Dynamic on-State Resistance Test and Evaluation of GaN Power Devices Under Hard- and Soft-Switching Conditions by Double and Multiple Pulses

The dynamic <sc>on</sc>-state resistance (<italic>R</italic><sub>DSON</sub>) behavior of commercial GaN devices is very important for a GaN-based converter. Since the zero-voltage switching techniques are popular in high-frequency power conversion, a dynamic <italic>R</italic><sub>DSON</sub> test board integrating both hard- and soft-switching test circuits is built in this study. Two types of commercial GaN devices are tested and compared under hard- and soft-switching conditions by double-pulse and multipulse test modes, respectively. It has been found that their dynamic <italic>R</italic><sub>DSON</sub> exhibit different behaviors depending on the <sc>off</sc>-state voltage and frequency under hard- and soft-switching conditions due to different device technologies, which should be taken fully into account for GaN-based converter design and loss estimation. In order to simulate the <italic>R</italic><sub>DSON</sub> behavior in a steady-state operating converter, a multipulse measurement has been implemented, the results of which are compared with that of double-pulse test. Furthermore, the primary trapping mechanisms responsible for dynamic <italic>R</italic><sub>DSON</sub> increase under different switching conditions are identified and verified by the numerical device simulation using Silvaco TCAD tool.

[1]  Joseph Brandon Witcher,et al.  Methodology for Switching Characterization of Power Devices and Modules , 2003 .

[2]  U. Chung,et al.  Impact of Channel Hot Electrons on Current Collapse in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs , 2013, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[3]  F. Lee,et al.  Characterization and Enhancement of High-Voltage Cascode GaN Devices , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[4]  B. Li,et al.  Evaluation and applications of 600V/650V enhancement-mode GaN devices , 2015, 2015 IEEE 3rd Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA).

[5]  F. Wang,et al.  Review of Commercial GaN Power Devices and GaN-Based Converter Design Challenges , 2016, IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics.

[6]  S. Dieckerhoff,et al.  A new Method for Dynamic Ron Extraction of GaN Power HEMTs , 2015 .

[7]  J. Wurfl,et al.  Experimental analysis and modeling of GaN normally-off HFETs with trapping effects , 2015, 2015 17th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications (EPE'15 ECCE-Europe).

[8]  Andrew J. Forsyth,et al.  Impact of GaN HEMT dynamic on-state resistance on converter performance , 2017, 2017 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC).

[9]  J. Wurfl,et al.  Impact of buffer composition on the dynamic on-state resistance of high-voltage AlGaN/GaN HFETs , 2012, 2012 24th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs.

[10]  Rajapandian Ayyanar,et al.  A Multifunctional Double Pulse Tester for Cascode GaN Devices , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[11]  Hee-Jun Kim,et al.  A New Measurement Circuit to Evaluate Current Collapse Effect of GaN HEMTs Under Practical Conditions , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[12]  Kenichiro Tanaka,et al.  Current-collapse-free operations up to 850 V by GaN-GIT utilizing hole injection from drain , 2015, 2015 IEEE 27th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices & IC's (ISPSD).

[13]  Hidetoshi Ishida,et al.  Suppression of current collapse by hole injection from drain in a normally-off GaN-based hybrid-drain-embedded gate injection transistor , 2015 .

[14]  Yilong Hao,et al.  Investigation of Surface- and Buffer-Induced Current Collapse in GaN High-Electron Mobility Transistors Using a Soft Switched Pulsed \(I-V\) Measurement , 2014, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[15]  S. Krishnan,et al.  Current collapse in GaN heterojunction field effect transistors for high-voltage switching applications , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[16]  U. Mishra,et al.  The impact of surface states on the DC and RF characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HFETs , 2001 .

[17]  Eldad Bahat Treidel,et al.  Investigation of the Dynamic On-State Resistance of 600 V Normally-Off and Normally-On GaN HEMTs , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications.

[18]  C. Florian,et al.  Dynamic RON Characterization Technique for the Evaluation of Thermal and Off-State Voltage Stress of GaN Switches , 2018, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[19]  G. Xie,et al.  Dynamic on-state resistance evaluation of GaN devices under hard and soft switching conditions , 2018, 2018 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC).

[20]  M. Meneghini,et al.  Impact of hot electrons on the reliability of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS).

[21]  Leon M. Tolbert,et al.  Methodology for Wide Band-Gap Device Dynamic Characterization , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[22]  B. Lu,et al.  Extraction of Dynamic On-Resistance in GaN Transistors: Under Soft- and Hard-Switching Conditions , 2011, 2011 IEEE Compound Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Symposium (CSICS).

[23]  Kevin J. Chen,et al.  Maximizing the Performance of 650-V p-GaN Gate HEMTs: Dynamic RON Characterization and Circuit Design Considerations , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[24]  J. D. del Alamo,et al.  Field-effect transistors , 1966 .

[25]  Ke Li,et al.  Characterisation and Modeling of Gallium Nitride Power Semiconductor Devices Dynamic On-State Resistance , 2018, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.