Tag Archives: maxim

Here’s a tutorial from Maxim describing the differences between switch mode, linear, and pulse Li Ion battery chargers. Advantages and disadvantages of each are covered by the article. There are three methods to charging Li+ batteries: switch-mode, linear and pulse. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Switch-mode charging minimizes power dissipation over a wide […]

Here’s an app note from Maxim describing the use of a digital potentiometer in analog circuits like amplifiers and filters. By using a digital potentiometer in an op-amps feedback loop, a digitally controllable variable gain amplifier is constructed. Variable gain amplifiers often use a mechanical potentiometer to set the gain. An example is a volume […]

Here is an article from Maxim describing the differences between DACs and digital potentiometers. The article explains the characteristics and advantages of each, giving you a better idea of what you may need for your project. This application note compares digital to analog converters (DACs) to digital  potentiometers. Traditionally digital potentiometers were meant to replace […]

How to implement a fast load transient simulator for power supply testing. One of important factor of power supplies is how they react to fast changing loads. This article describes how to design a system that measures power supply performance under quickly changing loads. To obtain fast load transients, we combine a power MOSFET and […]

Next up in our power supply theme is over-current and over-temperature protection for power supplies. The circuit cuts power in case one of these two events happen, it also has an external shutdown pin so the supply can be controlled by a switch or microcontroller. When it is necessary to plug in a board into […]

Here’s a current limiting circuit for buck topology switching regulators. This design monitors a shunt resistor and overrides the feedback pin of the switching regulator when the current limit is reached. A current limit can be added to a step-down converter by using a MAX4173H current-sense amplifier to inject current into the feedback network. D1 […]

Here’s a tutorial from Maxim describing thermistors and how to use them in temperature tracking power supplies. Thermistors are resistors whose resistance changes with temperature, increases with PTC type and decreases with NTC. This article provides a simple, intuitive tutorial on negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistors and how to make basic use of them in […]

Here’s a tutorial from Maxim on DC to DC converter design. Buck, boost, inverting and flyback topologies are covered. Diagrams, equations, and control techniques are available for these four common topologies. Switching power supplies offer higher efficiency than traditional linear power supplies. They can step-up, step-down, and invert. Some designs can isolate output voltage from […]

Here’s an app note from Maxim describing how to calculate power dissipation of MOSFETs used in high-power switching supplies. The article is focused on CPU power supplies which operate at lower voltages (0.9-1.75v) but require loads of current (+60A). This article provides step-by-step instructions for calculating the power dissipation of these MOSFETs and determining the […]

Here’s an app note from Maxim describing how to implement a 1-Wire bus master using the UART peripheral of your preferred microcontroller. This application note explains how to use a microprocessor’s UART to implement a 1-Wire® bus master. It includes an explanation of the required electrical interface, UART configuration, and timing relationship between UART and […]

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. Because these components govern the high-uptime […]

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.

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 […]

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 […]

This serial digital data network table compares 8 of the most popular serial communication protocols – 1-Wire, I2C, SMBus, SPI, MicroWire, M-Bus, CAN, and LIN.

Maxim describes various SMPS regulator topologies for battery powered systems. Isolated and non-isolated topologies are covered: This tutorial presents an overview of regulator topologies for battery-powered equipment. The discussion covers linear regulators, charge pumps, buck and boost regulators, inverters, and flyback designs. The importance of peak current is explained, and schematics of each topology are […]

Maxim describes several high side current measurement circuits: This application note describes the use of current sense amplifiers, differential amplifiers and instrumentation amplifiers to measure battery charge and discharge currents in portable equipment, computer notebooks and USB accessories. It compares high side current sense amplifiers with low side differential amplifiers and recommends selection criteria for […]