Development of a Power Electronics Teaching Lab Incorporating WBG Semiconductors with Plug and Play Modular Hardware and Advanced Curriculum

This paper presents the development of a power electronics teaching lab to prepare students for the next generation of power electronics engineering using wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices. The objectives are to expedite the transfer of theoretical knowledge to practical experience on WBG semiconductor devices, and at the same time to provide a hands-on understanding of the development of comprehensive power electronics systems. To incorporate different types of semiconductor devices, especially WBG semiconductor switches, and perform various lab experiments from an investigation of component switching characteristics to construction and operation of power converters, a plug-and-play (P&P) modular power electronics education board is developed. The P&P architecture allows easy construction of different power electronics circuits by simply inserting semiconductor daughter boards to the motherboard. To assist students' learning experience, the lab curriculum consisting of lab manuals and supporting resources is developed. Multiple workshops have been held with ECE undergraduate and graduate students to evaluate the performance of the lab. Final assessment and student's feedback are presented as the outcome of the development.