Title :
Characterization and Enhancement of High-Voltage Cascode GaN Devices
Author :
Xiucheng Huang ; Zhengyang Liu ; Lee, Fred C. ; Qiang Li
Author_Institution :
Bradley Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Virginia Polytech. Inst. & State Univ., Blacksburg, VA, USA
Abstract :
Gallium nitride (GaN) devices are gathering momentum, with a number of recent market introductions for a wide range of applications such as point-of-load converters, OFF-line switching power supplies, battery chargers, and motor drives. This paper studies the basic characteristics of a 600 V cascode GaN switch, such as voltage distribution during the turn-ON and turn-OFF transition. The switching loss mechanism of the cascode GaN switch is analyzed in detail, including the impact of the package parasitic inductance in both hard- and soft-switching modes. A soft-switching 5 MHz boost converter is developed and shows the advantages and the potential of the cascode GaN.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; gallium compounds; power semiconductor switches; wide band gap semiconductors; zero current switching; zero voltage switching; GaN; battery chargers; boost converter; cascode GaN switch; frequency 5 MHz; gallium nitride devices; hard switching modes; high voltage cascode GaN devices; motor drives; off-line switching power supplies; package parasitic inductance; point-of-load converters; soft switching modes; voltage 600 V; voltage distribution; Capacitors; Gallium nitride; MOSFET; Silicon; Switches; Switching loss; Zero voltage switching; Avalanche; cascode; gallium nitride (GaN); high frequency; packaging; soft-switching; voltage distribution;
Journal_Title :
Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TED.2014.2358534
