In the past decade, commercial wide bandgap (WBG) power electronics, such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride, have begun to emerge as a promising technology to replace the silicon components that have traditionally been used. WBG parts have material properties that offer several significant performance advantages over silicon, including greater efficiency, higher breakdown voltages, faster switching speeds, and increased operating temperatures. These improved performance measures also have the potential to increase power density and reduce the size, weight, and cost of power systems. WBG parts are already being utilized in terrestrial applications such as data centers, electric vehicles, electric utilities, renewable energy, and communications infrastructure. NASA has begun to explore the use of WBG devices in power systems for both space and aeronautics missions, especially in the design of the high-power converters that will be needed to enable NASA’s electrified aircraft and planetary exploration goals. However, some technical challenges must still be overcome prior to widespread adoption in NASA designs, including the necessary degree of robustness to radiation exposure to operate for a long duration in a space environment. This presentation will discuss the potential performance advantages of WBG devices over traditional silicon electronics in NASA missions, along with the technical challenges that must still be overcome to ensure the high degree of reliability required in an aeronautics or space applications. Example types of mission applications will be presented, along with the current and future work that is being done to develop WBG standards and advance the current state of the art.
