AC/DC and DC/DC power supplies are normally relatively rugged in normal operation. Nonetheless, there are some protection features built into most of these units to ensure that they do not “self-destruct” or damage associated circuitry – primarily their loads – in the event of a failure or out-of-spec operational mode. (note: in strict terms, a […]
Industry Experts
Power Status: battery monitors matter
For battery powered systems it can be useful to know something about the state of the battery in order to predict remaining battery life. With specific charge/discharge information, you could also manage battery consuming resources to maximize battery life. There are integrated circuits to help with either approach. For simple charge or discharge information, a […]
Top power electronics threads on EDAboard.com – May
(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 threads.) Common mode noise mitigation in offline power supplies – In offline power supplies, common mode emissions […]
The formidable forgotten FETs
The world is full of MOSFETs — they are the cornerstone of most ICs. However, the humble JFET still exists, although it is a bit of a niche market now and not always easy to find. Vishay, who took over the Siliconix brand many years ago, seem to have dropped JFETs now, although Siliconix was one […]
Synchronous buck regulators and overcurrent protection (OCP)
by Haifeng Fan, Intersil, a subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Synchronous buck regulators are widely used in industrial and infrastructure applications to step down 12V rails to point-of-load inputs as low as 0.6V for microcontrollers, FPGAs, memory and peripheral I/Os. Overcurrent protection (OCP) is essential to protect these switching regulators from damage by excessive current. Cycle-by-cycle current […]
What is a charge pump and why is it useful? (Part 1)
It’s a very common challenge in circuits to need to convert an available DC source to a lower or higher voltage. For the high-to-low conversion, one option to use a low dropout regulator (LDO), but how to easily transform a lower voltage into a higher one? For AC voltages, the answer is well-known: use a […]
Avoiding mobile device brownouts
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
How to Protect Li-ion Battery Packs
by Ryan Roderick, Intersil Corporation Today’s Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are seeing increasing use in a wide range of applications, including electric scooters, portable power tools, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. And designing protection circuitry to safeguard them has never been more important. The power FET is an essential safety function in a battery management system […]
