Self-Reverse-Blocking Control of Dual-Gate Monolithic Bidirectional GaN Switch With Quasi-Ohmic on-State Characteristic

Converter topologies such as current-source rectifiers and inverters require switching devices with bipolar voltage blocking and unidirectional current conduction capability. Recently available dual-gate GaN monolithic bidirectional switches (MBDSs) can mimic such self-reverse-blocking (SRB) behavior if the MBDS’ two gates are controlled accordingly, but thus need twice the number of gate signals and gate drive circuits. Therefore, we propose cascode-diode control (i.e., without additional sensing or gate drive circuitry) of one MBDS gate using a cascode configuration with a low-voltage silicon Schottky diode. The resulting SRB-MBDS features quasi-ohmic conduction characteristic and single-gate control. We provide static and dynamic measurements of a discrete proof-of-concept realization (600-V, 190-m $\mathrm{\Omega }$ GaN MBDS; 40-V, 10-A silicon Schottky diode) that demonstrate the proposed SRB-MBDS’ feasibility.