1. APEC Returns to California – See You in Anaheim, March 17-21, 2019
   
2. 2018 PSMA Planning Meeting
   
3. Meet Your Directors
   
4. About Our Members
   
5. Welcome to PSMA
   
6. PSMA Energy Management Technical Committee Leadership Opportunity
   
7. PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Survey
   
8. PSMA Announces New Membership Classifications and Dues Structure
   
9. PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS High Frequency Magnetics Workshop: Power Magnetics @ High Frequency
   
10. PSMA Capacitor Committee and IEEE PELS Capacitor Workshop: The Impact of Wideband Technologies on Application of Capacitors - A Deep Dive on Capacitor Technology
    
11. International Workshop on Integrated Power Packaging (IWIPP) 2019
    
12. International Power Supply-on-Chip (PwrSoC) 2018 Workshop: An Outstanding Success!
    
13. The 6th Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA 2018)
    
14. INTELEC 2018 Conference
    
15. Isolation Standards Say Little About Isolator Performance
    
16. The Silent Power of Supercapacitors (part 1)
    
17. Solar Energy Stock Index Q3 2018
    
18. Solar Energy DealReader Q3 2018
    
19. EMS Stock Index Q3 2018
    
20. EMS DealReader Q3 2018
    
21. 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: Q1_2018 | Q2_2018 | Q3_2018

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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.

 

hen most people think of "March Madness," it's the NCAA, but for engineers in the Power Electronics Industry it is spelled A-P-E-C. The Applied Power Electronics Conference was a much smaller conference when it was last held in Anaheim back in 2007. The 2019 edition which will convene March 17-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center is expected to draw well over 5,000 attendees.  The Conference Committee for APEC 2019 has put together an expansive program that covers the key technology developments that are driving power electronics innovation:

• The Plenary Session on Monday, March 18 will feature world-class presentations to keynote our week-long conference. The lineup is still being established but the list of potential speakers is exciting, indeed. Please check back soon for the complete schedule.
• Eighteen Professional Development Seminars will be offered on Sunday, March 17 and Monday, March 18. The seminars are presented by world-class experts and are designed to bring you up to speed on critical power electronics design technologies and techniques. Each year, the attendance at these exceptional seminars continues to grow and many are sold-out in advance. 
• A Technical Program from Tuesday, March 18 through Thursday, March 20 comprising 592 quality, peer-reviewed papers: 312 papers will be presented in 12 lecture tracks (40 sessions); 281 papers will be presented on Thursday's poster session in 17 poster areas. All papers will be included in the USB Drive of the Conference.
• The very popular Industry Session program will run concurrently with the Technical Program and consist of 25 sessions with 140 total presentations dealing with cutting-edge development from the manufacturing community. All presentations will be included in the USB Drive of the Conference.
• Three current controversial topics will be covered in the annual Rap Sessions on Tuesday evening. The Rap Sessions are designed to present alternative points of view and generate discussion. Grab a cool beverage and bring your questions for the panelists.
• Fifty-six Exhibitor Seminars will be conducted on the show floor and will again allow attendees to hear presentations about the latest products on display.
• The crowded exhibition hall with a record 300 exhibitors will be packed with the latest power electronics products.  There are currently over 40 potential exhibitors still on the waiting list!
• The always popular annual MicroMouse competition, pitting teams from around the world to solve the maze the fastest with their intelligent motorized mice, will be held on Monday evening after the exhibits close.
• A terrific social event is in the planning stages that will bring us all together on Wednesday evening. This committee has its work cut out to match the great event we had last year in San Antonio.

Speaking for all of us on the APEC Conference Committee, I invite you to come to Anaheim to be part of our annual March Madness. You really don't want to miss it.  Check the APEC website for details (www.apec-conf.org).

If you haven't already made plans to attend, don't wait any longer. Be sure you have it in your 2019 budget to attend this exceptional event – truly The Premier Event in Applied Power Electronics™.

Also consider the two PSMA and IEEE/ PELS workshops scheduled on the Saturday prior to the start of APEC2019!

• The fourth Magnetics Workshop "Power Magnetics @ High Frequency" and
• The second Capacitor Workshop, "The Impact of Wideband Technologies on Application of Capacitors - A Deep Dive on Capacitor Technology".

For more information, see the articles on each workshop in this issue of the UPDATE.

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2019 Publicity Chair

he 2018 PSMA Planning Meeting was held on Saturday September 29, 2018 at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, CA with 22 attendees. The purpose of the Planning Meeting was to review where the Association is today, discuss outstanding issues and to identify possible programs and projects that promise to bring value to the membership.

PSMA Chairman Stephen Oliver led the meeting and reviewed his vision for the organization and summarized the general health of the association as well as membership statistics and the changes since the 2017 Planning Meeting. He listed organizations PSMA interacts with, reviewed recent sponsored conferences and workshops and emphasized that the technical committees are the heart of the organization. It is in these committees that the real work of PSMA is done.

In discussing some of the areas of concern to the organization he highlighted the need to continue to invest in special projects that will bring value to our members, increase the effort to develop more and deeper involvement with more individuals within member companies and the continued commitment to bring more industry content to APEC. He suggested "Tiger Teams", powerful, agile groups of experts brought together for a single, short project, to address some of the current opportunities and challenges.

Michel Grenon, Secretary/Treasurer, prepared a 6-Quarter financial forecast which indicated that the Association will remain in a reasonable financial position over the period which will allow funding to support Special Projects that promise to bring value to the membership and the industry.

There was a report from each of the technical committees that summarized their accomplishments over the past year and focused on ongoing programs and projects for 2019. Seven of the technical committees have submitted proposals to organize Industry Sessions at APEC 2019 and all technical committees are supporting the 2019 Power Technology Roadmap effort. In addition:

• Pierre Lohrber, Capacitor Committee Co-Chair, reported that the committee is sponsoring educational webinars on Capacitor Design Basics and planning a second workshop, The Impact of Wideband Technologies on Application of Capacitors - A Deep Dive on Capacitor Technology, the Saturday before APEC 2019.
• Energy Harvesting Committee Co-Chairs Mike Hayes and Brian Zahnstecher reported some of the highlights from EnerHarv 2018 Workshop recently held at Tyndall in Cork Ireland. The committee is organizing a student competition.
• Ed Herbert, Energy Management Committee Interim Co-Chair, reported that due to a number of circumstances, the Technical Committee has recently lost its chair and co-chair and is actively seeking volunteers for the leadership position. As a result, the committee has not proposed an Industry Session for APEC2019. The committee continues to support the Energy Efficiency Database (EEDB) on the PSMA website.
• Joe Horzepa reported that the Industry-Education Committee supported the Student Travel Support for APEC 2018. The program, co-sponsored by IAS and PELS provides travel reimbursement up to $1,000 each totaling $60,000 for students whose technical abstracts were selected for presentation and who will be attending the conference. The committee will continue to support the program for APEC 2019. The I-E committee is in need of more active support from both Industry and University volunteers to identify and offer programs to encourage high school and undergraduate student to consider opportunities in the Power Sources industry.
• Ed Herbert, Magnetics Committee Co-Chair, reported that the committee held a very successful Magnetics Workshop at APEC 2018 and is organizing a fourth Power Magnetics @ High Frequency Workshop, for the Saturday before APEC 2019. The committee is also working on a Special Project with SMA on core testing.
• Greg Evans, Marketing Committee Co-Chair, reviewed the recent activities of the committee including plans for APEC 2019. For the sixth year, the committee will sponsor the "PSMA Passport Game" to increase visibility and traffic to PSMA member exhibit booths during APEC. The committee will continue to issue news releases for PSMA events and activities. The committee recently proposed changes to the Membership Categories which was accepted by the Board. In addition, the committee has proposed changes in membership Dues structure that is being reviewed by the Board.

• Dhaval Dalal and Conor Quinn, Power Technology Roadmap Committee Co-Chairs, reviewed the current status and Timeline for the 2019 Power Technology Roadmap Report that will be published in March. The Committee continues to organize a number of technical Webinars in support of the Roadmap and is preparing a survey of the industry targeted at key individuals in the Industry – the survey will be both in English and Chinese to attract higher participation.
• Reliability Committee Co-Chair Brian Zahnstecher reported that the committee was formed in July 2017 and now has 19 members. The committee is currently focused on ta Special Project to report on best practices for Power supply Software/ Firmware/Test/Standardization with a report targeted for release by APEC 2019.
• Kevin Parmenter, Safety and Compliance Committee Co-Chair, reviewed past activities and planning for the coming year. The committee continues to support the Safety & Compliance Data Base. Committee members have presented at external events to build awareness and the co-chairs contribute a monthly column in How2Power.
• Semiconductor Committee Co-Chair Tim McDonald reported that the committee has proposed 3 Industry Sessions for APEC 2019 and is supporting as technical and financial co-sponsor with IEEE PELS the WiPDA Workshop in Atlanta, GA. The committee has recruited several new members recently and is currently looking for a new co-chair.
• The Co-Chairs of the Transportation Power Electronics Committee, Ralph Taylor and Fred Weber, were unable to attend in person, but submitted a report reviewing the committee's activities. The committee typically has 5-10 participants at their monthly meetings.

During the Committee Reports a number of issues and possible future activities were identified and discussed. These issues will be the focus for PSMA over the next year (and beyond).

Following the committee reports, PSMA President Mike Hayes led the Planning Discussion which generated a short list of 7 Tiger Teams addressing issues including Privacy, Workshop Policies, Committee Consolidation and Cooperation, Public Image, Strategy, Collaborations with Other Organizations, and Student Mentoring.
 
PSMA members can view the minutes of the Planning Meeting on the "Members Only" section of the PSMA web site.

our members of the Board of Directors are elected at the PSMA Annual Meeting held every year during the APEC conference. If you would like to nominate an individual from a PSMA member company for the next election, please contact the Association Office.

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 Michael Hayes who was elected to his second term in March 2018 and Brian Narveson who is currently serving his second term.

Michael Hayes

Mike has 30 years of experience working in Power Electronics industry & research and is an active member of the PSMA packaging, energy management and energy harvesting committees (which he co-chairs). He is also a member of the PSMA executive committee having served as vice president from 2016-18 and new serves as president. Mike currently works at Tyndall as an industry orientated program manager covering collaborative projects on power electronics & energy efficiency. For Tyndall he has secured over $10M in funding (from industry, government & the EU) leading to the creation of over 30 jobs and helping industry partners secure $2.5M in VC/research funding. Tyndall is one of Europe's leading research centers and a world leader in PSiP & PwrSoC domains and an epicenter for micro-power energy harvesting research in Europe.

Mike has an established track record promoting synergetic opportunities 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. His team delivered the world's 1st indoor energy harvesting power management solution operating indefinitely in indoor lighting conditions and for 72 hours in darkness. He is currently work package leader on 3 EU energy efficiency projects and co-ordinator of a 'Powering the Internet of Things' infrastructure project ('EnABLES') worth $6M, giving industry access (expertise, equipment, models, feasibility studies) to 11 leading research centers and universities in Europe (Tyndall, Fraunhofer, IMEC, CEA et al.)

Mike gained 20 years of power electronics industry experience at Artesyn Technologies in various design & senior management roles developing custom power supplies for blue chip telecom companies. He has previously managed a number of technology collaborations with Power Electronics Ireland and Tyndall. Mike also represented Artesyn on the Irish Power Electronics Industry Group (PEIG) industry steering committee.  During this time he published his M.Eng.Sc. thesis on 'Planar Magnetics for Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS) Applications'.

Key achievements to date related to PSMA

• Founder & co-chair of the Energy Harvesting Committee that was resurrected in 2015
• Co-chair of PSMA energy harvesting industry session at APEC2017 & 2018
• Co-founder with Brian Zahnstecher (PowerRox) & general chair of EnerHarv, an inaugural PSMA led energy harvesting international workshop (May 2018)
• Contributor to 2017 PSMA Technology Roadmap (Energy harvesting applications)
• Presentation on packaging considerations for energy harvesting IoT devices – APEC 2017
• Managed PSMA 3D phase 1 special project 2014 (technical report, presentation at ECPE)
• Hosted PSMA webinar on energy harvesting/power electronics synergies in 2016
• Chaired the Packaging and Manufacturing session of international workshop PwrSoC2014
• Represented PSMA on the steering committee of IWIPP2017 workshop

Mike continues to identify, promote and drive industry/academic synergies internationally particularly between packaging, MEMS manufacturing, ICT, energy harvesting & power management. This was demonstrated at EnerHarv201 where over 80 industry and academics participants from four continents gathered together forming an ecosystem driven to collaborate together to devise solutions to power the internet of things. This is expected to be a trillion sensor economy by 2025 and a disruptive opportunity for the power electronics community. Recently he received a leadership award from University College Cork for his various 'powering IoT' initiatives over the past decade. 

Provided by Mike Hayes, Senior Program manager, Tyndall National Institute

Brian C. Narveson is currently the President of Narveson's Innovative Consulting, which focuses on coaching Innovation in Engineering and Technical Marketing.  Brian has been focused on the power industry for over 25 years.  He joined Power Trends in 1992 shortly after it was founded as the Vice President of Engineering. His team developed the products which helped grow the company from less than $1M in sales in 1992 to over $60M in 1999 when it was purchased by Texas Instruments. After the acquisition he became the Marketing and Applications Manager for TI's Power Module business.  From this role he advanced to Worldwide Power Marketing Development Manager at TI (2002-2007).  From 2007 until he retired from TI in 2011 he was the Midwest Analog Applications Manager for Texas Instruments.

Brian has served on the board of directors for 5+ years.  He has been co-chairman of the PSMA Packaging Committee for 12 years, which sponsored and facilitated the PSMA "PSiP2PwrSoC" Technical Report and Industry Sessions. They have also published three Technical Reports on 3D Packaging and have organized two International Symposiums on "3D- Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing (3DPEIM)". Brian has chaired many APEC Industry Sessions.  In addition, Brian has served on the PSMA Technology Roadmap committee.  He also serves on the Transportation Committee and is a member of the PwrSoc and IWIPP workshop steering committees.  He has been involved with PSMA since 2001 when he became the company representative for TI.

Brian has attended every APEC since 1994 except one.  He was a Plenary Speaker in 2014 and has presented 3 technical sessions and co-authored or presented 7 industry sessions. This year he and Ernie Parker are co-chairing the industry session "Making Power Sources Small with 3D Power Packaging Solutions" where they have recruited 7 speakers from Industry and Academia. 

Brian has published over 35 power electronics articles and conducted 5 Webinars in the US, Asia and Europe.
 

Provided by Brian Narveson, President, Narveson’s Innovative Consulting

 
lex Power Modules (formerly Ericsson Power Modules) is a subsidiary of Flex that predominantly designs and manufactures board-mounted DC/DC conversion products. With products primarily designed for use in Telecom & Radio and Datacom (including supercomputers), Flex Power Modules also offers board-mounted system solutions for other demanding applications such as the Industrial & Transportation, Energy and Military sectors.

Flex Power Modules is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and has design centers in Kalmar, Sweden, and Shanghai, China. Manufacturing is also carried out in our factory in Shanghai. The emphasis is on quality and highly automated production, making the company one of the largest volume manufacturers in the power-modules industry, having delivered more than 100 million modules to the market worldwide.

Flex Power Modules is one of the top technology leaders in the world and is positioned number one for digital power solutions as well as number two for board-mounted products for Information and Communication Technology (ICT). 

ABOUT OUR PRODUCTS
Flex Power Modules has many industry-first innovations to its credit, developed over 40 years of operation supplying solutions for distributed power architectures, intermediate bus architectures and, most recently, Direct Conversion technology.

Our products can be categorized as board-mounted DC/DC converters and power management devices based on both analog and digital control technology.

Our analog portfolio comprises isolated and non-isolated DC/DC converters offering power ranges from 1.65W to 860W with fractional bricks and industrial form factors. Key features of these analog products are high reliability and high efficiency, achieved by continuous development of the products implementing the newest components. Utilization of our own IP design process makes these products unique and positions them as reliable, robust and price-attractive solutions for the power markets.

Flex Power Modules' DC/DC converters are available in multiple industry-standard footprints including the Distributed-power Open Standards Alliance (DOSA) and the Point of Load Alliance (POLA) for analog solutions. Converters have a current range from 2.25A up to 60A.

Flex Power Modules released the first digital isolated DC/DC converter 10 years ago – being the first one ever with a digitally controlled IBC converter on the market. Now, the fourth generation of digital IBC DC/DC converter had been released. The key features of this product group are high performance with up to 1.3kW, high efficiency up to 97% and fast load-transient response.

All our digital power modules can be used with our own Flex Power Designer (FPD) software. FPD can be used offline to sketch, simulate and optimize complex multi-rail power designs for many Flex Power Modules products. FPD is used online for monitoring, testing and configuring power design via the PMBus interface.
 
Most of our digital point of load (PoL) solutions follow AMP standard and have PMBus interfaces. Flex Power Modules PoL converters can deliver up to 120A from a single module, but we also offer dual-output modules that can either be configured for two independent channels per rail or a single output with double current capacity.

Direct Conversion products offer modular board-mounted solutions for power conversion from a nominal 48/54V input direct to the silicon voltage. They are intended to power high-current rails required by the latest central processing units (CPUs), graphic processing units (GPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and memories. They support communication protocols such as PMBus, AVS, Intel's VR13 and IBM's Power9 (P9).

Power interface modules (PIMs) simplify the design in blade servers based on AdvancedTCA standards and other applications. Offering features such as EMI filtering, hot-swap, dual-feed OR-ing, hold-up function, reverse polarity protection and auxiliary management power, PIM devices can be used for any industrial or ICT application employing a distributed power architecture.

Flex Power Designer software goes beyond converter configuration and provides an overview of the whole power system, enabling our customers to define relationships across rails – phase spreading, sequencing and fault spreading.

The built-in simulation enables power-stage analysis to optimize tuning and visualize design behavior against the existing power requirements, including load-transient response, output impedance and power dissipation.

Power Designer features include:

• System configuration and efficiency estimation of the entire power system
• Configuration and simulation of the control loop, transient response and power dissipation
• System functions for sequencing, tracking, paralleling and synchronization/phase spreading configuration
• Easy configuration and monitoring of your digital power modules

Flex Power Modules offers several different evaluation boards and other useful test tools (e.g. electronic load) available for customer evaluation of our power modules.

FLEX POWER MODULES' PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Every product design is the result of extensive research and development in power technology, with a broad application and system knowledge and a focus on design for environment and design for manufacturing.

The result is:

• High efficiency over a wide load range and high power density
• Efficient thermal management leading to low total cost of ownership over product lifetime
• Excellent dynamic load performance
• High mean time between failures (MTBF) and long lifetime

BENEFITS OF DIGITAL POWER
Utilizing digitally controlled power converters allows a significant reduction in design and debugging time. In case of changes in requirements, there is no soldering iron required, as most changes can be done via PMBus – the digital interface with assistance from our FPD software. The whole development process is simplified due to the application of simulation tools. In addition, debugging of prototypes is easier due to the availability of monitoring and failure event information.

Digitally controlled modules are much more flexible and offer a wider functionality range.
For our customers, production and logistics costs are reduced by using products for multiple applications (the same product can be easily re-configured). 
  
Digital power modules require fewer components, which increases the reliability of the whole product.

For more information about Flex Power Modules' products and solutions, you are welcome to contact us by email – pm.info@flex.com – or visit our homepage: www.flex.com/powermodules

Provided by Tuuli Waern, Technical Marketing Manager, Flex Power Modules

Venable Instruments provides the most versatile, full featured Frequency Response Analyzers to customers in industries where precise testing and measurement tools for power electronics design are fundamental.   Venable Instruments' roots go back to 1979, when H. Dean Venable developed a straightforward method for analyzing control loops, with a primary focus on power supply compensation.  Building on a concept developed by R. D. Middlebrook, Dean Venable created a system by which power supply designers could measure and characterize and power supply modulator performance, create appropriate compensation, and thusly achieve desired closed loop performance.  This gave birth to the modern Frequency Response Analyzer and Stability Analysis Software.  Over the last thirty-five plus years, Venable Instruments has refined and improved the FRA hardware and software, giving power electronics engineers unprecedented ability to develop products with predictable results.

Venable offers the most extensive line up of feature rich Frequency Response Analyzers, with instruments that have two, three or four input channels and bandwidths of 10uHz to 5, 20 and 40MHz.  All of Venable's laboratory grade FRAs have fully isolated, floating inputs and oscillator outputs, rated to 600V peak.  This generally obviates the need for injection or isolation transformers and voltage reduction probes.  Additionally, Venable FRAs receive NIST calibration at no charge when shipped.  For customers that need greater calibration traceability, Venable is the only company that can provide calibrations that meet the standards of Level II Z540.1 calibration certification.

The Venable Model 6300 Series is our popular two channel hardware/software system supplying the same functionality as all Venable FRAs, with the 6300 leading the industry with more integrated testing and measurement capabilities than any other instrument in its class.

The Model 350c Series incorporates a third channel, allowing the user to measure more transfer functions simultaneously, or  source and load impedance with one sweep. The 350c is the only frequency response analyzer in the industry that can measure absolute phase, using an internal reference channel.

The Venable Model 7400 Series is the top of the line in performance, providing four input channels for increased testing, measurement and analysis functionality.  Originally designed for measuring 3-phase impedance and source and load simultaneously, the Model 7400 is a robust solution for organizations requiring high availability for high volume and/or simultaneous testing.
The Model 8800 Series is the first in our family of digital frequency response analyzers (DFRA) and our latest technology patent as the only FRA commercially available that can measure the plant of a digitally-controlled feedback loop directly and accurately.
All of our lab instruments are a hardware and software systems, which includes Stability Analysis Software, based upon our renowned K-Factor analysis method originally developed by Venable.  This full-featured software allows users to easily transfer data between plots, export data to and from other applications such as Excel® and MATHLAB, change sweep parameters during sweep, includes a simple SPICE-like program for modeling the AC frequency response of circuits, and is the only FRA software that has transfer function math capability.

Additionally, FRAs are used for making system input and output impedance measurements as well as characterizing passive components.  Venable's Input/Output Impedance Measurement Set enables the engineer to perform input impedance, output impedance and conducted audio susceptibility measurements on systems while the systems are under operational power.  Similarly, the RLC Measurement Kit provides an accurate, easy-to-use instrument for measuring values of resistors, inductors, capacitors, and parasitic elements.

Venable offers the widest range of scalable Frequency Response Analyzers to meet your company's current requirements, while providing a cost-effective growth path for increased testing functionality.  Venable is a proven leader in aerospace, automotive, energy, defense, computer technology, academia, government research applications and virtually any industry requiring the highest standards in power supply and stability testing for repeatable and accurate results.  For more information, please visit our website, www.venablecorp.com or call 512-949-3141.

Provided by Ford Mays, Sr. Applications Engineer, Venable Instruments

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.

Epishine AB
Lena Jarnryd
Westmansgatan 47
58216 Linkoping, Ostergotland
Sweden
Telephone: +46733917460
E-mail: lena.jarnryd@epishine.se
Website: epishine.se

Epishine AB is a Swedish greenup that has spun off from Linköping and Chalmers Universities. Epishine develops and manufactures organic solar cells (OPV) in a R2R manfacturing process. In the first market phase,  their focus is on low Power devices for Indoor applications.The second phase will be focused on BIPV and the third phase will be outdoor solar.

Molex, LLC
Matt Mazdeh
2222 Wellington Ct.
Lisle, IL 60532
Telephone: 408-571-9651
E-mail: matt.mazdeh@molex.com
Website: www.molex.com

Molex is a leading global supplier of advanced electronic components and solutions. Molex was instrumental in the first car radio, the first cellular phone and the first HDTV. Their pioneering products have one thing in common — they help leading technology companies achieve their own innovations.Collaboration is key to their success. Molex's experts work together as one company — across departments, disciplines and continents. They believe that diversity inspires innovation, and this belief allows Molex to successfully serve the growing global customer base. From the corporate headquarters to our manufacturing floors around the world, the Molex team is dedicated to helping further the limits of technology.

NAMICS Technologies, Inc.
Ken Araujo
226 Airport Parkway
Suite 660
San Jose, CA 95110
Telephone: 774-328-9735
E-mail: araujo@namics-usa.com
Website: www.namicsusa.com

NAMICS Corporation is a leading source for underfills, encapsulants, adhesives, and insulating and conductive materials used by producers of semiconductor devices, passive components and solar cells. Headquartered in Niigata, Japan with subsidiaries in the USA, Europe, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and China, NAMICS provides unmatched support and service to its worldwide customers with enabling products for leading edge applications.

Xiamen SET Electronics Co., Ltd.
Zhonghou Xu
No. 8067 West Xiang'an Road
Torch High--Tech District Xiang'an
Xiamen, Fujian 361101 China
Telephone: 0086 5927617025
E-mail: zhonghou.xu@setfuse.com
Website: www.setfuse.com

Xiamen SET Electronics is engaged in designing and manufacturing circuit protection components and providing integrated circuit protection solutions. With 18 years of innovative history, they have obtained lots of patents. Breakthrough design, manufacturing process and automatic production put their products in a leading position in the industry. They have set up a UL authorized Lab under UL 1449 Standard and the Witness Test Data Program(WTDP) Lab under UL 60691 Standard. Professional Testing Equipment and perfect Quality (ISO9001) , Environment (ISO14001), Occupational Health and Safety (OHSAS18000) management system mean their products comply with RoHS and REACH. Prodcuts are component-recognised in China as well as internationally by organizations such as CCC, UL, CUL, VDE, TUV, PSE and KTL. The stringent quality control method ensures products with High Quality and Reliability.

he PSMA Board of Directors is seeking one or more volunteers interested in providing leadership for the Energy Management Technical Committee. The membership in all the PSMA Technical Committees is comprised of individual volunteers from both Member and non-Member Companies who have a technical, business or personal interest and are involved in the focus of the specific Technical Committee.

An important role of the Technical Committee leadership is to coordinate the mission and focus of the committee to address the current issues and changing trends in the technologies. Each of the Technical Committees normally meet monthly via teleconference for one hour to discuss special Projects that PSMA might fund that would benefit the membership and industry, to consider and plan Industry Sessions for upcoming APEC meetings, and to support the PSMA Power Technology Roadmap with relevant Webinars and technical content. The leadership position is the chair (or co-chair) for each meeting and is responsible for generating the monthly meeting agenda and to facilitate the meeting to meet the interests of the participants.

The benefits of Technical Committee leadership are many, including:

• Being acknowledged as an important participant and factor in the technical community
• Opportunity to interact with National, State and Independent Agencies involved with the specific technologies
• Anticipate and influence changes especially in regulations and technologies
• Identify your company as an important participant and contributor in the industry segment
• An expanded ability to network with others in the industry

Additional information on this opportunity is available at www.psma.com/psma-emc-leadership-opportunity

Please contact the Association Office (power@psma.com, 973-543-9660) for more information on the specific responsibilities for the Chair and/or Co-chair of the Energy Management Technical Committee.

e invite you to participate in the biennial PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Survey that is the foundation for the 2019 PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Report. Your participation is key to the report's success.  The final report will be published in March 2019.

This survey asks for your perspective on the overall power supply technology trends and estimates in four main product areas:

1. AC-DC Front End power supplies (200 W to 2000 W)
2. External AC-DC power supplies (10 W to 200 W)
3. Isolated DC-DC converters, and
4. Non-Isolated DC-DC converters

Depending on your experience and knowledge base, you can choose to respond to questions in one or multiple areas.  The answers should reflect your view of industry trends – this survey is not a request for company-sensitive information.

In addition to filling out the survey, please feel free to invite other appropriate people within your organization to participate.  This is especially important if there are any product areas that you did not address.  We also invite you to forward it to informed industry colleagues who can add valuable inputs.  (Please note that the survey is set up to allow only one response per person.)

We ask that you respond by Friday, December 7, 2018.

As a thank you for your participation, and if you are willing to share your contact information, the PSMA will enter you into a drawing for various prizes including free registration for APEC and other PSMA-sponsored conferences and workshops.

The online survey is now available for your input in English or in Simplified Chinese at:

English:
https://v2.decipherinc.com/b/20af/180246?list=1

Simplified Chinese:
https://v2.decipherinc.com/b/20af/180246?list=2

Thank you in advance for your time and inputs,
Conor Quinn and Dhaval Dalal
PSMA Power Technology Roadmap 2019 Chairs

he PSMA Board of Directors has recognized the growing role being played by the rapid technological advances in power semiconductors, power management ICs, passive components to meet demanding customer needs for higher efficiency, higher reliability power conversion products and systems.

Much of the excellent work carried out through our PSMA Technical Committees is focused on these enabling technologies. Many of the outstanding APEC Industry Sessions organized by the PSMA Technical Committees address the advances in these critical components and manufacturing technologies. In addition, the PSMA Technical Committees sponsor several Technical Workshops and Webinars that address the advances on these topics, including the full-day Capacitor and Magnetics Workshops held the Saturday prior to the start of APEC, PwrSoC 2018 held in October in Taiwan, and the 3D Power Electronics Integrations and Manufacturing Workshop.

In recognition of the significant value and contributions provided by the companies engaged in the manufacture of these enabling technologies, the PSMA Board of Directors has determined that all such companies should be eligible for full voting membership in our Association. To this end, the PSMA Bylaws have been amended to simplify the membership structure into two classifications: Regular and Affiliate.  All member companies formerly classified as Associate Members will now be classified as Regular Members. 

In addition, the annual dues for Regular Membership will no longer be based on self-reported industry-related revenues. Instead, beginning in 2019, Regular Membership dues will be the same for all eligible companies and set at $950 per year. The Annual Dues structure has not changed in more than 30 years. For some member companies, this will result in a significant reduction in the annual cost of membership. For a small number of current Regular members and others formerly designated as Associate members, annual membership will increase modestly.

This change in the PSMA membership structure recognizes that PSMA Member Companies continue to be at the leading edge of power technology and "the voice of the Power Sources Industry".

Power Magnetics @ High Frequency
Date: Saturday March 16, 2019
APEC 2019 Anaheim, California

he PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS will conduct the fourth "Power Magnetics @ High Frequency" workshop on Saturday, March 16, 2019, which is the day before and at the same venue as APEC 2019.

The purpose and focus of the workshop is to identify the latest improvements in magnetic materials, coil (winding) design, construction and fabrication, evaluation and characterization techniques and modelling and simulation tools so as to target the advancements that are deemed necessary by the participants for power magnetics to meet the technical expectations and requirements of higher application frequencies and emerging topologies that are being driven by continuous advances in circuits topologies and semi-conductor devices driven by new market applications.

The workshop will consist of two technical lecture presentation sessions, an interactive technology demonstration presentation session and a wrap session regarding the positive trends in power magnetics. The two technical lecture presentation sessions will each be followed by a panel Q&A session and the technology demonstrations will also be available during the breakfast just prior to the opening session of the workshop and during the networking session following the workshop's formal presentation sessions.

The morning session on ac power losses will begin with a keynote presentation by Gerry Hurley of the National University of Ireland, Galway, that will provide a technical overview of both technical sessions on ac power losses and thermal management issues with power magnetics, with more detail for the topics of the morning session relative to ac power loss calculation, modelling and measurement issues. Topics planned to be covered by the individual technical presentations of the session include: impact of core size and material, measurement and characterization methods, and data presentation methods relevant to the electronic power community. Other topics of interest are still being identified. The morning session will be followed by a panel Q&A with the morning's presenters.

The lunch session will be an interactive technology presentation session during which the workshop attendees can visit and engage with the experts as they provide technical demonstrations of different topics associated with magnetics design, modelling and characterization. Some of the technical topics are as follows: emerging magnetic material, magnetic materials in the commercial marketplace, magnetic materials on the horizon, methods to predict and measure thermal performance of power magnetic components, methods to characterize near magnetic field performance of magnetic components, measurement methods for ac power loss, analysis and prediction of ac power losses in magnetic components, and fundamentals of small signal characterization of power magnetic components.

The afternoon session on thermal management of power magnetics will begin with a keynote presentation by Dr. Peter Wilson of the University of Bath, United Kingdom, that will provide a technical overview of the topics to be covered during the afternoon session as well as some recent trends in the simulation and analysis of thermal implications of various power loss mechanisms.  Topics planned to be covered by the individual technical presentations of the session include getting the heat out, impact of design on power losses and temperature rise, impact of temperature on technical performance of the power transformers and inductors and impact of package assembly techniques used for integration of physically small and physically large magnetic components in power systems. The session will be followed by a panel Q&A with the afternoon's presenters.

The workshop will conclude with a presentation by Alexander Gerfer of Wurth Elektronik regarding positive trends with power magnetics.

The registration fee for the workshop is $375 per participant, reduced to $275 for PSMA members and IEEE PELS members. On February 1, 2019, the registration fee will increase to $425 reduced to $325 for PSMA members and IEEE PELS members. Previous workshops have sold out, so early registration is encouraged. There will be a $25 surcharge for onsite registration, if seating is available. Breakfast and lunch will be provided as part of the workshop. Electronic copies of the technical lecture presentations and technology demonstration presentations will be made available to the workshop participants.

One can register for the Power Magnetics @ High Frequency workshop at:
https://www.psma.com/webforms/power-magnetics-high-frequency-workshop-2019-registration

There will be at least four student waivers for registrations fees. Students can apply for a waiver at:
https://www.psma.com/webforms/student-registration-fee-waiver-2019.

If anyone has a topic that they believe should be covered during the morning or afternoon technical lecture sessions, please submit a proposal to the PSMA office ( power@psma.com ).

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

Organizing Committee
Steve Carlsen, Raytheon
Ed Herbert
Rodney Rogers
George Slama, Wurth Elektronik
Fred Weber, Future Technology Worldwide
Chuck Wild, Dexter Magnetics

The Impact of Wideband Technologies on Application of Capacitors - A Deep Dive on Capacitor Technology
Date: Saturday March 16. 2019
APEC 2019 Anaheim, California

he PSMA Capacitor Committee and IEEE PELS will conduct the second capacitor workshop on Saturday, March 16, 2019, which is the day before and at the same venue as APEC 2019 titled: "The Impact of Wideband Technologies on Application of Capacitors - A Deep Dive on Capacitor Technology".

Many consider that a capacitor is a capacitor, it can be charged and discharged, no more no less. In 2018 the first PSMA/ IEEE PELS pre-APEC Capacitor Workshop started to lift the curtain to show some of the magical behaviors that designers must understand in the capacitor world for use in their designs. In the 2019 workshop, we will do much more than that. The primary focus will be on applications to highlight the specific requirements that must be satisfied by capacitors. Not only are evolving GaN and SiC based topologies challenging designers, the worldwide tight market for certain capacitors limit designers when selecting available capacitors that will satisfy their applications.

This workshop will address specific needs of both beginners and advanced designers of DC-DC converters, frequency drives, inverters, and other power conversation applications. The workshop agenda addresses application-based challenges on capacitor technologies and the latest capacitor developments as well as the impact of market shortages on new developments and possible solutions to overcome actual problems. The presentations will deliver the most valuable theoretical content. Complementing this will be the related demonstration stations offered before, during breaks and after the workshop. A number of industry specific topics, including automotive (e.g. emobility) and others are included in the workshop agenda. There will be a high application-based focus that will offer new horizons for the attendees.

Beside resistors, capacitors are primary in every electronic design, so it is necessary to shine a spotlight on them. The workshop will cover the following topics to deliver the highest value to attendees:

• Application challenges. GaN and SiC topologies open new horizons to hardware designers. However, this nice, new world will only work with the right passives. Capacitors are challenged with physical requirements that need to be managed properly. Additionally, eMobility is a key driver of the future; we will highlight capacitors in this new world.
• New technologies. The main dielectrics are, more or less, well known. Nevertheless, beside ceramic, film and electrolytic, there are new developments, even from inside new and bright technologies, that will find their way to the market. We will focus attention on supercapacitors, tantalums, polymer horizontal chips, ceramic specialties and the latest film developments.
• A panel Q&A will follow each technical lecture presentation session.

The organizers' aim is it to strike a perfect balance between practical content delivered by main capacitor manufacturers and information offered by leading worldwide universities with presentations on future capacitor research & development. Starting and ending with keynotes from forward thinking market players, the interactive full day session will deliver a fruitful package to the attendees. The lunch session will offer an interactive technology presentations session during which the workshop attendees can visit and engage with the experts as they provide technical demonstrations of different topics associated with capacitor design, modelling and characterization. The demonstrations will also be available during breakfast and the end-of-day networking session following the workshop's formal presentations.

The full day agenda addresses application-based challenges on capacitor technologies and the latest capacitor developments as well as the impact of market shortages on new developments and possible solutions to overcome actual problems. Presentations are designed to open new horizons of capacitor technologies to designers and answer questions engineers have, or will have, when working with different capacitor dielectrics.

The registration fee for the workshop is $375 per participant, reduced to $275 for PSMA members and IEEE PELS members. On February 1, 2019, the registration fee will increase to $425 reduced to $325 for PSMA members and IEEE PELS members. There will be a $25 surcharge for onsite registration, if seating is available. Breakfast and lunch will be provided as part of the workshop. Electronic copies of the technical lecture presentations and technology demonstration presentations will be made available to the workshop participants.

One can register for the workshop at: www.psma.com/2019_capacitor_workshop_registration

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

Please contact Pierre Lohrber (pierre.lohrber@we-online.de) of the organizing committee if you have any questions in advance.

Provided by members of the Capacitor Workshop Organizing Team:

Pierre Lohrber, Wurth Electronics
Fred Weber, Future Technology Worldwide

Toulouse France
April 24-26, 2019

Call for Papers Deadline extended to November 30

he International Workshop on Integrated Power Packaging (IWIPP) is a biennial, multi-disciplinary event focused on the intersection of technology areas that support the development of high-performance packaging for power electronics.  The accelerating commercialization of wide band-gap (WBG) semiconductors has highlighted the importance of developing next-generation packaging techniques to overcome the limitations of legacy packaging solutions.  The establishment of IWIPP represents a concentrated effort to recognize and address this challenge by bringing together the capabilities of industry practitioners and researchers across the globe.

In 2015, IWIPP reemerged after several years of inactivity to address new packaging challenges introduced with the commercialization of WBG semiconductor technology.  Since that time, IWIPP has quickly become a premier international workshop in the area of power electronics packaging and integration. The workshop is sponsored by the IEEE's Power Electronics Society (PELS), Components, Electronic Packaging Society (EPS), and Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS), as well as the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and the European Consortium on Power Electronics (ECPE). 

IWIPP 2019 will be held April 24-26, 2019, in Toulouse, France. The contents of IWIPP 2019 will include a set of plenary addresses from leading experts in the field, a broad range of technical sessions, as well as a complement of technical tutorial sessions, all of which are included in the registration fee.  Topics that will be addressed as part of the technical program for IWIPP 2019 include magnetic and dielectric materials; power semiconductor devices and modules; integration of sensors; design of gate/base drivers, reliability and manufacturability considerations; electro-magnetic interference mitigation; and many more. 

Please make plans to attend IWIPP 2019 to enhance your understanding of the latest developments in the area of high-performance power packaging and the critical role of packaging in determining the performance and reliability of power electronics applications.  Additional information regarding the workshop can be found at the following website: https://iwipp.org/

Sponsored by:
IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS)
IEEE Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology Society (CPMT)
IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS)
Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA)
European Center for Power Electronics (ECPE)

Attended by leading global scientists and engineers sharing their greatest ever advancements in semiconductor integrated power conversion/management technologies and devices! Sponsored by the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS)

he PwrSoC workshops gather outstanding academic and industry experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities in technology, design, and manufacturing necessary for advancement of miniaturized integrated power conversion and management solutions. The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and IEEE Power Electronics Society (IEEE PELS) are joint workshop sponsors.

This year the excitement grew as we organized and then held the PwrSoC 2018 workshop in Asia, in one of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturing centers, Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Workshop Attendees

The 2018 PwrSoC Workshop confirmed the strong advancement of the critical technologies necessary to commercialize miniaturized power management semiconductor circuits integrated with associated power passive components. The Workshop maintained its single track design to make sure attendees did not miss a single learning and sharing moment.

• Topics drew upon the established package integrated approach (power supply in a package – (PSiP)
• Leading ultimately to the low cost hybrid and fully on-chip solutions (power supply on chip – (PwrSoC).

The welcoming message to attendees was, "This year, we celebrate the 10-year workshop history with not only advanced technologies to build granular power supplies but also compelling demonstrations of commercialized products that make a clear case for PwrSoC and PSiP technologies becoming more prominent and mainstream." (See the full program at http://pwrsocevents.com/schedule/ and visit http://pwrsocevents.com/pwrsoc-2018-photos/ to see more pictures from PwrSoC2018.)

Introductory Remarks The attendees were warmly welcomed to the Workshop by Mau-Chung "Frank" Chang, President of the hosting university, National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) Hsinchu, Taiwan. He related the strong semiconductor technology history of the University. He was followed by Ke-Horng Chen, General Co-Chair from NCTU who suggested that the Antelects of Confucius may be helpful as attendees seek higher knowledge. He wished us a productive and exciting workshop.  Next, Cian O'Mathuna, from Tyndall Institute, Cork Ireland PwrSoC Workshop founder and General Co-Chair reminded us of the 10-year PwrSoC Workshop technical historical landscape. 

The Plenary Session was co-chaired by Ke-Horng Chen from National Chiao Tung University, Cian O'Mathuna of Tyndall National Institute, and Seth Sanders with UC Berkeley, U.S.A. The lead-off speaker was Soh Yun Siah from GLOBALFOUNDARIES sharing results of differentiate foundry approach to wafer bonded experimental GaN2BCDMOS explaining that foundries will become differentiated to include assembly functions, followed by James Doyle from Dialog Semiconductor explaining Dialog's 8 A 0.2 mm high converter results of stage 1 (external passives) of planned 2-stage (integrated passives). Peng Zhou from Huawei presented results of on-silicon magnetic thin film inductors development results – a key step towards their granular PwrSoC progress. Finally, Chien-Fan Chen of ASE explained their Semiconductor Embedded SUBstrate (SESUB) technology for robust integrated module devices having 0.3 mm or less thickness.

Session 1 Systems and Applications was co-chaired by Jose Cobos of UPM Madrid and Francisco Carobolante, U.S.A. Speakers analyzed developing approaches that are or will result in better performing power for opportunistic applications highlighted by next generation automotive system microprocessors and solid state regulators (SSRs), hearing aids, and networking systems.

Session 2 Topologies and Control co-chaired by Arnold Knott of Danish Technical University, Denmark, and Jason Stauth of Dartmouth College, U.S.A., focused on powertrain circuits and controller design for on-chip and other power supplies targeting miniaturization or integration with loads. The speakers include Dr. Christopher Schaef of Intel, Prof. Hanh-Phuc Le of University of Colorado, Dr. Toke Anderson of Nordic Power Converters, and Prof. Alexandre Prodic of University of Toronto. The speakers presented the latest advances in system architecture, converter circuit topologies, including high-frequency, multi-phase or multi-level configurations, resonant power converters operating at high and very high frequencies, switched-capacitor circuits, and hybrid converter topologies that enable ultra-high density miniaturization etc., as well as control systems enabling efficient operation at high frequencies. Particular applications covered in the session include power deliveries and power conversions for high-performance processors, data center, telecommunication systems, and LED drivers.

Session 3 Integrated Capacitive Devices co-chaired by Mohamed Mehdi Jatlaoul of Murata France and Vincent Chou from TSMC, Taiwan with MM Jataoul introducing PM Raj of Georgia Tech explaining that integrated tantalum film power capacitors are an attractive alternative to MLCC or deep trench approaches. He was followed by Jyun-Ying Lin from TSMC, Taiwan who shares their progress with deep trench capacitor (DTC) technology achieving 1.5 µF/mm2 with Vop range of 1.2 to 4 V.  Driven by demands in IoT, Frederic Nodet of Murata (formerly IPDiA) shared their progress with tailoring deep trench capacitors for applications using multiple current injection points to reduce ELS with a roadmap of 6 µF /mm2 by 2023. Finally, Lu Ming of ILika Technologies, China introduced their 250 µAh solid state battery as an alternative narrative.

Session 4 Integrated Magnetics co-chaired by Masahiro Yamaguchi of Tohoku University, Japan, Maeve Duffy of NUI, Ireland, and Charlie Sullivan of Dartmouth College, U.S.A., with Masahiro Yamaguchi introducing the speakers. The session started with Toshio Sato of Shinshu University, Japan addressing the beyond-MHz power conversion magnetics. Resulting application example was a dc-dc converter utilizing laminated Fe-based amorphous composite sheet core embedded in an organic interposer. Noah Sturcken laid out to potential users the compact circuit models for the Ferric Library of devices manufactured by TSMC. Paul McCloskey from Tyndall National Institute, Ireland shared the design, fabrication and characterization of their laminated amorphous CoZrTaB magnetic core material in a gate drive transformer. 3D micro-fabricated air-core inductors were produced by the Technical University of Denmark and applied to a 22 MHz 8.5 Vin, 3 Vout PSiP operating at 83% efficiency. Lastly, Baoxing Chen from Analog Devices presented the optimization of core and winding for the isolated power conversion micro-transformers backed by over 2.7 billion coupler channels of experience.

Session 5 Wide-Band Gap Semiconductors and Integration co-chaired by Bernhardt Wicht from Leibniz University, Germany and Brian Ma from the University of Texas at Dallas, U.S.A. introduced Dan Kinzer of Navitas U.S.A. as the first presenter sharing their progress and success with the combined power and driver high voltage/low voltage GaN in an integrated semiconductor chip. Kenneth Shepard of Columbia University, U.S.A. detailed their face-to-face bonded CMOS/GaN chips as applied to dc-dc converters that can achieve 40 A/mm2. Jef Thoné from MinDCet, a Belgium start up, described their approach to designing in close coordinated focus of the WBG power transistor and its driver. Lastly, Kevin Chen of Hong Kong University provided some insight into their analysis of the WBG device Roff dynamic behavior.

10th Year Anniversary Award presented to the Founding Father Cian O'Mathuna by Trifon Liakapoulos and Arnold Alderman

Session 6 Systems Integration, Packaging, and Manufacturing with co-chairs by Hsiao-Ching Tuan fromTSMC, Taiwan and Lou Hutter from Lou Hutter Consulting, U.S.A., with Lou Hutter introducing, Haoyi Ye from Delta Electronics led off by covering Delta's high frequency VRM packaging approach. One of the workshop's highlights was Tim Phillips responding to the 20 to 40 processor voltage rails by introducing to the world Empower Semiconductor's first 10 A hybrid integrated regulators with fully integrated devices on the horizon. Next, S. Koduri from Texas Instruments dove deeply into the numerous packaging issues for high density integrated converters adding that "the package is an active enabler of high power density" and "with the adoption of WBG… some additional complexities arise." Ending the session, Sourabh Khandelval of Macquarie University, Sidney, delved into the Advance SPICE Modeling (ASM) of GaN devices with verified results focused on Roff transitioning loss prediction and minimization.

Session 7 Granular Power Supply was co-chaired by Miguel Rodringuez from AMD, U.S.A., and Santosh Kulkarni of Dialog Semiconductor with Pedro A. M. Bezerra from ETH Switzerland, collaborating with IBM Zurich, presented their work in highly integrated power supplies utilizing 2.5-D 14 nm CMOS. He was followed by Rinkle Jain of Intel sharing their progress in precisely powering graphic processors while coping with all their dynamics. Finally, Yan Lu from the University of Macau spoke regarding their work in switched capacitance (SC) converters, stating that the SC converters are more effective in dynamically sharing power stages for required fine grain processor voltage domains.

Poster Session was held Thursday evening. We were very fortunate to have thirty (30) outstanding posters exhibited. They are listed at  http://pwrsocevents.com/posters/

The Organizing Teams
The Workshop went successfully and smoothly thanks to our very devoted and well connected organizing team led by K.H. Chen, Cian, Hanh-Phuc, and the indispensible Ms. Tai who shepherded her local team making it a rich learning event. The Program Co-Chairs filled each session with revealing and noteworthy information thanks to their selection of valuable presentations.

PwrSoC 2018 Organizing Team

PSMA Presented the 2018 3D Power Packaging and the 2017 Power Technology Roadmap Reports, a value over $6000 USD, to Professor Ke-Horng Chen on behalf of National Chiao Tung University, Workshop Host

Exhibits
There were three product exhibit tables. Wurth Electroniks showcased their expanding number of 28 PSiP "MagI3C Power Modules, LED Modules up to 6 A and 60 V in range. Ferric exhibited their integrated magnetic cells from TSMC for the first possible merchant granular PwrSoC applications. Dialog Semiconductor demonstrated their 100 MHz 4-phase 8A buck converter that was highlighted in their plenary presentation.

The Attendees
Workshop attendance reached 158 attendees, 50% above our expectation, with 81 from Asia, 41 from Europe, 35 from North America, and one from Australia.

The program ended with a special treat for the attendees – a tour of TMC's historical Museum and the presentation of Hsinchu Science Park. Many thanksto TSMC, Hsinchu Science Park, and thanks to Landis Inn who provided lovely accommodations for workshop attendees.

Provided by:
Prof. Cian Ó Mathúna. PwrSoC2018 General Co-Chair
and Arnold Alderman, PwrSoC2018 Organizing Committee Member

ver two hundred people from around the world participated in the 2018 IEEE / PSMA Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA 2018).  This year's event was held from October 31 to November 2 on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.  The highlights included: seven tutorials; a meeting of JEDEC's newest committee, JC-70; a workshop for the International Technology Roadmap on Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (ITRW); and two days of technical discussions.

A major theme of WiPDA 2018 was the reliability of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power devices.  One tutorial and a keynotes address focused exclusively on this topic. Many others presenters also included it amongst their talks.  Both panel sessions addressed this issue; one covering SiC components and the other GaN devices.  Additionally, two technical sessions explored reliability as well as some of the poster presentations.

The reliability theme also included participation from JEDEC.  According to Dr. Stephanie Watts Butler, chairperson for the JC-70 Committee:

JEDEC's JC-70 Wide Bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor standards committee celebrated its first anniversary at WiPDA 2018.   The committee has more than doubled in size since its inaugural meeting at WiPDA 2017 with more than 50 member companies including industry leaders in power GaN and SiC semiconductors as well as prospective users of WBG power semiconductors and T&M equipment manufacturers.   Global multinational corporations and technology startups from the US, Europe, and Asia are working together to bring to the industry WBG standards for reliability, testing, and datasheet parametrics.   Guidelines for testing power GaN devices has completed the first major milestone toward becoming a JEDEC publication, and has begun the next step toward being issued by JEDEC.

The ITRW workshop focused on implementing SiC devices in power electronics.  Dr. Victor Veliadis provided an overview of large volume SiC applications.  The utilization of SiC power devices in China's electrical grid was discussed by Dr. Chaobo Dai.  Dr. Kamiar Karimi talked about the benefits of SiC devices for aircraft.  A presentation on using SiC MOSFETs in the Japanese railway system was also given by Dr. Takeshi Oi.

Kijeong Han of North Carolina State University delivers his talk on short circuit failure mechanisms during the SiC Device Fabrication

Workshop attendees listen to a presentation during the technical sessions

The 2018 tutorials covered semiconductor technology for GaN, SiC, and ultra-wide bandgap devices.  It included material that focused on fabrication as well as application of these components. Eight keynote speakers and two panel sessions were held with equal emphasis on emerging developments in GaN and SiC.  A total of 44 papers were presented across 11 technical sessions.  Additionally, 11 poster presentations occurred during the evening reception.

WiPDA 2018 attendees listen to the keynote speakers in the main ballroom of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center.

The success of WiPDA 2018 was due to the financial support of its sponsors and the dedication of many volunteers.  We would like thank our two Platinum Sponsors, Infineon and Wolfspeed, for their generous contributions towards making such a strong program.  We would also like to acknowledge our Gold Sponsors, Silvaco and Semiprobe; our Tutorial Sponsor, PowerAmerica; our Silver Sponsor, InnoCit; our Media Partner, How2Power.com; and the seven exhibitors that showcased alongside our sponsors.  Furthermore, the workshop would not be possible without the commitment of its Technical Sponsors, Organizing Committee, and Technical Program Committee as well as the paper reviewers and the student volunteers. 

Next fall, WiPDA 2019 heads to Raleigh, NC where North Carolina State University and PowerAmerica will host the Workshop.  Until then, have a happy holiday season and safe new year.

he 40th anniversary INTELEC 2018 conference was held in the beautiful and historic city of Torino, Italy at the Lingotto Conference Centre on October 7-11th.  The theme of this conference was; 40 years of Inspiration, Research and Exploration in Power and Energy for ICT.  The conference informed upon and debated the growing issues facing society with powering Information and Communications systems.

The conference was opened with a special presentation by Dr. Alan Mantooth, president of the conferences' sponsor PELS, the Power Electronics Society of the IEEE.  Dr. Mantooth talked about the importance of Power Electronics in today's society and the role that Wide Bandgap Power Devices will play in the future expansion of power electronics into more areas including increasingly higher voltage and higher power applications. The percentage of the world's electrical energy that is converted by power electronics is increasing dramatically!

The first conference Keynote speaker was Professor Giovanni Colombo, Conference General Chair and former research Chief of Telecom Italia and European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Dr. Colombo in his presentation, "Energy and ICT, a Reciprocal Transformative Challenge", highlighted the increasing need for Engineers to act in a responsible manner to the effects of our work on the environment and our society.  In particular, he talked about the increasing amount of energy being consumed by Information and Communications Technology, the positive and negative effects of this technology on society and the very real negative effects on the environment, noting that this is a challenge that Engineers should be aware of and should work towards resolving.

In keeping with the conference theme, Dr. Norbert Grass, of Ohm University and Grass Power Electronics GmbH, presented the second keynote on the 40 year history of INTELEC, highlighting the first conference in Washington DC and noting the issues in power systems, power conversion, and energy storage for (tele)communications that were discussed in the technical papers of the first INETELEC and how little the topics have changed since, despite the great changes in technologies. He also talked about the people, such as Joe Suozzi and Nicolas Osifchin, that conceived the idea of an international conference on communications energy systems in 1975 and others such as Gunther Vau, Robert Jurewicz and Christopher Riddleberger that contributed greatly to INTELEC and also on the influence that INTELEC has had on the development of communications power and energy components and systems over the years.
 
The conference plenaries included an informative presentation on 5G cellular communications systems and 5G powering by Tao Hongming of Huawei, discussing the issue of the huge amount of power that will be needed to operate the dramatic proliferation of cell sites required to fully implement the upcoming 5G systems, and the issues with assuring that this power is reliable to allow 5G communications to meet it's potential, for example, reliable machine to machine communications. The plenaries also included an interesting presentation on the Challenges and Opportunities of Battery Technologies by Dr. Noshin Omar of Vrije Universitiet in Belgium, who gave a high level overview of the various technologies and their possibilities.
 
Workshops are also a very important part of INTELEC and 2018 did not disappoint in this area.  A workshop on Remote Line powering of Telecommunications Equipment hosted by Victor Goncalves of Alpha Technologies and an international panel of five other experts informed on the various remote line powering standards, issues, methods and applications.  It appears this technology is catching on and is a candidate for powering smaller 5G cell sites.  A workshop on the 5G network, the Powering (R)evolution was hosted by Favio Cucchietti, an independent consultant in Italy, indicated that 5G is still evolving and that there are still a lot of unknowns.  One of the limiting factors is the concerns powering 5G networks.   

The program also included four tutorials on the Sunday before the conference opened, three parallel technical sessions with about 100 oral presentations on power systems, power electronics, energy storage and renewable energy generation and poster presentations.

There was also an industry exhibition featuring 25 exhibits on communication power and energy systems equipment.  The conference, as always for INTELEC, featured a substantial social program which including a welcome reception at the conference hotel on Sunday evening, an exhibition reception on Monday evening, an afternoon social bus and walking tour of the city, and a banquet on Wednesday evening at the magnificent MAUTO National Car Museum which featured, along with all cars from the first steam driven ones to the latest Ferraris, a local youth orchestral ensemble as excellent entertainment.

Finally, on the Thursday afternoon after the conference closing session, there were two optional technical tours to choose from; a visit to TILabs, TIMs Development and Innovation Center and a visit to INRIM, Italy's national metrology institute. Both tours were well received by those that attended.

The attendees greatly enjoyed the host city, Torino. The hospitality was great and all enjoyed the local Italian food and wines very much.  Many thanks go to the Local Organizing Committee headed by Professor Michele Pastorelli and Mariapia Martino and to the sponsor IEEE PELS, The Politecnico Di Turino, the supporters and exhibitors, and all attendees for assuring the success of the conference.  

The next INTELEC conference will be in Singapore the 13th to 17th of October 2019.  One can join the mailing list for the conference and look for announcements on the conference website www.intelec2019.org. 

Provided by Don Davidson
Intelec 2018

n our roles as chair and co-chair of the PSMA Safety and Compliance Committee, we have hosted a number of Industry Sessions at the Applied Power Electronics Conferences (APEC). These technical sessions focused on isolation and gate drivers for motor drives, power supplies, and industrial applications. In the course of planning these sessions, one of the things we've learned is that there is confusion concerning which standards apply to the various types of optocouplers, optodrivers and isolators used in gate drive and power supply circuits. How do these electronic devices meet safety rules and what are some of the differences between the requirements imposed by the different safety and regulatory agencies?

Besides confusion over which standards apply to isolator devices, there is a general misconception that isolation standards set requirements for isolator performance beyond the input-to-output voltage isolation. For example, isolation standards won't tell the designer anything about transient immunity or propagation delay. This is important because such performance parameters can vary greatly from one isolation device or technology to another.

This leads to another point of confusion regarding isolation standards: even though they are called out on isolator data sheets, these are often not the main standards for most applications, but rather secondary standards. In other words, the isolation standards are called for by application or product requirements such as those for medical equipment, for example. In this article, we review the different isolator device types, identify some of the major isolation standards, and then discuss the requirements imposed on the different isolator device types.

Table 1. Digi-Key classifications of isolators and the number of models offered for each. (www.digikey.com/products/isolators/en)

A Quick Survey of Isolator Types

The topic is wide and has many classifications and include a variety of isolator types. To get a sense of the range of devices on the market and the number of different models, we conducted a search of the Digi-Key catalog. The results are shown in Table 1. Although similar searches could have been done on other distributors' catalogs, the Digi-Key search results are fairly comprehensive and provide a good starting point to address the differences among the rules for the various isolation devices.

A Quick Survey of Isolation Standards

Next, we did a web search for safety agency compliance standards for isolators. This led us to Application Note 43 from Vishay, which is titled, "Design Guidelines for Optocoupler Safety Agency Compliance". [4] This was just one of many isolator compliance related search results. 

The following standards emerged from the search: UL 1577, IEC 61010-1, VDC V 0884-10 (magnetic and capacitive coupler for safe isolation), VDE V 0884-11 (magnetic and capacitive coupler for basic and reinforced isolation) and IEC-60664. IEC-664 (which refers to other standards ending in 664 and which may be harmonized with IEC-60664) defines Installation Categories as indicated in the diagram (see the figure and Table 2), which come from the Vishay application note.

Figure.  Installation categories. (Courtesy of Vishay)

Table 2.  Voltage ratings required for the various categories in IEC-664. (Courtesy of Vishay)

Most appliances and computer equipment fall within Category II while some appliances like cooking ranges are in Category III. A smart meter for utility reading applications belongs in Category IV due to its direct connection to the utility mains. In some applications both an IEC-664 insulation category along with a UL 1577 rating is needed. This all depends on the safety agency defining the test and the end application.

Optocoupler Triac Drivers

One of the couplers used in many home applications and industrial applications is the SCR and Triac driver. Examples include the MOC302x (phase-angle control) and MOC306x (zero-crossing control) families.

In this case, UL 1577 applies and there are 1-min. test dc voltages and test ac voltages. These are usually 50 Hz and 60 Hz driving solenoids, heaters, lamps, and some motors. These types of devices have between 2000 Vac and over 6000 Vac between the input and output. The regulating standard has been UL 1577 and the VDE DIN EN60747 standard used in Europe. 

Design engineers need to look at the data sheet for the various standards of the coupler and the end product standard, which may include EN/IEC 60950 and EN/IEC 60065. White good appliances such as clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, and other appliances often employ these SCR and Triac devices, which are controlled by microprocessors and microcontrollers and used to turn-on drive water solenoids or motors.   

Isolators for Switching Power Supplies

Another category of high-volume applications consists of the power supply feedback systems like those employing the 4N35 optocoupler series (6-pin DIP and SMP packages) and the LTV 8x7 photocoupler series (4-pin DIP and SMP packages) which are used with a reference like the TL431 (2.5 V) or the TLV431 (1.25 V). There are also some other references that have a 0.9-Vdc reference voltage. These parts follow the UL 1577 standard—the same standard listed above. The input-to-output voltage rating is between 3750 Vac and 5000 Vac. These types of parts have been around since 1980.
Power Integrations (PI) has a series of flyback power supply parts that do not have an external isolator. These are their secondary-side FluxLink parts like the InnoSwitch-EP (INN2603K). They meet the UL 1577 and the TUV (EN60950) standards and are tested to meet 3500 Vac due to the 100% testing at 4.8 KV ac for 1 second. FluxLink is a high-frequency magnetic feedback system, which was described in the APEC 2018 Industry Session IS04 by M. Hornkamp of PI.[5] This method eliminates the optocoupler. PI also has a series of parts that use the traditional optocoupler and a reference (TinySwitch series).

Isolated Gate Driver for Motors and Half-Bridge Drivers

Isolated gate driver ICs for IGBTs, and GaN and SiC transistors used in motor control applications have three different isolation technologies: optical, capacitive, and magnetic. The newer parts use capacitive and inductive coupling across a barrier. They have high dv/dt and common-mode transient immunity, and low propagation delay. All of these isolation devices meet the standard UL 1577, and VDE and IEC ratings defined in the data sheets. Besides the safety standards many of these parts also meet automotive specifications.

In addition, many of these components have built-in charge pumps to develop the gate-drive current. That's because the controller is often at a lower voltage than the main power bus, and possibly isolated from the main power bus. With the use of PWM techniques, narrow pulse widths are needed along with very high dv/dt. The high dv/dt can cause the driver to misfire and cause high dissipation in the power switch. This issue was talked about by various presenters in the sessions cited in references 1, 2 and 3.

Digital Isolators

Isolators for data signals need both isolation and the ability transmit data at megahertz speeds. These isolators are required by a number of bus standards including Controller Area Network (CAN), SPI, USB, RS485, and I2C bus. Many of these buses have a number of channels and are bidirectional. They use capacitive coupling, magnetic coupling, and, even something known as Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) coupling. No optical coupling was listed for the high-frequency data rates. Each of these applications require compliance with UL and IEC isolation specifications with UL 1577 being the one most often listed.

Summary

All the isolator classifications listed have different performance specifications. Parameters such as signal speed, propagation delay, noise immunity, aging factors, etc. will vary among the different isolation technologies. The one thing they all have in common is that they provide an input-to-output voltage rating similar to UL 1577. The IEC and VDE specifications have similar ratings but, again, these standards are all about specifying the strength of the input-to-output isolation barrier, and not other aspects of isolator performance. The safety ratings do not mean the device will perform per the isolator's data sheet. The design engineer and the various component engineering staff must determine what is required in terms of electrical performance beyond isolation voltage. You cannot use an opto-Triac device where a digital isolator is needed.

Since isolation standards are secondary standards referenced by other application or equipment standards, ultimately designers must consult those main standards to determine whether any aspects of those standards will affect their choice of an isolator device. Since the spectrum of application or equipment standards is vast, and access to individual standards requires their purchase, a discussion of what these other standards require of the isolation devices is beyond the scope of this article.

References

1. "Regulatory and Compliance Considerations for Power Electronics," Session IS06 APEC 2017, March 29, 2017.
2. "Comparisons and Tradeoffs of Integrated Gate Driver Isolation Technologies," Session IS04 APEC 2018, March 6, 2018.
3. "Isolation Topics in Power Supplies," Session IS09 APEC 2018, March 7, 2018.
4. "Design Guidelines for Optocoupler Safety Agency Compliance," Vishay Application Note 43
5. "Isolation Strategies for High Power" by Michael Hornkamp in Session IS04, "Comparisons and Tradeoffs of Integrated Gate Driver Isolation Technologies," APEC 2018, March 6, 2018.

Authors:

Kevin Parmenter Director of Applications Engineering Taiwan Semiconductor America

Jim Spangler President Spangler Prototype Inc. (SPI)

Editor's Note: This article was first published in the September 2018 issue of How2Power Today (www.how2power.com/newsletters).

rom harvesting energy to power plants, the use of power electronics is everywhere and there are few applications that do not require power. The power electronics industry has been very dynamic with many new technologies making the impossible now possible. In the unceasing quest to increase performance levels, reliability and sustainability, new components and technologies such as Wide Bandgap Semiconductors and Digital power management are receiving a lot of attention and coverage. However, hiding in the shadows is a component that is very important and alredy intrinsically involved in many evolving applications - The Supercapacitor.

Supercapacitors are being widely applied - although perhaps because they are seen as passive components with a low-tech connotation, they are seldom on centerstage. It is time to bring them back into the spotlight, so let's review the amazing story and technology behind the silent power of supercapacitors.

From Howard Becker to Elon Musk
In the early fifties when capacitors were made out of impregnated paper and mica, General Electric researched ways to increase their capacity to store and release higher energy levels and to be able to absorb voltage distortions in electronics especially in top secret military applications. Research was conducted by Howard I. Becker and his team who on 14th April 1954 filed a patent for a 'Low voltage electrolytic capacitor' using a porous carbon electrode. On 23rd July 1957 the US2800616A patent was granted, thus opening the road for further innovation. Becker's invention was the beginning of a race between laboratories to convert the invention into a component capable of being mass manufactured with higher performance levels. In 1958, Philips NV patented a process for the production of electrodes for electrolytic capacitors and the electrolytic capacitor was born.

Although the invention of the electrolytic capacitor was an important step forward for the electronics industry, the capacity was still not enough to store higher levels of energy such as is required to stabilize an electric network or to deliver extremely high energy levels as required by certain applications in the defense industry. It took another six years of research after Becker's patent for the Robert A. Rightmire an engineer at Standard Oil Company to be granted on the 29th of November 1966, the US3288641A patent for an 'Electrical energy storage apparatus'. It was described as: "An electrical energy storage device for storing energy in electrostatic condition as double layers of electron-ions and proton-ions at co-acting interfaces…"

The supercapacitor was born!

Interestingly, it then took another 10 years for the invention to become a market reality.

Because of their capacity to store and release high amounts of energy in a very short time period, Electrical Vehicle (EV) research on high performance supercapacitors intensified and the number of inventions and patents sky-rocketed. The foremost application in EVs was to store the energy generated when decelerating and braking in order to re-use that energy to power the engine when accelerating. The potential of the supercapacitor received heightened attention in March 2011 at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco where regarding the future of electric vehicles Elon Musk said, "If I were to make a prediction, I'd think there's a good chance that it is not batteries, but super-capacitors that will power the future of EV." Just to remind ourselves, Musk originally came to California to study high-energy-density capacitor physics at Stanford. His speech started a lot of speculation about the potential of supercapacitors, with the perception that they would be the solution to mass energy storage, eventually replacing batteries. The reality is a bit different though, from the timing of Becker and Rightmire's original patents up to the present day, supercapacitor technology has progressed in a fair degree of 'behind the scenes' silence.

How does it work?
As we all remember from school, a capacitor consists of two metal plates or conductors separated by an insulator such as air or a film made of plastic or ceramic. During charging, electrons accumulate on one conductor and depart from the other. Using normal manufacturing practices a conventional capacitor's energy storage is limited by the laws of physics and that is where Robert A. Rightmire's invention opened new avenues for high energy storage.

When a voltage is applied to the positive plate, it attracts negative ions from the electrolyte, and when a voltage is applied to the negative plate, it attracts positive ions from the electrolyte. As a result, ion layers form on both sides of the plate in what is called a 'double layer' formation, resulting in the ions being stored near the surface of the carbon. This mechanism gives supercapacitors the ability to store and restore high energy within a very short time period.

Will supercapacitors supersede batteries and What's coming next?
Following Elon Musk's speech at Cleantech Forum 2011, there has been a lot of interest in supercapacitors and the potential offered by nanotechnologies is keeping hopes high that at some point in the future, supercapacitors might reach a point where they equal the performance of batteries.

Will that happen?
Find more in Part 2 of this article in the next edition of the PSMA newsletter.

Provided by Patrick Le Fèvre Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Powerbox

Editor's note: This is the first in a 2-part series, watch for the second article in the First Quarter 2019 Issue of the PSMA Update.

incoln International is pleased to present you with the latest Solar Energy Stock Index from our Global Energy, Power & Infrastructure Group. Topics covered in this issue include:

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

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