Driving Cost Lower and Power Higher With GaN


Gallium nitride is starting to make broader inroads in the lower-end of the high-voltage, wide-bandgap power FET market, where silicon carbide has been the technology of choice. This shift is driven by lower costs and processes that are more compatible with bulk silicon. Efficiency, power density (size), and cost are the three major concerns in power electronics, and GaN can meet all three c... » read more

Noise Parameter Survey Of Millimeter Wave GaN HEMT Technologies


A technical paper titled “A Survey of GaN HEMT Technologies for Millimeter-Wave Low Noise Applications” was published by researchers at Wright-Patterson AFB, Teledyne Scientific, HRL Laboratories, BAE Systems, Pseudolithic, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and University of California Santa Barbara. "This article presents a set of measured benchmarks for the noise and gain performance of si... » read more

Review on Driving Circuits for Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Switching Devices for Mid- to High-Power Applications


Abstract: "Wide-bandgap (WBG) material-based switching devices such as gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are considered very promising candidates for replacing conventional silicon (Si) MOSFETs for various advanced power conversion applications, mainly because of their capabi... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 21


New high-frequency transistors The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF has developed a novel high-frequency transistor type—the metal oxide semiconductor HEMT or MOSHEMT. Still in R&D, Fraunhofer’s MOSHEMT has reached record frequencies of 640GHz. MOSHEMTs are designed for the 100GHz frequency ranges and above. Applications include communications, radar and sens... » read more

Power Semi Wars Begin


Several vendors are rolling out the next wave of power semiconductors based on gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), setting the stage for a showdown against traditional silicon-based devices in the market. Power semiconductors are specialized transistors that incorporate different and competitive technologies like GaN, SiC and silicon. Power semis operate as a switch in high-volt... » read more