Research

Research collaborations focus on areas identified by corporate members as relevant to industry needs including:

• New circuit topologies, power management integrated circuits (ICs), and discrete power converters that can achieve high power density and high efficiency;
• Next generation passive components including inductors, transformers, and resonant structures that can operate efficiently at high frequency while reducing size and materials cost;
• Integrated passive components for high-density power management that leverage available semiconductor foundry process capabilities and next-generation magnetic materials;
• System design, optimization, and control for a variety of converter architectures that leverage small passive components to operate at high frequency or in resonant modes.
• Aspects of reliability and robustness in power electronic circuits including design in high temperature, harsh environments and electromagnetic interference.

R&D efforts span multiple levels in the power electronics space to support a variety of industry-sponsored projects and train the next generation of engineers in critical areas. In particular, the Center explores new circuit architectures and design techniques that leverage high-level integration to expand the boundaries of efficiency and power density.

PMIC emphasizes passive component innovation and integration, magnetic materials and component design, and new high-density resonant structures for power delivery. At the system-level, new control techniques, novel circuit operation, and integration strategies are explored that can improve performance and robustness while reducing size and cost.

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Current Research Projects at PMIC

• [Technology for] Power Conversion and Isolation. Profs. Scheideler, Stauth, and Levey, Dartmouth (Specific technology description redacted)
• [Technology for] Gate Drive Circuits for Silicon and GaN Power Devices. Prof. Stauth, Dartmouth (Specific technology description redacted)
• ‍Chip-Scale Power Isolation Transformer Design. Profs. Sullivan, and Levey, Dartmouth
• VHF DC-DC Converters: [Technology for] Direct-Conversion Hybrid Switched-Capacitor Converters. Prof. Stauth, Dartmouth (Specific technology description redacted)
• [New Technology] Converter for High Conversion Ratio Applications. Prof. Mercier, UCSD (Specific technology description redacted)
• [New Technology] Multi-Output Hybrid DC-DC Converter with Large Conversion Ratio, Prof. Le, UCSD (Specific technology description redacted)
• [New Technology] Hybrid DC-DC Converter. Prof. Le, UCSD (Specific technology description redacted)