Power cell concepts for the next generation of appliances

It was shown in previous papers by this author, and many others, that product design based upon pre-engineered modules (cells) that could be configured to form a wide variety of application specific products. This was shown to have become a successful methodology in the late 1990s. The PEBB (Power Electronic Building Block) Program has pioneered the applications of this methodology in the development of a wide variety of power electronics products. The extension of these methods to a further level of cellular design, "Standard Cell Power Design was proposed. A Parallel between electronic logic design practices and Solid State Power evolution was proposed and explained in a previous paper(s). This paper proposes to extend the explanations of the tradeoffs and rationales governing the future directions of this approach as it relates to the future directions in the Appliance Industries. Technology directions and key design methods improvements will be summarized for power device assemblies, the processes needed to manufacture them, and the types of future converters they will have to accommodate.