Technical Features

February 2025

New Rad Hard MOSFET Technology Drives Higher Power Efficiency and Reliability in Space

When designing a robust and high-density power architecture for space systems like satellites, engineers must grapple with a variety of design complexities, including limited board space, power dissipation requirements, and damaging radiation effects. To address these challenges and reach peak operational per

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Date:

02/28/2025

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Welcome to the GaN Era

Nare Gabrielyan, Product Marketing Manager, Cambridge GaN Devices

Size, weight and performance are three attributes that constantly propel electronics development. Throw in the need for ultra-efficiency driven by market requirements and international regulations, plus the absolute need to address sustainability, and you’ll see why gallium nitride is gaining such huge traction as

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Date:

02/01/2025

Figure 1. Necessary components to consider when using GaN technology as power switches in a power stage of the LTC7800 buck converter.

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Using GaN Technology in Switch-Mode Power Supplies

Frederik Dostal, Power Management Expert, Analog Devices

GaN switches typically have lower gate voltage ratings than silicon FETs. Most GaN manufacturers recommend a typical gate drive voltage of 5 V. Some have an absolute maximum rating of 6 V, which does not give much headroom between the recommended gate drive voltage and the critical threshold, above which would da

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Date:

02/01/2025

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Figure 1: Totem-pole PFC demonstration application

A Combined Approach Simplifies EV On-Board Charger Design

Clayton Pillion, Vice President SiC business unit, and Joe Thomsen, Vice President Digital Signal Controller Business Unit, Microchip

An essential component for electric vehicles (EVs) is the On-Board Charger (OBC), which transforms alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC) to replenish the vehicle's high-voltage battery. The efficacy and dependability of OBCs significantly influence the entire performance and user experience of EVs

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Date:

02/01/2025

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Figure 1: Cross-section view of GaN devices mounted on a PCB in a half-bridge configuration without a heatsink and the equivalent thermal circuit

Optimizing PCB Thermal Design for GaN FETs: A Guide for Power Electronics Engineers

Adolfo Herrera, Efficient Power Conversion, EPC

Effective thermal design at the printed circuit board (PCB) level can substantially improve cooling without the need for a heatsink. This article presents simple thermal management guidelines maximizing heat conduction from the GaN FETs to the environment using just the PCB and optimizes thermal performance wi

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Date:

02/01/2025

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Figure 1: The new DC Authentix charger and modular site design enable rapid deployment of EV charging hubs for rideshare, robotaxis, and truck depots. Pre-configured components ensure fast assembly and operational readiness

Powering the Future: Direct Current to Fast-Track Clean Energy Solutions

Vic Shao, CEO and Founder of DC Grid

Over the past 15 years, working in energy storage and fleet electrification, one thing has become clear: the traditional alternating current (AC) grid, which has served us for over a century, can’t meet the demands of rapid clean energy adoption, especially in power-hungry sectors like electric vehicle (EV) in

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Date:

02/01/2025

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Figure 1: TOLT (a), PowerPAK 8x8R (b), and CCPAK1212i (c)

A Top-Side Cooled Package to Best Dissipate Heat

Sebastian Klotzer and Ilian B from Nexperia and Maurizio Tranchero and Paolo Santero from Ideas & Motion

In recent years, semiconductor manufacturers have developed power component packages which use a different thermal management approach - instead of placing the thermal pad on the bottom of a device pointing towards the PCB, the exposed metal pad is placed on the top side of the device. It has been shown that to

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Date:

02/01/2025

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Figure 1: Similarities and differences in the construction of polymer capacitors (Source: Kemet)

Why Choose Polymer for Capacitors?

Julio GÁLLEGO LÓPEZ, Field Application Engineer at Rutronik

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are polarized capacitors in which the anode and cathode are made of aluminum. They can have either a wet electrolyte, a solid conductive polymer, or a hybrid (wet and solid conductive polymer) electrolyte. In aluminum electrolytic capacitors, both electrodes are made of a

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Date:

02/01/2025

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Figure 1: A Field Programmable Gate Array, or FPGA, is a type of integrated circuit (IC) that enables the development of custom logic for rapid prototyping and final system design. FPGAs are different than other custom or semi-custom ICs due to their inherent flexibility....

Driving the Future of Intelligent Robotics and Smart Home Devices with FPGAs

Mark Hoopes, Director of Automotive & Industrial Segment Marketing and Hussein Osman, Segment Marketing Director, Lattice Semiconductor

The global smart homes market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.35% from 2023 to 2030 and, the global industrial robotics market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 11.65% over the same period according to ABI Analytics. As adoption across both markets accelerates, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) ar

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Date:

02/01/2025