Technical Features

Current
Active Suspension Comes of Age Bolstered by High Density Power Modules

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Figure 1: The new Vicor BCM6135 enables the size and weight of an active suspension system to be reduced by half and provide symmetrical bidirectional power for highly efficiency energy recuperation.

­Picture this. You are taking a trip to the city with some friends in your economy car, and you encounter an atrocious stretch of road. As you endure the bumpiest ride you have ever faced, you are passed by a sleek sedan, easily going twice your speed. ‘That can’t be comfortable’ you think to yourself, bu
Date:
12/31/2024
How Silicon Carbide Power Semiconductors Keep Getting Better

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Figure 1: On resistance x die area FoM at room temperature and 175°C

­The strengths of silicon carbide fit well with the goals of automotive electrification, enabling greater energy efficiency and relieving thermal management challenges in traction inverters, on-board chargers, DC/DC converters, and mechatronic modules. However, automotive markets always demand greater reliabilit
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Date:
01/01/2025
Beyond the Shelter: Ensuring Reliable Power in Extreme Conditions

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Figure 1: When designing remote systems used in harsh environments, available power must be both reliable and sustainable to ensure consistent operation

­In many critical field operations, reliable power is not merely a convenience—it's a lifeline. Engineers tasked with designing and deploying equipment in remote and challenging environments face a unique set of obstacles. Whether it’s for directional radio systems, emergency response communication setups, or
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Date:
01/01/2025
Data Center Power Demands Call for Safer GaN Gates

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Figure 1: 80 PLUS efficiency specifications at 230 V internal input, with any differences in the 230 V EU specification shown in blue

­The rise of AI is leading to ever bigger data centers and causing greater demands on the power network. As an example, the United States expects the share of power consumed by these data centers to be 8 percent of total power generated by the end of the decade – a 3-fold increase versus 2022. This increase
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Date:
01/01/2025
Ensure Robust, Reliable Controllers and Powertrains in the Next Generation Automotive Control Architecture

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Figure 1: Evolution of automotive control architectures

­An electronic control unit (ECU) manages each vehicle function, and their numbers are rising with the growth in features. High-end vehicles can now contain up to 150 ECUs, which are critical for communicating information and responding to the main control system. Automotive control architectures Automotive control architectures are evolvin
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Date:
01/01/2025
EMI/RFI Filters for Fast DC EV Charging Stations

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Figure 1: DC EMI Filter for EV Charging Stations

­As more people adopt EVs, the need for efficient and accessible charging infrastructure has grown. Early slow chargers, which required long wait times, are being replaced by fast charging stations that offer quicker charging times and enhanced efficiency, contributing to greater EV adoption. Smart DC fast c
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Date:
01/01/2025
Ethernet Rises to Automotive Deadline Challenges

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Figure 1: In a zonal architecture, the majority of the processing is carried out by central computers, or High-Performance Controllers (HPCs), which are connected through multi-gigabit automotive Ethernet to zone Electronic Control Units (ECUs)

­The automotive sector is seeing a major shift in the computing architecture used in vehicles. This shift has major implications for the networking techniques OEMs use to coordinate the many different functions that require software control. Manufacturers are deploying more advanced microprocessors to artifi
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Date:
01/01/2025
Automotive-Qualified DFN Packages

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Figure 1: DFN packages are assembled on NSMD pads to ensure the solder can run up the side flanks, in contrast to standard SO-IC packages, which are assembled on SMD pads

­DFN packages offer high power densities and excellent thermal properties thanks to an exposed heat sink and optimized heat path. Side-wettable flanks also enable the automated optical inspection required in the automotive industry. Dual flat no-lead (DFN) packages are designed for harsh environments, offering
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Date:
01/01/2025
Enhancing Speed and Efficiency for High Transient Automotive Applications

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Figure 1: Multiphase buck converter with (a) discrete inductors and (b) coupled inductors

­High current, low voltage applications frequently employ a multiphase buck converter topology for the voltage step down. This multiphase buck can utilize traditional discrete inductors (DL), as shown in Figure 1a, or coupled inductors (CL), as depicted in Figure 1b. In the case of CL, the windings are magnetically co
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Date:
01/01/2025
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