TABLE OF CONTENTS It has been said that people do not use electricity, but rather they use communication, light, mechanical work, entertainment, and all the tangible benefits of both energy and electronics. In this sense, electrical engineering as a discipline is much involved in energy conversion and information. In the general world of electronics engineering, the circuits engineers design and use are intended to convert information. This is true of both analog and digital circuit design. In radio frequency applications, energy and information are sometimes on more equal footing, but the main function of any circuit is information transfer.
What about the conversion and control of electrical energy itself? Energy is a critical need in every human endeavor. The capabilities and flexibility of modern electronics must be brought to bear to meet the challenges of reliable, efficient energy. It is essential to consider how electronic circuits and systems can be applied to the challenges of energy conversion and management. This is the framework of power electronics, a discipline defined in terms of electrical energy conversion, applications, and electronic devices. More specifically,
DEFINITION Power electronics involves the study of electronic circuits intended to control the flow of electrical energy. These circuits handle power flow at levels much higher than the individual device ratings.
Rectifiers are probably the most familiar examples of circuits that meet this definition. Inverters...
