SPP 2312:  Energy Efficient Power Electronics "GaNius"

• Subject Area: Computer Science, Systems and Electrical Engineering
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 441885089

The priority programme GaNius targets the emerging field of power electronics based on group III nitrides. Its core objective is to foster interdisciplinary and cooperative research on novel devices, circuits and components for highly efficient power electronic systems.The advancement of power electronics is essential for efficient generation, distribution, conversion and use of electric power. Application areas are manifold. Power electronics is a key technology for the integration of renewable energies in power systems, the electromobility, the power supply for data centers or the high-frequency network for mobile communications. The progress in wide-bandgap semiconductor materials allows for power semiconductor devices reaching switching speeds an order of magnitude above the state of the art, with significantly reduced ohmic and dynamic losses, and improved thermal properties. In particular, the semiconductor material Gallium Nitride (GaN) offers options for new depths of integration and novel converter topologies for high-frequency power electronic components and efficient, highly compact systems. Next to a reduction of system volume and cost, this opens new fields of application, and the CO2 equivalents associated with the applications can be significantly reduced.To achieve this socially relevant and technically possible progress, the necessary scientific methods need to be developed in an interdisciplinary approach that combines the expertise from solid state physics, semiconductor technology and system design.The main task of the coordination project is to bring the research groups together and develop the environment for fruitful scientific exchange and collaboration. Annual scientific workshops will be held where all participants will present and discuss their progress and results. International guests from research and industry are invited to participate and contribute to the workshops. The programme intents to support the scientific career of young scientists and PhD students by further measures like specific workshops for young researchers, travel grants for exchange, and a summer school. It will also provide a gender equality programme and family-friendly working conditions to particularly encourage and support the scientific careers of female researchers and parents.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Italy

Projects

• Adaptive GaN gate driver with inductive feed-forward for highest efficiency (AGaNDrive) (Applicants Grabmaier, Anton ;  Pfost, Martin )
• Aluminum Nitride for vertical Power Electronics (Applicants Waag, Andreas ;  Witzigmann, Bernd )
• Conformal 3D Ceramic-Based Intelligent GaN Power Systems-in-Package (3D-CeraGaN) (Applicants Kallfass, Ingmar ;  Zimmermann, André )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Dieckerhoff, Sibylle )
• Electronic transport of polarization-induced, two-dimensional electron gases with extremely high sheet carrier density for ScAlN/GaN-based power devices (ScNius) (Applicants Ambacher, Oliver ;  Heitmann, Johannes )
• GaN-Enabled Three-Phase PFC-Rectifier Family in CCM-Boost Mode Employing Only Two HF-Switches and Inductors for Low Common Mode and Simplified Power Architectures (Applicant Schafmeister, Frank )
• High Frequency Switching Power Converters based on AlN-based Power Transistors (Applicants Dieckerhoff, Sibylle ;  Hilt, Oliver ;  Wentzel, Andreas )
• Modelling and Assessment of Threshold Voltage Instabilities in p-gate GaN HEMTs (Applicant Pfost, Martin )
• Modelling and characterization of GaN-HEMT devices with respect to effects of charge carrier trapping (Applicants Hiller, Marc ;  Sack, Martin )
• Monolithically Integrated Bidirectional GaN-Based Switch enabling Self-Healing Multi-Winding DC/DC Converters (Applicants Liserre, Ph.D., Marco ;  Vescan, Andrei )
• Planar and Vertical Junctions for innovative GaN-Based High-Power Devices (Applicants Christen, Jürgen ;  Vescan, Andrei )
• Transition metal-nitride-AlGaN layers for electronic applications by sputtering epitax (Applicants Dadgar, Armin ;  Feneberg, Martin )

• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr.-Ing. Sibylle Dieckerhoff