This article is part of the Innovators 2023 issue.
Steve Sandler has been involved with power-system engineering for over 40 years. He is the founder of Picotest.com, a company specializing in instruments and accessories for high-performance power- and distributed-system testing. He frequently lectures and leads workshops internationally on the topics of power integrity and distributed power-system design and is a Keysight Certified EDA expert.
Steve publishes articles and books related to power-supply and power-distribution-network (‘PDN’) performance. His latest book, co-authored with Anto K. Davis, is called Power Integrity Using ADS. Other books from Steve include Switched-Mode Power Supply Simulation with SPICE and Power Integrity: Measuring, Optimizing and Troubleshooting Power-Related Parameters in Electronics Systems.
He's the recipient of DesignCon and EDICON Best Paper Awards and the Jim Williams ACE Contributor of the Year Award presented by Linear Technology co-founder, Bob Dobkin. He's also a two-time Test & Measurement Test Engineer of the Year Finalist.
Steve helps engineers around the world to architect, design, troubleshoot, and optimize advanced power-delivery networks. In his prominent position, he's exposed to some of the world’s toughest design challenges. Over the years, load currents have evolved from tens of amps to thousands of amps at voltages commonly less than 1 V, with output impedances now measured in hundreds of microhms or less. Daily, he devises new methods and test equipment to analyze tough problems, interpret test results, and guide engineers toward optimum solutions.
Engineers reach out to Steve via LinkedIn or e-mail. He's very generous in sharing his time, opinions, and expert knowledge with those who are willing to learn. Over time and based on his experience with solving hard problems, his Picotest has created unique adapters, cables, probes, injectors, isolators, amplifiers, modulators, software, and training materials
Steve was the founder of AEi Systems, a well-established leader in worst-case circuit analysis, modeling, and troubleshooting of satellite and other high-reliability systems.
Read more articles in the Innovators 2023 issue.