Smart energy supply, electro-mobility, broadband communication systems and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) - the number of interacting and interconnected systems is constantly growing. At the same time, the responsible use of resources is a crucial social challenge. With a growing number of systems and increasing data traffic, however, primary energy consumption is also on the rise. Electrical energy must be converted at all times to be usable by the various systems, which is why the need for electrical conversion is also increasing. In Europe alone, it is estimated that more than three terawatt hours of energy are lost by energy conversion each year – the amount of electricity produced by a medium-sized coal-fired power plant. The efficient conversion of energy thus becomes the key for applications like in AI and industry 4.0, representing the fourth industrial revolution based on digitization processes in manufacturing. The prerequisite for this are efficiently switching power semiconductors that enable a high power density. Used to a large extent, this would result in noticeable energy savings and make a relevant contribution to CO2 reduction.
The project aims at developing aluminium nitride as the new semiconductor material for this task, to test it with suitable devices and to qualify it for future applications in systems. Until 2023, the project will be funded with 3.3 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the ForMikro program.
Aluminum nitride – starting material with potential
Further information (only in German language): https://www.elektronikforschung.de/projekte/formikro-leitban.
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