Power electronics enables the efficient conversion and control of electrical energy and serves as a key driver of technological advancements across a wide range of applications. To create the most compact and efficient power converter, it is essential to use the most energy-dense passive components and best-performance switching devices available. Traditional designs of power converters primarily utilize magnetic components (i.e., inductors and transformers) for energy storage and power transfer.
Our group explores a hybrid switched-capacitor (SC) approach to power electronic system design, which leverages the superior energy storage capabilities (up to 1000x) of capacitors compared to inductors while simultaneously benefiting from the improved figure-of-merit (FOM) of low-voltage switching devices over their high-voltage counterparts. This perspective change creates unparalleled opportunities for achieving higher-performance power conversion.
We pursue challenging problems in which high-performance power electronic systems are essential to achieving higher efficiency, smaller size, lower weight, faster response, reduced cost, and improved reliability. Through innovative academic research, we strive to drive strategic technological progress and contribute to a more sustainable future.