Notable & Newsworthy

September 2023
In power supplies, storage inductors play an important role. Unexpected overheating of the magnetic component in the inductors used should be avoided at all costs. The AC losses that are often responsible for this are difficult to estimate. The online simulation tool RedExpert facilitates the development work co
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Date:
09/29/2023
PSDcast – Kentucky Law to Force EV Charging Providers to Pay Use Tax

Sumit Chauhan, co-founder and chief operating officer of CerebrumX

Many states are boasting that they are welcoming the movement to electric vehicles (EV), but some are also considering new regulations that will make it more expensive and complicated for a business to offer electric vehicle charging to the public or a construction company's fleet of vehicles. Sumit Cha
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Date:
09/26/2023
PSDcast – The Community Solar Revolution

Eric LaMora, Executive Director of Community Solar at Nautilus

Nautilus Solar Energy has announced its strategic partnership with EnergyMark. The partnership aims to bridge the gap for local small to mid-size commercial businesses that have historically been left out of the community solar revolution. Here to discuss it is Eric LaMora, Executive Director of Community Solar at
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Date:
09/18/2023
PSDCast – Breaking the Land Speed Record for Electric Motorcycles

Lightning Motorcycles’ Richard Hatfield

Lightning Motorcycles has broken the land speed record for electric motorcycles and here to discuss it is Lightning Motorcycles’ Richard Hatfield.
Date:
09/14/2023
Highly Configurable, Multiple Output Cascaded Buck Converter Steps from 60 V to 0.8 V

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Figure 1. A block diagram of an LTC3372 converter

The LTC3372 is a highly integrated dc-to-dc converter solution suited for automotive, telecommunication, industrial, and other applications that require multiple low voltage rails derived from input voltages up to 60 V. The LTC3372 contains both high voltage and low voltage converter systems within its thermally en
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Date:
09/01/2023
GaN Gone?

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

On July 3rd, China announced that it was impose restrictions on the export of gallium, germanium and a range of other compounds that used the materials. It is an escalation of the current trade war between China and the US, which has escalated over the past eight years. Recently, President Biden place a ban on the
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Date:
09/01/2023
Court Rules that AI Art Can't Be Copyrighted

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

You’ve probably seen them clogging up your social media feed and any other highly-trafficked visual platforms – AI art, or artistic works generated via artificial intelligence. And now, for the very first time, a federal judge has issued a ruling on copyright protections for AI-generated art (spoiler alert â€
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Date:
09/01/2023
Trends in the Test and Measurement Market

Kevin Parmenter, Director, Applications Engineering, TSC, America

The global test & measurement equipment market is estimated to reach USD 28.6 billion by 2024 and to grow at a CAGR of 4.0% to 2030, according to Quince Market Insights. The market provides instruments and equipment for testing, measuring, and analyzing various parameters and characteristics of electronic, el
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Date:
09/01/2023
Enhance IoT Battery Performance Using Emulation Software

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Figure 1. 1,100 mAh alkaline cell, 0.9V cutoff voltage - discharge capacity variation

For consumer electronic devices, battery life is often a critical purchase consideration. Therefore, the fact the calculated battery life of IoT devices is often inaccurate is a significant issue for manufacturers. One method to measure battery life is to divide the battery capacity in amp-hours by the avera
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Date:
09/01/2023
Importance of On-site EV Charger Testing

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Figure 1. Handheld instruments are convenient ways of checking EV charge points as part of your regular maintenance program.

The adoption of electric vehicles is a megatrend globally and especially in the USA. Massive federal, state, and private investments are driving an exponential increase in the network of chargers across the U.S. This is causing a significant impact on the existing electrical grid and a greater demand on electricity ge
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Date:
09/01/2023
Direct Current (DC) Injection from Renewable Energies  -  When Accuracy Matters in Power Quality Measurements

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Table 1: DC limits in national standards

­In recent years, power quality measurements have been carried out more and more frequently in the electric power and energy industry and on distribution and transport grids. These measurements focus primarily on the classic characteristic parameters such as voltage dips, voltage transients and harmonics. Maximum va
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Date:
09/01/2023
Choosing the Perfect Electronic Load

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Figure 1. A bidirectional power supply able to sink and source power. The red line indicates maximum power (30kW) can be sinked at any voltage sweeping from 2000 to 750 V, a feature called autoranging. A conventional power supply could sink maximum power only at 2000 V and 75

Like a programmable power supply in reverse, an electronic load simulates load conditions and measures power consumption. As end-users demand increasingly efficient devices and longer battery run times, designers increasingly depend on electronic loads. According to MarketsAndMarkets, sales of electroni
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Date:
09/01/2023
Accelerating High Power Energy Infrastructure Design

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Figure 1: The power, switching frequency, and application use cases of different semiconductor materials (source onsemi)

Power conversion is an essential function in almost every design, from low-power Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to high-power solar inverters. Trends such as using renewable energy sources and the growth of electric vehicle adoption demand efficient and reliable energy conversion. This article highlights some of
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Date:
09/01/2023
A Better Choice for High−Speed Switching Applications

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Figure 1: Simplified diagram of double pulse testing circuit

Silicon Carbide (SiC) has higher dielectric breakdown strength, energy bandgap, and thermal conductivity than silicon (Si), properties that power electronics designers can exploit to develop more efficient power converters with greater power density than designs based on Si IGBT devices. For these applications, mi
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Date:
09/01/2023
Getting The Most Out of EV Batteries

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Figure 1: The key functions of the BMS explained

Drivers, carmakers, and the supply chain share several ambitions for electric vehicles (EVs) – improving range and battery safety while increasing the battery’s lifespan and reducing maintenance costs. Each of these goals can be achieved with new technology enhancements, secure and reliable connectivity, an
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Date:
09/01/2023
Choosing SiC or GaN over Si Comes with Many Considerations

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Figure 1: Comparing silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), silicon superjunction (Si SJ), and insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)/gate turn-off (GTO) thyristor devices over power and frequency. (Source: Author)

As silicon power IC (Si) technology begins to run into limitations, engineers are seeking out alternatives to help them build smaller, lighter, and more efficient products. Wide bandgap (WBG) materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) silicon carbide (SiC) are both viable options, so it isn’t always clear which of
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Date:
09/01/2023
GaN Power Semiconductors Redefine a Growing Number of Market Landscapes

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Figure 1. Profitability + Sustainability Drive $6 Billion GaN Growth

GaN power semiconductors continue to bring significant advancements in power-reliant industries, substantially impacting the global economy. Markets such as consumer electronics, automotive, and data centers are experiencing massive transformations as GaN power transistors replace traditional silicon in power sy
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Date:
09/01/2023
Testing ...1, 2, 3

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Welcome to the September edition of Power Systems Design Europe. The Chinese have a curse that goes along the lines of, may you live in interesting times. During the past few years, it feels as if someone has used that curse on the world. Covid, semiconductor shortages, breaks in the global supply chain, war in
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Date:
09/01/2023
Testing and Measuring our Way into the Fall

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

It’s time to break out the sweaters, the mittens, and the pumpkin spice lattes – fall is upon us! Hopefully, you had a chance to go on holiday at least once, before heading into the busiest time of the year! And with the fall, we turn our attention towards one of the most quintessential topics, test &
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Date:
09/01/2023
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