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Texas Instruments announced the expansion of its low-power gallium nitride (GaN) portfolio, designed to help improve power density, maximize system efficiency, and shrink the size of AC/DC consumer power electronics and industrial systems. TI’s overall portfolio of GaN field-effect transistors (FETs) with integrated gate drivers addresses common thermal design challenges, keeping adapters cooler while pushing more power in a smaller footprint.
“Today’s consumers want smaller, lighter and more portable power adapters that also provide fast, energy-efficient charging,” said Kannan Soundarapandian, general manager of High Voltage Power at TI.
“With the expansion of our portfolio, designers can bring the power-density benefits of low-power GaN technology to more applications that consumers use every day, such as mobile phone and laptop adapters, TV power-supply units, and USB wall outlets. Additionally, TI’s portfolio also addresses the growing demand for high efficiency and compact designs in industrial systems such as power tools and server auxiliary power supplies.”
The new portfolio of GaN FETs with integrated gate drivers, which includes the LMG3622, LMG3624 and LMG3626, offers the industry’s most accurate integrated current sensing. This functionality helps designers achieve maximum efficiency by eliminating the need for an external shunt resistor and reducing associated power losses by as much as 94% when compared to traditional current-sensing circuits used with discrete GaN and silicon FETs.
TI’s GaN FETs with integrated gate drivers enable faster switching speeds, which helps keep adapters from overheating. Designers can reach up to 94% system efficiency for <75-W AC/DC applications or above 95% system efficiency for >75-W AC/DC applications. The new devices help designers reduce the solution size of a typical 67-W power adapter by as much as 50% compared to silicon-based solutions.
The portfolio is also optimized for the most common topologies in AC/DC power conversion, such as quasi-resonant flyback, asymmetrical half bridge flyback, inductor-inductor-converter, totem-pole power factor correction and active clamp flyback.
To learn more about the benefits of TI GaN for the most common AC/DC topologies, read the technical article, “The benefits of low-power GaN in common AC/DC power topologies.”
TI has a long history of globally owned, regionally diverse internal manufacturing operations, including wafer fabs, assembly and test factories, and bump and probe facilities across 15 worldwide sites. TI has been investing in manufacturing GaN technology for more than 10 years.
With plans to manufacture more than 90% of its products internally by 2030, TI has the ability to provide customers with dependable capacity for decades to come.
Original – Texas Instruments
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GaN Systems™, an Infineon Technologies Company, announced the winners for the 9th “GaN Systems Cup” Power Electronics Application Design Competition at the 2023 China Power Electronics and Energy Conversion Congress and the 26th China Power Supply Society Annual Conference & Exhibition (CPEEC & CPSSC 2023), taking place on November 10-13, 2023, in Guangzhou, China. The Xi’an Jiaotong University team’s three-phase inverter prototype design was recognized as the Grand Prize for achieving outstanding efficiency and power density with GaN Systems’ high-performance power transistors.
Since 2015, the Power Electronics Application Design Competition has encouraged over a thousand college students to sharpen their knowledge with practical design experience and explore possibilities in power electronics.
Participation was again unprecedented this year, with 68 teams from 48 top universities submitting project proposals. Out of the 24 teams that entered finals, 10 eventually received recognition. The Xi’an Jiaotong University team earned the Grand Prizes for their outstanding high-efficiency, high-power density three-phase inverter design. With an output power of 500W, an input voltage of 350VDC, and an output voltage of 220VAC with frequency increased from 50Hz to 400Hz and eventually 2000Hz, the team’s design delivered an impressive 15W/in3 power density and average 98% efficiency.
“The power industry is constantly looking for novel approaches to create more powerful, smaller, and faster components that increase overall system power density and efficiency,” said Yunsheng Qu, Senior Manager of Infineon’s Power and Sensor Systems Division, at the award ceremony. “GaN adoption is now at the tipping point in many applications, and developing a pipeline of skilled, talented engineers has become ever-crucial to support such massive market growth potential. I am pleased to see many of the winning entries not only meet the design requirements but go well beyond them.”
Co-located with the GaN Systems Cup, CPEEC & CPSSC 2023 drew a record-breaking 2,600 visitors and nearly 100 exhibitors, making it China’s largest academic event in power electronics. Infineon’s GaN Systems business line showcased an array of groundbreaking power system reference designs for automotive, industrial, and consumer applications. The impressively compact and economical 11kW 800V GaN-based onboard charger reference design was the main attraction in the booth. Visitors also showed a high level of interest in the implementation benefits enabled by the new Gen4 platform and responded positively to the closing of the Infineon acquisition.
Original – GaN Systems
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AIXTRON SE enables the semiconductor foundry BelGaN to expand its business into the growing GaN marketand to accelerate GaN technology innovation. For this important strategic step, BelGaN relies on AIXTRON’s new G10-GaN, which offers best-in-class performance, an all-new compact design, and overall lowest cost per wafer.
Starting with an 8x150mm configuration, the system will be delivered to the BelGaN production site in Oudenaarde (Belgium) before the end of 2023 and will in the future migrate to 5x200mm.
BelGaN, a leading GaN (Gallium Nitride) automotive-qualified semiconductor open foundry in Europe, recently announced the production start of its first generation 650V eGaN technology. The Gen1 platform is designed for the requirements of energy-efficient applications for sustainability and carbon neutrality.
The G10-GaN will be used to further extend the range of power chips with voltage ratings from 40V to 1200V, using GaN-on-Si, GaN on SOI, and novel GaN-on-engineered substrates. It will be applied both on lateral as well as vertical power-GaN products, with a focus on high performance, automotive quality and reliability, high yield, and low costs.
“GaN-epitaxy using MOCVD is a most critical process in any power-GaN technology, both to innovate device architectures, boost performance, yield, and quality, and to cut down the cost of GaN products. This drives a paradigm shift in power electronics, opening up fast-growing markets in e-mobility, datacom, energy conversion, etc., on a road to an electrified, carbon-neutral society.
We have been impressed by the high levels of productivity, uniformity, and low cost of ownership of AIXTRON’s new G10 platform. We highly value AIXTRON’s technological advance, leadership, and continuous innovation. The proximity of AIXTRON, in the midst of the GaN ValleyTM ecosystem, and the collaboration with its team is essential for us to rapidly achieve our innovation and production objectives,” says Dr Marnix Tack, CTO and Vice President Business Development of BelGaN.
“We are very proud that BelGaN chose AIXTRON and our latest innovative powerhouse, the G10-GaN, for the important strategic milestone to add GaN epitaxy to its existing GaN processing line in Oudenaarde (Belgium). Currently, GaN power devices are rapidly adopted in a wide range of applications, and many customers are adding GaN capabilities to their silicon lines. We are excited that technology made by AIXTRON is facilitating this important transition,” says Dr. Felix Grawert, CEO and President of AIXTRON SE.
The all-new G10-GaN cluster solution builds on the fundamentals of AIXTRON’s current tool of record, the G5+ C, while extending each single performance metric:the new platform delivers twice the productivity per cleanroom area while enabling a new level of material uniformities, unlocking new levers of competitiveness for AIXTRON’s customers.
They benefit from more than 25% lowest cost of ownership than with any other equipment on the market today. The G10-GaN also guarantees the highest throughput per m2/cleanroom, and with its full automation end-to-end, it is the only MOCVD system fully designed for silicon fabs.
Original – AIXTRON
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Navitas Semiconductor announced its participation in the Power Semiconductor User Forum, organized by WEKA Fachmedien on November 22nd -23rd, 2023. The event offers valuable insights into power electronics for developers and technical buyers.
Alfred Hesener, Senior Director of Industrial and Consumer Applications will explore “Reliability and Cost-of-Ownership Optimization in Industrial Power Supplies,” on November 23rd at 1:45 p.m. CET. Mr. Hesener will highlight next-generation solutions that achieve high power densities, cool operation, robust performance using Navitas’ GaNSense single and Half-Bridge power ICs.
Navitas’ GaNFast power ICs integrate GaN power and drive with control, sensing, and protection to enable faster charging, higher power density, greater energy savings and system cost reduction. In addition, each GaN power IC saves over 4 kg CO2 due to higher efficiency and dematerialization. New ‘Gen-3 Fast’ GeneSiC MOSFETs have up to 50% improved performance vs. other SiC devices, and save over 40 kg CO2 per unit vs. legacy silicon IGBTs.
“For industrial power designers, the WEKA forum highlights leading-edge, reliable technology for drives, pumps, chargers and power conversion, using GaN and SiC,” said Mr. Hesener. “Features like loss-less current sensing, programmable dV/dt, 2 kV ESD protection and autonomous sensing and protection are key enablers, and reduce time to market.”
WEKA Fachmedien’s Power Semiconductor User Forum 2023 will be held from November 22nd-23rd at the Novotel Messe Munich, Willy-Brandt-Platz 1, 81829 München, Germany.
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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Transphorm, Inc. and Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. announced a collaboration including Transphorm’s SuperGaN® FETs and Allegro’s AHV85110 Isolated Gate Driver to enable the expansion of GaN power system design for high power applications.
Transphorm’s SuperGaN FETs are designed to work in various topologies and are available in several different packages to support a wide power range while also satisfying diverse end application requirements. SuperGaN FETs are used in multiple commercial products, including higher power systems where they are proven to notably increase reliability, power density, and efficiency.
Allegro’s self-powered, single-channel isolated gate driver IC is optimized for driving GaN FETs in multiple applications and circuits. The AHV85110 is proven to enhance driver efficiency by as much as 50% compared to competitive gate drivers. This unique solution greatly simplifies the system design, reduces noise by 10x and common mode capacitance by 15 times compared to other solutions in the market.
“Allegro’s AHV85110 High Voltage Gate Driver provides a highly compact and efficient power stage implementation that helps to achieve an approximate 30 percent footprint reduction with the least number of external components and bias supply requirements around Transphorm’s power devices,” said Tushar Dhayagude, Vice President of Worldwide Sales and FAE, Transphorm.
“Combined with SuperGaN’s highest reliability and superior dynamic switching performance over competing technologies, the end result is a more efficient, more robust solution with increased power density in critical applications such as server, data centers, renewables and electric vehicles.”
“We are excited about working with Transphorm on a collaboration that further supports Allegro’s focus towards helping customers optimize GaN-based system development and design,” said Vijay Mangtani, Vice President and General Manager of High Voltage Power, Allegro MicroSystems. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to combine our high voltage isolated gate driver AHV85110 with Transphorm’s SuperGaN FET to enable higher power density, higher efficiency, and higher power output in smaller form factors and provide value to both our and Transphorm’s customers.”
Those interested in testing the collaborative solution can do so via Allegro’s APEK85110KNH-06-T evaluation board. The board incorporates both the AHV85110 designed to work in various applications along with Transphorm’s recently announced TOLL packageavailable in three devices with on-resistances of 35, 50, and 72 milliohms.
Original – Transphorm
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VisIC Technologies announced that the samples of the V22TG D3GAN will be available in the first quarter of 2024. This early availability allows manufacturers to assess and experience the performance and benefits of the package firsthand, aiding in the rapid development of the next generation of systems.
Key Features and Benefits:
1. Advanced Leaded Top-Side Cooled Isolated.
2. Automotive and High Voltage Capability.
3. High Power Density and Low On-Resistance.
4. Versatile and Easy to Implement.Dr. Tamara Baksht, CEO and Co-Founder: “This advanced power package not only offers exceptional performance and reliability but also provides the versatility and ease of implementation required for emerging automotive and industrial applications. We are confident that the V22TG D3GAN will empower manufacturers to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.”
Original – VisIC Technologies
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OKI, in collaboration with Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., has announced the successful development of a technology that uses OKI’s CFB (crystal film bonding) technology to lift off only the GaN (gallium nitride) functional layer from Shin-Etsu Chemical’s uniquely improved QST® (Qromis Substrate Technology) substrate and bond it to a different material substrate.
This technology enables the vertical conduction of GaN and is expected to contribute to the realization and commercialization of vertical GaN power devices capable of controlling large currents. The two companies will work further together to develop vertical GaN power devices that can be implemented in society by partnering with companies that manufacture these devices.
GaN devices are attracting attention as next-generation devices that combine high device characteristics with low power consumption, such as power devices that require high breakdown voltages of 1800 volts or more, high-frequency devices for Beyond5G, and high-brightness micro-LED displays.
In particular, vertical GaN power devices are expected to achieve significant demand growth as devices that can improve the basic performance of electric vehicles by endowing them with extended driving ranges and shortened power supply times. However, two major challenges hinder the social implementation of vertical GaN power devices: the diameter of the wafers must be increased to improve productivity and vertical conductivity must be realized to enable large current control.
The coefficient of thermal expansion of Shin-Etsu Chemical’s QST substrate is equivalent to that of GaN. It can suppress warpage and cracking. This characteristic enables the crystal growth of thick GaN films with high breakdown voltages even on wafers larger than 8 inches, thereby enabling the production of wafers with larger diameters.
On the other hand, OKI’s CFB technology can lift off only the GaN functional layer from the QST substrate while maintaining high device characteristics. The insulating buffer layer required for GaN crystal growth can be removed and bonded to various substrates via metal electrodes that allow ohmic contact.
Bonding of these functional layers to a conductive substrate with high heat dissipation will enable both high heat dissipation and vertical conductivity. Through this, the combined technologies of Shin-Etsu Chemical and OKI solve the above two major challenges, paving the way for the social implementation of vertical GaN power devices.
In the future, the two companies will contribute to the realization and widespread use of vertical GaN power devices through Shin-Etsu Chemical’s provision of QST substrates or GaN grown QST substrates to companies manufacturing GaN devices and OKI’s provision of CFB technology through partnering and licensing.
Furthermore, OKI hopes to use CFB technology to provide added value to semiconductor devices that go beyond the framework of single materials and help realize the company’s key message of “Delivering OK! to your life”.
Original – OKI
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Navitas Semiconductor announced another GaNFast win at Samsung, this time a new 25W charger for the flagship Galaxy S23 smartphone. Gallium nitride (GaN) is a next-gen power-semi technology that is replacing legacy silicon chips in markets from mobile and consumer to data center, solar and EV.
The high-spec Galaxy S23 features a Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz screen with 1750 nits peak contrast, stretching it’s 1080 x 2340 pixels across 90.1 cm2 of Corning Gorilla Glass. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, up to 512GB / 8GB RAM of storage and triple cameras up to 50 MP, the S23 excels in mobile communication performance.
For power, the S23 features a 3900 mAh Li-Ion battery, and with the GaNFast 25W charger (model EP-T2510) with USB PD 3.0 interface, reaches 50% charge in only 30 minutes, and while in sleep mode, consumes only 5 mW of power. The PD 3.0 specification means that the new charger can power a range of devices from Galaxy Buds2 audio to Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Flip and Galaxy A23.
Navitas’ GaNFast technology is used in a high-frequency, quasi-resonant (HFQR) topology running at 150 kHz. GaNFast leading-edge, high-frequency performance shrinks the charger by more than 30%, and the Navitas device is fully qualified to Samsung’s stringent qualification requirements, with excellent delivery performance, quality and reliability.
“As pioneers in mobile fast charging, Navitas continues to lead the next-gen market, with all 10 of the top 10 mobile OEMs in production with GaNFast products,” said David Carroll, Sr. VP Worldwide Sales. “From 25 W to 20 MW, our expanding range of leading-edge GaN and SiC products cover everything from mobile and consumer to EVs, solar and industrial applications.”
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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Power Integrations released the world’s highest-voltage, single-switch gallium-nitride (GaN) power supply IC, featuring a 1250-volt PowiGaN™ switch. InnoSwitch™3-EP 1250 V ICs are the newest members of Power Integrations’ InnoSwitch family of off-line CV/CC QR flyback switcher ICs, which feature synchronous rectification, FluxLink™ safety-isolated feedback and an array of switch options: 725 V silicon, 1700 V silicon carbide, and PowiGaN in 750 V, 900 V and now 1250 V varieties.
The switching losses for Power Integrations’ proprietary 1250 V PowiGaN technology are less than a third of that seen in equivalent silicon devices at the same voltage. This results in power conversion efficiency as high as 93 percent – enabling highly compact flyback power supplies that can deliver up to 85 W without a heatsink.
Radu Barsan, vice president of technology at Power Integrations, said: “Power Integrations continues to advance the state of the art in high-voltage GaN technology development and commercial deployment, rendering even the best high-voltage silicon MOSFETs obsolete along the way. We were first to market with high-volume shipments of GaN-based power-supply ICs in 2019, and earlier this year introduced a 900-volt version of our GaN-based InnoSwitch products.
Our ongoing development of higher voltage GaN technology, illustrated here by our new 1250 V devices, extends the efficiency benefits of GaN to an even wider range of applications, including many currently served by silicon-carbide technology.”
Designers using the new InnoSwitch3-EP 1250 V ICs can confidently specify an operating peak voltage of 1000 V, which allows for industry-standard 80 percent de-rating from the 1250 V absolute maximum. This provides significant headroom for industrial applications and is particularly valuable in challenging power grid environments where robustness is an essential defense against grid instability, surge and other power perturbations.
Original – Power Integrations
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Transphorm, Inc. introduced the SuperGaN® TOLT FET. With an on-resistance of 72 milliohms, the TP65H070G4RS transistor is the industry’s first top-side cooled surface mount GaN device in the JEDEC-standard (MO-332) TOLT package. The TOLT package offers flexibility of thermal management to customers where system requirements do not allow for the more conventional surface mount devices with bottom-side cooling.
The thermal performance of the TOLT is similar to that of the widely used, thermally robust TO-247 through-hole packages and delivers the added benefit of highly efficient manufacturing processes enabled by SMD-based printed circuit board assembly (PCBA).
The TP65H070G4RS leverages Transphorm’s robust, high performance 650-volt normally-off d-mode GaN platform offering improved efficiency over silicon, silicon carbide, and other GaN offerings via lower gate charge, output capacitance, crossover loss, reverse recovery charge, and dynamic resistance.
The SuperGaN platform advantages combined with the TOLT’s better thermals and system assembly flexibility results in a high performance, high reliability GaN solution for customers seeking to bring to market power systems with higher power density and efficiency at an overall lower power system cost.
Transphorm is engaged with multiple global partners for high power GaN, including lead customers in server and storage power, a global leader in the energy/microinverter space, an innovative manufacturer of off-grid power solutions, and a leader in satellite communications.
“Surface mount devices such as the TOLL and the TOLT offer various benefits such as lower internal inductance as well as simpler board mounting during manufacturing. The TOLT adds to that more flexible overall thermal management with through-hole like thermal performance by using top-side cooling,” said Philip Zuk, SVP Business Development and Marketing, Transphorm.
“These devices are commonly found in mid to high power system applications for key market segments including high performance computing (Server, Telecom, AI Power), Renewables and Industrial, and Electric Vehicles, some of which our GaN technology already powers today. we’re very excited to enable our customers to realize additional system level benefits with TOLT SuperGaN solutions.”
Today’s product release comes on the heels of Transphorm’s recent introduction of its three new TOLL FETs. Addition of the TOLT expands the company’s product offerings yet again. Its availability highlights Transphorm’s commitment to supporting customer preferences by making its SuperGaN platform accessible in various packages across the widest power range.
Device Specifications
SuperGaN devices lead the market with unmatched:- Reliability at < 0.05 FIT
- Gate safety margin at ± 20 V
- Noise immunity at 4 V
- Temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) at 20% lower than e-mode normally-off GaN
- Drive flexibility with standard off-the-shelf silicon drivers
The robust 650 V SuperGaN TOLT device is JEDEC qualified. Because the normally-off d-mode platform pairs the GaN HEMT with an integrated low voltage silicon MOSFET, the SuperGaN FETs are easy to drive with commonly used off-the-shelf gate drivers. They can be used in various hard- and soft-switching AC-to-DC, DC-to-DC, and DC-to-AC topologies to increase power density while reducing system size, weight, and overall cost.
Part Dimensions (mm) RDS(on) (mΩ) typ RDS(on) (mΩ) max Vth (V) typ Id (25°C) (A) max TP65H070G4RS 10 x 15 72 85 4 29 Original – Transphorm
