Tag Archive for: Device

Navitas produces 1st Half-Bridge GaN Power IC

Navitas, innovating start-up in WBG semiconductor, has announced the release of the first fully integrated IC in Gallium Nitride. It’s based on their AllGaN transistor platform.

Navitas is targetting charging solutions, fast-chargers and small power high-end converters with this half-bridge building block. GaN based transistor are able to operate at much higher frequency, with lower losses than currently used solutions for these converters: Super Junction MOSFET.

GaN transistor Navitas half-bridge IC

The NV6250 is a 650V half-bridge with intergrated Navitas driver technology iDrive. It switches at up to 2Mhz, all packed in 6x8mm QFN package.

Production is planned for Q2 2017 (which is very soon…).

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Infineon’s offer on Wolfspeed terminated due to “National Security concerns”

After acquiring International Rectifier in January 2015, Infineon signed an agreement to acquire Wolfspeed in July 2016 for $850 M. This agreement has first been put on hold by the CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States). The Committee required guarantees on several national security concerns about leaving Wolfspeed in the hands of a non-US company.

As a reminder, the SiC (Silicon Carbide) device maker Wolfspeed was spin-off from Cree in May 2015, and renamed in September of the same year. The objective for Cree was to run their RF and Power electronics activities separately from the LED activities. The two businesses have different gowth rates and investment needs.

The new entity came after Cree acquired APEI (Arkansas Power Electronics Inc.), a North Carolina-based company designing high-performance and high-efficiency converters. APEI’s activity was probably the source of these concerns, as most of their commercial activity is directly linked with military applications of power electronics converters, DoD (Department of Defence) being in need of such systems.

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Navitas to deliver its GaN IC

Navitas Semiconductor announced the immediate availability of production qualified iDrive™ Gallium Nitride (GaN) Power ICs using the company’s proprietary AllGaN™ technology. The NV6131, NV6105 & NV6115 offer a high-efficiency 650V, 160mOhm power FET with increasing integration of digital and analog circuits, leading to ground breaking speed, energy efficiency, power density and reduced system cost.

GaN can enable up to 100x higher frequencies than silicon but driving, controlling & protecting such high-speed power devices has been an industry challenge that has limited adoption.  By integrating these critical digital and analog circuits monolithically with the GaN power device, these system level problems have been eliminated. Navitas GaN Power ICs with iDrive guarantee optimized & robust performance for any application. A 10-100x increase in system operating frequency is combined with higher efficiencies to enable up to a 5x increase in power densities and 20% lower system costs.

“GaN Power ICs, with the monolithic integration of logic, analog & power, represent an industry breakthrough that will change the landscape of power electronics as we know it”, explained Navitas CEO Gene Sheridan.  “By integrating all gate-drive-related circuitry, virtually all frequency-related power losses are eliminated, opening the door to significant frequency and efficiency gains.  We anticipate a major upgrade cycle in mobile fast chargers, thin TVs, high-efficiency data centers, LED lighting, solar and electric vehicle markets as this new high-speed revolution in power electronics gets underway”, Sheridan added.

“The Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech has been pioneering the advancement of high-frequency power systems for over three decades” explains Dr. Fred Lee, the university’s distinguished and globally recognized professor. “The invention of GaN power ICs represents a major industry breakthrough and is a critical ingredient to make high-speed, high-efficiency power systems a reality.  This is an exciting time for the power industry”, Lee concluded.

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STMicroelectronics boosts new MOSFET IPM up to 100W

STMicroelectronics has extended its SLLIMM™ nano series of Intelligent Power Modules (IPMs) for motor drives with more package options that help minimize overall size and complexity, extra integrated features, and greater efficiency leveraging the latest-generation 500V MOSFETs.

With a current rating of 1A or 2A, the new IPMs target applications up to 100 Watts, such as refrigerator compressors, washing-machine or dishwasher motors, draining and recirculation pumps, fans, and other drives running at less than 20kHz in hard-switching circuitries. Operation up to 150°C allows use in harsh environments.

The modules integrate a three-phase MOSFET bridge and gate-driver HVICs, with value-added features including an unassigned op-amp and comparator for functions such as over-current protection and current sensing. Additional built-in safety features include interlocking to prevent shoot-through currents from damaging MOSFETs of the bridge, a fault-status output, shutdown input, and smart-shutdown capability. An optional built-in thermistor helps simplify over-temperature protection.

In addition to the zig-zag lead option, the new series is also available in a line-lead package. These give designers extra flexibility to simplify the board layout and minimize controller size in mechatronic assemblies and other space-constrained applications.

The high thermal performance of the packages, combined with the superior efficiency of ST’s latest 500V MOSFETs, enhances designers’ freedom to minimize heatsink size or create heatsink-free solutions for lower-power applications. The low MOSFET on-resistance of 3.6Ω and 1.7Ω, in 1A and 2A variants, respectively, combines with low switching losses to ensure high overall energy efficiency. The MOSFETs have separate open-emitter connections to module pins, which simplifies use of three-shunt current sensing for field-oriented motor control (FOC) or single-shunt sensing for trapezoidal control. The modules also integrate the bootstrap diodes needed to control the high-side MOSFET gates, further minimizing demand for external components.

The STIPN1M50T-H, STIPN1M50-H, STIPN2M50T-H (L), and STIPN2M50-H are in production now, priced from $4.50 in the Dual Inline Package for orders of 1000 pieces.

For further information please visit www.st.com/ipm

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Toshiba Launches 2nd Generation 650V SiC Schottky Barrier Diodes

Toshiba Corporation’s Storage & Electronic Devices Solutions Company today announced the launch of second generation 650V silicon carbide (SiC) schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) that improve on the surge forward current (IFSM) offered by the company’s current products by approximately 70%. Shipments of the new line-up of eight SiC schottky barrier diodes start today.

The new SiC schottky barrier diodes, fabricated with Toshiba’s second-generation SiC process, deliver approximately 70% better surge forward current than first generation products, and at the same time reduce the switching loss index of “RON*Qc” by around 30%, making them suitable for use in efficient power factor correction (PFC) schemes.

The new products are available in four current ratings of 4A, 6A, 8A, and 10A, either in a non-isolated “TO-220-2L” package or an isolated “TO-220F-2L” package. These products can contribute to improving the efficiency of power supplies in devices including 4K large screen LCD TVs, projectors and multifunction copiers, and in industrial devices such as telecommunication base stations and PC servers.

Package Characteristics
(Ta=25℃)		 Absolute Maximum Ratings Electrical　Characteristics
Forward DC Current Non-repetitive Peak Forward Surge Current Total Power Dissipation Forward Voltage Anode-cathode
On-resistance		 Junction Capacitance Total Capacitive Charge
Symbol IF(DC) IFSM Ptot VF Ron Cj QC
Value Max Max Max Typ.
＆Max		 Typ. Typ. Typ.
Unit (A) （A) (W) (V) （ｍΩ） （pF） （nC)
Test　Conditions/
Part　Number		 – @ Half-sine Wave
t=10 ms		 – @IF(DC) @IF(DC)×
0.25 to 1.0		 @VR=1 V @VR=400 V
Non- Isolation
TO-220-2L		 TRS4E65F 4 39 55.6 1.45
(Typ.)
1.60
(Max)		 120 165 10.4
TRS6E65F 6 55 68.2 82 230 15.1
TRS8E65F 8 69 83.3 62 300 19.7
TRS10E65F 10 83 107 48 400 24.4
Isolation
TO-220F-2L		 TRS4A65F 4 37 33.6 1.45
(Typ.)
1.60
(Max)		 120 165 10.4
TRS6A65F 6 52 35.4 82 230 15.1
TRS8A65F 8 65 37.5 62 300 19.7
TRS10A65F 10 79 39.7 48 400 24.4

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VisIC raise $11.6M to invest in distribution & sales

VisIC Technologies, an innovator of efficient power electronics based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors, announced today that it has closed $11.6 million in a Series C financing lead by a new investor Birch Investment with participation of existing investors.
The revolutionary potential of GaN-based electronics for electrical power delivery systems, from consumer power supplies to solar inverters, UPS, power supplies for Cloud/Data Centers and electric motor drives, has been marketed and anticipated for years, especially for high voltage and high current switching applications. VisIC Technologies is the company that demonstrated performance of high current GaN switching device and 1200V GaN power switch.

“We are very excited by the level of support provided by VisIC’s new and existing investors, who share our vision for the extraordinary potential of VisIC’s GaN based products. It is an important milestone for our company. Having achieved the best performance metrics for any GaN devices in the market, this new capital infusion positions us to accelerate commercialization and dominate the market segment.”

said Tamara Baksht, VisIC Technologies’ founder and CEO.

About VisIC Technologies:
Based in Nes Ziona, Israel, VisIC Technologies, Ltd. was established in 2010 by experts in Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology to develop and sell advanced GaN-based power conversion products. VisIC has successfully developed, and is bringing to market, high power GaN-based transistors and modules. (GaN is expected to replace most of the Silicon-based (Si) products currently used in power conversion systems.) VisIC has been granted keystone patents for GaN technology and has additional patents pending.
For more information:  www.visic-tech.com

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Panasonic demonstrates 1.7kV vertical GaN at IEDM

Panasonic, which recently launched mass production of its X-GaN process of lateral GaN HeMT, presented a 1.7kV GaN device during IEDM conference. GaN devices available today are limited to 650V for enhancement mode devices, and 1200V for depletion-mode normally-on devices. Panasonic’s device demonstrated during IEDM is a GaN/GaN Vertical device having a Ron of 1mΩcm².

The device is based on a V-shaped structure, and a secondly grown GaN/AlGaN interface separated from the first one, which improves electron mobility by a factor of 5. Panasonic’s team also used a carbon doped GaN layer to avoid punch-through phenomenon.

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Infineon opens a new GaN cleanroom

Infineon celebrated the Grand Opening of its new warehouse and Gallium Nitride (GaN) cleanroom at its Mesa facilityin Arizona, (USA). The multi-million-dollar expansion project added approximately 11,500 sq. ft. to the existing facility.

Dr. Juergen Woehl, Managing Director, Infineon Epi Services, said, “As a leader in semiconductor technology, our Mesa facility underlines Infineon’s commitment to work on advanced materials here in Mesa and we were delighted to celebrate the expansion of our site with our executives, employees and state and local representatives.”

Infineon Gallium Nitride GaN facility Mesa ArizonaInfineon acquired a ready for production GaN technology together with it’s acquisition of International Rectifier. But this technology is more adapted to the lower voltage range, up to 400V. They also signed and agreement to manufacture a Gallium Nitride high voltage power devices technology from a license and act a second source for X-GaN, Panasonic’s GaN technology. As stated in our GaN market report, The bigger companies are not the only players weighting in the newly coming Wide Band Gap semiconductor business. They have to fight against start-ups as GaNSystems, Transphorm, EPC corp, ViSiC and many other. We expect this facility expansion to be made to fuel the manufacturing of X-GaN technology.

 

 

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Transphorm release a new 650V GaN FET

Transphorm Inc., a GaN (gallium nitride) semiconductors designer and manufacturer, today announced its latest portfolio addition: the TPH3212PS. Available in a TO-220 package, the device has an on-resistance of 72 mOhms (mΩ).

To date, Transphorm’s product portfolio consists of 600V and 650V discrete FETs spanning TO-220, TO-247, and PQFN88 packages for power levels up to 4.5 kilowatts. The TPH3212PS fills a power level gap in the company’s second generation product line, specifically between the 52mΩ and 110mΩ FETs.

“Transphorm aims to enable the market by delivering GaN in the highest quality, highest reliability format as possible,” said Umesh Mishra, CTO, Transphorm.

“We recognize GaN is not just a drop-in replacement for silicon MOSFETs used today. Board redesign and system modifications are required to capitalize on GaN’s complete set of benefits from performance through to system cost. If we can minimize that learning curve by working with well-known packages and a configuration that behaves similarly to a MOSFET—we believe the industry will move further faster.”

 

Availability, Pricing and Support

Fully-qualified and in production, the TPH3212PS is priced at US$8.94 in 1000-unit quantities. The product is currently supported by a SPICE program and application notes. A full evaluation kit for 2.5 kilowatt hard-switched half-bridge, buck or boost designs is available for pre-order and priced at US$250. Visit here for details.

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Panasonic to start mass production of GaN Power Transistor & drivers

Panasonic Corporation today announced that it will start mass production of a high-speed gate driver (AN34092B) optimized for driving its GaN power transistor X-GaN in November 2016. The company will also start mass production of two types of X-GaN (PGA26E07BA and PGA26E19BA) and provide solutions in combination with high-speed gate drivers.

GaN gallium nitride power device transistor market production

GaN is one of the next generation semiconductor compounds that can achieve space and energy savings when applied to transistors used in various power units. A gate driver is required to drive a transistor; however, general gate drivers for conventional silicon (Si) transistors cannot exploit the potential of GaN transistors since the gate structure of GaN transistors is different from that of Si transistors.

The new high-speed gate driver (AN34092B) helps our X-GaN easily and safely achieves high-speed switching performance. It can drive transistors at high frequencies of up to 4 MHz and integrates the active miller clamp function that prevents malfunction during high-speed switching. X-GaN achieves a 600 V breakdown enhancement mode through our unique technology and features high-speed switching and low on-resistance. The combination of X-GaN and dedicated high-speed gate drivers will contribute to significant space and energy savings of various power conversion units for industrial and consumer use.

X-GaN and dedicated high-speed gate drivers are suitable for various applications such as 100 W to 5 kW power supply units, inverters, data centers, mobile base stations, consumer electronics, audio-visual equipment, industrial and medical devices.

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Qualcomm to Acquire NXP

Qualcomm Inc. and NXP Semiconductors today announced a definitive agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, under which Qualcomm will acquire NXP.  Pursuant to the agreement, a subsidiary of Qualcomm will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of NXP for $110.00 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $47 billion.

NXP is a leader in high-performance, mixed-signal semiconductor electronics, with innovative products and solutions and leadership positions in automotive, broad-based microcontrollers, secure identification, network processing and RF power.  As a leading semiconductor solutions supplier to the automotive industry, NXP also has leading positions in automotive infotainment, networking and safety systems, with solutions designed into 14 of the top 15 infotainment customers in 2016.  NXP has a broad customer base, serving more than 25,000 customers through its direct sales channel and global network of distribution channel partners.

“With innovation and invention at our core, Qualcomm has played a critical role in driving the evolution of the mobile industry.  The NXP acquisition accelerates our strategy to extend our leading mobile technology into robust new opportunities, where we will be well positioned to lead by delivering integrated semiconductor solutions at scale,”

said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated.  “By joining Qualcomm’s leading SoC capabilities and technology roadmap with NXP’s leading industry sales channels and positions in automotive, security and IoT, we will be even better positioned to empower customers and consumers to realize all the benefits of the intelligently connected world.”

The combined company is expected to have annual revenues of more than $30 billion, serviceable addressable markets of $138 billion in 2020 and leadership positions across mobile, automotive, IoT, security, RF and networking.

Investor presentation deck is available here

 

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Monolith Announces Availability 1200V SiC Diode Engineering Samples

Monolith Semiconductor announces the availability of engineering samples of 1200V, 5A and 10A Silicon Carbide (SiC) Schottky diode in TO-220 package. These SiC diodes feature zero reverse recovery current, superior avalanche ruggedness, excellent surge current capability and low leakage currents at high temperatures. The diodes have been manufactured at X-FAB Texas’ 150mm SiC foundry.

The collaboration with the US Department of Energy and Power America has been key in achieving this milestone in advanced manufacturing of the SiC devices.

“While the benefits of SiC devices in improving the efficiency and reducing the size, weight and volume of power electronic systems is well known, the adoption has been slow due to the high cost of these devices. Manufacturing these SiC diodes in a high volume Silicon manufacturing facility will enable us to provide cost effective, high performance and high reliability SiC devices to our customers”

states Dr. Sujit Banerjee, CEO of Monolith Semiconductor Inc. Dr. Kiran Chatty, VP of Product Development stated, “The superior switching performance of these diodes will reduce losses by over 50% compared to Silicon diodes resulting in higher energy efficiency in power electronic applications such as solar inverters, motor drives and power supplies”.

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