Product roundup: GaN power semiconductors gain traction

PCIM Europe showcased several presentations about the benefits and use cases of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors, including gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC). Several manufacturers, including EPC, GaN Systems, Infineon, Nexperia, and STMicroelectronics announced several new families of GaN power semiconductors during the week.

There has been a lot of activity in the GaN market with many of the key players jockeying for more market share. Though many of the end market applications are relatively small today, the GaN power market is expected to double over the next five years, and reach $1.1 billion in 2026, according to Yole Développement. One of the biggest growth markets is fast chargers for smartphones.

(Image: Yole)

According to Yole, consumer applications will remain the key driver over the next five years, and will account for 61 percent of the total GaN market in 2026, reaching $682 million with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 69 percent. Applications in the automotive market also is expected to grow significantly, reaching $155 million in 2026 at a CAGR of 185 percent.

Players in the GaN power semiconductor market include EPC, Infineon, Navitas, Power Integrations, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, and Transphorm. Some of the key players have made some recent moves to strengthen their positions in the market, including STMicroelectronics’ collaboration with TSMC.

(Image: Yole)

STMicroelectronics introduced its integrated STi²GaN family of GaN power devices for automotive applications at the PCIM Europe virtual conference. Leveraging TSMC’s GaN technology, including 100-V and 650-V e-Mode GaN, with its own unique design and package expertise, the new GaN devices, including 100-V and 650-V monolithic chips and 100-V ASSPs, claim reduced parasitic inductances, excellent thermal dissipation capability, fast switching, and high-frequency operation in a compact package for space and cost savings.

(Image: STMicroelectronics)

The new family addresses three different “blocks” – the power stage, driver for the power stage and device protection, and the logic control. These devices are available as either monolithic GaN power stages with driver and protection or as system-in-package (SiP) devices that integrate the monolithic GaN power stage, plus the driver (GaN or silicon) and a silicon controller.

The family is divided into 100-V and 650-V applications. In the 100-V area, the first devices target 48 V/12 V DC/DC converter and LiDAR applications. These devices are developed using a system-in-package approach, which means the power stage uses GaN technology, while all of the integrated control and protection is in silicon.

For the LiDAR application, ST is developing a single-channel laser driver as well as a four-channel laser driver and each of these devices will be able to deliver 50 amp pulses in a rise time of only 400 picoseconds. The company also is developing a spin-off of the 100-V technology, which is a full-bridge monolithic GaN device with the driver and the protection functions.

The first members of the 650-V family are segmented into devices for OBC and auxiliary power supply applications. The low-ohmic OBC devices are 30 mΩ and 65 mΩ fully monolithic low-side (LS) HEMTs with integrated driver and protection circuits. The first high-ohmic devices will start at 190 mΩ and range up to 500 mΩ. These also are monolithic LS HEMTs, but they integrate a PWM controller, along with the driver and protection circuits. Engineering samples are available for the 100-V and 650-V devices.

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Also targeting integrated power stages is Infineon Technologies AG. The company announced its expanded GaN-based portfolio with the introduction of the new CoolGaN IPS family of integrated power stage (IPS) products. The initial portfolio of integrated power stages consists of half-bridge and single-channel products, targeting low-to medium power applications, including chargers and adapters and switched-mode power supplies (SMPS).

The 600-V CoolGaN half-bridge IPS IGI60F1414A1L targets compact and lightweight designs in the low-to-medium power range. Housed in a thermally enhanced 8 × 8 QFN-28 package, the IPS combines two 140 mΩ/600 V CoolGaN e-mode HEMT switches with dedicated galvanically isolated high- and low-side EiceDRIVER gate drivers.

The gate driver’s input-to-output isolation is based on the company’s proven on-chip coreless transformer (CT) technology. This delivers high speed and robustness even for extremely fast switching transients with voltage slopes exceeding 150 V/ns, according to the company.

The IGI60F1414A1L also is said to offer the lowest possible system dead-times thanks to system-in-package integration and the highly accurate and stable propagation delay of the gate drivers This helps to maximize system efficiency, with power density up to 35 W/in³ for charger and adapter solutions. The 600-V CoolGaN IPS half-bridge is available now.

GaN power semiconductor manufacturers also are developing a number of reference designs and evaluation boards to help designers evaluate GaN devices for their applications.

EPC launched its EPC9146 400-W motor drive demonstration at PCIM Europe. The EPC9146 power board contains three independently-controlled half -ridge circuits, featuring the EPC2152 monolithic ePower Stage with integrated gate driver, 80-V maximum device voltage, 15-A (10 ARMS) maximum output current. The inverter board measures  81 × 75 mm and achieves an efficiency of greater than 98.4% at 400 W output power, according to the company.

EPC said the ePower Stage offers higher performance and smaller size for low-cost BLDC motors. “eGaN FETs and integrated circuits provide the fast switching, small size, and low cost needed to further reduce the size and weight of BLDC motors, reduce audible noise, improve torque for faster reaction times, and increase efficiency,” said Alex Lidow, EPC’s CEO, in a statement.

The EPC9146 can be paired with individually designed mating boards, which allows the user to control the power board directly through various mainstream microcontroller boards leveraging existing resources for quick development. It also can be configured to support multiple applications including three-phase motor drives for robotics, drones, e-bikes, e-scooters, multiphase interleaving buck converters, and full-bridge converters.

GaN Systems released a reference design for a high density, high efficiency GaN-based 3-kW LLC resonant converter (GS-EVB-LLC-3KW-GS), targeting data center, telecom, and industrial switching mode power supply (SMPS) applications. The full-bridge LLC resonant converter design, integrating the company’s 650 V E-mode transistors, exceeds the 80 PLUS Titanium standard for power supply units, achieving high power density (AC/DC PSU) above 100 W/inch3 and high efficiency of more than 96 percent.

Other features include high density, up to to 146 W/inch3  (including air-forced cooling), peak efficiency of >98%, high switching frequency with maximum up to 450 KHz, and integrated protection for current, short circuit, and overvoltage. In addition, it meets the low profile 1U data center form factor with <30-mm height. The reference design is now available for purchase through GaN Systems’ distributors.

GaN Systems also recently introduced a reference design for a GaN-based 65-W active clamp flyback (ACF) charger in collaboration with Silanna Semiconductor. The company also released a 100-V high-speed, half-bridge evaluation board (GS-EVB-HB-61008P-ON) in collaboration with ON Semiconductor. It allows power electronics designers to evaluate GaN for 48-V applications, including non-isolated step-down converters, non-isolated step-up converters, and half-bridge and full-bridge converters.

Targeting server and telecom power supplies, Nexperia announced volume availability of its second-generation 650-V power GaN FET device family. The 650-V GaN FETs meet 80 PLUS Titanium-class power supplies (single-phase AC/DC and DC/DC industrial SMPS) operating at 2 kW to 10 kW, with an R_DS(on) down to 35 mΩ (typical). They also can be used n solar inverters and servo drives in the same power range.

The 650-V H2 power GaN FETs, housed in TO-247 packaging, deliver a 36% shrinkage in die size for a given R_DS(on) value, for better stability and efficiency, said the company. In addition, the cascode configuration eliminates the need for complicated drivers, speeding time to market.  The GAN041-650WSB GaN FETs are now available in high volume.

Nexperia announced the new range of GaN FET devices in December 2020 that feature its next-generation high-voltage GaN HEMT H2 technology, targeting automotive, 5G, and data center applications. The devices are housed in standard TO-247 and the company’s proprietary CCPAK surface-mount packaging with a copper clip. The devices simplify application design thanks to the cascode configuration that enables the use of standard silicon MOSFET drivers and eliminates the need for complicated controls, said Nexperia.