| Title |
A Study on the Synchronous Boost Converter Based on the GaN FET |
| Authors |
Yo-Han Jang ; Jeong-Ho Ahn ; Jung-Hae Choi ; Jae-Jung Yun |
| DOI |
http://dx.doi.org/10.5207/JIEIE.2019.33.5.041 |
| Keywords |
Boost Converter ; Digital Control ; GaN FET (Gallium Nitride FET) ; Synchronous |
| Abstract |
Si FETs (Silicon FETs) have been widely used as power switches for DC-DC converters. However, in recent years, GaN FETs (Gallium Nitride FETs), which have better electrical characteristics than Si FETs, have been commercialized and they have gradually replaced Si FETs. The superior electric characteristics of GaN FETs over Si FETs is analyzed in this paper. Among the various superior electric characteristics of GaN FETs, the absence of reverse recovery current and the capability of reverse conduction can reduce the conduction loss and the reverse recovery loss of a diode. which is the main power loss of the DC-DC boost converter operating in the CCM (continuous conduction mode). Therefore, a synchronous DC-DC boost converter, which can use two GaN FETs, was studied as a method to improve the power efficiency of the DC-DC boost converter. To verify the superiority of the proposed boost converter, a prototype with a input voltage of 12V, an output voltage of 24V, an operating frequency of 300kHz, and an output power of 35W was fabricated and compared with a conventional DC-DC boost converter using a MOSFET and a diode. The experimental results show that the power efficiency of the synchronous boost converter using two GaN FETs is higher than that of the conventional boost converter in the entire output power ranges and the maximum efficiency improvement is 4.9% at the output voltage of 35W. |