PSMA website
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Table of contents
  1. APEC 2024 Returns to Long Beach Next February
  2. PSMA Annual Meeting 2023
  3. Committee Chair Reports at PSMA 2023 Annual Meeting
  4. PSMA Executive Committee Report
  5. Meet Your Directors
  6. About Our Members
  7. Welcome to PSMA
  8. The Fourth International Symposium on 3D Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing
  9. PwrSoC 2023 In Hanover, Germany
  10. The 10th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices & Applications (WiPDA)
  11. New JEDEC Guidelines Help Designers To Realistically Predict Stability Of SiC MOSFETs In Applications
  12. The Hidden Face of the Power industry!
  13. Events of Interest – Mark Your Calendar
Contents | Next->

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: Q3_2022 | Q4_2022 | Q1_2023


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

Editor, PSMA UPDATE
P.O. Box 418
Mendham, NJ 07945-0418

 

(973) 543-9660
E-mail: power@psma.com
Web Site: www.PSMA.com


Publisher: Fred Weber   Managing Editor: Kristin Colbert

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.

 

 


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APEC 2024 Returns to Long Beach Next February

P lanning is underway for APEC to return to one our favorite venues, the Long Beach, California Convention Center, February 25-28, 2024. It's been eight years since we were in Long Beach, and even longer (14 years) since our conference was last held in February. So, anyone planning on submitting proposals for Technical Sessions, Industry Sessions, or Professional Education Seminars, please be aware of the earlier-than-usual submission and deadline dates.

Technical Sessions Opens May 31

Submissions of technical papers for consideration are due by late-July. Prospective authors are asked to submit a digest explaining the problem that will be addressed by the paper, the major results, and how this is different from the closest existing literature. Papers presented at APEC must be original material and not have been previously presented or published. The principal criteria in selecting digests will be the usefulness of the work to the practicing power electronic professional. Reviewers value evidence of completed experimental work. 

Professional Education Seminars – Opens June 12

Professional Education Seminars at APEC 2024 will address the need for in-depth discussion of important and complex power electronics topics. Submissions are due by late August. Seminars are three-and-a-half hours (including breaks) in length, can range from broad to narrow in scope, and can vary from introductory to advanced in technical level. Topics are to address the practical issues of the specification, design, manufacture and marketing of power electronic components, products, and systems.

Industry Sessions – Opens June 12

The Industry Sessions run in parallel with the technical sessions and have proven to be very popular. Submissions are due by late August. Speakers are invited to make a PowerPoint presentation only without a requirement to submit a formal paper. The target audience for these sessions differs from the audience in typical technical sessions and may include system engineers/architects and business-oriented individuals including purchasing agents, information technologists, Distributors, regulatory agencies, and others  who support the power electronics industry.

APEC2023, this year's event held in Orlando demonstrated that APEC is back in full swing. The attendance of nearly 5,000 set a record for APECs held in the State of Florida. APEC2024 in Long Beach has always been a big draw for APEC, so it wouldn't be a surprise if we hit a history-of-the conference record for attendance in 2024. The already nearly sold-out Exhibition is a strong indication. In addition, PSMA will offer the highly acclaimed Magnetics Workshop the Saturday prior to the start of APEC 2024 

Make your plans to be part of APEC 2024. Be sure you have this important event on your calendar and in your budget for next year. And do your part to make it an even better conference by volunteering to be on the peer-review panel in areas where you are qualified.  See you in Long Beach.

Provided by Greg Evans,
APEC 2024 Publicity Co-Chair

  Greg Evans, APEC 2024 Publicity Co-Chair



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PSMA Annual Meeting 2023

O ver 50 PSMA members and guests attended the PSMA Annual Meeting, held at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, FL. The buffet breakfast before the start of the meeting provided attendees an opportunity for networking and reconnecting with colleagues. Chair Fred Weber officially opened the meeting by welcoming all the attendees and asked each to briefly introduce themselves. Among those present were many of the recipients of the APEC Student Attendance Support provided for the twelfth straight year by IAS, PELS and PSMA.



Fred Weber, Chair
Fred Weber, PSMA Chair

After the introductions the nominees for open three-year terms to the PSMA Board of Directors were introduced. Votes were collected during the approval of the 2022 Annual Meeting minutes and the winners were announced after a break midway through the meeting. The new board members are:

John Bultitude
Stephanie Watts Butler
David Chen
Andrea Gorgerino

Deepak Veereddy was also elected to fill the board seat vacated by Thomas Foulkes and will serve for the two years left in the term. Fred thanked outgoing board members Ada Cheng, Dhaval Dalal and Brian Zahnstecher for their hard work and dedication to PSMA.

Fred Weber then gave the Chair's Report highlighting our strengthening of our strategic partnerships with PELS, IAS, iNemi and IPC and adding ITEC as a new partner to help increase focus on the transportation industry. Fred also talked about the work done to build the relationship between committees.

Fred also discussed the efforts to change our membership categories and policies including the ability to run a special promotion during APEC to attract new members to the PSMA fold.  He indicated that changing membership categories will be an ongoing effort.

During the President's Report Trifon Liakopoulis presented the suggestions for new membership categories – Regular, Associate and Affliate with Associate being a new category. The Associate Member category is intended for companies that are not manufacturers but are larger in size – over 20 employees.  He also said that the Affiliate Member category could be applied to smaller (less than 20 employee) manufacturers who were previously treated as Regular Members.  He also emphasized how the recent changes in the PSMA bylaws allow us much more flexibility in creating membership categories.

Renee Yawger gave the KPI Update. She said the goal for membership growth is 3% per year. We experience a 7% increase in membership in 2022 but this was attributed to the ending of the COVID-19 pandemic and was mainly in the Affiliate Member category.  Renee highlighted some of the KPIs for our special projects and webinars – PTR webinars averaged 140 attendees with an 85% attendance rate, PSMA Educational Webinars averaged 190 attendees with an 86% attendance rate. She looked also at our web traffic KPIs and said we have seen a doubling of our Social Media referrals since the start of the Marketing Committee's Social Media project.

Each of the PSMA Committees presented its report for the accomplishments of the past year and future plans. The PSMA Committee reports are covered in a separate article.  Approximately halfway through the committee reports PSMA Treasurer Tim McDonald presented the financial outlook for PSMA.

Pradeep Shenoy, APEC 2023 General Chair
Pradeep Shenoy, APEC 2023 General Chair

Tim reported that after the interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that APEC has rebounded faster than expected. Net revenue for PSMA remain fairly flat and will remain that way until the APEC 2023 revenue is received in June of 2024. Thus far in 2023 PTR Underwriting is lower than had been hoped but the dues increase has helped fill the gap. The goal is to see our assets grow significantly over the next six quarters as conference revenues increase.

Pradeep Shenoy, the APEC 2023 General Chair, was then introduced and declared that "APEC is back!" He highlighted that APEC introduced several new features for 2023 – a Student Job Fair, on-site childcare, a Student Competition Fair (including Micromouse, First Robotics, and Empower a Billion Lives). He said that attendance for APEC 2023 was expected to be at the same level as the last Orlando APEC (2017). He also indicated that APEC will be transitioning management companies from SmithBucklin to MMS for next year's APEC. Finally, he introduced Tim McDonald as the General Chair for APEC 2024.

The invited speaker at this year's Annual Meeting was Francis Mullany of iNEMI who was unfortunately unable to attend in person. However, Francis provided a recording of a presentation highlighting the history of iNEMI and their mission. He described an ecosystem of roadmaps from iNEMI, IPSR, IRDS and, of course, PSMA. Francis said that roadmaps are very helpful in strategic planning for organizations in order to be successful. His presentation was very well received by all in attendance.

After the presentation by iNemi recognition was given to several PSMA members for their outstanding contributions over the past year. These included our outgoing board members Ada Cheng, Dhaval Dalal and Brian Zahnstecher. In addition, John Bultitude, Mike Hayes and Conor Quinn were given awards for outstanding leadership.

John Bultitude receives his award for Outstanding Leadership
John Bultitude receives his award
for Outstanding Leadership

  Brian Zahnstecher receives his award for Outstanding Contributions
Brian Zahnstecher receives his award
for Outstanding Contributions

  Dhaval Dalal receives his award for Outstanding Contributions
Dhaval Dalal receives his award
for Outstanding Contributions


Ada Cheng receives her award for Outstanding Contributions
Ada Cheng receives her award
for Outstanding Contributions

  Mike Hayes receives his award for Outstanding Leadership
Mike Hayes receives his award
for Outstanding Leadership

  Colin Quinn receives his award for Outstanding Leadership
Colin Quinn receives his award
for Outstanding Leadership

Before adjourning, Chair Fred Weber asked the attendees for their comments and any suggestions for the future directions and activities for the Association that would increase the value of their membership. Several areas were discussed and will be considered by the Board. Fred thanked all presenters and attendees for their participation and invited interested individuals to attend the March meeting of the PSMA Board of Directors, which immediately followed.

Following the Annual Meeting, PSMA Committee meetings, as well as the technical sessions, seminars, Industry Presentations, exhibits and other events kept PSMA members busy all the week. The APEC social event gave everyone a chance to relax and enjoy themselves and was welcomed by all in attendance.

 


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Committee Chair Reports at PSMA 2023 Annual Meeting

E ach of the PSMA Technical Committees provided updates on their committee's recent activities at the Annual Meeting that was held at APEC 2023 in Orlando, FL. In addition, each Committee also held individual face-to-face meetings during the week of APEC 2023.

Stephen Menzel, Capacitor Committee Co-Chair, announced that he is stepping down as a co-chair of the committee due to a change in his work position and that they are looking for a new co-chair. He reported that they have revived the Capacitor Basics webinar series with a successful Capacitor 101 session that drew over 160 attendees, plans are underway for Capacitor 201 and 301. They did not hold their annual pre-APEC Capacitor Workshop due to scheduling conflicts and also had to cancel their Industry Session. They hope to revive both in the next year as well as continue to present webinars every 3-4 months.

Mike Hayes and Brian Zahnstecher, Energy Harvesting Committee Co-Chairs, reported that the committee is focused on building an ecosystem of collaborators. They see energy harvesting becoming a bigger issue to meet the challenge of over 1 trillion sensors in the field by 2025. The committee also held their biennial EnerHarv Workshop in 2022 at NC State University which was very well received and brought some new members to PSMA. Although the committee was disappointed with the Thursday slot for their Industry Session in 2023 they appreciate the support of the PSMA Executive Team in raising their issue with the APEC organizers. In addition to EnerHarv and their PTR contributions the committee also delivered a keynote address at 3D-PEIM and contributed 2 feature publications.

Brian Zahnstecher and Mike Hayes, PSMA Energy Harvesting Committee Co-Chairs
Brian Zahnstecher and Mike Hayes, PSMA Energy Harvesting Committee Co-Chairs

David Chen, Energy Management Committee Chair, introduced Lincoln Xiu as the new Energy Management Committee co-chair. He reported that the committee has 36 members, about 12 of which regularly attend meetings. They were excited to get a Tuesday Industry Session Slot after having had Thursday sessions in the past. They also introduced a Regulatory Roadmap webinar series with 2 webinars conducted and three more scheduled. The committee continues to manage the EEDB and the SCDB for PSMA.

Mike Hayes of the Energy Storage Committee presented on behalf of committee chair Victor  Boyadzhan who could not attend in APEC this year.  Mike reported they have a Thursday Industry Session on the universal need for energy storage. They welcome collaboration with other committees and continue to work with outside organizations such PELS TC-5.

Ada Cheng of the Industry Education Committee presented for co-chairs Greg Evans and Chris Whaling who were unable to attend the meeting due to schedule conflicts.  Ada said the objective of the committee is to promote interaction between industry and students. In addition to the traditional support of the APEC Student Attendance Support Program (with IAS and PELS) they also introduced a student mentorship program for APEC 2023 and are excited to watch it grow.

Ed Herber, Magnetics Committee Co-Chair, reported that the committee has been focused on the annual pre-APEC Magnetics @ High Frequency Workshop, their Industry Session and contributing to the Power Technology Roadmap. The workshop this year had 124 attendees and the survey responses were very favorable. The committee plans to submit a couple of special project proposals for the coming year. 

Greg Evans, PSMA Marketing Committee Co-Chair
Greg Evans, PSMA Marketing Committee Co-Chair

Greg Evans, Marketing Committee Co-Chair, said a main focus of the committee was increasing PSMA membership. There will be a focused effort at APEC 2023 to recruit exhibitors who are not PSMA members into the PSMA fold with a special APEC-only promotional discount. In addition, the Marketing Committee has made significant efforts to improve PSMA's social media presence using the new slogan "Empowering the Global Energy Transformation." Greg complemented co-chair Chris Whaling for shaking things up and looking at new ways to approach expanding PSMA's reach.

Renee Yawger, Semiconductor Committee Semiconductor Committee Co-Chair, reported that the committee has three Industry Sessions at APEC 2023. Going forward, they are looking at holding a workshop before APEC 2024 and want to actively help PSMA in recruiting Young Professionals to become contributors to PSMA.

John Bultitude, Power Packaging and Manufacturing Committee Co-Chair, reported that the committee has about 25 active members, with 10-15 attending each monthly meeting. The committee members serve as chairs and speakers for numerous conferences and workshops. He reported that 3D-PEIM was held in February of 2023 in Miami with a record 95 registered participants and planning has begun for 3D-PEIM 2025. Other projects include their Industry Session, PwrSoC 2023 and IWIPP 2024. They have been collaborating with both IPC and iNEMI on industry initiatives and are considering submitting a Special Project request for the coming year.

Crystal Yanarella, Reliability Committee Chair
Crystal Yanarella, Reliability Committee Chair

Dhaval Dalal and Connor Quinn, Power Technology Roadmap Committee Co-Chairs, reported that the 12th edition of the PSMA Power Technology Roadmap was released in 2022 and they are currently looking for speakers for the webinar series for 2023 and 2024. They said they need some new section leaders as some existing leaders are retiring from the team. The next Power Technology Roadmap is planned to be released in 2025.

Crystal Yanarella, Reliability Committee Chair, introduced herself as the new Reliability Committee Chair and said she is looking for a co-chair to help her lead the committee.  They have a six speaker plus panel discussion Industry Session scheduled for APEC 2023. They have contributed webinars and content to the Power Technology Roadmap.

Fred Weber, Transportation Electronics Committee Co-Chair, reported the mission of the Transportation Electronics Committee is to share and educate people on the electrification and automation of the vehicle space. They are targeting 2024 to participate in ITEC to help expand the range of PSMA. They held a virtual workshop in 2022 that had lower than desired attendance but delivered excellent content that was very well received. Some of that content will be expanded and used for PTR webinars going forward. They have a 7 speaker Industry Session scheduled for APEC 2024.

More information about the PSMA committees was made available during the week at the individual committee meetings. PSMA members and guests were encouraged to attend these meetings to learn more about the committees and to help plan activities for the coming year.

All PSMA Technical Committee meetings are held via a monthly one hour webconference and are open to individuals interested in learning about and participating in the work of the committees. You can see the schedule of upcoming meetings at https://www.psma.com/news/meeting-schedule. This is an excellent way to network with others and to influence the technical direction of the committees.

 


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PSMA Executive Committee Report

A  fantastic APEC 2023 is now behind us. Attendance and overall activity were at pre-COVID levels, and it certainly was a pleasure to have everyone back. We are looking forward to next year's APEC in Long Beach CA, and we are working on ways to improve that event with the hope that Apec2024 will set new records.

In the past year, we have been actively working to generate additional visibility for the PSMA Technical Committees and increasing our membership. The Marketing Committee has been very active in increasing our presence on social media. We hope that you are noticing many informative posts on LinkedIn and Facebook. The Executive Committee is always looking for more participation on social media and if you find any of the posts interesting, please be sure to join in and take advantage of the activities, webinars or Technical Committee meetings that are being promoted. 

We expect to be able to restart the PSMA Special Projects again later this year and will be looking to our Technical committees for recommendations. PSMA is the sum of our Technical committee efforts so if you are not already on a committee, we encourage you to join for the one that you would like to contribute the most to and help define potential Special Projects or identify potential presentations for Industry Sessions. The more people on our committees with their interests will assure stronger programs that will benefit the industry.

PSMA is planning to sponsor a new Industry Session at APEC 2024, and that will focus on EMERGING APPLICATIONS. The presentations will cover the newest tech and newest products in the power industry.

As always, we look forward to any feedback or thoughts to improve the Association and provide benefits to the membership and Power/Sources industry. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me, or anyone else on the board with your thoughts.

Provided by Fred Weber,
PSMA Chair

  Fred Weber, PSMA Chair

 


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Meet Your Directors

Four 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 John Bultitude, Stephanie Watts Butler, and David Chen.

Dr. John Bultitude
Dr. John Bultitude
Elected March 2023, Term 2023-2026

Vice President, Technical Fellow,
Ceramic Innovation Center
KEMET Corporation
John.bultitude@yageo.com
2835 Kemet Way
Simpsonville, SC 29681
John.bultitude@yageo.com

I have been developing materials for electronics and multilayer ceramic capacitors for > 30 years and hold 44 US Patents. I have a Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK a

Currently I am leading a team of engineers and scientists at the Ceramic Innovation Center of KEMET in the development of multilayer ceramic capacitor-based products for power and high voltage applications.

My association with PSMA began with presentations at 3D-PEIM 2016 and the PSMA Industry Packaging session at APEC 2017. Most recently I have been the Co-chair of the PSMA Packaging and Manufacturing Technical Committee with Brian Narveson and was the Technical Co-Chair of 3D-PEIM 2023 held in Miami Feb 1-3, 2023.

As a Director on the PSMA Board I will support the development of more efficient power sources through the collaboration activities of the Association by expanding membership as well as coloration with other organizations such as IPC and i-NEMI. I believe these PSMA efforts are critical to meet the high efficiency energy conversion needed in the future.

Provided by Dr. John Bultitude, Kemet Corporation


Stephanie Watts Butler

Stephanie Watts Butler
Elected to the Board of Directors March 2023
Term 2023-2026

Stephanie Watts Butler, Ph.D., P.E. is the President of WattsButler LLC, an innovation services company focused on the semiconductor and nanotechnology industries. As a Technology Innovation Architect, Dr. Butler enables clients to innovate more efficiently, effectively, and profitably. During her 37 year career at Texas Instruments, her inclusive approach to innovation creation led to a broad range of profitable semiconductor products, manufacturing solutions, and enabling technologies, including: wide bandgap, high voltage, isolation, and advanced CMOS; process and packaging; Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems; Metrology; Advanced control and factory operation practices; standards; substrate and precursor materials; resulting in 17 patents.

Dr. Butler has extensive experience in leadership roles in private-public partnerships, as well as joint development programs.  She has chaired or co-chaired consortia technical advisory boards at PowerAmerica, IMEC, SEMATECH, SRC; served on university department advisory boards at the University of Texas at Austin, founded and led JEDEC Committees and IEC working groups.  She has led several joint development projects with equipment and material suppliers, and other semiconductor companies.

She serves on the APEC Conference committee, PSMA Board of Directors and Semiconductor committee, and has co-chaired/defined a PSMA APEC Session for several years. She is the past Chair and co-founder of JEDEC's JC-70 Committee for Wide Bandgap Power Electronic Conversion Semiconductors and the current Co-convenor of IEC's new TC47/WG8: Wide bandgap technologies.  She is a Fellow of the AVS, and a Senior Member of IEEE, AIChE, and SWE. Dr. Butler is the IEEE Power Electronics Magazine Industrial Deputy Editor-in-Chief, an IEEE PELS Member-at-Large, Industry Committee Chair, PELS WIE member, a contributor to ITRW, and serves on IEEE's Industrial Engagement Committee Careers & Recognition Working Group.

Provided by Stephanie Watts Butler, Ph.D., P.E.


Mr. David Chen

Mr. David Chen
Elected March 2023
Term 2023 - 2036

Mr. David Chen joined Power Integrations in September 2015 as Director of Applications Engineering, where he leads an 80-person power electronics engineering team across three laboratories worldwide.

With nearly thirty years of experience in power system design and applications, David has held senior management positions at both publicly traded and privately held companies, including Volterra (acquired by Maxim), Akros Silicon, and Jade Sky Technologies, an LED driver start-up which he co-founded.  David received both his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and is the author of two patents.

As an energy efficiency advocate from the power semiconductor industry, David loves the interplay between technologies and regulations to better the world. Contributing actively as an industry stakeholder in workgroups, David collaborates with standards bodies on energy efficiency, safety, and compliance, providing technical guidance on standards and regulations from the California Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency (ENERGY STAR®), European Commission (energy label and ecodesign), and China Quality Certification Center.

For four years, David has served as co-chair for the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) Energy Management Committee and provides support for the PSMA Safety and Compliance Committee. He is also a member of the International Energy Agency 4E Electronic Devices and Networks Annex and Power Electronic Conversion and Technology Annex, the IEC TC47/SC47E committee for semiconductor devices, and JEDEC's JC-70 Wide Bandgap Power Electronic Conversion Semiconductors Committee.

He plans to continue these interactions during his term as a Director on the Board .

Provided by David Chen, Power Integrations



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  About Our Members 
About Our Members

 


Company Overview

Micrometals is a global industry leader in the design and manufacture of soft magnetic iron and alloy powder cores used in inductors, coils and transformers for power applications in industrial, communications, transportation, consumer, medical, and defense products. Our customers are driving advances in electric vehicles, EV chargers, renewable energy, medical imaging, efficient power conversion and smart devices.

Founded in 1951 and headquartered in California, USA, Micrometals is the largest manufacturer of distributed gap powder cores in a variety of standard materials, shapes and sizes. Our materials are optimized for excelling in either power conversion or signal filtering applications, while we also provide materials that work in both applications.

Micrometals is operating 3 global production sites and is ISO and AITF certified.

Off-the-Shelf Alloy and Iron Powder Cores   Custom Inductor Cores

Broadest Selection of Standard and Custom Materials

We formulate our own metal powders to assure they meet the highest quality and performance standards and provide unmatched consistency to our customers.  Ongoing refinement in our material composition and processing capabilities have resulted in materials with state-of-the-art performance at competitive price points.

While we offer thousands of off-the-shelf products, Micrometals has unmatched capabilities to provide quick-turn modified products, custom geometries and customized materials to solve challenging application requirements.

Advanced Inductor Design Tools

As an engineering focused organization, we offer a free, on-line software design tool that helps customers come up with the optimal inductor solution for their applications - https://www.micrometals.com/design-and-applications/design-tools/

In addition, a variety of advanced design capabilities are made available to our customer by working closely with our Application Engineers. These calculation intensive tools model the inductor's performance and provide design trade-offs between the part's electrical performance, size, weight and cost, so as to arrive at the optimal component for the application. Finite element analysis can also show the magnetic fields around the component, to assure that the impact on adjacent electronic components is taken into consideration.

Inductor Core Solutions for Today's Applications

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.


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Welcome to PSMA
  
 
   We are pleased to welcome seven new member companies this quarter. We hope your company is a member. To learn about the benefits of membership, please visit our web site www.psma.com.
  
 
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Arunai Engineering College Tiruvannamalai Tamil Nadu
Dr. Saravanan Vasudevan
Professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Arunai Engineering College
Tiruvannamalai
Tamil Nadu 606603
India
+ 919994062645
E-mail: mailto:mvsaranaec@yahoo.co.in
Web Site: https://arunai.org/index.html

Logo of Arunai Engineering College Tiruvannamalai Tamil Nadu

Arunai Engineering College is a Private college located in Thiruvannaamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. AEC was founded in 1993 by Thiru E. V. Velu, on behalf of the Saraswathi Ammal Educational Trust.

We, at Arunai Engineering College, will enlighten the hidden technical skills and abilities of youth with highest quality technical education and proper discipline.

 


Bosch
Cyrille Brando
Director of Technology Partnerships
384 Santa Trinita Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Telephone: +1 669 249 2116
E-mail: mcyrille.brando@bosch.com
Web Site: https://www.bosch.com

Bosch logo

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 421,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2022). The company generated sales of 88.2 billion euros in 2022. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group's strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is "Invented for life."

 


Hotland International Corporation

Madeline Hsu
Overseas Business Development Manager
2051 Junction Avenue, Suite 212
San Jose, CA 95131
Telephone: +1 650 519 7505
E-mail: mmadeline.hsu@sz-hotland.com
Web Site: https:/sz-hotland.com

Hotland logo

Hotland Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. is a professional manufacturer and service provider of inductance components located in Longhua New District of Shenzhen, Guangdong. Hotland has been working on the R&D and production of inductance components since 1999, and now it is a company with independent R&D, production, and sales capacities.

Over the past decade, our company has insistently concentrated on R&D innovation and accumulated rich experience of the Molding Chokes, High Current Flat Wire Inductors, SMD Power Inductors, NR Inductors, and Common Mode Chokes. We have stable and dedicated high-quality talents, advanced manufacturing processes, strong technical force, and sophisticated testing methods. We are able to pass ISO 9001, ISO 14000, QC 08000, TS 16949 and other international system of certifications, and utilize modern management tools such as ERP, MES and SRM. Hotland is a national high and new technology enterprise. We have more than ten fully automated production lines, and hold a number of core technologies and national invention patents in the production of the Molding Chokes. In 2016, Hotland successfully became the first company listed on the New Third Board in the inductance industry.

 


L3Harris - MPES -Maritime Power and Energy Solutions

Crystal Yannarella
Lead/Project Engineer
901 Ball Road
Anaheim, CA 92805
Telephone: +1 714 956 9200
E-mail: mcrystal.yannarella@l3harris.com
Web Site: https://l3harris.com

L3Harris logo

In a fast moving and increasingly complex world, L3Harris is anticipating and rapidly responding to challenges with agile technology – creating a safer world and more secure future.

L3Harris specializes in electrical Power Conversion and Distribution Equipment for Shipboard applications. As the Trusted Disruptor in defense, we're strengthening our trusted position as an industry-leading merchant supplier, and we're strengthening our customers' positions with rapid, innovative solutions only a disruptive prime can deliver.

 


Nexperia
Upal Sengupta
Field Application Engineer
630 Davis Dr.
Durham, NC 27709
+1 312 909 9281
E-mail: mupal.sengupta@nexperia.com
Web Site: https://www.nexperia.com

Nexperia logo
Headquartered in the Netherlands, Nexperia is a global semiconductor company with a rich European history and over 15,000 employees across Europe, Asia, and the United States. As a leading expert in the development and production of essential semiconductors, Nexperia's components enable the basic functionality of virtually every electronic design in the world – from automotive and industrial to mobile and consumer applications.

The company serves a global customer base, shipping more than 100 billion products annually. These products are recognized as benchmarks in efficiency – in process, size, power and performance. Nexperia's commitment to innovation, efficiency and stringent industry requirements are evident in its extensive IP portfolio, its expanding product range and its certification to IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards.

 


Pulsiv Limited

Nick Theodoris
Director of Global Sales and Distribution
Milton Hall, Ely Road
Cambridge CB24 6WZ
United Kingdom
E-mail: mnick@pulsiv.co.uk
Web Site: https://www.pulsiv.co.uk

Pulsiv logo
Using a patented switching technique, Pulsiv has developed an entirely new method for converting AC to DC that delivers a combination of game changing benefits in power electronics designs. Our unique technology has extended the range of conventional flyback topologies to replace expensive LLC solutions, whilst achieving an unrivalled efficiency profile. Pulsiv OSMIUM provides a scalable platform for engineers to reduce size, improve energy consumption and optimise cost when designing a power supply for virtually any mains powered or battery charging application.

 


Qorvo
Chris Dries
General Manager - PSD
650 College Road East, Suite 1500
Princeton, NJ 08540
+1 732 355 0550
E-mail: mchris.dries@qorvo.com
Web Site: https://www.qorvo.com

Qorvo logo

Your car. Your smartphone. Your wrist. Your heart. Even outer space.

Qorvo products are at work connecting, protecting and powering the planet. We bring core radio frequency (RF) and power technologies and solutions to mobile, infrastructure, the IoT, defense/aerospace and power management markets.

Transforming the way you live, work, play and communicate — that's what inspires us.

 


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The Fourth International Symposium on
3D Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing


A very successful 3D-PEIM
Was Held February 1-3, 2023 
Hosted by Florida International University, Miami, FL

3D-PEIM Session
3D-PEIM Session

The 3D Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing Symposium, chaired by Raj Pulugurtha, FIU, was held February 1-3, 2023, and hosted by Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida. The Symposium is financially sponsored by Power Source and Manufacturing Association (PSMA) and technically sponsored by the IEEE Electronic Packaging Society (EPS) and Florida International University. There were seven Partners/Exhibitors: Amkor Technology, FIU Biomedical Engineering, KEMET - a YAGEO Company, Wolfspeed, Indium Corp, and Carbice, which also contributed to the success of the event. General Chair  Raj Pulugurtha, FIU, in collaboration with Technical Program Co-Chairs John Bultitude, Kemet, and Vanessa Smet, Georgia Tech, presided over the development of the Symposium. 3D-PEIM focused on the integration of packaging, circuits, materials, and manufacturing to create state-of-the-art power sources.   The sessions were organized to provide technology updates for design, packaging, and manufacturing engineers. All engaged in research and the practical applications of materials, components, manufacturing, and qualification of power sources. In addition to the excellent sessions on Power Modules, Manufacturing Processes, and Modeling, some breakthrough technology for magnetics and capacitors were presented.

3D-PEIM 2023 was a Hybrid Symposium with 95 in-person attendees/speakers and 5 virtual speakers. The attendees and contributors represented 8 countries from industry, academia, and government. They were treated to 3 information-packed days of 42 presentations (7 Plenary, 15 Keynote, and 20 invited/submitted) with 7 posters. The in-person attendees were treated to a lab tour of FIU Electrical Engineering.

The workshop consisted of many excellent presentations. The program opened with a welcome to FIU by John Volakis, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, giving us a warm welcome and hints on the hot spots in Miami. There were many excellent presentations. There is only room to highlight a few. Plenary Speaker, Madhavan Swaminathan, Pennsylvania State University, gave an engaging presentation emphasizing the need to reduce copper losses by getting higher voltages to the Integrated Voltage Regulator (IVR) and CPU chip stack. Plenary Speaker Rao Tummala, 3D Electronics Systems Packaging Research Center, gave an intriguing look into the future, proposing that by 2040 computing speed would increase 1 million times, and the industry wants to power that capability with power sources the same size and cost as today. He and other speakers emphasized that the new Moore's law will only be possible with a combination of packaging and transistors, and power sources must keep pace. Keynote speaker Matt Kelly, IPC, reminded us that substrate advancement is critical to this continuous size reduction, empathizing government funding is needed to ensure the substrate and packaging receive the same investment as chips. The passive world reminded us that without shrinking magnetics and capacitors power sources would be unable to keep pace with shrinking packages. Noah Stricken, Ferric Inc., and Matt Wilkowski, Enachip, presented solutions for integrating and packaging inductors. Plenary Speaker Fred Lee, Virginia Tech introduced the possibility of integrating inductors in PCBs at power levels up to 9 kW for increased efficiency and cost reduction. Mohamed Jatlaoui, Murata highlighted significant breakthroughs in capacitor size for embedding in PCBs, introducing a 1 uf 0404 chip capacitor only 50um high. B. K. Summey, KEMET, astounded us with circuit board packaging technology for passives and a commitment to increasing the capacitance of an 0402 package by 2X-3X. Louise Duker, SMOLTEK announced a partnership with KEMET to bring ultra-thin carbon nanofiber capacitors to market, starting with samples of 0402's less than 100um thick in 2023.

The hottest overall topic was creating new packaging concepts to accommodate the demand for higher power density power sources. These power sources will need low parasitics using wide bandgap semiconductors to reduce the size (or keep the same size but increase power output) and increase efficiency. The audience engaged in lively conversation on how to unite a) the progress in semiconductor fabrication, b) optimal packaging, including substrates and passives, and c) combined state-of-the-art modeling and testing to achieve the next generation of power sources.

If you were unable to attend 3D-PEIM 2023, you can access videos of all the sessions and download the presentations for $460.  For additional information, please contact Lisa Horzepa at lisa@psma.com.

PSMA holds the 3D-PEIM Symposium every two years. The location and date of the 2025 edition will be announced in society and industry publications in 2024.

Attendance Statistics

Attendance Statistics


Photos of 3D-PEIM Events

Chairman Raj Pulugurtha, Ph.D. opens 3D-PEIM 2023
Chairman Raj Pulugurtha, Ph.D. opens 3D-PEIM 2023
  Matt Kelly IPC Shows where Packaging Manufactures are located
Matt Kelly IPC Shows where Packaging Manufactures are located

Katsuaki Suganuma, Osaka U. presents Sinter joining and lifetime prediction
Katsuaki Suganuma, Osaka U. presents Sinter joining and lifetime prediction.

Poster Time
Poster Time
  Sponsor Table
Sponsor Table

FIU Lab Tour
FIU Lab Tour


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The Eighth International Workshop on Power Supply on Chip (PwrSoC)

September 27-29, 2023
Leibniz University Hannover,
Hannover, Germany
Integrated Power Conversion and Power Management

PwrSoC banner
Photos: ©2022 Daniel Vogl LUH (center), Bernhard Wicht
 
PwrSoC

Call for Posters

We invite you to submit posters for the Power Sources on Chip (PwrSoC) 2023 conference.

Posters are an excellent way to showcase your latest research and engage with other experts in the field. The topic should be aligned with the workshop scope of miniaturizing power management solutions through system architecture, circuits and topology, packaging, and passive components. The poster session will be held in the gallery above the atrium of the University.

A Best-Poster Award for the three top-rated posters will be sponsored by PELS (TCII).

The submission guidelines are now available under the workshop website at pwrsocevents.com.

Please submit your poster abstract through the provided link before the deadline on June 19th, 2023.

About the Workshop

The eighth edition of the biennial International Workshop on Power Supply on Chip (PwrSoC) has been scheduled for September 27 thru 29, 2023, to be held at Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany. The Technical Program Committee of PwrSoC 2023 consists of the Technical Program Chair, Professor Bruno Allard (Université de Lyon, INSA Lyon, France), and 16 international experts. Professor Bernhard Wicht (Leibniz University Hannover) will be the General Chair and local host.

The Workshop is the leading international forum for discussing the challenges and opportunities in technology, business, and supply chain, intent on advancing the miniaturization and integration of power conversion and power management solutions. The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and IEEE Power Electronics Society (IEEE PELS) are joint sponsors for the Workshop.

Registration will open in early June 2023.

Partnership Options

For the first time this year, PwrSoc-23 extends the partnership opportunities to the "Gala Dinner" and the "Welcome Reception" in addition to traditional Platinum and Gold options.

For more information, please visit the workshop webpage http://pwrsocevents.com/

If you are interested in becoming a PwrSoC23 Partner / sponsor, please contact:

Bernhard Wicht, PwrSoC23 General Chair at bernhard.wicht@ims.uni-hannover.de
  - or -
Trifon Liakopoulos, PwrSoC23 Financial Chair at: pwrsoc23@enachip.com



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The 10th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices & Applications (WiPDA)

The 10th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices & Applications
December 4 – 6 2023

The 10th IEEE / PSMA Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA) [www.wipda.org] is an excellent platform for industry professionals, researchers, and academia to discuss the latest developments and advancements in wide bandgap power devices and their applications.

The workshop will take place from December 4th to 6th, 2023 at the UNC Charlotte Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Charlotte, NC. The UNC Charlotte area is a vibrant and dynamic community located in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina. With its convenient location and state-of-the-art facilities, the UNC Charlotte Marriott provides the perfect setting for participants to exchange ideas and collaborate on the latest trends in wide bandgap power devices.

WiPDA is brought to you by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), the Power Supply Manufacturer's Association (PSMA), and the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) and will feature a wide range of technical sessions, keynote speeches, tutorials, and poster presentations. The technical sessions will cover various topics, including the latest developments in wide bandgap materials, device structures, packaging, and thermal management. There will also be sessions focusing on power electronics applications, such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and data centers.

This year there are two special tracks added to the agenda. The Application (Switching) Reliability track is the first focused track on application reliability. This track explores the latest advancements in determination of component lifetime, product DHTOL, methods and circuits to apply application-relevant stress, failure modes and mechanisms, monitoring and prognostics, meeting JEDEC JEP180; to the types of stresses seen in circuits with hard-switching, soft-switching, flyback, and other types of operation with power GaN, SiC and Si.

The ITRW special track is a comprehensive research agenda focused on materials, devices, packaging, and applications of Wide Bandgap (WBG) power devices. This track explores the latest advancements in WBG technology and provides valuable insights into the current state-of-the-art and future directions of this rapidly evolving field. Submit your digests and engage with leading experts in the field to learn about the latest research findings and gain valuable insights into the future of WBG technology.

The keynote speeches will be delivered by leading experts in the field of wide bandgap power devices, providing valuable insights into the latest advancements and future trends. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in lively discussions with the speakers and other attendees, exchanging ideas and gaining new perspectives on the latest research and developments.

Key Dates:

  • Jun 16, 2023:  One or two-page abstract submission deadline for papers and posters.
  • Jun 16, 2022: Two-page abstract submission deadline for tutorials.
  • Jul 24, 2023: Notification of the acceptance.
  • Oct 2, 2023:   Final paper submission deadline for workshop proceedings

Call for Abstracts:
The abstract submission portal will open mid-spring to accept authors' manuscripts.  Researchers are encouraged to submit their latest findings on the design and fabrication of WBG power devices, their insertion in power electronics circuits/systems, and on technology of SiC, GaN, their reliability and other emerging, high performance WBG power semiconductors. 
 
The committee is actively contributions in the following areas of interest:

  • Heteroepitaxial & Bulk Materials Growth
  • Gate Dielectrics & Surface Passivation
  • Device Structures & Fabrication Techniques
  • Device Characterization & Modeling
  • Very-High Efficiency Or Compact Converters
  • Safe Operating Areas Of Wide Bandgap Devices, including Short Circuit, Spike, &Transient Tolerance
  • Harsh Environment (High Temperature) Operation & Reliability
  • Packaging Power Modules & ICs
  • Gate Drive & Other Auxiliary Circuits
  • High-Performance Passive Components
  • Hard-Switched & Soft-Switched Application Analysis
  • Applications in Renewable Energy & Energy Storage, Transportation, Industrial Drives, Grid Power Systems, Space and Aerospace
  • Wide Bandgap System Design Philosophies & Strategies
  • Special Track: Application (Switching) Reliability
  • Special Track: Technology Roadmap of Wide Bandgap Including Devices, Applications and Packaging

The organizing committee is excited to provide our sponsors and valued audience members with an opportunity to learn from leading experts, network with peers, and stay up-to-date with the latest developments in wide bandgap power devices and their applications.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Charlotte!

Please subscribe to stay informed of the latest news and receive deadline reminders for WiPDA 2023. For sponsorship opportunities contact renee.yawger@epc-co.com. Also, join the conversation with the WiPDA group on LinkedIn.

Provided by Renee Yawger
WiPDA 2023 Publicity Chair

  Renee Yawger, WiPDA 2023 Publicity Chair



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New JEDEC Guidelines Help Designers To Realistically Predict Stability Of
SiC MOSFETs In Applications

by Thomas Aichinger, Infineon Technologies, Villach, Austria

W ith the recent publication of JEDEC guidelines for SiC MOSFETs in January and February, the promised benefits of silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs can now be fully realized and consistently demonstrated through recognized industry guidelines.[1,2] Concurrently, newly introduced high-voltage (1200-V) SiC MOSFETs have improved threshold voltage stability that can be validated by the new testing procedure. Systems engineers that have previously evaluated SiC MOSFETs and observed somewhat different threshold voltage (VTH) variations compared to silicon (Si) MOSFETs now have an answer on how to measure VTH reproducibly in pristine devices and what is the worst-case drift of critical electrical parameters that can be expected in different SiC MOSFET applications.

Those who have yet to evaluate SiC as a replacement for silicon MOSFETs can confidently compare the alternative and take advantage of the high thermal conductivity, energy efficiency and operating frequency, and low thermal expansion of these wide-bandgap devices. This article will provide background on the SiC market, discuss the JEDEC guidelines and testing performed by Infineon and conclude with details on newly implemented test procedures.

The Growing Demand For SiC MOSFETs

These SiC advantages are causing fast migration as customers adopt the technology quickly. The market growth rate was 22.8% from 2021 to 2022,[3] and the SiC market is expected to reach $2.1 billion U.S. by 2026 from $1.1 billion U.S. in 2022.

Compared to silicon MOSFETs, SiC devices offer several advantages such as wide bandgap, high drift velocity, high breakdown voltage, large critical electrical field and high thermal conductivity. They are also capable of working at higher current densities and temperatures.

Growing implementation of SiC devices is occurring in automotive applications due to the increasing demand for hybrid and electric vehicles. Also, the increasing need for efficient industrial operations is creating a strong demand for SiC in factories.

New JEDEC Guidelines And SiC

Based on engineers' observations that fully reversible and more permanent threshold-voltage variations occur with SiC MOSFETs, JEDEC developed "Guidelines for measuring the threshold voltage (VT) of SiC MOSFETs," JEP183A, and "Guideline for Evaluating Gate Switching Instability of Silicon Carbide Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronic Conversion," JEP195. These guidelines combined with extensive investigations at Infineon provide deep insight into characterization and long-term parameter stability of SiC MOSFETs that has resulted in a greater understanding and new test methods.

Fig. 1. The threshold voltage dynamics of a SiC MOSFET when <br>switching the gate of a pristine device in bipolar mode
Fig. 1. The threshold voltage dynamics of a SiC MOSFET when
switching the gate of a pristine device in bipolar mode.

A stable and reproducible measurement of VTH is needed to define the datasheet values of "pristine" devices—these are parts that may have been tested but have not yet been used extensively or stressed. Also, it is mandatory for assessing VTH evolution in a stress experiment. Silicon MOSFETs do not require any particular precautions. Pristine silicon power transistors always show the same VTH.

In contrast, SiC MOSFETs have a VTH that is not constant. Measurements of VTH show different values when the transistor turns on, coming from a negative gate voltage and when it turns off, coming from a positive gate voltage (see Fig. 1). This VTH hysteresis is the difference between the VTH during turn-on, the upsweep VTH (VTH-UP), and VTH during turnoff, the downsweep VTH (VTH-DOWN).

Hysteresis is the largest when sweeping the gate between deep accumulation and deep inversion, for example, between -10 V and +15 V. Fig. 2 shows typical transfer characteristics of SiC MOSFETs for fast upsweeps and downsweeps of the gate voltage. Hysteresis reduces when the upsweep starts at voltages closer to 0 V and when sweeping is slower. Investigations suggest that these effects are due to short-term charging and discharging of preexisting traps located near or directly at the SiC/gate-oxide interface.

The upsweep VTH is always lower because the interface is charged positively in the negative half period of the gate pulse due to holes captured from the valence band. Meanwhile, the downsweep VTH is always larger because the interface is charged neutrally or even negatively in the positive half period of the gate pulse due to electrons captured from the conduction band. Within the hysteresis envelope, there is a continuum of possible VTH values due to the large variety of capture and emission time constants for trapped charges in the virtually continuous defect band.

The threshold voltage dynamics of a SiC MOSFET when switching the gate of a pristine device in <nobr>bipolar mode.
Fig. 1. The threshold voltage dynamics of a SiC MOSFET when
switching the gate of a pristine device in bipolar mode.

Improving Gate-Switching Stability

One consequence of these findings is that the gate biasing history of the SiC MOSFET can impact VTH measurements for a very long time. For instance, when the device is either floating or biased at VGS = 0 V after the application of a positive or negative gate pulse, charges that are trapped near the mid-gap may be stored at the interface for hours, days or even longer.

This stored charge keeps the device in a state of non-equilibrium. It results from the large thermal emission barriers associated with the wide bandgap of SiC. A comparable effect in silicon MOSFETs does not exist because they have a lower density of interface traps and a narrower bandgap.

Based on these observations, obtaining reproducible VTH measurements with a SiC MOSFET begins by defining a gate-biasing history. One option is to apply a short positive gate pulse to the device using gate voltages between the recommended use voltage and the maximum allowed voltage in the datasheet (see Fig. 3). This technique is called gate conditioning. Once undertaken, VTH must be measured with a constant time delay.

An easy way to accomplish fast, well-timed VTH spot measurements is to use a gated-diode measurement scheme. Here, the gate and drain terminals of the device are shorted, the source terminal grounded and a forced threshold current, for example 1 mA, is applied. Eventually, this gate-conditioning procedure creates a defined, reproducible charge state at the SiC/gate-oxide interface and enables a defined, reproducible VTH measurement.

Transfer characteristics vary during turn-on and turn-off. VTH is lower during turn-on due to holes captured at negative gate bias. During turn-off, VTH is higher due to electrons captured at positive <nobr>gate bias.
Fig. 2. Transfer characteristics vary during turn-on and turn-off. VTH is
lower during turn-on due to holes captured at negative gate bias.
During turn-off, VTH is higher due to electrons captured at positive gate bias.

Infineon research that is consistent with recent guidelines published by JEDEC showed that more-complex conditioning procedures, involving negative and positive gate-conditioning pulses, also allow for reproducible measurements of hysteresis.[4]

With the process for measuring VTH in an accurate and reproducible manner defined, the next challenge was controlling and assessing VTH instabilities in SiC MOSFET operations. This was accomplished by developing a stress procedure for determining worst-case VTH drifts for different application profiles.

Two more potentially application-relevant stressors were tested: the drain voltage and the load current. These studies revealed that neither led to altered VTH instabilities. The negative results allow a drastic simplification of the stress procedure without neglecting any important VTH stressors present in real applications.

Another critical finding was the noticeable impact of the VTH increase on the RDS(ON) that differs among the voltage classes of the devices. The higher the voltage class, the more pronounced is the contribution of the thicker epitaxial layer's resistance. However, with M1H technology developed through the increased understanding of charge trapping phenomena and engineering of the SiC/gate-oxide interface, recently introduced 1,200-V CoolSiC MOSFETs excel in overall VTH stability.

The end results of this extensive testing were that M1H technology was found to improve gate switching instability and enlarge the recommended gate-driving window. Applying the new test and stress guideline, CoolSiC MOSFET M1H devices demonstrate significant improvements in overall VTH stability. In particular, the application relevant drift caused by dynamic bipolar gate switching has been reduced significantly.

As a consequence, the M1H technology offers the full window of gate voltages, even down to -10 V at the highest switching frequencies. The larger gate operation window provides maximum flexibility to customers and a high level of robustness against driver- and layout-related voltage peaks at the gate, with no restrictions towards higher switching frequencies.

Finally, Infineon provides parameter drift evolution curves in app notes accompanying datasheets. These curves allow customers to directly extract the maximum drift that they can expect worst-case for a given technology during a specific application. Now, system designers can benefit from new test and stress procedures for SiC MOSFETs as well as predictability that can realistically determine their worst-case threshold voltage variations.

Conclusion

With an increased understanding of trapping dynamics at SiC's gate-oxide interface, new characterization and stress procedures have been developed specifically for SiC MOSFETs. These new methods provide standardized, reproducible measurements, as well as realistic assessments of time-dependent parameter variations in real applications.

Now, engineers can predict how device characteristics will evolve during an application—even those applications that require 1,200-V SiC MOSFETs and very demanding requirements such as automotive. This paves the way for SiC MOSFETs to reach their next level of quality excellence and achieve projected market growth targets.

Reference

  1. Guidelines for Measuring the Threshold Voltage (VT) of SiC MOSFETs | JEDEC, Jan 2023.
  2. Guideline for Evaluating Gate Switching Instability of Silicon Carbide Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronic Conversion | JEDEC, Feb 2023.
  3. "Silicon Carbide Market by Device (SiC Discrete, SC Bare Die, and SiC Module), Wafer Size, Application, Vertical (Power Electronics, Automotive, Telecommunications, and Energy & Power), and Geography, 2026," report by Markets and Markets.
  4. "Threshold voltage peculiarities and bias temperature instabilities of SiC MOSFETs" by Thomas Aichinger, Gerald Rescher and Gregor Pobegen Microelectronics Reliability, Volume 80, January 2018, pages 68-78.

About The Author

Thomas Aichinger headshot

Since 2012 Thomas Aichinger has been part of the SiC MOSFET technology development team at Infineon Technologies, where he currently serves as lead principal engineer for SiC development. Thomas has been serving on the technical committee of IRPS and WiPDA and is currently serving as task group co-chair within the JEDEC sub-committee JC.70.2 focusing on SiC Power Electronic Conversion Semiconductor (PECS) standards. In addition, he has contributed to more than 80 scientific publications including journal articles, conference papers and book chapters. Prior to joining Infineon, Thomas was a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State University. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Vienna.


 


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The hidden face of the power industry!

T he subjects of energy transition and reducing carbon emissions are on everyone's minds, and power electronics engineers' attention is focused on power solutions for electric vehicles, renewable energy, and the use of the latest technologies such as Wide Band Gap semiconductors. There is no doubt that we are at a turning point in the power electronics industry and lots of things are happening collaterally with the conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy but there are a lot of other interesting areas to explore. I recently attended a workshop with a group of students and Business Angels and we brainstormed something they named the "Hidden face of the power industry." The purpose of this workshop was to analyze changes in the composition of the power supplies market regarding standard products and non-standard ones over the last two decades, and what might change in the next decade. It's not possible to cover everything in a short article but let's take a look at the main trends.

The Shift!
Power supplies are used everywhere, and from a USB charger to the power solution powering the NASA James Webb telescope, the range of products and solutions are amazingly wide. The overall market for switching power supplies (AC/DC and DC/DC) in 2023 is estimated to represent a business of 58 billion USD and is composed of Merchant products (45B) also known as Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), and Captive products (13B) developed by OEMs for their own internal use. As for any industry it is complex and difficult to be aware of everything and we rely on market studies from Market Analysts such as Micro-Tech Consultants or Wired & Wireless Technologies (WAWT) publishing detailed reports on market segmentation and forecasts, but in parallel with those studies it is interesting to granulate a bit to analyze the Hidden Face of the power industry.

For more than 100 years the power electronics industry has been extremely dynamic and innovative, many times crossing the chasm of new technologies. As I presented in a White Paper (WP022): '1980 – a pivotal point in the power industry!' amongst all of them, the technology shift from linear to switching has not only been a very important one, but also the birth of mass COTS power supplies. Many power supply companies and OEMs started to deliver or implement volume products in the eighties e.g., Delta Electronics shipping in volume in 1983, telecom manufacturers AT&T commercially launching the 5ESS Switch with a new power architecture developed by Bell Labs Power Systems in 1982, Ericsson developing advanced distributed power architecture based on single bus voltage and modules and RIFA Power (Ericsson Power Modules) introducing its 25W PKA DC/DC converter line in 1983, whilst in Japan COSEL began shipping in volume its switching power supplies introduced in 1977, and that's without mentioning Patrizio Vinciarelli who founded VICOR in 1981.

The eighties saw not only a technology shift, but a fundamental change in the way power supplies were designed, manufactured and sold to customers. It also marked a time when captive, representing more than 70% of the market, slowly migrated to merchant.

For those not born when Dinosaurs were still talking, we should remember that in the eighties the vast majority of the power supplies where manufactured in house e.g., PHILIPS, ALCATEL, AT&T, ERICSSON, THOMSON. As the merchant offering grew and the requirement for OEMs to invest in their core business came about, gradually power departments have been divested, becoming part of the merchant market.

Considering the shift from captive to merchant and the vast offering from low power DC/DC converters to high power AC/DC we could question what is the reasoning behind 'The hidden Face' of the power industry? What is missing in power supply manufacturers offering motivating interest for something else?

When standard is not enough!
Because power electronics is everywhere, there are a number of instances where buying a COTS product is not enough for systems architects when developing their applications. For different reasons they may need something very specific or so unique that OEM power supply manufacturers may not consider them viable enough, or outside their business strategy, to engage in research and development.

Before we dig into details it is important to mention that OEM power supply manufacturers have always offered 'modified standards' when customers require small modifications in line with their process or requiring a small investment.

This brings us to a short explanation of the different segments of the non-standard products and an explanation of the changes we saw in our study between 2000 and 2023 (Figure 01).

Figure 01 – 2000 – 2023 addressable market repartition and development (Source: PRBX/PLF)
Figure 01 – 2000 – 2023 addressable market repartition and development (Source: PRBX/PLF)

Modified Standard
When designing COTS power supplies, manufacturers are taking into consideration final segments and applications, but customers might need small deviations. Modifications could be as simple as special trimming or something more complex requiring a mechanical modification, special cabling or additional codes in firmware. In 2000 the number of modified standard units sold represented 6% of the overall volume. This number decreased to 4% in 2023. One of the possible reasons is the modernization of the product offering during the period, and the addition of new functionalities such as a digital interface making it easier for the user to profile the product to more accurately meet their needs. Also, the impressive amount of new products released by power supply manufacturers covers a larger range of applications and accordingly we see some overlap between this category and semi-custom.

Semi-custom
There are probably as many definitions of semi-custom power solutions as manufacturers, but what is interesting is this category has grown significantly from 3% in 2000 to reach 7% in 2023.

Figure 02 - Example of 1990 original concept for a semi-custom power solution (Source PRBX/PLF)
Figure 02 – Example of 1990 original concept for a
semi-custom power solution (Source PRBX/PLF)

  Figure 03 - Example of a product transition from semi-custom platform becoming part of a standard COTS offering (source PRBX/COSEL)
Figure 03 – Example of a product transition from semi-custom platform
becoming part of a standard COTS offering (source PRBX/COSEL)

As one of those remembering Dinosaurs talking, the first semi-custom that I remember designing was in 1986, developing an assemblage of a PWM power module on a PCB complete with connectors, embedded filters, potentiometer and indicator light (similar to as shown on figure 02) to replace a linear power supply within an industrial equipment. Something interesting to notice is that such a combination and building practice was later adopted by the industry, releasing a standard version of what used to be a semi-custom unit (Figure 03).

Figure 03 - Example of a product transition from semi-custom platform becoming part of a standard COTS offering (source PRBX/COSEL)
Figure 03 – Example of a product transition from semi-custom platform becoming part of a standard COTS offering (source PRBX/COSEL)

  Figure 04 – Example of a semi-custom power solution combining a modules and additional components for filtering, protection, voltage trimming and connectors (Source PRBX)
Figure 04 – Example of a semi-custom power solution combining a modules and additional components for filtering, protection, voltage trimming and connectors (Source PRBX)

As the offering of a combination of highly efficient power modules to build a final solution has been the heart of the semi-custom segment (Figure 04), within the power electronics industry the business model developed by VICOR and a network of Value Added Retailers contributed to the development of semi-custom solutions cannibalizing a part of what used to be full-custom. When analyzing this segment we found a small migration from modified-standard to semi-custom, and a significant migration from full-custom, for medium complexity power solutions.

Figure 05 - Full-custom is a very interesting area, where the product development requires multidisciplinary cooperation (Source PRBX)
Figure 05 – Full-custom is a very interesting area, where the product
development requires multidisciplinary cooperation (Source PRBX)

Full-custom
For power designers, full-custom is a very interesting area, where the product development requires multidisciplinary cooperation (Figure 05). It is not only about designing the best power stage but realizing a complete solution that could be extremely complex. This segment declined from 22% in 2000 to 15% in 2023, but nonetheless remains strong and stable. As we supposed, a portion of what used to be full-custom has been captured by the semi-custom area but the dividing line between the two segments is not as sharp as it looks on the graph. In fact there is a smooth edge between the two, with full-custom integrating modules, and semi-custom implementing a number of technologies deployed by the full custom industry – cross pollination.

In this segment it is very often the case that power designers have to explore domains outside conventional power electronics, and to close this article I would like illustrate this by a coreless power supply designed to power a Magnetic resonance imaging scanner (MRI). In this case the power designers had to not only consider power conversion, but the specific environment with a switching frequency that didn't interfere with the MRI signal, and other problems (Figure 06). This might seem an exotic application but designing such a type of product is exactly what you cannot find in a COTS catalogue.

Figure 06 - Example of a full-custom power solution for MRI equipment (Source PRBX)
Figure 06 – Example of a full-custom power
solution for MRI equipment (Source PRBX)

The Exclusive
When doing research on the Hidden Face of the power supplies industry we discovered a niche that got named, 'Exclusive'! This is where you design a power solution for the extreme of extreme applications. We're talking products that are used in deep space exploration, in very high radiation and temperature environments, in nuclear reactors, and others. This is also an area where a design might require components that are not yet in existence. We estimated this segment at 1% but it is more an aggregation of power solutions rather than products as such.

What is the future of the Hidden Face of the power industry?
We will probably address this in more detail in a future article, but considering the European regulation to prolong the lifetime of products, we believe it will be a significant number of systems that will require refurbishment, upgrading and modernization. Many of those products will require a combination from standard to full-custom. As we learned from the smooth dividing line between semi and full-custom we foresee those segments remaining solid and stable. When talking about modernization, we see a great opportunity for Wide Band Gap semiconductors contributing to make it possible to package more power into the same volume. In conclusion, the Hidden Face of the power industry is bright and it's an amazing experience for power designers to break limits.

References:
POWERBOX (PRBX):
https://www.prbx.com/

POWERBOX (PRBX) White Papers Library
https://www.prbx.com/literature/white-papers/

COSEL
https://en.cosel.co.jp/

Micro-Tech Consultants (Global Switching Power Supply Report)
https://mtcpower.com/

Wired & Wireless Technologies (WAWT)
https://www.wawt.tech/

For more information
Visit www.prbx.com
Please contact Patrick Le Fèvre, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
+46 (0)158 703 00

Reference: PRBX-A-041-EN

About the author:
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Powerbox, Patrick Le Fèvre is an experienced, senior marketer and degree-qualified engineer with a 40-year track record of success in power electronics. He has pioneered the marketing of new technologies such as digital power and technical initiatives to reduce energy consumption. Le Fèvre has written and presented numerous white papers and articles at the world's leading international power electronics conferences. These have been published over 450 times in media throughout the world. He is also involved in several environmental forums, sharing his expertise and knowledge of clean energy.

Provided by Patrick Le Fèvre
Powerbox Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

  Patrick Le Fèvre

 


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Events of Interest - Mark Your Calendar
Notice: Event information may be out of date due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Please confirm details with event organizers prior to making any commitments.
 
University of Nottingham
Nottingham
United Kingdom
Leibniz University
Hannover, Hannover
Germany
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Karlsruhe
Germany
Auckland University of Technology
Auckland
New Zealand

If you know of any upcoming conferences or events of interest to
PSMA members please notify the Association office.

e-mail: Power@PSMA.com

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