13 April 2018

Toyoda Gosei achieves high-current operation with vertical GaN power semiconductors

© Semiconductor Today Magazine / Juno PublishiPicture: Disco’s DAL7440 KABRA laser saw.

Toyoda Gosei Co Ltd of Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan has achieved high-current operation in vertical gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductor devices.

Power semiconductors are widely used in power converters such as power sources and adaptors for electronic devices. However, simultaneous achievement of both high breakdown voltage and low loss (low conduction loss and switching loss) at high levels has been difficult using conventional silicon due to its material properties.

In contrast, GaN has material properties of high breakdown voltage and low loss, and Toyoda Gosei’s power semiconductors employ a vertical device structure in which electrical current flows vertically from or to the substrate. These changes have enabled a GaN power transistor chip with operating current of more than 50A (claimed to be the highest ever reported for vertical GaN transistors) and high-frequency operation (several megahertz).

Toyoda Gosei says that it will continue development of the power semiconductors for improved reliability, aiming to achieve practical applications in cooperation with semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Prospective applications include more compact, lighter-weight and higher-efficiency power converters (e.g. DC-DC converters and power control units for automobiles etc) and higher-output high-frequency power sources (e.g. in wireless power supplies).

The new vertical GaN power transistors (MOSFETs) and Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) are being presented on panel displays at the Techno-Frontier 2018 Advanced Electronic & Mechatronic Devices and Components Exhibition at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan (18-20 April). Also being demonstrated in booth 6F-11 (Hall 6) is the first full vertical-GaN DC-DC converter equipped with these devices.

Tags: Toyoda Gosei Power electronics Vertical GaN transistors Vertical p-n diodes

Visit: www.toyoda-gosei.com