APEC 2026 Multimedia Highlights: Bidirectional GaN, Multichip Modules, and Mini Regulators

Here’s a sampler of the new developments editors James Morra and Lee Goldberg got to see during their visit to APEC 2026.

What you'll learn:

  • Take a guided tour of Renesas’ reference design for a 500-W single-stage solar microinverter that draws on the power of its latest 650-V bidirectional GaN switch devices.
  • Explore TI’s new family of isolated power modules based on its IsoShield multichip packaging technology.
  • Learn how Noah Sturcken, co-founder and CEO of Ferric, intends to solve tomorrow’s biggest challenges involved with feeding power-hungry GPUs.

Between exploring the far horizons of the Power Universe and indulging in over-proof Tiki concoctions, editors James Morra and Lee Goldberg had an enlightening visit to APEC 2026, in San Antonio Texas. The multimedia selections presented here are only a sample of the wonders featured in our special APEC news roundup:   

Renesas 650-V Bidirectional GaN Could Rewrite the Power-Conversion Playbook

Renesas’ reference design for a 500-W single-stage solar microinverter draws on the power of its latest 650-V bidirectional GaN switch devices. The story includes a video in which Pietro Scalia, head of power system architecture and marketing at Renesas, runs through the technical details of the new reference design and its advantages over conventional inverters. Read, watch, and learn by clicking on this link.

TI “Transforms” Isolated Power Modules with Multichip Packaging Tech

Texas Instruments revealed a family of isolated power modules based on its IsoShield multichip packaging technology, claiming 3X higher power density than discrete solutions in isolated power designs.

The Rise of the Integrated Voltage Regulator

Ferric is positioning its integrated voltage regulators as “power chiplets" that can be co-packaged with high-performance GPUs and other power-hungry chips to more effectively manage the enormous currents they draw. In his latest Inside Electronics podcast, Electronic Design’s James Morra meets with Noah Sturcken, Ferric’s co-founder and CEO. He explains what’s wrong with how GPUs and other big processors in data centers are powered today, and how IVRs can help solve technical challenges.

>>Check out more of our APEC 2026 coverage

Dreamstime_Dmytro-Skrypnykov_245154580
dreamstime_dmytroskrypnykov_245154580_promo
Stay on top of the technologies and trends in focus at APEC 2026 and hear from industry insiders on the state of the power electronics industry.

About the Author

Lee Goldberg

Contributing Editor

Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.

Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.

Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.

Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.

Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series

Sign up for our eNewsletters
Get the latest news and updates

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!