Shankar Ekkanath MADATHIL
Professor, Rolls-Royce/Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair, The University of Sheffield, UK
Research interests:
power semiconductor devices and technologies, high temperature power electronics, active gate drive technologies, high power density converters, power integrated circuits for lighting, automotive and switched mode power supplies, high voltage thin film transistors & integration aspects, modelling of power semiconductor devices & technologies, new concepts for semiconductor devices & technologies, power semiconductor devices & technologies for harsh environments, wide band gap power semiconductor devices and technologies, nano technologies for power electronic applications
Keynote address:
Next Generation of Power Semiconductor Device Technologies - My perspective
Abstract:
Power Semiconductor devices are key to energy efficiency and to realise sustainable carbon footprint. This talk will cover essential basics and address key technological advances being made in Gallium Nitride for high frequency power electronics, which is the next step in revolution of power electronics towards adiabatic solutions, where additional cooling techniques are not required. Transition from the conventional scheme of manufacturing circuits using discrete components to that of a fully integrated power system-on-chip is anticipated to be a prerequisite to take advantage of the high-frequency power switching benefits offered by GaN devices. High slew rates, in the presence of parasitic inductance (device/package/circuit) can result in over-voltage transients, which can seriously impair the functionality of a GaN device. Even with the most innovative packaging approaches, a finite residual inductance is present. Monolithic integration of gate drive circuitry with power devices on a single technology platform is considered as an essential approach to minimize parasitic inductance in the circuitry and therefore enable stable high-frequency operation, efficiency and power densities unachievable by existing techniques. The fundamental requirement of a semiconductor technology platform that enables simultaneous development of a wide range of high voltage and low voltage N and PMOS devices as required for integration is served by the Polarisation Super Junction (PSJ) platform in GaN.
Shankar Ekkanath MADATHIL is a Royal Society Industry Fellow in Rolls-Royce since 2014 where he works on the systems impact of next generation of power electronics technologies and was a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Power Electronics from 2007-2013. His team has proven world leading design-2-manufacture expertise in Silicon and GaN. Presently, his work is focused on ultra-high power density power conversion solutions, which ranges from materials to circuits and thermal management with a focus on effective use of high value materials and manufacturing techniques for aerospace applications, through direct support from Rolls-Royce. His notable scientific contributions include the Clustered IGBT concept in Silicon and Silicon Carbide; the first demonstration of 3 kV Intelligent Power Chip in Silicon, record low on-state resistance 100 V devices in Silicon. In the area of GaN, his team demonstrated for the first time the existence of 2 Dimensional Hole Gas in GaN/AlGaN heterostructures and thus the polarisation super-junction concept in GaN. Through this technology, he has demonstrated high performance lateral power devices such as diodes, transistors and bi-directional GaN switches on silicon, sapphire and SiC substrates. Powdec KK in Japan is presently exploiting this technology, under non-exclusive license, with discrete power devices primed for production release in 2017. He has very extensive experience in the area of Power IC technologies in Silicon and he was the first person in the UK to set up the Power IC fabrication processes in Southampton University.
He is an editor of IEEE – TDMR, IEEE-TED and an associated editor of IET – PEL and holds 40 patents/applications and published in excess of 200 articles. Most recently, he has been invited to join the editorial team of the most prestigious Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. He is a director of Eco Semiconductor Limited, which owns the IP of the CIGBT, presently under development for manufacture in the Far-East.
