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

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段研究项目旨在论证第一个基于碳化硅(SIC)高压横向结栅场效应晶体管(HV-LJFET)的独特设计的功率集成电路的可行性，该设计有望克服混合动力汽车(HEV)应用中碳化硅金属氧化物半导体场效应晶体管(MOSFET)面临的所有问题。这项研究将为智能功率DC/DC转换器所需的所有SIC元件及其优化设计建立电路模型，并对关键元件进行实验演示，包括单片集成的HV-LJFET及其栅极驱动缓冲电路，从而开发出完整的、完全集成的智能DC/DC转换器。因此，有可能开发所提出的具有HV-LJFET的全集成智能DC/DC转换器，其比导通电阻比最先进技术低30倍，开关频率比现有技术高10倍以上，并且具有高达300摄氏度的高温能力。随着混合动力汽车等应用的快速发展，对能够可靠(即使在恶劣条件下)、紧凑和智能地高效地输送和管理电能的电力电子系统的需求迅速增长。基于SIC技术的电源管理系统的尺寸和重量大幅减少，从而导致整体车辆效率的提高，这将减少全球变暖。虽然该方案的重点是混合动力汽车的电源管理应用，但在高功率密度至关重要、需要或非常需要高温的其他应用中，包括航空航天和航空电子应用中的负载点DC/DC转换器，所提出的技术也可以提供巨大的优势。

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.