Editing Gallium nitride (section)

=== Transistors and power ICs ===
[[File:FBH GaN High electron mobility transistor.jpg|thumb|GaN [[high-electron-mobility transistor]]s (manufactured by [[Ferdinand-Braun-Institut]])]]
GaN transistors are suitable for high frequency, high voltage, high temperature and high-efficiency applications.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GaN: Pushing the limits of power density & efficiency {{!}} TI.com |url=https://www.ti.com/technologies/gallium-nitride.html |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=www.ti.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Simplifying Power Conversion in High-Voltage Systems |url=https://www.ti.com/lit/SLYY221 |access-date=11 July 2024 |website=Texas Instruments}}</ref> GaN is efficient at transferring current, and this ultimately means that less energy is lost to heat. <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://manmadecycle.com.au/blogs/news/apple-30w-compact-gan-charger|title=Apple 30W Compact GaN Charger|access-date=2022-04-30|language=en}}</ref>

GaN [[high-electron-mobility transistor]]s (HEMT) have been offered commercially since 2006, and have found immediate use in various wireless infrastructure applications due to their high efficiency and high voltage operation. A second generation of devices with shorter gate lengths will address higher-frequency telecom and aerospace applications.<ref>2010 IEEE Intl. Symposium, Technical Abstract Book, Session TH3D, pp. 164–165</ref>

GaN-based metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors ([[MOSFET]]) and metal–semiconductor field-effect transistors ([[MESFET]]) also offer advantages including lower loss in high power electronics, especially in automotive and electric car applications.<ref name="Davis2009">{{Cite web
| title = SiC and GaN Vie for Slice of the Electric Vehicle Pie
| first = Sam
| last = Davis
| work = Power Electronics
| date = 2009-11-01
| access-date = 2016-01-03
| url = http://powerelectronics.com/passive-components/sic-and-gan-vie-slice-electric-vehicle-pie
| quote = These devices offer lower loss during power conversion and operational characteristics that surpass traditional silicon counterparts.
| archive-date = 20 November 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211120210913/https://www.powerelectronics.com/passive-components/sic-and-gan-vie-slice-electric-vehicle-pie
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> Since 2008 these can be formed on a silicon substrate.<ref name="Davis2009"/> High-voltage (800&nbsp;V) [[Schottky barrier diode]]s (SBDs) have also been made.<ref name="Davis2009"/>

The higher efficiency and high power density of integrated GaN power ICs allows them to reduce the size, weight and component count of applications including mobile and laptop chargers, consumer electronics, computing equipment and electric vehicles.

GaN-based electronics (not pure GaN) have the potential to drastically cut energy consumption, not only in consumer applications but even for [[power transmission]] [[public utility|utilities]].

Unlike silicon transistors that switch off due to power surges,{{clarify|date=May 2024|reason=A 'power surge' in this context makes no sense.}} GaN transistors are typically [[depletion mode]] devices (i.e. on / resistive when the gate-source voltage is zero). Several methods have been proposed to reach normally-off (or E-mode) operation, which is necessary for use in power electronics:<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://phys.org/news/2015-07-silicon-gallium-nitride-electronics-drastically.html|title=Making the new silicon: Gallium nitride electronics could drastically cut energy usage|access-date=2018-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Meneghini|first1=Matteo|last2=Hilt|first2=Oliver|last3=Wuerfl|first3=Joachim|last4=Meneghesso|first4=Gaudenzio|date=2017-01-25|title=Technology and Reliability of Normally-Off GaN HEMTs with p-Type Gate|journal=Energies|language=en|volume=10|issue=2|pages=153|doi=10.3390/en10020153|doi-access=free|hdl=11577/3259344|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
* the implantation of fluorine ions under the gate (the negative charge of the F-ions favors the depletion of the channel)
* the use of a MIS-type gate stack, with recess of the AlGaN
* the integration of a cascaded pair constituted by a normally-on GaN transistor and a low voltage silicon MOSFET
* the use of a p-type layer on top of the AlGaN/GaN heterojunction<!-- how is this better than the ones made in 2010 in the section above ? -->