FDA Releases Latest Third-Party Review Performance Report

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published its most recent data on the performance of accredited third parties conducting primary reviews of medical devices under the Agency’s 510(k) process.

The FDA’s “Third Party Review Organization Performance Report” summarizes the activity of third parties accredited by the FDA’s Accredited Persons Program who completed at least five 510(k) submissions during the first six months of fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023).

Created under the scope of the FDA Modernization Act of 1997, the FDA’s Accredited Persons Program…

An Overview of Aerospace Battery Compliance

Performance and Safety Requirements for Batteries Installed in Aircraft

By John C. Copeland

ike everything else in our modern world, electrification is extending to aviation. Although much of this transformation involves the aircraft’s onboard power generation capabilities such as generators, alternators, magnetos, and auxiliary turbines, battery energy storage systems are becoming increasingly more important. This ranges from small format batteries that provide keep-alive power for memory circuits in avionics to larger battery devices that provide the main source of power to propel the aircraft.

Line Impedance Stabilization is in its Seventieth Year and Still Going Strong

What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been…

By Ken Javor

Introduction¹

Seventy years ago in May, the 5 microhenry line impedance stabilization network (LISN) made its debut in MIL‑I‑6181B.² Aside from the EMI receiver itself, the LISN is one of the oldest and most successful pieces of EMI test equipment in existence. And while EMI receivers have changed a great deal since 1953 (see images in last month’s MIL‑I‑6181B anniversary article),³ the 5 uH LISN is not only still with us, but almost unchanged and used in commercial aviation and the automotive industry, as well as military applications worldwide.⁴ Other LISNs have come and gone, and others are with us still. The way we use LISNs has changed over time, not always for the better. But the LISN is here to stay in the world of EMI testing.

Inductors and Ferrites for Use in EMC

Choosing the Right Magnetic Materials to Filter EMI

By Patrick G. André

olutions to electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems can be complex in many cases. But when you come back from the lab with unsuccessful radiated emission results, it can be frustrating to hear, “Didn’t you try adding a ferrite?” When used wisely in a good design, ferrites can work very well, but there is a reason they are sometimes called “prayer beads” – we throw them on cables and pray they work.

Recognized Components and Ethical Compliance Obligations

Understanding and Fulfilling Conditions of Acceptability

By James L. Bender, P.E.

Introduction

Third-party safety certification evaluations are offered by many independent national and international independent, third-party safety testing laboratories. Within North America and the focus of this paper, accredited laboratories are referred to as “Nationally Recognized Test Laboratories (NRTL)” ¹.

Smith Chart and Input Impedance to Transmission Line

Part 3: Input Impedance to the Line

By Bogdan Adamczyk

his is the last of the three articles devoted to the topic of a Smith Chart. The previous two articles, [1,2], introduced the concept of normalized load impedance leading to the resistance and reactance circles, which in turn were used to locate the normalized load impedance on the Smith Chart. This article explains how to use a Smith Chart to determine the input impedance to transmission line at a given distance from the source or the load.

Recall the two typical circuit models of a transmission line [1]. In Model 1, shown in Figure 1, the source is located at z = 0, and the load is located at z = L.

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The Transistor: An Indispensable ESD Protection Device – Part 2

By Lorenzo Cerati, Dolphin Abessolo-Bidzo, Mirko Scholz, and Marko Simicic for EOS/ESD Association, Inc.

he invention of the bipolar transistor and later the MOS transistor evolution into wide applications for ESD protection in the semiconductor technologies was previously published in the January 2023 issue of this magazine. In this second and final part of the article, we discuss the MOS transistor in the role of ESD protection for high-voltage applications and take a look into a possible future of ESD protection devices for high-performance computing applications.

Using MOS Transistors as ESD Protection Clamps in high voltage Technologies

Typically, when we speak about high voltage technologies, we refer to integrated circuits having pins with voltage rating higher than 10V. These technologies combine different elements: digital and analog signals processing are managed together with Power transistors. In this way, it is possible to provide high voltage and high current to the loads. Some typical examples of possible applications are power control and conversion circuits, power drivers, automotive applications, and sensors or actuators driving circuits. Anyway, the list may be easily extended to many more cases.

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