By Andrey Solovev, Chief Technology Officer, Integra Sources One of the purposes of battery management systems is to monitor the state-of-charge and state-of-health of rechargeable batteries. This article will tell you about these two metrics and the methods used to measure them. Rechargeable batteries are used in many solutions, but industries use battery management systems […]
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How an integrated PMIC can optimize your data concentrator design
By Shashank Sharma, Texas Instruments For years, countries have been reforming their advanced metering infrastructure with smart meters, which measure not only electrical energy consumption and transfer that data to utility companies, but also enable two-way communication between the consumer and utility companies. This data includes consumption behavior, system monitoring, tamper detection, and customer billing. […]
GaN in orbit and beyond
Outer space is harsh, but it’s relatively kind to gallium-nitride (GaN) power transistors compared with their Si (Si) counterparts. Si devices require special processing for protection against the total ionizing dose (TID) impact of exposure to radiation in space. GaN has material properties and construction advantages that make it less subject to damage caused by […]
Is Double Pulse Testing inadequate for GaN devices?
Enhancement mode (e-mode) GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) generally behave like n-channel power MOSFETs. Common curve tracers, parametric analyzers, and automatic discrete device parametric testers used for an n-channel power MOSFET can be applicable for the characterization of e-mode GaN transistors, but the implementation details differ for GaN. Typical e-mode GaN HEMTs have very […]
Power system delivery for 5G networks
Special features such as fold-back protection and good dynamic response come in handy for the dc-dc conversion stages powering 5G RANs. Andy Brown, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. With its high speeds, low latency, reliability and potential for rapid scalability, 5G is set to change the way we use and share data and to move concepts […]
How trimming affects thick-film resistor performance
Ordinary thick-film resistors can display varying qualities depending on how the manufacturer elected to trim the device. It pays to know what to look out for. Kory Schroeder, Stackpole Electronics Inc. Surface-mount thick-film chip resistors are the predominant type of resistor in electronic circuits today. This technology is inexpensive; thick-film resistors are produced by screen-printing […]
Basic current sensing considerations in power system design
Size constraints and a need for high efficiency are forcing designers to use more sophisticated current sensing techniques in modern electronics. Teoman Ustun, ACEINNA The historical mindset of power design being an afterthought in the overall system architecture is changing. Before the focus of electronic design shifted to power efficiency, it was a common practice […]
Better thermal management of eGaN FETs
A few simple thermal management guidelines can help conduct heat away from GaN FETs. Assaad Helou, Efficient Power Conversion Enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN) FETs offer high power-density with ultra-fast switching and low on-resistance, all in a compact form factor. However, the power levels these high-performance devices provide can be limited by extreme heat-flux densities. If […]
How reliable are GaN HEMTs?
GaN HEMTs are very reliable, but the precise answer is still being refined. Reliability relates to anticipated useful life and is typically measured in mean-time-to-failure. Reliability can be anticipated and determined in advance by testing and measurement. Proving and improving device reliability is an ongoing process. It begins with a device under test (DUT) being […]
What is d-GaN, e-GaN and v-GaN power?
Gallium-nitride (GaN) power semiconductors are well-established, but compared with silicon (Si) devices, GaN is still an evolving power device technology. Most power designers have at least explored the use of GaN, whether it’s been depletion-mode (d-GaN) normally-on devices, enhancement-mode (e-GaN) normally-off devices, a cascode combination of a Si MOSFET with a d-GaN device to form […]