VoltJots | Electronics and IoT

NEWS & ARTICLES

Ultrafast transistors triggered by attosecond lasers

Marking a new milestone in optical electronics, scientists from leading institutes have built a transistor that switches on the petahertz scale by using attosecond laser pulses.

Sodium-ion batteries cut critical materials use

A new industry-government group is pushing sodium-ion batteries to reduce reliance on lithium, cobalt, and other key materials by developing lower-cost, North American-made cells that avoid importing sensitive resources.

Smarter cars sensing inside and out

By combining in-cabin monitoring with radar and lidar sensors, cars can now sense traffic and driver behaviour, creating a connected network that actively prevents crashes and improves road safety.

Lithium-metal batteries charge in 12 minutes

Korean researchers have cracked a major issue in lithium-metal batteries, enabling a new battery that charges in just 12 minutes, drives 800 km on a single charge, and lasts over 300,000 km.

Photophoresis to power new atmospheric explorers

A novel approach aims to use photophoresis to levitate light structures solely with sunlight, allowing researchers to study the mesosphere’s upper atmosphere layer that’s usually out of reach for planes or satellites.

PROJECTS & TUTORIALS

Managing tasks on an ESP32 with FreeRTOS

FreeRTOS lets your ESP32 run multiple tasks smoothly, and this guide shows how to set up tasks, control their execution, and handle stack size right from the Arduino IDE.

ESP32-C3 powered smart parking sensor

Using the compact ESP32-C3, this parking assistant detects nearby objects with ultrasonic sensors and warns you with both visuals and sounds for precise parking.

Solder SMD parts with a simple reflow hot plate

This DIY reflow hot plate uses a PTC heater and Arduino Nano to manage temperature and heating cycles, allowing you to solder SMD components evenly without specialised gear.

DIY ESP32 for compact battery projects

Instead of using standard ESP32 kits with extra parts, you’ll see how to make a lean, low power ESP32 board designed specifically to fit tight spaces and run longer on batteries.

Track battery status anywhere with Victron VE. Direct

This project shows how to wire up a Victron SmartShunt with a Blues Notecard to monitor batteries remotely via cellular, to send instant warnings for issues like low voltage or overheating without needing Wi-Fi.

Adjustable current source and sink with microcontroller control

Using a PIC16F1765, this device delivers a stable constant current that you can source or sink from 0 up to 1 A, including a timer for battery charging and automatic shutdown when idle. It’s operated through three buttons and shows info on an OLED display.

Create responsive embedded GUIs with zephyr and LVGL

You can build responsive GUIs on microcontrollers using Zephyr RTOS and LVGL. This example shows how the ESP32-S3 drives a 4.0″ ST7796S TFT display with FT5336 touch, all running LVGL on Zephyr with portable, modular, open-source code.

PRODUCTS

reTerminal E1001 monochrome ePaper display

The reTerminal E1001 is a 7.5-inch monochrome ePaper display running on ESP32-S3, offering up to 3 months of battery life. It supports no-code dashboard creation with SenseCraft HMI and works with Home Assistant, Arduino, and ESP-IDF for more advanced projects.

Understanding Class-D audio amplifiers

This book by seasoned engineer Robert N. Buono explores Class-D amplifier technology, from its evolution to practical design challenges like power consumption and form factors, including dedicated chapters and easy-to-follow schematics.

3D dual-output Hall latch for motor control

Novosense’s MT73xx series Hall latch provides both speed and direction signals, improving precision in automotive motor systems like power windows and liftgates while meeting strict Automotive Grade 0 standards.

TDK raises DC voltage for gate driver transformers

The updated EPCOS InsuGate series now supports up to 1000 V DC and meets IEC insulation standards, letting you build smaller, efficient gate driver circuits for high-frequency power conversion.