High voltage technology is key to a more sustainable future

As electrification becomes more widespread, semiconductor innovations allow us to interact safely and reliably with electric vehicles, renewable energy and other high-voltage systems.

As electricity consumption continues to grow around the world, innovations in high-voltage technology are allowing design engineers to develop more efficient solutions and make electrification and renewable energy technologies more accessible.

"As per capita electricity consumption continues to grow, sustainable energy is becoming increasingly important," said Kannan Soundarapandian, vice president and general manager of TI's High Voltage Products Division. "It is important to manage energy use in a responsible way. We cannot waste a single millijoule of energy. This is why innovation in high-voltage technology is key to achieving energy sustainability."

As power demand increases (accelerating an electric vehicle (EV) from 0 to 60mph in 2 seconds requires a lot of battery power), voltage must also increase to minimize heat loss. Traction inverters that transfer power from batteries to electric vehicles often require higher voltages to improve efficiency, as do numerous other high-voltage systems.

While designing these systems can be costly and difficult, high-voltage systems are a more efficient way to store and distribute electricity than low-voltage systems that carry power through transmission lines, cables and wires to different types of loads.

Let's consider a simple example: Twenty years ago, incandescent light bulbs were the standard for home lighting. These bulbs often burn out, and the heat generated by the bulb often burns our fingers when we touch its surface.

"These bulbs are inefficient," said Roland Sperlich, TI vice president and general manager of interface products. "Their energy is lost as heat. Today, LED bulbs last longer and when you touch these bulbs, the surface is cooler. That means they are safer and more efficient."

Why is there such a change? Because the power density has been greatly improved, it can provide higher power transmission capabilities in a smaller volume. Innovations in semiconductor technology allow engineers to do more with less power by using advanced materials such as gallium nitride (GaN), which reduces the size of inductors while increasing device efficiency and reliability. Now, in addition to light bulbs, semiconductors can save energy and simplify the design of a variety of high-voltage applications, ranging from electric vehicles to photovoltaic arrays, AC/DC power adapters and telecommunications systems, just to name a few.

high voltage technology

As electrification becomes more common and common, more and more people around the world are working with high-voltage systems on a daily basis. For example, electric vehicles running on 400V or 800V battery packs use high-voltage designs to shorten charging times and extend driving range, thereby eliminating obstacles to use.

“High voltage systems provide greater energy efficiency in our electric vehicles, renewable energy, appliances, AC/DC power adapters and countless other applications,” said Roland. "There are more and more people on the planet, but the total amount of resources is fixed, and we must share and use resources more efficiently. Therefore, it is necessary to find innovative ways to improve efficiency."

TI's continued innovation enables safe, efficient and reliable solutions for all functional areas of high voltage systems:

• Wide bandgap materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) can achieve efficient power conversion, reduce power loss, and improve the efficiency of high-voltage systems. For example, our isolated gate drivers are used with silicon carbide switches in electric vehicle on-board chargers and traction inverters to increase efficiency, reduce drive system weight and size, and reduce energy waste.

• Sensing and monitoring technologies for high-voltage systems help engineers accurately measure voltage, improving safety and reliability. This allows designers to reduce costs by reducing design margins and get the most out of the power switch.

• Isolation circuits electrically separate two domains while allowing power or signals to be transmitted through the barrier without affecting human safety, shielding circuits from ground potential differences and improving noise immunity. Our magnetic and capacitive isolation technologies enable safe high-voltage systems with strong isolation barriers.

• Low-latency real-time control technology can reliably control complex power topologies using GaN or IGBT switches, improving the robustness and power density of high-voltage systems.

“The design of high-voltage systems presents many challenges,” said Roland. “TI is uniquely positioned to meet these challenges because we have innovative designs that work seamlessly together. We also have manufacturing, test, assembly and packaging capabilities that enable our customers to create safe, reliable and affordable product.”

1 A millijoule is one thousandth of a joule. One joule is the work done by one watt of power in one second.