Inductive and Hall-effect sensors provide precise and accurate measurements that are extremely important for low-latency human machine interfaces (HMI) in surgical equipment, such as highly accurate speed control in surgical drills. When compared to systems with mechanical-based triggers, designs using inductive and Hall-effect sensors can provide safety and performance benefits in HMI systems.

The growing market trend for electrification and the expansion of the electric vehicle industry present new challenges to the battery formation and test market, which remains the biggest bottleneck for the mass production of lithium-ion batteries. In response, design engineers are looking for ways to increase the channel density of test equipment, improve overall system efficiency, and decrease system cost. One such…

Other Parts Discussed in Post: AM2634-Q1 The electric vehicle (EV) traction inverter is the core of the EV. It converts DC from the high-voltage battery to multiphase (usually three-phase) AC to drive the traction motor, and also controls power regen...

The previous installment of this real-time control series focused on the sensing functional block of the real-time control signal chain (Figure 1). It’s easy to misunderstand the second functional block, processing, and assume that it is only tied to the core central processing unit (CPU) frequency or million instructions per second (MIPS), focusing purely on data crunching. In this series installment, I’ll demonstrate…

As demand for data increases, so does demand for servers and data centers, and thus higher demand for power. Industry trends suggest that power per rack, which was 4 kW in 2020, will be as high as 20 kW in 2025.

Given limited physical real estate available for data centers and servers, the delivery of more power in less area is known as a high power density requirement…

(Originally published in 2019 by Sree Alvarado) One of the more exciting aspects of the emerging new space market is the launch of high-volume low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites that are small and economically feasible, but also radiation-tolerant and...

As the demand for smart, automated and eco-friendly end-equipment continues to grow, industrial and automotive technologies are becoming increasingly electrified. With this trend also comes an increased emphasis on ensuring electronic systems not only meet standards of EV performance but safety standards as well. In the automotive space specifically,…

Real-time control is the ability of a closed-loop system to gather data, process that data, and update the system within a defined time window. As a continuation of the article, “What is ‘Real-Time Control’ and Why Do You Need It?,” I’ll take a closer look at the first functional block of real-time control systems – sensing (gathering…

Think about the current applications of Bluetooth® in our daily life and then envision a world that is even more connected. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group estimates that annual shipments of Bluetooth-enabled devices will exceed 7 billion in 2026. As innovative engineers, you have the opportunity to help meet the market demand for more integration of Bluetooth in medical devices, toys, personal electronics, smart…

Other Parts Discussed in Post: WL1837MODGina Hann co-authored this article. Available for both commercial and residential use, a typical electric vehicle (EV) charging station design includes energy metering, AC and DC residual current detection, iso...

With increasing competition between electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers to develop models with lower cost and longer drive range, power system engineers are under pressure to reduce power losses and improve traction inverter system efficiency, which can improve driving ranges and provide a competitive advantage. Efficiency relates to lower power losses,…

High-voltage industrial and automotive systems such as factory automation equipment, grid infrastructure applications, motor drives and electric vehicles (EVs) can generate several hundred to thousands of volts, which poses a significant safety risk to humans and can reduce equipment lifetimes. This article explains how to keep these HV systems safe by utilizing the…

Other Parts Discussed in Post: AM4379In industrial factory automation designs, IO-Link has evolved into a popular protocol for sensors and actuators to improve factory efficiency and reduce downtime. The IO-Link master is a crucial component of an IO...

In the past, a human machine interface (HMI) consisted of a physical control panel with push buttons, switches and indicator lights that enabled users to communicate with a machine. As the technology progressed, it became possible for users to monitor processes, see status information displays and send commands. Now, HMI applications are everywhere, including smartphone apps used…

Previously published on Electronic Design

In my previous Hall-effect sensor myths technical article, I focused on misconceptions about Hall-effect switches and latches, including common applications where designers could benefit from using Hall-effect sensors instead of other integrated circuits. The six myths in this article go a bit more in depth on the high-accuracy angle-measurement…

Other Parts Discussed in Post: TEST, LMP91000, OPA391, DDC112, OPA392, TINA-TI, CC2640Designing signal chains for portable diagnostics There are various applications for portable diagnostic systems, including the detection of COVID-19, the flu, respi...

Relays have been used as switches since before the transistor was invented. The ability to safely control high-voltage systems from lower-voltage signals, as is the case in isolation resistance monitoring, is necessary for the development of many automotive systems. While the technology of electromechanical relays and contactors has improved over the years, it is…

You’ve probably heard that it’s possible to shatter glass by screaming at a high-pitched tone, but have you heard of cleaning glass by screaming? With precisely controlled, high-frequency vibrations, ultrasonic cleaning technology can clean glass surfaces. On a rainy day this technology could automatically detect and clear raindrops from a car’s rear camera lens without requiring action from the driver…

Semiconductor packaging techniques have evolved in order to adapt to the smaller chip sizes made possible by technological advances, as well as increased power dissipation and growing demands for power density. Flip chip on leadframe (FCOL) packaging technologies have become increasingly popular given their technical benefits and efficient use of printed circuit board (PCB) area. In this article, I’ll give a short overview…

Previously published on Electronic Design

Hall-effect sensors are commonly used in automotive and industrial systems for applications including proximity detection, linear displacement measurement and rotary encoding. Currently, the high system performance requirements of modern applications have led to IC manufacturers increasing sensitivity accuracy, integrating…

The adoption of gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistor (FET) is rapidly increasing, given its ability to improve efficiency and shrink the size of power supplies. But before investing in the technology, you may still be asking yourself whether GaN is reliable. It strikes me that no one asks whether silicon is reliable. After all, there are still new silicon products coming out all the time, and power-supply designers…

A brushed DC motor’s simplicity of control, low cost and wide range of capability makes it a good fit for automotive loads that need integrated, high-powered and reliable motor drivers such as window lifts, sunroof controls, locks, latches and engine valves.

If you’re designing an automotive system, you’ll likely encounter both device- and system-level…

As electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular, the challenge for car manufacturers is to remove drivers’ “mileage anxiety” while making the car more affordable. This translates into making the battery packs lower cost with higher energy densities. Every single watt-hour stored and retrieved from the cells is critical to extend the driving range.

Having accurate measurements of voltage, temperature and…

Co-authored by Matthias Thoma

Every day, consumers interact with systems that assess their surroundings and act accordingly. In a vehicle, when pressing the accelerator, the vehicle speeds up almost instantaneously – there is no noticeable delay between pressing the pedal to acceleration.

To apply this example to the topic of this article, if the vehicle were a system, the surroundings pressing the accelerator and…

A typical factory automation environment has multiple levels of operator and field control to establish device-to-device communication. As smart factories become more prevalent, it’s a challenge to design systems that not only address the complex computational needs of larger data sets throughout the factory, but to do so in a way that addresses multiprotocol real-time communication…