Plenary Lecture

Semiconductor Devices and their use in Power Electronic Applications

Professor Noel Y. A. Shammas
Staffordshire University
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Advanced Technology
UK

Abstract: Power semiconductor devices are the key electronic components used in power electronic systems. The solid-state power electronic revolution started with the invention of the thyristor or Silicon Controlled Rectifire (SCR) in 1956, and many power semiconductor devices have been produced since then. Advances in semiconductor technology have improved the efficiency of electronic devices which resulted in reduced cost, weight and size of power electronic systems. Power Integrated Circuits (PIC) have been developed as a result of recent advances in integration technology, which led to a significant improvement in reliability of power modules. This has extended the use of power converters for portable, aerospace and automotive applications. Thyristors and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT’s) have been used extensively in power electronic circuits. Power diodes are some of the important devices for inverter and freewheeling applications. Diode reverse recovery under high di/dt operating conditions may result device and circuit failure.
The talk will describe detailed study and progress made in power semiconductor devices, their characteristics, packaging, thermal issues and different high power applications.

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Noel Shammas is currently a Professor in Microelectronics and Solid-State Power Semiconductor Devices in the faculty of Computing, Engineering and Advanced Technology, Staffordshire University. He received the M.Sc and Ph.D degrees from Salford University in 1972 and 1975 respectively. Since then he lectured and researched at different universities and industry.
Research work is primarily focused on Power Semiconductor Devices which includes mainly Power diodes, Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s), Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors and Thyristors. Other related areas of research work includes Power Module Packaging technologies ( Both Conventional Press- pack and Smart pack designs) and Series/Parallel operation of high power semiconductor devices and their interaction with external circuits.
Professor Shammas has extensive experience in both experimental and theoretical research work and is recognised internationally for his significant contribution to research in the field of Power Semiconductor Devices. He has published over 120 journal and conference research papers as well as several invited Keynote Lectures, and has held several research grants from funding councils, Advantage West Midland (AWM), as well as from industry. He is a regular reviewer for many journals (including IEE Proceeding Electronic devices and systems, IEEE Transactions on power electronics, and Microelectronic Reliability) and international conferences (including the European Power Electronic conference - EPE, Microelectronic conference - MIEL, Universities Power Engineering Conference-UPEC, International Symposium Power Semiconductors-ISPS, etc…). He is a member of scientific committee for many international conferences (including MIEL, EPE, WCE, WSEAS, and Microtherm) and a steering committee member for EPE, UPEC, and ISPS international conferences. He is also a book reviewer for Prentice Hall International and McGraw Hill.