With respect to analog signals, a “rail” is a boundary that a signal has to work within. For a long time, operational amplifiers have required opposite but equal voltage supplies. If you see a dual-supply or dual-voltage op amp, it means that two supply voltages power the amplifier; the absolute supply voltage levels are the […]
Analog IC Tips
How IBIS models help with signal analysis
An Input Output Buffer Information Specification (IBIS) model is a standard in the semiconductor industry for modeling semiconductor devices from a behavioral perspective, for both analog and digital perspectives. IBIS modeling enables engineers to describe detailed signal behavior in a circuit design without revealing proprietary information about the circuits (or the processes used to make […]
Eye and Constellation Diagrams, Pt 1
Digital signals representing data symbols may be presumed to be clean, consistent representations of ones and zeroes when they are launched onto their communications medium, whether it is a wired, wireless RF, or optical fiber link. However, due to bandwidth limitations of the medium, external and internal noise, crosstalk, multipath, reflections, and many other unavoidable […]
Hall Effect sensors combine low power consumption with high sensitivity
Silicon Labs brings Hall-effect sensing into the 21st century with a magnetic sensor portfolio offering industry-leading power efficiency, best-in-class sensitivity, flexible I2C configuration, and built-in tamper detection and temperature sensing. Silicon Labs’ new Si72xx portfolio includes the most advanced, feature-rich magnetic sensors available today, outclassing reed switches and traditional Hall-effect devices in a wide range of open/close and position-sensing […]
75-GHz open top socket for BGA1156 packages
A new BGA socket design uses high-performance elastomer capable of 75 GHz bandwidth to give a low inductance and handle wide temperature applications. The GTL-BGA-6007 socket from Ironwood Electronics is designed for a 35×35-mm package size and gives less than 1 dB of insertion loss. The contact resistance is typically 30 milliohms/pin. The socket is […]
Top analog threads on EDAboard.com – August
(editor’s note: Intrigued by the problem? Have a question or another solution? Then click the “Read more” link and follow the conversation on EDAboard.com or log in to EDAboard and participate in the analog forum threads.) MOSFET getting very hot – In this schematic, the VCC feed with a less than 1 A MOSFET gets […]
Mixed-signal ICs promise up to 80% system cost savings; online calculator creates estimates in under a minute
S3 Group, a global technology group operating in the semiconductor and connected health industries, has announced a change in strategy for its custom semiconductor business, S3 Semiconductors (S3semi). It will now focus on industrial and communications OEMs, converting their electronic systems and boards into mixed-signal integrated circuits and delivering packaged and tested chips, rather than […]
Heat sinks, cables, and accessories for RF/microwave amps
Pasternack has released a new series of RF and microwave power amplifier accessories that includes heat sinks, heat sinks with cooling fans and power control cable assemblies. Heat sinks are devices that enhance heat dissipation from a hot surface and are ideal for thermal management of power amplifiers in test and measurement applications. A functioning power amplifier […]
Mechanical vibration for electronics: the quartz crystal
It is now 100 years since Alexander Nicholson at Bell Telephone Laboratories built and patented the first crystal oscillator, and crystals are still the main source of accurate oscillations up to UHF frequencies using quartz instead of Rochelle Salt (see US patent 2212845). Quartz crystal oscillators use the piezoelectric effect. The piezoelectric effect refers to […]
Adhesive-backed flexible antenna can sit directly on metal surfaces
Laird is introducing the industry’s first adhesive-backed flexible antenna designed to be used directly on metal surfaces, enabling the Internet of Things to continue its explosive growth to about 50 billion connected “things” worldwide by 2020. The new, patented antenna – Laird’s mFlexPIFA — is about the size and thickness of a quarter, and is […]