Tags
A tag is a keyword or label that categorizes your question with other, similar questions. Using the right tags makes it easier for others to find and answer your question.
control-system× 619
A system that may be electronic circuits or even software that uses control theory (principally differential equations) to control an output by monitoring various aspects of the system under control a…
microchip× 613
an IC manufacturer, best known for its extensive range of PIC microcontrollers, but also memory and analog function ICs. The term "microchip" is a legacy term for integrated ci…
surface-mount× 610
Surface-Mount Technology (SMT) refers to the way components are mounted on a PCB: SMDs (Surface-Mounted Devices) have pins or contacts which lay on top of the PCB's pads, without the need for holes in…
low-power× 609
designed to use less power than their common counterparts. This is often a requirement because of limited available power, as in battery operated devices, or i…
charger× 605
A device which controls the voltage and current being delivered to a capacitor or battery.
brushless-dc-motor× 603
a DC motor type that uses an electronic inverter/switching circuit to energize the motor coils in a sequence (based on the detected rotor position) in order to rotate…
multiplexer× 591
A multiplexer selects one of two (or more) inputs based on a control input. It then outputs the selected input.
cmos× 588
"Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor" is a process which implements a combination of PMOS and NMOS transistors. Most current digital logic is implemented in CMOS. Its cost-effectiveness due to be…
h-bridge× 585
A circuit which allows power to be applied to a load in either direction. Often used for reversible motor control.
automotive× 575
Questions about the design of electronics for use in an automotive environment. (Questions about the installation and use of automotive electronics are unlikely to be appropriate for this site.)
multimeter× 569
Single universal measurement device that can be used to measure voltage [V] and current [A] in both AC and DC, as well as resistance [Ω]. Often many other ranges are available like frequency [Hz], dut…
current-source× 565
An electronic component that sources current - if it sinks current it is called a current sink but both devices (sinks and sources) can be called sources. An IDEAL current source will supply current …
potentiometer× 562
mechanically-adjustable special-type variable resistor with 3 legs and it is used as a potential-divider. (It is not a meter at-all, but got the name from its historical ancestor which was a meter.)
programming× 562
Questions about programming parts (FPGAs, Flash, etc.) Many software programming questions should be asked instead on Stack Overflow.
xilinx× 561
A popular manufacturer of FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) and CPLDs (Complex Programmable Logic Devices).
infrared× 560
electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light at 0.74 micrometres (µm) to 300 µm, which is extends the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum.
rectifier× 560
part of AC to DC conversion. A half-wave rectifier keeps only the positive part of the signal. A full-wave rectifier also keeps the negative part, but flips it to make it positive too.
generator× 550
a device that generates electricity from mechanical energy via different energy sources such as heat or kinetic energy of water.
protection× 545
Ancillary circuitry added to a design that provides protection of the main circuitry to enable the main circuits continuing functioning. In some cases the protection circuitry is sacrificial, being d…
differential× 531
Differential refers to any kind of signaling where the signal information is carried by two or more paths and both are required to properly reconstruct the signal. For example, USB D+ and D-
comparator× 518
A comparator compares two voltages or currents and switches an output to indicate which is larger.
gpio× 518
an acronym for general purpose input/output. The term is typically applied to a pin on a microcontroller (or other device) that may be changed between an input and output under software contro…
microprocessor× 503
an integrated circuit that elaborates information in the form of digital signals. Not to be confused with a microcontroller, which embeds many additional devices to control embed…
npn× 498
A type of bipolar transistor comprised of n-type semiconductor in contact with p-type semiconductor which in turn is in contact with a n-type semiconductor -> thus NPN. The transistor has three termi…
transfer-function× 496
Anything related to transfer functions, i.e. those complex-valued functions of a complex variable used to model mathematically the I/O relationship of linear time-invariant initially-at-rest system us…
