Vibration is an important design consideration in many electronic applications such as industrial, automotive, aerospace and marine systems, and consumer white goods and disc drives. Even electronic devices designed for use in relatively vibration-free environments can be subjected to potentially damaging vibration during shipment. The concepts related to vibration also find utility in computer graphics, […]
Test and Measurement Tips
Quantifying and measuring non-electrical phenomena: Heat
Heat involves the transfer of energy to or from a thermodynamic system. ‘Heat flow’, although commonly used, is a redundant term since heat is defined as the flow (or transfer) of thermal energy. Thermal energy is the kinetic energy of molecules and atoms. A Joule (J) is the International System (SI) unit of heat, work, […]
Quantifying and measuring non-electrical phenomena – Light
Light has varying definitions; it’s usually limited to the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, but sometimes it’s defined to include the near-infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) portions. For example, LidAR (light detection and ranging) uses various portions of UV, visible, or near IR spectrum to image objects. And ‘light’ has a different definition if […]
MIPI M-PHY high-speed GEAR 5 UFS 4.0 protocol analyzer/exerciser sports solder-in probes
The Eclipse M52 Analyzer/Exerciser supports the next generation of M-PHY High Speed Gear 5 (HS-G5), UniPro 2.0/UFS 4.0 development and can be configured now with the new GEAR 5 solder-in probes. The Eclipse M52 analyzer/exerciser assists design and test engineers working with the high data rates and aggressive power management of the UniPro and UFS […]
Upgraded MSO features auxiliary trigger input, offline analysis, and cloud data storage
The newest version of the award-winning 5 Series mixed signal oscilloscope (MSO) features numerous enhancements and more versatility while continuing to provide high-fidelity waveforms, unique spectrum analysis capabilities, and flexible signal access appreciated by engineers around the world. Built on the performance and integrity that engineers rely on with the original 5 Series MSO, the […]
Now that’s a test instrument: Inside the Webb space telescope
The Hubble telescope, despite its initial optics crisis, was an enormously successful undertaking that answered far more questions about the universe than originally posed. Now comes the Webb space telescope, the most powerful telescope ever put into space and a successor to Hubble. If successful, it will look farther back in time, image fainter objects […]
Measuring CMOS power use
Virtually all digital, analog and mixed-signal ICs are now done in CMOS due to the technology’s extremely low power consumption, small size and immunity to noise. Low power consumption arises from the use of a two-transistor configuration resulting in zero power consumption except during brief transitions. Interestingly, the bulk of CMOS power dissipation arises because […]
Measuring resonance with a scope and signal generator
One of the first things EE students learn in their ac circuits course is resonance. Electrical resonance, to quickly review, arises in an electric circuit at a frequency called the resonances frequency when the impedances or admittances of circuit elements cancel each other. In some circuits, resonance happens when the impedance between the input and […]
Gaging the thermoelectric effect
The thermoelectric effect can be exploited to convert temperature difference to electric voltage or to convert electric voltage to a temperature difference. And devices incorporating the thermoelectric effect can be built and configured to produce heat when voltage is applied. The effect is distinct from resistive (joule) heating, although in actual practice, both effects may […]
Cooling platform handles up to five single-slot VITA 48.8 backplanes
The new Type 39A CompacFrame holds up to accepts up to five one-slot VPX power & ground backplanes for plug-in cards on 1, 1.2 or 1.5-in pitch designed for use with VITA 48.8 air flow-through (AFT) cooling. The platform facilitates new card and system design implementations and testing for a range of rugged environments, including […]