GaN Power Devices for Efficient Power Conversion

Alex Lidow is the CEO and Co-founder of Efficient Power Conversion. Michael de Rooij is Vice President of Applications Engineering at Efficient Power Conversion. John Glaser is Director of Applications at Efficient Power Conversion. Alejandro Pozo is a Senior Applications Engineer at Efficient Power Conversion. Shengke Zhang is Vice President of Product Reliability at Efficient Power Conversion. Marco Palma is a Senior FAE Manager based in Europe. David Reusch is a Systems Engineer, Kilby Labs, Texas Instruments, USA. Johan Strydom is Advanced Development Manager, Kilby Labs, Texas Instruments, USA.

• Foreword xiAcknowledgments xiii1 GaN Technology Overview 11.1 Silicon Power MOSFETs: 1976–2010 11.2 The GaN Journey Begins 21.3 GaN and SiC Compared with Silicon 21.4 The Basic GaN Transistor Structure 61.5 Building a GaN HEMT Transistor 111.6 GaN Integrated Circuits 151.7 Summary 21References 222 GaN Transistor Electrical Characteristics 252.1 Introduction 252.2 Device Ratings 252.3 Gate Voltage 302.4 On-Resistance (R DS(on)) 312.5 Threshold Voltage 342.6 Capacitance and Charge 352.7 Reverse Conduction 382.8 Thermal Characteristics 402.9 Summary 42References 423 Driving GaN Transistors 453.1 Introduction 453.2 Gate Drive Voltage 473.3 Gate Drive Resistance 483.4 dv/dt Considerations 503.5 di/dt Considerations 533.6 Bootstrapping and Floating Supplies 563.7 Transient Immunity 593.8 Gate Drivers and Controllers for Enhancement-Mode GaN Transistors 613.9 Cascode, Direct Drive, and Higher-Voltage Configurations 613.10 Using GaN Transistors with Drivers or Controllers Designed for Si MOSFETs 673.11 Driving GaN ICs 683.12 Summary 69References 704 Layout Considerations for GaN Transistor Circuits 754.1 Introduction 754.2 Origin of Parasitic Inductance 764.3 Minimizing Common-Source Inductance 774.4 Minimizing Power-Loop Inductance in a Half-Bridge Configuration 794.5 Paralleling GaN Transistors 854.6 Summary 93References 935 GaN Reliability 955.1 Introduction 955.2 Getting Started with GaN Reliability 955.3 Determining Wear-Out Mechanisms Using Test-to-Fail Methodology 955.4 Using Test-to-Fail Results to Predict Device Lifetime in a System 985.5 Wear-Out Mechanisms 995.6 Mission-Specific Reliability Predictions 1335.7 Summary 150References 1506 Thermal Management of GaN Devices 1556.1 Introduction 1556.2 Thermal Equivalent Circuits 1556.3 Cooling Methods 1606.4 System-Level Thermal Overview: Single FET 1636.5 System-Level Thermal Analysis: Multiple FETs 1766.6 Experimental Thermal Examples 1826.7 Summary 191References 1917 Hard-Switching Topologies 1957.1 Introduction 1957.2 Hard-Switching Loss Analysis 1967.3 External Factors Impacting Hard-Switching Losses 2177.4 Frequency Impact on Magnetics 2237.5 Buck Converter Example 2247.6 Summary 245References 2458 Resonant and Soft-Switching Converters 2498.1 Introduction 2498.2 Resonant and Soft-Switching Techniques 2498.3 Key Device Parameters for Resonant and Soft-Switching Applications 2548.4 High-Frequency Resonant Bus Converter Example 2618.5 Summary 269References 2719 RF Performance 2739.1 Introduction 2739.2 Differences Between RF and Switching Transistors 2759.3 RF Basics 2769.4 RF Transistor Metrics 2779.5 Amplifier Design Using Small-Signal s-Parameters 2849.6 Amplifier Design Example 2859.7 Summary 292References 29210 DC–DC Power Conversion 29510.1 Introduction 29510.2 DC–DC Converter Examples 29510.3 Summary 317References 31811 Multilevel Converters 32111.1 Introduction 32111.2 Benefits of Multilevel Converters 32111.3 Experimental Examples 33811.4 Summary 348References 34812 Class D Audio Amplifiers 35112.1 Introduction 35112.2 GaN Transistor Class D Audio Amplifier Example 35512.3 Summary 364References 36413 High Current Nanosecond Laser Drivers for Lidar 36713.1 Introduction to Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) 36713.2 Pulsed Laser Driver Overview 36813.3 Basic Design Process 37813.4 Hardware Driver Design 38413.5 Experimental Results 38813.6 Additional Considerations for Laser Transmitter Design 39413.7 Summary 399References 39914 Motor Drives 40314.1 Introduction 40314.2 Motor Types 40314.3 Inverter 40314.4 Typical Applications 40414.5 Voltage Source Inverters and Motor Control Basics 40414.6 Field-Oriented Control Basics 40814.7 Current Measurement Techniques 41014.8 Power Dissipation in Motor and Inverter 41114.9 Silicon Inverter Limitations 41214.10 LC Filter Dissipation 41214.11 Torque Sixth Harmonic Dissipation 41314.12 GaN Advantage 41314.13 GaN Switching Behavior 41314.14 Dead Time Elimination Effect 41414.15 PWM Frequency Increase Effect 41514.16 Layout Considerations for Motor Drives 42014.17 GaN Devices for Motor Applications 42114.18 Application Examples 42114.19 Summary 430References 43015 GaN Transistors and Integrated Circuits for Space Applications 43315.1 Introduction 43315.2 Failure Mechanisms in Electronic Components Used in Space Applications 43315.3 Standards for Radiation Exposure and Tolerance 43415.4 Gamma Radiation 43415.5 Neutron Radiation (Displacement Damage) 43715.6 Single-Event Effects (SEE) Testing 43815.7 Performance Comparison Between GaN Transistors and Rad-Hard Si MOSFETs 44015.8 GaN Integrated Circuits 44115.9 Summary 445References 44516 Replacing Silicon Power MOSFETs 44916.1 Introduction: GaN, Rapid Growth/Great Future 44916.2 New Capabilities Enabled by GaN Devices 44916.3 GaN Devices Are Easy to Use 45316.4 GaN Cost Reduction over Time 45416.5 GaN Devices Are Reliable 45416.6 Future Direction of GaN Devices 45516.7 Summary 456References 456Appendix Glossary of Terms 459Index 477