Among the areas examined in this report are the technology, architecture and packaging trends affecting the industry, as well as a thorough discussion of new and emerging technologies and materials, potential threats and the latest regulatory developments and standards. Over 25 tables, graphs and illustrations are presented depicting a variety of power system schematics and comparisons, architectural standards, product introductions, packaging solutions, efficiency standards and other relevant information. The focus of this comprehensive analysis provides decision makers with an insightful look into the current and future opportunities and threats available in theembedded ac-dc power supply market.
Over the next few years, ac-dc power supplies will represent a faster growth opportunity than board-mounted dc-dc converter modules. This is a major development and marks a significant departure from past patterns. Historically, power converter makers have turned to dc-dc converter modules for high growth rates. That will no longer be possible. As a result of numerous factors, ac-dc power supplies now represent a better long-term growth opportunity than dc-dc converter modules (see Graphs 1-3). Despite a global economic slowdown, the outlook for the worldwide embedded ac-dc power supply market is expected to remain strong. Evolving powering architectures, packaging trends, and global standards for improvements in energy efficiency are combining with developments in advanced components and new markets for ac-dc power and to create new opportunities for makers of ac-dc power supplies.
The emergence of LED lighting as a major application area is another instance where single-output power supplies will have a strong positive impact on the market. More and more often, high-power LEDs are leaving their niche in small displays and are used in mainstream lighting applications requiring power levels of 100W or greater. At the same time, demand for lower-wattage LED power supplies will also remain strong. Given this increasing demand for LED lighting applications, a growing number of companies are introducing ac-dc power supplies designed exclusively for high-brightness LED lighting applications. In addition, there are a number of new and important packaging trends and applications moving into the market. The growing influence of the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA), which is targeted at the requirements for the next generation of carrier-grade communications equipment including telecom and data systems centers, is especially important. The ATCA architecture provides high levels of availability via redundancy and hot swapping techniques, which will provide a host of opportunities for embedded ac-dc power supplies.
