Wide-Bandgap Bidirectional Switches and the Applications They Enable
Organizers
Dr. Thomas M. Jahns, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Dr. Victor Veliadis, PowerAmerica
Abstract
Monolithic bidirectional switches hold the potential to trigger a revolution in the future of power electronics technology. Unfortunately, an impressive catalog of high-performance power converter topologies designed to use bidirectional switches has never achieved marketplace success for the lack of commercially available monolithic BD (M-BD) switch devices. No silicon-based M-BD switch technology has emerged that has successfully crossed the threshold into large-scale production. New wide-bandgap power device technology using GaN and SiC has opened intriguing avenues to WBG-based M-BD switches that hold much higher promise for overcoming the barriers to commercialization. Both lateral and vertical M-BD device topologies have been proposed using GaN and SiC that have resulted in prototype devices with ratings as high as 1400V and 100A. The purpose of this special session is to showcase promising state-of-the-art WBG-based M-BD switch technology in a manner that objectively evaluates both their strengths and technical challenges. This session also highlights some of the most promising applications for this prospective new generation of M-BD switches as well as the most likely power converter topologies that will take the fullest advantage of their availability. These application areas cover a wide spectrum extending from ac solid-state circuit breakers to static power converters to motor drives.
Short Bio of Organizers
Thomas M. Jahns (M’79–F’93–LF’19) received the S.B., S.M. (1974), and Ph.D. (1978) degrees in electrical engineering from MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. In 1998, he joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a Grainger Professor of Power Electronics and Electric Machines, where he is currently the Director of the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC). Prior to joining UW-Madison, he worked at GE Corporate Research and Development (now GE Global Research Center), Niskayuna, NY, for 15 years. His current research interests include high-performance permanent-magnet synchronous machines, electric propulsion drives, and integrated motor drives. Dr. Jahns received the 2005 IEEE Nikola Tesla Technical Field Award and the IAS Outstanding Achievement Award in 2011. He is a Past President of PELS and served two years as Division II Director on the IEEE Board of Directors (2001-2002). He was elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2015.
Victor Veliadis received the B.S. degree from the National Technical University of Athens Greece in 1990, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA, in 1992 and 1995, respectively. He is the Chief Executive and CTO of PowerAmerica, which is a U.S Department of Energy WBG power electronics Manufacturing Institute. He manages an annual budget in excess of $30 million that he strategically allocates to over 35 industrial and University projects to accelerate WBG manufacturing, workforce development, job creation, and clean energy. He is also an ECE Professor at NCSU and an IEEE Fellow and IEEE EDS Distinguished Lecturer. He has 27 issued U.S. patents, 6 book chapters, and over 120 peer-reviewed technical publications. Prior to starting in academia and taking an executive position at Power America in 2016, he spent 21 years in the semiconductor industry where his work included design, fabrication, and testing of 1-12 kV SiC SITs, JFETs, MOSFETs, Thyristors, and JBS and PiN diodes, as well as financial and operations management of a commercial semiconductor fab.
Speakers and presentations
1. Dr. Victor Veliadis, Chief Executive & CTO, PowerAmerica
WBG-based Solid-State-Bidirectional-Circuit-Breakers: Device Technology, and Opportunities and Barriers to Mass Market Adoption
2. Dr. Subhashish Battacharya, Professor, North Carolina State University; Dr. B. Jayant Baliga, Professor, North Carolina State University
Monolithic SiC-based Bidirectional FET (BiDFET): Exploring Opportunities & Challenges
3. Dr. John Shen, Professor, IIT
Bidirectional Power Semiconductor Switches: Challenges and Opportunities
4. Ryan Kennedy, CEO, Atom Power
How Solid-State Circuit Breakers Enable the Energy Transition and How WBG Semiconductors Play a Critical Role
5. Dr. Xiaoqing Song, Sr. Research Scientist, ABB US Corporate Research Center
Solid-State Circuit Breaker: Opportunities and Challenges
6. Dr. Johann Kolar, Professor, ETH Zurich
Monolithic Bidirectional Switches – X-Technology of 3-Phase AC/DC Mains Interfaces
7. Dr. Thomas M. Jahns, Professor, University of Wisconsin – Madison
The Re-Emergence of Current-Source Inverters in Future Machine Drives Enabled by WBG-Based Bidirectional Switches
8. Dr. Bulent Sarlioglu, Assoc. Professor, University of Wisconsin – Madison, WEMPEC
Power Scaling of Current-Source Inverter Technology with WBG-Based Bidirectional Switches to 100 kW for Electric Vehicle Applications