Power electronics in extreme environments

Abstract

Power electronics in harsh environments are required to be used in many areas for measurement, monitoring, and control. These include, for example, the automobile industries, down hole oil and gas exploration, geothermal power industries or even aerospace exploration and space missions. The extreme environment can be divided into high-temperature environments, low-temperature environments, a wide range of temperature environments, an intense radiation environment, or even a combination of all the above extreme conditions. By far, the main leading applications under extreme operating conditions are including silicon (Si), the silicon on the insulator (SOI), silicon germanium (SiGe), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitrite (GaN) semiconductor. Although the development of advanced power electronics designed for harsh environments has successfully pushed the boundaries of extreme conditions, the reliability of passive components in power electronics is still rarely probed. This paper probes the effect of Sic-integrated conductors, for example, on temperature variations for different capacitance at different frequencies up to 300℃, and the experimental results demonstrate their reliability. Research into power electronics in extreme environments is also important in rolling stock, where the reliability of components needs to be taken into account at high altitudes or in extreme low temperatures.