GaN Systems Surpasses Industry’s Toughest Reliability Requirements

Whitepaper outlines approach for rigorous lifetime and reliability testing processes and results which prove GaN Systems’ devices are reliable

OTTAWA, Ontario, September 16, 2020 – Are GaN (gallium nitride) power transistors proven and reliable? GaN Systems, the global leader in GaN power semiconductors, today released its whitepaper showing that GaN is reliable, with GaN Systems devices surpassing the criteria of both JEDEC and AEC-Q101 test specifications. The whitepaper, “Qualification and Reliability of GaN Power Semiconductors: A Collaborative Approach with Partners and Customers,” provides an overview of an enhanced qualification strategy and processes that GaN Systems and its customers developed. Results based on the application of these new test methods on GaN Systems devices are also demonstrated in the paper.

Current qualification guidelines and standards for GaN power transistors are applied with silicon transistors as the foundation, which already have several decades of use and reliability data behind it. GaN and other wideband gap transistors are different in material and construction. Hence, qualification requires a closer look at how and which testing guidelines apply. Renewed reliability testing methods are especially important as the mission profiles that model electronic system lifetimes are ever changing.

GaN Systems and its partners from the global automotive, industrial, and HiRel industries have taken the lifetime and reliability challenge on to create an approach that draws considerations from JEDEC and AEC-Q and an understanding of industry challenges in qualification testing. The GaN Systems’ whitepaper reviews this, and outlines:

• The collaborative approach strategy which looks at device failure modes, transistor test design, and manufacturing process feedback.
• Enhanced product qualification processes using JEDEC and AEC-Q101 tests as a baseline and additional test methods to account for differences between silicon and GaN, and test results of GaN Systems’ devices.
• Definition of lifetime models by determining failure mechanisms and applying a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), builds parts, and Test-to-Failure processes. Test results of GaN Systems’ devices are also shown.

“The assumption that GaN is unproven or unreliable is no longer in question. In the last few years, we’ve seen global companies continue to use and introduce innovative products and systems using GaN Systems power semiconductors as the basis for design,” said Jim Witham, CEO at GaN Systems. “It is clear that the work we have done with our customers to create an enhanced reliability test set ensures that GaN Systems’ devices demonstrate industry leading performance and lifetime in the most challenging environments.”

Download the whitepaper here. For additional information on test details and processes, contact GaN Systems.

 

About GaN Systems
GaN Systems is the global leader in GaN power semiconductors with the largest portfolio of transistors that uniquely address the needs of today’s most demanding industries including consumer electronics, data center servers and power supplies, renewable energy systems, industrial motors, and automotive electronics. As a market-leading innovator, GaN Systems makes possible the design of smaller, lower cost, more efficient power systems. The company’s award-winning products provide system design opportunities free from the limitations of yesterday’s silicon. By changing the rules of transistor performance, GaN Systems is enabling power conversion companies to revolutionize their industries and transform the world. For more information, please visit: www.gansystems.com or on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and scan this QR code for our WeChat.

 

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