This Month in Power Electronics Technology Magazine

How Hot is Too Hot? Ask Sherlock

Power supply engineers have access to more powerful thermal simulation tools than ever before. Finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics can provide highly accurate predictions for even very complex thermal management solutions. However, these new capabilities fail to answer the most critical question: How hot is too hot? ...

SiC: A Rugged Power Semiconductor Compound To Be Reckoned With

Smaller packages and higher performance will be realized from Silicon Carbide in applications where conventional silicon compounds fall short....

Remembering Dr. Middlebrook: Part 1

Dr. R. D. Middlebrook was an icon of the power electronics industry who passed away in April 2010. In August 1998, one of Dr. Middlebrook’s old friends and a member of the power electronics community, K. Kit Sum, interviewed him. Dr. Middlebrook revealed his history and that of the start of power electronics as we know it today. In doing this interview, Kit Sum’s objective was to learn how a person’s destiny is guided or shaped by events and people surrounding him. Dr. Middlebrook was very cooperative and frank in revealing the events leading to involvement in power electronics. Following are the questions put forth by Kit Sum (Sum) and Dr. Middlebrook’s (RDM) response....

See Current Issue

Power Electronics Featured Products

600 W DC-DC Converter with Integrated Heat Sink

CUI Inc. announces a 600 W addition to their line of rugged chassis mount dc-dc converters....

Surface Mount Inductor

Renco Electronics has released its newest surface mount inductor, the RL-9580 Series....

3-Phase BLDC Fan Motor Driver has Resistor-Programmable, Sensorless Sinusoidal Architecture

Microchip Technology Inc. expanded its sinusoidal, sensorless, 3-phase BLDC fan motor driver portfolio with the MTD6505-the industry's first and only standalone, resistor-programmable driver that enables the selection of multiple back-EMF coefficient ranges. ...

More Featured Products

Power Management 101 Series

Power Management 101: Power MOSFETs

What are Power MOSFETs ? Power MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) are three-terminal silicon devices that function by applying a signal to the gate that controls current conduction between source and drain. Their current conduction capabilities are up to several tens of amperes, with breakdown voltage ratings (BVDSS) of 10V to 1000V. ...

Featured Article

Flyback Controller IC Integrates Power Factor Correction

By integrating power factor correction capability into a flyback controller IC, the circuit complies with the IEC 61000-3-2 Harmonic Current Emissions Standard for equipment up to 100 W. The IC also meets the Energy Star requirements for a power factor of at least 0.9 and efficiency over 82%. ...

Industry News from PETech Times

Global Market For Active Electronic Components To Reach Nearly $230 Billion In 2017

In a recent release, Active Electronic Components: Technologies And Global Markets (IFT085A) from BCC Research the global market for active electronic components is expected to increase from $144 billion in 2012 to nearly $230 billion by 2017, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7%. ...

European Energy Roadmap 2050

The European Commission's Energy Roadmap 2050 shows that a high renewables energy mix - with 97% of the EU's electricity consumption met by renewable energy, including 49% wind power in 2050 - would have the same "overall energy system costs" as any other decarbonisation or business-as-usual scenario. ...

Semiconductor Inventory Declines as Suppliers Adjust to Slow Market Conditions

Chip inventories held by semiconductor suppliers declined in the third quarter of 2011, putting a halt to the steady expansion of the previous seven quarters, as the industry cut production in order to reduce oversupply. ...

Featured News Microchip Engineers Built Amateur Satellite Deployed From International Space Station Microchip Technology Inc. announced that a volunteer team of Microchip engineers spent nearly four years working on nights and weekends to develop the ARISSat-1 amateur satellite. ... Global Market for Organic Light Emitting Diodes to Reach Nearly $5.3 Billion 2016 In a recent release, Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs): Technologies and Global Markets (SMC069B) from BCC Research, the global market for OLEDs will be worth more than $3 billion in 2011. ...

Online Exclusives LED Backlighting for LCDs Requires Unique Drivers Driver designs depend on the choice of RGB or white LEDs, LCD display size, color reproduction, power efficiency and system cost... Flyback Transformer Spotlight Flyback transformers are used in power supplies to generate high voltages needed for driving a CRT. PET presents a collection of flyback transformer articles, including links to the best content on the web...