Technical Features

December 2020

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Figure 1: Replacing conventional, discrete power conversion with power modules throughout the vehicle provides significant cost and weight savings in EVs

High-Density Power Modules Simplify and Downsize EV Power System Design

Greg Green, Director of Automotive Marketing, Vicor

The electrification of the automobile is presenting new challenges for power system designers in achieving the highest power density at the lowest weight possible, eliminating compromises in vehicle range and overall performance. Designers of power delivery networks (PDNs) are also tasked with designing safe, effici

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Date:

10/31/2024

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Figure 1a: E-mode GaN HEMT equivalent circuit

How GaN Transistors Can be Paralleled

Yalcin Haksoz, Infineon Technologies

Wide-bandgap (WBG) technology is increasingly becoming an alternative to traditional silicon MOSFETs in power converters. In market segments where the remaining percentage point or two of efficiency can really make a difference or an increase in power density can provide an advantage, a move to gallium nitride (G

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: Typical cross-section of a sleeve bearing

Fans: Bearing the Strain of Cooling

Jeff Schnabel, CUI Devices and Simon Duggleby, Mouser Electronics

All electronic systems produce heat to a greater or lesser extent. Thermal management is an essential task for all designers and, in many cases, they opt to use a fan to maintain a stream of cooling air over the hottest components. By doing so, reliability is increased for the components and the system. Maintaining te

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1. Probing a power design with a real-time oscilloscope can help identify the sources and transmission paths of unwanted emissions

Using Early EMI Testing to Validate SiC-based Designs

Tom Neville, Technology Management, Power Products, Rohde & Schwarz

In applications like automotive, green energy, and data centers, the primary growth drivers for SiC are potential gains in performance, efficiency and power density. However, the gains in performance and size must still run the gauntlet of faster switching speeds, large currents, and issues related to new packaging re

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: The evolution of ABB’s modular components is enabling higher power densities for space-constrained applications

Industrial Power Density and Connectivity Challenges

Marco Mastromattei, Applications Engineering, ABB Power Conversion

The AC-to-DC power conversion modules used in advanced automation and robotics systems continue to face escalating challenges of power density, precision, intelligence, and connectivity to keep pace with advancements in evolving motor control technology. Board-Level Power Density and Thermal Management The

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: Carbon Composition Resistors

Carbon Composition Resistors: Strengths and Weaknesses

Kory Schroeder, Director of Marketing & Product Engineering, Stackpole Electronics

Carbon comps, as they are called, are now becoming scarcer. It is important to understand the technology behind the carbon comp as well as its strengths and weaknesses so that potential alternatives can be assessed. This document will explore the construction of carbon composition resistors and the performance be

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: Sysmac studio: Keeping all disciplines of automation in one programming environment simplifies a controls engineer's design process

The Promise of Complete 3D Motion and Robotics Visualization

Carrie Lee, Product Manager – Controllers at Omron Automation Americas

In the manufacturing industry, being able to simulate the design functionality of production equipment before machine building begins has wide-ranging – and obvious – advantages. Engineers can use meticulous CAD-based programs to lay out entire blocks of machinery and see how it takes up space within the pl

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: Autonomous Vehicle

Permanent Magnetic Motors make Electric Vehicles Viable

Bruno Jouffrey, Parker Hannifin

The popularity of electric vehicles is rising in most key markets around the world, as environmentally-conscious consumers, prompted by increasing amounts of legislation, buy-in to the need for less polluting transport options in our towns and cities. This trend is also being driven by rapid improvements in the pe

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: Using magnetic coupled resonant frequency techniques and impedance matching and compensation component for EV wireless charging. (Source: WiTricity)

Wireless EV Charging to Boost EV Adoption

Mark Patrick, Mouser Electronics

The recently released Bloomberg Electric Vehicle Outlook 2020 report highlights that new EV sales will continue to grow to an estimated 26 million vehicles by 2030. The increasing choice of available models, lower battery costs, and broader market adoption contribute to sales growth. The availability of a widespread EV

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: Illustration of how direct time-of-flight (DToF) and indirect time-of-flight (IToF) work

GaN Reliability Testing Beyond AEC for Automotive Lidar

Alex Lidow Ph.D., Robert Strittmatter Ph.D., Shengke Zhang Ph.D., and Alejandro Pozo Ph.D. Efficient Power Conversion

An automotive application using GaN power devices in high volume is lidar (light detection and ranging) for autonomous vehicles. Lidar technology provides information about a vehicle’s surroundings, thus requiring high accuracy and reliability to ensure safety and performance. This article will discuss a

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1. More power in smaller packages is one of the goals of SWaP. Sample of Elma power solutions shown

Optimizing Power Conversion in Rugged Environments

Dave Caserza, Embedded Computing Architect Manager, Elma

Supplying power for today’s highly mobile, highly rugged embedded computing environments goes well beyond a mere power supply unit (PSU). While an integrated PSU is key to system operation, dense electronics are demanding more power than can reasonably be supplied from just one power source. Because many embe

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Date:

12/03/2020

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Figure 1: Main differences between Si, SiC and GaN materials

How SiC and GaN Enable Higher Power Conversion Efficiency

Milan Ivkovic, EBV Elektronik

Energy usage and its conversion from source to final application has been a subject of development ever since horsepower meant exactly that, and the design of a plough was critical to how many days it would take to prepare a field for planting. Today we think more about electrical energy and power conversion fr

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Date:

12/02/2020

Figure 1. Electric vehicle power systems cover voltage ranges from 900VDC to 12VDC at power levels that exceed 100s of KW

Electric Vehicle Traction Systems Require Nimble, High Power Test Systems

Craig Frahm, Global Marketing Manager, EA Elektro-Automatik, Inc.

In a previously published article on this subject, we noted, “The market demand for reduction in the use of fossil fuels is driving the inexorable move toward EVs. The complexity of testing the whole spectrum of electronic devices and systems within this new breed of vehicles is placing higher demands on test eq

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Date:

12/01/2020