Are WBG Semiconductors the Only Products Enabling EV Popularity? Li-Ion Battery, QSpice, GaN-based Power Supply and more!
Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
Content Editor & Technical Writer | Ph.D in Physics | Power Electronics, Wide Bandgap, Renewable Energy, Embedded Systems, Quantum Computing
Welcome to my newsletter dedicated to power electronics enthusiasts. If you'd like to contribute to it, please don't hesitate to contact me. Today the newsletter reached more than 10,700 subscribers! Thank you!
Wide-bandgap products like silicon carbide and, soon, gallium nitride are enabling electric-vehicle (EV) deployment on a large scale. SiC MOSFETs are instrumental in powering traction inverters with significant efficiency gains with respect to mainstream silicon IGBTs. Other systems inside an EV are also benefiting from the advent of WBG technologies, such as DC/DC converters and chargers. But other products’ roles cannot be overlooked. These include battery management systems and lithium-ion batteries.
Environmental issues and global warming are today subjects of public debates as industries and governments alike, despite poor coordination, try to tackle the reduction of greenhouse gases like CO2 generated by fossil fuels.
Annual CO2 emissions started increasing after the Industrial Revolution and have been soaring since. Assuming a baseline of 6 billion tons in 1950 (according to Our World in Data), the annual quantity of CO2 emitted almost quadrupled in 1990, and today, it is at about 34 billion tons. Europe and the U.S. accounted for 85% of CO2 emissions up until the first half of the last century. This trend is being reversed with Asia (especially China) now being the top contributor in response to emerging industrialization patterns. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that China is leading the electric-vehicle market today in an attempt to decarbonize its economy, starting with road transport. The world transport sector generates 8 billion tons of CO2, with 45% representing passenger, 30% freight, and the remainder represented by aviation and shipping transport, according to 2018 data.
Accelerating Circuit Design and Analysis with Simulation Tools (Podcast)
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
In today’s episode, we’re going to explore a software tool known as QSPICE. QSPICE is a free analog and mixed-signal simulator renowned for its high simulation speed, accuracy and reliability. It’s a versatile tool that empowers engineers to simulate a wide range of electronic circuits, from the simplest to the most complex. In this podcast with QSPICE creator Mike Engelhardt, we will analyze different aspects of this tool. It also accurately models various aspects, such as I2C communication and dynamic register changes during the simulation, reducing errors and making circuit performance prediction more reliable.
Scientific Notes on Power Electronics: Introduction to Limiter Circuits
By Marcello Colozzo
In this tutorial, we will highlight the advantage of the symbolic procedure as regards the simulation of a diode circuit, compared to the numerical procedure that characterizes traditional programming languages.
Advances Will Impact Widespread EV Use
By Filippo Di Giovanni
Wide-bandgap semiconductors are paving the way for massive car electrification. The two main family members, silicon carbide and gallium nitride, allow designers to maximize efficiency in a large variety of energy-conversion systems found in whole e-mobility ecosystems. They include the vehicle traction inverter, DC/DC converter and the on-board charger plus the charging infrastructure. If we consider green power generation, such as photovoltaic inverters and windmills, the use of efficient SiC products is becoming pervasive. But electric vehicles also rely on lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries to ensure decent driving ranges. What is the technology status, and how is it evolving?
QSPICE: The Various Types of Power Sources (Part 5)
By Giovanni Di Maria
In the last installment, we illustrated the operation and use of the main types of voltage and current generators, which are essential tools for electronic circuit designers. In this article, we conclude the review by describing other types of generators, which are even more versatile and powerful.
Large-area Sintering Advances Improve Power Module Performance
By Sonu Daryanani
Wide Band Gap (WBG) power semiconductors based on silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN) enable faster switching, lower losses, and increased power density in power conversion applications. As the intrinsic power semiconductor efficiency improves, greater emphasis is placed on surrounding materials and components for further incremental gains in system performance and to ensure that the WBG dies can be used to their full potential. The increased temperature range, for example, SiC modules rated to 175°C and above, places further requirements on the mechanical and thermal performance of the die-attach, substrate, and heat sinks. The traditional method with silicon power modules to attach the die to the holding substrate, such as direct bonded copper (DBC) and DBC to the base-plate, was with solders. In this article, we will highlight some of the advantages of silver sintering as a replacement for solder.
Benefits of press-pack technology and LTTs
By Juergen Schiele and Jens Przybilla
领英推荐
IGBT modules have dominated power electronic applications for decades. However, some applications require characteristics that cannot be supported by these components, for example, power electronic applications with oil-immersed transformers (OIT) for wind energy systems in the power range of up to 10 MW. Integrating the power electronics in medium-voltage transformers often simplifies the overall design. The well-known thyristor seems to be outdated besides the IGBT. However, the modern light-triggered thyristor (LTT) with Press Pack housing and on-chip functionality does offer some key features for high-power applications that cannot be supported by other current semiconductors. This paper presents the benefits of Infineon Technologies‘ Press Pack housing and LTT and provides information on their unique selling points.
EPC announces 3-phase BLDC motor drive inverter reference design with 100V eGaN FETs
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
Featuring six 100V eGaN FETs, the reference design shrinks motor drives for eBikes, robots, and drones.
Power Integrations Releases Innovative 1,250V GaN Switcher IC
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
The new PowiGaN switch provides significant headroom for industrial applications and is particularly valuable in challenging power grid environments.
Infineon and Eatron collaborate to advance automotive battery management systems
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
Advanced machine learning solutions on the AURIX TC4x MCU are aimed at improving the performance and accuracy of EV battery management systems.
COSEL launches ultra-compact, high efficiency GaN-based power supplies
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
Based on the latest power electronics technologies like GaN and planar-magnetics, the new power supplies save up to 58% board space for industrial applications.
Wine Down Friday with Energous CEO Cesar Johnston
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
In this week’s Wine Down Friday, join us for an insightful conversation with Energous CEO Cesar Johnston, where he delves into the core values that drive the company’s culture. Discover how teamwork, ownership and integrity are the cornerstones of our success. While highlighting the importance of an engineering background, he also shares his perspective on the balance between engineering work and CEO responsibilities.
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