This webinar was presented live on Wednesday, November 15, 2017. Click below to watch on demand. Join this free live webinar to learn about wireless charging from leaders in the industry. We will cover the current landscape of wireless technology as well as the future of wireless charging. After completing this webinar, […]
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Driving high-wattage output with a solid-state relay
Microcontrollers are designed to handle only low voltage and current signals on their input and outputs. So how does one control and drive a high wattage load such as an electric heater using an MCU? One of the easiest and most efficient ways is to use a Solid-State Relay (SSR). An SSR allows you to […]
Practical points for Analog-to-Digital converters
Confusion often arises around the topic of criteria for picking analog-to-digital converters (ADC). Much discussion is usually given to the sampling rate (also referred to as the conversion rate) which dictates how frequently the source signal must be sampled per second to faithfully reproduce that signal. Twentieth-century electronic communications engineer Harry Nyquist answered that question […]
Budget-priced transistor testing
The field-effect transistor (FET) in one form or another has largely superseded the earlier bipolar junction transistor (BJT). Both can do amplification, oscillation, and switching, but the methods in getting there are quite different as are the input and output impedances. First, by way of background, we’ll look back at the BJT. It contains three […]
Analog Devices, imec partner to create utlra-low power sensor devices for IoT
Imec, and Analog Devices, Inc. announced they have entered into a strategic research partnership to develop the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. With two initiatives already underway, imec and ADI aim to innovate devices that are not only low-power but that also come with largely improved—or completely new—sensing capabilities. The IoT continues […]
ORNL researchers’ prototype device enters the race to head off vehicle cyberattacks
The potential of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) also comes with the legitimate possibility of network intrusion. As a first step toward developing solutions for protecting vehicles, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently developed a prototype plug-in device designed to alert drivers of vehicle cyberattacks. The prototype is coded to learn regular timing of signals in […]
Fuses for power protection, Part 1
Fuses are the oldest and easiest-to-understand circuit-protection components, with several common schematic representations, Figure 1. The function of the fuse is simple and clear: in the case of an overcurrent condition, the fuse “opens” (or blows, in common parlance) which thus stops the flow of current. Despite their simplicity, fuses have subtleties and considerations which […]
Amplifiers: What do rail-to-rail and single supply mean?
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 […]
Microcontrollers vs. Microprocessors: What’s the difference?
Microcontrollers (MCUs) tend to be less expensive than, simpler to set-up, and simpler to operate than microprocessors (MPUs). An MCU can be viewed as a single-chip computer, whereas an MPU has surrounding chips that support various functions like memory, interfaces, and I/O. The MCU vs. MPU question may seem simple, but there are some prominent […]
Measuring energy without getting fooled
James Prescott Joule, in formulating what is now known as Joule’s Law, found that various forms of energy such as mechanical, electrical and heat are essentially identical and can be changed one into the other. His work formed the theoretical basis for the First Law of Thermodynamics. Joule further investigated the phenomenon of magnetostriction. He […]