1. Be Sure to Have Apec 2015 in Your Travel Budget
   
2. You Are Invited to the 2014 PSMA Planning Meeting
   
3. Meet Your Directors
   
4. About Our Members
   
5. Welcome to PSMA
   
6. APEC 2015 Sponsors Announce Student $1,000 Travel Support
   
7. PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Webinars
   
8. Efficiency Regulation Related to the Environment: Is It Good... or Bad?
   
9. Top Predictions for the Power Supply Market
   
10. 4th International Workshop on Power Supply on Chip (PowerSoC2014) to be held at Northeastern University Boston MA on October 6-8, 2014
    
11. INTELEC 2014 - Conference is Right Around the Corner
    
12. Solar Energy Stock Index Q2 2014
    
13. Solar Energy DealReader Q2 2014
    
14. EMS Stock Index Q2 2014
    
15. EMS DealReader Q2 2014
    
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: Q4_2013 | Q1_2014 | Q2_2014

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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.

 

“This is the 30th anniversary of APEC. It all started in 1986 at the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans with just 34 papers, 7 seminars and about 250 attendees. This year’s international gathering of power electronics professionals will fill a convention center hall setting with more than 500 papers, 18 seminars and over 4000 attendees,” says Aung Thet Tu, APEC 2015 General Chairman. “APEC 2015 will remain true to its roots, combining technical papers and presentations, exposition, professional advancement seminars, vendor seminars, and an industry sponsored social event. “

As in years past, there will also be a series of Industry Sessions. These sessions provide the opportunity for important and timely industry developments to be introduced without the extensive peer-review process required for the technical paper sessions and presentations. The target audience for the Industry Sessions differs from the attendees in typical technical sessions and may include system engineers/designers and business-oriented people such as purchasing agents, marketing technologists, regulatory agencies, and other people who support the power electronics industry. There may still be time to submit an Industry Session proposal. Check the APEC website for details (www.apec-conf.org).

So plan now broaden your knowledge of the latest in technology and applications while networking with other professionals in your industry. Hope to see you in Charlotte!

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2014 Publicity Chair

he 2014 PSMA Planning Meeting will take place on Saturday September 20 in the Tyron Room at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, NC. The meeting will start at 12:30 PM. All members are invited to attend and to offer their inputs and suggestions for the projects and activities the Association should focus on in the coming year.

The Board of Directors relies on the inputs generated at the Annual Planning Meetings to identify, consider and select programs for the following year that will bring benefits to the PSMA membership. For example, initiatives generated at previous Planning Meetings have resulted in the Power Technology Roadmap Reports, the Power Supply in Package and Power Supply on Chip project and workshops, the Energy Efficiency Database project and the 3D Power Packaging project.

This year’s meeting will begin with a brief review of the year to date accomplishments and a summary of ongoing activities by Ernie Parker, Chairman of the PSMA. This will be followed by an update of the six-quarter financial forecast and brief status reports from the active PSMA committees.

Most of the meeting will feature an open forum to introduce and discuss possible special projects, initiatives and priorities for the coming months. All PSMA members are encouraged to provide inputs even if they cannot attend the meeting. Please email your suggestions to power@psma.com so that they can be considered and included in the discussions. In the coming months, the PSMA Marketing Committee will summarize the results of the meeting and will prioritize the proposals in order to determine which projects and initiatives should be included in the focus for the next year.

The members and guests attending are invited to remain after the Planning Meeting to participate in the September meeting of the Board of Directors, which will take place immediately following. After the Board Meeting, interested individuals are invited to tour the exhibit area space in the Charlotte Convention Center and the meeting room facilities planned for APEC 2015.

If you do plan to attend these meetings, please call or e-mail the Association Office at power@psma.com.

The APEC 2015 Technical Program Committee will meet the following day, Sunday September 21, to select the technical papers and to organize the technical sessions, professional education seminars, rap sessions and industry presentations for APEC 2015 in March. PSMA is a co-sponsor of APEC and all members are invited to participate in this important activity.

To make your room reservations at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, call 866-837-4148 or use the Hotel Booking. The group code is IEEE-APEC, please reference the APEC Planning Meeting to receive the group rate of $149 plus taxes. Room block reservations are available until September 5th.

We look forward to seeing many of you at these important meetings.

In this issue, we would like you to meet Donald Woodard, who was elected to his first term in 2012.
 
DONALD WOODARD
President, Venable Instruments
Austin, Texas

Don Woodard was elected to Board of Directors of the Power Sources Manufacturers Association in 2012 after serving on the APEC Conference Committee since 2002. His eight-year tenure as the APEC Exhibits Chair saw exceptional growth in both vendor participation and conference attendance. Don has also served as the Eastern USA Manager for the FMC Corporation. He is known for his proven leadership and active commitment to advancing the standards, collective direction and corporate responsibility within the Power Electronics Industry.

Don is president of Venable Instruments, which was founded in 1979 by H. Dean Venable, the pioneer of stability analysis. Don spent 25 years working in the private sector before entering the Power Electronics Industry in 1999. His executive management and sales and marketing background contribute a unique perspective to his role on the PSMA Board.

Don graduated from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) in 1976 with a degree in business administration. A native of East Texas, Don and his wife of 30 years, Melony, have called Austin home since 1995. They are parents to two adult children, Jerad and Maegan, and grandparents to Vivienne.

The Woodards are active members of Austin Ridge Bible Church and serve on several committees and outreach programs, such as Mobile Loaves and Fishes and small group coordinators. In his spare time, Don enjoys fly fishing, bird hunting, competitive trap shooting and all things rock and roll.
 

Provided by Donald Woodard, President, Venable Instruments

Ericsson – Power Modules - Powering innovation

ormed in the late seventies, Ericsson Power Modules is a division of Ericsson AB that primarily designs and manufactures isolated dc-dc converters and non-isolated voltage regulators such as point-of-load units ranging in output power from 1 W to 860 W for use in information and communication technology (ICT) applications in distributed power architectures.

The products are aimed at (but not limited to) the new generation of ICT equipment where systems’ architects are optimizing board designs for optimized control and reduced power consumption. The most important application areas are wireless and fixed networks – but also in a broad range of industrial applications from medical to process control, and even in automotive applications.

Industry First

Ericsson Power Modules has many Industry first innovations to its credit, developed over 30 years of operating. In 1983, the company introduced the first high-frequency switching dc-dc power module, and in 1993 it launched the first miniaturized dc-dc converter.

By 2001, Ericsson has launched the first dc-dc converter intended for lead-free soldering, thereby contributing to the campaign against the use of hazardous materials such as lead. In2008, it launched the first fully digitally controlled and programmable quarter brick Advanced Bus Converter (ABC), and 3E digitally controlled point of load (POL) regulators, followed in 2009 by an eighth-brick ABC. In 2010 it introduced a major upgrade to the 3E POL making it possible to read and write isolated and non-isolated PMBus compliant products. In 2012 it launched the second generation of ABC embedding an Energy Optimizer firmware contributing to reduce energy consumption.

In 2013 it unveiled an industry first with its new hybrid-regulated topology able to deliver up to 750W regulated bus voltage within quarter-brick format, the PKM-NH.

Design for environment

Since 2000 Ericsson Power Modules has applied a design for environment (DfE) policy in all its product development projects, including the removal of hazardous substances according to the RoHS directive, and the continuous development of designs and solutions for lower power consumption and the lowest possible total cost of ownership for the end-user.

Energy Efficiency

Efficiency and energy consumption are two of the most important environmental factors in end-user equipment. In recent years the industry has learned that energy consumption in the operation of Information and Communication Technology equipment is the most critical factor relating to environmental impact and total cost of ownership. Ericsson Power Modules’ DfE policy drives the design and development of high efficient dc-dc power modules that decrease the energy consumption of end-user equipment, resulting in lower environmental impact and life cycle cost. Higher efficiency in the dc-dc power modules contributes to lower total cost of ownership for the end-user and a more resource efficient society.

Supporting from a position of strength

Ericsson Power Modules has key design centers in Stockholm and Kalmar in Sweden, and Shanghai, China, whilst manufacturing is carried out in our factory in Shanghai and by qualified partners. The emphasis is on quality and highly automated production, making the company one of the largest volume manufacturers in the power-modules industry.

In order to support global market requirements Ericsson Power Modules has three hubs located in North America, China and Europe and an extensive network of sales partners offering local support in native languages and easy access to Power Modules’ products via click-and-buy on the Internet, or from dedicated sales force residing at our sales partners.

To date, we offer more than 500 board mounted products for a wide variety of applications and have supplied over 80 million units.

These can be divided into:

• Dc-Dc converters
• Intermediate bus converters (IBC)
• Point-of-load regulators
• Board power management

Every product design is the result of extensive research and development in power technology, a broad application and system know- ledge with a focus on design for environment and design for manufacturing, as well as efficient logistics and global support.

The result is:

• Low failure rate and long lifetime
• Excellent dynamic load performance
• High efficiency over a wide load range
• Efficient thermal management

Being a responsible employer

We have guiding principles for business ethics and how we act towards our fellow human beings. This is captured in our code of ethics and business conduct, and is important, because it fosters one of our greatest assets – customer and client trust. As a global leader in industry, Ericsson believes that it is important to behave in a socially and ethically responsible way. We care about the people that take part in the production and support of our products and services worldwide.

General Product Information

Ericsson Power Modules’ products cover a power range up to 860 W. The input voltage ranges cover 3.3 V- 5 V and 12 V for Intermediate Bus Architectures, and 18-36 V, 36-75 V or 18-75 V for Direct Converters and Intermediate Bus Converters in DC power systems. Output voltage range is from 0.5-30 V.

High outgoing quality and excellent reliability is achieved by using high quality components, robust designs and automated manufacturing and screening processes. The designs are based on cost-efficient topologies and optimized circuit solutions utilizing synchronous rectification, efficient packaging with low conduction losses to achieve market leading efficiency. A wide temperature range is achieved by efficient thermal management for full operation in both controlled and non-controlled environmental conditions (TA= -45 to +85 °C).

EMI is specified in accordance to CISPR22/EN55022 standards and all products are UL 60 950 recognized and certified in accordance with EN 60 950, Safety of Information Technology Equipment. The flammability rating for all construction parts of the products meets UL 94V-0.

Provided by Patrick Le Fèvre, Marketing & Communication Director, Ericsson – Power Modules

With design, production, sales and support facilities in each region - Asia, the Americas and EMEA - TDK-Lambda has positioned itself as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of power conversion products, with recognized leadership in the industrial market segment. With a comprehensive range of Ac-Dc power supplies, Dc-Dc converters, Programmable DC power supplies and EMI noise filters, TDK-Lambda can offer the right solution for a wide spectrum of applications.

Manufacturing is located in multiple countries; Japan, China, US, UK, Malaysia and Israel, close to the R&D centers that specialize in a particular type of product or technology.

Advanced technology centers are located in Nagaoka (Japan) and Bristol (UK). These centers are working with leading component suppliers to develop next generation topologies and techniques, including digital control.

AC-DC Industrial power supplies include the premium HWS series (15 to 1800W), offering an industry first being backed by a limited lifetime warranty. A number of product series like the newly released RWS-B (50-600W) carry a five year warranty. A variety of cooling options are used including fans, convection, liquid and conduction cooling.

TDK-Lambda has an extensive series of DIN rail power supplies, both ac & dc input, single & three phase, including the 94% efficiency DRF models.

Constant voltage and constant voltage programmable products range from 200W to 90kW and can be controlled via the front panel or a wide range of remote interfaces, including USB, GPIB, RS-232 and LAN. This product family includes the Z+ and Genesys™ series.

High voltage power supplies are also available, including compact, turn-key solutions from 1-50kV, 60kW to 1MW.

The DC-DC product offering is just as impressive with individual converters covering 1.5W to 700W and input voltages from as low as 2.4V to 425V. Formats include the standard 1/16th, 1/8th, 1/4, 1/2 and full bricks. High efficiency isolated and non-isolated power modules are available, including the new digitally controlled, intelligent auto-tuning iJB – 12Vdc input, 0.6-2V at 60A output, PMBus interface in a 1 square inch footprint.

Served markets include factory automation, process control, semiconductor manufacturing, medical, test & measurement, green energy, LED signage, COTS and communications.

Customers can purchase products directly from TDK-Lambda or through a number of leading distributors across the globe.

About TDK Corporation

TDK Corporation is a leading electronics company based in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK's portfolio includes electronic components, modules and systems* which are marketed under the product brands TDK and EPCOS, power supplies, magnetic application products as well as energy devices, flash memory application devices, and others. TDK focuses on demanding markets in the areas of information and communication technology and consumer, automotive and industrial electronics. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2014, TDK posted total sales of USD 9.6 billion and employed about 83,000 people worldwide.

* The product portfolio includes ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, ferrites, inductors, high-frequency components such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter products and modules, piezo and protection components, and sensors.

Provided by David Norton, Marketing, TDK-Lambda Americas Inc

Editors Note: We would like to feature your company in a future issue of the Update. Please contact the Association Office for information about how to submit an article for consideration.

ICF International
Ruth Urban
222 Somerset Street West
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2G3
Canada
E-mail: ruth.urban@icfi.com

ICF International provides professional services and technology solutions that deliver beneficial impact in areas critical to the world's future.

The firm combines passion for its work with industry expertise and innovative analytics to produce compelling results throughout the entire program lifecycle, from research and analysis through implementation and improvement.

Since 1969, ICF has been serving government at all levels, major corporations, and multilateral institutions. More than 4,500 employees serve these clients from more than 70 offices worldwide.

Within each of our 13 markets, ICF offers advisory and implementation services to assist clients in strategy and policy analysis, program management, project evaluation, and other services.

io Semiconductor
Stuart Molin
4350 Executive Drive
Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92121
E-mail: smolin@iosemi.com

io Semiconductor's highly experienced technical team is developing a new approach to implementing the RF Front-End of cell phones. This combines advanced technology with design innovations to enable a dramatic simplification of existing architectures while simultaneously delivering enhanced performance and lower costs.

io Semiconductor's mission is to become the leading supplier of high performance semiconductor chips targeted at multi-band, multi-mode cellular frontends. It intends to accomplish this by utilizing io Semiconductor's ZEROcapTM CMOS Technology to supply devices with previously unachievable performance and integration.

In 2012 Silanna acquired 100% of io Semiconductor. io Semi has developed an innovative and high performance silicon-on-insulator technology, ZEROcap™ CMOS, which it utilizes in producing advanced RF Switches for the Cellular Industry.

p to $40,000 offered to graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in power electronics programs to assist in attendance at APEC in March 2015; Deadline for applications is October 17, 2014.

The joint sponsors of the Applied Power Electronics Conference have announced the continuation of the popular $1,000 Student Attendance Travel Support Program to cover part of the travel and conference expenses for up to 40 students to attend APEC 2015 in Charlotte, NC, March 15-19, 2015. Now in its 10th year, this popular program, initiated by the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA), is now jointly underwritten by PSMA and the other co-sponsors of the APEC Conference – the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS).

The recipients will be chosen by the APEC 2015 Award and Grants Committee. Application forms are available at APEC Attendance Travel Award Application. The criteria for this Travel Support reimbursement are:

• The applicant must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a power electronics program at an accredited institution.
• Only students who have not received Travel Support in the past will be considered.
• The recipients must be an author or co-author of a paper that was accepted for presentation at APEC 2015.
• The recipient must attend APEC 2015 and submit expense receipts to the Committee.
• Up to two students from a single institution may receive this Travel Support. However, they may share their reimbursement with other students from the same institution who submitted applications.
• Applications must be made and received by the Committee by October 17, 2014.
• The recipients will be notified by the Committee by November 14, 2014.

As part of the application process, students must provide information about their educational institution, degree program, the name of their faculty advisor and a brief description of their career interest and reasons for planning to attend APEC. The application also requires the title and ID number of the accepted paper, as well as the name(s) of co-author(s).

In 2013 the committee opened up the webinars beyond PSMA membership to all interested parties. The result has been overwhelmingly positive. The number of attendees increased four-fold over webinars of previous years and with the increased participation, the level of discussion and interaction has also increased to the benefit of all involved. Sharing information and improving knowledge after all, is the goal of PSMA.

For the first time in the 2013 PSMA Power Technology Roadmap instead of providing an electronic version on CDs, the material was put on USB drives and included the recorded webinars. The webinars add much to the presentation materials because the listener can hear and understand the context and the subtext of the original presentation in the speaker’s voice.

In preparation of the 2015 PSMA Power Technology Roadmap the committee has organized a number of webinars covering the most recent trends and technologies that will be presented by recognized leaders in the power sources industry. These live webinars are scheduled for one hour total with 45 to 50 minutes of presentation followed by 10 to 15 minutes reserved for the audience to pose questions to be addressed by the speaker.

As of August 15, four technical webinars have been held:

• Technology Convergence as a Power Development Strategy presented by Alex Paultre of PSD
• High Voltage DC Distribution and Conversion presented by Stephen Oliver of Vicor
• GaN Transistors – Giving New Life to Moore’s Law presented by Alex Lidow and David Reusch of EPC
• Adjustable Speed Motor Drives presented by Babak Fahimi of UT Dallas
  

The following are some of the webinars scheduled for the coming weeks:

• Junction Transistors in SiC presented by Ranbir Singh of GeneSiC
• 400v DC Distribution, Deployment, Components, Best Practices presented by Brian Davies of Anderson Power Products, David E. Geary of StarLine DC Solutions, and BJ Sonnenberg of Emerson Network Power
• High-Voltage GaN Cascade Switches presented by Eric Persson of International Rectifier
• Mission Critical Power Systems presented by Dusty Becker of Emerson Network Power
• Power Converter Topology Trends presented by Steve Mappus of Fairchild Semiconductor
• Significant Developments and Trends in 3D Packaging of Power Products presented by Brian Narveson of Narveson Innovative Consulting, co-chair of the PSMA Packaging Committee

In addition, there will be a number of other webinars currently being scheduled. The latest topics, dates and times for the upcoming webinars can be found at http:/www.psma.com/technical-forums/roadmap/news-events.

The 2015 Power Technology Roadmap Report will be available by APEC 2015 in both print and electronic media and will be sent to all PSMA Regular and Associate member companies at no charge as one of the benefits of the company’s membership in PSMA. The report will also be available to Affiliate member companies at a reduced price. The report will also be available for purchase to non PSMA members.

If you are interested in receiving an invitation to attend one or more of the upcoming webinars please e-mail your contact information to power@psma.com

Provided by Eric Persson, co-chair of the PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Committee

All stakeholders agree that the level VI efficiency requirements are very stringent and full compliance will require either new components in the output stage (synchronous rectification) or new designs of the EPS. This will add complexity and cost to the product. For the gain in efficiency that is realized, there will be loss in terms of additional cost. So the central question for any government mandated change remains same; what are the costs and what are benefits?

A survey and some research on this new regulation have provided two views on the ruling; one from the business community and another from the environmental community, and they are starkly different.

The power supply industry is a relatively low margin business. External power supplies, typically a low-end, high-volume product, have less than 10% gross margin. This is one of the lowest margins in the power supply product spectrum. By adding cost and complexity to these products, the suppliers express concerns about further reducing this already low profit margin. As a result, the EPS suppliers are not happy about this new ruling, viewing it with dubious skepticism. One email I received may be a common reflection of the community's sentiment:

"... This legislation (DOE level 6 requirement for External Power Supplies) goes into effect on February 2016. It is the fourth legislative requirement in the last 10 years resulting in massive redesign activity and product obsolescence, this time for very little real gain in energy savings. The original legislative requirements were calculated to save a couple of power plants. However there are tons of existing products that are not compliant to the current standard. I think the new version will probably save less than a couple of days output from one power plant while there is still no requirements for internal power supplies. Also the European Union proposed legislation is not the same...”

On the other hand, environmentalists are in favor of this ruling. The Natural Resources Defense Center's (NRDC) web site states:

"... NRDC commends the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for issuing new efficiency standards for external power supplies – those black boxes that connect many of our electronic and other household devices to wall outlets – which will save Americans $300 million annually in the form of reduced electricity bills and avoid the need for a large (500 MW) power plant, reducing the toxic air pollution that impacts our health and the carbon pollution that destabilizes our climate. It is a great step forward to meeting President Obama's climate action plan goal of 3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions reductions from appliance efficiency standards by 2030..."

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), as described on Wikipedia, is a New York City-based, non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing. Founded in 1970, NRDC today has 1.4 million members and online activists nationwide and a staff of more than 400 lawyers, scientists and other policy experts.

Every piece of regulation has its proponents, often non-profit environmental groups, and with the opponents, usually the for-profit business community. This is another argument between the industry groups focused on profits versus the public good focused on the environment.

When DOE (or other such entities) propose legislation related to increasing the efficiency of electronic products and thus reducing the power consumption of the equipment, it invites commentary from relevant organizations and companies - the stakeholders -from both sides of the argument. With the current concerns of global warming linked to greenhouse gases, there is a strong push to regulate various products that consume significant amount of electricity. By reducing the amount of electricity consumed, the argument states that fewer power plants will be required. But unfortunately, there is no uniform application of the law across all products nor across all the countries. The competitive industry structure is global and good intentions of one entity in a geographic area through regulation could be undermined by lax regulations or non-regulation by entities in other areas.

While the US DOE enacted stringent level VI efficiency requirement with some consternation of the power supply business community, the Australian government repealed a much-maligned carbon tax on their nation's worst greenhouse gas polluters on July17th, to the dismay of environmental community.

So the question remains. Regulating Efficiency to help the environment: is it good, or bad?

Provided by Mohan Mankikar, President, Micro-Tech Consultants

• Emerging applications such as power supplies for LED lighting and media tablets are leading the growth in the power supply market. The market for power supplies for these two applications is projected to grow by more than $2.5 billion from 2014 to 2018.
• Also fuelling significant expansion in the demand for power supplies is the continued growth of data centres to cope with the rise of cloud computing and the Internet of Things. Thanks to such drivers, revenue for power supplies to the server, storage and networking markets is projected to climb 24 percent from 2014 to 2018.
• Strong growth is also predicted in the markets for cell phone chargers with revenues forecast to rise by more than 8% in 2014. However, growth in this market is projected to slow after this as more phones begin to ship without a bundled charger. The traditional computing markets of desktop PCs and notebooks are also projected to see a decline as consumers continue to favour more mobile solutions such as media tablets and even cell phones. The market for power supplies for desktop PCs and notebooks is calculated to decline by around 2% a year from 2014 to 2018.
• Asia is by far the largest region for AC-DC and DC-DC Merchant Power Supplies with the region calculated to account for about 62% of the global market revenues in 2014. It is predicted that there will a slight shift back towards the Americas and EMEA in the coming years but Asia will still account for more than 60% of the market revenues in 2018. Some of the strongest growth opportunities are currently coming from Brazil, India and China. It is predicted that the markets in North America and EMEA will pick up as well in the coming years as end-equipment demand increases again.

Provided by Jonathon Eykyn, Lead Analyst for Power Supply Research at IHS

Workshop will focus on utilizing PwrSoC devices to achieve system performance that meets the requirements of both present and emerging applications that demand ever greater current density, optimized control, form factor reduction and higher efficiency while reducing cost

he 4th International Workshop on Power Supply on Chip (PowerSoC2014) will be held at Northeastern University Boston MA on October 6-8, 2014. The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and IEEE Power Electronics Society (IEEE PELS) are jointly sponsoring, and the College of Engineering (COE) of Northeastern University (NEU) is hosting this workshop.

The workshop will focus on the integration of both modular and granular commercially successful miniature power converters that include power passive elements designed for multiple applications by accessing a broad range of leading-edge technologies. The general focus is on-die integration and integration-within-package.

A major challenge to form factor reduction of dc-dc converters is the difficulty of integrating energy-handling power passive components with conventional semiconductor processes. Advanced technologies and processes for the design and manufacture of these passives are focal topics for the workshop.

Strategies addressing circuit and system approaches will also be presented. The general vision shared by participants is utilizing PwrSoC devices to achieve a system performance that meets the requirements of both present and emerging applications that demand ever-greater current density, optimized control, form factor reduction, higher efficiency, while reducing cost.

The General Chair for the workshop, Arnold Alderman of Anagenesis, Inc., states, “This workshop, as in past workshops, will continue seeking to address a broad number of device and packaging leading-edge technologies, alternative topologies and manufacturing processes that will enable both the emerging modular and granular PwrSoC providing power delivery for large system on chip platforms, such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP and ASIC chips, where multiple independent power rails enhance system performance.”

Workshop attendees will include global technical and business leaders from industry and academia as well as graduate students undertaking research in this emerging space. Program Committee Chairman Matt Wilkowski, from Altera Corporation, points out, “We have assembled an excellent technical program covering all aspects of the PwrSoC, yet taking special care to allow extra networking time, following the successful formula from previous workshops with a single track of invited talks and posters. This year we are adopting the use of electronic posters (e-posters) for the poster session.

Because of the intense nature of this workshop, attendance will be limited to individuals actively involved with this emerging technology. Go to the workshop website: www.pwrsoc2014.org for more information on the conference and registration.

About IEEE PELS
The Power Electronics Society is one of the technical societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). For over 20 years, PELS has facilitated and guided the development and innovation in power electronics technology. This technology encompasses the effective use of electronic components, the application of circuit theory and design techniques, and the development of analytical tools toward efficient conversion, control and condition of electric power.

About PSMA
PSMA is a non-profit professional organization with the objective of enhancing the stature and reputation of its members and their products, and improvement of their technological power sources knowledge. Its aim is to educate the entire electronics industry, academia, government, and industry agencies as to the applications and importance of all types of power sources and conversion devices.

About NEU COE
Northeastern University's College of Engineering enters its second century with a distinguished history of accomplishment and vast potential for innovation in engineering research and education, particularly in the energy, environmental, health and security fields. With state-of-the-art engineering research centers, 122 faculty engaged in interdisciplinary research and teaching, more than $30 million in annual federal funding, and thousands of loyal alumni providing support, the College of Engineering is optimally positioned for even greater success. Over the past century, this interactive learning environment has nourished the entrepreneurial spirit of countless engineering students who have gone on to found successful companies around the world.ronics industry, academia, government and industry communities as to the applications and importance of all types of power sources and conversion devices.

he 36th annual conference to be held, from September 28 - October 2, at the Vancouver Convention Center in Vancouver. This year's keynote address entitled "Time for Reflection: Telecommunications and Electric Power Resilience” will be given by Alex Tang, a leading consultant on earthquake engineering of lifelines, such as telecommunications and electric power. In addition, daily plenary sessions from industry leaders Victor Goncalves, P.Eng, FEC (Chief Technology Officer Alpha Technologies LTD), Dr. Ewart Blackmore (Senior Research Scientist, TRIUMF), and Power Electronics legend Bruce Carsten (President, Bruce Carsten Associates) will provide their insights and industry perspectives on hot topics for the entire audience.

The compelling technical program using oral presentations, poster sessions, workshops and daily plenary presentations will cover all of today's compelling topics such as;

• Resilient Power Systems
• Architectures for energy storage
• High efficiency and high density power supplies
• Remote line power
• Renewable energy generation
• Dc-Dc topology
• Islanded and grid-connected autonomous power systems
• Cooling techniques
• Power systems for commercial offices and data centers
• Battery technologies
• Ac-Dc converters
• 400V dc architecture
• Techniques and strategies for energy management
• Physical and thermal design
• Fuel cell technology
• Line powering of telecommunications systems
• Energy storage

INTELEC©, the International Telecommunications Energy Conference, is the annual world-class technical forum which presents the latest developments in communications energy systems and related power-processing devices and circuits. This Conference, which serves the broad community of researchers, suppliers and operators, explores new technologies of power conversion, energy storage and systems design for telecom applications.

To register for the conference, please go to www.intelec2014.org/registration.

For more information including Conference Venue, Technical Program, Exhibition and Social Program, please visit www.intelec2014.org.

Provided by John P. Gagge, Jr, INTELEC 2014 Publicity Chair

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

Solar_StockIndex_Q22014.pdf (566k 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.

• Q2 2014 deal volume comparison by total transactions, deal type, geography, and target company sector
• Recent Solar Energy transaction announcements
• An analysis of Global Solar Energy trends

Solar_DealReader_Q22014.pdf (501k 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.

• 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_StockIndex_Q22014.pdf (180k 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.

• Q2 2014 deal volume comparison by total transactions, deal type, geography and size
• Recent EMS transaction announcements
• Margin Squeeze and Expansion: An exploration of Margin Performance in the EMS Industry

EMS_DealReader_Q22014.pdf (444k 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.

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