The core of the Department of Power Electronics was formed in 1965, when a Problem Research Laboratory (PRL) "Industrial Electronics" was established under the Department of "Semiconductor and Industrial Electronics" of the former Faculty of Radioelectronics, with Assoc. Prof. Nacho Nachev as the head.
The Department of Power Electronics was officially established in 1976. It is responsible for the education of students majoring in "Electronics" at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Technologies (FEET) in the fields of electrical energy converters, power supplies, control and regulation systems, and specific industrial technological applications. In addition, the department conducts specialized training for students majoring in "Power Electronics".
The department also teaches general electronic disciplines in other faculties of the Technical University - Sofia.
The research activities of the Department of Power Electronics are focused on the development of modern power electronic devices, systems, and technologies. The main scientific directions include:
1. DC analog and pulse power supplies for powering low-power electronic equipment.
2. Uninterruptible AC power supplies (UPS – Uninterruptible Power Supply), providing stable power supply to critical systems in the fields of informatics, medicine, power engineering, and other industries.
3. Power electronic converters for electro-technological applications, including:
- induction heating and melting of metals;
- electrochemical processes (electrolysis);
- ultrasonic technologies – welding, soldering, cleaning and material processing;
- high-frequency heating for welding pipes and metal profiles, drying of paper and wood and processing of plastics.
4. Electric energy converters for reversible drive of DC and AC motors for precise positioning and speed regulation. Devices for powering the excitation winding of powerful synchronous generators and motors.
5. Powerful devices for regulating AC and DC energy, combined with control and management schemes for various technological parameters – temperature, illumination, voltage, speed, power, etc.
6. Chargers for all types of batteries.
7. Specialized devices for measuring, controlling and improving the parameters of consumed electrical energy.
8. Electronic circuits for regulating parameters and processes, industrial controllers, circuits for controlling powerful energy converters.
9. Power electronic converters in systems with renewable energy sources.
The Department of Power Electronics trains students from other faculties of the Technical University of Sofia., as follows:
1. Faculty of Telecommunications - under the course "Power Supply Devices", bachelor's degree, second year.
2. Faculty of Electrical Engineering - under the subject "Semiconductor Electronics", bachelor's degree, second year.
3. Faculty of Automation - in the subject "Pulse and Digital Circuit Design", bachelor's degree, second year.
4. Faculty of Electrical Engineering - under the subject "Semiconductor Electronics", bachelor's degree, second year.
5. Faculty of English Engineering Education - under the subject "Electronics", bachelor's degree, second year.
6. Faculty of French Training in Electrical Engineering - in the subject "Power Electronic Converters", bachelor's degree, second year.
7. Faculty of Electrical Engineering - in the subject "Electronic Converters in Electrical Power Systems", master's degree, first year.