S.1   Trends in Soft Switching Topologies

Ionel Dan Jitaru, Delta Energy Systems (Arizona) Inc., Tucson, AZ

Abstract:
The new developments in the semiconductor technology such as SiC and GaN have created the need for a reevaluation of the most suitable topologies in power conversion. Soft switching topologies have become popular in many power conversion applications in the last twenty years. Some of the soft switching topologies have added complexity and their practical use become more questionable with the availability of more ideal components.

The seminar concentrates on the soft switching topologies which are addressing the soft commutation both in the primary and the secondary side without adding complexity.

Well known topologies are presented in the light of the latest improvements, as well as new topologies which were recently derived.

A section is dedicated to magnetic and packaging, which as a contributor of parasitic elements plays an important role in soft switching at higher frequency.

The progress in semiconductors, magnetic and packaging will increase the operation frequency, and soft switching topologies will become a necessity for higher efficiency.

There will be presented also Intelligent Power Processing techniques, wherein the use of digital control allows us to obtain soft switching over the entire operating conditions.

The presentation will be highlighted with design guidance, design example and experimental results.

Speaker Bio:
Ionel Dan Jitaru is the founder of Rompower Inc. an internationally recognized engineering firm in the field of power conversion, later Ascom Rompower Inc. and today Delta Energy Systems (Arizona) Inc..  Presently he is the president of Delta Energy Systems (Arizona) Inc..

He has published 49 papers and held 39 professional seminars professional at different International Conferences in the power conversion field, wherein several of them have received the best paper award.

Mr. Jitaru has pioneered several trends in power conversion technologies such as “Soft Switching”, “Full integrated multilayer PCB packaging concept”, “Synchronized rectification” and “Intelligent power processing”.

There are 25 granted patents and 19 pending patents that have covered some of these technologies.

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S.2   Digital Power Seminar

Hrishikesh Nene, Zhenyu(yu) Yu, Texas Instruments, Stafford, TX

Abstract:
This digital power seminar is designed for entry level and intermediate level power supply hardware and/or software designers and developers, engineering managers, as well as advanced power electronic engineers wanting to know more about the latest in digital control. It provides an in-depth look at digital power supply design starting from open loop power stage excitation for different power topologies to effectively tuning a closed control loop. A two channel DC-DC buck converter is used as the seminar kit to provide results for each step during this process. Latest advanced on-chip microcontroller features allow easy implementation of techniques like peak current mode control for different power topologies, greatly simplifying the system implementation. These implementations are discussed in detail with example reference designs and supported with various experimental results. A complete system implementation of a 400Vdc to 12Vdc, 600W peak current mode controlled isolated phase shifted full bridge (PSFB) DC-DC converter is presented in detail. Experimental results show that zero voltage switching (ZVS) is achieved across a wide load range with peak system efficiency of over 95% and efficiencies over 90% for loads greater than 10% rated load.

Speaker Bio:
Hrishikesh Nene has over 7 years of experience in design and development of power electronics based systems. He received a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from the University of Pune (India) in 2003 and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering (M.S.E.E.) from the University of Houston (U.S.A.) in 2006. He was with Appropriate Powercon Equipments Pvt. Ltd. (APEPL) from August 2002 to June 2003 as a student co-op and from August 2003 to July 2004 as a Trainee Design Engineer. At APEPL he designed and developed uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and inverter systems for residential applications. He also developed renewable energy powered inverters for residential applications, and motor drives for an electric vehicle design. From August 2005 to August 2006 he worked at the University of Houston (UH) as a research assistant. He designed and developed systems to obtain efficient and reliable power from fuel cell sources. Since September 2006, he has been with the C2000 Systems Applications team at Texas Instruments (TI), Stafford. At TI he has worked extensively on design and development of system solutions and reference solutions for digitally controller power electronics based systems. For the past several years his focus has been on digital control of power factor correction (PFC) and on the control of isolated/non-isolated DC-DC converter stages. He has been responsible for identifying and defining key design changes to control specific peripherals (PWM, ADC, DAC and comparator) on C2000 microcontrollers for power electronics based applications. He has several publications in journals and magazines including Appliance Design magazine, Journal of Power sources, ACTA scientific press, and eetimes.com. His work has been presented multiple times at major industrial conferences like Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), Power Electronics/Intelligent Motion/Power Quality (PCIM), Embedded Systems Conference (ESC), Digital Power Forum (DPF), Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PES), and International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC). He has also created and taught multiple digital power workshops to power electronics professionals and engineers worldwide.

Zhen(yu) Yu is currently the Digital Power Applications Manager of C2000 MCU product line at Texas Instruments (TI). In this position, Zhen’s main focus is to drive the development of digital power application EVMs that showcase C2000 MCUs, influence the C2000 roadmap, and provide critical support to strategic customers.

Prior to that, Zhen was an End-Equipment Marketing Manager on the MCU marketing team at TI. In that role Zhen owned C2000 digital power, C2000 solar and renewable energy, and TI (digital and analog) telecom and server power end-equipment focused marketing responsibilities at different times.

Zhen was C2000 MCU’s Worldwide End-Equipment Marketing Team Manager before that driving multiple end application spaces such as motor control, appliance and HVAC, renewable energy, PLC (Power Line Communication), and digital power etc.

Zhen was first C2000 MCU’s Asia and then Worldwide Business Development Manager prior to above and contributed significantly to the winning of C2000 MCU’s Asia and worldwide businesses and largest customers.

From 2003 and 2006, as an expatriate from US, Zhen was first Industrial Applications Center and then C2000 Business Development and FAE Manager for TI China, and contributed significantly to the development of local business and technical talents and the winning of C2000 MCU’s businesses and largest customers in China.

Prior to that, Zhen was a C2000 Application Engineer and developed some of the earliest C2000 motor control applications and wrote some of the earliest C2000 application reports, and contributed significantly to the start up of C2000 MCU and its motor control and digital power businesses.

Zhen joined TI in 1995 as an applications engineer. Zhen received his Ph.D. in EE from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, in 1995, and his B.S and M.S. degrees from Beihang University in Beijing, China. Prior to coming to US, Zhen Research Engineer at Beihang’s Third Research Group worked in the areas of realtime simulation, digital control, and flight simulation.

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S.3   Batteries for Beginners

Richard Redl, Redl Consulting, Switzerland

Abstract:
Batteries are used in a wide variety of commercial, industrial, transportation, utility and military applications. They are seemingly simple devices, but their behavior, care and feeding are quite complex. This seminar presents a comprehensive introduction to batteries, covering technologies, applications, characteristics, charging techniques and charger circuits, battery alternatives, and also battery monitoring and management solutions.

The seminar begins with a discussion of general battery terminology and the electrochemical principles of operation. This is followed by an overview of non-rechargeable and rechargeable battery technologies. Special emphasis is given to the three most-important rechargeable battery types (lead-acid, nickel-based and Li-ion) and their charging and charge-terminating methods. Advanced Li-ion battery technologies and battery alternatives (supercapacitors, fuel cells, and thermoelectric generators) are also covered.

Battery charger architectures are presented next, including the standard CC/CV charger, dissipation limiting techniques for linear chargers, dynamic voltage compensation for reduced charge time, and high-power battery chargers.

The seminar concludes with a discussion of battery and battery pack protection, monitoring and managing solutions. Methods of determining the state of charge and battery health are reviewed, together with techniques for protecting and monitoring single-cell and multi-cell Li-ion battery packs and balancing cells in multi-cell packs.

This is an entry-level seminar for engineers with little or no background in the topic.

Speaker Bio:
Richard Redl received the B.S. degree in telecommunications engineering and the Ph.D. degree from the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary in 1969 and 1973, respectively. He taught electronic circuits, conducted research in switching-mode power conversion and power amplification, and managed a variety of power-supply projects for industrial and space applications at the same university, from 1969 until 1984. From 1984 to 1989 he was a consultant in the United States. Since 1990 he has been the director of ELFI S.A. (an electronics consulting company in Switzerland), specializing in power supplies and other power-conversion equipment, electronic ballasts, and integrated circuits for power management. He holds three Hungarian and nineteen U.S. patents. He has written over 100 technical papers, and is co-author of a book on dynamic analysis of power converters. Dr. Redl is a member of the Program Committees of APEC and ECCE, a reviewer for the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Industrial Electronics, Industry Applications, Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Circuits and Systems, the IET Electric Power Applications Journal, the IEEE Spectrum, and the Electronics Letters. He was Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications between 1998 and 2004, and is Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. Dr. Redl is a Fellow of the IEEE.

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S.4   Bus Bars – Slap Them Together and They Ought to Work

Dr. Douglas Hopkins, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

Introduction:
The design landscape is continually moving to higher power densities. Some move is in voltage, but the vast change is in current. More importantly, power delivery is speeding up with faster delivery to point of load from lower and lower source impedances. Together, the trend continues to be much higher currents at much higher densities. Cabling has a place, but flat bar conductors is preferred, particularly for increased functionality, as the bars become primary thermal conduits besides mechanical carriers. This trend is not just in heavy busing, as in cabinets, but is applied inside power supplies and slowly onto circuit boards. The “bus bar” concept is completely scalable, and this seminar focuses on scalability to purposely aid the designers in expanding their innovative approaches to their circuit or system designs.

Abstract:
Are you pushing copper or aluminum to their thermal limits be they on a printed circuit board, extending out a power supply box, routing current to the drives, bolted in a cabinet, or running between floors in a telecom station? Can you really use wax paper to insulate the busses? This is a one-stop-shop seminar diving deep into the second-order effects of high-current densities in heavy metal interconnects, and high electric fields across the insulating glue. The seminar unravels pertinent standards as a base-line, then delves deeply with simulations and case studies to show effects of high fault currents in ac and dc systems, provides a mini-tutorial on partial discharge and insulation aging, returns back to understanding the three drivers in contact resistance for clamped and sliding interfaces, and addresses the copper versus aluminum trade-off.

Bus bars are not just for bulk electrical routing. They can provide the metal carrier for components, have water-cooling, provide high frequency gateways to low impedance energy storage, and offer novel functional integration. When finished, the attendee should have an in-depth understanding of the scalable second-order electrical, thermal and corrosion effects impacting bus bar design. The course is intended to be comprehensive.

Area: Power Electronics, Power Packaging, Motor Drives, Smart Grid, Power Distribution, DC Distribution

Level: general power design engineer involved in physical design of high current circuit boards, cabinet level assembly and dc/ac distribution.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Douglas C. Hopkins, Ph.D., has over 20 years of academic and industrial experience in electronic energy systems. He began his career at the R&D centers of General Electric and the Carrier Air-conditioning Companies in power electronics conversion and developed advanced systems for military and commercial applications up to the low MW range. He now resides at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where he is a professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, a member of the NSF FREEDM System Center, and Director of the Laboratory for Packaging Research in Electronic Energy Systems. He is founder and majority owner of DensePower, LLC, which is a pre-launch start-up funded through federal SBIR grants.

Over the past several years he has contributed substantially to development of solid-state circuit breakers for aerospace applications in the range or 120 A – 1200 A with sub-microsecond switching. A few pertinent publications are

1. “A High Temperature SiC-Based Solid State Power Controller for Microgrid Applications,” submitted: IEEE Power Electronics Society Transactions special issue on Microgrids, July 2010
2. “A MEMS Sensor for Gas Detection in High Voltage Oil Filled Equipment,” Krishna P. Bhat, Douglas C. Hopkins, Kwang Oh, IEEE IAS meeting, Houston TX, 4-7 Oct 2010
3. “The Smart Grid – Session I,” D. C. Hopkins, Electronic Design Webinar, Penton Media, Inc., Cleveland, OH, Apr 27, 2010
4. “Investigation of SiC Power Module Requirements for Smart Grid Applications,” Y. Guo, PF Jao, G. Wang, Y. Du, S. Bhattacharya and D. C. Hopkins, 42th IMAPS Int’l Symp. on Microelectronics, San Jose, CA, November 1-5, 2009 Best Paper of Session. Also, poster presentation at Advanced Energy Conference, Nov 18-19, 2009, Hauppauge, NY
5. “A 6.5kV IGBT Development Module for Renewable Energy Systems,” G. Wang, Y. Du, Y. Guo, D. C. Hopkins, S. Bhattacharya and A. Huang, 42th IMAPS Int’l Symp. on Microelectronics, San Jose, CA, November 1 - 5, 2009
6. Power Electronics Handbook, Academic Press, New York, chapter 35: “Packaging and Smart Power Systems,” 2nd Ed. 2006, 2010.

Dr. Hopkins has had numerous consulting projects with Verizon Communications, Inc., Emerson Motor Company, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, Grundfos A/S of Denmark, among others, and has had numerous prestigious summer appointments with the US Army, NASA, ASEE, and Ohio Space Institute. He began his career at the R&D centers of General Electric and the Carrier Air-conditioning Company.

Dr. Hopkins is a Fellow of the International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS), and an IEEE Senior Member. He has a number of awards including Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, an IEEE Third Millennium Medal recipient and honored by the IEEE in 2001 for outstanding contributions to education, research and professionalism. He has published over 100 journal articles and conference papers, a number of which have been recognized with awards.

Dr. Hopkins received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech (Virginia Power Electronics Center). He graduated with an MSEE and BSEE in Electrical Engineering, from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

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S.5   EMI Modeling and Mitigation for Three-Phase Converters and Systems

Jian Sun, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

Abstract:
Despite recent advances in power electronics, EMI remains a major practical challenge which, in many cases, could only be dealt with empirically, requiring functional prototypes and measurements before EMI filter design starts. Such an EMI-last approach leads to systems that are suboptimal at best. Designers are also often caught by last-minute surprises, leading to the use of even less effective EMI solutions and costly schedule disruption.

This seminar covers conducted EMI in three-phase systems, with a focus on voltage-source converters and their applications in automation, motor drive, more-electric aircraft, and renewable energy. At the core of the materials are: 1) practical modeling and analysis techniques that allow three-phase system EMI behavior to be evaluated alongside circuit, control and packaging development to enable a concurrent-EMI design approach; 2) new EMI mitigation techniques such as asymmetric interleaving and impedance balancing that reduce system EMI filtering requirement, thereby minimizing its impact on cost, size, and power loss. The effects of EMI filters on system control performance and power quality are also discussed.

The seminar is intended for engineers and engineering managers working with three-phase voltage-source converters and their applications in various systems. Basic knowledge of power electronics and EMI is assumed.

Speaker Bio:
Jian Sun received his Dr. Eng. (Ph.D) degree from University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany, in 1995, all in electrical engineering. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, from 1996 to 1997. From 1997 to 2002, he worked in the Advanced Technology Center of Rockwell Collins, Inc., where he led several research projects on the development of advanced power conversion technologies for aerospace and naval applications. In August 2002, he joined the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, where he is currently a Professor. He is the Director of New York State Center for Future Energy Systems (CFES) at RPI. His research interests are in the general area of power electronics and energy conversion, with particular emphasis on modeling, control, and different applications including computers, communications, aerospace, and energy systems. He has published more than 140 journal and conference papers on these subjects, and holds 8 US patents.

Dr. Sun is a Senior Member of the IEEE Power Electronics Society. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief for Power Electronics Letters in the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, the Chair of IEEE Power Electronics Society’s Technical Committee on Power & Control Core Technologies, and an AdCom Member of the IEEE Systems Council. He was the General Chair of 2006 IEEE COMPEL Workshop, and the Publications Chair of the inaugural IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exhibition (ECCE 2009). He was also the Guest Editor for the Special Issue on Modeling and Advanced Control in Power Electronics, published in the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics in November and December 2009. He has consulted for more than a dozen companies in power electronics, aerospace, and renewable energy.

Dr. Sun is a frequent seminar speaker at APEC (which he has attended every year since 1996) and other conferences. He has presented 9 professional education seminars on various topics in power electronics over the past 10 years, including three at APEC – Using Computer Aided Algebra for Power Supply Analysis and Design at APEC 1999, Advanced Topics on Single-Phase Power Factor Correction at APEC 2005, Modeling and Analysis of Pulse-Width Modulation at APEC 2008. Like other seminars he has presented, most of the materials to be presented in this seminar are developed from his research over the past 6 years.

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S.6   Embedded Energy Measurement Applications and Implementation

Jim Patterson, Maxim, Irvine, CA

Abstract:
This presentation provides an introduction to embedded energy measurement and addresses the requirements for and issues related to the implementation of embedded energy measurement in areas including computer equipment, commercial buildings and equipment, and consumer products.

The first part of the presentation provides an introduction to embedded energy measurement applications and requirements, and should be useful to project managers and system level designers who are responsible for energy measurement and monitoring within electrical or electronic systems. The second part of the presentation addresses design and implementation of embedded energy measurement, and is suitable for engineers who are responsible for detail design and implementation of embedded energy measurement subsystems.

Speaker Bio:
Jim Patterson is a Principal Member of Technical Staff with Maxim Integrated Products, and is responsible for developing reference designs for Teridian energy measurement devices and providing engineering support to customers who are developing embedded energy measurement subsystems based upon Maxim’s Teridian energy measurement devices. Prior to joining Maxim, he was an independent consultant and a Member of Group Technical Staff at Texas Instruments. He is a member of IEEE, and received the BSEE and MEE degrees from Auburn University.

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S.7   Current Mode Control

Ray Ridley, Ridley Engineering, Bradenton, FL

Introduction
The earliest documentation of current-mode control dates back to 1967. The technique was widely popularized in the industry with the publication of a paper in 1978, which explained today’s dominant technique of “current-injection control”.

It took many years, and the efforts of many researchers, to arrive at a coherent model that incorporated all of the observed effects of the technology. During this time, a profusion of publications presented many different ways of looking at the system. They also offered many different analytical results. Despite this confusion, the advantages of current-mode control make it the control scheme of choice for almost every converter.

In this seminar, Dr. Ridley will clearly explain the source of the discrepancies in modeling techniques, and discuss his unique view of the problem. Dr. Ridley’s involvement in current-mode control spans 30 years. He has personally discussed the development of modeling of the system with all of the important industry leaders over the years. This gives him a very unique insight into the problems of current-mode control.

Who Should Attend?
This seminar is recommended for all levels of power supply circuit designers. Beginning engineers will start their careers on the right foot with a clear picture of how to model and design their current-mode system.

More experienced engineers who are familiar with the history of current-mode control will see for the first time the relationship between all of the models.

Abstract:
This seminar will present an in-depth discussion of the advantages, analysis, and history of current-mode control. It will cover many of the different implementations of current-mode, and their relative merits. The common pitfalls of current-mode control will be illustrated with real-world examples.

While current-mode control has now been a part of power supply design for over 40 years, much confusion still exists in the industry. There are five different viewpoints on current-mode modeling. For the first time, this seminar explains the roots of different models, their discrepancies, and clearly shows which ones are most useful.

It is shown how advanced concepts of sampled-data modeling, an essential part of digital control analysis, can be combined with approximations to produce an accurate, yet easy-to-use model, allowing engineers to proceed quickly with the design of their circuits.

The seminar is recommended to all levels of engineers who work with switching power supplies. Beginning designers will receive a clear picture of how to accurately model current-mode control, and experienced engineers will benefit from advanced modeling and the historical viewpoint of the technology.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Ray Ridley is a teacher and researcher in the field of power electronics with over 30 years of experience in switching power supplies. He has worked on power supplies at power levels from less than 1 W to over 100 kW, operating at frequencies from 20 kHz to 10 MHz.

Dr. Ridley teaches advanced design courses in magnetics, topologies, control and measurement, giving attendees a unique and powerful learning environment. Courses vary in length from 1-day intensive to a 4-day laboratory course for a hands-on experience. Thousands of engineers have attended Dr. Ridley’s courses and seminars at various conferences around the world.

Dr. Ridley has a Master’s degree in the study of parallel power supplies from Virginia Tech, and a Doctorate degree from the same institution. His PhD dissertation, “A New Small-Signal Model for Current-Mode Control,” has become the industry standard reference for analyzing current-mode control systems.

Dr. Ridley developed the popular power supply design and simulation program, POWER 4-5-6. He is an expert consultant to the industry in all areas of power supply design. In addition, he is the author of “Power Supply Design, Volume 1: Control,” released in 2011, and numerous papers on power supply design and analysis.

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S.8   Firmware and Hardware Development of Brushless Permanent Magnet Motors

Rakesh Dhawan, Strategic Tech. Group LLC, Ashburn, VA

Abstract:
Brushless permanent magnet (PM) motors are preferable choice in many applications due to low weight and volume, high torque and power density, excellent controllability and reliability, simplicity and ruggedness, high efficiency and low maintenance. They have superior advantages in variable speed and load applications compared with induction, switched- and variable-reluctance motors. In recent years, poly-phase PM motors of 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-phase configurations have been investigated. Some of these motor configurations have shown promise to improve performance over three-phase configurations.

Extensive research has been carried out in radial, axial, transverse and Halbach array flux architectures. The radial flux motors (RFM) has been widely used in the industry due to relative ease in manufacturing. Axial flux motors (AFM) have been difficult to manufacture due to the high expense of fabricating lamination stacks. Axial flux motors have shown superior performance over radial flux motors under a narrow set of circumstances and additionally where length of the motor is less than 30% of the diameter (length/diameter<0.3). Transverse flux motors (TFM) are more difficult to design and manufacture. Halbach array motors have shown promise for operations requiring significantly higher speed and are not considered suitable for low speed, high torque operations.

Several control methods exist today for control of PM machines. Trapezoidal control injects trapezoidal current waveforms into the motor windings. Sinusoidal control injects sinusoidal current. Field oriented control (FOC) converts poly-phase motor currents into a Cartesian coordinate system which rotates with the motor’s synchronous speed. This results in direct control of air gap flux and hence torque. FOC has been known to improve a motor’s dynamic performance substantially. Space vector control is known to increase DC bus voltage utilization by as much as 15% by clever application of the available bus voltage.

Studies of 3-, 5- and 7-phase inverters for low voltage applications have been conducted. The study stated that the 5- and 7-phase inverters resulted in lower current per phase and leg resulting in higher reliability, better DC bus voltage utilization resulting in more output power, and better utilization of harmonics resulting in more torque. The study showed significant improvement in performance of 5-phase inverters over 3-phase inverters. The performance of 7-phase inverters was marginal over the 5-phase inverters.

Substantial innovations have taken place in the field of power electronics in the last decade. These innovations have continually churned out better semiconductor devices, thermal management systems, and materials. These breakthroughs have allowed smaller and more efficient inverters. Some tougher and space constrained applications have demanded a tight integration between motors and inverters. We will briefly discuss such innovations and their applications.

This workshop will cover simulation, algorithm and software development methodology and tools for brushless permanent magnet motor systems. Under algorithm development, we will cover the principles of FOC (field oriented control, or vector control), followed by various advanced implementation techniques for high performance and energy efficiency including predictive current control, decoupling control, space vector modulation, field weakening operation, as well as modeling and simulation This section will also cover control system analysis and compensation – open loop transfer function, stability criteria, Type 1, 2 and 3 Amplifiers, and K factor technique for stability analysis if time permits.

In this section we would briefly discuss use of such tools as dSPACE™, VISSIM™ etc. This section will also provide Software development examples based on Agile Software Development Model. Under hardware development, we will focus on MCU/DSP selection criteria, FPGA based designs, power stage design and achieving the desired performance from PM machines when integrated with an Inverter. This section will cover selection of power devices, PCB layout, safety, EMI/EMC, environmental and reliability considerations, thermal analysis, mechanical and manufacturing considerations.

Speaker Bio:
Rakesh Dhawan is a twenty-two years veteran of motors and motor drive Industry. He has developed critical understanding and published on a wide range of motors, motor drives, high frequency electromagnetic components, electric vehicles and switch mode power systems. He has co-authored over 25 publications in various refereed journals and conference proceedings and is an inventor on 7 issued or pending US patents. He has served on the Technical committee of the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC). He received the B. Tech (Electrical Engineering) degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India. He received his MS degrees from University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Power Electronics pioneer Prof. Ned Mohan. He received his MBA from Old Dominion University.

He has been directly responsible for over twenty five successful product launches in his career many of them involving brushless permanent magnet motor systems. Rakesh has conducted several workshops in the recent past in the field of motors and motor drives. His interests include brushless permanent magnet motor systems, light electric vehicles, electric bicycles, switch mode power supplies, solar inverters, simulation, statistics, project management and new and ultra-fast product development methodologies. Rakesh is a high energy individual with a difference; he combines technology excellence, leadership and professional management skills with his inborn entrepreneurial instincts.

Rakesh is a member of IEEE and the Entrepreneur’s Organization (Washington-DC Chapter) and is very keen on nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial talent in the field of technology development and management.

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S.9   Battery Power Applications: Safety, Charging, Fuel Gauging and System Solutions

Jinrong Qian, Yevgen Barsukov, Texas Instruments, Dallas, TX

Abstract:
Power Electronics has played a very critical role in battery powered devices. Battery power management continues to be important research and development topic for a wide range of portable devices. “How can I charge the battery faster and increase the battery cycle life, make the system run longer, and use the battery energy more efficiently?” has plagued designers and users. This seminar addresses the issues surrounding battery power management and how battery management power electronics smartly monitors the battery, efficiently use the battery energy, and extends the battery runtime and improve the battery cycle life.

The first part of the presentation provides the battery electrical behavior, charging and discharging characteristics, cycle life, and safety protections including over-charging, over temperature, over-current and short circuit in battery packs. New kinds of emerging battery chemistries, their main applications and limitations will be introduced. It also includes how battery electronics improves the battery safety and security.

The second part is going focused on how to accurately monitor the battery remaining capacity for extending battery run time. Too early shutdown the system will not fully use the energy from the battery with low accuracy fuel gauge. High accuracy fuel gauge is the same important as the power conversion efficiency. We are going to review the most commonly used monitoring approaches: coulomb counting, voltage measurement based and 99% accuracy impedance track based fuel gauges. System side fuel gauge along with the design challenges will be discussed in detail.

The third part of the presentation is to talk about the Li-Ion battery charging technologies including new industry charging standards and guidance, the battery charging system architecture, interaction between system and charger. Dynamic Path Management (DPM) technology is going to be presented to maximize use of the AC adapter power while charging the battery and supplying the system simultaneously. Turbo boost charger will be introduced for supporting CPU Turbo mode by operating the buck-based charger in a boost mode so that both adapter and battery package provide their power to the system. In addition, critical challenges will be discussed about how to effectively charge the battery from USB and support USB OTG for Tablet applications.

The fourth part of the seminar will talk about how power electronics has been applied to the power tool, back up system, solar-lighting system, e-bike, electric vehicle applications. This includes how to charge high-cell Li-Ion batteries, safely protect the battery, and smartly monitor battery health information so that system can do the dynamic control for optimizing the system performance.

This seminar is structured to provide in-depth coverage of the topics of the power electronics in battery powered applications, and is intended for the audience from entry level to intermediate experience level.

Speaker Bios:
Jinrong Qian is a manager of battery charging management and Emeritus Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Texas Instruments (TI). He has published over 60 peer-reviewed power electronics journal, conference papers, contributed articles and holds 24 U.S. patents in power converters and battery power management. Dr. Qian’s primary research interests include high-efficiency power converter topologies and design, portable power supply design and battery power management ICs and their applications.

Dr. Qian was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics from 1999 to 2001 and a senior member of IEEE in 1999. He earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Zhejiang University, China in 1985, and a Ph. D. from Virginia Power Electronics Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1997.

Yevgen Barsukov is a battery management fuel gauge algorithm development manager and Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Texas Instruments (TI). Dr. Barsukov specializes in applying leading theoretical methods of battery analysis to improve the battery controlling technology used for fuel-gauging, health and safety information in notebooks, mobile-phones, PDAs and other portable devices. Prior to joining TI, his research in testing and modeling of batteries resulted in commercialization of a patented technology of automated battery parameterization and simulation named "Powergraphy," He has presented numerous international conferences and journal publications.

He earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemical engineering at Kiev National University in 1993 and a Ph.D. from Kiel Christian-Albrecht University, Germany in 1997.

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S.10   Putting GaN to Work in Your Power Supply

Robert White, Embedded Power Labs, Colorado

Abstract:
Gallium nitride (GaN) based power switching devices are now available from multiple suppliers. These devices offer much faster and lower loss switching than today’s silicon MOSFETs – and promise smaller and more efficient power supplies and dc-dc converters.

Just as power supply engineers 30 years ago had to learn new techniques to use the newly introduced MOSFETs, today’s engineers will have to learn some new techniques to put GaN devices to work in their designs.

This seminar starts with a description of the structure and operating characteristics of GaN devices. A comparison of the key specifications between GaN switches and silicon MOSFETs is given. Next the circuit techniques needed to drive the gates of both depletion mode and enhancement mode GaN devices are shown. GaN device loss mechanisms are described and compared to silicon MOSFETs.

The seminar then shows examples of a 48 V to 1.2 V buck converter and a dual active bridge isolated dc-dc converter using GaN devices, including experimental data. The advantages and disadvantages of GaN devices in each are discussed.

The last section of the seminar addresses the application issues of PCB layout, paralleling GaN devices, and thermal management.

This seminar is suitable for anyone interested in the use and application of GaN devices, both engineer and non-engineer, at all levels of expertise.

Speaker Bio:
Bob White, Chief Engineer, Embedded Power Labs

Bob has broad experience in designing power supplies, dc-dc converters and power systems for electronic equipment. He is widely recognized as an expert in power systems architecture and digital power management. Bob is the principal author of the PMBus™ specifications. He is a well known speaker and author who has presented many papers and seminars at conferences such as the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (IEEE APEC), the European Power Electronics Conference (EPE), the IEEE International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC) and the IEEE International Congress on Power Electronics (CIEP). In more than 30 years of professional experience, Bob has worked for Emerson Network Power/Artesyn Technologies/Zytec Corporation, AT&T Bell Labs/Power Systems, the Digital Equipment Corporation and General Electric.

Bob has a BSEE from MIT (1980) and a MSEE from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1991).

He is a Fellow of the IEEE, in which he has been active for more than 20 years. He was elected to the Power Electronics Society’s executive committee three times, served two terms as the Society’s Technical Vice President. Bob is well known for his key role in developing and supporting the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC). Bob was awarded the IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000 and the IEEE Power Electronic Society’s Distinguished Service Award in 2002. The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) recognized Bob in 2005 for his contributions to and leadership of the PSMA and APEC.

Recent Publications:

• “Introduction To Microcontrollers”, APEC 2011 Professional Education Seminar
• “Writing Specifications For Power Supplies And DC-DC Converters”, APEC 2011 Professional Education Seminar
• “High Step-Down Ratio Buck Converters With eGaN Devices”, How2PowerToday Newsletter, November 2010 (Co-Author)
• “Practical Issues In Monitoring And Reporting Input And Output Power”, COMPEL 2010
• “Digital Power – After the Hype”, APEC 2010, Invited Plenary Session Presentation
• “Understanding And Using The PMBus™ Protocol”, APEC 2008 Professional Education Seminar
• “Data Communications Issues For Digital Power Management”, APEC 2007 (Co-Author)
• “Configuring Systems For Operation From Three Phase Power”, APEC 2007 (Co-Author)
• “Designing Power Systems For Electronic Equipment”, APEC 2007 Professional Education Seminar
• “Sampling And Averaging Considerations For Measuring Input Power”, IBM 2007 Power And Cooling Symposium
• “Digital Control Concepts For Power Supply Engineers”, Darnell Digital Power Forum 2006
• “PMBus™ – Enabling Intelligent Power System Management”, Darnell Digital Power Forum 2006
• “Understanding And Using PMBus™ Data Formats”, APEC 2006 (Co-Author)
• “Electrical Isolation Requirements In Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE) Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE)”, APEC 2006
• “Using Redundant DC Power In High Availability Systems”, APEC 2006
• “Digital Power System Management”, APEC 2006 Professional Education Seminar
• “Using The PMBus™ Protocol To Manage Your Power System”, Darnell Digital Power Forum 2005
• “Digital Power System Management”, APEC 2005
• “Digital Power System Management”, APEC 2005 Professional Education Seminar

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S.11   Surge Protection for Electronic Systems: in a Product Design View Point

Nihal Kularatna, University of Waikato, New Zealand

Abstract:
As per the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) key characteristics of the modern VLSI devices are (i) feature size continues to fall much below 25 nm (ii) DC power supply requirement keeps dropping towards sub 1V levels (iii) equivalent noise voltage levels are increasing towards DC supply rail values. Also more than 75% of the totally generated electrical power is reprocessed today by various power electronic converters. Delicate electronic systems with processor based hardware as well as the power conversion subsystems are prone to lightning and power transients, temporarily disturbing systems or permanently destroying delicate hardware as well as the protection systems.

The session will discuss the surge protection concepts applicable for low voltage systems with details on the following: (i) common and differential mode transients (ii) an overview of international standards on surge and transient protection (iii) surge protection devices and techniques for off the line systems (iii) commercial surge absorption components and their limitations (iv) design techniques (v) new approaches in surge protection (vi) mathematical modeling and simulation techniques to estimate the surge propagation paths in power converters and surge protection systems.

The overall presentation will be based on a balanced mix of relevant theory, applicable techniques, relevant international standards, available technologies and industrial practices and a summary of the state of the art and future directions. Author’s long experience in a tropical island with dual monsoon lightning periods, and evaluating various commercial solutions will be mixed in the presentation.

Intended audience: The expected knowledge from the audience is basic electrical engineering only.

Speaker Bio:
Nihal Kularatna, C.Eng, FIET (Lond), Senior Member IEEE, MIPENZ (New Zealand) Former CEO of the Arthur C Clarke Institute in Sri Lanka, Nihal Kularatna is an electronics engineer with over 34 years of industrial and research experience. For ten years, after graduation, he worked as an electronics engineer in civil aviation and digital telephone exchanges systems before joining the Clarke institute in 1985. During his long research career at the Clarke Institute, he was responsible for many industrial research and development projects related to power electronics, power conditioning and surge protection. He was a consultant for two US companies, and a senior consultant to many Sri Lankan companies. After his move to New Zealand, he was a Senior Lecturer at University of Auckland for four years and currently a Senior Lecturer at the School of Science and Engineering at the University of Waikato.

He is the author of two Electrical Measurement Series books for the IET (London) and two Butterworth (USA) titles and one CRC Press (USA) book (2008) on electronics circuit design. His latest book to be published soon by the CRC press. FL is titled DC Power Supplies, Power Management and Surge Protection. He has contributed over 70 publications and his currently active in research in supercapacitor applications, power conditioning and surge protection and surge propagation. He is a Fellow of the IET (London) and a Senior Member of the IEEE.

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S.12   Photovoltaic Power Conversion

Jason Lai, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA

Abstract:
This half-day seminar at APEC-2012 is intended as a technical overview of power electronics challenges in the context of solar photovoltaic (PV), which delivers low-voltage varying dc that requires power electronics circuits to make it in a useful format. For the case with utility grid connection, the output of power electronics needs to be high-voltage sinusoidal ac, and the power conversion technique needs to take into account on cost, efficiency, and other performances while complying with regulatory standards.

The seminar will cover fundamental PV source characteristics, circuit topologies, control techniques, and overall architecture of the power electronics. Some popular commercial designs will be compared. The grid-tie control design and associated interconnection standards and regulatory compliance will be discussed. The controller design part will cover proportional-integral current-loop control, phase-locked loop, admittance compensation, and power control. The intended audience includes power electronics engineers interested in the architecture and operation of PV systems. Participants should have a general understanding of typical inverter circuits.

Outline:

1. PV characteristics and System Configurations
   1. Cell models and behavior, V-I curves
   2. Power capability curves and tracking requirements
   3. Behavior with partial shading and multiple peaks
   4. Maximum power point tracking design considerations
   5. System architectures
   6. Multiple-stage versus single-stage power conversions
2. Circuit topologies
   1. Isolated dc-link inverters
   2. Non-isolated dc-link inverters
   3. Non-isolated cascade boost and dc-link inverters
   4. Multi-leg, multi-level alternatives
   5. Ac link, matrix converters, and other alternatives
   6. Commercial product design examples
3. Control and grid compliance
   1. Grid synchronization with phase-locked loop
   2. Admittance compensation
   3. Real and reactive power control
   4. Anti-islanding approaches
   5. IEEE 1547 compliance on voltage and frequency
   6. CEC efficiency considerations
   7. Other IEEE and IEC interconnection standards

Speaker Bio:
Jih-Sheng (Jason) Lai received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1985 and 1989. In 1989, he joined the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Power Electronics Applications Center (PEAC), where he managed EPRI-sponsored power electronics research projects. From 1993, he worked with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as the Power Electronics Lead Scientist, where he initiated a high power electronics program and developed several novel high power converters including multilevel converters and auxiliary resonant snubber based soft-switching inverters. He joined Virginia Tech in 1996. Currently he is professor and director of Future Energy Electronics Center (FEEC). He published more than 250 refereed technical papers and 2 books. He received 20 U.S. patents in the area of high power electronics and their applications.

His work brought him several distinctive awards including a Technical Achievement Award in Lockheed Martin Award Night, seven International conference paper awards. Dr. Lai is an IEEE Fellow. He was the founding chair of the 2001 IEEE Future Energy Challenge for Inverter Competition, General Chairs of IEEE Workshop on Computers in Power Electronics (COMPEL 2000), IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC 2005), and 2008 NSF Workshop on Power Electronics for Alternate Energy and Distributed Generation.

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S.13   The Dark Side of Loop Control Theory

Christophe Basso, ON Semiconductor, France

Abstract:
Loop control represents one of the most important topics in a power electronics student course. Classes and tutorials abound in this domain and the web can be an excellent source of information. However, most of the approaches are highly theoretical and the link to market reality is often overlooked. When you want to compensate a converter with a single op amp and you try to apply the coefficients calculation you learned at school, you quickly realize that, indeed, the link is missing. For instance, how many engineers compensate power converters still not realizing that a type III compensator is actually a filtered-PID compensator to which a high-frequency pole is added? Why a perfectly-well compensated converter still delivers a ringing-response, in conflict with a Bode or Nyquist prediction? Why are modulus margin and delay margin the only important parameters to deal with? All these untaught aspects of loop control will be detailed in this 3-hour tutorial, step-by-step explaining where problems can potentially appear and how to solve them.

Targeting practicing engineers and graduating students, this seminar describes how to efficiently compensate power converters and make them robust designs. The seminar starts by a theoretical description of the basic PID structure and quickly establishes the link between individual coefficients and classical poles-zeros placement. It then applies classical compensation recipes to a buck converter and shows how it can fail if the output impedance study is neglected. The presentation carries on with output impedance shaping and rarely-described stability criteria such as modulus margin or delay margin.

Using mathematical analysis and SPICE, the author maintains a permanent link between theory and market reality. Several working design examples are used to apply the techniques described in the presentation. Balancing analytical aspects and real case examples, the seminar targets an audience with an intermediate background in the presented subject.

Speaker Bio:
Christophe Basso is an Application Engineering Director at ON Semiconductor in Toulouse, France, where he leads an application team dedicated to developing new offline controllers specifications. He has originated numerous integrated circuits among which the NCP120X series has set new standards for low standby power converters.

SPICE simulation is also one of his favorite subjects and he authored a second book, “Switch-Mode Power Supplies: SPICE Simulations and Practical Designs”, published by McGraw-Hill in 2008. His work was positively reviewed in several magazines and in a recent PELS newsletter. He holds 17 patents on power conversion and often publishes papers in conferences and magazines including EDN and PET.

Christophe has over 17 years of power supply industry experience. Prior to joining ON Semiconductor in 1999, Christophe was an application engineer at Motorola Semiconductor in Toulouse. Before 1997, he worked as a power supply designer at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, for 10 years. He holds a BSEE from the Montpellier University (France) and a MSEE from the Institut National Polytechnique of Toulouse (France). He is an IEEE Senior member.

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S.14   Digital Power Mythology

Chris Young, Intersil, Austin, TX

Abstract:
Even with the wider spread of acceptance of digital power conversion technology, there exists an entrenched mythology surrounding digital power. This mythology exists on both sides of the digital power vs analog discussion. These myths, in many cases, drive the usage or the avoidance of digital power technology in various applications. This seminar will examine a number of digital power myths and we will attempt to prove or debunk the myths. The myths can be categorized into three basic groups: performance myths, economic myths, and usage myths. While our treatment will mostly focus on point-of load power conversion, these myths have been applied across a wide range of applications. For those new to digital power conversion, the seminar will include a review of the state of the art in digital power controllers. Numerous myths in each of the categories will be treated in-depth. With the knowledge provided in this seminar, the digital power user can make better informed decisions about when/how/why and when/how/why not to use digital power solutions. This seminar is intended for all levels of power conversion engineers and designers.

Speaker Bio:
Chris Young serves as Sr. Manager for Digital Power Technology at Intersil Zilker Labs. Previously he served Chief Technical Officer for Zilker Labs. He has over 20 years of experience in the management of research and development of state of the art electronic systems. He was one of the founders and vice president of technology at ColdWatt, Inc. Prior to that, he held technical and engineering management positions at leading companies including Dell, Astec Power, Lucent/Bell Labs and Unison Industries. He has had numerous publications and patents in the areas of pulsed power, power control and conversion, and stability analysis. Mr. Young holds Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Texas and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University where he also serves on the Industrial Advisory Board.

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S.15   Control and Management of Energy Storage Systems in Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles

Chris Mi, University of Michigan, Dearborn, MI

Abstract:
Electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) have attracted worldwide attentions because their capabilities to displace petroleum usage and improve energy and environment sustainability. One of the key constraints for mass market penetration of EV and PHEV is the high cost of the battery system and associated electronics. The applications of power electronics in an EV/PHEV battery system include battery charger, battery control units (DC-DC converter), battery cell balancing circuits, and battery protection circuits. These power electronics units can be part of the overall battery management system (BMS), or work closely with the BMS. Proper design of these circuits can help optimize the system efficiency and reduce cost while extend the life expectance of the battery system. This course covers the application of power electronics in the battery system of an EV and PHEV, including on board and off board battery charger, DC-DC converter, battery monitoring, control, balancing, and protection circuits. The seminar will focus on the unique aspects of these power electronic circuits in EV and PHEV applications. Conductive, inductive, and wireless chargers will be discussed. Vehicle to grid (V2G) concepts will be illustrated.

Type of Seminar: This is an in-depth topic that will cover the application of power electronics in EV and PHEV battery systems.

Level of the intended audience: This seminar is suitable for both intermediate and advanced audiences who already have some background in power electronics but are new to EV and PHEV or battery control.

Speaker Bios:
Dr. Chris Mi is a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China, in 1985 and 1988, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2001.

From 1988 to 1994, he was a member of the faculty of Northwestern Polytechnical University. From 1994 to 1996, he was an Associate Professor and an Associate Chair with the Department of Automatic Control Systems, Xi’an Petroleum University. From 2000 to 2001, he was an Electrical Engineer with the General Electric Company. He is currently an Associate Professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Director of the DTE Power Electronics Laboratory, University of Michigan, Dearborn. He was the President and the Chief Technical Officer of 1Power Solutions, Inc. from 2008 to 2010. His research interests are in electric and hybrid vehicles. HE has taught tutorials and seminars on the subject of HEVs/PHEVs for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the IEEE, workshops sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Society of Professional Engineers. He has delivered courses to major automotive OEMs and suppliers, including GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Tyco, A&D Technology, Johnson Controls, and Delphi Singapore. He has offered tutorials in many countries, including the U.S., China, Korea, Singapore, and Mexico. He has published more than 100 articles and delivered 30 invited talks and keynote speeches. He has also served as a panelist.

Dr. Mi was a recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Research Award from the University of Michigan, Dearborn, the 2007 SAE Environmental Excellence in Transportation Award for “Innovative Education and Training Program in Electric, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Vehicles,” the 2005 Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Michigan, the IEEE Region 4 Outstanding Engineer Award, and the IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section Outstanding Professional Award. He was also a recipient of the National Innovation Award (国家发明奖二等奖) and the Government Special Allowance Award (政府特殊津贴) from the China Central Government. In December 2007, he became a Member of the Eta Kappa Nu, which is the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society, for being “a leader in education and an example of good moral character.”

He is an Associate Editor for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY and the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS LETTERS, a member of the editorial board of the IET Electrical Systems in Transportation, Associate editor of the International Journal of Power Electronics, a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, and the regional editor of the Journal of Small & Special Electrical Machines. He was an Associate Editor for the Journal of Circuits, Systems, and Computers (2007–2009), a Guest Editor for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY Special Issue on Vehicle Power and Propulsion (2009–2010), and a Guest Editor for the International Journal of Power Electronics Special Issue on Vehicular Power Electronics and Motor Drives (2009–2010). He was the Vice Chair (2006–2007) and the Chair (2008) of the IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section. He was the General Chair of the Fifth IEEE International Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference held in Dearborn on September 7–11, 2009. He served on the review panel for the NSF, the U.S. Department of Energy (2007–2010), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (2010), Hong Kong Research Grants Council, and Danish Research Council. He is the topic chair for the 2011 IEEE International Future Energy Competition on Low Cost Electric Vehicle Lithium Ion Battery Charger.

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S.16   Optimal Design of Inductive Components Based on Accurate Loss and Thermal Models

Jonas Muehlethaler, Johann W. Kolar, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland

Abstract:
In the first part of the presentation, loss and thermal models of inductive components are presented in detail. The impact of peak-to-peak flux density ΔB, frequency f, DC premagnetization HDC, temperature T, core shape, minor and major loops, flux waveform, and material on the core loss calculation are discussed. In order to calculate winding losses, formulas for round conductors and litz wires, each considering skin- and proximity effects (including the influence of an air-gap fringing field) are shown. The modeling part is concluded with a discussion about how thermally model inductive components. A high level of accuracy is achieved by combining the best state-of-the-art loss and thermal models with newly-developed models. These loss and thermal models will further form the basis for the optimization of inductive components. Therefore, the focus of the second part of the presentation will be placed on how optimally design inductive components of power electronic applications. All required formulas and all performed steps are presented such that a tutorial presentation arises. The topic will be treated in-depth and the level of the intended audience is intermediate.

Speaker Bios:
Jonas Mühlethaler (S’09) received his M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, in 2008. During his studies, he focused on power electronics and electrical machines. In his M.Sc. thesis, which he wrote at ABB Corporate Research in Sweden, he worked on compensating torque pulsation in Permanent Magnet Motors. Since 2008 he is working toward the Ph.D. degree in the Power Electronic Systems Laboratory, focusing on modeling and designing magnetic components. He has proposed novel approaches of how core losses could be better determined, such as the Steinmetz Premagnetization Graph, SPG or the improved-improved Generalized Steinmetz Equation, i2GSE.

Johann W. Kolar (F’10) received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree (summa cum laude / promotio sub auspiciis praesidentis rei publicae) from the University of Technology Vienna, Austria. Since 1984 he has been working as an independent international consultant in close collaboration with the University of Technology Vienna, in the fields of power electronics, industrial electronics and high performance drives.

He has proposed numerous novel converter topologies and modulation/control concepts, e.g., the VIENNA Rectifier, the Swiss Rectifier, and the three-phase AC-AC Sparse Matrix Converter. Dr. Kolar has published over 400 scientific papers in international journals and conference proceedings and has filed more than 80 patents. He was appointed Professor and Head of the Power Electronic Systems Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich on Feb. 1, 2001. The focus of his current research is on AC-AC and AC-DC converter topologies with low effects on the mains, e.g. for data centers, More-Electric-Aircraft and distributed renewable energy systems, and on Solid-State Transformers for Smart Microgrid Systems. Further main research areas are the realization of ultra-compact and ultra-efficient converter modules employing latest power semiconductor technology (SiC and GaN), micro power electronics and/or Power Supply on Chip Systems, multi-domain/scale modeling/simulation and multi-objective optimization, physical model-based lifetime prediction, pulsed power, and ultra-high speed and bearingless motors.

He received the Best Transactions Paper Award of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society in 2005, the Best Paper Award of the ICPE in 2007, the 1st Prize Paper Award of the IEEE IAS IPCC in 2008, the IEEE IECON Best Paper Award of the IES PETC in 2009, the 2009 IEEE Power Electronics Society Transaction Prize Paper Award, the 2010 Best Paper Award of the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, the Best Paper 1st Prize Award at the ECCE Asia 2011, and the 1st Place IEEE IAS Society Prize Paper Award 2011. He also received an Erskine Fellowship from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2003.

He initiated and/or is the founder/co-founder of 4 spin-off companies targeting ultra-high speed drives, multi-domain/level simulation, ultra-compact/efficient converter systems and pulsed power/electronic energy processing. In 2006, the European Power Supplies Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) awarded the Power Electronics Systems Laboratory of ETH Zurich as the leading academic research institution in Power Electronics in Europe. Dr. Kolar is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Member of the IEEJ and of International Steering Committees and Technical Program Committees of numerous international conferences in the field (e.g. Director of the Power Quality Branch of the International Conference on Power Conversion and Intelligent Motion). He is the founding Chairman of the IEEE PELS Austria and Switzerland Chapter and Chairman of the Education Chapter of the EPE Association. From 1997 through 2000 he has been serving as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics and since 2001 as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. Since 2002 he also is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Power Electronics of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the IEEJ Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

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S.17   Controlling Conducted and Radiated EMI Issues in Power Electronics Designs

Supratim Basu, Bose Research (P) Ltd., India
Tore Undeland, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, Norway

Abstract:
While management of EMI in Power Electronics design has always not been very straightforward, today’s demand for power converters having higher power densities and efficiencies makes EMI management even more challenging. While higher power densities make the converter’s EMI filter very susceptible to internal fields, demands for fast switching speeds of switching devices to minimize switching losses and improve efficiency, also increases EMI significantly. Thus as higher power densities and efficiencies driving today’s designs conflict with the general rules of EMI management, the general design approach of using the best highest inductance filter after completing design often usually never works, resulting in significant project delays. Therefore understanding the generation of EMI and its reduction at source during design, is the key to controlling EMI.

This intermediate to advanced level course will begin with a refresh on EMI basics followed by an in-depth treatment of various topics like heat-sink grounding, transformer screens, using ferrite beads, filter design, PCB layout, MOSFET switching speed, etc. Lastly the focus of this presentation is to present everything with as many practical engineering examples as possible and thus have a mix of both practice and theoretical explanations and not focus only on field/wave theory or physics.

Speaker Bio:
Supratim Basu received the B.E. degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India, in 1988 and the M.Tech. degree from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, in 1992. He received the Ph.D. degree from Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden in 2006.

He has published many technical papers in the area of power electronics. His current research interests are power electronics applications to Renewable Energy and EMI/EMC. He is also associated with Aalborg University, Denmark, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland and NTNU, Norway for lecturing in EMI/EMC and Mosfet drive circuits. He has also presented many lectures on Power Electronics design for many industries in Europe and is also actively involved in developing lectures for large corporations for their internal training programs and training seminars. He chaired a Workshop and Panel discussion on EMI at the European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications, EPE 2007, Aalborg, Denmark and presented a Tutorial at IEEE-PESC 2008, Rhodes, Greece.

He has been associated with power electronics R&D since 1992 and has independently developed many converters and inverters. Presently he is managing director at Bose Research Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore, India and heads a research and development team of sixteen power electronics engineers. He also works as an independent power electronics consultant for many companies around the world.

Tore M. Undeland (M’86, SM’92, F’00) is a Professor of power electronics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway and Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden. He has been teaching since 1972 and as a Professor since 1984. He has authored many publications in the field of power converters, snubbers, and control in power electronics. He is a coauthor of the book Power Electronics: Converters, Applications, and Design (New York: Wiley, 2003).

Dr. Undeland was the chairman of the European Power Electronics and Drives Association (EPE) 1997 Conference, Trondheim, and is presently member of EPE. He is a Fellow of IEEE. For six years he is a member of the AdCom, IEEE Power Electronics Society.

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S.18   Power Electronics for Photovoltaic Systems: Devices, Circuits & Trends

Stefan Myrskog

 Olivier Trescases, University of Toronto, Canada

Henk Jan Bergveld, NXP, The Netherlands

Abstract:
Extensive world-wide research effort aims at reducing the cost of PhotoVoltaic (PV) energy generation to reach grid parity in the near future. As a result, the penetration level of PV systems is increasing exponentially, partly thanks to generous government incentives. This growth presents tremendous opportunities for all companies in the semiconductor supply chain, ranging from discrete power devices to mixed-signal control ICs. In this seminar, three speakers from solar industry, academia and semiconductor industry focus on power-electronic circuits, controllers and devices used to maximize the harvested energy and interface PV systems to the electrical grid.

The first part covers PV economics, cell technologies, characteristics and trends. The second part first reviews Switched-Mode Power Supply (SMPS) control techniques and losses, before discussing state-of-the-art power electronics for off-line and grid-tied systems. The trend towards distributed power management involves adding module-level power converters to increase system performance. Performing Maximum Power-Point Tracking (MPPT) on a per-module basis substantially improves the energy yield under time-varying shading conditions, while raising important reliability and cost challenges. Detailed practical examples of competing technologies, including module-level DC/AC and DC/DC converters, and the associated SMPS technology will be discussed. The intensive seminar suits a multi-disciplinary audience interested in renewable energy.

What You Will Learn:
Trainees will gain a practical understanding of state-of-the-art photovoltaic technology, associated power-electronic converters and related trends and opportunities for integrated circuits in photovoltaic systems.

Who Should Attend:
The tutorial is specifically designed to suit the multi-disciplinary APEC audience:

• R&D engineers (software/hardware)
• Managers – renewable energy/power electronics
• Sales
• Test engineers
• Application engineers
• Reliability engineers
• Product-development engineers
• Researchers/academics/graduate students

Prerequisite:
A basic understanding of switched-mode power conversion and semiconductor devices is assumed, though a brief review will be included in the tutorial. Little or no prior knowledge of PV technology is required.

Speaker Bio:
Olivier Trescases completed his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Toronto in 2004 and 2007 respectively. His Ph.D. dissertation dealt with high-efficiency, digitally-controlled integrated switched-mode power supplies for portable applications. Dr. Trescases has published over 30 papers in IEEE conferences and journals in power electronics. He received two best-paper awards, one IEEE Vehicular Technology award as well as the 2010 Green Innovation Award from the City of Toronto.

From 2007 to 2009, he worked as a concept engineer and mixed-signal circuit designer at Infineon Technologies in Austria. While at Infineon, he designed application-specific ICs in BCD (Bipolar/CMOS/DMOS) fabrication technologies for safety-critical automotive applications, such as electronic control units for airbag modules. He is the co-inventor of three patents.

Dr. Trescases joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor in January 2009, where he conducts research on power electronics for automotive, industrial, aerospace and photovoltaic applications. He is currently engaged in a number of research projects dealing with distributed maximum power point tracking for PV applications, power converters for high-brightness LEDs, battery management circuits for electric vehicles, integrated dc-dc converters and digital control schemes. He is a member of the executive committee for the IEEE Toronto Section. He was a member of the technical committee for IPEC2010, the International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems (ICECS) and the CMOS Emerging Technologies Workshop (CMOSET). He has experience in a wide range of topics in the field of power electronics, such as digital control, efficiency optimization, mixed-signal IC design, protection schemes, system-level modeling, device-level design, packaging, and power transistors.

Henk Jan Bergveld was born in Enschede, the Netherlands, in 1970. He received his M.Sc. degree (cum laude) and his Ph.D. degree (cum laude) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Twente, Enschede, in 1994 and 2001, respectively.

He joined Philips Research Laboratories, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in 1994. His research interest was modeling of rechargeable batteries to design better battery management systems. This work resulted in his Ph.D. degree and the book Battery Management Systems – Design by modeling (Boston, MA: Kluwer, 2002). He is currently a Principal Scientist and team leader power management in the Central Research and Development Department of NXP Semiconductors in Eindhoven, as well as a part-time professor in the field of “Embedded Control in Energy Management” at Eindhoven University of Technology. His main research interests include electronics for PhotoVoltaic systems, DC/DC converters, battery management systems for electrical vehicles and class-D amplifiers.

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