Active Adapter Protects Against Transients
Jun 1, 2005
An active-adapter integrated circuit inserted between an accessory charger and a battery-powered consumer product prevents voltage transients from damaging the product during
charging....
Design Challenges in Backlighting LCD TVs
May 1, 2005
Designers of circuits for driving cold-cathode fluorescent lamps used to backlight LCD-TV sets must understand the various architectures available and the benefits and drawbacks
of each to optimize the design for cost and performance....
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....
Mixed-signal ICs Build Smart Energy Meters
Apr 1, 2005
The migration from electromechanical energy metering to solid-state energy metering is driven by demands for advanced functionality, higher accuracy and...
ICs Protect IGBTs and Sense Currents in Motor Drives
Apr 1, 2005
In industrial and appliance motor-drive applications,
high-voltage ICs can provide full IGBT protection
in the inverters and sensorless measurement
of motor currents at low cost....
Automatic Routine Speeds Power-Supply Calibration
Mar 1, 2005
A software-driven calibration routine for a
power-supply controller IC eliminates the timeconsuming
and costly problems of manual
calibration and results in more reliable, more
accurate performance in the field....
New Energy Standards Banish Linear Supplies
Mar 1, 2005
With the California Energy Commission mandating
minimum levels of efficiency for external
power supplies sold in the state, many linear
supplies will need to be redesigned using
switch-mode technology....
Hybrid ICs Drive High-Power IGBT Modules
Mar 1, 2005
A pair of hybrid gate-driver ICs use optocoupling and isolated power supplies in compact, single inline packages to simplify the design of drive circuits for high-power IGBT modules....
Power Chips Benefit From Final-Test Trim
Mar 1, 2005
Programming chip parameters after packaging
reduces test requirements at the wafer probe
stage, lowering the cost of producing power
management ICs....
Continuous Tracking Challenges DC-DC Converters
Feb 1, 2005
Typically, dc-dc converters are designed for use at a fixed output voltage. Some applications, such as dual data rate memory bus and other high-speed logic bus terminations, require the output voltage to be a fixed percentage of an external variable voltage source....
ICs Ease Adoption of Electronic Energy Metering
Feb 1, 2005
Electronic energy meters are replacing traditional electromechanical meters in many residential, commercial and industrial applications because of the... For a pdf version of this story, click here....
Boosting Power Supply Efficiency for Desktop Computers
Feb 1, 2005
Adopting active PFC for harmonic-reduction while
making other architectural- and component-level
improvements can cost-effectively reduce losses
in ATX power supplies....
IC Supports Primary-Side Power Monitoring
Jan 1, 2005
In mission-critical applications with isolated
dc-dc converters, monitoring conditions on the
48-V power bus can significantly improve system
performance by detecting latent faults before
they cause system outages....
Biasing the TL431 for Improved Output Impedance
Jan 1, 2005
The TL431 is a well-known voltage reference integrated circuit used in Switch-Mode Power Supply (SMPS) feedback loops. Combining a reference voltage and...
