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

电动汽车、储能设备、分布式可再生能源的快速普及对现有的交流电网提出了许多挑战。中压转高压（HV）直流电网是实现高效、高可靠、低碳排放的能源传输和输送的一种有前途的解决方案。能够提供中压/高压输出的高密度电力电子系统对于实现中压/高压直流网络至关重要。但是，现有的系统仍然存在体积大、重量大、可靠性低等缺点。这个NSF CAREER项目旨在解决几个基本挑战，并带来变革性的解决方案和技术，以提高中压和高压电源转换器的功率密度超过一个数量级。这将通过使用中压和高压宽带隙功率半导体器件和多个小型化系统集成解决方案和工具来实现。该项目的知识优势包括许多驱动和保护高压宽带隙功率半导体开关装置的新科学知识，高频电力电子高压绝缘系统的综合设计工具，局部放电（PD）行为预测的物理和基于数值的模型。该项目的更广泛影响包括通过弥合新兴应用的行业知识差距，帮助推动中高压高频高密度功率转换的快速采用，推动能源生态系统向零碳排放发展，促进美国在宽带隙功率半导体行业的主导地位，并获得市场领导地位。为了使中压/高压功率转换器的功率密度得到数量级的提高，本提案确定了三个关键领域和科学空白，作为PI长期职业生涯的起点：1)表征、建模和研究一种全面的实时动态电压平衡方法，用于堆叠SiC半导体，使中压/高压高速“超级开关”成为中压/高压转换器的基本构建块。2)内/外无pd高密度电力电子集成固体介质系统及电场（E-field）成型设计方法研究；3)中压导电EMI噪声抑制与EMI滤波器设计研究。本课题将探索中压SiC mosfet串联的综合实时数字动态电压平衡解决方案。将开发考虑电场应力管理和PD缓解的高压变流器集成的表征和设计工具。在此基础上，研制了用于高频变换器的高压馈通连接器高压平面电磁干扰滤波器，并提出了集成电磁屏蔽方案。该计划将与具有功率器件物理、固体和气体介电材料、高压绝缘和EMI方面专业知识的研究人员合作，以创建基本的跨领域知识、设计工具、创新解决方案和教育材料。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 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.