As you may have heard, USB is now developing a new high-power specification called USB Power Delivery that will be capable of delivering up to 100W (5 amps at 20 volts) of power. Reports say the USB Implementers Forum has limited the current to the same 5 Amp UL limit, but raised the voltage level. Keep reading…
You’ve seen them appearing more and more often on the walls of homes and offices: the universal dimmer switches that are used for controlling LED lighting fixtures.
These designs pose challenges for electronics engineers when it comes to adding thermal protection. Since universal dimmers are embedded in the wall, it’s difficult for them to dissipate heat. Also, the MOSFET used in lighting dimmer designs can fail in resistive mode, generating heat and leading to a thermal runaway condition and, possibly, catastrophic events. Keep reading…
The goal of retrofitting the existing 70 billion incandescent bulbs in the world with more energy-efficient light bulbs by 2016 has taken on new urgency since China has “seen the light” along with the U.S. and the rest of the world. Consequently, it is now a top priority for the lighting industry to capture the emerging global lighting market for compact fluorescent lamps (CLFs) or light emitting diodes (LEDs). Keep reading…
Did you know that most silicon ESD device manufacturers specify their low-cap devices’ capacitance at 1MHz?
We all know that at 1MHz, even very high capacitance devices would probably meet generic timing requirements when put on a signal line. This is a key difference between TE’s SESD devices and other devices.
Keep reading…
Come visit TE Circuit Protection at booths 810 and 812 at the APEC 2012 conference and expo to learn how our circuit protection products can help make your devices safer and more reliable. The show will be held in Orlando, Florida at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort. The expo will be from February 6th-8th and the conference will continue to the 9th. We will be unveiling several new circuit protection technologies at the show so it is definitely an event you don’t want to miss. Keep reading…
2011 was certainly a momentous year for TE Circuit Protection. Here are just some of the highlights:
In the 1970’s, rubbing your feet across the green shag carpet to generate a static charge in order to torture your siblings was fun and would do no damage to the low-tech, large, and robust electronic components of the time. Today, portable devices designed for the increasingly busy, yet very well connected, mobile user has led to the integration of more and more inputs and outputs on our favorite gadgets. Higher current densities, smaller silicon, and limited space available for chip protection all tend to increase the sensitivity of electronic components to transient electrical overstress events such as ESD (electrostatic discharge). Reducing the impact of these transients helps prevent data corruption when devices are talking to each other and improves overall reliability. Keep reading…
A major advantage of polymeric positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) devices and bimetal breakers is their resettable functionality; where they go either open-circuit with bimetals or into leakage-current mode for PPTCs when activated. Both technologies are applied as a “series” component in the circuit to help provide overcurrent (OC) and/or overtemperature (OT) fault protection. Depending on the particular application, each has distinct benefits. However, combining a PPTC and a bimetal breaker results in a hybrid device with advantages not available in other protection options. Keep reading…
Last month Robert Cid our Product and Application Engineering Manager presented at the Smart Grid Electronics Forum in San Jose, CA. He discussed Concepts and Solutions for Protecting the Smart Grid from Transients and Electrical Faults. While attending the show he was invited to join Paul O’Shea from Electronic Products for an interview. You can find the video on their website in the videos section under the circuit protection tab. Keep reading…
I recently wrote an article for EE Times’ SmartEnergy column titled: “PPTC Devices Help Protect High Brightness LEDs“.
It’s an interesting read for anyone who is looking to design in circuit protection for a HB LED lighting system. For more information on circuit protection you can also visit the TE Circuit Protection Knowledge Center. We have a number of application notes and videos to aid you in designing in circuit protection for your applications. Keep reading…