GaN Wine Lounge

In this video, Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio hosts Steve Sandler, Managing Director at Picotest and pioneer of nearly 50 years in power electronics, at the GaN Wine Lounge. Steve shares his journey from audio power amplifiers and space shuttle programs to leading-edge power integrity and GaN-based measurement solutions. They explore how gallium nitride (GaN) changes design practices, the crucial role of EPC in making GaN accessible, real-world reliability insights, and why GaN is key for AI data centers, robotics, and ultra-high-current systems - plus what still keeps Steve excited about the future of power electronics.

Ray Ridley, founder and CEO of Ridley Engineering, joins us in this episode of GaN Wine Lounge to share his decades of hands-on experience in power electronics. From the early transition from bipolar transistors to MOSFETs to today’s rapid rise of GaN, Ray has witnessed - and shaped - multiple technology waves. In this conversation, he reflects on GaN’s real-world challenges and advantages, the importance of practical engineering know-how, and why the future of power design belongs to those willing to get into the lab and experiment.

In this episode of GaN Wine Lounge, host Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio speaks with Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC, and Rohan Samsi, VP GaN Business Division, Renesas, about how combining EPC’s low-voltage GaN leadership with Renesas’ high-voltage portfolio, global reach, and manufacturing strength will accelerate GaN adoption. They explore key applications from automotive and industrial to AI systems and humanoid robots, outline Renesas’ plan to secure internal GaN wafer fabrication in Japan, and explain how robust second sourcing and ecosystem support will help bring GaN to truly mainstream, high-volume markets.

In this episode, we welcome Alejandro Pozo, Director of Applications Engineering at EPC. Together we step inside the lab to see how GaN reference designs are evaluated in practice, using automated test setups, oscilloscope measurements, and thermal imaging. The conversation offers a relaxed, behind-the-scenes look at how engineers translate device performance into meaningful efficiency and reliability data for real power converter designs.

In this new episode of GaN Wine Lounge, we sit down with Steve Colino, Vice President of Strategic Technical Sales at EPC, to explore a career that spans four decades at the forefront of power semiconductor innovation. From early silicon MOSFET development to today’s gallium nitride - enabled AI power architectures, Steve shares firsthand insights into how power conversion has evolved - and why AI is forcing a fundamental rethink of system design. We discuss EPC’s role in enabling next-generation power density, advanced ISOP architectures, and what Steve would do differently if he could travel back in time.

In this episode of the GaN Wine Lounge, Maurizio sits down with Michael de Rooij, GaN Applications Fellow at EPC, to explore how gallium nitride is reshaping modern power electronics. Drawing on decades of experience spanning UPS systems, renewable energy, medical imaging, and high-power converters, Michael shares deep insights into the challenges of today’s power architectures - particularly for AI servers and high-density computing. The discussion dives into EPC’s latest GaN-based solutions, including multilevel PFC and ISOP converters, highlighting their efficiency, scalability, and potential across data centers, robotics, and automotive applications.

Welcome to the very first episode of GaN Wine Lounge, a new video series where we explore the technologies, ideas, and people shaping the future of gallium nitride (GaN). In this debut episode, EPC’s Maurizio sits down with Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC. Together, they discuss the journey from silicon MOSFETs to GaN, the key drivers behind this transition, and what GaN means for cost, reliability, AI infrastructure, and emerging applications such as humanoid robotics.