LiFePO4 Batteries Help Consumer Devices COME TO LIFE

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries were introduced a decade ago and, in recent years, have begun to be adopted for mass production. LiFePO4, also...

Smart Grid Success Will Rely On System Solutions

A July 2009 report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) describing a future Smart Grid for electric utilities [1] details its plans and hopes for...

Sinter Technology Enhances Power-Module Robustness

High-power applications such as automotive, wind, solar, and standard industrial drives require power modules which fulfill the demand for high reliability...

New Breed of MCMs Optimize System Performance and Cost

The acronym MCM usually refers to multi-chip modules: sealed packages containing high-density, interconnected bare and/or packaged semiconductors. The...

Heat-Pipe/Heat-Sink Technology Improves 6-kW Cooling

The heat generated from large power semiconductors such as IGBTs, diodes, or thyristors can be as high as several kilowatts. While conventional extruded...

Fuel-Cell/Battery Hybrid is a Leaner Portable Power Solution

Soldiers in the field require the most sophisticated portable electronic equipment to complete their missions. Meeting the power demands of such portable...

Digital Power SoC Delivers 92% Efficiency to Isolated Designs

Intended for applications such as industrial, datacom, automotive, medical, residential gateway, and display, an isolated quad-output digital-power SoC...

Smart-Grid Design Requires a Systems Approach

TOO OFTEN DESIGNERS ONLY CONSIDER THE PRODUCT they are working on without taking into account how it will be used within a system. Sometimes this is an...

New Products October 1

Dual-Output Synchronous DC-DC Controller IC The LTC3858/-1 low-quiescent-current, two-phase dual-output synchronous step-down dc-dc controller from Linear...

New Products October 2

White LED Driver The LM3530 white LED driver from National Semiconductor Corp. is said to be the industry's smallest to offer dynamic display backlight...

CUI Joins PMBus Forum to Support Digital Power

CUI Inc. is now a member of the Power Management Bus Implementers Forum (PMBus). PMBus is an industry standard developed to allow power converters to...

Aerovironment Delivers Electric Vehicle Test System to DoD

AeroVironment, Inc. recently delivered its AV-800 a first-of-its-kind electric vehicle (EV) test system to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development...

Murata Buys Panasonic Electronic Devices' MLCC Business

Murata Manufacturing Company, Ltd. has purchased the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) business from Panasonic Electronic Devices (PED). This acquisition...

Li-Ion Batteries Offer High-Density and Small Size Necessary To Drive Electric Vehicles

LI-ION BATTERY packs are used in a variety of applications. Fig. 1 shows the varied power requirements for the numerous battery applications in Japan....

Patents | October 2009

REGULATING WIND-TURBINE ROTOR ROTATIONAL SPEED Issued September 8, 2009 United States Patent 7,586,205 A method and system for regulating the rotational...