By Chuck Wong, Intersil, a Renesas Company With the ever-increasing performance of mobile application processors and GPUs, the need for a buck-boost regulator to stabilize the Li-ion battery supply-voltage terminals is becoming more and more important. Buck-boost regulators prevent brownout (a condition where power is briefly lost) by boosting the supply voltage during the notching […]
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What’s the difference between current sourcing and sinking?
Current can flow in two different ways with respect to the load. Sensors often provide real-world, analog input for embedded applications. MCUs rely on sensors to be their electronic “senses” and actuators to physically interact with world. Interfacing with external devices requires some planning on the part of the designer to ensure efficient operation. One […]
Non-toxic thermoelectric energy harvester could help enable the IoT
Energy scavenging electronics has long used the thermoelectric Seebeck effect to convert temperature differences into electric voltage. A Seebeck device creates voltage when there is a different temperature on each side. One bugaboo with using thermoelectrics, however, is that most employ toxic materials. But in a development that could help enable a variety of internet-of-things […]
What is the difference between energy harvesting and energy scavenging?
During the first decade of this century, advances in several disparate technologies set the stage for a substantial rise in autonomous and semi-autonomous remote intelligent-node deployments that continues to this day. This trend arose in applications as different as hydrological surveying, transportation tracking and management, and machine health. It also has kicked off a flurry […]
Deficiencies in energy efficiency
tests of TVs get attention
H.R.117 – The Energy Efficiency Free Market Act of 2017 – introduced in Congress in January would prohibit the Dept. of Energy (DOE) from enforcing energy efficiency standards now on the books or setting new ones. If the Bill is enacted, one result will be making moot what seem to be misleading energy efficiency figures […]
What are amplifier classes and their relation to power efficiency (Part 2)?
In Part 1, we looked at Class A, B, AB, C, and D amplifiers. These designations are standardized, fully defined, and widely recognized. Now we’ll look at a few other topologies which are less well known but also used. The Class G amplifier is similar to the Class AB amplifier except that is uses two […]
What are amplifier classes and their relation to power efficiency (Part 1)?
Despite the contention that “everything is going digital,” amplifiers of analog signals have always been and continue to be important and unavoidable functions in real circuits and systems. Yet amplifiers which must produce significant output power from audio to RF face challenges of performance and efficiency. The industry has some long-established designations for classes of […]
Forced Air Cooling and Fan Selection
It’s easy to over-specify a cooling fan. But there are ways of keeping temperature down with fans that are sized just right. JEFF SMOOT | CUI INC. THE FIRST STEP in any thermal management task is understanding the thermal path taken for removing excess heat. Most systems, and particularly those that employ an enclosure, will […]
Top power electronics threads on EDAboard.com – February
(editor’s note: Intrigued by these power electronics problems? Have a question or another solution? Then click the “Read more” link and follow the conversation on EDAboard.com or log in to EDAboard and participate in the power electronics forum thread.) Circuit to detect 240 or 380 V AC – I need to make a circuit that can […]
The basics of thermistors in thermal management
Thermistors can reliably switch in thermal protection to keep power electronics cool. SONJA BROWN | EPCOS, A TDK GROUP CO. All semiconductors generate thermal losses, of course. Thermal losses in power semiconductors can range from a few watts to multiple kilowatts. In heatsinks, the conductive capability is typically measured in °K/W. The smaller the conductive […]