Licky's Column

Using Standard 50 Ohm Coaxial Cables for High Power and Voltage Transfer

by Licky Li

Using Standard 50 Ohm Coaxial Cables for High Power and Voltage Transfer

For impedance matching in RF circuits, a standard impedance of 50 Ohm is universally accepted.  50 Ohm coaxial cables are used in microwave tra...
Posted in cable

How to Specify Impedance on a Printed Circuit Board

by Licky Li

How to Specify Impedance on a Printed Circuit Board

Controlling impedance (resistance) is almost a given with today’s technology. One day, we are adding a wireless option to a common object and calli...
Posted in Impedance, PCB, PCB design, PCB fabrication

The Advantageous Properties of Ceramic PCBs

by Licky Li

The Advantageous Properties of Ceramic PCBs

The thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) are the two main properties to focus on when selecting ceramic PCB materials....
Posted in ceramic pcb, PCB, PCB fabrication

Ferrite Data Line Filters for Noise Suppression

by Licky Li

Ferrite Data Line Filters for Noise Suppression

Key Takeaways One of the methods to mitigate noise is to use filters in data lines.  Ferrite data line filters are one of the successful ways to i...

Resistor-Based 4-20 mA Receiver Design

by Licky Li

Resistor-Based 4-20 mA Receiver Design

Key Takeaways The 4-20 mA current loop is a robust signaling standard used for transmitting industrial sensor signals.  Many current loops use a s...
Posted in force sensitive resistor

The Role of Oscillators in Microcontrollers

by Licky Li

The Role of Oscillators in Microcontrollers

Key Takeaways In microcontrollers, clock signals can be generated using either mechanical resonant devices or electrical phase shift circuits.  Th...
Posted in #microcontroller

Disadvantages of 8-Bit Microcontrollers

by Licky Li

Disadvantages of 8-Bit Microcontrollers

Key Takeaways Higher-bit microcontrollers offer additional space 8-bit microcontrollers may not be as fast or responsive as higher-bit microcontro...
Posted in #microcontroller, #microprocessor, IC

How to Choose a Bypass Capacitor Size

by Licky Li

How to Choose a Bypass Capacitor Size

Key Takeaways Understanding bypass capacitors The factors affecting the sizing and placement of bypass capacitors Relation of resistance and ...
Posted in Capacitor, Components Sourcing

FPGA Vs Microcontroller-Which Is Better For Your Needs

by Licky Li

FPGA Vs Microcontroller-Which Is Better For Your Needs

1、FPGA 1.1 What is FPGA? FPGA is short for Field-Programmable Gate Array and is a type of integrated circuit. An engineer or designer can program i...
Posted in fpga

Layout Strategies When Using a PCB Autorouter

by Licky Li

Layout Strategies When Using a PCB Autorouter

Preparing the design for PCB autorouting Effective use of a PCB autorouter Different variations and capabilities of PCB autorouting Sc...
Posted in PCB layout

Understanding the Thermal Conductivity of a PCB

by Licky Li

Understanding the Thermal Conductivity of a PCB

The thermal properties of a PCB are critical to the operating junction temperature of a component.  To predict the heat transfer to the PCB, PC...
Posted in PCB, PCB design, PCB fabrication, PCB manufacturing

A Brief Overview of Capacitor Types

by Licky Li

A Brief Overview of Capacitor Types

The basic structure of a capacitor consists of two metal plates separated by a layer of dielectric. Capacitors can be fixed capacitors or varia...
Posted in Capacitor