Physics / mechanism
Gallium nitride is a wide-bandgap (3.4 eV) III-V semiconductor. High electron mobility (~2000 cm²/V·s in HEMT structures via 2DEG at AlGaN/GaN interface), high breakdown field (~3.3 MV/cm), and high saturation velocity make it dominant in RF power amplifiers and fast power conversion. Key figures of merit: Baliga FOM ~900× silicon for power; Johnson FOM favors RF up to ~100 GHz. Production sits on 6-inch SiC or silicon substrates; 8-inch GaN-on-Si is qualifying at several fabs. ON-resistance for 650 V devices now reaching 50–150 mΩ·mm², with switching frequencies pushing 1–10 MHz in production designs.
Competitive landscape
GaN competes directly with SiC in power electronics above ~200 V and with LDMOS in RF below ~4 GHz. At lower voltages (<200 V) it displaces silicon superjunction MOSFETs. Above 1.2 kV, SiC currently holds the edge on yield and ecosystem maturity.
| Material | Voltage sweet spot | Frequency | Maturity |
|---|---|---|---|
| GaN | 100–650 V, RF to 100 GHz | High | Mid |
| SiC | 650 V–10 kV | Medium | High |
| Si LDMOS | <300 V | <4 GHz | Very high |
Companies using
Connected ideas
Sources
Frontier (open questions)
- To be added.