Power electronics building blocks

This chapter describes the concept of power electronics building blocks (PEBBs) in configurations of power electronics converters. PEBB is an emerging strategic technology to develop high-power density, scalable, modular, and reliable power electronics converters for high-power, high-voltage, and high-current applications. First, PEBBs are categorized based on various semiconductor technologies and different power ranges. Then, various configurations of PEBBs for different applications are presented. Moreover, design and implementation challenges as well as applicable solutions for the layout optimization of PEBB configurations are described. Finally, the hierarchical control and protection architectures of PEBB-based power converters are discussed. Relevant challenges regarding the physical interface between various signal measurement layers and hierarchical control and protection units of PEBBs as well as various control schemes and communication protocols for PEBB-based modular power electronics converters are presented.