Technical Features

June 2020

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

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

Pete Losee, Senior Engineering Manager – Power Devices, Qorvo

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

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Date:

05/30/2023

Table 1. LV123 Operational status vs. operating voltage ranges

Electric Vehicle Power Electronics Push Test Equipment Performance Limits

Zeke Pietsch, Senior Support Engineer, EA Elektro-Automatik, Inc.

Power Electronics in New Vehicle Systems Automotive electronics are changing in dramatic ways. While it is true that “traditional” internal combustion engine vehicles still dominate the market, the automotive world is racing into a disruptive future. The market demand for reduction in the use of fossil fuels

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Date:

06/30/2020

Figure 1. Power Consumption Characteristics Comparison

Automotive Exterior Lighting Solutions

Stefan Drouzas, Senior Application Marketing Manager, ROHM Semiconductor GmbH

Changing exterior lamps from bulbs to LEDs makes it possible to achieve smaller, thinner light sources, allowing more manufacturers to improve lamp design. To improve design, it is necessary to increase LED output while reducing the power consumption of the LED drive control circuit along with size. At the same ti

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Date:

06/01/2020

DALI-2 Tunable White

DALI-2 and D4i Certifications Add Features and Benefits

Tim Whitaker, DiiA

DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) protocol is a mainstream dedicated protocol for digital lighting control that enables the easy installation of robust, scalable and flexible lighting networks. The protocol, or language, is based on bi-directional digital communication between lighting-control products. Th

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Date:

06/01/2020

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Figure 1. Isolators are essential to ensure the safety of both devices (machines and equipment) and human operators

How Isolation Technology Enables Energy Sustainability

Asem Elshimi, Silicon Labs

Isolators are required to ensure our safety when operating equipment and to protect sensitive components within the equipment. They also maintain critical data (signal) integrity by providing immunity against external noise sources in safety-critical process control equipment. Countless devices must be i

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Date:

06/01/2020

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Figure 1. Saft's Xcelion battery line uses proprietary materials and design to produce enhanced safety and performance

Batteries Can Spark Problems, Right Chemistry is the Answer

Scott Ferguson, Global Xcelion Product Manager, Saft

Poor battery system design can hurt business and consumers. Several high-profile battery failures in recent years caused fires and expensive recalls. Batteries in Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 experienced overheating ultimately linked to a battery defect. The resulting fires and explosions sparked two recalls a

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Date:

06/01/2020

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Figure 1. Two-Pole Brushed Motor

Driving Brushed DC Motors

David Birks, Applications Engineer, Diodes Incorporated

Recent years have seen growing adoption of brushless DC motors. They are smoother and more efficient than brushed motors and have lower maintenance demands and higher torque-to-power ratios. On the other hand, brushless motors are also more expensive and require more complicated drive circuitry. This article e

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Date:

06/01/2020

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Figure 1. This LT3942-based demonstration circuit (DC2404A) showcases a high performance, compact DC/DC regulator solution specifically for, in this case, driving LEDs.

2 MHz, Monolithic, Buck-Boost DC/DC Converter and LED Driver

Kyle Lawrence, Applications Engineer, Analog Devices

To meet increasingly stringent size requirements for compact electronic devices, IC designers bring external components inside of their devices to minimize the external component count. Of the various circuits required to build any electronic device, DC/DC converters are as challenging to shrink in size as

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Date:

06/01/2020

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Figure 1. Industrial Security Camera in Action.

LED Monitors Power Savings for PoE Security Cameras

Yangyang Wen & Nazzareno (Reno) Rossetti, Maxim Integrated

Demand for industrial video surveillance equipment (Figure 1) is rapidly growing. Businesses benefit from using video systems that provide higher security for customers and employees. They help detect theft and monitor employees to make sure they are complying with safety guidelines. A new growth ar

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Date:

06/01/2020

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Figure 1: Evolution of the current sensor’s size over the decades

Miniaturization for Current Sensing in Power Conversion

Mark Spiering, Technical Support Manager, LEM USA

The traditional way to measure current is to use Open Loop Hall effect sensors. The magnetic field created by a current is captured by a magnetic core and measured by a Hall element. More recently, dedicated ASICs helped to increase the overall accuracy of the system using advanced compensation techniques. LEM first mov

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Date:

06/01/2020