STTR Phase I: Harnessing Gallium Oxide for High-Efficiency Power Conversion in Data Centers - Evaluation of Gallium Oxide Power Devices in Power Converters

The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to address the inefficiencies that exist within power electronics. Power electronics is the use of components and circuits to modify the voltage to make it usable. Electricity goes through many power conversion steps until charging a computer with a cumulative efficiency of <80%. By using new semiconductor materials, these power conversion steps can be made more efficient. By making power electronics more efficient, significant cost savings can be realized, making a positive economic and environmental impact. The benefits of this technology are most obvious within high power or high-power density applications. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure, solar farms, and industrial applications are commercial use cases that will directly benefit in addition to important defense applications for aerospace and weapon systems. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will use the next-generation ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor gallium oxide (Ga2O3). With its large bandgap and the availability of high-quality native substrates, Ga2O3 can meet emerging needs that current materials cannot readily address. Through this grant, the project team will enhance the performance of scaled-up Ga2O3 devices by refining their design to minimize losses. These improved devices will be tested in industry-relevant circuits, allowing the team to quantify their economic and technical advantages. Such circuit-level data will be instrumental in identifying the optimal operating conditions (e.g., voltage, power, frequency) for Ga2O3-based devices and in guiding further engineering efforts. 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.