It is only recently that the electric vehicle (EV) has evolved into a contemporary invention. There has been a rapid acceleration in the development of EVs in a number of nations in order to lessen their reliance on oil and their contribution to environmental pollution. In the tangible world, fully EVs do not release any carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from their tailpipes, unlike any other conventional vehicles. This results in a 50%–70% CO2 reduction in air pollution per year. The achievement of electrification in transportation has led to a reduction in the weight and size of the vehicles as the need for internal combustion engines can be eliminated. Wide bandgap materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) offer advantages in the manufacturing of EVs. Beginning the late 2000s, the EV industry has begun to adopt GaN devices in their manufacturing processes. The semiconductor material GaN stands out as a material for power electronic systems in EVs owing to its high switching frequency, higher temperature limit, and high voltage breakdown. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of semiconductor GaN materials for EV applications, which could be useful to provide insights for researchers and scientists to accelerate their innovation for the improvement of EVs. This review begins with an introduction to EVs, followed by the anticipated demand for EVs. The application of GaN devices in EVs, compared to the traditional Si and SiC devices, which are the primary power devices in current EVs, is discussed. The recent advancement in GaN devices that are capable of being used in various components of a fully automated EV, such as the battery, energy storage system, auxiliary power unit, and motor drive, in addition to their use in different non-automotive vehicles such as electric aircraft, electric ships, electric railways, electric submarines, and heavy duty vehicles, is also discussed. Finally, the challenges posed by GaN devices and potential solutions to overcome these shortcomings have been addressed.

中文翻译：

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氮化镓在电动汽车发展中的作用：能源应用、技术和挑战


直到最近，电动汽车（EV）才发展成为一项当代发明。为了减少对石油的依赖及其对环境污染的影响，许多国家迅速加速了电动汽车的发展。在现实世界中，与任何其他传统车辆不同，纯电动汽车的排气管不会排放任何二氧化碳 (CO2)。这使得每年空气污染中的二氧化碳减少 50%–70%。交通运输电气化的实现减少了车辆的重量和尺寸，因为可以消除对内燃机的需求。碳化硅 (SiC) 和氮化镓 (GaN) 等宽带隙材料在电动汽车的制造中具有优势。从 2000 年代末开始，电动汽车行业开始在其制造过程中采用 GaN 器件。半导体材料GaN因其高开关频率、更高的温度限制和高击穿电压而成为电动汽车电力电子系统的材料。本综述旨在全面概述用于电动汽车应用的半导体氮化镓材料，这可能有助于为研究人员和科学家提供见解，以加速他们的创新以改进电动汽车。本次审查首先介绍电动汽车，然后介绍电动汽车的预期需求。讨论了 GaN 器件在电动汽车中的应用，与当前电动汽车中主要功率器件传统的硅和碳化硅器件进行了比较。 GaN器件的最新进展除了可用于不同的非汽车车辆外，还能够用于全自动电动汽车的各种组件，例如电池、储能系统、辅助动力装置和电机驱动器。还讨论了电动飞机、电动船舶、电动铁路、电动潜艇和重型车辆。最后，解决了 GaN 器件带来的挑战以及克服这些缺点的潜在解决方案。