39 results found for EEPN In Electronic Design, displaying items 1 - 20
September 25, 2008 Researchers Open Windows Of Opportunity For Solar Power
Solar-power researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have been very busy in their labs lately, and not without significant fruits for their labors. Two projects promise to elevate solar power from an expensive and cumbersome alternative to an affordable and unlimited energy source. SOLAR POWER GOES GREEN-LITERALLY! Relying on the process of photosynthesis occurring in plants for inspiration, MIT...
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Mat Dirjish
September 25, 2008 Achieve Higher Backplane Density
Equipment designers, particularly those involved with communications and high-end data, face the constant challenges of increasing data rates and greater packaging densities. In turn, these requirements are driving development needs for compact, high-speed components, including connectors. DESIGN CHALLENGES High-speed computing and networking system designers have the benefit of choosing from cost-effective, high-speed ...
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John Burkett
, et al.
September 25, 2008 Press-Fit Connectors Realize Breakthrough Performance
Thereâ??s good news for high-density applications. The latest compliant-pin connectors demonstrate BGA-class (ball-grid array) electrical performance with excellent mechanical design attributes. Recent advances in compliant-pin connector technology have led to a dramatic reduction in printed-circuit board (PCB) through-hole diameter requirements compared to previous press-fit designs. Next-generation devices retain the traditional assembly and operational...
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James Fedder
, et al.
September 25, 2008 Sensors Work To Reduce Auto Emissions
Today, reducing carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions is one of the hottest automotive topics. The European Commission recently announced its roadmap for safer and greener cars by 2012. The strong shift in buying patterns also confirms that consumers want the most fuel-efficient vehicles that meet their personal and professional needs. Using advances such as hybrid technology, car manufacturers are working to introduce new models that reduce CO2 emissions. Other...
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Dieter Verstreken
August 28, 2008 Create Stable, Reliable, And Efficient Tantalum Capacitors
Ceramic capacitors are rapidly increasing in capacitance and volumetric efficiency (CV/cc) due to higher dielectric constants and smaller dielectric thickness as well as higher layer counts. To compete with ceramic capacitors and meet demands for miniaturization, tantalum (Ta) capacitors also need to increase their volumetric efficiency. Traditionally, the only way to increase CV/cc in Ta capacitors was to reduce particle size in the Ta powder, thereby...
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Yuri Freeman
, et al.
August 28, 2008 Engineer Seeks Cure For Common Wall Warts
With the mass proliferation of mobile devices and various computer and homeentertainment peripherals, most of us suffer from a bad case of wall warts. Doug Palmer, a principal development engineer at the San Diego division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), uses the phrase “wall warts” to describe the plethora of external power supplies that vie for position in his and our wall sockets and power strips...
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Mat Dirjish
August 28, 2008 White LEDs Clear Another Brightness Bar
Ceramic capacitors are rapidly increasing in capacitance and volumetric efficiency (CV/cc) due to higher dielectric constants and smaller dielectric thickness as well as higher layer counts. To compete with ceramic capacitors and meet demands for miniaturization, tantalum (Ta) capacitors also need to increase their volumetric efficiency. Traditionally, the only way to increase CV/cc in Ta capacitors was to reduce particle size in the Ta powder, thereby...
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Mat Dirjish
July 24, 2008 Early Warning Is In The Air For Effective Thermal Management
For today’s makers of high-reliability equipment, increased performance requirements have meant packing more and more hardware onto boards and stuffing higher-density boards into shrinking chassis. As a result, the power density (power dissipated per unit area) of electronic products, measured by the ability to dissipate heat, has skyrocketed, increasing by a factor of 20 to 50 in the last few decades. More and more, hot new products mean hotter chips and...
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Rajesh Nair
July 24, 2008 Projects And Partners Move OLEDs Closer To The Spotlight
Developments in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology are accelerating. Delivering its “final milestone,” the Organic LEDs for ICT and Lighting Applications (OLLA) organization has unveiled what it is calling Europe’s most efficient OLED lighting tile. Also on the other side of the Atlantic, Osram Opto Semiconductors is leading the charge to develop lower-cost volume production methods for OLEDs. The company is a principal player in a European...
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Mat Dirjish
June 24, 2008
BSI Technology Flips Digital Imaging Upside Down
The quest for superior digital images in evershrinking camera designs never ends. Now, CMOS-sensor specialist OmniVision Technologies has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) to take a completely different approach to traditional CMOS image sensor technology. OmniVisionâ??s OmniBSI architecture consists of a novel sensor design that uses backside illumination (BSI) to improve image quality while shrinking pixel size down to 0.9 μm....
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Mat Dirjish
June 26, 2008 Optical Bonding And Surface Treatments Improve Displays
Why should you consider optical bonding for your portable design? Do you need anti-glare or anti-reflective enhancements in the product? Should you plan on a more powerful backlight for your thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCD display? Start by evaluating the ambient light levels your product is most likely to encounter. REFLECTION MANAGEMENT Everyone has experienced unwanted glare obscuring information they need to see on a...
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Terry Trover
May 22, 2008 Tiny Sensor Detects Dangerous Gases Quickly And Efficiently
Under the leadership of Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a team of engineers is developing a very small gas sensor that they predict will be able to detect very tiny amounts of hazardous gases faster than currently available gas sensors. It also will be able to detect toxic industrial chemicals and chemical-warfare agents. In addition to being...
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Mat Dirjish
May 22, 2008 Measuring Large Flows With Small Sensors Improves Accuracy
Flow sensors are critical components in a variety of medical applications, from monitoring the output of gas delivery systems to ensure accurate flow rates to monitoring a patient’s breathing. Ventilators, anesthesia delivery, oxygen concentrators, spirometers, insufflators, sleep apnea diagnostic and treatment equipment, pulmonary-function test equipment, and other critical devices all require flow measurement. Some of the flow-sensing technology available...
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Donna Sandfox
May 22, 2008 Design For Electromagnetic Compliance In Ethernet Systems
With many appliances transitioning to Internet Protocol (IP) networks, the Ethernet interface finds itself in these products for the first time. This makes electromagnetic compliance (EMC) a challenge. Ethernet’s unshielded twisted pair (UTP) data-transmission cable acts as an antenna. Common-mode noise that leaks to it will show up as conducted or radiated emissions, creating unique electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues. Another requirement is...
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Amit Gattani
April 24, 2008 Please Touch! Explore The Evolving World Of Touchscreen Technology
You’ve probably encountered some faulty touchscreens that required multiple touches, applying more pressure each time, just to register an entry. That’s because early resistive touchscreen technologies were environmentally unstable and subject to a variety of wearout mechanisms. Today’s touchscreens, however, are a joy to use. Their technology underpins attractive and responsive interfaces that are easy to modify for additional functionality. Modifications...
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Hal Philipp
April 24, 2008 Unique Technology Boosts Image Quality Of Low-Cost Cameras
Two key areas of electronics are driving the development of new test and measurement (T&M) instruments—high-speed serial buses and wireless test. Both require very high-frequency capability as well as the ability to support the many standards that are being developed. CIRCUITS AND PACKETS There is a movement in digital design, from parallel bus structures to serial buses at microwave frequencies, with the growing set of T&M...
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Mat Dirjish
March 27, 2008 For More Efficient Cooling, Try Splayed Pin-Fin Heatsinks
The immense processing power generated by today’s cutting-edge ICs enables engineers to design extremely powerful applications. Unfortunately, the higher processing power comes with a dramatic increase in the magnitude of heat dissipation that makes heatsink selection a very complex task. Splayed pin-fin heatsinks consist of a base and an array of embedded round pins splayed outwards (Fig. 1). Forged...
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Barry Dagan
March 27, 2008 Consider Your Materials Carefully In Microprocessor And ASIC Design
Microprocessor and ASIC designers must address the thermal and mechanical protection of IC die while considering system cost and reliability. Lids and heatsinks are common solutions for mechanical protection. To ensure reliability, designers seek to minimize die junction temperature and often consider high thermal conductivity to be the most important attribute of lid material. Yet thermal performance and reliability hinges on other factors: match or ...
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Mark A. Occhionero
March 27, 2008 PiP Technology Cuts PCB Assembly Costs While Boosting Reliability
OEMs are constantly maintaining or, better put, trying to trim their manufacturing budgets while ensuring product reliability. A big area of interest in the cost-cutting process is the assembly of printed-circuit boards (PCBs). But with their wide array of devices, components, and component types plus their various mounting processes, PCBs offer great potential for errors and big expense. One solution gaining popularity in this arena is pin-in-paste (PiP)...
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Mat Dirjish
February 28, 2008 Get The Right Power Supply To Tackle Peaks And Valleys
A power supply with high peak-current capability can support loads that are higher than the nominal continuous power for short periods of time, without the unit shutting down or damage occurring. Typical constraints on this capability include time (duration of the current peak) and the percentage of time the supply must support the higher load (duty cycle). Products often requiring high peak current include print heads, pumps, motors, and disk...
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Ken Peterson