[Ideas For Design] Load Measurement On DC Motor Needs No Sensing Transformer
When absolute precision isn't an issue, engineers can select PWM control and back-EMF (BEMF) sensing for a dc motor's speed control. The motor must also be protected from overload. Typical solutions use a current-sensing transformer, or sensing...
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John Kim
[Pease Porridge] Bob's Mailbox
Dear Bob: Re: "What's All This Knot Stuff, Anyhow? (Part II)" (Electronic Design, Dec. 3, 2001, p. 88). Bob, referring to your figure, segments E and I are hypotenuses of triangles, and, therefore, longer than...
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Bob Pease
[Viewpoint] Simplify SoC Development With Embedded Testing
While the use of complex system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs has increased, unfortunately, that hasn't increased the time-to-market window for designers and chip manufacturers. As SoC designs become more complex, the development time remains about the...
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Vinod Agarwal
[Editor's Notebook] Up Periscope: Time To Get A Fresh Perspective
The economy finally seems to be recovering in these early days of spring. Now it's time to raise your periscope and take stock in your position after months of almost silent running. This past year's tough economic climate has forced many companies to...
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Dave Bursky
[Editor's Notebook] Will Analog Circuits Continue Scaling With CMOS?
In the early '90s, many pessimists predicted that CMOS would hit a wall as it approached 100-nm and lower gate lengths toward the end of the century. But CMOS processes steadily marched forward, firmly upholding Moore's Law. Today,...
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Ashok Bindra
[Celebrating 50 Years] Engineering Hall of Fame/Flashback
Flashback > 10 Years Ago APRIL 16, 1992 ALTHOUGH LITTLE NEW APPEARS TO BE happening in the general-purpose high-resolution (greater than 13 bits) monolithic digital-to-analog converter (DAC) domain, IC...
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Staff
[Letters] Letters
Multiphase PWM Controller ICs I wish to go on the record regarding Linear Technology Corp. and its PolyPhase controllers. This multiphase type of PWM controller was the subject of the recent report, "Power-Supply ICs Go...
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Various
[Forefront] Power Transformer Design Quells Noise On AC Mains
A power transformer technology developed by Plitron Manufacturing Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, attenuates differential and common-mode noises on the ac mains to the extent that external filtering may be eliminated. The company's Narrow Bandwidth...
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David G. Morrison
[Forefront] Intersil Acquires Elantec To Expand Analog Portfolio
To expand into additional high-growth analog sectors, Intersil Corp. of Irvine, Calif., has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Elantec Semiconductor for approximately $1.4 billion. This acquisition will enable Intersil, a major supplier of...
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Ashok Bindra
[Forefront] Cadence And Agilent Forge RG Technology Alliance
Marrying their respective expertise in mixed-signal and RF design automation, Cadence Design Systems of San Jose and Agilent Technologies of Palo Alto, Calif., have inked a five-year technology alliance to hasten communications product development....
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David Maliniak
[Forefront] Surface-Mount Fuseblock Streamlines Assembly
The OGN-SMD fuseblock series comes with 5- by 20-mm fuses preloaded with an optional cover. In surface-mount applications, this prepackaging speeds pick-and-place assembly by eliminating the need for mounting the block, fuse, and cover in separate...
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David G. Morrison
[Forefront] DC-DC Converters Deliver High Efficiency At Low Cost
Operating from a 5-V input, the V7PB-06B nonisolated dc-dc converters generate 6 A of 1.5-, 2.5-, or 3.3-V output with up to 94% efficiency. Priced just under $8, these 2.16- by 0.55-in. SIP modules are becoming more competitive with IC-based...
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David G. Morrison
[Forefront] Customizable Micro Speeds Java Apps
There's more than one way to execute multiple instructions per clock cycle. Arc International is taking an interesting approach with its new Java accelerator hardware for the ArcTangent-A4 customizable microprocessor. This Java accelerator was...
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William Wong
[Forefront] Linear LDO Regulators Extend Battery Life
Advanced Analogic Technologies' new line of low-dropout (LDO) linear regulators targets portable applications where miniature size and longer battery life are crucial. Comprising five members, the PowerLinear family offers two types of LDOs....
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Ashok Bindra
