Designers of space-constrained designs can now significantly increase runtime with the MAX20361 single-/multi-cell solar harvester with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. . The industry’s smallest solar harvesting solution is ideal for space-constrained applications such as wearables and the emerging internet of things (IoT) applications. Designers are often challenged with the […]
Power Electronic Tips
Half-bridge PCBs help evaluate GaN drivers, transistors
GaN Systems announced the release of two 650V half-bridge daughter cards (30A and 60A), which provide an ultra-versatile platform to evaluate GaN drivers and transistors. The evaluation cards are available in two power levels, up to 3kW (GS-EVB-HB-66508B-RN) and up to 6kW (GS-EVB-HB-66516T-RN), and include the Renesas RAA226110 low-side GaN FET driver. These cards are the industry’s […]
Thermal management considerations for board-mounted dc/dc converters
System-level thermal design is equally important to the electrical specifications of board-mounted dc/dc converters. And the growing use of variations on a distributed power architecture (DPA) increases the complexity of thermal design. A single multiple-output ac/dc power supply is used to power the various loads in a conventional power architecture. The use of a centralized […]
PMBus® 2.0 expanding PMBus for future system needs: Virtual Interview, part 2 of 2
We are here today with Bob White, the PMBus power management protocol’s originator, long time chair of the PMBus specification working group, and current editor of the PMBus and SMBus specifications. Bob is the principal author of the PMBus specifications and continues to participate in the PMBus Specification Working Group. He is a well-known speaker […]
PMBus® update, what changes lie ahead? Virtual Interview, part 1 of 2
We are here today with Bob White, the originator of the PMBus® power management protocol, long time chair of the PMBus specification working group, and current editor of the PMBus and SMBus specifications. Bob is the principal author of the PMBus specifications and continues to participate in the PMBus Specification Working Group. He is a […]
Board-mount ac/dc converter modules handle up to 3 W
Two ranges of board-mount ac/dc converters, the RAC02E-K/277 and RAC03E-K/277, are rated at 2 W and 3 W respectively. Inputs include nominals of 100 Vac up to 277 Vac for use in a wide variety of applications worldwide. Regulated outputs available include 3.3 V, 5 V, 12 V, 15 V and 24 V with operation […]
Specifying board-mounted dc/dc converters
The specification of board-mounted dc-dc converters is an important and detailed process. Correctly implemented, it results in a cost-effective solution that meets all the needs of the application. Incorrectly specified dc/dc converters can result in a more costly device than necessary and/or a device that is not suited for the application. This FAQ will review […]
Fast-recovery diodes feature up to 1 kV reverse voltage
The RS2x family of 2A-rated fast recovery rectifiers are available with reverse voltage ratings of 200 V and 1 KV, each available in either SOD-128 or Thin SMA package. These two surface-mount packages align with standard pc-board solder pads facilitating interchangeability, with the Thin SMA offering a lower profile and the SOD-128 improved thermal dissipation. […]
SiPs combine two GaN HEMTs, high-voltage gate drivers
Building upon the advantages of STMicroelectronics’ MasterGaN platform, MasterGaN2 is the first in the new family to contain two asymmetric gallium-nitride (GaN) transistors, delivering an integrated GaN solution suited to soft-switching and active-rectification converter topologies. The 650V normally-off GaN transistors have on-resistance (RDS(on)) of 150mΩ and 225mΩ. Each is combined with an optimized gate driver, making GaN […]
Next-gen BMS goes wireless, with proprietary protocol and functional safety compliance
Because today’s battery management systems (BMS) are wired, the common source of cable failures – wire harnesses and connectors – becomes a warranty and functional safety issue. With the launch of a wireless BMS that features the first independently assessed functional safety concept, Texas Instruments hopes to revolutionize electric vehicle (EV) BMS. By removing the […]
