Advantages Of GaN FETs Versus "Best Of Breed" Silicon MOSFETs

by Anthony Esposito, Avatar Engineering, Fountain Hills, Ariz., How2Power Today, Jul 15 2015

Focus:
In this article, the author scrutinizes claims made about GaN power transistors from his perspective as a power system designer and development consultant for a large semiconductor corporation. He reviews some basic facts and claims about the enhancement-mode GaN transistors available up to about 200 V and the depletion-mode devices (used in cascodes with silicon MOSFETs), which are available for higher voltages. He then compares the losses produced by a depletion-mode GaN transistor with two similarly rated, CoolMOS superjunction silicon MOSFETs. First, the performance of the three transistors is simulated over a wide range of switching frequencies, and then the results are verified with physical testing of the devices in a boost circuit. The author comments on the results and draws conclusions about where the GaN parts are best applied. This article is written in an entertaining but eclectic style of a Q&A between the author and his alter ego. Read the bio at the end--it's also interesting.

What you’ll learn:

• How to evaluate the claims made about GaN power transistors
• How to understand the performance benefits of higher voltage GaN power transistors versus superjunction silicon MOSFETs

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