News: Microelectronics
1 November 2024
US DoE grants University of Arkansas $1m to develop prototype 15kV silicon carbide power modules
The US Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity has awarded a grant of $997,588 to Xiaoqing Song, assistant professor in the University of Arkansas’ Department of Electrical Engineering and director of the Power Switch Lab, for a project to develop a prototype for high-voltage silicon carbide power modules. Alan Mantooth (Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering) and Keisha Walters (professor of chemical engineering) are co-investigators on the grant.
“The current power modules are usually limited to 10kV,” says Song. “We want to bolster the voltage level to a higher level, like to 15kV or even higher.”
Picture: Xiaoqing Song, assistant professor of electrical engineering. (Photo by Whit Pruitt.)
The research could lead to smaller and more reliable fast-charging stations for electric vehicles. EV fast chargers use several lower-voltage power modules connected in series to achieve the required voltage level. “Just one module could replace many low-voltage components, so the circuit would be easier to design and the EV charger would also be smaller,” Song says.
A charger with fewer components would also be more efficient and more reliable. High-voltage power modules could hence also be used to make electrical grids more efficient.
The research will be conducted in collaboration with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which has expertise in power modules. “After we develop this power module, we can send it to their lab so they can validate it in some real applications,” Song says.
