Exploring Gallium Nitride as a Viable Replacement for High Power and Performance Semiconductors: A Comparative Study of Electrical Properties and Fabrication Techniques

Abstract

The semiconductor industry is continuously seeking to develop more compact, faster, and less expensive transistors allowing for more power to be packed into the same chip. This requires the development of smaller and more efficient semiconductors that are currently in the range of around 5-7 nanometers each. However, the limitations of silicon, the leading semiconductor material, are becoming more apparent, prompting exploration of other compounds, with a very promising candidate being gallium nitride (GaN). This paper presents an overview of GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and integrated circuits (ICs), which offer several advantages over silicon-based counterparts. GaN HEMTs have lower on-resistance, faster devices, less capacitance, and less power consumption allowing them to sustain higher voltages and faster current. Meanwhile, GaN-based ICs have the potential to improve the efficiency of power conversion systems and circuits due to their ability to integrate both power-level and signal-level devices on the same wafer. With GaN-based devices, power conversion can become more efficient and cost-effective, ushering a new era for power conversion.