The final day! - 20/05/2016
Friday, the last "full" day of our study tour. We woke up at 7am (which must have been way too early for those who had been celebrating Berjan's birthday last night) and took off to Campbell for a visit to Dialog Semiconductors. After enjoying an excellent breakfast (thumbs up!) we were welcomed by Johannes de Groot and Davin Lee who introduced us to the main outlines of the company. Dialog Semiconductor is a fabless supplier of mixed signal IC's for various applications. At this location, the main focus is on power conversion and management. We enjoyed in-depth lectures on how Dialog aims to follow the increasing demand for rapid charging of phones and other mobile devices by developing intelligent chargers. These chargers, compatible with major phone brands, are able to communicate with the device and vary their voltage level depending on what the device desires.
During the second part of the visit we learned about Dialog's work in the field of LED lighting. Drivers have been developed for a broad spectrum of LED bulbs. Furthermore a Bluetooth platform has been designed for controlling the intensities and colors of these bulbs via an app. This way up to 128 LEDs can be managed individually as well as in groups. Other intelligent lighting solutions include the dimming of a bulb using only an ordinary toggle switch and the automatic adjustment of color and intensity to the environment.
After we enjoyed an excellent lunch as well, we quickly jumped back into our cars to head to our next destination: Alcatraz. This island located in the bay of San Francisco is one of the most well-known prisons of all time, perhaps also because of the various movies based on "the Rock". An audio tour by former inmates and guards led us through the cell blocks and other landmarks.
Of course, a study tour cannot come to an end without a final party (and getting rid of some US pingels). And so we walked from pier 33 to pier 3 and boarded the California Hornblower for a dinner cruise. We enjoyed some great meals and views of the Golden Gate Bridge and AT&T Park while a baseball match was being played. The cruise ended with a nice party led by live music and a DJ. A perfect way to end the study tour!
By: Steven Gies