Next generation of power electronics proposed

What will the next generation of power electronics be like and what are the key features required? One feature of interest is with reducing power loss. Aalto University researchers have a solution.

What's interesting about the new solution for power electronics is that it's based on ideas seemingly conspired to the dustbin of technology. Physicists, in revisiting previous research, have discovered a microscopic mechanism that enables the compound gallium nitride semiconductors to be used in electronic devices; devices that function to distribute large amounts of electric power.

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Navitas To Present Power Electronics Keynote

Navitas Semiconductor has announced that Stephen Oliver, vice president of sales and marketing, will deliver a keynote presentation titled, 'GaN Power ICs: Integration Drives Performance' at the first annual Power Electronics Conference 2017 to be held Dec 5th in Munich, Germany. 

The keynote will share new insights on how the industry’s first and only GaN power ICs create dramatic changes in speed, efficiency and densities for a broad range of power systems.

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EV Battery Management Impacts Vehicle Design and the Grid

All EVs employ rechargeable batteries, so proper care of these batteries is critical to operation of the vehicle. To see how they impact vehicle design and the electrical grid, we have to look at the characteristics of these batteries, which are usually li-ion.

 EV battery packs are made up of multiple cell modules arranged in series and in parallel. The battery pack has a battery management system (BMS) that monitors components close to the battery cells themselves. During the charging and discharging of an EV battery, each cell within the battery pack must be closely and accurately monitored, because unbalanced cell voltage conditions can impact battery performance.circuits, due to their high volumetric efficiency and excellent price performance ratio.[1] Unfortunately, their characteristics change with operating frequency, whereas an ideal capacitor’s impedance decreases with frequency. But, in the real world this is not seen in the laboratory. Increasing frequency up to a certain point leads to the expected impedance reduction but increasing frequency causes the impedance to increase, i.e., it acts like a resonance circuit. To model the behavior of an actual capacitor requires the addition of extra elements to the capacitor model. ESR is actually the resistance that a capacitor shows in the border between capacitor-like behavior and inductor-like behavior, i.e., resistance at the resonance frequency.

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UNB researcher develops stretchable laminate to power modern electronics

A professor at the University of New Brunswick is aiming to provide power to a wide range of electronics, with the help of a stretchy laminate.

For the past three years, Anna Ignaszak, an associate professor of chemistry, has been working to develop the rechargeable coating, called a capacitor.

Similar to the battery, it's designed to deliver power to smaller everyday devices such as smart watches and smartphones.

"The capacitors I'm working on are very flexible," she said. "You can stretch them, you can bend them.

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Carrier-Based Launch of Aircraft to Use Power Electronics Instead of Steam Catapult

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, was the first to successfully test launch an aircraft using an electromagnetic launch system (EMALS). The mission and function of EMALS will be similar to the traditional steam catapult, however, it will employ power electronic technologies. After its test phase is completed and EMALS is operational it will expand the capability of the Navy’s future carriers to handle all current and future planned carrier aircraft—from lightweight unmanned aircraft to heavy strike fighters.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the Navy’s newest nuclear aircraft carrier.

EMALS benefits include:

Increased reliability and efficiency.

More accurate end-speed control and smoother acceleration that puts less stress on airframes.

Expanded operational capability with increased sortie rates.

Cost reduction over time due to decreased manning and maintenance requirements.

Ability to launch a broader range of naval aircraft—from lightweight unmanned to heavy strike fighters—with less stress on the ship and aircraft.

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GE to Provide Upgrade Service for P&O Oceana

P&O Cruises has again partnered with GE’s Marine Solutions to provide upgrades on critical components on board its 77,499-ton Oceana, according to a statement.

Formerly known as Ocean Princess, the cruise vessel was built in 1998 and had GE’s Syconum 2 electronic controller onboard.

GE will be responsible for replacing existing controllers with the new generation of power electronics controllers on the four propulsion drives.

Enabled by a decentralized architecture, the new digital propulsion controller benefits from a compact design, reducing its installation costs while improving operational safety through enhanced efficiency, asset availability and operational precision.

“Oceana is a very popular vessel, offering fly-cruise holidays to an increasing number of new cruise guests. Having reliable and capable ships across our fleet is crucial to capitalize on this growing opportunity,” said Donnacha O'Driscoll, Carnival UK senior vice president. “Following the successful first-phase upgrade provided by GE on Queen Mary 2 last year, we are delighted to continue this partnership with GE and embrace its latest technology to ensure smooth sailing for our guests.”

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Are Solid-State Transformers Ready for Prime Time?

Several companies are working on technologies that could replace large traditional power transformers with power semiconductors and smaller transformers mounted on circuit boards. Although they are called solid-state transformers, they are really power converters. 

The figure below is a conceptual circuit for a “solid-state transformer” that accepts a three-phase 60 Hz high-voltage input and provides a 60 Hz lower-voltage output. The transistors could be SiC or GaN types with the appropriate specifications. The input circuit converts 60 Hz high voltage ac input to a dc voltage. Then, the dc produces an ac voltage of 10 to 20 kHz that is applied to a step-down transformer. The transformer output is converted to dc and applied to an inverter to produce a lower voltage 60 Hz ac output. The transformer is necessary to provide isolation between the input and output. An advantage of this approach is reduction in size and weight of the transformer because it can operate at a much higher frequency than a 60Hz power transformer.

There may be more to this than meets the eye. Michael Kanellos in his March 2011 article Next for the Grid: Solid State Transformer, published by Greentech Media, wrote, “This process could begin to pave the way for a number of improvements in the way that power gets delivered. Integrating and managing renewable power and electrical storage could become easier. Microgrids could be deployed much more rapidly. Grid efficiency could conceivably be increased by up to 8% to 10% because of lower conversion and transmission losses.”

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Advanced System Measures Battery Impedance While in Use

As closed “black box” components, batteries are challenging energy-storage systems to fully assess. It’s obviously easy to measure their terminal voltage and input/output current, and to estimate their internal temperature based on external readings and appropriate thermal models. However, measuring their impedance is difficult, especially when the battery is in use. Yet that last factor is needed to fully judge their health and condition in active use or during a maintenance cycle.

To address this issue, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed an impedance measurement box (IMB) that directly addresses the in-use characterization of this parameter (Fig. 1). (INL is a leading government laboratory in the U.S. for research, development, demonstration, and deployment related to nuclear and other types of energy.) The project was developed in conjunction with Montana Tech, Motloch Consulting, and Qualtech Systems Inc., with support from the DoE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office.

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Review: Dodge Demon is a 840-horsepower slice of muscle-car heaven

Demon? I think not.

Dodge’s 840-horsepower modern muscle car is a slice of heaven, delivered unto our drag strips because a higher power — the executives on the 15th floor of Fiat Chrysler’s headquarters tower — want us to be happy. And fast. Really, really fast.

I just spent a steamy afternoon in auto racing’s Promised Land: Indianapolis. I have seen the second coming of the pavement ripping, tire-shredding, straight-lining American muscle car and I believe.

The Dodge Demon’s technology lets novices master the finer points of drag racing — a much more nuanced form of motor sport than non-believers accept — and leads them to a paradise of sub 10-second quarter miles, 2.3-second zero-to-60 mile per hour sprints and 1.8G acceleration, highest of any production car.

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With Immelt out, Flannery era begins

The John Flannery era at General Electric Co. is under way.
For the past 17 years, GE has been led by Jeff Immelt, who reshaped the company into the industrial powerhouse it has become today, focused on high-tech manufacturing in the energy, transportation and health care sector. Immelt's last day as CEO was July 31. Flannery, one of his top lieutenants, took over Aug. 1.

The GE transformation under Immelt has been a good one for the Capital Region. Although Immelt sold off commodity businesses like plastics and silicones that had local plants, he invested heavily in GE's Schenectady County operations, home to GE Power and the GE Global Research Center.

GE employs roughly 7,000 people locally making it one of the most important – and indispensable – companies to the region and the state.

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ECCE 2017 To Host Power Electronics Workforce Panel

As part of its mission to advance the US power electronics industry’s competitiveness, the Power Electronics Industry Collaborative (PEIC) has organised a panel discussion to present challenges and opportunities facing the power electronics industry as it seeks to identify, attract, and nurture new engineering talent.

The panel will be presented as part of the Special Session program at the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Expo (ECCE), October 1 – 5, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“As power electronics technology continues to advance, especially with the accelerated implementation of wide bandgap semiconductors, the US power electronics industry faces a number of challenges to maintain and enhance the skills of its current workforce, as well as attract new talent to the business, research, and education opportunities that are on the horizon," said Keith Evans, PEIC President. 

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Body Heat Can Be the Source of Power for Wearable Devices

The article, Human Body Heat for Powering Wearable Devices: From Thermal Energy to Application, provides the information implied by its title. Authored by Moritz Thielen, Lukas Sigrist, Michele Magno, Christofer Hierold, and Luca Benini, it describes approaches for powering a wearable device, with details on the use of body heat as the source of power.

Another consideration in powering wearable devices is the necessity to impose weight and size constraints, particularly if you initially choose a battery as the source of power. To limit size and weight you should use energy harvesting instead of the battery. The article points out that you can harvest energy from several environmental sources:

Light, using photovoltaics

Movement of the wearer

Radio frequency energy (RF)

Temperature differences using a thermoelectric generator (TEG)

An evaluation of these environmental sources reveals that photovoltaic or RF harvesters limit the application of zero-power wearables to environments where sufficient ambient light or RF emissions is provided to satisfy the energy budget. Movement-based harvesting systems require an active wearer and usually have unstable power generation characteristics. In contrast, the human body is a constant heat source and typically a temperature difference exists between body core and the environment.

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New semiconductor material shows promise for more efficient power electronics

Every year it seems like we have another device to charge — laptops, smartphones, tablets, wearable electronics, electric cars and so on. Charging processes ubiquitously use power electronic switches to convert electricity from one form to another so that it can be used in these devices. As power electronics become increasingly part of how we move and consume electricity, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is looking for new ways to make these devices more powerful, more efficient and more compact.

Semiconductors are a critical part of power electronic devices, which today, are most commonly made of silicon semiconductor. However, silicon gets less efficient as power demands increase, so new materials are needed as power electronics capabilities and performance continue to advance. Gallium nitride (GaN) is a promising new wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor material with properties that allow it to operate at higher voltages, frequencies and temperatures at higher efficiencies than silicon.

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Advanced Thermally Conductive Adhesives for High Power Electronics

Today’s electronic devices are smaller, more component-dense and need more power than ever, especially for handheld devices. Heat loads are increasing as a result – threatening the functionality of the devices we’ve come to rely on.

Engineers have historically used active and passive cooling techniques (ex., fans and heat sinks) with thermal interface materials to provide a reliable heat flow path between component and thermal transfer surface. These materials traditionally include thermal greases applied between power dissipating and cooling components, such as a microprocessor and its heat sink.

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Europe embraces wide-bandgap semiconductors

Disruptive forces are going through the power electronics industry, driving development and challenging manufacturers to keep up with the latest in materials, topologies, and technologies. Digitally-enabled power systems, advanced topologies, and wide-bandgap semiconductors are moving the industry forward, leveraging one another to create the next generation of power infrastructure.

The recent Power Control and Intelligent Motion (PCIM) conference in Nuremberg was a cavalcade of engineering demonstrations, each showing solutions based on one or all of the disruptive technologies now available. The greatest buzz was around Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), as many vendors had a demo or static display showing they were a part of the hottest trend.

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PCIM: UK-based Amantys develops next generation IGBT gate drive

Called NG Gate Drive, it has been designed to be compatible with IGBT modules known as LinPak, XHP, nHPD2 and SemiTrans20 that are available from several power semiconductor manufacturers.

This is achieved because IGBT module variation, such as the position of gate drive connections, is accommodated through use of a module interface card which means the NG Gate Drive can target modules from 1700V to 3300V, and up to 6500V in the future.

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Mega trends in automotive boosting demand for semiconductors

The mega trends set to disrupt the automotive industry: electrification, connectivity, mobility and automation, are set to create considerable value chain element growth. The semiconductor industry, in particular, will see demand increase from around $30 billion in 2015 to $42 billion by 2020. China, will continue to sees its share of the total market increase in the mean time.

The automotive industry is set to continue to see the sale of new units rise, as car ownership becomes more affordable across Asia. The industry is facing a number of mega trends however; as the globe moves towards a sustainable economy, electrification is set to pick up; while digitalisation is opening up connective car opportunities; mobility considerations, such as car sharing and carpooling too are being created through technological advance and new business models; finally, automation, is set to radically transform the roads, reducing accidents and creating new ownership models.

As the mega trends begin to set in, the wider value chain that supports many of the innovations, is likely to see considerable boosts in revenues. In a new report from McKinsey & Company, titled ‘Mobility trends: What’s ahead for automotive semiconductors’, the consultancy firm explores the effects the mega trends will have on semiconductor sales.

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