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Spanning a frequency band of 380 MHz to 6 GHz, the BBA300 family of RF amplifiers from Rohde & Schwarz now includes 90-W models in the CDE and DE series. The instruments can be used for EMC and OTA coexistence testing, as well as component testing during development and production.

The BBA300-CDE offers a continuous frequency range from 380 MHz to 6 GHz, while the BBA300-DE operates from 1 GHz to 6 GHz. Both models offer a choice of 15-W, 25-W, 50-W, 90-W, and 180-W P1dB power classes and software-adjustable saturation power up to 250 W.

The broadband amplifiers support amplitude, frequency, phase, pulse, and complex OFDM modulation modes. According to the manufacturer, units are very robust under all mismatch conditions, providing valid test results in every scenario.

Software options for the BBA300 amplifiers allow users to optimize transmission characteristics for specific applications. For example, it is possible to shift the operating point of transistors between Class A and Class AB to adjust amplifier performance for different types of input signals. By changing the tolerance to mismatch at the output, the BBA300 can generate more RF power under well-matched conditions.

Request a price quote using the link to the product page below.

BBA300 product page

Rohde & Schwarz 

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Qorvo is offering its 750-V, 5.4-Ω SiC FETs in TO-leadless (TOLL) packages for use in space-constrained applications such as AC/DC power supplies. The TOLL package is 30% smaller in footprint and, at 2.3 mm, half the height of comparable alternative D2PAK surface-mount offerings. Additionally, in the TOLL package, the 5.4-mΩ devices have 4x to 10x lower on-resistance than competing best-in-class Si MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs and GaN transistors.

Despite the size reduction of the TOLL package, the devices achieve a thermal resistance of 0.1°C/W from junction to case. The DC current rating is 120 A up to case temperatures of 144°C, and the pulsed current rating is 588 A for up to 0.5 ms. A Kelvin source connection is also provided to ensure reliable high-speed switching.

The TOLL-packaged 750-V, 5.4-mΩ SiC FET is included in Qorvo’s FET-Jet free-to-use online calculator. The calculator enables instant evaluation of efficiency, component losses, and junction temperature rise for parts used in AC/DC and isolated/non-isolated DC/DC converter topologies.

Gen4 SiC FET product page

Qorvo

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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The Renesas RZ/T2L microprocessor employs the EtherCAT communication protocol to provide high-speed real-time control for industrial systems. Based on a 32-bit Arm Cortex-R52 core operating at a maximum frequency of 800 MHz, the RZ/T2L provides up to 1 Mbyte of tightly coupled SRAM with error correction code (ECC). Its three-port EtherCAT slave controller, designed by Beckhoff Automation, is joined by an Ethernet MAC and CAN-FD module.

The RZ/T2L leverages the same hardware architecture as the higher-end RZ/T2M, while reducing chip size by up to 50%. Software compatibility with other Rensas MPUs/MCUs allows developers to seamlessly implement scalable designs. Real-time processing makes the RZ/T2L well-suited for AC servo drives, inverters, industrial robots, and collaborative robots.

Onboard peripheral functions include multi-protocol encoder interfaces for angle sensors, sigma-delta interfaces, and A/D converters. These are arranged on a dedicated low-latency peripheral port (LLPP) bus directly connected to the CPU to achieve fast and accurate real-time control capabilities.

The RZ/T2L microprocessor is available now and is supported by the Renesas Product Longevity Program for industrial equipment requiring long life cycles.

RZ/T2M product page

Renesas Electronics 

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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Direct links to simulation models for 13 of Kyocera AVX’s embedded antennas are available in Ansys HFSS 3D electromagnetic simulation software. As part of Ansys 2023 R1, models include embedded FR4 and ceramic GNSS, ISM, BLE, Wi-Fi, LPWA, and 5G/LTE antennas widely employed in IoT, medical, and automotive applications.

When users click on the Kyocera AVX antenna components featured in Ansys 2023 R1 software, they will be transported to the Kyocera AVX website to download the simulation files. The 13 antenna models are also available on the Kyocera AVX website for Ansys HFSS versions 2019 R3 through 2022 R2.

Engineers use Ansys HFSS simulation software to design high-frequency, high-speed electronics optimized for use in communications systems, ADAS, satellites, and IoT devices. This latest release empowers users to run large jobs and overcome hardware capacity limitations with high-performance computing and cloud capabilities, as well as enhanced solver algorithms. It also integrates more AI and machine learning capabilities to further improve engineering efficiency and accelerate innovation.

For more information about Kyocera AVX embedded antennas, Ansys HFSS 3D EM simulation software, and Ansys 2023 R1 release highlights, click the embedded links.

Kyocera AVX

Ansys

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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Synopsys.ai is a full AI-driven EDA software stack for the design, verification, testing, and manufacture of advanced digital and analog chips. Synopsys says engineers can now use AI at every stage of chip design by accessing the EDA tools in the cloud.

The Synopsis.ai EDA design suite provides:

• Digital design space optimization to achieve power, performance, and area (PPA) targets and boost productivity
• Analog design automation for rapid migration of analog designs across process nodes
• Verification coverage closure and regression analysis for faster functional testing closure, higher coverage, and predictive bug detection
• Automated test generation resulting in fewer optimized test patterns for silicon defect coverage and faster time to results
• Manufacturing tools to accelerate development of lithography models with high accuracy to achieve the highest yield

Synopsys.ai tools are now in use by 9 of the top 10 semiconductor companies, establishing Synopsys as an early leader in this space. Renesas Electronics, one of the companies with early access to the Synopsys.ai technology, has achieved a 10x improvement in reducing functional coverage holes and up to a 30% increase in IP verification productivity. With each design project, the suite’s AI engines continually train on unique data sets, allowing them to become more adept at optimizing results over time.

Learn more about Synopsys.ai EDA solutions from the blog found here or by clicking the link to the product page below.

Synopsys.ai product page 

Synopsys

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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The capacitance comparator allows you to compare the capacitances of two capacitors and indicate the equality or inequality of these capacitances.

The monitoring of changes in capacitance of capacitors under the influence of external factors (e.g., capacitor sensors) can be used to indicate the distance to various objects, in contactless capacitive switches, capacitive liquid level indicators, security systems, etc.

Wow the engineering world with your unique design: Design Ideas Submission Guide

The device for comparing the capacitance of the reference capacitor C1 and the capacitor of the sensor Cx, Figure 1, contains a dynamic measuring RC bridge, to the diagonal of which the inputs of the comparator U1 LM324 are connected. The unbalance of the bridge is indicated by LED1 and LED2 indicators.

Figure 1 A capacitive comparator circuit with a dynamic measuring RC bridge that contains two RC circuits (R3, Cx and R5, C1).

The measuring RC bridge is made of two RC circuits: R3, Cx and R5, C1, where R3=R5, and Cx≈C1. Rectangular pulses from an external generator with a frequency of 10 kHz, a voltage of 10 V and with a fill factor D on the order of 99% are fed to the measuring RC bridge. Capacitors C1 and Cx are simultaneously charged exponentially. At the end of the input pulse, both capacitors are instantly discharged through diodes D1 and D2.

The inputs of the comparator U1 are connected to the diagonal of the measuring bridge. If Cx≠C1 the charge rates of the capacitors C1 and Cx are different, an unbalance voltage will be present in the diagonal of the bridge. The unbalance of the bridge will cause the state of the comparator U1 to switch.

In the case of Cx>C1, LED1 will light up; in the case of Cx<C1, LED2 will light up. The device reacts to the unbalance of the bridge when the sensor capacity changes by hundredths of a percent.

When correcting the values of resistors R2 and R7, you can turn on the LEDs of optocoupler controlling external devices.

Michael A. Shustov is a doctor of technical sciences, candidate of chemical sciences and the author of over 750 printed works in the field of electronics, chemistry, physics, geology, medicine, and history.

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The analysis of two-port networks is a topic well covered in literature. Such analyses start looking a little like alphabet soup when we speak, for example, of y-parameters, z-parameters, and h-parameters. Those three are summed up for the simplest cases as follows in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Two-port y-parameters (green), z-Parameters (yellow), and h-Parameters (blue).

For the y-parameters, each coefficient is an admittance. For the z-parameters, each coefficient is an impedance. For the h-parameters, we have an impedance for h11, an admittance for h22 and two dimensionless terms h12 and h21, from which a terminology mix leads to these being called hybrid parameters.

The governing algebra is shown for each case along with the corresponding matrix notation. In all cases, the coefficients are allowed to be complex numbers with real and imaginary parts.

It can sometimes be difficult to assess the y, z and h values in the real world, especially when we get to higher frequencies. An easily visualized example of that difficulty is z11 = V1 / I1 when I2 = zero, but actually making I2 be zero is not necessarily all that easy. How would you accomplish that if the two-port device under examination is a waveguide? Similarly, how would you examine h11 = V1 / I1 when V2 = zero? Do you know how to make a true short circuit across a microwave structure? I don’t.

A way out of this issue is to use s-parameters as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 The two-port s-parameter matrix (violet).

What actually appears at port 1 is the sum of voltages a1 and b1 while what appears at Port 2 is the sum of a2 and b2. What makes this useful is that the s-parameter numbers are defined for the network operating at a termination impedance, in many cases, at 50 Ω. All of the s-parameters are dimensionless coefficients which, as before, can be complex numbers. Those coefficients can also vary with frequency as well.

S-parameters are often called “scattering parameters” and their matrix is a “scattering matrix”. There is lots of literature about that, so I won’t try to go into that here. However, I once read a story, perhaps apocryphal, which I thought was pretty cool stuff.

If we have a two-port device of some kind in which every last little bit of structure complies perfectly with some characteristic impedance and we load port 2 of that structure with exactly that characteristic impedance, then all of the power and energy that enters port 1 will be delivered to the load on port 2 with none of that energy getting bounced back toward its source. For example, if the load impedance being fed by port 2 is exactly the characteristic impedance of the apparatus, the a2 value will  be zero.

However, if there is any structural anomaly along the way, maybe some small metal dimple or some teeny, little edge where maybe two sections of waveguide meet, some small portion of energy will be reflected back from whence it came. That reflection process arises from “scattering” of the signal when and where it meets that little anomaly. Hence the term “scattering parameters”.

True? False? I don’t know. Fun though.

John Dunn is an electronics consultant, and a graduate of The Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (BSEE) and of New York University (MSEE).

Related Content

• Coaxial Z—breaking down the impedance of a coaxial transmission line
• Use S-parameters to describe crosstalk
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• Characterize interconnects with S-parameters
• Using S-parameter data effectively

The post The y-, z-, h-, and s-parameter alphabet soup appeared first on EDN.

Back in September 2022, I told you about two microSD cards that weren’t as advertised, capacity-wise:

A bit more recently (at the beginning of this year, specifically), I unsuccessfully tried to get inside one of them:

And now…well, it’s happened again, this time with an SD card. Back at the end of December, I bought a “Used-Very Good” condition 128 GByte SDXC card from Amazon’s Warehouse section for $27.45, versus $32.83 (its current brand-new price on Amazon as I write this):

This was the second “Warehouse”-sourced acquisition of the same card (vendor, capacity and performance specs) that I’d made in ~1 month, following in the footsteps of a “Used-Like New” purchase (ironically for $0.10 less) in late November. And at the same earlier time, I’d also bought two brand-new cards “Black Friday”-priced at $27.63 each. At first, all four cards seemingly worked fine. The only discrepancy I’d noticed was that the “Used-Very Good” card came absent its packaging, instead housed solely within a clear plastic “baggie”, but it had been advertised as repackaged, so I didn’t think anything of it.

Prompted by the advertised-vs-true capacity discussion I had with reader “Ducksoup_SD” as a follow-up to that earlier mentioned January 2023 writeup, I gave in to curiosity and did full-reformats (versus default “quick” formats) on all four PNY SD cards (plus four used Sony ones I’d subsequently bought from B&H Photo Video for another project, details of which I’ll save for another time) to ensure that they actually delivered the promised storage capacity in full.

The late-December-acquired Amazon Warehouse-sourced PNY passed format but seemed to complete slower than its peers, which was strange. Its label also fell off when I pulled it out of the computer’s SD card slot: more strangeness. So, further feeding the curiosity beast, after clumsily gluing the label back on, I ran Blackmagic’s Disk Speed test (here’s a direct link to the utility on Apple’s App Store) on all four of them. Here’s what I got on the two new ones and the “Used-Like New” one:

And here are the results on the “Used-Very Good” one, which previously had seemingly reformatted more slowly than the others:

Notice the disparity? All four cards delivered comparable read speeds, but the fourth card’s write performance was ~25% lower than the others. As soon as I flipped it and one of the other cards over, I had my answer:

Again, see the difference? Before continuing, I’ll also share a photo of both cards’ front sides:

The under-delivering “Used-Very Good” one is on the left in both pictures; you’ll need to take my word that it originally looked identical to its full-performance peer to the right. The label degradation you see was solely the result of my earlier-mentioned re-glue clumsiness.

To explain what I think is going on, here’s some preparatory background. While the underwhelming write performance may be a minor annoyance when you’re formatting a memory card, it’s a huge issue when you’re trying to sustainably camera-capture “raw” or other high bitrate-formatted 4K or higher resolution video (which is precisely what I’d bought these cards for), for example. The correctly outfitted card on the right is a UHS-II model; its second row of signal contacts, in combination with the earlier SD-to UHS transition to low-voltage differential signaling, enables it to deliver highest-possible interface transfer speeds (currently, at least; there’s also a UFS-III spec but I haven’t seen any cards based on it yet). The other one has a more conventional single row of apportioned contacts. Compare the two and you’ll likely come up with at least two correct conclusions:

• UHS-II cards are intentionally designed to be backwards-compatible with UHS-I (and precursor) card readers, albeit running at lower transfer speeds in the process, and
• The card slot in the system I used for my benchmarking, an early 2015 13” MacBook Pro, is obviously UHS-II cognizant, otherwise the correctly implemented cards wouldn’t have performed better than their slower sibling did.

So, what happened here? I suppose this could have been a screwup on PNY’s part from the get-go, sticking the wrong label on the card way back at the factory. But more likely, I suspect (particularly given that the label on the misbehaving one fell off on me), is that this is the latest in a long line of storage scams that have victimized many folks. Back in January, for example, I told you about a ripoff from mid-last year involving Walmart (inadvertently, I assume) selling supposedly 30 TByte portable SSDs for $39. Well, subsequent to my January writeup’s publication, another scam got lots of coverage: fake 16 TByte SSDs on Amazon for $100.

My guess? Someone printed up a bunch of fake PNY labels, stuck them on unknown-source SD cards (correct-capacity ones, at least) and returned them to Amazon, keeping the legit ones they’d previously purchased. I got one of the fakes. Who knows, frankly, how many times this particular card has circulated through Amazon Warehouse’s buy-return-resell (lather, rinse and repeat) cycle, and how many of these fake cards ended up unknowingly (and permanently) in scammed buyers’ hands. To wit, I almost didn’t bother returning the card, out of concern that Amazon might just turn around and resell it even though I’d documented its definitive flaws in my return-request submission. Instead, I thought about instead keeping it to add to the teardown pile; in retrospect, had I done so, I might have also been able to discern info about its origination via a perusal of its S.M.A.R.T. data using a utility such as CrystalDiskInfo.

More generally, the specs associated with the microSD and SD cards, and therefore the markings on the labels of them, are IMHO frankly a mess. In addition to the aforementioned bus interface evolution and options (default SD, high speed SD, and UHS-I, UHS-II and UHS-III, along with SD Express in the future) there are four different capacity range classifications: SD (up to 2 GBytes), SDHC (2-32 GBytes), SDXC (32 GBytes-2 TBytes) and SDUC (2-128 TBytes). And there are currently three different sets of media speed classifications, all of which overlap each other:

• Original Speed Class (2, 4, 6 and 10)
• UHS (presumably “Ultra High Speed”) Speed Class (U1, U2 and U3, which are different than the previously discussed UHS-I, UHS-II and UHS-III interface speed options), and
• Video Speed Class (V30, V60 and V90)

See for yourself:

Further muddying the waters are various proprietary memory card implementations. Sandisk, for example, sells a single-row contacts family that looks like a UHS-1 form factor and therefore should max out at V30 transfer rate performance (in fairness, Sandisk does label them as such). But the company touts them as delivering up to 200 MByte/sec read and 140 MByte/sec write speeds. That’s because they optionally support a Sandisk-only DDR interface transfer mode which, to the best of my knowledge, is only comprehended by a few Sandisk-branded card readers; in industry-standard card slots they run at 104 MByte/sec max UHS-1 speeds.

And don’t get me started on all the other high-capacity and/or high-performance removable memory card form factors and spec options, industry standard and proprietary alike, that are now contending for consumers’ wallets, such as the Compact Flash Association’s CFast and CFexpress, the latter in both Type A and B variants…sigh. I could dive down into the next level of spec minutia, complete with more rants, but I think I’ll spare both you and my poor associate editor colleague the incremental wordcount and associated angst. Thoughts, supportive or not, on my situation, conclusion and overall industry observations? Sound off in the comments!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the company’s online newsletter.

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Frequent contributor, Peter Demchenko, recently published “A safe adjustable regulator” discussing the likelihood and consequences of rheostat-connected voltage trimmer failure in three-terminal adjustable regulator (LM317, LM350, NTE1929, etc.) circuits, and how to avoid them. Peter observes that trimmer pot wipers, being electromechanical moving parts, are far more likely to fail than solid state components. When wipers do fail, the most probable outcome is an open circuit. In the context of adjustment circuits typically found in regulator manufacturer datasheets (see Figure 1), this will cause regulator runaway and likely a fried load!

Wow the engineering world with your unique design: Design Ideas Submission Guide

Figure 1 The typical regulator datasheet adjustment circuit.

Peter’s solution incorporates a passive network comprising of several resistors and a range selection switch. It also includes software to facilitate calculation of the necessary component values, since the classic simple 3-terminal adjustment equation…

Vout = 1.25(R2 / R1 + 1)

…won’t work for his network.

While Peter’s solution is ingenious and effective, presented here is an alternative idea. It takes advantage of the fact (also shown in Figure 1) that pots connected as rheostats (e.g., R2) have a wasted terminal: the NC end of the resistance element. This orphan is adopted and given a friend (Q1) and a happy home in the failsafe circuit of Figure 2. Here’s how it works:

Figure 2 A simple failsafe circuit where the NC pin of the pot R2 (in Figure 1) is instead connected to Q1.

In normal operation, R2’s wiper will maintain a solid connection with the pot resistance element.  This will hold that node to a voltage very near that of the ADJ terminal, depriving Q1 of forward bias and holding it OFF. In this state, ordinary regulator operation is maintained, and the usual adjustment equation still applies.

But suppose, due to defect or wear-out, the pot wiper contact fails and the connection between resistance element and wiper terminal is lost as shown (X marks the spot!) in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Failure is an option!

Now, a connection will be established through R2 from Q1’s base to ground. Q1 will therefore turn ON, ADJ be pulled down to <1V, R1’s ~5mA bias necessary for correct regulator operation sunk, and Vout thereby clamped to a safe and sane ~2V.

Disaster averted. Not a bad insurance policy for the cost of one transistor.

The idea works similarly with negative regulators.

Figure 4 Failsafe circuits with a negative regulator need an NPN Q1.

 Or, if you prefer, the pot wiper can be grounded as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Failsafe circuit with the pop wiper grounded.

Stephen Woodward’s relationship with EDN’s DI column goes back quite a ways. In all, a total of 64 submissions have been accepted since his first contribution was published in 1974.

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The post Adjustable regulator trimmer simple failsafe circuit appeared first on EDN.

GaNSense control ICs from Navitas integrate a high-voltage GaN FET and a low-voltage silicon system controller in a single surface-mount package. Intended for fast-charging power systems, initial applications cover 20-W to 150-W smartphone, tablet, and laptop chargers; consumer and home appliance supplies; and auxiliary supplies in data center and 400-V EV systems.

The first GaNSense ICs include high-frequency quasi-resonant flybacks supporting QR, DCM, CCM, and multiple-frequency, hybrid-mode operations with frequencies up to 225 kHz. Devices are provided in a surface-mount QFN package (NV695x series) or as a chipset (NV9510x + NV61xx) for design flexibility. On the secondary side, integrated synchronous rectifier power ICs (NV97xx) achieve maximum efficiency at any load condition compared to conventional rectifiers.

GaNSense features, such as loss-less current sensing, HV start-up, frequency hopping, low standby power, and wide VDD input voltage, enable small, efficient, cool-running systems with fewer components and no RSENSE hot-spot. Built-in protection functions include 800-V transient voltage, 2-kV ESD, overvoltage, overcurrent, and overtemperature.

GaNSense product page

Navitas Semiconductor 

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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The MPLAB SiC power simulator from Microchip evaluates the company’s SiC power devices and modules across various topologies during the design phase. Developed in collaboration with Plexim, the MPLAB SiC power simulator is a PLECS-based software environment that serves as an online tool that eliminates the need to purchase a simulation license.

By providing valuable benchmark data, the simulation tool helps accelerate the design process of common power converter topologies in DC/AC, AC/DC, and DC/DC applications before committing the design to hardware. It also reduces component selection time. A power electronics designer deciding between a 25-mΩ and 40-mΩ SiC MOSFET for a three-phase active front-end converter can get immediate simulation results, such as average power dissipation and peak junction temperature of the devices.

The free MPLAB SiC power simulator can be used to design power systems for e-mobility, sustainability, and industrial applications such as electric vehicles, on/off-board charging, power supplies, and battery storage systems.

To access the complimentary MPLAB SiC power simulator, click here. Design resources for Microchip’s SiC-based hardware and software can be found here. 

Microchip Technology

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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At the heart of Supermicro’s AI development platform are four NVIDIA A100 80-GB GPUs to accelerate a wide range of AI and HPC workloads. The system also leverages two 4th Gen Intel Xeon Gold 6444Y processors running at a base clock rate of 3.6 GHz. Self-contained liquid cooling for all CPUs and GPUs offers whisper-quiet operation (approximately 30 dB) in office and data center environments.

Designated the SYS-751GE-TNRT-NV1, the deskside system delivers over 2 petaflops of AI performance. It comes preloaded with the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS operating system and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software suite. Also included are 512 GB of DDR5 memory, six 1.9-TB drives providing a total of 11.4 TB of storage, and an NVIDIA ConnectX-6 DX network adapter.

The SYS-751GE-TNRT-NV1 platform comes with a three-year subscription license for NVIDIA AI Enterprise. This support and service subscription provides access to an extensive library of full-stack software, including AI workflows, frameworks, and over 50 NVIDIA pre-trained models.

SYS-751GE-TNRT-NV1 product page

Supermicro

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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Component-level and field test tools join Keysight’s e-mobility test portfolio to support the entire electric vehicle charging development cycle. These tools improve interoperability between electric vehicle (EV) and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) products through conformance testing and type approvals by focusing on the complete range of communication protocols employed by the Combined Charging System (CCS) standards.

The new e-mobility charging test solutions include:

• SL1550A EV/EVSE charging communication interface tester for performing component-level testing of electric vehicle and supply equipment communication controllers
• SL1556A CCS charging protocol tracer for seamless observation of the CCS communication channel between EV and EVSE in the lab or in the field
• SL156xA EV/EVSE charging test robot series to automate the HMI interactions between the charging test system and the system under test

The company also offers smart charging emulation software. This customizable and configurable emulation environment enables scenario- and functional-driven EV and EVSE tests based on CCS Basic, CCS Extended, and CCS Advanced profiles supporting DIN 70121, ISO 15118-2/-3, and ISO 15118-20/-3.

For more information about Keysight’s e-mobility test systems and software, click here.

Keysight Technologies

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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NVIDIA debuted the DGX Quantum, a system for researchers working in high-performance, low-latency quantum-classical computing, at its GTC 2023 developers conference. The GPU-accelerated system blends NVIDIA’s Grace Hopper Superchip and CUDA Quantum open-source programming model with the OPX+ quantum controller from Quantum Machines.

The hardware/software platform allows developers to build powerful applications that combine quantum computing with state-of-the-art classical computing, while adding capabilities for calibration, control, quantum error correction, and hybrid algorithms. Connected via a PCIe cable, the Grace Hopper system and OPX+ enable sub-microsecond latency between GPUs and quantum processing units (QPUs).

NVIDIA’s Grace Hopper integrates the Hopper architecture GPU with the new Grace CPU. It delivers up to 10X higher performance for applications running terabytes of data. OPX+ brings real-time classical compute engines into the heart of the quantum control stack to maximize any QPU and open new possibilities in quantum algorithms. Both Grace Hopper and OPX+ can be scaled to fit the size of the system, from a few-qubit QPU to a quantum-accelerated supercomputer.

DGX Quantum also equips developers with CUDA Quantum, a hybrid quantum-classical computing software stack that enables integration and programming of QPUs, GPUs, and CPUs in one system.

NVIDIA

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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The need for cost-effective solutions to improve power factor correction (PFC) at light loads and with peak efficiency while shrinking passive components is becoming difficult with conventional continuous conduction mode (CCM) control. Engineers are conducting significant research into complex multimode solutions to address these concerns [1], [2], and these approaches are attractive in that they enable you to shrink the size of the inductor while simultaneously improving efficiency with soft switching at lighter loads.

But in this power tip, I will present a new approach to achieving high efficiency and low total harmonic distortion (THD) that does not require the use of a complex multimode control algorithm and achieves zero switching losses under all operating conditions. This approach uses a high-performance gallium-nitride (GaN) switch with an integrated flag that indicates whether the switch turns on with zero voltage switching (ZVS). This approach enables high-efficiency ZVS under all operating conditions while simultaneously forcing the THD very low.

Topology

The topology used for this system is the integrated triangular current mode (iTCM) totem-pole PFC [3]. For high-power and high-efficiency systems, the totem-pole PFC offers a distinct advantage for conduction losses. The TCM version of this topology enforces ZVS by making sure that the inductor current always goes sufficiently negative before the switch turns on [4]. Figure 1 illustrates the iTCM version of totem-pole PFC.

Figure 1 The iTCM topology, showing AC line frequency current envelopes.

The difference between the TCM converter and the iTCM converter is the presence of Lb1, Lb2 and Cb. During normal operation, the voltage across Cb is equal to the input voltage Vac. Two phases operating 180 degrees out of phase take advantage of ripple current cancellation and reduce the root-mean-square current stress in Cb. Lb1 and Lb2 are sized to only process the high-frequency AC ripple current necessary for TCM operation. This removes the DC bias required for the inductor used in TCM, as defined in [4]. Ferrite cores for Lb1 and Lb2 help ensure low losses in the presence of the high flux swings necessary for ZVS. Lg1 and Lg2 are larger in value (as much as 10 times larger) than Lb1 and Lb2, which prevents most of the high-frequency current from flowing into the input source and subsequently reduces electromagnetic interference (EMI). In addition, the reduced ripple current in Lg1 and Lg2 enables the possible use of lower-cost core materials. Figure 1 also illustrates the ripple current envelopes for several key branches.

Control

Control is facilitated by the Texas Instruments (TI) TMS320F280049C microcontroller and LMG3526R030 GaN field-effect transistors (FETs). These FETs have an integrated zero-voltage-detection (ZVD) signal that is asserted anytime the switch turns on with ZVS. The microcontroller uses the ZVD information to adjust the switch timing parameters to turn the switch on with just enough current to achieve ZVS. For simplicity, Figure 2 illustrates a one-phase iTCM PFC converter. Table 1 defines the key variables used in this figure. The microcontroller uses an algorithm that solves the exact set of differential equations for the system. These equations use conditions that enforce ZVS on both switches and force the current to be equal to the current command. The equations are accurate, provided that the system is operating with the right amount of ZVS for both switches. When operating correctly, the algorithm yields the timing parameters for 0% THD and an optimal amount of ZVS. To facilitate the ZVS condition, each switch (S1 and S2) reports their respective ZVS turnon status on a cycle-by-cycle basis back to the microcontroller. In Figure 2, Vhs,zvd and Vls,zvd denote the ZVD reporting.

Figure 2 A single-phase iTCM schematic with control signals.

Table 1 Switch timing parameters and definitions.

Figure 3 illustrates the ZVD timing adjustment process. During every switching cycle, the microcontroller calculates the switch timing parameters (ton, toff, trp, and trv) based on the ZVD signal’s cumulative history. Figure 3b shows the system operating at the ideal frequency. By ideal, I mean that the THD is 0%, and you have the perfect amount of ZVS for the high- and low-side FETs. Figure 3a shows what happens when the operating frequency is 50 kHz lower than the ideal. Notice that the high-side FET loses ZVS (as indicated by the loss of the high-side ZVD signal), while the low-side FET has more negative current than is necessary to achieve ZVS. The result is a loss of efficiency and a distorted power factor. Figure 3c occurs when the operating frequency is 50 kHz higher than the ideal. In this case, the high-side FET has ZVS but the low-side FET loses ZVS. Again, there is a clear loss of efficiency and distortion.

Figure 3 ZVD behavior with low fs (a); ideal fs (b); and high fs (c).

Based on the presence or absence of the ZVD signal, the controller can increase or decrease the frequency to push the system to the optimum operating point. In this way, the control effort acts like an integrator that attempts to find the best operating frequency. The optimum will occur when the system is hovering right on the threshold of just barely getting ZVS every cycle.

Prototype performance

Figure 4 shows a prototype built with the topology and algorithm I’ve discussed so far.

Figure 4 A 400-V, 5-kW prototype with a power density of 120 W/in3.

Table 2 summarizes the specifications and important component values for the prototype.

Table 2 System specifications and important components

Figure 5 shows the prototype’s measurement nodes and Figure 6 illustrates the system waveforms of the prototype operating under full power (5 kW). The switch-node currents, IL,A and IL,B, are the sum of the current in Lg and Lb for their respective branch. The zoom section of the plot shows the waveform detail during the positive half cycle. The current waveforms have an ideal triangular shape, with just enough negative current to achieve ZVS as demonstrated by switch-node voltages VA and VB. Furthermore, the sinusoidal envelope of the current waveform suggests a low THD.

Figure 5 Prototype measurement nodes

Figure 6 System waveforms of the prototype operating under full power (Vin = Vout/2, load = 5 kW, Vin = 230 Vac, Vout = 400 V).

Figure 7 shows the measured efficiency and THD across the load range. The efficiency peaks above 99% and is above 98.5% for almost the entire load range. The THD has a maximum of 10% and is below 5% for most of the load range. In order to optimize performance, the unit phase sheds or adds phases at approximately 2 kW.

Figure 7 The prototype efficiency and THD across the load range.

Achieving a high efficiency and low THD for a totem-pole PFC

You can use the ZVD signal to control the operating frequency of a totem-pole PFC converter to achieve high efficiency and low THD. For more information about this approach, as well as a simulation model for the system, see the Variable-Frequency, ZVS, 5-kW, GaN-Based, Two-Phase Totem-Pole PFC Reference Design.

Brent McDonald is system engineer for the Texas Instruments Power Supply Design Services team. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a master’s degree, also in electrical engineering, from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Related Content

• Power Tips #114: A potential firmware mistake may lead to control instability
• Power Tips #113: Two simple isolated power options for 8 W or less
• Power Tips #112: Onboard fixtures for fault testing
• Power Tips #111: Why current sensing is a must in collaborative, mobile robots
• PFC totem pole architecture and GaN combine for high power and efficiency
• GaN transistors for efficient power conversion: buck converters

References

1. Fernandes, Ryan, and Olivier Trescases. “A Multimode 1-MHz PFC Front End with Digital Peak Current Modulation.” Published in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 31, no. 8 (August 2016): pp. 5694-5708. doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2015.2499194.
2. Lim, Shu Fan, and Ashwin M. Khambadkone. “A Multimode Digital Control Scheme for Boost PFC with Higher Efficiency and Power Factor at Light Load.” Published in 2012 Twenty-Seventh Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), Feb. 5-9, 2012, pp. 291-298. doi: 10.1109/APEC.2012.6165833.
3. Rothmund, Daniel, Dominik Bortis, Jonas Huber, Davide Biadene, and Johann W. Kolar. “10kV SiC-Based Bidirectional Soft-Switching Single-Phase AC/DC Converter Concept for Medium-Voltage Solid-State Transformers.” Published in 2017 IEEE 8th International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG), April 17-20, 2017, pp. 1-8. doi: 10.1109/PEDG.2017.7972488.
4. Liu, Zhengyang. 2017. “Characterization and Application of Wide-Band-Gap Devices for High Frequency Power Conversion.” Ph.D. dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/77959.

The post Power Tips #115: How GaN switch integration enables low THD and high efficiency in PFC appeared first on EDN.

USB-output battery chargers for smartphones, tablets and a host of other tech widgets are perpetually hot (I’m talking metaphorically here) sellers. This is particularly the case now that Apple, Google and other suppliers are no longer bundling them with their widgets, claiming that we consumers have already collected way more of them than we need (translation: “we’ve brainstormed a rationale that lets us shift the charger-acquisition burden to the consumers, lowering our BOM costs and boosting our profits”).

They now offer USB-C outputs, translating to the higher output power that was the case in the conventional USB-output past. This transition enables them to deliver timely recharges to large battery pack-based devices like laptops and even to do double-duty as AC adapters. But it also means that they run hotter (I’m now using the term literally) than before, boosting their size and therefore their available surface area for passive thermal dissipation purposes.

Thankfully, now-mainstream gallium nitride (GaN) transistors, which my colleague (more accurately: my boss) Majeed Ahmad regularly writes about, are enabling chargers/adapters that slow, halt, and in some cases, even reverse the increasing-volume trend initiated by their silicon transistor-based precursors. To quote Wikipedia:

GaN transistors are suitable for high frequency, high voltage, high temperature and high efficiency applications.[citation needed] GaN is efficient at transferring current, and this ultimately means that less energy is lost to heat…The higher efficiency and high power density of integrated GaN power ICs allows them to reduce the size, weight and component count of applications including mobile and laptop chargers, consumer electronics, computing equipment and electric vehicles.

And re my earlier “now-mainstream” comment, they’re now available at prices that match, if not undershoot (on a promotion basis, at least), those silicon transistor-based precursors. Enter today’s teardown subject, a 30W USB-C charger from a company called VOLTME that I bought at the beginning of the year for (and in fact as I write these words is still being sold priced at) only $9.99. Here’s a stock image (dimensions are 1.2×1.3×1.2 inches, and it weighs 1.5 ounces):

The manufacturer claims that “By adopting the latest GaN III tech, VOLTME 30W USB-C GaN Charger reduces the size of our chargers by 63% without compromising power.” As proof, it visually stacks its charger up against a conventional Apple 30W unit:

And VOLTME’s charger comes in five colors: black, blue, green, purple grey and white…not translucent, alas, although the company crafted a concept image to give a peek at the insides:

Here are my own comparative size-assessment shots, next to a just-purchased ($10.99 on sale) conventional silicon transistor-based Best Buy Insignia 30W USB-C charger (for which, yes, I also have future-teardown plans) with dimensions of 1.43×1.33×1.33 inches, and a United States penny (0.75 inches/19.05 mm in diameter):

Note that the VOLTME unit has non-collapsible AC prongs, whereas those of the Insignia unit fold up for transport convenience.

I’d also intended to visually compare the VOLTME GaN charger to an Aukey 27W conventional unit I’d bought in mid-2019, which currently keeps my iPad Pro juiced up, but I remembered my aspirations only after completing the VOLTME dissection. So, here’s the Aukey alongside the Insignia instead; by means of the transitive property of (in)equality, perhaps you can mentally translate the two sets of images into the VOLTME-vs-Aukey appraisal I originally intended:

Stepping back in time, here are some shots of the product packaging:

And its contents: the charger, inside a protective baggie, along with two slips of literature.

Notice anything missing? Yep, the charging cable. In fairness to VOLTME, depending on the particular user requirement, the optimum bundled cable could be any of a number of “USB-C-to” options: USB-C, conventional USB, Lightning, micro USB, etc. Still, echoing what I said before: “we’ve brainstormed a rationale that lets us shift the cable-acquisition burden to the consumers, lowering our BOM costs and boosting our profits”. Cynical, aren’t I?

Finally, some shots of our patient standalone. Front first:

That “PD” marking indicates that the charger supports Power Delivery mode, with multiple voltage/current output options pre-negotiated between the connected charger and to-be-powered device. Specifically, quoting from VOLTME’s specs:

Input: 100-240V~ 0.8A 50/60Hz
Output: 3.3-11V 3A (PPS) / 5V 3A /9V 3A / 12V 2.5A / 15V 2A / 20V 1.5A (30W Max)

To wit, here’s the backside marking summary:

Top:

Bottom:

And finally, both sides:

Now let’s dive inside. The front side edging ended up being just plastic molding, but the backside was more productive:

Here’s the inside of the plug. Those two contacts at the bottom proximity-press against matching contacts on the PCB:

Speaking of which…I pushed through from the front side USB-C opening:

Wow, that’s a lot of thermal goop:

And it’s adhesive, to boot, versus easier-to-remove paste:

There’s a plastic flap on the bottom which, when moved aside, reveals another IC underneath:

I showed a mid-teardown photo of the glue-infested insides with my colleague (and buddy) Aalyia, and she wisely-I-strongly-suspect pointed out to me, “Aren’t the leads of electrolytic caps generally a bit finicky and break with a bit of vibration? This could be their engineering/thermal management solution to it.” Thoughts, readers?

Clearly, that glue was going to have to go if I held any hope of seeing and identifying anything component-wise other than the two already-exposed PCB areas. Research suggested I give the charger a soak in either isopropyl (“rubbing”) alcohol or acetone; the former was the less caustic of the two options, and I decided to try it first. I only had the 70%-concentration stuff on hand (albeit plenty of it; during COVID we stocked up on both it and aloe vera in case we needed to make our own hand sanitizer), but a quick trip to Walmart secured me a 91%-concentration stock, which research indicated was results-preferable:

Time for a bath…

You’ll notice from the purple-tint stream coming from the charger in the above image that the dunk had a near-immediate effect. My initial excitement in seeing this response became more muted when I realized it was just the hand-scribbled mark coming off the transformer tape. Nevertheless, after a few-hour bath the glue was at least softened somewhat. The tedious application of a small flathead screwdriver along with the end of an unfolded paper clip got me (most of) the rest of the way there:

The bulk of that flap I mentioned before was located on the other side of the PCB, as it turns out, where it (buried in grey glue) acted to insulation-separate several of the components. Here it is standalone after it fell out during the glue-removal process:

Much of the componentry in the earlier shots is intuitively obvious to the engineers out there; the yellow tape-wrapped transformer, for example, several electrolytic capacitors and a wire-wound inductor, plus a bunch of other PCB-mounted passives. Speaking of the PCB(s), however, let’s focus more attention on these. First, here’s the one on the left side of the charger (if you’re looking at it from the front):

In this particular shot, I intentionally oriented the charger with the USB-C connector pointed down versus to the right, so that you can more easily read the PCB’s dominant IC markings:

SGP12
KA09070
2143GAF

If you do a straight Google search on any of those three product-mark character sequences, you’ll (unless you’re more adept at Google searches than me, which is assuredly always a possibility) end up with no meaningful results. Do a Google Image search on KA09070, on the other hand, and you’ll eventually figure out (more directly if, unlike me, you can read Chinese) that this particular chip is the HL9554 GaN Integrated Primary Side PWM Controller from a company called Elevation Semiconductor. Why the package markings have no seeming relevance to the product name is beyond me.

And what of the bottom-side PCB (USB-C plug to the left in this orientation)?

Well, I was also able to figure out one IC on it (note, too, the earlier mentioned contacts along the right side that press-mate into the AC plug). Unfortunately, there are at least four other chips that I couldn’t identify, so I’m still going to need some reader help.

The rectangular SOP IC toward the bottom labeled U1 and marked “EL1018” is a four-lead optocoupler (“an infrared emitting diode, optically coupled to a phototransistor detector”) from Everlight Americas. But what of the chip on the right side, for example, PCB-labeled BO1 (what does “BO” even mean, other than “body odor”?) and marked as follows?

WRABS
20M
2C34H

Next, what about the rectangular IC at the top, labeled U3 and marked with this cryptic text?

EAL34
KA16472
2141GAI

The second-line “KA” similarity to the aforementioned PWM controller suggests to me that this chip may also be from Elevation Semiconductors, but I’m at a loss.

What of the smaller square IC below it, labeled Q1 (suggestive of a transistor-related function)? The markings on the package are faint, therefore not discernable in the photo, so you’ll need to take my word that they’re as follows:

3016M
DT10A

And the small rectangular IC marked U4 and labeled 9MUK? Inquiring minds want to know.

Your assistance in figuring out the identities of any or all of these mystery chips is greatly appreciated; at minimum, one of them must handle USB charging protocol negotiation and subsequent management. And more generally, your thoughts in the comments on anything I have (or haven’t) mentioned in this teardown are as-always welcome!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the company’s online newsletter.

Related Content

• Freeing a three-way LED light bulb’s insides from their captivity
• A short primer on USB Type-C PD 3.0 specification and design
• Teardown: Cell-phone charger: nice idea done right
• Teardown: Wireless charging pad is tough to crack
• Disassembling a wireless charger with a magnetic personality
• Teardown: Pixel Stand offers faster-than-Qi wireless charging for (some) Google fans

The post Ungluing a GaN charger appeared first on EDN.

The MOSFET in Figure 1 is used as both a heater and a temperature sensor in a thermostatic circuit.

Figure 1 Circuit diagram for using a MOSFET as a thermostatic heater.

The circuit can be used as a tiny thermostat for some biological structures in a Petri dish (typical set temperature is from 30॰C to 50॰C); other uses may include plastic cutting/welding, thermostating of electronic components, and even soft soldering since the maximal working temperature for Si MOSFETs is around 175॰C and, for silicon carbide (SiC), MOSFETs can be far larger.  

To function properly in this circuit, the MOSFET Q1 should have a so-called “parasitic” diode within the MOSFET structure (its cathode is connected to the drain of the nFET). Almost all power MOSFETs have this diode within them (in any case you can check its existence in the datasheet). The circuit uses this diode as a temperature sensor (the temperature coefficient is about −2 mV/°C for silicon).

During the negative half-wave of the input AC, while the MOSFET Q1 is OFF, the negative voltage on the “parasitic” diode charges the capacitor C1 through the Schottky diode D3; as a matter of fact, these components create an envelope detector. (This part of the circuit can also be interpreted as an S/H circuit.)

The thing is, the typical direct voltage on a “parasitic” Si diode is 0.3V to 0.5V higher than the Schottky’s one, hence the maximal negative voltage on C1 may be about -0.3V to -0.5V. Resistors R6 and R7 are part of the envelope detector; they also make a level shift of this negative value to a positive one, making it appropriate for the TL431. To make this possible, the voltage regulator on LM317 provides a positive voltage for this level shift.  

The set temperature of the circuit can be changed simply by changing the output voltage of the regulator (varying the values of R8 or R9).

The main role of the resistor R1 is to limit any transient currents to the values which are safe for both MOSFET Q1 and diode D2.  Nevertheless, if the application allows, this role can be used broaden to some of the circuit’s functionality: R1 can be used as one more heating spot. You should remember however, this spot will have no thermal sensor inside, so a regulation in its vicinity may be far more crude.  

During the following positive half-wave, the negative voltage saved on C1 makes the TL431 determine whether the MOSFET Q1 has to be ON or OFF.

When Q1 is ON, the circuit on the pnp transistor Q3 maintains the drain voltage of Q1 very close to the voltage on R4. This is because both the MOSFET Q1 and the transistor Q3 constitute a negative-feedback amplifier, which determines the operating point of Q1 by the ratio of the values R3 and R4.

As shown in Figure 1, the MOSFET Q1 with resistor R1—on the one hand—and resistors R3, R4—on the other hand—make up a bridge circuit, which restores its equilibrium if the drain voltage is ~equal to or close to the base voltage of Q3.

  Playing with R3/R4 ratio will allow you to change the ratio of the heat dissipated by Q1 and R1.

When R3 = R4, the electrical powers dissipated on Q1 and R1 are equal; in general R1 can be used as additional heater for a larger object, when Q1 alone can’t provide sufficient heating.  

In any case, have in mind the maximal ratings of Q1, D2 and R1.

These relations between time constants should be observed:

(R6+R7)*C1 >> T/2 >> R1*C1,

where T stands for period of input AC.      

When using the heater for a critical application at high temperatures, caution should be observed since some SiC MOSFETS can be unreliable [1].

Note: since the minimal voltage on TL431 is about 0.9V to 1V, the minimal gate threshold voltage of Q1 (at the maximal working temperatures!) should be higher than this value.  

—Peter Demchenko studied math at the University of Vilnius and has worked in software development.

Related Content

• Measure junction temperature using the MOSFET body diode on a PG pin
• Use a transistor as a heater
• Inverted MOSFET helps 555 oscillator ignore power supply and temp variations
• Transistor ∆VBE-based oscillator measures absolute temperature
• A safe adjustable regulator

Reference

1. Lelis, Aivars J., et al. “High-Temperature Reliability of SiC Power MOSFETs.” Materials Science Forum, vol. 679–680, Trans Tech Publications, Ltd., Mar. 2011, pp. 599–602. Crossref, doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.679-680.599.

The post Using a MOSFET as a thermostatic heater appeared first on EDN.

To mitigate SATCOM service degradation, real-time spectrum analysis (RTSA) software from Keysight delivers up to 2 GHz of RTSA bandwidth. Running on the company’s N9042B UXA signal analyzer, the RTSA software allows satellite network operators to monitor satellite signals and interference to ensure the highest quality of service to users.

The RTSA test application enables the N9042B to conduct continuous, gapless capture and analysis of elusive and transient signals via an optical data interface (ODI). Multi-threaded and parallelized RTSA measurement with up to 2 GHz bandwidth minimizes the time gap between processing/rendering and re-capturing signals. This reduces analysis time and improves the probability of intercept, while ODI streaming at up to 2 GHz to RAID storage enables the capture of hours of signal recordings for analysis.

The N9042B signal/spectrum analyzer tests millimeter-wave performance in 5G, satellite, and radar systems. When combined with the V3050A frequency extender for unbanded coverage to 110 GHz, the U9361 receiver calibrator, M9484B VXG signal generator, and PathWave X-Series and PathWave vector signal analysis measurement applications, the N9042B provides 2-GHz real-time spectrum monitoring for satellite communication systems.

N9042B UXA product page

Keysight Technologies 

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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Renesas has expanded its RA family of 32-bit MCUs with two entry-level groups based on an Arm Cortex-M33 core with Arm TrustZone technology. The 100-MHz RA4E2 group and 200-MHz RA6E2 group are optimized for power efficiency and offer an easy upgrade path to other members of the RA family.

Along with 40 kbytes of SRAM, the RA4E2 series provides 128 kbytes of flash memory, while the RA6E2 series provides up to 256 kbytes of flash memory. On-chip connectivity options include CAN FD, USB 2.0, QSPI, HDMI CEC, SSI, and I3C. The MCUs also furnish a 12-bit ADC, 12-bit DAC, and PWM timer. Small QFP, QFN, and BGA packages make the microcontrollers suitable for sensing, gaming, wearables, and appliances.

MCUs in the RA4E2 group offer a choice of five different packages ranging from 32 pin to 64 pins as small as 4×4 mm. Active power consumption when executing from flash memory at 100 MHz is 82 µA/MHz. Comprising 10 variants, the RA6E2 MCUs consume 80 µA/MHz in active mode when executing at 200 MHz.

All of the RA4E2 and RA6E2 MCUs are available today. Evaluation kits and prototyping boards are also available for both MCU groups.

RA4E2 product page 

RA6E2 product page

Renesas Electronics 

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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Diodes’ PAM8906, a driver IC with a built-in synchronous boost converter, is capable of driving a piezoelectric sounder with outputs up to 36 VPP. The driver maintains high sound pressure level (SPL) output, while an auto on/off function prolongs battery-powered operation.

For application flexibility, the PAM8906 operates with either an external pulse-wide modulation (PWM) input or in self-excitation mode. This allows it to be used with a variety of sounders in such devices as smoke alarms, air humidifiers, handheld GPS devices, security alarms, medical devices, and home appliances.

The driver provides a choice of three output voltage variants: 20 VPP, 24 VPP, and 36 VPP. Unlike charge pump-based alternatives, the PAM8906 maintains its output even as battery voltage drops over time. Using a small 0.47-µH inductor, the driver’s boost converter switches at a fixed frequency of 1.8 MHz, with quiescent current of just <1 µA.

The PAM8906 sounder driver comes in a 10-pin MSOP package and costs $0.37 each in lots of 1000 units.

PAM8906 product page

Diodes

Find more datasheets on products like this one at Datasheets.com, searchable by category, part #, description, manufacturer, and more.

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