Texas Instruments (TI) has expanded its portfolio of high-speed data converters with a broad new family of successive-approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), which enable high-precision data acquisition in industrial designs. Featuring best-in-class dynamic range at the lowest power consumption, the ADC3660 family includes eight SAR ADCs in 14, 16, and 18-bit resolution at sampling…
How Integrated Circuits were invented
What is an everyday affair now was only a theoretical possibility half a century ago. Remember, there was a time when computers were the size of a large room. The more complex a computer was, the more the space it required to house its vacuum tube circuitry and the lower became the circuit’s reliability. These were the everyday unsolvable problems for the electronics industry. How we departed from the complex maze of the thick, heavy vacuum tubes and arrived at today’s nano-scale integration is the journey that hinges on a single, defining invention: the invention of Integrated Circuits; and guided by a single, ages old adage: necessity is the mother of invention.
TI’s Grade 0 BLDC driver shrinks 48-V motor-drive systems by as much as 30%
Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced a highly integrated Grade 0 brushless DC (BLDC) motor driver for 48-V high-power motor control systems, such as traction inverters and starter generators in mild hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs). The new DRV3255-Q1 can help designers shrink their motor system size by as much as 30% while providing the industry’s highest…
TI offers new high-accuracy battery monitor and balancer
Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced a new automotive battery monitor and balancer that reports high-accuracy voltage measurements in systems up to 800 V. In addition, the BQ79616-Q1 streamlines Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) D compliance in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). Filtering system-level noise to accurately measure battery-cell voltage and temperature and…
TI’s high-reliability semiconductor products now available online
Texas Instruments (TI) announced that it’s making most of its high-reliability (HiRel) semiconductor products immediately available for online purchase on TI.com. This is helping aerospace and defense companies quickly get the authentic TI products they need for their next-generation space-grade and military-grade designs. Engineers and purchasing managers can now access TI’s inventory of thousands of…
TI introduces industry’s first high-efficiency automotive GaN FET
Texas Instruments (TI) has expanded its high-voltage power management portfolio with the next-generation of 650-V and 600-V gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) for automotive and industrial applications. With a fast-switching, 2.2-MHz integrated gate driver, the new families of GaN FETs help engineers deliver twice the power density, achieve 99% efficiency and reduce the size…
TI offers industry’s first zero-drift, Hall-effect current sensors
Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced the industry’s first zero-drift Hall-effect current sensors. The TMCS1100 and TMCS1101 enable the lowest drift and highest accuracy over time and temperature while providing reliable 3-kVrms isolation — which is especially important for AC or DC high-voltage systems such as industrial motor drives, solar inverters, energy-storage equipment, and power supplies.…
Fighting COVID-19 with 3D printing
There is a growing movement across the globe to use 3D printing against limited supplies of medical care for frontline healthcare workers. Nations across the world are trying to meet the growing shortage of masks, testing swabs, and face shields through whatever means possible. Omar Badar, an assembly engineer at Texas Instruments, understood this need…
Texas Instruments introduces TPSM5360x Power Modules
Texas Instruments TPSM5360x Power Modules are highly integrated 2A (TPSM53602), 3A (TPSM53603), or 4A (TPSM53604) power solutions with a 36V input. Each device combines a step-down, DC/DC converter with power MOSFETs, a shielded inductor, and passives in a thermally-enhanced QFN package. The 5mmx5.5mmx4mm, 15-pin QFN package uses routable lead-frame technology for enhanced thermal performance, small…