Application-oriented Robustness and Stability of Gallium Nitride Power Transistors

Seminar Abstract:
Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices are rapidly emerging as transformative alternatives to traditional silicon (Si) technology in power electronics. With their superior properties, WBG devices offer immense potential to revolutionize power conversion systems by enabling higher power density, faster switching speeds, elevated operating temperatures, and improved efficiency. These advantages make WBG devices particularly promising for applications in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, data centers, and other demanding sectors. However, large-scale adoption of WBG devices faces significant challenges. Key obstacles include concerns about robustness and stability, limited understanding of the underlying device physics, and complex, dynamic loss mechanisms. These unexplored and additional losses can undermine the advantages of WBG devices, reducing efficiency and posing barriers to achieving high-power-density applications. This presentation introduces an application-oriented, comprehensive, and closed-loop research methodology to address the robustness and stability challenges of WBG semiconductor devices. By integrating a deeper understanding of device behavior with practical solutions in real power converter applications, this work accelerates the adoption of WBG devices in high-performance, high-reliability power systems.
About the Speaker:
Qihao Song received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA, in 2019 and 2024, respectively. He is currently a postdoctoral associate with the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech. His current research interests include the characterization, robustness, reliability, and application of wide-bandgap power semiconductor devices, as well as the impact and integration of these devices into power electronics converters. He is the recipient of the Best Presentation Award of the 2021 Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC).