Over the last few years, there has been phenomenal growth in the adoption of wide-bandgap semiconductors, in what seems to be a consolidated trend toward replacing legacy silicon products. Whereas silicon carbide has successfully targeted electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, gallium nitride (GaN) HEMTs have initially made inroads into consumer-oriented applications, primarily chargers and adaptors. Yet GaN is much more versatile than a simple MOSFET replacement for making chargers slimmer and lighter would suggest.
Conceived in early research mainly for blue LEDs and RF power amplifiers, the technology has nonetheless exhibited exceptional electric field strength and electron mobility. These properties wed perfectly to its manufacturing “style.” Unlike silicon power components, which are manufactured with multiple, high-temperature diffusion steps to create doped regions, GaN HEMTs owe their features to the material interfaces of epitaxial layer stacks instead of bulk doping profiles.
Power Electronics News
April 2026
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