Operation of a New Half-Bridge Gate Driver for Enhancement-Mode GaN FETs, Type LM5113, Over a Wide Temperature Range

by Richard Patterson, NASA Glenn Research Center, Ahmad Hammoud, ASRC Corporation/NASA GRC, Organizational website, Dec 01 2011

Focus:
The LM5113 half-bridge gate driver was designed to drive enhancement-mode GaN FETs such as those produced by Efficient Power Conversion. The LM5113 is rated for operation over a -40°C to +125°C junction temperature range. But as there is interest in applying GaN FETs in space applications, it is desirable to know how this gate driver would perform over an extended temperature range. This article presents the results of a preliminary study of the LM5113’s operation over the -194°C to +150°C range. The following parameters were evaluated at various test temperatures: waveshape and magnitude of the low-side and high-side driver outputs, turn-on propagation delays and rise and fall times of the driver outputs, supply current, and restart capability. The effect of limited thermal cycling on these parameters was also studied. Although the gate driver IC performed well in these experiments, the authors indicated that more extensive studies are required to evaluate the suitability of the LM5113 for space applications.

What you’ll learn:

• How to assess the suitability of the LM5113 gate driver for operation in extreme temperature environments

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