A Review on Design Considerations & Limitations of Resonant Gate Drive Circuit in VHF Operations

A comprehensive review of resonant gate drive
(RGD) circuits operating in very high frequency (VHF)
switching is discussed. The specific RGD circuits are normally
applied only for certain applications due to their design
limitations and drawbacks. The isolation techniques must be
considered to avoid mismatch and interruption of signals as well
as the dead time delay, size of components and choice of
optimized parameter values. Low conduction losses and higher
switching speed are important in achieving high efficiency of the
driver. A new RGD circuit is proposed using power MOSFET
device to show its robustness in achieving low conduction loss
and high switching speed. In the near future, high power GaN
HEMT can be used as a substitute for power MOSFET switch in
VHF switching operation. Even though this device is not yet
commercially available, the simulation study on RGD circuits
can be realized through modeling. Studies have shown that some
RGD circuit designs using power MOSFET can be modified and
replaced with this device. However, the investigation on circuit
performance and reliability on signal integrity have to be
further investigated due to their differences in semiconductor
properties and electrical characteristics.