Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD
Welcome to the September issue of Power Systems Design Europe. It feels like PCIM has just passed, and now electronica is on the horizon. It is the largest show in the industry, and it’s one that I always look forward to visiting every two years. Unlike PCIM which is very targeted at power designers, electronica covers advancements in every aspect of the industry. I love the chance to talk to people outside the power area of the industry and find out the latest news and innovations. If your company will be exhibiting at the event and launching new products, please drop me a mail at ally@powerssytemsdesign.com and I will try my hardest to visit the stand over the course of the show.
Our Special Report this month looks at Lighting and Illumination. At first glance, lighting may not be the first topic you think of that pushes the limits of power electronics, but the rise in popularity of LED lighting has given a challenge to the power market. Unlike incandescent light bulbs that can be driven directly from the mains, LEDs have pretty complex power requirements, and more so if dimming, colour mixing or synchronization of chains of LEDs are required. To accomplish this needs very accurate delivery of power and precise timing.
The first article in this month’s Special Report was written by Jason Bai from Analog Devices. In the piece, Jason talks about why reliable LED managers are required for vehicle front lights. The market for intelligent front light systems is growing rapidly and more manufacturers are adding adaptive driving beam systems that combine glare-free high beams, LEDs and matrix lighting to provide a range of features, which include adaptive lighting functions such as cornering light and dynamic curve light. These systems are flexible, efficient, reliable and allow personalization and artistic effects to be added to the vehicle. The LED manager plays a crucial role by efficiently managing current for matrix and pixel lighting. The article discusses the role of the LED manager and how to get the best results from using one.
The second article in the Special Report this month was written by Raul Wang and Ron Demcko from Kyocera-AVX. It looks at the powering of LEDs, and in particular, how standard, polymer, and hybrid aluminum electrolytics can be combined to balance their strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of LED driver designs to provide optimal lighting performance.
The final article in this month’s feature was provided by Cree, and it concerns colour LEDs, In the article, the authors describe how multi-channel LEDs can optimize lighting applications and how to select and implement the correct driver for the job.
Alongside the Special Report in this month’s magazine, we will cover general articles of relevance to power engineers in our Tech Focus section, along with a range of news and views from the industry.
Enjoy the issue!
Best Regards,
Ally Winning
European Editor, PSD
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