News: Microelectronics
12 March 2025
EPC releases Phase 17 Reliability Report
Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA — which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits for power management applications — has released its Phase 17 Reliability Report, further solidifying GaN’s position as a highly reliable technology for power electronics, automotive, AI, space and industrial applications.
The latest reliability report introduces expanded lifetime models, mission-specific reliability projections, and new physics-based wear-out mechanisms, providing engineers with more accurate and practical reliability data for GaN power devices.
Key highlights of the Phase 17 Reliability Report include:
- Expanded Gate Lifetime Model: Incorporates gate leakage current effects across voltages and temperatures, leading to enhanced impact ionization modeling.
- Repetitive Transient Gate Overvoltage Testing: Develops and validates a 7V gate overvoltage rating, addressing resonance-like transient stress in real-world applications.
- Enhanced Drain Overvoltage Robustness: Further validation of GaN’s superior durability under repetitive transient drain-source overvoltage conditions.
- New Pulsed Current Rating Data: Extends testing to over 100 million pulses, proving minimal parametric shifts in Gen-5 and Gen-6 GaN devices.
- Comprehensive Thermomechanical Lifetime Model: Now includes power cycling (PC) modeling, essential for high-stress applications like automotive and AI power systems.
- Mission-Specific Reliability Insights: Expanded analysis for solar, LiDAR and DC-DC conversion applications, allowing engineers to fine-tune their designs for long-term operation.
Driving GaN forward in reliability & performance
EPC says that its test-to-fail methodology continues to push GaN technology beyond traditional silicon MOSFETs. By integrating real-world stress conditions into advanced lifetime models, the Phase 17 report ensures more accurate reliability projections for next-generation power applications.
“This report advances GaN reliability modeling with mission-specific projections and new lifetime models, enabling engineers to integrate GaN into high-power, efficient and robust designs with confidence,” says CEO & co-founder Alex Lidow.
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