Each week, the editor of Planet Analog finds items of interest and then features them in two sections, entitled “Also of Interest” and “Elementals”. Each cites items from publications outside the Planet Analog and EETimes portfolios. And we also have an archive of recent weekly Planet Analog Newsletters, as pdf files; see the list at the very bottom.
“Also of Interest” and “Elementals” is an extension of our belief that engineers are interested in on-going tutorial on obviously relevant topics, as well as the serendipity of exploring topics which are not directly related to their jobs, but which will broaden their knowledge and sometimes spurs innovative and creative approaches. The first box highlights items of general interest to the engineer, while the second highlights basic and tutorial electronic-engineering material. Among the publications we check are IEEE Spectrum , Machine Design , Design News , Laser Focus World , EDN , Electronic Design , NASA Tech Briefs , Microwave Journal , RF & Microwaves , and Physics Today , plus others.
Consider these items as “online-only” extras, and worth a look. (Please note: there are also links to the previous weeks' editions, below this week's items.)
Also of Interest:
- Electronic preloading of rack-and-pinion drives yields backlash-free motion with minimal friction, improving precision and efficiency:
“Comparing Performance and Efficiency of Linear Motors, Ball Screws, and Rack-and-Pinion Drives,”
Machine Design , February 4, 2010 - Concentrating photovoltaic systems use lower-cost optics to reduce the use of high-cost semiconductor material. These optics improve PV system efficiencies and lower overall cost per watt:
“Optics take center stage in concentrating photovoltaic systems,”
Laser Focus World , February 2010 - As chips move more and more data around, the metallic wiring on and between them eventually won't be able to keep up; the solution may be silicon photonics:
“Silicon photonics could save the computer industry,”
Photonics Spectra , March 2010 - Groundbreaking aircraft lightning-strike simulation project heralds easy protection design for modern composite structures:
“Duplicating Lightning via Vector Fields, Opera,”
Desktop Engineering , April 2010
Elementals:
- Here are examples of input circuit selection for three applications using an analog-to-digital converter for signal processing following an analog front end:
” Driving High-Speed ADCs in Wideband Applications,”
High Frequency Electronics , January 2010 - Fiber is running out of bandwidth just as dial-up lines did years ago. Complex modulation solves the problem, again:
“Complex modulation comes to optical fiber,”
Test & Measurement World , March 2010 - Today's design engineers have a choice among three major technologies:
“Selecting Motors for Medical Pumps,”
Medical Design Briefs , March 2010 - Part 2 of this three-part series on phase noise in sampled PLLs analyzes the differences between the behaviors of continuous-time and sampled loops and how they can be modeled effectively:
“Analyze Phase Noise In A Sampled PLL (Part 2),”
Microwaves & RF , February 2010 - The next-generation of the Universal Serial Bus improves speed by a factor of 10 :
“USB 3.0–The Next-Generation Interconnect,”
Electronic Design , February 11, 2010
Previous “Also of Interest” and “Elementals” Editions:
Recent Planet Analog Newsletters:
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