GaN power devices are penetrating and improving the efficiency of several consumer applications, including power adapters, power supplies, and DC/DC converters. The next step for GaN is to enter motor drive inverters for servo motors, industrial motors and automotive powertrains. As GaN devices enter the motor inverter segment, short-circuit survivability is a key requirement. In this talk, we present a patented GaN technology to achieve a short-circuit withstanding time (SCWT) as high as 5 microseconds. The device is packaged in TO-247, it has an on-state resistance of 15 mOhm, a rated voltage of 650 V, and rated DC current of 102 A at 100°C. It reaches a peak efficiency of 99.2% and a max output power of 12 kW. It survives short-circuit pulses with a duration of 5 µs at a drain-bias of 400V and it passes 175°C high-temperature reverse-bias stress. When tested with commercial gate drivers with DESAT functionality, it successfully passes short-circuit tests with high noise immunity.
