A group of researchers from Purdue University have experimentally demonstrated how to harness a property called negative capacitance to reduce power consumption in MOSFETs. The negative capacitance arises in ferroelectric materials. When a voltage pulse is applied, the voltage across the ferroelectric capacitor is found to decrease with time in exactly the opposite direction to […]
DVR records audio/video on microSD storage media in MP4, captures JPEG images on the fly
A/V outputs on the Model 4031 digital video recorder allow live video, recorded A/V or JPEG snapshots to be displayed on an external monitor. Date and time are maintained by a real-time clock with battery backup. Implementation of a complete embedded DVR takes just a power connection, an optional custom keypad, and a microSD storage […]
“(Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know about Capacitors” workshop to be pre-APEC event
The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and the IEEE Power Electronics Society (IEEE PELS) are jointly sponsoring an all-day workshop titled, “(Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know About Capacitors But Were Afraid to Ask,” on Saturday, March 3, 2018, the day before the start of and in the same venue as APEC 2018 at the […]
GaN power transistor is eight times smaller than equivalent 40-V MOSFETs
The EPC2049 power transistor targets uses in applications that include point-of-load converters, LiDAR, envelope tracking power supplies, Class-D audio, and low-inductance motor drives. Developed by EPC, the EPC2049 has a voltage rating of 40 V and maximum RDS(on) of 5 mΩ with a 175-A pulsed output current. The chip-scale packaging of The EPC2049 handles thermal […]
Class I/II 500-W configurable medical supplies work with low airflow, meet Curve B EMI specs
The XMS500 series of ac-dc power supplies are rated at 500 W output power and have a Class I and Class II (no earth ground connection) construction. The series conforms to curve B conducted and radiated emissions, with a 6-dB margin and has a low leakage current of less than 150 µA. The high operating […]
30/60-W medical Class I, II supplies meet Curve B radiated/conducted emissions
The CUS30M and CUS60M series of ac-dc power supplies, rated at 30 and 60-W output power, are certified to medical and ITE standards for Class I and II operation. The products meet both curve B radiated and conducted emissions without the need for additional filtering or shielding. The CUS30M and 60M target applications include medical, […]
I2C-programmable XOs provide superior jitter performance for 100/200/400G apps
A new family of high-performance I2C-programmable crystal oscillators (XOs) are said to deliver best-in-class jitter performance and frequency flexibility. With typical jitter performance as low as 95 fsec, the Si544/Si549 Ultra Series programmable XOs maximize jitter margin for clocking high-speed 28 Gbps and 56 Gbps transceivers used in 100/200/400G communications and data center applications. The […]
How’d they do that? Researchers connect 3D-printed sensors to WiFi without using electronics
A group of researchers at the University of Washington have figured out a way to make 3D-printed objects emit WiFi signals containing status information, all without using electrical power. The technique uses what’s called WiFi backscattering. The method is to make the 3D-printed device amplitude-modulate a WiFi signal coming from a conventional source such as […]
Teardown: Inside Sphero’s R2-D2 toy
Our teardown of R2-D2 shows what’s inside this little droid with a big personality. One of the hot new toys released in advance of the new Star Wars movie is R2-D2 by Sphero, the same toymaker that developed the BB8 for the 2015 Star Wars sequel called The Force Awakens. As with the BB8, R2 […]
Connectors get a new outer shell design
The outer shell for the widely used Lemo S Series connector has been redesigned with an iconic “chocolate block” look. The S Series uses the half-moon insert configuration and is fully compatible with the existing S Series connectors that have been commercially available since the early 1960s. Both the straight plug and free receptacle now […]