Investigation of 600 V GaN HEMTs for high efficiency and high temperature applications

This paper investigates the fast switching characteristics and high temperature performance of the emerging 600 V GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) for high efficiency / high temperature applications. First, the inherent switching performance of the GaN HEMT is demonstrated in the double pulse test. The GaN HEMT exhibits superior switching capability, with a di/dt reaching 9.6 A/ns and dv/dt reaching 140 V/ns. Then, the limitations of the fast switching capability by the device packaging and application circuit are analyzed. The interference between the current and gate through common source inductance limits the inherent switching speed. Packaging and circuit layout with small parasitics is critical in achieving fast switching. Finally, the high temperature static and switching characteristics up to 200 °C are also tested and given. The switching performance of the device is temperature insensitive.