CONFERENCE
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Alex Lidow
Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC)Abstract
It has been three years since the first gallium nitride transistors were delivered as power MOSFET replacements in a commercial DC-DC application. Since that time there has been major interest, and rapid progress in the development and commercialization of this new technology. In this talk we will give an update on GaN technology, the market successes, and the key technical and cost challenges ahead.
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John Shen
Grainger Chair Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Illinois Institute of TechnologyAbstract
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) has gone through a 30-year journey of conceptualization, proof of concept, initial commercialization, and wide spread adoption. It is interesting to look at the history of technological innovation of this power switch technology which is widely used in motor drives and other power converters. It is even more interesting to look into the future of this 30 year-old technology to see how much further the industry can improve its performance with existing and emerging applications of power electronics.
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Seth Sanders
Professor
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department
University of California - BerkeleyAbstract
Technical merits and challenges of the switched capacitor approach to dc-dc power conversion are discussed. A detailed analysis enabling a strategic comparison among switched-capacitor converter topologies and also enabling comparison of switched-capacitor topologies with conventional magnetic topologies is outlined. The analysis framework allows a quantitative comparison of the various popular power conversion circuits in terms of their utilization of switch technology and also their utilization of energy storage devices (eg. capacitors, inductors). Roughly, the analysis views a power converter as an ideal transformer with a given or adjustable conversion ratio, with losses modeled with a series output resistance for load-dependent losses, and with a parallel resistive impedance to capture frequency-dependent and static leakage losses. Significantly, the analysis shows that for a wide range of conversion applications, switched capacitor converters outperform the conventional buck, boost, and transformer-based converters with respect to component utilization.
Since switched capacitor converters contain no magnetic devices, they are well suited to integration in a range of CMOS processes. Further, since devices can be effectively stacked, extended voltage operation can be realized with low voltage processes. However, switched capacitor converters also present a number of challenges in voltage regulation and in ripple performance. Design strategies to meet these challenges are outlined. Data developed from on-going experimental work will be discussed. -
Pete Savagian
General Director
Electrification Systems and Electric Drive Engineering, General Motors CompanyAbstract
Hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles are being broadly pursued as a means to reduce consumption of fossil fuels and to diversify and expand the variety of energy sources that can be used for transportation. At current petroleum and battery energy storage prices, the economic case for these vehicles can be difficult from a consumer point of view. There is a wide range of converter, inverter and motor technologies that may be explored, developed and industrialized that will improve electric drive efficiency. Improved efficiency is a benefit in the performance and utility of a hybrid or plug-in electric vehicle, but also improves the economic case for the car. Understanding the full merit of economic reward for efficiency can better rationalize the risks of developing and introducing new technologies in automotive electric drives.
2013 Invited Plenary Sessions
Session Chair: Fred C. Lee, Virginia Tech
