Modeling Power GaN-HEMTs Using Standard MOSFET Equations and Parameters in SPICE

Abstract

The device library in the standard circuit simulator (SPICE) lacks a gallium nitride based high-electron-mobility-transistor (GaN-HEMT) model, required for the design and verification of power-electronic circuits. This paper shows that GaN-HEMTs can be modeled by selected equations from the standard MOSFET LEVEL 3 model in SPICE. A method is proposed for the extraction of SPICE parameters in these equations. The selected equations and the proposed parameter-extraction method are verified with measured static and dynamic characteristics of commercial GaN-HEMTs. Furthermore, a double pulse test is performed in LTSpice and compared to its manufacturer model to demonstrate the effectiveness of the MOSFET LEVEL 3 model. The advantage of the proposed approach to use the MOSFET LEVEL 3 model, in comparison to the alternative behavioral-based model provided by some manufacturers, is that users can apply the proposed method to adjust the parameters of the MOSFET LEVEL 3 model for the case of manufacturers who do not provide SPICE models for their HEMTs.