Because of the switching action, power electronics converters are potentially large EMI noise sources to nearby equipment. EMI filters are necessary to ensure electromagnetic compatibility. Conventional discrete EMI filters usually consist of a large number of components, with different shapes, sizes and form factors. The manufacturing of these components requires different processing and packaging technologies, of which many include labor-intensive processing steps. In addition, due to the parasitics of discrete components, high-frequency attenuation of the filter is reduced and the effective filter frequency range is limited. As a result, discrete EMI filters are usually bulky, high profile, and have poor high-frequency performance. With an aim to solving these issues, this study explores the integration of EMI filters. The goal is to achieve a smaller size, lower profile, better performance and reduced fabrication time and cost via structural, functional and processing integration. The key technology for EMI filter integration is planar electromagnetic integration, which has been a topic of research over the last few years. Most of the previous applications of this technology for switch mode power supplies (SMPSs) were focused on the integration of high frequency power passive electromagnetic components, such as HF transformers, resonant/choke inductors and resonant/blocking capacitors. Almost no work has been done on the subject of EMI filter integration. Since the major function of EMI filters is to attenuate, instead of propagate, energy at the switching frequency and its harmonics, the required technology and design objectives are very different from those of other components. High-frequency modeling of the integrated structure becomes more essential since the high-frequency performance becomes the major concern. New technology and a new model need to be developed for EMI filter integration. To bridge this gap between existing technologies and what is necessary for EMI filter integration, this dissertation addresses technologies and modeling of integrated EMI filters. Suitable integration technologies are developed, which include reducing the equivalent series inductance (ESL) and equivalent parallel capacitance (EPC), and increasing, instead of reducing, the high frequency losses. Using the multi-conductor lossy transmission-line theory, a new frequency domain model of integrated LC structure is developed and verified by experimental results. Through detailed electromagnetic analysis, the equations to calculate the required model parameters are derived. With the developed frequency domain and electromagnetic model, the characteristic of integrated LC modules can be predicted using geometry and material data. With the knowledge obtained from preliminary experimental study of two integrated EMI filter prototypes, a technology is developed to cancel structural winding capacitance of filter inductors. This can be realized by simply embedding a thin conductive shield layer between the inductor windings. With the resultant equivalent circuit and structural winding capacitance model, optimal design of the shield layer is achieved so that EPC can be almost completely cancelled. Applying this technology, an improved integrated EMI filter with a much simpler structure, a much smaller size and profile, and much better HF performance is designed, constructed and verified by experiment. The completed parametric and sensitivity study shows that this is potentially a very suitable technology for mass production. The integrated RF EMI filter is studied, as well. Its frequency domain model is developed based on multi-conductor lossy transmission-line theory. With the model parameters extracted from the finite element analysis (FEA) tool and the characterized material properties, the predicted filter characteristic complies very well with that of the actual measurement. This model and modeling methodology are successfully extended to study the RF CM&DM EMI filter structure, which has not been done before. To model more complicated structures, and to study the interaction between the RF EMI filter and its peripheral circuitry, a PSpice model with frequency dependent parameters is given. Combining the structural winding capacitance cancellation and the integrated RF CM&DM EMI filter technologies, a new integrated EMI filter structure is proposed. The calculation results show that it has the merits of the two employed technologies, hence it will have the best overall performance. / Ph. D.

Terminal models have been used for various power electronic applications. In this work a two- and three-terminal black box model is proposed for electro-magnetic interference (EMI) characterization. The modeling procedure starts with a time-variant system at a particular operating condition, which can be a converter, set of converters, sub-system or collection of components. A unique, linear equivalent circuit is created for applications in the frequency domain. Impedances and current / voltage sources define the noise throughout the entire EMI frequency spectrum. All parameters needed to create the model are clearly defined to ensure convergence and maximize accuracy. The model is then used to predict the attenuation caused by a filter with increased accuracy over small signal insertion gain measurements performed with network analyzers. Knowledge of EMI filters interactions with the converter allows for advanced techniques and design constraints to optimize the filter for size, weight, and cost. Additionally, the model is also demonstrated when the operating point of the system does not remain constant, as with AC power systems. Modeling of a varying operating point requires information of all the operating conditions for a complete and accurate model. However, the data collection and processing quickly become unmanageable due to the large amounts of data needed. Therefore, simplification techniques are used to reduce the complexity of the model while maintaining accuracy throughout the frequency spectrum. The modeling approach is verified for linear and power electronic networks including: a dc-dc boost converter, phase-leg module, and a simulated dc-ac inverter. The accuracy of the model is confirmed up to 100 MHz in simulation and at least 50 MHz for experimental validation. / Ph. D.

Around 19% of global power consumption and around 3% of global oil demand is attributable to lighting. After the first incandescent lamp was invented in 1879, more and more energy efficient lighting devices, such as gas discharge lamps, and light-emitting diodes (LED), have been developed during the last century. It is estimated that over 38% of future global lighting energy demand could be avoided by the use of more efficient lamps and ballasts [1]. High intensity discharge (HID) lamps, one category of gas discharge lamp, have been widely used in both commercial and residential lighting applications due to their merits of high efficacy, long life, compact size and good color rendition [2-4]. However, HID lamps require a well-designed ballast to stabilize the negative VI characteristics. A so-called ignitor is also needed to provide high voltage to initiate the gas discharge. Stringent input harmonic current limits, such as the IEC 61000-3-2 Class C standard, are set for lighting applications. It is well-known that high-frequency electronic ballasts can greatly save energy, improve lamp performance, and reduce the ballast size and weight compared with the conventional magnetic ballast. However, a unique phenomenon called acoustic resonance could occur in HID lamps under high-frequency operation. A low-frequency square wave current driving scheme has proved to be the only effective method to avoid acoustic resonance in HID lamps. A typical electronic HID ballast consist of three stages: power factor correction (PFC), DC/DC power regulation and low-frequency DC/AC inverter. The ignitor is usually integrated in the inverter stage. The three-stage structure results in a large size and high cost, which unfortunately offsets the merit of the HID lamp, especially in low-wattage applications. In order to make HID lamps more attractive in low-wattage and indoor applications, it is critical to reduce the size, weight and cost of HID ballasts. This dissertation is aimed at developing a compact HID with an ultra-compact ballast installed inside the lamp fixture. It is a similar concept to the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), but it is much more challenging than the CFL. Two steps are explored to achieve high power density of the HID ballast. The first step is to improve the system structure and circuit topology. Instead of a three-stage structure, a two-stage structure is proposed, which consists of a single-stage power factor correction (SSPFC) AC/DC front-end and an unregulated DC/AC inverter/ignitor stage. An SSPFC AC/DC converter is proposed as the front-end. A DCM non-isolated flyback PFC semi-stage and a DCM buck-boost DC/DC semi-stage share the semiconductor switch, driver and PWM controller, so that the component count and cost can be reduced. The proposed SSPFC AC/DC front-end converter can achieve a high power factor, low THD, low bulk capacitor voltage, and the desired power regulation with a simple control circuit. Because the number of high-frequency switches is reduced compared to that of state-of-the-art two-stage HID ballast topologies, the switching frequency can be increased without sacrificing high efficiency, so the passive component size can be reduced. The power density of the whole ballast is increased using this two-stage structure. It results in a 2.5 times power density (6 W/in3) improvement compared to the commercial product (2.4 W/in3). The power density of the converter in discrete fashion usually suffers as a result of poor three-dimensional (3D) volume utilization due to a large component count and the different form factor of different components. In the second step, integration and packaging technologies are explored to further increase the power density. A 3D passive integrated HID ballast is proposed in this dissertation. All power passive components are designed in planar shape with a uniform form factor to fully utilize the three-dimensional space. In addition, electromagnetic integration technologies are applied to achieve structural, functional and processing integration to reduce component volume and labor cost. System partitioning, integration and packaging strategies, and implementation of major power passive integration, including an integrated EMI filter, and an integrated ignitor, will be discussed in the dissertation. The proposed integrated ballast is projected to double the power density of the discrete implementation. By installing the HID ballast inside the lamp fixture, the ambient temperature for the ballast will be much higher than the conventional separately installed ballast, and combined with a reduced size, the thermal condition for the integrated ballast will be much more severe. A thermal simulation model of the integrated ballast is built in the IDEAS simulation tool, and appropriate thermal management methods are investigated using the IDEAS simulation model. Experimental verification of various thermal management methods is provided. Based on the thermal management study, a new integrated ballast with improved thermal design is proposed. / Ph. D.

This dissertation is to focus on the development of modeling and simulation methodology to predict conductive electromagnetic interference (EMI) for high power converters. Conventionally, the EMI prediction relies on the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) method with the time-domain simulation result that requires long hours of simulation and a large amount of data. The proposed approach is to use the frequency-domain analysis technique that computes the EMI spectrum directly by decomposing noise sources and their propagation paths. This method not only largely reduces the computational effort, but also provides the insightful information about the critical components of the EMI generation and distribution. The study was first applied to a dc/dc chopper circuit by deriving the high frequency equivalent circuit model for differential mode (DM) and common mode (CM) EMIs. The noise source was modeled as the trapezoidal current and voltage pulses. The noise cut-off frequency was identified as a function of the rise time and fall time of the trapezoidal waves. The noise propagation path was modeled as lumped parasitic inductors and capacitors, and additional noise cut-off frequency was identified as the function of parasitic components. . Using the noise source and path models, the proposed method effectively predicts the EMI performance, and the results were verified with the hardware experiments. With the well-proven EMI prediction methodology with a dc/dc chopper, the method was then extended to the prediction of DM and CM EMIs of three-phase inverters under complex pulse width modulation (PWM) patterns. The inverter noise source requires the double Fourier integral technique because its switching cycle and the fundamental cycle are in two different time scales. The noise path requires parasitic parameter extraction through finite element analysis for complex-structured power bus bar and printed circuit layout. After inverter noise source and path are identified, the effects of different modulation schemes on EMI spectrum are evaluated through the proposed frequency-domain analysis technique and verified by hardware experiment. The results, again, demonstrate that the proposed frequency-domain analysis technique is valid and is considered a promising approach to effectively predicting the EMI spectrum up to tens of MHz range. / Ph. D.

In recent years, advancements in the field of wireless communication have led to more innovative consumer products at reduced cost. Over the next 2 to 5 years, short-range wireless devices such as Bluetooth and Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are expected to become widespread throughout hospital environments for various applications. Consequently the medical community views wireless applications as ineludible and necessary. However, currently there exist regulations on the use of wireless devices in hospitals, and with the ever increasing wireless personal applications, there will be more unconscious wireless devices entering and operating in hospitals. It is feared that these wireless devices may cause electromagnetic interference that could alter the operation of medical equipment and negatively impact patient care. Additionally, unintentional electromagnetic radiation from medical equipment may have a detrimental effect on the quality of service (QoS) of these short-range wireless devices. Unfortunately, little is known about the impact of these short-range wireless devices on medical equipment and in turn the interference caused to these wireless devices by the hospital environment. The objective of this research was to design and develop an automated software reconfigurable measurement system (PRISM) to characterize the electromagnetic environment (EME) in hospitals. The portable measurement system has the flexibility to characterize a wide range of non-contiguous frequency bands and can be monitored from a remote location via the internet. In this work electromagnetic interference (EMI) measurements in the 2.4 GHz ISM band were performed in two hospitals. These measurements are considered to be very first effort to analyze the 2.4 GHz ISM band in hospitals. Though the recorded EMI levels were well within the immunity level recommended by the FDA, it can be expected that Bluetooth devices will undergo a throughput reduction in the presence of major interferers such as WLANs and microwave ovens. A Bluetooth throughput simulator using semi-analytic results was developed as part of this work. PRISM and the Bluetooth simulator were used to predict the throughput for six Bluetooth Asynchronous Connectionless (ACL) transmissions as a function of piconet size and interferer distance. / Master of Science

Exploring RF models for an integrated power electronics module (IPEM) is crucial to analyzing and predicting its EMI performance. This thesis deals with the parasitics extraction approach for an active IPEM in a frequency range of 1MHz through 30MHz. Based on the classic electromagnetic field theory, the calculating equations of DC and AC parameters for a 3D conducting structure are derived. The influence of skin effect and proximity effect on AC resistances and inductances is also investigated at high frequencies. To investigate RF models and EMI performance of the IPEM, a 1kW 1MHz series resonant DC-DC converter (SRC) is designed and fabricated in this work. For extracting the stray parameters of the built IPEM, two main software simulation tools ¡ª Maxwell Quick 3D Parameter Extractor (Maxwell Q3D) and Maxwell 3D Field Simulator (Maxwell 3D), prevailing electromagnetic simulation products from Ansoft Corporation, are introduced in this study. By trading off between the numerical accuracy and computational economy (CPU time and consumption of memory size), Maxwell Q3D is chosen in this work to extract the parameters for the full bridge IPEM structure. The step-by-step procedure of using Maxwell Q3D is presented from pre-processing the 3D IPEM structure to post-processing the solutions, and exporting equivalent circuit for PSpice simulations as well. RF modeling of power MOSFETs is briefly introduced. In order to verify extracted parameters, in-circuit impedance measurements for the IPEM using Agilent 4294A Impedance Analyzer together with Agilent 42941A probe are then followed. Measured results basically verify the extracted data, while the discrepancy between measured results and simulated results is also analyzed. / Master of Science

The critical conduction mode (CRM) power factor correction converters (PFC) are widely used in industry for low power offline switching mode power supplies. For the CRM PFC, the main advantage is to reduce turn-on loss of the main switch. However, the large inductor current ripple in CRM PFC creates huge DM EMI noise, which requires a big EMI filter. The switching frequency of the CRM PFC is variable in half line cycle which makes the EMI characteristics of the CRM PFC are not clear and have not been carefully investigated. The worst case of the EMI noise, which is the baseline to design the EMI filter, is difficult to be identified. In this paper, an approximate mathematical EMI noise model based on the investigation of the principle of the quasi-peak detection is proposed to predict the DM EMI noise of the CRM PFC. The developed prediction method is verified by measurement results and the predicted DM EMI noise is good to evaluate the EMI performance. Based on the noise prediction, the worst case analysis of the DM EMI noise in the CRM PFC is applied and the worst case can be found at some line and load condition, which will be a great help to the EMI filter design and meanwhile leave an opportunity for the optimization of the whole converter design. What is more, the worst case analysis can be extended to 2-channel interleaved CRM PFC and some interesting characteristics can be observed. For example, the great EMI performance improvement through ripple current cancellation in traditional constant frequency PFC by using interleaving techniques will not directly apply to the CRM PFC due to its variable switching frequency. More research needs to be done to abstract some design criteria for the boost inductor and EMI filter in the interleaved CRM PFC. / Master of Science

With GaN and SiC switching devices becoming more commercially available, higher switching frequency is being applied to achieve higher efficiency and power density in power converters. However, electro-magnetic interference (EMI) becomes a more severe problem as a result. In this thesis, the switching frequency effect on conducted EMI noise is assessed. As EMI noise increases, the EMI filter plays a more important role in a power converter. As a result, an effective EMI modeling technique of the power converter system is required in order to find an optimized size and effective EMI filter. The frequency-domain model is verified to be an efficient and easy model to explore the EMI noise generation and propagation in the system. Of the various models, the unterminated behavioral model can simultaneously predict CM input and output noise of an inverter, and the prediction falls in line with the measurement around 10 MHz or higher. The DM terminated behavioral model can predict the DM input or output noise of the motor drive higher than 20 MHz. These two models are easy to extract and have high prediction capabilities; this is verified on a 10 kHz-switching-frequency Si motor drive. It is worthwhile to explore the prediction capability of the two models when they are applied to a SiC-based power inverter with switching frequency ranges from 20 kHz to 70 kHz. In this thesis, the CM unterminated behavioral model is first applied to the SiC power inverter, and results show that the model prediction capability is limited by the noise floor of the oscilloscope measurement. The proposed segmented-frequency-range measurement is developed and verified to be a good solution to the noise floor. With the improved impedance fixtures, the prediction from CM model matches the measurement to 30 MHz. To predict the DM input and output noise of the SiC inverter, the DM terminated behavioral model can be used under the condition that the CM and DM noise are decoupled. With the system noise analysis, the DM output side is verified to be independent of the CM noise and input side. The DM terminated behavioral model is extracted at the inverter output and predicts the DM output noise up to 30 MHz after solving the noise floor and DM choke saturation problem. At the DM input side, the CM and DM are seen to be coupled with each other. It is found experimentally that the mixture of the CM and DM noise results from the asymmetric impedance of the system. The mixed mode terminated behavioral model is proposed to predict the DM noise when a mixed CM effect exists. The model can capture the DM noise up to to 30 MHz when the impedance between the inverter to CM ground is not balanced. The issue often happens in extraction of the model impedance and is solved by the curving-fitting optimization described in the thesis. This thesis ends with a summary of contributions, limitations, and some future research directions. / Master of Science

As wide-bandgap devices continue to experience deeper penetration in commercial applications, there are still a number of factors which make the adoption of such technologies difficult. One of the most notable issues with the application of wide-bandgap technologies is meeting existing noise requirements and regulations. Due to the faster dv/dt and di/dt of SiC devices, more noise is generated in comparison to Si IGBTs. Therefore, in order to fully experience the benefits offered by this new technology, the noise must either be filtered or mitigated by other means. A survey of various DC/DC topologies was conducted in order to find a candidate for a battery interface in a UPS system. A three-level NPC topology was explored for its potential benefit in terms of noise, efficiency, and additional features. This converter topology was modeled, simulated, and a hardware prototype constructed for evaluation within a UPS system, although its uses are not limited to such applications. A UPS system is a good example of an application with strict noise requirements which must be fulfilled according to IEC standards. Based on a newly devised mode of operation, this converter was verified to produce no common-mode voltage under ideal conditions, and was able to provide a 6 dB reduction in common-mode voltage emissions in the UPS prototype. This was done while achieving a peak efficiency in excess of 99% with the ability to provide bidirectional power flow between the UPS and battery backup. The converter was verified to operate at the rated UPS conditions of 20 kW while converting between a total DC bus voltage of 800 V and a nominal battery voltage of 540 V. / Master of Science / As material advancements allow for the creation of devices with superior electrical characteristics compared to their predecessors, there are still a number of factors which cause these devices to see limited usage in commercial applications. These devices, typically referred to as wide-bandgap devices, include silicon carbide (SiC) transistors. These SiC devices allow for much faster switching speeds, greater efficiencies, and lower system volume compared to their silicon counterparts. However, due to the faster switching of these devices, there is more electromagnetic noise generated. In many applications, this noise must be filtered or otherwise mitigated in order to meet international standards for commercial use. Consequently, new converter topologies and configurations are necessary to provide the most benefit of the new wide-bandgap devices while still meeting the strict noise requirements. A survey of topologies was conducted and the modeling, design, and testing of one topology was performed for use in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). This converter was able to provide a noticeable reduction in noise compared to standard topologies while still achieving very high efficiency at rated conditions. This converter was also verified to provide power bidirectionally—both when the UPS is charging the battery backup, and when the battery is supplying power to the load.

The wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, like gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) devices have proven to be a driving force of the development of the power conversion technology. Thanks to their distinct advantages over silicon (Si) devices including the faster switching speed and lower switching losses, WBG-based power converter can adopt a higher switching frequency and pursue higher power density and higher efficiency. As a trade-off of the advantages, there also exist the high-frequency-oriented challenges in the adoption of the GaN HEMT under research, including narrow safe gate operating area, increased switching overshoot, increased electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the gate loop and the power stages, the lack of the modules of packages for high current application, high gate oscillation under parallel operation. The dissertation is developed to addressed the all the challenges above to fully explore the potential of the GaN HEMTs. Due to the increased EMI emission in the gate loop, a small isolated capacitor in the gate driver power supply is needed to build a high-impedance barrier in the loop to protect the gate driver from interference. A 2 W dual-output gate driver power supply with ultra-low isolation capacitor for 650 V GaN-based half bridge is presented, featuring a PCB-embedded transformer substrate, achieving 85% efficiency, 1.6 pF isolation capacitor with 72 W/in3 power density. The effectiveness of the EMI reduction using the proposed power supply is demonstrated. The design consideration to build a compact 650 V GaN switching cell is presented then to address the challenges in the PCB layout and the thermal management. With the switching cell, a compact 1 kW 400 Vdc three-phase inverter is built and can operate with 500 kHz switching frequency. With the inverter, the high switching frequency effects on the inverter efficiency, volume, EMI emission and filter design are assessed to demonstrate the tradeoff of the adoption of high switching frequency in the motor drive application. In order to reduce the inverter CM EMI emission above 10 MHz, an active gate driver for 650 V GaN HEMT is proposed to control the dv/dt during turn-on and turn-off independently. With the control strategy, the penalty from the switching loss can be reduced. To build a high current power converter, paralleling devices is a normal approach. The dissertation comes up with the switching cell design using paralleled two and four 650 V GaN HEMTs with minimized and symmetric gate and power loop. The commutation between the paralleled HEMTs is analyzed, based on which the effects from the passive components on the gate oscillation are quantified. With the switching cell using paralleled GaN HEMTs, a 10 kW LLC resonant converter with the integrated litz-wire transformer is designed, achieving 97.9 % efficiency and 131 W/in3 power density. The design consideration to build the novel litz-wire transformer operated at 400 kHz switching frequency is also presented. In all, this work focuses on providing effective solutions or guidelines to adopt the 650 V GaN HEMT in the high frequency, high power density, high efficiency power conversion and demonstrates the advance of the GaN HEMTs in the hard-switched and soft-switched power converters. / Ph. D. / Silicon (Si) -based power semiconductor has developed several decades and achieved numerous outstanding performances, contributing a fast development of the power electronics. While the theatrical limit of the silicon semiconductor is almost reached limiting the progress speed to purse the high-efficiency, high-density high-reliability power conversion, the new material, including gallium-nitride (GaN) and silicon-carbide (SiC), based semiconductor, becomes the driven force to retain the development. Compared with Si-based device, GaN and SiC device own a faster switching speed and a lower on-resistance, enabling the adoption of high switching frequency and the possibility to increase the efficiency, power density and dynamic response. The GaN-based semiconductor is explored to be an even promising game changer than SiC device thanks to a higher theoretical ceiling. However, to adopt GaN-based semiconductors and fully utilize its benefits with high switching frequency, there are numerous high-frequency-oriented challenges, including high frequency oscillation at device termination, increased electromagnetic interference (EMI), the lack of the modules of packages for high current application, high frequency oscillation under parallel operation. The dissertation is developed to address the key high-frequency-oriented challenges to adopt GaN-based semiconductors in the power conversion and come up with the novel design strategy and analysis for high-switching-frequency power conversion using GaN devices. To the reduce the increased EMI emission in the gate loop, a novel PCB-embedded transformer structure is proposed to maintain a low isolation capacitor in the gate driver power supply for the GaN phase leg. With the proposed technique, the dual-output gate driver power supply can achieve high efficiency (85%), ultra-low isolation capacitor (1.6 pF) with high power density (72 W/in³ ). To reduce the high frequency oscillation at the GaN device termination, the strategy to layout GaN devices and its gate driver is proposed with corresponding thermal management. A compact structure for three-phase inverter is then presented, operating with a very high switching frequency (500 kHz). Within the inverter, the high switching frequency effects on the inverter performances are assessed to demonstrate the tradeoff and bottle neck to adopt high switching frequency in the motor drive application. In order to reduce the inverter EMI emission at high frequency ( >10 MHz), an active gate driver for GaN device is proposed for the active dv/dt control strategy. To build a high current power converter, the strategy to parallel GaN devices is proposed in the dissertation with the analysis on the commutation between the paralleled GaN devices. A high-frequency high-current litz-wire transformer structure for LLC resonant converter is presented with modeling and optimization. With the technique, a 10 kW LLC resonant converter achieves high efficiency (97.9 %) and high power density (131 W/in³).