Technical Articles

Kurt Parker, Microchip Technology Brand is everything when it comes to marketing and selling products that customers will buy and more importantly continue to buy. Anything with a display screen is expected to have a polished look and feel and be easy-to-use. Now, especially with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), more and more simple devices are featuring interactive display screens causing design challenges for engineers. Many microcontrollers (MCUs) do not have the advanced features needed to run these ... more

Kurt Parker, Microchip Technology For me, one of the most difficult components in embedded graphics designs is memory for frame buffers. This memory should be large, high speed and cheap. Unfortunately, compromises often need to be made in order to incorporate memory into embedded graphics designs. At best, these compromises turn into expensive nuisances that drive up cost and eat away at profitability. And worse case, it can cause the need to outsource the design or hire and train new talent ... more

Controlling the color balance of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) accurately and wirelessly can be achieved using an 8-bit microcontroller and a Bluetooth® 4.1 low energy module to control the red, green, blue, alpha (RGBA) color space. ... more

Switched-mode dimmable LED drivers are known for their efficiency and precise control of LED current. They can also provide dimming functionality which allows the end user to create fantastic lighting effects while reducing their power consumption. ... more

Applications that are made easier by using a peripheral trigger generatorRavikiran Shetty, Microchip Technology ... more

The region of South-East Europe is identified as the only one on the continent that will face a major gas security issue in case of an interruption of supply from Ukraine. This was shown by an analysis published by European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSO-G) and by Energy Union Choices. ... more

Digital control in power conversion continues to develop, thanks to the latest improvements in both the analog and digital domainsTom Spohrer, Microchip Technology ... more

A look at how a virtual controller can be set up to save cost and CPU time when rendering graphicsOne of the popular ways of creating graphical embedded applications is to add an internal or external graphics controller. The problem is that this adds cost and can make designs unnecessarily complex, and in most cases for a simple graphical user interface such controllers are not needed. ... more

In early October, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Romanian Ministry of Energy organized a workshop for South East European governments, utilities, regulatory authorities, and other regional energy stakeholders to share their best practices in renewable energy deployment. The event hosted in Bucharest enabled participants to share views on renewable energy target setting, support schemes and the socio-economic benefits of active renewable energies in the region. ... more

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hitachi will help Bosnia and Herzegovina in the reduction of gas emissions and meeting EU norms. The country’s 300 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant Ugljevik has signed a EUR 79 million euro deal with the consortium Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems. The project itself will be financed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). ... more

Fionn SheerinMicrochip Technology Inc.New vehicle designs contain more lighting than ever before: dome lights, display backlights, turn signals, low & high beams, fog lights, cornering lights, tail lights, accent lights and even infrared lighting for automated driving assistance. Inside the cabin, LED lighting has been replacing incandescent bulbs, primarily due to size, cost, efficiency and longevity. ... more

A look at how to design buck and boost converters with full analogue control for output regulationMihnea Rosu ... more

The European Commission (EC) has approved the Host Government Agreement between the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and Greek authorities, concluding that it is in line with EU state aid rules. ... more

Siemens has been awarded an order for the Kinik onshore wind power plant in the Turkish province of Kinik, located 80 kilometers north of the city of Izmir. ... more

Joseph Julicher, Microchip TechnologyThere are few applications addressed by integrated electronics that don’t require some modest form of power regulation, be that a simple current/voltage supply or a more sophisticated and optimised solution. However, with an increased focus on efficiency at every level it is becoming common to extend the simple to include some form of intelligence. ... more