I-Corps: Nanomaterials for Thermal Management of Power Electronics

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High power electronics is playing a vital role in rapid advancements in energy generation, storage and transmission, hybrid automobile vehicles, defense, and aerospace technologies. Wide bandgap semiconductor (WBGS) devices are the leading contenders for high power electronics, but they operate at high current densities requiring the rapid dissemination of heat. Current strategies for thermal management of power electronics have limited efficacy due to their reliance on bulky, multicomponent heat extraction strategies via multiple interfaces with high thermal interface resistances. Therefore, there is a critical need for a simplified commercial thermal management technology which will enable direct extraction of heat from operating power electronics devices. The lack of such a technology limits the operating conditions, reliability, and efficiency of WBGS power electronic systems. This team proposes to address this technological gap by commercializing a novel thermal management strategy based on nanocrystalline diamond (NCD), which is an excellent thermal conductor.The rationale behind the proposed technology is that: NCD possess high thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity making it well-suited for thermal management of WBGS power electronics, extraction of heat directly from a device (as opposed to heat extraction through a substrate) will result in significant enhancements in efficiency, and higher heat extraction efficiency leads to longer operating lifetimes, enables higher device density, and reduced operating costs. The preliminary research consisting of experimental and simulation studies has demonstrated proof-of-principle for the proposed technology.