Volume 9
2006

By Judy Miller
Associate Publisher

249 W. 17th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011-5300
212.204.4246
Fax 913.514.9245
jmiller2@prismb2b.com

Calendar Snapshot September Cover Story: Test Equipment Power Semiconductors Power Management Power Systems EMC & Power Protection Lifetime Achievement Award Honors an individual's contributions and lifetime of commitment to the power electronics industry. Bonus Distribution: Convergence, PSW, October 24-26, Long Beach, CA Literature Bag Inserts

Prism Business Media
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PH: 913-341-1300

Dear Electronics Marketer:

Selling solutions always involves adding value and your advertising message should be specific as to how this is achieved.

Take a look below at the editorial lineup. From the cover feature on thermal, to the four deep technical articles on passives, circuit protection, motor control and integrated power switches — the August issue of Power Electronics Technology offers real time solutions to our readers.

Power Electronics Technology has been offering solutions to a dedicated  audience of over 40,000 qualified design engineers involved in power for over 30 years!

Our August issue, offers you a golden opportunity to get your "solution " message to this audience at the very time they are sorting out the critical issues facing these technologies.

Best regards,

Judy Miller
Associate Publisher
212-204-4246

Cover Story: Thermal Management/Sensors&Transducers:
A Next Generation Cooling Fan for Laptop  PCs

Laptop/notebook PC cooling fans demand low noise and high efficiency. One way to improve efficiency in the application and thereby extend battery life, is to switch from single-phase brushless fan motors to three-phase motors. However, until now, cost pressures have prohibited this move. In this article, authors Brad Marshall, USMicro-III, Webster, MA; Chris Petersen, Quadrant Systems, Bourne, MA; and Kiyoaki Hodohara, Asahi Kasei Microsystems, Tokyo, Japan, describe a new technology that allows use of three-phase fan motors without the usual cost penalty. The key to this concept is a method of commutating a three-phase brushless dc motor with one Hall sensor rather than the three that are normally required.

Power Management:
The Modified Sine Wave Inverter Revisited

In this feature, author James H. Hahn, University of Missouri-Rolla Engineering Education Center, St. Louis, Missouri, explains how a sine wave inverter can be modified to produce a much closer approximation to a sine wave, at a relatively small increase in manufacturing costs. The design utilizes switching technology in the power stage, assuring high efficiency.

Power Semiconductors/Circuit Protection:
Short-Circuit Considerations in Offline Flyback Converter Designs Using an Integrated Power Switch

Designers are increasingly using integrated power switches that combine the MOSFET and controller ICs in one package. However, in these circuits, as in any other, the short-circuit condition must be safely accommodated by the power supply design. In this feature, author Paul L. Schimel, Chicago Power Center, Fairchild Semiconductor, discusses the issues surrounding implementation of short-circuit protection in flyback converter applications.

 Power Semiconductors:
Trench IGBTs Optimize Appliance Motor Control

Development of IGBTs with a trench structure has continued over the last 20 years and these devices are extensively used in high-voltage and high-power applications. In this article, the author presents the latest trench IGBT technology optimized for appliance motor control applications. Vijay Bolloju, International Rectifier, El Segundo, CA, describes how these devices reduce losses and deliver up to 60% more RMS current than the previous generation of devices, leading to ~ 50% reduction in heatsink size and ~ 25% reduction in the integrated module size.

Passive Components
New Alternatives to Costly Tantalum Nitride Resistors

As concerns about the moisture sensitivity of standard nickel chromium precision resistors persists, tantalum nitride resistors continue to grow in popularity.  However, a breakthrough in the production of precision film resistors now provides manufacturers with a cost-effective alternative to the costly tantalum nitride resistors without jeopardizing performance, particularly in harsh environments. In this feature, Kory Schroeder, Stackpole Electronics, Raleigh, NC, explains the resistors made using this new technique and describes how they outperform their nichrome predecessors, while providing the same anti-corrosive characteristics. 

Power Design:
Slope Compensation for Mild Inductor Saturation

Peak current control has long been a popular PWM method in switching power supplies and for just as long it’s been known that when operating in the continuous conduction mode, for duty cycles greater than 50%, slope compensation is needed to assure stability.   In this article, Cecil Deisch, Tellabs Operations, Naperville, IL, discusses a slope compensation technique that permits mild saturation in rare worst-case situations in exchange for use of a smaller and sometimes cheaper inductor core.

Executive Viewpoint:
Next-Generation Motor Control Inverter Technology

In this commentary, author Michael Dreyer, Vice President and General Manager, Laird Technologies, St. Louis, MO, discusses why direct-bonded copper IGBT-based industrial motor control inverters are about to be eclipsed by a new and exciting breed of motor control inverters that employ insulated metal substrates (IMS). As the author explains, “IMS technology will unlock new opportunities in untapped areas of industrial motor controls.” He also explains how  “the United States and Europe...have not yet capitalized on the full potential of IMS technology, which means these regions are potentially an untapped market, ripe for profitable and far-reaching expansion.”

Radars/Surveillance
High-resolution radar system modeling with MATLAB/Simulink

Although, modeling is a cost-effective way to create “proof-of-concept” results for novel radar architectures, they are difficult to implement due to  considerable number of variables and conditions to be taken into account. With new advances in modeling software and computer speeds, modeling and  simulation are becoming more attractive. In this article, author, Dmitriy Garmatyuk, Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Miami University, Oxfor, OH, shows that simulating the performance of high-resolution imaging radar system is achievable using simulation tools like MATLAB/Simulink. It uses Simulink’s large number of pre-made blocks to model high-resolution radar system such as the synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

Networking
New opportunity for real-time, pervasive data

This article explores the evolution from data networks to pervasive data.  With pervasive data, all information is available anytime at any place, without consideration of its origin. Stan Schneider, Real Time Innovations, Inc., offers a high-level, practical view of the state of distributed data transport, storage, and management.  It starts with the basic state of the art of real-time networking middleware, addresses the tough performance issues, and finally develops a vision for the pervasive-information future.

Software Radio
JTRS airborne antenna for subsonic aircraft, ship, and vehicular applications

Based on a universal modernization program, the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) is to be used by all branches of the military to communicate using a single type of radio.  This requires a single antenna operating over the full JTRS band of frequencies. Author Joseph Jahoda, CTO and Founder, Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc, discusses a proprietary high, efficient, sensitive, accurate (HESA) technology that provides a flexible configuration of multiple antenna elements in a small form factor.  It implements various elements and their associated electronic components such as ferrite and dielectric loading elements; bandpass/multiplexer circuitry; and propriety variants of conventional antenna configurations, resulting in a more accurate, sensitive and efficient antenna.

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Now you can in one DVD with the History of Power Electronics!

Presenting the first-ever, historical look back at the last thirty years in the power electronics industry. This ground breaking DVD is a searchable database of articles and issue covers dating back to the launch of our magazine in 1975, then called Solid-State Power Conversion. Designed as a research tool for electronics engineers, the DVD offers you the evolution of the industry at your fingertips!

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