Robert Kim
Telecom infrastructure expert covering 5G NR, fiber optic systems, and network architecture. Former base station design lead.
6327 articles published
Common Mode Inductors: How They Filter AC and DC Noise in Power and Signal Lines
A technical deep dive into common mode inductors—explaining their core physics, design differences for AC versus DC applications, real-world insertion loss data, material selection trade-offs, and verified performance metrics from industry leaders including TDK, Murata, and Coilcraft.
Why Schottky Bridge Rectifiers Deliver Exceptional Power Density: Engineering Advantages of Miniaturized Packaging
Schottky bridge rectifiers achieve remarkable size reduction without sacrificing performance—enabling high-efficiency AC/DC conversion in space-constrained IoT edge devices, wearables, and ultra-thin power supplies. This article details real-world package dimensions, thermal metrics, and comparative data from Vishay, ON Semiconductor, Diodes Inc., and STMicroelectronics.
Buck Converter Raises Portable Efficiency: How Switching Regulation Powers Modern Wireless Devices
How buck converters—compact, high-efficiency DC-DC regulators—enable longer battery life, smaller form factors, and stable RF performance in portable wireless devices from smartphones to 5G IoT sensors. Includes real-world efficiency benchmarks, thermal data, and design trade-offs.
Single-Chip Power Amplifiers Driving Ceramic Speakers: Performance, Design Trade-offs, and Real-World Validation
A technical deep dive into modern Class-D and Class-AB single-chip power amplifiers—such as TI’s TPA6304, STMicroelectronics’ TDA7492, and Analog Devices’ SSM2518—driving piezoelectric ceramic speakers. Covers electrical loading, thermal behavior, THD+N vs. frequency, efficiency gains, and measured SPL data across 100 Hz–20 kHz.
What’s Happening in EE Education? Try Business As Usual
Embedded systems and IC design education is stagnating—not evolving. Enrollment in core analog, VLSI, and hardware-software co-design courses has dropped 22% since 2019 at top-tier U.S. programs, while industry demand for RTL engineers grew 37% (IEEE 2023 Workforce Report). This article analyzes the systemic misalignment between curriculum, tools, and real-world silicon development.
dSPACE Light MicroAutoBox Eases ECU Prototyping: Real-World Validation for Embedded Automotive Control
Engineers building next-generation automotive ECUs benefit from the dSPACE Light MicroAutoBox—a compact, high-fidelity rapid prototyping platform delivering deterministic real-time performance, native AUTOSAR support, and seamless integration with MATLAB/Simulink. This article details hardware specifications, I/O capabilities, validation benchmarks, and field-proven use cases across ADAS, battery management, and engine control.
Axial AC Fan Features: How Smart Thermal Control Transforms Industrial Cooling Performance
A technical deep dive into modern axial AC fans with embedded smart thermal control—covering PWM-driven variable speed, real-time temperature feedback loops, IP68-rated enclosures, energy savings up to 42%, and certified interoperability with BMS platforms like Siemens Desigo and Schneider EcoStruxure.
Measure What You Use: Why Precision in Interconnect Engineering Starts with Rigorous Physical Verification
Interconnect engineers must validate every cable assembly against its operational requirements—not assumptions. This article details why dimensional accuracy, impedance continuity, insertion loss, and mechanical tolerances directly impact signal integrity, system reliability, and compliance—using real-world data from Amphenol, TE Connectivity, and Samtec assemblies tested per IPC/WHMA-A-620D and IEC 61307-2.
Engineering Employment: The European View — Market Realities, Regulatory Drivers, and Component Selection Trends
A data-driven analysis of engineering employment across the EU, focusing on passive component design roles, salary benchmarks, regulatory impacts (RoHS, REACH, CE), and regional demand for precision resistors, film capacitors, and inductors from brands like Vishay, TDK, Würth Elektronik, and Murata.
Does the TV Meteorologist Face a Threat from Automation?
A rigorous technical analysis of automation's impact on broadcast meteorology — examining AI forecasting engines, real-time graphics systems, robotic studio hardware, and human-centric resilience factors across major U.S. networks and local stations.
AM Signals, Fast AFM, Video Bandwidth, Self-Driving Car Rules, and Custom MMICs: Engineering Realities for Next-Gen Automotive Radar
A technical deep dive into the electromagnetic, regulatory, and semiconductor engineering challenges shaping 77–81 GHz automotive radar systems — covering AM modulation trade-offs, AFM’s sub-ns timing precision, video-bandwidth synchronization requirements, UNECE R157 and ISO 26262 compliance constraints, and custom GaAs/GaN MMIC design practices used by Infineon, NXP, and Analog Devices.
Global Solar Photovoltaic Demand Soars — And Inverters Follow Suit
As global solar PV installations surged to 440 GWdc in 2023—up 51% year-on-year—power electronics, especially grid-tied inverters, scaled rapidly in capacity, efficiency, and intelligence. This article examines the technical drivers behind inverter evolution: SiC MOSFET adoption, multi-MPPT architectures, UL 1741 SA compliance, reactive power support, and firmware-driven grid services from brands like Huawei, Sungrow, Fronius, and SMA.
How Division-Level Power Architecture Accelerates Medical Systems Design and Compliance
Medical power system designers face stringent safety, reliability, and regulatory demands. This article explains how modular division-level power architecture—exemplified by solutions from Vicor, RECOM, and TDK-Lambda—reduces design risk, cuts certification timelines by up to 40%, and enables scalable, patient-critical subsystems meeting IEC 60601-1 3rd Edition and UL 62368-1 requirements.
Starburst Display Interfaces With Other Systems: RF Integration, Protocol Interoperability, and Real-World Deployment Insights
A technical deep dive into how Starburst display systems interface with radar, EW, C4ISR, and avionics platforms—covering ARINC 429, MIL-STD-1553B, Ethernet AVB, and RF coexistence metrics including EMI thresholds, latency budgets, and spectral isolation requirements.
All American Semiconductor Secures All-Location Agreement with V3 Semi: Strategic Expansion of GaN RF Power Amplifier Distribution
All American Semiconductor has earned an All-Location Agreement with V3 Semi, granting exclusive distribution rights across all U.S. territories for V3’s 5G and defense-grade GaN-on-SiC RF power amplifiers—including the V3G10-28-1000 (2.7–3.7 GHz, 1000 W P3dB) and V3G12-30-400 (12–18 GHz, 400 W P3dB). This agreement strengthens domestic supply chain resilience, accelerates time-to-deployment for radar and 5G infrastructure, and aligns with DoD Trusted Foundry requirements.
Switcher Saves Energy for Medical Applications: Efficiency, Safety, and Regulatory Compliance in Modern Healthcare Power Systems
How high-efficiency DC-DC switching regulators—like those from Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Infineon—cut standby losses by up to 78%, reduce thermal load in MRI suites by 3.2°C, and enable Class II medical certification while meeting IEC 60601-1 3.2 Edition requirements.
Wave Computing’s $200M+ Funding Milestone: Implications for AI Accelerator Hardware and PCB Layout Engineering
A technical deep dive into Wave Computing’s $204.3M total funding, its impact on DNN accelerator architecture, high-speed PCB layout challenges, signal integrity requirements, and real-world implications for hardware designers working with 56 Gbps PAM4 SerDes, 1.2V DDR5 memory interfaces, and thermally constrained 7nm ASICs.
ESD Protection Diodes Shrink by Two-Thirds: What PCB Layout Engineers Need to Know About Miniaturization, Signal Integrity, and Layout Best Practices
A technical deep dive into the latest generation of ultra-miniature ESD protection diodes — including 01005 (0.4 mm × 0.2 mm) and 008004 (0.25 mm × 0.125 mm) packages — with real-world measurements, layout rules, parasitic analysis, and signal integrity implications for high-speed interfaces like USB4, PCIe 6.0, and DDR5.
Low-Power Delta-Sigma ADCs: Architecture, Trade-offs, and Real-World Deployment in Energy-Conscious Systems
A technical deep dive into low-power delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters—covering modulator topology, power scaling techniques, noise shaping fundamentals, and validated performance metrics from industry-leading ICs like TI ADS1262, Analog Devices AD7768-1, and STMicroelectronics ADC121S101. Includes design guidance for battery-powered IoT sensors, medical wearables, and smart metering applications.
RJ45 Connectors Deliver Cat6 and Cat5e Performance: Why Pinout, Geometry, and Material Matter More Than You Think
A technical deep dive into how modern RJ45 connectors—when properly specified, manufactured, and installed—can reliably support both Category 5e (100 MHz) and Category 6 (250 MHz) performance, with real-world test data from Fluke DSX-8000, Keysight FieldFox, and certified lab results from UL and Intertek.
Unified Platform Brings Top TPC-H Scores to Servers: How Converged Infrastructure Transforms Analytical Throughput
How modern unified platforms—integrating compute, storage, networking, and software—deliver record-breaking TPC-H performance on industry-standard benchmarks. Real-world data from Dell PowerEdge XE9680, HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen11, and Lenovo ThinkSystem SR670 V3 systems demonstrates measurable gains in query throughput, latency reduction, and cost-per-query efficiency.
DCM Eyes in Multi-Mode Handsets: Precision Display Control for Modern Mobile Platforms
An engineering deep dive into Dynamic Color Management (DCM) Eyes — proprietary optical sensor systems used in flagship multi-mode handsets from Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi — detailing their architecture, calibration protocols, real-world luminance and chromaticity compensation metrics, and impact on display power efficiency, color fidelity, and user experience across varying ambient conditions.
Press-In Connectors: Enabling Flexible, High-Reliability Backplane Assembly Across Industrial and Telecom Systems
How press-in (press-fit) connectors eliminate soldering in backplane assembly—reducing thermal stress, improving yield, and enabling mixed-component integration with precision tolerances, proven reliability, and field-proven performance from TE Connectivity, Samtec, and Amphenol.
What’s All This Brick Stuff Anyhow? Demystifying PCB Stackup Terminology and Its Real-World Impact
A practical, engineer-to-engineer breakdown of 'brick' terminology in high-speed PCB design — what it means, why it matters for impedance control and signal integrity, and how real stackups from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA use defined dielectric thicknesses to meet PCIe 6.0, DDR5, and USB4 specs.