Characterization and Enhancement of High-Voltage Cascode GaN Devices

Gallium nitride (GaN) devices are gathering momentum, with a number of recent market introductions for a wide range of applications such as point-of-load converters, OFF-line switching power supplies, battery chargers, and motor drives. This paper studies the basic characteristics of a 600 V cascode GaN switch, such as voltage distribution during the turn-ON and turn-OFF transition. The switching loss mechanism of the cascode GaN switch is analyzed in detail, including the impact of the package parasitic inductance in both hard- and soft-switching modes. A soft-switching 5 MHz boost converter is developed and shows the advantages and the potential of the cascode GaN.