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Just How Much of a “Breakthrough” is Tesla’s Tabless Battery Cell?

Tesla's Battery Day came with an important announcement: a tabless lithium-ion battery cell. How does this architecture compare to traditional cells?

October 07, 2020 by Steve Arar

Maxim Hopes Low-Power NN Accelerator Chip for Edge Devices Will Lead an “Embedded Revolution”

This morning, Maxim Integrated released its newest product, a low-power NN accelerator chip, with the hopes of bringing AI to the edge. We interviewed Kris Ardis, executive director of Micros, Security, and Software Business Unit at Maxim Integrated, to get the details.

October 07, 2020 by Jake Hertz

2020 Set to be Second-Highest Year for Semiconductor Mergers and Acquisitions

Two huge acquisitions in July and September have guaranteed that 2020 will, at the very least, be the second-largest year in history for semiconductor mergers and acquisitions.

October 06, 2020 by Luke James

How “Master” and “Slave” Terminology is Being Reexamined in Electrical Engineering

"Master” and “slave” have been used for decades in engineering vernacular. Now, many tech companies are pushing for more neutral terms.

October 06, 2020 by Tyler Charboneau

How Will 5G’s High-Frequency Band Affect Signal Integrity?

5G will operate at frequencies significantly faster than those of 4G, forcing PCB designers to rethink how their boards are designed and manufactured.

October 05, 2020 by Jake Hertz

Why Comparing Low-Power MCUs Can Be So Difficult

When vendors have different names for power modes of low-power MCUs, it can be confusing to compare options for battery-powered IoT designs.

October 05, 2020 by Jake Hertz

Fabric-Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Relies on Hot Pressing and Tape Casting

Engineers in South Korea have developed a process that could lead to the realization of embedded wearable electronics.

October 03, 2020 by Luke James

NXP Pushes 5G With New Arizona Fab Focused on GaN Power Amplifiers

NXP Semiconductors has announced the opening of its new high-volume RF GaN fab in Chandler, Arizona, representing the United States’ most advanced fab dedicated to 5G RF power amplifiers.

October 02, 2020 by Luke James

New GaN Transistor Combines Si Gate Driver in Same Package

In an attempt to create smaller and more efficient charging solutions, STMicroelectronics has combined GaN transistors in the same package as gate drivers.

October 01, 2020 by Jake Hertz

A New Dual RGB-IR Sensor Put to Use in Endoscopes for Cancer Detection

OmniVision claims this small form factor RGB-IR sensor may significantly advance medical imaging.

October 01, 2020 by Nicholas St. John

What is DrMOS—the IC Powering Next-Gen Processors?

Integrated powertrain devices go back at least as far as 2004 when Intel wrote the specification for DrMOS, a high-efficiency high-current IC for powering next-gen processors.

September 30, 2020 by Adrian Gibbons

A Closer Look at MARSIS, the Radar that Discovered Lakes on Mars

This week, the European Space Agency discovered underground lakes of liquid water on Mars. What circuit-level hardware made this discovery possible?

September 30, 2020 by Jake Hertz

Musical Internet of Things Connects Music Lovers in an Age of Distancing

At a time of physical distancing, the applications of Musical Internet of Things are ever more relevant.

September 29, 2020 by Teja Sai Marellapudi

Double the Protocols, Cut the Board Space: How Multi-Protocol SoCs are Simplifying IoT Design

Silicon Labs and STRATIS announced a collaboration to connect smart apartment complexes. What tech underlies this news?

September 29, 2020 by Jake Hertz

Where Do Lithium-Ion Batteries Stand in 2020?

Some of the leading players in Li-ion battery development—like Tesla—along with research universities are making notable strides in this energy-efficient technology.

September 28, 2020 by Tyler Charboneau

New and Upgraded Oscilloscopes May Be Useful Options in Lab and at Home

New oscilloscopes with larger bandwidths, faster sampling rates, and quicker rise times prove that T&M doesn't have to slow down amidst the pandemic.

September 28, 2020 by Antonio Anzaldua Jr.

Electronic Face Masks are a Fashionable High-Tech Trend

Engineers are finding ways to innovate face masks with electronics—whether for air filtration, an LED smile, or language translation.

September 26, 2020 by Adrian Gibbons

New “4D Imaging Radar” for Automotive Industry in the Works. Is the Name Accurate?

This week, Xilinx and Continental announced the auto industry’s first "production-ready" 4D imaging radar. But do 4D radars actually exist beyond the theoretical?

September 25, 2020 by Jake Hertz

What are the Challenges of Electric Heavy-Duty Vehicles?

With bigger vehicles come bigger problems with electrification.

September 25, 2020 by Steve Arar

Researchers Combine Transistor and Cooling System on a Single Chip

Semiconductor chips with integrated microfluidic cooling systems could lead to efficiencies that are currently impossible to achieve outside the lab.

September 24, 2020 by Luke James