CAREER: SiC High-Frequency High-Voltage Power Converters with Partial-Discharge Mitigation and Electromagnetic Noise Containment

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The fast penetration of electric vehicles (EV), energy storage devices, distributed renewable energy resources put many challenges on the state-of-art ac power grid. Medium-voltage (MV) to high-voltage (HV) dc power network is considered as a promising solution to enable high-efficient, high-reliable, and low-carbon-emission energy transmission and delivery. High-density power electronic systems which can provide MV/HV output are very critical to enabling such MV/HV dc network. However, the existing system still suffers the bulky volume, heavy weight, and low reliability. This NSF CAREER project aims to address several fundamental challenges and bring transformative solutions and technologies to improve the power-density of MV and HV power converters with over an order of magnitude. This will be achieved by use of MV and HV wide-band-gap power semiconductor devices and multiple miniaturized system integration solution and tools. The intellectual merits of the project include many new scientific knowledge of driving and protecting HV wide-band-gap power semiconductor switching unit, comprehensive design tools of HV insulation system for high-frequency power electronics, physics and numerical-based models for predicting partial-discharge (PD) behaviors. The broader impacts of the project include help drive the fast adoption of MV and HV high-frequency high-density power conversion by bridging the industry knowledge gaps for emerging applications and drive the energy eco-system toward zero-carbon emissions and promote the US dominance in wide-band-gap power semiconductor industry and gain the market leadership. To enable the order-of-magnitude power density improvement of MV/HV power converters, this proposal identifies three critical areas and scientific gaps as the starting point for the PI’s long-term career: 1) Characterization, modeling, and investigation of a comprehensive real-time dynamic voltage balancing approach for stacking SiC semiconductors to enable a MV/HV high-speed “super-switch” as the basic building block for MV/HV converters. 2) Investigation of solid dielectric system and electric-field (E-field) shaping design methodologies for internal/external PD-free high-density power electronics integration; 3) Investigation of MV conductive EMI noise containment and EMI filter design. In the program, comprehensive real-time digital dynamic voltage balancing solutions for MV SiC MOSFETs in series will be explored. Characterization and design tools of HV converter integration considering E-field stress Management and PD mitigation will be developed. In the end, HV planar EMI filter with HV feed-through connector for high-frequency converter with integrated EM shielding solution will be developed. The proposed program will collaborate with the researchers with the expertise on power device physics, solid and gaseous dielectric materials and HV insulation, and EMI to create fundamental cross-domain knowledge, design tools, innovative solutions, and education materials.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.