Integrated Gate Drivers Based on High-Voltage Energy Storing for GaN Transistors.

authored by

Achim Seidel, Bernhard Wicht

Abstract

This paper presents a fully integrated gate driver in a 180-nm bipolar CMOS DMOS (BCD) technology with 1.5-A max. gate current, suitable for normally OFF gallium nitride (GaN) power switches, including gate-injection transistors (GIT). Full-bridge driver architecture provides a bipolar and three-level gate drive voltage for a robust and efficient GaN switching. The concept of high-voltage energy storing (HVES), which comprises an on-chip resonant LC tank, enables a very area-efficient buffer capacitor integration and superior gate-driving speed. It reduces the component count and the influence of parasitic gate-loop inductance. Theory and calculations confirm the benefits of HVES compared to other capacitor implementation methods. The proposed gate driver delivers a gate charge of up to 11.6 nC, sufficient to drive most types of currently available GaN power transistors. Consequently, HVES enables to utilize the fast switching capabilities of GaN for advanced and compact power electronics.

Organisation(s)

Mixed-Signal Circuits Section

Type

Article

Journal

IEEE J. Solid State Circuits

Volume

53

Pages

3446-3454

No. of pages

9

Publication date

2018

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1109/jssc.2018.2866948 (Access: Closed)