The SMD Codebook is a comprehensive internet database of the two and three letter codes used to mark small surface mount parts. This is an indispensable resource for repairing and reverse engineering SMD circuits. SMD devices are, by their very nature, too small to carry conventional semiconductor type numbers. Instead, a somewhat arbitrary coding system […]
Tag Archives: app note
App note: Introduction to Power Stage Controllers
Power Stage Controllers drive transistors in applications like DC to DC converters, power factor correcting circuits, motor drivers, etc. Atmel describes the basics of their PSC equipped AVRs: This application note is an introduction to the use of the Power Stage Controllers (PSC) available in some AVR microcontrollers. The object of this document is to […]
Linear Technology staff Scientist Jim Williams remembered
Drone followed up on our App note: Thermocouple measurement post: Yes, this app note is written by the venerable Jim Williams who passed away last year. Mr. Williams was the author of many famous application notes at both National Semiconductor (now owned by Texas Instruments) and Linear Technology Corp. (LTC). There is a very nice […]
App note: Selecting and testing 32kHz crystal oscillators
Atmel describes how to select and test 32.768 kHz quartz crystals [PDF!] for real-time clocks. The basic tips on layout apply to any microcontroller project, not just those with AVRs. This application note summarizes the crystal basics, PCB layout considerations, and how to test a crystal in your application. A crystal selection guide shows recommended […]
App note: Find the right battery for your project
Maxim describes how to select the batteries best suited to a specific project. The main performance metric for batteries is, of course, battery life. On the surface, this is a simple spec, but in truth it has many dimensions. These include the system’s load profile (how much of the time it spends using full load […]
App note: Frequently asked questions about chip capacitor cracking
TDK Components describes how to handle chip capacitors to avoid cracking. Multilayer ceramic capacitors are very brittle components, and can be damaged if proper care isn’t taken. Multilayer ceramic capacitors should be handled very carefully during mounting, soldering, and handling. Any damage incurred during these processes, no matter how small, can contribute to premature component […]
App note: Technical guide to surface mount resistors
Here is a technical guide to surface mount resistors from Panasonic. It covers the theory behind various resistor materials and the manufacturing processes. Tables illustrate specifications for different types of resistors, and explain the failure mechanisms for them. Fixed resistors are principal electronic components composed electronic circuit. They are developed with demands of various electronic […]
App notes: Operational amplifiers for everyone
Here is a comprehensive guide to operational amplifiers from Texas Instruments. It contains most of the things you ever wanted to know about designing with op amps. History, design examples, and theory is all covered by this guide. Via Electronics-Lab.
App note: Enhancing ADC resolution by oversampling
Atmel describes how to enhance ADC resolution by oversampling the signal and averaging the extra data. This has a side effect of increasing the signal to noise ratio, and reducing the quantization error. When the ADC samples a signal, it quantizes the signal in discrete steps. This introduces some error, often referred to as quantization […]
App Note: Comparing digital and mechanical potentiometers
Microchip compares mechanical and digital potentiometers to digital. This app note explains the theory behind both versions, and their advantages and disadvantages. Mechanical potentiometers have advantages in terms of having a wide variety of values available and tighter specifications such as nominal resistance, tolerance, temperature coefficient, power rating and temperature range specifications. But in many […]
App note: Basic features of the Atmel XMEGA Direct Memory Access Controller (DMAC)
Here is an app note describing how to use the Direct Memory Access Controller found on Atmel’s XMEGA microcontrollers. This application note covers the basic features of the Atmel XMEGA Direct Memory Access Controller (DMAC). The goal for this training is to getting started with simple memory transfers almost without using CPU time, and reading […]
App note: Lowering power consumption on PIC microcontrollers
Microchip presents several of techniques for lowering the power consumption of their PIC microcontrollers and dsPIC digital signal processors. Many things can apply to any low-power project. This document seeks to simplify the transition to low-power applications by providing a single location for the foundations of low-power design for embedded systems. The examples discussed in […]
App note: Current controlled boost driver for long LED strings
This reference design from Maxim is a current controlled boost driver designed for long strings of LEDs. Driving many LEDs in series has advantages over driving them in parallel. In a parallel configuration each LED will need it’s own current limiting resistor or current control, while the series LEDs make use of a single current […]
App note: Analog and digital conversion handbook
Ultrasounder let us know about this free online data conversion handbook from Analog Devices. It covers everything you’ll need to get started with analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. It’s not just reference designs, but also theory on how various architectures function. The Data Conversion Handbook, edited by Walt Kester (Newnes, 2005), is written for design engineers […]
App note: Porting the Helix MP3 decoder to PIC32MX microcontrollers
Microchip shows how to port the open source Helix MP3 decoder algorithm to the PIC32MX family of microcontrollers. This algorithm was designed be used by both floating point processors, and fixed point processors like the PIC32. Application note describes the procedure to port the open source Helix MP3 decoder algorithm onto Microchip’s PIC32MX 32-bit microcontrollers […]
App note: Designing the oscilator circuit for PIC microcontrollers
Here is an app note from Microchip describing how to design oscillator circuits for your PIC projects. The article advises designers to think about the conditions the project will be used in and design their oscillator circuits accordingly. Also provided are examples how to test and tweak the oscillator circuit to get the best result. […]
App note: ATXmega USB Hardware Design Recommendations
Here is an design recommendation from Atmel about implementing USB on AVR XMEGA microcontrollers. The article provides all the basic information you’ll need to get started with designing USB devices with the XMEGA. This document is written for hardware designers to help them develop their applications. It assumes that readers are familiar with the AVR […]
App note: Lamp dimmer using PIC12C508
Here is a reference design from Microchip describing how to built a Light dimmer with a PIC12C508 and a few discrete components. The circuit uses a simple zener voltage doper, to drop the voltage from mains to 5V required by the PIC. Watch out, there is live mains voltage involved. This reference note describes an […]
App note: PCB design perfection starts in the CAD library
This 19 part tutorial shows how to design CAD library parts that make PCB design easier. Part one is a white paper, while the other parts are written as editorials on his blog. If you are serious about building up a part library this is definitely worth a look. The CAD library is the starting […]
App note: Noise sources in low dropout (LDO) regulators
Looking for a clean power supply for a sensitive analog circuit? Analog Devices describes the sources of noise in LDO voltage regulators, and provides some examples to limit and combat the noise. In general, LDO noise comprises two components: intrinsic, or internally generated noise, and extrinsic, or externally generated noise. Thermal and 1/f noise are […]