Regulatory standards cover safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), in addition to efficiency. Safety and EMC standards are relatively straightforward, and their numbers are limited. Efficiency is a different matter: Society’s drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions results in increasingly sophisticated energy efficiency standards for all types of power converters. It started with relatively simple ENERGY […]
FAQ
Power supply control techniques
Power supply control has evolved from primitive ferroresonant regulation and linear power supplies to simple hysteretic control, analog voltage-mode control, analog current-mode control, and now various approaches to digital control. Compared with switched-mode power supplies, the output of ferroresonant designs is not as precisely regulated, while linear regulation can produce very tightly regulated and very […]
Liquid crystal polymers get an upgrade for high-speed signals
RF and high-speed digital signals have brought on the development of new liquid crystal polymer materials used in connectors, PCBs, and other interconnects. Liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) are experiencing a surge in demand resulting from high-speed communications technologies, particularly fine-pitch components such as high-frequency connectors, board-to-board connectors, and low-pass insulation supporters, or dipoles on active […]
5G signals push a need for new materials
5G’s RF signals and data rates bring development of new liquid crystal polymer materials for connectors, and PCBs to minimize signal losses
Thermal printers, Part 4: Components and circuitry
The thermal printer is an alternative to inkjet and laser printers and has a significant place in application niches for which it is especially well suited. Thus far, we have looked at thermal printers’ basic operating principles and attributes. This section looks at the components and circuitry of a complete direct-printing unit. A typical small […]
Tricks for pulling signals out of noise
Thermal noise, also known as Johnson-Nyquist noise, is generated by thermal agitation of charge carriers inside an electrical conductor or component regardless of any applied voltage. A small voltage can actually be measured across a wire segment that is at non-zero temperature and lying on a non-conductive surface. Apprentice electricians are puzzled by this phenomenon, […]
Thermal printers, Part 3: The thermal transfer approach
The thermal printer is an alternative to inkjet and laser printers and has a significant place in application niches for which it is especially well suited. Thermal transfer printers start with the thermal print head but, in contrast to direct printers, use the print head to transfer a solid ink from a “ribbon” onto a […]
Two- and four-switch power conversion topologies
Compared with one-switch topologies, two- and four-switch power conversion topologies have several benefits in addition to the ability to process higher power levels. This FAQ will review some of the basic two-, and four-switch topologies. It will look at where they are used and their performance tradeoffs. This article does not consider various switched capacitor […]
Thermal printers, Part 2: The direct thermal approach
The thermal printer is an alternative to inkjet and laser printers and has a significant place in application niches for which it is especially well suited. Thermal printers use two basic approaches: direct thermal printing and thermal transfer printing. Both begin with the controlled heating of a row of tiny heating elements to activate or […]
What is one-switch power conversion?
DC/DC conversion is the basic building block for many power converter designs including AC/DC power supplies, battery chargers, and uninterruptible power systems. This FAQ reviews some of the most common one-switch topologies. Specialty topologies such as the Joule Thief are not included. This article also does not consider various switched capacitor topologies, a review of […]