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    Power Electronics for Aerospace Including eVTOL and Electric Aircraft

    D30.4 - Near-Field Coupling Analysis of Butterfly Layouts in Paralleled GaN Half-Bridges for Aerospace Applications

    Thursday, March 26, 2026
    12:00 PM - 1:45 PM CT
    Location: Poster 8
    High step ratio isolated DC–DC converters are important for interfacing low-voltage, high-current buses with high-voltage distribution in aerospace systems. Paralleled GaN devices in butterfly half-bridge layouts can achieve high power density, yet measurements indicate suscepti- bility to gate–power loop coupling that may be excited during switching transients and lead to mis-triggering. This work examines a baseline butterfly layout and a Shielded Split-AC Butterfly (SSAB) layout that re-routes the AC path and encloses the gate network within a quiet ground island. Calibrated S21 measurements indicate suppression of the coupling signature and a shift of the dominant mode into a higher frequency band, while field simulations suggest reduced cur- rent crowding in the gate region. A compact parasitic model relates these observations to loop parameters and provides preliminary design guidance for compact, GaN based high-current stages.