Implementing a simple digital-to-analog converter (DAC) by cascading a single pulse width modulator (PWM) and an analog low-pass filter is nothing new. Nor is applying to a filter the sum of the outputs of a most significant 2 N -count PWM and a ...
“Two halves make a whole” is a very old and often true maxim. For example, it’s almost always true when said about AC phase angle power control. You rarely want significant alternating half-cycle asymmetry due to the (usually ...
Integrating ADCs that provide accurate results without requiring a precision integrator capacitor has been around for a long time. A venerable example is that multimeter favorite, the dual-slope ADC. That classic topology uses just one integrator ...
I recently published a Design Idea (DI) showing some very simple circuits for PWM programming of standard regulator chips, both linear and switching, “Revisited: Three discretes suffice to interface PWM to switching regulators” ( Ref. 1 ...
The typical regulator output network Many voltage regulator chips, both linear and switching, use the same basic two-resistor network for output voltage programming. Figure 1 illustrates this feature in a typical switching (buck type) regulator, ...
Semiconductor laser diodes (SLDs) are often packaged with a photodiode. The output current from this photodiode can be monitored to regulate the output power intensity of the laser diode. SLDs, however, are prone to pathological drifts, such as ...
Receiving infrared (IR) signals while conserving system power is difficult, and typically requires the inclusion of complex power-management routines in the firmware. You can avoid that problem by disconnecting power to the microcontroller when IR ...
When designing devices with microcontrollers (MCU), I like to use some of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) inputs to measure onboard voltages along with all the required sensors inputs. This means I often run out of ADC inputs. So presented ...
It’s remarkable how many switching regulator chips use the same basic two-resistor network for output voltage programming. Figure 1 illustrates this feature in a typical (buck type) regulator. See R 1 and R 2 where: Quantitatively, the V ...
Figure 1’s silly-simple voltage-to-time ADC is an exercise in dynamic range. Assuming that it is used with a 10-MHz counter/timer, its resolution is roughly 10 µV per count for inputs around 0 V and 100 mV per count at 1 kV, and it ...