VerGaN

Power electronic converters with extremely high efficiency form the core of the energy transition. All renewable electrical energy passes through such converters several times from generation to use. This is particularly true for high-performance industrial applications and transportation, which are becoming increasingly electrified. While SiC is already used in series production in automotive converters, only lateral components are currently available for GaN, which are no longer competitive with SiC at voltages above 650V. Due to the increasing on-board power supply voltages, e.g. in electromobility, semiconductor switch breakdown voltages of at least 1200V are required here. As an alternative to SiC, GaN as a vertical component enables a further increase in efficiency with a simultaneous reduction in costs. The VerGaN project is achieving a breakthrough in efficiency and sustainability by developing vertical power transistors on innovative GaN-on-QST (Qromis' substrate technology) substrates for voltage classes of 1200V and evaluating various integration concepts for the resulting components. Despite all the innovation, the focus is on the industrializability and reliability of the drive unit. The project is thus making a significant contribution to bringing these technologies to market maturity and enabling significant progress for the next generation of electric vehicles in the short term.