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Led by STMicroelectronics of Geneva, Switzerland, the STARLight consortium — consisting of 24 technology companies and universities from 11 European Union countries — has been selected by the European Commission under the EU CHIPS Joint Undertaking initiative...

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As cities move toward electric mobility and smarter infrastructure, seamless and safe power delivery is more important than ever. Shivam Rajput, Founder and CEO of ElectraWireless, is pioneering wireless electricity solutions that reduce EV downtime, extend fleet lifecycles, and power devices without cords or plugs. Combining advanced materials science, adaptive resonant coupling, and smart thermal management, his innovations aim to make wireless power scalable, safe, and efficient. In this conversation with ELE Times, he shares lessons from pilots, technological breakthroughs, and how India could benefit from cost-effective, large-scale wireless EV infrastructure.

Excerpts:

ELE Times:  What implications does wireless electricity have for EV adoption, safety, and the broader global energy transition?

Shivam Rajput: Wireless electricity isn’t just about convenience, it addresses real consumer challenges and can help the EV market thrive. EV adoption today is often slowed by downtime, manual charging, connector wear, and safety concerns. Consumers want simple, safe, and sustainable solutions, not just car features. Wireless electricity ensures EVs charge automatically at parking spots or even while moving, maintaining battery health and keeping vehicles ready at all times. Beyond EVs, homes, workplaces, and cities become safer with fewer exposed wires and connectors, reducing the risk of accidents and outages. This technology also minimizes energy waste, making it a crucial step in the global energy transition.

ELE Times: What are the key breakthroughs that have enabled high-power wireless electricity transmission through everyday surfaces like wood, quartz, or automotive-grade materials?

Shivam Rajput: Our system delivers power only when needed, without heating surfaces or wasting energy. Materials innovation allows seamless integration into wood, quartz, automotive-grade panels, and other common surfaces. Safety is ensured through foreign object detection, which automatically halts transmission if anything interferes. For autonomous systems, from robotics to EVs, devices no longer need to stop to plug in; they charge automatically wherever transmitters are installed. These breakthroughs make high-power wireless electricity scalable, safe, and efficient across multiple sectors.

ELE Times:  What lessons emerged from pilots in robotics, kitchens, and workplace environments, and how are they shaping your approach to scaling the technology?

Shivam Rajput: Pilots highlighted three critical lessons: seamless integration, safety, and efficiency. In smart kitchens, multiple appliances operated wirelessly without interference, showing the importance of modular design. Workspaces benefited from embedded, unobtrusive power, improving usability and safety. In robotics and autonomous systems, wireless charging dramatically reduced downtime, enabling continuous operation and boosting productivity. Eliminating manual plug-ins also reduces electrical faults, making devices safer for children and workplaces. These insights inform a scalable platform ready for enterprise-level and consumer applications.

ELE Times:  In what ways could wireless charging reduce downtime and extend the lifecycle of EV fleets?

Shivam Rajput: Wireless charging allows EVs to charge in motion or at strategically located parking spots, reducing wear on connectors and preserving battery health. Fleets can operate longer, with fewer interruptions, while maintenance costs decrease. This contactless approach accelerates operations and reduces total cost of ownership, making EV fleet management more efficient and sustainable.

ELE Times:  Can wireless power assist in building scalable, cost-effective EV infrastructure in countries such as India?

Shivam Rajput: India is one of the most promising markets for EV adoption. Our retrofit-friendly wireless system integrates with existing grids, lowering installation complexity and costs. By embedding chargers into roads, parking spots, or city infrastructure, EVs can charge seamlessly while driving or parked, what we call “monorail charging.” This approach enables large-scale adoption, ensures reliability, and reduces safety risks associated with exposed connectors. The system supports faster EV market growth while building a sustainable, energy-efficient infrastructure.

ELE Times: What technological advances from ElectraWireless enabled them to scale the transmission of wireless power from as low as 5W all the way up to 40kW?

Shivam Rajput: Adaptive resonant coupling, dynamic field shaping, and smart thermal management allow safe and efficient power delivery across surfaces, from small electronics to EVs. Foreign object detection ensures absolute safety during transmission. Precision energy delivery reduces waste and maintains high efficiency for continuous operation. These advances unlock a fully scalable wireless electricity ecosystem, enabling applications in robotics, kitchens, workspaces, and urban EV infrastructure.

The post Wireless Electricity Paves the Way for India’s Sustainable EV Ecosystem appeared first on ELE Times.

💥 Інформаційний захід для науково-педагогічних працівників від DAAD Інформація КП пт, 09/26/2025 - 12:35

Satellites, spacecraft, and defense systems rely on increasingly complex software ecosystems that integrate open-source, third-party, and legacy components. Recent cybersecurity events have highlighted how vital it is to track, secure, and manage these software supply chains.

The Risk of Vulnerable Third-Party Components

At Black Hat 2025, some very serious vulnerabilities were discovered in some of the most commonly used platforms for satellite control: Yamcs, OpenC3 Cosmos, and NASA’s cFS Aquila. Such flaws-range from remote code execution, denial of service, weak encryption to manipulation of satellite operations-force criminals into changing orbital paths or stealing cryptographic keys, usually without even detection.

Even seeming-to-be-secure encryption libraries such as CryptoLib-which NASA uses-were found to harbor multiple critical vulnerabilities. Exploiting these, attackers could crash the onboard software, reset its security state, or compromise encrypted communications. These findings reinforce that third-party components remain among the easiest risks to exploit in aerospace and defense software.

SBOMs: Ensuring Transparency Across the Software Stack

Software Bill of Materials lists all components within a system involved. In practice, it finds vulnerabilities, manages risk, considers compliance, and goes into incident response. The SBOM can be only as good as its accuracy, completeness, or governance structure.

In other words, to improve security posture, an organization must hold centralized processes for the validation, enrichment, and continuous surveillance of SBOMs, so that both upstream ones (those from development) and downstream ones (those from deployed systems) are held accountable, validated, and acted upon.

Closing the Gaps

Modern SBOM platforms, such as Keysight’s solutions, enhance binary similarity checks and code emulation to detect components when source information is partial or missing. This allows SBOMs to be reliably created for firmware and software or for container images so that no single component-in whatever form it exists-goes untracked.

Hence, giving full visibility, rigorous validation, and operational governance serve systems in aerospace and defense better in recognizing vulnerabilities, quick incident response, and establishing trust across software supply chains. This closes critical gaps while trying to keep mission-critical systems safe from the ever-evolving cyber threats.

(This article has been adapted and modified from content on Keysight Technologies.)

The post Securing Aerospace & Defense Software: The Critical Role of SBOMs appeared first on ELE Times.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a powerful technique for studying electrochemical systems such as electrochemical cells, batteries, fuel cells, corrosion protection setups, and sensors. By differentiating processes such as charge transfer across the electrode interface, diffusion, double-layer behavior, etc., by applying small sinusoidal signals generated in random magnitudes over a wide frequency range, we invoke responses from such mechanisms. Equivalent circuits in the traditional sense can conveniently give impedance data representations; however, they do not suffice when overlapping or nonideal processes come into play. Modern physics-based modeling approaches enable the researcher to consider adsorption, mass transport, and electrode surface effects far beyond simple resistor–capacitor analogies.

EIS Real-Life Applications

Sensitivity renders EIS paramount for:

Batteries: Detects ion and electron transport at early stages of degradation and capacity fading.

Corrosion: Detects subtle interface changes between metal and electrolyte in pipelines, concrete, and marine structures.

Fuel Cells: Performance and durability improvements by separating contributions of catalyst layers, membranes, and reactant flows.

Sensors: Evaluates electrode interactions with target molecules, enabling applications like glucose monitoring.

The Limitations of Equivalent Circuits

For the simpler reactions, the impedance data frequently fit an elementary equivalent circuit: a resistor in series with a parallel resistor-capacitor pair. In a Nyquist plot, this will look like a neat semicircle corresponding to charge transfer resistance. However, rarely do real systems behave so nicely. Adsorption, diffusion, and electrode morphology will add time constants and overlapping processes with which the equivalent circuit cannot always keep up. Physics-based models are, therefore, chosen to solve the underlying electrochemical equations, thus providing a more accurate picture of how these processes may interrelate.

Consider the Nonidealities of EIS:

Important Factors

1. Adsorption–Desorption Dynamics

Intermediates may adsorb on electrodes during electrochemical reactions. The changing surface coverage may, over time, change the impedance response. For instance, with copper deposition, a progressive increase in coverage of additives changes the spectra from two capacitive loops into one dominated by an inductive loop at low frequency. Such effects demonstrate the crucial nature of adsorption in the design of such systems.

2. Mass Transport Limitations

In fuel cells, the diffusion and convection of gases such as hydrogen and oxygen significantly affect performance. Through impedance plots, one can observe the changes in charge-transfer and diffusion contributions as functions of the operating potential:

• Distinct high- and low-frequency loops at intermediate voltages
• At low voltages, loops combine with overlapping time constants
• On the strongly cathodic side, diffusion is dominant, and a single huge loop appears

This sequence clearly demonstrates the ability of EIS to differentiate between reaction kinetics and transport limitations.

3. Electrode Surface Effects

Surface roughness and uneven geometries alter the effective electrochemical area, thus shifting the impedance response. Accounting for electrode structures helps render better predictions in situations where morphology is important.

Handling Residual Behaviors

Sometimes, the impedance response cannot be explained by referring to adsorption, diffusion, or surface structure. A constant phase element (CPE) is then introduced to incorporate frequency-dependent effects that deviate from an ideal capacitive behavior. From a mechanistic standpoint, (CPE)behave as systems in which the mathematical expression describing a single mechanism can be modified with a continuous parameter that accounts for system complexity.

Conclusion:

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has remained one of the most versatile electrochemical experimental probes, and by moving beyond the simple circuit analogy to include adsorption, diffusion limitation, and surface-effects, researchers gained a more realistic view of the system behavior. Modeling platforms such as COMSOL Multiphysics support these newer approaches, albeit all electrochemical disciplines offer a general foundation.

From extending battery lifetimes to detecting early corrosion, EIS when paired with detailed physical insights continues to unlock new possibilities for innovation and reliability in electrochemical technologies.

(This article has been adapted and modified from content on COMSOL.)

The post Beyond Equivalent Circuits: Capturing Real-World Effects in Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy appeared first on ELE Times.

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Three new microcontrollers from Renesas, Nuvoton, and STMicroelectronics cut power without compromising performance.

Зустріч студентів КПІ ім. Ігоря Сікорського із Сашею Мішо kpi чт, 09/25/2025 - 22:08

I got this UniFi AP-AC-HD from my school to try and repair. My teacher said he dropped it when renovating one of the classrooms. But sadly, it seems like the SOC got damaged. Spent a long time trying to debug it. PoE buck converter works, all voltages correct, but no CPU Activity whatsoever. Not even a clock signal on the flash chip. But hey, here we have its guts!! XD submitted by /u/FloTec09 [link] [comments]

Keysight’s new 170/250 GHz frequency extenders and calibration kit enable differential broadband testing for next-gen semiconductors and AI-era networks.

With the addition of 32-GHz, 43.5-GHz, and 54-GHz models, the R&S ZNB3000 series of vector network analyzers (VNAs) now covers a wider range of applications. The midrange family combines precision and speed in a scalable platform, extending RF component testing to satellite Ka and V bands and high-speed interconnects for AI data centers.

Beyond satellite and data center applications, the ZNB3000 also enables RF testing for 5G, 6G, and Wi-Fi. This makes it well-suited for both production environments and research labs working on next-generation technologies.

The ZNB3000 offers strong RF performance with up to 150-dB dynamic range and less than 0.0015-dB RMS trace noise. It also provides fast sweep cycle times of 11.8 ms (1601 points, 1 MHz to 26.5 GHz) and high output power of 11 dBm at 26.5 GHz. A 9-kHz start frequency enables precise time-domain analysis for signal integrity and high-speed testing.

Flexible frequency upgrades allow customers to start with a base unit and expand the maximum frequency later. ZNB3000 VNAs operating at the new frequencies will be available by the end of 2025.

ZNB3000 product page

Rohde & Schwarz 

The post R&S expands VNA lineup to 54 GHz appeared first on EDN.

Rohm has introduced the DOT-247, a 2-in-1 SiC molded module that combines two TO-247 devices to deliver higher power density. The dual structure accommodates larger chips, while the optimized internal design lowers on-resistance. Package enhancements cut thermal resistance by roughly 15% and reduce inductance by about 50% compared with standard TO-247 devices. Rohm reports a 2.3× increase in power density in a half-bridge configuration, enabling the same conversion capability in nearly half the volume.

The 750-V and 1200-V devices target industrial power systems such as PV inverters, UPS units, and semiconductor relays, and are offered in half-bridge and common-source configurations. While two-level inverters remain standard, demand is growing for multi-level circuits—including three-level NPC, three-level T-NPC, and five-level ANPC—to support higher voltages. These advanced topologies often require custom designs with standard SiC packages due to the complexity of combining half-bridge and common-source configurations.

Rohm addresses this challenge with standardized 2-in-1 modules supporting both topologies, providing greater flexibility for NPC circuits and DC/DC converters. This approach reduces component count and board space, enabling more compact designs compared with discrete solutions.

Devices in the 750-V SC740xxDT series and 1200-V SCZ40xxKTx series are available now in OEM quantities. Samples of AEC-Q101 qualified products are scheduled to begin in October 2025.

Rohm Semiconductor 

The post 2-in-1 SiC module raises power density appeared first on EDN.

Parade Technologies’ PS8780 four-lane bidirectional linear redriver restores high-speed signals for active cables, laptops, and PCs. It supports USB4v2 Gen 4, Thunderbolt 5, and DisplayPort 2.1 Alt Mode, and is pin-compatible with the PS8778 Gen 3 redriver.

The redriver delivers USB4v2 at up to 2×40 Gbps symmetric or 120 Gbps asymmetric, TBT5 at 2×41.25 Gbps, and DP 2.1 UHBR20. It provides full USB4, USB 3.2, and DP 2.1a power management, including Advanced Link Power Management (ALPM). Its low-power design and Modern Standby support extend battery life in mobile devices and reduce energy use in active cables.

The PS8780 extends USB4v2 signals beyond the typical 1-m (3.3-ft) passive cable limit while maintaining full performance. When paired with a USB4v2 retimer between the SoC (USB4v2 router) and the USB-C/USB4 connector, it also lengthens system PCB traces. Operating from a 1.8 V supply, the device consumes 297 mW at 40 Gbps and just 0.5 mW in standby. Its compact 28-pin, 2.8×4.4 mm QFN package suits space-constrained designs.

The PS8780 redriver is now sampling.

PS8780 product page 

Parade Technologies 

The post Redriver strengthens USB4v2 and DP 2.1a signals appeared first on EDN.

Featuring 2.5-kV capacitive isolation, the Littelfuse IX3407B gate driver improves signal integrity and safety in motor drives, inverters, and industrial power supplies. The single-channel, galvanically isolated driver provides low propagation delay, high common-mode transient immunity, and enhanced thermal stability across switching frequencies and temperatures.

The IX3407B gate driver delivers up to 7 A peak source and sink current through separate output pins. Typical turn-on and turn-off times are 154 ns and 162 ns, respectively, with rise and fall times of 10 ns. It achieves 150-kV/µs common-mode transient immunity at 700 V.

Input supply voltage ranges from 3.1 V to 17 V, while the driver-side supply operates from 13 V to 35 V. TTL/CMOS logic compatibility with 3.3-V thresholds and input voltage tolerance up to VCC support a wide range of control logic devices. Active shutdown and undervoltage lockout safeguard against fault conditions.

The IX3407B is offered in a wide-body SOIC-8 package. Samples are available through Littelfuse authorized distributors.

IX3407B product page 

Littelfuse 

The post Gate driver boosts reliability in high-power designs appeared first on EDN.

The SRF3225TAP series of common-mode chip inductors from Bourns delivers reliable EMI suppression and noise filtering for automotive systems. Meeting AEC-Q200 reliability standards, these devices provide impedance values of 500 Ω and 1000 Ω at 100 MHz, with rated currents of 2 A and 1.5 A, respectively.

Designed with a shielded construction to minimize radiation, the inductors operate across a wide temperature range of -55°C to +150°C. They feature low 0.1-Ω DC resistance and are rated for 80 VDC, all in a compact 3.2×2.5×2.2-mm package that conserves board space.

These features make the SRF3225TAP series well-suited for protecting sensitive electronics, enhancing signal integrity, and improving reliability in noise filters and DC power lines across automotive, consumer, and industrial applications.

SRF3225TAP common-mode chip inductors are available now through Bourns’ authorized distribution partners.

SRF3225TAP product page  

Bourns

The post Chip inductors broaden automotive magnetics portfolio appeared first on EDN.

A Planet Analog article, “2N3904: Why use a 60-year-old transistor?” by Bill Schweber, inspired some interest in this old transistor and how it’s commonly used, and if any uncommon uses might exist. Here’s one we played around with.

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

The Linear Technology Application Note 47-D: “High Speed Amplifier Techniques” by Jim Williams offers an interesting side road to usual transistor use, where a typical fast pulse transistor is utilized in avalanche collector-to-emitter breakdown Vbceo to create sub-nanosecond pulses. The 2N3904 will work in this configuration, but requires a high voltage (>100 V) like the pulse transistor to reach the Vbeco breakdown, and produces a slower pulse, being a slower GP transistor.

A while back, I had measured the reverse breakdown of the 2N3904 base-emitter junction and noted the small area of negative resistance where the junction current reduces as applied reverse voltage increases (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Measurement of the reverse breakdown of the 2N3904’s base-emitter junction, showing a small area of negative resistance.

This base-emitter breakdown is much lower than the collector-emitter breakdown and might serve as a lower voltage version of the avalanche pulse generation method described in App Note 47-D.

A simple circuit was created with the 2N3904 emitter connected by a 100-kΩ resistor to a variable supply set to ~14 VDC. A shunt capacitance of 10 nF from the emitter to ground and a 50-Ω resistor from the collector to ground. Just two resistors, a capacitor, and the 2N3904 are all that’s required to create a simple relaxation oscillator (actually, the 50-Ω resistor isn’t required).

Figure 2 shows the result with the DSO AC-coupled blue trace, the relaxation voltage at the transistor emitter, and the DC-coupled magenta trace, the voltage across the 50-Ω resistor from the collector to ground (remember the NPN is upside down or inverted!).

Figure 2 Waveforms of the simple relaxation oscillator circuit with the AC-coupled blue trace and DC-coupled magenta trace.

The pulse across the 50-Ω resistor in Figure 3 shows the avalanche current in more detail, where this current is ~ 2 V peak across the 50-Ω resistor, or ~40 mA peak. This isn’t fast, however, the 2N3904 is a general-purpose (GP) transistor that is not intended for speed.

Figure 3 Avalanche current shown in more detail on the DSO, showing a ~40 mA peak.

Utilizing faster transistors such as the 2N2369 should produce narrower pulses with faster rise times. Whether these produce faster rise times and narrower pulse widths than in the collector-emitter avalanche breakdown method from App Note 47-D remains an experiment waiting for those interested. Intuition indicates the “normal” avalanche collector-emitter mode will be faster, though!

Anyway, I hope folks find this simple and unusual use of these old standby 2N3904 transistors interesting, I certainly did!!

Michael A Wyatt is a life member with IEEE and has continued to enjoy electronics ever since his childhood. Mike has a long career spanning Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, Insyte/ITT/Exelis/Harris, ViaSat, and retiring (semi) with Wyatt Labs. During his career, he accumulated 32 US Patents and, in the past, published a few EDN Articles, including Best Idea of the Year in 1989.

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The post Unusual 2N3904 transistor circuit appeared first on EDN.

Xerion Advanced Battery Corp of Kettering, OH, USA, which develops and manufactures next-generation battery components and critical minerals, is expanding its critical minerals refinement portfolio after recently demonstrating the capability to refine gallium. Xerion aims to develop the process on a commercial scale to support military and commercial applications, including the production and maintenance of critical defense platforms, as well as semiconductors. To demonstrate the feasibility of this technology, Xerion has been awarded Phase I funding from the US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) under the small business innovation research (SBIR) program...

Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany and ROHM Co Ltd of Kyoto, Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on packages for silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors used in applications such as on-board chargers, photovoltaics, energy storage systems and AI data centers. Specifically, the partners aim to enable each other as second sources of selected packages for SiC power devices, which should increase design and procurement flexibility for customers. In the future, customers will be able to source devices with compatible housings from both Infineon and ROHM. The collaboration should ensure seamless compatibility and interchangeability to match specific customer needs...

📰 Газета "Київський політехнік" № 33-34 за 2025 (.pdf) Інформація КП чт, 09/25/2025 - 15:00