• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 2023

The increasing demand for ultra-high efficiency of compact power conversion systems for electric vehicle applications has brought GaN power semiconductors to the fore due to their low conduction losses and fast switching speed. In particular, the development of materials and core device processes contributed to remarkable results regarding the publication of vertical GaN power devices with high breakdown voltage. This paper reviews recent advances on GaN material technology and vertical GaN power device technology. The GaN material technology covers the latest technological trends and GaN epitaxial growth technology, while the vertical GaN power device technology examines diodes, Trench FETs, JFETs, and FinFETs and reviews the vertical GaN PiN diode technology developed by ETRI.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.53-64
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• 2021

As the 5G service market is expected to grow rapidly, the development of high-power, high-efficiency power amplifiers for the 5G communication infrastructure is indispensable. Gallium nitride (GaN) is attracting great interest as a key device in power devices and integrated circuits due to its wide bandgap, high carrier concentration, high electron mobility, and high-power saturation characteristics. In this study, we investigate the technology trends of Ka-band GaN radio frequency (RF) power devices and integrated circuits for operation in the millimeter-wave band of recent 5G mobile communication services. We review the characteristics of GaN RF high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) devices to implement power amplifiers operating at frequencies around 28 GHz and compare the technology of foreign companies with the device characteristics currently developed by the Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI). In addition, the characteristics of Ka-band GaN monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifiers manufactured using various GaN HEMT device technologies are reviewed by comparing characteristics such as frequency band, output power, and output power density of integrated circuits. In addition, by comparing the performance of the power amplifier developed by ETRI, the current status and future direction of domestic GaN power devices and integrated circuit technology will be discussed.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.71-80
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• 2019

Gallium nitride (GaN) can be used in high-voltage, high-power-density/-power, and high-speed devices owing to its characteristics of wide bandgap, high carrier concentration, and high electron mobility/saturation velocity. In this study, we investigate the technology trends for X-/Ku-band GaN RF power devices and MMIC power amplifiers, focusing on gate-length scaling, channel structure, and power density for GaN RF power devices and output power level and output power density for GaN MMIC power amplifiers. Additionally, we review the technology trends in gallium arsenide (GaAs) RF power devices and MMIC power amplifiers and analyze the technology trends in RF power devices and MMIC power amplifiers based on both GaAs and GaN. Furthermore, we discuss the current direction of national research by examining the national and international technology trends with respect to X-/Ku-band power devices and MMIC power amplifiers.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.283-289
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• 2014

This paper carries out a series of analysis of power system using Gallium Nitride (GaN) FET which has wide band gap (WBG) characteristics comparing to conventional Si MOSFET-used power system. At first, for comparison of each semiconductor device, the switching-transient parameter is quantitatively extracted from released information of GaN FET. And GaN FET model which reflect this dynamic property is configured. By using this model, the performance of GaN FET is analyzed comparing to Si MOSFET. Also, in order to enable a representative assessment on the power system level, Si MOSFET and GaN FET are applied to the most common structure of power system, full-bridge, and each power systems are compared based on various criteria, such as performance, efficiency and power density. The entire process is verified with the aid of mathematical analysis and simulation.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.204-212
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• 2020

In this study, device suitability analysis is performed by comparing the performance of SiC MOSFET and GaN Transistor, which are WBG power semiconductor devices in the induction heating (IH) system. WBG devices have the advantages of low conduction resistance, switching losses, and fast switching due to their excellent physical properties, which can achieve high output power and efficiency in IH systems. In this study, SiC and GaN are applied to a general half-bridge series resonant converter topology to compare the conduction loss, switching loss, reverse conduction loss, and thermal performance of the device in consideration of device characteristics and circuit conditions. On this basis, device suitability in the IH system is analyzed. A half-bridge series resonant converter prototype using the SiC and GaN of a 650-V rating is constructed to verify device suitability through performance comparison and verified through an experimental comparison of power loss and thermal performance.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.55-58
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• 2014

The next-generation AlGaN/GaN HEMT power devices need higher power at higher frequencies. To know the device characteristics, the simulation of those devices are made. This paper presents a simulation study on the DC and RF characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HEMT power devices. According to the reduction of gate length from $2.0{\mu}m$ to $0.1{\mu}m$, the simulation results show that the drain current at zero gate voltage increases, the gate capacitance decreases, and the maximum transconductance increases, and thus the cutoff frequency and the maximum oscillation frequency increase. The maximum oscillation frequency maintains higher than the cutoff frequency, which means that the devices are useful for power devices at very high frequencies.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.722-727
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• 2022

In this paper, we present the design and characterization of a power amplifier (PA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) in the X-band. The device is designed using a 0.25 ㎛ gate length AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) on SiC process. The developed X-band AlGaN/GaN power amplifier MMIC achieves small signal gain of over 21.6 dB and output power more than 46.11 dBm (40.83 W) in the entire band of 9 GHz to 10 GHz. Its power added efficiency (PAE) is 43.09% ~ 44.47% and the chip dimensions are 3.6 mm × 4.3 mm. The generated output power density is 2.69 W/mm². It seems that the developed AlGaN/GaN power amplifier MMIC could be applicable to various X-band radar systems operating X-band.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2009

This paper presents a review of an improved high power-high frequency III-V wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor device, Gallium Nitride (GaN). The device offers better efficiency and thermal management with higher switching frequency. By having higher blocking voltage, GaN can be used for high voltage applications. In addition, the weight and size of passive components on the printed circuit board can be reduced substantially when operating at high frequency. With proper management of thermal and gate drive design, the GaN power converter is expected to generate higher power density with lower stress compared to its counterparts, Silicon (Si) devices. The main contribution of this work is to provide additional information to young researchers in exploring new approaches based on the device's capability and characteristics in applications using the GaN power converter design.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.201-206
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• 2019

This study presents the design and experimental result of a GaN-based DC-DC converter with an integrated gate driver. The GaN device is attractive to power electronic applications due to its superior device performance. However, the switching loss of a GaN-based power converter is susceptible to the common source inductance, and converter efficiency is severely degraded with a large loop inductance. The objective of this study is to achieve high-efficiency power conversion and the highest power density using a multiphase integrated half-bridge GaN solution with minimized loop inductance. Before designing the converter, several GaN and Si devices were compared and loss analysis was conducted. Moreover, the impact of common source inductance from layout parasitic inductance was carefully investigated. Experimental test was conducted in buck mode operation at 48 -12 V, and results showed a peak efficiency of 97.8%.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.34-37
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• 2009

Using six SMD(surface mount device) type AlGaAs/GaAs single junction solar cells connected in series, a power source was fabricated for a white GaN LED. The electrical properties of the power source was measured and analyzed under one sun (100mW/$cm^2$) and various indoor light (300 - 900 lux) conditions. Under 600 lux indoor light condition, output power was 17.06 ${\mu}W$ and it was 30.75 ${\mu}W$ under 900 lux indoor light condition. Using the fabricated solar cell power supply, we have turned on the white GaN LED. It was worked well under 15 ${\mu}W$(at 480 lux) power supplied from solar cell array. This kind of solar cell power supply can be used as a power source for ubiquitous sensor network (USN).