EEbeat

Spend enough time in this industry and, like Goldilocks. you develop a sense for when something is just right. So here’s a few more products displayed at Electronica that caught this reporter’s eye.

AVX Corporation introduced new Schottky rectifier diodes designed for switching power supply applications. A unique lead-less packaging technology eliminates the lead frame and wire bond to give the chip top-bottom symmetry for fewer mounting problems, and better heat transfer and current handling capability (compared to SOD devices).

Featuring a high rated current of 0.1A up to 8A and available in various different case sizes from 0402 up to 3220, AVX’s new Schottky rectifier diodes and offer a very low profile and low VF. Fully RoHS compliant and halogen-free, the devices are suitable for use in switch mode power supplies, high frequency rectification and battery powered devices.

TE Circuit Protection lanched the 2Pro AC device, a hybrid device that offers designers an integrated, resettable approach to protect sensitive downstream electronics against damage from overcurrent and overvoltage events. This new device combines a PPTC (polymeric positive temperature coefficient) device and a thermally enhanced MOV (metal-oxide varistor) into one package. As a result, it is said to provide higher reliability, reduced component count and a faster, simpler design process compared to other AC-line protection solutions typically used in low-current applications such as LED lighting, smart meters, appliances and power supplies.

By integrating a resettable PPTC device with an MOV, the hybrid configuration of the device offers benefits over typical approaches currently used in low-current applications to help prevent thermal runaway. These include using an MOV with a fuse, which must be replaced when blown; placing the PPTC device and MOV next to each other on the board, which can lead to thermal instability and design complexity; or employing a thermal fuse integrated with an MOV, which is a one-use solution that trips without allowing resettability. In contrast, the 2Pro AC device has thermally coupled components is resettable, and provides stability by maintaining a varistor surface temperature of less than 150ºC.

Micrel’s new MIC5019 is a tiny high-side MOSFET driver with integrated charge pump designed to switch an N-Channel enhancement-mode MOSFET in high-side switch applications.  The device is well suited for load switches, solenoid drivers and motor driver applications.

The MIC5019 features a tiny 4-pin 1.2mm x 1.2mm thin QFN package and a 2.7 – 9V supply voltage range.  It offers a 16V gate drive at VDD = 9V and an 8V gate drive at VDD = 2.7V.  Operating in low- and high-side configurations, it has a 150µA typical supply current at VDD = 5V and <1µA shutdown supply current.  The device operates at -40C to +125C-degrees junction temperature range. The MIC5019 is currently available in volume, and pricing starts at $0.48 for 1K quantity.

The R&S ESR from Rohde & Schwarz is yet another example of the company’s technology leadership in the field of EMI test receivers. The test receiver features time domain scan, an FFT-based receiver technology that allows it to perform measurements up to 6000 times faster than other EMI test receivers, according to the company.

Standard-compliant EMC measurements which took hours in the past can now be completed in just seconds,says R&S, saving users valuable time on the way to obtaining desired results. This measurement method offers great advantages when the DUT can only be operated for short periods for testing, e.g. in the automotive and lighting industry.