Power Electronics for High-Precision Applications

Abstract: High-precision power amplifiers are used in, for instance, semiconductor lithography positioning systems, where any error in the current translates to a positioning error; magnetic resonance imaging, where current errors directly relate to image distortion; audio amplifiers; electron microscopy, etc. Most of these applications require high power levels (up to MW levels), while having current and voltage errors in the ppm range. In comparison; inverters for grid applications are found in the same power range, but a THD of a few percent is often deemed quite acceptable. Moreover, high-precision applications generally require much larger bandwidths (up to 100s of kHz) with almost zero phase delay, making modeling and control very important topics as well. These challenges require a very different approach than, for instance, a classical inverter for an electric drive.
This tutorial focuses aspects related to high-precision power conversion, elaborating on the origins and effects of distortion in the voltage and current waveforms. To fully understand these effects, we will dive into the most significant parts that contribute to this distortion, such as semiconductors and passives (inductors and capacitors). Furthermore, the influence of blanking time and the modulator non-linearities will be discussed.

Bas Vermulst was born and raised in the Netherlands. From 2010 until 2016 he was employed as an engineer and system architect for Prodrive Technologies, where he successfully (co-)developed various power converters and electronic systems for the high-tech and automotive industry. He received his MSc degree in 2012, and his PhD degree in 2016. After receiving his PhD, he joined the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven in the Netherlands as full-time Assistant Professor on a tenure-track position. Since then he is, among others, responsible lecturer for two courses in power electronics.
The proposed tutorial is based on one of these courses, which has received outstanding evaluations (9.5 out of 10 average last year) and has seen various improvements since. He has written 11 first-author publications and 2 patents, furthermore he won 3 conference best presentation awards. His main interests are high-precision power converters and automotive systems.