Alternative

Energy
On the horizon:
LIVEWIRE | MARKETWATCH | EMBEDDED CORNER
WORLDVIEW | ROADTEST | TECHTRENDS | GET TECH
Solar EnErgy
Solar CEllS
Solar PanElS
PhotovoltaiC arrayS
MCUS
MPUS
MoSFEtS
Wind PoWEr
igBt
BattEry/ChargE ControllErS
CaPaCitorS
invErtErS
ConnECtorS
grEEn EnErgy
indUStrial
oFF grid PoWEr SyStEMS
aPPlianCES
PoWEr ManagEMEnt iCS
FUEl CEllS
thryStorS
BridgE rECtiFiErS
EnErgy EFFiCiEnCy
oPtiCal SEnSorS
lEdS
rEnEWaBlE
EnErgy
PFC
ControllErS
hEat SinkS
A Premier Farnell Company
DESIGN WITH THE BEST
JOURNAL
Discrete Semiconductors and Passive Components
One of the Worlds Largest Manufacturers of
www.vishay.com
Discrete Semiconductors

Number 1 worldwide in low-voltage

power MOSFETs

Number 1 worldwide in rectiers

Number 1 worldwide in glass diodes

Number 1 worldwide in infrared components

...and others
Passive Components

Number 1 worldwide in wirewound and

other power resistors

Number 1 worldwide in foil, SMD thin lm,

and leaded lm resistors

Number 1 worldwide in wet tantalum capacitors

Number 1 worldwide in strain gage sensors

and load cells
...and others
We Are The
Market Leader In
There are many viable reasons for considering an alternative energy solution to power new designs,
especially for those with ultra-low power requirements. Battery regulations, lower total cost of
ownership, environmental benefts, and ease of implementation are just some of the many benefts that
alternative energy sources can bring.
It is easy to think of all alternative energy as giant wind farms or hydro plants, but many alternative
energy sources can be as simple as a single solar cell powering a remote sensor and wireless transmitter.
As well as solar power, piezoelectric and thermoelectric generators can harvest vibration and thermal
energy to generate enough electricity to power a simple circuit.
For alternative power sources to be viable, effciency is key. The overall amount of energy generated can
be quite small, and the generation, transformation, storage, conversion and distribution phases of the
circuit need to have as few losses as possible to ensure enough power is available to drive the load.
This journal will look at the design and implementation of these systems, along with the latest power
chain innovations that have opened new applications for alternative energy. We also include some
practical examples of these circuits in operation. The journal will contain articles from both our
industry leading range of suppliers and our in-house technical teams. We also have the regular features
to keep you up to date with the current trends in the industry and the latest news from Premier Farnell
companies.
As usual we welcome all feedback. Any comments and suggestions can be sent to
editor@premierfarnell.com
David Shen
Global Head, Technical Marketing, Premier Farnell
Alternative Energy
THE ISSUE
Printed on papers produced from renewable resource
wood (sustainable forests). Please recycle after use.
Making a Difference...
3
isnt
like
our playground
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Needless to say, our people arent afraid to use a calculator.
In fact, we employ over 3,600 PhDs, drawn from every quarter
of the globe. So, though many of us may not speak the same
native tongue, we all converse fluently in the universal language
of fractions and cosines. Learn more at sponsorsoftomorrow.com.
39793_tech_first_Nov_UK.indd 6 23/10/09 10:50:11
7 LiveWire
A quick look at energy trends and
developments from around the world.
9 MarketWatch
The photovoltaic industry has had its ups
& downs recently. Whats ahead for PV?
11 Legislation
Find out how to design for the
Energy using Products legislation.
12 RoadTest
Sign up to test the latest development tools
from Texas Instruments and Microchip.
14 Alternative Energy
Alternative energy sources are the future of
energy generation. Articles in this issues focus
will look at the design and implementation
of new energy systems, along with the latest
power chain innovations that have paved the
way for new energy applications.
32 Embedded Corner
Find out what goes into the redesign
of an aging electronic product, and how
energy harvesting provides energy for
small scale needs.
38 Premier Farnell News
Adopting environmental and social
policies is good business as well as
good corporate citizenship.
40 TechTrends
Showcasing some of the latest products
addressing alternative energy applications.
42 Get Tech
See what questions engineers are asking
about monolithic devices, single mode
and multimode fber and more.
Editorial Staff | Editorial dirEctor Jamie Furness | Editor-in-chiEf alistair Winning
| Editor Janice Fleisher | tEchnical Editor randall restle | crEativE dirEctor david
macaluso | art dirEctor gamilah smith | Publishing ManagEr Judy medhurst | PrograM
ManagEr melissa tucker |
9
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42
CONTENTS
14
32
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40
5
Global news
UK research on
environmental targets
London, UK Research
commissioned by WRAP (Waste
& Resources Action Program)
into how resource effciency can
help the UK meet climate change
targets, shows that making better
use of natural resources could
contribute as much as 10% of the
target reduction in UK domestic
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by
2020, with no impact
on GDP.
Budget for energy
projects announced
Washington DC, US The DOE
announced $155 million funding to
support 41 projects, with a further
$634 million in private support.
The money will be invested in
combined heat and power, district
energy and waste energy recovery
systems, and energy effciency
initiatives in hospitals, utilities
and industrial facilities.
Telenor Pakistan
opts for solar power
Espoo, Finland Telenor Pakistan
signed a contract with Nokia Siemens
Networks to build off-grid sites using
energy harvested from the sun. Nokia
Siemens Networks will use solar
energy to power base station sites in
rural and remote areas.
Global environmental
sustainability center
Singapore, The National Research
Foundation (NRF) has partnered
with the Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology to set up a global
environmental sustainability center
in Singapore. NRF has also started
a fourth research program with
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT).
Xcel Energy to add more
solar power in Colorado
Denver, US Xcel Energy added over
257MW solar power to its plan for
meeting Colorados renewable energy
standard. The standard requires 20%
energy to come from renewable
resources by 2020. Xcels plan also
includes about 700MW of new wind
power and about 350MW of utility
scale solar power plants.
Swedish companies eye clean
technologies in Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam Swedish companies
are seeking opportunities to invest
in energy effciency projects in
Vietnam. ABB, Ericsson, and Munters
Groups and others are searching
for partners for projects involving
energy effciency, CDM and
technology transfer.
Green Technology agreement
for LA port complex
San Pedro, US Technoplex
and Proteus Environmental
Technologies have announced a
strategic partnership to bring green
technology practices into port,
maritime and the goods movement
community. The LA port complex has
implemented green policy changes
to reduce pollution and increase
renewable energy supply.
New clean energy plant
London, UK The UK government
has given the all-clear for a new plant
in Peterborough, which will convert
waste glass, plastic and metal into
clean energy. The waste and biomass-
fuelled power station could help the
region to get more than half way
towards its carbon reduction target of
a 17% drop by 2020, as it will deliver a
10% reduction by itself.
Renewable energy could
create 1.9 million US jobs
Washington DC, US The study
Clean Energy & Climate Policy
for U.S. Growth and Job Creation
estimates that as many as 1.9 million
new jobs could be created across the
United States within renewable energy.
Annual household income could
increase by US$1,175 per year and
Gross Domestic Product could increase
US$111 billion by 2020.
600MW Texas wind farm
Washington DC, US The U.S.
Renewable Energy Group (US-REG)
and Cielo Wind Power LP have entered
into a joint venture framework
agreement with China` s Shenyang
Power Group, which sets forth plans
to develop a 600MW wind farm that
covers approximately 36,000 acres in
Texas. The project is estimated to have
a total cost of approximately $1.5b.
Biofuel for commercial fights
New Delhi, India The International
Air Transport Association (IATA)
will attempt to fnd a biofuel by 2010
for its commercial fights. Biofuels
for commercial fights and it would
be certifed by the end of the year.
Certifcation may do away with
some investment uncertainties
plugging the use of high quality
biofuels in aviation. n
LONDON
WASHINGTON
ESPOO
SINGAPORE
DENVER
HANOI
SAN PEDRO
NEW DELHI
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PIC32 32-bit MCU Families With Ethernet, CAN, USB
and 128 KB RAM Oer High-Performance Connectivity
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www.farnell.com/microchip
The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo, MPLAB and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the USA and in other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective
companies. 2009 Microchip Technology Incorporated. All rights reserved. ME241Eng/11.09Far
GET STARTED IN 3 EASY STEPS
1. Purchase a new PIC32 Ethernet
Starter Kit
2. Download Free TCP/IP and USB
software stacks
3. Order samples and start designing!
www.farnell.com/microchip
Microchip extends its 80 MHz 32-bit PIC32 microcontroller portfolio with three new
families that provide up to 128 Kbytes of RAM and extensive integrated connectivity
options. These are complemented by Microchips FREE software stacks, making it
easier for embedded designers to add connectivity to their applications.
Three New PIC32 32-bit MCU families with integrated connectivity
t All three families have:
- USB Host, Device, and On-The-Go
- 6 UARTs, 5 I
2
C, 4 SPI
- 64 KB to 128 KB of RAM
t MX5 Family: CAN
t MX6 Family: 10/100 Ethernet MAC
t MX7 Family: Dual CAN, 10/100 Ethernet MAC
Complete development solution, with software, tools, and boards
t New PIC32 Ethernet Starter Kit and PIC32 USB Starter Kit II
t 2 TCP/IP Stacks, USB, Encryption, Graphics, File Systems
t CAN libraries in Compiler
Compatible with existing PIC32 & 16-bit PIC24 USB MCUs
t Pin compatible with PIC32MX4XX, PIC24FJXXXGB
t Same Microchip TCP/IP and USB software stacks as 8- and 16-bit PIC MCUs
Intelligent Electronics start with Microchip
Part No: DM320004
After recording 30 years of continuous
growth, the photo-voltaic (PV ) industry
walked into a perfect storm in 2009,
experiencing its frst major downturn. A
confuence of forces contributed to the
abrupt shift in direction, as the industry
came off a banner year in 2008. First,
there was a great deal of excess capacity
that had been baked into the supply
chain in early 2008, when a key raw
material (polysilicon) had been in short
supply and ASPs for PV cells and modules
had been soaring. As fnancing dried up
and the worldwide economy sputtered
in the latter part of the year, the shortage
of polysilicon quickly disappeared
and spot prices collapsed to less than a
quarter of what they had been at their
peak. Additionally, local legislation in
the Spanish market effectively capped
domestic PV spending, a move that
quickly rippled through the worldwide
industry, given that Spain represented a
42% share of global PV system sales at
the time.
The predicted outcome according to
Gartner Research published in October,
2009, is that overall 2009 solar cell
revenue is expected to decrease by more
than 50%, down from a record $16.3B
in 2008. While the market continues to
evolve, cell and module prices remain
well below 2008 levels and may not frm
up until 2011 or beyond. But despite a
very rough year, the overall prognosis for
the industry is far from gloom and doom.
Gartner believes the major drivers for the
solar market are beginning to align once
again. Alphonso Velosa, Research Director
for Semiconductors at Gartner, notes that
even though this is a phenomenally
horrible market for vendors right now,
it has turned into a fantastic opportunity
for end users. In fact, the denegraded
ASPs for PV modules has made solar
much more competitive, relative to
competing energy alternatives, at a time
when improvements in supporting
technologies are enhancing the effciency
and output of solar module arrays.
Meanwhile, US and Chinese stimulus
packages include signifcant funding for
the development of solar alternatives, and
more US federal and state programs are
greasing the wheel for solar growth. The
chart below forecasts worldwide module
revenue growth through 2013 under
different scenarios: recession, conservative
and accelerated growth.
Indeed, many of the leading component
manufacturers have aligned their strategic
focus to capitalize on the long-term
potential of solar energy. Last March,
National Semiconductor announced the
acquisition of Act Solar Inc., a privately
held solar energy company that will
expand Nationals existing portfolio of
power optimization technologies. Mike
Polacek, VP of Nationals Key Market
Segments commented ....with Act Solar,
we can further improve the performance
and effciency of solar systems, at the same
time providing monitoring capabilities
not available before. In October
2009, Tyco Electronics announced the
launch of its new micro website (www.
tycoelectronics.com/solar) dedicated to the
photovoltaic industry; the site is backed
by Tycos own research and engineering
capabilities, and features a broad array of
information, products, and solutions for
the PV industry.
While the PV industry is expected
to continue its bumpy ride for the
next few years, most insiders do see a
bright light at the end of the tunnel.
The 2009 PV industry downturn
contained some valuable lessons for
private industry and governments
alike about the need to more carefully
maintain a balanced supply chain
across a globally-subsidized industry.
Manufacturing costs seem to be coming
down to a level where a reasonable
margin can be maintained, and
supporting technologies are bolstering
performance, while reducing long-term
cost. Without a doubt, the dynamic
PV industry will have its share of ups
and downs in the next 30 years of its
evolution, but its long-term prognosis
remains very solid. n
The PV forecast:
a partly sunny warm-up
By Jack Murray, Market research Manager, newark
MARKETWATCH
Source: Navigant Consulting, August 2009
9
MARKETWATCH
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For AC mains powered LED lamps, NXPs driver and controller ICs are the
next step in performance and reliability. Offering the only LED drivers available
that match LED lifetimes, dimming to below 1%, support for both yback and
buck conguration, they are the solution of choice for this fast emerging market.
As incandescent bulbs are phased out, NXP has a complete portfolio of
proven lighting solutions (CFL, LED, HID, TL) to help you take advantage of
this lighting revolution. So act now, and discover all the benets at
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Experience high-performance analog
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NXP_00_0177LightingAd_SSL_230x300UK.indd 1 6/11/09 14:47:43
The focus is clearly on the design phase
of the product, since it is considered that
this is the determining stage affecting
the resources used in a product. The
directive does not apply to means
of transport, but apart from this, the
scope is deliberately broad, covering in
principle, any product which when in
use depends on, generates, transfers or
measures energy (electricity, fossil fuel
or renewables).
EuP legislation promises to have a
signifcant impact on the design phase
of a wide variety of electrical products.
Obligations on manufacturers will result
from a series of specifc Implementing
Measures, the frst of which was adopted
in January 2009.
The criteria required before a product
can be considered for assessment is that
it must sell more than 200,000 units
per year in the European Union, have
a signifcant environmental impact
and present considerable potential for
improvement. The latter is important as
the target is for a 20% improvement in
energy effciency by 2020.
Implementing Measures must not have a
signifcant negative impact on a products
price or performance or impact the
competitiveness of EU industry. During
Phase 1, studies were commissioned on
20 broad product categories ranging
from water heaters, televisions, laundry
dryers, vacuum cleaners and lighting
to imaging equipment, such as copiers,
faxes, printers, scanners and personal
computers.
Beyond that, a further 17 categories have
been highlighted from ovens and hobs,
machine tools, DVD / video players,
and air-conditioning equipment to
transformers, heating and networking
equipment. Among the frst obligations
to come into force were energy effciency
improvements, covering standby and
off-mode losses, simple converter boxes
for digital television, external power
supplies and offce, street and
domestic lighting.
More recently, measures were placed on
electric motors, circulators in buildings,
domestic refrigerators as well as freezers
and consumer electronics, such as
televisions. Implementing Measures
look to reduce energy in use, cut standby
losses, limit the use of toxic substances
such as lower mercury content in
lighting, promote clear energy labelling,
as well as measures covering the further
impact on design and waste.
Products that fall within scope are
subject to conformity assessment. This
means that CE marking applies to the
product and cannot be affxed until the
eco-design measures, defned by the
regulation, have been implemented
and documented in the technical fle
of the product. The legislation shall
be consistent in all EU Member States,
which is known as a single market
directive.
Moving forward, the European
Parliament has now adopted the
European Commissions proposal to
widen the scope of the directive to
include energy-related products. Until
now, the Energy using Products Directive
was limited to products that consume
energy during use such as boilers,
computers, televisions, industrial fans
and light bulbs.
Many more products have an indirect
impact on the energy in use, such as
watertaps and showerheads, double
glazing windows and insulating
material. Improvement in their design
could clearly result in the signifcant
energy savings. For example, water
saving taps and shower heads reduce
water consumption and therefore the
amount of energy used to heat water.
Under the EuP Directive, studies had
to set requirements for individual
products where, in fact, it is the
performance of the whole system that
often needs to be optimized, not just
a single component or products. The
new directive will repeal the existing
2005/32/EC, which is often quoted by
the European Commission as a model
of better regulation. n
How to design for
Energy using
Products (EuP)
Legislation
By gary nevison, legislation & Environmental affairs, Premier Farnell
The European Unions Directive 2005/32/
EC, Energy using Products, entered into
force on August 11, 2007. The main aim
of the legislation is to monitor energy
effciency throughout the life cycle of a
product, from the mining of raw material
through recycling at end-of-life.
LEGISLATION
11
TMS320VC5505 eZdsp USB stick
For many designers, the cost and time to set up development tools
is a major barrier when evaluating a new DSP platform. To lower
this barrier, Texas Instruments TMS320VC5505 eZdsp USB stick
development tool drops the cost of a full-featured emulator and
integrated development platform. The kit enables rapid creation
of DSP applications including portable audio players, voice
recorders, IP phones, portable medical devices, biometric USB keys,
software defned radios (SDRs), hands-free headsets and metering
applications.
At an extremely low price point, it makes development accessible
to existing and potential customers, hobbyists, researchers and
students.
Comparable to the size of a stick of gum, the C5505 eZdsp stick
simplifes development by providing integrated features, such
as an on-board XDS100 emulator and on-board audio codec and
connectors. Taking advantage of the energy effcient C5505 DSP,
the eZdsp requires no other components or cables, allowing the
entire development tool to be powered by the USB port. Designers
simply plug into the USB port of any laptop or workstation for
hassle-free development and a simple out-of-the-box experience.
C5505 eZdsp USB stick development tool key features and benefts:
Based on the C5505 processor, the industrys lowest power
16-bit
DSP, with active power consuming less than 0.15mW/MHz and
standby power less than 0.15mW
Integrated XDS100 emulator provides complete debug
capabilities and visibility inside the processor for algorithm
optimization and benchmarking
On-board audio codec and connectors allow developers to
evaluate many features of the C5505 processor and quickly
optimize complex DSP algorithms in terms of performance and
power consumption across a variety of design scenarios
Extension connector allows developers to design and directly
connect to daughter cards suitable for their application
Unique form factor plugs into any laptop or workstation,
conserving test bench space
Simplifes development tools setup by eliminating power and
interface cables
Includes the complete Code Composer Studio version 4 IDE
Stereo line in and headphone out connectors, making it
possible to evaluate many DSP algorithms and listen to them
Users can easily migrate to TIs C5505 evaluation module that
offers additional extensive evaluation options
The feature-rich C5505 eZdsp USB stick development includes
a full XDS100 emulator and a target version of the industry-
leading CCStudio v.4. The C5000 platform is supported
by TIs extensive Developer Network, as
well as a complete chip support library,
comprehensive application notes,
reference designs, application
guides, videos and online
communities.
Sign up
to test
the latest
devices
Welcome again to RoadTest, your chance to receive
a cutting-edge development tool to test. In this issue,
we have two development kits to give away, both
from industry-leading companies. Texas Instruments
has given us 10 TMS320VC5505 eZdsp USB stick
development tools, and we also have 10 Microchip
PICkit 2 Development tools bundled with the Flowcode
3 Graphical programming language.
It is also worth registering at
www.element-14.com and joining the
RoadTest group. Being a member
of this group will make it easy to
enter this giveaway and also enter
other offers that are not included
in this journal. There will also be
space for recipients to post
their own reviews, and for
manufacturers and other
users of the product to
offer opinions. You can fnd
the group at www.element-14.com/
community/groups/roadtest.
ROADTEST
12
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
To have a chance of testing these products, write to me
at editor@premierfarnell.com with either eZdsp or PicKit
in the subject title, or join the element14 RoadTest
group, and accept the invitation for the particular
product youd like to test (you have to register as a
member of element14 to be able to apply to take the
test). If you choose to email me, please detail in a short
paragraph the reason why youd like to test the devices,
as it will allow us to distribute the devices to test in the
PICkit 2 Development
Programmer/Debugger
with Flowcode 3
Microchips PICkit 2 Development Programmer/Debugger
(PG164120) is a low-cost development tool with an easy-to-
use interface for programming and debugging the companys
Flash families of microcontrollers. The full featured Windows
programming interface supports baseline (PIC10F, PIC12F5xx,
PIC16F5xx), midrange (PIC12F6xx, PIC16F), PIC18F, PIC24,
dsPIC30, dsPIC33, and PIC32 families of 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit
microcontrollers, and also many Microchip Serial EEPROM
products.
With MPLAB IDE, the PICkit 2 enables in-circuit debugging on
most PIC microcontrollers. In-Circuit-Debugging runs, halts
and single steps the program, while the PIC microcontroller is
embedded in the application. When halted at a breakpoint, the fle
registers can be examined and modifed.
PICkit 2 development programmer/debugger
44-pin demo board with PIC16F887 midrange
PIC microcontroller
A series of 12 lessons on assembly
programming that cover I/O, A/D
converters, timers, interrupts, and
data tables (All source code fles
are provided)
A debugging tutorial on using the
PICkit 2 as a debugger with the
MPLAB IDE (Ch. 4 of the PICkit 2
Users Guide)
Getting started in C tutorial on
developing and debugging in C with
a FREE CCS PCM Midrange C Compiler
Demo for PIC16F887 (contained on the
PICkit 2 CD) *2kWord Program Limit.
Getting Started in C tutorial
on developing and debugging
in C with a FREE HI-TECH
PICC LITE C Compiler with
MPLAB IDE
MPLAB IDE software for a
complete code development
environment
How to get your hands on these products.
widest number of applications and give the broadest
spectrum of reviews.
Thanks again to everyone who has written in before.
If you were selected, I look forward to reading your
reviews, and if you werent, please try again. Once
again, a special thank you to Texas Instruments and
Microchip, who have kindly supplied this equipment.
Dont forget to visit the RoadTest group at element14
to see the winners and reviews. n
Flowcode 3
Flowcode 3 is one of the worlds most advanced graphical
programming languages for microcontrollers. The great advantage
of Flowcode is that it allows those with little experience to create
complex electronic systems in minutes. Flowcode achieves this
in two steps. First, drag and drop fowchart symbols onto the
screen and fll in the dialog boxes when prompted. Then Flowcode
compiles the fow chart into code that is downloaded to a
microcontroller which executes the program.
Flowcode contains standard fow chart icons and electronic
components that allow you to create a virtual electronic system
on screen. Use the drag and drop interface to create a program and
click on each icon and component to set the actions and properties
you need. The range of components is large and includes simple
switches and LEDs, communication bus interfaces like I2C and SPI,
and more advanced components such as Bluetooth and internet
servers.
ROADTEST
13
Alternative
energy
the home depot Smart home is the world's
frst lEEd Platinum "live-in laboratory" ............ 16
advances in solar-charged portable products .....18
Using Maximum Peak Power tracker
to enhance solar power systems ........................21
reduce isolated standby power drain
with ulta-low-current, PFM dC-dC converters ....22
accelerate your sine wave UPS development ......24
optimizing capacitors for
wind power applications .....................................26
Saving energy by replacing
incandescent bulbs .............................................28
Power consumption in FPga design ....................30
Since the development of the
steam engine, the inhabitants
of the earth have relied on non-
renewable resources such as coal,
gas, uranium, and most importantly,
oil to power homes, workplaces and
transportation. Power generated from
these sources is quite effcient and
drawbacks such as pollution at frst
seemed easy to ignore.
Now times are changing and the earths seemingly infnite supply of non-renewable
resources is becoming scarce, and what remains is harder to extract, making energy more
expensive. The pollution that was ignored for so long has become a major problem, as the
population of the earth boomed and demands for energy increased accordingly. Global
warming, which is thought to be caused, or at least exacerbated, by burning fossil fuels
has also become a major factor that could endanger life on the planet, according to many
scientists.
If we are to halt global warming and conserve the earths remaining non-renewable energy
resources, we have to look to natural and renewable sources of energy that do not contribute
to global warming. Sun, wind and water power are now making a comeback, driven by
todays technology. Biofuels are another source with the potential to change the way we
create and use energy.
We are only starting to develop these renewable energy sources, and as such, they are not
as effcient as our older energy sources, which have been in development for centuries. It is
much harder to extract usable energy from natural sources, so we must work to make it as
effcient as possible through every stage, and technology is the key to this.
Governments around the world have
given the renewable energy market a
boost by setting mandatory targets for
electricity production. The European
Union and Australia, for example, aim
to have 20% of electricity by renewable
sources by 2020, and Switzerland
incentivizes energy producers with a
tariff for renewable energy. The United
States has no mandatory targets for
renewable energy, but offers subsidies,
tariffs, tax exemptions and other support.
Although there are no federal targets,
29 individual states have implemented
their own mandatory targets. China has
no mandatory plan, but aims to equal or
even exceed the EU by 2020.
14
Automotive industry
Automotive designers have been one
of the frst to move away from non-
renewable energy sources in their
products and their technology currently
leads the way. Toyota, REVA and Tesla
have pioneered technology for this
market and turned it into commercially
viable products. Fossil fuels have been
replaced, or at least supplemented
by electricity in these companies
vehicles. Other vehicles have been
designed to operate using biofuels.
These examples are a good start,
but not necessarily a long term
solution; electricity still has to be
generated and the vast majority of
that generation is mainly through
the use of fossil fuels. As for the use
of biofuels, there have been riots
in some countries because land
that was normally used for food
provision has been turned to use in
creating biofuels, creating either food
shortages, or a large increase
in food prices.
Alternative energy generation
Taking usable energy from
alternative sources has not proved
easy. One of the major problems is that
the load points for the energy are usually
in large cities, which are well away
from any wind farms, hydro plants or
other energy generation points. Apart
from hydro power, renewable energy
sources do not guarantee a constant,
reliable source of energy. If the wind
stops blowing, or if it is a cloudy day,
these sources will not produce the
optimal amount of energy, meaning that
electricity needs to be brought in from
a more distant source, further dropping
effciency. This has placed more
emphasis on power saving and effciency
in appliances. After all, the less power
they draw, the further electricity goes.
Accurate control and the ability to
switch between sources have made UPS
devices popular in alternative energy
supported powergrids, especially smaller
localized grids. The UPS can be used as
a pure inverter for batteries charged by
alternative energy sources, and switch
over to a mains supply if the power from
the batteries drops below the required
amount. Microchips article, which starts
These applications usually do not
require the circuit to be in operation
constantly. It is more usual that the MCU
will be awakened either by a signal from
the network or at a predetermined time
to take a measurement. Then it will
send the data back wirelessly and it will
power down again. As the circuit spends
the majority of its time in sleep mode, it
can operate almost indefnitely; in some
cases the circuits are specifed to operate
independently for over ten years.
A great example of this type of circuit
is showcased in this months Embedded
Corner Texas Instruments article on
how the companys MSP430 MCU and
CC2500 RF transceiver are being used in
a vibration scavenging application by
AdaptivEnergy.
Scavenged energy can be use as a
standalone source of energy, or to
trickle charge a battery. The battery
option has found a new market
for an older battery technology.
Lithium-thionyl chloride batteries
are generally not used in consumer
applications because they cannot
compete in power density with
modern battery technologies. But
this battery technology offers two
major advantages; it is suited to
extremely low-current applications
and it has a very long life. These
advantages make Lithium-thionyl
chloride batteries ideal for use in
remote monitoring systems.
Summary
Whichever side you are on of the
global warming debate, there is no
doubt that alternative energy sources
are the future of energy generation.
This generation not only applies to
energy on a national grid type level,
but also to many smaller devices.
As technology improves, these devices
will become bigger, and who knows,
it may not be long before we see the frst
solar-powered television. n
on page 24, details how UPS designs that
are based around the companys dsPIC

controller, guarantee a clean, reliable
power supply.
Solar power for handheld devices
When talking about alternative energy
its easy to think of windmills and hydro
dams, but also just as important are
smaller self-powered devices. Previous
generations of handheld products
have featured solar charging either to
supplement a battery or to power the
device completely. In general, these
products have been a novelty, and a
sometimes expensive one for a variety
of reasons, including infexibility for
designs, and more importantly, the
inherently ineffcient behavior of solar
cells in series.
On page 18, IXYS article takes a look
at some of the historical problems
with solar cells and discusses how
todays technology can overcome those
drawbacks, and enable new products to
incorporate solar charging. The market
is changing and solar cells are becoming
a lot less expensive. By as early as this
year, the total cost of ownership for solar
powered devices could be equal to mains
power, and after that, solar power is
destined to become even cheaper.
Energy harvesting
Energy harvesting or scavenging is a
new area of technology which has been
enabled by ultra low-power MCUs and
low-power wireless protocols like Zigbee.
Energy can be harvested from a variety
of sources, such as solar power, vibration
or even radiated magnetic energy from
high voltage cables. This normally
wasted energy can be scavenged to
provide power for a small remote sensor/
metering circuit, an MCU for
control and a wireless
transmitter/transceiver.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
15
The centerpiece of this program is the
Home Depot Smart Home, a unique
10-person student residence hall for
green living, learning and research.
The 6,000 square-foot dorm contains
fve bedrooms, three bathrooms, a
large common area that serves as the
kitchen, a dining room, gathering
place, a clean lab, dirty lab and media
room. Completed in December 2007,
the facility achieved LEED Platinum
certifcation for its innovative
design from the U.S. Green Building
Councilthe highest possible rating
achievable www.usgbc.org
The inspiration for a live-in research
laboratory at Duke came from senior
engineering student Mark Younger
in 2003. Given the go ahead, he and
an ever-growing cast of students
spearheaded the design, fundraising,
and construction process. The program
continues to be a mostly student led
venture. The more than 100 Duke
students now involved participate in a
variety of ways: independent study for
credit, house courses on sustainability
topics, senior capstone design
projects, or as members of the Smart
Home student club. Student teams are
encouraged to prototype their ideas
and compete in various competitions
each year.
This article profles the work of
four Smart Home Fellows who are
conducting intensive, research-
oriented independent study projects.
Smart Use of Sensors
Conserving Energy and Treating
Nerve Palsy
The central theme of Smart Home
Fellow Ben Hamners project is signal
processing: integrating information
from sensors, appropriately processing
this information, and then acting on
this information.
Signals are omnipresent, he explains.
The power consumption of your TV is
a signal. When you blink at the screen,
The Home Depot
Smart Home is the worlds
frst LEED Platinum live-in laboratory
The Duke Smart Home Program encourages students from different
academic disciplines to explore smart technology and sustainable living.
The program promotes teamwork, innovation, diversity and education in
order to enable a lifestyle that reduces energy use and harmful effects
on the environment.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
16
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
the change in electric potential across
your eye is a signal. The electrical
pulses your keyboard sends to your
computer is a signal, along with the
minute electrical variations on the
surface of your forearm as you type.
Ben, a triple major in biomedical
engineering, electrical and computer
engineering and mathematics, is
tackling three distinct problems in
his project. First, he plans to track
how much power is being used by all
the devices through an inexpensive,
reliable network of sensors that
wirelessly monitor the power
consumption at every outlet.
These signals will be received,
processed, and stored in an online
database system. Then, signal analysis
techniques and psychological feedback
mechanisms will be used to display
the information to the user and
modify the users behavior to reduce
power consumption.
His second project is to treat patients
with facial nerve palsy. The most
common treatment option is to
implant an unsightly gold weight in
the eyelid that restricts vision in order
to prevent infection. To fx this, he is
working with doctors and leading a
team to prototype a device that detects
a blink in the non-paralyzed eye via
surface electromyography (sEMG) and
stimulates a synchronous blink in the
paralyzed eye.
In his third project, Ben hopes to
use sEMG signals from the forearm
to determine what key a person is
pressing and enable people to type
without a keyboard. This project has
the potential to enable amputees to
type and enhance how millions of
users interact with their phones. Ben is
working with electrical and computer
engineering professor John Board.
Mobile Lighting Control
Harnessing the Smart in Cellular
Devices
Oriana Wen, a double major in
biomedical engineering and electrical
and computer engineering, said
she didnt realize the full potential
of cell phones until last year, when
she worked on the Mobile Lighting
Controls Team of the Smart Home.
Using Internet-enabled cell phones,
Orianas team expanded the range of
control over the Smart Home dorm
lights, enabling residents to talk
to the lights system and easily turn
off lights from any distance with the
simple fip of a cell phone.
Inspired by that success, Oriana is
now working with Dukes Romit Roy
Choudhury in the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Choudhury is the inspiration behind
the PhonePoint Pen write in the air
with a phone concept much in the
media this year. Orianas project aims
to use a cell phone camera to record
and track a fngers movements in
the air. She will then map out the
movement of the users fnger to
decipher what letters the user
is writing.
By examining the pauses of the fnger,
we hope to differentiate between
intentional and unintentional strokes,
she explains. The arrangement of
these intended strokes will then map
to a character that is registered by
the phone.
Whats more, the project can
essentially be done even without a
cell phone. As long as there is a video
camera on hand, the fnger can be
recorded and tracked. This opens up
new avenues of consideration, such as
eliminating chalk or dry erase boards
from classrooms, or helping hospital
patients with limited range of motion
to communicate more easily.
Effective Wireless Power
Transmission
It is now conveniently commonplace
for homes and cafs to have wireless
Internet. But how about tables that
transmit power wirelessly to laptop
computers, mobile phones and other
electronic devices?
Yink Teo, a senior majoring in
electrical and computer engineering,
is developing a wireless power
transmission system for the Smart
Home dorm. His power-transmitting
surface is built into a frame of a coffee
table and will be able to transmit
tens of watts of electrical power to
a receiving unit placed on top of it.
Different receiving units can then
be adapted to recharge common
electronic devices, such as cellphones
and laptop computers.
Wireless power transmission is
achieved through resonant inductive
coupling, but unlike the non-
resonant coupling found in a typical
transformer system, we introduce a
high Q L-C resonator. A primary drive
circuit is built using an oscillator
and MOSFET driver that drives the
gate of a power MOSFET connected
to a primary coil. This primary coil
drives the L-C resonating coil, which
then causes magnetic fux coupling
with a non-resonant pick up coil. He
is optimizing the design parameters
for this project through extensive
computer modeling that helps him
understand the behavior of our
resonant system.
Hear the Difference...Seriously
Dukes Sabrina Liao, a junior majoring
in electrical and computer engineering
with a minor in German, is leading a
project to take traditional sensor data
such as energy and water usage and
provide the output as sound.
Humans have evolved a wonderfully
adept ability to simultaneously process
and make sense of myriad streams of
auditory information: the sounds of
the wind, a bird chirping, students
talking on the quad, cars passing, a
plane fying overhead, music from an
IPod and much more.
There are any number of ways to
render the data, she explains, but
I want to explore the audio for this
project as it is not as well developed.
We can take advantage of the fact that
humans can focus on another activity
and still be alerted to changes with
auditory messages.
Currently in the Smart Home at
Duke, there are sensors for such data
as the total usage of rainwater, total
usage of natural gas, the lights, and
the temperatures of the tank and the
roof for the solar hot water. She hopes
to generate a sound clip using the
history of the data, starting with which
lights are on at what times. Sabrina,
originally from Pasadena, CA, is
working with Research Associate Steve
Feller and Research Scientist Rachael
Brady, director of the Duke Immersive
Virtual Environment.
Sabrinas vision is to have different
sections of the Smart Home correspond
to different sections of an orchestra:
when the lights in a certain room
are on, the corresponding orchestra
section (e.g. violins) will be heard in
the music that is continuously played.
Once that is proven successful, other
data sources will be worked on. Once
all these components are integrated,
those living in the Smart Home and
in future buildings like it will be more
aware of important conditions of
their environment.
Photo by Duke Photography n
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
17
Industry detractors: Once the consumer electronics
product is sold, manufacturers glean extensive revenues
from all extemporaneous items, not the least of which is
replacement batteries.
Low effciency: The effciency of a PV cell is defned
by the ratio of the electric energy generated by the cell
and the energy of irradiance incident at the cell surface.
Due to mobile operation and indoor use, light capture
in PV powered consumer products can be quite low.
Further hampering the energy harvesting effort, small
consumer electronics have limited space available to
implant solar cells for enough light capture.
Inability to conform: PV cells must be lightweight,
fexible and capable of conforming to the design of the
electronic device. Regular cells (typically designed in a
package) cant conform to curves; amorphous cells better
conform to the design constraints of small consumer
electronics. However, as Andersson and Jacobsson (2000)
pointed out, amorphous silicons effciency is quite low
(6-8%).
Voltage: The PV power source must reach the battery
voltage of 4-12V to ensure adequate recharging of
batteries. Individual solar cells typically produce
between 0.3V and 0.6V, not nearly enough to meet
recharging demands. Solar cells must be packaged in a
series to produce usable energy amounts. Even when
packaged in a series, each cell only produces energy equal
to the output of the lowest power cell. If a single cell is
shaded, it affects the entire series.
Cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs, batteries and chargers,
which typically use rechargeable batteries (lithium ion,
NiCd), could have a solar cell added to their PC boards and
be charging constantly when light is available. In each
charging application, solar cells will provide just enough
current to hit the voltage limit extending battery life,
overcoming self-discharge problems and providing an
environmentally responsible solution.
Many low-power applications and devices spend the
vast majority of their time in sleep mode, only waking
up periodically to perform a required function. Static
displays and intermittent sensors that utilize a very small
maintenance current are well suited to the use of solar cells
to supplement battery power.
Even the smallest remote sensing and data collection
devices require some amount of current to operate, even in
their standby mode. The need to provide small amounts of
current over long periods has spawned new battery designs,
and this work continues today. The other part of the power
equation is in providing additional power to maintain these
batteries as long as possible, once the device or sensor is
installed in the feld.
For all of the various applications that could beneft from
such energy harvesting, few manufacturers and designers
have implemented solar charging for portable product
batteries. Why?
Advances in
solar-charged
portable products
Source: iXyS Corporation www.ixys.com
As designers of portable devices pack greater
functionality into products, power management
requirements have increased. Products require
multiple supply rails, battery charging and a
variety of power management capabilities all of
which are implemented to maximize battery life.
The frustration of a cell phone dying, or a laptop
powering off, is not uncommon in our tech-driven
world. Such irritations proved the impetus for
new battery developments, power management ICs
and new energy harvesting techniques (vibration
transducers, thermoelectrical converters, RF
converters and photovoltaic cells (PV)). Today, PV
conversion of light into electricity remains the most
effective way of harvesting ambient energy.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
18
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
High cell costs: The need for a large series of solar
cells to produce 4-12V of usable energy makes solar
cells cost prohibitive.
No break-even: Consumer products have a short
lifetime in the range of 2 to 6 years, so PV systems in
these products suffer a similar fate. In combination with
low light capture, the energy payback time of PV systems
in consumer products might exceed the products
lifetime.
PV cell technology
Photovoltaic cells (monocrystalline, high-effciency solar
cells) incorporate an enhanced light-trapping surface with
the potential to generate the voltage necessary to power
batteries in all types of applications. Manufactured with
Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) process technology, a single
chip could hold multiple solar cells in series, so that a wide
variety of voltages is possible. With 24 solar cells on a single
chip, the semiconductor chip gives off 12V (when exposed
to natural light) enough to power both rechargeable and
non-rechargeable batteries.
Monocrystalline cells have a spectral sensitivity range
from 300nm (near-ultraviolet) to 1100nm (near-infrared),
which includes visible light (400 - 700nm). Due to this
wide spectral range, they can be used in both indoor and
outdoor applications. Monocrystalline material does not
contain impurities, and as such, the power conversion
effciency does not degrade over operating time. With a
cell effciency of between 17-20%, a solar chip gives the
ability to extend run time even in low light conditions
and increase battery life and run time on a small footprint,
which can be easily accommodated in the design of portable
products. Conventional rechargeable batteries can take
several hours to recharge; using a solar cell, the battery can
be continuously trickle charged while under a light source.
Low effciency currently dictates the need for PV cells that
harvest energy under a variety of lighting conditions.
Given the present high cost of use of rechargeable batteries
(more than $3.50 kWh), photovoltaic solar energy under
optimal light capture is cheaper now (about $0.50 kWh)
and could become much cheaper in the future. Therefore, it
is sensible to partly substitute batteries. Further dampening
the cost prohibitive argument, large scale grid integrations
have made PV cells cheaper (economies of scale). Hence,
if the price of electricity generated by PV cells equals that
of electricity from the mains, costs will not be an issue
at all. Furthermore, cheaper raw materials and improved
manufacturing processes are pushing down prices for
PV cells and panels. Many companies and analysts are
predicting that solar power could become cost competitive
with natural gas-fueled electricity as early as 2011.
For the time being, other factors such as ease of use,
increased personal mobility, reduced environmental impact
and long stand-by times have added value that cant be
neglected, yet remain diffcult to quantify.
Engineers have sought to package solar cells into the device
in an unobtrusive way (either placed under a devices
display or cover). This integrated design would allow the
mobile device to be charged from daylight, without having a
separate solar panel be plugged into it.
The circuit design is fairly simple: the battery
charging current is generated by four series-connected
monocrystalline, high-effciency solar cells. Each cell
generates 0.63V open circuit voltage and 42mA short
circuit current. A Schottky diode prevents the battery from
discharging through the solar cells, when the output voltage
from the solar cells is lower than the battery voltage, as
happens when suffcient light is unavailable.
With the level of effciency and voltage capability
inherent to the solar chip, it makes it a perfect ft for
consumer products including cameras, digital music
players and phones. First movers are already integrating
the chip into consumer/portable products in test
environments. Until full scale integration meets with
broad success, the solar industry is utilizing advanced
technologies to produce solar chargers.
Iterations of the solar battery charger have already come
and gone. Old cumbersome chargers have been replaced
by smaller systems with new solar charger circuits that
use a MOSFET as the blocking mechanism to prevent
battery back discharge and a small solar cell to power
the gate of the MOSFET to turn it on and off. The use of
the MOSFET eliminates the need for an additional more
costly solar cell to overcome the forward voltage drop of
the blocking diode.
Summary
In a natural progression, solar chargers will eventually
cede to solar cell integration in portable products and
consumer electronics. According to the Solar Energy
Industries Association (SEIA), the U.S. stimulus bill gives
companies greater fexibility in fnancing solar power
projects. Such government incentives will likely result
in renewed interest for solar power and PV-embedded
applications, ultimately reducing strain on the electric grids
and introducing advanced green solutions. n
IXYS' portable solar charger provides a convenient, environmentally-
conscious, charging solution for portable electronic devices.
IXYS' SolarBits provide a new level of manufacturing
ease and are ideal for charging mobile phones,
cameras, PDAs, MP3 players and toys.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
19
The Maximum Peak Power Tracker (MPPT) circuitry is embedded in highly effcient
charge controllers to maximize available power, by fnding and using the maximum
power point (MPP) dynamically. MPPT controllers can increase the total useable
power by as much as 50% in some applications. An MPPT charge controller consists
of a DC/DC buck/boost converter and an embedded microprocessor. Since the
maximum power at any point in time (Pmax = VI) is dependent on variable weather
conditions such as sunlight (clouds, shade, rain) and temperature, the controller
continuously recalculates to match up the solar panels voltage and current output to
that of the batterys charging needs.
To see the difference requires an evaluation of the performance of two systems:
one with a simple charge controller and the other a MPPT controller. In the simple
charge controller example, a 12VDC @ 200W solar panel is used. The solar panels
specifcation sheet lists a nominal 12VDC output, but the actual voltage typically can
vary between 16VDC to 20VDC with maximum voltage only achieved on perfectly
sunny day. Solar panels are purposely designed to produce more voltage than
their rating. A 12V rechargeable battery will measure between 10VDC to 13.5VDC
depending on its charge state. Batteries connected to the solar panel via the simple
charge controller or even a PWM charge controller, will see a constant 12VDC signal.
The controllers output does not change regardless of temperature, charge time
and/or battery capacity. While this simple controller will charge up the battery,
it does so in an ineffcient manner due to its inability to take into account the
changing maximum power point of the system.
With a MPPT system, the controllers output depends on both battery condition
and the solar panels harvested energy. Solar panels have a peak point on the
voltage-current curve, which is the maximum power point. As the MPP changes,
the controller tracks it and compares it to the batterys charge levels to determine
the minimum voltage needed to safely charge the battery. Determining the
minimum voltage allows the controller to maximize its output current. As
the batterys voltage increases, the controller adjusts to ensure that the charge
voltage is always a bit higher. Failure to charge to battery at its maximum power
voltage decreases the effciency of the system. The increase in delivered power
allows design engineers to use smaller panels for their applications.
The systems DC/DC converters are capable of working in either buck or boost
topologies. If the harvested voltage is greater than that of the battery, a buck
topology is used, and if the harvested voltage is less, a boost topology is used.
In boost topology, the increased voltage results in a decrease in current. Lower
charge currents prolong the charge time. However, it ensures that the battery is
charged in less than perfect weather conditions.
Several vendors have varying ICs for implementing the MPPT algorithm used
in customer solutions. Texas Instruments offers the TMS320F2833xx family of
digital signal controllers. Linear Technologys LT3652 can be used to achieve
similar results. But Xantrexs XW series
of charge controllers provides a complete
out-of-box MPPT controller solution.
MPPT controllers in solar powered
systems provide other advantages
in addition to improved effciency.
With the ability to harvest and store
energy even in bad weather conditions,
the batteries are protected from deep
discharge. The controllers come with
built-in overcharge protection helping
to prolong battery life, while improving
system reliability. However, the greatest
advantage from the MPPT algorithm
is still the increased effciency, which
in some systems can reach as high
as 99%. n
Using Maximum
Peak Power Tracker
to enhance solar power systems
By derrick labaran, technical Support, newark
Although solar power has caused a great deal of excitement in the
search for clean energy, a typical solar panel can only convert about
20 to 30% of available sunlight into electricity. In order to get the
most out of solar energy, Maximum Peak Power Tracker controllers
are used to improve the overall system effciency and reliability.
Graph showing the max power point. Current
decreases with increasing voltage. MPPT
controllers calculate the best voltage level that
is able to charge the battery whiles maximizing
the charge current
21
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Reduce isolated standby
power drain with ultra-low-current, PFM
DC-DC converters Source: Maxim integrated Products & Escuela tcnica Superior de ingeniera, Bilbao
Minimizing the batterys power drain
when no activity is taking place goes a
long way toward extending battery life.
No-load quiescent current becomes a key
design consideration.
To address these concerns, designers
must focus on the design of the DC-DC
converter to ensure that it consumes as
little current as possible during the no-
load conditions. All DC-DC converters,
even during standby, can consume
signifcant quiescent current. One
commercial power-supply module draws
about 7mA under no-load conditions.
However, with a little attention to
topology and careful design, a no-load
current drain of less than 1mA can be
implemented.
System Characteristics
Typical power consumption versus time
looks like the graph in Figure 1. Here the
load current spikes during operation or
active charging and then drops when the
device is idle. The idle current I
Z
must
be minimized to reduce battery drain
and extend battery life and standby time.
Thus, the isolated DC-DC converter
needs ultra-low-current consumption
when no load is connected, and should
provide high isolation from input
to output.
A PFM Controller Topology
One approach is to use a DC-DC
converter that employs a pulse-
frequency-modulation (PFM) controller.
A PFM controller uses two one-shot
circuits that only work when the
load drains current from the DC-DC
converters output. The PFM is based on
two switching times (the maximum on-
time and the minimum off-time) and
two control loops (a voltage-regulation
loop and a maximum peak-current off-
time loop).
The PFM is also characterized by control
pulses of variable frequency. The two
one-shot circuits in the controller defne
the T
ON
and the T
OFF
. The T
ON
one-shot
circuit activates the second one-shot,
T
OFF
. Whenever the comparator of the
voltage loop detects that V
OUT
is out of
regulation, the T
ON
one-shot circuit is
activated. The time of the pulse is fxed
up to a maximum value. This pulse time
can be reduced if the maximum peak-
current loop detects that the inductor
current limit is reached.
The quiescent current consumption of
a PFM controller is limited only to the
current needed to bias its reference
and error comparator (10s of A). In
contrast, the internal oscillator of a
PWM controller must be turned on
continuously, leading to a current
consumption of several milliamps.
The implementation presented in this
article keeps the current consumption
to less than 1mA at 12V, by using a PFM
controller topology.
Some systems must endure harsh
environments, and thus the DC-DC
Today, many industrial systems employ battery-powered sensors and
transponders to eliminate expensive cable installations and to reduce overall
system power consumption. These industrial systems typically have an active
mode and a standby mode. In active mode, the sensor delivers data to the
transponder, which transmits the data to a host system. In standby mode,
the transponder and sensor go to sleep for a fxed or variable time period.
This start-and-stop operation, often referred to as a discontinuous operating
mode, maximizes the battery life of the device.
Figure 1. The relationship between the on and standby states
of a communication device with discontinuous transmission
22
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
converter in those systems should be
galvanically isolated. A transformer
provides the isolation, but the challenge
is to feedback the voltage reference from
the secondary side to the primary side
without breaking the isolation. The most
common approach solves the problem
by using either an auxiliary winding or
an optocoupler.
The power-supply topology is a step-
down approach: the battery pack used
by the application has a nominal voltage
of 12V, while the internal electronic
circuits in the system operate at 3.6V,
nominal. Figure 2 shows the schematic
diagram of the DC-DC switching
regulator. When the control loop is
regulating the voltage, the optocoupler
requires a constant current through
the LED on the primary side of the
transformer. The lower limit of the
current is fxed by the optocouplers
current transfer ratio (CTR) at low bias
currents (63% at 10mA, and 22% at
1mA) and by a reduction of the response
time (2s at 20mA and 6.6s at 5mA).
The current consumption of the output
voltage divider (formed by resistors R5
and R11) is fxed to 7A. Because of this,
the 0.5A required by the reference
input, plus its thermal deviation, does
not signifcantly affect the output
voltage. Additionally, the voltage
measured at the divider output does
not suffer a relevant delay, thanks
to the low-input capacitance. This
latter fact precludes the need for
a capacitive divider to reduce the
input capacitance of the precision
reference. In the optocoupler, the
phototransistor draws 60A, (IFB
< 60nA), which translates into a
current fow through the LED of less
than 230A (CTR ~26%).
Control
To implement a PFM controller, the
MAX1771 BiCMOS step-up, switch-
mode power-supply controller (U1)
can be used to provide the necessary
timing. The MAX1771 offers
improvements over prior pulse-skipping
control solutions: reduced size of the
inductors required, due to a 300kHz
switching frequency (the current-
limited PFM control scheme achieves
90% effciencies over a wide range of
load currents), and a maximum supply
current of just 110A. Besides these
advantages, the main characteristics
of the MAX1771 in a nonisolated
application are: 90% effciency with load
currents ranging from 30mA to 2A, up
to 24W of output power, and an input-
voltage range of 2V to 16.5V.
The resistances of the voltage-control
loop have been chosen to have the
highest possible values. This decision
represents a trade-off between current
consumption and loop stability. As
a result, the current through the
voltage-divider is less than 7A. Since
the fltering capacitors are non-ideal,
capacitor leakage current must be added
to this current. In this design, flter-
capacitor leakage current in C5 and C8
is less than 20A. If lower leakage is
required, these caps could be upgraded
to ceramic capacitors with the following
characteristics: 100F, 6.3V, X5R and
1206 size (Kemet C1206C107M9PAC).
Using ceramic capacitors reduces
the capacitor leakage to just a few
microamps. Note however, that the
ceramic capacitors cost about 3x
that of the tantalum capacitors, and
that difference would increase the
system cost.
Figure 3 shows the prototype PFM DC-
DC converter that draws a quiescent
current of just 0.24mA. The board
measures less than 50mm by 30mm,
can deliver 3.6W with an input-voltage
range of 10V to 15V (12V nominal),
and operates at a switching frequency
of 300kHz. The converter can supply a
maximum constant output current of
1A, while delivering a regulated output
of 3.6V. Employing a fyback topology
(step down) with both current and
voltage feedback control, the converter
output is galvanically isolated from
the input.
The prototype can be used in various
wireless applications that operate in
a discontinuous transmission mode.
The current consumption of the radio
modules can peak at 3A, and the
maximum mean current is
1A. Some basic guidelines
suggest that designers
should use high-value
capacitors that have low
series resistances.
Summary
Initial industry surveys
indicate that the best
commercial isolated DC-
DC converters for power
supplies with low current
consumption under no-load
conditions typically have
about 20mA minimum
current consumption. With
minimal effort, designers can use a PFM
scheme to implement a low-I
Q
, isolated
power supply that has the lowest current
consumption on the market. The no-
load current consumption of the power
supply presented here is only 0.24mA. n
Figure 2. Schematic of an isolated PFM fyback DC-DC converter.
Figure 3. Top view of the DC-DC PFM converter
prototype for wireless applications.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
23
UPS systems have also found a new niche in the alternative energy market as
inverters, which take stored DC voltage and invert to a reliable, clean AC voltage
output.
Microchip developed the 1kVA Offine UPS Reference Design to speed up
development while achieving higher performance and lower cost for todays
market needs.
Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the Offine UPS Reference Design indicating signal
fow and power fow in the entire system.
System Blocks
The Offine UPS Reference Design consists of three main power conversion stages,
namely the Push-pull DC-DC converter, Full-bridge Inverter, and a Flyback battery
charger. The system also includes an LCD module and a USB port to connect a
computer for power management or remote monitoring. The dsPIC

Digital Signal
Controller (DSC), with its intelligent power peripherals (high-speed PWM, fast ADC
and on-chip analog comparators) forms the heart of the Offine UPS. It controls all
critical operations of the system as well as user interface functions.
System Operation
When AC mains voltage is present, the system is in battery charger (or standby)
mode until a failure occurs on the AC line. During this mode, the battery is charged
and is maintained after becoming fully charged. When the battery is charging, the
full-bridge inverter is operated as a full-bridge rectifer using the body diodes of the
switches. The fyback switch mode charger functions as a current generator and
provides constant charging current to the battery. The charging current is varied
based on the state of the battery, and therefore, intelligent battery charging is achieved
with the dsPIC

DSC.
After a power failure, the system is switched to Inverter (or UPS)
mode. This power switch-over sequence is completed in less
than 10 milliseconds. During this event, the output relay logic is
switched to prevent power from being delivered to the AC mains
power grid. In the Inverter mode of operation, the push-pull
converter steps up the battery voltage to 390Vdc. This DC voltage
is then converted to a pure sine wave 220V, 50Hz or 110V, 60Hz AC
voltage by the full-bridge inverter and output LC flter.
Software Implementation
The functions of the main controller are broadly classifed into the
following categories:
UPS State Machine:
All power conversion algorithms
Executes switch-over from Battery Charger mode to Inverter
mode and vice versa
Implements critical protection
schemes
Housekeeping Functions:
Performs RMS calculations
Includes soft-start routines for all
power conversion stages
LCD display control
USB communication
The software is structured with respect
to execution priorities of the various
tasks. The highest priority tasks are
confgured in an interrupt-based
fashion. This structure ensures that the
software execution does not get stuck in
a low-priority routine when other high
priority tasks are pending.
Inverter-to-Mains Switch-over
Routine
When AC mains voltage is absent, the
system keeps polling the AC mains in
case power returns. The system should
switch from one mode to the other in
the shortest possible duration in order to
provide uninterrupted power to the load.
Accelerate your sine wave
UPS development
Microchip technology inc.
UPS systems have become an integral part of many critical
electronic systems ranging from low-power personal computer
systems or residential battery backup systems, medium power life-
support systems, data storage, and emergency equipment, as well
as high-power telecommunications, industrial processing, and online
management systems. As worldwide demand continues to grow, the
need for cleaner, more effcient and more reliable power has fueled
the advent of digitally-controlled uninterruptible power supplies.
Figure 1
24
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
The following steps are performed for a
reliable switch-over sequence:
Mains High Voltage Detection: 1.
The UPS software frst checks if mains
is present. If a high voltage is detected
consecutively for 5 milliseconds, the
routine proceeds to the next step.
Zero-Crossing Detection: 2. After a
high voltage has been detected, the
software polls the mains voltage
for a zero-crossing. As soon as the
zero-crossing is detected, a buffer
is initialized to store the measured
mains voltage. The data collection
is performed in the next step of the
routine.
Mains Data Collection: 3. In this step,
every sample of the measured mains
voltage is stored in a data buffer.
Data is collected over four sine wave
cycles and averaged to mitigate any
effect of noise on the measurements.
This array is later used as the mains
reference to detect a mains failure.
Mains Synchronization: 4. After
collecting the mains voltage data, the
routine now compares the measured
voltage with the mains reference
data. If the error is within 20V
consecutively for 8 milliseconds, the
software concludes that AC mains is
present and indicates the new state of
the AC mains to the state machine.
The state machine then begins the
process of switching from inverter mode
to battery charger mode. It is possible
that the inverter and mains are out
of phase when the AC mains voltage
becomes available again.
If the two signals are out of phase and have the same frequency, the inverter frequency
is modifed slightly by discarding some of the samples from the lookup table. As a
result, the zero crossings of the two signals are forced to align after a few sine wave
cycles. This allows the UPS state machine to switch from the inverter mode to the
battery charger mode with almost zero latency.
The alignment of the zero crossings must be predicted using information for the
relay switching time. The relay is switched a few milliseconds before the actual zero-
crossing so that the relay switching delay is accounted for.
Mains-to-Inverter Switch-over Routine
When mains voltage is present, the UPS software keeps comparing the measured
mains voltage with the corresponding data in the mains reference array. If the error
between the measured and the expected mains voltage is detected to be larger
than 20V, a count is incremented. If the error is detected to be outside this limit
consecutively for about 1 millisecond, the software concludes that a mains failure
has occurred. The system state is changed to inverter mode and the relay is switched
immediately to disconnect the mains from the UPS output. The push-pull converter
is then enabled and the soft-start routine is executed. After the soft-start routine is
complete, the mains voltage is measured again.
Using a binary search algorithm, the appropriate sample number from the sine
lookup table is selected which is in the appropriate quadrant and has a value closest
to the mains voltage. The inverter is then enabled starting at this sample number so
that there is no sudden change in voltage on the UPS output. The mains-to-inverter
switch-over sequence is described in Figure 2.
Operation with Rectifer Loads
Computers and servers implement a switch-mode AC-DC power supply with Power
Factor Correction (PFC). Such a load usually consists of a front-end bridge rectifer
followed by a large capacitor.
During startup, or if PFC is not implemented, this load appears highly capacitive,
resulting in high peak currents and a low power factor. The UPS needs to implement a
special algorithm to handle load steps and startup conditions for such rectifer loads.
The current drawn during a rectifer load startup can be up to 20 times the maximum
rated current. One option to support these high current surges is to design the
hardware with suffcient design margin. However, this approach is not cost effective
and may also cause a drop in performance or effciency. The dsPIC DSC provides a
number of fexible features to overcome this problem. The PWM current-limit feature
can be used to limit the current on a cycle-by-cycle basis. This feature is used to charge
the output capacitor in a controlled manner so that the inrush current is always
within the limits set by the hardware components.
When the current limit is hit, the PWM module automatically
shuts down, thereby preventing large current spikes. Next, the
PWM is confgured for a very small duty cycle and then re-enabled.
As the duty cycle is small, the current drawn remains low. The
duty cycle is then incremented in small steps in consecutive PWM
cycles, which slowly charges up the load capacitor. When the
sinusoidal voltage reference of the inverter becomes equal to the
actual voltage on the inverter output, the control loop is resumed
and the system continues to operate normally.
Summary
The techniques described in this article clearly demonstrate
higher performance with reduced cost and complexity. These are
only some of the benefts of using a digital controller. When we
consider features like adaptive control, data logging and power
management, it becomes even more evident that digital control is
the wave of the future.
The design package, source code and collateral for the 1kVA
Offine UPS Reference Design is available for free download at
www.microchip.com/offineups.
Microchip and Farnell are jointly hosting a series of Digital Power
Seminars across Europe, 7 locations commencing February 2010,
further details can be found at www.microchip.com/dps.
MCA502 n
Figure 2
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
25
The power quality challenge in wind turbines stems from continuous and sometimes
rapid changes in wind speed. A number of aerodynamic controls and generator
arrangements have been proposed to minimize these effects, but the raw AC output
remains subject to fuctuations, harmonics and interruptions.
Wind turbines using inverter technology with DC links
The wind energy market uses various techniques to provide regulated power directly to
end users or to grid systems. Many of the electronic inverter systems make use of inverters,
using a DC link with aluminium electrolytic capacitors and polypropylene flm capacitors,
such as MKP technology metallized polypropylene flm, to smooth the DC-link voltages of
the frequency converter.
Capacitors in use to smooth the DC-link voltages
typically have a high voltage rating, feature screw
terminals, and are assembled in a capacitor bank
confguration. They also have high ripple current
capabilities in order to withstand load differences and
perform reliably over a long lifetime of service.
Capacitance values and voltage ratings, chief
among the other important parameters, can be
delivered to suit individual application requirements.
There are standard products developed for these
requirements like Vishay BCcomponents 102 series.
In addition, customized solutions will tune the
demand for an effective costperformance ratio
for each typical application.
Capacitors for use in a suitable DC link are
typically aluminium electrolytic devices of Vishay
BCcomponents (see Figure 1) and DC MKP
flm capacitors of Vishay ESTA, which
must have high ripple current capability in
order to withstand the current transients
still present in the rectifed input to the
DC link.
Power factor correction
Power factor correction (PFC) is a
function common to all wind turbine
installations, regardless of size, rating
or application. Because of their low-loss
behavior and high energy density, AC
heavy current power capacitors in MKP
metallized polypropylene flm technology
(see Figure 2) are the most suitable for
power factor correction.
Figure 2: Vishay ESTA power factor
correction capacitors low voltage,
ESTAprop/ESTAdry (MKP-type capacitors)
For utility-class wind turbines and
other installations that may be
intended to connect to the grid, PFC is
a legal requirement to remove reactive
components from the power. This is
necessary to maintain effciency in the
transmission network and to prevent
damage to other connected equipment.
In systems not intended for connection to
the grid, PFC helps maximize effciency
and power quality. The variable nature
of the raw AC generated from the rotor
means that wind turbines need large banks
of capacitors that are step-wise switched
in and out of circuit under the control
of a supervisory system that continually
monitors the actual power factor against
the target.
Capacitor enhancements for wind
power applications
Component manufacturers are taking
into account the special requirements of
wind power applications. For example, the
need to minimize losses wherever possible
is stimulating new interconnects and
protection mechanisms. Previously, many
capacitor banks for PFC were built with
MKP-type capacitors ftted with coiled
wire inductors to reduce the inrush current
experienced by each capacitor. But since
the coils contribute permanent ohmic
losses, inrush damping pre-resistor devices
that are only in circuit during switching
now protect the latest PFC capacitor arrays.
These enhance the overall effciency of
the system.
Optimizing
capacitors
for wind power applications
Source: vishay ESta and vishay BCcomponents
All wind turbines face a similar set of challenges: they need to extract
power at low wind speeds and fuctuating wind profles in order to maintain
adequate yield, ensure adequate power quality to operate appliances or to
feed into a grid, and the electrical system must be constructed to minimize
losses and maintain high effciency and reliability. This article discusses how
capacitors can be optimized to meet these challenges.
Figure 1: Aluminium capacitors with screw
terminal for use in the DC link
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
26
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
Further fundamental requirements of any wind turbine installation include high
reliability and availability, combined with long maintenance intervals. This is as crucial
for utility companies who need to maintain proftability as it is for remote communities or
rural users, who are dependent on visiting service agents to ensure continuity of supply.
Capacitor manufacturers are paying special attention to these extreme demands for long
life and failsafe operation. When capacitors are used in wind turbine installations, regular
maintenance of the contactors is very important in order to maximize the lifetime of
the capacitors. It is important to replace contactors before they harm the capacitors by
improper closing of their main contacts and continuous spiking.
Built-in Failsafe Mechanisms
All-phase overpressure tear-off fuse systems, which have performed well in many
applications for a number of years, disconnect the capacitor if the internal pressure inside
the device reaches a threshold level (see Figure 3). Excessive internal pressure may result
from excessive overvoltage conditions or excessive repetitive inrush current, resulting
from extremely frequent switching without damping. In such cases, the overpressure
causes an expansion of the cover. Expansion over a certain limit causes the tear-off of the
internal fuses. The active capacitor elements are thus cut off from the source of supply. The
pressure within the casing separates the breaking point so rapidly that no harmful arc can
occur.
Stacked assembly of the
winding elements also
prevents the risk of high-
energy short circuits between
line terminals by ensuring
that neighboring contact
areas of winding elements
are connected with the same
line terminal. It also ensures
the same proper contact area
for each winding element
to solder connections to the
terminal.
Optimizing Longevity
Capacitor manufacturers have been paying careful attention to optimizing the ratio of
surface area to the overall volume of the device, in order to maximize cooling effciency,
and thereby enhance reliability and longevity. Slim can diameters (e.g. 84mm) ensure
excellent heat transfer to reduce the inner temperature inside the winding elements and to
increase life expectancy of the capacitor in case of very high loads. For some installations
and where there are restrictions on the maximum permissible height of the capacitors, a
maximum case diameter of 116mm for MKP flm capacitors could still be considered for
suffcient heat behavior.
These carefully optimized case dimensions are additionally supported by flling with a low
thermal resistance, non-toxic, non-PCB, environmentally-friendly, vegetable-based oil.
These measures to maximize heat transfer help typical life expectancy of Vishay ESTA
MKP-type capacitors to exceed 150,000 hours, depending on how the ambient temperature
and operating conditions infuence the capacitor case temperature. The latest generation
devices of 84mm diameter can also sustain overcurrents up to 50A per unit, provided the
case temperature is kept below 65C maximum.
Special attention is being paid to flling capacitors with a suitable compound that
complements the environmentally-friendly nature of wind power, while also maximizing
thermal conductivity to the surface of the device. Some manufacturers offer dry
construction MKP-type capacitors by flling with an inert gas to avoid corrosion of the
winding elements and inner electric contacts. Although some engineers recommend
these for wind turbine applications, because of the environmentally benign properties
of the inert gas, Vishay ESTA recommends oil-flled types for use in fltering and heavy-
duty applications. Filling with a biodegradable, vegetable-based oil does not require
special precautions for disposal and is not hazardous even in the unlikely event of a leak.
However, the oil used displays around seven times better thermal conductivity than the
inert gas.
The layout of an electrical subsystem, such as the switching system and capacitor banks
for power factor correction, also has an important bearing on reliability and lifetime. For
example, some early installations can be seen to locate the PFC capacitor banks at the
top of the cabinet, where they are most
vulnerable to heating, as a result of the
energy dissipated by all other components.
In later installations, mounting the
capacitor banks nearer the bottom of the
cabinet, below the switching elements, has
rectifed this (see Figure 4). New capacitor
terminal designs also make it easier to
connect large capacitor banks for PFC.
These feed through terminals allow
capacitors to be quickly daisy-chained,
connected by cables with up to 25mm
2

cross-section.
Figure 4: Power factor correction
capacitors run cooler at the bottom
of the electronic control cabinet
Self-Healing
In MKP technology capacitors, reaching
end of life or experiencing inadmissible
electrical or thermal overload can
cause insulation breakdown to occur.
A breakdown causes a small arc that
evaporates the metal layer around the
point of breakdown and re-establishes the
insulation at the place of perforation. After
electric breakdown, the capacitor can still
be used. The decrease of capacitance caused
by a self-healing process is less than 100pF.
The self-healing process lasts for only a few
microseconds, and the energy necessary for
healing can be measured only by means of
sensitive instruments.
Conclusion
Increased usage of wind turbine
installations drives increased demand for
capacitors to condition the raw electrical
power produced by the various types of
turbine-driven generators. As research
in this area continues, component
manufacturers can gain a greater
understanding of these special needs and
take these factors into account when
evolving new products. The ongoing
exchange of information between
researchers, leading system integrators and
component suppliers is likely to lead to
even greater gains in conversion effciency
and power quality from wind turbine
installations of all types and sizes. n
Figure 3: The all-phase overpressure
tear-off fuse system
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
27
LEDs can be driven with a 230VAC mains input using a buck converter or fyback
topology. For 100% compatibility with an incandescent bulb, the LED solution should
also be dimmable using a standard Triac dimmer. Unfortunately, the LED fickers with
the TRIAC chopped waveform due to the fact that the light emitted by LEDs changes
instantly with the current.
National Semiconductor has developed the LM3445 that avoids the visible fickering
caused by a TRIAC forward or reverse phase dimmer. The problem is overcome by
translating the TRIAC-chopped waveform into a DIM signal and decoding it to a DC
signal. In fact, the LED current is linearly regulated according to the dimming signal.
This article will describe a solution with 8.5W power consumption that delivers 450
lumens, which is comparable to a 40W incandescent bulb that provides around 500
lumens. This solution drives six high power LEDs with the capability to dim them using
standard off-the-shelf TRIAC-based dimmers.
One of the main points is the angle detect and Dim decoder to translate the trigger point
into a DC current. The LM3445 LED driver integrates most of the functions needed to
translate a TRIAC dimmer angle into an average current running through a number of
LEDs. On the schematic in Figure 1, we see the entry point for the AC signal on the top
left side. This AC signal is frst rectifed using a diode bridge, then translated to a lower
voltage level by a bleeder circuit and, fnally, is fed to the BLDR pin of the LM3445.
Saving energy by replacing
incandescent bulbs
Source: national Semiconductor
Incandescent lights are very ineffcient, wasting most of the power they
consume. In effect, they convert only about 10 percent of the energy used
into light, while the rest is emitted as heat. An incandescent bulb produces
between 14 and 17.5 lumens per watt (the standard measurement of
lighting effciency) with 1000 hours lifetime compared to around 74
lumens per watt with 45000 hours for an LED.
Figure 1
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
28
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
The external bleeder circuit translates
the rectifed signal to a lower voltage
level signal via R1, R2, Q1, D6 and is fed
to the BLDR pin of the LM3445. The main
function of R7 is to ensure that a minimal
amount of current is drawn even at light
loads, to make sure the TRIAC in the
dimmer remains conductive.
When the valley-fll circuit composed
by C1, C3, D2, D4, D5 and R5 is drawing
current from the line (bulk capacitors
charging in series), there is plenty of
input line current holding the TRIAC on
state. When the valley fll circuit stops
charging the capacitors, the output power
(LED current) is delivered by the bulk
capacitors and the line current through
the TRIAC becomes very small. A simple
circuit composed of R6, Q2, D7 and R8
is used to add holding current when the
valley fll diodes D2, D5 are conducting.
This simple circuit will reduce the power
consumption of the holding circuit (Q1)
and increase the overall effciency. In
Figure 2, the Ch3 shows Q2 p MOSFET ON
when the output capacitors are in parallel
discharging to the LEDs via the diode D2
and D5.
The valley-fll circuit is used to avoid high
peak current during charging of the input
bulk capacitor. This high input current
seen in the 230V line generates high
harmonic distortion and therefore is an
obstacle to meet the European standard
EN-61000-3-2 class C. It also has a poor
power factor. To avoid this, a valley-fll
circuit is used.
To be in line with the UL safety standard
norm, we have implemented a varistor
protection on the primary side to absorb
any high peak voltages. At plug in, the
input voltage charges the input capacitors
C1 and C3 with a low peak current due to
the inrush current limiter RT1.
The cycle by cycle current limitation
controls the maximum power in case of
short circuit or an excessive load. If the
voltage across R14 rises above 1.27V, the
PWM uses this information to terminate
the MOSFET conduction. A delay circuit
will prevent the start of another cycle
for 180s.
In the case of open LEDs, the voltage
across the capacitor C4 will become
higher and clamp to the input voltage;
this capacitor has been selected to
support 500V.
The mains flter is located at the input,
consisting of L1 and C2 used to fulfl the
EN55022 norm. This flter is necessary to
minimize interference transmission from
the power supply to the mains and vice
versa. The switching frequency has been
adjusted close to 50kHz to keep a simple
easy input flter.
The plot in Figure 3 shows in detail the
drain source voltage and current of Q3
for one complete cycle in on mode.
The cycle can be divided into different
phases as shown on the plot:
Switch on phase 1.
Conducting phase 2.
Switch off phase 3.
Off phase - Energy released into 4.
the load
This converter will operate in continuous
conduction mode at full power and
discontinuous mode at low power during
dimming. To eliminate most of the ripple
current seen in the inductor, it is possible
to have a 1F capacitor in parallel to C4.
This LED driver uses a constant off-time
control to regulate current through a
string of LEDs. The resistor R15 and
capacitor C7 create a constant current
ramp, which is fed into the C
off
pin
and thus generates the T
off
time. While
MOSFET Q3 is conducting, the LED
current increases through the inductance
until reaching the reference FLTR2 fxed
by the TRIAC dimmer. With this reference
peak current reached, the MOSFET turns
OFF and diode D8 conducts during the
period T
off
. That means varying FLTR2
pin (reference) by TRIAC dimming, will
alter the current through the LED, thus
achieving dimming.
This high brightness LED driver is shown
in Figure 4 and may ft into an E27 bulb
glass. The main components are: the
LM3445MM; an electrolytic capacitor
from Nichicon or Arcotronic; 744743102
inductor from Wuerth; MOSFETs from
Fairchild (FCD7N60TF); IRF (IRFIBC20G);
an ultrafast recovery diode from Vishay;
CMMR1U-04 from Central; a ceramic
capacitor from Kemet, and a high voltage
resistor from Koa.
Conclusion
Six high brightness LEDs driven
by the National LM3445 provide
approximately the same amount of
light as a 40W incandescent bulb with a
power consumption of only 8.5W. Since
light is one of the biggest power losses
in a household, replacing incandescent
bulbs with an effcient alternative, such
as LEDs, can lead to signifcant savings
on electricity costs. Although more
expensive than incandescent bulbs, LEDs
will last over 40 times longer. n
Figure 4
Figure 2: Holding current plot
Ch1: Q3 Drain voltage Ch3: Q2 Gate
Figure 3: Complete cycle
Ch1: Q3 Drain voltage Ch4: Q3 Drain current
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
29
There are four major power components associated with the design of an FPGA
based system:
Inrush Power
Confguration Power
Post Programmed Static Power
Dynamic Power
The power component and reduction techniques of FPGA devices
vary depending on the underlying technology in the devices, such
as SRAM, SRAM Hybrid, Flash and Antifuse FPGAs. SRAM-based
FPGAs have all four major power components, whereas fash and
antifuse FPGAs, which are non-volatile, have only two signifcant
power components (static and dynamic power).
Inrush Power A current spike is caused when SRAM-based
FPGAs are powered up, because the volatile SRAM transistors are
in indeterminate state initially. This current component is known
as inrush current, and is in the order of hundreds of milliamps.
Flash- based FPGAs have very minimal inrush power, due to the
live at power-up (LAPU) confguration.
Confguration Power Confguration power is consumed
during the programming of SRAM FPGAs while downloading
bitstream data from a fash or EEPROM
memory device at system power-up.
Typically this confguration time is
hundreds of milliseconds and the current
is hundreds of milliamps.
Post Programmed Static Power
This power consumption is due to the
large number of transistors on FPGAs,
which have a small amount of leakage
current where the device is not actively
performing any operation. This leakage
current contributes a signifcant amount
of power dissipation in deep sub micron
technologies. Also, fash-based FPGAs do
not require any holding current to keep
the confguration data, and thus have
the lowest static power consumption
compared to any other type of FPGA.
Dynamic Power This power
consumption is due to the switching
current of logic cells, where the
device is actively performing any
operation. Dynamic power is directly
proportional to operating voltage and
switching frequency.
FPGA Power Saving Tricks
Select a Flash-based FPGA as it is a
true single chip solution requiring
no confguring support, doesnt suffer
from inrush power, and has low
static power.
Choose FPGAs with a low power
mode, also known as sleep mode,
where clock serving circuitry is
turned off, and I/O is disabled,
while preserving device states. This
ultimately reduces static power.
System clock frequency has a
dramatic impact on the overall power
consumption of an FPGA device.
Clock frequency directly relates to
bandwidth performance, however to
achieve an optimum balance between
power and throughput, a slower
clock can be supplied to components
that do not require a fast clock. For
components that are critical to
bandwidth, use a faster clock. n
Power consumption
in FPGA design
Source: austin Su, global technology Centre
With FPGAs featuring higher and higher density, designers are making more
and more progress on power consumption reduction. Another reason for
the power reduction trend is that FPGAs are becoming more widely used in
portable devices like Smartphones, media players, gaming, sat-nav and digital
camera/camcorders. Power consumption is probably the most important
factor when choosing FPGAs for consumer electronic devices, as well as
for medical, industrial and even military applications. System reliability
improvement and easy upgradability are also important considerations.
Additional criteria such as cost, capacity, performance, features, power and
packaging also come into play in the selection process.
Fig: Volatile vs. Non-volatile FPGA Power Profles (Source: Actel)
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
30
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
Part Number
V
DS
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Max
@ V
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=10V
(m)
Qg
(nC)
Package
IRFS3004-7PPBF 40 240 1.25 160 D
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IRFP4004PBF 40 195 1.7 220 TO-247
IRFS3004PBF/ IRFB3004PBF 40 195 1.75 160 D
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IRFR4104PBF 40 30 5.5 59 D-PAK
IRFS3006-7PPBF 60 240 2.1 200 D
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PAK-7
IRFS3006PBF/ IRFB3006PBF 60 195 2.5 200 D
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PAK/ TO-220
IRFB3206PBF 60 210 3.0 120 TO-220
IRFS3206PBF/ IRFP3206PBF 60 210 3.0 120 D
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IRFR1018EPBF 60 79 8.4 69 D-PAK
IRFP4368PBF 75 195 1.85 380 TO-247
IRFS3107-7PPBF 75 240 2.6 160 D
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PAK-7
IRFS3107PBF 75 195 3.0 160 D
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PAK
IRFB3077PBF 75 210 3.3 160 TO-220
IRFR3607PBF 75 80 9.0 84 D-PAK
IRFP4468PBF 100 195 2.6 360 TO-247
IRFS4010-7PPBF 100 190 4.0 150 D
2
PAK-7
IRFB4110PBF 100 120 4.5 150 TO-220
IRFS4010PBF 100 180 4.7 143 TO-220
IRFP4568PBF 150 171 5.9 151 TO-247
IRFB4115PBF 150 104 11.0 77 TO-220
IRFS4115PBF 150 99 12.1 77 D
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THE POWER MANAGEMENT LEADER
The redesign of aging electronic products presents unique
challenges and creative opportunities to electrical engineers.
For a complex electronic product, the quality of the redesign
effort often rests in how well the redesign-engineering team
understands how the design should be updated. Study of the
original electronic design is necessary, and understanding how
the original equipment functions, and what design choices the
original engineering team applied to achieve that functionality,
is essential.
Orchid Technologies
Engineering and Consulting,
Inc. completed the
redesign of the precision
LCR instrument shown in
Figure1. Accurate to 0.05%
of full scale, the original
1988 instrument design
was very well executed.
However, vintage 1980s
state-of-the-art electronic
components were going end-
of-life at an alarming rate.
The frst step was to study the existing design, working
to put ourselves into the minds of the original designers.
Through a process of study and review, the redesign approach
was identifed. A detailed development plan was then
generated proposing signifcant technical improvements
and cost reductions.
Three primary technical opportunities became clear:
Update the aging DSP processor design
Modernize analog amplifer components
Implement old digital logic with an FPGA
The original product contained an older Texas Instruments
TMS320C31 processor, an outstanding choice for its day, but
now showing its age. Running at only 33MHz, this 32-bit DSP
represents foating point numbers in a Texas Instruments
proprietary manner. Old upper level software performs
foating point numeric conversions to make use of the DSPs
calculations. The redesign provided the opportunity to replace
the old DSP with a new Texas Instruments TMS320C6713.
This new DSP performs at 200MHz and represents foating
point numbers in standard IEEE format. Old DSP frmware
was ported to the new processor using Texas Instruments
Code Composer Studio environment. The result was a new
design that performs more than six times as fast as the
original instrument.
Twenty years ago, the original product was designed using
Analog Devices 24 bit DDS devices. A DDS device (Direct
Digital Synthesis) is a highly complex electronic component
which generates spectrally pure sine waves using digital
numeric lookup tables. A DDS allows the generation of sine
waves at virtually any programmable frequency. Although
a remarkable device for its day, twenty years is a long time in
electronics. Today Analog Devices modern DDS components
make use of 48-bit look up tables. Such DDS devices provide
incredible frequency granularity and purity. The redesign
opportunity was to integrate these new DDS components into
the redesign effort. As a result, the new design performed fve
times more accurately than was actually required.
Almost every older electronics product contains MSI (medium
scale integration) and SSI (small scale integration) electronic
components. Parts of this type are the familiar 7400 series quad
or dual logic function component. Such logic components are
often packaged in large dual in line through-hole technology
packages. Multiple circuit boards are often required in older
designs just to ft the large sized component parts. Todays
opportunity is to collect those MSI and SSI parts into a single,
far smaller programmable logic device. In the LCR meter
design, we combined the functions of a 48 square inch board
into a single 0.9 square inch programmable device from Altera.
The result was two fold: we reduced product cost by requiring
fewer circuit boards in the overall design, and we reduced
digital noise, thereby improving system accuracy.
Through these techniques, Orchid Technologies redesigned the
clients instrument into one that performed the same functions
faster and much more accurately, while also reducing the size
of the design. n
A case study:
Redesigning aging
electronic product
Source: orchid technologies Engineering and Consulting, inc.
Updating out-of-date designs is a major part of the
electronic engineers job. Many viable products need to
be redesigned, mainly because of components availability
and to improve the products performance. This case study
was written by Newark customer Orchid Technologies, to
show the decisions taken and the techniques used when
updating an instrument for one of its customers.
Figure 1
32
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
EMBEDDED CORNER
serious technology
If youre serious about sensing, youve come to the right place.
Honeywell offers advanced products designed for demanding sensing environments. These state-
of-the-art products position, speed, current, load, torque, pressure, humidity, temperature, and
optical are found in potential aerospace, industrial, and medical applications worldwide. And
were constantly adding to our well established technologies such as Hall-effect and microstructure
by commercializing new technologies such as wireless, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW), MR array,
and sophisticated optical sensing. We also offer interface capabilities for analog or digital output as
well as bus connectivity in designs small enough for demanding medical environments or cramped
automotive engine applications. Still not quite what you need? Our world-class engineers can design
and build a custom sensor using any of our product platforms for enhanced precision, repeatability,
and rugged durability. Hows that for serious technology?
For more information, visit www.honeywell.com/sensing
2009 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.
Supplying power to a network of
sensor-transmitters has traditionally
required expensive wiring installation
or routine battery changes. Gathering
data from diffcult or dangerous-
to-reach locations using wired
sensors may be impossible and/
or even compromise the safety of
personnel who install wiring and
replace batteries. Energy harvesting
is a solution that allows these sensor
transmitters to operate for up to 20
years using a battery.
This article will review practical
applications for this new technology
and discuss the best way to incorporate
low power RF radio technology to
power wireless sensors in a simple
point-to-point, star or device mesh
network.
Numerous industrial and commercial
markets - including building
automation, transportation
infrastructure and medical device
alarm monitoring - have already developed energy harvesting products that are
available today.
Building automation is a key application area. Commercial building occupancy
sensors, thermostats and light switches can be installed with mechanical or solar
energy harvesting devices that can eliminate the control wire from existing
installations. A wireless network with energy harvesting technology can tie all
the sensors together and reduce lighting and HVAC costs, by switching off power
to non-essential functions when the building is not occupied.
Another industrial application is transportation infrastructure such as road,
rail and bridge strain gauges. By pairing strain gauges with a wireless radio and
relying on the continuous energy of surface vibration, wind, or solar energy to
power the strain sensors, the sensors are able to transmit exception-based data
when a key component of the infrastructure starts to defect (hopefully) before it
breaks.
Energy harvesting is also being used in commercial applications. For example,
medical devices designed for the elderly in-home or outpatient market are
equipped with accelerometers and medical sensors running on heat or body
movement energy harvesting technology. A sudden fall or change in heart rate
will trigger a request for help to advise emergency providers when they have
fallen or are not okay.
Now lets consider the best way to add energy scavenging technology with a
radio and take advantage of existing features to develop product in which its
not necessary to keep changing batteries once the product is deployed. When
discussing low power radios, we will focus on radios that have the following
capabilities or features: they can go to sleep mode and be off 95% of the time;
they can go from deep sleep to ready to transmit in 300ms or less; they consume
less than 500A of current in the transition phase and typically consume less
than 16mA when transmitting and 20mA when receiving data.
The following best practices will accelerate the development process of products
featuring energy harvesting and RF technology.
Use the lowest possible duty cycle. Send your data only when needed and 1.
do not send more data than necessary. A large amount of sensor activity is
exception-based messages. Only send the message when the sensor value has
gone out of limits set up for the application.
Energy harvesting
and Low Power
RF radio technology
Source: texas instruments
According to the Darnell Group, the potential worldwide market for
energy harvesting solutions used in wireless sensor systems could reach
approximately 164 million units by 2013, a compound annual growth rate of
nearly 65 percent. Energy harvesting is an important emerging area of low
power technology that can provide energy not only for large-scale needs
through wind and solar systems, but also for smaller-scale needs such as
sensor networks, utilizing the vibrations inherent in structures, vehicles and
machinery to create power, or harvest energy, that can drive sensors while
eliminating the need for wires and batteries.
EMBEDDED CORNER
34
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
Minimize the receive 1.
window length of your
radio in applications
testing. This window
length can be adjusted
adaptively. The default is to
use a narrow window and
increase the window when
packets are missed as a
result of receive timeout.
Use the built-in receive 2.
signal strength indicator
(rssi) feature of the radio to
reduce the transmit power
or receive sensitivity in your point-to-point product, so
that the radio can dynamically adjust based upon the
other devices operating in the vicinity of your radio.
There is no need to increase your transmit power and
shout across the room when you can talk or whisper and
get your message through the frst time. The difference in
transmit mode current can be as much as 10 ma between
using output levels of-12dBm and 0dbm.
Use the lowest possible voltage setting. RF devices have reduced current draw 3.
at low voltages and use the on chip regulator with low quiescent current to
maximize battery lifetime
When you do have data to send, use the FIFO buffer function of the RF-IC to 4.
store the data. Use the buffer read/write mode to minimize SPI operations. SPI
communications consumes power.
When you receive incoming messages, discard false packets that are not 5.
intended for your product that are possibly coming from another unwanted
radio system. Minimize the time in RX processing false packets by checking
the carrier sense, valid preamble, valid sync word, valid byte length and valid
address feature options built into todays radio technology. Once you have
done that, then and only then, wake up the MCU and use the automatic CRC
check and discard the packet if the CRC fails. Interrupt the MCU if the CRC is
okay.
Spend time selecting a crystal that takes into consideration clock drift between 6.
the two devices. Increased drift means increased time in the receiver to ensure
packet reception. The receiver must be turned early, especially in polling
mode architectures. The problem with turning on early means an increased
probability of receiving false packets that require additional receiver time,
where we are driving to maximum sleep time for battery life.
Spend time squeezing every possible electron from transition states of the 7.
radio. For example, spend time drilling into the state diagrams of the data
sheet. Develop a power budget spreadsheet which includes the typical values
for power down, crystal oscillator start up, PLL startup, full TX_RX time and
power down for your application. For two way protocols, go as quickly as
possible from transmit to receive mode or vice versa.
A practical example
AdaptivEnergy has developed a demonstration kit using Joule-Thief technology
to harvest energy and power and Texas Instruments ultra-low power MSP430
MCU and CC2500 RF transceiver to collect data, control the operation of a
system or send sensed data to central
collection sites. The Joule-Thief
energy harvesting device is based
on AdaptivEnergys Ruggedized
Laminated Piezo technology, which
enables compact energy harvesting
modules to power applications, such
as wireless sensors. These wireless
sensors could be used to gather
ambient intelligence to detect and
report critical conditions in factories,
automobiles, offce buildings, homes
and other environments - without
wiring or batteries.
The RLP Smart Energy Beam allows
up to ten times more strain to be
applied to the piezoceramic than
other piezoelectric energy harvesting
devices, creating more converted
electric power for system use.
In addition to directly sensing
movement, the design accepts inputs
from external sensing elements that
can help detect strains in bridges
and high-rise buildings, equipment
fatigue in factories, excessive
temperatures, the presence of
dangerous chemicals, unsafe events
in automobiles and a variety of other
environmental conditions.
TIs MSP430F2274 microcontroller
and a CC2500 RF transceiver allows
the Joule-Thief design to gain as
much processing and transmission
as possible from the charge stored
in a capacitor. The MSP430
microcontroller provides a fast
wake-up time of less than a
microsecond for a preferable low
power/high performance solution. n
EMBEDDED CORNER
35
www.st.com
n High-performance core, up to 20 MIPS @ 24 MHz
n Robust and reliable
n 3 V to 5.5 V power supply
n Lower system cost, with true EEPROM and RC oscillator embedded
n Wide offer from 4 Kbytes to 128 Kbytes, 20 to 80 pins
n Friendly IDE with free software suite
n IEC 60335 class B compliance
n Capacitive sensing library
New 8-bit platform for robust, reliable and cost
effective applications
STM8 Simply smarter
STMicroelectronics
STM8S 8 BIT
MICROCONTROLLERS
2009 Atmel Corporation. All rights reserved. Atmel

, logo and combinations thereof, Everywhere You Are

and others, are registered trademarks

or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. ARM

,

the ARMPowered

logo and others are the registered trademarks or trademarks

of ARM Ltd. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.
One-stop Shop for ARM-based MCUs & MPUs
Atmel's AT91SAM 32-bit ARM

Flash MCUs
and Embedded MPUs are designed for system
control, wired & wireless connectivity, user interface
management, low power and ease of use.
A comprehensive and high-quality ecosystem
provides access to development tools, Flash programming,
software and worldwide technical support.
Atmel has a proven track record as a market leading
ARM MCU and eMPU vendor, a developer of high bandwidth
architectures, an innovator of low power microcontrollers and
a facilitator of software portability.
Premier Farnell was an early adopter of
this approach, having been a member
of the FTSE4Good UK Index since 2001
and a participant in the Business in the
Community (BiTC) environment index
even earlier.
Environment
One of the best ways to assess
environmental impact is by measuring
a business carbon footprint. This is the
amount of greenhouse gases produced
through burning fossil fuels. Premier
Farnell has worked hard to reduce the
companys carbon footprint and, since
2006, CO
2
emissions from its major
facilities have been reduced by 20%,
or over 5,000 tons. By the end of 2010
around $650,000 will have been invested
by Premier Farnell in energy effciency
and carbon reduction in worldwide.
Premier Farnell also currently recycles
71% of its waste, with some constituent
companies contributing even more;
CPC, for example, has a recycling rate of
90%. Premier Farnell has also worked
on its own environmental innovations,
such as biodegradable, static dissipative
bags launched last September to replace
non-degradable polythene ones. These
bags are compliant to the EN 13432
standard and are specially designed to
breakdown in industrial composters,
leaving no harmful residues, while
offering static dissipation to the same or
higher level than polythene equivalents.
Premier Farnell has also implemented
its own Green Facility programe
an approach that encourages individual
facilities and business units to take
steps to reduce their environmental
impact. All 16 of Premier Farnells
large facilities have now completed
this program, contributing to its carbon
footprint reduction.
Legislation
Premier Farnell took a leadership role
in the original RoHS legislation that
had a major effect on the electronics
industry. It has continued with this
approach, as other countries have
adopted RoHS-type legislation and the
European Community has forged ahead
in environmental legislation, such as
REACH, Energy using Products and
Batteries Directives.
Premier Farnell continues to provide
the latest legislation information
for design engineers and all of this is
available on Premier Farnells innovative
community site, element14 at www.
element-14.com/community/
community/legislation
Social
Every business is part of the wider
community, and can play a signifcant
role as a corporate citizen. As well
as providing jobs, companies can
utilize their resources (people and
expertise as well as cash) to support
local communities. Premier Farnells
experience has been that this type
of activity is highly engaging for
its employees; its work in this area
received the highest scores in the
companys employee engagement
surveys. Employees are also encouraged
and enabled to engage in their own
volunteering activities during work
time; formal company policies recognize
this to be part of an employees personal
and professional development.
Summary
Many companies have been slow to
adopt these types of environmental
and social initiatives because they
perceive them to be costly to implement,
which negatively affect their bottom
lines. Premier Farnell has proved
that these policies can be successfully
implemented with positive
business impacts.
For this reason, the company has
continued to focus on corporate
responsibility throughout the current
economic downturn, rather than scaling
back its activities, as is the case with
many other organizations. n
Building proftable
and sustainable
partnerships
By Steven Webb, group Company Secretary, Premier Farnell
In a magazine dedicated to generating and using energy in ways
that reduce pollution and conserve the earths resources, it is
also appropriate to discuss the other ways that corporations
and individuals can lessen their impact on the environment
and be better global citizens. Adopting environmental and
social policies can contribute to customer satisfaction, reduce
damage done to the environment, work for the good of local
communities and, of course, enhance the bottom line.
PREMIER FARNELL NEWS
38
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
PREMIER FARNELL NEWS
Texas Instruments Solar Energy
Harvesting Development Tool
Texas Instruments eZ430-RF2500-SEH is a complete solar
energy harvesting development kit to help create a perpetually
powered wireless sensor network, based on the ultra-low-power
MSP430 microcontroller.
Microchip PICkit 3-XLP bundle
Microchips PICKit 3-XLP Debug Express 3 with the
PIC18F46J50 FS USB Demo Board, XLP PIC samples
and a CD including a C compiler, applications notes and
training videos is all that is required to evaluate the new
NanoWatt XLP Technology.
MAXIM Low-Power P Supervisory IC
Maxims low-power P supervisory IC monitors power supplies
provide battery-backup and chip-enabled gating to write
protect memory in microprocessor-based systems.
ICP Global Technologies Sunsei SE-4000 Solar Charger
ICPs Sunsei SE-4000 65W 16.5Vsolar charger is a powerful
solar panel, providing reliable renewable energy. The panel
puts out enough power to charge larger batteries or run small
DC appliances and AC inverters.
Texas Instruments TMDSENRGYKIT
Renewable Energy Dev Kit
Texas Instruments TMDSENRGYKIT renewable energy dev kit
provides all the necessary current and voltage measurements
necessary to implement advanced algorithms, such as
maximum power point tracking.
National Semi LM26484 Confgurable
Power Management Unit
National Semiconductors LM26484 multi-function,
confgurable power management unit integrates two 2.0A Step-
Down DC/DC converters, one LDO Controller, a POR circuit,
and thermal overload protection circuitry.
MAXIM Low-Power Battery-Backup Supervisory Circuits
Maxims low-power battery-backup supervisory circuits
improve system reliability by providing several supervisory
functions in a small, single integrated solution.
XP Power MFA350 350W, single output AC/DC switcher
XP Powers MFA350 350W, single output AC/DC switcher
delivers 350W across the full universal AC input range and
features overcurrent, overvoltage and short circuit protection
as standard.
National Semiconductor Dual 11-bit, 200 MSPS Low-
Power A/D Converter
National Semiconductors dual low-power ADC is capable of
converting two analog input signals into 11-bit digital words at
rates up to 200 MSPS. The digital output mode is selectable and
can be either differential LVDS or CMOS signals.
Fairchild FDC6036P dual P-Channel
1.8V specifed MOSFET
Fairchilds FDC6036P dual P-Channel 1.8V specifed MOSFET
uses advanced low voltage PowerTrench process. The devices
RDS(ON) and thermal properties are optimized for battery
power management applications.
Cadeka CDK2307DITQ64 ADC
Cadekas 12bit CDK2307 utilize proprietary pipeline
architecture. At 102mW, the dual channel ADC provides 13-bit
performance at 80Msample/s, while consuming low power.
Cree 1200-Volt Zero Recovery Diode
Crees Schottky rectifer features zero reverse recovery current
and zero forward recovery voltage. The zero recovery diode also
boasts extremely fast switching with no switching losses.
United Automation DMFC12 Power Supply
UAs DMFC12 accepts an 18-24Vac or 24Vdc supply and
consumes 200mA MAX @ 24Vdc. The DMFC12 can be
confgured to operate in burst fre, phase angle or dual output
modes. The soft start feature only works in phase angle mode
and can be set between 0 and 30 seconds.
EXAR PowerBlox - 3A, 29V
Non-Synchronous Buck Converter
EXARs SP7656 is a PWM controlled step down (buck)
voltage mode regulator co-packaged with a P-Channel FET.
It operates from 4.5V to 29V, making it suitable for 5V, 12V
and 24V applications. n
We hope this magazine has
helped to make you aware of
some of the solutions that can be
taken to incorporate alternative
energy technology in your next
design. Whatever type of solution
you choose to implement, Premier
Farnell companies can supply
the latest technologies in stock
for next day delivery. Below is a
sample of some of the exciting
products that have been added
to stock recently, both for the
alternative energy market, and to
get the lowest power consumption
for your design.
The inside track
on new alternative energy
technologies & suppliers
TECHTRENDS
40
DESIGN WITH THE BEST at www.farnell.com
TECHTRENDS
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UV exposure, EMI/RFI interference, and direct buriaI.
Xtraguard cabIes are the perfect soIution for use in demanding appIications in
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AlphaWire_Xtraguard General Ad_2009_Ver2.indd 1 14/09/2009 14:35:14
Q
A
FAQs
The world of technology is changing at an ever
more rapid rateso fast that it is even hard to fnd
solutions/answers on the internet. At Premier
Farnell, we are completely immersed in technology,
speaking to over a million customers and thousands
of suppliers each week. Our technical support
centers are located around the globe and respond to
customer questions by phone and by email.
Get Tech is your chance to get advice on any
technical query you may have. We will answer all
questions and publish the most interesting in the next
issue of Technology First.
Below are some of the questions most frequently
addressed by our technical teams.
Please feel free to comment on any of these, or send
in your own question to editor@premierfarnell.com
Q. Could you please explain the difference
between single mode and multimode fber,
and which should I use in my application?
A. A multimode fber means the core is of suffcient
diameter to allow multiple light paths to propagate
through the core. The relatively large diameter of the core
means it is very easy to couple light into it, so is easy to ft
connectors and light sources/detectors. However, multiple
light rays through the fber can demonstratively interfere,
resulting in high attenuation over long distances.
A single mode fber on the other hand is diffcult to
couple light into the small core, so it is often used with
laser light sources. As only one path exists at its stated
wavelength, deconstructive interference is practically
eliminated, so there is lower attenuation loss.
Q. I have seen some amplifer designs use monolithic
devices. What are they and where are they used?
A. Monolithic transistor pairs are most often used on the
input stages of amplifers. Monolithic means that both
transistors are integrated on a single piece of silicon, so
temperature fuctuations will be equal on both devices.
This is important in current mirror confgurations where
you need to maintain accurate temperature matching,
which would otherwise result in current mismatch
between devices.
Q. I have heard the advantages of Class D amplifers
are: high effciency, compact and lower voltage.
Why do people still design Class A or AB
amplifers?
A. Class D amplifers suffer from several problems, which
are diffcult, though not impossible to eliminate.
Output device drivers need careful design to eliminate
catastrophic dual conduction conditions, while being
fast enough to keep dead time to a minimum. Class D
is therefore more prone to catastrophic failure, requires
more careful PCB design and generates more EMI, which
could interfere with other equipment.
Q. I am in the fnal stages of development of an
embedded device, and a change request has been
submitted that requires changes to the start-up
code stored in a NAND fash device. Due to an
oversight, there is no ISP available and the device
is tucked away under several other boards with no
easy access without stripping down the project
completely. Can you recommend an easier method
of altering the contents of the fash, without
disassembling the project in its entirety?
A. The easiest solution to this is to use an XD card with a
suitable socket. XD cards are simply NAND fash in a
consumer-friendly package. The pin outs are available at
http://pinouts.ru/Memory/xd_card_pinout.shtml. The only
caveat is that you must write the contents of the fash in a
RAW mode and not use any fle system.
Q. What is the difference between plastics ratings
UL94V-0, UL94V-1 and UL94V-2 (used in
connectors)?
A. The UL94V tests are vertical burning tests where the test
samples are held vertically and a fame is applied at one
end for two 10 second applications. To pass the UL94V-0
grade, the fame must extinguish in 10 seconds or less,
have stopped glowing in 30 seconds and no burning
material may fall from the sample.
To pass the UL94V-1 grade, the fame must extinguish
in 30 seconds or less, have stopped glowing in 60 seconds
and no burning material may fall from the sample. To
pass the UL94V-2 grade, the fame must extinguish in 30
seconds or less, have stopped glowing in 60 seconds and
burning material may fall from the sample. n
42
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