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Multicore processors have two or more processors in the same integrated chip. Early on in practical applications, multiple cores were used independently of each other. Concurrency isn’t as much of an issue if cores are not working in tandem on the same problem. Supercomputers and high-performance computing (HPC) saw multiple cores first. One difference between […]
The post Terminology of multicore processors appeared first on Microcontroller Tips.
Take an MCU and add Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection to the internet and you have an Internet of Things (IoT) device, and smart devices that are connected to the internet are everywhere. Smartphones, home automation, fitness bands, and products like the Amazon Echo are all examples of IoT. The problem with millions of internet-connected MCUs […]
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Analog circuits are exposed to outside influences most often through input channels by way of op amps acting as filters, buffers, or amplifiers. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) results from the direct contact of two things that are at different voltage potential levels and can also be defined as a fast, high current transfer. Analog circuit exposure […]
The post Electrostatic discharge and analog circuits: Preventing the undetectable disaster appeared first on Analog IC Tips.
In the embedded hardware world, the term CODEC stands for COder/DECoder and is basically an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in one package. A codec, whether hardware or emulated in software, converts analog audio signals into digital signals for transmission or encodes them for storage in a digital format. Later, the decoder […]
The post What is a CODEC? appeared first on Analog IC Tips.
Translators, compilers, interpreters and assemblers are all software programming tools that convert code into another type of code, but each term has specific meaning. All of the above work in some way towards getting a high-level programming language translated into machine code that the central processing unit (CPU) can understand. Examples of CPUs include those […]
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There are quite a few different types of semiconductor diode from junction diodes, Schottky diodes, Zener diodes etc. You need to know the difference between them in order to select one. A good place to start the description of the types would be a comparison of a conventional PN junction diode and a fast recovery […]
Differential signaling is used in many communication schemes including HDMI, USB, DVI, CAN, LVDS, and more. Differential signaling uses two wires and therefore two signals accomplish transmitting a series of bits from one point to another. In the figure below, the first image demonstrates single-ended signaling, which uses a single wire and pulses 0s […]
The post What is differential signaling? appeared first on Microcontroller Tips.
Any unwanted signal that’s combined with the desired signal is called noise. In any circuit, noise can come from anywhere; from external systems as well as from the within a circuit itself. External sources include a number of sources such as power lines, RF transmitters, nearby conductors, ignition systems, or motors that turn on and […]
The post Electrical noise can come from anywhere appeared first on Analog IC Tips.
Since the first application of the wheel, an element of all practical engineering projects has been the make-or-buy decision. The issue is fractal, arising at every level of the design hierarchy: For any given function, at some level of abstraction, you’ll choose to switch between make and buy. But the decision doesn’t hinge on a […]
Professor Leon Chua of the Electrical Engineering Department of UC Berkeley coined the term memristor while working on mathematical models in electrical engineering. He noted that resistors relate voltage to current (R=V/I), capacitors relate charge to voltage (C = Q/V), and inductors relate magnetic flux to current (L= Φ/I). What seemed to be missing was a […]
The post Memristors, the fourth fundamental circuit element appeared first on Analog IC Tips.
