Optically Triggered Ultrawide-Bandgap (UWBG) Power Electronics

Default ARPA-E Project Image

Program:
ULTRAFAST
Award:
TBD
Location:
TBD
Status:
Selected
Project Term:
TBD
Website:

Technology Description:

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.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Olga Spahn
Project Contact:
Prof. Chirag Gupta
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
cgupta9@wisc.edu

Related Projects

• GaNify - Medium-Voltage Optoelectronic Power IC Building Block
• Georgia Institute of Technology - Scalable Wide-Bandgap III-Nitride Switch (SWiNS)
• Great Lakes Crystal Technologies - High Power Diamond Transistors with Electrical and Optical Gate Control
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) - Diamond Optically Gated Junction Field Effect Transistor
• NextWatt - UWBG Device with Rapid Switching and Minimal Optical Power Requirement
• Opcondys - Ultrafast, Autonomous Grid Protection Using Linear Photonic Switching
• RTX Technologies Research Center (RTRC) - TRIGER: Timed RF Integrated Gating for Energy Regulation
• Sandia National Laboratories - E1-Arrester for Improved EMP Protection
• Texas Tech University - Ultrawide-Bandgap Semiconductors for Extrinsic Photoconductive Switching Devices
• University of Arkansas - Heterogeneously Integrated Power Modules
• University of Buffalo - Optically Cascoded Ultrahigh Voltage Gallium Oxide Devices for Modular Multi-Converter
• University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) - Optically Controlled 20 kV Gallium Oxide Power Switches for Grid Resiliency
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) - Diamond PCSS: DIAMOND PhotoConductive Semiconductor Switches
• University of Pennsylvania - All-Optical Control of Isolated High Voltage Power Systems Using Integrated Electronic, Photonic, and Microfabricated Sensing and Breaker Technology
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) - A UNIVERSAL (Ultrafast, Noise-Immune, Versatile, Efficient, Reliable, Scalable, and Accurate Light-Controlled) Switch Module
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) - Optically Triggered Ultrawide-Bandgap (UWBG) Power Electronics

Release Date:
02/24/2023