One facet of EV ownership: Thinking of your daily commute power consumption as equivalent to the sunlight hitting 20 ft2 of your lawn. Rudye McGlothlin, Silicon Labs Earlier this year I took my first step into the EV future by buying a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) – a Chevrolet Volt. A unique car in […]
Maxwell’s equations: An intuitive view for engineers
by Asem Elshimi, Design Engineer, Silicon Labs “From a long view of the history of mankind, seen from, say, ten thousand years from now, there can be little doubt that the most significant event of the 19th century will be judged as Maxwell’s discovery of the laws of electrodynamics. The American Civil War will pale into […]
Galvanic isolation for electric vehicle systems
High voltages and high currents circulating in EVs make the fundamentals of electrical isolation techniques an important topic. Ross Sabolcik, Silicon Labs AS automotive designs move toward electrification, high-wattage power electronics become critical to new electronic drivetrain and battery systems. In these applications, digital controllers safely interface with the high-voltage systems of modern electric vehicles […]
Electrical isolation technology at Silicon Labs
When you’re talking about power products and power supplies, galvanic isolation is a big deal. In that area, Silicon Labs has a wide portfolio of products that cover everything from digital isolators, which allow you to isolate a communication bus, or other digital signals up through high powered gate drivers to allow an interface to […]
Advances in Power over Ethernet ICs
Power-over-Ethernet specs have changed over the years — PoE devices have gotten more powerful, and so Ethernet cables are starting to become more like a power line. Silicon Labs’ John Wilson recently did a short video with us about four new power device ICs built with higher PoE power levels in mind. John reviewed demonstrations […]
High-efficiency PoE chips target IP cameras, wireless access points, IP phones and smart lighting
Two new Power over Ethernet (PoE) Powered Device (PD) families called the Si3406x and Si3404 families include all necessary high-voltage discrete components on a single PD chip. The new PD ICs support IEEE 802.3 at PoE+ power capabilities, flexible power conversion options exceeding 90% efficiency, robust sleep/wake/LED support modes, and superior EMI immunity. These capabilities […]
Isolated FET driver family aims at relay replacement apps in industrial and automotive uses
Developers have traditionally used EMRs and optocoupler-based SSRs in switching applications, and both technologies have limitations. EMRs are costly, slow, bulky and noisy. These drawbacks are driving double-digit growth in SSR usage, but even SSRs pose challenges. Optocoupler-based SSRs have inherent limitations such as shorter lifetimes due to LED aging, reduced performance and stability at […]
Isolated gate drivers incorporate protection for HV IGBTs
Silicon Labs has expanded its ISOdriver portfolio with a family of isolated gate drivers designed to protect sensitive insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switches in power inverter and motor drive applications. The new Si828x ISOdriver family provides industrial-grade isolation (5 kVrms withstand), best-in-class feature integration including an optional dc-dc converter, the industry’s fastest desaturation detection, superior timing […]
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