Tag Archive for: GaN

VisIC Launches Double-side cooled 650V GaN Switch

VisIC Technologies, Ltd. Is announcing the launch of a new product, offered in a smaller package with bottom side cooling, an on resistance (RDS(ON)) rating of 0.080Ω, and a reduced external components requirement using a simplified driving scheme.

This new 650V GaN Power Switch is a member of the ALL-Switch family designed for bridge converters in motor drives, power supplies, chargers, UPS, Inverters and other circuits requiring high efficiency and currents up to 12A.

VisIC Technology’s designs operate with lower gate charge and capacitance than competitive products while providing the benefits of low RDS(ON). Offered in low inductance packaging, the ALL-Switch family is able to deliver high efficiency. For comparison, ALL-Switch’s switching losses are 3-5 times lower than comparable SIC MOSFET transistors operating at the same frequency.

The V80N65B answers the need expressed by many of VisIC’s customers for a bottom- side cooled package in their designs after they have experienced ALL-Switch’s low switching losses.

The V80N65B Bottom-side cooled power switch supplements VisIC’s, existing ALL Switch top-side cooled product line of 650V GaN devices: The V22N65A, V22S65A, and V18G65A.

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EpiGaN raise founds with ACAPITAL

EpiGaN, the leading European supplier of commercial 150mm- and 200mm- GaN-on-Silicon epi-wafers for 600V HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) power and RF (Radio Frequency) devices, announces that the Brussels/Beijing-based European private equity fund ACAPITAL has joined the initial investors in EpiGaN to fund the company’s expansion in particular to Asian markets.
EpiGaN,operating out of Hasselt, Belgium, is a key global player in developing and delivering GaN-on-Si and GaN-on-SiC (Silicon Carbide) material solutions worldwide. Gallium Nitride, the most important semiconductor after Silicon, started to revolutionize the energy sector by enabling significant energy loss reduction in power handling, smaller and lighter systems, such as for example for consumer power supplies, photovoltaic inverters, industrial sensors and more generally all products linked with IoT. EpiGaN offers innovative and unique solutions for epitaxial GaN layer structures on 150 mm and 200mm Si substrates in particular with its in-situ SiN (Silicon Nitride) passivation, enabling more robust high-performance devices. EpiGaN’s product portfolio covers state-of-the-art solutions for low-loss power switching, Radiofrequency/Mobile communication power and sensor applications.

 

“We believe ACAPITAL is the right partner to support the expansion of our business activities into Asia, where we see great opportunities right now”

said EpiGaN co-founder and CEO Dr Marianne Germain. “Our initial investors stay in place to support the continuous growth of the company.” EpiGaN was founded in 2010 by Drs Marianne Germain (CEO), Joff Derluyn (CTO) and Stefan Degroote (COO), as a spin-off from renowned Belgian micro- and nano-electronics research center imec.

Andre Loesekrug-Pietri, founder and managing partner of ACAPITAL commented: “We are very pleased to support the growth of EpiGaN and to join its board of directors. EpiGaN has developed a unique expertise in the gallium-nitride-on-silicon technology for semiconductors, which will allow to build the next generation of energy-efficient devices. Applications are massive: power-electronics, internet of things, smart grid applications, mobile communications and electric mobility: most areas linked with Industry 4.0 and Energy Transition, which are core investment areas for ACAPITAL.” He added : “EpiGaN is uniquely positioned to grasp a significant share of these high-growth markets. We look forward to help scale EpiGaN internationally and in Asia and China in particular, the largest market in the world.”

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Dialog Semi. release SmartGaN, their GaN IC for chargers

Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of power management, AC/DC power conversion, solid state lighting (SSL) and Bluetooth® low energy technology, today announced and is demonstrating its first gallium nitride (GaN) power IC product offering, using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s (TSMCs) 650 Volt GaN-on-Silicon process technology.

The DA8801 together with Dialog’s patented digital Rapid Charge™ power conversion controllers will enable more efficient, smaller, and higher power density adapters compared to traditional Silicon field-effect transistor (FET) based designs today. Dialog is initially targeting the fast charging smartphone and computing adapter segment with its GaN solutions, where it already enjoys more than 70 percent market share with its power conversion controllers.

“The exceptional performance of GaN transistors allows customers to deliver more efficient and compact power adapter designs that meet today’s market demands,”

said Mark Tyndall, SVP Corporate Development and Strategy, Dialog Semiconductor. “Following our success in BCD-based power management ICs (PMICs), as an early GaN innovator, Dialog once again leads the commercialization of a new power technology into high-volume consumer applications.”

GaN technology offers the world’s fastest transistors, which are the core of high-frequency and ultra-efficient power conversion. Dialog’s DA8801 half-bridge integrates building blocks, such as gate drives and level shifting circuits, with 650V power switches to deliver an optimized solution that reduces power losses by up to 50 percent, with up to 94 percent power efficiency. The product allows for a seamless implementation of GaN, avoiding complex circuitry, needed to drive discrete GaN power switches.

The new technology allows a reduction in the size of power electronics by up to 50 percent, enabling a typical 45 Watt adapter design today to fit into a 25 Watt or smaller form factor. This reduction in size will enable true universal chargers for mobile devices.

“As Dialog’s strategic foundry partner for power management ICs for many years, we are delighted to have expanded our relationship to collaborate closely in bringing our GaN process to the mainstream consumer market for high volume applications,” said Maria Marced, President of TSMC Europe. “Dialog’s first GaN product delivers on the promise of GaN while bringing the integration to a higher level.”

The DA8801 will be available in sample quantities in Q4 2016. More information on the DA8801 can be found here:  http://www.dialog-semiconductor.com/products/DA8801

Watch the DA8801 GaN video here: https://youtu.be/O9ks-j0R6PA

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Taiyo Yuden & GE to collaborate on Power Overlay

Taiyo Yuden and GE Ventures announced today that they entered into a license agreement for an intellectual property (IP) to fabricate substrates embedded with electronic circuits in late 2014. With this technology transfer, Taiyo Yuden and GE will construct a joint development framework toward the commercialization of next-generation wirebondless, embedded electronics circuits. Taiyo Yuden will develop Si-, SiC- and GaN-based wirebondless embedded electronics circuits with the technology and the patent licenses provided by GE Ventures Licensing. Embedded electronic packaging technologies provide significantly improved electrical performance (for example, reduced parasitics), can increase functional density of the electronics circuits by more than a third, and can increase efficiency by over 10%.

GE General Electric Shinko Power overlay POL power module packaging

Extract from “Packaging Challenges and Solutions
for Silicon Carbide Power Electronics” – ECTC 2012 – Ljubisa Stevanovic

“We are extremely pleased to have Taiyo Yuden as an embedded electronics partner,” said Pat Patnode, President of Licensing at GE Ventures.

“The strong demand for high performance electronics circuits continues to drive advance research, and GE is excited to partner with Taiyo Yuden to bring wirebondless embedded packaging solutions to the next generation of electronics.” These embedded electronics circuits can be built into higher level power assemblies and systems for a wide variety of applications.

“Taiyo Yuden will target power devices, Internet of Things (IoT), and wearable applications with this GE Power Overlay (POL) technology. “

This technology will allow additional new application opportunities leveraging the strength of Taiyo Yuden’s current packaging and assembly technology capability and experience.” Said, Hiroshi Kishi, Operating Officer, Research and Development Laboratory. GE Ventures accelerates innovation and growth for partners by providing access to GE technologies and inventions through licensing and joint development partnerships.

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Toyoda Gosei announced the development of 1.2kV GaN devices

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. has developed the world’s first 1.2 kV class power semiconductor device (a general term for power rectifier diodes, switching transistors, etc.) chip capable of large current operation exceeding 20 A. This was done using gallium nitride (GaN), a key material in blue LEDs, which has superior physical properties including the ability to withstand high voltages.

Toyoda gosei GaN 1.2kV hemt power electronics

Using the crystal growth technology we have cultivated since 1986 in the development and production of blue LEDs, we began research for the development of device technology for power semiconductors using GaN in 2010. Previously, low loss MOSFETs (a type of transistor used in power devices*) of the 1.2 kV class were fabricated on GaN substrates and then empirically tested. We have now established wiring technology for the parallel operation of elements, successfully passing an electrical current exceeding 20 A in a vertical GaN transistor with a 1.5 mm square chip size. This is the first time that has ever been achieved, according to a Toyoda Gosei survey.

The developed technology are applied to circuits for the power controllers on hybrid vehicles that handle large amounts of power, and to power converters such as those in solar power generation, which promises significant contributions in making these devices more compact and efficient. We will continue research to increase the current capacity and test reliability with the aim of developing commercial applications by about 2018-2020 in collaboration with semiconductor and electronics manufacturers.

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VisIC announced its new GaN based power device

VisIC Technologies is pleased to announce availability of its new generation of ALL-Switch V22S65A (with an internal SiC diode) and V22N65A (without internal SiC diode).

This new version of VisIC’s ALL-Switch significantly reduces the MILLER effect enabling readily available, standard drivers to be used in VisIC-based designs. These new devices also reduce the bill of materials required for specific applications.

Extremely effective in hard switching topologies, the V22 series may be used for Zero Voltage Switching or Zero Current Switching topologies. It has the lowest Rdson among either 650V GaN or SiC MOSFET transistors, and can achieve extremely efficient power conversion with slew rate exceeding 100V/nS.

In addition, since the threshold voltage exceeds 5V, the devices work well in harsh EMI environments.

VisIC Technologies has demonstrated worldwide record   with performance of its Half Bridge demonstration board, achieving better than 99.3 % peak efficiency at 200 kHz in a hard-switched topology providing 2.5KW output.

VisIC allswitch GaN device with integrated SiC diode

About VisIC Technologies Ltd

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 please access our website: http://www.visic-tech.com . The highest efficiency with GaN.

For additional information, please contact:
Eli Zenouda – Director Sales & Marketing
+972-54-2296641
eliz@visic-tech.com

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From March to May: Wrap-up of APEC and PCIM conferences

March to May is the most active period of the year for Power electronics. With the main events that are APEC and PCIM happening two months one from the other, there is a lot to do, a lot to plan and announce too. You might have been buried under tons of work and projects lately (Well, we were!). Don’t worry, PointThePower.com is here to summarize and analyze what happened, and it’s a lot!

Wide band gap field has been very active, and some other trends we announced (car maker entering the smart-grid market or the integration of intelligence in power stacks) have been a bit more confirmed.

Let’s see that in detail.

What’s new about Silicon Carbide

« Silicon Carbide is coming. » We know you have been hearing that for the last decade. So let’s pass the analysis and just go straight to the proofs:

We always said that SiC MOSFET would give its best at higher voltages. Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric showcased their 1.7kV and 3.3kV full Silicon Carbide MOSFET. They are already filed testing these power modules on their trains in Japan. You could ride a (partially) Silicon Carbide powered trains. That is where SiC belongs, and it’s becoming real, at last.

Infineon has announced their Silicon Carbide MOSFET. It’s coming late, but it seems they did a good work. According to the presentation they gave at PCIM, they wanted to build a device that meets their requirements. They did not want to enter into a race of announcements. So the device is a Trench MOSFET – available at 1200V in samples from now, and in full production in 2017. You can basically replace chip-to-chip an IGBT with this MOSFET. It accepts the same inputs from the driver. But of course, you can get better performances using a specific power device driver. It starts sampling now but will be fully available by 2017.

Rohm also showcased a Trench SiC MOSFET, but for them it’s the third generation. The main improvement is about surge robustness which is now time higher. They recalled that they have a fully integrated supply-chain. The new devices are available at higher current (the technology was presented last year.). They now propose power modules up to 1200V/300A.

Littelfuse is investing more and more in partnership with Monolith Semiconductors to propose a full line of Silicon carbide devices and modules.

On the higher voltage side, Wolfspeed (formerly Cree power branch), Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric make their way to higher voltages. The devices are not publicly available but tests are currently on-going. The main target for 1.7kV and 3.3kV Silicon Carbide MOSFETs are Rail traction inverters, Grid or Wind turbines.

What to expect for SiC in the next months:

We will see higher voltage devices becoming available. With wafers becoming larger (production is moving to 6 in.), we also need to expect bigger volumes of production and a reduction of production costs, thus production price. High voltage devices (1.7kV and more) will be more and more visible. It does not mean that you will be able to use them yet, but you will see more and more papers, presentations, and maybe a few public announcements about their use. R&D and design engineer will be able to put their hands on some of them, which is still very difficult today.

What’s new in GaN:

Shindengen developed and showed a Power module with GaN devices from Transphorm. Most power module maker’s start to work on the developments of their product line. They just need to « bet on the right horse ».

ViSIC is proposing sampling of its 600V GaN devices. They claim to have the best figure of merit of the market to date. Mass production will start in 2016 too. They partnered with TSMC toward this objective.

ExaGaN found a local partner to test and qualify their GaN devices.

GaN IC: a necessity?

Navitas semiconductor came out of « stealth mode ». They presented their solution which is a GaN IC. You have the GaN power device and the driver on the same die. It’s not a mixed packaged (With Silicon and Gallium Nitride, but a single die IC). It’s a 650V device processed on 6 in. wafers and samples will be available by the beginning of 2017.

Texas Instruments also released their GaN IC at 600V/12A. Even though they do not attend PCIM yet. They did not disclose much information about the device. It seems to be similar to the product develop day Navitas semiconductor having the driver integrated and thus making life easier for designers facilitate device adoption. Infineon has the same strategy with their SiC MOSFET (which is, in theory, compatible with IGBT gate drives).

What to expect for GaN in the next months

We will probably see more and more announcement, and more and more products. Some power module maker will announce the availability of their GaN based power modules. Some GaN players will have to show what they have to stay in the race (Cambridge Electronics Inc. must be working on their manufacturing process to transfer it to mass production and Powdec must be preparing their device).

Other players will make all efforts to push their devices to the market.

We have a complete analysis of the situation available in our market report « Applications and Markets for GaN in Power Electronics .» Ask us for more info.

What is left for Silicon:

Toshiba announced the fifth version of the Super Junction MOSFET. It’s based on their « Deep trench » process using deep reactive ion etching to dig a hole and build the super junction structure in it. Super Junction MOSFET is the perfect competitor to GaN today, and high-end products that use SJ MOSFET are the most likely to move to Gallium Nitride HeMT tomorrow.

Infineon showed during PCIM, a 12 in. wafer with IGBTs processed on it. They will reduce again the cost of production of IGBTs by processing them on larger wafers. It makes the target harder to reach for competition. They also showed a double sided cooled modules for hybrid and electric cars. It’s very similar to what was used in 2008 Lexus LS600h by Toyota (and developed by Denso). The module has a DBC on top and another on the bottom side.

You can also note the partnership between Nissan and Eaton, to reuse EV batteries in home storage systems. This confirms our forecast of a main supply-chain trend: similarly to Alstom, Siemens and GE in high power, electric car makers will also become part of whole ‘consumer-level’ energy complex scheme that will make Smart-grid real.

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Hirex engineering to test and qualify ExagaN G-FET GaN transistors

Exagan, a start-up manufacturing gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology for power electronics has begun a strategic partnership to develop and commercialize GaN-on-silicon products withHIREX Engineering, a company of Alter Technology Group (TÜV NORD GROUP’s Aerospace and Electronics Business Unit). The partnership’s goal is to establish the reliability and quality of GaN-on-silicon power devices.
Exagan will work closely with HIREX Engineering, a leader in reliability testing and qualification of ICs and discrete semiconductors for aerospace and industrial high-reliability applications. HIREX Engineering is located near Toulouse, France. Together, the companies will test and qualify Exagan’s G-FET™ products, which are fabricated with standard 200-mm silicon processing and proprietary G-Stack™ technology. G-FETs are used in making smaller, more efficient power converters that have a broad range of applications (plug-in hybrid and full-electric vehicles, solar energy, industrial applications, or charging of all mobile electronic devices).

“This dynamic partnership will help to propel GaN market development by pioneering test methodologies and measurement processes that make it easier for makers of electrical converters to implement GaN in improving their products,” said Frédéric Dupont, president and CEO of Exagan.

“This timing is perfect to combine Exagan’s strengths with those of the top European specialist in high-reliability testing. GaN technology has matured to deliver the high performance of SiC (silicon carbide) devices at silicon ICs’ price and quality levels, and our key markets are ready for this next-generation solution.”

“Through its participation, HIREX Engineering will expand its expertise and business portfolio to include advanced power GaN technology and the end products it enables. We hope to establish robust and easy-to-reference product parameters for GaN that will allow fast integration in electrical converters,” said Luis Gomez, Alter Technology Group CEO.

“We are confident that GaN’s bulletproof reliability will present remarkable advantages in the fast-growing power electronics market,” said Dr. Guido Rettig, TÜV NORD GROUP CEO.

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Texas instruments launch 600V/12A GaN IC

Texas Instruments today announced the availability of 600-V gallium nitride (GaN) 70-mΩ field-effect transistor (FET) power-stage engineering samples, making TI the first and only semiconductor manufacturer to publicly offer a high-voltage driver-integrated GaN solution. The new 12-A LMG3410 power stage coupled with TI’s analog and digital power-conversion controllers enables designers to create smaller, more efficient and higher-performing designs compared to silicon FET-based solutions. These benefits are especially important in isolated high-voltage industrial, telecom, enterprise computing and renewable energy applications.

“With over 3 million hours of reliability testing, the LMG3410 gives power designers the confidence to realize the potential of GaN and to rethink their power architecture and systems in ways not feasible before,” said Steve Lambouses, TI vice president of high-voltage power solutions. “Expanding on TI’s reputation for manufacturing capability and extensive system-design expertise, the new power stage is a significant step for the GaN market.”

With its integrated driver and features such as zero reverse-recovery current, the LMG3410 provides reliable performance, especially in hard-switching applications where it can dramatically reduce switching losses by as much as 80 percent. Unlike stand-alone GaN FETs, the easy-to-use LMG3410 integrates built-in intelligence for temperature, current and undervoltage lockout (UVLO) fault protection.

Proven manufacturing and packaging expertise
The LMG3410 is the first semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) to include GaN FETs manufactured by TI. Building on years of expertise in manufacturing and process technologies, TI creates its GaN devices in a silicon-compatible factory and qualifies them with practices that are beyond the typical Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) standards to ensure the reliability and robustness of GaN for demanding use cases. Easy-to-use packaging will help increase the adoption of GaN power designs in applications such as power factor controller (PFC) AC/DC converters, high-voltage DC bus converters and photovoltaic (PV) inverters.

Key features and benefits of the LMG3410

  • Double the power density. The 600-V power stage delivers 50 percent lower power losses in a totem-pole PFC compared with state-of-the-art silicon-based boost power-factor converters. The reduced bill of materials (BOM) count and higher efficiency enable a reduction in power-supply size of as much as 50 percent.
  • Reduced packaging parasitic inductance. The new device’s 8-mm-by-8-mm quad flat no-lead (QFN) package decreases power loss, component voltage stress and electromagnetic interference (EMI) compared to discrete GaN solutions.
  • Enables new topologies. GaN’s zero reverse-recovery charge benefits new switching topologies, including totem-pole PFC and LLC topologies to increase power density and efficiency.

Expanding the GaN ecosystem
To support designers who are taking advantage of GaN technology in their power designs, TI is also introducing new products to expand its GaN ecosystem. The LMG5200POLEVM-10, a 48-V to 1-V point-of-load (POL) evaluation module, will include the new TPS53632G GaN FET controller, paired with the 80-V LMG5200 GaN FET power stage. The solution allows for efficiency as high as 92 percent in industrial, telecom and datacom applications.

Availability and pricing
TI will offer a development kit that includes a half-bridge daughtercard and four LMG3410 IC samples. A second kit contains a system-level evaluation motherboard. When used together, these two kits enable immediate bench testing and design. The two development kits are available for purchase now in the TI store and are priced at $299.00 and $199.00, respectively.

 

For more details, see www.ti.com/lmg3410-pr.

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Freebird and EPC partner on Rad-Hard GaN power conversion

Freebird Semiconductor, a US manufacturer of high reliability GaN HEMTs, and Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) have entered into an agreement to develop products for high reliability, space and harsh environment applications based on EPC’s eGaN power transistors and ICs.

Simon Wainwright, president and CEO of Freebird Semiconductor said: “GaN technology will permit space applications to use the latest in high performance semiconductor material, whereas using silicon-based components in these applications produces systems that are behind the latest performance curves.”

“The superior conductivity and switching characteristics of GaN devices allow designers to greatly reduce system power losses, size, and weight. Given GaN’s superior state-of-the-art performance, coupled with its demonstrated ability to operate reliably under harsh environmental conditions and high radiation, GaN devices have a very bright future in space applications. We are excited to be supporting Freebird in the development of their GaN-based products,”

noted Alex Lidow, EPC CEO and co-founder.

In addition to collaborating on power systems product development, the two companies will be active in publishing the results of their work and giving joint presentations at professional conferences.

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Pi Innovo and GaN Systems to promote GaN in automotive

A collaboration between Pi Innovo’s electronics design and development expertise and GaN Systems’ gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors, offers automakers a pathway to the electrification of auxiliary systems for multi-voltage conventional, hybrid-electric, and pure electric vehicles.

Based on GaN Systems’  technology, gallium nitride devices use GaN-on-silicon base wafers. The company manufactures a range of gallium nitride power transistors for automotive, consumer, datacenter, industrial and solar/wind/smart grid applications.

Pi Innovo has designed and implemented custom motor control electronics to take advantage of the benefits of GaN Systems semiconductors in applications with a range of input voltages from 12V to 300V. This controller design provides a functional starting-point for the development of 48V and above, high-speed motor-driven vehicle systems, and adds to a growing portion of Pi Innovo’s business providing custom electronics solutions across multiple markets.

PI Innovo GaN Systems motor drive for electric vehicle

Following the success of this GaN-based multi-voltage motor controller development project, Pi Innovo is now offering design and development services in support of customers looking to adopt this technology for a wide range of electronics design applications in automotive and adjacent markets. The company is positioned to support customers wanting to develop prototype evaluations to quantify the benefits of GaN technology. Pi Innovo can also provide customized cost effective high volume designs for customers looking to go into production.

“Pi Innovo’s hardware, software and applications engineers worked closely with the GaN Systems team to understand their semiconductor design requirements and to ensure the final controller design maximizes the reduction in size, weight and power consumption benefits that gallium nitride semiconductors provide,”

said Dr. Walter Lucking, CEO of Pi Innovo.

“Working with GaN Systems on this project has been a great experience for our team and we’re looking forward to continuing our close partnership to support our customers on many future designs.”

“Having a technology development partner like Pi Innovo that really understands the intricacies of control electronics design for vehicle applications, is invaluable in supporting the continued adoption of GaN in the electrification of vehicle systems,” said Jim Witham, GaN Systems’ CEO.

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