Benefits of Supercapacitance for Designing High-efficiency Power Converters: Supercapacitor-assisted Low Dropout (SCALDO) Regulator Technique
The usual application scope of supercapacitors (SCs) is replacing electrochemical batteries
due to their higher power density and moderately high energy density. In the current
component markets, supercapacitors are available with capacitances varying from 0.2 to
7500 farads, with the limitation of very low DC voltage ratings from 0.7 V to 4 V.
The supercapacitor-assisted low dropout (SCALDO) regulator has been developed as a non-
traditional supercapacitor application, utilising the large time constant of SCs. SCALDO is a
unique new design approach to developing high-efficiency, low-noise DC-DC converters
based on a linear regulator. During the past decade, several implementation variations of
SCALDO prototypes, including RS-SCALDO, DO-SCALDO versions, and an integrated circuit
design have been achieved.
This lecture presents the essentials of SCALDO theory, several prototype implementations,
and a discussion on SCALDO properties. The success of the SCALDO projects led to the
development of the unique SCALoM theory, in which the losses in the RC loop can be
theoretically minimized by two combined steps: (i) adding a power electronics building block
into the RC loop, and (ii) replacing the capacitor with a several-orders-larger SC.
Based on this SCALoM concept, current ongoing research on supercapacitor-assisted (SCA)
power converter circuit topologies in Australia and New Zealand will also be discussed.
Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
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- Queensland University of Technology
- Brisbane, Queensland
- Australia 4000
- Building: S block
- Room Number: GP-S702
- Starts 13 August 2025 02:00 PM UTC
- Ends 25 September 2025 02:00 PM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Kosala Gunawardane of UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY
RDL: Benefits of Supercapacitance for Designing High-efficiency Power Converters: Supercapacitor-assisted Low Dropout (S
Biography:
Dr. Kosala Gunawardane is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Technology
Sydney(UTS). She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology
(QUT). She was an Associate Professor in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Auckland University
of Technology, New Zealand, before joining UTS. She was also the founding Director of the Centre of
Future Power and Energy Research (CFPER) at AUT. She served as the Deputy program leader of
Offshore Renewable Energy Systems in the Blue Economy Corporate Research Centre in Australia.
She is a distinguished lecturer of IEEE PELS in R10, Asia Pacific region. She is an Associate Editor of
IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and also the Chapter Liaison of IEEE NSW joint PELS/IES/IAS
chapter. She has been chief investigator of several multi-million external research grants in Australia
and New Zealand. Her research interests include Renewable energy applications, Hydrogen and Fuel
cells, DC-microgrids, supercapacitor applications, and Power Electronics.
Address:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia