Power Electronics Europe April/May Issue 2022

CONTENTS www.power-mag.com Issue 2 2022 Power Electronics Europe 3 Editor Achim Scharf Tel: +49 (0)892865 9794 Fax: +49 (0)892800 132 Email: PowerElectronicsEurope@t-online.de Production Editor Chris Davis Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Financial Manager Caren Brown Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Fax: +44 (0)1732 360034 Email: caren.brown@dfamedia.co.uk Reader/Circulation Enquiries Perception Tel: +44 (0) 1825 701520 Email: dfamedia@dmags.co.uk INTERNATIONAL SALES OFFICES Mainland Europe: Victoria Hufmann Norbert Hufmann Tel: +49 911 9397 643 Fax: +49 911 9397 6459 Email: pee@hufmann.info Eastern US Ian Atkinson Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Fax: +44 (0)1732 360034 Email: ian@dfamedia.co.uk Western US and Canada Ian Atkinson Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Fax: +44 (0)1732 360034 Email: ian@dfamedia.co.uk Japan: Yoshinori Ikeda, Pacific Business Inc Tel: 81-(0)3-3661-6138 Fax: 81-(0)3-3661-6139 Email: pbi2010@gol.com Taiwan Prisco Ind. Service Corp. Tel: 886 2 2322 5266 Fax: 886 2 2322 2205 Publisher & UK Sales Ian Atkinson Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Fax: +44 (0)1732 360034 Email: ian@dfamedia.co.uk www.power-mag.com Circulation and subscription: Power Electronics Europe is available for the following subscription charges. Power Electronics Europe : annual charge UK/NI £95, overseas $160, EUR 150. Contact: DFA Manufacturing Media, 192 The High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BE Great Britain. Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 . Fax: +44 (0)1732 360034 . Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will only be provided at the Publisher’s discretion, unless specifically guaranteed within the terms of subscription offer. Editorial information should be sent to The Editor, Power Electronics Europe , PO Box 340131, 80098 Munich, Germany. The contents of Power Electronics Europe are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. Printed by: Warners. ISSN 1748-3530 PAGE 6 Market News PEE looks at the latest Market News and company developments PAGE 10 PCIM 2022 PAGE 11 Industry News PAGE 16 Enhancing Power Conversion from Watts to Megawatts with 1700 V SiC MOSFETs In the world of power electronics, bigger is never better. This holds particularly true for high-voltage power systems, where designers are clamoring for better semiconductor technology to meet customer demand for converters that are smaller, lighter, more reliable and efficient, and less expensive. With Silicon MOSFETs and IGBTs, compromises must be made; for example, one must select either the most reliable design or the most efficient design, but not both. High- voltage Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs are the key that designers need to unlock themselves from Silicon’s handcuffs. In this article, the benefits offered by 1700V SiC MOSFETs over the incumbent silicon solutions across a wide range of power levels—from watts to megawatts—are discussed in detail. Kevin Speer, Sr. Manager SiC Solutions, and Xuning Zhang, Sr. Tech Staff Engineer, Microchip Technology, USA PAGE 22 Range Extension Promise of SiC in Traction Inverters There are two major disruptions currently affecting the future of vehicular transport and semiconductor technology. We are embracing a new and exciting means to propel our vehicles cleanly with electrical power, while simultaneously re- engineering the semiconductor materials that underpin electric vehicle (EV) subsystems to maximize power efficiency and, in turn, EV driving range. Timothé Rossignol, Marketing Manager, Analog Devices, France PAGE 28 Optimizing the Switching Stage in Wind Power Applications Efficient power conversion is an important part of maximizing the cost- effectiveness of the switching stage in a wind-powered generator. Much effort has been expended in maximizing switching efficiency with excellent results. In this article, we will look at optimizing the utilization of the switches to increase the amount of power that can be processed by a given system. This, in addition to the benefits obtained by optimized switch driving, can show an increase in power throughput for a given system by >20 %. Thorsten Schmidt, Product Marketing Engineer, Power Integrations, Ense, Germany PAGE 32 DC/DC Converter Design Basics Most electronic equipment incorporates DC/DC conversion in some form. The switched-mode technique is an efficient solution which enables step up and step down in voltage as well as isolation, with small magnetics. This article gives a broad review of the technology and some commercial implementations. Ann-Marie Bayliss, Senior Product Marketing Manager, and John Quinlan, Strategic Technical Marketing Manager, both Murata Power Solutions, USA PAGE 35 Web Locator Edge Computing Leverages Modular Power in Scalable Micro Data Centres Edge computing is essential to realizing the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and internet of things (IoT). These technologies are being infused into every corner of our lives— autonomous driving, smart buildings, robotics, supply chain management and healthcare. To deliver on the promise of these smart technologies, faster computation and data transfer speeds are needed closer to smart devices, closer to “the edge.” HIRO, a Dutch entrepreneurial technology company, leverages modular power in scalable micro data centres for low latency applications, powered by DCM power modules from Vicor. Highly compact and efficient power conversion is achieved by designing hardware running from 48 VDC power distribution, instead of 12 VD. The higher voltage reduces I?R losses across the power delivery network (PDN). While 48 VDC distribution is common in telecoms and industry, it is only now beginning to find acceptance in data centre and associated edge environments. Vicor high-density, high-efficiency power modules contribute to HIRO’s solid-state, thermally adept, compact, energy-efficient EMDC designs. Legacy solutions using standard COM Express modules (computer-on-module), for example, draw 150 W per card. This equates to approximately 3 kW within one 3U chassis. The ability to handle this high-density power conversion is unique to Vicor in the market. More details on page 25. Cover image supplied by Vicor EMEA , UK FEATURE STORY