A Gate Driver for Crosstalk Suppression of eGaN HEMT Power Devices
Abstract
1. Introduction
- (1)
- Reducing the amplitude of device dv/dt and di/dt variations [16,17,18]: The fundamental idea is to directly reduce the magnitude of the Miller current. In [17], a capacitor is proposed to be connected in parallel with the gate-source capacitance, which achieves good crosstalk suppression but affects the device’s turn-on speed. In [18], the study implements soft switching to suppress crosstalk voltage spikes by exploiting the critical conduction mode of the current; however, it is difficult to apply in high-power applications. These negative effects limit the practical value of crosstalk suppression circuits.
- (2)
- Minimizing the impedance of the drive loop [19,20,21]: The fundamental idea is to provide a low-impedance path for Miller current [19]. The effect of crosstalk can be counteracted by actively injecting a current into the gate, with the current flowing in the opposite direction to the Miller current [20]. Adding a Miller clamping circuit to supply a low-impedance branch is proposed to reduce crosstalk [21]. However, the two methods add extra transistors, increasing the power loss.
- (3)
- Using negative voltage turn-off [22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]: The fundamental idea is to pull down the positive crosstalk voltage spike below the device threshold voltage to reduce the risk of device misconduct. It is an effective approach to suppress positive crosstalk, and the main measures include adding a negative voltage or a voltage divider circuit. By adding a negative voltage across the device’s gate-source, the positive crosstalk spike would be reduced; however, this approach introduces a larger negative crosstalk spike, which may damage the device [22]. In [23], a RCD (resistor–capacitor–diode) voltage divider circuit is proposed to suppress positive crosstalk, but it affects the turn-on speed of the devices and exacerbates negative crosstalk. The gate driver proposed in [24] enables negative voltage recovery, but does not address the problem of affecting the turn-on speed of the device. On this basis, the multi-level structure, due to the large voltage difference between each level, can suppress crosstalk through active clamping of negative voltage turn-off [25,26,27]. However, employing multiple power supplies and switching devices will increase the cost of circuit design and the complexity of control.
2. Crosstalk Mechanism Analysis
3. Design of the Proposed Gate Driver
4. Component Parameters Design
4.1. Voltage Regulator Diode D2
4.2. Capacitor C1
4.3. Resistor R1
4.4. Other Component Parameters
5. Experimental Verification
5.1. Double-Pulse Test
5.2. Synchronous Buck Test
6. Discussion
- From the perspective of reducing the device turn-on speed, the circuits proposed in [23,24] require charging the auxiliary capacitor placed in parallel with the gate, which in turn reduces the device turn-on speed. The circuits proposed in [27,28,29] do not have auxiliary capacitors in parallel, which does not affect the device turn-on speed. In this paper, the structure without an auxiliary capacitor in parallel is also employed, and its effect on the device’s turn-on speed is negligible.
- From the perspective of exacerbating negative crosstalk, the circuits proposed in [23,28] do not provide an effective discharge path for the negative voltage capacitor, which will exacerbate the gate negative crosstalk and increase the risk of gate reverse breakdown. The circuit proposed in [29] uses an auxiliary MOSFET to clamp the negative voltage without exacerbating the negative crosstalk. The circuits proposed in [27] provide a discharge path for the negative voltage capacitor, allowing for negative voltage recovery without affecting gate-to-negative crosstalk. In this paper, this idea is also adopted to avoid exacerbating the gate negative crosstalk.
- From the perspective of increasing control complexity, the circuits proposed in [27,29] require the introduction of MOSFET, which increases the control complexity. In contrast, the circuits proposed in this paper and the other literature do not require additional control, which improves the ease of application.
7. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Zhang, L.; Wang, K.; Guo, S.; Zhu, B. A Gate Driver for Crosstalk Suppression of eGaN HEMT Power Devices. J. Low Power Electron. Appl. 2025, 15, 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/jlpea15030038
Zhang L, Wang K, Guo S, Zhu B. A Gate Driver for Crosstalk Suppression of eGaN HEMT Power Devices. Journal of Low Power Electronics and Applications. 2025; 15(3):38. https://doi.org/10.3390/jlpea15030038
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhang, Longsheng, Kaihong Wang, Shilong Guo, and Binxin Zhu. 2025. "A Gate Driver for Crosstalk Suppression of eGaN HEMT Power Devices" Journal of Low Power Electronics and Applications 15, no. 3: 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/jlpea15030038
APA StyleZhang, L., Wang, K., Guo, S., & Zhu, B. (2025). A Gate Driver for Crosstalk Suppression of eGaN HEMT Power Devices. Journal of Low Power Electronics and Applications, 15(3), 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/jlpea15030038