PowerViews

Conferences and Forums

July 2, 2012

Are GaN Transistors Ready for Prime Time in Power Conversion?

Alex Lidow PhD
CEO, Efficient Power Conversion Corp. (EPC)

Power Channels: Automotive Electronics, Batteries and Portable Power, Communications Power, Digital Power, Energy Efficiency, Motion Control, Packaging and Cooling, Power Components, Power Quality Protection, Renewable Energy, Smart Grid Power, Switch-Mode Power

Gallium Nitride transistors have been available since Eudyna and Nitronex first introduced depletion-mode RF transistors in about 2005. Since then many new companies have entered the field with both RF transistors (e.g. RFMD, Triquint, Cree, Freescale, Integra, HRL, M/A-COM, and others), and transistors designed to replace power MOSFETs in power conversion applications (e.g. Transphorm, International Rectifier, GaN Systems, microGaN, and Efficient Power Conversion). New product announcements are commonplace; conferences have more and more papers and seminars on the topic, and the trade publications almost always have at least one article on new applications for GaN transistors in each edition. Even Texas Instruments has joined the group by introducing a family of silicon-based integrated circuit drivers to work with these high performance transistors.

Does this ground swell of activity mean that GaN transistors are ready to replace power MOSFETs, and, if so, why?

The answer is “yes” depending upon the application. For example, GaN transistors are being widely adopted today in RF envelope tracking systems and wireless power transmission systems. These applications require the unique combination of a relatively high frequency of operation with a relatively high power and voltage. GaN transistors, especially the widely available enhancement-mode eGaN® FETs from EPC, coupled with driver ICs from TI, enable the designer to develop compact and efficient systems quickly.

DC-DC converters for datacom applications are another area of rapid growth for GaN transistors because the end users are very sensitive to the operating cost of large server farms. Point of load converters, isolated brick converters, as well as Power over Ethernet power sourcing equipment (PoE-PSE) using GaN transistors have significantly higher power density and significantly lower losses than their counterparts using the aging power MOSFET.

Other applications where GaN transistors are making rapid inroads include class-D audio, solar microinverters, low voltage brushless DC motor drives, and LED lighting. GaN transistors are preferred where there is a need for higher efficiency, smaller size, or higher operating frequencies.

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