IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - December 2022 - 43

FIG 2 Electronic technologies deployed in a modern power tool.
electric tools have enabled professionals
in the skilled trades to cut the cord
on what were traditionally ac corded
tools. This trend has continued with
adoption of battery electric tools displacing
historically pneumatic, hydraulic,
and even small internal combustion
engines.
Alongside the continued evolution
of battery-operated tools and
equipment, comes the natural progression
of improved intelligence.
A decade ago, cordless tools utilized
Ni-Cd batteries and small
8-bit microcontrollers. Fast forward to today, cordless
tools are now utilizing the latest Li-Ion battery technology
coupled with brushless motors controlled by 32-bit
MCUs with several sensors. Battery operated solutions
now deliver several kilowatts of power in application and
are capable of more functionality than ever before, such
as wireless communication. This wireless communication
can provide more control and access to information
for users of the tools including the ability to track usage,
manage them in their inventory, and report out on each
tool's performance.
Electronics are a driving force for both the intelliOne
of the ways the
jobsite of the future is
being trans formed is
through the deployment
of cordless tools
with smart features.
Ultimately, this will help the skilled
trades to evolve, be more sustainable,
and be more productive.
Future Trends for Efficient and
Smart Computing
Processing the data provided by the
trillion sensors and other devices to
extract valuable information requires
extreme computing capabilities
(Machine Learning training and inference
are just examples of the computing
" bottleneck " ). As we try to
increase capabilities by employing
deep-submicron process technologies, we realize that
increasingly more of the power is lost in the parasitic elements,
both at the silicon level (interconnects) and package
level (Power Delivery Network).
A multi-stage conversion is required, where the fast
gence and power capability of power tools. The tools of
tomorrow will adopt more sensors, computing power,
and connectivity to drive productivity on the jobsite, as
shown in Figure 2. These smart, connected tools offer
reduced operating costs (through optimized performance
and geotracking) and improved safety (tools that
automatically power down if the operator loses control).
and accurate final stage provides fine-grain, dynamic
regulation. Removing all possible parasitic elements
implies placing the converter as close to the load as
possible. Vertical integration (stacking the functions
within the package at sub-100 µm distance) is the only
way to reduce parasitic inductance to acceptable levels.
A conversion ratio >2 is required to reduce ohmic
losses in the package interconnect, as the loads are
now approaching 1,000 A at sub-1 V supply. Heterogeneous
integration of different semiconductor technologies
as well as passive components, leveraging
high-volume semiconductor and advanced back-end
manufacturing
processes
enables
the More-thanMoore
vision. Figure 3 shows an example of this
December 2022 z IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 43
IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - December 2022

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