Dartmouth University is partnering with GE Research, Analog Devices, Empower Semiconductor, and Ampt to form the first National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Industry-University Collaborative Research Center (IUCRC), focusing on integrated power management and delivery for a wide range of electrified systems.

Providing companies with unprecedented access to Dartmouth's R&D expertise, facilities, and intellectual property, the new Power Management Integration Center (PMIC) will address a range of challenges facing next-generation power electronics.

“Power is in almost everything,” says Dartmouth engineering professor and PMIC co-director Jason Stauth. “We want to remove technology bottlenecks and help make electronics smaller, more efficient, and cheaper for both industry and consumers.”

Micro-electronics and integrated circuits have revolutionized computing, communications, and information technology. However, as devices have shrunk, power management hardware remains a key obstacle to further reducing systems' size and cost in virtually all applications, from mobile communications and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to electrified systems in automobiles, aircraft, and spacecraft.

Focusing on integrated power management circuits and systems on a chip, PMIC will work to develop new ways of achieving extreme power density and efficiency with the potential to transform transportation, communication, and energy generation and consumption.

Innovations in this area can bring significant improvements to a wide variety of applications, including battery life for mobile platforms, solar and electrochemical energy storage, electric cars and other electrified transportation, as well as overall cost, carbon emissions, and national energy security.

Member companies will share in both the cost and benefit of cutting-edge R&D and gain a higher return on investment through jointly funded research. Membership comes with up to 12 votes on the IAB, which steers the Center and provides input into plans for PMIC expansion.

Research will strive to advance technology for power circuits, systems, and components including:

• New circuit topologies, power management ICs, and discrete power converters
• Next-generation passive components
• Integrated passive components for high-density power management
• System design, optimization, and control
• Reliability and robustness in power electronic circuits
• New circuit architectures and design techniques that leverage high-level integration

PMIC will emphasize passive component innovation and integration, magnetic materials and component design, and new high-density resonant structures for power delivery.

For more information, visit https://engineering.dartmouth.edu.