Industry news

Researchers around the world have been working to harness the unusual properties of graphene, a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms. But graphene lacks one important characteristic that would make it even more useful: a property called a bandgap, which is essential for making devices such as computer chips and solar cells. Now, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and

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Transphorm Inc. today announced that it has completed a distribution agreement with HY-LINE Power Components GmbH to stock and distribute its family of 600-Volt GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) in Central Europe. HY-Line’s technical expertise will support the growing demand for JEDEC-qualified 600 Volt GaN products that have now grown to the level requiring an expanding sales channel to

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Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has expanded its family of high-efficiency and compact super junction MOSFETs with devices offering voltage ratings to 650V. The new 650V MOSFETs are suited for applications that may have to operate in environments with fluctuating mains supplies or very low temperatures. Extended voltage capability also supports improved design flexibility by increasing safe operating margins. Toshiba’s latest 650V

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At PCIM Europe, LEM S.A. announced the addition of three new HO series of high performance current transducers which extend nominal current measurement up to 250A and offer a range of mounting options. The recent launch of the first devices in the HO series enabled a breakthrough in the trade-off between performance, cost, size and mounting versatility. These three new

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 A new fuel-cell concept, developed by an Michigan State University researcher, will allow biodiesel plants to eliminate the creation of hazardous wastes while removing their dependence on fossil fuel from their production process. The platform, which uses microbes to glean ethanol from glycerol and has the added benefit of cleaning up the wastewater, will allow producers to reincorporate the ethanol

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Vast amounts of excess heat are generated by industrial processes and by electric power plants; researchers around the world have spent decades seeking ways to harness some of this wasted energy. Most such efforts have focused on thermoelectric devices, solid-state materials that can produce electricity from a temperature gradient, but the efficiency of such devices is limited by the availability

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Although electric drivetrains are already more energy-efficient than combustion models, further improvements are still required. Infineon delivers various chips and modules that can play a valuable role in minimizing power losses, maximizing power savings and boosting performance. As a leading supplier of high-power IGBT modules for drive and traction applications for many decades now, Infineon supplied the IGBT modules that

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The long life of lithium ion batteries makes them the rechargeable of choice for everything from implantable medical devices to wearable consumer electronics. But lithium ion batteries rely on liquid chemistries involving lithium salts dissolved in organic solvents, creating flame risks that would be avoided if the cells were completely solid-state. Now a team of researchers at Tohoku University in

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International Rectifier Corp. (IR) today at PCIM Europe introduced a new generation of energy-efficient Intelligent Power Modules (IPM). The new second generation (Gen2) family of IRAM System-In-Package (SIP) IPMs shrinks and simplifies the design of appliance motor drive applications including air conditioners, fans, compressors and washing machines. Leveraging IR’s advanced Trench Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) and next-generation three-phase gate driver

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Jay Leno’s obsession with automobiles is well known, and the latest addition to his garage is this McLaren P1 hybrid hypercar, star of Leno’s latest YouTube segment. It took Leno just a week to rack up 1,000 miles on his new P1, and with the McLaren CEO on hand, Leno digs deep into the technological prowess of this impressive machine.

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