1. APEC 2016 Returns to Long Beach, CA – Promises to be Record Breaking Event
   
2. 2015 PSMA Planning Meeting in Long Beach, California
   
3. Meet Your Directors
   
4. About Our Members
   
5. Welcome to PSMA
   
6. PSMA Magnetics Committee Magnetics Workshop: Power Magnetics @ High Frequency- Solving the Black Magic!
   
7. International Symposium on 3D Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing
   
8. PSMA and China Power Supply Society (CPSS) Workshop in China
   
9. WiPDA 2015: A Major Success!
   
10. INTELEC 2016
    
11. Delta’s New American Headquarters
    
12. Solar Energy Stock Index Q3 2015
    
13. Solar Energy DealReader Q3 2015
    
14. EMS DealReader Q3 2015
    
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: Q1_2015 | Q2_2015 | Q3_2015

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

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

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

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

 

Long Beach Convention Center

PEC 2016 promises to be the largest APEC event ever. The site of APEC 2016 will be the popular Long Beach Convention Center. Attendance at APEC 2016 is projected to exceed 4,500 – about a ten percent increase from APEC 2015.

The technical program has been expanded to nine concurrent lecture tracks (up from seven in 2015). A record-breaking 1,211 paper digests were submitted. Of these, about fifty percent were selected for the program (351 lectures and 261 poster sessions). In addition to the traditional tracks (ac-dc, dc-dc converters, motor drives, etc.), there has been a significant increase in coverage of emerging topics including transportation electronics, renewable energy systems, micro-grid and others. The number of Industry Sessions has also increased going from three tracks to four with over 80 presentations.

The Plenary Session is shaping up to be a truly can’t miss event. Presentations from Google and Tesla are among the companies in the preliminary line-up. I’ll have more to say about this in the next edition of this newsletter.

The Exposition was expanded again this year and, once again, is totally sold out. There are 262 exhibiting companies, occupying almost 400 booth spaces with a waiting list of twenty companies.

A very popular event at APEC is the Rap Sessions. These take place after the exhibits close on Tuesday evening. The Rap Sessions are open to all and everyone is invited to grab a beverage and join in the lively discussion of provocative topics including: “The Future of Semiconductor Development;” “Power Electronics for IoT – Will it Happen?” and “Advanced Refueling Technologies for EVs.”

The PSMA Magnetics Committee together with IEEE PELS will hold an inaugural “Power Magnetics @ High Frequency – Solving the Black Magic!” all day workshop on Saturday March 19, 2016, at the same venue as APEC2016. More information on this workshop is in this UPDATE.

Finally, plans are coming together for the Wednesday evening social event which will be held in the Pacific Arena (connected to the Convention Center). I’ll have more information in the next report.

Once again this year, there will be a mobile app to aid in navigating the range of presentations and other activities.

Keep in mind that membership in PSMA qualifies anyone in your organization to discounts on APEC registration fees. If you haven’t already made plans to attend, don’t wait any longer. Plan to come to sunny and warm Long Beach in March and be part of this exceptional event – truly The Premier Event in Applied Power Electronics™.

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2016 Publicity Chair

he 2015 PSMA Planning Meeting was held on September 26 at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, CA with 26 members attending. 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 Ernie Parker led the meeting and reviewed his vision for the organization and provided an overview of the general health of the organization as well as membership statistics and the changes since the 2014 Planning Meeting. He emphasized that the technical committees are the heart of the organization and 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 projects that will bring value to our members, increase the effort to develop more and deeper involvement by member companies and continued commitment to bring more industry content to APEC.

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

There was a report from each of the technical committees which summarized their accomplishments in the past year and ongoing programs and projects. Seven of the technical committees have submitted proposals for Industry Sessions at APEC 2016. In addition:

• Doug Hopkins, the general chair of the 3D-Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing Symposium (3D-PEIM), reported that the Symposium will be held at North Carolina State University June 13-15 2016. The PSMA Packaging Technical Committee will be the sole financial sponsor of the event with a number of technical sponsors expected including IEEE, CPMT and IMAPS.
• Conor Quinn and Dhaval Dalal are the new Co-Chairs for the Power Technology Roadmap Committee which held its kickoff meeting for the 2017 Roadmap just prior to the Planning Meeting. They discussed the changes planned for the 2017 Roadmap, including starting the webinars in 4Q2015 and 1Q2016.
• The Safety and Compliance Committee is a new committee organized by Kevin Parmenter who is serving as committee Co-Chair. At the meeting Jim Spangler volunteered to be Co-Chair.

Dhaval Dalal and Conor Quinn at Roadmap meeting

Following the committee reports Ernie Parker led an interactive “brain storming” session to list the possible activities and focus for PSMA over the next year (and beyond) that will bring benefit to the membership.

PSMA members can view the minutes of the Planning Meeting on the “Members Only” section of the PSMA web site.

The APEC Technical Program Committee for APEC 2016 met on Sunday and were joined by several of the PSMA members. Based on the results of their work we can all look forward to a very interesting and a successful APEC 2016.

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

In this issue we would like to introduce you to Ernie Parker and Aung Thet Tu who are both currently serving their second terms.

Aung Thet Tu is General Manager of the LED Lighting business in Fairchild Semiconductor. He is based in Bedford, New Hampshire and has been with Fairchild since 2005. Prior to joining Fairchild Aung spent 11 combined years with Unitrode Corp. and subsequently Texas Instruments. He started his career as an IC designer for Hall Effect sensors in 1987 for Sprague Electric and spent 8 combined years with Sprague and Allegro Microsystems. Aung has a BSCE and a MSEE from Boston University.

Over the past several years, Aung has been involved in various PSMA activities. He co-chaired the PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Committee from the 2009 Roadmap to the recently completely 2015 Roadmap. He is also a member of the PSMA Semiconductor Technical Committee.

Aung is also currently the Steering Committee Chair for Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) after serving as the General Chair for APEC 2015. He is also on the advisory boards of Electronic Component News (ECN) and Darnell Power Forum.

Provided by Aung Thet Tu, General Manager of LED Lighting, Fairchild Semiconductor

Ernie’s involvement with power electronics began accidentally in 1980 with an assignment at his first post graduation employer, Sundstrand Aviation. He has been involved in power electronics for commercial aerospace and military applications ever since, remaining in a design role through most of the 80’s before transitioning into engineering management.

Crane Aerospace & Electronics Power Solutions products are used to provide power to or within electronic systems on a variety of commercial aerospace, military and space platforms. Their products are used in applications from post-generator to point-of-use, spanning a range from > 100 KW to < 10 W and are marketed to the high reliability industrial, commercial aerospace, defense, and space markets via the brands: ELDEC™, Interpoint™, and Keltec™. They provide both Standard Power Products and Custom Power Products through facilities located in Redmond and Lynnwood, Washington; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Ernie has been very involved in PSMA for several years; he has come to greatly appreciate the relationships and industry knowledge that this involvement has provided. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors and previously served as Vice President of the association. Ernie is co-chair of the Packaging Committee and active on the Technology Roadmap committee. He has co-chaired Industry Sessions at APEC 2011 - 2015 that were organized by PSMA committees and presented in the APEC 2014 3D Power Packaging Industry Session. He has personally enjoyed this involvement and the people that it has given him the opportunity to meet, and believes he can bring value to PSMA from his experience and knowledge of the harsh environment, high reliability applications of power electronics that has defined his career. Ernie wants to help PSMA continue to thrive and adapt to the changing environment so as to be increasingly relevant to the power electronics industry.
 

Provided by Ernie Parker, Director of Engineering, Crane Aerospace & Electronics – Power Solutions

 
exter Magnetic Technologies was founded as Permag Corporation in 1951 as the FIRST global magnetic materials distributor. Since then, Dexter Magnetic Technologies has grown to become the largest specialized magnetics distributor in the world, servicing all major market segments including medical, oil & gas, mil/aero, semiconductor and more. Dexter’s extensive inventory of ferrite cores, powder cores, amorphous cores, bobbins, thermistors, and specialty wire offers design engineers opportunities to design their product using off the shelf components. Dexter’s machining capabilities and their unique relationship with their vendors offers customers cost effective means for small volume custom cores through large scale production. After 65 years, Dexter continues to focus on what the customer needs, STANDARD PRODUCT, VALUE ADDED SERVICES, UNIQUE NEW PRODUCT.

STANDARD PRODUCT

Dexter’s is an authorized distributor for all the leaders in the magnetics industry.

Ferrite Cores: Ferrites are ceramic, homogeneous materials composed of various oxides with iron oxide as their main constituent. Depending on the application, there are two types of ferrite core material. Manganese-Zinc ferrite (MnZn) is used in applications requiring higher permeability and saturation levels. These power materials are generally used for high frequency transformer applications - important characteristics being high flux density and/or low core losses. Nickel-Zinc ferrite (NiZn) is used in applications needing higher resistivity and is more suitable for frequencies above 1 MHz. Applications are EMC, filtering, power, wireless transfer of power, etc. Cores can also be classified by shape: Toroidal cores, U core, E cores, I cores, Pot cores, cylindrical cores, etc. Core geometries can be modified by machining to meet specific magnetic and mechanical requirements. Core gapping, Toroidal slotting and custom machining available.

Manufacturers Represented:
Fair-Rite
Ferroxcube
Magnetics, Inc.
EPCOS/TDK
National Magnetics
Ferronics
ACME

Powder Cores: Powder Core products are distributed air gap cores primarily used in power inductor applications, specifically in switched-mode power supply (SMPS) output filters, also known as DC inductors. Other power applications include differential inductors, boost inductors, buck inductors and flyback transformers. Characteristics of Powder Core materials are high resistivity, low hysteresis and eddy current losses and excellent inductance stability under both DC and AC conditions. In addition, Powder Core materials are not pressed with an organic binder, therefore, there is no thermal aging.

Common names: MPP, Kool Mu®, High Flux, XFlux®, AmoFlux®

Manufacturers Represented: Magnetics, Inc.

Amorphous & Nanocrystalline Cores: Amorphous metals are produced by using a rapid solidification technology where molten metal is cast into thin solid ribbons by cooling at a rate of one million degrees C/sec. Amorphous magnetic metal has high permeability due to no crystalline magnetic anisotropy allowing smaller, lighter and more energy efficient designs in many high frequency applications for inverters, adjustable speed drives and power supplies. Due to the material having no crystalline magnetic anisotropy, amorphous magnetic metal has high permeability which makes it an ideal option for applications in the alternative energy sector. Amorphous iron (Metglas®) and nanocrystalline (FINEMET®) work well in mag amp and high efficient power applications while amorphous cobalt (Toshiba) works well in suppression devices.

Manufacturers Represented:
Toshiba:

AMOBEADS®
SPIKE KILLER®

Hitachi Metals:

FINEMET®
Metglas ®

Bobbins & Accessories: Bobbins, also known as coil formers, are used for efficient winding and termination of magnetic components. Dexter provides precision plastic injection moldings for use in electrical, automotive and medical sectors. In addition to the standard bobbin offerings, Dexter is able to configure customizations, including pin modifications, higher and lower profiles and custom stack heights. More than half of the products Dexter delivers are custom designs specific to application requirements. Dexter also supplies mounting clamps (clips), toroid mounts and toroid headers.

Manufacturers Represented: Miles-Platts
Magnetics, Inc.
EPCOS
Ferroxcube

VALUE ADDED SERVICES

Dexter Magnetic Technologies offers many value added services to our abundant inventory including complete machining. From standard gaps to complete new designs from block stock, Dexter can machine ferrites to exacting standards. Dexter also can test, sort, fabricate, assemble and Kanban to meet your needs.

Engineering & Design Assistance
Up Screen
Inductance Testing
Special Packaging
Custom Fabrication
System Assembly
Inventory Management
Material Warehousing
Bar Coding
Bag and Tag
Coating
Core Gapping
Toroid Slotting
ISO Capabilities

UNIQUE NEW PRODUCT

Dexter Magnetic Technologies has taken the next step with our customers, turning from a supplier into a true partner with the development of new products into the market. Over the last few years, Dexter has assisted in the creation of many new products including:

StackPack – This unique product, developed with TDK/EPCOS is designed to allow engineers to easily and cost effectively create their own “custom” cores for HV applications. Consisting of round legs, corners and spacers parts, customers can optimize their windows for creepage and clearance and not have to pay for excessive machining costs.

AMCC Cores and Bobbins – When Hitachi decided to expand their distribution network, Dexter stepped up to offer complete stocking on AMCC (AMorphous Cut Cores) as well as tooled bobbins for the parts through Miles Platts. This combination resolved historic issues of not being able to get product, as well as inconsistencies of bobbins through uncontrolled sources.

Bobbin for 3” Single Phase Laminations – Working with Miles Platts, Dexter has developed bobbins for larger single phase laminations, allowing cost effective molded product and multiple stack heights. This unique bobbin allows a designer to get the benefit of a bobbin wound product (over a core tube) and get the ability to modify his core stack height from 2” to 6” in ½” increments.

Finemet Cores - Dexter is the ONLY distributor that carries a full line of Hitachi Finemet (Nanocrystalline) cores. These cores, designed for line noise suppression, reduction of common mode noise, and high permeability applications come in various toroidal sizes.

Single, Double and Triple Stack Bobbins – board space is at a premium and power supply manufacturers are going taller in their designs, rather than wider. Dexter, along with Miles Platts has developed double and triple stack bobbins for E65, E70 and E80 cores (ferrites and Kool Mu) to help reduce manufacturing time.

Provided by Charles R. Wild, Business Manager Specialized Electronic Products, Dexter Magnetic Technologies

Leveraging decades of DC power engineering expertise in the telecommunications industry, Emerson Network Power has designed a unique and powerful energy solution for data rack applications. Inspired by the Open Compute Project, the modular NetSure™ 12V DC Power System delivers industry-leading power density and local energy storage ideally suited for scalable and high-performance computing applications.

This highly configurable 12V system is scalable from 250 amps to 6000 amps and utilizes high efficiency switch mode rectifiers as well as lithium-ion battery backup units (BBUs), both rated at 3000 watts. Each 3U shelf accommodates up to nine power conversion units that can be configured with any combination of rectifiers or BBUs to support specific IT loads and stored energy needs. A System Control Card (SCC) controls and monitors the rectifiers and BBUs while communicating to the rack management system.

Net Sure 12V DC Power Shelf with Six Rectifiers, Three BBUs and One SCC

The power system is designed to fit into a standard 19” EIA rack or 21” Open Rack and allows up to three power shelves in parallel for a maximum system capacity of 72,000 watts (6000 A) at 12V DC. Location of the power shelf or shelves within the rack is flexible and can be configured into single, dual or triple power zones. The power shelf also allows for various AC input configurations and can accommodate up to three inputs of either single-phase or three-phase AC.

Utilizing the lithium-ion Battery Backup Units (BBUs) eliminates the need to have an end-of-row or separate room filled with AC Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPSs), freeing up floor space for future capacity needs. This also increases overall system efficiency by reducing the number of power conversion steps in the network. The design and flexibility of the 12V DC power system allows it to be configured to solve issues such as stranded capacity and branch circuit limitations. If traditional AC UPS systems are employed, users can still capitalize on several advantages of the centralized 12V DC distribution.

Penguin Computing recently recognized the density advantages of the NetSure 12V DC Power System and turned to Emerson to architect a power solution for their HPC clusters. The resulting design helped them land a substantial national deal and continues to support the validity of open hardware and 12V DC architectures. Penguin Computing’s Tundra ES system builds upon the form factors that Facebook introduced with Open Compute, adapting them for HPC with the aim of increased density, efficiency and serviceability. While the Penguin Computing solution did not include the use of BBUs, the high power density of the NetSure 12V DC Power System enabled them to essentially double the standard rack density and accommodate up to 96 nodes per rack with the associated shared power infrastructure and fabric/networking switches.

To increase system efficiency and availability, advanced monitoring features like eco-mode technology and power boost functionality are built into the NetSure 12V DC Power System. Eco-mode enables rectifiers to operate at their peak efficiency by selectively enabling and disabling them based on IT load. The power boost feature caps power consumption from the source (utility, grid, generator, etc.). Rectifier output power can be limited to a preset value and the BBUs provide additional power as the peak load demands.

The NetSure 12V DC Power System meets the requirements of UL 60950-1, Standard for Information Technology Equipment, and is UL Recognized as a power supply for use in Telephone, Electronic Data Processing or Information Processing Equipment. Furthermore, it is constructed without the use of any hazardous substances or chemicals per RoHS and REACH specifications.

To learn more about this innovative solution from Emerson Network Power, visit http://www.emersonnetworkpower.com/en-US/Products/DCPower/ensys_12VDCSystems/Pages/NetSure-12V-DC-Power-Systems.aspx.

Provided by Mike F. Smith, DC Power Product Manager and Ben Pruitt, Director of Technical Sales, Emerson Network Power

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.

ASE Group
Patricia MacLeod
1255 E Arques Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Telephone: 408-636-9500
E-mail: patricia.macleod@aseus.com
Website: www.aseglobal.com/en/

ASE Group offers design manufacturing services for IC packaging, IC substrates, IC testing and systems. ASE acts as an extension of their customers' own operations to achieve the maximum business objectives with minimum resources.

To stay ahead of the semiconductor technology curve, ASE maintains a highly experienced and skilled engineering team that continuously researches and develops the very latest in assembly technologies. Within the industry, they have achieved leadership and volume production in advanced package processes, such as for Wafer Bumping, Flip Chip, Wafer-Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP), Stacked Die Packaging, and System in Package (SiP), Optoelectronics Packaging, Green Packaging and 300mm turnkey backend solutions. Their customers are the direct beneficiaries of this dedication and commitment to the development of advanced technologies.

Astronics AES
Jon Fifield
12950 Willows Road NE
Kirkland, WA 98034
Telephone: 425-895-4384
E-mail: Jon.Fifield@Astronics.com
Website: www.astronics.com

Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems (AES) is a division of Astronics Corporation. Astronics AES has over 50 years of service to the aerospace industry and provides its customers with extensive engineering, manufacturing and product support capabilities. Products produced are installed on a variety of aviation platforms, including commercial aircraft, military aircraft, business jets, helicopters and cruise missiles.

Astronics AES provides world-class electrical power systems. A commitment to integrity, safety and new technologies has helped Astronics meet the complex and rapidly evolving needs of their customers and industry. As power systems experts, Astronics is a recognized leader in the design and manufacture of power generation and distribution systems for aircraft primary and secondary applications. From the COREPOWER® line of electrical power distribution systems and brushless starter/generators, to custom-designed aircraft electrical systems and versatile power supplies, Astronics is fully capable of meeting aviation electronic needs.

William Chen
Binghamton University
Department of Mechanical Engineering
PO Box 6000
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
Telephone: 408-250-4290
E-mail: wtchen@binghamton.edu

William T. Chen is a member of the research faculty at Binghampton University. He received his engineering education at University of London (B.Sc), Brown University (M.Sc) and Cornell University (PhD). He joined IBM Corporation at Endicott New York in 1963. At IBM he worked in a broad range of IBM microelectronic packaging products. He was elected to the IBM Academy of Technology for his contributions to IBM Products and Packaging Technologies. He retired from IBM in 1997. He joined the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore, to initiate research in microelectronic packaging materials and processes. He was appointed to the position Director of the Institute (IMRE) steering the growth in people, funding and research facilities and research direction for IMRE to become the leading materials science and engineering research center in the ASEAN region. In 2001 he joined ASE Group, where he holds the position of ASE Fellow and Senior Technical Advisor.

Efore
Vlad Grigore
Linnoitustie 4B
P.O.Box. 260
02600 Espoo, Uusimaa Finland
Telephone: +358 9 478 46422
E-mail: vlad.grigore@efore.com
Website: www.efore.com

Efore Group is an international company established in 1975 which develops and produces demanding power products. Efore's head office is based in Finland and its production units are located in China and Tunisia. Sales and marketing operations are located in Europe, United States and China. Efore acquired the entire share capital of the Italian based Roal Electronics S.p.A in 2013.

Efore’s power supplies are developed to meet customer’s specifications. They work in close cooperation with the customers from design through production to the end of life management. Efore’s specialists will help the customer in the specification phase of new concepts to achieve optimal system efficiency and overall cost.

Keysight Technologies
Neil Forcier
900 South Taft Ave
Loveland, CO 80537
Telephone: 970-679-5272
E-mail: neil_forcier@keysight.com
Website: www.keysight.com

Keysight Technologies Inc. is the world's leading electronic measurement company, transforming today's measurement experience through innovations in wireless, modular, and software solutions. With its HP and Agilent legacy, Keysight delivers solutions in wireless communications, aerospace and defense and semiconductor markets with world-class platforms, software and consistent measurement science. The company's over 9,500 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries.
Keysight's singular focus on measurement helps scientists, researchers and engineers address their toughest challenges with precision and confidence. With the help of their products and services, they are better able to deliver the breakthroughs that make a measurable difference.

NSWC Crane
Joshua T. Hawke
300 Hwy 361
Crane, IN 47522
Telephone: 210-854-6192
E-mail: joshua.hawke@navy.mil
Website: www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/WarfareCenters/NSWCCrane.aspx

NSWC Crane provides technical engineering solutions and total lifecycle leadership for many of the systems that protect and enable the Warfighter. Every decision made, technology created or business relationship fostered is performed with the fighting man and woman in mind.

The Energy, Power, and Interconnect Technologies Division of NSWC Crane provides a broad spectrum of engineering and logistics support for electrochemical power systems, electronic interconnect technology, and alternative energy systems.

Kaushik Rajashekara
University of Texas at Dallas
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
800 W Campbell Road
Richardson, TX 75080
Telephone: 972-883-4531
E-mail: k.Raja@UTDallas.edu

Professor Kaushik Rajashekara obtained his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science in 1984. In 1989, he joined Delphi division of General Motors Corporation in Indianapolis, IN, USA as a staff project engineer. In Delphi and General Motors, he held various lead technical and managerial positions, and managed a team responsible for developing electric machines, controllers, and power electronics systems for electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicle propulsion systems and, in 2000, was promoted to Technical Fellow and Chief Scientist for Advanced Propulsion Systems. In 2006, he joined Rolls-Royce Corporation as a Chief Technologist and was a Rolls-Royce Fellow for More Electric Aircraft architectures and power conversion/control technologies for gas turbines in aero, marine, defense, and energy applications.

Since August 2012, he is a Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair in Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas. He also holds honorary Qiushi Chair Professor in Zhejiang University, China.

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

he PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS will hold an inaugural “Power Magnetics @ High Frequency – Solving the Black Magic!” workshop for the day before APEC 2016, Saturday March 19, 2016 from 7:30 AM thru 5:00 PM, at the same venue as APEC2016.

The purpose and focus of the workshop is to

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

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

The agenda of the workshop is designed so that there will be keynote presentations by three invited speakers (Dr. Charles Sullivan (Dartmouth), Dr. David Perreault (MIT), and Dr. Ray Ridley (Ridley Engineering) followed by a question and answer forum addressing the latest trends in

• conductor geometries and magnetic core geometries for reducing physical size while minimizing ac power losses
• characterization and comparison of magnetic materials
• design and fabrication (manufacturing) techniques
• design techniques, simulation tools and modelling
• power conversion topologies and applications driving the reduce the physical size while improving the efficiency of power magnetics technologies

The keynote presentations will be followed by an interactive session of round robin sequencing of table top displays each demonstrating specific technical disciplines and capabilities consistent with the workshop agenda. The table top displays will be a combination of e-poster type displays, modelling and simulation demonstrations and measurements of actual magnetic components. Interaction between the attendees and the presenters is highly recommended during this portion of agenda as a segue from the opening keynote presentation and the following structured problem solving session. The interactive round robin session will coincide with a buffet lunch.

The technical disciplines that will be demonstrated displayed during the round robin technical capabilities session are as follows:

• Ac power loss measurements
• Core loss modelling and simulation
• Inductor modelling
• Near magnetic field estimation and measurements
• Thermal measurements
• Impedance measurements

Ranjith Bramanpalli (Wurth Elektronik), Len Crane (Coilcraft), Cedric Cauldron (EMSCAN) and Rodney Rodgers (Vacuumschmelze) are among the list of presenters for this session.

There are still some slots available for presenters during this session. If anyone would like to participate as a presenter during the round robin display of technical capabilities please contact Matt Wilkowski at mwilkows@altera.com with a description of your proposed technical capabilities topic.

The third session of the workshop will be a structured problem solving sessions. There will be three (3) structured problems with each problem having its own set of electrical, physical and thermal design requirements specific to its target application, The facilitator for each structure problem will provide a typical traditional design solution and then interact with the attendees to identify alternative approaches based on leading edge technologies and materials to improve some aspect of the original design requirements whether it be efficiency, physical size, thermal performance, etc.,

The structured problems and corresponding facilitators will address

• trade-offs between design approaches using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and analytical solutions, - Jenna Pollack (Tesla)
• magnetic design issues for resonant converter topologies operating in the low MHz range for power range in low kilo-watts initially targeted for automotive applications. – Dr Khurram Afridi (University of Colorado)
• matrix transformer design for 5 kW applications and potential building blocks for higher power solid state transformers intended for energy router applications - James Lau (CWS)

The fourth and final session will be a wrap-up session. The session will be used to identify items of interest to be addressed by a roadmap for the magnetics industry covering de-facto industry practices and standards and emerging trends as well as both short term goals covering incremental improvements and longer term evolutions that are on the horizon. A white board will be made available during the session to allow participants to record some ideas that come about during their informal discussions with their colleagues before they leave the meeting.

The registration fee for the workshop is $250 per participant reducing to $150 for PSMA members and IEEE PELS members. Breakfast and lunch buffet will be provided as part of the workshop. Electronic copies of the keynote presentations and the structured problem session will be made available to the workshop participants.

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

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

June 13-15, 2016
McKimmon Center, Raleigh, NC, USA

PACKAGING is a Design Function
MANUFACTURING provides the Design Rules

f you are a power electronics designer, would you like a few new design rules to help in your physical design? With the new wide bandgap (WBG) power devices operating at orders-of-magnitude higher frequencies, are you in need of better packaging integration rules?

Welcome to the inaugural International Symposium on 3D Power Electronics Integration & Manufacturing (3D-PEIM), June 13-15, 2016, Raleigh, NC, USA. Your professional colleagues and the world’s leading Packaging and Manufacturing societies and associations are launching a symposium to bring together Designers and Manufacturers to address the future in integrated power electronics design. The Steering and Technical Committees are purposely formulated with world-class experts to represent electrical, materials and manufacturing perspectives to help us all advance into the 3D power electronics systems of the future.

Join your colleagues at the inaugural 3D-PEIM Symposium June 2016, hosted on the North Carolina State University Campus, to discuss and exchange ideas. Better, is to respond to our Call for Papers with a 3-4 page Abstract for review. Not an author? We have table top exhibits for our commercial colleagues to show what is possible in packaging and manufacturing of power electronic systems.

Need more incentive to attend, present or exhibit? Our venue is different than others. This symposium is all about electrical-physical design and manufacturing, and we expect nearly everyone will have interest in “physical” circuits. Hence, besides extended dialogue sessions, lecturing speakers will have an option to discuss and show hardware during the breaks. Lastly, the Symposium will host three tutorials Monday morning to provide background and insight into many of the traditional physical design approaches and technologies.

Mark your calendars and check in at our website www.3D-PEIM.org.

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

Provided by Prof. Douglas Hopkins, General Chair

SMA and the China Power Supply Society (CPSS) have had reciprocal memberships between their organizations for several years. More recently, the organizations held workshop meetings during the past two APEC conferences to identify areas of mutual interest and cooperation that would benefit their respective membership and the power sources industry. At the 21st China Power Supply Society Conference (CPSSC 2015) in Shenzhen, China Nov 7th and 8th, several representatives from PSMA attended and held the third workshop with representatives from CPSS. Ernie Parker, PSMA Chairman, was invited to present a plenary presentation at the conference which included an overview of the PSMA organization and a focus on some recent technical activities.

At the China workshop, Ernie Parker, Chairman of PSMA, together with four representatives from the PSMA membership met with Dr. Mark Dehong Xu, chairman of CPSS and 14 CPSS members. The workshop in Shenzhen China continued the dialog and reviewed the progress on the action items identified in past workshops as well as a discussion on possible new areas for cooperation.

Some of the action items previously identified in the past workshops included:

• Providing an English version of the CPSS website – it was reported that this feature would be available by the end of 2015.

• Sharing the PSMA UPDATE newsletters with CPSS for posting on their website – selected articles would be translated and posted.

The China workshop identified additional areas for cooperation including:

• Safety and Compliance Standards – the possibility of CPSS translating China regulatory standards and available to PSMA members. During discussion it was felt that this would not be practical due to the number of standards and issues with keeping up with revisions. Rather it was recommended that CPSS act as a bridge to guide PSMA members to specific CPSS members that are knowledgeable of particular China standards on an as-needed basis. They also provided a link for purchasing existing China standards at: http://www.standardsportal.org.cn/zmen/English/.

• PSMA invited representatives of CPSS member companies to join the PSMA Technical Committees. Each of the PSMA Technical Committee generally meet monthly via teleconference and interested CPSS member companies were invited to dial in and to participate or just monitor the calls. If a CPSS member company is interested in a Technical Committee they should contact the Technical Committee chairs and explore the possibility of scheduling the teleconference later in the day (US time) to facilitate their participation. The CPSS attendees expressed interest in the Manufacturing Technical Committee and the Safety and Compliance Technical Committee.

• Another area discussed was for CPSS members to participate in APEC Industry Sessions that are organized by the PSMA Technical Committees. There was also interest in being considered for a presentation at PSMA organized Industry Sessions during APEC.

• There was interest expressed in attending and participating in the Magnetics Workshop that is being organized by the Magnetics Committee and scheduled for the Saturday prior to APEC 2016. Additional information on the content and registration for the event will be sent to the CPSS Association Office to be shared with their membership.

• There was a discussion of the options and requirements for CPSS companies to actively participate at APEC via Technical Papers, Industry Sessions, and Professional Education Seminars.

PSMA and CPSS will hold another workshop with CPSS the Sunday of APEC 2016. CPSS plans to have a delegation of up to 20 company representatives for APEC 2016 and they were invited to attend and learn more about PSMA at the Annual Meeting the Monday of APEC 2016.

Provided by Ernie Parker, Chairman of PSMA, Director of Engineering, Crane Aerospace & Electronics – Power Solutions

he 3rd The IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WIPDA) provided a forum for device scientists, circuit designers, and application engineers o share technology updates, research findings, development experience and potential applications. The workshop was held in Blacksburg Virginia November 2 -4, 2015 and was sponsored by IEEE PELS, IEEE EDS and PSMA.

Rolando Burgos from Virginia Tech was General Chair for the workshop and reported that WiPDA2015 was a major success and exceeded expectations. Attendance which was over 200 was significantly higher than last year (~120) and more than the expected 150. About 75% of the attendees were from North America with 13% from Europe and about 11% from Asia/Pacific.

The workshop lasted two full days plus a tutorial session day preceding the workshop. The tutorial sessions were well attended with 110 total attendees for the two parallel sessions. On Monday morning, a large group participated in a CPES lab tour including interaction with about 50 graduate students. The visitors learned about the lab set ups and research.

During the two-day conference, 10 keynote speakers presented the state of the art and vision of WBG semiconductors, while 95 technical papers/posters were presented. Due to the larger than expected number of papers, the program was expanded from the originally planned two to three parallel sessions.

Members of the PSMA Semiconductor Technical Committee were active participants in the workshop and the technical exhibition, coordinated by PSMA, had seven exhibitors resulting in information on the latest products available and provided additional revenues for the conference.

Rolando Burgos and his Conference Committee are to be commended for their planning and support. The conference was not only well planned but also well executed with positive feedback from the attendees and the exhibitors. This year’s conference provided a good reference point for the WiPDA2016 conference, which will be hosted by the University of Arkansas and held in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The exact dates for the conference are still being worked on, but should be early in November 2016 and information for the Call for Papers will be available soon.

Provided by Joe Engle, Efficient Power Conversion and Ranbir Singh, GeneSiC

NTELEC 2016 continues to be the world-class technical forum and information exchange that deals with energy systems for communications and power quality. These topics will be addressed by the global technical and commercial leaders in the industry via keynote and plenary sessions as well as through technical and poster presentations. All of this exchange is supported by an exceptional technical program for the registered attendees. No matter what the attendees’ area of focus may be, from powering software defined networks, to disaster prevention and recovery, to energy efficiency or new energy storage technologies, INTELEC 2016 is the forum to gather the information needed and consult with global industry peers to drive your company’s mission.

For consideration in the technical program a digest that accurately reflects the content of each proposed technical paper must be received by the Technical Program Committee no later than March 27, 2016. The digest should be a minimum of 500 words, not to exceed 1,500 words. It must include all information considered necessary by the authors to demonstrate the technical merit of the paper. Digests are to be submitted electronically, via the INTELEC® website. Author contact information and the topic area of the paper should be included in the submission.

The scope of the conference will include but not limited to the following communications power and energy systems topics:

• Powering Software Defined Networks
  
• 400 Vdc Distribution
  
• Alternative Power Sources and Energy Storage
  
• Disaster Planning and Recovery
  
• Telecom Rectifiers
  
• AC-DC Converters
  
• DC-DC Converters
  
• DC Distribution Systems
  
• Battery Systems
  
• DC UPS Systems
  
• AC Power Distribution Systems
  
• AC UPS
  
• Outside Plant Power
  
• Batteries
  
• Thermal Management
  
• Regulatory Compliance
  
• Semiconductor Components

Please submit digest to the INTELEC 2016 website at www.intelec2016.org/call-for-papers and see the latest information at the website.

Provided by Steve Vechy, Publicity Chair for Intelec® 2016

A Model Building Designed to Meet Net Zero Energy and LEED Platinum Certification

n October 22, 2015, Delta Electronics (Delta), the largest power supply and thermal management company in the world, opened its new American headquarters in Fremont, California. Mr. Bruce Cheng, Delta's founder and current Chairman, along with Delta's senior management and California's local political contingent were on site to celebrate the opening. There were a ribbon cutting, speeches and award ceremonies with Mr. Bill Harrison, Mayor of Fremont, presenting the "Key to the City of Fremont" to Mr. Bruce Cheng.
Architecturally and aesthetically, Delta's American headquarters is a beautiful building, but designing and constructing this building was a challenging project that required complex engineering design, an elite aesthetic concept and significant input from the Economic Development Team of Fremont City Hall. This is a unique building designed to meet Net Zero Energy and LEED Platinum certification – in brief a model building.

At the time of this writing, there is no other power supply company that has achieved this duality in designing buildings that can meet both Net Zero Energy and LEED Platinum certification. Beyond the complexity of such a building project, it is expensive and needs significant commitment from the top management. It is no secret that Mr. Bruce Cheng has dedicated his career to the environmental causes and sustainability issues, and since 2005 all of Delta's new buildings have been designed to meet the latest environmental regulations or guidelines.

Net Zero Energy building means there is no waste - the energy consumed by the building is equal to the energy generated. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design and provides the standards for the Green Building Design designated by the US Green Building Council or USGBC. According to the USBGC website: LEED is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects must satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system and teams choose the best fit for their project.

Getting LEED certifications is no easy task and they range from the basic (40-49 points) to the highest 80+ points designated as Platinum. Delta's facility is designed for the highest - LEED Platinum certification.

Though all the details about Delta's new headquarters are extensive, a summary can be tabulated. The building uses the following energy saving systems:

• 616kW rooftop solar system using Delta's own solar inverters with energy conversion efficiency of up to 98.5 percent to meet net zero energy criteria. It is expected to generate over 1,000MWh electricity per year.
• Geothermal heating and cooling system that utilize a ground source heat pump connected to a loop field of pipes located up to 30 feet underground. There are more than 92 miles of pipe circulating 12,000 gallons of water.
• An elaborate 140,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system for irrigation. This is an important water-saving system in drought-stricken California.
• Highly efficient LED lighting that uses less energy.
• Recycled materials for beams, trusses and some furniture.

In addition to the novel and innovative power infrastructure and systems design, many systems use Delta's own products and solutions. Being one of the largest power-related companies in the world with a vast array of products and solutions, Delta was able to offer and showcase its own products and solutions in the development of the building to meet Net Zero Energy and LEED Platinum Certification. These include solar PV inverters, energy-saving variable frequency drives, Infrasuit Datacenter infrastructure solutions, elevator power generation solutions, electric charging solutions, wireless outdoor LED lighting systems and Delta Energy Online: real-time energy management and monitoring software.

Mr. Bruce Cheng stated, that "...in the past 10 years, we have commissioned the construction and renovation of 21 green buildings and will share our experiences with international audience in December, at this year's Conference of Parties, more commonly referenced to as the COP21. This aligns with the company's mission to provide innovative, clean, and energy energy- solutions for better tomorrow".

Delta's new American headquarters is a testament to its commitment to the green energy future.

Provided by Mohan Mankikar, President, Micro-Tech Consultants

incoln International’s Renewable Energy Group is pleased to present the latest Q3 2015 Solar Energy Stock Index Report, which tracks relevant solar company metrics in this growing industry.

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

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

Solar_Stock_Index_Q3_2015.pdf (568k 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 the latest DealReader from our global Renewable Energy Industry group. This will provide you with:

• Q3 2015 deal volume comparison by total transactions, deal type, geography, and target company sector
• Recent Solar Energy transaction announcements
• Analysis of global Solar Energy trends

Solar_DealReader_Q3_2015.pdf (538k 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 the latest EMS DealReader from our Global Electronics Industry Group. This will provide you with:

• Q3 2015 deal volume comparison by total transactions, deal type, geography and size
• Recent EMS transaction announcements
• An analysis of growth trends affecting the EMS industry

EMS_Dealreader_Q3_2015.pdf (419k 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.