Abstract
In this presentation, the favourable WBG material properties that allow for highly efficient power devices with reduced form-factor and cooling requirements will be summarized. The co-existence of Si, SiC, and GaN will be discussed, and their respective competitive application advantages highlighted. Barriers to WBG mass commercialization will be identified and analyzed. These include the higher than silicon device cost that increases disproportionately with area, defects that limit yields and device area (wafer test maps will elucidate the correlation), reliability and ruggedness concerns, and the need for a trained workforce to skilfully insert SiC into power electronics circuits. 
Bio
Prof. Veliadis is Executive Director & CTO of PowerAmerica, a member-driven Manufacturing USA Institute of industry, universities, and National Labs accelerating the commercialization of energy efficient silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductor chips and electronics. At PowerAmerica he has managed a budget of US$156 million, which he allocated to 212 industrial/University projects, and is now managing a US$64M renewal. His educational activities have trained 410 FTE University students and engaged over 7000 attendees. Victor is an ECE Professor at NC State University, an IEEE Fellow, a National Academy of Inventors Fellow, and an IEEE EDS Distinguished Lecturer. He has 27 issued U.S. patents, 13 book chapters, and 165 peer-reviewed publications to his credit. Prior to his 2016 PowerAmerica appointment, he spent 21 years in various semiconductor industry roles including managing a commercial semiconductor fab. He received military training in the Army Infantry and is a third-degree black belt in Shotokan karate. He earned a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from John Hopkins University (1995).

Abstract
Vitrimers are a new class of polymeric materials that offer several advantages compared to regular thermosetting materials typically used in electronics packaging. From their reconfigurable network, it is possible to benefit from properties previously reserved to thermoplastics, thus opening new ways to use and process crosslinked materials. For now, vitrimers are mostly explored for structural composites manufacturing, but their use as a packaging material can be valued from reliability, manufacturing and sustainability standpoints.

Bio
Baptiste Arati is a research engineer at the Technological Research Institute Saint-Exupéry (IRT-SE) in Toulouse, France. He received a B.S. degree in materials chemistry and a M.S. degree in materials and structures for aerospace from Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree, for his work on self-healing dielectrics for power electronics with the Laplace—Laboratory on Plasma and Energy Conversion and Mitsubishi Electrics R&D Centre Europe (MERCE). His current research is dedicated to the reliability of soldered and embedded electronic components and the development of more sustainable packaging materials.

Abstract
Almost all state-of-the-art semiconductor interconnects use solid metals welded together through thermo, thermo-sonic, ultrasonic, or thermo-compression bonding. These interconnects are degraded by thermo-mechanical stress and are a primary cause of failure in power semiconductor devices. In this work, we replace all solid metal interconnects with liquid metals. The latest results demonstrate a factor of 80x increase in the power cycling lifetime of SiC MOSFET chips when compared to SAC-305 solder and Aluminium wirebonds. The presentation will detail the construction of the liquid metal based SiC MOSFET package, the power cycling and thermal resistance test routines, and estimations for the system level impacts. This may include up to 90% reductions in system weight, and 80% reductions in system cost.

Bio
Dr Nick Baker is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama, USA. He achieved an MEng. in Electrical Engineering at Loughborough University, UK, in 2011, and a PhD in Power Electronics at Aalborg University, Denmark, in 2016. Afterwards he worked as Post-Doc before moving to the University of Alabama in 2022. His research interests are reliability, thermal, and materials for power semiconductor device packaging.

Abstract
Sintered copper (Cu) has recently gained traction as a promising bonded material in high-temperature power electronics due to its lower cost and excellent electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. As Cu is already used in most power modules in the form of a baseplate or as the metallization layer on a substrate, a Cu-based attachment layer inherently reduces the coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch within a power module, thereby improving its reliability and lifetime. This talk will discuss the reliability evaluation efforts on promising bonded materials such as sintered copper and sintered silver conducted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Bio
Paul Paret leads the computational modeling efforts and thermal characterization of power electronics modules in NREL’s Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines (APEEM) group. His work focuses on simulating the thermal and thermomechanical behavior of, and developing lifetime prediction models for, various bonded materials in power electronics packages used in electric-drive vehicles and aviation systems. He is experienced with design optimization studies to improve power electronics package topologies’ power density, efficiency, and reliability under harsh operating conditions.

Abstract
While medium-voltage press-pack Si IGCTs, IGBTs, and SCRs have been widely utilized in high-power grid and motor drive applications over the past decades, high-frequency press-pack (HFPP) SiC FET modules are pivotal components for next-generation energy infrastructure. By working in new converter topologies, these HFPP modules can provide enhanced voltage ratings, faster dynamic control, and superior fault-handling capabilities, which are particularly advantageous for MVDC/HVDC converters, DC circuit breakers, and high-speed motor drives. This presentation will review the current press-pack Si modules and the challenges associated with developing press-pack SiC modules. It will also introduce a novel 10 kV HFPP SiC module concept and outline the progress in its development. The focus will be on achieving reliable small die press contact, minimizing parasitic elements, integrating embedded gate drivers, implementing E-field grading, and ensuring scalability to higher power levels and various converter topologies.

Bio
Jun Wang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2007 and 2010, respectively, and his Ph.D. degree from Virginia Tech, USA, in 2017; all in electrical engineering. From 2010 to 2012, he was with GE Power Conversion, China, on R&D of high-speed medium-voltage drives. From 2018 to 2020, he was a Research Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. His research interests include the application-driven co-design of WBG device packages, converter topologies, and integrated intelligence. Dr. Wang is a recipient of the ARPA-E IGNIITE Early Career Award.

Abstract
Conventional medium-voltage power converters are comprised of discrete components interconnected by bus bars and housed in enclosures with air as the insulator. This traditional approach limits power density and voltage scalability. In contrast, high-voltage cables leverage coaxial symmetry and solid insulation, enabling uniform electric field distribution, high power density, and strong voltage scalability. This presentation will introduce a new power converter packaging concept that mimics the coaxial geometry of cables, thereby achieving axisymmetric electric fields and enabling a voltage scaling advantage over conventional converter packaging and insulation approaches. Additionally, like high-voltage cables, the proposed converter is passively cooled, allowing seamless integration in typical cable environments and eliminating the costs, maintenance, and reliability challenges associated with active cooling systems. The proposed modular and scalable converter structure provides a versatile solution for modern power conversion systems that can meet the demands of growing applications such as data centers, EV charging, renewables, and electrical grid distribution.

Bio
Christina DiMarino is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech in the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES). She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech in the USA in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Her research interests include power electronics packaging and high-density integration of wide- and ultra-wide bandgap power semiconductors and medium-voltage power modules. Dr. DiMarino currently serves as a Member-at-Large for the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), Chair of the PELS Technical Committee on Power Components, Integration, and Power ICs (TC2), Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, and is a member of the PCIM Europe Advisory Board and the IEEE PELS Women in Engineering steering committee. She has received five best paper and presentation awards at international conferences, the Outstanding New Assistant Professor Award at Virginia Tech in 2022, and the IEEE PELS Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Award in 2024..

Abstract
TBC

Bio
Eric VAGNON is Associate Professor in the engineer school Ecole Centrale de Lyon. After his PhD on packaging in power electronics at G2Elab (Grenoble, France), he joined the Ampère Laboratory in Lyon (France) in 2016. Within the high voltage team, his research focuses mainly on high voltage engineering and the characterization of dielectric materials. His work on insulation issues for high voltage power electronics applications has led him to study partial discharge detection under medium-frequency voltage with high dv/dt.