Spike-protected soft-switching cascode GaN/SiC power module
This patent solves a reliability problem inside a specific type of power switch called a cascode device, which pairs a low-voltage silicon transistor with a high-voltage wide-bandgap transistor (made from silicon carbide or gallium nitride) to get the best of both. Without a fix, voltage spikes during switching can damage the low-voltage transistor and waste energy by disrupting the soft-switching behavior that keeps losses low. The invention adds a small, precisely sized capacitor at the internal junction of the two transistors, forming a voltage divider that keeps the spike below the breakdown limit while also ensuring the high-voltage device turns on only when virtually no voltage sits across it. The result is a more efficient, more reliable power switch with no added active components.
What you could build
A drop-in cascode power switch module for high-efficiency power converters—used in EV chargers, solar inverters, data center power supplies, and industrial motor drives—sold to power electronics OEMs and semiconductor module makers who want GaN/SiC performance without reliability headaches.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense electronics primes and power electronics suppliers around Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads corridor (e.g., suppliers to Navy shipboard power systems) would have direct interest in efficient, rugged wide-bandgap switch modules.
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
- Xiucheng Huang, Weijing Du, Qiang Li, Fred C. Lee
- Granted
- August 15, 2017
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 9735238
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.