1. APEC Returns to Florida – See You in Orlando March 19-23, 2023
   
2. 2022 PSMA Planning Meeting in Orlando, FL
   
3. Message from the PSMA Executive Committee
   
4. Meet Your Directors
   
5. About Our Members
   
6. Welcome to PSMA
   
7. Power Technology Roadmap 2023 Webinar Series Underwriting Opportunity
   
8. PSMA Expands Engagement with Young Professionals and Women in Engineering at ECCE 2022
   
9. The Fourth International Symposium on 3D Power Electronics Integration and Manufacturing
   
10. 2023 PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS TC2 High Frequency Magnetics Workshop
    
11. PSMA and PELS to Sponsor Pre-APEC Capacitors in Power Electronics Workshop
    
12. 2022 PSMA Vehicle Electrification Workshop – The Latest Trends and Technologies
    
13. The Eighth International Workshop on Power Supply-on-Chip (PwrSoC)
    
14. A successful IWIPP 2022 in Grenoble, France
    
15. The 9th IEEE/PSMA Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices & Applications
    
16. DNA, PCR and Power Supplies – What do they have in common?
    
17. 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_2022 | Q2_2022 | Q3_2022

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

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

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

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

 

he APEC 2023 Conference Committee met in Orlando last month. The Committee toured the Orange County Convention Center to review and adjust the allocation of meeting rooms for all the sessions and seminars. The meeting also included discussion of the agenda for the Monday afternoon Plenary Session and the selection of the offerings for the Sunday and Monday Professional Education Seminars. The Technical Session Chairs reported on the selection of papers to be presented and the Industry Session Chairs provided an update on the full slate of tracks. In addition, we learned about the plans for three great "Rap Session" that will take place following the close of the exhibits on Tuesday evening. And speaking about the exhibits, the Committee also toured the expansive exhibit space. As of early October, almost 220 exhibitors have signed up and there is every expectation that there will be a sold-out exhibit hall with upwards of 280 companies showing their latest products and services.

Here's a quick rundown of the APEC 2023 program and what attendees can look forward to next March in Orlando:

• March 19-20   Professional Education Seminars
  
  Once again, this year, these valuable and informative half-day seminars are included in the Full Conference Registration.

• March 20         Plenary Sessions
  
  Open to all attendees, this year's line-up of presenters is promising to be an event not-to-be missed. The Plenary Presentation hall is being set for an audience of more than two thousand attendees.

• March 20-22    Exhibit Hall
  
  As always, the opening reception is scheduled from 5-8 PM on Monday evening with hosted food and drinks. And returning this year, the popular Micro Mouse Competition will take place in the Exhibit Hall. In addition, plans are underway to also a robotics competition.

• March 21-24   Technical Sessions
  
  These peer-reviewed technical presentations will include the latest developments and research. Plan to stay through Thursday so you don't miss any of these great sessions.

• March 21-24   Industry Sessions
  
  These are always popular sessions featuring the latest in commercial applications and important new trends and products.

• March 22        Rap Sessions
  
  Three controversial topics will be covered in the Rap Sessions on Tuesday, right after the exhibits close at 5:00 p.m. Grab a cool beverage and bring your questions for the panelists.

• March 23         Social Event
  
  The event will soon be officially announced, but I can tell you the Conference Committee is planning an event you will want to attend. The Wednesday evening event offers a great opportunity to socialize and network with colleagues the evening before the final day of conference sessions on Thursday.

Registration opened in mid-November with Early Bird Pricing discounts until Monday January 23, 2023. Remember, you need to register to get access to the discounted hotel reservations. These special hotel blocks will sell out well before March.

On the Saturday prior to the start of APEC2023, PSMA and PELS will again be sponsoring two workshops, the 8th High Frequency Magnetics Workshop and the 6th Capacitor Workshop. For more information see the articles on each workshop in this issue of the UPDATE.

Speaking for all of us on the APEC Conference Committee, I invite you to come to Orlando to be part of our annual gathering. You really don't want to miss it.  Check the APEC website for details
.
If you haven't already made plans to attend, don't wait any longer. Be sure you have it in your 2023 budget to attend this exceptional event – truly it is The Premier Event in Applied Power Electronics™

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2023 Publicity Chair

Hyatt Regency Orlando, Photo by Leonard J. DeFrancisci

he 2022 PSMA Planning Meeting was held on Saturday October 15, 2022, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, FL with 28 attendees, including 5 who attended remotely. The purpose of the Planning Meeting was to review where the Association is today, discuss outstanding issues and to identify possible new programs and projects that promise to bring value to the membership.

President Trifon Liakopoulos, who was in Orlando, welcomed all the attendees and reviewed the agenda for the meeting. Chair Fred Weber, who attended virtually, introduced the Executive Committee for 2022 – 2024 and briefly reviewed the mission and current status of the Association. Fred highlighted some of the successes over the past year including the return to an in-person APEC conference, leveraging new revenue sources, and strengthening PSMA's partnerships with other key industry organizations. He then presented areas for future focus which include increasing membership through multiple channels, encouraging more technical committee collaboration, continued collaborations between the PSMA and iNEMI roadmap efforts, and identifying future special projects that will bring value to our members and the industry.

Following Fred's remarks there were presentations from each of the other Executive Committee members.

Financial Forecast
Tim McDonald, Secretary/Treasurer, presented the latest 6-Quarter financial forecast. Tim indicated that in 2021 the forecast was extended to 10-Quarters due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, but this report returned to a 6-Quarter format as circumstances continue to stabilize. The 6-Quarter forecast projects growth in underwriting revenue in support of the Roadmap, increased dues income from the 2023 rate increase, APEC income recovering, together with continued sponsorship of workshops and conferences.

In summary, the forecast indicates the Association to be on solid financial footing over the 6-Quarter period and poised for growth. Assuming no unforeseen developments, there should be modest funding available to support Special Projects that promise to bring value to the membership and the industry.

KPIs-Metrics that Matter
Renee Yawger, Vice President, reviewed the KPIs – Key Performance Indicators - currently being tracked. KPIs are metrics that matter which provide information on the relative success of current activities, identify opportunities to improve the activities of the Technical Committees, improve the effectiveness of the website, workshops, special projects, and webinars, and hopefully will enhance efforts to attract new membership.  Current KPI areas include Membership - Growth, Retention and Market Share; Special Projects and Events, and Website – Traffic and Behavior.

Tracking KPIs is a new initiative for PSMA, and Renee emphasized that for this effort to provide actionable analytics to help guide us going forward, it will take time and multiple iterations to calibrate target KPIs. She recommended that committees be responsible for setting KPIs that are appropriate to their membership and objectives.

President's Themes
Trifon Liakopoulos reviewed the Executive Committee Vision for 2020 – 2025, including the 4 pillars for sustenance and smart growth – Keep the good stuff; Define and integrate metrics to monitor the parameters that matter; Become more applications and problems oriented; Strategic collaborations; and engage more with stakeholders.

APEC Industry Session Update
Dhaval Dalal, APEC Industry Session Co-Chair, introduced the new APEC Industry Session Co-Chairs, Deepak Veereddy and Laszlo Balogh. He then provided an update on the status of 2023 APEC Industry Sessions.  This year saw a large increase in overall Industry Session submissions, both for individual submissions and full session proposals. Based on this growth, the committee have expanded to 6 parallel tracks. Even with the expanded number of tracks, difficult decisions had to be made due to the overall high quality of submissions received. Dhaval then provided the Industry Session schedule and reviewed the timeline for upcoming deadlines.

Committee Updates
There was a report from each of the PSMA Technical Committees that summarized their accomplishments over the past year and focused on ongoing programs and projects for 2023. Ten of the technical committees have submitted proposals to organize full Industry Sessions at APEC 2023 and all technical committees will be supporting the Power Technology Roadmap effort.

In addition:

• Transportation Committee Co-chair Fred Weber provided a review of the Vehicle Electrification Workshop held virtually in September and lessons learned. The workshop was recorded, and the committee plans to offer access to the presentations and recordings.
• Semiconductor Committee Co-Chair Tim McDonald reported that the committee meets monthly with active participation from member companies. The committee plans to sponsor 3 Industry Sessions at APEC 2023: "Integrated WBG Semiconductors: Enhancing Power Density & Reducing Part Count," New Challenges and Solutions in Test and Characterization of WBG Power Devices," and "Modern Power Semiconductor Technology Ambitions & Applications."
• Brian Zahnstecher and Crystal Yannarella, Reliability Committee APEC Industry Session Co-chairs, reported on the Industry Session the committee is organizing for APEC 2023, "Meeting Reliability Objectives for each application is an art with no universal solution." The committee is currently looking for Co-Chairs since Brian Zahnstecher stepped down as Chair earlier in 2022.
• Dhaval Dalal, Power Technology Roadmap Committee Co-chair, reported that the committee published the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap Report earlier this year and thanked everyone who contributed to the report. He reviewed some of the lessons learned from the 2022 PTR and the future outlook. The committee is considering organizing a focus group during APEC 2023. The 2022 PTR webinars have recently resumed, and they are looking for additional webinar topics and presenters from the other PSMA Technical Committees.
• The Packaging & Manufacturing Committee Co-chairs John Bultitude, Brian Narveson, and Ernie Parker submitted a report that was presented by John Horzepa. There are 10-15 participants typically attending the monthly committee meetings, as well as committee members serving on the Steering or Technical Committees for the workshops the committee supports including 3D-PEIM, IWIPP and PwrSoC. The committee is interested in a special project Technology Report on "Integrated and Embedded Magnetics for Power Sources." They will submit a special project proposal when resources allow.
• Marketing Committee Co-Chair Chris Whaling provided a summary of the committee activities over the past year. He reported that the committee is currently actively working on strategies to increase PSMA membership and engagement. A 6-month Social Media Special Project was recently approved to support this effort and the mission of PSMA. The committee will be tracking KPIs and is planning several initiatives to support this project.
• Magnetics Committee Co-Chair George Slama reported the committee is organizing the 8th High Frequency Magnetics Workshop the day prior to APEC 2023. The committee is interested in expanding their activities beyond the workshops and Industry Sessions, including updating the website forum and increasing engagement with others, including inviting presenters from academia and industry to monthly meetings, engaging with TTA, and collaborating with other PSMA committees.
• John Horzepa presented the Industry-Education Committee report prepared with Gerry Moschopoulos, Committee Chair. The committee has been quite active in 2022. They continue to support the APEC Student Attendance Support program, which, together with PELS and IAS, provided up to a total of $40,000 for expenses for student presenters to attend APEC 2022 and will continue the program for APEC 2023. The committee collaborated with IEEE PELS on the 2021-2022 Young Professionals Seminar Series, and participated in the Young Professionals and Women in Engineering events at APEC 2022 and ECCE 2022.
• Energy Storage Committee Co-chair Victor Boyadzhan reported that the committee includes representatives from academia and industry and continues to cooperate with the Capacitor, Energy Management and other technical committees since energy storage is recognized as a critical technological focus for the overall power sources industry.
• Energy Management Committee Chair David Chen reviewed the activities of the committee. The committee will be sponsoring a webinar series on Appliance Energy Efficiency Regulations starting in October 2022. The committee recently submitted a comment letter to the DoE on EPS Conservation Standards.  They also continue to support the Energy Efficiency Data Base which tracks a growing list of countries and agencies involved with energy efficiency regulations.
• Brian Zahnstecher, Energy Harvesting Committee Co-chair, reported that the committee meets monthly with an average of 12 attendees on each call, including new guest(s) most months. Brian shared some of the highlights from EnerHarv 2022 Workshop recently held in Raleigh, NC. Committee Members are active participants in collaborations with other committees, including contributing speakers for Industry Sessions, providing a Keynote on Low Power Telemetry at 3D-PEIM-2023, as well as outside groups including the EU Project. Mike Hayes, Committee co-chair, expressed his disappointment about the Thursday slot the committee has been assigned for an Industry Session at APEC 2023.
• Andrew Mikulski, Capacitor Committee Co-chair, reported that the Committee has 3 new co-chairs, sharing the committee responsibilities. He leads the organizing of the annual APEC Industry Session, Frank Puhane is responsible for the annual pre-APEC workshop, and Stephan Menzel is responsible for webinars. The committee meets monthly, with 10-12 people typical on each call, although recent meetings have not been well attended. The committee is planning their 6th pre-APEC workshop in 2023. They also plan to restart the Capacitor Fundamentals webinar series with all new material.

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). The Executive Committee will summarize these ideas and the proposed initiatives for 2023.

PTR Cycle Length Proposal
Dhaval Dalal, Power Technology Roadmap Committee Co-Chair, presented the committee's proposal to move to a 3-year cycle. He provided an overview of the history and evolution of the PSMA Power Technology Roadmap which began in 1994 and was published on a 3-year cycle until 2009, moved to a 2-year cycle from 2009 – 2019, and then was postponed from 2021 to 2022 due to the Pandemic effect. Dhaval outlined some of the key benefits of returning to a 3-year cycle, including increased webinar contact and a greater ability to truly capture emerging trends, as well as reducing the burden on volunteers and allowing for a better survey effort. He also addressed some of the concerns that may arise from this change including the perception of reduced value to members and potential for missing major technology transitions.

During the discussion on this topic, there was overall agreement on the proposal to move to a 3-year cycle and several ideas were proposed to address potential concerns and to provide content to PSMA members during the off years.
 
PSMA members can view the minutes of the Planning Meeting on the "Members Only" section of the PSMA web site.

KPIs-Metrics that Matter

uilding on the foundational work that Trifon Liakopoulos began during his tenure as PSMA Vice President, I have taken the role within the Executive Committee to continue to focus on identifying the KPIs – Key Performance Indicators – that are actionable and will help to improve the performance and effectiveness of the organization.  Some of the areas we have begun to measure related to membership are the annual growth rate, member retention rates, and market share of members compared to the number of potential member organizations in the industry.  As an organization it is crucial that we continue to grow our membership and to provide significant benefit to our existing members to encourage retention.  We need a deep understanding of what member companies value from their engagement with PSMA and to continue to invest in those areas.

It is also critical to monitor the impact of the special projects and events offered to our members and the industry at large.  We are establishing KPIs to measure the effectiveness of these activities in terms of member interest and usage, new member recruitment, and revenue impact. Since we are a volunteer driven, non-profit organization, we need to spend our revenue and human resources on the activities that provide the most benefit to our audience and the largest return on investment to our organization.

Lastly, we have established baseline metrics related to website traffic and visitor behavior with a goal to improve the effectiveness of the website to raise awareness, provide valuable content, and increase membership.  The website is our most public marketing asset, developing measurable KPIs will help to focus our efforts on providing content that is viewed as relevant and vital to our audience.

KPIs will provide actionable feedback on the success of current activities and identify opportunities for improvement. The Executive Committee will rely on the support and efforts of all members to define, measure, and implement actions to improve the effectiveness of our activities and enhance our efforts to attract new members.  We encourage all members to provide feedback, thoughts, and new ideas so we can continue to learn and grow as an organization.

Please feel free to contact me or any of the executive team members with your thoughts and inputs. We would love to hear from you!

Renee Yawger PSMA Vice President Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

our members of the Board of Directors are elected at the PSMA Annual Meeting held every year, usually held 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 Tim McDonald and Fred Weber.

Tim McDonald
Consulting Advisor for the CoolGaNTM Program, Infineon Technologies

Tim McDonald is currently Consulting Advisor for Infineon's CoolGaNTM program.  Formerly Tim served there as Senior Director, GaN Technology Development, worldwide Applications and Marketing, where he was responsible for defining applications and bringing to market  Infineon's GaN on Silicon devices.

Tim is an elected board member and also serves on the Executive Committee as Treasurer of PSMA. He is a co-chair of PSMA's Semiconductor Committee which sponsors, creates, and recruits up to 4 APEC Industry Sessions each year. Tim has served on several ad hoc committees for PSMA; most recently this included leading a group to create and implement revenue enhancement opportunities to strengthen the Association's finances in response to the impact from Covid.

Tim currently serves as chair of the JEDEC JC-70 committee on standards for reliability qualification, test methods and datasheet parametrics for widebandgap (GaN and SiC) power conversion devices. He is a past chair of the PowerAmerica Members Advisory Council.

Previously, Tim was Vice President of device engineering and product development for International Rectifier's GaNpowIR™ Technology Development team where he was responsible for successfully developing and marketing GaN on Silicon devices into consumer high volume applications. Before that he was Vice President of IR's iPOWIR™ Power Stage Business Unit where he defined and developed integrated DC-DC power conversion solutions with benchmark efficiency and power density stations.

Tim has over 40 years of diversified experience in power conversion/management and has held positions in device engineering management, product and market development, product engineering, device characterization, test platform development and operations. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Provided by Tim McDonald, Consulting Advisor for the CoolGaNTM Program, Infineon Technologies
 

Fred Weber
President, Future Technology Worldwide

Fred Weber is the President of Future Technology Worldwide. LLC (FTW), a Manufacturers Representative firm covering the Great Lakes and Southwest States with a portfolio of product, component, and service Principals tuned to Power Electronics. Having earned both a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Evansville, and an MBA from the University of Michigan, Fred has a strong technical and business acumen. This has been strengthened by years of product design, project management, and sales experience. His ability to open doors, close sales, and manage accounts has allowed FTW to steadily grow since its founding in 2001.

FTW has been a member of the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) for 12 years. Fred is the current Chair in the first year of a 2 year term. He is active in the PSMA Capacitor Committee, and serves as the co-Chair of the Transportation Electronics Committee.

In reflecting on his involvement with PSMA, Fred commented "I originally joined PSMA to help support a few of my Principals. I found that the diverse membership of PSMA and their continuous effort to educate, keep abreast of the latest technologies and create a networking community were ideal for my business and my personal professional growth. The networking possibilities provided  at APEC and within PSMA are second to none. It is my honor and pleasure to lead the PSMA Board and Executive Staff to help guide PSMA into the future. PSMA has made great strides in the past year(s) to cement its position as the leading Power Electronics Organization. It is my goal to help PSMA continue to build on our position and to grow into industries that have only recently migrated towards Power Electronics. These industries are involved in Vehicle Electrification, Autonomous Vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Energy Storage to name a few."

Provided by Fred Weber, President, Future Technology Worldwide

 
CUI Inc, a Bel group

otivated by our customers' needs, we are focused on creating ease of access to power supply products and information that help drive an engineer's design. Our goal is to improve the way power products are purchased today and into the future.

Originally starting out as a company that sold oscilloscopes and electromechanical components, we began designing and selling power supplies as a side project. The side project grew over the years into a portfolio of ac-dc power supplies and dc-dc converters. Today we are proud to offer an extensive line of power products to our global customer base that serve the consumer, IoT, industrial, and medical industries.

We know the important role power plays in a design and that each customers' needs vary; whether it is providing accessible product data and resources, cost effective options, or the latest products that meet global regulations. Our passion is improving the experience of the design engineer. We know that helping our customers is the core of what we do and is why we are determined on providing the best set of tools, information, and services to everyone in need of a power supply.

CUI Inc, a Bel group company, whose stock trades on the NASDAQ Exchange under the symbols BELFA and BELFB.

Product Portfolio

External Ac-Dc Power Supplies

• 3 W ~ 300 W desktop and wall plug power adapters
• Global plug configurations and multi-blade options
• GaN Desktop options available, including medical versions
• Certified 62368 and 60601 models available

Internal Ac-Dc Power Supplies

• 1 W ~ 600 W available in board mount, chassis mount, and DIN rail
• 277 Vac input available from 1 w~320 W
• Ultra-compact options for space constrained applications
• Certified 62368 and 60601 models available

Dc-Dc Converters

• 1 W ~600 W models available
• Isolated, non-isolated and IGBT & SiC Driver options
• Dual independently isolated outputs ranging from 3 W to 30 W
• Certified 62368 models available
  

Provided by Kelly Wigginton, Sr. Director of Marketing, Bel Fuse, Inc.

 
Navitas Semiconductor

Pure-Play Next-Gen Power Semiconductors



avitas Semiconductor (Nasdaq: NVTS) is the only pure-play, next-generation power-semiconductor company, founded in 2014. GaNFast™ power ICs integrate gallium nitride (GaN) power and drive, with control, sensing, and protection to enable faster charging, higher power density, and greater energy savings. Complementary GeneSiC™ power devices are optimized high-power, high-voltage, and high-reliability silicon carbide (SiC) solutions.

Focus markets include mobile, consumer, data center, EV, solar, wind, smart grid, and industrial. Over 185 Navitas patents are issued or pending. Over 60 million GaN units have been shipped with zero reported GaN field failures, and Navitas introduced the industry's first and only 20-year warranty. Navitas is the world's first semiconductor company to be CarbonNeutral®-certified.

GaN + SiC: The Future of Power Semis

The potential market for WBG semiconductors is already significant and growing rapidly as companies look to replace legacy silicon in existing applications and to harness the power of GaN and SiC in new and emerging designs where silicon cannot compete. At Navitas we estimate the combined market opportunity for GaN and SiC power technologies to be over $20B a year by 2026.

The GaN Revolution: Ultimate Integration

A gallium nitride (GaN) power integrated circuit (IC) combines several power electronics functions onto a single GaN chip, to improve speed, efficiency, reliability and cost-effectiveness. In many cases, GaN power ICs are the enabling catalyst for advanced power-conversion topologies to transition from academic concepts to industry-proven mass production designs. Using lateral 650 V eMode GaN-on-Si technology, Navitas' proprietary AllGaN™ process design kit (PDK) was created to enable the monolithic integration of GaN FET and GaN drive, plus logic and protection functions. The die can then be packaged into industry-standard, low-inductance, low-cost, 5×6 or 6×8 mm QFN packages for off-line AC or 400 V DC-input applications.

Both 'single' and 'half-bridge' GaN power ICs are available, with a broad range of power and functionality, and adaptable for a wide range of applications from tens of watts to kW in markets from mobile fast chargers, to data centers, consumer, renewables and EV / eMobility. GaN power ICs enable up to 3x faster charging in half the size and weight of old, silicon-based power electronics, or 3x more power without a size or weight increase.

Cool. Fast. Rugged

GeneSiC™ power devices are optimized high-power, high-voltage, and high-reliability silicon carbide (SiC) solutions. Focus markets include mobile, consumer, data center, EV, solar, wind, smart grid, and industrial. GeneSiC patented trench-assisted planar gate technology delivers the lowest RDS(ON) at high temperature and the lowest energy losses at high speeds. This enables unprecedented, industry-leading levels of performance, robustness and quality.

Provided by Llew Vaughan-Edmunds, Senior Director of Marketing, Navitas Semiconductor

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.

IP and Technology Experts LLC
Mikhail Guz
205 De Anza Blvd #52
San Mateo, CA 94402
Telephone: 415-218-7198
E-mail: mikhail.guz@iptechexperts.com
Web Site: https://iptechexperts.com

IP and Technology Experts LLC is a business development company that knows how to take teams through the entire product development cycle: definition, feasibility, circuit, IP, mechanical, and packaging design, PCB layout, firmware and software development, test infrastructure, validation and qualification, agency certifications, and release to manufacturing.

Led by principal Mikhail Guz, they have over 30 years of experience in system-level power electronic products and power semiconductors with industry leaders such as Apple, ABB, Fairchild, Cypress, onsemi, and Silicon Valley startups. Now this expertise is available to help clients reach their goals. Their unique combination of deep technical expertise and hands-on experience in all aspects of intellectual property creation, management, and monetization can help customers to align IP efforts and business objectives. IP and Technology Experts LLC can help with a broad range of tasks from corporate strategy to product development and product management; strategic and tactical marketing; system and application engineering; and financial planning and analysis.

New England Wire Technologies
Clayton Elliott
130 N Main St
Lisbon, NH 03585
Telephone: 603-838-6624
E-mail: clayton.elliott@newenglandwire.com
Web Site: www.newenglandwire.com/

New England Wire Technologies is a privately held, employee stock ownership company with a rich history dating back to 1898. Their Lisbon, NH facilities consist of over 385,000 square feet of manufacturing, quality/testing, tooling/machine fabrication and office space. New England Wire Technologies specializes in Litz wire, custom power cables, flexible interconnects, ultra-flexible single and multi-conductor cables, and hybrid cables, all designed and manufactured to meet exact specifications and performance characteristics. NEWT's custom cables power a wide variety of industries including alternative energy, wireless charging, motor technologies, high frequency power electronics, and robotics and automation.

Whether working with customer supplied specification or designing to a unique requirement, New England Wire Technologies' design teams develop innovative, one-of-a-kind wire and cable solutions. On-site manufacturing processes include wire drawing, plating, braid, cabling, insulating, and extrusion services. And, since all of proprietary equipment and tooling is designed and built in-house, they have complete control while also offering quick modifications when needed. Through true vertical integration of manufacturing processes NEWT's customers'​ design-to-market curve is the shortest in the industry.

Power Electronics Group LLC
Rakesh Dhawan
President
311 Emerson Ln
Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Telephone: 877-748-0148
E-mail: rakesh.dhawan@powerelectronicsgroup.com
Website: powerelectronicsgroup.com

Power Electronics Group LLC (PEG) facilitates extraordinary and sustainable innovation and commercialization in the field of motors, drives, electric vehicles and high frequency magnetics. PEG helps customers with optimal selection, sizing and configuration of Motion Control, Electric Vehicle and High Frequency Systems. PEG's staff has co-authored over 30 publications in various refereed journals and conference proceedings and filed for several issued or pending US patents. PEG has significant skills in the field of Motor Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Power Electronics, Analog and Digital Electronics, Software Engineering, Test Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering and System Simulation, Design and Integration.

PEG has developed a unique and highly successful approach called CARE™ to product development and project management for complex technology products involving embedded systems, electro-magnetic and electro-mechanical components and power electronics. The CARE™ approach has four main elements – Clearly defined customer requirements; Ample focus on analysis, simulation and modeling; Rapid prototyping; and Effective project management techniques. PEG combines the best practical, technical and academic knowledge to bring their clients unique competitive advantages.

Rothwell Figg
Brian Rosenbloom
901 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 900 East
Washington, DC 20001
Telephone: 202-783-6040
E-mail: brosenbloom@rothwellfigg.com
Web Site: https://www.rothwellfigg.com/

Rothwell Figg is a forward-thinking, client-focused law firm practicing at the convergence of intellectual property, litigation, and technology. An interdisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and litigators, who think and operate with clients as strategic partners, they provide a comprehensive range of IP, litigation, and technology services for U.S. and international clients, from startups to multinationals, and in every imaginable industry. Rothwell Figg has the bandwidth to handle the largest, most complex, high stakes matters in the most sophisticated and complex technology areas and are passionate about empowering clients to meet their business objectives through protecting, enforcing, and monetizing their IP and technology. They are adaptable, collaborative, and nimble, able to deliver valuable results in all matters, small and large.

By collaborating with clients, Rothwell Figg develops an understanding of their marketplace, the stage they are at in their businesses, and their goals. This knowledge is used to craft a strategic solution and apply their experience and judgment to produce results. Whether protecting, enforcing, or defending a client's innovations, Rothwell Figg brings unrivaled judgement, unmatched knowledge, and an uncanny ability to see what's coming next.

TAE Technologies
Mikhail Slepchenkov
19631 Pauling
Foothill Ranch, CA 92610
Telephone: 949-554-7147
E-mail: misha@tae.com
Web Site: www.tae.com

TAE Technologies (pronounced T-A-E) was founded in 1998 to develop commercial fusion power with the cleanest environmental profile. The company's pioneering work represents the fastest, most practical, and economically competitive solution to bring abundant clean energy to the grid. With over 1,800 patents filed globally and over 1,100 granted, $1.2 billion in private capital raised, five generations of National Laboratory-scale devices built along with two more in development, and an experienced team of over 400 employees, TAE is now on the cusp of delivering this transformational energy source capable of sustaining the planet for thousands of years.

TAE's revolutionary technologies have produced a robust portfolio of commercial innovations in large adjacent markets such as power management, energy storage, electric mobility, fast charging, life sciences, and more. The company is based in California and maintains international offices in the UK and Switzerland. Multidisciplinary and mission-driven by nature, TAE is leveraging proprietary science and engineering to create a bright future.

Win Source Electronic Technology Limited
Shirley Chua
12A/F., Hangdu Building, No.1006 Huafu Road
Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000
China
Telephone:  +86 75583957316
E-mail: public@win-source.net
Web Site: www.win-source.net

Founded in 1999, Win Source Electronic Technology Limited is one of the leading electronic component companies in the global electronics manufacturing and distribution industry providing comprehensive components procurement and supply chain services. Win Source quickly grew into a well-known enterprise in the field of electronic components distribution in Asia due to their experienced team and commitment to quality, traceability and professional rapid global sourcing.
As an industry-leading distributor of electronic components, Win Source promises to strictly control quality and provide reliable products and has successively obtained major third-party certifications. Win Source products are widely used in the fields of electronic products including communications, automotive electronics, computers, military, civil and others. The company has built a cross-border e-commerce ecosystem covering more than 200 countries and regions worldwide. With fine-tuned operations from supply to sales, Win Source's high-quality products and efficient service has won the trust and praise of customers and partners.

he PSMA Power Technology Roadmap (PTR) is a signature effort of our association. The published report is the culmination of the PTR Committee's dedicated work in producing the series of technical webinars, and together with contributions from a large and diverse number of experts in their respective fields, compiling and analyzing data to identify the technology and application trends to produce the report. This valuable document maps out the industry's combined assessment of the technology developments and trends affecting our industry in the 5-year period ahead.

The PTR Webinar Series
The PTR Webinars are offered at no charge to attendees and registration is open to everyone, not only to PSMA members. Each seminar, drawing on industry experts investigating a specific topic, are typically attended by 150-300 registrants. Underwriting opportunities are now open for the 2023 Season of these important and well-attended webinars. As an Underwriter your organization is recognizing the value of PSMA as well as projecting your company's vital interest and contribution to the growth of our industry. The various acknowledgments the Underwriters receive will amount to thousands of exposures to members of our industry.

You can see the schedule of upcoming as well as a list of previous Power Technology Roadmap Webinars, and also join our mailing list to receive invitations to upcoming webinars, at https://www.psma.com/technical-forums/roadmap/news-events.

Underwriting the PTR Webinar Series
PSMA is now offering companies the opportunity to underwrite the 2023 season of these important and well-attended webinars. Underwriters of the PSMA PTR webinars receive promotional benefits according to three levels of Underwriting offered – Platinum, Gold and Silver – as detailed in the flyer you can download here.

This is your opportunity to be part of this worthy and necessary endeavor. There are limited Underwriting opportunities. Should your company have an interest in this opportunity, please contact us immediately at power@psma.com.

uilding on the success of participation in the Young Professionals (YP) social event and Women in Engineering (WiE) roundtable breakfast at this year's Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) in March of 2022, PSMA continued efforts to increase engagement by participating in both  events during the 2022 Energy Conversion Congress & Expo (ECCE)  held October 9-13 in Detroit, MI.  Aside from contributing participants and messaging to support event objectives, PSMA provided financial support as a full co-sponsor as part of a concerted outreach effort to promote diversity, inclusion, and early development in the industry.

The YP social event was held the evening of Tuesday, October 11, 2022, at the Grand Truck Pub not far from Huntington Place Convention Center, where ECCE was held. The event was co-sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) YP group and the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) along with PSMA.  As the photo shows, this was a standing-room-only event with lively discussions amongst the leaders in both academia and industry with many students and young professionals.  Whether the young people were from the North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, or otherwise, the most interest seemed to be in seeking meaningful internships and/or interaction with industry professionals in a target area of focus.

The following morning, Wednesday, October 12, 2022, started bright and early with the WiE Roundtable Breakfast held n the main hallway of the Huntington Place Convention Center.  Unlike the free-for-all format of the previous evening's social event, this event was more structured with many tables each representing a different area of focus that were led by table leaders and mentors from the respective area.  PSMA was represented by Greg Evans & Stephanie Watts-Butler supported the event.  Several attendees coming to the PSMA table were not previously familiar with the organization and expressed gratitude for having this industry-focused component as part of the overall ECCE program to enhance their industry involvement, and hopefully help to accelerate their own careers.  The participants also seemed interested to learn more about getting involved in PSMA activities and programs and were interested in learning more about APEC and other PSMA-sponsored/organized events.

In summary, this was PSMA's initial foray into the world of ECCE and it helped meet the key objectives of increased engaging with the next generation of power professionals. These outreach efforts made many aware of the numerous resources and programs provided be PSMA, and its vast, industry membership base.  This was also a chance for PSMA to expand our engagement beyond the traditional focus of APEC and other PSMA sponsored events. ECCE has a far more academic audience than APEC, and the extra injection of industrial support and mentoring seemed to be well-received and even an unexpected boon to some.  Hopefully, 2022 becomes the first of many years of events co-sponsored by PSMA and IEEE societies at key conferences (i.e. APEC & ECCE) providing opportunities for deeper engagement and collaboration between PSMA, its membership and most importantly, the pipeline of students and YPs that will eventually be running all these activities in the future.

Provided by Brian Zahnstecher, PSMA Industry-Education Committee Member

February 1-3, 2023
Hosted by Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

Registration Open - Early Cost-Saving Fees Expire December 1st

The Symposium will be held February 1-3, 2023, at Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA., offering an opportunity to get a "winter warm-up" on Florida's enticing beaches.

Created and supported by the PSMA's Packaging & Manufacturing Committee, 3D-PEIM will feature invited papers highlighted by plenary and keynote addresses and contributed presentations by Industry and Academia experts. Speakers will address design, thermal, materials, reliability, and manufacturability issues. There will also be Exhibits and an Exhibit Sponsor's Session. Ample opportunities will be provided to network with attendees, speakers and exhibitors.

The Symposium is headlined with an excellent list of Plenary Speakers comprised of International Power Technology leaders from Industry and Academia.

Plenary Speakers

• Dr. Brandon Passmore, Wolfspeed, "Finite-Element Predictive Modeling for Power Modules."
• Prof. Madhavan Swaminathan, Georgia Tech, "Integrated Power Delivery for AI Computing: Technology Gaps & Opportunities."
• Professor Fred C. Lee, Virginia Tech, USA, "PCB based Integrated Magnetics."
• Professor Rao Tummala, Georgia Tech, USA, "Future of packaging of role of power integration."
• Professor Katsuaki Suganuma, University of Osaka, Japan, "Superior heat dissipation by low-pressure Ag sinter joining and real-time AI lifetime prediction for SiC power module."
• Dr. Mahadevan Iyer, Amkor, "Emerging Power electronics packaging and system integration for automotive applications."

In addition, the program is comprised of 14 Technical Sessions run in a single path over 3 days. Not a single session needs to be missed.

The General Chair is Dr. Markondeyaraj Pulugurtha of the Florida International University (FIU).

Technical Program Co-Chairs are Dr. John Bultitude of Kemet, a Yageo Company, and Dr. Vanessa Smet from Georgia Tech.

Complete Program Now Available at http://www.3d-peim.org/program/

Program at a Glance:
S2: IVR for Computers and Servers; Chair: Siddarth Ravichandran, Chipletz
S3: Multiphysics Design & Tools; Chair: Rajen Murugan, Texas Instruments
S4: Additive Manufacturing; Chair: Peter Friedrichs, Infineon
S5: Manufacturing Technologies; Chair: Jason Rouse, Taiyo America
S7: Materials I Interconnects & Lead Attachments; Chair: Andy Mackie, Indium Corporation
S8:  Materials II Substrates & Encapsulants; Chair: Ninad Shahane, Texas Instruments
S9: Module Integration; Chair: Cyril Buttay, Laboratoire Ampère, Lyon
S11: Thermal Management and Reliability; Chair: Patrick McCluskey, University of Maryland
S12: Passive Component Integration; Chair: John Bultitude, KEMET Corporation
S13: Low Power & Telemetry; Chair: Girish Wable, Jabil
S15: Tour of FIU Labs; Chair: Markondeyaraj Pulugurtha, Florida International University

REGISTRATION IS OPEN at Registration - 3D PEIM (3d-peim.org)

For additional information visit http://www.3d-peim.org  

You are invited to sign up for Partnership Tabletop Exhibit Opportunities
Each Exhibit Partner has the opportunity to present products at the Symposium with an Exhibit Table, Presentation at the Symposium (Diamond and Platinum Level), and on a 3D-PEIM Virtual Tabletop Website page. To learn more and be an Exhibit Partner, visit www.3d-peim.org/sponsors-exhibitors/.

Gold Exhibit Partner:

Technical Sponsors:

Media Sponsors:

Provided by Arnold Alderman,
3D-PEIM 2023 Publicity Chair

Power Magnetics @ High Frequency
Saturday March 18 2023
Prior to APEC 2023
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, FL 32819

he PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS are currently planning to conduct the eighth "Power Magnetics @ High Frequency" Workshop on Saturday, March 18, 2023, which is the day before and at the same venue as APEC 2023 in Orlando, FL.

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. The Workshop will target the advancements that are deemed necessary for power magnetics to meet the technical expectations and requirements of new and evolving market applications. These are driven by higher operating frequencies and emerging topologies together with continuous advances in circuits topologies and semiconductor devices.

The target audiences for the 2023 Power Magnetics @ High Frequency Workshop include the designers of power magnetic components for use in electronic power converters, those who are responsible to implement the most technologically advanced power magnetic components necessary to achieve higher power densities, specific physical aspect ratios such as low profile, higher power efficiencies and improved thermal performance. The target audiences also include people involved in the supply chain for the power magnetics industry ranging from manufacturers of magnetic materials and structures, fabricators of magnetic components, providers of modelling and simulation software as well as manufacturers of test and characterization equipment.

The theme of the 2023 Power Magnetics @ High Frequency Workshop will be magnetic component design across applications ranging from milliwatts to megawatts. The workshop will address applications areas such as IoT, servers, integrated voltage regulators (IVR), transportation electrification, wireless charging for mobile and electric vehicles and solid-state transformers. The workshop will also include presentations and demonstrations to address specific technical issues relative to high voltage and high current design such as corona, insulation, encapsulation, etc., that were identified in the 2022 workshop survey.

The morning session of the 2023 Power Magnetics @ High Frequency workshop will open with a keynote presentation addressing the diversity of magnetics specifications across different application spaces. The keynote presentation will be followed by several lecture presentations regarding magnetics design for various application spaces such as energy harvesting, wearables, wireless power transfer, and high-power high voltage. The afternoon session will open with a keynote presentation addressing practical design considerations such as temperature rise, safety agency requirements and reliability beyond the technical performance specifications followed by several presentations regarding advances in insulation materials, design for manufacturability, safety, and reliability. In addition to the brief Q&A period after each presentation, there will be a panel of the presenters at the end of the session who will address attendee questions in more detail.

During the provided breakfast, lunch and the networking hour at the end of the workshop there will be interactive tabletop technology demonstrations each addressing specific technical disciplines and capabilities consistent with the workshop agenda. Interaction between the attendees and the presenters is highly encouraged during this portion of agenda as a segue from the opening keynote presentation and the technical issues session.

If you would like to participate as a presenter for the technical demonstration session, please contact the organizing committee through PSMA via e-mail to power@psma.com with a description of your proposed technical capabilities topic. The preferred topics for technical demonstrations must be related to the following themes: demonstration samples of new design concepts, test equipment used either for product development, characterization, manufacturing, verification of safety and reliability requirements, near magnetic field coupling, thermal issues and emerging magnetic materials and structures.  We are limited to no more than ten technology demonstration stations.

As in past years there will be a limited number of registration fee waivers for qualified students. Interested students may apply for the registration fee waiver at the following url: https://psma.com/power-magnetics-high-frequency-student-registration-fee-waiver-2023

Registration for the workshop is open and you can register at https://www.psma.com/power-magnetics-high-frequency-workshop-2023-registration. Discounted early registration pricing is available through January 31, 2023.

If your company is interested in financially supporting the workshop as a partner, please contact the organizing committee through PSMA via e-mail to power@psma.com.

More information including the agenda for the 2023 Power Magnetics @ High Frequency Workshop as well as registration for the workshop will become available on the PSMA website (www.psma.com/technical-forums/magnetics/workshop) over the coming months.

Platinum Partner	Gold Partner	Media Partner

Organizing Committee
Steve Carlsen, Independent
Ed Herbert, PSMA
Chema Molina, Frenetic
Rodney Rogers, Allstar Magnetics
George Slama, Wurth Elektronik
Chuck Wild, Dexter Magnetic Technologies Inc.
Matt Wilkowski, EnaChip

Choosing Capacitors to Improve Design Performance

Saturday March 18 2023
Prior to APEC 2023
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida

Capacitors have a major impact on your design. Attend this workshop to learn more about selecting the optimal capacitors to help to improve design performance.

he PSMA Capacitor Committee and IEEE PELS will sponsor a workshop "Choosing Capacitors to Improve Design Performance" Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fl. The 2023 workshop will be the sixth in the series offered as a pre-event to the annual APEC conference.

The 2023 workshop will continue the focus on the latest Capacitor technologies and applications to educate and to inform the industry about recent developments in the Capacitor Industry. Each year interest in the workshop grows and the valuable feedback from workshop attendees is used for planning the next event. The first workshop, in 2018, introduced the basics, and the subsequent workshops have each gone into more details on the technologies and materials. For 2023, the workshop will focus on a question a lot of engineers ask themselves, "What is the impact of the capacitor in my design and how can the right capacitor help me to achieve project performance and meet safety and regulatory compliance?"

In 2023, our aim is to deliver value to everyone who is working with capacitors, from newbies to advanced designers of DC-DC converters, frequency drives, inverters, and other power conversion applications. All of us working in the industry face the same questions when it comes to specifying the capacitors needed in our designs. Maybe this situation sounds familiar: The application works as expected in the lab setting, but issues arise when it is installed and is operating 24/7. Now the question is why?
Topics for the 2023 workshop include:

• Why products fail the EMC test and how the optimal capacitors can help to pass it,
• How can design efficiency be increased through proper capacitor selection,
• The impact of capacitors on sustainability,
• How an understanding of capacitor technology can help to recognize potential application issues,
• Overview of current and emerging capacitor technologies and their specific behaviors.

The workshop agenda will include presentations from a range of experts including manufacturers, designers, and testing companies, as well as researchers from leading universities, providing a balance of theoretical and practical knowledge to help you answer these questions and to avoid problems in the future. Speakers include Robert Pilawa-Podgurski from the University of California, Berkeley, Huai Wang, Aalborg University, Mark J. Scott, Miami University, and Nihal Kularatna, University of Waikato, as well as presenters from leading Capacitor manufacturers including KEMET, Wurth Electronics, CapXon and more.

The workshop will also feature interactive panel discussions with the presenters to address questions from attendees and to expand on the materials they presented. During breakfast, lunch and the end-of-day networking period the Technology Demonstration Session will feature hands-on demonstrations of products, technologies, equipment, and measurements to highlight many of the key concepts discussed during the presentations.

The full details of the workshop structure and the presentations are currently in progress. Please contact Frank Puhane (Frank.Puhane@we-online.de) of the Organizing Committee if you have any specific areas or issues you would like to see addressed at the workshop or if you are interested in being considered as a workshop presenter or demonstrator.

Registration for the workshop has opened at: https://www.psma.com/capacitor-workshop-2023-registration. Discounted early registration pricing is available through January 31, 2023

If your company is interested in financially supporting the workshop as a partner, please contact the organizing committee through PSMA via e-mail to power@psma.com.

The latest information on the agenda as well as registration information of the workshop will become available on the PSMA website at: https://www.psma.com/technical-forums/capacitor/workshop over the coming months.

Provided by members of the Capacitor Workshop Organizing Committee:
Frank Puhane, Wurth Electronics
Stephan Menzel, CapXon
Andrew Mikulski, Yageo

PSMA's First Ever Transportation Workshop held Virtually in September 2022

f you missed the live sessions, you can still attend and benefit from this dynamic workshop. PSMA is offering YOU the opportunity to watch the workshop session recordings, including the presentations, Q&A and Roundtable discussions as well as download the presentation slides! All for only $99.00 for PSMA members and $199.00 for non-members.

On September 13 and 20, 2022, PSMA offered the 2022 PSMA Vehicle Electrification Workshop – The Latest Trends and Technologies. This 2-day virtual workshop with a star-studded agenda included over 10 hours of content with additional Q&A and roundtable discussion.

The attendees were very engaged, asking pointed questions, and discussion provoking ideas.

This fully recorded event was extremely well run and presentations transferred smoothly allowing the attendees the best possible experience.

Here is the agenda as it was presented:

Day 1

• Opening Remarks
• Session I
• Keynote: Evolution of the EV Market; Steve Kosowski, Kia Motors
• Electrochemical Energy Storage Overview; Matt Keyser, NREL
• The Tortoise, the Hare, and the DCFC Arms Race: Rethinking how we approach EV charging; Pamposh Zutshi, WiTricity
• Overview of Wireless EV Charging (WEVC) Market; Dinesh Kithany; Wired and Wireless Technologies (WAWT)
• Session II
• Transformerless EV Charging; Matthias Preindl, Columbia University in the City of New York
• The Supercapacitor – A Versatile Energy Storage Device in Automotive Applications; Rene Kalbitz, Wurth Elektronik
• The Power Technology Roadmap's New High-Power Isolated DC/DC Converter Section; Mark Scott, Miami University
• Survey of Power Modules and Transistors Used in xEV Powertrains; Alberto Adan, LTEC
• Roundtable Discussion

Day 2

• Session I
• Keynote: Overview of Current EV DC Fast Charging (DCFC) Projects Supported by the Department of Energy; Fernando Salcedo, U.S. Department of Energy
• Keynote: Artificial Intelligence Workflows for Battery State Estimation; Javier Gazzarri, Mathworks
• National Lab Trends - Materials to help battery life, Recycling, Trends in testing, All chemistries; Ilias Belharouak, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• High Voltage / High EMI /  What to do; Alex Latham, Allegro MicroSystems
• Pioneer in DC fast Charging and Energy Management Solutions: Setting the standards to enable mass adoption of commercial fleets electrification; Joseph Gottlieb, Rhombus Energy Solutions
• Session II
• Comparison of ISO DC/DC Converter, for Onboard Chargers; Mark Scott, Miami University
• Opportunity Charging for Large Vehicles; Ryan Marinelli, Momentum Dynamic
• Roundtable Discussion

You will note that the subjects are a combination of high-level overviews, down to system level technologies. The materials from this workshop will provide you with a solid understanding of where this country stands with regard to Vehicle Electrification and the associated technologies surrounding charging, connectivity to the grid, battery chemistries, and recycling. It's not just about automobiles either, buses and off-road vehicles are also addressed.

You don't want to miss this detailed and amazing workshop. This portfolio is unmatched by anything on the market today. Sign up today.

Fred Weber PSMA President PSMA Vehicle Electrification Workshop Chair

September 27-29, 2023
Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany

he eighth edition of the biennial International Workshop on Power Supply on Chip (PwrSoC 2023) has been scheduled for September 27 thru 29, 2023, to be held at Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany.

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

Founded in 1831, Leibniz University is one of the nine leading Institutes of Technology in Germany, with ~30.000 students. Named after the polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the university lives the spirit of Leibniz, combining global thinking and interdisciplinary research. The PwrSoC Workshop will take place in the historic main building of the university close to Hannover city center.

The chairs of the local organizing committee are Bernhard Wicht, professor at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, and Bruno Allard, professor at Ampere lab, Université de Lyon, INSA Lyon, France. They act as the General Chair and the Technical Program Chair of PwrSoC 2023, respectively.

Professor Bruno Allard, Photo: ©2022 Bruno Allard

Professor Bernhard Wicht, Photo: ©2022 Bernhard Wicht

The Workshop will feature presentation and dialog sessions on advanced technologies with global academic and industry experts aimed at miniaturizing power management solutions through system architecture, circuits and topology, packaging, and passive components. PwrSoC 2023 plans panels on topics like semiconductor supply and education. A technical tour will take place tentatively in the afternoon of the final day at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles production plant in Hannover.

The value of the Workshop has always been recognized as an event that brings together global academic and industry experts to formally and informally discuss issues to advance and commercialize power supply on chip technologies and the 2023 event will be no exception. Watch for more details in the next issue of the UPDATE.

For more information about previous and coming PwrSoC events, visit http://pwrsocevents.com.

Provided by:
Bernhard Wicht, PwrSoC 2023 General Chair
Arnold Alderman, PwrSoC 2023 Publicity Chair

Workshop is opened by Chairman Francesco Iannuzzo

he International Workshop on Integrated Power Packaging (IWIPP 2022), chaired by Francesco Iannuzzo was held August 24-26, 2022, and hosted by the faculty of G2Elab at the World Trade Center in Grenoble, France.  The workshop is sponsored by Power Source and Manufacturing Association (PSMA) and IEEE societies Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS), Power Electronics Society (PELS), and Electronic Packaging Societies (EPS). There were four Partner/Exhibitors Nanowired, Pink, PVATepla, and Wolfspeed that also contributed to the success of the event.  The workshop was chaired by Francesco Iannuzzo in collaboration with Technical Chairman Nick Baker.  The workshop focused on the integration of circuits, materials, and manufacturing to create state of the art power sources. The sessions were organized to provide technology updates for design, packaging, and manufacturing engineers who are all engaged in research and the practical applications of materials, components, manufacturing, and qualification of power sources.  In addition to the excellent sessions on Power Modules, Manufacturing Processes, Thermal, EMI and Reliability there were exciting presentations on Diamond Semiconductor and Dielectrics and Insulation.

Attendees enjoyed the excellent facilities at the Grenoble World Trade Center

IWIPP 2022 was a Hybrid Workshop with 50 in person and 24 virtual attendees.  The attendees and contributors represented 15 countries and came from industry, academia, and government.  Attendees were treated to three information packed days with 35 presentations (6 Keynote and 29 invited/submitted) and 9 posters.  The in-person attendees were treated to a lab tour and dinner in G2ELab facilities.

Attendees discussing presentations during networking time

The workshop consisted of many excellent presentations.  A Keynote by Aaron Brovont for PC Krause & Associates "Modeling and Simulation of Conducted EMI in Power Electronics Systems" generated a lot of discussion about tools that helped approach EMI form a systematic standpoint during and after his presentation. The non-semiconductor experts in attendance were very appreciative of the presentation by Peter Friedrichs from Infineon Technologies "Insights into the Layout of Power Semiconductor Chip" providing the fundamental understanding of how devices are designed.

The hottest overall topic was how to create new packaging concepts to accommodate the demand for high voltage power sources with low parasitics using wide bandgap semiconductors to reduce size and increase efficiency.  The audience engaged in lively conversation on how to unite the progress in semiconductor fabrication, optimal packaging, isolation materials with modeling and testing to achieve the next generation power sources.

IWIPP is held every two years.  The location and date of the 2024 editions will be announced in society and industry publications in 2023.

Provided by Brian Narveson,
IWIPP 2022 Publicity Chair

he 9th Annual IEEE / PSMA Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA) sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), the Power Supply Manufacturer's Association (PSMA), and the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) was held in Redondo Beach, CA from November 7 – 9, 2022. 

WiPDA has become one of the key gatherings for the WBG technical community where device scientists, application and system engineers, university professors and students share and exchange information on their recent research findings, report on key results, and discuss the main challenges for both Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) based technologies, devices, applications, and systems.  This year more than 170 attendees joined the proceedings which included a robust technical program based on the quality of paper manuscripts, keynotes, tutorials, and panel sessions. 

WiPDA 2022 Keynote Session

The organizing committee was honored to host exceptional keynote speakers of industry leaders from large semiconductor manufacturers, dynamic and fast-emerging startups, academia, and national research laboratories. This key component of WiPDA 2022 was essential to highlight the vision and the direction that industry leaders are projecting and share their high-level roadmaps and their plans for the future.

WiPDA 2022 Poster Session

WiPDA 2022 Exhibits

In the last few years, many startups, as well as established semiconductor companies, have released WBG products in the market, and many customers use those devices to deliver unprecedented performance in their products. WiPDA is uniquely positioned to bring together industry and academia to discuss the current state of the art and future trends that will be able to capture the increased levels of national and regional funding for WBG research and development in Europe, Asia, and the US.

Save the date for WiPDA 2023 which will be hosted at the University of North Carolina on December 5 – 7, 2023.

Please subscribe to stay informed of the latest news and receive deadline reminders for WiPDA 2023. For sponsorship opportunities contact exhibitsatwipdaus@gmail.com. Also, join the conversation on LinkedIn.

Provided by Renee Yawger WiPDA 2022 Publicity Chair

n February 11, 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses adopted the official name 'severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2' for the virus that causes COVID-19 otherwise known as SARS-CoV-2. During the past two years or so, in one way or another the world population has been affected by this virus, and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test has entered into our daily lives. At this point we could quite easily question what a power supply has to do with PCR, but behind the scenes the power supply industry and the latest digital power technologies have contributed greatly to make the PCR process efficient and accurate. Before we disclose how, let's go back in time to the origin of everything.

Reading inside the double helix
We all learned at school about the human hereditary material known as deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, which carries all of the genetic information and instructions needed for organisms to develop, grow, survive, and reproduce. Originally discovered in 1866 by Gregor Mendel, known as the 'Father of Genetics', it wasn't until many years later that scientists discovered how to break the DNA's secret code and how it could be best used for the good of humanity.

With high regard for all of the scientists who made discoveries along the way, a major cornerstone was reached in 1953 when James Dewey Watson and Francis Harry Compton Crick published "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid." This article described DNA's double helix structure that twists to form the typical ladder-like structure we have all seen in many representative forms (Figure 01). Their work was rewarded in 1962 with the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which they shared with Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins, for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.

Figure 01: DNA double helix structure (Courtesy National Human Genome Research Institute)

Figure 02: Dr. Kary Banks Mullis

The completion of the human genome has been made possible by a great number of technological innovations e.g., Oxford Nanopore's DNA sequencing method which can sequence up to 1 million DNA letters at once but with some mistakes, and the PacBio HiFi DNA sequencing method, which can read 20,000 letters with 99.9% accuracy. Great achievements, but both would not have been possible without the previous discoveries of the pioneering inventors.
Understanding DNA has been a very important research area and a developing toolbox to decode, it is the dream of every biochemist and it is worth mentioning Kary Banks Mullis who in 1983 invented the process known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that has contributed to boost the research and speed of in depth DNA understanding (Figure 02).

The DNA copy-machine is born!
Urban legend or reality? it is said that in 1983 while driving from the Bay area to his cabin in Mendocino, like a bolt of lightning out of the California sky, Dr. Kary Banks Mullis imagined a way to pinpoint a particular stretch of DNA and synthesize an enormous number of copies. At that time Mullis worked for the company Cetus and focused on turning his vision into a process.

After many ups and downs, in 1987 Mullis submitted a paper to the review Nature : "Methods in Enzymology" which was the trigger of the PCR evolution. In 1993 he received a Nobel Prize in chemistry for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This process is hailed as one of the monumental scientific techniques of the twentieth century.

What is PCR and how does it work?
The polymerase chain reaction (abbreviated PCR) is a laboratory technique for rapidly producing (amplifying) millions to billions of copies of a specific segment of DNA, which can then be studied in greater detail. PCR involves using short synthetic DNA fragments called primers to select a segment of the genome to be amplified, and then multiple rounds of DNA synthesis to amplify that segment (Figure 03). This is done by using a specific process that requires the samples to be placed in tubes and exposed to a very precise thermo-cycling, and this is where the power supply meets the DNA!

Figure 03: PCR Process and Cycles (Courtesy National Human Genome Research Institute)

This process includes several steps but three are the most critical - Denaturation, Annealing, Extension. These are repeated a number of times to make copies of the DNA segments (Figure 04). Without entering into too much detail we can summarize the three critical steps below:

Figure 04: PCR Cycles and Durations (PRBX)

Step Two – Annealing
The temperature is lowered to approximately 5 °C below the melting temperature of the primers, between 50 to 60°C, allowing the DNA primers and the DNA polymerase enzyme to bind to the individual strands of DNA that were separated by the heat. At this point, the nucleotides (A, T, C, G) from the added mixture solution will pair with the individual separated strands of DNA that resulted from the heating process.

Step Three - Extension
The temperature is then increased up to 72°C to start the extension process. Then, once segments are joined together they form a new complementary strand of DNA. A new duplicate double-stranded DNA molecule has been formed from each of the single strands of the original sample molecule. When the sequence is completed the temperature is then increased to start a new cycle.

Steps one to three are then repeated about 30 to 40 times which automatically repeats the heating and cooling cycles of the process, resulting in the DNA sequence being doubled each time the heating/cooling cycle is conducted. At the end of the process millions of copies of the original sample are obtained.

Step Four – Final extension and storage
A final step of extension is required to allow all the PCR products to be correctly synthesized, usually at 72°C for 10 min. Finally, the temperature should be reduced to 4°C to store the PCR product until analysis.

Figure 05: Typical laboratory PCR equipment (PRBX/ Natatravel/Shutterstock)

Depending on the final target, time or level of accuracy required, variations of this process are often used e.g. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), Digital PCR (dPRC) and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR), Microfluid PCR.

Power supplies for efficient PCR
There are many medical applications requiring thermal control e.g., neonatal incubators, blood warming for Hemolysis, laboratory incubation chambers and so on. Most of those applications require accurate thermal regulation and most of the medical power supplies with output voltage control are suitable for such applications. In the case of the PCR equipment (Figure 05) and the specificity of the thermal cycling with high accuracy and repetitive sequences, they require a specific power solution, and often adopt a modular approach with the power train and control built in the PCR thermal-control loop.

As shown in figure 04 the thermal cycles are fairly short, requiring the heating element to adjust its temperature between 95C high, 50C low, 72C plateau and back to 95C after four minutes. This cycle is repeated 30 to 40 times, with a very high accuracy level.

There are different methods to generate and control the temperature in thermocyclers but many are using Peltier effect elements. If the main application of the Peltier effect is cooling, the Peltier effect can also be used for heating or control of temperature. It could also be associated to another heating element and then by using a controlled hysteresis, cool down the thermal chamber.

PCR thermocycler manufacturers have developed very complex algorithms to adjust and control the temperature level with high accuracy. With the introduction of digital power and control and energy management it has become easier to interface the thermocycler CPU to the switching stage and to control voltage and current via a digital interface e.g., PMBus, to power the heating/cooling elements (Figure 06).

Figure 06: Conventional power supply with digital control and monitoring via digital input e.g., PMBus (PRBX)

Figure 07: Power supply controlled by and external PWM signal part of the PCR control loop (PRBX)

Figure 08: POWERBOX power supply for thermocycler application (PRBX)

In some cases, the PWM signal is generated by the thermocycler controller and injected into the power supply switching stage to tightly control the parameters without additional steps (Figure 07). Because the power stage is highly integrated into the thermal control loop, it often becomes a part of it and power designers have to work in close cooperation with the programmers to offer the most optimized response time to meet a specific demand, which is very interesting and indeed quite different from the more conventional methods when designing power solutions.

In conclusion:
From its discovery by Dr. Kary Banks Mullis in 1983 to the mass application to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in billions of samples, PCR technology has played a very important role in medical research and public health. This has also been a very interesting area for power electronics engineers designing power solutions (Figure 08) in tight cooperation with the medical industry to develop very specific power supplies with a high level of programming and system integration.

Who said the power supply industry is boring?

References:

Powerbox (PRBX):
https://www.prbx.com/
Dr. Kary Banks Mullis
https://www.karymullis.com/

The complete sequence of a human genome
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj6987

National Human Genome Research Institute
https://www.genome.gov/

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

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