A computational survey of semiconductors for power electronics
Abstract
Power electronics (PE) are used to control and convert electrical energy in a wide range of applications from consumer products to large-scale industrial equipment. While Si-based power devices account for the vast majority of the market, wide band gap semiconductors such as SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3 are starting to gain ground. However, these emerging materials face challenges due to either non-negligible defect densities, high synthesis and processing costs, or poor thermal properties. Here, we report on a broad computational survey aimed to identify promising materials for future power electronic devices beyond SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3. We consider 863 oxides, sulfides, nitrides, carbides, silicides, and borides that exhibit finite calculated band gaps. We utilize ab initio methods in conjunction with models for intrinsic carrier mobility, and critical breakdown field to compute the widely used Baliga figure of merit. We also compute the lattice thermal conductivity and use it as an additional screening parameter. In addition to correctly identifying known PE materials, our survey has revealed a number of promising candidates exhibiting the desirable combination of high figure of merit and high lattice thermal conductivity, which we propose for further experimental investigations.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
[3];
[1];
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
- Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1568046
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1547951
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5K00-73933
Journal ID: ISSN 1754-5692; EESNBY
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Energy & Environmental Science
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 12; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 1754-5692
- Publisher:
- Royal Society of Chemistry
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; power electronics; materials discovery; high-throughput; computation
Citation Formats
Gorai, Prashun, McKinney, Robert W., Haegel, Nancy M., Zakutayev, Andriy, and Stevanovic, Vladan. A computational survey of semiconductors for power electronics. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1039/C9EE01529A.
Gorai, Prashun, McKinney, Robert W., Haegel, Nancy M., Zakutayev, Andriy, & Stevanovic, Vladan. A computational survey of semiconductors for power electronics. United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EE01529A
Gorai, Prashun, McKinney, Robert W., Haegel, Nancy M., Zakutayev, Andriy, and Stevanovic, Vladan. Mon .
"A computational survey of semiconductors for power electronics". United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EE01529A. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1568046.
@article{osti_1568046,
title = {A computational survey of semiconductors for power electronics},
author = {Gorai, Prashun and McKinney, Robert W. and Haegel, Nancy M. and Zakutayev, Andriy and Stevanovic, Vladan},
abstractNote = {Power electronics (PE) are used to control and convert electrical energy in a wide range of applications from consumer products to large-scale industrial equipment. While Si-based power devices account for the vast majority of the market, wide band gap semiconductors such as SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3 are starting to gain ground. However, these emerging materials face challenges due to either non-negligible defect densities, high synthesis and processing costs, or poor thermal properties. Here, we report on a broad computational survey aimed to identify promising materials for future power electronic devices beyond SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3. We consider 863 oxides, sulfides, nitrides, carbides, silicides, and borides that exhibit finite calculated band gaps. We utilize ab initio methods in conjunction with models for intrinsic carrier mobility, and critical breakdown field to compute the widely used Baliga figure of merit. We also compute the lattice thermal conductivity and use it as an additional screening parameter. In addition to correctly identifying known PE materials, our survey has revealed a number of promising candidates exhibiting the desirable combination of high figure of merit and high lattice thermal conductivity, which we propose for further experimental investigations.},
doi = {10.1039/C9EE01529A},
journal = {Energy & Environmental Science},
number = 11,
volume = 12,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {7}
}
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Cited by: 18 works
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Figures / Tables:
Fig. 1: Stoichiometric and ordered structures (10,600) from the ICSD, comprising oxides, sulphides, nitrides, carbides, silicides, and borides, are represented by the number of atoms in the primitive cell and the standard deviation in Pauling electronegativity of the constituent elements. Si, SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3 are prominent power electronic (PE)more »
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