High-Voltage High-Power-Density Power Electronics for Emerging Medical, Environmental, and Aerospace Applications

摘要：高压小电流电力电子转换器可以提供10s到100s的电压和1到100 mA的电流，在许多医疗、环境和航空航天应用中发挥着至关重要的作用，无论是已经建立的还是正在出现的。在许多这样的应用中，即使不是必不可少的，紧凑和轻便的高压电源也是可取的。不幸的是，传统技术低效、笨重、笨重。该项目旨在开发新一代轻便高效的高压功率转换器，使其能够实现许多有前途的应用。其基本思想是利用射频电路技术和最近推出的高性能宽带隙半导体功率晶体管。该项目将使许多以前被认为不切实际的高压应用成为可能，从而创造新的研究和商业机会。一种可以在几毫秒内达到10s千伏的小型化电源将增强X射线系统的便携性和安全性。这些电源还可以使更小、更便宜的粒子束加速器更容易获得离子和中子源。这些系统可以用来检测有害物质和爆炸物，并绘制油井中石油的分布图。随着高压变流器的尺寸和重量的大幅减小，其他应用也成为可能，例如一种新型的电液动力飞行器，它不使用运动部件，具有非常低的噪音和热轮廓。研究人员将开发一种小型、轻型的DC-DC功率转换器，能够产生接近100千伏的输出电压。实现这一目标的最有前途的候选者之一是具有电感隔离的高频多级式DE整流器。在前人对多级DE类整流器的研究中，直流输出电压被限制在具有高品质因数的电容器的击穿电压。随着空芯变压器的加入，输出电压上限提高到变压器一次绕组和二次绕组之间的击穿电位。整流器的并联输入串联输出连接与高频操作相结合，可实现快速上升和下降时间，使该电路特别适用于需要脉冲直流电压的系统。在功率密度(单位体积的输出功率)和比功率(单位质量的输出功率)方面，开发的功率转换器预计将比最先进的现有转换器高出至少一个数量级，因此将启用或改进许多需要高压电源的技术。在该项目的后期阶段，将努力通过建立包括电液动力飞行器、X射线管和中子源在内的目标应用的原型来证明所开发的高压电源的实用性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Abstract:High-voltage low-current power-electronic converters that can deliver voltages between 10s to 100s of kV and currents in the 1-100 mA range play a critical role in many medical, environmental, and aerospace applications, established or emerging. In many of those applications, a compact and lightweight high-voltage power supply is desirable if not essential. Unfortunately, conventional technologies are inefficient, heavy, and bulky. This project seeks to develop a new generation of lightweight and efficient high voltage power converters that will enable many promising applications. The fundamental idea is to leverage radio frequency circuit techniques and the recent introduction of high-performance wide-bandgap semiconductor power transistors. This project will make possible many high-voltage applications that have previously been considered impractical, thereby creating new research and business opportunities. A miniaturized power supply that can reach 10s of kV in a fraction of a millisecond will enhance the portability and safety of X-ray systems. These power supplies can also enable smaller and cheaper particle-beam accelerators to make ion and neutron sources more readily available. These systems can be used to detect harmful substances, explosives and map the distribution of petroleum in an oil well. Other applications can become possible with a dramatic reduction in the size and weight of a high voltage converter, like a new kind of electrohydrodynamic aerial vehicle that uses no moving parts and with very low noise and heat profile.Investigators will develop a small and lightweight dc-dc power converter capable of generating an output voltage close to 100 kV. One of the most promising candidates for such goal is high-frequency multi-stage class-DE rectifiers with inductive isolation. In the principal investigator's previous works on multi-stage class-DE rectifiers, the dc output voltage is limited to the breakdown voltage of capacitors with high-quality factors. With the insertion of an air-core transformer, the output voltage upper limit is enhanced up to the breakdown potential between transformer primary and secondary windings. Parallel-input series-output connection of rectifiers in conjunction with high-frequency operation leads to fast rise and fall times, making the circuit particularly suitable for systems that require pulsed dc voltage. Regarding power density (output power per unit volume) and specific power (output power per unit mass), the developed power converter is expected to be superior to state-of-the-art existing converters by at least an order of magnitude and hence will enable or improve many technologies that require high voltage source. In a later stage of the project, efforts will be made to prove the practicality of the developed high-voltage power supplies by building prototypes of target applications including an electrohydrodynamic aerial vehicle, an X-ray tube, and a neutron source.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.