Power Supplies

May 2021

Packaging, Functional Integration Driving Semiconductor Growth

Kevin Parmenter, Director, Applications Engineering. TSC, America

The over $42 billion global power semiconductor market (according to a recent Research and Markets report) is seeing incremental growth in traditional silicon power semiconductors like rectifiers and diodes, TVS devices, silicon MOSFETS and IGBTs. In the wide bandgap (WBG) segment, silicon carbide (SiC) is relatively sm

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figures 1: Cold crank-tolerant automotive supply with three regulated outputs. Three bucks are powered with a boost preregulator (VOUT4), yielding precise regulation for all three outputs through a VBAT cold crank event (also shown)

Triple Bucks Plus a Boost Controller to Meet Tough Requirements

Zhongming Ye, Analog Devices, Inc.

Automobiles present space-constrained, harsh environments that demand reliable and compact power supplies for increasingly complex electronics systems. The LT8603 compact regulator is a robust solution that combines two high voltage 2.5 A and 1.5 A buck regulators, a low voltage 1.8 A buck regulator, and a boost co

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figure 1: Genesys+ DC programmable power supply

Which Airflow Direction for Power Supply Fan Cooling?

David Buck, TDK-Lambda EMEA

With integral, built-in fans some power supplies have the fan blow cool air into the power supply and others have the fan extract the hot air. The option to have the power supply manufacturer reverse the direction of the fan may be available. This may be of interest to the user when the system and power supply ai

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figure 1: Medical power system with secondary DC-DC

Powering Patient-Connected Medical Devices

Gary Bocock, XP Power

Many medical products are likely to come into contact with patients or operators during normal use or may require a sensor or device to be directly applied to a patient to perform their function. These ‘applied parts’ must be suitably isolated from any power source and ground to prevent current flow and co

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figure 1. Multi-module Telecom-server Hot-Swap Applications

MOSFET for Hot-Swap Applications

Shunlong Xiao, Staff Applications Engineer and Peter Wilson, Director Applications Engineering, Alpha and Omega Semiconductor, Inc.

When hot-swap circuits are used in high-availability systems, the operation will not be interrupted if there is a need to replace or add attentional units for system operation. Figure 1 shows that hot-swapping can often involve a large transient current (up to hundreds of amperes) to charge the output capacitor

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figure 1. LT3033 typical application

Mitigating Heat Problems in Modern Computer Power Systems

Molly Zhu, and Fei Guo, Analog Devices

Each successive generation of computing systems demands more total power and lower supply voltages than its predecessor, challenging power supply designers to keep pace with higher output current in a small area. At high power densities with low output voltages, the problem of heat dissipation rises to the top of

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figure 1: Base station energy consumption rise (adapted from Huawei data)

Powering 5G

Jon Cooper, Technical Manager, Avnet Abacus

We have all been looking forward to 5G mobile communications and the promised benefits – faster downloads at speeds theoretically greater than 50Gps, 50x lower latency than 4G, the opening up of the IoT for home and factory automation and of course control of autonomous vehicles. By 2025, the resulting data tr

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figure 1. Common battery-powered applications that use LDOs

Foundations of Quiescent Current in Linear Power Systems

Wilson Fwu, Marketing Manager, LDO Low VIN , Texas Instruments

With many portable medical devices, consumer electronics and building automation products now relying exclusively on battery power, design engineers are increasingly looking to reduce power consumption to get the most they can from their batteries. Figure 1 depicts some of the most common applications for which

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Date:

05/03/2021

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Figure 1: Infineon Technologies CoolSiC 1200V SiC Trench MOSFETs support higher switching frequencies with reduced heat dissipation in a space-saving package. (Source: Mouser Electronics)

Shrinking the Physical Layouts of Power Systems Designs

Paul Golata, Mouser Electronics

Business magnate, industrial designer, and engineer Elon Musk is aiming to land humans on Mars by 2026. Musk’s vision is leading humanity to explore more of space. In contrast, power systems designers are primarily concerned with saving space on their physical layouts of power systems designs. Not to be

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Date:

05/03/2021

PCIM Goes Virtual for a Second Year

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Usually at this time of year, I’d be preparing to head off to Nuremberg for the biggest power event of the year. PCIM is always the showcase for the power industry in Europe and the exhibition that almost every company involved in the industry uses as a launchpad for their newest products and technologies. Un

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Date:

05/03/2021

As Fundamental as they Come

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

We’re closer than ever to eradicating COVID-19 – vaccines are disseminating, restrictions are lifting, and even if the coronavirus lingers for months (or years), we’re beginning to return to “normal.” But not soon enough. Next month’s Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), the Super Bowl of t

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Date:

05/03/2021