News

Toyoda Gosei Develops Single-Chip 100A Vertical GaN FET

May 23, 2019 by Scott McMahan

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. reported that the company has developed a vertical GaN power semiconductor device with the high-current operation of 100A on a single chip, one of the highest levels yet achieved. The company has sought to overcome the limitation of silicon devices with the use of GaN, a material with high breakdown voltage, and a vertically-oriented chip structure.

Applications for the device include electric vehicles and mobility, renewable energy, wireless power supplies, home appliances, power converters, medical equipment, and power transmission.

Noteably, the breakdown voltage of GaN is more than 10 times greater than that of silicon. Therefore, conduction loss can be reduced with thinner, lower resistance semiconductors.

Additionally, with a vertical structure, the entire chip is used in current flow, enabling smaller semiconductor components and reduced switching losses. With this combination, Toyoda Gosei has achieved high breakdown voltage (1.2kV level), low resistance (1.8mΩcm2 ), and high-frequency operation (≥10MHz).

The company's latest development doubled the electric current capacity from the previous 50A to 100A on a single chip. The device uses a new current distribution layer that expands the flow of electricity on the drift layer to lower electric resistance.

This new technology was presented at the 31st IEEE International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs (ISPSD) held in Shanghai, China in May 19-23, 2019.