Evaluation of 650V, 100A Direct-Drive GaN Power Switch for Electric Vehicle Powertrain Applications

This paper presents the evaluation of a 650-V, 100- A, 22-m$\Omega$ rated $\text{D}^{3}$GaN (Direct Drive Depletion-mode) power switch (V22TC6581A) from VisIC Technologies, which is designed for electric vehicles (EV) powertrain inverter applications. The static and dynamic performance as well as the surge-energy and short-circuit robustness of the $\text{D}^{3}$GaN were evaluated in a top-cooled surface-mount device package. Multiple customized test boards were employed to evaluate the switching loss, dynamic on-resistance, gate charge ($Q_{\text{g}}$), and robustness. The $\text{D}^{3}$GaN switch has shown a small total $Q_{\text{g}}$, high breakdown voltage, positive threshold voltage, small switching-energy loss, fast switching speed, and good robustness. These advantages make the $\text{D}^{3}$GaN switch an attractive candidate for high-power EV powertrain inverter applications. To the best of our knowledge, this paper presents the first comprehensive evaluation of a high-power GaN device targeted for EV inverter applications.

I. Introduction

The fast-growing market demand for EVs puts strong momentum on power electronics to enhance their operational performance. The efficiency of the EV powertrain inverters, determined in part by the characteristics of the switching transistors, substantially impacts the longevity of a battery charge and the cost of an EV. For devices in EV inverter applications, in addition to low switching loss and good thermal capability, high power and good robustness are highly desirable. Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET are two major players currently, while the GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) is regarded as a promising alternative for EV inverter applications. Unfortunately, there still lacks a comprehensive evaluation of a high-current GaN switch in the literature. This paper, for the first time, evaluates the static and dynamic performance of a high-voltage, high-current GaN switch, i.e., a 650-V, 100-A, 22-m rated GaN (Direct Drive Depletion-mode) power switch (V22TC65SlA) from VisIC Technologies.