Power Electronics Research Group - MIT RLE

Power electronic circuits process and control electrical energy, and are critical elements in many kinds of systems. The rapid evolution of technology is ... PowerElectronicsResearchGroup ProfessorDavidPerreault Research Powerelectroniccircuitsprocessandcontrolelectricalenergy,andarecriticalelementsinmanykindsofsystems. Therapidevolutionoftechnologyisgeneratingademandforpowerelectronicswhosecapabilitiesgreatlyexceedwhatispresentlyachievable. Challengesofparticularimportanceincludeminiaturizationandintegrationofpowerelectronics,andimprovingtheircostanddynamicperformance. Miniaturizationisdifficultinpartbecausethemagneticcomponentsusedinmostpowercircuitsscaledownpoorlyinsize. Likewise,achievingintegrationandlowcostisdifficultbecauseofthediversematerialsandassemblymethodsthatarerequiredforcontemporarydesigns. Myresearchgroupisworkingtoaddressthesechallengesthroughacombinationofnewtechnologies. Oneresearchfocusisonthedevelopmentofimprovedpowerpassivecomponents. Passivecomponentssuchasinductorsandcapacitorsoftendominatethesizeandcostofpowercircuits,andlimittheirefficiency,noiseattenuation,andtransientperformance. Inoneeffort,wearedevelopingmeanstoimprovetheperformanceofpassivefiltercomponentsbycompensatingfortheirparasitics. Theseeffortshaveledtonewintegratedfiltercomponentswithmuchbetterperformancethanconventionalpassives. Likewise,wearedevelopingnewtypesofpowerpassivecomponentsthatbetterscaletosmallsizesandhighfrequencies. Constructionofthesecomponentsusingmicrofabricationtechniquesisalsobeingexplored,withthegoalofenablingintegratedfabricationofpowerconverters. Asecondresearchfocusisthedevelopmentoftechniquestoachievegreatlyincreasedswitchingfrequenciesinpowerconverters. Higherfrequenciesaredesirablebecausetheyenablefastertransientresponseandreducepassivecomponentrequirements. Moreover,atsufficientlyhighfrequencies,batchfabricationofmanycircuitcomponentsmaybecomepossible,enablinghigherlevelsofintegrationtobeachieved. Weareexploringnewsystemarchitectures,circuitdesigns,andcontrolmethodsthattogetherenablesubstantialincreasesinoperatingfrequencyoverthepresentstateoftheart. Itisanticipatedthatthetechnologiesunderdevelopmentwillleadtominiaturized,highlyintegratedpowerelectronics. Inadditiontodevelopingfundamentalpowerconversiontechnologies,weareapplyingtheminavarietyofapplications. Automotivepowergenerationandcontrolisonesucharea. Forexample,wehaveinvestigatedtheapplicationofpowerelectronicstoenhancetheefficiency,power,andtransientperformanceofautomotivealternators. Wehavealsodevelopeddc/dcconvertersandotherpowerelectronicsforautomotiveapplications,withthegoalofenablingimprovedperformance,safety,andcomfortinvehicles. Otherareasofinterestincludepowercomponentsandcircuitsforindustrial,commercial,consumer,andmedicalapplicationswhereimprovedsize,efficiency,andperformanceareofimportance. Copyright©MassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyAccessibility ReturntoTop▲