I have yet to meet someone who likes power cords.

Take for example Keith. In figure 1 is a photo of all the power-related accessories Keith lugs around in his backpack to make certain he will be able to run his phone, tablet, and computer wherever he goes. What Keith and others may not realize is that the technology is available that can eliminate every one of these cords – today! So, why is it taking so long for wireless power solutions to become a household technology?

Certainly, wireless charging is not a new topic having been talked about for quite a while. But now, with a recently developed innovative approach to the design of transmission and receiver antennae (coils), ubiquitous wireless power is ready to be incorporated into our daily lives throughout furniture, walls, and floors to efficiently and economically power all the gadgets we need for our electronic lives.

Written By Sanjay Gupta, VP Product Management, WiTricity

While the possibilities of magnetic-resonance-based wireless charging are very exciting, the technology is frequently misunderstood by those not involved in the industry.

Consider the devices we use every day: From smartphones and smartwatches and potentially electric vehicles, electronics are becoming as mobile as people themselves. We rely and expect our devices to be charged at all times, ready-to-use when needed. But as it currently stands, we still must plug in our phones, our electric cars, and our smartwatches, tethering us to cords and cables, triggering range anxiety and obsessing about the remaining juice on our devices.

Televisions can get their content wirelessly, but there is one set of wires they still need: those in their power cord. The consumer electronics industry has floated ideas for freeing TVs from their power cords, but this goal remains elusive. There are several reasons, such as the difficultly of meeting high-power requirements for large-screen TVs and the need for identifying an economical technology. Nevertheless, eGaN FETs could play a role in making TVs truly cordless devices.

Every year in January 2017, the world’s consumer electronics community gathers in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to see, learn and discuss the latest innovations and products available in the world of electronics.

More than 3,800 exhibitors spread out across 2.47 million net square feet of exhibit space, is the location where over 170,000 industry professionals, 50,000 outside of the U.S. wander, ogle, and “play with” the latest electronic devices.

In January of 2016 I made several predictions for the then-nascent year. Predictions were made for new markets such as wireless charging, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, and advances in medical diagnostics and internet access. Progress in these markets was made on all fronts, sometimes faster and sometimes slower than anticipated. So here we are about to start a new year and, perhaps foolishly I am ready once again to predict the future.

GaN technology is disruptive, in the best sense of the word, making possible what was once thought to be impossible – eGaN® technology is 10 times faster, significantly smaller, and with higher performance at costs comparable to silicon-based MOSFETs. The inevitability of GaN displacing the aging power MOSFET is becoming clearer with domination of most existing applications and enabling new ones.

Drones are on the rise. In fact, use of drones is only limited by our imagination – from merely recreational (think “drone races”) to delivering packages (as promised by Amazon) to a range of life-saving military uses (such as real-time battlefield imaging). Emerging high speed, small size, and highly efficient gallium nitride power semiconductors are key contributors to the expansion of drone applications, including onboard equipment such as LiDAR imaging and navigation systems and 4G/5G communication transmitters. Let’s take a look at how GaN technology and the expansion of drone applications intersect.

A drone, or more technically, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft without a pilot on board. Control of the drone is accomplished either under remote control from the ground or under control of an onboard computer.

Although drones originated mostly in military applications, civilian drones now vastly outnumber military drones, with estimates of over 9 million consumer drones to be sold in 2016 world wide for a total market value of near $3 billion.

The contribution that gallium nitride semiconductor technology is making in medical applications can be measured not only in dollars saved, but also more importantly in its contribution to the speed of intervention, diagnostic accuracy and patient comfort. Because of its superior performance and small size, GaN components (FETs and ICs) are enabling end applications such as wireless power charging, higher resolution diagnostics, and precision surgical robotics. These applications are improving ways health care is being provided.