Power Electronics Facility - Characterisation and Emulation

The Power Electronics Reliability Facility provides controlled electrical testing and real-time simulation of power electronics systems, enabling safe and repeatable evaluation of device and system performance. The equipment is funded through Innovate UK's Driving the Electric Revolution programme.

Equipment

Power Semiconductor Characterisation Systems: The ipTEST M2 system enables high-accuracy static characterisation of power semiconductor devices, with voltage up to 3 kV and current up to 400 A. It supports off-state, on-state, and gate parameter testing with 0.1% measurement accuracy for detailed evaluation of Si, SiC, and GaN devices.
The ipTEST M2 DS6 Pulsar enables high-current dynamic switching and short-circuit testing of power semiconductor devices up to 7.5 kA. With low parasitic inductance (20–40 nH) and high di/dt capability, it provides accurate characterisation of switching behaviour, device ruggedness, and failure mechanisms in SiC and other wide-bandgap devices
Infrared Thermal Cameras: The FLIR ThermoVision A20M and FLIR X6901sc enable non-contact temperature measurement of power devices. The A20M supports steady-state monitoring (50/60Hz), while the X6901sc captures thermal transients at up to 1000 FPS, with a temperature range of approximately −20 °C to 3000 °C for detailed thermal characterisation.
FBG Interrogation Systems: The SmartScan and SGTR1002 enable high-speed, multi-channel interrogation of fibre Bragg grating sensors, with sampling rates up to 10 kHz and sub-picometre resolution. They support distributed temperature and strain measurement for real-time, in-situ monitoring of power devices under thermal and electrical stress.
Electrical Safety Analyser: The RSST-2003 enables automated insulation qualification and safety testing in accordance with AQG-324. It supports dielectric testing up to 5 kV AC and 6 kV DC, continuity testing at 100 mA, and insulation resistance measurement up to 50 GΩ for high-voltage power devices.
Double Pulse & Short-Circuit Test System: A custom-built test platform enabling double pulse, short-circuit, and unclamped inductive switching (UIS) testing of power devices up to 3.3 kV, 500 A (DPT), and 6 kA (short-circuit). Developed in-house with a custom GUI, it supports automated, user-configurable testing for dynamic characterisation and robustness evaluation of SiC devices.
Power Converter Test Platform: A custom-built half-bridge inverter test rig rated up to 500 V / 400 A, enabling system-level evaluation of power converters under realistic operating and cooling conditions. Integrated with a PLECS RT Box for real-time control and hardware-in-the-loop testing, it supports rapid prototyping, validation, and performance optimisation.
Back-to-Back Inverter Test Platform: A custom-built hardware-in-the-loop test platform for end-of-line testing of inverters under current load, using EV-like drive cycle emulation. The system integrates a DC power supply, Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET-based inverters, a three-phase inductor, flow-controlled cooling, thermostat chamber, and dSPACE-based PWM control to support realistic inverter validation and performance assessment.

Capabilities

Electrical performance and efficiency data
Device characterisation under load
Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation

Applications

Power converter development
Electric vehicle systems
Grid and energy systems

Related capabilities

Contact

Claire Gerard: / 07385 145064