Consumers want portable, fast and efficient chargers for the various electronic devices they carry with them daily. With a majority of electronics moving to USB Type-C® chargers, demand for compact power adapters that can charge all of their devices is increasing rapidly.
The challenge in designing modern consumer USB Type-C mobile chargers, PC power supplies and TV power supplies…
Kim Nielson co-authored this technical article
There has been a significant increase recently in the use of silicon carbide (SiC) field-effect transistors (FETs) in traction inverter designs. The fact that SiC inverters can produce high transient voltage (dv/dt) signals greater than 100 V/ns raises concerns…
With the world more battery-powered than ever, the demand for better and cheaper batteries and battery packs is soaring. And while battery manufacturers are introducing new chemistries and smaller packs, which are putting new and complex constraints on power requirements, the fundamental functionality remains the same: today’s batteries must have a maximized run time and an extended shelf life without compromising system…
It can be challenging for engineers to design applications using rechargeable batteries that provide the best charging experience for consumers when different projects have different battery-charging needs. Using a different battery charger for every application increases design time because you have to redesign, debug and requalify every new circuit.
What if you could minimize development…
Jad Panjaitan co-authored this technical article
Advancements in processor and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology are complicating power requirements. In addition to supplying the correct voltages and currents to power rails, many power solutions need features such as power sequencing (the activation of power rails in a certain order), low-power modes and monitoring…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Automotive on-board chargers and server power supplies are highly constrained system environments where power density is a primary metric. It’s important to reduce the volume of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter components so that the solution can fit into demanding form factors.
Common-mode (CM) filters for these and other high-density applications…
For more than a decade, TI’s Power Stage Designer tool has been a great design aid for electrical engineers when calculating the currents and voltages of different power-supply topologies. I believe it is an easy tool to start a new power-supply design, because it executes all calculations in real time, and you get direct feedback.
Our latest version of Power Stage Designer includes a new topology and two new design…
With energy storage systems prices becoming more affordable and electricity prices going up, the demand for renewable energy sources is increasing. Many residences now use a combined solar energy generation and battery energy storage system to make energy available when solar power is not sufficient to support demand. Figure 1 illustrates a residential use case and…
Satellite power design has a complex set of trade-offs given that the design has more variables, and the number of semiconductor options are significantly smaller than those in commercial applications. A satellite’s primary power supply is especially important, since if it fails…
Almost all modern-day industrial systems involve an AC/DC power supply, which takes energy from the AC grid and delivers it to electrical equipment as a well-regulated DC voltage. With power consumption increasing around the globe, the associated energy loss in the AC/DC power-conversion process becomes a significant component of the overall energy cost equation for power-supply designers, especially those working on…
The number of semiconductors in nearly every application is multiplying, and many of the design challenges facing electronics engineers all tie back to the need for greater power density. A few example applications come to mind:
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…
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…
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…
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…
It’s a challenge to create highly efficient and compact designs while also adhering to strict electromagnetic interference (EMI) requirements imposed by groups such as Comité International Spécial des Perturbations Radioélectriques (CISPR). Therefore, component selection becomes a critical part of the design process. As with most design decisions, choosing between…
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a popular topic in the power electronics industry, as it enables designs such as 80 Plus titanium power supplies, 3.8-kW/L electric vehicle (EV) onboard chargers and EV charging stations. In many applications, GaN replaces traditional silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) given its…
From smartphones to cars, consumers are demanding more features packed into increasingly smaller products. To help with this trend, TI has optimized its packaging technology for our semiconductor devices, including the load switches used for subsystem control and power sequencing. Packaging innovation enables greater power density, making it possible…
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