I/UCRC FRP: Physics-Based Compact Modeling of Gallium Nitride (GaN) Devices for Advanced Power Electronics

宽禁带材料如碳化硅和氮化镓的进展导致了功率半导体器件的实质性发展，现在正处于主导地位，将取代硅器件的下一代电力电子器件。这项研究的重点是为最先进的GaN功率器件创建和验证分析模型。到2022年，GaN器件的市场份额预计将达到惊人的156亿美元，这主要是由于电力和能源部门、通信基础设施部门和电力电子市场的需求不断增长。GaN器件预计将把总的能量转换损失降低到1%，每年为美国节省近400亿美元的收入。高效和绿色的能源基础设施对于减少总体支出和减少电子行业对环境的碳足迹至关重要。基于设计生产率的提高，硅功率半导体器件模型估计每年产生超过4000万美元的经济影响。这项基础研究的预期成果集中于开发基于物理的紧凑型器件模型，用于电路模拟，这将帮助电子工程师快速开发基于GaN器件的电路设计和原型。该模型的影响将使在设计分析阶段并排比较GaN和硅器件成为可能。这反过来可能会促进GaN半导体技术的更多使用。这项研究产生的模型将是开放获取的，并将在NSF工业/大学并网先进电力电子系统合作研究中心(GRPE)上公开访问。这项研究将开发和验证一个基于物理的GaN功率器件的紧凑器件模型。该模型将基于器件层中载流子传输的物理解析推导而来，通过器件结构的有限元模拟进行数学推导和观察。该模型一旦得到并实施，将与阿肯色大学研究实验室设施与GRAPES行业合作伙伴合作的商业可用的GaN器件的实验测量数据进行验证。一旦得到验证，将创建一种模型参数提取方法，以便模型的用户可以执行此过程，以获得必要的参数，以便将模型的行为定制到他们可以从世界上各种GaN功率设备供应商那里选择使用的特定设备。当用于电路模拟时，这种特性化的模型将帮助电子工程师设计和制造各种基于GaN的电路，这些电路将增加GaN设备在美国电力、能源、通信和运输基础设施中的渗透率。

Advances in wide bandgap materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have led to substantial advances in power semiconductor devices and are now positioned to dominate the next generation of power electronics replacing silicon devices. This research focuses on the creation and validation of analytical models for state-of-the-art GaN power devices. The market share of GaN devices is expected to reach a staggering $15.6 billion by 2022, mainly due to growing demands in the power and energy sector, the communication infrastructure sector, and the power electronics market. GaN devices are expected to reduce overall energy conversion losses down to 1%, resulting in an annual savings of nearly $40 billion in US revenues. A high-efficiency and green energy infrastructure is vital for reducing overall expenditures and reducing the carbon footprint of the electronics industry on the environment. Silicon power semiconductor device models have been estimated to have an annual economic impact in excess of $40 million per year based on improved design productivity. The expected outcome from this fundamental research effort focuses on developing physics-based compact device models for circuit simulations that will help electronics engineers rapidly develop circuit designs and prototypes based on GaN devices. Impacts of this model will enable a side-by-side comparison of GaN and silicon devices at the design analysis phase. This in turn will likely promote increased usage of GaN semiconductor technology. The models generated by this research will be open access and made publicly accessible on the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Grid-connected Advanced Power Electronic Systems (GRAPES). This research will develop and validate a physics-based compact device model for GaN power devices. The model will be derived analytically, based on the physics of carrier transport in the device layers as derived mathematically and observed through finite element simulations of device structures. The model, once derived and implemented, will be validated against experimentally measured data of commercially available GaN devices taken at University of Arkansas research laboratory facilities in collaboration with the industry partners of GRAPES. Once validated, a model parameter extraction method will be created so that users of the model can execute this procedure to obtain the parameters necessary to tailor the model's behavior to specific devices they may choose to employ from the various GaN power device suppliers in the world. The characterized model, when used in circuit simulations, will help electronics engineers to design and manufacture a wide range of GaN-based circuits that will increase the penetration of GaN devices in the US power, energy, communications, and transportation infrastructure.