Heat Dissipation in GaN Based Power Electronics

Abstract

Gallium Nitride (GaN) possesses superior electronic properties for RF power electronics that play critical roles in various wireless communication technologies and military applications [1]. Heat generated as a byproduct of operation in these devices, increases their operating temperature and degrades their performance and lifetime. While bulk GaN has a high thermal conductivity (k) approaching 250 W/m-K, [2, 3] GaN thin films and devices experience a much lower k due to the presence of additional phonon scattering mechanisms and departures from Fourier transport [4, 5]. We will review thermal transport in GaN based devices, broadly addressing the impact of heat source dimensions, film thicknesses, interfaces, and defects.