Power semiconductor device

A power semiconductor device is a semiconductor device used as a switch or rectifier in power electronics (for example in a switch-mode power supply). Such a device is also called a power device or, when used in an integrated circuit, a power IC. A power semiconductor device is usually used in "commutation mode" (i.e., it is either on or off), and therefore has a design optimized for such usage; it should usually not be used in linear operation. Linear power circuits are widespread as voltage regulators, audio amplifiers, and radio frequency amplifiers. Power semiconductors are found in systems delivering as little as a few tens of milliwatts for a headphone amplifier, up to around a gigawatt in a high voltage direct current transmission line. History The first electronic device used in power circuits was the electrolytic rectifier - an early version was described by a French experimenter, A. Nodon, in 1904. These were briefly popular with early radio experimenters as

Convertisseurs multiniveaux asymétriques alimentés par transformateurs multi-secondaires basse-fréquence

Joseph Song Manguelle

In the last years, static power converters have become widely used in various applications. They can be found in domestic applications, railways, urban and ship transport, and even in several industrial systems. Some of these applications require a high or medium voltage power supply that is easily adjustable while providing good spectral performances. To overcome the maximum blocking voltage limits of the main power switches, multilevel techniques and other new power conversion topologies have been developed. They are series/parallel associations of existing power semiconductors, and allow generating an output voltage with many levels. The number of power semiconductors needed in these topologies increases as the number of levels increases. The power converter circuit becomes more complex and its reliability decreases. This thesis focuses on three-phase multilevel converters based on a series connection of single phase inverters (partial cells) in each phase. It's shown that, feeding partial cells with unequal DC-voltages (asymmetric feeding), increases the number of levels of the generated output voltage without any supplemental complexity to the existing topology. Voltage resolution is increased through interpolating the generated output voltage phasor (three phase voltage in α-β frame). This is achieved by seeking the non redundant switching states of the power switches. The resultant converter can generate a very high resolution voltage phasor up to the possible maximum resolution. This approach is generalized for any number of partial cells. Each partial cell is fed through a three-phase diode rectifier, fed itself through the windings of a multi-secondary low frequency power transformer. From analytical expressions in continuous and discontinuous current conix duction modes, it is shown that, from a supply network point of view, a symmetrical multilevel converter has a smaller total harmonic distortion than an asymmetrical multilevel converter with the same number of partial cells per phase. An asymmetrical multilevel converter is not more interesting than a classical three-phase converter, but its total harmonic distortion is compatible to the recommended IEEE std 519-1992. It is also shown that the advantages of an asymmetric multilevel converter from a load point of view (generation of a high resolution voltage phasor, possibility to choose the number of redundant switching states, reduction of the number of power semiconductors for the same voltage resolution, flexibility for the DC-voltage feeding choice) and the advantages of a symmetrical multilevel converter from a supply network point of view (smaller total harmonic distorsion) can be combined. Simulation results and the experimental test setup showed the reliability of the suggested approach.

EPFL2004

Diamond on GaN integration for power semiconductor devices with efficient thermal management

Reza Soleiman Zadeh Ardebili

The international actions against global warming demands reductions in carbon emission and more efficient use of energy. Energy efficiency in the conversion and use of electricity, as an important form of energy in the modern life, has strong environmental and economical impacts. Power electronic devices determining roles in the overall system efficiency in many applications such as power converters and inverters. Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices have emerged as an superior alternative to the silicon devices and enabled unprecedented efficiencies. GaN-based high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) offer excellent characteristics such as high switching speed, low switching and conduction losses, small device size and high power density capabilities. However, such significant increases in the power density and the reduction of device size comes at the price of dramatic increases in the heat fluxes and appearance of hot spots in the device footprint that cannot be addressed using conventional methods. The integration of diamond and GaN has been highly pursued for thermal management purposes as well as combining their exceptional complementary properties for power electronics applications and novel semiconductor heterostructures. In this thesis, we discuss the key hindrances towards realisation of diamond on GaN substrates and devices, and we propose novel solutions for improving the feasibility of diamond-on-GaN integration for efficient thermal management of hot spots in GaN devices and development of diamond devices integrated with GaN devices in the same chip.The growth of diamond on GaN is challenging due to the high lattice and thermal expansion mismatches. The weak adhesion of diamond to GaN and high residual stresses after the deposition often result in the diamond film delamination or development of cracks, which prevents the subsequent device fabrication. In this thesis, a new seed dibbling method is presented for seeding and growing high-quality diamond films on cost-effective GaN-on-Si substrates, which result in significantly larger diamond grains and lower residual stresses (as low as 0.2 GPa) compared to conventional methods. Moreover, the excellent adhesion obtained by this method enabled a reliable polishing of the as-grown diamond films on GaN-on-Si without any delamination, resulting in smooth diamond-on-GaN substrates with sub-nanometer roughness. The high temperature hot spots in GaN devices are addressed by the near-junction heat spreaders using diamond films deposited on GaN. An analytical model for the heat spreading is presented to analyse the performance and optimize the heat spreaders, considering the geometry and thermal conductivity of the heat spreader and the substrate. Experimental demonstration of diamond heat spreaders on vertical GaN diodes together with the thermal characterization of their behaviour shows significant reduction of thermal spreading resistances, hot spot temperatures and temperature gradients from the device footprint, which highlights the impact of such heat spreaders for the thermal management of high power density GaN devices.The diamond films deposited on GaN were also used to demonstrate high-performance diamond transistors integrated on AlGaN/GaN-on-Si substrates with characteristics such as high breakdown voltage, high current density, and high on/off ratio, which opens many new possibilities for the development of power ICs with complementary logics, gate drivers and power

EPFL2021

Convertisseurs multiniveaux asymétriques alimentés par transformateurs multi-secondaires basse-fréquence

Joseph Song Manguelle

EPFL2004

Diamond on GaN integration for power semiconductor devices with efficient thermal management

Reza Soleiman Zadeh Ardebili

EPFL2021

Convertisseurs multiniveaux asymétriques alimentés par transformateurs multi-secondaires basse-fréquence

Diamond on GaN integration for power semiconductor devices with efficient thermal management

High-voltage devices and circuits in standard CMOS technologies

High-voltage devices and circuits in standard CMOS technologies

Convertisseurs multiniveaux asymétriques alimentés par transformateurs multi-secondaires basse-fréquence

Diamond on GaN integration for power semiconductor devices with efficient thermal management