34 results found for Component Specifier, displaying items 1 - 20
August 18, 2005[Leapfrog: Industry First] Signal-Conditioning IC: A Low-Cost ASIC Alternative
Sensors are ubiquitous, providing the signals that feed our computer-centric world. The outputs for these sensors, though, must be signal-conditioned for computer use. This depends not only on the application involved, but also on the type of sensing technology employed. As a result, many OEMs turn to expensive ASICs and their embedded codes, which can take one to two years and cost $1 million to $2 million to develop. The cost factor becomes more noticeable with the spread of...
—
Roger Allan
June 23, 2005[New Products] Digital ICs/DSP: Programmable LED Sequencer And Driver Manages Up To 18 LEDs
A combination LED driver and sequencer, the DA9026 gives designers complete programmability of up to 18 single-color LEDs (or six RGB LEDs) for the control of light shows, backlights, and signal LEDs. The chip controls the sequences of LED patterns, including combined RGB LEDs, with programmable variables such as pattern, repetition rate, and intensity of each LED. It also can store and replay (from an on-chip memory) 15 light sequences with programmable start and end points without any...
—
Dave Bursky
May 26, 2005[Ideas For Design] LED Indicates Current Magnitude
The LED in this circuit glows in proportion to the load current (see the figure). It was designed as a very compact substitute for an ammeter in the 12-V supply line of some astronomy equipment. The equipment includes low-power heating elements (dew preventers) whose operation is not visible. However, the LED brightens visibly when the heaters are switched on, giving a positive indication that they're connected and working. Circuit...
—
Michael Covington
May 26, 2005[Engineering Feature] Web Tools Foster Design Collaboration
The role played by technology distributors in the design process has seen significant change over the past 10 years. Due to customer and market demands, the distributor's primary function evolved from providing access to products in high volumes to offering customized services and solutions. As distributors sought to expand their design services, they harnessed the Internet to improve access to these services. Today, distributors' Web-based tools let designers manage their...
—
Mike Doty
, et al.
May 26, 2005[Engineering Feature] Distributors Evolve Beyond The "Component Store" Tag
Designers know where to turn when they need parts. Distributors have provided the nuts and bolts of OEM designs for decades. But now, it's not just about supplying parts. Today's distributors also offer value-added services that smooth the path from concept to manufacturing. In the past, distributors mainly provided simple fulfillment services, delivering components to customers when needed. But new challenges and requirements have altered the playing field: shrinking...
—
Lisa Maliniak
March 17, 2005[Ideas For Design] Measure Relative Humidity With A PIC MCU
A relative humidity meter can be built using a sensor with a capacitive response and a PIC microcontroller (MCU), as shown in the figure. The capacitance range of the sensor, the HS1101 from Humirel (www.humirel.com), varies from 162 to 202 pF. Functioning as an oscillator, a TLC555 CMOS timer performs the conversion from capacitance to frequency. The timer's frequency equation is given by: F = 1.44/(RA +...
—
Claudia A. Angulo
, et al.
March 3, 2005[TechView: The Industry] Liquid Lenses Focus Without Moving Parts
While cell-phone cameras are growing in popularity, their electromechanical autofocus lens systems can be costly and complicated. Yet a liquid lens from Varioptic promises to lower these costs and complexities. Lacking any moving parts, this single-element lens is based on immiscible liquids. Small-diameter lens applications like cell-phone cameras will benefit from this simplicity. Conventional focus technologies are based on the principle of moving lenses, i.e.,...
—
Dave Bursky
March 3, 2005[New Products] Components: LED Light Engines With Fiber Panels Boost Brightness Levels
By combining one or more high-power, high-current-driven LEDs with the company's woven or UniGlo fiber-optic panels, a new modular light engine dramatically increases brightness levels over a wide and flat area. The LEDs are the company's Luxeon III Star and Luxeon V units. A special collimating lens captures the LED light's output and then focuses it on the fiber-optic panel, making brightness levels 20 to 50 times greater than normally possible. An aluminum housing acts as a heatsink. A...
—
Roger Allan
prev. page
[1]
