Infineon Technologies, headquartered in Neubiberg near Munich, has introduced the world's first gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors with an integrated Schottky diode for industrial applications.
In hard-switching applications, GaN-based topologies can lead to higher power losses and thus lower efficiency due to the higher effective body diode voltage (VSD) of GaN devices. To counteract this, either an external Schottky diode was previously required for power development, which was connected in parallel to the GaN transistor, or attempts were made to reduce the dead times via controllers, which, however, lengthened the development process and thus increased the time and cost involved.
According to Infineon, the new CoolGaN transistor 100 V G5 simplifies the design. The integrated Schottky diode makes the GaN transistor particularly suitable for use in server and telecom circuits, DC-DC converters, synchronous rectifiers for USB-C chargers and high-performance power supplies as well as for motor drives. With this new integrated solution, reverse conduction losses are lower and compatibility with a wider range of high-side gate drivers and controllers leads to a simpler design.
The first of several GaN transistors with integrated Schottky diode is the 100 V 1.5 mΩ transistor in a 3 × 5 mm² PQFN package. Samples and data sheets are available on request.
