
Juan Rivas-Davila
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Web page: http://web.stanford.edu/people/jmrivas
Bio
Juan Rivas is an Associate Professor at Stanford’s Electrical Engineering department. Before, he worked for GE Global Research in the high-frequency power electronics group. He has extensive experience in the design of dc-dc power converters working at MHz frequencies. He has published peer-reviewed work on power converters reaching up to 100 MHz using Si and WBG devices. He obtained his doctoral degree from MIT in 2006. His research interests include power electronics, resonant converters, resonant gate drive techniques, high-frequency magnetics, and finding new applications for power converters
Academic Appointments
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Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering
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Member, Cardiovascular Institute
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Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Honors & Awards
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Best Paper: HF Bidirectional Resonant Converter for High Conversion Ratio & Variable Load Operation, Control and Modeling for Power Electronics Workshop (2018)
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Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program”, National Science Foundation (2013)
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Best Paper Award: "13.56 MHz high voltage multi-level resonant DC-DC converter", Control and Modeling for Power Electronics Workshop (2015)
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Transactions Paper Award: "Resistance Compression Networks for Radio-Frequency Power conversion", IEEE Power Electronics Society (2007)
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2nd Prize Award: High Frequency Resonant SEPIC Converter With Wide Input and Output Voltage Ranges'', IEEE Power Electronics Society (2012)
Program Affiliations
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Stanford SystemX Alliance
Professional Education
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B.A., ITESM, Mexico City Campus, Electrical and Communications Engineering (1998)
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S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Output Power Increase at Idle Speed in Alternators (2003)
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Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Radio Frequency dc-dc Power Conversion (2006)
Patents
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Luke C. Raymond, Wei Liang, Juan M. Rivas Davila. "United States Patent US10218276B2 Isolated Multi-Level Resonant Topologies for Wide-Range Power Conversion and Impedance Matching", Leland Stanford Junior University, Feb 26, 2019
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John R. Goscha, Victor D. Roberts, Juan Manuel Rivas-Davila, Luke Christopher Raymond. "United States Patent 9,305,765B2 High frequency induction lighting", Lucidity Lights, Inc., Apr 5, 2016
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Juan Manuel Rivas Davila, Randall Henry Buchwald. "United States Patent 8,829,905 B2 Magnetic resonance imaging compatible switched mode power supply", General Electric Company, Sep 9, 2014
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Juan Manuel Rivas Davila, Ljubisa Dragoljub Stevanovic, Juan Antonio Sabate. "United States Patent 8,760,164 Magnetic resonant imaging gradient driver architecture", General Electric Company, Jun 24, 2014
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Satish Prabhakaran, John Stanley Glaser, Ljubisa Dragoljub Stevanovic, Juan Manuel Rivas Davila. "United States Patent US 8567046 B2 Methods for making magnetic components", General Electric Company, Oct 29, 2013
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Rixin Lai, Luis Jose Garces, Juan Antonio Sabate, Juan Manuel Rivas Davila, Song Chi, Wesley Michael Skeffington,. "United States Patent US 8502539 B2 Gradient amplifier system", General Electric Company, Jul 31, 2013
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Mehmet Arik, Tunc Icoz, Juan Manuel Rivas Davila, Charles Erklin Seeley, Yogen Vishwas Utturkar, Stanton Earl Weaver, Jr.. "United States Patent US 8496049 B2 Heat sinks with distributed and integrated jet cooling", General Electric Company, Jul 30, 2013
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John Stanley Glaser, Juan Manuel Rivas Davila. "United States Patent US 7924580 B2 Switching inverters and converters for power conversion", General Electric Company, Apr 12, 2011
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David J. Perreault, Juan M. Rivas, Anthony D. Sagneri, Olivia Leitermann, Yehui Han, Robert C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski,. "United States Patent 7,889,519 B2 Methods and apparatus for a resonant converter", Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Feb 15, 2011
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David J. Perreault, Juan M. Rivas, Yehui Han, Olivia Leitermann. "United States Patent 7535133 B2 Methods and apparatus for resistance compression networks", Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, May 19, 2009
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
Modern applications are driving demand for power systems with capabilities beyond what is presently achievable. High performance systems, like medical imaging systems and other applications impose challenging specifications on power density and bandwidth that are difficult to achieve with current circuit topologies. Power density can be improved with better semiconductor components and passive elements, and by reducing the energy storage requirements of the system. By dramatically increasing the switching frequency, it is possible to reduce the energy storage requirements and improve bandwidth. I'm interested in the development of system architectures and circuit topologies for dc-ac and dc-dc power conversion that can reach switching frequencies of 10’s to 100’s of MHz. Switching at these frequencies will lead to efficient converters with inductors and transformers having no magnetic material to limit their high frequency performance, and with small-valued capacitors.
At these switching frequencies, all inductors can be air-cored, eliminating core losses, saturation, and extending their operating temperature range. I have been involved in the development of dc-dc converter that archives a significant reduction in peak switch voltage stress, requires small passive components with low energy storage, and provides the capability for extremely rapid startup and shutdown.
Another goal of my work is to implement a value-added strategy in inexpensive printed circuit boards (PCB) by fabricating all passive devices of a power converter (inductors and capacitors) with traces, transforming the PCB into a 3-D resonant structure. This approach will eliminate tuning and component variation while simultaneously maintaining extraordinary levels of performance at reduced cost. Moreover, there a lot of exciting applications for these high frequency circuits.
2020-21 Courses
- Advanced Topics in Power Electronics
EE 254 (Win) - Introductory Research Seminar in Electrical Engineering
EE 301 (Aut) - Power Electronics
EE 153, EE 253 (Aut) - Resonant Converters
EE 356A (Spr) -
Independent Studies (6)
- Master's Thesis and Thesis Research
EE 300 (Win, Spr) - Special Studies and Reports in Electrical Engineering
EE 191 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Special Studies and Reports in Electrical Engineering
EE 391 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Special Studies and Reports in Electrical Engineering (WIM)
EE 191W (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Special Studies or Projects in Electrical Engineering
EE 190 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Special Studies or Projects in Electrical Engineering
EE 390 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Master's Thesis and Thesis Research
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Prior Year Courses
2019-20 Courses
- Advanced Topics in Power Electronics
EE 254 (Spr) - Power Electronics
EE 153, EE 253 (Win) - Resonant Converters
EE 356A (Aut)
2018-19 Courses
- Magnetics Design in Power Electronics
EE 356B (Aut) - Power Electronics
EE 153, EE 253 (Spr)
2017-18 Courses
- Power Electronics
EE 153, EE 253 (Win) - Resonant Converters
EE 356A (Aut)
- Advanced Topics in Power Electronics
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Francis Chen, Aaron Goldin, Andrew Ma, Gift Nyikayaramba, Thaibao Phan, Gustavo Vianna Cezar, Daniel Villamizar, Yinuo Xu -
Postdoctoral Faculty Sponsor
Lei Gu -
Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
Weston Braun, Sanghyeon Park, Kawin Surakitbovorn, Zikang Tong, Jiale Xu, Jia Zhuang -
Master's Program Advisor
Alex Moraru, Akwasi Owusu-Akyaw, Daniel Polansky, Aparna Tumkur -
Doctoral (Program)
Weston Braun, Rachel Luo, Gift Nyikayaramba, Carla Pinzon, Eric Stolt, Kawin Surakitbovorn, Lyne Tchapmi P., Jiale Xu, Zhechi Ye, Jia Zhuang
All Publications
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Push-Pull Class Phi(2) RF Power Amplifier
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 35 (10): 10515–31
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2020.2981312
View details for Web of Science ID 000545474200049
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Effect of Class 2 Ceramic Capacitor Variations on Switched-Capacitor and Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converters
IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 8 (3): 2268–75
View details for DOI 10.1109/JESTPE.2019.2951807
View details for Web of Science ID 000554968300024
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A Method to Eliminate Discrete Inductors in a Class-E Inverter Used in Wireless Power Transfer Applications
IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 8 (3): 2167–78
View details for DOI 10.1109/JESTPE.2019.2949234
View details for Web of Science ID 000554968300016
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High-Frequency Bidirectional Resonant Converter for High Conversion Ratio and Variable Load Operation
IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC. 2020: 1983–93
View details for DOI 10.1109/JESTPE.2019.2935732
View details for Web of Science ID 000554968300003
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Design and Fabrication of Three-Dimensional Printed Air-Core Transformers for High-Frequency Power Applications
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 35 (8): 8472–89
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2020.2963976
View details for Web of Science ID 000530303600065
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Lightweight High Voltage Generator for Untethered Electroadhesive Perching of Micro Air Vehicles
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
2020; 5 (3): 4485–92
View details for DOI 10.1109/LRA.2020.3001520
View details for Web of Science ID 000542879400005
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Cascode GaN/SiC: A Wide-Bandgap Heterogenous Power Device for High-Frequency Applications
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 35 (6): 6340–49
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2019.2954322
View details for Web of Science ID 000554997600071
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On the Optimization of a Class-E Power Amplifier With GaN HEMTs at Megahertz Operation
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 35 (4): 4009–23
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2019.2939549
View details for Web of Science ID 000507948300056
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Single-Turn Air-Core Coils for High-Frequency Inductive Wireless Power Transfer
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 35 (3): 2917–32
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2019.2932178
View details for Web of Science ID 000507286000059
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A Hybrid Cockcroft-Walton/Dickson Multiplier for High Voltage Generation
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2020; 35 (3): 2714–23
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2019.2929167
View details for Web of Science ID 000507286000043
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A Multiresonant Gate Driver for High-Frequency Resonant Converters
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
2020; 67 (2): 1405–14
View details for DOI 10.1109/TIE.2019.2899557
View details for Web of Science ID 000490873600053
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On the Techniques to Utilize SiC Power Devices in High- and Very High-Frequency Power Converters
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2019; 34 (12): 12181–92
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2019.2904591
View details for Web of Science ID 000485747300053
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Output Capacitance Loss Characterization of Silicon Carbide Schottky Diodes
IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS
2019; 7 (2): 865–78
View details for DOI 10.1109/JESTPE.2019.2904290
View details for Web of Science ID 000466921500021
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Cascode GaN/SiC Power Device for MHz Switching
IEEE. 2019: 2780–85
View details for Web of Science ID 000475931102148
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An Investigation into the Causes of C-OSS Losses in GaN-on-Si HEMTs
IEEE. 2019
View details for Web of Science ID 000493056900055
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3-D Printed Air-Core Toroidal Transformer for High-Frequency Power Conversion
IEEE. 2019
View details for Web of Science ID 000493056900068
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Empirical Circuit Model for Output Capacitance Losses in Silicon Carbide Power Devices
IEEE. 2019: 998–1003
View details for Web of Science ID 000475931101022
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Miniature High-Voltage DC-DC Power Converters for Space and Micro-Robotic Applications
IEEE. 2019: 2007–14
View details for Web of Science ID 000520543702061
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Gate Drive for Very Fast Resonant Conversion using SiC Switch
IEEE. 2019: 6647–54
View details for Web of Science ID 000520543707006
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A Compact 45 V-to-54 kV Modular DC-DC Converter
IEEE. 2019
View details for Web of Science ID 000493056900007
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On the Optimal Input Voltage of a Class-E Power Amplifier with GaN HEMTs at MHz Frequency Operation
IEEE. 2019
View details for Web of Science ID 000493056900032
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MRI Compatible DC Modulator for an Envelope Tracking Transmitter
IEEE. 2019
View details for Web of Science ID 000493056900062
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Low Loss Gate Driving''Techniques of the Cascode GaN/SiC Power Device at High Frequencies
IEEE. 2019
View details for Web of Science ID 000493056900096
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Compact Fast-Switching DC and Resonant RF Drivers for a Dual-Mode Imaging and HIFU 2D CMUT Array
IEEE. 2019: 1951–54
View details for Web of Science ID 000510220100500
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Duty Cycle and Frequency Modulations in Class-E DC-DC Converters for a Wide Range of Input and Output Voltages
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2018; 33 (12): 10524–38
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2018.2809666
View details for Web of Science ID 000445355900046
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C-OSS Losses in 600 V GaN Power Semiconductors in Soft-Switched, High- and Very-High-Frequency Power Converters
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2018; 33 (12): 10748–63
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2018.2800533
View details for Web of Science ID 000445355900066
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A Wide-Input-Range High-Efficiency Step-Down Power Factor Correction Converter Using a Variable Frequency Multiplier Technique
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2018; 33 (11): 9399–9411
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2018.2796582
View details for Web of Science ID 000442337500029
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An Integrated RF Power Delivery and Plasma Micro-Thruster System for Nano-Satellites
FRONTIERS IN PHYSICS
2018; 6
View details for DOI 10.3389/fphy.2018.00115
View details for Web of Science ID 000447153600001
- A Very High Frequency dc-dc Converter Based on a Class 2 Resonant Inverter
- A high-frequency resonant inverter topology with low voltage stress
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Design of a Class-DE Rectifier with Shunt Inductance and Nonlinear Capacitance for High-Voltage Conversion
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2018; 33 (3): 2282–94
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2017.2693271
View details for Web of Science ID 000417819300037
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60 V-to-35 kV Input-Parallel Output-Series DC-DC Converter Using Multi-Level Class-DE Rectifiers
IEEE. 2018: 2235–41
View details for Web of Science ID 000434981902062
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FPGA-based Dynamic Duty Cycle and Frequency Controller for a Class-E-2 DC-DC Converter
IEEE. 2018: 282–88
View details for Web of Science ID 000449328900036
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Designing a 40.68 MHz power-combining resonant inverter with eGaN FETs for plasma generation
IEEE. 2018: 1322–27
View details for Web of Science ID 000455187601103
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Substrate Bias Effect on E-Mode GaN-on-Si HEMT COSS Losses
IEEE. 2018: 130–33
View details for Web of Science ID 000455147700024
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Estimating the Reliability of Series-Connected Schottky Diodes for High-Frequency Rectification
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800018
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Considerations for Active Power Device Selection in High- and Very-High-Frequency Power Converters
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800003
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Design of a 13.56 MHz dc-to-dc resonant converter using an impedance compression network to mitigate misalignments in a wireless power transfer system
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800129
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A Study on Off-State Losses in Silicon-Carbide Schottky Diodes
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800133
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Design of a GaN-Based, Inductor-less, Wireless Power Transfer System at 40.68 MHz
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800041
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C-OSS Losses in Silicon Superjunction MOSFETs across Constructions and Generations
IEEE. 2018: 136–39
View details for Web of Science ID 000467075700033
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COSS Measurements for Superjunction MOSFETs: Limitations and Opportunities
IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
2018: 1-7
View details for DOI 10.1109/TED.2018.2880952
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Active Power Device Selection in High- and Very-High-Frequency Power Converters
IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
2018: 1
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2018.2874420
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High-Frequency Resonant Converter with Synchronous Rectification for High Conversion Ratio and Variable Load Operation
IEEE. 2018: 632–38
View details for Web of Science ID 000449328900092
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A Wide Input Range Isolated Stacked Resonant Switched-Capacitor dc-dc Converter for High Conversion Ratios
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800027
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High-Frequency Bidirectional Resonant Converter for High Conversion Ratio and Variable Load Operation
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800046
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Effect of Class 2 Ceramic Capacitance Variations on Switched Capacitor and Resonant Switched Capacitor Converters
IEEE. 2018
View details for Web of Science ID 000455139800125
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Vacuum Testing of a Miniaturized Switch Mode Amplifier Powering an Electrothermal Plasma Micro-Thruster
FRONTIERS IN PHYSICS
2017; 5
View details for DOI 10.3389/fphy.2017.00036
View details for Web of Science ID 000409039400001
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A Multi-resonant Gate Driver for Very-High-Frequency (VHF) Resonant Converters
IEEE. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000426864800082
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A Portable Electrostatic Precipitator to Reduce Respiratory Death in Rural Environments
IEEE. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000426864800040
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Isolated Resonant DC-DC Converters with a Loosely Coupled Transformer
IEEE. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000426864800017
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A Unified Model for High-Power, Air-Core Toroidal PCB Inductors
IEEE. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000426864800125
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Output Capacitance Losses in 600 V GaN Power Semiconductors with Large Voltage Swings at High- and Very-High-Frequencies
IEEE. 2017: 352–59
View details for Web of Science ID 000426933900060
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Implementing an impedance compression network to correct misalignment in a wireless power transfer system
IEEE. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000426864800057
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Power Loss of GaN Transistor Reverse Diodes in a High Frequency High Voltage Resonant Rectifier
IEEE. 2017: 1942–45
View details for Web of Science ID 000403242802009
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Universal Line Input Power Factor Preregulator Using VFX Technique
IEEE. 2017: 1810–15
View details for Web of Science ID 000403242801143
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A compact RF power inverter with reduced EMI for a CubeSat electrothermal micro-thruster
IEEE. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000426864800063
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3-D-Printed Air-Core Inductors for High-Frequency Power Converters
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2016; 31 (1): 52-64
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2015.2441005
View details for Web of Science ID 000361908600008
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A Design Methodology for Class-D Resonant Rectifier with Parallel LC Tank
IEEE. 2016
View details for Web of Science ID 000389467400096
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Evaluation of a 900 V SiC MOSFET in a 13.56 MHz 2 kW resonant inverter for wireless power transfer
IEEE. 2016
View details for Web of Science ID 000389467400091
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Comparison of SiC and eGaN devices in a 6.78 MHz 2.2 kW resonant inverter for wireless power transfer
IEEE. 2016
View details for Web of Science ID 000400778402013
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13.56 MHz High Density DC-DC Converter With PCB Inductors
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS
2015; 30 (8): 4291-4301
View details for DOI 10.1109/TPEL.2014.2357398
View details for Web of Science ID 000353128500025
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27.12MHz GaN Resonant Power Converter with PCB Embedded Resonant Air Core Inductors and Capacitors
IEEE. 2015: 4251–56
View details for Web of Science ID 000378882904083
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13.56 MHz 1.3 kW Resonant Converter with GaN FET for Wireless Power Transfer
IEEE. 2015
View details for Web of Science ID 000380542500072
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27.12MHz GaN Bi-directional Resonant Power Converter
IEEE. 2015
View details for Web of Science ID 000380547800005
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Performance evaluation of diodes in 27.12 MHz Class-D resonant rectifiers under high voltage and high slew rate conditions
IEEE 15th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL)
IEEE. 2014
View details for Web of Science ID 000345760200035
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3D Printed Air Core Inductors for High Frequency Power Converters
IEEE. 2014: 971–79
View details for Web of Science ID 000411444300137
- A 13.56 MHz High Density dc-dc Converter with PCB Inductors 2013
- 27.12 MHz large voltage gain resonant converter with low voltage stress 2013
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13.56 MHz High Density dc-dc Converter with PCB Inductors
IEEE. 2013: 633–40
View details for Web of Science ID 000324988600100
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27.12 MHz Large Voltage Gain Resonant Converter with Low Voltage Stress
IEEE. 2013: 1820–27
View details for Web of Science ID 000345216902017
- A Very High Frequency dc-dc Converter Based on a Class 2 Resonant Inverter IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 2011; 26 (10): 2980-2992
- Opportunities and Challenges in Very High Frequency Power Conversion 2009
- A High-Frequency Resonant Inverter Topology With Low-Voltage Stress IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 2008; 23 (4): 1759-1771
- Design Considerations for Very High Frequency dc-dc Converters 2006
- New Architectures for Radio-Frequency dc-dc Power Conversion IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 2006; 21 (2): 380-393
- Performance improvement of alternators with Switched-Mode Rectifers IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion. 2004; 19 (3): 561-568
- New Architectures for Radio-Frequency dc-dc Power Conversion 2004
- Performance improvement of alternators with switched-mode rectifiers 2003