December 5, 2019
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By: Jim Harrison Guest Blogger, Lincoln Technology Communications |
Everyone is hoping that making buildings 'smart' will make them more environmentally sound, more livable, and more comfortable. About 40% of total U.S. energy consumption was attributed to buildings last year. Lower cost sensors and easier to implement networking are making a difference–especially in skyscrapers.
December 3, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
So you've got an idea for a new type of wearable, something that will accurately measure parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate, and blood-oxygen levels (SpO2). The market for these devices is hot, so you and your team want to time the launch of your device to the most opportune market window.
November 26, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
GSEE-TECH, based in Tianjin, China, develops, produces, and sells industrial automation products. Its extensive portfolio of industrial Ethernet communications products include switches, gateway modules, I/O modules, and industrial wireless blocks.
November 25, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
From smart meters to machines to vehicles, supercapacitors are popping up in a variety of applications. Will they replace batteries? Perhaps not in every application at the moment, but supercapacitors do provide an advantage over batteries in certain designs.
November 21, 2019
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By: Joe McClean Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Maxim Integrated |
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and Anders Reisch Managing Director, Maxim Integrated |
Circuit design is time-consuming, often reliant on a trial-and-error process. And those iterations can result in delayed product introduction. So, with ever-present time-to-market pressures weighing on your shoulders, any tools or techniques that shorten your design process are welcome.
November 19, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Every micro-movement deep beneath the earth's surface is important to note for applications such as resource extraction and substance sequestration. High-quality seismic data acquisition calls for recording technology that is precise and efficient—two characteristics that mark the solutions developed by Geophysical Technology, Inc. (GTI).
November 14, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
More portable devices are being designed with sound, yet not all engineers developing these systems have audio expertise. This is where a company like PUI Audio can step in. A family-owned business in Dayton, Ohio, PUI Audio is North America's largest, broadest audio components provider. Starting from its early days, the company has built its business on a foundation based on listening to its customers. In addition to its vast product portfolio, the company also provides upfront design support, turnkey engineering capabilities, on-site production assistance, and functional and environmental testing.
November 13, 2019
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By: Michael Jackson Principal Writer, Maxim Integrated |
Hi, Michael:
I'm having a problem you might be able to help me out with. I'm designing an industrial sensor, but I'm struggling with the power budget to make it work with the IO-Link® connectors. The problem is that the regulators and LDOs on the IO-Link transceivers I've been looking at aren't efficient enough for the amount of current I need. Also, the sensor enclosure is too small for me to use a separate DC-DC converter. Any ideas?
November 12, 2019
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By: Ben Smith Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Applications, Maxim Integrated |
In the mid 1970s I had the best job an aspiring engineer could hope for: I worked the sales floor at a well-known national electronics retailer. And at that time, there were just three products that kept us all in business: eight-track tape players, citizen's band radios, and police scanners.
November 7, 2019
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By: Venkatesh Karra Member of the Technical Staff, Applications, Maxim Integrated |
Accurate, reliable temperature monitoring is key to keeping perishables such as food and pharmaceuticals safe. Thermochrons are cool iButton® devices. They can efficiently log temperature in harsh environments and store the readings in protected memory. The stainless steel enclosure makes the thermochron physically robust.
November 6, 2019
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By: Anil Telikepalli Managing Director, Core Products Group, Maxim Integrated |
By providing secure IPv6-based low-power wireless technology, Thread® enables tamper-proof home sensors for comfort, entertainment, security, and energy efficiency. With its origins in home and building automation, Thread enables IoT applications in diverse consumer, wearable, medical, and industrial markets. Google has also released a lightweight open-source implementation of Thread called OpenThread. While it is not exactly akin to what Android was for smartphones, OpenThread promises to be an excellent enabler for Thread adoption. Thread joins several other networking standards including Zigbee, NB-IoT, LoRa, SigFox, and Bluetooth LE.
November 5, 2019
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By: Ian Chen Executive Director, Industrial & Healthcare Business Unit, Maxim Integrated |
The future of healthcare could be even more data-driven and personalized than it is today. Instead of determining that a patient has a light fever based on a thermometer reading of 37°C, a diagnosis would be based on a comparison of an elevated resting body temperature against a similarly observed baseline from that individual. Rather than an arbitrary (or worse, financially driven) model where patients visit their doctors for sparsely scheduled checkups, people may receive care based on a cadence optimized to their own unique situations.
October 31, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
With ghosts and goblins roaming the streets in search of treats, Halloween might be the perfect time to channel your inner maker and show off your DIY skills. From robot candy dispensers to scary electronic pranks, the creative engineers in the Hackster.io community have shared some interesting ideas that might just inspire you to design something frightful.
October 29, 2019
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By: Jim Harrison Guest Blogger, Lincoln Technology Communications |
Engineers designing the next generation of wearable health and fitness applications need high accuracy along with very low power for applications such as wrist-band wearables. The wrist is not an ideal location for clinical monitoring of body temperature, but gives a good relative and daily trend indication. Accuracy is still very important here.
October 24, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Want to get louder sound and more bass from your micro speakers—without blowing them out? Dynamic Speaker Management (DSM™) technology could be your answer.
October 22, 2019
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By: Erin Mannas Senior Manager, Applications, Maxim Integrated |
Have you had that bad dream about your new design yet? You know, the one where it's almost done and you bring up the power supply and then…disaster! All because you didn't vet the power supply thoroughly enough.
October 17, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Do you break out into air guitar solos when you hear your favorite rock or metal tune? For real serious enthusiasts, there's even a competition to crown a national air guitar champion. But if you prefer to experience a slightly more tactile experience, well, there's an app and tool for that. What if you're ready to take it a step further and actually learn how to play the guitar, but at your own pace and without having a teacher lecture you about getting enough practice? There's an app and tool for that, too.
October 15, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
When hackers get together, it's not always for nefarious reasons. Good things can happen, especially when those hackers are part of the revered Chaos Computer Club, Europe's largest association of hackers.
October 10, 2019
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By: Ben Smith Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Applications, Maxim Integrated |
I have a confession: I'm not really an analog person.
For pretty much my entire career, I've been working with microcontrollers and hooking them up to other, mostly digital, blocks. Freed from the uncertainties that plague the analog world, I could build large, complex systems out of digital logic, content in the knowledge that as long as I didn't push things too far, I could connect pretty much any digital output to pretty much any digital input, and the system would "just work."
October 8, 2019
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By: Tamer Kira Executive Director, Automotive Business Unit, Maxim Integrated |
Nerves get rattled with every headline about electric vehicle (EV) battery fires. But the risk of a fire or explosion for EVs is actually similar or potentially a little lower than such a risk for gas or diesel-fueled vehicles, according to a 2017 report commissioned by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In EVs as well as hybrids, the lithium-ion battery is the workhorse, keeping the vehicle running smoothly, safely, and efficiently. So it's essential to carefully manage the voltages across the hundreds or even thousands of cells inside each vehicle's battery pack. Overvoltage and undervoltage conditions, for example, can weaken performance or, worse, lead to some catastrophic failure.
October 3, 2019
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By: Andrew Escamilla Associate Business Manager, Industrial Communications, Maxim Integrated |
For many industrial applications, engineers use a high-side switch to control the inductive load. The challenge lies in discharging the energy in the inductor when the switch opens and the current is no longer sourced to the load. If the energy isn’t discharged correctly, this could lead to a variety of negative effects, such as potential arcing of relay contacts, big negative voltage spikes that could damage sensitive ICs, and the generation of high-frequency noise or EMI that can hamper system performance.
October 1, 2019
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By: Reno Rossetti PhD., EE, Maxim Integrated |
Remember the line in the Crocodile Dundee movie: “That’s a knife? This is a knife!” In the electric vehicle world that line translates to “That’s a battery? This is a battery!” Electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by huge battery banks, constructed of long strings of batteries in series. These battery banks, typically made up of lithium-ion (Li+) cells, can achieve operating voltages higher than 800V. However, the materials of this battery chemistry can be damaged if overcharged. Each cell voltage must be monitored and, if necessary, appropriate control methods must be applied to avoid overvoltage. Excessive cell leakage current, overvoltage, undervoltage, and extreme temperature can all lead to weaker performance or even catastrophic failure
September 26, 2019
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By: Michael Jackson Principal Writer, Maxim Integrated |
GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 4G, cameras, etc., etc… Mobile phones (and other smart devices) have so many different features, it’s a testament to their high standard of design that they don’t overheat when running all these tasks simultaneously. However, nobody expects them to overheat when they’re in a power-saving (or sleep) mode. Well, recent events have taught us otherwise— a simple battery fault has the potential to cause irreversible heat damage (or worse) to the device. For this reason, you need to have some sort of failsafe temperature monitor in place, even in sleep mode. Of course, this requires some power to be burned (excuse the pun!) and throws up the conundrum: how can a device really be asleep if it’s still awake? Let’s have a look at the options to monitor temperature in sleep mode and you might just be a little bit surprised.
September 23, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
You browse vendor websites searching for information or the right products for your design. Is this research as fast and productive as you’d like? If you’ve already got a MyMaxim account, you know how quickly you can access what you need to push your projects along. But if you’re not yet in the Maxim community, consider these five ways that a MyMaxim account can enhance your productivity:
September 19, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Earlier this year, Andrew Smith, a product manager on Maxim’s industrial communications team, blogged that “These Industrial Communications ICs Are Oldies but Goodies for Good Reason.” His point was that innovation isn’t only about the latest and greatest products, but it is also exemplified by creating something that is lasting and continues to address emerging requirements for years. In his post, Smith highlighted several interface and signal routing ICs that continue to help engineers simplify their designs, reduce costs, and miniaturize their end products.
September 18, 2019
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By: Bakul Damle Director, Maxim Integrated |
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and Sagar Khare Executive Business Manager; Battery Management, Maxim Integrated |
Settling into your seat for a five-hour flight, you pop in your Bluetooth earbuds to listen to some podcasts. Will the device’s batteries and charging case have enough juice to deliver lasting run-time? Before long, the answer to this question will be much clearer. That’s because Android has announced plans to make it easier to manage battery life on wireless Android headphones.
September 17, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Smartphones are typically designed to be somewhat intuitive and easy to use. But is this truly the scenario for everyone? In many cases, the settings of popular phones on the market need to be adjusted to accommodate users of different capabilities. Then there are models like the Raku-Raku Smartphone F-01L. Developed by Fujitsu Connected Technologies Limited, the Raku-Raku Smartphone is designed from the ground up to be easy to use, particularly for those who are new to touchscreen operations. So it’s no surprise that it is considered ideal for first-time smartphone users and popular with seniors. In fact, “raku-raku” translates to “easy to use” in English.
September 12, 2019
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By: Carlos Alberto Rodriguez Business Manager, Micros, Security & Software Business Unit; Maxim Integrated |
Whether you look at the IoT, industrial, consumer, or medical markets, there are always applications where less power consumption is needed. This is especially of more importance when the end product is a portable device which requires a battery to power up the system. Users don’t want to go through the hassle of charging their devices every few hours. Ideally, they would like to not charge their devices at all! But, of course, this is not realistic. Instead, companies and their designers must try to get as close as possible to this ideal scenario by creating long-lasting digital systems. And while it’s easy to say, it’s certainly not easy to do. There are different points which need to be taken in consideration to achieve the minimum battery life requirements.
September 11, 2019
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By: Yin Wu Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Walking through New York City’s Times Square is an illuminating experience, to say the least. Adorning buildings on every block are walls of LED displays promoting products, entertainment options, financial services, and more. Compared to conventional lighting, LED lighting is much more energy efficient, robust, and longer lasting, and it enables the bright, vivid colors that make commercial and industrial applications shine.
September 10, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
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Buildings are becoming smarter than many people give them credit for. Maybe we’ve come to take for granted all of the things that these structures which house our workplaces and homes can now do without our intervention. From lighting and heating/cooling to security systems, many of the functions that keep us comfortable and safe now operate autonomously thanks to internet of things (IoT) technology.
September 05, 2019
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By: Anthony T. Huynh Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Applications, Industrial Power, Maxim Integrated |
Thanks to modern control and automation techniques and technologies, smart buildings can yield significant energy savings, protect the environment, improve the health and safety of their occupants, and enhance quality of life.
September 03, 2019
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By: Ben Smith Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Applications, Maxim Integrated |
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When Maxim’s Embedded Security group asked me to create a 30-second video explaining their new ChipDNA™ physically unclonable function (PUF) technology, I have to admit, I was caught on my back foot just a little. Not because ChipDNA isn’t important – it is, and will become increasingly important as security becomes more critical in the coming years.
Aug 29, 2019
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By: Jim Harrison Guest Blogger, Lincoln Technology Communications |
I was asked recently, what kind of applications need a voltage supervisor? A silly question. All apps need a supervisor. Certainly, any design with a processor—which is almost every design. That processor can start acting very strangely when its power supply falls below spec. All engineers abhor the thought of the catastrophic design failure this can cause, and in some cases, it can be a serious safety issue.
Aug 27, 2019
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By: Tawni Lisseth Henderson Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
A common thought comes to mind every time a new version of a phone is released: it is even SMALLER? The same goes for new medical devices, smart watches, wearables. They’re really all getting smaller? How can technology that must perform so many functions, with new capabilities being added in almost every new update or version, keep getting SMALLER? It seems like a contradiction: shouldn’t a device get bigger with every new function that is added to it?
August 22, 2019
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By: Michael Jackson Principal Writer, Maxim Integrated |
Hey Michael,
I’ve been asked to design the RS-485 interface for our latest industrial controller. I’ve not been given exact specs yet, but I’m told it needs to be “as fast as possible” over the “longest possible distance.” I’m a graduate just out of college, so I’m not overly familiar with the interface. Any chance you could answer a few questions for me, so I can tie down what these things really mean? Anon
August 20, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
So you’ve got a cool idea for a design. There isn’t anything else like this on the market. Maybe this could be the start of something big, a product that launches your side hustle into a thriving new business.
August 15, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Industry 4.0 is no longer a concept; it’s been happening, and it probably has been happening for longer than you realize. According to Suhel Dhanani, the questions now are, how can we best implement the infrastructure for Industry 4.0 and what are the technology drivers?
August 14, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Every summer, the vibe at Maxim’s San Jose headquarters gets a fresh injection of energy as summer interns fill the campus with their enthusiasm, ideas, and perspectives. In August, 39 interns showcased their work during the annual Intern Symposium. Here’s a look at how a handful of them contributed to the company and also to their own portfolios.
August 13, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Walkways toward many of America’s baseball stadiums are lined with merchants hawking team caps, T-shirts, and other “branded” gear. They’re available for a fraction of the cost that you’d pay for similar merchandise inside the gates. And, at least at quick glance, you can’t really tell they’re not authentic. Counterfeit products are everywhere and, in cases like sports apparel, they’re not particularly harmful to the buyers. But when the cloned product is something like a medical or industrial sensor, then there are dangerous risks to patient safety or factory operations.
August 8, 2019
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By: Kyle Johnson Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
Time is the driver of all actions in the technology industry. Technology today relies on extremely accurate measurements of time by real-time clocks (RTCs) to perform certain actions, whether this action is something as complicated as sending communication signals or as simple as telling the date and time on a phone or computer.
August 6, 2019
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By: Christine Young Blogger, Maxim Integrated |
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 10 medical products in developing countries is either substandard in quality or falsified and up to 8% of medical products in the supply chain is counterfeit. In 2017, the World Customs Organization, Interpol, and law enforcement from more than 123 countries seized more than $50 million in counterfeit medicines and medical devices. These are scary statistics for patients and should be just as sobering for manufacturers of medical disposables.
August 1, 2019
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By: Binay Bajaj Director; Core Products Group; Maxim Integrated |
Sure, a real-time clock (RTC) is considered a commodity product. But not all RTCs are made the same. In fact, you don’t even have to use a discrete RTC in your design. After all, microcontrollers have the function built in. But I’d like to argue that using a discrete RTC can actually be more beneficial in terms of your overall solution size and power management efficiency, especially if you are developing space-constrained applications like wearables.
July 30, 2019
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By: Michael Jackson Principal Writer, Maxim Integrated |
When you hear about Industry 4.0, do you envision robots busy at work inside factories, picking and packing products in a warehouse or manufacturing cars? Indeed, Industry 4.0 defines the modern factory environment. It consists of dozens of networked controllers continuously monitoring inputs from hundreds or even thousands of sensors such as switches and level detectors. Simultaneously, signals are sent to a similar number of output devices such as valves, solenoids, or motor drives. Electronic marshalling has simplified the process of connecting this expanding set of field wiring back to the controller. However, problems can still occur. Let’s have a look at how these can happen and show you a quick and easy way to resolve the issues if they occur.
July 25, 2019
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By: Greg Mow Business Manager, Maxim Integrated |
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and Michael Tuason Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Mobile Solutions Business Unit, Maxim Integrated |
As you’re getting ready for work, you start streaming your favorite tunes from your smartphone. You brush your teeth, get dressed, and let the music transport you to the concert venue where you last saw this band play. The sound is so rich, so loud that you almost forget it’s coming from your phone.
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