One of the well-established key requirements in solar inverters is their high efficiency. But also, their costs, size and weight are subject to continuous improvements. One approach to better fulfil all these demanding requirements simultaneously is the use of multilevel topologies.
The main advantages of switching between multiple voltage levels are lower voltage stress for the semiconductors and lower ripple stress for the power chokes.
This means that lower-voltage semiconductors can be used, which are typically cheaper.
Lower ripple stress for the chokes makes smaller and thereby lighter and cheaper choke designs possible.
The flying capacitor topology is a multilevel topology, that is an interesting choice especially for (but not limited to) the booster stage of a solar inverter. As its name implies, it needs a capacitor as a key element. This article describes and compares possible TDK solutions therefor.

In the automotive field, CPUs and FPGAs for systems that require advanced image processing, such as onboard ADAS ECUs and autonomous ECUs, need to operate at high speed and require high drive current in conjunction with the increasing performance and functionality of systems. Also, in the ICT field, power supply configurations that support higher current required for devices that need huge amounts of power such as servers. There is a trend towards higher operating speeds and higher currents in the power supply lines of systems with increased performance and functions as described above. At the same time, power supply structures that maintain the nominal voltage within narrow tolerance ranges, which have decreased in conjunction with processor miniaturization, are also required.

Service robots are widely used in various situations such as logistics / transport, security, cleaning, housework, hobbies / entertainment and care / assistance. Since service robots are used in a wide variety of situations, it is necessary to fulfil many requirements such as smooth communication with humans (HMI), ensuring safety and responding to changes in the real time. In service robots, the role of a sensor is very important. In this article, we will take a vacuum cleaner robots as an example.

In electric vehicles (xEVs), thermal management plays a crucial role for battery safety and longevity, inverter and motor monitoring, and comfort also. For this purpose, TDK offers a broad variety of innovative NTC and PTC based temperature sensors solutions, optimized by their design and specification for the respective applications. However, advanced Micronas Hall sensors and motor controllers also perform important tasks, for example in the high-precision control of valves.

NFC is an abbreviation of Near Field Communication; it is a type of short-range wireless communications.
NFC is a function that can perform data communications and authentication when two NFC-compatible devices are brought close together, and adoption in smart phones has been growing rapidly in recent years.
Increased use in peripheral devices including wearable terminals, such as smart watches, has also been observed.
NFC is used in many situations including cashless payment and authentication of connections with peripheral devices, and it is expected to be used for even more diverse applications as we move towards a touchless society.
This article introduces the main components used in NFC circuits: NFC antenna, magnetic sheet, LC filter inductor, single-end circuit balun, and electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC/supercapacitor).

Automakers are incorporating more multifunctional capabilities into automobiles as they seek to make autonomous driving a reality. Electronic control units (ECUs) for advanced driver assistance systems are consuming more power, and the latest trend is toward ECU integration—installing an ECU close to the engine room or other working part.
For these reasons, the number of electronic devices and components built into cars these days is on the rise, and the reliability of the electronic components used in the electronics is having a growing impact on the reliability of the vehicle overall.

With the increasing speed and sophistication of interfaces in cars, the PoC (Power over Coax) approach is gaining in popularity, as it allows superimposing signals and power in one coaxial cable, for example for LVDS based automotive camera systems. A PoC filter consisting of one or more inductors and chip beads is used on the circuit side to separate the signal and the power supply current. This is important in terms of maintaining communication quality. The PoC filter therefore requires inductors that realize high impedance for AC components over a wide bandwidth range from low to high frequencies.

If communication waves from cellular or Wi-Fi sources interfere with and intrude into microphone lines for smartphones or other devices, some of their components will become noise components in audible bands known as "TDMA noise", and may be emitted from speakers as unpleasant sound. Countermeasures which implement combinations of TDK's noise suppression filters and ESD Notch Filters can not only demonstrate outstanding effectiveness at suppressing TDMA noise with no effect on signals, but can also provide a variety of other benefits such as improving cellular or Wi-Fi communication reception sensitivity, and providing countermeasures against ESD (electrostatic discharge).