Industry leaders, including E.G.O. Elektro-Gerätebau GmbH, Huber+Suhner, ITW, NXP Semiconductors, Rogers Corporation and Whirlpool R&D (an affiliate company of Whirlpool Corporation), have together formed the RF Energy Alliance. This consortium intends to advance today’s power and heating solutions by equipping engineers and designers with a transformative, cost-effective and highly efficient heating and power source - Solid-State RF Energy. To achieve this, the Alliance will drive the development of standards, education and promotion of solid-state RF energy. This will benefit those industries that are currently using or intending to use RF energy and will make the adoption of this technology significantly easier.
The well-known advantages of solid-state RF generation encompass outstanding control of all RF parameters, precise application feedback, excellent reliability and scalability, design freedom with respect to geometry and swift system integration. These advantages translate to better process control for industrial processes, enabling new applications ranging from automotive ignition for improved fuel economy to cooking appliances yielding greatly enhanced user experiences. High-volume applications like these and others will increase the cost-effectiveness of the technology.
The applications initially targeted by the RF Energy Alliance include consumer and industrial cooking, industrial lighting and heating, automotive ignition and medical devices for ablation, hyperthermia treatment and imaging. The Alliance will define specifications for RF energy components, sub-modules, interfaces and systems necessary to support its target applications, focusing first on solid-state cooking. These specifications will be backed by roadmaps for critical elements in the application’s supply chain to aid design and implementation efforts. A comprehensive validation and certification program ensuring reliability and base performance levels of components and end-products will also be established.
The companies behind the RF Energy Alliance’s formation are global leaders driving innovation in their respective business markets, which range across the value chain from components to applications. These companies bring to the Alliance experience with conceiving, developing and successfully demonstrating solid-state RF energy technologies and products. And, they share the vision of a fast-growing, innovative marketplace built around this sustainable heating and power source.
The alliance is open to applications for membership. Member companies will have the opportunity to contribute to the evolution of existing applications as well as the creation of new ones that can benefit from solid-state RF energy. Companies that are active in the solid state RF generation chain or applying RF energy are encouraged to participate alongside a number of companies that have already expressed interest in joining the RF Energy Alliance. More information about membership can be seen here: www.rfenergy.org/membership.
