Large voltage spikes are common in power circuits, particularly during switching—a core action for device functionality. As a result, voltage suppression is a fundamental system requirement to protect circuits.

Enter: snubber capacitors

Power electronics play a critical role in converting and managing electrical energy efficiently. As electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy systems, and consumer electronics quickly become more powerful, the demand for high-voltage power electronics is quickly increasing. This means the importance of components like bootstrap capacitors has grown significantly.

As you likely know, capacitors are used in electronic circuits to provide local energy storage and stabilize power supply voltage. Decoupling capacitors are a specific type of capacitor used to isolate or decouple two circuits. In other words, these capacitors decouple AC signals from DC signals or vice versa. Decoupling capacitors act as a buffer, supplying clean and stable power to components, which minimizes the risks of malfunctions, noise coupling, or signal integrity issues.

As electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers work to make batteries more affordable and easier to produce in mass quantities, we’re seeing changes in battery chemistry. For example, the industry is shifting from traditional lithium ion batteries with cobalt to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Rare-earth metals like cobalt are in short supply, and materials like LFP are a more plentiful, sustainable, and efficient alternative.

To understand what an electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter is, and what it does, we need to first know what EMI is and why it needs to be filtered. EMI refers to undesirable electromagnetic emissions or disturbances generated either by electronic devices or natural sources in the environment that can interfere with the proper functioning of other nearby devices or systems. EMI noise can propagate through power supply lines and radiate into the environment, potentially causing disruptions or malfunctions in other electronic systems. For many devices, this could cause big issues, which is why many government organizations have developed regulatory standards for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), or when two pieces of electronic equipment can function in the same environment without adversely impacting one another. 

A deep brain stimulator (DBS), also known as a neuro-stimulator, is a medical device that uses electrical stimulation to treat neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The DBS is typically implanted under the skin near the collarbone or in the abdomen, and connected to a thin wire, or lead, that runs under the skin to the targeted area of the brain as shown in Figure 1. 

Electronic devices power our world and allow us to communicate. In all applications requiring signal integrity and accurate power amplification, blocking capacitors are used to provide clean waveforms and correctly amplified voltages.

Electronic devices provide the tools we need to power the world. From cell phones to modern vehicles to scientific equipment to the appliances in our homes, we rely on electronics to improve and even lengthen our lives. All electronics depend on clean power, and the bypass capacitor is crucial in ensuring devices safely meet their power specifications.

To protect people and critical equipment, military-grade electronic devices must be designed to function reliably while operating in incredibly harsh environments. Therefore, instead of continuing to use traditional silicon semiconductors, in recent years, electronic device designers have started to use wide band-gap (WBG) materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) to develop the semiconductors required for military device power supplies. In general, WBG materials can operate at much higher voltages, have better thermal characteristics, and can perform switching at much higher frequencies. Therefore, SiC-based semiconductors provide superior performance compared to silicon, including higher power efficiency, higher switching frequency, and higher temperature resistance as shown in Figure 1.

As interest and adoption increase in the electric vehicle (EV) arena, associated technologies are advancing quickly. Batteries are becoming more powerful and charging infrastructure is increasingly robust and efficient. With all these advancements, EV batteries are good for more than powering cars on the road.