The need to reduce size, weight, and power on satellites and other space systems continue to challenge the aerospace market. Combining more than 20 commonly used functions into a single chip, Microchip Technology Inc. announced the LX7720 radiation-hardened mixed-signal motor controller, the latest addition to its Space System Manager (SSM) product family. As the industry’s first highly […]
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eGaN demo board covers 48-V dc-dc conversion
EPC announces the availability of the EPC9148 and EPC9153 demonstration boards for 48 V DC-DC conversion. The EPC9153 is a 250 W, extremely thin, power module using a simple, low-cost synchronous buck configuration delivering a 98.2% peak efficiency with a maximum component height of 6.5 mm. The EPC9148 utilizes a multilevel topology enabling a maximum […]
Voltage-clamping diodes handle 3-kW transients
To ensure critical operations, aviation and space systems rely on digital and logic functionality and circuitry in engine control units, environmental controls, instruments, and actuators. Data centers, the 5G infrastructure, and communication systems also rely on complex circuitry requiring protection. Each system must operate continuously despite voltage surges and spikes from lightning, solar events and […]
SiC power modules include dual-diode, full-bridge, phase-leg, dual-common-cathode and 3-phase bridge versions
Demand continues to rapidly grow for Silicon Carbide (SiC)-based systems to maximize efficiency and reduce size and weight, allowing engineers to create innovative power solutions. Applications leveraging SiC technology range from electric vehicles and charging stations to smart power grids and industrial and aircraft power systems. Microchip Technology Inc. announced its expanded portfolio of smaller, lighter […]
PoE chipset delivers 90 W over Ethernet cable
As the industry adopts the latest generation of PoE technology for managing data and power over a single Ethernet cable, users face the challenge of making pre-standard powered devices (PDs) work alongside new IEEE 802.3bt-2018-compliant PDs in an existing Ethernet infrastructure. Many proprietary solutions were brought to market through 2018 that support specifications such as […]
Specialized diodes, Part 1: Tunnel, Zener/Avalanche, and Schottky diodes
There are diode varieties which do much more than just block current flow in one direction and allow it in the other; some of these special diodes have favorable attributes while others are essential in modern electronics. Every electronic engineer is familiar with the diode: it’s a basic, widely used, two-terminal semiconductor device. The diode’s […]
Achtung! Power technology on display at PCIM Nuremberg
PCIM Europe is billed as the world’s leading exhibition and conference for power electronics, intelligent motion, renewable energy, and energy management. Recently wrapping up in Nuremberg, the exhibition portion of PCIM featured over 500 booths. Here are some of the more notable technology displays we saw in touring the event. NEXT PAGE: Smaller inverters for […]
Gallery: Cool tech demos at APEC2018, IEEE’s Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition
APEC is considered the premier forum for power electronics developments in the U.S. Recently concluded in San Antonio, Tex., the conference and exposition focused on the practical and applied aspects of the power electronics business. In the pages that follow are a few interesting displays that could be found on the exposition floor. NEXT PAGE: […]
Solar cells and power, Part 2 – power extraction
Part 1 looked at the solar cells themselves; Part 2 looks at how a cell or panel is managed for maximum performance. Q: How can the useful output of a solar cell or panel be maximized? A: While an active, in-use load or a power-generating facility could be connected directly to the output of a […]
Solar cells and power, Part 1 – basic operation
Both small- and large-scale solar power on is an effective way of generating electrical power from an impinging light source, usually the sun. Colloquially, the term may also encompass a local light source such as overhead illumination; thus this, a more-accurate broad term is photovoltaic (PV) power. Although the physics of the solar cell is […]
