Abstract:
When the world eventually emerges from this global pandemic and supply chains re-normalize, there is optimism that the semiconductor shortages will subside. Among these improvements will be the ability to deliver silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor power devices more rapidly and at lower price points. However, as has been well-documented, there are advancements beyond the power devices themselves that play a role in the adoption of SiC technology in new design starts. This talk will touch on some of those. Economy and performance are benefits that come with high power density power electronics, analogous to VLSI electronics. High density power electronics require the heterogeneous integration of disparate technologies including power semiconductor devices, driver, protection and control circuitry, passives and voltage isolation techniques into single modules. One of the keys to advancing power electronics integration has been the commercial reality of wide bandgap power semiconductor devices made from silicon carbide and gallium nitride. The ability to design and manufacture wide bandgap integrated circuits as sensors, drivers, controllers, and protection circuitry allows them to be packaged in close proximity to the power device die to minimize parasitics that would adversely impact system performance. These impacts include excessive ringing, noise generation, power loss, and, potentially, self-destruction. This talk will describe emerging trends in SiC-based integration. Advanced 3D electronic module packaging approaches driven by simultaneous electro-thermal-control design methods and multi-objective optimization techniques will also be described.
Bio:
H. Alan Mantooth received the B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. degrees from the University of Arkansas in 1985 and 1986, and the Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech in 1990. He then joined Analogy, a startup company in Oregon, where he focused on semiconductor device modeling and the research and development of modeling tools and techniques. In 1998, he joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where he currently holds the rank of Distinguished Professor. His research interests now include analog and mixed-signal IC design & CAD, semiconductor device modeling, power electronics, power electronics packaging, and cybersecurity. Dr. Mantooth helped establish the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission (NCREPT) at the UA in 2005. Professor Mantooth serves as the Executive Director for NCREPT as well as two of its centers of excellence: the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on GRid-connected Advanced Power Electronic Systems (GRAPES) and the Cybersecurity Center on Secure, Evolvable Energy Delivery Systems (SEEDS) funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2015, he also helped to establish the UA’s first NSF Engineering Research Center entitled Power Optimization for Electro-Thermal Systems (POETS) that focuses on high power density systems for electrified transportation applications. Dr. Mantooth has co-founded three companies in design automation (Lynguent), IC design (Ozark Integrated Circuits), and cybersecurity (Bastazo) as well as advising a fourth in power electronics packaging (Arkansas Power Electronics International) to maturity and acquisition as a board member. Dr. Mantooth holds the 21st Century Research Leadership Chair in Engineering. He currently serves as Senior Past-President for the IEEE Power Electronics Society and Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Open Journal of Power Electronics. Dr. Mantooth is a Fellow of IEEE, a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu, and registered professional engineer in Arkansas.
This colloquium can be seen in-person in 1002 Grainger Auditorium, ECE Bldg., and is also being streamed and recorded on Echo360, https://echo360.org The live streaming will be available only to students enrolled in ECE 500. Others are advised to attend the colloquium in person. The recording will be available to the public.
