Study of driving schemes and protection circuits for D-Mode GaN devices

The emergence of third-generation wide-bandgap semiconductor devices, exemplified by GaN, underscores the pressing demand in modern power electronics for power converters that deliver high efficiency, high power density, and high reliability. Owing to their elevated critical electric field, these devices can undergo extremely rapid failure under electrical stress. Consequently, a comprehensive protection scheme, augmented by an appropriate driving strategy, is indispensable for achieving a reliability solution that yields maximum benefit with minimal effort. This paper presents a systematic simulation study on the selection of driving schemes, short-circuit protection strategies, and Miller-effect mitigation techniques for e-mode GaN devices employed in a half-bridge inverter, thereby investigating solutions to their reliability challenges.