Multi-layer Liquid Metals, GaN and Advanced Power Converters

Among the numerous advanced materials to be discussed during the 2014 Darnell Energy Summit (DES '14) will be multi-layer liquid-metal stretchable power inductors and various GaN power switches. The adoption of next-generation materials is expected to result is a step-function change in the performance of power converters. And DES '14 will have the most comprehensive coverage of the year including SiC, AlN, GaAs, piezoelectric transformers, various energy-harvesting materials (including piezoelectric ceramics), and more. In three days in Richmond, Virginia, you will gain more insights than would be possible traveling the globe for a year.

Wearable Electronics could be one of the significant applications for “multi-layer liquid-metal stretchable power inductors.” That will be the focus of a paper to be presented by Dr. Nathan Lazarus who is working on soldier-wearable systems for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. He will review current technical progress and the importance of developing rugged high-performance stretchable inductors for wearable power electronic systems.

There will be many papers on advanced semiconductor materials. One example is the presentation on “Wide Band Gap Power Device Evaluation Challenges and Technologies”, to be made by Ryo Takeda, Senior Product Planner, Keysight subsidiary, Agilent Technologies, Inc. And DES ’14 will conclude with an in-depth design seminar on “GaN Transistors for Efficient Power Conversion” to be presented by Alex Lidow, CEO, EPC Corporation and David Reusch, Director of Applications, also with EPC Corporation.

Other “must-attend” papers on advanced materials at DES ’14 will include: Silicon Carbide Power Electronics for Energy Applications: Perspectives, Targets, and the path to Applications through European Union SPEED Project, Dr. Daniel Fernández, CTO of INAEL Electrical Systems and Coordinator of Project SPEED; GaAs Powering Forward, Bob Conner, CEO, Founder, Sarda Technologies, Inc.; Chip-Scale Power Converters with a Focus on Piezoelectric Resonators and Transformers, Dr. Sarah S. Bedair, Electrical Engineer, U.S. Army Research Laboratory; A Breakthrough Approach to Practical Power and Energy Management through Ultrathin Planar Supercapacitor Arrays, David Rich, Paper Battery Company, Digital Controlled LLC Resonant Converter Offers High Performance, Laurence McGarry, Analog Devices, Inc., and many others.

The complete program is here. You can register for the general sessions and for the post-conference seminar here.