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| Reference Number | UKRI2417 | |
| Title | Advanced Device Packaging Enabling High Performance and Circular Power Electronics (CircularPE) | |
| Status | Started | |
| Energy Categories | Other Power and Storage Technologies (Electric power conversion) 100%; | |
| Research Types | Basic and strategic applied research 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) 100% | |
| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Not Cross-cutting 100% | |
| Principal Investigator |
Teng Long University of Cambridge |
|
| Award Type | Standard | |
| Funding Source | EPSRC | |
| Start Date | 01 October 2025 | |
| End Date | 01 January 2028 | |
| Duration | 27 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £1,109,319 | |
| Industrial Sectors | Unknown | |
| Region | East of England | |
| Programme | NC : Engineering | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Teng Long , University of Cambridge |
| Web Site | ||
| Objectives | ||
| Abstract | From renewable energy to transport electrification, every watt is converted multiple times by power electronic converters from generation to end-use. Achieving high efficiency, high reliability, low cost, and miniaturization in power converters is crucial for energy savings and decarbonization. The development of individually structured components has been isolated, with interactions between entities often overlooked. This lack of integrated design beyond individual components has largely restricted the full potential of emerging wide bandgap (WBG) power electronic devices. Consequently, improvements in power converters have been incremental, and technological demarcations continue to stifle innovation in power electronics. The development of power electronics products and technologies typically prioritizes efficiency, power density, affordability, and reliability, often neglecting reusability and waste management after consumption. Conventional power electronics converter design is linear, beginning with raw materials, progressing through the composition of individually structured components, and ending with disposal. Power electronic packages are challenging to reuse, repair, and recycle due to the inseparable physical connections of parts within the package. Significant resources and residual values inherent in power electronics are wasted through standard disposal methods such as landfilling and incineration, leading to environmental concerns. The lack of focus on reusability, reparability, and recyclability in power electronics undermines sustainability and the principles of a Circular Economy. In our quest for high performance and sustainability in power electronics, we aim to demonstrate a new design paradigm for power electronic packages and converters through structural and functional integration, with a focus on circularity from the design stage. We will cohesively design novel and high-performance power electronic device packages where parts can be separated and replaced. This innovative packaging concept and design incorporate new structures of ceramic embedding die chips, a new bonding method using liquid metal, and new assembling and disassembling processes for power electronics packages. We will explore the fundamental sciences and engineering implementations necessary to enable the reusability, repairability, and recyclability of all parts in the device package, ensuring their 'another life' and 'after life'. This approach is expected to deliver unprecedented performance and enable circular power electronics. We aim to achieve an advanced system for high-performance and circular power electronics through the following objectives. 1) Develop a ceramic-embedded power electronic package for scalable power converters with ultra-fast switching and excellent thermal management; 2) Innovate a floating die structure for power electronics packaging using liquid metal fluidic joints to address thermomechanical issues; 3) Create an integrated design and fabrication process for reusable, repairable, and recyclable power electronics using floating die structures enabled by liquid metal. The team from the University of Cambridge (CAM) and the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult (CSAC) will collaborate closely throughout the project. Transformative ideas and theoretical analyses from CAM are well complemented by the fabrication and testing expertise and facilities at CSAC. The project enjoys strong support from leading industrial partners, STMicroelectronics for SiC bare dies, MacDermid Alpha for packaging bonding materials, and Semikron Danfoss for thermal and packaging design. We believe this combined effort will derisk the fundamental research and accelerate the impact. The technology and knowledge generated from this project will inspire the academic community to explore more interdisciplinary research between Electrical Engineering, Material Science, and Economics. Research and training activities from this project will benefit the UK’s Power Electronics and Machine Drives (PEMD) industry with more assets contributing UK’s PEMD supply chain | |
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| Publications | No related publications |
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| Added to Database | 07/01/26 | |
