Defence of doctoral thesis in the field of Industrial Electronics and Electric Drives, M.Sc.(Tech.) Bilal Ahmad

M.Sc.(Tech.) Bilal Ahmad will defend the thesis "Impact of Gallium Nitride Switching Devices on High-Frequency Power Electronics Converters" on 21 September 2021 at 12:15 in Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation.

Opponent: Prof. Hans-Peter Nee, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Custos: Prof. Jorma Kyyrä, Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation

The public defense will be organized via remote technology. Follow defence: https://aalto.zoom.us/j/62622110601

Zoom Quick Guide: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/zoom-quick-guide

Thesis available for public display at: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/doc_public/eonly/riiputus/

Doctoral theses in the School of Electrical Engineering: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/53

Press release:

Since the inception of the first silicon (Si) transistor from Bell Labs in 1948, it has been the most widely used switching device in power electronics converters. However, due to the intrinsic properties of Si material, these devices exhibit limitations in terms of blocking voltage, thermal management, and switching speeds.

Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor material-based switching devices show superior properties over Si devices. The application of these switching devices has made it possible to achieve ultra-highly efficient and power-dense power converters. However, these devices also give rise to new challenges.

This thesis takes a deep dive into tackling the challenges that are faced during the practical implementation of GaN-based converters. The main contributions of this thesis include A modified PWM scheme for DC/AC solar inverter to reduce reverse conduction losses and improve its power quality, A high-frequency parasitic model of multi-winding coupled inductor for DC/DC converter to reduce EMI, An iterative tool to optimize the design of magnetic components for a 3-phase isolated AC/DC power supply for aircraft applications.

Contact information of doctoral candidate: