New Products: January 2006
Jan 1, 2006
This issue of Power Electronics Technology features new fan speed controllers, stepdown controllers, power supply kits, automotive-qualified switches, and more...
New Materials Extend Li-Ion Performance
Jan 1, 2006
With little fanfare, Li-ion batteries continue to make inroads into new applications, while slowly reaching higher levels of performance in terms of capacity,...
Better Battery Management Through Digital Control
Jan 1, 2006
Battery management has used digital control for about as long as cost-affordable microcontrollers have been available. There are 20-year-old patents from...
Data Points
Nov 1, 2005
Battery Technology Will Dominate Portable Power for Next Decade According to a report from NanoMarkets, battery technology particularly Li-ion and Li-polymer...
Ultracapacitors Bring Portability to Power
Oct 1, 2005
Ultracapacitors can bring high power to portable applications, either in parallel with batteries or as a stand-alone source....
Top 10 Tidbits of Battery Wisdom
Jul 28, 2005
By avoiding common design errors, designers can extend the runtime of their battery-powered portable products....
Battery-Charger ICs Are Tailored for Latest Applications
May 1, 2005
As the use of rechargeable batteries grows in consumer applications, chip vendors continue to develop application-specific charging ICs. In recent years,...
Charging Li-ion Batteries for Maximum Run Times
Apr 1, 2005
An understanding of battery-charging fundamentals
and system requirements enable designers to choose a suitable linear or switch-mode charging
topology and optimize battery performance in the
application....
Measure Battery Capacity Precisely in Medical Design
Jan 1, 2005
By accounting for changes in battery impedance
over time, a new gas gauging technology ensures
precise measurement of battery capacity—even
in aging battery packs....
Power Converters for Micro Fuel Cells
Oct 1, 2004
Micro fuel cells have made tremendous strides in the past few years. New materials and fuel-delivery mechanisms have enabled energy density surpassing...
Batteries Seek Higher Capacity, Power and Safety
Oct 1, 2004
At the recent Portable Power Conference in San Francisco, battery vendors and others connected with the battery industry presented some of the latest...
A Backup Power System Using Ultracapacitors
Sep 1, 2004
Backup power systems are an integral part of most, if not all, mission-critical installations. Services as varied as data centers, communications networks...
Power-Monitoring Circuits for Battery Performance
May 1, 2004
Electronic systems are often subject to the power limitations imposed by their power supplies and batteries, and the maximum power available from those...
IEEE 1625 Helps Promote Safety and Reliability
Apr 1, 2004
The IEEE standard's proven design methodologies help designers of Li-ion battery-powered systems achieve safety and reliability in their designs despite time-to-market pressures....
