Very-High current gallium nitride transconductance amplifiers

女王大学和Guildline仪器公司之间的这个CRD项目的目标是开发下一代跨导放大器（tca）技术，该技术使用氮化镓（GaN）晶体管，从直流到1mhz提供100安培的输出电流。大电流tca被电力公司用来校准他们的功率流量计。弧焊设备是tca的另一个重要市场，需要大电流来局部熔化要粘合的材料。像大型强子对撞机这样的粒子加速器使用tca产生电流脉冲，产生磁场，将亚原子粒子推进到光速。目前市场上可用的大电流TCA使用多达20个较小的TCA“单元”的并联排列，因为硅晶体管在高频下可以提供的输出电流有限。氮化镓晶体管可以产生高达千兆赫频率的高漏极电流，同时由于半导体的高电子迁移率和高能量带隙而表现出高击穿电压。GaN提供了将构建100安培系统所需的并联TCA电池数量从20个显著减少到约5个的潜力。这代表了该装置在成本、尺寸和功耗方面的重大改进，这反过来又将使Guildline Instruments在竞争激烈的市场中处于非常有利的地位，为国家研究实验室、国家计量研究所、军队、核电站、航空航天以及电力和电力行业的公司提供服务。通过该项目将培养3名学生：1名博士和2名本科生。学生将在微电子电路设计、高功率技术、测试和测量方面获得宝贵的技能。

The objective of this CRD project between Queen's University and Guildline Instruments is to develop technology for next-generation transconductance amplifiers (TCAs) using gallium nitride (GaN) transistors to deliver 100 Amps of output current from DC to 1 MHz. High-current TCAs are used by power companies to calibrate their power flow meters. Arc welding equipment is another important market for TCAs where high currents are needed to locally melt the materials to be bonded. And particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider use TCAs to generate the current pulses that produce the magnetic fields that propel subatomic particles to light speed. High-current TCAs available on the market today use a parallel arrangement of up to twenty smaller TCA 'cells' because silicon transistors are limited in the amount output current they can deliver at high frequencies. GaN transistors can source very high drain currents up to gigahertz frequencies while simultaneously exhibiting high breakdown voltages as a result of the semiconductor's high electron mobility and high energy bandgap. GaN offers the potential to significantly reduce the number of parallel TCA cells needed to build a 100 Amp system from twenty to about five. This represents a significant improvement in the cost, size and power consumption of the unit which will, in turn, place Guildline Instruments in a very good position to lead in a highly competitive market that serves national research laboratories, national metrology institutes, militaries, nuclear power plants, aerospace, and companies in the electrical and power industry. Through this project, three students will be trained: one doctoral and two undergraduates. The students will gain valuable skills in microelectronic circuit design, high-power techniques, test and measurement.