(U)WBG Semiconductors and Information Technology are Revolutionizing Power Electronics. Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technology and artificial intelligence together are revolutionizing power electronics. A new class of intelligent power electronic systems is unlocking new performance and application areas. The high demands of system development impact the entire power electronics value chain. Specifically, this applies to semiconductor materials and devices as well as packaging and module technology. Extreme oper-ating and environmental conditions demand maximum reliability and ultra-high performance. At PCIM Europe 2024, Fraunhofer…
Powerful and energy-efficient electronic components are key to the energy transition. They contribute to making applications such as electromobility, or electronic air conditioning technologies viable for everyday use across the board. Fraunhofer IAF is supporting this transformation by developing novel technologies for lateral and vertical GaN transistors with blocking voltages above 1200 V. The institute will present the advantages and the current state of development of their GaN technologies at PCIM Europe 2024 from June 11 to 13, 2024 in…
UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Asst. Prof. Chong Liu discovered the ideal particles for efficiently isolating lithium from seawater, ground water, or other dilute sources of the mineral. As the electric vehicle market booms, the demand for lithium — the mineral required for lithium-ion batteries — has also soared. Global lithium production has more than tripled in the last decade. But current methods of extracting lithium from rock ores or brines are slow and come with high energy demands…
Smart packaging for on-board charger that is small in size, but big on performance. On-board chargers are the great equalizers for electric vehicle charging – and can be a game-changer for the future of e-mobility. Fraunhofer IZM has managed to bring together some of the most innovative ideas in power electronics to pave the way for a new generation of on-board chargers. Twice the performance at half the size, bidirectional capabilities, and efficiently machine-made: The resulting on-board charger is the…
Heat pumps can not only be used efficiently in residential buildings, but also in industrial processes with heating and cooling requirements. This conclusion was reached by a team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE as part of the joint project “ETA in Existing Facilities“. The application of a heat pump with propane refrigeration circuit in an industrial cleaning machine led to considerable savings in electricity and CO2. The research project focused on the development of a modular…
The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS presents a groundbreaking demonstrator for predictive maintenance of industrial equipment. The demonstrator uses advanced sensor technology combined with artificial intelligence (AI)-based data processing to detect potential machine damage at an early stage and avoid costly downtime. Based on the results of the iCampus project ForTune, Fraunhofer IPMS has developed a new demonstrator that combines sensor technology, data acquisition and AI-based data evaluation for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. This opens up new possibilities…
TU Graz Opens New CD Lab. The “CD Laboratory for EMC-Aware Robust Electronic Systems” carries out research on the impact of electromagnetic emissions on electronic components in production and operation in order to eliminate the causes of failures. Electrical components, such as semiconductors, are becoming smaller and smaller thanks to technological advances. However, this reduction in size makes them potentially more sensitive to external influences such as electrostatic discharges or electromagnetic emissions from other electronic components. This not only increases…
Researchers from Osaka University show the control of ion passage through a nanopore membrane by applying a voltage to a gate electrode, paving the way for sustainable blue energy harvesting. Blue energy has the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In simple terms, it involves harnessing the energy produced when the ions in a salt solution move from high to low concentrations. A team including researchers from Osaka University has probed the effect of voltage on the…
… for remote sensing transforms crop monitoring. New work by researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) and City University of New York (CUNY) published today in Nature Communications realises a new, tuneable edge-detecting filter for flat-optic imaging systems that can switch between an image of an object’s outline and a detailed infrared image. The development of compact lightweight analogue edge detecting image processors is of particular interest for remote sensing applications such as environmental monitoring and…
Dr. Ifana Mahbub, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, has been awarded the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Director’s Fellowship to continue her research to develop wireless technology to recharge unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in flight. DARPA awards the fellowships to its Young Faculty Award recipients who demonstrate exceptional performance. Mahbub received a Young Faculty Award, which provided $500,000 over two years, in 2021. The fellowship provides an additional $250,000. Mahbub…
What if a common element rather than scarce, expensive ones was a key component in electric car batteries? A collaboration co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher is hoping to spark a green battery revolution by showing that iron instead of cobalt and nickel can be used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. The findings, published today in Science Advances, are important for multiple reasons, Oregon State’s Xiulei “David” Ji notes. “We’ve transformed the reactivity of iron metal,…
– parallel measurement of multiple water parameters with a single sensor chip. Fraunhofer IPMS revolutionizes environmental analysis with new n-well integration technology for ISFETs. A groundbreaking integration technology for the simultaneous measurement of various water parameters using ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) is presented by the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS. The newly developed n-well integration technology makes it possible to measure pH values, nitrate, phosphate and potassium concentrations in parallel and continuously with only one sensor chip. This innovation…
Microstructure simulations reveal strong influence of elastic deformation on the charging behavior of layered oxides used as cathode of sodium-ion batteries. Research into new battery materials is aimed at optimizing their performance and lifetime and at reducing costs. Work is also underway to reduce the consumption of rare elements, such as lithium and cobalt, as well as toxicconstituents. Sodium-ion batteries are considered very promising in this respect. They are based on principles similar to those of lithium-ion batteries, but can…
The production of cement, metals and many chemical commodities requires extremely high temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius. At present, this heat is usually obtained by combusting fossil fuels: coal or natural gas, which emit large amounts of greenhouse gases. Heating with renewable electricity is not an alternative, as this would be inefficient at these high temperatures. Although much of our economy and society will need to become carbon neutral in the coming decades, these industrial processes are likely…
Semiconductors are the foundation of all modern electronics. Now, researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed a new method where organic semiconductors can become more conductive with the help of air as a dopant. The study, published in the journal Nature, is a significant step towards future cheap and sustainable organic semiconductors. “We believe this method could significantly influence the way we dope organic semiconductors. All components are affordable, easily accessible, and potentially environmentally friendly, which is a prerequisite for…
The power of combining different views. Lithium-Ion batteries presently are the ubiquitous source of electrical energy in mobile devices, and the key technology for e-mobility and energy storage. Massive interdisciplinary research efforts are underway both to develop practical alternatives that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and to develop batteries that are safer, more performing, and longer-lasting – particularly for applications demanding high capacity and very dense energy storage. Understanding degradations and failure mechanisms in detail opens opportunities to better…
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