1. APEC Comes to the Sunshine State – See You in Tampa, March 26-30, 2017
   
2. You are Invited to Attend the PSMA Annual Meeting at APEC 2017
   
3. Meet Your Directors
   
4. About Our Members
   
5. Welcome to PSMA
   
6. International Workshop on Integrated Power Packaging 2017
   
7. PSMA and IEEE PELS High Frequency Magnetics Workshop
   
8. WIPDA 2016 Overview and Highlights
   
9. Intelec 2017 Call for Papers
   
10. The Trump Administration’s Impact on the Power Electronics’ Industry
    
11. Solar Energy Stock Index Q3 2016
    
12. Solar Energy DealReader Q3 2016
    
13. EMS Stock Index Q3 2016
    
14. EMS DealReader Q3 2016
    
15. Events of Interest – Mark Your Calendar
    

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

Previous issues of update: Q2_2016 | Q3_2016 | Q4_2016

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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.

 

he Applied Power Electronics Conference, will be held March 26-30, 2017 at the Tampa, Florida Convention Center and continues the longstanding tradition of addressing issues of immediate and long-term interest to the practicing power electronics engineer. This annual event is jointly sponsored by the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS), IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), and Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA). Each APEC event seems to set records every year for the number of papers, the size of the exhibit and the number of attendees. And APEC 2017 continues to be an exceptional bargain with full registration for as little as $825. Check the APEC website for details (www.apec-conf.org).

APEC 2017 General Chairman, Jonathan Kimball  stated "APEC allows power electronics professionals from all sectors to gather annually and participate in a rewarding exchange of technical knowledge while gaining valuable industry connections and I look forward to APEC every year as a time to meet colleagues, see what new directions are emerging in our field, and find new solutions to problems or sometimes find new problems to solve."

APEC 2017 has put together the best-ever program, one you that you really don't want to miss.

• The Plenary Session on Monday, March 27 will feature world-class presentations to keynote the week-long conference. You'll not want to miss the talks from these technology visionaries:
• Dr. Ahmad Bahai, TI Chief Technologist and Senior VP, will present "Power Semiconductor Technology – Flexibility for Tomorrow's Solutions."
• Conor Quinn, Artesyn Embedded Technologies and the PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Co-Chair, will present "Empowering the Electronics Industry: A Power Technology Roadmap".
• Vataché Vorperian, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Principal Engineer and Fellow of the IEEE, will present "A Historical Perspective on the Development of the PWM Switch Model."
• Dr. Shaui Jiang and Xin Li, Google, Technical Lead Manager for Power Team (Li) and Senior DC-DC Power Architect for Data Centers (Jiang), will discuss "Google 48V Power Architecture".
• Hamish Laird, ELMG Digital Power Inc, CTO, will present "The Gap Between High Power and Low Power Converters and How it is Closing".
• Dr. Ljubisa Stevanovic, GE Global Research, CTO Silicon Carbide Works, will present "From SiC MOSFET Devices to MW-scale Power Converters".
  
  

  As many as 2000 registrants are expected to attend the APEC Plenary Session

• There will be eighteen Professional Development Seminars on Sunday, March 26 and Monday, March 27 given by world-class experts that are designed to bring you up to speed on critical power electronics design technologies and techniques.  These sessions are divided into three tracks:
• Power Supply Design, with sessions on bi-directional dc-dc converters, digital LLC resonant converters and the interaction between switching regulators and input filters.
• Silicon Carbide design issues, including sessions on accelerating new designs, practical implementation of SiC and SiC device fabrication.
• Control topics covering digital compensators, stability in distributed systems and current mode control and modeling.
• The Technical Program will run from Tuesday, March 28 through Thursday, March 30 and is packed with 593 top-quality, peer-reviewed papers.
• The popular Industry Session program will run concurrently with the Technical Program. These sessions will cover 20 topical areas with 124 timely presentations of current industry developments.
  
  

  Technical and Industry Sessions provide attendees with the latest developments in power electronics technology

• Three controversial topics will be covered in the annual "Rap Sessions" on Tuesday evening. These sessions present pro vs. con arguments about important issues. Topics this year will be "Power Electronic Architectures: Do We Need More or Have all the Topologies been Invented?",  "Do We Need to Progress Towards GHz Switching in High Power Systems and Applications?" and "3D Printing and Power Supply on Chip (PSoC)/Power Supply in Package (PSiP) vs. Discrete Designs". Plan to get there early to be sure to get a seat.
• The exhibit hall (once again a sell-out) is packed with the latest power electronics products.
  
  

  The busy tradeshow opens with a Monday evening reception

  
  
• The annual MicroMouse contest pits teams from around the world to solve the maze in the fastest time with their intelligent motorized mice. This is always a very entertaining event.
  
  

  A university team sets up its entry in the annual MicroMouse competition

• All attendees are invited to "Escape to Little Havana!" at the Wednesday evening event that offers a wonderful opportunity for socializing with colleagues from across the globe.

When asked about this year's venue, Dr. Kimball said, "Tampa is a stunning location which I'm sure you will enjoy as you experience all the city has to offer. I hope you take advantage of this by visiting Busch Gardens, the New York Yankees spring training facility, or one of the nearby world class beaches. Your families will have endless options to explore, including the Florida Aquarium, Lowry Park Zoo, SS American Victory, Henry B. Plant Museum, and Glazer Children's Museum. In addition, there are extensive dining destinations and entertainment venues for you to visit with old friends and new colleagues at the conclusion of each day's programming."

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2017 Publicity Chair

he 2017 PSMA Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with APEC 2017 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, FL on Monday March 27. A buffet breakfast at 7:30 a.m. will precede the meeting and individuals from member companies as well non-member guests are invited to attend and participate in a full agenda of topics of interest to the industry. At the meeting, you will have the opportunity to meet and interact with many of the students who received APEC Travel Support to present their papers at the Technical Sessions. Regular member company representatives will participate in the election of four new Directors to serve on the PSMA Board for a three-year term beginning immediately and ending at APEC 2020. The detailed agenda for the meeting will be on the PSMA web site and will include reports from each of the technical committees and stimulating discussions on new PSMA initiatives for 2017 and beyond.

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

Another way to get more out of your company membership in PSMA is to get involved with one of our active technical committees. The Capacitor, Energy Harvesting, Energy Management, Industry-Education, Magnetics, Marketing, Power Electronics Packaging, Power Technology Roadmap, Safety & Compliance, Semiconductor and Transportation Power Electronics committees all plan to hold open meetings during the week of APEC 2017. All are invited to participate or to just drop in any of these committee meetings to hear and provide input as the committee activities are being planned for the coming year. Visit the PSMA website to see the schedule of PSMA meetings and events at APEC 2017.

The Magnetics Committee is co-sponsoring with PELS a second workshop"Power Magnetics @ High Frequency- Transforming the Black Magic to Engineering" the Saturday before APEC 2017 – March 25 at the Tampa Convention Center. Information on this workshop is available in a separate article in this issue of the Update and at www.psma.com/technical-forums/magnetics/workshop.

Be sure to visit us at the PSMA booth in the exhibition area during APEC. PSMA is again sponsoring the popular PSMA/ APEC Passport Program. Visit the booths of participating PSMA members in the exhibit hall to enter your name into a raffle drawing.

We look forward to a good turnout at the PSMA meetings and a very exciting week.

For the latest information on all of the activities planned during APEC 2017, visit us at www.psma.com.

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 Mike Hayes and Kevin Parmenter who were both elected to their first term in 2015.

Mike Hayes has almost 30 years' experience working in Power Electronics industry & research and is an active member of PSMA. He joined the PSMA Board of Directors in 2015 becoming Vice President in 2016. He currently works at Tyndall, one of Europe's leading research centers and a world leader in PSiP (Power Supply in Package) & PowerSoC (Power Supply on Chip) domains, as an industry orientated program manager covering collaborative projects on power electronics & energy efficiency. He is also Tyndall's representative on the Cork Smart Gateway steering committee. At Tyndall he has secured around $6M in funding (from industry, government & the EU) leading to the creation of over 30 jobs & helping industry partners secure $3M in VC/research funding.

Mike's research activities are in the areas of energy harvesting, WSN (wireless sensor network) for micro-grid & factory efficiency and 3D power electronics packaging. He has an established track record promoting synergies between power electronics, energy harvesting and ICT domains and has written a number of publications, participated in EU studies, presenting & chairing conferences and workshops related to this. Technically he co-ordinates Tyndall energy harvesting and conditional monitoring research activities that has delivered the world's 1st indoor energy harvesting power management solution operating indefinitely in indoor lighting conditions and for 72 hours in darkness. His specialist area is power management solutions (hardware and models) for micro-power energy harvesting & is currently leading a program (MISCHIEF) developing a high efficiency multi-source micro-power energy harvesting PMIC (power management IC) in collaboration with MCCI (Microelectronic Circuits Centre Ireland).

Mike gained 20 years power electronics industry experience at Artesyn Technologies in various process development, power supply design & senior management roles developing custom power supplies for blue chip telecoms companies. A key part of his Engineering Manager role entailed building technical relations with key clients, gaining a technical holistic understanding of the overall system needs and helping clients realize optimized power solutions. During this time there in 1992 he published his M.Eng.Sc. thesis on 'Planar Magnetics for Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS) Applications'.

Since 2013 Mike is an active member of the PSMA Packaging Committee providing leadership (phase 1)/guidance (phase 2) on the PSMA 3D reports and technology roadmaps. He has also been involved annually in reviewing presentations for APEC industry sessions and is PSMA's representative on the IWIPP steering committee for 2017. Mike chaired the Packaging and Manufacturing session of international workshop PwrSoC2014 and presented the PSMA 3D technology roadmap at an ECPE (European Centre for Power Electronics) workshop in 2015.

Mike resurrected the PSMA Energy Harvesting committee in Oct 2015 taking a system application oriented approach and putting an initial focus on data gathering ultra-low power (ULP) devices such as wireless sensors. The committee has held 2 webinars in 2016 (one with IEEE PELS) and will have an Energy Harvesting Industry Session at APEC 2017.

He has a passion & belief that commercialization of existing and emerging technologies can be accelerated through system integration getting stakeholders from various disciplines to collaborate. To do this requires articulation of the benefits to all power electronics stakeholders as well as providing an ecosystem to foster such collaboration. PSMA has a major role to play here & Mike leverages from his experience and network to help identify, promote & drive industry/academic synergies at an international level particularly between packaging & manufacturing & between ICT, energy harvesting & power management.

Provided by Senior Program manager, ICT for Energy Efficiency, Tyndall National institute

Kevin Parmenter, Vice President of Applications North America at Excelsys Technologies, has a career spanning over 30 years in the electronics and semiconductor industry. A long-time member and now Senior Member of IEEE, Kevin frequently speaks at technology tradeshows and has authored many technical articles and guest columns for industry publications. Currently, he is Chair of the PSMA's Safety and Compliance Committee and is a past president of the organization. He also was General Chair of APEC 2009.
Kevin has held positions at Freescale Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, ON Semiconductor and Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector. He was previously Director of Advanced Technical Marketing (digital power products) for Exar.

Kevin has a B.S.E.E. from Purdue University and B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado Technical University. He holds both Amateur Extra class F.C.C. license and an F.C.C. Commercial Radiotelephone License.
 

Provided by Kevin Parmenter, Vice President of Applications North America, Excelsys Technologies

 
ubadue Wire is a name that stands for quality. Opened in 1977 by Edwin A. Rubadue, Rubadue Wire is celebrating 40 years of serving OEM’s around the globe. The company started in Southern California and moved to Greeley, Colorado in 1994.

Rubadue Wire is employee owned since 2014, our employee owners are proud to partner with customers and vendors to bring innovative solutions to the marketplace. The company is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified and strives every day for continual improvement.

Rubadue Wire is primarily known for being the first company to design and manufacture Triple Insulated Wire, which revolutionized the way agency requirements for reinforced insulation could be achieved. This allowed engineers to utilize the entire winding window from bobbin wall to bobbin wall with products which meet requirements for IEC 60950, 60601, 61558, 61010 and 62368.

Rubadue Wire offers a wide range of insulations, sizes, types and configurations, with the majority of our products in the high temperature/high dielectric arena. We specialize in fine wire with thin wall applications without limiting our products to that segment. Our products are used in high profile consumer electronics and medical devices. Typical applications for products in medical are for MRI and CT scanners, defibrillators, wireless chargers and thermometers. Other markets include renewable energy, oil & gas, security, automotive and consumer electronics. We offer extensive options in AWM products.

Rubadue recently acquired Kerrigan-Lewis - KL is well-known name in the wire and cable community. Through this acquisition Rubadue now offers a range of uninsulated litz wires, served litz wires, and extruded litz wires.

Our newest products also include a range of 300C offerings as well as CoilBond™ - heat activated self-bonding fluoropolymer.

Rubadue Wire provides sustainable, safe, quality products at competitive pricing that are Performance Driven – Committed to Quality – People Matter.

Provided by Sue Welsh, President, Rubadue Wire

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.

Coil Technology Corporation
Ady Hsiao
NO.206, Fengren Road, Feng Shan Dist.
Kaohsiung City 830
Taiwan, R.O.C.
Telephone: +886-710-6989
E-mail: ady.hsiao@ctc-dc-dc.com
Website: www.ctc-dc-dc.com.tw

CTC Coil Technology Corporation has been a professional service provider for high-end power modules for global brands for almost 30 years. CTC's core business is to design and deliver products using leading technologies and providing competitive pricing, extremely flexible lead-time and global technical service.

CTC is the only corporation certificated with ISO-9001, TS-16949, IRIS, and ESD/ANSI-2020. They guarantee not only the product, but also the service to match, assuring quality for every high-end application from the very beginning. From design to manufacturing and technical support, every single detail maintians the highest standard.

D3 Semiconductor
Scott Carson
15050 East Beltwood Parkway
Addison, TX 75001
Telephone: 972-814-3990
E-mail: scott.carson@d3semi.com
Website: www.d3semi.com

D3 Semiconductor believes power, precision and efficiency are inextricably linked. Their +FET technology is borne from the desire to fuse the power and efficiency of Super Junction architectures with the precision of mixed-signal capabilities.
The company was officially formed in late 2011 with full funding achieved in January of 2013.  In the ensuing years, they have built a world class Super Junction power MOSFET, established supply chains, performed reliability testing and are now launching into the market.

D3 was founded on the premise to change the DNA of power conversion and motor control.  They are driving to the next stage of evolution in power technology building blocks.  D3's technology will equip designers with tools needed to increase power densities to new levels using standard silicon power technology.  

Powerbox International AB
Patrick Le Fevre
Västra Storgatan 22
Gnesta, Södermanland 64622
Sweden
Telephone: +46765271797
E-mail: patrick.le-fevre@prbx.com
Website: www.prbx.com

Powerbox, founded in 1974, is one of Europe's largest power supply companies. With headquarters in Sweden and local operations in 15 countries on four continents Powerbox serves customers around the globe. With its extensive competence, experience and product range Powerbox combines the roles of power consultant and supplier, enhancing its customer's competitiveness by suggesting and supplying optimized power solutions.

Powerbox focuses on four major markets - industrial, medical, railway and transportation, and defense - for which the company designs and markets premium quality power conversion systems for demanding applications. Powerbox is recognized for technical innovations that reduce energy consumption and the company's ability to manage the full product lifecycle, minimizing environmental impacts.

SlamaTech, LLC
George Slama
1372 12th St NE
Watertown, SD 57201
Telephone: 605-212-9350
E-mail: gslama@slamatech.com
Website: www.slamatech.com

SlamaTech provides seminars on how to design and build switching power magnetics. The seminars are designed to provide high-quality, up-to-date magnetics design information to all professionals in the power electronics industry. Seminars are available at all levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced) and across a broad range of practical topics from design to manufacturing. From a single presentation to a series, or from a hour to a couple of days we can create a seminar to match your training requirements.

George Slama has been designing and working with transformers for over 30 years. His design experience covers everything from milliwatt microphone, audio, telecom transformers to control, ferro-resonant, aircraft, radar, high voltage and small 3 phase transformers. His work has also included quality control, automated testing and manufacturing engineering in Canada and the United States. Mr. Slama has also worked in all aspects of custom switch mode power supply design and development. He has given seminars in the US and Germany, taught at APEC, presented at IMAPS, the NDIA Fuze conference and has written or contributed to several published papers.

Jin Wang

The Ohio State University
205 Dreese Lab
2015 Neil Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
Telephone: 614-688-4041
E-mail: wang.1248@osu.edu

Jin Wang received a B.S. degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University, in 1998, an M.S. degree from Wuhan University, in 2001, and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, East Lansing, in 2005, all in electrical engineering.

Dr. Wang joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University as an assistant professor in September 2007 and was promoted to associate professor in September 2013.  His research interests include wide bandgap power devices and their applications, high-voltage and high-power converter/inverters, integration of renewable energy sources, and electrification of transportation. Prior to joining the University, he worked at the Ford Motor Company as a Core Power Electronics Engineer and contributed to the traction drive design of the Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Dr. Wang has received multiple teaching and research awards. He has over 100 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications and three patents. 

epending on what type of engineer you're speaking too, power packaging can mean a variety of different things – from a single semiconductor bare die package all the way up to a multi-level, vibration-ruggedized inverter design. With significant technical advances in the semiconductor market and increasing demands of customer applications, the field of power packaging is more critical than ever before. The International Workshop on Integrated Power Packaging seeks to bring industry professionals and researchers together to address the newest innovations in this rapidly evolving field. As material and semiconductor technologies continue to improve, fundamental device and system-level packaging approaches must also evolve in order to address challenges introduced by the increasing performance, reliability, and cost demands of next-generation power electronics applications. This workshop is an opportunity to engage in a meaningful discussion about the latest technologies and techniques in both industry and academia, ensuring that a cooperative learning environment is fostered for attendees of diverse technical backgrounds. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together researchers in the field of power electronics components, electrical insulating materials, and packaging technologies to rapidly promote the development and commercialization of high-density and high-efficiency power converters.

IWIPP 2017 is specifically structured for inter-disciplinary learning opportunities, as evidenced by its diverse technical sponsors: the Power Supply Manufacturers Association (PSMA), the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), the IEEE Components, Packaging, & Manufacturing Technology Society (CPMT), the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS), and the European Center for Power Electronics (ECPE).

In order to capture the inter-disciplinary knowledge of the workshop, IWIPP 2017 is introducing a new tutorial system. Each of the first two mornings of the conference will open with a technical tutorial, which will be open to all conference attendees. On Wednesday, April 5, Patrick McCluskey from the University of Maryland will present a tutorial on "Packaging and Thermal Management of Integrated Power Electronics". The following day, Thursday, April 6, Thierry Lebey of the University of Toulouse will present a tutorial on "Characterizing Electrical Insulation for Wide Bandgap Power Packaging".

In addition to education-based professional opportunities, IWIPP 2017 will also feature daily plenary sessions from a diverse group of invited industry professionals and technical society leaders, including:

• Alan Mantooth of the Univeristy of Arkansas / IEEE PELS speaking on "Serving Humanity Through a Dynamic Profession – The IEEE Power Electronics Society"
• Bram Ferreira, of the Delft University of Technology, & William Chen, of ASE US, speaking on "Power Packaging Society Roadmapping"
• Cian O'Mathuna of the Tyndall Institute speaking on "Integrated Passives in Power Electronics"
• Eckhard Wolfgang of ECPE speaking on "Ten Years of Robustness Validation Applied to Power Electronics Components"
• Peter Friedrich of Infineon speaking on "Advances in Wide Bandgap Power Devices & their Positioning in Various Applications"
• Chris Bailey of the University of Greenwich – EPSRC speaking on "Design & Modeling"
  
  

On Friday morning, IWIPP 2017 will feature an interactive panel session focusing on Modeling & Reliability, in lieu of a third tutorial. This panel is comprised of industry and academic experts from different levels of power packaging, including:

• Andy Lemmon, of the University of Alabama, sharing knowledge on Parasitic Extraction & Modeling
• Patrick McCluskey, of the University of Maryland, sharing knowledge on Reliability Modeling
• Brice McPherson, of Wolfspeed, sharing knowledge on Power Module Modeling
• Chris Bailey, of the University of Greenwich - EPSCRS, sharing knowledge on Mechanical Reliability Modeling

In addition to the invited papers, the conference program will include technical sessions on Systems & Circuits, Power Modules, Packaging & Interconnects, Thermal Management, Sensors & Passives, as well as a Poster Session covering a variety of different packaging topics. Since IWIPP is focused on collaborative research opportunities, it will also feature a limited number of exhibition spaces to select industry suppliers. These exhibition tables will provide participants an opportunity to interact with cutting-edge products and engineering-service suppliers capable of helping achieve their research goals.

The Diamond Industrial Partner for IWIPP 2017 is Wolfspeed, a Cree Company. In addition to sponsoring the daily plenary sessions, Wolfspeed is also supporting the official conference banquet / social event.

The first IWIPP was held in 1998 at the Congress Plaza hotel in Chicago, IL, USA; after the late 90's the conference went on a 16 year hiatus and returned to its Chicago roots in 2015. The 2015 revival of IWIPP was an exciting workshop which focused on cutting edge packaging approaches. The conference was moved to Europe for the 2017, and more supporting organization sponsors were engaged, to broaden the available audience and overall breadth of the event's technical discussion. This year, from April 5-7, the Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands will be hosting the conference. The main conference event will be held in the Aula Conference Center, and the welcome reception will tour the High Voltage Research lab on campus. Early Registration pricing ends on March 1; for registration or partnership inquiries, please contact the IWIPP Organizing committee or visit www.IWIPP.org.

IWIPP 2017 is an opportunity for leaders in all levels of electronics packaging - from early-stage research to volume manufacturing – to meet and collaborate; we hope to see you and hear your ideas in Delft this spring.

Provided by Lauren Kegley, IWIPP 2017 Sponsorship & Publications Chair

"Power Magnetics @ High Frequency
–Transforming the Black Magic to Engineering"
Saturday March 25, 2017
Tampa, Florida

he PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS will hold the second workshop "Power Magnetics @ High Frequency – Transforming the Black Magic to Engineering" on Saturday, March 25, 2017 -  the day before and in the same venue as APEC 2017 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, FL. The successful inaugural workshop, "Power Magnetics @ High Frequency – Solving the Black Magic!", was held in Long Beach, CA prior to APEC 2016.

The target audience for this workshop are professionals who are working to achieve higher power densities, low profile aspect ratio, higher efficiencies, and improved thermal performance in power products.  The workshop content is especially suitable for:

designers of power magnetic components
manufacturers of magnetic materials and magnetic structures
fabricators of magnetic components
providers of modelling and simulation software
manufacturers of test and characterization equipment

Workshop attendees are invited to arrive in the meeting room between 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM for a buffet style breakfast and informal discussions with their colleagues and peers. During the breakfast period, there will be an opportunity to preview the technology demonstrations which are part of the technical program.

There will be five (5) technical sessions.

The first opening technical session of the morning will feature two lecture style presentations. Each presenter will speak for thirty minutes followed by ten minutes for Q&A. The tentative schedule for this session is:

• Dr. Johann Kolar, ETH, "Impact of Magnetics on Power Electronics Converter Performance – State of the Art and Future Prospects"
• Donna Kepcia, Magnetics, "Smaller-Faster-Lower Cost—Magnetic Materials Meet Rigorous Demands in Today's High Power Fast-Paced Design Landscape"
• This will be followed by a Panel Discussion with Dr. Kolar and Donna Kepcia who will host a discussion of topics of interest to the workshop attendees.  Everyone's participation is encouraged.

This opening technical session will be followed a special technical issues session covering measurement of ac power losses. In this session, a panel of six experts will each cover a specific issue associated with ac power loss measurements for fifteen minutes followed by a thirty-minute interactive panel Q&A discussion with the workshop attendees. The presenters in this session include:

• Dr. Ray Ridley, Ridley Engineering, overview of general issues associated with ac power loss measurements
• Dr. Charles Sullivan, Dartmouth, Survey of Different Test Methods
• Bruce Carsten, Waveforms for Stimulating Magnetic Cores
• Santosh Kulkarni, Tyndall, Challenges to Improving the Accuracy of High Frequency (120 MHz) Test Systems
• Ed Herbert, PSMA, Parameter Extraction (Data Crunching)
• Chuck Wild, Dexter Magnetics, Industry Standardization
• This will be followed by a Panel Discussion where  Dr. Ray Ridley, Dr. Charles Sullivan, Bruce Carsten, Santosh Kulkarni, Ed Herbert, and Chuck Wild will address topics of interest from the workshop attendees.  Everyone's participation is encouraged.

The third technical session, which will be coincident with lunch, is a series of interactive technology demonstrations and/or presentations addressing specific technical disciplines and capabilities consistent with the workshop agenda. Each of the individual technology demonstrations will repeat on fifteen minute intervals consisting of a ten-minute presentation and a five-minute Q&A. Workshop attendees are encouraged to move between the technology demonstrations so they can cover as many as possible during the session to allow reasonably small groups for each technology demonstration session.

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

• JC Sun, Bs&T:  DI/DT Measurements of Inductance
• Andreas Muesing, Gecko-Simulations:  Developing Models and Simulations from Measurement Data
• Rodney Rogers, Allstar Magnetics: Correlation between Modelling and Measurements of a Common Mode Choke
• Bruce Carsten: Magnetics Characterization Test Equipment
• Ryu Nagahama, IWATSU:  Core Loss Measurements on High Phase Angle Material
• Chris Oliver, Micrometals:  Materials and Design Tools Suitable for 1 MHz+ Switching Frequencies
• Kevin McGivern, McGivern Technologies:  Modelling Modular UR Cores
• Lorandt Foelkel, Wurth Elektronik: Calculation of AC Losses of Filter Inductors in Inverters
• Chuck Wild, Dexter Magnetics:  Magnetic Supplier Technology Roadmaps
• National Magnetics: Rudy Geisler
• EPCOS, a TDK Group Company: Dr. Bernard Michaud, Jan Simecek

The fourth technical session will also feature two lecture style presentations. Each presenter will speak for thirty minutes followed by ten minutes for Q&A. The tentative schedule for this session is:

• Laili Wang, Sumida, will present "Package and Integration in Point-of-Load Converters"
• John Lynch, Fair Rite Products, will present "Developing Materials for High Frequency Power Magnetics"
• This will be followed by a Panel Discussion with Laili Wang and John Lynch who will host a discussion of topics of interest to the workshop attendees.  Everyone's participation is encouraged.

The fifth and final technical session will cover modelling of ac power losses. Three experts will cover a specific issue associated with modelling ac power loss for fifteen minutes and will be followed by a fifteen-minute interactive panel Q&A discussion with the workshop attendees. The presenters in this session are:

• Dr. Charles Sullivan, Dartmouth, Overview of Modelling Methods
• Dr. Ray Ridley, Ridley Engineering: Spice Models for Conductor Losses
• Ed Herbert, PSMA: Spice models for Core Losses
• This will be followed by a Panel Discussion with Dr. Charles Sullivan, Dr. Ray Ridley, Ed Herbert who will host a discussion of topics of interest to the workshop attendees.  Everyone's participation is encouraged.

Following the final technical session there will be a networking hour. Wine, beer and hors d'oeuvre will be available from 5:00 to 6:00. There will also be an additional opportunity to visit with the technology demonstration stations during this period.

Registration for the Workshop is limited and interested attendees are encouraged to register today. The early registration fee for the workshop is $300 per participant reducing to $200 for PSMA members, IEEE PELS members and students from an accredited university. After March 1, the registration fee increases to $350 reduced to $250 for members and students. Breakfast and lunch are provided as part of the workshop. Electronic copies of all presentations will be made available to the workshop participants via a password protected website.

The latest information on the agenda as well as registration information for the workshop are available on the PSMA website at: www.psma.com/technical-forums/magnetics/workshop.

Organizing Committee
Steve Carlsen, Raytheon Systems Company
Ed Herbert, PSMA
Rodney Rodgers, Allstar Magnetics
Fred Weber, Future Technology Worldwide
Chuck Wild, Dexter Magnetic Technologies Inc.
Matt Wilkowski, Intel

he 4th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA) was held November 7–9, 2016, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. WiPDA is a fast-growing annual event with a focus on wide bandgap device development, applications of wide bandgap power devices, and related topics. This workshop, sponsored by IEEE and PSMA, provides a forum for device scientists, circuit designers, and application engineers from the IEEE Power Electronics and Electron Devices Societies to share technology updates, research findings, development experience, and ideas for novel applications. Topics of interest at WiPDA include:

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

The number of WIPDA attendees has grown quickly over the last four years, with attendees coming from multiple disciplines including materials science, device fabrication, and device application. Two hundred attendees participated in the workshop this year, including 105 from industry and 95 from academia or other research institutions. Of the 200 attendees, 165 were from the US and 35 were international.

WiPDA 2016 maintained the program from previous years and included tutorials, keynote sessions, university lab tours, a panel discussion, technical sessions, an exhibition, and, of course, a banquet at the University of Arkansas' Razorback Stadium! The banquet also included the workshop's poster session. The university lab tours included UA's High Density Electronics Center (HiDEC), their wide bandgap power packaging facilities, and the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission (NCREPT), which is a 6 MVA/15 kV test facility. Further, IEEE's International Technology Roadmap for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (ITRW) working group met at the workshop, as did JEDEC's working group on GaN power device reliability (GaNSPEC) to leverage the knowledge of the workshop attendees.

Keynote Talks and Technical Sessions

WiPDA has gained strong support from government agencies, academic institutions, and industry-leading companies, both nationally and internationally. This year's workshop featured keynote speakers from Wolfspeed, Ford, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Sandia National Laboratories, PowerAmerica, GaN Systems, MIT, Navitas, Eta-One, and Lockheed-Martin. They shared their views from different perspectives as the device manufacturer, the equipment designer, the researcher, and the system integrator. The technical program consisted of three parallel tracks of talks covering topics ranging from the physics of wide bandgap materials and devices, through wide bandgap power modules and circuits, to large-scale applications of such circuits.

Tutorial Sessions and Panel Discussion

There were two tutorial tracks encompassing four topics: SiC devices, GaN devices, device characterization, and applications of WBG devices. Speakers from Monolith Semiconductor, Infineon, and General Electric shared their knowledge concerning development of both SiC and GaN device applications, reliability considerations, and qualification, and engineers from Keysight covered techniques and tips related to accurate measurement of wide bandgap power devices and efficiency improvement of power circuits built from such devices. The panel discussion featured experts from industry, academia, and government, and addressed topics related to the supply-chain and manufacturing of wide bandgap devices, as well as their adoption by the power electronics community.

Student Travel Grants

Also this year, WiPDA provided travel grants of $625 per awardee to encourage student participation. 16 students received these awards, out of a total of 60 student participants.
All presented papers will be included in the conference proceedings and submitted to the databases of IEEExplore.

WiPDA 2017 will be hosted from Oct 30th to Nov 1st, by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, USA. We look forward to your participation at next year's exciting event!

Provided by Dr. Fang Luo, Publicity Chair WiPDA 2016

n behalf of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, the organizers of INTELEC® 2017, invite technical contributions for presentation and discussion that will be held on the 22-26 October, 2017 at the Gold Coast in sunny Queensland, Australia.  The INTELEC forum is broad in technical scope, and contributions to the Technical Program range from academic and industry-based research and development, to field application trials and practical engineering experiences, to the economics and cost-benefit analyses of different technical solutions for ICT energy infrastructure. The topics and subject-matter interest areas for INTELEC® 2017 include, but are not limited to:

• ICT Energy Infrastructure design & functionality
• Back-up power & UPS
• Power system architectures & distribution systems
• Power Electronics
• Batteries & Energy Storage
• Renewable & alternative energy sources
• Energy Efficiency & Thermal Management

Language
The official language of INTELEC® 2017 is English. All submissions and presentations must be in English.

Technical Program
The Technical Program for INTELEC® 2017 will consist of parallel technical streams of presentations of the papers (and posters) accepted for inclusion in the IEEE Conference Proceedings, educational tutorials, one or more workshops and special interest seminars, and a commercial 'product-exposure' stream for manufacturers and solution providers.

Abstracts (Digests)
The abstract/digest should consist of sufficient material and information considered necessary by the author(s) to demonstrate relevance and technical merit of the paper. Digests should not be shorter than 400 words and a maximum of two (2) A4 pages inclusive of any diagrams and/or figures. Abstracts will be assessed by blind peer review. Author(s) can nominate their preference for their paper to be delivered as either an oral presentation or as a poster. However, the final presentation type will be at the discretion of the Technical Program Committee.

Tutorials
A number of educational tutorials and training seminars will be offered at INTELEC® 2017. Tutorials and/or training seminars are conducted on a commercial basis. Proposals from individuals or companies interested in providing tutorial or training services should consist of 1000 word (max.) summary outlining scope and content, and should include presenter credentials and contact details.

Workshops & special interest seminars
INTELEC® is renowned for lively and informative workshops and special seminars in topical areas within the industry. Workshops and special seminars arise from interest and passion within the INTELEC® community and rely on the participation and input of conference delegates. Ideas for workshop and seminars subject matter for INTELEC® 2017 are welcome.

Commercial Product Stream
As part of the Industry Exhibition at INTELEC® 2017, a separate technical content stream is available for manufacturers and product providers to give formal technical presentations to conference delegates without the need to observe the prohibition on commercial promotion which applies in the peer-review process of technical papers. Papers in the Commercial Product Stream are not included in the Conference Proceeding or IEEE Xplore, but the Commercial Product Stream is listed in the Conference Program. Papers submitted for the Commercial Product Stream should not be merely sales or marketing material and will be accepted on the basis of the technical content and merit outlined in an abstract or summary of the proposed paper.

Key dates:

• Technical Papers
• Abstract submission by                                  24 March, 2017
• Notification of acceptance by                         12 May, 2017
• Submission of full paper by                           11 August, 2017
• Other
• Tutorial Proposals by                                     28 April, 2017
• Workshops & Special Seminar proposals by 28 April, 2017

For more information and to submit a paper, please visit www.intelec2017.org/call-for-contributions.php.

ven though the free market rules the business world, government policies and regulations on trade can shape the industry structure. Usually companies prefer more free trade and less government regulation. Companies like access to markets that provide higher revenues and higher profits, while governments like higher employment for its citizens. Sometimes these intentions can be contradictory.

The electronic trade is vastly global. Although products from US companies are prominent and highly visible, most of these products, especially hardware, are manufactured in China. In addition, many components including active and passive devices are manufactured by multi-national companies located in Europe and Japan. From a trade perspective, the United States generally remains the most open country with the least restrictions. The new Trump administration has taken a staunch protectionist stance with its “America First” policy. It has promised to restrict trade by forcing companies to manufacture products in the U.S. to increase domestic employment.

So, what will be the impact of the Trump administration’s policies on the electronics industry? The electronics industry, primarily hardware manufacturing, has moved to China; President Trump has consistently mentioned China as a currency manipulator that is engaged in unfair trade practices and has gamed the system for its own gains resulting in America’s loss. It is true that despite having original and superior product design, America has failed to “scale up the products.” America designs products but China manufactures them. Thus, China’s employment in electronic manufacturing has increased significantly. Though Mr. Trump is addressing this issue today, America’s weakness in mass scale manufacturing was succinctly addressed by the late Mr. Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel. He wrote a landmark article, “How America Can Create Jobs”, in Bloomberg Businessweek almost 7 years ago. Dr. Grove, argued that just having R&D is not sufficient, scaling or mass manufacturing of the product is also important and necessary. He mentioned that “scaling is hard work but necessary to make innovation matter.” In addition, Mr. Grove stated that job creation must be the Number 1 objective of state economic policy. This has been Mr. Trump’s slogan all along, and many will be surprised to find that Mr. Grove’s views expressed in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek article were quite similar to that of Mr. Trump’s today.

On February 8, 2017, Intel’s CEO Mr. Brian Krzanich announced that the company will invest $7 billion in an Arizona plant that will employ 3,000 people. Mr. Krzanich made the announcement during a White House visit with Mr. Trump- but NPR’s Marketplace reported that this decision was 4 years in the making. Though Intel can manufacture its chips in the US, due to its highly-automated processes, most of the electronic hardware manufacturing has moved to China and is not expected to shift back to the United States anytime soon. China remains the global manufacturing center for the electronic hardware, including power supplies.

Will President Trump change this global order with tariffs, duties or quotas?

Apple’s iPhone provides an insight into the strength of Chinese manufacturing. It is not just about low-labor costs, rather China seems to have the entire manufacturing infrastructure in place together with strong government support and fire-in-the-belly attitude when it comes to manufacturing iconic electronic products like Apple’s iPhone.

For insight into Chinese manufacturing, one has to read an excellent article written by Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher of the New York Times, about why Apple makes iPhones and iPads in China instead of the United States. The essence of the article is that when Steve Jobs wanted to change iPhone’s screen from plastic to glass, only Foxconn in China could scale up and deliver the product in six weeks in very large quantities. Though the glass itself was made by Corning, a US company, there was no US company that could deliver the product in such high quantities in such a short timeframe. Duhigg and Bradsher reported that the end-to-end process of building the iPhones required 8,700 mid-level engineers. In the United States, Apple estimated it would have taken 9 months to hire these many engineers; in China, it took 15 days. The United States just could not match China’s manufacturing and infrastructure prowess. Within 3 months, Apple sold a million iPhones. Today iPhones are considered one of the greatest products of 21st century that have changed lives of millions of people.

At least in electronics hardware, the US has lost its super mass scale manufacturing to China. Power supplies also reflect this situation with about 70% of power supplies being manufactured in China. Mr. Trump wants to impose a 35% tariff on Chinese goods coming to US. China said it will retaliate. Will this increased tariff suddenly make the US into a mass-manufacturing haven for the electronic goods or just create a devastating trade war?

On February, 9, 2017, in a letter to President Xi Jinping, President Trump called for constructive US-China relationship. The future awaits in suspense.

Provided by Mohan Mankikar, President, Micro-Tech Consultants

incoln International is pleased to present you with the latest Solar Energy Stock Index from our Global Renewable Energy Group. This will provide you with:

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

solar_energy_stock_index_q4_2016.pdf (344k pdf)

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

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

• 2016 Deal Volume Comparison
• Recent Solar Energy Transaction Announcements
• Q4 2016 Solar Energy Transaction Summary

solar_dealreader_q4_2016.pdf (356k pdf)

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

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

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

ems_stock_index_q4_2016.pdf (375k pdf)

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

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

• 2016 deal volume comparison by total transactions, deal type, geography and size
• Recent EMS transaction announcements
• 2016 EMS transaction summary

ems_dealreader_q4_2016.pdf (570k pdf)

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

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