Open AccessGate driver IC for enhancement mode GaN power transistors with senseFET reverse conduction detection circuit
Author(s) -
Zhang Wei Jia,
Leng Yahui,
Yu Jingshu,
Jiang Xiaoxue,
Cheng ChuYao,
Ng Wai Tung
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
iet power electronics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.637
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1755-4543
pISSN - 1755-4535
DOI - 10.1049/iet-pel.2018.6381
Subject(s) - transistor , electronic circuit , materials science , logic gate , cmos , gallium nitride , gate driver , voltage , electrical engineering , converters , switching time , power (physics) , optoelectronics , electronic engineering , engineering , physics , layer (electronics) , composite material , quantum mechanics
Dead‐times are necessary in switching output stage to avoid shoot‐through current between the high side (HS) and the low side (LS) power transistors. However, excessively long dead‐times can lead to unwanted reverse conduction and power loss. Sensing the duration of reverse conductions are especially difficult for high‐voltage enhancement mode ( e ‐mode) gallium nitride (GaN) HEMTs due to their fast switching speed. High‐precision sensing circuits are required for dead‐time correction as the load current changes and to withstand large voltage swings. Traditional CMOS‐based sensing circuits (e.g. standard logic gates) are not suitable for GaN‐based converters as they can only handle limited voltage ranges. In addition, severe undershoots (up to −4 V) may damage the sensing circuit. Here, a gate driver IC for e ‐mode GaN power output stages capable of detecting the presence of reverse conduction with a best resolution of 0.66 ns, a dead‐time adjustment resolution of 0.33 ns, and with on‐chip closed‐loop control is presented. In addition, a novel reverse conduction sensing circuit that can accommodate the large voltage swings at the switching node (SW) is also described.