Industry news

Linear Technology has introduced a ride-through DC-DC voltage converter IC which can deal with a sudden loss of input voltage from a single supercapacitor energy source. The IC has a main buck regulator with a built-in boost converter for temporary backup, or ride-through, of VOUT during a sudden loss of input voltage. The device monitors VIN, VOUT and VCAP and

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Linear Technology has designed a pair of 1.5W DC-DC converters with 2kVac galvanic isolation in a 9mm x 11.25mm x 4.92mm BGA (ball grid array) package. The LTM8057 and LTM8058 include an isolated transformer, control circuitry, power switches and a modest amount of input and output capacitance. Both devices will operate from an input voltage range of 3.1V to 31V,

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Power Integrations today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. Net revenues for the quarter were $83.1 million, eight percent lower than the prior quarter and up eight percent from the first quarter of 2013. GAAP net income for the quarter was $12.4 million or $0.40 per diluted share, compared with $0.52 per diluted share in the

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During this week’s PCIM Europe, Clifton GmbH unveiled a unique epitaxy (epi) technology to produce high-voltage Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) semiconductor material for diodes, transistors and intelligent power modules. The new GaAs devices offer higher performances, more efficiency and reliability in smaller and lighter devices; all at lower manufacturing costs/prices compared to SiC and GaN products. The company’s initial product is

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Today unveiled the SSL5015/18, a compact, high-efficient driver IC for LED solutions. Complementing NXP’s broad GreenChip SSL family of products, the SSL5015/18, with an integrated MOSFET, supports lighting applications up to 18W lamp power like TLED and PAR lamp shape. The controller is available across multiple markets. The SSL5015 is optimized for US and Japan, while the SSL5018 is designed

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Alcoa and Phinergy will unveil their jointly developed aluminum-air battery that they say powers electric cars to greater distances. An Alcoa-Phinergy electric car will take laps around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve to demonstrate the technology, ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada in Montreal. Why go with aluminum-air technology for batteries? Phinergy explained aluminum contains high amounts of energy

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Four Japanese automakers are working together to make EV charging stations widely available through Japan. Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation jointly established a new company, Nippon Charge Service, LLC, (NCS) on Monday, May 26, to promote the installation of chargers for electric-powered vehicles. The goal is to help build a

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It’s been three months since we released The Economics of Grid Defection exploring when off-grid solar-plus-battery systems could reach economic parity with retail electric service.  These systems could become competitive with retail electric service within the next decade for many commercial customers and for many residential customers in the decade thereafter. Since the release of our results, the industry has

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Eight partnering states released their Multi-State ZEV Action Plan as the first promised milestone for the bi-coastal collaboration to pave the way for increasingly large numbers of zero emission vehicles: plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The partner states are California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and

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After analyzing its potential for default, Standard & Poor, has designated Tesla stock as a B-, or “junk” rating. That’s the same S&P  that assigned “AAA” credit ratings to bundles of sub-prime loans that helped crater the economy in 2008, as well as downgrading America’s credit rating on the heels of a manufactured debt showdown by the Republicans. According to

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