The transimpedance amplifier (TIA) is one of the most common circuits in the world of precision analog circuits. The dynamic range required of a single TIA can be quite a challenge, often spanning many decades, such as picoamperes to microamperes.
Selecting a single resistor to accommodate such a wide dynamic range is a lose-lose situation, so circuit designers will often turn to…
As Industry 4.0 spreads advanced manufacturing processes across global markets, demand for highly automated systems that operate with an integrated manufacturing flow and constantly collect process control data is increasing drastically. Most of these systems – including magnetic encoders in robotic arms, proximity sensors, actuators, pressure transmitters, linear motors and autonomous…
Electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid EVs (HEVs) are changing, as are the electronics inside them. The increasing amount of electronics plays a significant role in the overall form and function of these vehicles. Drivers, however, haven’t changed; they still expect their EVs and HEVs to drive further without stopping, become more affordable, charge faster, and keep them safe. But…
In applications measuring high current levels through a resistive shunt, the differential voltage developed across a tiny shunt is typically very small in order to minimize the power dissipation inside the sensing resistor – in the range of just a few millivolts. Contrary to popular belief, the slew rate of the op amp has little bearing on its performance due to the small signal…
On our way to zero-emission transportation, hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) present a natural transition from internal combustion engines (ICE) to battery electric vehicle (BEV). This transition period will take years, and brings in several types of hybrid vehicles depending on the level of electrification. On one end, we have mild hybrid vehicles with typically…
Global efforts to reduce power consumption are only increasing, with many countries requiring that home appliances, like those shown in Figure 1, meet efficiency standards set by organizations such as the China Institute of Standards (CNIS), Energy Star in the United States and Blue Angel in Germany. To meet these standards, system designers are increasingly moving away…
Developing functional safety systems in a streamlined and simplified manner calls for robust functional safety support. Part of this includes having the resources to validate that the development tools used in the system design process meet functional safety requirements.
The new TI Arm® Clang compiler’s available TI compiler qualification kit helps simplify system design development efforts. The TI compiler qualification…
Sean Murphy co-authored this technical article.
The shift toward industry 4.0 automation spurred an exponential increase of robots on factory floors, including industrial robots, collaborative robots and service robots (automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots). Because these robots often work alongside humans, they must have advanced sensing and functional safety capabilities…
With a swipe of the hand, gesture detection gives drivers a new way to control in-cabin climates, lighting, windows, infotainment systems and more. There are currently several options for adjusting various comfort and convenience functions in the cabin. However, manipulating the buttons, knobs and especially touchscreens requires drivers to divert their eyes.
Today, many automotive…
Scalability, reliability, security and speed—these are the advantages that the Wireless Smart Ubiquitous Network (Wi-SUNTM) offers to smart cities and the Internet of Things. But as a developer, how can you maximize these advantages in your software design?
Here are four important questions to ask before choosing a Wi-SUN stack.
Question No. 1: Should…
Reducing the size of integrated circuits (ICs) is often viewed as little more than a path to more compact printed circuit boards (PCBs) or the ability to add functionality without increasing the form factor of a system. And while systems from wearable electronics to automotive cameras continue pushing the limits of physical form factors, integrating the temperature…
Note: Carolina Gomez collected the data for this article.
In my previous articles, I walked through optimizing an operational amplifier (op amp) circuit for power savings and talked about some of the applications that can take advantage of amplifiers with low-voltage-supply capabilities. In this installment of the "Designing with low-power op amps" series, I will show you…
In part 1 of this series, I reviewed power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) data sheets and explained what’s in the data sheet and more importantly, what’s not, while specifically looking at the temperature dependence of some key MOSFET parameters. In part 2, I’ll focus on voltage-dependent leakage currents – the drain-to-source leakage (I…
Kevin Koestler co-authored this article.
Have you ever been in a crowded hallway with people talking at the same time? Only those talking loudest can be heard. However, if each person talks one at a time, everyone’s communication can be heard clearly even in the same crowded space. This scenario is similar to the wireless spectrum and the increasing number of connected devices.
The 2.4 GHz band is widely used in…
With smartwatches and fitness bands widely used as personal health monitoring devices, the accurate acquisition of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals on these wearable devices has become a field of great interest. An ECG records activity in the heart through the acquisition of electrical signals. Conventional ECG systems such as patient monitors involve the connection of multiple electrodes…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing the capabilities of machine vision and imaging applications. Edge Al, a subset of artificial intelligence that enables localized decision making at the edge, plays a key role among other elements such as 5G network and the Internet of Things (IoT) in the development of New Infrastructure. Through focusing on…
Advances in automated factories and smart vehicles require advanced networking capabilities, real-time processing, analytics at the edge and more advanced motor-control topologies. These examples illustrate the rapidly growing need for a high-performance microcontroller (MCU) that can outpace traditional MCUs and deliver processor-like capabilities. In this article, I’ll cover five…
One of the top worldwide trends in metering is to add connectivity to the meter. This allows for efficient readouts, over the air updates, and quick connectivity to your phone. In large buildings with various tenants, you have multiple meters that need to be read monthly. If all these meters are connected, pulling data from them is as simple as walking up to a data collector…
The features of a modern buck converter are simply tools to get a job done – and much like the utility belt of a certain Gotham City resident, the configuration and layout of these features were designed with space and flexibility in mind. Whether you wear a cape or not, having quick and easy access to these features means more than just solving design…
Relative humidity (RH) sensors are specialized sensors with an open cavity to measure water vapor present in the air. Relative humidity is a critical measurement, as humidity in the air can have a direct effect on system reliability (corrosion) or product longevity since humidity in a storage environment can have a direct impact on perishables.
One of the challenges with RH sensors…
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