Curiosity and Resilience, Advances for 2025, GaN Technology, Battery, SiC Acquisition, Superconductors, Renewable Energy and more!
Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
Content Editor & Technical Writer | Ph.D in Physics | Power Electronics, Renewable Energy, Embedded Systems, Quantum Computing
Thank you for being part of our growing community of over 13,810 subscribers! Your support and contributions make this newsletter possible. As we approach the end of the year, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas filled with joy, love, peace, and special moments shared with your loved ones. May 2025 be a year of great achievements and exciting personal and professional successes.
Please note that there will be no newsletters for the next two editions as I take a short break for the holidays. The next issue will be on January 9.
Dear Friends,
We are almost at the end of 2024, with time to examine and reflect on the past year, as well as look ahead to 2025 and the advances it will bring.
I am pleased to share two of my articles on general perspectives regarding power electronics and embedded technologies. These two topics are vast and complex, and it is impossible to address everything, but I hope they can provide intriguing and useful insights.
As always, your feedback and comments are welcome and essential to better understand these markets, learn, and improve myself. For this, I want to thank you in advance for your support and insights.
2024 has been a truly unique year: I have had the chance to meet remarkable people and work with top specialists to produce two significant works on gallium nitride and silicon carbide that I believe will become real bibles for professionals in the field. I hope you have had the chance to read them.
The mind is a great tool that determines the opportunities we wish to bring about in our lives and employment. Here is where the important words for the near future—curiosity and resilience—come into play. Curiosity drives us ahead, putting us on new roads, while resilience gives us the strength to overcome obstacles along the way. These two traits complement each other and are the real engines of personal and communal advancement. When combined, they drive all individual and group development.
Curiosity is the spark that fuels the desire to discover, explore new horizons, and never settle for the status quo. It is what drives us to ask questions, look further, and seek answers that perhaps no one has yet found. Never stop thinking, reading, and learning new things...
-TECHNICAL ARTICLES/ANALYSIS-
Power Electronics: Advances on the Horizon for 2025
2024 has been a crucial year for the power electronics sector in terms of development, preparing for radical changes in 2025 and beyond. Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors and artificial-intelligence (AI) integration are primarily driving this change.
WBG technologies such as gallium nitride and silicon carbide are gaining popularity, as they provide exceptional efficiency and performance in uses such as solar energy systems and electric-vehicle inverters. The next frontier is investigating ultra-WBG materials such as diamond and gallium oxide (Ga2O3). In both materials, I anticipate additional advancements in 2025. Although simpler scalability makes Ga2O3 devices more popular, diamond technologies might still have manufacturing difficulties and costs. Both materials will enhance SiC and GaN, thereby promoting next-generation power conversion and electrification technologies.
Revolutionizing Motor Drives with GaN Technology: The Need for a New Packaging System
Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology has proven itself as a transformative solution for high-efficiency power applications. However, issues with heat dissipation, packaging, and reliability are beginning to show as GaN devices find usage in high-voltage and high-frequency applications such as motor drives and electric automobiles. By addressing significant heat management issues, recent advances in innovative packaging technologies aim to alleviate these challenges, therefore reducing costs and improving overall system reliability.
Unleashing the Power of GaN-on-Si Technology
GaN-on-Si is an advanced semiconductor technology that integrates GaN, a wide-bandgap material, onto standard silicon substrates. This approach combines GaN’s superior properties—such as high electron mobility, thermal stability, and ability to handle high voltages—with the cost-effectiveness and scalability of silicon manufacturing. GaN-on-Si is used in several power electronics, RF, and LED applications, offering high efficiency, reduced size, and enhanced performance. In an interview with Power Electronics News, André Bonnardot, CEO of EasyGaN, shares his journey into the semiconductor industry and how it led him to spearhead innovations in GaN-on-silicon technology.
Scaling Battery Innovation: Sila’s Role in the Next Energy Revolution
Sila, a next-generation battery materials company, has launched new Battery Engineering Services to support the transition to advanced anode materials in consumer electronics and micromobility. Expanding on the success of its Titan Silicon technology—which can substitute 100% of graphite in anodes—Sila seeks to meet needs for smaller sizes, quicker charging, and longer lifespans while delivering greater battery performance.
onsemi’s Strategic SiC Acquisition: Strengthening Its Power Portfolio in AI and EV Markets
onsemi has finalized an agreement to acquire Qorvo Inc.’s Silicon Carbide Junction Field-Effect Transistor (SiC JFET) technology business, including its subsidiary United Silicon Carbide, in a $115 million cash transaction. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, Qorvo is well-known for its RF solutions for mobile, infrastructure, and defense uses as well as for its basic technologies. The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2025.
This acquisition emphasizes onsemi’s dedication to improving its EliteSiC power portfolio so that it may satisfy the growing demand for power solutions needing outstanding performance in terms of energy economy.
In an interview with Power Electronics News, Sergio Fissore, VP, of Multi-Market Power Division, Power Solutions Group, onsemi, highlighted how this acquisition makes perfect sense for onsemi: “We have a vertically integrated SiC supply chain, years of experience in power devices, strong customer relationships, extensive domain expertise and a highly complementary power portfolio,” commented Fissore.
Wine Down Friday with TI’s Robert Taylor
Today, we’re thrilled to have as our guest Robert Taylor, General Manager at Texas Instruments (TI). Robert leads industrial power design services and boasts over 20 years of experience, with an impressive portfolio of 15,000+ power supply designs. In this session, we’ll explore Robert’s journey, the challenges and trends shaping power electronics, and the groundbreaking work his team is doing in areas like data centers and DC-powered systems. Beyond work, we’ll get a glimpse into Robert’s passions, from coaching softball to culinary adventures. Get ready for an inspiring and engaging conversation!
The Future of Power Electronics in Renewable Energy
The role of advanced power electronics technologies is strategic in the integration of renewable energy. Just think of advanced semiconductors and power converters, which can facilitate the efficient integration of renewables into modern power grids. Power electronics are essential for the efficient management of energy produced by alternative energy sources. These systems allow the conversion of energy from direct current, typical of solar sources, to alternating current, used in most power grids. Power converters such as inverters are therefore essential to adapt the energy produced to the needs of existing infrastructures. In addition, power electronics allow the dynamic control of energy flow, ensuring that the energy generated is used in the most efficient way possible. This is particularly important to manage the power fluctuations typical of renewable sources, caused by the variability of wind and solar radiation.
Reliable Renewable Energy: Myth or Reality?
Renewable energy such as wind and solar are heavily seen as the most promising means to harness readily available energy that can be converted to electricity. However, to fully supplant established coal-, oil-, or gas-based processes, these systems will require the same level of reliability as these energy-dense alternatives. This limits the underlying power electronics and energy storage systems (ESSs) that support the renewable energy ecosystem. An ever-increasing demand exacerbates the problem: According to McKinsey, over the next 25 years, the electricity demand will increase dramatically, increasing by 40% from 2020 to 2030 and doubling by 2050. This begs the question, how can engineered solutions effectively address the skyrocketing demand for electricity and the hope for reliable renewable energy?
Revolutionizing Superconductors: How Slow Atomic Relaxation Unlocks Quantum Secret
Unconventional superconductors have long intrigued scientists for their ability to conduct electricity without energy loss at higher temperatures than traditional superconductors. Still, these temperatures are well below what would be reasonable for general use. Focusing on an exceptionally slow process called atomic relaxation, a recent study headed by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory provides revolutionary insights into the behavior of these materials. This discovery paves the way for a deeper understanding of the quantum states that govern unconventional superconductivity.
-NEWS-
X-FAB Debuts Next-Generation XbloX Platform to Advance SiC Power MOSFET Technology
X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE has introduced XSICM03, its next-generation XbloX platform, enhancing Silicon Carbide (SiC) process technology for power MOSFETs. This advancement results in a markedly lower cell pitch, facilitating a higher die count per wafer and enhanced on-state resistance while maintaining reliability.
Diodes Incorporated Introduces Automotive-Compliant Synchronous Buck LED Driver for Lighting Applications
Diodes Incorporated has announced the extension of its automotive-compliant LED driver range with the introduction of the AL8891Q. This easy-to-use synchronous Buck LED driver with high-side current sensing delivers up to 2A across a broad input voltage range of 4.5V to 65V. It accommodates a duty cycle of up to 95%, facilitating the operation of extended LED chains. The device offers a versatile, high-efficiency solution for automobile lighting applications, encompassing daytime running lights (DRL), fog lights, turn signals, brake lights, and interior illumination.
Infineon and EVE Energy Team Up to Develop Battery Management Systems for the Automotive Market
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between lithium battery maker Eve Energy Co., Ltd. (EVE Energy) and Infineon Technologies AG. The two businesses want to make it possible for the automotive industry to have complete battery management system solutions. A whole chipset, comprising microcontroller units, balancing and monitoring integrated circuits, power management ICs, drivers, MOSFETs, controller area networks, and sensor devices, will be provided by Infineon as part of the Memorandum of Understanding. The battery management system from EVE Energy may offer excellent safety, high dependability, and cost optimization when outfitted with these solutions. Additionally, it enhances driving enjoyment and energy economy and makes it possible for more precise monitoring, protection, and optimization of electric vehicle battery performance.
NXP Collaborates with geo to Launch the SeeZero Home Energy Management System (HEMS)
NXP Semiconductors has announced that its strategic collaboration with geo (Green Energy Options Ltd.), a premier provider of residential energy management solutions, has facilitated the launch of geo’s SeeZero home energy management system (HEMS). This innovative, Matter-certified HEMS is among the first designed for widespread market deployment.
Ascend Elements to Begin Production of Lithium Carbonate Recovered by Used Lithium-Ion Batteries
Ascend Elements will begin the production of over 99% pure, sustainable lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) extracted from old lithium-ion batteries at their Covington, Georgia facility in 2025. The startup intends to manufacture up to 3,000 metric tons of sustainable, domestically sourced Li2CO3 annually. At now, recycled Li2CO3 is not manufactured on a commercial scale at any location within the United States. The sole additional domestic source of Li2CO3 is a mining operation located in Nevada.
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4dHappy holidays, Maurizio!
Founder @NextGO Epi | Gallium Oxide Technology | 2023 DGKK Prize for Young Scientist | Winner of INAM AdMaLab 2023 Batch |
5dA must-read column for the power electronics industry!