Battery chemistries each have special qualities that can make certain cells impractical for varying kinds of internet-of-things applications. Sol Jacobs | Tadiran Batteries Circuit designers often find themselves in the position of trying to squeeze as much life as possible out of a battery. Today there is much discussion about boosting battery life through use […]
FAQ
Flyback power converters, Part 1: basic principles
Among the many available topologies used for power-supply converters, the flyback design offers some distinct advantages along with unique idiosyncrasies. There’s a wide and diverse array of power-supply converter topologies among which to choose, each with tradeoffs in their various performance attributes and cost. The flyback design is a converter approach that has been used […]
Working with higher voltages, Part 2: Voltage multipliers
In part 1 of the FAQ, we looked at techniques for a modest amount of boosting of lower voltages, as well as for increasing a voltage to a much higher value. The techniques discussed thus far boost and thus multiply the voltage, but what are called voltage “multipliers” usually give push voltages to much-higher values. […]
Working with higher voltages, Part 1: Voltage boosters
Whether for efficiency or due to the device physics, many applications require voltages ranging in the tens, hundreds, or even thousands of volts; the circuits which produce these voltages start with basic charge pumps and extend to voltage multipliers with simple schematics but many subtleties. Lower-voltage circuitry is the trend, with ICs and designs operating […]
Powering graphics processors from a 48-V bus
New converter topologies and power transistors promise to reduce the size and boost the efficiency of supplies that will run next-generation AI platforms. Alex Lidow | Efficient Power Conversion Artificial Intelligence (AI), gaming, cloud computing, and autonomous vehicles all employ the latest generation of graphics processors (GPUs) in lieu of CPUs. The reasoning is that […]
Key factors in power supply selection
It pays to understand a few important electrical parameters that can dictate the kind of applications specific power supplies can handle. Florian Haas | Traco Power Group A few basic factors go into the selection of low-voltage dc/dc and ac/dc power supplies for OEM use. At the risk of stating the obvious, the key objective […]
Power operating limits: How to choose the right power supply
Not all power supplies react to over and under-voltages and currents in the same way. It pays to know the tradeoffs of different approaches to protection. Ron Stull | CUI Inc. Power supplies can experience operating conditions outside normal specified limits, such as input under- or over-voltage, or variations in load and ambient temperature. These […]
Why wide bandgap HEMTs excel at efficient power conversion
High electron mobility transistors reduce power supply size thanks to special make-up that eliminates sources of energy loss. Andrea Bricconi | Wei Deng, Infineon Technologies AG It is an exciting time for power supply designers. We are learning how devices based on wide bandgap (WBG) materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) […]
Power supply designers take a hard look at soft magnetics
The promise of high efficiency and small size brought by super-fast switching power supplies could be delayed by a lack of magnetic materials that are up to the task. Leland Teschler | Executive Editor Eyeball the schedule for APEC, considered the premier technical conference for power electronics, and you’ll notice a number of sessions devoted […]
Keys to understanding resistor specs
The specification process for resistors involves more than just allowing for tolerance bands. Voltage, power, and temperature ratings can interact in ways that can degrade circuit reliability. Kory Schroeder, Stackpole Electronics, Inc. Although not a complex component, resistors have specifications that can be confusing, misleading, and misinterpreted. When specifying performance qualities, it is important to […]