Hard switching speed improvements in GaN-based synchronous buck converters

Author(s):  
Christopher G. Wilson ◽  
Luke L. Jenkins ◽  
Justin D. Moses ◽  
Jeffrey M. Aggas ◽  
Robert N. Dean
Author(s):  
Gaurav Mattey ◽  
Lava Ranganathan

Abstract Critical speed path analysis using Dynamic Laser Stimulation (DLS) technique has been an indispensable technology used in the Semiconductor IC industry for identifying process defects, design and layout issues that limit product speed performance. Primarily by injecting heat or injecting photocurrent in the active diffusion of the transistors, the laser either slows down or speeds up the switching speed of transistors, thereby affecting the overall speed performance of the chip and revealing the speed limiting/enhancing circuits. However, recently on Qualcomm Technologies’ 14nm FinFET technology SOC product, the 1340nm laser’s heating characteristic revealed a Vt (threshold voltage) improvement behavior at low operating voltages which helped identify process issues on multiple memory array blocks across multiple cores failing for MBIST (Memory Built-in Self-test). In this paper, we explore the innovative approach of using the laser to study Vt shifts in transistors due to process issues. We also study the laser silicon interactions through scanning the 1340nm thermal laser on silicon and observing frequency shifts in a high-speed Ring Oscillator (RO) on 16nm FinFET technology. This revealed the normal and reverse Temperature Dependency Gate voltages for 16nm FinFET, thereby illustrating the dual nature of stimulation (reducing mobility and improving Vt) from a thermal laser. Frequency mapping through Laser Voltage Imaging (LVI) was performed on the Ring Oscillator (RO) using the 1340nm thermal laser, while concurrently stimulating the transistors of the RO. Spatial distribution of stimulation was studied by observing the frequency changes on LVI.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyuan Wang ◽  
Pengfei Zhou ◽  
Jason Eshraghian ◽  
Chih-Yang Lin ◽  
Herbert Ho-Ching Iu ◽  
...  

<div>This paper presents the first experimental demonstration</div><div>of a ternary memristor-CMOS logic family. We systematically</div><div>design, simulate and experimentally verify the primitive</div><div>logic functions: the ternary AND, OR and NOT gates. These are then used to build combinational ternary NAND, NOR, XOR and XNOR gates, as well as data handling ternary MAX and MIN gates. Our simulations are performed using a 50-nm process which are verified with in-house fabricated indium-tin-oxide memristors, optimized for fast switching, high transconductance, and low current leakage. We obtain close to an order of magnitude improvement in data density over conventional CMOS logic, and a reduction of switching speed by a factor of 13 over prior state-of-the-art ternary memristor results. We anticipate extensions of this work can realize practical implementation where high data density is of critical importance.</div>


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1495
Author(s):  
Loris Pace ◽  
Nadir Idir ◽  
Thierry Duquesne ◽  
Jean-Claude De Jaeger

Due to the high switching speed of Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors, parasitic inductances have significant impacts on power losses and electromagnetic interferences (EMI) in GaN-based power converters. Thus, the proper design of high-frequency converters in a simulation tool requires accurate electromagnetic (EM) modeling of the commutation loops. This work proposes an EM modeling of the parasitic inductance of a GaN-based commutation cell on a printed circuit board (PCB) using Advanced Design System (ADS®) software. Two different PCB designs of the commutation loop, lateral (single-sided) and vertical (double-sided) are characterized in terms of parasitic inductance contribution. An experimental approach based on S-parameters, the Cold FET technique and a specific calibration procedure is developed to obtain reference values for comparison with the proposed models. First, lateral and vertical PCB loop inductances are extracted. Then, the whole commutation loop inductances including the packaging of the GaN transistors are determined by developing an EM model of the device’s internal parasitic. The switching waveforms of the GaN transistors in a 1 MHz DC/DC converter are given for the different commutation loop designs. Finally, a discussion is proposed on the presented results and the development of advanced tools for high-frequency GaN-based power electronics design.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3554
Author(s):  
Jaeyeop Na ◽  
Jinhee Cheon ◽  
Kwangsoo Kim

In this paper, a novel 4H-SiC split heterojunction gate double trench metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (SHG-DTMOS) is proposed to improve switching speed and loss. The device modifies the split gate double trench MOSFET (SG-DTMOS) by changing the N+ polysilicon split gate to the P+ polysilicon split gate. It has two separate P+ shielding regions under the gate to use the P+ split polysilicon gate as a heterojunction body diode and prevent reverse leakage `current. The static and most dynamic characteristics of the SHG-DTMOS are almost like those of the SG-DTMOS. However, the reverse recovery charge is improved by 65.83% and 73.45%, and the switching loss is improved by 54.84% and 44.98%, respectively, compared with the conventional double trench MOSFET (Con-DTMOS) and SG-DTMOS owing to the heterojunction.


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