High-Power Silicon Carbide Inverter Design

79498S The size and weight of Power Conversion Circuitry, needed for the transmission and distribution of electricity, is dominated by the reactive components and the heat removal system. The key to reducing the energy storage and filtering requirements, along with the heat dissipated, is the development and applciation of improved switching devices that permit efficient, high-frequency, high-temperture operation. The most mature of the Wide Band Gap (WBG) device technologies is silicon carbide (SiC) technology, for which commercial devices are now appearing. This project will design and construct a SiC based inverter, at a nominal 100kW power level, and develop circuit topology, control, thermal design, advanced passives, and integrated packaging, all of which will be appropriate for SiC. Phase I will evaluate and choose a candidate SiC power device, select a power topology that will fully utilize the device, design contol and thermal systems, select passive device technology, run the system with thermal simulations, and develop a conceptual mechanical design for the SiC inverter. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: All power conversion circuitry should benefit from the improvements in weight, size, efficiency, robustness, and system reliability enabled by SiC power device technology. Once the technology is successfully commecialized it should become ubiquitous in the power conversion arena. At sufficient production volume, SiC based conversion systems should ultiamtely be cheaper than their Silicon counterparts.