APEC 2023 Keynote: GaN for EV Power Train: Breakthroughs and Challenges - Tamara Baksht

The mobility industry is living through the most dramatic changes since the invention of the internal combustion engine and the standardization of the manufacturing process. Society and governments are looking for zero-emission transport, while car makers are seeking the most efficient way to manufacture low-cost and long-distance electric cars. In this context, inverter efficiency became the critical performance parameter, and semiconductors with low loss switching energy, such as SiC and GaN are getting into the spotlight. In this keynote the successful development of a three-phase GaN-based inverter reference design with 400V bus voltage and 400A RMS current is discussed and the results are presented. The major steps on the way from semiconductor chip design, through module development and to full current inverter operation are discussed, chosen solutions explained and results are presented. The main challenges include robust high current > 100A GaN die, with low parametric shift because of repetitive unclamped switching tests up to 1600V; driving 4 dies in parallel to obtain equal current sharing, smooth waveform at needed current and obtaining low voltage overshoots on the gate and on the drain.