Gate Driver ICs for GaN HEMTs up to 200 V
Recommended EiceDRIVER™ gate driver ICs for GaN HEMTs up to 200V
Wide-bandgap semiconductors allow higher electric field strengths and thus result in significantly smaller transistors compared to silicon alternatives. Consequently, GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) can operate at high-switching frequencies without compromising efficiency. Many enhancement-mode GaN HEMTs utilize a Schottky-type gate to emulate a typical insulated MOSFET gate, as shown in the figure below. The Schottky gate is “semi-isolated” by the back-to-back diodes, preventing significant current flow in order to emulate a conventional MOSFET gate.
GaN Schottky Gate (SG) HEMTs can be driven by any gate driver compatible with the required driving voltage, typically 5 V. However, there are several key features that enable the highest level of performance from the switch, including the following:
- fast turn-on and turn-off slew rates in source and sink driving currents, along with low pull-up and pull-down resistance
- low-inductance packages with footprints and pin-outs compatible with an optimized GaN PCB layout
- robust common-mode voltage rejection at high dv/dt to support the fastest switching and lowest switching loss
- features to mitigate induced turn-on during high dv/dt, such as active Miller clamping and negative off-state driving voltage
- tight tolerances on propagation delays, enabling short dead-times
High efficiency and high power density are key requirements for modern power electronics systems, which are enabled by state-of-the-art GaN HEMTs. The right gate driver IC can help designers to achieve the best performance in their GaN-based systems, while simultaneously minimizing R&D efforts and associated costs. Infineon Technologies offers a broad range of EiceDRIVER™ gate driver ICs optimized for driving GaN SG HEMTs, strategically designed to provide the best-in-class system solutions for target applications, such as:
- eMobility
- Cordless power tools and gardening tools
- Multicopters and drones
- Industrial servo motor drives
- Robotics, including mobile robots, service robots, and cobots
- DCDC converters for data centers and telecom infrastructure
- Solar power optimizers
- USB-C chargers
- Wireless power transfer
- Battery management systems and UPS
- LED lighting
- Audio amplifiers
Learn more about our family of EiceDRIVER™ 1EDN71x6x HS 200 V single-channel gate driver ICs here.
