Slick Sheet: Project
The University of Arkansas is developing a heterogeneously integrated power module for applications in the electric power grid and electrified transportation. The module will integrate capacitors, sensors, and integrated circuits, enabling next generation, more reliable power electronics. University of Arkansas’ proposed technology could open the door for up to a 10-fold improvement in switching performance compared with the state of the art.

Slick Sheet: Project
GaNify is developing a power integrated circuit building block that would enable an enhanced control of power electronics converters for a more efficient and reliable grid. GaNify’s medium-voltage gallium nitride light-controlled integrated circuit takes advantage of low cost, manufacturable, and scalable components to design and build an integrated wide-bandgap semiconductor module for grid-level power electronics. If successful, the module would feature high noise immunity, enhanced protection, and five-fold lower power loss than legacy silicon-based technology.

Slick Sheet: Project
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville will develop scalable light-triggered semiconductor switch modules for the protection of grid and aviation power systems. The proposed switch module seeks to achieve cost savings, fast switching speeds, and built-in redundancy by using sub-modules featuring lower-voltage and lower-current silicon carbide devices for desired higher application voltage and current levels.

Slick Sheet: Project
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is developing ultrawide-bandgap switching devices that would achieve a five times higher voltage than the state-of-the-art, enabling more sophisticated control methods for the grid. The proposed switching devices take advantage of beta-gallium oxide, an ultrawide-bandgap material that possess inherently superior properties compared with legacy silicon switching devices. UCSB’s switching device will be optically powered and controlled to limit the effects of electromagnetic interference.

Slick Sheet: Project
Georgia Institute of Technology is developing a semiconductor switching device from wide-bandgap III-Nitride material to improve grid control, resilience, and reliability. Georgia Tech’s switching device seeks to achieve remarkable current and power capabilities by utilizing carrier control phenomena which transport current through the entirety of the semiconductor volume, a capability distinct from conventional power transistor designs which channel current through narrow constrictions.

Slick Sheet: Project
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing diamond semiconductor switching devices to enable revolutionary breakthroughs in electricity grid protection. The proposed device is composed of light-triggered ultrawide-bandgap materials and overcomes the voltage and current limitations of conventional photoconductive devices. If successful, the device will be a critical component in higher-temperature, more efficient, and reliable power electronics.

Slick Sheet: Project
Great Lakes Crystal Technologies is developing a diamond semiconductor transistor to support the control infrastructure needed for an energy grid with more distributed generation sources and more variable loads. The proposed transistor takes advantage of the properties of diamond, an ultrawide-bandgap semiconductor material with better thermal management, lower power loss, and higher operating voltage than conventional materials. The device switches can be controlled by light source and electrical means, improving electromagnetic interference immunity.

Slick Sheet: Project
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is developing an optically triggered semiconductor switching device to reduce power losses up to 50% compared with current technologies. The team seeks to monolithically integrate optically triggered phototransistors and power transistors onto the same chip—which are typically incompatible because of material dissimilarities—by using ultrawide-bandgap materials. The proposed technology could increase switching frequency without raising switching losses and serve as a critical building block for grid modernization.

Slick Sheet: Project
Texas Tech University is developing a photoconductive semiconductor switching device from ultrawide-bandgap materials that would enable improved control of the grid. The ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors used in the device—hexagonal boron nitride and aluminum nitride—support higher voltage and current than legacy semiconductor materials. Texas Tech’s device seeks to enable efficient high-power and high-speed power electronics converters for a smarter grid.

Slick Sheet: Project
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is developing a semiconductor transistor device to enable future grid control systems to accommodate higher voltage and current than conventional devices. The team seeks to build a high-power diamond optoelectronic device that has the inherent advantages of diamond’s superior properties relative to other wide- and ultrawide-bandgap semiconductor materials. Three of the proposed devices in series would be able to support more than 6 kilovolts, almost double that of existing wide-bandgap commercial options.