Technical Features

    May 2012
    Transformer Design Comparisons for Mitigating EMI in Gate Driver Circuits

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    Figure 1: Gate driver circuit diagram with a Bourns transformer

    While gate driver-based converters deliver improved efficiency, speed and signal integrity, their high frequency switching features can produce elevated levels of conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI), posing challenges to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and overall system reliability. To solve this
    Date:
    03/29/2026
    Next-generation commercial building network-connected lighting systems

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    Figure 1: Lighting controls for next generation lighting.

    A significant percentage of a building's energy consumption is due to its lighting. Historically, lighting was a coarsely controlled power load, managed manually with a simple on-off switch. With
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    Date:
    05/21/2012
    What to expect from your LED driver

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    Figure 1: Incandescent light bulbs (blue curves) are purely resistive, LEDs (red curves) are not.

    LEDs are gaining significant traction in the lighting market due to their long operating lifetime, low running cost, and ease of control for specific applications. However, in order to realize
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    Date:
    05/20/2012
    LED-driver ICs lead to a broad spectrum of lighting

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    Figure 1: The LT3791 Driving a 3 A LED Array at up to 100 W

    Incandescent light bulbs waste 90% of the energy they consume in the form of heat. The light outputs from HB (high-brightness) LEDs have already exceeded the critical milestone of 100 lm/W. In fact,
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    Date:
    05/20/2012
    Smart and simple sensor interfaces

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    Figure 1: Modern robotic systems featuring sophisticated multi-axis arms are adding to factory productivity and safety. Simply picking up an object can require several sensors.

    Automation is providing improvements in safety, accuracy, and convenience for many everyday applications. Consider the precision and advantages of computer-assisted surgery or the array of automation
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    Date:
    05/20/2012
    High-power LED-lighting drivers

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    Figure 1: Resonant driver for high-power LED-lighting applications.

    Solid-state lighting applications such as streetlights and industrial lighting demand drivers that offer better efficiency than the traditional flyback topology in the 50—250 W power range. As
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    Date:
    05/19/2012
    Flicker and dimmer challenges in LED-lamp design

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    Figure 1: One-Stage Approach: The driver converts an AC-rectified line voltage to the necessary DC current through a flyback transformer and filter. Unfortunately, the rectified voltage contains ripple at twice the line frequency (100 or 120 Hz).

    The SSL (solid-state lighting) industry is in a state of excitement mixed with trepidation. With the obvious need for lighting more efficient than traditional incandescents, key market drivers
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    Date:
    05/19/2012
    Closed-loop voltage scaling

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    Figure 1: Development of CNA ASICs

    For some designs, reducing circuit-board power dissipation by 25% to 30% would just be a nice outcome. For other designs, it's an absolute necessity. Designers of products using the latest high-performance
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    Date:
    05/19/2012

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