| ApnaTriangle.com interview with Dr Jayant Baliga, one of the eight heroes of semiconductor revolution |
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Dr. Baliga: I grew up in a small village called Jalahalli near After my PhD, I applied to many companies to continue this line of research with no success. It was in the middle of 1975 recession. Fortunately, GE was creating a new group to research power devices and I was hired. This was a mature field but, within five years, my work revolutionized the industry.
Kubi: Please tell us about the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Dr. Baliga: The story of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is very interesting. It is a power semiconductor device known for high efficiency and fast switching. One day, a manager from the A/C division at GE came to the lab and challenged us to create a device that is compact and highly efficient for controlling electrical power. Within a month, I came up with the IGBT which was compact, highly efficient and fast switching. In general, it is not difficult to come up with an invention, but it is very difficult to come up with something that can be used easily manufactured at low cost. I also created a process for the IGBT so that it could be built using existing production lines, which is very rare for a new invention. As a result, I took the IGBT from invention to production in six months. GE started using it in appliances, air-conditioning, lamps, then in locomotives, medical devices and many other applications. The invention had a huge impact on GE. So one day, I got a call to describe my invention to the chairman of GE , Jack Welch. Fortunately, he was favorably impressed leading to my elevation as Coolidge Fellow at GE. The IGBT is now produced by a dozen companies around the world and is used in regular cars for running the ignition system, electric cars for running electric motors and even in bullet trains. It is used in compact fluorescent lamps to save about 75% of energy. It is used in UPS systems and to control robots in factories. Recently, the IGBT has been used to create portable defibrillators which can save 100,000 lives per year.
Dr.Baliga: I feel fortunate that I have contributed to the society as planned before coming to the On top of that when coal-fired power plants are built, which is true for most of the power plant that are being built, they emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide. About One Trillion pounds of carbon emission is eliminated due to power savings from IGBT. That is more important than cost savings. It is very exciting. An average consumer uses energy which generates about 8,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. My work is offsetting emissions produced by 125 million people. Everybody is sensitive about carbon footprints. If you conserve energy, we will have a huge impact in reducing pollution. Some people preach not to use air-conditioners and clothes dryers. I say that you can continue to use them because I have made them more efficient. I call it engineering a sustainable society. So, my dream of contributing to society has come true.
Kubi: When did you move to Dr. Baliga: I came to Kubi: You are the founder of Silicon Semiconductor Company. Please tell us about it. Dr. Baliga: I came to NC state with 60 patents all owned by GE including those for the IGBT. When I came here, I continued to innovate and it was natural that I wanted to file for more patents. In 1988, I found that university had no system for filing patents and no money was devoted for prosecuting the patents. When I founded the Power Semiconductor Research Center (PSRC) in 1991 and got funds from all over the world, I also created an agreement for filing the patents with the support of all the companies which were supporting my research. With this support, I was able to obtain approximately 50 US patents at the university. For any inventor, 50 patents is quite large but for a university professor it is extremely unusual. My mission was to have an impact on society with these inventions since there is no point in having the invention as a piece of paper. My involvement at SSC was so intensive that I had to take leave from the university in 2001. I then devoted myself to this company for 2 years. However, the telecom market collapsed in 2003. All the telecom companies said we do need your technology but we are not investing in 3G for a few years. To save my company from bankruptcy, I had to quickly invent another chip that was targeted to powering microprocessors in computers. My technology improved the efficiency for delivering power to microprocessors. We got our product out in 6 months. The technology was bench marked by Intel to be approximately 3 years ahead of other companies, such as Phillips, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and International Rectifier. For a little company to be ahead of these big companies was a major accomplishment and my inventions are now in the market. With this experience, I discovered that it is interesting and challenging to be a Entrepreneur. Kubi: Scientific American Magazine has named you as one of the Eight Heroes of Semiconductor Revolution. How do you feel about this? Dr.Baliga: I felt very surprised. I didn't expect it. There are so many thousands and thousands of people who have made contributions in semiconductors. Getting this recognition as one of the Eight Heroes is something special. Scientific American Magazine celebrated the 50th anniversary for the invention of the transistor with a special commemorative issue. Transistors were originally invented at Bell Labs by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, who got the Noble Prize in 1956. The integrated circuit was invented by Robert Noyce at Fairchild and by Jack Kilby, who got a Noble Prize in 2000, at Texas instruments. Intel was founded by Gordon Moore. On the 50th anniversary, Scientific American Magazine came out with a special edition. I got a phone call from the editor saying he heard about a super-transistor called the IGBT and wanted me to contribute an article on the device. When the magazine was published, I read the editorial page and was delightfully surprised to find out that they had named me as one of the eight heroes among the people that I just named, who were my inspiration when I joined the field.
Kubi: You have authored 12 books and co-authored 550 publications, what inspired you to write? Dr. Baliga: It’s a natural thing for a Scientist. When I wrote the first paper which was at RPI, lot of people said nice things about it. It was a satisfying feeling and I started enjoying writing articles. I wrote quite a few papers while at RPI and then even at GE. Publishing papers was not our main goal at GE and I had to hold back on writing about the IGBT until it became fully commercialized. Now that I am at the university, our main goal is to publish papers. So, my output has accelerated until I started my company in 2000. The underlying reason why we publish papers in academia is to get recognition as scientists and to share our ideas with everyone so that people can innovate on them. Recently, I have been writing many books, 4 books in the last 5 years, for educating students and young research scientists in the industry. Kubi: Which award gave you the most happiness and made you feel proud? Dr. Baliga: Well, I never did any work just to get an award. But, my happiest moment was, when I was recognized as one of the eight heroes of Semiconductor Revolution by the Scientific American Magazine. The other one that is equally special to me was when the National Academy of Engineering elected me as a Member at the age of 45, when the average age for members was 77 years.
Kubi: What is the secret of your success? Dr. Baliga: I don’t believe that I am the smartest person even though I was selected among the Brightest Young Scientists in America by Science Digest magazine. I believe that nothing substantial can be achieved without hard work and I firmly believe there is no such thing called Luck. One needs to create opportunities and work hard towards achieving results. As Edison said “It is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”. I took on a challenge at an early age towards improving the quality of life for people and have fortunately been successful in achieving this objective.
Kubi: As a founder of SSC and world renowned semiconductor expert what advice would you like to give to the people? Dr. Baliga: Be passionate about what you do. Have a mission that excites you. In my case, service to humanity was my mission. And remember to work hard towards your goal.
Kubi's Comments: Dr. Baliga has achieved a great fame. However, is very humble and modest. He is relentless in pursuing his passion. His contributions have revolutionized many things that we use in every day life. His story has inspired me to work on my passion.
Selected Publications 2009 Author: “Advanced Power Rectifier Concepts”, Springer-Science 2008 Author: “Fundamentals of Power Semiconductor Devices”, Springer-Science 2006 Author: “Silicon Carbide Power Devices”, World Scientific Publishing Company 2005 Author: “Silicon RF Power MOSFETs”, World Scientific Publishing Company 1998 Co-Author: “Cryogenic Operation of Silicon Power Devices”, Kluwer Press 1998 Co-Editor: “Power Electronics Technology and Applications”, IEEE Press 1996 Author: “Power Semiconductor Devices”, PWS Publishing Company 1993 Co-Editor: “Power Electronics Technology and Applications”, IEEE Press 1992 Author: “Modern Power Devices”, Krieger Publishing Company 1988 Editor: “High Voltage Integrated Circuits”, IEEE Press 1987 Author: “Modern Power Devices”, John Wiley and Sons 1986 Editor: “Epitaxial Silicon Technology”, Academic Press 1984 Co-Editor: “Power Transistors”, IEEE Press
Awards and Honors
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Dr. Jayant Baliga, inventor of a power saving switch that prevents 1.4 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere each year, at a cost savings of $300 billion in power generation. We use Baliga's technology every time we run our cars, power up a computer or switch on the air conditioning. He has authored 15 books and more than 500 scientific articles. Over 100 
Kubi: How do you feel that common people like me are not aware of your wonderful inventions? 