Even the most rugged electronics can come in small packages
Posted by John Keller
When you write about advanced electronics all the time, as we do, it's easy to get jaded when it comes to packing capability and extreme ruggedness in very small packages. I was reminded of this when I visited the Crane Interpoint booth at the recent AFCEA West conference and trade show in San Diego.
Crane makes the MFP series of rugged point-of-load (POL) converters for applications in harsh environments, and you really have to see it to appreciate what can be done in such small packages these days, as Simon Abel of Crane demonstrated in the video below.
The CRANE MFP POL devices are not much bigger than a NECCO wafer, yet these power electronics devices produce stable power in temperatures from -70 to 150 degrees Celsius, with low noise, and without external capacitors.
Not only that, but these devices also are rugged enough for almost any aerospace and defense application -- even in the harshest of environments, including space, combat aircraft, and shipboard applications.
Sometimes it's an eye-opening experience to take the time for appreciating just what today's electronics experts are capable of doing.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
