1 kW GaN Converters for Electric Vehicles with 48 V Decentralized Power Delivery Network - RMGS

Description

This project aims to propose a 1000 W 48-to-12 V Gallium Nitride (GaN) based Point-of-load (PoL) converter for the new 48 V decentralized power delivery network (PDN) in next-generation electric vehicles (EVs) achieving low emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). The proposed system combines analog and digital circuits to create a DC-DC converter with GaN semiconductor devices, showing high power density, high efficiency, and low output ripple. In this proposed project, a new control method will be developed to reduce switching losses and extend the available zero-voltage switching (ZVS) range among different output powers. To improve power density, capacitors will be used to convert electromagnetic energy instead of some inductors, and compact passive component design will be adopted to compact the system size. Moreover, proper system thermal evaluation and management will be conducted as the key points to ensure high reliability. This project will offer optimal cooling performance via finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. In conclusion, this project will explore a high-performance GaN PoL DC-DC converter for EV and be a leading research work.