Nexperia announced the release of the Energy Balance Calculator. A powerful web-based tool designed to assist battery management engineers in maximizing the battery life of their applications. The calculator facilitates the integration of Nexperia’s Energy Harvesting PMICs into their systems by providing engineers with precise data for informed decision-making. At the core of Nexperia’s Energy Harvesting PMICs…
“Vibra-Fit” 12mm coin cell holders
The demand for printed circuit board designs requiring retention of the 1220, 12mm diameter lithium coin cells has been met by Keystone Electronics Corp. This extremely rugged holder is ideal for retaining cells securely under severe shock and vibration in high-density PCB applications. These surface mount holders for use with most vacuum and mechanical pick-and-place…
How do consumer and industrial Li batteries differ?
Consumer (sometimes referred to as commercial) lithium (Li) batteries offer better performance compared with lower-cost alkaline, nickel-cadmium (NiCd), or nickel metal hydride (NiMH) alternatives, but industrial Li batteries are even higher in performance. This FAQ looks at examples of chemistries for primary and secondary Li batteries in consumer and industrial devices including the use of…
What’s different about industrial and medical Li batteries?
In many cases, the difference is related to regulatory demands versus environmental demands. Both segments require high levels of safety and performance from Li batteries. Medical applications have numerous strict regulatory and certification requirements while industrial systems tend to have more challenging environmental performance needs. This FAQ looks at the extensive standards defined for medical…
How do the six most common Li primary chemistries compare?
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries get a lot of headlines, but primary Li battery chemistries are the workhorses in a large number of industrial, medical, consumer, and other applications. This article looks at the performance tradeoffs and typical applications for the six most common Li primary chemistries including LiCFX (lithium poly carbon monofluoride) LiMN02 (lithium manganese dioxide),…
How can primary Li batteries contribute to sustainability?
A lot has been written regarding rechargeable lithium (LI) batteries and sustainability. Primary (non-rechargeable) Li batteries can also make major contributions to improving the sustainability of the systems where they are used. This FAQ reviews some of the factors related to the sustainability of primary Li batteries including key performance indicators (KPIs), downcycling versus recycling,…
When to use energy harvesting and when to use long-life batteries
Energy harvesting (EH) can be an attractive way to power wireless internet of things (IoT) and other small devices. EH can be combined with rechargeable batteries, capacitors, or supercapacitors to provide enhanced performance. Depending on the circumstances, primary batteries can provide a more reliable and even lower-cost option. This FAQ looks at ways to classify…
What are TENGs and PENGs and what are they good for?
Small self-powered systems, including wireless sensors and small robots currently under development, can use triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) as prime power sources. TENGs and PENGs offer large open circuit voltages, low materials cost, ease of fabrication, and good energy conversion efficiencies. TENGs use triboelectricity, commonly called static electricity, to convert common mechanical […]
Sweat and tears make stretchable batteries better
A group of researchers hailing from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have devised stretchable silver electrodes whose conductivity can be enhanced by human sweat. The stretchable electrodes were fabricated by directly printing an ink composed of conductive silver flakes and specially designed elastic binder called hydrophilic poly(urethane-acrylate) (HPUA) on hydrophilic textiles. Researchers say the HPUA…
Single-/Multi-cell solar harvester increases runtime in wearable and IoT applications
Designers of space-constrained designs can now significantly increase runtime with the MAX20361 single-/multi-cell solar harvester with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. . The industry’s smallest solar harvesting solution is ideal for space-constrained applications such as wearables and the emerging internet of things (IoT) applications. Designers are often challenged with the […]