Optimizing Gallium Nitride (GaN) Based Inverters for Next-Generation Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations
Keywords:
zero-voltage switching, power density, wide bandgap semiconductorAbstract
Gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are rapidly emerging as the enabling technology for next-generation electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging stations, offering superior switching performance over conventional silicon-based devices. This paper investigates the optimisation of GaN-based two-stage inverter architectures — comprising a totem-pole bridgeless power factor correction (PFC) front-end and an LLC resonant DC-DC stage — for high-power EV fast-charging applications. Key optimisation parameters including switching frequency selection, dead-time minimisation, zero-voltage switching (ZVS) range extension, and thermal management strategies are systematically analysed. The comparative performance of GaN against silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) devices is evaluated across efficiency, power density, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) dimensions. Results indicate that GaN-based inverters can achieve power conversion efficiencies exceeding 98% at switching frequencies of 100-500 kHz, with passive component volume reductions of 30-60% relative to Si baselines. Implementation challenges including dynamic on-resistance degradation, gate-driver design complexity, and high-frequency EMI compliance are critically examined. The paper concludes with a topology-selection framework and a research roadmap for GaN deployment in 400 V and 800 V EV charging architectures.
References
[1] G. Iannaccone, C. Sbrana, I. Morelli, and S. Strangio, "Power electronics based on wide-bandgap semiconductors: Opportunities and challenges," IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 139446–139456, 2021.
[2] M. Buffolo et al., "Review and outlook on GaN and SiC power devices: Industrial state-of-the-art, applications, and perspectives," IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 1344–1355, Mar. 2024.
[3] N. Karaoglu et al., "GaN electric vehicle systems—A comparative review," Energies, vol. 18, no. 22, pp. 6020, Nov. 2025.
[4] G. A. Mudiyanselage, N. Keshmiri, and A. Emadi, "A review of DC-DC resonant converter topologies and control techniques for electric vehicle applications," IEEE Open J. Power Electron., vol. 4, pp. 945–964, 2023.
[5] R. Coppola, F. Nappi, and M. Paparo, "A comprehensive review of GaN-based bi-directional on-board charger topologies and modulation methods," Energies, vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 3433, Apr. 2023.
[6] K. J. Chen, O. Häberlen, A. Lidow, C. Lin Tsai, T. Ueda, Y. Uemoto, and Y. Wu, "GaN-on-Si power technology: Devices and applications," IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 779–795, Mar. 2017.
[7] V. Smet et al., "Power semiconductor considerations for xEV applications," in CS MANTECH Conf., pp. 1–4, Orlando, FL, 2023.
[8] G. Iannaccone, C. Sbrana, I. Morelli, and S. Strangio, "Power electronics based on wide-bandgap semiconductors: Opportunities and challenges," IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 139446–139456, 2021.
[9] Z. Liu, F. C. Lee, Q. Li, and Y. Yang, "Design of GaN-based MHz totem-pole PFC rectifier," IEEE J. Emerg. Sel. Top. Power Electron., vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 799–807, Sep. 2016.
[10] J. W. M. Soares and A. A. Badin, "High-efficiency interleaved totem-pole PFC converter with voltage follower characteristics," IEEE J. Emerg. Sel. Top. Power Electron., vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1879–1887, Apr. 2023.
[11] S. Kamarajugadda and S. Kadiyala, "Design optimization of a 7.2 kW totem-pole power factor correction converter for onboard electric vehicle charger," Semantic Scholar, 2023.
[12] G. A. Mudiyanselage, N. Keshmiri, and A. Emadi, "A review of DC-DC resonant converter topologies and control techniques for electric vehicle applications," IEEE Open J. Power Electron., vol. 4, pp. 945–964, 2023.
[13] Y. Zhang, W. Xu, Y. Xie, T. Liu, Z. Wu, C. Chen, Y. Kang, and H. Peng, "Analysis of dead-time energy loss in GaN-based TCM converters with an improved GaN HEMT model," IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 1806–1818, Feb. 2023.
[14] A. Elezab, O. Zayed, A. Abuelnaga, and M. Narimani, "High efficiency LLC resonant converter with wide output range of 200–1000 V for DC-connected EVs ultra-fast charging stations," IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 33037–33048, 2023.
[15] M. Malakoutian, X. Zheng, M. Kuball, and S. Chowdhury, "Thermal management in GaN-devices for increased power density," in CS MANTECH Conf., pp. 1–4, Orlando, FL, 2023.
[16] D. Lumbreras, M. Vilella, J. Zaragoza, N. Berbel, J. Jordà, and A. Collado, "Effect of the heat dissipation system on hard-switching GaN-based power converters for energy conversion," Energies, vol. 14, no. 19, pp. 6287, Oct. 2021.
[17] L. Gill, S. DasGupta, J. C. Neely, R. J. Kaplar, and A. J. Michaels, "A review of GaN HEMT dynamic on-resistance and dynamic stress effects on field distribution," IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 517–537, Jan. 2024.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 BAUDER Press
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors submitting a manuscript retain copyright of their work upon acceptance for publication in Aintelia Science Notes Journal (ASNJ). By submitting, authors agree that:
- Copyright Retention: Copyright of the published article remains with the author(s). BAUDER Press is granted a non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and archive the work.
- Licensing: The article is published under CC BY-NC 4.0, allowing third parties to share and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and the journal.
- Author Rights: Authors are free to deposit, distribute, and reuse their article in any medium (repositories, theses, conferences, teaching materials) without restriction, provided the journal is cited as the original publication venue.