May 2020

www.epc-co.com POWER GaN 23 www.power-mag.com Issue 2 2020 Power Electronics Europe [3] “Achieving Optimal Motion System Performance with Low Inductance Motors,” Celera Motion Technical Note (TN-2002, Rev. 160630). [4] “48-V, 10-A, High-Frequency PWM, 3-Phase GaN Inverter Reference Design for High-Speed Motor Drives,”Texas Instruments, document TIDUCE7B, November 2016, Revised April 2017. [5] “Software-Defined Inverter features 3-Phase GaN Power Stage,” PowerPulse.net, March 20, 2018. [6] “SDI TAPAS - Community Inverter,” Quick-Start Guide, Ver. 2.0, Siemens, June 2018. [7] H. Ding, Y. Li, D. Han, M. Liu, and B. Sarlioglu,“ Design of a Novel Integrated Motor-Compressor Machine with GaN-Based Inverters,” 19th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications (EPE’17 ECCE Europe), September 2017. [8] “BOOSTXL-3PhGaNInv Evaluation Module,” Texas Instruments, User’s Guide SLUUBP1A, June 2017–Revised April 2018. [9] M. A. de Rooij, Y. Zhang, “eGaN® FET based 6.78 MHz Differential-Mode ZVS Class D AirFuelTM Class 4 Wireless Power Amplifier,” PCIM - Europe, May 2016, pp 304 - 311. [10] M. A. de Rooij, “Performance Comparison for A4WP Class-3 Wireless Power Compliance between eGaN ® FET and MOSFET in a ZVS Class D Amplifier,” PCIM - Europe, May 2015. [11] M.A. de Rooij, J.T. Strydom, D.C. Reusch, “High Voltage Zero Q RR bootstrap Supply,” United States Patent US9,667,245 B2, May 30, 2017 EPC’s Phase Eleven Reliability Report adds to the knowledge base published in the first ten reports. Here the company demonstrates field experience of 123 billion device hours. EPC’s strategy relied upon tests forcing devices to fail under a variety of conditions to create stronger products to serve demanding applications such as lidar for autonomous vehicles, LTE base stations, vehicle headlamps, and satellites to name just a few. Testing devices to the point of failure creates an understanding of the amount of margin between data sheet limits and products in application. More importantly, intrinsic failure mechanisms of devices are identified. The knowledge of these intrinsic failure mechanisms is used to determine the root cause of failures. Knowledge of the behavior of a device over time, temperature, electrical or mechanical stress can provide users with an accurate representation of the safe operating life of a product over a more general set of operating conditions. The report is divided into seven segments, each dealing with a different failure mechanism: Section 1: Intrinsic failure mechanisms impacting the gate electrode of eGaN® devices Section 2: Intrinsic mechanisms underlying dynamic RDS(on) Section 3: Safe operating area (SOA) Section 4: Testing devices to destruction under short-circuit conditions Section 5: Custom test to assess reliability over long-term lidar pulse stress conditions Section 6: Mechanical force stress testing Section 7: Field reliability “Our eGaN devices have been in volume production for over ten years and have demonstrated very high reliability in both laboratory testing and high-volume customer applications. The release of the 11th reliability report represents the cumulative experience of millions of devices over a ten- year period and five generations of technology. These reliability tests have been undertaken to continue our understanding the behavior of GaN devices over a wide range of stress conditions,” comments EPC CEO Dr. Alex Lidow. “The results of our reliability studies show that GaN is an extremely robust technology that continues to improve at a rapid pace.” EPC’s 11th Reliability Report