[paper] Modeling Power GaN-HEMTs in SPICE

Utkarsh Jadli, Faisal Mohd-Yasin, Hamid Amini Moghadam, Peyush Pande*, Mayank Chaturvedi and Sima Dimitrijev

Modeling Power GaN-HEMTs Using Standard MOSFET Equations and Parameters in SPICE

Electronics 2021, 10, 130

DOI: 10.3390/electronics10020130

Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia;

*Electronics Department, Graphic Era (Deemed to Be University), Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India;

Abstract: The device library in the standard circuit simulator (SPICE) lacks a gallium nitride based high-electron-mobility-transistor (GaN-HEMT) model, required for the design and verification of power-electronic circuits. This paper shows that GaN-HEMTs can be modeled by selected equations from the standard MOSFET LEVEL3 model in SPICE. A method is proposed for the extraction of SPICE parameters in these equations. The selected equations and the proposed parameter-extraction method are verified with measured static and dynamic characteristics of commercial GaN-HEMTs. Furthermore, a double pulse test is performed in LTSpice and compared to its manufacturer model to demonstrate the effectiveness of the MOSFET LEVEL3 model. The advantage of the proposed approach to use the MOSFET LEVEL3 model, in comparison to the alternative behavioral-based model provided by some manufacturers, is that users can apply the proposed method to adjust the parameters of the MOSFET LEVEL3 model for the case of manufacturers who do not provide SPICE models for their HEMTs.

Fig: Internal cross-sectional structure of GaN-HEMT

Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge the Innovative Manufacturing Co- operative Research Centre (IMCRC) for providing a PhD scholarship to the first author. We also acknowledge the School of Engineering and Built Environments (EBE) of Griffith University for funding this project. This work was performed in part at the Queensland node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, a company established under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy to provide nano- and micro-fabrication facilities for Australia’s researchers.

[paper] Stretchable transistors

Yahao Dai, Huawei Hu, Maritha Wang, Jie Xu* and Sihong Wang

Stretchable transistors and functional circuits for human-integrated electronics

Nat Electron (2021) 

DOI:10.1038/s41928-020-00513-5

Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
*Nanotechnology and Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA

Abstract: Electronics with skin- or tissue-like mechanical properties, including low stiffness and high stretchability, can be used to create intelligent technologies for application in areas such as health monitoring and human–machine interactions. Stretchable transistors that provide signal-processing and computational functions will be central to the development of this technology. Here, we review the development of stretchable transistors and functional circuits, examining progress in terms of materials and device engineering. We consider the three established approaches for creating stretchable transistors: buckling engineering, stiffness engineering and intrinsic-stretchability engineering. We also explore the current capabilities of stretchable transistors and circuits in human-integrated electronics and consider the challenges involved in delivering advanced applications.

Fig: Stretchable sensor–amplifier system for pulse measurements [Nature 555] 

Acknowledgements: This work is supported by the start-up fund from the University of Chicago. J.X. acknowledges support from the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a US Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility, and the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, under contract no. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

REF:

[Nature 555] Wang, S. et al. Skin electronics from scalable fabrication of an intrinsically stretchable transistor array. Nature 555, 83–88 (2018).

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[paper] Neuromuscular Junction‐on‐a‐Chip

Rianne de Jongh¹, Xandor M. Spijkers^1,2, Svetlana Pasteuning‐Vuhman¹, 

Paul Vulto² R. Jeroen Pasterkamp¹

Neuromuscular Junction‐on‐a‐Chip: 

ALS disease modeling and read‐out development in microfluidic devices

Journal of Neurochemistry 

Open Access 31 December 2020

DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15289 

1 Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
2 Mimetas B.V., Organ-on-a-chip Company, Leiden, The Netherlands

Abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal and progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting upper and lower motor neurons with no cure available. Clinical and animal studies reveal that the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), a synaptic connection between motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers, is highly vulnerable in ALS and suggest that NMJ defects may occur at early stages of the disease. However, mechanistic insight into how NMJ dysfunction relates to the onset and progression of ALS is incomplete, which hampers therapy development. This is, in part, caused by a lack of robust in vitro models. The ability to combine microfluidic and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies has opened up new avenues for studying molecular and cellular ALS phenotypes in vitro. Microfluidic devices offer several advantages over traditional culture approaches when modeling the NMJ, such as the spatial separation of different cell types and increased control over the cellular microenvironment. Moreover, they are compatible with 3D cell culture, which enhances NMJ functionality and maturity. Here, we review how microfluidic technology is currently being employed to develop more reliable in vitro NMJ models. To validate and phenotype such models, various morphological and functional read‐outs have been developed. We describe and discuss the relevance of these read‐outs and specifically illustrate how these read‐outs have enhanced our understanding of NMJ pathology in ALS. Finally, we share our view on potential future directions and challenges.

FIG: Overview of some of the morphological and functional read-outs that can be used

in NMJ-on-a-chip models for studying ALS disease mechanisms. 

Acknowledgements: We thank Dr. Ewout Groen and Prof. Eran Perlson for carefully reading the manuscript, and Frederik Schavemaker for help with preparing the Figures. Work in the laboratory of R.J.P. is supported by the ALS Stichting Nederland (TOTALS, ALS-on-a-Chip) and by the MAXOMOD and INTEGRALS consortia under the frame of E-Rare-3, the ERANet for Research on Rare Diseases.