Optocouplers, also known as photocouplers, opto-isolators and optical isolators, have long been an option for designers seeking galvanic isolation for their system signals. Around since the 1970s, these semiconductor devices have played an important role in providing safety isolation for industrial and automotive end equipment. However, despite significant advancements, there appears…
Traditional power liftgates and trunks require users to press and hold a button on their key fob to activate the hatch. This can be a major inconvenience, especially when you’re trying to open the trunk while your hands are holding grocery bags. Hands-free systems such as kick-to-open tailgates enable you to open the trunk of your vehicle with a simple kick.
Many cars equipped…
Eileen Zhang co-authored this technical article
A device’s quiescent current, or IQ, is an important parameter for low-power, energy-efficient end equipment such as continuous blood glucose monitors (CGMs). The current drawn by the integrated circuit at light or no loads significantly influences power losses in standby mode and the total run time of the system.
The load powered…
As satellites and space exploration evolve, the industry continues adding more onboard computing for real-time processing. As a result, point-of-load power system requirements are also evolving, requiring higher levels of power, performance and increased efficiency coupled with the challenges of smaller board space and…
Co-authored with Hyunggi Cho, CEO, Phantom AI
As we drive through our neighborhoods and towns and see children walking and riding bikes, we’re reminded of the importance of safety on our roads. A 2021 study by the NHTSA revealed that in the United States, on average, 20 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents each day – one every 71 minutes. In a 2022 study, the…
Power electronics designers are striving to increase power efficiency and power density in industrial and automotive designs ranging from multiaxis drives to solar energy storage to electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and EV onboard chargers.
One of the primary design challenges is achieving better real-time control performance while reducing system costs. A common approach…
Earlier this year, I wrote about wearables and how they can do so much and be so small. Well, wearable devices are about to get smaller, do more and last longer thanks to innovations in battery charging, low quiescent current operation, smart power management and high integration.
Battery charging for wearables is challenging because you have to use batteries that are both small in size and capacity. For example, charge…
In electric vehicle (EV) charging and solar inverter systems, current sensors measure current flow by monitoring the voltage drop across a shunt resistor or the magnetic fields generated by current flowing through a conductor. These high-voltage systems use current flow information to control and monitor power conversion, charging and discharging.
Hall-effect and shunt-based current…
Authored by Keegan Garcia, Kishore Ramaiah and Snehaprabha Narnakaje
Over the past decade, radar-based sensors became an established sensing modality for automotive and industrial applications. Radar helps realize designs that require long range, environment resiliency and higher sensing resolution, making them a good fit for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such…
Fueled by the demand for automation, convenience and sustainability, advancements in electrification are requiring more sensors, power electronics and processors to reliably and accurately sense and react the surrounding environment. It’s a challenge to continuously find ways to shrink solution size and optimize and monitor power consumption.…
In electric vehicles, solar panels and energy storage systems, high-voltage power achieves faster charge times, minimizes power losses, and improves design reliability. High-voltage currents have the potential to be dangerous or even deadly, however, so designers use insulation monitoring systems to send an alert or disconnect the power supply to prevent harm to the…
Improving accuracy and precision, and minimizing system noise is a common challenge for engineers designing a power supply for noise-sensitive systems for medical applications, test and measurement, and wireless infrastructure that use clocks, data converters or amplifiers. Although the term “noise” can mean different things to different people…
This article was co-authored by Tanvee Pandya and Goeswami Deva Singh.
The electrification of vehicle systems is growing in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which include vision analytics for autonomous driving, parking assistance and adaptive control functions. Smart connectivity, safety-critical software applications, and neural network processing all require…
Traction inverters are the main consumer of battery power in electric vehicles (EVs), with power levels reaching 150 kW or higher. The efficiency and performance of traction inverters directly impact an EV’s driving range on a single charge. Therefore, to build the next generation of these systems, the industry has widely adopted silicon carbide (SiC) field-effect transistors…
Think of a passenger car as a collection of electronic control units (ECUs) that are distributed across the length and breadth of the car and that talk to each other using different networks. When adding more advanced automotive electronics for vehicle-to-everything (V2X), automated driving and vehicle electrification, the number of ECUs increases and the amount of data exchanged grows.
The domain architecture explained…
In Industry 4.0, the amount of diagnostic data is growing each year, enabling systems to become smarter, remain online longer and – in the end – increase productivity. In programmable logic controller (PLC) systems, robotics and machine tools, one area that is still traditionally lacking diagnostic data is 24-VDC power, which distributes power to different control systems…
In the satellite industry, dramatic increases in local data processing, support for higher throughput communication links and the rapid adoption of electrical propulsion systems are driving demand for much higher performance electrical power systems (EPSs). The EPS is part of the bus section of a satellite, providing structural support and housing subsystems such as power, thermal…
Wi-Fi® is increasingly available and even expected in many of today’s settings, from a simple at-home blood pressure monitor to a company’s network of devices and entire public utility grids. With Wi-Fi, homeowners can safely and securely control smart ovens, electric vehicle charging stations or sprinkler systems to save time and energy. Building managers can implement remote lighting…
Co-authored by Abby Kainer
In the past decade, radar-sensing technology began replacing traditional automotive-sensing modalities given its many advantages – which include long-range detection, higher resolution and increased accuracy – for the implementation of driver safety features, autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems.
Radar technology…
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