288 V-10 V DC- DC Converter Application Using AlGaN/GaN HFETs

We report on the 288 V-10 V DC- DC converter circuit using AlGaN/GaN HFETs for the first time. The AlGaN/GaN HFET with a large current and a high breakdown voltage operation was fabricated. That is, the maximum drain current was over 50 A, and the minimum on-resistance was 70 mohm. The breakdown voltage was over 600 V. A DC-DC down-converter from input DC 288 V to output DC 10 V was fabricated using these HFETs. It was confirmed that the switching speed of the AlGaN/GaN HFET was faster than that of Si MOSFET. The DC-DC down-converter was fabricated using these HFETs. This converter was composed of a full bridge circuit using four n-channel AlGaN/GaN HFETs. In the case of AlGaN/GaN HFET, a gate switching wave (Vgs) and source-drain wave (Vds) were abrupt compared with those of using Si MOSFETs. In both cases, a stable and constant output DC 10V was also obtained and the conversion efficiency of the converters with AlGaN/GaN HFETs was 84%.