-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueLearning to Speak ‘Fab’
Our expert contributors clear up many of the miscommunication problems between PCB designers and their fab and assembly stakeholders. As you will see, a little extra planning early in the design cycle can go a long way toward maintaining open lines of communication with the fab and assembly folks.
Training New Designers
Where will we find the next generation of PCB designers and design engineers? Once we locate them, how will we train and educate them? What will PCB designers of the future need to master to deal with tomorrow’s technology?
The Designer of the Future
Our expert contributors peer into their crystal balls and offer their thoughts on the designers and design engineers of tomorrow, and what their jobs will look like.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| 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
Acquisition of MADES Strengthens Cicor's Pan-European Leadership in the Aerospace & Defence Sector
04/03/2025 | CicorCicor Group announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Spanish electronics company Malaga Aerospace, Defense & Electronics Systems S.A.U. (MADES).
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2025: Insights into PCB Design and Manufacturing with Polar Instruments
04/03/2025 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOErik Bateham discusses Polar's latest book, which enhances insights for PCB designers and manufacturers. The book, "The Designer's Guide to... More Secrets of High-Speed PCBs," features a guest chapter on 2D via design modeling. Erik highlights the industry's shift towards UHDI and the challenges in measuring at micron levels.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2025: Uyemura—Inside the Specialty Chemicals Market
04/03/2025 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPORich Depoto discusses Uyemura's focus on specialty chemicals and market trends, particularly the shift towards HDI and UHDI products. Rich highlights innovations in surface adhesion and micro etches for copper, essential for high-speed transmission.
CEE PCB Appoints Markus Voeltz to Business Development Director Europe
04/02/2025 | CEE PCBCEE PCB, a leading manufacturer of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and flexible printed circuits (FPCs) with 3 production facilities in China, is expanding its presence in Europe and began providing local support in March 2025. With 25 years of experience in the industry, the company is enhancing its commitment to European customers by providing more direct collaboration for technical inquiries and advice.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2025: Nordson's Expansion of Intelligent Technologies
04/02/2025 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOJonathia Ang-Mueller gives an update on Nordson's latest selective soldering system which features a small footprint, offering cost savings and increased production capacity. Advanced software allows for pre-sales simulations, enhancing customer engagement.