i Acknowledgement The material for this updated text was originally written by Dr. William E. Newell, a noted authority on power electronics with the aid of his associates at the Westinghouse Research and Development Center. Until his untimely death in 1976, Dr. Newell had devoted much of his life to helping practicing engineers and students alike better understand the field of power electronics. As a " teacher " within Westinghouse, as well as at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Newell tested the materials in this text well, with over five years of use and refinement. We dedicate this text to the memory of Dr. Newell for his unselfish contributions to the field of power electronics. In order that future generations of engineers and students can profit from the efforts of Dr. Newell, The Westinghouse Electric Corporation has engaged his friends and colleague John W. Motto, Jr., to edit this work. John brings to this task over 17 years of applications and ratings experience on power semiconductor devices. We hope you find this text a worthwhile addition to your reference library. We appreciate any comments you might have so that your ideas can be reflected in succeeding editions of this text. Information furnished in this text is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, Powerex can assume no responsibility for its use; nor any infringements of patents, or other rights of third parties which may result from its use. No license is granted by implication or other use under any patent or patent rights of Powerex. ii Foreword Although power electronics has a considerably longer history than many better known areas of electrical engineering, its widespread significance is only now beginning to gain recognition. In a sense, power electronics is the marriage of techniques which are characteristically power. But the incompatibilities which have traditionally separated these two specialties makes the consummation of this marriage far from simple. Power engineers find it difficult to adapt their intuitive thought patterns to a microsecond time scale, and electronics engineers have similar problems in adjusting to the demands of a megawatt power scale. Thus there is a growing need for electrical engineers whose capabilities transcend the two fields. At least three current trends dictate that in spite of its slow rise to prominence, power electronics will soon emerge as a discipline and profession of major importance: 1. The growing shortage of oil and gas and growing …

Introduction to solid state power electronics

With the rapid development of the electric power grid and high-power tractions, megawatt power electronics technology is receiving tremendous attentions across the globe. The major obstacles to its further development still exist in enhancing its capability and reliability. Technical challenges and opportunities of megawatt power electronics are summarized first. It points out that the electromagnetic transient behaviors, especially at the short-timescales, are the main challenges. The transient behaviors of power electronics systems manifest themselves in the main-power loop, gate-drive loop, and control loop. After a detailed discussion of the transient behaviors, it is concluded that focusing on the multiscale transient behaviors can lead to significant overall performance improvement. A new perspective on the power electronics theory and techniques will lead to the development of a methodology for the analysis, design, and control of megawatt power electronics converters with significant improvements.

Transient Behaviors of Multiscale Megawatt Power Electronics Systems—Part I: Characteristics and Analysis

Design of bevel junction termination extension structure for high-performance vertical GaN Schottky barrier diode

A significant improvement in power semiconductor device utilisation seems possible if the maximum output current of power stages could be limited by thermal feedback from the power converter. To illustrate the potential utilisation benefit obtained in main switching devices, the variation in usable current with operating conditions is examined for several devices applied in a constant frequency PWM VVVF inverter, and operated under conditions to keep their junction temperature constant. >

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The effect of thermal performance on device current utilisation

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Establishment of Theory of Power Conversion by Circuit Switching

Power electronics is a technology which is interstitial to all three of the major disciplines of electrical engineering: electronics, power, and control. Yet its rapidly expanding significance has not been widely recognized, and the historical parochialism of specialists within the technology has stifled communication and cooperation in solving increasingly challenging problems. This paper calls for an end to this parochialism, leading to the emergence of an important new discipline and profession.

Power Electronics-Emerging from Limbo [Conference Keynote Address]

The current capacity of a solid-state device, as ordinarily rated, varies widely depending on the current waveform, duty cycle, case temperature, etc. The underlying junction temperature limits should, however, be invariant.

W. E. Newell

Papers

Power Electronics-Emerging from Limbo [Conference Keynote Address]

Dissipation in solid-state devices - the magic of I 1+N