Power electronics is an unseen yet ubiquitous technology. As middle men of sorts, these systems convert electrical power from one form to another, DC – DC (e.g. USB phone charger) , AC – DC (e.g. computer power supply), DC – AC (e.g. electric motor drive) , AC – AC (e.g. solid state grid connections), low voltage to high voltage and many others. Power electronics enables most of our advanced technologies today, but comes with added volume, cost, and reliability concerns. Our group focuses on minimizing passive components (inductors and capacitors) impact within power electronic circuits by raising switching frequencies with wide bandgap semiconductors and by integrating inductors and capacitors into a single structure. Applications of interest for our group are wireless power transfer, electric motor drives, and grid tied inverters for renewable energy.
