BIOGRAPHY

David Freeman is a Texas Instruments Fellow and engineering manager in Texas Instruments’ Power Management business unit. In this position, he is a key technologist focused on the development and design of innovative semiconductor technology, which will dramatically increase energy efficiency and simplify power design. David’s 35-year career has always focused on energy sources and energy management. He started his career in petroleum exploration where he worked in both field laboratories and research labs developing techniques for drilling optimization as well as measurement methods and equipment for fluid, electrical and mineralogical properties. After 15 years, he moved to semiconducting technology where he helped start Benchmarq Microelectronics and served as director of applications. Benchmarq was noted for their battery management semiconductor products.

In 1998, Unitrode Corporation, a leader in power management, acquired Benchmarq, and David became the application director for the combined company. In 1999, Texas Instruments acquired Unitrode and David became the applications manager for TI power products. David is a popular expert in his field who has presented at many conferences around the world, including in the U.S., China and Japan. He has written multiple technical papers and a monthly column in a publication targeted to electrical engineers. Many patents in battery technology and power management have been credited to David’s efforts.

David started a product line at TI that focused on using digital technology to intelligently monitor and control power supplies used in end-equipment, such as computing, servers and telecommunications systems. In this role, he relies on specialized microcontroller peripherals that are optimized for power applications to digitally control and manage

David is currently the manager of the Renewable Energy Lab at TI. The lab focuses on developing products that help capture and manage energy from the environment. These environmental sources range for solar to micro energy sources such vibration and heat flow. David has a BS degree in physics from Midwestern University.

ABSTRACT

Power and the Consumer

The role of power management in consumer electronics has reached the point where it can determine the market success of any entry. Certain devices have always had the consumers attention when it came to power related topics, examples are notebook computers, cell phones, and portable gaming. Runtime is at the top of the list. With the consumer awareness of subjects like “vampire power” and emphasis on energy conservation, households have begun to manage their power usage. However, most would prefer not to think about it. This presentation covers several topics of power management and their corresponding challenges. Battery management and the corresponding system synergies like battery wear-out and system behavior will be presented. The role of power management in stationary consumer electronics will also be discussed. These topics cover the range of power management for the various modes of operation ranging from “off”, “sleep”, “idle”, and “run” to power density and thermal management. The operation will be tied back to what the consumer expects, which is that power management should be done by the device and done well.

ABSTRACT

CES Society member and chapter activities
Dr Robin S Bradbeer
Associate Professor
Department of Electronic Engineering
City University of Hong Kong
http://www.ee.cityu.edu.hk/~rtbrad