Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. has achieved state-of-the-art high current operation¹ in a vertical GaN power semiconductor developed using gallium nitride (GaN), a main material in blue LEDs.

Power semiconductors are widely used in power converters² such as power sources and adaptors for electronic devices. However, simultaneous achievement of both high breakdown voltage³ and low loss⁴ (low conduction loss and switching loss) at high levels has been difficult with conventional silicon due to its material properties.

In its power semiconductors, Toyoda Gosei uses GaN, which has material properties of high breakdown voltage and low loss, and employs a vertical device structure in which electrical current flows vertically from or to a substrate. These changes have enabled a GaN power transistor chip with operating current of over 50A, highest ever reported for vertical GaN transistors², and high-frequency (several megahertz) operation. Some prospective applications are shown below.

Toyoda Gosei will continue development of these power semiconductors for improved reliability, aiming to achieve practical applications in cooperation with semiconductor and electronics manufacturers.

The newly developed vertical GaN power transistors (MOSFET)⁵ and Schottky barrier diodes⁶ will be presented on panel displays at the Techno-Frontier 2018 Advanced Electronic & Mechatronic Devices and Components Exhibition, held at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan from April 18 to April 20. The world’s first full vertical-GaN DC-DC converter equipped with these devices will also be demonstrated at the company’s booth (6F-11, Hall 6).