Here’s an interview with Bob Dobkin, the CTO and co-founder of Linear Technology. He talks about how he started in the industry, the founding of Linear Technology, reasons behind application notes, and how to become a good analog engineer. He also talks about Jim Williams, the late analog design guru who’s responsible for many excellent […]
Tag Archives: app note
App note: Eliminating audio system noise from HDTV
How HDTV systems impact audio noise, and how to limit it: Ensuring a pop and click free audio signal chain requires careful design on behalf of both the hardware engineer and software engineer. This article discusses how hardware system and software functionality issues cause pops and clicks and how engineers can prevent them
App note: Microchip’s serial EEPROM cross reference guide
A handy serial EEPROM cross reference guide from Microchip. Lists devices from Atmel, Catalyst, Fairchild, Philips, Rohm, ST, and Xicor that are interchangable with Microchip’s serial EEPROMs
App note: Successful PCB grounding with mixed-signal chips
Here’s a tutorial from Maxim describing how to ground chips that use both analog and digital signals. The article goes into current path theory, and provides tips on how to improve your signal integrity in mixed signal devices. This tutorial discusses proper printed-circuit board (PCB) grounding for mixed-signal designs. For most applications a simple method […]
App note: Switching regulator power loss
Here’s a video from Linear Technology explaining why power loss is a more important factor than efficiency in switching regulators. Comparing the efficiency of two different switching regulators can be, and usually is ,misleading. Efficiency is a misleading number for comparison of switching regulators. The efficiency number can be manipulated by the input and output […]
App Note: Things to consider when designing a DC/DC power supply
Maxim covers some important things to consider when designing a DC/DC power supply. Topics include choosing the right DC-DC converter for the application; MOSFET gate capacitance; high switching frequencies and component size; equations and calculations; selecting peripheral components; component placement and trade-offs; grounding; load and line regulation; temperature sensitivity.
App Note: Proper grounding techniques FAQ
Here’s an FAQ from Analog Devices regarding proper grounding techniques. Engineer Walt Kester answers questions with references and schematics to better explain his points. All in all, a very good read that might help you catch stray signals problems in your next project.
App Note: Understanding and using power-on-reset and brown-out-detection supervisory devices
When a circuit powers up there’s all kinds of noise and ripples in the power supply. Many microcontrollers have a power-on-reset feature that keeps them reset until the power has stabilized. Without the reset, the chip might start running a program only to get hit by dip in voltage that freezes or resets the chip […]
App Note: Build your own laboratory precision voltage source
Annoyed with unstable voltage sources in your projects? EDN shows how to build a precision voltage reference and an output buffer for a high precision voltage source/sink. Grab the schematic off of EDN’s site.
App note: Hot-swap circuits
Here is an tutorial from Maxim describing hot-swap circuits, and the advantages of dedicated hot-swap ICs over discrete component circuits. Hot-swaps are designed to protect the rest of the circuitry when power is applied. Inrush current limiting, circuit breaking, over and under voltage protection, etc.. This application note discusses hot-swap ICs. Typical hot-swap circuits are […]
App note: Ethernet theory of operation
Here is an app note from Microchip describing the basics of Ethernet. It is intended as a reference for people developing Ethernet applications on PIC microcontrollers. Seeing as it’s theoretical, most of the article can be applied to other microcontrollers as well. This document specifies the theory and operation of the Ethernet technology found in […]
App note: Reducing system noise and voltage overshoot in buck topology switch mode regulators
Here is an article describing how to reduce noise and voltage overshoot in buck topology DC/DC converters. Slowing down the turn on time of the high side switch in conjunction with replacing a diode with a low side switch should increase efficiency and lower the power dissipation. Adding snubers (RC circuit) in parallel to the […]
App note: Diode turn-on time induced failures in switching regulators
Last week we wrote about fast diodes for switching regulators, this week Niklas points us to a video on the topic narrated by Jim Williams, the late analog electronics guru. Via the comments.
App Note: Fast diodes for switching regulators
Here is an app note from Linear Technology describing the importance of diode turn-on time in high speed (<1MHz) switching regulators. Turn on time is the time it takes the voltage drop on the diode to clamp at the rated voltage drop. Recently, switching regulator clock rate and transition time have become faster, making diode […]
App note: Pitfalls of trusting the datasheet
Analog Devices explains when the maximum supply current given by the datasheet could lead you astray: For most integrated circuits, a maximum supply current is listed on the data sheet. Often overlooked are the measurement conditions. For some rail-to-rail output op amps, certain operation can result in supply currents two to ten times higher than […]
App Note: Thermal considerations for low-dropout regulators
Here’s an app note from Microchip aimed at shedding some light into power dissipation and heat-sinking of low-dropout regulators. Basically all power that is dissipated from LDOs is turned into heat. This article describes what to look for in datasheets to calculate if, and what kind of cooling your devices need. LDOs specify maximum output […]
App Note: Damage from a lightning bolt depends on how tall you are
This app note from Maxim describes how to battle electrostatic discharge (ESD). The article explains the theory behind ESD, how it’s generated, and gives suggestions on how to prevent it from destroying your electronic devices. In this tutorial, we will discuss ways to protect printed circuit boards (PCBs) against ESD destruction. We will show that […]
App note: Layered isolation with high power digital isolators
Sequentially connecting optocouplers for better isolation slows things way down, digital isolators don’t suffer as much. The advantages of digital isolators over opto-couplers [PDF!] in layered isolation: Creating double insulation barriers with sequential optocouplers is problematic because the data integrity is poor, and there is no compact inexpensive way to provide power to the interface […]
App note: A boat load of 5volt to 3.3volt regulation possibilities
A circuit collection of switching and linear 5 volt to 3.3 volt step down regulators. The article has good fundamentals, but it was written in 1993 so keep in mind that some of the information is a bit out of date. This application note contains a collection of 3.3V regulator circuits, each optimized for a […]
App note: Where Is Ground?
Maxim takes a look at the reference point in electronic circuits we commonly call ground: For safety reasons we keep our circuits referenced to our surroundings. In most cases this is earth ground. This application note explains how a proper understanding of local circuit ground as a reference point frees our thinking to consider other […]