Efficient and High-Frequency Power Electronics

The use of innovative technologies such as new transistors based on silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN) opens up many possibilities in power electronics. They have a direct influence on the frequency and efficiency of the system, limit its power density and thermal design and affect the dimensioning of the passive components and overall system costs. Due to extremely low switching losses and low conduction losses of the components, circuits with high frequencies and high efficiency can be realized. Due to these high switching frequencies, the expenditure for the passive components, in particular the size of choke coils, can be significantly reduced.

Compared to solutions with silicon (Si) components, the high frequencies and the smaller passive components enable new concepts and modern assembly techniques. This makes it possible to implement much more compact and cost-effective concepts at system level for future generations of power electronic converters. With SiC transistors, the frequencies can be increased by a factor of three to five compared to Si transistors. Power converters with even higher frequencies up to the MHz range can be realized with GaN semiconductors.

Particularly in the field of renewable energies, the use of transistors with large band gaps offers significant advantages in terms of power density, efficiency and overall system costs. However, these can also be transferred to many other application areas such as industrial applications, automotive, railway, aerospace, etc. where highly efficient and compact power electronics are required.