Bodo's Current Issue

Editorial

The Lone Star State

Texas beckoned and the Power Electronics community came to San Antonio. The Applied Power Electronics Conference was in the beautiful Gonzalez Convention Center, located only a short walk from historic Fort Alamo and the stunning River Walk. It was a worthy spot for the meeting, a nice environment in the shadow of the Tower of Americas - very pleasant to get the latest News and to meet known as well as new business partners, friends, new people, and of course the members of the trade press. A big “Thank You” goes out to Peter Rogerson and Power Integrations for sponsoring the press room. Tasty snacks, chilled drinks and a stable network made working there and the meeting a pleasure for us members of the media.

Of course, the dominating subject was the progress in Wide Band Gap. More and more companies started to deal with SiC or GaN, a few with both. It was very interesting speaking to the applying engineers - everyone pointing to big improvements through using these materials, with demonstrations by the leading innovators of charging everything from your mobile device to your EV. And of course, a broad range of other applications powered by the new materials.

Of note was the presentation of a semiconductor-based thermal energy harvester as a battery alternative. It harvests thermal energy in environments with no perceptible thermal differential. Therefore, it uses a passive four-layer structure. A presentation of High Voltage Switches as a replacement for electromechanical relays, as well as pin diode switches, can be named as one of the most interesting components, at the Texas show. Bodo was very excited about these ones!

There was a lot of buzz about Microchip acquiring Microsemi - after buying Micrel and Atmel not long ago, another strategic step towards the future. Another giant is born, providing chips for automotive and computer applications as well as devices for demanding environments like aviation and military. Let’s see how the implementation proceeds. A win/win-situation is possible – the future will tell ...

PCIM Europe is only a few weeks ahead. Asked for the biggest differences between these two leading events, many people explained, that APEC is more about the conference, while at PCIM the show is a standout. A summary of the APEC conference by our expert Gary Dolny will follow in the next issue. It will be exciting to see new products announced in the very historical Nuremberg (a little older than San Antonio). And who knows, maybe the GaNMan will find his way to Europe!

Bodo's Power Systems reaches readers across the globe. If you are using any kind of tablet or smart phone, you will find all of our content on the new website www.eepower.com. If you speak the language, or just want to have a look, don’t miss our Chinese version: www.bodospowerchina.com

My Green Power Tip for March:
When you’re in town, enjoy a trip in one of those horse carriages. Transportation with just 1 HP gives you a good, green feeling, although those animals are producing CO2 after a good meal of oats. And their illumination is a performance in itself - LED lights of course!

Best Regards

Holger

Download Current Issue here