A Monolithic GaN Direct 48V/1V AHB Switching Power IC with Auto-Lock Auto-Break Level Shifting, Self-Bootstrapped Hybrid Gate Driving, and On-Die Temperature Sensing
Dong Yan, D. Brian
Abstract
With 10-to-100-fold lower switching figure of merit <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathrm{Q}_{\text{Gate}}\times \mathrm{R}_{\text{ON}}), \text{GaN}$</tex> transistors present tremendous superiority over mainstream Si counterparts, offering significant performance boost potential in modern power electronics. However, traditional discrete device solutions heavily rely on board- and package-level wiring to connect GaN transistors, power passives, gate drivers, level shifters, controllers and so on, introducing substantial parasitics. The situation deteriorates drastically under the industry trend towards higher power density and switching frequency, <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathrm{f}_{\text{SW}}$</tex> , where the impacts of the parasitics adversely grow against efficiency, reliability, and performance. Although system-in-package technologies are helpful, the improvement is essentially limited and cost remains high [1]. To unlock the full potential of GaN transistors, the ultimate solution is to achieve monolithic integration.