Top 10 Technical Articles Span Full Circuit of Innovation

Accentuating innovation in its various forms, EE Power’s technical articles are a popular attraction, drawing readers bent on finding answers to complex technical questions. Included in this selection is a series of articles to help you understand the National Electrical Code, an article on the intricacies of photovoltaic cell fabrication, and an explanation of how to choose the proper semiconductors for your application.

These are 10 of our most widely read and thoroughly informative technical articles from the past year.

1. Designing Electronics to Pass the EMC Test Part 1

Passing the Electromagnetic Compatibility test the first time should be the objective of every electrical engineer. Part one of a series, this article demonstrates some common design techniques to enable the test to be passed.

 

A typical setup for conductive emission, the EUT is usually on a table 80 cm from the floor and 40 cm from the side (distances may change from standard to standard). Image used courtesy of Francesco Poderico

 

2. National Electrical Code 2023 Basics: Grounding and Bonding Part 1

Along with limiting and stabilizing voltage, grounding and bonding simplify the operation of circuit breakers and fuses. Here are the general requirements for grounding and bonding to comply with Article 250 of the National Electrical Code 2023.

 

3. An Introduction to Soil Resistivity

Properly designing a grounding system requires reliable figures for soil resistivity, which characterize the electrical behavior of the soil. This article discusses the soil’s electrical characteristics.
 

4. National Electrical Code Basics: Computing Voltage Drop in Branch Circuits and Feeders Part 1

Wires used in electrical installations should be able to carry the current and avoid excessive voltage drops. Part 1 of this National Electrical Code primer covers voltage drops and calculating them in branch circuits and feeders.

 

5. CMOS SR Latches and Flip-flops

The very basis of digital memory, a flip-flop is a logic circuit that involves feedback, with the output of a gate driving its input, mainly through other gates. One basic type of flip-flop is the SR (set/reset) flip-flop.

https://eepower.com/technical-articles/cmos-sr-latches-and-flip-flops/

 

6. Fabricating Different Types of Photovoltaic Cells

Producing crystalline silicon modules involves fabricating silicon wafers, converting the wafers into cells, and arranging cells into modules. In this article, you will learn about the three main types of crystalline silicon cell wafers: monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and ribbon silicon.

 

Polycrystalline silicon wafers are sawed from cast rectangular ingots. Image used courtesy of EEPower

 

7. Silver-free AMB Copper Technology Bonds Highly Reliable Metal Ceramic Substrates

One of the key components for highly reliable power electronic modules is a reliable metal ceramic substrate. This article covers using active metal brazing (AMB) technology to produce these substrates.

 

8. Innovative Power Semiconductors for Your Application

Critical to advanced semiconductor technology applications is the use of silicon and silicon carbide innovations for power electronic devices with such products that accommodate the transition to renewable energy and the burgeoning interest in semiconductors for photovoltaic (PV) applications.

 

HV LinPak. Image used courtesy of Bodo’s Power Systems

 

9. Battery Sizing Explained

With the quest for clean energy has come the proliferation of battery use, accommodated by engineers designing battery systems for solar and electric vehicles. Since these battery systems must meet certain criteria, this article details the steps necessary for sizing batteries.

 

10. What Is a Ćuk converter?

Buck-boost power converters are prized due to their ability to step up or step down at different time instances based on what is required. The Ćuk converter is a specific variant of buck-boost technology.

 

Featured image used courtesy of Adobe Stock