GaN transistors boost Philips’ fast charger performance

Driven by growing demand for smaller, faster charging, and more energy-efficient devices, gallium nitride (GaN) power devices are making inroads in the consumer charger market. GaN Systems announced that the company’s GaN transistors have been designed into Philips’ SPS2316G/93, a 2C1A 65-W GaN charger to boost performance over previous charger models.

(Image: Chongdiantou)

With three AC outlets and three USB ports, the charger “can charge three digital devices simultaneously while supplying power to three 220-V devices,” such as speakers, TVs, fans, and ultra-high-power chargers, according to performance tests conducted by Charging Head Network. The evaluation also indicates that the USB-C and USB-A ports support Apple 2.4A, Samsung 5V/2A, DCP protocol, and QC2.0/3.0, QC4.0+, AFC, FCP, SCP, MTK PE+2.0 fast charging protocols.

One of the key benefits of the charger is eliminating the need for multiple chargers, said GaN Systems, and it can do it in a small form factor, which is 75% smaller than legacy solutions at 61 x 65 x 65 mm.

GaN technology offers several benefits over silicon including higher efficiency and smaller form factors. In addition, GaN transistors dissipate less power and offer higher thermal conductivity over silicon devices.

Housed in a hexagonal enclosure, the charger offers improvements in power and charging times over the previous product model, the Philips 2C1A 18-W charger. The charger provides a maximum output power of 2500 W, meeting the high-power requirements for charging several devices. The USB interfaces support a wide range of voltages and 65 W (USB-C) and 60 W (USB-A) high-power fast charging protocols.

The GaN charger uses GaN Systems’ 650-V E-mode GaN power transistor (GS-065-011-1-L) to deliver the high performance and power density needed in fast chargers. The FET, housed in a 5 × 6 mm PDFN package, offers low junction-to-case thermal resistance, which results in ultra-high switching frequency and efficiency output.

In addition, using the GaN Systems EZDrive implementation in combination with the ON Semiconductor NCP1342 controller simplifies the charger power design and lowers the solution cost, according to GaN Systems.

GaN Systems’ EZDrive circuit eliminates the need for a discrete driver. It converts a 12-V MOSFET drive to a 6-V GaN drive with about six components. For more information about the charger design, a 65-W QR- charger reference design is available.