EEbeat

The Darnell Power Forum (Sept 26 to28 in San Jose, CA) targets power technologies for the development of next-generation power systems. It covers power management, energy efficiency, advanced components, energy storage, smart grid and digital power technology. This three day conference is for decision makers and technology developers who are interested in learning about and contributing to practical advancements related to the latest powering solutions.

The plenary session starts with a presentation by Brian Fortenbery and Satish Rajagopalan, from Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). They will talk about energy efficient datacenter using ultracaps. The second session is presented by Qualcomm’s Francesco Carobolante and delves into wireless power for mobile charging. The next presentation delivered by Alex Lidow, CEO of Efficient Power Conversion promises to be interesting as it will expand on last year’s talk about eGaN and will add information about FETs in high frequency power conversion. The final offering is from Primit Parikh, President of Transphorm who will talk about what high-voltage GaN solutions are available now.

 The afternoon plenary session begins with a talk on “Advanced Power Architectures for Data Centers” by Randy Malik, Senior Member Technical Staff, IBM, and followed by Advanced SiC Power Transistors for High-Efficient Energy Conversion in Solar, UPS, and other Applications,” by Jeff Casady, President & CTO, SemiSouth Laboratories. The third session is “Integrating Renewables and Smart Grid Capabilities for a Sustainable Energy Future,” by Joe Deluca, VPA of Development and Product Management for Petra Solar. The last afternoon plenary talk is “Advances in SiC Power Devices” by Dr. John Palmour, Chief Technical Officer for Cree Power and RF.

 The popular and lively Round Table Discussion returns with a second round of “What will be the Most Important Driver for the Power Electronics Industry in the Future: Architectures, Topologies, Materials or Applications? It is moderated by me (Paul O’Shea, Senior Editor, Electronic Products) with Jim Templeton, Executive Director of Systems and Power Management at Maxim Integrated Products; Mark Adams, VP of Global Sales & Advanced Power Marketing for CUI; Primit Parikh, President and COO at  Transphorm; Matt Williams, Global Applications Engineering Manager for TE Connectivity; Francesco Carobolante, Vice President, Engineering at Qualcomm; and Alex Lidow, CEO for Efficient Power Conversion.

 At the evening exhibit CUI Inc will demonstrate their latest digital point of load dc/dc modules. The modules are the NDM2, the most recent addition from CUI’s Novum Advanced Power division, which focuses solely on the design and development next-generation power platforms. The NDM2 series modules are pin and function compatible with Ericsson Power Module’s BMR64X series and will initially be available in 12-, 25-, and 50-A configurations.  The series is the first product to be designed by CUI as part of the Ericsson cooperation that was announced in July.  The agreement formalizes a plan between the two companies to offer a multi-source digital PoL platform based on the BMR46X series, with future plans to co-develop modules outside the existing range of 12 to 50 A.

Powervation will be launching their latest chip, and simultaneously announcing a customer application with a major power module maker.

ZMDI a global supplier of energy-efficient analog and mixed-signal solutions for automotive, industrial, and medical applications, will sponsor, speak, and exhibit at the event. Looking ahead, Anthony Kelly, PhD, and ZMDI chief system architect, will speak on smart power solutions as part of Digital Control Session #3, being held from 9:00 – 11:00 am on Tuesday morning, September 27.

 Let me make a special shout-out about Wednesday, after the conference from 12:30 to 3:30 pm, there is a hands-on lab training class in a lab-bench environment ($95 fee). Titled, “Test Drive Your Power Supply Design” it will be hosted by Exar Corp. Seminar delegates who will design and validate a four-channel complex power system using XRP7714 digital power solution from Exar in a hands-on environment. The session will be led by the popular and knowledgeable presenter, Kevin Parmenter, power systems engineer with Exar. Topics to be covered in this practical training class include:

• Adjusting output voltage and slew rates, experiment with dynamic voltage margining
• Establishing power-up and power-down sequencing
• Adjusting loop compensation and verify transient response
• Adjusting and reviewing other system settings
• Selecting external components (FETs, inductors, capacitors)
• Layout considerations

At the conclusion of the training class, students will leave with their working design and a complete PowerXR development kit for their own in-lab installation.

 Look for more on-the-floor observations and videographies on the latest products over the next few days.

More later — Paul O’Shea Sr. Editor Electronic Products Magazine