The Tech Blog

Tech Explained: LPCAMM2 Memory

Posted under Tech Explained, Technology on March 29th, 2026 by Amaldev

I was watching a teardown video on one of the latest laptops and saw it using a relatively new memory format called LPCAMM2. That sent me down a rabbit hole to read up on it, and I thought I should share it with you.

To see why LPCAMM2 matters, we need to start with what laptops used earlier. For years, upgradeable laptops used SO-DIMM modules. Anyone who has opened up laptops in the last 10yrs would have seen this unit. A small pluggable RAM stick that you slide into a socket. It was cheap and easy to replace. But as memory speeds rose, SO-DIMM became problematic. The socket adds height, traces get longer, board area goes up, and you often need two modules to get full bandwidth.

That is why many thin laptops moved to soldered LPDDR. Putting memory much closer to the CPU shortens the path, improves the signal, and helps power and thickness. LPDDR also tends to use less power than standard DDR. The con is you lose RAM upgradeability and repairs are harder. Eg. Apple Laptops.

LPCAMM2 is the middle path. It uses LPDDR5X class memory, but keeps it on a replaceable module(Held on with 3 screws). The module lies almost flat and presses onto a compression connector with screws. This lowers height, saves space, and makes routing easier.

DDR5 SO-DIMM laptop memory has speed of around 5600 MT/s. LPCAMM2 modules are now showing 8533 MT/s to 9600 MT/s. That is a big jump with more data moved per second. One LPCAMM2 module can also expose a 128-bit interface, so one flat module can do the job that often needed two SO-DIMMs before.

Power is the other reason this matters. Because it is based on LPDDR5X, LPCAMM2 is designed for lower power operation than classic DDR5 SO-DIMM, especially in idle and standby. In a laptop, memory is always active in the background, so these savings matter.

I am really looking forward for this tech to take off in a big way. Hopefully regular consumer laptop OEMs switch to it soon. Not a fan of soldered RAM in devices anyway.

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Back to Basics: High-side and Low-side MOSFET Switches – Part 2

Posted under Back to Basics, Technology on March 22nd, 2026 by Amaldev

Last week we discussed high-side and low-side switching in detail. Today I wanted to extend that with three simple MOSFET cases that you will see again and again in real circuits. I have attached circuit diagrams so you can follow along.
Before that, a quick MOSFET refresher, in case you have forgotten,
For an N-channel MOSFET: Positive Vgs turns it on, Near-zero Vgs turns it off
For a P-channel MOSFET: Negative Vgs turns it on, Near-zero Vgs turns it off

Case one is the classic NMOS low-side switch. The load sits between VDD and the drain, the source goes to ground, and the gate is driven by your MCU(Lets say, 3.3V). When the gate goes high, Vgs becomes positive, the NMOS turns on, and current flows through the load to ground. This is why low-side NMOS switching is the default choice for LEDs, relays, buzzers, and many small loads. The small resistor from gate to ground is there so the gate does not float at reset.

Case two is a PMOS high-side switch when your MCU voltage and VDD are the same, like 3.3V. Here the PMOS source sits at VDD(Not like the NMOS). Pull the gate down to 0V with the MCU and the PMOS turns on. Drive the gate back up to 3.3V and it turns off. This is the simplest way to switch the positive rail when you want the load to keep a solid ground reference.

Case three is the one that trips people up. If VDD is higher than your MCU voltage, a PMOS cannot usually be driven directly from the MCU. A 3.3 V output is still lower than a 5V, 9V, or 12V source, so the PMOS may never fully turn off. That is why you add a small NMOS stage. 3.3V from the MCU turns NMOS on, so NMOS pulls PMOS’s gate to 0V and the PMOS turns on. When MCU low turns NMOS off, and R7 pulls PMOS’s gate up to VDD, turning the PMOS off.

Hope these circuits help as a refresher. One practical reminder though. In the LED examples, the series resistor sets current. If you swap the LED for a relay or coil, that resistor is replaced by the load, and you must add a flyback diode across it.

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