Typical rapid transient electrical applications are often characterised as ‘mission critical’. In many cases, an engineer or test technician may have just one viable opportunity to capture invaluable diagnostic data for the prevention of damage to machinery, systems and equipment. Read more »
Solar or photovoltaic cells represent one of the best possible technologies for providing an absolutely clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy to power our civilization. Read more »
Microchips are found in every modern electronic device from mobile phones to kitchen appliances. But as users demand more processing power on an ever smaller scale, bulky chips mounted on printed circuit boards are running out of room. Read more »
Testing the effect of electromagnetic fields on humans to find out if CFLs are safe to use. Read more »
Probably no other issue generates more discussion or confusion in the electrical market than how to correctly implement a redundant power supply system. Read more »
Researchers with the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shed light on the role of temperature in controlling a fabrication technique for drawing chemical patterns as small as 20 nm. Read more »
Rugged connectors are meeting the rapidly changing requirements of the modern motor vehicle platform. Today’s vehicles are heading into new territory, due to smart and adaptable interconnect products. Read more »
Releasing a product with bugs is potentially very expensive, especially considering the cost of field upgrades, recalls and repairs. Less quantifiable, but at least equally important, is the damage done to reputation and consequent loss of user goodwill. Read more »
Rapidly falling prices in the first half of this year have been unable to stimulate the faltering European photovoltaic market, according to the latest Solarbuzz European PV Markets report. Read more »
This article takes an in-depth look at the role connectors play in the modern rail system. Read more »
By nestling quantum dots in an insulating egg-crate structure, researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have demonstrated a new architecture for quantum-dot light-emitting devices (QD-LEDs). Read more »
Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, in smart phones, laptops, an array of other consumer electronics and the newest electric cars. Good as they are, they could be much better, especially when it comes to lowering the cost and extending the range of electric cars. To do that, batteries need to store a lot more energy. Read more »
PCB board design is often governed by established cost aspects. If a designer comes up with an EMC-proof design (in theory difficult, if not impossible to achieve without actually testing it as a product), they are likely to hear that it’s going to be expensive to lay it out according to their wishes. Read more »
Power module packaging is driven by the ever-increasing demand for higher power densities, reliability improvements and further cost reductions. Read more »
If you work with high-speed serial links such as PCIe, USB, SATA, Infiniband or gigabit ethernet, you have encountered S-parameters. This method of describing the electrical properties of interconnects, standard in the microwave world for more than 60 years, is becoming the de facto standard in the high-speed digital world as well. Read more »
The Belgian research centre imec, together with Plextronics and Solvay, has produced an organic polymer-based single junction solar cell with 6.9% performance in an inverted device stack. Read more »
Common mode chokes filter common mode EMI currents without causing signal degradation and without derating under high currents. These components are applied to pairs of conductors - supply and return. Read more »
Electronics, to make businesses more efficient through organising sales and record keeping and to reduce the quality of paper used, has been the holy grail of organisations since computers were welcomed into the fold as a business tool. In this article, the author looks at some of the achievements, challenges and pitfalls that a dedicated eprocurement system can bring. Read more »
The environments in which microwave cable assemblies are being used today are becoming more challenging with exposure to such conditions as extreme temperatures, chemicals, abrasion and flexing. Additional challenges include the need for smaller, lighter packaging for cable systems that last longer and cost less. Read more »
System power engineers have many choices in today’s power connector market and the list of options is growing as the industry diversifies to offer more specialised products. Here are some commonly asked questions: Read more »