Category: Basic Electronics

App note from Coilcraft on how to calculate the power dissipation of an inductor. Inductors are not typically rated by power, however an approximation of the power-handling capability of an air core or ceramic core chip inductor can be estimated using the data sheet specifications for...

RLC snubber circuits, app note from Nexperia. This document describes the design of a simple “RC snubber circuit”. The snubber is used to suppress high-frequency oscillations associated with reverse recovery effects in power semiconductor applications App note: Designing RC...

Apart from the risk of a (dangerous) electric shock and the near certainty of a very massive short circuit that is the consequence of drilling into a cable, the aftermath of this mishap is no fun either. In any case, the damaged cable has to be replaced – and that is already not nice...

The main purpose of this application report is to demonstrate a systematic approach to design high-performance gate drive circuits for high-speed switching applications. It is an informative collection of topics offering a “one-stop-shopping” to solve the most common design...

App note from Vishay about how ESR in tantalum capacitors affects circuit performance. Link here (PDF) When choosing a capacitor for any application, there are a few key characteristics that must be understood in order to analyze its suitability for the circuit. In a simple capacitor...

The MOSFET gate-source threshold voltage (VGS-th) and maximum gate-source voltage(VGS-max) are key parameters that are critical to the reliable operation of MOSFETs. The threshold voltage represents the voltage at which the MOSFET starts to turn on, whilst the maximum gate-source...

from an Idea by Wolfgang Borst (Germany) Virtually every modern microcontroller has a built-in watchdog. It prevents the microcontroller ‘hanging’ which may be the result of a programming error or an unforeseen operating condition, where, for example, the program becomes trapped in...

Let’s Start Coding Offers Customizable Electronic Kits That Teach Kids 8-12 Real Code in a Hands-on Way Remember how much fun you had with chemistry sets from your childhood? You made things blow up and glow and learned about chemistry in the process. Let’s Start Coding is the...