Analysis of the impact of the operating parameters on the variation of the dynamic on-state resistance of GaN power devices

Abstract

In this paper, on-state dynamic drain source resistance (RDS(ON)) phenomenon in GaN based power switches is analyzed. Dynamic RDS(ON) may increase the power losses in converters, thus reducing the benefits of using GaN power devices in this field. The operating parameters having an impact on dynamic RDS(ON) are investigated by analyzing the research works available so far from industry and academia. The objective of this work is to highlight the key operating parameters that influence this phenomenon, in order to give useful information to designers. Another objective is the identification of the lack of information on the topic, thus suggesting the analysis useful for an all-embracing understanding of the influence on dynamic RDS(ON) due to the different operating conditions. To these aims, the collected data are harmonized since the variety of test conditions, the different methods adopted to report the results and to obtain them. The comparison has highlighted that the working frequency is the main factor influencing the dynamic RDS(ON). Moreover, the analysis has drawn attention to the necessity to make extensive experimental analyses on various technologies types and mission profiles. Finally, the main research topic to be properly investigated concerns the deep analysis of the correlations among the parameters which affect the dynamic RDS(ON).