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Cambridge GaN Devices has launched its lowest ever on-resistance (RDS(on)) parts which have been engineered with a new die and new packages to deliver the benefits of GaN to high-power applications such as data centres, inverters, motor drives and other industrial power supplies. New ICeGaN™ P2 series ICs feature RDS(on) levels down to 25 mΩ supporting multi kW power levels with the highest efficiency.
ANDREA BRICCONI | CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, CGD
“The explosive growth of AI is leading to a significant increase in energy consumption, prompting data centre systems designers to prioritise the use of GaN for high-power, efficient power solutions. This new family of Power GaN ICs is a stepping stone for CGD to support our customers and partners on achieving and exceeding 100 kW/rack power density in Data Centres, required by most recent TDP (Thermal Design Power) trends for High-density computing. On the other hand, developers of motor control inverters are looking to GaN to reduce heat for smaller, longer-lasting system power. These are just two examples of markets that CGD is now aggressively targeting with these new high-power ICeGaN ICs. Simplified gate driver design and reduced system costs, combined with advanced high-performance packaging, make P2 series ICs an excellent choice for these applications.”
Incorporating an on-chip Miller Clamp to eliminate shoot-through losses during fast switching and implementing 0 V turn off to minimise reverse conduction losses, ICeGaN Series P2 ICs outperform discrete e-Mode GaN and other incumbent technologies.
The new packages offer improved thermal resistance performance as low as 0.28 K/W – again, equivalent or better than anything else currently available on the market – and the dual-gate pinout of the dual side DHDFN-9-1 (Dual Heat-spreader DFN) package facilitates optimal PCB layout and simple paralleling for scalability, enabling customers to address multi kW applications 6 with ease. The new packages have also been engineered to improve productivity, with wettable flanks to simplify optical inspection.
New P2 ICeGaN GaN power ICs are sampling now. The P2 series includes four devices with RDS(on) levels of 25 mΩ and 55 mΩ, rated at 27 A and 60 A, in 10 x 10 mm footprint DHDFN-9-1 and BHDFN-9-1 (Bottom Heat-spreader DFN) packages. In common with all CGD ICeGaN products, the P2 series can be driven using any standard MOSFET or IGBT driver.
Two demo boards feature the new P2 devices: a single leg of a 3-phase automotive inverter demo board, developed in partnership with the French public R&I institute IFP Energies , and a 3 kW totem-pole power factor correction demo board.
The new P2 series ICeGaN GaN power ICs and demo boards were unveiled publicly at the PCIM exhibition on CGD’s booth # 7 643, Nürnberg Messe, Nuremberg, Germany, 11-13th June 2024.
Original – Cambridge GaN Devices
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Texas Instruments introduced the industry’s first 650V three-phase GaN IPM for 250W motor drive applications. The new GaN IPM addresses many of the design and performance compromises engineers typically face when designing major home appliances and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.
The DRV7308 GaN IPM enables more than 99% inverter efficiency, optimized acoustic performance, reduced solution size and lower system costs. It is on display at the Power Electronics, Intelligent Motion, Renewable Energy and Energy Management (PCIM) Conference, held June 11-13 in Nuremberg, Germany.
“Designers of high-voltage home appliances and HVAC systems are striving to meet higher energy-efficiency standards to support environmental sustainability goals around the world,” said Nicole Navinsky, Motor Drives business unit manager at TI. “They are also addressing consumer demand for systems that are reliable, quiet and compact. With TI’s new GaN IPM, engineers can design motor driver systems that deliver all of these expectations and operates at peak efficiency.”
Improve system efficiency and reliability with TI GaN
Worldwide efficiency standards for appliances and HVAC systems such as SEER, MEPS, Energy Star and Top Runner are becoming increasingly stringent. The DRV7308 helps engineers meet these standards, leveraging GaN technology to deliver more than 99% efficiency and improve thermal performance, with 50% reduced power losses compared to existing solutions.
In addition, the DRV7308 achieves industry-low dead time and low propagation delay, both less than 200ns, enabling higher pulse-width modulation (PWM) switching frequencies that reduce audible noise and system vibration. These advantages plus the higher power efficiency and integrated features of the DRV7308 also reduce motor heating, which can improve reliability and extend the lifetime of the system.
To learn more about the benefits of GaN technology, read the white paper, “How three-phase integrated GaN technology maximizes motor-drive performance.”
Advanced integration and high power density reduce solution size and costs
Supporting the trend of more compact home appliances, the DRV7308 helps engineers develop smaller motor drive systems. Enabled by GaN technology, the new IPM delivers high power density in a 12mm-by-12mm package, making it the industry’s smallest IPM for 150W to 250W motor-drive applications.
Because of its high efficiency, the DRV7308 eliminates the need for an external heatsink, resulting in motor drive inverter printed circuit board (PCB) size reduction of up to 55% compared to competing IPM solutions. The integration of a current sense amplifier, protection features and inverter stage further reduces solution size and cost.
To learn about designing more efficient, compact motor systems, see the GaN IPM page on TI.com.
This high-efficiency, high-voltage GaN IPM is the latest example of TI innovations to help solve engineering challenges and transform motor designs.
TI’s reliable high-voltage technology at PCIM 2024
Visitors to PCIM can see new products and solutions from TI that are enabling the transition to a more sustainable future with reliable high-voltage technology in Hall 7, Booth 652. In addition to the DRV7308 GaN IPM, TI highlights at PCIM include:
- Next-generation electric vehicle (EV) propulsion system: TI is demonstrating a new 800V, 750kW SiC-based scalable traction inverter system for EV six-phase motors, in collaboration with EMPEL Systems. The demonstration features high power density and efficiency using TI’s high-performance isolated gate drivers, isolated DC/DC power modules and Arm® Cortex®-R MCUs.
- TI’s manager of high-voltage power systems applications, Sheng-Yang Yu, will speak on June 11 in the Markt & Technik panel discussion: “Will SiC ultimately Hold its Own against GaN?”
- TI’s manager of renewable energy systems, Harald Parzhuber, will speak on June 12 in Bodo’s Power Systems panel discussion: “GaN Wide Bandgap Design, the Future of Power.”
Original – Texas Instruments
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hofer powertrain announced the commencement of a groundbreaking research project in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), focusing on the development of a state-of-the-art multilevel Gallium Nitride (GaN) traction inverter. Supported by a prestigious funding from INNOSUISSE, the Swiss Agency of Innovation Promotion, which advances science-based innovations in the interest of the economy and society in Switzerland. The next steps in this project will enable the pursuit of cutting-edge advancements in power electronics even further.
The core objective of the project is to rapidly develop an advanced multilevel traction inverter integrating Gallium Nitride (GaN) switches. hofer powertrain has made significant strides in developing advanced multilevel power electronics utilizing Gallium Nitride (GaN) chip technology over the last four years, resulting in enhanced efficiency and power density compared to silicon-based systems.
Their latest 800V GaN inverters have showcased remarkable performance in tests. The collaborative project with ETH Zurich builds on that experience to realize a revolutionary inverter solution, which aims to leverage a novel modulation scheme, operate at very high switching frequencies, and incorporate a wide array of additional pioneering features that the company has been working on in recent years.
ETH has appointed a highly qualified PhD candidate to lead the research efforts, ensuring the project benefits from fresh, innovative thinking and rigorous academic oversight. The project will be supervised by Professor Johann Biela from ETH Zurich, a renowned expert in power electronics, and Lukasz Roslaniec, the division lead of power electronics at hofer powertrain, who brings extensive industry experience to the table and has been working on these technologies proactively.
The funding from Innosuisse underscores the project’s significance and potential impact in the country and the DACH-region. This financial support will facilitate the design of a new, optimized, and highly efficient three-level GaN power inverter, featuring adaptive gate drivers to improve switching controllability and further reduce energy losses. The outcome will significantly enhance the performance and efficiency of powertrain systems for modern electrified vehicles, making a substantial contribution to the future of mobility.
Dr. Lukasz Roslaniec highlights the driving force behind this project, stating, “We eagerly anticipate the fruitful collaboration with ETH, renowned for its groundbreaking work in Power Electronics and Electric Drives. We are confident that our partnership will yield solutions that are not only technologically advanced and unparalleled but also financially accessible, thereby pushing the adoption of electric vehicles and environmental sustainability in the region and beyond.”
Original – hofer powertrain
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Cambridge GaN Devices is partnering with Qorvo® to develop a reference design and evaluation kit (EVK) that showcases GaN for motor control applications. CGD aims to speed the use of GaN power ICs in BLDC and PMSM applications, resulting in higher power, highly efficient, compact and reliable systems. Qorvo is building an EVK for its PAC5556A motor/control IC that is powered by CGD’s ICeGaN™ (IC-enhanced GaN) technology.
GIORGIA LONGOBARDI | CEO, CGD
“Because ICeGaN – unlike other GaN implementations from other companies – integrates the interface circuitry but not the controller together with the GaN HEMT, it is simple to combine with highly integrated motor controller and drive ICs such as Qorvo’s PAC5556A 600 V High Performance BLDC / PMSM Motor Controller and Driver. We are delighted to partner with Qorvo to enable motor controller and driver applications to enjoy the benefits of GaN power.”JEFF STRANG | GENERAL MANAGER, POWER MANAGEMENT BUSINESS UNIT, QORVO
“Wide bandgap semiconductors such as GaN and SiC are being actively considered in various motor control applications for the power density and efficiency benefits they bring. CGD’s ICeGaN technology offers ease of use and reliability, two crucial factors for motor control and drive designers. We are excited to see the reaction of design engineers when they experience the power of GaN combined with our highly integrated PAC5556A 600V BLDC motor control solution.”GaN brings a variety of benefits, primarily lower losses, which results in higher efficiency, leading to increased power availability and less heat. This reduces the need for complex, bulky, and costly thermal management solutions, resulting in smaller, more powerful systems that have a longer life. GaN also delivers higher torque at low speeds and, therefore, more accurate control. Also, GaN allows high-speed switching, which can reduce audible noise, which is especially valued for domestic items such as ceiling fans, heat pumps, and refrigerators.
In addition to being easy to use, ICeGaN offers several other significant benefits over other GaN devices. The gate drive voltage of ICeGaN is compatible with IGBTs. Because ICeGaN integrates the Miller clamp within the GaN IC, a negative Turn-Off voltage is not required, and low-cost current drivers can be used. Finally, ICeGaN includes a useful current sense function, simplifying circuit design and reducing BOM.
The reference design is available today, and EVK RD5556GaN will be available for purchase in Q324. It will also be shown on CGD’s booth Hall 7 643 at the PCIM exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany, 11-13 June. Qorvo will also exhibit at PCIM, on booth Hall 7 406.
Original – Cambridge GaN Devices
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Vincotech introduced a GaN-based power module which provides an effective solution for highly efficient power conversion in isolated DC/DC converters or DC/AC inverter stages. It offers a 2-in-1 solution, and can be utilized either as a 10mOhm H-Bridge or 5mOhm half-bridge.
The module features E-mode GaN HEMTs chip technology, promoting high efficiency and power density, and is available in an industry-standard package with low stray loop inductance. It is compatible with external gate drives, offering engineers high design flexibility.
Main benefits
- Highest design flexibility with external gate driver, enabling slew rate control for low EMC
- Low voltage overshoots due to integrated snubber capacitors
- High power density and small footprint for soft switching above 500kHz
- Kelvin source pin and low inductive gate loop for clean switching behavior
Applications
- DC fast charger
- Solar inverter
- UPS
Original – Vincotech
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Infineon Technologies AG announced two new CoolGaN™ product technologies, CoolGaN bidirectional switch (BDS) and CoolGaN Smart Sense. CoolGaN BDS provides exceptional soft- and hard-switching behavior, with bidirectional switches available at 40 V, 650 V and 850 V. Target Applications of this family include mobile device USB ports, battery management systems, inverters, and rectifiers.
The CoolGaN Smart Sense products feature lossless current sensing, simplifying design and further reducing power losses, as well as transistor switch functions integrated into one package. They are ideal for usage in consumer USB-C chargers and adapters.
The CoolGaN BDS high voltage will be available at 650 V and 850 V and feature a true normally-off monolithic bi-directional switch with four modes of operation. Based on the gate injection transistor (GIT) technology, the devices have two separate gates with substrate terminal and independent isolated control. They utilize the same drift region to block voltages in both directions with outstanding performance under repetitive short-circuit conditions.
Applications can benefit by using one BDS instead of four conventional transistors, resulting in higher efficiency, density, and reliability. Furthermore, significant cost savings are achieved. The devices optimize performance in the replacement of back-to-back switches in single-phase H4 PFC and HERIC inverters and three-phase Vienna rectifiers. Additional implementations include single-stage AC power conversion in AC/DC or DC/AC topologies.
The CoolGaN BDS 40 V is a normally-off, monolithic bi-directional switch based on Infineon’s in-house Schottky Gate GaN technology. It can block voltages in both directions, and through a single-gate and common-source design, it is optimized to replace back-to-back MOSFETs used as disconnect switches in battery-powered consumer products. The first 40 V CoolGaN BDS product has a 6 mΩ R DS(on), with a range of products to follow. Benefits of using 40 V GaN BDS vs. back-to-back Si FETs include 50 – 75 percent PCB area savings and a reduction of power losses by more than 50 percent, all at a lower cost.
The CoolGaN Smart Sense products feature 2 kV electrostatic discharge withstand and can connect to controller current sense for peak current control and overcurrent protection. The current sense response time is ~200 ns, which is equal or less than common controller blanking time for ultimate compatibility.
Implementing the devices results in increased efficiency and cost savings. At a higher R DSs(on) of e.g. 350 mΩ, the CoolGaN Smart Sense products offer similar efficiency and thermal performance at lower cost compared to traditional 150mΩ GaN transistors. Moreover, the devices are footprint compatible to Infineon’s transistor-only CoolGaN package, eliminating the need for layout rework and PCB respin, and further facilitating design with Infineon’s GaN devices.
Engineering samples of the CoolGaN BDS 40 V are available now for 6 mΩ and will follow in Q3 2024 for 4 mΩ and 9 mΩ. Samples of the CoolGaN BDS 650 V will be available in Q4 2024, and 850 V will follow early 2025. CoolGaN Smart Sense samples will be available in August 2024. Further information is available here: https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/promopages/GaN-innovations/
Original – Infineon Technologies
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Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD) announced two new packages for the company’s ICeGaN™ family of GaN power ICs that offer enhanced thermal performance and simplify inspection. Variants of the well-proven DFN style, both packages are extremely rugged and reliable.
Developed for CGD, the DHDFN-9-1 (Dual Heat-spreader DFN) is a thin, dual-side cooled package with a small, 10×10 mm footprint and wettable flanks to simplify optical inspection. It offers low thermal resistance (Rth(JC), and can be operated with bottom-side, top-side and dual-side cooling, offering flexibility in design and out-performing the often-used TOLT package in top-side and, especially, dual-side cooled configurations.
The DHDFN-9-1 package has been designed with dual-gate pinout to facilitate optimal PCB layout and simple paralleling, enabling customers to address applications up to 6 kW with ease. The BHDFN-9-1 (Bottom Heat-spreader DFN) is a bottom-side cooled package, also with wettable flanks for easy inspection. Thermal resistance is 0.28 K/W, matching or exceeding other leading devices. Measuring 10×10 mm, the BHDFN is smaller than the commonly-used TOLL package yet shares a similar footprint, hence a common layout with TOLL-packaged GaN power ICs is possible for ease of use and evaluation.
Nare Gabrielyan | Product Marketing Manager, CGD
“These new packages are part of our strategy to enable customers to use our ICeGaN GaN power ICs at higher power levels. Servers, data centres, inverters/motor drives, micro-inverters and other industrial applications are all beginning to enjoy the power density and efficiency benefits that GaN brings, but they are also more demanding. Therefore, it is essential for such applications that devices are also rugged and reliable, and easy to design in. These attributes are inherent in ICeGaN, and are supported and extended by the new packages.”
Improving thermal resistance performance has several benefits. First, more power output is available at the same RDS(on) . Devices also run at cooler temperatures for the same power, so less heatsinking is required, resulting in reduced system costs. Lower operating temperatures also lead to higher reliability and longer lifetimes. Finally, if cost is the constraint for the application, designers can use a lower cost part with a higher RDS(on) and still achieve the required power output.
The new packages will be shown for the first time publicly at the upcoming PCIM exhibition on CGD’s booth # 7 643, Nürnberg Messe, Nuremberg, Germany, 11-13th June 2024.
Original – Cambridge GaN Devices
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Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan to solidify a partnership in developing high performance GaN solutions for USB-PD adaptors. The MoU also covers the sharing of domestic and international market information, joint visits to potential customers and promotion.
Andrea Bricconi | Chief Commercial Officer, CGD
“We are excited to partner with ITRI, an organization with a power solution research team that is very experienced in developing power solutions and holds many patents. We will be demonstrating some of their board designs at our booth at the upcoming PCIM show in Nuremberg in June. These products utilize CGD’s unique IC chip architecture and ITRI’s patented designs to achieve product size reduction, high efficiency and power density, and cost competitiveness.”
Wen-Tien Tsai | leader of Commercial Power Design team, GEL/itri
“CGD’s IC-enhanced GaN – ICeGaN – is a novel platform that improves ease-of-use, facilitates smart temperature control and enhances gate reliability. We are excited to include these benefits in our new power designs.”
According to leading WBG analysts, Yole Group, the GaN market is expected to exceed $1B, with key growth in the applications of comms power supplies, and automotive DC/DC converters and on-board chargers. However, the first commercialized product in the market to adopt GaN devices has been USB-PD adaptors, and it is this market that the first designs from the partnership will address. Specifically, the agreement covers the development of power solutions in the 140-240 W range with power densities exceeding 30 W/in3 for e-mobility, power tools, notebook and cell phone applications.
Original – Cambridge GaN Devices
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Infineon Technologies AG announced two new generations of high voltage (HV) and medium voltage (MV) CoolGaN TM devices which now enable customers to use Gallium Nitride (GaN) in voltage classes from 40 V to 700 V in a broader array of applications that help drive digitalization and decarbonization.
These two product families are manufactured on high performance 8-inch in-house foundry processes in Kulim (Malaysia) and Villach (Austria). With this, Infineon expands its CoolGaN advantages and capacity to ensure a robust supply chain in the GaN devices market, which is estimated to grow with an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46 percent over the next five years according to Yole Group.
“Today’s announcement builds nicely on our acquisition of GaN Systems last year and brings to market a whole new level of efficiency and performance for our customers,” said Adam White, Division President of Power & Sensor Systems at Infineon. “The new generations of our Infineon CoolGaN family in high and medium voltage demonstrate our product advantages and are manufactured entirely on 8 inch, demonstrating the fast scalability of GaN to larger wafer diameters. I am excited to see all of the disruptive applications our customers unleash with these new generations of GaN.”
The new 650 V G5 family addresses applications in consumer, data center, industrial and solar. These products are the next generation of GIT-based high voltage products from Infineon. The second new family manufactured on the 8-inch process is the medium voltage G3 devices which include CoolGaN Transistor voltage classes 60 V, 80 V, 100 V and 120 V; and 40 V bidirectional switch (BDS) devices. The medium voltage G3 products are targeted at motor drive, telecom, data center, solar and consumer applications.
The CoolGaN 650 V G5 will be available in Q4 2024 and the medium voltage CoolGaN G3 will be available in Q3 2024. Samples are available now.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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The influence of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving up the energy demand of data centers across the globe. This growing demand underscores the need for efficient and reliable energy supply for servers. Infineon Technologies AG opens a new chapter in the energy supply domain for AI systems and unveils a roadmap of energy efficient power supply units (PSU) specifically designed to address the current and future energy need of AI data centers.
By introducing unprecedented PSU performance classes, Infineon enables cloud data center and AI server operators to reduce their energy consumption for system cooling. The innovative PSUs reduce power consumption and CO 2 emissions, resulting in lower lifetime operating costs. The powerful PSUs are not only used in future data centers but can also replace existing power supply units in servers and increase efficiency.
In addition to the current PSUs with an output of 3 kW and 3.3 kW available today, the new 8 kW and 12 kW PSUs will contribute to further increasing energy efficiency in future AI data centers. With the 12 kW reference board, Infineon will offer the world’s first power supply unit that achieves this level of performance and supplies future data centers with power.
“At Infineon, we power AI. We are addressing a critical question of our era – how to efficiently meet the escalating energy demands of data centers,” says Adam White, Division President Power & Sensor Systems at Infineon. “It’s a development that was only possible by Infineon’s expertise in integrating the three semiconductor materials silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitride (GaN) into a single module. Our PSU portfolio is therefore not only an example of Infineon’s innovative strength, which leads to first-class results in terms of performance, efficiency and reliability for data centers and the AI ecosystem. It also reinforces Infineon’s market leadership in power semiconductors.”
Infineon is responding to the requirements of data center operators for higher system efficiency and lower downtimes. The growth of server and data center applications has led to an increase in power requirements, necessitating the development of power supplies with higher power ratings from 800 W up to 5.5 kW and beyond. This increase is driven by the growing power requirements of Graphic Process Units (GPU) on which AI applications are computed.
High-level GPUs now require up to 1 kW per chip reaching 2 kW and beyond by the end of the decade. This will lead to higher overall energy demand for data centers. Depending on the scenario, data centers will account for up to seven percent of global electricity consumption by 2030; this is an order of magnitude comparable to India’s current electricity consumption.
Infineon’s new PSUs contribute to the efforts to limit the CO 2 footprint of AI data centers despite the rapidly growing energy requirements. This is made possible by a particularly high level of efficiency that minimizes power losses. Infineon’s new generation PSUs achieve an efficiency of 97.5 percent and meet the most stringent performance requirements. The new 8 kW PSU is capable of supporting AI racks with an output of up to 300 kW and more. Efficiency and power density is increased to 100 watts per in³ compared to 32 W/in³ in the available 3 kW PSU, providing further benefits for the system size and cost savings for operators.
From a technical perspective, this is made possible by the unique combination of the three semiconductor materials Si, SiC and GaN. These technologies contribute to the sustainability and reliability of AI server and data center systems. Innovative semiconductors based on wide-bandgap materials such as SiC and GaN are the key to a conscious and efficient use of energy to drive decarbonization.
The 8 kW Power Supply Unit will be available in Q1 2025. For more information about the PSU roadmap, please click here.
Infineon at the PCIM Europe 2024
PCIM Europe will take place in Nuremberg, Germany, from 11 to 13 June 2024. Infineon will present its products and solutions for decarbonization and digitalization in hall 7, booths #470 and #169. Company representatives will also be giving several presentations at the accompanying PCIM Conference and Forums, followed by discussions with the speakers. Information about Infineon’s PCIM 2024 show highlights is available at www.infineon.com/pcim.
Original – Infineon Technologies
