Power Electronics Europe February/March 2022

MARKET NEWS 13 www.power-mag.com Issue 1 2022 Power Electronics Europe Pittsburg-based II?VI Incorporated and Oxford-based Element Six announced on February 3 a collaboration that will expand II-VI’s diamond platform, accelerating the development of new disruptive applications by licensing Element Six’s single-crystal diamond technology. The unique characteristics of diamond materials offer breakthrough solutions for future generations of power and RF electronics, including for 6G wireless components, as well as other emerging applications in life sciences, sensing, thermal management, and quantum computing. Single-crystal diamond, a material is extremely challenging to manufacture but well known for its outstanding optical, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. Through this collaboration, II-VI is licensing from Element Six its intellectual property and equipment necessary to produce high-quality single-crystal diamond, thus expanding its core competency in diamond technology ahead of anticipated market opportunities. With a track record spanning more than two decades of introducing single- crystal diamond-enabled solutions to the market, Element Six has already helped to unlock a range of new applications in sensing, optics, and semiconductors. The strategic collaboration between the companies represents the next milestone to expand single-crystal diamond applications, delivering its competitive advantages to an ever-growing range of customers. Element Six is part of the De Beers Group, and a leader in the design, development, and production of synthetic diamond and tungsten carbide advanced materials. The company operates worldwide with primary manufacturing facilities in Germany, Ireland, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S. “Element Six has invested hundreds of millions of dollars for over 70 years to become a world leader in single-crystal diamond engineering and growth. Its unique capabilities complement IIVI’s proprietary polycrystalline diamond, a material we already manufacture at scale,” said Steve Rummel, Sr. Vice President, Engineered Materials and Laser Optics Business Unit, IIVI Incorporated. “This collaboration is consistent with II-VI’s innovation strategy of making early investments in technology platforms that are process- and capital-intensive, and that require time to evolve, mature, and scale, so we can enable our customers’ technology roadmaps.” “With its diverse global manufacturing footprint, growth markets expertise, and a successful vertically integrated structure, II-VI is one of the largest listed photonics and compound semiconductor companies. These elements make it an ideal partner to accelerate the market adoption of this remarkable material,” said Dr. Daniel Twitchen, Chief Technologist, Element Six. “Besides future opportunities for electronics, there is also a wide range of near-term applications driving the demand for accessible single-crystal diamond, including optics, high-durability parts, and thermal-management systems. We look forward to enabling these and many new markets through this strategic collaboration with II-VI.” www.e6.com , www.ii-vi.com Single-Crystal Diamond Technology for Future Power Electronics VoltServer, Inc. is changing the future of energy delivery with its patented Digital Electricity™ technology that transmits up to 2 kW of power across up to 2 km using off-the-shelf data cables. VoltServer takes conventional electricity and breaks it into small pulses, or “energy packets.” Each packet is sent to a receiver from a transmitter that contains local, embedded processing. Each energy packet is analyzed using a digital signal processing engine to determine that power is being precisely and safely distributed. If a fault is detected, the next energy packet is not sent. Each packet contains only a very small amount of energy, so individually they are not harmful to people, animals, systems or buildings. The receiver converts Digital Electricity back into analog AC or DC to power local loads. Similar to power-over-ethernet (PoE), this enables transport both digital data and power in a single hybrid cabling infrastructure, making it much easier and more economical to install than conventional 110/220 V electrical systems. This simplicity allows architects, designers and facility managers to configure and reconfigure wireless networks, office floorplans and agricultural grow rooms. And because the platform is natively digital, it provides unprecedented insights into energy use with a centralized dashboard. Vicor Corporation has worked closely with VoltServer since they began product development. Vicor’s passively-cooled BCM® DC/DC fixed-ratio bus converters are designed into the receivers transforming the higher transmission voltage to a safe low voltage to power the loads. The 97 % power efficiency allows reliable cooling without a fan within a smaller enclosure. They provide the power efficiency that allows the receivers to be placed in tight, enclosed spaces that are too small to accommodate cooling fans. “With the Vicor converter, we have 43 % less heat loss than a normal converter, and the heat sink size decreases proportionately,” said Dan Lowe, VoltServer co-founder and Chief Business Officer. www.vicorpower.com/resource-library/case-studies/voltserver Digital Electricity Accelerates Digital Transformation Element Six’s single- crystal diamond technology is intended for future generations of power and RF electronics Source: Element Six