News: Microelectronics
20 October 2020
GaN Systems launches family of AEC-Q101-qualified 650V, 60A transistors
GaN Systems Inc of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (a fabless developer of gallium nitride-based power switching semiconductors for power conversion and control applications) has announced the release and availability of the first product in a family of new 650V, 60A transistors for the automotive market. The GS-065-060-5-T-A is designed to meet automotive reliability standards including AEC-Q101 qualification and GaN Systems’ AutoQual+ testing and qualification. AutoQual+ is an enhanced AEC-Q test sequence based on the firm’s collaboration with automotive partners to prove its transistors lifetimes exceed market requirements.
The new GaN transistor provides low drain-source on-resistance (RDS(on) of 25mΩ) and features a 60A dran current (IDS) rating and GaN Systems’ high-performance GaNPX packaging, which enables ultra-low inductance and what is claimed to be the best thermal resistance in a compact form factor. Leveraging these transistors, wide-ranging automotive applications from onboard battery chargers (OBCs), DC-DC converters, electric vehicle (EV) traction inverters, electronic power steering, and motor drives can benefit from high reliability and reductions in volume, weight and cost.
Meeting automotive reliability requirements with AutoQual+
GaN Systems’ methodology for the qualification of its transistors is based on a collaboration with select customers in the global automotive industry. This joint effort resulted in an enhanced test methodology, AutoQual+, using AEC-Q101 tests as a baseline and then adding additional tests that address GaN-specific wear-out mechanisms. The additional testing of AutoQual+ ensures that GaN Systems’ power semiconductors are reliable and robust in the rigors of the automobile environment. As a result, the firm’s products meet the lifetime requirements the automotive industry requires with demonstrated failure-in-time (FIT) rates much less than 1, setting what are claimed to be new benchmarks in the GaN industry.
“GaN Systems transistors have been tried and tested through the AutoQual+ test methods, a testing regimen that stemmed from our many workshops with automotive partners,” says Dr Maryam Abouie, director of reliability engineering. “The knowledge these experts provided, including sharing decades of experience of silicon failure mechanisms identified in field-based applications, was critical in the development of our qualification strategy and process.”
