Internship assignment: Characterization of Cascode GaN HEMT devices
Problem statement
Efficient power conversion requires the utilization of high-performance semiconductor devices as fundamental building blocks. GaN HEMT (gallium nitride high-electron mobility transistor) technology offers a promising direction due to its potential for achieving high efficiency.
The performance of GaN HEMT technology has been extensively demonstrated in various applications. However, there remains a need to:
- Establish a normally off-state (hence we employ a cascode configuration) robustness
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic temperature variation (thermal impedance) during operation of the cascode GaN HEMT devices.
Research question
How can the junction-to-solder-point transient thermal impedance be accurately extracted for a Si-on-GaN cascode HEMT? This is a hybrid semiconductor device that combines the properties of two materials.
Objectives
- Utilize the existing measurement setup to perform comprehensive characterization, encompassing both electrical and thermal properties of packaged cascode GaN devices. This includes refining the test procedure and methodologies for parameter extraction to ensure accurate and validated measurements.
- Identify and compare different figures of merit (FOM) for GaN devices. Determine the most suitable FOM that captures key performance metrics such as efficiency, reliability and thermal management capabilities.
Internship and MSc thesis details
- Location: Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Collaborators: CITC and Nexperia
- Duration: 6 – 12 months
- Requirements: current MSc students in Electrical Engineering
- Supervisors: Henry Antony Martin (PhD candidate), Edsger Smits (program manager CITC), René Poelma (Nexperia)
- Internship stipend: to be discussed
Contact us
If you would like to learn more about CITC, this internship assignment or what we can offer you, please contact our internship coordinator Nathan van den Dool.