A new set of experimental techniques will peer inside high-voltage power electronics at nanoscale resolution, tracking stresses and strains while the devices are actually running under electrical bias. Power electronics control and convert electrical energy in everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy grids. Current devices are approaching their physical limits. This project targets the next generation of materials—silicon carbide, gallium oxide, and diamond—which can handle far higher voltages and temperatures. The problem is that nobody has been able to see, in three dimensions and at the nanoscale, how the interfaces between different materials in these devices hold up under real operating conditions. Tiny internal stresses can cause sudden failure. If successful, the techniques developed here will give engineers a direct view of where and why these devices break down. That knowledge could make high-voltage power electronics more reliable and efficient, supporting the UK’s shift to electrified transport and smart local grids. The project draws on expertise from aerospace and nuclear sectors, bringing fracture mechanics and high-resolution tomography to semiconductor research for the first time in the UK.
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Power electronics is a major technology sector for the UK, contributing £50B to GDP and direct employment for >300,000 people in 12,000 companies. This proposed project aims to accelerate the UK’s ambition for NetZero by transforming the next generation of high voltage electronic devices using wide/ultra-wide bandgap (WBG/UWBG) compound semiconductors. This project will develop world-class experimental methodologies such as in-situ/ex-situ micro-mechanical testing, nano-/micro-imaging/diffraction (down to ~20 nm resolution) to generate novel understanding of the interfacial strength, 3D nano-/microstructures and the distribution of residual stresses/strains setting the foundation for enhanced performance and reliable WBG/UWBG high voltage power electronic materials/devices including SiC, Ga2O3 and diamond. This project will work with REWIRE IKC (Innovation and Knowledge Centre: Transforming Net Zero with Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor Device Technology) led by the University of Bristol with Universities of Warwick and Cambridge with more than 35 industrial partners, providing this project access to the latest and cutting-edge novel power electronics materials and devices, as well as enabling this project to have enhanced commercial impact. This project also allows the PI to expand her network to key industrial stakeholders and academic institutions in power semiconductor electronics. She will bring her unique combination of expertise in fracture mechanics, nano-/micro-resolution tomography/imaging, ceramics and composite materials knowledge from the aerospace and nuclear sector to the semiconductor field, extending her prior GaN research, to support the design and fabrication of novel power electronics materials and devices; this cross-disciplinary combination of expertise does not exist yet either in REWIRE IKC consortium nor the UK in general. This project will also strengthen the connections between REWIRE IKC, Diamond Light Source (project expert partner), National Physical Laboratory (project expert partner), and the National Facility for lab X-ray CT (NXCT, project expert partner). The materials and devices provided to this project by REWIRE will be state-of-the-art examples/prototypes of next generation power devices to demonstrate the non-invasive 3D techniques developed; REWIRE will support the benchmarking of these results against traditional approaches, for example, lab-based defect distribution characterisation at the University of Warwick in SiC materials, conventional transmission electron microscopy analysis at the University of Cambridge, and device failure analysis of Ga2O3 and diamond electronics at the University of Bristol. It is expected that the use of the advanced techniques and methodology established will expand beyond initial device structures targeted, as REWIRE will develop a cluster of new device technologies that can benefit from this project in the longer term. A particular exciting aspect of the project is the ability to track stresses/strains in these novel devices under electrical bias which would be unprecedented, and open new gateways to advanced device reliability analysis and physics of failure studies. This project will host two networking workshops to drive the transfer of knowledge to industrial stakeholders within and beyond REWIRE to enhance the impact in the development of high voltage power electronics. In addition, a joint electronic ceramics and engineering ceramics workshop will be held with emphasis on drawing in PhD students, early career researchers and industry to help expand their network and support their career developments. The impact of the project not only lies in the generation of novel understanding of the advanced WBG/UWBG materials, but also in supporting renewable power generation and local smart grids to meet the increased demand of electrification in the UK and NetZero ambition.
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