January 7, 2009
[CES 2009] ARM Technology Invades Netbook Space
Targeting the netbook market, Freescale Semiconductor is presenting what it calls a comprehensive solution designed to enable netbooks with 8.9-in. displays; eight hours of battery life between charges; and a retail price below $200. Based on the latest i.MX515 processor featuring ARM Cortex-A8 technology, the package includes software, components, and resources for quickly developing and deploying unique netbook products.
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ED News Staff
December 23, 2008
[New Products] Battery Pack Improves Li-Ion Management For Electric Vehicles
STMicroelectronics and LG Chem have announced plans to develop an automotive battery pack that will extend the potential of electric and hybrid electric vehicles, combining LG Chem’s lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology with a battery-management chip from STMicroelectronics.
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Staff
December 22, 2008
[Technology In The News] Silicon Valley Innovation Can Solve The Energy Crisis
The innovation inherent in Silicon Valley is the key to solving the energy crisis and building the foundation for a sustainable future, according to a trio of CEOs from the valley speaking at EcoChip 2009, a media roundtable held at Actel Corp. John East of Actel, T.J. Rogers of Cypress Semiconductor Corp., and Brian Halla of National Semiconductor shared their provocative thoughts and insights on the environmental and economic challenges facing the world.
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ED News Staff
December 18, 2008
[New Products] 40-A Digital Voltage Regulator Enhances Control, Improves Efficiency
The digitally controlled, 40-A BMR451 non-isolated voltage regulator from Ericsson Power Modules offers a 7.9-A/cm3 (129 A/in.3) current density. With this density, its embedded features, and its ability to monitor vital parameters through the open-standard PMBus interface, it suits a broad range of applications in information communication and technologies.
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Staff
December 11, 2008[Pease Porridge] Bob's Mailbox
BOB, I read your article “What’s All This Analog Engineering Stuff, Anyhow?” (Oct. 2, p. 18, ED Online 19754) I totally agree that the need for trained analog engineers is not going away. (I am not so interested in training, but in education. /rap) I have been in analog...
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Bob Pease
December 11, 2008[TechView: Analog & Power] Fluorescent Ballast ICs Demonstrate Clever Dimming Design
International Rectifier has two new control ICs for dimming compact and tube-type fluorescents. Most designers won’t ever see them, though, because they go into the bases of compact bulbs or into lighting fixtures. Still, they’re interesting to study as examples of energy-efficient design and for the elegant way they provide dimming, including dimming in legacy systems that use triac controls. The IRS2530D DIM8 squeezes a complete dimming...
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Don Tuite
December 11, 2008[Technology Report] Energy-Harvesting Critical Success Factors
Numerous opportunities exist for ultra-low-power (ULP) energy-harvesting technologies and related power-management ICs and energy storage. The challenge in analyzing this market boils down to the sheer number of potential applications and the requirements of each market, many of which overlap with portable applications. Any “roadmap to commercialization” has to consider not only pricing, but also the technology performance metrics that must be matched to...
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Linnea Brush
December 11, 2008[Technology Report] Energy-Harvesting Synergies
When talking about energy harvesting, the discussion tends to focus on photovoltaics or piezo beams, electrothermal devices, and other ways of turning stray energy into electrons. However, other technologies also can make energy harvesting useful. Let’s look at a few: • Wireless mesh networks: These have made it possible to place low-cost radios (the jargon is “motes”) and receptive gateways into tough-to-monitor environments. Despite their low...
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Don Tuite
December 11, 2008[Technology Report] The Field Of Energy Harvesting Begins To Ripen
One cannot talk about energy harvesters without discussing wireless mesh networks, sensor batteries (particularly thinfilm batteries), and supercapacitors—along with concepts of power management—nearly in the same breath. Harvesting is a complex and evolving discipline that promises rewards and challenges for engineers who want to take existing skills in new directions. Most of the technical background information in this report was derived from interviews...
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Don Tuite
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