The recent release of the standard USB-PD 3.1 [1] specifies variable output voltages from 5 V to 48 V featuring a step forward towards a universal adaptor but rising new challenges for the converter topologies used up to now. In such applications, a first AC-DC stage is followed by a DC-DC stage. In this paper, emerging WBG technologies are applied to the asymmetrical half-bridge flyback topology, demonstrating the potential of such combination as a wide voltage range DC-DC stage. Its suitability for high-density and high-efficiency USB-PD Extended Power Range (EPR) and battery charger applications is discussed. The impact of different switching technologies, silicon and wide band gap, is analyzed. A general method to dimension the converter is presented and an iterative process is used to evaluate the theoretical efficiency under different conditions and switching devices. Finally, the advantages of the presented converter using Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices are demonstrated in a 240 W DC-DC prototype. It achieves a full load efficiency of 98%, and it is able to deliver an output voltage from 5 V to 48 V with input voltage range from 120 V to 420 V, as well an outstanding power density of 112 W/inch³ uncased.

The security of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems is a challenge that needs to be addressed immediately, as the increasing use of new communication paradigms and the abundant use of sensors opens up new opportunities to compromise these types of systems. In this sense, technologies such as Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) become crucial for adding new layers of security to IIoT systems, especially to edge nodes that incorporate sensors and perform continuous measurements. These technologies, coupled with new communication paradigms such as Blockchain, offer a high reliability, robustness and good interoperability between them. This paper proposes the design of a secure sensor incorporating the above mentioned technologies—HSMs and a TEE—in a hardware device based on a dual-core architecture. Through this combination of technologies, one of the cores collects the data extracted by the sensors and implements the security mechanisms to guarantee the integrity of these data, while the remaining core is responsible for sending these data through the appropriate communication protocol. This proposed approach fits into the Blockchain networks, which act as an Oracle. Finally, to illustrate the application of this concept, a use case applied to wine logistics is described, where this secure sensor is integrated into a Blockchain that collects data from the storage and transport of barrels, and a performance evaluation of the implemented prototype is provided.

Only one transformer and two power switches are needed to implement a DPx dc-dc converter with constant gain (DCx). Both primary and secondary switches are ON and OFF simultaneously, connecting input and output through the transformer. At turn on, the leakage inductance limits the current transition to its steady state within the switching cycle, where it stays for a duty cycle higher than 50% featuring low rms current in the power switches. During the OFF time the transformer is reset, by a resonance between magnetizing inductance and the capacitance (parasitic and added) in parallel with the switches. It features 1-cycle dynamics and no-load operation. Bi-directional power flow and multiple outputs are straightforward. Excellent performance is obtained for 48 to 4V and 12 to IV dc-dc converters to supply high performance processors which may be extended to other gains as 48 to IV, just changing the transformer turns ratio

Microservice architectures exploit container-based virtualized services, which rarely use hardware-based cryptography. A trusted platform module (TPM) offers a hardware root for trust in services that makes use of cryptographic operations. The virtualization of this hardware module offers high usability for other types of service that require TPM functionalities. This paper proposes the design of TPM virtualization in a container. To ensure integrity, different mechanisms, such as attestation and sealing, have been developed for the binaries and libraries stored in the container volumes. Through a REST API, the container offers the functionalities of a TPM, such as key generation and signing. To prevent unauthorized access to the container, this article proposes an authentication mechanism based on tokens issued by the Cognito Amazon Web Service. As a proof of concept and applicability in industry, a use case for electric vehicle charging stations using a microservice-based architecture is proposed. Using the EOS.IO blockchain to maintain a copy of the data, the virtualized TPM microservice provides the cryptographic operations necessary for blockchain transactions. Through a two-factor authentication mechanism, users can access the data. This scenario shows the potential of using blockchain technologies in microservice-based architectures, where microservices such as the virtualized TPM fill a security gap in these architectures.