Hybrid switch cutting losses in high-current power converters
This technology is a smarter way to build the switching circuits inside power converters — the devices that change electrical current from one form to another in things like industrial motor drives and solar inverters. It pairs two types of transistors (an IGBT and a MOSFET) in parallel, using each one's strengths at different moments in the switching cycle to cut energy losses. A small delay circuit staggers when each transistor turns on, so the converter can switch at moments when voltage is near zero, dramatically reducing the heat and energy wasted as electrical 'friction.' The result is a power converter that runs cooler, more efficiently, and at higher current levels than designs using a single transistor type.
What you could build
An improved inverter module or gate-driver reference design for high-power applications such as industrial motor drives, EV traction inverters, or solar/wind grid-tie inverters; the likely buyers are power electronics OEMs and inverter manufacturers looking to improve efficiency ratings without redesigning their core topology.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia's defense and naval shipbuilding supply chain (e.g., Newport News) relies on high-power motor drives and converters; data center power supply manufacturers in Northern Virginia's corridor are also plausible licensees.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Jih-Sheng Lai, Wensong Yu
- Granted
- September 9, 2014
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 8830711
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.