• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.601-609
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• 2017

Gallium nitride (GaN) power switching devices are promising candidates for high switching frequency and high efficiency power conversion due to their fast switching, low on-state resistance, and high-temperature operation capability. In order to facilitate the use of these new devices better, it is required to investigate the device characteristics and performance in detail preferably by comparing with various conventional silicon (Si) devices. This paper presents a comprehensive study of GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) based non-isolated point-of-load (POL) synchronous buck converter operating at 2.7 MHz with a high step-down ratio (24 V to 3.3 V). The characteristics and performance of GaN HEMT and three different Si devices are analytically investigated and the optimal operating point for GaN HEMT is discussed. Zero-voltage switching (ZVS) is implemented to minimize switching loss in high switching frequency operation. The prototype circuit and experimental data support the validity of analytical and simulation results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제15권6호
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• pp.1489-1498
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• 2015

Gallium nitride (GaN)-based power switching devices, such as high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT), provide significant performance improvements in terms of faster switching speed, zero reverse recovery, and lower on-state resistance compared with conventional silicon (Si) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET). These benefits of GaN HEMTs further lead to low loss, high switching frequency, and high power density converters. Through simulation and experimentation, this research thoroughly contributes to the understanding of performance characterization including the efficiency, loss distribution, and thermal behavior of a 160-W GaN-based synchronous boost converter under various output voltage, load current, and switching frequency operations, as compared with the state-of-the-art Si technology. Original suggestions on design considerations to optimize the GaN converter performance are also provided.