Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, led by Professor Juan Rivas-Davila, have developed a novel piezoelectric transformer that could potentially improve power conversion in various energy systems. The team, including Ziqian Yao, Heather Chang, Eric Stolt, Clarissa Daniel, Tzu-Hsuan Hsu, and Ruochen Lu, has published their findings in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
The researchers have demonstrated the first two-port radial-mode Rosen transformer using 36°Y-cut lithium niobate (LN). This device achieves a high transformation ratio of 16, indicating its ability to significantly step up or down voltage levels. The transformer also exhibits a high electromechanical coupling factor of 16.8%, which means it efficiently converts electrical energy into mechanical energy and vice versa. Additionally, it has a quality factor of 2500, showing low energy loss, and an outstanding figure of merit of 420, which combines the benefits of high quality factor and high coupling efficiency.
The fabricated transformer features a large effective turns ratio of 16 and delivers an open-circuit voltage gain of 45.56, validating its ability to provide efficient passive voltage amplification. This means the device can boost voltage levels without the need for active components, potentially simplifying power conversion circuits and improving their efficiency.
The researchers also developed an equivalent circuit model that accurately fits both finite-element-simulated and measured admittance spectra. This model enables reliable parameter extraction, facilitating the design and optimization of future devices.
The practical applications of this research for the energy sector are promising. Piezoelectric transformers can be used in various energy systems, such as energy harvesting, wireless power transfer, and power conversion in renewable energy systems. The high performance of this LN radial-mode transformer could lead to more efficient and compact power conversion solutions, contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy technologies.
The research was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Institute of Physics.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.