PowerAmerica is seeking public input on applied research topics addressing technology gaps in wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor chips and electronics.
A formal Request for Information (RFI) was released Feb. 1, 2024. Responses should be submitted via email to poweramerica@ncsu.edu. The response deadline is 5 p.m Thursday, Feb. 15.
Download the RFI or visit this webpage to learn more.
PowerAmerica and Power Electronics News, a leading media platform dedicated to providing the latest insights and advancements in power electronics, have agreed to enter into a strategic media partnership, Power Electronics News announced Tuesday. The partnership aims to provide unique insights, C-level opinions and valuable resources to industry.
“Wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor technologies bring efficiencies critical to meeting CO2 emissions goals,” said Victor Veliadis, executive director of PowerAmerica. “PowerAmerica is committed to accelerating WBG adoption, and our partnership with Power Electronics News will help us further evangelize the benefits of WBG technology and catalyze its mass commercialization.”
“We are excited about this partnership and look forward to working with Power Electronics News,” Veliadis told Power Electronics News.
This strategic partnership between PowerAmerica and Power Electronics News is poised to facilitate knowledge-sharing and enable media opportunities in power electronics engineering, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
PowerAmerica’s 2024 Annual Meeting will be held from March 12 to 15, in Raleigh, North Carolina. During this yearly gathering, PowerAmerica members delve into the latest advancements in WBG technology and business strategies. Power Electronics News, serving as a media partner, will report on the proceedings and insights stemming from this pivotal meeting.
Power Electronics News logo. Courtesy of Power Electronics News
“Our partnership with PowerAmerica is a source of great excitement. Being a part of Manufacturing USA, PowerAmerica serves as a hub for the most brilliant minds in the wide-bandgap semiconductor domain,” said Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News. “This collaboration positions us to offer our readers unparalleled access to cutting-edge breakthroughs and advancements within the WBG semiconductor landscape. At the upcoming PowerAmerica meeting, experts will be identifying potential technology gaps and barriers for future endeavors.”
If you are not a member of PowerAmerica but would like to attend the Annual Meeting, please email poweramerica@ncsu.edu.
To learn more about the new partnership between PowerAmerica and Power Electronics News, read this announcement: https://www.powerelectronicsnews.com/power-electronics-news-announces-strategic-media-partnership-with-poweramerica/.
Power Electronics News is a leading platform dedicated to providing the latest insights and advancements in power electronics. With a focus on industry-relevant content, the platform delivers comprehensive information to professionals and enthusiasts in the field of power semiconductor technology.
PowerAmerica is a member-driven consortium of the industry, universities and national labs, accelerating the commercialization of energy-efficient SiC and GaN power semiconductor chips and electronics. Our membership network spans the WBG technology ecosystem, from material/equipment suppliers to device developers and fabs to module manufacturers and end users, as well as leading universities that train the workforce.
March 2, 2023 – We conducted yet another productive PowerAmerica Annual Meeting, in Raleigh, North Carolina, which drew 450 in-person and virtual attendees. Tutorials were given by Eric Persson of Infineon and Hrishikesh Das of onsemi; Philip Chesley of Qorvo and Manish Dalal of GE Aerospace gave insightful perspectives in their keynote presentations; and Cengiz Balkas of Wolfspeed, Hrishikesh Das of onsemi, and Kevin Speer of Microchip shared their viewpoints in our lively “SiC Supply Chain” panel discussion.
PowerAmerica has funded $6.5M in 23 member-selected projects — with IP shared with all members. Congratulations to our 82 members who gave input to our $64M Department of Energy (DoE) renewal-funding proposal. Their amplified voice has been communicated to the White House, DoE, Department of Commerce and elsewhere in the government. Last but not least, we are grateful to AEHR Systems, John Deere and CVD Corporation for sponsoring our event.
PowerAmerica Executive Director Victor Veliadis will present a webinar on “Bidirectional SiC and GaN Switch Technology” from noon to 1 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Feb. 21, as part of the SEMI Silicon Carbide Webinar Series.
You must register to attend. To learn more, view the event flyer.
The webinar abstract follows below.
Bidirectional SiC and GaN Switch Technology
“There are numerous mass volume power applications where it is necessary to control the flow of bidirectional power, including electric vehicles (vehicle to grid, vehicle to home, and vehicle to vehicle), distributed and grid-tie power systems using regenerated energy and/or energy storage components, and solid-state circuit breaker protection. Silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) based bidirectional power switches can enable these applications with their compelling advantages of high efficiency, high blocking voltage capability, and low system weight and volume. In particular, monolithic switches that allow for bidirectional symmetric conduction and voltage blocking with a chip area close to that of a similarly rated unidirectional switch are ideally suited to fuel a revolution in power electronics technology. Today, monolithic bidirectional (MBD) power semiconductor switches are not commercially available. Instead, back-to-back (anti-series) connection schemes of unidirectional power MOSFETs or IGBTs are typically used, resulting in a 4X penalty in chip area and high cost. However, various types of SiC and GaN bidirectional concepts are being investigated including bonded-wafer bidirectional IGBTs, monolithic dual-gate bidirectional GaN switches, and monolithic back-to-back connected SiC MOSFETs and JFETs. In this presentation, the semiconductor technology of SiC and GaN bidirectional switches will be reviewed including their operating principles, and their lateral and vertical geometry configurations. The performance advantages of MBD switches will be highlighted. Promising MBD devices reported to date will be analyzed, and the key bidirectional switch applications of solid-state circuit breakers and current-source-inverters will be discussed. As SiC and GaN devices approach mass commercialization propelled by insertion in electric vehicles and consumer electronics, respectively, fabrication of SiC/GaN MBD switches is becoming economically viable enabling their wide adoption in key volume applications.”
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PowerAmerica Executive Director Victor Veliadis spoke on a panel at the White House, on Oct. 24, as one of 16 directors of the nation’s Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes. It was the first time a leadership summit had been held with all 16 directors convened at the White House since the Manufacturing USA network was founded in 2012.
“Manufacturing is key to both our economic prosperity and national security,” Veliadis says. “It was an honor to highlight how PowerAmerica is spearheading efforts to create public-private collaborations that synergistically overcome technological challenges — and accelerate the commercialization of energy-efficient silicon-carbide and gallium-nitride power semiconductor chip technologies.”
The leadership summit was led by Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council (NEC), along with the deputy director of the NEC and the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Deputy and under secretaries from the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, USDA and representatives from six other federal agencies were also in attendance.
The Manufacturing USA network helps facilitate U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing and build a strong workforce. Through public-private partnerships, these 16 institutes work on a range of cutting-edge technologies, such as advanced semiconductor chips, robotics, additive manufacturing and biomanufacturing. Each of the institutes in the network is sponsored by the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy.
PowerAmerica, backed by the DOE and headquartered on NC State’s Centennial Campus, is a member-driven consortium of industry, universities and national labs that focuses on silicon-carbide and gallium-nitride semiconductor chips and their applications. These next-generation energy-efficient chips can be used to power trains and other large vehicles, manufacturing plants — and even entire electric grids.
To learn more about the leadership summit, read this White House briefing room statement.
Editor’s note: This news article was originally published by the Office of Research and Innovation and is reprinted here with permission.
Editor’s note: This news article was originally published by the Office of Research and Innovation and is reprinted here with permission.
March 16, 2022 by
PowerAmerica has been awarded a $5 million cooperative agreement from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to help Native American communities better prepare for future disasters and emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Institute will work closely with Navajo Technical University, Sandia National Lab in New Mexico, and other Native colleges to engage with these communities.
“NC State is proud to play a pivotal role in this important work,” says Mladen Vouk, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation. “As a land-grant university, it’s part of our job to improve the lives of everyday people. And thanks to this funding, we’ll be able to help some of the communities in this country who were hit the hardest by COVID-19.”
Native American communities were disproportionately affected by the pandemic — in large part due to the widespread lack of electric utility infrastructure. This infrastructure is critical to the refrigeration of vaccines and other medicines or supplies. And without it, setting up field hospitals that can effectively treat patients locally becomes much harder.
To address this issue and other complications that have resulted from the pandemic, PowerAmerica will develop a solar-powered microgrid to power on-site field hospitals and refrigeration; a semiconductor-based fast-charging system for drones to support rapid supply delivery; a solar-powered system for supplying critical electric loads at home; and a low-cost, energy-efficient air quality control system with pathogen-detection and disinfection capabilities.
“In close collaboration with Native American leaders and colleges, we will build pandemic resiliency in native communities through a strategic, agile, mobile, efficient, and rapidly deployable renewable-energy-based electrification response tailored to native cultural, health infrastructure, and geographic realities,” says Victor Veliadis, executive director and CTO of PowerAmerica and principal investigator of the NIST grant. “I am honored to lead the team of PowerAmerica experts deploying these clean energy solutions and educational initiatives.”
NC State will also create technical and engineering courses for community colleges that center Native communities and their needs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.
Specifically, PowerAmerica will develop a “Train the Trainer” curriculum for community college instructors and working technicians — builders, electricians and roofers — in Native American communities. The curriculum will be customized from existing courses offered by the NC Clean Energy Technology Center, located at NC State.
PowerAmerica will also deliver a curriculum for community college students on clean energy technology, including solar energy, energy storage, microgrids, clean transportation and efficient buildings.
PowerAmerica, a member of Manufacturing USA, was launched by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2014 as the Next Generation Power Electronics National Manufacturing Innovation Institute. PowerAmerica is engineering new wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technologies that revolutionize energy efficiency in a variety of applications — including power grids, electric vehicles and high-bandwidth electronics. WBG semiconductors allow power electronic systems to be smaller, faster, more reliable and more efficient.
“I am thrilled that institutes in the Manufacturing USA network can leverage their technological expertise and extensive industry connections to provide pandemic response solutions,” says Mike Molnar, NIST Office of Advanced Manufacturing director. “The PowerAmerica project will convene multiple universities, community colleges, national labs and others with the goal of making Native American communities more resilient with reliable and efficient energy systems that are also clean and renewable. The effort’s ‘train the trainer’ component brings added value by supporting Tribal Community college instructors, working technicians and Native American college students.”
The funding is part of NIST’s Rapid Assistance for Coronavirus Economic Response (RACER) Program, which seeks innovative solutions for future pandemic preparedness.
The PowerAmerica Institute at NC State University recently announced new leadership representing the organization’s 60+ member companies. Llew Vaughn-Edmunds, of AMAT, is the new chair of the PowerAmerica Membership Advisory Committee, while Stephanie Butler, of Texas Instruments, will serve as the new vice-chair.
The positions are elected annually by the membership of PowerAmerica, and are responsible for guiding the organization in fulfilling its mission of accelerating the adoption of silicon carbide and gallium nitride wide bandgap power electronics technologies.
“We are honored to have Llew as our new chair and Stephanie as our new vice chair to lead the organization’s membership. Their election to these roles is a testament to how well regarded they each are for their work in the community of SiC and GaN professionals,” said Dr. Victor Veliadis, Executive Director of PowerAmerica.
Llew Vaughan-Edmunds is Director of Strategic & Technical Marketing – PowerTechnologies, within the ICAPS Group at Applied Materials. He has over 20 years of power semiconductor experience at Infineon, International Rectifier, Fairchild and ON Semiconductor. He has been responsible for various product lines including Gate Drivers, IGBTs, Diodes, and Wide Band Gap (SiC/GaN). He holds an MBA from Chapman University, BS in Applied Electronics from Liverpool University, and a patent in GaN device technology.
PowerAmerica MAC Chair Llew Vaughan-Edwards.
Dr. Stephanie Watts Butler, P.E., is a systems technology innovation architect in GaN in High Voltage Power at Texas Instruments (TI) focused on application opportunities and product definition. She also has driven new high voltage and isolation technology innovations from concept to revenue by leading partnerships with TI’s technology organizations, manufacturing sites, universities, and product development teams. In her career, she has produced innovations in the areas of control, process and package technology, R&D management, and new product development. Dr. Butler has authored more than 40 papers and 17 U.S. patents. She is the Chair of JEDEC’s JC-70 Wide Bandgap Committee, a Fellow of the AVS, and a Senior Member of IEEE and AIChE. Dr. Butler is also a member of IEEE PELS WIE Committee and the Power Electronics Magazine Advisory Board. SWE honored Dr. Butler with their highest award, the Achievement Award for Outstanding Technical Contributions, and Business Insider named Dr. Butler to their most powerful female engineers list of 2017.
PowerAmerica Membership Advisory Committee Vice Chair Stephanie Butler.
PowerAmerica is surveying members to determine interest in preparing a proposal to compete for NIST Rapid Assistance for Coronavirus Economic Response (RACER) funding. The NIST Office of Advanced Manufacturing expects to fund high-impact projects for research, development, and testbeds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. The program is targeted specifically to Manufacturing USA institutes, of which PowerAmerica is a part, as well as institute members.
PowerAmerica is looking for members to submit one to two paragraphs detailing a proposed project concept by Friday, June 11, which will be collated by PowerAmerica staff. Based on submissions, staff will recommend one or more themes that could form the basis of a PowerAmerica proposal. It is anticipated the proposal would include tasks for several members (individual or teams) that would receive funding if an award is made by NIST.
PowerAmerica will work with selected project teams to submit a full proposal to NIST by July 26.
Topic Areas
Although the connection between wide bandgap semiconductors and coronavirus response may not be immediately apparent, NIST has indicated projects aiming to address setbacks in industry or academia related to the pandemic qualify for consideration.
Projects should relate to technology areas that will support current or future pandemic response, as broadly defined by NIST. Possible topic areas focused on wide bandgap semiconductors could include: refrigeration, microgrids/grid resiliency, consumer electronics, electric transportation, workforce development, and more.
NIST has indicated special consideration will be given to projects that prioritize diversity in project teams and equity in project outcomes – for instance, those that engage minority service institutions, benefit low socioeconomic or rural regions, or involve military veterans.
Submission Details
Each PowerAmerica member is asked to submit one proposed project concept by email to PowerAmerica at poweramerica@ncsu.edu by Friday, June 11. Teaming among PowerAmerica member organizations is encouraged. Based on information provided by NIST, funding to each selected project is not expected to exceed $600,000 over two years.
Please review NIST‘s presentation on this funding opportunity for details about technical content, proposal requirements, and other information. Questions? Contact Program Manager Rogelio Sullivan.
John Palmour, CTO of PowerAmerica member Wolfspeed, a Cree Company, will be a featured panelist during a virtual briefing highlighting the accomplishments of Manufacturing USA institutes from 2:30-3:30 p.m. on Monday, May 10. This virtual event will focus on some of the network’s public-private partnerships that are working to advance manufacturing technologies and education and workforce development, focusing on biotechnology, clean energy, cybersecurity, electronics and semiconductors, innovation ecosystems, and supply chain resilience. Check out the event flyer here.
Highlights of the 2020 Annual Report include:
