Executive Summary : | The use of wide-bandgap semiconductors would vastly enhance the efficiency of power electronics – a critical national need from both the energy security and climate change perspectives. Here we propose to design and assemble power electronic interfaces based on gallium-nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT). GaN-HEMT devices will be procured externally, followed by characterization and model development at IIT Bombay (IITB). These in-house device models would be taken as inputs for the design of power electronic interfaces, which would finally be fabricated here. The novelty envisaged here is device-system co-design: coupling between device characterization and modeling on one side, and power electronic system design on the other. The deliverable would be the demonstration of a GaN-HEMT based 600V DC-DC Photovoltaic (PV) power converter as a proof-of-concept. Commercialization of this and allied GaN-HEMT based power-switching solutions, for applications such as renewables, electric vehicles and strategic electronics, will be pursued thereafter via the transfer-of-technology and start-up routes. |
Co-PI: | Dr. Apurba Laha, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, Dr. Dipankar Saha, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, B. G. Fernandes, IIT Mumbai, Kishore Chatterjee, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai |