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DC/DC converter datasheets - Calculate system losses
Welcome back to the DC/DC converter datasheets blog series. In this final installment, I will discuss DC/DC regulator component conduction losses.Conduction losses are a result of device parasitic...
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An easy-to-assemble power supply for optical modules
Optical modules are probably not the first system you might think of in the telecom infrastructure market. Because they’re so small, optical modules easily get forgotten – especially when compared to...
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Power Tips: Calculate an R-C snubber in seven steps
Ringing in switching power supplies can generate radiated and conducted noise, create circuit jitter and excessive dissipation, and easily overstress components. Ringing is a major concern in...
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Optimizing voltage accuracy
Whether it’s shooting darts or hitting a golf ball, accuracy matters. The same is true of a power supply –and it’s especially true when powering an ASIC, FPGA or any high-end processor. Simply put, the...
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eFuses: clamping and cutoff and auto retry, oh my! – part 1/3
Much like when Dorothy arrived in Oz, your first look at the multitude of features inside the Texas Instruments eFuse portfolio can be overwhelming. With options such as voltage clamping, circuit...
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Keeping up with the standards: Efficiency and standby power requirements
Energy agencies around the world are concerned about growing power consumption and the amount of available deliverable energy. One of the largest demands on the world’s power grid comes from external...
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How LDOs contribute to power efficiency
Low-dropout regulators (LDOs) are widely recognized for their low noise and high power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR). However, LDOs can also contribute to power efficiency when they are complemented...
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When to select an integrated inductor DC/DC module over a linear regulator
Back in the day, when board space was plentiful and mechanical enclosures were large, it was easy to just plop a low-dropout regulator (LDO) down on your printed circuit board (PCB), use extra copper,...
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Improving road safety by the headlight: LED matrix manager
In my previous blog post, I introduced an automotive light-emitting-diodes (LED) headlight unit using switch-mode regulators. Those LED headlights are static; that is, they either turn on or off. You...
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No small matter: How to reduce voltage regulator size
My wife loves to get flowers. It is amazing how a simple, small gift can bring such a big smile to her face. The flowers brighten up our home and our spirits.If only reducing voltage regulator size was...
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Advantages of wide band gap materials in power electronics – part 1
With the introduction of new wide-bandgap materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) in transistor fabrication, significant figure-of-merit improvements translate into potential improvements in power...
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Power Tips: Simple PSRR measurement with a frequency analyzer
The power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) is the power supply’s ability to reject ripple voltage applied at the input. This is normally done by adding a high-current power amplifier in series with the...
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eFuses: clamping and cutoff and auto retry, oh my! – part 2/3
If you missed part 1 of this blog series, be sure to check out the different options available with eFuses for handling overvoltage events (output-voltage clamping vs. output-voltage cutoff). In this...
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Thinking beyond the buck controller for high-output power supplies
Choosing the right buck-converter topology for a battery-connected automotive power supply is usually pretty straightforward. For currents up to ~3.5A, a synchronous buck converter is the best choice....
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Voltage regulator features – inside the black box
As I travel and meet with customers across many market sectors, I have come to realize that many hardware designers become power-supply engineers by necessity. Hardware designers are responsible for...
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Downtown or the suburbs? Considering converters or controllers for...
Residents seeking more space generally give up living near downtown areas, with their likely proximity to work and city services, and move to the suburbs for bigger homes and spacious yards. Similarly,...
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eFuses: clamping and cutoff and auto retry, oh my! – part 3
During our journey down the Yellow Brick Road, we have discussed eFuse options for both overvoltage protection (OVP) and overcurrent protection (OCP). In this final installment, I will discuss how an...
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Simplify digital hot swap design using the PI-Commander GUI
In my last blog, I walked through how to simplify a robust hot swap design using online design calculator tools. In this post, we’ll look at using the PI-Commander GUI as another means to easily design...
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Power Tips: Power sharing in USB Type-C applications
The USB Type-C™ Power Delivery (PD) standard makes an allowance for anywhere from 7.5W (5V at 1.5A) to 100W (20V at 5A) per port. In any given system, however, the available input power is limited. In...
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Understanding MOSFET data sheets, part 6 – thermal impedance
It’ s been a while since posting entries 1 through 5 in this series, but I find myself still fielding several questions about FET datasheets, particularly those parameters found in the thermal...
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