News

Ninth-Annual Darnell Power Forum to Cover Advanced Components, Digital Power, Energy Harvesting, PwrSiP/PwrSoC, Smart Grid, and more

February 22, 2012 by Jeff Shepard

An Announcement and Call for Papers has been issued for the ninth-annual Darnell’s Power Forum (DPF ’12). DPF ’12, to be hosted at the DoubleTree Hotel, San Jose, California, September 19-21, is an exciting event that focuses on "advancing power technologies that matter" for the successful development of next-generation power systems. There is tremendous synergy possible from discussions broadly focused on power management, energy efficiency, advanced components, energy storage, smart grid innovations and more. DPF is a solutions-oriented event, with a strong emphasis on practical advances in power electronics. In addition to a strong focus on today’s "best practices," DPF ’12 will look forward toward next-generation solutions and advances.

"Darnell Group has always been focused on the leading edge of emerging technologies and advancing power applications. This September, these areas will come together in Darnell’s Power Forum - building on our previous success by Advancing Power Technologies That Matter," stated Jeff Shepard, president of Darnell Group. "We are also excited about having Mouser Electronics returning as the Marquee Sponsor for DPF ’12," Shepard concluded.

Darnell’s Power Forum will feature several primary areas of focus: Advanced Components, Digital Power, Energy Harvesting, High-Efficiency Power Conversion, Developments in PwrSiP/PwrSoC Technologies and Innovation for the Smart Grid. Within each of these broad areas will be multiple topics and application areas. A call for papers has been issued for:

Advanced Components: Topics may include: Latest developments in power conversion components to support advanced designs such as, semiconductor devices, advanced packaging, interconnect, thermal management, magnetic devices, capacitors, batteries, ultracapacitors, sensors, new materials, integrated passives, and so on.

Digital Power: Topics may include: Technology-focused discussions including controllers and control loops, communications, power management, stability analysis, efficiency optimization, design tools, simulation and modeling, topologies, system partitioning between analog and digital, power quality and EMC, and so on.

Energy Harvesting: Topics may include: energy harvesting technologies, thin-film batteries, long-life secondary batteries, energy storage, advanced power conversion, micro fuel cells, optimizing system energy efficiencies, mesh networks, wireless sensor and control systems, industrial/building automation, system integration issues, RF powering considerations, system architectures, and so on.

High-Efficiency Power Conversion: Topics may include: High-frequency power conversion, high-temperature operation, power system-in-chip solutions, power system-in-package solutions, high-density packaging developments, optimizing converter efficiencies, new topologies, advanced (analog or digital) control techniques, parasitics, EMI/EMC considerations, and so on.

Innovation for the Smart Grid: Topics may include: Integration of distributed generation resources, micro grids, power systems communications, power quality, instrumentation and monitoring, enabling demand side management, supporting plug-in hybrid vehicles, large-scale energy storage, and so on.

PwrSiP/PwrSoC: Topics may include: miniaturization and integration of passive components, advances in highfrequency power conversion, new topologies and architectures, developments in packaging, multi-Megahertz switching, efficiency optimization, and so on.

In each case, the types of papers being sought include: Case studies/industry examples, Design techniques and tools, and Technology developments.

The DPF ’12 web site is here.

More news and information regarding the latest developments in Smart Grid electronics can be found at Darnell’s SmartGridElectronics.Net.