2089 results found for Components, displaying items 1 - 20
November 16, 2009[Ideas For Design] Adjustment-Free Fan Controller For Under $1
No frills here—just inexpensive functionality. This circuit activates a cooling fan when the temperature of a target high-power-dissipation device, such as a processor chip, exceeds a predetermined limit. The key element in the design is the Epcos PTC Temperature Limit Sensor (see the datasheet at www.epcos.com/inf/55/db/ptc_03/01900191.pdf), which cost about $0.50....
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Jim Keith
November 16, 2009[Electronic Design Products] 2D Communications Sheet Challenges 3D Trends
Last month, Teijin Fibers unveiled a 2D communication sheet that it says provides simple, secure wireless local-area network (WLAN) connections. According to the company, communications are rapidly migrating from 1D cable to 3D wireless topologies, while it forges development in the 2D domain. With the growing trend toward 3D communications, this 2D approach may seem like a step backward. But Teijin Fibers, which primarily designs and creates unique...
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Mat Dirjish
November 16, 2009[Engineering Feature] Taking A Hand At Robot Control
Tele-operated and semi-autonomous robots are often handled by conventional joysticks and mice. This is fine for rolling robots with two degrees of freedom. But higher-complexity robots capable of more varied movements have led to everything from 3D mice to thought control (brainwaves), though that has yet to be used for precise control. The AcceleGlove from AnthroTronix uses Freescale’s 3D microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers (...
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William Wong
November 16, 2009[Editorial] MEMS Inertial Sensor Combines Breakthroughs In Performance And Cost
A recent request from Hewlett-Packard piqued my interest, as company representatives wanted to talk to me about a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial sensor it had developed. At the end of these briefings, I typically ask for pricing and availability information, so readers will know when the part will be ready to purchase and how much it will cost. But selling this new MEMS sensor as a component directly to design engineers is not what the...
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Joseph Desposito
November 16, 2009[Technology Report] What's New In ESD Protection Devices
Obviously, electrostatic discharge (ESD) is one of many critical considerations in almost every design project. Equally obvious is the fact that there is no shortage of solutions to keep ESD at bay. Maxim Integrated Products describes its MAX4895E as the industry’s smallest VGA-port protector (Fig. 1). In addition to ESD protection on all seven of its video outputs, the 3- by 3-mm, 16-pin thin quad...
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Mat Dirjish
November 10, 2009
[Technology In The News] Micronail Chip Links Electronics With Bio Cells
IMEC (www.imec.com), a nanotechnology research center based in Leuven, Belgium, has developed a unique microchip with microscopic nail structures that enables close communication between electronics and biological cells.
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Staff
November 5, 2009[Engineering Feature] A Bright Future For LED Illumination
Nearly all market forecasts paint a positive picture on LEDs being used for general illumination. Market research firm Databeans Inc. expects the market for LED lighting applications, including white LEDs, to grow an average of 23% over the next several years. Worldwide sales this year alone will total $500 million, and LED revenues will hit $1.8 billion by 2013 (see the figure). The vast majority of such sales will be for...
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Roger Allan
November 5, 2009[Engineering Feature] White LEDs Promise Green Illumination Domination
The lighting is on the wall: Solid state is threatening to dismantle the dominion of incandescent and compact fluorescent light (CFL) sources. Illumination applications based on solid-state lighting are slowly replacing those previously ruled by the older technologies. Though very expensive to use, solid-state lighting has proven more efficient and in sync in a world where government initiatives are calling for a greener environment and less energy consumption. ...
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Roger Allan
October 22, 2009[TechView: Components & Test] Low-Power Actuator Suits In-Vivo Biomedical Apps
Fabricated using silicon-oninsulator micromachining techniques, Imec’s latest actuator operates with ultralow power. It’s also watertight, making it viable for use in in-vivo biomedical devices and other applications that need to combine a long autonomy with small batteries (see the figure). The prototype integrates a micro needle, which is steerable by the actuator, and combines a...
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Mat Dirjish
October 8, 2009
[Editor's Notebook] $10 Million Light Bulb Prize Remains Unfunded
Philips Electronics is the first company to submit a prototype LED replacement for the common 60-W bulb in the U.S. Department of Energy’s $10 million Bright Tomorrow Lighting Contest. However, Congress has yet to appropriate funding for the prize, and questions remain about contest eligibility.
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Don Tuite
October 8, 2009[Ideas For Design] Improved Electronic Birthday Candles Provide Better "Blow Out" Simulation
An earlier Idea for Design described LED “candles” that you could blow out just like normal birthday candles (“Electronic Birthday Candles ‘Blow Out’ One At A Time”). A thermistor and heating resistor combination detected air blown over the thermistor. The control circuit incorporated an 8-bit shift register, a quad op amp, and driver transistors, allowing up to eight ...
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Dhananjay V. Gadre
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October 1, 2009[Ideas For Design] Two Wires Carry Power And Data: Backstory
This application is as useful today as it was when I described it in the Oct. 1, 1996 issue. The deployment of sensors has increased significantly, resulting in an increased demand for efficient interconnect techniques between sensors and a host system. The use of only two wires often is attractive from both a cost and reliability standpoint. Sensing applications are no different than others—power and size are being driven smaller while faster operation is desirable...
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Robert M. Hanrahan
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