Sketch for communication issues in power electronics building blocks connections

Power electronic building blocks initiated and sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, are based on the integration of power semiconductor elements with some degree of intelligence and data communication capability in compact form. This intelligence, based on local control, and data communications capability will move the power electronics elements from power conversion to power processing, whose functions can be simply reconfigured through software. This article addresses the control and communication issues of power electronic building blocks. A brief overview of control issues serves as the basis for an analysis of inter-power electronic building block communication. The specifics of hard real-time in the sub-millisecond range, and diverse traffic, are emphasized.