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Demanding More From Analog Takes Work - The design engineer and the vendor must have a ...


most recent messages 5/21/2013 10:12:23 PM TheMeasurementBlues Brad, you'd be surprised how few people even get the basic concept of a thermocouple. It's a case of how wrong information, repeated enough, becomes accepted. Simple, but Misunderstood. blogs message boards chat SiC Power Inversion Chips for PV & EVs Brian Coppa, Director, Coppa Consulting, 5/21/2013 Comment now Uncertainty hangs over the market for power devices made with the wide-bandgap semiconductor SiC (silicon carbide), due to uncertainty as to when EVs (electric vehicles) will adopt them for various applications under the hood, according to a recent study by analyst firm Yole Développement. Field Programmable Analog & Gallium Arsenide Scott Elder, Senior Analog IC Design Consultant, 5/21/2013 Comment now 3 comments "Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) is the silicon of the future. Is and always will be." That was the humorous perspective circulating among analog technologists in the late 1980s. In a similar vein, I can't count the number of times I've had people ask me when will the world see a field programmable analog array (FPAA) -- the analog counterpart to the digital ... Most recent post, analoging , 5/21/2013 7:03:52 PM Nice overview of the history and evolution of this technology. Motorola begin breaking... Operations per Joule Brian Bailey, Independent Consultant, 5/20/2013 Comment now 5 comments It has been estimated that the human brain performs 3.6x1015 synaptic operations per second and, from blood flow and oxygen consumption, consumes 12W. That means it manages 3x1014 operations per Joule, yet it is made up of slow and noisy components. Most recent post, Brad Albing, 5/21/2013 5:03:20 PM Analoging - quantum computing sounds like a good topic for a blog, altho' I'm not... Using ICs in the Land Beyond Their App-Notes Derek Koonce, Owner, DDK Interactive Consulting Services, 5/20/2013 Comment now Designing circuits is the fun part of engineering. And, as has been often noted here on Planet Analog, finding solutions to problems is what keeps an engineer employed. As an engineer, it is necessary to work with the parts available to meet design criteria. This sometimes necessitates using a part for a purpose for which it was not intended. Thermocouple Nodules, Cold Junctions & Integration Opportunities Dennis Feucht, Electronics Engineer, 5/17/2013 Comment now 10 comments When measurement instruments reach their specified performance limits, one comes to a gray zone separating reality from fantasy. Thanks to sensors, this zone is widening. Most recent post, TheMeasurementBlues, 5/21/2013 10:12:23 PM Brad, you'd be surprised how few people even get the basic concept of a thermocouple.... When Are You Done With Verification? Brian Bailey, Independent Consultant, 5/17/2013 Comment now 6 comments In the everyday world that we live in, there is a common saying that says, "Measure twice, cut once". Clearly this is trying to stress the importance of checking things before you take action and that if you are sloppy with the measurement, then it can lead to expensive mistakes. Most recent post, analoging , 5/21/2013 7:10:44 PM The point was focused on the increasing trend of outsourcing of fab production for... When the Going Gets Tough... Brian Bailey, Independent Consultant, 5/16/2013 Comment now 5 comments Moore's Law has been driving digital integration for a few decades, and it provides a circular reinforcement. Being able to create smaller devices means that more can be placed on a die. This provides added functionality, decreases costs per device, and makes demand for the end product larger. This spurs another round of integration and geometry reduction. Most recent post, Dirceu Rodrigues Jr, 5/21/2013 5:14:16 PM Reduce resistances in the signal path, in order to minimize the Johnson... (Dis)Integrating Power Consumption, Counterintuitively Len Sherman, Senior Scientist, Maxim Integrated, 5/16/2013 Comment now 10 comments The present mobile era may be best characterized by its unrelenting pressure to reduce power consumption. Each generation of consumer electronics must offer more functionality while maintaining or extending runtime. Initially, efficiency improvements were the Holy Grail, at least from a power management viewpoint, but the process of engineering ... Most recent post, Brad Albing, 5/21/2013 5:44:55 PM Well, besides the fear of running the 250V around, you may also incur additional... Crack Open One of These Books, Part 2 Brad Albing, Editor in Chief, 5/16/2013 Comment now 2 comments Following up on Part 1 of my look at some favorite engineering books -- which followed Bill Schweber's blog about cracking open a design book -- let's consider a few more that provided solid engineering information. Most recent post, Michael Dunn, 5/16/2013 9:04:24 PM Love the constant-current transformers. Are there details of how they work? Some... Prevent Your Next High-Flying Product Launch From Being Grounded Willie Chan, Sr. Product Marketing Engineer, Linear Technology, 5/16/2013 Comment now 1 Comment The widening gap between the 24V-to-28V intermediate bus commonly found in industrial, aerospace, and defense systems and the input supply voltages of modern digital processors presents design risk that could easily result in system failure, noxious smoke, or, even worse, a fire. Most recent post, eafpres, 5/16/2013 11:36:37 AM Hi Willie--interesting post and situation created by the evolution of voltage standards... The REAL Cost for a Custom IC Scott Elder, Senior Analog IC Design Consultant, 5/14/2013 Comment now 43 comments There have been lots of blogs and messages lately about designing a proprietary analog IC. I wrote a blog about doing it on the cheap for $3,000. Reid Wender posted a message about prototyping 200 parts using a reconfigurable IC for $10,000. Most recent post, Via Man, 5/21/2013 7:19:23 PM On the subject of low-cost mixed-signal design tools, the ViaDesigner software combines... Next 5 blogs+ All blogs All blogs most commented 10 (Dis)Integrating Power Consumption, Counterintuitively Len Sherman, Senior Scientist, Maxim Integrated, 5/16/2013 10 Thermocouple Nodules, Cold Junctions & Integration Opportunities Dennis Feucht, Electronics Engineer, 5/17/2013 6 When Are You Done With Verification? Brian Bailey, Independent Consultant, 5/17/2013 5 Operations per Joule Brian Bailey, Independent Consultant, 5/20/2013 5 When the Going Gets Tough... Brian Bailey, Independent Consultant, 5/16/2013 blog roll message boards chat 5/21/2013 10:12:23 PM Re: TCs are key: Brad, you'd be surprised how few people even get the basic concept of a thermocouple. It's a case of how wrong information, repeated enough, becomes accepted. Simple, but Misunderstood. TheMeasurementBlues on Thermocouple Nodules, Cold Junctions & Integration Opportunities 5/21/2013 7:19:23 PM Re: Oh, the i(c)rony: On the subject of low-cost mixed-signal design tools, the ViaDesigner software combines a decent set of design and simulation tools: - Hierarchical Schematic Capture - SPICE Modeling - Automatic Symbol Generator - VHDL & Verilog syntax-aware... Via Man on The REAL Cost for a Custom IC 5/21/2013 7:10:44 PM Re: Design centers : The point was focused on the increasing trend of outsourcing of fab production for analog and other microchips since the 1990s in the US which was once the leader in fab production. The US has lost of its prowess as a manufacturing hub. Many... analoging on When Are You Done With Verification? 5/21/2013 7:03:52 PM nice overview: Nice overview of the history and evolution of this technology. Motorola begin breaking into pieces in the late 1990s as noted. They were once a leader in hard disk drive tech as well. The confusion over the affiliate stated in the article is... analoging on Field Programmable Analog & Gallium Arsenide 5/21/2013 6:48:26 PM Re: Test: The problem is that too many of the upper management types don't understand that not every billion gates+ analog chip comes out functioning perfectly the first time around. Besides that, production yields can drop. That is the reason that... WKetel on The REAL Cost for a Custom IC 5/21/2013 5:44:55 PM Re: new materials : Well, besides the fear of running the 250V around, you may also incur additional cost with regard to UL certification issues. Which I acknowledge is part of your NRE, hence one-time, amortized over all units produced (and previously discussed... Brad Albing on (Dis)Integrating Power Consumption, Counterintuitively 5/21/2013 5:18:06 PM Re: Efficiency - is the last 1/2% worth it?: That extra 1% or 0.5% is sometimes not especially critical - unless you're the Marketing guy trying to sell product - or the customer who's trying to pit one supplier against the other and negotiate a price advantage based on that 0.5% delt... Brad Albing on (Dis)Integrating Power Consumption, Counterintuitively 5/21/2013 5:15:22 PM Re: Integrated driver and MOSFETs: Derek - I went thru some of the same issues when dealing with customers while we were trying to help them decide whether to use an integrated FET buck switcher or use a controller IC plus external FETs. Brad Albing on (Dis)Integrating Power Consumption, Counterintuitively 5/21/2013 5:14:16 PM Thermal noise: Reduce resistances in the signal path, in order to minimize the Johnson (thermal) noise, the famous vrms = sqrt(4ktBR). Seems that Moore's law will have an end due to thermal noise. Current mode: Norton operational amplifiers... Dirceu Rodrigues Jr on When the Going Gets Tough... 5/21/2013 5:03:20 PM Re: quantum computing: Analoging - quantum computing sounds like a good topic for a blog, altho' I'm not sure if it would fit in on Planet Analog - but let us know if you think it's worth pursuing. Brad Albing on Operations per Joule 5/21/2013 4:38:45 PM Re: Discussion expanding: Nice to see that we have so many ideas to share that they are overflowing onto LinkedIn. Brad Albing on The REAL Cost for a Custom IC 5/21/2013 4:33:14 PM Re: Test: I agree - we need engineers who have done actual hands-on work. I've seen a few coming right out of school who are not educated (with regard to having done lab bench work and tinkering). Brad Albing on The REAL Cost for a Custom IC Next 5 messages+ All messages All messages blog roll message boards chat 4/11/2013 4:14:10 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: So I found these awesome Current Sensors but I don't know how effective they are. Help! here's the link <a href="http://www.magnelab.com/products/Current-Voltage-Sensors/three-phase-ropect%C2%AE-ac-current-sensor-rogowski-coil-rcs-1800">rogowski... SGreenovich Newbie 1/16/2013 2:20:07 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: Good closing comment Steve. Thanks Steve and Bruce for joining the chat. Brad Albing Blogger 1/16/2013 2:16:59 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: Gotta run guys---I really would love to do this again! I'm off to a conference call to pick the brain of another expert for an upcoming article---Once we think we know everything and cannot learn anything new----we are lost! SteveTaranovich Newbie 1/16/2013 2:13:49 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: Farhood Moraveji, technical director at TI commented to me, "Kludge boxes were a necessity in that test equipment did not exist that could measure the performance of the IC. These boxes often used some clever measurement tricks, which would... SteveTaranovich Newbie 1/16/2013 2:09:46 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: Erroll Dietz said this about early IC designers, "Using design rules that they made up as they went along, these designers worked from transistor-kit parts, used copper-clad breadboards with sockets as design tools, and employed discrete resistors... SteveTaranovich Newbie 1/16/2013 2:07:26 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: Right---"Figuring things out" shows good engineering thinking---I like that approach from that blog SteveTaranovich Newbie 1/16/2013 2:03:41 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: You might be interested in this blog, back a few months... http://e2e.ti.com/blogs_/b/thesignal/archive/2012/09/24/interview-questions-memorable-times-on-both-sides.aspx Bruce Trump Newbie 1/16/2013 2:03:11 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: Experience and practice under the tutelage of a good mentor is critical SteveTaranovich Newbie 1/16/2013 2:02:33 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: It's difficult to teach an engineer to have an intuitive understanding. Brad Albing Blogger 1/16/2013 2:01:34 PM Join us for a chat: Imparting knowledge sometimes lost in the past to our fellow engineers: Synthesis ability comes from real experience and practice that they don't get at undergrad level. The genesis, I believe, is an intuitive understanding of how circuits work. Bruce Trump Newbie Next 5 chats+		Hello. We were unable to find the address you requested. You may search for the content you are seeking using our search form or email technical support with any questions. flash poll All polls educational resources sponsored content by our sponsors Analog Latch, One-Shot Circuits Operate with Close to Zero Power Industrial Systems Need the Added Protection of Security ICs Intelligent Lighting Controller Measures Ambient Light and Tracks Time Map Colors of a CIE Plot and Color Temperature Using an RGB Color Sensor ISM Transmitter Has Constant Transmitter Power for Varying Supply Voltage Adding Autorestart Capability to the MAX16046 EEPROM-Programmable System Manager Signal Conditioning for a Sigma-Delta ADC in Industrial Multichannel Data Acquisition Systems information resources sponsored content by our sponsors 24-Bit Sigma-Delta ADC Reduces the Requirement for an Analog Front-End (AFE) for ECG/EKG Trade-Offs in Analog IC Performance, Or Challenges When You Integrate More Analog onto a Digital Design Simplify AISG Control Systems by Integrating the Hardware Discrete Transceiver All resources follow Planet Analog on Twitter like us on facebook our partners

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