The NTC thermistor is a thermally sensitive resistor whose resistance decreases rapidly as the temperature rises. This property can be utilized in various applications such as temperature sensors and thermal protection devices to protect circuits from overheating.
By mounting the NTC thermistor in close proximity to the heat source, it can accurately sense the temperature of the heat source. However, in some cases, such as when there are constraints on the size of the board or the pattern layout, it may need to be mounted in a location away from the heat source.
In this article, considering such conditions, we used the LEDs on the LED flash circuit board as the heat source and simulated heat generation to check the temperature difference between the LEDs and the NTC thermistors caused by the different mounting positions. We also checked the effect of circuit board thickness.

Mit dem wachsenden Markt für elektrifizierte Fahrzeuge (EVs) steigt die Nachfrage nach Onboard-Chargern (OBCs) schnell an. OBCs eröffnen die Möglichkeit, Fahrzeuge nicht nur an Schnellladestationen für Gleichstrom, sondern auch mit Wechselstromquellen in angemessener Zeit aufzuladen. Solche Systeme reichen derzeit bis zu 22 kW mit Betriebsspannungen bis zu 800 V. Die Aufgabe des OBC besteht darin, die Wechselspannung aus einer externen Quelle in eine spezifische Gleichspannung umzuwandeln, die auf den Anforderungen des Batteriemanagement-Systems basiert. Dadurch kann ein batterieschonender und schneller Ladevorgang erreicht werden. Insbesondere in abgelegenen Gebieten ohne ausreichende DC-Schnellladeinfrastruktur sind OBCs unverzichtbar, um die Attraktivität von E-Fahrzeugen zu steigern.Wegen der Komplexität solcher Systeme benötigen OBCs eine gewisse Kapazität, um die Gleichspannung, mit der die Batterie geladen wird, zu stabilisieren. Aluminium-Elektrolyt-Kondensatoren sind hier eine attraktive Lösung, da sie die wichtigsten Anforderungen erfüllen können, wie z. B. hohe Spannungen von bis zu 500 V, große Kapazitäten von bis zu 820 µF und hohe Ripplestrom-Belastbarkeit bei einem Betriebstemperaturbereich von -40 °C bis 105 °C.

Der Universal Serial Bus (USB) ist ein seit über 20 Jahren etablierter Industriestandard, der das serielle Kommunikationsprotokoll sowie die Anschlüsse, Kabel und Ladegeräte für batteriebetriebene, wiederaufladbare tragbare Geräte definiert. Mit jeder Aktualisierung des USB-Protokolls wurden die Datenraten kontinuierlich erhöht. Die derzeit aktuelle Version ist das USB4® -Protokoll mit Datenraten von bis zu 40 Gbit/s, gefolgt von dem kürzlich veröffentlichten USB Power Delivery (PD) Ladeprotokoll. Diese Entwicklung bedeutete eine Verkürzung der Ladezeit von Peripheriegeräten über den USB-Stecker, obwohl die Akkukapazitäten der Peripheriegeräte immer größer weurden. Die jüngsten Marktentwicklungen, die die Technologietrends zur Unterstützung der Anforderungen vorantreiben, wurden von den Angeboten der Hersteller angeführt, gefolgt von Versuchen zur Standardisierung der verwendeten Geräte. Eine der weit verbreiteten Lösungen, die die oben genannten Anforderungen vereint, ist der USB Type-C® Anschluss, der eine Stromversorgung von bis zu 100 W unterstützt.

NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) thermistors are thermally sensitive semiconductor resistors which show a decrease in resistance as temperature increases, and its rate of change is extremely large.

Its main applications include temperature sensing in electronic equipment and temperature compensation for module products.

However, if the user misuses the product, it may not function properly and, in the worst case, this may cause malfunctions.

This page introduces the causes and countermeasures for ”cracks” and ”melting of ceramics” as failure modes caused by improper use of NTC thermistors.

【How electrification and autonomous driving are expanding the role of sensor technologies within automotive designs】

The automotive production landscape is changing. The proliferation of electronic devices and sensors in modern car design has grown exponentially in recent years. It will expand further as the industry continues its transition toward e-mobility and autonomous driving. The core technologies featured in electric vehicles expand the realm into which sensors are deployed. Also, combustion engine vehicle gas sensors have shifted away from exhaust gas monitoring toward internal air quality (IAQ) measurement.

While the development of next-generation vehicles for fully automated driving is gaining momentum, vehicle architecture is beginning to undergo major changes. Among them, the automotive network that connects ECUs responsible for advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) is a very important element.
One particular focus is on automotive Ethernet for automotive networks, with 100BASE-T1 (100 Mbps) and 1000BASE-T1 (1 Gbps) for sensor systems in cameras, radar, and LiDARs. Furthermore, the 10BASE-T1S, a new standard for automotive Ethernet with a transmission speed of 10 Mbps, is gaining more attention.
Sample applications: Possible applications include actuator systems and sensors.

While smartphones, TWS, and other mobile devices are becoming smaller and more sophisticated, devices and ICs are becoming more vulnerable to electrostatic discharge (ESD), surges, and other types of immunity. These mobile devices are increasingly being hand-held, operated, and worn. Therefore, ESD countermeasures are needed more than ever, while ESD protection components are also increasingly being used to prevent ESD. TDK offers a lineup of chip varistors as components that can protect circuits from ESD. Lastly, using actual devices, this article presents examples of ESD countermeasures using chip varistors for actual failures that occur when ESD enters a device.

In recent years, wireless audio has become more commonplace and even the norm in many of our everyday products. The use of network audio, which does not use conventional media sources such as compact discs (CDs), is also expanding due to the increase in sound source data from high-resolution audio and subscription-based music distribution services. New audio usage is often centered on smartphone-based services that provide audio through the smartphone to speakers and earbuds [earphones, earpods, etc.] via Bluetooth connectivity. These two use cases for audio output have come to dominate.
The recent mass implementation of True Wireless Stereo (TWS) within earbuds, with their comfortable cable-free non-tangling fit, has yielded vastly improved sound quality over traditional Bluetooth audio technology. TWS also comes with the ability to cancel external noise (isolation) which results in quieter playback. This feature allows users to use TWS-based devices without concerns of the sound being “broadcasted” to surrounding areas.
Additionally, Bluetooth connected speakers, which also do not require cables for signal transmission, allow for unfettered placement of playback devices and speakers. These mobile speakers, with their built-in amplifiers, can operate on battery power and be completely portable.
Bluetooth enabled audio devices are easy to use, easy to connect to and have many advantages. However, since they require a wireless signal, they can be susceptible to problems that do not occur with cable-connected audio devices.
This article describes phenomena that can cause problems within Bluetooth audio designs and will provide examples of potential countermeasures.

TDK offers a full suite of sensors that are perfectly suited for drones of all types from consumer/prosumer models to industrial units.
 
In just a few years, drones have become indispensable in one application after another, including such diverse areas as agriculture, real estate and cinematography. For all this success, drones still have almost unlimited potential given their suitability for a wide variety of uses including delivery, inspection, search & rescue, monitoring, and mapping, to name just a few.
 
Fundamental to drone utility is sensor technology. Drones rely on diverse sets of sensors for two broad purposes. First for their own functionality, notably flight and navigation, and second, for their ancillary capabilities – cameras for vision, motion detectors to sense activity, heat sensors to detect temperature, and so on.

TDK has a lineup of multilayer chip varistors that protect equipment for malfunction and failure due to ESD (electrostatic discharge), and we have long contributed to solving customer ESD problems.
Recently, however, although multilayer chip varistors have been effective in the past, they have been unable to provide sufficient protection as customer devices have become smaller, lighter, and more sophisticated.
To investigate the cause of this problem, we conducted ESD tests assuming the miniaturization of customer equipment.