0000000000043029
AUTHOR
Pedro J. Martinez
Impact of Gamma Radiation on Dynamic RDSON Characteristics in AlGaN/GaN Power HEMTs
GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are promising next-generation devices in the power electronics field which can coexist with silicon semiconductors, mainly in some radiation-intensive environments, such as power space converters, where high frequencies and voltages are also needed. Its wide band gap (WBG), large breakdown electric field, and thermal stability improve actual silicon performances. However, at the moment, GaN HEMT technology suffers from some reliability issues, one of the more relevant of which is the dynamic on-state resistance (R) regarding power switching converter applications. In this study, we focused on the drain-to-source on-resistance (R) characteristic…
Failure analysis of normally-off GaN HEMTs under avalanche conditions
Gallium nitride (GaN) high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are promising devices in the power electronics field owing to their wide bandgap (WBG). However, all the potential advantages provided by their WBG require reliability improvement. In industrial applications, robustness is one of the main factors considered by circuit designers. This study focuses on the observation of the degradation behavior of the main waveforms of unclamped inductive-switching (UIS) test circuits of two different commercial GaN HEMT structures. The relevance of this study lies in the potential applications of these devices to high-voltage applications and automotive systems where they are subjected to many…
Dynamic $\mathrm{R}_{\mathrm{ON}}$ evaluation of commercial GaN HEMT under different switching and radiation conditions
This paper focus on the study of dynamic resistance $(\mathrm{R}_{\mathrm{dyn}})$ over commercial Gallium Nitride High Electromobility Transistors (GaN HEMTs) devices. The first part shows a study of the main mechanism causing $\mathrm{R}_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ , showing that depending on the structure, stress time, voltage applied and switching conditions, the $\mathrm{R}_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ can suffer a relevant increase. Also, it is demonstrated how the use of soft-switching conditions can alleviate trapping effects. Finally, due to the interest over these devices for future space applications, the effects of gamma radiation over the $\mathrm{R}_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ has been studied.
Unstable behaviour of normally-off GaN E-HEMT under short-circuit
The short-circuit capability of power switching devices plays an important role in fault detection and the protection of power circuits. In this work, an experimental study on the short-circuit (SC) capability of commercial 600 V Gallium Nitride enhancement-mode high-electron-mobility transistors (E-HEMT) is presented. A different failure mechanism has been identified for commercial p-doped GaN gate (p-GaN) HEMT and metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) HEMT. In addition to the well known thermal breakdown, a premature breakdown is shown on both GaN HEMTs, triggered by hot electron trapping at the surface, which demonstrates that current commercial GaN HEMTs has requirements for improving the…
Design of Zero-Ripple-Current Coupled Inductors With PWM Signals in Continuous Conduction Mode
Coupled inductors are widely used in multiple outputs and interleaved dc–dc converters. Also filters often use coupled inductors as their inductive part. A generalized design procedure is proposed in this article focused on current ripple minimization and applicable to coupled inductors exposed to pulsewidth modulation signals and in continuous conduction mode. The design provides a very large inductance for all windings but one. Compared to other designs, it adapts to the existing magnetic properties of the magnetic device changing only the inductance ratio, simplifying the design and manufacturing process. It is based on the equivalent inductance value and its divergences. The only assump…
A Test Circuit for GaN HEMTs Dynamic Ron Characterization in Power Electronics Applications
Wide bandgap devices such as GaN HEMTs are a promising technology in the field of Power Electronics. Due to the physical properties of the Gallium nitride and the device design, they can outperform their Silicon counterparts for the design of highly efficient power switching converters. However, its design should face certain effects that can diminish its performance. One of such effect is the degradation mechanism known as dynamic onresistance (dynamic RON,), being its mitigation one of the main objectives in the design of the device. In this paper, a circuit is proposed for assessing if this effect is present in GaN transistors in power electronics applications. The circuit allows testing…
Zero Ripple Current with Coupled Inductors in Continuous Conduction Mode under PWM Signals
This article presents a generalized analysis to explain current ripple of an $m$ windings coupled inductor with a given coupling factor $k_{ij}$ for each pair of windings and then studies more in detail its use in the continuous conduction mode and with pulsewidth modulated signals. To determine the current ripple, a generalized expression of the equivalent inductance of each winding is calculated, including the influence of voltage unbalance. In the ideal case, the equivalent inductance shows that the current ripple can only become $m$ times smaller than that with uncoupled inductors. But in the unbalanced case, some divergences of the equivalent inductance appear that are responsible for …
Multi-pulse characterization of trapping/detrapping mechanisms in AlGaN/GaN high electromobility transistors
GaN high-electro mobility transistors (HEMTs) are among the most promising candidates for use in high-power, high-frequency, and high-temperature electronics owing to their high electrical breakdown threshold and their high saturation electron velocity. The applications of these AlGaN/GaN HEMTs in power converters are limited by the surface trapping effects of drain-current collapse. Charge-trapping mechanisms affect the dynamic performance of all GaN HEMTs used in power switching applications. This study analyzes the dynamic resistance of GaN HEMTs and finds that the effects of dynamic resistance can be suppressed by controlling switching conditions and on-off cycles.