Leveraging GaN for DC-DC Power Modules for Efficient EVs: A Review

Limitations of Silicon (Si)-based devices have compelled us to use alternative devices for modern power electronics applications. Material attributes of wide-band-gap devices (such as GaN and SiC) possess the ability to bridge these gaps. They can be used for higher power applications and provide hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE Access
Main Authors: Paramanand Prajapati, S. Balamurugan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2023-01-01
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10237200/
Description
Summary:Limitations of Silicon (Si)-based devices have compelled us to use alternative devices for modern power electronics applications. Material attributes of wide-band-gap devices (such as GaN and SiC) possess the ability to bridge these gaps. They can be used for higher power applications and provide high power-density, high efficiency and better thermal performance. GaN-based devices in electric vehicle power modules make the vehicle more efficient, achieving an extended range for the same battery size. Worldwide, researchers and engineers are working on GaN-based power-electronics modules. On the one hand, the utilisation of GaN switches in power modules eliminates a few existing design concerns. While it also introduces new challenges for designers. Mere replacing Si with GaN doesn’t give the stipulated result. This article identifies the works related to GaN-based DC-DC converter modules to determine how researchers address the circuit design issues with GaN. This paper presents a detailed description of the material benefits of GaN and paves the path of future work by identifying the research gap in the field of GaN-based DC-DC converters.
ISSN:2169-3536