IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 56, NO.

2, FEBRUARY 2009 581

Power Electronics and Motor Drives

Recent Progress and Perspective
Bimal K. Bose, Life Fellow, IEEE

Abstract—Power electronics technology has gone through dy-

namic evolution in the last four decades. Recently, its applications
are fast expanding in industrial, commercial, residential, trans-
portation, utility, aerospace, and military environments primarily
due to reduction of cost, size, and improvement of performance.
In the global industrial automation, energy conservation, and
environmental pollution control trends of the 21st century, the
widespread impact of power electronics is inevitable. It appears
that the role of power electronics on our society in the future
will tend to be as important and versatile as that of information
technology today. In this paper, the importance of power elec-
tronics will be discussed after a brief historial introduction in
the beginning. Then, the recent advances of power semiconductor
devices, converters, variable-frequency ac drives, and advanced
control and estimation techniques will be reviewed briefly. Unlike a
traditional technology survey paper, the number of figures is kept
intentionally small in favor of the text within the length constraint
of this paper. The prognosis of different areas will be highlighted
wherever possible based on the author’s own knowledge and
experience. In conclusion and future scenario, the trend of power
electronics and motor drives along with some possible research Fig. 1. Historical evolution of power electronics [5].
and development areas will be highlighted.
Index Terms—Control, converters, motor drives, power ics, pumps and compressors, ship propulsion, etc. In addition
electronics. to applications in energy systems and industrial automation,
power electronics is now playing a significant role in global
I. I NTRODUCTION energy conservation that is indirectly helping in the envi-
ronmental pollution control, i.e., solving the global warming
P OWER ELECTRONICS deals with conversion and control
of electrical power in the wide range of milliwatts to giga-
watts with the help of switching mode power semiconductor
problem [1], [2].
Let us first take a look backward in the historical evolution
of power electronics, as shown in Fig. 1. Officially, power
devices. The applications of power electronics may include dc
electronics was born in 1901 by the invention of glass-bulb
and ac regulated power supplies, uninterruptible power supply
mercury-arc rectifier by Peter Cooper Hewitt of USA [3]. Then,
(UPS) systems, electrochemical processes (such as electroplat-
it went through the eras of gas tube electronics in the 1930s and
ing, electrolysis, anodizing, and metal refining), heating and
saturable core magnetic amplifiers in the 1940s. The present era
lighting control, electronic welding, power line static VAR
of solid-state power electronics started with the introduction of
compensators [SVCs, static VAR generator, or static synchro-
thyristor or silicon controlled rectifier (SCR). Bell Laboratories
nous compensator (STATCOM)], active harmonic filters, high
of USA published the historical paper on p-n-p-n triggering
voltage dc (HVDC) systems, photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell
transistor in 1956 [4], and then, GE commercially introduced
(FC) power conversion, solid state dc and ac circuit breakers,
the thyristor in 1958. Since then, there has been a vast ex-
high-frequency heating, and motor drives. Motor drives area
pansion of the technology with the research and development
may include applications in computers and peripherals, solid
radiating in different directions as shown in the figure.
state starters for motors, transportation (electric/hybrid electric
In power semiconductor devices, the R&D continued in
vehicles (EV/HEV), subway, etc.), home appliances, paper and
different semiconductor materials, processing, fabrication and
textile mills, wind generation system, air-conditioning and heat
packaging techniques, device modeling and simulation, char-
pumps, rolling and cement mills, machine tools and robot-
acterization, and development of modern intelligent power
modules (IPMs). As a result of the research, many new devices
Manuscript received October 29, 2007; revised July 7, 2008. First published emerged with higher power ratings and improved characteris-
August 19, 2008; current version published January 30, 2009. tics. Starting with original diode and thyristor phase-controlled
The author is with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Com- converters, as new devices emerged, many new converter
puter Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2100 USA
(e-mail: bbose@utk.edu). topologies were introduced along with advanced pulsewidth
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIE.2008.2002726 modulation (PWM) techniques, and analytical and simulation
0278-0046/$25.00 © 2009 IEEE
582
Fig. 2. Some significant events in the history of power electronics [5].
methods. Many new simulation software and computer-aided-
design techniques helped in these studies. Advanced control
and signal estimation techniques, particularly for ac motor
drives, emerged. These include vector or field-oriented control,
direct torque and flux control (DTC) control, sliding mode or
variable structure control, optimal controls, sensorless controls,
and modern intelligent controls based on artificial intelligence
(AI) techniques, such as expert system, fuzzy logic (FL),
artificial neural network [ANN or neural network (NNW)],
and genetic algorithm. Advanced DSPs and application spec-
ified integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, along with the modern
software tools, permitted implementation of complex control
and estimation of power electronic systems. The advent of
powerful personal computers also played an important role in
the evolution.
Among many inventions and milestones, only some signifi-
cant events in the history of power electronics and motor drives
are shown in Fig. 2. It is interesting to note that the name
“Power Electronics” was introduced systematically from the
beginning of 1970s. In the early stage of evolution, it was
included as a part of “Industrial Electronics.”
II. W HY P OWER E LECTRONICS I S SO I MPORTANT T ODAY
The applications of power electronics mentioned before
possibly demonstrate adequately the importance of power elec-
tronics. A solid-state power electronic apparatus can be looked
upon as a high-efficiency switching-mode power amplifier,
where the efficiency may approach as high as 98% to 99%.
Besides, the equipment is static, free from audio noise, and has
low cost, small size, high reliability, and long life compared
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 56, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
to traditional equipment used before for similar functions. In a
modern automated industrial environment, power electronics-
based motion control and computers work very closely giving
high industrial productivity with improved product quality. In
a broad perspective, power electronics helps industrial compet-
itiveness of a nation that provides improved quality of life. It
is no wonder that power electronics is now spreading fast from
the industrially advanced nations to the developing countries of
the world.
There is another important role of power electronics. It is
now playing an increasingly important role in energy conser-
vation and environmental pollution control trends of the 21st
century [1], as mentioned before. Globally, electrical energy
consumption is increasing dramatically in order to improve our
living standard. This is particularly true for USA, where the
energy appetite is voracious. Most of the world’s electricity
is produced in fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. Burning
of fossil fuels causes environmental pollution that includes
generation of greenhouse gases for global warming, whereas
nuclear plants have safety and waste disposal problems. Power
electronics helps energy conservation essentially by improved
efficiency of utilization. According to the estimate of Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI) of USA, around 60% to 65%
of grid energy in USA is consumed in electrical machine
drives, and 75% of these are pump-, fan-, and compressor-type
drives. Majority of the pumps and fans is used in industrial
environment for control of fluid flow. It is reported that cur-
rently around 97% of medium to high-power drives for such
applications operate at fixed speed [6], where flow is controlled
by mechanical methods, such as throttling control, dampers,
or flow control valves, resulting in a substantial amount of
energy loss. Only 3% of these drives are operated at variable
frequency speed control with fully open throttle that can im-
prove efficiency up to 30% at light load. Again, in a variable-
frequency drive, converter–machine efficiency can be improved
further by machine flux programming at light load and reduced
speed. Power electronics-based load-proportional speed control
in air-conditioning can save as much as 30% energy, compared
to the traditional thermostatic control. The additional cost of
power electronics can be recovered by saving energy in a
period depending on the cost of electricity. For example, the
cost of electricity is high in Japan. For this reason, majority
of the Japanese homes uses variable-speed air-conditioning to
save energy. One popular application of power electronics in
recent years is variable-frequency drive for diesel-electric ship
propulsion, which can save large amount of fuel, compared to
the traditional diesel-turbine propulsion. It has been estimated
that roughly 24% of grid energy in USA is consumed in
lighting. Power electronics-based high-frequency compact fluo-
rescent lamps (CFLs) can be typically four-times more efficient
than the traditional incandescent lamps, besides giving much
longer life. Light dimming control of CFL can further improve
energy efficiency. The CFLs are expected to completely replace
the incandescent lamps in near future. Solid-state LED lamps
with higher efficiency and longer life are around the corner.
High-frequency induction cooking and microwave ovens also
save energy compared to traditional surface-mounted ovens.
According to the EPRI estimate, 15% of grid energy can be
BOSE: POWER ELECTRONICS AND MOTOR DRIVES RECENT PROGRESS AND PERSPECTIVE
saved easily by widespread (but economical) applications of
power electronics. Saving energy not only provides the direct
economic benefit, but helps preserving our dwindling fossil
and nuclear fuel reserves. Indirectly, it helps mitigation of our
environmental pollution, such as global warming problems. As
the cost of energy increases further in future, energy conser-
vation with the help of power electronics will be considered
extremely important. In fact, these methods of energy conserva-
tion can be made mandatory in formulating the energy policy of
nations.
Currently, there is a growing trend for utilization of our vast
wind and PV resources, which are renewable, environmentally
clean, and safe. The use of both of these resources is heavily
dependent on power electronics. European Wind Energy As-
sociation has estimated that tapping approximately 10% of the
world’s available wind energy can supply all the global elec-
tricity needs [7]–[11]. Recent technology advances in variable-
speed wind turbines, power electronics, and machine drives
have made wind energy very competitive—almost equal to that
of fossil fuel power. However, PV is currently more expensive
[12] (typically five times more than the wind power), although
the cost has gone down substantially in recent years. There is
now heavy emphasis on R&D of PV cells for further substantial
cost reduction in future. Unfortunately, the availability of wind
and PV power is sporadic in nature, and therefore, they require
back-up power from the grid. Bulk storage of electricity from
wind and PV resources that is also heavily dependent on power
electronics is not yet economical. Wind and PV resources are
particularly important for people of emerging nations, who are
not tied to electric grid. It is estimated that around one-third of
the world population (approximately 2 billion) is isolated from
the grids.
Currently, we are talking about “hydrogen economy” of the
future [13] that will mainly utilize wind energy for generation
of electricity, and then produce H2 fuel by electrolysis of water.
H2 can be easily stored as compressed gas, or in cryogenically
cooled liquefied form. Of course, H2 can also be produced
at zero emission by using PV, nuclear power, or coal gasi-
fication (by CO2 sequestration and underground storage), as
each becomes economically competitive [12]. One major area
for use of H2 gas is FC [14]–[17] that uses power electronics
extensively for conversion of power. FCs, as power sources,
have the advantages that they are static, environmentally clean,
and operate at high efficiency. FCs can be used in EVs, building
cogeneration, portable power sources, UPS systems, and dis-
tributed power generation for utility system. Although FCs are
very expensive in the present state of the technology, they show
significant promise for the future. Major auto companies are
investing heavily for future FC cars.
In addition to FC-based EVs, the traditional EVs and HEVs
are also heavily dependent on power electronics [17]. The
traditional EV has battery-based energy storage (such as GM
EV1), whereas HEV has battery storage as well as IC engine
power supply (such as Toyota Prius). Both EVs and HEVs save
oil-based energy consumption and solve or mitigate the urban
pollution problem. With the current trend of increasing gasoline
price, the demand for HEVs is increasing, and we are on the
verge of introducing commercial plug-in HEVs. However, the
583
customer acceptance of EVs and HEVs in future will be mainly
dictated by the cost of battery.
III. P OWER S EMICONDUCTOR D EVICES
Solid-state power semiconductor devices constitute the heart
of modern power electronic apparatus, and today’s power
electronics evolution has been possible primarily due to de-
vice evolution [18]–[29]. Again, power semiconductor evolu-
tion has closely followed the evolution of microelectronics.
The researchers in microelectronics have worked relentlessly
to improve semiconductor processing, device fabrication and
packaging, and these efforts have contributed to the successful
evolution of so many advanced power devices available today.
Thyristors (or SCRs) and triacs are essentially the forerun-
ners of modern power devices, and they dominated the first
generation (1958–1975) of solid-state power electronics [20].
These devices operate mainly on utility system and contribute
to power quality and lagging displacement power factor (DPF)
problems. Today, thyristors are indispensable for handling
high power at low frequency for applications, such as HVDC
converters, phase-controlled SVCs, cycloconverters, and load-
commuted inverter (LCI) drives. The dominance of thyristors in
large power handling will not be challenged, at least in the near
future. However, because of the inherent demerits, phase con-
trol devices will be eventually replaced by self-controlled de-
vices operating in PWM or stepped-wave mode. The advent of
high-power gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs), mainly by Japanese
companies [22], pushed the force-commutated thyristor con-
verters into obsolescence. The device (largest 6 kV, 6 kA)
continued to be very popular in multimegawatt voltage-fed
(with forward-blocking device) and current-fed (with reverse-
blocking device) converter applications. Slow switching of
the device requires large snubber that causes large switching
loss, and therefore, restricts its application at low switching
frequency (a few hundred hertz). Energy recovery or regen-
erative snubbers are normally used in GTO PWM converters
to improve the converter efficiency. Power MOSFET, unlike
most other devices, is a majority carrier device, and there-
fore, its conduction drop is high at high voltage rating, but
the switching loss is low because of fast switching. The
“trench gate” devices are now available with lower conduc-
tion drop. Recently, high-voltage (up to 800 V) CoolMOS
devices have been introduced by Infineon Technology [23]
based on Super Junction design, where the conduction loss
has been cut down substantially in comparison with that of
the normal device. CoolMOS has been proposed to operate
with SiC Schottky diode to bypass the slow body diode of
the main device. It is expected that power MOSFETs will
remain unchallenged in future for low-voltage high-frequency
applications. Unfortunately, large bipolar junction transistors
(BJTs), once so popular device in 1970s, have now become
obsolete. For lower end of power, BJTs have been replaced
by power MOSFETs, whereas at the higher end, they have
been replaced by insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs).
The invention of IGBT has been an important milestone in the
history of power semiconductor devices [24]. Modern IGBTs
are available with trench-gate and punchthrough technologies
584 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 56, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
for lower conduction drop [25]. This self-controlled hybrid
device combines the advantages of power MOSFET and BJT.
Its power rating is increasing continuously (currently 6.5 kV,
700 A, and 10 kV device is under test) along with the improve-
ment of electrical characteristics. IGBT IPMs are available
with built-in gate driver, control, and protection for up to
several hundred horsepower ac motor drives. It appears that in
future insulated gate devices (power MOSFET and IGBT) will
continue to dominate in power electronic applications. High-
power (6.5 kV, 4 kA) integrated gate-commutated thyristor
(IGCTs) (or GCTs) have been introduced in recent years that
are available with forward and reverse blocking capabilities.
High-power IGBTs and IGCTs are now serious competitors
in multimegawatt converters. In high power rating, both IGBT
and IGCT have comparable switching frequency, and per-
mit snubberless operation. However, at higher voltage rating,
IGBTs have larger conduction drop that tends to offset the
advantages of insulated gate drive and self-protection. GTOs
are currently obsolete with the lower end replaced by IGBTs,
and the higher end by IGCTs. The static induction transistor
is a junction FET (JFET)-like normally on-device with large
conduction drop and is essentially a solid state equivalent of
vacuum triode. It can be is used in high-power high-frequency
converter applications. There are a number of other de-
vices, such as MOS-controlled thyristor, static induction thyris-
tor, injection enhanced gate transistor, MOS turn-off thyristor,
etc., that have not yet established commercially. In addition,
there are also a number of devices under evolution [24], [26].
Although silicon has been the basic raw material for the
current devices, large bandgap materials, such as SiC (3.0 eV)
and diamond (in synthetic thin-film form) (5.5 eV), show
tremendous promise for the future [27], [28]. These new mate-
rials have high-breakdown electric field, and high electrical and
thermal conductivities compared to silicon. These properties
permit devices with higher voltage and power capability, higher
switching frequency, lower conduction drop, higher junction
temperature, and better radiation hardness. For example, silicon
power MOSFET has peak junction temperature of 175 ◦ C,
whereas this temperature for SiC and diamond power MOSFET
may be up to 350 ◦ C and 600 ◦ C, respectively. The results are
higher integration of converter with improved efficiency and
less cooling need. However, processing of these materials is
very difficult and challenging. There has been extensive R&D
on SiC devices in recent years, and widespread commercializa-
tion of these devices are expected in future. Currently, the status
of SiC devices (in order of decreasing maturity) can be given as
follows [29]:
1) Schottky barrier diodes: 300–1700 V, 2–10 A—in market;
2) JBS diodes (lower leakage): 0.2–3.3 kV—forthcoming;
3) Hybrid JFET (1.5 kV, 12 A) with Si MOSFET (60 V)
cascode switch—in market;
4) p–i–n diodes (up to 10 kV);
5) BJT (1–10 kV)—(demonstrated up to 1.8 kV);
6) GTOs (8–40 kV) —(demonstrated up to 2.6 kV);
7) MOSFET (0.2–6 kV): 1.2 kV, 10 A—forthcoming.
Both SiC-based BJT and GTO can be operated in cascode
configuration with low-voltage Si/SiC MOSFET (similar to
Hybrid JFET as given above) for insulated gate control. It
appears that SiC MOSFET with voltage rating up to 6 kV can
practically replace all the current silicon-based switching de-
vices. At higher voltage rating, SiC bipolar devices will be used.
In the current status of the technology, SiC power MOSFET
fabrication is difficult because of very low inversion channel
mobility and poor quality of SiC/SiO2 interface [25], [29].
SiC-based control ICs have also been demonstrated in labora-
tory. Availability of high-temperature power devices will pro-
mote R&D activities of their applications in high-temperature
environment demanding further research in control electronics,
passive components, electrical machines, etc. It appears that
power electronics based on large bandgap devices will bring
renaissance in power electronics in future, particularly in high-
power area [24].
IV. P OWER C ONVERTERS
A power converter, consisting of a matrix of power semicon-
ductor switches and one or several passive components, helps to
convert and control electrical power from ac to dc, dc to dc, dc
to ac, or ac to ac [19]. Converter evolution essentially followed
the device evolution. Of course, the most common type of
converter, operating on utility system, is the Graetz bridge (with
diodes or thyristors), which was known long time ago. Diode
or thyristor-based converters distort the ac line current and
create utility system power quality problems. The IEEE-519
and IEC-1000 harmonic standards have been introduced that
tend to restrict the harmonic loading on the utility system.
Since diode- and thyristor-type converters are very common,
and constantly growing on utility system, various types of
harmonic filters (active, passive or hybrid), and SVCs have
been proposed to combat the power quality and lagging DPF
problems, respectively. It is more economical to solve these
problems by using a PWM-type front-end converter with self-
controlled devices (such as power MOSFETs, IGBTs, GTOs,
or IGCTs) that shape the line current to be sinusoidal, and the
DPF can be programmed to be unity, leading, or lagging. In ad-
dition, the line voltage sag problem can easily be compensated.
Considering the present trend, it appears that eventually phase-
controlled converters and cycloconverters will be obsolete for
operation on the utility system.
Between the voltage-fed and current-fed converters, the
former is superior in overall figure-of-merit considerations.
Therefore, this class of converters has been accepted almost
universally for general power processing applications. Voltage-
fed converters can be two- or multilevel type depending on
the level of handling power. Recently, R&D in multilevel
converters and their applications have been very visible in
literature [30]–[34]. Multilevel converters can be classified into
diode-clamped type, cascaded H-bridge type, and flying ca-
pacitor type. The diode-clamped type is most commonly used.
Of course, the H-bridge type has the advantages of modular
construction and absence of dc capacitor voltage unbalance
problem, but transformer coupling is often essential. Multi-
level converters with higher number of levels are important
for handling higher power at high voltage. In general, their
applications may include high-power motor drives, and utility
BOSE: POWER ELECTRONICS AND MOTOR DRIVES RECENT PROGRESS AND PERSPECTIVE
system applications (such as, STATCOM and HVDC convert-
ers). The converter is normally operated in PWM mode for
motor drive, but in stepped-wave mode (with coupling trans-
formers) for STATCOM [34]–[36]. Flexible ac transmission
system (FACTS) [37], [38] is basically a power electronic
method of regulating the bus voltage and controlling the flow
of active (P ) and reactive (Q) power (often called unified
power flow controller) in a transmission system of a utility
grid. Since the transient response of STATCOMs to supply and
absorb energy pulses is very fast, the units can also control
transient stability and generator oscillation problems of the
utility system. FACTS applications will continue to grow in
future with higher converter levels and higher power rating, as
we gain more experience in this area [39], [40].
Traditionally, converters with self-controlled devices use
simple hard-switching principle. However, hard switching has
the inherent disadvantages of high switching loss (that de-
creases the converter efficiency and burdens the cooling sys-
tem), stress on the devices, and electromagnetic interference
problems. Besides, in a motor drive, high dv/dt deteriorates
the machine insulation, causes bearing current problem, and
machine terminal voltage boost with a long cable between
the inverter and the motor. To overcome these problems, soft-
switched converters have been proposed. The literature on
soft-switched converters is very large [44], [45]. However, soft-
switched converters generally require resonance circuits and
extra devices with additional control complexity that can in-
crease the converter cost, decrease reliability, and extra losses
that can adversely affect the converter efficiency. For these
reasons, soft-switched converters generally could not get accep-
tance for motor drives. Some of the problems of hard-switched
converters have been solved by installing bulky low-pass LC
filters at the motor terminal [46]. Soft-switched power conver-
sion, however, is justified in high-frequency link power conver-
sion, where the load requires galvanic isolation from the source
through high-frequency transformer [45], [47], [48]. One popu-
lar application area of soft-switched converters is resonant-link
dc–dc converters.
Considering the present trend, it appears that the converter
technology is approaching saturation, although much of the
current R&D activity is going on multilevel converters. Future
emphasis on converters will be mainly on power electronic
building block integration, automated design, simulation, man-
ufacturing, and test, which are somewhat similar to the trends
of very large scale integration (VLSI).
V. M OTOR D RIVES
An electrical machine, the workhorse of modern variable-
frequency ac drive, has gone through slow but sustained
evolution during the past century. The advent of powerful
digital computers, new and improved materials, coupled with
extensive R&D, has resulted in higher power density, higher
efficiency, and many performance enhancements of machines.
Although, traditionally, ac machines have been used for
constant-speed applications, and dc machines for variable-
speed drives, the advent of solid-state variable-frequency
inverters since 1960s, and later progression of power semicon-
585
ductor devices, various converter topologies, advanced PWM
techniques, and improved control and estimation methods grad-
ually brought high-performance ac drives of various types in the
market place, pushing the dc drives toward obsolescence [43].
Both induction and synchronous machines have been ex-
tensively used. The cage-type induction motors with voltage-
fed converter in wide power range are universally popular in
industrial applications [5], [18]. For constant-speed applica-
tions of induction motor, the variable-frequency starter has
the advantages of full torque starting, sinusoidal line current,
and reduced flux efficiency optimization control compared
to the traditional thyristor-based phase-controlled starter. As
the converter cost decreases, eventually, variable-frequency
starter will be extensively used. Wound-rotor induction motor
drives with slip power recovery (static Kramer and Scherbius
drives) have been used in limited speed range for large pumps,
compressors, variable-speed hydro, flywheel energy storage,
and modern wind generation systems. Although the machine
cost is somewhat higher along with the disadvantages of slip
rings and brushes, the converter cost is somewhat economi-
cal. This type of drive is expected to be obsolete in future,
except for very specialized applications. In very high-power
range, LCI wound-field synchronous motor drives are yet very
popular, because of simple thyristor-based converter topology
and improved system efficiency, although the machine cost
is somewhat higher. It is interesting to note that recently,
voltage-fed multilevel converters are finding almost univer-
sal acceptance for large-power four-quadrant induction and
synchronous motor drives, replacing the traditional thyristor-
based cycloconverters and current-fed converters. Permanent
magnet synchronous machines (PMSM), particularly brushless
dc drives with trapezoidal machines, are more popular in the
lower end of power. Generally, PMSM drives are more expen-
sive than cage-type motors, but have the advantages of higher
efficiency (lower life-cycle cost) and lower rotor inertia. Partic-
ularly, axial-flux (compared to radial flux) PMSM is showing
more promise for direct wheel drive EV/HEV applications
[49]. As the cost of high-energy NdFeB magnet decreases
in future, PM machine drives will gradually find increased
acceptance.
It is interesting to note that switched reluctance motor (SRM)
drives are recently getting wide attention in the literature [5].
The SRM is simple in construction, economical and robust,
and is often compared with induction machine, although it is
the closest relative of synchronous reluctance machine. How-
ever, SRM drive has inherent pulsating torque and acoustic
noise problems, and needs absolute position encoder like a
self-controlled PMSM drive. Of course, extensive R&D have
mitigated some of these problems. The SRM is basically an
electronic machine, and therefore, open-loop volts/hertz oper-
ation, multimotor operation with a single converter, and con-
verter bypass operation (for converter fault) are not possible.
VI. C ONTROL AND E STIMATION
Control and feedback signal estimation of ac drives are
complex, and the complexity is compounded if higher per-
formance is demanded. The advent of powerful DSPs, ASIC
586 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 56, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
chips, personal computers, user-friendly simulation software,
AI techniques [50], and advancement of control and estimation
theories have continuously advanced the frontier of this area.
The advent of vector or field-oriented control in the 1970s
brought a renaissance in modern high-performance control of
ac drives [51]. It has been widely accepted for applications
in paper and textile mills, metal rolling mills, machine tools,
servos, robotics, transportation drives, etc. In spite of com-
plexity, vector control is expected to be universal in future for
drives, replacing all types of scalar control. The dynamical
(d–q) model of machine and parameter variation effect are
extremely important in vector control. In self-commissioning
of modern drives, the initial tuning for vector control can
be done by estimation of machine parameters with inverter-
injected signals. However, online precision parameter tuning
always remains a challenge.
A type of performance-enhanced scalar control, called DTC
control [52]–[54], was proposed in the 1980s. The control
gives fast response, and is somewhat simple to implement
due to absence of close loop current control, traditional PWM
algorithm, and vector transformation. However, the inherent
demerits of limit cycle operation, such as pulsating torque, pul-
sating flux, and additional harmonic loss exist. One company
markets DTC-controlled multimegawatt induction motor drives
[46] for pumps, compressors, and extruder drives, replacing the
traditional volts/hertz-based speed control. Recently, fuzzy and
neurofuzzy control techniques have been proposed for DTC
drives [54] to improve performance, but at the cost of higher
complexity.
In a drive, where the machine parameter variation and load
torque disturbance can be problems, various adaptive control
techniques, such as self-tuning regulator, H-infinity control,
model referencing adaptive control, and sliding mode control
(also called variable structure system) have been proposed in
the literature. Recently, powerful intelligent control techniques,
based on AI, have emerged. Intelligent control is often defined
as learning control, self-organizing control, self-adaptive con-
trol, or adaptive control that gives robust performance, irrespec-
tive of plant parameter variation and load disturbance. It is a
good candidate, where mathematical model may not exist, or
the model is ill defined. The system under consideration can be
nonlinear and parameter varying. Of course, without any model,
the system cannot be simulated on computer for performance
study and optimization. Among all the AI techniques, FL and
ANN, particularly the later, is becoming more important in
recent years [50], [56]–[59].
Advanced control and estimation in power electronic
system normally require extensive computer simulation
study, prior to breadboard or prototype development. Various
simulation software, such as PSPICE, PSIM, MATLAB-based
Simulink/SimPowerSystems, EMTP, ACSL, MATRIXX ,
SABER, C, etc., have been used for simulation, but recently,
Simulink/SimPowerSystems is gaining almost universal
acceptance [60]. One advantage of Simulink-based simulation
is that part of the simulation program can be translated to
C language, and the corresponding object code can be used for
real-time DSP implementation. High-performance control and
estimation for complex systems are being possible because of
the availability of modern powerful DSPs [61] and ASIC chips
[particularly field-programmable gate array (FPGAs)] [62] that
are based on submicrometer VLSI circuits.
VII. C ONCLUSION AND F UTURE S CENARIO
This paper begins with the discussion about the importance
of power electronics, particularly its role in energy saving
that indirectly helps fuel conservation and mitigation of envi-
ronmental problems. Then, it gives a brief but comprehen-
sive review of the recent advances in power electronics and
variable-frequency drives that includes discussion on power
semiconductor devices, converters, electrical machines, drives,
advanced control and estimation, and simulation methods. The
trends of the respective areas have been highlighted, wherever
possible.
Power electronics has now been established as a major
discipline in electrical engineering. It is now an indispensable
tool for modern industrial automation, high-efficiency energy
systems, and energy conservation, as discussed before. Indi-
rectly, it will play a dominant role in solving the global warming
problem, which appears to be a serious concern in our society.
In future, power electronics is expected to play influential role
in the industrial and energy policies of nations.
What is the future scenario in power electronics technology?
Is it tending to saturate in the traditional S-curve? What are
the directions of future R&D in this area? Generally, in the
author’s opinion, the answer is “yes” to the saturating trends of
the technology. In recent years, there has been an explosion in
the number of conferences and technical publications in power
electronics area. Carefully looking into these publications, it
should be evident that by far the majority of these contributions
are incremental in nature.
In any technology evolution, it is always difficult to predict
the future course. Our past experience can only guide us to
extrapolate for the future. Any major invention alters the course
of a technology and spurs new momentum of R&D activities.
For example, the invention of transistors, and then the thyris-
tors, ushered in the new era of solid-state power electronics.
However, at the end of thyristor era (mid-1970s), it was felt
that power electronics technology was getting saturated and was
almost coming to a halt. Fortunately, the advent of new and
advanced power semiconductor devices opened new frontiers
in power electronics. Of course, new converter topologies,
advanced PWM techniques, powerful DSPs and ASIC chips,
personal computers, simulation techniques, etc., gave tremen-
dous momentum to the technology advancement. In addition,
the advent of AI techniques, created a new and advancing R&D
frontier in power electronics.
With the present technology trends, a few of the future R&D
areas in power electronics can be outlined as follows. Besides
improvement of modern Si-based power devices in terms of
power ratings and characteristics, large bandgap devices (SiC
devices in the near term and diamond devices in the long term)
are expected to bring renaissance in power electronics, as previ-
ously mentioned. Although power semiconductor device is the
heart of power electronics, the device research strictly does not
fall into the mainstream of power electronics technology. Like
BOSE: POWER ELECTRONICS AND MOTOR DRIVES RECENT PROGRESS AND PERSPECTIVE
power devices, research in batteries, FCs, PV cells, microchips,
ultracapacitors, superconducting magnet energy storage, etc.,
will also significantly impact power electronics evolution.
At the other end of the spectrum, AI-based intelligent con-
trol and estimation techniques, particularly with NNWs, will
also impact power electronics evolution. A large number of
ANN topologies yet remain unexplored for innovative power
electronics applications. Besides, hybrid AI techniques, such
as neurofuzzy, neurogenetic, neurofuzzy genetic, etc., require
systematic exploration. Development of large and economi-
cal ANN-ASIC chips is essential for industrial applications
of intelligent systems. Currently, FPGAs are becoming very
powerful with embedded DSPs for implementation of NNWs.
Sensorless online precision estimation of machine variables,
(particularly absolute position in synchronous machine and
in induction machine at or near zero frequency region), and
machine parameters require further exploration, although sig-
nificant advances have been made recently in these areas. It
appears that sensorless vector control of ac drives [63], [64] is
the clear trend of the future. Online diagnostics of converter
and machine faults along with utility power quality diagno-
sis, and the corresponding fault-tolerant control are important
R&D topics for reliability improvement of power electronic
systems. The control, estimation, monitoring, fault diagnostics,
and fault-tolerant control will eventually be implemented on a
single DSP/ASIC chip. It is expected that converter, control,
and machine will eventually be integrated as an intelligent
machine of the future, particularly in the lower end of power
rating. There are, of course, myriads of application-oriented
R&D topics which are incremental in nature [21].
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Bimal K. Bose (S’59–M’60–SM’78–F’89–LF’96)
received the B.E. degree from Bengal Engineering
College (currently Bengal Engineering and Science
University), Calcutta, India, in 1956, the M.S. de-
gree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in
1960, and the Ph.D. degree from Calcutta University,
Calcutta, in 1966.
Since 1987, he has held the Condra Chair of
Excellence (Endowed Chair) in power electronics
with The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where
he is responsible for teaching and research program
in power electronics and motor drives. Concurrently, he served as the Dis-
tinguished Scientist (1989–2000) and Chief Scientist (1987–1989) of Electric
Power Research Institute, Power Electronics Applications Center, Knoxville.
Prior to this, he was a Research Engineer with the General Electric (GE)
Corporate Research and Development Center (currently GE Global Research
Center), Schenectady, NY, for 11 years (1976–1987), an Associate Professor
of Electrical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, for five
years (1971–1976), and a faculty member at Bengal Engineering and Science
University for 11 years (1960–1971). He has specialized in power electronics
and motor drives, specially including power converters, pulsewidth modulation
techniques, microcomputer/DSP control, electric/hybrid vehicle drives, renew-
able energy systems, and artificial intelligence (expert system, fuzzy logic,
and neural network) applications in power electronics systems. He has been
a Power Electronics Consultant in a large number of industries. He holds an
Honorary Professorship with Shanghai University (1991), China University of
Mining and Technology (1995), Xi’an Mining University (1998), Huazhong
University of Science and Technology (2002), and is an Honorary Adviser of
Beijing Power Electronics R&D Center (1990). He has authored more than
200 papers and is the holder of 21 U.S. patents. He has authored/edited seven
books in power electronics: Power Electronics and Motor Drives–Advances
and Trends (New York: Academic, 2006), Modern Power Electronics and AC
Drives (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2002), Power Electronics and AC
Drives (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986), Power Electronics and
Variable Frequency Drives (New York: Wiley, 1997), Modern Power Elec-
tronics (Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 1992), Microcomputer Control of Power
Electronics and Drives (Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 1987), and Adjustable
Speed AC Drive Systems (Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 1981).
Dr. Bose is a recipient of a number of awards and honors that include IEEE
Power Electronics Society Newell Award (2005), IEEE Millennium Medal
(2000), IEEE Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education (1997),
IEEE Lamme Gold Medal (1996), IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES)
Eugene Mittelmann Award (for lifetime achievement) (1994), IEEE Region 3
Outstanding Engineer Award (1994), IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS)
Outstanding Achievement Award (1993), Calcutta University Mouat Gold
Medal (1970), Distinguished Alumnus Award (2006) from Bengal Engineering
and Science University. He has served the IEEE in various capacities, including
Chairman of the IEEE IES Power Electronics Council, Associate Editor of the
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, IEEE-IECON Power
Electronics Chairman, Chairman of the IEEE IAS Industrial Power Converter
Committee, IAS member of the Neural Network Council, Vice-Chair of the
IEEE Medals Council, member of the IEEE Awards Planning and Policy
Committee, member of the IEEE Energy Policy Committee, member of the
IEEE Fellow Committee, member of the Lamme Medal Committee, etc. He
has been a member of the Editorial Board of the PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE,
and has served as Guest Editor of the PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE (August
1994). He has served as a Distinguished Lecturer of both the IES and IAS, and
is now Vice-Chairman of the IAS Distinguished Lecture Program. He has given
keynote addresses, and invited seminars and tutorials extensively throughout
the world, particularly in IEEE sponsored programs and conferences.