PFI-TT: High-Power Electronic Chip Devices Using Novel Materials and Innovative Strategies

University Of South Carolina At Columbia, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is related to the development of an electronic chip device based on a relatively new material system. These devices can offer much higher efficiencies, operating voltages, switching frequencies, and operation at higher temperatures. These devices are essential for the flexible and efficient electrification of industry. The target applications for the developed devices include the transportation industry such as motor vehicles, trains, ships, planes, electrical power grids, heavy industry, and power conversion in harsh environments. The project will impact every industry segment related to power conversion, storage, and transmission – which are linked to every activity of human life. The new material employed for this project has many advantages over the existing materials but there are technical challenges in fabricating these devices. The project will use innovative strategies to exploit the advantages and diminish the disadvantages that will result in devices with size reduction, faster operation, and reduced power consumption. The efforts in this project will be geared towards the commercialization of the final product that will result in energy efficiency. The other aspect of this project is the training of future leaders to ensure the technical dominance of the USA in the world. The proposed project will help commercialize high-power electronic devices based on a newly developed growth method for producing semiconductor materials for high-power devices. Although the material system investigated in this proposal is ideal for high power/temperature applications but has very poor thermal conductivity and is harder to produce cohesively for the dimensions required to produce the devices. Thus, if these problems are not taken care of, they will result in catastrophic heating of the devices and poor device performance. To solve these problems, it is proposed to produce these materials and associated devices on a thermally conducting base. Thus, the heat generated during the device operation will be removed through the thermally conducting base that scan open applications in many industry segments as indicated above. The second problem is solved by a patent-pending approach that allows the production of high-power devices in a cohesive manner, which will result in low power loss and high efficiency. The use of new material production processes and growth on conducting base will result in devices that will have strong commercialization potential. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.