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A MESSAGE FROM THE Chair


John Shen, General Chair, ISPSD 2018

Dear Colleagues,


It is my great honor and pleasure to welcome you on behalf of the Organizing Committee to the 30th IEEE International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs (ISPSD 2018) in the beautiful city of Chicago.

ISPSD 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of ISPSD. Since its first meeting in Japan in 1988, ISPSD has become the world’s premier forum for technical discussions in all areas of power semiconductor devices and power integrated circuits. The global power semiconductor industry has steadily grown into a $30 billion sector over the past three decades, enabling energy-efficient applications such as solar power, wind power, electric vehicles, ICT infrastructures, lighting and industrial drives. Over 1600 technical papers have been presented at ISPSD conferences. Most of the breakthrough power device technologies were first reported at ISPSD before they became phenomenal commercial successes. ISPSD 2018 will celebrate 30 years of excellence in advancing power semiconductor technologies with a series of technical and social events during the conference. In particular, we will induct 32 distinguished colleagues into the newly established ISPSD Hall of Fame during the Wednesday 30th Anniversary Celebration Banquet. As a special celebration gift, we present you a complete collection of ISPSD proceedings 1988--2018 (including the two Electrochemical Society Workshops on High Voltage and Smart Power Devices and ICs in 1987 and 1989), thanks to the support of IEEE, IEEJ, ECS, and a group of dedicated volunteers.

Our plenary session on Monday will start with an opening keynote speech on “ISPSD: A 30 Year Journey in Advancing Power Semiconductor Technology” from three founding members of the conference, Drs. Ayman Shibib (USA), Leo Lorentz (Germany), and Hiromichi Ohashi (Japan), and followed by three other plenary speeches on “Silicon, GaN and SiC: There’s Room for All” from Mr. Larry Spaziani, GaN Systems Inc., Canada, “Si Wafer Technology for Power Devices: A Review and Future Directions” from Mr. Norihisa Machida, SUMCO, Japan, and “The Future of Power Semiconductors: an EU Perspective” from Dr. Bert De Colvenaer, ECSEL, Belgium, respectively. We are extremely fortunate to have these distinguished leaders from industry to share their visions and wisdoms with us.

ISPSD 2018 features 50 oral and 79 poster presentations on both silicon and WBG power devices which are selected from 245 abstracts from 23 countries/regions. On Sunday, we offer 6 short courses on a series of current and practical topics in the field.

Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, and an international hub for finance, commerce, industry, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. The city of Chicago is the birth place of modern skyscrapers and a living museum of modern architecture. ISPSD 2018 is held in the historical Palmer House Hilton Hotel in the beautiful and safe downtown district (“Loop”) of Chicago with numerous museums, parks, theaters, restaurants, and shops within a walking distance. We trust you and your family will enjoy your stay in Chicago. On Monday, we will host our Welcome Reception in the splendid Empire Room of the Palmer House. On Wednesday, we expect to see you all at the 30th Anniversary Celebration Banquet to enjoy Chicago jazz/blues music, wines and delicious meals. Our family and companion programs offer exciting city tours on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday.

We are pleased to acknowledge the support of our Gold Partners PowerAmerica and Sinopower Semiconductor, and Silver Partners Applied Materials, ShinDengen, Synopsys, and Tektronix. Their support and participation have created a very strong industrial relevance. We will have 17 exhibitors in the exhibition/coffee area (Salon 4-9 on the 3rd Floor) Monday through Thursday. The exhibitors will showcase their state-of-the-art technologies, products, and solutions, creating a highly interactive networking environment when mixing with the poster sessions and coffee breaks in the same space.

I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the members of the organizing committee, the technical program committee, and the advisory committee, who with hard work and selfless dedication have made this conference possible. I wanted to thank each and every one of you as a presenter, an attendee, an exhibitor, a volunteer, or any combined role of the above for your contribution and participation.

Once again I welcome you to ISPSD 2018. Together we help deliver a more sustainable future.


Sincerely Yours,

John Shen
General Chair, ISPSD 2018