STTR Phase I: Tuned Miniaturized Point-Field Detectors as Contactless Current Sensor for Post-silicon Power Electronics

该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是引入一种完全集成的电流传感器，其性能比最先进的技术提高了一个数量级。开发的技术将使电力电子系统更加可靠、高效和紧凑。电力电子是当今电力输送系统的一个组成部分，如可再生能源系统、电动汽车、数据中心和大多数消费电子产品。在这些应用中，电流信息往往是一个重要的参数，需要知道和测量控制，诊断和预测的目的。随着电力电子电路的进步，特别是对高频电源转换器的关注，有必要研究测量电流的替代方法和技术。这些方法将导致电流传感器的可用性，这些传感器具有快速响应，准确，无损，最好是非侵入性的。这种传感器的影响是使系统和电路小型化，并通过使用宽带隙半导体和高开关频率来提高效率。此外，当前测量信息的可用性将导致更高的可靠性和预测能力。应用包括但不限于电动汽车和数据中心的电源转换器。这项小型企业技术转让第一阶段项目旨在证明一种新型非接触式混合电流传感器的可行性，该传感器在捕获高达30 MHz及以上的电流方面的性能优于最先进的传感器，可用于新兴的高频功率转换器应用，该应用利用宽带隙半导体。所提出的传感器将互补磁电阻和Rogowski线圈技术以及磁集中器结合到单个芯片中。通过将这些先前未充分开发的技术结合在离散电流传感中，将产生用于MHz转换器的非侵入式无损电流传感器，而目前尚无此类传感器。第一阶段的目标将解决开发芯片级集成传感器的技术挑战，包括小型化Rogowski线圈设计和用于信号放大和电磁干扰抑制的磁集中器形状和材料评估。集成电路所需的模拟信号调理电路的设计也是这一阶段的一部分。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to introduce a fully integrated current sensor with an order of magnitude performance improvement over state-of-the-art technologies. The developed technology will enable more reliable, efficient and compact power electronics systems. Power electronics is an integral part of today's power delivery systems such as renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, data centers and most consumer electronics. In these applications, electric current information is often an essential parameter that needs to be known and measured for control, diagnostic and prognostic purposes. With advances in power electronic circuits with specific attention to high frequency power converters, there is a need to investigate alternative approaches and techniques to measure the current. These approaches should result in availability of current sensors that have fast-response, are accurate, loss-less, and preferably non-intrusive. The impact of such a sensor is to enable systems and circuits that will be miniaturized and be made more efficient by using wide bandgap semiconductors and high switching frequencies. Additionally, the availability of current measurement information will lead to greater reliability and prognostic capability. Applications include but are not limited to power converters in electric vehicles and data centers.This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel contactless, hybrid current sensor offering an order of magnitude better performance than the state-of-the-art in capturing currents up to and beyond 30 MHz for use in emerging high-frequency power converter applications utilizing wide bandgap semiconductors. The proposed sensor combines complementary magnetoresisor and Rogowski coil technology along with magnetic concentrators into a single chip. By combining these previously underexplored technologies in discrete current sensing would result in a non-invasive, lossless current sensor for MHz converters, where today none exists. Phase I objectives will address technical challenges in developing a chip-scale integrated sensor, including miniaturized Rogowski coil design and magnetic concentrator shape and material evaluation for signal amplification and electromagnetic interference rejection. Design of the analog signal conditioning circuits required for the integrated circuits are also part of this phase.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.