Natale Aiello

Smart power transistors for electronic ballasts

A new vertical power IC process was used to design a cost-competitive, three terminal TO-220 power switching device, the VB348, which is optimized for fluorescent ballast applications. This IC comprises a high voltage power bipolar transistor, MOS emitter switch, drive circuitry and protection features (including overtemperature shutdown). The application in a commercial ballast and the problems related to the various parasitic effects are discussed. Overtemperature protection and reduced variation in switching parameters are key advantages.

RF remotely-powered integrated system to nullify standby power consumption in electrical appliances

In order to increase energy efficiency in electrical appliances, autonomy in WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) nodes, IoT (Internet of Things) devices and self-powered sensors, it is necessary to reduce energy consumption as much as possible. One of the main issues to solve is reduction of standby power consumption, which is not negligible due to the enormous number of appliances involved. While in standby, power management circuits are permanently on, consuming unnecessary energy. This leads designers to consider power efficiency. In this article, a different approach is introduced based on Radio Frequency to electrical energy transduction with the intention to resolve this issue. The proposed solution goes beyond the well-known concept of standby as it instead applies to electric appliances that are off. An RF powered receiver silicon IC (integrated circuit) for remotely controlled systems is presented. This includes an RF-to-DC energy converter specifically designed with a sensitivity of -18.8dBm, which allows an operating distance of up 8 meters at 900 MHz with a transmitting power of 1Watt in free space. Experimental results using a complete working prototype will be shown.