United States

The same core device model is shown to accurately reproduce the current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics of enhancement-mode GaN 100 V power transistors of various sizes. Using linear scaling, excellent agreement with measurements is achieved over an order of magnitude variation in total gate width. Fractional variation in onresistance is shown to decrease with increasing transistor size, with implications for integrated circuit-sized transistors where gate width decreases by up to 5 orders of magnitude.

IEEE WiPDA 2022

Scaling of EPC’s 100 V Enhancement-Mode Power Transistors

device modeling

e-mode

variation

scaling

hemt

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 The IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices & Applications (WiPDA) provides a forum for device scientists, circuit designers, & application engineers from the Power Electronics & Electron Devices Societies to share technology updates, research findings, experience & potential applications.
 
 **Topics of interest**
* Heteroepitaxial & Bulk Materials Growth
* Gate Dielectrics & Surface Passivation
* Device Structures & Fabrication Techniques
* Device Characterization & Modeling
* Very-High Efficiency Or Compact Converters
* Safe Operating Areas Of Wide Bandgap Devices, including Short Circuit, Spike, &Transient Tolerance
* Harsh Environment (High Temperature) Operation & Reliability
* Packaging Power Modules & ICs
* Gate Drive & Other Auxiliary Circuits
* High-Performance Passive Components
* Hard-Switched & Soft-Switched Application Analysis
* Applications in Renewable Energy & Energy Storage, Transportation, Industrial Drives, Grid Power Systems, Space and Aerospace
* Wide Bandgap System Design Philosophies & Strategies
* Radio Frequency (RF) GaN
* Technology Roadmap of Wide Bandgap Including Devices, Applications and Packaging

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The IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices & Applications (WiPDA) provides a forum for device scientists, circuit designers, & application engineers from the Power Electronics & Electron Devices Societies to share technology updates, research findings, experience & potential applications.

technical paper

In this paper, we discuss how advancements in the integration of gallium nitride (GaN) power ICs leads to faster switching, higher efficiencies, simplifier designs and improved reliability. Navitas’ integrated GaNSense™ technology features provide real-time sensing and protection to achieve these new levels.

Advancement in Integration for GaN Power ICs

In this study, the impact and correlation of drainand gate-voltage stress on the threshold voltage of commercially available p-gate GaN HEMTs are investigated. This is based on single-pulse measurements acquired with a custom pulse setup, thus the transient behavior can be determined and subsequently translated into dc characteristics. As a novelty, measurements of the threshold voltage for short-circuit stress of up to 600 V are shown. As a result, a constant threshold voltage shift is observed for on-state drain-voltage stress, while off-state drain-voltage and gate-voltage stress lead to a threshold voltage instability. Finally, drain stress and gate stress appears to superimpose, consequently already application-relevant gate-driving conditions show a drastic impact of the short-circuit capability.

Threshold Voltage Behavior and Short-Circuit Capability of p-Gate GaN HEMTs Depending on Drain- and Gate-Voltage Stress

To reduce global warming / human health impacts, governments around the globe have been committed to reduce greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions.  To achieve these goals, vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs) are being replaced at very fast pace by vehicles with electrified power trains, (e.g., battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), etc.) To offer electrified functions, many power-electronic (PE) modules are incorporated on these vehicles (e.g., traction inverters, DC/DC converters, on-board / off-board chargers, etc.)  In these PE modules, WBG devices have shown promising potentials replacing Si ones to achieve better performance, smaller footprints, lighter weights, etc.  However, from many view angles, many WBG products are working under higher stresses than the Si ones to deliver better performance, leading to concerns of lower long-term reliability / higher parameter drifts.  To convince automotive manufacturers / suppliers, WBG vendors should disclose the raw-wafer / epi-layer defect info (e.g., densities, failure mechanisms, long-term aging effects, etc.), quality assurance processes and qualification results, EOL screening processes and pass/fail criteria, production yields, test-to-failure data (e.g., Weibull charts, bath-tub curves), and actual field return results.  For comparison, Si experience will be shared in this presentation.

Reliable wide-bandgap (WBG) products for safety-critical automotive applications – what are expected

GaN power devices have been in mass production for over 12 years [1] and have arguably crossed over the tipping point in adoption with such end-uses as cell phone fast chargers, DC-DC converters for servers, motor drives for electric bicycles and scooters, class-D audio amplifiers, and lidar sensors for autonomous vehicles and robots.  Some of these applications first started using discrete GaN transistors and later converted to GaN integrated circuits.  Others have stayed with discrete devices.  This paper will discuss the reasons for different adoption rates in different applications and will speculate on the changes that will occur due to new GaN transistor performance and new capabilities in integrating functions in GaN.

What is the Right Level of Integration for GaN Power Devices?

Our world’s sustainable future is linked to energy efficiency and GaN’s innovative technology. The world is witnessing a data explosion. The demand for a cleaner and healthier global environment clearly shows that sustainability must be more than a footnote in a company’s annual report. Yet, the energy-driven world is leading to historically high-power consumption due partly to our increased dependence on power-reliant industries, including data centers, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and consumer electronics. Technology helped create this problem. Now, it’s time for technology – specifically ‘GaN-Powered’ technology – to help solve this problem. From the humble chargers to the all-important EV powertrain, GaN power systems are solving today’s technical, economic, and environmental challenges. During this session, Jim Witham, CEO of GaN Systems, will discuss how GaN plays a crucial role in changing our relationship with power by enabling the creation of new sustainability solutions.

Designing with GaN to Solve Today’s Global Power Challenges

Wide bandgap semiconductors are expanding rapidly into legacy silicon applications, with a combined market opportunity over $22B by 2026. The voltage and power range where silicon MOSFETs are the preferred solution is now limited to less than 100V and less than 1kW, and even that range is shrinking. GaN is now preferred from 100V to 750V ratings and up to 20kW due to its extremely low losses, reduced chip sizes, and integrated solutions driving low system costs. SiC is a clear winner in high-efficiency and high-density applications for 800V and higher power rails, with power FETs and diodes ranging from 650V to 6,500V.  Switching frequencies are increasing in new topologies with GaN power ICs in applications such as data-center PFC and DC-DC stages, solar micro-inverters, and home appliance motor drives, with SiC FETS in advanced BLDC industrial motor drives and solar string-inverters. GaN device and application examples include new GaNSense half-bridge power ICs with loss-less current sensing and high-speed over-current protection enabling an advanced 140 W USB PD 3.1 fast-charger design, and a ‘Titanium Plus’ 2.7 kW CRPS AC-DC. Navitas‘ GeneSiC FETs enable high-frequency totem-pole PFC and motor drive while lowering energy loss compared to both silicon IGBTs and other SiC MOSFETs. Both technologies deliver cutting-edge performance in support of the mission to “Electrify Our World™” and reduce CO2 emissions.​

High-speed GaN and SiC: $22B of pure-play power semiconductors

The GaN devices market growth is expected to be in excess of 60% following the demand of energy efficient and high power density system solutions. Several players have already adopted GaN in the consumer electronics market and there is a significant demand for GaN in the higher power segments, including data centres and solar inverters. This talk will go through the most recent GaN and power devices market variations and it will then focus on the reasons why the lateral technology will succeed in both low and high power markets. Examples of current solutions and their applications will be given.

GaN lateral devices: technology advantages and key application benefits

Radio frequency (RF) engineers and power (Power)  electronics engineers are increasingly using gallium nitride (GaN) in their products replacing Si technology.  While there are differences in RF and power GaN technology, such as substrate, GaN epi thickness, etc., the core properties of GaN, that leads to advantages over Si are the same, such as higher breakdown voltage, high electron mobility in 2DEG compared to Si MOSFET. In a typical company, RF and power electronics engineers operate in separate silos, rarely interact with each other except to discuss power supply specs and are literally decoupled by bypass capacitors or capacitor banks.   At Tagore Technology, we have brought together RF and Power engineers under the same roof with the common thread being GaN. Our goal is to explore co-design of GaN power supply and GaN power amplifiers to create a compact solution at the PCB/Module level now and possibly on the same wafer in future. This talk will highlight one such application where pulsed radar power amplifiers are supplied by a high frequency GaN converter leading to 20x reduction in capacitor bank size without impacting noise properties of the RF signal. The challenges of co-design such as mixing of power supply switching noise as a phase noise of the RF signal as well as thermal management challenges will be highlighted.

Bringing RF & Power closer through GaN Technology

The first GaN power devices has been commercialized over a decade ago. These devices have been demonstrated in multiple end applications including chargers for cell phones, motor drives, DC/DC converters for servers or class-D audio amplifiers. GaN devices delivers clear benefits in system performance or cost in those end applications, but true commercial success has been mostly limited to chargers for cell phone or other portable devices. This limited commercial success so far is at least partly due to a restricted supply of GaN device production at a competitive cost point. The various fabless startups are facing the issue of high GaN wafer price at foundries (6-inch today) and limited value adder of discrete device design. More functionality integration on GaN die aims to increase their value adder of these products vs. discrete devices with mixed results and market adoption success. This presentation will argue that true integrated device manufacturer with high volume 8-inch internal manufacturing, fully focused on GaN is the game changer required to bring GaN power devices out of peripheral applications and into mainstream high-volume end-products, including mobile phones. In such ecosystem, roadmap based on discrete devices from 650V down to 30V and system-in-package integration is highly attractive for foreseeable future. This talk will give examples of latest device innovation including 40V bi-directional GaN switch reducing on-state resistance by 50%, chip size by 70% and temperature rise by 40%. First ever GaN product designed directly into mobile phone handset.

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Advancement in Integration for GaN Power ICs

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