-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueSilicon to Systems: From Soup to Nuts
This month, we asked our expert contributors to weigh in on silicon to systems—what it means to PCB designers and design engineers, EDA companies, and the rest of the PCB supply chain... from soup to nuts.
Cost Drivers
In this month’s issue of Design007 Magazine, our expert contributors explain the impact of cost drivers on PCB designs and the need to consider a design budget. They discuss the myriad design cycle cost adders—hidden and not so hidden—and ways to add value.
Mechatronics
Our expert contributors discuss the advent of mechatronics in PCB design, the challenges and opportunities this creates for circuit board designers, and the benefits—to the employee and the company—of becoming a mechatronics engineer.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Menlo Microsystems Awarded Defense Innovation Unit Contract to Develop Advanced Circuit Breakers for Defense Systems
August 6, 2024 | Menlo MicrosystemsEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Menlo Microsystems Inc. (Menlo Micro), the company responsible for bringing its Ideal Switch® technology to market, has been awarded a contract by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Menlo Micro will develop a first of its kind, high-current advanced circuit breaker for power distribution for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program’s Advanced Technology Innovation Pipeline (ATIP) Program. Menlo Micro was selected from a field of companies competing for the contract through DIU’s rigorous vendor selection process.
Throughout the project, Menlo Micro will provide building blocks to be converted into a hybrid Ideal Switch® architecture to switch up to 1kVDC/10kADC for U.S. Navy electrical systems. Upon project completion, 100A power building blocks will be assembled and tested for future integration into advanced circuit breakers for the DoD.
This breakthrough circuit breaker solution will feature more reliable state-of-the-art performance in a much smaller form factor, compared to traditional circuit breakers. This new circuit breaker solution uses Menlo Micro’s high-power MM9200 SMT Ideal Switch®, combined with a solid-state switch. It will enable high efficiency hot-switch solutions with SWaP that is up to 5X smaller, 4X lighter, and with less complicated external cooling and heatsinking solutions than the old generation solutions based on mechanical switches. This novel circuit breaker also provides fast dI/dT switching for better reliability, lower maintenance, and 5X lower surge current. Because of the ultra-low resistivity contacts, the Ideal Switch® offers substantial efficiency advantages when compared to other semiconductor solutions and Electro-Mechanical relays. Through its unique design, the advanced circuit breaker can interrupt a circuit more than 10 times faster than a mechanical breaker.
“The 1kV / 10kA circuit breaker solution using Menlo Micro’s technology will be groundbreaking and the first evolution in the circuit breaker field in decades. We look forward to our partnership with the U.S. Navy demonstrating the scalability of these advanced circuit breakers,” said Russ Garcia, Chief Executive Officer at Menlo Microsystems. “Menlo Micro’s high-current solution offers vastly improved performance, protection, and reliability that will not only drastically change power control for defense ground, air and sea vessels, but will revolutionize power control in buildings, microgrids, and other energy distribution applications. We understand the greater energy efficiency goals the DoD is targeting for powering the future and look forward to supporting their initiatives.”
Suggested Items
American Standard Circuits to Exhibit at SMTA International Conference and Expo
09/26/2024 | American Standard CircuitsAmerican Standard Sunstone Circuits will be exhibiting at SMTA International 2024, Oct. 22-24, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.
ASC Sunstone Circuits to Present Lunch and Learn and Exhibit at PCB West 2024
09/24/2024 | ASC SunstoneASC Sunstone Circuits will be exhibiting at PCB West 2024 Conference and Exhibition to be held from October 8th through the 11th at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
09/20/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007It’s been a busy week in the world of PCB design and manufacturing. In this week’s roundup, there’s a little bit of everything. We have a look at PCB technology of tomorrow, an interview with an engineer who designs both PCBs and ICs, and government relations news from Washington, D.C. We also have an article on dispensing technology, and a final installment of our podcast on “designing for reality.”
All Flex Solutions Certified to ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021
09/19/2024 | All Flex SolutionsFactories that handle ESD-sensitive components at All Flex Solutions have earned certification to ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021 Electrostatic Discharge Control Program.
American Standard Circuits to Exhibit at the Battery Show 2024
09/19/2024 | American Standard CircuitsAmerican Standard Circuits | ASC Sunstone will be exhibiting at The Battery Show, Oct. 7-10, at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan.