The MOSFET power switch is commonly the most vulnerable part of a new switched-mode high-power circuit. One threat for this device is exceeding the value of the maximum allowed pulse current. You cannot exceed this limit, even for pulse durations ...
Engineers have long used function- generator circuits employing analog integrators and high-hysteresis comparators. The outputs of these circuits often depend on variations in temperature, power-supply voltage, load, and parts. However, you can ...
By combining the responses of AD590 temperature sensor and a HS1101 humidity sensor, you can generate a single TTL-level signal containing information from both sensors (Figure 1). This design uses a 74HC123 monostable multivibrator, IC 1 , to form ...
This self-heated constant-temperature-delta transistor anemometer is cheap, rugged, and sensitive. It relies on the relationship between airspeed (A F ) and thermal impedance (Z T = C/W) of a heated air flow sensor as shown in the formula below for ...
In a previous Design Idea, a circuit switches precision dc reference voltages to the noninverting input of a high-speed IC comparator (Reference 1). The circuit uses a 2-to-1 multiplexer that functions in a BBM (break-before-make) fashion. ...
In advanced IC comparators, programmable hysteresis eliminates 0V-centered differential-input-voltage noise and improves the comparator’s response if its differential-input voltage is low or varies slowly over time. For example, the ADCMP609 ...
Passive current shunts for measuring the value of current flowing through a relatively small-value resistor often have a full-scale voltage drop of 60 mV for higher-power equipment and 200 mV for electronic instruments. Similarly, simple ...
Autozero amplifiers have almost zero drift and input-offset values of 1 to 20 µV. You can compensate for the initial voltage offset of an auto-zero amp in sensitive circuits, such as dc amplifiers and integrators, requiring the processing of ...
Measurement and process control loops often use 8-bit microcontrollers. The devices are inexpensive and widely available, and they can be programmed in many popular high-level languages like C and Basic. However, if the loop requires a nonlinear ...
Some voltage references can be used as shunt regulators, either by tying V IN and V OUT together or by leaving V IN open. These devices are limited to low currents, however, with a typical limit of around 10 mA. Standard Zener diodes serve the same ...