Great read on this white paper from Renesas about the history of USB power delivery. Link here (PDF) Connections between equipment for data transfer and power are being revolutionized by the adoption of ‘USB Power Delivery’, a version of USB that allows up to 100W to be passed in either direction. This white paper traces […]
Tag Archives: Renesas
App note: Custom instrumentation amplifier design
A detailed design of an instrumentation amplifier found in this app note from Renesas. Link here (PDF) This application note describes some of the fine points of designing an instrumentation amplifier with op-amps. We will cover how to maintain good common-mode rejection and output signal linearity. In addition, we will explain various filters that can […]
App note: Battery powered overdrive pedal for guitar effects
App note from Renesas about building a guitar pedal overdrive effect using only 2 x AA instead of 9V battery, this app note demonstrate the low rail to rail voltage OpAmp SLG88104V in use. Link here (PDF) Amplified guitars appeared in the early 1930’s. However, at that time early recording artists strove for clean orchestra […]
App note: General digitally controlled potentiometers
App note from Renesas on what are digitally controlled potentiometers and their operations. Link here (PDF) Digitally Controlled Potentiometers (DCPs) brought about a new way to adjust resistance in analog circuitry. Mechanical Potentiometers were replaced by DCPs because of their ability to control resistance digitally using interfaces such as I2C, SPI, Pushbutton, 2-wire, and 3-wire […]
App note: Doing more with buck regulator ICs
More buck regulator designs and other uses discuss in this app note from Renesas. Link here (PDF) One of the most popular switching regulator topologies is the buck or step-down converter. The buck regulator IC typically employs a built-in controller and integrated FETs. Power supply engineers use them for step-down conversion. Nevertheless, they can also […]
App note: Battery protection using low-side FETs controlled by GPIOs
White paper from Renesas on using BFEs GPIO to control or monitor further battery status. Link here (PDF) In an MCU plus battery front end (BFE) controlled battery pack, GPIOs may operate as an alternate protection FET control path where low-side FETs are preferred. Use cases include extending the upper voltage range of battery IC […]
App note: OB1203 pulse oximeter module electrical, thermal, and optical design guide
App note on Renesas’ pulse oximeter basics and its applications. Link here (PDF) The Renesas OB1203 pulse oximeter module optically detects heart rate and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2). Respiratory rate and other health information that can be inferred from the optical pulse waveform (PPG) signal. The OB1203 also features a proximity sensor and ambient light […]
App note: Current sensing with low-voltage precision op-amps
Renesas’ app note on their low-voltage precision op-amps ISL28x3x measuring current implementation. Link here (PDF) Sensing and controlling current flow is a fundamental requirement in electronics systems. This application note explains the design of low-side and high-side current sensing circuits using the ISL28x3x family of low-voltage precision op-amps in combination with current sense resistors.
App note: Voltage Reference Application and Design Note
App note from Renesas on the basics of voltage reference. Link here (PDF) Conceptually, a voltage reference is a very simple device with only one purpose in its life. Quite simply, the purpose of a voltage reference is to generate an exact output voltage no matter what happens with respect to its operating voltage, load […]
App note: Nonideality of ground
Ground in PCB design, another app note about grounds from Renesas. Link here (PDF) Ground is supposed to be ideal. It should be a black hole for stray currents where the voltage is always zero. Unfortunately, those stray currents travel through some non-superconducting material, so small voltages arise. You may not notice small changes in […]
App note: Grounding techniques
Renesas detailed app note about grounds. Link here (PDF) Ground is taken for granted. We stand on it, we dig into it, we make mud pies out of it. The ground isn’t supposed to move. We don’t have to think about it; it just is. When it comes to grounding a circuit, we assume that […]
App note: Achieving a stable power supply with fast transient response through digital control
Technical white paper from Renesas on using digital control loop to achieve more stable power supply. Link here (PDF) New trends and changing requirements in the power management industry influence how we design power supplies. Some, like the need for telemetry and system information, are more recent due to advancements in technology. Others, like the […]
App note: Color sensing improves look and feel of smart products
Renesas’ white paper on applications of RGB sensors. Link here (PDF) Color printers also require an accurate sensor to ensure that during calibration and printing the correct amount of ink is being deposited onto the paper—an essential requirement when the target output is for color photographs.
App note: Eye safety for proximity sensing using infrared light-emitting diodes
A guide to human eye safety for designers of consumer products, app note from Renesas. Link here (PDF) Active Proximity Sensing for Consumer products requires the use of a light-emitting component to illuminate the target object to be detected at some distance from the sensor. Typically, product designers do not want the illumination to interfere […]
App note: Driving E ink segmented displays
Application note on driving E Ink displays from Renesas. Link here (PDF) E Ink segmented displays are direct drive displays consisting of E Ink Vizplex Imaging Film sandwiched between two electrode layers, the top plane and the backplane, and then encased in an environmental barrier solution to protect the film and the segment electrodes. To […]
Renesas promotion board for RL78/G13
Renesas is offering a free development board to those willing to register and give up some information about a potential project. They describe, “The YRPBRL78G13 is a promotion board for the new Renesas RL78 microcontroller family. It supports on-board debugging, flash programming, and is pre-programmed to work with the GUI provided on the included DVD […]
Renesas RX210 demo board promotion
Renesas is making the RX210 promotional demo board available free to eligible registrants. This board is based on the RX210 ultra-low power, low-voltage Flash MCU. You can download the board’s schematic here. This promotion is open to residents of the United States, Canada, Mexico & South America. Other restrictions may apply. In order to qualify, […]
NimbleSig III RF analyzer using Renesas RX62N
Va7sa designed this RF analyzer as his entry in the Renesas RX design contest. He writes: The NimbleSig III RF Analyzer is a compact, relatively inexpensive instrumentation cluster intended for analyzing the transmission characteristics of RF circuits designed to operate within the frequency range of 200 KHz to 200 MHz. The analyzer is capable of […]
Free Renesas RX62N dev board
The Renesas RX62N is a demonstration kit for a Renesas controller chip. The controller has a boat-load of features: 32-bits, DMA, 9 DSP instructions, Connectable SDRam Interface, 10/100Mbps Ethernet Controller, USB 2.0 with OTG possible, CAN module, AD converter, DA converter, 100MHz max operating frequency, CRC Calculator, plus many more. The demo board has a […]