scholarly journals Review of GaN HEMT Applications in Power Converters over 500 W

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Tsung Ma ◽  
Zhen-Huang Gu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Power Converters ◽  
Power Level ◽  
Energy Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Development Trend ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Switching Frequency ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Gan Hemt

Because of the global trends of energy demand increase and decarbonization, developing green energy sources and increasing energy conversion efficiency are recently two of the most urgent topics in energy fields. The requirements for power level and performance of converter systems are continuously growing for the fast development of modern technologies such as the Internet of things (IoT) and Industry 4.0. In this regard, power switching devices based on wide-bandgap (WBG) materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) are fast maturing and expected to greatly benefit power converters with complex switching schemes. In low- and medium-voltage applications, GaN-based high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are superior to conventional silicon (Si)-based devices in terms of switching frequency, power rating, thermal capability, and efficiency, which are crucial factors to enhance the performance of advanced power converters. Previously published review papers on GaN HEMT technology mainly focused on fabrication, device characteristics, and general applications. To realize the future development trend and potential of applying GaN technology in various converter designs, this paper reviews a total of 162 research papers focusing on GaN HEMT applications in mid- to high-power (over 500 W) converters. Different types of converters including direct current (DC)–DC, alternating current (AC)–DC, and DC–AC conversions with various configurations, switching frequencies, power densities, and system efficiencies are reviewed.

scholarly journals Comparisons on Different Innovative Cascode GaN HEMT E-Mode Power Modules and Their Efficiencies on the Flyback Converter

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5966
Author(s):  
Chih-Chiang Wu ◽  
Ching-Yao Liu ◽  
Sandeep Anand ◽  
Wei-Hua Chieng ◽  
Edward-Yi Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Electron Mobility Transistors ◽  
Switching Frequency ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Flyback Converter ◽  
Gan Hemt ◽  
Electron Mobility Transistors ◽  
High Switching Frequency ◽  
In Series ◽  
Source Voltage ◽  
A Charge

The conventional cascode structure for driving depletion-mode (D-mode) gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) raises reliability concerns. This is because of the possibility of the gate to source voltage of the GaN HEMT surging to a negative voltage during the turn off transition. The existing solutions for this problem in the literature produce additional drawbacks such as reducing the switching frequency or introducing many additional components. These drawbacks may outweigh the advantages of using a GaN HEMT over its silicon (Si) alternative. This paper proposes two innovative gate drive circuits for D-mode GaN HEMTs—namely the GaN-switching based cascode GaN HEMT and the modified GaN-switching based cascode GaN HEMT. In these schemes, the Si MOSFET in series with the D-mode GaN HEMT is always turned on during regular operation. The GaN HEMT is then switched on and off by using a charge pump based circuit and a conventional gate driver. Since the GaN HEMT is driven independently, the highly negative gate-to-source voltage surge during turn off is avoided, and in addition, high switching frequency operation is made possible. Only two diodes and one capacitor are used in each of the schemes. The application of the proposed circuits is experimentally demonstrated in a high voltage flyback converter, where more than 96% efficiency is obtained for 60 W output load.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study on the Switching Performance of GaN and Si Power Devices for Bipolar Complementary Modulated Converter Legs

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baochao Wang ◽  
Shili Dong ◽  
Shanlin Jiang ◽  
Chun He ◽  
Jianhui Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Dead Time ◽  
High Electron Mobility Transistors ◽  
Buck Converter ◽  
Switching Frequency ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Switching Loss ◽  
Gan Hemt ◽  
Switching Losses ◽  
High Switching Frequency

The commercial mature gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors (GaN HEMT) technology has drawn much attention for its great potential in industrial power electronic applications. GaN HEMT is known for low on-state resistance, high withstand voltage, and high switching frequency. This paper presents comparative experimental evaluations of GaN HEMT and conventional Si insulated gate bipolar transistors (Si IGBTs) of similar power rating. The comparative study is carried out on both the element and converter level. Firstly, on the discrete element level, the steady and dynamic characteristics of GaN HEMT are compared with Si-IGBT, including forward and reverse conducting character, and switching time. Then, the elemental switching losses are analyzed based on measured data. Finally, on a complementary buck converter level, the overall efficiency and EMI-related common-mode currents are compared. For the tested conditions, it is found that the GaN HEMT switching loss is much less than for the same power class IGBT. However, it is worth noting that special attention should be paid to reverse conduction losses in the PWM dead time (or dead band) of complementary-modulated converter legs. When migrating from IGBT to GaN, choosing a dead-time and negative gate drive voltage in conventional IGBT manner can make GaN reverse conducting losses high. It is suggested to use 0 V turn-off gate voltage and minimize the GaN dead time in order to make full use of the GaN advantages.

Impact of Parasitic Capacitor to the GaN HEMT Devices

2015 ◽  
Vol 764-765 ◽  
pp. 515-520
Author(s):  
Chia Lin Chen ◽  
Chih Huan Fang ◽  
Yuan Chao Niu ◽  
Yaow Ming Chen
Keyword(s):  
High Power ◽  
Electron Mobility ◽  
High Electron Mobility Transistor ◽  
Switching Frequency ◽  
High Electron ◽  
High Electron Mobility ◽  
Gan Hemt ◽  
High Switching Frequency ◽  
Voltage Spike ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the parasitic capacitor to the Gallium-Nitride (GaN) based high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT). Because of the high switching frequency operation, the parasitic inductor has caught a lot of attention when the GaN HEMT is applied in the high power applications. However, the impact of parasitic capacitor to the GaN HEMT is not discussed in literatures. A prototype circuit is built and tested to evaluate the impacts of parasitic capacitor to the GaN HEMT performance. The results show that the parasitic capacitor can induce voltage spike and damage the GaN HEMT.

IR Thermography for Temperature Measurements and Fault Location on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs and MMICs

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lény Baczkowski ◽  
Franck Vouzelaud ◽  
Dominique Carisetti ◽  
Nicolas Sarazin ◽  
Jean-Claude Clément ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fault Location ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Life Time ◽  
High Electron Mobility Transistors ◽  
Junction Temperature ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Ir Thermography ◽  
Operating Life ◽  
Gan Hemt ◽  
Electron Mobility Transistors

Abstract This paper shows a specific approach based on infrared (IR) thermography to face the challenging aspects of thermal measurement, mapping, and failure analysis on AlGaN/GaN high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) and MMICs. In the first part of this paper, IR thermography is used for the temperature measurement. Results are compared with 3D thermal simulations (ANSYS) to validate the thermal model of an 8x125pm AIGaN/GaN HEMT on SiC substrate. Measurements at different baseplate temperature are also performed to highlight the non-linearity of the thermal properties of materials. Then, correlations between the junction temperature and the life time are also discussed. In the second part, IR thermography is used for hot spot detection. The interest of the system for defect localization on AIGaN/GaN HEMT technology is presented through two case studies: a high temperature operating life test and a temperature humidity bias test.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of GaN HEMT and Si MOSFET-Based Active Clamp Forward Converters

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 4160
Author(s):  
Xiaobin Li ◽  
Hongbo Ma ◽  
Junhong Yi ◽  
Song Lu ◽  
Jianping Xu
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Power Devices ◽  
Voltage Range ◽  
Gan Hemt ◽  
Active Clamp ◽  
Forward Converters ◽  
Bus Voltage

Compared with conventional forward converters, active clamp forward (ACF) converters have many advantages, including lower voltage stress on the primary power devices, the ability to switch at zero voltage, reduced EMI and duty cycle operation above 50%. Thus, it has been the most popular solution for the low bus voltage applications, such as 48 V and 28 V. However, because of the poor performance of Si MOSFETs, the efficiency of active clamp forward converters is difficult to further improved. Focusing on the bus voltage of 28 V with 18~36 V voltage range application, the Gallium Nitride high electron-mobility transistors (GaN HEMT) with ultralow on-resistance, low parasitic capacitances, and no reverse recovery, is incorporated into active clamp forward converters for achieving higher efficiency and power density, in this paper. Meanwhile, the comparative analysis is performed for Si MOSFET and GaN HEMT. In order to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed solution and comparative analysis, two 18~36 V input, 120 W/12 V output, synchronous rectification prototype with different power devices are built and compared in the lab. The experimental results show the GaN version can achieve the efficiency of 95.45%, which is around 1% higher than its counterpart under the whole load condition and the same power density of 2.2 W/cm3.

scholarly journals Physics-Based TCAD Simulation and Calibration of 600 V GaN/AlGaN/GaN Device Characteristics and Analysis of Interface Traps

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 751
Author(s):  
Yu-Lin Song ◽  
Manoj Kumar Reddy ◽  
Luh-Maan Chang ◽  
Gene Sheu
Keyword(s):  
Conduction Band ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
High Electron Mobility Transistor ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Device Structure ◽  
Gan Hemt ◽  
Fixed Charges ◽  
Vertical Electric Field ◽  
Aided Design

This study proposes an analysis of the physics-based TCAD (Technology Computer-Aided Design) simulation procedure for GaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) device structures grown on Si (111) substrate which is calibrated against measurement data. The presence of traps and activation energies in the device structure will impact the performance of a device, the source of traps and position of traps in the device remains as a complex exercise until today. The key parameters for the precise tuning of threshold voltage (Vth) in GaN transistors are the control of the positive fixed charges −5 × 1012 cm−2, donor-like traps −3 × 1013 cm−2 at the nitride/GaN interfaces, the energy of the donor-like traps 1.42 eV below the conduction band and the acceptor traps activation energy in the AlGaN layer and buffer regions with 0.59 eV below the conduction band. Hence in this paper, the sensitivity of the trap mechanisms in GaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMT transistors, understanding the absolute vertical electric field distribution, electron density and the physical characteristics of the device has been investigated and the results are in good agreement with GaN experimental data.

scholarly journals Investigation of the aging of power GaN HEMT under operational switching conditions, impact on the power converters efficiency

2019 ◽  
Vol 100-101 ◽  
pp. 113403
Author(s):  
A.M. Bouchour ◽  
A. El Oualkadi ◽  
P. Dherbécourt ◽  
O. Latry ◽  
A. Echeverri
Keyword(s):  
Power Converters ◽  
Gan Hemt

Analytical Study of ZnO-based HEMT for Power Switching

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawan Kumar ◽  
Sumit Chaudhary ◽  
Md Arif Khan ◽  
Sanjay Kumar ◽  
Shaibal Mukherjee
Keyword(s):  
Ion Beam ◽  
Drain Current ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
High Electron Mobility Transistor ◽  
Switching Frequency ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Ion Beam Sputtering ◽  
Power Switching ◽  
Group Iii

Abstract We investigate the power switching mechanism to evaluate the power loss ( P D ) and efficiency ( η ) in MgZnO/ZnO (MZO)-based power high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), and physical parameters responsible for P D in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and dual ion beam sputtering (DIBS) grown MZO HEMT and compare the performance with the group III-nitride HEMTs. This work extensively probes all physical parameters such as two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density, mobility, switching frequency, and device dimension to study their impact on power switching in MZO HEMT. Results suggest that the MBE and DIBS grown MZO HEMT with the gate width ( W G ) of ∼ 205 and ∼ 280 mm at drain current coefficient (k) of 11 and 15, respectively, will achieve 99.96 and 99.95% of η and 9.03 and 12.53 W of P D , respectively. Moreover, W G value for DIBS-grown MZO HEMT is observed to further reduce in the range of 112-168 mm by using a Y 2 O 3 spacer layer leading to the maximum η in the range of 99.98-99.97% and the minimum P D in the range of 5-7 W. This work is significant for the development of cost-effective HEMTs for power switching applications.

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