The electrification of transportation and the continued expansion of cloud based computing are two drivers for optimizing power efficiency. The automotive power requirements focus on highly efficient transfer from DC to AC (and vice versa), at very high power levels. Current IGBT switching devices are packaged in large modules with extensive cooling capacities. Reductions in size/weight require increased efficiency at higher frequency and current density. The desire for higher efficiency in datacenters is aimed at cost reduction of the total compute environment. Each individual server requires the most efficient power conversion from high voltage distribution lines to very low voltage boards. Switching devices again are packaged in modules, operating at very high power density, requiring co-optimization of devices, connections and packages. To realize the desired combination of size, speed and density, wide bandgap materials may be needed to advance the roadmap of these power management products. We will review some of the recent progress and challenges in materials innovation to optimize device and package and circuit.
Towards Efficient Power Management in MapReduce: Investigation of CPU-Frequencies Scaling on Power Efficiency in Hadoop