Improved modeling of GaN HEMTs for predicting thermal and trapping-induced-kink effects

•GaN HEMT is an outstanding technology for high power and frequency applications.•There is crucial need for nonlinear modeling of GaN HEMT for design purposes.•In this paper, an efficient modeling approach has been developed and validated.•The model showed a very good agreement with small- and large-signal measurements.

In this paper, an improved modeling approach has been developed and validated for GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). The proposed analytical model accurately simulates the drain current and its inherent trapping and thermal effects. Genetic-algorithm-based procedure is developed to automatically find the fitting parameters of the model. The developed modeling technique is implemented on a packaged GaN-on-Si HEMT and validated by DC and small-/large-signal RF measurements. The model is also employed for designing and realizing a switch-mode inverse class-F power amplifier. The amplifier simulations showed a very good agreement with RF large-signal measurements.