Ultra-High-Voltage Semiconductor Switch Poised to Transform Future Power Technologies

A research team led by the University at Albany has successfully designed, fabricated and demonstrated a rare class of silicon carbide semiconductor switch capable of handling voltages far beyond what conventional devices can manage. The fabrication and demonstration of the 15-kilovolt (kV) silicon carbide (SiC) insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) was supported by sustained, multiyear funding from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory, and the achievement makes UAlbany the second institution in the country, and the first academic one, to demonstrate an ultra-high-voltage device at this level. Devices operating at 15 kV and beyond are poised to become the foundation of next-generation power technologies fueling advances in energy, defense and artificial intelligence. Power technologies, or the systems and devices that generate, move, control and store electricity, are found in everything from massive power plants and transmission lines to the tiny switches inside your phone charger.