High-performance gallium nitride on silicon carbide (GaN on SiC) semiconductor technology is making inroads in infrastructure, aerospace, defense, and commercial products. Qorvo, a pioneer of GaN for high-power RF devices has listed 10 Tips which can be used to evaluate a GaN Supplier.
1. PROVEN DESIGN TOOLS
Nonlinear models, electromagnetic finite element modeling, and stability and loop stability analyses aid in designing best-in-class power and efficiency in high-power MMICs. Qorvo’s robust design methodology leads to more first-pass successes and reliable designs.
2. ROBUST POPULATION TESTING
Industry standards allow testing of small samples of GaN products. Although this is usually adequate, Qorvo has fully characterized product failure modes by testing large populations at temperatures of interest over extended times.
3. HIGH MEDIAN TIME TO FAILURE (MTTF)
MTTF estimates a device’s lifetime. Suppliers should measure device reliability at a minimum of three temperatures because higher temperatures lead to shorter device life. All Qorvo GaN products have an MTTF at 200°C extrapolated to over 107 hours.
4. NO PRECONDITIONING
Some suppliers add time and cost by requiring a preconditioning or burn-in step before delivery. Qorvo’s GaN solutions have maturity in performance, reliability and manufacturing yield data that enables products to ship without preconditioning, confident in delivering high-quality performance every time.
5. JUNCTION TEMPERATURE CHARACTERIZATION
Low-resolution techniques like infrared microscopy underestimate product life expectancies and peak junction temperatures. Qorvo’s thermal models and finite element analyses are verified with micro-Raman measurement, permitting more accurate temperature and device-life prediction.
6. ACCURATE FAILURE CRITERIA
One common parametric failure criteria is a current drop of 20% of Imax. Qorvo sets its Imax parametric failure at a 10% drop, ensuring less than 1dB of power degradation over the life of the part.
7. LOW FALLOUT RATES
Reliability is also measured by rates of catastrophic failure or fallout. Less than 0.002% of Qorvo’s GaN devices fallout per 1 million hours at 200°C. Also check the expected operating life, T1, T5, and T10, at which 1%, 5%, and 10% of devices, respectively, will have failed based on a large population of devices.
8. PROVEN FIELD PERFORMANCE
Do your GaN supplier’s products have a demonstrated track record of reliability in the field? Qorvo’s fielded GaN power amplifiers have accumulated more than 65,800,000 devicehours with a field failure rate of less than 0.013% failures per million device-hours.
9 HIGH TOLERANCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS
Check for devices that stand up to the highly accelerated stress test. (HAST), which measures device performance after 96 hours at 105°C, 85% relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure up to 4 atm. THB compliance is also a critical measurement.
10. MANUFACTURING READINESS LEVEL
MRL is the Department of Defense’s measurement of a supplier’s ability to transition a product successfully from the factory to the field with operational maturity, technology development; and quality and manufacturing management. Qorvo was the first GaN supplier to achieve MRL9.
Download these 10 Tips on GaN Here.
