SHREYA PANDEY

Making the new silicon Gallium nitride electronics could drastically cut energy usage

Power electronics is a ubiquitous technology used to convert electricity to higher or lower voltages and different currents.

and off to regulate voltage but, due to speed and resistance constraints, waste energy as heat.

GaN transistors have at least one-tenth the resistance of silicon-based transistors. This allows for much higher energy-efficiency, and orders-of-magnitude faster switching frequency.

The silicon transistors have a constrained power capability that limits how much power the car can handle.

1) The Role of the Semiconductor Industry in Automotive Innovation-YOUTUBE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK9eA6NRGNc)

2) Semiconductor use in automobiles rising -EE TIMES(http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1151615)

3) Semiconductor industry-WIKIPEDIA

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiconductor_industry)

4) Physics of Semiconductors and their heterostructures

Author-Jasprit Singh

Ed No.-1st

Publisher Name-Tata McGraw Hills

City of Publication-New Delhi

Year of Publication-2014.

5) Semiconductor's Physics and Devices

Author-S S Islam

Ed. No.-3rd

Publisher Name-Oxford University Press

City of Publication-New Delhi

Year of Publication-2006

6) Fundamentals of Semiconductors

Author-Peter Y Yu and Manuel Cardona

Ed. No.-4th

Publisher's Name-Springer

City of Publication-New York

Year of Publication-2010

7) Physics of Semiconductor Devices

Author- J P Collinge and C A Collinge

Ed. No.-1st

Publisher's Name-Springer

City of Publication-New Delhi

Year of Publication-2007.

The survey is targeted towards engineers with an aim of understanding the need and gain of introduction semiconductors in automobiles.

1) What was the major aim of introducing semiconductors in automobiles?

ANS= The aim of introduction of semiconductors into automotive industry was decreasing pollution and fossil fuel consumption.

2) Has the industry succeded in achieving its aim?

ANS= It is a long term objective but our progress in a decade or so has been upto the mark.One major step towards our goal was invention of electric cars and now its has already started replacing fossil consuming vehicles.

3) Has your industry's work oriented in only energy consumption reduction?

ANS= No.With time we have evolved some more ideas and are working on them.

4) Can you please elaborate us about the new ideas in semiconductor's introduction in vehicles?

ANS= Apart from the aforesaid objective,we are concentrating on increasing safety of drivers.We are also working on making driving easy and comfortable.We have already introduced auto parking technology.

5) Is your industry also bringing driverless cars?

ANS= Yes,actually it has already been implemented.The tests for safety are going on and soon you will see them on roads.

1) Transistorize-design or make with transistors rather than valves.

2) ABS-Anti-lock braking system (ABS) is an automobile safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to maintain tractive contact with the road surface according to driver inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up (ceasing rotation) and avoiding uncontrolled skidding.

3) GPS - The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites.

4)Telematics - Telematics refers to the use of wireless devices and “black box” technologies to transmit data in real time back to an organization. 

5) HEV -The Hybrid Electric Vehicle combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor.

6) Turbocharger-a supercharger driven by a turbine powered by the engine's exhaust gases.

7) EPS - Electric power steering works with the help of an Electric Motor and a control unit which has some sensors. 

8) VSC - VSC is a vehicle stability control system that improves active safety performance when the vehicle skids.

9) Collission Avoidance - Collision avoidance is the maintenance of systems and practices designed to prevent vehicles such as cars, trains, ships, and airplanes from colliding with other vehicles.

10) Adaptive Cruise Control- a device in a motor vehicle which can be switched on to maintain a selected constant speed without the use of the accelerator pedal.

1) Electrification of vehicles

2) Used for driverless automobiles

3) Use of Telematics in automobiles.

1) Youtube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybgu46TQo0&feature=youtu.be

2) Youtube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXOfCZEgIvU&feature=youtu.be

3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium_nitride

4) Gallium Nitride Electronics

Authors - Quay and Rodiger

Publisher - Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Edition Number - 1

5) Fundamentals of Power Semiconductor Devices

Author - B. Jayant Baliga

Publisher - Springer US

Edition Number - 1

6) Semiconductor Power Devices

Authors - Josef Lutz, Heinrich Schlangenotto, Uwe Scheuermann and Rik De Doncker

Publisher - Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Edition Number - 1

7) Power Electronics Semiconductor Switches

Author - E. Ramshaw

Publisher - Springer US

Edition Number - 2

This survey is targeted towards engineers and scientists who are looking for semiconductors which consume less energy.

1) How has the discovery of GaN affected commercial sector?

Ans - Its discovery has led to the commercialization of high-performance blue LEDs and long-lifetime violet-laser diodes, and to the development of nitride-based devices such as UV detectors and high-speed field-effect transistors.

2) How is GaN ideal for microwave applications?

Ans - The very high breakdown voltages, high electron mobility and saturation velocity of GaN has also made it an ideal candidate for high-power and high-temperature microwave applications, as evidenced by its high Johnson's Figure of Merit.

3) How are GaN based electronics effective in energy conservation?

Ans - GaN-based electronics (not pure GaN) has the potential to drastically cut energy consumption, not only in consumer applications but even for power transmission utilities.

4) Is GaN biocompatible?

Ans - Bulk GaN is non-toxic and biocompatible, and therefore may be used in the electrodes and electronics of implants in living organisms.

5) How are GaN field-effect transistors effectively used?

Ans -

The first gallium nitride metal semiconductor field-effect transistors (GaN MESFET) were experimentally demonstrated in 1993 and they are being actively developed.

In 2010 the first enhancement-mode gallium nitride transistors became generally available. These devices were designed to replace power MOSFETs in applications where switching speed or power conversion efficiency is critical. These transistors, also called eGaN FETs, are built by growing a thin layer of GaN on top of a standard silicon wafer. This allows the eGaN FETs to maintain costs similar to silicon power MOSFETs but with the superior electrical performance of GaN.

1) ubiquitous - present, appearing, or found everywhere

2) CEI - Cambridge Electronics Inc.

3) fabrication - the action or process of manufacturing or inventing something

4) niche - a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment

5) mainstream - the ideas, attitudes, or activities that are shared by most people and regarded as normal or conventional

6) transistor - a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and electrical power

7) DOE - Department of Energy

1) Blu-ray discs

2) Magnetic semiconductor technology

3) manufacture of light-emitting diodes

4) military electronics such as active electronically scanned array radars

5) optoelectronics and biochemical-sensing applications