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Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) Structure, Characteristics, and Applications

Learn about the structure, characteristics, and applications of a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM).

November 21, 2019 by Amos Kingatua

Severe Environment Testing: Providing Safety Qualifications for COTS Designs

This article introduces Severe Environment Testing (SET), a safety testing standard that bridges the gap between a full MIL-STD product and a COTS product to provide additional confidence in the safety of a COTS product.

November 19, 2019 by Brian Niehoff, Samtec

What Is Brown Out Reset in Microcontrollers? How to Prevent False Power-Downs

Brown Out Reset is an important function to increase the reliability of a microcontroller after start-up. Normally used to solve problems with the power supply, this article shows how Brown Out Reset can prevent another problem.

October 09, 2019 by Stephen Colley

Introduction to the Terahertz Band

Learn about the terahertz band, its properties, and the applications where it's finding utility.

September 12, 2019 by Dr. Neda Khiabani

How Do Time of Flight Sensors (ToF) Work? A Look at ToF 3D Cameras

How do time of flight sensors determine distances? Learn more about ToF cameras using an example 3D camera.

May 08, 2019 by Mark Hughes

How to Choose Microcontroller Peripherals for Digital Signal Processing Applications

This article continues a discussion of microcontroller features and characteristics that are particularly important when you’re thinking in terms of DSP capabilities.

April 08, 2019 by Robert Keim

How to Choose a Microcontroller for Digital Signal Processing Applications

This article discusses the features that you should look for when you need an MCU to act as both a system controller and a digital signal processor.

April 05, 2019 by Robert Keim

How Will 5G Networks Improve Location Awareness?

3GPP Release 16 holds the promise to make high precision location services cheaper and more reliable. Exploiting new signal properties in combination with a variety of non-cellular technologies could enable forms of hybrid positioning.

April 02, 2019 by Sylvia Lu, u-blox

How Do I Prep My PCB for Fabrication? Accelerating PCB Assembly with Design Best Practices

In this article, Parker Dillman, lead EE and co-founder of MacroFab, covers how to best prepare your PCB designs for fabrication and assembly.

January 15, 2019 by Parker Dillmann, MacroFab

How to Design Charge Amplifiers for Piezoelectric Sensors

This article explores charge-amplifier design details, including ESD protection and frequency response.

October 23, 2018 by Robert Keim

Understanding and Implementing Charge Amplifiers for Piezoelectric Sensor Systems

In this article we’ll explore a circuit that produces an output voltage proportional to the charge generated by a piezoelectric transducer.

October 22, 2018 by Robert Keim

Understanding and Modeling Piezoelectric Sensors

This article explains some theory behind piezoelectric sensors and presents an equivalent circuit that you can use when you’re designing sensor systems.

October 15, 2018 by Robert Keim

How to Process I/Q Signals in a Software-Defined RF Receiver

This article discusses the mathematical significance of I/Q signals and presents the final steps in the DSP algorithm for decoding frequency-shift-keying baseband signals.

October 04, 2018 by Robert Keim

How to Use I/Q Signals to Design a Robust FSK Decoder

An improved algorithm, in conjunction with quadrature modulation, can achieve FSK decoding that is not affected by phase misalignment.

October 01, 2018 by Robert Keim

Digital Signal Processing in Scilab: Understanding Phase Misalignment in FSK Decoding

In this article we’ll use Scilab to explore the effect of unpredictable phase variations in a demodulated frequency-shift-keying baseband signal.

September 28, 2018 by Robert Keim

Digital Signal Processing in Scilab: How to Decode an FSK Signal

Learn about a DSP technique that extracts the original digital data from a demodulated frequency-shift-keying baseband signal.

September 25, 2018 by Robert Keim

Rigid-Flex PCB Design: Benefits and Design Best Practices

This article will discuss what rigid-flex PCBs are, the advantages of using them, and the rules for designing with them for an application.

September 24, 2018 by John Ross

Understanding Color Models Used in Digital Image Processing

Learn about digital-signal-processing concepts that help us to store and manipulate color information.

August 17, 2018 by Robert Keim

Introduction to the Two-Cavity Klystron Amplifier

Klystron amplifiers are used in a variety of industries, including satellite systems, television broadcasting, radar, particle accelerators, and in the medical field. In this article, we'll learn about the two-cavity klystron's unique build and the concept of electron bunching.

July 31, 2018 by Mark Mitchell

The Importance of Reliability Verification in AI/ML Processors

With the adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning in a wide variety of applications, reliability verification of AI/ML processors is critical since failures can have major consequences for the validity and legitimacy of AI/ML technology.

4 days ago by Neel Natekar, Mentor

How to Create a Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network in Python

This article takes you step by step through a Python program that will allow us to train a neural network and perform advanced classification.

5 days ago by Robert Keim

Introduction to Microcontroller Timers: Periodic Timers

This article, the first in a series on “timer/counter” functions in microcontrollers, discusses periodic timers.

January 14, 2020 by Stephen Colley

How an Internal Faraday Shield and Small Ci-O Improve Optocoupler Galvanic Isolation

This article discusses how the use of three key design methods utilized in optocouplers improves galvanic isolation performance and presents an accompanying high voltage surge test as proof. 

January 14, 2020 by Lim Shiun Pi, Broadcom Inc

Analog Design Trade-Offs in Applying Linearization Techniques Using Example CMOS Circuits

This article will look at the trade-offs we face when trying to improve the linearity of a circuit.

January 13, 2020 by Steve Arar

Neural Network Architecture for a Python Implementation

This article discusses the Perceptron configuration that we will use for our experiments with neural-network training and classification, and we’ll also look at the related topic of bias nodes.

January 09, 2020 by Robert Keim

Implementing LoRa-based Solutions for Smart Metering

This article explores the use of LoRa devices for long-range, low power smart metering of utilities, which allows for remote daily operations and the collection of data.

January 07, 2020 by Rémi Demerlé, Semtech

Understanding Training Formulas and Backpropagation for Multilayer Perceptrons

This article presents the equations that we use when performing weight-update computations, and we’ll also discuss the concept of backpropagation.

December 27, 2019 by Robert Keim

How to Train a Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network

We can greatly enhance the performance of a Perceptron by adding a layer of hidden nodes, but those hidden nodes also make training a bit more complicated.

December 26, 2019 by Robert Keim

The Sigmoid Activation Function: Activation in Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks

In this article, we’ll see why we need a new activation function for a neural network that is trained via gradient descent.

December 25, 2019 by Robert Keim

Advanced Machine Learning with the Multilayer Perceptron

This article explains why high-performance neural networks need an extra “hidden” layer of computational nodes.

December 24, 2019 by Robert Keim

Assessing the ADC SNR and SFDR for Communications Systems

In this article, we will see how we can determine the SFDR for an ADC used in a radio receiver. Also, we’ll examine the ADC SNR requirement for this application.

December 22, 2019 by Steve Arar

Understanding Learning Rate in Neural Networks

This article discusses learning rate, which plays an important role in neural-network training.

December 19, 2019 by Robert Keim

How Software Automation in PCBA Manufacturing Helps Quicken Innovation

Manufacturing still takes a large portion of time in the electrical engineering cycle. This article discusses how software-driven automation and the IIoT can help hasten the manufacturing process.

December 17, 2019 by Shashank Samala, Tempo Automation

How to Calibrate a Microcontroller Internal Oscillator: A DIY Trimming Procedure Algorithm

This article presents an algorithm intended for humans to calibrate the internal oscillator of an MCU, with the help of an oscilloscope and a spreadsheet. An example experiment with numbers is also shown.

December 13, 2019 by Eduardo Corpeño

How to Calibrate MCU Internal Oscillators

This article describes the internal RC oscillator calibration mechanism available in low-end microcontroller units. A basic calibration procedure and considerations on automated calibration are presented.

December 12, 2019 by Eduardo Corpeño

Introduction to the Synchronous Demodulation

This article will discuss the basic idea behind the synchronous demodulation technique.

December 11, 2019 by Steve Arar

The Good and the Bad of MCU Internal Oscillators

This article describes the benefits and requirements of the internal RC oscillator often available inside many low-cost Microcontroller units, including the calibration procedure to obtain the best possible accuracy.

December 11, 2019 by Eduardo Corpeño

Predicting Battery Degradation with a Trinket M0 and Python Software Algorithms

Learn how to build a setup that will help you predict a battery's performance as it ages using a Trinket M0 and software algorithms.

December 09, 2019 by Aaron Hanson

An Introduction to Training Theory for Neural Networks

In this article, we’ll explore Perceptron training from a more theoretical perspective, focusing on the “error bowl.”

December 05, 2019 by Robert Keim