DEV Community: EmbedicErin

[2023] High Growth of Supercapacitor in Energy Storage and Automotive Applications

EmbedicErin — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 03:24:50 +0000

Capacitors are a common type of device and have a wide range of applications in various circuits and devices. There are many types of capacitors in different voltage levels and different capacitance values, ranging from small to large capacitance values, such as ceramic capacitors, film capacitors, and aluminum electrolytic capacitors.

What is Supercapacitor

Supercapacitor is a new kind of energy storage device, which is a special capacitor between capacitor and battery, with the characteristics of both capacitor and battery, and has a broad application prospect in many new fields.

Supercapacitor is built on the basis of interface double layer theory, in which two electrodes are inserted into the medium and a voltage value smaller than the medium decomposition voltage is applied between them, then the positive and negative ions will form a close charge layer on the surface of the two electrodes respectively, i.e. double layer.

The formed double layer is similar to the polarized charge produced by the dielectric in a conventional capacitor under the action of electric field, which can produce the capacitive effect, and at the same time has a larger capacity than the ordinary capacitor because the distance between the close charge layers is much smaller than the distance between the charge layers of the ordinary capacitor.

Application of Supercapacitor

Nowadays, there are also supercapacitors with metal oxide and polymer as electrode materials, which often have high energy density due to their excellent conductivity. However, these are still in the R&D stage, and there is still a long distance from commercialization.

IGBT Latest Development Trend 2023

EmbedicErin — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 03:14:56 +0000

The current semiconductor cycle is on the downside, and many segments of the semiconductor industry chain are clearly entering into the inventory adjustment cycle. However, boosted by the two mainstream applications of electric vehicles and solar photovoltaics, IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) have recently experienced a large degree of shortage, with prices rising and the industry describing the shortage situation as "not a matter of high prices, but simply unavailable".

IGBT Supply Exceeds Demand and Foundry Prices are Rising

Since the lack of cores for automobiles in 2020, the structural lack of cores for automotive chips has become more and more obvious, and IGBTs have been in short supply. In the second half of 2022, it even surpassed the automotive MCU and became the biggest constraint affecting the expansion of automotive production.

How Linear Regulators and DC-DC Switching Regulators Work

EmbedicErin — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 10:18:38 +0000

A voltage regulator is a component that converts a voltage to a lower (or higher) level.

A typical example is if you want to use a 9V battery but need 5V in the circuit. for example, to create a portable USB charger. You can then use a voltage regulator that takes 9V as an input and creates a stable 5V output to use in the circuit. Or, if you are building a circuit that requires a different voltage level. Suppose you have a circuit where the microcontroller needs 5V and the motor needs 12V. you can use just one 12V supply and add a voltage regulator that provides 5V to the microcontroller instead of using two supplies.

How to connect a voltage regulator

Usually, you need to connect some additional components to the regulator in order to make the output more stable. At least one or two capacitors. But it depends on which regulator you choose. You can find information on how to connect a specific regulator in its data sheet. For example, the voltage regulator 7805 is a common one. It provides you with a 5V output. From the 7805 datasheet you can find this example circuit, which shows that you need two capacitors.

Types of Voltage Regulators

There are two common types of voltage regulators that are worth knowing about.

Linear regulators
DC-DC switching regulators Linear regulators are the simplest regulators, requiring only a few capacitors and perhaps a resistor or two to operate. Examples of linear regulators include the 7805 and LM317, which have adjustable output voltages.

DC-DC switching regulators are slightly more complex and require inductors and diodes to work. One of the more common examples is the LM2596. but usually you can find these as small modules (look for DC-DC converters) and they have everything you need on the board.

The main difference between the two is that linear regulators waste more power than switching regulators. As a result, linear regulators can easily get very warm if you don't provide good cooling. In addition, switching regulators are the only regulators that can provide you with higher output voltages than what you are putting in. A linear regulator will always provide you with a lower output voltage.

If you have interest, check the similar product:LT8331IMSE#PBF