The TDK-Lambda brand CUS400M ac-dc power supply series in the industry standard 3×5-in footprint. Rated at 400 W with forced air, the series can continuously deliver 250 W, with peaks of up to 400 W for 30 minutes when convection or conduction cooled. This is considerably longer than many products on the market. These power […]
Power Electronic Tips
Latest connected car feature: Germicidal lights
Leland Teschler, Executive editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler A year ago, if your cocktail party conversations had included the idea of adding germicidal lights to a connected car, you probably would have elicited facial expressions suggesting you’d lost your mind. Today, the same idea would be more likely to engender a lot of head […]
Phototransistor-type optocouplers offer signal transmission with galvanic isolation
With its new WL-OCPT Series 816 product family, Würth Elektronik offers phototransistor-type optocouplers for the first time. These coplanar design optocouplers consist of an infrared LED on the input side and a phototransistor on the output side. They are characterized by a high insulation voltage of 5 kV and a stable current transfer ratio (CTR) […]
New ferroelectric material could boost piezoelectric actuator technology
If you’ve used an ink-jet printer or a tiny hearing aid, chances are those devices have employed lead-zirconium-titanium oxide (PZT, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3) piezoelectric ceramics as a means of generating ink droplets and amplified audio. These and numerous other applications have long used actuators and sensors employing piezoelectric materials which deform in response to an applied electric […]
12-V high-efficiency audio reference designs employ GaN power transistors
GaN Systems published the company’s latest technical manual titled, “12V High-Efficiency Audio Reference Designs using GaN Power Transistors.” The technical manual was developed in response to the well-received launch of GaN Systems Class-D audio amplifier evaluation kit in May 2020 and from growing customer interest for designs in the 12V market for automotive, marine, powersports, and other applications […]
LED drivers target automotive apps with wide programmable frequency operation, spread-spectrum clock
The TS19501 single-channel, dimmable LED driver targeting high-brightness automotive applications is well suited for virtually every automotive LED application: high and low beam headlights; daytime running lights; turn indicators; position indicator lights; fog lights; ATV and four-wheel drive high-brightness lamps. The IC is also offered in a version ideal for a wide range of non-automotive […]
Using energy harvesting to power wireless IoT nodes and wearables
Three elements are necessary to effectively implement energy harvesting (EH) into wireless IoT nodes, wearables and similar low-power applications. First, it a detailed power profile needs to be developed that considers active and sleep modes to produce a realistic estimate of the average power consumption. The power profile is used to size both the harvester […]
EN 50155-certified 60-W industrial/railway converter handles 4:1 input range
TRACO POWER’s new 60 W TEN 60WIR family of high-performance DC/DC converters offer an ultra-wide 4:1 input range in a 1 x 2” footprint. Standard models come pre-packaged with a heatsink extending the footprint to 1.60 x 2.00 x 1.00” for improved thermal performance. The TEN 60WIR family consists of 24 models with a choice […]
Energy harvesting devices and ambient energy availability
Various forms of ambient energy are available in most environments. Depending on the environment and the power needs of the device, common energy harvester choices include light harvesters, thermoelectric harvesters, and mechanical vibration harvesters. Each of these energy harvesting technologies can be optimized for maximum performance in a given environment. In the case of light […]
Next-generation shielding may absorb electromagnetic interference rather than reflect it
Engineers trying to shield RF-sensitive circuitry a few years from now may have the option of using material that absorbs RF energy rather than just reflecting it. So say researchers at Drexel University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. They are researching a class of material called MXenes, and more specifically, titanium carbonitride […]