Infineon Technologies AG today announced the launch of its first radiation-hardened gallium nitride (GaN) transistor manufactured with its own CoolGaN® technology, marking the beginning of a new phase in its high-reliability power solutions. Not only is it suitable for the harsh environment of space, but it is also the first in-house manufactured GaN device in the industry to receive the highest level of JANS quality and reliability certification from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) under the Joint Services Space Specification MIL-PRF-19500/794.
The new radiation-hardened high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are designed for critical space applications such as orbital spacecraft, manned space missions, and deep space exploration. By combining the superior performance of GaN HEMTs with Infineon's more than 50 years of experience in high reliability, the new devices deliver outstanding performance in terms of energy efficiency, thermal management and power density, enabling smaller, lighter and more reliable space power systems. The new products complement Infineon's existing portfolio of radiation-ruggedized silicon-based MOSFETs and provide aerospace customers with a more complete portfolio of power solutions.
Figure: Infineon launches its own radiation-hardened GaN transistors to strengthen its space power supply solution
Chris Opoczynski, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Infineon's High Reliability Business Unit, said: "We are pushing the boundaries of power supply design with our new GaN transistor family. This important milestone brings a new generation of high-reliability power solutions for critical defense and aerospace missions, leveraging the unique benefits of wide bandgap semiconductor materials to meet the needs of the rapidly growing aerospace market.”
The three new products are all 100V, 52A specifications, with industry-leading 4 milliohm typical on-resistance (R_DS(on)) and 8.8nC typical total grid charge (Qg), and the package is in a rugged ceramic sealed chip form with the ability to resist single event effects (SEE hardening grade reaches LET=70 MeV·cm²/mg, tested with gold ions). Two of the devices were screened for total ionization dose (TID) at 100 krad and 500 krad, respectively, but were not JANS certified; The third product meets the stringent requirements of the MIL-PRF-19500/794 JANS specification on the basis of a 500 krad TID screen.
As a result, Infineon is the first GaN power device manufacturer in the world to be certified by DLA JANS and manufactured in-house. This certification has extremely high requirements for the selection process and quality service level to ensure the stability and reliability of the device during the space flight mission. Infineon is also continuing to validate multiple batches of products to lay a solid foundation for further mass production and further strengthen its leading position in the market for high-reliability GaN applications.
