Master’s Thesis: Evaluation of Soft-Switching Topologies for High-Efficiency Power Electronics

Construction, Engineering & Trades · Civil & Industrial Engineering · Mechanical Engineering

In short

This Master's thesis, part of the Horizon Europe Moore4Power project, focuses on evaluating soft-switching topologies for high-efficiency three-phase inverters using SiC and GaN semiconductors. The research involves modeling, simulation, and comparison against hard-switched references to assess efficiency gains, loss reduction, and control complexity.

Responsibilities

Review literature on soft-switching principles and three-phase inverter topologies.
Define common inverter specifications.
Build a hard-switched reference model.
Design and dimension selected soft-switching topologies (resonant components, auxiliary switches, device selection, commutation timing).
Build simulation models in PLECS, Matlab/Simulink, and/or SPICE.
Map losses and efficiency across operating points, breaking down losses into conduction, switching, auxiliary-circuit, and passive-component losses.
Evaluate trade-offs: efficiency, THD, component count, device stress, modularity, and scalability.
Explore load-adaptive soft-switching control or hybrid switching strategies (if time allows).
Document work in a thesis report and oral presentation.

Requirements

Final year of an MSc program in Electrical Engineering, Electric Power Engineering, Mechatronics, or similar.
Solid knowledge of power electronics.
Experience with circuit simulation (PLECS, LTspice/PSpice, or MATLAB/Simulink).
Good written and spoken English.

Desired Qualifications

Analytical mindset.
Independence.
Good communication skills.

Benefits

30 ECTS credits (full time).
Start January 2027.
Access to simulation tools licenses.
Supervision by RISE.
Compensation according to RISE’s Guidelines for thesis projects.

Skills

Power ElectronicsPLECSLTspicePSpiceMATLABSimulinkSiCGaN

#Thesis#Power Electronics#Inverter#Soft-Switching#High-Efficiency#WBG Semiconductors#SiC#GaN#RISE#Moore4Power#Horizon Europe#Gothenburg

About RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

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