Browse Topic: Semiconductor devices

Items (291)
Development of Electric Oil Pump Controller in Hybrid Vehicle Based on PMSM (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor) and the AUTOSAR Platform2019-01-07654/2/2019
Traditional hybrid vehicles operated two types of oil pump, mechanical for combustion engine and electrical for electric motor, to supply oil pressure for automatic transmission in each power source. New hybrid vehicles has only one electrical pump to reduce system volume and to improve fuel efficiency. Purposes of this study are to make standardization of firmware development process for oil pump unit (OPU) and electric oil pump (EOP) and to apply permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) instead of brushless DC (BLDC) motor. In old-fashioned non-operating system (OS) firmware, it was convenient to calculate control timing for motor control, however the firmware was deeply dependent to specific microcontroller Unit (MCU). In other words, much of efforts and time are needed if new MCU were applied. In this study, new standard development process for MCU firmware can be built up based on automotive open system architecture (AUTOSAR) platform by developing specific motor complex device driver (CDD). In existing system, the OPU supplied with high-voltage from battery drives the BLDC motor driven with six-step block commutation method through the hall sensor inputs. In new system of this study, sensorless vector control algorithm for PMSM is applied to improve motor performance and sensorless algorithm helps to reduce failure risk caused by position sensor.
Kim, HaejinRyu, Seung-yunYoo, HojeongKim, HyoungsuKim, Gyeongcheol
A Novel Hybrid SiC-GaN Based Full-Bridge DC-DC Buck Converter with Improved Efficiency2017-01-20319/19/2017
In aerospace applications, it is important to have efficient, small, affordable, and reliable power conversion units with high power density to supply a wide range of loads. Use of wide-band gap devices, such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices, in power electronic converters is expected to reduce the device losses and needs for extensive thermal management systems in power converters, as well as facilitate high-frequency operation, thereby reducing the passive component sizes and increasing the power density. A novel hybrid SiC-GaN based full-bridge dc-dc buck converter with improved efficiency for high power applications will be presented in this paper. With the current device manufacturing technology, GaN devices can only handle breakdown voltages up to 650 V, while SiC devices can handle up to 1200 V. GaN devices exhibit remarkable switching performance compared to SiC devices. This work aims to exploit both the high voltage capability of SiC devices and exceptional switching capability of GaN devices to improve the overall converter performance, by using SiC devices in the high-voltage primary side and GaN devices in the low-voltage secondary side. A 10 kW, 150 V full-bridge dc-dc buck converter with an input voltage 400 V ≤ VI ≤ 660 V operating in CCM at a switching frequency of 200 kHz will be designed and simulated using LTSpice circuit simulator. Simulation results will be presented for (1) SiC based (2) GaN based and (3) hybrid SiC-GaN based converter. As expected GaN based converter exhibited superior performance with an efficiency of 99 %. However, using only GaN devices is not a choice because of the high voltage stresses in the primary side. The proposed hybrid SiC-GaN based converter exhibited better performance compared with that of SiC based converter with a 1% increase in efficiency and lower switching transition times.
Kondrath, NishaSaini, DalvirSmith, Nathaniel
Modeling the Sound Pressure Loss of an Electromechanical Active Helmholtz Resonator2017-01-18276/5/2017
A muffler attached to an engine attenuates sound over a dedicated frequency range. This research involves the development of an active muffler that is keyed to the revolutions per minute (rpm) of the engine and suppresses the fundamental frequency being exhausted through the tailpipe. The active muffler consists of a tracking side-branch resonator terminated with a composite piezoelectric transducer. The use of an exponential horn as a resonating cavity and terminated with a composite piezoelectric transducer is presented. This would create Electromechanical Active Helmholtz Resonator (EMAHR) creates a notch that can be moved between 200-1000 Hz. The use of acoustical-to-mechanical, mechanical-to-electrical, and analog-to-digital transformations to develop a system model for the active muffler are presented. These transforms will be presented as two-port network parameters. The use of two-port networks to model the electroacoustic system are a defining factor in the analysis. The two-port network parameters for the pipe, horn and piezoelectric transducer are discussed. Using the developed electroacoustic model in simulation the system can be further developed, specifically the load on the composite piezoelectric transducer. The load can be produced with analog-to-digital, digital, and digital-to-analog circuitry. A microcontroller can be used to perform filtering to produce the desired current from the voltage input, or response of an electrical impedance. This impedance generation with a microcontroller is briefly discussed. The sound pressure level results of the modeling are shown over the frequency range of 200-1000 Hz. The maximum sound pressure loss at these frequencies is characterized by the model for the EMAHR.
Santora, Michael J.Ige, Cyril GbengaOtto, JeffEgolf, David
Solder Void Modeling and Its Influence on Thermal Characteristics of MOSFETs in Automotive Electronics Module *CSP Meta QA Testing*2017-01-00113/28/2017
Current generation automobiles are controlled by electronic modules for performing various functions. These electronic modules have numerous semiconductor devices mounted on printed circuit boards. Solders are generally used as thermal interface material between surface mount devices and printed circuit boards (PCB) for efficient heat transfer. In the manufacturing stage, voids are formed in solders during reflow process due to outgassing phenomenon. The presence of these voids in solder for power packages with exposed pads impedes heat flow and can increase the device temperature. Therefore it is imperative to understand the effect of solder voids on thermal characteristics of semiconductor devices. But the solder void pattern will vary drastically during mass manufacturing. Replicating the exact solder void pattern and doing detail simulation to predict the device temperature for each manufactured module is not practical. Hence different numerical models are studied for the solder, by using single and distributed void patterns matching the percentage void fraction. The numerical studies indicated that distributed void pattern captures the void behavior well compared to single void model. For the MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor-Field-Effect-Transistor) device under study, it is observed that the void percentage up to 20% has negligible impact on device temperature for its maximum rated power. The temperature rise because of increase in void percentage (from 20% to 50%) for different power ratings of MOSFET is discussed in the paper. A risk rating chart is also provided as guideline for solder void rejection.
Sridharan, Kesav KumarViswanathan, Swaminathan
Functional Safety for Battery Monitoring Integrated Circuits2017-01-12023/28/2017
The Battery Monitoring Integrated Circuit (BMIC) is a key technology for Battery Electronics in the electrification of vehicles. Generally speaking, every production hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicle uses some type of BMIC to monitor the voltage of each lithium battery cell. In order to achieve Functional Safety for the traction battery packs for these electrified vehicles, most designs require higher ASIL ratings for the BMIC such as C or D. For the entire market of available BMIC’s, there is a generic feature set that can be found on almost every IC on the market, such as a front end multiplexer, one or more precision references, one or more Analog to Digital (A/D) converters, a power supply, communications circuits, and window comparators. There is also a fairly consistent suite of self-diagnostics, available on just about every available BMIC, to detect failures and enable achievement of the appropriate ASIL rating. This paper provides a generic approach for the use of these BMICs which is independent of the exact vehicle application and which is applicable to BMIC’s from all vendors. The functional safety concept which can be found in Battery Controller modules across OEMs is explained. Then, the usage of diagnostic features for these BMICs is examined in detail which is the final piece necessary to understand the technical safety requirements for battery pack electronics. Special emphasis is placed on the relationship between the specific diagnostic features which are offered by the silicon suppliers, and the implementation of these technical safety requirements.
Tabatowski-Bush, Ben
A Smart Gate Driver with Active Switching Speed Control for Traction Inverters2017-01-12433/28/2017
The IGBTs are dominantly used in traction inverters for automotive applications. Because the Si-based device technology is being pushed to its theoretical performance limit in such applications during recent years, the gate driver design is playing a more prominent role to further improve the traction inverter loss performance. The conventional gate driver design in traction inverter application needs to consider worst case scenarios which adversely limit the semiconductor devices' switching speed in its most frequent operation regions. Specifically, when selecting the gate resistors, the IGBT peak surge voltage induced by fast di/dt and stray inductance must be limited below the device rated voltage rating under any conditions. The worst cases considered include both highest dc bus voltage and maximum load current. However, the traction inverter operates mainly in low current regions and at bus voltage much lower than the worst case voltage. This paper proposes a low-cost and simple gate driver circuit that can actively adjust the turn-off switching speed based on IGBT current levels. The proposed circuit utilizes the current sensing pin which is widely available for IGBTs used in current generation traction inverters. When the current is low, the switching is speeded up to minimize loss. Under worst cases, it can keep the maximum surge voltage same as the value of conventional gate driver. For applications that the system operates mostly in low current regions, the proposed method can significantly improve the system efficiency.
Zhou, YanChen, LihuaYang, ShuitaoXu, FanAlam, Mohammed Khorshed
ECU Structure Strategy to Detect Lift Timing of GDI Solenoid Injectors with High Precision2017-01-16283/28/2017
In gasoline direct injection (GDI) systems, various injection types are needed to reduce emissions and improve fuel consumption. This requires high-precision injection in the region in which the amount of injection is small. Achieving injection of a small amount of fuel using GDI solenoid injectors requires the use of the half-lift region. In this region, however, the variation in the injection amount tends to increase due to the variation in the lift behavior of the injectors, posing the problem of how to achieve high-precision injection. To reduce the variation, we analyzed the lift timing out of the injector current and voltage signal with the ECU in an attempt to adjust the amount of injection. To detect the injector needle-opening timing, we focused on the characteristic point of the injector current signal appearing when the injector needle opens, and to detect the injector needle-closing timing, we focused on the characteristic point of the injector voltage signal appearing when the injector needle closes. Using the ECU, we analyzed the current and voltage signal, developing an algorithm allowing the characteristic points of both signals to be detected. Detection requires a wide dynamic range and high precision. The application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) can acquire and process the current and voltage signal with high precision and at high sampling speed. Accordingly, we adopted a functional allocation based on the use of ASIC. As a result, the ECU has potential to detect the timing of the open-close needle with high precision without increasing the processing load of the micro-controller significantly.
Ito, AtsushiKawano, MasahiroFujita, Shohei
An Investigation into the Tradespace of Advanced Wide-Band Gap Semiconductor Devices in a Full-Bridge DC-DC Converter2016-01-19909/20/2016
In aerospace applications, it is important to have efficient, small, affordable, and reliable power conversion units with high power density to supply a wide range of loads. Use of wide-band gap devices, such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices, in power electronic converters is expected to reduce the device losses and need for extensive thermal management systems in power converters, as well as facilitate high-frequency operation, thereby reducing the passive component sizes and increasing the power density. A performance comparison of state-of-the art power devices in a 10 kW full-bridge dc-dc buck converter operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM) and at switching frequencies above 100 kHz will be presented in this manuscript. Power devices under consideration are silicon (Si) IGBT with Si antiparallel diodes, Si IGBT with SiC antiparallel diodes, Si MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs, and enhancement-mode GaN transistors. A 10 kW full-bridge dc-dc converter operating in the buck mode will be designed and tested using the LTSpice circuit simulator. Steady-state and switching transition waveforms will be presented for each case to aid the performance evaluation. From the simulation results, while the use of IGBTs resulted in efficiencies > 95 %, the switching frequency of commercially available devices is limited to 70 kHz, resulting in larger passive components and higher transients. Converter using Si devices exhibited slightly lower efficiencies than the one using SiC devices. SiC devices, rated at 1200 V, exhibited better transient response as well as switching transitions. Use of GaN devices resulted in efficiencies > 98%, thus yielding performance much superior to the others. However, the commercially available GaN devices can only withstand maximum voltage stresses 650 V.
Kondrath, NishaSmith, Nathaniel
Optimized Design Procedure for Active Power Converters in Aircraft Electrical Power Systems2016-01-19899/20/2016
In modern aircraft power systems, active power converters are promising replacements for transformer rectifier units concerning efficiency and weight. To assess the benefits of active power converters, converter design and optimization should be carefully done under the operation requirements of aircraft applications: electromagnetic interference (EMI) standards, power quality standards, etc. Moreover, certain applications may have strict limits on other converter specifications: weight, size, converter loss, etc. This paper presents the methodology for performance optimization of different active power converters (active front-ends, isolated DC/DC converters and three-phase isolated converters) for aircraft applications. Key methods for power converter component (e.g. inductors, semiconductor devices, etc.) performance optimization and loss calculation are introduced along with the converter optimization procedure. Targeting at achieving extreme converter efficiency, a 3 kW interleaved Vienna rectifier (active front-end) with over 99% efficiency was designed and constructed based on the proposed methodology. Moreover, a 1.2 kW three-phase isolated AC/DC converter aiming at achieving both high power density and converter efficiency was constructed and tested. This converter achieved 22 W/inch3 power density and 97.1% full load efficiency. The models involved in the design were validated and the design estimations were verified experimentally by the three prototypes.
Wang, QiongBurgos, RolandoZhang, XuningBoroyevich, DushanWhite, AdamKheraluwala, Mustansir
Imaging LiDAR systems such as Goddard’s Reconfigurable Solid-state LiDAR (GRSSLi) must collect and process reflected pulses of light in order to correctly assemble a three-dimensional image of the scene. These pulses of light generally range from 2-5 nanoseconds in duration. Consequently, to collect a large number of samples for this short pulse, a high-sample-rate analog to digital converter (ADC) must be used. Other methods such as threshold detection could be used, but generally these detection methods suffer degradation in overall range, measurement accuracy, and precision due to the random nature of return pulse intensity. In addition, scientifically valuable information can be gleaned from the shape of the returned waveform.
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