High-Voltage Optically-Activated Wide-Bandgap Rapid Fault Isolation Device

高压光激活宽带隙快速故障隔离装置

• 批准号: 1509757
• 负责人: Sudip Mazumder
• 金额: $ 33.93万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2021-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1509757&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Voltage; Optically; Activated; Wide; Bandgap

Rapid Fault Isolation (RFI) in legacy and/or emerging AC and DC power systems has emerged as an extremely important issue from the reliability, stability, power quality, and capacity utilization viewpoints. This project seeks to develop a silicon-carbide based optically-activated gate-turn-off thyristor (SiC OA-GTO) that is expected to be a game changer in RFI, with clear device and system level benefits based on radically new innovations. The SiC OA-GTO will also have clear benefits for several major applications including pulsed-power systems, transfer switches, high-voltage power electronic converters for medium-voltage drives, energy storage, step-up-transformerless integration of solar and wind energy, and flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS), to name a few. This National Science Foundation (NSF) project will provide graduate- and undergraduate-level research and education opportunities, including a significant representation of minority and cross-disciplinary students. Guidance will be provided to one middle-school student each summer. The results of the research will be integrated into the course ECE 442 (Power semiconductor devices and integrated circuits). The PI will leverage his demonstrated mechanisms of research dissemination (for his ongoing and prior NSF projects) to support this NSF project.The technical objectives of this project are as follows: 1) To synthesize a high-gain monolithic SiC based optically-activated (OA) gate-turn-off thyristor (i.e., SiC OA-GTO) for realization of a Rapid Fault Isolation Device (RFID) (i.e., SiC OA-RFID). The SiC OA-RFID is expected to support high breakdown voltage, high rated and surge currents, high slew rate, low on-state forward drop, high junction temperature, and operation using low average optical triggering power; 2) To design an optimal photonic package for the SiC OA-GTO and then using it realize a SiC OA-RFID to address reduced parasitic inductance given the presence of large di/dt, thermal robustness, and uniform and efficient triggering and mitigation of current filamentation by optimal beam localization; and 3) Experimental I-V and switching characterizations of the fabricated prototype device at package levels for performance validations. The SiC OA-GTO device for the OA-RFID incorporates several key features: a) a monolithic SiC device structure that mitigates parasitic inductances yielding high di/dt; b) rapid turn-on and turn-off due to novel optical excitation and unity-gain turn off; c) very low optical power requirement due to thyristor action and conductivity modulation; d) low forward drop; e) seamless voltage and current scaling; f) high-voltage blocking and current conduction; g) high thermal conductivity; h) novel optical triggering that simplifies switching; and i) no dependence on oxide layer. The new optical single-bias device, unlike leading high voltage Si and SiC based devices yields immunity against noise, enhanced reliability, and reduced delay due to direct photogeneration. Additionally, optical triggering eliminates complexity associated with negative gate referencing. The optical device enhances isolation between the SiC OA-GTO power stage and the low-voltage control stage. Photonic modulation of the device enables dynamic control of device dynamics of the SiC OA-GTO yielding reduced delay and improved on-state and off-state characteristics.

从可靠性、稳定性、电能质量和容量利用率的角度来看，传统和/或新兴交流和直流电力系统中的快速故障隔离 (RFI) 已成为一个极其重要的问题。该项目旨在开发一种基于碳化硅的光激活栅极可关断晶闸管 (SiC OA-GTO)，预计将成为 RFI 领域的游戏规则改变者，基于全新的创新，具有明显的设备和系统级优势。 SiC OA-GTO 还将为几个主要应用带来明显的优势，包括脉冲功率系统、转换开关、用于中压驱动的高压电力电子转换器、储能、太阳能和风能的升压无变压器集成、以及灵活的交流输电系统 (FACTS) 等。该国家科学基金会 (NSF) 项目将提供研究生和本科生水平的研究和教育机会，其中包括大量少数族裔和跨学科学生。每年夏天将为一名中学生提供指导。研究成果将被纳入课程ECE 442（功率半导体器件和集成电路）。 PI 将利用他所展示的研究传播机制（用于他正在进行的和之前的 NSF 项目）来支持该 NSF 项目。该项目的技术目标如下： 1）合成基于高增益单片 SiC 的光激活（ OA）门极可关断晶闸管（即 SiC OA-GTO），用于实现快速故障隔离设备（RFID）（即 SiC OA-RFID）。 SiC OA-RFID预计将支持高击穿电压、高额定电流和浪涌电流、高转换速率、低通态正向压降、高结温以及使用低平均光触发功率的操作； 2) 为 SiC OA-GTO 设计最佳光子封装，然后使用它实现 SiC OA-RFID，以解决在存在大 di/dt、热鲁棒性以及均匀有效的电流触发和缓解的情况下降低寄生电感的问题通过最佳光束定位成丝； 3) 所制造的原型器件在封装级别的实验 I-V 和开关特性，以进行性能验证。用于 OA-RFID 的 SiC OA-GTO 器件具有几个关键特性：a) 单片 SiC 器件结构，可减轻寄生电感，产生高 di/dt； b) 由于新颖的光激励和单位增益关闭而实现快速开启和关闭； c) 由于晶闸管作用和电导率调制，光功率要求非常低； d) 低前向压降； e) 无缝电压和电流缩放； f) 高压阻断和电流传导； g) 高导热率； h) 新颖的光学触发，简化了切换； i) 不依赖于氧化层。与领先的基于高压 Si 和 SiC 的器件不同，新型光学单偏压器件具有抗噪声能力、增强的可靠性以及由于直接光生成而减少的延迟。此外，光学触发消除了与负栅极参考相关的复杂性。该光学器件增强了 SiC OA-GTO 功率级和低压控制级之间的隔离。该器件的光子调制能够动态控制 SiC OA-GTO 的器件动态，从而减少延迟并改善开态和关态特性。