SBIR Phase I: Smart SiC DC-DC Power Converter for HEV

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project aims for feasibility demonstration of the first Power Integrated Circuit based on a very unique design of Silicon Carbide (SiC) high-voltage lateral Junction gate Field-Effect Transistor (HV-LJFET), which promises to overcome all the problems SiC Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFETs) face for Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) applications. This research will develop circuit models for all SiC components required for a smart power DC/DC converter and its optimum design and experimentally demonstrate the key components, including a monolithically integrated HV-LJFET with its gate driver buffer circuit, so that a complete, fully integrated smart DC/DC converter can be developed. As a result, it becomes possible to develop the proposed fully integrated smart DC/DC converter with HV-LJFET having a specific on-resistance thirty times lower than the state-of-the-art, a switching frequency more than ten times higher than existing technology and a high-temperature capability up to 300 degrees celsius. With the rapid development of applications such as HEV, the demand grows rapidly for power electronics systems that can deliver and manage efficiently electric power in a reliably (even under harsh conditions), compact and smart manner. The overall vehicle efficiency improvement resulting from the drastic size and weight reduction of power management systems based on SiC technology will reduce global warming. Although the proposal is focused on HEV power management application, the proposed technology can also offer great advantages in other applications where high power density is crucial and high temperature is required or strongly desirable, including point-of-load DC/DC converters in aerospace and avionic applications.