Articles - 8

Digital potentiometers (digiPOTs) are versatile and can be used in a wide variety of applications, for example, for filtering or generating ac signals. However, sometimes the frequency must be able to be varied and adapted to the desired ...

Before his name became a brand and a household word, Ray Dolby was a pioneer in noise reduction technology. His innovations revolutionized the audio and entertainment industries. Even today, the name Dolby is synonymous with multi-channel surround ...

Known devices for taking the square root contain an operational amplifier and a multiplier connected in a feedback loop. The accuracy of these devices depends on the method of building the multiplier, with the most accurate using logarithm and ...

Every PWM DAC design needs analog filtering to separate the desired PWM duty-cycle-proportional DC component from unwanted AC ripple. The simplest of these is the basic RC low-pass filter, which gives a peak-to-peak ripple amplitude (for the worst ...

Although current mirrors and circuits such as the Howland current source are taught in analog circuit courses, a surprising number of engineers tend to think exclusively in terms of voltage when defining the output of precision analog circuitry. ...

While measuring op-amp input capacitance, what should you focus on? The answer is that you must ensure the measurement accuracy isn’t degraded by the stray capacitance and inductance of the PCB or test setup. You can minimize these issues by ...

In process-control applications requiring discontinuous controllers, the most elementary choice is a two-position-mode or on/off controller. A typical example of such a controller is a space heater. If the temperature drops below a setpoint, the ...

If you’ve looked at a development kit lately, it may be compatible with one of the popular hobbyist/maker platforms like Raspberry Pi or Arduino (Fig. 1). It’s not surprising given the ecosystems that have grown up around these popular ...

Permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motors offer smaller solution size and increased efficiency in applications such as portable vacuums and cordless electric power tools. When designing an isolated power supply for PMDC motors, there are several ...

The popular and multiply sourced TL431 three-terminal shunt regulator offers designers considerable versatility in its applications. Figure 1a illustrates the TL431’s internal circuitry, which comprises a precision voltage reference, an ...