Forward-looking innovations and trends

Around 3,000 exhibitors and 78,000 visitors are expected to attend electronica 2008. Leading international companies and experts will present the latest technological developments on the exhibition stands and during forums and conferences. The motto of the trade fair “Get the whole picture“ is apt. In 14 exhibition halls the world’s leading trade fair for components, systems and applications will present the complete spectrum of electronics ranging from semiconductors, embedded systems, displays, sensor technology, measuring and test equipment, and electromechanics/system peripherals (previously classified under interconnection systems/components, switches, relays, keyboards and casing technology) through to electronic design. The focus areas – automotive, wireless, embedded systems and micronano systems – will be presented by means of separate exhibition sections and a series of talks. Two 2-day conferences will also be held on the subjects of automotive and wireless.

Automobile electronics will play an important role at the trade fair. Firstly as a focus area in Hall A6 and secondly in the electronica automotive conference “electronics meets automotive“. A total of around 1,200 companies will present products and applications relating to automobile electronics. The organizer of the electronica automotive conference is Messe München with electronica 2008. It is being supported in this respect by the German Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (ZVEI). The conference program was developed jointly by Messe München and the Conference Program Committee whose members include high-ranking representatives from leading companies in the automobile industry, their component suppliers and system suppliers, for example BMW AG, Infineon Technologies, DaimlerChrysler, Brose Fahrzeugteile, TRW Automotive, Valeo, Freescale Semiconductor and Tyco Electronics. The main items on the conference agenda are topics such as hybrid vehicles, low cost cars or the i-car. Talks will be given by experts from world leading companies, for instance Yin Tongyao, CEO of Chery Automobile from China, Dr. Dirk Rossberg from BMW, Peter Lück from Volkswagen, Hans-Peter Feustel from Continental and Tsutomu Miki from Reneasas Technology.

The topics on the first day of the conference are aimed at experts holding senior management positions in automobile manufacturers, automotive component suppliers and systems suppliers. The agenda on the second day is geared towards the needs of experts from technical management. The conference will take place in the Munich International Congress Center (ICM) and will start on 10 November 2008, i.e. one day before electronica is scheduled to begin. The conference language on both days will be English.

Leading experts from the field of wireless technology will meet at the ICM on November 12 th and 13 th, 2008 when the “Wireless Congress: Systems & Applications“ is held for the fifth time. This Congress also has an international flavor and is aimed, for example, at developers, system designers, technology decision-makers and systems managers. Every technical aspect of current and future wireless technologies, primarily for industrial use, will be described in around 50 talks.

The CEO Round Table on the first day of electronica 2008 will provide a unique opportunity to experience the CEOs of world leading companies live in podium discussions. The topic of semiconductors and climate protection will be discussed by Peter Bauer, President & CEO of Infineon Technologies AG, Rich Beyer, Chairman of the Board & CEO of Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Carlo Bozotti, President & CEO of STMicroelectronics, and Brian L. Halla, CEO & Chairman of the Board of National Semiconductor.

electronica 2008 will present the latest innovations in the electronics industry in a total of 7 forums. The programs will be arranged according to topics and will have different focal points. The electronica Forum, for example, will examine the topic of financing in a Finance Day featuring information on the promotional infrastructure of public lenders, start-up financing for cleantech companies, a discussion session with international venture capital investors and a case study of private equity in the electronics industry.

The German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) will present a study on embedded software. A podium discussion on the topic of careers will be held under the motto “Young Professionals”. As part of the ZVEI campaign “Superstudium.de“, between 15 and 20 school classes from grades 11 to 13 will be invited to the trade fair. They will see at first hand on the exhibition stands what tasks engineers perform and what career opportunities are available.

The subject-matter of Distribution will examine the question “Challenge for distribution: component traceability and piracy“. The program is being drawn up in cooperation with the Trade Association for Electronic Component Distribution (FBDi).

The topic of energy efficiency will feature in every exhibition hall during electronic 2008. Six talks examining this topic from different aspects will be given during the ZVEI Forum: What potential energy savings are possible in lights and drive units through high-performance semiconductors; what contribution can the semiconductor industry make towards halting climate change; what potential do digital lighting solutions contain; and what form do energy-intelligent solutions take.

Other topics in the ZVEI Forum will include traceability, product piracy and the environment with the focal point REACH, i.e. the EU Regulation on the “Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals“ which came into force on June 1 st, 2006.

Visitors to the e-Signage Forum in Hall A2 can look forward to obtaining specialist information on one of the fastest growing application areas for electronic displays. The presentation will comprise an exhibition and a talk forum with information on the market and technology. Functions and characteristics of these displays, the demands on content and installation, and best practice examples will also be presented.

The market is placing increasingly higher demands on suppliers of high-performance electronics in regard to power density, efficiency, the lowest possible footprint, performance quality and reliability. The trade fair will present related solutions such as new converter structures and high-performance semiconductors. More and more importance is also being attached to standardization. A higher standardization level is attained, for example, by using modular power electronics building blocks (PEBBS). Current converter technologies will also play an important role in solar electricity generation in future. The market for photovoltaics is currently experiencing growth rates of between 30 % and 50 %. In 2007 alone, solar systems with a total output of between 3 and 4 gigawatts (GW) were installed. The total capacity of the systems installed throughout the world corresponds to 10 GW (position in 2007). One interesting sub-aspect: Around 40 different types of power supply ICs are used to convert solar energy into electricity. They include, in particular, ICs with low-frequency converters (50 Hz or 60 Hz), high-frequency converters (16 kHz to 100 kHz) and transformer-less ICs. Transformer-less ICs attain an efficiency of 97 % (with bipolar switching) or 98 % (with unipolar switching) whereas low-frequency and high-frequency converters have a maximum efficiency of up to 95 %. The future standard target will be at least 98 %. The trend among high-performance semiconductors in solar electricity generation is also towards the replacement of the traditional basic material of silicon by silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) for the benefit of reduced on resistance and lower conduction voltage.

Klaus Dittrich, CEO of Messe München, believes that electronica 2008 will be a great success: “electronica, the world’s leading trade fair for electronics, is staged every two years in Munich. This event presents the innovations which will change our lives tomorrow and also shape the future, for example in the intelligent use of our energy resources, reductions in fuel consumption, an increase in safety, greater convenience in mobility, the provision of communication systems spanning the globe or the opening up of entirely new perspectives in health care. Top managers from the global electronics industry and its customers come to Munich for four days to initiate business transactions, discuss technological trends and, finally, set the course for the future.“

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