A Novel Gate Driving Approach to Balance the Transient Current of Parallel-Connected GaN-HEMTs

摘要

To enable higher current handling capability of GaN-based DC/DC converters, devices have to be used in parallel. However, their switching times differ, especially if their threshold voltages are not identical, which causes unbalanced device current. This paper focuses on the homogeneous distribution of turn-on switching losses of GaN-HEMTs connected in parallel. By applying a new gate driver concept, the transient current is distributed evenly. The effectiveness of this concept is demonstrated by double pulse measurements, for switching currents up to 45 A and a voltage of 400 V. A uniform current distribution is achieved, including a reduction of the turn-on losses by 50% compared to a conventional setup.