"Power Conditioning Comes of Age"

Solid state power conditioning, after two decades of dominance in the heavy apparatus and industrial areas, is beginning to rapidly penetrate into many other segments of our economy, including wide applications in the telephone industry as well as receiving increasing emphasis in entertainment and consumer products. Much of the present emphasis in solid state power conditioning is on improved efficiency, reduced cost, and maximizing reliability. The strength of the efforts in solid state power conditioning are directly dependent on progress in components, principally semiconductor, although passes such as L´s and C´s are increasingly important. Thus it will be helpful to review a brief history of the development of solid state power conditioning equipment and devices: also to focus on projections for future developments with regard to devices and possible equipment implications.