Semiconductor pioneer Fairchild (NASDAQ: FCS) is expanding its portfolio of automotive-grade semiconductor solutions for electrified vehicles with its new discrete and bare die IGBTs and diodes, which are designed to be well-suited for traction inverters. The new components feature Field Stop Trench IGBT technology and a soft fast recovery diode. Designers can add IGBTs in… Read more »
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A closer look at wire bonding
Wire bonding technology – widely utilized in the microelectronics and power electronics industries since the 1970s – is finding its way into interesting new applications in the growing EV industry – in particular, battery connections. We’re quite certain that a few EVs are using wire-bonding technology for production battery pack connections, but Charged was unable… Read more »
Pi Innovo and GaN Systems collaborate to design auxiliary systems for electrified vehicles
As start/stop, mild hybrid and multi-voltage systems continue to creep into “conventional” gas vehicles, controls engineering firm Pi Innovo and semiconductor manufacturer GaN Systems foresee steadily growing demand for their products. The two companies recently announced that they are collaborating to offer automakers a pathway to the electrification of vehicle auxiliary systems. Hybrids and EVs… Read more »
Winning Google Little Box Challenge inverter powered by GaN Systems transistors
Google and the IEEE Power Electronics Society established the Little Box Challenge to stimulate the development of inverters, key components of both solar energy installations and EV systems. The challenge to engineers: “Figure out how to shrink an inverter down to something smaller than a laptop (a reduction of 10× in volume), and you’ll win… Read more »
Graphene cages could be the key to silicon anodes
Battery boffins are buzzing about silicon anodes, which could store up to 10 times more energy than today’s anodes. The catch is that silicon particles tend to swell and crack during cycling, and to react with the electrolyte in unwanted ways. Now a team from Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator… Read more »
Gallium nitride power diode shows near-ideal performance in all aspects simultaneously
Silicon-based semiconductors are approaching their performance limits, so researchers are investigating materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) as potential replacements. A team of engineers from Cornell, Notre Dame and the semiconductor company IQE has created GaN power diodes capable of serving as the building blocks for future GaN power switches. Alas, GaN is prone to… Read more »
Freescale introduces new lithium-ion battery cell controller
Lithium-ion chemistries are increasingly replacing lead-acid automotive batteries, especially in start-stop and energy recuperation systems, and they are even making inroads into starter battery applications. Electronics such as Freescale Semiconductor’s battery cell controllers are used to manage risks such as overcharge, overheating and internal short circuits. Now Freescale has introduced the MC33772 3- to 6-cell… Read more »
DOE to fund graduate-level training programs in power electronics
The DOE has announced up to $10 million in funding to establish graduate-level training programs for engineers in power electronics. The five-year program will begin in the fall 2016 school year. Citing the important part that power engineers play in advanced energy technologies, the DOE expects them to be in high demand in the growing… Read more »
Railcar traction inverter with SiC power modules achieves 40% power savings
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, which has been testing a traction inverter made with silicon carbide (SiC), has announced that the component has demonstrated a savings in power consumption of around 40%. The traction inverter was installed in a 1000 series urban train in commercial service with a Japanese railroad, and was tested over a four-month period…. Read more »
Small businesses score DOE funding for EV technology R&D
The DOE has selected 162 projects to receive $26.6 million in the 2015 Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) awards. About 16 of these are vehicle-related, encompassing such technologies as batteries, power electronics and hydrogen fuel cells. Under the SBIR and STTR programs, federal agencies with large R&D budgets set aside… Read more »