Abstract: A DC power plant generating DC power from a variety of engines including a Stirling cycle engine. The DC power plant includes a relatively small start-up power source that is discontinued after the engine is running. A method for producing DC power for a load including starting up an engine using power supplied by a relatively small power supply supplemented by a capacitor bank, providing output from the engine to a generator, producing alternating current (AC) power by the generator, converting the AC power to direct current (DC) power, disabling output of the DC power during a first set of pre-selected conditions, limiting a rate of change of current of the DC power during a second set of pre-selected conditions, reducing conducted and radiated emissions of the DC power, disconnecting the DC power from the load under a third set of pre-selected conditions, and providing the DC power to the load.

Abstract: A method and system for generating an improved nonlinear system model includes generating a linear system model and using a response therefrom to generate the nonlinear system model. A method and system for generating drive signals for a test system uses the improved nonlinear system model or a conventional nonlinear system model.

Abstract: An integrated circuit chip has both digital and analog circuit functions, with one or more islands for isolating the analog functions from noise caused by the digital functions. An island is defined by a surrounding heavily-doped region in the face of the chip. The voltage supplies for an analog island are isolated from the digital supply voltage for high frequencies by using resistive decoupling in series along with capacitive coupling to ground. Similarly, series resistive decoupling and capacitive coupling to ground are employed for the analog input signal lines going to the island. Analog signals generated within the island are coupled to the area outside the island on the chip face by either converting to digital in an A-to-D converter, or by a differential arrangement which accounts for differences that may exist between digital and analog supply voltages.