Latest IC Design Articles and Videos

The Robo Wunderkind is a modular engineering toy that encourages coding and creativity while sparking the love of…

The Robo Wunderkind is a modular engineering toy that encourages coding and creativity while sparking the love of creation in children everywhere.

The ESP8266 combination microcontroller/Wi-Fi modules can now be programmed using the Arduino IDE. Here's how!

The ESP8266 combination microcontroller/Wi-Fi modules can now be programmed using the Arduino IDE. Here's how!

A collection of games and resources to keep up your skills and learn some new ones in the process.

A collection of games and resources to keep up your skills and learn some new ones in the process.

A brief overview of several of the major free EDA tools out on the market geared toward budding electrical circuit designers.

A brief overview of several of the major free EDA tools out on the market geared toward budding electrical circuit designers.

An inexpensive PICAXE microcontroller makes it easy to read a temperature sensor, compare the temperature to a setpoint,…

An inexpensive PICAXE microcontroller makes it easy to read a temperature sensor, compare the temperature to a setpoint, and turn a heater or cooler circuit on or off.

This article provides practical guidance on using ferrite beads to improve your PCB’s power quality.

This article provides practical guidance on using ferrite beads to improve your PCB’s power quality.

Jump start your embedded projects with Freescale's new software platform!

Jump start your embedded projects with Freescale's new software platform!

Teaming up a PICAXE µC, a DS1307 real time clock module, and an LCD117 serial adapter with a liquid crystal display is…

Teaming up a PICAXE µC, a DS1307 real time clock module, and an LCD117 serial adapter with a liquid crystal display is a fun, educational way to assemble your own date and time demo.

This article reviews the basics of finding Thevenin and Norton equivalents and discusses how to apply Thevenin's theorem…

This article reviews the basics of finding Thevenin and Norton equivalents and discusses how to apply Thevenin's theorem to a practical circuit.

Ferrite beads used in conjunction with bypass capacitors can provide improved power-supply filtering and decoupling.

Ferrite beads used in conjunction with bypass capacitors can provide improved power-supply filtering and decoupling.

Proper component selection and careful PCB layout are integral to power supply bypassing.

Proper component selection and careful PCB layout are integral to power supply bypassing.

Having beautiful-looking technology is becoming increasingly performance. Here we showcase five beautiful designs housing…

Having beautiful-looking technology is becoming increasingly performance. Here we showcase five beautiful designs housing innovative tech.

A thorough understanding of bypass capacitors will help you to properly incorporate these critical components into your designs.

A thorough understanding of bypass capacitors will help you to properly incorporate these critical components into your designs.

Electronic and electric devices are not synonymous. Here's an overview of the differences between each and why the…

Electronic and electric devices are not synonymous. Here's an overview of the differences between each and why the distinction can be confusing even for professionals.

Part 2 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.

Part 2 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.

Part 1 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series, which will design a sound synthesizer that can…

Part 1 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series, which will design a sound synthesizer that can play standard musical notes. We will accomplish this using a low-cost, small-form-factor EFM8 microcontroller in conjunction with a few external components and a speaker.

In this article I will discuss what switch bounce is and some ways to deal with it. First I will take you through the…

In this article I will discuss what switch bounce is and some ways to deal with it. First I will take you through the theory, and later I will show you some ways to handle it in both hardware and in software.

I hear about it all the time: planned obsolescence. People can't believe that their computer parts are already breaking…

I hear about it all the time: planned obsolescence. People can't believe that their computer parts are already breaking and their iPhone started to slow down just days before the next generation of the phone was released. Your TV seems to be programmed to have bugs whenever the manufacturing company wants to push a new product. Companies break their own products to get you to buy more of the same product: light bulbs, phones, batteries, cars, microwaves, computer screens, and even your car key transponder will all stop operating eventually. Either the marketing team or the designers wanted it that way, right?

Basic refresher on instrumentation amplifiers, followed by a several real world applications in which an engineer would…

Basic refresher on instrumentation amplifiers, followed by a several real world applications in which an engineer would find this circuit.