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Advances in Wide Bandgap Technologies for Power Electronics

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "F3: Power Electronics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 June 2024 | Viewed by 8306

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA), University of Grenoble Alpes, Leti, 38000 Grenoble, France
Interests: gallium nitride; transistors; diodes; power converters
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA), University of Grenoble Alpes, Leti, 38000 Grenoble, France
Interests: gallium nitride; epitaxy; MOCVD
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA), University of Grenoble Alpes, Leti, 38000 Grenoble, France
Interests: gallium nitride; silicon power transistors; MOSFET; HEMT; power converters
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technologies such as those based on silicon carbide and gallium nitride address high-performance power conversion applications in the context of a fast-growing power electronics market.

The higher critical electrical field of WBGs with respect to silicon, which is currently the most widely used semiconductor in power electronics systems, has allowed the introduction of novel devices with lower conduction and switching losses. The majority of commercial gallium nitride devices have a lateral architecture, and silicon carbide ones have a vertical design; both originate from substrate type availability and specific material properties. Novel device-driving strategies and power circuit optimizations are developing with the increased availability of WBG power electronics devices. They allow more compact, increasingly efficient, higher-frequency power converters, and require new packaging strategies with reduced parasitics. These improvements are fueling the interest in ultra-WBG semiconductors such as AlGaN/AlN, Ga2O3, and diamond, which may surpass or complement current power-conversion applications.

The objective of this Special Issue is to cover all research activities related to WBG and ultra-WBG power electronics from materials, process development, devices, circuits and systems to applications and markets.

Dr. Julien Buckley
Dr. Matthew Charles
Dr. René Escoffier
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • (ultra-)wide band gap semiconductors
  • materials and process development
  • epitaxy
  • device fabrication, characterization, simulation and modelling
  • device driving
  • device packaging and power modules
  • power converters
  • applications and markets

Published Papers (4 papers)

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21 pages, 1997 KiB  
Article
Over-Current Capability of Silicon Carbide and Silicon Devices for Short Power Pulses with Copper and Phase Change Materials below the Chip
by Shubhangi Bhadoria, Frans Dijkhuizen, Xu Zhang, Li Ran and Hans-Peter Nee
Energies 2024, 17(2), 462; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17020462 - 17 Jan 2024
Viewed by 642
Abstract
An increasing share of fluctuating and intermittent renewable energy sources can cause over-currents (OCs) in the power system. The heat generated during OCs increases the junction temperature of semiconductor devices and could even lead to thermal runaway if thermal limits are reached. In [...] Read more.
An increasing share of fluctuating and intermittent renewable energy sources can cause over-currents (OCs) in the power system. The heat generated during OCs increases the junction temperature of semiconductor devices and could even lead to thermal runaway if thermal limits are reached. In order to keep the junction temperature within the thermal limit of the semiconductor, the power module structure with heat-absorbing material below the chip is investigated through COMSOL Multiphysics simulations. The upper limits of the junction temperature for Silicon (Si) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) are assumed to be 175 and 250 C, respectively. The heat-absorbing materials considered for analysis are a copper block and a copper block with phase change materials (PCMs). Two times, three times, and four times of OCs would be discussed for durations of a few hundred milliseconds and seconds. This article also discusses the thermal performance of a copper block and a copper block with PCMs. PCMs used for Si and SiC are LM108 and Lithium, respectively. It is concluded that the copper block just below the semiconductor chip would enable OC capability in Si and SiC devices and would be more convenient to manufacture as compared to the copper block with PCM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Wide Bandgap Technologies for Power Electronics)
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21 pages, 5403 KiB  
Article
Resonant Mechanism for a Long-Distance Wireless Power Transfer Using Class E PA and GaN HEMT
by Ching-Yao Liu, Chih-Chiang Wu, Li-Chuan Tang, Yueh-Tsung Shieh, Wei-Hua Chieng and Edward-Yi Chang
Energies 2023, 16(9), 3657; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093657 - 24 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1644
Abstract
This paper presents a study on long-distance wireless power transfer (WPT), which formulates the voltage gain in terms of the coupling coefficient between the power transmitting unit (PTU) and the power receiving unit (PRU) coils. It is proposed that maximum power transfer efficiency [...] Read more.
This paper presents a study on long-distance wireless power transfer (WPT), which formulates the voltage gain in terms of the coupling coefficient between the power transmitting unit (PTU) and the power receiving unit (PRU) coils. It is proposed that maximum power transfer efficiency (PTE) can be reached when maximum voltage gain is achieved under a matching condition between the coil quality factor and the coupling coefficient. In order to achieve maximum power delivered to load (PDL), we need to elevate the input voltage as high as the high breakdown-voltage of gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron mobility transistors (HEMT) along with class E amplifier circuit topology. In order to promote voltage gain, knowledge of the coupling coefficient between two coils including the factors of the coil diameter, wire diameter, coil turns, and the coil resistance are derived. It was observed that a lower coil resistance leads to a reduced parallel quality, which facilitates long-distance wireless power transfer. Experimental results support the findings that the maximum PTE occurred at the maximum voltage gain existing at a specific distance matches the coupling coefficient between coils. A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method is also developed to achieve maximum PDL. At a distance of 35 cm, experiments with more than 100 W successfully receive a PTE of 57% at the PRU when the received voltage reached 1.4 kV. This is used to verify the concepts and analysis that are proposed in this paper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Wide Bandgap Technologies for Power Electronics)
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21 pages, 6335 KiB  
Article
Flyback Converter Using a D-Mode GaN HEMT Synchronous Rectifier
by Yueh-Tsung Shieh, Ching-Yao Liu, Chih-Chiang Wu, Wei-Hua Chieng and Edward-Yi Chang
Energies 2022, 15(9), 3197; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15093197 - 27 Apr 2022
Viewed by 1649
Abstract
The flyback converter with its active cell balancing topology for charging lithium-based batteries in Electrical Vehicles (EV) have been adopted recently into the industry. Electrical Vehicle battery charging requires high current operation in continuous current mode and hence, the power loss on the [...] Read more.
The flyback converter with its active cell balancing topology for charging lithium-based batteries in Electrical Vehicles (EV) have been adopted recently into the industry. Electrical Vehicle battery charging requires high current operation in continuous current mode and hence, the power loss on the Schottky diode rectifier on the secondary side determines the power conversion efficiency. The depletion mode (D-mode) GaN HEMT synchronous rectifier proposed in this paper has been used to replace the Schottky diode on the secondary side of the flyback converter in order to improve the power conversion efficiency. This synchronous rectifier regulates the forward voltage drop of an external switch to about 100 mV per ampere of current flow with no concern to threshold voltage. The first challenge of converting the D-mode GaN HEMT as a synchronous rectifier is that the normally-on device must be off when the primary side inductor of the flyback converter is initially charging the magnetic energy. That is, the rectifier must behave as the normally-off device during its initialization stage. The second challenge is that the D-mode GaN HEMT must switch off as soon as the secondary current becomes zero. The third challenge is posing a fast recovery feature to reduce the drain-source voltage rise on the primary side switch, which suffices to be the main reason as to why the D-mode GaN HEMT is used instead of MOS devices. The proposed depletion mode GaN HEMT synchronous rectifier is verified to be able to overcome all challenges and in result becomes a candidate for the synchronous rectifier. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Wide Bandgap Technologies for Power Electronics)
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28 pages, 4394 KiB  
Perspective
Recent Developments and Prospects of Fully Recessed MIS Gate Structures for GaN on Si Power Transistors
by Pedro Fernandes Paes Pinto Rocha, Laura Vauche, Patricia Pimenta-Barros, Simon Ruel, René Escoffier and Julien Buckley
Energies 2023, 16(7), 2978; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16072978 - 24 Mar 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3699
Abstract
For high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) power transistors based on AlGaN/GaN heterojunction, p-GaN gate has been the gate topology commonly used to deplete the two dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) and achieve a normally-OFF behavior. But fully recessed MIS gate GaN power transistors or [...] Read more.
For high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) power transistors based on AlGaN/GaN heterojunction, p-GaN gate has been the gate topology commonly used to deplete the two dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) and achieve a normally-OFF behavior. But fully recessed MIS gate GaN power transistors or MOSc-HEMTs have gained interest as normally-OFF HEMTs thanks to the wider voltage swing and reduced gate leakage current when compared to p-GaN gate HEMTs. However the mandatory AlGaN barrier etching to deplete the 2-DEG combined with the nature of the dielectric/GaN interface generates etching-related defects, traps, and roughness. As a consequence, the threshold voltage (VTH) can be unstable, and the electron mobility is reduced, which presents a challenge for the integration of a fully recessed MIS gate. Recent developments have been studied to solve this challenge. In this paper, we discuss developments in gate recess with low impact etching and atomic layer etching (ALE) alongside surface treatments such as wet cleaning, thermal or plasma treatment, all in the scope of having a surface close to pristine. Finally, different interfacial layers, such as AlN, and alternative dielectrics investigated to optimize the dielectric/GaN interface are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Wide Bandgap Technologies for Power Electronics)
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