System-Level Assessment of Dynamic Effects in GaN-based Power Converters

Gallium nitride shows huge potential in power electronics applications. Nevertheless its implementation is still hindered by reliability issues and technology-related dynamic effects. A direct comprehension of their behavior in the final application is still missing. Hence, the goal of this work is to propose a novel methodology to analyse the role of these phenomena on the end application efficiency. These insights can thus lead to a system-level driven optimization of GaN technology. We propose a method based on T-CAD mixed-mode simulation and we give an example of its implementation in the analysis of a class-E power amplifier for wireless power transfer. Efficiency curve is extracted for different load resistance values. This is carried out for the device both in relaxed and in stressed conditions to evaluate the impact of buffer traps. It is demonstrated how the main degradation resides in the increased dynamic resistance while threshold voltage shift and output capacitance variations both play a minor role.