Comparison of GaN and Si Devices in a 50 MHz Class Φ2 Converter

GaN devices are promising for high frequency (HF) and very high frequency (VHF) applications. But high frequency loss mechanisms such as dynamic R ds,on and C oss loss can be significant and reduce their performance below what radio frequency (RF) silicon devices can achieve. We design and implement two 50 MHz class Φ 2 converters to empirically compare the performance of GaN and Si devices at VHF. The experimental results show that the Si-based design with a resonant gate driver can achieve higher efficiency and better thermal performance compared to the GaN-based design with conventional gating circuitry.