Charge-compensated GaN HEMT with avalanche ruggedness
This patent covers a new design for gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors — the chips that switch electricity on and off at high speed in power converters, EV chargers, and telecom equipment. The innovation is a set of carefully placed p-type charge-compensation regions embedded beneath the gate and around the conductive channel, which counteract unwanted electrical charge that normally builds up and degrades performance or causes failures. By tuning where these regions sit relative to the active channel, the designers can control leakage current, improve reliability, and even engineer the transistor to survive voltage spikes (avalanche capability) — a key safety requirement for automotive and industrial applications. The result is a GaN transistor that can operate at higher voltages and temperatures while maintaining the fast switching speed GaN is known for.
What you could build
A licensable GaN HEMT chip architecture sold to or licensed by power semiconductor manufacturers (Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Navitas, GaN Systems) for integration into EV on-board chargers, industrial motor drives, and 5G base station power supplies — segments where GaN is actively displacing silicon.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense electronics primes and government contractors in Northern Virginia (e.g., suppliers to DARPA, ONR wide-bandgap power electronics programs) as well as data center power infrastructure companies with Virginia operations would have direct interest.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Yuhao Zhang
- Granted
- November 9, 2021
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 11171203
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.