Brexit altered the landscape of standards for power supply products. Here’s an update on the latest revisions. Ron Stull CUI Inc. The usual way of choosing a power supply is to search on the electrical performance parameters the application demands. But today, it is actually more efficient to start with the national or international standards […]
FAQ
Thanks, Pythagoras, for the basic science behind the theodolite
Pythagoras was a larger than life pre-Socratic philosopher, born on the island of Samos. The Pythagorean Theorem relates the lengths of the three sides of a right triangle. Undoubtedly the most familiar theorem in mathematics, it had been known previously in Mesopotamian, Indian and Chinese cultures, but it was elaborated, made part of the over-all […]
Emerging applications for switched capacitor power conversion
Switched capacitor (SC) technology is often associated with on-chip filters and amplifiers or low-power and low-voltage power conversion such as charge pumps for wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) and similar battery-powered devices. That is changing. Today, SC power conversion is being developed for higher-power and higher-voltage industrial, electric vehicle and power grid applications such as […]
Handling the 48-to-12-V stepdown
A multiphase, interleaved buck converter can reduce bus voltage down to something useful in data center server racks. Brad Xiao, Nazzareno (Reno) Rossetti Maxim Integrated Hyperscale data centers that dissipate hundreds of megawatts demand efficient power delivery beyond the ability of the traditional 12-V power supplies on old server motherboards. A data center on 12 […]
Picking reliable power supplies
A few basic parameters can be useful for selecting power supplies that must work dependably in specific application scenarios. Alex Karapetian Acopian Power Supplies Electronic devices require a reliable source that can supply power at all times. But power supplies are available in a wide range of voltage and current ratings. Engineers tasked with selecting […]
Battery breakthrough fatigue
Leland Teschler • Executive Editor For some cheap thrills, try Googling the words “battery breakthrough.” You’ll be presented with page after page of articles breathlessly chronicling one research result after another in energy storage. But you might wonder why, with so many earth-shattering developments, electric vehicles can’t travel 1,000 miles before needing a recharge. The […]
Switched capacitor power conversion for electronic systems
Switched capacitor (SC) technology can be integrated into ICs and used for dc/dc converters, voltage inverters, voltage doublers, voltage dividers, and standalone dc/dc converters, ac/dc power supplies, and solar microinverters. This FAQ is focused on power conversion for the internet of things, portable, medical, automotive, computing and communications, and renewable energy applications. The next FAQ […]
Measuring a sense-resistor’s voltage drop, Part 3: CMV-suitable components
Measuring the voltage drop across a current-sense resistor can be a trivial issue or a challenging one depending on the rail voltage and other factors. Part 2 of this FAQ looked at the issues related to sensing the small differential voltage across a current-sense resistor, often but not always in the presence of a high […]
How to design an Arduino-based EMG monitor
Electromyography (EMG) is a medical procedure that evaluates the health conditions of muscles and nerve cells. These cells transmit electrical signals that cause muscles to contract or relax. EMG is used to read these signals and plot them as numbers or graphs. Typically, EMG is performed by doctors as one part of a diagnostic tool […]
What is the difference between an absolute and incremental position encoder?
Measuring the position of a rotating shaft, speed or direction of motion typically requires a rotary encoder. The two main types of encoding techniques are: absolute and incremental encoders. The absolute encoding technique provides a specific and unique position value for every point of rotation when it is switched on. Absolute encoding is commonly achieved […]