Integrated solutions and related technologies for gate drivers of GaN transistors

Abstract

In recent years there has been the appearance on the market of power transistors made with the new GaN E-HEMT technology (Gallium Nitride Enhancement mode High Electron Mobility Transistor), which allow obtaining low losses in the switching phase and therefore high efficiencies for the applications [1],[2]. The characteristics required by a gate driver for driving this new type of power transistors are not fully satisfied by current gate drivers on the market, for high voltage applications, between 100V and 600V. In this work three new gate driver solutions developed in STMicroelectronics will be exposed, specific for driving high voltage GaN transistors. The three devices will be analyzed both from technological and implementation point of view and will be compared to highlight the advantages and drawback of each one.