ECE Seminar Series: Materials Under Extreme Electric Fields
ECE Seminar Series Fall 2014
Thursday December 4th 1-2 PM, ITEB 336
Materials Under Extreme Electric Fields
Yang Cao
Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Connecticut
Abstract: The rising demands for electrical power and miniaturization of electronic devices have at least one requirement in common, the ever thinner dielectrics operating under extreme electric fields. Despite the long history of engineering and fascinating failure patterns, the dielectric breakdown process and mechanism are actually poorly understood “to the extent that predictions of the breakdown strength of solids cannot be made solely on a molecular basis…. A theory for high-field conduction in solid insulation systems is at the root of such understanding, and no such theory exists at present[1]”. Combinatorial computational and experimental tools are under development for the fundamental understanding of critical prebreakdown processes such as charge injection, transport, trapping and defects creation that lead to instability under extreme electric fields. Recent progress in high field characterizations made in Rational Design of Advanced Polymeric Capacitor Films MURI Project and Polymeric HVDC Cabling project will be reported out to showcase the initial steps towards the predictive design and development of power components with game changing characteristics for power conversion and renewable integration.
Short Bio: Yang Cao is an associate professor at Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and the director of the Electrical Insulation Research Center (EIRC) of the University of Connecticut. After graduating from the University of Connecticut in 2002, he worked at GE Global Research Center as an electrical engineer for 11 years in the fields of high voltage engineering for electrical power and medical diagnosis imaging. At EIRC, he is currently conducting research projects funded by DOE, DOD, industrial corporations such as GE, Exxon-Mobile, Schlumberger, to develop enabling technologies for high renewable penetration.
[1] DOE Basic Energy Sciences Workshop Report: Research Needs for Materials under Extreme Environments
Categories: Miscellaneous
Published: December 3, 2014
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