Related Posts
  • Blog Post: Extend battery life in tablets with one chip

    Until recently, the majority of the battery packs used to power tablets were configured with several cells in parallel. If we take the example of three cells in parallel, the output currents become significant. With the new approach of connecting the cells in series, currents stay in a reasonable level...
  • Blog Post: Dave's Powertrip: What does “access” really mean?

    Intel Labs held their “Trendspotting Summit 2013” on April 2 nd this year. They invited World Bank Managing Director Caroline Anstey to speak. 1 Her speech content was something that is generally removed from what we discuss during our work days. She opened by stating that 43 percent of the...
  • Blog Post: Testing power supply: Measuring stability

    Previously, I posted part 1 and 2 of a 3 part series on how to test your power supply design: measuring efficiency (part 1) and measuring noise (part 2) . I covered various noise sources and how to properly measure them with an oscilloscope. I also discussed output errors created by line and load transients...
  • Blog Post: Testing power supply: Measuring Noise

    Last week, I posted part 1 of a 3 part series on how to test your power supply design: Testing power supply: measuring efficiency . I covered the fundamentals about testing, including the necessary equipment and how to prepare a circuit for testing. I also covered how to accurately measure start-up time...
  • Blog Post: Testing power supply: Measuring efficiency

    During my normal activity as an Analog Field Applications Engineer, I am called to help a customer solve system problems. These system problems sometimes relate back to the power supply. Last year, over a period of 3 months, I had 3 different situations at different customers where the root cause of...
  • Blog Post: Dave's Powertrip #15: Science or Engineering Fair?

    My technical community service is now complete! I just finished judging the Science and Engineering Fair for the Plano Independent School District (PISD), Plano, Texas. Each year I look forward to this and find it exciting to interview the future scientists and engineers of America and, indeed, the World...
  • Blog Post: APEC - inside and outside

    Tuesday night was one of the few free nights to go out around the town, as last night was the official APEC dinner event at the Aquarium of the Pacific, within walking distant of the Long Beach convention center. So on Tuesday night a group of TIer’s and guests hopped on the local Orange Passport...
  • Blog Post: APEC - hot and cool

    It’s been at cool but sunny day here at APEC 2013 in Long Beach with good weather. I wish I could get outside more to enjoy it. But duty calls. Steve Ott of TI (left) and guests from Powerlab Ltd. (Joe Liu and Dr. F. Poon) at TI booth There was a bit of heat in the Extreme Devices session...
  • Blog Post: APEC - yesterday and today

    In Monday's Plenary session, Dr. Umesh Mishra spoke of his parallel concept of Moore’s law (Intel) to the scaling of power supply density with time. Who knows? It might just become “Umesh’s Law”. Using examples from Bipolars, IGBT and DMOS, he reminded the audience that over...
  • Blog Post: APEC ready

    Welcome to my APEC (Applied Power Electronic Conference) blog on Power House. Beginning tomorrow and for the duration of the show, I’ll be posting my insights and observations and, well, general ponderings about the best papers and technology at APEC 2013. My first APEC was at the Adam’s...
  • Blog Post: March Mania with Wireless Charging

    <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-03-59/8836.MG_5F00_8531.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="/resized-image.ashx/__size/300x300...
  • Blog Post: TI wins China ACE Awards 2013 for digital power controller, Qi-compliant wireless power kit

    We were excited to learn that Texas Instruments won two significant China Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards 2013, presented at the 18 th International IC-China Conference in Shenzhen. The annual award is sponsored by EETimes-China/Global Sources and recognizes companies worldwide for innovative...
  • Blog Post: Fully Charged: The Tail Wagging the Dog

    NOTE: This is a first post in a new blog called “Fully Charged” on Battery Power Magazine's news site. The end-of-the-year holidays (hopefully) gave all of us a little quiet time to relax and reflect. This year, I finally took the time to clean out some old boxes that had been tucked...
  • Blog Post: Wireless Power and Energy Harvesting at CES 2013

    If last week’s excitement and innovation at CES 2013 was any indication, the economy seemed to be in pretty good shape in consumer electronics. Power was a hot topic, and attendees and the media saw demonstrations of wireless power from several companies. TI showcased several wireless power demos...
  • Blog Post: Dave's powertrip #11: Open loop or feedback in 2013

    During my younger years, I don’t remember New Year’s as being a special holiday. I did not spend much time thinking about the previous year or anticipating what the New Year might bring. However, often I tried to stay up past midnight – just to say I didn’t start the year asleep...
  • Blog Post: Dave's powertrip #9: How do we get to a DC-powered home?

    Recently I had a discussion with some of my colleagues about the benefits of a DC-powered home. I commented that in some ways, my home is becoming more and more DC-powered. Actually, it is kind of a distributed DC power where some rooms have four or more wall adapters, as well as other devices that convert...
  • Blog Post: Dave's powertrip #6: Power packaging for performance

    Greetings TI E2E folks! I invite you to join me on a trip as I ponder the past and contemplate the future of power and energy in the “Dave’s Powertrip” blog series. I’ll share my thoughts and invite you to do likewise. Power to the people! - Dave Freeman ...
  • Blog Post: Watch your Power over Ethernet OPEX or risk obsolescence!

    We've been tracking an interesting trend in the POE world and it should come as no surprise to anyone who pays an electricity bill… or knows someone who pays an electricity bill: Growing concern with total power consumption over a product’s lifetime. Total cost of ownership is...
  • Blog Post: Dave's powertrip #5: Time to refresh PMBus - Part I

    Greetings TI E2E folks! I invite you to join me on a trip as I ponder the past and contemplate the future of power and energy in the “Dave’s Powertrip” blog series. I’ll share my thoughts and invite you to do likewise. Power to the people! - Dave Freeman ...
  • Blog Post: Power Supply Design Seminar Kicks Off in Boston

    We kicked off our 22nd bi-annual Power Supply Design Seminar series yesterday in Framingham, Mass. Approximately 50 attendees attended the advanced, day-long seminar, which covers everything from magnetic design to digital control of PFC performance to LED lighting control and four other advanced power...
  • Blog Post: Dave's powertrip #4: Back to school for power students

    Greetings TI E2E folks! I invite you to join me on a trip as I ponder the past and contemplate the future of power and energy in the “ Dave’s Powertrip ” blog series. I’ll share my thoughts and invite you to do likewise. Power to the people! - Dave Freeman ...
  • Blog Post: Use your USB to operate a wireless charging pad

    It’s so great to see more and more news coverage and blog posts related to wireless power, ranging from new phones, portable electronics and charging pads to new flavors of wireless charging technology. Adoption is happening, and TI continues to make wireless charging design easier. Our newest...
  • Blog Post: TI Presents at the Avnet Power Forum

    In its third year, the Avnet Power Forum is more robust than ever, offering real-world solutions to today’s biggest power challenges. We have four presentations at this year’s event, taking place on September 19th. Registration is free, and open now. Watch the video here . The following...
  • Blog Post: Analog solutions: When Small Turns to Minute

    The rapid increase of processors power requirements in portable consumer applications has forced additional companion chips to the PMICs. The ever-increasing feature-set that tablets and handsets must support, like 3D cameras, haptics, DLP® projectors and other functions, place increasing pressure...
  • Blog Post: Dave's third Powertrip: A powerful need for speed

    Some of us still remember the words: “I feel the need … the need for speed!” For those who do not, this is a memorable quote from the movie Top Gun . One of the characters, Maverick, started the sentence. Then Goose, another character, chimed in to finish it. Whether it is really a...