Taste of Tech: From Atoms to Devices: Decoding Semiconductor Materials and Devices Through Advanced Electron Microscopy | Next-Generation Power Electronics: The Engine of the Electrified Future
Time and Date
9/21/2026
11:45 AM – 1:45 PM (EST)
Agenda
Lunch: 11:45 – 12:00 | Talk 1: 12:00 – 12:20 | Talk 2: 12:20 – 12:40 |
Talk 1: From Atoms to Devices: Decoding Semiconductor Materials and Devices Through Advanced Electron Microscopy
Presentation Overview: This talk will highlight how advanced electron microscopy enables the characterization of semiconductor materials and devices across length scales, from atomic structure to device-level architectures. Through examples ranging from advanced-node FinFETs to flash memory, the presentation will demonstrate how scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging and spectroscopy can reveal structure–chemistry–property relationships, characterize critical interfaces, and provide insights into materials behavior.
Abinash Kumar
About the Speaker
Abinash Kumar is Director of Research and Development at NanoSpective, Inc., where he leads research efforts focused on understanding chemistry–structure–property relationships in compositionally complex materials and microelectronic devices using
advanced materials characterization techniques. He collaborates closely with universities, national laboratories, and industry partners to address characterization challenges in semiconductor materials and devices. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and previously worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
Talk 2: Next-Generation Power Electronics: The Engine of the Electrified Future
Presentation Overview: Power electronics is undergoing a rapid transition toward higher switching frequencies, higher power density, wider operating ranges, and increasingly application-specific converter architectures. This talk will present recent research on advanced power conversion topologies and control strategies aimed at addressing these challenges across energy, transportation, defense, and space applications. The first part of the talk will focus on isolated multi-port converters, particularly multi-active-bridge (MAB) architectures, which offer bidirectional power flow, galvanic isolation, and flexible integration of multiple sources, loads, and energy-storage elements. Despite these advantages, their wider adoption is challenged by increased semiconductor and magnetic losses under light-load and non-unity voltage-gain conditions, as well as complex cross-coupling among ports. The talk will discuss modeling, higher-order switching modulation, loss optimization, integrated magnetic design, and intelligent control approaches developed to improve converter efficiency and operating flexibility. The discussion will then expand to emerging power-conversion problems currently being investigated at UCF. These include MHz-frequency converter technologies for pulsed and pulsating loads, high-density microinverters, piezoelectric-transformer-based isolated DC–DC converters, and modular power-conversion architectures for lunar and space power systems. Particular attention will be given to how resonant and high-frequency conversion, wide-bandgap semiconductor devices, advanced modulation, and real-time control can be combined to achieve high efficiency and power density under demanding electrical and environmental conditions. The talk will conclude with perspectives on cryogenic and radiation-tolerant power electronics and the broader role of semiconductor devices, converter architecture, magnetics, packaging, and control co-design in realizing the next generation of compact, resilient, and intelligent power electronic systems for terrestrial and aerospace applications.
Saikat Dey
About the Speaker
Dr. Saikat Dey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida, where he leads the Dey Power Electronics Laboratory (DPEL). Prof. Dey earned his PhD and MS degrees in Systems Engineering from Arizona State University in 2025 and 2023, respectively. From 2018 to 2020, he worked as a Power Electronics Design Engineer at Tagore Technology (now part of GlobalFoundries). In 2023, he served as a Power Conversion Control Intern at Lucid Motors, where he worked with the vehicle charging team. Dey’s research interests include the design, modeling, optimization, and control of multi-order power electronic converters, as well as high-frequency, high-density, and highly efficient power conversion solutions using wide-bandgap semiconductors. His work finds applications in clean energy systems, transportation electrification, extreme temperature, and space electronics. He has authored or co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed IEEE Transactions and conference papers, co-invented five pending U.S. patents, and is the co-author of one Springer Nature book. His work has been recognized with the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics Prize Paper Award 2023, the Arizona State University Dean’s Dissertation Award 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing AZ Fellowship 2023, and the 2022 IEEE Industrial Electronics Society HOPE Prize.
At UCF, his current research includes MHz-frequency converter technologies for pulsed power conversion, piezoelectric transformer based isolated power conversion, switching modulation optimization of high-performance higher order power converters, modular power conversion for lunar and space power systems and cryogenic and radiation-tolerant power electronics.