Evaluation of gate drive overvoltage management methods for enhancement mode gallium nitride transistors

Gallium nitride (GaN) power devices are commercially available from a number of suppliers and the market is growing. The predominant GaN technology is normally-off enhancement mode (e-mode) power transistors. One of the main design challenges of implementing e-mode GaN transistors is the gate drive circuit, in particular, the management of the GaN transistor's peak gate voltage. In this paper, we will discuss gate drive design fundamentals for e-mode GaN transistors, evaluate various methods for managing gate overvoltage, and propose a novel solution to effectively manage gate overvoltage in half-bridge configurations.