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Switching supply units used today are of light weight and compact design, but also susceptible to errors due to the incorporated electrolyte capacitors. Film capacitors would have much longer service lives. However, they need up to ten times more space. Scientists of KIT's[*] Light Technology Institute (LTI) have now developed a digital control method for use of film capacitors that need slightly more space only.
The control method runs on a microprocessor integrated in the supply unit and detects disturbing environmental impacts, such that e.g. higher voltage fluctuations can be balanced. Hence, storage capacitors of reduced capacity are sufficient. Michael Heidinger, LTI, summarizes the advantages: "Use of these film capacitors eliminates the main cause of failure of power supplies, i.e. electrolyte capacitors. Depending on the design, service life may be increased by a factor of up to three." The result is a much reduced maintenance expenditure.
This one is digital.
[*] Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:52PM (4 children)
No, they won't.
The code in the microcontroller will suffer bit rot before then.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday May 17 2019, @12:03AM (3 children)
Not necessarily. Not sure what you mean by "bit rot". If you mean FLASH wear, it should run in RAM and RAM disk, with FLASH for IPL and maybe some long-term saved variables only.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 17 2019, @02:26AM (2 children)
Leakage of charge from a floating-gate storage cell, or from the storage cell getting hit by a passing cosmic ray.
All "non-volatile" floating gate semiconductor storage has this problem, and modern microprocessors
are filled with them, including "programmed at the factory" undocumented configuration bits which
WILL discharge over time, bricking the part.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday May 17 2019, @05:09AM
So we make sure they have tin-foil hats.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday May 17 2019, @05:26AM
I’m curious, what evidence brought you to that conclusion?