1. General Chairman Khaligh is Excited About APEC 2016 - Set to Break Attendance Records
   
2. You are Invited to Attend the PSMA Annual Meeting at APEC 2016
   
3. Meet Your Directors
   
4. Welcome to PSMA
   
5. PSMA Launches Year-Long Webinar Series to Prepare for the Next Power Technology Roadmap (PTR)
   
6. PSMA Magnetics Committee Magnetics Workshop: Power Magnetics @ High Frequency- Solving the Black Magic!
   
7. Inaugural 3D Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing Symposium Will Address the Future of Electronics Design
   
8. Plan to Attend PwrSoC 2016 in Madrid
   
9. INTELEC 2016
   
10. DOE's Level VI Energy Efficiency Regulation for EPSs & The House Bill H.R. 4444
    
11. The World Market for Power Supplies in Medical Applications – 2015 and Beyond
    
12. Solar Energy Stock Index Q4 2015
    
13. Solar Energy DealReader Q4 2015
    
14. EMS Stock Index Q4 2015
    
15. EMS DealReader Q4 2015
    
16. Events of Interest – Mark Your Calendar

If you or anyone in your company is interested in getting on the distribution list for future issues of PSMA UPDATE, please send e-mail to: power@psma.com. Be sure to include your name and the name of your company.

Previous issues of update: Q2_2015 | Q3_2015 | Q4_2015

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PSMA UPDATE is published and distributed via e-mail quarterly by the Power Sources Manufacturers Association. Send editorial information and comments to:

Permission to reprint information and articles as published is granted: a courtesy line is appreciated.

Membership in PSMA is open to any organization or corporation involved in the power sources and supplies industry. For membership information, visit our website or contact us by fax, telephone or email.

If you or anyone in your company is interested in getting on the distribution list for future issues of PSMA UPDATE, please send e-mail to: power@psma.com. Be sure to include your name and the name of your company.

 

PEC 2016 continues the long-standing tradition of addressing issues of immediate and long-term interest to the practicing power electronics engineer. The conference will be held at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, March 20-24, 2016. APEC 2016 will provide:

• The best power electronics exposition
  
• Professional development courses taught by world-class experts
  
• Presentations of peer-reviewed technical papers covering a wide range of topics
  
• Time to network and enjoy the company of fellow power electronics professionals in a beautiful setting
  

Alireza Khaligh, General Chairman of APEC 2016, is very pleased with how this year’s Conference and Exposition in Long Beach, CA is shaping up. “Like its predecessors, APEC 2016 offers a unique technical program for power electronics community. This year, we have a record breaking and unique conference and exposition, with a comprehensive program remarkably attractive to the academic researchers, students, educators, industry, government agencies, and general public. The technical presentation papers are selected from an all-time record high 1,212 digests submitted from 45 countries from across the globe. The exposition hits its record high participation with 263 exhibitors and 398 booths. The exhibitors will showcase their state-of-the-art technologies, products, and solutions on applied power electronics. Furthermore, this year in our progressively popular Industry Sessions we have 83 accepted presentations in 18 sessions.”

The Professional Educational Seminars, offered by internationally renowned experts, start on Sunday, March 20th. Each of the 21 three-and-a-half hour educational seminars, selected from the record-high 52 submissions, provides an in-depth discussion of important and complex power electronics topics and combines practical application with theory. The Plenary Session, on Monday afternoon, consists of distinguished world-class speakers from industry and academia covering the key power electronics technologies, components, and innovations affecting our industry and the society.

This year, the 30th micro mouse competition will include teams from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China, United Kingdom and the United States. The increasingly popular rap sessions include three moderated debates on Future of Semiconductor Technology Development, Power Electronics for Internet of Things, and Advanced Refueling Technologies for Electric Vehicles. This year APEC sponsors have provided 43 travel grants to assist students’ participation in this unique conference. In addition, the APEC Mobile App provides access to an interactive directory and map of the exhibitors on their mobile device.

Attendees should be sure to mark their calendars to attend the Wednesday evening social event. This year’s event, dubbed “Surfin’ Safari” will take place right in the Convention Center’s Ballroom. Along with a California beach-themed environment and menu, the event will feature California’s premier Beach Boys cover band, The Beach Toys. As a full conference registrant, you will receive a complementary ticket to the event. Otherwise, social event tickets are available for $75 through the APEC 2016 registration site.

Provided by: Alireza Khaligh (left), APEC 2016 General Chair Greg Evans (right), APEC 2016 Publicity Chair

he 2016 PSMA Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with APEC 2016 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center in Long Beach, CA on Monday March 21. A buffet breakfast at 7:30 a.m. will precede the meeting and individuals from member companies as well non-member guests are invited to attend and participate in a full agenda of topics of interest to the industry. At the meeting, you will have the opportunity to meet and interact with many of the students who received APEC Travel Support to present their papers at the Technical Sessions. Regular member company representatives will participate in the election of four new Directors to serve on the PSMA Board for a three-year term beginning immediately and ending at APEC 2019. The detailed agenda for the meeting will be on the PSMA web site and will include reports from each of the technical committees and stimulating discussions on new PSMA initiatives for 2016 and beyond.

Members and guests are also invited to remain for the Board of Directors meeting that will immediately follow the Annual Meeting. Participation in these meetings will provide you with the opportunity to network with colleagues from other companies and to influence the direction of the PSMA and the power sources industry.

Another way to get more out of your company membership in PSMA is to get involved with one of our active technical committees. The Alternative Energy, Capacitor, Energy Efficiency, Energy Harvesting, Industry-Education, Magnetics, Marketing, Packaging, Power Technology Roadmap, Safety & Compliance, Semiconductor and Transportation Power Electronics committees all plan to hold open meetings during the week of APEC 2016. All are invited to participate or to just drop in any of these committee meetings to hear and provide input as the committee activities are being planned for the coming year. Visit the PSMA website to see the schedule of PSMA meetings and events at APEC 2016.

The Magnetics Committee is co-sponsoring with PELS a workshop “Power Magnetics @ High Frequency- Solving the Black Magic!” the Saturday before APEC 2016 – March 19 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. Information on this workshop is available in a separate article in this issue of the Update and at www.psma.com/technical-forums/magnetics/workshop.

Be sure to visit us at the PSMA booth in the exhibition area during APEC. We look forward to a good turnout at the PSMA meetings and a very exciting week.

For the latest information on all of the activities planned during APEC 2016, visit us at www.psma.com.

our members of the Board of Directors are elected at the PSMA Annual Meeting held every year during the APEC conference. Each Director serves a three year term and is eligible to be reelected for one additional term.

In this issue we would like to introduce you to Alain Chapuis and Stephen Oliver who were both elected in 2014. Alain is serving his first term; Stephen his second.

Alain Chapuis – CTO, Bel Power Solutions
Alain joined MELCHER, now part of Bel Power Solutions as a Design Engineer based in Uster, Switzerland in 1991 where he designed highly efficient single stage power factor corrected isolated rectifiers and fully hybridized DC/DC converters for the avionics market. He moved quickly into engineering management functions with a strong focus on the development of technology intense AC/DC and DC/DC products. In 2002 he was instrumental in conceiving and implementing the first board level digital power converters providing a system level power solution allowing configuring, controlling and monitoring of an array of POL converters through a serial bus and a graphical user interface. More recently he pushed the deployment of full digital controls in AC/DC converters along with efficiency and power density improvements especially into data center applications. He has held the position of VP Engineering, VP Digital Controls & Software and now CTO at Bel Power Solutions. Alain holds an MS Electronics with honors from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and is inventor of more than 45 US patents in the domain of power conversion and control.

Provided by Alain Chapuis,
CTO Power Solutions,
Bel Power Solutions

Stephen Oliver is VP Sales & Marketing for Navitas Semiconductor. He has over 20 years’ experience in the power semiconductor and power supply industries in computing, industrial, automotive and telecom markets with Motorola and Philips (NXP) in the UK, and International Rectifier and Vicor in the USA. He holds a B.Eng (Hons) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Manchester University, UK and an MBA in Global Marketing & Strategy from UCLA, USA. Stephen hold several patents in power semiconductors, is a Chartered Engineer and is currently VP of the PSMA.

Provided by Stephen Oliver,
VP Sales & Marketing,
Navitas Semiconducto

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)
Nima Osqueizadeh
1 Commerrece Valley Dr Ea
Markham, ON L3T7X6
Canada
Telephone: 289-695-1013
E-mail: nima.osqueizadeh@amd.com
Website: www.amd.com

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) designs and integrates technology that powers millions of intelligent devices, including the personal computers, tablets, game consoles and cloud servers that define the new era of surround computing. AMD solutions enable people everywhere to realize the full potential of their favorite devices and applications to push the boundaries of what is possible.

AMD was founded on the belief that if you put people first, products and profits will follow. The AMD way means doing business in a responsible way, caring for the environment and contributing to communities. AMD’s diverse research areas range from circuit design and computer architecture to system software and application engineering with a goal to influence both industry and academia through exploration of important research directions and future technologies in an environment conducive to collaborations with groups within and outside AMD and through publication of their findings.

MinDCet NV
Mike Wens
Esperantolaan 4
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant 3001
België
Telephone: 0032478633367
E-mail: mike@mindcet.com
Website: www.mindcet.com

MinDCet is a fabless power management IC design company with expert-level competences in the field of fully- and highly-integrated, ultra efficient switched-mode voltage converters, control systems and on-chip power and battery management.
MinDCet offers three core services to their customers: consultancy or engineering services; feasibility studies, in the form of system analysis, proof-of-concept prototyping and inductor characterization; and analog and mixed-mode design, in the form of discrete designs, IP block development or turnkey IC development. They specialize in highly integrated power management, mixed-mode IC design service, discrete and integrated system design, discrete and integrated system optimization.

Richardson Electronics, Ltd.
Jeff Kerner
40W267 Keslinger Road
LaFox, IL 60147
Telephone: 630-208-2566
E-mail: jkerner@rell.com
Website: www.rellpower.com

For over 65 years, Richardson Electronics has been an industry-leading global provider of engineered solutions, power grid and microwave tubes. With the launch of the Power & Microwave Technologies group, they continue this legacy and complement it with new solid-state technologies.
As a manufacturer and authorized distributor, Richardson Electronics’ strategy is to provide specialized technical expertise and engineered solutions based on our core engineering and manufacturing capabilities. They provides solutions and adds value through design-in support, systems integration, prototype design and manufacturing, testing, logistics, and aftermarket technical service and repair-all through an existing global infrastructure.

Torotel Products
Herb Sizemore
620 N Lindenwood
Olathe, KS 66062
Telephone: 913-747-6115
E-mail: hsizemore@torotelproducts.com
Website: www.torotelproducts.com

Torotel Products, Inc. has been a leader in the design and manufacture of custom magnetics for the aerospace, defense and industrial sectors for more than 50 years. Their team of engineers has extensive experience designing diversified, high-reliability applications that can be found in space, underground and everywhere in between.

Torotel began in 1956 in the garage of Dale & Pauline Sizemore, parents of Torotel’s CEO Herb Sizemore, making magnetic components. In 1957, they moved manufacturing to their first location with their initial five employees. Torotel has continued to grow and evolve. Today, the company has engineered and manufactured more than 33,000 custom magnetic component designs and assemblies using both client “recipes” and black box design parameters. A flexible manufacturing environment has evolved to produce consistently high-quality components significantly faster than the average manufacturer.

Triad Magnetics
William Dull
460 Harley Knox Blvd.
Perris, CA 92571
Telephone: 951-277-0757
E-mail: wdull@triadmagnetics.com
Website: www.TriadMagnetics.com

For over 70 years, consumer, commercial and industrial electronic devices have relied on innovative magnetics technology from Triad Magnetics. We offer solutions for power conversion, filtering, isolation and more. Our products include transformers for audio, gate drive, power, medical/dental, wall-mount and plug-in applications; as well as inductors for current sense, common mode, toroidal, filtering and power applications.

Triad Magnetics' pioneering design process promotes innovation. There are thousands of Triad Magnetics designs providing application solutions throughout the world, from data processing to telecommunications to power conversion. Their engineers are experienced in all packaging styles, even paper encapsulated units. Triad Magnetics operates manufacturing facilities in the United States and in China. Their Perris, CA stocking center can provide just-in-time delivery of your components.

This Online seminar series will provide expert forums discussing power technology trends. The biweekly seminars will be held throughout 2016 to set the stage for the 2017 PSMA Power Techonolgy Roadmap

he Power Sources Manufacturers Association’s Power Technology Roadmap Committee announces a year-long series of webinars as a lead-up to the next edition of the PSMA Power Technology Roadmap (PTR), to be published in March 2017. The webinar series, hosted by the PSMA, will be presented by invited experts from different fields to offer a range of technological perspectives. In addition to setting the groundwork and inputs for the 2017 PTR, the webinars will provide participants with access to expert opinions on technology trends. The webinars began on January 14 and are scheduled to be held every other Thursday from 10:00-11:00 a.m. (Central time).

“PSMA members will automatically receive email invitations to register for each seminar in the series,” reported Conor Quinn of Artesyn Embedded Technologies and Dhaval Dalal of ON Semiconductor, Co-Chairs of the 2017 Power Technology Roadmap. They also reported that “Non-members can also attend the webinars at no charge by sending an email to power@psma.com requesting an invitation.”

The webinar series will include a number of highly regarded industry experts covering a variety of topics covering components, systems, packaging and applications. The seminar series was kicked off with the webinar: “Trends in High-Frequency Magnetics and Power Supply Design” by renowned industry expert, Ray Ridley, PhD. The next two webinars were presented by members of PSMA committees, “Significant Developments and Trends in 3D Packaging”, presented by Brian Narveson, co-chair of the PSMA Packaging Committee and “Synergies between Power Electronics and Energy Harvesting” by Lorandt Fölkel, Mike Hayes and Ajinder Singh of the Energy Harvesting Committee. On February 25, Dr. Alex Huang, from North Carolina State University, will present on Wide Bandgap Power Devices.

After taking a break for APEC in March, the series will resume in April, with presentations planned on “Wireless Power Transfer and Standards” by Siamak Abendipour of Integrated Device Technologies and “GaN Power ICs and the High Frequency Eco-System” by Stephen Oliver of Navitas Semiconductor.

For updates to the schedule and news of webinars that will be added, please visit: www.psma.com/technical-forums/roadmap/news-events.

“The PTR webinars provide a window into technology trends and the presentations are unique in terms of their diversity of perspectives, commercial-free tone and the opportunity they offer for the audience to interact with industry experts. We are always looking to enrich and expand our panel of webinar presenters and we welcome suggestions and proposals from prospective speakers,” said Joe Horzepa, Executive Director, PSMA. Quinn and Dalal added that they welcome and invite subject matter experts who are willing to actively participate and contribute in the development of the 2017 PSMA Power Technology Roadmap to contact them or the PSMA Association Office.

The 2017 PSMA Power Technology Roadmap will be introduced at APEC 2017 with a summary of the key findings to be presented as part of the APEC 2017 Plenary Session.

About the Power Technology Roadmap

The Power Technology Roadmap provides a consolidated outlook of trends in power conversion technology for the next two to five years. The trends provided in the report are intended to give a broad outlook of the power conversion technologies, components and applications. The complete Roadmap document is published every two years, incorporating the content of the Roadmap Webinars Series conducted over the months prior to publication.

Power Magnetics @ High Frequency- Solving the Black Magic!
Date: Saturday March 19 2016
APEC 2016 Long Beach California

he PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS will hold the inaugural “Power Magnetics @ High Frequency – Solving the Black Magic!” workshop. The workshop will take place the day before APEC 2016, Saturday March 19, 2016 from 7:00 AM thru 5:00 PM, at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, the same venue as APEC2016.

• to identify the latest improvements in areas of magnetic materials, coil (winding) design, construction and fabrication,
• to identify, discuss and demonstrate evaluation and characterization techniques as well as modelling and simulation tools needed to meet the technical expectations and requirements for power magnetics operating at higher frequencies
• to identify and discuss the technical expectations and requirements of higher application frequencies and emerging topologies that are being driven by continuous advances in circuits topologies, semi-conductor devices driven by new market applications.

The primary target audience for the workshop are the designers of power magnetic components for use in electronic power converters who find it necessary to implement the most technologically advanced power magnetic components to achieve higher power densities, specific physical aspect ratios such as low profile, higher power efficiencies, improved thermal performance, etc. The target audience also includes people in the supply chain for the power magnetics industry ranging from manufacturers of magnetic materials and magnetic structures, fabricators of magnetic components, providers of modelling and simulation software as well as manufacturers of test and characterization equipment.

Workshop attendees will meet in Room 202 in the Long Beach Convention Center between 7:00 and 8:00 AM for a buffet style breakfast and informal networking with their colleagues and peers. During this time, attendees will have the opportunity to list the challenges to realizing magnetics in high frequency applications on a white board. Hopefully these issues can be addressed though out the day and any listed issues that are not addressed during the presentations and demonstrations can be addressed during the wrap up session at the end of the workshop.

The first session of the morning will feature three distinguished keynote speakers who will discuss advances and the state of the art in high frequency magnetics from different perspectives. Each presenter will speak for thirty minutes followed by ten minutes for Q&A. The tentative schedule for this session is as follows:

8:10 to 8:50 Dr. Charles Sullivan, Dartmouth, will explain “Design, Construction and Fabrication Strategies for Magnetic Components in Electronic Power Applications.”

8:50 to 9:30 Dr. Davit Perreault, MIT, will present “Measurements and Application Considerations of Magnetic Materials at High- and Very-High Frequencies.”

9:30 to 9:45 Break.

9:45 to 10:25 Dr. Ray Ridley, Ridley Engineering, will discuss “Modelling and Simulation Challenges for Power Magnetics Used in Electronic Power Applications.”

10:25 to 11:00 Panel Discussion: Dr. Sullivan, Dr. Perreault and Dr. Ridley will lead a panel discussion of topics of interest to the workshop attendees. Everyone’s participation is encouraged.

The keynote presentations will be followed by an interactive session of technology demonstrations each addressing specific technical disciplines and capabilities consistent with the workshop agenda. The technology demonstrations will be a combination of e-poster type displays, modelling and simulation demonstrations and measurements of actual magnetic components. Interaction between the attendees and the presenters is highly recommended during this time, as a segue from the opening keynote presentation and the structured problem solving session which will follow. The interactive technology demonstration session will coincide with a buffet lunch from 11:00 to 1:30.

The technical capabilities and disciplines that will be demonstrated displayed during the technology demonstration session are as follows:

Mark Christini, Ansys: Demonstration of Finite Element Analysis to Predict Resistance, Inductance and Losses in Magnetic Components

Len Crane, Coilcraft: SPICE Models for Power Magnetics

Ruska Patton, EMSCAN: Near Magnetic Field Characterization

Chris Mueth, Keysight Technologies: Modelling of Non-Linear Magnetics

Mike Wens, MinDCet: Magnetic Characterization with Triangular Flux Waveforms

Tom Wilson, Simplis Technologies: Simulation Models of Magnetics Based on Triangular Flux Waveforms

Jason Cuadra, Transphorm: GaN-Based Half-bridge Test Circuit for Generating > 100 V/ns Slew Rates

Rodney Rogers, Vacuumschmelze, J. C. Sun, Bs&T Technologies: Impact of Air gaps on AC Power Loss Measurements

Ranjith Bramanpalli, Wurth Elektronik: Behavior of Electro-Magnetic Radiation of Storage Inductor in DC-DC Converters

Chuck Wild, Dexter Magnetics: A panel of experts from industry, representing suppliers of components for high frequency Magnetics.

Ferroxcube, Joel Salas

Hitachi, Anuj Sharma

Micrometals, Chris Oliver

Miles Platt, Hatley

Rubadue Wire, Kyle Jensen

Immediately following the technology demonstration session there will be an open forum to summarize the discussions of the technology demonstrations led by Drs. Sullivan, Perreault and Ridley.

The third portion of the workshop will be a structured problem solving session. There will be three structured problems with each problem having its own set of electrical, physical and thermal design requirements specific to its target application, The facilitator for each structure problem will provide a typical traditional design solution and then interact with the attendees to identify alternative approaches based on leading edge technologies and materials to improve some aspect of the original design requirements whether it be efficiency, physical size, thermal performance, etc.,

The tentative schedule for this session is as follows:

2:00 to 2:40 Dr. Khurram Afridi, University of Colorado, Bolder, “Magnetics Design for High-Efficiency Compact Resonant Converter Architectures.”

2:40 to 3:20 Dr. Jenna Pollock, “The Integration of Analytical Analysis and Finite Element Analysis for the Design of Power Magnetics.”

3:20 to 3:35 Break

3:35 to 4:15 James Lau, CWS, “Matrix Transformer Building Blocks for High Frequency Applications”

The fourth and final part of the workshop will be a wrap-up session. Issues listed on the white board that was available since the breakfast session will be addressed to determine if the specific issues were addressed or still need more discussion The discussions of this session will be used to identify items of interest to be addressed in a roadmap for the magnetics industry covering de-facto industry practices and standards and emerging trends as well as both short term goals covering incremental improvements and longer term evolutions that are on the horizon.

The registration fee for the workshop is $250 per participant reducing to $150 for PSMA members and IEEE PELS members. Breakfast and lunch will be provided as part of the workshop. Electronic copies of the keynote presentations and the structured problem session will be made available to the workshop participants. The workshop is limited to one hundred attendees and is already at capacity; new registrations will be added to the waiting list. With such a high level of interest, discussion has already begun about planning a follow-up workshop in 2017.

The updated agenda for the workshop as well as registration information for the workshop is available on the PSMA website ( www.psma.com/technical-forums/magnetics/workshop ).

Organizing Committee:
Steve Carlsen Raytheon
Ed Herbert Independent Inventor
Rodney Rogers Vacuumschmelze
Matt Wilkowski Altera

PACKAGING is a Design Function
MANUFACTURING provides the Design Rules

he Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) is pleased to announce that the first International Symposium on 3D Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing (www.3D-PEIM.org) will be held June 13-15, 2016, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Professionals from the world’s leading packaging and manufacturing societies and associations are bringing together designers and manufacturers to address the future of integrated power electronics design, and advance the 3D power electronics systems of the future.
The 3D-PEIM symposium is underwritten by the PSMA as part of its ongoing commitment to educate and inform the power electronics industry. Other supporting organizations include: the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society (CPMT); the International Microelectronics, Assembly, and Packaging Society (IMAPS); North Carolina State University; the University of Maryland; and Virginia Tech.

“This symposium is all about electrical-physical design and the manufacturing of power sources.” said Doug Hopkins, PhD., Professor of Electrical Engineering at NC State and Chairman of 3D-PEIM. “Since we expect nearly everyone will have an interest in ‘physical’ circuits, we’re offering both dialogue and lecture speakers the opportunity to display their hardware during the breaks and receptions.” According to Hopkins, the symposium also offers tutorials to provide “background and insight into many physical design approaches and technologies” “We are looking forward to a full slate of presentations on topics ranging from additive manufacturing to embedded components and integrated thermal management” said Technical Program Chairs Patrick McCluskey (Univ. of Maryland) and G. Q. Lu (Virginia Tech).

The purpose of the inaugural 3D-PEIM symposium is to discuss and exchange ideas. Exhibitors are also welcomed to reserve tabletops to show what is possible in packaging and manufacturing of power electronic systems.

CALL FOR PAPERS extended to March 7.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN. Register at the symposium’s website (www.3d-peim.org/registration).

Prof. Douglas Hopkins, General Chair
Prof. Patrick McCluskey, Technical Program Co-Chair
Prof. G.Q. Lu, Technical Program Co-Chair

Provided by Prof. Douglas Hopkins, General Chair

October 3 – October 5 2016

he Workshop on Power Supply On Chip (PwrSoC) is the leading international technical workshop dedicated to advancing integrated power conversion technologies. The workshop focuses on the integration of both modular and granular electronic power converters for multiple applications, by accessing a broad range of leading-edge technologies. Complete on-die integration and integration within package are of prime interest. System performance requirements required by current and emerging applications demand ever-greater current density, voltage regulation and optimized control, form factor reduction, high efficiency, and cost reduction.

The 5th workshop, PwrSoC 2016, will be held at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, and is scheduled for October 3-5, 2016. This workshop is being organized by the Centro de Electrónica Industrial (CEI-UPM) with José A. Cobos as the General Chair and Bruno Allard as the Technical Program Chair. PwrSoC 2016 is being hosted at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, located on the "Paseo de la Castellana" within the financial district of the city. There is a large variety of hotels and restaurants near the university, an area well connected to the rest of the city by metro and bus with good connections to the airport and the high speed train station. October is a very popular and a pleasant time to visit Madrid. The weather is generally mild with an average daytime temperature of around 20°C (68°F). Indeed, a very pleasant time to visit and to enjoy the surrounding area and beautiful Spain.

The Workshops on Power Supply On Chip were started by Dr. Cian Ó Mathúna of Tyndall Institute, in Ireland, which hosted the first 2 workshops in 2008 and 2010. In 2012, IEEE/PELS and PSMA became the co-sponsors of the workshop and strengthened its International scope with workshops in San Francisco (2012) and Boston (2014). In 2016 the workshop will be held in Madrid, and the plan is to hold the 2018 workshop in Taiwan. This rotation - Europe, America, Asia - reflects the ambition of the PwrSoC Organizing Committee and their intent to remain a global workshop.

PwrSoC is a unique, workshop sense that attracts a great diversity of both commercial companies and academic universities. The statistics from PwrSoC 2014, which attracted over 200 attendees, show a good balance of attendees with expertise in fundamentals & basic research, technology development, IC manufacturing and system integration. We expect PwrSoC 2016 to continue this mix.

The technical program for PwrSoC 2016 will focus on the major challenges in the path to integration and form factor reduction of dc-dc converters and the roadblocks and possible solutions of integrating energy handling power passive components with conventional silicon processes. Other topics will address advanced technologies for the design and manufacture of passives and strategies at both the circuit and system levels.

Invited presentations from experts in the field and in academic research will cover the topics below. These presentations will be complemented by an electronic poster session in which a broad range of topics and innovations will be discussed.

• Systems & Applications
  
• Topologies and Control
  
• Power Semiconductor Technology
  
• Magnetics
  
• Capacitors
  
• System Integration, Packaging and Manufacturing
  
• Granular Power
  
• E-Poster session

For the latest information regarding the invited speakers, workshop program and accommodations for PwrSoC 2016 are available at www.pwrsoc2016.org . The site also provides access to the presentations and posters from PwrSoC 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Make your plans now to attend PwrSoC2016 and enjoy the attractions in Madrid.

Provided by José A. Cobos General Chair PwrSoC 2016

t is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Austin, Texas, the site of the 38th annual INTELEC Conference

Telecommunications and Data Services are converging at an accelerating rate. The traditional approaches to providing mission critical survivability are expanding beyond robust power and are starting to take advantage of virtualization. The challenges facing the network have not changed. Natural disasters, grid issues, equipment failure, and human error still pose risks in providing uninterrupted Data and Communications. Our mission in the power community is to understand these threats, and how to mitigate them. This includes the management of energy distribution, conversion and storage in the new environment of an increasingly virtualized network.

In keeping with the selected theme for INTELEC 2016 - Powering the Software Defined Network. – The program committee has developed a technical conference scope that will explore a broad range of topics critical to our industry. At INTELEC 2016 you will have an opportunity to engage with global leaders and experts in topics like advanced energy storage and management, DC at various voltages (not just 48 VDC) and AC in datacenters and telecommunications centers, alternative power systems, high conversion efficiency, and interfacing with advanced software controlled networks.

We will also include informative tutorials aimed at advances in power management. We will have a student program that will provide a dedicated opportunity for new professionals to share the latest research from academia. Our exhibitor seminar track will provide conference delegates an opportunity for “hands on” preview of key solutions being introduced, offered, or presented at the conference exhibition. Visit www.intelec2016.org for the latest conference information.

I look forward to seeing you in Austin for INTELEC 2016.

Provided by Dustin J Becker, Intelec 2016 General Chairman

n February 10, 2016, the Department of Energy (DOE) Level VI Energy Efficiency Regulation for External Power Supplies (EPSs) became effective. As the progress of technology continues and the progression of the title suggests, this regulation is much more stringent and wider in scope than its predecessors, Level III, IV, or V, and is applicable world wide. This regulation is more stringent in the terms of efficiency requirements and no load power consumption, and wider in scope since it includes multiple output EPSs and the output power level is extended beyond 250 watts. Earlier regulations were limited to power products with output power up to 250 watts.

According to the DOE web site: "...more than 300 million external power supplies are shipped annually. This regulation will save consumers up to an additional $3.8 billion (in energy costs) and will cut emissions by nearly another 47 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over 30 years. That is equivalent to the annual electricity use of 6.5 million homes...". In the current debate of climate change and global warming, implementation of this regulation, popularly known as Level VI Energy Efficiency Regulation, seems like an excellent idea. But one has to note that not all industry participants were happy and welcomied this enhancement regulation when it was announced two years ago. Nonetheless it is now the law of the land.

The DOE's Level VI Energy Efficiency Regulation for External Power Supplies was first put forth about two years ago, in February 2014. By the time it went into effect, in February 2016, the power supply industry became familiar with this regulation and invested the necessary technical resources to introduce many new products that meet these requirements and the regulation is currently not viewed as technically obstructive. But it seems, in the hoopla of conceiving this regulation, DOE overlooked one key basic issue related to the product itself. In the DOE definition of EPS the regulation included LED drivers. This is now recognized as being a major "glitch" in the definition of the EPS as LED driver products are technically quite different.

To address this "mistake", the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing on January 12, 2016, "HR ____ EPS Improvement Act of 2016" to address this issue of LED drivers being includded in this regulation. The Subcommittee stated: "...Given the broad and circular statutory definition of EPS, DOE has determined that additional products should be covered by the EPS definition for purposes of regulation. For instance, in a 2014 final rule establishing efficiency standards for EPS products, DOE included as a regulated EPS product certain drivers and devices that power solid state lighting products (e.g. light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDDs)). DOE made this determination despite the fact that the design and use of LEDS drivers is distinct from the design and use of EPS..."

The January 12th meeting was attended by the members of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and by witnesses, Dr. Pekka Hakkarainen, Vice President, Lutron Electronics, on behalf of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA: www.nema.org) and Jennifer Amann, Buildings Program Director, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE; www.aceee.org). The role of the US representatives was to review and modify the regulation with the input from Dr. Hakkarainen who represented the industry and Ms. Amann who represented broader social/environmental community.

For more information about this hearing and its scope please visit:
docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF03/20160112/104321/HHRG-114-IF03-20160112-SD002.pdf

There was broad consensus that LED drivers did not belong in the EPS category and should be removed and all parties agreed to amend the definition of EPSs from the original document.

On February 3, 2016, Rep. Renee Ellmers of R-North Carolina (for herself and on behalf of Ms. Degette (D-CO), Mr. Pompeo (R-KS), Ms. Matsui (D-CA) and Mr. Dent (R-PA)) introduced a bill: To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to exclude power supply circuits, drivers, and devices designed to be connected to, and power, light-emitting diodes or organic light-emitting diodes providing illumination from energy conservation standards for external power supplies, and for other purposes.

The bill, titled "EPS Improvement Act of 2016" was introduced in the 114th Congress. It was referred to the E&C. However, it still needs to be passed by the House, Senate and then signed by the President to become law. The Bill has bipartisan support and is expected to pass – but when it will pass is another matter since it takes time to pass any legislation through the US government.

In the mean time, what happens to companies that introduce LED drivers that currently are included in the EPS's definition, but do not meet the efficiency regulation during this interim period between February 10, 2016 and the day when the bill becomes the law? Most manufacturers and users understand that there is a pending legislation and are willing to accept such products. But will they be legal?

CUI's web site: www.cui.com/energystandards was extensively used to review the entire background of the DOE's energy efficiency program.

Provided by Mohan Mankikar, President, Micro-Tech Consultants

The World Market for Power Supplies in Medical Applications – 2015 and Beyond

he world market for power supplies in medical applications was estimated to have been worth $541.4 million in 2014, a growth of 3.1% from 2013. It is projected to reach $643.8 million by 2019.

Medical power supplies are power supplies which produce conditioned outputs for medical devices, instruments, and equipment. They are built to satisfy the IEC601 (EN60601) & UL60601 safety standard which covers electrical, medical, and dental equipment that is intended for professional use.

This standard ensures the device's reliability, which is especially important in the medical field. By satisfying the standard, power supplies are defined as "medical-grade" devices.

An important feature of these power supplies is their ability to isolate the patient from any electrical signals. Medical power supplies also typically have longer design cycles than standard product devices, and equipment designers often require more design support from the power supply vendor. Medical power supplies tend to have a longer operating life, meaning they usually need to be supported by the vendor for many years.

Clinical care applications accounted for the largest proportion of the market for power supplies in medical applications in 2014, 82% of units and 63% of revenues. Clinical care applications also had the highest rate of revenue growth from 2013 to 2014, increasing by 4.1%. The market for clinical care equipment includes a wide variety of products, including:

• Anesthesia devices
  
• Cardiology devices
  
• Infusion pumps
  
• Nebulizers
  
• Neonatal incubators and warmers
  
• Oxygen therapy devices
  
• Patient monitor devices
  
• Ventilators
  

The American regional market was the largest in 2014, accounting for about 38% of all revenues. EMEA was the second largest regional market, accounting for 33% of revenues.

For more information, see IHS Power Supplies Intelligence Service. technology.ihs.com/Services/484830/power-supply-intelligence-service

Provided by Victoria Fodale, IHS Senior Analyst

incoln International’s Renewable Energy Group is pleased to present the latest Q4 2015 Solar Energy Stock Index Report, which tracks relevant solar company metrics in this growing industry.

The Solar Energy Stock Index Report, published by our Renewable Energy team each quarter, provides you with information on the following:

• Quarterly performance of the Solar Energy Stock Index versus the S&P Index
• Relative market valuations of each Solar Energy sector
• Current financial data for each company in the index

solar_stock_index_q4_2015.pdf (332k pdf)

This data is included with the permission of Lincoln International. For more information, you may contact John McManus (jmcman@optonline.net) or the Association Office.

incoln International is pleased to present you with the latest DealReader from our global Renewable Energy Industry group. This will provide you with:

• 2015 deal volume comparison by total transactions, deal type, geography, and target company sector
• Recent solar energy transaction announcements
• Q4 2015 solar energy transaction summary

solar_dealreader_q4_2015.pdf (370k pdf)

This data is included with the permission of Lincoln International. For more information, you may contact John McManus (jmcman@optonline.net) or the Association Office.

incoln International is pleased to present you with the Q4 2015 EMS Stock Index from our global Electronics industry group. This report will provide you with:

• Quarterly performance of the EMS Stock Index versus the S&P Index
• Relative market valuations of each EMS Tier
• Current financial data for each company in the index

ems_stock_index_q4_2015.pdf (346k pdf)

This data is included with the permission of Lincoln International. For more information, you may contact John McManus (jmcman@optonline.net) or the Association Office.

incoln International is pleased to present you with the latest EMS DealReader from our Global Electronics Industry Group. This will provide you with:

• 2015 deal volume comparison by total transactions, deal type, geography and size
• Recent EMS transaction announcements
• 2015 EMS transaction summary

ems_dealreader_q4_2015.pdf (675k pdf)

This data is included with the permission of Lincoln International. For more information, you may contact John McManus (jmcman@optonline.net) or the Association Office.

If you or anyone in your company is interested in getting on the distribution list for future issues of PSMA UPDATE, please send e-mail to: power@psma.com. Be sure to include your name and the name of your company.