In the present day, owing to the increasing number of electronic loads such as computer power supplies, Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and the increasing number of sources such as solar photovoltaics, fuel cells (DC sources), DC Micro-grids provide a more efficient solution compared to the AC counterpart in terms of the number of stages involved in conversion. Also, the ability to be readily buffered to storage elements is an advantage in a DC system. Apart from this, there are no issues of frequency stability, reactive power transfer and ac power losses. A DC micro-grid is effectively a multi-port dc-dc converter. The ports refer to the various sources and loads that are part of the micro-grid. Sources could be unidirectional (as in the case of PV, load) or bidirectional (as in the case of batteries). Interfacing a variety of ports and controlling power flow between these ports presents an interesting challenge. Commonly used topologies interface the various ports at the DC bus capacitor thereby making the DC bus capacitor bulky. Apart from this, the DC bus coupled topologies route power from one port to another via the central capacitor. This increases the number of stages in transferring power from one port to another. An alternative topology is to use the active bridge type converters where dynamic power flow equations are required to control inter-port power flow. But, as the number of stages increase, the computations get tedious.In this thesis, a novel topology is proposed that uses a UU type transformer core to interface all the power ports. This alleviates the problems faced in the DC bus coupled topologies. A PWM scheme to control simultaneous power flow from each of the ports is also proposed in this thesis. The PWM scheme enables the usage of simple constant frequency average current mode control to dynamically control power sharing ratio between the various ports delivering to loads. By means of the proposed PWM scheme and the control scheme, the drawbacks of the active bridge topologies are alleviated. Using the proposed topology and the PWM scheme, a prototype micro-grid system is developed for a system comprising of the utility grid, batteries, solar PVs and resistive loads. Yet another aspect of the thesis explores the concept of connecting multiple micro-grids in order to create a 'local power network'. A potential application for this could be in interconnecting residential buildings and routing power from one house to another in order to balance demand and supply among these houses. This is against the growing trend of using the utility grid to also sink power and subsequently route it to other houses connected to the grid. Unfortunately not all areas have access to the utility grid. Additionally, turning the grid bidirectional requires that a number of standards be met and policies be created. But, the standard for using a local network that only involves a unidirectional grid is fixed by the community that owns such a network. In a crude sense, this scenario can be compared to the existence of a local area network to transfer information among users of the network. In this thesis, a prototype local power network interconnecting two micro-grids has been implemented.

This Thesis addressed the challenge of ensuring balanced currents in the phases of a multi-kW, interleaved dc-dc converter by means of closed-loop digital control. The Thesis examines uniformly-sampled, valley-current, peak-current and average-current control for a dual interleaved boost converter with inter-phase transformer which might form part of the power train of an electric vehicle. Also, an enhancement of the average-current control is investigated in which the transistor duty-ratio is updated more rapidly, which allows an improvement of approximately ten times in the response speed of the system. Based on the theoretical analysis, the average-current control methodology was determined to be the most suitable technique for this type of converter as it ensures well-balanced phase currents over a wide range. To provide a basis for control system analysis and design for interleaved converters, a modelling methodology is developed based on a combination of multi-rate data-sampled theory and a small-signal averaged converter model. The model is shown to represent accurately the interaction between the interleaved phases, revealing a reduced stability range compared with a non-interleaved converter. The modelling and control methods are validated using switched and average value simulations obtained with the SABER software and by experimental results from a 25 kW, 30 kHz converter prototype. The control techniques were implemented on a Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 digital signal controller.

Renewable power systems are becoming more affordable and provide better options than fossil-fuel generation, for not only the environment, but a benefit of a reduced cost of operation. Methods to optimize charging batteries from renewable technologies is an important subject for off-grid and micro-grids, and is becoming more relevant for larger installations. Overcharging or undercharging the battery can result in failure and reduction of battery life. The Arduino hybrid MPPT controller takes the advantage of solar and wind energy sources by controlling two systems simultaneously. The ability to manage two systems with one controller is better for an overall production of energy, cost, and manageability, at a minor expense of efficiency. The hybrid MPPT uses two synchronous buck DC-DC converters to control both wind and solar. The hybrid MPPT performed at a maximum of 93.6% efficiency, while the individual controller operated at a maximum 97.1% efficiency when working on the bench test. When designing the controller to manage power production from a larger generator, the inductor size was too large due to the frequency provided by the Arduino. A larger inductor means less allowable current to flow before the inductor becomes over saturated, reducing the efficiency of the controller. Utilizing a different microcontroller like the PIC16C63A produces a much faster frequency, which will reduce the inductor size needed and allow more current before over saturation.

Discrete silicon carbide (SiC) power devices have unique characteristics that outpace those of silicon (Si) counterparts. The improved physical features have provided better faster switching, greater current densities, lower on-resistance, and temperature performances. However, there is lack of suitable commercial gate drivers that are compatible for high-voltage, and high-speed devices. There has been a great research effort required for the advancement of gate drivers for high voltage SiC transistors. A drive circuit for a SiC MOSFET needs to be optimized in normal operation to give best efficiency and same drive circuit should secure the MOSFET under unsuitable conditions. To ensure the rapid switching of these advanced SiC MOSFETs, a gate driver capable of providing the high current capability is required. In this work, three different high-power-density, high-speed, and high-noise-immunity gate driver modules for 10 kV SiC MOSFET were built and optimized.  Double-pulse test was developed for the dynamic characterization of SiC MOSFETs and gate drivers. This setup provided clean measurements of DUT voltage and current under well-defined conditions and correlated to simulation results. Designed gate drivers have thoroughly investigated to test and compare it with our future design. The influential parameters such as dV/dt, dI/dt, and gate driving capability of gate driver were adjusted according to the requirements. The short circuit protection test was performed to check the reliability of driver modules in worst conditions. Furthermore, a DC-DC converter was designed and tested with the advanced gate drivers. The driver modules were tested in designed converter under different load conditions and influential parameters were successfully demonstrated. The driver modules effectively helped in reducing the EMI and switching losses. These designed gate drivers and prototype converter provide all the attractive features and can be widely implemented in industrial applications for energy efficient systems.

Current exercise machines create resistance to motion and dissipate energy as heat. Some companies create ways to harness this energy, but not cost-effectively. The Energy Harvesting from Exercise Machines (EHFEM) project reduces the cost of harnessing the renewable energy. The system architecture includes the elliptical exercise machines outputting power to DC-DC converters, which then connects to the microinverters. All microinverter outputs tie together and then connect to the grid. The control system, placed around the DC-DC converters, quickly detects changes in current, and limits the current to prevent the DC-DC converters and microinverters from entering failure states. An artificial neural network learns to mitigate incohesive microinverter and DC-DC converter actions. The DC-DC converter outputs 36 V DC operating within its specifications, but the microinverter drops input resistance looking for the sharp decrease in power that a solar panel exhibits. Since the DC-DC converter behaves according to Ohm’s Law, the inverter sees no decrease in power until the voltage drops below the microinverter’s minimum input voltage. Once the microinverter turns off, the converter regulates as intended and turns the microinverter back on only to repeat this detrimental cycle. Training the neural network with the back propagation algorithm outputs a value corresponding to the feedback voltage, which increases or decreases the voltage applied from the resistive feedback in the DC-DC converter. In order for the system to react well to changes on the order of tens of microseconds, it must read ADC values and compute the output neuron value quicker than previous control attempts. Measured voltages and currents entering and leaving the DC-DC converter constitute the neural network’s input neurons. Current and voltage sensing circuit designs include low-pass filtering to reduce software noise filtering in the interest of speed. The complete solution slightly reduces the efficiency of the system under a constant load due to additional component power dissipation, while actually increasing it under the expected varying loads.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit DC/DC-Wandlern zur Einbindung von Doppelschichtkondensatoren in das Fahrzeugenergiebordnetz. Zunächst werden die Anforderungen an derartige DC/DC-Wandler anhand dreier entsprechender Beispielanwendungen zusammengestellt und verglichen. Für die Anwendung zur Entkopplung transienter Hochleistungsverbraucher, wie beispielsweise eine elektrische Lenkung, wird ein DC/DC-Wandler-Konzept entwickelt. Es findet ein Vergleich von drei geeigneten Topologien mittels einer hierfür erarbeiteten Methode statt, mit dem Ziel die beste Lösung für den betrachteten Anwendungsfall zu ermitteln. Um adäquate Kritierien für die Wahl der Schaltfrequenz und der Induktivitäten von Speicherdrosseln aufzustellen, erfolgt eine Untersuchung des Einflusses des Drosselstromwechselanteils auf das Schaltverhalten der MOSFETs sowie auf bestimmte Bereiche der EMV-Störemissionen. Als Methoden zur Optimierung des Synchrongleichrichterbetriebs werden das Parallelschalten von Schottky-Dioden und Synchrongleichrichtern sowie die Variation der Ausschalttotzeiten von Synchrongleichrichtern untersucht. Weiterhin wird unter Berücksichtigung der Besonderheiten der Anwendung und Topologie ein Konzept für die Regelung des Wandlers entwickelt. Abschließend findet eine Vorstellung ausgewählter Aspekte zur Umsetzung des DC/DC-Wandler-Konzepts sowie der Ergebnisse experimenteller Untersuchungen statt.

<p>Implantable wireless devices are used to treat a variety of diseases that are not able to be treated with pharmaceuticals or traditional surgery, These implantable devices have use in the treatment of neurological disorders like epilepsy, optical disorders such as glaucoma, or injury related issues such as targeted muscle reinnervation. These devices can rely upon harvesting power from an inductive wireless power source and batteries. Improvements to how well the devices utilize this power directly increase the efficacy of the device operation as well as the device's lifetime, reducing the need for future surgeries or implantations. </p> <p> I have designed an improvement to cavity resonator based wireless power by designing a dynamic impedance matching implantable power supply, capable of tracking with device motion throughout a changing magnetic field and tracking with changing powering frequencies. This cavity resonator based system presents further challenges practically in the turn-on cycle of the improved device. </p> <p> I further design a coil-to-coil based wireless power system, capable of dynamically impedance matching a high quality factor coil to optimize power transfer during steady state, while also reducing turn-on transient power required in dynamic systems by utilizing a second low quality factor coil. This second coil has a broadband response and is capable of turning on at lower powers than that of the high quality factor coil. The low quality factor coil powers the circuitry that dynamically matches the impedance of the high quality factor coil, allowing for low power turn on while maintaining high power transfer at all operating frequencies to the implantable device. </p> <p> Finally, an integrated circuit is designed, fabricated, and tested that is capable of smoothly providing regulated DC power to the implantable device by stepping up from wireless power to a reasonable voltage level or stepping down from a battery to a reasonable voltage level for the device. The chip is fabricated in 0.18um CMOS process and is capable of providing power to the "Bionode" implantable device. </p>

L’industrie automobile est un marché en pleine croissance pour les circuits intégrés de puissance. Les circuits intégrés de puissance sont des systèmes électroniques miniatures qui apportent de nouvelles fonctionnalités aux véhicules. La robustesse et la fiabilité des produits électroniques embarqués dans les véhicules sont des enjeux majeurs. Il arrive pourtant que des défaillances dues au couplage par le bruit de substrat se produisent après la fabrication. L’origine de ce bruit de substrat vient de l’injection de porteurs majoritaires (trous) et minoritaires (électrons). Dans la première partie de cette thèse, nous étudions une nouvelle technique de modélisation proposée par un groupe de recherche à l’EPFL. Cette modélisation permet d’extraire les composants parasites du substrat en tenant compte des porteurs majoritaires et minoritaires. Un outil de CAO (AUTOMICS) a été développé par notre équipe à l’UPMC et est utilisé pour extraire le réseau des composants parasites de substrat s’appuyant sur les modèles de l’EPFL. Dans la deuxième partie de ce travail, nous introduisons une nouvelle méthodologie pour la conception des circuits intégrés de puissance et l’analyse des défaillances avec l’outil AUTOMICS. Nous mettons en évidence les défaillances dues à un couplage par les porteurs minoritaires dans le substrat (électrons). La méthodologie proposée est validée sur un cas d’étude industriel. Ce cas d’étude a été conçu par l’entreprise ams et validé par l’entreprise Valeo. Ce cas d’étude a un problème latch-up. Ce problème n’a pas été identifié par des simulations électriques SPICE classiques. Grâce à notre méthode, nous sommes parvenus à reproduire le phénomène de latch-up dans l’environnement de simulation SPICE. La troisième partie de ce travail présente le fonctionnement et la conception au niveau circuit d’un convertisseur de tension DC-DC. Le circuit a été fabriqué en utilisant la technologie HVCMOS 0.35μm. Nous avons modélisé l’effet du couplage par les courants de substrat entre l’agresseur et la victime et présentons des résultats de simulation cohérents avec les mesures. / Automotive industry is a growing market for smart power integrated circuits (ICs). The smart power ICs miniaturize the electronic systems and improve their functionality for the vehicles. Product robustness and reliability in smart power ICs are vital aspects in automotive applications. However, failures due to substrate noise coupling are still reported in tests after fabrication. The sources of this noise are the injection of majority and minority carriers in the substrate. The majority carriers’ propagation is well modeled, however, the minority carriers’ propagation cannot be modeled by the conventional modeling techniques. In the first part of this work, we explore a new modeling technique proposed by a research group in EPFL. It relies on models that are capable of maintaining the minority carriers’ concentration and gradient. It allows the substrate parasitic extraction taking into account both majority and minority carriers. A CAD tool (AUTOMICS) is developed by our team at UPMC and is used to extract the substrate parasitic network encapsulating the new modeling technique. In the second part of this work, we introduce a new methodology for smart power ICs design and failure analysis using the tool. It focuses on failures due to minority carriers coupling. The proposed methodology is validated on an industrial test case (AUTOCHIP1). This test case was designed in ams and validated by Valeo. This test case suffers from a latch-up problem. This problem is not recognized by conventional simulations. Using our methodology, we manage to reproduce the behavior in simulation environment. The third part of this work presents system and circuit level design for a DC-DC buck converter. This system is considered as a complex system to validate our proposed methodology. The circuit was fabricated using 0.35 µm HVCMOS technology. The high voltage switches serve as aggressors injecting minority carriers in the substrate. An analog sensitive circuit, which is the bandgap, is considered as a victim. The effect of the substrate coupling is studied and simulation results show acceptable consistency with the measurements.

No description available.

In sustainable energy systems those using fuel cells, high step-up gain converters are widely used to increase the output voltage to levels that can be used by other converters, such as inverters for grid connection or powering other AC loads. In order to obtain a higher voltage gain, in comparison to a traditional boost converter, often different topologies techniques are involved. In this project a new topology is studied, cascading to half bridges, each working similar to a boost converter but with magnetic coupled inductors in-between.    The converter design is modeled in PLECS Blockset and MATLAB Simulink to simulate and evaluate the performance with proper design procedure. The results showed that a high step-up gain was achieved, and the gain could easily be adjusted by changing the duty cycle and/or the coupling factor. The converter design showed similarities and differences to a traditional boost converter. The coupled inductor has its advantage reducing the fuel cell current ripple with the effect of the duty cycle.