Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD
Aren’t we in some kind of global pandemic? Let’s face it – we’ve all got bigger concerns than work, but you couldn’t tell from the overwhelming response to this month’s Industrial Applications topic.
Seriously, thanks for all your contributions! It’s not often I get the chance to thank our amazing industry partners, but this month’s flood of articles is humbling.
We open with a look at hybrid regulated ratio topologies for intermediate bus converters. These days, hybrid regulated ratio (HRR) converters combine the advantages of simple fixed-ratio converters with unregulated outputs and ones with full regulation and fixed outputs. Whereas, in the past, you had to choose one option over the other, HRR converters let you switch between each mode.
“To fully understand the value of HRR,” says Oscar Persson with Flex Power Modules, “it is necessary to compare the operation of HRR, fixed-ratio and fixed-output converters and consider each in relation to typical operating conditions.”
Meanwhile, Pinkesh Sachdev with Analog Devices discusses FPGA power system management. FPGAs have been a valuable commodity since the 1980s, when they originally evolved from programmable logic devices (PLDs), and they’re no less important today.
Indeed, as Pinkesh recounts, after Microsoft used FPGAs to speed upBingina2013pilotprogram,theyexpanded FPGA-equippedserverusagetoitsclouddatacenters.
Alex Lidow, with Efficient Power Conversion, delves into gallium nitride (GaN) and 48 V applications – specifically, where are we and where are we going?
We previously discussed on the PSDcast (podcast) how the demand for EVs and hybrids has fostered the adoption of the 48 V battery, and Alex takes it one step further – “Our reasoning to target 48 V applications was this major shift in topologies in automobiles and high-density computers that will translate into a large number of open design windows for new architectures.”
In the context of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things – where everything is connected to everything – TT Electronics' Sergey Komarov covers how smart connected sensors are driving innovation on the factory floor.
“Connected devices and smart equipment are streamlining manufacturing and supply chain processes on a global scale,” he says. “Smart sensors are at the heart of this movement.”
And finally, I’d like to shine the spotlight on a familiar (and endlessly fascinating) topic – wide band-gap semiconductors in the automobile. As John Palmour, with Cree, explains, “Automotive power electronics designers need to use advanced SiC technology to meet the high expectations on efficiency and power density,” and since SiC is an improvement over incumbent semiconductor technologies, and the aforementioned expectations will only grow, wide band-gap technologies will be inextricably linked to the auto.
Enjoy the Read!
Rest Regards,
Jason Lomberg
North American Editor, PSD
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