2 Gate Drivers in Automotive LiDAR and Industrial Laser Scanner Applications

LiDAR and laser scanner systems have a switch that gate drivers help drive. A transistor is the component that performs the switching itself, handling the majority of the power transfer; this is typically a GaNFET in these end equipments. Finally, the gate driver is the in-between of the controller and the switch to efficiently control this transistor. The drive strength of the gate driver determines how fast the switch turns on or off, allowing for the optimization of system efficiency.

GaNFETs require more precise gate voltages compared to other types of FETs. Thus, it is important to have GaN-optimized discrete gate drivers to drive such GaNFETs. TI has both low-side GaN optimized gate drivers (such as the LMG1025-Q1 and LMG1020) and half-bridge GaN-optimized gate drivers (such as the LM5113-Q1 and LMG1205).

Ringing is something GaNFETs can experience and should be considered during design. To help alleviate this, it is recommended to have the ability to adjust the drive strength of a gate drive to help manage noise. Using discrete, GaN optimized gate drivers with split outputs helps designers independently adjust the resistor values to manage slew rate. TI has GaN optimized gate drivers such as the LMG1025-Q1, LMG1020, LM5113-Q1 and LMG1205 with split output. Selecting the best gate driver for the system allows for high performance operation.