Power Supplies

Power Supply - Lifeline of Modern Life

The power supply plays an enormously important role in the modern world of technology and everyday life - especially the supply with electrical power. Climate change, the scarcity of fossil fuels and a resulting growing push for regenerative energies present new challenges and opportunities for electronics. This is because, in parallel, measurement and testing are becoming increasingly important: Power sources such as batteries, charging stations, solar cells, etc. must be characterized and tested. Power consuming devices must be simulated as loads. But the power sources themselves must also be simulated in order to test loads. The so-called 4-quadrant model graphically describes the operation of power sources and sinks.

4-Quadrant Model

• Quadrant 1: In the simplest case, a source supplies a positive voltage and a positive current (example battery).
• Quadrant 2: Load mode or "consumer" (positive voltage and negative current).
• Quadrant 3: Both voltage and current negative.
• Quadrant 4: Load mode with negative voltage and positive current.