Novel power electronics for extreme environments
Enabling advanced connectivity and energy resilience across all conditionsBackground and Technology Overview
As we push the frontiers of communications, transportation and energy production, power electronic technology is moving into environments that are much harsher than ever before.
Traditional silicon technology is not ideal for use in these extremes: devices suffer from limited thermal tolerance, lower breakdown voltages, and significant degradation when exposed to extreme conditions. In contrast, wide band gap semiconductors are able to maintain functionality and reliability due to favourable properties that enable them to function in environments where silicon devices would fail. This makes them ideal candidates for demanding applications in critical environments like space and nuclear systems and the electrification of transport in extreme temperatures or pressures.
New approaches to enabling technologies to work in such extreme environments are required. For example within the nuclear sector, current robotic maintenance systems in nuclear reactors rely on remote electronics and long cable runs to keep sensitive components away from the radiation, limiting autonomy and introducing system complexity.
Future nuclear fusion reactors will need new approaches to robotic maintenance: a key engineering challenge is the development of robotic systems capable of operating reliably in extreme radiation environments, specifically inside reactor chambers where gamma radiation levels are severe. Similar challenges exist for satellite communications for space-based applications.
REWIRE’s research programme focuses on developing wide band gap semiconductor power devices that are capable of working in systems across different extreme environments. Barriers are especially pronounced for specific industry stakeholders.
Robotics engineers
Robots for nuclear maintenance cycles currently operate with long-distance wiring and electronics, which limits autonomy, increases system complexity and incompatible with future reactor design.
Device designers
Lack of performance data for wide band gap devices under different types of sustained irradiation limits the ability to design reliable operational systems.
Application specialists
Existing components often fail under extreme conditions, requiring frequent system replacement or isolation which is unsuitable for application areas like space and nuclear.
Opportunities
Benchmarking commercial wide band gap devices under different extreme conditions
Designing robust and resilient wide band gap devices for new applications
Failure mechanism analysis to guide fabrication improvements
Benefits
Applications
Reliable autonomous systems
Increased autonomy for robotic systems in fusion reactors through on-board, radiation-tolerant power devices
Reduced system interruption
Lower maintenance access requirements through increased device resilience, improving reactor uptime and safety
Trans-disciplinary impact
Fertilisation of ideas and knowledge transfer across sectors with extreme environment operational needs
Novel applications
Potential for IP and product development, advancing application of radiation-hardened electronics
Nuclear
Communications
Space
Robotics
Partners sought
TRL Status & Available IP
Fusion and nuclear energy operators
Reliability specialists
System integrators for extreme environments
Electronics and device manufacturers
Device designers
Space, defence and nuclear sectors
Current TRL: Experimental/early-stage (device irradiation testing)
Available IP: Potential for IP from process and design enhancements