We went into our article archives to uncover the most widely read posts on powerelectronictips.com over the past 12 months. Here for your reading (or re-reading?) pleasure are the top 10 stories: Teardown: What’s inside a Phillips Sonicare electric toothbrush? How and when MOSFETS blow up Gallery: Scenes from Texas Instruments’ power supply design seminar […]
Power Management
Basics of understanding power factor and power factor correction
In qualitative terms, power factor is a measure of the congruency of voltage and current ac waveforms imposed by a load on the power mains. Ignoring the relative phase of the two waveforms, the apparent power (S) is the simple product of the waveform amplitudes, S = V × I. Limiting our focus for now […]
600-V intelligent power modules handle motor control, industrial uses
ON Semiconductor has launched new intelligent power module (IPM) technologies for industrial power management and motor control applications. Reinforcing the company’s position as a leading supplier of IPMs, the company’s new STK57FU394AG-E (15A) and STK5MFU3C1A-E (30A) are advanced 600 V IPMs that integrate a power factor correction (PFC) converter, three-phase inverter output stage, pre-drive circuitry […]
Precision voltage reference offers low noise and drift
Linear Technology announces the LT6658, a precision voltage reference that incorporates two high current output buffers. Based on a 2.5V bandgap voltage reference, each output can be separately configured for any voltage between 2.5V and 6V. Both outputs offer 0.05% initial accuracy, 10ppm/°C temperature drift and only 1.5ppm of low frequency noise. The outputs can […]
Formula E racers lighten up thanks to SiC inverter technology
The first race of the new 2016/2017 Formula E season in Hong Kong featured an inverter built with silicon-carbide power semiconductors. The inverter helps power a car raced by the Venturi Formula E team, sponsored by the Japanese semiconductor ROHM. Formula E, of course, is an open-cockpit race series styled after Formula 1 but using […]
Better thermal design means better efficiency
The strategic use of computational fluid dynamics can speed the development of high-tech products. BORIS MAROVIC, JOHN PARRY MENTOR GRAPHICS CORP. TRADITIONALLY, analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) took place late in the design process once changes to part geometries had pretty much stopped. But CFD is starting to be applied at earlier stages of […]
Tx/Rx IC boasts 15W in-vehicle charging and enhanced driver usability
NXP Semiconductors today introduced an innovative 15W wireless charging solution, qualified to meet stringent automotive and industrial grade requirements. Compatible with WPC Qi and PMA charging standards, this complete solution allows automakers to easily transition from 5W to 15W capabilities, giving drivers a faster in-vehicle charging experience for mobile phones, tablets, and wearables. The new […]
40-V, 2.1-A Rail-to-Rail LDO now works at 150°C
Linear Technology Corporation announces a new higher temperature “H-grade” version of the LT3086 in the TSSOP package. The LT3086 is part of Linear’s feature-rich LDO+™ family, offering significant functionality previously unavailable in linear regulators. The 40V, 2.1A low dropout linear regulator (LDO) includes current monitoring with externally settable current limit and temperature monitoring with external […]
Power management IC boasts ultra-low-power boost converter for high efficiency
Following its arrival on the power semiconductor scene earlier this year, e-peas today announces commercial availability of its first IC. The AEM10940 utilizes the company’s unique proprietary energy management technology in order to maximize the efficiency with which electronic hardware draws energy from the ambient environment. This device, which is now in full scale production, […]
Spice sims handle 16FFC FinFET and 7-nm FinFET processes
Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT) today announced further enhancements and optimizations for various products within the Calibre® Platform, and Analog FastSPICE (AFS™) Platform, as well as the completion of further certifications and reference flows for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) 16FFC FinFET and 7nm FinFET processes. Moreover, the Calibre offering has been extended on additional […]