Characterization of GaN HEMT Transistors for DC/DC Converters in Transportation Applications

The motivation of this work is the characterization of semiconductor switches in DC/DC Wide Band-Gap based converters for electrical vehicle applications. The paper studies Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility (GaN HEMT) Transistors, which present very good features for high-frequency high efficiency applications. In order to obtain an efficient DC/DC converter design, a full characterization of these devices must be carried out. A double pulse test is applied to the GaN device, in order to study the switching behavior of these transistors. The test will be performed experimentally and in simulation under different operating conditions, in order to have the ability to understand the difference in the transistor behavior under these different operating points. Finally, the obtained results will be presented, commented and compared to identify the particularities of these devices.