Inside Electronics

Power Renaissance: Capacitors at the Heart of Modern Electronics

This episode of Inside Electronics explores how a “power renaissance” is reshaping electronic design, with capacitors playing a central role. Host Alix Paultre speaks with Eduardo Drehmer, VP of Product Marketing at TDK Electronics, about rising power demands from AI, data centers, and electric vehicles, and how this pushes efficiency, thermal management, and reliability to the forefront.
Alix and Eduardo explain how multilayer ceramic, aluminum electrolytic, and film capacitors each evolve to manage higher voltages, large surge currents, and harsh automotive environments while maintaining long lifetimes.
They also highlight TDK’s broad portfolio, from board-level MLCCs to capacitors used in fusion power projects and discuss how automotive reliability standards now influence industrial designs. The discussion closes on global manufacturing, supply stability, and safety challenges in EV batteries, with TDK and DigiKey partnering to make the latest capacitor technologies widely accessible.

Economic Development and the Electronics Industry

The Greater Sacramento Economic Council (GSEC) recently spent time in Europe visiting various cities and attending major trade shows in Germany to build bridges and expand contacts in the electronics industry. In this podcast, we talk to Troels Adrian, EVP of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, about the council’s efforts as well as some of their success stories. 

Smart Solid-State Relays: Quietly Powering the Next Generation of Building Automation

This episode of Inside Electronics features Alix Paultre, Editor at Large for Electronic Design, and Dr. Hugo Guzman, Product Marketing Manager-Integrated Circuits at Littelfuse. Alix and Hugo discuss how smart solid-state relays (SSRs) are reshaping residential, commercial, and industrial building automation.
As engineers pack more HVAC controls, access systems, smart thermostats, sensors, and wireless modules into existing infrastructure, they must meet tight EMC, EMI, safety, and form-factor constraints while often working without a dedicated C‑wire. Hugo contrasts legacy electromechanical relays—bulky, noisy, prone to contact wear, arcing, and limited lifetime—with SSR-based designs that offer silent operation, predictable switching behavior, and improved reliability in inductive-load environments.
Hugo also explains how Littelfuse’s smart SSRs integrate application-specific intelligence, such as load-powered operation and latching for C‑wire–less smart thermostats (CPC1601M), minimizing quiescent current and extending battery life in retrofit designs.
For video doorbells and access control, the CPC2501M adds controlled handling of chime inrush currents up to 5 A for a few milliseconds, while maintaining continuous power to both chime and camera from a compact QFN package. Throughout the episode, Alix and Hugo emphasize how these smart SSRs help designers achieve smaller, safer, and more energy-efficient building automation systems that comply with stringent 24/7 reliability and safety standards.

AI and Edge Computing in Advanced Test

AI has been a powerful force in the embedded electronics industry, although it is still in its infancy. It has a great promise to automate systems in every facet of the industry, yet it isn’t a silver bullet (yet). In this episode, we talk to Rudy Sengupta, VP & General Manager of Emerson NI, about the company’s latest efforts in the space.

Advanced Video AI Processing on the Edge

Axelera’s artificial intelligence processing unit is akin to the neural processing units (NPU) and are designed to handle AI inferencing while using very little power. Their quad core Metis AIPUs delivers 214 TOPs at under 4 W. It is available as a chip as well as on boards like their M.2 module. The company's latest Europa delivers up to 629 TOPs and can handle even more streams. Alexis Crowell, General Manager of Americas & Global CMO, talks about Axelera's Metis and Europa chips as well as their Voyager SDK.  

Powering Industrial Automation in Harsh Environments

In this episode of the Inside Electronics podcast, we explore how modern industrial automation relies on robust, well designed power supplies to keep demanding systems running reliably. Host Alix Paultre, Editor-at-Large of Electronic Design, speaks with Mike Swenson, Marketing Manager for TRACO North America, about why industrial environments are among the toughest places for electronics, from electrical noise and extreme temperatures to vibration, dust, and moisture.
 They explain how AC/DC supplies and DC/DC converters form a layered power architecture, delivering clean, stable power to controllers, sensors, and communication modules throughout connected factories.
The conversation highlights key selection factors such as total power needs, peak load behavior, standards compliance, environmental protection, and mounting options like DIN rail, PCB, and chassis solutions. Alix and Mike also discuss testing for harsh conditions and the importance of high-reliability designs to minimize downtime and maintenance. The episode closes with a forward look at more efficient, compact, and intelligent power solutions enabling next generation automated systems.

Engineering Trends in 2026

For our 100th Inside Electronics podcast we decided to get some of the Electronic Design editors together to discuss a range of topics addressing technology trends in 2026. In this episode we touch on topics that the editors chose from processing hardware to power transistors. We hope you enjoy it. Stay tuned for more on Inside Electronics.  

Oscilloscope Touts Speed, Precision, & Portability

Presented as the most compact 8-channel oscilloscope with MSO, generator, and a large (11.6-inch) display, the R&S MXO 3 Series puts a lot of functionality in a small package. In this episode, Alix Paultre and Rohde & Schwarz's Noha Ibrahim discusses the company's latest oscilloscope.

The Rise of the Integrated Voltage Regulator

While at least a dozen companies offer excellent solutions to deliver the ultra-high currents required to power modern GPUs, Ferric developed a unique capability to integrate thin-film magnetic power inductors within their devices’ packages that eliminates the need for bulky external components. As a result, they can create chip-scale power converters that integrate interface, telemetry, feedback control, and powertrain circuitry.
In this episode of Inside Electronics, Noah Sturken sits down with James Morra, senior editor at Electronic Design, to discuss what’s wrong with how AI processors are powered today and how he hopes to tackle technical challenges with Ferric’s IVRs. 

Using emApps Virtual Machine in Embedded Applications

There are all kinds of virtual machines (VM) available and many are being employed in embedded applications. Platforms like the Java virtual machine (JVM) are used on servers and embedded applications with features like garbage collection. Unfortunately, these can have a lot of overhead making them less desirable for small, microcontroller-based systems. Rolf Segger, Founder of Segger Microcontroller Systems, talks about the company's new emApps virtual platform.