Latest Consumer Electronics Technical Articles

Thermocouple Signal Conditioners and Signal Conditioning Near the Cold Junction

Learn about monolithic thermocouple signal conditioners and signal conditionings through example products like AD594 / AD595, MAX6675, and ADS1220.

October 14, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Unraveling the Thermocouple Approximation Error Using the Least Squares Method

Learn about the linear approximation error for a type k thermocouple and how to use the least squares method and Matlab to find the line of best fit that minimizes the approximation error.

September 25, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Electronic Component Aging—Long Term Drift (LTD) in a Voltage Reference

Learn how manufacturers characterize and estimate the long-term drift (LTD) of a voltage reference for electronic component aging prediction.

September 11, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Thermocouple Cold Junction Compensation Using Analog Temperature Sensors

Learn how analog circuits can be used to implement cold junction compensation using examples from Analog Devices and Texas Instrument's TMP35 and LM335 temperature sensors, respectively.

September 09, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Electronic Component Aging—the Aging Effects of Resistors and Op-amps

Learn about the aging behavior of resistors and amplifiers using temperature calculations and the Arrhenius equation to understand resistor drift, resistor stability, and op-amp drift.

August 28, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

What is Cold Junction Compensation in Thermocouples?

Learn about the theory behind cold junction compensation in thermocouples using the Seebeck voltage, reference tables, and by finding the hot junction temperature.

August 21, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Using the Arrhenius Equation to Predict Electronic Component Aging

Learn about calculating the activation energy of the aging process and some of the contradictory opinions about the Arrhenius equation's usefulness when predicting a crystal's aging process.

August 18, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

High-temperature Aging Method to Evaluate Electronic Component Aging and Stability

Learn about the aging and stability challenges for electric components due to temperature and time using quartz crystals, as well as applying the extrapolation method, aging equation, and Arrhenius equation.

July 31, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Temperature Drift in Resistors and Op-amps—Flicker Noise and Signal Averaging

Learn about temperature drift in electronic circuits, namely in resistors and amplifiers. We'll also cover how the effect of flicker noise comes into play and how drift limits the effectiveness of signal averaging.

July 15, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

The Basics of Electrical Engineering Standards

Get a high-level introduction to how standards play into the EE world.

June 24, 2022 by John Woodgate

Understanding Side Channel Attack Basics

Learn the basics of side channel attacks (SCAs), the threat they pose security for hardware-level security, and why they can be so powerful.

March 27, 2022 by Jake Hertz

Hall Effect Magnetic Design: Head-on and Slide-by Configurations

Learn about how the Hall effect is used in position sensing applications.

July 04, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Four Lessons an Adult Engineer Can Learn From Children’s Toys

Children’s toys aren’t just for children. Inside every toy, there are hundreds of hours of engineering experience just waiting to be discovered.

March 24, 2021 by Mark Hughes

What Is a Magnetometer?

Learn the basics of magnetometers, including their relation to hysteresis curves and their applications.

March 19, 2021 by Ignacio de Mendizábal

Introduction to Photodiodes: The Nature of Light and pn Junctions

Learn about how semiconductor devices interact with electromagnetic radiation to enable electronic detection of light, UV, and infrared.

December 16, 2020 by Robert Keim

The History of Vacuum Tubes: An Era Away

While semiconductor devices make possible the lightweight 'gadgets' we enjoy, our electronic world was built on devices that operated on a different scale. Let's take a look at vacuum tubes!

December 11, 2020 by Marie Christiano

Introduction to CMOS Image Sensors

In this article, you'll learn the basics of the CMOS image sensor, including its core components, its block diagram, its strengths and weaknesses, and its applications.

November 09, 2020 by Dr. Steve Arar