Surge-Energy and Overvoltage Ruggedness of P-Gate GaN HEMTs

Zhang, Ruizhe; Kozak, Joseph P.; Xiao, Ming; Liu, Jingcun; Zhang, Yuhao

doi:10.1109/tpel.2020.2993982

Surge-Energy and Overvoltage Ruggedness of P-Gate GaN HEMTs

Journal Article · Mon May 11 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/tpel.2020.2993982· OSTI ID:2346016

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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)

An essential ruggedness of power devices is the capability of safely withstanding the surge energy. The surge ruggedness of the GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT), a power transistor with no or minimal avalanche capability, has not been fully understood. This article unveils the comprehensive physics associated with the surge-energy withstand process and the failure mechanisms of p-gate GaN HEMTs. Two commercial p-gate GaN HEMTs with Ohmic- and Schottky-type gate contacts are studied. Two circuits are developed to study the device surge ruggedness: an unclamped inductive switching circuit is first used to identify the withstand dynamics and failure mechanisms, and a clamped inductive switching circuit with a controllable parasitic inductance is then designed to mimic the surge energy in converter-like switching events. The p-gate GaN HEMT is found to withstand the surge energy through a resonant energy transfer between the device capacitance and the load/parasitic inductance rather than a resistive energy dissipation as occurred in the avalanche. If the device resonant voltage goes below zero, the device reversely turns on and the inductor is discharged. The device failure occurs at the transient of peak resonant voltage and is limited by the device overvoltage capability rather than the surge energy, dV/dt , or overvoltage duration. Almost no energy is dissipated in the resonant withstand process and the device failure is dominated by an electric field rather than a thermal runaway. Furthermore, these results provide critical understandings on the ruggedness of GaN HEMTs and important references for their qualifications and applications.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0007305

OSTI ID:: 2346016

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2441227

Journal Information:: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 35; ISSN 0885-8993

Publisher:: IEEECopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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