference to power their DAC and ADC converters. This is beyond the fundamental role of the reference, which is designed to solely provide a clean precise stable voltage to a converter’s reference input. With some caveats, this usually works, wh
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Date:
08/30/2018
Squaring the Circle

Figure 1: Hardly larger than a conventional sensor, but with unparalleled dynamic range: the R&S NRQ6 frequency selective power sensor.

It may sound obvious, but for precise power measurements with RF signals the instrument of choice is an RF power meter. Two power detection technologies have become established: thermal measurements and diode measurements. Thermal power sensors determine power based on the heat generated by an input signal in a
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Date:
08/30/2018
Picking the Right Hipot Tester for the Job

Figure 1. Hipot is applied to both conductors and leakage is measured in return circuit through the ground connection

Hipot testers offer a range of capabilities starting with dielectric withstand and insulation resistance testing but also, in many instances, providing accurate low-resistance measurements and low-resistance/high-current outputs to test ground resistance and ground bond integrity.  Selecting the right one for
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Date:
08/30/2018
Battery Testing with an Electronic Load

Figure 1 – Battery Application mode on RIGOL’s DL3000 Series Electronic Load

As the electronics industry continues to grow, so does the need for better batteries, and battery technology that reduces their size, improves their reliability, and increases their capacity.  Engineers require an instrument that is capable of testing batteries to ensure they can meet the requirements of th
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Date:
08/30/2018
Microcontrollers Evolve to Support BLDC Automotive Needs

Figure 1 - PC Board

As car manufacturers strive to find ways to increase energy efficiency, and therefore reduce CO2 emissions, the adoption of low-powered, low-weight electric motors for auxiliary units - which work separately from the main drive motor - is on the increase. The electrification of comfort and safety devices like fa
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Date:
08/01/2018
Simplifying Complex Measurements With a Source Measure Unit

Figure 1. The use of one SMU channel on the input terminal and another on the output terminal replaces several instruments.

In today’s fast paced world of electronics design, complexity represents evil and must be avoided at all cost while simplicity represents all that is right and good. Ok, maybe it’s not quite that extreme, but when it comes to test and measurement, simplicity is the engineer’s best friend because it saves ti
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Date:
08/01/2018
Technology-Driven Optimization for Power and Thermal Tradeoffs

Figure 1 – Highest optimization potential exists at the system-level

Traditionally the key concerns and optimization targets in chip development have been summarized as “PPA”—performance, power and area. Depending on the application domain, the relative weighting of those three design objectives can vary greatly. In mobile devices, power has been key for quite some time. In
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Date:
08/01/2018
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