Abstract: Smart energy applications (e.g., smart grids, vehicle charging infrastructures, energy storage) offer a major opportunity for dual-use power electronics that deliver power and information simultaneously. Distributed energy systems need coordination between resources (5G and beyond), power amplifiers need fast and efficient envelope trackers, and Li-Fi (light fidelity) unlocks a secure, robust spectrum for simultaneous communication and illumination using visible light. Power electronics can bridge the gap between networked information and energy systems with a combination of ultrafast devices, circuits, control, and magnetics.
In this webinar, I present the synergy between 1) high-frequency GaN semiconductors, 2) coupled magnetics, 3) multiphase and multilevel interleaving, and 4) innovative above-switching-frequency communication-over-power modulation techniques. I use distributed, high-frequency GaN switches that share conversion stress between multiple phases and levels that are automatically balanced by efficient, dense coupled magnetics. I prove how distributed switching and coupled magnetics allow a converter to communicate signals above the switching frequency, as given by a Modified Nyquist Limit. This methodology is proven using a 64-times interleaved Li-Fi transmitter built with 128 GaN switches at 500 kHz, four phases, and 17-levels per phase, for an effective switching frequency of 32 MHz. This design achieves 400 W of LED illumination at 96% efficiency while transmitting 16-QAM data at 2.4-times the switching frequency.
