Topside cooling eases GaN component integration

GaN Systems’ gallium nitride power transistors are based on its proprietary Island Technology, whereby the die consist of islands rather than traditional fingers, offering advantages in terms of current handling, inductance, scaling, isolation and thermal management, as well as enabling smaller die and lowering cost.

GaN Systems’ enhancement-mode devices with current ratings ranging from 8 to 250A are delivered in its GaNPX packaging. In GaNPX packaging, the die is embedded within a laminate construction and a series of galvanic processes replace conventional techniques such as clips, wire bonds and moulding compounds. These near-chipscale high power switching transistors are packaged to be cooled via the topside of the chip using a heat sink or fan – conventional techniques that are well-understood and familiar to design engineers who may be unfamiliar with using GaN devices or using them for the first time.

GaN transistors can also be cooled from the bottom surface of the die through conduction to the PCB.