My Articles on AAC
The following will be a list of my articles on AAC. In addition to technical articles, news pieces that might have useful technical information are also included.Sensors
Quartz Crystals
- Characterizing Frequency Deviations of Quartz Crystals: Frequency Tolerance, Frequency Stability, and Aging
- Understanding the Operation of Quartz Crystal Oscillators
- Assessing the Effect of Load Capacitance on the Frequency of a Quartz Crystal
- Examining the Negative Resistance of a Quartz Crystal Oscillator
- How to Measure the Drive Level of a Quartz Crystal
Memory Technologies
- How Does Non-Volatile Memory Express Reach Such High Data Transfer Rates? [News]
- Using a Supervisory Circuit to Turn a Conventional SRAM into Fast Non-Volatile Memory
- Decision Feedback Equalization: the Technique Driving DDR5’s Blazing-Fast Transfer Rates [News]
- Boosting Memory Performance in the Age of DDR5: An Intro to DDR Training Modes [News]
RF and Wireless Communication Technologies
- The Next Evolution in Wi-Fi Will Eventually Meet Our Daily Needs [News]
- Why Thermal Management is a Hot Topic in 5G Design [News]
- As 5G Begins and Moore’s Law Ends, Multichip Packaging May Be a Memory Solution [News]
- Assessing the Advantages of Ultra-wideband Systems Through Impulse Radios
- Honda and Verizon Put 5G on Wheels With Mobile Edge Computing [News]
- ST Packs the Power and Connectivity Strengths of STM32 Into a Wireless MCU Module [News]
Thermal Design
- How Junction-to-Ambient Thermal Resistance of an IC Package Affects Thermal Performance
- Theta JA (θJA) Test Conditions for Assessing IC Package Thermal Design
- Junction-to-Case Thermal Resistance in Thermal Design
- Designing with a Heat Sink for Junction-to-Case Thermal Resistance
- Introduction to Thermal Characterization Parameters
Test and Measurement
- Use Signal Averaging to Increase the Accuracy of Your Measurements
- Introduction to the Synchronous Demodulation
- Synchronous Demodulation Using Analog Multipliers vs. Switch-based Multipliers
- Analog and Digital Implementation of a Synchronous Demodulator
- Reed Relays Can Be the Best Solution for Signal Switching in T&M [News]
- Analog Discovery 2 vs. Other PC-Based Oscilloscopes. Is AD2 Worth the Hype? [News]
- Understanding Digital Oscilloscope Sample Rate and Analog Bandwidth Specs
- Common-Mode Rejection: A Key Feature of Instrumentation Amplifiers
- Examining the Unbalanced Loading Effect of a Difference Amplifier on a Bridge Circuit
- Learn About Three-Op Amp Instrumentation Amplifiers
- Two Techniques to Linearize Resistive Sensor Bridges
Embedded C Programming
- Understanding Embedded C: What Are Structures?
- Understanding Memory: How to Use Structures in Embedded C Language
- Learn the Embedded C Programming Language: Understanding the Union Data Object
- Union in C Language for Packing and Unpacking Data
Data Converters
- The Operation and Characteristics of Voltage-Mode R-2R DACs
- What Are the DNL and INL Specifications of a DAC? Non-Linearity in Digital-to-Analog Converters
- DNL and INL Specifications of a DAC: Interpreting INL Shape
- Understanding Amplitude Quantization Error for ADCs
- Quantization Noise and Amplitude Quantization Error in ADCs
- Learn About SAR ADCs: Architecture, Applications, and Support Circuitry
- Understanding the Dynamic Range Specification of an ADC
- Assessing the ADC SNR and SFDR for Communications Systems
- Developing Voice-Activated Systems: A Low-Power Stereo ADC from Texas Instruments [News]
- An ADC for Low-Power Data Acquisition Designs: A DC-to-204 kHz, Configurable ADC from Analog Devices [News]
- On-Chip Diagnostic Features: A Single-Channel 16-Bit DAC from Analog Devices [News]
- New Dual Simultaneous Sampling ADCs from ADI Feature On-Chip Oversampling Blocks [News]
- Why Choose High-Precision Voltage Clamping for Low-Voltage Applications? [News]
- Continuous-Time Sigma-Delta ADCs: the “Alias-Free” ADC [News]
Mechanical Ventilation
- An Engineer’s Introduction to Mechanical Ventilation
- Using Pressure Sensors to Adjust the Oxygen Concentration: An Electrical Engineer’s Intro to Mechanical Ventilation
- How to Measure Gas Flow in a Mechanical Ventilator Using a Differential Pressure Sensor
Operational Amplifiers And Comparators
- New Low-Power, Zero-Drift Operational Amplifier from Texas Instruments, the OPA2333P [News]
- Small Size, nanoPower: A New Comparator from Texas Instruments [News]
- A New 45V Zero-Drift Op-Amp from Microchip, the MCP6V51 [News]
Voltage References
- Introduction to Bandgap Voltage References
- Understanding the Temperature Coefficient of a Voltage Reference
- Low-Noise Voltage References: Understanding the Noise Performance of a Voltage Reference IC
- A New High-Precision Low-Power Voltage Reference from TI, the REF3425-EP [News]
Power Management
- “Ultra-Low” Current Consumption: A Battery Charger from STMicroelectronics [News]
- Power Supply Monitoring and Sequencing in a Single Chip: New Power Sequencer from Analog Devices [News]
- Picking Apart a New Switching Regulator from Analog Devices, the LT8361 [News]
- What Vishay’s New Power Stage Teaches Us About Reverse Recovery [News]
- Intelligent Power Modules Utilizing BJTs, MOSFETs, and IGBTs
- Common Protection Functions of an Intelligent Power Device (IPD) [News]
- The Benefits and Challenges of a GaN-Based, Quasi-Resonant Power Converter [News]
- How Does Qi, the Wireless Charging Standard, Work? [News]
- Power Density Roundup: New Assets in a Power Engineer’s Toolbox [News]
Automotive
- Introduction to Adaptive Front Lighting Systems (AFS)
- The Hall-Effect Sensor and the Rise of Electric Power-Assisted Steering [News]
- The Four EV Charging Modes in the IEC 61851 Standard
- How Two Low-Power Versions of Automotive Ethernet are Cutting CO2 Emissions [News]
- Energy Sharing—The Key to Preventing LED Drivers from Overheating? [News]
- What are the Challenges of Electric Heavy-Duty Vehicles? [News]
- Just How Much of a “Breakthrough” is Tesla’s Tabless Battery Cell? [News]
- The Three Major Li-ion Battery Form Factors: Cylindrical, Prismatic, and Pouch [News]
- The Challenges of AC and DC Charging May Be Slowing EV Adoption [News]
- Can Solar Electric Vehicles (sEVs) Actually Become a Reality? [News]
- Learning From the Past: EV High Power Density Trends [News]
Some Basic Analog Concepts
- What an Electronics Engineer Needs to Know About Noise
- Noise in Electronics Engineering: Distribution, Noise RMS and Peak-to-Peak Value, and Power Spectral Density
- Using Power Spectral Density (PSD) to Characterize Noise
- Understanding Different Definitions of the Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) Specification
- Analog Design Trade-Offs in Applying Linearization Techniques Using Example CMOS Circuits
USB Type-C and Power Delivery
- Guide to USB-C Pinout and Features
- Managing USB Type-C Power: A New USB Power Delivery Controller for Sink Devices from STMicro [News]
- How to Enable USB-C Power Exchanges With and Without Power Delivery
Digital Image Processing
- Introduction to CMOS Image Sensors
- Digital Image Processing: Point Operations to Adjust Brightness and Contrast
- How to Conduct Point Operations for Digital Image Processing: Using Look-up Tables
- Image Arithmetic in DSP: Image Averaging and Image Subtraction
- Introduction to Histogram Equalization
- The Mapping Function and Circuit Implementation in Histogram Equalization
FPGA and FPGA-Based Implementation of DSP Algorithms
- How to Use Carry-Save Adders to Efficiently Implement Multioperand Addition
- How Does Xilinx Use Its Logic Fabric to Implement Efficient Multipliers?
- Basic Binary Division: The Algorithm and the VHDL Code
- Use the Xilinx CORDIC Core to Easily Generate Sine and Cosine Functions
- Introduction to Distributed Arithmetic
- Considerations for FPGA Implementation of Linear-Phase FIR Filters
- Pipelined Direct Form FIR Versus the Transposed Structure
- Basics of Digital Down-Conversion in DSP
- Use the Xilinx System Generator to Implement a Simple DDS
- Considerations for Adding Reset Capability to an FPGA Design
- Clock Signal Management: Clock Resources of FPGAs
- Introduction to Clock Domain Crossing: Double Flopping
- Intro Software Walkthrough: Fast Fourier Transforms and the Xilinx FFT IP Core
- Clock Signals in FPGA Design: Data Path Maximal Clock Rates and the Xilinx PERIOD Timing Constraint
- FPGA Roundup: New Contenders Hone in on Memory, Size, Power, and Even AI [News]
FPGA Projects
- How to Interface the Mojo v3 FPGA Board with a 16x2 LCD Module
- How to Interface the Mojo V3 FPGA Board with a 16x2 LCD Module: Block Diagram and Verilog Code
The Xilinx Vivado
- FPGA Design Software: An Overview of Time-to-Integration Features in Xilinx’s Vivado Design Suite
- Design Implementation in the Xilinx Vivado Design Suite
PCB Design and High-Speed Digital Circuit Considerations
- The Basics of Emitter-Coupled Logic
- Why Do We Need Matched Termination with High-Speed Logic Families?
- How a Ground Plane Reduces PCB Noise
- Mitigating Noise in Double-sided PCBs: Multipoint Grounding (Gridded Ground) in Two-layer PCB Design
- Common PCB Stackups for a Four-Layer Board
- Via Configurations for Connecting Decoupling Capacitors
- The Relationship Between Rise Time and Bandwidth in Digital Signals
- The Longer the PCB Trace, the Greater the Signal Distortion. Redrivers Can Help [News]
- Reducing Second Harmonic Distortion with Symmetrical PCB Layout
- How to Use Decoupling Capacitor Placement to Reduce Harmonic Distortion
- PCB Layout Techniques for Reducing Harmonic Distortion of a Differential ADC Driver
VHDL Basics
- Better Know a Hardware Description Language: Getting Started with VHDL for Digital Circuit Design
- Simplifying VHDL Code: The Std_Logic_Vector Data Type
- Concurrent Conditional and Selected Signal Assignment in VHDL
- VHDL Data Types: Some Classifications and the Enumerated Type
- Integer and Its Subtypes in VHDL
- Review of VHDL Signed/Unsigned Data Types
- Introduction to Sequential VHDL Statements
- Variable: A Valuable Object in Sequential VHDL
- Sequential VHDL: If and Case Statements
- Incomplete If Statements and Latch Inference in VHDL
- Encoding the States of a Finite State Machine in VHDL
- How to Reduce Power Consumption with Clock Gating
- How to Write the VHDL Description of a Simple Algorithm: The Data Path
- How to Write the VHDL Description of a Simple Algorithm: The Control Path
- How to Use VHDL Components to Create a Neat Hierarchical Design
Verilog Basics
- Getting Started with the Verilog Hardware Description Language
- Describing Combinational Circuits in Verilog
- Use Verilog to Describe a Combinational Circuit: the “If” and “Case” Statements
- Using Verilog to Describe a Sequential Circuit
DSP Basics
Representing Numbers
- Two’s Complement Representation: Theory and Examples
- Fixed-Point Representation: The Q Format and Addition Examples
- Multiplication Examples Using the Fixed-Point Representation
FIR Filter Design
- FIR Filter Design by Windowing: Concepts and the Rectangular Window
- Undesired Effects of a Window Function in FIR Filter Design
- The Bartlett Versus the Rectangular Window
- From Filter Specs to Window Parameters in FIR Filter Design
- Design Examples of FIR Filters Using the Window Method
- Design of FIR Filters Using the Frequency Sampling Method
- Structures for Implementing Finite Impulse Response Filters
- The Effect of Coefficient Quantization on the Performance of a Digital Filter
Multirate Digital Signal Processing
- Multirate DSP and Its Application in A/D Conversion
- Multirate DSP and Its Application in D/A Conversion
- The Polyphase Implementation of Interpolation Filters in Digital Signal Processing
The Discrete Fourier Transform
- An Introduction to the Discrete Fourier Transform
- Insight into the Results of DFT Analysis in Digital Signal Processing
- DFT Leakage and the Choice of the Window Function
- Linear Filtering Based on the Discrete Fourier Transform
- Learn about the Overlap-Add Method: Linear Filtering Based on the Discrete Fourier Transform
The Fast Fourier Transform
Hardware-Efficient Implementation Methods
Miscellaneous
- Circular Buffer: A Critical Element of Digital Signal Processors
- Basics of Phase Truncation in Direct Digital Synthesizers
- How to Troubleshoot a Diode Bridge Rectifier
- How to Interface a 16×2 LCD Module with an MCU
- Overvoltage Protection for Harsh Industrial Environments: An Analog Devices RS485/RS422 Transceiver [News]
- Wi-Fi Is a Power Guzzler. New Multi-Protocol Modules May Change the Game of Battery-Based IoT [News]
- New Reference Design Highlights the Inner Workings of Beacon-Based, Social-Distancing Tech [News]
- Electric Bicycles Are at Their Peak. How Are They Designed? [News]
- A Designer’s Take on Raspberry Pi’s First Microcontroller [News]
- Cryptocurrency Mines Consume More Power Than Argentina—But PSUs Can Help [News]
- DARPA Bounties 500 Hackers After Computer Chip—And the Chip Wins [News]
- Understanding Active Noise Control Systems—the Tech Underlying Noise-Canceling Headphones [News]
- More on Noise-Canceling Headphones: Adaptive Controllers in Active Noise Control Systems [News]
