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GaN Based Power Technology Stimulates Revolution in Conversion Electronics

by Tim McDonald, Vice President, Emerging Technologies Group, International Rectifier, El Segundo, Calif., Bodo's Power Systems, Apr 01 2009

Focus:
International Rectifier has stated that its gallium nitride GaN) power device technology(GaNpowIR), announced in late 2008, will produce power MOSFETs with figures-of-merit (FOMs) that are an order of magnitude or more better than existing silicon MOSFETs. This article discusses the underlying technology that should enable IR to bring these devices to market (GaN based power stages are expected in late 2009). The article gives a brief overview of how subtrate issues were overcome by depositing GaN on 6-in. silicon wafers and how wafer manufacturing costs were addressed with a process that runs on a standard CMOS line. Also presented in this article: the basic structure of a Ga-based HEMT device structure; benefits of GaN on silicon versus silicon and silicon carbide (SiC) in terms of specific on-resistance FOM; a 5-year roadmap projecting the improvements in RDSON x QG FOM for IR's 30-V GaN devices; and a5-year roadmap forecasting the impact of those device improvements on a VRM-type buck converter. Another roadmap projects GaN improvements in RDSON for 200-V devices. Performance of a GaN-based 5-MHz dc-dc converter module is discussed. Reverse recovery data for 600-V GaN rectifiers is presented.

What you’ll learn:

How to understand underlying technology behind International Rectifier's gallium nitride (GaN) MOSFETs and rectifiers
How to understand the projected performance advantages and impact on dc-dc converter applications of the emerging GaN MOSFETs

Notes:
Article appears on page 22-25 of April issue in article archive. You must register to access articles in this magazine's archive. For those interested in the evolution of silicon power MOSFETs, the graph in Figure 1 plots the reduction MOSFET FOM over 30 years.

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