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BOOK REVIEW
Not Just Another GaN Book

By Steve Taranovich

here are only a handful of GaN books out there that will truly benefit
readers in both the design engineering and executive management
communities. The new “AspenCore Guide to Gallium Nitride: A New
TEra for Power Electronics ” is a standout, starting with a foreword by
Alex Lidow, whom I consider to be the top evangelist for GaN in the industry.
Lidow is the esteemed former co-inventor of the HEXFET power MOSFET,
former CEO of International Rectifier, and current CEO and co-founder of
Efficient Power Conversion. Any book that earns his praise is worth the read
and worthy of a spot on my bookshelf.

MARKET OVERVIEW enabled breakthroughs for fast charging and
The guide’s journey into the world of GaN power conversion; the technology’s role in
begins with a market overview by Nitin increased motor control efficiency (again, GaN devices, and higher-power GaN (even in
Dahad, editor-in-chief of Embedded, who think smart-industry applications); and GaN’s digital power architectures).
reveals how GaN’s technological aspects benefits in electric and autonomous vehicles,
open the door to market opportunities and data centers, and energy storage systems. RESOURCES
adoption. Dahad looks at the trends, applica- As an audiophile, I appreciated the inclu- This white-paper collection is an excellent
tions, and evolving potential for GaN power sion of a piece on GaN’s emergence in Class D source of information for designers and
ICs. Design engineers need to understand audio amplifier designs. I was also glad to find those in design management. Topics include
these dynamics before they design their coverage of GaN in space applications because tomorrow’s post-silicon power converters,
power supplies, and managers can leverage the topic is close to my heart. I was a kid in matching gate drivers to eGaN devices, and
the information to ensure they successfully the 1960s, the golden age of NASA’s Apollo millimeter-wave GaN for 5G MMIC RF power
position GaN devices as high-value additions program. I wish they’d had GaN back then, amplifier designs (previous approaches have
to their companies’ power design portfolios. but there will surely be systems powered by been inefficient, especially in base stations,
The market overview section next moves inherently rad-hard GaN in the craft designed so the switch to GaN will make a significant
into one of the most important design for the Artemis program, which intends to contribution). Other papers discuss the
application segments in the power industry: return humans to the moon. Developers are quality, reliability, and robustness of GaN in
fast charging. Ahmed Ben Slimane of Yole also designing GaN into LiDAR systems for the general industry; GaN’s place in AEC-
Développement explores how fast-charging vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and autonomous Q101 qualification, where the technology’s
requirements are fueling GaN adoption in vehicles, and they are pushing the limits of efficiency and robustness play a role; and GaN
electric vehicles, smartphones, laptops, data GaN in RF technology. The book turns a spot- dynamic characterization and challenges.
centers, and other high-growth markets. light on those efforts.
The section closes with a look at GaN’s role Of course, along with opportunities, the MY FINAL TAKE
in smart-industry applications. Maurizio Di shift from silicon to GaN presents challenges, Reflecting on the power designs that I have
Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power including implications for test and measure- created in my design and applications career,
Electronics News and EEWeb, describes how ment. This is not unusual in our industry as well as the various seminars (including the
GaN is improving efficiency in industrial — consider what happened when we went famous Unitrode seminar series) in which I
motors as well as data centers, saving power from germanium to silicon! The guide takes an have participated as a presenter, I remember
as well as precious computing rack space. In unblinking look at the need to renew some lab my “go to” sources for information: mentors,
short, GaN helps generate green power. equipment and tools for GaN design and test. EDN magazine articles, university texts, IEEE
It also presents a roadmap for the “second rev- Xplore publications, and a small but valuable
TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS olution in power,” leading to the all-important collection of treasured books. I’ve added the
With contributions from a slate of industry integration of multiple units on a die as well as “AspenCore Guide to Gallium Nitride: A New
experts, this section gets to the heart of the integration of drivers and other function- Era for Power Electronics” to my collection as
why GaN is critical to the future of power ality. And it delves into challenges for GaN another trusted source of technical informa-
technology design. What makes GaN the HEMT devices and the figure of merit leading tion for my work today as an independent
obvious choice over silicon for many power to the holy grail of the ideal switch. technical writer and published author. I
devices, and when is GaN a more appropriate recommend the book to designers, manage-
wide-bandgap choice than silicon carbide? ASPENCORE NEWS COVERAGE ment, hobbyists, and anyone else who wants
You’ll find the answers here. The section also In this section, AspenCore mines its archives to know more about the amazing GaN tech-
reviews the state of the art for GaN technol- for the best of its GaN-related news and nology revolution. ■
ogy in 2021 and beyond. analysis. Article topics include the future
Other topics covered in this section include of grid converters, electric-vehicle invert- Steve Taranovich is a freelance technical
the enhanced electrical and thermal aspects ers, high-efficiency power devices, progress writer, former editor-in-chief of Planet Analog,
of GaN; GaN transistor modes; GaN- toward the nirvana of 100% efficiency, vertical and former senior technical editor at EDN.

www.eetimes.eu | FEBRUARY 2021