Design of new high-efficiency silicon carbide-based laser power converters

Abstract

Two routes to increase the efficiency of the LPC technology have been studied in this thesis. First, the introduction in the common hLPC architecture of three high bandgap semiconductors as base materials for LPCs, being these the Silicon Carbide (SiC) polytypes 3C, 4H and 6H. Second, the implementation of these materials in advanced LPC architectures developed to reduce the series resistance losses, being these configurations the vertical Laser Power Converters (vLPC) and the Vertical Epitaxial Hetero-Structure Architecture (VEHSA). In addition, this second route required the development of optimization techniques for the VEHSA architecture. The presented work opens a promising route towards efficiently transmit ultra-high laser power densities.