The gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors (GaN HEMT) are among the most promising power semiconductor devices. However, these transistors have a small gate voltage margin compared with conventional power devices. In this paper, the gate voltage of GaN HEMTs is mathematically analyzed when it is applied to a zero voltage switching (ZVS) phase-shift full bridge (PSFB) DC–DC converter. The analysis accounts for nonlinear capacitance characteristics under the ZVS switching condition, and a critical parasitic inductance are derived to restrict the gate voltage to a safety operation area. The optimal layout for bridge topologies and gate drivers is proposed, to satisfy the derived parasitic inductance limitation. A 500-W-power laboratory phase-shift full-bridge DC–DC converter is implemented to verify the proposed layout.