Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/30444-epigan-highlighting-enhancements-of-gan-epiwafer-solutions-at-ims2018

EpiGaN Highlighting Enhancements of GaN Epiwafer Solutions at IMS2018

May 31, 2018

EpiGaN is highlighting the latest enhancements of its GaN epiwafer solutions for RF power and power switching at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2018) in Philadelphia, Pa.

EpiGaN has previously developed 200 mm GaN-on-Si 650 V epiwafer solutions for power management systems that have entered the mainstream CMOS manufacturing lines of silicon-based integrated device manufacturers (IDM) and foundries. Recently, for 5G applications, EpiGaN has developed 200 mm versions of its HVRF GaN on Si as well as 150 mm GaN on SiC epiwafer solutions. The firm claims that its RF power products have excellent dynamic behavior, the highest power densities at mmWave ranges and the lowest RF losses (< 0.8 dB/mm up to 110 GHz) for the GaN on Si version of its HVRF product family.

EpiGaN says that a key advantage of its GaN on Si epiwafer technology is the in-situ silicon nitride (SiN) capping layer. This feature is said to provide superior surface passivation and device reliability, and enables contamination-free processing in existing standard silicon CMOS production infrastructures.

Also, in-situ SiN structuring allows the use of pure aluminium nitride (AlN) layers as barrier materials, which results in lower conduction losses and/or the design of smaller-size chips for the same current rating.

For ultimate RF performance in the 5G-related 30 and 40 GHz mmWave bands, EpiGaN has developed HEMT heterostructures featuring pure AlN barrier layers in combination with an in-situ SiN capping layer to complement the typical AlGaN counterparts. This allows the transistor’s gate to be located very close to the densely populated channel, maximizing the electrostatic coupling between the two (i.e. improving gate control). This will result in the far superior RF transistor characteristics needed for 5G MMIC developments, says EpiGaN.

“EpiGaN has supplied industry-leading GaN epiwafer solutions for power switching and RF power applications to the global semiconductor industry for several years now,” says co-founder & CEO Dr. Marianne Germain. “In particular, we are proud about our GaN on Si epiwafers that show the lowest RF loss in the market up to 100 GHz,” she adds. “This is a timely answer to the increasing demands in wireless communication such as the introduction of 5G and IoT.”

At IMS2018 on June 15, CTO Dr. Joff Derluy will present "Development of Epitaxial Processes for GaN on Si for RF Applications."