Researchers in Sweden have come up with a way of putting gallium-nitride transistor structures on a silicon-carbide substrate that potentially lowers the ON resistance of power FETs by an order of magnitude below that of commercial devices available now. The scientists hail from Sweden’s Linköping University and SweGaN, a spin-off company from materials science research […]
Programmable dc loads feature high-speed pulse and transient loading
The DL Series of Digital, Programmable dc Loads, are designed to support the testing requirements for the latest generation of off-line power supplies, dc-dc converters and LED drivers. The DL Series is also equipped to handle a wide range of battery testing requirements. The devices are offered in three power ratings (125 W, 250 W […]
Ethernet switch passes 1000BASE-T1 compliance tests for automotive apps
Rohde & Schwarz and Marvell were the first companies to successfully execute 1000BASE-T1 compliance tests, for the Marvell’s 88Q2112 Ethernet transceiver, using an R&S RTO oscilloscope. The latest improvements to the R&S RTP oscilloscope family include the 16-GHz acquisition bandwidth required to perform signal integrity tests and debugging for SerDes, LVDS, PCIe Gen 3.0, MIPI […]
Five-year tests help reveal why PV modules poop out
Some PV solar panels degrade long before others, a fact that makes it tough to estimate the economics of a given solar panel installation. But researchers in Germany are shedding light on solar panel degradation through life tests being run on panels using different PV technologies. Tests took place on PV panels sitting on the […]
Branch feeder monitors get digital fault monitoring upgrade
A Digital Fault Recording (DFR) feature is now among the capabilities of the Model BFM-II Second-Generation Branch Feeder Monitor. Designed specifically for electrical distribution substation applications, the DFR functionality provides substation engineers with critical information regarding relay tripping and reclosure operations, power disturbances and other system anomalies. The BFM-ll’s unique design allows it to easily […]
Industrial Internet Consortium and Trusted IoT Alliance join forces
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and the Trusted IoT Alliance (TIoTA) day they are combining their memberships. Effective immediately, the organizations will work together under the IIC umbrella to drive industry collaboration and research, foster open systems development and promote best practices for trusted IoT systems such as blockchain and related distributed ledger technologies (DLT). […]
Sampling oscilloscopes get built-in 53-Gbaud clock recovery units
A Clock Recovery Unit (CRU) option is now available for the BERTWave MP2110A scope that supports trigger clock generation from a 53-Gbaud PAM4 optical signal. When combined with existing oscilloscope functionality, the new 53-Gbaud CRU allows the MP2110A to serve as an all-in-one solution that can more cost-effectively and efficiently evaluate various PAM4 optical modules […]
Open top socket for QFP48 packages
A new stamped-spring-pin socket addresses high-performance requirements for testing 48-lead Quad flat pack chip packages. The contactor used in the CBT-QFE-3018 socket is a stamped-spring pin with 17-gm actuation force/ball and a cycle life of 10,000+ insertions. The self-inductance of the contactor is 0.88 nH, insertion loss is below 1 dB at 31.7 GHz, and […]
Teardown: D-Rex toy dinosaur
The D-Rex is billed as a ferocious yet loyal dinosaur robot with an independent personality. The toy combines robotics, interactive sensors and reptilian-like skin. He walks, follow the sound of your voice and makes funny noises. Weighing in at about 8.5 lbs, D-Rex stands a little less than two feet high. You interact with D-Rex […]
PSMA/PELS sponsors pre-APEC power electronics capacitor workshop
The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and the IEEE Power Electronics Society (IEEE PELS) are jointly sponsoring its third annual Capacitors in Power Electronics Workshop. This year’s all-day workshop entitled, “How to Choose and Define Capacitor Usage for Emerging Applications,” will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2020, the day before the start of and […]