GALLIUM NITRIDE:

The Fundamental Building Block for Power Electronics

Gallium nitride (GaN) is creating an innovative shift throughout the power electronics world. For decades, silicon-based MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) have been an integral part of the everyday modern world that helps convert energy to power. However, we are reaching the theoretical limit on how much silicon MOSFETs can be improved, how power-efficient they can be. With increasing power density and efficiency requirements and environmental pollution regulations trends, silicon is failing to meet these modern demands.

Gallium nitride is on the rise to replace silicon as the backbone of power switching technology as it can meet the growing needs with better power systems efficiency, performance and system cost.

WHAT IS GALLIUM NITRIDE?

Gallium Nitride is a binary III/V direct bandgap semiconductor that is well-suited for high-power transistors capable of operating at high temperatures. Since the 1990s, it has been used commonly in light emitting diodes (LED). Gallium nitride gives off a blue light used for disc-reading in Blu-ray. Additionally, gallium nitride is used in semiconductor power devices, RF components, lasers, and photonics. In the future, we will see GaN in sensor technology.

In 2006, enhancement-mode GaN transistors, sometimes referred to as GaN FETs, started being manufactured by growing a thin layer of GaN on the AIN layer of a standard silicon wafer using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The AIN layer acts as a buffer between the substrate and GaN.
This new process enabled gallium nitride transistors to be producible in the same existing factories as silicon, using almost the same manufacturing processes. By using a known process, this allows for similar, low manufacturing costs and reduces the barrier to adoption for smaller transistors with much improved performance.

To further explain, all semiconductor materials have what is called a bandgap. This is an energy range in a solid where no electrons can exist. Simply put, a bandgap is related to how well a solid material can conduct electricity. Gallium nitride has a 3.4 eV bandgap, compared to silicon’s 1.12 eV bandgap. Gallium nitride’s wider band gap means it can sustain higher voltages and higher temperatures than silicon MOSFETs. This wide bandgap enables gallium nitride to be applied to optoelectronic high-power and high-frequency devices.

The ability to operate at much higher temperatures and voltages than gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistors also makes gallium nitride ideal power amplifiers for microwave and terahertz (ThZ) devices, such as imaging and sensing, the future market mentioned above

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THE MAJOR OF ADVANTAGES OF GAN:

Reduced Weight
Reduced Size
Reduced Costs
Increased Energy Efficiency

ADVANTAGES OF GALLIUM NITRIDE

The value proposition for GaN devices consists of four major points:

Reduced energy costs – Because GaN semiconductors are inherently more efficient than silicon, less energy is expended as heat, resulting in smaller system sizes and material costs.
Higher power density (smaller volume) – Higher switching frequencies and operational temperatures than silicon result in lower cooling requirements, smaller heat sinks, conversion from liquid-cooling to air cooling, eliminating fans and reduced magnetics.
Higher switching frequency – The higher switching frequencies for GaN devices allows smaller inductors and capacitors to be used in power circuits. The inductance and capacitance scale down in proportion to the frequency – a 10X increase in frequency produces a 10X decrease in the capacitance and inductance. This can result in an enormous decrease in weight and volume, as well as cost. In addition, higher frequency can result in less acoustic noise in motor drive applications. High frequency also enables wireless power transfer at higher powers, more spatial freedom and bigger transmit to receive airgaps.
Lower system cost – While GaN semiconductors are generally higher cost than silicon, system level cost reductions result through the use of GaN by reducing the size/costs of other components such as passive inductive and capacitive circuit elements, filters, cooling, etc. Savings range from 10-20%.

IN CONCLUSION

GaN semiconductors have the capability to operate at higher voltages, temperatures and switching frequencies with greater efficiencies compared to existing Si devices. These characteristics not only result in less losses but enables significantly reduced system volume, due to decreased cooling requirements and smaller passive components contributing to overall lower system costs,

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WHY CHOOSE GaN SYSTEMS

GaN Systems’ approach to a new generation of GaN power transistors is leading an industry-changing shift in both the short-term and ‘near future’ relationship between technology’s power systems and energy–creating significant product and system-wide changes.

TECHNOLOGY

Patented methods & designs for producing smaller, low cost die than the GaN competition

PRODUCT

Broadest product line, highest currents, robust design.

SUPPLY CHAIN

World-class manufacturing, packaging, and global distribution through billion dollar high-capacity partners

CUSTOMERS

Leading brands in power-reliant industries

GALLIUM NITRIDE:

WHAT IS GALLIUM NITRIDE?

THE MAJOR OF ADVANTAGES OF GAN:

Reduced Weight

Reduced Size

Reduced Costs

Increased Energy Efficiency

ADVANTAGES OF GALLIUM NITRIDE

IN CONCLUSION

WHY CHOOSE GaN SYSTEMS

TECHNOLOGY

PRODUCT

SUPPLY CHAIN

CUSTOMERS

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