Building better batteries from the nanoscale up
14 January, 2011
A nanostructured lithium-ion battery developed at Rice University may charge faster and last longer than Li-ion batteries in current use. Nanowires with a PMMA polymer coating solve a long-standing problem of forming ultrathin electrolyte layers around nanostructured electrodes.
Cheaper solar cells around the corner?
22 November, 2010
Imec is a non-profit European research organisation specialising in the study of nanoelectronics, using the expertise of its global partners in ICT, healthcare and energy. Founded in 1984, its headquarters are in Leuven in Belgium, with offices in the Netherlands, Taiwan, the US, China and Japan. Its staff of more than 1750 includes over 550 industrial residents and guest researchers. Here are some highlights from recent research projects.
Virus may lead to better batteries
26 October, 2010
Scientists have reported progress in using a common virus to develop improved materials for high-performance, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that could be woven into clothing to power portable electronic devices.
Linear Technology LTC2911 three-channel supply monitor
19 October, 2010 | Supplied by: element14
Linear Technology Corporation has introduced the LTC2911 three-channel supply monitor with power-fail warning for low-voltage systems down to 0.5 V. In certain applications, monitoring the main input supply is just as important as monitoring the intermediate bus voltages to provide the host with an early warning of supply failure and signal shutdown procedures.
Linear Technology LTC2990 IC temperature and voltage monitor
19 October, 2010 | Supplied by: element14
The LTC2990, an I2C temperature and monitor for 3 and 5 V systems, is a highly integrated monitor that incorporates a 14-bit ADC, a 10 ppm/°C voltage reference and I2C digital interface to provide sub millivolt voltage resolution, as well as ±1°C accuracy internally and ±0.5°C accuracy remotely when making temperature measurements.
Linear Technology LTM8061 and LTM8062 system-in-a-package uModule charger range
19 October, 2010 | Supplied by: element14
The LTM8061 and LTM8062 are the first devices in a new family of system-in-a-package uModule chargers, and support an output current up to 2 A.
National Semiconductor WEBENCH FPGA Power Architect power tool
08 October, 2010 | Supplied by: Arrow Electronics Australia Pty Ltd
National Semiconductor has introduced WEBENCH FPGA Power Architect, claimed to be the industry’s first design tool to model and optimise power supplies for FPGAs.
Phihong POE61U/POE61W 60 W midspan
17 September, 2010 | Supplied by: Braemac Pty Ltd
Phihong has expanded its passive power injector range to include a 60 W midspan.
Texas Instruments 200 mA dual output power supply
17 September, 2010 | Supplied by: Texas Instruments Australia Ltd
A 200 mA dual output power supply designed to provide improved picture quality for active matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays that require positive and negative supply rails has been released. The TPS65137 uses a low dropout post regulator for line and load transient response with minimum output voltage ripples to provide stable picture quality.
Linear Technology LT6654 voltage reference
17 September, 2010 | Supplied by: element14
Linear Technology has introduced the LT6654, a SOT23 series voltage reference designed specifically for precision operation from -40 to 125°C.
Linear Technology LT3651-4.2 battery charger
17 September, 2010 | Supplied by: element14
Linear Technology has introduced the LT3651-4.2, a 4A monolithic synchronous buck battery charger for single-cell Li-Ion/polymer batteries.
Maxim MAX11068 battery-monitoring IC
16 September, 2010 | Supplied by: Power Technology & Element Energy
Maxim has introduced the MAX11068, a high-voltage, 12-cell, battery-monitoring IC for hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and any system that stacks long series strings of batteries. It employs a SMBus-laddered communication bus that allows multiple 11068s to be daisy chained together without isolators.
Working towards a power-grid battery
15 September, 2010
If battery-making is an art, then University at Buffalo scientist Esther Takeuchi is among its most prolific masters, with more than 140 US patents, all in energy storage.
Silicon carbide research may give better inverters
09 September, 2010
A new material is poised to make the frequency inverters used with large electric motors more efficient and powerful. Together with several partners, researchers from Siemens Corporate Technology and experts for large electrical drives at Siemens Industry Drive Technologies are studying how the semiconductor silicon carbide can be used as a diode material in place of pure silicon.
Mean Well TN/TS-3000 DC/AC true sine wave inverter series
07 September, 2010 | Supplied by: Soanar Limited
Mean Well has introduced the TN/TS-3000 series of DC/AC true sine wave inverters, that is lightweight and is claimed to have up to 92% efficiency.
