Electrical and thermal failure modes of 600 V p-gate GaN HEMTs

A study of electrical and thermal failure modes of 600 V p-doped GaN HEMTs is presented, which focuses on the investigation of short-circuit limitations. The electrical failure mode seems to be an electrical field breakdown in the structure which is caused by excessive carrier concentration, rather...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Oeder, Thorsten, Castellazzi, Alberto, Pfost, Martin
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45148/
Description
Summary:A study of electrical and thermal failure modes of 600 V p-doped GaN HEMTs is presented, which focuses on the investigation of short-circuit limitations. The electrical failure mode seems to be an electrical field breakdown in the structure which is caused by excessive carrier concentration, rather than primary thermal generated. Accordingly, a thermal failure mode is observed, which features a distinctive behaviour and seems to be similar to schottky-gate HEMTs. Concerning the electrical failure mode, a specific p-gate HEMT short-circuit safe operating area (SCSOA) is presented as a novelty. However, a short-circuit capability of up to 520 V can be achieved, regarding the design of the gate-drive circuit.