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GaN FET–based Power Converters: Practical Design Challenges and Machine Learning-assisted In-situ Health Prediction by Prof Dr Harish S. Krishnamoorthy
Wed, 2024-10-23 21:13 — venkatr
Location and Date:
9 August 2024 (Friday), 2.30 PM, DESE seminar Room, 2nd Floor
Abstract:
Power converters need to be designed to meet their specific demand based on the application, providing precise voltage and current regulation, fast switching capabilities, and high power density. Power supplies using GaN FETs have been contributing to the advancements in various fields, including electric transportation, renewable energy systems (including offshore), medical, and subsurface characterization. While these devices are the current buzz in town in the area of power electronics (due to the multiple advantages in efficiency and power density), they also bring several challenges with regard to the practical design.
This talk will begin with the introduction of certain niche applications using GaN devices. Then, the speaker will detail some of the practical design details, including the difficulties faced in the layout, EMI, and heat dissipation of converters in these applications, along with a few methods to address them. This will be followed by a description of the reliability characterization of GaN devices and a potential method to predict the health of GaN-based converters in-situ using machine learning.
This talk will begin with the introduction of certain niche applications using GaN devices. Then, the speaker will detail some of the practical design details, including the difficulties faced in the layout, EMI, and heat dissipation of converters in these applications, along with a few methods to address them. This will be followed by a description of the reliability characterization of GaN devices and a potential method to predict the health of GaN-based converters in-situ using machine learning.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Harish S. Krishnamoorthy (Senior Member, IEEE) received his B.Tech. degree from the EEE department, NIT Tiruchirappalli, India, and his Ph.D. degree from the ECE department, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, in 2008 and 2015, respectively. From Jun. 2008 to Jul. 2010, he worked at GE Energy, Hyderabad, India, and received the Lean 6-Sigma Green Belt certification. From Apr. 2015 to July 2017, he was with Schlumberger, TX, USA. He has also worked at Ford and Google. Since Aug. 2017, Dr. Krishnamoorthy has been with the ECE department of the University of Houston (UH), where he is currently an Associate Professor.
Dr. Krishnamoorthy has over 110 conference/journal papers in refereed publications; and has two granted US patents. He is a member of the core organizing committee in various IEEE conferences, including APEC (2025, 2024, etc.), ECCE (2024, 2023, etc.), and INTELEC (General Co-Chair in 2025). He is also an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. He received the UH College of Engineering’s Research Excellence Award in 2022 and Teaching Excellence Award in 2021. He was also named an ‘OTC Emerging Leader’ by the Offshore Technology Conference, 2022, and an Early Career Research Fellow (ECRF) by the Gulf Research Program of the US National Academies. He received three major awards in 2023: NSF CAREER Award (from the U.S. National Science Foundation), the IEEE Power Electronics Society's (PELS) Young Professional Exceptional Service Award, and NIT Tiruchirappalli’s Young Achiever Award.
Dr. Krishnamoorthy has participated in several research projects awarded by the U.S. NSF, DoE, DoD, etc. worth about $10 million (out of which, ~$4 million is to his credit). His research interests lie in WBG semiconductor-based power conversion systems for renewable energy technologies, energy transition, electrified transportation, reliability/health prediction in energy systems, etc. Dr. Krishnamoorthy has given over 40 national & international invited talks on related areas over the last 5 years.
Dr. Krishnamoorthy has over 110 conference/journal papers in refereed publications; and has two granted US patents. He is a member of the core organizing committee in various IEEE conferences, including APEC (2025, 2024, etc.), ECCE (2024, 2023, etc.), and INTELEC (General Co-Chair in 2025). He is also an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. He received the UH College of Engineering’s Research Excellence Award in 2022 and Teaching Excellence Award in 2021. He was also named an ‘OTC Emerging Leader’ by the Offshore Technology Conference, 2022, and an Early Career Research Fellow (ECRF) by the Gulf Research Program of the US National Academies. He received three major awards in 2023: NSF CAREER Award (from the U.S. National Science Foundation), the IEEE Power Electronics Society's (PELS) Young Professional Exceptional Service Award, and NIT Tiruchirappalli’s Young Achiever Award.
Dr. Krishnamoorthy has participated in several research projects awarded by the U.S. NSF, DoE, DoD, etc. worth about $10 million (out of which, ~$4 million is to his credit). His research interests lie in WBG semiconductor-based power conversion systems for renewable energy technologies, energy transition, electrified transportation, reliability/health prediction in energy systems, etc. Dr. Krishnamoorthy has given over 40 national & international invited talks on related areas over the last 5 years.