The current and voltage characteristics of wide-bandgap semiconductors, particularly in relation to applications in fast-charging stations for electric cars, is the focus of an investigation being conducted by the Łukasiewicz Research Network, Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics in Warsaw, Poland. The project involves challenges for which Beaverton, Oregon-based test and measurement equipment manufacturer Tektronix, and its subsidiary Keithley Instruments, have been able to provide both expertise and instrumentation.
The institute conducts scientific research and development work in several electronics areas, including work on developing a new generation of power electronics devices and materials based on wide-bandgap semiconductors such as gallium nitride (GaN), silicon carbide (SiC), gallium oxide (Ga2O3) and others.
Digital oscilloscopes from the Tektronix MD0300 series are being used to study the current and voltage characteristics of wide-bandgap semiconductors. Source: Tektronix Inc. Gearing up for the project included meeting stringent requirements for system functionality and flexibility when measuring semiconductor devices, including on-wafer chips and electronic packages in TO-220 and TO-247 transistor outline styles. There was also the need to provide current measurements in the femtoAmp range, the designation for units on the scale of 10-15 A.
Tektronix said the fact that dynamic characterization of GaN power semiconductor devices presents specific challenges not encountered with other semiconductors: a complex test setup to retrieve key figures such as dynamic RDS (on) or the capacitance value between the terminals and, for the institute’s research, the need for automatic switching between high-voltage and high-current measurements without re-cabling.
Devices from the Keithley 2600 series of Source Measure Units (SMUs) were selected to measure current-voltage characteristics in a wide range of voltages and current, extending from the femtoAmp range up to 50 A. The SMU series is specifically designed to characterize and test high voltage/current electronics and power semiconductors such as diodes, field effect transistors (FETs), insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), high brightness LEDs and DC-DC converters.
The 2600 series will be used in conjunction with an ATV high-voltage switch and Tektronix model MDO3034 digital oscilloscopes to meet the GaN power transistor need for dynamic RDS (on) measurements. That model is part of the Tektronix MD0300 mixed domain oscilloscope series of customizable, 6-in-1 devices that include an integrated spectrum analyzer, arbitrary function generator, logic analyzer, protocol analyzer, and digital voltmeter/counter.
“I can definitely recommend Tektronix and Keithley products due to the wide measurement ranges of various electrical quantities, a wide and unique range of measurement procedures offered and their ease of use and configuration. They also offer the flexibility to expand the system with new measurement possibilities in the future,” said Andrzej Taube of the Łukasiewicz network.
