Microsemi opens Aviation Centre of Excellence

During a grand opening ceremony this morning, Jim Aralis, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of advanced development, Microsemi, joined fellow executives, employees and community members for The Aviation Centre of Excellence’s unveiling. Following the event, Aralis is hosting an engineering forum open to the technical community.

“Our new Aviation Centre of Excellence is the latest example of Microsemi’s investment in research and development in Ireland, and reflects our Ennis facility’s important contributions to the wider Microsemi global product/technology development network. We now offer a complete solution for high reliability aviation intelligent power solutions from design to manufacturing,” said Aralis. “The facility will not only provide access to a portfolio of highly integrated, flexible and scalable solutions for aviation electric actuation and power conversion applications, but customers will also have access to a full technical service provider as an extension of their design teams.”

The facility’s research and development laboratory is fully resourced with modeling, simulation, analysis and algorithm development capabilities providing accelerated product innovation. The state-of-the-art measuring equipment enables extensive product testing while a dedicated reliability laboratory facilitates product qualification and long-term application specific life testing. As the aviation sector continues to demand higher levels of reliability and integration in the area of power electronics in order to realise the goal of More Electric Aircraft (MEA), Microsemi’s Aviation Centre of Excellence will play a critical role in supporting this objective.

According to professor Pat Wheeler, Head of Department, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Deputy Head, Power Electronics, Machines and Controls (PEMC) Research Group at the University of Nottingham (UK), power electronics is the enabling technology for the more electric aircraft. However MEA advantages are marginal with current technology and advancements in the areas of reliability, power density, wide band gap semiconductor materials and thermal management are essential to achieve its full potential.

Microsemi is developing IPS products for a variety of growing applications within the commercial aviation industry. According to global market research and consulting company MarketsandMarkets, the actuator, electrical and electronics systems market was valued at $8bn in 2013 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% to reach $21bn by 2020. The electrical systems are expected to grow at a CAGR of 16% and the electronics components market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13%.

Among the flagship products of Microsemi’s new Aviation Centre of Excellence is the aviation Power Core Module (PCM) with an integrated FPGA and Hybrid Power Drive (HPD) stage. The PCM controls the electrical motors used in applications such as primary flight control actuation and landing gear systems. It interfaces seamlessly with aircraft power supplies and flight computers, providing vital sensor feedback for monitoring. Customisation options are also available to ensure an optimised product offering for customers. The HPD with integrated solenoid drive is also available as a stand-alone product.

The manufacturing of these power systems leverages the company’s existing operations infrastructure as well as the high quality and reliability processes in the current Ennis facility, which is a manufacturing center for Microsemi’s high reliability discrete products.

“This investment in aviation intelligent power solutions is a significant testament to our vision to be a full solutions provider, leveraging the extensive technologies and capabilities across the company to expand our footprint in focus applications,” said Siobhan Dolan Clancy, Vice President of business development, aerospace, Microsemi. “By combining our team’s industry-leading technology from around the globe with our aerospace power module capabilities, we look forward to announcing truly game-changing developments in this market.”