Investigation of driver circuits for GaN HEMTs in leaded packages

GaN devices have superior performance over Si-based devices, but even a very small parasitic inductance makes GaN HEMT hard to drive. Many advanced leadless packages are proposed for lower parasitic inductance to fully realize advantages of GaN devices. However, leaded packages are still dominant in industrial applications because of their simplicity for PCB assembly and capability for a wide variety of heat-sinking techniques. In this paper, the performance of a basic half bridge power circuit based on GaN HEMTs with TO package (TO-220) is analyzed, and GaN device driver design is also discussed. Simulation and experimental results are provided for validation.