Faced with shrinking space constraints and increased robustness requirements, industrial and automotive power-supply designers must carefully choose the best power design topologies to meet their application needs. Isolated choices include modules as well as discrete and integrated solutions; each has its own trade-offs. Modules are encapsulated solutions with common input/output…
Power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) data sheets provide useful information such as key specifications, ratings and characteristics to help you confirm that the device will operate as intended. You may have questions about how a parameter varies, however, so in this article I’ll explain not just what’s in the data sheet but more importantly…
Noise is an unwelcomed electrical phenomenon that commonly originates in the power supply. If not reduced, noise can adversely impact the performance of applications in sensitive medical, test and measurement, and aerospace and defense systems.
Today’s high-precision analog signal-chain systems require DC/DC switching regulators to generate regulated power-supply rails for powering analog…
Cell balancing is important in battery management systems for electric vehicles (EVs) because it helps extend vehicle driving ranges and ensure safe EV battery operation. Cell balancing is also required in order to correct imbalances in the battery itself. All batteries, including those found in EVs, experience unbalancing over time caused by mismatches during manufacturing processes…
Designers have several topologies to choose from when designing 51-W isolated DC/DC power over Ethernet (PoE) systems. In a perfect world, each topology would cost nothing, have 100% efficiency and be smaller than a grain of sand. But since that isn’t possible, system designers are forced to choose the topology that closest meets their needs. In this article, I’ll discuss three…
As more vehicles become electrified, the need to achieve the highest levels of functional safety with high-accuracy battery monitoring is paramount. Yet in order to improve battery-monitoring accuracy, the vehicle’s battery management system must work efficiently in real time to monitor the performance of the individual battery cells within.
In typical hybrid…
Intent on accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption by addressing top consumer concerns such as driving range, charge time and affordability, automakers worldwide are demanding increased battery capacity and faster charging capability, with little to no increase in size, weight or component cost.
The EV onboard charger (OBC), which allows consumers to recharge the battery directly from an AC main at home or at public…
From cart-based ultrasound scanners to portable smart probes that send images directly to a smartphone, the world of ultrasound imaging continues to diversify. Despite architectural differences in their design, every ultrasound system needs a DC power supply that can efficiently meet the power demands of the system and avoid interference with the ultrasound frequency range…
Physics has caught up with silicon devices. The traditional workhorses of power supplies – metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) – can only boost power density if you sacrifice efficiency, form factor and heat dissipation.
Enter gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors…
Upal Patel co-authored this article.
A USB Type-C® port with USB Power Delivery (PD) is becoming the standard port for charging single- and multicell battery-powered devices. Applications such as wireless speakers, power banks and power tools have been transitioning from proprietary charging ports, legacy USB ports and barrel-jack ports to a standardized…
Minimizing noise is a common challenge for engineers designing a power supply for noise-sensitive systems for test and measurement and radio applications, such as clocks, data converters or amplifiers. Although the term “noise” can mean different things to different people, in this article I’ll define noise as low-frequency thermal noise generated by resistors and…
You have many options when selecting an isolated gate driver for the power stage in motor-drive applications. Gate drivers can be simple or complex, with features such as an integrated Miller clamp, split outputs or an undervoltage (UVLO) lockout reference to the emitter of an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT).
There are two options for…
“All-in-one” sounds so nice, doesn’t it? Nothing encompasses the idea of all-in-one more than the Swiss Army knife, which was first introduced to the world back in 1891 and has become something of a legend given its versatility, small size and low cost. This one tool can help solve a variety of daily challenges and is small enough to fit in your pocket. What more could you ask for?
Now picture a factory…
Flow meters use lithium manganese dioxide (LiMnO2) and lithium thionyl chloride (LiSOCl2) batteries as energy sources. LiSOCl2 batteries are popular in flow meters because they provide better energy density and a more efficient cost-per-wattage ratio than LiMnO2 batteries. However, LiSOCI2 batteries have a poor impulse response, which can lead to a large drop in voltage during transient…
The importance and value of power density in modern power-delivery solutions cannot be overstated.
To better understand the fundamental technologies of high-power-density designs, in this article I’ll examine the four most important aspects of high-power-density solutions:
Real-time location systems (RTLS) enhance the lives of consumers and businesses by making everyday routines smarter through accurate, location tracking technology such as GPS and Bluetooth® Low Energy. RTLS trackers eliminate the stress of losing belongings such as luggage or pets using long-distance GPS tracking. RTLS trackers also enhance businesses with…
With the Federal Aviation Administration restricting the size of batteries allowed on airplanes, it can be challenging to design applications with batteries down to 100 Wh. Some companies design applications using two small batteries instead of one to meet the regulations, but having two batteries often requires the implementation of redundant or duplicate power supplies, which…
High resolution and seamless operation are important for larger automotive display screens, shown in Figure 1, as consumers want a clear picture with smooth functionality. Given the harsh environments in vehicles, system reliability and safety are also concerns. As a result, it’s a challenge for designers to find a backlight LED solution that’s designed for larger screens while…
Today’s satellites use complex, high-power field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and processors, challenging power-supply design engineers to create robust power supplies. Many designers end up with complicated designs meant to achieve redundancy (the duplication of critical components to increase reliability), involving dozens of discrete components like field-effect transistors (FETs) to continuously monitor and enable…
USB technology has evolved – from a data interface capable of supplying limited power to a primary power source with an interactive data interface. Today, many devices charge or get their power from USB ports contained in laptops, cars, aircrafts or even wall sockets.
Because of its compact size and ability to both deliver power and transfer data, USB Power Delivery …
The buck-boost charger has become increasingly popular in recent years given its ability to charge a battery from nearly any input source, regardless of whether the input voltage is higher or lower than the battery voltage.
One critical benefit of the widespread adoption of USB Type-C is a realistic path to a universal adapter and corresponding e-waste reduction. Although…
Today’s “always-on” consumer wants to charge their portable electronics wherever they are. For example, it’s common to see travelers charging their cellphones, laptops and headphones while waiting to board a flight or hop on a train. But when there are different charging methods for each device, these consumers must carry different adapters, and it can become quite a hassle…
Beauty and personal care products have traditionally been designed with a traditional AC power supply. Therefore, every time consumers use such products, they need to be close to the wall, and any movement and power is restrained by the length of the electrical cord. As modern electronics have evolved, consumers now expect to be able to use personal care products such as a shavers…
Power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) use a thin oxide to isolate the gate electrode from the active area of the transistor. Much like the MOSFET structures used in the fabrication of microprocessors, a power MOSFET gate oxide is just as susceptible to damage from electrostatic discharge (ESD) as its tinier counterparts. ESD may cause catastrophic failure (such as gate-oxide breakdown) or…
Dan Tooth co-authored this technical article
Your new design needs to fit twice as much into half the space and cost nothing – sound familiar? You selected the smallest point-of-load regulator and generated the tightest layout you could with the most cost-effective passive components. So far so good. But then you look at the output ripple on your critical rails and it’s not what you expected. What’s going on?…
Analog
Automotive
