news digest ♦ Power Electronics
switches.” The enhancement mode power switching device for the MPC program will be designed to have a blocking voltage of 200 V, ultra-low dynamic on resistance of 1 Ω-mm and a slew rate of 500 V per nanosecond. These capabilities will provide state-of-the-art solid-state technology. RF amplifiers employing these switches will target 75% system efficiency at X-band (8-12 GHz). TriQuint is teamed with Rockwell Collins, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Northrop Grumman, Technical Area II contractors, to create a new generation of RF power amplifiers that use contour modulation for very high efficiency performance that exceeds the capabilities of devices now available. Design approaches focusing on miniature system-in-a-package or monolithic integration to combine TriQuint’s switch / modulator with the power amplifier micro- system will be given preference.
Skymake GaN-on-Diamond
more than a best friend A new technology, known as TEGaN, aims to triple the power handling capability of GaN devices
Raytheon has been awarded an 18-month, $1.8 million contract by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop next-generation GaN devices bonded to diamond substrates.
The technology, known as Thermally Enhanced Gallium Nitride (TEGaN), aims to increase the power handling capability of GaN devices by at least three times.
RFMD’s new rGaN-HV
process for power devices The firm’s new technology complements RFMD’s two existing gallium nitride processes for high power RF applications and high linearity applications. As well as expanding its own opportunities in the power device market, the process will also be offered to foundry customers
RF Micro Devices has extended its GaN process portfolio to include a new technology optimised for high voltage power devices in power conversion applications.
RFMD’s newest GaN process technology, known as “rGaN- HV”, is claimed to enable substantial system cost and energy savings in power conversion applications ranging from 1 to 50 KW. The rGaN-HV delivers device breakdown voltages up to 900 V, high peak current capability, and ultra-fast switching times for GaN power switches and diodes.
The new technology complements RFMD’s GaN 1 process, which is optimised for high power RF applications and delivers high breakdown voltage over 400 volts, and RFMD’s GaN 2 process, which is optimised for high linearity applications and delivers high breakdown voltage over 300 volts. RFMD will manufacture discrete power device components for customers in its Greensboro, NC, wafer fab facility and provide access to rGaN-HV to foundry customers for their customised power device solutions.
Bob Bruggeworth, President and Chief Executive Officer of RFMD, comments, “The global demand for energy savings through improved power conversion efficiency is creating a tremendous opportunity for high-performance power devices based on RFMD’s GaN power process technologies. We expect our newest GaN power process will expand our opportunities in the high-voltage power semiconductor market, and we are pleased to provide access to rGaN-HV to our external foundry customers to support their success in the high- performance power device market.”
TEGaN enables state-of-the-art transistors and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) to achieve their full performance potential by reducing thermal resistance. TEGaN acts as a multiplier for GaN’s unique qualities, which may dramatically reduce the cost, size, weight and power of defence systems. Over the course of the 18-month contract, Raytheon seeks to develop and test TEGaN’s capabilities and establish a clear path to technology insertion into military systems.
The uniqueness of GaN devices allows radar, electronic warfare and communications systems to be smaller, more affordable and highly efficient.
“Raytheon continues to be at the forefront of GaN technology development,” says Joe Biondi, vice president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon’s Integrated Defence Systems (IDS) business. “We are pushing the envelope of this proven technology to provide our war fighters with the most advanced sensing, communications and electronic warfare capabilities in the world.”
Potential causes for current- induced nitride laser degradation
Decimation of optical quality associated with point defects has been identified as in-grown gallium vacancies rather than isolated gallium vacancies typically introduced by high electron energy irradiation
A team from Aalto University, Finland, suggests that current induced point defect activation is a possible cause for the degradation of GaN-based laser diodes. The researchers performed experiments on MOCVD-grown nitride device and GaN samples. They used a tightly focused low energy electron beam irradiation to generate local current densities up to 130 kA/cm2on the sample surface, about one order of magnitude higher than in GaN-based laser diodes during operation.
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net April/May 2012
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