Business Description

Overview We design, develop and market analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits (“ICs”) and other electronic components and circuitry used in high-voltage power conversion. Our products are used in power converters that convert electricity from a high-voltage source to the type of power required for a specified downstream use. In most cases, this conversion entails, among other functions, converting alternating current (“AC”) to direct current (“DC”) or vice versa, reducing or increasing the voltage, and regulating the output voltage and/or current according to the customer’s specifications. A large percentage of our products are ICs used in AC-DC power supplies, which convert the high-voltage AC from a wall outlet to the low-voltage DC required by most electronic devices. Power supplies incorporating our products are used with all manner of electronic products including industrial controls, “smart” utility meters, appliances, air conditioners, battery-powered tools, building-automation, or “internet-of-things” applications such as networked thermostats and security devices, and mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and notebook computers. Variations of our power-supply ICs are used for high-voltage power conversion in electric vehicles (“EVs”). We also supply high-voltage LED drivers, which are AC-DC ICs specifically designed for lighting applications that utilize light-emitting diodes, and motor-driver ICs for brushless DC (“BLDC”) motors used in consumer appliances, HVAC systems, ceiling fans and a variety of industrial applications. We also offer high-voltage gate drivers—either standalone ICs or circuit boards containing ICs, electrical isolation components and other circuitry—used to operate high-voltage switches such as insulated-gate bipolar transistors (“IGBTs”) and silicon-carbide (“SiC”) MOSFETs. These combinations of switches and drivers are used for power conversion in high-power applications (i.e., power levels ranging from approximately 100 kilowatts up to gigawatts) such as industrial motors, solar- and wind-power systems, electric locomotives, EVs and high-voltage DC transmission systems. Our power-conversion products are distinguished by their “system-level” nature; that is, they incorporate into a single product numerous elements of a power-conversion system including a high-voltage transistor, drivers, advanced control circuitry and, in some cases, a communication link connecting the primary (i.e., input) and secondary (i.e., output) sides of the power converter while maintaining safety isolation to protect the end user from exposure to high voltage. Alternatively, a power converter can be designed and assembled using discrete components purchased from a variety of suppliers. Our system-level products offer a number of important benefits compared with discrete designs, including: reduced design complexity; smaller size; lower component count, which in turn results in higher reliability and easier sourcing of components; reduced time-to-market; and more efficient use of engineering resources. Our products also reduce the energy consumption of power converters during normal use and in “standby” operation, when the end product is not in use. In addition to the environmental and economic benefits of reduced energy usage, our energy-saving technologies provide a number of benefits to our customers; these include helping them meet the increasingly stringent efficiency standards now in effect for many electronic products, and enabling the elimination of bulky, costly heatsinks used to dissipate the heat produced by wasted electricity. By reducing component count, circuit-board size and the need for heatsinks, our products also contribute to a reduction in materials usage and electronic waste. While the size of our addressable market fluctuates with changes in macroeconomic and industry conditions, the market has generally exhibited a modest growth rate over time as growth in the unit volume of power converters has been offset to a large degree by reductions in the average selling price of components in this market. Therefore, the growth of our business depends largely on increasing our penetration of the markets that we serve, creating value for our customers and on further expanding our addressable market. Our growth strategy includes the following elements: ● Increase our penetration of the markets we serve.…